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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
3
CABASILAS,
LINDSAY JONES
NICHOLAS
EDITOR IN CHIEF
•
CYRUS II
eorel_fm 3/2/05 8:36 AM Page iv
Encyclopedia of Religion, Second Edition
Lindsay Jones, Editor in Chief
© 2005 Thomson Gale, a part of The
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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA
Encyclopedia of religion / Lindsay Jones, editor in chief.— 2nd ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-02-865733-0 (SET HARDCOVER : ALK. PAPER) —
ISBN 0-02-865734-9 (V. 1) — ISBN 0-02-865735-7 (v. 2) —
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(v. 14) — ISBN 0-02-865984-8 (v. 15)
1. RELIGION—ENCYCLOPEDIAS. I. JONES, LINDSAY,
1954-
BL31.E46 2005
200’.3—dc22
2004017052
This title is also available as an e-book.
ISBN 0-02-865997-X
Contact your Thomson Gale representative for ordering information.
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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E D I T O R S A N D C O N S U L T A N T S
EDITOR IN CHIEF
Program in Religious Studies,
SIGMA ANKRAVA
LINDSAY JONES
University of Wisconsin—Madison
Professor, Department of Literary and
Associate Professor, Department of
C
Cultural Studies, Faculty of Modern
HARLES H. LONG
Comparative Studies, Ohio State
Professor of History of Religions,
Languages, University of Latvia
University
Baltic Religion and Slavic Religion
Emeritus, and Former Director of
Research Center for Black Studies,
DIANE APOSTOLOS-CAPPADONA
BOARD MEMBERS
University of California, Santa Barbara
Center for Muslim–Christian
DAVÍD CARRASCO
Understanding and Liberal Studies
MARY N. MACDONALD
Neil Rudenstine Professor of Study of
Program, Georgetown University
Professor, History of Religions, Le
Latin America, Divinity School and
Art and Religion
Moyne College (Syracuse, New York)
Department of Anthropology, Harvard
DIANE BELL
DALE B. MARTIN
University
Professor of Anthropology and Women’s
Professor of Religious Studies, and
Studies, George Washington University
GIOVANNI CASADIO
Chair, Department of Religious
Australian Indigenous Religions
Professor of History of Religions,
Studies, Yale University
Dipartimento di Scienze
KEES W. BOLLE
AZIM NANJI
Professor Emeritus of History,
dell’Antichità, Università degli Studi
Professor and Director, The Institute
University of California, Los Angeles,
di Salerno
of Ismaili Studies, London
and Fellow, Netherlands Institute for
WENDY DONIGER
JACOB OLUPONA
Advanced Studies in the Humanities
Mircea Eliade Distinguished Service
Professor, African American and
and Social Sciences
Professor of the History of Religions,
African Studies Program, University
History of Religions
University of Chicago
of California, Davis
MARK CSIKSZENTMIHALYI
GARY L. EBERSOLE
MICHAEL SWARTZ
Associate Professor in the Department
Professor of History and Religious
Professor of Hebrew and Religious
of East Asian Languages and
Studies, and Director, UMKC Center
Studies, Ohio State University
Literature and the Program in
for Religious Studies, University of
Religious Studies, University of
INÉS TALAMANTEZ
Missouri—Kansas City
Wisconsin—Madison
Associate Professor, Religious Studies
Chinese Religions
JANET GYATSO
Department, University of California,
RICHARD A. GARDNER
Hershey Professor of Buddhist Studies,
Santa Barbara
Faculty of Comparative Culture,
The Divinity School, Harvard
Sophia University
University
CONSULTANTS
Humor and Religion
GREGORY D. ALLES
CHARLES HALLISEY
Associate Professor of Religious Studies,
JOHN A. GRIM
Associate Professor, Department of
McDaniel College
Professor of Religion, Bucknell
Languages and Cultures of Asia and
Study of Religion
University and Co-Coordinator,
v
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vi
EDITORS AND CONSULTANTS
Harvard Forum on Religion and
TED PETERS
Religion, University of Chicago
Ecology
Professor of Systematic Theology,
Law and Religion
Ecology and Religion
Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary
TOD SWANSON
JOSEPH HARRIS
and the Center for Theology and the
Associate Professor of Religious Studies,
Francis Lee Higginson Professor of
Natural Sciences at the Graduate
and Director, Center for Latin
English Literature and Professor of
Theological Union, Berkeley,
American Studies, Arizona State
Folklore, Harvard University
California
University
Germanic Religions
Science and Religion
South American Religions
URSULA KING
FRANK E. REYNOLDS
MARY EVELYN TUCKER
Professor Emerita, Senior Research
Professor of the History of Religions
Professor of Religion, Bucknell
Fellow and Associate Member of the
and Buddhist Studies in the Divinity
University, Founder and Coordinator,
Institute for Advanced Studies,
School and the Department of South
University of Bristol, England, and
Asian Languages and Civilizations,
Harvard Forum on Religion and
Professorial Research Associate, Centre
Emeritus, University of Chicago
Ecology, Research Fellow, Harvard
for Gender and Religions Research,
History of Religions
Yenching Institute, Research Associate,
School of Oriental and African
GONZALO RUBIO
Harvard Reischauer Institute of
Studies, University of London
Assistant Professor, Department of
Japanese Studies
Gender and Religion
Classics and Ancient Mediterranean
Ecology and Religion
DAVID MORGAN
Studies and Department of History
HUGH B. URBAN
Duesenberg Professor of Christianity
and Religious Studies, Pennsylvania
Associate Professor, Department of
and the Arts, and
State University
Comparative Studies, Ohio State
Professor of Humanities and Art
Ancient Near Eastern Religions
University
History, Valparaiso University
SUSAN SERED
Politics and Religion
Color Inserts and Essays
Director of Research, Religion, Health
CATHERINE WESSINGER
JOSEPH F. NAGY
and Healing Initiative, Center for the
Professor of the History of Religions
Professor, Department of English,
Study of World Religions, Harvard
and Women’s Studies, Loyola
University of California, Los Angeles
University, and Senior Research
University New Orleans
Celtic Religion
Associate, Center for Women’s Health
New Religious Movements
M
and Human Rights, Suffolk University
ATTHEW OJO
Healing, Medicine, and Religion
R
Obafemi Awolowo University
OBERT A. YELLE
African Religions
LAWRENCE E. SULLIVAN
Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow, University
of Toronto
J
Professor, Department of Theology,
UHA PENTIKÄINEN
Law and Religion
Professor of Comparative Religion, The
University of Notre Dame
History of Religions
University of Helsinki, Member of
ERIC ZIOLKOWSKI
Academia Scientiarum Fennica,
WINNIFRED FALLERS SULLIVAN
Charles A. Dana Professor of Religious
Finland
Dean of Students and Senior Lecturer
Studies, Lafayette College
Arctic Religions and Uralic Religions
in the Anthropology and Sociology of
Literature and Religion
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
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A B B R E V I A T I O N S A N D S Y M B O L S
U S E D I N T H I S W O R K
abbr. abbreviated; abbreviation
3 Bar. 3 Baruch
2 Chr. 2 Chronicles
abr. abridged; abridgment
4 Bar. 4 Baruch
Ch. Slav. Church Slavic
AD anno Domini, in the year of the
B.B. BavaD batraD
cm centimeters
(our) Lord
BBC British Broadcasting
col. column (pl., cols.)
Afrik. Afrikaans
Corporation
Col. Colossians
AH anno Hegirae, in the year of the
BC before Christ
Colo. Colorado
Hijrah
BCE before the common era
comp. compiler (pl., comps.)
Akk. Akkadian
B.D. Bachelor of Divinity
Conn. Connecticut
Ala. Alabama
Beits. Beitsah
cont. continued
Alb. Albanian
Bekh. Bekhorot
Copt. Coptic
Am. Amos
Beng. Bengali
1 Cor. 1 Corinthians
AM ante meridiem, before noon
Ber. Berakhot
2 Cor. 2 Corinthians
amend. amended; amendment
Berb. Berber
corr. corrected
annot. annotated; annotation
Bik. Bikkurim
C.S.P. Congregatio Sancti Pauli,
Ap. Apocalypse
bk. book (pl., bks.)
Congregation of Saint Paul
Apn. Apocryphon
B.M. BavaD metsiEaD
(Paulists)
app. appendix
BP before the present
d. died
Arab. Arabic
B.Q. BavaD qammaD
D Deuteronomic (source of the
EArakh. EArakhin
Bra¯h. Bra¯hman.a
Pentateuch)
Aram. Aramaic
Bret. Breton
Dan. Danish
Ariz. Arizona
B.T. Babylonian Talmud
D.B. Divinitatis Baccalaureus,
Ark. Arkansas
Bulg. Bulgarian
Bachelor of Divinity
Arm. Armenian
Burm. Burmese
D.C. District of Columbia
art. article (pl., arts.)
c. circa, about, approximately
D.D. Divinitatis Doctor, Doctor of
AS Anglo-Saxon
Calif. California
Divinity
Asm. Mos. Assumption of Moses
Can. Canaanite
Del. Delaware
Assyr. Assyrian
Catal. Catalan
Dem. DemaDi
A.S.S.R. Autonomous Soviet Socialist
CE of the common era
dim. diminutive
Republic
Celt. Celtic
diss. dissertation
Av. Avestan
cf. confer, compare
Dn. Daniel
EA.Z. EAvodah zarah
Chald. Chaldean
D.Phil. Doctor of Philosophy
b. born
chap. chapter (pl., chaps.)
Dt. Deuteronomy
Bab. Babylonian
Chin. Chinese
Du. Dutch
Ban. Bantu
C.H.M. Community of the Holy
E Elohist (source of the Pentateuch)
1 Bar. 1 Baruch
Myrrhbearers
Eccl. Ecclesiastes
2 Bar. 2 Baruch
1 Chr. 1 Chronicles
ed. editor (pl., eds.); edition; edited by
vii
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ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS
EEduy. EEduyyot
Hung. Hungarian
Lith. Lithuanian
e.g. exempli gratia, for example
ibid. ibidem, in the same place (as the
Lk. Luke
Egyp. Egyptian
one immediately preceding)
LL Late Latin
1 En. 1 Enoch
Icel. Icelandic
LL.D. Legum Doctor, Doctor of Laws
2 En. 2 Enoch
i.e. id est, that is
Lv. Leviticus
3 En. 3 Enoch
IE Indo-European
m meters
Eng. English
Ill. Illinois
m. masculine
enl. enlarged
Ind. Indiana
M.A. Master of Arts
Eph. Ephesians
intro. introduction
Ma Eas. MaEaserot
EEruv. EEruvin
Ir. Gael. Irish Gaelic
Ma Eas. Sh. MaE aser sheni
1 Esd. 1 Esdras
Iran. Iranian
Mak. Makkot
2 Esd. 2 Esdras
Is. Isaiah
Makh. Makhshirin
3 Esd. 3 Esdras
Ital. Italian
Mal. Malachi
4 Esd. 4 Esdras
J Yahvist (source of the Pentateuch)
Mar. Marathi
esp. especially
Jas. James
Mass. Massachusetts
Est. Estonian
Jav. Javanese
1 Mc. 1 Maccabees
Est. Esther
Jb. Job
2 Mc. 2 Maccabees
et al. et alii, and others
Jdt. Judith
3 Mc. 3 Maccabees
etc. et cetera, and so forth
Jer. Jeremiah
4 Mc. 4 Maccabees
Eth. Ethiopic
Jgs. Judges
Md. Maryland
EV English version
Jl. Joel
M.D. Medicinae Doctor, Doctor of
Ex. Exodus
Jn. John
Medicine
exp. expanded
1 Jn. 1 John
ME Middle English
Ez. Ezekiel
2 Jn. 2 John
Meg. Megillah
Ezr. Ezra
3 Jn. 3 John
Me Eil. MeEilah
2 Ezr. 2 Ezra
Jon. Jonah
Men. Menah.ot
4 Ezr. 4 Ezra
Jos. Joshua
MHG Middle High German
f. feminine; and following (pl., ff.)
Jpn. Japanese
mi. miles
fasc. fascicle (pl., fascs.)
JPS Jewish Publication Society trans-
Mi. Micah
fig. figure (pl., figs.)
lation (1985) of the Hebrew Bible
Mich. Michigan
Finn. Finnish
J.T. Jerusalem Talmud
Mid. Middot
fl. floruit, flourished
Jub. Jubilees
Minn. Minnesota
Fla. Florida
Kans. Kansas
Miq. MiqvaDot
Fr. French
Kel. Kelim
MIran. Middle Iranian
frag. fragment
Ker. Keritot
Miss. Mississippi
ft. feet
Ket. Ketubbot
Mk. Mark
Ga. Georgia
1 Kgs. 1 Kings
Mo. Missouri
Gal. Galatians
2 Kgs. 2 Kings
MoEed Q. MoEed qat.an
Gaul. Gaulish
Khois. Khoisan
Mont. Montana
Ger. German
Kil. Kil Dayim
MPers. Middle Persian
Git.. Git.t.in
km kilometers
MS. manuscriptum, manuscript (pl.,
Gn. Genesis
Kor. Korean
MSS)
Gr. Greek
Ky. Kentucky
Mt. Matthew
H
. ag. H
. agigah
l. line (pl., ll.)
MT Masoretic text
H
. al. H
. allah
La. Louisiana
n. note
Hau. Hausa
Lam. Lamentations
Na. Nahum
Hb. Habakkuk
Lat. Latin
Nah. Nahuatl
Heb. Hebrew
Latv. Latvian
Naz. Nazir
Heb. Hebrews
L. en Th. Licencié en Théologie,
N.B. nota bene, take careful note
Hg. Haggai
Licentiate in Theology
N.C. North Carolina
Hitt. Hittite
L. ès L. Licencié ès Lettres, Licentiate
n.d. no date
Hor. Horayot
in Literature
N.Dak. North Dakota
Hos. Hosea
Let. Jer. Letter of Jeremiah
NEB New English Bible
H
. ul. H
. ullin
lit. literally
Nebr. Nebraska
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ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS
ix
Ned. Nedarim
pop. population
sp. species (pl., spp.)
Neg. Nega Eim
Port. Portuguese
Span. Spanish
Neh. Nehemiah
Prv. Proverbs
sq. square
Nev. Nevada
Ps. Psalms
S.S.R. Soviet Socialist Republic
N.H. New Hampshire
Ps. 151 Psalm 151
st. stanza (pl., ss.)
Nid. Niddah
Ps. Sol. Psalms of Solomon
S.T.M. Sacrae Theologiae Magister,
N.J. New Jersey
pt. part (pl., pts.)
Master of Sacred Theology
Nm. Numbers
1Pt. 1 Peter
Suk. Sukkah
N.Mex. New Mexico
2 Pt. 2 Peter
Sum. Sumerian
no. number (pl., nos.)
Pth. Parthian
supp. supplement; supplementary
Nor. Norwegian
Q hypothetical source of the synoptic
Sus. Susanna
n.p. no place
Gospels
s.v. sub verbo, under the word (pl.,
n.s. new series
Qid. Qiddushin
s.v.v.)
N.Y. New York
Qin. Qinnim
Swed. Swedish
Ob. Obadiah
r. reigned; ruled
Syr. Syriac
O.Cist. Ordo Cisterciencium, Order
Rab. Rabbah
Syr. Men. Syriac Menander
of Cîteaux (Cistercians)
rev. revised
TaE an. TaEanit
OCS Old Church Slavonic
R. ha-Sh. RoDsh ha-shanah
Tam. Tamil
OE Old English
R.I. Rhode Island
Tam. Tamid
O.F.M. Ordo Fratrum Minorum,
Rom. Romanian
Tb. Tobit
Order of Friars Minor
Rom. Romans
T.D. Taisho¯ shinshu¯ daizo¯kyo¯, edited
(Franciscans)
R.S.C.J. Societas Sacratissimi Cordis
by Takakusu Junjiro¯ et al.
OFr. Old French
Jesu, Religious of the Sacred Heart
(Tokyo,1922–1934)
Ohal. Ohalot
RSV Revised Standard Version of the
Tem. Temurah
OHG Old High German
Bible
Tenn. Tennessee
OIr. Old Irish
Ru. Ruth
Ter. Terumot
OIran. Old Iranian
Rus. Russian
T
. ev. Y. T
. evul yom
Okla. Oklahoma
Rv. Revelation
Tex. Texas
ON Old Norse
Rv. Ezr. Revelation of Ezra
Th.D. Theologicae Doctor, Doctor of
O.P. Ordo Praedicatorum, Order of
San. Sanhedrin
Theology
Preachers (Dominicans)
S.C. South Carolina
1 Thes. 1 Thessalonians
OPers. Old Persian
Scot. Gael. Scottish Gaelic
2 Thes. 2 Thessalonians
op. cit. opere citato, in the work cited
S.Dak. South Dakota
Thrac. Thracian
OPrus. Old Prussian
sec. section (pl., secs.)
Ti. Titus
Oreg. Oregon
Sem. Semitic
Tib. Tibetan
EOrl. EOrlah
ser. series
1 Tm. 1 Timothy
O.S.B. Ordo Sancti Benedicti, Order
sg. singular
2 Tm. 2 Timothy
of Saint Benedict (Benedictines)
Sg. Song of Songs
T. of 12 Testaments of the Twelve
p. page (pl., pp.)
Sg. of 3 Prayer of Azariah and the
Patriarchs
P Priestly (source of the Pentateuch)
Song of the Three Young Men
T
. oh. t.ohorot
Pa. Pennsylvania
Shab. Shabbat
Tong. Tongan
Pahl. Pahlavi
Shav. ShavuEot
trans. translator, translators; translated
Par. Parah
Sheq. Sheqalim
by; translation
para. paragraph (pl., paras.)
Sib. Or. Sibylline Oracles
Turk. Turkish
Pers. Persian
Sind. Sindhi
Ukr. Ukrainian
Pes. Pesahim
Sinh. Sinhala
Upan. Upanis.ad
Ph.D. Philosophiae Doctor, Doctor
Sir. Ben Sira
U.S. United States
of Philosophy
S.J. Societas Jesu, Society of Jesus
U.S.S.R. Union of Soviet Socialist
Phil. Philippians
(Jesuits)
Republics
Phlm. Philemon
Skt. Sanskrit
Uqts. Uqtsin
Phoen. Phoenician
1 Sm. 1 Samuel
v. verse (pl., vv.)
pl. plural; plate (pl., pls.)
2 Sm. 2 Samuel
Va. Virginia
PM post meridiem, after noon
Sogd. Sogdian
var. variant; variation
Pol. Polish
Sot.. Sot.ah
Viet. Vietnamese
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ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS
viz. videlicet, namely
Yad. Yadayim
* hypothetical
vol. volume (pl., vols.)
Yev. Yevamot
? uncertain; possibly; perhaps
Vt. Vermont
Yi. Yiddish
° degrees
Wash. Washington
Yor. Yoruba
+ plus
Wel. Welsh
Zav. Zavim
– minus
Wis. Wisconsin
Zec. Zechariah
= equals; is equivalent to
Wis. Wisdom of Solomon
Zep. Zephaniah
× by; multiplied by
W.Va. West Virginia
Zev. Zevah.im
→ yields
Wyo. Wyoming
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N


v o l u m e t h r e e
o s m i c v i s i
c
C o
O S n
M I s
C V I S I O N S
Images offer viewers a special advantage: not only can they
compact and transmit information with great economy, they
offer a commanding perch from which to survey vast transits of time and expanses of
space. Schematic images serve as maps of the cosmos, of history, of the night sky, and
of the wanderings and pilgrimages of the
soul. Visual imagery can also present to a
single view, for purposes of meditation or
memorization, extensive bodies of thought
and teaching. Such images are often dia-
grams or charts that serve as mnemonic
devices, teaching aids, or prompts for
visualization in meditation. This manner
of imagery is able to condense a complex
array of information into a single visual
field and to serve as a graphic shorthand
for referring to or recalling teachings.
Itinerant Buddhist teachers in Tibet
and other Himalayan regions make use of
diagrams like the Wheel of Existence (a),
in which are encoded in symbolic imagery
and scenes the fundamental teachings of
Buddhism as practiced by Tibetan fol-
lowers. Nearly one meter high, the image
serves as a teaching aid for explaining the
cycle of life, the structure of the Buddhist
cosmos, the forces of evil and good, and
such essential doctrines as karma, rebirth
and its causes, and the levels of rebirth.
(a) A Tibetan cloth diagram of the Buddhist
Wheel of Existence, from the eighteenth or
early nineteenth century. [©The Newark Museum/
Art Resource, N.Y.]
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COSMIC VISIONS
(b) Navajo medicine man Victor Begay with a sand painting he
Other images reproduced here are cosmic maps created
created for a healing ritual. [©Arne Hodalic/Corbis]
for various purposes. The Navajo sand painting (b) is a
temporary device produced for the purpose of healing,
fecundity, and the restoration of order. The diagram con-
figures the ideal, balanced relations among natural forces
and divine beings, which, when they slip into imbalance
by human action, cause evil and ill health. The creation
of the sand painting and its quick and ritual destruction
bring about the resumption of cosmic balance and human
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COSMIC VISIONS
well-being. A Daoist hanging scroll from China (c) also
signifies the search for well-being conceived as balance
and protection from evil. Zhenwu, the perfected warrior,
is a savior figure who confronts evil on behalf of all souls
by achieving the Dao’s ideal balance of yin and yang,
symbolized in the eight trigrams above the central figure.
The rest of the image consists of seventy-two talismans,
each of which is a star diagram with script that explains
the particular protection against malevolence provided by
each configuration.

Diagrams are an especially effective way of mapping
a relationship between the scale of the human form and
the corresponding macrocosm. The human body is trans-
formed into a microcosm of larger forces. Robert Fludd’s
hermetic diagram (d) is an example of this graphic way
of discerning occult relationships between the human
form and the cosmic. The image conveys a prevailing
sense of harmony among spiritual and material domains,
described as a continuum that stretches from the divine
(the Hebrew tetragramaton at the top) to the human body
centered in the genitals. A different kind of diagram that
represents in abstract linear form the embodied connec-
tion of different levels of the cosmos appears on many
Olmec celts or stone axe heads that were illustrated and
(c) ABOVE. Chinese hanging scroll depicting Zhenwu with
the Eight Trigrams, the northern dipper, and talismans,
Qing dynasty, seventeenth or early eighteenth century. [Russell
Tyson Endowment, 1999.566; reproduction, The Art Institute of
Chicago] (d) LEFT. The Diapason Closing Full in Man, an illustra-
tion from Robert Fludd’s The Macrocosm, volume 1: Metaphysics
and Cosmic Origins (1617). [The Granger Collection, New York]
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COSMIC VISIONS
vertically displayed as the axis mundi, or vertical align-
ment of earth, sky, and underworld. Celts mounted on
wooden handles were used to prepare land for crops. The
figure on some celts represents a shaman applying the tools
of his trade to effect travel to the different levels of the
cosmos for the benefit of the celt’s owner.

Diagrams are often thought to possess power of their
own. Several examples appear here. The investment of
arcane diagrams with power and hermetic significance
clearly informs the Jewish mystical or qabbalistic symbols
assembled on a single folio and portrayed with Hebrew
script (e), presumably to avoid the Bible’s injunction
against graven images, but also to charge the images with
greater spiritual potency. The hand-shaped form, for
instance, called hamsa, provides protection against the evil
eye. The elaborate printed page dedicated to the rosary (f )
offers 230 years off from the soul’s time in purgatory (note
(e) ABOVE. A qabbalist print by Samuel Habib, used as a
mizrach, an indicator of the direction toward Jerusalem, 1828.
[©The Jewish Museum, N.Y./Art Resource, N.Y.] (f ) RIGHT. Erhard
Schön, The Great Rosary, hand colored woodcut. The Metropoli-
tan Museum of Art, Rogers Fund, 1920. (20.34.1) [Photograph
©1997 The Metropolitan Museum of Art]
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COSMIC VISIONS
the angels snatching souls from flames at the bottom) for
those who pray the rosary, prescribed and guided by the
print’s compacted gathering of heavenly hierarchies who
form the “brotherhood of the rosary,” that is, those celes-
tial worthies to whom one joins one’s devotion. The circle
of colored roses signifies the different kinds of prayer and
the number of repetitions to ensure the rosary’s promised
efficacy. A Hindu practice of combining a diagram or yan-
tra with supplication is shown here (g), where a woman
is creating the image of a lotus bloom from rice flour on
the floor of a temple, while she invokes a goddess to assist
her search for a good husband. The elaborate diagram is
understood to attract divine energy and enable beneficial
contact. A similar linear intricacy characterizes the Native
American dream catcher (h), a delicate mesh of fiber
stretched on a willow frame and hung above sleeping
children to attract the ephemeral stuff of good dreams and
filter out bad dreams.

Diagrams are perhaps most widely used as maps.
Eighteenth-century Muslims could envision the organiza-
(g) RIGHT. An Indian woman creates a yantra of a lotus for aid
in finding a good husband, Samayapuram, Tirchirappalli district,
Tamil Nadu, India. [©Photograph by Stephen P. Huyler] (h) BELOW.
A Yurok woman holds a dream catcher during the 1994 Salmon
Festival in Klamath, California. [©Catherine Karnow/Corbis]
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COSMIC VISIONS
tion of the mosque in Mecca by the map (i) provided in
manuscripts, showing the location of the Kacbah at the
center and the entrances to the inner court of the mosque.
Jains frequently used another kind of map found in stone
relief in temples or painted portrayals. These structures
present in highly symmetrical, concentric form the hall
(samavasaran.a) that is built by the gods for the delivery of
a sermon by a Jina, one of twenty-four teachers who have
achieved liberation from rebirth and gather monks and
laity alike about them in order to teach the way to salva-
tion. The image maps out the key ideas of Jainism, in par-
ticular tranquility (santarasa) and nonviolence (ahim
. sā),
symbolized by the peaceful pairing of natural antagonists,
such as the deer and tiger or the snake and mongoose.

Mapping the astral realm and the passage of time is
perhaps one of the most universal uses for diagrammatic
structures. Stonehenge (j) is a Neolithic structure whose
functions included a precise coordination of astronomical
events with human ritual. Tibetan lamas rely on astrologi-
cal charts, such as the one reproduced here (k), to consult
(i) LEFT. An eighteenth-century map of the H
. aram Mosque
in Mecca. [©Giraudon/Art Resource, N.Y.] (j) BELOW. Stonehenge,
on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England, constructed of sand-
stone and bluestone c. 2000 bce. [©Jason Hawkes/Corbis]
(k) OPPOSITE. Srid pa ho (Divination Chart), Tibet, late twen-
tieth century, paint on cloth. Tibetan Collection, Asian Division
(82). [Library of Congress]
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the horoscope of those undertaking a journey in order to
determine an auspicious day for departure. The large
Aztec stone diagram (l), uncovered in Mexico
City in 1790, is, according to recent study, a
portrayal of an earth deity surrounded by
depictions of the major periods of cosmic
history. Outer circles represent cardinal
directions and a calendrical system of
notating recent Aztec history that
affirmed the cosmic centrality of
the Aztec empire and appears to
have declared the importance of
combat and human sacrifice as the
destiny of the empire.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Godwin, Joscelyn. Robert Fludd: Her-
metic Philosopher and Surveyor of Two
Worlds. Boulder, Colo., 1979.
Leidy, Denise Patry, and Robert A. F. Thur-
man. Mandala: The Architecture of Enlighten-
ment. New York, 1997.
Little, Stephen, with Shawn Eichman. Taoism
and the Arts of China. Chicago, 2000.
Menzies, Jack. Buddha: Radiant Awakening. Sydney,
2001.
Mills, Kenneth, and William B. Taylor, eds. Colonial Spanish
America: A Documentary History. Wilmington, Del., 1998.
(l) Late-fifteenth-century Aztec sun or calendar stone depicting
David Morgan ()
the Five Eras, Tenochtitlan, Mexico. [©Bettmann/Corbis]
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C
CABALA SEE QABBALAH
CABASILAS, NICHOLAS (c. 1322–1395), born Nicolaos Chamaetos Cabasilas;
Greek Orthodox theologian and saint. A native of Thessalonica, Cabasilas studied there
and in Constantinople. One of his teachers was his uncle Nilos Cabasilas, an adherent
and successor of Gregory Palamas in the see of Thessalonica. Cabasilas served for ten years
as counselor to the emperor John VI Cantacuzenos (1341–1354). In 1353 his name was
put forward as a candidate for the patriarchal chair, although he was a layman. During
the second half of his life, he resided in Constantinople, mostly in the monastery of Man-
gana, as a layman or as a monk, devoting himself to theological studies.
Gennadios Scholarios, the first patriarch after the fall of Constantinople, character-
ized Cabasilas’s writings as “an ornament to the church of Christ.” With an imposing
style, apophthegmatic, prophetic, and poetical, he expresses genuine religious feeling and
deep faith.
One of Cabasilas’s most important works is Interpretation of the Holy Liturgy, a spiri-
tual explanation of what is said and done during the Divine Liturgy, which he considers
a real image of divine worship in heaven as well as of the earthly life of the incarnated
God. In his thought the participation of the church in the sacraments (must¯eria) is not
symbolic, but real, as is the participation of the members of the body in the heart. By
participating in the mysteries (i.e., the Body and Blood of Christ), the faithful do not
incorporate these elements into the human body as they do other food; rather, the faithful
themselves are incorporated into these elements. Human’s union with Christ, soul with
soul and body with body, brings complete peace, which makes the many one; disturbance
makes the one many.
Cabasilas’s second great work, On the Life in Christ, presents an anatomy of the spiri-
tual life in the framework of the incarnation, repeated and continued in the sacraments
of the church. Cabasilas’s thought revolves around the fact of salvation through union
C LOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT CORNER. Bronze of the Egyptian goddess Bastet, patron of Bubastis, as a
cat, 713–332 BCE. Louvre, Paris. [©Art Resource, N.Y.]; Ninth-century QurDa¯n written in
Kufic script. Abbasid dynasty, Iraq. [©Werner Forman/Art Resource, N.Y.]; Le Christ de l’Abbé
Menasprov. Louvre, Paris. [©Giraudon/Art Resource, N.Y.]; Aztec calendar stone. [©Bettmann/
Corbis]; Fifth-century CE silver Roman shield depicting Cybele in a chariot with Attis.
Archaeological Museum, Milan. [The Art Archive/Archaeological Museum Milan/Dagli Orti] .
1343
1344
CABTILLATION
with God. The destination of humankind from the moment
peri dikaio¯seo¯s didaskalia Nikolaou tou Kabasila (Piraeus,
of its creation to the end of its history is this: union with
1975).
God.
PANAGIOTIS C. CHRISTOU (1987)
Translated from Greek by Philip M. McGhee
For Cabasilas, the distinguishing property of God is
goodness. God is good in an excelling way, and the nature
of good is to pour itself out and be distributed. Thus human-
CABTILLATION SEE CHANTING
kind is created good from the beginning, both Godlike and
Christ-like, with the purpose of being united with God in
the future. The incarnate Word of God encounters a Godlike
kernel in each human being and from this encounter a new
CAIN AND ABEL, the first two sons of Adam and Eve,
life springs, which leads to perfection in life in Christ. Perfec-
the progenitors of the race according to the Bible, after their
tion is the supreme and complete gift of God. All things have
banishment from the garden of Eden (Gn. 4). Cain (Heb.,
been made for perfection.
Qayin), the elder, was a farmer; Abel (Heb., Hevel) was a
shepherd. The biblical text jumps from their birth to a later
The present world is in the process of giving birth to
episode when both made (apparently votary) offerings to the
the inner person, who is molded and formed in the present
Lord: Cain presented a meal offering of his fruits and grains,
life, but who is born only in the future world. The moment
while Abel offered up the firstlings of his sheep. The offering
of transition is the most delightful of visions. “Christ de-
of Cain was rejected by the Lord, and that of Abel was ac-
scends from heaven to earth brilliantly, the earth raises up
cepted. No reason for this is given, and generations of pious
other suns toward the sun of justice. All is full of light” (Life
attempts to justify this event have been made by contrasting
in Christ 6.16).
the intentions of the donors and the nature and quality of
their donations. Cain’s despondency led to a divine caution
In 1983 Cabasilas was canonized a saint of the Greek
to resist the temptation to sin (Gn. 4: 6–7); presumably this
Orthodox church and his feast fixed on June 20. His writings
refers to the jealous urges and hostile resentments Cain felt.
are widely read in many languages.
But the elder brother was overwrought and killed his brother
in the field. This led to the punishment of Cain: like his fa-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
ther, he would not farm a fertile earth; and, like him, he
would be banished “eastward of Eden.” Fearing further retri-
Works by Cabasilas
bution, Cain was given a protective “sign,” whose aspect de-
An unsatisfactory edition of the main texts, by Fronto Ducaeus,
lighted the fancy in later legends and art. There is a deliberate
is reprinted in Patrologia Graeca, edited by J.-P. Migne, vol.
reuse of the language of the temptation and punishment of
150 (Paris, 1865). All modern translations of Cabasilas’s two
Adam and Eve (Gn. 3) in the ensuing account of the tempta-
great treatises, based on this text, are necessarily unsatisfacto-
tion and punishment of Cain (Gn. 4: 1–17).
ry too. Explication de la divine liturgie, edited and translated
by Sévérien Salaville, in Sources Chrétiennes, vol. 4 (Paris,
The murder of Abel by Cain in Genesis 4: 1–17 is the
1967), follows the same text collated with one Parisian
first social crime recorded in the Bible, and it complements
manuscript. An English translation by Joan M. Hussey and
on the external level the inner temptation and misuse of will
P. A. McNulty is also available as Interpretation of the Divine
depicted in similar language in Genesis 3. The tradition of
Liturgy (London, 1960). While working on my own transla-
Cain’s act of murder and his subsequent punishment is fol-
tion into modern Greek, I prepared another, more correct
lowed by a genealogical list that presents him as the progeni-
original text, based on four manuscripts; see Nikolaos Caba-
silas, no. 22 in the series “Philokalia” (Thessaloniki, 1979–).
tor of several culture heroes. His son, Enoch, founded the
first city (Gn. 4: 18); and two other descendants, Jubal and
Works about Cabasilas
Tubalcain, were respectively named the cultural ancestors of
Die Mystik des Nikolaus Cabasilas vom Leben in Christo, edited by
“all who play the lyre and the pipe” (Gn. 4: 21) and those
Wilhelm Gass (1849; 2nd ed., Leiden, 1899), was excellent
“who forged all implements of copper and iron” (Gn. 4: 22).
in its time. The work of Myrna Lot-Borodine, Un maïtre de
There is thus an anachronistic blending of Cain, whose name
la spiritualité byzantine au quatorzième siècle, Nicolas Caba-
means “smith,” with an ancient agricultural forebear. In so
silas (Paris, 1958), in spite of its oratorical style, is very inter-
presenting Cain as the ancestor of technology and culture,
esting. Special aspects of Cabasilas’s thought are treated in
the tradition displays a pessimistic attitude toward such
Ermanno M. Toniolo’s La mariologia di Nicola Cabasila (Vi-
achievements (complementing the attitude taken in the
cenze, 1955); Ihor Sˇevcˇenko’s “Nicolas Cabasilas’ ‘Anti-
tower of Babel episode, in Genesis 10: 1–9) and shows a pro-
zealot’ Discourse: A Reinterpretation,” Dumbarton Oaks Pa-
found psychological insight into the energies and drives that
pers 11 (1957): 79–171; and Jean Vafiadis’s L’humanisme
chrétien de Nicolas Cabasilas: L’épanouissement de la personne
underlie civilization. The episode of Genesis 4: 1–17 may re-
humaine dans le Christ (Strasbourg, 1963). For readers of
flect an old literary motif of debates between farmers and
modern Greek, two important works are Athanasios An-
herdsmen as well as the fairly universal theme of fraternal
gelopoulos’s Nikolaos Kabasilas Chamaetos, H¯e zo¯e kai to
pairs who represent contrasting psychological and cultural
ergon autou (Thessaloniki, 1970) and Panagiotes Nellas’s H¯e
types.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CAITANYA
1345
Early rabbinic interpretation drew forth various ele-
an ecstatic devotee and Vais:n:ava revivalist. To his devotees,
ments of the story for moral and theological emphasis. The
Caitanya is the paradigm of an emotionally intense, loving
Midrash elaborates the psychology of fraternal strife (Genesis
devotion (prema-bhakti) to Kr:s:n:a—which humans may as-
Rabbah 22.7), depicts Cain’s impious rejection of divine jus-
pire to emulate while never reaching the perfection of their
tice when his offering is rejected but also notes his act of re-
divine/human exemplar. He is also the object of their devout
pentance in the end (Gn. Rab. 11.13), and shows the cycle
adoration, affirmed to be God, Kr:s:n:a, appearing within re-
of violence that was unleashed by Cain’s act, since this deed
cent human history to establish loving devotion as the reli-
led to his accidental death at the hands of his descendant La-
gious norm (yuga-dharma) of the current degenerate era, the
mech who, in grief, accidentally killed his own son as well
kaliyuga (Kali age).
(Gn. 4: 23–24). Early Christian tradition focused on Abel
as the head of a line of prophets who were killed (Mt. 23:
LIFE. Vi´svambhara (i.e., Caitanya) was born/appeared at the
25) and emphasized his innocent blood (cf. Heb. 12: 24);
onset of a lunar eclipse on the full moon day of Pha¯lgun
thus they set the framework for the typology that related
month, February 27, 1486, at Navadvip town, the center of
Abel’s innocent death to that of Jesus and saw Cain as repre-
Sanskrit learning in then Muslim-ruled Bengal. The second
senting the children of the devil (1 Jn. 3: 12). For Augustine,
son of a Vais:n:ava Bra¯hman:, Jaganna¯tha Mi´sra, and his wife
Cain was furthermore identified with the Jews. The topos of
S´ac¯ı, he became a Sanskrit pan:d:it, married Laks:m¯ı, and,
Cain and Abel recurs in the medieval mystery plays, and the
after her untimely death, wed Vis:n:upriya¯. At the age of twen-
murder of Abel was a common iconographic motif in Chris-
ty-two, he journeyed to Gaya to perform post-funeral rites
tian and Jewish art.
(´sra¯ddha) for his late father and first wife. While there, he
was overwhelmed by devotion to Kr:s:n:a and promptly took
B
initiation (d¯ıks:a¯) from a Vais:n:ava guru¯, ¯I´svara Pur¯ı. He re-
IBLIOGRAPHY
Aptowitzer, Vigdor. Kain und Abel in der Agada den Apokryphen,
turned to Navadvip overflowing with eagerness to spread de-
der hellenistischen, christlichen und muhammedanischen Li-
votion to Kr:s:n:a.
teratur. Vienna, 1922.
Vi´svambhara’s charismatic proselytizing led him to be
Fishbane, Michael. Text and Texture. New York, 1979. See pages
readily hailed by the Vais:n:avas of Navadvip as their leader.
23–27.
For about a year, he led devotional singing, acted in devo-
Ginzberg, Louis. The Legends of the Jews (1909–1938). 7 vols.
tional dramas, and even challenged the Muslim authorities
Translated by Henrietta Szold, et al. Reprint, Philadelphia,
by leading sam:k¯ırtana (collective religious chanting) proces-
1937–1966. See volume 1, pages 55–59.
sions through Navadvip. His behavior, both when in normal
Réau, Louis. Iconographie de l’art chrétien. Vol. 2. Paris, 1956. See
consciousness and when in ecstatic states, suggested to his
pages 93–100.
followers that he was in some way God, Hari (i.e., Kr:s:n:a),
Speiser, E. A. Genesis. Anchor Bible. Vol. 1. Garden City, N.Y.,
manifesting himself in human guise. His engrossing passion
1964. See pages 29–38.
for bhakti to Kr:s:n:a brought an end to his career as pan:d:it
New Sources
and soon culminated in renunciation of domestic life while
Levin, Schneir. “The Abel Syndrome.” Jewish Bible Quarterly 20
still childless. He received ascetic initiation from Ke´sava
(1991): 111–114.
Bha¯rat¯ı in February 1510, when he took the name
Paine, Robert. “‘Am I My Brother’s Keeper?’ (Genesis IV:9): Vio-
Kr:s:n:a-Caitanya.
lence and the Making of Society.” Qualitative Sociology 24
(2001): 169–189.
Soon after taking sam:nya¯sa, Caitanya went to the
Ratner, Robert J. “Cain and Abel, and the Problem of Paradox.”
Jaganna¯th (Kr:s:n:a) deity (i.e., sacred image) in his great tem-
Journal of Reform Judaism 37 (1990): 9–20.
ple at Puri in Orissa. For several years, he traveled intermit-
tently throughout India meeting adherents of diverse reli-
MICHAEL FISHBANE (1987)
Revised Bibliography
gious orientations—appealing all the while for devotion to
Kr:s:n:a. His longest journey was through South India, toward
the beginning of which he met Ra¯ma¯nanda Ra¯ya, whose
spiritual sensibilities were remarkably akin to his own. It was
CAITANYA. For half a millennium, Caitanya has been
Ra¯ma¯nanda who first declared Caitanya to be not simply
revered by millions of Hindus, especially in eastern India, as
Kr:s:n:a, but Kr:s:n:a combined with Ra¯dha¯. A subsequent jour-
a unique human manifestation of the divine Kr:s:n:a. He is un-
ney toward the Vraja region—locale of Mathura and Vrin-
derstood to be Kr:s:n:a come to bestow devotion (bhakti) and
davan—via Bengal was cut short after Caitanya began at-
salvation (uddha¯ra/nista¯ra) upon even the lowliest of per-
tracting large crowds. Caitanya subsequently did make the
sons, while combining in himself the fair complexion and de-
much-desired journey to Vraja via wooded tracts of Orissa,
votional sentiments of Ra¯dha¯, his divine mistress. Caitanya
where he spread devotion to Kr:s:n:a among tribal peoples.
is a popular shortened form of Kr:s:n:a-Caitanya (whose con-
While in Vraja, he visited traditional sites of Kr:s:n:a’s birth,
sciousness is of Kr:s:n:a), the religious name taken at his ascetic
childhood, and youthful pastimes (l¯ıla¯s), and is said to have
initiation (sam:nya¯sa) by Vi´svambhara Mi´sra (1486–1533),
discovered still other sites.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1346
CAITANYA
From 1516 Caitanya remained at Puri, where he wor-
individual souls), and bhagava¯n (ultimate conscious reality,
shiped Jaganna¯tha, engaged in his private devotions, and
personal and possessed of all auspicious forms and qualities,
counseled disciples. The latter included prominent devotees
encompassing and surpassing brahman and parama¯tman).
from Bengal who would make an annual pilgrimage for the
Kr:s:n:a is understood to be the quintessential bhagava¯n
Jaganna¯tha Chariot Festival (ratha ya¯tra¯) in June and remain
(“Kr:s:n:as tu svayam Bhagava¯n”; Bha¯gavata Pura¯n:a 1:3:28).
with Caitanya for the duration of the rainy season. In his
later years, Caitanya underwent intense and prolonged devo-
Human souls (j¯ıvas) are minute emanations, paradoxi-
tional states, often turbulent and ecstatic, pained by the sense
cally different and yet not different (acintyabheda¯bheda) from
of separation (viraha) from Kr:s:n:a. Among those who cared
their divine source. A soul undergoes rebirth unless and until
for him during these tormented years was Svaru¯pa
by divine mercy (kr:pa¯) it realizes its true nature as devoted
Da¯modara, whose “notes” (kad:aca¯), based on his intimate
servant of Kr:s:n:a. In the present degenerate age, Kr:s:n:a ap-
observations of and communication with Caitanya, had a
pears in the merciful guise of Caitanya to promulgate a sim-
crucial role in shaping the Vais:n:ava theology being devel-
pler, universally accessible religious norm for the age, namely
oped by the Gosva¯mins (pastors) whom Caitanya had earlier
loving devotion to himself, evoked and expressed best
directed to settle in and around Vrindavan. There is no con-
through chanting his names (na¯mak¯ırtana). In principle, all
firmed report of the circumstances of his death/
persons, and especially such disfavored classes as women,
disappearance at Puri in the month of A¯s:a¯r:h (possibly July
´su¯dras, and sinners, are eligible for bhakti, by which they may
9) in 1533. But one early biographer, Jaya¯nanda, mentions
be delivered from bondage to spiritual ignorance (avidya¯), sin
an injury that became septic. Vais:n:ava tradition affirms his
(pa¯pa), and rebirth (sam:sa¯ra). Devout souls may imitate the
merging with the Jaganna¯tha deity.
roles and sentiments displayed by Kr:s:n:a’s eternal compan-
ions: his servants, parents, friends, and lovers, who are de-
There are several extant accounts in Sanskrit and in
picted in the Bha¯gavata Pura¯n:a and other Vais:n:ava texts.
Bengali of Caitanya’s life and mission composed within
The goal of human life is to enter into eternal communion
eighty years of his passing. The earliest is the Sanskrit
with Kr:s:n:a and his divine and human companions, to partic-
Kr:s:n:a-caitanya-carita¯mr:ta by a childhood friend and adult
ipate with them in his transcendent pastimes, expressive of
disciple, Mura¯ri Gupta. The most informative are
loving devotion.
Vr:nda¯vanada¯sa’s Caitanya-bha¯gavata (c. 1548; in Bengali)
The myriad theological works in Sanskrit by the
and Kr:s:n:ada¯sa Kavira¯ja’s Caitanya-carita¯mr:ta (c. 1612; also
Gosva¯mins whom Caitanya dispatched to Vrindavan include
in Bengali but containing many Sanskrit verses). As re-
commentaries on the Bha¯gavata Pura¯n:a by Sana¯tana (tenth
marked by Edward C. Dimock Jr. and Tony K. Stewart in
canto) and J¯ıva (entire text); the Bhaktirasa¯mr:tasindhu and
their introduction to the former’s definitive translation of
Ujjvala-n¯ılaman:i, two reference anthologies by Ru¯pa
this masterpiece of Caitanya Vais:n:ava literature, “it is far
Gosva¯min illustrating devotional dramatic theory
more than a simple biography; it is a compendium of histori-
(bhakti-rasa-´sa¯stra); inspirational dramas and poems by
cal fact, religious legend, and abstruse theology so complete
Ru¯pa Gosva¯min, Raghuna¯thada¯sa, and others; a liturgical-
and blended in such proportions that it is the definitive work
cum-disciplinary manual, Hari-bhakti-vila¯sa, by Gopa¯la
of the religious group called Vais:n:ava, since the time of Cai-
Bhat:t:a and Sana¯tana; Sana¯tana’s Br:had-bha¯gavata¯mr:ta, a
tanya the most significant single religious group in all of east-
“pilgrim’s progress” of a devout soul in search of ever more
ern India” (1999, p. 3).
favored modes of devotion and ever more intimate self-
Caitanya himself, though he inspired men of great
disclosures of the divine; and the S:at:-sandarbha (or
learning and piety to compose a massive corpus of Sanskrit
Bha¯gavata-sandarbha), a summa of Vais:n:ava theology and
texts, may have left at most eight Sanskrit stanzas, including
philosophy by J¯ıva (based on a prior outline by Gopa¯la
the following (in Dimock’s translation):
Bhat:t:a).
I
He who knows himself as humbler than the grass, who
NFLUENCE. Caitanya and the movement (often called
is more forbearing than a tree, who feels no pride but
Gaud:¯ıya or Bengali Vais:n:ava) of which he was the fervent
gives honor to other men, he should practice always the
catalyst spread devotion to Kr:s:n:a throughout Bengal, Orissa,
Hari-k¯ırtana. (3:20:Sl. 5) He may crush my breasts in
and Vraja and to a lesser extent Assam, with scattered circles
embracing me, a slave to his feet, he may destroy my
of devotees elsewhere in India. Restoration and populariza-
heart by not appearing to me, he may be a libertine
tion of sites sacred to Kr:s:n:a in the Vraja region owed much
wherever he wants, but still he is the lord of my heart,
to the zeal of Caitanya and his disciples. Vernaculars of east-
and there is no other. (3:20:Sl. 10)
ern India, especially Bengali, are far the richer for a host of
THEOLOGY. Caitanya’s conception of God and human-
original sacred biographies and hagiographies plus songs,
kind—as elaborated by the theologians he inspired and guid-
poems, and other Vais:n:ava compositions; and for numerous
ed—is grounded in the Bha¯gavata Pura¯n:a. The divine is un-
vernacular translations and adaptations based on Sanskrit
derstood to have three modes, in order of ascending
texts treating Kr:s:n:a, Caitanya, or Vais:n:ava bhakti. Bengali
ultimacy: brahman (conscious, but undifferentiated ground
culture as a whole, including its non-Vais:n:ava Hindu and
of being), parama¯tman (conscious divine soul indwelling all
even Muslim sectors and as refracted through modern cre-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CAITANYA
1347
ative figures such a Rabindranath Tagore, has been influ-
perceptions of him include: A. K. Majumdar’s Caitanya: His
enced profoundly by the symbolism, ethos, values, and sensi-
Life and Doctrine (Calcutta, 1978), Walther Eidlitz’s
bilities of Caitanya’s humane and emotionally and
Kr:s:n:a-Caitanya: Sein Leben und seine Lehre (Stockholm,
aesthetically refined devotion to God as Kr:s:n:a. Even practi-
1968), Deb Narayan Acharyya’s The Life and Times of
tioners of transgressive Tantric yoga—the hybrid
S´r¯ıkr:s:n:a-Caitanya (Calcutta, 1984), and the less-than-
Vais:n:ava-Sahajiya¯s, many of whom sang Vais:n:ava lyrics—
sympathetic book by Amulyachandra Sen, Itiha¯sera
S´r¯ıcaitanya (Calcutta, 1965). Sixteenth-century accounts
have claimed to share in the heritage of Caitanya.
(besides the Caitanya-carita¯mr:ta) of Caitanya and his disci-
Through the ministering of certain of Caitanya’s mar-
ples available in English translation include the
ried associates (also called Gosva¯mins), notably the egalitari-
Caitanya-candra¯mr:ta of Prabodha¯nanda, translated by Bhak-
an Nitya¯nanda and the more elitist Advaita A¯ca¯rya and their
ti Prajnan Yati Maharaj (3d ed.; Madras, 1978), and several
by Kusakratha Dasa of the Krishna Institute (Los Angeles)
descendants, as well as Vais:n:ava ascetics, the majority of Ben-
and by other devotees. For analysis of the tension between
gali Hindus in the middle castes and considerable numbers
historicity and theology-cum-mythology as reflected in each
in the upper and lower castes had come to identify them-
of the sacred biographies, see Tony K. Stewart’s “The Bio-
selves religiously as Vais:n:ava in the tradition of Caitanya by
graphical Images of Kr:s:n:a Caitanya: A Study in the Percep-
the time of British Indian ethnographic and census reports.
tion of Divinity” (Ph.D. diss., University of Chicago, 1985).
Even so, Caitanya Vais:n:ava prestige was on the wane in
For academic studies of the theological-philosophical tradition
urban Bengal by the late nineteenth century, despite the ef-
stemming from Caitanya, see O. B. L. Kapoor’s The Philoso-
forts of many to revitalize, reform, and modernize the tradi-
phy and Religion of S´r¯ı Caitanya (Delhi, 1978), Sushil Kumar
tion. Notable among these modernizers was Kedarnath
De’s Early History of the Vais:n:ava Faith and Movement in
Datta (Bhaktivinode Thakur, 1838–1914), a deputy magis-
Bengal, 2d ed. (Calcutta, 1961), Radhagovinda Nath’s
trate of ka¯yastha caste. He wrote numerous Vais:n:ava texts,
Gaud:¯ıya Vais:n:ava Dar´san, 6 vols. (Calcutta, 1956–1959),
launched a vigorous revitalization campaign, and sought to
Sudhindra Chandra Chakravarti’s Philosophical Foundation
make traditional Kr:s:n:a-Caitanya bhakti comprehensible to
of Bengal Vais:n:avism (Calcutta, 1969), and Mahanamabrata
his rationalist contemporaries in Calcutta and elsewhere. His
Brahmachari’s Vais:n:ava Veda¯nta: The Philosophy of S´r¯ı J¯ıva
Gosva¯m¯ı (Calcutta, 1974). Modern devotees’ presentations
son, Bimalprasad Datta (Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, 1874–
of Caitanya and the teachings associated with him include
1937), founded the Gaud:¯ıya Mat:h, a pan-Indian network
Sisir Kumar Ghosh [Ghoshe]’s S´r¯ı Amiya Nima¯i Carita,
of monastic communities and temples centered in Calcutta
14th ed., 6 vols. (1907; Calcutta, 1975); Bhakti Vilas
and Sri Mayapur (adjacent to modern Navadvip) and dedi-
Tirtha’s S´r¯ı Chaitanya’s Concept of Theistic Veda¯nta (Madras,
cated to preaching and publishing about Caitanya Vais:n:ava
1964); and A. C. Bhaktivedanta’s The Teachings of Lord
bhakti. One of Bhaktisiddhanta’s disciples, Abhaycaran De
Chaitanya (New York, 1968).
(A. C. Bhaktivedanta, 1896–1977), inaugurated the Interna-
Among well-translated compositions of devotional literature in
tional Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) in New
the Caitanya Vais:n:ava tradition are S´r¯ı Br:had
York in 1966. Its several thousand devotees, mostly non-
Bha¯gavata¯mr:ta of Sana¯tana Gosva¯m¯ı, 2 vols. (Los Angeles,
Indians, currently propagate devotion to Kr:s:n:a-Caitanya
2002–2003), translated by Gop¯ıpara¯nadhana Da¯sa; Mystic
worldwide using modern means of communication com-
Poetry: Ru¯pa Gosva¯min’s Uddhava-Sande´sa and Ham
˙ sadu¯ta
bined with traditional chanting of the “great prayer”
(San Francisco, 1999), translated by Jan Brzezinski; In Praise
(maha¯-mantra): “Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna,
of Krishna: Songs from the Bengali (Garden City, N.Y., 1967;
Krishna, Hare, Hare; Hare Ra¯ma, Hare Ra¯ma, Ra¯ma, Ra¯ma,
reprint, Chicago, 1981), translated by Edward C. Dimock
Jr. and Denise Levertov; and Sukumar Sen’s History of
Hare, Hare.”
Brajabuli Literature (Calcutta, 1935). Donna Marie
Wulff’s Drama as a Mode of Religious Realization: The
SEE ALSO Bengali Religions; International Society for Krish-
Vidagdhama¯dhava of Ru¯pa Gosva¯m¯ı (Chico, Calif., 1984)
na Consciousness; Kr:s:n:a, Kr:s:n:aism; Ra¯dha¯.
and David Haberman’s Acting as a Way of Salvation: A Study
of Ra¯ga¯nuga¯ Bhakti Sa¯dhana (New Delhi, 1988) provide de-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
tailed expositions of how Vais:n:ava religious training
An excellent source in English for studying the life, devotional
(sa¯dhana) draws upon devotional literature and dramatic the-
image, and impact of Caitanya is the Caitanya Carita¯mr:ta of
ory.
Kr:s:n:ada¯sa Kavira¯ja: A Translation and Commentary by Ed-
A remarkably thorough survey of all aspects of the Vais:n:ava tradi-
ward C. Dimock Jr., with an “Introduction” by Dimock and
tion in Bengal from Caitanya’s time through the nineteenth
Tony K. Stewart (Cambridge, Mass., 1999). Valuable analy-
century is Ramakanta Chakrabarty’s Vais:n:avism in Bengal:
ses of the textual sources for Caitanya’s life are Sushil Kumar
1486–1900 (Calcutta, 1985). For Orissa, see Prabhat
De’s Early History of the Vais:n:ava Faith and Movement in
Mukherjee’s History of the Chaitanya Faith in Orissa (New
Bengal, 2d ed. (Calcutta, 1961); Bimanbehari Majumdar’s
Delhi, 1979) and for Vraja, Alan W. Entwistle’s Braj: Centre
S´r¯ıcaitanya-cariter Upa¯da¯n, 2d ed. (Calcutta, 1959); and as-
of Krishna Pilgrimage (Groningen, Germany, 1987). So-
sessments by Radhagovinda Nath in his editions of the
ciocultural implications of the Caitanya movement are exam-
Caitanya-carita¯mr:ta, 6 vols. (Calcutta, 1962–1963) and
ined by Melville T. Kennedy’s The Chaitanya Movement: A
Vr:nda¯vanada¯sa’s Caitanya-bha¯gavata, 6 vols. (Calcutta,
Study of Vaishnavism of Bengal (Calcutta, 1925), Hitesranjan
1966). Other academic studies of Caitanya and his devotees’
Sanyal’s Ba¯n˙la¯ K¯ırtaner Itiha¯s (Calcutta, 1989), and Joseph
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1348
CAKRAS
T. O’Connell’s Religious Movements and Social Structure: The
2003, p. 222). The earliest-known accounts of cakras as
Case of Chaitanya’s Vais:n:avas of Bengal (Shimla, India,
inner circles of energy actually come from an eighth-century
1993). For the Vais:n:ava-Sahajiya¯ phenomenon, see Edward
Buddhist text, the Hevajra Tantra, which identifies four
C. Dimock Jr.’s The Place of the Hidden Moon: Erotic Mysti-
cakras in the body at the navel, heart, throat, and head re-
cism in the Vais:n:ava-Sahajiya¯ Cult of Bengal (Chicago, 1966).
spectively. These cakras are in turn identified with four geo-
Modern developments in the Caitanya tradition in India are
graphical sites (p¯ıit:has) in India regarded as sacred to the
treated in Shukavak N. Dasa’s Hindu Encounter with Moder-
Great Goddess, Devi or S´akti. The classic group of six cakras
nity: Kedarnath Datta Bhaktivinoda, Vaisnava Theologian
(Los Angeles, 1999) and in North America by J. Stillson
emerged slowly; not until the ninth or tenth century, in
Judah’s Hare Krishna and the Counterculture (New York,
works like the Kaulajña¯nanirn:aya, does one find an identifi-
1974).
able system of six energy centers called cakras. Other yogic
traditions, however, added a variety of other cakras, some
JOSEPH T. O’CONNELL (2005)
listing as many as twelve.
According to the well-known sixfold system, the name
and location of the cakras is as follows:
CAKRAS. Literally meaning a circle, wheel, or discus, the
1. the mu¯la¯dha¯ra, located between the anus and the geni-
Sanskrit term cakra plays a key role in both Hindu and Bud-
tals, imagined as a lotus with four petals;
dhist traditions, particularly in their more esoteric Tantric
2. the sva¯dhis:t:ha¯na¯ at the root of the genitals, with six
forms. The term has several uses in various forms of yogic
petals;
and Tantric practice. Thus cakra may refer to the circle of
worship in which a particular ritual is conducted—for exam-
3. the man:ipu¯ra at the navel, with ten petals;
ple, the highly esoteric cakra pu¯ja¯ of Hindu Tantric rituals,
4. the ana¯hata at the heart, with twelve petals;
usually performed in the dead of night in a cremation
5. the vi´suddha at the throat, with sixteen petals;
ground, involving practices that deliberately violate tradi-
tional laws of class distinctions and purity. Cakras may also
6. the a¯jña¯ between the eyebrows, with two petals.
refer to circular diagrams used in meditation and the worship
Above these six lies a seventh and ultimate cakra, the
of such specific deities as the famous S´ri Cakras or S´ri Yantra
sahasra¯ra, imagined as a thousand-petaled lotus that serves
images associated with the goddess Tripura¯sundar¯ı.
as the divine seat of Lord S´iva. Each of the cakras is also in
turn enmeshed in a complex network of correspondences
In Hindu and Buddhist yogic practice, however, cakra
and is identified with a particular color, shape, element, cos-
has a more specific meaning. In these traditions it refers to
mic principle, sacred syllable, and deity.
the spiritual energy centers believed to lie within the human
subtle body (suks:ma ´sar¯ıra). The subtle body in the yogic tra-
The aim of yogic practice is to awaken the divine cre-
dition is the immaterial aspect of the living being that lies
ative energy believed to lie within every human body. This
between its gross physical form and its divine spiritual es-
energy is imagined in the form of a coiled serpent or
sence. This subtle organism is comprised of a complex net-
kun:d:alin¯ı, which represents the microcosmic presence of the
work of arteries (na¯d:¯ıs, usually numbered at seventy-two
divine power (´sakti) of the goddess within each of us. When
thousand), knots (granthis), and energy centers (cakras),
this energy is awakened through meditation, it can be made
which correspond only roughly to the arteries and organs of
to rise upward through the body, where it successively pene-
the physical body. The cakras are often imagined not just as
trates the six cakras and awakens the various powers associat-
wheels but also as lotus blossoms with varying numbers of
ed with each one. Finally, when it reaches the sahasra¯ra cakra
petals and even in some traditions as ponds connected by an
at the crown of the head, the yogi experiences the supreme
internal network of rivers.
union of the divine male and female principles—Lord S´iva
and the Goddess S´akti —within his or her own body.
The most widely known list of cakras in the early twen-
ty-first century is the sixfold system, which identifies six en-
Although the cakras do not exist as physically measur-
ergy centers located along the spinal column from the base
able entities in the material body, they do correspond to par-
of the spine to the eyebrows, with a seventh supreme cakra
ticular psychological states and levels of consciousness. Their
at the crown of the head. This sixfold list, however, is by no
opening in turn leads to “mental transformation and the
means the only or oldest one; it became standardized only
opening of the psyche to hitherto inaccessible levels of con-
after the publication of a translation of one relatively late
sciousness” (Kakar, 1988, p. 187). On the other hand, the
text, the S:at:-cakra-niru¯pan:a, by Sir John George Woodroffe
malfunctioning of the cakras may also lead to a variety of
in 1919. The historical origin of the cakras as inner centers
mental and physical problems. For example, a disorder in the
of subtle energy is not entirely clear. Some scholars believe
sva¯dhis:t:ha¯na cakra at the base of the genitals can produce de-
that the cakras are derived from circular arrays of powerful
lusion, infatuations, and sexual disturbances among other ills
goddesses who were originally represented externally in tem-
(Kakar, 1998, p. 188).
ples and ritual diagrams but were then gradually internalized
One of the more remarkable figures in modern history
and identified with energy centers within the body (White,
to describe his experience of the cakras was the great Bengali
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CAKRASAMVARA
1349
holy man Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa (1836–1886). Ac-
CAKRASAMVARA. The term Cakrasamvara, “the
cording to Ramakrishna, the lower three cakras associated
binding of the wheels,” designates both a Buddhist scripture
with the anus, the sexual organs, and the navel correspond
and also the man:d:ala that it describes, which is the abode
primarily to the instinctual levels of consciousness, namely
of a host of deities centering around the divine couple
greed and desire. The higher cakras, however, relate to the
S´r¯ıheruka and Vajrava¯ra¯hi. The text, the Cakrasamvara Tan-
transcendent states of consciousness found in the heart, in
tra, is also known as the S´riheruka-abhidha¯na (The discourse
mystical experience, and finally in “complete absorption in
of S´r¯ıheruka) and the Laghusamvara (Samvara light), a name
the mystic-erotic union of S´iva and S´akti” (Kripal, 1988,
it earned because it is a short text of approximately seven
p. 44). As Ramakrishna described the awakening of the high-
hundred Sanskrit stanzas. It was composed in India during
est cakra, it is a state of pure ecstatic annihilation in union
the mid-to-late eighth century, and it quickly became one of
with the divine: “When the kun:d:alin¯ı comes here there is
the most important Indian Buddhist Tantras, as evidenced
Sama¯dhi [meditative absorption]. In this sahasra¯ra, S´iva, full
by the large number of commentaries and associated ritual
of sat [Being] cit [Consciousness] and a¯nanda [Bliss], resides
literature that it inspired. Like most Tantras, it is primarily
in union with S´akti . . . . In Sama¯dhi nothing external re-
a ritual text, dedicating most of its fifty-one chapters to the
mains. One cannot even take care of his body any more; if
description of rites such as the production of the man:d:ala
milk is put into his mouth, he does not swallow. If he re-
and the consecration ceremonies performed within it, as well
mains for twenty-one days in this condition, he is dead” (Di-
as various other ritual actions such as homa fire sacrifices, en-
mock, 1966, p. 178). For Ramakrishna then, the awakening
chantment with mantras, and so forth. It is a rather cryptic
of the seven cakras suggests that there is no rigid separation
text, one which never gives sufficient information for the
of the physical and spiritual or the sexual and transcendent
performance of these rituals and that often obscures crucial
dimensions of consciousness. Rather, the higher and lower
elements, particularly the mantras, which the text typically
cakras lie on a continuum in which “mystical union and sex-
present in reverse order or in codes via an elaborate scheme
ual experience are different wavelengths of the same energetic
in which both the vowels and consonants are coded by
spectrum” (Kripal, 1998, pp. 45–46). Through the tech-
number.
niques of yoga and meditation, sexual energy itself can be
transformed into mystical experience, greed and desire into
The Cakrasamvara Tantra is classified by Buddhists as
spiritual ecstasy.
a Yogin¯ı or Mother Tantra, a designation that reflects the
focus of the text upon female deities, who constitute a signifi-
In the early twenty-first century the cakras and tech-
cant majority of the deities in the tradition’s main man:d:ala.
niques of awakening them are found not only in esoteric
It also reflects a focus on practices that, in a Buddhist monas-
Tantric traditions but are also more widely dispersed
throughout other Indian yogic practices. They have also
tic context at least, were deemed transgressive, such as sexual
made their way to the West and are now a regular feature
yogic practices as well as animal sacrifice and apparently even
in much of New Age and other alternative forms of spirituali-
anthropophagy. Another characteristic of texts of this genre
ty across Europe and the United States.
is an influence from non-Buddhist, particularly S´aiva,
sources, as is most notable in the appearances of the deities
SEE ALSO Kun:d:alin¯ı; Man:d:alas, article on Hindu Man:d:alas;
themselves, who are quite similar to fierce Hindu deities such
New Age Movement; Ramakrishna; Tantrism, overview arti-
as Bhairava and Ka¯l¯ı. This reflects the complex origins of the
cle; Yantra; Yoga.
text, which probably was inspired by teachings and practices
of the loosely organized groups of “accomplished ones” (sidd-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
ha), male and female practitioners of yoga who, generally
For good discussions of the cakras and their historical develop-
speaking, do not seem to have had strongly defined religious
ment, see David Gordon White, The Alchemical Body: Sidd-
identities. Their teachings, and the texts derived from them,
ha Traditions in Medieval India (Chicago, 1996), and Kiss of
seem to have been an important influence on the develop-
the Yogin¯ı: “Tantric Sex” in Its South Asian Contexts (Chicago,
ment of both Buddhist and Hindu Tantric traditions. The
2003). The classic description of the sixfold system is Sir
John George Woodroffe, trans., The Serpent Power, Being the
Cakrasamvara Tantra was particularly influenced by quasi-
S:at:-cakra-niru¯pan:a and Pa¯duka¯-pañcaka (London, 1919).
heretical S´aiva groups such as the Ka¯pa¯likas, who were infa-
On Ramakrishna’s description of the cakras, see Jeffrey J.
mous for their transgressive practices, that is, their employ-
Kripal, Ka¯l¯ı’s Child: The Mystical and the Erotic in the Life
ment of violence, meat eating, intoxicants, and sexuality as
and Teachings of Ramakrishna (Chicago, 1998); and Edward
key elements of their spiritual practice.
C. Dimock, The Place of the Hidden Moon: Erotic Mysticism
in the Vais:n:ava-Sahajiya¯ Cult of Bengal (Chicago, 1966). For
According to the myths constructed to account for the
an interesting psychological interpretation of the cakras, see
origin of the Cakrasamvara tradition, the undeniable similar-
Sudhir Kakar, Shamans, Mystics, and Doctors: A Psychological
ity between the Cakrasamvara deities and practices and those
Inquiry into India and Its Healing Traditions (New York,
of their S´aiva competitors is not accidental, but a direct result
1982).
of the “historical” revelation of the tradition. While there are
ANDRÉ PADOUX (1987)
several versions of the myth, all agree that this revelation was
HUGH B. URBAN (2005)
triggered by the takeover by S´aiva deities of twenty-four sa-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1350
CAKRAVARTIN
cred sites scattered across the Indian subcontinent. There,
translation of the Cakrasamvara Tantra itself, but of several
they engaged in transgressive practices such as wanton sexu-
related ritual texts.
ality and sacrifice of living beings. In order to put an end to
Huber, Toni. The Cult of Pure Crystal Mountain: Popular Pilgrim-
their “misbehavior,” the cosmic Buddha Maha¯vajradhara,
age and Visionary Landscape in Southeast Tibet. Oxford,
along with his retinue, assumed the appearance of these S´aiva
1999. A detailed study of an important Tibetan Cakrasam-
deities and then subdued them, in the process transforming
vara pilgrimage place.
the Indian subcontinent into the Cakrasamvara man:d:ala.
Huntington, John, and Dina Bangdel. The Circle of Bliss: Buddhist
This myth reflects the mixed origins of the tradition and ex-
Meditational Art. Chicago, 2003. A detailed study of Cakra-
presses a Buddhist awareness that one of their more impor-
samvara art and iconography.
tant textual and ritual traditions shared more than superficial
Mullin, Glenn. Tsongkhapa’s Six Yogas of Naropa. Ithaca, N.Y.,
similarity with those upheld by rival Hindu groups.
1996. A translation of Tsongkhapa’s commentary on a tradi-
By far the most important ritual element of the Cakra-
tion of yoga closely associated with the Cakrasamvara.
samvara tradition is its man:d:ala. It is called the Three
Shaw, Miranda. Passionate Enlightenment: Women in Tantric Bud-
Wheeled, or tricakra, because its primary structural element
dhism. Princeton, N.J., 1994. A study of the role of women
is three wheels or concentric circles that are correlated both
in Buddhist Yogin¯ı Tantra traditions.
to the Triple World, or trailokya, of ancient Indian cosmolo-
gy (that is, the heavens, earth, and underworlds) and to the
DAVID B. GRAY (2005)
three Buddhist psychophysical realms of body, speech, and
mind. At the center of man:d:ala, in a palace atop the cosmic
mountain, is S´r¯ıheruka and Vajrava¯ra¯h¯ı in sexual embrace,
CAKRAVARTIN is a Sanskrit noun referring to an ideal
surrounded by the Four Essence Yogin¯ıs, Da¯kin¯ı, La¯ma¯,
universal king who rules ethically and benevolently over the
Khan:d:aroha¯ and Ru¯pin:¯ı. They are in turn surrounded by
entire world. Derived from the Sanskrit cakra, “wheel,” and
the Three Wheels, three concentric Mind, Speech, and Body
vartin, “one who turns,” the term cakravartin (Pali, cakkavat-
wheels, each of which has eight pairs of deities in sexual em-
ti) in classical Hindu texts signifies that all-powerful mon-
brace, for a total of twenty-four couples, corresponding to
arch “whose chariot wheels turn freely” or “whose travels are
the sacred sites. At the periphery of the wheels are eight fierce
unobstructed.” Such a ruler’s unsurpassed and virtuous rule
goddesses, who guard the man:d:ala’s gates and corners. This
is described as sarvabhauma; it pertains to all creatures every-
brings the total number of deities to sixty-two, thirty-seven
where. Buddhist and Jain literatures describe their enlight-
of which are female. Lastly, artistic depictions of the man:d:ala
ened founders (the Buddha or Buddhas and the t¯ırthan˙karas,
usually show it as surrounded by the “eight great charnel
respectively) in similar terms, the notion being that religious
grounds,” inhabited by fearsome beasts and evil spirits.
truth transcends local or national limitations and applies to
This man:d:ala has been deployed in several important
all people everywhere. This idea is particularly evident in
ways. It has been remapped across the Kathmandu Valley
Buddhist oral and scriptural traditions, which frequently
and Tibet, where many of the sites associated with the
refer to Gautama as a cakrava¯la cakravartin, an illuminator
man:d:ala continue to be important pilgrimage places. Addi-
of dharma (life in adherence to compassionate truth) in all
tionally, it is also mapped onto the human body, with the
regions of the world. From the symbol of the turning wheel,
pilgrimage sites and associated deities linked to various parts
a sign of universal sovereignty, comes the description of the
of of the body. In the contemplative “body man:d:ala” prac-
Buddha as dharmacakrapravartayati, “he who sets the wheel
tice, the adept visualizes the man:d:ala within her or his body,
of law in motion,” and thus the name of his first sermon,
which is seen as a microcosmic version of the universe in its
Dharmacakrapravartana Su¯tra (Pali, Dhammacakkappavat-
ideal form, as the pure abode of the man:d:ala deities. These
tana Sutta; The su¯tra on the turning forth of the wheel of
practices helped ensure the successful transmission of the
dharma), in which the Buddha presents his insights into the
Cakrasamvara tradition to Nepal, Tibet, and Mongolia,
Four Noble Truths. After his death in 480 BCE, Gautama’s
where it is still practiced today.
followers cremated his body and enshrined his relics in a
stupa, just as they would have done with a universal mon-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
arch.
Davidson, Ronald. “Reflections on the Mahe´svara Subjugation
HISTORY OF THE CAKRAVARTIN AS AN IMPERIAL IDEAL. The
Myth: Indic Materials, Sa-skya-pa Apologetics, and the Birth
general South Asian notion that the king was to have exten-
of Heruka.” Journal of the International Association of Bud-
dhist Studies 14, no. 2 (1991): 197–235. An analysis of Bud-
sive rule dates at least as far back as the high Vedic era (1200–
dhist myths of the conversion of Hindu deities.
800 BCE) and possibly to the centuries preceding. The Vedic
Davidson, Ronald. Indian Esoteric Buddhism. New York, 2002.
ritual coronation of the king (Ra¯jasu¯ya), for example, was
An overview of the history of esoteric Buddhism in India,
preceded by a ceremony in which a wild stallion was left to
with a useful discussion of the Cakrasamvara sacred sites and
wander at will throughout the land for an entire year, at
their relation to rival Hindu groups.
which time it was sacrificed in the important rite known as
Dawa-Samdup, Kazi, ed. S´ri-Cakra´samvara-Tantra: A Buddhist
the A´svamedha, and all of the territory it had covered in that
Tantra. Calcutta, 1919; reprint, New Delhi, 1987. Not a
year was held to be the king’s domain. The actual term cakra-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CAKRAVARTIN
1351
vartin was known in the late fifth and early fourth centuries
the cakrava¯la cakravartin with which the Buddha’s religious
BCE by the compilers of the Maitri Upanis:ad, who used the
supremacy is compared.
noun when listing the names of several kings who had re-
RELIGIOUS DIMENSIONS OF THE CAKRAVARTIN IDEAL. The
nounced their royal prerogatives in favor of the life of ascetic
source of the image of the king as a cakravartin is not to be
contemplation (Maitri Upanis:ad 1.4).
found, however, in its political history. Rather, it is the pow-
Direct discussions of the cakravartin as an imperial ideal
erful and evocative South Asian mythic and religious themes
appear as early as Kaut:ilya’s Artha S´a¯stra (c. 300
regarding the cakravartin with which various kings identi-
BCE), a court
manual of polity, diplomacy, economy, and social behavior.
fied. According to South Asian sovereign myths (many of
In his descriptions of the range of an emperor’s influence
which suggest a solar origin), the cakravartin—here, a para-
(cakravarti-k´setra), Kaut:ilya notes that the king should un-
digmatic figure—while deep in meditation sees a peaceful
dertake any task he feels will bring him and his people pros-
and pleasantly glowing wheel (cakra) turning slowly in the
perity and that he should have power “from the Himalayas
sky above him. Knowing this wheel to be a call to unify all
to the ocean.” Kaut:ilya may have had in mind the prestige
peoples, the king leads his armies out in all directions to the
and hopes of the first Mauryan king, Candragupta, who
farthest horizons, all the way to the universal ring of moun-
reigned from about 321 to 297
tains (cakrava¯la) that lie beyond the oceans and that mark
BCE and whom Kaut:ilya re-
portedly served as chief minister. Candragupta was perhaps
the final edge of the concentric world. Guided by the celestial
the first ruler to unify all of the lands from the shores of
wheel, and borne upon the atmosphere by flying white ele-
the southern tip of India to the Himalayas in the north and
phants and horses, he ends all strife and suffering as he brings
the Kabul Valley in the northwest. Edicts and other lessons
all people everywhere under his virtuous rule. Thus,
inscribed on pillars and cliffs describe the last Mauryan king,
cakrava¯lacakravart¯ı cakram vartayati: the universal monarch
A´soka (d. 238
turns the wheel of righteousness throughout the whole
BCE?) as a cakravartin under whose patronage
the Buddhist Dharma spread throughout South and South-
world.
east Asia. Chroniclers in the courts of the S´a¯tava¯hana emper-
The mythic cakravartin, therefore, was a ruler in whose
ors (first to second centuries CE) similarly defined their king-
virtue and strength all people, regardless of their homeland,
doms as that world extending from the eastern, southern,
could find guidance. He was a pacifying leader whose power
and western oceans to the mountains. The Guptas, too,
was embodied in his unifying skills. Hence it may be no co-
viewed themselves as the rulers of empires. Skandha Gupta
incidence that the religious traditions in which the cakravar-
I, who reigned from 455 to 467 CE, for example, is depicted
tin is given the most prestige revolve around the ideologies
in the Janagadh inscriptions (dated mid-fifth century CE) as
and aspirations of the ks:atriya class of Indian society, that
a leader whose rule was the entire earth bounded by the four
group who were to protect society, serve as its soldiers, rule
oceans and within which thrive several smaller countries.
its courts, and sit on its thrones. For some ks:atriya communi-
The Western Ca¯l:lukyas (sixth to eighth and tenth to twelfth
ties, as, for example, those represented by the epics
centuries) described themselves as the emperors of the lands
Maha¯bha¯rata and Ra¯ma¯ya¯n:a (c. 300 CE), the most appropri-
between the three seas, while the Vijayanagara rulers (four-
ate person to become a universal monarch was somebody
teenth to seventeenth centuries) labeled themselves the mas-
who already was a king, someone who could extend his rule
ters of the eastern, western, southern, and northern seas.
through martial and diplomatic skill.
Thus the South Asian political imagination up to the
Even for some ks:atriya traditions, however, the true
seventeenth century generally included the ideal of a unified
cakravartin renounces the political life of the secular king and
rule, and various kings have identified themselves as univer-
guides the people through the power of his spiritual virtue.
sal monarchs: hence the common royal titles samra¯j
Such is the case for the early Jain and, particularly, Buddhist
(“supreme monarch,” i.e., the one who rules over all princes
communities, whose histories of their founders suggest the
and principalities), ra¯ja¯dhira¯ja (“king above kings”), ekara¯ja
notion that to them religious truth is more powerful and uni-
(“the only king”), parama-bhat:t:a¯rka (“most venerable lord”),
versal than political prestige. According to both Jain and
disampati (“lord of the lands”), and digvijayin (“conqueror
Buddhist literatures, both Vardhama¯na Maha¯v¯ıra (the most
of the regions”).
recent of the twenty-four Jain t¯ırtham:karas) and Siddha¯rtha
Gautama (the Buddha) were born into powerful royal fami-
Buddhist and Jain literatures have distinguished three
lies, both displayed the characteristic physical signs of a
types of cakravartin. A prade´sa cakravartin is a monarch who
maha¯purus:a (“great man”), and thus were certain to become
leads the people of a specific region and may be thought of
secular cakravartins. Both traditions further maintain that
as a local king. A dv¯ıipa cakravartin governs all of the people
their founders, however, chose not to enjoy the political
of any one of the four continents (dv¯ıipas, literally “islands”)
power and privileges incumbent on the universal monarch
posited by ancient Indian cosmologies and is, accordingly,
but, rather, to seek understanding of the deepest dimensions
more powerful in the secular realm than the prade´sa cakra-
of existence itself and—especially in the case of the Bud-
vartin. Superior even to a dv¯ıipa cakravartin, however, is the
dha—to teach that understanding to all.
cakrava¯la cakravartin, the monarch who rules over all of the
continents of the world. It is the political paramountcy of
SEE ALSO Kingship, article on Kingship in East Asia.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1352
CALENDARS: AN OVERVIEW
BIBLIOGRAPHY
scriptions are not satisfactorily situated against the back-
Readers interested in the history of imperial rule in India may con-
ground of the cultures in question, but are treated as if they
sult any of a number of good works on the history of India.
are solely concerned with chronology and astronomy.
A good, if relatively short, reference is An Advanced History
of India (London, 1948), by Ramesh Chandra Majumdar
The sacral aspect of the question has, however, been dis-
and others. For more thorough studies by various respected
cussed in the subsequent scientific literature, in which the
historians, see The History and Culture of the Indian People,
specialists are divided into two opposing camps: those who
11 vols., under the general editorship of Ramesh Chandra
believe the calendar originated as a secular phenomenon
Majumdar (Bombay, 1951–1969): see especially volume 2,
purely utilitarian in its purposes (a view accepted by the ma-
The Age of Imperial Unity; volume 3, The Classical Age,
jority of scholars), and those who believe it was originally a
pp. 1–360; volume 4, The Age of the Imperial Kanauj; and
religious institution (Ernst Cassirer, Martin P. Nilsson,
volume 5, The Struggle for Empire. A more impressionistic
Henri Hubert and Marcel Mauss, Gerardus van der Leeuw,
depiction of the cakravartin ideal is found in Heinrich Zim-
Mircea Eliade, and others). Less common are harmonizing
mer’s Philosophies of India, edited by Joseph Campbell, “Bol-
lingen Foundation Series,” no. 26 (1951; reprint, Princeton,
positions such as that of Bronislaw Malinowski, who in an
1969), pp. 127–139. Finally, for an example of the cakravar-
article on the calendar of the Trobriand Islanders (Journal of
tin ideal as expressed in religious myth, see Frank E. Rey-
the Anthropological Institute 57, 1927, pp. 203ff.), viewed
nolds and Mani Reynolds’s translation of a Thai Buddhist
systems for computing time as meeting both practical and
text, Three Worlds according to King Ruang (Berkeley, 1982),
sacral demands.
pp. 135–172.
Disagreement on the subject has been largely overcome
New Sources
since the publication of such works as Eliade’s Cosmos and
Bartholomeusz, Tessa J. “In Defense of Dharma: Just-war Ideolo-
History: The Myth of the Eternal Return (New York, 1954)
gy in Buddhist Sri Lanka.” Journal of Buddhist Ethics 6
and Angelo Brelich’s Introduzione allo studio dei calendari fes-
(1999).
tivi (Rome, 1955). The reality of periodicity in the world;
Collins, Steven. “The Lion’s Roar on the Wheel-Turning King:
the religious importance of this periodicity in helping to
A Response to Andrew Huxley’s ‘The Buddha and the Social
overcome the crisis that is coextensive with human existence
Contract.’” Journal of Indian Philosophy 24 (1996): 421–446.
(the duration of which is irreversible) by establishing fre-
Daalen, Leendert A van. “Zum Thema und zur Struktur von Vak-
quent contact with the sacred time proper to the feast or fes-
patis Gaudavaha: der Held als cakravartin.” Deutscher Orien-
tival (which is outside of ongoing duration); the parallelism
talistierung 8 (1994): 282–294.
between natural and sacral periodicity, both of which have
Harvey, Peter. An Introduction to Buddhist Ethics: Foundations,
as a constant a continual renewal in the same forms, so that
Values, and Issues. New York, 2000.
in even the most diverse civilizations the sacral periodicity
Huxley, Andrew. “The Buddha and the Social Contract.” Journal
provides an effective means of keeping a timely eye on the
of Indian Philosophy 24 (1996): 407–420.
natural periodicity—all these ideas are now well established
W
in our discipline. As a result, any modern work on any aspect
ILLIAM K. MAHONY (1987)
Revised Bibliography
of the vast complex of problems raised by calendars must
nowadays start with the acceptance of a concept that proves
to be constant across the most varied cultural contexts and
the most diverse calendrical forms and manifestations, name-
CALENDARS
ly, that time is of interest not in and of itself and as a simple
This entry consists of the following articles:
fact of nature, but only as a dimension of life that can be sub-
AN OVERVIEW
mitted to cultural control.
MESOAMERICAN CALENDARS
SOUTH AMERICAN CALENDARS
Such control is very difficult to exercise over something
abstract, especially in social contexts still far from possessing
CALENDARS: AN OVERVIEW
even rudimentary astronomical knowledge. Nevertheless, by
making use of a procedure now familiar to historians of reli-
The absence of a historical dimension and the scant attention
gion, the various civilizations managed to gain this kind of
paid to the religious aspect of the question are the most nota-
control. They did so especially by concretizing time, whether
ble limitations of the specialized literature on calendars dur-
this be understood in absolute terms or in relation to the var-
ing the nineteenth century and into the first decade of the
ious measurements (hours, days, months, years, etc.) that
twentieth century. Thus, such monumental works as L.
were gradually imposed on time, depending on the culture
Ideler’s Handbuch der mathematischen und technischen
in question.
Chronologie (Berlin, 1825–1826), F. Ginzel’s work of the
same title (Leipzig, 1906–1911), and even the entry “Calen-
Mythology makes clear how the chronological dimen-
dars” in James Hastings’s Encyclopaedia of Religion and Eth-
sion (especially if limited to the distinction and alternation
ics, vol. 3 (Edinburgh, 1910), although they provide indis-
of the light and dark times of the day, or to the lunar phases,
pensable information, amount to little more than
which are harmoniously ordered within the arc of the
unconnected descriptions of various calendars. These de-
month) can acquire such a material form in the minds of the
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CALENDARS: AN OVERVIEW
1353
peoples under study that it becomes the subject of stories
ing the stars, did not merely give material form to that which
without causing the least disturbance in the civilizations in-
in and of itself would be simply the calculation of solstices
volved. It is told, for instance, that time was wrapped in
and equinoxes; he also carried this materialization to a higher
leaves (the Sulka of New Britain); enclosed in a bag (the Mic-
level by developing a calendar that was primarily a means of
mac of Nova Scotia); kept in a box (the Tlingit of the U.S.
binding the heavenly corps in its otherwise incoherent and
Northwest Coast) or a trunk (the Hausa of the Sudan) and
unusable movements. (But note, too, among the Aztecs, the
later taken out; extracted from the wattles of a fowl (the
“knot of years,” or xiuhmolpilli, a great cycle of fifty-two solar
Nandi of northeastern Africa); hidden and found (the Pomo
revolutions subdivided into four periods of thirteen years
of California); hung up (the northern Paiute of Nevada);
that were described as “knotted together,” thalpilli.) The
hoisted up to heaven (the Pomo; the Aleut of Alaska);
magistrate in ancient Rome who was in charge of the ritual
pierced by arrows (the Caddo of eastern Texas); or cut up
hammering in of the clavus annalis (“nail of the year”) on the
with an obsidian knife (natives of Mota in Melanesia). In
Ides of September (which was New Year’s Day in one of the
each case, time is looked upon not only as something very
many Roman calendrical systems) thereby not only turned
concrete but also and especially as something capable of
time from an abstraction into something that could be
being handled at will.
pinned down but also compelled it to remain, from one Sep-
tember to the next, within the limits of the solar year.
Meanwhile the concrete treatment of time was strength-
ening this tendency toward materialization of the chronolog-
It is possible to view in a similar perspective those who,
ical sphere, for the latter was being treated in such a way as
in civilizations already familiar with writing, either ideally or
to acquire an ideal spatial coherence. As a macroscopic exam-
in actual fact superintended the compilation of calendars,
ple, one can cite the persistent attempts to identify time with
and this specifically in the form of inscriptions. In this case
space, both in language and in the calendar, by the primitive
the concretization of time was accomplished either by bind-
cultures of North America—a tendency also found at a
ing the dimension of time to stones and/or metals, which
higher cultural level in the Aztec calendar, and in the Indo-
were moved about or incised to this end, or by imprisoning
European area as well (Müller, 1967). In addition, a real spa-
it in the no less constraining nets of the various graphic
tiotemporal dimension is found in Roman religion, where
forms. Evidence here is the widespread use in the ancient
close, complex, and functional relations are discernible in the
Near East of the alphabet as a calendrical memorandum as
mythological tradition and in cult, as well as in the calendri-
early as the second millennium BCE (Bausani, 1978), as well
cal linking of the two, between time and Terminus (the sym-
as the example, cited above, of the clavus annalis, which in
bol of boundaries and, at the same time, a divinity in charge
early Rome was regarded both as a palpable sign of the year
of the juridical, political, and sacral aspect of territory).
and as a functional “writing” of a chronologico-juridical kind
Moreover, the projection of a cosmic framework on the lay-
at a time when few people could read the symbols of the al-
out of the circus, and this in such a detailed form (with the
phabet.
aid of a rich set of symbols) as to make the circus a universe
in miniature, automatically transformed the chariot races in
The key role played by human beings in these opera-
the arena into the course of the sun through the arc of the
tions whereby time is concretized and straitjacketed (espe-
year.
cially within the compass of, and for the purposes of drafting,
calendrical systems that are more or less developed according
Thus, it can be a rather short step from the concretiza-
to cultural level and social demands) is such that, in case of
tion of time to its material embodiment. The example just
need, the materialization of time can be further specified by
given shows how, while the spectator at the circus (which is
giving it human traits in the true and proper sense. This spec-
assimilated to the vault of heaven) feels himself to be witness-
ification may be limited to introducing into the calendar the
ing the calendrical rotation of the sun, the charioteer is a di-
physiological rhythms of those who are the protagonists of
rect protagonist in this drama as he drives his chariot.
time. This is seen in the assimilation, widespread and found
in the most diverse cultures, of the lunar month of twenty-
Yet the title “protagonist of time” belongs with greater
eight days to the menstrual cycle of the same duration; or
justice to those who, through actions in which it is not easy
in the projection of the period of human gestation (260 days)
to distinguish the sacred and profane dimensions, do not
onto the identical time period of nine lunar revolutions, as
limit themselves to concretizing and materializing time but
in the Aztec tonalamatl or the Numan calendar at Rome.
also embody it in a true calendrical system. Thus the native
who in certain cultures uses knotted cords for computing
But this process of specification can also lead to a more
time does not simply concretize this dimension by pinning
or less concealed identification of a segment of time (located
it down to so many firmly fixed points of its otherwise limit-
within the calendar and thus describable in precise terms)
less and therefore uncontrollable extension but also defines
with a part or belonging of a person who usually enjoyed an
it in a calendrical manner that, though rudimentary, proves
important sociocultural and, in particular, religious status.
functional in relation to the needs of his society. The astron-
Thus, as a result of Islamic influence on the Cham of Cam-
omer in ancient Peru, who used stone columns called “tools
bodia, to give but one example, the first three days of every
for knotting the sun” (inti-huatana) as a position for observ-
lunar cycle are assimilated to the three favorite wives 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
1354
CALENDARS: AN OVERVIEW
Muh:ammad, and every year of the twelve-year cycle is equat-
of monarchic rule, which was constantly assimilated to the
ed with one of the Prophet’s members.
negativity of the period of origins, in order to make way for
a republic was traditionally dated by the Romans on the very
Finally, this process can even find expression in a per-
day, February 24, on which the intercalation usually began.
sonification of time in its various parts. Thus in Achaemenid
Iran the retinue of the magi seems to have usually comprised
A negative proof pointing in the same direction is the
365 young men dressed in red, one for each day of the year,
resistance to and even rejection of intercalation in those civi-
with the color symbolizing the lighted period of the day. At
lizations that most clearly show the assimilation of natural
Rome, on the Ides of March (New Year’s Day, according to
time to sacred time. Such rejection was preferred despite the
one of the many Roman calendrical systems), all the negative
inevitable practical nuisances it entailed—above all, discrep-
aspects of the old year were eliminated through the ritual ex-
ancy with the rhythm of the seasons. Two examples among
pulsion from the city of the mythical carpenter Mamurius
many can be cited. First, in ancient Egypt (which adopted
Veturius.
the practice of intercalation only in the Alexandrian period,
This kind of progressive, and in some cases even parox-
and then not without hindrances) an oath not to intercalate
ysmic, personification of time seems on closer examination
was taken by the pharaoh, who, in his capacity as the future
to be simply an expression of the persistent tendency to re-
Osiris and, therefore, an important participant in the field
create, on several distinct but complementary levels, the tem-
of action proper to the sun god Re, was probably reluctant
poral dimension that is so important at the human level, thus
to intervene in a dimension of reality that was projected in
asserting the priority of the unqualifiedly cultural essence of
its ideal form onto the sacral level. Second, Muh:ammad cate-
time over the mere natural fact of time.
gorically prohibited changing the number of the months,
which “Alla¯h ordained . . . when he created the heavens and
If, on the one hand, this cultural point of reference is
the earth” (su¯rah 9:36 of the QurDa¯n), and which “Alla¯h has
indispensable because it is linked to any latent or open calen-
sanctified” (su¯rah 9:37). Thus the Islamic lunar year, though
drical system, on the other hand such a system, whatever its
without any correspondence to the seasons, has proved sur-
character (heliacal rising of a constellation; blooming of a
prisingly functional for a religion now practiced in varying
species of plant; period of sowing and/or harvesting; migra-
latitudes. Such interventions in the course of time became
tion of animals; etc.), becomes by this very fact a field of ac-
even more drastic in the great calendrical reforms of Julius
tion for the cultural process, which immediately begins to act
Caesar (46 BCE) and Pope Gregory XIII (1582 CE).
therein in the form of well-defined and often massive inter-
ventions. In the case, widespread in both higher and primi-
This kind of attempt to reduce time to a cultural cre-
tive civilizations, of a discrepancy between the lunar and
ation is even more pronounced in those widespread cases in
solar years, for example, the intervention takes the form of
which the most varied means are used to emancipate time
an intercalation that makes up for the difference; in other
from natural phenomena on which calendrical computation
words, a portion of human, cultural time is inserted into the
is usually based and to replace these phenomena with others.
living body of natural time, which is computed on the basis
Thus, the Aztecs chose the duration of human gestation, and
of the revolution of the heavenly bodies.
not the Venusian year to which astronomy bears witness, as
the basis of the tonalamatl; the Egyptians based their calendar
The awareness that the intercalated period is the work
on the rising of Sirius (Sothis), “the second sun in the heav-
of man, and the conviction that, as such, it merits a privi-
ens,” and not on the true sun; while, in the most diverse
leged position are made manifest at various levels. This is
primitive cultures, it is the periodic return of the ancestors,
seen in the view that the year, having been thus manipulated,
regarded as dispensers of foodstuffs, and not the particular
is now complete as compared with nature’s presumably de-
seasonal moment that gives a specific economic meaning to
fective version of it, whence the designation—prevalent
the great New Year festival. Comparable motivations proba-
among various primitive peoples, but also found in Mesopo-
bly explain the otherwise incomprehensible perseverance, on
tamia, Rome, and China—of the year or month as “full” or
the part of the most varied types of civilization, in adopting
“empty.” It is seen too in the systematic insertion of such in-
lunisolar calendars and continuing to use them right down
tercalated periods immediately after moments in the calendar
to the present day, despite such problems as the discrepancy
that sanctioned human control over the world of nature: at
between festive complex and seasonal moment, the conse-
Rome, for example, the intercalation came immediately after
quent necessity of intercalating, and so on. It is as though
the celebration of Terminalia, a festival that appealed to
this very difference of a few days or parts of a day represents
mythical time in order to give sacral confirmation to the cul-
a kind of margin of security for man, who thus has leeway
tural definition of space. Further evidence is found in the
to act on natural time instead of passively enduring it.
tendency to locate during the intercalated period those
events that were of capital importance for the particular civi-
This desire to be actors rather than spectators in the de-
lization and that evidently could not be left to the blind and
velopment of calendrical time is even more evident in those
irrational course of nature’s time, precisely because these
systems in which, by highly artificial means, months are es-
events were due in the maximum degree to the human will
tablished whose duration is identical with or superior to the
and creativity. A prime example: the definitive liquidation
lunar month, and in which a short period is set apart and
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CALENDARS: MESOAMERICAN CALENDARS
1355
defined in a special way, independent of the features this pe-
entrusting of calendar reform in China in 1629 to the Jesuits,
riod may assume from time to time in any other culture. By
and the adoption of the Gregorian calendar as the only valid
way of example, we may think of the five “supernumerary”
one for civil purposes by the republican government of
(nemontemi) days that the Aztecs set apart at the end of the
China in 1930; the acceptance by Japan in 1684 of the Chi-
360-day year, considering them to be nefasti (taboo) and un-
nese calendar as reformed by the Jesuits and then in 1873
suited for work of any kind; or, in the Egyptian calendar, of
of the Gregorian calendar; and the adoption of the Gregorian
the epagomenai (“superadded”) days that did not conclude
calendar by Russia after the October Revolution in 1917 and
the old year, as might have been expected, but were a prelude
by various primitive peoples as they gradually accepted the
to the new year, a kind of “little month” directly linked to
lifestyles of the Western civilizations. Finally, there is the ten-
the mythical time in which the gods were born. Similarly,
dency, which practical considerations and economic reasons
in the Zoroastrian religion the “days of the Ga¯tha¯s” were
have made stronger than ever in our day, to create a universal
added to the end of the year; on these days, the celebrants,
and perpetual calendar that is binding on all. Such a calendar
assuming the title of Saoshyant (“rescuers”), participated rit-
would be supremely artificial, since it seeks to be as indepen-
ually as protagonists in the renewal of the world. Along the
dent as possible of natural rhythms, but for that very reason
same line, but at a more advanced level, is the creation of
would transcend the various cultures.
units of time comprising several or more days, months, years,
SEE ALSO Chronology; Sacred Time.
centuries, or even millennia, which apparently, at least, are
independent of the rhythms of nature. Examples include the
very widespread seven-day week (already used in Mesopota-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
mia); the cycles of three days and three, seven, and thirty
The extensive bibliography of scientific writing on the subject has
years among the Celts; the seven-year period, the jubilee, and
been brought together and discussed splendidly by Angelo
Brelich in his Introduzione allo studio dei calendari festivi, 2
the groups of seven-year periods among the Hebrews; the
vols. in 1 (Rome, 1955). The reader is also referred to this
octaet¯eris or eight-year period of the Greeks; the Aztec xiuh-
work for the historico-religious approach to calendrical prob-
molpilli; and the Indian kalpa.
lems. Festive time in relation to the New Year is extensively
discussed and documented in Vittorio Lanternari’s La grande
But perhaps the most radical humanization of the chro-
festa, 2d ed. (Bari, 1976). On the concretization of time at
nological dimension (the one in which the cultural interven-
various levels, compare the following works: Werner Müller’s
tion into nature is the most extensive, and the dependence
“Raum und Zeit in Sprachen und Kalendern Nordamerikas
on nature for the computation of time is reduced to a mini-
und Alteuropas,” Anthropos 57 (1962): 568–590, 68 (1973):
mum that is obscured and even deliberately ignored) is found
156–180, 74 (1979): 443–464, 77 (1982): 533–558; Hugh
in cases in which the historical situation determines and de-
A. Moran and David H. Kelly’s The Alphabet and the Ancient
fines the calendar. We may pass over those restructurings
Calendar Signs, 2d ed. (Palo Alto, Calif., 1969); Alessandro
that are promoted or imposed on time by important politi-
Bausani’s “L’alfabeto come calendario arcaico,” Oriens An-
cians (i.e., the aforementioned Julian reform). In some civili-
tiquus (Rome) 17 (1978): 131–146; J. H. Scharf’s “Time and
zations, the personal name of the ruler was given to the cur-
Language,” Gegenbaurs morphologisches Jahrbuch 128 (1982):
257–289; and Ulrich Köhler’s “Räumliche und zeitliche
rent year (eponymy among the Assyrians and in the classical
Bezugspunkte in mesoamerikanischen Konzepten vom
world, the “regnal name” in prerevolutionary China), or
Mondzyklus,” Indiana 7 (1982): 23–42. Also compare my
events of capital importance led to a complete resystematiza-
Elementi spettacolari nei rituali festivi romani (Rome, 1965);
tion of the calendrical pattern, the beginning, rhythm, and
Terminus: I segni di confine nella religione romana (Rome,
shape of which, though in substance inevitably following tra-
1974); and “La scrittura coercitiva,” Cultura e scuola 85
ditional lines, had to be at least formally determined by the
(1983): 117–124. Raffaele Pettazzoni treats the primitive
new order of things. The prime example here is the French
myths on the origin of time and provides a bibliography in
revolutionary calendar, which, though it started at a particu-
his Miti e leggende, 4 vols. (Turin, 1948–1963). Alexander
lar equinox, numbered 365 days, needed periodic intercala-
Marshak discusses Paleolithic systems of noting time in The
Roots of Civilization: The Cognitive Beginnings of Man’s First
tion, and linked the new names of the months with seasonal
Art, Symbol, and Notation (New York, 1972). While Mar-
motifs, nonetheless presented new features: a beginning
shak’s views are somewhat controversial, they have been
(September 22) that officially coincided not with the autumn
widely discussed.
equinox but with the inauguration of the republic (Septem-
ber 22, 1792); the abolition of the seven-day week in favor
GIULIA PICCALUGA (1987)
Translated from Italian by Matthew J. O’Connell
of the decade or ten-day week; the elimination of feasts; and
the nonetheless festive solemnization of five or six days (sig-
nificantly called sans-culottides) added at the end of the year
as a definitive break with Christian worship.
CALENDARS: MESOAMERICAN CALENDARS
In connection with the historicization of time, one may
In 1555 Bishop Diego de Landa wrote:
also consider such phenomena as the adoption of calendrical
The natives of Yucatan were as attentive to the matters
systems belonging to other civilizations, as, for instance, the
of religion as to those of government and they had a
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CALENDARS: MESOAMERICAN CALENDARS
high priest whom they called Ah Kin (Daykeeper) Mai
Unique in the world, the number 260 served as the base
. . . . He was very much respected by the lords . . .
of practically every Mesoamerican calendar that has survived.
and his sons or nearest relatives succeeded him in office.
Its origin is debatable, but there can be no question that one
In him was the key of their learning . . . . They pro-
of its factors, the number twenty, was derived from the num-
vided priests for the towns when they were needed, ex-
ber of fingers and toes on the body. The other factor, the
amining them in the sciences . . . and they employed
number thirteen, represents the number of layers in the
themselves in the duties of the temples and in teaching
Maya heaven. Beyond this, however, it seems that the human
them their sciences as well as in writing books about
body can be further implicated in the origin of the tzolkin.
them . . . . The sciences which they taught were the
The average duration between human conception and birth
computation of the years, months and days, the festivals
and ceremonies, the administration of the sacraments,
is close to 260 days (on average 266). Modern Maya women
the fateful days and seasons, their methods of devotion
in highland Guatemala still associate this sacred count with
and their prophecies. (Tozzer, 1941, p. 27)
the term of pregnancy. The tzolkin also turns out to be a con-
venient approximation to the length of the basic agricultural
When he wrote those words, Bishop Diego de Landa correct-
season in many areas of southern Mexico, where it probably
ly perceived the extraordinary attention paid time and calen-
originated.
dar by the Maya of Yucatán even several centuries after their
classical heyday. It is likely that these Ah Kin were among
Celestial phenomena are also implicated in establishing
the elite of Maya culture. One eighth-century scribe from the
Mesoamerica’s fundamental time pillar. Nine moons (about
city of Copán received a royal burial. His remains were found
265 days) represent the 9 “bloods” taken away by the moon
elaborately laid out, ink pots, brushes, and all, next to the
from pregnant women to give lives to their newborn. Lunar
ruler he served. Though his trappings seem far more modest
and solar eclipses occur at seasonal intervals commensurate
in comparison to those of his precontact predecessor, the
with the tzolkin in the ratio of 2 to 3 (3 times the “eclipse
modern Maya day keeper is still one of the most important
year” of 173.5 days nearly equals 2 times 260 days). Thus
and highly regarded members of society. Seated at a cardinal-
the ancient astrologer could easily warn of certain days vul-
ly oriented table adorned with bowls of incense and lighted
nerable to the occurrence of an eclipse. The planet Venus,
candles, he arranges piles of seeds and crystals drawn from
the patron star of war in Teotihuacán (the ancient city of
his divining bag in an attempt to “borrow from the days” the
highland Mexico built around 100 BCE), was also revered by
answers to questions posed by his clients: Will I be cured of
the Maya at a time when the New World’s most precise cal-
the disease that plagues me? Will my daughter’s marriage be
endar was being developed. The duration of its appearance
successfully consummated? Will my crop tide the family over
as morning star averages 263 days—again close to a tzolkin.
this year?
And if all these harmonies were not enough, in southernmost
Mesoamerican latitudes the year is divisible into periods of
BASIC CALENDRICAL UNITS. For the Maya a single word,
260 and 105 days by the (2) days in the annual calendar
kin, signified time, day, and sun. In both meaning and
when the sun passes overhead.
glyphic form it suggests that the art of timekeeping was inti-
mately connected with the practice of astronomy. The direc-
Mesoamerican people were further cognizant of the sea-
tions of the petals of the floral design that makes up the kin
sonal year. Abhorring fractions, the Maya measured their
glyph likely correspond to the extreme positions of the sun
year, or haab (Aztec, xiuhmolpilli), at 365 days. They divided
the year into eighteen months, each of which was twenty
along the horizon. Cosmograms also exemplify the space-
days in length, with a concluding five-day month (an un-
related time system employed by most ancient Mesoameri-
lucky period thought to reside outside the year). Eschewing
can cultures. Found on both pre-Columbian and colonial
leap years, ancient Mesoamericans easily kept track of the an-
documents, these diagrams can be thought of as exercises in
niversary of the tropical year within the haab.
temporal completion. For example, page one of the Féjér-
vary-Mayer Codex from highland Mexico consists of a quad-
Cycle building emerges as a central theme of Me-
ripartite glyph in the shape of a Maltese cross. Carefully posi-
soamerican calendrics. The strategy seems to have accumu-
tioned within the symmetric floral design are all the things
lated small cycles to make bigger and bigger ones. One of the
that belong to each of the four sides of space: gods, plants,
larger cycles was the calendar round, a period of 52 years
trees, birds, even parts of the body; moreover the four direc-
consisting of 18,980 days, the lowest common multiple of
tions are color coded. But time is also spatially divided, each
the tzolkin and the haab (52 x 365 = 73 x 260). This time
region of the world being assigned its share of the twenty
loop thus records the interval over which name and number
days of the Aztec week. The so-called year bearers, the names
combinations in both cycles repeat themselves. Perhaps not
of successive New Year’s Days, are placed one at each of the
coincidentally, it is also about equal to the length of a full
tips of the cross. Circumscribing the world is the ultimate
human life. The completion of a calendar round was quite
Mesoamerican number for time: 260 dots, one to each day,
a momentous occasion. Spanish chronicles record that Aztec
arrayed in 20 units of 13. These 260 days make up the Maya
priests timed this “year binding” event by proceeding to a
tzolkin (called by the Aztecs tonalpohualli), a ritual calendar
special place outside ancient Mexico City called the Hill of
known as the “count of the days.”
the Star. There they carefully watched the Pleiades to see
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CALENDARS: MESOAMERICAN CALENDARS
1357
whether they would pass the zenith. If they did, it would be
twentieth century there had been considerable disagreement
a sign from the gods that time would not come to an end.
about just how to do this. According to the most widely ac-
Instead, a new era would be granted to humanity.
cepted scheme, the so-called Goodman-Martinez-
Thompson correlation, the zero point of the most recent
To judge by the archaeological and epigraphic evidence,
starting position of the long count was August 12, 3114 BCE,
Maya mathematics was almost exclusively devoted to day
a date on which astronomers have found no momentous ce-
keeping. About half a millennium before the beginning of
lestial event to have occurred. The next cyclic overturn will
the common era a system of numeration developed in south-
take place on December 8, 2012.
ern Mesoamerica. It probably emanated about 600 BCE from
the region of Monte Albán, Oaxaca, but was not without
CALENDARS AND CREATION. The concept of successive cre-
Olmec antecedents from the Gulf Coast. The Maya em-
ation-destruction cycles is central to understanding Me-
ployed only three symbols to produce numbers written in the
soamerican timekeeping. For example, despite the terrifying
hundreds of millions: a dot was equivalent to one, and a hori-
effigy at its center, the famous Aztec Sun Stone provides a
zontal bar (uniquely Maya) was equivalent to five, whereas
pictorial narrative of a cyclic cosmogony in which people
a variety of symbols represented zero. Each of these symbols
play an active role. Tonatiuh, the sun god, a flint knife de-
likely derived from hand gestures.
picting his lolling tongue, grips the firmament with his claws.
He cries out for the blood of human sacrificial hearts that
Unlike its Western counterpart, the Maya zero repre-
he may keep the world in motion. The four panels that sur-
sented completeness rather than emptiness. Temporally it
round Tonatiuh represent previous ages, or “suns,” as the Az-
was regarded as the moment of completion of a cycle, as in
tecs called them. The first cosmogonic epoch (upper right)
the turning of a chain of nines to zeroes on the odometer of
was the “Sun of Jaguar,” named after the day “4 Jaguar” in
an automobile at the conclusion of a large-distance unit trav-
the 260-day cycle on which it terminated (the head of the
eled. A seashell often represented the Maya zero, perhaps be-
jaguar is surrounded by 4 dots within the panel). During this
cause its roundness was intended to depict the closed, cyclic
epoch the inhabitants of the earth, the result of the gods’ first
nature of time. The grasping hand, which like a knot ties up
try at a creation, were giants who dwelled in caves. But they
or bundles the days and years together into completed pack-
did not till the soil as expected, and so the gods sent jaguars
ages, also serves as a zero in many of the inscriptions. The
to eat them. In the second sun, the “Sun of Wind,” symbol-
dot and bar numerals probably derived from the tips of the
ized by the day “4 Wind” (upper left), another less than per-
fingers and the extended hand respectively. The Maya ex-
fect human race was blown away by the wind. The gods
pressed large time intervals in a notational system utilizing
transformed these creatures into apes that they might better
place values, quite like the Arabic system, which was devel-
cling to the world, an act said to account for the similarity
oped independently in the Middle East after the fall of the
between apes and people. In the third creation, the “Sun of
Roman Empire.
Fire-rain” (the symbol of “4 Rain” is at the lower left), some
STRUCTURING DEEP TIME. Just as it is part of human nature
people were permitted to survive by being transformed into
to cling to life, many societies attempt to extend their power,
birds to escape from the destruction of the world by volcanic
lineage, and legacy. Hierarchically organized societies are in
eruptions. The fourth creation, the “Sun of Water,” depicted
the best position to do this. Often they bureaucratize time,
at the lower right, ended with a flood that followed torrential
giving it a deep structure that goes beyond the immediate
downpours. But this time a transformation from people into
confines of remembered generational experience. The Maya
fish kept the people from perishing entirely. The symbol “4
utilized their mathematical system to create history. They ac-
Water” marks this epoch. The Aztecs believed they existed
cumulated years to make scores of years. Heaping score upon
in the “fifth sun,” of which the symbolic date “4 Movement”
score was a logical extension of their vigesimal (base twenty)
houses the effigy of Tonatiuh and the other four ages. (The
system. The “long count” is a five-digit tally that marks an
four large dots of this day sign’s coefficient are easily recog-
event in lapsed time from the most recent creation. One
nizable on the periphery of the four panels that denote the
finds most long counts carved on stelae dating from 100 BCE
previous suns.) According to most Mesoamerican cosmogon-
to 900 CE. These display the effigy of a ruler, usually in full
ies, the universe was destroyed and re-created anew, each age
regalia, accompanied by a hieroglyphic text that details his
providing an explanatory temporal framework in which to
or her ancestral history, described in terms of the intervals
categorize different forms of life and to relate them to the
between seminal events (birth, accession, conquests, mar-
present human condition.
riage, death). To add depth and historical permanence, the
Two distinct points about Mesoamerican concepts of
dating of these events often seems to have been contrived to
time emerge in such creation stories. First is the oscillating,
fit with repeatable cosmic time markers, such as the reap-
repetitive nature of the events taking place. Previous suns
pearance of Venus as morning star, eclipses, and solstices.
were thought to have been creative ventures that failed to
To obtain the equivalent in the Gregorian calendar of
achieve the necessary delicate balance between gods and peo-
any long count date appearing in the Maya inscriptions, one
ple. Creation time repeats itself, but it is punctuated by peri-
must be able to match with certainty at least one long count
ods of destruction. Second, each present contains a piece of
date with a date in the Gregorian calendar. Until the late
the past. Each attempt at creation tries to account for the
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1358
CALENDARS: MESOAMERICAN CALENDARS
present state of humankind by referring to what remains in
Monuments such as Stela D attribute the completed
the world. Fish and birds are really human kin, the failed
cycle of time to the ruler and his dynasty. Stela D gives time
children from archaic creations. People were not destined to
a name and proclaims it to belong to the ruler, who is as-
dominate them, as Old Testament Genesis requires. Rather,
signed various other titles that connect him to his otherworld
people must revere them, for nature is part of people.
ancestors. The side opposite the numbers leaves no doubt
that it is the ruler who is being exalted. Dates of his accession,
According to the Aztec chronicles, the gods made sacri-
marriage, and victories in battle adorn the glyphic text. So
fices in order to bring about the world in its present condi-
tion. They performed these sacrifices at the ancient pyramids
high is the relief on the monument that the ruler seems al-
of Teotihuacán when, in the aftermath of a struggle among
most to emerge from the cut stone, appearing larger than life,
themselves, one of their number sacrificed himself to the cer-
fully garbed with ritual paraphernalia in hand. He wears an
emonial fire, thus promising to become the first rising sun.
enormous headdress and facial mask, his bloodletting instru-
Such stories have a Darwinian ring to them: life is a struggle
ments draped from his loincloth. Perhaps the ruler himself
filled with key transitory moments. But unlike the Western
once stood before the citizenry in front of his monument
view, theirs was a cosmology with a purpose. Human action,
performing the rite of genital bloodletting with the spine of
in this case blood sacrifice to the gods, was necessary to ex-
a stingray to seal his bond with his ancestors. Here was a
tend the fifth or present epoch. It mediated the balance of
demonstration of the continuity of dynastic rulership that
violent forces that might erupt as they still do in the fragile
also guaranteed the continuity of time.
highland environment. After all since the gods sacrificed
Two seminal qualities of the Maya concept of time from
themselves for people, it is only reasonable that people
the dynastic histories comprise these time capsules wrought
should offer sacrifice as payment of the debt to them.
in stone. First, one has the sense that, whereas the arrow of
CARRYING THE BURDEN OF TIME. Perhaps no monumental
time points toward the future, it is pushed from behind rath-
imagery better expresses the essence of Maya time than Stela
er than tugged forward, a stark contrast to the teleological
D of Copán. This larger than human-size monolith is dedi-
or purposive forward pull of time embedded in the Judeo-
cated to rituals conducted at the juncture of a series of impor-
Christian tradition. Circumstances in the past, even before
tant time cycles. Eight squared-off images carved in high re-
the creation of the world, had set the number gods on their
lief confront the eye at the top of the monument. Each
journey. It was those four events, enacted in the realm of the
depicts a humanoid figure carrying an animal that represents
ancestor gods, that determined the future course of human
a bundle of time. They employ tump lines, common devices
history, the creation of the lineage, the journey of the four
used by modern Maya peasants to carry a load of wood or
founders of modern Maya culture to the right place to build
a sack of citrus by tying one’s pack to a band that presses
the city. Their journey parallels in space the long arduous
tightly about the forehead, thus leaving the arms to swing
track along the road of time undertaken by the number gods
free and perform other tasks. Each porter is a full-figure
who bear their ponderous freight. The Popol Vuh, the sacred
glyph that represents a number. Thus the uppermost figure
book of creation of the Quiché Maya, states that the ancient
in the left block, number nine, is distinguishable by the
word is the potential and the source for all that is done in
markings on his youthful chin. He carries a heavy load of
the present world. “How should it be sown, how should it
baktuns of time, 144,000-day periods consisting of 20 x 20
dawn?” the gods ask themselves as they contemplate the cre-
x 360 days. The old god of number 15, shown in the upper-
ative act (D. Tedlock, 1985, p. 73). Events that took place
most right block, hauls katuns (scores of 360-day periods).
then, by the creators, the founders, the so-called mother-
Fully transliterated, the numbered portion of Stela D reads:
fathers, are responsible for setting time on its course toward
It was after the completion of nine baktuns, fifteen katuns,
the present.
five tuns (360 days), zero uinals (20 days), and zero kin, reck-
oned since creation day, that such-and-such an event took
A second seminal quality of Maya time inherent in the
place. Thus Stela D becomes the resting place of the numbers
monumental inscriptions is more difficult to grasp, especially
at the end of their long journey (lubay in Kekchi Maya), who
when contrasting it with the Western historical view of time,
finally let their burden fall 1,405,800 days (3,849 of our Gre-
which clearly separates human history (arrived at via the tes-
gorian years) after the last creation. Likewise katun prophe-
timony of people) from natural history determined from the
cies from postconquest texts repeatedly refer to time as a bur-
testimony of things, such as events in the sky, in the land-
den: “This is the removal of his burden . . . fire is his burden
scape, signs in plants and animals. Thus events in the history
. . . (In reference to the fifth katun)”; “On the day of the
of the dynasty are directly linked with cosmic events. For ex-
binding of the burden of Lord 5 Ahau.” Writes one chroni-
ample, many of the paramount happenings in the life of 18
cler, “According to what [the Indians] say [these four first
Rabbit (called Waxaklahun-Ubah-K’awil in modern orthog-
days] are those which take the road and bear the load of the
raphies), the name of the ruler depicted on Stela D, are tied
month, changing in time” (Thompson, 1950, pp. 59–61).
directly to the appearance of the planet Venus at key posi-
Time then appears as some sort of essence to be carried or
tions in the sky. This habit of creating a single frame for nat-
borne along the roadway of eternity, finally seated or brought
ural and human history is quite common across Mesoameri-
to rest at various stopping points.
ca. It is reflected especially vividly in the Aztec year annals
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CALENDARS: MESOAMERICAN CALENDARS
1359
in which depictions of volcanic eruptions, eclipses, comets,
One usually finds in an almanac a calendar for each month
and shooting stars appear linked to victories in battle and the
that gives all the holidays. There is also astronomical infor-
deaths of emperors. Aztec history consists of like-in-kind
mation, such as sunrise, sunset, moon phase tables, and
events, both natural and civic-social, matched up repeatedly
eclipses for the year, coupled with meteorological informa-
over multiple fifty-two-year cycles of time.
tion and tide tables for major local harbors. Information con-
cerning weather predictions and the positions of the plane-
In many instances these astronomical events were regis-
tered in preferentially aligned calendrical, ceremonial archi-
tary bodies in the signs of the zodiac is also provided. Add
tecture. For example, Temple 22 at Copán possesses a slot-
to these data nonquantitative information on food recipes
like viewing chamber on its western facade that marks the
and proverbs and the modern almanac, updated and altered
appearance of Venus at the beginning of the rainy season.
slightly from year to year, becomes a handy compendium
Buildings that deviate from the prevailing grid structure and
that both amuses and instructs in practical matters and per-
buildings of unusual shape at Uxmal, Chichén Itzá, and
haps offers advice regarding personal behavior.
other sites also contain Venus alignments. Classic Maya sites
Maya almanacs feature many of these same aspects.
in the Petén rain forest include a number of solar “observato-
They contain both invocations and divinations that deal with
ries.” These specialized architectural assemblages consist of
the weather, agriculture, drilling fire with sticks, and disease
a pyramid on the west side of an open plaza that overlooks
and medicine in addition to the fates and ceremonies. Their
three smaller structures on the east. Viewed from the top of
purpose seems to have been to bring all celestial and human
the former, the sun rises over each of the latter on seminal
activities into the realm of the sacred almanac of 260 days.
dates of the year, for example, the solstices, the equinoxes,
As is the case in the monumental inscriptions, duration
and especially dates measured at multiples of twenty days
emerges as the support beam in the framework of Maya
from the passage of the sun across the zenith. In the high-
calendrics in the codices. Each phase seems to be based on
lands of Mexico the largest building in the Aztec capital, the
a perceived forward movement of time from an event located
Templo Mayor, was deliberately aligned with the sun at the
at the start of the text, to which “distance number” intervals
equinox. Such structures might better be conceived as “the-
are added. Every round of time in a Maya almanac begins
aters” than “observatories.” They are sacred places that offer
with a starting day name and number in the tzolkin. One
the appropriate setting for cosmically timed ritual.
then proceeds via black distance numbers to red dates, each
CALENDARS AND CODICES. In addition to the monuments,
accompanied by a picture and glyphic block that convey the
the books (misnamed “codices”) constitute a second major
appropriate debt payment and (usually) an accompanying
medium of information concerning Mesoamerican time and
omen. The participatory role of the Maya worshiper is also
calendars. But here the message is quite different. If the mon-
reflected in the content of the codices. The business of laying
umental inscriptions, related to a program of public display,
out the calendar that prescribes Maya ritual behavior must
were intended to exalt the rulers and legitimize their descent
have been complex. A multitude of offerings needed to be
from the gods, the content of the codices seems relatively eso-
made to the gods at the proper places and times when the
teric and private, consisting of omen-bearing texts to be read
gods of number dropped their loads, and the periods be-
only by high-status priests. Only four pre-Columbian codi-
tween ritual events surely were not arbitrary. Long thought
ces have survived. Their content, expressed in what have
to be endlessly cyclical in nature, many almanacs, studies
come to be called almanacs, is almost exclusively concerned
suggest, may have been fixed in real time. And like modern
with divinatory rituals cyclically timed in remarkable detail.
almanacs, they may have undergone repeated revision and re-
In a minority of cases the timings are based on astronomical
copying.
phenomena encoded in tables that might properly be called
ephemerides, even though their content is largely astro-
The most exquisitely complex and esoteric almanacs,
logical.
termed ephemerides, deal with precise astronomical predic-
tion. Known since its rudimentary elements were deciphered
The manifold ways the almanacs are laid out, challeng-
early in the twentieth century, the Venus table in the Dres-
ing the eye of the reader to dance about the page in order
den Codex chronicles the appearance and disappearance
to pursue a temporal journey, bespeak a playful intercourse
dates of that planet over several centuries. Accompanying
between time and the Ah Kin. Time’s arithmetic flows verti-
pictorials at the middle of each frame show the Venus deity
cally or zigzaggedly; in some cases the black and red numbers
Kukulcan flinging daggers of omen-bearing light on victims
that comprise, respectively, the intervals and resting points
who lie impaled below them. A correction table enables the
in a text are scattered about a single prognostic or divinatory
Venus calendar to stay on track for five hundred years with
picture like so many loose tokens dropped randomly upon
scarcely a day error. Maya astronomers seem to have been at-
it from above. In many instances the numbers seem to take
tracted by the perfect 8 to 5 commensuration between the
on an irrational, almost mystical quality akin to the Pythago-
Venus cycle of 584 days and the seasonal year of 365 days
rean way of dealing with numbers.
as well as by the larger commensuration between 65 Venus
One thinks of an almanac in the West as a compilation
cycles and two 52-year calendar rounds. Adjacent ephemeri-
of useful information, most of it adapted to local space-time.
des in the Dresden Codex were used to predict eclipses and
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1360
CALENDARS: SOUTH AMERICAN CALENDARS
to chart the movement of Mars, whose 780-day cycle com-
Gillespie, vol. 15, supp. 1, pp. 759–818 (New York, 1978).
mensurates with the tzolkin in the exact ratio of 3 to 1.
Alfonso Caso’s “Mixtec Writing and Calendar,” in Hand-
book of Middle American Indians, edited by Robert
Studies suggest that other pages of the Dresden Codex
Wauchope, vol. 3 (Austin, Tex., 1965), remains the classic
as well as certain pages of the Madrid Codex also mark astro-
exposition of central Mexican calendrics. See also Rafael
nomical events. Venus deities, looking much like those in the
Tena’s El Calendario Mexica y la cronografía (Mexico City,
Dresden, also appear in the Borgia group of codices from
1987). On other central Mexican calendars see Javier Urcid’s
highland Mexico. In the Anales de Quauhtitlan, a colonial
Zapotec Hieroglyphic Writing (Washington, D.C., 2001).
document from the Mexican highlands, are specific state-
Munro S. Edmonson’s The Book of the Year: Middle Ameri-
ments about which class of people shall suffer wounds from
can Calendrical Systems (Salt Lake City, Utah, 1988) offers
the piercing rays of Venus, called Quetzalcoatl in the central
a pan-Mesoamerican comparative analysis of calendars and
Mexican pantheon:
calendar glyphs. Contemporary Mesoamerican calendar sys-
tems are dealt with in Frank J. Lipp’s The Mixe of Oaxaca:
And as they (the ancients, the forefathers) learned.
Religion, Ritual, and Healing (Austin, Tex., 1991); Barbara
When it appears (rises). According to the sign, in which
Tedlock’s Time and the Highland Maya (Albuquerque,
it (rises). It strikes different classes of people with its
N.Mex., 1982; rev. ed. 1992); and Michael P. Closs, ed., Na-
rays. Shoots them, casts its light upon them. When it
tive American Mathematics (Austin, Tex., 1986), which also
appears in the (first) sign, “1 alligator.” It shoots the old
deals with North American calendars. See also Alfred M.
men and women. Also in the (second) sign, “1 jaguar.”
Tozzer, ed. and trans., Landa’s Relación de las cosas de Yuca-
In the (third) sign, “1 stag.” In the (fourth) sign, “1
tan, vol. 18 (Cambridge, Mass., 1941), Eduard Seler, “The
flower.” It shoots the little children. And in the (fifth)
Venus Period in Picture Writings of the Borgian Codex
sign, “1 reed.” It shoots the kings. Also in the (sixth)
Group,” Bulletin of the Bureau of American Ethnology 28:
sign, “1 death.” And in the (seventh) sign, “1 rain.” It
373–390, Dennis Tedlock’s translation of Popol Vuh: The
shoots the rain. It will not rain. And in the (thirteenth)
Definitive Edition of the Mayan Book of the Dawn of Life and
sign, “1 movement.” It shoots the youths and maidens.
the Glories of Gods and Kings (New York, 1985), and J. Eric
And in the (seventeenth) sign, “1 water.” There is uni-
S. Thompson, Maya Hieroglyphic Writing (Washington,
versal drought. (Seler, 1904, pp. 384–385)
D.C., 1950).
In stark contrast with the Maya texts, the so-called picture
ANTHONY F. AVENI (2005)
books of highland Mexico, which also include ritual ceremo-
nial prescriptions, have generally been regarded as devoid of
real-time astronomical events; that is, the Mexican codices
have been characterized as celebrating time cycles, whereas
CALENDARS: SOUTH AMERICAN CALENDARS
the Maya books were thought to be more event specific.
At the time of the Spanish conquest of the New World in
However, this traditional picture has been challenged by
the early sixteenth century, the peoples of Mesoamerica and
studies that offer evidence, specifically in the Codex Borgia,
the Andes were living in highly developed civilizations sup-
that real-time astronomical events were recorded in the mid-
ported by well-integrated political and religious organiza-
dle of the fifteenth century. Scholars now regard Mesoameri-
tions. The Aztec, Mixtec, and Maya of Mesoamerica pro-
can (especially Maya) mathematical, astronomical, and ca-
duced codices in which are described their gods, priests,
lendrical achievements to have been rather more like those
religious paraphernalia, and so on. Their knowledge was or-
of the ancient Middle East; that is, closer to the sort of quan-
ganized by way of an elaborate calendar that bore no rela-
titative science that led to modern astronomy.
tionship to any kind of calendrical system known to the
Spanish. The chroniclers soon realized, however, that an im-
SEE ALSO Aztec Religion; Maya Religion.
portant aspect of these Mesoamerican calendars was the re-
peating succession of 260 days. The 260-day “year” was di-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
vided into thirteen “months,” each comprising twenty days
As the field of Mesoamerican calendrics has remained extraordi-
irrespective of observations of the sun, moon, and other ce-
narily specialized, most work is in journals such as the Jour-
lestial bodies.
nal for the History of Astronomy, Archaeoastronomy, Supple-
ment to the Journal for the History of Astronomy, Latin
Unlike the Mesoamericans, the Andean peoples did not
American Antiquity. David H. Kelley’s Deciphering the Maya
leave codices or a hieroglyphic script (as was used, for in-
Script (Austin, Tex., 1976) and Anthony F. Aveni’s Skywat-
stance, by the Maya from their early history onward). They
chers: A Revised and Updated Version of Skywatchers of Ancient
apparently had no tradition of a historical chronology and
Mexico (Austin, Tex., 2001) are standard texts that offer
left no dated monuments. However, a recent analysis of Pe-
broad overviews of Mesoamerican calendrics. Somewhat
ruvian quipus—knotted strings that were used for various ad-
more specialized are John Justeson’s “Ancient Maya Eth-
noastronomy: An Overview of the Hieroglyphic Sources,” in
ministrative purposes—demonstrates that Andean peoples
World Archaeoastronomy, edited by Anthony F. Aveni (Cam-
were capable of highly abstract, mathematical thought. Ac-
bridge, U.K., 1989); and Floyd Lounsbury’s “Maya Numer-
cordingly, we may assume that the conclusion reached by
ation, Computation, and Calendrical Astronomy,” in Dictio-
certain Spanish chroniclers that the quipus were used for ca-
nary of Scientific Biography, edited by Charles Coulston
lendrical purposes is valid. Indeed, José de Acosta, an early
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CALENDARS: SOUTH AMERICAN CALENDARS
1361
chronicler who thoroughly studied the cultures in both parts
existence of a longer report, that heavily influenced all later
of what we now call nuclear America and who compared the
accounts given by the major chroniclers (e.g., Cavello de Bal-
Andean and Mesoamerican calendars, favored the Andean
boa, Murua). Only the later indigenous chronicler Felipe
system because of its technical accomplishments. Thus it
Poma de Ayala provides substantial new information on the
may be reasonable to assume that the political and religious
economic use of the calendar; and yet another indigenous
needs of the Andean states crystallized into a common calen-
chronicler, Juan de Santa Cruz, refers to the mythological
drical tradition of a complexity comparable with that of Me-
data pertaining to it. The description given in 1653 by
soamerica; but its organizing principles may have been as dif-
Bernabé Cobo, the last chronicler, is probably the most faith-
ferent from those of the Mesoamerican tradition as these
ful to those of Polo and Molina.
differed from the European.
POLO AND MOLINA’S INTERPRETATIONS. Although they
ACCOUNTS BY EARLY CHRONICLERS. When the Spanish
themselves do not seem to have grasped the calendrical prob-
conquistadors entered Cuzco, the capital of the Inca Empire,
lem completely, Polo and Molina give us the best evidence
the Inca territory stretched from what is now northern Ecua-
with which to evaluate the character of the months. Polo, for
dor south to Chile and Argentina. Spanish chroniclers have
example, tells us, “[The Inca] divided the year into twelve
left us some data on the astronomical and calendrical ideas
months by the moons, and the other days that remained were
of the people living on the north coast of Peru, a rich descrip-
added to the [different] moons themselves.” Polo claims to
tion of myths and rituals of Quechua-speaking peoples in
be speaking of synodical months, that is, those that mark the
central and southern Peru, and some bits and pieces of astro-
period between new moons in a sequence independent from
nomical and calendrical lore from the Aymara-speaking peo-
the solar year; nonetheless, he says that the eleven days that
ples living around Lake Titicaca. But it was only in Cuzco
these twelve months are short of a year were added to the in-
that the chroniclers became aware of the rich tradition of the
dividual months. If he is right on this last point, we can as-
Inca’s history, myths, and rituals, as well as of their seasonal
sume that the Inca calendar had solar months, each thirty or
activities (e.g., agriculture and llama husbandry) and astro-
thirty-one days long, bearing no connection to the phases of
nomical observations and beliefs about the sun, moon, and
the moon. Polo refers to certain monthly observations of
stars. Many scattered data of critical importance in the recon-
sunrises and sunsets that reinforce this claim. When consid-
struction of the Inca calendar have survived. Nonetheless, al-
ered together with important information from Molina,
though some chroniclers may have been aware of the impor-
Polo’s critical data underscores the fact that the Inca calendar
tance of some of these data for the reconstruction of the
included synodical, as well as solar, months.
calendar, they themselves recorded little more than the
According to Molina (1574), the Inca year began with
names of the months. They assumed that the Inca calendar
the lunar month marked by the June solstice; this month
comprised twelve months but barely analyzed what kinds of
started with the first new moon after the middle of May. Mo-
“months” they were in fact dealing with. The actual recon-
lina, however, was still using the Julian calendar; his “middle
struction of the Inca calendar—going well beyond the
of May” is thus equivalent to May 25 in the Gregorian calen-
chroniclers’ list of twelve names—enables us to realize the
dar, which was not introduced to Cuzco until ten years after
magnitude of the debt owed by the Inca to the states and cul-
Molina wrote his account. Accordingly, any month begin-
tures that preceded them: those of Huari, Tiahuanaco, and
ning with a new moon after May 25 would include the date
Chavín in the Andean highlands and those of Nazca, Mochi-
of the June solstice, June 21 (Zuidema, 1982a).
ca, and Paracas on the coast. The Spaniards’ interpretations
of the Inca data provide only a faint idea of what a pre-
Molina then describes the subsequent lunar months,
Conquest calendar might have looked like.
stressing in particular the observations of a new moon and
full moon in the fourth month. This was the month in which
Some seventeen years after the Conquest, Juan de Be-
crops were planted and all women, including the queen, cele-
tanzos became the first chronicler in Cuzco to attempt an ac-
brated the moon. Molina then comes to the seventh month,
count of the months. His description, however, is inextrica-
Capac Raymi (“royal feast”), during which noble boys were
bly interwoven with a recording of Inca history, especially
initiated into manhood. During the eighth month, Capac
with those events that concern the legendary reorganization
Raymi Camay Quilla (“royal feast, moon of Camay”), rituals
of Cuzco after the city had successfully rejected a foreign at-
were dedicated to the rains, which would subside in the
tack. He intimates the close relationship between Cuzco’s
months to come. Molina’s section on the seventh month has
calendar and its political organization, an aspect with which
a day-to-day account of its ritual events but makes no refer-
he was probably more familiar than any later chronicler. But
ence to the moon; the eighth month, however, is described
he leaves the technical problem of the calendrical count unre-
solely in terms of the lunar cycle.
solved. In 1574, the priest Cristóbal de Molina wrote the
first detailed account of calendrical rituals in Cuzco. Juan de
Polo says that Capac Raymi originally began in January
Polo de Ondegardo, a lawyer, had probably written a similar
but was later moved back to December, the month “when
report some years earlier, but it was lost. In 1584, the third
the Sun reaches the last point on its road towards the South
Council of the Peruvian Church published a shorter version
pole.” Whatever historical information he thought could be
of Polo’s calendar; it is this version, or the knowledge of the
derived from this statement, the most satisfactory reading in
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1362
CALENDARS: SOUTH AMERICAN CALENDARS
calendrical terms would be that Capac Raymi ended on the
marked the beginning of the year for people in central and
December solstice itself and that Camay Quilla began there-
northern Peru. In Cuzco, the full moon of the month that
after. Molina’s description of ritual held at the end of Capac
included the June solstice would have occurred after the Ple-
Raymi also seems to imply the same conclusion. But if both
iades first rose in the morning sky. The Inca data on the Ple-
Polo and Molina were right about the lunar character of the
iades, the sun, and the moon replicate in detail the more gen-
months, then it is possible that a given Capac Raymi may
eral Andean concepts of celestial, calendrical, and social
not have included the December solstice at all, for the month
order established in relation to the Pleiades; we see here the
of Inti Raymi could have begun just after May 25 (there are
Inca debt to the Andean cultures that preceded them.
211 days from May 25 to December 22; seven synodical
CALENDRICAL SOCIAL DIVISION. Another way to further our
months have only 206). From these data alone we cannot de-
understanding of the Inca calendar is to analyze the integra-
termine exactly how the Inca solved this calendrical discrep-
tion that obtained between the calendar and the empire’s po-
ancy but we can conclude that they were aware of it and had
litical hierarchy and its territorial organization. Betanzos cites
probably devised a solution.
this integration but gives no technical details on it. An anon-
Later chroniclers, including modern writers, did not
ymous, but rather early and well-informed, chronicler men-
take into account Molina and Polo’s critical data, although
tions how Pachacuti Inca, the king who reorganized Cuzco,
they sometimes opted for either lunar or solar months. Thus
divided the population of the Cuzco Valley into twelve
Clements R. Markharm (1910) interprets the calendar as
groups. His purpose was to make each group take “account
consisting of solar months; the first month, he says, starts on
of its own month, adopting the name and surname of that
the June solstice. John Howland Rowe, on the other hand,
lunar month, and of what it had to carry out in its month;
in his influential article “Inca Culture at the Time of the
and it was obliged to come out to the plaza on the first day
Spanish Conquest” (1946) chooses—on the authority of
of its month by playing trumpets and by shouting, so that
Polo, he claims—lunar months. Later studies on Inca culture
it was known to everybody” (my translation, from Maúrtua,
generally follow Rowe’s example. These accounts differ by
vol. 8, 1908). Whereas his father had brought order to the
as much as two months in their assessment of the location
observance of lunar months, Pachacuti Inca erected pillars
in the calendar of a particular month, making the relation-
on the horizon from which the sun could be observed. This
ship between specific ritual and seasonal activities difficult
was an attempt to integrate the months into an account of
to understand.
the solar year.
ARCHAEOASTRONOMY AT CORICANCHA. The calendrical
THE CEQUE CALENDAR. Based on original information from
problem cannot be resolved on the basis of Molina and
Polo, Cobo describes a similar problem with the calendar
Polo’s data alone. Fortunately, research on the alignment of
and establishes the close link between customs of each Cuzco
certain Inca buildings (Zuidema, 1982a; Aveni, 1981; Urton
group and astronomical observations. His description is
and Aveni, 1983; Urton, 1981; Ziolkowski and Sadowski,
based on an important Andean political concept, which ex-
1984) enables us to evaluate additional types of calendrical
presses the visual and directional relationship between the
and astronomical data. I will mention here the data based on
political divisions and their political and ritual center. For
the architecture of the Coricancha (“golden enclosure”)—
this purpose the Inca employed a system of forty-two “direc-
properly known as the Temple of the Sun—and on the ritu-
tions” called ceques (“lines”).
als and myths associated with it. Located in the center of
The ceques were imaginary lines that radiated from
Cuzco, the Coricancha included four one-room buildings
Coricancha to points on the horizon. They were distributed
that served as temples, each facing the other two by two. The
in groups of three over four quarters of the territory; in one
more important buildings were said to face the rising sun
quarter, however, fifteen directions, that is, fourteen ceques
during the June solstice. But exact measurements by Antho-
(in this case, two ceques were taken together as one), were
ny F. Aveni and myself revealed that the temples face the
used. The twelve political divisions of Cuzco were individu-
point on the horizon at which the sun rises on May 25. This
ally associated not only with a different group of three ceques
alignment not only supports the validity of Molina’s data re-
but also with one particular ceque in each group. Each ceque
garding when the Inca year began but also helps us interpret
linked the division with the location of the land in the valley
other significant information. For example, in exactly the
that it had been given by Pachacuti Inca. Lands in the fourth
same direction of the sunrise, but just beyond the horizon,
quarter were also divided between only three divisions; we
is a legendary place called Susurpuquio, well known for its
notice that in this quarter the fourteen ceques were also re-
important role in Inca mythology. It was here that Pachacuti
bundled into three groups of ceques (which had four, four,
Inca, the king who set the Inca on the road to conquest, had
and six ceques, respectively).
met his father, the sun god, who predicted that he and his
people would share a future filled with military success. The
Each of the twelve political divisions had an important
direction toward Susurpuquio coincides closely with that of
ritual obligation to bring offerings to a cultic place on the
the rise of the Pleiades, the “mother” of all stars. The reap-
horizon. The sun would then arrive at this place, either at
pearance of the Pleiades in early June, after they had disap-
sunset or sunrise, sometime during its annual journey. These
peared from the southern sky for some fifty days, generally
twelve places on the horizon were called sayhuas; two extra
E N C Y C L O P E D I 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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1363
ones, called sucancas, were necessary to comply with astro-
of a mummy). Influenced by certain ideas of hierarchical
nomical observations. The ceque system used the whole hori-
order, the Inca integrated these ancestors into the legendary
zon, although the sun rises and sets in only part of it. There-
history of their royal dynasty. This line of thought explains
fore a sayhua or sucanca was not necessarily located along a
why ten of the twelve political divisions were linked genea-
ceque that stretched between the horizon and the land of the
logically to the dynasty and were called panacas (collateral
political division that was in charge of its cult. People first
lines of descent from the royal family). The remaining two
worshiped a series of cultic places, called huacas, that were
divisions represented the autochthonous population of the
located along the three ceques associated with their division.
valley of Cuzco, which had been conquered by the Inca.
They would then turn to the corresponding sayhuas, located
in another direction, and offer the remains of whatever had
Specific myths about panacas and former kings should
been served to the huacas.
help us interpret calendrical rituals. The anonymous chroni-
cler gives us one clue on how to proceed. He claims that each
Cobo lists the huacas that were served before the sayhuas
division—that is, each panaca—took its name from its par-
and sucancas. If this list is complete (328 huacas), as it indeed
ticular month. Thus we can argue that the highest-ranked
appears to be, then it allows us to suggest various calendrical
panaca, called capac ayllu, was in charge of the initiation ritu-
consequences. Although it would not be appropriate here to
als of noble youths, who were also called capac churi (“royal
carry out a technical analysis of Cobo’s list, certain general
sons”). These rituals occurred during the month of Capac
characteristics of such a ceque calendar can be proposed.
Raymi, which ended on the December solstice. Another
panaca, called aucailli (the “victory song” that was chanted
One observation of the sun was made along a ceque radi-
at harvest time), implying that its rituals were conducted in
ating from the Temple of the Sun: the one toward sunrise
April. But these examples seem to be more exceptions to than
on May 25. Perhaps one other solar observation was made
confirmations of the rule, and only one chronicler (Murua)
along a ceque in the opposite direction. But all other solar
relates a myth explicitly linking two political divisions to cer-
observations were done from higher places just outside town.
tain months of the year and their rituals (Zuidema, 1982b).
Based on our data on stars and certain huacas in the ceque
system, we believe that all risings and settings of stars were
What makes the following myth interesting is the rela-
observed from the Temple of the Sun. In contrast to the say-
tionship it establishes between dynastic legends and myths
huas—upright, manmade stone pillars that were used for ob-
in Inca culture. Pachacuti Inca—who appears in the myth
serving the sun—the huacas were mostly natural topographi-
as the son of the first mythical founder of the royal dynasty—
cal features whose worship was part of a cult to the earth. The
establishes a pact with a giant. During a month of heavy
rather irregular numerical distribution of the huacas over the
rains, the giant comes down on the rushing waters of a river
ceques and groups of three ceques seems to be conditioned by
some thirty kilometers from Cuzco. As the rains threaten to
their calendrical use. The number of huacas—on ceques, on
destroy the city, Pachacuti, who is characterized in this myth
groups of ceques, and in each of the quarters—reveals that
as a brash young warrior, persuades the giant to retreat, and
the Inca were concerned with bringing in line the worship
he himself turns to stone. According to the myth, it is be-
of the moon during its full and new phases (these phases
cause of this pact with the giant that the Inca celebrated
occur every twenty-nine and one-half days) with a cult of the
Capac Raymi in December. A sequel to the myth deals with
sun (the sun is the cause of the moon’s phases), as well as
the heroic feats of a son of Pachacuti Inca, whose conquests
with a cult of the stars (against which the moon shifts its po-
and marriage explain why the Inca celebrated their feast of
sition every night). The year can thus be divided into twelve
planting (normally assigned to the month of September, but
solar months of thirty or thirty-one days each, while the
here to October 1).
moon will reach the same position among the stars every
Other, more legendary versions of the first myth convert
twenty-seven and one-third nights. Rituals during full and
Pachacuti Inca into the ninth king of the dynasty and the
new moons carried out a balancing act between these two cy-
giant into his father, Viracocha Inca; it is these conversions
cles related to the sun and the stars; one cycle occurred dur-
that allow us to relate their panacas to specific months. These
ing the day and the other at night, while the moon can be
versions present Pachacuti Inca as the reorganizer of the city,
observed both day and night.
its political system, and its calendar. Both kings are seen as
MYTHS AND LEGENDS. Irrespective, however, of where a
historical persons, but their mythical aspects crystallize them
technical analysis of the ceque calendar leads us, the data
into deities in their own right: they become the thunder god,
given by the anonymous chronicler and by Polo and Cobo
worshiped by Pachacuti Inca as his personal god, and Vi-
allow us to integrate Inca ideas of time and space with their
racocha, the god whom the Spanish misinterpreted as the
calendrical rituals, legendary history, and myths. Each politi-
Inca creator god. Viracocha Inca, the king, was thought to
cal division carried out rituals during the particular month
be the ancestor of the high priests of Cuzco. It may be sug-
after which it was named; we can assume, therefore, that each
gested here that the giant in the myth should be associated
group’s ideas about its function in society, its past, and its
with the society’s concerns during the month of March. This
origin myths are relevant for an understanding of its rituals.
was the month in which the priests of the Sun carried out
Each group worshiped its own mythical ancestor (in the form
rituals intended to curtail the rains and to prepare for the
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1364
CALENDARS: SOUTH AMERICAN CALENDARS
forthcoming dry season and harvest; they also directed the
vicuña), color, age, and sex. The system of llama sacrifice can
building of dams in mountain lakes to store irrigation water
be reconstructed (Zuidema and Urton, 1976). Iconographic
for use during the dry season.
evidence from the Huari and Tiahuanaco (1–1000 CE) cul-
tures demonstrates how deeply rooted llama sacrifices were
No dynastic legends like those found at Cuzco were re-
in Andean society.
corded for central Peru by the Spanish chroniclers, who do,
however, relate stories of battles, similar to that between
Another important aspect of Andean culture is that of
Pachacuti and the giant, that were fought between the thun-
divination, studied by E.-J. de Durand (1968). However, the
der god and a primordial deity in the times before a great
numerous data relating to its importance for the calendar
flood.
have yet to be coordinated.
CONCLUSION. The Andean calendar as an exact numerical
The story of Pachacuti Inca functioned on two different
system for computing days in the year did not survive the
temporal levels in Cuzco: as a myth that was related to the
onslaught of Western civilization. Many rituals and calendri-
yearly calendar and as a dynastic legend. It should be ob-
cal customs were integrated, however, into the Catholic cal-
served, therefore, that the temporal sequence was not the
endar; many scholars have reported on this syncretism (Ur-
same in both cases. In the myth, the giant is associated with
bano, 1974; Poole, 1984). Their studies, as well as the data
a calendrical concern (in March) that followed the one asso-
from numerous monographs on present-day Andean socie-
ciated with Pachacuti Inca (in December). In the dynasty,
ties, are extremely valuable in helping us to understand the
Viracocha Inca is the father of Pachacuti Inca. Dynastic in-
symbolic values of pre-Conquest rituals. Also, the knowledge
terest established a kind of causal link between the legendary
of astronomy found among present-day Andean peoples has
versions of the stories told about succeeding kings. But the
its principal roots in pre-Conquest culture, notwithstanding
myths, as seasonal versions of the same stories, did not follow
the fact that their ancestors were able to integrate Spanish
the same temporal sequence.
learned and popular notions about the sky and weather into
Here it is probably more the calendrical rituals that, in
their own systems (Urton, 1981).
terms of a closed annual cycle, can bring unity into Inca
The amount of ethnohistorical data that is available for
thought, integrating the cosmological and political aspects of
reconstruction of the Inca and other Andean calendars is
their society. On the basis of the data on Inca months in the
broader and deeper than had previously been assumed. In
chronicles, Henrique Urbano has evaluated the dialectical re-
Peru, indigenous calendrical notions did not have the over-
lationships between the gods Viracocha and Inti (Sun), who
whelming impact on the Spaniards as they had in Mexico.
symbolize the opposing values of water and fire, respectively.
Interestingly, it is those data that did not seem important to
Both are associated with animal symbols: Viracocha with the
the Spaniards—that did not threaten their missionary and
amaru (“serpent”), which is related to farming and the fertili-
political interests and that lost their significance in colonial
ty of the earth, and Inti with the guaman (“falcon”) and
society, although they nevertheless happened to be report-
puma (“mountain lion”), which both represent warfare. In
ed—that are the most helpful in understanding pre-
this occurrence, Inti is emblematic of society and of the in-
Conquest Andean culture and its calendar.
side, while Viracocha symbolizes nature and the outside.
S
R
EE ALSO Ethnoastronomy.
ITUAL AND THE INCA CALENDAR. The analytical value of
the data available allows us to study various other aspects of
the Andean calendar. One aspect, that of human sacrifice,
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Aveni, Anthony F. “Horizon Astronomy in Incaic Cuzco.” In Ar-
was of capital importance in the Inca state, establishing polit-
chaeoastronomy in the Americas, edited by Ray A. Williamson,
ical alliances and hierarchical relationships between peoples
pp. 305–318. Los Altos, Calif., 1981.
brought under imperial rule. Victims from all parts of the
Durand, E.-J. de. “Aperçu sur les présages et la divination de
empire were brought to Cuzco, either to be sacrificed there
l’ancien Pérou.” In La divination, edited by André Caquot
or to be sent elsewhere to be sacrificed. In journeying to and
and Marcel Leibovici, pp. 1–67. Paris, 1968.
from Cuzco, they traveled along routes that were as straight
as possible and that, like the lines radiating from Cuzco, were
Maúrtua, Victor M. Juicio de límites entre el Perú y Bolivia. Lima,
1908. Volume 8 contains the anonymous “Discurso de la
called ceques. The data suggest that the system of human sac-
sucesión y gobierno de los Yngas.”
rifices was integrated into the calendar. Various kinds of ani-
mals were sacrificed according to the particular occasion;
Molina, Cristóbal de. Ritos y fábulas de los Incas (1574). Buenos
Aires, 1947.
they were eaten or burned, and their blood was also used.
Furthermore, ashes, including those of textiles and other
Poole, Deborah A. “Ritual-Economic Calendars in Paruro: The
products, were saved so that they could be thrown into rivers
Structure of Representation in Andean Ethnography.”
at appropriate times of the year.
Ph.D. diss., University of Illinois, Urbana, 1984.
Rowe, John Howland. “Inca Culture at the Time of the Spanish
The most important sacrifices of all, however, were
Conquest.” In Handbook of South American Indians, edited
those of llamas. These animals were used for various ritual
by Julian H. Steward, vol. 2, pp. 183–330. Washington,
purposes according to their variety (alpaca, llama, guanaco,
D.C., 1946.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CALIPHATE
1365
Urbano, Henrique. “La representación andina del tiempo y del es-
But who was to lead this society? What was to be his
pacio en la fiesta.” Allpanchis Phuturinqua (Cuzco) 7 (1974):
authority? The caliphate, the expression of the temporal lead-
9–10.
ership of all Muslims conceived as a single community, was
Urton, Gary. At the Crossroads of the Earth and Sky: An Andean
the institutional answer. It had emerged ad hoc, however, in
Cosmology. Austin, Tex., 1981.
response to a crisis. Evolving practice framed theoretical con-
Urton, Gary, and Anthony F. Aveni. “Archaeoastronomical Field-
structions, especially in the absence of any agreed QurDa¯nic
work on the Coast of Peru.” In Calendars in Mesoamerica and
foundation. Hence the conduct of those holding the office,
Peru, edited by Anthony F. Aveni and Gordon Brotherston.
the caliphs, elicited sharp and continuing controversy over
Oxford, 1983.
not only individual moral qualitites but also the character of
Ziolkowski, M. S., and R. M. Sadowski. “Informe acerca de las
the institution itself.
investigaciones arqueo-astronómicas en el area central de In-
gapirca (Ecuador).” Revista española de antropología ameri-
The forces at work in this controversy may be divided
cana 15 (1984): 103–125.
for the purposes of analysis into Islamic theories of the ca-
Zuidema, R. Tom. “Inca Observations of the Solar and Lunar
liphate and historical influences on the institution.
Passages through Zenith and Anti-Zenith at Cuzco.” In Ar-
CLASSICAL THEORIES OF THE CALIPHATE. The majoritarian,
chaeoastronomy in the Americas, edited by Ray A. Williamson,
Sunn¯ı view of the origins of the caliphate is that Muh:ammad
pp. 319–342. Los Altos, Calif., 1981.
left no instructions for the future leadership of the ummah.
Zuidema, R. Tom. “Catachillay: The Role of the Pleiades and of
Yet on his death the community desperately required an ac-
the Southern Cross and a and b Centauri in the Calendar of
knowledged leader, since all the latent rivalries that the pro-
the Incas.” In Ethnoastronomy and Archaeoastronomy in the
phetic message had overwhelmed reemerged in tribal faction-
American Tropics, edited by Anthony F. Aveni and Gary
Urton, pp. 203–220. New York, 1982 (cited as 1982a in the
alism. The innermost core of the Muslims responded by
text).
acclaiming as their leader one of the earliest of their number
and certainly among the most prestigious, Abu¯ Bakr (r. 632–
Zuidema, R. Tom. “The Sidereal Lunar Calendar of the Incas.”
In Archaeoastronomy in the New World, edited by Anthony
634). Whether he was actually proclaimed khal¯ıfa¯t rasu¯l
F. Aveni, pp. 59–107. Cambridge, 1982 (cited as 1982b in
Alla¯h (“caliph of the messenger of God”) is unclear, but all
the text).
Sunn¯ıs regard him as the first caliph. His role was to lead
Zuidema, R. Tom, and Gary Urton. “La Constelación de la Llama
the ummah in peace and in war as the Prophet had done, and
en los Andes Peruanos.” Allpanchis Phuturinqua (Cuzco) 9
to lead the ritual prayers and conduct the pilgrimage, both
(1976): 59–119.
of which duties he had previously performed on
Muh:ammad’s behalf. Absent from this formulation was the
R. TOM ZUIDEMA (1987)
prophetic role that had clothed Muh:ammad’s acts with nigh
impeccable authority. Theoretically, a divinely guided com-
munity of Muslims selected the early Sunn¯ı caliphs, while
CALIPHATE. The office of “successor” to the prophet
its act of acclamation, the bay Eah, constituted an elective
Muh:ammad as the leader of the Muslim community is a
ideal that deprecated all subsequent dynasticism.
uniquely Islamic institution. Hence the anglicization caliph-
ate is preferable to inadequate translations of the term
Evolved Sunn¯ı theory required that a caliph be an adult
khila¯fah. (This article will not address the concept of khila¯fah
male from the Quraysh, the leading tribe of Mecca. Sound-
in Islamic mysticism.)
ness of mind and body, knowledge of the religion, piety, and
probity are frequently listed among Sunn¯ı criteria. Caliphal
Upon Muh:ammad’s death in AH 11/632 CE there was
preogatives were to lead the prayer, to be recognized in the
in existence a self-governing, powerful Islamic community,
Friday sermon as the leader of all Muslims, to coin money,
or ummah. It had been shaped by the Prophet in conformity
to command the army, and to receive on behalf of the
with the revelations he had received, and by the end of his
ummah a fifth of all booty. Later, the Abbasid caliphs (750–
life, his temporal as well as his spiritual authority was unas-
1258) arrogated to themselves the right to wear the
sailable: he was the governor of the ummah, an arbitrator of
presumed mantle of the Prophet, a sacred relic in their pos-
disputes within it, the commander of its military forces, and
session.
its principal strategist. He had deputized others as his repre-
sentatives to distant tribes and regions. The term khila¯fah in
Sunnis generally describe the caliph’s duties as follows:
the pre-Islamic sense of “deputy” was apparently used in ref-
to defend the domain of Islam and to extend it if possible,
erence to these assignees.
to uphold the shar¯ı Eah, the prescribed conduct for a Muslim,
to ensure law and order so that Muslims might observe the
To the ummah the Prophet’s death was a shocking, even
shar¯ı Eah in peace and security, to collect canonical taxes, and
inconceivable event. The Muslims were suddenly bereft of
generally to administer the ummah in consultation with se-
divine guidance, the source of Muh:ammad’s charismatic au-
lected counselors.
thority. Yet they were sufficiently imbued with the Islamic
vision to persevere in efforts to shape the ideal society em-
The Sh¯ıD¯ı conception of the caliphate differs from the
bodied in that moral imperative.
Sunni in the manner of origination and the consequences
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1366
CALIPHATE
flowing therefrom. Out of certain verses of the QurDa¯n and
thority, but rising criticism of their reliance on Arab social
from selected h:ad¯ıth (reports of the Prophet’s words or
custom was a crucial element in the dynasty’s overthrow.
deeds), the Sh¯ıEah adduce that Muh:ammad had indeed cho-
sen a successor: his first cousin, son-in-law, and early convert,
The later Umayyads and the early Abbasid dynasty were
EAl¯ı ibn Ab¯ı T:alib. According to the Sh¯ıEah, a conspiracy
deeply affected by the tradition of imperial authority in the
among the companions of the Prophet denied EAl¯ı his right-
lands they had conquered. Its advocates, usually newly con-
ful position, plunging the community into error the instant
verted scribes, envisaged a rigidly hierarchical society of priv-
Muh:ammad died. That the prophet had himself selected EAl¯ı
ileged rulers and taxpaying ruled, with the caliph as supreme
establishes to Sh¯ıD¯ı satisfaction a leadership of far greater
arbiter in all matters. The Abbasid caliphs, therefore, with-
charismatic authority than the Sunn¯ı version, a leadership
drew within a royal city, appeared in public only on ceremo-
that for most of the Sh¯ıD¯ı grew to incorporate impeccability
nial occasions, ruled despotically and pursued a lifestyle
and infallible interpretation of scripture.
greatly at variance with the Islamic values expressed in the
QurDa¯n and sunnah.
EAl¯ı did become the fourth caliph, the last of the so-
called Ra¯shidu¯n or “rightly guided” caliphs, but his designa-
The Abbasids never exclusively adopted their imperial
tion by the assassins of his predecessor, EUthma¯n ibn EAffa¯n
tradition inherited largely from the Sasanid Persians. They
(644–656) of the clan of Umayyah, precipitated a civil war
were acutely conscious of having acquired power by criticiz-
that rent forever the fabric of the community. When EAl¯ı was
ing the alleged impiety of the Umayyads, so they patronized
killed in 661, the caliphate passed to the Umayyads (661–
the Eulama¯D (religious scholars) as well as poets, musicians,
750). The Sh¯ıEah would thereafter cleave to the view that
and wine merchants. Even the Islamic aspects of the caliph-
only the EAlids, EAl¯ı’s progeny, could claim the caliphate;
ate, however, succumbed to imperial majesty. Assuming
their claim alone was divinely sanctioned. Yet the inability
charismatic throne-names, the Abbasids, following the later
of the Sh¯ıEah never to agree on a particular candidate among
Umayyads, asserted that their authority derived directly from
EAl¯ı’s descendants condemned their movement to martyr-
God, not from Muh:ammad and certainly not from the
dom, factionalism, and futility.
ummah. If most of the pious shunned their patronage, still
it was during the early Abbasid caliphate that Islamic civiliza-
The conflict between EAl¯ı and the Umayyads spawned
tion attained its full grandeur.
a third interpretation of the caliphate, that of the Kha¯rij¯ıs.
In the view of these numerically few but very active dissi-
By the middle of the tenth century, however, the caliph
dents, hostile to both parties following the civil war, the ca-
was a virtual prisoner in his palace, his authority and his maj-
liph was liable for deposition should he deviate an iota from
esty evaporated. Between 945 and 1055 the Buyids, tribes-
Muh:ammad’s practice. The Kharijis thus depreciated the of-
men from Iran professing Shiism, ruled the caliphal capital
fice to no better than a tribal chieftainship. Arab nomadic
of Baghdad yet retained the Sunn¯ı caliphate, perhaps recog-
groups were, in fact, the milieu from which they drew their
nizing that a pliant puppet symbolizing the unity of Islam
support.
was politically more useful to them than a Sh¯ıE¯ı caliph de-
HISTORICAL INFLUENCES ON THE CALIPHATE. The evolu-
manding at least their respect. Furthermore, the Buyids re-
tion of the caliphate reflects in microcosm the forces molding
fused to recognize the Sh¯ıE¯ı Fatimid caliphate that had
Islamic civilization. Foremost of these was the Islamic moral
emerged in North Africa in 909 and was preparing to ad-
imperative, expressed in the QurDa¯n and the sunnah, or cus-
vance eastward to establish itself in Cairo (969) with the he-
tom, of the Prophet. However visionary and inspirational
gemony of the Muslim world as its manifest goal. As an ex-
these Islamic teachings were, they offered little specific guid-
tremist Sh¯ıE¯ı dynasty, the Fatimids were a menace to both
ance on the shape of Islamic leadership, principally the pro-
Sunn¯ı and moderate Sh¯ıE¯ı Muslims.
phetic model and a framework of moral principles. But vari-
Such a threatening Sh¯ıE¯ı presence in North Africa
ous non-Islamic influences heavily warped these Islamic
evoked a response from the remnant of the Umayyad dynasty
precepts.
in Spain (755–1031). Heretofore content with lesser titles
In the first Islamic century Arab tribalism was a contin-
despite nonrecognition of their Abbasid successors, the
uing challenge to the developing caliphate. Inherited and/or
Spanish Umayyads now claimed the caliphate in 929 as a ral-
acquired prestige, directly linked to lineage, constituted the
lying point for nearby Sunn¯ıs. The simultaneous existence
basis of Arab leadership concepts. Traditionally power was
of two Sunn¯ı caliphs presented a challenge to those religious
closely associated with the numerical strength and past repu-
scholars bent on accommodating their political theory to the
tation of the lineage. Early Muslim caliphs lacked such es-
actual historical process. Abu¯ Mans:u¯r EAbd al-Qa¯hir
teem; only EUthma¯n had both tribal and Islamic prestige. His
al-Baghda¯d¯ı (d. 1027), for example, argued that if an ocean
well-intentioned effort to use tribalism as well as Islamic
should separate the ummah into two distant parts, a second
prestige to enhance the caliph’s authority was a major cause
caliph was unfortunately justifiable. This view was firmly re-
of his downfall. Mutual hostilities among the tribes plagued
jected, however, by the jurist Abu¯ al-H:asan al-Ma¯ward¯ı
the early Muslim community: the Umayyads were con-
(d. 1058), who would condone no attenuation of the caliphal
strained to form tribal marriage alliances to solidify their au-
prerogatives.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CALIPHATE
1367
Rescue, if it can be so characterized, came in the form
In retrospect, it is not surprising that the most secular
of the Seljuk Turks, tribesmen from Central Asia who styled
of the nationalist movements in Muslim countries, the Turk-
themselves champions of Sunnism while continuing to dom-
ish, should have abolished the Ottoman caliphate in 1924;
inate the caliph. In the eleventh century they reversed the
at the time it came as a shock to the entire Muslim world.
tide of political Shiism, yet in their train came a new influ-
The Indian Khilafat Conference (1919–1933), advocating
ence damaging to the concept of the caliphate: visions of
self-rule for Indian Muslims because they owed spiritual alle-
world domination nurtured among pastoralists of the broad
giance to the caliph, found its cause hopelessly undercut.
Asian steppes. Incipient with the Seljuks, the view reached
Muslims elsewhere demanding independence from colonial-
full force among the pagan Mongols, who would suffer no
ism had to revise their strategy once they overcame their dis-
rival, however moribund, to a Mongol khanate destined to
appointment.
rule the earth. Their assault on Baghdad in 1258 extin-
In the newly independent Arab world a contest for the
guished the classical caliphate.
caliphate emerged, but the effort to revive the “true” caliph-
Although they soon became Muslim, those Mongols
ate was short-lived. Three conferences over a brief span
who ruled in Islamic lands and the Turco-Mongol dynasties
(1926–1931) broke up in disarray. It was soon apparent that
that succeeded them gave little heed to the caliphate. They
new nation-states opposed the restoration of such a vaguely
claimed to rule by divine right and garnished their own tradi-
defined but potentially influential institution unless their
tion with the Persian concepts of a functionally hierarchical
own governments could control it.
society. Islamic scholarship adjusted, however reluctantly, to
The quickened religious pulse in the Islamic world
this new reality: henceforth the Eulama¯D, claiming to be the
today has evoked no noticeable inclination to revive the con-
guardians of the shar¯ı Eah, conferred the title of khal¯ıfat Alla¯h
cept of the caliphate. It would seem that however much
(“deputy of God”) upon any ruler who upheld that body of
Muslims may desire a greater sense of unity, any expression
sacred law and ruled righteously. The once-exalted title be-
of such sentiment is unlikely to assume the caliphal form.
came one of many with which Muslim rulers of succeeding
centuries adorned their chancery documents.
SEE ALSO Imamate; Modernism, article on Islamic Modern-
The Mamluk sultans of Egypt, however, adopted an al-
ism; Ummah.
leged scion of the Abbasid house as legitimator of their oli-
garchic rule, seemingly a residual authority during the ten-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
sion-laden interlude between the death of one ruler and the
Historical Surveys
consolidation of his successor. Until 1500, Indian kings used
In addition to Dominique Sourdel’s comprehensive article
to seek investiture documents from this “shadow caliph” to
“Khal¯ıfa” (and its references) in The Encyclopaedia of Islam,
bolster their tenuous legitimacy. The Ottoman conqueror of
new ed. (Leiden, 1960–), the only full treatment of the con-
Egypt, Yavuz Sultan Selim, then took this putative Abbasid
cept of the caliphate and its role in Islamic history is the book
caliph to Istanbul in 1517, an event subsequently exploited
by Thomas W. Arnold, The Caliphate, the second edition of
by Ottoman sultans of the nineteenth century to substantiate
which, with an additional chapter by Sylvia G. Haim, is to
be preferred (Oxford, 1965). Its heavy emphasis on classical
their own caliphal claims.
Sunn¯ı texts may be leavened by the insights and balance of
By the late nineteenth century the force of European
Marshall G. S. Hodgson throughout the three volumes of his
imperialism had sparked a revival of the caliphate in a new
The Venture of Islam (Chicago, 1974). Al-Mawardi’s exposi-
form that engendered as much controversy among Muslims
tion of the Sunn¯ı caliphate is ably assessed by H. A. R. Gibb
in an article, “Al-Ma¯ward¯ı’s Theory of the Caliphate,” in his
as had the classical version. The Ottoman sultan, ruling a
Studies on the Civilization of Islam, edited by Stanford J.
sprawling empire threatened by European powers, sought to
Shaw and William R. Polk (Boston, 1962). The chapter “Ca-
elevate his prestige and retain a link to his lost Muslim sub-
liphate and Sultanate,” in the pioneering Islamic Society and
jects by recasting the caliphate into a spiritual office. This de-
the West, vol. 1, part 1, by Gibb with Harold Bowen (Ox-
vice appealed to Muslims under colonial rule, such as in
ford, 1950), unduly reflects the views of Sunn¯ı theoreticians
India, tsarist Russia, the Malay Peninsula, and the Indone-
of the caliphate.
sian archipelago. Even in British-occupied Egypt it elicited
Interpretive Works
a favorable response. But within the Ottoman empire, non-
Most valuable for its able exposition of the early caliphate against
Muslim nationalists struggling for independence regarded
the background of Arab culture is H. M. T. Nagel’s article,
the revived concept of the caliphate as an instrument to mar-
“Some Considerations concerning the Pre-Islamic and the Is-
shal Muslim support for their suppression. By the eve of the
lamic Foundations of the Authority of the Caliphate,” in
First World War this view was shared even by some Muslim
Studies on the First Century of Islamic Society, edited by G. H.
Arabs who decried the Ottoman caliphate was a sham lack-
A. Juynboll (Carbondale, Ill., 1982), pp. 177–197.
ing the slightest trace of a Quraysh pedigree. Both Islamic
The growth of Persian influences on Islamic ruling institutions is
reformers and Muslim nationalists reviled the Ottoman sul-
best found in the two-part article by Ann K. S. Lambton,
tan/caliph and, citing classical scholars to support their con-
“Quis custodiet custodes? Some Reflections on the Persian
tention, characterized the Ra¯shidu¯n as the only true caliphs.
Theory of Government,” Studia Islamica 5 (1956): 125–148;
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1368
CALLIGRAPHY: AN OVERVIEW
6 (1956): 125–146. She continues her analysis into the
metal stylus on wax (as used in Rome and Greece), wet clay
Turko-Iranian period, but her work should be supplemented
in Mesopotamia and the Mediterranean, or palm leaves on
by Osman Turan’s article “The Ideal of World Domination
which the script is incised in South and Southeast Asia can
among the Medieval Turks,” Studia Islamica 4 (1955): 77–
produce pleasing results but not calligraphy. The material
90. The chapter “The Mongols, the Turks and the Muslim
and the instruments used for writing simply do not allow the
Polity” in Bernard Lewis’s Islam in History: Ideas, Men and
production of free-flowing lines. Though stone is not the
Events in the Middle East (London, 1973) puts Turan’s thesis
best medium, it served well to receive and preserve calli-
in a broader perspective.
graphic copies; indeed, Western calligraphy can trace its
Intellectual aspects of the recent phase of the history of the caliph-
roots to the stone inscription found on Trajan’s (r. 98–117
ate are perhaps best dealt with in Albert Hourani’s Arabic
CE) column.
Thought in the Liberal Age, 1789–1939, 2d ed. (Cambridge,
1983). The Turkish perspective is outlined in the analytical
The other important factor is motivation. According to
chapters of Bernard Lewis’s The Emergence of Modern Turkey,
the above definition, only three civilizations have produced
2d ed. (Oxford, 1968), while the abolition of the caliphate
true calligraphy: the Chinese (and those who use the Chinese
and the reaction to it in the Arab world is covered in detail
script, namely Japanese and Koreans), the Arabs (and those
in Arnold Toynbee’s “The Islamic World since the Peace
who use the Arabic script), and Western civilization based
Settlement,” in the Royal Institute of International Affairs,
Survey of International Affairs, 1925, vol. 1 (Oxford, 1927).
on Roman letters, Roman laws, and the Christian church.
In the case of Arabic calligraphy, it was the revelation of the
HERBERT L. BODMAN, JR. (1987)
QurDa¯n and Islamic conquest; in the Far East artistic sensibil-
ity and political hegemony; and in the West the discipline
of Roman letters and Christianity.
CALLIGRAPHY
Calligraphy flourishes within a definite discipline.
This entry consists of the following articles:
Scribal authorities such as the ones established in medieval
AN OVERVIEW
monasteries of Europe; Ibn Muqlah’s (866–940
CHINESE AND JAPANESE CALLIGRAPHY
CE) reforms
HEBREW MICROGRAPHY
of the Arabic script based on the interaction between the
ISLAMIC CALLIGRAPHY
rhombic dot, the standard alif, and the standard cycle; and
the original definition of a Chinese character based within
CALLIGRAPHY: AN OVERVIEW
a square. There is also a connection with dynastic elements.
The term calligraphy derives from the Greek word graphein
For example, after the fall of Rome in the fifth century, a
(to write) and kallos (beautiful); it has therefore often been
number of “national hands” developed in the various states
identified with “beautiful writing.” But calligraphy is more
carved from the disintegrating empire: the Merovingian
than that. It arises out of a combination of several important
style, the Visigothic script, Carolingian minuscule, Gothic,
elements: the attitude of society to writing; the religious con-
and so on.
cepts involved; the importance and function of the text; defi-
THE POSITION OF THE CALLIGRAPHER IN SOCIETY AND RE-
nite, often mathematically based rules about the correct in-
LIGION. The position of calligrapher in society and religion
teraction between lines and space and their relationship to
reflects the attitude to his craft and the level on which it is
each other; and a mastery and understanding of the script,
practiced. In Europe and the Arab world calligraphy has al-
the writing material, and the tools used for writing. Writing
ways been first and foremost in the service of God and the
and script store information essential to the political, social,
divine Revelation. In the West the calligrapher was “in ser-
and economic survival of a particular group; they are as such
vice” too, first to a human master (Rome), then to the mo-
part of the infrastructure of society. Calligraphy makes a
nastic order to which he had given his life, and eventually
statement about the sum total of its cultural and historical
simply to the customer who paid him. Only in the Far East
heritage. As such it can become subject to political and na-
did the calligrapher exist in its own right. He did not propa-
tionalistic/religious expressions and pressures. In addition,
gate any secular or religious order; his calligraphy was, with
calligraphy united the pictorial with the scriptorial. A calli-
definite restrictions, an expression of his inner self.
graphic passage, or even a single Chinese character, not only
Though mainly practiced by men, none of the three
provides information through its scriptorial meaning but also
great civilizations actively forbade women to become callig-
communicates on a more direct and archetypal level through
raphers. The first Chinese treatise on calligraphy, published
its inherent pictorial powers. Unlike writing, calligraphy can-
in 320 CE, that established definite criteria, still valid today,
not be acquired simply by learning; it demands insight and
was written by the Lady Wei Shao. It is thought that even
individuality, but individuality expressed within strictly pre-
the great Wang Xizhi (321–379 CE) was one of her students.
scribed boundaries.
In China and Japan calligraphy was an accomplishment
Calligraphy needs enabling tools: a smooth writing sur-
practiced by the elite for the elite; a good calligraphic hand
face such as paper, parchment, or silk and instruments like
ensured success in the civil service examinations (enforced
a quill pen and brush to produce the variation of lines so es-
during the Tang period, 618 to 907 CE). During the Japanese
sential for true calligraphy. The sharply yielding point of a
Heian period (794–1185 CE) it almost took the place of an
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CALLIGRAPHY: AN OVERVIEW
1369
aphrodisiac in courtly circles. If the first note from a prospec-
faced again among groups like the Dadaists and some indi-
tive lover proved indifferently written, the affair could not
vidual modern poets. Though Islam is strictly averse to visual
proceed. A special form of women’s calligraphy, written in
representation, calligraphers have been skillful in writing at
the hiragana style, developed. The Islamic world, too, knew
least the basmalah (“In the name of God, the Compassionate,
famous women calligraphers. Some Muslim ladies achieved
the Merciful”) in a variety of shapes. Such text pictures were
a high competence in calligraphy; the emperor Aurangzeb’s
also known in India and China and other parts of the world.
daughter Zebunnisa (1639–1702), for example, a great pa-
Indeed the whole text of the QurDa¯n, numbering some
troness of art and learning, was proficient in at least three cal-
77,934 words, has been written on the shell of a single egg.
ligraphic styles. In the Maghrib (the western part of the Is-
CONTEMPORARY CALLIGRAPHY. In the West printing has
lamic world) women were told that they had to write at least
generally been considered a move toward the end of calligra-
one QurDa¯n to make a good marriage. Calligraphy written
phy. But the twentieth century has seen a remarkable renewal
by eighteenth-century Turkish women is still kept in the
of interest, both in Europe and, perhaps even more so, in
mosques at Istanbul. Christianity had always favored literacy
America: exhibitions, the foundation of professional socie-
in women, hoping that a good education would make them
ties, teaching at art schools and colleges, and a growing circle
more suitable for the monastic life, should their parents de-
of gifted amateurs and fine professional scribes. The roots go
cide to dedicate them. Nuns often collaborated with monks
back to the Arts and Crafts movement of the 1880s and the
in the production of calligraphic manuscripts, but unlike in
work of William Morris (1834–1896) and, most of all, Ed-
China and in the Islamic world they worked, as did the
ward Johnson (1872–1944). In Islamic countries and in the
monks, anonymously. Western calligraphy, which arose sim-
Far East the situation has always been different. Calligraphy
ply from copying texts that were often brought back after dif-
has never been a disinherited art form, and printing (with
ficult journeys from Rome or neighboring monasteries, was
wood block on which the hand of the writer could be in-
part of the life to which they had dedicated themselves, and,
cised) has never meant an end of calligraphic traditions. Let-
like their male colleagues, they were strictly forbidden from
ters, always the main basis of Western calligraphic traditions,
boasting. This was different in the Islamic countries and in
began to appear in paintings (such as those of the cubists,
China/Japan, where a long list of famous calligraphers and
surrealists, Picasso, and Joan Miró) and on newspapers (char-
their biographical data were freely provided.
acters written by Mao Zedong on the masthead of the Peoples
“B
Daily) and posters. Most important, however, was a certain
EAUTIFUL WRITING.” Although outside the strict disci-
pline of calligraphy, beautiful writing is mostly based on pic-
kind of symbiosis between the three main styles that began
torial expressions. Writing itself began mostly with pictures:
to appear from the middle of the last century. Western callig-
in Egypt, among the Sumerians, in the Indus Valley, and in
raphers began to take an interest in Eastern conceptions of
the pre-Columbian world of Central America. In the case of
art and calligraphy; a definite example is Mark Tobey (1890–
the Chinese this pictorial element is often still clearly visible.
1976). Islamic calligraphers, many educated at Western uni-
Though not rooted in the knowledge of traditional science
versities, have begun to look for new interpretations, which
and religious conviction, beautiful writing could some-
could be incorporated within the core of their own tradi-
times—as, for example, in the case of the originally Indian
tions. But it is mainly in Japan that calligraphy is still deeply
siddham script—become calligraphy in the hands of Japanese
respected. Prices for a good piece of calligraphy may start at
masters.
four thousand pounds and can go up as far as one million.
There, “well written” still implies calligraphic aspirations,
But the absence of chancelleries and scribal authority
not just textual excellence.
had its restrictions. Judaism, for example, has produced
many fine manuscripts and beautiful micrography but no
SEE ALSO Alphabets.
calligraphy in the strict sense. During the many years of the
Diaspora there were no courts or chancelleries that could es-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
tablish and control definite styles. Except for the Sefer
Brown, Michelle P. A Guide to Historical Scripts from Antiquity to
Torah, used in the synagogue, the meaning of the text has
1660. London, 1990. An illustrated survey of the evolution
always been more important than its visual execution.
of Western scripts.
Another concept consists of writing a picture that relates
Butterworth, Emma M. The Complete Book of Calligraphy. Wel-
lingborough, 1981. Overview of the subject.
to the meaning of the text. The calligrams (text pictures) of
the French poet Guillaume Apollinaire (1880–1918) go
Catich, Edward M. Letters Redrawn from the Trajan Inscriptions
however back through history to the Greek poet Simias,
in Rome. Davenport, Iowa, 1961. Influence of Trajan
who, in the fourth century
(Roman) inscription on letterforms.
BCE, wrote poems in the shape
of an egg or the wings of a bird. The tradition continued and
Folsom, Rose. The Calligraphers Dictionary. London, 1990. Offers
was eventually introduced into Christian Europe in the sixth
an explanation and definition of words and concepts con-
century by the bishop of Poitiers, who wrote a poem in the
nected with calligraphy.
form of a cross. Text pictures remained popular right
Gaur, Albertine. A History of Calligraphy. London and New York,
through the Middle Ages and the baroque period and sur-
1994. A comprehensive study of calligraphy in all its aspects.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1370
CALLIGRAPHY: CHINESE AND JAPANESE CALLIGRAPHY
Gray, Nicolette. A History of Lettering, Creative Experiment and
vances, but its importance increased enormously in response
Lettering Identity. Oxford, 1986. On the importance of let-
to the central authority’s demand for records, accounts, and
terforms in Western calligraphy.
the issuance of edicts and orders throughout the provinces.
Hamel, Christopher de. Medieval Craftsmen: Scribes and Illumina-
Within a century the “regular” style (zhen shu) developed and
tors. London, 1992. Deals with the makers of paper, parch-
became the standard form still employed today.
ment and inks, and with scribes, illustrators, booksellers and
bookbinders.
Wang Xizhi (321–379 CE), China’s greatest calligra-
pher, created a cursive or “running” script (xing shu). He ar-
Harris, David. Calligraphy, Inspiration, Innovation, Communica-
rived at this elegant form of speed writing, which reduces the
tion. London, 1991. Examines the breath of calligraphy in
rigid formality and clarity of “regular” style to impressionistic
modern life.
essentials instantly comprehensible to the expert, after study-
Mote, Frederick W., and Hun-Lam Chu. Calligraphy and the East
ing geese. He saw in their graceful, turning, supple necks pre-
Asian Book. Edited by Howard L. Goodman. Princeton,
cisely the strength and flexibility required of the calligra-
1988. Calligraphy before and after the start of printing in
pher’s brush strokes. The result was that another
China and Japan.
convenience, and yet another level of artful beauty entered
Safadi, Yasin Hamid. Islamic Calligraphy. London, 1978. Exam-
writing.
ines the work of Islamic calligraphers from the beginning of
Islam; deals also with calligraphy in Islamic architecture.
Many Chinese characters are in a sense pictures (picto-
graphs) representing “things” such as sun, moon, tree, or
Whalley, Joyce Irene. Writing Implements and Accessories: From
Roman Stylus to the Typewriter. Vancouver, 1975. Exhaustive
house; others (ideographs) represent “ideas.” But by far the
study of the history of writing implements.
majority of all Chinese characters are now recognized as
“logographs,” that is, as graphs that represent, strictly, nei-
Yao, Min-Chi. The Influence of Chinese and Japanese Calligraphy
ther pictorial image nor brute idea but words, through a
on Mark Tobey (1890–1976). San Francisco, 1983. The spir-
itual influence of far eastern calligraphy on the American
complex system of semantic and phonemic constituents that
painter Mark Tobey.
long ago escaped from a purely visual medium of representa-
tion. By combining these graphs in an endless variety of ways
Zapf, Hermann. About Alphabets, Some Marginal Notes on Type
to make new words and then compounding them with still
Design. New York, 1960. The place of calligraphy in modern
type design.
others, any word or idea can be expressed. For thunder and
lightning, for example, combine rain and paddy field. For cash
ALBERTINE GAUR (2005)
money, put the word for gold next to that for a guardian spear.
Modern notions can be incorporated into the language by
the same process. For electricity, write thunder and lightning,
CALLIGRAPHY: CHINESE AND JAPANESE
add a tail, and make a compound with the word for feeling.
CALLIGRAPHY
The system suits China’s monosyllabic language perfectly
and adapts into Japanese most conveniently. When the Chi-
Four thousand years ago, it is alleged, the Chinese sage Cang
nese or Japanese regard a character, they at once see a picture,
Jian, whose pastime was to observe birds’ footprints in the
hear a sound, and perceive a meaning.
sand and trace their patterns, conceived China’s first writing.
These were pictographs or stenographic sketches of familiar
Unabridged Chinese and Japanese dictionaries list up-
objects, animals, or birds, still more or less easily recognized.
ward of forty thousand characters today. A knowledge of five
They formed no sentences or concepts, merely incomplete
thousand is sufficient for reading a newspaper. The number
ideas and phrases. In the pre-Confucian, pre-Buddhist China
of strokes within a single character ranges from one (meaning
of the Shang dynasty (1500–1050 BCE) such scripts were
“one”) to thirty-three (composed of three deer, meaning
used to inscribe the shells and bones used for divination.
“rough,” “rude,” or “wild”). Each stroke is either thick or
Early writing is next encountered in China during the Zhou
thin, strong or soft, curved or straight, heavy with ink or dry
dynasty (1122–221 BCE) in the stiff, cold, classic, formal
and faint, pushed against the paper or lightly withdrawn
ideograms of the “great seal” style (da zhuan) that covered
from it. A character, regardless of its number of strokes, must
ceremonial bronzes with messages of felicity in the afterlife.
occupy the same amount of space within an invisible square,
These vessels, suitable for cooking or wine, were entombed
and must be equidistant from all others on the page. Each
with their masters, who might need such comforts as they
stroke composing the ideogram must be written in correct
journeyed to join their ancestors. “Great seal” was the writing
order—from top to bottom, left to right, vertical strokes be-
Confucius read and wrote, and it is still used in China and
fore horizontal ones.
Japan for signature seals (chops) or ornamental inscriptions
In 405 CE, Wani, a Korean scribe well versed in Chinese
of a particularly exalted sort.
classics, was hired by the imperial court of Japan as tutor to
Following the unification of China in 221 BCE, the first
the crown prince. Japan had no written language of its own,
emperor of the Qin dynasty simplified and regularized the
and it had become increasingly necessary to communicate
written language into the “small seal” style (xiao zhuan).
with its powerful neighbor, the “center of the universe.”
Writing continued in use as ceremony and religious obser-
Within a century China began sending presents to Japan’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
CALLIGRAPHY: HEBREW MICROGRAPHY
1371
emperor—images of Lord Buddha, su¯tras translated into
Ecke Zong Youhe. Chinese Calligraphy. Philadelphia, 1971.
Chinese from the Sanskrit and Pali, and the teachings of
Hisamatsu, Shin’ichi. Zen and the Fine Arts. Tokyo, 1971.
Confucius. Scholars arrived from China bringing with them
Sansom, George B. Japan: A Short Cultural History (1931). Rev.
books, music, medicines (tea among them), the craft of cal-
ed. New York, 1962.
endar making, and the art of divination. And with them also
came the “four perfections of calligraphy”—the brush, paper,
Sullivan, Michael. The Three Perfections. New York, 1980.
ink stick, and ink stone.
Tazawa Yutaka, ed. Biographical Dictionary of Japanese Art.
Calligraphy in Japan is called shodo¯, “way of writing,”
Tokyo, 1984.
and is a way of life, a path or pursuit, like bushido¯, the path
New Sources
of the warrior, sado¯, the cul˙t of tea, or Shinto¯, the way of the
Barrass, Gordon. The Art of Calligraphy in Modern China. Berke-
gods. In the Nara period (710–784 CE) priests began the
ley, 2002.
practice of shakyo¯, the copying over and over of su¯tras,
Ellsworth, Robert Hatfield. Later Chinese Painting and Calligraphy
the Buddha’s teachings and commentaries thereon, a custom
1800–1950. New York, 1987.
that continues to this day. A Chinese priest had said, “If you
Gaur, Albertine. A History of Calligraphy. London, 1994.
do not understand, write the su¯tra. Then you will see its
inner meaning.” Obediently, priests spent lifetimes at this
Sturman, Peter Charles. Mi Fu: Style and the Art of Calligraphy in
Northern Song China. New Haven, 1997.
labor in search of enlightenment (which sometimes came in
the middle of an ideographic stroke), as penance, and as a
Zeng, Youhe. A History of Chinese Calligraphy. Hong Kong, 1993.
means of raising temple funds. Spiritual merit accrued not
FAUBION BOWERS (1987)
only to the writer but to the beholder and to anyone who
Revised Bibliography
purchased the manuscript.
Japan’s earliest poems were in Chinese, but gradually
the Japanese broke free and began adapting monosyllabic,
CALLIGRAPHY: HEBREW MICROGRAPHY
short, concise, and tonal Chinese to their own spoken lan-
The patterning of Hebrew texts into ornamental motifs is a
guage, which is polysyllabic, highly inflected, and periphras-
medieval art form that bears the modern name of microgra-
tic with affixes for adjectives and prefixes for nouns. In the
phy, “minute writing.” Within an artistic tradition almost
ninth century the women of the Heian court devised brief
universally consigned to dependency on one dominant cul-
cursive signs called hiragana, a syllabary that derived from
ture or another because of its minority status, this distinctive
Chinese and, remotely, was probably inspired by the Sanskrit
calligraphic device represents one of the most original aspects
alphabet known in Chinese translation.
of Jewish art.
At present, calligraphy is held in highest esteem in
E
Japan. Scholars practice hitsudan, or communicating with
MERGENCE OF THE ART. Micrographic decoration can be
found on manuscripts from Yemen to Germany, but its his-
each other by exchanging notes across a table. (They can also
torical origins lie in the eastern Mediterranean, during the
communicate with modern Chinese this way without know-
first few centuries of Muslim rule. The earliest dated example
ing the pronunciation of a single spoken word.) Great callig-
is the Cairo Codex of the Prophets written in Tiberius in
raphers are paid as much as fifty thousand dollars a word,
894/5
and specimens of fine writing adorn shopping bags, cigarette
CE by the renowned scholar Moshe ben Asher. In the
manner of near-contemporary QurDa¯ns, the manuscript con-
boxes, or signs outside a shop window. Kabuki actors are ap-
tains five “carpet pages” of geometric and floral motifs, but
plauded for their calligraphy, and an onnagata (a player of
six other full-page compositions are made up of elaborate mi-
female roles) will mix a touch of lipstick in his ink to add
crographic patterns; simpler lettered designs are scattered
eroticism to an autograph. Kakizome, the first brush writing
throughout the margins of the text itself, and at the end, the
of the new year, occurs annually on January 2, and at “callig-
patron’s colophon is similarly framed with writing.
raphy meets” more than a thousand participants ranging in
age from five to sixty gather in the Great Martial Arts Hall
In addition to the Cairo Codex of the Prophets, pat-
of Tokyo to compete for prizes.
terned texts appear on at least fifteen other manuscripts and
Although the typewriter and the fountain pen have re-
fragments dating from the tenth or eleventh century, all of
moved calligraphy from the daily life of the average Japanese,
which are associated with Egypt, although the scribes fre-
many men and women practice it as a form of spiritual disci-
quently come from elsewhere in the Muslim empire. Taken
pline. As Aoyama San’u, one of the greatest living calligra-
together, these early examples reflect quite clearly the dual
phers, expresses it, “In calligraphy you see the reality of the
Judeo-Muslim context that literally shaped the micrographic
person. When you write you cannot lie, retouch, ornament.
art. The meeting ground of the two, of course, was the vener-
You are naked before God.”
ation of the word of God, but while the Muslim scribes gave
visual expression to this religious stance through the refine-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
ment of the letters that made up the divine words, their Jew-
Chen Zhimai. Chinese Calligraphers and Their Art. New York,
ish counterparts opted instead to fashion words into pat-
1966.
terns. And here, the basic conservatism of the micrographic
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1372
CALLIGRAPHY: ISLAMIC CALLIGRAPHY
script, which is never regularized or embellished like the Ara-
manuscript arts, declined in the wake of the printed book.
bic letters of the QurDa¯n, may well reflect a reluctance to alter
But the technique soon reemerged throughout eastern and
the alphabet that had been used for centuries in the writing
western Europe in popular engravings and then lithographs,
of the Torah scroll (a practice carefully regulated in the
with subjects ranging from mizrah: and shiviti designs to indi-
Talmud).
cate the direction of prayer toward Jerusalem to Bible illus-
The words chosen for patterning were drawn from the
trations, rabbi portraits, and postcard views from Palestine,
Bible itself and the masorah, the critical apparatus aimed at
all of which were often executed in an incongruously realistic
keeping the biblical text intact through an elaborate system
style. Renewed interest in Jewish art has drawn some modern
of word counts. Significantly, the Cairo Codex of the Proph-
artists back to traditional micrography techniques.
ets is also the earliest dated Bible with masorah—the activities
of Masoretes and scribes alike (and Moshe ben Asher was
BIBLIOGRAPHY
both) were devoted in their respective ways to the preserva-
The most extensive work on Hebrew micrography has been done
tion of the sacred scripture. On the popular level, these ef-
by Leila Avrin, whose essay “Micrography as Art,” published
along with Colette Sirat’s “La lettre hébraïque et sa significa-
forts were endowed with mystical and magical significance
tion” as Études de paléographie hébraïque (Paris, 1981), con-
as well, through deeply rooted notions of letter symbolism
tains many illustrations and relevant bibliography. See also
and the power of the word.
Avrin’s “The Illustrations of the Moshe ben Asher Codex of
In fact, it is this last dimension that suggests a concrete
985 CE.” (Ph.D. diss., University of Michigan, Ann Arbor,
source for the convention of micrographic decoration, name-
1974).
ly the amulets and charms that were commonly inscribed,
New Sources
in minuscule letters, with the names of God and biblical
Avrin, Leila. “Hebrew Micrography.” Ariel 53 (1983): 90–100.
verses often patterned around magical figures. In the early
Metzger, Thérèse. “Ornamental Micrography in Medieval He-
micrographic Bibles, this amuletic inspiration—and in-
brew Manuscripts.” Bibliotheca Orientalis 43 (1986):
tent—is apparent throughout, from arcane marginal decora-
377–388.
tions made up of in-text masorah to elaborate geometric car-
MIRIAM ROSEN (1987)
pet pages incorporating propitious biblical verses.
Revised Bibliography
LATER DEVELOPMENTS. Within the Muslim world, microg-
raphy spread from the eastern Mediterranean to Yemen,
where it became a highly developed art in the fifteenth centu-
CALLIGRAPHY: ISLAMIC CALLIGRAPHY
ry and continued into the seventeenth. The most striking ex-
Calligraphy occupies the highest rank among the arts of
ample is a 1469 Pentateuch (British Museum, MS Or.
Islam: according to the tradition of the Prophet, the calligra-
2348), with a double-page design that fashions Psalm 119
pher, who knows how to pen in beautiful letters the word
into a Mamluk metalwork pattern of mountains and fish.
of God or even a fragment of the QurDa¯n, will certainly go
Through the Iberian Peninsula the technique reached
to Paradise. The art of calligraphy developed at an early stage
Europe by the the thirteenth century. Spanish variants on the
of Islamic history, and soon the ungainly characters of the
Near Eastern repertoire include the addition of a framing
Semitic alphabet were transformed into decorative letters. An
text in large letters around carpet pages and the outlining of
angular, hieratic script developed for the preservation of the
solid decorations with micrographic borders, as well as a few
QurDa¯n; although several early styles existed, it is generally
representational images in micrography illustrating the adja-
called Ku¯f¯ı or Kufic (from the city of Kufa in Iraq), and in
cent Bible text. The most elaborate Spanish Bible (Bibliothè-
pious tradition certain features of it are ascribed to EAl¯ı ibn
que Nationale, Paris, MS Hébreu 1314–1315) opens with
Ab¯ı T:a¯lib, considered the patron of calligraphers. Early
eight carpet pages containing the entire biblical text in mi-
Kufic lacks the diacritical marks that were added after 685,
crographic interlace.
as were the signs for vocalization (both in color). A cursive
In Germany and France, Gothic marginalia—
hand was also used, as numerous papyri show. This was de-
grotesques and heraldic motifs—make their way into the mi-
veloped into several styles for chancelery and copying pur-
crographic tradition alongside the Near Eastern interlace,
poses when the use of paper (introduced from China) be-
while the carpet pages at the beginning and end of the manu-
came common in the Islamic world after 751. Early Kufic
script give way to full-page designs inserted between individ-
QurDa¯ns are written on vellum with a reed pen; the format
ual books of the Bible, including floral and animal motifs
of the books is oblong, and only from about the tenth centu-
around the initial word of the biblical text. Full-page illustra-
ry was the normal book format adapted for QurDa¯ns, appar-
tions are also formed from micrographic text, as in the repre-
ently first in the eastern Islamic world. With this change of
sentations of Aaron found at the end of the Book of Exodus
format, the lettering too changed: the broad, very impressive
in a 1294/5 Pentateuch (Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, MS
early Kufic assumed a taller, more graceful stature, and its
Hébreu 5).
developed forms are still used for decorative purposes.
Apart from a revival of decorated marriage contracts (ke-
The cursive hand was transformed into true calligraphy
tubot) in seventeenth-century Italy, micrography, like other
by the Abbasid vizier Ibn Muqlah (d. 940), who invented 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
CALVERT, GEORGE
1373
system of measuring the letters by circles and semicircles,
lamic Calligraphy (Boulder, 1979). Martin Lings’s The
with the first letter, alif, becoming the measure for the other
Qur Danic Art of Calligraphy and Illumination (London, 1976)
twenty-seven letters. As alif is basically a straight vertical line
is excellent because it dwells upon the religious character of
with the numerical value 1 and is used in mystical specula-
writing. Ernst Kühnel’s small but weighty book Islamische
tion as a symbol for Alla¯h (God), the formation of the letters
Schriftkunst (1942; reprint, Graz, 1972) is still very valuable
“in the shape of alif” corresponds in a mystical way to the
for its all-around approach and interesting examples. I have
provided a brief introduction to the subject in Islamic Callig-
shaping of Adam “in his, God’s, form.” The rules of Ibn
raphy (Leiden, 1970) and delved at greater length into the
Muqlah were refined by Ibn al-Bawwab (d. 1032). Along
history, the social situation of the calligraphers, and the uses
with the circles, the square dots produced by the tip of the
of calligraphy in Sufism and in poetical parlance in Calligra-
reed pen served as measuring units: an alif could be five,
phy and Islamic Culture (New York, 1984).
seven, or nine points high, and all the other letters had to
be formed accordingly. Su¯f¯ı interpretation saw here the pri-
ANNEMARIE SCHIMMEL (1987)
mordial dot from which everything created developed. Cur-
sive writing replaced Kufic first in books and documents (in
early days usually written as scroll), then, in the thirteenth
CALVERT, GEORGE (1580?–1632), secretary of
century, also in epigraphy, where the angular letters had
state and privy councillor under King James I of England;
grown, between 800 and 1250, into multiple forms of flori-
the first Lord Baltimore, principally known for his efforts in
ated, foliated, and plaited Kufic, which became barely legible
advancing religious toleration in an age that regarded plural-
but formed exquisite geometrical ornaments. In Iran, a
ism as dangerous.
“hanging,” slanted cursive developed from grammatical exi-
gencies; it was refined according to Ibn Muqlah’s rules to be-
Calvert’s commitment to religious toleration was a re-
come the “bride of Islamic writings,” nasta El¯ıq, the ideal ve-
flection of his unsettled religious life. Born into a Roman
hicle for copying Persian, Turkish, and Urdu poetry.
Catholic family that was troubled periodically for its alle-
giance to a proscribed church, he lived as a Catholic during
Calligraphy can be exercised on every material: vellum,
the first twelve years of his life. In 1592 his father succumbed
papyrus, and paper (paper mills are found from Spain to
to the harassment of the Yorkshire High Commission and
India); it is woven into silk and linen, embroidered on velvet,
certified his conformity to the rites of the Church of En-
used in metalwork and wood, on glass and ceramics, on
gland. George Calvert soon conformed and for the next thir-
stones and tiles. Brick and tile compositions result in
ty-two years lived as a Protestant.
“square” Kufic, where the names of God and the Prophet
(and in Iran, EAl¯ı) or religious formulas can cover whole walls
At about the age of fourteen Calvert matriculated at
in geometrical design. Calligraphy on paper (which includes
Trinity College, Oxford, where he studied foreign languages.
the patterns for the other types of writing) is written with
After earning his bachelor’s degree, he spent three years
a reed pen; only very rarely—in early days in Central Asia
studying municipal law at the Inns of Court. In 1603, while
and India—a brush may have been used. The trimming of
on a continental tour, he came to the attention of secretary
the pen in distinct angles and the preparation of the various
of state Robert Cecil, who was in Paris. Employed as one of
types of ink belong to the arts the calligrapher has to learn,
his many secretaries, Calvert used Cecil’s influence to begin
as he has to study the shape of each and every letter for years
a slow but steady climb in the government of James I. He
before becoming a master who is allowed to sign works with
traveled overseas on a number of diplomatic missions. In Ire-
his katabahu, “has written.” Only in North Africa did pupils
land he served as a member of a commission investigating
write whole words immediately, which accounts for the less
the complaints of Irish Roman Catholics. In 1610 Calvert
“calligraphic” quality of the so-called Maghribi style.
was named one of the clerks of the Privy Council. Later he
assisted James in writing a tract refuting the Dutch theolo-
Later calligraphers liked to form tughra¯s—originally the
gian Conrad Vorstius. Two years after knighting him in
elaborate signature or handsign of a ruler at the beginning
1617, James appointed Calvert as one of the secretaries of
of a document. Subsequently the word is applied to all kinds
state and made him a member of the Privy Council.
of artistic shapes: mirrored sentences, pious formulas in the
shape of birds, lions, or other creatures, faces made of sacred
During the negotiations to marry heir apparent Prince
names, or harmonically elaborated calligrams of invocations,
Charles to the Spanish Infanta, and to cement an alliance be-
prayers, or divine names. The imagery of calligraphy perme-
tween Spain and England, Calvert, as secretary of state, be-
ates Islamic poetry, and the interpretation of letters accord-
came closely identified with both the Spanish and Roman
ing to their numerical value and their “mystical” qualities
Catholic causes. Laboring diligently to achieve the king’s
was, and still is, widespread.
goal, Calvert reached the pinnacle of his power in 1621 and
1622. However, when the government scuttled the marriage
B
treaties in 1624, Calvert lost favor at court and came under
IBLIOGRAPHY
Numerous publications on calligraphy have been issued recently,
intense pressure to resign his office. During this crisis, he re-
most of which are devoted to aesthetic rather than historical
solved his religious commitments, declaring his intention to
purposes. A good brief introduction is Yasin H. Safadi’s Is-
live and die a Catholic. He resigned his office, selling it for
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1374
CALVIN, JOHN
three thousand pounds. James elevated him to the Irish peer-
Also a humanist and linguist, Calvin helped to shape and
age by creating him baron of Baltimore.
standardize French language and literary style.
Out of office, Lord Baltimore turned his attention to his
Calvin was reclusive and reticent; hence the only Calvin
Irish estates and to the supervision of his Newfoundland col-
we know is the public figure. Of his first twenty-five years
ony, for which he had received a charter in 1621. In 1628
we know comparatively little. He was born at Noyon (prov-
he returned to Newfoundland intending to colonize the re-
ince of Picardy), France, on July 10, 1509, the fourth of six
gion with a religiously diverse population. However, the for-
children born to Gérard Cauvin and Jeanne Lefranc. Chris-
bidding climate and the hostility of the French convinced
tened Jean Cauvin, from his university days he used the
him to abandon his plans of permanent residency in New-
name Calvin, the latinized form of Cauvin. He spent his first
foundland. Baltimore subsequently journeyed to Virginia
thirteen years in Noyon, benefiting from the rich traditions
and, impressed by what he saw there, returned to England
of this historic episcopal city where his father served as attor-
in 1630 to secure a charter for a colony along Chesapeake
ney for the cathedral and secretary to the bishop, Charles de
Bay.
Hangest.
Despite the opposition encountered from some of the
Intimately associated as a youth with the de Hangest
Protestant settlers in Newfoundland to his policy of religious
household, Calvin developed aristocratic tastes and demea-
toleration, the Catholic Baltimore drew upon his own expe-
nor. Church benefices permitted him to further his educa-
riences in government and rejected the dominant concept of
tion at the University of Paris; he spent nearly eleven years
cuius regio eius religio, namely that the local ruler’s religion
in Paris, participating in the intellectual life both of the uni-
must be the religion of the region. Rather, he sought to
versity and the large circle of humanist scholars at the court
found a colony where Catholics and Protestants could work
of the king, Francis I.
together to achieve an economically viable enterprise. He
died in April 1632, shortly before the Maryland Charter
At the university, preparing for a career in theology,
passed its final seals. The founding of the colony in 1634 was
Calvin had completed the master of arts degree when his fa-
left to his son Cecil, the second Lord Baltimore.
ther had a falling-out with the bishop. The father ordered
his son to change to a career in law. Obediently Calvin
moved to Orléans, where the best law faculty in France,
BIBLIOGRAPHY
There is to date no modern biography of George Calvert. The
under the leadership of Pierre de l’Étoile, was located.
most thorough biography is Lewis W. Wilhelm’s Sir George
Though more interested in humanist studies, he completely
Calvert, Baron of Baltimore (Baltimore, 1884). It must be
immersed himself in the law (at Orléans, Bourges, and Paris)
used cautiously, however, as it contains many errors. The
and took his doctorate and his licentiate in three years.
Maryland Historical Society published the first four chapters
In 1531 Calvin’s father died excommunicate. The
of James W. Foster’s uncompleted biography under the title
struggle to secure a Christian burial for his father doubtless
George Calvert: The Early Years (Baltimore, 1983). Calvert’s
letters, mostly official, are scattered throughout the State Pa-
soured Calvin’s relations with the Roman church. But for the
pers in the Public Record Office (London) and in The Cal-
moment the effect of his father’s death was to permit him
vert Papers in the Maryland Historical Society (Baltimore).
to commit himself to the uninterrupted pursuit of humanist
For Calvert’s conversion to Roman Catholicism, see my short
studies.
study “‘The Face of a Protestant, and the Heart of a Papist’:
In 1532 Calvin published his first book, a commentary
A Reexamination of Sir George Calvert’s Conversion to
on Seneca’s On Clemency. Though distinguished for its learn-
Roman Catholicism,” Journal of Church and State 20 (Au-
ing, the book did not win him any acclaim. His days of hu-
tumn 1978): 507–531. For his religious problems in his
manist study in Paris were cut short when, in 1533, his close
Newfoundland colony, see R. J. Lahey’s “The Role of Reli-
gion in Lord Baltimore’s Colonial Enterprise,” Maryland
friend Nicholas Cop, rector of the University of Paris, deliv-
Historical Magazine 72 (Winter 1977): 492–511. For the
ered an address that incorporated ideas of the Lutheran Ref-
role of religion in the colony founded by his heir, Cecil Cal-
ormation. Reaction by the theologians at the Sorbonne was
vert, see my articles “Lord Baltimore, Roman Catholics, and
strong, and because Calvin had a hand in the composition
Toleration: Religious Policy in Maryland during the Early
of the address, he, along with Cop, was forced to flee for his
Catholic Years, 1634–1649,” Catholic Historical Review 45
life. Although scholarly opinion differs, it appears that short-
(January 1979): 49–75, and “‘With Promise of Liberty in
ly thereafter he underwent the “sudden conversion” he
Religion’: The Catholic Lords Baltimore and Toleration in
speaks about later. A marked man in France, Calvin spent
Seventeenth-Century Maryland, 1634–1692,” Maryland
the rest of his life in exile.
Historical Magazine 79 (Spring 1984): 21–43.
Having turned his considerable talents to the support
JOHN D. KRUGLER (1987)
of the Reformation, in early 1536 Calvin published at Basel
the first edition of his epochal Institutes of the Christian Reli-
gion. Intended as a defense of the French Protestants to the
CALVIN, JOHN (1509–1564), primary Protestant re-
king of France, it marked Calvin as the foremost mind of
former, biblical scholar, church organizer, and theologian.
Protestantism. The desired life of solitude and study that per-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CALVIN, JOHN
1375
mitted its composition could never again be Calvin’s. In late
by the Holy Spirit. It is, thus, a spiritual message. Hence Cal-
July of 1536, he happened to stop in the small city of Gene-
vin should not be viewed as an academic theologian, or as
va; there God “thrust him into the fray,” as he was to say.
a theologian writing for intellectual purposes. He wrote for
Geneva had recently declared for the Protestant faith under
the church, for believers; his purpose was to edify, to form
the urging of the fiery evangelist Guillaume Farel, one of
the pious mind that would emerge in reverential, grateful
Calvin’s colleagues from his Paris days. Farel, learning of
worship and adoration of God. He constantly warned his
Calvin’s presence in the city, sought him out and urged him
readers not to indulge in idle speculation, not to seek to
to join in the work of reform at Geneva. When Calvin re-
know anything except what is revealed in the scripture, not
fused, Farel thundered that God would punish him for turn-
to forget that theology is more of the heart than of the head.
ing his back on that work. The shaken Calvin heard it as the
Consequently, being biblical, practical, and spiritual, his the-
summons of God and agreed to stay. Except for a three-year
ology was of a different type from that of most of the later
period of peaceful study and ministry in Strasbourg (1538–
Calvinists who wrote for the university audience, for those
1541), Calvin was henceforth associated with the city and
who regarded theology as the “queen of the sciences” in the
republic of Geneva in a stormy ministry designed to bring
world of ideas.
the city into conformity with the biblical model as he under-
stood it.
The principal source for Calvin’s thought is, of course,
the Institutes. This book is best understood as a manual on
Calvin’s ideal for Geneva was that church and state
spirituality. And, although the corpus of his writings is great,
work hand in hand to create and govern a utopian society
Calvin’s ideas, whether found in sermons, biblical commen-
in which the biblical worldview was enforced. But the Gene-
taries, or polemical literature, are consistent with what is
van state was determined to keep the church under its con-
presented in the Institutes.
trol. A man of courage and indomitable will, Calvin took up
the battle. Armed only with the power of the pulpit and of
In general Calvin had fully accepted Luther’s idea that
the church institutions, through persistence, adherence to
salvation is by grace alone through faith. Beyond this, schol-
biblical principles, organizational talents, and moral convic-
ars have been unable to establish that any one specific doc-
tion, he managed to overcome massive resistance and to see
trine is central to his thought. The basic and fundamental
most of his ideals realized. Geneva was transformed from a
development of his thought was not according to the tradi-
city of ill repute to one in which a strict moral code regulated
tional topics of theology, sequentially and logically devel-
the lives of all, regardless of rank or class. In spite of the radi-
oped. Formally he organized his material according to the
cal harshness of his policies, by the end of his life Calvin was
topical format, suggesting that the key to its analysis be
widely respected, even admired, by the Genevans. From an
sought from the perspective of one or several discrete topics.
international perspective, Geneva became the model for the
Yet this approach has only led to an impasse—even to the
emerging Protestant states, a city of refuge for persecuted
conclusion that he was in logic and purpose inexact and am-
Protestants, and the so-called “Rome” of Protestantism. Of
biguous. The often-discussed doctrines of providence and
perhaps capital importance, Calvin’s program—alone
predestination, for example, are presented by Calvin as the
among the Protestant groups—included both a training cen-
response or affirmation of a man of faith, affirming the con-
ter (in the University of Geneva, which he established) and
trol of God in his life, not as an epistemological program.
an acceptance of a missionary mandate to export Calvinism
To approach his theology from specific topics such as these
throughout the world. Hence Calvinism, or Reformed Prot-
has not been fruitful. There are, however, larger, general
estantism, was the only Protestant group with universalistic
ideas or themes that run through the Institutes from the first
designs.
page to the last like so many threads in an intricate tapestry
and that point to what is essential in his thought. He under-
Unquestionably, Calvin was first and foremost a man
stood the redemptive message to be the same in both the Old
of ideas, although he effectively blended thought and action.
and the New Testament; hence his theology can be seen as
True to his Renaissance humanist orientation, he was inter-
all of a piece, permitting the dominance of the thematic ap-
ested only in what was useful. All of his ideas are designed
proach rather than the topical.
for practical application, whether to an individual religious
experience or to a specific activity of the church. Further, the
Calvin’s theological program is based on the dictum of
rhetorical and pedagogical program of the humanists formed
Augustine that man is created for communion with God and
the basis of his thought, and their devotion to original
that he will be unfulfilled until he rests in God. Calvin usual-
sources determined his methodology. As a theologian he in-
ly expresses this idea in terms of a union with the Maker and
tended only to set forth scriptural teaching. He accommo-
Redeemer, which is presented as essential to man’s spiritual
dated ambiguity and contradiction in his theology, for peo-
life. Thus the relationship between God and man is made
ple are both limited in mental capacity and debilitated by sin,
the basis of all theological discourse, and this union or com-
hence totally reliant upon the revelation of God in scripture.
munion is established and maintained through what Calvin
calls knowledge, a theme or idea that becomes an ordering
For Calvin, the word of God in scripture is generated
principle of his theology. Knowledge of God the creator and
by the Holy Spirit and, therefore, properly interpreted only
knowledge of God the redeemer are the two divisions of his
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1376
CALVIN, JOHN
thought. He uses the term knowledge practically synony-
enduring legacy, is due principally to the nature of his
mously with the term faith. It comprises both the elements
church, to its unique, adaptable, and efficient organization.
of objective information and its subjective appropriation, but
Although its unique blend of theory and practicality meant
essentially it consists of a reverential and worshipful trust in
that Calvin’s theology could be drawn upon by a variety of
the goodness and bounty of God. As with all of his theologi-
different interests, it can also be shown that his theology was
cal ideas, two poles or foci must be kept in balance: the
revised almost beyond recognition very shortly after his death
knowledge of God and the knowledge of self. God is al-
and that the Institutes were not widely read in the late six-
ways—in the context of every theological discussion—at
teenth and early seventeenth centuries. Moreover, while the
once the great, infinite, and incomprehensible being who
educational system produced an informed and well-trained
calls all things out of nothing, as well as the loving, conde-
church membership that was designed to be educationally
scending, and revealing being who calls men and women to
self-perpetuating, it seems undeniable that the unique orga-
commune with him. God is always hidden and revealed,
nizational structure of the Calvinist church was required for
both beyond our comprehension and revealed to us at our
the growth and development of the educational program.
level. Humans, albeit the greatest of God’s creations, are al-
Calvin appears to have recognized as much, for on his return
ways dependent creatures, both because we are created to be
to Geneva in 1541, his first major undertaking was to secure
so and because our sin renders us totally helpless in spiritual
approval of his Ecclesiastical Ordinances, which set forth the
things. Consequently God must always be the initiator of
organization of the church.
any communication with us. And hence humility, sobriety,
Calvin developed a representative form of church gov-
and teachableness are our principal virtues.
ernment with the fundamental activity based in the local
church. The leadership was elected from the local member-
Although he always keeps in mind the perfect condition
ship, and the power, which ultimately resided in the local
in which all things were created, because of the cataclysmic
membership as a whole, was vested in these elected officials,
event of the Fall, all of Calvin’s theology is concerned with
not in the clergy. While there are three higher levels of au-
redemption, with the restoration of the state that God origi-
thority above the local church, established in ascending rep-
nally created. Christ alone is the mediator who both reveals
resentative bodies and culminating in the national or general
and effects this redemption, or restoration. Human beings
assembly, part of the genius of this organization lies in the
are in bondage to sinful nature, so anything relating to this
ability of the local church, in times of emergency, to function
restoration must be initiated by God through Christ. Resto-
without the meeting of the upper-level bodies. As a result
ration occurs when the person is united to Christ by re-
these Calvinist churches were nearly impossible to eradicate.
sponding in faith to the provision made through Christ’s
Silencing the minister and arresting the leadership only tem-
death and resurrection, but this mystical union occurs only
porarily disrupted the church, for the minister was not an es-
if and when the hidden or secret work of the Holy Spirit en-
sential element in the church’s continuance, and in a short
genders that faith. The faithful person is called to obedience,
time new leaders would be elected. So the church could sur-
to be a servant of righteousness, to model his or her life after
vive, even flourish, under conditions of severe persecution.
the incarnate Christ. In this sense Calvin’s theology is Chris-
Beyond the necessary capacity to continue to exist in times
tocentric. But he did not focus attention only in the area of
when religious persecution and wars were the order of the
Christology, for all that Christ does and is, is made real to
day, the representative nature of the church responded to the
man only through the work of the Holy Spirit. Indeed, all
psychological and political reality that humankind is more
of his soteriology is presented in the context of the work of
likely to be committed to a cause when participation in the
the Holy Spirit, “the bond by which Christ effectually unites
decision-making process is involved. The impact of the rep-
us to himself.” The work of restoration, by the power of the
resentative nature of the Calvinist church has been signifi-
Holy Spirit, is done in the context of the church, God’s gra-
cant in the development of the democratic political struc-
cious provision for the activity of preaching and teaching, for
tures of the Western world.
the administration of the sacraments, and for the commu-
nion (and reproof) of the saints.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Calvinists were the most vital of the Protestant groups,
Primary Sources
spreading throughout Europe and the New World, triumph-
The numerous works of Calvin are available, in the original texts,
ing in Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Scotland, and for
in the fifty-nine volumes of the magisterial Ioannis Calvini
a time in England and America. Scholarly opinion is divided
opera quae supersunt omnia, edited by J. W. Baum and others
over whether this success is due mainly to Calvin’s theologi-
(Braunschweig, 1863–1900), and in its continuation, the
cal teaching, to his training and educational program (the
Supplementa Calviniana, a collection of subsequently discov-
ered sermons edited by Erwin Mülhaupt and others (Neukir-
complete revamping of the elementary schools and the cre-
chen, 1961–), seven volumes to date with more to come. In
ation of the University of Geneva), or to his organizational
English, the best edition of the Institutes of the Christian Reli-
talent. Probably all of these are contributory factors, and per-
gion is that of J. T. McNeill, translated by Ford Lewis Battles
haps others, but it does seem that the vitality of the Re-
(Philadelphia, 1960) in two volumes. Many other works are
formed or Calvinist movement, and therefore Calvin’s most
available in English translation, including the important edi-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CAMPBELL, JOSEPH
1377
tion of The New Testament Commentaries edited by Thomas
for Christian union through the “restoration of the ancient
F. Torrance and David W. Torrance (Edinburgh, 1959–).
order of things,” that is, by restoring New Testament Chris-
Secondary Sources
tianity. Prior to 1830 Campbell was extremely iconoclastic
An excellent guide to the secondary literature is J. T. McNeill’s
in his attacks on the popular churches, ridiculing the clergy
“Fifty Years of Calvin Study: 1918–1968,” which is prefaced
and seeming to attack all cooperative societies. After 1830
to Williston Walker’s John Calvin, the Organiser of Reformed
he became a more constructive builder and seemed confident
Protestantism, 1509–1564 (reprint, New York, 1969). T. H.
that the millennium was about to begin, initiated by the res-
L. Parker’s John Calvin (Philadelphia, 1975), is fully in-
toration movement. In 1849 a group of Disciples leaders es-
formed and reliable, but the fullest and best biography, in
tablished the young church’s first national organization, the
spite of its hagiographic character, is Émile Doumergue’s
American Christian Missionary Society, and, although he
seven-volume Jean Calvin, les hommes et les choses de son temps
was not present at the meeting, Campbell accepted the presi-
(Lausanne, 1899–1927).
dency of the society.
On Calvin’s thought and influence, current scholarly opinion can
be found in the proceedings of the International Congress on
Campbell’s formal college training consisted of less than
Calvin Research edited by W. H. Neuser in three volumes
one year at Glasgow University, but he was a man of consid-
(vols. 1–2, Kampen, Netherlands, 1975, 1979; vol. 3, Bern,
erable erudition. He established a national reputation as a de-
1983). Benoît Giradin’s Rhétorique et théologique . . . (Paris,
bater, especially as a result of widely publicized debates with
1979) is indispensable for the explication of the nature and
the renowned Scottish socialist and atheist Robert Owen, in
structure of his thought, and E. A. Dowey’s The Knowledge
1829, and with the Roman Catholic archbishop of Cincin-
of God in Calvin’s Theology (New York, 1952) is one of the
nati, John B. Purcell, in 1837. Campbell became financially
better introductions. Richard Stauffer’s Dieu, la création et
independent as a result of his marriage to Margaret Brown
al providence dans la prédication de Calvin (Bern, 1978) is an
in 1811, and he spent the remainder of his life living near
excellent corrective to the exclusively Christocentric interpre-
tation of many recent scholars. On Calvin’s influence, Rob-
his wife’s home in Brooke County in western Virginia. He
ert M. Kingdom’s Geneva and the Coming of the Wars of Reli-
became a moderately wealthy man, and in 1829, in his only
gion in France, 1555–1563 (Geneva, 1956) and Geneva and
venture into politics, he was elected a delegate to the Virginia
the Consolidation of the French Protestant Movement, 1564–
Constitutional Convention. In 1841, Campbell established
1572 (Geneva and Madison, Wis., 1967) are representative
Bethany College near his home. Until his death he served as
and excellent studies.
president and professor of moral sciences at the college and
B
trained a generation of leaders for Disciples churches. Camp-
RIAN G. ARMSTRONG (1987)
bell traveled and preached widely throughout the United
States, as well as in England and Scotland. The aging reform-
er was discouraged by the sectional tension caused by the
CAMPBELL, ALEXANDER (1788–1866), one of
slavery debate and the Civil War. He counseled moderation
the founders and the foremost early leader of the Disciples
and believed that the restoration movement could survive the
of Christ. Campbell was born in County Antrim, Northern
tragedy, but by the time of his death his millennial hopes had
Ireland, the son of a Presbyterian minister, Thomas Camp-
given way to pessimism.
bell. He immigrated to America in 1809, joining his father,
who had come two years earlier. When he arrived, Campbell
SEE ALSO Disciples of Christ.
discovered that his father had broken with the Presbyterian
church and had begun a small, nonsectarian “Christian asso-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
ciation.” Having been exposed to similar New Testament
No satisfactory biography of Alexander Campbell has yet been
primitivist ideas in Scotland, young Campbell embraced his
written. Probably the best source of information about the
reformer is still the classic study written by his friend Robert
father’s reform and quickly became the most prominent
Richardson, Memoirs of Alexander Campbell, 2 vols. (Phila-
leader of the new movement. For a time the Campbells were
delphia, 1868–1870). A novel based on Campbell’s life is
Baptists, and from 1823 to 1830 Alexander edited the Chris-
Louis Cochran’s The Fool of God (New York, 1958). Useful
tian Baptist, a periodical that attracted many supporters in
specialized studies include Harold L. Lunger’s The Political
the West and South. Beginning in the 1830s Campbell and
Ethics of Alexander Campbell (Saint Louis, 1954); R. Freder-
his “Reforming Baptist” supporters separated into indepen-
ick West’s Alexander Campbell and Natural Religion (New
dent churches. Campbell preferred the name Disciples of
Haven, 1948); and D. Ray Lindley’s Apostle of Freedom
Christ, but local churches frequently were called Christian
(Saint Louis, 1957). The most comprehensive statement of
Church or Church of Christ. In 1832 the church nearly dou-
Campbell’s ideas can be found in his own The Christian Sys-
bled in size through a union with the Christian movement
tem, 4th ed. (1866; reprint, New York, 1969).
led by Barton Stone of Kentucky; Campbell quickly became
DAVID EDWIN HARRELL, JR. (1987)
the dominant figure in the united denomination.
From 1830 until 1864 Campbell edited a journal called
the Millennial Harbinger, which became a mirror of his ma-
CAMPBELL, JOSEPH (1904–1987). Joseph Camp-
turing thought. The heart of Campbell’s plea was an appeal
bell was perhaps the best-known mythologist of the twenti-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1378
CAMPBELL, JOSEPH
eth century. His fame was largely due to his highly acclaimed
on Indian philosophy and art, along with several volumes
public television interviews with Bill Moyers in 1985–1986
from the Eranos conferences in Ascona, Switzerland, for the
and his posthumously published best-selling book, The
Bollingen series.
Power of Myth (1988), based on that series, and in no small
Campbell’s fascination with myth, Eastern religion, and
part to movie director George Lucas, who gave Campbell
Jungian psychology finally led to his own famous study of
credit for inspiring his movie Star Wars (1977). Campbell’s
hero myths, The Hero with a Thousand Faces (1949). Several
books on myth had many admirers, from literary critics who
other notable studies on comparative mythology followed.
found his analysis of hero myths interpretatively rich, to the
The Masks of God (1959–1968), written after an eye-opening
general public, who loved Campbell’s retellings of his “myths
trip to India in 1954, was a monumental four-volume survey
to live by.” Campbell believed that the world’s great myths
of “primitive,” “oriental,” “occidental,” and modern literary
symbolized the ultimate human spiritual goal of living joy-
“creative” mythology. His goal was to write a “natural histo-
fully and mystically, at one with one’s true self and the cos-
ry” of myths that traced “the fundamental unity of the spiri-
mos, and generations of fans took his advice to “follow your
tual history of mankind” by revealing themes with a world-
own bliss.”
wide distribution, such as “fire-theft, deluge, land of the
EARLY YEARS. Campbell was born in New York City in 1904
dead, virgin birth, and resurrected hero” (vol. 1, p. 3). This
to a prosperous Irish-American family who gave their gifted
was followed by The Flight of the Wild Gander (1969), a col-
child every advantage. He was trained in Roman Catholicism
lection of Campbell’s important essays on the biological,
at parochial school, but became fascinated by non-Western
metaphysical, and historical-cultural origins of myth as well
traditions after seeing American Indians at Buffalo Bill’s
as his own positive essay on the “secularization of the sacred”
Wild West Show. Campbell read widely, including many In-
in the modern world.
dian myths that, he noticed, shared common motifs with sto-
After retiring from Sarah Lawrence in 1972, Campbell
ries from the Bible. After entering Columbia University in
moved to Honolulu, where he continued writing. Books
1921, Campbell continued his studies in languages and liter-
from this period include Myths to Live By (1972), his argu-
ature, and studied anthropology with Franz Boas and philos-
ment that the modern world has a desperate need for new
ophy with John Dewey. Campbell was introduced to Eastern
myths; The Mythic Image (1974), his exploration of the inti-
religions on a trip to Europe before his college graduation.
mate connection between dreams, myths, and art; The Inner
There he met Jiddu Krishnamurti and read Edwin Arnold’s
Reaches of Outer Space: Metaphor as Myth and as Religion
The Light of Asia, with its translations of Asian religious clas-
(1986), a collection of lectures arguing that the true meaning
sics like the Upanis:ads and the life of the Buddha. Both Hin-
of myth is symbolic, universal, and mystical; The Historical
duism and Buddhism were to have a major impact on Camp-
Atlas of World Mythology (1983, 1989), a two-volume at-
bell’s interpretation of myths.
tempt to trace the historical origin and diffusion of myths;
After graduating in 1926 with a master’s degree in me-
and The Power of Myth. Campbell died of cancer in Honolu-
dieval literature, Campbell lived abroad in Paris and Munich
lu in 1987.
on a two-year traveling fellowship, studying Romance philol-
CONCEPTS OF MYTH. Campbell was hostile to organized re-
ogy and Sanskrit. He was deeply influenced by the contem-
ligion. Intellectually, his antipathy owes much to John
porary European intellectual scene, and particularly in-
Dewey’s critique of organized religion in his A Common
trigued by the fictional heroes of novelists James Joyce and
Faith (1934). Dewey dismissed religion as a set of fossilized
Thomas Mann, cultural morphologist Adolf Bastian’s notion
doctrines and institutions based upon a now scientifically
of elementary ideas, ethnologist Leo Frobenius’s idea of cul-
discredited belief in the supernatural and physical immortali-
ture circles, and Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung’s theories of
ty, weighted with historical doctrines and rituals that ob-
dreaming and the unconscious. Jung’s theory of collective ar-
scured the powerful personal experiences underlying it, and
chetypes and their role in the psychic process of self-
mistakenly believed to be literally rather than symbolically
integration had a lasting impact on Campbell’s thinking.
true. While institutional religion had little value for Dewey,
however, its symbols did. They expressed the “religious
SCHOLARLY WORK. In 1934, Campbell began his teaching
moral faith” of the individual who conscientiously harmo-
career at Sarah Lawrence College, where he was a popular in-
nized the self to the world through a pragmatic “adjustment”
structor until his retirement in 1972. His first major publica-
of human ethical ideals in response to an experience of the
tion, A Skeleton Key to Finnegans Wake (1944, with Henry
“imaginative totality” of the Universe (Dewey, 1934,
Morton Robinson), was in the field of literature, but Camp-
pp. 18–19).
bell’s broad scholarly interests soon shifted to mythology. He
was influenced by his friendship with the German Indologist
Campbell agreed with Dewey that taking such stories
Heinrich Zimmer, whose positive views of Indian myths as
as the virgin birth, heaven, and resurrection as literal truths
repositories of timeless spiritual truths greatly impressed him.
was absurd, and argued that they must be understood sym-
After Zimmer’s untimely death in 1943, Campbell edited his
bolically rather than doctrinally. In other respects, however,
manuscripts, publishing Zimmer’s Myths and Symbols in In-
Campbell abandoned Dewey’s self-conscious pragmatism for
dian Art and Civilization (1946) and other important books
a Jungian perspective. Campbell saw parallels between reli-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CAMPBELL, JOSEPH
1379
gious and dream symbolism and followed Jung’s view that
sonify a kind of spiritually radical monism that is not self-
dreams symbolized the collective patterns, or archetypes, of
sacrificing but rather a self-fulfilling realization of the “soul
the unconscious psyche. Campbell considered dreams to be
in the body, heaven on earth, and god in humanity” (Segal,
personalized myths, and myths to be depersonalized dreams.
1990, p. 138).
He believed that myth’s symbols expressed a psychic-
C
spiritual wisdom that could free ordinary people from the
RITICAL VIEWS. Several criticisms have been lodged against
Campbell’s comparative mythology. Folklorist Alan Dundes
debilitating anxieties and social chaos of modern secular
argues that, like many other universalists, Campbell is prone
society.
to sweeping generalizations. To show the universality of his
Campbell believed that religious doctrines were nothing
Belly of the Whale motif, for example, Campbell often cited
more than misunderstood mythology. In The Hero with a
stories in which a hero is swallowed. Dundes, however,
Thousand Faces, which he considered his most important
points out that Campbell’s motif of a fish swallowing a per-
work, Campbell drew on Freudian and Jungian psychology
son is not actually found worldwide; it is not found in sub-
to argue that hero myths worldwide use a universal narrative
Saharan Africa, for one, so how can it be a universal struc-
formula to describe rites of passage, each one a local example
ture? He further argues that Campbell’s examples include
of what James Joyce called the mono-myth, a narrative mag-
both Jonah being swallowed by a whale and Little Red Rid-
nification of a basic three-part structure: separation, initia-
ing Hood being swallowed by a wolf. But Little Red Riding
tion, and return. Despite their various historical and cultural
Hood is a heroine, not a hero; her story is a fairy tale, not
particularities, the stories of Jesus, Buddha, Gilgamesh, and
a myth; and a wolf, not a whale, swallows her. Campbell does
other mythological heroes ultimately shared an underlying
not explain to what level of generality an analysis can go to
archetypal unity of common motifs, symbols, and themes.
find the mythic pattern in myths.
They also had a shared meaning—a common psychological
Other critics, including Wallace Martin, fault Campbell
and metaphysical reality was at work in these tales. This uni-
for emphasizing what stories have in common, an approach
versality explains why ancient myths, even those of other
that inevitably blurs distinctions “and thus makes it impossi-
people, are still powerful today.
ble, within the theory, to show how and why stories are dif-
Campbell believed that myth functioned as a kind of
ferent” (Martin, 1986, p. 103). Wendy Doniger O’Flaherty
comforting second womb. He focused his work on the latter
dismisses this as Campbell’s “TV dinner approach” to myth,
half of human life, where dealing with despair and anxiety,
boiling it down to its bloodless archetypes. She sees this re-
and especially old age, sickness, and death, is unavoidable.
ductionism in The Historical Atlas of World Mythology, where
Myths responded to the reality of suffering and mortality by
Campbell abandoned Jungian theory for a supposedly histor-
revealing a spiritual way to transcend the universal tragedies
ical analysis tracing the origin of his mythic motifs through
of humanity. Campbell supplemented Jung’s theory of psy-
diffusion. What Campbell forgot, O’Flaherty notes, is that
cho-developmental integration of the unconscious and con-
a phallus, for example, may be archetypal, but it is “always
scious with the mysticism of Hinduism and Buddhism. He
someone’s phallus.” It is in the “banal details” of myths, their
believed world myths pointed to the possibility of apotheosis,
variants, and their culturally specific forms that meaning re-
of discarding personal ego and realizing an enduring oneness
sides (O’Flaherty, 1988, pp. 34–35). Because of his decon-
with the cosmos. The power of myth was its ability to shatter
textualizing approach, she argues, Campbell ignored indige-
“forms and our attachment to the forms” and through “com-
nous interpretations and trivialized the many and often
edy, the wild and careless, inexhaustible joy,” to evoke an ec-
contested meanings of myths within their cultures of origin.
static feeling of being alive (Campbell, 1949, pp. 28–29).
Although he recognized different functions of myth, his
Campbell modified his views after his trip to India in
critics claim that Campbell ignored the social, political, and
1954. In the latter volumes of The Masks of God, Occidental
ethical to focus exclusively on the mystical. In The Hero with
Mythology, and Creative Mythology, he rejected what he came
a Thousand Faces, Campbell left Jung behind with a meta-
to consider a dehumanizing monism in Eastern theology and
physical, spiritual perspective that envisaged the role of myth
instead embraced a Western spiritual individualism that did
“not to cure the individual back again to the general delu-
not dissolve the ego into a larger social and cosmic mystical
sion, but to detach him from delusion altogether and this not
whole. In Creative Mythology, Campbell claimed that this
by readjusting the desire (eors) and hostility (thanatos)—for
ideal, with origins in pre-Christian European paganism, was
that would only originate a new context of delusion—but by
classically formulated in the twelfth-century Romantic litera-
extinguishing the impulses to the very root, according to the
ture of courtly love. Stories like those of Tristan and Isolde,
method of the celebrated Buddhist Eightfold path.” (Camp-
in which the heroic lovers achieve an ecstatic spiritual and
bell, 1949, pp. 164–165). Thus Campbell argued that the
physical union while preserving their separate identities, ex-
Babylonian epic of Gilgamesh told the same story as the Dao
emplified the ideal of individualism. He found parallels in
de jing and Indian Tantrism: that physical immortality was
contemporary Western literature in the novels of James Joyce
impossible and that the only eternity was in the realization
and Thomas Mann. The male heroes of Mann’s Magic
that all was one here and now (p. 189). Hindu mysticism and
Mountain (1924) and Joyce’s Finnegans Wake (1939) per-
the eightfold path of Buddhism provided the key for Camp-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1380
CANAANITE RELIGION: AN OVERVIEW
bell’s understanding of hero myths, and he later relied upon
Martin, Wallace. Recent Theories of Narrative. New York, 1986.
Kun:d:alin¯ı Yoga and European paganism as well. This one-
Noel, Daniel, ed. Paths to the Power of Myth: Joseph Campbell and
meaning-fits-all approach, critics claim, reveals more about
the Study of Religion. New York, 1994.
Campbell’s own brand of philosophy than anything else.
O’Flaherty, Wendy Doniger. Other People’s Myths. New York,
Several critics, including Brendan Gill and Robert Segal,
1988.
have also accused Campbell of being anti-Semitic. Campbell
Segal, Robert. Joseph Campbell: An Introduction. Rev. ed. New
was hostile to organized religion generally, but his critics
York, 1990.
argue that he singled out Judaism especially, using what
Segal, Robert. “Joseph Campbell on Jews and Judaism.” Religion
Segal calls “the crudest of stock epithets” for his vitriolic at-
22 (1992): 151–170.
tacks on it as chauvinistic, fossilized, tribal, patriarchal, and
Segal, Robert. “Joseph Campbell as Anti-Semite and as a Theorist
literalistic (Segal, 1999, p. 462). Campbell’s biographers Ste-
of Myth: A Response to Maurice Friedman.” Journal of the
phen and Robin Larsen sympathetically portray him as, at
American Academy of Religion 67 (1999): 461–467.
most, anti-Zionist, but other critics believe Campbell’s prej-
Tillich, Paul. The Socialist Decision. Translated by Franklin Sher-
udices left him indifferent to the Holocaust and blind to the
man. New York, 1977.
dangers of what the philosopher Paul Tillich describes as the
“mythical powers of origin of the soil and blood” that culmi-
MARK W. MACWILLIAMS (2005)
nated in the Nazi worship of a German paganism that lay
at the heart of its terror (Tillich, 1977, pp. 13–18). Camp-
bell’s limited focus only allowed him to see this paganism
CANAANITE RELIGION
nostalgically, as the source of a Western romantic individual-
This entry consists of the following articles:
ism buried under the historical encumbrances of Christianity
AN OVERVIEW
and Judaism.
THE LITERATURE
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Campbell, Joseph. A Skeleton Key to Finnegans Wake, with Henry
CANAANITE RELIGION: AN OVERVIEW
Morton Robinson. New York, 1944.
The term Canaanite is variously used in both ancient and
Campbell, Joseph. The Hero with a Thousand Faces. New York,
modern sources. Most popularly, it refers to the indigenous
1949.
population of the southwestern Levant, which, according to
Campbell, Joseph. The Masks of God. 4 vols. New York, 1959–
biblical traditions, was displaced by Israelite conquerors late
1968.
in the second millennium before the common era. This pop-
Campbell, Joseph. The Flight of the Wild Gander: Explorations in
ular usage is, however, both too narrow geographically and
the Mythological Dimension. New York, 1969.
fraught with sociohistorical difficulties. In this article, the
term Canaanite religion will refer mainly to the one North-
Campbell, Joseph. Myths to Live By. New York, 1972.
west Semitic religion of the second millennium that is pres-
Campbell, Joseph. The Mythic Image, assisted by M. J. Abadie.
ently well attested, the Ugaritic. It should be borne in mind,
Princeton, N.J., 1974.
however, that ancient sources do not necessarily support the
Campbell, Joseph. The Historical Atlas of World Mythology. 2 vols.
often-asserted equation of “Ugaritic” with “Canaanite,” if
New York, 1983, 1989.
the terms of the equation are linguistic, ethnic, or political.
Campbell, Joseph. The Inner Reaches of Outer Space: Metaphor as
And in any case, the undoubtedly idiosyncratic Ugaritic data
Myth and as Religion. New York, 1986.
do not facilitate a generally applicable description of “Ca-
Campbell, Joseph. The Power of Myth, with Bill Moyers, edited
naanite” (or, more accurately, “Northwest Semitic”) religion.
by Betty Sue Flowers. New York, 1988.
Dewey, John. A Common Faith. New Haven, Conn., 1934.
Before the late nineteenth century, there were only two
sources for the study of the Canaanite religion. The first, the
Doniger, Wendy. “A Very Strange Enchanted Boy.” New York
Times Book Review, February 3, 1992.
Hebrew scriptures, contains numerous references to the Ca-
naanites and their practices, which are generally condemned
Dundes, Alan, ed. Sacred Narrative: Readings in the Theory of
as abominable (e.g., Lv. 18:3, 27–28). As early as the first
Myth. Berkeley, 1984.
century BCE, the biblical commentator Philo of Alexandria
Ellwood, Robert. The Politics of Myth: A Study of C. G. Jung, Mir-
recognized that Canaan was the biblical symbol of “vice,”
cea Eliade, and Joseph Campbell. New York, 1999.
which the Israelites were naturally bidden to despise (De
Friedman, Maurice. “Why Joseph Campbell’s Psychologizing of
cong. 83–85). It is generally agreed that the biblical witness
Myth Precludes the Holocaust as Touchstone of Reality.”
to Canaanite religion is highly polemical and, therefore, un-
Journal of the American Academy of Religion 66 (1998):
385–401.
reliable; biblical evidence must at the least be used with ex-
treme caution, and in conjunction with extrabiblical sources.
Gill, Brendan. “The Faces of Joseph Campbell.” New York Review
of Books 36 (September 28, 1989): 16–19.
The second source for knowledge of Canaanite religion
Larsen, Stephen, and Robin Larsen. Joseph Campbell: A Fire in the
was those classical texts that preserve descriptions of aspects
Mind. Rochester, Vt., 1991.
of it. The best known of these are the Phoenician History 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
CANAANITE RELIGION: AN OVERVIEW
1381
Philo Byblius, of which portions are preserved in Eusebius’s
finities with biblical prophecies of a millennium later. Some
Praeparatio evangelica, and The Syrian Goddess, attributed
of this oracular speaking seems to have been done by cultic
(perhaps falsely) to Lucian of Samothrace. The reliability of
personnel, and some apparently consisted of messages trans-
Philo Byblius, however, has been the subject of scholarly de-
mitted by the gods through ordinary people. In either case,
bate, and the present consensus is that the comparability of
it clearly deviated from the normal (and presumably norma-
the Phoenician History with authentic Canaanite data should
tive) mode of divine intermediation, which was, as generally
not be overstressed. At best, Philo’s information probably
in the ancient Near East, divination in its various forms.
sheds light on the religion of late Hellenized Phoenicians,
Local temple officials probably felt that the extraordinary be-
and offers no direct evidence for second-millennium Ca-
havior, and the messages transmitted by it, had to be report-
naanite religion. The same generalization applies to (Pseu-
ed to higher authorities. It may be suggested, on the basis
do-) Lucian, despite a few scholarly claims to the contrary.
of these Mari texts and related evidence, that the phenome-
non broadly termed prophecy represented a peculiar and pe-
Firsthand evidence for Canaanite culture in the second
ripheral kind of divine intermediation among the West Sem-
millennium BCE (or, in archaeological terms, the Middle
ites generally.
Bronze and Late Bronze periods) comes from artifactual evi-
dence found at many archaeological sites (more than sixty for
Most of the Amarna letters report on Levantine mili-
the first part of the Middle Bronze period alone—mostly
tary, economic, and political matters to the Egyptian court.
tombs) and from textual evidence stemming mainly from
The letters were written in Babylonian, the diplomatic lan-
three great discoveries: (1) the eighteenth-century royal ar-
guage of the period, but they regularly reveal the Canaanite
chives of “Amorite” Mari (Tell Hariri, on the Euphrates
character of their authors—in personal names, peculiar scrib-
River near the present border between Syria and Iraq); (2)
al practices, and, especially, the use of characteristic Canaan-
the diplomatic correspondence between several Levantine
ite vocabulary and turns of phrase. While none of the
vassal princes and the pharoahs Amenophis III and IV (first
Amarna letters is directly concerned with religion, important
half of the fourteenth century), found at Tell al-EAmarna
information can be derived from the divine names and epi-
(about 330 km south of Cairo on the east bank of the Nile);
thets mentioned in passing (and as components of personal
and (3) the mainly fourteenth- and thirteenth-century texts
names), and from Canaanite religious and liturgical clichés
found at Ras Shamra (ancient Ugarit) and nearby Ras Ibn
that have been incorporated into the epistolary style. For ex-
Hani, both within the present-day administrative district of
ample, the son of Aziru, prince of Amurru, writes as follows
Latakia, on the Mediterranean coast of Syria. The artifactual
to the Egyptian court: “You give me life, and you give me
evidence is crucial for understanding material culture, socio-
death. I look upon your face; you are indeed my lord. So let
economic developments, population movements, and the
my lord hearken to his servant.” Such expressions, which are
like, and provides considerable data about funerary practices.
frequent in the correspondence, are probably borrowed litur-
Most significant for the study of religion are the figurines,
gical formulas, perhaps from lost Canaanite prayers that were
thought to represent gods and goddesses, that have been re-
probably comparable to the biblical psalms. A systematic
covered in virtually every archaeological context. These will
study of all such formulas might shed considerable light
be discussed below with other manifestations of popular
on Canaanite religious conceptions of the mid-second mil-
religion.
lennium.
The ancient city of Mari was peripheral to both the
Without slighting the importance of the Mari and
Mesopotamian and the Levantine spheres of influence. Cul-
Amarna material, by far the most significant evidence for Ca-
turally and linguistically, it was clearly West Semitic, but to
naanite religion in the second millennium is found at Ugarit.
label it “Canaanite” goes beyond the evidence (the designa-
From the beginning of the millennium until the city’s de-
tion Amorite represents, to some extent, a scholarly compro-
struction at the hands of the Sea Peoples (c. 1180–1175
mise). The Mari texts are virtually all concerned with eco-
BCE), Ugarit was a thriving cosmopolitan trading center. In
nomic, juridical, and administrative matters. One text in
the Middle Bronze period (2000–1600; Level II of the Ras
particular testifies to the eclecticism and heterogeneity of
Shamra excavations), Ugarit underwent considerable expan-
Mari’s religious cult in the eighteenth century. It lists the sac-
sion. During this period, two large temples (dedicated to the
rificial sheep distributed among the various gods and temples
gods Baal and Dagan respectively; see below) were erected
of Mari, and the list of gods is a mixture of Semitic and non-
on top of older ruins, forming, in effect, an acropolis in the
Semitic deities from east and west, along with some gods per-
city. The pottery of the period is predominantly Canaanite,
haps unique to Mari. This list of diverse gods may be supple-
and other material evidence demonstrates that Ugarit was in
mented by the more than one hundred forty divine names
contact with Egypt, the Aegean, and Mesopotamia. At the
(at least two dozen of which are West Semitic) attested as
same time, Ugarit’s population was augmented by an influx
components of personal names in the Mari archives.
of Indo-European-speaking Hurrians from the northeast.
The most striking group of Mari texts is the small collec-
The best-attested period at Ugarit is the last two centu-
tion of so-called prophetic texts. These twenty-odd letters at-
ries of its existence (Late Bronze III, c. 1365–1180 BCE; Level
test to a type of oracular speaking that shows significant af-
I.3 of the Ras Shamra excavations). The Ugaritic texts date
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CANAANITE RELIGION: AN OVERVIEW
from this period, although some of the religious texts are un-
The second Il is called Ilib. The Akkadian and Hurrian
doubtedly older, and were merely written down at this time.
parallels show that this name is a portmanteau composed of
One of the most important developments in human history
the elements il (“god”) and ab (“father”), but the precise sig-
was the invention, during the reign of Niqmad II (c. 1360–
nificance of the combination is uncertain. Most likely the
1330 BCE), of a cuneiform alphabetic script (the world’s old-
name denotes an ancestral spirit, the numen manifest in the
est alphabet) adapted to the Ugaritic language. It seems likely
Ugaritic cult of the dead. In the Ugaritic epic of Aqhat,
that this invention was specifically for the purpose of setting
the ancient worthy Danil, whose epithets mark him as one
ancient religious documents in writing, since diplomatic and
of the deified dead, seeks a son who will “erect a stela for his
administrative texts could be, and often were, written in Ak-
ilib”—that is, for the divine spirit of his dead father. The af-
kadian. At the instigation of Niqmad II, the great mythologi-
finity of Il with the Ugaritic cult of the dead is shown in a
cal texts that are at the heart of the Ugaritic religion were in-
mythological fragment in which the god participates in a
cised on clay tablets. They were preserved in the library of
marzih feast (an orgiastic revel comparable to the Greek thia-
the high priest, which was located on the acropolis near the
sos), the ritual banquet of the funerary cult. Il drinks himself
two temples.
into a stupor (as is customary at such affairs), and has to be
carried off by his faithful son. (This, too, is one of the duties
In addition to the mythological texts from the high
of the son enumerated in the epic of Aqhat.)
priest’s library, the excavations of this and several other ar-
The third Il is presumably to be identified with the head
chives of Ugarit and Ras Ibn Hani have turned up related
of the pantheon in the mythological texts. His epithets and
mythological material, descriptive ritual texts, lists of sacrifi-
activities in those, and in the cultic texts, provide a fair pic-
cial offerings, god-lists, prayers and liturgies, incantations,
ture of his character. He is the father of the gods, who are
divinatory texts, and dedicatory inscriptions. These may be
called his “family” or “sons,” and he is styled “father of hu-
used, with due caution, as the basis of a description of Uga-
mankind” and “builder of built ones.” He may have been re-
ritic religion.
garded as the creator of the world, but the Ugaritic evidence
DEITIES. The essential information about Ugarit’s deities
is inconclusive on this point. He bears the epithet “bull,” a
comes from what appears to be a canonical god-list. Two
symbol of virility and power (although one mythological text
nearly identical copies of the basic list have been published,
casts some doubt on his sexual prowess). He is serene in his
along with an Akkadian “translation.” In addition, the list
supremacy, a source of “eternal wisdom,” “beneficent and
is incorporated, with minor variations, into a list of sacrificial
benign”; a unique and problematic text that may be a prayer
offerings. This list shows that the basic cultic pantheon of
to Il seems even to hypostatize his “graciousness.”
Ugarit numbered thirty-three or thirty-four gods. One of the
The three Ils comprise the three principal aspects of
most controversial problems confronting Ugaritic scholar-
Ugaritic “godship,” or numinous power, that are denoted by
ship is the imperfect correspondence between the god-list
the term il: (1) it is the wise and sovereign power that
and the gods who are prominent in the mythological texts.
brought gods and humans into being; (2) it abides in any sa-
The myths probably represent an older stratum of Ugaritic
cred place; and (3) it is the tangible presence of the spirits
religion, and were undoubtedly “reinterpreted” in the light
of the dead.
of subsequent developments in the cult.
The next deity on the list is Dagan. The Mari texts attest
Two reasons are generally given for the order of the gods
to his great importance in the Middle Euphrates region (es-
in the list: either it reflects their relative importance, or else
pecially Terqa). The most common explanation of his name
it gives the order in which their symbols were paraded in a
relates it to the West Semitic word for “grain,” but this is by
cultic procession. The list begins with two or three Ils (El)—
no means certain; other (even non-Semitic) etymologies are
the sources are evenly split on the number. Il is the common
possible. One of the two temples on the acropolis of Ugarit
Semitic word for “god”; it is the proper name of the head
was evidently consecrated to Dagan. During excavations car-
of the Ugaritic pantheon in the mythological texts. The first
ried out in 1934, two inscribed stone slabs were found just
Il in the god-list is associated with Mount Sapan (Tsafon),
outside the temple. The inscriptions, the only known exam-
the Canaanite Olympus, which was traditionally identified
ples of Ugaritic carved in stone, commemorate pgr sacrifices
with Jebel al-Aqra, about fifty kilometers north of Ugarit at
of a sheep and an ox offered to Dagan. Since so little is
the mouth of the Orontes River. (The mountain was itself
known of Dagan’s character at Ugarit, and since the term pgr
deified, and appears in the god-list in place 14/15.) In all
is controversial (perhaps “mortuary offering” is the best in-
likelihood, the term sapan, which means “north,” was taken
terpretation), it is not possible to say anything definitive
to be a metaphor for the god’s temple (as in the Bible, Psalm
about these stelae.
48:3), and not as a simple geographical designation. Thus
Despite his obvious prominence in the cult, Dagan
the Il of sapan is the numen manifest in the sanctuary, which
plays no role in Ugaritic mythology. The god Baal bears the
is the earthly representation of the divine abode. Sapan, it
epithet “son of Dagan,” but that is itself problematic, since
should be noted, is not the abode of Il in the mythological
Il was supposedly the father of the gods. Three explanations
texts, but of Baal.
are possible: (1) Dagan was in some sense identified with or
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CANAANITE RELIGION: AN OVERVIEW
1383
assimilated to Il; (2) the epithet represents a variant tradition
known; perhaps the domain over which Baal holds sway is
of Baal’s paternity; or (3) the epithet “son” is not to be taken
deified. There are also two other geographical deities: Sapan
literally but as an indication that Baal belongs to some class
(discussed above) and “Mountain and Valley” (significance
of gods exemplified by Dagan.
unknown, unless it defines the domain of Athtar, the god oc-
cupying the preceding place on the god-list).
Following Dagan come seven Baals. The first is the Baal
of Mount Sapan, who dwells in the same place as the Baal
The remaining divine names on the list may be grouped
in the mythological texts (the “heights” or “recesses” of
in four categories: individual goddesses and gods who are
Sapan); the term sapan surely refers to the Baal temple of
known or at least mentioned in the mythological texts; col-
Ugarit as well. The Akkadian rendition of Baal is Adad,
lective terms that designate groups of lesser deities; Hurrian
which is the name of the most prominent West Semitic
deities; and otherwise unknown or poorly attested gods.
mountain and weather god. The same Ugaritic “prayer” that
The two most prominent goddesses in the mythological
mentions the graciousness of El also establishes the threefold
texts are Athirat (Asherah) and Anat. Athirat is the consort
identification of Adad (the variant Hadd occurs in the
of Il, and as such she is the highest-ranking goddess in the
mythological texts) with Baal of Mount Sapan and Baal of
pantheon. Her full title is “Lady Athirat of the sea” (or per-
Ugarit.
haps “the lady who treads the sea”). She is the mother of the
The significance of the other six Baals (none qualified
gods, bearing the epithet “progenitress of the gods.” She is
by epithets and all identified with Adad) is uncertain, al-
also called Ilat (“goddess”), the feminine form of Il. Athirat’s
though sevenfold lists of all sorts, including divine heptads,
activities in the mythological texts are not always clear, but
are common throughout the ancient Near East: the number
she seems to specialize in zealous intervention on behalf of
seven evidently denotes completeness or perfection. If the
her divine offspring.
extra six Baals have some specific function, they might repre-
In contrast to the maternal goddess Athirat, Anat is a
sent local manifestations or sanctuaries of Baal, separate cult
violent goddess of sexual love and war, “sister” (perhaps con-
symbols, or hypostatized attributes.
sort) of Baal and vanquisher of Baal’s enemy Mot. Her prin-
The name Baal is derived from the common Semitic
cipal epithet is “maiden,” a tribute to her youth, beauty, and
noun meaning “lord, master, husband.” The god’s full title
desirability, but pugnacity is her primary trait in the mytho-
in the mythological texts is “prince, lord (baal) of the earth,”
logical texts, as well as in the epic of Aqhat; there, she secures
and his principal epithet is “most powerful one” (aliyan). He
the magic bow of the title character by arranging his death.
is also called “high one” (aliy) and “rider of the clouds,” both
Iconographic evidence from Ugarit and elsewhere may
names clearly illustrating his character as a weather god.
be associated with both of the principal divine pairs, Il/
In contrast to the numinous Il, Baal represents the di-
Athirat and Baal/Anat. The first two are represented as a
vine power that is immanent in the world, activating and ef-
royal pair, either standing or enthroned. Baal is typically de-
fectuating things or phenomena. Given the paucity of rain-
picted with his arm upraised in smiting position, and Anat
fall in most of the Levant, it is not surprising that the lord
is naked and voluptuous, sometimes standing on a lion’s
of the storm is the most prominent god of this type (cf. the
back, an Egyptian Hathor wig on her head, with arms up-
ubiquitous Phoenician Baal Shamem, “lord of the heavens,”
raised and plants or animals grasped in her hands. Only the
and his famous encounter with the Israelite god in 1 Kings
Anat figures can be identified with any certainty, because of
18). On his shoulders rests the burden of bringing fertility
an Egyptian exemplar that bears the inscription “Qudshu-
and fecundity to the land, and as such he is venerated by the
Ashtart-Anat.”
rest of the gods and declared their “king.”
Although the precise significance of Qudshu is uncer-
But the kind of god who is immanent in the natural
tain (perhaps she is the same as Athirat?), the Egyptian in-
world is also subject to its flux. Thus, in the mythological
scription seems to demonstrate the fusion of the West Semit-
texts, Baal has three enemies. The first two, Yamm (“sea”)
ic Anat with the great Mesopotamian goddess Ishtar
and the desert gods who are called “devourers,” represent the
(Ugaritic Athtart; the biblical Ashtoret). This fusion is appar-
destructive potential inherent in nature. Baal succeeds in
ent in the binomial Athtart wa-Anat, which occurs in two
subduing Yamm (and undoubtedly also the “devourers”),
Ugaritic incantation texts and is the ultimate source of the
but he is in turn defeated by his third and greatest adversary,
name of the first-millennium “Syrian goddess” Atargatis. In
Mot (“death”; never mentioned by this name in the cultic
some mythological and cultic texts, as in the god-list, Athtart
texts). Nothing that is in the world, gods included, can es-
still has some independent status. (Paradoxically, in Israel it
cape death.
is Anat who has disappeared, evidently assimilated to Ashto-
ret.) Her beauty is proverbial, but her principal trait is pug-
Following the seven Baals, the god-list continues with
nacity; like Anat, she is a divine huntress.
Ars wa-Shamem (“earth and heaven”). Binomial deities are
common in Ugaritic; they represent either a hendiadys (as
The textual and iconographic evidence suggests that a
in this case) or a composite of two related gods who have
central feature of Ugaritic religion was the veneration of two
been assimilated to one another. This god’s function is un-
divine pairs. One pair apparently symbolized kingly and
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CANAANITE RELIGION: AN OVERVIEW
queenly sovereignty over the world—Il and Athirat; the
ings. In the late third millennium, he was one of the patron
other represented brother and sister, caught in the flux and
gods of the kings of Ebla. He also found his way to Egypt,
turmoil of the world, engaged in constant struggle for surviv-
where he was patron god of Amenophis II and one of the
al and supremacy—Baal and Anat.
most popular gods in the cults of the nineteenth dynasty.
There are three other Canaanite goddesses on the god-
The Akkadian version of the Ugaritic god-list identifies
list. Shapash is the all-seeing sun (male in Mesopotamia, but
Rashap with Nergal, the Mesopotamian king of the nether-
female at Ugarit), “luminary of the gods.” Pid-ray (“fat”?)
world. That identification, along with other Canaanite and
and Arsay (“earth,” perhaps, on the basis of the Akkadian
Egyptian evidence, leads me to suggest that Rashap is the god
parallel, having some connection with the netherworld) are
who, in one mythological text, is called Rapiu, the “healer,”
two of the daughters of Baal; the third, Talay (“dew”), does
the eponymous patron of the deified dead, the rapium (the
not appear on the god-list. Two other non-Canaanite god-
biblical refa Eim). Most scholars, however, consider “Rapiu”
desses are on the list, undoubtedly via the Hurrians, although
to be an epithet of Il.
the deities themselves are not necessarily Hurrian in origin:
The remaining god on the list is Kinar, who is perhaps
Ushharay (Ishhara), the scorpion goddess, who appears in
the deified lyre. Nothing is known about him, but he has
several cultic texts but never in the myths, and Dadmish,
been identified with the Cypriot hero Kinyras, father of
probably a warrior goddess but very poorly attested. The one
Adonis.
remaining goddess on the list is Uthht (pronunciation uncer-
Finally, the god-list includes four collective terms. The
tain; the sex of the deity is, in fact, only surmised from the
first, kotharat, designates a band of female divine singers and
feminine ending); possibly Mesopotamian in origin, and
wet-nurses who appear on sad and joyful occasions in the
most likely signifying a deified incense burner.
Aqhat epic and the Nikkal poem, respectively (also, perhaps,
Seven male deities remain on the god-list, all but one
in Psalm 68:7). Although their name suggests an affinity
of whom are at least mentioned in the mythological texts.
with the god Kothar, nothing further can be said about this.
Yarikh is the moon god, and he figures prominently in a
They bear an epithet that is problematic: the two most plau-
poem that describes his marriage to the moon goddess, Nik-
sible translations are “daughters of joyous song, the swal-
kal. This text is undoubtedly a Hurrian myth in Ugaritic
lows” and “shining daughters of the morning star [or the new
guise. The other clearly astral god is Shalim (the divine ele-
moon].”
ment in the name of the city Jerusalem and of King Solo-
The next collective term apparently designates the “two
mon), who represents the evening twilight or Venus as eve-
allies of Baal,” perhaps his messengers, Gapn (“vine”) and
ning star. Since the root sh-l-m can signify “conclusion,
Ugar (“field”). The third collective term is puhr ilim, the “as-
completion,” it is appropriate that Shalim is the last name
sembly of the gods,” which designates the host of lesser dei-
on the list. Elsewhere, he is often paired with his sibling
ties—unmentioned by name in the god-list—who constitute
Shahr, who is the dawn or the planet Venus as morning star.
the progeny of Il and Athirat. In other texts, this assemblage
The birth of the pair is described and celebrated in a Ugaritic
bears other epithets, including “sons of Il” and “the family
poem.
of the sons of Il”; the precise significance of these terms is
much debated, but they all seem to pertain to the general
Three of the gods play important roles in the mytholog-
Near Eastern notion of a “divine assembly” over which one
ical texts about Baal. Yamm is one of Baal’s principal adver-
god reigned supreme.
saries; he is identified with or accompanied by two fearsome
sea monsters, Litan (the biblical Leviathan) and Tunnan (the
The last collective term is malikum, which literally
biblical Tannin). The god Athtar (the masculine form of
means “kings.” It designates the deified dead kings of Ugarit,
Athtart) is often associated with a prominent South Arabian
the most important members of the larger assemblage of dei-
astral deity, but the Akkadian translation of his name identi-
fied dead ancestors (rapium, mentioned above). The
fies him with the Hurrian warrior god Ashtabi. When Baal
malikum are invoked by name in an extraordinary Ugaritic
is killed by Mot, Athtar, styled “tyrant,” is appointed king
liturgy entitled the Document of the Feast of the Protective An-
in his stead.
cestral Spirits. It may be inferred that the patron of the
malikum was the ubiquitous Malik (biblical Molech), who
The god Kothar (“skilled one”; also known as Kothar
is almost certainly to be equated with Death himself.
wa-Hasis, “skilled and wise one”) is the divine craftsman. In
Many other deities who do not figure in the standard
various sources he is a master builder, weapon maker, sea-
god-list are mentioned in various texts and as components
man, and magician. It has been suggested that he is the ge-
of personal names. Huge, malleable pantheons characterized
nius of technology.
every major urban center of the ancient Near East, and
The god Rashap (the biblical Reshef, which means both
Ugarit was no exception (see Johannes C. de Moor, “The Se-
“pestilence” and “flame”) is blamed in the epic of Kirta for
mitic Pantheon of Ugarit,” Ugarit-Forschungen 2, 1970,
the demise of part of the title character’s family. But Rashap’s
pp. 185–228).
real importance at Ugarit and Ras Ibn Hani emerges from
RITUALS AND CULTIC PERSONNEL. Most older descriptions
the cultic texts, where he is the recipient of numerous offer-
of Canaanite religion explain it in terms of the seasonal cycle
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1385
and concomitant fertility rites. The evidence for this charac-
the king performs the rite of desacralization.” On the seven-
terization comes from first-millennium sources, especially
teenth day of the month, the king (re)purifies himself and
the anti-“Canaanite” polemics of the Hebrew scriptures, and
makes another series of sacrifices, perhaps accompanied by
from the a priori claims of the “myth-and-ritual” approach
a festal banquet (if this is the correct sense of the technical
to religion. When the mythic texts about the Ugaritic Baal
term dbh). (Another of the main sacrificial terms, th, which
were deciphered and pieced together, the tendency was natu-
seems to denote “gift offering,” also occurs here.) The king
rally to make them conform to the older theories about Ca-
remains in his purified state and continues the series of offer-
naanite religion. Those texts were thus described as a mythic
ings on the eighteenth day. Then the text breaks off. The re-
representation of the seasonal cycle, which was either recited
verse of the tablet begins with broken references to rites per-
as the accompaniment to fertility rites or served as the libret-
formed on the second day (of what, is unspecified). On the
to of a fertility-cult drama.
fourth, birds are offered; on the fifth the king offers a shlmm
sacrifice to Baal of Ugarit in the temple, along with the liver
Assuming that the biblical and related data are reliable,
of an unspecified animal (which has presumably been used
they evidently refer to local manifestations of first-
for divination) and an offering of precious metal. The shlmm
millennium Phoenician cults (such as that of northern Isra-
offering, well attested in biblical Hebrew and Punic cultic
el). The simple assumption of continuity between second-
texts, was probably the most common type of sacrifice at
millennium Canaan and first-millennium Phoenicia is un-
Ugarit. The term is traditionally translated “peace offering,”
justified—as is, more generally, the facile identification of
but it seems actually to have been a “gift” or “tribute” to the
“Canaanites” with “Phoenicians.”
god. In some texts (but not this one), the shlmm is described
As for the myth-and-ritual claim, the seasonal interpre-
as a shrp, which probably signifies that it was wholly con-
tation of the Baal texts is by no means certain. There is no
sumed by fire.
evidence that the Baal texts were ever used in conjunction
On the seventh day, at sundown, the king performs the
with cultic activity. In fact, there is only one Ugaritic mytho-
ritual desacralization, evidently aided in this case by cultic
logical text containing rubrics for ritual performance (dis-
functionaries called “desacralizers.” Then the queen is
cussed below); it apparently entails some sort of fertility rite,
anointed with a libation of “a hin [liquid measure] of oil of
but one not necessarily connected with the seasonal cycle.
pacification for Baal”; the text concludes with the following
Knowledge of the Ugaritic calendar and its fixed festivals is
prayer, perhaps recited by the queen:
too scanty to permit the claim that Ugaritic religion was or-
ganized with respect to the agricultural year.
When a strong enemy assails your gates,
A mighty foe attacks your walls,
The Ugaritic ritual texts describe a highly organized sac-
Raise your eyes unto Baal:
rificial cult under the patronage of the king. The sacrifices
“O Baal, chase the strong enemy from our gates,
seem to be of the gift or tribute type; that is, they were per-
The mighty foe from our walls.
formed to curry favor with the gods, to secure their aid and
A bull, O Baal, we consecrate;
protection. It is undeniable that offerings might have been
A vow, O Baal, we dedicate;
made to deities (particularly chthonic ones) to promote the
A firstborn [?], O Baal, we consecrate;
fertility of the land and the fecundity of the flocks. But the
A htp sacrifice, O Baal, we dedicate;
one mass public ritual that has survived, and the one attested
A tithe, O Baal, we tithe.
prayer to Baal as well, both seem more concerned with pro-
To the sanctuary of Baal let us ascend,
tection from Ugarit’s potential military opponents. In view
On the paths to the House of Baal let us walk.”
of the shifting alliances and political instability that marked
Then Baal will hear your prayer,
Ugarit’s last two centuries, this concern seems only natural.
He will chase the strong enemy from your gates,
Most of the known Ugaritic rituals were performed by
The mighty foe from your walls.
or on behalf of the king. The best-attested type of ritual is
A second type of ritual is preserved in three texts that de-
found in seven different texts. In it the king of Ugarit per-
scribe the transfer of cult statues from one place to another.
forms, at specified times, a ritual lustration to purify himself,
The clearest of these begins “When Athtart of hr [meaning
and then offers a series of sacrifices to various deities. At sun-
uncertain] enters into the sanctuary [?] of the king’s
down, the king “desacralizes” himself in a way that is not
house. . . .” It is not clear whether the term king refers to
clear. The most interesting of these texts is evidently a pre-
Ugarit’s king or to a god (perhaps both?); the “house” could
scriptive ritual to which is appended a prayer to Baal, perhaps
be a royal palace or temple. A group of offerings is then made
recited by the queen, that seems to specify the occasion on
in the “house of the stellar gods” (meaning uncertain), in-
which the rites were to be performed.
cluding oblations, vestments, gold, and sacrificial animals.
This text begins with a date formula and a list of offer-
The rites are repeated seven times. The remainder of the text
ings: “On the seventh day of the month of Ibalat [otherwise
describes essentially the same rituals as those performed for
unknown]” sheep are offered to several gods, notable Baal
a different collection of gods (on a different occasion?), the
and “the house of Baal of Ugarit.” Then “the sun sets and
poorly attested gthrm.
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CANAANITE RELIGION: AN OVERVIEW
One substantial ritual text is unique in the corpus, and
was held at a sacred “threshing floor” or “plantation,” per-
has been the subject of many studies. It is unique in its poet-
haps within the royal palace.
ic/hymnic quality and in the acts it describes. It seems to de-
Another important text invokes the god Rapiu, “king
pict a great public assembly in which the entire population
of eternity” (that is, of the netherworld). Rapiu is clearly the
of Ugarit, male and female, king and commoner alike, partic-
patron of the deified dead; at first he is invited to drink, and
ipated. The ritual appears to have been a mass expiation or
at the end of the text he is asked to exert his “strength, power,
purgation of sins, or some sort of mass purification rite, de-
might, rule, and goodness” for the benefit of Ugarit. If Rapiu
signed to protect Ugarit against its threatening neighbors. A
is indeed to be identified with Il, this text comports well with
parallel has been drawn between it and the Jewish Yom Kip-
the mythological fragment that depicts Il getting drunk at
pur, the “day of purgation [of sin].” In the Ugaritic text, the
a marzih.
men and women of the community are alternately sum-
moned to offer sacrifices, which they do. While the sacrifices
Alongside the cult of the dead must be placed the texts
are performed the people sing, praying that their offerings
that apparently describe the ritual offerings to the gods of the
will ascend to “the father of the sons of Il” (that is, to Il him-
netherworld (ilm ars). The clearest of these begins with an
self), to the “family of the sons of Il,” to the “assembly of the
offering to Rashap and mentions several other chthonic dei-
sons of Il,” and to Thkmn wa-Shnm, Il’s son and attendant
ties. There is also a strange god-list that appears to include
(the one who cares for him when he is drunk; in one of his
a collection of netherworld demons. Finally, an inscribed
epithets, Il is called “father of Shnm”).
clay model of a liver may record a sacrifice offered to a person
(or deity?) who is “in the tomb.”
Only one mythological text, the poem about the birth
of Shahr and Shalim (the ilima naimima, “gracious gods”),
The considerable activity that took place in the Ugaritic
includes rubrics for ritual performance. These rubrics, inter-
cult demanded an extensive array of cultic personnel. Unfor-
spersed throughout the poem, describe the activities of the
tunately, while the names of many cultic officials are known,
king and queen, and of cultic functionaries called aribuma
their precise function is not. It can be assumed, of course,
(some kind of priests?) and tha-nanuma (members of the
that “priests” participated in the royal rituals described
king’s guard?). They offer sacrifices, participate in a banquet,
above, but the ritual texts do not specify how. Apart from
and sing responsively to musical accompaniment. It seems
the “desacralizers,” the tha-nanuma and aribuma already
almost certain that the poem itself was acted out as a type
mentioned, several other kinds of personnel figure promi-
of ritual drama. It describes the subjugation of Death by
nently. Except for the queen, who participated in some ritu-
some sort of pruning rite, followed by Il’s sexual relations
als (one broken text from Ras Ibn Hani describes a “dbh
with Athirat and Rahmay (“womb” = Anat?). The poem con-
[sacrifical rite] of the queen”), all the important cultic func-
cludes with the birth of Shahr and Shalim, and their youthful
tionaries attested by name or title are male.
activities. The text and its accompanying ritual may com-
After the king, the highest-ranking religious official was
memorate (or attempt to foster) the birth of a royal heir to
probably the rb khnm, the “chief of the priests.” Under him
the reigning king and queen of Ugarit; they bear some rela-
were orders or guilds of khnm (“priests”); the term corre-
tion to Mesopotamian sacred marriage rites and to Hittite
sponds to the Hebrew kohanim, but there is no necessary
rituals designed to protect the life and vigor of the king and
similarity of function. The priests either were connected with
queen.
the palace or they earned their living at the many shrines in
Most difficult to reconstruct, but obviously of great im-
Ugarite and its environs. They appear on administrative lists
portance, was the Ugaritic cult of the dead. The dead were
of personnel and on a military payroll. Other administrative
summoned, by a liturgy accompanied by offerings, to partici-
texts detail allotments of oil and wine to various shrines. One
pate in a banquet. The banquet, which was apparently a
of the high priests is also designated rb nqdm, “chief of herds-
drunken orgy, was intended to propitiate the dead and to so-
men.” In all likelihood, there was a consecrated group of
licit the aid and protection provided by their numinous
herdsmen whose task was to maintain the royal flocks to be
power. The most important group of the deified dead was
used in the cult.
comprised of Ugarit’s kings (malikum). The larger assem-
The second major category of priests is called qdshm,
blage, variously called “healers” (rpim), “healers of the neth-
“devotees” (comparison with Hebrew qedeshim, “cult prosti-
erworld” (rpi ars), “ancient healers” (rpim qdmyn), “divine
tutes,” is almost certainly misleading). They appear only on
spirits” (ilnym), and “assembly of Ditan/Didan” (qbs dtn/
administrative lists, in all but one case in conjunction with
ddn), included two men who are prominent in the epic texts,
khnm. Nothing can be said about their function at Ugarit.
Danil and Kirta, as well as several other spirits who are iden-
tified by name in a liturgical invocation of the dead.
Two categories of cult functionaries are attested in Ak-
kadian texts from Ugarit, but they have no certain Ugaritic
The funerary feast itself was called a marzih (or marzi),
equivalents. One is the awilu baru, which is either an omen
a feast. It was held at a special location: one text describes
priest or some sort of oracular seer; one of these men is also
problems concerning the rental of a marzih hall; a poorly pre-
called “priest of Adad [i.e., of Baal].” The other, aptly charac-
served fragment of the Aqhat epic suggests that the marzih
terized by Anson F. Rainey (1967) as “a sort of religious
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1387
brotherhood” (p. 71), is “men of the marzi/marzih.” Their
The second class of evidence for popular religion comes
activity was almost certainly related to the ritual feasts of the
from metal figurines that are generally thought to represent
Ugaritic cult of the dead. Several other terms probably desig-
gods and goddesses. A comprehensive catalog of these figu-
nated groups associated with the cult. There were singers, in-
rines, compiled by Ora Negbi (1976), describes over seven-
strumentalists, and libation pourers who served as temple at-
teen hundred of them. They are considered to have been
tendants, along with a group of uncertain function called
miniature copies of now-lost wooden cult statues, and were
ytnm, who may be compared with the problematic biblical
probably used as votive idols. The fact that so many have
netinim.
been found at cultic sites suggests that they had some cere-
monial function. Negbi notes that these idols “may have
Finally, there is the well-attested and much-debated
been used as amulets for magic purposes in domestic and fu-
term insh ilm. Some scholars think that it is a divine name;
nerary cults as well” (p. 2).
others argue that it denotes cultic personnel. If the latter,
then these people performed some function in the sacrificial
As mentioned above, the figurines at Ugarit attest to the
rites, and seem to have been rewarded for their labor with
popularity of two distinct types of divine pairs, a kingly and
“birds.”
queenly figure (Il and Athirat) and a smiting god and volup-
POPULAR RELIGION. As is generally the case in the ancient
tuous goddess (Baal and Anat, with Anat occasionally por-
Near East, little can be said with any certainty about popular
trayed as a war goddess). The latter pair is the better attested
religion at Ugarit, since only kings, priests, and members of
in Late Bronze Ugarit; figurines have been found in deposits
the elite are represented in the texts. The Ugaritic texts were
from this period in and around both of the temples on the
apparently only a part of the larger cosmopolitan scribal tra-
acropolis.
dition of Ugarit, which was modeled on the Babylonian
Some textual evidence has been recovered for magic and
scribal schools. The same scribes who produced the Baal texts
divination at Ugarit. There are two versions of a long and
were also trained to write in Babylonian cuneiform, and they
impressive incantation against the bite of a venomous ser-
copied Sumerian and Akkadian texts in almost every genre.
pent; several important deities are summoned from their
Surviving evidence demonstrates that Ugarit’s educated elite
mythical abodes during the course of the incantations.
was conversant with the Mesopotamian Gilgamesh tradi-
tions, wisdom and proverbial literature, and legal formulas,
Inscribed clay models of lungs and livers show that ex-
although little of this material is reflected in texts in the Uga-
tispicy (divination by the examination of animal viscera) was
ritic language.
practiced at Ugarit. The practice was undoubtedly borrowed
from Babylonia, but it was given a distinctive Canaanite cast
It is not at all certain, then, how much of the literary
by the incorporation of West Semitic sacrificial rites. Anoth-
tradition might have filtered down to the commoners of
er borrowing from the Babylonians is attested in three omen
Ugarit. Still, speculation about popular religion may be
texts that describe the predictive value of unusual human and
made in four areas: conceptions of gods reflected in personal
animal births. These texts clearly parallel the famous Babylo-
names; the evidence of votive figurines; evidence for magic
nian shumma izbu omen series; unfortunately, they are all
and divination; and possible religious, ethical, or “wisdom”
quite fragmentary.
teachings derived from the texts.
Finally, one very difficult text reports a divine oracle. It
Popular conceptions of the gods may emerge from a
begins: “When the lord of the great/many gods [Il?] ap-
consideration of personal names, since a great number of
proached Ditan, the latter sought an oracle concerning the
names are composites of divine names (or surrogates) and
child.” Some individual presumably wishes to inquire of Il
nominal or verbal elements. The standard collection of Uga-
about his (sick?) child. (A comparable episode occurs in the
ritic personal names, Frauke Gröndahl’s Die Personennamen
Kirta epic.) Il can be reached through an intermediary,
der Texte aus Ugarit (Rome, 1967), lists over fifty divine ele-
Ditan, the eponymous patron of those deified dead known
ments that appear in them. The most popular are Il, Baal,
as the “assembly of Ditan.” The text continues with a series
Ammu (“uncle,” a surrogate for a divine name), Anat and
of instructions (broken and unclear) that will enable the in-
her “masculine” equivalent Anu, Athtar, Yamm, Kothar,
quirer to obtain the desired oracular response. The text seems
Malik, Pidr (masculine equivalent of Pidray?), Rapiu,
to conclude with several instructions, “and afterward there
Rashap, and Shapash. In some names, a god is described as
will be no suffering [?].”
father, mother, brother, sister, or uncle (e.g., Rashapabi,
Taken together, these texts indicate a lively interest in
“Rashap is my father”). In others, the bearer of the name is
the mantic arts at Ugarit. There is practically no evidence,
the god’s son, daughter, servant, or devotee (e.g., Abdi-
however, about the specialists who practiced those arts; per-
Rashap, “servant of Rashap”). A large class of names describes
haps that is because they operated on the periphery of the
characteristics of the gods; those composed with Il, for exam-
official cultic institutions.
ple, emphasize his kingship (Ilimilku, “Il is king”) and justice
(Danil, “Il judges”; Ilsdq, “Il is just”), his creativity
The most problematic aspect of popular religion is the
(Yakunilu, “Il establishes”; Yabniilu, “Il builds”) and his love
interpretation of the Ugaritic religious texts. Assuming that
(Hnnil, “Il is gracious”).
they were in some way normative and that they were diffused
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CANAANITE RELIGION: AN OVERVIEW
orally, they would embody the religious “teachings” of
Other aspects of the Aqhat text suggest ethical teachings
Ugarit. There are, however, no surviving interpretations of
as well. The long-sought son, Aqhat, is presented as the ar-
the texts or expositions of religious doctrine that explain
chetypical huntsman, recipient of a magic bow fashioned by
what those teachings might have been or what impact they
the craftsman god Kothar. But the bow is not an unequivocal
had on the life of a community of believers. The Ugaritic
blessing: it arouses the envy of Anat, and makes Aqhat so se-
mythic and epic texts (as opposed to the descriptive ritual
cure in his own power that he rudely dismisses the goddess.
texts) can be read as homilies on the nature of the world in
Aqhat’s folly parallels Baal’s when, secure in his new palace
which people live. Ancient readers or hearers of these texts
(also the work of Kothar), he presumptuously challenges
would have sought their own place in the “cosmos” they de-
Death. Even the cleverest invention affords no protection for
scribe. Ugaritic believers, like modern believers, would pre-
one who oversteps his bounds and incurs divine wrath.
sumably have formulated a special application of sacred texts
Aqhat’s death is avenged by his sister Pughat, a model of love
to their own lives.
and devotion, just as Baal’s sister Anat acts on the god’s be-
half in the mythic texts.
The Baal texts punctualize eternal truths in a symbolic
realm that is only superficially remote from human experi-
The Kirta epic, like that of Aqhat, begins with its hero
ence. The gods experience joy and mourning, battle and
childless, this time because of catastrophe instead of impo-
tranquillity, life and death, power and impotence. The
tence. Dramatic tension arises from the situation of a king
mightiest of the gods confronts the world’s challenges and
without an heir, which could result in disruption of both the
surmounts them all, until he encounters Death, the one
political and the natural order. The story conveys the fragility
enemy to whom gods and humans alike succumb. Baal’s tri-
of power and the delicate relationship between humans and
umphs and trials, furthermore, illustrate the contiguity and
deities.
interrelationship of everything in the world: the gods, nature,
Kirta enjoys the favor of Il, “father of humankind,” who
the political order, and human life are all part of the same
calls the king “gracious one, lad of Il.” Kirta is instructed to
order. When Baal is vanquished, political order collapses and
perform a series of rituals in order to secure victory in battle
the earth turns infertile—not because Baal “symbolizes”
and a new wife. He does so faithfully, but he also stops to
order and fertility in some simplistic way, but because the
make a vow in the sanctuary of “Athirat of Tyre, goddess of
intricate balance of the world has been subverted. The same
the Sidonians.” This act of personal piety leads to disaster:
upset of the natural order occurs when Kirta, a human king,
Kirta achieves his victory and builds a new family, but he is
becomes mortally ill.
stricken with a mortal illness for his failure to fulfill the vow.
Overarching the flux of the world, and apparently not
His beneficent “father” Il intervenes once again in his behalf,
subject to it, is the wise and beneficent Il. At critical mo-
but the story concludes with Kirta’s son attempting to usurp
ments in the Baal texts, the gods journey (or send emissaries)
the throne, accusing Kirta of unrighteousness (reason
to him in order to obtain his favor and advice. After Kirta’s
enough, evidently, to depose a king). The vicissitudes of
family is annihilated by malevolent forces, Il comforts the
kingship continue.
king in a dream; later on, Il provides the cure for Kirta’s terri-
The texts are all firmly on the side of reward for virtue
ble illness. And in the Aqhat epic, Baal implores Il to grant
and piety, and punishment for wickedness, blasphemy, and
a son to the childless Danil. Il consents, and appears to Danil
folly. Yet even someone who is justly suffering the wrath of
in a dream with the good news. In every case, Il manifests
the gods may appeal to the gracious Il and be heard.
transcendent power that is wielded justly, in response to ur-
gent pleas.
SURVIVALS. Survivals of Canaanite religion are observable in
two first-millennium cultural spheres, the Levant and the Ae-
The epic texts (perhaps “historico-mythic” would be a
gean. Phoenician religion, both in the Levant and in its wider
better designation for them) Aqhat and Kirta parallel and
Mediterranean sphere of influence, represents, to some ex-
supplement the mythic texts. They narrate the existential en-
tent, a continuation of Canaanite traditions. Northern Isra-
counter of humans with the gods. Historical (or pseudohi-
el’s official cult was among the Levantine successors of Ca-
storical) figures become exemplary or admonitory paradigms
naanite religion. It has often been noted that biblical
of human behavior.
polemics against that cult (for example, in the Book of Hosea)
are directed against a characteristically Canaanite feature—
The crises that move the plot of the Aqhat text demon-
the idea that the god (in this case Yahveh = Baal) was imma-
strate the conjunction and contiguity of the human and di-
nent in nature and subject to its flux. The Israelite god was,
vine realms. Danil, who is, like Kirta, a man become god
on the other hand, comfortably assimilated to the transcen-
(one of the deified rapium—from the point of view of the
dent Il.
reader, that is), is an embodiment of that contiguity. Danil
is clearly an ideal type, pious and just; he brings his plea for
In the Aegean area, the nature of Canaanite influence
a son before the gods in humble obeisance, and he is reward-
is more controversial. But there is compelling evidence for
ed. The incubation rite performed by Danil at the beginning
the existence of direct West Semitic contact with Mycenaean
of the story seems to be a model of personal piety.
Greece, creating a legacy of Semitic names, literary motifs,
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CANAANITE RELIGION: AN OVERVIEW
1389
and religious practices that became part of the Hellenic cul-
outstanding representative of the myth-and-ritual approach
tural heritage.
is Theodor H. Gaster’s Thespis, 2d ed. (1961; New York,
1977).
BIBLIOGRAPHY
There is not yet an adequately introduced and annotated English
There are excellent, comprehensive articles on Amarna, Mari, and
translation of the Ugaritic texts. The best English transla-
Ras Shamra in the Dictionnaire de la Bible, Supplément, vol.
tions are those of H. L. Ginsberg, in J. B. Pritchard’s Ancient
1, cols. 207–225 (by Édouard Dhorme); vol. 5, cols. 883–
Near Eastern Texts relating to the Old Testament, 3d ed.
905 (by Charles F. Jean); and vol. 9, cols. 1124–1466, re-
(Princeton, 1969), pp. 129–155, and those in J. C. L. Gib-
spectively (Paris, 1928–). The Ras Shamra article, by several
son’s revision of G. R. Driver’s Canaanite Myths and Legends,
distinguished experts, is magisterial—the best survey to be
2d ed. (Edinburgh, 1978). The serious student should con-
found anywhere. In English, the journal Biblical Archaeolo-
sult Textes ougaritiques, translated and edited by André Ca-
gist has published a number of good survey articles: on Mari
quot and others (Paris, 1974), and the even more compre-
by George E. Mendenhall, vol. 11 (February 1948),
hensive Spanish work by Gregorio del Olmo Lete, Mitos y
pp. 1–19, and by Herbert B. Huffmon, vol. 31 (December
leyendas de Canaán según la tradición de Ugarit (Madrid,
1968), pp. 101–124 (on the “prophetic texts”); on Amarna
1981), complemented by the same author’s Interpretacíón de
by Edward F. Campbell, vol. 23 (February 1960), pp. 2–22;
la mitología cananea (Valencia, 1984). A more popular intro-
on Ugarit by H. L. Ginsberg, vol. 8 (May 1945), pp. 41–58,
duction and translation that is both readable and of high
and by Anson F. Rainey, vol. 28 (December 1965),
quality is Paolo Xella’s Gli antenati di Dio (Verona, 1982).
pp. 102–125. All of these articles have been reprinted in The
A comparable but inferior volume in English is Stories from
Biblical Archaeologist Reader, edited by David Noel Freed-
Ancient Canaan, edited and translated by Michael D. Coo-
man and G. Ernest Wright, vols. 2 and 3 (Garden City,
gan (Philadelphia, 1978).
N.Y., 1961–1970). More recently, Biblical Archaeologist 47
Works on Ugarit and the Bible are legion. The serious student is
(June 1984) is a special issue devoted to Mari.
directed to Ras Shamra Parallels, edited by Loren R. Fischer,
Turning specifically to Ugarit, an excellent popular introduction
2 vols. (Rome, 1972–1975). The contributions are uneven
is Gabriel Saadé’s Ougarit: Métropole cananéenne (Beirut,
in quality, but the many proposed parallels are presented
1979). Saadé gives a thorough account of the excavations,
with full bibliographic information. A convenient survey of
with complete bibliographical information and many illus-
comparative studies is Peter C. Craigie’s “Ugarit and the
trations. Most of the technical information is derived from
Bible,” in Ugarit in Retrospect, edited by Gordon Douglas
articles in the journal Syria, beginning with volume 10
Young (Winona Lake, Ind., 1981), pp. 99–111. John Gray’s
(1929), and from the volumes in the series “Mission de Ras-
The Legacy of Canaan, 2d ed. (Leiden, 1965), has become a
Shamra,” 9 vols., edited by Claude F.-A. Schaeffer (Paris,
standard work in this area; its great learning and originality
1936–1968). Two other useful works on the archaeological
are marred by eccentricity, especially in the translation of the
data are Patty Gerstenblith’s The Levant at the Beginning of
Ugaritic texts. On the most important classical account of
the Middle Bronze Age (Winona Lake, Ind., 1983) and Ora
“Canaanite” religion, see the definitive work by Albert I.
Negbi’s Canaanite Gods in Metal (Tel Aviv, 1976).
Baumgarten, The Phoenician History of Philo of Byblos (Lei-
den, 1981). Semitic influence on the Aegean world is one of
A good detailed account of Ugarit’s history is Mario Liverani’s
the main topics of Cyrus H. Gordon’s stimulating book Be-
Storia di Ugarit (Rome, 1962), and an unsurpassed descrip-
fore the Bible: The Common Background of Greek and Hebrew
tion of Ugaritic society is Anson F. Rainey’s The Social Struc-
Civilizations (London, 1962); a more technical work on the
ture of Ugarit (in Hebrew; Jerusalem, 1967). Readers of En-
subject is Michael C. Astour’s brilliant Hellenosemitica (Lei-
glish can consult Rainey’s Ph.D. dissertation, “The Social
den, 1967).
Stratification of Ugarit” (Brandeis University, 1962).
New Sources
On the study of Canaanite religion before the discovery of Ugarit,
The period 1985–2004 has produced a wealth of new information
there is a fine survey by M. J. Mulder, “Von Seldon bis
and scholarly analysis concerning Ugaritic religion. Impor-
Schaeffer: Die Erforschung der kanaanäischen Götterwelt,”
tant new reference works include the Handbook of Ugaritic
in the leading scholarly journal devoted to Ugaritic studies,
Studies, edited by Wilfred G. E. Watson and Nicolas Wyatt
Ugarit-Forschungen 11 (1979): 655–671. The best general
(Leiden, 1999), and the revised edition of the Dictionary of
introduction to Canaanite religion is Hartmut Gese’s “Die
Deities and Demons in the Bible, edited by Karel van der
Religionen Altsyriens,” in Die Religionen Altsyriens, Altara-
Toorn, Bob Becking, and Pieter W. van der Horst (Leiden,
biens und der Mandäer (Stuttgart, 1970), pp. 3–181. On the
1999). These books provide extensive bibliographic refer-
Canaanite gods, the standard work is still Marvin H. Pope
ences to previous studies of Ugaritic religion and deities.
and Wolfgang Röllig’s “Syrien,” in Wörterbuch der Mytholo-
gie, edited by H. W. Haussig, vol. 1 (Stuttgart, 1965),
Excellent English translations of the mythological texts are conve-
pp. 219–312. On the rituals and cultic personnel, an excel-
niently gathered in Simon Parker’s edited volume, Ugaritic
lent presentation of the data is Jean-Michel de Tarragon’s Le
Narrative Poetry (Atlanta, 1997), and in Nick Wyatt’s Reli-
culte à Ugarit (Paris, 1980), which should be consulted
gious Texts from Ugarit (2d ed., Sheffield, 2002). Scholarly
alongside Paolo Xella’s I testi rituali di Ugarit (Rome, 1981).
advances in the study of religious iconography are represent-
There is an exceptionally interesting theoretical discussion of
ed by the landmark book by Othmar Keel and Christoph
Canaanite religion by David L. Petersen and Mark Wood-
Uehlinger, Gods, Goddesses, and Images of God in Ancient Is-
ward in “Northwest Semitic Religion: A Study of Relational
rael (Minneapolis, 1998). The cultic and ritual texts from
Structures,” Ugarit-Forschungen 9 (1977): 232–248. The
Ugarit have also received renewed attention, culminating 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
1390
CANAANITE RELIGION: THE LITERATURE
Dennis Pardee’s massive study, Les textes rituels (Paris, 2000).
first millennium BCE were divided into the political units of
Non-specialists may find Pardee’s shorter presentation, Ritu-
Phoenicia, Israel (later Israel and Judah), Ammon, Moab,
al and Cult at Ugarit (Atlanta, 2002), more accessible yet
Edom, and not infrequently, Aram, especially Aram-
equally authoritative. Gregorio del Olmo Lete’s useful book,
Damascus.
Canaanite Religion: According to the Liturgical Texts of Ugarit
(Bethesda, Md., 1999), offers a comprehensive analysis of
The term literature is used here to mean extended works
Ugaritic religion, while Mark S. Smith’s survey, The Early
composed in poetic style, specifically several dozen clay tab-
History of God: Yahweh and the Other Deities in Ancient Israel
lets, inscribed with an alphabetic cuneiform script, that have
(2d ed., Grand Rapids, 2002), explores the relationship be-
been found at ancient Ugarit (modern Ras Shamra) on the
tween Ugaritic religion and the biblical record. Important
Syrian coast in excavations since 1929. The much larger
studies of aspects of Ugaritic religion can also be found in the
body of material found there, and at nearby Ras Ibn Hani,
following books:
apparently a royal palace, includes a variety of documents not
Day, John. Yahweh and the Gods and Goddesses of Canaan. Shef-
germane to the topic of this article, such as diplomatic corre-
field, 2000.
spondence, lists of ritual offerings, economic texts, and notes
Dietrich, Manfried, and Oswald Loretz. Studien zu den ugaritisc-
for the care and treatment of horses. But even these contain
hen Texten. Münster, 2000.
valuable evidence for religious practice, especially in the
Hadley, Judith M. The Cult of Asherah in Ancient Israel and Judah.
names of the gods listed as recipients of offerings, names that
Cambridge, 2001.
were also used as components of personal names.
Lipin´ski, Edward. Dieux et déesses de l’univers phénicien et punique.
Most of the literary texts were found in the temple pre-
Leuven, 1995.
cinct of ancient Ugarit, on the city’s acropolis. This is not
Mettinger, Tryggve N. D. The Riddle of Resurrection: “Dying and
merely a result of scribal activity in the sacred quarter, be-
Rising Gods” in the Ancient Near East. Stockholm, 2001.
cause the secular archives were found in the royal palace area
Niehr, Herbert. Religionen in Israels Umwelt: Einführung in die
and other libraries existed elsewhere in the city; rather, the
nordwestsemitischen Religionen Syrien-Palästinas. Würzburg,
presence of these texts in a religious context indicates that
1998.
they had a religious function. Unhappily, few of them have
del Olmo Lete, Gregorio. El continuum cultural cananeo. Perviven-
any rubrics, and other, specifically ritual texts, such as the
cias cananeas en el mundo fenicio-púnico. Sabadell, 1996.
lists of offerings and the inscriptions on clay models of livers
del Olmo Lete, Gregorio. Mitos, leyendas y rituales de los semitas
and lungs used for divination, provide no clue to the cultic
occidentales. Madrid, 1998.
setting in which the literary texts were used. Presumably, at
Pardee, Dennis. Les textes para-mythologiques de la 24e compagne
least some of them were read or recited periodically at festi-
(1961). Paris, 1988.
vals, as were the Homeric poems in ancient Greece; others
Schmidt, Brian B. Israel’s Beneficent Dead. Tübingen, 1994.
may have been actual librettos for ritual activities.
Smith, Mark S. The Ugaritic Baal Cycle, I. Leiden, 1994.
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TEXTS. The major mythological
and epic texts were written on clay tablets that were fired
Smith, Mark S. The Origins of Biblical Monotheism: Israel’s Poly-
after having been inscribed on both sides in from one to four
theistic Background and the Ugaritic Texts. Oxford, 2001.
columns. The lines are written continuously, with divisions
Wyatt, N., W. G. E. Watson, and J. Lloyd, eds. Ugarit, Religion,
between the words but without other spacing except for oc-
and Culture. Münster, 1996.
casional dividing lines between sense units and episodes;
Yon, Marguerite. La cite d’Ougarit sur le tell de Ras Shamra. Paris,
these, however, are not used systematically. Not infrequent-
1997.
ly, the tablets have a title at the beginning; thus, two of the
ALAN M. COOPER (1987)
three parts of the Kirta cycle are marked “Concerning Kirta,”
Revised Bibliography
and one tablet of each of the Baal and Aqhat cycles has a sim-
ilar heading. Such a cataloging device may have been used
more regularly, but because a significant number of the tab-
lets are broken at the edges, one cannot be sure. The incom-
CANAANITE RELIGION: THE LITERATURE
plete preservation of many of the tablets also makes it more
The scope of this article needs definition. The term Canaan-
difficult to follow the sequence of the narratives and hence
ite designates the culture of the region often known as the
to interpret them; this explains the conjectural analyses
Levant, roughly comprising the modern entities of Syria,
below.
Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, and Palestine, beginning with the
earliest extensive written records in the third millennium BCE
Five tablets have concluding notations; the most com-
and ending with the start of the Hellenistic period in the
plete reads: “The scribe was Ilimilku from Shubanu, the ap-
fourth century BCE. “Canaanite” did not have such a broad
prentice of Attanu-Purlianni, the chief priest, the chief herds-
definition in antiquity; generally, and especially in the Bible,
man; the sponsor was Niqmaddu, king of Ugarit, master of
Canaan is the southwestern part of this region. The sources
Yargub, lord of Tharumani.” As this colophon indicates, the
are not consistent in this usage, however, and many modern
texts were written under royal patronage, illustrating the
scholars apply it to the regions that in the first half of the
close connection between palace and temple. The king 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
CANAANITE RELIGION: THE LITERATURE
1391
question was Niqmaddu III, the second-last ruler of Ugarit,
major source of Canaanite literature, the Hebrew scriptures,
who lived in the late thirteenth century BCE. Ilimilku may
for the same building blocks of Canaanite verse—parallel
have been more than just a scribe to whom the contents of
pairs—are used there as well:
the tablets were dictated. Although the texts show signs of
Behold, your enemies, Yahweh, behold, your enemies
having originally been oral compositions, Ilimilku may have
have perished, all evildoers have been scattered. (Ps.
been a writer in the modern sense, one who, like Homer in
92:9)
Greece a few centuries later, took an oral tradition and cre-
Your kingdom is an eternal kingdom, your rule is forev-
atively revised it for a written medium.
er and ever. (Ps. 145:13)
Among the characteristics that Canaanite literature
The reason for this similarity of form and content is cultural:
shares with other oral literatures is the use of stock epithets
notwithstanding the significant geographical and temporal
for human and divine characters, a technique most familiar
differences between Ugarit and Israel, they were part of a
from the Iliad and the Odyssey. Thus, El, the head of the pan-
larger cultural entity that shared a common poetic and reli-
theon, is variously called “the bull,” “the creator of crea-
gious vocabulary.
tures,” “the father of years,” “the kind, the compassionate,”
and “the king”; the storm god Baal is “the prince,” “the con-
This commonality is significant, for the literature of an-
queror (of warriors),” and “the lord of the earth”; Kirta, the
cient Israel preserved in the Bible is able to shed much light
hero of the epic called by his name, is “the gracious one,”
on obscurities and gaps in the Canaanite literature from
“the noble,” and “the servant of El”; and Danel, the father
Ugarit. Conversely, the Ugaritic texts enable us to under-
of the title character of Aqhat, is “the hero” and “the Healer’s
stand the Canaanites better on their own terms instead of
man.” The poets apparently chose the epithet that was most
through the often virulent polemics of the biblical writers.
appropriate for the context and that best fit the meter.
Each body of literature thus illumines the other, as will be
seen below.
Another device familiar from the Homeric poems is the
use of formulaic units to narrate standard scenes: the offering
MYTHOLOGICAL TEXTS. The texts in this category make no
of a sacrifice; the harnessing of a donkey; the preparation of
reference to human persons or actual societies. The protago-
a banquet; the journey of a god or goddess to El’s abode.
nists are divine and there is no historical time frame.
Thus, with appropriate changes of number and gender, the
The Baal cycle. The major cycle of preserved Canaanite
following lines occur some half dozen times in the extant
literature from Ugarit has to do with the deity Baal, the most
corpus:
important god in the Ugaritic pantheon. Although the high
god El was worshiped at Ugarit, as throughout the Semitic
Then she headed toward El, at the source of the two riv-
ers, in the midst of the two seas’ pools; she opened El’s
world, and figures in a number of texts, Baal seems to have
tent and entered the shrine of the King, the Father of
supplanted him as the major deity by the late second millen-
Years. At El’s feet she bowed down and adored; she
nium BCE; this is confirmed both by nonliterary sources, such
prostrated herself and worshiped him.
as ritual lists and personal names, and by the Baal cycle,
Also characteristic of Ugaritic literature is the almost verba-
whose theme in brief is the affirmation “Baal the Conqueror
tim repetition of large blocks of lines; this is found in the giv-
is our king!”
ing of a command and its execution, the occurrence of a
More than a dozen tablets contain various episodes or
dream and its telling, and in various specific narratives.
variants of the Baal cycle, indicating the god’s importance at
Finally, like other ancient eastern Mediterranean litera-
Ugarit, but many of them are fragmentary, and so any sus-
tures, this originally oral Canaanite literature was poetic. Be-
tained development of the plot of the cycle is difficult to de-
cause the texts were written almost entirely without vowels,
termine. What is clear is the main plot of three episodes:
it has so far not been possible to establish the metrical princi-
Baal’s battle with Sea; the construction and dedication of
ples underlying the poetry, and rhyme was not used. But one
Baal’s house; and Baal’s encounter with Death.
formal characteristic can be identified, traditionally called
Baal and Sea. El, the head of the pantheon, had appar-
parallelism and fortunately not obscured by translation. In
ently shown preference to his son Sea (Yamm)—called “El’s
Canaanite poetry the basic element is a unit of two or three
beloved” and also by the parallel titles Prince Sea and Judge
lines in which one thought is extended by repetition, para-
River—over Baal, the son of Dagan (whose name means
phrase, or contrast. Thus, in a speech by the craftsman god
“grain”). Initially, Sea seems to have gained the upper hand,
Kothar-wa-Hasis, the lines
with El’s support. He sends the council of the gods, over
which El presides, an ultimatum:
“Let me tell you, Prince Baal, let me repeat, Rider on
the Clouds: behold, your enemy, Baal, behold, you will
“Message of Sea, your master, your Lord, Judge River:
kill your enemy, behold, you will annihilate your foes;
‘Give up, O gods, the one you are hiding, the one you
you will take your eternal kingdom, your dominion for-
are hiding, O multitude; give up Baal and his powers,
ever and ever”
the son of Dagan: I will acquire his gold.’”
consist of three units, each of which expresses a complete
Although El and the divine assembly are willing to capitulate
thought. This stylistic feature is familiar from the other
to Sea’s demand, Baal is not, and he proceeds to engage Sea
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1392
CANAANITE RELIGION: THE LITERATURE
in battle. With the help of magical clubs fashioned for him
(Compare Isaiah 51:9–10.)
by Kothar wa-Hasis (“skillful and wise”; the divine crafts-
Furthermore, the same parallel terms used of Baal’s ad-
man, the Canaanite equivalent of the Greek Hephaistos),
versary are put into service by biblical poets, as in Habakkuk
Baal defeats his adversary:
3:8:
The club danced in Baal’s hands, like a vulture from his
Were you not angry at the river, Yahweh, was your rage
fingers; it struck Prince Sea on the skull, Judge River be-
not against the river, was your wrath not against the sea?
tween the eyes; Sea stumbled; he fell to the ground; his
joints shook; his frame collapsed. Baal captured and
And in Psalms 114:1–3 the formulaic pair “sea/river” is par-
drank Sea; he finished off Judge River.
tially historicized:
This brief episode cannot be fully understood without refer-
When Israel came out of Egypt, the house of Jacob
ence to similar and more detailed Near Eastern myths, espe-
from people of a different language . . . the sea saw and
cially that preserved in the Babylonian Enuma elish. There
fled, the Jordan turned back.
the council of the gods is threatened by Tiamat (Deep), the
In the more fully elaborated prose accounts of the story of
primeval goddess of saltwater. The only deity able to rescue
Israel’s deliverance, the splitting of the Red Sea is repeated
the gods is the young storm god, Marduk, who agrees to do
at the crossing of the Jordan, again reflecting the ancient par-
so only if he is given complete authority over gods and
allelism.
human beings. Following their battle, described in lavish de-
tail, Marduk forms the elements of the cosmos from the
The ancient Israelites thus made frequent use of the
corpses of his defeated adversaries and is proclaimed supreme
broader ancient Near Eastern myth of the defeat of the pri-
ruler. Despite differences between the Babylonian and Uga-
meval sea by the storm god. In the Bible, as in Ugaritic, the
ritic texts, there seem here to be two versions of a single story
watery adversary of the deity is also called Leviathan, the
that tells how a younger god comes to assume leadership over
multiheaded monster (Pss. 78:13–14; cf. Jb. 41). Behemoth
his fellows; similar myths are found in ancient Anatolia,
and Rahab, other biblical names for the sea, have not yet
Greece, and India. Like Marduk, Baal is a storm god: he is
turned up elsewhere. This myth is transformed in the apoca-
called the “rider on the clouds” (compare the Homeric epi-
lyptic visions of Jewish and Christian writers: in the end of
thet of Zeus, “the cloud-gatherer”); his weapon is the light-
time, the sea will finally be defeated (see Is. 27:1; Rv. 21:1).
ning bolt; and he is responsible for the rains in their season.
Baal’s house. After a considerable gap, the Baal cycle
Many of these aspects of Baal are also attributed to the
continues with a description of Baal’s victory banquet. One
Israelite Yahweh. Thus, he too is the “rider on the clouds”
of Baal’s servants prepares an appropriate spread for “Baal the
(Ps. 68:4); he
Conqueror, the Prince, the Lord of the Earth”:
makes the clouds his chariot, walks on the wings of the
He put a cup in his hand, a goblet in both his hands,
wind, makes the winds his messengers, fire [and] flame
a large beaker, manifestly great, a jar to astound a mor-
his ministers. (Pss. 104:3–4)
tal, a holy cup that women should not see, a goblet that
There are also allusions in various biblical passages to a pri-
Asherah must not set her eye on; he took a thousand
jugs of wine, he mixed ten thousand in his mixing bowl.
meval conflict between Yahweh and the sea; especially note-
worthy is Job 26:12–13:
Another break in the text occurs here, and there follows a
lengthy account of a battle waged by Anat, the most vividly
With his power he stilled the sea, with his skill he smote
Rahab, with his wind he put Sea in a net, his hand
described of the three major goddesses in the Ugaritic texts.
pierced the fleeing serpent.
The other two, Asherah (Athiratu in Ugaritic) and Astarte
(Athtartu), appear only infrequently and generally in formu-
(Compare Psalms 89:9–10 and Isaiah 27:1.)
laic passages that shed little light on their characters. Anat,
The Bible does not, however, present a completely de-
on the other hand, is a major figure in the Baal cycle, a posi-
veloped version of this primeval struggle, for in ancient Isra-
tion that is appropriate in view of her relationship to Baal:
elite tradition the normative event was not mythical but his-
she is his sister and his wife. As this description of her martial
torical: the defeat of the Egyptian army at the Red Sea. But
style indicates, Anat is a violent deity:
frequently the language used to celebrate this event was
derived from Canaanite myth. Thus, Psalms 77:15–20 incor-
Heads rolled under her like balls, hands flew over her
like locusts, the warriors’ hands like swarms of grass-
porates into a remembrance of God’s ancient deeds the
hoppers. She fastened the heads to her back, she tied the
following:
hands to her belt. She plunged knee-deep in the sol-
With your arm you redeemed your people, the sons of
diers’ blood, up to her hands in the warriors’ gore; with
Jacob and Joseph. The waters saw you, God, the waters
a staff she drove off her enemies, with the string of her
saw you and writhed, indeed, the deeps trembled; the
bow, her opponents.
clouds poured out water, the thunderheads sounded
After this gory battle Anat purifies herself:
their voice, your arrows were in constant motion. . . .
Through the sea was your way, and your path through
She drew water and washed, the heavens’ dew, the
the mighty waters. . . . You led your people like a
earth’s oil, the rain of the Rider on the Clouds, dew that
flock, by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
the heavens pour on her, rain that the stars pour on her.
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In the next scene, Baal sends messengers to summon Anat;
Before El can give his assent, however, his consort Asherah
this invitation, which includes one of those extended formu-
has to agree; mollified by a bribe of marvelous gifts specially
lae that recur in the texts, is lyrical in tone:
fashioned by Kothar, the divine craftsman, she intercedes for
Baal:
“Message of Baal the Conqueror, the word of the Con-
queror of Warriors: ‘Remove war from the earth, set
“You are great, El, you are truly wise; your gray beard
love in the ground, pour peace into the heart of the
truly instructs you. . . . Now Baal will begin the rainy
earth, rain down love on the heart of the fields. Hasten!
season, the season of wadis in flood; and he will sound
hurry! rush! Run to me with your feet, race to me with
his voice in the clouds, flash his lightning to the earth.
your legs; for I have a word to tell you, a story to re-
Let him complete his house of cedar! let him construct
count to you: the word of the tree and the charm of the
his house of bricks!”
stone, the whisper of the heavens to the earth, of the
Anat brings the news of El’s approval to her brother; Baal
deeps to the stars. I understand the lightning that the
then gathers appropriate building materials—silver, gold,
heavens do not know, the word that human beings do
not know, and earth’s masses cannot understand.
lapis lazuli—and commissions Kothar to begin work. As they
Come, and I will reveal it: in the midst of my mountain,
discuss the plans, Kothar recommends that a window be in-
the divine Zaphon, in the sanctuary, in the mountain
cluded; despite his repeated urgings, however, Baal refuses.
of my inheritance, in the pleasant place, in the hill I
The house is built, and with the other gods Baal celebrates
have conquered.’”
its completion at a banquet, after which he goes on a trium-
When Anat sees Baal’s messengers approaching, she is over-
phal tour of his domain. When he returns, he has apparently
come with fear that another enemy threatens Baal. She lists
changed his mind about the window, and at his request Ko-
the various enemies of Baal who have been defeated; first
thar makes one; from this window, appropriately described
among them is Sea, who is given a full range of epithets, in-
as a slit in the clouds, Baal thunders, the earth quakes, and
cluding “the dragon,” “the twisting serpent,” and “the seven-
his enemies flee. Baal’s enthronement as king is complete.
headed monster.” Curiously, Anat herself claims credit for
Baal and Death. Near the end of the tablet on which
Sea’s defeat, as for that of the other enemies named. Clearly,
the above episode occurs, Baal proclaims:
there was more than one version of Baal’s defeat of Sea, for
“No other king or non-king shall set his power over the
the one discussed above does not depict Anat as a participant
earth. I will send no tribute to El’s son Death, no hom-
in the battle; similarly, there is no account of combat be-
age to El’s Beloved, the Hero. Let Death cry to himself,
tween Baal and such adversaries as “the divine calf, the
let the Beloved grumble in his heart; for I alone will rule
Rebel” or “El’s bitch, Fire.” These gaps in knowledge are sal-
over the gods; I alone will fatten gods and human be-
utary reminders of the limited nature of the sample of Uga-
ings; I alone will satisfy earth’s masses.”
ritic literature as yet discovered, and of the difficulty of com-
This challenge to Death is best explained by the incomplete
bining the several tablets of the Baal cycle into a continuous
nature of Baal’s triumph: while he has defeated Sea and has
narrative.
been proclaimed king by the divine assembly, the major force
When Baal’s messengers assure Anat that there is no
of Death is still not subdued.
danger and issue Baal’s invitation, Anat proceeds to visit
Like Sea, Death is El’s son; apparently, Baal’s accession
Baal. Again a section is missing, and as the text resumes, the
to kingship over the gods requires the elimination of this
main plot line of this tablet is developed: the construction
rival as well. The enigmatic dispute between Baal and Kothar
of a permanent abode for Baal. In the gap he apparently
about whether Baal’s house is to have a window may be an
complains to Anat that despite his victory over Sea, he has
indication of Baal’s awareness of this requirement. Baal’s ini-
no house like the other gods. The word house in Ugaritic, as
tial reluctance can be better understood by reference to Jere-
in Hebrew, has several senses; here it means not just a dwell-
miah 9:21:
ing but a permanent abode for the god, hence a temple. The
Death has come up through our windows, he has en-
construction of a temple for the god who has been victorious
tered our fortresses, cutting down the children in the
over the forces of chaos is a typical motif; in Enuma elish in
street and the young men in the squares.
particular, after Marduk establishes cosmic order and creates
human beings from the blood of Tiamat’s spouse, the gods
Since the decipherment of Ugaritic it has become clear that
themselves build a temple for Marduk, and after its comple-
in many biblical passages that mention death, there is at least
tion they are his guests at an inaugural banquet. Baal’s eleva-
indirect reference to the Canaanite deity representing death
tion to kingship over the gods and human beings is therefore
(Hebrew and Ugaritic, mot) and not merely a designation of
incomplete as long as he has no house like the other gods.
the cessation of life. The verse in Jeremiah is one such pas-
sage, and may reflect a popular belief that the god Death en-
Anat goes to El to obtain his approval for the erection
tered a house through the window. Seen in this light, Baal
of a temple for Baal; her request includes a characteristic
is at first unwilling to include a window in his house because
threat of violence if she is refused:
he fears giving Death access; later, after his inaugural banquet
“I’ll smash your head; I’ll make your gray hair run with
and triumphal march, his grasp of power is, he thinks, more
blood, your gray beard with gore.”
secure.
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In any event, having proclaimed his supremacy, Baal
announcement of Baal’s death occasions El’s suggestion to
sends messengers to Death; their names are Gapn and Ugar
Asherah that one of her sons replace Baal as king; at least two
(“vine” and “field,” appropriately reflecting Baal’s aspect as
try and are found wanting.
god of the storm that brings fertility and thus anticipating
After a considerable gap in the text, Anat is described
the coming contest with its antithesis). Baal directs them:
as she is about to encounter Death:
“Head toward the midst of his city, the Swamp, Muck,
Like the heart of a cow for her calf, like the heart of a
the throne where he sits, Phlegm, the land of his inheri-
ewe for her lamb, so was Anat’s heart for Baal.
tance.”
Death’s underworld domain is, like the grave, a damp, dark,
Anat grabs Death’s clothes and insists that he give up her
unpleasant place; it is reached from his earthly territory, the
brother; Death refuses, or at least is unable to grant her re-
barren, hot desert, where (Baal continues)
quest. Time passes; in Baal’s absence the forces of drought
and sterility are dominant; “the heavens shimmered under
“Sun, the gods’ lamp, burns, the heavens shimmer
the sway of El’s son, Death.” Again Anat approaches Death;
under the sway of El’s Beloved, Death.”
no words are exchanged, but this time Baal’s sister is as vio-
Suitably warned and instructed, Baal’s two messengers leave.
lent in grief as she is in battle:
Because the text is broken here and even an entire tablet may
She seized El’s son, Death: with a sword she split him;
be missing, it is not wholly clear what the gist of Baal’s mes-
with a sieve she winnowed him; with a fire she burned
sage is; a plausible guess is that Baal wishes to invite Death
him; with a hand-mill she ground him; in the field she
to his new palace. But Death will have none of such niceties;
sowed him.
Baal is condemned for his destruction of Sea and its cosmic
This agricultural imagery is striking: for Baal, the dead god
consequences, and the sentence is death at Death’s hands.
of fertility, to be restored to life and for Death, the living god
Gapn and Ugar return with Death’s reply:
of sterility, to be destroyed, the mysterious processes of the
“One lip to the earth, one lip to the heavens; he stretch-
natural cycle have to be ritually repeated. It is important to
es his tongue to the stars. Baal must enter inside him;
note that this is not the ordinary annual cycle but rather the
he must go down into his mouth, like an olive cake, the
periodic disaster that a prolonged drought can cause; if the
earth’s produce, the fruit of the trees.”
life-giving winter rains are to fail, there will be no crops, no
Without any sign of resistance, Baal agrees:
food for animals or humans. In myth this is represented by
“Hail, El’s son Death!”
the struggle between Baal and Death; with Baal dead, the
forces of sterility prevail, and Baal can be revivified only by
“I am your servant; I am yours forever.”
Death’s death. Only if Death, whose appetite is insatiable,
The tablet is very fragmentary here, leaving only the
whose gaping jaws have swallowed up Baal like a lamb or a
skeleton of a plot. Baal is to take with him all his companions
kid, is himself swallowed up, can Baal’s power return.
and accoutrements—cloud, winds, lightning bolts, rain—
In the next scene, El has a prophetic dream in which he
and to proceed to the underworld; then “the gods will know
foresees Baal’s restoration and its effects:
that you have died.” Apparently he does so, for when a read-
able text resumes, two messengers are reporting to El:
In a dream of El, the Kind, the Compassionate, in a vi-
sion of the Creator of Creatures, the heavens rained
“We arrived at the pleasant place, the desert pasture, at
down oil, the wadis ran with honey.
the lovely fields on Death’s shore. We came upon Baal:
he had fallen to the ground. Baal the Conqueror has
Baal is restored to power, and as a later heir of Canaanite tra-
died; the Prince, the Lord of the Earth, has perished.”
dition would put it (1 Cor. 15:54–55):
El’s reaction is, initially, one of grief:
Death is swallowed up in victory. Where, O Death, is
your victory? Where, O Death, is your sting?
He poured earth on his head as a sign of mourning, on
his skull the dust in which he rolled; he covered his
(Compare Isaiah 25:8 and Hosea 13:14.)
loins with sackcloth. He gashed his skin with a knife,
The Baal cycle does not quite end here; there remain his
he made incisions with a razor; he cut his cheeks and
revenge on his rivals and yet another successful struggle with
chin, he raked his arms with a reed, he plowed his chest
like a garden, he raked his back like a valley. He raised
Death after a seven-year interval. The latter confirms the
his voice and shouted: “Baal is dead: what will happen
analysis of this last episode as the mythical representation of
to the peoples? Dagan’s son: what will happen to the
an occasional rather than an annual event.
masses?”
The relationship between El and Baal is complex. On
Meanwhile, Anat independently discovers Baal’s corpse, and
a narrative level, it is difficult not to sense El’s less than en-
she too mourns in the same formulaic fashion. Afterward,
thusiastic acceptance of Baal’s dominion. In the first episode
with the help of Sun, she brings Baal’s body back to Mount
he is willing to hand Baal over to Sea, “El’s Beloved”; in the
Zaphon, where she buries him and offers the appropriate fu-
second, both he and Asherah are scornful of Baal’s position,
nerary sacrifice. Then she heads toward El’s abode, where her
for “he has no house like the other gods”; and in the third,
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despite his real (although stylized) grief at Baal’s death, he
invocation to “the beautiful and gracious gods,” almost cer-
is quick to suggest replacements from his own family. Fur-
tainly Dawn and Dusk, who are minor but established fig-
thermore, throughout the cycle El remains the head of the
ures in the Ugaritic pantheon; Dawn also occurs in biblical
pantheon and presides over the council of the gods. Yet this
tradition (Is. 14:12). Their exile in the desert may be a myth-
very cycle, the most extensive among the surviving texts from
ical explanation of their perceived origin: in the ancient view
Ugarit, tells of Baal’s rise to some kind of preeminence. At
both day and night rose in the east, and from the Canaanites’
the very least it can be suggested that Canaanite ideology was
perspective the eastern limit of their territory was the great
not static, and the mythological literature reflects this fluidi-
Syrian desert.
ty. While Baal had become the patron god of Ugarit, this did
The details of the ritual, in which particular words and
not mean that its citizens rejected either the worship of El
actions are to be repeated seven times and performed in the
or the traditional understanding of his role in the world of
presence of the king, queen, and royal court, are highly ob-
the gods.
scure. Various deities are mentioned, various sacrifices are to
Other mythological texts. In other texts from the same
be offered, and while there are some verbal connections with
archaeological context as the Baal cycle, El has a dominant,
the mythic section, it is difficult to interpret the whole with
sometimes even an exclusive, role. There follows a discussion
coherence; yet it is improbable that the two parts are not
of some of the better-preserved texts that also have to do with
somehow related. What is clear is that the myth depicts El
the Canaanite gods.
with full enjoyment of his generative powers, and it is likely
that the concern underlying both the ritual and the narrative
Birth of the beautiful and gracious gods. Unlike the
parts is the maintenance of fertility.
other texts treated here, this tablet (of which some seventy-
six lines survive) combines mythological material with ritual
Marriage of Nikkal and the moon god. This relatively
rubrics; the former is apparently the accompanying libretto
brief text is a kind of epithalamium, or wedding hymn, cele-
for the action prescribed by the latter.
brating the marriage of the moon god (Yarih), “the heavens’
lamp,” to Nikkal wa-Ib. The first part of the latter’s compos-
The central portion of the tablet describes the concep-
ite name is ultimately derived from the Sumerian title of the
tion and birth of the deities Dawn (Shahar, probably the
moon goddess Ningal, “great lady,” and its second half is
morning star) and Dusk (Shalim, the evening star). As it
connected with the word for “fruit.” The tablet opens with
opens, El is at the seashore, where two women became
an invocation of Nikkal and Hirhib, an otherwise unknown
aroused as they observe his virility:
deity called “the king of summer,” and then tells of the
El’s hand [a euphemism] grew as long as the Sea, El’s
Moon’s passion for Nikkal. To obtain his intended bride he
hand as long as the Ocean.
uses the services of Hirhib, the divine marriage broker, offer-
In language full of double entendre, the text relates how El
ing to pay her father as bride-price a thousand silver pieces,
shoots and cooks a bird, and then seduces the women:
ten thousand gold pieces, and gems of lapis lazuli.
Hirhib suggests that Moon marry instead Baal’s daugh-
The two women became El’s wives, El’s wives forever
ter Pidray (“misty”) or someone else, but Moon is adamant;
and ever. He bowed low, he kissed their lips; behold,
their lips were sweet, as sweet as pomegranates. When
the marriage with Nikkal is arranged, and the bride-price is
they kissed, they conceived, when they embraced, they
paid:
became pregnant; they began labor and gave birth to
Her father set the beam of the scales; her mother the
Dawn and Dusk.
trays of the scales; her brothers arranged the standards;
Two divine sons are thus sired by El, who is in full possession
her sisters took care of the weights.
of his vigor and virility. As his offspring, they “suck nipples
This portion of the tablet ends with another invocation: “Let
of the Lady’s breasts”; “the Lady” is El’s principal consort,
me sing of Nikkal wa-Ib, the light of Moon; may Moon give
the goddess Asherah. But the two young gods have insatiable
you light.”
appetites, comparable (because the same formula is used) to
The brief second part of the tablet consists of another
that of Death himself:
hymnic invocation of the goddesses of childbirth, the Wise
One lip to the earth, one lip to the heavens: into their
Women (Kotharatu). Their presence, as in the account of the
mouths entered the birds of the heavens and the fish in
birth of Aqhat (see below), guarantees the conception and
the sea.
safe delivery of babies.
So, at El’s command, they are banished to the desert; after
El’s banquet. This short tablet provides a candid
seven years they are finally allowed to reenter the land by “the
glimpse of the gods, and especially El, as they participate in
guard of the sown.” Here the text breaks off.
a ritual symposium. El invites the gods to his house, where
This summary does not begin to deal with the many
he has prepared a feast; among those present are Moon, As-
problems of interpretation posed by the laconic text, nor is
tarte, and Anat.
it clear how the first portion of the tablet is related to the
The gods ate and drank; they drank wine until they
material just recounted. The tablet begins with a first-person
were full, new wine until they were drunk.
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At this point the party becomes rowdy, and El’s gatekeeper
the Ugaritic texts and the Bible, seven days is the convention-
rebukes the guests; El too is chided, apparently for allowing
al length of a journey, and the revelation about to be made
the unruly behavior. Then, however, El himself becomes in-
to Danel recalls God’s call to Moses on the seventh day (Ex.
toxicated and decides to retire; en route he has an alcoholic
24:16). Other biblical examples include the seven days of
hallucination of a figure with two horns and a tail (a possible
creation at the beginning of Genesis and the literal tour de
satanic prototype). Despite the support of two attendants,
force of the collapse of Jericho, which occurred on the sev-
enth day after seven priests blowing on seven trumpets had
He fell in his excrement and urine, El fell like a dead
man, El, like those who go down into the earth.
marched seven times around the city. It is unlikely that this
repeated use of seven is much more than literary convention,
In other words, he is dead drunk. The reverse side of the tab-
but its frequent occurrence in Ugaritic and biblical literatures
let is extremely fragmentary, but, appropriately, it seems to
underscores the close relationship between them.
contain a remedy for hangovers.
On the seventh and final day of Danel’s ritual, Baal,
In the middle of the text, El is described as seated, or
Danel’s patron, addresses the assembly of the gods on
enthroned, in his mrzh: (“symposium”). The mrzh: (Hebrew
Danel’s behalf:
marzeah:) was a chronologically and geographically wide-
spread ritual institution, mentioned several times in texts
“Unlike his brothers, he has no son; no heir, like his
from Ugarit (including once in the fragmentary Rephaim
cousins; yet he has made an offering for the gods to eat,
an offering for the holy ones to drink.”
texts, discussed below), twice in the Bible (Jer. 16:5, Am.
6:7), and in Phoenician/Punic texts from Sidon and Mar-
In response, El blesses Danel and then catalogs the benefits
seilles. It is also mentioned in Aramaic texts from Elephanti-
that a son will provide:
ne in Egypt, from Petra in Jordan, and from Palmyra in
“When he kisses his wife she will become pregnant;
Syria. Scholars disagree as to the precise character of this in-
when he embraces her she will conceive: she will be-
stitution, especially its possible connection with funereal
come pregnant, she will give birth, she will conceive;
practices and memorials; there is no doubt that this text con-
and there will be a son in his house, an heir inside his
tains at least part of its mythological background.
palace, to set up a stela for his divine ancestor, a family
EPIC TEXTS. The two major Canaanite literary cycles with
shrine in the sanctuary; to free his spirit from the earth,
human protagonists are Aqhat and Kirta. As in more familiar
guard his footsteps from the Slime; to crush those who
rebel against him, drive off his oppressors; to eat his of-
classical heroic epics, however, and as in other ancient Near
fering in the temple of Baal, his portion in the temple
Eastern sources, such as the Mesopotamian Gilgamesh epic,
of El; to hold his hand when he is drunk, support him
the gods play a significant role in the narrative; from a tem-
when he is full of wine; to patch his roof when it leaks,
poral point of view, actions in both the divine and human
wash his clothes when they are dirty.”
realms occur on a single continuum. Thus, while a specific
time is not indicated in either of these two texts, the time
Heartened by the divine promise, Danel returns to his pal-
frame in which the narrative takes place is historical at least
ace, where with the assistance of the Wise Women, the god-
in the sense that the cosmic order has been established.
desses of marriage and childbirth, conception occurs after
seven days.
Aqhat. This title is an ancient one, appearing as a cata-
loging device at the beginning of the third major tablet of
This list of ritual and personal filial duties suggests that
the cycle that is preserved. Nevertheless, the story is part of
one of the epic’s purposes was didactic: to school its audience
a larger one about Aqhat’s father, Danel, a royal figure whose
in proper social behavior, which included not only the re-
righteousness and wisdom were legendary (see Ez. 14:14, 20;
sponsibilities of a son to his father but the model conduct
28:2). The surviving remnants of the cycle deal with the rela-
of kings, of daughters and sisters, and in fact, of all humans
tionship of Danel and his son, and as the extant story begins,
in their complex relationships with one another and with the
Danel is described performing a seven-day incubation ritual,
gods.
occasioned by his lack of progeny.
The picture of the childless patriarch is a commonplace
A period of seven days or seven years occurs some five
in Canaanite literature. In the Ugaritic texts, the opening of
times in Aqhat, and elsewhere in the Ugaritic corpus as well:
Kirta (see below) is remarkably similar to that of the Danel
Baal’s initial defeat of Death lasted seven years, and in the
cycle, and in Genesis, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob each are ini-
Aqhat text (see below), Danel cursed the land by calling for
tially either childless or lacking descendants from their favor-
an absence of Baal’s generative powers:
ite or principal wives. In each case, offspring are promised
by their patron deity: in Abraham’s case, in the context of
“For seven years let Baal fail, eight, the Rider on the
a nocturnal revelation, like Danel’s (Gn. 15), and in Isaac’s,
Clouds: no dew, no showers, no surging of the double
in response to a prayer by the patriarch (Gn. 25:21). In the
deep, no benefit of Baal’s voice.”
more extensive Jacob cycle, the promise of numerous descen-
This is reminiscent of the alternation of seven years of plenty
dants is made at night (Gn. 28:11–17) and is granted in re-
and seven of famine in the biblical story of Joseph. The fre-
sponse to Jacob’s favorite wife Rachel’s specific prayer (Gn.
quent use of the number seven applies to days as well; in both
30:22). The stories of Hannah (Samuel’s mother), of Sam-
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son’s parents, and to some extent of Job are further variations
twice on the skull, three times over the ear; like a
of this motif. In the biblical narratives of Israel’s ancestors
slaughterer he made his blood run, like a butcher, run
as preserved in Genesis it is further significant that the patron
to his knees. His breath left him like wind, his spirit like
deity who pronounces the blessing on each patriarch, al-
a breeze, like smoke from his nostrils.
though called Yahweh in the present sources, is elsewhere un-
The end of this tablet and the beginning of the next are badly
equivocally identified as El (see Ex. 6:3; cf. Gn. 14:19–20;
broken; apparently Anat regrets her action, at least in part
49:25). As his epithets in biblical literature and especially in
because while Aqhat was being killed his bow dropped into
Genesis make clear, this is none other than the head of the
the sea.
Canaanite pantheon. It is noteworthy that in Aqhat, even
When the text becomes legible, Danel is again sitting
though Baal is Danel’s patron (as his epithet, “the Healer’s
at the gate presiding over legal matters. His daughter Pughat
man,” indicates), the blessing is given by El; Baal acts only
notices that the vegetation has withered and that vultures are
as mediator between the childless king and “El, the Bull, the
swooping over her father’s house; both are clear signs of vio-
Creator of Creatures.”
lent, unnatural death. With his clothes torn in mourning,
The middle third of this first of the cycle’s three tablets
Danel
is missing; in this section the birth of Danel’s son Aqhat must
cursed the clouds in the still heat, the rain of the clouds
have been related. The story then resumes. As Danel is en-
that falls in summer, the dew that drops on the grapes.
gaged in typical royal judicial activity at the city gate, judging
Thus, Danel invokes a seven-year drought (see above), the
the cases of widows and orphans, he sees Kothar approaching
absence of Baal’s pluvial benefits. Then, at her father’s in-
with a bow and arrows. The divine craftsman gives this
structions, Pughat,
weapon to Danel as a gift for his son; after a suitable feast,
prepared by Danel’s wife for their divine guest, the god
who got up early to draw water, who brushed the dew
departs.
from the barley, who knew the course of the stars, in
tears she harnessed the ass, in tears she roped up the
In the next episode Anat, having seen the wonderfully
donkey, in tears she lifted her father, she put him on
crafted weapon, offers to buy it from Aqhat; the latter re-
the ass’s back, on the splendid back of the donkey.
fuses, proposing instead that he will supply the raw materials
At this point neither Danel nor Pughat is aware of Aqhat’s
necessary for the construction of another one by Kothar.
death; together they set out on a tour of the blasted fields.
Anat goes further:
There, Danel poignantly wishes that they could be restored,
“If you want life, Aqhat the Hero, if you want life, I’ll
so that
give it to you, immortality—I’ll make it yours. You’ll
“the hand of Aqhat the Hero would harvest you, place
be able to match years with Baal, months with the sons
you in the granary.”
of El.”
While they are still in the fields, messengers appear and relate
Again Aqhat refuses, and this time his response goes beyond
the facts of Aqhat’s death. Danel is stricken:
the proper limits:
His feet shook, his face broke out in sweat, his back was
“Don’t lie to me, Virgin, for to a hero your lies are
as though shattered, his joints trembled, his vertebrae
trash. A mortal—what does he get in the end? what
weakened.
does a mortal finally get? Plaster poured on his head,
Finally, Danel lifts up his eyes, sees the vultures overhead,
lime on top of his skull. As every man dies, I will die;
and curses them:
yes, I too will surely die. And I have something else to
tell you: bows are for men! Do women ever hunt?”
“May Baal shatter the vultures’ wings, may Baal shatter
their pinions; let them fall at my feet. I will split their
The first part of Aqhat’s response, while realistic, is bad
gizzards and look: if there is fat, if there is bone, I will
enough: he implicitly denies Anat’s ability to provide what
weep and I will bury him, I will put him into the hole
she had promised, because from his perspective, old age and
of the gods of the earth.”
death are inescapable. But in insulting her prowess with such
Three times Danel examines the innards of various vultures
weapons, Aqhat is challenging the goddess’s very essence.
for remains of Aqhat; they are found at last inside Samal, the
Anat replies with a characteristically furious threat, and goes
mother of vultures, and presumably are given proper burial.
to report the matter to El.
Danel then curses the three cities near the scene of the crime
The second and shortest tablet of the cycle retains only
and returns to his palace to begin the mourning period. For
two of its original four columns. In the first column El ac-
seven years the mourning goes on, and at its conclusion
cedes, apparently with reluctance, to Anat’s insistence on re-
Danel dismisses the mourners and offers the appropriate sac-
venge, and in the last Anat carries out her threat:
rifice.
In the last surviving brief episode, Pughat asks her fa-
When Aqhat sat down to eat, the son of Danel to his
ther’s benediction:
meal, vultures swooped over him, a flock of birds soared
above. Among the vultures swooped Anat; she set him
“Bless me, that I may go with your blessing; favor me,
[Yatpan, Anat’s henchman] over Aqhat. He struck him
that I may go with your favor: I will kill my brother’s
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CANAANITE RELIGION: THE LITERATURE
killer, put an end to whoever put an end to my mother’s
The Rephaim texts. Three other tablets, extremely frag-
son.”
mentary ones, give some hint of the outcome of the story.
The blessing having been given, Pughat, like the Jewish hero-
Like most of the texts treated in this article, they were written
ine Judith, applies cosmetics and puts on her finery, under
down by Ilimilku, and because one of them mentions Danel
which she hides a sword. She reaches Yatpan’s tent at sun-
by name, they are part of the larger Danel tradition. Most
down, and he welcomes her, boasting:
scholars refer to them as the Rephaim texts, after the Hebrew
pronunciation of the name of their principal figures, the Re-
“The hand that killed Aqhat the Hero can kill a thou-
phaim; this title is probably to be translated (despite the He-
sand enemies.”
brew vocalization) as “the Healers,” although some scholars
Our text ends tantalizingly:
prefer “the Healthy (or Healed) Ones.” These “Healers”
Twice she gave him wine to drink, she gave him wine
seem to have been minor deities of the underworld. (See Job
to drink.
26:5; in other biblical passages the term Rephaim is used for
the legendary pre-Israelite inhabitants of the land of Canaan,
Interpretation of this epic is difficult because of the gaps in
probably by extension from the sense of the deified dead.)
the narrative and the abrupt break at the end of the preserved
They also seem to have been connected with Baal; recall
portion, but some light is shed on the main lines of the story
Danel’s epithet, “the Healer’s man.”
by other ancient sources. The encounter between Anat and
Aqhat is reminiscent of similar episodes in classical litera-
In these texts the Healers visit Danel’s threshing floor
tures, and especially of a portion of the Gilgamesh epic.
and plantation, presumably to restore them. Four broken
There, the goddess Ishtar (Inanna) tries to seduce Gilgamesh;
lines read as follows:
he repudiates her advances and reminds her in arrogant, in-
“Behold your son, behold . . . your grandson . . . the
sulting detail how she had behaved toward other mortals she
small one will kiss your lips.”
had loved after she had finished with them. Ishtar is naturally
It is tempting to see here the promise, if not the fact, of a
furious and complains bitterly to her father, Anu, the head
new heir for Danel. It has even been conjectured that Aqhat
of the pantheon. At first he resists her desire to take revenge
himself was restored to life, somewhat analogously to Baal’s
on Gilgamesh by setting against him a powerful animal ad-
resurrection, but this is unlikely because Aqhat was human,
versary, the Bull of Heaven, telling her that if her request is
not divine, and he himself had stated the Canaanite view of
granted there will be seven years of drought. Finally, howev-
mortality: “As every man dies, I will die.”
er, Anu relents, when Ishtar tells him that she has stored up
sufficient grain and fodder.
Kirta. This epic, consisting of three tablets, is incom-
plete: at least one additional tablet is missing, for the third
The parallels between this episode and Aqhat are nu-
ends abruptly in mid-sentence. Its eponymous hero, Kirta (a
merous and striking, but there are also significant differences.
name also vocalized as Keret), was, like Danel, a king, and
While Ishtar is the Mesopotamian counterpart of Anat, a
as the story begins he too has no heir. As he laments his lot,
goddess of love and of war, Gilgamesh and Aqhat are not
he has a revelatory dream in which El appears to him; paral-
simply literary cultural variants. In particular, it seems un-
lels in Aqhat and in the ancestral stories of Genesis indicate
likely that the bow in the Ugaritic epic is a symbolic substi-
that his sleep may have been part of a formal incubation ritu-
tute for Aqhat’s sexual organ: because it had been manufac-
al. El’s instructions to Kirta amount to more than ninety
tured by Kothar, a substitute could be made for it, and after
lines of text, and they are immediately repeated, with only
Aqhat’s death it dropped into the sea.
minor variations, as the childless ruler carries out the divine
The Egyptian myth of Osiris offers another avenue of
commands.
comparison. In that tale Isis, the sister (and wife) of the dead
First, Kirta offers a sacrifice to the gods, and then he pre-
Osiris, retrieves the murdered corpse of her brother, gives it
pares an army for his campaign against King Pabil of Udm,
a proper burial, and then encourages their son Horus to
whose daughter, the Lady Hurraya, is to be given to Kirta
avenge his father’s death; Osiris is, significantly, the god of
as his wife. There is almost universal conscription:
the regenerating vegetation.
It seems, then, that the Gilgamesh, Osiris, and Aqhat
The bachelor closed his house; the widow hired a sub-
stitute; the sick man carried his bed; the blind man was
cycles have a common thread, the threat to continued fertili-
assigned a station; even the new husband came out: he
ty. Extrapolating from these links, it is likely first that Pughat
led his wife to another, his love to a stranger.
does avenge her brother’s death, probably by destroying
Anat’s henchman Yatpan—it turns out that women hunt
This army proceeds like a swarm of locusts for three days,
after all! Second, given the importance assigned to Danel’s
after which it arrives at the sanctuary of Asherah of Tyre.
lack of an heir and the positive recollection of him in Ezekiel,
There Kirta vows that if his suit is successful, he will donate
it is difficult not to assume that he, like Job, is granted reha-
double the bride-price to the goddess. On the evening of the
bilitation, that the land is restored to production, and that
seventh day he reaches Udm and lays siege to the city:
a substitute son is born, all in other episodes of the Danel
They attacked the cities, they raided the towns; they
cycle not yet discovered.
drove the woodcutters from the fields, and the gatherers
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CANAANITE RELIGION: THE LITERATURE
1399
of straw from the threshing floors; they drove the water
To do so he takes clay and creates the goddess Shataqat
carriers from the well, and the women filling their jars
(whose name means “she causes [disease] to pass away”), then
from the spring.
sends her to Kirta. She succeeds; “Death was broken,” and
After seven days of siege Pabil begins to negotiate, offering
Kirta’s appetite returns.
Kirta silver, gold, slaves, and chariots. But Kirta rejects these,
In the final scene, after Kirta has been restored to his
insisting that there is only one thing he wants:
throne, his rule is challenged by one of his sons on the
“Give me rather what is not in my house: give me the
ground that because of his weakness, he has ceased to per-
Lady Hurraya, the fairest of your firstborn: her fairness
form the expected functions of a king:
is like Anat’s, her beauty is like Astarte’s, her eyebrows
“You do not judge the cases of widows; you do not pre-
are lapis lazuli, her eyes are jeweled bowls.”
side over the hearings of the oppressed; you do not drive
This is the end of the narrative of Kirta’s fulfillment of El’s
out those who plunder the poor; you do not feed the
command, and also the conclusion of the first tablet. The be-
orphan before you, the widow behind your back.”
ginning of the second tablet is damaged; as the text resumes,
Kirta’s response is to curse his son, praying that Horon, an
Pabil accedes to Kirta’s suit, with regret:
underworld deity, and Astarte, “the name of Baal,” will
“As a cow lows for her calf, as recruits long for their
smash his son’s skull.
mothers, so will the Udmites sigh.”
The plot of the Kirta cycle is relatively straightforward
After some missing lines, the council of the gods assembles
(at least where the text is continuous). Kirta also provides a
in procession. Some of them are listed: the Bull (El), Baal
perspective on the Canaanite ideology of kingship. Among
the Conqueror, Prince Moon, Kothar-wa-Hasis, the Maiden
the duties of the king was to maintain the social order; he
(Anat), and Prince Resheph. This assembly gathers to witness
did so by his effective support of the powerless in society—
El’s blessing, at Baal’s behest, of Kirta’s marriage:
the poor, widows, orphans—all groups who are mentioned
“Kirta, you have taken a wife, you have taken a wife into
in innumerable ancient Near Eastern sources as the special
your house, you have brought a maiden into your court.
responsibility of kings, both divine and human. Thus, his
She will bear seven sons for you, she will produce eight
son’s attempted coup to seize Kirta’s throne was motivated
for you; she will bear Yassib the Lad, who will drink the
by the alleged lack of justice for the powerless; Absalom’s re-
milk of Asherah, suck the breasts of the Virgin Anat, the
volt against his father, King David, in 2 Samuel 15 was ini-
two wet nurses of the gods.”
tially successful because Absalom was able to appeal to a simi-
The close association with the gods of the offspring of royal
lar failure in the royal administration of justice. Another
but human parents is a feature of the Canaanite ideology of
aspect of the maintenance of the social order was the provi-
kingship.
sion for an orderly succession; Kirta’s (and Danel’s) desire
Seven years passed, and El’s blessing proves effective,
for male descendants was prompted by the recognition of
but Asherah is angry because Kirta has forgotten his vow.
this royal responsibility.
Meanwhile, Kirta plans a feast for his nobles, but during its
The most complex feature of Canaanite royal ideology,
preparation he is stricken with a mortal disease, apparently
however, was the quasi-divine status of the king; as the re-
as a punishment from Asherah.
peated question of Kirta’s children—“Do the Kind One’s
As the third tablet opens, Kirta’s son Ilha’u is expressing
offspring not live on?”—shows, it was puzzling to the Ca-
consternation at his father’s illness:
naanites as well. The Kirta cycle probably recounts the leg-
endary tale of the founder of a Canaanite dynasty. While
“How can it be said that Kirta is El’s son, an offspring
there is evidence that the kings of Ugarit, like those of the
of the Kind and Holy One? Or do the gods die? Do the
Hittites, were deified after their death, there is no suggestion
Kind One’s offspring not live on?”
of actual divine parentage for them. Kirta’s epithet “El’s son”
Ilha’u shares his dismay with his sister Thitmanit (“the
must therefore have a nonbiological sense, expressing in
eighth,” or Octavia), who repeats her brother’s words of con-
mythological language the close connection between human
fusion. After another gap the text tells of the disastrous con-
and divine rule. Thus, just as Baal was responsible for the
sequences of Kirta’s illness:
continuing fertility of the earth, which failed during the peri-
The plowmen lifted their heads, the sowers of grain
od of his subjugation to Death, so the king shared in this re-
their backs: gone was the food from their bins, gone was
sponsibility; when Kirta was ill, the natural order was upset.
the wine from their skins, gone was the oil from their
(Psalm 72, one of the Israelite royal hymns, is an extended
vats.
elaboration of the positive connection of natural prosperity
Again there is a break in the text, and then El intervenes per-
with the king.)
sonally; he asks the divine council seven times if any of their
The evidence of a number of biblical passages that speak
number can cure Kirta, “but none of the gods answered
of the king as the son of Yahweh is instructive here. The lan-
him.” Finally he takes the task upon himself:
guage of divine sonship is not just a literary device but seems
“I will work magic, I will bring relief; I will expel the
to have been part of the actual coronation ceremony, in
sickness, I will drive out the disease.”
which the newly anointed king would proclaim:
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CANAANITE RELIGION: THE LITERATURE
“I will tell of Yahweh’s decree. He said to me, ‘You are
tains photographs and hand copies. The standard edition
my son; this day I have given birth to you.’” (Ps. 2:7)
used by most scholars is Manfred Dietrich, Oswald Loretz,
and Joaquín Sanmartín, The Cuneiform Alphabetic Texts from
Similar language is found in 2 Samuel 7:14 and in Isaiah
Ugarit, Ras Ibn Hani, and Other Places, 2d ed. (Munster,
9:2–7, a prophetic coronation oracle, the divine council itself
Germany, 1995); it is generally abbreviated as CAT (or
proclaims:
sometimes KTU, from the title of the original German
“To us a child has been born, to us a son has been
edition).
given.”
Several accessible translations for the general reader exist. The
The language of sonship also occurs in Psalms 89:26, imme-
translations in this article are the author’s own, revised from
diately after a passage that expresses in the clearest way the
those first published in Michael David Coogan, Stories from
Ancient Canaan (Philadelphia, 1978) and used by permission
close relationship between deity and king. Earlier in the
of Westminster John Knox Press. That work also includes
psalm Yahweh is praised as the one who (like Baal) rules the
helpful introductions to each of the four cycles that are trans-
raging of the sea, scattering his enemies with his mighty arms
lated, as well as to the Canaanite material from Ugarit in gen-
(vv. 9–10); in verse 23, using the traditional parallel formula
eral. The best recent translation of the Ugaritic texts into En-
for the storm god’s enemy, the deity states that he will share
glish is Simon B. Parker, ed., Ugaritic Narrative Poetry
his cosmic powers with the Davidic king:
(Atlanta, 1997), in which translations by a number of schol-
ars are juxtaposed to transcriptions of the original Ugaritic;
“I will set his hand on the sea, and on the rivers his right
unfortunately there is no consistency in this volume, so that
hand.”
the same Ugaritic words and phrases are translated different-
CONCLUSION. This article has dealt primarily with the cor-
ly by different scholars. Also important are Gregorio del
pus of Canaanite literature from Ugarit and has not discussed
Olmo Lete, Mitos, leyendas y rituales de los semitas occidentales,
in detail the many other Canaanite sources extant. Most
2d ed. (Madrid, 1998), and the translations, mostly by Den-
prominent among these are hundreds of inscriptions from
nis Pardee, found in William W. Hallo, ed., The Context of
the first millennium BCE in the Phoenician, Aramaic, He-
Scripture, vol. 1, Canonical Compositions from the Biblical
brew, Moabite, Ammonite, and Edomite languages; refer-
World (Leiden, 1997), pp. 237–375. Nicolas Wyatt, Reli-
ences to Canaanite religion in various Greek and Roman
gious Texts from Ugarit: The Words of Ilimilku and His Col-
leagues, 2d ed. (London and New York, 2002), which in-
writers; and, more remotely, scattered material in Mesopota-
cludes a number of ritual texts as well as the myths and epics
mian sources. It should be realized, however, that with rare
considered here, is often idiosyncratic. Among older ver-
exceptions, this material is not literature in the sense in
sions, especially valuable are Textes ougaritiques, vol. 1 of My-
which the term has been interpreted above.
thes et légendes, by André Caquot, Maurice Sznycer, and An-
Throughout this article there has also been an effort to
drée Herdner (Paris, 1974), and Canaanite Myths and
Legends, by John C. L. Gibson, 2d ed (Edinburgh, 1978).
adumbrate the significance of the Ugaritic texts for the inter-
pretation of the other great corpus of literature that may be
A number of studies have been devoted to individual myths and
subsumed in the designation Canaanite—the Bible. Much
epics. Among the best are Mark S. Smith, The Ugaritic Baal
more could be added on this topic, including discussion of
Cycle (Leiden, 1994), and Simon B. Parker, The Pre-biblical
the council of the gods; the enthronement festival of the
Narrative Tradition: Essays on the Ugaritic Poems Keret and
deity as represented in Psalms; and, in general, the pervasive
Aqhat (Atlanta, 1989). It is also important to understand the
myths and epics in the larger context of the ritual texts from
use of Canaanite imagery, formulas, and ideology by biblical
Ugarit; a good starting point is Gregorio del Olmo Lete, Ca-
writers, especially when describing the character and activity
naanite Religion according to the Liturgical Texts of Ugarit (Be-
of Yahweh. The writers were themselves aware of this rela-
thesda, Md., 1999), translated by W. G. E. Watson.
tionship and the problems it raised; this partially explains the
consistent portrayal of ancient Israel as—at least in the
Grammars and dictionaries are also important resources. Among
the most comprehensive are Gregorio del Olmo Lete and
ideal—a people set apart from their historical context, their
Joaquín Sanmartín, A Dictionary of the Ugaritic Language in
hostility toward their non-Yahwistic neighbors, and the in-
the Alphabetic Tradition (Leiden, 2003), translated by Wil-
sistence on the uniqueness of Yahweh. Yet biblical tradition
fred G. E. Watson, and Josef Tropper, Ugaritische Gramma-
can, on occasion, be remarkably candid about the origins of
tik (Munster, Germany, 2000).
Israel and its culture. In the light of Canaanite religious and
mythological literature, the declaration of the prophet Eze-
Since their discovery and decipherment, the Ugaritic texts have
been the focus of a steady stream of investigation. A useful
kiel to Jerusalem is strikingly apposite: “Your origin and your
summary of the history of scholarship is Mark S. Smith, Un-
birth are of the land of the Canaanites” (Ez. 16:3).
told Stories: The Bible and Ugaritic Studies in the Twentieth
Century (Peabody, Mass., 2001). A fuller view of Ugaritic
BIBLIOGRAPHY
studies at the turn of the millennium is provided by the es-
The official publication of the major Ugaritic texts is Andrée
says in Handbook of Ugaritic Studies, edited by Wilfred
Herdner, Corpus des tablettes en cunéiformes alphabétiques dé-
G. E. Watson and Nicolas Wyatt (Leiden, 1999). See also
couvertes à Ras Shamra-Ugarit de 1929 à 1939 (Paris, 1963);
the lengthy review of that volume, providing many correc-
the first volume contains the texts, preceded by extensive bib-
tions especially on matters of detail, by Dennis Pardee, “Uga-
liographies and copiously annotated, and the second con-
ritic Studies at the End of the 20th Century,” Bulletin of the
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CANISIUS, PETER
1401
American Schools of Oriental Research 320 (November 2000):
who had wanted to adopt independent inferences.
49–86.
Candrak¯ırti I thus tried to reestablish the prasan˙ga method
M
of reasoning. Tibetan doxographers accordingly classified
ICHAEL D. COOGAN (1987 AND 2005)
him with Buddhapa¯lita as representative of the Pra¯san˙gika
school. He also lodged criticism against the doctrines of the
Buddhist logico-epistemological school and the metaphysical
CANDOMBLÉ SEE AFRO-BRAZILIAN RELIGIONS
and gnoseological theories of the Yoga¯ca¯ra-Vijña¯nava¯ddins.
Candrak¯ırti II composed a few Tantric works, the most
important of which is the Prad¯ıpoddyotana (D. 1785, B.
2650), a commentary on the Guhyasama¯ja Tantra.
CANDRAK¯IRTI (Tib., Zla ba grags pa; Chin., Yue-
Candrak¯ırti III composed the Madhyamaka¯vata¯raprajña¯ or
cheng; Jpn., Gessho¯), Indian Buddhist dialectician. Scholars
Madhyamakaprajña¯vata¯ra (D. 3865, B. 5264) and together
have identified at least three Candrak¯ırtis. The first, who will
with the translator ‘Gos khug pa lhas btsas translated it into
be referred to as “Candrak¯ırti I,” was a renowned Madhya-
Tibetan. If the identification of Dpal ldan zla ba with
maka (Ma¯dhyamika) philosopher who lived around 600–
Candrak¯ırti III is correct, this same pair of translators also
650 CE; the second, “Candrak¯ırti II,” was a Tantric master
translated Kr:s:n:apa¯da’s commentary on the Hevajra Tantra
assumed to have lived slightly later than the former; and the
(D. 1187, B. 2317). ‘Gos khug pa lhas btsas also translated
third, “Candrak¯ırti III,” was a Buddhist thinker of the elev-
the Prad¯ıpoddyotana with Rin chen bzang po (958–1055)
enth century. Biographies are available only in Tibetan
and others. We can thus fix the date of Candrak¯ırti III with-
sources such as the histories of Bu ston, Ta¯rana¯tha, and
in the eleventh century.
Sumpa mkhan po. These sources are not particularly helpful
to the historian, for they tend to confuse history and legend
Although Candrak¯ırti I and III are certainly two differ-
and freely interchange the lives of the three Candrak¯ırtis.
ent people, it may be possible that Candrak¯ırti II is identical
This did not pose a great problem in Tibet, however, for the
with either Candrak¯ırti I or III. Research on this point re-
Tibetan tradition acknowledges only one Candrak¯ırti, who
mains open.
lived for three or four hundred years.
SEE ALSO Ma¯dhyamika.
Candrak¯ırti I wrote several important commentaries on
the works of Na¯ga¯rjuna and A¯ryadeva: (1) the Prasannapada¯
BIBLIOGRAPHY
(available in Sanskrit in Bibliotheca Buddhica 4, hereafter
Lindtner, Christian. “Candrak¯ırti’s Pañcaskandhaprakaran:a.” Acta
cited as Bibl. Bud.), a commentary on Na¯ga¯rjuna’s
Orientalia 40 (1979): 87–145.
Mu¯lamadhyamakaka¯rika¯; (2) the Yuktis:as:t:ika¯vr:tti (Derge
May, Jacques, trans. Candrak¯ırti, Prasannapada¯ Madhyama-
edition of the Tibetan Tripit:aka 3864, hereafter cited as D.;
kavtti: Commentaire limpide au traité du milieu. Paris, 1959.
Beijing edition of the Tibetan Tripit:aka 5265, hereafter cited
Ruegg, David S. The Literature of the Madhyamaka School of Phi-
as B.); (3) the S´u¯nyata¯-saptativr:tti (D. 3867, B. 5268); and
losophy in India. Wiesbaden, 1981.
(4) the Catuh:´satakat:¯ıka¯ (D. 3865, B. 5266, partially avail-
able in Sanskrit), a commentary on A¯ryadeva’s Catuh:´sataka.
New Sources
A¯ryadeva, Candrak¯ırti, and Karen Lang, “Aryadeva and
He also composed works of his own inspiration: (1) the
Candrak¯ırti on Self and Selfishness” In Buddhism in Practice,
Madhyamaka¯vata¯ra, with its autocommentary, the
edited by Donald S. Lopez, Jr., pp. 380–398. Princeton,
Madhyamaka¯vata¯rabha¯s:ya (Tib. edition in Bibl. Bud. 9), an
1995.
introduction to the basic Madhyamaka treatise of
Jong, J. W. de. “Materials for the Study of Aryadeva, Dharmapala
Na¯ga¯rjuna; and (2) the Pañcaskañdhaprakaran:a (Tib. edi-
and Candrakirti: The Catuhsataka of Aryadeva, Chapters
tion, Lindtner, 1979), a treatise on Abhidharma topics (five
12–13, 2 V.” Indo Iranian Journal 36 (1993): 150–153.
aggregates, twelve bases, and eighteen elements) from the
Scherrer Schaub, Cristina. “Tendance de la pensee de Candrakirti,
Madhyamaka point of view. Opinions differ concerning the
Buddhajnana et Jinakriya.” Buddhist Forum 3 (1994):
authorship of the work titled Tri´saran:a[gamana]saptati (D.
249–272.
3971, 4564; B. 5366, 5478). According to Lindtner it was
composed by Candrak¯ırti I, but according to Ruegg (1981),
MIMAKI KATSUMI (1987)
by Candrak¯ırti II. As to the chronological order of these trea-
Revised Bibliography
tises, one can only state with certainty that the
Madhyamaka¯vata¯ra (probably with the autocommentary)
was composed before the two large commentaries, the
CANISIUS, PETER (1521–1597), doctor of the
Prasannapada¯ and the Catuh:´satakat:¯ıka¯, since both of the lat-
church, Jesuit priest, educator, theologian, and saint. Born
ter refer to the former.
at Nijmegen, Peter Canisius was educated at the University
Candrak¯ırti I expounded the Madhyamaka philosophy
of Cologne. Sent by his father, Jakob Kanijs, to study law
of Na¯ga¯rjuna and defended the position of Buddhapa¯lita (c.
at Louvain in 1539, Peter, determined to be a priest, re-
470–540) against the criticism of Bha¯vaviveka (c. 500–570),
turned to Cologne and in 1541 became the first German Je-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1402
CANNIBALISM
suit. He helped to found the first German Jesuit house at Co-
publications in volume 2, pages 617–688. The standard life
logne and in 1546 was ordained a priest. In 1547, Cardinal
of Canisius is by James Brodrick, St. Peter Canisius, S.J.,
Truchsess of Augsburg appointed Canisius as his theologian
1521–1597 (1935; reprint, Baltimore, 1950).
at the Council of Trent. Between the first and second ses-
JILL RAITT (1987)
sions of the council, Canisius went to Rome for further spiri-
tual training with Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Society of
Jesus. From 1548 to 1580 Canisius worked out of Germany,
traveling to Austria and Poland as Jesuit provincial, counsel-
CANNIBALISM is both a concept and a practice that
or to princes, and founder of Jesuit schools. Three times Em-
may involve diverse themes of death, food, sacrifice, revenge,
peror Ferdinand I (1556–1564) asked Canisius to become
aggression, love, and destruction or transformation of
bishop of Vienna, but each time he refused. From 1556 to
human others. The many and varied examples of cannibal-
1569 Canisius served as the first Jesuit provincial of upper
ism are difficult to summarize, except in terms of the wide-
Germany. In 1580 he was sent to Fribourg in Switzerland
spread idea of the human body as a powerful symbolic site
to help found a Jesuit college; it was his last assignment.
for defining relations between oneself and others and mark-
ing the boundaries of a moral community. In violating the
Canisius’s primary work was reestablishing Roman Ca-
bodily integrity that prevails in ordinary social life, cannibal-
tholicism or strengthening it where it was threatened by
ism signifies an extraordinary transformation or dramatiza-
Protestantism, especially in Germany, Austria, and Poland.
tion of relations between those who eat and those who are
His means were manifold, but chief among them was educa-
eaten. When it occurs in religious contexts, the act of con-
tion through the establishment of twenty Jesuit colleges be-
suming human substance commonly represents an exchange
tween 1549 and 1580. From these colleges came staunchly
between people and cosmic powers, promoting union with
Roman Catholic political and spiritual leaders.
the divine or renewing life-sustaining spiritual relations.
Frequently, Canisius had to deal directly with Protes-
Such religious meanings may overlap with the social and po-
tants, as at Worms in 1557 and at Augsburg in 1566, or indi-
litical significance of consuming enemies to mark one’s dom-
rectly through his advice to Catholic princes to whom he was
inance and superiority—or consuming kin to express love,
appointed secret nuncio by the pope. While he dealt severely
to distance the spirit of the deceased from the world of the
with heretical books and what he deemed overly lenient poli-
living, or to acquire physical or spiritual qualities contained
cies on the part of princes, he distinguished between obdu-
in the corpse. Thus sacrifice, the aggressive destruction of en-
rate heresy and that of people who had been led astray. These
emies, and the devoted incorporation or anxious destruction
latter should not be coerced, he argued, but persuaded. To
of a loved one’s body are all facets of cannibalism that may
prepare Catholics to meet Protestant arguments, Canisius
be present in different cultural contexts.
drew up catechisms that, while not attacking Protestants
CANNIBALISM AND ITS COMPLEXITY OF FORM. Anthropolo-
frontally, gave Catholics a thorough grounding in the Catho-
gists distinguish between endocannibalism, eating a member
lic side of controversial issues such as justification and the
of one’s own social group, and exocannibalism, eating a
Lord’s Supper. Canisius also answered Protestant controver-
member of some other group, frequently an enemy. Endo-
sialists, especially the Centuriators, Flacius Illyricus and Jo-
cannibalism is most often associated with funerals or other
hann Wigand, who had prepared the Magdeburg Centuries,
mortuary rites and with themes of sacrifice, familial devo-
a century-by-century history interpreted from a Lutheran
tion, reincarnation, and regeneration, as well as group wel-
perspective.
fare, reproduction, and continuity. Exocannibalism com-
Toward his flock, Canisius was a kindly and practical
monly signifies domination, revenge, or destruction of
superior and pastor. He served as cathedral preacher at Augs-
enemies. The distinction between exo- and endocannibalism
burg, Innsbruck, and Fribourg, and through his direct and
has limited value in describing the complex forms in which
pious sermons won back thousands to the Roman Catholic
people have ingested human body substances.
sacraments. Pope Leo XIII (1898–1903) dubbed Canisius
The symbolism of the sacrifice and consumption of
“the second apostle of Germany after Boniface.” He was can-
human offerings pervades religious thought in European and
onized on May 21, 1925 and declared a doctor of the Catho-
Middle Eastern traditions; this symbolism is explored by
lic church by Pope Pius XI.
Walter Burkert in Homo Necans (1983). Cannibalism is a
common theme in mythology and folk tales (see Lévi-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Strauss, 1969) and, as a practice, it has been reported in Eu-
The best source for Canisius’s life is a multivolume edition edited
rope, Polynesia, Melanesia, North and South America, and
by Otto Braunsberger, Beati Petri Canisii Societatas Iesu epis-
Africa (see Tannahill, 1975; Sanday, 1986; Gordon-Grube,
tulae et acta, 8 vols. (Freiburg, 1896–1923). Friedrich Strei-
1988). The occurrences have no simple correlation with pat-
cher has edited a critical edition of Canisius’s catechisms: S.
terns of subsistence, ecology, food supply, or other cultural
Petri Canisii doctoris ecclesiae catechismi Latini et Germanici,
conditions.
2 vols. (Munich, 1933–1936). The Bibliothèque de la Com-
pagnie de Jésus, compiled by Carlos Sommervogel (1891; re-
In popular imagination and in psychoanalytic analyses
print, Paris, 1960), contains a bibliography of Canisius’s
such as that of Eli Sagan (1974), cannibalism has commonly
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CANNIBALISM
1403
been seen as characteristic of primitive communities and
ter isolation and the threat of starvation, individuals some-
magical thought rather than civilization and religion. Such
times developed delusions of being transformed into such a
assumptions ignore the variety of cannibalistic practices in
monster (Marano, 1985). The idiom of cannibalism in myth
complex societies, such as the western European tradition of
is worldwide and has an extensive range of context and
using human body parts as medicines and the Aztec practice
meaning. Claude Lévi-Strauss (1969) points to the universe
of human sacrifice. As William Arens (1979) has empha-
of oppositions, associations, and transformations of humans
sized, exaggerated or unfounded reports of cannibalism are
and animals: death and rebirth, cooked and raw food, death
widespread and often have been used as racist propaganda
and rotting, cannibal and ogre. South America is one of the
and justification for colonial domination of native peoples.
areas where these themes have been elaborated in myths and,
Arguments persist about when and where cannibalism really
in the past, were expressed by a number of native societies
has existed as an institutionalized, socially accepted practice.
through practices of endocannibalism and exocannibalism.
Some of the most heated of these debates have focused on
E
Fiji and the circumstances surrounding the death of Captain
NDOCANNIBALISM AND EXOCANNIBALISM IN SOUTH
A
James Cook in Hawai’i, and on the interpretation of archae-
MERICA. For some native peoples in lowland South Ameri-
ca, endocannibalism was a ritual act that honored the de-
ological remains of the ancient Anasazi culture of the south-
ceased by sparing the corpse from the horror of burial and
western United States. Anthropological scholarship on some
decay. Eradicating the body by consuming it was thought to
of the better-described ethnographic and historical cases has
protect against the negative effects of death and the twin dan-
focused on elucidating the cultural beliefs reflected in the di-
gers associated with the corpse: the danger that the body’s
verse historical practices of consuming human body sub-
presence would attract the dead person’s soul to attack living
stances.
people, and the danger of excessive grief among mourners for
CANNIBALISM AND THE AZTEC RELIGION. Perhaps the most
whom the body is a constant reminder of their loss (Conklin,
widely known large-scale practice of human sacrifice and
2001). South American endocannibalism took several forms,
cannibalism is that of the ancient Aztec, as recorded by many
from eating the flesh (among the Guayaquí of Paraguay and
early reports. The Aztec religion involved many kinds of of-
the Wari’ of Brazil) to cremating the flesh and grinding the
ferings, but the Sun, patron of warriors, required human
roasted bones into a powder to be mixed with food or bever-
hearts and human blood for nourishment; human sacrifice
age and consumed (Clastres, 1974; Conklin, 2001; Dole,
was therefore essential. The victims were usually prisoners or
1962; McCallum, 1999; Vilaça, 2000). Among the Wari’ of
purchased slaves; during the rituals, their hearts were re-
Brazil, who believed that ancestors’ spirits become game ani-
moved and placed in vessels, and their heads were placed in
mals that offer their flesh to feed their living relatives, the act
skull racks. The limbs, and sometimes other portions of the
of consuming the corpse at the funeral evoked religious be-
victims’ bodies, might be cooked and eaten by the nobles,
liefs about life-supporting reciprocity between the living and
priests, and wealthy elite, as well as by successful warriors and
the dead, and between people and animal spirits.
guests invited to celebratory feasts. Aztec priests also prac-
ticed autosacrifice, drawing their own blood as an offering.
For the Tupinamba and other native peoples of lowland
South America, exocannibalism was traditionally associated
Michael Harner (1977) and Marvin Harris (1977)
with intertribal and intercommunity warfare. War was high-
argue that Aztec cannibalism had a nutritional purpose, be-
ly ritualized, being preceded by dreams and magical rites,
cause the Aztecs of the late prehistoric and early historic peri-
and victory was celebrated with further rites, cannibal feasts,
od had depleted their game supply and lacked domestic her-
and a display of head trophies by the victors. Prisoners might
bivores. Harner and Harris suggest that cannibalism was a
be kept for a long time, adopted or married into a local fami-
response to the pressure of overpopulation and meat short-
ly, and then tortured before being killed and eaten. Eduardo
age, disguised as propitiation of the gods. Their reasoning
Viveiros de Castro (1992) has shown how the Tupinamba
and claims about the scale of both human sacrifice and food
treatment of war captives embodied cultural ideas about self
shortages have been disputed by other scholars who empha-
and other, nature and culture, marriage and alliance. Carlos
size that the public ritual of blood sacrifice was vital in the
Fausto (1999) sees cannibalism as a key mechanism and met-
Aztec religion.
aphor through which Amazonian peoples transformed ene-
mies into kin, or mortals into immortals, by taming, socializ-
CANNIBALISM IN SYMBOLISM AND MYTH. Among the
ing, or perfecting that which is wild or culturally inferior.
Kwakiutl of the northwest coast of North America, a major
feature of the winter ceremonies was the Hamatsa dancer,
CANNIBALISM IN THE PACIFIC ISLANDS. The raiding of
who symbolized hunger, craving for human flesh, the fire
enemy villages and consumption of enemy dead—or the tak-
that transforms, and regurgitation (rebirth), and who was
ing of captives who were later killed and eaten—also has
later tamed so as to become a member of society. Here the
been documented in Melanesia and Polynesia. The discovery
cannibalistic image is the key to the relation between man
and control of Pacific islanders from the eighteenth century
and supernatural forces. In the Great Lakes region of Canada
onward brought exploratory expeditions, missionaries, ad-
and the United States, northern Algonkian legends describe
ministrators, magistrates, and, later, anthropologists into
a cannibalistic Windigo monster. Under conditions of win-
contact with local informants who described and explained
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1404
CANNIBALISM
their beliefs and practices related to consuming human sub-
secret societies, such as the Human Leopard and Alligator,
stances. Ross Bowden (1984) reports that in New Zealand,
reportedly required head-hunting and cannibalism as a quali-
Maori cannibalism in warfare not only provided contribu-
fication for membership (see MacCormack, in Brown and
tions to the warriors’ diet but also had a profound symbolic
Tuzin, 1983). Witches and sorcerers acquired and renewed
significance: to degrade the slain enemy, whose flesh was
their powers by consuming human flesh and thereby absorb-
converted into food and whose bones were turned into ob-
ing the powers of the deceased. Accusations of cannibalism
jects of common use. The victors especially relished desecrat-
are a political weapon still powerful among the contempo-
ing the corpse of a chief.
rary Sherbro of Sierra Leone.
In Fiji, myth and historical practices together provide
Witchcraft is in various ways commonly associated with
an understanding of the interconnections between the Fiji-
cannibalism. In the Strickland/Bosavi region of the New
ans’ surrender of their sisters to foreign husbands in exchange
Guinea highlands, among a number of groups, including the
for marriage payment of valuable whale teeth and their cap-
Onabasulu (see Ernst, in Goldman, 1999), witches who were
ture of foreign war prisoners for cannibalism. Human sacri-
executed were cooked and consumed in a symbolic denial of
fice accompanied the building of sacred houses and canoes
the individual’s humanity and status as a moral person. Else-
and the ceremonial visits of allied chiefs. A Fijian chief over-
where, witches themselves are often thought to be cannibals
saw an exchange cycle that included the symbolic transfer of
who obtain personal mana (power) by consuming a victim.
valued objects—women (as wives) and men (as cannibal vic-
The notion that witches feed upon the blood and body of
tims); by this process, political alliances were confirmed. The
their victims and that death results from this loss of body
cannibal victims were consecrated to the major war god, who
substance is noted in many areas among unrelated peoples.
was represented by the chief.
In some places a cult group of witches is believed to teach
and share techniques and cannibalistic acts, real or symbolic,
In parts of Melanesia, anthropologists have documented
but a belief in a solitary cannibal-witch also exists. Neil
native informants’ accounts of cannibalistic practices that
Whitehead (2002) describes how sorcerers in the highlands
continued into the mid-twentieth century. In the northern
of Guyana extract and sip fluids from decomposing corpses.
Fore region of the New Guinea highlands, dead enemies
The act is the sorcerer’s gift to divine beings of the cosmos,
were eaten by men and women, and in the southern region
given to ensure the fertility of plants, fish, and animals.
women and children ate kin and members of the residential
CONCLUSION. The theme of cannibalism as an exchange that
group who had died. Similarly, Gimi women cooked and ate
feeds and renews sources of life and fertility appears in a wide
the dead of the local group. The Fore people reportedly val-
range of contexts, from the hostile relations of Guyanese sor-
ued enemy flesh as food, but cannibalism carried ritual
cery and Aztec warfare and human sacrifice to the loving and
meanings as well. When Gimi women ate human flesh they
honorable funerary rites of native peoples in Melanesia and
prevented the ravages of decomposition and alleviated the
lowland South America. Although Eli Sagan (1974), I. M.
hunger they believed to be caused by intense sorrow. Gimi
Lewis (1986), and other psychological theorists see in aggres-
practices were structured by kinship relations, ideas about ex-
sion and interpersonal conflict the source and meaning of
change transactions between men and women, and myths
cannibalism, the trend among most anthropologists and his-
that associate cannibalism with wildness and uncontrolled or
torians has been to demonstrate the diversity of cultural
rapacious female sexuality.
meanings. In both practice and imagination, cannibalism is
Elsewhere in the New Guinea highlands, warfare canni-
clearly an emotionally charged and culturally significant act,
balism reflected concerns with fertility and gender. The
but it has no single meaning. Cannibalism’s multifaceted
Bimin-Kuskusmin (see Poole, 1983) and the neighboring
symbolism and its connections with mythic themes of sacri-
Miyanmin reportedly ate enemies killed in war. The latter
fice, destruction, regeneration, and social reproduction are
ate the whole body, whereas the former group dismembered
understood best within a specific cultural context.
bodies, buried heads, and ate to defile the enemy. The
Bimin-Kuskusmin distinguished between hard body parts
SEE ALSO Aztec Religion; Human Sacrifice, overview article.
that were considered male and were eaten by men, and those
parts, flesh and fat, that were considered female and were
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Books and articles on cannibalism may be theoretical or interpre-
eaten by women. The Great Pandanus Tree Rite was an oc-
tive general works or they may present descriptive case
casion for feasting upon game and human victims obtained
studies that analyze cannibalism in particular cultural set-
by raiding a nearby group. Fitz John Porter Poole’s interpre-
tings. Many works combine both features, applying a theo-
tation of this ritual emphasizes the cultural meaning of male
retical or interpretive approach to particular case studies.
and female substances, ritual expression of myth, relations
General Works
between the sexes, fertility, and death.
Arens, William. The Man-Eating Myth: Anthropology and Anthro-
CANNIBALISM AND THE OCCULT. Among the Asmat, the
pophagy. New York, 1979. Finds the evidence for cannibal-
consumption of enemies was associated with the construc-
ism unconvincing.
tion of masculinity through head-hunting and initiation rit-
Goldman, Laurence R., ed. The Anthropology of Cannibalism.
uals. In West Africa, among the Sherbro, for example, certain
Westport, Conn., 1999. Presents a series of articles with cri-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CANON
1405
tiques of Arens’s position, analyses of the politics of ethno-
Lindenbaum, Shirley. Kuru Sorcery: Disease and Danger in the New
graphic representations of cannibalism, and case studies cited
Guinea Highlands. Palo Alto, Calif., 1979. A discussion of
in the text of this article: Kantner on the Anasazi, Zubrinich
the importance of sorcery belief in the reactions of the Fore
on the Asmat, and Ernst on the Onabasulu.
to the kuru disease, which was spread by contact with victims
Harris, Marvin. Cannibals and Kings: The Origins of Culture. New
of the disease, mainly through cannibalism.
York, 1977. Presents a materialist-ecological explanation of
McCallum, Cecelia. “Consuming Pity: The Production of Death
cannibalism.
among the Cashinahua.” Cultural Anthropology 14, no. 4
Lewis, I. M. “The Cannibal’s Cauldron.” In Lewis’s Religion in
(1999): 443–471.
Context: Cults and Charisma, pp. 63–77. New York, 1986.
Marano, Lou. “Windigo Psychosis: The Anatomy of an Emic-Etic
Highlights symbolic themes of sexuality and oral aggression.
Confusion.” In Culture-Bound Syndromes, edited by Ronald
Sagan, Eli. Cannibalism: Human Aggression and Cultural Form.
C. Simons and Charles C. Hughes, pp. 411–448. Dordrecht,
New York, 1974. A popular psychoanalytic study of canni-
1985.
balism in general, relating it to aggression and sublimation
Métraux, Alfred. “The Tupinamba.” In Handbook of South Ameri-
of aggression.
can Indians, edited by Julian H. Steward, vol. 3. Washing-
Sanday, Peggy Reeves. Divine Hunger: Cannibalism as a Cultural
ton, D.C., 1949.
System. New York, 1986. Surveys cross-cultural cannibalism
Métraux, Alfred. “Warfare, Cannibalism, and Human Trophies.”
and analyzes its relation to cultural concepts of self-other re-
In Handbook of South American Indians, edited by Julian H.
lations and the reproduction of society.
Steward, vol. 5. Washington, D.C., 1949.
Tannahill, Reay. Flesh and Blood: A History of the Cannibal Com-
Obeyesekere, Gananath. “Cannibal Feasts in Nineteenth-Century
plex. New York, 1975.
Fiji: Seaman’s Yarns and the Ethnographic Imagination.” In
Cannibalism and the Colonial World, edited by Francis Bark-
Studies of Areas and Cases
Bowden, Ross. “Maori Cannibalism: An Interpretation.” Oceania
er, Peter Hulme, and Margaret Iversen, pp. 63–86. New
55 (1984): 81–99.
York, 1998.
Brown, Paula, and Donald Tuzin, eds. The Ethnography of Canni-
Poole, Fitz John Porter. “Cannibals, Tricksters, and Witches: An-
balism. Washington, D.C., 1983. Presents a group of case
thropophagic Images among Binim-Kuskusmin.” In The
studies, some cited in the text of the article: Poole on the
Ethnography of Cannibalism, edited by Paula Brown and
Bimin-Kuskusmin, MacCormack on the Sherbro, and
Donald Tuzin, p.13. Washington, D.C., 1983.
Sahlins on the Fijians, with a commentary by Shirley Lin-
Sahlins, Marshall. “Raw Women, Cooked Men, and Other ‘Great
denbaum.
Things’ of the Fiji Islands.” In The Ethnography of Cannibal-
Burkert, Walter. Homo Necans: The Anthropology of Ancient Greek
ism, edited by Paula Brown and Donald Tuzin. Washington,
Sacrificial Ritual and Myth. Berkeley, Calif., 1983. Essential-
D.C., 1983.
ly a study of the ritualization of sacrifice. Cannibalism as im-
Strathern, Andrew. “Witchcraft, Greed, Cannibalism and Death:
agery rather than practice.
Some Related Themes from the New Guinea Highlands.” In
Clastres, Pierre. “Guayakí Cannibalism.” In Native South Ameri-
Death and the Regeneration of Life, edited by Maurice Bloch
cans: Ethnology of the Least Known Continent, edited by Patri-
and Jonathan Parry, pp. 111–133. New York, 1982. Com-
cia J. Lyon, pp. 309–321. Boston, 1974.
pares and discusses the themes of cannibalism, witchcraft,
sacrifice, exchange, recreation, and the enemy.
Conklin, Beth A. Consuming Grief: Compassionate Cannibalism in
an Amazonian Society. Austin, Tex., 2001.
Vilaça, Aparecida. “Relations between Funerary Cannibalism and
Warfare Cannibalism: The Question of Predation.” Ethnos
Dole, Gertrude. “Endocannibalism among the Amahuaca Indi-
65, no. 1 (2000): 83–106.
ans.” Transactions of the New York Academy of Sciences 24
(1962): 567–573.
Viveiros de Castro, Eduardo Batalha. From the Enemy’s Point of
View: Humanity and Divinity in an Amazonian Society. Chi-
Fausto, Carlos. “Of Enemies and Pets: Warfare and Shamanism
cago, 1992. An interpretation of Tupi-Guarani ritual canni-
in Amazonia.” American Ethnologist 26, no. 4 (1999):
balism, emphasizing how society is constructed through the
933–956.
incorporation of enemy others.
Forsyth, Donald W. “The Beginnings of Brazilian Anthropology:
Walens, Stanley. Feasting with Cannibals: An Essay on Kwakiutl
Jesuits and Tupinamba Cannibalism.” Journal of Anthropo-
Cosmology. Princeton, N.J., 1981. A symbolic analysis of
logical Research 39 (1983): 147–178.
Kwakiutl cannibalistic spirits and dances.
Gillison, Gillian. Between Culture and Fantasy: A New Guinea
Whitehead, Neil L. Dark Shamans: Kanaimà and the Poetics of Vi-
Highlands Mythology. Chicago, 1993.
olent Death. Durham, N.C., 2002.
Gordon-Grube, Karen. “Anthropophagy in Post-Renaissance Eu-
Zerries, Otto. “El endocanibalismo en la América del Sur.” Revista
rope: The Tradition of Medicinal Cannibalism.” American
do Museu Paulista (Sao Paulo) 12 (1960): 125–175.
Anthropologist 90, no. 2 (1988): 405–409.
Harner, Michael J. “The Ecological Basis for Aztec Sacrifice.”
PAULA BROWN (1987)
BETH A. CONKLIN (2005)
American Ethnologist 4 (1977): 117–135.
Lévi-Strauss, Claude. The Raw and the Cooked. New York, 1969.
Discusses myths of cannibalism and the symbolism of raw,
cooked, and rotten food, especially among South American
CANON. Because employment of the term canon (usually
tribes.
as a synonym for scripture) in comparative religious studies
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1406
CANON
is both commonplace and subject to a growing scholarly de-
preaching), “the canon (rule) of faith” (Lat., regula fidei, or
bate, the classic usage will be considered at the outset. Subse-
the essential truth of the gospel), and “the ecclesiastical
quently, a consideration of contemporary applications of the
canon” (Lat., regula veritatis, expressing both true confession
term within the study of world religions will follow in order
and correct ritual participation in the church). Likewise, the
to illustrate its usefulness and to show some of the hermeneu-
term could characterize any authorized list or collection of
tical issues implicit in such usage. Since the use of canon to
decisions or persons. Thus one could speak of a “canonical”
mean both a norm and an attribute of scripture arose first
set of laws, a list or collection of “canonized” saints, papal
within Christianity, some special attention must necessarily
decretals (ninth century), church leaders, monks, nuns, and
be given to present debates in the study of that religion.
so on. Hence, early in the history of Christianity, the Greek
However, the focus of this treatment is on the wider implica-
kano¯n was carried over as canon or regula in the Latin used
tions concerning the value of this term in a comparativist de-
in churches of the East and the West. By the Middle Ages,
scription of world religions.
the whole collection of binding decisions by the Roman
E
church came to be regarded as the ius canonicum (canonical
TYMOLOGY AND EARLIEST HISTORICAL USAGES. The
Greek word kano¯n, which gave rise to its later European and
laws), either touching on secular matters (Lat., lex; or
English equivalents, is a Semitic loanword basically signify-
Gr., nomos) or belonging to the juridical, religious, and
ing a reed, as seen in biblical passages such as 1 Kings 14:15
ethical canons of the church. Gratian’s Decretum (1139–
and Job 40:21. The semantic usage that occurs in Hebrew
1142 CE) provided the foundation for canon law in Roman
(qaneh), Assyrian (qanu), Ugaritic (qn), and similarly in Ara-
Catholicism.
maic, Syriac, Arabic, and modern Hebrew, derives in turn
The relationship between “canon” and “scripture” in
from the even more ancient non-Semitic Sumerian (gi, gi-
Christianity is more complicated. The earliest Christian
na), with the same import. In the above Semitic languages,
scripture was either the Hebrew Bible of Judaism or the old
the basic conception of a reed generated a semantic field that
Greek version of it (the so-called Septuagint). Within Juda-
included in Hebrew, for example, the description of either
ism, neither prerabbinic nor rabbinic literature ever chose to
a standard of length or a straight or upright object. Images
refer to this scripture as a “canon.” At about the same time
of a standard of length that occur in biblical passages are the
as the flowering of rabbinic Judaism in the second century,
measuring rod (qeneh ha-middah) in Ezekiel 40:3 and 40:5
Irenaeus—probably borrowing the use of the term from
and a full reed of similar length in Ezekiel 41:8. The straight
Marcion, his gnostic competitor—began to speak of a “New
or upright object is exemplified as the shaft of a lampstand
Testament” as a group of “inspired” Christian traditions dis-
in Exodus 25:31, the branches of a lampstand in Exodus
tinct from the “Old Testament” inherited as scripture from
25:32, and a shoulder blade in Job 31:22.
Judaism. The Christian terminology of “inspiration,” al-
The Greek usage of this common Semitic term extend-
though grounded in Jewish understanding, occurs first in the
ed these derivations to include a great variety of figurative
later Pauline traditions and undoubtedly reflects influence
applications. Besides associating this term with various in-
from related Hellenistic conceptions that had previously
struments of measure and design, Greeks came to regard lists,
been applied to the Iliad and the Odyssey. However, not until
catalogs, or tables in the sciences as “canons.” Likewise, the
shortly after 450 CE did the term canon begin to be used by
humanities and anthropology sought to describe “the norm”
Christians, apparently first by Athanasius, to designate the
(ho kano¯n), for example, in grammar, aesthetics, music, phys-
biblical books of scripture.
ical beauty, ethics, the perfection of form in sculpture, and
Within rabbinic Judaism, the Hebrew scripture began
so forth. Epicurus wrote a book, now lost, entitled Peri
to be called Miqra’ (“that which is read”), and the entire col-
krit¯eriou h¯e kano¯n, focused on the “canonics” of logic and
lection came to be referred to as Tanakh, an acronym of the
method. Epictetus, and the Epicurians similarly, sought to
names of the three major divisions of the Hebrew scriptures:
find a formal basis (kano¯n) for distinguishing truth from
Torah (Pentateuch), Nevi’im (Prophets), and Ketuvim
falsehood, the desirable from the undesirable.
(Writings). Instead of speaking about “canonization,” as was
In the area of religion, Christianity drew heavily from
typical later in Christianity, Jewish sources describe an en-
this Hellenistic milieu and came to assign a new and unique
deavor to determine which books “defile the hands” and,
role to the term canon. In the New Testament itself, the
therefore, constitute sacred scripture, as distinguished from
Greek term is used only by the apostle Paul as a standard of
other normative traditions. The extrabiblical traditions in
true Christianity in Philippians 3:16 and in a late text, Gala-
the Mishnah and Talmud were, consequently, authoritative
tians 6:16, and as a divinely delimited mandate or authoriza-
(arguably “canonical” in that sense) but considered to be
tion in 2 Corinthians 10:13–16. Nonetheless, in the Roman
“oral law,” which did not defile the hands, in contrast to the
church during the first three centuries, the term occurs fre-
scripture or “written law.” Prior to these designations within
quently and can signify almost any binding norm of true
Judaism and Christianity, the Hebrew Bible (Old Testa-
Christianity, expressed with a variety of technical nuances.
ment) was denoted by a variety of diverse expressions, such
For instance, Irenaeus, in the second century, could already
as “the law and the prophets and the other books of our fa-
speak of various familiar canons: “the canon of truth” (in
thers” (Prologue to Ben Sira); “the law and the prophets”
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CANON
1407
(e.g., Mt. 5:17); “the law of Moses, the prophets, and the
Just as some “Christian” gnostics dismissed the Hebrew
psalms” (Lk. 24:44); the “oracles of God” (Rom. 3:2); “the
Bible in favor of a “New Testament,” one may find an analo-
scripture” (e.g., Mk. 12:24); “the holy scriptures” (Philo Ju-
gy with the development of Hinduism as a reaction against
daeus, On Flight and Finding 1.4); “the book”; “the sacred
certain aspects of Vedic religion. Similar to the Jewish dis-
book”; and others. In view of this evidence scholars continue
tinction between written and oral law was the distinction
to disagree whether the weight of the later Christian refer-
made by brahmans between two kinds of “canonical” litera-
ences to the term canon for scripture turns primarily on the
ture. S´ruti (“heard”) generally refers to the ritualistic litera-
term’s denotation of either a binding “norm” or an ecclesias-
ture found in the Upanis:ads and is believed to be revealed
tically approved “list” of inspired books.
directly from divinity, while smr:ti (“remembered”) desig-
In Islam, another “religion of the Book” associated with
nates the epics, the later Pura¯n:as and other legal and philo-
the children of Abraham, the QurDa¯n replaces the imperfect
sophical writings touching on practical matters of personal,
rendering of revelation in Judaism and Christianity. While
social, and domestic conduct. Even if ´sruti has a higher sta-
Muslim interpreters never traditionally identified the QurDa¯n
tus, it can be viewed as a lower kind of ritualistic knowledge
as a “canon,” they did employ the term to designate the law,
in comparison with the immediate moral implications of
in a manner reminiscent of some early Christian understand-
smr:ti. So, too, even if the oral law does not defile the hands,
ings of the biblical law of God.
it may provide a more explicit and pragmatically significant
register of the demands of a holy life in Judaism than one
CONTEMPORARY USAGE. Certainly, the use of the term
can find by simply reading the written law.
canon, despite its association with Christianity, can prove to
be an illuminating heuristic device in describing other world
HERMENEUTICAL IMPLICATIONS. The above descriptions
religions and their principal texts. The analogies with the for-
adumbrate some of the possibilities and problems in the use
mation of Western religious canons provides an attractive,
of canon as a technical term in the study of religion. The term
yet to be fully explored, way of thinking about religion in
inherently vacillates between two distinct poles, in both secu-
general. For example, such terminology can be helpful in un-
lar and religious usage. On the one hand, it can be used to
derstanding aspects of Eastern religions. Although Confucius
refer to a rule, standard, ideal, norm, or authoritative office
(Kongzi), who died in the fifth century BCE, claimed of his
or literature, whether oral or written. On the other hand, it
teaching, “I have transmitted what was taught to me without
can signify a temporary or perpetual fixation, standardiza-
making up anything of my own” (Lun-Yü 7.1), the “Five
tion, enumeration, listing, chronology, register, or catalog of
Classics” as we now know them only became a scripturelike
exemplary or normative persons, places, or things. The for-
guide to Confucianism from the first century CE onward.
mer dimension emphasizes internal signs of an elevated sta-
Obviously innovations entered into this work long after the
tus. The latter puts stress on the precise boundary, limits, or
death of Confucius. Moreover, competing views within
measure of what, from some preunderstood standard, be-
Confucianism led to some groups’ diminishing the impor-
longs within or falls outside of a specific “canon.” For the
tance of this work or adding to it new canons that were
purpose of illustrating these significant differences, I shall call
viewed as complementary (e.g., Ssu Shu, or “Four Books,”
the former “canon 1” and the latter “canon 2.” This “ideal”
and still later in the ChEing era, the “Thirteen Classics”), al-
distinction only demarcates poles in a continuum of options,
most in the same manner as Christianity added the New Tes-
since the essential nature and status of a normative tradition
tament to the “Old.”
or a “scripture” within a religion inevitably emerges through
its own unique, dialectical interplay between these polarities.
Just as Christians debated whether the Old Testament
The interplay itself engenders a systemic ambiguity in any
“canon” should be the Hebrew version, with Judaism, or the
discussion of religious canons and helps account for the vari-
expanded old Greek version, language and culture influenced
ety of ways, sometimes conflicting, in which the term canon
the formation of “canonical” distinctions in many religions.
has been employed in recent scholarship.
Centuries after the death of the Buddha, ancient traditions
were combined in South Asia to form what is presently called
Canon 1. In its first usage as rule, standard, ideal, or
the “Pali canon” (c. 29–17 BCE). A century or so later, a dif-
norm, the term canon in the secular domain may apply to
ferent “canonical” literature developed in India, written in
a wide range of fields in which a standard of excellence or
Sanskrit and eventually translated into Chinese and Tibetan,
authority governs the proper exercise of a discipline. For ex-
which became foundational for Maha¯ya¯na Buddhism. In
ample, it can reflect criteria by which one makes decisions
contrast to adherents of the Pali canon, these Buddhists re-
within a field of inquiry, whether these choices conform to
garded the su¯tras of the Maha¯ya¯na (“great vehicle”) as an al-
grammatical and mathematical principles or indices of aes-
ternative canon, the only true authority regarding what the
thetic excellence in rhetoric, art, or music. Implicit in such
Buddha himself taught. Even within later Zen Buddhism,
canons is some political and social theory of intellectual con-
where the idea of a canon seems antithetical, one may consid-
sensus about the quality, worth or preservation, and validity
er the lists of ko¯ans, questions and answers developed in re-
of that which is being judged and remembered. Likewise, re-
gional monasteries for training and testing students, as at-
ligious iconography, Buddhist organization of a city, and
taining “canonical” status as a constant feature of the
church architecture reflect implicit canonical assumptions.
instructions given by particular Zen masters.
The success of “pop art” in the 1960s may have resided partly
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1408
CANON
in its ability to make our implicit canons explicit. The
between different kinds of books: “outside” or banned
Campbell’s Soup can we had accepted in some unconscious-
books; secular or “Homeric” books that deserve reading; in-
ly canonical sense suddenly appears before us in an explicitly
spired canonical books (scripture); and uninspired canonical
canonical form through the medium of art. The dynamism
books (oral law, i.e., Mishnah/Talmud). Consequently, the
possible within such canons becomes evident when, for in-
Jewish discussion at the end of the first century CE at Yavneh
stance, one surveys the changing collections of art museums
over the status of the Book of Ecclesiastes concerned only its
and contrasts their content with the work being done in art-
“inspiration,” not its canonicity, for it could continue to be
ists’ studios.
cited as normative even if not as “scripture.”
In examining religious scriptures as “canons,” one may
Conversely, other scholars, (see, for example, Jacob
generalize that the founding leaders of religions almost never
Neusner, 1983, pp. 11–37) argue that the ritual difference,
compose for their disciples a complete scripture. The one ob-
“defiling the hands,” did not produce any clear levels of ca-
vious exception is that of the third-century Mani, founder
nonical authority between the Hebrew Bible, the Mishnah/
of Manichaeism. There are usually substantial periods after
Talmud, other religious books, and the “inspired” commen-
the death of a leader or founder when oral and/or written tra-
tary of a rabbi. If canonicity (canon 1) is determined by the
ditions function authoritatively as canonical, in the sense of
norm of revelation itself, then distinctions either among le-
representing a scripture without specific dimension. This dy-
vels of canonicity or between canonical and noncanonical lit-
namic process may be influenced greatly by later disciples,
erature begin to blur. If, as Neusner suggests, the rabbis
and the scriptures may for long periods of time, if not indefi-
themselves embodied the torah (law), then for students of re-
nitely, lack the public form of a fixed list of books or a stan-
ligion there is only limited value in a descriptive appeal to
dardized “text.” At the same time, canonical criteria, such as
certain texts as “canonical.” If the meaning of these texts re-
“inspiration,” incarnation of the Dharma, and so on, are suf-
sides in a spiritual or “Midrashic” sense held by consensus
ficient for them to sustain their scriptural status. The initial
among “inspired” rabbis rather than in a “plain” literary, or
recognition of some traditions as being crucially foundation-
peshat:, sense, then the semantic import is not publicly avail-
al or scriptural sets in motion political and economic pres-
able through a reading of the scripture per se. Similarly, some
sures within the religion that usually lead to the formation
Catholic scholars currently locate the canonical sense of
of a scripture in the latter sense of canon (canon 2).
Christian scripture in the teaching magisterium (canon 1) of
the church hierarchy rather than in either a literary or histori-
From the standpoint of Christian history, one may
cal-critical assessment of biblical texts themselves. In such an
argue that the term canon has been and may continue to be
approach, a scripture may be viewed as the deposit of a vari-
useful in the designation of extrabiblical oral or written deci-
ety of historical traditions, any of which may or may not be
sions that are binding in matters of faith and practice, as part
“canonical” (canon 1) according to an “inspired” norm or
of a church’s teaching magisteria. Certainly, prior to the
standard inherent within the leadership of the religion itself.
fourth century, some Christian traditions were explicitly ca-
In this case, identifying a scripture may shed only modest
nonical (canon 1) in the sense that they provided normative
light on the beliefs of a religion.
religious guidance outside of the Hebrew Bible. Justin Mar-
From a historical perspective, the final formation of a
tyr cites from the “Sayings of the Lord” source as authorita-
scripture (canon 2) usually results from an earlier, often ob-
tive alongside the Hebrew Bible and arguably refuses to do
scured process of redaction, expansion, and selection of texts
the same with the Gospel narratives or Paul’s letters. It is un-
(canon 1), whether one thinks of the Dao de jing of Daoism,
likely that these “sayings” belong to a fixed list. Therefore,
the various Buddhist canons, the extensive collection of Jain
one can say that Christian scripture had a canonical status
“canonical” literature, or the Hindu Maha¯bha¯rata and the
(canon 1) long before the church decisions of the fourth cen-
Bhagavadg¯ıta¯ along with the older Vedas.
tury delimited a fixed list of books (canon 2). More precisely,
the canonization (canon 2) is by degree, since even in the
Often some underlying traditions of a scripture were
fourth and fifth centuries the standardization of the actual
considered normative or “canonical” for the earliest disciples,
text had not taken place.
while other traditions gain an elevated status as scripture not
anticipated by their celebrated founders, as, for example,
Despite the silence of the rabbinic tradition on the sub-
through the posthumous deification of Lao-tzu. Repeatedly
ject, recent studies of Judaism commonly refer to “canon(s)”
one finds evidence of how earlier oral or written traditions
and “canonization.” In a provocative study, Sid Leiman re-
or writings, whose normativeness depended originally on
gards a religious book as “canonical” if it is “accepted by Jews
more modest criteria, gradually gain greater authority, in
as authoritative for religious practice and/or doctrine . . .
terms of a later perception of religious genius, inspiration,
binding for all generations . . . and studied and expounded
revelation of the law (e.g., dharma), or the presence of ulti-
in private and in public” (Leiman, 1976, p. 14). Because this
mate reality, perfection, or some other transcendent value.
definition conforms to criteria of canon 1, Leiman can claim
This adjustment in the believers’ vision of canonical tradi-
that the oral law is “canonical,” although it both is “unin-
tions within a religion often entails a radical shift in the per-
spired” and does not defile the hands as scripture. Relying
ception, understanding, and significance of older traditions
on this principle of normativeness, Leiman can distinguish
when they are caught up into the new context of a scripture.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CANON
1409
Most often, canon and community are related dialecti-
the comparison of Islam with Judaism, Christianity, and
cally in a process of semantic transformation. The steps taken
Manichaeism is that the QurDa¯n is not a “scripture” in the
by editors in this process may go unrecognized by the believ-
sense of an inspired, historically accommodated writing. The
ers or may be seen as essential elements in the orchestration
QurDa¯n is the actual word of God, representing an eternal ar-
of the traditions in order to protect them from heretical mis-
chetype of revelation cast in heavenly language. Unlike
interpretation. In sum, the recognition of canon 1 materials,
Christianity’s scripture of “books” (ta biblia), the QurDa¯n is
defined as traditions offering a normative vehicle or an ideal
more simply “the Book.” Nevertheless, during the lifetime
standard, occurs in most world religions and usually contrib-
of the Prophet, his disciples did not have the book of the
utes momentum to an impulse within the history of a reli-
QurDa¯n as we now know it. The order of the chapters and
gion to totalize, to circumscribe, and to standardize these
other significant editorial influence belongs to the hands of
same normative traditions into fixed, literary forms typical
the disciples who succeeded the Prophet. Moreover, the later
of canon 2.
collections of the sunnah (customary practice of the Proph-
et), now found in the h:ad¯ıth, provided a normative and,
Canon 2. The second usage of the term canon will be
therefore, “canonical” (canon 1) guide to Muslim exegesis.
in the sense of a list, chronology, catalog, fixed collection,
As with the Jewish Karaites and the Antiochene Christian ex-
and/or standardized text. Scholars of comparative religion
egetes, many “spiritualists” within Islam could lay claim to
such as Mircea Eliade and Wilfred Cantwell Smith have
their own direct insight upon scripture in a manner that di-
placed emphasis on the full appearance of a religion complete
minished the significance of the h:ad¯ıth and could appear to
with its “scripture,” reflecting whatever norms of excellence,
assign normative, and in that sense, “canonical” status to the
truth, goodness, beauty, or revelation may be affirmed by the
QurDa¯n alone.
respective religious adherents. In religious studies, the foun-
dational religious documents are most easily approached at
Regarding the final delimitation of the Hebrew scrip-
this more developed stage, when they constitute a publicly
tures, most scholars agree that the promulgation by Ezra of
available, delimited canon (canon 2) in the maturity of par-
a five-book Torah in the early postexilic period constituted
ticular religious movements. Of course, only the most pre-
a decisive moment in the formation of Judaism. Unlike the
sumptuous type of “protestant” interpretation of other reli-
later case of the Christian Gospels, the Pentateuch comprised
gions would presume that the ideas and beliefs of a religion
a single, allegedly Mosaic “book of the Torah” (Jos. 1:7–8).
can be grasped solely by a literary study of such religious can-
From a traditional-historical standpoint, this Mosaic Torah
ons. Smith has amply illustrated the problems that arise in
appears to combine multiple older, normative torot, or laws,
the study of Islam because of this naïveté.
in the sense of canon 1 and/or canon 2 (e.g., Proto-
As already noted, the normativeness of religious tradi-
Deuteronomy) into a fixed and integrated collection of books
tions is usually acknowledged long before these same tradi-
(canon 2). This combination of traditions most likely reflects
tions attain a fixed dimension and textual standardization,
the legislation preserved and venerated by two different
the elements of canon 2. So, for example, after the death of
groups from the Babylonian exile—bearers of Jerusalemite
the Buddha the disciples sought, although not without con-
priestly tradition (e.g., the laws in Exodus 22ff.) and deuter-
troversy, to envision the diverse sermons (canon 1) of the
onomistic interpreters (e.g., the Decalogue in Deuteronomy
Blessed One as part of a larger collection (canon 2), a larger
5 and the subsequent laws). The effect would be to make
normative and publicly recognized canon.
much private tradition public and to set all of the laws for-
ward to be interpreted together as parts of the same revela-
Conversely, Mani claimed to write by inspiration “my
tion of law delivered by God to Moses prior to the conquest
scriptures,” which combined the essence of older books or
of Palestine.
scriptures into one “great wisdom” (Kephalaia 154). His
work remains exceptional in part because he is perhaps the
Similar to the codification by the Egyptians of the Fifth
only founder of a major religion who was self-consciously
Pharaonic Law early in the same period, the promulgation
“inspired” to compose a complete “scripture.” His work rep-
of the Mosaic Torah probably occurred in response to a be-
resents the best-known example of a canon that attained
nevolent policy under Persian sovereignty. As a reward for
both normative authority and distinct literary boundaries at
this codification and public promulgation of the private or
the same time. Even so, other generations of believers ex-
secret religious law, the Persians sanctioned the right of Jew-
panded and modified the canon. Mani’s use of the Judeo-
ish leaders to make juridical decisions according to it in ex-
Christian concept of scripture corresponds to his hope of ab-
change for obedience to Persian civil and international law.
sorbing these two religions into his own, much as Islam as-
In any case, these events undoubtedly helped to accelerate
pired in its early development to bring Jews and Christians
the forces behind the formation of a part of a religious canon.
into its more universal fold.
The compilation of the exact list of books that make up
Unlike most other religious canons, completed centu-
the completed Hebrew Bible could not be completed until
ries after their founders had died, Islam settled most dimen-
late in the first century, perhaps not until the second. Fur-
sions of the QurDa¯n within only twenty-three years after the
thermore, the textual standardization of the Bible continued
death of Muh:ammad. One of the significant differences in
up to the end of the first millennium, culminating in a rela-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1410
CANON
tively uniform consensus regarding the orthography, punctu-
the essence of the book in a manner that puts the “wisdom,”
ation, and vocalization of the so-called Masoretic text of the
or Solomonic, books in full continuity with the Torah. The
Tanakh, the Hebrew scriptures. Here, as in the case of Chris-
addition of titles to some of the Christian Gospels makes
tianity and many other religions, the process of canonization
their character and common witness together as Gospels
in the sense of canon 2 entails a resolution of the limits of
more explicit than their original authors could have envi-
the collection before a full standardization of the text can
sioned. The Gospel of Luke in the Western tradition has now
take place. Centuries might elapse during this process of full
been separated from its original sequel, Acts of the Apostles,
canonization (canon 2), and it may be much easier for believ-
by the Gospel of John. In this way, the Gospels were read col-
ers to debate the authority of the latest stages in the process
lectively and Acts came to mark a transition from the teach-
of the text’s stabilization than it is for them to reopen the
ings of Jesus to that of the apostle Paul. This type of organi-
question of whether a book really belongs in the scripture at
zation of highly diverse traditions into partially harmonized
all. The length of the process of full canonization may often
canons of literature is also common to the canons of other
affect the believer’s assessment of what represents the final
world religions.
text.
As has already been shown, considerable differences of
The semantic import of the formation of a canon 2
opinion exist among scholars over the appropriate relation-
should not be underestimated. Christianity and Judaism
ship between the terms scripture and canon. At a minimum,
amply illustrate this feature. Unlike the above-mentioned in-
these terms both gain and lose some of their historical signifi-
stance of the Pentateuch, the individual Christian Gospels
cance when they are taken away from the specific religious
retained their independence from one another despite the as-
vocabulary of Judaism and Christianity for the purpose of
sumption that they collectively convey the same “one” gospel
an etic assessment of world religions. Frequently scholars
of Jesus Christ. Perhaps the late ending of Mark attests to
have used scripture and canon synonymously, although am-
an effort at bringing that work into greater harmony within
biguity in both terms, particularly in the latter, suggests the
the canonical collections of gospels. Paul’s letters illustrate a
need for more careful definitions and historical finesse. In the
different feature, for they include in a single collection some
application of both terms to a religion, the interpreter stands
original letters in edited and unedited form, for example, Ga-
within a hermeneutical circle. Only by some prior judgment
latians, Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, together with deutero-
regarding the identity of the believers of a given religion can
Pauline traditions reflective of a later generation, for exam-
any description be proffered regarding their “canons” and
ple, 2 Thessalonians. The original Pauline letters, which were
their modes of interpreting the same. Moreover, this judg-
written before the composition of the Gospels, were, through
ment is hindered by the ethnocentrism of the outside observ-
canonization, subordinated to the Gospels as commentary
er, as well as by the difficulty in taking a term indigenous
upon them. Similarly, the Gospel of John is read contextually
to one religion and assigning to it a technical usage appropri-
within scripture in connection with the so-called Johannine
ate for describing features of other religions.
letters (1, 2, and 3 Jn.), even though the historic evidence
Nevertheless, contemporary efforts to understand how
of common authorship is extremely weak. Again, this type
canons achieve formation and exercise significance within a
of canonization alters the religious vision of the preceding
religion has already proved unusually illuminating as a way
authoritative traditions (canon 1) as being part of a larger
to describe and to compare religions generally. The interpre-
“inspired” New Testament. The terms New Testament and
tation of religion must inevitably assume some operational
Old Testament likewise signal a change in the perceived sig-
certitude regarding the identity, the economic character, and
nificance of the Hebrew Bible when read as part of a Chris-
the literary sources of revelation or truth to which religions
tian text in the context of a purportedly new revelation. The
lay claim in the world. It must be carried out with an acute
difference in religious visions of the “shared” scripture im-
awareness that the heretics and noncanonical sayings of some
plies profound distinctions between the import of the
will likely be viewed as the saints and scripture of others.
Tanakh within Judaism and that of an “Old Testament”
within Christian interpretation.
SEE ALSO Authority; Scripture.
SCRIPTURE AND CANON. These ideal distinctions between
canon as a norm and canon as a list or standardization of text
BIBLIOGRAPHY
usually overlap in the actual assessment of a particular reli-
Beyer, Hermann W. “Kanon.” In Theological Dictionary of the
New Testament, edited by Gerhard Kittel. Grand Rapids,
gion. For example, in the Tanakh and the New Testament
Mich., 1965. An excellent word study of the Greek term in
one can detect evidence of “canon-conscious redactions,”
secular and Christian sources.
whereby assumptions about the normativeness (canon 1) of
the traditions and of their being read together in a specific
Bleeker, C. Jouco, ed. Historia Religionum: Handbook for the His-
collection (canon 2) coincide.
tory of Religion, vol. 2, Religions of the Present. Leiden, 1971.
An excellent overview of religions with careful attention to
Historicized titles added to the psalms assigned to David
the historical appearance of normative traditions in each.
link these prayers contextually to the narrative about David
Brown, Raymond E. The Critical Meaning of the Bible. New York,
in 1 and 2 Samuel. The epilogue to Ecclesiastes summarizes
1981. A significant Catholic example of the modern attempt
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CAO DAI
1411
to distinguish between the “literal” and the “canonical sense”
of early Christian appeals to “scripture,” that the conception
of the biblical text.
of a “scripture” without specific dimensions preceded the
Campenhausen, Hans von. The Formation of the Christian Bible.
later ecclesiastical decisions regarding a “canonical” Bible
Philadelphia, 1972. A classic study of the canonization of the
conforming to a specific list of books.
New Testament.
New Sources
Childs, Brevard S. Introduction to the Old Testament as Scripture.
Assmann, Aleida, and Jan Assmann, eds. Kanon und Zensur. Mu-
Philadelphia, 1979. An examination of how the canonization
nich, 1987. Proceedings of two conferences on canonization
of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) influenced the “shape”
and censorship, including contributions in both sociological
and semantic import of biblical books.
and historical perspectives.
Childs, Brevard S. The New Testament as Canon: An Introduction.
Farneti, Roberto. Il canone moderno. Filosofia politica e genealogia.
Philadelphia, 1985. A study of the New Testament from the
Turin, Italy, 2002.
perspective of the role played by canonization in its forma-
Kooij, Arie van der, and Karel van der Toorn. Canonization and
tion as scripture.
Decanonization. Papers presented to the International Confer-
Eliade, Mircea. A History of Religious Ideas, vol. 2, From Gautama
ence of the Leiden Institute for the Study of Religions. Leiden,
Buddha to the Triumph of Christianity. Chicago, 1982. A
1998. This important volume includes a first section on
monumental overview in which “canon” and “scripture” are
“(De)canonization and the History of Religions” and a sec-
employed as categories to interpret major world religions.
ond section on “(De)canonization and Modern society.” An
Leiman, Sid Z. The Canonization of Hebrew Scripture. Hamden,
annotated bibliography compiled by J. A. M. Snoek
Conn., 1976. A controversial reexamination of the primary
(pp. 436–506) makes this book an indispensable tool for any
evidence for the canonization of the Hebrew Bible. Leiman
future study on the topic.
helpfully collects and translates relevant texts from the Mish-
GERALD T. SHEPPARD (1987)
nah, the Talmud(s), and other sources.
Revised Bibliography
Neusner, Jacob. Midrash in Context. Philadelphia, 1983. A pro-
vocative study of how the oral law came to accompany Jewish
scripture in the history of that religion, as well as the implica-
tions of “canon” for the same.
CAO DAI is a syncretistic modern Vietnamese religious
Peters, F. E. Children of Abraham: Judaism, Christianity, Islam.
movement founded in 1926 by Ngo Van Chieu (1878–
Princeton, 1982. A comparative investigation into the three
1932; also known as Ngo Minh Chieu). An official of the
“religions of the book,” including concern with issues of
French colonial administration, Chieu was widely read in
scripture and tradition.
both Eastern and Western religion, and had a particular in-
Sanders, James A. Canon and Community: A Guide to Canonical
terest in spiritism. The movement began during séances con-
Criticism. Philadelphia, 1984. An attempt to understand the
ducted by Chieu and a group of friends of similar back-
dynamic of religious interpetation in Judaism and Christian-
ground as Vietnamese intellectuals. An entity called Cao Dai
ity through a hermeneutical theory of canonization.
(literally, “high tower,” a Daoist epithet for the supreme god)
Sheppard, Gerald T. Wisdom as a Hermeneutical Construct: A
appeared and delivered to the group the fundamental fea-
Study in the Sapientializing of the Old Testament. Berlin and
tures of the religion: universalism, vegetarianism, the image
New York, 1980. A monograph that examines the canonical
understanding of “wisdom” and “wisdom books” in prerab-
of an eye in a circle (which became its central symbol), and
binic Judaism and explores similar examples of late “canon
various details of worship. On November 18, 1926 the
conscious redactions” within the Hebrew Bible itself.
movement was inaugurated in a dramatic ceremony that
Sheppard, Gerald T. “Canonization: Hearing the Voice of the
drew some fifty thousand people. Though resisted by Bud-
Same God through Historically Dissimilar Traditions.” In-
dhists and French officials, who perceived its nationalistic
terpretation 36 (January 1982): 21–33. An examination of
potential, Cao Dai grew phenomenally. By 1930 it num-
the semantic import of the selection and editing of traditions
bered a half million by conservative estimate, and soon had
in the formation of both the Hebrew Bible and the New Tes-
garnered over one million followers, embracing at least one-
tament.
eighth of the population in what was to become South Viet-
Smith, Wilfred Cantwell. “The Study of Religion and the Study
nam. The remarkable appeal of the eclectic, spiritist faith un-
of the Bible,” Journal of the American Academy of Religion 39
doubtedly reflected the yearning of an oppressed Vietnamese
(June 1971): 131–140. A general theory regarding the proper
population for something new, immediate, indigenous, and
understanding of “Bible” in the study of comparative reli-
idealistic in a situation in which Catholicism was the religion
gions.
of the alien colonizers, Buddhism was moribund, and Con-
Smith, Wilfred Cantwell. “The True Meaning of Scripture: An
fucianism was linked to a social order clearly passing away.
Empirical Historian’s Nonreductionist Interpretation of the
QurDa¯n.” International Journal of Middle East Studies 11 (July
Cao Dai met those criteria. The substantial Chinese cul-
1980): 487–505. A consideration of the problem of under-
tural influence in Vietnam is evidenced in the fundamental
standing what constitutes viable religious interpretation from
similarity of Cao Dai to religious Daoist sectarianism in its
a history of religions perspective.
spiritism, political overtones, and colorful liturgy. Further-
Sundberg, Albert C., Jr. The Old Testament of the Early Church.
more, like most Chinese religious movements of recent cen-
Cambridge, 1964. An argument, based on an examination
turies, it also sought to unify the “three faiths,” and so it 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
1412
CAPPS, WALTER
corporated Confucian morality, Buddhist doctrines such as
Oliver, Victor L. Caodai Spiritism: A Study of Religion in Vietnam-
karman and reincarnation, and Daoist occultism. Also like
ese Society. Leiden, 1976.
some of its Chinese counterparts, it further sought to unify
Werner, Jayne Susan. Peasant Politics and Religious Sectarianism:
the religions of the world, seeing them all as coming from
Peasant and Priest in the Cao Dai in Viet Nam. New Haven,
the same source, and heralding a new age of world harmony.
1981.
Its elaborate organizational structure, headed by a pope, car-
ROBERT S. ELLWOOD (1987 AND 2005)
dinals, and archbishops, was patently inspired by Roman Ca-
tholicism. Besides the supreme god, Cao Dai, the faith also
honored a great company of spirits, not only Eastern figures
like the Buddha, Lao-tzu, Confucius, and Sun Yat-sen, but
CAPPS, WALTER. Born in Omaha, Nebraska, of
also such Westerners as Jesus, Muh:ammad, Joan of Arc, and
Swedish-American background, Walter Holden Capps
Victor Hugo.
(1934–1997) was a professor in the Department of Religious
Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara, from 1963
Cao Dai worship centers on rituals performed in tem-
to 1996. Beginning with his academic training and intellec-
ples four times daily and celebrated with even greater elabo-
tual interests in European Christian theology and philosophy
rateness on festivals. The rituals consist of prayer, chants, and
of religion, Capps proceeded to develop innovative research
such simple offerings as incense, tea, and wine presented with
and teaching on the intersections of religion with American
highly stylized ceremony. Séances are held separately and are
culture, society, and political life. He emerged as a public in-
restricted to set occasions and to mediums appointed by the
tellectual through his academic and administrative leadership
hierarchy. Despite these rules, Cao Dai has generated a num-
of the Council on the Study of Religion (1977–1984), the
ber of sizable subsects, frequently inspired by fresh medium-
California Council for the Humanities (1983–1985), and
istic communications.
the National Federation of State Humanities Councils
Cao Dai is headquartered in a sacred city, Tay Ninh,
(1985–1987). Elected in California to the U.S. House of
northwest of Saigon. Here it boasts a large main temple and
Representatives in 1996, Walter Capps served in the Con-
many administrative and ritual offices. Before the unification
gress for ten months before his untimely death of a heart at-
of Vietnam under the communist Hanoi regime in 1975, the
tack in October 1997. The Walter H. Capps Center at the
“Holy See” was responsible not only for spiritual and ecclesi-
University of California, Santa Barbara, was established in
astical matters, but also for managing the sect’s considerable
2002 to continue his legacy by advancing the study of reli-
agricultural and business holdings. During the several dec-
gion and public life.
ades of strife before 1975, Cao Dai exercised effective control
From the philosophy of religion developed in Uppsala,
of its headquarters province and, until its forces were dis-
Sweden, by Anders Nygren (1890–1978), Capps distilled an
banded by President Ngo Dinh Diem in 1955, fielded its
intellectual program for the study of religion, based on a
own army. Although its alliances shifted among the contend-
Kantian framework, that remained remarkably consistent
ing groups, Cao Dai basically labored for an unaligned na-
throughout his life. Immanuel Kant’s three critiques repre-
tionalism.
sented for Capps three different but complementary entry
Accused by the new communist state of being both po-
points into the study of religion: with echoes of the ancient
litically oriented and “superstitious,” after 1975 Cao Dai was
Greek trinity of the true, the good, and the beautiful, as
severely repressed A high proportion of its churches were
Capps often observed, Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason (1781)
confiscated, and clergy arrested or laicized. The Holy See be-
raised the problem of theoretical knowledge; his Critique of
came virtually inactive. However, a gradual liberalization of
Practical Reason (1788) focused on ethics; and his Critique
policy toward religion commenced in the late 1980s. In
of Judgment (1790) engaged the world of aesthetics. Adopt-
1997, in a grand ceremony at Tay Ninh, the regime officially
ing this multidimensional Kantian mandate, Capps pursued
made Cao Dai a recognized religion, though its governance
these three threads—theoretical, practical, and aesthetic—
was placed firmly under state control; many believers resisted
through his publications and teaching in the study of
recognition at that price. Outside Vietnam, Cao Dai temples
religion.
and worship centers flourish in Vietnamese immigrant com-
Although his earliest books were on contemporary de-
munities. Estimates put the faith’s worldwide numbers at be-
velopments in Christian theology, Capps had a consistent in-
tween two and four million.
terest in theory and method in the study of religion and reli-
gions. In part, this interest was informed by Nygren’s
SEE ALSO Vietnamese Religion.
philosophy of religion, which sought general, formal, and
even scientific terms in which “to identify and examine the
BIBLIOGRAPHY
content of religion” (Capps, 2000, p. 21). But Capps was
Blagov, Sergei. The Cao Dai: A New Religious Movement. Moscow,
also convinced that the academic study of religion was a col-
1999.
lective, cumulative, intellectual enterprise in asking certain
Bui, Hum Dac, and Ngasha Beck. Cao Dai: Faith of Unity. Fay-
basic questions about the essence, origin, structure, function,
etteville, Ark., 2000.
and language of religion. From Ways of Understanding Reli-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CARDS
1413
gion (1972), his edited collection of theoretical approaches
Capps, Walter, ed. Ways of Understanding Religion. New York,
to these questions, to his landmark history of the study of
1972.
religion, Religious Studies: The Making of a Disciple (1995),
Capps, Walter. Hope Against Hope: Moltmann to Merton in One
Capps rigorously and perceptively examined the diversity of
Decade. Philadelphia, 1976.
theoretical approaches to the study of religion.
Capps, Walter, and Wendy Wright, eds. Silent Fire: An Invitation
Moving from the theoretical to the practical, Capps de-
to Western Mysticism. San Francisco, 1978.
veloped work on religion and politics, first through his inter-
Capps, Walter. The Unfinished War: Vietnam and the American
est in the impact of the Vietnam War on American society,
Conscience. Boston, 1982; 2d ed., 1990.
which produced a groundbreaking book, The Unfinished
Capps, Walter. The Monastic Impulse. New York, 1983.
War: Vietnam and the American Conscience (1982), and an
Capps, Walter. The New Religious Right: Piety, Patriotism, and Pol-
extraordinary university course, “Religion and the Impact of
itics. Columbia, S.C., 1990.
the Vietnam War,” which received national attention in the
Capps, Walter. Religious Studies: The Making of a Discipline. Min-
United States by being featured on the popular television
neapolis, Minn., 1995.
show 60 Minutes. Subsequently, in his research on right-
wing, conservative Christian politics, which resulted in the
Capps, Walter. “Interpreting Václav Havel.” Cross Currents 47
(1997): 301–316.
book The New Religious Right: Piety, Patriotism, and Politics
(1990), Capps emerged as an acute analyst of religious and
Capps, Walter. “Introduction to Religious Apriori.” In Anders Ny-
political tensions in American society. Although his work on
gren’s Religious Apriori, edited by Walter H. Capps and Kjell
the practical implications of religion primarily focused on the
O. Lejon, pp. 17–35. Linköping, Sweden, 2000. Avail-
able from http://www.ep.liu.se/ea/rel/2000/002/rel002-
United States, Capps’s interest in the political, social, and
contents.pdf.
ethical implications of religion was never parochial, as wit-
nessed by his skill in surveying global, cross-cultural, and
DAVID CHIDESTER (2005)
multireligious relations between religion and society.
Alongside theory and practice, Capps was consistently
interested in aesthetics, structures of feeling, and varieties of
CARDS function in the religious context both as instru-
experience. From 1968 to 1969, as a visiting scholar at one
ments for performing divination rituals and as repositories
of the world’s preeminent centers for art history, the Univer-
of esoteric sacred teaching. Current historical evidence sug-
sity of London’s Warburg Institute, Capps was able to devel-
gests that cards originated in China and that their sacred
op his enduring interest in aesthetics. In his studies of reli-
usage developed from shamanistic or Taoist divinatory ritu-
gion, this aesthetic sensibility was clearly evident in his
als that predated cards themselves. The oldest extant card,
abiding theoretical concern that most accounts of religion
found in Chinese Turkistan, dates from no later than the
failed because they were frozen in time—like still photo-
eleventh century. The design of Chinese cards was copied
graphs—instead of providing moving pictures that might
from paper money first used in the Tang dynasty (618–908
track the dynamic, experiential character of religion. In
CE). The design of an arrow on the back of the oldest Korean
thinking about religious experience, Capps was more inter-
cards suggests that those cards developed from a divination
ested in processes of change, as explored by the psychoanalyst
technique for interpreting the pattern of arrows randomly
Erik Erikson (1902–1994), who tracked the psychological
cast onto a circle divided into quadrants.
transitions in the human life cycle, than in establishing deep
psychological structures. At the same time, however, Capps’s
Number and pattern, and their orderly transformations,
interest in aesthetics, feeling, and religious experience in-
are in sacred mathematics symbolic expressions, or hieropha-
formed his research on the stillness of religious contempla-
nies, of the eternal divine essences and processes that mani-
tion and religious solitude, as evident in his edited volume
fest themselves to us in time as the visible cosmos. The pack
on Christian mysticism and his explorations of Christian
of divination cards is a homologue of the set of divine mathe-
monasticism.
matical potentialities that can manifest itself in the time and
space of the cosmos. The spontaneous play of the cards, like
For the study of religion, these three strands—
in any other particular act of divination, reveals a meaningful
theoretical, practical, and aesthetic—represent a research
structure homologous to the divine creative process, which
program, as Capps argued, that fits the multidimensional
manifests itself within worldly events. The interpretation, or
character of religion. In a 1997 article on the Czech philoso-
reading, of any particular play of cards is essentially a matter
pher, political activist, and creative artist Václav Havel,
of intuiting from the sacred mathematical symbolism of the
Capps demonstrated that these three strands could be woven
cards the worldly events whose structure corresponds to that
together in a single life. His own life, as academic, politician,
symbolism.
and person, was similarly woven.
It is not certain when and where cards first appeared in
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Europe. One hypothesis is that they were brought into
Capps, Walter. Time Invades the Cathedral: Tensions in the School
southern Europe by the Moors as early as the eighth century.
of Hope. Philadelphia, 1972.
The earliest mention of numbered cards is in Covelluzzo’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
1414
CARGO CULTS [FIRST EDITION]
Istoria della città di Viterbo (1480). Covelluzzo says that they
Giles, Cynthia. The Tarot: History, Mystery, and Lore. 1992; re-
were brought to the city of Viterbo by the Saracens in 1379.
print. New York, 1994.
In her extensive study A History of Playing Cards (New York,
Preston, Cathy Lynn and Michael Preston. “Catholic Holy Cards:
1966), Catherine P. Hargrave says that these early numbered
Visual, Verbal, and Tactile Codes for the (In)visible.” In
cards were probably European copies of Chinese cards that
their The Other Print Tradition: Essays on Chapbooks, Broad-
arrived through Venice. The oldest extant European cards
sides, and Related Ephemera, pp. 266–283. New York, 1994.
are several tarot cards from a pack designed for Charles VI
RICHARD W. THURN (1987)
of France in 1392.
Revised Bibliography
The two most prominent packs of cards used in Europe
for divination are the ordinary pack, consisting of fifty-two
cards, and the tarot pack, consisting of seventy-eight cards.
The ordinary pack is divided into four suits—diamonds,
CARGO CULTS [FIRST EDITION]. In 1980,
clubs, hearts, and spades. Joseph Campbell (in Campbell and
a motorcade drove into Madang, a provincial capital in
Roberts, 1979) has suggested that the four suits represent the
Papua New Guinea (independent since 1975), and stopped
four estates, or classes, of the medieval social order: clergy
outside the local branch of the national bank. The drivers
(hearts), knights (spades), merchants (diamonds), and peas-
and passengers came from a Catholic village sixty kilometers
ants (clubs). The four suits of the ordinary pack possibly de-
to the west. Their spokeswoman, Josephine Bahu (about
veloped under Protestant influence from the earlier tarot
twenty-eight at the time), asked the bank manager, a Europe-
suits of chalices, swords, coins, and staves. The fact that the
an, to give her the keys to his vaults, for God had revealed
four suits of the ordinary pack culminate in the figures of
to her the truth about money—its true source and its proper
knave, queen, and king leads Campbell to suppose that the
use as a road to economic development.
pictorial symbolism of the cards expresses a medieval esoteric
This incident was a recent example of cargoism, the
initiatory tradition wherein ascent along any of the four lines
most common form of millenarianism in Melanesia since the
represented by the suits leads to spiritual realizations of
nineteenth century, when colonial rule reduced its inhabi-
equivalent value and importance.
tants to the status of cheap labor for European employers.
The tarot pack falls into two sections: the “minor arca-
The millennium, as it has inevitably come to be manifested
na” of fifty-six cards, divided equally into four suits, and the
in this context, is the anticipated arrival of bulk supplies of
“major arcana” of twenty-one numbered picture cards and
European goods (cargo)—civilian stock, such as tinned meat,
one unnumbered card, the Fool. The origin of the tarot deck
cotton cloth, steel tools, and motor vehicles; and military
is not known. The first history of the tarot, Le jeu des tarots
equipment, especially rifles and ammunition—which many
(Paris, 1781), was written by Court de Gebelin. Gebelin
of the people believe to be made not by human beings but
claims that the deck originated in ancient Egypt and repre-
by a deity or deities aided by the spirits of the dead. This con-
sents the esoteric teaching of the god Thoth, recorded and
ception of the millennium may give rise to a cargo cult or
expressed in a hieroglyphic alphabet, in which all the gods
movement whose devotees perform ritual to induce the cargo
are symbolized by pictorial signs and numbers. While Ge-
god(s) to send the ancestors with supplies of the new wealth
belin’s theory of Egyptian origins is clearly itself of a mythic
(and nowadays, as the initial example suggests, money) for
nature (the Rosetta Stone, which made translation of hiero-
immediate distribution. I begin by describing overt cargo
glyphics possible, was not discovered until 1790), the evi-
phenomena and then discuss some of the best-known ap-
dence of recent research on the history of symbols indicates
proaches to their study by Western scholars.
that the deck is indeed, as Gebelin supposed, a repository of
OVERT CARGO PHENOMENA. Western scholars first learned
sacred teaching and esoteric knowledge. The pictorial sym-
about cargo phenomena in 1857 through the publication of
bolism of the deck is known to have much in common with
the Mansren myth of the Koreri in the Biak-Numfoor area
the symbolism of spiritual initiation rites and instruction in
of Irian Jaya, probably the oldest cargo movement in the
Hellenistic mystery cults, ancient astrology, and medieval al-
whole region, although there were manifestations in Samoa
chemy, wherein the processes of manifesting divine energies
in the 1830s and in Fiji in the 1880s. In Papua New Guinea
are represented in the progression of visual and numerical
the first known cults were the Baigona, reported in 1912,
symbols.
and the Vailala Madness, reported in 1919, although one
movement, centered on Madang, can be dated from 1871
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Tarot Revelations by Joseph Campbell and Richard Roberts (San
and continues to the present day. Cargoism began to prolif-
Anselmo, Calif., 1979) is a detailed work summarizing the
erate just before World War II. In Papua New Guinea there
phenomenological evidence linking the tarot to Hellenistic
has been a plethora of cults; in the Solomon Islands, March-
religion and alchemy as well as the tarot’s place in nine-
ing Rule; and in Vanuatu, the John Frum movement. In re-
teenth-century esoteric societies.
cent times the region has seen the rise of various alternatives
New Sources
to cargoism, specifically Pentecostalism and other Christian
Baird, Merrily. “Card Games.” In her Symbols of Japan: Thematic
cults that are independent of the established European mis-
Motifs in Art and Design. New York, 2001.
sions and that lay stress on healing and salvation. Although
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CARGO CULTS [FIRST EDITION]
1415
it is hard to draw a firm line between cargoism and other
essary to redress the balance. Most leaders have been men,
modern religious developments in Melanesia, I concentrate
but there have been some outstanding women: Josephine
on cargo cults as such.
Bahu in the 1980s, Philo of Inawai’a village (of the Mekeo
language group, Papua) in 1941, and Polelesi of Igurue vil-
The many forms that cargo cults take depend on a num-
lage (of the Garia language group, New Guinea) in 1947.
ber of variables: (1) a people’s socioeconomic structure, basic
personality, and traditional religion, which factors together
In this context, it is essential to distinguish between
determine the strength of their desire for the new wealth and
cults based on paganism, Christianity, and syncretic Chris-
the extent to which they are prepared to test or reject theo-
tian-pagan doctrine. In a purely pagan cult, the leader has
logical experiments; (2) the nature of the introduced religion,
the difficult task of persuading the followers that traditional
which they may or may not readily interpret as cargo doc-
myths have a meaning which was not mentioned in the past
trine; and (3) the pattern of initial contact and subsequent
but which has now been revealed to him alone. In quasi-
relations with Europeans (the actual purveyors of cargo),
Christian cults the problem is not so great. Christianity is not
which underlie the political aspects of the people’s responses.
enshrined in tradition and can be interpreted with greater
Thus, as we learn from the early ethnographic accounts of
flexibility. The leader may claim to have visited God in heav-
the Papua New Guinea Highlands—which were brought
en and returned as the Black Jesus. Again, in the course of
under administration only after 1933, when Europeans had
some such experience, he may have learned that the secret
gained some experience in Melanesian affairs—for some
of the cargo is the identification of an indigenous deity with
years it seemed likely that strong social structures, hard-
God or Jesus Christ.
headedness, and the predilection for secularism rather than
religion, together with good race relations, accounted for the
These basic differences, which are generally the result
general paucity of cargo cults in the area. On the seaboard,
of the degree of administrative and more particularly mission
incorporated within colonial administrations soon after
influence, determine the nature of the ritual instructions the
1884, a contrary situation obtained. Relatively weak social
leader invariably claims to have received from the deity. In
structures, an induced inferiority complex, an intellectual
a pagan cult, where cultural change is minimal, the leader is
system dominated by theology, and often traumatic race rela-
likely to do no more than order the performance of mainly
tions had created the conditions in which cargoism was
traditional rituals in honor of deities and the dead (possibly
bound to flourish. Yet, although differences of this kind do
with a few foreign embellishments), albeit in an intensified
exist, the neat geographical distinction suggested is probably
form, as happened in the eastern Highlands of Papua New
overdrawn. In recent years cargoism, like Pentecostalism, has
Guinea. But where there has been acculturation, ritual incor-
made inroads into the Highlands, forcing a reappraisal of
porates new forms and becomes more elaborate. Cults based
previous interpretations.
on Christianity may have mass village assemblies with mara-
thon church services and prayers to God, “the Cargo Giver.”
The most obvious signs of a cargo cult’s emergence are
Disbelievers are threatened with hellfire, and the Second
generally its devotees’ preparations for the arrival of the
Coming of Our Lord is prophesied as imminent, with all the
goods they expect. Especially early on, when all cargo came
wealth of Europe going to the faithful. There are mass con-
by ship, they built wharves and storehouses in coastal vil-
versions and baptisms. Polygyny and sexual promiscuity are
lages. During and after the Pacific war, when the importance
forbidden, although in some villages in the southern Madang
of aircraft became apparent, they cleared airstrips. Cargo may
Province in the 1940s cult leaders experimented with wife
also be expected to appear in local cemeteries, which devotees
exchange on the ground that this eliminated the quarrels
assiduously keep clean and tidy, on altars in churches, which
over adultery that so displeased God. The sanctuaries of tra-
they regard as particularly holy, or at other places the leaders
ditional deities are often desecrated or destroyed, and all
designate. In addition, there have been “flagstaffs,” “radio
forms of indigenous dancing and exchange outlawed. Chris-
masts,” and even “telephones,” by means of which the leaders
tian fervor may go to extremes: in the early 1960s, in a village
could make contact with the deity and ancestors for news of
north of Madang, a man acquiesced in having his throat slit
the goods’ arrival. Sometimes both leaders and followers have
in front of a completely unsuspecting Catholic archbishop.
“demonstrated” the reality of this contact by simulating spir-
It eventuated that this was a ritual reenactment of the Cruci-
it possession, including shaking fits and other forms of vio-
fixion: the victim was the Black Jesus, who was to intercede
lent seizure.
with God for the economic advantage of his people just as
the White Jesus had done for Europeans.
Yet cargo cannot come by itself: its arrival has to be en-
sured by means of religious ritual. A cult normally begins
In Christian-pagan syncretic cults, ritual, like doctrine,
when, after a dream, waking vision, or some other extraordi-
tends to borrow from both religions. Cults of this degree of
nary experience, its leader announces that he has been in
sophistication often have two interesting features. First, dev-
touch with the deity, who has revealed to him the source of
otees may root out their crops, cut down their palms and
the desired wealth, the methods by which those who have
fruit trees, and slaughter their livestock. No ubiquitously sat-
so far monopolized it (generally Europeans) have defrauded
isfactory explanation for this behavior has been found, but
the people of their rights, and the new ritual procedures nec-
in one area, the southern Madang Province, the reason given
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1416
CARGO CULTS [FIRST EDITION]
is that the people want to stress their poverty to the cargo
anti-European. After a bad period, mainly in the nineteenth
deity and ancestors, thereby hastening the arrival of the new
and early twentieth centuries, colonial rule—certainly as it
goods. Second, especially in communities which value
was known in Papua New Guinea—was relatively benign.
money as a means of access to cargo, leaders may persuade
Many villagers have adopted cargoism as a means of explain-
their followers to place spare cash in a case or chest on the
ing and manipulating the new order long before unfulfilled
promise that their ritual will increase the sum deposited
hopes have made them antagonistic. As indicated, cargoism
many times over. Finally, in some areas the people have total-
can express the desire to fraternize with white men. Second,
ly rejected Christianity and its syncretic modifications in
the Marxist approach to issues raised by cargoism is basically
favor of paganism for cargoist ends. This heralds the reintro-
secular and so barely touches on the question of why the peo-
duction of traditional ritual with modern borrowings.
ple have used religion, virtually on its own, to explain and
WESTERN ANALYSES OF CARGO PHENOMENA. The extensive
try to cope with the colonial and postcolonial situations.
literature on cargoism primarily consists of accounts of single
Many cults are based on intricate philosophies, which cannot
cults, although there are several important comparative anal-
legitimately be ignored.
yses. Space precludes detailed consideration of these general
Between 1960 and 1972 three other scholars—Ian Jar-
works, so I have selected for discussion the approaches of sev-
vie, Freerk Kamma, and Kenelm Burridge—did much to off-
eral Western scholars since World War I to indicate the
set this imbalance. Jarvie, a philosopher with a deep interest
trends in our thinking about the problem.
in social anthropology and an appreciation of Melanesian re-
It took many years to complete detailed studies of cargo
ligion, approaches cargoism from an uncompromisingly in-
cults in which the participants could speak for themselves.
tellectualist point of view. Although he does not deny the im-
Inevitably, therefore, the first European interpretations were
portance of the political issues raised by Worsley, he makes
ethnocentric. Francis E. Williams, who was from 1922 until
it quite plain that his interest lies in the structure of cargo
1943 the government anthropologist in Papua, wrote essays
doctrines as means of “teaching” the people the source of Eu-
in 1922 and 1934 that examined the facts of cargo phenome-
ropean wealth and giving them the prescription for getting
na in light of the assumptions of his own society. He wrote
it. In the sense that they are based on traditional assumptions
only about the disturbances in the Gulf Province, the so-
and modes of thought, cargo cults are completely logical.
called Vailala Madness, a title which, significantly, he never
Kamma, a missionary who studied the Koreri move-
challenged. Although a meticulous field-worker, he never
ment in the northwestern sector of Irian Jaya, argues that it
comprehended Melanesian values and epistemology. He
is a direct continuation of religious traditions aimed at main-
made careful notes about the external features of the cult: the
taining and improving the people’s way of life. With the ar-
people’s imitation of European dress, eating habits, and
rival of European missionaries in the nineteenth century, the
house decoration; their use of Christian beliefs as part of
people wove Christianity into these traditions and treated
their doctrine; their make-believe Western technology; and
cargo as the symbol of the improved way of life. His argu-
their periodic hysteria. But the meaning of it all eluded him:
ment is echoed by John Strelan, another missionary, who
nothing in his personal or academic experience had prepared
reasons that for Melanesians cargo is salvation, an idea akin
him for this kind of behavior. He concluded that the people
to Calvin’s dictum that worldly success is the basis of certitu-
were temporarily insane as a result of misunderstood Chris-
do salutis.
tianity and boredom caused by the loss of traditional activi-
ties, such as warfare and religious ceremonies. The cure he
Burridge, who studied the Tangu in the northern Ma-
advocated was the Anglo-Australian boarding-school nos-
dang Province, sees cargo cults as the Melanesians’ attempt
trum: some form of intervillage sport like football.
to achieve full human dignity through attainment of eco-
nomic and sociopolitical equality with Europeans. Their
Peter Worsley, writing in the 1950s, had at his disposal
purpose is to create the “new society” and the “new man”
a far larger body of cargoist literature, which he presented
able to maintain this principle of equivalence with whites.
with great thoroughness. Yet much of the material was of
He stresses the importance of the “myth-dream,” in both tra-
doubtful value, based as it was on superficial accounts by un-
ditional religions and quasi-Christian cults, as the revelation
trained onlookers during and after World War II. Many of
of the origin of cargo and the secret of the ritual that will
the observations were made when, after a period of optimis-
make it available.
tic but unproductive cooperation with Europeans (which the
A COMPOSITE APPROACH TO CARGO PHENOMENA. I have
authors never appreciated), the people were finally hostile to
developed a composite approach based on my own research
whites. Hence it was easy for Worsley to offer a Marxist ex-
in the southern Madang Province after 1949. I regard it as
planation: the cults were an embryonic form of class struggle
essential to take all the issues raised by the foregoing scholars
against economic and political oppression, that is, the peo-
and combine them in a way that keeps each one in proper
ple’s protest against their colonial overlords.
perspective. Broadly, cargoists try to recreate in the modern
There are two objections to this kind of analysis. First,
situation the same kind of predictable cosmic order they
although one aspect of cargoism is undeniably its political
knew in the past: an order the gods ordained and human be-
statement, we have no evidence that cargoism is invariably
ings maintain by fulfilling social obligations among them-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CARGO CULTS [FIRST EDITION]
1417
selves and ritual obligations toward deities and ancestors.
Although the pragmatic incentive to acquire cargo is a
This recreation will give them the key to the new wealth and
constant, sociopolitical motivation correlates with the cli-
ensure its fair distribution. In a word, they retain their old
mate of race relations, which in its turn determines the kinds
cosmic values of anthropocentrism and materialism: man is
of goods the people desire and the political significance of
the center of the cosmos, which exists for his benefit. Cargo-
cult activity. This has been documented for one area of
ism, thus conceived, is a dialogue between the old sociocul-
Papua New Guinea. In the southern Madang Province,
tural system and the economic, political, and religious poli-
which comprises a large number of separate language groups
cies introduced by colonial administrations. A most
or virtually autonomous societies, the cargo movement has
important factor is that, although they enabled the people
since 1871 passed through five broad stages that have ex-
to acquire limited supplies of the new goods, these policies
pressed varying attitudes toward Europeans (ranging from
actually achieved few changes in village life. Despite a centu-
friendship to hostility) and shifting preferences for specific
ry of European control, the pattern of economic and socio-
types of goods, civilian or military.
political life has remained very much intact. The people still
have minimal knowledge of the European world, so that
The first stage (1871–c. 1900) began with the arrival of
their reactions to, and interpretations of, cargo are based pri-
the first European settler, the Russian scientist Baron Mik-
marily on tradition. To this extent, cargoism is conservative.
louho-Maclay, who won the people’s friendship by establish-
ing a fair trading partnership with them. He introduced
My “composite approach” to cargoism raises three ques-
Western civilian goods and new food plants, all of which
tions relating to motivation, conceived means, and effects in
were enthusiastically received. In 1884 he was followed by
cargo cult. Why do the people desire European goods so
German settlers, whose behavior was a complete antithesis:
much that they waste decades in trying to acquire them by
they were arrogant; they alienated a disproportionate
obviously futile procedures? Why do they rely on religious
amount of coastal land for plantations; and they paid badly
ritual rather than secular activity? What have cargo cults
for labor. Friendship gave way to hostility, which was the
done to indigenous society?
leitmotif also of the second stage (c. 1900–c. 1914). The peo-
ple now wanted to acquire rifles and ammunition with which
MOTIVATION. In absolute terms, Melanesians have never
to expel the foreigners. In 1904 the administration put down
been poor. They have rarely known hunger. Hence cargoism
a serious uprising in Madang and in 1912, fearing another
is an expression of relative deprivation. The people want
emergency, exiled a large part of the local population.
Western goods for two reasons: their obvious utility and
technical superiority over indigenous products; and their so-
The third stage (c. 1914–c. 1933) saw a volte-face. The
ciopolitical significance. They quickly saw the practical value
new Australian administration permitted the exiles to return
of European artifacts, especially steel axes and knives, nails,
home, and the people sought an accommodation with the
and cloth. In the nineteenth century European traders took
whites, hoping to live in peace with them and acquire civilian
great pains to provide the kinds of goods the people wanted.
goods. Certainly the last expectation was unreal, so that the
These traders were always on guard against theft, for the de-
fourth stage (c. 1933–c. 1945) witnessed a return to enmity
mand for their goods was great, and Melanesians were skillful
toward Europeans and a desire for military equipment. Some
fighters. By 1900, most Melanesians under colonial adminis-
cultists collaborated with the Japanese (who occupied the
tration had adopted steel tools, some Western clothing, and
area between 1942 and 1944), armed themselves with dis-
such luxuries as glass beads and mirrors.
carded Japanese weapons, and set up a quasi-military camp.
For a brief time after 1945 the people, under the leadership
This pragmatic incentive has its sociopolitical counter-
of Yali Singina, who had served in the Australian army, once
part, which can be understood only by considering the role
again expressed goodwill toward Europeans. Because of a
of wealth in traditional society. Beyond its usefulness, wealth
misunderstanding, Yali believed, and so had persuaded his
is a vital content of all social relationships. Bonds between
people, that in return for the loyalty of native troops the Eu-
local descent groups, kinsmen, and affines—the prime con-
ropeans would reward the people with bulk cargo. These
stituents of social structure—are strengthened by the period-
hopes were dashed in 1947, when it transpired that the “bulk
ic exchange of goods and services, particularly pigs and valu-
reward” was to be development in the form of hospitals and
ables. For one party to fail in its commitments is cause for
schools—benefits that ordinary villagers could not then ap-
tremendous shame, which nothing can alleviate. The people
preciate. This inaugurated the fifth stage (1948–1950),
desire exactly this kind of egalitarian relationship with Euro-
which expressed renewed hostility and, for some of the re-
peans, and cargo is the most important part of the goods and
gional population at least, the hope of getting modern weap-
services to be exchanged. One cargo leader put it to an Aus-
ons with which to fight the Europeans.
tralian officer thus: “We are doing no harm. All we want is
to live well—like white men!” Yet the structure of the mod-
Regrettably, there is no comparable account of this al-
ern economy necessitates marked inequalities between for-
ternating pattern of friendly and hostile race relations else-
eign employers and indigenous employees. European mo-
where in Melanesia. Yet the Madang evidence stresses the fal-
nopoly of the new wealth has become the symbol of this
sity of the view that cargoism always expresses hostility
imbalance and hence a primary cause of political unrest.
toward Europeans. Another recent incident supports this ar-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1418
CARGO CULTS [FIRST EDITION]
gument. In a major cargo cult in the East Sepik Province of
with gifts of food. They do not appear to have honored him
Papua New Guinea in 1971, some six thousand people
with ritual while he was living in their midst. Ordinary social
formed a chain gang to remove from the summit of Mount
behavior sufficed. Although they at first expected to establish
Hurun some military concrete markers, which were believed
comparable exchange ties with the Germans, ultimately they
to be demons impeding the cargo millennium. Before the
came to regard them, because of their haughtiness, as hostile
event local Europeans widely predicted that they would be
gods whose purpose was to enslave them with their rifles.
the target of popular animosity. Yet there was no evidence
But, as the second cargo belief (c. 1900–c. 1914) indicated,
of this. Cult devotees brought the markers to the station of
they decided that the Germans were human beings who, be-
the local European patrol officer and then peacefully dis-
cause of a cosmic accident, had acquired sole access to the
persed. Significantly, a year later a similar operation was
cargo deity, Kilibob or Manup, and so misappropriated the
planned near Madang: the destruction of the monument
wealth properly destined for Madang.
erected in honor of the German governor von Hagen after
his death in 1897 and said to be preventing the arrival of the
The third cargo belief (c. 1914–c. 1933) expressed the
cargo deity. The sponsors stressed their desire for racial har-
people’s renewed goodwill toward Europeans because the
mony by inviting Europeans and Chinese to take part. They
missionaries had consistently shown concern during their
tried to get a message to this effect broadcast over Radio
exile and the new administration had brought them home,
Mandang.
which they interpreted as signs that the cargo secret would
be revealed to them. To this end, they adopted Christianity
Conceived means. As attacks on trading vessels and up-
and revised it as a cargo religion. God, Jesus Christ, and the
risings around Madang suggest, Melanesians are prepared to
ancestors lived in Heaven (a suburb of Sydney, Australia),
use physical force to gain their economic and political ends.
where they made cargo. Baptism and assiduous worship of
Hence it is perhaps puzzling that at the same time they con-
the kind already described would induce God to send the an-
sistently rely on religious ritual as a means of getting cargo
cestors with cargo to the ships (and later aircraft) that would
in the face of recurrent failure. It can be said, of course, that
deliver it to the Madangs. But after twenty years the people
once they appreciate the power of colonial administrations
were no better off. Thus the fourth cargo belief (c. 1933–
they are afraid to take direct action. But this does not explain
c. 1945) spelled out their distrust of, and enmity to, Europe-
why they are convinced that religion will provide a solution
ans, especially the missionaries, who had hidden the truth
or why, in some cases, they combine it with secular economic
from them. The new doctrine and ritual were syncretic. Kili-
activity. For instance, the people of Karkar Island and
bob and Manup were equated with God and Jesus Christ,
Mount Hagen, now rich from cash crops, either believe in
the cargo deities kept prisoner by the whites in Australia. The
or actually practice cargo ritual.
aim was to honor them in such a way as to ensure their re-
The only possible answer is that Western contact has
turn: through church services, dancing, feasting, and food of-
not destroyed the people’s traditional intellectual assump-
ferings. The Japanese soldiers, of course, were either spirits
tions: that religion is the source of “true knowledge” and that
of the dead or emissaries of the cargo god sent to punish the
ritual is a pragmatic technology with no mystical attributes.
Europeans for their duplicity. The fifth cargo belief (1948–
The forces that governed the old cosmic order should govern
1950) marked the end of dependence on a foreign religion.
the new one. This idea was expressed to me early in my re-
All the traditional gods of the southern Madang Province
search by a highly intelligent informant: “Everything that we
were now proclaimed cargo deities. The missionaries had
have was invented by a deity: taro, yams, livestock, artifacts.
hidden them in Australia, but Manup (alias Jesus Christ) had
If we want taro to grow, we invoke the taro goddess, and so
found them and taught them to make cargo. It was now the
forth. Well, then, you people come to us with all your goods,
people’s duty and interest to get them back to Madang to
and we ask, ‘Where is the god of the cargo and how do we
establish the millennium. To do this, they had to reject all
contact him?’” The continuing search for the divine source
Christian teaching and worship, and return to traditional rit-
of Western goods after each negative result is consistent with
ual, especially dancing, feasting, initiatory ceremonies, and
this statement.
food offerings to gods and ancestors set out on specially pre-
pared tables.
Here again the southern Madang Province is illustrative,
as the area saw a succession of five cargo beliefs or doctrines
Effects. Until recently a main interest of Anglo-
that correlated more or less with the sociopolitical stages al-
Australian social anthropology has been the study of political
ready summarized. The first of these beliefs (1871–c. 1900)
structure and function, and it is not surprising that the effect
expressed the people’s conclusion that the early European
of cargoism on traditional society has been evaluated pre-
visitors were indigenous gods suddenly appearing in their
dominantly in that field. Early suggestions were that cargo-
midst. Miklouho-Maclay was either Kilibob or Manup, the
ism might help lay the foundations of future nationalism in
two deity brothers who between them were said to have cre-
two ways: by uniting the populations of whole regions and
ated all the sociocultural systems of the region’s seaboard. He
thereby breaking down sectionalism based on clan, village,
had invented the new goods he brought especially for them,
and language group; and by preparing the people to accept
and as a measure of their friendship they had to reciprocate
genuine development when it was presented to them in real-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CARGO CULTS [FIRST EDITION]
1419
istic administrative projects. We should be careful on both
In the field of politics, it is necessary to consider the be-
these counts.
havior of cargoists in two situations; in the electorate at large;
In the first context, although cargo cults have at times
and within parliament and local government councils. Dur-
brought together social aggregations far larger than was pos-
ing election campaigns cargoists have indeed made extrava-
sible before contact, it is doubtful whether this process has
gent claims. In 1967–1968 Yali Singina, who now prefixed
been universal and automatic or whether the leaders have de-
his name with the title god-king, campaigned for a seat in
liberately fostered it. The evidence suggests rather that these
the national parliament in Port Moresby on the following
aggregations occur only when their members have a single
platform. He would go to the House, where he would dis-
doctrine to unite them. When this is lost, the aggregations
cover the indigenous deities, whom the administration had
disperse. I consider again the southern Madang Province. In
now placed there in a secret room. He would occupy the
the second stage of the cargo movement, although the people
Speaker’s Chair, take control of the Mace, and liberate the
of the whole coast under administration may have been hos-
gods, with whom he would return to Madang, where he
tile to the Germans and may have hoped for a return of Kili-
would usher in the cargo millennium and proclaim self-
bob or Manup, they did not form a grand alliance. The polit-
government, administering the country with the aid of those
ico-military groups in the revolts of 1904 and 1912 appear
European officers of whom he approved. He was not elected.
to have been based on old rather than new alignments: tradi-
Again, in 1971, he rejected an offer of an electoral alliance
tional clan alliances and marriage or kinship ties. In the third
from the Madang representatives of Pangu Pati (the senior
stage, widespread conversion to Christianity gave the people
government party) on the grounds that as “king” of Papua
of the whole region a sense of common consciousness: to-
New Guinea he could not share power. Yet, in 1972, he be-
gether with Europeans, they were all descended from Adam,
latedly but unsuccessfully tried to take up the offer because
Eve, and Noah. Yet there was no attempt to create a wide
he believed that Pangu was a cult organization like his own.
political organization to exploit the new attitude. In the
Matias Yaliwan, the chief cargo prophet in the East Sepik
fourth stage, this widespread common consciousness was
Province, claimed to have been told in a dream that he had
considerably attenuated because the new syncretic doctrines
been appointed leader of the country. He was elected to par-
based on the amalgam of the Kilibob-Manup myth and
liament in 1972 and subsequently told his followers that it
Christianity were restricted entirely to the littoral. The quasi-
was through his special aura that self-government was
Christian cargoists of the inland, who had no rights to the
achieved. By the same token, in the 1980s Josephine Bahu’s
traditional myth, were at once excluded. Nevertheless, the
senior followers wrote to the prime minister that she should
coastal villagers following the new doctrine did evince a de-
be made head of state.
gree of solidarity never known in the past. Finally, in the fifth
Apart from Matias Yaliwan, a number of known cargo-
stage, Yali Singina agreed to become the movement’s leader
ists have been elected to parliament and local government
only when he was satisfied that Jesus-Manup had transferred
the power to make cargo to all the indigenous deities so that
councils, where their behavior has generally been far more
he, as an inland dweller, could not be accused of theft for
circumspect. Real politics does not provide an arena in which
meddling with a coastal myth. The new doctrine had the po-
they can operate with success. Matias resigned his seat when
tential to unite the people of the whole region in a mass anti-
he realized that his claim to personal leadership was being
European cult. Yet, although antagonism was rife, Yali’s or-
quietly ignored. Other cargoists have remained largely quies-
ganization was too inefficient and parochial to turn it into
cent, making few speeches and little contribution to proceed-
an effective political force. In short, the process of expanding
ings beyond voting. In the same way, Yali Singina and his
political cohesion is probably unconscious and haphazard
“deputy” Dui Yangsai sat for many years on the Rai Coast
rather than deliberately planned.
Council but, despite their flamboyant pronouncements else-
where, never advocated cargoist policy in the chamber.
In the second context, there appears to be even less evi-
dence to support the view that cargoism arouses among the
A comparable conflict of interest and interpretation ob-
people such energy and enthusiasm for modernization that
tains in the fields of economic development and education.
it helps facilitate the change to indigenous government and
Although on Karkar and at Mount Hagen the people have
administration. Indeed, the facts suggest that cargoism is—
succeeded in cash cropping while at the same time engaging
and that its devotees see it as—ontologically quite different
in cargoism, there are many other cases in which cargoists
from the national structure established and bequeathed by
and developers are continually at loggerheads. The cargoists
the former colonial power, and that cargoism cannot easily
assert that the developers prevent the millennium by paying
be assimilated to that structure, which, moreover, it may de-
all their attention to their plantations and denying the cargo
liberately impede. By presenting itself as a seemingly logical
god the ritual honor due to him. Also, it is questionable how
alternative system, the movement offers those unwilling to
genuine economic success on Karkar and at Mount Hagen
experiment with new ideas the opportunity to engage in ac-
can be when many people still appear to regard purely secular
tivities which may be consistent with tradition but are bound
activity as a poor second best. Cargoism could well hold
to be sterile—an argument relevant not only to the political
them back from innovations that might lead to expansion,
field but to the economic and educational fields as well.
so that they may remain always the satellites of European
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1420
CARGO CULTS [FIRST EDITION]
businessmen, who still provide all the initiatives. Finally,
Kamma, Freerk C. Koreri. The Hague, 1972. A detailed history
many people misunderstand and are disenchanted with
and analysis of cargoism in western Irian Jaya, with a most
modern education. In the past, parents have taken their chil-
valuable summary and assessment of other works on the gen-
dren away from mission schools when they discovered that
eral subject.
the cargo secret was not in the curriculum. Some have even
Lawrence, Peter. Road Belong Cargo. Manchester and Melbourne,
denied the value of mission schools, which are attended by
1964. A full history of the cargo movement in the southern
children of both sexes: genuine education—that is, powerful
Madang Province of Papua New Guinea, with a rounded
analysis of the movement in its economic, sociopolitical, and
religious secrets—is given only to males during and after ini-
intellectual contexts. The analysis of the people’s intellectual
tiation. In cargoist areas secular education has been equally
interpretation of cargo and the right way to get it, indepen-
badly received. Many children see no point in it, and the
dently parallels and endorses Jarvie’s argument in The Revo-
dropout rate for secondary schools is very high. Unsuccessful
lution in Anthropology, mentioned above.
pupils have been drawn into cargo organizations as “secre-
May, Ronald J. “Micronationalism in Perspective” and “Microna-
taries” and “clerks.” With their smattering of Western
tionalism: What, When, and Why?” in Micronationalist
knowledge, these young members give the cults an appear-
Movements in Papua New Guinea, edited by Ronald J. May.
ance of increased sophistication and provide explanatory sys-
Canberra, 1982. The most recent and precise analysis of the
tems so persuasive that the ordinary villager finds it hard to
relationship between cargoism and nationalism in Papua
fault them. It is no wonder that both national and provincial
New Guinea.
politicians and public servants, concerned for the future of
McSwain, Romola. The Past and Future People. Oxford, 1977. A
their country, view these counterintellectuals with disquiet,
thorough examination of a Papua New Guinea society (Kar-
as a fifth column that can vitiate genuine achievement.
kar Island) undergoing development preparatory to becom-
ing part of a new independent nation-state; discusses the way
SEE ALSO New Guinea Religions.
in which the people have interwoven new economic, politi-
cal, and educational projects with cargoism.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Ogan, Eugene. Business and Cargo. Canberra, 1972. A most valu-
Berndt, Ronald M. “A Cargo Movement in the Eastern Central
able account of the relationship between commercial devel-
Highlands of New Guinea.” Oceania 23 (September 1952):
opment and cargoism among the Nasioi of Bougainville,
40–65; (December 1952): 137–158; (March 1953): 202–
Papua New Guinea, a people living in the shadow of a
234. An early paper describing what was until recently one
major mining venture to which much of the local economy
of the few cargo cults in the Highlands of Papua New
was tied.
Guinea.
Plutta, Paul, and Wendy Flannery. “‘Mama Dokta’: A Movement
Burridge, Kenelm. Mambu: A Melanesian Millennium. London,
in the Utu Area, Madang Province.” In Religious Movements
1960. A humane and sophisticated analysis of cargo activity
in Melanesia, edited by Glen W. Bays. Goroka, Papua New
in the northern Madang Province of Papua New Guinea.
Guinea, 1983. A vivid description of cargoist activity in
Emphasizes the people’s efforts to reestablish their self-
modern postindependence setting; illustrates the uneasy
respect by achieving socioeconomic and political equality
relationship between cult devotees and the indigenous gov-
with Europeans. Burridge expands and projects his argument
ernment.
into the field of international millenarianism in his New
Schwartz, Theodore. “The Paliau Movement in the Admiralty Is-
Heaven, New Earth (New York, 1969).
lands, 1946–1954,” Anthropological Papers of the American
Museum of Natural History 49 (1962): 211–421. An impor-
Cochrane, Glynn. Big Men and Cargo Cults. Oxford, 1970. An
tant work. Describes and analyzes an indigenous, as against
analysis of the role of leaders in cargo cults, with emphasis
a government-sponsored, development movement and its
on Papua and the Solomon Islands.
ambivalent relationship with a cargo cult.
Guiart, Jean. Un siècle et demi de contacts culturels à Tanna, Nou-
Steinbauer, Friedrich. Melanesian Cargo Cults. Saint Lucia, Aus-
velles-Hebrides. Paris, 1956. An important historical analysis
tralia, 1979. A most comprehensive survey and discussion of
of administrative and mission influence and popular re-
the literature on cargo cults and of European scholars’ ap-
sponse (including cargoism) in Vanuatu.
proaches to them.
Hanneman, E. F. “Le Culte du Cargo en Nouvelle-Guinée.” Le
Strathern, Andrew. “The Red Box Money-Cult in Mount Hagen
monde non Chretién, n. s. 8 (October–December 1948):
1968–71.” Oceania 50 (December 1979): 88–102; (March
937–962. An early demonstration of the possibilities of an
1980): 161–175. A paper important for dispelling the mis-
intellectualist approach to cargoism. A classic work.
taken notion that Highlands societies in Papua New Guinea
Harding, Thomas G. “A History of Cargoism in Sio, North-east
are not prone to cargoism; valuable too for showing how the
New Guinea.” Oceania 38 (September 1967): 1–23. A paper
people experiment with cargo activity while engaging in vig-
important not only for its ethnographic content: here Har-
orous cash cropping.
ding coins the term cargoism and establishes the movement
Strelan, John G. Search for Salvation. Adelaide, Australia, 1977.
as a philosophy in its own right.
An enterprising general analysis of cargoism from a Christian
Jarvie, Ian C. The Revolution in Anthropology (1964). New York,
missionary’s point of view. Strelan suggests that Melanesians
1967. A prominent work: the first internationally recognized
are now working out their own distinct theology.
study of cargoism in intellectualist terms and, at the same
Williams, Francis E. “The Vailala Madness” and “The Vailala
time, an astute critique of positivist social anthropology.
Madness in Retrospect.” In Francis Edgar Williams: The Vai-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CARGO CULTS [FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS]
1421
lala Madness and Other Essays, edited by Erik Schwimmer,
gin not in Pacific sociology or cosmology but in the Western
pp. 351–384 and pp. 385–395. London, 1976. Two early
imagination. Finally, serious scholarly thinking about the na-
accounts of cargo cult, most valuable for their careful de-
ture of states and cults that finds the state as enchanted as
scription of its external features but lacking insight into its
any millenarian movement has made the melding of politics
socioeconomic, political, and epistemological bases.
and religion in these Pacific movements less surprising and
Worsley, Peter. The Trumpet Shall Sound: A Study of “Cargo” Cults
all the more useful to study of general issues of present and
in Melanesia (1957). New York, 1968. An early general work
future religious life.
important because it did much to bring the phenomenon of
cargoism to the attention of Western scholars. Describes
This entry reviews three analyses that exemplify some
many of the outbreaks of cargo cult up to the 1950s. The
of these trends in interesting ways, beginning with a summa-
first edition is written from a strictly Marxist perspective, at
ry of Martha Kaplan’s chronicle of the Fijian Tuka move-
least part of which the author renounces in the second.
ment, Neither Cargo nor Cult: Ritual Politics and the Colonial
Imagination in Fiji (1995). The work is fully committed to
PETER LAWRENCE (1987)
understanding an ongoing, dynamic ritual-political history
making of Fijians, and it is also highly skeptical of the analyt-
ic utility of the concept of the cargo cult, finding its origins
CARGO CULTS [FURTHER CONSIDER-
in British colonial discourse of order and disorder. It thus
ATIONS]. Since Peter Lawrence wrote his confident, em-
takes a Bakhtinean, dialogical approach to this colonial and
pirically rich discussion of the cargo cult for the first edition
postcolonial history. Dialogical does not mean a friendly or
of this encyclopedia in 1987, the terrain of Pacific religion
consensus-seeking interchange, but rather explores the semi-
and politics has changed, as has the terrain of scholarly analy-
otic and cultural consequences of interactions of sharply op-
sis. It is no longer so clear that “cargo cults” ever existed, or
posed agents, parties, and classes. Thus, a dialogical history
at least whether the analytic category is valuable.
is a history in which none of the agents is unaffected by the
interaction (see Kelly and Kaplan, 1990).
Over the past fifty years in the Pacific, the post–World
Next is a summary of Lamont Lindstrom’s important
War II decolonization imperative has proceeded apace. New
Cargo Cult: Strange Stories of Desire from Melanesia and Be-
nation-states, multinational corporations, nongovernmental
yond (1993), which argues that cargo cults do exist (or at least
organizations, proliferating evangelical groups, and other
that there is a cross-cultural unity among certain events of
postcolonial institutions and agents populate the islands.
collective action in which people seek to fulfill rational de-
The imperial world system entanglements of the era of Euro-
sires through irrational means). But Lindstrom does not seek
pean capitalist and colonial expansion are replaced by global
to elaborate the characteristics of this category. Rather, Lind-
interconnections of the post–World War II United Nations
strom’s poststructuralist psychoanalytic approach draws our
world, including regional nation-state alliances, aid and de-
attention to what he calls the Western discourse of cargoism,
velopment programs, migration, tourism, multinational cor-
in which, he argues, non-Melanesians map onto Melanesians
porate penetration, consumption, and media flows. Yet, Pa-
their own fantasies concerning love, longing, and unrequited
cific people have not ceased to innovate politically and
desire.
religiously. How are we to understand these innovations?
What particular issues of religion, power, and sovereignty are
Finally, a brief summary is presented of an article in
raised by the nation-state and how might this implicate the
which discourse about cargo cults figures in decolonization
concept of the cargo cult?
history. Robert J. Foster’s “Your Money, Our Money, the
Government’s Money” (2002) is an evocative historical eth-
In scholarship, the “cargo cult” is now treated far more
nography of money and the state in decolonizing and inde-
skeptically by many scholars than in Lawrence’s account. In
pendent Papua New Guinea (PNG), in which the enchant-
the mid-twentieth century, scholars unproblematically wrote
ments of a national monetary system emerge in a complex
books and articles defining cargo cults, giving examples of
and dialogical postcolonial history.
cargo cults, arguing over their nature and causes, and propos-
ing explanations of their causes. While many important
This description of the current field is, by design, selec-
studies still use the category (and while Pacific peoples them-
tive. The examples have been chosen to contrast with Law-
selves may use the term—positively, neutrally, or pejorative-
rence’s approach. Readers interested in a wider spectrum of
ly), many of the analytic issues have turned from ontology
important turn-of-the-millennium writing on cargo cults in
to epistemology, from questions about what cargo cults are,
the Pacific, and on cargo cults and revitalization movements
to questions about the knower, and to the effects of claiming
more generally, will find the collections by Holger Jebens,
that cargo cults do exist or the effects of seeking to specify
Cargo, Cult, and Culture Critique (2004), and Michael E.
their characteristics. For example, some anthropologists now
Harkin, Reassessing Revitalization Movements: Perspectives
argue that “cargo cults do not exist,” finding the so-named
from North America and the Pacific Islands (2004), most
phenomena better understood instead in terms of ongoing
useful.
trajectories of Pacific history-making (including that long
PROBLEMATIZING THE ANALYTIC CONCEPT. Important
predating the colonial encounter), while others find their ori-
scholars have seen the Fijian Tuka of the 1880s as the flag-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1422
CARGO CULTS [FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS]
ship example of a cargo cult (Worsley, 1957, 1968) or mille-
exist, being merely an example of how people conceptualise
narian movement (Burridge, 1969). Tuka would seem to
and experience change in the world” (1988, pp. 121–122).
have features similar to those Lawrence describes. Led by a
For example, concerning Navosavakadua and Tuka in Fiji,
hereditary oracle priest called Navosavakadua or Mosese
why in seeking to study millenarianism did scholars such as
Dukumoi (d. 1897) oriented in opposition to eastern coastal
Burridge problematize “Tuka” for study, rather than the
Fijian kingdoms and colonial rulers, 1880s colonial accounts
massive Fijian Christian conversion of the 1830s and 1850s?
of the movement described anticipation of the return of Fiji-
Indeed, Marshall Sahlins (1985) chronicles this conversion
an gods (notably the twin gods Nacirikaumoli and Nakausa-
as part of a ritual-political kingship politics in Fiji without
baria, newly understood as Jesus and Jehovah) and a trans-
finding any need to refer to “cults.” Reconsidered in these
formed political and material order. One could then,
ways, “cults” dissolve into far more complex histories of in-
following Lawrence, see Tuka as one of his syncretic rather
digenous history making of colonial encounter and of the
than pagan or Christian movements. One could also, with
making of new cultural-political systems. For some scholars,
Peter Worsley and later Fiji scholars Simione Durutalo
this becomes an opportunity to reconsider cargo cults as ex-
(1985) or E Atu Emberson-Bain (1994), see Tuka as protona-
amples of a culturally Melanesian form of history making,
tionalist, prefiguring twentieth-century incipient union
whereby external intrusions are encompassed and remade
movements or Labour Party politics. Or, with Kenelm Bur-
culturally. Such an approach can run the risk of presenting
ridge (1969), one could see the movement as a strategy to
Pacific people as unchangingly culturally separate, but the ar-
obtain moral recognition in an oppressive colonial context.
gument that there are plural ways of making history can also
However, chronicling Tuka via field research in Fiji (with de-
serve as a strong, politically inflected argument for the auton-
scendants of the leader and his followers) and via examina-
omy and power of non-Western peoples, even in the face of
tion of the colonial records at the National Archives of Fiji
hegemonizing discourses. Indeed, as Sahlins (1988) and oth-
and beyond, Kaplan has argued instead that there was neither
ers point out, globalization itself can impel or support diver-
a cargo nor a cult at issue. The very attempt to define and
sification and difference.
explicate a general category of “cargo cult” seems to reify and
occlude the complexities of this dialogical history.
And indeed, in the events called “Tuka,” Fijians mobi-
lized a Fijian grammar for history making, invoking a long-
On the one hand, theorists of “cargo cults” or “millenar-
standing ritual political opposition of “People of the Land”
ian movements” were among the first scholars to have ac-
against eastern coastal chiefs and other culturally constructed
knowledged and politically engaged the issue of the agency
foreigners, as well as against labor recruiters, missionaries,
of “Others” in cultural change in colonial contexts. Such
and colonial administration Yet, it is not enough simply to
studies initiated basic discussions about agency and history
see Navosavakadua and Tuka as encompassed in an essential-
in colonial societies that have inflected most later anthropo-
ly Fijian form of local history making. For, reconsidering
logical considerations, including this one. (Indeed, over the
cargo cults in the context of local histories entails attention
years since Lawrence’s entry for this encyclopedia was writ-
to a dialogical history, in which the local and the colonial,
ten, Worsley’s approach, downplayed by Lawrence, seems to
the local and the global are never unaffected by each other.
have been prescient of the strong political voice that emerged
in the anthropology of the 1980s, an anthropology much fo-
CULTS AND MOVEMENTS IN THE COLONIAL IMAGINATION.
cused on Gramscian questions [via Raymond Williams] of
While Neither Cargo nor Cult (1995) argues that the analytic
hegemony and resistance or Foucaultian questions of knowl-
categories of “cargo cults” or “millenarian movements” are
edge/power.) Problematic, however, is the way that these
scholarly reifications, it also argues that (despite McDowell’s
studies drew boundaries around the phenomenon to be stud-
elegant borrowing of Lévi-Strauss) cults and movements do
ied and the way they reified the category of cult, lumping to-
exist. They exist, not necessarily as Pacific or non-Western
gether ostensibly similar events throughout Fiji and the Pa-
phenomena, but rather as a category in Western culture and
cific, identifying and abstracting “cults” as a general
colonial practice. “Tuka” was a thing to colonial officers and
phenomenon, or treating cults as a transitional stage between
has come down to us as such. In the colonial imagination
tradition and inevitable modernity (see Kelly, 2002; Pletsch,
it incited the drafting of ordinances for its criminal prosecu-
1981).
tion and the deportation of its practitioners, gaining its own
sites in colonial archival files and indexes and in local re-
DISSOLVING THE CARGO CULT INTO THE FABRIC OF PACIF-
sponses to colonial criminalization.
IC HISTORY-MAKING. The analytic concept of cult itself has
been called into question in a range of ways. For example,
When Tuka as cult—separate, irrational, and nonortho-
quite pointedly, Nancy McDowell argues with reference to
dox—came into being via British colonial discourse and
Claude Lévi-Strauss’s famous argument on totemism that
practice, a coalition of eastern coastal Fijian chiefs and colo-
“cargo cults do not exist or at least their symptoms vanish
nial officials simultaneously brought into being another enti-
when we start to doubt that we can arbitrarily extract a few
ty: a colonial state founded on a system that would (with self-
features from context and label them an institution” for “just
proclaimed humanity and cost-effectiveness) rule Fijians
as totemism did not exist, being merely an example of how
through their traditional chiefs, institutions, and customs.
people classify the world around them, cargo cults too do not
An understanding of the dependence of states (from king-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CARGO CULTS [FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS]
1423
doms to colonies to nation-states) on ritual or magical consti-
Westerners about Melanesians, about the Third World, and
tution of cosmology and authority shifts our attention from
about themselves.
the enchantments of the marginalized to the enchantments
The term cargo cult, Lindstrom tells us, first appeared
required to routinize the major and central power (e.g., see
in 1945 in the pages of the colonial news magazine Pacific
Abrams, 1988; Kelly and Kaplan, 1990; Sahlins, 1985; Tam-
Islands Monthly (1993, pp. 15–16) and was used as an epi-
biah, 1985; Taussig, 1992). Certainly, neither colonial state
thet, interchangeably with “madness.” Soon, Lindstrom
nor cult was real before the dialogical history of Fiji of the
notes, missionaries, planters, and administrators traded accu-
late 1800s. Both were founded and routinized in ritual
sations as to who was responsible for cargo cults. Soon, too,
politics.
the term entered anthropological usage, from missionary-
Thus, in Neither Cargo nor Cult (1995) Kaplan presents
anthropologists in New Guinea to Australia-based anthro-
a composite analytic approach, but the analytic components
pologists, and by the 1950s the literature was copious
are quite different from Lawrence’s empirical, causal condi-
enough that a bibliography was compiled by a South Pacific
tions. This view is one that is confident of the reality of Fijian
Commission librarian (p. 38). He argues that the term is
and colonial historical agencies, in dialogical relation, though
then projected back, anachronistically, as when Lawrence
it is skeptical that separating out inquiry about cults in par-
wrote of early nineteenth-century movements as cargo cults
ticular will tell us enough about this complex history and the
(p. 38), though, one might argue that more could be said of
enchantments of both the colonially routinized state and the
the reifications already extant in British colonial discourse.
criminalized resistant counterpolity that Navosavakadua en-
Lindstrom goes on to chronicle the history of uses of the
visioned and tried to make real. It does, however, attend to
term in anthropological analysis (up to and including the ar-
the pull, the feeling of obviousness, to find cults real, since,
gument that “cargo cults do not exist”). He suggests that an-
ethnographically, they were very real to colonial agents. Still,
thropologists extended the features of the ostensible cults to
it is important to recognize that that reality was generated
all of Melanesian society, seeking to show that care for cargo
initially not in Fijian practice or intent, but rather in the co-
and use of cultic, religious means was itself a general Melane-
lonial imagination.
sian characteristic. To sympathetically explain cults, Linds-
CARGOISM: WESTERN DISCOURSE ABOUT “CARGO CULTS.”
trom says, anthropology claims that the colonial’s exception-
It is this Western certainty that cargo cults do exist that Lind-
al and fearful cult is in fact normal Melanesian culture. Thus,
strom explores, taking us from the twentieth-century arenas
he says, for anthropologists, “Cults are not—or not just—
of colonial discourse and practice in which they coalesced for
aberrant ritualized reaction to a powerful European presence.
scholars of Melanesia to an American and global popular
Anthropology instructs us, rather, that cults are normal, cre-
imagination. In Cargo Cult: Strange Stories of Desire from
ative Melanesian institutions of cultural dynamism and
Melanesia and Beyond, Lindstrom, invoking post-
change” (1993, p. 61). Other anthropologists would argue
structuralist theory and literary deconstructionism (1993,
that in fact the anthropological problematic of valuables, ex-
p. 10), focuses attention on the literal term cargo cult. Trac-
change, and cosmology in the Pacific, made famous by
ing the term, Lindstrom cagily proclaims that he will not say
Bronislaw Malinowski in 1922 and Marcel Mauss in 1925,
anything about Melanesian ethnographic realities. “Cargo
predates “cargo cult” discussions and that Lindstrom homog-
cult—or something like this under another name—may ac-
enizes and simplifies anthropological scholarship of the Pa-
tually exist on Melanesian islands—or it may not” (p. 12).
cific, in his quest to delineate a single, general Western obses-
On the other hand, Lindstrom later asks, looking at dis-
sion with cargo cults.
course about “cargo cults,” what common denominator is to
Lindstrom also discusses political uses of the term in in-
be found in the phenomena to which the term is applied?
dependent Papua New Guinea, where it is used in political
If there is a general phenomenon, it is a “variety of desires
discourse, sometimes to signify positive kastam, or tradition,
for collective benefit coupled with apparently irrational strat-
other times as a negative epithet to disparage political oppo-
egies to attain those desires,” he concludes (p. 189). Yet, it
nents. But he reserves special interest for the term’s wider
is not so much the quest for an essence of cargo cult, a com-
spread in popular discourse (film, tabloids, and news media)
mon denominator in the events and actions of different peo-
in the United States and globally. Most interesting to Linds-
ples in Melanesia and beyond, but rather a common denomi-
trom are the consequences of calling phenomena “at home”
nator in what Westerners perceive in these events and the
in the West cargo cults. He concludes, “The cargo cult is an
implications of naming something a cargo cult that fascinates
allegory of desire” (1993, p. 184). He finds this desire, pro-
Lindstrom. He borrows the term cargoism, coined initially
jected onto “others,” but really about the self, in the Western
to denote “real” Melanesian activities, to instead denote dis-
psyche and in love of commodities, an unfulfillable desire,
course about cargo cults, especially Western discourse. Lind-
an unrequitable love.
strom’s interest is, adamantly, in the uses of the term, which
he considers to be a Western projection of unfulfilled desire.
“Cargo Cult is fascinatingly trivial,” Lindstrom wrote
The term had, and still has, a complex life: it was at first a
provocatively on page three of his 246-page book. His fasci-
Western term projected onto Melanesians, but more recently
nation draws us to chronicle a world of talking about cargo
it has been used by Melanesians about themselves and by
cults. The work’s focus on cargo cults, even when the focus
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1424
CARGO CULTS [FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS]
is on discourse about cargo cults, may once again reify its ob-
people to abandon the materiality of traditional wealth
ject, now risking solipsism. What more, beyond unrequited
items, colonial advice nonetheless proffered a material form
love, might animate the projects and events that are folded
for the wealth of the people of Papua New Guinea: the bank
into this way of narrating unrequited love? What of desires
book. At the lead up to independence in 1975, colonial edu-
and successes for freedom, for self-determination, for Bur-
cation about money turned to “our money” and the national
ridge’s “moral redemption,” for . . .? It is Lindstrom’s in-
wealth, with money serving as a token of the nation-state
tention to produce a Foucaultian genealogy of a term’s con-
that was just coming into being.
textual origins and the consequences of its use. However,
Where Lindstrom was critical of approaches that lent re-
diagnosing Western unrequited longing may not lead us into
ality to cargo cult beliefs and practices, believing that they
greater insights into anything else.
implied a diagnosis that the “natives” were mad, not rational,
DIALOGICAL HISTORIES FOR A DECOLONIZING AND GLOB-
Foster follows William Pietz (1985, 1987, 1988), not Linds-
ALLY INTERCONNECTED WORLD. The big story of the twen-
trom, in seeing the cardinal fantasy endorsed by cargo-cult
tieth century for places like the Pacific is the end of the era
theory (and all imputations of fetishism to “others”) as the
of empires and the coming into being of the nation-state as
idea that “We” have or can have a society without fetishes,
the normal polity form. Not just the former colonies, but
a purely rational society of enlightenment. Foster’s argument
also the former colonizers were reconstituted as nation-states.
can be carried further, thinking about alleged “cargo cults’”
Massive new secular rituals, state myths, and authorizing ac-
in particular. Something becomes known as a “cargo cult”
counts have been mobilized to routinize and to make real
precisely when it is objectified, criminalized, and subject to
these new polity forms. Familiars for the state and nation are
scrutiny, criticism, and counterargument; when its premises
born: flags that seem the living body of the state and anthems
do not seem natural and inevitable; and when its modes do
and pledges of and for the nation that serve as charms bind-
not readily persuade official observers. But, as Foster argues,
ing members to national citizenship (on state familiars, see
we all live with tokens of the state (we might call them state
Kaplan, 2003). What is the place of matters once called cargo
familiars), including our money, that for others have not suc-
cult in this history?
cessfully routinized into obvious utility. Foster cites U.S. sur-
vivalists who question U.S. government legitimacy and ques-
The most intriguing of more recent studies of cargo
tion the legitimacy of U.S. paper money. And, in Papua New
cults are those that are not about cargo cults at all, but rather
Guinea, Foster shows, questions about money question the
about complex local and global histories in which the term
state as well, whether debating the figures portrayed on
figures historically. In this category would fall, for example,
notes, maintaining shell money and using it to pay taxes, or
studies like Foster’s “Your Money, Our Money, the Govern-
using bills and notes as ceremonial exchange valuables. These
ment’s Money: Finance and Fetishism in Melanesia” (2002).
kinds of usages bring together what colonial and postcolonial
This is an analysis, not of a cargo cult, but of the enchant-
administrators “hell bent on modernization” (Foster 2002,
ments found in the putatively modern, Western, disenchant-
p. 60) tried so hard to keep apart. One could propose that
ed, and practical world of nation-states, nation-building, de-
this is an example of Melanesian confusion, or, preferably,
velopment agencies, financial institutions, and national
that it is an example of the very potential that all powerful
economy. Foster’s overall point is that by assuming that Mel-
systems (states, finance systems, and cosmologies) must trade
anesians were confused about the real and true origins and
in reliance on modes of routinzation, on tokens of existence,
value of material things, colonizers were also able to assume
and on familiars that render them subject to being recog-
that they themselves lived in a Western world in which the
nized as constructs, challenged and sometimes remade. That
real and true value of material things was self-evident and ir-
is, one could take the point to be that nations, states, and
refutable, a world without fetishes (pp. 36–37). Foster’s anal-
religions rely on the same kinds of enchantment of symbols
ysis shows that the New Guinea state, and indeed all states,
and institutions that get undermined in criticism of cults.
depends on the workings of state familiars like money; that
is, on the public belief that only the state-issued tokens are
GODS AND NATION-STATES. Whether or not cargo cults and
appropriate tender for all debts, public and private.
the cargo cult literature is adduced, much of the scholarship
since the 1980s in the Pacific has focused on postcolonial his-
In the mid-twentieth century, colonizers in New Guin-
tories of nation and state as locally understood and lived in
ea began distributing educational material about money,
the Pacific Islands, describing predicaments and novel local
seeking to counter cargo-cult thinking, the perceived “na-
solutions in ritual, economics, kinship, and religious life that
tive” misunderstanding of the origin of goods. In the 1960s
connect to matters of sovereignty and its infringements, and
the Administration and the Reserve Bank of Australia pro-
the reconfiguration of old and new institutional forms. The
duced booklets and films to provide people with “an under-
literature that explicitly continues the study of cargo cults
standing of the management of money.” Addressing individ-
also connects new cosmologies to postcolonial as well as colo-
uals with advice about “your money,” they presupposed and
nial history and sees millenarian movements growing in en-
naturalized “modern” individuals who would relate to
twined response to increasingly diverse Christian evangeliz-
money and define themselves via work and monetary wealth,
ing and/or to development discourse, electoral politics, and
rather than in relation to other people. Ironically, urging
political crises.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CARGO CULTS [FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS]
1425
Commonly, conflicts over power begun in precolonial
Burridge, Kenelm. New Heaven, New Earth: A Study of Millenari-
and colonial eras are of continuing import. This is especially
an Activities. Oxford, 1969.
clear in the example of Tuka in Fiji’s history. Tuka was about
Durutalo, Simione. “Internal Colonialism and Unequal Regional
questions of local sovereignty (though not nation-state sover-
Development: The Case of Western Viti Levu, Fiji.” Mas-
eignty) and it was also, for Navosavakadua, about identifying
ter’s thesis, University of the South Pacific, 1985.
one’s own gods. For Navosavakadua, the twin gods Na-
Emberson-Bain, E Atu. Labour and Gold in Fiji. Cambridge, U.K.,
cirikaumoli and Nakausabaria had been misunderstood as
1994.
Jesus and Jehovah. For some of his descendants, Navo-
Foster, Robert J. “Your Money, Our Money, the Government’s
savakadua was himself Jesus, returned. For some Fijians,
Money: Finance and Fetishism in Melanesia.” In Materializ-
more generally, Fiji and Fiji Christianity are special and tra-
ing the Nation: Commodities, Consumption, and Media in
Papua New Guinea. Bloomington, Ind., 2002.
ditional and entitle Fiji’s indigenes to special political privi-
lege in the island’s nation-state (Kelly and Kaplan, 2001).
Harkin, Michael E., ed. Reassessing Revitalization Movements: Per-
spectives from North America and the Pacific Islands. Lincoln,
What we learn from Tuka, we can bring to the study of the
Neb., 2004.
United Nations and the nation-state. These putatively disen-
Jebens, Holger, ed. Cargo, Cult, and Culture Critique. Honolulu,
chanted institutions have, in fact, their own rituals and even
2004.
their own familiars.
Kaplan, Martha. Neither Cargo nor Cult: Ritual Politics and the
For Lawrence, the variables for considering cargo cults
Colonial Imagination in Fiji. Durham, N.C., 1995.
were the characteristics of local society, the nature of intro-
Kaplan, Martha. “The Magical Power of the Printed Word (in
duced religion, and the character of contact with Europeans.
Fiji).” In Magic and Modernity: Interfaces of Revelation and
But the world-system entanglements of the era of European
Concealment, edited by Birgit Meyer and Peter Pels. Stan-
ford, Calif., 2003.
capitalist and colonial expansion are replaced by global inter-
connections of the post–World War II, United Nations, na-
Kelly, John D. “Alternative Modernities, or Alternatives to Mo-
dernity? Getting out of the Modernist Sublime.” In Critically
tion-state world. People everywhere in this world face dilem-
Modern: Alternatives, Alterities, Anthropologies, edited by
mas of belief over the question of how nation-states or other
Bruce M. Knauft. Bloomington, Ind., 2002.
political entities are to be authorized. On what basis is legiti-
Kelly, John D., and Martha Kaplan. “History, Structure, and Rit-
mate sovereignty made? Does it come from “we the people”?
ual.” Annual Review of Anthropology 19 (1990): 119–150.
From a god or gods? From previous or external powerful po-
Kelly, John D., and Martha Kaplan. Represented Communities: Fiji
litical forms, like empires or the United Nations? People in
and World Decolonization. Chicago, 2001.
nation-states are confronting these questions. Monotheism
Lindstrom, Lamont. Knowledge and Power in a South Pacific Soci-
and the idea of a universal god is not always congruent with
ety. Washington, D.C., 1990.
bounding the local nation-state. The relations of church and
Lindstrom, Lamont. Cargo Cult: Strange Stories of Desire from Mel-
state, and of God and the nation are often in tension.
anesia and Beyond. Honolulu, 1993.
C
Malinowski, Bronislaw. Argonauts of the Western Pacific. London,
ONCLUSION. Earlier scholarship that defined cargo cults (in-
1922.
cluding the work of Peter Lawrence), addressed matters of
subjectivity and the imagination, and of emotional life en-
Mauss, Marcel. The Gift: The Form and Reason for Exchange in Ar-
chaic Societies (1925). Translated by W. D. Halls. New York,
twined with reason and social institutions, mostly as matters
1990.
located in local, non-Western institutions in transition to-
McDowell, Nancy. “A Note on Cargo Cults and Cultural Con-
ward a generalized modern life. Those studies neglected the
structions of Change.” Pacific Studies 11, no. 2 (1988): 121–
degree to which colonials, and then scholars, imposed their
134
own subjectivity, images, categories, and desires into their
Pietz, William. “The Problem of the Fetish.” Part 1, Res 9 (1985);
frameworks of description and analysis. Later, so-called post-
Part 2, Res 13 (1987) 23-45; Part 3, Res 16 (1988) 105–123.
modern scholars demonstrated the powers and limits of in-
Pletsch, Carl. “The Three Worlds, or, The Division of Social Sci-
trinsically political discourse everywhere. They tended to re-
entific Labor, circa 1950–1975.” Comparative Studies in So-
focus attention from the people studied to the people
ciety and History 23, no. 4 (1981): 565–590
studying. But scholars of the cargo cult and beyond now
Sahlins, Marshall. Islands of History. Chicago, 1985.
ponder both scholarly (and other) imaginings and the actual
Sahlins, Marshall. “Cosmologies of Capitalism: The Trans-Pacific
fabric of the world’s interconnected histories—that is, they
Sector of ‘The World System.’” Proceedings of the British
can ponder both the elements of actually complex and varie-
Academy 74 (1988): 1–51.
gated Western imaginaries (religious, political and scholarly,
Tambiah, Stanley Jeyaraja. Culture, Thought, and Social Action: An
local and global, colonial and postcolonial, Western and not)
Anthropological Perspective. Cambridge, Mass., 1985.
and the careers of those ideas everywhere.
Taussig, Michael. “Maleficium: State Fetishism.” In The Nervous
System, pp. 111–140. New York, 1992.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Worsley, Peter. The Trumpet Shall Sound: A Study of “Cargo” Cults
Abrams, Philip. “Notes on the Difficulty of Studying the State.”
in Melanesia. London, 1957; 2d ed. New York, 1968.
Journal of Historical Sociology 1, no. 1 (1988): 58–89.
MARTHA KAPLAN (2005)
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1426
CARIBBEAN RELIGIONS: PRE-COLUMBIAN RELIGIONS
CARIBBEAN RELIGIONS
mainland are members of the same ethnic group. The Island
This entry consists of the following articles:
Arawak and Arawak proper did not speak the same language.
PRE-COLUMBIAN RELIGIONS
Irving Rouse points out that their two languages were “no
AFRO-CARIBBEAN RELIGIONS
more alike than, say, French and English” (Rouse, 1974).
Moreover, inhabitants of the Greater Antilles thought of
CARIBBEAN RELIGIONS: PRE-COLUMBIAN
themselves not as “Arawak” but as members of local chief-
RELIGIONS
doms, each of which had its own name. Since each chiefdom
European explorers noted three major aboriginal groups in
was totally independent of all others, the group we know as
the Caribbean at the time of contact (1492 and the years im-
the Island Arawak had no need for an overall tribal name.
mediately following): Island Arawak, Island Carib, and Ci-
boney. There is an abundance of information concerning the
In 1920, Hartley Alexander suggested that the sea must
religious practices of the Island Arawak and Island Carib, but
have been a tremendous barrier to cultural transmission in
very little is known of Ciboney religion. Our knowledge of
the Caribbean. Contemporary archaeologists, however, rec-
the Ciboney has increased somewhat, especially through the
ognize that water did not constitute a barrier for these peo-
work of Cuban archaeologists such as Osvaldo Morales Pa-
ples. Therefore, archaeologists no longer study individual is-
tiño, but there remain many gaps in the archaeological and
lands in isolation. This has many implications for the study
ethnohistorical records.
of aboriginal Caribbean religions as it becomes increasingly
apparent that religious developments on one island were like-
This essay will focus on the Island Arawak and the Is-
ly to have affected religious developments elsewhere in the
land Carib. The Island Arawak were concentrated in the
region. Various island groups seem to have been in constant
Greater Antilles, a group of large, mainly sedimentary is-
contact with one another.
lands. The principal islands of the Greater Antilles are, mov-
ing from east to west, Puerto Rico, Hispaniola (now divided
Archaeologists have since established a firmer and more
between Haiti and the Dominican Republic), Jamaica, and
comprehensive chronology for the Caribbean region (Rouse
Cuba. The Island Carib inhabited the small, mainly volcanic
and Allaire, 1978). They also have discovered much greater
islands of the Lesser Antilles (Saint Christopher-Nevis, Anti-
variation in religious artifacts than was previously thought
gua, Guadeloupe, Dominica, Martinique, Saint Lucia, Bar-
to exist, which in turn hints at a greater variation within the
bados, Grenada, Saint Vincent, and Tobago). Trinidad,
religious traditions of the Island Arawak and the Island Carib
Margarita, Cubagua, and Coche are usually considered a part
than was previously supposed. Arawak and Carib traditions,
of the Caribbean region, but culturally these islands have
for example, may have differed from settlement to settlement
much in common with the South American mainland (Gla-
on the same island.
zier, 1980b; Figueredo and Glazier, 1982).
DEITIES. Both the Island Arawak and the Island Carib pos-
Earlier scholars, such as Hartley B. Alexander (1920),
sessed a notion of a high god, though, as the chroniclers’ re-
emphasized differences between Island Arawak and Island
ports make clear, their high god differed conceptually from
Carib religions. This tradition continued in the work of
the God of Christianity. We know, too, that aboriginal high
scholars such as Fred Olsen (1974) and Charles A. Hoffman
gods were thought to exert very little direct influence on the
(1980), for example, who postulated strong Maya influence
workings of the universe. Many of the early chroniclers, in-
on the religious systems of the Greater Antilles. Later, schol-
cluding Fray Ramón Pané, Gonzalo F. de Oviedo, and Ray-
ars paid greater attention to the similarities in Arawak and
mond Breton, refer to Arawak and Carib high gods as kinds
Carib belief systems—for example, the many parallels in Ara-
of deus otiosus; that is, they are inactive gods far removed
wak and Carib shamanism—than to their differences.
from human affairs and concerns. Neither the Island Arawak
Both the Island Arawak and the Island Carib originally
nor the Island Carib conceived of their high god as creator
migrated from the South American mainland (Rouse, 1964).
of the universe, and it is unclear how powerful the high god
The Island Arawak settled in the Greater Antilles at about
was thought to be. Was it that their high god was able to in-
the beginning of the common era and were followed several
terfere directly in world affairs but chose not to do so, or was
hundred years later by the Carib, who claimed to have begun
he thought to be totally ineffectual? Chroniclers differ some-
their migrations into the Lesser Antilles only a few genera-
what on this. Pané suggests that the high god was a powerful
tions before the arrival of Columbus. The Island Carib as-
deity who chooses to be inactive. Other chroniclers stress the
serted that they conquered the Arawak of the Lesser Antilles,
inactivity of the high god and the lack of attention accorded
killing the men and marrying the women. Douglas M. Tay-
him. The bulk of the evidence, including what we know of
lor (1951) suggests that the women’s language prevailed, be-
other American Indian religions (Hultkrantz, 1979), sup-
cause the language spoken by the descendants of the Island
ports the latter interpretation.
Carib belongs to the Arawakan family of languages. Of
Island Arawak. The identification of Island Arawak de-
course, another possible explanation is that all the peoples
ities is often a problem. Their high god was known by two
of the Lesser Antilles were of Arawak origin.
names: Iocauna and Guamaonocon (spellings differ from
It should not be assumed that the Island Arawak of the
chronicler to chronicler). Peter Martyr reports that the Ara-
Greater Antilles and the Arawak of the South American
wak supreme being was not self-created but was himself
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CARIBBEAN RELIGIONS: PRE-COLUMBIAN RELIGIONS
1427
brought forth by a mother who has five names or identities:
unfortunate because the Island Arawak themselves seem to
Attabeira, Mamona, Guacarapita, Iella, and Guimazoa. He
have made such a distinction.
also reports other appellations for the high god, including Jo-
As Alexander (1920) has pointed out, there is some evi-
cakuvaque, Yocahu, Vaque, Maorocon, and Macrocoti. Pané
dence that nature worship and/or a vegetation cult existed
provides an equally complex list of male and female deities,
among the Island Arawak. This remains, however, a much
and it is apparent that most deities in the Arawak pantheon
neglected aspect of Island Arawak religion. Pané’s elaborate
were recognized by a number of appellations. Henri Pettit-
description of the manufacture of wooden religious objects
jean-Roget (1983) has suggested that the various names be
suggests some similarities between the production of these
interpreted as different incarnations of the same deity, as in
objects and the construction of wooden fetishes in West Afri-
the Hindu tradition. Another possible explanation is that dif-
ca. While the analogy is not complete, it has been noted that
ferent names simply represent local variants.
many aspects of Caribbean religions seem to derive from sim-
A number of interpreters (Joyce, 1916; Alexander,
ilar attitudes toward material objects (Alexander, 1920).
1920) have posited that the Island Arawak possessed a con-
One of the most important differences between Arawak
ception of an earth mother and a sky father similar to that
and Carib religions is that among the Island Arawak nature
of other American Indian groups. This has been called into
worship seems to have been closely associated with ancestor
question. While there are many similarities between the god-
worship. The bones of the Island Arawak dead, especially the
dess Attabeira and the earth mother of American Indian my-
bones of their leaders and great men, were thought to have
thology, there are also many differences. Attabeira does seem
power in and of themselves. This notion also existed among
to have been associated with fertility, and as Fred Olsen
the Island Carib, but their ceremonies and representations
(1974) suggests, her many Arawakan names describe her var-
were not so elaborate. In addition, most chroniclers mention
ious functions: mother of moving waters (the sea, the tides,
that the Island Arawak painted their bodies and faces, espe-
and the springs), goddess of the moon, and goddess of child-
cially in preparation for war. The chroniclers are in agree-
birth Representations of Attabeira frequently show her
ment that the painted figures were horrible and hideous, but
squatting in the act of parturition, and archaeologists have
there is little agreement as to what the figures were supposed
been greatly impressed with the vividness of these portrayals.
to represent. Jesse W. Fewkes (1907) has suggested that body
Her hands are holding her chin while her legs press into her
paintings had religious importance; most other sources sug-
sides as she struggles in childbirth. In several representations
gest that markings served to distinguish members of the same
her open mouth and heavy eyebrows ridging over wide-open
clan. The practice may have been a form of ancestor worship.
eyes convey successfully the intensity of her efforts. But there
are other characteristics of Attabeira that are not at all like
Island Carib. Like the Island Arawak, the island Carib
those of an earth mother. Sven Lovén (1935) concludes that
recognized a multitude of spirit beings as well as a high god
Attabeira cannot be identified as a goddess of the earth be-
whose name varies according to text. Sieur de La Borde
cause she seems to have dwelt permanently in the heavens.
(1704) refers to their high god as Akamboüe. According to
He concedes that Attabeira may have been an all-mother, but
Raymond Breton (1665), however, Akamboüe means “carri-
this does not necessarily imply that she was an earth goddess.
er of the king,” and the highest deity in the Island Carib pan-
theon was the moon, Nonu-ma. Breton argues that the
Lovén (1935) also points out that Iocauna was not an
moon was central in Island Carib religion because the Carib
all-father. As noted previously, native conceptions of Iocauna
reckoned time according to lunar cycles. The sun, Huoiou,
would have precluded procreative activities. It is possible that
also occupied an important place in the Island Carib pan-
one of Iocauna’s names, Yocahu, is related to the yuca (cassa-
theon. Although the sun was said to be more powerful than
va) plant (Fewkes, 1907). Yocahu may have been the giver
the moon, Huoiou was also said to be more remote from
of yuca or the discoverer of yuca, but he was not believed to
human affairs and therefore less significant.
be the creator of yuca (Olsen, 1974). It is clear from all ac-
counts that after yuca was given to the Island Arawak, it was
Of the spirits directly involved in human affairs, Icheiri
cultivated through the cooperation of zemi spirits and was
and Mabouia are the most frequently mentioned. Icheiri,
not at all dependent on the cooperation of Yocahu.
whose name comes from the verb ichéem, meaning “what I
like” (Breton, 1665, p. 287), has been interpreted as a spirit
Other prominent Island Arawak deities include: Gua-
of good, while Mabouia, from the same root as the word
bancex, goddess of wind and water, who had two subordi-
boyé, or “sorcerer,” has been interpreted as a spirit of evil. The
nates: Guatauva, her messenger, and Coatrischio, the tem-
Carib informed Breton that it was Mabouia who brought
pest-raiser; Yobanua-Borna, a rain deity; Baidrama (or
about eclipses of the sun and caused the stars to disappear
Vaybruma), a twinned deity associated with strength and
suddenly.
healing; Opigielguoviran, a doglike being said to have
plunged into the morass with the coming of the Spanish; and
The terms icheiri and mabouia have been widely dis-
Faraguvaol, a tree trunk able to wander at will. One difficulty
cussed in the secondary literature. I believe that these were
with the various listings provided by the chroniclers is that
not names of spirits, but were general categories within the
they do not distinguish mythical beings and deities. This is
spirit world, and that spirits were classified primarily accord-
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1428
CARIBBEAN RELIGIONS: PRE-COLUMBIAN RELIGIONS
ing to their relation to the individual. One man’s icheira
went to the seashore or became mabouias in the forest. There
(helper) could be another man’s mabouia (evil spirit) and vice
was no concept of an underworld, nor were spirits associated
versa (Glazier, 1980a). The most important consideration,
with specific locations, as among the Island Arawak. Each in-
as far as the Carib were concerned, was to get a particular
dividual was said to possess three souls: one in the heart, one
spirit on one’s side.
in the head, and one in the shoulders. It is only the heart-soul
Another major category in the Island Carib spirit world
that ascends to the sky, while the other two souls wander the
was that of the zemiis. Zemi, too, appears to have been a very
earth for eternity. The Island Carib asserted that only valiant
general term; the word is of Arawak origin and indicates the
heart-souls ascended; the implication here is that even the
strong influence of Island Arawak language and culture on
heart-souls of the less valiant sometimes became mabouias
the Island Carib. Among the Carib, to get drunk, chemerocae,
and roamed the earth.
literally meant “to see zemiis.” Zemiis were thought to live
Elaborate burial ceremonies were noted among both the
in a paradise far removed from the world of the living, but
Island Arawak and the Island Carib. Archaeological evidence
every so often, according to La Borde (1704), Coualina, chief
indicates that the Island Arawak performed several types of
of the zemiis, would become angry about the wickedness of
burials: (1) direct interment, with the skeleton in a sitting
some zemiis and drive them from paradise to earth, where
or flexed position; (2) interment within a raised mound, with
they became animals. This is but one example of the constant
the body in a crouched position; (3) interment within a grave
transformations from deity to animal in Island Carib my-
covered with an arch of branches topped with earth; and (4)
thology.
burial in caves, with skeletons in a flexed position. Secondary
Zemiis were frequently represented by, and in many
burials were also prevalent (Lovén, 1935).
cases were identical with, conical objects that have been
Christopher Columbus summarized the different burial
found at both Island Arawak and Island Carib sites. The
customs on Hispaniola as follows: “They open the body and
most common types are triangular (the so-called three-
dry it by the fire in order that it may be preserved whole.
pointers) and/or humpback in shape. Some are elaborately
Often, depending on rank, they take only the head. Others
carved, but a majority of zemiis are plain. Archaeologists have
are buried in caves. Others they burn in their houses. Others
discovered zemiis made of wood, conch shell, and stone, but
they drive out of the house; and others they put in a ham-
stone zemiis are the most prevalent.
mock and leave them to rot” (Lovén, 1935). It is apparent
Fewkes (1907) was among the first to suggest the reli-
that Arawak burial customs differed markedly and that buri-
gious import of these objects. He posited that they may have
als for leaders were much more elaborate than burials for the
had a magical function, especially in reducing pains associat-
masses. From the archaeological record, it is also apparent
ed with childbirth. Olsen (1974) offers a more materialistic
that the Island Arawak buried a majority of their dead in
explanation. He suggests that the conical shapes of these
crouching or flexed positions. In this they differed from the
stones represented the Caribbean islands themselves dramati-
Ciboney, who buried their dead lying straight (Lovén,
cally rising out of the sea with their pronounced volcanic
1935).
peaks. Pettitjean-Roget (1983) provides a broader interpreta-
tion than Fewkes or Olsen. He postulates that these conical
Burial customs among the Island Carib were not so var-
objects were nothing less than an encapsulation of the entire
ied. Breton (1665) noted that the Island Carib dreaded
cosmos.
death, and that it was forbidden to utter the name of the de-
ceased. The Island Carib referred to the dead indirectly (e.g.,
AFTERLIFE. Both the Island Arawak and the Island Carib had
“the husband of so-and-so”) because to do otherwise would
a notion of the afterlife. The Island Arawak conceived of
cause the deceased to come back to earth.
spirits of the dead, called opias or hubias, who were said to
wander about the bush after dark. Occasionally opias joined
When an Island Carib male died, the women painted
the company of the living and were said to be indistinguish-
his cheeks and lips red and placed him in a hammock. After
able from the living, except for the spirits’ lack of navels. In
some time the decomposed body was brought inside a hut,
both Arawak and Carib religions, the activities of the dead
where it was then lowered into a shallow grave. Burial was
were thought to resemble the activities of the living. Opias,
in the flexed position, with the body sitting on its heels, and
for example, passed their time feasting and dancing in the
with the elbows resting on the knees and hands folded to the
forest. Their behaviors were similar to native ceremonies.
breast. Important men were buried with cooking pots and
Pané reports that the Arawak of Haiti believed in a king-
utensils, their dogs, and slaves who were killed so they might
dom of death, Coaibai, which was situated on their own is-
continue to serve their masters in the next life. La Borde
land. Every leader of importance had his own kingdom of
(1704) notes that the Island Carib frequently burned the bo-
death, usually located within his own dominion. In addition,
dies of their leaders and mixed the ashes with their drinks.
there were uninhabited places where the spirits of evil people
This may not be accurate, for there is little archaeological evi-
were said to roam.
dence for cremation among the Island Carib.
The Island Carib, on the other hand, had a much more
ORIGIN MYTHS. We possess no creation myths for Caribbe-
diffuse notion of the afterlife. All spirits of the body, omicou,
an peoples. Both Island Arawak and Island Carib seem to
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CARIBBEAN RELIGIONS: PRE-COLUMBIAN RELIGIONS
1429
have assumed that the universe had always been in existence.
ber their years; Sauacou, who changed into a great blue
They did, however, have many stories concerning the earliest
heron, was sent to heaven where he forms a constellation an-
peoples of their respective groups.
nouncing hurricanes; the Great Bear is the heron’s canoe; the
Island Arawak. According to the aborigines of Haiti,
constellation Achinaou announces gentle rains and high
the earliest people appeared out of two caves. A majority of
winds; the constellation Cauroumon is associated with heavy
the people emerged from a cave known as Cicibagiagua,
waves; the constellation Racumon was changed into a snake;
while another, smaller group emerged from the cave
and Baccamon (Scorpio) foretells high winds (Breton, 1665).
Amaiacuva. Alexander (1920) suggests that these two caves
It is clear that the various constellations were used to divine
represent two different races or tribes. Lovén (1935) argues
the future, but it is unclear whether or not the constellations
to the contrary: there is, he says, but one tribal group. Since
were actually believed to cause earthly events.
most of the people emerged from Cicibagiagua, those who
RITES AND CEREMONIES. The most important ceremonies
emerged from Amaiacuva constituted an elite, the Taino. I
among the Island Arawak pertained to rain and the growth
find Lovén’s interpretation the more plausible. These caves,
of crops, but there were also important ceremonies for suc-
situated on the mountain of Cauta in the region of Caunana,
cess in war, burial of the dead, curing of the sick, canoe
were believed to actually exist and may have been located in
building, cutting hair, the births of children, marriage, and
the area of present-day Sierra de Coonao. Where caves did
initiation. In most instances these rites took the form of elab-
not exist, Island Arawak stress appearance out of the ground.
orate dances known as areitos. Fewkes (1907) notes that
dramatization played a part in all ceremonies. For example,
Island Arawak legends also account for the first appear-
in their war dances the entire war sequence was portrayed:
ance of the sun and the moon from a grotto known as
the departure of the warriors, surprise of the enemy, combat,
Giovaua, and for the origin of fish and the ocean. According
celebration of victory, and return of the war party. Singing
to the legend:
also played a part in all ceremonies, and some of the early
There was a certain man, Giaia, whose son, Giaiael, un-
chroniclers incorrectly restricted their use of the term areitos
dertook to kill his father, but was himself slain by the
to funeral chants or elegies in praise of heroes.
parent, who put the bones into a calabash, which he
hung on top of his hut. One day he took the calabash
The island Carib conducted ceremonies on many of the
down, looked into it, and an abundance of fishes came
same occasions as did the Island Arawak. According to La
forth. The bones had changed into fish. Later, when
Borde, the Island Carib held rites whenever a council was
Giaia the parent was absent, his four sons took the cala-
held concerning their wars, when they returned from their
bash and ate some of the fish. Giaia returned suddenly
expeditions, when a first male child was born, when they cut
and in their haste the sons replaced the calabash badly.
their children’s hair, when their boys became old enough to
As a result, so much water ran from it that it overflowed
go to war, when they cut down trees, and when they
all of the country, and with the water came an abun-
launched a vessel. Some authorities mention other ritual oc-
dance of fish. (Fernández Méndez, 1979; my trans.)
casions: when a child reached puberty, when a parent or
Other stories tell how the four brothers obtained manioc and
spouse died, when the Island Carib were made captives, and
tobacco from people whom they visited (see Fernández
when they killed one of their enemies.
Méndez, 1979). Rouse (1948) suggests that these stories may
have been put to song.
Island Carib rites met individual as well as societal
needs. Each individual had his own personal deity or zemi.
The stories of the emergence from caves and the origin
These personal deities were thought to reveal things to the
of fish are, in Pané’s account, followed by stories concerning
individual, and it is reported that individuals customarily
the adventures of Guaguigiana, a culture hero, and his com-
withdrew from society for six or seven days, without taking
rade. Giadruvava. Guaguigiana appears to have been some-
any sustenance save tobacco and the juice of herbs. During
thing of a trickster figure, and his adventures resemble those
this period, the individual experienced visions of whatever
of trickster-fixers associated with other American Indian
he or she desired (victory over enemies, wealth, and so on).
groups. It is to Pané’s credit that he attempted to present sto-
ries in the order in which the Island Arawak themselves pres-
Much has been written on alleged cannibalism among
ented them, even when that order made little intuitive sense
the Island Carib (the word cannibal is a corruption of Carib-
to him (Deive, 1976).
al, the Spanish word for “Carib”). The Island Arawak told
Columbus that they were subject to raids by man-eating In-
Island Carib. Among the Island Carib the first man,
dians known as Carib, and Columbus directed his second
Louguo, was said to have descended from the sky. Other
voyage to the Lesser Antilles, where he had been told the
men came out of his navel and his thighs. Louguo created
Carib lived, in order to confirm Arawak reports. Rouse
fish by throwing cassava scrapings into the sea, and according
(1964) credits Columbus with confirming that the Carib
to La Borde (1704), many of the first men were later trans-
practiced ritual cannibalism, that is, they ate captives in order
formed into stars.
to absorb their fighting ability. Recently the anthropologist
The constellations were accorded great importance in
William Arens (1979) has suggested that Columbus had no
Island Carib thought: Chiric (the Pleiades) was used to num-
direct evidence for this assertion, and in fact did not really
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1430
CARIBBEAN RELIGIONS: PRE-COLUMBIAN RELIGIONS
believe that the Carib were cannibals, but he perpetuated the
to direct offering to zemiis during public ceremonies. In both
myth of Carib cannibalism for political reasons. The early
of these duties, they served as intermediaries between the Is-
chroniclers provide some support for this position. In his Hi-
land Arawak and their gods (Deive, 1978).
storia general de las Indias, 1527–61, Bartolomé de Las Casas
Accounts of Arawak shamanism provide very little detail
flatly denies that the Carib were cannibals. Whatever the sta-
concerning the piaie’s role in public ceremonies, and it is un-
tus of Carib cannibalism, there is agreement that it was
clear whether or not all piaies were able to conduct public
not an everyday practice and was largely confined to ritual
ritual. It is possible that some piaies functioned solely as
occasions.
curers or diviners and could not perform other rites.
One other Island Carib rite attracted considerable atten-
Pané provides a lengthy account of Arawak healing
tion in the early literature, and that was the practice of the
practices. The curer, he notes, began his treatment of the pa-
couvade. At the birth of a child, Jean-Baptiste Dutertre re-
tient by prescribing a special diet and was himself expected
ports, Carib fathers would rest as if it were they who were
to observe the same diet as his patient. Herrera gives a con-
suffering labor pains. For forty days and nights fathers re-
densed description of curing procedures:
mained isolated from society, fasting or consuming a meager
When any leading man is sick, he calls a medicine man,
diet. At the end of this period there was a great feast at which
who is obliged to observe the same dietary rules as the
the invited guests lacerated the father’s skin with their finger-
patient. It is customary for the medicine man to purge
nails and washed his wounds with a solution of red pepper.
himself with an herb that he takes by inhaling until he
For an additional six months the father was expected to ob-
believes himself inspired. In this condition he says many
serve special dietary taboos (e.g., it was believed that if the
things, giving the sick to understand that he is talking
father ate turtle, the child would become deaf). Dutertre re-
with an idol. Then the Indians anoint their faces with
cords a number of other taboos involving birds and fish.
oil and purge the sick who stand by in silence. The
D
medicine man first makes two circuits about the patient
RUGS. Tobacco, narcotics, and stimulants played an im-
and, pulling him by the legs, goes to the door of the
portant part in both Island Arawak and Island Carib rites.
house, which he shuts, saying: “Return to the mountain
Tobacco, called cohiba, was used in a number of different
or whither you wish; blow and join hands and tremble,
forms in all ceremonies. Among the Island Arawak, tobacco
and close the mouth.” Breathing on his hands, he then
smoke was used as an incense to summon the gods. Tobacco
sucks the neck, the shoulders, the stomach, and other
was sprinkled on the heads of idols as an offering. Religious
parts of the body of the sick man, coughing and grimac-
leaders among the Island Arawak and Island Carib “stupe-
ing; he spits into his hands what he had previously
fied” themselves with tobacco when they consulted their ora-
placed in his mouth and tells the sick man that he has
cles; they also used tobacco in curing rituals.
taken from the body that which is bad. He also says that
the patient’s zemi had given it to him because he had
As Breton (1665) reports, the Island Carib “know to-
not obeyed him. The objects that the doctors take from
bacco but do not smoke it.” They would dry it by a fire,
their mouths are for the most part stones, which they
pound it into a powder, add a little seawater to it, and then
often use for childbirth or other special purposes, and
place a pinch of the snuff between their lips and gums. The
which they also preserve as relics. (Herrera, 1937,
Island Arawak, on the other hand, sometimes did inhale to-
p. 69; my trans.)
bacco smoke through their nostrils. But its use was limited.
If a patient died, it was thought to be because the piaie had
Generally there is no evidence that tobacco was burned dur-
not observed the proper diet. The Island Arawak were not
ing ceremonies.
very tolerant of unsuccessful healers, and it was not uncom-
Throwing aji (pepper) onto live coals was part of Island
mon for a healer to be seized by a deceased person’s relatives
Arawak and Island Carib preparations for warfare. Ricardo
who would strike him with a stick until his arms and legs
E. Alegría (1979) contends that the pepper caused irritation
were broken, gouge out his eyes, and lacerate his private
of the mucous membrane, a racking cough, and other dis-
parts.
comforts that were thought to induce the proper psychologi-
Alfred Métraux (1949), in his overview of shamanism
cal state for war.
in South America, states that in most instances the role of
SHAMANISM. The distinction between shamans, who are said
the religious leader was distinct from that of the political
to obtain their power directly from the supernatural, and
leader, but this distinction between political and religious au-
priests, who must learn a body of ritual knowledge from es-
thority does not seem to have been as pronounced among
tablished practitioners, is not useful in distinguishing Island
the Island Arawak. For example, Rouse (1948) points out
Arawak religious leaders (variously known as piaies, behutios,
that it is unclear whether the chief and his attendants (the
buhitihus, behiques) from Island Carib leaders known as
principal men of the village) were also shamans. The atten-
boyés. Although the role of the piaie appears to have been
dants, he notes, had a special name, bohuti, and were of such
more priestlike than that of the boyé, similarities among piaies
high status that they customarily refused to accept common-
and boyés far exceed their differences.
ers as patients.
Island Arawak. Major duties of the Arawak piaie were
Island Carib. The Island Carib maintained a rigid dis-
to divine the future by consulting their personal zemiis and
tinction between political and religious authority. There are
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CARIBBEAN RELIGIONS: PRE-COLUMBIAN RELIGIONS
1431
no reports of healers becoming chiefs or chiefs becoming
to receive a spirit familiar. Shamans who claimed that their
healers. But even in the Lesser Antilles, a certain complicity
knowledge derived solely from their relationship with spirits
between religious and political leaders is apparent. For exam-
probably glossed over their arduous training, wanting instead
ple, a political leader needed a boyé’s support in order to wage
to stress mystical aspects of their careers. The picture they
war, and boyés derived direct economic benefits through their
present of shamanism in the Lesser Antilles is inaccurate.
association with chiefs.
There is, however, no ambiguity concerning the boyé’s
The Carib never went to war without first consulting
authority. While the authority of the war chief may have
the spirit world to find out if conditions were favorable for
been that of a charismatic leader, the authority of the boyé
victory. Since chiefs were unable to make direct contact with
was clearly that of formal investiture. Breton (1665) put it
spirits, they required the services of a boyé whose predictions
succinctly: “The boyés make other people boyés.”
had tremendous impact on public opinion. It would be diffi-
Boyés were perhaps the wealthiest members of their soci-
cult for a war chief to override a boyé’s predictions and carry
ety. While war chiefs and families had considerable control
out expeditions believed to be inauspicious. Shamans never
over the distribution of some resources and war booty, boyés
gained an upper hand, however, for if a chief was dissatisfied
had control over the distribution of goods outside kinship
with one boyé’s prediction, he was free to consult others.
obligations. A boyé’s clientele was not restricted to his kin
Often, several boyés were consulted at once, and the old war
group, and his reputation could well transcend his own is-
chief chose the most “correct” prediction. Given the circum-
land. The boyé Iris’s reputation, for example, extended be-
stances, it was advantageous for both parties when a chief de-
yond his native Dominica (Du Puis, 1972).
veloped a working relationship with a particular shaman who
could be counted on to support his war policies. These rela-
The boyés had great potential for wealth, for there was
tionships often followed kinship lines.
always demand for their services. In times of trouble, they
were called upon to dispel evil spirits; in times of prosperity,
Boyés also needed to develop working relationships with
they were called upon to insure its continuance; and when
chiefs to defray the high costs of apprenticeship. We have no
there was doubt, they gave assurances for the future. Major
clear notion of the actual length of apprenticeship for sha-
religious activities were sacrifice and offerings, both of which
mans among the Island Carib, though in some tribes of the
were ultimately appropriated by the boyés (Rochefort, 1665).
Guianas apprenticeship is said to have lasted from ten to
Offerings consisted of foodstuffs and some durable goods, a
twenty years (Métraux, 1949). This period of training was
portion of which went directly to the shaman in return for
probably considerably shorter among the Carib, but we lack
his services; the remainder, ostensibly for the gods, was ap-
details for all but the final months of preparation:
propriated later for the shaman’s use. Thus shamans had nu-
After a fast of five months, the candidate is brought into
merous occasions to accumulate wealth, and in some cases
the carbet (a place in which things have been set aside)
a shaman may have gotten too wealthy and would be forced
before a table on which manioc bread, ouicou (sweet po-
by public opinion to redistribute part of his property.
tato and manioc beer), and the first fruits of the season
Under certain conditions, senior war chiefs were al-
are placed. An older shaman chants and blows tobacco
lowed to join with the boyés in appropriating offerings in-
smoke to summon his familiar spirit who descends and
sits on a hammock to receive offerings (anaeri). The
tended for the gods. This further differentiates the roles of
elder shaman asks for another spirit to descend and be-
boyé and chief. Only the most senior war chief had the
come his apprentice’s familiar. (Dutertre, 1667–1671,
right to do what any boyé could do from the moment of his
vol. 2, pp. 365–366; my trans.)
initiation.
From this passage, it is clear that five months of training (and
B
possibly more) was required of the would-be shaman. This
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rifice and make payments to senior boyés.
Indies. New Haven, 1983.
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Alexander, Hartley Burr. “The Antilles.” In The Mythology of All
They charged for all services, and I contend that they did not
Races, edited by Louis Herbert Gray, vol. 11, Latin-American
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Mythology, pp. 15–40. Boston, 1920.
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Benzoni, Girolamo. History of the New World (1595). Translated
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Breton, Raymond. Dictionnaire caraïbe-françois. Auxerre, 1665.
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Charlevoix, Pierre-François de. Histoire de l’Ile Espagnole ou de
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Saint-Dominique. 2 vols. Paris, 1930–1931.
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Deive, Carlos Esteban. “Fray Ramón Pané y el nacimiento de la
Morales Patiño, Osvaldo. “Arqueología Cubana, resumen de ac-
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Deive, Carlos Esteban. “El chamanismo taíno.” Boletín del Museo
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Du Puis, Mathias. Relation de l’establissement d’une colonie françoise
de las Indias (1535). 5 vols. Edited by Juan Perez and Tudela
dans la Gardloupe isle de l’Amérique, et des mœurs des sauvages
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les François (1667–1671). 4 vols. Fort-de-France, Marti-
Mexico City, 1978.
nique, 1958.
Pérez de Oliva, Fernán. Historia de la inuención de las Yndias. Ed-
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de las Antillas Mayores. San Juan, Puerto Rico, 1979.
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Pettitjean-Roget, Henri. “De l’origine de la famille humaine ou
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contribution à l’étude des Pierres à Trois-Pointes des Antil-
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53–72.
Study of Pre-Columbian Cultures of the Lesser Antilles,
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pp. 511–530. Montreal, 1983.
Social Organization, and Ethnicity in the Prehistory of Trin-
Rochefort, Charles César de. Histoire naturelle et morale des ïles
idad.” Journal de la Société des Américanistes 68 (1982): 33–
Antilles de l’Amérique. 2d ed. Rotterdam, 1665.
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García Valdés, Pedro. “The Ethnography of the Ciboney.” In
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Glazier, Stephen D. “The Boyé in Island-Carib Culture.” In La
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in the text as 1980a.
the Trail of the Arawaks, by Fred Olsen, pp. xiii–xvi. Nor-
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los Castellanos en las islas y Terrafirme del Mar Océano. 17
Wilbert, Johannes. “Magico-Religious Use of Tobacco among
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South American Indians.” In Spirits, Shamans and Stars: Per-
Hoffman, Charles A. “The Outpost Concept and the Mesoameri-
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can Connection.” In Proceedings of the Eighth International
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Congress for the Study of the Pre-Columbian Cultures of the
article also appears in Cannabis and Culture, edited by Vera
Lesser Antilles, pp. 307–316. Tempe, Ariz., 1980.
D. Rubin (The Hague, 1975), pp. 439–461.
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STEPHEN D. GLAZIER (1987)
1979.
Joyce, Thomas A. Central American and West Indian Archaeology.
London, 1916.
La Borde, Sieur de. Voyage qui contient un relation exacte de
CARIBBEAN RELIGIONS: AFRO-CARIBBEAN
l’origine, mœurs, coûtumes, réligion, guerres, et voyages des Car-
RELIGIONS
aïbes, sauvages des isles Antilles de l’Amérique. Amsterdam,
Most West Indians of African descent are affiliated, at least
1704.
nominally, with a historic Christian denomination or with
Las Casas, Bartolomé de. Historia general de las Indias, 1527–61.
one of the newer sects. In many areas of the West Indies,
2 vols. Edited by Juan Perez de Tudela and Emilio Lopez
however, a number of hybrid religions have attracted large
Oto. Madrid, 1957.
numbers of followers. In Haiti, virtually the entire popula-
Layng, Anthony. The Carib Reserve: Identity and Security in the
tion is in some way involved in vodou. In Jamaica, the Reviv-
West Indies. Lanham, Md., 1983.
alist, Kumina, and Convince cults continuously attract a
Lovén, Sven. Origins of the Tainan Culture, West Indies. Göteborg,
small number of adherents. Wherever such cults are found,
1935.
some persons participate more or less regularly in both a
Métraux, Alfred. “Religion and Shamanism.” In Handbook of
Christian church and a cult, and in times of crisis many who
South American Indians, edited by Julian H. Steward, vol. 5,
ordinarily ignore the cults become involved in their healing
pp. 559–599. Washington, D.C., 1949.
or magical rituals.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CARIBBEAN RELIGIONS: AFRO-CARIBBEAN RELIGIONS
1433
This essay will concentrate on four types of syncretic re-
Catholic saints; others have names of uncertain origin. The
ligious cults found in the Caribbean region, which will be
confusions and contradictions in the beliefs about these be-
called the neo-African cults, the ancestral cults, the revivalist
ings are due in part to contradictions in the Fon religious sys-
cults, and the religio-political cults. The experience of Carib-
tem that the Haitians adopted, and in part to the merging
bean blacks under the political, economic, and domestic con-
of the Fon system with that of the Yoruba (Courlander,
ditions of slavery modified character in a stressful direction,
1960). But the endless variations in these and other beliefs
and those who were most sensitive to the stress advanced in-
concerning the ultimate reality are also the result of the ab-
novative religious and secular systems to deal with their anxi-
sence of a hierarchy in the cult and of written documents.
ety. The new religious institutions consisted of elements of
Erika Bourguignon (1980) suggests that variety and inconsis-
African and European beliefs and practices, and, in some
tency in Haitian vodou have developed, and continue to de-
cases, parts of American Indian and South Asian religious
velop, in part through the mechanism of altered states of
traditions. A number of new religions arose from the interac-
consciousness, particularly in the forms of possession-trance
tion of three major variables: socioeconomic, psychological,
and dreams. In Haiti, possession-trance is not highly stereo-
and cultural. Contingent factors in the development of these
typed and prescribed. During possession-trance, cult leaders
hybrid religions include such ecological and demographic
and members speak and act in the names of the spirits, be-
variables as the degree to which a group of people had been
having in ways that may modify the future performance of
isolated physically and socially from other segments of the
the ritual or the adherents’ perception of the spirits.
population and the proportion of the total population con-
stituted by various ethnic and racial groups (Simpson, 1978).
The grand lwa comprise both nature spirits and func-
Successful religions spread, adapt, and persist after the condi-
tional spirits that are of African origin. Prominent among the
tions that gave rise to them have changed (or changed to
nature spirits are Dambala, the serpent spirit identified with
some extent), and individuals are socialized into accepting
the rainbow and associated with floods; Bade, spirit of the
the revised beliefs and procedures. When this happens, a reli-
winds; Sogbo, a Fon spirit of thunder; Shango (Yor., S:ango),
gion acquires new meanings for its members, and it takes on
the Yoruba spirit of thunder and lightning; and Agwé, spirit
new functions, the most universal of which is the satisfaction
of the sea. The functional lwa include Legba, the Fon guard-
that comes from group activities.
ian of crossroads and all barriers; the Ogou (Yor., Ogun)
family, spirits associated with war; Zaka, associated with
NEO-AFRICAN CULTS. These cults developed during the
crops and agriculture; Ezili, a sea goddess among the Fon,
early stages of cultural contact between persons of European
but transformed in Haiti into the personification of feminine
and African origin, because members of the subordinate
grace and beauty; the members of the Gèdè family, the spirits
group could neither acquire the religion of the dominant
of death; Adja, skilled in the fields of herbs and pharmacy;
group nor participate as comembers in the historic Christian
and Obatala (Yor., O:batala), the Yoruba divinity responsible
denominations. The major cults of this type are Haitian
for forming children in the womb (Herskovits, 1937b; Cour-
vodou, Cuban Santería, and Trinidadian Shango. From the
lander, 1939; Simpson, 1945, 1978; M. Rigaud, 1953;
viewpoint of cultural content, these religions represent the
Métraux, 1959).
most extensive blend of African and European traditions and
rituals in the Caribbean region.
The lwa are also identified with Catholic saints. Thus,
Legba is often believed to be the same as Anthony the Her-
Haitian vodou. The African dances that were per-
mit, but some say that he is Saint Peter, the keeper of the
formed in the seventeenth century by slaves in the western
keys. Dambala is identified with Saint Patrick, on whose
part of the island of Hispaniola and the religious beliefs of
image serpents are depicted. Ogou Ferraille is equated with
the Fon, Siniga, Lemba, Yoruba, and other African peoples
Saint James; while Ogou Balanjo, the healer, is associated
who had been brought to Hispaniola were combined with
with Saint Joseph, who is pictured holding a child whom he
certain beliefs of European folk origin about Roman Catho-
blesses with an upraised hand. Obatala becomes Saint Anne;
lic saints, and, as a result, the neo-African religion of vodou
and Ezili, who is believed to be the richest of all the spirits,
developed. As James G. Leyburn (1966) has noted, the peri-
is identified with Mater Dolorosa and is represented as richly
od from 1780 to 1790, when the importation of slaves to
clothed and bejeweled. The marassa, spirits of dead twins, are
Hispaniola was increasing, saw the emergence of vodou, with
believed to be the twin saints Cosmas and Damian (Price-
a gradual ascendancy of Fon ideas. Finding the rites useful
Mars, 1928; Herskovits, 1937a).
for their cause, revolutionary leaders in the last decades of
the eighteenth century and the early years of the nineteenth
The relationship between vodou adherents and the lwa
century brought about further syntheses.
is thought to be a contractual one; if one is punctilious about
offerings and ceremonies, the lwa will be generous with their
The supernatural phenomena of greatest importance in
aid. The lwa must be paid once or twice a year with an im-
vodou are the lwa, also known as zanj, mistè, and other
pressive ceremony, and small gifts must be presented fre-
names. Many of these have names derived from old African
quently. It is thought that the lwa like blood and that animal
gods, but other deities have names derived from African trib-
sacrifices are the means by which favors may be obtained. It
al or place names, names of Haitian origin, or names of
is believed also that neglect of one’s lwa will result in sick-
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1434
CARIBBEAN RELIGIONS: AFRO-CARIBBEAN RELIGIONS
ness, the death of relatives, crop failure, and other misfor-
O:batala) is Our Lady of Mercy, and Yemaja (Yor., Yemo:ja)
tunes (Simpson, 1980).
is identified with the Virgin of Regla (a suburb of Havana).
Osun (Yor., O:s:un) is associated with the Virgin of Cobre (a
In West Africa, concepts of the “soul” are highly elabo-
town in eastern Cuba), and Osanyin (Yor., O:sanyin) known
rated. In traditional Fon belief, all persons have at least three
for his skill in healing, is identified with Saint Raphael. Ifa,
souls, and adult males have four (Herskovits, 1938). In Hai-
or Orunmila (Yor., O:runmila), the god of divination, is
tian vodou, every man has two souls: the gro bonanj, which
linked with Saint Francis of Assisi. The Ibeji (Yor., “twins”),
animates the body and is similar to the soul in the Christian
who behave like young children, are the counterparts of the
sense, and the ti bonanj, which protects a person against dan-
twin saints Cosmas and Damian. Ogun, the Yoruba god of
gers by day and by night (Métraux, 1946). “Bad” souls are
war and iron, is equated with John the Baptist (Bascom,
said to become “bad” lwa who divide their time between suf-
1951, 1972).
fering in hell and doing evil deeds on earth (Simpson, 1945).
Adherents fear the power of the dead and observe funer-
During a Santería ceremony, the blood of animals sacri-
ary and postfunerary rites meticulously. A wake is held on
ficed to the gods is allowed to flow onto the sacred stones
the night of death; the funeral itself follows and, if possible,
of the santero (Santería priest). Many instances of spirit pos-
is held in accordance with the rites of the Catholic Church.
session during a given cermony indicate that the orishas have
On the ninth night after death is the “last prayer,” and on
been well fed and are satisfied with the ritual offerings. The
the tenth night a ritual is held in which sacrifices are offered
herbs serve to cleanse, refresh, and prepare the devotees and
to all the family dead (Métraux, 1959; Herskovits, 1937b).
ritual objects for contact with the orisha. The blood is the
Also, a family must honor its dead by mentioning their
food of the deities, and the stones are the objects through
names at subsequent ceremonies and, if family finances per-
which they are fed and in which their power resides (Bascom,
mit, by holding memorial services for them annually. In
1950). The lucumis (Afro-Cubans of Yoruba extraction)
vodou belief, the dead rank second only to the lwa, and to
honor each of the gods with choral dances and pantomime
neglect or anger them is to invite disaster. (For accounts of
in accordance with authentic Yoruba tradition (see Ortiz,
vodou cermonies, see Herskovits, 1937b, pp. 155–176;
1951, for a detailed and vivid account of lucumi dances; and
Simpson, 1940; Simpson, 1946; Rigaud, 1946; Métraux,
Simpson, 1978).
1959, pp. 157–212; Courlander, 1960, pp. 41–74.)
The regime of Fidel Castro has not assisted the Afro-
François Duvalier, the dictatorial president of Haiti
Cuban cults and has taken some measures to control their
from 1957 to 1971, successfully exploited vodou for political
expansion (Barrett, 1982). Although in recent years Santería
purposes (Rotberg, 1976). Nevertheless, most observers
has declined in Cuba, the presence of Cuban refugees has
agree that the cult has been weakened in recent years. An im-
stimulated the worship of Shango and the other Yoruba or-
portant factor in its decline has been the decay of the large
isha in the United States. Today many priests and priestesses
extended family in the rural areas. Many of the large cult cen-
officiate in Miami, New York City, Newark, Detroit, Chica-
ters have split up into minor sects under priests whose train-
go, Savannah, Gary, and other cities (Bascom, 1972).
ing has been inadequate. A deepening economic poverty in
The Shango cult in Trinidad. In southwestern Nigeria,
the countryside has brought about the impoverishment of
each Yoruba deity, including S:ango, god of thunder and
ritual there, and with the expansion of urbanization there
lightning, has his or her own priests, followers, and cult cen-
have emerged innovative cult leaders who deal with the prob-
ters. In the Shango cult in Trinidad, Shango is only one of
lems of a heterogeneous clientele rather than with the tradi-
several dozen “powers,” which include twenty or more Yoru-
tional concerns of farming or the demands of ancestral spirits
ba deities (Lewis, 1978). Several non-Yoruba powers—
(Bastide, 1971; Métraux, 1959; Bourguignon, 1980).
especially Gabriel and Mama Latay—are popular in Trini-
Cuban Santería. Most of the non-European elements
dad. Ancient African gods are identified with certain Catho-
in the Afro-Cuban syncretic religion known as Santería are
lic saints, as occurs in Haiti, Grenada, parts of Brazil, Cuba,
derived from Yoruba beliefs and rituals. Animals are sacri-
and other countries in the New World. Among these pair-
ficed to Yoruba deities, Yoruba music is played on African-
ings in Trinidad are Obatala and Saint Benedict; Shango and
type drums, songs with Yoruba words and music are sung,
Saint John; Shakpana and, variously, Moses or Saint Francis
and dancers are possessed by the orisha (Yor., oris:a, “spirit”).
or Saint Jerome; Oshun and Saint Philomena or Saint Anne;
Yoruba foods are cooked for the gods and for devotees, beads
Béji (Ibeji) and Saint Peter; Emanja and Saint Catherine or
of the proper color are worn, and leaves with Yoruba names
Saint Anne; Oya and Saint Philomena or Saint Catherine.
are used in preparing medicines and in washing the stones
Each god has his or her favorite colors, foods, and drinks;
of the ori-sha and the heads of cult members. In Santería,
each is thought to have certain physical traits and to possess
Elegba (Yor., Es:u or E:le:gba) is identified with Saint Peter,
certain powers. In Shango, as in vodou and Santería, partici-
and Shango (Yor., S:ango), god of thunder, is identified with
pants can recognize the major spirits who are well known
Saint Barbara. Shakpana (also Babaluaiye; Yor., S:o:-po:na) is
throughout the country, or the principal spirits known in a
equated with Saint Lazarus. Oya (Yor., O:ya), one of Shan-
given locality, by the stylized behavior of devotees possessed
go’s wives, is the equivalent of Saint Teresita. Obatala (Yor.,
by them (Bourguignon, 1980). For example, Ogun, the god
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CARIBBEAN RELIGIONS: AFRO-CARIBBEAN RELIGIONS
1435
of iron and war, is believed to prefer the colors red and white
but some Kumina gods appear to serve tribes or “nations”
(also the favorite colors of Shango), and rams and roosters
that are African. Of the sixty-two earthbound gods given by
are his preferred offerings. When possessed by Ogun, a Shan-
Moore, at least seven have biblical names (e.g., Moses, Eze-
goist brandishes a sword and behaves in a violent way (Simp-
kiel). The twenty-one ancestral zombies are the spirits of
son, 1978).
men and women who, in their lifetimes, were dancing zom-
bies (persons who experienced possession by a god and who
Each Shango cult center holds an annual ceremony in
danced while possessed), obeah men (sorcerers), and drum-
honor of the orisha known to its worshipers. The four-day
mers (Moore and Simpson, 1957). Most Kumina dances are
ritual begins with the recitation of original prayers, followed
memorial services held to pay respects to the dead ancestors
by several repetitions of the Lord’s Prayer, Hail Mary, and
of the participants, but ceremonies are performed on other
the Apostle’s Creed. The leader then recites in succession
occasions, such as betrothal, marriage, burial, the naming of
prayers such as Saint Francis’s prayer, Saint George’s prayer,
a baby, the anniversary of emancipation, and Independence
and Blessed Martin’s prayer; he recites each prayer line-by-
Day (Moore, 1953; Schuler, 1980).
line, and the worshipers repeat each line after him. Next, in
an act of dismissal, food for the deity Eshu is placed outside
All zombies are invoked through drumming and sing-
the ceremonial area. (The Yoruba deity Es:u is thought both
ing. Songs are of two types: bilah songs, which are sung in
to serve as a messenger among the gods and to be a trickster.)
a dialect of English; and country songs, which are sung in
After Eshu’s ejection, the worshipers invite other powers to
a language referred to as African (accent on the last syllable).
the ceremony by drumming the powers’ favorite rhythms.
Kumina ritual ends with the sacrifice of a goat and the dance
Ogun’s rhythm is the first to be played. Drumming, dancing,
of the Queen of the Kumina and her attendants. In perform-
singing, and spirit possession continue through the night; the
ing ritual, the living members of a family convey their wishes
climax comes at dawn with the sacrificing of pigeons, doves,
to the ancestors (Moore and Simpson, 1957, 1958).
chickens, agoutis, land turtles, goats, and sheep. Similar rites
Convince. The Convince ritual practiced in the Jamai-
are performed on the following three nights, and often a bull
can parishes of Saint Thomas and Portland has a number of
is sacrificed. Aspects of Trinidadian cult life that are closely
Christian elements, but its principal powers are the spirits of
related to African religious behavior include divination, con-
persons who belonged to the cult during their lifetime. The
juring, and folk medicine, which are often strikingly similar
most powerful bongo ghosts come from Africa, but the spirits
to West African procedures (Simpson, 1978).
of ancient Jamaican slaves and the Maroons (descendants of
In recent decades, traditional religious, magical, and
runaway slaves), who perpetuated the cult until recent times,
medical beliefs have been undermined to some extent by the
are also of importance. The spirits of Jamaicans more recent-
expansion of education, the growth of medical and social ser-
ly departed are less powerful than the other ghosts, but those
vices, and the influence of mass communication. Trinidadi-
who practiced obeah (“conjuration”) in their lifetime are used
an Shango has also been modified by the intermixture of
by bongo men (i.e., Convince devotees) as partners in divina-
some of its aspects with the Spiritual Baptist (Shouters) com-
tion and conjuring. Each bongo man operates independently,
plex (Simpson, 1978). There are many similarities between
and each has one or more assistants called apprentices or
the Shango cult of Trinidad and that of Grenada (Pollak-
grooms. In addition, a number of lesser followers are at-
Eltz, 1968; Simpson, 1978).
tached to each cult group, including some persons who are
A
devout Christians (Hogg, 1960).
NCESTRAL CULTS. The second type of hybrid religious cult
in the Caribbean, called the ancestral cult, has fewer African
Each bongo man holds a sacrificial ceremony annually
and more European components than does the neo-African-
and conducts Convince rites as the need for them arises.
type religion. The Kumina and Convince cults and the Kro-
Christian prayers, the reading of Bible passages, and hymn
manti Dance in Jamaica, the Big Drum Dance of Grenada
singing precede the main ceremony. Special bongo songs,
and Carriacou, Kele in Saint Lucia, and the religion of the
hand clapping, and dances performed by bongo men call the
Black Carib of Belize exemplify this kind of syncretic
spirits to the ceremony. Later, the spirits of the ancestors
religion.
(that is, devotees possessed by the ghosts) dance.
Kumina. According to Monica Schuler (1980),
According to Donald Hogg (1960), such traits as blood
Kumina did not originate among plantation slaves of the
sacrifice, vigorous possession-trance behavior, the materialis-
eighteenth century but was brought to Jamaica by post-
tic purposes of ceremonies, the involvement with divination
emancipation immigrants from central Africa who chiefly
and conjuring, religious dancing, the worship of ancestral
settled in the eastern parish of Saint Thomas. Kumina is pri-
spirits, and the propitiation of potentially malevolent beings
marily a family religion, and each group honors a number
almost certainly have African antecedents. In these respects
of family spirits in addition to other divinities. The three
Convince, like Kumina, shows greater African influence than
ranks of Kumina spirits (known as zombies) are the sky gods,
do the Revival Zion, Pocomania, and Rastafarian cults in Ja-
the earthbound gods, and ancestral zombies. Among the
maica. Once a nativistic movement, Convince has so de-
thirty-nine sky gods listed by Joseph G. Moore (1953), only
clined since the 1950s that it now provides mainly jollifica-
one (Shango) clearly has the name of a West African deity,
tion and catharsis.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1436
CARIBBEAN RELIGIONS: AFRO-CARIBBEAN RELIGIONS
The Kromanti Dance. The traditional religion of the
ed by immigrants from the Caribbean. Present-day devotees
descendants of “Maroons,” escaped slaves of the seventeenth
in Saint Lucia seem to be unaware that Shango (S:ango) is
and eighteenth centuries in Jamaica, is known as the Kro-
the deity of thunder and lightning in traditional West Afri-
manti Dance. One supreme deity, Yankipong, is believed to
can belief. To these believers, Shango is simply the name of
be remote from human affairs. The spirits of the dead, called
the thunderstones that enable the living to get in touch with
duppies, jumbies, or bigi-man, have the power to work good
their African ancestors.
or evil in the daily lives of their descendants, and this power
Following some preliminary drumming, singing, and
is referred to by the term obeah or by the more modern term
dancing, the leader of a Kele ceremony asks the ancestors to
science. No Kromanti Dance can be successful without one
intercede with God on behalf of the sponsor of the occasion.
or more of the participants becoming possessed by the spirit
A ram is then sacrificed to the ancestors. Communication
of an ancestor. Most Kromanti Dance ceremonies require the
with God is achieved through possession; the ancestors enter
sacrifice of an animal to the pakit (ancestral spirit) of the fete-
the bodies of some of the men participating in the ceremony.
man (ritual specialist). Although the Kromanti Dance is a
After the ram has been cooked, morsels of the meat, as well
separate tradition, it bears some similarity to both Kumina
as portions of yams, rice, and other foods, are thrown on the
and Convince (Bilby, 1981, pp. 52–101).
ground as offerings to Shango—that is, to the African ances-
The Big Drum Dance in Grenada and Carriacou. For
tors. Saint Lucia is a predominantly Catholic country, and
numerous residents of Grenada and Carriacou, performing
some devotees of the cult are active Catholics.
the Big Drum Dance (also known as the Nation Dance, or
Ancestral cult of the Black Carib of Belize. The Black
Saraca—“sacrifice”) is a show of respect to their ancestors.
Carib of Belize are descendants of African slaves who escaped
In Carriacou, many persons can still recount the African “na-
from other parts of the West Indies and settled first among
tions,” traced patrilineally, to which they belong. Usually
the Island Carib in Saint Vincent. At the end of the eigh-
this ceremony is a family occasion, but it may be put on by
teenth century, they were deported by the English to Roatan,
members of an occupational group—for example, fishermen.
an island in the Gulf of Honduras, and later they spread out
Various reasons are given for organizing a festival: to counter
along the coast of the mainland. The Black Carib of Belize
the ill health or misfortune of a friend or relative, to dedicate
speak a South American Indian language, and, as Douglas
a tombstone for a deceased family member, to start a critical-
MacRae Taylor has noted, their “outward cultural manifesta-
ly important undertaking, or to launch the marriage prepara-
tions differ but little, in the main, from their neighbors”
tions of a son or daughter. Offerings of food are prepared for
(Taylor, 1951, p. 37; Stone, 1953, pp. 1–3).
the ancestors and the guests, a space is provided where the
spirits of the ancestors can dance, the ancestors are sum-
The supernatural beliefs, rites, and practices of the Black
moned, and the “beg pardon” dance is performed, during
Carib are a mixture of African and non-African elements.
which family members kneel and sing, asking the ancestors
Singing, drumming, and dancing are intended to placate the
to pardon them for any wrongdoing (Pearse, 1956). In Car-
ancestors of the family giving the ceremony, and some partic-
riacou, as M. G. Smith (1971) has noted, Christianity and
ipants become possessed by the spirits of their deceased an-
the ancestral cult are complementary, each supplying what
cestors, as occurs in Kumina and Convince in Jamaica, the
the other lacks.
Big Drum in Grenada and Carriacou, and Kele in Saint
Lucia. Sacrifices of food and drink are offered periodically
The Kele cult in Saint Lucia. The Kele ceremony in
to the spirits of the ancestors; some offerings are taken out
Saint Lucia resembles, in attenuated form, the Shango ritual
to sea and thrown into the water.
in Trinidad. The ritual is performed to ask the ancestors of
devotees for health, protection against misfortune in agricul-
Most of the Black Carib are professed Christians and,
ture, and success in important undertakings, as well as to
in the main, Catholics. They see no inconsistency between
thank the forebears for past favors. The paraphernalia essen-
their Christian faith and non-Christian beliefs. The ancestral
tial for the Kele rite consists mainly of Amerindian polished
spirits are regarded as subordinate to the Christian God, and
stone axes (which are called pièrres tonnerres, “thunder-
the evil forces of the universe are manifestations of Satan
stones,” by devotees, who believe them to have fallen from
(Taylor, 1951).
the sky), drums, and agricultural implements such as ma-
REVIVALIST CULTS. The third type of Afro-Caribbean reli-
chetes, axes, hoes, and forks. Several of the stone axes are
gious syncretism, the revivalist cult, descends from the Afro-
placed on the ground to form a cross, with additional axes
Protestant cults of the late eighteenth century and, in the case
arranged around the central grouping (Simpson, 1973; Sim-
of Jamaica, from the Great Revival of 1861–1862. Revival
mons, 1963).
Zion in Jamaica, the Spiritual Baptists (Shouters) of Trini-
dad, and the Shakers of Saint Vincent typify this kind of cult.
The stone axes, addressed as “Shango,” symbolize the
African ancestors of the Saint Lucians who participate in
Revival Zion. For nearly a hundred years after England
Kele. Thunderstones constitute one of the principal symbols
acquired Jamaica in 1655, no missionary work was carried
of Shango in West Africa, Haiti, Cuba, Trinidad, Grenada,
on on the island. The official missionary movement did not
and urban areas of the United States that are heavily populat-
begin until the 1820s. A religious movement known as
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CARIBBEAN RELIGIONS: AFRO-CARIBBEAN RELIGIONS
1437
Myalism emerged in the 1760s to protect slaves against Eu-
make ritual offerings to the spirits “of the sea, the land, and
ropean sorcery. This “native” Baptist movement was without
the river,” and occasionally a Shango “power” may enter a
serious competition during the forty-year period (1780–
person who is taking part in a ritual. In Trinidad, important
1820) when a reinterpretation of Christianity spread across
relationships exist between Spiritual Baptists and Shango
Jamaica. Rent and wage disputes between planters and work-
groups. (The Shango cult is not found in Jamaica). Shango-
ers were common after the abolition of apprenticeship in
ists as well as Shouters need to be baptized, and only a Shout-
1838. In 1841–1842, Myalists preached the millenarian
ers pastor of some standing can perform this service. In addi-
message that they were God’s angels, appointed to do the
tion, “mourning” and “building”—optional rites taken by
work of the Lord, and their wrath was directed against both
some members of both cults—are conducted by Spiritual
planters and missionaries. The authorities took severe mea-
Baptist leaders. Many Shouters attend the annual ceremonies
sures against the movement. Popular interest in separatist
staged by different Shango cult groups, and like their coun-
churches, as well as in regular missions, was stimulated by
terparts in syncretic cults elsewhere in the Caribbean, some
the Great Revival which swept over the island in 1861–1862,
adherents participate at times in the services of more ortho-
but the enthusiasm dwindled within a short time. The hy-
dox religions (Simpson, 1978; Glazier, 1983).
brid religion of the Myalists, or Black Baptists, which includ-
Spiritual Baptists are often men and women of the lower
ed dancing, drumming, and spirit possession, resurfaced in
classes. Most are of African descent, but a few East Indians
1866. Subsequently, the vitality of this movement was seen
do participate in the cult. Throughout the Caribbean in re-
in the multiplication and flourishing of black revivalist cults
cent decades, most of the neo-African cults, the ancestral
(Curtin, 1955; Schuler, 1979).
cults, and the revivalist cults, as well as many of the historical
Adherents of Revival Zion and the related sects of Re-
churches, have lost membership, while the Pentecostal, Holi-
vival and Pocomania do not identify old African gods with
ness, and Adventist sects and the Rastafarian movement have
Christian saints as do participants in vodou (Haiti), Santería
made impressive gains (Simpson, 1978).
(Cuba), and Shango (Brazil, Trinidad, Grenada). The Holy
The Shakers of Saint Vincent. English rule of the is-
Spirit possesses followers during revivalist ceremonies, as do
land of Saint Vincent began in 1783, and the first direct reli-
the spirits of Old Testament figures such as Jeremiah, Isaiah,
gious influence intended for the slave population was
Joshua, Moses, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; New
brought to the island by a Methodist missionary in 1787.
Testament apostles and evangelists such as Matthew, Mark,
The Shaker cult, which goes back to at least the early part
Luke, John, Peter, and James; the archangels Michael, Gabri-
of the twentieth century, has a Methodist base, with an ad-
el and Raphael; Satan and his chief assistant, Rutibel; beings
mixture of elements of other Christian denominational tradi-
from Hebrew magical tradition, such as Uriel, Ariel, Seraph,
tions (Anglicanism, Roman Catholicism, Pentecostalism),
Nathaniel, and Tharsis; Constantine, Melshezdek, and the
modified African religious traits, and elements developed lo-
Royal Angel; and the dead, especially prominent revivalist
cally. An important feature of this religion is the mild state
leaders of the past (Moore and Simpson, 1957; Simpson,
of dissociation, attributed to possession by the Holy Ghost,
1978).
that some of its adherents experience. The range of Shaker
Drumming, hymn singing, hand clapping, praying,
services and the rituals themselves are similar to those of the
Bible reading, spirit possession, and intermittent commen-
Spiritual Baptists of Trinidad (Henney, 1974).
tary by the leader are main features of the weekly services,
RELIGIO-POLITICAL CULTS. The fourth cult type appears
as is “spiritual” dancing, in which leading participants circle
when a society is undergoing severe reorganization, as was
the altar counterclockwise, stamping first with their right feet
the case in Jamaica with the unrest that accompanied the
and then with their left, bending their bodies forward and
Great Depression of the 1930s. The Rastafarian movement,
then straightening up, hyperventilating, and groaning rhyth-
which appeared in the island during this period, is a mixture
mically. Special revivalist rituals include baptismal ceremo-
of social protest and religious doctrine and so may be called
nies, death rites (wake, funeral, “ninth night,” “forty days,”
a religio-political cult.
and memorial services held after one or more years have
passed since the death), and the dedication of a meeting
Rastafarianism. An important factor underlying the
place. “Tables” (feasts) are given to thank the spirits for assis-
rise of Rastafarianism is that, since at least the beginning of
tance or to seek deliverance from trouble (Simpson, 1956).
the twentieth century, Jamaican blacks have identified with
Ethiopia on account of its biblical symbolism. The verse
Spiritual Baptists (Shouters) of Trinidad. In many
most often cited is Psalms 68:31: “Princes come out of Egypt;
ways, the Spiritual Baptist cult (Shouters) in Trinidad is sim-
Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands unto God.” Be-
ilar to Revival Zion in Jamaica, but there are several notewor-
tween 1904 and 1927, Ethiopianism came to the attention
thy differences. Among the Shouters, no drums or rattles ac-
of Jamaicans through several essays, articles, and books pub-
company hymn singing. Spiritual Baptists do not become
lished in Jamaica and in the United States. The early 1930s
possessed by the wide variety of spirits that possess Revivalists
saw the founding of a number of associations for black peo-
in Jamaica; as a rule, devotees are possessed only by the Holy
ple and the emegence of the Rastafarian movement, named
Spirit. Certain groups among the Shouters do, however,
after Ras (“prince”) Tafari, who was crowned emperor Haile
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1438
CARIBBEAN RELIGIONS: AFRO-CARIBBEAN RELIGIONS
Selassie of Ethiopia (Abyssinia) in November 1930. Marcus
plex doctrinally. This growth continued through the 1970s
Garvey had formed the Universal Negro Improvement Asso-
and the early 1980s. Membership—both the fully commit-
ciation in Jamaica in 1914, and his doctrine of racial redemp-
ted and partially committed—came to be drawn from all le-
tion, together with the coronation of Haile Selassie, fur-
vels of the society. The more militant Rastafarians insisted
thered interest in the Ethiopian tradition (Hill, 1980).
that deliverance from poverty, unemployment, and humilia-
tion must come from forces within Jamaica and not from
Since emancipation, persons on the lower rungs of Ja-
Haile Selassie or Haile Selassie’s spirit. Repatriation to Africa
maican society have struggled continuously against exploita-
received less emphasis as some bands began to stress black
tion. Higher wages, the granting of civil and political rights,
power and “the africanization of Jamaica” (employment, ed-
and other gains have come slowly, and often against bitter
ucation, and use of the country’s resources are to benefit per-
opposition. In the early 1930s, the basic issues for rural Ja-
sons of African descent; see Nettleford, 1970; Barrett, 1974;
maicans were land, rent, and taxation, and their struggles
Simpson, 1978).
over these questions gave rise to the millenarian visions of
the Rastafarian movement. In that period, Rastafarians were
The militancy of present-day Rastafarianism is seen
subjected to intense police pressure in Saint Thomas and
clearly in its concept of a modern Babylon that includes Brit-
neighboring parishes. It is likely that the Rastafarian mille-
ain, the former colonial power; the United States, the present
narianism, with its vision of black domination, served as a
major industrial power; the bourgeois state of Jamaica; and
catalyst in bringing about the labor uprisings of 1938 (Hill,
the church. Babylon is said to be the source of Jamaica’s mis-
1981).
fortunes (Chevannes, 1977). A recent theme of the move-
ment has to do with its concept of nature. In Rastafarian
In 1953, Rastafarianism bore strong resemblance to re-
thought nature is nonindustrial society; and this underlies
vivalism in organizational and ritual patterns. The small, in-
certain aspects of Rastafarian lifestyle—for example, dietary
dependent groups of both movements had similar sets of of-
rules, uncombed locks and beards, and the importance of
ficers, festivals, and ritual procedures, including the reading
ganja (Chevannes, 1977).
of passages from the Bible and the singing of hymns (modi-
fied in the case of the Rastafarians to fit the doctrines of the
Since the early 1960s, Rastafarianism has played an im-
cult), but important differences existed. Drumming, danc-
portant role in the evolution of Jamaican popular music. The
ing, and spirit possession were prominent features of revival-
rhythm of the Rastafarians’ akete drums influenced the devel-
ism, but they never occurred in a Rastafarian gathering
opment of the fast rhythm called ska, and the ska form has
(Simpson, 1955). Beards and dreadlocks were present among
developed into reggae. Most reggae songs contain caustic so-
Rastafarians but were not important aspects of the move-
cial comments, but they also praise Ras Tafari, Jamaican he-
ment in the early fifties, nor was the place given to ganja
roes, freedom, and ganja (Barrett, 1977; Chevannes, 1977).
(marijuana). Rastafarianism was, however, antiestablishment
In the poetry and prose written by contemporary Rastafari-
and bitter on the racial question (Chevannes, 1977). Revival-
ans awareness of an African identity and of Africa itself is a
ism had no political significance in 1953; its adherents were
main theme (Johnson, 1980).
mainly concerned about personal salvation (Simpson, 1956).
Rastafarianism is not a unified movement (Campbell,
1980). Many of the brethren gather in small, informal bodies
According to Rastafarian doctrines in 1953, (1) black
and are not affiliated with organized groups. Many Rastafari-
people were exiled to the West Indies because of their trans-
ans refuse to take part in elections on the grounds that nei-
gressions; (2) the white man is inferior to the black man; (3)
ther of Jamaica’s two political parties represents them. In re-
the Jamaican situation is hopeless; (4) Ethiopia is heaven; (5)
cent times, however, some Rastafarians have played an
Haile Selassie is the living God; (6) the emperor of Abyssinia
increasingly active role in politics (Smith, Augier, and Net-
will arrange for expatriated persons of African descent to re-
tleford, 1960; Chevannes, 1977).
turn to the homeland; and (7) black men will soon get their
revenge by compelling white men to serve them (Simpson,
Rastafarian culture has spread to other parts of the Ca-
1955). These remain the basic beliefs of the movement, but
ribbean, and Rastafarian art, poetry, music, and philosophy
not all adherents subscribe to all of them, nor do they give
are well known in London, Paris, and other cities in Western
them equal emphasis. Rastafarians reinterpret the Old Testa-
Europe and the United States. Rastafarian music has been
ment in claiming that they are true present-day prophets, the
diffused to a number of African countries (Campbell, 1980).
“reincarnated Moseses, Joshuas, Isaiahs, and Jeremiahs.”
The dethronement of Haile Selassie in 1974 and his
They also believe that they are “destined to free the scattered
death the following year have not resulted in a decline of the
Ethiopians who are black men” (Nettleford, 1970,
movement. Rastafarianism arose out of certain conditions in
pp. 108–109).
Jamaica and in other countries of the Caribbean and has con-
tinued because those conditions, as well as the international
As revivalism began to decline in the mid-1950s, many
situation, have not changed appreciably (Barrett, 1977).
of its followers were attracted to Rastafarianism and became
active participants in the movement, or sympathizers (Smith,
SEE ALSO Christianity, article on Christianity in the Carib-
Augier, and Nettleford, 1960). Between 1953 and 1960, the
bean Region; Fon and Ewe Religion; Santería; Vodou; West
Rastafarian movement grew rapidly and became more com-
African Religions; Yoruba 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
CARIBBEAN RELIGIONS: AFRO-CARIBBEAN RELIGIONS
1439
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Laguerre, Michel S. Vodou Heritage. Beverly Hills, Calif., 1980.
Simpson, George E. “The Kele Cult in St. Lucia.” Caribbean
Lewis, Maureen Warner. “Yoruba Religion in Trinidad: Transfer
Studies 13 (October 1973): 110–116.
and Reinterpretation.” Caribbean Quarterly 24 (September–
Simpson, George E. Black Religions in the New World. New York,
December 1978): 18–32.
1978.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1440
CARMATHIANS
Simpson, George E. “Ideas about Ultimate Reality and Meaning
odies of power and order, as seen in the dramatization of the
in Haitian Vodun.” Ultimate Reality and Meaning (Toronto)
Jester King, and the element of exaggeration, both in terms
3 (1980): 187–199.
of libidinous excesses and in the inordinate consumption of
Smith, M. G. “A Note on Truth, Fact, and Tradition in Carria-
food and drink, have also become prominent characteristics
cou.” Caribbean Quarterly 17 (September–December 1971):
of Carnival. This unruliness that temporarily suspends the
128–138.
recognized world order has the corollary of introducing a
Smith, M. G., Roy Augier, and Rex M. Nettleford. The Ras Tafari
contrast to the parameters of daily life. In other words, these
Movement in Kingston, Jamaica. Mona, Jamaica, 1960.
cyclical rituals of disorder and rebellion show themselves in-
Stone, Doris. The Black Caribs of Honduras. Ethnic Folkways Li-
capable of administering real life because they foster the con-
brary P 435.
fusion of roles, licentiousness, and the mockery of power;
Taylor, Douglas MacRae. The Black Carib of British Honduras.
they thus serve as a reminder of the necessity for order, which
New York, 1951.
is reestablished at their conclusion.
GEORGE EATON SIMPSON (1987)
In Rabelais and His World (Cambridge, Mass., 1968)
the Russian essayist Mikhail Bakhtin presents an interesting
interpretation of the meaning of Carnival in the context of
CARMATHIANS SEE QARA¯MIT:AH
the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. He treats Carnival as
the most evident expression of a joking popular culture with
its roots in the Roman Saturnalias, which reflected the play-
ful, irreverent side of human nature and the indestructible
CARNIVAL. The Christian festival called Carnival takes
festive element in all human civilizations. During the whole
place on Shrove Tuesday, the eve of Ash Wednesday. In its
of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, this culture of
widest sense, however, the Carnival period is of much longer
laughter resisted the official, serious culture. In opposition
duration, beginning right after Christmas, the New Year, or
to the mysticism and dogmatism of the ecclesiastical culture
the Feast of Epiphany, depending on the region.
and rigidity of the prevailing political structures, the joking
The etymological roots of the name Carnival may be the
popular culture revealed a world in which a playful mutabili-
Latin caro (“meat”) and levara (“to remove, to take away”),
ty was possible and provided an experience, at once symbolic
which in vulgar Latin became carne levamen, and afterward
and concrete, of the suspension of social barriers. By drama-
carne vale. Some etymologists also link it to carnis levamen,
tizing the comic and relative side of absolute truths and su-
“the pleasure of meat,” the farewell to which is celebrated in
preme authorities, it highlighted the ambivalence of reality,
the festivities that come immediately before the prohibitions
coming to represent the power of both absolute liberty and
of Lent. Another hypothesis links it etymologically to the
farce.
carrus navalis, the horse-drawn, boat-shaped carriage that
was paraded in Roman festivals in honor of Saturn, carrying
Using these distinctions, Bakhtin contrasts the official
men and women who, in fancy dress and wearing masks,
and ecclesiastical ceremonies of ordered society with the fes-
sang obscene songs.
tivities of carnivalesque culture. He characterizes the former
as rituals of inequality because they reinforce the dominant
If it is problematic to identify the etymological roots of
order and seek justification of the present in the past. The
Carnival, it becomes even more difficult to determine the
historical origins of the celebration itself. However, the
latter he regards as rituals of equality because they parody the
Roman feasts of Saturn, the Saturnalias, are generally recog-
stratification of power and the cult of religion, as well as pro-
nized as the ancient forerunner of Carnival festivities. They
vide a symbolic suspension of norms and privileges, harbor-
embodied the essential carnival spirit, strongly characterized
ing a seed of social reaction in satire.
by the transgression of daily conventions and excesses of be-
Thus, inversion is universally at the root of Carnival
havior. In these feasts, which took place in the midst of great
symbolism, and explains the presence of such customs as
licentiousness, slaves banqueted together with their masters,
transvestite costume, or clothes worn inside out, the poor
whom they insulted and admonished. From among them
playing the role of the rich, and the weak that of the power-
was elected a King of Chaos who, for the period of Saturnalia
ful. This interpretive perspective also makes sense of the sym-
only, enjoyed full rights to his master’s concubines, and gave
bolism of death, common in Carnival celebrations; here it
ridiculous orders that had to be obeyed by everyone. At the
implies revitalization. Similarly, the dethroning and burning
end of the festivities, however, he was unthroned and, in the
in effigy of the Jester King marks the end of a cycle and sug-
earliest form of the rite, sacrificed to signal a return to order.
gests the commencement of another, and the scatological ag-
Although far in meaning from the Christian Carnival,
gressions with bodily materials like urine are a symbolic com-
these Roman rituals contained some elements that would
ponent implying fertilization. From this point of view, one
come to define the later and more universal concept of the
can also amplify the concept of “carnivalization” to include
feast. The inversion of prevailing norms—as when servants
all the symbolic processes that bring about transformations
rule masters—is of particular importance; the burlesque par-
in the representation of social reality.
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CARNIVAL
1441
The most notable carnivalization of late medieval Euro-
Paris in 1444. This circular maintained that just as ferment-
pean society was to be found in the Feast of Fools, also called
ing barrels of wine sometimes need ventilation to prevent
the Feast of Innocents. Although it took place in churches
them from exploding, the wine of human madness must have
between Christmas and Epiphany, this festival was both an
an outlet at least once a year in order to transform itself into
extreme satire of the mannerisms and mores of the court and
the good wine of pious devotion.
the high church and a radical mockery of ecclesiastical struc-
The Feast of Fools continued for a long time in France.
ture and religious doctrine. The low church and the lower
It was still a solidly institutionalized event in Nice in the sev-
orders played an important part in it, while the high church
enteenth century, when various secular laws were passed to
and the nobility were its principal targets.
regulate the structuring of the profane “Abbeys of the Fools”
For the festival, a King of the Fools or a Boy Bishop,
and to formalize the powers of the “Abbots of the Fools.” At
chosen from among the local choir boys, was elected to act
the same time, ecclesiastical decrees attempted to prevent the
out a parody of episcopal functions, including the distribu-
previously uncontrolled participation of the low church in
tion of blessings to the crowd from a balcony. A comic ver-
the carnivalesque festivities and dances and bind them to
sion of the holy mass was enacted, in which obscene parodies
their liturgical duties on the relevant days.
such as “The Liturgy of the Drunkards,” “The Liturgy of the
Gamblers,” and “The Will of the Ass” were substituted for
As a result of the Nice ordinance in 1539, the carni-
the canticles and prayers. Masked and painted, wearing the
valesque balls were subdivided into four categories, namely,
garb of the high church or dressed up as women, the revelers
those of the nobles, the merchants, the artisans, and the la-
danced freely in the cathedrals and banqueted on the altars.
borers. Each was the responsibility of one Abbot of the Fools,
The burning of old shoes and excrement replaced incense.
aided by a certain number of “monks,” who policed the ball.
Meanwhile, riotous processions of other revelers, wearing
The “abbots” were responsible for maintaining order, for
goat and horse masks, paraded dancing and singing through
making sure that only those suitably dressed, unarmed, and
the streets.
wearing masks, entered, and for preventing members of a dif-
ferent category from attending the wrong ball. The ruling of
Dances in churches are not totally unheard of in the his-
1612 increased the number of Abbeys of the Fools to ten and
tory of Christianity; so-called shrine dances, for example,
gave the Abbots of the Fools the artistic function of directing
were frequent in the first centuries of its development. How-
the musicians as well as the right to dance at the balls.
ever, with the consolidation and institutionalization of the
church, these dances were gradually abolished. In any case,
The Abbots of the Fools also had the right to collect
the Feast of Fools had an entirely different sense. Its most
charavilh, a tax paid by betrothed widows upon remarriage.
striking characteristic was that of grotesque buffoonery, and
Charavilh itself sometimes brought about a sort of carnival,
in it the carnivalesque inversion was carried to its ultimate
whenever the bridegroom was reluctant to pay it. In such an
extreme. Focusing on the ecclesiastical hierarchy and reli-
instance, the “abbot” would barricade the entrance to his
gious ethics, the Feast of Fools pointed out the critical rela-
house and orchestrate a deafening racket with trumpets and
tions of medieval society and demonstrated that such a soci-
various improvised percussion instruments, such as sauce-
ety was capable of self-criticism.
pans and frying pans, until the recalcitrant newlyweds agreed
to pay. Although charavilh was prohibited in Nice in 1721,
The Feast of the Ass, which took place principally in
it was so deeply rooted in the popular customs of the region
France, was a variation within the same category of rituals
that there are records of its occurrence until the end of the
of carnivalesque inversion. Also part of the Christmas cycle,
nineteenth century.
it theoretically commemorated Mary’s flight to Egypt. The
central character was, however, the ass, or rather the Ass
Nevertheless, by the end of the Middle Ages, the trend
Prince, who was richly adorned and brought in procession
everywhere was to discipline Carnival, restricting the ex-
under a luxurious canopy to the church, where a mass was
tremes of its licentiousness and violence, while encouraging
celebrated in its honor, punctuated with braying noises to
its artistic aspects. To control carnivalesque rebelliousness
which the celebrants responded by also braying.
was, however, the work of centuries. The introduction of
masked balls in the sixteenth century in Italy was the first
For almost a millennium, the Roman Catholic church
step on the festival’s path to a predominantly poetic charac-
attempted, with perceptible difficulty, to control or ban the
ter. Parades of floats began to compete for a place in the dis-
Feast of Fools. One of the first recorded proscriptions dates
orderly street processions. From the combination of these
from the seventh century in Toledo, Spain. That this had lit-
two new currents flowered the fusion of carnival with art.
tle success can be measured by the numerous subsequent
proscriptive edicts up to the sixteenth century, like that of
The rise of the Italian commedia dell’arte played an im-
Dijon, France, in 1552. The Feast of Fools died out only
portant role in the consolidation of the use of masks, lending
with the advent of the Reformation and Counter-
them an artistic character and codifying human types. Previ-
Reformation. Until then, just as it had come under severe
ously, a wide variety of masks had already been featured in
attack, it had also produced its enthusiastic apologists, such
Carnival, so that they were easily assimilated into the com-
as those who wrote the circular of the Theology School of
media dell’arte, a theatrical genre with a close popular affinity
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1442
CARNIVAL
to the festival, imbued with a similar spirit of social satire.
in the fifteenth century, it was transferred to the Via Latta,
The commedia dell’arte selected several types of masks from
which became the traditional setting for the carnivalesque
the carnivalesque repertory and reduced these to a certain
parades called Corso. The Roman Carnival was essentially
number of character types, translating regional and psycho-
a series of masquerades and horse parades—these abolished
logical characteristics which, as they evolved, became more
only in 1833—culminating on Shrove Tuesday with an im-
abstract and universal. It drew strongly on regional inspira-
pressive candlelight procession, in which the participants,
tion and referred to events in the day-to-day Italian life of
shouting “Death to him who has no candle,” tried in whatev-
the time, as is the nature of improvised theater. From these
er ways they could to put out one another’s candles. In the
traditions emerged its famous characters, who, in a stylized
carnivalesque revelry, the literal meaning of the threat of
form, dominated the three subsequent centuries of the carni-
death was tempered, blending into the essential ambivalence
valesque scenario in Europe. The characters of the commedia
of Carnival imagery. The procession ended with a Pantagru-
dell’arte embodied various satirical social types of the Italy of
elian feast in the early morning of Ash Wednesday, during
that period: Pantaloon, for example, was the rich, greedy,
which immense quantities of meat were consumed in antici-
and libidinous merchant; the Doctor represented the pedan-
pation of the Lenten fast to follow.
tic drunkard and charlatan; and the Captain was boastful and
full of bravado, but a complete coward. Harlequin, Colom-
As a result of the Romantic movement, the following
bine, and Pulcinella are the most famous of these figures.
centuries saw a growing beautification of Carnival. Flowered
With time, all modified their characteristics. Initially, Harle-
carriages, parades, allegorical floats that grew ever more ma-
quin represented the ignorant rustic who thought himself in-
jestic and complex, and fancy-dress balls became permanent
telligent and whose poverty was evident in the patches, later
features of the celebration, wherever it still existed. The ele-
sophisticated into lozenges, on his clothes. Pulcinella be-
ments of violence lessened: fighting, verbal abuse, and the
longed to the same category of clowns and buffoons, though
various forms of mock aggression—water jets, the hurling of
he was also crafty, as did Colombine, who evolved from a
oranges, plaster confetti—gradually gave way to battles of
simple peasant girl to a calculating and extremely cunning
flowers and colored paper confetti that were the new and
maidservant. From the fusion of the commedia dell’arte with
prominent aspect of nineteenth-century street Carnival. In
the masquerades of other cultures came a number of other
this way, the masses of revelers were gradually transformed
characters, such as Pierrot, from France, who became an eter-
from participants to spectators, to the detriment of the heter-
nally present and central character in Carnival.
ogeneous character of the festival, which had been for every-
one and everywhere, unfocused and without privileged ac-
The commedia dell’arte and the Italian Carnival had
tors. In proportion as the crowds grew more controlled, the
much in common, as a result of their shared spirit of buf-
festival became spatially more limited, subordinated to ratio-
foonery and improvisation, each making the other more col-
nal organization, diminishing the spirit of carnivalesque im-
orful and fertile. In Renaissance Florence, Carnival songs
provisation and burlesque satire. In Nice, for example, where
made fun of the private lives of certain social groups, with
Carnival still preserved its rich tradition, a festival committee
themes like “the goldsmith’s song,” “the song of the poor
was set up in 1873. The functions of this committee were
who accept charity,” and “the song of the young wives and
to organize the festivities, parades, and flower battles and to
the old husbands”; by means of their festive ambivalence,
award prizes for the allegorical floats, functions that still exist
they revealed the ridiculous—and usually censored—side of
today.
social conventions. Under the patronage of the Medici fami-
ly, the Florentine Carnival was typified by the singing of
These artistic and commercial innovations passed by the
these songs on flower-covered, ornamented triumphal carts,
Carnival in Portugal. The typical form of Portuguese Carni-
which were the models for the later Carnival floats of the Ba-
val, like that of the whole Iberian Peninsula, was the Entru-
roque and Romantic periods. In Turin, too, there were pa-
do, a rowdy celebration in which flour, eggs, lupines, mud,
rades of flower-covered carts and floats as well as tourna-
oranges, and lemons were thrown on passersby. Dirty water,
ments and cavalcades. In Venice, as throughout the Italian
glue, and various other liquids were also poured onto the
Peninsula, masks were the distinguishing feature of Carnival.
crowd, and gloves heavy with sand were dropped from win-
Celebrated with the great solemnity afforded by the presence
dows. Repeating a common New Year custom, pots and pans
of the doge and Signoria and accompanied by a fireworks
and all sorts of useless kitchen utensils were also thrown out
display, it contrasted with what happened in the streets,
of the windows, perhaps symbolizing the discarding of the
where there were battles between rival groups and a bull was
old, or perhaps heralding the Lenten fast. Fierce battles were
sacrificed. Another element of Venetian Carnival was the
waged with plaster eggs, wax lemons, corncobs, and beans
flight of a man on ropes to the top of the campanile of Saint
blown fiercely through glass or cardboard straws. Blows with
Mark’s, since Carnival was also a time to challenge and exor-
brooms and wooden spoons were dealt out liberally. Apart
cise the forces of nature.
from the violence and filth, the Entrudo was also a Carnival
of gluttony: in the better stocked houses—from whose win-
Carnival in Rome was typified by a complex symbolism
dows cakes and pastries were pitched—guests feasted sump-
of violence, death, and resurrection. In Pope Paul II’s time,
tuously. Even in the convents cakes were widely distributed.
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CARNIVAL
1443
The apogee of the Portuguese Entrudo was in the eigh-
small projectiles, later substituted by wax lemons. During the
teenth century. This coincided with the period of the greatest
Entrudo, so much water was used in Rio de Janeiro that the
popularity and prestige of masked balls in the European
newspapers invariably warned about risks to the city’s water
courts; in 1715, the Royal Music Academy of Paris trans-
supply. The Entrudo was played even in the imperial palace,
formed its opera hall into a ballroom, in use three times a
and whole families with their slaves dedicated weeks on end
week throughout the year. Masks had been prohibited in
to the fabrication of wax lemons. Daniel Kidder, an Ameri-
Portugal since 1689, exactly when they were at the height
can missionary who visited Brazil in the nineteenth century,
of fashion in the rest of Europe. The first masked ball in Lis-
advised in his Sketches of Residence and Travel in Brazil (Phil-
bon took place only in 1785, offered by the Spanish ambas-
adelphia, 1845) that people leaving their houses on these
sador in commemoration of the marriage of Princess Carlota
days should take their umbrellas with them to protect them-
Joaquiná with Prince Joa˜o, but further masques were prohib-
selves against missiles and water.
ited again immediately afterward. So the Entrudo continued
In the mid-nineteenth century, the Brazilian Carnival
to reign largely without rivals.
showed clear signs of transformation. Masked balls were
In Galicia, Spain, the Carnival of flour, eggs, and water
held, though the use of masks had been prohibited during
was similar. It began with a chariot attack by one neighbor-
the whole of the colonial period, just as in Portugal. Proces-
ing village on another and ended with the burial of Señhor
sions of allegorical carriages made their first appearance in
Antroido, for whom a eulogy was written, satirizing the most
1855, in a pompous parade sponsored by competing groups
notable local people and the most notorious events of the
known collectively as the Great Carnivalesque Societies, and
previous year.
this contrasted so strongly with the disorder of the Entrudo
that from then on the characteristics of the street Carnival
In nineteenth-century Portugal, there were flower bat-
began to change. Originally, among these societies there were
tles in Oporto and Lisbon. Nevertheless, the form of Carni-
a considerable number of intellectuals; one of the relevant
val introduced into the American colonies by Portugal and
features of the parade each year was the presence of a “Float
Spain was, in substance, the Entrudo.
of Criticism,” satirizing some important recent political
In Europe, it was a weakened Carnival that greeted the
event, about which satirical poems were also distributed.
contemporary age. In the scientific dogmatists of the end of
With the abolition of slavery at the end of the nine-
the nineteenth century, Carnival inspired suspicion and con-
teenth century, massive rural contingents migrated to the
tempt and was viewed as an irrational, primitive, and inexpli-
larger urban centers, bringing with them a great variety of
cable rite. Lacking spontaneous popular support in Europe,
regional folkloric contributions. In the first decades of the
Carnival has, with rare exceptions, gradually lost its force in
twentieth century, the activities involved in Carnival expand-
the twentieth century, until it has become a subject of inter-
ed, and a multiplicity of organizations, structured to a greater
est chiefly for academics and those who have a strong affec-
or lesser extent, began to make their presence felt in the street
tion for the past.
Carnival.
In Brazil, meanwhile, Carnival assumed the proportions
The Congo, a popular festivity with African roots allud-
of a national festival. Because of Brazil’s multiethnic popula-
ing to the coronation of the “Congolese kings,” began to
tion and nearly continental proportions, its Carnival drew
make its contribution at this time. It was made up of several
on many different cultural and folkloric sources, becoming
elements, among which were processions and warlike dances.
the melting pot of indigenous, African, and European influ-
From these came the majestic Maracatus, making their ap-
ences. Instead of surviving merely as a curious anachronism,
pearance in the Carnival of northeastern Brazil; these are
it is today a living, dynamic phenomenon, modifying itself
choreographed processions derived from the Congo, with
even in conjunction with the modern resources of mass com-
king, queen, and a court of princes, ladies, ambassadors, and
munications. The Brazilian Carnival, like those of all His-
standard- and sunshade-bearers, along with a percussion sec-
panic America, stems from the Iberian Entrudo. Begun with
tion of rhythmic drums and triangles. There was also an in-
the Portuguese colonization in the sixteenth century, the En-
crease in the number of cordo˜es—loose groupings of people
trudo lasted more than three centuries before collapsing in
with masks depicting old people, the Devil, kings, queens,
the first years of the Brazilian republic. Prohibitions against
clowns, Bahian women, Indians, bats, Death, and so forth,
it, however, date from its very introduction. The first re-
who sang and danced frenetically to the accompaniment of
corded one is a decree of 1604, the first of many that pro-
percussion instruments.
duced no result, despite the stipulated punishments. A decree
An innovation in the Carnival of the south of Brazil
of 1853 imposed fines and detention for free men and caning
were the ranchos de reis, which were taken from devotional
and prison sentences for slaves participating in the Entrudo;
Christmas dramatizations performed in procession, repro-
nevertheless, another with identical content had to be issued
ducing the journey of the Three Kings to Bethlehem to visit
in 1857.
the infant Jesus. They were, however, stripped of their reli-
The Brazilian Entrudo was very close to its Portuguese
gious allusions, carnivalized, and took the form of rancho car-
source: it involved the throwing of a lot of water and various
navalesco—a slow-march procession accompanied by brass
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1444
CARNIVAL
and string instruments, during which costumed male and fe-
ry to enact national and historic themes. In the 1960s, the
male choruses, carrying small allegorical images, narrate lyri-
intellectuals and the urban middle class became involved in
cal stories while singing and dancing.
the samba schools, recognizing them as a genuine focus of
popular national character. Their complete acceptance by the
The most complete expression of the contemporary Bra-
higher social classes coincided with the aspiration of the
zilian Carnival is the samba school. These schools, which are
poorer element to be accepted and, as a result, the samba
actually associations, present a kind of mobile popular opera,
schools received a fresh and definitive impulse on the road
each year worked around a different theme. This theme is
of growth and social valuation.
narrated through the music and words of the Carnival samba
song (samba-enredo), and the characters are represented col-
The samba schools have now developed into extraordi-
lectively by groups of dancers and singers in costume, with
narily complex institutions, in both their actual parades and
the scenery mounted on allegorical floats. A samba school is
their daily organization. They continue to function through-
divided into three basic sections: first comes the drum sec-
out the year as modest community clubs, always, however,
tion (bateria), which has between two hundred and four
with an eye to raising money for their Carnival expenses. As
hundred instrumentalists, who play big bass drums (surdos),
Carnival draws closer, they open up to allow the participa-
side drums, tambourines, triangles, cuícas, and bells, among
tion of the upper classes, until the parade at the climax festi-
other percussive instruments; second is the group (ala) of
val, which is itself a rite of total social integration. Afterward,
composers; and last is the main body of dancer-singers and
they retract again to their more modest dimensions. The
other performers of the school. Schools compete with one
themes of the parade refer to folkloric tales and events from
another during the festival. The increasing complexity of the
Brazil’s history, which, in the language of Carnival, are trans-
parade, and its internal regulation, have brought about the
lated into an idealized vision of Brazil, depicted as a rich and
creation of a great number of both financial-administrative
generous mother country in which the contributions of the
and technical-artistic posts, organzing the samba schools to
three races—white, black, and indigenous—join them in
meet certain commercial norms. There are more than a hun-
harmony, and where there is always room for hope and opti-
dred samba schools, concentrated principally in Rio de Janei-
mism. In reality, Brazil is a country marked by deep inequali-
ro, where they originated, each one with between two thou-
ties, still struggling in its uphill battle for development.
sand and four thousand members.
In its historical and contemporary manifestations, the
The rapid rise of the samba schools is an interesting so-
common denominator of Carnival is still the process of the
ciological phenomenon. They sprang up in Rio de Janeiro
inversion of reality. This inversion is of a symbolic and tem-
in the 1930s, from the lowest social strata. At that time, the
porary nature, which classifies as a process of ritual transfor-
Carnival in Rio de Janeiro was visibly stratified: the upper
mation. As a ritual, Carnival allows a glimpse of the axiomat-
classes amused themselves with costumed saloon-car proces-
ic values of a given culture, as well as its underlying
sions, tossing confetti and paper ribbons; working-class dis-
contradictions. The language that relates these contradic-
tricts celebrated with ranchos; while the samba schools, which
tions to one another is principally that of satire. But the car-
were still embryonic associations, attracted the remaining pe-
nivalesque inversion can equally be expressed through vio-
ripheral elements.
lence and exaggeration. In the Carnival context, violence
symbolizes an attack on order, classifying the festival, in this
At first these associations suffered great persecution.
case, as a ritual of rebellion, of which the Entrudo is the clear-
Their participants, the sambistas, sometimes had to hide
est example. Carnival retains a close correlation with daily
themselves in the centers of Afro-Brazilian cults recognized
life, though during its celebration the normal and quotidian
by the police, where they held clandestine samba parties.
are inverted and lived as a festival. In this way, carnivalesque
There was still a lot of violence and disorder in the Brazilian
rebellion and provocation become a parody of true rebellion
Carnival; on the one hand, fights and shoot-outs and, on the
and provocation. In any case, ambivalence is inherent in Car-
other, strong police repression, particularly against the lowest
nival symbolism, since Carnival itself is on the threshold be-
social elements.
tween order and disorder, hierarchy and equality, real and
The samba schools came from the carnival blocks (blocos
ideal, sacred and profane. Essentially, Carnival represents
carnavalescos), which were conglomerations of barely orga-
confrontation of the antistructure with the structure of soci-
nized masked dancers, modelled on the ranchos but with
ety, constituting a channel through which utopian ideals of
rather more limited financial resources. From the ranchos
social organization find expression and suppressed forms of
they adopted the processional form, the thematic structure,
human behavior are released from the restrictions of daily
the master of ceremonies and flag-bearer, and the allegories,
life.
but the brass instruments were eliminated and the rhythm
The inversion of the social order inherent in Carnival,
section increased to correspond to the beat of the samba.
when amplified to a larger scale, represents the inverted, pro-
The samba schools soon caught the attention of the gov-
fane extreme of the sacred religious festival that Carnival im-
erning authorities because of their populist potential, and
mediately precedes. The two are inextricably interwoven and
when Carnival was made official in 1935, it became obligato-
find their opposites in each other.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CARROLL, JOHN
1445
SEE ALSO Masks.
CARROLL, JOHN (1735–1815), first Roman Catho-
lic bishop of the United States (1789). Carroll attended Saint
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Omer College in French Flanders in 1748 and a few years
One of the most complete interpretations of the meaning of con-
later joined the Jesuits. By 1771 he had been ordained a
temporary Carnival in Brazil is Roberto DaMatta’s Car-
priest and made his final vows in the order. When Pope
navais, malandros e heróis (Rio de Janeiro, 1979). The same
Clement XIV suppressed the Jesuits in 1773, Carroll was
author analyzes the costumes and gestures of Brazilian Carni-
briefly under arrest. The next year he returned to his family
val in Universo do Carnaval (Rio de Janeiro, 1981). For a
estate in Maryland, ministering as best he could under the
knowledge of samba schools, their internal organization and
uncertain jurisdiction ex-Jesuits then faced. He joined his
ideology, see my O palácio do samba (Rio de Janeiro, 1975)
cousin, Charles Carroll, and Benjamin Franklin in an at-
and José Sávio Leopoldi’s Escola de samba, ritual e sociedade
(Petrópolis, 1978). For the carnivalization of a sacred rite,
tempt at winning Canadian support for political indepen-
refer to Isidoro Maria da Silva Alves’s O Carnaval devoto (Pe-
dence, which would open the way for an American Catholic
trópolis, 1980), which deals with the profane aspects of a re-
church.
ligious procession.
Carroll’s church leadership emerged in 1782–1783, in-
For a view of contemporary Carnival in Europe, see Annie Sidro’s
spired by concepts of church-state separation drawn from the
Le Carnaval de Nice et ses fous (Nice, 1979). The catalog ed-
writings of Roberto Bellarmino, Francisco Suárez, and En-
ited by Samuël Glotz, Le masque dans la tradition européenne
glish Catholic commentators on the subject. Carroll viewed
(Mons, Belgium, 1975), provides important information
the relationship between the pope and Roman Catholic con-
about the use of masks at Carnival.
gregations as principally spiritual rather than administrative;
A broad definition that allows a vision of Carnival as a ritual phe-
thus his plan for the American Catholic church placed
nomenon can be found in the article by Edmund R. Leach,
church property in the United States in its own corporations,
“Ritualization in Man in Relation to Conceptual and Social
both clerical and lay, in this way guarding against foreign in-
Development,” in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Soci-
trusion. Carroll also emphasized the spiritual nature of the
ety of London 251 (December 1966): 403–408. For notions
office of bishop, a view he would explain in a disciplinary de-
of structure and antistructure and for a discussion of the sym-
cree published in 1797.
bolic properties and transformation processes of ritual phe-
nomena, essential reading is Victor Turner’s The Ritual Pro-
In order to ensure against a nonresident appointee by
cess (Chicago, 1969).
Rome, Carroll advocated electing the first American bishop
New Sources
by vote of the clergy. Thereafter, he expected, the American
Béhague, Gerard. “Popular Music.” In Handbook of Latin Ameri-
hierarchy could follow more common ecclesial practices.
can Popular Culture, edited by Harold E. Hinds Jr. and
However, the first American see, Baltimore, remained under
Charles Tatum, pp. 3–38. Westport, Conn., 1985.
the administrative control of the Congregation of the Propa-
Cunha, Maria Clementina Pereira. Ecos da folia: uma história social
gation of the Faith, a body administered by Rome, thus
do carnaval carioca entre 1880–1920 (Echos of folly: a social
weakening American control over episcopal appointees.
history of carnival between 1880 and 1920). Sa˜o Paulo,
Later, as first archbishop of Baltimore (1808–1815), Carroll
2001.
was to acknowledge the lack of suitable American candidates
Dudley, Shannon. Carnival Music in Trinidad: Experiencing
to fill offices created by four new dioceses.
Music, Expressing Culture. Oxford, 2003.
Consistent with Maryland Catholic tradition, Carroll
Eisenbichler, Konrad, and Wim Hüsken, editors. Carnival and the
held that no one should be molested in the free exercise of
Carnivalesque: The Fool, The Reformer, The Wildman, and
his religion. He believed that the Maryland constitution
Others in Early Modern Theatre. Amsterdam and Atlanta,
honored this principle. He wrote against states with laws that
1999.
favored Protestantism (1789), arguing that such laws went
Eneida, Haroldo Costa. História do Carnaval Carioca (History of
beyond what was just in interpreting the role of religion in
Carnival). Rio de Janeiro, 1987.
the state’s promotion of public morality. In An Address to the
Harris, Max. Carnival and Other Christian Festivals: Folk Theology
Roman Catholics (1784), Carroll responded to what he con-
and Folk Performance. Austin, 2003.
sidered distortions of Catholic teachings in these and other
areas. His arguments were effective in the era before the rise
Orloff, Alexander. Carnival: Myth and Cult. Wörgl, Austria,
of Nativism—a movement characterized by hostility toward
1981.
immigrants, particularly Irish Catholics.
Scher, Philip W. Carnival and the Formation of a Caribbean Trans-
nation. Gainesville, Fla., 2003.
John Carroll was also eminent as a builder of the church
in visible form. Emerging into the world of public worship
MARIA JULIA GOLDWASSER (1987)
after 1776, the Catholic community under his leadership de-
Revised Bibliography
terminedly built parishes and institutions. Among the lasting
legacies of his episcopacy were the establishment of Saint
Mary’s Seminary, the recruitment of priests from Europe,
CARO, JOSEPH SEE KARO, YOSEF
and the founding of Georgetown College for the laity of all
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1446
CA¯RVA¯KA
faiths. He placed high value on the ministry and education
eth century, a number of Loka¯yata Ba¯rhaspatya su¯tras were
of women, as seen in his sponsorship of Elizabeth Ann
collated from various sources, but their authenticity is open
Seton’s founding of the Daughters of Charity and of paro-
to question.
chial schools. He also sponsored establishments of the Car-
According to the available sources, the Ca¯rva¯ka taught
melite and Visitation orders. Carroll also contributed his ser-
that the world is as we see it, that is, as perceived by our sen-
vices to Saint John’s and Washington colleges and to what
sory organs, and is devoid of all but a purely mechanical
became the University of Maryland.
order or principle that can be confirmed by recourse to sense
evidence alone. A moral or ethical order, admitted in one
BIBLIOGRAPHY
form or another by all other Indian schools (as in, for in-
The primary source for Carroll’s writings is The John Carroll Pa-
stance, their use of the paired terms dharma and adharma),
pers, 3 vols., edited by Thomas O’Brien Hanley (Notre
is thus denied as incompatible with empirical evidence. So
Dame, Ind., 1976). Arranged in chronological order, it has
too, an omniscient being, God, life after death, and ultimate
title and date listings for each volume, useful for the refer-
ences made above. Annabelle M. Melville’s John Carroll of
reward or punishment for one’s actions are all denied. It is
Baltimore (New York, 1955) to some extent abridges Peter
for this reason, and for the fact that it denies the authority
K. Guilday’s biography, The Life and Times of John Carroll,
of the Vedas, that the school is termed na¯stika, or negativist.
2 vols. (1922; reprint, Westminster, Md., 1954). Joseph
Ca¯rva¯ka ethics, as might be expected, do recognize the
Agonito has made the most extensive use to date of the Car-
claims of superior force and authority. Obedience to the king
roll papers in “Ecumenical Stirrings: Catholic-Protestant Re-
and to the state are recommended as a practical means of self-
lations during the Episcopacy of John Carroll,” Church His-
tory 45 (1976): 358–373.
preservation; otherwise, a life given to the pursuit of pleasure
and wealth is considered the ideal. Political power was
THOMAS O’BRIEN HANLEY (1987)
deemed by the materialists to derive from the approval of the
governed (lokasiddha bhavet ra¯ja¯); as a consequence, the
ruler’s mandate to govern was regarded as without divine or
CA¯RVA¯KA.
transcendental sanction. Ca¯rva¯ka cosmology recognized four
A school of “materialists” thought to have
elements—earth, water, fire, and air—as fundamental con-
been contemporary with early Buddhism, the Ca¯rva¯ka
stituents of all things; when called on to explain the appear-
school, or Ca¯rva¯kas, has only scant evidence to attest to its
ance of life or consciousness in material things when the ele-
existence. Writing in Hastings’s Encyclopaedia of Religion and
ments themselves are devoid of any such powers or
Ethics, Louis de La Vallée Poussin noted that “a materialistic
properties, the Ca¯rva¯ka had recourse to a theory whereby the
school, a system in the exact sense of the term” did not exist
conjunction of certain elements is accidentally invested with
in India. Such an opinion was based not upon the failure of
properties missing in the original constituents. As evidence
scholars to recognize such terms as loka¯yata (“world-
of this, they pointed to the power in the fermented drink to
extended”?) or ca¯rva¯ka, or the schools known by these
intoxicate, which is missing in the unfermented constituents.
names, but upon the ambiguity and obscurity that certainly
This empirical methodology might have been the precursor
surround their origin and exact connotation. In earlier litera-
of scientific thought in India.
ture the term loka¯yata did not stand for a doctrine that is nec-
essarily materialistic. In the Buddhist collection Sam:yutta
Ca¯rva¯ka epistemology regards perception as the only
Nika¯ya, two brahmans are described as followers of the
valid source of knowledge and explicitly rejects inference.
Loka¯yata view, proponents of which are credited with hold-
Eventually, the school produced a very sophisticated philo-
ing one or more of the following four propositions: every-
sophical critique of the inductive premise in each act of infer-
thing exists; nothing exists; everything is a unity; and every-
ence. Sometimes the Ca¯rva¯ka view is represented as a skepti-
thing is a plurality. Buddhaghosa’s commentary identifies
cal critique of knowledge, for, according to Jayara¯´si,
the first and third propositions as “eternalist views” (sassata-
probably a proponent of Ca¯rva¯ka doctrines, even sense evi-
ditthiyo) and the second and fourth as “annihilationist views”
dence can mislead.
(uccheda-ditthiyo). Later, the Annihilationist views were re-
It is doubtful whether there was ever a well-entrenched
garded as consonant with materialism.
traditional “school” called Ca¯rva¯ka or Loka¯yata, for we do
The use of the word ca¯rva¯ka was also initially obscure.
not have available to us any independent texts of the classical
Some say that ca¯rva¯ka was a name. Others propose a fanciful
period that are expressly affiliated with this school. The
etymology, joining caru (“beautiful”) with va¯k (“speech”) to
notable exception is the text of Jayara¯´si called
render a compound connoting “attractive discourse”; thus
Tattvopaplavasim:ha, discovered and edited in 1940. In it, the
understood, the doctrines of this school, which denounce re-
author is revealed as a gifted dialectician. The work itself is
ligion and religiously founded morality as useless, would
a highly sophisticated critique of all the prama¯n:as, or valid
have been found attractive by the common man, himself a
sources of knowledge, criticizing both Vedic and non-Vedic
materialist at heart. In later writings, the name Loka¯yata
schools. Theories of perception and inference of the Nya¯ya¯,
came to refer to the Ca¯rva¯ka school, which was traced to a
Buddhist, Sa¯m:khya, M¯ıma¯m:sa¯, and Jain traditions are all
mythical founder Br:haspati. In the latter part of the twenti-
faulted. If this text belongs to the Ca¯rva¯ka-Loka¯yata school,
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CASSIAN, JOHN
1447
then we have to admit that this tradition consists not only
After 415 Cassian, now a priest, moved to Marseilles,
of materialism, but combines elements of skepticism and ag-
where he established two monasteries, one for men and one
nosticism as well. In this light, it would be incorrect to credit
for women. The last record of him is Prosper of Acquitaine’s
the Ca¯rva¯kas with advocacy of pure license and hedonism,
theological attack on him, in about 433. A short time after
charges that, after all, are found only in the writings of their
the attack Cassian died; his last words, reported in Sayings
opponents (as, for instance, Haribhadra and Ma¯dhava). All
of the Fathers, were “I have never done my own will, nor
told, the Ca¯rva¯kas probably represent an anti-religious tradi-
taught anyone something which I had not previously carried
tion that rejected religious and spiritual pursuits and sought
out.”
the basis of moral and social order in human rationality.
Cassian came very late to writing, and he wrote only
SEE ALSO Materialism.
when requested to do so by important persons. Generally he
used the same material as did Evagrios, but he gave it his own
BIBLIOGRAPHY
personal imprint. More synthetical than Evagrios, he ar-
Summary accounts of this school can be found in such compendia
ranged his sources in extensive collections. He was a brilliant
of Indian philosophy as Haribhadra’s S:ad:dar´sanasamuccaya
Latin stylist, distinguished for his clarity and elegance. Three
(seventh century) and Madhava’s Sarvadar´sanasam:-graha
of his works are still read today with great interest.
(fourteenth century). Haribhadra was a Jain and hence be-
longed to a non-Vedic school; Ma¯dhava was a Vaidika, prob-
1. Institutes of the Cenoby and the Remedies for the Eight
ably a Veda¯ntin.
Principal Vices, written around 420 at the request of
Modern studies include Hara Prasad Shastri’s Lokayata (Oxford,
Castor, bishop of Apt in Provence, consists of two dis-
1925), a pioneering work that is both suggestive and illumi-
tinct sections. Books 1–4 discuss clothing, prayer,
nating; Dakshinaranjan Shastri’s A Short History of Indian
psalmody, and rules of monastic life; books 5–12 are a
Materialism, Sensationalism and Hedonism, 2d ed. (Calcutta,
moral exposition of the eight evil thoughts, or vices—
1957), a tenuous historical reconstruction of the school; and
gluttony, luxury, avarice, wrath, sloth, acedia (negli-
Debiprasad Chattopadhyaya’s Loka¯yata: A Study in Ancient
gence), vainglory, and pride—and their remedies.
Indian Materialism (New Delhi, 1959), a Marxist analysis of
the history of Indian materialism, including useful materials
2. Conferences of the Fathers has three sections. Conferences
from nonphilosophical literature.
1–10, written around 422 and dedicated to Leo, bishop
BIMAL KRISHNA MATILAL (1987)
of Fréjus, and the monk Helladius, recount Cassian’s
conversations with famous elders from Scetis on the
fundamental principles of the ascetic and spiritual life.
CASSIAN, JOHN (c. 365–c. 435), monastic leader,
Conferences 11–17, written around 424 at the request
founder of ascetic theology in the Latin church. According
of Honoratus, founder of Lérins monastery, and the
to Gennadius of Marseilles, John Cassian came from Scythia
monk Eucherius, recount Cassian’s conversations with
Minor (modern-day Dobruja), a province of the early Byzan-
elders of the Nile delta on problems of spiritual theolo-
tine empire. Born of a rich Scythian family, Cassian received
gy. Conferences 18–24, written around 426 and dedi-
a good education. After he moved to Palestine, he entered
cated to a group of Gallican monks, present conversa-
a monastery in Bethlehem, together with his friend Ger-
tions with elders of the Nile delta and Scetis on
manos. Receiving permission for a temporary absence, the
particular problems of the ascetic life.
two men left the monastery for a short visit to the monastic
3. On the Incarnation against Nestorius, written in 430 at
colonies of Egypt. After they met the first prominent elders
the request of the future pope Leo, constitutes the single
there, they were so fascinated that they forgot their promise
Western refutation of Nestorian teachings, which Cas-
to return to their monastery in Bethlehem. They continued
sian considered a result of Pelagian influence.
on their travels as far as the region of Scetis, where they set-
tled. From time to time they made visits to other monastic
Cassian is the first monastic leader in the West to have set
areas, but they do not seem to have realized their original in-
forth the theological principles of monastic life. Although his
tention of visiting the Pachomian monasteries at Thebais.
works encompass not only the anchoritic but also the ceno-
Cassian and Germanos stayed in Egypt for over thirteen
bitic form of monasticism, his real interest lay in anchori-
years, with only a short break to settle the matter of their per-
tism. On questions of monastic organization, his sources are
mission to leave Bethlehem.
the institutions of the monastic centers in the East, chiefly
Egypt and Palestine. In the theoretical area, he has as his
During the anti-Origenist persecution of 399 the two
guide the great teacher of ascetical theology, Evagrios, al-
men were forced to abandon Egypt because of their associa-
though, because Evagrios had been condemned as a heretic,
tion with Origenist monks, whose theological exponent was
Cassian avoided citing his name.
Evagrios of Pontus. They fled to Constantinople, where they
were well received by the archbishop John Chrysostom.
Cassian’s thought revolves around the spiritual perfec-
There Germanos was ordained a priest and Cassian a deacon.
tion of ascetics, following the classical twofold distinction of
At the beginning of 405, they went to Rome on behalf of
the stages of the spiritual life, the active and the contempla-
Chrysostom to deliver a letter to Pope Innocent I.
tive way, for which he used the Greek terms praktik¯e and
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1448
CASSIRER, ERNST
theoretik¯e. Complete renunciation leads to the active way:
der Hoch’s Lehre des Johannes Cassianus von Natur und
“We have two fathers, one to abandon, the other to follow”
Gnade: Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte des Gnadenstreites im fünf-
(Conf. 3.6). In the preliminary stage a fierce struggle develops
ten Jahrhundert (Freiburg im Breisgau, 1895), and Joseph
against the passions caused in us by demons and evil
Laugier’s S. Jean Cassien et sa doctrine sur la grâce (Lyons,
thoughts. Praktik¯e becomes the way through which the
1908). A general picture of the personality and the work of
cleansing of the passions and the establishment of the virtues
Cassian is given under “Cassien” in Dictionnaire de spiritua-
lité (Paris, 1937). Owen Chadwick’s John Cassian: A Study
are effected. Theoretik¯e is the higher stage, in which the con-
in Primitive Monasticism (1950; 2d ed., London, 1968) is
templation of the divine realities and the acknowledgment
very important. A number of other studies on special aspects
of the most secret signs are acquired (Conf. 14.1).
of his monastic activities may be mentioned, such as Hans
Like all ascetic writers, Cassian demands from Chris-
Oskar Weber’s Die Stellung des Johannes Cassianus zur ausser-
tians a hard struggle for the attainment of perfection. This
pachomianischen Mönchstradition (Munich, 1961), Salvatore
Pricoco’s L’isola dei santi: Il cenobio di Lerino e il origini del
struggle, in turn, requires a strong and free will. Cassian re-
monachesimo gallico (Rome, 1978), and Philip Rousseau’s As-
jected two important theories of his day. He regarded the
cetics, Authority and the Church in the Age of Jerome and Cas-
volitionism of Pelagius as heretical, and the absolute predes-
sian (Oxford, 1978). Some new studies on the theological
tination of Augustine of Hippo as sacrilegious. According to
teachings are Victor Codina’s El aspecto cristológico en la es-
Cassian, humankind preserved even after the Fall the ability
piritualidad de Juan Casiano, “Orientalia Christiana Analec-
to turn toward the good and to accept or reject the salvation
ta,” vol. 175 (Rome, 1966), and Paul Christophe’s Cassien
offered by God.
et Césaire: Prédicateurs de la morale monastique (Gembloux,
1969).
In the West, Cassian’s teaching was criticized by Prosper
of Aquitaine, a disciple of Augustine, and later it was con-
PANAGIOTIS C. CHRISTOU (1987)
demned by the Council of Orange (529). It is still regarded
Translated from Greek by Philip M. McGhee
today as semi-Pelagian. Cassian, however, was an Eastern
theologian in the Latin West, and his teaching must be
judged by Greek theological criteria. From this point of view,
CASSIRER, ERNST (1874–1945), German philoso-
he was in agreement with the entire Eastern tradition and es-
pher of culture. Cassirer was born in Breslau, Silesia. He
pecially with the views of John Chrysostom.
studied at the universities of Berlin, Leipzig, Heidelberg, and
In his last years, Cassian was regarded as one of the lead-
Marburg and completed his inaugural dissertation under the
ing theologians of the West. Even though his opposition to
direction of the Neo-Kantian Hermann Cohen at Marburg
Augustine kept him out of the mainstream of the Western
in 1899. Between 1903 and 1919 Cassirer taught as privat-
church, his authority was unofficially accepted. Abridged re-
docent at the University of Berlin, and in 1919 he assumed
dactions of his writings were made in both Latin and Greek,
the chair of philosophy at the newly founded University of
while eight of his sayings were preserved in Sayings of the Fa-
Hamburg. Cassirer left Germany in 1933 with the rise of
thers. Through Benedict of Nursia his influence was spread
Nazism; he taught for two years at Oxford before accepting
throughout the West.
a professorship at the University of Göteborg in Sweden in
1935. Cassirer left Sweden for the United States in the sum-
Gennadius of Marseilles calls Cassian a saint, but in the
mer of 1941, teaching first at Yale and then at Columbia.
West he is not venerated, except in Marseilles, where his feast
Cassirer’s published writings comprise nearly 125 items,
is celebrated on July 23. In the East the feast is generally cele-
ranging from short articles to books of eight hundred pages.
brated on February 29.
They treat a wide range of subjects in history, linguistics, my-
thology, aesthetics, literary studies, and science. Because he
BIBLIOGRAPHY
wrote continuously on so many subjects it is difficult to form
Works by Cassian
a sense of Cassirer’s thought as a whole. The largest division
Guy, Jean-Claude, ed. and trans. De institutis / Institutions ce-
within his writings is between his works on the history of
nobitiques. Vol. 109 of Sources chrétiennes. Paris, 1965.
philosophy and those that state his own philosophical posi-
Migne, J.-P., ed. Opera omnia. Vols. 49 and 50 of Patrologia La-
tion. In addition to these are subcategories of works on liter-
tina. Paris, 1874 and 1863.
ary figures, especially Goethe, and on the philosophy of
Petschenig, Michael, ed. Opera omnia. Vols. 13 and 17 of Corpus
science.
Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum. Vienna, 1886 and
The center of Cassirer’s work in the history of philoso-
1888.
phy is his four-volume study Das Erkenntnisproblem in der
Pichery, Eugène, ed. and trans. Conlationes Patrum (Conférences).
Philosophie und Wissenschaft der neuern Zeit (The Problem
Vols. 42, 54, and 64 of Sources chrétiennes. Paris, 1955–
of Knowledge in Philosophy and Science in the Modern
1959.
Age). The first two volumes (1906–1907) trace the problem
Works about Cassian
of knowledge from Nicholas of Cusa to Kant. The third
Cassian’s doctrines on nature and grace in opposition to Augus-
(1920) and fourth (first published in English translation in
tine’s view of predestination is the central concern of Alexan-
1950) continue the theme through Hegel and into the first
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CASSIRER, ERNST
1449
decades of the twentieth century. In addition to this large
unity. In his phenomenology of the third volume of Philoso-
study, Cassirer’s works on the Enlightenment, the Renais-
phie der symbolischen Formen, Cassirer connects myth with
sance, Descartes, and Leibniz have become classics in their
the Ausdrucksfunktion of consciousness, with the primordial
areas. The central work of Cassirer’s original philosophy is
phenomenon of “expression.” Religion never loses its roots
his three-volume Philosophie der symbolischen Formen (The
as an expression of the unity of life and the fear of death.
Philosophy of Symbolic Forms; 1923–1929), the ground-
Religion also has roots in the “sympathy of the Whole”
work of which was laid in his theory of scientific concept for-
that underlies magical practices in primitive societies. But re-
mation in Substanzbegriff und Funktionsbegriff (Substance
ligion arises, Cassirer says in An Essay on Man, when the
and Function) in 1910. He extended his theory of concept
totem and taboo system of society based on magical practices
formation to humanistic thought in Zur Logik der Kultur-
begins to break down. In the taboo system the individual has
wissenschaften (The Logic of the Humanities; 1942). Cassirer
no responsibility for his own actions. Religion gives scope to
recast his conception of symbolic forms in An Essay on Man
a new feeling, that of individuality. Cassirer regards the pro-
(1944). This was followed by The Myth of the State (1946);
phetic books of the Old Testament as an example of the rise
both works were written in English.
of the new ideal of individual moral responsibility that marks
Cassirer regards religion as part of the symbolic form of
the appearance of religious consciousness out of the taboo
myth. In An Essay on Man he labels this as the symbolic form
system. In religion there develops this first sense of the moral
of “myth and religion” within a series of symbolic forms that
self.
includes also language, art, history, and science. Each of these
areas of human culture represents a way in which people
BIBLIOGRAPHY
form their experience through symbols. Cassirer defines the
Works by Cassirer
human as an “animal symbolicum.” Consciousness forms its
There are two comprehensive bibliographies of Cassirer’s writings:
object in many different ways. No one mode of formation
a topical arrangement can be found in Philosophy and History:
offers a “literal” presentation of the real; all human activities
Essays Presented to Ernst Cassirer, edited by Raymond Kliban-
are equally “symbolic.” The symbol is the medium of all peo-
sky and H. J. Paton (Oxford, 1936), pp. 338–353, and a
ple’s cultural activity, whether mythic-religious, linguistic,
chronological listing appears in The Philosophy of Ernst Cas-
artistic, historical, or scientific. The interrelationships of all
sirer, edited by Paul A. Schilpp (Evanston, Ill., 1949),
pp. 881–910. Of particular interest to the study of Cassirer’s
these manners of symbolizing form the system of human
conception of myth and religion are the following: Philoso-
culture.
phie der symbolischen Formen, 3 vols. (Berlin, 1923–1929),
Religion arises as a stage within the mythical mode of
translated by Ralph Manheim as The Philosophy of Symbolic
symbolizing. In the second volume of Philosophie der sym-
Forms, 3 vols. (New Haven, 1953–1957), especially volume
2, Mythical Thought; Sprache und Mythos (Leipzig, 1925),
bolischen Formen (see part 4) Cassirer says that the break be-
translated by Suzanne K. Langer as Language and Myth (New
tween religious consciousness and the mythical symbol oc-
York, 1946); Zur Logik der Kulturwissenschaften: Fünf Stu-
curs when consciousness begins to regard the images and
dien (Göteborg, 1942), translated by C. S. Howe as The
signs of myth as pointing to meanings beyond immediate ex-
Logic of the Humanities (New Haven, 1961); An Essay on
istence. Like true linguistic signs, Cassirer says, religious
Man: An Introduction to a Philosophy of Human Culture (New
signs are understood as referring to an order of reality beyond
Haven, 1944); and The Myth of the State (New Haven,
the plane of immediate sensuous existence. In mythical con-
1946). Symbol, Myth, and Culture: Essays and Lectures of Ernst
sciousness the dancer who wears the mask of the god is the
Cassirer 1935–45 (New Haven, 1949), edited by Donald
god; he does not signify the god who exists in another realm
Phillip Verene, is a volume of Cassirer’s previously unpub-
of being. Religion introduces a distinction between a finite
lished papers. It includes a description of the corpus of Cas-
sirer’s manuscripts housed at Yale University.
and an infinite realm, a distinction that is beyond the power
of the mythic symbol. For mythical consciousness, symbol
Works about Cassirer
and symbolized occupy a single plane of reality. In religious
For bibliographies of critical work on Cassirer, see “Ernst Cassirer:
consciousness the sensuous and the spiritual divide, but they
A Bibliography,” Bulletin of Bibliography 24 (1964): 103–
remain in this division as continuously pointing to each
106, and “Ernst Cassirer: Critical Work 1964–1970,” Bulle-
tin of Bibliography 29 (1972): 21–22, 24, both compiled by
other in a relationship of analogy.
Donald Phillip Verene, and “Bibliographie des textes sur
In An Essay on Man Cassirer approaches the relationship
Ernst Cassirer,” Revue internationale de philosophie 28
between myth and religion less in terms of the epistemology
(1974): 492–510, compiled by Robert Nadeau. These bibli-
of the symbol and more in sociocultural and moral terms:
ographies list critical works on Cassirer in all languages. The
main source for critical views on Cassirer’s thought remains
“In the development of human culture we cannot fix a point
The Philosophy of Ernst Cassirer, edited by Paul A. Schilpp
where myth ends or religion begins. In the whole course of
(Evanston, Ill., 1949). The essays in this volume cover all as-
its history religion remains indissolubly connected and pene-
pects of Cassirer’s thought, but most are expository. Other
trated with mythical elements” (p. 87). Cassirer says that
book-length works are Carl H. Hamburg’s Symbol and Reali-
myth and religion originate in the “feeling of the indestructi-
ty: Studies in the Philosophy of Ernst Cassirer (The Hague,
ble unity of life” and in the fear of death as a break in this
1956); Seymour W. Itzkoff’s Ernst Cassirer: Scientific Knowl-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1450
CASTE SYSTEM
edge and the Concept of Man (Notre Dame, Ind., 1971) and
offspring decide to separate their parents, cutting the father’s
Ernst Cassirer: Philosopher of Culture (Boston, 1977); and
“tendons” (probably a euphemism) and pushing him up to
David R. Lipton’s Ernst Cassirer: The Dilemma of a Liberal
achieve the present separation of sky and earth. The cosmo-
Intellectual in Germany, 1914–1933 (Toronto, 1978). There
gonic motif of the primordial couple is found in almost all
are two biographies of Cassirer in essay form, one by Dimitry
Oceanic civilizations and widely in Africa and the Americas.
Gawronsky in The Philosophy of Ernst Cassirer, the other by
Cassirer’s wife, Toni Cassirer, Mein Leben mit Ernst Cassirer
But the act of violent separation of the two cosmic entities
(1950; reprint, Hildesheim, 1981).
is seldom clearly described as a real act of castration, even if
its symbolic verisimilitude leads one to think of it in this way.
New Sources
An example of castration presented in a straightforward man-
Bayer, Thora Ilin. Cassirer’s Metaphysics of Symbolic Forms: A
Philosophical Commentary. New Haven, Conn., 2001.
ner is in the Greek cosmogonic myth, Hesiod’s Theogony.
The god Ouranos (“sky”) and the goddess Gaia (“earth”)
Friedman, Michael. A Parting of the Ways: Carnap, Cassirer, and
conceive a breed of divine beings, but the god exhausts his
Heidegger. Chicago, 2000.
paternal role in procreation and keeps his children from any
Graeser, Andreas. Ernst Cassirer. Munich, 1994.
kind of activity, thrusting them again into their mother’s
Itzkoff, Seymour W. Ernst Cassirer: Scientific Knowledge and the
womb. At last one of them, Kronos, makes an ambush and
Concept of Man. 2nd ed. Notre Dame, Ind., 1997.
cuts off his father’s sexual organ, throwing it behind his own
Krois, John Michael. Cassirer, Symbolic Forms and History. New
back. The goddess Gaia is fertilized by the blood of Ouranos,
Haven, Conn., 1987.
while from his sexual organ, which falls into the sea, is born
Lofts, Steve G. Ernst Cassirer: A “Repetition” of Modernity. Albany,
the goddess of love, Aphrodite. Thus the only way to elimi-
N.Y., 2000.
nate Ouranos, whose existence consisted of mere sexual and
Strenski, Ivan. Four Theories of Myth in 20th Century History: Cas-
procreative activity, was to castrate him: this is the only op-
sirer, Eliade, Lévi-Strauss and Malinowski. Iowa City, Iowa,
portunity to “murder,” in some sense, an immortal god. This
1987.
castration is a positive event because it breaks the cycle of
Sundaram, K. Cassirer’s Conception of Causality. New York, 1987.
endless and useless reproduction and gives Ouranos’s off-
Wisner, David A. “Ernst Cassirer, Historian of the Will.” Journal
spring a living space between sky and earth. It represents
of the History of Ideas 58 (1997): 145–161.
moreover a fundamental moment in the establishment of the
real and ordered world. From the morphological point of
DONALD PHILLIP VERENE (1987)
Revised Bibliography
view, the myth of Ouranos’s castration is typical of the image
of the heavenly divine being who, after his initial perfor-
mance, leaves the stage, becoming a deus otiosus.
CASTE SYSTEM S
Comparative analysis has pointed out important resem-
EE VARN
: A AND JA¯TI
blances to the myth of the impotence of Varun:a, an Indo-
Iranian god, and also to the investiture ritual of the king in
India (Dumézil, 1948). Analogies exist also with the Navajo
CASTRATION. Castration is a custom found both in
creation myth (Dine Bahane), in which the First Woman
mythological tales and in ritual practices of peoples of various
gives birth to twins with her husband. These twins, who are
origins, cultural levels, and geographical locations. Because
nadleeh (intersexed, neither male nor female), ordered the
there is a preponderance of documentation of the custom in
world, slayed the dragons, and invented pottery and all sort
the ancient Near East and Mediterranean cultures, the origin
of tools. Historical analysis, on the other hand, has indicated
and propagating center of this custom has often been as-
some parallel cases in cosmogonic myths of the ancient Near
cribed to ancient Semitic culture. But evidence of castration
East. The Mesopotamian creation epic, Enuma elish, tells of
has also been found in other, different cultures that were
the god Enki, who defeats and annihilates his enemy
never influenced by Semitic culture, which seems to rule out
Mummu, taking off his crown, smashing his head, and final-
a hypothesis of diffusion. Besides, the act of castration, both
ly cutting off his penis. The Hittite myth of Kumarbi con-
mythological and ritual, is naturally connected with other
tains even more similarities to Ouranos’s story. This cosmog-
practices, beliefs, and doctrines that are all related in some
ony, combining one of the earliest Hurrian stories with some
way to sex and sexuality. Their connections (with circumci-
elements of Assyro-Babylonian mythology, deals with a suc-
sion, bisexuality, virginity, and celibacy) constitute a kind of
cession of children’s rebellions against their fathers. In this
compact but multivariegated “symbolic universe.”
myth Kumarbi pursues his father, Anu, who seeks safety by
MYTHS. Many of the cosmogonic myths are based on two
flying toward the sky, but the son grabs his father’s feet, drag-
cosmic entities, Sky and Earth, who are originally united in
ging him to the ground. Then, seized by excitement, Kumar-
a sexual embrace from which violent action alone can sepa-
bi bites his father’s penis, tears it off, and swallows it, laugh-
rate them. A tale of the Maori in New Zealand says that off-
ing and boasting of his bravado. But the swallowed sexual
spring born of the endless mating of Rangi (“sky”) and Papa
organ makes him pregnant with terrifying gods who will
(“earth”) are held in darkness and spacelessness. Finally the
soon defeat him in turn.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CASTRATION
1451
Scholars are in agreement that the similarity between
all over Egypt. His wife, the goddess Isis, found the body.
Greek and Hittite myths can be explained as an indication
But Osiris’s penis was thrown into the Nile and eaten by a
of direct historical derivation on the grounds of similar gen-
fish, so Isis is forced to construct with sycamore wood a fac-
eral structure and the common presence of castration. Never-
simile of his phallus. The Phoenician and Cypriot and in any
theless there are significant differences between these myths,
case Semitic Adonis that lives out his short season seducing
and there remains a notable uncertainty about how the motif
and being seduced by Aphrodite, whose vitality is overpow-
spread. A recurrence of Ouranos’s castration can be found
ering, bled to death in a boar hunt. But his castration is only
in the cosmogony of Philo of Byblos, a late Phoenician au-
hypothetical, and above all there is no evidence that his
thor who claims a reference to Sanchuniathon, an ancient
priests practiced ritual castration. Two basic events, emascu-
Phoenician author. Mixing local information with Greek
lation and death, therefore mark the mythical personalities
conceptions in a syncretic and euhemeristic way, Philo as-
of these young gods (but only problematically the concrete
cribes to the god El-Kronos an act of castration against his
ritual castration of their followers) and signify the depoten-
father. The Hellenic pattern is clearly apparent, but archaeo-
tiation of divine life and its inevitable repercussions on the
logical discoveries at Ugarit (Ras Shamra) in Phoenicia, dat-
life of the cosmos, which seems to imitate the vicissitude of
ing from the second millennium BCE, seem to confirm to
the divine body (Casadio, 2003).
some extent the authenticity and antiquity of the myth. In
RITUALS. The documentation related to ritual practices re-
a different case in the Prose Edda, an ancient Germanic cos-
cords, first of all, that the act of castration can sometimes be
mogony, the “father of everything,” a personal entity with
the result of temporary exaltation or religious fanaticism.
creative power, is also called “the castrated” with no further
The religio-historical as well as ethnographic literature cites
explanation. Scholars agree that many features of this divine
some examples, but their rarity and especially their complete
being are not original but derived from Christian influences,
isolation from myths, doctrines, and institutionalized inter-
and they think also that the castration element can be dated
pretations make them subjects for studies in psychology (or
back to the earliest Greek tradition of Ouranos.
psychopathology). The history of religions, on the other
Besides these cosmogonic myths other kinds of myths
hand, is concerned with institutionalized acts of castration,
in which castration constitutes a pattern of ritual action de-
for instance, within the so-called pubertal cults. All these
serve mention. The close connection between myth and rite
practices belong to a broader category of ritual mutilations,
in these cases arouses the rightful suspicion that the myth
like the custom of removal of one testicle, which is practiced
may have been constructed in order to provide a motivation
almost exclusively among Camitic populations in Africa,
for the ritual practice. The most famous myth is the Greco-
where it seems to serve as a substitute for circumcision, a
Roman story of the goddess Cybele and the god Attis. Cybe-
practice completely unknown to them. In the initiation rites
le, venerated in Rome and in the Roman Empire under the
of primitive peoples different practices involving male geni-
name of Great Mother (Magna Mater), was an ancient god-
talia are frequent (circumcision, subincision), as are those in-
volving female genitalia (clitoridectomy, infibulation), and
dess of fertility known in Anatolia since the second millenni-
their origin and significance seem rather difficult to establish.
um BCE under the name of Kubaba. Some iconographic and
According to some scholars, these practices constitute sym-
onomastic evidence suggests an even more remote origin
bolic equivalents of castration.
going back to the Anatolian Neolithic and perhaps Mesopo-
tamian civilization. The young servant-lover Attis, on the
Another category of castration is the custom, wide-
other hand, seems to have been introduced along with his
spread in the ancient Near East and in Semitic cultures, of
mate only after the arrival in Anatolia of the Phrygians
castrated priests. The kurgarru, for instance, is a eunuch
(c. eighth century BCE). There are several mythical versions
priest of Ishtar who officiates at the orgiastical rites in honor
of Attis’s castration (Hepding, 1903/1967). It is easy to fol-
of the god Marduk. Many of the clergy of Hekate in Strato-
low a constant line of development from more ancient
nicea, Caria, and in Laginas and the clergy of Artemis in
tales—much more intricate and grotesque—to the embel-
Ephesus and of Atargatis in Hierapolis, Syria, were castrated.
lished and romantic later versions. The original stories take
Some sporadic cases of analogous priestly castration have
place in an environment of unnatural primitiveness, mon-
been reported in Brahmanic India, particularly in the north-
strous procreations, violent loves, and bloody punishments.
ern mountains, and also in Nepal and Tibet. Usually the cas-
All these versions culminate in the story of Attis, who cas-
trated priests are connected with a powerful and fertile god-
trates himself in a fit of madness or out of a desire for abso-
dess, sometimes with astral characteristics, and at other times
lute chastity. Sometimes Attis’s castration is attributed to a
with the features of a goddess of animals, who is convention-
wild boar or to a jealous entity who wants to punish him for
ally called Mother Goddess.
his amorous exploits.
Finally, there is a series of examples in which the ritual
Similar is the Egyptian myth of the mystical couple Isis
of castration appears entirely institutionalized, justified ac-
and Osiris, but here the mythical castration apparently does
cording to the myths of foundation or in accordance with
not constitute a pattern of ritual action. The god Osiris was
precise beliefs and doctrines. Within the Cybele and Attis
dismembered, and fourteen pieces of his body were strewn
cult, the mythical castration of Attis is the foundation of the
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1452
CASTRATION
practice of castration of his priests (and perhaps of believers
intertwined with the rise of monasticism, this topic is evinced
too), which is a kind of sacrament of consecration, a sacrifice
in some authors as a preaching of the enkrateia (continence),
recalling the god’s passion, and sometimes a votive offering.
understood as the complete rejection of any kind of sexual
The Galli—as these priests are most commonly called—
intercourse. If within the ecclesiastical and orthodox line vir-
dedicated themselves to the goddess Cybele after willingly
ginity and chastity are recommended solely on the basis of
castrating themselves during ritual performances in which,
motivations, such as the imitation of Christ or in anticipa-
in a frenzy of dances, obsessive beating of drums, and self-
tion of the kingdom of heaven, according to these doctrines
flagellation, they reached paroxysms of exaltation. The Galli
sexual abstinence becomes a necessary condition of salvation
wore female clothing and heavy makeup, their hair was long
and is based on ontological and protological motivations of
and loose, and they lived in a wandering missionary commu-
the dualistic and Platonic mold. According to some writers,
nity, supporting themselves with alms they received for offer-
the Greek father Origen (third century CE) and other ecclesi-
ing predictions and prognostications. At Pessinus in Asia
astic authorities castrated themselves in order to extinguish
Minor they ruled sacerdotal city-states in which temples and
definitively any desire for sexual intercourse. At the same
royal palaces were unified. In Greece they were generally de-
time, in the mysterious sect of the Valesians (from Valesius,
spised and driven away because of their mutilation and their
the founder), castration was a normal practice. Epiphanius,
appearance; they were never fully assimilated into official re-
bishop of Salamis, refuted the sect and accused it of heresy.
ligion. In Rome, where the cult of Cybele was introduced in
It also seems that among the Manichaeans the current obli-
204 BCE, and in the Roman Empire they were at first strictly
gation of chastity was transformed in some cases into the
regulated and controlled by the state; then they acquired, lit-
practice of self-castration. The phenomenon must have been
tle by little, more importance and autonomy. The Roman
rather widespread, because it was addressed by the Council
distaste for eunuchism slowly faded away because of the ap-
of Nicaea (325 CE) and a bull of Pope Leo I (c. 395 CE).
proval of some emperors of the practice and because of a cer-
tain lessening of bloodier and crueler aspects of the cult.
A renewal of the practice of castration for the sake of
proselytism and asceticism (a call to remove the “organs of
Thus the cult of Cybele and Attis had its temples and
sin”) is found among the Skoptsy (the castrated), a Russian
its brotherhood in Rome, and its feasts included in the sacral
sectarian community that developed from the complex
calendar. Little by little, under the influence of a certain spir-
movement of the Raskol schism during the mid-eighteenth
itualism and new symbolic interpretations, the cult assumed
century. The Skoptsy were long persecuted, but they spread
a mystic character and became a kind of mystery cult like
throughout Russia during the next century and survived in
other cults of Oriental origin. The castration of believers was
some Romanian peasant communities until 1950.
easily explained as a sign of the search for perfection, a volun-
tary renunciation of the pleasures of the flesh, and the Attis
ORIGINS. From this brief review of facts relative to castration
figure became more and more spiritualized. During the later
in some myths and ritual practices, it becomes clear that even
Roman Empire the self-castration of believers was probably
if the ancient Semitic (and Mediterranean) world offers the
replaced or integrated into the bloody and spectacular rite
majority of the documentation and shows some cases of de-
called the Taurobolium. A bull was slain and (probably) cas-
pendence and evolution, it cannot be considered the unique
trated, and its blood was shed over the believer as a lavation
source of the diffusion of this practice. In the same way it
of intensified achievement, regenerative and purifying. Im-
is impossible to decide on a univocal interpretation of the
portant mystical interpretations of relevant myths also were
practice of castration that can explain in all cases its causes
given in late antiquity by Naassene Gnostics, for example,
and motivations. Sometimes the connection with themes of
by which “the mutilation of Attis means that he was separat-
fertility and procreation is primary, so that castration of a
ed from the low earthly regions of creation” (Cosi, 1986,
“vegetation spirit” (“Dying and rising god,” in the words of
pp. 111–113). For Julian the Apostate the castration of Attis
James George Frazer [1890, I, pp. 278–279]) constitutes a
means “a pause in the rush towards the infinite” (Cosi, 1986,
dramatic event stopping the flow of life or containing it with-
pp. 111–113).
in more orderly boundaries. “Functional” is otherwise the ex-
planation provided by Walter Burkert (1979): the act of cas-
Castration appears sporadically in practices of groups,
tration, producing neither man nor woman but “nothing,”
sects, and isolated thinkers that link it to doctrines preaching
puts a man outside archaic society and makes apostasy im-
asceticism and sexual abstinence and regard it as an escape
possible. At other times, on the basis of doctrinary principles,
from the temptations of the flesh. Such doctrines—which
castration is instead related to a search for asexuality under-
have remarkable precedents and parallels within the pagan
stood as a privileged condition. In some cases this asexuality
as well as the Judaic world—developed during the first cen-
resolves into a kind of symbolic bisexuality that aims to re-
turies of the Christian era and were inclined to radicalize the
produce in the believer the powerful joint presence of both
pronouncement by Matthew on eunuchs (Mt. 19:12) as well
sexes that is found in certain androgynous primordial figures.
as the orthodox position (of Paul, for instance) on the pres-
Interpretations influenced by psychoanalysis have often been
tige of virginity. Strongly connected with sexual and marital
offered to explain these themes. Finally, in many cases castra-
morality, bound to the theme of ecclesiastical celibacy, and
tion is clearly demanded as an extreme form of mystical prac-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CASTRÉN, MATTHIAS ALEXANDER
1453
tice in currents of thought that celebrate abstention as a
ish and other regional languages. He traveled twice
choice in life and as a condition of salvation.
throughout Eurasia, including a journey through Siberia
proposed by his Finnish colleague A. J. Sjögren (1794–
SEE ALSO Androgynes; Clitoridectomy; Cybele; Dying and
1855), an academician in Saint Petersburg. During his visits
Rising Gods; Hierodouleia; Virginity.
among the small populations in the huge, sparsely populated
territory between the Ural Mountains and the southwestern
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Chinese border, Castrén recorded local folk songs, proverbs,
For “Dying and rising gods,” see James George Frazer, The Golden
legends, and other traditions. These were published by
Bough, I-II (London, 1890). For a discussion of castration as
Anton Schiefner (1817–1879), another linguist from Saint
a form of substitution sacrifice, see Henri Graillot’s treat-
Petersburg, in the twelve-volume series Nordische Reisen und
ment of the myth and the ritual of Cybele and Attis in his
Forschungen, between 1853 and 1862.
now classic Le culte de Cybèle, mère des dieux, à Rome et dans
l’Empire romain (Paris, 1912). For a more modern treatment,
Castrén collected folklore mainly among the Samoyed
see Maarten J. Vermaseren’s Cybele and Attis: The Myth and
peoples of Siberia; most of this work was published in 1960
the Cult (London, 1977). Vermaseren compiled archaeologi-
by Toivo Lehtisalo (1887–1962) as Samojedische Sprach-
cal and literary documents concerning the cult in Corpus cul-
materialien: Gesammelt von M. A. Castrén und T. Lehtisalo.
tus Cybelae Attidisque, 7 vols. (Leiden, 1977–1989). See also
Publications on Castrén’s voyages by Aulis J. Joki (1913–
Walter Burkert, Structure and History in Greek Mythology and
1989) show how Castrén carried out his fieldwork, collecting
Ritual (Berkeley, Calif., 1979); Dario M. Cosi, Casta Mater
such linguistic artifacts as Turkish epics among the Tatars
Idaea: Giuliano l’Apostata e l’etica della sessualità (Venice,
of Minusinsk steppe at Akaban (Schiefner, 1853–1862, vol.
1986); Shaun Tougher, ed., Eunuchs in Antiquity and Beyond
2, pp. 305–306).
(London, 2002); and Maria Grazia Lancellotti, Attis: Between
Myth and History; King, Priest, and God (Leiden, 2002), a
Castrén had a rare ability to learn to communicate in
radically historicizing treatment of myth and ritual. For a dis-
foreign languages in a short time, and he spent three to six
cussion of Ouranos and Kumarbi, see Hans Gustav Güter-
months at each key station. Although he was criticized by
bock, ed., Kumarbi: Mythen vom churritischen Kronos aus den
later philologists for both his Altaic urheimat theory and his
hethitischen Fragmenten zusammengestellt (Zurich, 1946). For
overeagerness to find new languages, both of these can be un-
a reappraisal of the evidence of Dionysos, see Eric Csapo,
derstood in the context of the nationalistic Pan-Finno-Ugric
“Riding the Phallus for Dionysus,” Phoenix 51 (1997): 253–
295. The literary sources for Attis are in Hugo Hepding’s
trend of his time, which sought new relatives on the family
Attis, seine Mythen und sein Kult (Giessen, 1903; reprint,
tree of the recently established Finnish nation.
Giessen and Berlin, 1967). A comparative study of Indian
The study of Finno-Ugric religion, particularly shaman-
and Iranian ritual is Georges Dumézil, Mitra-Varuna, 4th
ism, was central to Castrén’s fieldwork between 1841 and
ed. (Paris, 1948). The theme of sexual abstinence is ad-
1849. He wrote:
dressed in Ugo Bianchi, ed., La tradizione dell’enkrateia: Mo-
tivazioni ontologiche e protologiche (Rome, 1985). See in gen-
All the religion proper of the Altaic peoples has been
eral Walter Burkert, Creation of the Sacred: Tracks of Biology
called shamanism. Unfortunately this far attention has
in Early Religions (Cambridge, Mass., 1996); Gary Taylor,
more been paid on the naming and outer features of the
Castration: An Abbreviated History of Western Manhood (New
phenomenon, not on the inner disposition, the essential
York, 2002); and Giovanni Casadio, “The Failing Male
nature of it. . . . I would not consider shamanism as
God: Emasculation, Death, and Other Accidents in the An-
a form of religion of its own, but rather as a moment
cient Mediterranean World,” Numen 50 (2003): 231–268.
of the folk religious divine doctrine. (Castrén, 1853,
p. 1)
DARIO M. COSI (1987 AND 2005)
A professor at the University of Helsingfors in the last years
of his life, Castrén was appointed chair of Finnish language
and literature studies. As a professor Castrén devoted most
CASTRÉN, MATTHIAS ALEXANDER (1813–
of his lectures to the folklore and mythology of northern peo-
1852) was a scholar of Finno-Ugric languages and the found-
ples. In one of his last lectures he defined ethnography as:
er of the Finnish School of Ethnography of Religion. His
a new name for an old thing. It means the scientific
studies of remote north Eurasian peoples helped establish a
study of the religion, society, customs, way of life, habi-
discipline that he named Altaic in accordance with his theory
tations of different peoples, in a word: everything that
of their urheimat (point of common origin) in the Altai
belongs to their inner and outer life. Ethnography could
Mountains. Now called Finno-Ugrics or Uralics, the disci-
be regarded as a part of cultural history, but not all na-
pline, in Castrén’s broad definition, embraces comparative
tions possess a history in the higher sense; instead their
studies of Finnish and Finno-Ugric languages, literature, eth-
history consists of ethnography. (Castrén, 1857, p. 8)
nology, folklore, and religion.
Castrén’s untimely death at the age of thirty-nine left much
Castrén began his studies at the University of Helsing-
of his work unfinished. He is remembered most for his lin-
fors (now Helsinki) as a student of Greek and Hebrew. Be-
guistic studies that identified the Finno-Ugric and Samoyed-
fore long, however, this was subsumed by an interest in Finn-
ic languages as members of the larger Uralic family.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1454
CASUISTRY
SEE ALSO Finnish Religions; Finno-Ugric Religions.
CASUISTRY IN NON-CHRISTIAN CONTEXTS. In the three
major ethical monotheisms, Judaism, Christianity, and
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Islam, certain persons have assumed the role of interpreting
Castrén, Matthias Alexander. Nordiska resor och forskningar, vol 2:
to the faithful the overarching moral injunctions of the Lord
Föreläsningar i finsk mytologi. Helsinki, 1853.
God. In Judaism, the written law, collected in the five books
Castrén, Matthias Alexander. Tutkimusmatkoilla Pohjolassa; Ma-
of the Torah, and the oral law, taught by Moses to the Israel-
tias Aleksanteri Castrénin matkakertomuksista suomentanut ja
ites, were expounded by the scribes. These detailed interpre-
johdan non kirjoittanut Aulis J. Joki. Helsinki, 1853.
tations of the law, collected in the two Talmuds, were them-
Castrén, Matthias Alexander. Nordiska resor och forskningar, vol.
selves commented upon by the learned teachers of the
3: Ethnologiska föreläsningar. Helsinki, 1857.
people. This immense body of literature, as well as the intel-
Castrén, Matthias Alexander, and Toivo Lehtisalo. Samojedische
Sprachmaterialien: Gesammelt von M. A. Castrén und T. Leh-
lectual tradition enshrined in it and continued by the rabbis
tisalo. Helsinki, 1940.
in the life of the people of Israel, is called halakhah (“the
Estlander, Bernhard. Mathias Aleksanteri Castrén: Hänen matkansa
way”). Concerned with fidelity to the law in every aspect of
ja tutkimuksensa. Helsinki, 1929.
daily life, it is the casuistry of Judaism. However, within this
Joki, Aulis J. “M. A. Castrénin elämäntyö.” Virittäjä 67 (1963).
tradition, a special form of reasoning, employing very sharp
Pentikäinen, Juha. “Northern Ethnography: On the Foundations
distinctions and clever logic, came to be called pilpul
of a New Paradigm.” In Styles and Positions: Ethnographical
(“pepper”). Flourishing in the late Middle Ages, it was criti-
Perspectives in Comparative Religion. Comparative Religion 8.
cized by the great rabbi Eliyyahu ben Shelomoh Zalman
Helsinki, Finland, 2002.
(1720–1797) and others for twisting the plain truth “like
Schiefner, Anton. Nordische Reisen und forschungen. Saint Peters-
shaping a wax nose.” In this respect, pilpul resembles the
burg, 1853–1862.
Roman Catholic casuistry of the seventeenth century that
JUHA PENTIKÄINEN (2005)
gave rise to the pejorative connotation of the word.
Shar¯ı Eah (lit., “the path toward water”) designates the
holy law of Islam revealed in the QurDa¯n. More particularly,
CASUISTRY. Moral knowledge comprises general prin-
the word refers to forms of ritual and social behavior to be
ciples and propositions: for example, “Do unto others as you
observed by the faithful. In the eighth and ninth centuries,
would have them do unto you,” “Honest persons do not lie
schools of interpretation coalesced: they attempted to define
or steal,” and so forth. However, moral knowledge also bears
precisely the exact content and stringency of the law. The
on choices to act in specific ways in unique situations. Thus,
teachers of Islam, muft¯ıs, issued fatwa¯s, considered opinions
general principles must be transformed into particular
for the guidance of the faithful, distinguishing moral acts as
choices: “I should not make this offensive remark about him
obligatory, recommended, permitted, reprehensible, or for-
because I would not want him to say such a thing about me
bidden. Since God’s will is inscrutable, it is permitted to find
in the hearing of those people,” “I could not consider myself
hiyal (“stratagems”) to avoid the letter of the law in favor of
honest if I told her she was capable enough to deserve pro-
the spirit. Again, it is this aspect of Muslim casuistry that re-
motion,” and so forth. Casuistry is concerned with the tran-
calls the reprehensible approach that gave casuistry its bad
sition from general moral knowledge to particular moral
name.
choices. It can be defined as “the technique of reasoning
whereby expert opinion is formulated concerning the exis-
In the Western philosophical and theological tradition,
tence and stringency of particular obligations in light of gen-
two sources of casuistry are manifest. Socrates suggested cases
eral moral maxims and under typical conditions of the agent
to test whether the general definitions of virtue proposed by
and circumstances of the action.”
his interlocutors were adequate (e.g., in Euthyphro, Laches).
Religious moralities that rest upon strong divine com-
Aristotle noted, as the premier methodological point of his
mands and prohibitions are fertile ground for a casuistry.
Nicomachean Ethics that, while the nature of the human good
Unless a divine imperative is couched in terms that direct a
and of virtue can be stated in general, “fine and just actions
particular person to perform or refrain from a particular act
exhibit much variety and fluctuation” (Nicomachean Ethics
at a particular time (e.g., “Moses, you must proclaim the
1.3). The Stoics proposed the most general precepts (e.g.,
Commandments to the people when you descend the moun-
“Follow nature”), and their opponents, particularly the Cyn-
tain”), interpretation of the general statement of a divine
ics, retorted with cases to show that rules of such generality
command is necessary. Does, for example, the command
could lead to no definite conclusions for action, or even to
“Thou shalt not kill” apply to David facing Goliath? Howev-
contradictory ones. Certain questions that become perennial
er, it is not only divine commands and prohibitions that gen-
first appear in this debate: for example, “Which of two ship-
erate the need for casuistry. All statements of moral principle
wrecked men clinging to a spar has a right to it?” and
are expressed in universal terms; thus, any ethical system, if
“Should a merchant reveal defects of his merchandise?” Cic-
it is to take effect in the lives and actions of its adherents,
ero recalls these questions and employs them to illustrate his
must have its universal principles fitted to the various situa-
theses regarding the priority of virtue over expedience. The
tions in which decisions are to be taken.
third book of his On Duties is, in effect, the first book of ca-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CASUISTRY
1455
suistry in Western moral philosophy, even though it contains
Roman Catholics to confess sins by kind and number, a reac-
much material from authors of the Late Stoa.
tion to Protestant rejection of confession to a priest. The So-
CASUISTRY IN THE CHRISTIAN ERA. The teachings of Christ
ciety of Jesus, founded in 1540, dedicated itself to propagat-
contain many “hard and impossible” commands: “If you will
ing the proper use of the sacrament of penance and to the
follow me, leave father and mother,” “Turn the other cheek,”
education of the Catholic laity and clergy. In the religious
“It is as hard for a rich man to enter heaven as for a camel
turmoil of the last half of the sixteenth century, many settled
to pass through the eye of a needle.” Those dedicated to fol-
moral positions were upset. Catholics faced novel problems
lowing his ideals of love and mercy had to discern how these
of personal relationship (e.g., how to deal with non-
difficult and paradoxical commands were to be carried out
Catholics) and of public moment (e.g., how to continue to
in daily life. They also faced the problem of whether they and
observe traditional prohibitions regarding money lending in
all converts from Judaism and paganism were bound by the
the new mercantile economy, how to govern newly discov-
law of the Jews. There is therefore some casuistry in the Gos-
ered lands, whether to give allegiance to rulers of newly
pels, in the Acts of the Apostles, and in the epistles of Paul,
formed national states). The Jesuits and other theologians
all of it employing reasoning of the type familiar to the rab-
undertook to analyze these problems, both in speculative
binical schools. In the early centuries of the church, many
treatises and in more practical case presentation. They pro-
Christian writers faced the problem of how the Christian
duced a vast literature, known collectively as “cases of con-
should live. In Can a Rich Man Be Saved? Clement of Alexan-
science.” In the century between 1565 and 1665, over six
dria advises that the severe words of Jesus do not condemn
hundred titles appeared, many of them in multiple editions.
those who, while rich in goods, are poor in spirit. Augustine’s
In 1663 Blaise Pascal, the great mathematician and
On Lying is a premier work of casuistry in which appears the
physicist who had taken the side of the Jansenists (a Catholic
question analyzed centuries later by Kant: “Should a person
sect of extreme piety and rigor) against the Jesuits, published
lie to conceal an innocent person from persecutors?”
the Provincial Letters. In this brilliant satire, he attacked the
In the history of Christianity, casuistry was given its
Jesuit casuists, citing case after case in which ingenious analy-
greatest impetus by the practice of confession of sins and ab-
sis led to outrageous moral conclusions. The casuists, with
solution by a priest. When private confession first appeared,
their clever distinctions, seemed able and willing to dispense
in the sixth to the eighth centuries, books of direction were
with all moral probity, allowing killing, adultery, and lying,
written for priests advising them what penances to impose.
if only the circumstances were right. The criticism, justified
These “penitential books,” while lacking precise analysis of
to some extent, was too far-reaching: it condemned the entire
moral acts, show an incipient sense of discrimination regard-
enterprise of casuistry for the faults of some of its authors and
ing the moral seriousness of certain acts and the circum-
the weakness of some aspects of its methodology. From that
stances that modify or excuse. In the twelfth century the
time onward, casuistry has carried the opprobrious sense of
canon law of the church, working with the large corpus of
moral sophistry.
ecclesiastical case law, as well as with rediscovered Roman
Casuistry continued to be an integral part of Catholic
law, provided distinctions and categories for a more refined
moral theology. Alfonso Liguori (1696–1787), a most re-
casuistry, as did the speculative theology of the thirteenth
vered Catholic moralist, was a master casuist. By the mid-
century. The books for confessors published from the late
nineteenth century, however, casuistry had become sterile
thirteenth through the fifteenth centuries manifest this influ-
and was much criticized, within and without the church, for
ence in careful but succinct delineations of the nature of con-
its failure to promote moral ideals and its dwelling on mini-
science, of law, and of imputability. These later volumes were
mal obligation. Nevertheless, some fine casuistic analyses
stimulated by a universal law of the church requiring that all
continued to appear: about the just war, the just wage, abor-
confess at least yearly and that the confessor deal with peni-
tion, and so forth.
tents “as a prudent physician of the spirit” (Fourth Lateran
Council, 1215). These books present innumerable cases in-
Protestant theology showed little interest in casuistry—
volving marriage, commerce, feudal obligations, and justice.
indeed showed early antipathy. (Luther cast the Summa An-
In each example the purpose is to assist the confessor in judg-
gelica into the flames, calling it the “Summa Diabolica.”) An-
ing whether a particular act that appeared to violate a moral
glican theologians engaged in a vigorous casuistry in the sev-
commandment of church law did in fact do so in the particu-
enteenth century, with Jeremy Taylor and William Perkins
lar circumstances of its commission. Raymond Pennafort,
being the leading authors. In the twentieth century, Con-
Peter the Cantor, Alain of Lille, William of Chobham, and
science and Its Problems (1927), one of the very few modern
Peter of Poitiers were the principal authors of this genre. In
English works on casuistry, was written by an Anglican theo-
the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, certain summae that
logian, Kenneth E. Kirk.
presented material in alphabetical order (e.g., from Absolu-
In the 1970s, interest in medical ethics led to the revival
tion to Uxoricide) became immensely popular: the Summa
of a sort of casuistry both within and without the theological
Astesana, the Summa Sylvestrina, and the Summa Angelica.
context. The occurrence of many cases of note, such as that
During the Reformation, casuistry was stimulated by
of Karen Ann Quinlan, brought theological and philosophi-
several circumstances. The Council of Trent (1551) required
cal moralists to analyze the ethical issues. The National
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1456
CATHARI
Commission for Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedi-
Keenan, James F., and Thomas Shannon, eds. The Context of Ca-
cal and Behavioral Research (1974–1978) employed a meth-
suistry. Washington, D.C., 1995.
od of case analysis to develop the ethics of research. In the
Leites, Edmund, ed. Conscience and Casuistry in Early Modern Eu-
1980s, concern about nuclear armaments further stimulated
rope. New York, 1988.
casuistry, and a case analysis of various “scenarios” of defense
Miller, Richard P. Casuistry and Modern Ethics: A Poetics of Practi-
was developed. The Church and the Bomb (1983), a publica-
cal Reasoning. Chicago, 1996.
tion of the Church of England, and the pastoral letter on nu-
Vallance, Edmund, and Harald Braun, eds. Conscience in the Early
clear warfare (1984) of the American Catholic bishops are
Modern World, 1500–1700. New York, 2003.
both examples of sound casuistry.
ALBERT R. JONSEN (1987)
METHODOLOGY OF CASUISTRY. Casuistry differs from moral
Revised Bibliography
philosophy in a number of ways. The work of the casuist is
discrimination; that of the moral philosopher, generaliza-
tion. Casuists discuss moral problems; moral philosophers
discuss moral reasoning. Casuists analyze the morality of
CATHARI. Catharism (from cathari, “the pure”) was dis-
choice in circumstances; moral philosophers analyze the
tinguished from the other heresies of the Middle Ages by its
meaning of moral principle in general. While the work of
rejection of basic Christian beliefs, although its adherents
moral philosophers has been richly described and many
claimed that in their pursuit of a pure life they were the only
methodologies have been proposed, the work of casuists—
true Christians. In contrast to the Waldensians and other
although we are all, in a sense, casuists in our personal moral
gospel-inspired movements of the twelfth century, the basis
deliberations—is hardly understood, and it has no accepted
of Catharism was a non-Christian dualism deriving ultimate-
methodology. Even the casuists of the seventeenth century
ly from Gnosticism. In place of the Christian conception of
developed no overall method of resolution of moral prob-
an inherently good universe that was wholly God’s creation
lems. Inspection of their work, however, reveals the outline
and embraced all existence, spiritual and material alike, this
of their method.
dualism posited two principles: one good, governing all that
was spiritual, the other evil, responsible for the material
Casuists developed positions by first stating a case in
world, including man’s body. The consequence was the deni-
which the moral obligations entailed by a rule were most
al of the central Christian doctrines of the incarnation,
clear and then moving, step by step, to more complex cases.
Christ’s two natures and the virgin birth, bodily resurrection,
These steps were taken by adding various circumstances and
and the sacraments, all of which involve the acceptance of
weighing their relevance to the stringency of the rule. They
matter as part of God’s design, as well as nullifying the doc-
assessed the degree of credence that various options deserved
trine of the Trinity and the very idea of God’s omnipotence.
and the consequent weight of moral obligation. They aimed
at resolving the case not by settling theoretical problems but
By the time it reached the West from Byzantium, Cath-
by practical advice concerning how seriously a person in-
arism had taken two forms, a mitigated and a radical dual-
volved in certain sorts of circumstances should consider him-
ism. Mitigated dualism originated with the Bogomils in Bul-
self bound by or excused from the moral principles generally
garia in the tenth century, spreading to the Byzantine
incumbent. The strength of the casuists’ method lay in an
empire, whence it was carried to western Europe. It was
appreciation of exceptions and excuses generated by different
closer to Christianity in recognizing only one God, the good
circumstances; the weakness lay in the absence of any theo-
God who had created everything good, including Satan, who
retically established boundaries of this appreciation. Casu-
had been his eldest son Lucifer before he had rebelled against
istry at its best is vigorous moral common sense; at its worst,
his father. Satan had therefore corrupted himself by his own
it is moral sleight of hand.
free will, and that freedom was held, somewhat inconsistent-
ly, to belong also to the souls that Satan subsequently impris-
SEE ALSO Christian Ethics.
oned in bodies. Adapting the Old Testament account of cre-
ation in Genesis, the Bogomils, and later the Cathari,
BIBLIOGRAPHY
substituted Satan for God as creator of the firmament and
Häring, Bernhard. The Law of Christ, vol. 1, General Moral Theol-
the visible world, although Satan made it from preexisting
ogy. Translated by Edwin G. Kaiser. Westminster, Md.,
1961. See especially chapter 1.
matter created by God from nothing.
Jonsen, Albert R., and Stephen Toulmin. The Abuse of Casuistry.
The world was therefore Satan’s domain, and the Old
Berkeley, 1988.
Testament was the witness to his tyrannical rule. Hence the
Kirk, Kenneth E. Conscience and Its Problems: An Introduction to
Cathari rejected the Old Testament as God’s word—one of
Casuistry. London, 1927.
their distinguishing traits. Although they accepted the New
Long, Edward L. Conscience and Compromise: An Approach to Prot-
Testament, its meaning was transformed as part of a syncre-
estant Casuistry. Philadelphia, 1954.
tism of Christian and non-Christian beliefs, expressed as alle-
New Sources
gories and fables that were the preserve of the initiated—the
Gallagher, Lowell. Medusa’s Gaze: Casuistry and Conscience in the
perfect. Catharism thus not only had its own tenets and prac-
Renaissance. Stanford, Calif., 1991.
tices but also its own canonical literature.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CATHARI
1457
The only thing that Satan had been unable to make was
garded as angels, neither having a real body. For both abso-
the human soul; it came from the angels and was variously
lute and mitigated dualists, as indeed for orthodox Chris-
described in the different Cathar fables as having been cap-
tians, all souls would at the end be saved or damned. But for
tured or stolen from heaven and then put in a body. The first
the absolute dualists free will seems to have played no part
two imprisoned souls were Adam and Eve, who by succumb-
in salvation. At the end the visible world would fall into ma-
ing to Satan’s temptations, depicted in strongly sexual imag-
terial chaos from which all souls would have departed,
ery, became the progenitors of the human race. The penalty
whereas for the mitigated dualists Satan would be captured
for their fall, which for the Cathari was identified particularly
and all things would return to order.
with sexuality, was the procreation of individual souls with
their bodies, so that all men were born as souls imprisoned
Accordingly the Cathari shunned all contact with the
in a body. The whole of Cathar religious practice was direct-
material, beyond that which was unavoidable to their exis-
ed toward releasing the soul from the body, thereby liberat-
tence as human beings. That meant the rejection of marriage,
ing it from Satan’s rule and enabling it to return to its place
of all foods that were the product of sexual generation, of all
in heaven. That was also the reason why God, taking pity
material elements in worship, and of all involvement in
on the fallen angels, represented by mankind suffering for
things of this world, whether love of material goods or world-
Adam and Eve’s sin, had sent not only Christ, his second
ly behavior, including any kind of violence or taking of life,
son, but also the Holy Spirit into the world to help redeem
the exercise of jurisdiction, or the swearing of oaths. The re-
them. Although they, too, according to some mitigated dual-
sult was an extreme asceticism and austerity, which in their
ists, were part of God’s nature, they were inferior to God.
moral and practical expression had close affinities with the
Moreover, as a spirit, Christ in his human form did not have
Christian ideal of evangelical perfection. The Cathari exhib-
a real body: it was either, according to some, a phantom, or,
ited the same sense of material renunciation and spiritual de-
according to others, some kind of angelic covering. Whatever
votion, and that probably more than anything else accounted
the case, though, the human Christ of the Cathari was not
for the hold that the Cathari were able to gain in southern
the word made flesh. He had not been born of Mary but had
France and northern Italy in the twelfth and thirteenth cen-
entered through her ear. Nor did he suffer on the cross, an-
turies.
other of the material objects, together with images and the
Because the demands of Catharism were exceptional,
material properties of the Christian sacraments, rejected by
strict practice was confined to a small minority of adepts, the
the Cathari. The true Christ suffered for mankind in heaven.
perfect. They represented the Cathar hierarchy; unlike the
In this world his role was to show the way and reestablish
Christian hierarchy, however, they were a very small elite
the truth of God’s word. In that sense there was, in keeping
who had to prove themselves all the time. The mass of ordi-
with their docetic belief, only one Christ, in heaven; he was
nary Cathar believers were able to live ordinary lives while
not to be found in churches, which were not his house: one
accepting the spiritual ministrations and authority of the
more Cathar trait, shared with the Waldensians, although by
the late twelfth century in Languedoc, the Cathari did use
perfect.
churches as meeting places for their ceremonies. The struggle
The great dividing line between the perfect and the be-
of the soul with Satan would finally end not as in the ortho-
lievers was the reception of the consolamentum: the initiation
dox Christian belief, in the body’s resurrection with the soul,
rite of spiritual baptism by the laying on of hands that admit-
but in the body’s destruction with all of Satan’s handiwork
ted the recipient into the ranks of the perfect. It was usually
and the soul’s ascent into heaven.
performed after a year’s probation and the full revelation of
The main divergence of radical dualism from the miti-
Cathar teaching, which was not accessible to the ordinary ad-
gated form lay in its making the opposition between the
herents. Once received, the consolamentum remitted the con-
principles of good and evil absolute and eternal. Good and
soled’s sins and the consequences of the soul’s imprisonment
evil and their creations had always coexisted. And as the good
in a body, reuniting his soul with his spirit in heaven and
God’s creation was heaven, so the visible world created by
releasing him from Satan’s rule. It was then that his testing
Satan was hell. Hence to live in this world was to be in hell,
really began. Any lapse into forbidden sins—and for the Ca-
in man’s case through having a body in which, as with the
thari they were all equal—meant the loss of the consolamen-
mitigated dualists, Satan had initially imprisoned the souls
tum both for the sinner and for those who had been consoled
of angels taken from heaven. Free will thus played no part
by him. He could be reconsoled only after severe penance.
in Satan’s original fall; and the power of God was corre-
But so long as he remained firm to his obedience, he was ef-
spondingly restricted in never having had control over evil,
fectively among the saved, one of the perfect, and revered as
which was completely autonomous. Nor did individuals
such by ordinary believers. For the latter a special consola-
have the means of directly returning to God. Although
mentum was administered before death to remit their sins
Christ taught the way of salvation, individuals had first to
and bring salvation; should they recover, a further consola-
undergo a series of reincarnations until they came to recog-
mentum was needed. The consolamentum thus conferred a
nize evil by becoming perfect, thereby freeing their souls
Gnostic-like certainty of salvation which challenged ortho-
from the devil. Christ himself, and generally Mary, were re-
dox Christian revelation.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1458
CATHARSIS
The precise date of the appearance of Catharism in
most up-to-date account of medieval popular heresies. Par-
western Europe has been keenly debated; there is no univer-
ticularly strong on the Cathari.
sal agreement even now. The generally accepted view is that
Moore, R. I., ed. The Birth of Popular Heresy. London, 1975. A
the first firm evidence of Cathari appears at Cologne in 1143
representative selection of translated sources, mainly from
or 1144. That opinion could well be modified in the future.
the twelfth century, with a useful introduction.
What can be said is that by the 1150s they were in southern
Obolensky, Dimitri. The Bogomils: A Study in Balkan Neo-
France and northern Italy; by the 1160s they were firmly es-
Manichaeism. Cambridge, 1948. The standard account in
tablished in both regions. These became their two chief areas,
English.
especially Languedoc in the lands of the count of Toulouse.
Russell, Jeffrey B. Dissent and Reform in the Early Middle Ages.
In 1176 a great council of Cathari is reported to have been
Berkeley, 1965. A useful, wide-ranging survey of early medi-
held at Saint-Félix-de-Caraman where, in addition to an al-
eval heresies to the end of the twelfth century.
ready existing Cathar bishopric at Albi, three more bishop-
Thouzellier, Christine. Catharisme et Valdéisme en Languedoc.
rics were established for Cathar territories. It was from Albi
Louvain and Paris, 1969. A very full analysis of the sources.
that the southern French Cathari received their name of Al-
Wakefield, Walter L. Heresy, Crusade and Inquisition in Southern
bigensians (Albigenses). By 1170 they had become the main
France, 1100–1250. Berkeley, 1974. A clear, brief account
heresy to be combated. The papacy sent a succession of
with a good bibliography.
preaching missions, including Waldensians, Cistercians, and
Wakefield, Walter L., and Austin P. Evans, eds. Heresies of the
the founder of the Dominican order, Dominic. As early as
High Middle Ages. New York and London, 1969. The largest
1181 Alexander III’s cardinal legate, Henry, abbot of Clair-
collection of translated sources, particularly valuable for their
vaux (before whom Valdès also appeared), besieged a castle
fullness.
at Lavaux sheltering two heretics. Alexander’s successor, In-
GORDON LEFF (1987)
nocent III, intensified the pressure, using both sanctions and
persuasion. Matters came to a head in January 1208, when
one of Innocent’s legates, Peter Castelnau, was assassinated.
CATHARSIS. The Greek katharsis is an action noun cor-
Innocent, who had already called upon the king of France
responding to a verb that literally means “to prune, to clean,
to make war against the Cathari, then launched his own cru-
to remove dirt or a blemish [katharma] for the purpose of
sade under the abbot of Cïteaux. That marked the beginning
rendering some thing, place, or animate being pure [ka-
of the Albigensian crusade, in which the lands of the count
tharos].” As denoting the general process of purification, ca-
of Toulouse were overrun. Although the crusade severely
tharsis could of course be applied to a very broad range of
weakened the Cathari, they survived and regrouped. It was
phenomena in the history of religions. In this article, howev-
not until 1243 that they were effectively destroyed as an or-
er, the focus will be specifically on the Greek conception. Al-
ganized church with the capture of over 200 perfect at Mon-
though the meaning of catharsis and the exact techniques or
tségur. Their strength had lain in the widespread support
modalities of purification (katharmoi) differ according to
they had received in both town and countryside from the no-
context, the sense of catharsis always remains negative: it re-
bles as well as from artisans and members of the professions.
fers to separating, evacuating, or releasing. Whether per-
For a time before the Albigensian crusade they had overshad-
formed in a strictly ritual setting or understood as a spiritual
owed the Roman Catholic church in southern France.
concept, catharsis maintains this negative meaning of ridding
In Italy, the Cathari never enjoyed the same cohesion
either oneself or an object of something impure or unclean.
as those in Languedoc. They were driven by the conflicts that
Catharsis originally appears as a ritualized process of
began early in the 1160s between adherents of the two forms
quasi-material purification that makes use of a variety of sub-
of dualism. They were also mainly located in the cities, where
stances as purifying agents. Chief among these are the ele-
they owed their survival to the opposition of the cities to
ments water, fire, and sulfur, followed by oil, clay, and bran.
both imperial and papal authority. It was only in the second
Certain other vegetable substances, such as laurel, myrtle,
half of the thirteenth century, after the ending of the wars
and olive are also used, especially as prophylactics (coronets
between the popes and Frederick II, the German emperor,
of leaves) or as supports of cleansing waters (aspersions).
that the way was cleared for papal action against the Cathari.
Since ceremonial purifications are usually conducted out in
A series of trials in the larger Italian cities had largely extirpat-
the open, the element of air also plays a role.
ed them by the beginning of the fourteenth century, at which
In the selection and use of such purifying agents, the
time they also disappeared from Languedoc.
symbolism of numbers sometimes comes into play, especially
SEE ALSO Dominic; Waldensians.
of the numbers three, seven, and nine. The gestures involved
in aspersions, ablutions, fumigations, and the like, may be
BIBLIOGRAPHY
repeated a set number of times; a definite number of sacrifi-
Borst, Arno. Die Katharer. Stuttgart, 1953. The standard work on
cial victims may be required; and even the source of the water
the subject.
used in the rite may be determined on the basis of numbers
Lambert, Malcolm. Medieval Heresy: Popular Movements from Bo-
(water coming from a river that arises from three springs was
gomil to Hus. London and New York, 1977. The fullest and
preferred).
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CATHARSIS
1459
When a sacrificial victim was required for purification,
by Apollo himself. The stain of death may also be collective,
the pig was the most frequently sacrificed animal. However,
as in the case of the Athenians after the deaths of Androgeus
once a year, the Athenians purified their city with the sacri-
or the Cylonians. In this case a collective purification may
fice of two human victims, pharmakoi, one bearing the guilt
be necessary. Even the quelling of malefic creatures such as
of all the Athenian men, the other bearing the guilt of all the
the brigands killed by Theseus, the dragon killed by Cadmus,
Athenian women. As a general rule whatever served for the
or the serpent Python killed by Apollo demands purification.
purification had to be completely destroyed. Human victims
However, Homer presents us with a somewhat different
were burned.
picture. Odysseus, after having executed the suitors of Penel-
The idea of defilement is closely linked to the percep-
ope, asks that sulfur and fire be brought “to disperse the bad
tion of a disturbance of the natural order or a breach of the
air” (Odyssey, 22.481). This is meant to purify the house but
day-to-day routine. Contacts or experiences that call into
not particularly those who have been killed or have done the
question the physical integrity of the individual or of the
killing. It is as if the cadaver that defiles a house takes prece-
general environment require a catharsis. Since health is un-
dence over the idea of moral responsibility for homicide.
derstood to be normal, illness is seen as something abnormal,
Throughout antiquity the sentiment prevails that the
as a physical or mental stain requiring purification. Madness,
contact with death, the presence of the dead under the family
too, and breaches of morality are seen as illnesses and there-
roof, demands purification. Iamblichus writes around 300
fore as defilements; thus an army in violation of the law or
CE: “It is impious to touch human bodies from which the
in revolt can be called back to order, cured of its illness,
soul has departed,” since “the nonliving mark the living with
through purifications. Examples of this “psychosomatic” use
a stain.” Thus the domicile of the deceased should be ritually
of purification are numerous. The Proetides were purified of
disinfected. In the morning, vases of lustral water that had
their madness by the magus Melampus. To cure the Lacedae-
to be borrowed from another house were placed at the door
monian women struck with nymphomania required the in-
of the deceased’s home. These were then interred with the
tervention of a kathart¯es Bakis, delegated by Apollo, the god
dead. The funeral and the subsequent rites had the ultimate
of healing and purification. The women of Samos were liber-
purpose of purifying the family and consecrating the bound-
ated from their sexual exaltation thanks to the katharmos of
ary that would henceforth separate the dead from the living;
Dexikreon.
any dead person deprived of a tomb thus remained a
The Bacchants were liberated from their maladies quite
katharma.
differently, however—in the orgy, which temporarily identi-
Certain sacred places prohibit the presence of tombs. Pi-
fied them with Dionysos, the god of mania. The Dionysian
sistratus, instructed by the oracles, purified the island of
orgy is cathartic to the extent that it releases the urges re-
Delos by having the dead disinterred “anywhere in the region
pressed by social and moral constraints. The ritual release of
within visual range of the sanctuary” (Herodotus, 1.64).
the Dionysian rite is a purification: “Blessed are the dancers
Later, in 426, all of the dead found on the island were dis-
and those who are purified, who dance on the hill in the holy
posed of (Thucydides, 1.8, 3.104, 5.1). The authorities of
dance of god” (Euripides, The Bacchae 75ff.). Intoxication
Eleusis had the body of a dead man found on the plain of
from wine or from dance purges the individual of irrational
Rharos removed and had the entire plain purified by a
impulses which, if repressed, would be noxious. Ritual mad-
kathart¯es. Contact with the world of the dead was not per-
ness can also cure internal madness. Music, too, can have a
missible without prior lustrations (Homer, Odyssey 11.25ff.;
cathartic function (Quintilianus Aristides, Peri mousik¯es
Lucian, Nekuomanteia 7). Conversely, one who was resusci-
3.23). The Aristotelian theory of tragedy—initially Dionysi-
tated had to be washed and nursed like a newborn (Plutarch,
ac—defined catharsis from this same perspective: The satia-
Quaestiones Romanae 5). Even encountering the dead in a
tion of the passions by the spectacle of the theater is a thera-
dream requires purification (Aristophanes, Ranae 1340). Fi-
peutic based, like the Bacchic ekstasis, on purgative and
nally, contact with and, particularly, the eating of dead ani-
liberating homeopathy.
mals were impure in the eyes of the Orphics, the Pythagore-
ans, the initiates of the cult of Zagreus (Euripides, The
Contact with death requires purification, whether it is
Cretans 472), as well as for candidates for certain initiations
a death one has caused, the death of a family member, or any
(Porphyry, De abstinentia 4.16; Apuleius, Metamorphoses
other contact with the dead. The murderer, whether the act
11.23.2). There was also a blood taboo, which legitimated
was voluntary or involuntary, is defiled. Herakles had to be
excluding criminals from the Eleusinian mysteries, but the
purified of the deaths of Iphitos, the Meropes, the sons of
Lesser Mysteries of Agra prepared them for initiation into the
Proteus, and the centaurs; Achilles of the murder of Thersites
Greater.
(according to Arctinos of Miletus); Jason and Medea of the
murder of Apsyrtos; and Theseus of the murder of the Pal-
The blood taboo explains the relationship of menstrua-
lantides. In certain cases, only the gods can cleanse the crimi-
tion, generation, and parturition to catharsis. Hippocrates
nal of his wrongdoing. Ixion was apparently the first murder-
gives the menstrual periods the name katharsis because they
er purified by Zeus. Patricide constituted a particularly grave
relieve women of their menstrual blood. The houses of
case, whether of Oedipus or Orestes; the latter was purified
women giving birth also require purification. Miscarriages
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1460
CATHARSIS
require forty days of lustrations. When Delos was purified
things are”). The speculations of the Orphics were particular-
in 426 all lying-in on the island was forbidden. To approach
ly important to this change of emphasis. Orphic mythology
a woman in labor was, for the superstitious character in The-
places a hereditary taint on humanity that has been com-
ophrastus (Characteres 16.9), as serious as walking on a grave
pared to a sort of original sin. It is said that Zeus, hurling
or touching the dead (the two injunctions are often in tan-
a bolt of lightning, reduced the race of Titans to cinders for
dem). The initiates of Ida whom Euripides places on stage
having eaten Dionysos Zagreus. The human race is then
in The Cretans avoid “assisting at birth or approaching a cof-
born from these cinders. Consequently, human beings must
fin.” The newborn, too, must be purified. By means of sever-
be delivered from this Titanic contamination in order to re-
al lustrations the Amphidromies of the Greeks and the rites
cover their true Bacchic essence. Toward this end, Orphic
of the dies lustricus of the Romans integrate the newborn into
catharsis serves to actually reinstate the divine life through
the community and preserve him from evil spirits attracted
the practice of continual asceticism. Similarly, Plato (Phaedo,
by the blood present at birth.
67c) refers to an “ancient tradition” for the purification par
excellence: the separation of the soul from the body. The
Sexual contacts demand catharsis just as those with
kathart¯es whom Plato ridicules in The Republic (364e) and
death or the dead. Anyone wishing to approach the chapel
the Orpheotelestes of Theophrastus (Characteres 16.11) offer
of Men-Lunus had to be purified if he had eaten pork or gar-
ritual recipes. The “Orphic life” implies a spiritual discipline,
lic or touched a woman or corpses. Matrimonial rites derive
a kind of personal sacrifice. Similarly, the Platonists and,
from concerns connected with the taboos of blood, sex, or
later, the Neoplatonists, were to preach the liberation of the
life. They consist of preliminary lustrations (baths, asper-
spirit. This catharsis is reserved, however, for the elite sages,
sions, circulating fumigations, the wearing of white vest-
and with the last of the Neoplatonists the techniques of the-
ments and of crowns), which were to safeguard the couple
urgy tended to overshadow intellectual purification.
(Euripides, Iphigenia in Aulis 1111; Valerius Flaccus, Ar-
gonautica 8.245f.).
After physical death (which the philosopher can antici-
pate while still in the body), the soul must be stripped of the
More radically, life itself can appear impure, inasmuch
garments that it has donned in its descent through the plane-
as life comes from a mixture of body and soul, Dionysiac and
tary spheres (Cumont, 1949, pp. 358, 364; Festugière, 1953,
Titanic elements which, according to Orphism, are implicit
pp. 128ff.). Posthumous catharsis, as understood by the Or-
in the human makeup. Life is also impure when compared
phics and Neoplatonists, consists in separating the soul from
to that of the gods. Contact with the gods thus requires cer-
all heterogeneous elements. Vergil’s hell (Aeneid, 6.740ff.),
tain lustrations. Access to sacred enclosures (and especially
which tries the souls by wind, water, and fire, reminds us of
to the aduton, the inner sanctum) is forbidden to those who
the katharmoi of Empedocles (frag. 115). Seneca (Ad Mar-
have not undergone the ritual catharsis. Pools of water for
ciam de consolatione 25.1), by contrast, gives a moral explana-
this purpose are located at the entrances to sanctuaries, remi-
tion for posthumous purification. The funeral pyre is
niscent of the holy water fonts of Christian churches. The
thought by some to purify the soul from the body. Lightning
sacrificial ceremony itself includes purifications of the offici-
is also thought to confer apotheosis (Cumont, 1949,
ates, of the participants, the victim, the liturgical vessel, the
p. 330). For others, the universe as a whole is subject to peri-
instruments of immolations, and the altar near which the an-
odic purifications, which in Stoic cosmology consist of del-
imal is to be slaughtered.
uges and conflagrations (Origen, Against Celsus 4.12, 4.21,
The initiations, which permit man to establish a closer
4.64, 4.69).
bond with the world of the gods, indeed, to be assimilated
From birth to death, through marriage and initiations,
to the gods in certain cases, impose on the candidate a rigor-
catharsis thus sanctioned the major steps of life. From its
ous catharsis. Examples include the rituals of Andania and
therapeutic, magic, or prophylactic functions, catharsis tend-
Agra, various types of abstinences, baths in the sea with a sac-
ed to shift in time to a moral and mystical exercise, especially
rificial pig for the candidates for the mysteries of Eleusis, and
in stipulating the conditions for salvation or apotheosis
the continences, abstinences, and ablutions for the initiates
through radical ablation or liberation.
of Isis, Mithra, and Dionysos. The Bacchic mysteries could
even be regarded as being essentially cathartic. These rites
SEE ALSO Blood; Fire; Purification; Water.
suppose that man himself is too unclean to enter into rela-
tionship with the gods. Moreover, he cannot himself proceed
BIBLIOGRAPHY
with his own purification; he needs to have recourse to the
Bouché-Leclercq, Auguste. “Lustratio.” In Dictionnaire des anti-
techniques of a priest or of a kathart¯es.
quités grecques et romains (1904), edited by Charles Darem-
berg et al., vol. 3. Graz, 1963.
The philosophers, however, shifted emphasis in the un-
derstanding of catharsis, viewing it more in terms of spiritual
Boyancé, Pierre. Le culte des muses chez les philosophes grecs. Paris,
purification. An inscription at Epidaurus recommends that
1937.
one approach the gods with a pure spirit (Porphyry, De ab-
Boyancé, Pierre. “Platon et les cathartes orphiques.” Revue des
stinentia 2.19; cf. Cicero, De legibus 2.24: “The law bids one
études grecques 55 (1942): 217–235.
approach the gods purely, with a spirit that is in which all
Cumont, Franz. Lux perpetua. Paris, 1949.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CATHERINE OF SIENA
1461
Dodds, E. R. The Greeks and the Irrational. Berkeley, 1951.
the theological knowledge of friends she attracted among
Fehrle, Eugen. Die kultische Keuschheit im Altertum. Giessen,
Dominicans, Augustinians, Franciscans, and Jesuits. She
1910.
began, too, to draw as disciples people from every walk of
Festugière, A.-J. La révélation d’Hermès Trismégiste, vol. 3. Paris,
life, a circle she would call her famiglia. She found an ideal
1953.
mentor in the Dominican friar Raymond of Capua. Ray-
Festugière, A.-J. Études de religion grecque et hellénistique. Paris,
mond was an astute theologian and diplomat, under whose
1972.
guidance and in whose company Catherine’s scope broad-
Jeanmaire, Henri. Dionysos: Histoire du culte de Bacchus. Paris,
ened to include the ecclesiastical and the political—in her
1951.
mind always of one piece with the spiritual, and all ultimate-
ly oriented to the same spiritual ends.
Moulinier, Louis. Le pur et l’impur dans la pensée des Grecs,
d’Homère à Aristote. Paris, 1952.
Unlike her contemporary Birgitta of Sweden, Catherine
Nilsson, Martin P. Geschichte der griechischen Religion, vol. 2, Die
was an ardent promoter and recruiter for the crusade project-
hellenistische und römische Zeit. 3d rev. ed. Munich, 1974.
ed by Pope Gregory XI and his successor, Urban VI. A holy
Parker, R. Miasma: Pollution and Purification in Early Greek Reli-
war seemed to her a perfect means of uniting in a common
gion. Oxford, 1983.
cause Christians now at odds among themselves and with the
Places, Édouard des. La religion grecque. Paris, 1969.
papacy. She saw Palestine as a Christian trust, and she be-
Rohde, Edwin. Psyche: The Cult of Souls and Belief in Immortality
lieved with many that the advance of the Turks toward Eu-
among the Greeks (1925). Translated by W. B. Hillis. Lon-
rope must be halted. A main object of the crusade would be
don, 1950.
the conversion of the Muslims, who would in their new faith
Spiegel, N. “The Nature of Katharsis according to Aristotle: A Re-
be a leaven to reinvigorate a sick church. And it would pro-
consideration.” Revue belge de philologie et d’histoire 43
vide her and others (she apparently intended to go along) the
(1965): 22–39.
opportunity to pay Christ “blood for blood.”
Trouillard, Jean. La purification plotinienne. Paris, 1955.
It was the dissension between Florence and Gregory XI
Turcan, Robert. “Un rite controuvé de l’initiation dionysiaque.”
that brought Catherine to that city in 1376 to attempt to me-
Revue de l’histoire des religions 158 (1960): 129–144.
diate a reconciliation. On the mandate, probably, of only
Turcan, Robert. “Bacchoi ou bacchants? De la dissidence des vi-
certain Guelphs she traveled to Avignon (where the popes
vants à la ségrégation des morts.” L’association dionysiaque
had resided since 1309) with no official credentials, only to
dans les sociétés anciennes (Coll. De l’Ecole française de Rome,
be ignored by Florentine ambassadors who came later. In
89), Rome, 1986, pp. 227–244.
subsequent efforts, also, she failed to influence the Floren-
Wächter, Theodor. Reinheitsvorschriften im griechischen Kult.
tines significantly in this dispute, which was to her essentially
Giessen, 1910.
religious but was to them a matter of political survival.
ROBERT TURCAN (1987 AND 2005)
Translated from French by Marilyn Gaddis Rose and
Once rebuffed by Florence, Catherine turned her energy
William H. Snyder
toward the two issues she considered the root of the dissen-
sion: the continuing absence of the popes from Rome and
clerical corruption. If the pope would return to Rome, she
CATHEDRAL SEE BASILICA, CATHEDRAL, AND
reasoned, Christians would have no more cause for rebellion,
CHURCH
and reform could begin. Gregory XI had in fact so resolved
but had repeatedly, in fear, put off taking action. Catherine
can surely be credited with finally moving him. In fact, when
CATHERINE OF SIENA (1347–1380), Caterina da
dissent deepened after his return to Rome, many including
Siena; Italian mystic and Christian saint. The particular ge-
the pope blamed Catherine’s advice.
nius of the spirituality of Catherine of Siena had its earliest
Gregory XI died on March 27, 1378, and within
beginnings in a visionary experience of Christ when she was
months his successor, Urban VI, was being denounced by a
six years old, and her subsequent childish yet serious vow of
growing number of the cardinals, who in September of that
virginity. She persisted in her purpose in spite of family op-
year elected Clement VII as antipope, thus effectively split-
position until she was accepted as one of the Mantellate, a
ting the church. At Urban’s invitation Catherine came to
Dominican third-order group comprising, up to then, only
Rome to support his cause. Though her health was by this
widows. For about three years thereafter she gave herself to
time failing under her fierce asceticism and exertion, she con-
prayer and asceticism in almost complete seclusion, until her
tinued to pray and work tirelessly for unity and reform, both
very prayer (which had become deeply mystical) led her out,
of which seemed to her ever more elusive. The weight of this
first to serve the poor and the sick in her own city, and gradu-
sense of failure surely contributed to her early death on April
ally into wider and wider spheres.
29, 1380. She was canonized in 1461 and proclaimed a doc-
She had learned in her solitude to read, and now she be-
tor of the church in 1970; she and Teresa of Ávila were the
came an enthusiastic conversationalist, feeding insatiably on
first women to receive that title.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1462
CATHOLIC CHURCH
Catherine used letters prodigiously as a favored vehicle
coló Tommaseo, revised by Piero Misciattelli (1860; reprint,
of influence. The nearly four hundred letters that have been
Florence, 1940). The first volume of the only truly critical
collected and edited date mostly from 1375 to 1380. They
edition was prepared by Eugenio Dupré Theseider, Episto-
are addressed to persons as diverse as popes, high-ranking
lario di Santa Caterina da Siena, vol. 1 (Rome, 1940); the
clergy, nobles, relatives, disciples, prisoners, and prostitutes.
work on this critical edition is being pursued by Antonio
Unfortunately, the early compilers’ purposes of simple edifi-
Volpato. A complete English translation from the critical
edition is in progress under my editorship. I have translated
cation led them to delete much that was personal from the
Giuliana Cavallini’s critical editions of Il dialogo (Rome,
letters, but still they open a revealing window on Catherine’s
1968) and Le orazioni (Rome, 1978) as The Dialogue (New
evolving thought and on her warm and spontaneous person-
York, 1980) and The Prayers of Catherine of Siena (New
ality.
York, 1983), respectively.
In 1377 and 1378, in addition to all her other activities,
Works about Catherine of Siena
Catherine composed the work since known as The Dialogue
A useful primary source for the life of Catherine of Siena is Ray-
(because she cast it as an exchange between God and herself).
mond of Capua’s The Life of Catherine of Siena (1385–1389),
Her intent in writing it was to share with her disciples and
translated by Conleth Kearns (Wilmington, Del., 1980);
others the insights she had gained in prayer and in her own
other biographies in English are History of St. Catherine of
experience. In it she approaches the way of holiness from sev-
Siena and Her Companions, by Augusta Theodosia Drane
(London, 1899), good for its inclusion of primary source ma-
eral vantage points, and develops at length the themes of
terial not otherwise available in English; Saint Catherine of
God’s providence, the role of Christ as redeemer and media-
Siena: A Study in the Religion, Literature and History of the
tor, and the church. Finally, during the last three and a half
Fourteenth Century in Italy, by Edmund G. Gardner (New
years of Catherine’s life, her secretaries sometimes recorded
York, 1907), complete on historical contexts and well in-
her prayers when she spoke in ecstasy. Twenty-six such
dexed; and Arrigo Levasti’s My Servant, Catherine, translated
prayers have been preserved.
by Dorothy M. White (Westminster, Md., 1954), which
concentrates on Catherine’s psychology and spirituality and
Through her reading and her associations, Catherine
also gives an excellent bibliography. Eugenio Dupré Thes-
gained a knowledge of the Christian tradition remarkable in
eider’s entry “Catherine da Siena, Santa,” in Dizionario bio-
an otherwise unschooled person. In her works she draws free-
graphico degli Italiani (Rome, 1979), covers very well Cather-
ly not only from scripture but from Augustine, Gregory the
ine’s life and theology, including debated points, and offers
Great, Bernard, and Thomas Aquinas (to name only those
a very comprehensive bibliography.
most frequently reflected), as well as from contemporaries
SUZANNE NOFFKE (1987)
such as Ubertino of Casale, Domenico Cavalca, Iacopo Pas-
savanti, and Giovanni Colombini. Her own writing, howev-
er, is not speculative or systematic or analytical. Rather, she
synthesizes into an integrated whole all of the various aspects
CATHOLIC CHURCH SEE ROMAN
of Christian faith on which she dwells. Her purposes are emi-
CATHOLICISM
nently practical, her tone warm and personal. She resorts for
clarification not to conceptual argumentation but to literary
images, developing the meaning of each as she goes and in-
CATS seem to be surrounded by a special power. Their
terweaving them one with another.
graceful movements, their liveliness at night, and their inau-
The central principles around which Catherine’s teach-
dible steps as well as their independent spirit have enchanted
ing revolves are everywhere evident in her writings: God
poets and painters and storytellers in many cultures, but
alone is absolute being, and God’s being is at once love and
these very traits account also for the aversion many people
truth—love that is truth and truth that is love. When hu-
have had to them. Throughout history, cats have rarely been
mankind cut itself off from God by sin, God’s endlessly cre-
regarded with indifference; they have generally been consid-
ative and re-creative being took flesh in Jesus Christ, who in
ered either sacred or demonic. The earliest known center of
himself repaired the breach. The foundation of all spiritual
their veneration, and probably also of their domestication,
life is knowledge of oneself in God and of God in oneself.
was ancient Egypt, where they are documented from 1600
Human nature is God’s creation and as such is essentially
BCE onward. Bast, a popular goddess of pleasure, was repre-
good, and Catherine is therefore understanding and compas-
sented with a cat’s head. Numerous sacred cats lived around
sionate of human weakness even as she denounces sin. Desire
her sanctuary in Bubastis, and thousands of mummified cats
for the truth and love that is God puts all in order, and what
have been found in that area.
God asks of the human heart is infinite desire.
Other goddesses with feline attributes have also been
connected with cats. In a Roman myth, Diana assumes the
BIBLIOGRAPHY
form of a cat, and in Germanic mythology, Freyja’s carriage
Works by Catherine of Siena
is drawn by cats. In Bengali Hinduism, S´as:t:i rides or stands
The most complete recent edition of Catherine’s letters is Le lettere
on a (usually black) cat. Should a mother be disrespectful to
di S. Caterina da Siena, 4 vols., translated and edited by Nic-
the goddess, a cat will kill her children; such revenge can 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
CATS
1463
averted by pouring sour milk over a black cat and licking it
that it can predict—or, indeed, is responsible for—the
off.
weather. In Turkey, if a cat purrs loudly, a severe winter is
impending; in England, if a cat sits with its back to the fire,
Cats are frequently perceived as malevolent creatures.
there will be frost. In Java and Sumatra, bathing two cats or
The idea that a cat can “suck the breath” of sleeping children
throwing one into a river can bring rain.
(i.e., suffocate them) is widely prevalent, and in some myths
the cat is represented even as a bloodsucking ogre. Some peo-
Folklore often talks about the hypocritical cat. “The cat
ple think that to swallow a cat’s hair will result in tuberculo-
weeps at the mouse’s death,” according to a Chinese proverb.
sis. But a cat’s tooth can serve as a talisman, for cats have not
The story of the “repentant” cat that appears as a pious ascet-
only “nine lives” but supernatural powers. In Ireland, for ex-
ic in order to cheat the mice has been told from ancient
ample, it is thought that the devil can assume the form of
Egypt to modern Mongolia, and it occurs frequently in Per-
a cat; in China, it is believed that cats can see spirits at night
sian literature (see EUbayd-i Za-ka¯n¯ı’s little epic Mouse and
and that a dead cat can turn into a demon. In many places
Cat from the fourteenth century). Hence, in Persian and Ot-
it is thought that cats can sense the presence of death, that
toman Turkish urban poetry, the term cat is sometimes used
they can smell the guiding spirit come to conduct away the
to characterize a sly person of high rank. The friendship of
departing soul. Because of their supernatural abilities, cats
a cat with a mouse or other weaker animal, or with its arch-
are connected with witches and sorcerers; in fact, they are—
enemy the dog, lasts only so long as both are in danger, as
especially black ones—typical familiars of witches. In medi-
Ka-l¯ılah wa-Dimnah (The fables of Bidpai) tells us; once
eval Europe, every owner of such an animal was therefore
safe, the cat usually eats the mouse. This “hypocrisy” has
suspect.
been expressed in many proverbs that warn against trusting
the cat, which may first lick one’s hand and then scratch it.
As an agent of the supernatural, the cat became a sacrifi-
The motto of the Mackintosh clan of Scotland is “Touch not
cial animal in some cultures. In medieval Europe, cats were
a cat but [i.e., without] a glove.”
killed as an expiation in times of plague or were thrown into
the Saint John’s fire at the summer solstice. As late as the
Nevertheless, the cat has many positive aspects. In an-
mid-seventeenth century, in the ceremony of the Taigheirm
cient Rome, the cat was a symbol of liberty, for no animal
in the West Highlands of Scotland, black cats were roasted
has so independent a spirit or is so resistant to restraint as
on spits to raise the infernal spirits. In Japan, however, as in
a cat. In China, the association of the sign for cat, mao, with
ancient Egypt and other cultures, it has been thought inad-
that for the number eighty has made the cat a symbol of long
visable to kill a cat, owing to its special power. Such an act
life.
would bring misfortune, or would have to be atoned for (in
In Islamic tradition, the cat is born in Noah’s ark from
Muslim Bengal, with five pounds of salt).
the lioness’s sneeze, or else she is the lion’s, or tiger’s, aunt
In European lore, cats can function as house goblins and
who teaches him various tricks but withholds the last one,
are also counted among the shapeshifters; they can assume
that is, how to climb a tree. The positive evaluation of cats
enormous proportions in case of danger or in order to rescue
in the Islamic world is due to the prophet Muh:ammad’s
their benefactor from equally enormous rats. Thus their role
fondness for cats. Because he stroked the back of a cat that
can be beneficial as well: friendly cat demons can produce
saved him from a snake’s wiliness, cats never fall on their
gold and treasures for those who have been kind to them,
backs, and the trace of his fingers is visible in the dark stripes
and cats—especially tricolored cats (which are believed to be
that appear on the foreheads of most cats. The cat is clean
always female)—can protect a house from fire and guarantee
and does not spoil man’s purity for prayer (as does the dog),
marital happiness.
and its drinking water can be used for ritual ablutions. Many
S:u¯f¯ıs have had cats as companions, animals that have some-
In many cultures it is considered a bad omen to see a
times performed wonderful feats of clairvoyance or self-
cat, especially a black one, when leaving a house; likewise,
sacrifice to save others from danger or death. The most re-
to dream of a black cat, or to cross its path, means misfor-
markable cult of cats is connected with the North African
tune. But the black cat’s body serves both medical and magi-
beggars’ order of the Heddawa, in which cats are treated like
cal purposes; a meal of cat’s brains may arouse love in some-
humans; however, once in a while a cat is ritually killed by
one, or strengthen a man’s sexual power, or restore sight.
the brethren. Cats can assume the shape of saints or helpers,
Pulverized cat’s gall rubbed into the eyes enables one to see
as in pre-Islamic Arabia, where desert demons, ghu¯l, were vi-
at night, or to see jinn. Certain parts of a black cat, prepared
sualized with cats’ heads. Even the Sak¯ınah, God’s presence,
with other ingredients, can make a person invisible.
appeared to the Prophet in the shape of a white cat.
The behavior of cats is also often regarded as an omen.
Caterwauling, not always appreciated by most people,
In Germany, if a cat washes itself, a guest will come. In
has sometimes been interpreted as mysterious music. An
China, the arrival of a strange cat in a house portends pover-
early Arabian musician learned some superb songs from a
ty, because that cat is believed to have a premonition that
black cat in his dreams. Nursery rhymes sing of the cat’s fid-
many mice will come to live in that house. The cat’s sensitivi-
dling, and the cat’s purr has sometimes been interpreted as
ty to atmospheric changes has led, in many places, to belief
its prayer.
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CATTLE
Benevolent cats occur frequently in folk tales. The Dick
for plowing, a process that greatly increased the agricultural
Whittington motif of the cat that proves useful in a country
yield. This combination of cereal agriculture and cattle-
without cats is known in the East and the West. The friendly,
drawn plows was an extremely dynamic one: increased agri-
clever tomcat, manifested in Puss in Boots, is a common topic
cultural production made it possible to feed ever larger herds
of folk tradition. It is always the youngest of three sons who
of cattle (as well as ever more people), which in turn made
inherits the resourceful cat. Thus, the cat often uses its magic
it possible to bring ever larger areas of land under the plow.
properties for positive ends and appears as a mediator be-
As irrigation techniques were mastered, still greater produc-
tween the hero and the supernatural world. This expresses
tion resulted, ultimately making possible the emergence of
best the good side of the cat’s ambivalent character and of
urban civilization.
its role as an animal that is powerful in the three realms of
Elsewhere, in terrains less conducive to agricultural pro-
activity: demonic, human, and divine.
duction, with perhaps an inadequate water supply and/or a
short growing season, pastoral economies proper developed.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Here, herds of cattle were exploited more as a source of food
Carl Van Vechten’s The Tiger in the House, 3d ed. (New York,
and raw materials than for their labor. Milk, butter, cheese,
1936), includes interesting chapters on cats in the occult and
in folklore as well as an extensive, classified bibliography.
and sometimes the blood of cattle served as chief items of
Since publication of this work, the literature about cats has
diet, although agricultural products might also be obtained
increased enormously and at present is growing almost daily.
by way of trade. Meat, for pastoralists as for those who prac-
Excellent surveys can be found in Nine Lives: The Folklore of
ticed mixed herding and agriculture, remained always a high-
Cats, by Katharine M. Briggs (New York, 1980), and in Le
ly specialized and prestigious item of diet, the consumption
chat dans la tradition spirituelle, by Robert de Laroche (Paris,
of which was surrounded by religious attitudes and ritual
1984). For Islamic cat lore, see my discussion in Die orien-
procedures.
talische Katze (Cologne, 1983).
Beyond food, cattle provided numerous other necessi-
New Sources
ties of life for such pastoral peoples as the Nilotic tribes of
Loibl, Elisabeth. Deuses Aimais. Sa˜o Paulo, 1984.
East Africa, the Israelites of the patriarchal period, and the
ANNEMARIE SCHIMMEL (1987)
early Indo-Europeans. Among the products derived from
Revised Bibliography
cattle were leather hides, used for clothing, shelter, defensive
armament, thongs, and the like; bone tools; dung, which
served as fuel for slow-burning fires in areas where wood was
CATTLE.
scarce; and urine, often used as an all-purpose disinfectant.
By cattle is here meant those bovines that have
It is thus no overstatement to say that for cattle-herding pas-
been brought under domestication (Bos taurus, Bos longifrons,
toralists, cattle formed the very means of production, being
Bos brachyceros, Bos indicus) and not merely bovines or do-
in effect machines for the conversion of grass into multiple
mesticated livestock in general. The first datum that must
usable forms.
thus concern anyone interested in the religio-historic impor-
tance of cattle is the very fact of the domestication of wild
Equally important, however, is the fact that cattle served
bovines, which was one of the central cultural accomplish-
as the standard measure of wealth and means of exchange.
ments of the “Neolithic revolution,” now dated in the period
Nor is exchange to be understood as simply trade: rather, the
roughly between the tenth and sixth millennium BCE. Since
transfer of cattle from one person or group to another estab-
the nineteenth century, a debate has continued between
lishes a continuing relation between them, the exchange hav-
those who have argued in favor of a religious motivation for
ing social, ritual, and sentimental dimensions as well as eco-
the domestication of this species and those who have stressed
nomic. Convenient examples of this are found in the
material and economic factors. The former position, initially
institutions of bridewealth and wergild, whereby one social
formulated by Eduard Hahn, emphasized the common use
group that has caused another group to lose a valued member
of cattle as sacrificial victims throughout ancient Mesopota-
compensates the latter by bestowing a prescribed number of
mia, arguing from this datum that cattle were tamed in order
cattle upon them. These cattle not only restore the economi-
to ensure a regular and adequate supply of victims for the sac-
cally productive value of the lost individual, but also replace
rificial cult. While some still maintain this theory, more gen-
him or her in the affections of the group that receives them.
erally accepted is the opposing point of view, which holds
As a result of this exchange, the two groups—one of which
that obtaining reliable sources of milk, meat, and traction
would otherwise benefit at the expense of the other—remain
power for nonreligious purposes was the primary motive for
in balance and harmony.
the initial domestication.
Cattle are thus a crucially important part of any pastoral
Once tamed, cattle quickly came to occupy a highly im-
society, for in truth they make social life possible. All mo-
portant place within both the agricultural and the pastoral
ments of passage—births, deaths, marriages, initiations—are
economies of Neolithic societies. In those areas where suffi-
marked by an exchange of cattle. And, in addition to hori-
cient rainfall and a long growing season made the production
zontal exchanges of cattle (i.e., those between humans, all of
of crops feasible, cattle were harnessed to the yoke and used
whom occupy the same level of the cosmos), vertical ex-
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CATTLE
1465
changes are also frequent, sacrifice being in part an exchange
As the last sentence of this highly significant text indicates,
between humans and gods—as for instance in sacrifices per-
the Nuer—who are militarily superior to their Dinka neigh-
formed on behalf of those suffering from disease, in which
bors—make use of this myth to justify their raiding activity,
cattle are given to deities, who in return restore the afflicted
for the myth permits them to claim that such aggression (1)
person to his or her social group.
sets right an ancient wrong, in which Dinka initially cheated
Nuer of his calf, and (2) fulfills a commandment spoken by
One can thus readily see that there exists a constant de-
God. Such an ideology permits the Nuer to make use of their
mand for cattle within pastoral societies, given their enor-
superior force with a sense of perfect self-righteousness; it
mous importance as means of production, means of ex-
seems probable that the Dinka herds would be thoroughly
change, measures of wealth, and signs of prestige. New
depleted by Nuer attacks, were it not for the fact that the
supplies are obtained through normal reproduction and
Dinka tell more or less the same myth, interpreting it, how-
breeding, of course, but also through violence, for the raiding
ever, as establishing a sacred charter and precedent for their
of neighboring people’s herds is an extremely common prac-
own continuing theft of Nuer cattle through stealth and
tice among pastoralists. Such raids stand in marked opposi-
guile, qualities in which they exceed their Nuer enemy.
tion to the types of exchange discussed above. Involving no
reciprocity, they create or perpetuate imbalance and dishar-
Similar stories are found among many other peoples for
mony between the raiding and raided groups, reciprocity and
whom cattle are a mainstay of the society and economy.
balance (but never harmony) appearing only when the tables
Sometimes these circulate in secular versions, as in Ireland,
are turned and the previously raided group turns raider itself.
where numerous tales, including the great national epic Táin
To ensure success in raids, warrior values and patterns of or-
Bó Cuailnge (The Cattle Raid of Cuailnge) celebrate the raid-
ganization—militarized age-sets, Männerbünde, and the
ing exploits of human, if prodigious, warriors. Elsewhere,
like—are particularly cultivated. Specialized training, initia-
demigods appear as the prototypical heroes of cattle raids, as
tory rituals, and magical apparatuses prepare young men to
with the Greek tale of Herakles and Geryon, or its Roman
go forth on raids, these being not simply expeditions born
counterpart, in which Hercules vanquishes Cacus. Both of
of socioeconomic utility, but also—from the point of veiw
these are quite similar to the pattern of the Nuer myth, tell-
of those who participate, at any rate—sacred, ritual ventures.
ing how a foreigner stole cattle, which the national or ethnic
hero then recovered in a fully justified raid. Yet again, the
The chief means whereby raids are elevated to ritual sta-
central figure of raiding myths may himself be a deity, as in
tus is through the propagation of myths that offer a divine
numerous myths of Vedic India, in which the warrior god
precedent for the deeds of warriors. Such myths, in which
Indra recovers stolen cattle from such enemies as the pan:is,
the exploits of a deity, hero, or primordial ancestor are cele-
Vr:tra, and Vala. In these myths, the cattle raid is lifted to
brated, serve to charter and legitimate similar raiding activi-
cosmogonic significance, for it is regularly told that in recov-
ty, as warriors come to identify with, and pattern themselves
ering lost cattle, Indra also set free imprisoned waters and
after, the mythic models. A case in point is a celebrated Nuer
light, rescuing the cosmos from possible disaster. Here the
myth, which tells of the first cattle raid launched by the
rains and the sun’s rays are homologized to cattle; they are
first Nuer against the first Dinka, at the command of God
the cows of the atmosphere and of the heavens respectively,
himself:
these having been penned up by drought and night but set
free by the god’s successful cattle raid—a raid that makes all
There were still no cattle on the earth. Then God col-
life and prosperity possible and on which human raiding is
lared Nuer and gave him a cow and a calf with the in-
patterned.
structions to share them with Dinka—to give the cow
to Dinka and to keep the calf himself. Then, he secretly
A certain moral ambiguity frequently surrounded raid-
gave Nuer the direction to come to him early in the
ing, however, in myth as in actual practice. Thus, for in-
morning in order to receive his calf. But, unobserved,
stance, the Homeric Hymn to Hermes tells how the god Her-
Dinka had overheard this speech. Very early—still by
mes, while still an infant, stole cattle from his brother Apollo.
night—Nuer came to God’s dwelling and said, “Gwah,
Yet for all that the exploit is celebrated and helped Hermes
my Father, I have come; give me my calf.” “Who are
win elevation to full divine stature (the common initiatory
you?” asked God. Whereupon the Nuer said, “I am
Nuer.” “But now, who was it who came to me a little
value of raiding is here evident), Hermes’ action is also called
while ago and said he was Nuer, and to whom I conse-
into question. According to the hymn, he was hunted down
quently gave the calf?” God now asked. The astonished
by Apollo, forced to stand trial, and ultimately had to make
Nuer replied, “I did not come. That must have been
restitution to his brother before peace could be established
Dinka. This was Dinka cunning; he has out-witted
between them.
me.” Then God said to Nuer, “Good, now you take the
cow for the present; then follow Dinka. When you have
Part of the problem was that Hermes had killed some
overtaken him, you may kill him and take the calf from
of the cattle that he stole, and the unrightful slaughter of cat-
him.” Since that time date the struggles of the Nuer
tle is always a most serious crime among cattle-herding peo-
against the Dinka to gain possession of their cattle.
ples. Thus, for instance, Enkidu was condemned to death for
(Crazzolara, 1953, pp. 68–69; my trans.)
his part in slaying the Bull of Heaven, according to the Epic
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1466
CATTLE
of Gilgamesh, and the men of Odysseus’s last ship were all
is the precise definition of portions allocated to the gods—
destroyed by a thunderbolt for having killed and eaten the
the victim’s bones, wrapped in a single layer of fat—and
cattle of the sun god Helios, which were pastured on the is-
those reserved for humans—the rest of the meat, wrapped
land of Thrinacia. Again, among Nuer and Dinka alike, any
within the animal’s stomach. In this, some scholars have seen
cattle killed for food outside of sacrifice are said to be slain
a reminiscence of archaic hunters’ rites, the bones being pre-
“just for nothing” (bang lora), and it is expected that they will
served so that the dead animal might be resurrected. Detien-
return to haunt their slayer.
ne and Vernant have argued, however, for a different line of
interpretation, in which bones are contrasted to meat as the
The same point is made in this Nuer-Dinka belief as in
undecaying (or immortal) portion of the victim to the decay-
the story of Odysseus’s men: however much hunger may
ing (or mortal) portion. The contrast of meat and bones thus
drive one to desire meat, lethal violence directed against cat-
replicates and comments upon the contrast of gods and men;
tle constitutes a sacrilege unless it is set within a ritual con-
the inclusion of the stomach in the human portion further
text—that is to say, carried out with a certain etiquette, so-
stresses man’s need to eat, which spurs him on to kill.
lemnity, and decorum (often by specialists), and legitimated
by reference to some set of sacred precedents, symbolic con-
Social processes also figure prominently in the logic and
structs, or transcendent principles. These conditions being
structure of cattle sacrifice, for the distribution of meat tends
met, the slaughter of cattle and subsequent distribution
to be differential and hierarchic, either in the nature of the
of meat is considered sacrifice; these lacking, it is wanton
portions assigned to individuals or in the order in which por-
butchery.
tions are presented, or both. A clear case in point is the
Roman Feriae Latinae, an annual ceremonial to which all
Cattle sacrifice is ideologically the most prestigious and
members of the Latin League sent representatives and contri-
significant ritual performed among pastoral peoples, al-
butions. The central act was the sacrifice and dismember-
though in practice offerings of lesser economic value (sheep,
ment of a white bull, pieces of meat from which were as-
goats, milk products, cakes, etc.) are often substituted. In
signed to the representatives according to the relative
part, as has been discussed above, sacrifice always includes
importance of their cities. Change over time was also reflect-
among its significances and functions the consecration of
ed in the proceedings of the Feriae Latinae, for as a city grew
meat and the legitimation of the violence requisite for the
or shrank in size and stature, its portion of meat seems to
procurement of meat. Sacrifice is no more a straightforward-
have been adjusted accordingly. Other societies also pos-
ly utilitarian procedure, however, than it is a simple or univo-
sessed mechanisms whereby social hierarchy could not only
cal one. Rather, complex symbolisms and multiple dimen-
be signified within a sacrificial context, but could also be
sions are always present, however much these may differ
contested, as seen in the accounts of brawls and duels fought
from one culture area, historical period, or sacrificial perfor-
over the “champion’s portion” among the Greeks and Celts.
mance to another.
Cattle sacrifice was also a highly important part of Indo-
Cattle sacrifice in ancient Babylon, for example, while
Iranian religion, reflecting the prominent position of cattle
clearly part of the general “care and feeding of the gods” en-
within the society and economy of India and Iran alike. Cer-
joined upon mankind, was also in part a remembrance or
tainly, cattle figure almost obsessively in the earliest religious
repetition of the cosmogony. For as tablet 5 of the creation
texts from India and Iran (the R:gveda and the Ga¯tha¯s of the
account Enuma elish makes clear, the deity Tiamat—whose
Avesta respectively), although some scholars have maintained
death marks the beginning of the cosmos as we know it—was
that most references to cattle should be taken metaphorically
understood to take the form of a cow, although other pas-
or allegorically, while granting that the stimulus for bovine
sages of the text present her as a monstrous, chaotic being.
imagery would still come from the real possession of cattle.
(A similar account of a being simultaneously monstrous and
Controversy also exists as to whether Zarathushtra (Zoroas-
bovine, which must be put to death in order for a proper cos-
ter) condemned cattle sacrifice in Iran—as some of the Gath-
mos and society to emerge, is the golden calf of Exodus 32.)
ic texts seem to indicate—or if it remained always a part of
Moreover, the sacrifice of cattle was cast as a divine act, as
the Zoroastrian cultus.
is clear in the declaration of the Babylonian priest who offers
The rejection of cattle sacrifice is attested elsewhere in
an ox, the skin of which will be made into the covering for
history, particularly in cases where a previously pastoral pop-
a temple drum: “These acts—it is the totality of the gods
ulation has abandoned its earlier mode of production and
who have performed them, it is not really I who performed
consequent way of life. Thus, for instance, within the Athe-
them.”
nian polis, details of the foremost cattle sacrifice—the
Again, the cattle sacrifice of the Greek polis (city-state)
Bouphonia (“ox-slaying”)—reveal a profound uneasiness
was informed by myths of the first sacrifice, particularly that
over the violence and bloodshed inherent in the rite. Toward
performed by Prometheus, as described by Hesiod, which—
the end of each Bouphonia, a trial was thus held to assess the
as Marcel Detienne and Jean-Pierre Vernant (1980) have
guilt of those responsible for the victim’s death, such guilt
demonstrated—served to define the essential human posi-
ultimately being assigned to the sacrificial knife with which
tion in the universe as that intermediate to those of beasts
it was killed, the knife then being punished (and purified)
and gods. Of particular interest in myth and practice alike
by being thrown into the sea.
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CATTLE
1467
However much the ritual slaughter of cattle prompted
Mohandas K. Gandhi entitled “How to Serve the Cow.”
a certain moral disquietude, the practice continued unabated
Vast numbers of cattle roam the Indian subcontinent free
throughout the history of ancient Greece, insofar as sacrifice
from any threat to their well-being (urban riots have been
was a central mechanism for the periodic renewal of social
provoked by attempts to drive cattle from busy streets or
hierarchy and integration within the polis. The criticism of
markets), and numerous homes have been founded for the
sacrifice implicit in the Bouphonia, however, was given a
care of old and sick cattle.
more articulate and aggressive formulation by certain philos-
Western technocrats, colonial authorities, and others
ophers and mystics possessed of a radically different vision
have generally viewed the “sacred cow” of India as a classic
of what the polis ought to be and of the guilt incurred
example of the ways in which religious principles can lead
through sacrificial violence. Chief among these were Pythag-
large populations into modes of habitual behavior and social
oras and Empedocles, the latter of whom condemned sacri-
organization that are irrational and counterproductive in
fice in the following terms, contrasting it with an imagined
strictly economic terms. Yet this view has been challenged,
paradisal sort of offering that took place in the distant past
largely by the research of Marvin Harris, and a lively debate
and—given his theories of cyclical time—would once again
has resulted, which is still to be resolved. For it is Harris’s
replace the bloody rituals:
contention that when one considers the full range of ways
Ares was not a god for them, nor was Battle-din,
in which cattle resources are exploited within India (traction,
Nor was Zeus the king, nor Kronos, nor Poseidon,
dung for fuel, milk and milk products, etc.) and the ways in
But Aphrodite was queen.
which cattle are fed (scavenging, use of stubble from the
They appeased her with pious gifts:
fields, etc.), as well as other important seasonal and ecological
With painted animal figurines, with perfumes,
factors, one is forced to conclude that the prohibition on kill-
With sacrifices of unmixed myrrh and fragrant frankin-
ing cattle is both rational and productive, even in the most
cense,
narrow economic sense. Debate still rages over many details
Pouring libations of golden honey to the ground.
of Harris’s argument, as well as on his general conclusion,
The altar was not smeared with the unmixed gore of
but his writings have been a valuable corrective to studies
bulls.
Rather, that was the greatest defilement for men:
that emphasize the divergence between religious and socio-
Taking away the life-force in order to eat the noble
economic considerations. Rather than being contradictory,
limbs.
even in the case of the “sacred cow,” these matters are inti-
mately correlated, in ways far richer and more complex than
Although these Greek opponents of sacrificial ritual re-
is generally understood.
mained always in a minority—often, what is more, a suspect
minority—others were more successful in India, where the
SEE ALSO Bones; Neolithic Religion; Sacrifice.
doctrine of ahim:sa¯, “noninjury” to all living creatures, gradu-
ally displaced older sacrificial ideology, particularly in the
BIBLIOGRAPHY
wake of Buddhist and Jain challenges to Brahmanic doc-
On the religious significance of cattle within pastoral cultures, see
trines and practice. Thus, the Sanskrit legal texts—as Ludwig
my Priests, Warriors, and Cattle: A Study in the Ecology of Reli-
gions (Berkeley, 1981). A good discussion of the domestica-
Alsdorf (1962) first demonstrated—show a clear process of
tion of the species is found in Frederick E. Zeuner’s A History
development, in which the eating of meat obtained from sac-
of Domesticated Animals (New York, 1963). Eduard Hahn’s
rifices was first freely permitted, but later came to be con-
theories on the religious origin of domestication were set
demned.
forth in a number of publications, most important of which
Although the privileged status of the “sacred cow” in
was Die Haustiere und ihre Beziehungen zur Wirtschaft des
India is in some measure related to the emergence of the
Menschen (Leipzig, 1896).
ahim:sa¯ ethic, its sources are considerably older. For already
The importance of cattle in the life and religion of the peoples of
in the R:gveda and also in the Avesta, cows are referred to as
East Africa has been treated in a number of excellent publica-
tions, among which should be noted Melville J. Herskovits’s
“beings not to be killed” (Skt., aghnya; Av., agenya), a corre-
“The Cattle Complex in East Africa,” American Anthropolo-
spondence that indicates that this was already an item of
gist 28 (1926): 230–272, 361–388; E. E. Evans-Pritchard’s
Indo-Iranian belief at the beginning of the second millenni-
Neur Religion (Oxford, 1956); Godfrey Lienhardt’s Divinity
um BCE. One must stress, however, that it is only cows—that
and Experience: The Religion of the Dinka (Oxford, 1961);
is, female bovines—that are so designated, and not cattle in
Peter Rigby’s Cattle and Kinship among the Gogo (Ithaca,
general, and it appears likely that the symbolic, sentimental,
N.Y., 1969); Pierre Bonte’s “Il bestiame produce gli uomini:
and socioeconomic importance of the cow as the source of
Sacrificio, valore e feticismo del bestiame nell’ Africa orien-
both milk and new bovine life led to the formulation of reli-
tale,” Studi storici 25 (1984): 875–896; and J. P. Crazzolara’s
gious principles protecting it against slaughter, even slaugh-
Zur Gesellschaft und Religion der Nueer (Vienna, 1953).
ter within the context of sacrifice.
On sacrifice in general, see Walter Burkert’s Homo Necans (Berke-
ley, 1983); La cuisine du sacrifice en pays grec, edited by Mar-
Within modern Hinduism, however, the “sacred cow”
cel Detienne and Jean-Pierre Vernant (Paris, 1980); and the
has been treated as the foremost example of the more general
papers on the theme “Sacrificio, organizzazione del cosmo,
principle of ahim:sa¯, as for instance in a celebrated treatise by
dinamica sociale,” Studi storici 25 (1984): 829–956.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1468
CAUSATION
On the use of cattle as metaphor, see Wolfgang E. Schmid’s “Die
maintains the spiritual energy, is close by. The mountains are
Kuh auf der Weide,” Indogermanische Forschungen 64 (1958–
believed to have been created in order to form geomantic
1959): 1–12; George G. Cameron’s “Zoroaster the Herds-
caves (Yoon, 1976, pp. 28–34). This mountain-cave-water-
man,” Indo-Iranian Journal 10 (1968): 261–281; and Boris
energy tradition is similar to the ancient Mexican belief that
Oguibenine’s “Le symbolisme de la razzia d’après les hymnes
water was contained within mountains, the womb of the
vediques,” Études indo-européennes (1984): 1–17.
water goddess Chalchiuhtlicue, whence it flowed in the form
On cattle raiding, see Peter Walcot’s “Cattle Raiding, Heroic Tra-
of the rivers and lakes necessary to human settlement.
dition, and Ritual: The Greek Evidence,” History of Religions
18 (May 1979): 326–351; Françoise Bader’s “Rhapsodies
THE CAVE AS AXIS MUNDI. The cave as a sacred spot that
homériques et irlandaises,” in Recherches sur les religions de
marks the place for a major religious structure and even for
l’antiquité classique, edited by Raymond Bloch (Paris, 1980);
a great city, the axis mundi of its time, is well illustrated at
and Doris Srinivasan’s The Concept of Cow in the Rigveda
Teotihuacán, Mexico. The most impressive monument here
(Delhi, 1979).
(built c. 100 BCE, destroyed c. 750 CE) is the Pyramid of the
On ahim:sa¯ in India, see Ludwig Alsdorf’s Beiträge zur Geschichte
Sun, built shortly before the beginning of the common era
von Vegetarismus und Rinderverehrung in Indien (Wiesbaden,
over a primitive shrine, which was itself built over a subterra-
1962). The debate on the sacred cow has taken place largely
nean cave. The cave has the form of a four-petaled flower,
in the pages of Current Anthropology (Chicago) from 1966
one of Teotihuacán’s most popular art motifs, possibly sym-
on. Marvin Harris’s arguments are conveniently summarized
bolizing the four world quarters. The great Sun Pyramid was
in Cows, Pigs, Wars and Witches (New York, 1974). On the
constructed in such a way that the four-petaled cave lies al-
Indian homes for indigent cattle, see Deryck O. Lodrick’s
most directly beneath its center. Although the cave was ran-
Sacred Cows, Sacred Places (Berkeley, 1981).
sacked in ancient times, the few remains within suggest that
New Sources
it may have been a cult center for water gods. Or, inasmuch
Peires, J. B. The Dead Will Arise: Nongqawuse and the Great Xhosa
as a sixteenth-century document labels the place in front of
Cattle-Killing Movement of 1856–7. Bloomington, 1989.
the pyramid “Moctezuma’s oracle,” an oracle may well have
BRUCE LINCOLN (1987)
dwelt here. Whatever the answer, the sacredness of this cave
Revised Bibliography
was such that it had to be preserved by building a shrine over
it, then by constructing the immense pyramid over this. Sa-
cred space was thus preserved for all time.
CAUSATION SEE FREE WILL AND
BIRTH AND CREATION. Because of its volcanic formation,
DETERMINISM; OCCASIONALISM
Mesoamerica is honeycombed with caves. Each is revered,
and many are associated with the emergence myth. Chico-
moztoc (“seven caves”) was the place of creation of many eth-
nic groups, particularly the Aztec. Its seven caves are repre-
CAVES. In all cultures and in almost all epochs the cave
sented in ancient pictorial manuscripts and in oral tradition.
has been the symbol of creation, the place of emergence of
But before the creation of people, the sun and the moon were
celestial bodies, of ethnic groups and individuals. It is the
made in a grotto. In the myth of the creation of the Fifth
great womb of earth and sky, a symbol of life, but also of
Sun (the name given the present era by the Aztec), some
death. It is a sacred place that constitutes a break in the ho-
chronicles state that after one god threw himself into a fire
mogeneity of space, an opening that is a passage from one
and became transformed into the sun, another god went into
cosmic region to another, from heaven to earth or, vice versa,
a cave and came out of it as the moon. In a legend of Españo-
from earth to the underworld (Eliade, 1959, p. 37).
la (Hispaniola), all men were created in one cave, all women
All caves are sacred. Some, like cosmic mountains or im-
in another (Fray Ramon Pané, in Heyden, 1975). Suste-
portant sanctuaries, are considered the center of the universe.
nance, also, originated in caves, according to popular belief.
Where the sacred manifests itself, the world comes into exis-
Some caves were called cincalco, “house of maize”; in them
tence (Eliade, 1959, p. 63). Every religious person places
corn was kept by the gods. A sixteenth-century Mexican
himself at the center of the world, “as close as possible to the
chronicle, Historia de México, relates that Centeotl, a maize
opening that ensures him communication with the gods”
god, was born in a cavern; from different parts of his body
(ibid., p. 65). Earth gods live in caves, which are often called
cotton and many edible plants grew. According to another
“the earth’s navel.” As the world center, the axis mundi, the
early chronicler, Fray Geronimo de Mendieta, a flint knife
cave at times blends in religious symbolism with the moun-
fell from heaven and landed in Chicomoztoc, where it broke
tain. Of the elements in Asian geomancy that determine the
into sixteen hundred pieces, from which that number of gods
quality of a place for a settlement, a home, or a tomb, moun-
was created. The cave, then, is a symbol of the womb. Ac-
tains are considered the most important. Their vital energy
cording to Fray Bernardino de Sahagún’s Historia general de
gives them the name of “dragon.” This magical energy flows
las cosas de la Nueva España (the so-called Florentine Codex),
into a cave, which is not always a real opening but represents
a saying is ascribed to Aztec women of the sixteenth century:
an auspicious site. Geomantic caves are those surrounded by
“Within us is a cave, a gorge . . . whose only function is to
mountains, where wind is stored and where water, which
receive.”
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CAVES
1469
THE EMERGENCE PLACE. The cave as the center of the world
bolizing corn husks or those of other plants) were stored in
and place of emergence is found in many traditions. Hopi
an artificial cave at the foot of the Yopico pyramid in Te-
mythology tells of three worlds under the earth where the
nochtitlán, the Aztec capital, and bodies of young women
Hopi lived with the Ant People before they found their way
sacrificed to Xochiquetzal, the vegetation goddess, were
up to the fourth, or present, world. The Zuni, with the same
placed in a cave called a “mist house.” These instances may
traditions, call the place of emergence hepatina (“the middle
constitute a ritual metaphor for seed germination, which
place”) and the last world (which they classify as still under-
takes place in a dark area, comparable to the cave-womb.
ground) the “fourth womb.” The modern kiva of these and
other Pueblo Indian groups is an artificial cave, the ceremo-
Regarding ceremonies, the fabulous grotto of Balankan-
nial center of the village, in which there is also a small hole
ché, immediately southeast of the ancient Maya city of Chi-
in the ground, symbolic of the place of emergence. Kiva ritu-
chén Itzá in Yucatán, has revealed a wealth of offerings to
al follows a man from life to death. As soon as he is born a
the rain god Tlaloc (Chac, among the Maya) and chamber
boy is symbolically initiated into the ritual life and pledged
after chamber of ceremonial settings for rites. These date
to his father’s kiva. Zuni society has six divisions, associated
mainly from the ninth century CE, when highland Mexican
with the four world directions, the zenith, and the nadir.
influence was strong (hence the presence of the god Tlaloc
Each division has its own kiva, around which religion re-
rather than Chac), although the grotto was used for ritual
volves (Leighton and Adair, 1966). The kiva evidently has
purposes mainly by the Maya, through 3,000 years. Six offer-
been basic to ritual for many centuries. During the Pueblo
tory foci are directly associated with either underground
Classic period (1050–1300) the underground kivas were of
pools or stalagmitic formations, caused by the action of the
tremendous size, as can be seen in the ruins of Mesa Verde
water (Andrews, 1970, p. 9). These natural formations have
and Chaco Canyon. They were caves within caves, partially
the appearance of altars and were used as such. In the major
natural grottoes and partially hacked out of the rocks. A maze
chamber, floor and ceiling are united by a stalactite-
design carved on rocks in Arizona—much like the Minoan
stalagmite “tree” that suggests the ceiba (silk-cotton), the sa-
maze—represents the myth of emergence. It is the Mother
cred Maya tree that unites earth, sky, and underworld. This
Earth symbol, according to the modern Hopi; the maze rep-
structure is called by the modern—and undoubtedly by the
resents the paths a person will follow on the road of life
ancient—Maya the “throne of the balam,” that is, of the Jag-
(Campbell Grant, 1967, p. 65).
uar Priest. When the inner chambers were discovered in
C
1959, this altar-throne was found to be covered with effigy
AVE GODS AND RITES. Since the rites and deities of differ-
ent parts of the world, many of them associated with caves,
censers, most of them in the form of Tlaloc, some wearing
are dealt with in numerous articles of this encyclopedia, this
flayed skins and some suggestive of the Aztec vegetation deity
brief section is focused on Mesoamerica, which, in general,
Xipe Totec. Other offerings here and in various chambers in-
is less well known than Europe or the Orient.
clude miniature vessels, grinding stones, and spindle whorls,
perhaps symbolic offerings for use in the otherworld. Enig-
Tlaloc, the Aztec rain and earth deity, was also called
matic handprints in red ocher (as suggested below, perhaps
Path under the Earth, or Long Cave, according to the six-
evidence of a rite of passage) are on the central, treelike col-
teenth-century chronicler Fray Diego Durán. This name re-
umn and on the ceiling of low tunnels. Other chambers with
fers to the god’s character as fertilizer of the earth with gentle
stalagmitic altars yielded many more Tlaloc effigy censers,
rain, and also to rites in caves where water deities were propi-
quantities of shells, jade beads, fragments of a wooden drum,
tiated. Rain, lightning, and thunder were thought to be con-
and charcoal from burnt offerings. Numerous fire pits and
trolled in caves and on mountain tops. Toribio Motolinía,
the charcoal in the censers seem to be evidence of both illu-
another colonial chronicler, describes ceremonies to Tlaloc
mination and ritual hearth use. Inasmuch as smoke was one
each year during which four children were sacrificed and
of the messengers to the gods, the fires may have been in-
their bodies placed in a cave; this was then sealed until the
tended solely for communication. That this was a major ritu-
following year, when the rite was repeated. Children were
al center is indicated by the insistence of the H-men (the
considered special messengers to the water gods.
practitioner of native folk religion) from a village near Balan-
Oztoteotl literally means “god of caves”; this was the
kanché that, because of the cave’s sacred nature, when the
name of a god venerated in a sacred cave at Chalma, a site
sealed chambers were discovered, it was necessary to propiti-
about two days’ march from Mexico City that was the scene
ate the deities within in order to ward off supernatural retri-
of important pilgrimages. Oztoteotl has been supplanted by
bution for the profanation. Rites were held involving the rit-
the Christian Lord of Chalma (a representation of Christ),
ual drinking of honey-based balché, the sacrifice of chickens,
who is no less venerated, both in the cave and in a church
and, among other things, the imitation of frogs by two small
erected here. One rite in Chalma is the leaving of umbilical
boys: the entrance to the cave home of the rain god was tradi-
cords in two caves, one at the top of the hill, one at the bot-
tionally guarded by a frog (Andrews, 1970, pp. 70–164).
tom, in order to ensure the infants of good fortune in life.
This type of ceremony is not unique to the cenotes of
Vegetation gods frequently had rites performed in their
Yucatán. Marion Oettinger (in a personal communication)
honor in caves. For example, the skins of flayed victims (sym-
records a cave rite in the state of Guerrero dedicated to the
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1470
CAVES
water god; in it, stalactites and stalagmites are revered as dei-
cited by Heyden, 1976). At times a cave steals this spirit or
ties. Corn is believed to come from hollows on the cave floor
that of an adult, whereupon a curandero, a healer, must per-
made by dripping water. Rites dedicated to supernatural be-
form a rite in the cave. In one case he captures the lost spirit
ings who control water and vegetation are still held within
in a piece of the spirit-owner’s clothing and manages to pull
the cave.
it out of the cave (Guido Münch, personal communication,
RITES OF PASSAGE. Since Paleolithic times caves have been
referring to Oaxaca). In these cases of soul loss and recupera-
preferred places for many rites of passage. Symbols of passage
tion, the rite of passage is a hazardous one between life and
into another world, of a descent to the underworld, they are
death. People also become ill from cave “winds,” and gra-
the scene of initiation rites for shamans—among the Austra-
niceros can cure them by making offerings to the owners of
lian medicine men, among the Araucanian of Chile, among
the caves. A rite associated with these ceremonies is that of
the Inuit (Eskimo), and among peoples of North America,
dying and resuscitating; the usual way to become a granicero
to mention but a few (Eliade, 1964, p. 51). The iruntarinia
is to be struck by lightning, be pronounced dead, and then
(“spirits”) of central Australia create a medicine man when
come to life again. In some regions the healer must “die”
an Aranda (Arunta) candidate goes to sleep at the mouth of
twice a year; then his spirit goes to a special cave, where he
a cave; he is dragged into it by one of the spirits and dismem-
receives instructions (William Madsen, cited by Heyden,
bered, and his internal organs are exchanged for others. For
1976). Exorcism is yet another rite practiced in caves, fre-
example, a fragment of rock crystal, important to shamanic
quently by saying a mass in the interior, in the presence of
power (a detail reported in Oceania and the Americas also),
the affected person.
is placed in his body, which is then returned to his village
(Eliade, 1964, pp. 46, 139). Eliade tells also of the initiatory
RELIGIOUS CAVE ART. Paintings on the walls of ancient
dream-journey of a Nenets (Yurak Samoyed) in his transition
caves, or sculptures hewn out of rock within caverns, have
from candidate to shaman. In one important episode, the
been called “invisible art” and likened to “silent music” (Car-
initiate was led into a cave covered with mirrors; there he re-
penter, 1978, pp. 90–99). That is, such art was created for
ceived a hair from each of two women, mothers of reindeer,
the initiated few and did not need to be public. Esoteric it
with which to shamanize for the animal (p. 41).
is, and it has generally been conceived to possess sympathetic
magic. For example, depicting a speared deer would ensure
In British Columbia, as each Salish adolescent conclud-
success in the hunt. Undoubtedly this is one meaning, but
ed a puberty rite, he or she imprinted a red hand on a cave
it is not the only one. Some cave images may be a way of
wall. Furthermore, these and other images painted in red on
keeping a record of rites. They may also relate to the animal
rock walls recorded remarkable dreams. A spirit quest by a
double that each person possesses. Among the North Ameri-
Salish boy led him into the hills, usually to a cave, where,
can Indians, a young man, as part of a spirit quest, often gave
through praying and fasting, he would dream of a supernatu-
thanks to his spirit guardian by painting or carving figures
ral being who would be his guardian in later life (Grant,
on cliff walls or in dark caves. These were addressed to his
1967, p. 29). Among the Dogon in Africa, circumcision rites
spirit guardian and were not meant to be seen by living hu-
are recorded by ritual signs and paintings on the rocks; these
mans; exposure would diminish their powers. Carpenter sug-
are also related to ceremonies for the renewal of the cosmos
gests that many anthropomorphic figures, depicted at times
every sixty years. In Mexico’s Malinalco rock temple, carved
in coitus, in caves or in earth sculpture on mountaintops or
altarlike felines and eagles stand against the walls; the mili-
desert floors, probably represent the original tribal ancestors
tary orders of the Jaguar and the Eagle must have held cere-
and, by extension, the beginning of the world.
monies here, such as the initiation of new members into their
select ranks.
European cave paintings dating from the Upper Paleo-
lithic period (c. 35,000–19,000 years ago), among them
A rite of passage from illness to health is performed at
those at Altamira in Spain and at Lascaux, Cap Blanc, Les
the grotto at Lourdes, France. The healing waters of
Trois Frères, Cougnac, and Rouffignac in France, portray
Lourdes’s spring and the story of the apparition of the Virgin
mainly animals. Although Henri Breuil had interpreted these
Mary to Bernadette have made this an important pilgrimage
as belonging to hunting-gathering magic, recent studies pro-
center since 1858.
pose that such art is part of Paleolithic cosmology. Leroi-
In Mexico, until early this century, a boy child born in
Gourhan (1965) sees this worldview as based on a male-
the vicinity of the Teotihuacán pyramids was placed in a
female division, with sections of the caves, as well as the ani-
cave. An animal, it was said, came out from the dark interior
mals and symbols, divided according to gender. Alexander
and licked his face; if the baby did not cry, he automatically
Marshack interprets certain forms in cave art as calendrical
acquired the right to be a granicero. Graniceros perform cur-
and incisions on bones and antlers as notational; he also
ing ceremonies and control rain from within caves. Thus the
claims that some representations have seasonal and ecological
child experienced two rites of passage, a kind of baptism and
significance, symbolized, for example, by flora and fauna typ-
initiation into this special group. In a part of Chiapas, as
ical of certain seasons and regions (cited by Conkey, 1981,
soon as a child moves within his mother’s womb, he is said
p. 23). Ritual art, then, is often a key to the daily life and
to possess a spirit, and this dwells in caves (Esther Hermitte,
economy of a people, as well as to their 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
CAVES
1471
At El Castillo in Cantabrian Spain, about fifty negative
San Francisco Mountains of Baja California a sixteen-foot-
handprints were painted on a wall by blowing red ocher
long plumed serpent is the object of a ceremony involving
around a hand held there. Although this symbol has not been
red and black men and deer. However, Uriarte sees this great
clearly interpreted by students of the period, it is reminiscent
figure as a serpent-deer, joining the natural forces of both
of red handprints on walls in the Maya region of Mexico,
creatures (1981, p. 151). The men surrounding it wear ser-
prints that according to popular tradition were placed there
pent-deer headdresses and therefore must be members of a
by slaves who were to be sacrificed. This interpretation may
cult group. Uriarte suggests also that the two-in-one animal
be fantasy, however, for in Pueblo belief (where Mexican in-
may represent a male-female creation myth. Hundreds of
fluence is often found) the handprint is a “signature” that at-
handprints found in Arizona, Utah, and northern California
tracts supernatural blessings or marks the completion of a
must have had ceremonial significance. The Chumash of
rite. Some animal representations, evidently men dressed in
California painted supernatural figures, believed to be related
skins and antlers, have been thought to depict sorcerers.
to dreams and visions, in remote mountainous areas. A cere-
Clusters of bison on the ceiling at Altamira could symbolize
monial liquor used by the Chumash and other groups was
different human groups that went to the cave for various rea-
made of the hallucinogenic jimsonweed, which could have
sons and rites. Thus the cave could have been a seasonal ag-
spurred such ritual art. Rock paintings by the Navajo marked
gregation site for people who were dispersed throughout the
sacred places where mythological events occurred; these
region (Conkey, 1981, p. 24). Could Altamira have been an
paintings often depicted the yei, equivalent to the Pueblo ka-
early Magdalenian pilgrimage center?
china, a divine creature usually associated with maize agricul-
ture. Campbell Grant (1967) suggests an important reason
René Huyghe, in discussing Paleolithic cave art, points
for some of the rock art symbols: they were mnemonic de-
out that the facsimile is effective in the beliefs of the people
vices for rites, and records of certain events. Among present-
who create these magic images. He further explores the func-
day Ojibwa, tobacco, prayer sticks, and cloth are placed on
tion of the facsimile, citing paintings on the walls of Egyp-
rocks below paintings as offerings to the supernatural beings
tian tombs, where representations of foodstuffs and furniture
depicted there. The Ojibwa believe that a shaman can enter
sometimes substituted for the actual articles needed for life
the rock and trade tobacco with the spirit there for special
after death. Huyghe has stated that the accomplished tech-
medicine (Grant, 1967, pp. 32, 147).
nique with which the cave paintings were executed indicates
probable teaching by sorcerer-priests (1962, pp. 16, 18).
In central Baja California, Uriarte (1981) records 72
With the transition to the Mesolithic and Neolithic periods,
caves painted with 488 figures or sets of figures, many with
cave art became more realistic and depicted human beings
the bodies adorned in body paint of various colors. Similar
in communal activities. Paintings of this sort are found at the
colors are also typical of cave paintings in northwestern Aus-
entrance to caves, accessible to the larger group, instead of
tralia. Among the Kulin there, Bunjil was the supreme
mythological being, who with all his people turned into stars
in dark interiors, where formerly esoteric rites must have
and whose son was the rainbow. Bunjil’s favorite place was
been held. This different religio-social art is characteristic of
Angel Cave; he created it when he spoke to rocks, which then
the Iberian coast facing Africa, and its tradition has contin-
opened up (Aldo Massola, 1968, pp. 59, 106).
ued to the present time among the African San. The paint-
ings convey great action, expressed by few, almost abstract
ARTIFICIAL CAVES. Some of the world’s most renowned
lines (running warriors at Teruel, for example), side by side
painted caves are in India. At Ajanta¯ the Gupta style of the
with incipient architecture (the menhir, probably intended
fifth and sixth centuries was the peak of a golden age, al-
as a receptacle for the soul of the deceased). Both reflect more
though the caves themselves existed by the second century
settled activities of Neolithic peoples: flock keeping and agri-
BCE, and painting continued through the eighth century CE.
culture, which spurred new ideas and customs (Huyghe,
Portrayed on the walls are scenes from the lives of Gautama
1962, pp. 21–24).
Buddha, the bodhisattvas, and other divine beings conceived
in the manner of the palace life of the time. The ja¯taka tales
America holds a wealth of cave and rock art, from Alaska
painted here illustrate the Buddha’s previous earthly experi-
to South America. Most of it dates from about 1000 CE to
ences. That some of the people are engaged in religious con-
the late 1800s. Its subjects are animals, humans, supernatural
versation is apparent from the occasional mudra¯s (hand posi-
beings, and abstract designs. Although some scenes are his-
tions). But perhaps the most extraordinary thing about these
torical or narrative (depicting Spanish horsemen, for exam-
caves, as well as at Ellora and elsewhere, is that they were
ple), much of this art is religious. Hunting magic is repre-
carved out of sandstone rock. Entire mountains were turned
sented by a heart line drawn within an animal and sometimes
into sanctuaries by devoted and anonymous sculptor-
pierced by an arrow. The mythical Thunderbird, thought to
architects to be used as monastic retreats. The thirty Ajanta¯
control thunderstorms but also a clan symbol and sacred an-
caves, excavated in the semicircular face of a mountain in the
cestor guardian among the Hopi, is often represented. The
Deccan region near Aurangabad, are either caityas (chapels)
plumed serpent, known as the god Quetzalcoatl in Mexico,
or viha¯ras (monasteries). The caityas consist of an apse, side
was the guardian of springs and streams in the Southwest,
aisles, and a central nave in the center of which is a stupa,
and is seen on kiva wall paintings or in rock carvings. In the
all hewn out of living rock. In the viha¯ras there are a congre-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1472
CAVES
gation hall and monks’ cells. In the early caves, the Buddha
Upper Egypt. By the time of New Kingdom, the Valley of
was represented not in his bodily form but with symbols,
the Kings, on the Nile’s west side facing Luxor, had become
such as the bodhi tree or a set of footprints. Sculpture in re-
the necropolis of pharaohs, who lay in rock-cut tombs on
lief and in the round later filled the caves and covered the
both sides of the valley. The funerary temple of Queen
doorways with large figures of the Buddha and the bodhisatt-
Hatshepsut at Deir al-Bahri was carved out of the mountain
vas as well as an exuberance of elephants, buffalo, men and
on different levels. Under Ramses II, in the nineteenth
women in different positions, lotus medallions, and other
dynasty, the spectacular rock temple at Abu Simbel was
floral motifs. The happy marriage at Ajanta¯ of architecture,
hewn out of a mountain in Upper Egypt.
painting, and sculpture produced an insuperable monument
In Persia, royal rock tombs at Naksh-i-Rustam, near
to the Buddhist faith.
Persepolis, date from the sixth to the fourth centuries BCE.
Also hewn out of a mountain (sometime between the
Here the king is represented before a fire altar, above which
fourth and ninth centuries CE), the caves at Ellora are a mira-
is the god Ahura Mazda¯, whose face is surrounded by a circle,
cle of carving. Unlike the Buddhist caves at Ajanta¯, these are
symbol of eternity. At Petra, in modern Jordan, the Nabate-
dedicated to three faiths: the early caves, before 800, are Bud-
ans more than two thousand years ago carved their capital
dhist; the Hindu caves overlap (600–900), and the Jain caves
city out of rock. Along with temples and civil buildings,
cover the period from 800 to 1000. At Ellora the great
some of these artificial caves are tombs for the kings.
Hindu Kailash temple dedicated to S´iva represents Mount
In Mexico, shaft tombs—the shaft hollowed out of the
Kailash, where the gods dwell. In the early Buddhist caves,
earth, ending in a side chamber for the cadaver—were defi-
the vast number of Buddhas, bodhisattvas, and ´saktis express
nitely cave representations, the deceased returning to the
the Vajraya¯na philosophy, wherein Buddhahood was ob-
earth that gave him life. The temazcal, the purifying sweat
tained through self-discipline and meditation. The Hindu
bath, used for millennia in this region, was “the house of
caves are dedicated to S´iva, who is worshiped symbolically
flowers” in pre-Columbian times, the flower symbolizing
in the phallic symbol called the lingam, found always in the
both the womb and the cave.
shrine. Sculptures of S´iva also represent him in many of his
manifestations, as the personification of death and time, as
An outstanding example of funerary caves, albeit in this
Creator, Destroyer, Divine Lover, and Lord of the Dance.
case artificial, is that of Rome’s catacombs. These were Chris-
S´iva’s wife Pa¯rvat¯ı, goddess of love and beauty, accompanies
tian cemeteries begun in the first century CE. They were
him, as does his son Gan:e´sa, the elephant-headed god of wis-
twice confiscated, during the third century and at the begin-
dom. S´iva is sometimes represented in his half-male, half-
ning of the fourth; after a bloody persecution by Diocletian,
female form. Brahma¯ and Vis:n:u are also portrayed in various
peace was finally granted by Constantine in 313. From then
forms. The composition of Ajanta¯ paintings is at times remi-
on, catacomb excavations were enlarged and embellished
niscent of the man:d:ala (or cosmic diagram), while Jain sculp-
with paintings and inscriptions referring to Christian mar-
ture at Ellora borrowed freely from Hinduism and depicts
tyrs; they became the goal of pilgrims.
Hindu deities.
In the sub-Saharan region of Mali, the Tellem people,
Undoubtedly the most spectacular of the many caves
who flourished from the eleventh to the sixteenth centuries,
carved out of solid rock in China is the complex known as
buried their dead, accompanied by grave furniture and cloth-
Longmen Grottoes at Luoyang, in Honan Province. Begun
ing for the otherworld, in special caves. Objects were ritually
in the fifth century CE, the grottoes continued to be carved
destroyed, as they are in other parts of the world, in order
over a period of four hundred years. Twenty-one hundred
to release the spirit. One cave contained three thousand skel-
caves and niches and more than forty pagodas house more
etons. Among the offerings left in these high cliff caves were
than one hundred thousand sculptures, the largest 17.4 me-
skeletal remains of a crowned crane and of a turtle, both fig-
ters, the smallest only 12 centimeters high. Statues in these
ures in the mythology of the Dogon, who came to the region
grottoes mainly portray the Buddha. Also represented are at-
after the Tellem (Bedaux, 1982, pp. 28–34).
tendant figures, warriors, the Buddha’s disciples, bodhisatt-
In the lowland Maya region of Mexico and Central
vas, and a giant lotus—symbol of divine birth, purity, cre-
America, the limestone floor is honeycombed with cenotes.
ative force, and Buddha’s footsteps—on a ceiling. The walls
Perhaps because these are the main sources of water in the
of one cave, that of the Ten Thousand Buddhas, are covered
largely riverless Yucatán Peninsula, they were highly venerat-
with a myriad of tiny relief-carved figures of the divinity,
ed as sacred sites; one of their functions was that of funeral
which envelop the viewer with an awesome sense of the
chamber. The great cenote at Chichén Itzá is well known,
sacred.
as are tales of fair maidens thrown into the water at this cave-
ROCK TEMPLES AND TOMBS. The hypogea, rock-cut tombs
well. It actually was a place of sacrifice to aquatic deities, but
of Egypt, attest to the use of natural materials available for
adolescents of both sexes were the victims. A sixteenth-
building. Stone, abundant in Egypt, was used for the great
century account by Fray Diego de Landa tells of young boys
monuments. From the Middle Kingdom on, tombs were
whose hearts were extracted before their bodies were deposit-
hollowed out of cliffs alongside the Nile for high officials of
ed in the cenote; propitiation of water gods by child sacrifice
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CAYCE, EDGAR
1473
was a common rite. The victims were accompanied by in-
Massola, Aldo. Bunjil’s Cave: Myths, Legends and Superstitions of
cense balls, gold jewels, and the even more highly prized jade,
the Aborigines of South-East Australia. Melbourne, 1968.
symbol of water and of all that is precious. These sacrificial
Stuart, George E. “Maya Art Treasures Discovered in Cave.” Na-
rites were related to maize agriculture, but also had divinato-
tional Geographic 160 (1981): 220–235.
ry and prophetic purposes. Before the rainy season, or during
Uriarte, Maria Teresa. Pintura Rupestre en Baja California. “Co-
times of drought, child sacrifices increased. Some accounts
lección Científica,” no. 106. Mexico City, 1981.
relate that the victims were lowered alive into the cave-well
Yoon, Hong-key. Geomantic Relationships between Culture and
so that they could communicate with the god, then left to
Nature in Korea. Taipei, 1976.
drown. A procession went from the main temple to a shrine
next to the cenote; there the priests instructed the victim as
New Sources
Berkson, Carmel. Elephante, the Cave of Shiva. Princeton, N.J.,
to the message to be given to the gods; then they consum-
1983.
mated the sacrifice. The walls of Guatemala’s spectacular Naj
Tunich cavern are covered with eighth-century paintings of
Bonor, Juan Luis. Las cuevas mayas: simbolismo y ritual. Madrid,
1989.
the ritual ball-game (with celestial and life-death signifi-
cance), ritual bloodletting, dwarfs (associated with both
Loubser, J. H. N. A Guide to the Rock Paintings of Tandjesberg.
heavens and the underworld), shells (symbols of birth and
Bloemfontein, Republic of South Africa, 1993.
of death), and long columns of hieroglyphs, mainly calendri-
Rutkowski, Bogdan, and Krzysztof Nowicki. The Psychro Cave,
cal. George Stuart (1981, pp. 220–235) points out that the
and Other Sacred Grottoes in Crete. Warsaw, 1996.
Classic Maya considered the numbers and days in their cal-
Whitehouse, Ruth. Underground Religion: Cult and Culture in Pre-
endar as a procession of gods who marched along an eternal
historic Italy. London, 1992.
and endless trail. The Maya believed that caves, like the roots
DORIS HEYDEN (1987)
of the sacred ceiba tree that held earth and sky together,
Revised Bibliography
reached far down into the underworld. Caves were the en-
trance to this place, called Xibalba, where underworld gods
dwelt. Stuart suggests that the great cavern of Naj Tunich
CAYCE, EDGAR. Edgar Cayce (1877–1945) was an
was the embodiment of Xibalba, place of death.
American spiritual healer and teacher. Celebrated for trance
SEE ALSO Labyrinth; Mountains; Neolithic Religion; Paleo-
readings, diagnosing illnesses, and for prescribing unortho-
lithic Religion.
dox but reputedly effective treatments, Cayce (pronounced
“Casey”) was a seminal figure for the mid- to late twentieth-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
century revival of interest in psychic phenomena and the
Andrews, Edward Wyllys. Balankanché, Throne of the Tiger Priest.
New Age movement. In addition to Cayce’s healing work,
New Orleans, 1970.
the New Age movement was inspired particularly by trance
Bedaux, Rogier M. A. “Rediscovering the Tellem of Mali.” Ar-
teachings offered by the “sleeping prophet,” as Cayce was
chaeology 35 (1982): 28–34.
called. These included “life readings,” interpreting the lives
Carpenter, Edmund. “Silent Music and Invisible Art.” Natural
of individuals in light of previous incarnations, and dis-
History 87 (1978): 90–99.
courses involving future history and “earth changes.” Cayce
Conkey, Margaret W. “A Century of Palaeolithic Cave Art.” Ar-
was relatively little known until the appearance late in his life
chaeology 34 (1981): 20–28.
of a best-selling biography by Thomas Sugrue, There Is a
Eliade, Mircea. The Sacred and the Profane. New York, 1959.
River (1942); Cayce’s life and work thereafter became the
Eliade, Mircea. Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy. Rev. &
subject of many publications.
enl. ed. New York, 1964.
Cayce was born in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, in modest
Grant, Campbell. Rock Art of the American Indian. New York,
circumstances, the son of a farmer and sometime small shop-
1967.
keeper. Edgar Cayce’s formal education did not extend be-
Heyden, Doris. “An Interpretation of the Cave underneath the
yond grammar school. He and his family were faithful mem-
Pyramid of the Sun in Teotihuacán, Mexico.” American An-
tiquity 40 (1975): 131–147.
bers of the (Campbellite) Christian Church. Deeply
religious, Edgar read the Bible regularly and taught Sunday
Heyden, Doris. “Los ritos de paso en las cuevas.” Boletín Instituto
Nacional de Antropologia e Historia (Mexico City) 2 (1976):
school for many years. He married Gertrude Evans in 1903
17–26.
and was the father of three sons: Hugh Lynn, Milton Porter
Huyghe, René. “Prehistoric Art: Art Forms and Society” and
(who died in infancy), and Edgar Evans. As a young adult,
“Primitive Art: Art Forms and Society.” In Larousse Encyclo-
Cayce was employed as a salesman in a bookstore and in
pedia of Prehistoric and Ancient Art, edited by René Huyghe,
other enterprises. After moving to Bowling Green, Ken-
pp. 16–25, 72–77. London, 1962.
tucky, in 1903, he worked as a photographer. He lived in
Leighton, Dorothea C., and John Adair. People of the Middle
Alabama, chiefly in Selma, from 1909 to 1923, then moved
Place: A Study of the Zuni Indians. New Haven, 1966.
to Dayton, Ohio, and finally in 1925 to Virginia Beach, Vir-
Leroi-Gourhan, André. Treasures of Prehistoric Art. New York,
ginia, where he spent the remainder of his life engaged in his
1965.
psychic work.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1474
CELIBACY
The trances began around 1901, when Cayce was hyp-
quired a central position in the new spiritual consciousness
notized in Hopkinsville by Al C. Layne, an osteopath and
of the 1960s and the New Age movement. The association
amateur hypnotist, in connection with treatment for a throat
regained control of the hospital building in 1956 and con-
disorder. Reportedly, the entranced patient diagnosed his
verted it into office spaces for the ARE. Atlantic University
own condition and prescribed an effective cure by sugges-
was reopened in 1985 as a distance learning institution, of-
tion. As news of this occurrence spread, Cayce was persuaded
fering courses and degree programs in New Age topics. By
by Layne to work with him in treating other patients in a
2004 the extensive headquarters campus of the movement
similar way. Layne would put Cayce into a hypnotic state,
in Virginia Beach included a library, a bookstore, a confer-
during which the latter would characteristically say, “We
ence center, alternative healing facilities, and a day spa. Hugh
have the body,” and proceed to describe the ailment in spe-
Lynn Cayce was succeeded in the leadership of the move-
cific anatomical terms. The healing methods he recommend-
ment by his son, Charles Cayce (b. 1942).
ed varied greatly from individual to individual and included
Edgar Cayce is a figure unique in American spirituality.
unique combinations of osteopathy, chiropractic, electro-
He represents a link between the biblical and folk Christiani-
therapy, vibrations, massage, foods and diets, and herbal
ty of the middle South out of which he came and which was
treatments. Experience showed that the work was equally ef-
always a part of his world, and the theosophical ideas he also
fective whether the patient was in the same room with Cayce,
espoused. Reincarnation and other such concepts seemed
in an adjoining room, or miles away. For some years, howev-
much less alien to many Americans when expressed by a seer
er, Cayce’s trance readings were only occasional. During his
of Cayce’s background and earthy character. Cayce also was
years in Alabama, he also attempted to use his psychic powers
a living link between the Spiritualism of the nineteenth cen-
to find oil in Texas, but without success.
tury, with its trance mediumship, and the New Age era of
In 1923 Cayce met Arthur Lammers of Dayton, Ohio,
the late twentieth century. Because of him, ideas from all
a prosperous printer and student of theosophy. Deeply im-
these quarters came together to form the groundwork of a
pressed by his conversations with Lammers, Cayce moved to
distinctive American esotericism.
Dayton, and soon afterwards his readings began to include
references to reincarnation, Atlantis, Gnostic Christianity,
SEE ALSO Association for Research and Enlightenment.
and other features of the theosophical and occult worldview.
He began to give “life readings,” relating physical and other
BIBLIOGRAPHY
problems of clients to their past lives.
Bro, Harmon Hartzell. A Seer out of Season: The Life of Edgar
Cayce. New York, 1989.
In 1925, following what he believed were psychic lead-
Cayce, Charles Thomas, and Jeanette M. Thomas, eds. The Works
ings, Cayce moved to Virginia Beach where, with the sup-
of Edgar Cayce as Seen through His Letters. Virginia Beach,
port of wealthy backers, he was able to devote himself exclu-
Va., 2000.
sively to his spiritual calling and to establish complementary
Cayce, Edgar. My Life As a Seer: The Lost Memoirs. Compiled and
works. Chief among his supporters was Morton Harry Blu-
edited by A. Robert Smith. New York, 1971.
menthal, a young Jewish stockbroker from New York. They
founded a Cayce Hospital in 1928 and Atlantic University
Cayce, Edgar Evans, and Hugh Lynn Cayce. The Outer Limits of
Edgar Cayce’s Power. New York, 1971.
in 1930, but both failed during the Great Depression. On
the other hand, the Association for Research and Enlighten-
Cayce, Hugh Lynn. Venture Inward. New York, 1964.
ment (ARE), a membership organization incorporated in
Cayce, Hugh Lynn, ed. The Edgar Cayce Reader. New York, 1969.
1932, has remained a major pillar of Cayce’s work and lega-
Johnson, K. Paul. Edgar Cayce in Context: The Readings, Truth and
cy. It provided for continuing stenographic recordings of
Fiction. Albany, N.Y., 1998.
Cayce’s readings (begun in 1923), for the dissemination of
Kirkpatrick, Sidney D. Edgar Cayce: An American Prophet. New
a newsletter and other literature, and, in time, for the estab-
York, 2000.
lishment of Cayce study groups around the nation and the
Sugrue, Thomas. There Is a River: The Story of Edgar Cayce. New
world. Some fifteen thousand transcripts of readings are kept
York, 1942; rev. ed., 1945.
in the ARE library in Virginia Beach, a collection available
to researchers and unique in the annals of mediumship. A
ROBERT S. ELLWOOD (2005)
study by Edgar Cayce’s sons based on this material, The
Outer Limits of Edgar Cayce’s Power (1971), presents a re-
markably candid assessment of their father’s successes and
CELIBACY,
failures.
the deliberate abstinence from sexual activi-
ty, derives its religious value from the vital human signifi-
Edgar Cayce’s older son, Hugh Lynn Cayce (1907–
cance of sex itself. The different roles played by celibacy in
1982), a gifted organizer, did much to develop the ARE,
the world’s religions then reflect different attitudes toward
heading it in the postwar years following his father’s death.
procreation and earthly existence. Thus, traditions oriented
It was largely through Hugh Lynn’s books, lectures, and en-
toward fecundity and wordly success, like those of most non-
ergetic promotional activities that Cayce and the ARE ac-
literate peoples, rarely if ever enjoin permanent celibacy for
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CELIBACY
1475
anyone; only periods of temporary celibacy preceding and
formation. More often, however, adepts practice techniques
following childbirth and at crucial communal rituals are pre-
that entail only physiological imagery: Daoist spiritual alche-
scribed. The great traditions of Hinduism, Buddhism, and
my may lead to the generation of an immortal fetus; Hindu
Christianity, on the other hand, all oriented toward other-
yogins speak of channeling the seed upward through higher
wordly goals, have firmly established roles for celibate monks
centers of the body. For most adepts, then, total celibacy is
working out their salvation. And smaller, extreme groups
crucial in order to preserve the spiritual potencies of their
with radically negative views of life in the world may pre-
own seed, a point also affirmed in popular tradition: Hindu
scribe celibacy as an ideal for all. The reasons offered for celi-
mythological texts are full of stories of ascetics who suc-
bacy consequently range from concerns for personal physical
cumbed to lust and lost their powers.
health to a total rejection of the physical body. Religious in-
Thus, the power of holy persons also depends in good
stitutions, moreover, differ both in the ways of life that they
part on their self-control. The word yoga, in fact, deriving
prescribe for the celibate and in the image of the celibate that
from a root meaning “to yoke,” can often be best understood
they present to laypersons.
in a very concrete sense: a willful harnessing of the vital ener-
TRADITIONAL PERCEPTIONS. The placement of deliberate
gies, which are considered prone to rage like beasts. So even
religious restraints on physical behavior, celibacy is often ex-
in traditions like Christianity that do not explicitly posit a
plained within tradition through physiological as well as
direct continuity between sexual and spiritual energies, celi-
metaphysical concepts. Asian esoteric texts, moreover, can be
bacy still appears as a measure of powerful mastery over the
most explicit about the spiritual potentials of reproductive
senses. Latin Catholicism gives us stories of triumphant (and
energies. Traditional understandings of celibacy, then, pres-
faltering) ascetics struggling with incubi or succubi, attrac-
ent a continuity that spans ideas about marriage and procre-
tive male or female spirits bent on seducing them. Among
ation, spiritual powers, spiritual purity, and chaste marriage
the American Shakers, a struggle with sexual desire became
to the divine.
the distinctive focal point through which an active Protestant
sect sought to reform human existence. For the Shakers, the
Temporary concentration of reproductive energies.
world of sensual experience itself was so overwhelming that
The perception that sexual intercourse during pregnancy and
a break with it required radical means: absolute abstention.
lactation will harm an infant is found in many cultures, in-
In this instance, perfect celibacy expresses an attempt at total
cluding some contemporary Western folk traditions. The
self-mastery.
larger worldviews in which this perception is embedded may
thus vary immensely. For the Arapesh of New Guinea, the
Separation from the impure. Ascetics who aim to sub-
practice of temporary celibacy has a positive religious signifi-
jugate the flesh usually have no high opinion of the gross
cance for procreation. According to Arapesh ideas, the fetus
physical matter that constitutes it. The eventual aim of con-
is shaped and nurtured by both parents through several
trolling the sexual nature for many can then become the
weeks of frequent and purposeful intercourse after the moth-
achievement of distance from a fundamentally impure, de-
er’s menstruation stops. Yet once the mother’s breasts enlarge
generate, and transient world. The perception of the physical
in the first obvious sign of pregnancy, the child is considered
body itself as disgusting and ultimately worthless may be ac-
fully formed and all intercourse must cease. After the child
tively cultivated in monastic traditions, sometimes through
is born, the parents are supposed to sleep together with it,
deliberate meditation practice. In the near-canonical Visudd-
devote their energies to it, and give it special attention. If ei-
himagga, Therava¯da Buddhist monks are enjoined to detach
ther parent indulges in sexual activity—even with other part-
themselves from sensual desire by contemplating the dead
ners—before the child can walk, they say that it will become
body in various stages of decomposition (swollen, bluish,
weak and perhaps die. With infanticide common among the
gnawed, worm-eaten) and the live body as filled, among
Arapesh, choosing to keep a child is a deliberate decision, and
other things, with intestines, excrement, bile, pus, fat,
this extended celibacy surrounding childbirth, once chosen,
mucus, and urine (chaps. 6, 8). Sexual activity in this context
is normally kept. Celibacy then appears to represent here a
can easily be seen as another disgusting physical function
conscious channeling and concentration of the reproductive
from which all wise people should abstain.
power of both parents for the good of the child, lineage, and
In nonliterate cultures, which usually have fewer qualms
community.
about the physical body, the impurity attributed to sex may
stem in part from its potential danger to the social fabric.
The power of holy persons. Adepts in the esoteric tra-
Built up out of kinship bonds, tribal societies may splinter
ditions of Asia are often aware of transmuting their repro-
over family tensions and conflicts about women. Temporary
ductive power into spiritual power and channeling it within.
celibacy is thus often enjoined at crucial public rituals that
This perception lies behind certain occult meditation tech-
highlight communal solidarity—initiations, hunting expedi-
niques found in both India and Daoist China that draw on
tions, the start of a group journey.
a tension between continence, in a strict sense, and sexual in-
tercourse. Through entering a woman and still remaining
The image of chaste asexuality encompassing the com-
continent, the male adept arouses sexual energy in both part-
mon good is also found in Western religious institutions.
ners, which can then be absorbed inwardly for spiritual trans-
Roman state religion, which is often, in fact, understood to
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1476
CELIBACY
derive from the religion of family and clan, exalted the Vestal
Lord’s faithful wife, a concept institutionalized in Catholic
Virgins. The keepers of Rome’s communal hearth, the Vestal
orders that identify nuns as brides of Christ. Moreover,
Virgins were legally neither men nor women. Buried alive if
Christian as well as Hindu mystics sometimes express them-
they violated their chastity, their most crucial obligation was
selves in terms of nuptial ecstasy. Though the patriarchal her-
celibacy itself. People in literate as well as nonliterate cul-
itages of East and West usually present the aspiring soul in
tures, then, may believe that sacred institutions maintaining
feminine guise, dependent on the will of her Lord, men too
the welfare of humanity as a whole should depend on indi-
can adopt a passionate devotional attitude. In India, both
viduals in an extraordinary state, beyond human sexuality.
male and female devotees of Kr:s:n:a understand the highest
spiritual state in terms of romantic love, and make much of
Ideas about the impurity of sex known both to the
Kr:s:n:a’s amorous dalliance with the adoring milkmaids of his
Roman world’s ascetics and in its politico-religious institu-
pastoral childhood home. Some theologians of Kr:s:n:a wor-
tions were assimilated and transformed by early Christians,
ship have further pointed out that the milkmaids were in fact
who by the fourth century had recognized the source of their
married women, and that the most intense desire between
own religious institution in the virgin son of a virgin mother.
men and women actually takes place outside routinized mar-
For Christians, then, maintaining virginity can be an imita-
riage, between clandestine lovers. So, paradoxically, the
tion of divine models and the purity of permanent celibacy
milkmaids’ passionate attachment to Kr:s:n:a —an important
can offer a constant tie to what is realized as primal in reli-
ideal for a large tradition of Indian celibates—is frequently
gious experience. Appearing as the original state of man born
represented as wives’ unchaste betrayal of their husbands.
of the spirit, celibacy in Christianity, as in other traditions,
Thus, as radical departures from ordinary convention, both
promises innocence—eternal childhood in the Lord.
celibacy and sexual abandon become religious parallels to
Exclusive attachment to the divine. Being an eternal
one another.
child in God can free the celibate from many worldly respon-
sibilities. Luke’s reference to chaste persons as “equal to an-
THE PLACE OF CELIBACY IN SOCIETY. Like total sexual aban-
gels” (20:35–36) suggests not only the innocence of celi-
don, moreover, total abstinence is not a generally recom-
bates, but also their roles as agents of God, in no way
mended practice in most traditions, and the social regulation
beholden to man. Certainly, the ability to devote all of one’s
of sexual behavior may entail curbs on celibacy as well as on
efforts to spiritual matters without the burden of family obli-
indulgence. Indeed, traditional cultures often present celiba-
gations is a very frequently voiced justification for celibacy
cy and procreation in a complementary relationship, which
in the East as well as in the West. In India, the practical im-
can be ordered according to the calendrical cycle, the life
plications of celibacy for a life devoted to religious pursuits
cycle, or divisions in the society as a whole. At the same time,
has explicit expression in the semantic range of the Sanskrit
separate communities of celibates have their own norms of
word brahmacarya, which occurs very frequently in religious
sexual propriety, and the maintenance of these norms is often
writings. Used most often to refer to sexual abstention, brah-
crucial for the image of the celibate in the eyes of laypersons.
macarya literally means “walking with brahman,” the primal
Procreation and abstinence in traditional societies.
divine essence; at the same time, brahmacarya may be used
Clearly, no civilization can survive for long without some
to refer specifically to the first stage in the traditional Hindu
provision for procreation, and religious traditions with
life cycle, which is supposed to be devoted to religious study.
strong ethnic roots, like Confucianism and Judaism, may
Thus, a word suggesting adherence to first divine principles
have no place at all for the permanent celibate. Although tra-
explicitly links the concept of celibacy to distinctly religious
ditional Judaism proscribes sexual relations outside marriage,
pursuits and the absence of worldly, adult responsibilities.
all Jews are expected to marry and engage regularly in conju-
In a highly dualistic theology, strict adherence to first
gal relations. Indeed, the Sabbath itself is thought of as a
principles can demand an absolute withdrawal from involve-
bride, and to celebrate its arrival Jewish husbands are en-
ment in earthly endeavors. Abstinence from sex is required
joined to have intercourse with their wives joyously on Sab-
less to follow active religious pursuits freely than to desist
bath eve. In Judaism, then, controlled religious pursuits
from physical procreation. For a gnostic like Marcion
should also embrace sanctified procreation throughout a ma-
(d. 160?), the physical world is the creation of a false god,
ture person’s life.
not the true one; trapped in physical bodies, souls cannot re-
The most highly structured relationships between absti-
turn to their real, original home. From this perspective, mak-
nence and procreation are found in traditional India, where
ing more physical bodies only means making more prisons
classical Hindu tradition sees these relationships ordered not,
for human souls, and keeping celibate represents a refusal to
as in Judaism, in a lifelong weekly cycle, but in the cycle of
further the false, earthly creation.
each individual life. The life stages of classical Hinduism are
By inhibiting fruitful physical unions, celibacy may also
fourfold: (1) brahmacarya, a period of celibate study; (2)
strengthen the devotee’s spiritual union with the Lord. In-
gr:hastha, the householder stage, in which traditional Hindus
deed, in devotional traditions, physical sexual abstinence is
were expected to marry and have many children, particularly
often a sign of faithful attachment to the divine beloved.
sons who would perform their death rites; (3) vanaprastha
Hindu devotional poetry idealizes the stalwart devotee as the
(“forest dwelling”), the later stage of marriage, after the chil-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CELIBACY
1477
dren were fully raised and had received most of their inheri-
should sleep in separate beds, clothed and with a light burn-
tance, and when abstinence was prescribed; and finally (4)
ing; though inmates of monasteries should sleep in groups,
sam:nya¯sa, the stage of total renunciation of settled life as well
young monks should not sleep alone as a group but should
as sex. The classical Hindu life cycle, then, begins and ends
be together with older ones (chap. 22). The abbots seemed
in celibacy, but prescribes a sexually fruitful period of life as
to recognize that ideals of spiritual love among members of
a householder in between.
their communities could stand in practical tension with vows
of celibacy.
Giving celibacy an explicit place in the individual life
cycle, Hindu tradition also gives celibate individuals an ex-
Yet more often than not, the physical chastity of clois-
plicit place in society. Hindus recognize that exceptional in-
tered monks is rarely tested; the crucial spiritual role of sexual
dividuals will want to live all their lives as celibate ascetics,
restrictions on celibates is less the prevention of sexual activi-
either prolonging their studies indefinitely as brahmaca¯rins
ty than of sexual thoughts. For celibates living outside the
or bypassing the householder stage by making early formal
cloister, continually interacting with laypersons, temptation
renunciation. Today, Hindus tend to collapse the first and
and desire can become particularly problematic. Necessary
last stages of the cycle and ignore the third, thus resolving
celibacy for diocesan priests has been frequently questioned,
the four stages of the life cycle into two social states: house-
both inside and outside the Roman Catholic church. In pre-
holders fruitfully participating in society, nurturing new
Reformation Europe, many priests openly took concubines,
souls, and supporting ascetics; and solitary celibates outside
and the last half of the twentieth century has heard continu-
society, working out their own salvation. In most Indian cos-
ing discussion of the value of requiring celibacy for all priests.
mologies, the participation of householders as well as celi-
The tensions facing the modern priest are understandable:
bates is required in the proper economy of salvation in the
living in a sexually open society and as a confessor hearing
cosmos.
detailed accounts of the intimate lives of individuals, he is
nevertheless expected to exercise the same sexual discipline—
Sexual norms in celibate groups. In Therava¯da Bud-
both mentally and physically—of the cloistered monk.
dhism, the complementary roles of the householder and celi-
bate were institutionalized and given a distinctive religious
The image for the layperson. The persistence of sacer-
valuation. The community of monks—the sam:gha—should
dotal celibacy in Roman Catholic tradition may lie, in part,
be supported by the laity, but the proper ordering of the cos-
in the image that the priest holds for the laity. As an adminis-
mos (and so the welfare of the laity) depends on the sam:gha’s
trator of divine office, the priest is seen to function within
purity, conceived in good part as its sexual purity. Thus, in
the holy mother church and should reflect her virginal puri-
the Vinaya Pit:aka, the monastic disciplinary code, specific
ty. The ideal of virginal purity for its officiants is maintained
rules governed everyday practices that had even the most
even in the Eastern Orthodox church: though married men
subtle sexual implications, from propriety in dress to contact
are allowed to become priests, they are not allowed to rise
with women. Atonement for even minor sexual infractions
to the highest episcopal office, and once a man has become
required not only confessions but also a formal legal decision
a priest he may not take a wife. As representatives of a sacred
handed down in a meeting of the community. Sexual inter-
institution regarded as pure, Buddhist monks project a simi-
course with a woman was one of the few grounds for imme-
lar image of chaste holiness in Therava¯da society. Like
diate expulsion from the sam:gha.
priests, monks are formal participants in Therava¯da ritual,
much of which involves the feeding of monks by laypersons.
Perhaps more crucial than the rules regulating the con-
The religious power of the rite for laypersons depends in part
tact between members of a celibate community and potential
on the monks’ perceived purity.
sexual partners outside it are those controlling the relation-
ships among the community members themselves. These
A vow of celibacy, moreover, can make individuals ap-
rules can be especially complex in celibate communities of
pear remarkable beyond the confines of sanctified ritual. No
mixed sex. The Shakers, a mixed celibate community
longer appearing as ordinary mortals, celibates can be relaxed
founded by a woman, maintained strict segregation between
in their socioreligious roles. The Roman Catholic priest can
the sexes; men and women were even to avoid passing each
joke and gossip with parishioners and not have to worry too
other on stairways. Taking in children and youths to raise,
much about a decorous image. A Therava¯da monk, even if
they kept them under tight control. Children were not al-
he is not particularly charismatic, at least withstands the rig-
lowed out at night except for some specific reason (and not
ors of chastity—an experience familiar to many male Th-
for any reason on Saturday evenings); lest they be tempted,
eravadins who have temporarily taken the robe. Among
children even of the same sex were not to be left unattended
Hindu gurus, the married ones may feel constrained to ap-
at their weekly bath. In whole communities of the same sex,
pear particularly scrupulous in financial matters; celibate
too, provisions are often made to inhibit physical contact
gurus, on the other hand, not burdened by family responsi-
among members. Though the Rule of Saint Benedict, which
bilities, are said to be more easily trusted. And in all tradi-
stands behind much of Western monastic life, has little ex-
tions, celibate hermits who do not interact readily with
plicit to say about celibacy itself, it does include provisions
laypersons may, through their renunciation of society, seem
apparently aimed at the prevention of homosexuality. Monks
awesome and powerful.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1478
CELTIC RELIGION: AN OVERVIEW
CONCLUSION. In setting individuals apart from normal life,
Christian era and their impact on the Greco-Roman world.
deliberate celibacy can render them extraordinary both to
Herodotus and Hecataeus confirm that by about 500 BCE the
themselves and to others. In crucial situations, temporary ab-
Celts were already widely dispersed over central and western
stinence is undertaken by members of many cultures, either
Europe, including perhaps Gaul and the Iberian Peninsula,
to achieve distance from impurity during rituals or to chan-
and evidence from the fifth century testifies to further terri-
nel reproductive energy at the birth of a child. In religions
torial expansion. About 400 BCE this process quickened as
oriented toward salvation, more permanent vows of celibacy
tribal bands invaded northern Italy and established settle-
affirm the links of individuals to powers higher than this
ments that, in due course, became the Roman province of
world, often as members of sanctified institutions. In these
Gallia Cisalpina. Some Celtic bands raided farther south, as
ways, celibacy makes people seem less grossly, physically
far as Rome and Apulia and even Sicily, and around 387 they
human, and thus, sometimes, more divine.
captured and sacked the city of Rome, an event of traumatic
importance in Roman history.
SEE ALSO Asceticism; Desire; Kun:d:alin¯ı; Sam:nya¯sa; Tan-
trism; Virginity.
To the east, other Celtic tribes penetrated into the Car-
pathians and the Balkans during the fourth century BCE. In
B
279 some of them entered Greece and plundered the shrine
IBLIOGRAPHY
For an extensive survey of celibacy in Christianity with a brief
at Delphi, and in the following year three Celtic tribes,
treatment of Asian traditions see Elizabeth Abbott, A History
known collectively to the Greeks as Galatae, crossed into Asia
of Celibacy (New York, 2000). For small-scale societies, see
Minor and eventually settled in the region that still bears the
the essays in Celibacy, Culture, and Society: The Anthropology
name Galatia. In Britain, the final phase of Celtic settlement
of Sexual Abstinence (Madison, 2001) edited by Elisa Janine
came with the arrival of the Belgae in the first century BCE,
Sobo and Sandra Bell. In Taoist Yoga: Alchemy and Immortal-
although there is archaeological evidence of earlier immigra-
ity (New York, 1970), Charles Luk presents a translation of
tions dating back as far as the fifth century BCE. For Ireland,
a turn-of-the-century Chinese text that treats the spiritual
the evidence is complicated, and one cannot confidently
transformation of sexual energies. Mircea Eliade, Yoga: Im-
infer a Celtic presence before the third century BCE.
mortality and Freedom (Princeton, 1969), treats this dimen-
sion of celibacy along with many others in Hindu religious
By the early third century BCE the Celts extended across
traditions. Social-scientific insight on the role of celibate
the length of Europe from Britain to Asia Minor, and they
monks in Therava¯da Buddhist culture is presented in S. J.
were considered one of the three or four most important bar-
Tambiah, Buddhism and the Spirit Cults in North-east Thai-
barian peoples in the known world. Thereafter, however,
land (Cambridge, 1970). A socio-religious perspective on the
their history is one of decline. Harried by Germans in the
Shakers is given by Louis J. Kern, who presents them as a
north, Dacians in the east, and Romans in the south, the
radical Protestant community: An Ordered Love (Chapel
Hill, 1981).
continental Celts saw their widespread dominion disinte-
grate and contract until their realm came to be associated
Incisive accounts of issues surrounding celibacy in the first Chris-
solely with Gaul, where they maintained their independence
tian centuries are offered by Peter Brown, The Body and Soci-
ety: Men, Women, and Sexual Renunciation in Early Christian-
until their conquest by Caesar (100–44 BCE) in the mid–first
ity (New York, 1988). Later Christian traditions are treated
century BCE (58–51 BCE).
in the essays in Medieval Purity and Piety: Essays on Medieval
In Britain and Ireland the process was longer drawn out,
Clerical Celibacy and Religious Reform (New York, 1998), ed-
but there too Celtic society was gradually eroded and sub-
ited by Michael Frassetto. Contemporary concerns about cel-
merged by foreign domination. By the beginning of the
ibacy in Catholicism, together with a concise historical sur-
twenty-first century, Celtic languages were being spoken
vey, are presented by Thomas McGovern, Priestly Celibacy
Today (Princeton and Chicago, 1998).
only on the western periphery, in restricted areas of Ireland,
Scotland, Wales, and Brittany. The insular languages belong
DANIEL GOLD (1987 AND 2005)
to two distinct branches of Celtic and perhaps reflect an
older dialectal division among the Celtic-speaking peoples of
Europe: Goidelic, which comprises Irish and Scottish Gaelic
CELTIC RELIGION
(and formerly Manx), and British or Brythonic, comprising
This entry consists of the following articles:
Welsh and Breton (and formerly Cornish). However, Bre-
AN OVERVIEW
ton, which is largely the product of immigration to Brittany
HISTORY OF STUDY
from southwest Britain from around the fourth to the sev-
enth century CE, may also have absorbed surviving elements
CELTIC RELIGION: AN OVERVIEW
of Gaulish speech.
Historical references to the Celts begin in the fifth century
The entry of the Celts into the written record coincides
BCE. Herodotus and Hecataeus of Miletus are the forerun-
with the first evidences of the Second Iron Age, also known
ners of a long series of Greek and Latin writers whose reports
as La Tène culture, which refers broadly to those areas of Eu-
and comments, both well- and ill-informed, reflect the
rope historically associated with the Celts. However, the fur-
changing fortunes of the Celtic peoples during the pre-
ther back beyond the fifth century BCE one goes, the more
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CELTIC RELIGION: AN OVERVIEW
1479
difficult it becomes to use the term Celts with reasonable
of later writers who borrowed from him, such as the historian
confidence, because the correlatives of language and written
Diodorus Siculus (died after 21 BCE,), the geographer Strabo
reference are lacking. The cultural phase which preceded La
(c. 63 BCE–24 CE), and, most notably of all, Julius Caesar,
Tène, known as Hallstatt, dates from the ninth century BCE
whose account is crucial for the study of Gaulish religion.
and covers an expanse of territory extending at least from
Burgundy to Bohemia. Hallstatt culture is characterized by
The limitations of the classical sources are obvious.
elaborate chariot burials and by the use of iron rather than
Most of the reports come at second- or third-hand and are
bronze for arms and utensils. It is the product of a warrior
subject to the prejudices and preconceptions born of classical
aristocracy that is generally recognized as Celtic, or at least
civilization—or even, as in the case of Caesar, of internal
as the direct ancestor of the Celts of the following period.
Roman politics—but they are not without substance, as on
Obviously, the definition of a Celtic identity was the product
many points they harmonize remarkably with the later insu-
of a long period of linguistic and cultural evolution, and
lar sources. For example, classical sources note that in Gaul
some archaeologists have ventured to identify as proto-Celtic
there were three classes associated with literature and learn-
the peoples of the Urnfield culture and of the Tumulus cul-
ing: the druids, the bards, and, between them, an order that
ture that preceded it in the second millennium
seems to have been best known by the Gaulish term *va¯tis
BCE, or even
the peoples of the Beaker and Battle-Axe cultures of the third
(cognate with Latin vatis; * denotes a form not appearing in
millennium
epigraphs and reconstructed from the quotations of Greek
BCE. However, this is mere speculation; the
point in the archaeological record at which the Indo-
and Latin authors), which is not clearly distinguishable from
Europeans made their appearance in central and western Eu-
the druids. Far removed in time and space, the same three-
rope cannot be known with certainty. And yet most scholars
fold arrangement occurs in medieval Ireland, comprising
discern in the culture of the Tumulus peoples features that
here druids (druïdh), filidh, and bards (baird). The term fáith
are echoed in that of La Tène.
(prophet) is the Irish cognate of Gaulish *va¯tis and appears
frequently as a near synonym of fili (plural, filidh).
SOURCES. The sources for Celtic religion fall broadly into
two categories. The first category comprises the various mon-
Manuscripts. The second main body of evidence, the
uments relating to the Celts on the continent, particularly
insular Celtic literatures, is at first glance far removed from
in Gaul and in Roman Britain, and the second category com-
the pre-Roman world of the continental Celts. The great his-
prises the insular Celtic literatures that have been preserved
torian of Gaul, Camille Jullian (1859–1933), questioned
in writing. The two types pose problems that are very differ-
whether it was valid to use Irish and Welsh literary sources
ent in character. Most dedicatory inscriptions, images of
to interpret Latin and Greek references to Gaulish institu-
Celtic deities, and commentaries by classical authors belong
tions and concluded that one could not rely on documents
to the Roman period and probably reflect in varying degrees
written so long after the Celtic migration to Ireland. In fact,
the effect of Roman influence on Gaulish institutions. For
the gap is much narrower than the twelve centuries that he
example, because Gaulish sculpture is based for the most part
supposed, because much of the relevant material is linguisti-
on Greco-Roman models, it is often difficult to assess and
cally older than the period of the manuscript collections in
interpret its relevance to native belief. Even cases in which
which it is now preserved. Further, there is no evidence that
motifs and figures seem clearly to derive from pre-Roman re-
Christianity was introduced to any part of Ireland before the
ligious tradition, as in some of the Celtic coins of the third
second half of the fourth century CE, or that it impinged
and second centuries BCE, they are not easily related to what
much on the traditional culture of the country before the
is known of insular Celtic myth and ritual.
sixth century. Moreover, one must reckon with the highly
conservative character of Irish learned tradition, which,
The difficulty lies in the lack of the literature that would
thanks to the assiduousness of the hereditary filidh, survived
provide a context for the iconography as well as a key to its
far into the Christian period and transmitted innumerable
understanding. The druids, as Caesar records, accorded pri-
elements of form and content, particularly in the area of so-
macy to the spoken word and refused to commit their teach-
cial institutions, which find their closest detailed analogues
ing to writing. Consequently, the whole of the traditional lit-
in the sacred texts of Vedic and classical Sanskrit.
erature, including the mythology that gave the iconography
its meaning, was confined to oral transmission and perished
Written literature in Irish dates from the second half of
with the extinction of the Gaulish language. The total loss
the sixth century CE, when monastic scholars adapted the
of this vernacular literature, which was doubtless comparable
Latin alphabet for that purpose, and it gradually increases in
in volume and variety with that of early Ireland, renders all
volume during the following centuries. In addition to a good
the more significant the testimony of those classical authors
deal of typically monastic learning, both religious and secu-
who recorded their own or others’ observations on the Celts.
lar, the literature comprises a vast amount of varied material
Probably the most important was Posidonius (c. 135–c. 50
recorded or adapted from oral tradition. However, only frag-
BCE), who had firsthand knowledge of diverse cultures, in-
ments of this literature survive in contemporary manuscripts,
cluding the Celtic in southern Gaul, and who devoted the
mostly in the form of annals or notes and glosses accompany-
twenty-third chapter of his lost Histories to Celtic ethnogra-
ing Latin texts; all the vernacular manuscripts written before
phy. Much of his account of the Celts survives in the work
the end of the eleventh century, some of them known by
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1480
CELTIC RELIGION: AN OVERVIEW
name, have perished through usage or spoilage caused by
the many other miscellaneous sources are the lives of the
warfare. Then around 1100 came Lebhor na hUidhre (The
saints, particularly those later ones compiled or redacted
book of the dun cow), probably written in the monastery of
from the eleventh century onward (of which it is sometimes
Clonmacnois and the first of a series of great vellum manu-
said that they contain more pagan mythology than Chris-
script compilations that were part of a conscious endeavor
tianity).
in the face of ominous political and social change to conserve
the monuments of native tradition. It was followed around
Evidence indicates that the early oral literature of Wales
1130 by an untitled collection now at the Bodleian Library
was comparable in volume and variety with that of Ireland.
at Oxford University and around 1150–1200 by Lebhor na
Unfortunately, because of a weaker scribal tradition, Welsh
Nuachongbála (known commonly as the Book of Leinster),
literature is less well documented for the pre-Norman period,
probably compiled in the monasteries of Glendalough and
prior to the eleventh century. This applies particularly to
Terryglass, respectively. Over the next couple of centuries a
prose, which in the Celtic languages is the standard medium
number of major manuscripts appeared, of which the most
for narrative and hence for most heroic and mythological lit-
important are the Great Book of Lecan, Yellow Book of
erature. Of the compositions ascribed to the fathers of Welsh
Lecan, Book of Ballymote, Book of Lismore, and Book of
poetry, Taliesin and Aneirin, who belonged to the second
Fermoy. These capacious bibliothecae embrace all the various
half of the sixth century, only a modest proportion is likely
genres of traditional literature: hero and king tales, mytho-
to be authentic, and all of that consists of eulogy and heroic
logical tales, origin legends, genealogies, onomastic (the
elegy. However, from the ninth or tenth century onward Ta-
study of proper names) and etymological lore, gnomic texts,
liesin became the focus of poems and stories (extant only in
legal tracts, eulogy and elegy, battle tales, birth tales, death
much later versions) that represent him as a wonder child,
tales, tales of the otherworld, and so on. It is important to
seer, and prophet; some of these motifs clearly derive from
remember that, although the surviving manuscripts date
native mythological tradition. There is no evidence of writ-
from a relatively late period, the matter they contain has gen-
ten Welsh narrative prose before the eleventh century, the
erally been copied more or less faithfully from earlier manu-
period to which most scholars assign the first redaction of
scripts. The result is that the initial redaction of the individu-
the earliest of the group of tales known as the Mabinogi or
al texts can be dated with a fair degree of accuracy on the
Mabinogion. However, the earliest manuscripts containing
basis of linguistic criteria. Thus the texts are often demon-
this prose material date from considerably later. Apart from
strably centuries older than the extant manuscripts.
two manuscript fragments from the late thirteenth and early
fourteenth centuries, the main texts are the “White Book of
Along with these manuscript collections, several special-
Rhydderch” from the mid–fourteenth century and the “Red
ized compilations, including Leabhar Gabhála Éireann (The
Book of Hergest” from the late fourteenth or early fifteenth
book of the taking of Ireland), commonly known as the
century. Another important source is the Trioedd Ynys Pry-
Book of Invasions, an amalgam of myth and pseudohistory,
dein (The triads of the island of Britain), which contains nu-
which purports to recount the coming of the Gaels to Ireland
merous references to mythological as well as historical char-
as well as the several immigrations that preceded it; the Cóir
acters and events; it may have been compiled in the twelfth
Anmann (Fitness of names), a catalog of names of “historical”
century, but much of the contents must have existed in oral
personages with many imaginative etymologies and refer-
tradition before then. Also of mythological interest are the
ences to traditional legends; and the Dinnshenchas (Lore of
poems compiled as part of the “Black Book of Carmarthen”
famous places), which provides a much fuller and more elab-
in the mid-thirteenth century, some of the contents of which
orate examination of place names than the Cóir Anmann pro-
may be dated on linguistic grounds to the ninth or tenth cen-
vides for personal names. The features of the Irish landscape
tury.
and their names, if properly construed, were thought to re-
veal the history of the country and its peoples from their be-
Given the diversity of these sources, it is unrealistic to
ginnings. From the first shaping and definition of the land—
expect from them a clear image of religious and mythological
the clearing of plains, the creation of rivers and lakes, and
unity. On one hand, Gaulish epigraphy and iconography be-
the assigning of names (as related in Leabhar Gabhála)—
long preponderantly to the period of Roman domination
each place was linked indissolubly to momentous events by
when native religion was being progressively modified by
an association that conferred on it an enduring psychic reso-
Roman influence. On the other hand, the insular literatures,
nance. The onomastic element is pervasive in Irish (and
although exceedingly conservative in many respects, were re-
Welsh) literature, and in poetic tracts dating from around
corded and redacted by monastic scribes and scholars who,
the tenth century, the history of dinnshenchas is included
however well disposed toward their own vernacular tradition,
in the course of study prescribed for apprentice filidh. Dur-
were nonetheless educated Christians, who on matters of
ing the eleventh and twelfth centuries, a period of intensive
crucial importance doubtless gave priority to Christian
compilation, a comprehensive volume of these onomastic
teaching over pagan tradition. In short, the integral tradition
legends was assembled. This mythological gazetteer of Irish
as it would have been transmitted and commented on by the
place names exists in several recensions (critically revised
druids in an independent Celtic society does not exist. Even
texts that use varying sources), both prose and verse. Among
among the insular Celts, history created important dispari-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CELTIC RELIGION: AN OVERVIEW
1481
ties. For instance, Ireland escaped the immediate physical
an intensifying force, expressing totality or omnipotence, al-
presence of Rome, which left its imprint so clearly on medi-
though its symbolism may be even more complex and subtle.
eval language and thought in Britain and Wales. One must
CONTINENTAL DEITIES AND INSULAR EQUIVALENTS. Given
also acknowledge the imponderable but obviously consider-
that the bulk of the relevant evidence belongs to the Roman
able survival of pre-Celtic religion in Celtic belief and prac-
period, the Gaulish religion is for the most part as seen
tice in the several areas of Celtic settlement. Yet, despite these
through Roman eyes, which means that it is perceived and
sources of dissimilation, the underlying structural and the-
presented in terms of Roman religion. A classical example is
matic unity of British and Irish ideology is more striking
the passage in Caesar’s Gallic Wars in which he lists and de-
than the superficial differences.
fines the principal gods of the Gauls:
Artifacts. The plastic art of the Celto-Roman period is
Of the gods they worship Mercury most of all. He has
so evidently based on that of Rome that it might appear at
the greatest number of images; they hold that he is the
first glance to have been borrowed whole and unchanged,
inventor of all the arts and a guide on the roads and on
but on closer scrutiny it reveals many elements that derive
journeys, and they believe him the most influential for
from the Celtic rather than from the Roman tradition. On
money-making and commerce. After him they honor
one hand, there are forms quite foreign to classical art, such
Apollo, Mars, Jupiter, and Minerva. Of these deities
as the tricephalic (three-headed) god, the god with stag’s ant-
they have almost the same idea as other peoples: Apollo
drives away diseases, Minerva teaches the first principles
lers, and the god depicted in the Buddha-like cross-legged
of the arts and crafts, Jupiter rules the heavens, and
position. On the other hand, there are images more or less
Mars controls the issue of war. (Gallic Wars, 6.17)
in the classical mode but with features not associated with
the corresponding deities of Greco-Latin religion: the wheel,
What Caesar offers us here is a thumbnail sketch of the Gaul-
for instance, or the mallet. The wheel is seen by some as rep-
ish pantheon modeled on that of Rome. As part of this glar-
resenting the thunderbolt, by others as representing the sun,
ingly Roman interpretation, he refers to each deity not by
and in some cases it may also be the emblem of the god of
his proper Celtic name but by that of a Roman deity to
the underworld. Similarly, the mallet or hammer is thought
which it is most easily equated. At the same time he intro-
to have several connotations: it symbolizes thunder and the
duces a neat schematism, which is quite foreign to all that
sky from which it emanates, but it also functions as an
is otherwise known of Celtic religion. In thus equating gods
apotropaic (able to prevent evil or bad luck) symbol and as
and divine functions that are not really equal, he has posed
the emblem of an underworld god of fecundity. The cornu-
many problems for modern scholars who seek to identify
copia, or horn of abundance, is not particularly Celtic, but
Caesar’s Roman gods in continental Celtic iconography and
it appears as a common attribute of the Celtic mother god-
insular Celtic mythology.
dess, perhaps the most important divinity of the primitive
To confound matters further, modern scholars have
Celtic pantheon. Animal horns are commonly regarded as
tended to depreciate Caesar’s testimony on the Gauls; first,
signs of fertility, and the antlers that the Celtic deity wears
on the grounds that he distorted the facts to enhance his own
on the Gundestrup Caldron, a first-century BCE vessel found
achievements, and second, on the grounds that he took his
in Denmark, and elsewhere are taken to symbolize his power
information from Posidonius, but used it inaccurately. It has
and fecundity. Another frequent emblem of divinity is the
been argued, for example, that Caesar—and even Posidoni-
ornamented torque, which is interpreted to denote a power-
us—exaggerated the social and political importance of the
ful god who is able to provide protection from evil spirits.
druids, assigning them a dominant role that they never in
Although it is usually worn around the neck as a metal collar,
fact possessed. Yet in this regard, as in others, Caesar’s ver-
the torque is sometimes held in the hand, and, on the relief
sion of things is largely confirmed by the independent evi-
of the Celtic god Cernunnos in the Musée de Cluny in Paris,
dence of the insular literatures. Once allowance is made for
the deity carries two torques suspended on his horns.
the synoptic nature of his comment, his inevitable profes-
Probably the most notable element in the religious sym-
sional bias, and the limitations of his interest in Gaul, there
bolism of the Celts is the number three; the mystic signifi-
is no reason to assume that his account is not largely authen-
tic. By the time he wrote his account, he had had eight years’
cance of the concept of threeness is attested in most parts of
experience of the country, and most likely he derived much
the world, but it seems to have had a particularly strong sig-
of his information from personal observation and from the
nificance for the Celts. This is confirmed both by Celto-
reports of colleagues and acquaintances; certainly there is lit-
Roman iconography, which has its three-headed and three-
tle basis for the common assumption that he was totally in-
faced deities (and even a triphallic Mercury) and its triads of
debted to Posidonius for his knowledge of the land and its
mother goddesses, and by the insular literary tradition, which
people.
has an endless variety of ternary groups in which the triad
is an expressive restatement of an underlying unity. Examples
The concise precision of Caesar’s testimony makes it
include goddesses such as the three Brighids and inseparable
difficult to correlate with other evidence. Georges Dumézil
brothers such as the three companions of the tragic heroine
(1898–1986) remarked that one of the many traits the early
Deirdre. It is commonly accepted that ternary repetition has
Irish shared with the Indians is that they were both fond of
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1482
CELTIC RELIGION: AN OVERVIEW
classification and careless of order. The result is that Irish lit-
amples of major gods known by several different names. As
erature is often a curious mixture of meticulous detail and
for the form Teutates, it may be a title linking the god to the
incoherence that finds its closest parallel in some of the Indi-
tribe but does not necessarily confine him to it. By the same
an epics. One must therefore adjust one’s mental perspective
token, in early Irish law the small tribal kingdom, the tuath
considerably as one moves from Caesar to the vernacular lit-
(from *teuta¯), was the unit of jurisdiction, and rules of law
eratures. It may be that something of this prodigal disorder
were explicitly stated to apply i tuaith (within a tuath). Pre-
is reflected in the continental Celtic iconography, which may
sumably, then, laws originally applied with equal validity
help to explain why identifications with Caesar’s deities are
only between members of the same tribe; however, substan-
often more a matter of speculation than of demonstration.
tially the same law—formulated by the same learned class of
But perhaps a more important consideration is that Caesar’s
jurists related to the druids and filidh—was common to all
account and the iconography refer to quite different stages
the tribal kingdoms. Similarly, in primitive Ireland the vital
in the history of Gaulish religion. Periods of profound cul-
ritual of inauguration was founded in the first place on the
tural and political change often bring into prominence popu-
small tribal kingdom (tuath), as is enunciated in the law
lar forms of belief and practice that have hitherto been con-
tracts, but it is also replicated at different levels throughout
cealed by the dominant orthodoxy. It seems probable that
the wider cultural community. And as for the alleged lack
the religion represented in Gallo-Roman plastic art was less
of great divinities common to all the Celtic peoples, this is
clearly structured and delimited than that maintained by the
gainsaid even in terms of nomenclature by such insular gods
druids in the days of independence before Caesar’s conquest.
as Lugh and Brighid and their continental equivalents. In
short, there is a growing awareness that, despite its all too ob-
Modern scholars have often noted, and sometimes exag-
vious complexities, the seeming throng of Celtic gods is both
gerated, a discrepancy between Caesar’s account and the
less amorphous and more universal than was formerly be-
Gallo-Roman evidence, claiming that the evidence does not
lieved.
substantiate Caesar’s account of a pantheon of major deities
who were worshiped throughout Gaul. In Gallo-Roman
Another criticism levelled at Caesar is that he assigned
dedications, deities may be assigned a Roman name, a native
separate functions to the several Gaulish deities in contradic-
Gaulish name, or a Roman name accompanied by a native
tion of the evidence. Some scholars hold that the deities were
epithet. The last two cases clearly have to do with indigenous
polyvalent (they can be understood in more than one way)
gods, and even the first group may also. For example, the nu-
tribal gods, and that to seek to restrict them to distinct
merous statues and reliefs of Mercury in the guise of the
spheres of activity is pointless. Others hold that all the vari-
Greco-Roman god might have been intended to honor that
ous attested gods may be reduced ultimately to a single deity
god, but equally they might have been intended to honor a
who is both polyvalent and polymorphic (i.e., taking more
native god by borrowing the classical form together with the
than one form). Thomas F. O’Rahilly, one of the two princi-
classical name. Indeed, many of these images have certain
pal exponents of this view, believed that the core of Irish and
features that betray their essential non-Roman character. It
Celtic mythology was the conflict in which this universal
has been observed that the great majority of the several hun-
deity was slain by a youthful hero using the god’s own sacred
dred names containing a Gaulish element occur only once.
weapon, the thunderbolt. Pierre Lambrechts, the other prin-
Those that occur more frequently tend to do so in regional
cipal exponent of this view, believed that originally Celtic re-
or tribal groupings, and many of them have a clear local ref-
ligion was bound up with one great deity, possibly a ternary
erence (e.g., Mars Vesontius pointing to Vesontio and Dea
(three-formed) deity endowed with multiple and compre-
Tricoria referring to a goddess of the Tricorii). The inference
hensive attributes and that during the Roman period this
drawn by some scholars, including Joseph Vendryes and
largely undefined and impersonal deity was fragmented into
Marie-Louise Sjoestedt, is that, although the Celts had a
a number of smaller, specialized deities through contact with
multiplicity of gods, their cults were local and tribal rather
the Greco-Roman world.
than national. Scholars also cite Lucan’s (39–65 CE) mention
of the deity name Teutates, which they interpret as “God of
This notion of a single all-encompassing god, endlessly
the Tribe” based on the etymologies of Celtic word *teuta¯
varied in form and function, has perhaps a certain plausibili-
(tribe) and an oath formula from Irish hero tales, Tongu do
ty. Because the Celtic gods were not clearly departmental-
dia toinges mo thuath (I swear to the god to whom my tribe
ized, it is difficult to pair them off neatly with their Roman
swears).
counterparts, and so one finds such evident anomalies as the
occasional use of the same Gaulish byname (e.g., Iovantu-
But this evidence is susceptible of a different interpreta-
carus and Vellaunus) with different Roman deity names
tion. A large proportion of the Gaulish forms attested in ded-
(e.g., Mars and Mercurius). However, although the func-
ications are mere epithets or bynames; even of those that may
tional roles of the several deities are not clearly defined and
be taken to be proper names, it would be quite erroneous to
delimited and frequently overlap with one another, it does
suppose that each indicates a separate deity. As Dumézil re-
not follow that they may be reduced to a single, all-purpose
marked in Dieux des Indo-Européens (1952), the names of de-
divine overlord. It has often been remarked that in polytheis-
ities are easily reinvented, and the insular literatures offer ex-
tic systems each god tends to move beyond his or her normal
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CELTIC RELIGION: AN OVERVIEW
1483
functional field toward a kind of universalism. Yet, despite
the cyclopean Balar with a slingshot. Lughnasadh, his feast,
this tendency toward the assimilation of roles, the insular
was a harvest festival, and at least two of its principal sites,
Celtic gods are far removed from functional indifferentism,
Carmun and Tailtiu, were the burial places of goddesses by
and there are some, like Goibhniu (The Smith) and Dian
the same names, who were associated with the fertility of the
Cecht (The Leech) whose central responsibilities are defined
earth (as was, apparently, the Gaulish Mercury’s consort
very precisely. The assumption of undifferentiated polyva-
Rosmerta). Lugh was the divine exemplar of sacred kingship,
lence that underlies the conflicting interpretations of Ven-
and in the tale Baile in Scáil (The Phantom’s Vision) he ap-
dryes and O’Rahilly (i.e., tribal and polytheistic) or Lam-
pears seated in state as king of the otherworld and attended
brechts (i.e., vaguely monotheistic) has not been
by a woman identified as the sovereignty of Ireland, reminis-
substantiated. In fact, more recent scholars, notably Franç-
cent of Rosmerta. His usual epithet, lámhfhada (of the long
oise Le Roux and Anne Ross, have moved in the direction
arm), relates to his divine kingship. In the Christian period
of a typological classification of the gods based on criteria of
Lugh survived in the guise of several saints known by variants
function. The scheme put forward by Le Roux is in close
of his name—Lughaidh, Molua, and others—and the motif
conformity with the principles established in Dumézil’s
of the arm is reflected in these Christian traditions as well.
functional theory of Indo-European mythology. Indeed, it
could be argued that this typological approach had already
Gaulish Mars. A famous passage in Lucan’s (39–65 CE)
been anticipated by Caesar in his brief account of the charac-
Civil War refers to the bloody sacrifices offered the three
teristic activities of the major Gaulish deities.
Celtic gods: Teutates, Esus, and Taranis. A later commenta-
tor on Lucan clearly illustrates the difficulty of identifying
Mercury or Lugh. Caesar’s observation that Mercury
individual Gaulish and Roman gods, for one of his two main
was the deity with the greatest number of images in Gaul is
sources equated Teutates with Mercury, the other with Mars.
confirmed by the surviving evidence of inscriptions, stone
But if, as seems likely, teutates is primarily a title (“god of the
statues and reliefs, bronze statuettes, and terra-cotta figures.
tribe”) rather than a name, then such confusion is explain-
His image often appears in the mode of the classical Mercu-
able: the god of sovereignty and the arts, Mercurius, will also
ry: youthful, naked, and beardless; equipped with caduceus
function as a warrior, whereas the god of war, Mars, will
(rod entwined with a pair of snakes), petasos (wide-brimmed
often function as the protector of the tribe. Consequently,
hat), and purse; and accompanied by cock, ram, or tortoise.
their functions will sometimes overlap, and it may be a mat-
But his image is also found in Gallo-Roman guise: mature,
ter of chance or circumstance which is given preeminence in
bearded, and dressed in a heavy cloak. Sometimes, as in the
a given time or place. A further complication is that many
east and the north of Gaul, he has three heads. Unlike his
of the Gallo-Roman dedications to Mars present him not
Roman counterpart, he has a frequent consort named Maia
only as a god of war but also as god of healing and guardian
or Rosmerta (The Provider) and includes the art of war in
of the fields, but this may reflect an extension of his role in
his range of competence.
the Roman period and does not necessarily discredit Caesar’s
One cannot assume that Caesar’s Mercury coincides
description of him as god of war. So far as the insular tradi-
with a single native deity throughout the Celtic areas, but
tion is concerned, a god of war does not come into clear
there is quite strong evidence for identifying him substantial-
focus, perhaps because fighting is a more or less universal
ly with the Irish god Lugh (although some doubts have been
rather than a differentiating feature in the heroic context.
expressed in this regard by Bernhard Maier). First, Lugh’s
Thus one cannot easily define the role of Mars, and one can-
name and cult were pan-Celtic. Further, Caesar speaks of
not so easily assign him a pan-Celtic identity as one can
Mercury as omnium inventorem artium (inventor of all the
Lugh.
arts), a close paraphrase of Lugh’s sobriquet in Irish,
Gaulish Apollo. The classical form of Apollo in Roma-
(sam)ildánach (skilled in many arts together). In fact, an epi-
no-Celtic monuments only partly conceals the several native
sode in the tale of the mythological Battle of Magh Tuiredh
deities who have been assimilated to him. The use of the plu-
dramatically sets forth Lugh’s claim as the only god who was
ral is probably justifiable, because several of the fifteen or
master of all the arts and crafts. At Osma in Spain an inscrip-
more epithets attached to Apollo’s name have a wide distri-
tion was found with a dedication on behalf of a guild of shoe-
bution, which might suggest that they were independent
makers to the Lugoves, whose name is the plural of Lugus,
gods. Yet some of these epithets may have referred to a single
an older form of Lugh. Most likely these divinities, who
deity. Belenus was especially honored in the old Celtic king-
recur in an inscription from Avenches in Switzerland, are
dom of Noricum in the eastern Alps, as well as in northern
simply the pan-Celtic Lugus in plural, perhaps triple, form.
Italy, southern Gaul, and Britain. The solar connotations of
The Middle Welsh tale Math vab Mathonwy may well echo
the stem bel- (shining, brilliant) would have confirmed the
this connection with shoemaking, for Lleu, the Welsh cog-
identification with the Greco-Roman Apollo. Grannus,
nate of Lugh, operates briefly as a high-class practitioner of
whose name is of uncertain etymology, has a widespread cult
the craft.
with one of its principal centers at Aachen. He is sometimes
In Ireland, Lugh was the youthful victor over malevo-
accompanied by a goddess named Sirona. Borvo, or Bormo,
lent demonic figures, and his great achievement was to kill
whose name denotes boiling or seething water, is associated
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CELTIC RELIGION: AN OVERVIEW
with thermal springs, as at Bourbonne-les-Bains and other
In the Irish context the single goddess who answers best
sites named after him. His consort is Damona (Divine Cow)
to Caesar’s Minerva by virtue of her functional repertoire
or Bormana.
and wide-ranging cult is the goddess Brighid (from earlier
This association of healing with springs and wells,
*Brigent¯ı). According to the Glossary of Cormac mac Cuilen-
which was subsequently taken over into Christian or sub-
náin (c. 900) she was the daughter of the father-god, the
Christian usage throughout the Celtic countries, tended to
Daghdha (literally, Good God), and was worshiped by the
encourage localized cults, and it is all the more remarkable
filid, the exclusive fraternity of learned seer-poets. In keeping
that these early names had such an extensive currency. Un-
with the Celtic penchant for triadic repetition, she had two
like those already mentioned, Maponos (Divine Son/Youth)
sisters, also called Brighid—the one associated with healing,
occurs mainly in northern Britain, although it is also attested
the other with the smith’s craft—and their combined fame
in Gaul near healing springs. Maponos appears in medieval
was such that among all the Irish a goddess used to be called
Welsh literature as Mabon, son of Modron, that is, of
Brighid (a statement that invites comparison with Caesar’s
Matrona (Divine Mother), eponymous goddess of the river
use of Minerva as an inclusive term for the goddesses of
Marne in France. A brief but significant episode in the tale
Gaul). Thus, Brighid was patroness of the artistic inspiration
of Culhwch and Olwen casts him in the role of hunter and
of the poets as well as of healing and craftsmanship. Minerva,
alludes to a myth attested elsewhere in insular literature of
for her part, is associated with healing, as at the shrine of
the youthful god carried off from his mother when three
Bath, and she is also combined on reliefs with Mercury, the
nights old. That his legend was once more extensive in oral
master of all the arts, and Vulcan, more specifically connect-
tradition than appears from the extant literature is borne out
ed with the craftsmanship of the smith. It seems clear that
by the survival of his name into Arthurian romance under
Brighid is merely the Irish reflex of a pan-Celtic deity. Her
the forms Mabon, Mabuz, and Mabonagrain.
name, which meant originally “The Exalted One,” has its
His Irish equivalent was Mac ind Óg (Young Lad/Son),
close linguistic correspondent in *Brigantî, latinized as Bri-
otherwise known as Oenghus, who was believed to dwell in
gantia, the name of the tutelary goddess of the Brigantes,
Bruigh na Bóinne, the great Neolithic and therefore pre-
who formed an important federation in northern Britain.
Celtic, passage grave of Newgrange. He was the son of Dagh-
She has also a remarkable Christian (or Christianized) double
dha, chief god of the Irish, and of Boann, eponym of the sa-
in the person of her namesake Brighid, the great sixth-
cred river of Irish tradition (Boyne, in English). As his name
century abbess of the monastery of Kildare. The legend of
and relationship suggest, he is a youthful god, and, perhaps
the saint is inextricably fused with that of her pagan alter ego,
in keeping with this, he is often treated with a certain affec-
and as she is inevitably accorded a much fuller documenta-
tion in the literature, particularly in his familiar roles of trick-
tion by monastic redactors, there is the curious irony that the
ster and lover. But he is nowhere presented as a god of heal-
richest source for the mythology of the goddess is the hagiog-
ing, which merely underlines the impossibility of exactly
raphy of the saint together with the prolific folklore that
equating Celtic and Roman gods in terms of their functional
commemorates her in popular tradition. Both the saint’s
range.
Lives and her folklore suggest a close connection with live-
stock and the produce of the soil, and, appropriately, her
Gaulish Minerva: Irish Brighid. The goddesses of in-
feastday, February 1, coincides with Imbolg, the pagan festi-
sular Celtic tradition are involved in a wide range of activities
val of spring. In a passage of the Topographia Hiberniae that
that are only partly reflected in Caesar’s succinct comment
evidently draws on this conflate tradition, the twelfth-
that Minerva concerned herself with teaching “the first prin-
century Norman cleric Gerald of Wales (c.1146–c.1223; also
ciples of the arts and crafts” (Minervam operum atque artifici-
known Giraldus Cambrensis) reports that Brighid and nine-
orum initia tradere), even though expertise in arts and crafts
teen of her nuns at Kildare took turns in maintaining a per-
enjoyed high status in Celtic society and covered a broad
petual fire surrounded by a hedge within which no male
swathe of competences. It is very probable that Caesar chose
might enter. Also, it is a significant coincidence that already
a single widely revered deity to represent the whole category
in the third century Iulius Solinus, associating Minerva with
of goddesses, national and regional. Dedications to Minerva
the healing springs of Sulis, mentions in Collectanea Rerum
are found throughout the Celtic areas of the continent and
Memorabilium that perpetual fires burned in her sancuary
in Britain. At Bath she was identified with the goddess Sulis
also. In secular texts Brighid is sometimes made to aid and
who was worshiped there in connection with the thermal
encourage the men of Leinster when they were engaged in
springs and has been identified as a solar deity. The name
crucial conflicts, a reflection perhaps of her pristine role as
Minerva is frequently accompanied by the epithet belisama
territorial goddess like those other Celtic deities indicated by
(very brilliant), which suggests a rapport with the Gallo-
such nicknames as Dea Tricoria of the Tricorii in the Nar-
Roman Apollo, who is sometimes named Belenus (The Shin-
bonnaise, Dea Nemetona of the Nemetes in the Rhine re-
ing One). The related plural suleviae is applied to triads of
gion, or even Dea Brigantia of the British federation.
mother-goddesses at sites on the Continent and in Britain.
Sulis Minerva is also related to the widespread and important
Celtic Vulcan. Although Caesar does not mention a
category of mother-goddesses: Matres Suleviae and Suleviae
Gaulish Vulcan, his cult was evidently known to all the Celt-
Iunones.
ic peoples; indeed, the evidence suggests that he enjoyed a
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CELTIC RELIGION: AN OVERVIEW
1485
higher status than his Roman counterpart. Because he func-
dwelling place was a small rocky island off the southwest
tioned as a very specialized deity, there is a strong probability
coast of Ireland known as Tech nDuinn (House of Donn).
that his native name among the continental Celts made refer-
Its English name, the Bull, echoes its other name in early
ence to his craft, as it did in Ireland and Wales, where he was
Irish, Inis Tarbhnai (Island of Tarbnae). Tarbhnae derives
known as Goibhniu and Gofannon, both names derived
from tarbh (bull), which perhaps suggests a connection be-
from the word for smith. The weapons Goibhniu forged with
tween the god Donn and the great brown bull (the Donn)
his fellow craft gods, Luchta the Wright and Creidhne the
of Cuailnge, which provides the central motivation for the
Metalworker, were unerring in aim and fatal in their effect.
saga Táin Bó Cuailnge (The cattle raid of Cuailnge).
Further, those who attended the Feast of Goibhniu and par-
In his role as god of death, Donn is a rather retiring fig-
took of the god’s sacred drink were thereby rendered im-
ure in the early literature. Like Dis Pater, he seems to stand
mune to age and decay. He was known for his healing pow-
apart from the other deities, but his importance is confirmed
ers, and he is invoked in an Old Irish charm for the removal
by his status in modern folk tradition, in which he is repre-
of a thorn. Until the nineteenth century, and in some areas
sented as the underworld god who creates storms and ship-
even into the twentieth century, the country smith was still
wrecks but also protects cattle and crops. Both early and late
believed to retain something of his ancient preternatural fac-
sources record the belief that the dead made their way or
ulty, and he was constantly called on for the healing effects
were ferried to his island after death. As one early text makes
of his charms and spells. In the early tradition, Gobbán Saer
clear, these travelers were regarded as Donn’s descendants re-
(Gobbán the Wright; Gobbán is a hypocoristic form of
turning to their divine ancestor. The parallel with Dis Pater
Goibhniu) was renowned as a wondrous builder, and under
is evident and is a further argument for the general authentic-
the modern form, Gobán Saor, he is the skillful and resource-
ity of Caesar’s account of the Gaulish deities. Donn’s impor-
ful mason who outwits his rivals and enemies by his clever
tance in indigenous religious tradition is implicitly recog-
stratagems.
nized in the fact that he is included in the pseudo-history of
Gaulish Hercules or Irish Oghma. Hercules is well
Leabhar Gabhála Éireann as chief of the Gaels, the Sons of
represented in Celto-Roman iconography and has a number
Míl, last of the several peoples to settle in Ireland, but his
of regional epithets assigned to him. Doubtless his popularity
religious significance presented a problem of how to accom-
derives largely from his identification with native Celtic gods
modate him within what was essentially a project of Chris-
who correspond approximately to his classical character. One
tianizing native mythic history. The solution the redactors
of these is mentioned in a curious passage by the Greek writ-
opted for was to dispose of him by having him drown in the
er Lucian in the second century CE, who, when describing
sea off the southwest coast and be subsequently brought for
a Gaulish picture of Hercules, notes that the Celts call him
burial to a rocky islet nearby that has been known ever since
Ogmios. It showed him armed with his familiar club and
as the Island of Donn.
bow but pictured him uncharacteristically as an old man,
Sucellus and Nantosvelta. Some two hundred monu-
bald and gray with his skin darkened and wrinkled by the
ments, mostly in Gaul, show a deity holding a hammer, and
sun. He pulled behind him a willing band of men attached
a number name him as Sucellus (The Good Striker). Besides
by slender chains that linked their ears to the tip of his
the characteristic hammer or mallet, he is often depicted with
tongue. The explanation, according to Lucian’s Gaulish in-
a cask or drinking jar and accompanied by a dog. He is some-
formant, was that eloquence reaches its apogee in old age:
times paired with the goddess, Nantosvelta, whose name sug-
the Celts did not identify eloquence with Hermes, as did
gests an association with water (cf. Welsh nant, meaning
the Greeks, but with Hercules, because he was by far the
brook). Particularly in the Narbonnaise, Sucellus is frequent-
stronger.
ly assimilated to the Roman Silvanus, guardian of forests and
A question much debated is whether this hoary champi-
patron of agriculture. Because of these associations and attri-
on can be identified with the Irish god Oghma, despite the
butes, he has been seen as controlling fecundity, not an un-
fact that the phonological correspondence is not exact. The
usual function for an underworld deity. He has also been
functional parallel is adequate: Not merely is Oghma known
equated with the Celtic Cernunnos and the Irish Daghdha,
as a trénfher (strong man, champion), but he is also credited
but although there are certain broad similarities between
with the invention of the Ogham letters. This system of writ-
them, the evidence does not suffice to prove a closer con-
ing was based on the Latin alphabet and can hardly be older
nection.
than the fourth century CE, but it probably replaced an older
Goddesses and divine consorts. In continental iconog-
system of magical symbols of the same name.
raphy, the frequent pairing of god and consort represents the
goddesses as complementary to the male deities, and this
Gaulish Dis Pater or Irish Donn. Caesar mentions Dis
image may overlap with the ideal coupling of king and
Pater separately from the other gods and states that all the
territorial goddess so widely portrayed in medieval Irish
Gauls believed with their druids that they were descended
literature.
from him. The reference is brief but is sufficient to indicate
at least an analogy between the Gaulish god of the dead and
It seems impossible to draw any clear distinction be-
his Irish counterpart Donn (Brown/Dark One), whose
tween specific named goddesses and the matres or matronae
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1486
CELTIC RELIGION: AN OVERVIEW
who appear so frequently in Celtic iconography, often in tri-
thing of it remained in the divine nomenclature of these
adic form like the goddesses of Irish tradition. Both goddess-
areas.
es and matres are concerned with fertility and with the sea-
Apart from the general cult of the earth goddess, an ex-
sonal cycle of the earth, and the insular goddesses are
tensive repertory of deity names attached to individual places
sometimes identified with the land and cast in the role of its
or topographical features also exists. Hilltops and mountain
protective deities. This intimate connection with the land
tops are considered particularly appropriate settings for the
and its physical features is reflected in the exceptional impor-
sacred, as evidenced by dedications to Garra and Baeserta in
tance of the feminine element in the dinnshenchas, the vast
the Pyrenees and to Vosegus in the Vosges. There was a god
accumulation of prose and verse, which constitutes a virtual
of the clearing or cultivated field (Ialonus), of the rock (Ali-
mythological topography of Ireland. A goddess’s concern for
sanos), of the confluence (Condatis), of the ford (Ritena),
the land in general also becomes a responsibility for the par-
and of the fortified place (Dunatis). Water, particularly the
ticular region or kingdom with which she is especially associ-
ated. Each goddess ensures the material well-being, sover-
moving water of rivers and springs, had its special deities,
eignty, and physical security of her particular domain, just
which were generally female in the case of the rivers. One
as Brighid, in the guise of her saintly namesake, protects
can perhaps glimpse the lost mythology of such rivers as the
Leinster both as goddess of war and as goddess of peace. The
Seine (Sequana), the Marne (Matrona), and the Saone (Sou-
mother-god specifically titled as such, Mâtrona, gave her
conna) through the legends of insular equivalents like the
name to the river that is now the Marne in France. She was
Boyne (Boann). The names of many rivers throughout the
the mother of Maponos (The Youthful/Son God) known in
Celtic lands, such as the French Dives or the Welsh Dyfrd-
Welsh as Mabon, son of Modron. In Irish tradition the cor-
wy, are derived from the stem dev- and mean simply “the di-
responding role belonged to Boann, eponym of the river
vine one.” Sacred springs are deified as, for example, Aventia
Boann (anglicized Boyne); she was the mother of the Irish
(Avenches), Vesunna (Périgeux), and Divona (Cahors). Fur-
divine youth par excellence, Mac ind Óc, whose name is the
ther, there were many divine patrons of thermal waters, such
semantic equivalent of the Welsh and Celtic Mabon/
as the god Borvo, and this particularly widespread cult is re-
Maponos. As mother, the goddess is sometimes represented
flected in the countless holy and healing wells (some twelve
in Irish texts as ancestress of a distinguished line of descent,
hundred in Wales alone, and no one has yet added up the
and this is presumably what is intended by the author of the
Irish instances) that made the transition from paganism to
medieval Welsh tale “Branwen Daughter of Llyˆr” in which
Christianity with little essential change. However, the abun-
he describes Branwen as one of the three great ancestresses
dant material evidence for this pan-Celtic phenomenon is
of the island of Britain.
not matched by the early insular literary evidence: many Irish
tales mention wells with preternatural powers and associa-
In keeping with their title—Matres, Matrae,
tions, but there is hardly anything about healing wells as
Matronae—the mother-goddesses attested throughout the
such. Unless this is due to suppression by the monastic redac-
Romano-Celtic world are characteristically represented with
tors of the literature, the only explanation would seem to be
the various symbols of their maternal and creative function:
that the frequenting of healing wells had always been regard-
carrying or caring for infants or bearing such familiar sym-
ed, even in pagan times, as a popular practice to be distin-
bols of prosperity as the cornucopia or the basket of fruits.
guished from the more official tribal cults, or simply that it
They were also thought of as nourishing and watching over
was so familiar as to be unremarkable.
specific peoples and regions and were named accordingly the
Matres Glanicae at Glanum (Saint-Rémy-de-Provence), for
In many instances the holy wells of the Christian period
example, or the Matres Treverae among the Treveri. They
stand close to a specific tree that shares their supernatural
would seem to have survived cultural and religious change
aura. Obviously, this is one aspect of the widespread cult of
in the guise of the mamau (mothers) and the formidable cail-
sacred trees. In the Pyrenees there are dedications to the
leacha (old women) of Welsh and Irish-Scottish popular tra-
beech (Deo Fago) and to the Six Trees (Sexarbori deo, Sexar-
dition respectively.
boribus) and at Angoulême to the oak (Deo Robori). The
Romano-Celtic name of the town of Embron, Eburodunum,
Nature associations. Underlying the tradition of dinns-
contains the name of the deified yew tree. Such continental
henchas is the belief that prominent places and geological fea-
forms are supplemented by a vast dossier of insular evidence.
tures throughout Ireland were the scene of mythic events or
There were, for example, scores of Christian foundations in
the abode, even the embodiment, of mythic personages.
Ireland evidently located on the sites of pagan cult centers,
Many of the numerous women who populate this world of
each with its sacred tree nearby. The literature frequently
onomastic legend are clear reflexes of the multifaceted god-
mentions several great trees that were particularly honored
dess whose origins are bound up with the physical land-
in tradition: the Tree of Tortu (an ash), the Oak of Mughna,
scape—figures like Tailtiu and Carmun whose burial places
the Yew of Ross, the Bough of Dathí (an ash), the Ash of
were named after them—were the sites of great royal assem-
Uisnech, among others. There was even a special term for
blies. In most of the Celto-Roman world the early onomastic
such trees, bile, and this term was sometimes used for the
lore disappeared with the indigenous languages, but some-
great tree that marked each of the inauguration sites of tribal
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1487
and provincial kings. Standing theoretically at the center of
ing food of the otherworld is a pig, which, although cooked
its kingdom like the axis mundi in its greater cosmos, the bile
each night, remains alive and whole each morning.
symbolized the integrity and independence of the kingdom.
The horse, index and instrument of the great Indo-
When it happened, as it did occasionally, that it was attacked
European expansion, has always had a special place in the af-
and felled by a hostile neighbor, this doubtless dealt a severe
fections of the Celtic peoples. Sometimes in insular tradition,
blow to communal pride and self-respect.
particularly in folk tales, he is the bearer of the dead to the
Zoomorphic gods. Celto-Roman iconography contains
otherworld, a role probably reflected in some monuments in
a rich abundance of animal imagery, frequently presenting
southern Gaul, such as the frieze of horses’ heads on a lintel
the deities in combinations of zoomorphic and anthropo-
from the Celto-Ligurian sanctuary of Roquepertuse, Bou-
morphic forms. Already noted is the probable connection be-
ches-du-Rhone. Epona (from *epos, meaning horse) was an
tween Donn, the Irish Dis Pater, and the bull of the same
important Celtic deity and was particularly favored as patron
name in the epic Táin Bó Cuailnge. Neither of the two bulls
of the cavalry of the Roman army. She has insular analogues
whose conflict forms the climax of the tale is of natural ori-
in the Welsh Rhiannon and in the Irish Edaín Echraidhe
gin. According to other texts, they had previously undergone
(echraidhe, meaning horse riding) and Macha, who outran the
many metamorphoses—as ravens, stags, champions, water
fastest steeds. There was also a Dea Artio (as well as a Mer-
beasts, demons, and water worms—and in the beginning
curius Artaios), whose name connects her with the bear
they had been the swineherds of the lords of the otherworld.
(Irish, art, meaning bear); a little bronze group from Bern
This kind of shape shifting, a continuing expression of the
shows her seated before a large bear with a basket of fruit by
unity of the living world of creation, is commonplace in in-
her side. Dea Arduinna, who appears seated on a wild boar,
sular Celtic tradition and serves to invest a given deity or he-
may be compared with the Irish goddess Flidhais, who ruled
roic demigod with the attributes traditionally ascribed to cer-
over the beasts of the forest and whose cattle were the wild
tain birds and animals. For instance, the bond between
deer.
animal and human is implicit in the archetype of the divine
Gaulish monuments that show a god or goddess with
swineherds, who are doubtless avatars of the great herdsman
two or more birds seated on their shoulders call to mind the
god. Further, the Brown Bull of Cuailnge cannot be wholly
supernatural birds that are a familiar feature of insular tradi-
dissociated from the Tarvos Trigaranus (The Bull of the
tion, in which some deities assume bird form occasionally;
Three Cranes), pictured on reliefs from Trèves and Notre-
others, like the war goddesses, do so constantly. The insular
Dame-de-Paris and presumably the subject of a lost Gaulish
catalog of bird imagery is endless. King Conaire’s supernatu-
narrative. Among the Celts, as among many other cattle-
ral father came to his mother in bird form, Fann and Lí Ban
rearing peoples, the bull was a vivid symbol of power and fer-
came to Cú Chulainn as two birds joined by a golden chain,
tility and appears frequently as a trope in the eulogy of the
emissaries from the otherworld. Indeed, such wondrous birds
medieval Irish court poet. It is hardly surprising, therefore,
are a recognized symbol of the supernatural world. Examples
that a god representative of royal and heroic functions should
include the three birds of the Irish goddess Cliodhna with
have been represented by this image. Donnotarvos (Brown
their magic song and the three birds of the Welsh Rhiannon
Bull), the king of the Helvetii mentioned by Caesar, bore a
who “wake the dead and lull the living to sleep.” They all
name of great mythic resonance among the Celts, most prob-
form part of that rich imaginative intuition that envisaged
ably derived from the same deity who appears in the Irish
animals, birds, and the whole domain of nature as a mediat-
saga as the Brown Bull of Cuailnge.
ing element between gods and men and that underlies Celtic
The animal connections of the Celtic gods are extensive
literary tradition as well as the fluid discipline of early Irish
and varied. The iconography shows Cernunnos (The
art.
Horned One) associated with the stag, the ram-headed ser-
INVASIONS OF GODS AND MEN. When Irish monastic schol-
pent, the bull, and, by implication, with the whole animal
ars began recording native mytho-historical tradition, proba-
world. The iconography also includes boars, horses, dogs,
bly in the second half of the sixth century, they experienced
and bears, as well as fish and various kinds of birds—all con-
the same difficulty that Christian historiographers have en-
nected more or less closely with certain deities. This rich di-
countered elsewhere in dealing with traditional sources: how
versity is reproduced in even greater abundance in the insular
to resolve the conflict between Christian and native versions
tradition, creating a complex web of connotations and rela-
of cosmic origins. Their solution was the familiar one of sub-
tionships that defy any neat classification. For example, the
stituting the biblical doctrine for the earlier part of the native
boar is quite well represented in Celto-Roman sculpture, as
legend, so that it would seem that the legend derived from
in the figure from Euffigneix, Haute-Marne, of a god carry-
the doctrine. The fact that the scholars controlled the art of
ing a boar before him. In insular literature it appears almost
writing invested their new composite history—incrementally
ubiquitous. It sometimes leads its pursuers into the other-
elaborated under the influence of the chronicles of Orosius
world, and often it is in fact a human who was transformed
(c. 385–420) and Eusebius of Caesarea (c. 260–c. 330 CE)
through some mischance or misdeed. Pork was the choice
and Isidore of Seville’s (c. 560–636) Etymologiae—with an
food of the Celts, and, appropriately, in Irish tales the unfail-
authority it might not otherwise have acquired so quickly.
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CELTIC RELIGION: AN OVERVIEW
As Christian scholars developed an increasingly close accom-
defect, physical or moral was incompatible with the notion
modation over the next few centuries with the custodians of
of true kingship, he was obliged to abdicate and was suc-
native learning, the filidh, their revised version gradually won
ceeded by Bres (The Beautiful), who had been fathered by
universal acceptance. Although it did not erase all trace of
Elatha, a king of the Fomhoire, with a woman of the Tuatha
the earlier tradition, it cancelled out the substance of the
Dé, among whom he was reared. But his rule brought only
original cosmogonic myth. For instance, although the prima-
hardship and oppression for the Tuatha Dé, and there was
ry ancestral role of Donn, Nuadhu, and others was not for-
an end to the generosity and hospitality that characterized
gotten, Adam was accepted as the progenitor of mankind.
a true king. Finally he was lampooned by the poet Coirbre
in the first satire composed in Irish, and he was asked to give
The Book of Invasions. The formulation of this revised
up the kingship. His response was to go to the Fomhoire to
teaching is attested in poems of the seventh century or earli-
er, but it was in the twelfth century that it reached its culmi-
seek their support.
nation in the pseudohistory entitled Leabhar Gabhála
Meanwhile, Nuadhu was fitted with a silver arm by
Éireann (The Book of the Taking of Ireland), commonly
Dian Cécht (The Leech) and restored to sovereignty, and
known as the “Book of Invasions,” a cumulative enterprise
from that time forth he was known as Nuadhu Airgedlámh
that carried the tale of Ireland’s history from Noah to the
(Nuadhu of the Silver Arm). But when Lugh came to the
Norman conquest. The “taking” in question evidently refers
royal court of Tara and gave proof of his mastery of all the
to the coming of the Gaels (or Goidels), but in the extant
arts, Nuadhu immediately gave way so that Lugh might lead
compilation this is preceded by five other immigrations. The
the Tuatha Dé to victory. In the battle itself Lugh called on
first came before the Flood and was led by either Cesair, a
all the preternatural powers of the craftsmen and magicians
daughter of Bith, who was a son of Noah, or by Banbha, one
of the Tuatha Dé, while Dian Cécht used his own healing
of the eponyms of Ireland. But the only one to survive the
magic to revive the slain. The dreaded Balar of the Fomhoire
Flood was Fintan (The White Ancient One), who outlived
had a “baleful eye” which could destroy armies, but Lugh
innumerable generations until finally in the Christian period
struck it with his slingstone and killed him. The Fomhoire
he bore witness to the events of the distant past. The next
were then expelled from Ireland forever, and Bres himself
two settlements were led by Partholón and Nemhedh, re-
was captured, but his life was spared on condition that he
spectively. During both, various crafts and social practices
divulge to the Tuatha Dé the proper times for plowing, sow-
were introduced, many lakes were formed, and plains were
ing, and reaping.
cleared. These advances indicate in the familiar manner of
myths of beginnings how Ireland attained the reality of per-
The Gaels and the Tuatha Dé. The primary subject of
manent morphological definition in those times. Both peo-
the “Book of Invasions” was perhaps the final settlement of
ples had to withstand the attacks of the Fomhoire, a race of
prehistoric Ireland, that of the Gaels, or Irish Celts. Because
demonic beings who from their haunts beyond the sea posed
its underlying purpose was to biblicize the origins of the
a perpetual threat to the existence of ordered society.
Gaels, it began, as it were, at the beginning, following them
in their long journey from Scythia to Egypt and to Spain,
The main innovations credited to the fourth settlement,
whence they finally came to Ireland under the leadership of
comprising the Fir Bholg, the Gailióin, and the Fir Dhom-
Míl Espáine (Míl of Spain). The account of this early odyssey
hnann, were sociopolitical in character. By dividing the
is a learned fiction modeled on the story of the wandering
country into five they instituted the provinces (literally, fifths
of the Israelites in the book of Exodus. But as the narrative
in Irish), and they introduced the concept of sacred kingship
approaches Ireland, it undergoes a sea change and begins to
and the relationship between the justice of the king and the
draw more overtly on native tradition. The crucial role in the
fertility of the land. They were followed by the Tuatha Dé
landing is assigned to the poet-seer and judge Amhairghin.
Danann (The Tribes/Peoples of the Goddess Danu), who
By virtue of his wisdom and his mantic power he overcomes
came skilled in the arts of druidry and magic. They brought
the opposition of the Tuatha Dé and becomes the first Gael
with them four talismans: the Stone of Fál, which shrieked
to set foot on Irish soil. As he does so—on the Feast of Bel-
under the true pretender to kingship; the spear of Lugh,
tene (May Day)—he sings a song of cosmic affirmation in
which ensured victory; the sword of Nuadhu, which none
which he subsumes within himself the various elements of
escaped; and the caldron of the Daghdha, from which none
the created universe: “I am an estuary into the sea / I am a
went unsatisfied. They defeated the Fir Bholg in the First
wave of the ocean / I am the sound of the sea / . . . I am
Battle of Magh Tuiredh, but soon they had to take up arms
a salmon in a pool / I am a lake in a plain / I am the strength
against the Fomhoire.
of art.” Like Kr:s:n:a in the Indian tradition and Taliesin in
The Second Battle of Magh Tuiredh. There is also an
the Welsh, he embodies the potential of all creation, and the
independent account of the Second Battle of Magh Tuiredh
timing of his song is particularly appropriate and decisive.
in a text that is perhaps the single most important source for
Sung as he arrives at the land’s edge from the ocean of nonex-
Irish mythology. In it the genesis of the conflict is traced to
istence, his words are the prelude to the creation of a new
the First Battle of Magh Tuiredh, in which Nuadhu, king
order of which he is the shaper and the source. Through
of the Tuatha Dé Danann, lost his arm. Because a personal
them and through the judgments he pronounces in the suc-
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1489
ceeding narrative, the Ireland of history is summoned into
Subsequently, Math seeks a new foot-holder, and Gwy-
being.
dion suggests his sister, Aranrhod, daughter of Dôn. Math
asks her to step over his magic wand as a test of her virginity,
Having defeated the Tuatha Dé, the Sons of Míl go to
and as she does so, she drops a yellow-haired boy and some-
the royal center of Tara and on the way meet the three divine
thing else, which Gwydion promptly conceals in a chest. The
eponyms of Ireland—Banbha, Fódla, and Ériu. At Tara the
boy is baptized Dylan and immediately makes for the sea and
three kings of the Tuatha Dé—Mac Cuill, Mac Cécht, and
takes on its nature, for which reason he is henceforth called
Mac Gréine—ask for a respite before surrendering sovereign-
Dylan Eil Don (Dylan son of Wave). The object concealed
ty. Significantly, they refer the conditions to the judgment
by Gwydion turns out to be another male child, who in due
of Amhairghin. He decides that the Sons of Míl should re-
course is given the name Lleu Llaw Gyffes (Lleu of the Skill-
embark and retire beyond the ninth wave, which for the
ful Hand). The rest of the tale is taken up with Lleu’s rela-
Celts constituted a magic boundary. But when they try to
tions with his mother, Aranrhod, and with his beautiful but
land again, the Tuatha Dé create a magical wind that carries
treacherous wife, Blodeuwedd (Flower-aspect), who had
them out to sea. Then Amhairghin invokes directly the land
been created for him by Gwydion from the flowers of the
of Ireland, and immediately the wind abates. The Sons of
oak, the broom, and the meadow sweet. The name Lleu is,
Míl come ashore and defeat the Tuatha Dé at Tailtiu, site
of course, the cognate of the Irish Lugh and the Gaulish
of the annual festival instituted by Lugh.
*Lugus.
Although defeated, the Tuatha Dé still use their magic
The same tale refers incidentally to Gofannon, son of
powers to extract a reasonable settlement from the Gaels.
Dôn (Divine Smith), whose name is cognate with the Irish
They agree to divide the country into two parts, the lower
Goibhniu. There is mention elsewhere of Amaethon, son of
half going to the Tuatha Dé and the upper half to the Gaels.
Dôn, the divine plowman, and there are various references
Thus is explained the traditional belief that the ancient
in medieval poetry that indicate the existence of extensive
gods—the sídheóga (fairies)—lived underground in sídhe, or
oral tradition about the family of Dôn. Their communal as-
fairy mounds. That this belief was traditional already in the
sociation with magic is reminiscent of the Irish Tuatha Dé
seventh century is evidenced by Bishop Tírechán, biographer
Danann, and it has been suggested that Dôn is the equivalent
of Saint Patrick, who noted that the sídh, or gods, dwell in
of Irish Donu (Mother of the Gods), the original form of the
the earth.
name Danann.
GODS OF BRITAIN. Early Welsh literary tradition, like the
Family of Llyˆr. The three members of the family of
medieval Welsh language, seems further evolved from its ar-
Llyˆr—Branwen, Bendigeidvran (Bran the Blessed), and
chaic roots than its Irish counterpart. This is probably due
Manawydan—appear in the “Second Branch” of the Ma-
partly to the cultural effects of the Roman colonization of
binogi, although it is only in the “Third Branch” that
Britain from the first to the fifth century and partly to the
Manawydan assumes an independent role. The tale is domi-
late redaction of the extant material, particularly the prose.
nated by the enormous figure of Bendigeidvran. When his
But whatever the causes, the result is that Welsh mythologi-
sister Branwen is ill treated in Ireland, where she has gone
cal narrative, although preserving some remarkably archaic
as the wife of Matholwch, king of Ireland, he goes with an
elements, nonetheless lacks the extensive context found in
army to exact vengeance. The British gain victory in a fierce
Irish narrative and betrays the hand of a later redactor or re-
battle with the Irish, but only seven of them survive beside
dactors not wholly familiar with the mythological framework
Bendigeidvran, who is wounded in the foot by a poisonous
from which their materials derived.
spear. He commands his companions to cut off his head and
to bury it at the White Mount in London as a safeguard
Family of Dôn. The main source for Welsh mythologi-
against invasions. They set out for London and on the way
cal tradition is the collection of tales known as the Mabinogi
enjoy two periods of otherworldly peace and joy in the pres-
or Mabinogion, especially the group known as the “Four
ence of his uncorrupted head, at Harlech and on the isle of
Branches.” These four tales, which were probably redacted
Gwales.
toward the end of the eleventh century, take the gods of Brit-
ain as their dramatis personae. The last of the four, “Math
Clearly, the children of Llyˆr are not comparable with
Son of Mathonwy,” deals in particular with the group of
those of Dôn: in no sense do they form a pantheon of deities;
gods sometimes referred to as the family of Dôn. The Math
indeed, Branwen’s antiquity is not beyond question. But the
of the title is lord of Gwynedd in north Wales. His peculiari-
association of Bran (as Bendigeidvran was known earlier) and
ty is that he must keep his feet in a virgin’s lap except in time
Manawydan is old, and there is an early verse reference to
of war. When his virginal foot-holder is violated by his sis-
them presiding together over the otherworld and its feast.
ter’s son—Gilfaethwy, son of Dôn—with the connivance of
Manawydan’s Irish counterpart is Manannán mac Lir (Son
his brother Gwydion, son of Dôn, Math turns the two broth-
of the Sea), and it is a curious and perhaps significant coinci-
ers into male and female animals—stags, boars, and
dence that Manannán figures with an Irish Bran in an early
wolves—for three years, during which time they give birth
lyric tale, which tells of a journey made by Bran to the other-
to three sons.
world. But Manannán is represented as god of the sea, proba-
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CELTIC RELIGION: AN OVERVIEW
bly replacing the god Nechtan in this role, whereas Manawy-
tresses of Britain.” The other two presumably are Rhiannon
dan has no such function in Welsh in the extant Welsh texts.
and Aranrhod, and it is clear from Irish literature that the
typical goddess figure was often esteemed as the genetrix of
Pwyll, Rhiannon, and Pryderi. In the “First Branch”
peoples. Her personification of the earth tended to be de-
of the Mabinogi, Pwyll, Lord of Dyfed in southwest Wales,
fined and delimited by cultural and political boundaries: The
comes to the aid of Arawn, king of Annwn, by slaying his
eponymous triad of Ériu, Fódla, and Banbha represent both
otherworld enemy Hafgan in a single combat that is, in fact,
an ordeal by battle of the kind known in early Irish as fír fer
the reality and the concept of Ireland in its totality, but a
(truth of men or heroes). As a result he is henceforth known
multitude of analogous characters also exist that are connect-
as Pwyll the Head of Annwn. The Mabinogi represents him
ed with lesser areas—a province, a district, or a particular lo-
here as a mortal, but because his name literally means wisdom
cale. Some of the latter, such as Áine, Aoibheall, and Cliodh-
and because he is designated Lord of Annwn (the Other-
na, have retained their niche in popular tradition and in
world), it is probable that he was originally a deity. The latter
place names to the present day. In this domain the supernat-
part of the tale is concerned with the death of the hero Pry-
ural female often becomes a dominant figure overshadowing
deri. Pwyll marries the lady Rhiannon, who first appears to
her male counterpart.
him riding a white horse, and from their union Pryderi is
One of the most enduring myths of the Celts was that
born. But the newborn child is mysteriously abducted, to be
of the solemn union between a ruler and his kingdom, in
discovered later by Teyrnon, Lord of Gwent Is-coed, and
which the kingdom is conceived in the form of a divine
reared by him and his wife for several years until they realize
woman. It appears, slightly veiled, in the Arthurian romances
the child’s true origins and restore him to Pwyll and Rhian-
and may be reflected at times in the frequent pairing of god
non. After Pwyll’s death Pryderi succeeds to the lordship of
and goddess in Celto-Roman sculpture, but its influence is
Dyfed. Later, in the “Third Branch,” Rhiannon becomes the
most profound and most widely documented in Irish tradi-
wife of Manawydan.
tion. The normal way of reporting the inauguration of a king
The above merely sketches a complicated narrative
was to say that he was married to (literally, “slept with”) his
whose reference to the underlying mythology is extremely
kingdom. From the hundreds if not thousands of references
difficult to decipher with any confidence. Teyrnon’s name
and allusions to this theme, one gains some idea of the ritual
(from *Tigernonos; Great/Divine Lord) implies a more im-
union of king and consort as it must have been performed
portant role than the one he plays in the tale and, in fact,
before the effective Christianization of the political establish-
is a more appropriate title for the lord of the otherworld.
ment in the sixth century. The ritual union had two main
Rhiannon (whose name derives from *R¯ıgantona; Great/
elements: first, a libation offered by the bride to her partner,
Divine Queen) may be an equivalent of Epona, the Celtic
and second, the sex act. The divine nature of Queen Medhbh
horse goddess, whereas Rhiannon and Pryderi seem to offer
of Connacht is evidenced by her name as well as by her ac-
a parallel to the pairing of Modron (Great/Divine Mother)
tions: She who was famed for the number of her successive
and Mabon (Great/Divine Son). The problem is similar to
husbands was called Medhbh (The Intoxicating One), and,
that posed by much of the Welsh mythological evidence in
under the slightly variant name Medhbh Lethdherg, it was
the medieval poetry and the collections of triads: There are
said of her that “she would not permit a king in Tara unless
numerous references to mythological persons, objects, and
he had her for his wife.” The central element was the sexual
events, but these appear without sufficient accompanying
meeting, and its profound significance is brought out in
matter to set them in context.
countless poems and narratives in which the woman is trans-
GODDESSES OF THE INSULAR CELTS. In The Aran Islands
formed from repulsive age and ugliness to radiant youth and
(1907) John M. Synge said of the Aran islanders of the be-
beauty by the act of intercourse with her ordained mate.
ginning of the twentieth century that they were interested in
As leader of the Connacht armies, Medhbh is associated
fertility rather than eroticism, and on the evidence of the ex-
with war as well as with sovereignty, but, in general, the war-
tant monuments and literature, his observation could apply
like aspect of the goddess is manifested indirectly: she influ-
to those people who created the mythology of the Celtic god-
ences the fortunes of war rather than actually participating.
desses. The Celts had no goddess of love, and so far as one
Other goddesses teach the art of fighting, including Buanann
can judge from insular tradition, the numerous sexual liai-
(The Lasting One); Scáthach (The Shadowy One), from
sons of the goddesses were generally motivated by ritual or
whom Cú Chulainn acquired his heroic skills; and the formi-
social causes, not by erotic ones. Their sexuality was merely
dable trio of Morríghan (Phantom Queen), Bodhbh (Scald-
the instrument of their fertility, whether in terms of progeny
Crow), and Nemhain (Frenzy) or Macha, who haunt the bat-
or of the fruitfulness of the land with which they were so
tlefield to incite the fighters or to hinder them by their
often identified.
magic. These had their equivalents throughout the Celtic
The cult of the mother goddess, attested in Gaul from
world: The name Bodhbh Chatha (Crow/Raven of Battle)
prehistoric times, underlies a great deal of Irish and Welsh
is the exact cognate of Cathubodua, attested in Haute-
tradition. The “Second Branch” of the Mabinogi describes
Savoie, and the trio of war goddesses recurs in Britain at Ben-
Branwen daughter of Llyˆr as “one of the three great ances-
well in the inscription “Lamiis tribus” (to the three Lamiae).
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CELTIC RELIGION: AN OVERVIEW
1491
In direct contrast to these ruthless furies are those
should have him travel there to demonstrate his superiority
charming women who inhabit the happy otherworld in such
over the druids of Loegaire mac Néill, imperator barbarorum
numbers that it came to be called Tír inna mBan (The Land
and “ancestor of the royal stock of almost the whole of this
of Women) in some contexts. Sometimes they come as emis-
island.”
saries from the land of primeval innocence where the plea-
The great social assemblies of ancient Ireland were gen-
sures of love are untainted by guilt and where sickness and
erally held at one of the seasonal festivals. The Irish year, like
disease are unknown. Conla son of Conn is induced to go
the Indo-European year, was divided into two halves, samh
there by “a young and beautiful woman of noble race whom
(summer) and gamh (winter). The summer half began at Bel-
neither death awaits nor old age,” and Bran son of Febhal
tene or Cédshamhain, the first of May, and the winter half
is similarly persuaded by a woman bearing a silvery branch
at Samhain, the first of November. These halves were further
from the wondrous apple tree, which is a characteristic fea-
subdivided by the quarter days of Imbolg, the first of Febru-
ture of the Celtic otherworld. The multiforms of the insular
ary and the beginning of spring, and Lughnasadh, the first
Celtic goddesses are endless, and sometimes the named fig-
of August and the start of the harvest festival associated with
ure changes her role from one context to another. For exam-
the god Lugh. The old binary division is found also in the
ple, in Mythe et épopée (1968), Georges Dumézil has sought
famous bronze calendar discovered at Coligny, near Bourg,
to demonstrate from three separate tales that the goddess
which probably dates from the early first century
Macha, eponym of the old pagan center of Emhain Mhacha
CE or late
first century
and of the Christian metropolis of Ard Macha (modern Ar-
BCE. Judging from the calendar, the Gaulish
druids divided the year into two halves beginning with the
magh), reflects in her several roles the Indo-European tri-
months Samon(i-) and Giamon(i-). Of the two names for
functional system of religion, warrior prowess, and fertility.
the beginning of summer, Beltene may have referred origi-
Although his argument is open to question, it is nonetheless
nally to the fire ritual traditionally held at that time: bel-
true that several of the prominent goddesses have widely va-
probably means shining or bright, and tene may be related to
rying epiphanies.
the Irish word for fire. In the course of time, however, Bel-
MYTHIC SPACE AND TIME. In a tradition in which the natu-
tene displaced the older term Cédshamhain or Cédamhuin
ral and the supernatural realms frequently converge, it is not
(cf. the Welsh cognate Cyntefin) as the name for the festival
surprising that there is a constant awareness of the relativities
season itself.
of time and space. This is particularly true of texts relating
KINGSHIP. In Caesar’s time the institution of kingship was
explicitly to the otherworld, but it is common throughout
already on the way to dissolution in Gaul, having been wide-
Irish and much of Welsh literature. The land of Ireland itself,
ly displaced by the secular office of vergobret (chief magis-
with its place names and physical features, seems to shift with
trate), although it is clear from the extant evidence that all
enigmatic ease between the two levels of perception. The
the tribal territories, the civitates of Caesar’s time, had earlier
early redactors of the written texts were fascinated by the
been ruled by kings in the mold of those of early Britain and
contrasting effects of changing perspective, as when the god
Ireland. The medieval Irish king tales inevitably share in
Manannán describes the sea as a flowery plain or the monks
some degree the values of the general heroic literature, but
of Clonmacnois observe a boat sail in the sky over their head
these are not their main preoccupation. They are concerned
and drop its anchor by their church door.
rather with the affirmation of political and social realities and
But certain places are permanently set apart from their
with the safeguarding of traditional institutions: the status
secular environment: cult sites, the precincts of sacred festi-
and functions of the king and the sacred ritual of inaugura-
vals, and, above all, the notional center of the ethnic world
tion that set the seal on his accession to power, the origins
of native tradition. This concept of the center is one of the
of tribes and dynasties and exemplary tales of their interne-
constants of Celtic ideology, and it retained a good deal of
cine conflicts, the deeds and judgements of famous rulers of
its ancient symbolism in Irish learned literature as late as the
the past, and so on. The sacral kingship was both the pivot
seventeenth century. Caesar reports that the Gaulish druids
and the foundation of the social order, and the king was its
assembled each year at a holy place in the lands of the Car-
personification. If his conduct or even his person were blem-
nutes, which was regarded as the center of Gaul. His term
ished in any way, the effect of his blemish would be visited
locus consecratus may well translate the word nemeton (sacred
on his kingdom, diminishing its integrity and prosperity;
place),which is found in place-names throughout the Celtic
conversely, fortune favored the righteous ruler and his people
world. According to Strabo (c. 63 BCE–24 CE), the Council
flourished and his territory became rich and fertile. As the
of the Galatians met at a place known as Drunemeton (Oak
instrument of justice, the king must be seen to be fair and
Sanctuary). In Ireland the druids were closely associated with
flawless in his decisions and several of the famous kings of
Uisnech, the “navel” of Ireland, the location of the primal
legend are frequently presented as models of regal wisdom
fire, and reputedly the site of a great festival. The focus of
and justice. Thus, Cormac mac Airt is pictured as a paragon
sacral kingship was at Tara in the central province of Midhe
of kingship and as an Irish Solomon. His accession came
(Middle) and it was entirely fitting that St Patrick’s late sev-
about when he proposed a just judgement after his predeces-
enth-century biographer, Muirchú maccu Machtheni, who
sor Lughaidh mac Con had been deposed for delivering an
describes Tara as caput Scotorum (the capital of Ireland),
unjust one. Conaire Mór is likewise an exemplary king whose
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CELTIC RELIGION: AN OVERVIEW
reign brings peace and well-being to the land until he tem-
verbal noun of the verb foaid, means literally “to sleep, spend
pers justice with excessive mercy in the case of his three ma-
the night,” and, in the context of the royal confirmation, it
rauding foster brothers. Immediately a train of events is set
refers to the ritual marriage of the king and his kingdom, as
in motion that leads inexorably to his death in a welter of
underlined in the alternative expression banais rígi (wedding
violence.
feast of kingship), in which banais is compounded of ben
(woman) and feis. This terminology continues to be used of
As the central pillar of his kingdom the sacral king was
various royal inaugurations in annalistic and other texts, even
its primary point of contact with the world of the supernatu-
in the Anglo-Norman period. One can only speculate as to
ral in pre-Christian time, and as such it was necessary to insu-
the precise form the marriage ritual may have assumed in
late him from harmful intervention from whatever source.
pre-Christian times—actual union with a surrogate bride or
Thus each of the five provincial kings was subject to a set of
a simulated union that included the proffering of the drink
gessa (taboos), which made manifest the transcendent nature
of sovereignty. The earliest list of reigning kings for the king-
of his role and were presumably intended to hedge him from
ship of Tara is furnished by the seventh-century text Baile
unnecessary danger. When, however, as in the case of Con-
Chuind (The vision of [King] Conn [Cétchathach]), which
aire Mór, he unavoidably or unwittingly violates his gessa, he
purports to prophesy the individual kings who were to reign
is already doomed to disaster and death. The crucial touch-
in Tara from the time of his son Art onward. Its literal for-
stone of a king’s reign was the fír flathemon (the ruler’s truth/
mula for “X shall reign” is “X shall drink it,” in which the
righteousness) with which he discharged the responsibilities
formal potion presented to the ordinand is employed as a
of his office. The analogy between the fír flathemon and the
synonym for the combined ceremony of sacral investiture
Indic “act of truth” has long been recognized and there is ac-
and the exercise of kingship. The text is devoid of explanato-
ceptance that together they represent an Indo-European in-
ry introduction and is presumably to be understood as spo-
stitution. The concept of the Ruler’s Truth is referred to fre-
ken by Conn himself, but when it was reworked and expand-
quently in Irish literature, most notably in Audacht Morainn
ed in a more narrative and iconically stylized context in the
(The Testament of Morann, a legendary law-giver), an early
ninth century in the tale Baile in Scáil (The phantom’s vi-
example of the literary genre of the speculum principum (liter-
sion), the prophecy is spoken by the god Lugh, the Irish (and
ary, “mirror of princes”), which was designed to give counsel
Celtic) divinity traditionally regarded as personifying the
and guidance to a king. The Audacht was probably written
ideal of kingship. It tells how Conn went on a circuit of the
toward the end of the seventh century CE, but the genre was
rampart of Tara accompanied by his three druids to guard
already long established in oral tradition, and it is widely ac-
against hostile incursions by forces from the otherworld, per-
cepted that the European speculum principum derives partly
haps a reference to the familiar taboo that forbade the king
from the Irish model and that the Audacht itself contains
to let the sun rise on him in Tara. One recalls, for example,
much that is referable to Irish kingship in the pre-Christian
the story of Aillén mac Midgna from the otherworld mound
period.
of Síd Finnachaid who came regularly to Tara at Samain
As a genre the speculum was evidently associated with
(Hallowe’en), lulled its people to sleep with his supernatural
the rite of royal inauguration and was probably recited pub-
music (ceol sídhi) and burned it down with a pillar of fire,
licly by a druid or fili in the course of the ritual ceremony.
until finally he was slain by the leader of the Fiana, Fionn
In the pre-Christian and early Christian period, as reflected
mac Cumaill. So, when Conn mounts the rampart of Tara
in the classical law tracts, there were three grades of kingship:
in Baile in Scáil, he comes into direct contact with the other-
the rí tuaithe (king of a tuath; literally, “people” or “tribe”),
world, although, in this instance, under one of its more be-
the smallest political entity; the ruiri (great king or overking),
nign aspects. A magic mist enveloped the king and his com-
who, as well as ruling over his own petty kingdom, received
panions and a horseman (the scál or phantom) approached
tribute from several other tuatha; and finally the rí ruirech
and asked them to accompany him to his dwelling. Within
(king of overkings), who is equated to the rí cóicid (king of
they found a girl seated on a chair of crystal and wearing a
a province). Despite the wide disparity of these kingships in
golden crown. Beside her stood a vessel of gold with a golden
range and importance, each of them had its own sacred king
cup nearby. The phantom, seated on his throne, identified
and its own inauguration site. However, it is clear that
himself as the god Lugh and declared that he had come to
Tara—as the ideological focus of sacral kingship and at the
announce to them the names of Conn’s successors and the
heart of the Irish cosmographic system—enjoyed a special
duration of their reigns. The young woman was the sover-
prestige as a kind of primus inter pares (first among equals)
eignty of Ireland and when she asked to whom she should
offer the cup of red ale (dergfhlaith), the phantom enumer-
among royal sites and thus became the goal, real or notional,
ated his catalog of the kings who would follow Conn.
of ambitious kings throughout the early Middle Ages. Feis
Temhra (The Feast/Wedding Feast of Tara) was the great
The terminology used in reference to the hieros gamos
festival held in pagan times to confirm a new king and to cel-
(sacred marriage) of king and goddess points to some sort of
ebrate his ritual marriage to his kingdom. At Tara stood the
sexual union taking place in pre-Christian times, as do the
Lia Fáil (Stone of Fál), the “stone penis” that cried out when
several tales of the loathsome hag who is transformed to
it came in contact with the man destined to be king. Feis,
youth and beauty by intercourse with the rightful candidate
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1493
for kingship, a theme that is exploited for political dynastic
The heroic ideal: The Ulster Cycle. Like the sacral
ends in extant medieval versions. But accounts of the actual
king of prehistoric tradition, the hero occupied an ambigu-
inauguration ceremony are of later date and betray some de-
ous status between god and men. Typically, he has a divine
gree of ecclesiastical influence. Inevitably the Christian
as well as a human father, and his trials and achievements
Church, conscious of the pivotal significance of the sacral
bring him into contact with supernatural powers more fre-
kingship to native society, sought to arrogate to itself a cen-
quently than other mortals. He has many incarnations in in-
tral role in “ordaining” the ruler, and thus to sanitize the
sular Celtic literature, but it is above all the Ulster Cycle that
most incompatible elements of the traditional ritual. But tra-
represents him in the quintessential heroic setting.
dition was tenacious. According to a quite late prose account
The cycle is set in the province of Ulster when it was
(fourteen to sixteenth century) of the ceremonial inaugura-
dominated by the Ulaidh, the people from whom the prov-
tion of the Ó Conchubhar kings of Connacht, many clerics
ince derived its name, at a time somewhere between the com-
and all the subkings of the province were present, yet it was
Ó Maoil Chonaire, the fili, modern proxy of the ancient
ing of the Celts, perhaps as late as the third century BCE, and
druid, who installed him as king (aga ríghadh) by presenting
the conquest of the Ulaidh, which may have taken place in
him with the rod of sovereignty, and, the text adds, none but
the early fifth century CE. The cycle portrays an aristocratic
Ó Maoil Chonaire had the right to be with the king on the
warrior society with a La Tène (Second Iron Age) type mate-
inauguration mound apart from the keeper of the mound.
rial culture, and in many respects the society shows striking
correspondences with what is reported of independent Gaul.
Moreover, the gradual revision of the inauguration cere-
The king of the Ulaidh at this time was Conchobhar mac
mony during the pre-Norman centuries may not have pro-
Nessa, who had his royal court at Emhain Mhacha near the
ceeded as regularly and universally as most later accounts
present city of Armagh. He presided over a numerous com-
might suggest. In a well-known passage of his Topographia
pany, which included the youthful Cú Chulainn, the senior
Hiberniae, which is based on information garnered during
heroes Conall Cernach and Ferghus mac Roich, and such
his stay in Ireland in the late twelfth century, Gerald of
others as the druid Cathbhadh, the wise peacemaker Sencha
Wales describes a “barbarous and abominable” rite of inau-
mac Ailella, and the inveterate mischief-maker Bricriu,
guration practiced in what is now County Donegal. A white
known as Nemhthenga (Poison-tongue). These characters
mare is brought to the midst of the assembled people, the
constitute the cast of an extensive literature of which the cen-
future chief has sexual union with the mare, which is then
trepiece is the great saga Táin Bó Cuailnge (The cattle raid
killed, cut in pieces, and boiled. The chief then sits in this
of Cuailnge). It tells of Queen Medhbh of Connacht’s incur-
bath, eats of the mare’s meat and drinks of the broth, and
sion into Ulster with the object of seizing the great Brown
thus kingship and power is conferred on him. Despite the
Bull of Cuailnge, which was of divine origin. As a result of
lack of supporting native testimonies, it is difficult to dis-
a curse by the goddess Macha, the Ulstermen are unable to
count the striking analogy this bizarre ritual presents to the
resist the attack, and it falls to the young Cú Chulainn to
Indic asvamedha (horse sacrifice), one that is accepted by
defend the province single-handedly. By engaging in a series
most comparatists. The main disparity is that in the Irish ver-
of single combats with heroes of the Connacht army, he hin-
sion the sex act involves the king and a mare instead of the
ders their advance until the Ulstermen recover their strength
queen and a stallion, as in India, but some scholars would,
and rout their enemies. The climax and finale of the tale is
in fact, argue that the Indo-European inauguration was pri-
the tremendous encounter in which the bull of Cuailnge
marily between king and mare. However, even if the essential
slays the Finnbhennach, the white-horned bull of Connacht.
authenticity of Gerald’s account is accepted, it does not fol-
low, as some have assumed, that such a rite was practiced in
As the heroic milieu par excellence, the court of Con-
or close to his time. Elsewhere he draws on reports—some
chobhar at Emhain became the focus for a wide variety of
fabulous, others more factual—gathered from a variety of
tales reflecting the different facets of the heroic ethos, and
sources, oral as well as written. In this particular instance, it
as the quintessential hero Cú Chulainn became the subject
is a piece of seanchas (oral history), referring to an already
of many narratives exploring the nature of the hero’s mediat-
more or less obsolete era. Nonetheless, it is a useful reminder
ing role between gods and men and his singular relationship
that the version of native belief and ideology mediated to
with his own community. Cú Chulainn experiences the pe-
modern readers by the redactors of the medieval monasteries
rennial dilemma of the supreme hero caught in the insoluble
is less than comprehensive.
contradictions of his ambiguous status. Neither divine nor
merely human, Cú Chulainn lives within the tribe and yet
Another archaic institution associated with royal inau-
does not wholly belong; a member of a heroic confraternity,
guration was the crech ríg (royal foray), which is still attested
he characteristically stands alone. His initiation to the heroic
in the post-twelfth century Anglo-Norman period. As in an-
circle is recounted in a section of Táin Bó Cuailnge that nar-
cient India, such a cross-border raid was a recognized occa-
rates his boyhood deeds (macghnímhartha), which, linguisti-
sion for the new king to demonstrate his fitness for office and
cally, is not part of the oldest stratum of the text (it may be-
at the same time to acquire the means to make appropriate
long to the ninth century), although its content is part of an
show of his largesse.
archaic tradition. For his first exploit, Cú Chulainn slays the
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CELTIC RELIGION: AN OVERVIEW
three fearsome sons of Nechta Scéne who have been a
ambiguous, mythopoeic (relating to mythmaking) fashion
scourge on the Ulstermen. Here the narrative appears to re-
with the Viking raiders of the ninth century.
produce an old lndo-European motif of the hero’s victory
over a trio of adversaries or a three-headed monster. He also,
Some have recognized the Celtic form *vindos (white,
for the first time, experiences the riastradh (grotesque distor-
fair)—the source of Irish Fionn and Welsh Gwynn—in the
tion) and the phenomenal body heat that are the external
Celtic deity name/epithet Vindonnus, and thus concluded
manifestations of his battle fury and that mark him in Irish
that Fionn himself was originally divine, although this is
tradition as a hero above heroes. These traits also have old
questionable. *Vindos is related to the Indo-European stem
and widespread analogues.
*ui-n-d (finds out, knows). It also has been suggested that
Fionn’s name means “he who finds out, he who knows.”
Cú Chulainn’s career is a short one, but because it con-
This accords with his role in tradition, which represents him
stitutes a paradigm of the hero, the mythmakers and story-
as poet and seer as well as warrior-hunter, perhaps like his
tellers have taken the critical stages of his life and woven a
Welsh counterpart Gwynn ap Nudd, who appears fleetingly
web of narrative around each: his threefold birth distin-
in Welsh tradition as a “magic warrior-huntsman.” Fionn is
guished by incest and divine paternity, familiar marks of the
sometimes said to have acquired his supernatural knowledge
sacred conception of the hero; his martial training with the
by tasting the otherworldly liquor. His normal means of divi-
otherworldly Scáthach; his wooing of Emher and his mar-
nation was simply to chew his thumb, with which he had
riage; and finally his death, which, because he was invincible
once touched the Salmon of Knowledge, which he was cook-
by merely human means, could only be effected through
ing for his master in poetry and magic. Moreover, poetry and
trickery and sorcery. This framework has also accommodated
preternatural vision have always been characteristic attributes
a number of other more occasional tales, such as those of his
of the Fionn cycle as a whole.
adventures in the otherworld or the tragic Aided Aenfhir Aífe
(The death of Aífe’s only son), which brings Cú Chulainn
Like Cú Chulainn, Fionn is also the subject of a narra-
to slay his own son through a combination of moral compul-
tive recounting his boyhood deeds. His birth followed soon
sion and mistaken identity.
after his father’s death at the hands of the rival band of the
Sons of Morna. He was reared secretly in the forest by two
But Cú Chulainn and his life cycle are only a part of
female warriors until he was ready to assert his precocious
the larger cycle of the Ulster tales and in many he plays a rela-
claim to the leadership of the Fian. He killed a malevolent
tively small role or none at all. His singular importance is
being called Aillén mac Midgna, who came each year to burn
that he epitomizes the heroic virtues and values. By the sev-
down the royal court of Tara (one of several variants of a
enth century CE he had become a focus in the written litera-
myth in which Fionn figured as conqueror of a supernatural
ture for archaic traditions pertaining to what Dumézil de-
one-eyed arsonist). Even within the Fian his archrival was
fined as the second of the Indo-European social functions—
Goll (one-eyed) mac Morna, also known as Aodh (Fire).
that of the warrior.
There is an obvious analogy here with the myth of Lugh’s
defeat of Balar, and it has, in fact, been argued that Fionn
The Fionn Cycle. In early Irish, the Fionn Cycle was
was simply another name and persona for that deity. Howev-
also known as the Fianaighecht. It comprises a complex of
er, although Lugh is represented as being closely associated
stories and traditions about the Fian, the band of hunter-
with the sacred function of kingship, Fionn’s relationship to
warriors led by Fionn mac Cumhaill. The cycle is commonly
kingship is, at the very least, ambiguous. It is true that he
called the Fenian Cycle, a modern Anglicization, or the Ossi-
and his followers became closely associated with the king of
anic Cycle, after Fionn’s son Oisin (or Ossian). Etymologi-
Tara as a kind of standing army, but it has been suggested
cally, the term fian (plural, fiana) embodies the notion of liv-
that this is a fairly late development. Earlier their role as mer-
ing by the hunt or by force of arms, and this notion
cenaries appears to have been more marginal and ambivalent.
corresponds exactly with the role of the Fiana in Irish tradi-
tion. Originally there were several groups of Fiana, but the
This marginal status may partly explain why the
fame of Fionn’s company relegated the others to obscurity.
Fianaighecht was accorded little space in the written texts be-
Each féinnidh (individual member of the Fian) was required
fore the eleventh and twelfth centuries, although it is attested
to undergo initiatory trials of his skill and endurance before
as early as the Ulster Cycle. By and large the literature of
admittance, and once accepted he had to sever his legal and
prestige such as the Ulster Cycle reinforced the structures
social connections with his kin and his tribe and abandon
and usages of organized aristocratic society within its clearly
the associated rights and responsibilities. Yet although he
defined political boundaries. But the Fian’s environment was
placed himself outside the tribal community, he did not
outside and beyond this cultivated domain in the forest and
place himself outside the law, for the Fiana were recognized
the wilderness. Here they roamed at will, on foot or on
by law and tradition as fulfilling a legitimate function. Many
horseback, unlike the Ulster heroes, who traveled in chariots.
legends picture the Fiana as the defenders of Ireland against
Intimately connected with nature, both animate and inani-
the incursions of foreign—that is, in effect, supernatural—
mate, their world blurred and often dissolved the boundaries
enemies. From the eleventh or twelfth century onward, and
of social and natural categories. For example, several of the
perhaps even earlier, these enemies are often identified in an
feinnidi were born of mothers in animal form, and the Fian’s
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CELTIC RELIGION: AN OVERVIEW
1495
great hounds, Bran and Sgeolang, had a human mother. It
character of the rich corpus of evidence. This feeling has been
is hardly surprising that Fian mythology has always had a
aptly expressed by Marie-Louise Sjoestedt in her Gods and
firm hold on the popular imagination and that it only gained
Heroes of the Celts (1949):
prominence in the written tradition when the learned class
In travelling through the dense forest of the insular leg-
began to react to the pressure of sociopolitical change in the
ends, and stirring the ashes of the continental Celtic
eleventh and twelfth centuries.
world, we did not hope to uncover the plan of a vast
The ambiguous nature of the region inhabited by the
edifice, a temple of the Celtic gods, partly overrun by
the luxuriant wilderness and partly ruined by invaders.
Fian emerges clearly in their relations with the otherworld.
The indications are that this edifice never existed.
Whereas in the Ulster tales the association of the two worlds
Other people raised temples to their gods, and their
tends to happen at specific times—at the great calendar festi-
very mythologies are temples whose architecture repro-
vals, for instance, or during initiation rituals—among the
duces the symmetry of a cosmic or social order—an
Fian these associations are casual and continual. The Fian’s
order both cosmic and social. It is in the wild solitude
liminal status ensures that they can participate freely in both
of the nemeton and sacred woodland, that the Celtic
the natural and the supernatural world as they are able to eas-
tribe meets its gods, and its mythical world is a sacred
ily cross the threshold between worlds. In this as in much
forest, pathless and unbounded, which is inhabited by
else they correspond to the heroes of Arthur’s court and there
mysterious powers. . . . We seek for a cosmos and find
can be little doubt that the cycles of Fionn and Arthur, what-
chaos. . . . The investigation of the insular tradition
ever their later vicissitudes, derive from the same sector of
leaves one with a sense of something missing. One
searches in vain for traces of those vast conceptions of
insular mythology.
the origin and final destiny of the world which domi-
The “Elopement of Diarmaid and Gráinne,” one of the
nate other Indo-European mythologies. Was there a
most popular tales in the Fianaighecht, tells how the mature
Celtic cosmogony or eschatology? Must we suppose
Fionn loses the beautiful Gráinne to Diarmaid ua Duibhne
from the few allusions, vague and banal as they are,
which Caesar or Pomponius Mela have made to the
(The Master and Charmer of Women), just as Arthur loses
teaching of the druids, that a whole aspect, and an es-
Gwenhwyfar (Guinevere) to Medrawd (Melwas). The tale is
sential aspect, of this mythical world is hidden from us
one of several Irish analogues of the romance of Tristan and
and will remain hidden? Should we explain the silence
Iseult, and it also ends in tragedy, when Diarmaid is killed
of our texts by the censorship of Christian monks, who
by the magic boar of Beann Ghulban with Fionn’s conniv-
were nevertheless liberal enough to allow the preserva-
ance. It has been suggested that Gráinne’s name, which can
tion of episodes much stained with paganism, and fea-
mean literally ugliness, obliquely identifies her with the ver-
tures most shocking to the Christian mentality? (p. 92)
sion of the sovereignty goddess who appears as a repulsive
Sjoestedt’s own reply to this last rhetorical question would
hag until she is transformed to youthful beauty by union
have been a clear negative, but some more recent studies sug-
with her rightful and royal mate. Diarmaid Donn (Brown,
gest a qualified affirmative. In fact, there are grounds for be-
Dark) may originally have been the god Donn who ruled the
lieving that the early monastic redactors, for all their un-
otherworld of the dead.
doubted empathy and tolerance, did censor pagan learned
The most comprehensive source for the Fianaighecht is
tradition by omission as well as by critical editing, and that
a long frame story entitled Agallamh na Senórach (The con-
their omission most seriously affected those areas in which
verse of the old men), which was probably compiled near the
conflict of doctrines was least acceptable to Christian ortho-
end of the twelfth century. The title indicates the convenient
doxy: ritual, cosmogony, and eschatology.
device on which the massive narrative rests: Caoilte mac
In 1918 Joseph Vendryes demonstrated in an important
Rónáin, one of the principal members of the Fian, long out-
article that the Celtic languages, and particularly early Irish,
lives his contemporaries and eventually meets with St. Pat-
preserve the remnants of an old Indo-European religious vo-
rick, who is on his mission of Christianization. Caoilte ac-
cabulary originating with the hieratic ancestors of brahmans,
companies Patrick on his journey throughout the Irish
pontifs, and druids. Since then it has become increasingly
countryside and, at the saint’s request, tells him the stories
clear that these particularities of terminology are not to be
associated with its hills, rivers, plains, and other natural fea-
seen as isolated fossils but rather as reflecting interrelated ele-
tures. The result is a vast thesaurus of place-name lore (dinns-
ments of a system of socioreligious thought and practice,
henchas), which brings together the several streams of learned
which must have persisted substantially unchanged until a
and popular tradition that went into the making of the Fionn
relatively late date, perhaps—in Ireland at least—until the
Cycle.
establishment of Christianity. The numerous survivals of ar-
SYSTEM OR CHAOS. Matthew Arnold admired the Celts for
chaisms from Indo-European ideology, ritual, and liturgy in
their lyric gifts, but he claimed, perhaps not without some
early Irish recorded tradition strongly support this conclu-
reason, that they lacked the sense of architecture in their lit-
sion. So also does the “deep structure” of early Irish narrative
erary compositions. It is a sentiment that has been echoed
that is gradually being uncovered by the close analysis of in-
by many students of Celtic religion and mythology when
dividual texts. In the context of such fundamental and con-
confronted with the frustratingly formless and unfinished
stantly recurring themes as the sacral kingship, the king as
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1496
CELTIC RELIGION: AN OVERVIEW
mediator between the secular and the supernatural world, the
Le Roux, Françoise, and Christian J. Guyonvarc’h. Les fêtes cel-
antinomy of ideological unity and political fragmentation,
tiques. Rennes, France, 1995.
and the concept of social or cosmic order, these early texts
Lucas, A. T. Cattle in Ancient Ireland. Kilkenny, Ireland, 1989.
often reveal a complex weave of structured allusion that pre-
Mac Cana, Proinsias. Celtic Mythology. Rev. ed. Feltham, U.K.,
supposes in the not too distant past a coherent and authorita-
1983. A short survey of the subject with illustrations of
tive system of politico-religious and juridico-religious belief
sculpture, metalwork, and so on.
and speculation.
MacCulloch, J. A. The Religion of the Ancient Celts. Edinburgh,
However, it would be wrong to assume that the texts
1911. Reprinted as Celtic Mythology (Boston, 1918). Still
useful if read in conjunction with more recent accounts.
offer a complete and consistent record of that system, not
merely because monastic redactors practiced conscious cen-
MacNeill, Máire. The Festival of Lughnasa. Oxford, 1962. A com-
sorship and selectivity but also because the texts were re-
prehensive inventory of all the local festivals in Ireland that
can be shown to continue the Celtic feast of Lugh, together
corded long after druidic paganism had ceased to be the offi-
with a very helpful commentary and a rich collection of texts,
cial and uncontested religion of the country. By reason of
largely from the oral tradition.
this remove in time and motivation, the early Irish documen-
Maier, Bernhard. “Is Lug to be identified with Mercury? (Bell.
tation belongs largely to the category to which Georges
Gall. VI, 17,1): New Suggestions to an Old Problem.” Ériu
Dumézil has applied the term mythologie littérarisée It is the
47 (1996): 127–35.
concern of contemporary scholars to analyze and interpret
Maier, Bernhard. Dictionary of Celtic Religion and Culture. Wood-
this rich documentation and to restate it in mythico-religious
bridge, U.K., 1997. Translation of Lexikon der keltischen Re-
rather than literary terms.
ligion und Kultur (Stuttgart, Germany, 1994; reprint, 1997).
A useful and accurate work of reference covering the conti-
SEE ALSO Druids; Fomhoire; Mabinogion; Matres; Sídh;
nental and insular evidence—literature, iconography, ar-
Táin Bó Cuailnge; Tuatha Dé Danann.
chaeology.
Meyer, Kuno, ed. and trans., and Alfred Nutt. The Voyage of Bran,
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Son of Febal, to the Land of the Living. 2 vols. London, 1895–
Arnold, Matthew. On the Study of Celtic Literature. London,
1897. Includes a long commentary on the Celtic concept of
1867.
the otherworld and the doctrine of rebirth. Largely super-
Bieler, Ludwig, ed. The Patrician Texts in the Book of Armagh.
seded by more recent studies, it still contains many useful in-
Dublin, 1979.
sights.
Binchy, Daniel A. Celtic and Anglo-Saxon Kingship. Oxford, 1970.
Murphy, Gerard, ed. and trans. Duanaire Finn: The Book of the
Birkhan, Helmut. Kelten: Versuch einer Gesamtdarstellung ihrer
Lays of Fionn. Vol. 3. Dublin, 1953. Includes a long and
Kultur. Vienna, 1997. A comprehensive and detailed account
valuable commentary on the history of the Fionn Cycle and
of ancient and medieval Celtic culture with generous treat-
on the relationship between medieval manuscript and mod-
ment of religion, mythology, and institutions.
ern oral versions.
Bromwich, Rachel. Trioedd Ynys Prydein: The Welsh Triads. 2d ed.
Nagy, Joseph Falaky. The Wisdom of the Outlaw: The Boyhood
Cardiff, 1978. This edition of the medieval triads and the
Deeds of Finn in Gaelic Narrative Tradition. Berkeley, Calif.,
rich commentary and notes that accompany it are an invalu-
1983. An excellent interpretative commentary on the Irish
able source of information on early Welsh and British histo-
Fionn Cycle, the first extended study of the cycle in terms
ry, myth, and legend.
of modern mythological theory. It explores the internal con-
Duval, Paul-Marie. Les dieux de la Gaule. Rev. ed. Paris, 1976. A
sistency of the cycle as reflected in some of its constituent
convenient compendium of what is known and surmised
narratives and brings out the markedly liminal character of
about the Gaulish gods.
Fionn and his followers.
Dumézil, Georges. Horace et les Curiaces. Paris, 1942.
Ó Cathasaigh, Tomas. The Heroic Biography of Cormac mac Airt.
Dublin, 1977. A perceptive exposition of the status and
Dumézil, Georges. Naissance de Rome. Paris, 1944.
function of the Irish hero-king as reflected in the legends of
Dumézil, Georges. Dieux des Indo-Européens, Paris, 1952.
Cormac mac Airt.
Dumézil, Georges. Mythe et épopée. Vol. 1. Paris, 1968.
O’Flaherty, Wendy Doniger. Women, Androgynes, and Other
Gray, Elizabeth A. Cath Maige Tuired: The Second Battle of Mag
Mythical Beasts. Chicago, 1980. In particular, see chapter 6,
Tuired. London, 1982. An edition of this important mytho-
“The Indo-European Mare.”
logical text. Gray’s “Cath Maige Tuired: Myth and Struc-
O’Rahilly, Thomas F. Early Irish History and Mythology. Dublin,
ture,” Éigse 18 (1981): 183–209 and 19 (1982–1983): 1–35,
1946. Valuable for its coverage of Irish literary resources in
230–262, presents a detailed interpretative analysis of the
all periods and for its brilliant analyses of medieval texts, but
content of the tale.
sometimes rather outmoded and idiosyncratic in its treat-
Lambrechts, Pierre. Contributions a l’étude des divinités celtiques.
ment of essentially mythological narratives as reflections of
Bruges, 1942.
historical events.
Le Roux, Françoise, and Christian J. Guyonvarc’h. La Civilisation
Ó Riain, P. “Traces of Lug in Early Irish Hagiographical Tradi-
celtique Rennes: La société celtique: dans l’idéologie trifonction-
tion.” Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie 36 (1978): 138–55.
nelle et la tradition religieuse indo-européennes. Rennes,
Ó Riain, Pádraig. “The ‘Crech Ríg’ or ‘Regal Prey.’” Éigse 15
France, 1991.
(1973): 24–30.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CELTIC RELIGION: HISTORY OF STUDY
1497
Puhvel, Jaan. “Aspects of equine functionality.” In Myth and Law
both modern and ancient (that in turn constitute a subset
among the Indo-Europeans, edited by Jaan Puhvel,
of the Indo-European family of languages) dates back to the
pp. 169–69. Berkeley, Calif., 1970.
eighteenth century, arising in the wake of the scholarly dis-
Rees, Alwyn, and Brinley Rees. Celtic Heritage. London, 1961. An
covery of the family resemblance among the still-living Irish,
important and stimulating work that seeks to structure insu-
Scottish Gaelic, Manx, Welsh, Cornish, and Breton lan-
lar Celtic tradition in terms of a number of ideological con-
guages and the long-dead languages of the continental Celts.
cepts and motivations. It is inspired by the Dumézilian sys-
EARLY DEVELOPMENT OF CELTIC RELIGION STUDIES. Soon
tem of analysis, applied in a flexible and imaginative fashion.
after the discovery of the common descent of ancient and liv-
Ross, Anne. Pagan Celtic Britain. London, 1967. Surveys the Brit-
ing Celtic languages circa 1700, ambitious attempts were
ish repertory of images for the Celtic gods and their attri-
launched to expand the “Celtic connection” beyond the
butes. Contains an extensive discussion of the several main
realm of linguistics and specifically to establish Celtic com-
categories of deity: horned god, warrior god, divine animals,
mon denominators in the areas of religion, worldview, and
among others. Useful also for its rich comparative documen-
tation from insular literary and folklore sources.
myth. Central to these attempts to understand what the
pagan Celts believed, who their gods were, and how they
Scowcroft, R. Mark. “Leabhar Gabhála. Part II: The Growth of
worshiped them was the figure of the druid, famously de-
the Tradition.” Ériu 39 (1988) 1–66. Offers an excellent an-
scribed in classical sources as a barbarian philosopher and
alytic commentary on the new synthetic mythology that
also as a presider over sometimes grisly sacrifices, pointedly
emerged from the fusion of pagan myth and legend with the
Latin-mediated learning of clerics and schoolmen.
conducted in the realm of nature as opposed to the cultural
confines of temples. John Toland (1670–1722), the English
Sjoestedt, Marie-Louise. Dieux et héros des Celtes. Paris, 1940.
pantheist and biographer of John Milton, wrote admiringly
Translated by Myles Dillon as Gods and Heroes of the Celts
of the druids of ancient Britain and of the enlightened reli-
(London, 1949). A short but perceptive survey of Celtic,
mainly Irish, mythology and hero tales. At the time of its
gion they promulgated. Later on in the mysticism of the poet
publication it offered fresh insights into the nature of Celtic
William Blake (1757–1827) the not-really-pagan British
myth and is still necessary reading.
priests played an important role in Blake’s vision of the salvi-
fic link between “Albion” and Jerusalem.
Synge, John M. The Aran Islands. Drawings by Jack B. Yeats.
Dublin, 1907.
In time druids (including those who occasionally ap-
Vendryes, Joseph. “Les correspondances de vocabulaire entre
peared in medieval Irish literature) merged in the scholarly
l’indo-iranien et l’italo-celtique.” Mémoires de la Société de
and popular imagination with the figure of the Celtic bard,
Linguistique de Paris 20 (1918): 265–285.
the practitioner of the verbal and musical arts toward which,
according to popular notions that linger into the early twen-
Vendryes, Joseph. Les religions des Celtes (1948). Revised by Pierre-
ty-first century, the Celts are naturally inclined. The impres-
Yves Lambert. Vol. 1. Spézet, France, 1997. It is primarily
an exhaustive catalogue of the varied data, both continental
sion of an artistic as well as a “druidic” (philosophical, mysti-
and insular, relating to Celtic religion. More descriptive than
cal, and perhaps even savage) bent to pre-Christian Celtic
theoretical, it is still a useful source of information.
religion, and even to Christianity as it developed among the
Celts, gained strength from the popularity of the works of
Vries, Jan de. Keltische Religion. Stuttgart, Germany, 1961. A
comprehensive treatment of the whole of Celtic religion. It
the Scottish writer James Macpherson (1736–1796), who
is well documented and strong on Indo-European and other
fabricated an ancient Celtic poet “Ossian” to evoke a dramat-
comparative aspects, less so on the insular tradition, although
ic world of ancient Highland heroes and heroines prone to
the latter is given fairly generous coverage.
romantic melancholy and pronouncements worthy of the
Enlightenment’s noble savage.
PROINSIAS MAC CANA (1987 AND 2005)
Even in the early twenty-first century most of the popu-
lar, Neopagan, and some academic treatments of the topic
of Celtic religion are fueled by a druidocentric desire to re-
CELTIC RELIGION: HISTORY OF STUDY
capture a mystical wisdom that supposedly informs Celtic
The terms Celt and Celtic were originally used by ancient
culture and art. This popular tendency to view the religion
Greek and Roman writers to refer to an extensive network
along with the art of the Celts as sources of atavistic truth
of tribes located primarily in Gaul (roughly modern-day
for modern seekers to rediscover can also be traced to the
France, Belgium, and northern Italy) who claimed, or were
widely influential literary characterizations of Celts and their
thought by their neighbors, to share a common descent.
worldview developed by the Breton scholar of religion Ernest
These terms, however, were never used in reference to the
Renan (1823–1892), the English critic Matthew Arnold
peoples of Britain and Ireland, even though it is now known
(1822–1888), and the Irish poet William Butler Yeats
that they did (and some still do) speak Celtic languages.
(1865–1939). The romantic image of the Celts and their re-
Some classical writers did note traits common to both the
ligious traditions has now been compounded by the wide-
Celts and the Britons, such as the institution of druids and
spread impression (based on ambiguous evidence) that the
druidism, which, according to Caesar, originated in Britain.
Celts privileged women and honored their goddesses to an
The use of the ethnonym Celtic to refer to related languages
extent that set them apart from other ancient peoples.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1498
CELTIC RELIGION: HISTORY OF STUDY
It is important to note that most of the serious Celtic
thors writing on their Celtic neighbors, to interpret Celtic
scholarship from the mid–nineteenth century on has been
religious traditions in terms borrowed from Greek and
devoted to locating and organizing the available data on the
Roman religion (e.g., the search for a Celtic “pantheon”).
Celts—their languages, histories, cultures, literatures, and
Some Irish and British scholars of the first half of the twenti-
the physical record they left behind—and not to tackling
eth century attempted, sometimes to the point of obsession,
broad, harder-to-define, and controversial concepts such as
to reconstruct insular Celtic divinities consonant with their
“Celtic religion” and “mythology.” Larger questions such as
continental cousins from what they considered to be the gar-
these have in fact been ignored or even treated with scorn
bled medieval record produced by Christians no longer in
by many if not most scholars in the field. Undeniably this
touch with pre-Christian religious sensibilities. The philolo-
neglect in part reflects the difficulty of accurately describing
gist Thomas O’Rahilly’s never completed Early Irish History
Celtic religious beliefs, practices, and myths, given that the
and Mythology (1946) cast a spell on a whole generation of
pre-Christian Celts left relatively little in the way of a written
scholars as it looked relentlessly for solar deities and heroes,
record and the agenda of medieval Christian Celts often
although, as the title suggests, historical peoples and forces
overruled the ethnographic impulse in what they wrote
were also discernible behind some members of O’Rahilly’s
about their pre-Christian past. And yet the relative dearth of
mythological cast of characters. William John Gruffydd
serious study of Celtic religion, by definition an interdisci-
(1881–1954), in his still influential reconstructions of narra-
plinary venture, also points to the rather sparse communica-
tives about gods and goddesses underlying the Four Branches
tion among Celticists working in different languages and lit-
of the Welsh Mabinogi, applied some of Frazer’s formula-
erary traditions (such as Irish and Welsh) and between those
tions of “primitive” magical and religious thought (Nagy,
who work on Celtic languages, literatures, and history and
2001) and recycled the “heroic biography” paradigm of
those who work on Celtic archaeology and prehistory.
mythic narrative previously used by Nutt. Later studies that
still employ but fine-tune the biographic-mythic paradigm
The earliest attempts to discover what the pagan Celts
include Tomás Ó Cathasaigh’s Heroic Biography of Cormac
believed, who their gods were, and how they worshiped them
mac Airt (1977) and Joseph Falaky Nagy’s The Wisdom of
that are still worth consulting in the early twenty-first centu-
the Outlaw: The Boyhood Deeds of Finn in Gaelic Narrative
ry, though cautiously, were authored by the first Oxford pro-
Tradition (1985), both studies of Irish narrative characters
fessor of Celtic, Sir John Rhyˆs (1840–1915), and the enter-
whose story cycles have religious implications.
prising Englishman Alfred Nutt (1856–1910). The attention
TWENTIETH-CENTURY DEVELOPMENTS. As the twentieth
of these scholars was directed primarily toward the texts pro-
century unfolded, Celtic scholars, pursuing questions raised
duced by the medieval Welsh and Irish, and their primary
by earlier scholars and their particular approaches to religion,
working assumption was that the “waifs and strays” of pre-
had access to new resources and tools. Major strides in the
Christian beliefs, myths, and rituals were embedded in this
uncovering and cataloging of the remains of ancient Celtic
literature and to some extent were reconstructible. There was
peoples made it much more feasible and productive to com-
also considerable interest (especially on the part of Rhyˆs) in
pare and contrast ancient images with medieval tales and nar-
the folklore of contemporary Celts—their superstitions, sto-
rative characters, for example, in the work of Marie-Louise
ries, and customs—as reflecting many of these same vestiges.
Sjoestedt (1900–1940) and Anne Ross’s Pagan Celtic Britain:
Rhyˆs and Nutt, like their scholarly coevals, were profoundly
Studies in Iconography and Tradition (1967). Meanwhile the
affected by a nineteenth-century view of premodern religion
tireless collecting activities of the Irish Folklore Commission
(particularly of the polytheistic Indo-European kind) as a
made it possible to study the diachronic development of Irish
prescientific system for explaining natural phenomena—a
narratives, beliefs, and customs that arguably derive from the
system that, the theory went, was prone to misinterpretation
pre-Christian religious tradition and that, by adapting to
and breakdown as it was passed down through the genera-
changing cultural circumstances, have survived or even flour-
tions. These early pioneers of the study of Celtic religion
ished down to modern times. Máire MacNeill’s 1962 study
freely compared their data with the pre-Christian religious
of the Irish harvest festival of Lughnasa and the stories and
traditions of other Indo-European peoples and employed
rituals associated with it through the centuries and Patricia
many of the terms and concepts developed in the nineteenth
Lysaght’s 1986 monograph on the enduring figure of the
century by Jacob Grimm (1785–1863) and Wilhelm Grimm
banshee demonstrate the chronological span over which
(1786–1859), Johann Georg von Hahn (1811–1869), and
studies of the pre-Christian religious tradition and its prote-
Friedrich Max Müller (1823–1900).
an afterlife can now range.
These nineteenth-century tendencies, both stimulating
The profound twentieth-century shift in the scholarly
and confining, were still in evidence in early twentieth-
paradigm of religion, sparked by the contributions of Max
century scholarship on Celtic religion. Also influencing these
Weber (1864–1920) and Émile Durkheim (1858–1917) to
works—including Georges Dottin’s La religion des Celtes
religious studies, and the structuralist approach to the study
(1904), John Arnott MacCulloch’s The Religion of the An-
of symbolic aspects of human culture (deriving from linguis-
cient Celts (1911), and Joseph Vendryes’s La religion des
tics and semiotics) slowly but surely penetrated Celtic studies
Celtes (1948)—was the inclination, derived from classical au-
in the twentieth century. When Celtic scholars began to view
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CELTIC RELIGION: HISTORY OF STUDY
1499
society rather than nature as the primary focus of religion
ditions has been a heightened awareness of the delicate arti-
and negotiation among cultural values rather than explana-
fice underlying both the modern scholarly concept of Celtic
tion of natural phenomena as the basic task of religion, solar
and the reports of pre-Christian belief, practice, and myth
deities gave way to ideological concepts, especially under the
conveyed in early medieval texts. Careful probings of “Celti-
influence of the linguist Émile Benveniste (1902–1976),
city” punctuate Patrick Sims-Williams’s (1990) salutary sort-
who pioneered the techniques of a lexically based search for
ing-out of concepts of the otherworld as they were supposed-
shared Indo-European institutions and elements of world-
ly shared among the insular Celts. Bernhard Maier’s Die
view, and of the scholar of religion Georges Dumézil (1898–
Religion der Kelten (2001) similarly displays a healthy skepti-
1986), who compellingly excavated a model of society con-
cism concerning the literary evidence that, on religious mat-
sisting of three “functions” out of the religious data available
ters especially, can be as intentionally misleading as it is en-
from various ancient and medieval Indo-European cultures
lightening about the preliterary past.
(including Celtic).
The boldness behind the medieval Irish project to con-
Heralding these new approaches, Celtic Heritage by
struct a picture of pre-Christian Ireland and its religion that
Alwyn Rees and Brinley Rees (1961) presented an ambitious-
would appear consistent with biblical history and early medi-
ly comprehensive and fundamentally religious interpretation
eval, not exclusively Celtic, notions of how pagans worshiped
of medieval Celtic literature. As argued by Rees and Rees,
and what they believed in was the focus of Kim McCone’s
who were inspired by the work of Mircea Eliade (1907–
1986) as well as by Dumézil, the Christian milieu of medi-
revisionist Pagan Past and Christian Present in Early Irish Lit-
eval Celtic literary composition hardly deterred the rich body
erature (1990). In light of what is now known both about
of story preserved thereby from refining and applying the in-
continental Celtic religious belief and practice (particularly
herited sacred model of the Indo-European “tripartite” soci-
as these engaged in cultural dialogue with those of the
ety, mapped onto the landscape by way of place names and
Greeks, Etruscans, and Romans) and about medieval Irish
local associations and traced in the contours of a historicized
and Welsh cultures engaged in lively cross-cultural commu-
but still fundamentally mythic past. The reflections and re-
nication on the northwestern edge of Christendom, it is no
fractions of social structure and thought on display in reli-
longer scholarly wisdom, as it once was, to view the Celtic
gious symbolism as expressed through story and image also
peoples as having been compulsively conservative in regard
loom large in Jan de Vries’s Keltische Religion, also published
to their religious traditions. Indeed the tendency is now to
in 1961, which focuses primarily on the available evidence
highlight the syncretistic trends that have produced what
concerning the continental Celts and their modes and ob-
were once thought to be characteristically Celtic religious
jects of worship. Druids staged a dramatic comeback on the
concepts of either the pre-Christian or Christian era or con-
scholarly scene, this time viewed from a more archaeological-
cepts that seem to straddle both (Borsje, 1996; Mackey,
ly and sociologically informed perspective, in Stuart Piggott’s
1989; Sjöblom, 2000). Stemming in part from hyperrevi-
The Druids (1968) and Françoise Le Roux’s Les druides
sionist critiques of Celtic and Indo-European as cultural cat-
(1961).
egories, an even more radical scholarly approach to the study
of Celtic religious traditions emerged in 1999, spearheaded
Proinsias Mac Cana’s perennial Celtic Mythology (1970)
by Simon James. Receiving considerable attention but not
inaugurated a golden age of scholarship informed by a confi-
immediately widely embraced, James’s approach highlights
dence that key themes and motifs in Celtic religion and my-
the impact of the geographic contiguity or proximity of peo-
thology could be securely identified and interpreted (Gray,
ples over linguistic and cultural inheritance as a factor in de-
1981–1983; Sayers, 1985; Sterckx, 1981). Such studies judi-
termining the outcome of cultural development, including
ciously combined an openness to the nuances of the linguis-
religion.
tic, literary, and archaeological evidence with those elements
of Dumézil’s and Sjoestedt’s approaches that served the Celt-
A controversy over a familiar and formulaic phrase from
ic materials best—such as viewing sovereignty myths and rit-
medieval Irish literature serves as a demonstration of some
uals as fundamentally religious, making a distinction be-
of the key shifts in perspective and agenda that have shaped
tween culture heroes who operate within the social realm and
scholarship on Celtic religions. A recurring preface to heroic
those who ambivalently dwell on its borders, and appreciat-
boast or assertion in a body of late Old Irish and early Middle
ing the “multitasking” that characterizes the careers of god-
Irish tales constituting what is called the Ulster Cycle, having
desses and other mythological females. Busying themselves
to do with heroes and situations pertaining to a period well
more with the details than with the big picture, scholars of
before the coming of Christianity, is, to the effect, “I swear
the latter half of the twentieth century prudently shied away
by the god(s) my people swear by.” This expression was con-
from perpetuating a monolithic concept of Celtic “religion”
sidered an example of what much in the Ulster Cycle seems
or “mythology” and grew more sensitive to the diversity of
to offer, namely, “a window on the Iron Age” (Jackson,
religions and mythologies that historically developed among
1964), replete with a pre-Christian worldview, tribal gods for
the Celts, who themselves were never a single people.
one’s people to swear by (parallel perhaps to the continental
A major contribution of the second half of the twentieth
Celtic deity Teutates “God of the People”), and other ele-
century to the evolving understanding of Celtic religious tra-
ments of belief and practice that seemed more reflective 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
1500
CELTIC RELIGION: HISTORY OF STUDY
pre-Romanized Gaul than of early Christian Ireland. In the
Maier, Bernhard. Die Religion der Kelten: Götter-Mythen-Weltbild.
late twentieth century this attractive reading of the Ulster
Munich, 2001. An up-to-date and reliable survey of the sub-
Cycle as a portal into the Celtic past was challenged, and the
ject; the opening chapter deftly covers some of the major in-
argument made that the “I swear” expression is a Christian-
tellectual trends that have influenced the study of Celtic
era invention meant to evoke the flavor of an imagined pre-
religion.
Christian past (Ó hUiginn, 1989). A scholarly battle ensued,
McCone, Kim. Pagan Past and Christian Present in Early Irish Lit-
with the original interpretation of the phrase stoutly defend-
erature. Maynooth, Ireland, 1990.
ed by Calvert Watkins (1990).
Meyer, Kuno, and Alfred Nutt. The Voyage of Bran, Son of Febal
to the Land of the Living: An Old Irish Saga. 2 vols. London,
Whatever the outcome of this controversy and whether
1895–1897. As well as an edition and translation of this and
or not the expression is authentically pre-Christian, there is
other texts that are important for an understanding of the
still much to be learned about the religious traditions of the
concept of the otherworld that inhabits early Irish literature,
continental and insular Celtic peoples. Surprisingly, or per-
this work contains Nutt’s characteristic “Essay on the Irish
haps not so, the increasing availability of different types of
Vision of the Happy Otherworld and the Celtic Doctrine of
data (textual, archaeological, and folkloric) and the increas-
Rebirth.”
ing confidence in understanding and using them has made
Nagy, Joseph Falaky. The Wisdom of the Outlaw: The Boyhood
Celtic scholars more hesitant to treat sources as unambiguous
Deeds of Finn in Gaelic Narrative Tradition. Berkeley, Calif.,
time capsules and more leery of blanket statements of the sort
1985.
that used to characterize the study of Celtic religion and that
Nagy, Joseph Falaky. “Folklore Studies and the Mabinogion.” In
still, alas, bedevil the seemingly endless stream of popular
150 Jahre “Mabinogion”—Deutsche-Walische Kulturbezie-
published treatments of the subject. At this stage of knowl-
hungen, edited by Bernhard Maier and Stefan Zimmer, with
edge of Celtic religion, those who truly know their Celtic ar-
Christiane Batke, pp. 91–100. Tübingen, Germany, 2001.
chaeology or their Celtic literatures are hardly ready to swear
Ó Cathasaigh, Tomás. The Heroic Biography of Cormac mac Airt.
to anything, by any god.
Dublin, 1977.
Ó hUiginn, Ruairí. “Tongu do dia toinges mo thuath and Related
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Expressions.” In Sages, Saints, and Storytellers: Celtic Studies
Borsje, Jacqueline. From Chaos to Enemy: Encounters with Monsters
in Honour of Professor James Carney, edited by Donnchadh
in Early Irish Texts; An Investigation Related to the Process of
Ó Corráin, Liam Breatnach, and Kim McCone,
Christianization and the Concept of Evil. Turnhout, Belgium,
pp. 332–341. Maynooth, Ireland, 1989.
1996.
O’Rahilly, Thomas F. Early Irish History and Mythology. Dublin,
Gray, Elizabeth A. “Cath Maige Tuired: Myth and Structure.”
1946.
Éigse 18 (1981): 183–209; 19 (1982–1983): 1–35, 230–262.
Piggott, Stuart. The Druids. London, 1968. The latter half of the
Gruffydd, William John. Math vab Mathonwy: An Inquiry into the
book includes a helpful survey of early modern popular and
Origins and Development of the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi
scholarly attitudes toward druids and Celtic religion in
with Text and a Translation. Cardiff, 1928.
general.
Jackson, Kenneth Hurlstone. The Oldest Irish Tradition: A Win-
Rees, Alwyn, and Brinley Rees. Celtic Heritage: Ancient Tradition
dow on the Iron Age. Cambridge, U.K., 1964.
in Ireland and Wales. London, 1961.
James, Simon. The Atlantic Celts: Ancient People or Modern Inven-
Rhyˆs, Sir John. Lectures on the Origin and Growth of Religion as
tion? London, 1999.
Illustrated by Celtic Heathendom. London, 1888.
Le Roux, Françoise. Les druides. Paris, 1961. Later editions, coau-
Ross, Anne. Pagan Celtic Britain: Studies in Iconography and Tra-
thored with Christian Guyonvarc’h, are considerably ex-
dition. London, 1967.
panded but not necessarily improvements on the original.
Sayers, William. “Fergus and the Cosmogonic Sword.” History of
Lysaght, Patricia. The Banshee: The Irish Death-Messenger (1986).
Religions 25 (1985): 30–56.
Boulder, Colo., 1997.
Sims-Williams, Patrick. “Some Celtic Otherworld Terms.” In
Mac Cana, Proinsias. Celtic Mythology (1970). Rev. ed. New York,
Celtic Language, Celtic Culture: A Festschrift for Eric P. Hamp,
1983.
edited by A. T. E. Matonis and Daniel F. Melia, pp. 57–81.
MacCulloch, John Arnott. The Religion of the Ancient Celts. Edin-
Van Nuys, Calif., 1990.
burgh, 1911.
Sjöblom, Tom. Early Irish Taboos: A Study in Cognitive History.
Mackey, James P., ed. An Introduction to Celtic Christianity. Edin-
Helsinki, Finland, 2000.
burgh, 1989.
Sjoestedt, Marie-Louise. Gods and Heroes of the Celts. Translated
MacNeill, Máire. The Festival of Lughnasa: A Study of the Survival
by Myles Dillon. London, 1948. Dillon’s English translation
of the Celtic Festival of the Beginning of Harvest. London,
of Les dieux et héros des Celtes (1940).
1962.
Sterckx, Claude. La tête et les seins: La mutilation rituelle des enemis
Maier, Bernhard. Lexikon der keltischen Religion und Kultur. Stutt-
et le concept de 1’âme. Saarbrücken, Germany, 1981.
gart, 1994. Available in English as Dictionary of Celtic Reli-
Vendryes, Joseph. La religion des Celtes (1948). Spézet, France,
gion and Culture. Translated by Cyril Edwards. Rochester,
1997. An additional critical apparatus (including bibliogra-
N.Y., 1997. Contains entries on and brief bibliographies for
phy) supplied by Pierre-Yves Lambert adds to the value of
most of the concepts and authors mentioned in this article.
this reissue of Vendryes’s work.
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CENTER OF THE WORLD
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Vries, Jan de. Keltische Religion. Stuttgart, 1961.
SYMBOLIC FORMS. In order to illustrate how widespread is
Watkins, Calvert. “Some Celtic Phrasal Echoes.” In Celtic Lan-
the concept of the center of the world and how constant is
guage, Celtic Culture: A Festschrift for Eric P. Hamp, edited
its basic meaning, some of its most common symbolic forms
by A. T. E. Matonis and Daniel F. Melia, pp. 47–56. Van
may be noted. Amond these are the sacred mountain; the
Nuys, Calif., 1990.
cosmic tree; the bridge or ladder connecting cosmic realms;
sanctuaries, temples, tombs; sacred cities; domestic space;
JOSEPH F. NAGY (2005)
personal space; and sacred sound.
In Asia one finds the elaborate religious symbolism of
Mount Meru, the cosmic mountain whose complex symbol-
CENTER OF THE WORLD. The importance of
ic meanings are put forth especially in the post-Vedic litera-
the symbolism of the center of the world can hardly be over-
ture of India, particularly in the Pura¯n:as of Hinduism, and
stated, for it establishes the order of the universe, drawing
in certain Buddhist texts. On its peak lie the cities of the
together the spiritual destiny of collective humankind and
gods. It has existed since the beginning of time. Upon its
that of the individual human being. The term center of the
slopes the waters of immortality are stored in Lake Anavatap-
world refers to that place where all essential modes of being
ta. The sacred river Ganges flows from Mount Meru. It is
come together; where communication and even passage
the fixed point about which revolve the sun and the stars.
among them is possible. The center of the world is the heart
Around it are gathered other sacred mountains. In ascending
of reality, where the real is fully manifest. The nature of this
the slopes of Mount Meru, one passes through all possible
manifestation may vary greatly from one culture to another,
spiritual states of being until, arriving at the summit, one
taking the form of a vague, undefined power or of the direct
transcends the particularities of any of them. Similarly, in
appearance of a divinity. Since this center stands apart as the
early Daoism, Kunlun is a cosmic mountain paradise con-
extraordinary place where the real is integral, it is always a
necting heaven and earth. In some accounts concerning the
sacred place, qualitatively different from mundane space. In
primordial human being named Pangu, Kunlun makes its
the religious world view, every ordered and habitable area
appearance from out of the chaotic flood waters that deluged
possesses such a center, a space that is sacred above all others.
the earth. It was here at the center of the universe that human
For this reason, the center of the world should not be por-
life was created and the world regenerated.
trayed in purely geometric terms or forms. It is because the
center of the world is defined by its special relationship to
In the Zhuangzi and Liezi, Kunlun is the place where
the sacred that there can be multiple centers in any cosmos
the Yellow Emperor “dies” to the mundane world and flies
or microcosm. Cultures in Mesopotamia, India, and China,
to heaven in the immortal form of a bird-man. Also in the
for example, saw no inconsistency in recognizing a large
Liezi is a description of the mountain Hu-ling, which forms
number of sacred places, each one called “the center of the
the center of a paradise whose inhabitants are rejuvenated by
world.” The center of the world is a locus in mythic geogra-
the water bubbling forth from the sacred spring on its sum-
phy, a symbolic portrayal of the real, known, and essential
mit. The spirit is the only vehicle that can transport one on
aspects of the world, rather than a detached and objective
a journey across the slopes of this cosmic mountain. To find
reckoning of abstract space.
one’s way to this mountain is to return to the beginning of
time, where one’s adult body becomes once again virginal,
In cultures that conceive of the universe as multiple
and one’s mind attains undifferentiated knowledge, limitless
realms of heavens, hells, and strata for various kinds of be-
as a bottomless spring. The ascent transcends all particular
ings, the center of the world is that point where all realms
states and attains the mode of preexistence, the condition of
intersect and where the most direct contact with the sacred
the “spirit man”(shen-jen), spoken of as the Daoist ideal of
is obtained. Existence of a sacred center allows for the estab-
the holy man in the Liezi, Huainanzi, and the Zhuangzi.
lishment of a world system, a body of imaged realities that
are related to one another: a sacred point that stands apart
Examples of cosmic mountains that stand at the center
from the homogeneity of general space; symbolic openings
of the world make up a very long list. The central mountain
from one level of reality to another; an axis mundi (tree,
of Uralo-Altaic cosmology, Sumbur, Sumur, or Semeru, lay
mountain, ladder, vine, or pillar) that symbolizes the com-
directly under the North Star, which fixed the central point
munication between cosmic regions; and the extension of an
of the heavens. In Norse mythology, Hininbjörg, the “heav-
organized and habitable world that exists around the center.
enly mountain,” lies at the center of the earth, where the
This cosmos constructed around a sacred center lies in oppo-
rainbow touches the celestial vault. In the Hebrew Bible (Jgs.
sition to the chaotic space beyond it, which has neither been
9:37) Mount Gerizim is referred to as t:abur ha-arets, “the
ordered by the gods nor consecrated in rituals imitating the
navel of the earth.” Indeed, there are traditions that report
divine creative acts. That indeterminate space beyond the
that the land of Palestine is so high, located as it is near the
cosmos remains uninhabitable by human beings because it
heights of the cosmic mountain, that it alone remained un-
is a place where communication with the supernatural world
flooded during the Deluge. Mount Tabor, in its very name,
is impossible. In the “other world” dwell demonic beings,
may share associations with the navel, t:abur, of the earth. A
ghosts, monsters, souls of the dead, or foreigners.
ninth-century Islamic tradition argued by al-Kisa¯’¯ı of Kufa
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CENTER OF THE WORLD
holds the sacred KaEbah to be the highest place on earth, lo-
The symbolism of the center of the world may be ex-
cated directly beneath the North Star (i.e., at the center of
pressed through a range of other symbols—a ladder, a vine,
the world). In a Christian tradition from the Syrian Book of
a rope, a bridge—all of which serve as an axis mundi connect-
the Cave of Treasures, Golgotha was the center of the world,
ing heaven and earth or various cosmic realms of being. For
the summit of the cosmic mountain, and the culmination of
example, for the Desana, a Tucano-speaking group of the
salvation history. It was there that Adam was created and
Vaupés River area of southern Colombia, the center of the
buried, in the same place in which the blood of Christ was
world is occupied by the Go’a-mëe, which transfixes all zones
shed to redeem the world. The image of the cosmic moun-
of the universe through their center. Go’a-mëe is likened to
tain immediately introduces us to the concept of axis mundi,
the penis of the creator Sun Father. In the image of a tubular
the “hub of the world,” which symbolizes the communica-
bone (ve’e go’á), it joins all the cosmic levels together in an
tion between cosmic realms. It likewise brings up the sym-
act of continuous intercourse. This immense phallus at the
bolism of ascension, since one may transcend the planes of
center of the world is a fundamental part of the creation,
existence along a vertical axis.
since it carries the “yellow intention,” the solar semen of the
Another widely known symbol of the center of the
creator, into the cosmic uterus, Ahpikondía (“river of milk”),
world is the cosmic tree, which transfixes the levels of the
from which all life comes.
world, making communication and passage among them
The image of the center as the locus of all powers and
possible. At the center of the world in the Baltic religious tra-
passage makes clear the religious significance of a range of
ditions stood the Saules Koks, the “tree of the sun.” It grew
holy sites, from informal sanctuaries to temples, cathedrals,
out of the top of the mountain of heaven, the farmland of
or even whole cities. The Mandan, a Plains Indian group
the heavenly supreme being Dievs. It is the source of life. Al-
now living in North Dakota, placed a circular shrine in the
though earthly species of tree may represent the tree of the
center of each of their villages. It was constructed of wood
sun, it is unique and inaccessible, it may be described as
panels nearly two meters in height. In the center of the shrine
made of precious metal, gold, or silver. A supernatural orb
stood a cedar post, the image of the supernatural being
descends through its branches, perhaps associated with Saule,
named One Man, who lived in the times spoken of in myth.
the sun herself, who is the mother of all life. Likewise, among
One Man was the brother of the first human being. The Ac-
the Maya of Mesoamerica during the Classic period (300–
hilpa, an Aranda (Arunta) tribe in Australia, install Kauwa-
900 CE) the universe was centered on Yaxche, the “first, or
auwa, a sacred pole fashioned from the trunk of a gum tree,
green, tree,” extending upward to the zenith (the white inter-
in their settlements. It is the pillar that their legendary ances-
val between east and west) and downward to the nadir (the
tor Numbakula constructed, anointed with blood, and used
yellow interval between west and east).
to ascend into the sky during the mythic period. It is the
Certain Babylonian inscriptions refer to the black tree
means of communication between this world and the world
named Kiskanu that grows at Eridu, a place at the center of
above; between this period of time and the mythical time of
the world. This sacred tree is described in cosmic terms: it
the ancestor. Whenever the Achilpa wander as a group, they
shines with the lapis-lazuli radiance of the starry night and
carry Kauwa-auwa with them and head in the direction to-
spreads its boughs out toward the cosmic ocean that encom-
ward which the sacred pole inclines. In this way communica-
passes the world. It is the place where Ea (Enki), the god of
tion with the supernatural will always be possible.
fertility and of cultural skills, is present, and the resting place
Standing at the center of the world, the temple too
of Bau, Ea’s mother, the goddess of abundant flocks and agri-
spans all levels of reality. The Rock of Jerusalem reaches
culture. The Voluspá, the Scandinavian creation story, tells
E
down into the waters below the earth (Heb., tehom). Directly
of Yggdrasill, the cosmic tree whose roots penetrate the cen-
over this watery chaos, the Mishnah locates the Temple. The
ter of the earth. Óðinn (Odin) leaves his eye in the Spring
Rock of the Temple of Jerusalem thus closes “the mouth of
of Mmir (“memory” or “meditation”), located near Yggdra-
the tehom.” The Babylonian sanctuaries of Nippur and Larsa
sill, in exchange for the privilege of refreshing his wisdom
were given the title duranki, “link between heaven and
there whenever he returns. Near the foot of Yggdrasill, at the
earth.” In ancient Babylon the temple also served to connect
spring of Urðr (Urd) located there, the divinities pronounce
heaven and earth: it was built upon babapsu, “gate of apsu,”
judgments. Water is drawn from the spring of Urðr by three
the watery chaos that existed before creation. The stupa of
Norns, maidens who govern the fate of humans. In the
Borobudur in Java was built in the form of a mountain occu-
branches of Yggdrasill, which spread out across heaven and
pying the center of the cosmos. It is here at the center of the
earth, live supernatural animals. At the foot of the tree lies
universe that one may have the most direct contact with
the enormous cosmic serpent, Niðhoggr (Nidhogg), who
E
Buddhahood. By ascending the stages of the stupa, the pil-
threatens the very existence of the tree by gnawing continual-
grim passes through all realms of reality.
ly upon it. At the very top of the tree perches an eagle who
does daily battle with the destructive serpent. The Voluspá
In some cases, a city becomes the sacred place where
E
describes not only the creation of the world but its demise
heaven and earth come together. Architects designing sacred
when it gives way to a paradisal epoch. Even at that time,
capitals oriented the sites to the cosmic powers that filled
Yggdrasill will endure.
them with their sacred force and rendered them habitable.
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1503
Ritual actions focused the supernatural power of a kingdom
abled the yogin to identify his “mystical body” as a whole
within the city confines. In Thailand a new monarch per-
microcosm. As each internal cakra, the “wheel” where cosmic
formed a ceremonial tour (liap mo’an˙) around his capital. In
life and psychic life intersect, is activated, the practitioner
Egypt, a ceremony called the Circuit of the White Wall was
progressively penetrates into the center of an interior
celebrated when a new pharaoh came to Memphis. The prac-
man:d:ala, an image of the universe.
tice was modeled on the actions of Menes, who had designed
There is an impulse to replicate the image of the center
the sacred city. When Romulus determined the circumfer-
of the universe in multiple forms. At one stage in the creation
ence of Rome, he plowed a furrow in such a way as to form
of the universe, according to the Dogon of Mali, a supernat-
the city on the model of the cosmos as a whole. This line,
ural being connected the heavenly and earthly realms with
the pomerium, was marked then by stones and considered
thread fibers into which he wove symbols of the creative
holy. Not only was the capital city made habitable by its con-
word spoken by Amma, the supreme being. The symbolism
secration as a sacred place, the capital itself became the center
of fibers passing back and forth from heaven to earth is re-
for diffusion of sacred forces throughout the wider kingdom.
peated in the image of a special drum, whose two heads are
Through the city gates, sacred power, generated at the center
bound together in an intricate pattern of thread fibers. The
of the capital during its ceremonies, passed out to the extend-
same meaning is continued in children’s games in which the
ed world. In this way, the city, often built on a heavenly
child’s hands are identified with the hands of the supernatu-
model, becomes a source of resanctification and sacred re-
ral being, and the “cat’s cradle” of thread drawn between the
newal for a world corrupted over time. Such was the function
child’s fingers imitates the creative word-threads communi-
of the sacred cities of Cuzco, the Inca capital in the Andes
cated between heaven and earth. Weaving itself, and the
of South America, and Tenochtitlán, the Aztec capital and
loom, are invested with the same symbolic value. Rains are
center of life forces throughout Mesoamerica in the early six-
imagined to be moist breath-threads rewound into the heav-
teenth century CE. Tenochtitlán was called “the root,” “the
ens along the sun’s rays by the copper spirals of moisture that
navel,” and “the heart” of the earthly layer in the cosmos. It
entwine the sun. This sort of replication of the image of the
was the “supreme” place in which the world of humans was
axis mundi in village sites, house plans, ritual furnishings,
joined with the Giver of Life, for it supported the multiple
personal ornaments, games, and cooking utensils tends to
layers of the celestial realm and communicated with the un-
identify the fullness of being characteristic of the center of
derworld. As the Aztec adage says: “Who would conquer Te-
the world with the universe as a whole.
nochtitlán? Who could shake the foundation of heaven?”
(cited in Miguel León-Portilla, Pre-Colombian Literatures of
Although emphasis falls on the center of the world as
Mexico, Norman, Okla., 1968, p. 87).
a point of contact with the heavenly world and, therefore,
associated with the symbolism of ascent, it should be made
The symbolism of the center of the world is by no
clear that, at the center of the world, one also communicates
means limited to extravagant cases. The house often contains
with underground realms of being. Insofar as these under-
the center of the world. The Barasana of the northwest Ama-
ground realms may be connected with death and the descent
zon conceive of their maloca, the longhouse in which an ex-
of the soul at death, rituals that employ symbolic death (such
tended family lives, in the image of the universe, especially
as initiations) often take place at the center of the world.
at the time of the Yurupary festival. During the rites known
Death requires passage from one state of being to another.
as He, the longhouse becomes the center of the universe,
On the Northwest Coast of North America the Kwakiutl
where life began when a mythic ancestor anaconda swam
candidate, undergoing a symbolic death during his initiation
there and disintegrated into the many separate parts which
into a dancing society, declares “I am at the center of the
formed the separate lineages of the tribe. From his long
world!” He stands at the foot of a cedar “cannibal pole”
bones came the sacred flutes and long trumpets played dur-
wrapped in red bark, which imbues it with supernatural
ing the festival. These instruments are laid end to end to re-
power, nawalak. On the other hand, the kind of death associ-
construct—literally to remember—the ancestor as he was,
ated with the center of the world may be more literally con-
whole and entire, at the beginning of time at the center of
ceived. In these cases, the tomb comes to be the center of the
the house-universe. In the Barasana tradition the whole
world.
house is “cosmicized” for the cermonial occasion. In other
cultures, some structure in the house serves as an image of
Intriguing also is the suggestion that at the center of the
the center of the world; a central beam, center post, or chim-
world is found a sound or set of sounds, usually sacred music
ney, the smoke hole or hearth, and so on.
of some sort, which effects the transition between world le-
vels. Already mentioned is the image of the Dogon drum,
The tendency to find the center of the universe in multi-
the percussive instrument that effects transition and em-
ple locations may be carried as far as the discovery of it within
bodies the image of the axis mundi in its own construction.
one’s own body. Such is the case in certain Tantric schools
In the universe of the Warao Indians of the Orinoco Delta
that rejected the validity of an external man:d:ala but insisted
of Venezuela, transition from one realm of the cosmos to an-
rather on locating the center of the man:d:ala within the
other is made by crossing a snake-bridge. The snake has mu-
yogin. The interior man:d:ala, an image of the universe, en-
sical bells on its horns. The shaman learns how to pass from
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1504
CENTER OF THE WORLD
one cosmic zone to another by singing the sounds he hears
installation of the structures of the cosmos. The sacred lodge
(sung by flowers, insects, supernatural beings) when he first
of the Algonquin people of North America embodies the es-
makes the journey. The Chiripá shamans of eastern Paraguay
sential structures of the universe. The construction itself is
sing a sacred song that is said to be “like a bridge” that per-
the cosmogony: the doors and windows are the four cardinal
mits communication between the heavenly and earthly
directions, each with its own color. The roof is the vault of
worlds. Especially in religious worldviews wherein every kind
heaven, the floor the earth. Human beings situate their cultic
of being possesses sounds unique to it, ritually controlled
life at the center of this microcosm. The rites of the center
combinations of sound in sacred music “convocalize,” or
include not only constructions reenacting the cosmogony
convoke, different realms of being by bringing them together
but also rites of ascent, descent, and transition between states
at one time. The spatial images discussed earlier bring multi-
of being. Rites of sacrifice are properly celebrated at this
ple realms of being together in the same place; sacred music
point, where the spirit of the victim may pass from one plane
and sound may bring together multiple realms of being in
to another. Construction sacrifices consecrate foundations
the same time.
and give life to the forms of buildings and bridges by using
the cosmogony as their model. Curing rituals are often per-
ASSOCIATED ACTIONS AND ATTITUDES. Even these few illus-
formed at the center, where life can be regenerated, powerful
trations demonstrate a number of actions consistently appro-
and fresh, just as it was once generated for the first time at
priate to the range of ideas and symbols associated with the
the moment of creation.
center of the world. To begin with, the sacred place, the locus
of the center of the world, is set apart, deliberately made sa-
All of these symbolisms of the center reflect the spiritual
cred; that is, in spite of its ordinary and profane aspects it
need for orientation to what is sacred. It is this proximity to
is a place where communication with extraordinary beings
the sacred that makes human life possible, for it satisfies the
is possible. The place may be made sacred by the arbitrary
mature spiritual need for what is real and has meaning.
and unprovoked appearance of a supernatural power (krato-
The examples depict an ambivalence inherent in the
phany), or the sacralizing event may be the appearance of a
symbolism of the center. The spatial images themselves sug-
god (theophany). Generally speaking, we may say that a
gest two things at the same time: communication and distant
place may be set apart by an appearance of the sacred (hiero-
separation. The very cosmic tree and mountain that join
phany). A second means of setting a place apart from profane
heaven and earth together also hold them apart from one an-
space is through acts of deliberate consecration carried on by
other. This ambivalence of the center describes well a prima-
human beings in ritual. The examples cited show how closely
ry quality of religious experience. On the one hand, the jour-
the center of the world is associated with creation. This
ney to the center may be arduous and dangerous. No one
makes it easier to understand why the ritual construction of
may have access to the center, to different states of being,
sacred spaces repeats, in stylized and symbolic form, the ac-
without careful preparation and spiritual strength. The jour-
tions of the cosmogony. Just as the primordial moment of
ney to the center may require a complete transformation of
creation underlies all creative instances, so too does the place
one’s spiritual being. On the other hand, the image of the
of origin become the point toward which all other life-filled
center of the world is replicated in multiple forms. This en-
space is oriented.
sures that communication with the fullness of reality is every-
In the rites of Vedic sacrifice, for example, “the sacrificer
where possible. Easy access to other modes of being is remi-
makes himself a ladder and a bridge to reach the celestial
niscent of the paradisiacal state of the universe when it first
world” (Taittir¯ıya Sam:hita¯ 6.6.4.2). Before he (sometimes in
came into being. The difficulty of passage to the center ap-
company with his wife) can ascend to the upper world, the
pears to be founded on the experience that communication
sacrificer must first prepare and consecrate the sacrificial
with or acquisition of new states of being means a cessation,
stake, the yu¯pa. This is fashioned from a tree likened to the
or “death,” of one’s profane state of being. Nevertheless, the
cosmic tree. After the yu¯pa is made, it is installed as a cosmic
ease with which one may enter the center of the world draws
pillar, upholding and connecting all realms of being: “Lift
upon a profound knowledge of the nature of religious sym-
thyself up, O Lord of the Forest, unto the summit of the
bolism, in this case, the symbolism of the center: its multiva-
earth!” (R:gveda 3.8.3.) The idea is made explicit in the
lent character makes it capable of extending its significance
S´atapatha Bra¯hman:a (3.7.1.4): “With thy summit thou dost
to multiple levels of meaning and planes of reference. For ex-
hold up the heavens, with thy branches thou fillest the air,
ample, the symbolism of the center, with great consistency
with thy foot thou steadiest the earth.” While ascending the
of meaning, applies to the center of the universe, the center
stake, he may extend his arms, just as a bird stretches out its
of the residential unit, the center of the village, the home,
wings, and exclaim, “I have attained to heaven, to the gods:
the ritual space, the human physiology mystically conceived,
I have become immortal!” (Taittir¯ıya Sam:hita¯, 1.7.9.)
and the act of spiritual concentration. On every plane, the
significance of the symbolism of the center of the world un-
The consecration of sacred space undertakes to create
derlines the fact that at the heart of existence lies an experi-
the world, in symbolic terms, and thus make it habitable;
ence and a mode of being entirely different from the ordinary
that is, make communication possible with powerful beings
world centered on it. Paradoxically, it is from this conjunc-
who are the source of creativity. Consecration, then, involves
tion of beings that the reality of this world derives.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CENTRAL BANTU RELIGIONS
1505
SEE ALSO Axis Mundi; Bridges; Cities; Consecration;
Rodney Needham’s “Percussion and Transition,” Man 2
Home; Mountains; Orientation; Temple; Trees.
(December 1967): 606–614. For a discussion of how the
cosmic winds of the four quarters become centered and
B
“holy” in the sacred sounds of ritual speech, see James K.
IBLIOGRAPHY
Extensive bibliography and lucid discussion of the symbolism of
McNeley’s Holy Wind in Navajo Philosophy (Tucson, 1982)
the center of the world can be found in Mircea Eliade’s Pat-
and Gary Witherspoon’s “The Central Concepts of Navajo
terns in Comparative Religion (New York, 1958), esp.
World View,” Linguistics 119 (1972): 41–59. On the temple
pp. 367–387. See also Eliade’s The Sacred and the Profane:
as a locus of the union of beings, see David Dean Shulman’s
The Nature of Religion (New York, 1959), pp. 20–67, and
Tamil Temple Myths: Sacrifice and Divine Marriage in the
his Images and Symbols: Studies in Religious Symbolism (New
South Indian Saiva Tradition (Princeton, 1980).
York, 1969), pp. 27–56.
For a consideration of the way in which the sacredness of the cen-
Other studies, with helpful bibliographies, investigate specific im-
ter relates, in a paradoxical way, to the boundaries of space,
ages and instances of the center of the world. On the cosmic
see Victor Turner’s “The Center Out There: Pilgrim’s Goal,”
mountain, see Joseph W. Bastien’s Mountain of the Condor:
History of Religions 12 (February 1973): 191–230, and Ge-
Metaphor and Ritual in an Andean Ayllu (Saint Paul, Minn.,
rardo Reichel-Dolmatoff’s Amazonian Cosmos: The Sexual
1978), and I. W. Mabbett’s “The Symbolism of Mount
and Religious Symbolism of the Tukano Indians (Chicago,
Meru,” History of Religions 23 (August 1983): 64–83. On the
1971), esp. pp. 47–55, 116–117.
cosmic tree, see Y. T. Hosoi’s “The Sacred Tree in Japanese
New Sources
Prehistory,” History of Religions 16 (November 1976): 95–
Nasr, Seyyed Hossein. “To Live in a World with No Center—and
119. For a discussion of ways in which the mountain, cosmic
Many.” Cross Currents 46, no. 3 (Fall 1996): 318–325.
tree, city, cave, and temple may be drawn together and over-
lap in the symbolism of the center, see the essays in Me-
MIRCEA ELIADE (1987)
LAWRENCE E. SULLIVAN (1987)
soamerican Sites and World-Views, edited by Elizabeth P.
Revised Bibliography
Benson (Washington, D.C., 1981). Regarding the personal-
ization of cosmic space, see Catherine L. Albanese’s “The
Multi-Dimensional Mandala: A Study in the Interiorization
of Sacred Space,” Numen 24 (April 1977): 1–25. On the
CENTRAL ASIAN RELIGIONS SEE
image of a city, see Werner Müller’s, Die heilige Stadt: Roma
BUDDHISM, ARTICLE ON BUDDHISM IN CENTRAL
quadrate, himlisches Jerusalem und die Mythe vom Weltnabel
ASIA; INNER ASIAN RELIGIONS; ISLAM, ARTICLE
(Stuttgart, 1961); Paul Wheatley’s The Pivot of the Four
ON ISLAM IN CENTRAL ASIA
Quarters: A Preliminary Enquiry into the Origins and Charac-
ter of the Ancient Chinese City (Chicago, 1971); and Paul
Wheatley and Thomas See’s From Court to Capital: A Tenta-
CENTRAL BANTU RELIGIONS. The term cen-
tive Interpretation of the Origins of the Japanese Urban Tradi-
tion (Chicago, 1978). See also Davíd Carrasco’s “City as
tral Bantu, as used here, refers to speakers of languages be-
Symbol in Aztec Thought: The Clues from the Codex Men-
longing to the Bantu branch of Niger-Congo who live in the
doza,” History of Religions 20 (February 1981): 199–223. For
Congo Basin. They are spread over thousands of square miles
a comparative treatment of the role of city as center in reli-
stretching from the mouth of the Congo River on the Atlan-
gious literature and poetry, see James Dougherty’s The
tic to Lake Malawi and the Shire Basin in the east, lying be-
Fivesquare City: The City in the Religious Imagination (Notre
tween 4° and 17° south latitude. They occupy much of the
Dame, Ind., 1980). For a discussion of the center of the
Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire), Angola,
world as that place where the creative act imposes order on
Zambia, and Malawi, spilling over into the Congo Republic,
chaos, see N. J. Girardot’s Myth and Meaning in Early Tao-
Tanzania, and Zimbabwe. Much of the region is forested sa-
ism: The Themes of Chaos (Berkeley, 1983).
vanna interspersed with grasslands, except where the great
For Buddhist cosmographies and descriptions of Mount Meru as
equatorial forest thrusts southward into Kuba and Lele terri-
the center of all world systems, see Georges Coedès’s Les trois
tory in the northern part of the Democratic Republic of the
mondes (Paris, 1973). For treatment of the cosmic symbolism
Congo.
applied to the residence space, see Werner Müller’s Die blaue
Hütte (Wiesbaden, 1954). Concerning the “paradise” found
In 1980 the central Bantu peoples were estimated to
as a sacred mountain in the center of the universe, see Michel
number around ten million, divided among many groups va-
Soymié’s “Le Lo-feou chan: Étude de géographie réligieuse,”
rying in size from half a million to a few hundred. The best
Bulletin de l’École Française d’Extrême-Orient 48 (1956): 1–
known are the Bakongo, Basuku, Bakuba (including the
139. On the conception of the house as a microcosm, with
Bushong), Basilele, Baluba, Basongye, Balunda, Bachokwe,
the hearth or dance plaza as the center for ritual, see Anthony
Bandembu, Balubale, Balozi, Baila, Batonga, Balamba, Ba-
Jackson’s Na-khi Religion: An Analytical Appraisal of Na-khi
bemba, Babisa, Bachewa, and Bafipa. The nominal prefex ba
Ritual Texts (The Hague, 1979) and Christine Hugh-Jones’s
From the Milk River: Spatial and Temporal Processes in North-
is frequently dropped and the groups are referred to simply
west Amazonia (Cambridge, 1979), pp. 40–49, 235–282.
as Kongo, Suku, and so on. Lele and Ndembu religions,
For a discussion of sacred sound as an image of the axis
through the writings of Mary Douglas and Victor Turner,
mundi, see Lawrence E. Sullivan’s “Sacred Music and Sacred
have done much to shape current thought on religious sym-
Time,” World of Music (Berlin) 26, no. 3 (1984): 33–52; and
bols and the nature of ritual.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1506
CENTRAL BANTU RELIGIONS
The Luba and Lunda stress patrilineal descent. The Lozi
Drought, other natural disorders, infertility, and illness oc-
have a bilateral system. The other central Bantu are matrilin-
curred because of human failure or evil. Malevolent and am-
eal, but residence upon marriage varies: in the Democratic
bitious men and women who harnessed power for their own
Republic of the Congo, Angola, and south and west Zambia,
ends brought about suffering, death, and social and natural
the rule was that a wife moved to her husband’s residence,
chaos. Evil, then, was due to human intervention and was
and her sons returned to her brothers at maturity. In north-
seen as a perversion of the natural order. This was witchcraft.
ern Zambia and Malawi, on the other hand, men joined their
The natural order could be preserved or restored only by
wives, and the long-lasting links were those between women.
controlling the human disorder. When deaths or illnesses
During the twentieth century, residence became more flexi-
mounted, drought persisted, or general malaise afflicted a
ble. Prior to the late nineteenth century (before the colonial
community, people first appealed to known spirits in rituals
period) political organization varied. The Bushong, Luba,
that cast out anger and demonstrated solidarity while in turn,
Lunda, and Kongo (Democratic Republic of the Congo),
the spirits were asked to cool their wrath. In case of failure,
Lozi and Bemba (Zambia), and Chewa (Zambia and Mala-
people tried extraordinary measures, replacing charms and
wi) had created centralized states dominated by royal courts.
rituals that had lost power with new, vigorous ones or sum-
Others, such as the Tonga of Zambia, lived in small commu-
moning those who claimed to be able to identify and strip
nities whose leaders depended on personal influence. In the
witches of their magic. As the community was purified and
Democratic Republic of the Congo, Angola, and western
revitalized, the natural order was restored. De Craemer, Van-
Zambia, religious systems emphasized the central impor-
sina, and Fox believe that the religious history of the Congo
tance of charms in both public and private rituals and made
Basin has been marked by a sequence of revitalization cults
the spiritual realm manifest with carved figurines and
conforming to the same pattern.
masked dances. Elsewhere charms were used primarily in the
private search for power, while public rituals centered on
Central Bantu religions were also pragmatic, emphasiz-
prayer and offering. Despite the differences, the social and
ing ritual and practice rather than doctrine. Heresy could not
religious systems of the savanna region had a common base.
exist. Rituals, moreover, were a means to immediate practical
C
ends and were not intended to merge the human with the
OMMON BASE. A comparison of the myths and ritual sym-
bols of the Kuba, Luba, and Lunda of the Democratic Re-
divine. They were performed to obtain rain, fertility of crops
public of the Congo and the Bemba of Zambia led Luc de
and women, success in hunting, protection from misfortune,
Heusch to the conclusion that the savanna peoples share a
recovery from illness, and to regulate the transition of com-
common symbolic vocabulary. He attributes this to their
munity members from one life phase to another (especially
common ideological heritage from proto-Bantu ancestors.
from death to protecting ancestor status). Researchers in the
This common heritage was reinforced with the expansion of
region have not reported the existence of highly developed
centralized states, which tended to imitate each other, and
mythologies, and theories about the nature, origin, or history
the growth of trading networks, which by the seventeenth
of spiritual beings appear not to have been elaborated. What
century linked much of the region into one great system.
spirits did—not what they were—was important. Spirits
Myths, he suggests, moved along the trade routes like mer-
were identified by effect, and when in doubt a diviner was
chandise (de Heusch, pp. 245–247). In fact, given the im-
consulted. In the area that has become the Democratic Re-
portance of charms or fetishes, which could be bought or
public of the Congo, Angola, and western Zambia, Bantu-
sold, much ritual material was merchandise, encouraging the
speaking peoples who used images and masks were con-
spread of cultic objects and organizations.
cerned with symbolic statement about action rather than
with a representation of substance. The majority of peoples
These materials could be accepted more easily because
who lived in the area that is now Zambia and Malawi made
before the period of colonial rule the religious systems of the
no images. They agreed with the Tonga, who said, “We call
region shared common values and beliefs about the nature
all spirits wind. Like wind we cannot see them. We only
of the cosmos and the role of humans, spirits, and impersonal
know what they are by what they do.”
powers in the cosmic order. All were based on the assump-
tion that a good human life is part of the natural order laid
A further common characteristic has been isolated by
down at creation. The supreme being, or creator, was seen
MacGaffey (1980), but he concludes that it was common to
as beneficent but remote. Spirits active in relation to human
all Bantu speakers with the exception of the Nyakyusa. Ac-
interests, whether ancestral spirits or spirits of nature, were
cording to MacGaffey, all religions of the Bantu-speaking
beneficent in principle. Power also existed throughout the
peoples distinguished between good and evil in terms of ef-
cosmos and was inherent in all phenomena—in plants, ani-
fects rather than means, and thus had a similar structure. An
mals, rocks, streams, and pools. It lay ready to be tapped and
act was good or bad depending upon the consequences. Di-
used by those who learned the correct techniques, and when
viners, herbalists, rulers, and great hunters were akin to
it was converted into magic or a charm it could then be used
witches in that they sought and use extraordinary power. If
to enhance human felicity or to destroy it.
evil resulted, then they were witches. All use of power for
Another common feature of central Bantu religions was
purely private ends were assumed to be at the expense of oth-
the belief that human disorder disturbed the cosmic order.
ers and therefore evil.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CENTRAL BANTU RELIGIONS
1507
These values and the view of a cosmos pervaded with
and a substantial amount of food. Until the twentieth centu-
power continue to hold, although today many central Bantu
ry game was usually abundant and hunting important. The
are Christians and a few are Muslims, and many beliefs and
contrasts between village and bush, domestic and wild, farm-
rituals reported in the early ethnographies disappeared dur-
ing and hunting, and birth and death were common ritual
ing the radical political and economic changes of the twenti-
motifs.
eth century. What follows, therefore, is a reconstruction
CULTS AND SPIRITS. Secret cults associated with initiation
based on what we know of nineteenth-century practices.
schools and masked performances existed in the area that has
S
become the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Angola
OCIAL SETTING. By the beginning of the twentieth century,
most central Bantu were subsistence cultivators, and their re-
and among Luvale, Chokwe, and Ndembu immigrants near
ligions echoed their concerns. In general the countryside was
the upper reaches of the Zambezi River. Their theme was ac-
well watered, but during the long dry season people depend-
cess to power. The Chewa near Lake Malawi also used masks
ed upon springs and pools, especially in the more arid south-
in the Nyau cult, which mimed the invasion of domestic
east. Rainfall was problematic, again especially in the south-
space by the spirits of the wild and the reign of disorder.
east where droughts are frequent. It is no accident that so
Many central Bantu religions lacked such cults, but there
much communal ritual was associated with appeals for rains,
were other cults that existed throughout the region. These
while spirits linked to territorial cults were thought to dwell
have been classified into four cult types: domestic or kinship,
in pools and springs or moist caverns.
territorial, professional, and healing. Each was the expression
of a particular community of interest—kinship, residence,
Because they are subject to leaching, tropical soils lose
occupation, and common suffering—and might have its own
fertility rapidly. Most soils of the Congo Basin, except for
set of shrines and mediators. Appeals were addressed to an-
river alluvials, are poor in nutrients and require long-term
cestors, dead heroes and rulers, and the spirits of nature
fallow. Tsetse flies inhibited the keeping of cattle and some-
through these cults.
times small stock except in a few grassland areas. The Lozi,
Ila, Tonga, and a few others had herds of cattle, but most
Absence of a cult of the creator. The creator—known
central Bantu depended on hunting and fishing for animal
as Nzambe in much of the Democratic Republic of the
protein. As a result population densities were low, averaging
Congo, Lesa over much of present-day Zambia, and
about 6.9 to the square mile in the 1960s after considerable
Mulungu among those in contact with Swahili speakers—
population increase.
was the ultimate source of life and the initiator of universal
order. Oaths used the creator’s name, and the will of the cre-
Cultivators lived in small villages, ranging in size from
ator provided the ultimate explanation when other explana-
forty to five hundred inhabitants, a size that left them highly
tions had failed. Rain, thunder, and lightning were manifes-
vulnerable to natural disasters and demographic failure.
tations of the creator; the falling rain was greeted with “The
High value was placed on fecundity and protection against
creator falls.” But there was no expectation that the creator
accidents or epidemics. Villages moved to new sites every few
was concerned with human affairs, and a cult with shrines,
years as soils became exhausted and game depleted. Those
priests, and offerings was not provided. J. Matthew Schof-
individuals dissatisfied with village morale or leadership
feleers believes that the Mbona cult of the southern Chewa
moved away to join kin elsewhere. Since neither permanent
was initially a cult of the creator. If so, this would be a unique
buildings nor ownership of land tied people to a single place,
instance; by historical times Mbona conformed to the pat-
communities were fragile, easily disrupted by quarrels or by
tern common among central Bantu-speaking peoples of of-
events that aroused the fear that witches were at work.
fering devotion to a spirit believed to be a former ruler or
spirit medium.
Archaeological evidence for agriculture dates back to the
early years of the first millennium. Most crops were annuals,
Because central Bantu peoples did not personify the cre-
although the Kongo had stands of palm oil and kola nut
ative force, they had no need to attribute gender to the cre-
while the Kuba and Lele grew raffia palm. Staple crops were
ator. Bantu languages, which all lack grammatical gender, do
the millets and sorghums first domesticated in Africa, and
not force the speaker to make such distinctions. When the
many agricultural rituals centered on these. By the end of the
creator became identified with the Christian God through
nineteenth century they were being displaced by maize and
the teaching of missionaries, many came to think of the cre-
cassava, which were first introduced from America to the At-
ator as male and father, but for the most part, the sex of the
lantic coast in the sixteenth century.
creator is seen as a matter unknowable to humans.
The village and its associated fields were viewed as do-
Spirits that dealt directly with humans might be given
mestic space subject to human control under the protection
sexual attributes, even if it was never believed that they were
of the spirits of the dead. The surrounding bush was un-
once human beings. They could be thought to have a definite
tamed space, controlled by nature spirits with whom humans
form, even if it was invisible, and diviners, mediums, and
had to come to an understanding since they depended upon
witches were sometimes said to be able to see them. They
the bush even more than upon their fields. The bush provid-
were given names and sometimes linked through genealogies
ed fuel, building materials, medicines, materials for crafts,
or arranged in hierarchical ranks of power.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1508
CENTRAL BANTU RELIGIONS
Ancestral spirits and domestic cults. The Kuba and
moned. The elder’s dwelling could serve as a lineage shrine
Lele were unique in having no ancestral cults. According to
as well as his household shrine, but special shrines also exist-
Vansina, this is a recent development among the Kuba, one
ed. They took the form of a simple post, a tree planted when
that is tied to the disappearance of lineage organization.
the homestead was built, a miniature dwelling, or a gateway
Their dead were thought to be reincarnated after only a brief
formed of two posts with a crossbar. Like all central Bantu
existence as ghosts.
shrines they were simple, impermanent, and could be built
again when need arose. First fruits were laid at the shrine.
Other central African peoples who believed in reincar-
At harvest or before sowing, lineage members gathered to
nation thought of the reincarnated spirits as free to come and
make offerings. This might include the ritual killing of a
go in the homesteads of their kin. These spirits were invoked
chicken, which then provided a communion meal. But resi-
in domestic rituals of households and lineages and also in the
dential patterns led to the dispersal of lineage members and
professional cults of specialists. It was believed that such spir-
only those who lived nearby came to the shrine. As a result,
its affected the welfare of their descendants and members of
most lineages had few members and a shallow time depth.
their descent groups. Whatever the system of descent, chil-
dren owed service to the spirits of their dead parents, grand-
Individuals who had special skills bestowed upon them
parents, and siblings. These spirits were installed as guardians
by an ancestor dedicated shrines to their spirit sponsor. Here
of their households, and they protected their dependents
the spirit was invoked before the person embarked on the
against intruding spirits and against charms sent by human
hunt or other activity, and it was thanked for success in the
malice. Periodically they were given offerings to assure them
enterprise. Such shrines also served as reminders that the liv-
that they were remembered and cared for.
ing followed a way of life created by those now dead and that
they could depend upon the knowledge the dead had ac-
Illness or personal misfortune, while it might be attri-
quired.
buted to witchcraft, also signified a breach between the dead
and the living caused by a living person’s neglect or wrong-
Territorial cults, heroes, and nature spirits. Because
doing. Divination discovered which ancestor or ancestors
villages had populations of diverse origin owing service to
harbored anger and why. The offender then made an offering
different sets of ancestors, lineage cults based on devotion to
with a prayer for renewed favor. Divination usually named
common ancestors could not serve village or neighborhood
those who had died recently, but the recent dead were asked
interests. Their common interests were the basis of territorial
to bring with them to share in the offering all those they
cults whose rituals dealt with rain, the ensurance of a harvest,
knew who were no longer known to the living. Beyond that
the communal hunt, and vulnerability to epidemic.
range the dead had lost all community with the living and
Some territorial cults had no permanent shrines but
existed only as malevolent wandering shades who could be
rather centered on spirit mediums who spoke under posses-
enlisted by witches.
sion as the embodiment of nature spirits, of those who had
Since the spirits had the same tastes as the living, the
first settled the land, or of ancient heroes or former rulers
Kongo offered them palm wine and kola nuts, a common
who had once had some interest in the territory. Other cults
provision for honored guests among the Kongo. Elsewhere
used natural shrines that were seen as places where spirits
the offering was of meal and water or beer or kaolin powder.
manifested themselves. These were usually deep pools, water-
The Tonga first offered meal and water, and if conditions
falls, caves, and high places. Here offerings of black cloth,
improved (meaning that the right spirit had been identified),
black beads, beer, domestic stock, meal, and water were
they offered beer. The beer had to be brewed from grain
made. Hoes and spears, the essential tools of cultivation and
grown by the members of the household for which the appeal
the hunt, were also appropriate offerings. Some communities
was being made. Because it was won with their sweat, it was
supplemented the natural shrines with miniature dwellings
endowed with their life force. Offering, therefore, had an ele-
or shelters, set apart from the village, where they appealed
ment of sacrifice.
to spirits thought to have once lived as members of their so-
cial group. Often these were identified as the first couple who
The common place of offering in domestic cults was the
had settled in the area and had first come to terms with the
doorway of the dwelling, which was associated with the com-
spirits of the land, making them proper intermediaries.
ing and going of the spirits. Most offerings took place in early
morning before spirits and people had dispersed for the day.
Officiants in the territorial cults were priests, priestesses,
The dwelling itself was a shrine to domesticity, for those who
and mediums. The former, if representative of first settle-
lived within were continuing the domestic life laid down by
ment, are usually called earth priests. They were of particular
the ancestors. The sexual activity of the married couple,
importance among acephalous peoples, but even in the cen-
which created new life, was therefore made sacred, as was the
tralized kingdoms where royal shrines catered to public con-
cooking fire that helped to sustain life.
cerns, earth priests led local communities.
Lineages, where they existed, were ritual communities
The earth priest was chosen from the lineage associated
focused on common ancestors, led by elders who themselves
either with settlement or with some later community leader.
had known many of those whose spirits they now sum-
He had a ritual wife who represented the first wife, and to-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CENTRAL BANTU RELIGIONS
1509
gether they followed the routine believed to have been estab-
a medium whose post was not usually hereditary. Periodical-
lished with the foundation of the community. They carried
ly the living king or queen sent offerings to all the royal
out the rites that organized the agricultural year, initiating
shrines throughout the kingdom to invoke the protection of
clearing of fields, planting, weeding, bird scaring, eating of
the new ruler. Their anger at his bodily failure or neglect
first fruits, and harvest. Often wild spinach and fruits were
could bring disaster upon the realm.
brought to them as they came into season, as well as the first
Some territorial shrines served only a neighborhood,
cut of thatching grass. When the community moved, their
while others served a large region as places of last appeal.
house was the first to be built, and it was from their rekindled
Shrines might be interlinked because they were associated
fire that fire was taken by others. Since they were associated
with the same spirit, or because mediums in many places
with fertility, their ritual intercourse gave validity to the
claimed possession by the same spirit. The most famous spir-
promise of reward for hard agricultural labor. Seeds placed
its had many mediums. When nearby shrines and mediums
beneath their bed were imbued with vitality and were distrib-
failed to give satisfaction, communities sent delegations to
uted for planting.
distant shrines and mediums, crossing linguistic and political
The permission of the earth priest and his wife might
boundaries. This gave witness that in the last analysis all
also be sought for the felling of large trees associated with
shared the same human interests. Homogenization of belief
spirits or regarded as the embodiment of power or for any
and rituals was inevitable.
disturbance of the earth. They gave permission to hunters to
use the bush. Adherents of the local cult would make the first
Professional cults. Many types of professional guilds
appeal for rain before their house, asking them in turn to ap-
existed in what is now the Democratic Republic of the
peal to the spirits of the first couple to intervene with the nat-
Congo, each with its own cult. Elsewhere we have good evi-
ural spirits to preserve the community that they had
dence only for hunting cults and sometimes cults of diviners
founded. Carrying drums and singing, the petitioners subse-
and smiths. Individual cult members could count upon assis-
quently went to the shrine at the gravesite of the first settler
tance from a sponsoring ancestor, but the guild also had a
or to one of the natural shrines to renew the appeal.
variety of guild rituals, including those for the initiation of
new members. They were taught medicines and spells need-
Priests and priestesses gave continuity, but mediums
ed to handle the power inherent in the earth, water, large
provided for communication and innovation. At regular of-
trees, and big game. Because they dealt with power, guild
ferings, men and women told the spirits what they desired;
members were regarded as dangerously close to the tempta-
the spirits, in turn, made their own demands and gave warn-
tion of witchcraft. A breaking of the normal rules was attri-
ings through mediums. The spirits chided earth priests and
buted to hunters, who in the reckless search for power en-
priestesses for ritual neglect or abandonment of ancestral
gaged in incest and sacrificed kin to obtain spirit companions
ways. They called for new shrines to be built, instigated
in the hunt. The very presence of the hunter, linked as he
changes in routines, and demanded offerings for themselves
was with blood and death as well as with extraordinary
and their mediums. Sometimes they announced the arrival
power, was dangerous to small children and pregnant
of previously unknown spirits or threatened to abandon the
women.
community. When rain was at stake, black beads and black
cloth were appropriate offerings to the mediums, for black
Many central Bantu thought that witches, too, had pro-
symbolized the rain clouds. White was offered when they
fessional guilds. It was a common belief that witches offered
were asked to stop overly abundant downpours. When the
human flesh as a feast and delighted in the evil that they had
spirits demanded sacrifices, black animals were provided.
orchestrated.
Although some of the most powerful mediums lived
Cults of suffering. Cults of suffering, or of affliction
separately and could be approached only through their atten-
as Victor Turner called them, may have been of minor im-
dants, the majority lived as ordinary men and women except
portance prior to the twentieth century. During that century,
when they were possessed. During possession, people
however, these cults proliferated. They are based on the be-
clapped before them as they did before the shrines or in the
lief that various kinds of spirits seize upon or enter human
presence of a ruler.
victims, who then must come to terms with them. Treatment
requires identification of the spirit and instruction in how
Just as first settlers continued to watch over their com-
to meet its demands. Thereafter the sufferer becomes an
munities, so dead kings and queens continued to oversee
adept able to treat new victims. All adepts in the locality are
their realms. These royal spirits were often associated with
expected to help their fellow sufferers, and this joins them
regional shrines. While Bemba kings were buried in one
in a ritual community. As the people of surrounding areas
royal cemetery, rulers elsewhere were buried at their capitals.
become suspicious that the new spirit has begun work in
Since each ruler built a new capital, royal shrines were widely
their community, adepts are summoned to diagnose and
scattered. Initially the royal shrine was cared for by retired
treat, and so the cults spread rapidly.
officers of the dead king and by royal widows; the office then
became hereditary to their descent lines. The dead ruler
In the west, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo,
might also speak through a medium attached to the shrine,
Angola, and western Zambia, cults of suffering are associated
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1510
CENTRAL BANTU RELIGIONS
with spirits known as mahamba. Elsewhere in Zambia and
and gone. Nevertheless the last four centuries have been
in Malawi they are more likely to be referred to as masabe.
marked by religious questioning and transformation, paral-
Mahamba and masabe spirits may be identified as former
leling the turmoil and transformation in political and eco-
members of alien ethnic groups who ask those possessed
nomic regimes. The Kongo on the Atlantic coast first en-
to speak in their own tongue and don their costume. Ma-
countered the Portuguese and Christianity at the end of the
hamba cults may also invoke the spirits of the sufferer’s own
fifteenth century. Many Kongo people were baptized, and
ancestors.
the cross was adopted as a powerful charm. In the sixteenth
century the Portuguese also began pushing up the Zambezi
Early cults of affliction were concerned with the incur-
River from the Indian Ocean. By that time central Africa had
sion of animal spirits and spirits of the bush and may have
long had trade links with Islamic settlements on the East Af-
developed out of hunting cults. More recent ones are linked
rican coast. Exchange of ideas was inevitable. By the early
to the uncertainties of alien modern experiences; cults cen-
nineteenth century trading caravans in search of slaves and
tered on such things as the airplane, railroad, city life, war-
ivory were disturbing even the most remote areas.
fare, angels, and on those people taken away as slaves to Eu-
rope and America have appeared in the last few decades.
The slave trade brought about the destruction of many
Each spirit is identified with its own drum rhythms, songs,
of the ancient kingdoms. The Kongo kingdom disintegrated
medicines, and sometimes costume. Cults are most elabo-
in the sixteenth century in the turmoil provoked by Portu-
rate, and seem to have greater permanence, in the area inhab-
guese slavers. In the mid-nineteenth century Chokwe slave
ited by the west-central Bantu peoples. Elsewhere they came
raiders from Angola overran the Lunda and Luba empires.
and went with great rapidity until the 1970s and 1980s,
The weakened Chewa kingdoms had already fallen easily to
when some of the cults of affliction began to take on the sem-
nineteenth-century Ngoni invaders from the south. Royal
blance of a church and to make claims about their ability to
cults associated with the old kingdoms either disappeared in
go beyond the control of invading spirits. Some cult leaders
the chaos or persisted by transforming themselves into other
now claim that they have the power to heal, provide protec-
forms of territorial cults.
tion against witches, and control the rains. They often have
many spirits, which are seen as helpers.
The dispersal of fleeing populations and the caravan
movements led to a spread of epidemic disease on an unprec-
Although men and women of all ages may be initiated
edented scale and to a questioning of the efficacy of existing
into cults of suffering, the majority of initiates are women.
religion. At the end of the nineteenth century central Africa
Lewis attributes this to the peripheral role women have in
was carved up among European powers, and formerly inde-
the public sphere. But among the central Bantu peoples, only
pendent rulers became suspect as ritual leaders when they
the Lele barred women from participation in public religious
were transformed into bureaucrats in colonial governments.
actions. In general, central Bantu religions provided women
Between 1950 and 1980, independence movements brought
with important ritual and political roles. Women were some-
African governments into power, but these were no more
times political rulers and held offices in both territorial and
willing to accept claims to authority based on religious inspi-
kinship cults. On death they became ancestral spirits, and
ration or cultic position than were the colonial governments.
living women could make offerings to the ancestors. Lineage
offerings usually required the collaboration of a man and
In the twentieth century people came to depend on the
woman elder. Women became diviners and herbalists, and
cash economy and world trade. Market conditions are now
some of the most famous mediums were women. The Luba
as important as rainfall in determining well-being. New
are reported as saying that no man had a body strong enough
crops and agricultural techniques dominate the scene; conse-
to support possession by the greatest spirits—only the
quently, territorial cults associated with agriculture have be-
women were strong enough to withstand such power.
come less important. Hunting had little importance by the
late 1980s since game had been largely depleted except in a
Central Bantu peoples differed in their judgment con-
few refuge areas. Hunting cults, not surprisingly, have largely
cerning the association of women with the possibility of evil.
vanished. And as cheap imported goods have spread and un-
Some are reported to have connected maleness with power
dercut local products, rituals associated with other crafts have
and death, femaleness with fertility and life. Yet some attri-
also faded.
buted witchcraft to women. Among the Luba those accused
of witchcraft were usually women. The Lamba thought men
Many adults have been trained in mission schools or
and women were equally likely to be witches. The Bemba,
otherwise influenced by Christianity. Their children attend
Tonga, and Chewa usually accused men because men were
government schools where dependence upon ancestors or
thought to compete with one another through ambition, and
territorial cults is derided, although the power of charms and
so it was through them that evil disrupted the world.
witches continues to be admitted.
RELIGIOUS TRANSFORMATION. De Craemer, Vansina, and
Religious life has had to adjust to the fact that the cen-
Fox believe the basic elements and symbols of central African
tral Bantu-speaking peoples are no longer primarily based in
religions have been stable over the centuries (perhaps for mil-
rural areas supported by agriculture and the produce of the
lennia), although specific religious movements have come
bush. Many are now wage earners. Most men and women
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CENTRAL BANTU RELIGIONS
1511
have spent some years in the cities that grew up around mines
and usually vanish, to be replaced by a successor, when pain
and trading and administrative centers. A substantial portion
and suffering are again found to be the human portion. The
of the population is now permanently urbanized. Cities are
Muchapi movement, which swept Malawi and Zambia in
becoming arbiters of the good life. The twentieth century
the 1920s, was short-lived, as was the Mikom iyool current
saw a loss of faith, and people no longer even know about
among Luba, Bushong, and Lele in the 1940s (Douglas,
many of the beliefs that were an important part of their fore-
pp. 245ff.). Their successors have also not lasted long. But
bears’ lives in 1900. It also saw the rise and rapid spread of
they attest to a continued belief that the world is basically
new religious movements that promise to free people from
good and that all will be well if humans can be induced to
the threat of witchcraft and to provide an understanding of
discard malice and control ambition.
the human experience.
SEE ALSO Affliction, article on African Cults of Affliction;
Religious systems are not direct reflections of the social
African Religions, article on New Religious Movements;
order, nor are they compelled solely by economic consider-
Bemba Religion; Kimbangu, Simon; Kongo Religion; Len-
ations. Yet they relate to the concerns of those who live in
shina, Alice; Luba Religion; Maranke, John; Ndembu Reli-
a given time and place. A viable religion must reflect people’s
gion; Witchcraft, article on African Witchcraft.
desires, fears, and visions of what life ought to be like; pro-
vide rituals that speak to these concerns; and somehow link
BIBLIOGRAPHY
the transitory human experience with some enduring guar-
Balandier, Georges. Daily Life in the Kingdom of the Kongo. Trans-
antee of order.
lated by Helen Weaver. London, 1968.
Beattie, John, and John Middleton, eds. Spirit Mediumship and
It is not surprising that many new religious movements
Society in Africa. New York, 1969.
have arisen among migrants in ethnically diverse cities or that
De Craemer, Willy, Jan Vansina, and Renée C. Fox. “Religious
these movements center upon the individual’s search for a
Movements in Central Africa: A Theoretical Study.” Com-
community of the purified rather than on the community
parative Studies in Society and History 18 (October 1976):
of kinship or the common interests of a rural neighborhood.
458–475.
Many people today find religious community through con-
de Heusch, Luc. The Drunken King, or The Origin of the State.
version linked with healing and purification, and it is among
Translated by Roy G. Willis. Bloomington, Ind., 1982.
those who share this experience that they find help to face
Douglas, Mary. The Lele of the Kasai. London, 1963.
illness and death and a shield against fears of loneliness, job-
Fernandez, James W. “African Religious Movements.” Annual Re-
lessness, and the envy of others.
view of Anthropology 7 (1976): 195–234.
Lewis, I. M. Ecstatic Religion: An Anthropological Study of Spirit
Many of the new religions have their roots in Christiani-
Possession and Shamanism. Harmondsworth, U.K., 1971.
ty, but their founders adapt Christian elements to what they
MacGaffey, Wyatt. “Comparative Analysis of Central African Re-
see as African needs and wisdom. Unlike the mission church-
ligions.” Africa 42 (1972): 21–31.
es, they accept the efficacy of charms and the power of witch-
MacGaffey, Wyatt. “African Religions: Types and Generaliza-
es and arm their adherents against these dangers. They recog-
tions.” In Explorations in African Systems of Thought, edited
nize the continuing existence of the dead and the possibility
by Ivan Karp and Charles S. Bird, pp. 301–328. Blooming-
of possession. They identify the creator with the Christian
ton, Ind., 1980.
God but announce that the creator now cares about humani-
Schoffeleers, J. Matthew. “The Interaction of the M’Bona Cult
ty and is actively at work in the world. Many of these new
and Christianity, 1859–1963.” In Themes in the Christian
religions base themselves upon a visionary experience in
History of Central Africa, edited by T. O. Ranger and John
which the creator appeared to be the founder and seek to
Weller, pp. 14–29. Berkeley, Calif., 1975.
provide either a new explication of the Bible or to replace it
Schoffeleers, J. Matthew, ed. Guardians of the Land: Essays on Cen-
with a new message for Africans. Such was the Antonine
tral African Territorial Cults. Gwelo, Rhodesia, 1978.
movement founded in 1704 by Dona Béatrice, a Kongo
Turner, Victor. The Forest of Symbols: Aspects of Ndembu Ritual.
woman, as a response to the disintegration of the Kongo
Ithaca, N.Y., 1967.
world (Balandier, pp. 257ff.). The churches of Simon Kim-
Turner, Victor. The Drums of Affliction: A Study of Religious Pro-
bangu (Kimbanguist Church), Alice Lenshina (Lumpa
cesses among the Ndembu of Zambia. London, 1968.
Church), John Maranke (Apostolic Church of John Ma-
Turner, Victor. The Ritual Process: Structure and Anti-Structure.
ranke), and John Masowe (Apostolic Church of John Ma-
Chicago, 1969.
sowe) were comparable responses in the twentieth century.
van Binsbergen, Wim. “Explorations in the History and Sociology
Fernandez describes their theology as “lived, sung, and pic-
of Territorial Cults in Zambia.” In Guardians of the Land,
tured in images, not formulated” (p. 222).
edited by J. Matthew Schoffeleers, pp. 47–88. Gwelo, Rho-
desia, 1978.
Cults of suffering and witch-finding movements also
Werbner, R. P., ed. Regional Cults. New York, 1977.
proliferated in the twentieth century as the old religious
Willis, Roy G. “Instant Millennium: The Sociology of African
foundations crumbled, but they are more likely to operate
Witch-Cleansing Cults.” In Witchcraft Confessions and Accu-
in rural areas. Witch-finding movements aim at purification
sations, edited by Mary Douglas, pp. 129–140. New York,
of existing communities to restore them to working order
1970.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1512
CERAMESE RELIGION
New Sources
converge, the relationship between ceremony and religion is
Fardon, Richard. Between God, the Dead and the Wild: Chamba
problematic; they are not always distinct.
Interpretation of Ritual and Religion. Edinburgh, U.K., 1990.
THEORIES OF CEREMONY. Theorists call attention to features
Mudimbe, V. Y. Parables and Fables: Exegesis, Textuality and Poli-
of ceremony that are characteristic of such rituals. Formaliza-
tics in Central Africa. Madison, Wis., 1991.
tion and stylization (i.e., specification of time and place, for-
ELIZABETH COLSON (1987)
mulaic speech and gesture, etc.) are indicative of ceremony’s
Revised Bibliography
scripted character as “intentional” (Grimes, 1982, p. 41) or
self-conscious behavior. Ceremony is fundamentally self-
reflective performance. As such, ceremony is essentially “self-
CERAMESE RELIGION SEE SOUTHEAST
symbolizing” (Goffman, 1974, p. 58); it has representational
ASIAN RELIGIONS, ARTICLE ON INSULAR
intent. Like all symbolic behavior, ceremony points to a larg-
CULTURES
er framework of action. The public character of ceremony
is an indication that its more general context is social and cul-
tural life. According to Erving Goffman, ceremony provides
a symbolic means whereby participants represent themselves
CEREMONY is conventionally defined as a highly for-
in one of their central social roles (1974, p. 58). Through
malized observance or practice prescribed by custom and un-
dramatization and other representational means ceremony
dertaken by a collective, or as customary observances and
presents those ideologies, values, and the social institutions
practices considered as a whole. In contrast to conventional
to which they are bound, as well as other sociocultural con-
usage, in which the term ceremony is interchanged indiscrim-
structs that constitute social and cultural life or group life,
inately with ritual, in theoretical discussion, the terms are in-
in the case of ceremonies undertaken on a smaller scale.
creasingly distinguished; ceremony is identified as a genre or
type of ritual that is distinguished from other genres by its
The underlying motivation in the ceremonial represen-
object. A prevalent trend identifies ceremony with secular in-
tation of the various social and cultural constructs is said to
terests, that is, the symbolic representation of sociocultural
be the confirmation and reinforcement of those organizing
arrangements as opposed to religious or sacred ones. In addi-
frameworks that order sociocultural life in a normative way.
tion, ceremony is differentiated by its essentially conservative
Steven Lukes explains that:
social role: the maintenance of existing sociocultural arrange-
the symbolism of political ritual represents . . . particu-
ments over against their transformation. Presidential inaugu-
lar models or political paradigms of society and how it
rations in the United States, for example, transfer power
functions. In this sense, such ritual plays, as Durkheim
from one political party to another in order that the demo-
argued, a cognitive role, rendering intelligible society
cratic political system remains intact. Key to transferal of
and social relationships. . . . In other words, it helps
power is legitimation of the new regime. This is achieved
to define as authoritative certain ways of seeing society:
both by election and by securing God’s blessing at the swear-
it serves to specify what in society is of special signifi-
ing in of the new president.
cance, it draws people’s attention to certain forms of re-
lationships and activity—and at the same time, there-
The question has been raised whether it is not more
fore, it deflects their attention from other forms, since
proper and useful to approach ceremony as a ritual attitude
every way of seeing [is] also a way of not seeing. (Lukes,
as opposed to a distinct ritual type. Ronald L. Grimes argues
1975, p. 301)
that standard analytic or classificatory distinctions among
“Ceremony,” writes Victor Turner, “constitutes an impres-
types of ritual—differentiation between “sacred” and “pro-
sive institutionalized performance of indicative, normatively
fane” activity, and so on—are insufficient in the analysis of
structured social reality” (1982, p. 83). In his view, ceremo-
ritual, since they fail to take into account a variety of “em-
ny’s indicative role gives it a conservative character that dis-
bodied attitudes” that emerge during the course of a ritual,
tinguishes it from ritual. “Ceremony indicates, ritual trans-
such as ceremony, decorum, and ritualization. Ceremony is
forms,” Turner emphasizes (1982, p. 80). Ritual is “a
not so much an analytic type as it is a layer, attitude, sensibil-
transformative self-immolation of order as presently consti-
ity, or “mode” of ritual, contends Grimes. He suggests that
tuted, even sometimes a voluntary sparagmos or self-
when one or another mode becomes dominant, it is proper
dismemberment of order, in the subjunctive depths of limi-
to speak of a ritual of ceremony, and so forth (Grimes, 1982,
nality” (1982, p. 83). “Without taking liminality into ac-
pp. 223, 235, 241).
count ritual becomes indistinguishable from ‘ceremon’”
This entry gives an overview of the theoretical discus-
(1982, p. 80). Ritual derives its liminal quality from separat-
sion, devoting special attention to the relationship between
ing participants from their everyday social-structural identity
ceremony and political power, and that between ceremony
and, consequently, from creating an ambiguous social status
and religion, both central concerns in the theories. In con-
as the ritual prepares participants to undergo a transition to
trast to theorists who identify ceremony as a strictly secular
a new social identity (1982, pp. 80–85). Turner contends
ritual, this entry suggests that inasmuch as sociopolitical (or
that ritual exists in dialectical relation to everyday social
secular) and religious (or sacred) interests overlap and even
structure; ritual is fundamentally “anti-structure” (Turner,
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CEREMONY
1513
1974). By relaxing social structural requirements, ritual limi-
Ceremony models or shapes sociocultural life in a two-
nality makes possible experimentation with social structure,
fold sense, Geertz observes. It offers idealized representations
and with it, structural and cultural innovation. Thus, ritual
of normative social arrangements that are to be emulated; it
enables sociocultural systems to change and grow as new de-
also encourages participants to conform their behavior to
mands, particularly for egalitarian and direct (or “communi-
these arrangements by showing that the way of life that is
tarian”) social interchange, challenge existing social-
presented is adapted to the world as it actually exists. Hence
structural arrangements. Turner’s conceptualization of ritual
ceremony is paradigmatic in a dual sense: it is both a model
liminality helps explain why spontaneity and disorder sel-
of and a model for social and cultural life (Geertz, 1980 and
dom emerge during the course of ceremony, and then only
1973).
during prescribed times or in established places: the intent
to conserve the social-structural status quo requires that cere-
Inextricably linked to ceremony’s corroborative and
mony’s liminal aspects be narrowly circumscribed or kept in
legitimating functions is the assertion and securing of power.
check.
As Grimes observes, “ceremony consists of power negotia-
tions in ritual form. . . . Ceremonial gestures are bids for
Ceremony’s confirmatory or conservative role makes it
authority, prestige, recognition, and control” (1982,
especially suited to exploitation in times of social conflict or
p. 224). The underlying interest in asserting and securing
potential crisis, when existing norms are challenged or under
power gives ceremony a serious tone, which remains domi-
threat. Since formalization conveys legitimacy, ceremony
nant even when ceremony manifests festive aspects. Grimes
lends itself to portraying as indisputable and fixed those ide-
observes that because ceremony implies a distinction be-
ologies and social institutions that are most in doubt during
tween the group that is symbolically asserting its power and
times of social crisis. Sally F. Moore and Barbara G. Myerh-
the “other side, it is manifestly competitive, sometimes con-
off note that ceremony’s authoritative presentation of its ma-
flict-laden” (1982, p. 42). The successful symbolization of
terial as axiomatic is paradoxical, since it is the most obvious-
power requires that the social contradiction inherent in the
ly contrived and hence arbitrary social interaction. They note
arbitrary assertion of power be masked and only righteous
that preoccupation with order by implication points to the
or legitimate properties be exposed. The potential for power
possibility of disorder, chaos, and most importantly, open
to be a source of conflict and not solely a means of conflict
choice of other cultural configurations. While ceremony may
resolution must also be concealed. Other theorists point out
be intended to mask contradiction, on a more subtle, less
that ceremony is not simply a disguise for power; it is the as-
conscious level, it may give it expression (Moore and Myerh-
sertion of power, or power in action. The fact that ceremony
off, 1977, pp. 16, 18; cf. Lukes, 1975, pp. 296–302).
is imbued with the authority of groups that are already in a
position of power or that are emerging as a dominant power
A more fundamental motivation in the ceremonial rep-
explains in part why it is one of the predominant frames, or
resentation of social and cultural constructs identified by
principles of organization, by which social arrangements are
Moore and Myerhoff is the cultural declaration of order over
ordered (Goffman, 1974, pp. 10–11, 48).
against indeterminacy. Ceremony is intended to proclaim
“cultural order as against a cultural void,” which exist in dia-
CEREMONY AND POLITICAL POWER. Political rituals are the
lectical tension. It “banishes from consideration the basic
most obvious examples of ceremony as it relates to power.
questions raised by the made-upness of culture, its malleabil-
Catherine Bell defines “political rites” as “ceremonial prac-
ity and alterability.” As formalized behavior, ceremony is es-
tices that specifically construct, display and promote the
sentially an attempt to assert order: “Through order, formali-
power of political institutions (such as king, state, the village
ty, and repetition it seeks to state that the cosmos and social
elders) or the political interests of distinct constituencies and
world, or some particular small part of them are orderly and
subgroups” (1997, p. 128). Bell draws from Geertz in her ob-
explicable and for the moment fixed” (Moore and Myerhoff,
servation that political rituals create power by establishing a
1977, pp. 16–17). Formality thus allows ceremony to au-
ruler or political institution’s “iconicity” with the order of
thenticate its message, conferring permanence and legitimacy
the cosmos (Bell, 1997, pp. 128–130; Geertz, 1980). Geertz
on what is in fact a social construction. “Its medium is part
observes that ceremony demonstrates that a political regime
of its message” (1977, p. 8).
is an image of the cosmic order itself, and thus is congruent
with the cosmic order. Showing the ruling political power
While ceremony symbolizes or reflects the socially and
to be part of the cosmic order, and hence part of the natural
culturally normative, it is not a mere mirror image. Ceremo-
order of things, establishes its legitimacy.
nies, notes Moore, are not simply dramatizations of social
and moral norms: they are “performative acts.” Ceremonies
Congruence between political power and cosmic order
do not simply communicate information, nor are they mere-
is demonstrated by way of an elaborate argument communi-
ly analogies; “they do something,” putting into action what
cated in symbolic performance or display. Geertz offers the
they symbolize (Moore, 1977). Clifford Geertz explains that
example of the display of vast wealth by the “theater state”
by presenting an ontology, a demonstration of being or exis-
of ancient Java or Bali, to which kings devoted most of their
tence, ceremony serves “to make it happen—make it actual”
time. The continual display of the ruler’s wealth through a
(1980).
variety of state rituals demonstrated that his rule was “a mi-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1514
CEREMONY
crocosm of the supernatural order . . . and the material em-
tionship” of domination and submission (Bell, 1997,
bodiment of the political order” (Bell, 1997, p. 129, citing
p. 132; 1992, chap. 9). Political rituals are not simply “sec-
Geertz, 1980, p. 13). In his classic essay on religion as a cul-
ondary reflections” of relationships of domination and sub-
tural symbol system, Geertz (1973) observes that ritual per-
mission that guide exchanges between ruler and subject;
formance goes beyond giving ideational veracity, via argu-
“They create these relations [dominance and submission];
ment, to a particular view of the world and ethos or style of
they create power in the very tangible exercise of it” (1997,
life. Ritual provides further validation by evoking specific
p. 136). According to Bell, ritual’s effectiveness as a form of
emotions that give firsthand, experiential evidence that the
power lies in its capacity to create nuanced relationships of
world is actually constituted as claimed by intellectual argu-
power in which those who dominate and those who submit
ment, and consequently that the lifestyle the argument shows
negotiate power (1992, pp. 196–218). Nuanced relation-
to be ideally fitted to the world is in fact suited to it. Intellec-
ships involve both acceptance of and opposition or resistance
tual argument and emotional experience are mutually rein-
to those whom ritual empowers.
forcing.
Bell notes that Foucault argues that power does not exist
Geertz argues that ceremony as practiced by the Balinese
in a simplistic dominant-dominated relationship (Bell, 1992,
kingship is more than a symbolic disguise of “real” power re-
chap. 9). Power, of necessity, requires choice. Distinct from
siding in physical force or the threat of violence; it is more
force or coercion, power depends upon freedom or resis-
than artifice (Bell, 1992, pp. 192–193; Geertz, 1980,
tance, which provokes it and legitimates its use. Those who
pp. 122–136 passim). Bell issues the caveat that some politi-
submit are free to act in contrary ways. Thus, those who
cal rituals, as in the case of China, do disguise the source and
dominate only indirectly shape the field of actions of others.
exercise of power while also serving overt political purposes
Bell points out that Geertz’s rejection of the distinction be-
(Bell, 1992, p. 194). Geertz’s insight runs counter to the
tween ritual (or symbol) and real power dismisses the sim-
once prevailing view of sacred kingship developed by James
plistic view of power as the assertion of the ruler’s or political
G. Frazer and A. M. Hocart, namely, that ritual legitimates
power’s will upon the dominated (Bell, 1992, p. 194). Power
real political power (Bell, 1992, p. 193). In Geertz’s view,
depends upon the dominant and the dominated choosing
ritual legitimation is not distinct from political power, but
various courses of action to maintain the relationship as one
is itself an expression of power that is used to achieve political
of power. Individuals submit to political domination while
ends. For Geertz, the ability to perceive that the ritual perfor-
recognizing that they are still free to create their own person-
mances of the Balinese state are real political power depends
al path of freedom, especially in the form of dissenting pri-
upon not opposing the symbolic and the real or aesthetic per-
vate thoughts, as in the case of mental dissent from a totali-
formance to action. Power must be seen as not existing out-
tarian regime. Calling attention to the fact that Foucault has
side the mechanisms through which it works (i.e., ritual).
been criticized for eliminating coercion, Bell argues that his
Bell notes that Michel Foucault makes the same observation
analysis of power discloses an important aspect of power that
regarding the mechanisms and dynamics through which ritu-
has been minimized—reciprocity (Bell, 1992, p. 204).
al works (Bell, 1997, p. 132; and 1992, chap. 9). David Can-
nadine’s and Maurice Bloch’s analyses of ritual develop
Elaborating on the process by which ritual allows society
Geertz’s understanding of ritual as legitimation of power
to create itself in the image of power relations, Bell adds that
and, hence, as real and efficacious power (Bell, 1992,
ritual participants project, and thereby objectify, relation-
pp. 194–195; Cannadine, 1987; Bloch, 1987).
ships of power that are drawn from society (Bell, 1992, 204–
218). Participants do not view themselves as projecting these
“In other words,” Bell writes, “political rituals do not
relationships; they view themselves as responding instinctive-
refer to politics, as Geertz has strained to express, they are
ly to the natural social order instead. Participants then re-
politics. Ritual is the thing itself. It is power; it acts and it
embody these projected or objectified schemes. Through ob-
actuates” (Bell, 1992, p. 195). “In sum, it is a major reversal
jectification and embodiment, ritual creates a society that ac-
of traditional theory [for Geertz and others] to hypothesize
tually consists of these relationships of power. The process
that ritual activity is not the ‘instrument’ of more basic pur-
of objectification, embodiment, and resistance empowers
poses, such as power, politics, or social control, which are
those who submit, even as it empowers those who dominate.
usually seen as existing before or outside the activities of the
Thus, negotiating and giving nuance to power relations actu-
rite. It puts interpretive analysis on a new footing to suggest
ally empowers those who appear to be controlled by them.
that ritual practices are themselves the very production and
negotiation of power relations” (1992, p. 196). Viewing ritu-
Bell offers the example of the Japanese enthronement
al legitimation as an expression of power that is more effica-
ceremony (1997, pp. 130–133). Overseen by the imperial
cious than “brute force,” as Geertz, Cannadine, Bloch, and
state and supported by state Shinto¯, the enthronement cere-
others have done, makes ritual an important tool in the anal-
mony heightens the relationship between the emperor and
ysis of politics (Bell, 1992, p. 195).
the cosmic order by giving him semidivine status. Through
a series of elaborate associated rituals, enthronement appeals
Drawing on Foucault, Bell argues more specifically that
to “a sense of cosmological fit” between the emperor and di-
political rituals construct power by creating a “power rela-
vine beings (Bell, 1997, p. 132). The rituals include food 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
CEREMONY
1515
ferings to Amaterasu, the sun goddess, who is ancestor of the
ple as a political movement or force in opposition to the rul-
royal clan, according to tradition. The emperor is considered
ing regime. Bell gives as examples the cargo cults of New
to be her “grandson.” The offerings symbolize sexual rela-
Guinea and Melanesia, which fused religious and political
tions between the emperor as “bridegroom” and Amaterasu
interests, and the Mau-Mau rebellion against British colonial
that result in his ritual rebirth prior to the swearing in. Thus,
power in Kenya. Another example is the reconstructed May
the goddess’s divine grandson is reborn in the form of a
Day demonstrations in Hungary under Soviet domination
human emperor. Hirohito, who was emperor of Japan from
(Kurti, 1990). Originally observing the Soviet revolution,
1926 to 1989, undertook symbolic sexual relations with the
May Day in Hungary acquired new nationalist meaning in
sun goddess during his formal enthronement in 1928, when
the hands of opponents of Soviet rule in the late 1980s, when
Japan was ruled by the imperial government, which gained
opposition leaders incorporated images of leaders of the Oc-
support from state Shinto¯, the national religion. (Hirohito
tober 23, 1956, uprising against Soviet occupation.
was forced to renounce his divine status under the post–
World War II constitutional government.) According to
On a much smaller scale, institutional ceremonies offer
Bell, the ritual decorum or etiquette governing the behavior
constituents an opportunity to resist official state ideology,
of those granted a royal audience creates relationships that
as well as forms of authoritative ideology at the local level.
empower the emperor. Etiquette and ceremony are not
An example was the awards ceremony at a girls’ public pri-
merely symbolic or “empty”; rather they create relationships
mary school in Mombasa, Kenya (Porter, 1998). The cere-
of power involving political dominance and submission. Po-
mony had unintended consequences regarding the enact-
litical rituals “create political reality.” Furthermore, the sym-
ment of power and cultural identity as different participants
bolic action that constitutes such rituals makes political
used it simultaneously to produce cultural meanings that sus-
forces visible, and makes it possible for participants to identi-
tain the state as well as local authorities, and to produce alter-
fy with and to understand these forces, which are otherwise
native interpretations of national and local culture that chal-
too complex to comprehend (Bell, 1997, p. 133; Kertzer,
lenged power at both levels. The postcolonial state has used
1988, pp. 1–2). Bell points out that although political leaders
the secular public schools, their curricula, and their ceremo-
in modern societies are elected, ceremonial display neverthe-
nies to develop a homogeneous national identity and nation-
less makes an appeal to the cosmic order. She notes that an
al unity to advance its nation-building efforts. The awards
important function of the inaugural address of a newly elect-
ceremony offered the school’s Muslim female students, who
ed American president is establishing the president’s moral
are Swahili, an opportunity to resist state efforts as represen-
leadership, whereby his election is transmuted into an event
tatives of an ethnic minority who lost political and economic
that is not an accident of history.
power to the postcolonial state. At the ceremony, the girls
performed Swahili poems and expressed their devotion to
The link between the ceremonial confirmation and
their religion. Public expressions of religion, performances of
maintenance of social and cultural norms and the negotia-
poetry, and pursuit of education are typically activities of
tion of power is clearly evident in national or civic ceremo-
Swahili men, and not women. By reciting poetry in this pub-
nies, as well as in mass political rallies. Illustrative examples
lic and educational setting, the schoolgirls challenged the tra-
are found in the parades, processions, pageants, theatrical
ditional gender expectations for adolescent Swahili girls.
performances, and other ceremonious events that are associ-
This in itself was a challenge to the normative relationship
ated with independence day celebrations in the United States
between adolescent Swahili females and their male elders.
(Bellah, 1967), Mexico (Vogt and Abel, 1977), and Indone-
The girls presented an additional challenge to their tradition-
sia (Peacock, 1968). Other examples are May Day, the anni-
al Muslim culture and the state when the headmistress de-
versary of the October Revolution, and Victory Day in the
clared the new school uniform to be the old cotton dress uni-
former Soviet Union (Lane, 1981). On a smaller scale, exam-
form refitted to wear more loosely, with the addition of the
ples are found in “political ceremonials,” such as ritualized
traditional Muslim h:ija¯b, a large headscarf, and suruali, long
town or public meetings among the Indians and mestizos of
pants. While the adolescent girls proclaimed their devotion
Mexico (Hunt, 1977) and the villagers of Kilimanjaro in
to their religion by wearing the traditional dress, about which
Tanzania (Moore, 1977). The Native American powwow
they sang in their performance, they reinterpreted the mean-
has been interpreted as a public arena of power and politics
ing of wearing it. In their performance, the girls declared
in which participants negotiate conflicts regarding the partic-
wearing the dress to be a sign of their being modern girls.
ipation of women and girls in the powwow, spiritual versus
For these Swahili adolescents, the wearing of traditional dress
secular uses of powwow (e.g., turning the powwow into po-
and experimentation with colors and textured or beaded fab-
litical protest), and relations with non-Indian participants
rics were efforts to be fashionable in their youth culture.
(Mattern, 1996).
The novel Ceremony by the Native American author
Other political rituals challenge the political status quo
Leslie Marmon Silko (1977) has been viewed as a kind of rite
(Bell, 1997, p. 134). Bell points out that “rites of rebellion,”
of rebellion against the dominant white social and political
as analyzed by Max Gluckman, and other rituals engage sym-
order that reconstructs power relations between Native
bolic interaction in a different way; they must mobilize peo-
Americans and whites. James Ruppert characterizes Ceremo-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1516
CEREMONY
ny as “a protest novel” that calls attention to the oppression
literature. Ceremony is either identified with secular interests
of Laguna peoples by “an indifferent and often hostile domi-
exclusively, or it is associated with both secular and religious
nant culture” (Ruppert, 2002, p. 177). Silko’s novel presents
concerns, which sometimes converge. Jack Goody and Max
the healing of an interracial Native American war veteran
Gluckman represent the first trend. They contend that al-
who despairs over his treatment by white society and the loss
though conventionalized nonreligious and religious activities
of meaning that has resulted from his loss of connection to
are the same analytic type of behavior (i.e., formalization that
his Native American community and its traditional ways.
has nonrational ends or is of a nontechnical nature) and play
Allan Chavkin notes that the novel’s protagonist is restored
similar roles, they entail disparate beliefs and therefore
by a traditional curing ritual, which is based on the Navajo
should be differentiated. Conventional action that is ad-
Antway, a purification ritual performed for returning veter-
dressed to spiritual beings or concerned with the ultimate is
ans; the ritual uses chant to reenact myth and through it im-
designated “religious.” Objecting to the tendency to identify
part meaning or a spiritual understanding of events (Chav-
formalized collective activity with religious ritual, established
kin, 2002). The novel concludes with the protagonist’s
as a precedent by Durkheim, Goody distinguishes activity of
vision quest. He undergoes a visionary experience that re-
an “exclusively secular significance.” He identifies conven-
stores meaning by reaffirming the Native American view that
tional activity of a nonreligious nature, such as the anniversa-
the spiritual world that is disclosed in myth is reality.
ry of the October Revolution, as “ceremonial.” Goody treats
ceremony, like formalized “religious” activity, as a subcate-
Drawing on Elaine Jahner, Ruppert views the structure
gory of ritual, the term by which he designates the most gen-
of Silko’s novel as a ritual chant or prayer that engages Native
eral category of conventional behavior (1961, p. 159).
American and white implied readers as ritual performers who
Gluckman prefers ceremony as the inclusive term for conven-
become part of the telling of the mythic story at the center
tional and stylized, or “ceremonial,” behavior. He uses the
of the novel through the act of reading. Readers assume the
term ceremonious to distinguish nonreligious formal activity,
position of priests who sing and pray. Reading the novel “be-
and reserves the term ritual for the subcategory of ceremonial
comes a new ceremony in itself” as readers undergo new ex-
activity referring to “mystical notions” (1962, pp. 22–23).
periences that alter their perspectives (Ruppert, 2002,
p. 184). The novel engages Native American and white read-
Goody avoids the terms sacred and profane in his distinc-
ers in learning about the other’s worldview as the text trans-
tion between religious and ceremonial rituals. Because the di-
lates each group’s discourse. In the process, the text mediates
chotomy they represent is a foreign concept within many
each group’s experiences of the other. Mediation validates
cultures, he believes these terms have limited application as
each group’s perspective while calling attention to its
rubrics for analytic categories. The fact that the sacred-
strengths and limitations. In addition, mediation encourages
profane polarity is not universally recognized suggests, as
each group to fuse both perspectives, thus creating a new
Goody notes, that these are external categories, imposed by
point of view. White readers learn the mythic view of Native
an outside observer, rather than categories held by partici-
Americans, and Native American readers learn the sociologi-
pants themselves.
cal view of white Americans. The mythic outlook of Native
As recognized by ceremony theorists who associate cere-
Americans encourages white readers to adopt a spiritual vi-
mony with both secular and religious interests, a strict dis-
sion of reality in order to restore meaning and avoid self-
tinction between secular and religious activity is problematic.
destruction through unbridled power, particularly war and
Historical phenomena do not exhibit the discrete boundaries
atomic weapons. In this view, all living things, including the
that are found in precise theoretical categories. Although
earth, are connected and shown to be part of a larger, inclu-
they are not sponsored by institutionalized religion, many
sive reality. White society’s sociological analysis may give Na-
secular ceremonies make reference to and even depend upon
tive Americans insight into how they have internalized the
religious belief or religious symbols. The appeal to religious
view that Native Americans are inferior. In Ruppert’s view,
belief and the use of religious symbols in such ceremonies is
Silko attempts to join Native Americans and whites in fight-
an indication and expression of the convergence of religious
ing against common enemies—Silko’s “Destroyers,” or
and political interests, even when religion and the state are
forces of evil—who threaten to annihilate both. Silko does
legally separated. Their convergence is critical when the po-
so by creating a new ceremony that erases all boundaries be-
litical order seeks to legitimate its authority through divine
tween peoples by fusing the perspectives and experiences of
sanction, thus giving religion a central place within the pub-
Native Americans and whites.
lic sphere, even where church and state are separate.
As a group, scholars of Native American religions have
Ceremonies associated with civil religion are notewor-
traditionally used the term ceremony to refer to Native Amer-
thy examples. Civil religion is Robert Bellah’s term designat-
ican ritual. They do not make the distinction between cere-
ing a form of religion that is characteristic of highly secular-
mony and ritual found in the theoretical literature; hence
ized and technologically oriented modern nation states; civil
they use the terms ceremony and ritual interchangeably.
religion is said to exist independently of institutionalized reli-
CEREMONY AND RELIGION. Two distinct tendencies in iden-
gion, although it is dependent on organized religion for
tifying the object of ceremony can be found in the theoretical
many of its symbols (Bellah, 1967). Invoking God in presi-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CEREMONY
1517
dential inaugurations in the United States, and swearing to
Myerhoff distinguish ceremony from religious ritual by the
uphold the Constitution on the Bible (Bellah, 1967; Wilson,
absence of otherworldly or ultimate explanations, which are
1979), and in Memorial Day observances (Warner, 1959),
said to be the distinct province and function of religious ritu-
for example, is intended to secure the continuation of divine
al. The scope of ceremony is restricted to specialized aspects
blessing on the social and political order (Bellah, 1967; Cher-
of social and cultural life and to its immediate concerns. In
ry, 1970; Warner, 1959; and Wilson, 1979). Appealing to
their view, ceremony, unlike religious ritual, does not act on
God and scripture during coronations in Great Britain is in-
the other world in order to influence this world; it acts solely
tended to accomplish the same effect (Bocock, 1974).
on this world. Ceremony is distinguished by its “meaning
and effect,” which are sacred but not religious (Moore and
The convergence of religious and political interests in
Myerhoff, 1977, p. 8).
ceremony is most evident in religio-political systems. There
ceremony occupies a central public place by virtue of its legi-
Moore and Myerhoff propose and oppose the analytic
timating role. State ceremonies that are associated with di-
categories religious and nonreligious, sacred and nonsacred in
vine kingship, long established as a state cult in Asia, the
order to take account of secular rituals that manifest a sacred
Middle East, Africa, and elsewhere, are illustrative. The
dimension and those that do not, rituals that make use of re-
“state ceremonials” of nineteenth-century Bali (royal dedica-
ligious symbols, and other possible combinations, including
tions of palace temples, royal ordinations, royal cremations,
the presence of secular concerns within religious life (Moore
and other “state ritual”) appropriated Hindu cosmology in
and Myerhoff, 1977, pp. 3, 10–15, 20–22). Insofar as reli-
order to depict the king as a manifestation of divine power
gious and sociopolitical interests intersect and even converge,
and thereby secure power by the state (Geertz, 1980). Cere-
distinguishing ceremony from religion will remain problem-
monies drawing attention to “divine election” and diviniza-
atic, however.
tion in imperial Rome provide instructive premodern exam-
ples of securing state power by ritually cosmologizing a
Returning to Grimes’ argument, if ceremony is treated
political office (MacCormack, 1981).
as a mode of ritual rather than a type of ritual, then distin-
guishing ceremony from religion becomes even more prob-
The blurring of boundaries between religious and politi-
lematic. He argues that rituals that are explicitly religious can
cal interests is found on a smaller scale in numerous civic cer-
demonstrate ceremonious aspects and do so when they are
emonies. Fiesta, a citywide celebration of the establishment
placed in the service of social and political interests (Grimes,
of Santa Fe, New Mexico, as a Spanish city, is an illustrative
1982, p. 42). Timely examples are found in the rituals associ-
example (Grimes, 1976). Religious symbols play a central
ated with the convergence of theology and political ideology
role in the ceremonial negotiation of power among Native
in contemporary fundamentalist Christianity in the United
American, Hispanic-American, and other Euro-American
States and fundamentalist Islam in the Middle East and else-
members of the community not simply because they help to
where. Use of the pulpit by fundamentalist Christians to pro-
establish group identity, but because they help to legitimate
mote rightist interests during national and state elections in
sociopolitical interests. Links between Roman Catholicism
the United States has received much attention in political
and the historic domination of Native Americans by the
and scholarly circles as well as in the media. Although the
Spanish are exploited in the Fiesta Mass, the procession of
role of fundamentalist Islam in the revitalization of conserva-
La Conquistadora (the Virgin), and other church-sponsored
tive and even extremist Muslim and Arab ideology has re-
events, as Hispanic Americans assert their power over Native
ceived equal attention, less attention has been given the role
Americans.
of religious ritual. An example is the use of EA¯shu¯ra¯D, the ritu-
It has been suggested that if societies do in fact tend to
al dramatization and commemoration of the martyrdom of
look to the cosmic order as their ideal for the social order,
Muh:ammad’s grandson, H:usayn ibn EAl¯ı, to legitimate Sh¯ıE¯ı
then secular ritual would always manifest sacred aspects. “If
ideology and rule in Iran (Hegland, 1983). Reinterpreting
this is the case it may not be possible to speak of purely reli-
H:usayn’s death as the final outcome in the struggle of a righ-
gious ritual or of purely secular ceremonial,” argues Eva
teous man against the corruption of true religion by political
Hunt. Furthermore, if the secular and religious orders are in-
rulers, the Sh¯ıEah found in EA¯shu¯ra¯D a powerful symbol in the
terdependent, so that the secular models and shapes the reli-
service of the revolution of 1979. By giving the ritual new
gious, which in turn models secular behavior, then “secular
ideological content, identifying the monarchy and allied
and sacred may not be different behaviors but different ana-
power structures as forces hostile to Islam and themselves as
lytic aspects of the same behaviors” (Hunt, 1977, p. 143).
preservers of true faith, the Sh¯ıEah in Iran made use of
EA¯shu¯ra¯D in their ascendancy to power.
Moore and Myerhoff define the sacred in broader terms
by which they distinguish it from religion. By sacred they
The 1993 state funeral of Turkey’s President Turgut
mean unquestionability or being inviolable and traditionaliz-
Ozal offered an example of three competing versions of the
ing. According to their definition, secular rituals exhibit a sa-
convergence of religious and political interests in ceremony.
cred dimension when they present ideology, doctrine, and
Gunter Seufert and Petra Weyland (1994) report that three
so on as authoritative and incontrovertible, and in so doing
rival groups symbolically expressed three divergent views of
secular rituals serve as a tradition-making force. Moore and
the sacred cosmic order and of the place and power of reli-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1518
CEREMONY
gion within the state. President Ozal’s funeral was the first
multiple views of the cosmic order among members of the
high-level state ceremony in which secular and official reli-
Turkish state.
gious representatives of the secular state and representatives
CONCLUSION. Any attempt to define ceremony must take
of nonstate-sponsored religion appeared together since the
into account the interpenetration of traditional ritual catego-
founding of the Republic of Turkey in 1923 by President
ries: sacred and secular, religious and political, and the like.
Mustafa Kemal. Representatives of the state, both secularists
As demonstrated in the examples presented above, historical
and those representing the official version of Islam, gave
phenomena cannot be compartmentalized as neatly as a
Islam an ambiguous place within the cosmos, a modified ver-
number of theoretical treatments of ceremony suggest. Any
sion of the Kemalist secular cosmos. They had appropriated
effort to analyze ceremony also must take note that formal-
Islamic symbolism increasingly in order to regain support of
ization, corroborative tendencies, and other aspects of cere-
average Muslims and had tolerated the existence of the Is-
moniousness are inherent to ritual. As suggested in the exam-
lamic brotherhoods and their participation in state institu-
ples offered above, the ceremonious mode can be expected
tions. The state representatives allowed the brotherhoods, es-
to dominate when ritual has been placed in the service of tra-
pecially the Naksibendiyye, to take part in the state funeral
dition or the legitimation of power. In this instance, as Tur-
and even to perform some of the rituals associated with it,
ner observes, ritual’s liminal features have been circum-
in spite of an official ban against public appearances by mem-
scribed in order to contain the threat to the established social
bers of the brotherhoods. The brotherhoods had been
order.
banned under President Kemal’s regime, which reconstruct-
SEE ALSO Ritual.
ed Turkey as a secular state in which the state government
tightly regulated religion. President Ozal, a pious Muslim
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Turner, Victor. Dramas, Fields, and Metaphors: Symbolic Action in
The published works of Cerularios can be found in Patrologia
Human Society. Ithaca, N.Y., 1974.
Graeca, edited by J.-P. Migne, vol. 120 (Paris, 1864). For
Michael Psellus’s denunciatory address against Cerularios,
Turner, Victor. From Ritual to Theatre: The Human Seriousness of
see Louis Bréhier’s “Un discours inédit de Psellos,” Revue des
Play. New York, 1982. See pages 80–84.
études grecques 16 (1903): 375–416 and 17 (1904): 35–75;
Vogt, Evon Z., and Suzanne Abel. “On Political Rituals in Con-
for Psellus’s funeral oration to Cerularios, see Konstantinos
temporary Mexico.” In Secular Ritual, edited by Sally F.
N. Sathas’s Mesaionike bibliotheke e sylloge anekdoton mnem-
Moore and Barbara G. Myerhoff, pp. 173–188. Assen,
eion tes Hellenikes historias, vol. 4 (Paris, 1874),
Netherlands, 1977.
pp. 303–387.
Warner, William Lloyd. The Living and the Dead: A Study of the
An older but reliable essay on Cerularios is J. B. Bury’s “Roman
Symbolic Life of Americans. New Haven, 1959.
Emperors from Basil II to Isaac Komnenos,” in Selected Essays
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1520
CEYLONESE RELIGION
of J. B. Bury, edited by Harold Temperley (1930; reprint,
which masters use a variety of verbal and physical strategies
Chicago, 1967), pp. 210–214. The classic narrative of the
to provoke their followers out of limited, patterned thinking
patriarch’s role in the schism remains Steven Runciman’s
and propel them into a direct realization of the truth. From
The Eastern Schism: A Study of the Papacy and the Eastern
the twelfth century onward it became common to use such
Churches during the Eleventh and Twelfth Centuries (1955; re-
anecdotes as foci of meditative concentration, called gongan
print, Oxford, 1963). A well-documented account of his role
(public cases, or precedents; Jpn., ko¯an). Since the anecdotes
in the azyme controversy with updated bibliography is
Mahlon H. Smith III’s And Taking Bread: Cerularius and the
chosen for such instruction were often derived from the
Azyme Controversy of 1054, “Théologie historique,” vol. 47
teacher’s own lineage, students were thus encouraged to ex-
(Paris, 1978).
amine and in some ways emulate the enlightened behavior
of their own genealogical predecessors.
JOHN TRAVIS (1987)
The historical development of Chinese Chan may be di-
vided into six overlapping stages: (1) proto-Chan, referring
CEYLONESE RELIGION SEE SINHALA
to the activities of the founding patriarch Bodhidharma
RELIGION
(d. c. 530) and the loosely connected group of wandering as-
cetics who venerated him; (2) early Chan, from the mid-
seventh through the end of the eighth century, when a num-
CHAITANYA S
ber of stable community groups and competing factions
EE CAITANYA
emerged and the basic terms of the school’s teachings and
historical self-identity were first elaborated in writing; (3)
middle Chan, from the latter part of the eighth through the
CHALCEDON, COUNCIL OF SEE
tenth century, when encounter dialogue emerged as the pri-
COUNCILS, ARTICLE ON CHRISTIAN COUNCILS
mary mode of Chan religious expression; (4) Song-dynasty
Chan, the pinnacle of Chan activity in the tenth to thir-
teenth centuries, when the school dominated Chinese mo-
CHAN.
nastic institutions and created its most characteristic ideals
The Chan school of Buddhism developed in
(including the “classical” image of middle-period masters as
China beginning in the sixth century CE, spread to Korea,
enlightened sages); (5) later imperial Chan, from the end of
Japan, and Vietnam beginning in the ninth century, and has
the thirteenth to the beginning of the twentieth century,
moved to Europe, the United States, and other parts of the
when there occurred a number of variations on earlier themes
world in modern times. The name Chan (So˘n in Korean,
Thi1n in Vietnamese, and Zen in Japanese) is the Chinese
and new combinations with other forms of Buddhist activity,
transliteration of the Indian word for concentration medita-
in particular Pure Land Buddhism; and (6) modern Chan
tion, dhya¯na in Sanskrit and jha¯na in Pali (and similar forms
in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, when various in-
in other prakrits or vernacular Indian languages).
dividuals and groups worked to identify with or capitalize
upon the reputation Chan achieved through its encounter
Although Chan is thus named after a type of Buddhist
with the modern, and in particular the Western, world.
meditation, it does not by any means have a monopoly on
the practice of meditation in East Asia, nor is its own identity
Knowledge about the first two phases of Chan has been
as a school limited to meditation alone. The best key to un-
aided immeasurably by the discovery of Chan-related manu-
derstanding Chinese Chan is actually the genealogical quality
scripts at Dunhuang, China, which have provided insight
of its historical identity and style of spiritual cultivation. Like
into the tradition unfiltered by perspectives from the Song
other Buddhist schools, Chan defines itself not as one among
dynasty and later. The middle period, in contrast, which is
many schools or interpretations of Buddhism but as the au-
inevitably described by anecdotes concerning some of the
thentic teaching of S´a¯kyamuni Buddha. In the case of Chan,
most famous sages of the Chan tradition, is known almost
this teaching is understood as having been transmitted from
exclusively through Song-dynasty materials and thus repre-
S´a¯kyamuni through an unbroken sequence of Indian and
sents the most difficult challenge to historical scholarship.
Chinese patriarchs and down to the masters of the present
And, although there are massive quantities of primary-source
age. This transmission took place, advocates of the school as-
material for the Song dynasty and later, these have not yet
sert, without words and from mind to mind, entirely apart
been thoroughly studied, especially in Western languages. In
from the translation and exposition of written scriptures.
spite of an abundance of source material, including publica-
And, just as each recognized member of the Chan lineage
tions by Chinese Buddhist teachers identifying themselves as
thus identifies himself (or, much less commonly, herself) ac-
Chan monks, there is as yet relatively little scholarly analysis
cording to a specific genealogy of masters and disciples, so
of how Chan might function as a coherent set of themes and
is the religious practice of Chan framed within a patriarchal
practices in the contemporary world, especially given the
structure resembling a father-son succession. Chan teachers
complex interrelationships between Chinese Chan, Japanese
and students are often depicted as engaging in “encounter
Zen, Korean So˘n, Vietnamese Thi1n, and their offspring tra-
dialogue,” conceived of as a spontaneous oral interchange in
ditions in Western countries.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHAN
1521
PROTO-CHAN. Bodhidharma is universally revered as the
Little is known about the early followers of Bodhidhar-
founding patriarch of Chan, but very little is known about
ma; they consisted of individuals and small groups of wan-
him. Traditionally, he is identified as the son of a brahman
dering ascetics associated with various sites in north China.
king of southern India, who arrived in southern China dur-
They were apparently devoted to the Treatise on the Two En-
ing the reign of the pro-Buddhist sovereign, Emperor Wu
trances and Four Practices, and the Dunhuang manuscript of
of the Liang dynasty (r. 501–549). Asked by Emperor Wu
this text includes a number of letters and dialogues they ap-
about the religious value of his support for Buddhism, Bod-
pended to it. In later years (after about the end of the eighth
hidharma is supposed to have replied, “No merit whatsoev-
century), however, this text came to be de-emphasized, since
er.” Following this, Bodhidharma crossed the Yangzi River
it was no longer compatible with the hagiographic image of
and took up meditation in a cave at Shaolinsi on Mount
Bodhidharma as an inspired raconteur.
Song (Henan province). His most famous student and even-
EARLY CHAN. This phase of Chan includes a number of dis-
tual successor, Huike (c. 485–555/574), is supposed to have
tinct communities and factions, to be dealt with here in suc-
cut off his own arm in his zeal to persuade Bodhidharma to
cession.
convey the Buddhist teachings.
East Mountain teaching. The meditation instructors
It is important to recognize that Chan stories such as
Daoxin (580–651) and Hongren (601–674) spent exactly
the preceding are generally without historical basis, and si-
half a century (624–674) in the same monastic complex in
multaneously to appreciate the profoundly important role
Huangmei (Hubei province). To this may be added another
such creations played within the growth of the Chan tradi-
quarter century of residence (675–701) by Hongren’s stu-
tion. Rather than undercutting their importance, the fictive
dent Shenxiu (c. 606–706) at Yuquansi in Jingzhou (also
quality of such anecdotes actually enhances their significance
Hubei). Thus the East Mountain community developed for
as imaginative scriptings of enlightened behavior. That is,
fully seventy-five years in provincial locations. At Huangmei,
rather than events involving one or two historical figures,
Daoxin and Hongren taught meditation to an increasing
they were molded by mythopoeic processes that involved
number of Buddhist monks and nuns of various back-
thousands upon thousands of people, and which served to
grounds; there is no evidence that they engaged in any Bud-
mold the basic conceptual patterns by which the school de-
dhist activity other than this. In contrast to the handful of
veloped. This relationship between the triviality of journalis-
names associated with Bodhidharma and Huike, there are
tically accurate history and the profound importance of
about a dozen associated with Daoxin and twice the number
mythological and legendary themes is not restricted to Bod-
associated with Hongren.
hidharma or proto-Chan, but actually applies to all of Chi-
nese Chan Buddhism: what is not “true” is often demonstra-
Northern school. In 701 Shenxiu traveled to Luoyang
bly more important. With regard to Bodhidharma, we know
(Henan province), one of the two capitals of medieval China,
that his role within the Chan movement was essentially leg-
where he had been invited to teach in the palace by the only
endary, that is, the school was built as much on the idea of
woman to rule China in her own name, Empress Wu (r.
him as a foreign meditation master as on the basis of any spe-
684–705). Here Shenxiu proclaimed himself a successor to
cific teachings or accomplishments.
Hongren’s “pure teaching of East Mountain,” explaining
that the essence of Buddhism was “contemplation of the
There exists a text attributed to Bodhidharma known
mind” and interpreting any and all Buddhist doctrines as
as the Treatise on the Two Entrances and Four Practices (Erru
metaphors for this practice. For example, he wrote meta-
sixing lun), which establishes the basic configuration of
phorically, “those who seek emancipation always consider
Chan religious thought. The “entrance of principle” (liru) is
the body as the lamp’s stand, the mind as the lamp’s dish,
explained using the concept of the buddha-nature, the fully
and faith as the lamp’s wick. . .If one constantly burns such
enlightened mind that all sentient beings harbor within the
a lamp of truly suchlike true enlightenment, its illumination
recesses of their own identities, obscured by deluded think-
will destroy all the darkness of ignorance and stupidity.”
ing and dualistic conceptualization. The text’s explanation
Shenxiu thus emphasized that one should constantly remain
of how to undertake this approach is vague, especially in its
in meditation while constantly working to aid sentient be-
use of the term wall-contemplation (biguan), which initially
ings—an explanation of the bodhisattva ideal of Maha¯ya¯na
seems to have referred to a state of being firmly closed off
Buddhism. His teachings were spectacularly popular in the
from outside sensory influence. (In later years this term was
sophisticated society of the Chinese imperial capitals (at both
understood simplistically as “sitting facing a wall.”) The “en-
Luoyang and Chang’an), and after his death the most promi-
trance of practice” (xingru) is described as a set of attitudes
nent of his more than seventy students continued as instruc-
of nonattachment to one’s states of suffering and happiness,
tors to court society throughout the 730s, as did their stu-
so that one eventually acts fully in accord with the dharma
dents and later successors (with somewhat lesser
in all situations. This text’s use of the buddha-nature concept
prominence) after that.
and the pairing of the two entrances, one meditative and fo-
cused inwardly, and the other active and focused on outward
Shenxiu and his students carried with them a written ex-
behavior, represented the building blocks from which Chan
planation of their master Hongren’s teachings known as the
discourse developed.
Treatise on the Essentials of Cultivating the Mind (Xiuxin yao
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1522
CHAN
lun), which they edited after Hongren’s death in memory of
school and the capstone text of early Chan, the Platform
his legacy. Here the buddha-nature concept introduced in
Su¯tra of the Sixth Patriarch (Liuzu tan jing). Although the
the Treatise on the Two Entrances and Four Practices was clari-
Oxhead school had its own fictive lineage, tracing itself back
fied by means of a metaphor of sun and clouds: Just as the
to a student of Daoxin’s, its members adopted the legendary
sun is constantly shining even when obstructed by clouds,
image of Huineng as sixth patriarch. Oxhead school figures
so the practitioner should maintain awareness of the exis-
tended to downplay any differences between the Northern
tence of the buddha-nature within, even if it is obscured by
and Southern schools, making statements such as “the mind
human ignorance. The Treatise on the Essentials of Cultivating
is the central principle” (using the term zong, which is also
the Mind includes two different specific practices of medita-
used with the meaning “school”). The most representative
tion, framed within a combination of seemingly contradicto-
Oxhead text is the Treatise on the Transcendence of Cogni-
ry exhortations to make an effort in spiritual cultivation, on
tion (Jueguan lun), which presents a dialogue between a fic-
the one hand, and to avoid positing enlightenment as an ob-
tional student and teacher proceeding in three stages:
jectified goal, on the other.
(1) questions and answers about the dharma, (2) the stu-
dent’s perception of the nonexistence of all things, and (3)
The text attributed retrospectively to Hongren was only
the student’s final realization of the ultimate truth.
the first of several to be composed after his students began
moving into the two capitals. The most important of these
This threefold structure is also apparent in the famous
texts, the earliest of the “transmission of the lamp” genre,
Platform Su¯tra, the earliest version of which appeared about
narrated the transmission of Buddhism by a sequence of
780. This text draws on Shenhui’s acceptance of Huineng
meditation masters. Although these works discussed only
as Hongren’s only successor but effectively writes Shenhui
teachers active in China (and not their Indian predecessors)
out of the story, saying nothing of his famous campaign and
and differed among themselves in the specifics of the trans-
belittling him as a foolish young monk. The Platform Su¯tra
mission, they contained the first written expressions of the
story is, like the anecdotes about Bodhidharma, demonstra-
Chan lineage theory. The individual described as the “third
bly ahistorical: Shenxiu studied with Hongren in the 650s,
patriarch” in traditional Chan sources, Sengcan, is only men-
not toward the end of the master’s life, and the very notion
tioned for the first time in a text from 689 CE; the justifiably
of selecting a single successor was only conceivable after
famous Inscription on Believing in Mind (Xinxin ming) attri-
Shenhui’s campaign. However, the text has been widely in-
buted to him was composed sometime in the middle of the
fluential as a religious scripture, known especially for its in-
eighth century.
spired depiction of Huineng as an unlettered sage.
Southern school. Beginning in 730 a monk named
MIDDLE CHAN. In south-central China in the latter half of
Shenhui (684–758) attacked Shenxiu’s students as belonging
the eighth century there emerged two lineages of Chan prac-
to a nonmainstream lineage and advocating an inferior
titioners that came to embody a new approach to Buddhist
teaching. He asserted boldly that his own teacher, the hither-
spiritual cultivation based on lively interaction between
to obscure Huineng (638–713) of Caoqi in the far south
teachers and students and often iconoclastic behavior, a style
(Guangdong province), was Hongren’s only fully authorized
of discourse known as encounter dialogue. The chief figures
successor and was the “sixth patriarch” of Chan Buddhism,
in this new development were Shitou Xiqian (710–790) in
and that only this single lineage was legitimate. It was Shen-
Hubei and Mazu Daoyi (709–788) in Jiangxi, who are re-
hui who labeled Shenxiu and his successors the “Northern
membered as progenitors of the Caodong (Jpn., So¯to¯) and
school” and Huineng’s teaching the “Southern school,”
Linji (Jpn., Rinzai) lineages, respectively. Many of the most
based on the geographical locations where the two masters
memorable anecdotes of Chinese Chan derive from Mazu’s
taught. (Shenxiu’s successors did not refer to themselves in
so-called Hongzhou school (a name based on his residence
this fashion until decades later.)
in what is now Jiangxi province), which includes Zhaozhou
Shenhui himself was not a meditation instructor, but an
Congshen (c. 778–897), Baizhang Huaihai (749–814), and
evangelist; he had no long-term relationships with students,
Nanquan Puyuan (748–834). Virtually all accounts of Chi-
and for him religious wisdom was something to be achieved
nese Chan include references to Zhaozhou’s negative re-
immediately, in an instantaneous flash of insight, rather than
sponse to the question of whether dogs have the buddha-
requiring nurturing over lengthy periods of self-cultivation.
nature (he replied, “No!”); Baizhang’s supposed maxim, “A
A gifted storyteller, Shenhui inspired his students and listen-
day without work is a day without food”; and Nanquan’s
ers with a message of nondualistic wisdom that he described
outrageous killing of a cat as a challenge to other trainees.
as the teaching of sudden enlightenment. Although his doc-
The most famous representative of this style of Chan was
trinal innovations and entertaining public presentations were
Linji Yixuan (d. 867; Jpn., Rinzai Gigen), whose recorded
very appealing, the factionalist and even ad hominem quality
sayings contain memorable phrases such as “the true man of
of his campaign against the alleged gradualism of the North-
no rank” and shocking lines such as “if you meet the Buddha,
ern school created a crisis in early Chan.
kill him!”
Oxhead school and Platform Su¯tra. The factionalist
There would appear, at first glance, to be a close corre-
crisis fomented by Shenhui was resolved by the Oxhead
spondence between the “encounter dialogue” style of such
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHAN
1523
Hongzhou-school figures and the religious doctrines of the
modern regionalism, in recent years historians have begun
school. Mazu’s teachings are described as holding that “the
to pay attention to the twelfth-century emergence of elites
arising of mental activity, the movement of thought, even
focused not on national political service but on building
snapping the fingers or moving the eyes—all actions and ac-
power and wealth for their respective clans in local and re-
tivities are the functioning of the entire essence of the bud-
gional settings.
dha-nature.” Thus Mazu and his students are supposed to
have emphasized dynamic interaction using lively repartee,
At the beginning of the Northern Song the Chan school
physical gestures, and even loud shouts and physical blows.
found itself in a surprisingly dominant position. As a move-
The problem, however, is that such events—which are sup-
ment that only began to achieve national prominence in the
posed to have taken place a few decades before or after the
eighth century and which remained subordinate throughout
year 800—are not recorded in any written text until 952.
the Tang, by the end of the tenth century and the beginning
This is the date of the very important Anthology of the Patri-
of the eleventh the category of “Chan master” (or “medita-
archal Hall (Zutang ji), which is the first text to contain any
tion master”) accounted for some three-quarters of the most
written transcription of oral Chan dialogue. Preserved only
prominent members of the sam:gha. One reason for this pop-
in Korea, this anthology established the basic pattern of all
ularity was the effective collapse of the translation enterprise,
later “transmission of the lamp” texts by providing entries for
which had been the primary focus of imperial support for
the entire lineage from the seven Buddhas of the Past (i.e.,
Buddhism ever since the end of the fourth century. Although
from its ancient predecessors in India) to the present.
there was a flurry of effort in the late tenth century setting
up the necessary government offices and collecting all the
Although there are substantial materials concerning the
available Indic manuscripts, after a mere two decades of work
Hongzhou school that date from its own time, none of these
(980–1000) there simply were no more texts arriving from
texts (nor any of the manuscripts from Dunhuang) contain
the “western regions” for translation. In effect, the transla-
transcriptions of encounter dialogue. It does appear that the
tion enterprise had ended at the beginning of the ninth cen-
lineages of Shitou and Mazu represented a new spirit of
tury, and the brief period of Song activity was only an excep-
Chan that arose in the latter half of the eighth century in
tional final gasp. The increasing prominence of Chan texts
south-central China. However, it is also clear that the “tradi-
over this period, and especially their imperial recognition
tional” image of Shitou, Mazu, and their immediate genera-
and circulation in woodblock editions, should be understood
tions of disciples was not generated until the Song dynasty.
against this background.
The questions that confront scholars now are: When and
From the beginning of the Song dynasty, Chan monks
how did encounter dialogue actually develop? What were the
played a role very different from the rustic ideal associated
contemporaneous historical identities of Shitou, Mazu, and
with Huineng, Mazu, and other Tang figures: they served as
others?
abbots of some 90 percent of the largest monastic institu-
SONG-DYNASTY CHAN. The Song dynasty witnessed the
tions (“monasteries of the ten directions,” shifang conglin,
Chan school’s greatest efflorescence in China, and it was dur-
often referred to as “public monasteries”) in China, directing
ing this period that there emerged the school’s mature con-
practice in meditation and functioning as fund-raisers for
figuration, not a fixed pattern but a dynamic interplay of ele-
their temples. In previous scholarship this has been interpret-
ments, rather like the “climax paradigm” of complex
ed as evidence of the degeneration of Chan, but it now seems
biological systems. This success should be understood against
more reasonable to view this period as the high point of the
the background of larger political and social changes that al-
school’s efflorescence in China. Indeed, the romantic image
lowed Chan to flourish even as they set the stage for a funda-
of the Tang-dynasty sages is now understood to be a Song-
mental transformation in Chinese Buddhism as a whole.
dynasty creation, and the quest for “pure Chan” a function
of Japanese sectarian interests.
The Northern Song (960–1127) reestablished the cen-
tralized imperial state, and its rulers did their best to emulate
Song-dynasty writers used various labels in reference to
their illustrious Tang-dynasty predecessors. However, the
different lineage-based styles of Chan from the late Tang on-
world had changed, and the Song court was forced to pay
ward, and there are observable shifts in the relative vitality
deference to the competing Liao (916–1125) and Jin (1115–
of different factions over time. Thus we read of the so-called
1234) regimes. (The Song even paid material tribute to the
five houses (wujia; Jpn., goke), the Fayan, Guiyang, Yunmen,
Jin.) After the Jin conquest of north China, the Southern
Caodong, and Linji lineages, which never coexisted except
Song (1127–1279) was wracked by abortive social and politi-
in written summaries of Chan teachings. The Caodong lin-
cal reforms and a never-ending debate about military action
eage was tenuous for a time and was always overshadowed
to retake the north. Although the Jin and the Southern Song
by the Linji school, which itself spawned the Huanglong and
collaborated to eliminate the Liao, they were swallowed up
Yangchi sublineages. Linji, or Rinzai, predominated among
in turn by the Mongolian Yuan dynasty (1206–1368).
lineages transmitted to Japan from the end of the twelfth
Where earlier generations of scholars focused on the An Lu-
century onward, although one of the two Caodong, or So¯to¯,
shan rebellion of 755 to 763 as an important watershed in
lineages (that associated with Do¯gen Kigen [1200–1253])
the transition from medieval aristocratic centralism to pre-
eventually became widespread there as well.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1524
CHAN
The most important Chan figure during the Song
lic documents describing the lineage identities used in nego-
dynasty was Dahui Zonggao (1089–1163), who as abbot in
tiating appointments as abbots to public monasteries.
successive appointments at some of the largest monasteries
Third, given the great proliferation of Chan anecdotes
in China taught hundreds, sometimes even thousands, of
transcribed in the preceding genres, there developed shorter
students at a time. Dahui is known for an energetic and per-
collections of favorite examples, known as “precedent an-
sonal style, addressing much of his attention to literate lay-
thologies” (gongan ji; Jpn., ko¯an shu¯). The most important
men and accepting as his students nuns as well as monks. In
of these are the Emerald Cliff Record (Biyan lu; Jpn., Hekigan
fact, it was in teaching a nun, Miaodao (fl. c. 1134–1155),
roku), which contains several layers of teachers’ commen-
that he developed his most characteristic teaching style: the
taries on a hundred different anecdotes drawn primarily from
use of intense contemplation of the “critical phrase” (huatou)
the Record of the Transmission of the Lamp of 1004 compiled
of what came to be called gongan.
by Yuanwu Keqin (1063–1135) and the Gateless Barrier
Dahui had Miaodao consider a phrase attributed to
(Wumen guan; Jpn. Mumonkan) by Wumen Huikai (1183–
Mazu: “It is not mind, it is not Buddha, it is not a thing.”
1260; the title is a pun on his name). The latter text contains
In his instructions Dahui said, “You must not take it as a
forty-eight anecdotes (some of them identical to those of the
statement of truth. You must not take it to be something you
Emerald Cliff Record) presented with less structural complexi-
do not need to do anything about. Do not take it as a flint-
ty but perhaps greater religious eloquence.
struck spark or a lightning flash. Do not try to divine the
Fourth, there is a wide variety of other Chan texts, in-
meaning of it. Do not try to figure it out from the context
cluding poems, essays, monastic regulations, and historical
in which I brought it up. ‘It is not the mind, it is not the
documents.
Buddha, it is not a thing; after all, what is it?’” Dahui thus
LATER IMPERIAL CHAN. The founding emperor of the Ming
prohibited all potentially rational approaches to solving the
dynasty (1368–1644) supported a revitalization of Chinese
problem, and he rejected Miaodao’s first attempts to demon-
Buddhism (along with strict government control of the reli-
strate her understanding, sometimes with loud shouts. Even-
gion), promoting what were thought to be the most impor-
tually she understood, and from that point on Dahui began
tant scriptures and supporting basic forms of Buddhist edu-
teaching all his students using the huatou method. Dahui was
cation. In this context Chan masters wrote commentaries on
also an outspoken advocate of vigorous effort in meditation
scriptures such as the Heart Su¯tra and Diamond Su¯tra, ex-
practice, and he railed publicly against contemporary Chan
plaining their doctrines using Chan rhetoric. Toward the
teachers of the Caodong lineage who taught “silent illumina-
end of the dynasty a number of prominent Chan teachers ap-
tion” (mozhao). This was anathematic for Dahui whenever
peared who worked to “revive” the fortunes of the school,
it was taken to mean merely sitting like dead wood, waiting
sometimes in combination with Pure Land devotional prac-
for enlightenment to happen someday.
tices oriented to laypeople. In the Qing dynasty (1644–
The extensive literature of the Song-dynasty Chan
1911) members of the Huangbo lineage struggled to re-
school may be approached in terms of several different
invent Chan, bypassing the Song synthesis and reaching back
genres. First, “recorded sayings” (yulu, also referred to as
to Linji Yixuan. The Huangbo school figure Yinyuan Longqi
“discourse records”; Jpn., goroku) were published for individ-
(1592–1673; Jpn., Ingen Ryu¯ki) and some of his followers
ual Chan teachers, initially after their demise (as with the
emigrated to Japan in 1654, stimulating a reconfiguration of
Treatise on the Essentials of Cultivating the Mind) but eventu-
Zen there through his combined use of Pure Land practices.
ally during the masters’ lifetimes and with their active collab-
MODERN CHAN. This era includes a wide range of different
oration. (There is a famous rant in the Record of Linji against
phenomena. In the pre-1949 period there remained a small
students who take notes during sermons, transforming the
number of strong meditation centers at Chinese monasteries,
teacher’s “live words” into dead ones, but this injunction
many of them perpetuating Chan styles of practice, but the
came to be ignored.)
specifics of their religious identities are still unclear. Xuyun
(1840–1959) is famous for having initiated himself into sev-
Second, “transmission of the lamp” histories (chuandeng
eral long-defunct lineages, while the monk Zhang Shengyan
shi, or simply dengshi; Jpn., dento¯shi or to¯shi) are texts that
(b. 1930) established centers for Chan meditation and Bud-
organize information about Chan teachers and their teach-
dhist study in New York in self-conscious preparation for the
ings into generational hierarchies. The earliest texts of this
extension of his teaching activities to Taiwan. Although there
genre appeared in the early eighth century; the best-known
are numerous Chinese (as well as Korean and Vietnamese)
examples are the Anthology of the Patriarchal Hall of 952 and
teachers active in Taiwan, Hong Kong, mainland China, and
the Record of the Transmission of the Lamp [compiled during
abroad who identify themselves as representing the Chan
the] Jingde [era] (Jingde chuandeng lu; Jpn., Keitoku
school and its teachings, many of whom adopt Chan-style
dento¯roku) of 1004. A handful of texts published in the
rhetoric and meditation practices, they often adopt charac-
twelfth to the thirteenth centuries effectively supplemented
teristics of Japanese Zen in the West.
and extended the Record of the Transmission of the Lamp; that
these texts were presented to the imperial court and officially
SEE ALSO Buddhism, Schools of, article on Chinese Bud-
included in the Buddhist canon indicates their status as pub-
dhism; Buddhist Philosophy; Jingtu; Nirva¯n:a; Prajña¯; Zen.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHAN
1525
BIBLIOGRAPHY
triguing hypothesis concerning the probable Korean author-
The modern study of Chinese Chan Buddhism derives in large
ship of a Chan-related text. Other important studies are
part from a group of research project undertaken in Kyoto,
found in R. M. Gimello and P. N. Gregory, eds., Studies in
Japan, organized and supported by Ruth Fuller Sasaki (1893/
Ch’an and Hua-yen (Honolulu, 1983), and Peter N. Grego-
1894–1967). Participants in this project included the Chan
ry, ed. Sudden and Gradual: Approaches to Enlightenment in
scholar Yanagida Seizan, the Chinese linguist Iriya Yoshitaka
Chinese Thought (Honolulu, 1987). A masterful summary of
(1910–1998), Chan scholar Philip B. Yampolsky (1920–
many of the issues of early and middle Chinese Chan is
1996), translator Burton Watson, and the poet Gary Snyder.
found in Peter N. Gregory, Tsung-mi and the Sinification of
In addition to producing a translation of the recorded sayings
Buddhism (Princeton, 1991).
of Linji Yixuan, translated by Ruth Fuller Sasaki as The Re-
The most substantial source of information about Chinese Chan
corded Sayings of Ch’an Master Lin-chi Hui-chao of Chen Pre-
prior to the Song dynasty available in English is certainly
fecture (Kyoto, 1975), this group transformed the study of
Heinrich S. Dumoulin, Zen Buddhism: A History, vol. 1,
Chinese Chan by reading its texts as colloquial Chinese, rath-
India and China, translated by James W. Heisig and Paul
er than through the formalized traditions of Japanese Zen.
Knitter (New York, 1989; rev. ed., 1994), although the ro-
Of this group it was Yanagida who made the most extensive and
manticism that imbues Dumoulin’s account is criticized se-
profound contributions to the study of Chinese Chan in the
verely in John R. McRae’s Seeing through Zen: Encounter,
twentieth century. A summary of his major works is available
Transformation, and Genealogy in Chinese Chan Buddhism
in John R. McRae, “Yanagida Seizan’s Landmark Works on
(Berkeley, 2003), which both traces the overall evolution of
Chinese Ch’an,” Cahiers d’Extême-Asie 7 (1993–1994): 51–
Chinese Chan and works to change how readers think about
103. Otherwise, relatively little of Yanagida’s research is
the subject. Dumoulin’s presentation is largely a synthesis of
available in English: see “The Development of the ‘Recorded
the semi-scholarly writings of D. T. Suzuki (1870–1966)
Sayings’ Texts of the Chinese Ch’an School,” in Whalen Lai
and the historical analysis of Hu Shih (1891–1962); the best
and Lewis R. Lancaster, eds., Early Ch’an in China and Tibet
source for the strikingly different positions of these two fig-
(Berkeley, 1983), pp. 185–205; “The Li-tai fa-pao chi and
ures are Hu’s “Ch’an (Zen) Buddhism in China: Its History
the Ch’an Doctrine of Sudden Awakening,” also in Lai and
and Method,” Philosophy East and West 3, no. 1 (1953):
Lancaster, pp. 13–49; and “The Life of Lin-chi I-hsüan,”
3–24, and Suzuki’s rejoinder, “Zen: A Reply to Hu Shih,”
Eastern Buddhist n.s. 5, no. 2 (1972): 70–94.
pp. 25–46 of the same issue. Analytical critiques of these two
scholars are available in Robert Sharf, “The Zen of Japanese
In English, the most influential contribution to study of Chinese
Nationalism,” in Donald S. Lopez Jr., ed., Curators of the
Chan has been Philip B. Yampolsky, The Platform Sutra of
Buddha: The Study of Buddhism Under Colonialism (Chicago,
the Sixth Patriarch: The Text of the Tun-huang Manuscript
1995), pp. 107–160; and John R. McRae, “Religion as Revo-
with Translation, Introduction, and Notes (New York and
lution in Chinese Historiography: Hu Shih (1891–1962) on
London, 1967), which includes a masterful introduction
Shen-hui (684–758),” Cahiers d’Extême-Asie 12 (2001): 59–
outlining the development of both the myth of Huineng and
102. Although there is as yet no adequate single volume on
the text bearing his name. Although Yampolsky’s translation
middle-period Chan, Robert E. Buswell Jr., The Korean Ap-
is the most widely used, Wing-Tsit Chan, The Platform
proach to Zen: The Collected Works of Chinul (Honolulu,
Scripture (New York, 1963), is still worthy of reference for
1983), and Cuong Tu Nguyen, Zen in Medieval Vietnam: A
the Dunhuang version of the text, and John R. McRae, The
Study and Translation of Thi1n uy6en tâ:p anh (Honolulu,
Platform Su¯tra of the Sixth Patriarch (Berkeley, 2000), may
1997), both include important information concerning both
be consulted for the Ming-dynasty edition.
Chinese Chan and its diffusion to Korea and Vietnam, re-
For Bodhidharma, and for the development of Chan hagiography
spectively.
in general, an insightful treatment is Bernard Faure, “Bod-
For later periods of Chan there is rather less available. One very
hidharma as Textual and Religious Paradigm,” History of Re-
influential article is T. Griffith Foulk, “Myth, Ritual, and
ligions 25, no. 3 (1986): 187–198. For a translation of the
Monastic Practice in Sung Ch’an Buddhism,” in Patricia
treatise attributed to Bodhidharma, as well as the material
Buckley Ebrey and Peter N. Gregory, eds., Religion and
appended to the master’s words in Dunhuang manuscripts,
Society in T’ang and Sung China (Honolulu, 1993),
see Jeffrey L. Broughton, The Bodhidharma Anthology: The
pp. 147–208. An extensive study of the earliest text of Chi-
Earliest Records of Zen (Berkeley, 1999).
nese monastic regulations, from 1103, is found in Yifa, The
Studies of early Chinese Chan include John R. McRae, The North-
Origins of Buddhist Monastic Codes in China: An Annotated
ern School and the Formation of Early Ch’an Buddhism (Ho-
Translation and Study of the Chanyuan qinggui (Honolulu,
nolulu, 1986), and Bernard Faure, The Will to Orthodoxy: A
2002). Dale S. Wright has contributed a trenchant guide to
Critical Genealogy of Northern Chan Buddhism (Stanford,
reading Chan texts in his Philosophical Meditations on Zen
Calif., 1997). While these two books focus on the Northern
Buddhism (Cambridge, UK, 1998). Steven Heine and Dale
school, Faure’s two volumes, The Rhetoric of Immediacy: A
S. Wright have edited a valuable anthology, The Ko¯an: Texts
Cultural Critique of Chan/Zen Buddhism (Princeton, 1991)
and Contexts in Zen Buddhism (New York, 2000), several of
and Chan Insights and Oversights: An Epistemological Critique
the contributions to which provide the best recent scholar-
of the Chan Tradition (Princeton, 1993), include a far-
ship on Chinese “encounter dialogue” and gongan introspec-
ranging postmodernist inquiry into the overarching themes
tion. A number of specialized articles are included in Peter
of Chinese Chan. Robert E. Buswell Jr., The Formation of
N. Gregory and Daniel A. Getz Jr., eds., Buddhism in the
Ch’an Ideology in China and Korea: The Vajrasama¯dhi-Su¯tra,
Sung (Honolulu, 1999), including Miriam Levering’s
a Buddhist Apocryphon (Princeton, 1989), contains an in-
“Miao-tao and Her Teacher Ta-hui,” pp. 188–219. Also see
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1526
CHANCE
Miriam Levering, “Lin-chi Ch’an and Gender: The Rhetoric
existence or from free will. Again, the uncertainty and inde-
of Equality and the Rhetoric of Heroism,” in José Ignazio
terminateness of reality can be the source of inspiration for
Cabezón, ed., Buddhism, Sexuality, and Gender (Albany,
art or enterprise. The spirit of gambling, for instance, delib-
N.Y., 1992), pp. 137–156. For Ming-dynasty Chan consult
erately creates uncertain situations for the enjoyment of the
Yü Chün-fang’s The Renewal of Buddhism in China: Chu-
risks themselves (see Rothbard, p. 500).
hung and the Late Ming Synthesis (New York, 1981). For
Chan in contemporary China, an anecdotal evocation is
CHANCE, GREEK VIEWS. Dante noted that Democritus “as-
available in Empty Cloud: The Teachings of Xu Yun, a Remem-
cribes the world to chance” (Inferno 4.136; cf. Cioffari, chap.
brance of the Great Chinese Zen Master, by Jy Din Sakya as
1). Aristotle also observed that for Democritus the cosmos
related to Chuan Yuan Shakya and Upasaka Richard Cheung
was ordered by chance (automaton), that is, out of itself
(Albany, N.Y., 1992).
(auto) without any reason or purpose (maton). (For the ety-
A large number of Chan texts are available in English translation,
mology of automaton, see Physics 197b.) In opposition to this
although not always in reliable form. One of the best is Urs
view of chance as a spontaneous event, or as “a cause that
App, Master Yunmen: From the Record of the Chan Teacher
is inscrutable to human intelligence, as being a divine thing
“Gate of the Clouds” (New York, Tokyo, and London, 1994).
and full of mystery” (Physics 196b), Aristotle considered
The best treatment of the Song-dynasty development of
chance (tuch¯e and automaton) as an accidental cause of the
Chan literature is Christian Wittern, Das Yulu des Chan-
“efficient order” and what happens “by accident” (kata
Buddhismus: Die Entwicklung vom 8.–11. Jahrhundert am
sumbeb¯ekos). Chance is indeterminate, changeful, and unsta-
Beispiel des 28, Kapitels des Jingde Chuandenglu (1004)–
ble. It is whatever comes about, neither always nor usually,
(Bern, Germany, and New York, 1998).
but rarely (Metaphysics 1026b–1027a, 1065a; Physics 196b–
JOHN R. MCRAE (2005)
198a).
Aristotle moreover distinguished two types of chance
events, tuch¯e and automaton. Illustrating this distinction, Al-
CHANCE, in the most general sense of the word, is the
exander of Aphrodisias, a third-century commentator, gave
negation of necessity and the opposite of determinism. The
the example of a lost horse recovered by chance by his former
word “chance,” derived from the Latin cadere (“to fall”), has
owner. For the owner, the event is fortunate (tuch¯e), but for
a wide spectrum of meanings encompassing randomness,
the horse it is simply fortuitous (automaton). Automaton has
probability, coincidence, contingence, fluke, accident, inci-
a broader range of meanings than tuch¯e, as it is applicable
dent, fortuity, serendipity, hazard, risk, opportunity, luck,
both to the natural and human worlds, whereas tuch¯e applies
fortune, and fate. Many words related to chance, such as co-
only to the latter (see Kuki, pp. 63–67).
incidence, contingence, or the German Zufall, indicate a bina-
ry structure, the coming together of two causally indepen-
Regarding luck and chance, Aristotle observed: “We
dent series of events. Something happens, or a certain
speak of ‘good luck’ when luck brings us something good,
situation or person is encountered by chance. (The word “in-
and ‘bad luck’ in the opposite event, or, in serious cases, of
cident” derives from Latin incidere, “to befall, to fall out.”)
‘good fortune’ [eutuchia] or ‘misfortune’ [dustuchia]” (Physics
197a). Good fortune or chance for Aristotle comprised such
The awareness of chance is an integral part of world-
qualities as noble birth, good children, wealth, political
views, both indeterministic and deterministic. Chance may
power, friends, and beauty (cf. Rhetoric 1389a). Fortune or
be regarded positively as “an essential aspect of any real pro-
chance is the cause of these external goods (Politics 1322b).
cess” (Bohm, p. 141); negatively as the lack of causality or
The ethical virtues of justice, courage, temperance, and wis-
knowledge of such; and neutrally as the law of probability.
dom, however, lie outside the realm of chance, that is, within
To some, chance denotes human freedom, but to oth-
human control (cf. Politics 1323a).
ers, fate. Chance can be haphazard; it can be fortunate or un-
The Greek word for chance, tuch¯e, contains the long
fortunate. It is a highly equivocal, bifacial term, in that one
history of poets’ and writers’ reflections on the subjects of
meaning can easily turn into its opposite. This ambivalence
luck, fate, the vicissitudes of life, and the gods’ share in such
may be traced back to the essential unpredictability and un-
human events. For Pindar, Soteira Tyche (Fortune the Sav-
knowability of any happening. The insurance business, for
ior) is “heaven-sent good fortune,” the “kindly power who
instance, rests on its customers’ belief in chance (in the sense
may crown the efforts of man” (Greene, pp. 72–73). Plato
of unpredictability), but itself uses the theory of chance—
talked about a theia tuch¯e, a divine chance (Timaeus 25e),
that is, probability—to calculate its risks and price its policies
who comes to save human beings from their folly. Many
(see Knight).
Greeks worshipped Agathe Tyche, the goddess of good for-
Although in the early twenty-first century the theory of
tune (Timaeus 26e; Greene, p. 299). Aristotle admitted that
probability predicts the course of class events to a great ex-
chance has a religio-ethical significance in that fortune and
tent, the ultimate unknowability and uncertainty of individ-
happiness (eudaimonia) are often synonymous, that “happi-
ual events can never vanish from the realm of human experi-
ness is a divine gift” (Nicomachean Ethics 1099b; Greene,
ence (see Von Mises). This persistent presence of chance
p. 325), and that “the lucky seem to succeed owing to God”
elements can be argued from the contingent nature of one’s
(Ethica Eudemia 1248b; Cioffari, p. 27).
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHANCE
1527
But Goddess Tyche is not always benevolent or depend-
guished two kinds of truths and held that “truths of fact are
able. Archilochus (c. 700–650 BCE) is said to have introduced
contingent,” while “truths of reasoning are necessary”
the idea of tuch¯e into the discourse, along with the already
(Monadology 33).
familiar Homeric notion of moira (fate), to account for what
CHANCE AS SERENDIPITY. In opposition to the mechanical
controlled human destiny. According to Orphic doctrines,
necessitarianists of the late nineteenth century, C. S. Peirce
fate was the law that controlled the conditions of human be-
developed a philosophical position that he called “tychism.”
ings’ birth, death, and reincarnation, but by the fifth and
It preserves the necessary presence of chance (Gr., tuch¯e), “a
fourth centuries BCE, goddess Tyche became increasingly im-
spontaneity which is to some degree regular,” in the evolu-
portant. An anonymous poet wrote: “Fortune [Tyche], be-
tionary process of the world, and this accounts for the indi-
ginning and end of human beings. Thou sittest in the seats
vidual specification (1923, pp. 200–201). Max Born, from
of wisdom, and grantest honor to human deeds . . . thou
the standpoint of quantum mechanics, likewise took chance
most excellent of gods” (Loeb ed., Lyra Graeca, vol. 3,
to be mixed with “certain regularities,” and nature to be
p. 477). In Greek tragedies, the role of tuch¯e was consider-
“ruled by laws of cause and laws of chance.” Distinguishing
able. Euripides’s Ion exclaims: “O Tyche, thou who hast
causality from determinism, Born incorporated chance into
brought change to myriads of human beings, causing them
the consideration of causality, and thereby gave quantum
now to suffer misfortune, and now to fare well, by what a
mechanics indeterministic foundations (cf. Heisenberg’s
narrow margin have I escaped slaying my mother!” (Euripi-
“principle of indeterminacy” or Niels Bohr’s “principle of
des, Ion 1512–1515). Tyche, as the goddess of chance, was
complementarity”). This indeterministic position was reject-
associated with Lachesis, one of the Moirai (Fates) and the
ed by Einstein, who was convinced that God was not a “dice-
“dispenser of human lots” (Hesiod), and took on a fickle, un-
playing God” (Born, pp. 3, 109, 122–123). The Nobel lau-
predictable character.
reate biologist Jacques Monod declared that “chance alone
CHANCE, THE ROMAN VIEW. The cult of the native Italian
is at the source of every innovation, of all creation in the bio-
goddess Fortuna was revived when she was identified with
sphere” (p. 112). Objectors to this view hold that Monod’s
Tyche. Pliny the Elder noted:
equation of “chance and man’s freedom to choose his own
ethical value” is erroneous (see MacKay, p. 31), or that “phy-
Everywhere in the whole world, at every hour by every-
sico-chemical determinism” is not synonymous with the “ab-
one’s voices Fortuna alone is invoked and named, alone
sence of choice and freedom” (Schoffeniels, p. xix).
accused, alone impeached, alone pondered, alone ap-
plauded, alone rebuked and visited with reproaches;
Not only the old question of divine providence, human
deemed volatile and indeed by most people blind as
freedom and chance, but the question of scientific discoveries
well, wayward, inconstant, uncertain, fickle in her fa-
and their philosophical implications occupy the contempo-
vors and favoring the unworthy. . . . We are so much
rary mind. The current trend is in agreement with the world-
at the mercy of chance that Chance herself takes the
view that is fast moving towards indeterminism, and chance,
place of god. (Natural History 2.22)
understood as serendipity, is considered instrumental in bio-
The belief in Fortuna persisted well into Renaissance Eu-
logical and other scientific discoveries and breakthroughs
rope; she was often depicted with wings, bearing a rudder
(see works by J. H. Austin and A. Kantorovich, for instance).
and wheel, symbolizing swiftly changing fortune.
RADICAL CONTINGENCY: A BUDDHIST VIEW. The Buddhist
CHANCE IN CHRISTIANITY AND RATIONALIST PHILOSOPHY.
doctrine of dependent co-origination (prat¯ıtya-samutpa¯da)
Christian views on chance vary somewhat. Whereas Augus-
may be interpreted as a theory of radical contingency. It
tine denied any possibility of chance or fortune in view of
holds that there are “no accidental occurrences” and that ev-
all-controlling providence (City of God 5.1), Aquinas admit-
erything in the world is produced “causally conditioned.”
ted chance (contingens) within the providential scheme.
Buddhists deny any theory of creation by a transcendental
Things “happen necessarily or contingently according to
agent or anything such as fate. Moreover, things, causally
God’s will” (Summa theologiae 1.19.8).
produced in this fashion, have no “self-nature” (svabha¯va).
This view diametrically opposed the determinism of the In-
Spinoza spoke of chance “with reference to a deficiency
dian materialists, the A¯j¯ıvikas, as well as the syncretic view
in our knowledge [of the cause]” (Ethics 1.33.1); likewise, La-
of the theory of inner and outer causation held by Jains (see
place took it as the expression of “our ignorance as to the
Kalupahana).
causes of phenomena.” Hume declared that “there is no such
thing as chance,” but “our ignorance of the real cause of any
From a certain perspective, this Buddhist doctrine ap-
event begets this sort of belief or opinion” (Concerning
pears to be a deterministic view in that it asserts that every-
Human Understanding 6). Chance thus understood has
thing is subject to the law of causation. But from a reverse
merely a subjective reality. Leibniz, on the other hand, con-
perspective, the convergence of causal factors is thoroughly
sidered the world as “the whole assemblage of contingent
indeterminate; it rests on a radical contingence of various fac-
things” that has its necessary and eternal substance (i.e.,
tors, both of the spatio-temporal and psycho-mental nature.
God) for its existence (“Essays on the Justice of God and the
Innumerable conditioning elements come together in the
Freedom of Man in the Origin of Evil,” 1.7); also he distin-
arising of a single event at each moment.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1528
CHANCE
JUNG’S VIEW ON SYNCHRONICITY. C. G. Jung coined the
means of the random cast of the stalks and the evolution of
term “synchronicity” to designate the phenomenon of the
the all-informing hexagram; this was achieved by means that
coincidence of events and subjective psychic states. It “takes
were anything but systematic or responsive to reason”
the coincidence of events in space and time as meaning
(Loewe, in Loewe and Blacker, p. 52).
something more than mere chance, namely, a peculiar inter-
Be it bibliomancy, a random opening of books such as
dependence of objective events among themselves as well as
the Bible, the QurDa¯n, or Vergil’s Aeneid; rhapsodomancy,
with the subjective (psychic) states of the observer or observ-
which consists in writing out passages from books on sepa-
ers” (1967, p. xxiv). Jung was inclined to value the “practical
rate slips and drawing one of them at random; or kledono-
result of chance” more highly than the “theoretical consider-
mancy, appealing to a chance word overheard—all rest on
ations of cause and effect” (p. xxiii), and hence, “we must
randomness as the vehicle. (Incidentally, the Latin word for
admit that there is something to be said for the immense im-
fate, fatum, comes from for, “to speak,” “to say.” Fatum is
portance of chance” (ibid., p. xxiv).
“what is said.”) As chance is unknowable in essence, so does
DIVINATION. Belief in fortune opens the way for divination.
randomness, a form of chance, appear as an appropriate
Throughout the history of humankind, recourse to divina-
means to grasp the unknown. The mathematical doctrine of
tion has been practiced in times of trouble or uncertainty.
chance can be applied to calculating the outcome of random
Divination was originally a means to obtain answers to ques-
throwing of dice, for instance, but it does not replace the
tions that are insoluble by rational reasoning. A story is re-
purpose of divination, which is to provide an answer to a
corded in Plutarch of the successor to the throne of the Thes-
question brought to it.
salian kingdom being chosen by casting lots at Delphi. In
Shang China, divination originated in a human attempt to
A skilled interpretation of such signs as those mentioned
fathom the mind of the deity; during the Zhou period the
above is of central importance for divination and may be said
art of divination was given philosophical foundation (see The
to rely on the principle of coincidence or correspondence, ac-
Book of Changes or Yijing). In Japan well into the thirteenth
cording to which signs are somehow related to the human
century, shrine virgins known as saigu¯, who served at the
situation under consideration. It is assumed not only that
most auspicious shrine of all, the Ise Shrine, were chosen
there is a certain correspondence between the method of div-
from among eligible princesses by divination.
ination and the meaning obtained through it but that there
is a correspondence between human affairs and the larger
It appears that only later did divination come to be in-
cosmic movement (as in, for example, The Book of Changes)
terpreted as dealing with chance or randomness. It is note-
or the divine will. “The casting of lots is familiar in the Old
worthy in this connection that Apollo, the Greek god of
and New Testaments as a method of ascertaining divine will”
knowledge, despised the uncertainty of the lot and handed
(Halliday, p. 206; cf. Jos. 6:14, Jon. 1:17, Acts 1:26, Prv.
over the divination dealing with the chances of the dice to
16:33), and a divinatory message was regarded as sacred and
Hermes, who thus became the gambler’s god.
mysterious (Prv. 16:10).
Belief in chance has a double role to play in the practice
MIRACLE. An extremely rare or unusual occurrence may be
of divination—in the method (as the principle of random-
considered a miracle. Aquinas summarized the traditional
ness) and in the interpretation (as the principle of coinci-
Christian understanding of miracle as: “When anything is
dence). A deterministic worldview that negates chance can
done outside the order of created nature by a power un-
nevertheless employ divination. For example, an African sys-
known to us, it is called a miracle as regards ourselves”
tem of divination, Ifa, is based on the assumption that indi-
(Summa theologiae 1.110.4.2). He argued that just as igno-
viduals basically cannot change their own destiny, but just
rance of the cause is the source of amazement, so also when
as they can spoil it to a degree, so can the practice of Ifa im-
the cause is completely hidden, as God is, a thing is won-
prove it. Even Stoics, who were thoroughgoing determinists,
drous in an unqualified way, and this is a miracle—“what
eagerly sought knowledge of the future that fell outside the
is of itself filled with admirable wonder” (Summa contra gen-
prediction of scientists, physicians, and other experts. The
tiles 3.101; cf. Augustine, City of God 21.8). For Hume, who
harmony between the human soul and the divine soul pro-
denied chance, a miracle is “a violation of the laws of nature”
vided them with the basis for divination as a means of com-
supported by human testimony and sustained by belief (Con-
munication with God in order that human beings “might
cerning Human Understanding 10). Over against the Hum-
know the divine will in advance and obey it” (William A.
ean interpretation, Peirce found Butler’s position that “the
Falconer, introduction to Cicero’s De divinatione, Loeb ed.,
order of nature is a law to the doctrine of miracles” to affirm
1923, p. 216).
miracles and to be “in consonance with the higher teachings
Like the widely practiced throwing of pebbles or stones
of modern science” (“Hume on Miracles,” Collected Papers
for divinatory purposes, the method of the Chinese yijing
6.546–547). Contemporary theists argue that a “dynamically
divination consists in casting yarrow stalks (or coins) to yield
stable world,” which embraces chance, affords the possibility
randomly determined odd or even numbers. The philoso-
of miracles.
phers of the later Song period maintained that this random-
CHANCE AND THE UNKNOWN. Chance events, beyond
ness was essential, for “some truths could only be sought by
human ratiocination and calculations, disclose the radical
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHANNING, WILLIAM ELLERY
1529
uncertainty present at the heart of reality. The interpretation
For a contemporary view of chance from a scientific perspective,
of chance depends on whether one’s worldview is religious
see Max Born’s Natural Philosophy of Cause and Chance (Ox-
or nonreligious. The fundamental unknowability of
ford, 1951) and David Bohm’s Causality and Chance in Mod-
events—their mystery—can inspire awe. The religious mind
ern Physics (Princeton, 1957). Jacques Monod’s position is
has perceived in chance something sacred or a manifestation
stated in his Chance and Necessity (New York, 1971), and Er-
nest Schoffeniels’s critique is in his Anti-Chance (Oxford,
of the divine will. Some have placed chance within the gover-
1976). On the role of serendipity in scientific discoveries, see
nance of divine providence. Others reject it in deference to
James H. Austin, Chase, Chance, and Creativity: The Lucky
the same divine providence, arguing that what happens has
Art of Novelty (New York, 1978), and Aharon Kantorovich,
already been determined by the transcendent scheme. Hence
Scientific Discovery: Logic and Tinkering (Albany, N.Y.,
a seemingly chance occurrence, either fortunate or unfortu-
1993).
nate, takes on the meaning of fate. In contrast, chance seen
For a theistic position on chance, see Donald M. MacKay’s Sci-
as pointing out the utter indeterminateness of things would
ence, Chance, and Providence (Oxford, 1978), and William
signify the presence of free will. From a strictly fatalistic
G. Pollard’s Chance and Providence (New York, 1958).
point of view, of course, there is no room for chance, for ev-
On divination, see Greek Divination by W. R. Halliday (1913;
erything is already predetermined prior to the occurrence of
Chicago, 1967); Oracles and Divination, edited by Michael
events, and everything is already fated. Chance and fate—
Loewe and Carmen Blacker (New York, 1981), contains a
these initially contradictory notions are but two counter-
wide range of material from many cultures.
interpretations of the experience of unexpected coincidence
On the idea of synchronicity, see C. G. Jung’s foreword to The
or happenings that seem arbitrary but nevertheless have a
I Ching [Yijing], or Book of Changes, 3d ed., translated by
decisive impact on one’s life and in some cases totally
Cary F. Baynes (Princeton, 1967), and Jung’s essays “Syn-
change it.
chronicity: An Acausal Connecting Principle” and “On Syn-
chronicity,” in The Structure and Dynamics of the Psyche, 2d
SEE ALSO Divination; Fate; Gambling; Miracles;
ed. (Princeton, 1969), vol. 8 of The Collected Works of C. G.
Prat¯ıtya-samutpa¯da.
Jung.
B
On miracles, see Antony Flew’s “Miracles,” in The Encyclopedia
IBLIOGRAPHY
of Philosophy, edited by Paul Edwards (New York, 1967), vol.
Comprehensive works on chance in English are few. In other lan-
5, and C. S. Peirce’s “Hume on Miracles,” in the Collected
guages, one may profitably consult Kuki Shu¯zo¯’s Gu¯zensei no
Papers of Charles Sanders Peirce, edited by Charles Hart-
mondai [The problem of contingency] (1935; Tokyo, 1976),
shorne and Paul Weiss (Cambridge, Mass., 1960), vol. 6.
translated as Le problème de la contingence (Tokyo, 1966),
Richard Swinburne’s The Concept of Miracle (London, 1970)
and Wilhelm Windelband’s Die Lehren vom Zufall (Berlin,
deals with the problem from the standpoint of philosophy
1870).
of religion.
On the economic theory of risk, probability, and uncertainty, see
Frank H. Knight’s Risk, Uncertainty and Profit (New York,
MICHIKO YUSA (1987 AND 2005)
1921). On the distinction between “class probability” and
“actual singular events,” see Ludwig Von Mises’s Human Ac-
tion, 3d rev. ed. (Chicago, 1963), and M. N. Rothbard’s
CHANG CHÜEG S
Man, Economy, and State, 2 vols. (Princeton, 1962).
EE ZHANG JUE
For a popular, readable introduction to the laws of chance and
probability, see Darrell Huff’s How to Take a Chance (New
York, 1959), and Deborah J. Bennett, Randomness (Cam-
CHANG HSÜEH-CH’ENG SEE ZHANG
bridge, Massachusetts & London, 1998). For a philosophical
XUECHENG
treatment of this subject, see D. H. Mellor’s The Matter of
Chance (Cambridge, 1971).
On the ancient Greek view of chance and fate, see William C.
CHANG LU S
Greene’s Moira: Fate, Good and Evil in Greek Thought (Cam-
EE ZHANG LU
bridge, Mass., 1944). On Aristotle and the Scholastics, see
Vincenzo Cioffari’s Fortune and Fate: From Democritus to St.
Thomas Aquinas (New York, 1935). On Leibniz’s view of
CHANG TAO-LING SEE ZHANG DAOLING
contingency, see Theodicy (London, 1951); also “Mona-
dology” in Leroy E. Loemker, trans. & ed., Philosophical Pa-
pers and Letters (Chicago, 1956). For C. S. Peirce’s philoso-
phy of chance, see his Chance, Love and Logic (1923; New
CHANG TSA SEE ZHANG ZAI
York, 1949).
On the Buddhist view of chance and causation, see David J. Kalu-
pahana’s Causality: The Central Philosophy of Buddhism (Ho-
nolulu, 1975); G. C. Pande, “Causality in Buddhist Philoso-
CHANNING, WILLIAM ELLERY, American
phy,” Eliot Deutsche & Ron Bontekoe, ed., A Companion
Unitarian minister. Channing was born on April 7, 1780 in
to World Philosophies (Oxford, 1997), pp. 370–380.
Newport, Rhode Island, of a distinguished family. He en-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1530
CHANTEPIE DE LA SAUSSAYE, P. D.
tered Harvard College in 1794, graduated in 1798, and was
Channing advocated prison reform and opposed alco-
elected a regent of Harvard in 1801. He began his lifelong
holism and other social evils, but he was reluctant to speak
ministry at Boston’s Federal Street Congregational Church
out openly against slavery. He acknowledged the fairness of
in 1803. Channing defended the liberal Congregationalist
rebukes for his silence. In 1835 he published Slavery, which
ministers in 1815 against an attack in The Panoplist by
had a marked effect in arousing public opinion against the
Jedidiah Morse, who accused them of covertly holding the
slave system; thereafter his outspoken opposition to slavery
views of the English Unitarian Thomas Belsham, who held
cost him friends and support. His writings during this period
that Christ was strictly human in nature, with human imper-
show that his optimism and his rejection of the doctrine of
fections. Channing replied that the liberals were Arians and
depravity in no way blinded him to the reality of sin.
hence believed that Christ’s character included intellectual,
Channing’s essays made him famous on both sides of
ethical, and emotional perfection. Thrust into prominence
the Atlantic Ocean. These, along with his sermons, lectures,
by this defense, Channing was asked to prepare a manifesto
and Slavery, were translated into German, French, Hungari-
for the liberals, which he did in “Unitarian Christianity,” his
an, and other languages. Channing became ill on a vacation
1819 ordination sermon for Jared Sparks in Baltimore. This
trip and died at Bennington, Vermont, on October 2, 1842.
sermon unified the liberals around Channing’s leadership;
yet when the American Unitarian Association was organized
BIBLIOGRAPHY
in 1825, he refused the office of president, because he did
Works by Channing
not want Unitarianism to become a sect.
The most accessible editions are The Works of William Ellery
Channing, 6 vols. (Boston, 1903), and The Works of William
Channing was the outstanding representative of early
E. Channing, D. D., with an Introduction; New and Complete
American Unitarian theology in the period prior to the Tran-
Edition, rearranged; To Which Is Added, The Perfect Life (Bos-
scendentalist controversy. He emphasized the authority of
ton, 1886).
reason and revelation, the unique and infallible authority of
Works about Channing
Jesus, human educability to a Christlike perfection, and
Conrad Wright has written a balanced introduction to Chan-
human essential similarity to God. His thought includes a
ning’s thought in “The Rediscovery of Channing,” chapter
modified Lockean philosophy, an Arian Christology, and an
2 of his The Liberal Christians: Essays on American Unitarian
optimistic view of human nature.
History (Boston, 1970). The most complete study of Chan-
ning’s philosophy and theology is Robert L. Patterson’s The
John Locke’s influence is present in Channing’s argu-
Philosophy of William Ellery Channing (New York, 1952),
ments for the rational character of revealed religion and his
with detailed, informative footnotes. Channing’s concern for
emphases on miracles and fulfilled prophecies as evidences
social issues is emphasized by Jack Mendelsohn in Channing:
for the truth of Christianity. In his 1819 sermon “Unitarian
The Reluctant Radical (Boston, 1971). The most recent study
Christianity,” he called for a careful use of reason in inter-
is Andrew Delbanco’s William Ellery Channing: An Essay on
the Liberal Spirit in America (Cambridge, Mass., 1981).
preting scripture. Channing held that reason judges even the
claim of a revelation to authority. Reason approves the claim
JOHN C. GODBEY (1987)
of the Christian scriptures to authority. Rationally interpret-
ed, these scriptures yield the doctrines of the unipersonality
and moral perfection of God.
CHANTEPIE DE LA SAUSSAYE, P. D. (1848–
1920), Dutch theologian, philosopher, and historian of reli-
Channing modified his Lockean epistemology when he
gions. Pierre Daniël Chantepie de la Saussaye, who was of
became acquainted with the Scottish common-sense philoso-
Huguenot descent, studied theology at the University of
phy of Thomas Reid, Adam Ferguson, and Francis Hutche-
Utrecht, where he obtained his doctorate in 1871. After a
son. In his opinion, Richard Price corrected Hutcheson’s
short stay in Bonn and Tübingen, where he worked with
thought in a way that more effectively met the arguments of
J. T. Beck, he served as a minister in the Dutch Reformed
David Hume, thus making room for new ideas other than
church (1872–1878). In 1878 he was appointed to the new
those derived from sensation and reflection. Disagreements
Chair of the History of Religions in the faculty of theology
exist, however, about the extent to which Channing’s later
at the University of Amsterdam. There he stayed until 1899,
thought became more akin to that of the Transcendentalists.
when he was appointed to the Chair of Theological Encyclo-
Channing’s Arian Christology and his optimistic view
paedia, Doctrine of God, and Ethics in the faculty of theolo-
of human nature were closely related. He viewed Christ as
gy at the University of Leiden, a post that he held until his
morally perfect. He based his Christology on scriptural evi-
retirement in 1916. Chantepie de la Saussaye was one of the
dences of Christ’s perfection and his own belief in the free-
representatives of the movement in Dutch Protestantism
dom of the will. Christ exemplified the perfection to which
called “ethical theology,” which stressed the value of religion
others can attain. In order to account for Christ’s flawless
both as a reality of the heart and as an existential datum with
moral perfection, Channing inferred from it Christ’s preexis-
ethical implications.
tence; yet he maintained that others should aspire to, and can
Chantepie de la Saussaye defended the autonomy of the
achieve, a similar perfection.
new science of religion, but he was always sensitive to its pre-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHANTEPIE DE LA SAUSSAYE, P. D.
1531
suppositions and limitations. He had no knowledge of Asian
looms in the background of Chantepie de la Saussaye’s
languages; his own historical research concentrated on Old
thinking on religion and consequently his phenomenology.
Germanic religion. After his appointment in Leiden, he prac-
The Lehrbuch was an important contribution to the new
tically left the field of history of religions and paid attention
science of religion in another respect, too. The phenomenol-
thereafter primarily to questions of faith and ethics. Among
ogy of religion contained in its second section was the first
his students in Leiden, Gerardus van der Leeuw seems to
of its kind and drew largely on Hegel; it was published in
have been the most sensitive to what Chantepie de la Saus-
1887 before the work of Franz Brentano and Edmund
saye saw as the direction that science of religion in a theologi-
Husserl, who were to conceive of phenomenology in a totally
cal faculty should take.
different way. Appropriately, given the clear distinction that
Chantepie de la Saussaye’s major work, the two-volume
Chantepie de la Saussaye made between philosophy and his-
Lehrbuch der Religionsgeschichte (1887–1889; translated as
tory of religion—he viewed the latter as an empirical disci-
Manual of the Science of Religion, 1891), is a handbook of the
pline—he conceived of phenomenology as a discipline medi-
science of religion in a broad sense. As one of the first of such
ating between history on one hand and philosophy on the
works, it is one of the discipline’s great historical documents,
other. Its task was to collect and classify the various religious
and it deserves close attention. In its first edition the Lehr-
phenomena, and to establish the meaning of the different
buch was divided into four sections: an introduction followed
classes of phenomena.
by phenomenological, ethnographical, and historical parts.
At the very beginning of the phenomenological section
In the introductory section Chantepie de la Saussaye, dis-
of the Lehrbuch, Chantepie de la Saussaye points out that a
tancing himself from the philosophical systems and general
phenomenology of religious forms deals with facts of human
reductive theories of religion current at the time, discusses
consciousness; that these outward forms of religion can be
the new science of religion. He ascribes its rise to the discov-
understood only on the basis of “inward processes”; and that
ery of many new source materials for ancient religions; to the
it is their particular “inward relation” that distinguishes reli-
fact that world history can now be described as an entity; and
gious from nonreligious acts, ideas, and sentiments. Conse-
in particular to the modern philosophical view of religion as
quently, phenomenology of religion was in principle closely
one whole. Over against theological distinctions, he asserts,
connected with psychology. This was the line taken by his
modern philosophy recognizes “the unity of religion in the
pupil Gerardus van der Leeuw, who was to develop explicitly
variety of its forms” and considers religion as a single phe-
this psychological-phenomenological research of religion.
nomenon subject to “philosophical knowledge.” Significant-
ly, he pays tribute here to G. W. F. Hegel, who distinguished
Chantepie de la Saussaye himself does not go so far,
“the various modes for studying religion (metaphysical,
treating only the forms and not the contents of religious con-
psychological and historical) and made us see the harmony
sciousness. Already in his dissertation of 1871 he had consid-
between the idea and the realization of religion.” For
ered religion as a kind of species comprising a number of dif-
Chantepie de la Saussaye the empirical science of religion is
ferent forms. To develop a classification of these forms, he
distilled, so to speak, from philosophy of religion as Hegel
distinguishes three sectors in religion—cult, doctrine, and re-
conceived it.
ligious feeling, of which the first is the most stable sector and
the last is practically limited to the present. The Lehrbuch’s
Chantepie de la Saussaye distinguishes more sharply
phenomenological section describes (1) objects of worship,
than Hegel, however, between philosophy and history of reli-
religious acting, sacred persons, religious communities, and
gion, and between the “essence” and “manifestations” of reli-
sacred writings and (2) religious thinking (myth and doc-
gion: whereas philosophy of religion is concerned with the
trine). Religious feeling does not receive separate treatment.
“essence” of religion, history of religion as an empirical disci-
pline studies its “manifestations.” History of religion is sub-
It has often been noted that this phenomenological sec-
divided into an ethnographical section treating peoples
tion was entirely dropped in the second edition of the Manu-
“without history,” and a much larger section treating the reli-
al. Chantepie de la Saussaye explained that in his view this
gions of peoples with written documents.
section had to be either considerably enlarged or omitted. He
chose to omit it for reasons of space, and also because phe-
As for philosophy of religion, it treats religion in both
nomenology constituted a border discipline between history
its subjective and its objective aspects, and consequently con-
and philosophy requiring separate treatment in a new book.
sists of what Chantepie de la Saussaye calls a “psychological”
Unfortunately—and significantly—this book never ap-
and a “metaphysical” part. Metaphysical philosophy of reli-
peared. It was his pupil van der Leeuw who worked in this
gion stresses God’s objective speaking in nature and life,
direction and developed phenomenology of religion as a spe-
whereas psychological philosophy of religion stresses the
cial branch of the study of religion.
human’s subjective reaching out to God. For Chantepie de
la Saussaye, as for C. P. Tiele and van der Leeuw, “psycho-
In point of fact, Chantepie de la Saussaye’s wish to de-
logical” denotes not so much an empirical, verifiable reality
velop a phenomenology of religion as a special field between
as a philosophical category indicating the subjective side of
history and philosophy—between empirical facts and sys-
human experience. It is important to see how large Hegel still
tematic thought—did not achieve much more than an out-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1532
CHANTING
ward classification and systematization of religious forms.
Liberian Jabos use tone levels in their speech: contemporary
This he did on the basis of the Hegelian legacy, with its dis-
Burmese, Siamese, Annamese (Vietnam), and Chinese recog-
tinction between the essence and the manifestations of reli-
nize two to nine different tone levels in their languages. The
gion. His phenomenology—which was quite independent of
ancient Chinese even distinguished whole families and clans
the phenomenological movement started by Franz Brentano,
by musical signs conferred upon them by tradition.
Edmund Husserl, and others—was a very formal discipline
Close observation of ordinary conversation in any cul-
relegating the problem of religious meaning mainly to phi-
ture shows that musical intervals recur in the simplest of sen-
losophy or to the scholar’s intuition, or, worse, to the schol-
tences. A middle pitch is usually maintained, and emphatic
ar’s personal religious views and convictions.
words, clauses, and conclusions are indicated by change of
S
pitch. When a speaker addresses an audience, the pitches be-
EE ALSO Leeuw, Gerardus van der; Phenomenology of Re-
ligion.
come more pronounced, and a “melody of speech” emerges.
It is reported that the Greek orator Demosthenes (fourth to
third century
B
BCE) employed an assistant to blow a whistle
IBLIOGRAPHY
(tonorion) during his speeches to remind him of certain pitch
For bibliographic data on Chantepie de la Saussaye’s person and
work, see my book Classical Approaches to the Study of Reli-
levels. Cicero and Gellius (author of Noctes Atticae) wrote
gion, vol. 2, Bibliography (The Hague, 1974), pp. 37–38.
that some classical authors memorized and performed their
speeches with the aid of a flute player to insure the right into-
Two books by Chantepie de la Saussaye exist in English transla-
nation of the melodic line. Isocrates (436–338 BCE), the
tion. Manual of the Science of Religion (London, 1891) is the
Athenian orator and teacher, insisted that the perfect oration
English translation of the first edition of the Lehrbuch der Re-
ligiongeschichte, 2 vols. (Freiburg im Breslau, 1887–1889).
was really a musical composition. It is therefore entirely pos-
The second and third editions of the Lehrbuch, of which
sible that formalized chanting and cantillation of holy scrip-
Chantepie de la Saussaye was no longer the author but the
tures were derived from “singing to speech.”
editor, have not been translated into English. The Religion of
The modern definitions of chant (from Latin cantare,
the Teutons (Boston, 1902) is a considerably expanded trans-
“to sing, to intone”) and cantillation (from Latin cantillare,
lation of a book published in Dutch in 1900.
“to sing low, to hum”) apply to the recitation of sacred writ-
New Sources
ings with musical tones, usually improvised, as in syna-
James, George Alfred. Interpreting Religion: The Phenomenological
gogues, churches, mosques, and Asian temples. Chant in all
Approaches of Pierre Daniel Chantepie de la Saussaye, W. Brede
these liturgies is usually monophonic, unaccompanied, and
Kristensen, and Gerardus van der Leeuw. Washington, D.C.,
in so-called free rhythm, which results from the recitation of
1995.
prose texts. The term chant applies in particular to the litur-
Plantinga, Richard J. “In the Beginning: P. D. Chantepie de la
gical melodies of the Jewish and Samaritan synagogues, and
Saussaye on Religionswissenschaft and Theology.” Religious
to the Byzantine, Russian, Armenian, Syrian, Ambrosian,
Studies and Theology 8 (1988): 24–30.
Gallican, Mozarabic, and Roman churches. The latter is bet-
Ryba, Thomas. “Comparative Religion, Taxonomies and 19th
ter known as Gregorian chant and plainsong. Chant also re-
Century Philosophies of Science: Chantepie de la Saussaye
fers to the traditional method of singing psalms and canticles
and Tiele.” Numen 48, no. 3 (2000): 309–338.
in the daily offices of the Roman and Anglican churches.
JACQUES WAARDENBURG (1987)
Chanted also are the Islamic QurDa¯n, the Indian Vedas, and
Revised Bibliography
Buddhist scriptures.
HEBREW CHANT. The term cantillation applies primarily to
the recitation of the Hebrew Bible by Jews and Samaritans.
CHANTING.
Cantillation of the Bible on special occasions is already at-
Many scholars trace chanting to the earli-
tested to in Deuteronomy 31:12, 2 Kings 22:1–13, and Nehe-
est stages of human development, a time when speech was
miah 8:1–8. But regular biblical readings were established
presumably not differentiated from chant. Even today Saami
only in the fifth century BCE, when Ezra the Scribe chanted
(Lapp) women in Finland, Jewish women in Morocco, and
from the Law in the Jerusalem Temple twice a week on mar-
Santali women in Bihar, India, unconsciously replace sob-
ket days to all the people assembled there. This is the earliest
bing with chanting while lamenting their dead. Australian
evidence of regular biblical recitation in public. Since the
Aborigines, when excited, break into a torrent of words gov-
reader had to amplify his voice in order to be heard, his un-
erned by rhythms and cadences resembling chant. Hungari-
conscious chanting established the first biblical cantillation.
an dirges and some Khanty (Ostiak) and Mansi (Vogul) trib-
al melodies of Siberia consist of sung declamations, while the
Cantillation gave particular expression to word meaning
Zulu, Yoruba, Igbo, and Bantu-speaking peoples possess real
(accent) and phrasing (syntax). The importance of melody
“melody languages.” Contemporary shamans and medicine
was prescribed in no uncertain terms by the Talmud (Meg.
men on several continents are known to chant sacred rites
32a), where Yoh:anan (second century) says, “He who reads
in a secret language, often invented by themselves. Further-
[the Bible] without a melody and studies without a tune is
more, not only American Indian Navajos, African Khoi, and
referred to by the verse ‘Wherefore I gave him statutes that
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHANTING
1533
are not good . . .’ (Ez. 20:35).” The melody was logogenic,
tion.” Three different systems of accentuation were devel-
or word-bound; in other words, the interpolation of extrane-
oped by the Masoretes. The Palestinian system consisted
ous syllables or words into the text was forbidden. Cantilla-
almost entirely of dots and numbered only ten basic accents.
tion was not a prominent practice in the Jerusalem Temple
The Babylonian system consisted predominantly of letters
but in the course of time became the most important part
positioned above the word (supralinear). Each letter repre-
of the synagogue service. The Jews preserved biblical cantilla-
sented the initial of a musical term, such as z for zarqa D or
tion in oral tradition for at least one thousand years (fifth
t for tibra (yetib). This system became very popular in the
century BCE to fifth century CE).
Middle East and was employed, for example, by the Yemen-
ite Jews until they emigrated to Israel in 1948. The Tiberian
Melodic patterns or motifs were indicated by a system
system of twenty-eight accents, universally in use today, con-
of finger and hand movements called cheironomy (from
sists of a combination of dots and other symbols.
Greek cheir, “hand”), a practice depicted by Sumerians and
Egyptians on bas-reliefs and in tombs in the fourth and third
The accents were provided for the books of the Bible
millennium BCE. These gestures were intended to refresh the
that were read in public, namely: the Pentateuch, the Proph-
memory of those who had previously learned the melodies
ets, Esther, Lamentations, Ruth, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs,
by ear. Cheironomy remained in use until the seventeenth
Psalms, and in some communities Job and Proverbs. While
century in Greek monasteries, although modern musical no-
the Hebrew accents are identical in all the Jewish Bibles of
tation was available. Hindus and Jews employ cheironomic
the world, their musical interpretation differs from place to
signs even today, and various systems have been developed
place. The reason for this phenomenon is the indefinite na-
by different groups.
ture of nondiastematic ekphonetic signs, which do not indi-
cate musical intervals or pitches. Hebrew accents never devel-
The first cheironomic signs were simple: the rise of the
oped an exact pitch notation, unlike the neumes of medieval
melody was signaled by an upward stroke of the hand (/),
European churches, which employed signs for single notes
the fall by a downward stroke of the hand (\), and the rise
as well as for groups of notes.
and the fall on a single syllable by the junction of the two
signs (/\). Various combinations of these basic symbols fol-
Four accents in the oral traditions of Babylonian and
lowed. It was musical notation written on the air.
Yemenite Jews can be compared. Neither interval structures
nor directions of the melodies agree. This extreme divergence
When Hebrew ceased to be a living language, the Maso-
in cantillation motifs was caused by the total isolation of Ye-
retes, transmitters of the biblical tradition, devised written
menite Jews. Whereas written communication with Babylo-
symbols to safeguard the proper pronunciation, phrasing,
nia or Egypt existed, personal encounters were extremely
and melodies of biblical Hebrew. The task took five centuries
rare. Thus an exchange or transmission of oral musical tradi-
to complete (fifth to tenth century CE). The Masoretes trans-
tion was curtailed. By contrast, large areas of North Africa,
ferred the cheironomic signs from the air to parchment and
northern Arabia, Persia, and Central Asia (Bukhara) as well
paper. It must be noted that other cultures employed similar
as the Mediterranean show similarities in biblical cantilla-
symbols for similar purposes; indeed, scholars disagree as to
tion. Furthermore, these cantillations seem closely related to
which culture was the first to transfer hand movements form
the Babylonian type discussed previously.
the air to parchment. Greece, India, the Middle East, and
Europe have all been suggested. But the symbols are so ele-
The eastern European types of cantillation practiced by
mentary that any culture could have invented them indepen-
Polish, Lithuanian, Hungarian, and Russian Jews are related.
dently without outside influence.
These are, however, unrelated to German, Italian, French,
or Sephardic (Spanish-Portuguese) cantillations: the latter
These first ekphonetic signs (from Greek ekpho¯n¯esis,
four are also not related to one another. How is it, then, that
“pronunciation”) were later refined, became more compli-
Hebrew cantillation is instantly recognizable anywhere in the
cated, and gave way to neumes (from Greek neuma, “nod,
world? The reasons are unvarying text (Hebrew) and the ek-
sign”). By combining and recombining ekphonetic signs a
phonetic symbols that are prescribed for every word of the
variety of melodic motifs were created and became neumes.
sentence and have a syntactical as well as a musical function.
The major difference between ekphonetic signs and neumes
They provide a solid structural basis for cantillation.
is that ekphonetic signs indicate not a freely invented melody
In addition to biblical cantillation, Jews recognize for-
but a succession of fixed melodic formulas. Sometimes ek-
malized chanting without ekphonetic symbols, namely that
phonetic signs occurred only in the beginning and end of a
employed in blessings, certain prayers in the synagogue and
phrase, as in Samaritan biblical changing or psalmtones of
at home, the study of Mishnah, the study of the gemara D, and
Gregorian chant.
the study of the Zohar. In addition, Yemenite Jews recite
The t:a Eamei ha-miqraD, the Hebrew accents, were in-
from the Aramaic translation of the Bible on the Sabbath and
vented by grammarians, and many scholars believed in the
on holidays in the synagogue. It is worth nothing that the
past that their sole purpose was grammatical. Jews call the
Yemenite Jews are the only ones to perpetuate this Second
oral renditions, the vocal utterances of the biblical text, “can-
Temple tradition and translate every Hebrew sentence into
tillation,” while the written symbols are called “accentua-
the Aramaic vernacular of the time.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1534
CHANTING
Chanting in all these cases is based on a melody that
particularly psalms for solo voice with congregational re-
consists of an opening motif (initium), followed by an undif-
sponses. Performances varied from simple recitation to elab-
ferentiated two-tone motif (tenor) and a final cadence (fi-
orate cantillation. The musical structure of the psalm melody
nalis). The melody varies in length according to the number
consisted of (1) an initial clausula (initium), leading to the
of words in the sentence, but the melodic motifs do not vary.
note on which the verse is chanted, (2) a repeated or slightly
changed note of the recitation (tenor), (3) an occasional me-
A. Z. Idelsohn (1921–1922) demonstrates the similarity
diant, or half clause, and (4) the finalis, a cadence marking
of Yemenite Jewish cantillation and Gregorian chant, show-
the end of the verse. In Eastern melodies the formulas are
ing their common origins, perhaps from Temple times. In
less rigid than those of Gregorian psalmody. In Byzantine
Eastern melodies the formulas are less rigid than those of
melodies the same formulas can be used at the beginning, the
Gregorian psalmody. In Byzantine melodies the same formu-
middle, or the end of a chant.
las can be used at the beginning, the middle, or the end of
a chant.
The rise of the Kontakion is closely associated with the
name of Romanus, who was a Jew by birth (d. 555 CE). Born
The Samaritans cantillate the Hebrew Bible according
in Syria, he became deacon of the Christian church in Phoe-
to sidra D miqrataD (the Aramaic form of the Hebrew seder
nicia and went to Constantinople. He was culturally a Near
ha-miqra D), nondiastematic ekphonetic symbols. There are
Eastern musician-priest. It is reported that Romanus com-
ten in number, but only three basic ones are remembered
posed more than one thousand Kontakia. The first part of
(see Spector, 1965, pp. 146–147): arkenu-enged (has the
a monostrophic hymn in his honor has been preserved; it was
function of a colon), afsaq (full stop), and anau (pause, with
sung on the first day of October, when the Byzantine church
the function of a semicolon). The Samaritan high priest
celebrates the Feast of Saint Romanus.
Amran ben Ishaq still practiced the dynamic interpretations
G
of shayala D (question), z Eiqa (shouting), and ba Eu (supplia-
REGORIAN CHANT. Gregorian chant is the traditional
music of the Roman Catholic Church. Scholars maintain
tion) and sang them into a tape recorder for posterity (re-
that it is rooted, like the music of the Byzantine church, in
corded 1951–1953).
the pre-Christian service of the Jews. It acquired distinctive
Of ten extant cantillation styles, two are most promi-
characteristics in the third and fourth centuries and was fully
nent. The logogenic, or word-bound style, does not permit
developed by the seventh century. It deteriorated in the six-
the inclusion of extraneous syllables or words. It was original-
teenth century and was revived in the nineteenth.
ly practiced by priests only and forbidden to the laity. It was
Many Gregorian practices were taken from the syna-
intervallically stepwise, syllabic, and without ornamentation
gogue. The hours of the daily office are modeled after the
of the melody. The pathogenic-melogenic style, derived from
prayers of the Jews, beginning with the evening prayer after
passionate emotion and melody, permits the interpolation of
sunset. The Book of Psalms, already used in the Jerusalem
extraneous nonsense syllables into the text if the text is
Temple, was made even more prominent by the church. The
shorter than the melody. It is particularly effective in the
terms Alleluya and Amen are Hebrew. The Sanctus of the
public reading of the Decalogue on the Festival of ShavuEot.
Mass was derived from the Qiddush of the Jews, as demon-
In this recitation the melody often overshadows the text. The
strated by Eric Werner (1946, p. 292). The melodies show
nonsense syllables are “ee-no-a.”
stepwise movement. Melodic rises or falls of the intervals of
BYZANTIUM. Scholars apply the term Byzantine music to
a second and a third are common, but those of a fifth are
Eastern ecclesiastical chant sung in Greek. In spite of the lan-
rare. The melodies can be classified as syllabic (one note to
guage it is maintained that this music was not a continuation
a syllable), neumatic (two to five notes to a syllable), and
of ancient Greek music but contained Near Eastern musical
melismatic (long, highly ornamented phrases). The chant
elements. (The Hellenized Near East was part of the Byzan-
consists of one melodic line with neither harmony nor po-
tine empire.)
lyphony to support it.
Byzantine ecclesiastical music, like Near Eastern music,
Similarities between Yemenite Jewish psalmody and the
was entirely vocal, monophonic, unaccompanied, and de-
first Gregorian psalmtone can be shown. A. Z. Idelsohn
void of meter. The use of organs and other musical instru-
(1921–1922) shows parallels between Babylonian, Persian,
ments was forbidden inside the churches, similar to the pro-
Yemenite, and Oriental Sephardic melodies of the Jews and
hibition in synagogues and (later) mosques. The liturgical
Gregorian chant. Not only are the same motifs employed but
books intended for chanting of lessons were performed in ek-
similar modes as well. The mode, the Greek Dorian, an
phonetic style, midway between recitation and singing. On
E-mode, is the Pentateuch mode of the Jews, and is in wide-
solemn occasions actual singing replaced the cantillation. For
spread use in Middle Eastern and Mediterranean countries.
training Christian congregations in singing, Jewish readers
ARMENIA. The Armenian ekphonetic signs and neumes
and precentors from synagogues were chosen who had previ-
called khaz have never been deciphered, although rich source
ously converted to Christianity. Especially trained for the of-
materials from the ninth to the twelfth centuries exist in Ar-
fice, they made it possible to introduce into Christian wor-
menian, European, and Israeli libraries and museums. Con-
ship not only chanting but also antiphonal singing,
temporary scholars (e.g., Robert Atajan, 1978) believe in an
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHANTING
1535
independent origin of the khaz and reject an earlier theory
The Vedas were for hundreds of years handed down
(see, for example, Fleischer, 1895–1904) that the Armenian
orally and not committed to writing, unlike the sacred books
khaz were derived from Greek neumes. The Armenian khaz
of the Jews, Christians, and Muslims. The Hindus relied on
consist of two independent systems, a prosodic system for
the spoken word for three thousand years, and even today
recitation and a musical system for singing according to
the Vedas are recited from memory; every precaution is ob-
khaz. The Hebrew and Samaritan ekphonetic signs discussed
served to avoid the smallest error, which, it is believed, may
previously have no such division: one system governs both
produce disaster. This belief is similar to the one held by the
prosody and melody.
Jews of Yemen, who maintain that a mistake in the public
reading of the Bible in the synagogue can cause the death of
The Armenian khaz numbers ten symbols, five prosodic
little children. To avoid catastrophe the precentor who com-
(thaw, sosk, aibatatz, entamna, and storat) and five musical
mits an error has to repeat the entire verse in the synagogue.
(erkar, ssuch, shesht, olorak, and buth). According to Robert
Atajan, the prosodic khaz relate to the peculiarities of Arme-
As the Vedic language evolved into classical Sanskrit,
nian phonetic pronunciation and have no bearing on the
the priests feared that the archaic language of the Vedas
music. Syntactic symbols in the prosodic system, however,
might become corrupt and the meaning of the texts forgot-
are of particular significance in the musical structure of the
ten. Consequently the Vedas were written down. The earliest
sentence: storaket (“deep point”) is a comma, mitshaket
surviving manuscripts date from the eleventh century.
(“middle point”) is a semicolon or colon, and vertchaket
Four compilations of the Vedas exist: (1) the R:gveda, the
(“final point”) is a period. The musical signs erkar and ssuch
Veda of verses, contains more than 1,000 hymns; (2) the Ya-
indicate a lengthening or shortening of tone duration. The
jurveda, the Veda of sacrificial sayings (yajus), contains verses
other three, shesht, olorak, and buth, represent tone pitches
and formulas dealing with sacrifices; (3) the Sa¯maveda, the
or rather melodic formulas based on Armenian folk tunes.
Veda of songs (sa¯man), contains verses of the R:gveda set to
Armenian musical notation was already mentioned in
notated melodies for singer-priests; (4) the Atharvaveda is a
the fifth century
collection of magical formulas and spells, little known today.
CE by Kasar Parbezi in his History of Arme-
nia, but no musical symbols were preserved. From the tenth
The Vedas occur in two forms: the form in which they are
to the twelfth centuries art and music flourished, and twenty-
recited for the purpose of preservation and transmission to
five neumes were developed to indicate pitch, volume, dura-
students, and the form in which they are recited at sacrifice.
tion, tone color, ornamentation, syntax, and prosody. From
Since large-scale sacrifices are infrequent today, little is
1400 to 1600, khaz notation went into decline; it was revived
known about the sacrificial form.
only in the nineteenth century by the music theorist Baba
The R:gveda is recited to three tones: the “raised”
(“father”) Hamparzum (born Hamparzum Limonjian) in
(uda¯tta), the not raised (anuda¯tta), and the “sounded”
Constantinople. In this new and simplified khaz notation a
(svarita). The svarita is marked with a perpendicular line over
great number of liturgical chants and folksongs were written
the syllable, the anuda¯tta with a horizontal line beneath; the
down by the musicologist Komitas and are thus preserved for
uda¯tta and pracaya (“accumulated tone” following svarita)
future generations.
are unmarked. The Yajurveda is recited on the notes D, E,
F or F.
The QurDa¯n. The chanting of the QurDa¯n is regulated
not by ekphonetic signs or neumes but by oral tradition,
The Sa¯maveda is the most musical of all. It alters and
which varies from place to place. The word is paramount,
expands the words of the R:gveda to make them suitable for
and no ornamentation is permitted. Sudden stops within the
chanting. The original text was often distorted by the inser-
QurDa¯nic sentence are a special feature. The call to prayer var-
tion of meaningless words and syllables. The grammatical
ies from country to country. Syllabic, elaborate melismas are
and prosodic specifications of the R:gveda have been given a
often incorporated.
musical meaning. The practitioners of the Sa¯maveda believe
that the sa¯man is a melody to which words were found, not
INDIA. The Vedas (from Sanskrit vid, “to know, to under-
the other way around. The three-tone nucleus (C–E) of the
stand”), the sacred texts of the Hindus, were probably com-
R:gveda and Yajurveda was extended both upward and down-
posed by Aryan tribes who invaded India from the northwest
ward by approximately semitone in each direction (B–F).
around 1500 BCE. The sacred texts had been handed down
The Atharvaveda does not seem to be recited according to
in oral tradition with accents at least since the fourth century
set rules.
BCE, as reported by the grammarian Pa¯n:ini, who presumably
knew the living practice. The interpretation of the accents
TIBET. Tibetan Buddhist chants are divided into ’don, recita-
is by no means uniform. Pa¯n:ini wrote: “A vowel pronounced
tion chants; rta, melodic chants; and dbyan˙s, tone contour
in a high register is called uda¯tta, a vowel pronounced in a
chants. The general designation for the monastic chant rep-
low register is called anuda¯tta, and the connection of both
ertoire is ’don cha. The recitation chants are stylized recita-
is called svarita.” Some modern scholars maintain that uda¯tta
tions that employ reiterating pitch and rhythmic patterns ac-
is a middle tone, higher than anuda¯tta, and that svarita is
cording to the words in the sentences.
higher than uda¯tta. Only male members of the priestly brah-
Rta are melodic chants with distinctly patterned melo-
man caste are eligible to recite the Vedas.
dies. Unlike ’don, they are relatively independent of their
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1536
CHANTING
texts; unlike ’don they are considered melodic and musical.
Ellingson, Ter. “ ’Don rta dbyangs gsum: Tibetan Chant and Me-
However, their performance is called “speaking.” They are
lodic Categories.” Asian Music 10 (1979): 112–156.
similar to melodies in Western and non-Tibetan perfor-
Fleischer, Oskar. Neumen-Studien. 2 vols. Leipzig, 1895–1904.
mance traditions.
Fox-Strangways, A. H. The Music of Hindostan (1914). Oxford,
Dbyan˙s are tone contour chants and are considered the
1967.
most beautiful chants used in Tibetan music. They are very
Ho⁄eg, Carsten. La notation ekphonétique. Copenhagen, 1935.
slow, low-pitched, and most complex. In contradistinction
Idelsohn, A. Z. “Parallelen zwischen gregorianischen und he-
to ’don and rta, which are “spoken,” the dbyan˙s are “in-
braeisch-orientalischen Gesangsweisen.” Zeitschrift für Mu-
toned.” They include changes in intonation, pitch, loudness,
sikwissenschaft 4 (1921–1922): 515–524.
and (most remarkably) overtone mixtures, which are per-
Idelsohn, A. Z. Jewish Music in Its Historical Development (1929).
ceived as two or more pitches produced simultaneously by
New York, 1967.
one singer. Unlike the simpler ’don and rta, they are notated.
Jairazbhoy, N. A. “An Interpretation of the Twenty-two Srutis.”
The melodic contour is defined by thickening lines that indi-
Asian Music 6 (1975): 38–59.
cate increasing loudness; rising lines indicate rising pitch,
Lachmann, Robert. Die Musik des Orients. Breslau, 1929.
falling lines falling pitch; sharp angles indicate interruptions,
breath pauses, and so forth. (All Western notations are by
Spector, Johanna. “A Comparative Study of Scriptural Cantilla-
tion and Accentuation (Pentateuch).” Ph.D. diss., Hebrew
Ter Ellingson.)
Union College, 1951.
SECULAR CHANT. Secular chanting is prominent in the epic
Spector, Johanna. “The Significance of Samaritan Neumes and
poetry of many countries; thus it is used for the most digni-
Contemporary Practice.” In Studia Musicologica, edited by
fied and elaborate form of narrative poetry dealing with hero-
Zoltan Kodály, vol. 7, pp. 141–153. Budapest, 1965.
ic, legendary, and historical events as well as with the drama
Spector, Johanna. “Musical Tradition and Innovation.” In Central
and romance of love. Epics are usually chanted by a single
Asia: A Century of Russian Rule, edited by Edward Allworth,
performer, but in some Asian countries contests between two
pp. 434–484. New York, 1967.
rival performers are customary and may last several days. In
Szabolcsi, Bence. A History of Melody. Translated by Cynthia Jolly
ancient times the narrator of epics chanted without instru-
and Sara Karig. London, 1965.
mental accompaniment. This custom survives in certain
areas, for example Tibet and Kurdistan. (The Jews of Kurdi-
Wagner, Peter. Einführung in die gregorianischen Melodien. 3 vols.
Leipzig, 1895–1921. Volume 1 has been translated as Origin
stan have epics of their own, such as David and Goliath and
and Development of the Forms of the Liturgical Chant (Lon-
the Crossing of the Red Sea, whose narratives are distinct from
don, 1901).
the biblical texts.) Contemporary performers, however, ac-
Wellesz, Egon. A History of Byzantine Music and Hymnography. 2d
company themselves on a stringed instrument, preferably a
ed. Oxford, 1961.
violin (Persian, kemanje; Turkmen, ghyjjak) or a lute (Kir-
ghiz, kobuz; Turkmen, dutar; Tajik and Uzbek, dumbura).
Werner, Eric. “The Doxology in Synagogue and Church, a Litur-
gico-Musical Study.” Hebrew Union College Annual 19
Melodies are word-bound (logogenic), and the musical struc-
(1946): 275–351.
ture admits of little improvisation. The melodies tend to be
predictable and repetitious.
New Sources
Astrauskas, Rimantas. Ritual and Music: Papers Presented at the In-
Chant is usually defined as an intermediate stage be-
ternational Ethnomusicologist Conference Held in Vilnius,
tween speaking and singing. Some writers call chant “elevat-
Lithuania, December 11–12, 1997. Vilnius, 1999. Crocker,
ed speech.” Chant, however, can take many forms—from
Richard L. An Introduction to Gregorian Chant. New Haven,
speaking on one tone (Sprechgesang) to singing in full voice,
2000.
as in some churches. The melody is always word-bound and
Gass, Robert, and Kathleen A. Brehony. Chanting: Discovering
moves usually stepwise within intervals of fourths or fifths.
Spirit in Sound. New York, 1999.
Notation for chant developed from hand movements
Jacobson, Joshua R. Chanting the Hebrew Bible: The Art of Cantil-
(cheironomy) to ekphonetic notation and neumes. Today,
lation. Philadelphia, 2002.
chant is written in contemporary musical notation.
McDannell, Colleen, ed. Religions of the United States in Practice.
Princeton, 2001.
SEE ALSO Music, article on Music and Religion in Japan;
Tilawah.
Nelson, Angela M. S. This Is How We Flow: Rhythm in Black Cul-
ture. Columbia, 1999.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Perera, G. Ariyapala. Buddhist Paritta Chanting Ritual: A Compar-
Apel, Willi. Gregorian Chant (1958). Bloomington, Ind., 1970.
ative Study of the Buddhist Benedictory Ritual. Dehiwela,
Atajan, Robert. “Armenische Chasen.” In Essays on Armenian
2000.
Music, edited by Vrej Nersessian, pp. 131–148. London,
Wilson, Ruth Mack. Anglican Chant and Chanting in England,
1978.
Scotland, and America, 1660 to 1820. Oxford, 1996.
Belayev, Victor M. Ocherki po istorii muzyki narodov SSSR. 2 vols.
JOHANNA SPECTOR (1987)
Moscow, 1962–1963.
Revised Bibliography
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHAOS
1537
CHAOS, in the history of religions, refers primarily to the
a somewhat similiar vein, although more somberly stressing
primordial condition, precosmic period, or personified being
a hostile jumble of primal matter over blank vacuity, Ovid
found in many oral and literary mythologies. It is commonly,
(43 BCE–18 CE), in his poetic compendium of mythology
although not always legitimately, taken to mean the horribly
known as the Metamorphosis, describes chaos as “all ruse and
confused state, muddled matrix, vacuous condition, or mon-
lumpy matter . . . in whose confusion discordant atoms
strous creature preceding the foundation of an organized
warred.” As in the biblical version, Ovid’s creation requires
world system. By extension, the idea of chaos in myth and
a nameless god, or “Kindlier Nature,” who brings order out
ritual may also apply to any anomalous condition, event, or
of the formless chaos.
entity outside conventionally sanctioned codes of order. The
The above-mentioned accounts serve to exemplify the
meaning and significance of chaos in world mythology has,
commonplace tendency to dichotomize the meaning of exis-
moreover, a special thematic relationship with the idea of the
tence into the negative-positive polarities of chaos and cos-
beginnings of the world, or of any structured condition. The
mos, confusion and order, death and life, evil and good, or,
word beginning is, in fact, etymologically connected with the
more theologically, into some dualistic distinction between
Old English on-ginnan and the Old Norse gina, in both of
the absolutely sacred and creative being of a transcendent
which lurks the mythological image of the cosmogonic Gin-
“kindlier” God, on the one hand, and the utterly profane
nungagap, the primordial void that spawned the giant Ymir
nothingness and nonbeing of a passively neutral or actively
(the Primordial Man) in ancient Norse tradition. From a
belligerent chaos. Clearly, these distinctions have both onto-
cross-cultural perspective, the image of chaos is therefore es-
logical and moral implications, so that it may also be said
pecially prominent in cosmogonic and anthropogonic
that the polarized evaluation of the mythic chaos is the back-
myths, as well as in many types of origin myths and passage
drop for the theological and philosophical elaborations on
rituals concerned with some transitional situation in human
such problems as creatio ex nihilo and theodicy. Indeed, the
life or with some significantly altered state of affairs, whether
overall issue here directly affects the modern academic un-
for well or ill. Chaos appears, for example, within the context
derstanding of religion, since a whole tradition of Western
of the condition of death or the dream time of sleep, flood
scholarship defines religion as the contrast between the sa-
mythology, apocalyptic imagery in general, or foundational
cred and the profane, or, to use Peter Berger’s more straight-
legends and rites pertaining to a new sociopolitical tradition.
forward sociological formulation, as the “establishment
The English word chaos derives directly from the Greek
through human activity of . . . a sacred cosmos that will be
chaos, which in Hesiod’s Theogony (c. eighth century
capable of maintaining itself in the ever-present face of
BCE) de-
noted a cosmogonic “yawning gap, chasm, or void,” from
chaos” (The Sacred Canopy, New York, 1967, p. 51).
which generated the successive worlds of the gods and man-
A comparative assessment of world mythology shows,
kind. Hesiod, who drew upon earlier mythological sources,
however, that such pat divisions are not always warranted,
rather neutrally depicted the original chaos as merely the
so that, for instance, the apparently fundamental contrast be-
empty, dark space that allowed for the penetrating move-
tween chaos and cosmos may reveal more of a dialectical rela-
ment of erotic desire and for the appearance of Earth (Gaia)
tionship. This ambivalence is at least suggested by the obser-
as the secure home for all subsequent created forms and be-
vation that the Greek root of the term kosmos does not so
ings. But the Theogony also displays the mythological premise
much refer to the creation of an absolute, universal, and final
for a more negative evaluation of chaos, since the earliest gen-
world order (although with Pythagoras in the sixth century
erations of Titanic gods, most closely identified with the un-
BCE it will take on this sense as its basic meaning) as to the
trammeled passion and anarachy of the primitive chaos con-
more relative and transitive idea of the “cosmetic” alteration
dition, must be violently defeated by Zeus to insure the
of some more natural, plain, and primitive condition. Cosmos
permanence and universality of the Olympian order. The
in this sense is the differentiated, deferential, and ornamental
primal chaos is itself only the blind abyss necessary for
order; it is the painted and tattooed body of chaos—pretty
the creation of the physical world, but chaos here also refers
and pleasing primarily to the eye of the beholder. One tradi-
to the mythic period—and, by implication, to a kind of
tion’s chaos, in other words, is another’s cosmos, and vice
“chaos-order” or condition—of the pre-Olympian gods who
versa. It depends on the vantage point, or, at least, on wheth-
struggle against the imposition of Zeus’s all-encompassing
er the original cosmogonic chaos is conceived advantageous-
rule.
ly. In the broadest sense, chaos stands for the root “other-
ness” and “strangeness” of existence and the ironic
Because of their general impact on the colorations of
indeterminacy of all human constructs.
meaning popularly conjured up by the modern use of the
term chaos, it is worth citing two other ancient Western doc-
“Creation out of chaos,” in like manner, may not just
uments. In the priestly tale of Genesis (c. fourth century BCE)
refer to the appearance of order and reality out of the void,
found in the Hebrew scriptures, chaos is reduplicatively
but the creative possibility of many different orders and
called tohu va-vohu, a dark, watery, formless waste or “limbo-
worlds. As the hidden sum of all potential kosmoi, chaos is
akimbo” that must be wrested into order by the willful fiat
intrinsically linked to the transformative nature of phenome-
of a god completely separate from the stuff of creation. In
nal and cultural existence. The tensed relationship of “chaos
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1538
CHAOS
and cosmos,” then, usually has sociopolitical as well as meta-
duality as well as the spontaneous self-sufficiency of the cre-
physical implications, and this, it would seem, has much to
ation. It is in this way that the undifferentiated unity and im-
do with the interpretation of chaos seen in particular myths
plicate order of the cosmic egg can be said to come before
and cultural traditions. This, of course, begs the question as
any divine chicken, or, in the words of Samuel Butler, “a hen
to the ultimate premise of world construction, but it is exact-
is only an egg’s way of making another egg.”
ly the fundamental existential puzzles of “something from
nothing” and the interrelationship of unity and multiplicity,
Theriomorphic and anthropomorphic personifications
plenitude and limitation, that give rise to a moot diversity
of chaos are often imagined as the gigantic and misshapen
of possible answers and that are always addressed to some ex-
offspring of the primal waters, embryonic condition, or dark
tent in chaos mythology.
void. Recalling Hesiod’s portrait, such creatures represent
the individualized embodiments of chaos within the differ-
IMAGES OF CHAOS. Any excessive or transitional aspect of
entiated world. The actions of these creatures, moreover,
the natural world (e.g., the untamed vegetation of a jungle,
show that chaos has a “history” that continuously impinges
the blurring of light and dark at twilight, the frenzied winds
upon human history. The primary denizens of the chaos
of a storm, and so on) may be taken as a cipher for the
time can be categorized as: (1) dragon-serpent figures, often
mythological chaos; but, as already suggested by the biblical
having composite avian-aquatic features (e.g., Vr:tra in Vedic
allusions, the most prevalent natural metaphor for chaos is
mythology); (2) animal or hybrid man-animal trickster fig-
water. Given water’s infinite fluidity, its protoplasmic vitali-
ures (e.g., Raven and Crow in North American Indian tradi-
ty, as well as its lethal and regenerative potencies, it is hardly
tion); (3) a female demoness, a terrible mother, or chaos hag
surprising that images of a vast ocean, a turbulent sea, or
who has associations with the primal waters and “mother
some other murky, cloudy, frothy, and misty mixture of air
earth” imagery (e.g., Tiamat in Babylonian myth); (4) cos-
and water is used in many myths to depict the original broth
mic giant figures who, while theoretically androgynous, are
of creation.
often more male than female (e.g., Pangu in Chinese tradi-
tion); and (5) an incestuous brother and sister couple or a
Common also are references to the moist darkness and
set of divine twins of ambiguous sexuality (e.g., Izanagi and
foggy gloom of the precosmic condition, along with various
Izanami in Japanese mythology). All of these chaos creatures
depictions of a swirling vortex or whirlpool that links the
are particularly related to cosmogonic and other origin
water imagery with the more abstract ideas of the abysmal
myths, are often combined within a single mythic tradition,
void. Other traditions speak of a primal muddle of earth and
and are frequently portrayed in rituals concerned with signif-
water, as in the “earth diver” myths that tell of a fragment
icant seasonal and social transitions (e.g., worldwide celebra-
of muddy soil (often imagined as a central hillock or moun-
tions of the New Year). While they may be suppressed, hid-
tain) rescued from the depths by some animal god or sky
den, and transformed in various ways, all of them have
deity. Both in tribal cultures and in ancient civilizations there
popular folkloric surrogates (e.g., the revenant, demon,
are descriptions of a watery, labyrinthine underworld of the
witch, and fool) and continue their ambivalent careers at the
dead, and accounts of limitless seas and rivers surrounding
margins of the human world.
and penetrating the inhabited world; these imply that the
dark waters of creation continue to flow around, through,
The underlying logic that emerges from this rapid cross-
and beneath the hollows of the established cosmos. Finally,
cultural survey suggests that chaos is both prior to the world
there are the worldwide myths of a great flood (or of excessive
as its cosmogonic source and existentially interstitial to the
heat and drought) in the distant past or apocalyptic future
world as its transformative ground. Because it lies before and
that are clearly charged with the cosmogonic idea of a regres-
between any single order, or always “in relation” to any ex-
sion to an initial state of total solvency. In these myths, the
plicit world, the religious meaning of chaos remains pro-
twin potency of chaos comes to the fore, since the deluge is
foundly ambiguous. By its very nature, then, chaos can be
devastating to the existing world yet simultaneously estab-
variously imagined as simply before and other than, as nega-
lishes the necessary precondition for a new creation.
tively destructive of, or as creatively challenging to, some or-
dered world system. Given this queasy multivalence, it is also
Another important category of chaos symbolism con-
possible to see why in cultural history any single cosmologi-
cerns the universal imagery of an embryonic condition or
cal tradition will most often seek to deny the relativity of its
womblike form. This is especially exemplified in the so-
own vision of order by officially upholding a predominantly
called cosmic egg myths (along with the analogous myths in-
negative image of chaos.
volving a bloody lump of flesh or a creatively fertile yet
“empty” vessel, such as a pot, sack, gourd, cocoon, or drum),
NEGATIVE AND POSITIVE EVALUATIONS. The negative evalu-
that stress the preexistence of some ovarian matrix within
ation of chaos commonly takes the form of a mythic and rit-
which is mysteriously harbored the structured multiplicity of
ual scenario of combat, which was first delineated in relation
all cosmic forms. While they sometimes involve an external
to ancient Near Eastern and biblical materials. But this pat-
agent of creation responsible for the production and develop-
tern is not restricted to the ancient Near East; it is clearly
ment of the cosmic zygote, these myths often emphasize the
found in many diverse oral and literate traditions. While the
organic conjunction of cosmogonic unity and phenomenal
combat pattern of myth displays many permutations de-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHAOS
1539
pending on the particular cultural context, the basic plot is
in the sense of the end of order and life but rather the social
typified by the Babylonian Enuma elish (dating back, in part,
entropy and tension of too much deadening order. Chaos in
to the second millennium BCE), which tells of the struggle
this “primitive” sense is the pivot of cosmic and social equi-
between a chaos monster associated with the primal waters
librium, and refers to the ritual reappearance of unstructured
(i.e., the demoness Tiamat and her forces) and a triumphant
freedom and sheer potentiality. To refresh life, chaos must
sky deity responsible for some significant cultural innovation
be disciplined and periodically embraced, not simply
(the warrior god Marduk, who slays Tiamat, divides her car-
defeated.
cass to form the world, and establishes the central temple and
The contemporary American satirist Peter De Vries has
righteous rule of the city-state of Babylon).
perversely suggested that if “in de beginning was de void, and
In the Enuma elish, Tiamat and her monstrous cohorts
de void was vit God,” then it is probably the case that one
represent the older, otiose generation of gods that resist the
“mustn’t say de naughty void” (Blood of the Lamb, Boston,
noisy, rambunctious creative activity of the younger gods
1962, p. 181). In like manner, even when an implacably vile
championed by Marduk. From this perspective—and it is an
and naughty chaos is portrayed—as in some versions of the
interpretive judgment found in many other versions of the
combat myth—there is often the contradictory implication
combat myth—chaos and its first generation of creatures
that the divine champions are finally congenerous with their
refer to the impotency of a form that, in time, is drained of
primordial foes. The forces of chaos and the watery void are
its initial creative energy. Tiamat, in other words, stands for
always, it seems, the enemies of righteous order yet originally
the dangerous principle of entropy, the negative, polluting
and simultaneously “vit God.”
force that seeks to dissolve all new life forms back into the
Chaos, it must be said, is both naughty and nice, or to
silent slumber and amniotic inertia of death.
borrow appropriately enough from Rudolf Otto’s classic def-
The law of cosmic life in this sense is the organic rule
inition of the sacred (The Idea of the Holy, [1917] 1958),
of chaotic disintegration that is necessary for new life. Such
chaos is both repulsive and attractive in its awful appeal to
a cyclic return to chaos may be delayed, but even the younger
the religious imagination. Its repugnant aspects are clearly
gods, as part of a cosmos connected by origins with the prin-
seen in the many worldwide adumbrations of the combat
ciple of chaos, are still ultimately subject to the cosmic weari-
scenario, but it remains to indicate the somewhat more
ness and senility first displayed by Tiamat. One way to re-
muted allure of chaos as a positive and beneficial religious
solve this dilemma, which is seen prominently in
principle. Thus, there are what might be called “pro-chaos”
monotheistic traditions, is to discover the reality of a dualis-
religious traditions that in different ways espouse chaos as a
tic separation between chaos and an absolutely transcendent,
goal. Of these there are, in general, three—sometimes over-
wholly spiritual or divine order impervious to the inevitable
lapping—possibilities: (1) chaos may symbolize the final at-
temporal change and collapse of all cosmic forms. Monistic
tainment of, and fusion with, some perfectly unconditioned
theories asserting the fundamental unreality or illusory na-
unity and bliss totally beyond cosmic existence—a “nothing-
ture of chaos/cosmos represent another strategy.
ness that glistens with plentitude” (E. M. Cioran, The Temp-
tation to Exist, Chicago, 1968, p. 155); (2) chaos may be ex-
The combat pattern is also witnessed in many tribal tra-
perienced as a stage, threshold, or “dark night of the soul”
ditions, although the intensity of the antagonistic relation-
at the ultimate edge of cosmic reality that leads to a distinct
ship between chaos and the human order (and consequently
and higher vision of the absolutely transcendent Divine; and
the dualistic translation of this as the polarity between death
(3) chaos may represent the experience of a more paradoxical
and life, evil and good, demon and god) is ordinarily height-
state, or coincidentia oppositorum, merging transcendent
ened within the context of the classical or historical religions.
unity and cosmic multiplicity and functioning not as an end,
Thus, such traditions often suggest that ritual remembrances
but as a healing way station for a more harmonious inner and
of the mythic skirmish primarily function to celebrate the
social life.
victory over chaos and the heroic finality of some authoritari-
an order. There is an emphasis here on the permanent sup-
Such options obviously relate to “mystical” forms of
pression of chaos, or at least a denial that the primordial
world religions, but it should be recalled that a positive atti-
enemy possesses any positive attributes. The problem, as pre-
tude toward chaos was already forecast by tribal rituals that
viously indicated, is that chaos is never completely overcome
periodically welcomed a twilight zone back into the human
in ordinary cosmic life, although for some religions a post-
fold. Because of this sympathy, mystical forms of religion
mortem heavenly existence (as well as a climactic apocalyptic
(along with other types of shamanistic-ecstatic, individualis-
purification of the cosmos) can be interpreted as a final and
tic, and revolutionary religious movements) often manifest
total victory over chaos.
a kind of “primitive” sentiment toward chaos that contrasts
and challenges the more one-sidedly negative evaluations
While it is true that festivals of licensed folly are found
seen in institutionalized religion.
in both tribal and classical traditions, the former tend to ac-
cept more readily the instrinsic value and positive ambiguity
One instance of these contrasting interpretations within
of a periodic ritual return to a chaotic or “liminal” condition.
a single tradition is found in India, where some radical forms
The danger perceived by such peoples is not so much chaos
of Upanisadic, Buddhist, and bhakti mysticism seek a su-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1540
CHAOS
preme integration with the sacred “emptiness” of chaos.
CONCLUSION. Perhaps the most responsible way to end an
These forms can, in turn, be distinguished from the dharmic
investigation of chaos is to refuse the temptation to parse a
system of rigidly differentiated castes seen in Vedic and Pura-
subject so hopelessly ironic. It is, after all, the principle of
nic Hinduism. Within Western tradition—and frequently in
chaos that opens the abyss of indeterminacy and undecida-
tension with mainstream Christian, Jewish, and Islamic in-
bility in all interpretive endeavors. Suffice it to say that, de-
stitutions—there are also movements that stress the mystical
spite its decidedly negative public reputation, the image of
conjugation of the divine and chaos. Conceptions arising
chaos may be found in fact to have positive religious value.
from such movements include, in Christianity, the Ungrund
Even more important is the recognition that the idea of
(the “unground” or abyss that gives rise to God’s self-
chaos represents one of the honored ways religions have tried
consciousness), described by Jakob Boehme (1575–1624);
to imagine the ambiguous origins and equivocal nature of ex-
the qabbalistic idea of tsimtsum, the creative “gap” within
istence. For this very reason the meaning of chaos in the his-
God, in sixteenth-century Judaism; and the alchemical massa
tory of religions maintains its imaginative integrity by re-
confusa (the prime matter, often imagined as an egg or coiled
maining chaotic. Respecting the root topsy-turviness of
snake) in both Christian and Islamic esoteric circles after the
chaos should not, however, prevent careful reflection on its
Renaissance. All allude in some degree to the mythological
imaginative history since, even in its most negative guise, the
chaos as a strangely positive image.
phantomlike shapes of chaos are directly related to the way
particular religions have envisioned reality. The nature and
There are other cases of this pro-chaos persuasion, but
significance of chaos, therefore, touches upon a number of
one of the more striking examples is found in Chinese tradi-
issues that are central to the overall interpretive understand-
tion. In ancient China during the Eastern Zhou period (c.
ing and definition of religion.
eighth through second centuries BCE) the mythological chaos
was called hundun, which connoted the image of a Humpty-
SEE ALSO Cosmogony; Dragons; Egg; Water.
Dumpty-like, closed, embryonic condition or creature. Con-
fucian thought and the ancient classics stressed the role of
BIBLIOGRAPHY
a succession of semidivine Sage-Kings who disciplined the
Concerning the general theoretical background to the religious
chaotic forces of the natural world and carved the hierarchi-
and philosophical understanding of chaos and order, see The
cal order of the Middle Kingdom out of the carcass of the
Concept of Order, edited by Paul G. Kuntz (Seattle and Lon-
primitive condition of hundun. As a counterpoint to this
don, 1968), for an eclectic selection of articles—especially
point of view, the early Daoist texts suggest the existence of
pertinent are James K. Feibleman’s “Disorder” (pp. 3–13)
a veritable cult of chaos, since for these works the attainment
and, for the religious context, Charles Hartshorne’s “Order
of an authentically spontaneous and harmonious life re-
and Chaos” (pp. 253–267) and Joseph M. Kitagawa’s
“Chaos, Order, and Freedom in World Religions”
quired the rejection of conventional standards of propriety
(pp. 268–289). See also David L. Hall’s Eros and Irony (Alba-
and recommended a return to an experience of primitive
ny, 1982), which provocatively analyzes cultural history in
unity by means of the mystical “arts of hundun.” Thus, in
relation to varying conceptions of creation, chaos, and cos-
early Daoist texts (as distinct from the later institutionalized
mology.
Daoist religion), the mythical hundun can be identified with
Barbara C. Sproul’s Primal Myths: Creating the World (San Fran-
the ultimate principle of the Dao as the rhythmic source and
cisco, 1979) is a convenient sourcebook for the more impor-
ground of life. Because of his periodic journeys in mind and
tant creation myths and includes some abbreviated, but help-
heart back to the time of chaos, the Daoist mimics the sea-
ful, commentary on the different religious images of chaos.
sonal regeneration of nature and the ritual regeneration of
More valuable for their discussions of the relation between
primitive cultural life and is able, therefore, to remain fresh
the ideas of “creation” and “chaos” are Mircea Eliade’s Myth
and whole in the world.
and Reality (New York, 1963), which investigates the mytho-
logical and ritual meaning of chaos as correlated with the au-
Affirmations of the saving power of chaos have had a
thor’s theory concerning the “prestige” of cosmogony, and
significant, although largely unorthodox, role to play in the
Charles H. Long’s Alpha: The Myths of Creation (New York,
history of religions; and, as broadly protesting all conven-
1963), which includes some of the important mythological
tionalized truth, the cult and cultivation of chaos can be said
source materials as well as an extensive comparative examina-
to have inspired a whole spectrum of countercultural irrup-
tion of the structural significance of chaos imagery. For the
ritual themes of “liminality” and “pollution” as suggestively
tions, “interstitial events,” or “liminoid phenomena”
analogous to the mythic idea of chaos, especially among trib-
throughout history. Because it rubs against the customary
al traditions, see Victor Turner’s The Ritual Process (Ithaca,
order of things, the religious, philosophical, artistic, and po-
N.Y., 1977) and Mary Douglas’s Purity and Danger: An
litical “art of chaos” is always a risky enterprise, as indicated
Analysis of Concepts of Pollution and Taboo (New York,
by the checkered careers of assorted Daoist mystics, Zen
1966).
monks, holy fools, clownish alchemists, utopian Ranters,
The myth and ritual theme of combat that promotes a negative
Romantic poets, Nietzschian nihilists, frenzied surrealists,
and dualistic evaluation of chaos is classically presented for
neo-pagan anarchists, the Maoist “Gang of Four,” and de-
ancient Near Eastern and biblical materials by Hermann
constructionist critics.
Gunkel’s Schöpfung und Chaos in Urzeit und Endzeit (Göt-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHAOS THEORY
1541
tingen, 1895). But see also the more recent studies by Bern-
UNPREDICTABILITIES. Twentieth-century physics, however,
hard W. Anderson, Creation versus Chaos (New York, 1967),
saw the death of a merely mechanical understanding of the
which emphasizes the biblical context; Mary K. Wakeman,
world. This came about through the discovery of widespread
God’s Battle with the Monster (Leiden, 1973), which compar-
intrinsic unpredictabilities present in physical process, of a
atively reexamines the ancient Near Eastern documentation;
kind resulting from the way things actually are and not sim-
and Joseph Fontenrose, Python: A Study of Delphic Myth and
ply from deficiencies in experimental or calculational tech-
Its Origins (Berkeley, 1959), which focuses on Greek tradi-
niques. These unpredictabilities first manifested themselves
tion but draws upon a broad assortment of cross-cultural ma-
terials (i.e., Indo-European, ancient Near Eastern, East
in quantum theory’s account of atomic and subatomic phe-
Asian, American Indian, etc.).
nomena. In considering, for instance, the decay of a radioac-
tive nucleus, scientists could do no more than assign a certain
For studies that examine the more positive and ambiguous dimen-
probability that such decay might occur in a given period of
sions of chaos symbolism, along with related imagery, see, for
India, Wendy Doniger O’Flaherty’s Women, Androgynes, and
time. Newton’s predictive style of reasoning had to be re-
Other Mythical Beasts (Chicago and London, 1980) and, for
placed by a purely probabilistic approach. Quantum effects,
the ancient Chinese theme of hundun, my own Myth and
however, were only directly observable at the level of micro-
Meaning in Early Taoism: The Theme of Chaos (Berkeley and
scopic process, remote from the macroscopic experience of
London, 1983). In addition to their primary subject areas,
everyday reality. The latter was still the realm of classical
both of these works comparatively cite a broad range of cross-
physics.
cultural materials. Finally it is worth noting, among other
possibilities, William Willeford’s The Fool and His Scepter
In the 1960s many scientists began to realize that even
(London, 1969) and Mircea Eliade’s Mephistopheles and the
classical physics was not as tame and controllable as had been
Androgyne: Studies in Religious Myth and Symbol (New York,
supposed. There are certainly many systems that behave as
1965). The former is a fascinating literary study of the folk-
if they were reliably predictable “clocks,” but there are also
loric and popular embodiments of chaos in the Western tra-
other systems that behave like “clouds,” that is to say their
dition of the fool or jester, and the latter is a rich comparative
behavior is so sensitive to the fine detail of their circum-
study of different symbolic themes touching on the religious
stances that the slightest disturbance will radically alter their
ideas of duality and the “coincidence of opposites.”
future behavior. One of the pioneers in making this discov-
NORMAN J. GIRARDOT (1987)
ery was the theoretical meteorologist Edward Lorenz
(1917–). Lorenz had been studying certain equations that
corresponded to a highly simplified model of a weather sys-
tem. He determined that very slight changes in the input of
CHAOS THEORY. In the Principia (1687), Isaac
initial conditions into his equations would totally change the
Newton gave an account of mechanics formulated in terms
character of their output predictions. This exquisite sensitivi-
of precise equations of motion. Given the initial conditions
ty to detail has come to be expressed through a serious scien-
of a system, it was possible to predict completely its future
tific joke, the butterfly effect: the Earth’s weather systems can
behavior and to retrodict its past. Newton himself did not
be in so sensitive a state that a butterfly, stirring the air with
take a purely mechanical view of the world. There was the
its wings in the Amazonian jungle today, could produce ef-
mysterious force of gravity, concerning whose origin and na-
fects that escalate until they result in a storm over New York
ture he declined to frame a hypothesis, and he also believed
City in about three weeks time! Obviously, according to this
that the maintenance of the stability of the solar system
model, long-term weather forecasting is never going to work;
would require occasional angelic intervention. Newton’s
future storms are intrinsically unpredictable because no one
eighteenth-century successors, however, had different opin-
can know about all those butterflies.
ions, and they celebrated the triumph of mechanical think-
ing. Julien de La Mettrie (1709–1751) wrote his book Man
Lorenz’s surprising discovery had been anticipated by
the Machine (1748), and Pierre-Simon de Laplace (1749–
the French mathematician, Jules-Henri Poincaré (1854–
1827), in his great work on celestial mechanics, believed that
1912). In 1889 he published a study of the gravitational
he had established the natural stability of the solar system,
three-body problem in which he showed that it did not al-
so that appeal to the hypothesis of divine assistance in its
ways possess smoothly predictable solutions of the kind that
preservation was no longer necessary.
Laplace had assumed.
The nineteenth-century development of field theories,
CHAOS THEORY. The analysis of the sensitive and unpredict-
inspired by the insights of Michael Faraday (1791–1867)
able behavior of various systems has been called chaos theory.
and James Clerk Maxwell (1831–1879), did not essentially
Typically its occurrence is found to arise from equations that
change the picture. The partial differential equations of a
have the properties of reflexivity (they turn back upon them-
field theory are as deterministic in consequence as are the or-
selves) and nonlinearity (doubling the input does not double
dinary differential equations of Newtonian mechanics. Clas-
the output, but it changes it in a much more radical way).
sical physics, as this whole body of theory is called, appeared
In principle, the equations are exactly deterministic, in the
to present the image of a clockwork universe, whose Creator
sense that an absolutely precise input will yield an absolutely
could be no more than the Cosmic Clockmaker.
precise output, but in practice, because in the real world no
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1542
CHAOS THEORY
initial conditions can be known with arbitrary accuracy, un-
that the majority position is indeed a matter of metaphysical
predictability results from the uncontrollable effects of resid-
choice rather than physical necessity.
ual ignorance. Deterministic chaos, as it is often called, gives
In the case of the intrinsic unpredictabilities of chaos
rise to apparently random behavior.
theory, however, the majority decision has gone the other
In fact, the term chaos was somewhat ill chosen. Systems
way. Most physicists disconnect epistemology and ontology,
of this kind exhibit a kind of interlacing of order and disor-
concluding that the theory shows that deterministic equa-
der, which can best be illustrated by the case of dissipative
tions are consistent with the appearance of random behavior.
systems that feature a degree of friction acting in the process.
“Deterministic chaos” is indeed the way they think about the
In this case, the future behavior is not totally haphazard;
theory. This absence of any willingness to question the as-
rather, its possibilities are contained within an extensive
sumption of underlying determinism seems to have been in-
though limited portfolio of options called a strange attractor.
fluenced by the feeling of deep respect accorded to the histor-
The word “attractor” expresses the system’s rapid conver-
ic equations of classical physics.
gence onto this range of possibilities, and “strange” refers to
Yet a different strategy is metaphysically possible. This
the mathematically intricate shape of this form of possibility.
would involve interpreting the unpredictabilities as signs of
It turns out that the latter is characterized by fractal geome-
ontological openness. In turn, this strategy would necessitate
try, a “jagged” range of possibilities in striking contrast to the
a reinterpretation of the equations of “deterministic chaos.”
smoothly varying expectations of conventional classical phys-
The sensitivity of chaotic systems to the details of their cir-
ics. A fractal presents a pattern that appears essentially the
cumstances provides a way in which such a reinterpretation
same on whatever scale it is sampled—one might think of
can be accomplished. Because of such sensitivity, chaotic sys-
them as saw-teeth, themselves saw-toothed; the pattern con-
tems can never properly be treated in isolation. Their vulner-
tinues to infinity. The interlacing of order and disorder in
ability to the slightest disturbance means that they are inti-
chaos theory connects with an important scientific insight.
mately linked to their environment. Yet the experimental
It has come to be recognized that the emergence of novelty
support that “verifies” the laws of classical physics has all
requires a state of affairs that can be characterized as being
been obtained through investigations of situations in which
“at the edge of chaos.” To be too much on the orderly side
the assumption of isolatability is an acceptable idealization.
of that border would correspond to a situation possessing a
Otherwise, analysis of what was going on would have been
degree of rigidity that permitted only rearrangements to
too complex to be feasible. It is perfectly possible, therefore,
occur but did not allow the emergence of genuine novelty.
to make the metaphysical conjecture that the supposed laws
On the other hand, to be too far on the haphazard side of
of classical physics are actually no more than approximations
the border would correspond to a situation so unstable that
of the behavior of what may be conceived actually to be a
no novelty could persist. Fruitfulness requires a subtle bal-
more subtle and supple physical reality. The approximation
ance between order and openness.
involved could be called downward emergence, because it
METAPHYSICS. The unpredictability in chaos theory is an
would relate to behavior observable only in the idealized cir-
epistemological property, telling us that we cannot know be-
cumstance of an isolated system.
forehand what the future behavior of a chaotic system will
In this metaphysical scheme, epistemological unpredict-
prove to be. There is no inescapable connection between
ability is the sign of an ontological openness. Such openness
epistemology (what we know) and ontology (what is the
is not meant to imply that the future is some sort of random
case). No logical entailment links the two together. Instead,
lottery, but rather that the causal principles involved are
the relationship is a matter for metaphysical decision (and
more than those described simply by the conventional physi-
so, for philosophical argument).
cal picture of the exchange of energy between constituents.
The unisolatibility of chaotic systems means that though
Immanuel Kant (1724–1804) maintained that the ap-
such systems may be made up of components, they also must
pearances of phenomena are no guide to the nature of nou-
be considered holistically, in the context of their totality. The
mena, or the character of things in themselves. On the other
variety of the different possible patterns of their future be-
hand, most scientists, either consciously or unconsciously,
havior, represented by the different ways in which a chaotic
assume a realist position, believing that scientific knowledge
system might traverse its strange attractor, are not discrimi-
gives access to the nature of the physical world.
nated from each other by energy differences, but by differing
In the case of the intrinsic unpredictabilities of quantum
patterns of dynamical behavior, characterized by different ex-
theory, almost all physicists have adopted a realistic interpre-
pressions of “information.” These considerations led to the
tation of phenomena. Werner Heisenberg’s uncertainty
metaphysical conjecture that chaos theory should be inter-
principle is not regarded simply as an epistemological princi-
preted as affording scope for a new kind of causal agency,
ple of ignorance, but it is taken to be an ontological principle
having the character of being top-down (influence of the
of actual indeterminacy. The fact that the work of quantum
whole upon the parts) and corresponding to an input of in-
physicist David Bohm (1917–1992) has provided an alterna-
formation (specification of patterned dynamical behavior).
tive option, of equal empirical adequacy, which offers a de-
One might summarize the proposal as suggesting the concept
terministic interpretation of quantum phenomena, shows
of holistic causality through active information.
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CHARISMA
1543
Two general considerations may be offered in support
environmental influence of the radiation that bathes Hyperi-
of such a metaphysical project. One is that the stance taken
on, in its turn suppresses the quantum effects and explains
accords with the realist strategy followed by almost all physi-
why the moon’s chaotic behavior can be expected to contin-
cists in the case of quantum theory. There is no apparent rea-
ue almost indefinitely. The causal nexus of the world is very
son to treat quantum theory and chaos theory differently in
complex, with a variety of effects interlacing.
this respect. Second, human experience of agency, of the
willed execution of the intentions of the whole person, en-
SEE ALSO Physics and Religion.
courages the belief that an account of the causal nexus of the
world is needed, an account that goes beyond simple constit-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
uent notions. The concept of top-down causality, operating
Gleick, James. Chaos: Making a New Science. London, 1988. An
through the input of information, offers the glimmer of a
excellent introduction to chaos theory for the general reader.
prospect of how one might begin the task of reconciling the
Peitgen, Heinz-Otto, and Peter Richter. The Beauty of Fractals.
scientific account of process with the human experience of
Berlin, 1986. Lavishly illustrated account of fractal
agency.
geometry.
Polkinghorne, John. Belief in God in an Age of Science. New
The theologian may also find these ideas to be of use
Haven, Conn., 1998. Chapter 3 gives an account of divine
in thinking about divine providential interaction with cre-
action based on an ontological interpretation of chaos
ation. If the causal grain of nature is open in the way suggest-
theory.
ed, there seems to be no difficulty in believing that the Cre-
Prigogine, Ilya. The End of Certainty: Time, Chaos, and the New
ator also interacts with the unfolding history of creation
Laws of Nature. New York, 1997. A Nobel laureate’s account
through the input of active information.
of the openness of physical process.
QUANTUM CHAOLOGY. At first sight it might seem that the
Ruelle, David. Chance and Chaos. Princeton, N.J., 1991. Accessi-
metaphysical problems discussed above might readily be
ble survey by a distinguished mathematical physicist.
solved by combining the insights of quantum physics and
Russell, Robert, Nancey Murphy, and Arthur Peacocke, eds.
chaos theory.
Chaos and Complexity: Scientific Perspectives on Divine Action.
Vatican City, 1995. Conference proceedings reporting a va-
The behavior of chaotic systems quite rapidly comes to
riety of points of view and focusing on questions of divine
depend upon the details of circumstances lying at the level
action.
of Heisenberg uncertainty or below. It might seem attractive,
Saunders, Nicholas. Divine Action and Modern Science. Cam-
therefore, to appeal to the generally accepted indeterministic
bridge, UK, 2002. A careful and comprehensive survey of
character of quantum process to induce openness in the be-
current issues.
havior of chaotic systems. Yet this approach faces serious dif-
JOHN POLKINGHORNE (2005)
ficulties, resulting from a lack of understanding of how one
might consistently combine quantum theory and chaos theo-
ry. Indeed, these theories appear to be mutually incom-
patible.
CHARDIN, PIERRE TEILHARD DE SEE
TEILHARD DE CHARDIN, PIERRE
Quantum theory possesses an intrinsic scale, set by Max
Planck’s fundamental constant. As a result, in quantum
thinking it is possible to give a meaning to terms such as large
or small. We have seen that chaos theory, on the contrary,
CHARISMA. The word charisma [plural charismata],
is scale-free because of its fractal character, implying that ev-
originally used by St. Paul in the New Testament—to de-
erything looks roughly the same on whatever scale it is sur-
scribe “spiritual gift[s],” has expanded its definition in the
veyed. Clearly some significant modification of thinking
past hundred years. Academics, journalists, and the general
would be required to bring the two theories together. Mod-
public now use the term and its adjective, charismatic, to
ern physics has only a rather patchy picture of the causal na-
refer to any extraordinary leadership or authority. German
ture of reality, and is far from being able to offer an integrat-
sociologist Max Weber (1864–1920) deliberately began
ed account, applicable at all levels.
using the term this way in his scientific articles that were
The complexity of the considerations involved can be
published in the early twentieth century. Weber did not fore-
illustrated by the behavior of Hyperion, one of the moons
see, however, the subsequent broad application of the word;
of Saturn. It is an irregularly shaped piece of rock about the
charisma has since been attributed to religious and political
size of New York City, which is observed to be tumbling cha-
leaders, dictators, cult leaders, CEOs, salespeople, popular
otically. Quantum effects, with their imposition of scale,
entertainers, athletes—even race horses. Weber laments that
would be expected to suppress this chaotic motion very effec-
the “attempt to explain charisma is clearly hampered by vari-
tively for so large an object. Calculations made on this basis
ation in the range of meaning attached to the term.”
indicate that tumbling should last for only about thirty-seven
The following entry discusses the sociological applica-
years. However another effect, called decoherence, due to the
tions of charisma, reviews charisma and analogous concepts
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1544
CHARISMA
that express spiritual virtuosity in world religions, and identi-
One example of this instability would be the violence in-
fies the specific meanings of charisma and charismata in the
spired by the French revolutionary Maximilian-François
New Testament and in subsequent Christian theology and
Marie-Isidore de Robespierre (1758–1794). Yet a charismat-
ecclesiology.
ic challenge can also be made in the name of restoring an
CHARISMA AS A SOCIOLOGICAL CONCEPT. Max Weber, the
older or more traditional order, as in the recent case of the
German social thinker perhaps best known for his book The
Muslim fundamentalist and Iranian revolutionary leader
Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (1904–5), intro-
Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (1902–1989).
duced the term charisma as a descriptive concept throughout
Weber’s analysis, while secular, grew from his funda-
his writings. He seems to assume that the reader already un-
mentally Protestant perspective; according to this outlook,
derstands the idea; therefore, rather than defining it or ex-
personal charisma would always hold more vitality and au-
plaining it, he devotes his energies to analyzing the conse-
thenticity than a routinized charisma of office, such as that
quences and outcomes of charismatic authority. His most
claimed by priests and bishops in the Catholic Church. In
frequently quoted passage comes from the posthumously
fact, Weber’s immediate source for his studies of charisma
published compilation Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft, translated
was the German Protestant theologian Rudolph Sohm
by Roth and Wittich as Economy and Society:
(1841–1917). German sociologist Werner Stark published
The term charisma will be applied to a certain quality
a four-volume critique of Weber’s theories; he argues that
of an individual personality by virtue of which he is
Weber, because of this Protestant orientation, was unable to
considered extraordinary and treated as endowed with
appreciate the dynamics of vitally charismatic communities,
supernatural, superhuman, or at least specifically excep-
whether they were composed of Catholics, Asians, or indige-
tional powers or qualities. These are such as are not ac-
nous people.
cessible to the ordinary person, but are regarded as of
divine origin or as exemplary, and on the basis of them
A few commentators have argued that, for the sake of
the individual concerned is treated as a “leader.”
clarity, the concept of charisma should remain in the context
Some critics have felt that Weber’s definition essentially per-
of religious discourse. Most, however, have followed Weber’s
petuates the “great man” approach to history as developed
lead into extended usage. Most notably, Edward Shils con-
by his predecessors, Scottish historian Thomas Carlyle
nects the concept of charisma to a seemingly inherent re-
(1795–1881) and German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche
sponsiveness in human nature to the idea of order, whether
(1844–1900). Yet Weber also noted, “What is alone impor-
cosmological or social. Shils argues:
tant is how the individual is actually regarded by those sub-
The generator or author of order arouses the charismat-
ject to charismatic authority, by his ‘followers’ or ‘disciples’.”
ic responsiveness. Whether it be God’s law or natural
With this caveat, he emphasizes the influence, or perhaps the
law or scientific law or positive law or the society as a
susceptibility, of the great person’s followers.
whole, or even a particular corporate body or institu-
Weber introduces charisma as one of the three basic
tion like an army, whatever embodies, expresses or sym-
bolizes the essence of an ordered cosmos or any signifi-
sources of legitimate societal authority; the other two are tra-
cant sector thereof awakens the disposition of awe and
dition and rationalized or codified law. Weber believes cha-
reverence, the charismatic disposition.
risma is the most vital, but is also inherently unstable; conse-
quently, he places special emphasis on the question of how
In a careful critique, his colleagues Bensman and Givant
a charismatically-based authority can preserve continuity, es-
argue that Shils’s analysis is so broad and all-encompassing
pecially during modern times, an era of rationalization, or
(especially because he applies charisma both to reverence for
an age of disenchantment (Entzauberung). Weber proposed
order and to challenge to order) that the concept becomes
Veralltäglichung as the mechanism to maintain charismatic
too diffuse to be useful. On the other hand, scholars such
authority. The term is usually translated as “routinization,”
as Tambiah have extended the concept even more broadly
although that conveys a more bureaucratic tenor than Weber
applying it to fetish objects such as the amulets of
intended. One type of routinization would be a direct trans-
Therava¯dan Buddhist saints in Thailand and Burma.
fer of charisma from one person to a successor, the sort of
Another approach, carefully articulated by Bryan Wil-
lineage charisma used to determine the succession of Dalai
son and widely accepted, corrects the implication that charis-
Lamas. The method also applies to the general idea of “sacral
ma is something that resides in a person; rather, it emphasizes
kingship,” found in peoples of the ancient Near East, ancient
that charisma is something inherently relational or, as
China, and medieval Europe. The other, more modern form
Downton puts it, “transactional.” Someone who has no fol-
of routinization, according to Weber, took the form of de-
lowers cannot be called charismatic. As Constantin has put
personalization (Versachlichung), producing the charisma of
it, the ecology of charisma involves the social production of
office. In this instance, charismatic authority is more or less
sainthood. Other scholars, including Downton, Jacobs, and
independent of the personal qualities of the person holding
Post, have developed a psychoanalytic reading of the charis-
the office.
matic relationship, building upon the Freudian concepts of
Charisma, according to Weber, tends by its very nature
the idealized self, identity diffusion, and narcissism. These
to be non-rationalized and upsetting to an established order.
researchers see the weak ego boundaries of the charismatic
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHARISMA
1545
leader and his or her submissive followers as perfect and dan-
sonage to another. The medieval and Renaissance city-state
gerous complements to each other.
of Florence adopted David as its charismatic icon par excel-
lence, immortalizing his image in sculptures by Donatello,
Considering this relationship between leader and fol-
Verocchio, and, of course, Michelangelo.
lowers caused Wilson to analyze the social construction of
charisma. He hypothesized that certain types of communi-
In terms of religious rather than political leadership, the
tarian cultures were peculiarly susceptible to charismatic rela-
prototypical charismatic hero in Hebrew scripture is Moses,
tionships. In his provocatively titled monograph The Noble
called by God despite his own infirmities to lead the children
Savages: The Primitive Origins of Charisma, he refers to these
of Israel out of Egypt (Exod. 1–4). After Moses returned
cultures as tribal, or “primitive.” Many other scholars, how-
from his theophanies on Mount Sinai (Exod. 19 and 32–33),
ever, have investigated charisma in modern political con-
so numinous was his presence and so transfigured was his
texts, developing case studies of leaders such Cuba’s Fidel
face by glory that he had to wear a veil among the people
Castro, Germany’s Adolf Hitler, Italy’s Benito Mussolini,
(Exod. 34:33–35). Extraordinary as is the scriptural account
the United States’ Franklin Roosevelt, and Iran’s Ayatollah
of Moses, Jewish legend and folklore magnify it even further,
Khomeini. As these studies show, the motif of charismatic
enhancing his miraculous birth story, the signs and wonders
political leadership tends to be invoked as a value-neutral
of his commission, the events of the Exodus, and the mystery
concept, although some writers selectively invoke such terms
of his death.
as pseudo-charisma or manufactured charisma.
The New Testament contains direct typological paral-
Beyond politics, the use of the term charisma has be-
lels to the charismatic initiations of the Hebrew scripture, in
come quite entrenched in organizational and leadership re-
the gospel accounts of the Jesus’ baptism (Matt. 3) and his
search. Some scholars in the New Leadership movement
transfiguration, in which Peter, James, and John see Jesus as
view charisma as a component of a specific leadership style.
radiant with light, appearing together with Moses and Elijah
Rather than management-focused or transactional, this
(Matt. 17:1–8). On both occasions, a voice from heaven pro-
mode is described as transformational and visionary. Other
claims that Jesus is “my beloved Son, in whom I am well
researchers, however, question whether a vision that encom-
pleased.” Another parallel to the Old Testament messages in-
passes company and personnel management, bottom-line
dicating that someone has found great favor with the Lord
profits, and market strategies—no matter how creative it
is found in the angel Gabriel’s well-known greeting to Mary
may be—can relate to charisma. Nevertheless, from the first
as “full of grace” (kecharitomene, or exceedingly favored; Luke
appearance of the word “charismatic” in American journal-
1:28). This term marks her as a charismatic figure in her own
ism (in a 1949 Fortune magazine reference to John L. Lewis,
right. It should also be noted, however, that the word charis,
head of the United Mine Workers), through references to
“grace,” also became part of a standard early Christian saluta-
CEOs such as Lee Iacocca of Chrysler and Steve Jobs of
tion of “grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be unto
Apple Computer, the term has become entrenched in dis-
you,” throughout New Testament epistolary literature (Rom.
course about the corporate world.
1:7 and I Thess. 5:28). The descent of the Holy Spirit and
the gift of speaking in tongues at Pentecost, as described in
CHARISMA AND ITS ANALOGUES IN WORLD RELIGIONS.
Acts 2:1–4, is the paradigm for all subsequent Christian dis-
Weber drew his use of charisma as a sociological concept
course on charismata, or spiritual gifts.
from its preexisting use in biblical studies. In the Bible, the
Greek term charisma (spiritual gift), and the root word from
Charisma, in the general sense of inspired religious lead-
which it is derived, charis (grace or favor), are confined to
ership or virtuosity, is a lens through which any and all reli-
the Greek translation of the Old Testament (the Septuagint)
gious traditions can be viewed. In biblical tradition, the
and to the New Testament. The idea of charismatic leader-
chain of charismatic leaders continues in the Hebrew scrip-
ship, however, is archetypal in the Old Testament. This idea
ture with the prophets, followed later by such religio-
is generally signaled in the Hebrew text by the use of the
nationalistic figures as Judas Maccabaeus and Simeon bar
noun hen (favor) or the verb hanan (to show favor). Thus,
Kokba. Bar Kokba illustrated the dark side of ultra-
the paradigmatic image of the charismatic hero is the unlike-
nationalistic and messianic charismatic leadership, since his
ly, apparently unqualified, figure who has received God’s
leadership resulted in the final devastation of Jerusalem and
favor. Hebrew scripture contains many charismatic figures,
Israel by the Roman emperor Hadrian’s legions. Charismatic
such as Moses, Samson, Saul, David, Elijah, and Elisha.
Judaism is a modern term given to that putative type of Sec-
These chosen ones experience the visitation of ruah, the di-
ond Temple Judaism, which has been led by latter-day
vine spirit; they may also become, as did Saul and David,
prophets, such as Honi the Circle Maker and Hanina ben
“the anointed of the Lord.” These charismatic figures over-
Dosa, who claim to emulate Elijah and Elisha. As Neusner
come all odds and obstacles and achieve spectacular triumphs
describes, they “were known for miracles, primarily healing
in the name of the Lord, as did Moses over Pharaoh (Exod.
and control over the weather. . . . [This] Charismatic Juda-
14), David over Goliath (1 Sam. 17) or Elijah over the priests
ism is judged to stand in contrast to the halakhic Judaism of
of Baal (1 Kings 18). David’s many triumphs over Saul exem-
the Pharisees and other levitical [sic] groups and to derive
plify the dynamics of the transfer of charisma from one per-
from Galilee.” Some scholars have proposed including Jesus
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1546
CHARISMA
of Nazareth in this circle, but Neusner notes, “Though still
other forms of extreme religious virtuosity, became a charis-
in use, the category charismatic Judaism has lost most of its
matic phenomenon.
analytic force.”
Medieval Catholics believed that the shrines and relics
For the most part, rabbinic Judaism has been wary of
of saints could transfer their charisma to pilgrims and devo-
charismatic religious leadership, especially given outbreaks of
tees. Charismatic sainthood in the early modern and modern
messianism such as in the unfortunate case of the Jewish
eras has been associated with founders and reformers of reli-
mystic Shabbetai Tsevi (1626–1676), who claimed to be the
gious orders (Francis of Assisi and Teresa of Ávila), apocalyp-
savior of his people. An exception to the general rabbinic
tic New Age visionaries (Joachim of Flora), spellbinding
avoidance, however, is the Hasidic movement, a Jewish tra-
preachers (Savonarola), cult leaders (Jim Jones and David
dition which embraces charismatic expression. Hasidic Juda-
Koresh), prophetic ministers and witnesses for peace (Martin
ism offers a constructive response to world disenchantment,
Luther King Jr., Dorothy Day, Oscar Romero, and Philip
defends personal inner freedom, welcomes a collective, expe-
Berrigan), as well as the “official” or canonized saints who
riential, and experimental approach to religiosity, and ac-
were honored for their piety, good works, and attributed
cepts its tsaddiqim as charismatic leaders.
miracles, and church leaders, such as Pope John XXIII and
The nineteenth-century tsaddiq Menachem Mendl of
Pope John Paul II, who aptly exemplify what Weber called
Kotske, also called the Kotsker, lost his disciples when he vio-
“charisma of office.”
lated Sabbath traditions, however. Although Hasidic follow-
As with Judaism, Sunn¯ı Islamic tradition is wary of
ers are very loyal to their tsaddiq, they remain bound by strict
charismatic religious leadership; in fact, the religion Sunn¯ı
orthodoxy. Hence, the tsaddiq is what Berger terms a
recognizes no formal hierarchy. As Lindholm explains,
“chained charismatic.” Contemporary neo-Hasidim, as em-
Sunn¯ı Islam, like Judaism, is an “emissary” rather than an
bodied in the rebbe Menachem Mendl Schneersonn, tsaddiq
“exemplary” religious tradition: the religious teacher is a con-
of the Lubavitch sect, combines a dedication to intense per-
veyor of the word of God, not an awe-inspiring religious vir-
sonal religious experience with “the most fervent and animat-
tuoso. The closest analogue to the Greek charisma in Islamic
ed observ[ance] of Judaic rituals and halakhic standards.”
Arabic is the term baraka, for “a benign force, of divine ori-
Closer to mainstream Judaism is the elevation of schol-
gin, which bestows physical superabundance and prosperity,
arly study of Torah to a charisma of reason, exemplified by
and psychological happiness.” In mainstream Sunn¯ı tradi-
the maskil, or the religious scholar. In a Weberian analysis
tion, charisma or baraka was concentrated in the QurDa¯n it-
of the charismatic aspects of the religious kibbutz movement
self, and in the person of the prophet Muh:ammad. As Lind-
in modern Israel, Fishman illustrates what he calls the “char-
holm notes, a “felt charismatic bond with the Prophet drew
ismatic power of Torah.” Appropriating the idea that charis-
Muslims into the community of believers and simultaneous-
ma is “anti-establishment,” kibbutz leaders speak of “the holy
ly gave them a sense of personal spiritual expansion that is
rebellion” of following Torah, as “With a quiver of holiness,
the hallmark of charismatic discipleship. At the same
the tractor opened the new land.” Fishman shows how the
time. . . the actual message carried by Muh:ammad modest-
“primeval charisma” of the early Bund stage of the kibbutz
ly downplayed and even denied his own charismatic role.”
movement was transformed under increasingly rationalized
Nevertheless, the Prophet’s life became progressively mythol-
organization into an abated form of “routinized charisma”
ogized over time: Padwick comments, “increasingly, he was
in the Commune stage.
portrayed as pure, infallible, capable of foreseeing the future,
of cursing his enemies, of splitting the moon in the sky, of
Christian tradition, once it entered the multicultural
ascending to heaven while still alive, and, above all, of inter-
gentile world, experienced a more common but equally con-
ceding for the frightened faithful on the terrible day of judg-
flicted tradition of charismatic religious leadership. Begin-
ment.” This mystical life of Muh:ammad became rich source
ning with St. Paul’s attempt to settle disputes over charismat-
material for the flowering of Islamic schools of mysticism in
ic expression within the Christian community at Corinth,
the Middle Ages, including the S:u¯f¯ı traditions discussed
and continuing through the era of controversy between dif-
below.
ferent strains of Christianity, or as some scholars would now
prefer to put it between different or “alternative” Christiani-
In the meantime, the great competing sect of Islam, the
ties, each led by competing charismatic figures, the story of
Sh¯ıEah, has always been much more open to charismatic reli-
Christianity can be seen as an ongoing cycle of conflicts be-
gious expression. Emphasizing the religious lineage of the
tween charismatic personages, variously labeled as heretics,
Prophet’s family, through the martyrs Ali and Hussein, and
prophets, mystics, reformers and cult leaders, on the one
many subsequent saints and martyrs (sheikhs, or pirs), Sh¯ıEahs
hand, and the institutional church (whether Catholic, Or-
venerate saints, travel on pilgrimages to their tombs, and par-
thodox, or Protestant) with its proclaimed magisterium or
ticipate in ecstatic “passion dramas” or commemorations.
teaching authority on the other. Sainthood itself, from the
Moreover, unlike the Sunn¯ı tradition, Sh¯ıEahs exalt charis-
age of the apostles through the era of martyrdom and the
matic religious leaders, mullahs and ayatollahs, the most fa-
Catholic Church after the Roman emperor Constantine,
miliar of whom are the late Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran and
continuing into the age of asceticism, monasticism, and
the present Ayatollah al-Sistani of Iraq.
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CHARISMA
1547
The other, ostensibly non-political or non-sectarian
charismatic spirit possession in North and Central Africa,
outlet for abundant expression of charismatic religious expe-
and their occasional connection with anti-colonial move-
rience in Islam has been the S:u¯f¯ı movement, originating in
ments, although it is also true that these possession cults
the late eighth century. These “friends of God,” or wal¯ı, “did
caused “difficulties for the politically conscious because of
not just recite the traditions, but believed they could achieve
their anarchic character.” Other religio-political movements
spiritual transformation” through controlling the passions
in Africa were led by figures who claimed an Afro-Christian
and emulating the Prophet. By the twelfth century, S:u¯f¯ı
charisma, such as Simon Kimbangu in the Belgian Congo
saints (sheikhs, or pirs) began to found lodges (tariqas, or
and, in his wake, André Matswa in the French Congo.
pathways) for students. These wayfarers, or spiritual seekers,
Indigenous African cultural traditions contain ana-
would follow the S:u¯f¯ı quest of seeking to know God intu-
logues to charisma in the art and ceremonies of secret socie-
itively, the potential solipsism countered by a deep-seated
ties, as well as in the role of diviners, healers, and sorcerers.
and self-abnegating communalism. According to S:u¯f¯ı mysti-
Among the spirit-possessed Nuer prophets of the Sudan,
cism, Muh:ammad was not only the Prophet, but the perfect
Ngundeng of the Lou tribe became widely famous for his
man, a cosmic pivot (qutb) who serves to bring the world to
healing, cursing, trickery, and extreme feats of asceticism by
perfection. Moreover, Lindholm notes that an invisible qutb
which he accessed the power of the bush, and who after his
“must exist for every generation, even though, as ‘God’s
death in 1906 passed on his spirit power to his son. Evans-
bride’ he was veiled from ordinary men, and discerned only
Pritchard’s classic Nuer Religion (1956) remains a standard
by the purified elite. . . . The only problem was that the
source, although Beidelman has countered his view that the
members of the secret sanctified order could only be recog-
tradition of charismatic Nuer prophecy is a recent develop-
nized by their charismatic aura, since they had no objective
ment. The story of African spirit possession and charismatic
credentials.”
religious authority can also be pursued through the African
diaspora, in syncretistic traditions such as Shango in Brazil,
While best known in the West through medieval poets
vodou in Haiti, and Santeriá in Cuba.
such as Jala¯l al-D¯ın Ru¯m¯ı (1207–1273) and New Age
neo-S:u¯f¯ı teachings, Sufism is virtually non-existent in the
Analogous traditions of trance, ecstasy, divination, and
Middle East in the early twenty-first century. S:u¯f¯ı lodges
other aspects of charismatic religious authority can be docu-
continue to be prominent, however, in South Asia and
mented from Australia and Oceania, such as the Aborigine
North Africa, in socio-cultural contexts that are more condu-
karadji, wiri:nan, or bug:nja—different tribal names for a
cive to charismatic devotional practice. Werbner and Basu’s
“clever man” or spirit-man—or the concept of mana in Mel-
1998 anthology, Embodying Charisma: Modernity, Locality,
anesia, a very overworked term that encompasses aspects of
and the Performance of Emotion in Sufi Cults contains essays
what we could call charismatic power. Malinowski argued
on charismatic S:u¯f¯ı religious practices in Pakistan, Bangla-
that the cosmological vision implied by the concept of mana
desh, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, and elsewhere in South Asia,
had nothing to do with the manipulations of magic, because,
while the 1988 anthology edited by Donal Cruise O’Brien
quoting Codrington, mana “acts in all ways for good and
and Christian Coulon, Charisma and Brotherhood in African
evil. . . [and] shows itself in physical force or in any kind
Islam, contains case studies of charismatic S:u¯f¯ı lodges in East
of power and excellence which a man possesses.”
and West Africa. As O’Brien and Coulon explain in their in-
Power naturally includes social leadership, authority,
troduction, in African S:u¯f¯ı lodges such as the Qadiriyya of
and mobilization. In Polynesia, people approved their rulers
Nigeria, baraka designates “a power relation of the charis-
by appealing to their mana, or ‘spirit-authority’. . . . Mana
matic type” in which piety, spirituality, moral fiber, and
accompanied the totality of power, victory, and continued
therapeutic powers can be transmitted or inherited from per-
security because a mandate of an individual’s rule would be
son to person. Moreover, in the context of colonialism, the
confirmed by the spirit-world.
S:u¯f¯ı lodges sometimes used charisma as a political instru-
An analogous concept in Native North American vo-
ment. Ironically, European colonial involvement had the un-
cabulary would be the Dakota term wakan. Malinowski
intended effect of enhancing the role of charismatic Islam in
quotes, “all life is wakan. So also is everything which exhibits
Africa. Coulon’s essay focuses on the case study of a Senega-
power, whether in action, as the winds and drifting clouds,
lese woman sheikh, Sokhna Magat Diop, who inherited her
or in passive endurance, as the boulder by the wayside. . . .
baraka from her parents and who, while she has no standing
It embraces all mystery, all secret power, all divinity.” Wilson
in and does not even attend the local mosque, exercises reli-
illustrates Native American charismatic leadership in essays
gious authority over both male and female disciples through
on the Ottawa chief Pontiac, the Shawnee chiefs Tecumseh
the power she gains from her mystic religious retreats (khalw-
and Tenskwatawa. On the other hand, Wilson argues that
as).
military leaders such as the Lakota chief Sitting Bull “were
The association of S:u¯f¯ı saints in Africa with medicine
not charismatic figures: their status did not depend on some
and healing naturally suggests the survival and incorporation
claim to supernatural legitimation.”
of pre-Islamic African cultural traditions. Kramer’s The Red
In the context of world religion, I. M. Lewis offers per-
Fez: Art and Spirit Possession in Africa discusses examples of
haps the most broadly framed and all-encompassing defini-
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1548
CHARISMA
tion of charisma, in the preface to his Religion in Context:
manifests those powers to such a degree that followers accept
Cults and Charisma:
his or her religious authority or leadership with submissive
awe or unquestioning loyalty. Such a definition encompasses
The beliefs and behavior conventionally distinguished
as “witchcraft,” “spirit-possession,” “cannibalism,” and
the whole array of traditions of “shamanism,” as the term is
“shamanism” seem at first sight to have little in com-
now globally applied. Vast literature on shamanism has accu-
mon. Anthropologists and other students of compara-
mulated in recent decades, but the indispensable starting
tive religion regularly treat these phenomena as totally
point for research (even though it has been roundly criticized
unrelated and even mutually exclusive, objectified
by contemporary scholars for being a-historical) is Mircea
“things” characteristic of different cults and of distinct
Eliade’s (1907–1986) magisterial volume Shamanism: Archa-
types and stages) of culture and society. This book takes
ic Techniques of Ecstasy. Grounding his survey in the cultural
a different view. It argues that, on the contrary, these
worlds of Central and North Asia—the presumed diffusion
are actually closely related expressions of mystical
area for the global spread of shamanism to North and South
power, or “charisma.”
America, Oceania, Tibet, Southeast Asia, and the Far East—
This interpretation suggests a much broader use of the term
Eliade discusses shamanic vocation and initiation, shamanic
than appears in most of the literature on the subject, but Car-
dream-visions, flights to the celestial worlds and under-
rasco has expanded it even further. He invokes charisma as
worlds, spirit combats, and healing rituals.
a rubric for understanding and interpreting some of the most
gruesome rituals of Aztec ceremonialism. Carrasco reads the
This virtually global context could attach charisma to
bloodiest of all Aztec rituals, Tlacaxipeualiztli, the Feast of
a Tibetan or Navajo sand-painting ritual, or to an Inuit tung-
the Flaying of Men, as a ritual of the transfer and “redistribu-
halik (shaman), or to an ajk’ij (Quiché Maya daykeeper), or
tion of the charisma of the [ritually sacrificed] warrior
to the companion-spirits called wayob by the Maya and
throughout the ceremonial landscape of Aztec Mexico.”
nahualli by the Aztec. Pre-Buddhist shamanistic traditions
During the ritual, the captive is slain within the ritually con-
have survived in Korea and Japan (including miko, the fe-
trolled environment of the gladiatorial stone (temalacatl).
male shamans of Japan who practice trance and spirit-
The priests extract from the victim’s chest his still-pulsating
possession), and have syncretically combined with popular
heart (the “precious-eagle-cactus-fruit”), place it in a ceremo-
forms of Buddhist devotion as enduring expressions of the
nial bowl (cuauhxicalli, or “eagle-vessel”), flay and dismem-
“little tradition.” Initially despised or treated as a curiosity
ber the victim, and distribute his body parts to be ritually
in modern times by Japanese and Korean intellectuals,
eaten. A “deity impersonator” wears the flayed skin in the
whether from the stance of modernism or Marxism, the sha-
name of the captor. The progress, or “career,” as Carrasco
manic traditions have come to be courted in Korea as vehi-
calls it, of the flayed skins as they are paraded through the
cles of counter-hegemonic popular expression (as in madang
center and peripheries of the Aztec capital “are motivated by
kut, street protest performance), or as nationalist symbols of
the Aztec need for charisma–living, pulsating gifts of gods,”
folk patriotism. The popular superstar Korean shaman Nami
and the transferences and exchanges of this charisma spread
was even declared to be a national cultural treasure.
the “gifts” throughout the community in a “public accumu-
In addition to Asiatic shamanism, the so-called higher
lation of charisma. ”
religions, or great traditions, of Asia, such as Hinduism and
Carrasco’s interpretation draws upon López Austin’s
Buddhism, also have traditions of religious virtuosity and
analysis of the “body as charisma” in Aztec ideology, Johanna
leadership that can be analyzed in terms of charisma. In fact,
Broda’s insights into Aztec ceremonial rites, and Stanley
Max Weber himself devoted treatises specifically to these two
Tambiah’s analysis of the transfer of charisma in Thai Bud-
great traditions, although his understanding of them has
dhism through the medium of charismatic amulets, or sacra,
been greatly contested. The tradition of the guru in Hindu-
which radiate and impart embodied charisma to their wear-
ism, as a charismatic alternative to the entrenched Brahman-
ers. Similarly, “in Aztec society the charisma, or the objectifi-
ic priesthood, is the major case in point, beginning in the era
cation of power so that it can be perceived, was expressed in
of the Upanis:ads and continuing into the early twenty-first
a fecund variety of sacred objects, one of the most powerful
century. Many Hindu gurus relocated to Europe and Ameri-
being the sacrificed human body and in particular the skin
ca beginning in the nineteenth century.
and body parts of the sacrificed warrior,” while the ritual can-
The best starting point for research on charismatic reli-
nibalism amounts to “the eating of charisma,” in “a ritual of
gious leadership in India is the anthology Charisma and
complete absorption and incorporation.”
Canon: Essays on the Religious History of the Indian Subconti-
In the early twenty-first century, applying the concept
nent (2001). This work contains a theoretical essay by Hein-
of charisma to the Aztec Feast of Flaying or to Melanesian
rich von Stietencron, to whom the volume is dedicated, and
head-hunting remains controversial. Most scholars agree,
case studies on medieval, premodern, and modern gurus and
however, that charisma can be ascribed to any figure who is
prophets. Among the latter are essays on such early figures
accepted by the community to have accessed supernatural
as Sankara (c. 788–820), and on the transfer and institution-
power—whether through trance, vision quest, intense
alization of charisma in medieval traditions derived from
prayer, heroic asceticism, or any other means—and who
founding gurus, as well as case studies of more recent charis-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHARISMA
1549
matic religious figures such as the Sikh guru Nanak, Mahat-
Charisma also appears in the traditional religions of
ma Gandhi, and Sathya Sai Baba. Other, more theoretical
China. The early biography of Confucius (Kongzi, 551–479
essays include studies of the intersections of the charismas of
BCE) by Szema Ch’ien, for example, describes the sage as hav-
texts, rituals, and performances, and the crossings between
ing had a wondrous birth and an almost inexplicable impact
Hinduism, S:u¯f¯ısm, and other Islamic charismas on the Indi-
on all those who met him. Confucius also attracted a dedicat-
an subcontinent.
ed band of followers in life who gathered at his grave after
A particularly interesting case of the failure to routinize
his death. Even more miraculous tales are told about the leg-
the charisma of a guru is provided by S´r¯ı Aurobindo. Auro-
endary Laozi (fl. sixth century BCE), the reputed author of
bindo himself personally passed on his charisma to his asso-
the Dao de jing; his Daoist disciple Chuangzi composed fic-
ciate Mirra Richard, whom he called the Spirit Mother. Not
tional conversations in which Confucius lauded Laozi as a
all of his followers recognized her authority, however; some
spiritual master. The two sages are frequently featured in
of these dissidents founded an idealized anarchic community
Chinese landscape painting.
called Auroville, recognized by the Indian government.
Scholars frequently emphasize the basically secular na-
Auroville ultimately foundered in divisive legal quarrels be-
ture of Confucian tradition, although in practice, the Confu-
tween the S´r¯ı Aurobindo Society and the Aurovillians over
cian shrine or temple has all the earmarks of a religious space.
the matter of who had received the guru’s charisma. In an-
Interestingly, then, Feuchtwang and Mingming’s recent
other well-known instance, that of Krishnamurti, the guru
study of four modern Chinese charismatic leaders—
himself renounced the charisma attributed to him by his
Wansheng, Wumu, Lin Qingbiao, and Gao Bineng—
“handlers” and subsequently embarked on a “non-
operating variously under colonial, nationalist and commu-
charismatic” career as a spiritual teacher. Other gurus who
nist regimes, emphasizes the intersection of modern grass-
projected their charismatic leadership onto a global stage and
roots politics with traditional religious worldview. The edi-
often became embroiled in controversies and legal issues have
tors point out that the word for “charisma” used on
included Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (b. 1911) and the Tran-
mainland China and in Taiwan is not the one in the official
scendental Meditation movement; Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh
dictionaries; rather, it is a term that conveys “the religious
(1931–1990) and the Rajneeshpuram community; and the
aspect of being able to get things done. . . . It would be
Rev. Sun Myung Moon (b. 1920) and the Unification
lingyan—said of the efficiency and responsiveness of gods
Church.
who have been human, and also of the images in whom that
Buddhism presents a very different picture of charisma
efficacy and responsiveness has been injected by means of a
compared to Hinduism. In its origins, despite the obviously
ritual of initiation and insertion. If lingyan were transliterat-
charismatic personality of Siddha¯rtha Gautama (c. 563–c.
ed back into secular English, it would be ‘proven efficacy of
483 BCE), or the Buddha, the basic Therava¯dan teachings of
an uncanny intelligence.’” An archaic Chinese analogue to
the Pali canon emphasized the necessity of individual realiza-
the concept of charismatic leadership is the concept of the
tion—as the Buddha urged in his farewell sermon, “be ye
Mandate of Heaven: the manifest legitimation of authority,
lamps unto yourselves!” The Maha¯ya¯na and Vajrayana ver-
apparent to all, which passes inexorably from one leader to
sions of Buddhism, however, as they spread to Tibet, China,
another.
Korea, and Japan, transformed the severe “agnostic”
CHARISMA AND CHARISMATA IN PAULINE AND CHRISTIAN
Therava¯dan teachings into the richly pietistic venerations of
CHURCH TRADITION. Earlier sections of this article have re-
the buddhas and bodhisattvas as gods and god-like saints. In
viewed charisma and charismatic figures in the Bible using
relics, statues, and tankas (painted Tibetan meditation cos-
the generalized Weberian sense of the term. But the New
mograms) these Maha¯ya¯na spirit-beings freely offered access
Testament, and specifically the Pauline corpus, introduced
to their limitless charisma by virtue of their infinite compas-
a much more specific use of the Greek words charisma and
sion. Ironically, however, the Therava¯dan traditions of
charismata. These terms were employed as derivatives of the
Southeast Asia developed the most powerful traditions of
root word charis (grace), or “spiritual gift(s)” that were be-
human charismatic spirituality, despite—indeed, because
stowed by the Holy Spirit upon individuals or groups. When
of—the severity of monastic dedication to the original four
used in this highly specific way, the two terms are not trans-
noble truths and noble eightfold path. Tambiah has shown
lated but merely transliterated into English (or other modern
that the spiritual virtuosity of the forest-dwelling monks of
languages) as “charism” and “charismata.”
Thailand, Malaysia, and Myanmar (Burma), and their em-
blems and artifacts, became sought-after sources of charisma
Acts 2 contains the prototypical New Testament ac-
by the lay communities. The suggestive sociological com-
count of the bestowal of gifts by the Holy Spirit. On Pente-
parisons between Therava¯dan monasticism and medieval
cost, amid a rushing sound as of a violent wind, tongues of
Catholic monasticism, especially with regard to charismatic
fire come to rest upon the head of each apostle. After this
leadership, have been fully explored in Silber’s Virtuosity,
event, when the apostles speak, each listener hears the words
Charisma, and Social Order: A Comparative Sociological Study
in his or her own language. Evidently, the idea that the Holy
of Monasticism in Therava¯da Buddhism and Medieval
Spirit endows Christians with miraculous abilities took pow-
Catholicism.
erful hold among the early Christian congregations, and no-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1550
CHARISMA
where more so than at Corinth, where apparently there was
nizing, alongside the official charisms of the priesthood and
a Christian congregation with Gnostic tendencies and also
sacraments, the independent charisms of martyrdom, virgin-
with a powerful antinomian sense of living out a new liberat-
ity, asceticism, monasticism, and wonder-working saint-
ed Christian life. Among the hallmarks of this liberated
hood, although, as Rahner notes, the comprehensive history
Christian practice were women who chose to appear in
of Christian charisma has yet to be written.
church without their heads veiled and a congregation that
For contemporary Catholic teaching, Rahner and others
was open to the spiritual leadership of individuals who had
cite Pope Pius XII’s encyclical Mystici corporis, which devel-
received that particular gift of the Holy Spirit (the gift of
ops the Pauline metaphor of the church as the body of Christ
“speaking in tongues”). These roles would be filled spontane-
and the people of God as a “holy people” who contribute in
ously, by inspiration, rather than by the careful passing on
an “orderly” way to the teaching magisterium of the Church.
of the charisma of office customary in the apostolic laying-on
The role of the laity and their charisms was of course further
of hands or the selection of deacons.
enhanced by the documents of Vatican II, subsequently
The challenge this posed to the evolving organizational
scaled back in practice by the relatively conservative mood
church would become evident. Paul addressed this challenge,
of the Catholic Church from the 1980s through the early
as he had done in relation to the Judaic character of the early
twenty-first century. Meanwhile, however, both the Catholic
and Protestant churches witnessed a worldwide phenomenon
church. He entered decisively into the Corinthian controver-
of religious renewal in the form of the charismatic move-
sy over what would be called in modern parlance a “charis-
ment. Based on the ecstatic practices of earlier Pentecostal
matic community of worship.” The key passage occurs in 1
and “Holiness” religious sects in the United States in the
Corinthians 12–14, in a passage concerning spiritual gifts.
nineteenth and early twentieth century, the neo-Pentecostal
Paul, trying to bring order out of creative anarchy, acknowl-
movement arose within the mainstream denominations of
edges the variety of spiritual gifts (speaking wisdom and
Protestantism and Catholicism in the 1960s. The move-
knowledge, healing, working miracles, prophesying, discern-
ment, based on an emotional style of worship, sometimes in-
ing spirits, speaking in tongues, and interpreting tongues),
cluding glossolalia (speaking in tongues), spread rapidly dur-
but he emphasizes that the bestowing Spirit is one, and that
ing the 1980s, when it peaked in the United States and
such gifts are given “for the common good” (12:7) and for
Europe. It continued to expand in Latin America, Asia, and
“edification and encouragement and consolation” of others
Africa, however, where it sometimes combined syncretically
(14:3). Paul interjects his famous hymn to love (agape): “If
with indigenous religious traditions in independent congre-
I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not
gations, some of whom identified themselves as Christian
have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.” (13:1).
and others who did not. A vast scholarly literature on the
In this way, Paul answers those who might have exulted in
charismatic church movement has accumulated, including
their particular spiritual gift; he especially rebukes those who
individual case histories of sects and congregations. A partic-
may have exulted in their ability to speak in tongues, now
ularly important theoretical contribution is Csordas’s Lan-
no longer meaning other languages, but rather glossolalia.
guage, Charisma, and Creativity, a sociological analysis of the
He places that particular charism at the bottom of the list,
Catholic charismatic movement.
as having the least benefit of edification of others, and fol-
lows it with the gift of interpretation of tongues in order to
When invoked as a global concept, charisma has many
emphasize the priority of catechesis over ecstatic enthusiasm.
different meanings. Many scholars agree with Tambiah, who
Other passages addressing the same issue of spiritual gifts
asserts that there is no identifiable original charisma; rather,
occur at Romans 12, Ephesians 4, and 1 Peter 4.
there are social constructions and cultural traditions of cha-
rismas, each with their distinctive worldviews, psychologies,
The contentious subject of charismatic gifts continued
and sociopolitical implications.
to trouble the Catholic Church from the Patristic through
the medieval periods. It also caused concern among the Prot-
SEE ALSO Pentecostal and Charismatic Christianity; Rahner,
estant reformers, who were just as concerned as the Catholic
Karl.
hierarchy with maintaining faith and order in their churches.
German Catholic theologian Karl Rahner (1904–1984),
BIBLIOGRAPHY
both looking back to Patristic and Scholastic sources and at
The essential texts by Max Weber presenting his sociological con-
modern Church documents, outlines a more harmonious
cept of charisma can be found in reliable English translation
history: in the earliest period, he says, “there was no sign of
in: Economy and Society: An Outline of Interpretive Sociology,
hostility between ecclesiastical authority and charisms,” until
2 vols., ed. and trans. by Guenther Ross and Claus Wittich
the second century challenge of Montanism, named for
(Berkeley, Calif., 1978); and On Charisma and Institution
Building, ed. S. N. Eisenstadt (Chicago, 1968). Important
Montanus, a claimant of independent charismatic authority.
studies and revisions of Weber’s ideas on charisma can be
Thomas Aquinas’ codification of Pauline teaching was that
found in the following: Wolfgang Schluchter, Rationalism,
charisms, although bestowed as a God-given grace, do not
Religion, and Domination: A Weberian Perspective, tr. Neil
partake of the fullness of perfection of “sanctifying grace.”
Solomon (Berkeley, Calif., 1989); Werner Stark, The Sociolo-
In a sense, the Catholic church co-opted charisma by recog-
gy of Religion: A Study of Christendom, 4 vols. (London,
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHARISMA
1551
1966); Charles Lindholm, Charisma (Oxford, 1990); Ed-
David Freidel, Linda Schele, and Joy Parker, Maya Cosmos
ward Shils, Center and Periphery (Chicago, 1975), and “Cha-
(New York, 1995).
risma, Order and Status,” American Sociological Review 30
On charismatic leadership in the Old Testament and in Judaism,
(1965): 199–213; Stephen Turner and Regis Factor, Max
see (in addition to the standard commentaries): Robert Alter,
Weber: The Lawyer as Social Thinker (London, 1994); Bryan
The David Story (New York, 1999); Theodor H. Gaster,
R. Wilson, The Noble Savages: The Primitive Origins of Cha-
Myth, Legend and Custom in the Old Testament, 2 vols. (New
risma and Its Contemporary Survival (Berkeley, Calif., 1975).
York, 1969); Joshua Trachtenberg, Jewish Magic and Super-
Important essays are found in the following four anthologies: Re-
stition (New York, 1970); Louis Ginzberg, The Legends of the
cent Research on Max Weber’s Studies of Hinduism, ed. by De-
Jews, 7 vols. (Philadelphia, 1909–38); Louis Finkelstein,
tlef Kantowsky (Munich, Germany, 1986); Charisma: Theo-
Akiba: Scholar, Saint and Martyr (New York, 1970); Aryei
rie/Religion/Politik, ed. by Winfried Gebhardt, Arnold
Fishman, Judaism and Modernization on the Religious Kibbutz
Zingerle, and Michael Ebertz (Berlin, 1993); Secularization,
(Cambridge, UK, 1972); “Charisma,” in Dictionary of Juda-
Rationalism, and Sectarianism: Essays in Honour of Bryan R.
ism in the Biblical Period: 450 BCE to 600 CE, ed. Jacob Neus-
Wilson, ed. by Eileen Barker, James Beckford, and Karel
ner and William Scott Green (New York, 1996): 117–18;
Dobbelaere (Oxford, 1993), including a key essay by Roy
and Berger, “Hasidism and Moonism,” cited above.
Willis, “Charisma and Explanation,” pp.167–80; and Cha-
On charisma and Christian sainthood, important sources include
risma, History and Social Structure, ed. by Ronald Glassman
Peter Brown, Society and the Holy in Late Antiquity (Berkeley,
and William Swatos (New York, 1986), containing the fol-
Calif., 1981); Saints and Their Cults: Studies in Religious Soci-
lowing key essays: Joseph Bensman and Michael Givant,
ology, Folklore and History, ed. Stephen Wilson (Cambridge,
“Charisma and Modernity: the Use and Abuse of a Con-
UK, 1983); Ilana Friedrich Silber, Virtuosity, Charisma, and
cept,” pp. 27–56; William Swatos, “The Disenchantment of
Social Order: A Comparative Sociological Study Of Monasti-
Charisma: On Revolution in a Rationalized World,”
cism In Theravada Buddhism And Medieval Catholicism
pp. 129–46.
(Cambridge, UK, 1995); Donald Weinstein and Rudolph
For discussions focusing on the topic of charismatic leadership in
Bell, Saints and Society: The Two Worlds of Western Christen-
politics, business, and religious cults, see Ann Ruth Willner,
dom, 1000–1700 (Chicago, 1982); Jean Séguy, “The Apoca-
The Spellbinders: Charismatic Political Leadership (New
lyptic Theme in Religious Orders,” in Barker, Beckford, and
Haven, Conn., 1984); David Aberbach, Charisma in Politics,
Dobbelaere, (203–22); and Leonardo Boff, Liberating Grace
Religion and the Media: Private Trauma, Public Ideals (Lon-
(Maryknoll, N.Y., 1981).
don, 1996); James Downton, Rebel Leadership: Commitment
Two key anthologies address charisma in Islam. The more recent
and Charisma in the Revolutionary Process (New York, 1973);
is Embodying Charisma: Modernity, Locality And The Perfor-
Carl Friedrich, “Political Leadership and the Problem of
mance Of Emotion In Sufi Cults, ed. by Pnina Werbner and
Charismatic Power,” Journal of Politics 23 (1961): 3–24;
Helene Basu (London, 1998), which includes the key essay
Gary Wills, Certain Trumpets: The Call of Leaders (New
by Charles Lindholm, “Prophets and pirs: Charismatic Islam
York, 1994); J. A. Conger and R. N. Kanungo, eds. Charis-
in the Middle East and South Asia,” 209–33. The other is
matic Leadership: The Elusive Factor in Organizational Effec-
Charisma and Brotherhood in African Islam, ed. by Donal
tiveness (San Francisco, 1988); Alan Bryman, Charisma and
Cruise O’Brien and Christian Coulon (Oxford, 1988),
Leadership in Organizations (London, 1992); Benjamin
which includes the following cited essays: Louis Brenner,
Zablocki, Alienation and Charisma: A Study of Contemporary
“Concepts of Tariqa in West Africa: the Case of the Qadiriy-
American Communes (New York, 1980); Janet Liebman Ja-
ya,” pp.33–52; François Constantin, “Charisma and the Cri-
cobs, Divine Disenchantment: Deconverting from New Reli-
sis of Power in East Africa,” pp. 67–90; and Christian
gions (Bloomington, Ind., 1989); Anthony Storr, Feet of
Coulon, “Women, Islam and Baraka” pp. 113–34. An older
Clay: A Study of Gurus (London, 1996); Hans-Georg Soeff-
ethnographic source is Edward Westermarck, Ritual and Be-
ner, The Order of Rituals: The Interpretation of Everyday Life
lief in Morocco, 2 vols. (London, 1926); also see C. E. Padw-
(New Brunswick, Canada, 1997); Lewis Carter, Charisma
ick, Muslim Devotions (London, 1961); and the essay by Mi-
and Control in Rajneeshpuram (Cambridge, U.K., 1990);
chael Kimmel and Rahmat Tavakol, “Against Satan:
Alan Berger, “Hasidism and Moonism: Charisma in the
Charisma and Tradition in Iran,” in Glassman and Swatos,
Counterculture,” in Glassman and Swatos, pp. 83–100; Ei-
pp. 101–14.
leen Barker, “Charismatization: The Social Production of
‘An Ethos Propitious to the Mobilisation [sic] of Senti-
For charisma and spirit-possession in African society and religion,
ments,’” in Barker, Beckford, and Dobbelaere,
see Fritz Kramer, The Red Fez: Art and Spirit Possession in Af-
pp. 181–202; and Jerrold Post, “Charisma,” in Encyclopedia
rica (London, 1993); Dominique Zahan, The Religion, Spiri-
of Millenialism and Millenial Movements, ed. Richard Landes
tuality, and Thought of Traditional Africa (Chicago, 1979);
(New York, 2000): 65–69.
Benjamin Ray, African Religions (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.,
1976); John Mbiti, Introduction to African Religion (Oxford,
On the subject of sacred charismatic kingship, see James Frazer,
1991); and Mary Nooter, Secrecy: African Art that Conceals
The Golden Bough, abridged edition (New York, 1958); Fritz
and Reveals (Munich, Germany, 1993). A relevant classic Af-
Taeger, Charisma: Studien zur Geschichte des Antiken Herrs-
rican ethnography is E. E. Evans-Pritchard, Nuer Religion, 2
cherkultes, 2 vols. (Stuttgart, 1957); A. D. Nock, “Notes on
vols. (Oxford, 1956); also see T. O. Beidelman, “Nuer
Ruler Cult, I-IV,” Journal of Hellenic Studies XLVIII (1928):
Priests and Prophets: Charisma, Authority, and Power
21–43; E. H. Kantorowicz, The King’s Two Bodies: A Study
Among the Nuer,” in The Translation of Culture, ed. T. O.
in Medieval Political Theory (Princeton, N.J., 1957); and
Beidelman (London, 1971). On Haitian vodou, see Alfred
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1552
CHARISMA
Metraux, Voodoo in Haiti (1959), tr. Hugo Charteris (New
Urban Following of Sathya Sai Baba and its Construction of
York, 1972); Milo Rigaud, Secrets of Voodoo (1953), tr. Rob-
Tradition,” pp. 293–312; Heidrun Brückner, “Fluid Canons
ert Cross (San Francisco, 1985); and Pierre Pluchon, Vau-
and Shared Charisma: On Success and Failure of a Ritual
dou: Sorciers Empoisonneurs (Paris, 1987).
Performance in a South Indian Oral Tradition,”
pp. 313–27; Gian Giuseppe Filippi and Thomas Dähnhardt,
With reference to Oceania and the analogous concept of mana as
“Ananda Yoga: A Contemporary Crossing between S:u¯f¯ısm
charisma, see Bronislaw Malinowski, Magic, Science and Reli-
and Hinduism,” pp. 350–59; and Jamal Malik, “Canons,
gion (New York, 1948); R. H. Codrington, The Melanesians:
Charismas and Identities in Modern Islam,” pp. 376–87.
Studies in their Anthropology and Folklore (Oxford, 1891);
Garry Trompf and Tony Swain, The Religions of Oceania
Other works that focus on charisma in the context of Buddhism
(London, 1995); and Marshall Sahlins, How “Natives”
are: J. L. Taylor, Forest Monks and the Nation-State (Singa-
Think: About Captain Cook, for Example (Chicago, 1995).
pore, 1993); and Raymond Lee, Sacred Tensions: Modernity
For Aboriginal Australia, see James Cowan, The Aborigine
and Religious Transformation in Malaysia (Columbia, S.C.,
Tradition (Rockport, Mass., 1992).
1997); and Silber’s Virtuosity, Charisma and Social Order,
cited above. For China, see Laurence Thompson’s Chinese
The subject of charisma in other indigenous traditions is discussed
Religion (Belmont, Calif., 1979) and The Chinese Way in Re-
in I. M. Lewis, Religion in Context: Cults and Charisma
ligion (Belmont, Calif., 1973); and on Daoism, Holmes
(Cambridge, UK, 1986); and, for application to Aztec cul-
Welch, The Parting of the Way (London, 1957). For modern
ture, Davíd Carrasco, City of Sacrifice: The Aztec Empire and
Chinese charismatic leadership, see Stephan Feuchtwang and
the Role of Violence in Civilization (Boston, 1999). On the
Wang Mingming, Grassroots Charisma: Four Local Leaders in
subject of shamanism, the indispensable starting point re-
China (London, 2001).
mains Mircea Eliade, Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ec-
stasy (Princeton, N.J., 1964). For shamanism among the
On the highly specific use of the words charisma and charismata
Maya, see Barbara Tedlock, Time and the Highland Maya
in the New Testament, the first work that should be consult-
(Albuquerque, N.M., 1982); and Freidel and Schele, Maya
ed is the entry authored by Hans Conzelmann in Theological
Cosmos, cited above. For shamanism in Japan, see Carmen
Dictionary of the New Testament [TDNT], ed. by Gerhard
Blacker, The Catalpa Bow (London, 1975); and H. Byron
Friedrich, tr. by Geoffrey Bromiley (Grand Rapids, Mich.,
Earhart, Religion in the Japanese Experience: Sources and Inter-
1974), vol. IX: 402–15; and the entries under “Charisma”
pretations (Encino, Calif., 1974); and for Korea, Shamanism:
authored by Carl Heinz Ratschow, Ludwig Schmidt, Nico
the Spirit World of Korea, edited by Richard Guisso and
Oswald, John Schütz, and Rudolf Landau in Theologische Re-
Chai-shin Yu (Berkeley, Calif, 1988); Laurel Kendall’s Sha-
alenzyclopädie (Berlin, 1981), bd. VII: 681–98; also Hans
mans, Housewives, and Other Restless Spirits (Honolulu, Ha-
Gasper’s article on “Charisma” in Religion in Geschichte und
waii, 1985); and Daniel Kister’s Korean Shamanist Ritual:
Gegenwart: Handwörterbuch für Theologie und Religion-
Symbols and Dramas of Transformation (Budapest, Hungary,
swissenschaft, Bd. 2, ed. by Hans Dieter Betz, et al. (Tübing-
1997).
en, Germany, 1957): cols. 112–120; and “Grace,” in John
L. McKenzie, Dictionary of the Bible (Milwaukee, 1965),
The literature on charismatic religious leadership in India and In-
324–326.
dian-derived traditions, Hindu and Buddhist, is vast. A key
work that focuses specifically on charisma is Stanley Jeyaraja
For commentary on the “spiritual gifts” passage in 1 Corinthians,
Tambiah’s The Buddhist Saints of the Forest and the Cult of
see: Hans Conzelmann, 1 Corinthians: A Commentary on the
Amulets: A Study in Charisma, Hagiography, Sectarianism,
First Epistle to the Corinthians, tr. James Lietch (Philadelphia,
and Millenial Buddhism (Cambridge, UK, 1984). Also see
1975); John Coolidge Hurd, The Origin of 1 Corinthians
Robert Minor, “Routinized Charisma: the Case of Aurobin-
(London, 1965); William Orr and James Arthur Walther, 1
do and Auroville,” in Religion and Popular Culture: Encoun-
Corinthians: A New Translation. . . and Commentary: The
ters and Identities in Modern South India, ed. by Keith Yan-
Anchor Bible (New York, 1976); David Horrell, The Social
dell and John Paul (Richmond, Surrey, UK, 2000): 130–48.
Ethos of the Corinthian Correspondence (Edinburgh, 1996);
Popular accounts of Indian gurus appear in Peter Brent, God-
and Antoinette Clark Wire, The Corinthian Women Prophets:
men of India (London, 1972).
A Reconstruction through Paul’s Rhetoric (Minneapolis, 1990).
An important recent anthology on the topic is Charisma and
Subsequent Catholic theological usage is covered in articles by
Canon: Essays on the Religious History of the Indian Subconti-
Karl Rahner: “The Charismatic Element in the Church,” in
nent, edited by Vasudha Dalmia, Angelika Malinar, and
A Rahner Reader, ed. Gerald McCool (New York, 1985),
Martin Christof (Oxford, 2001), which includes the follow-
pp. 293–6; and the entries “Charism,” in Encyclopedia of
ing cited essays: Heinrich von Stietencron, “Charisma and
Theology: The Concise Sacramentum Mundi, ed. Karl Rahner
Canon: The Dynamics of Legitimization and Innovation in
(New York, 1982), pp.184–6; and “Charisma,” in Lexicon
Indian Religions,” pp. 14–40; Peter Schreiner, “Institution-
für Theologie und Kirche (Freiburg, Germany, 1958): Bd. 2,
alization of Charisma: The Case of Sahajananda,” pp.155–
cols. 1025–30. Also see Henri Leclercq, “Charismes,” in Dic-
70; Monika Horstmann, “Charisma, Transfer of Charisma
tionnaire D’Archéologie Chretienne et de Liturgie, ed. Fernand
and Canon in North Indian Bhakti,” pp. 171–82;
Cabrol and Henri Leclercq (Paris, 1913): vol. 3, cols. 579–
Dennis Matringe; “The Re-enactment of Guru Nanak’s
98; and J.-V.-M. Pollett, “Charisme,” in Catholicisme: Hier
Charisma in an Early-Twentieth Century Punjabi Narra-
Aujourd’hui Demain: Encyclopédie en sept volumes, ed. G. Jac-
tive,” pp. 205–22; Dieter Conrad, “Gandhi as Mahatma: Po-
quemet (Paris, 1947), vol. 2, col. 956–9; and the following
litical Semantics in an Age of Cultural Ambiguity,”
entries by R. J. Tapia: “Charism,” in Encyclopedic Dictionary
pp. 223–49; Smriti Srinivas, “The Advent of the Avatar: The
of Religion, ed. Paul Meagher, Thomas O’Brien and Sr. Con-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHARITY
1553
suelo Maria Aherne (Washington, D.C., 1979): 711–2; and
brew Bible. The Hebrew root aheb refers primarily to love
“Charism—Given to Individual,” in New Catholic Encyclope-
between man and woman, but in its theological use it de-
dia (San Francisco, 1967): vol. III, 460–2.
notes God’s love for humankind, humankind’s love for God,
An important theoretical study of the charismatic movement is
and love among human beings. God’s love for humankind
Thomas J. Csordas, Language, Charisma, and Creativity: The
is caused by its need but also by God’s innate qualities (Deut.
Ritual Life of a Religious Movement (Berkeley, Calif., 1997).
10:17–18; Ps. 145:15–16). A person’s love for God is a re-
G
sponse to God’s love, a gratitude that is also expressed
EORGE L. SCHEPER (2005)
through one’s love for other people.
As an applied virtue, charity is expected of everyone, for
CHARISMATIC CHRISTIANITY
whoever gives charity will be blessed by the Lord (Deut.
SEE
15:7–10). In medieval Judaism, almsgiving to the needy
PENTECOSTAL AND CHARISMATIC CHRISTIANITY
poor was considered essential. For Moses Maimonides the
highest form of charity was to help the poor Israelites rehabil-
itate themselves by lending them money, taking them into
CHARITY. The word charity derives from the Latin car-
partnership, or employing them, for in this way the desired
itas and can be traced to the Greek charis. In the Western
end is achieved without any loss of self-respect for the recipi-
religious tradition, charity has become synonymous with the
ent. Lending money “to the poor man so as to alleviate his
Greek terms agape, philanthopia, eleemosune (or eleos), and
poverty and afford him generous support” was considered an
even philia and eros; with the Hebrew words zedakah, gemilut
obligatory mode of charity. Notwithstanding occasional ref-
hesed, and aheb; and with the Latin amor, amicitia, beneficia,
erences to liberality toward the Gentiles, as we find in the
and caritas (or carus). Thus, as a theoretical conception, char-
Babylonian Talmud (Gittin 61a), in Jewish tradition “chari-
ity has meant both possessive and selfless love, as well as
ty begins at home,” and for many centuries the object of
favor, grace, mercy, kindness, righteousness, and liberality.
charity was the fellow Jew. Almsgiving was advocated by the
In its practical application charity denotes the distribution
Torah, but it was directed toward fellow Jews, “the descen-
of goods to the poor and the establishment and endowment
dants of the seed of Abraham. . .of pure Israelite descent.”
of such social-welfare institutions as hospitals, homes for the
“Hard-heartedness is only found among the gentiles,” as it
aged, orphanages, and reformatory institutions.
is said that “they are cruel and have no compassion,” in the
words of Maimonides, who cites several passages from the
Documents of ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt indicate
Hebrew Bible in support of his views, such as Deuteronomy
that charity in the sense of social justice was considered a di-
15:3, Deuteronomy 15:11, Deuteronomy 14:1, and Jeremi-
vinely decreed principle. The reforms of King Urukagina
ah 6:23. The behavior of the Israelite toward the Gentile is
(c. 2400 BCE) were praised because “he freed the inhabitants
different because Israelites are “the children of the Lord.”
of Lagash from usury. . .hunger. . . . The widow and the
Thus, Israelites must be generous to fellow Israelites.
orphan were no longer at the mercy of the powerful.” But
ideals of charity and social justice and the principle of social
In ancient Greek society charity was synonymous with
consciousness developed not only because the divinity had
love (agape), philanthropia, eleos, and philoxenia, and it was
so ordained but also because social circumstances, human
manifested through benevolent deeds on behalf of those in
oppression, and suffering demanded them. The goddess
need. In a variety of forms charity is present in the earliest
Nanshe and later the god Utu (or Shamash), the orphan’s
Greek poetry, drama, and philosophy. Compassion for the
mother and father, were the guarantors of justice, cared for
afflicted and loving hospitality were greatly emphasized in
the widow, sought out justice for the poorest, and brought
Mycenaean and archaic Greek society (1400–700 BCE). The
refugees shelter. King Hammurabi (d. circa 1750 BCE)
care of strangers and suppliants was an ethical imperative be-
sought through legislation to eliminate the social inequity
cause such people had been placed under the direct aegis of
that had been created by the malpractices of businessmen or
the divinity. Zeus became known as Xenios, “protector of
other members of the enterprising Babylonian society. In an-
strangers.” This imperative is expressed in Homer’s Odyssey:
cient Egypt charity was perceived as an inner disposition to-
“Receive strangers regardless of who they may be; that man
ward fellow human beings and as a way to propitiate the gods
is sacred who welcomes a wayfaring stranger.”
for the purpose of achieving immortality, but it also meant,
It was believed that when a poor person was expelled
as The Book of Going Forth by Day indicates, “giving bread
form the table of the rich or even rudely handled, the ven-
to the hungry, water to the thirsty, clothes to the naked and
geance of the “gods and Furies would be visited upon the
even a boat to the one who had none.”
heartless miscreant,” for “gods and Furies exist for beggars.”
There is little doubt that early Hebrew thought was
To be merciful and to act out of love were common ethical
greatly influenced by the Babylonian, Egyptian, and other
admonitions. Hesiod (c. 700 BCE) was even more pro-
peoples of the ancient Near East. But the Hebrews molded
nounced in his concern for the poor, though he lauded hard
what they inherited and added their own religious and social
work and stressed moderation in the practice of charity while
thought as set forth in their scriptures, particularly the He-
advocating philanthropy, righteous deeds, and reverence for
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1554
CHARITY
the stranger and the poor. Hesiod writes that in offering hos-
ings and the Greek understanding of philanthropia. Whether
pitality one should “be neither too lavish nor too parsimoni-
for the sake of honor or other motives, much charity was
ous” and that one should not “taunt anyone for his poverty
practiced in the Roman Empire, especially in the alimenta,
which eats out the heart—even cursed poverty is sent by the
measures introduced to assist orphans and poor children. Ini-
immortal gods.”
tiated by private philanthropists, the system was adopted by
the imperial government after the reign of Nerva (
The most important characteristic of Greek thought as
CE 96–98).
early as the Homeric age is ethical in nature. In the classical
Charity in Christianity is synonymous with agape, or
Greek city-states, whether in Athens, Thebes, or remote Ac-
love. Whether it was a new commandment, as Christ had
ragas, charity in the sense of selfless love, almsgiving, pity,
taught (John 13:34), is controversial. One thing is certain:
and concern for the orphan, the widow, and the elderly was
Christianity proved more ecumenical and proclaimed that
widely and generously practiced. The Greek charis originally
“there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free,
denoted a gift of favor inspired by the Charites (the three
there is neither male nor female. . .but all [are] one in
Graces), goddesses who personified not only physical attri-
Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:28). In its practical application charity
butes such as charm, grace, and beauty but also kindness,
went beyond Jews, Greeks, and Romans. It stressed that
goodwill, and gratitude.
“love is of God, and he who loves is born of God and knows
Under the influence of the great philosophers Socrates,
God. He who does not love does not know God; for God
Plato, and Aristotle, and of the Stoics, charity was perceived
is love” (1 John 4:7–8). God’s love requires that human be-
as a duty toward all “broken and destitute humanity wherev-
ings love one another (1 John 4:11). There is no better ac-
er found.” It was a normal and religious obligation, a social
count of the nature and the fruits of Christian charity than
and economic need. The pre-Socratic philosophers had held
the thirteenth chapter of Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthi-
that justice and equality were principles of divine origin. Py-
ans. Charity is defined as the love of God expressed through
thagoras, in particular, emphasized equality and harmony in
the God-made-man event in Christ and as humans’ love of
social relationships. “All human laws are nourished by one,
neighbor, the solvent of hatred of the enemy.
which is divine,” adds Heraclitus. There are no political or
economic laws, only moral laws.
In postapostolic and medieval Christian thought, chari-
ty was the will of God, an act of propitiation to a means of
For the great thinkers of the fifth and the fourth centu-
eternal reward, a social obligation, and an act of righteous-
ries BCE, doing good for the sake of goodness was the only
ness. The motives might be selfless altruism, desire for fame,
moral ground for charity. A cardinal principle of Greek reli-
inner satisfaction, or a desire to imitate the divinity. Byzan-
gion and social thought was that the divinity is good and the
tine society, its government and church, monastic communi-
cause of good. Plato writes that for “the cause of evil we must
ties and individuals, made charity a major concern and estab-
look in other things and not in God” (Republic 2.18). Nei-
lished numerous institutions for the sick, orphans, widows,
ther God nor man can be really good without in some way
indigent, and others in need of rehabilitation and assistance.
communicating his goodness to others. Aristotle adds, “If all
The Greek Christian tradition of charity, as selfless love and
men vied with each other in moral nobility and strove to per-
as acts of alms deeds, was established by the great Church
form the noblest deeds, the common welfare would be fully
fathers of the fourth century. To possess and practice charity
realized, while individuals also could enjoy the greatest of
is to imitate God, who is absolute and who has manifested
goods, inasmuch as a virtue is the greatest good” (Nicom-
love. Thus, Gregory the Theologian’s admonition: “Prove
achean Ethics 9.8.7). Thus, “the conferring of a benefit where
yourself a god. . .imitating the mercy of God. There is
a return is not sought is morally acceptable, and the value
nothing more godly in man than to imitate God’s beneficent
of the gift is not to be judged by its intrinsic worth but by
acts” (Homily 14).
the spirit of one giver.” Aristotle insisted on the idea of “the
cheerful giver.” Being good meant doing good.
Charity was also a cardinal feature of medieval Western
European society, which was guided by the Church there.
Poverty should not be tolerated, for, according to Aris-
Augustine of Hippo, who exerted a major influence on the
totle, it leads to the erosion of a democratic state and consti-
ethics of Latin and Western Christianity, writes that charity
tutes the basis of social revolts (Politics 6.3.4). Professional
must be an inward quality of a person before it can be ex-
beggars were banned by Homeric society and Solon’s and
pressed outwardly as love and alms deeds. One cannot love
Plato’s Athens as well as by Sparta. Nevertheless, poverty was
others if one does not love oneself. Selfless charity works no
accepted as a fact of life, and charity a means for its relief.
evil. Eleemosynary deeds without selfless charity are not a
The Greeks invoked curses upon men “who failed to provide
guarantee of divine favor. God considers not the person to
water for the thirsty, fire for anyone in need of it, burial. . . ,
whom the gift is given, but the spirit in which it is made (The
[hospitality, or] directions for a lost stranger.”
City of God, Book 21, 27). And Caesarius of Arles, nearly a
Much of Greek religious and social thought was adopt-
century of later, added that “if you possess charity [in the
ed by such Roman thinkers as Cicero and Seneca, who in
sense of selfless love], you have God; and if you have no God,
their exposition of caritas and beneficia echo Aristotle’s teach-
what do you possess?” (Homily 22).
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHARITY
1555
Charity as a synonym for love, either as God’s love for
needy, and the wayfarer. . . . Come not near the wealth of
man or man’s reciprocal love for God expressed in acts of
the orphan. . . .” These and other similar admonitions con-
love for fellow men, a conception central to the Western tra-
stitute the outward signs of piety, the means of expiating of-
dition, is not explicitly stated in Buddhism, Hinduism, or
fenses, and the path to ultimate salvation. The specific forms
Islam. Nor do we find definitions of charity similar to con-
of charity in Islam were also given institutional expression
ceptions of philanthropia (Plato, Plutarch) or agape (New
through endowments known as a waqf.
Testament). The Buddha’s four noble truths (catva¯ri-
Whether or not influenced by religious traditions or hu-
a¯rya-satya¯ni) inherently include love and compassion toward
manistic motives inherent in natural law, there are in today’s
fellow human beings. Buddhism sees suffering as a universal
world hundreds of national and international organizations
reality, but a reality with a cause. Suffering may be relieved
dedicated to some forms of charitable activity. A few of the
through application of three principles: metta or maitri, lov-
better known charitable agencies would include CARE,
ing kindness actively pursued; karuna, compassion or mercy,
Oxfam, UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund), and
which does not repay evil with evil; and mudita, a feeling of
Civil Society International.
approval of other people’s good deeds. These principles find
CARE, an international consortium of member states,
their expression in works of social welfare, including public
is devoted to distribution of food and clothes to the needy
works projects and the maintenance of hospitals and shelters
but also dedicated to the reduction of poverty among the
or hospices.
world’s poorest countries. Like CARE, Oxfam, in addition
The meaning of charity in Hinduism depends upon the
to practical daily charities, tries to find solutions to overcome
interpretation of dharma, “the primary virtue of the active
poverty and improve health. It responds to needs of countries
life of the Hindu.” Dharma is the inner disposition and the
that have suffered from earthquakes, floods, and epidemics.
conserving Ida¯, while the action by which it is realized is
UNICEF, under the aegis of the United Nations, is
known as karman, which is expressed in physical, verbal, and
committed to charity affecting poor and destitute children.
mental forms. The physical forms consist of good deeds such
Health care, improved nutrition, clean water, education are
as hospitality, duties to wife and children, and assistance to
some of UNICEF’s priorities.
those in need. Verbal charity is identified with proper or gen-
tle speech and courteous behavior. Mental charity is synony-
Among its various missions, the works of Civil Society
mous with piety.
International includes aid to the poor, the orphaned, the el-
derly, the sick, and the disabled.
Hinduism had given a primary position to personal eth-
ics. And the Upanis:ads clearly indicate that each person is
SEE ALSO Almsgiving; Grace; Hospitality; Zaka¯t.
responsible for his economic or social condition. If individu-
als are moral and perfect and economically safe, society will
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ultimately be perfect. Thus, personal charity is enjoined to
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and then by subordinate commanders) against the Asiatic
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Campaigns were also conducted intermittently against
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years. The king’s personal devotion to religio Christiana, with
DEMETRIOS J. CONSTANTELOS (1987 AND 2005)
which he is credited by his biographer Einhard (writing c.
829), was essentially expressed in observance of the externals
of worship as provided by the court chaplains, with little re-
CHARLEMAGNE (c. 742–814), also known as
gard for spirituality or personal morality. Even before 779,
Charles the Great and Carolus Magnus; king of the Franks
however, church authorities were making the king aware that
(768–800) and first emperor of a revived Empire in the West
among his responsibilities should be the encouragement of
(800–814). For three years after the death in 768 of Pépin
learning (eruditio) as a basis for more effective government
III (the Short), the regnum Francorum was divided between
and the more correct understanding of the texts on which
his two sons, but in 771 the elder, Charlemagne, became sole
the Christian faith was grounded.
ruler, although not without opposition. His unusually long
Peter of Pisa, remembered as the person who taught
reign was of major importance in the history of western Eu-
Charlemagne “Latin grammar,” and other learned Italians
rope and the Christian church and the Latin culture associat-
joined the still-itinerant court. Around 780 Charlemagne
ed with it. In 773–774, responding to papal appeal, Charle-
seems to have invited churches and monasteries to supply
magne invaded the Lombard kingdom, annexed it to his own
copies of books in their possession; this was the beginning
and then visited Rome, where he was ceremonially received
of a court library that by 790 included a range of patristic
and given an “authoritative” text of church law. On a second
writings as well as a remarkable collection of pre-Christian
visit (781) his two sons were baptized by the pope and given
classical texts. A small number of manuscripts, mostly liturgi-
subordinate kingdoms.
cal, were decorated in a distinctive and eventually influential
Involuntary conversions and the establishment of an or-
style by resident artists. The circle of scholars was notably en-
ganized church followed Charlemagne’s military victories
larged by the arrival of Alcuin and other Englishmen and of
over the Saxons (beginning in 772), but Saxony was for years
the Visigothic Theodulf (later bishop of Orléans). Theodulf
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHASTITY
1557
is generally accepted as the principal author of the remark-
had assumed new responsibilities toward his Christian sub-
able first example of court scholarship, the so-called Libri
jects.
Carolini, composed and revised (792–793) to counter the
The resident scholars and advisers were now predomi-
current Byzantine and papal concept of images and the ado-
nantly younger men; the older generation had left the court
ration due them.
for bishoprics and abbeys, and offered their views on doctri-
The heterodox views of Spanish ecclesiastics on Christ’s
nal matters, in writing or at special assemblies. In 806 Char-
relationship with God the Father (adoptionism) were con-
lemagne planned to divide his territorial empire, probably
demned in Frankish councils and challenged in detail by Al-
without passing on the title. The death of two of his sons left
cuin, apparently with ultimate success. An increasing con-
him with a single heir, Louis, and in 813 he was personally
cern also with unity of practice in the church was expressed
crowned by his father at Aachen. In the same year councils
in the provision of standard service texts. However, the “Gre-
were held simultaneously in different parts of Francia to
gorian” sacramentary sent from Rome was in fact ill suited
make more detailed regulations for church organization and
to the needs of churches in Francia and had to be supple-
practice. When Charlemagne died on January 28, 814, he
mented; in practice, mixed and divergent books were in use
was buried at Aachen in a tomb whose form and simple in-
for private and public devotion and study for many decades.
scription are known only from Einhard. His death did not
constitute the sharp break often supposed: some of the old
In the 790s the court was providing adolescents (includ-
courtiers remained and there was continuity of artistic activi-
ing laymen, e.g., Einhard) who had received a basic educa-
ty at the new emperor’s court. Louis did, however, have a
tion elsewhere with more advanced instruction based on the
deeper concern for Christian spirituality, and the full-
antique tradition of the “liberal arts” and especially the trivi-
est flowering of Carolingian learning took place when the
um of grammar, rhetoric, and dialectic. The importance to
territorial and political unity of the empire was already past
church and kingdom of correct Latin was emphasized in a
history.
royal circular letter, but since this Latin was to be pro-
nounced as spelled, a gap was opened between the language
BIBLIOGRAPHY
of scholarship and worship on the one hand and everyday
The major historical, literary, and documentary sources for the
speech in Romance (as well as Germanic) regions on the
reign of Charlemagne have been edited, some of them several
other. Serious attempts were nonetheless made to communi-
times, in the various series of the “Monumenta Germaniae
cate the elements of the faith to the laity in their vernacular.
Historica” (1826–). The Council of Europe Exhibition de-
voted to Charlemagne and his heritage that took place at Aa-
Charlemagne and his court increasingly remained at Aa-
chen in 1965 was the occasion of the publication of the mag-
chen, where an impressive group of palace buildings includ-
nificent Karl der Grosse: Lebenswerk u. Nachleben, 4 vols. plus
ing an octagonal chapel was built. This was accompanied by
index, edited by Wolfgang Braunfels and others (Düsseldorf,
speculation on the nature of the Frankish king’s authority
1965–1968), whose 2,400 pages provide authoritative ac-
over an imperium Christianum. In 799 Pope Leo III was the
counts of almost every aspect of the man and the age. The
victim of a violent attack in Rome, and he appealed to Char-
history of the church is dealt with in volume 1 (organiza-
lemagne; the latter’s representatives cleared the pope of un-
tion), volume 2 (learning), and volume 3 (art and architec-
specified charges leveled against him, but final judgment on
ture). A concise semi-popular account is my The Age of Char-
lemagne, 2d ed. (New York, 1973), to be read in conjunction
his attackers was reserved for the king. In the summer of 800
with my “ ‘Europae Pater’: Charlemagne and His Achieve-
Charlemagne visited Saint-Martin’s, Tours, and its abbot,
ment in the Light of Recent Scholarship,” English Historical
Alcuin, and then journeyed via Ravenna to Rome. On De-
Review 85 (1970): 59–105. The most recent English-
cember 23 he presided over an assembly at which the partici-
language account of the reign is Rosamond McKitterick’s
pating bishops declared that they could not pass judgment
The Frankish Kingdoms under the Carolingians, 751–987
on the pope. The latter took an oath of innocence, and the
(New York, 1983), chaps. 3, 4, and 6.
Roman rebels were dealt with. On December 25 at mass in
DONALD A. BULLOUGH (1987)
Saint Peter’s the pope crowned Charlemagne, as he prayed
and those present acclaimed him, “Augustus, great and pow-
erful emperor of the Romans.”
CHASTITY. A central virtue in the Greek, Roman, and
The ceremonies had obviously been carefully planned
Christian traditions, chastity (Gk. so¯phrosun¯e, Lat. castitas)
to recognize Charlemagne’s unique authority and achieve-
reflects the values of purity, blamelessness, and order. The
ments, but he may well have been unprepared for the precise
term is sometimes misunderstood as referring to asceticism
way in which he was made “emperor in the West.” Even if
or sexual abstinence, but the relationship between chastity
he was worried about the reactions of the imperial court at
and renunciation is one of tension and in many cases opposi-
Constantinople, however, his new title was very soon used
tion. In its original context in the ancient Mediterranean,
in official documents and was subsequently carried on a dis-
chastity is marked by a connotation of fertility and reproduc-
tinctive new coin. Moreover, the almost annual promulga-
tion, and this has persisted in Christianity across its history,
tion of capitularies after 802 and his complaints that many
though with important and complicating developments de-
were regularly ignored suggest that the emperor felt that he
scribed below.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1558
CHASTITY
GREEK SO¯PHROSUNE¯ AND ROMAN CASTITAS. From archaic
CHRISTIANITY. It is through Latin Christianity that castitas
times, the Greek poets had celebrated the virtue of mental
exerted its greatest influence in the European tradition, and
balance and self-mastery, so¯phrosun¯e. So¯phrosun¯e stood for
developments in late antiquity reflect an emerging tension
the moderation and good sense of an Odysseus, in contrast
over how to define the virtue. From earliest times, both
both to megalopsychia, the high-minded boldness and honor
so¯phrosun¯e and castitas had been applicable to both the mar-
of a warrior hero such as Ajax or Achilles, and to hybris, the
ried and the unmarried. To the degree that restraint of sexu-
unwary pride that could only lead to nemesis, destruction.
ality was an important dimension, this was in service of the
Where men are concerned, it is not until fifth-century Ath-
civic values of monogamy and fertility. A virgin’s chastity
ens that this idea of balance begins to include emphasis on
foretold its own fulfilment at the next, married, stage of life
moderation (though by no means rejection) of the sexual ap-
in harmonious domesticity and the production of legitimate
petites. For women, however, the sexual loyalty and self-
offspring. Earliest Christianity did not challenge the ancient
control implicit in the male version of so¯phrosun¯e is explicit
definitions of so¯phrosun¯e and castitas. Although many New
in the earliest sources. The Odyssey’s description of Penelo-
Testament and early Christian writers perceived an eschato-
pe—in her faithful rejection of suitors when her husband
logical value in sexual continence (enkrateia), the second-
Odysseus was believed dead, and her initial caution on being
century author of the Pastoral Epistles of the New Testament
told that he had been seen alive—was accepted by all later
embraces a traditional Greek idea of so¯phrosun¯e as a civic vir-
writers as the classic example of the virtue.
tue, and even the proponents of enkrateia do not define it
as a synonym of so¯phrosun¯e. But in the fourth and fifth centu-
In their origin, the values of sound-mindedness, moder-
ries Christian ascetic writers sought to redefine so¯phrosun¯e
ation, and balance denoted by so¯phrosun¯e bear no relation to
and castitas in ascetic terms. In the case of Latin Christianity
Greek ideas of ritual purity (hagnot¯es) and pollution, but by
this would have significant repercussions up to and beyond
the early fifth century BCE purity had come to have a moral
the Reformation.
connotation, and this had repercussions for so¯phrosun¯e. Plato
A minority of Latin Christian writers, among them the
(d. 347 BCE) developed this further, according a role to
brilliant but famously intemperate biblical scholar Jerome
so¯phrosun¯e in his idea of katharsis (purification). In later an-
(d. 420 CE), argued that it was the ascetic, not the legitimate-
tiquity, Neoplatonists such as Plotinus (d. 269/70 CE) and
ly married householder, who best exemplified the virtue of
the Christian Gregory of Nazianzus (d. 389 CE) would rede-
castitas. The more traditionally-minded Ambrose of Milan
fine so¯phrosun¯e as a means of purifying the soul and elevating
(d. 397 CE) found the winning formula, reasserting the an-
it towards union with the One. But for the orators of the
cient compatibility between premarital and marital aspects
classical and Hellenistic periods, masculine so¯phrosun¯e was
of castitas, yet describing castitas as taking three forms. Con-
essentially a civic virtue, the quality allowing the good citizen
jugal, widowed, and virginal castitas were, however, ranked
to cooperate with his peers and rivals on behalf of the com-
according to an ascending order of virtue, in terms which
mon good. At the same time, so¯phrosun¯e is the most common
evoked the New Testament hierarchy of the thirty-fold,
virtue attributed on memorial reliefs and tombstones for
sixty-fold, and hundred-fold fruits. This definition would
Greek women, both married and unmarried.
endure through the Latin Middle Ages, and the Benedictine
Different aspects of so¯phrosun¯e correspond to distinct
monastic commitment to poverty, chastity, and obedience
Latin equivalents. The male civic virtue of self-control corre-
draws on this “inclusive” definition. Perhaps the most im-
sponds to temperantia and moderatio, virtues which are com-
portant medieval contribution is that of Thomas Aquinas
mended by the Latin orators in terms similar to Greek praise
(d. 1273 CE), who defined castitas as an aspect of the cardinal
for so¯phrosun¯e. But chastity (castitas), the domestic or sexual
virtue of temperance, moderating the sense appetite of both
aspect, comes from the Latin vocabulary of ritual purity.
body and soul. (While the less perfect virtue of continence
Corresponding to the Sanskrit Sir¸tah (instructed) and origi-
strengthens the soul against the assaults of passion, castitas
nally denoting conformity to religious law or rite, the adjec-
operates at a deeper level, tranquilizing the impulse itself.
tive castus (from which castitas is derived) acquired, in classi-
Castitas thus sanctifies both the married couple in legitimate
cal Latin, an ethical dimension through its similarity with the
sexual union, and the ascetic in sexual renunciation.)
participial form of careo¯ (to lack). In writers such as Cicero
Since the early Modern period, the Protestant Reformed
(d. 43 BCE) castus could be taken to mean “without fault,”
Churches have returned to a more ancient emphasis on the
attested alongside the earlier meaning of ritual conformity or
chastity of the married in their refusal to endorse clerical and
expertise. The range of meanings of castus is reflected in its
monastic sexual renunciation. Catholic theology up to the
antonym incestus, which denotes both ritual and moral im-
Second Vatican Council (1962–1965) followed Aquinas in
purity. For Roman women, castitas, like so¯phrosun¯e, was the
defining virginity as the highest form of chastity, while post-
virtue of wisdom and fidelity in marriage, with a strong con-
Vatican II theologians have asserted the moral value of sexual
notation of fertility (and specifically of producing children
union in marriage as a sign and expression of conjugal and
whose paternity was not in doubt). The chaste, fertile wife
procreative charity.
was a prized figure in Roman society, a cherished icon of
JUDAISM AND ISLAM. Biblical, Hellenistic, and Rabbinic Ju-
romanitas.
daism do not have a concept precisely analogous to
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHASTITY
1559
so¯phrosun¯e and castitas, though sexual virtue is understood as
HINDUISM. The broad array of South Asian traditions, sects,
a matter both of ritual purity and of ethics. Although ancient
and religious-philosophical schools which are referred to
Israelite warriors had been required to practice sexual absti-
under the umbrella term ‘Hinduism’ share no single defining
nence in preparation for battle, throughout Jewish history
feature. In general it can be said that their mode of defining
the procreative union of legitimate marriage has been prized
the relationship between sexual and ritual purity is decidedly
as a response to the biblical dictum, “Be fruitful and multi-
different from that of the religious traditions springing from
ply.” In early Israel, the high priest was a married household-
the ancient Mediterranean empires. However, in the case of
er, and his family’s behavior was scrutinized along with his
Islam a millennium of proximity between Islam and indige-
own for sexual and ethical purity. Up to and including the
nous traditions in South Asia has not been without effect (so,
Rabbinic period, polygyny meant that sexual fidelity to a sin-
for example, South Asian Muslim and Hindu approaches to
gle partner was required in women rather than in men; adul-
purdah often reflect mutual influence).
tery, for example, was defined as extra-marital union involv-
While European writers such as Max Weber have tend-
ing a married woman. (A married man was not legally an
ed to emphasize the traditions of the world-renouncing as-
adulterer unless his partner was another man’s wife.) Fertility
cetic in South Asia in terms which highlight its superficial
and secure paternity seem to have been the object. Though
commonalities with European asceticism, these tradition are
a wife’s sexual virtue was highly valued, this aspect is not per-
neither so dominant in South Asian religious practice, nor
sistently singled out for praise in Biblical literature. The good
so similar to their European counterparts, as has been im-
wife of Proverbs 31, for example, whose price is celebrated
plied. Important in this respect is the fact that in South Asian
as having been above that of jewels, was in fact praised for
traditions the purity/impurity binary coexists with the binary
her shrewd business sense rather than for sexual virtue,
of auspiciousness and inauspiciousness. Despite their struc-
though the latter is likely to have been taken as a given.
tural similarity, these binaries often work across each other
Islamic ideas surrounding sexual virtue are broadly com-
rather than in parallel. Thus sexuality is generally defined as
patible with those of Biblical Judaism. This is reflected in the
impure rather than pure, but as auspicious rather than inaus-
idea that marriage, householding, and reproduction are a
picious. The identification of ´sakti, the generative and vital
central ethical duty for men as well as women, and in the ac-
principle, with women means that maternity, like sexuality,
ceptance of polygyny, with the corresponding asymmetry in
is seen as powerfully auspicious, and as a positively valued
the definition of male and female sexual virtue. Legitimate
arena of female agency, at the same time as childbirth and
conjugal sexuality includes periods of abstinence such as the
the sexual act are ritually impure. Though householdership
fasting days of Ramad:a¯n or the pilgrimage to Mecca, but per-
is perceived as normative for women in most South Asian
manent sexual continence is not favored.
traditions, with devotion to the health, longevity, and pros-
perity of husband and sons the core duty (dharma), it is gen-
Most literature on chastity in Islam deals with its legal
erally held that for both men and women dharma may be de-
aspect, the regulation of sexual activity for both men and
fined according to life-stage. Post-reproductive asceticism for
women in conformity with notions of ritual purity or
women is widely valued, with the rejection altogether of the
t:aha¯rah. Female seclusion, haram (Eng., “harem”), along
householder dharma for women a minority position. Since
with specific forms of dress designed to signal married and
antiquity, a strand of tradition has venerated the Hindu
particularly wifely chastity, are practiced in culturally diverse
widow as an exemplar of perfect wifely loyalty and devotion
forms (and in varying degrees) in many Islamic communi-
if on the death of her husband she became sat¯ı by throwing
ties, underlining the cultural centrality of sexual virtue.
herself on her husband’s funeral pyre. The practice, never
(Haram, the area wherein things prohibited to immortality
widely attested, nonetheless is intermittently attested as hav-
are present, is a term also used to describe the sanctuary area
ing elicited considerable religious devotion. It continues spo-
around mosques and religious sites such as the KaEbah in
radically to the present, and has been the subject of interna-
Mecca.)
tional concern and controversy in the aftermath of the death
of Roop Kanwar, a young Rajasthani widow, in 1987.
According to the QurDa¯n ih:¯tisham, modesty in personal
appearance, is required of both men and women. For
BIBLIOGRAPHY
women, the adoption of severe forms of self-covering such
Ahmed, Leila. Women and Gender in Islam: Historical Roots of a
as facial veiling, particularly by groups living in proximity to
Modern Debate. New Haven, Conn. 1993.
Muslim or non-Muslim communities whose female dress is
Babb, Lawrence A. The Divine Hierarchy: Popular Hinduism in
comparatively relaxed, can serve as a means of marking a
Central India. New York, 1970.
community’s boundary, and even of broadcasting its dissent
Banerjee, Pompa. Burning Women: Widows, Witches, and Early
from a dominant culture in politically charged terms. By
Modern European Travelers in India. New York, 2003.
contrast, in South Asia seclusion of women, commonly
Cooper, Kate. The Virgin and the Bride: Idealized Womanhood in
referred to in English as “purdah” (parda¯ in Hindi and
Late Antiquity Cambridge, Mass., 1996.
Urdu, from the Persian parde, “curtain”) occurs in both
Denton, Lynn Teskey. “Varieties of Hindu Female Asceticism.”
Muslim and non-Muslim contexts, including Christian
In Roles and Rituals for Hindu Women, edited by Julia Leslie.
communities.
London, 1991.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1560
CHENG HAO
Hawley, John Stratton. Sati, The Blessing and the Curse: The Burn-
entity that is always in motion, producing and reproducing
ing of Wives in India. New York, 1994.
creatures endlessly, and he apprehended its energies so inti-
Jamison, Stephanie W. Sacrificed Wife, Sacrificer’s Wife: Women,
mately that he refused to cut down the weeds that grew out-
Ritual, and Hospitality in Ancient India. New York, 1996.
side his window. The Chengs displayed a similar affinity for
North, Helen. Sophrosune. Ithaca, N.Y., 1966.
living things: Cheng Hao, like Zhou, did not clear the weeds
outside his window, and Cheng Yi in his early twenties wrote
Peristany, J.G., ed. Honour and Shame: The Values of a Mediterra-
nean Society. Chicago, 1966.
an essay describing his efforts to save small fish from the pre-
dations of hungry cats and human beings. (Later in life, how-
Mandelbaum, David G. Women’s Seclusion and Men’s Honor: Sex
ever, Cheng Yi deemed his youthful writings overwrought.)
Roles in North India, Bangladesh and Pakistan. Tucson, Ariz.,
1988.
As a young man, Cheng Hao attended the Imperial
Marglin, Frédérique Apffel. “Power, Purity, and Pollution: As-
Academy in Kaifeng. In that city he met the scholar Zhang
pects of the Caste System Reconsidered.” Contributions to In-
Zai (who was also his relative) and impressed Zhang with his
dian Sociology n.s. 11:2 (1977).
understanding of the Book of Changes, an ancient and arcane
Marglin, Frédérique Apffel. “Female Sexuality in the Hindu
divinatory text that had inspired many layers of philosophi-
World.” In Immaculate and Powerful: The Female in Sacred
cal commentaries. In his early twenties Cheng Hao attained
Image and Social Reality. Edited by Clarissa W. Atkinson,
the “presented scholar” (jinshi) degree, a mark of scholarly
Constance H. Buchanan, and Margaret R. Miles. Boston,
achievement that also facilitated his entry into government
1985.
service. He served in various official capacities in Shaanxi,
Matthews, Victor H., and Don C. Benjamin, eds. “Honor and
Jiangsu, Sichuan, and Henan and earned a reputation as an
Shame in the World of the Bible.” Semeia: An Experimental
effective practitioner of good governance who educated the
Journal for Biblical Criticism 68 (1994).
people and promoted their welfare.
Moulinier, Louis. Le pur et l’impur dans la pensée des Grecs. Paris,
Like his mother, he tried to disabuse the common peo-
1952.
ple of folk beliefs he perceived as harmful to their well being.
Roper, Lyndal. The Holy Household: Women and Morals in Refor-
When he first took up his post in Huxian in Shaanxi, for ex-
mation Augsburg. Oxford, 1989.
ample, rumors abounded of a statue of a stone Buddha
KATE COOPER (2005)
whose head emitted rays of light. This at once fascinated and
frightened the local populace. But after Cheng Hao ordered
a monk to cut off the Buddha’s head and bring it to his office
CHENG HAO (1032–1085) and his younger brother
so that he, too, could witness it the next time it glowed, the
Cheng Yi were two of the most important thinkers of Song
radiance stopped. The Chengs were also critical of some
dynasty (960–1279) China, and their writings in such fields
forms of contemporary Buddhism, which they decried as
as cosmology, philosophy, self-cultivation, ethics, ritual, gov-
false teachings that intimidated the common people with
ernance, and classical studies influenced the course of East
fears of death. Moreover, they claimed, Buddhists were ei-
Asian thought for centuries. Much of their work was trans-
ther too wanton or too rigid, tended to be selfish, were afraid
mitted orally and compiled by their students, who did not
of life and death, and were disconnected from reality.
always attribute a particular saying to either of the brothers
Cheng Hao served at court in the capital of Kaifeng for
but simply credited it to “Master Cheng.” Hence one cannot
a time in his thirties, but his promotion of idealistic models
always distinguish between the thought of Cheng Hao and
of good governance—sage rulers who embodied humane-
Cheng Yi, who nonetheless shared many ideas in common.
ness, righteousness, and integrity—eventually clashed with
HISTORICAL CONTEXT. The Chengs spent much of their
those of reformist political rivals such as Wang Anshi (1021–
lives near the capitals of Luoyang and Kaifeng and were per-
1086). He was again stationed in various postings outside the
sonally acquainted with other important thinkers from that
capital, and during a sojourn in Luoyang he spent consider-
region of central China, such as Shao Yong (1011–1077),
able time with his neighbor Shao Yong, who was known for
Zhou Dunyi (1017–1073), and Zhang Zai (1020–1077).
his prognosticatory writings on the Book of Changes. In the
The Chengs hailed from a family that had served as scholar-
later years of their careers, the Chengs focused more on
officials for the Song rulers since the beginning of the dynas-
teaching and developed a following of disciples, among them
ty. Their first teacher was their mother, nee Hou, who was
the scholars Lü Dalin (1040–1092), Xie Liangzuo
herself highly educated, and they were later influenced by her
(c. 1050–c. 1120), You Zuo (1053–1123), and Yang Shi
attitudes toward folk religious beliefs. One of the official resi-
(1053–1135). Cheng Hao became known as Master Ming-
dences the Cheng family occupied was initially believed by
dao, or “The Master who Illuminates the Way.”
the household staff to be inhabited by monstrous appari-
COSMOLOGY. Cheng Hao’s cosmology was greatly influ-
tions. When Ms. Hou calmly dismissed such notions, the
enced by Zhang Zai’s Western Inscription (Ximing), a short
“hauntings” ceased.
text that describes the universe as a large family wherein a
In their teens, the Cheng brothers studied for a year
human being is a child of heaven and earth, all people are
with Zhou Dunyi. Zhou understood the universe as a living
one’s siblings, and all creatures are one’s companions. One’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
CHENG HAO
1561
own body is coextensive with the powers of the universe, and
Changes, the Book of Odes (Shijing), and the Book of Rites
one’s nature is at one with its operations. Cheng Hao was
(Liji), particularly the chapter of the Rites that became
inspired by this vision but particularly emphasized the role
known independently as the Centrality and Equilibrium
of human values in sustaining the subtle consubstantiality of
(Zhongyong, or Doctrine of the Mean). They understood spir-
the individual and the cosmos. In his discussion of humane-
its as manifestations of the operations of heaven and the
ness (ren, also translated as benevolence), Cheng Hao assert-
transformative powers of creation, which is not to say that
ed that people who could understand this integral virtue of
spirits were merely depersonalized forces. The Chengs im-
humaneness could do nothing less than form one body with
plicitly understood ancestral spirits as individual entities that
all things and participate fully in the operations of the uni-
should be fed and given places to rest during sacrificial offer-
verse. Following the classical thinker Mengzi, he believed
ings. When presenting sacrificial offerings, for example, food
that human beings were also responsible for adhering to the
must be divided into individual portions, for the spirits can-
cardinal virtues of righteousness (yi), ritual propriety (li),
not merge into one to enjoy them. These two perspectives—
wisdom (zhi), and trustworthiness (xin) and implementing
that spirits are cosmic powers and particularized entities—
them with integrity (cheng, or sincerity) and reverence (jing,
are not necessarily contradictory, given Cheng’s larger vision
or seriousness). A profound pattern of an underlying com-
that principle is one but its manifestations are many.
monality that Cheng understood as “principle” (li, or pat-
Although Cheng Hao’s teachings were proscribed for a
tern) permeated human nature (xing), heaven and earth, the
number of years after his death, his spirit was posthumously
Way (dao), and, in fact, all things. Principle was one, but it
elevated in rank in the thirteenth century and was given of-
manifested itself in the world in multiple ways.
ferings thereafter in Confucian temples throughout East
Human nature was bestowed by heaven, and being in
Asia.
accord with that nature was the Way, an ineffable path be-
yond the realm of physical form. Human nature was essen-
SEE ALSO Cheng Yi; Li.
tially good, but Cheng Hao (unlike his brother) did not dis-
allow that evil (o) was not part of principle or the nature.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Humans were also susceptible to negative deficiencies in
English translations of selected works by the Chengs are included
their qi (the vital energy, vital force, or material force that
in Wing-tsit Chan’s A Source Book in Chinese Philosophy
suffuses all living things), flaws that were metaphorically de-
(Princeton, 1963), his Reflections on Things at Hand (New
scribed as muddied, turbid, or clouded conditions within
York, 1967), and William Theodore De Bary and Irene
what otherwise would be clear water. Desires led one astray,
Bloom, eds., Sources of Chinese Tradition from Earliest Times
to 1600, 2d ed. (New York, 1999). Excerpts from their writ-
but they could be readily overcome with reverence and hu-
ings on spirits were included in the thirteenth-century text
maneness. The Chengs spoke often of Confucius’s idea of
translated by Wing-tsit Chan as Neo-Confucian Terms Ex-
“controlling the self and returning to ritual” (Analects 12:1),
plained (New York, 1986), but their views on matters reli-
a program that itself constituted humaneness. All solutions
gious have otherwise been little studied in the West. One of
to the problem of excessive desires were already complete
the best secondary studies of their work is still A. C. Gra-
within one, provided one only made the effort to eliminate
ham’s Two Chinese Philosophers: Ch’eng Ming-tao and Ch’eng
selfishness.
Yi-ch’uan (London, 1958), which was republished in 1992
The Chengs understood ritual at one level as an innate
as Two Chinese Philosophers: The Metaphysics of the Brothers
Cheng (La Salle, Ill.) and translated into Chinese by Cheng
sense of propriety and decorum that guided daily human in-
Dexiang as Er Cheng xiongdi de xin Ruxue (The Neo-
teractions; it was also the body of institutionalized, regular-
Confucianism of the Cheng Brothers; Zhengzhou, China
ized rituals and ceremonies performed at occasions that re-
2000). Graham is a philosopher rather than a scholar of reli-
quired communication between human beings and the
gion, and his treatment of spiritual beings reflects that per-
numinous powers that suffused their world. Cheng Hao
spective. For biographical information, see Sung Biographies
warned that one should not become too involved in the ex-
edited by Herbert Franke (Wiesbaden, 1976) and the
ternal particulars of rites; it was more important that one
RoutledgeCurzon Encyclopedia of Confucianism edited by Yao
turn inward and understand their principle. Rites would
Xinzhong (London, 2003), which includes entries on specific
then channel human emotions in appropriate directions and
concepts and thinkers noted above. Recent articles include
provide direction for the nature. But Cheng Hao was none-
Yong Huang’s “Cheng Brothers’ Neo-Confucian Virtue Eth-
ics: The Identity of Virtue and Nature,” Journal of Chinese
theless noted for his superb grasp of ritual institutions, and
Philosophy 30 (2003): 451–467; Wai-ying Wong’s “The Sta-
the Chengs were sought out for their expert advice on such
tus of Li in the Cheng Brothers’ Philosophy,” Tao: A Journal
matters. They were versed both in historical minutiae and
of Comparative Philosophy 3 (Winter 2003): 109–119, which
contemporary ritual usages and were consulted on such mat-
explores the notion of ritual; and Thomas Selover’s “Form-
ters as sacrificial offerings, rites of passage, burial practices,
ing One Body: The Cheng Brothers and Their Circle,” in Tu
geomancy, monstrosities and prodigies, and the construction
Weiming and Mary Evelyn Tucker, eds., Confucian Spiritu-
of altars and temples to various kinds of spirits.
ality, vol. 2 (New York, 2004 pp. 56–71). For Chinese
The Chengs’ views on ghosts (gui) and spirits (shen) de-
sources, see the entry on Cheng Yi.
rived especially from classical texts such as the Book of
DEBORAH SOMMER (1987 AND 2005)
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1562
CHENG YI
CHENG YI (1033–1107), like his older brother Cheng
but the Chengs made it integral to a system of thought that
Hao, was one of the most important figures in the history
emphasized an essential commonality between the human
of Chinese thought. He spent most of his life accompanying
realm and the operations of the cosmos.
his father or brother in their official postings, establishing
Sagehood was accessible to all and need not be reached
academies and teaching disciples.
through book learning. In his early essay “On What Master
HISTORICAL CONTEXT. His early years followed the same di-
Yan Loved to Learn,” Cheng Yi emphasized that thousands
rection as those of his brother. An essay he composed while
of Confucius’s disciples had mastered texts, but only Master
still a student at the Imperial Academy in Kaifeng received
Yan, or Yan Hui, was lauded for his love of learning—
accolades from examiner Hu Yuan (993–1059), who offered
learning to become a sage. For Cheng Yi, learning to be a
him a position there. Cheng soon became noted for his
sage meant looking inward and developing one’s own inher-
scholarship, and he attained the “presented scholar” (jinshi)
ent moral potential (which was informed by the same princi-
degree in his twenties. This achievement provided him entry
ple that directed the natural growth and fruitfulness of the
into government service, but for most of his life he showed
cosmos) to the point where the process became spontaneous
little interest in official rank or the remuneration it offered.
and joyful. One learned by following the Great Learning’s
program of attentively “investigating things” (ge wu; “things”
But in his fifties his fame as a learned scholar and person
meaning material things, living things, and events) to eluci-
of character earned him for two years the position of lecturer
date their principles.
on the classics to the twelve-year-old Emperor Zhezong (r.
1086–1100)—or more accurately, to the boy’s regent, Em-
The greatest numinous power in the Chengs’ cosmolog-
press Dowager Xuanren (d. 1093). Cheng admonished them
ical system was heaven (tian), which they understood as a
to model themselves after the sage rulers of antiquity and ad-
life-giving, impartial, and generous source that bestowed on
here to moral values. His uncompromising nature gained
human beings their nature. The human mind was moreover
him enemies, whereas his writings and lectures attracted
one with the mind of heaven; human principle, one with the
many followers from high office and distant places. He spent
principle of all things. Heaven was one term given to a range
much of his life in the Luoyang region, but in 1097 he was
of ineffable powers that existed in various valences. When
banished to Sichuan for several years, and his teachings were
once asked about the meaning of the ancient expression “Au-
prohibited. There he completed a commentary on the Book
gust Heaven, the Lord on High (haotian shangdi),” Cheng
of Changes around 1099 (the only major work he compiled
Yi replied that when one spoke of such things in terms of
himself), and according to local folk tradition he wrote it
form and substance, one called it “heaven”; in terms of a
while living in a cave in Fuling (near modern Chongqing).
master, “Lord”; in terms of function, “ghosts and spirits”; in
He was pardoned a year before his death, but the political
terms of subtlety, “spirit”; and in terms of nature and emo-
situation was still such that only a handful of his followers
tion, “qian,” the first hexagram of the Book of Changes, which
ventured to attend his funeral.
denoted primal forces of the cosmos.
I
Cheng Yi was consulted on many matters that in the
NFLUENCES AND COSMOLOGY. Like his brother Cheng
West would be called religious: people looked to him for an-
Hao, Cheng Yi was much influenced by the classical thought
swers to their questions about divining with tortoiseshells, se-
of such texts as the Analects of Confucius, the Mengzi, the
lecting burial sites, performing mortuary rites, constructing
Book of Rites (of which the Great Learning and Centrality and
ancestral temples and sacrificial halls, conducting sacrificial
Equilibrium, or Doctrine of the Mean, are two chapters), and
offerings and other rites, avoiding wanton sacrifices and spec-
the Book of Changes. The brothers shared many ideas about
tral monstrosities, understanding the nature of spiritual be-
cosmology and human nature, but Cheng Yi did not allow
ings and souls, and interpreting ancient ritual texts. He was
that negative tendencies, or evil (o, a term that means “not
consulted not only for his understanding of archaic rituals
good” but that does not necessarily carry the sense of moral
but also for his views on how one might interpret ancient
turpitude or depravity present in some Christian notions of
models for contemporary needs. Cheng Yi determined a par-
evil), were originally present in human nature. They might
ticular usage’s appropriateness by the criteria of rightness or
nonetheless be present in the qi, or vital energy, that suffused
righteousness (yi), principle (li), and ritual propriety (li, a
all things. The human mind or heart (xin) was originally
character different from the li of principle). He allowed that
good, and human beings were endowed with moral virtues
most, but not all, ancient usages were informed by principle.
that allowed them, with effort, to overcome the potential
selfishness of human desires that might arise as they interact-
Cheng Yi believed that commemorative votive offerings
ed with the external world. Through reverent attentiveness
(ji si) presented to spiritual beings were not merely a product
(jing), integrity (cheng), and adherence to ritual, they could
of human endeavor but were ultimately rooted in heavenly
realize their true natures, abide in the Way (dao), and be-
principle, the heavenly nature, and the human mind. Even
come sages. Underlying all the multiple phenomena of the
otters, wolves, and eagles made sacrificial offerings, he assert-
universe in its myriad fluctuations was a oneness or common
ed, following long-held beliefs about animal behavior de-
pattern called principle (li) or heavenly principle (tian li).
scribed in the Book of Rites, so how much more should one
Principle was a notion present even in early classical texts,
expect humans to show respect to their ancestors and recom-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHEROKEE RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS
1563
pense their kindness with food offerings. Votive rites were
on his notions of spirits. For Cheng Yi’s commentaries on
patterned on the processes of the cosmos itself as manifested
the Book of Changes, see Tze-ki Hon’s “Northern Song ‘Yij-
in the hexagrams “Dispersion” (huan) and “Congregation”
ing’ Exegesis and the Formation of Neo-Confucianism”
(cui) in the Book of Changes. Offerings presented at ancestral
(Ph.D. diss., University of Chicago, 1992). Cheng Yi’s no-
temples countered the centrifugal forces of dispersion and
tion of principle is discussed by Kidder Smith, Jr., in his
congregated the minds of human beings into a unified direc-
“Ch’eng I and the Pattern of Heaven-and-Earth,” in Sung
Dynasty Uses of the I Ching, edited by Kidder Smith, Jr. et
tion. Whereas Cheng Yi acknowledged that the principles of
al. (Princeton, 1990). Cheng’s Yi’s views on sage rulers are
votive offerings were difficult to fathom, he criticized his
examined in Marie Guarino’s “Learning and Imperial Au-
wealthy contemporaries for enjoying this-worldly pleasures
thority in Northern Song China (960–1126): The Classics
at the expense of properly maintaining ancestral temples.
Mat Lectures” (Ph.D. diss., Columbia University, 1994).
Such people were no better than birds and beasts.
For other English sources on the Chengs, see the entry on
Cheng Yi was often queried about ghosts (gui, a term
Cheng Hao.
that in antiquity usually referred to ghosts of deceased
Selected primary sources by the Chengs are introduced in A Sung
human beings) and spirits (shen, which in ancient times
Bibliography edited by Yves Hervouet (Hong Kong, 1978).
might refer to human spirits but could also refer to numi-
Recent editions of their major writings include the four-
volume Er Cheng ji (Collected works of the two Chengs; Bei-
nous powers of all kinds). He was well known for stating that
jing, 1981) and the Er Cheng yi shu, Er Cheng wai shu (Trans-
they are “creative transformations” (zao hua), a notion taken
mitted writings of the two Chengs, Miscellaneous writings
from the Book of Changes. This is not to say that for Cheng
of the two Chengs; Shanghai, 1992). Although research in
Yi spiritual beings did not exist, but that they were very sub-
English on the Chengs little addresses their thought on reli-
tle. When asked whether one could resonate with and invoke
gious subjects, some Chinese studies do. See Jiang
the spiritual and luminous realm (shen ming), Cheng Yi re-
Guanghui’s “Lixue de guishen guan” (Concepts of ghosts
plied that it was possible; filial piety (xiao) and sibling amity
and spirits in the School of Principle) in his Lixue yu Zhong-
(di) allowed one to communicate with ancestral spirits. Fili-
guo wenhua (The School of Principle and Chinese culture;
ality and amity were precisely the “principle” of the spiritual
Shanghai, 1994): 367–384; Li Rizhang’s Cheng Yi Cheng
realm.
Hao (Taipei, 1986); Pang Wanli’s Er Cheng zhexue tixi (The
Cheng’s philosophical system; Beijing, 1992); and Wang
Reverence was the proper attitude toward spirits with
Binglun’s “Guanyu er Cheng pochu shisu mixin sixiang shiji
which one had no kin relationship, such as the spirits of
shuping” (On the Chengs’ eradication of folk superstitious
mountains and rivers, which were thought to produce rain.
thought) in Luoxue yu chuantong wenhua (The Luo School
Cheng Yi found irreverent the folk practice of worshipping
and traditional thought), edited by the Henan Province Phi-
sculpted anthropomorphic images believed to represent
losopher’s Association (Henansheng zhexue xuehui; Zheng-
those powers; it was not the wood or clay images that pro-
zhou, 1989): 228–239 and Deborah Sommer’s “Er Cheng
duced rain, he said, but the mountains themselves, and it was
xiongdi lun jisi yu guishen” (The Cheng brothers on sacrifice
and spirits) in Cheng Dexiang, ed., Er Cheng xinrujia xinlun
they, not the images, that deserved reverence. Cheng Yi criti-
(New studies of the Neo-confucianism of the Cheng broth-
cized other folk, Buddhist, and Daoist practices and beliefs
ers; Zhengzhou, c. 2005).
that he believed were far removed from classical antecedents.
He derided the Buddhists for “hating things” and attempting
DEBORAH SOMMER (1987 AND 2005)
to remove themselves from the matrix of continuous creation
and found laughable, for example, the Daoist (Daojia) no-
tion that each sense faculty of the human body has its own
CHEN-JEN SEE ZHENREN
spirit.
Cheng Yi’s views on matters religious were influential
throughout Asia for centuries. By the thirteenth century,
CHEN-YEN SEE ZHENYAN
both he and his brother were themselves venerated as sages,
and they received commemorative offerings in Confucian
temples throughout China and East Asia until modern times.
CHEROKEE RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS. The
Cheng Yi outlived Cheng Hao by over twenty years and left
Cherokee, an Iroquoian-speaking people, refer to themselves
behind a much larger body of work, mostly in the form of
as Aniyvwiya, “the Real People,” or as Anitsalagi, their tradi-
oral teachings recorded by his followers.
tional name. Today, they comprise the largest Native Ameri-
SEE ALSO Cheng Hao; Li.
can group in the United States. According to the 2000 U.S.
Census, approximately 281,060 people identify as being of
B
Cherokee descent, and 260,000 of those are federally recog-
IBLIOGRAPHY
One of the most complete studies of Cheng Yi’s thought in En-
nized tribal members. Over 230,000 Cherokee are citizens
glish is still Ts’ai Yung-ch’un’s “The Philosophy of Ch’eng
of the Cherokee Nation, located in Oklahoma. The Eastern
I: A Selection of Texts from the Complete Works” (Ph.D.
Band of Cherokee Indians, in North Carolina, has approxi-
diss., Columbia University, 1950), which contains a chapter
mately 12,000 members and the United Keetoowah Band
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1564
CHEROKEE RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS
has about 16,000. Cherokee citizens can be found living
Rituals and observances during the Green Corn ceremo-
throughout the United States as well as within the jurisdic-
ny reinforced the beliefs and values of the Cherokee and in-
tional boundaries of the Cherokee Nation and the Eastern
sured the continued well-being of the community. The cere-
Band of Cherokee Indians.
mony recognized Selu or Corn Woman who, through the
The Cherokee originally occupied territory now com-
sacrifice of her body, gave the gift of corn to the Cherokee.
prising Tennessee and parts of Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky,
Selu and Kanati (“The Lucky Hunter”) symbolized the inter-
North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. In response
dependent and complementary aspects of Cherokee society,
to American expansionism, groups of Cherokee began emi-
including female and male roles, agriculture and hunting,
grating to Arkansas Territory as early as 1810. In 1817 the
and birth and death. They provided models for human be-
U.S. government finalized the first treaty that called for ces-
havior.
sions of Cherokee land in exchange for a tract of land in Ar-
Cherokee regularly engaged in purification rituals be-
kansas for those who voluntarily emigrated west. Nineteen
fore and during major events including the Green Corn cere-
years later, in 1836, the U.S. Senate ratified the Treaty of
mony, in order to restore balance and harmony to society.
New Echota, which authorized the removal of the Cherokee.
Scratching involved drawing a comb-like instrument across
Beginning in 1838, the United States sent troops, militia,
the arms, legs, and torso of the body until the blood flowed,
and volunteers to forcibly remove the Cherokee to Indian
thus purifying the body of impure or bad blood. Scratching
Territory, which later became the state of Oklahoma. Those
was followed by “going to water,” or submerging oneself four
Cherokee who marched west endured hunger, extreme cold,
times in a moving stream to reinforce health and strength
inadequate clothing and shelter, and sickness. One-quarter
and to ensure long life. The men also purified themselves
of those removed, or approximately 4,000 Cherokee, died on
with White Drink, commonly referred to as Black Drink by
what became known as the Trail of Tears. Only a few rem-
Euro-Americans because of its dark color. Beloved women
nant groups, totaling approximately 1,400, avoided the re-
typically prepared this emetic, which the men consumed in
moval west.
great quantities and then vomited up, thus cleansing them-
Prior to removal, the Cherokee had an agriculturally
selves.
based society. They followed a ceremonial cycle linked to ag-
During the Green Corn ceremony and other ceremoni-
ricultural seasons, such as the first green grass and the first
als the Cherokee drew upon elements from the Above and
harvest of green corn. The Cherokee grew two types of corn
Below World to purify and renew themselves and This
as well as beans and squash, peas, potatoes, and pumpkins.
World. Fire, the symbol of purity, is understood by the
They also gathered wild foods such as fruits and nuts, and
Cherokee to be the messenger between human beings and
they collected honey. The women, in the matrilineal and
the Provider. The smoke of the fire carries prayers upward.
matrilocal world of the Cherokee, had primary responsibility
The Cherokee also use tobacco in their rituals to disseminate
for the fields and wild plant foods. Men hunted deer and
the power of their thoughts. According to Cherokee belief,
other game during the fall months and assisted the women
the power to create resides in thought, and tobacco that has
at planting and harvesting time. Husbands moved into the
been made efficacious through thoughts that have been spo-
homes of their wives, who held proprietary responsibility for
ken or sung is, in turn, burned during rituals for protection
the houses, fields, and children. Such control afforded
or curing.
women an important place in the economic, political, and
religious life of the Cherokee, which depended, in great part,
APPROACHES TO ETHICS AND DAILY CONDUCT. The Cher-
upon the production of corn.
okee emphasis on maintaining harmonious or peaceful rela-
tions between human beings and between humans beings
The Green Corn ceremony, the most important cere-
and animals or supernatural beings is reflected in Cherokee
mony among the Cherokee, celebrated the harvesting of corn
social conventions. The Cherokee reinforce amiable relations
in late July or August. Everyone abstained from eating the
by sharing their time and material goods with each other.
new corn until they had performed the ceremony. The
They reinforce harmony among themselves through acts of
Green Corn ceremony marked a time of purification and re-
reciprocity and redistribution, of giving to others. The idea
newal of individuals and society. Women swept out their
is that if everyone gives, everyone will receive according to
homes, cleaned their fireplaces, and discarded old food and
their needs. Thus, one who has been fortunate in obtaining
clothing. The men swept out the council house and removed
goods would share those goods with others less fortunate.
the old ashes from the central hearth, whitewashed the build-
ings, and brought in new dirt for the ceremonial square
The structures of Cherokee society also serve to main-
ground. Purification rituals included fasting, scratching the
tain balance between individuals, towns, and outsiders. His-
body, vomiting induced through the use of emetics, and a
torically, their clan system, which consists of the Wolf, Deer,
type of bathing referred to as “going to water.” Renewal in-
Bird, Paint, Blue, Wild Potato, and Long Hair clans, deter-
volved restoration of harmony through forgiveness of wrongs
mined social, political, and religious responsibilities. Chero-
and reconciliation of differences. The council also met dur-
kee society was also organized on the basis of either the
ing the Green Corn ceremony to consider national interests
White or the Red Path. The White Path is the path of peace
for the coming year.
and the Red Path is the path of victory or war. In historical
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHEROKEE RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS
1565
times the state of affairs (peace or the disruption of it) deter-
ruptions in their way of life. A movement that became
mined the leadership of Cherokee towns. During times of
known as White Path’s Rebellion arose in 1827 when a
peace, White leaders oversaw the daily concerns of Cherokee
group of traditionalists again tried to halt rapid acculturation
society. However, during times of conflict, Red leaders be-
by advocating the abolishment of the newly formed Chero-
came prominent in the decision making. Certain highly re-
kee constitutional government and a return to the practice
spected men and women, referred to as Beloveds, were
of traditional dances and rituals. The traditionalists agreed
charged with mediating for peace and mitigating bloodshed.
to discontinue holding meetings in opposition to the Chero-
They were expected to extend hospitality to all who came to
kee council’s actions in order to present a united front
their homes or their Mother Towns, beloved sacred places.
against the United States’ efforts to remove them from their
The most well-known beloved Cherokee woman is Nancy
homelands.
Ward, a Supreme Beloved Woman, who protected American
captives and military personnel as well as Cherokee during
Those Cherokee who survived the forced removal to In-
the American Revolution. Balance was maintained during
dian Territory faced the uncertainties of living in an unfamil-
wartime through a division of responsibility based on council
iar region. They no longer had access to their sacred places,
status, gender, and age. War councils declared war and the
and many of their elders, the carriers and purveyors of ritual
women’s council decided how war was to be conducted. Red
knowledge, had died on the march. Many turned to mis-
leaders (young warriors) and White leaders (elders) sat oppo-
sionaries for spiritual comfort, and Cherokee leaders advo-
site each other during council meetings, and Beloved women
cated Western education as a means to survival. Over time
had special seats within the council chamber.
the clan system declined, and ceremonies like the Green
Corn ceased to be practiced among the Western Cherokee,
RELIGIOUS RESISTANCE MOVEMENTS. In response to
although remnants of the ceremony remained among the
changes brought about by contact with Europeans and, later,
Eastern Cherokee. For many rural fullbloods, Baptist
Americans, Cherokee people struggled with issues surround-
churches replaced ceremonial grounds as social and religious
ing acculturation to Euro-American ways and retention of
centers. In 1859 Evan Jones, a Baptist missionary among the
indigenous cultural characteristics. Various ceremonial prac-
Western Cherokee, organized the Keetoowah Society among
tices reflected the changes that the Cherokee underwent. A
the fullbloods, many of whom became resistance fighters in
number of winter dances, for example, featured masked
the period before and after the Civil War. Many fullbloods
dancers symbolizing visitors from distance places. They
did not like the political focus of the society, however, and
danced to protect themselves from malevolent people and to
in 1879 an amendment was drawn up to make it a religious
prevent disease. By the late nineteenth century the repertoire
group as well.
of masked winter dances had expanded to include masked
caricatures of Europeans called “Boogers.” The Booger
Shortly after the Civil War ended a number of medicine
Dance developed in response to devastating diseases intro-
people told of a prophecy they had received through which
duced by Europeans and the disrespectful treatment of Cher-
they had learned that the son of Pig Smith would lead the
okee women by white males.
Cherokee through difficult times. As a result, Pig Smith ar-
ranged for his son, Redbird, to be taught in the ways of the
The eighteenth century, an era of tumultuous change
Keetoowah. Redbird Smith and his followers formed their
for the Cherokee, witnessed the rise of several religious
own organization, known as the Nighthawk Keetoowahs.
movements. In February 1811, three Cherokee—a man and
Redbird Smith turned to medicine people and their sacred
two women—had a vision in which the Provider, the Su-
formulas (ritual prayers) to access traditional Cherokee
preme Being, warned the Cherokee to return to their former
knowledge. The invention of the Cherokee syllabary in 1821
way of life and to rid themselves of the trappings of white
by Sequoyah (George Guess) enabled the medicine people
society. Ten months later another Cherokee man told of re-
to record their formulas, which they carried with them to In-
ceiving a vision in which the Provider expressed displeasure
dian Territory. Through use of medical knowledge, seven sa-
that whites had built a house on a sacred hill and that the
cred wampum belts, and the clan system, Redbird Smith
Cherokee people were no longer expressing thanks for the
taught the Cherokee the way of the White Path. In 1902 he
fruits of the land. By February 1812, stories of apocalyptic
built the first stomp ground of the Nighthawk Keetoowah.
visions were spreading among the Cherokee. These prophe-
Soon the Cherokee had twenty-two ceremonial stomp
cies arose at a time when Tenskwatawa, the Shawnee Proph-
grounds.
et, and his brother, Tecumseh, were urging native people
throughout the Ohio and Mississippi Valleys to join a con-
CONTEMPORARY CONTEXTS. Today, the stomp dance re-
federacy of tribal nations to resist American encroachments.
mains the major Cherokee traditional ceremonial. Stomp
Some Cherokee responded to both Cherokee and Shawnee
dances are held primarily during the summer season. Each
prophecies; however, the outbreak of the War of 1812 di-
year Cherokee from all over the country gather in the south-
verted attention away from the prophecies.
ern part of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma for a major
stomp dance held on the anniversary of Redbird Smith’s
The concern of the Cherokee continued to increase as
birthday. Another major stomp dance is held each year dur-
land cessions and emigrations to the west signaled major dis-
ing the Cherokee National Holiday on Labor Day weekend.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1566
CH‘I
Stickball games, once a means for resolving disputes between
McLoughlin, William G. The Cherokees and Christianity, 1794–
towns, are now a way of reinforcing harmony and communi-
1870: Essays on Acculturation and Cultural Persistence. Ath-
ty among the Cherokee. Communal feasts reflective of the
ens, Ga., 1994.
Green Corn Dances of earlier times promote ideals of shar-
Mooney, James. Myths of the Cherokee and Sacred Formulas of the
ing and reciprocity. Wampum belts, White Drink, tobacco,
Cherokees. Nashville, 1982. “Myths of the Cherokee” was
fire, and doctoring remain strong elements of Cherokee cere-
originally published as the Nineteenth Annual Report of the
monial life.
Bureau of American Ethnology, 1897–1898, pp. 3–576,
(Washington, D.C., 1900); and the “Sacred Formulas of the
Protestant churches, especially Baptist churches, also
Cherokees” was originally published in the Seventh Annual
continue to be an important part of Cherokee religious life.
Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology, 1885–1886,
Missionization among the Cherokee began as early as 1736,
pp. 301–397, (Washington, D.C., 1891).
when Christian Priber, a Jesuit, went to Cherokee country.
Perdue, Theda. Cherokee Women: Gender and Culture Change,
In 1801 the Moravians, or United Brethren, established a
1700–1835. Lincoln, Neb., 1998.
mission at Springplace, Georgia. Two years later Gideon
Thomas, Robert. The Origin and Development of the Redbird
Blackburn, a Presbyterian, arrived among the Cherokee, fol-
Smith Movement. M.A. thesis, University of Arizona, Tuc-
lowed by the Baptists of Georgia in 1815. By 1817 the
son, 1953.
American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions had
Wahnenauhi [Lucy L. Keys]. “The Wahnenauhi Manuscript: His-
established its first mission among the Cherokee at Brainerd,
torical Sketches of the Cherokees, Together with Some of
in Tennessee. The Cherokee syllabary also enabled transla-
Their Customs, Traditions, and Superstitions.” Edited by
tions of the New Testament, hymnbooks, and other religious
Jack Frederick Kilpatrick. In Smithsonian Institution Bureau
works in the Cherokee language, thus facilitating missionary
of American Ethnology Bulletin 196, Anthropological Papers,
work. By 1832, 5 to 6 percent of the 5,000 or 6,000 Chero-
no. 77, pp.179–213. Washington, D.C., 1966.
kee in Evan Jones’s mission region were Baptists and a slight-
MICHELENE E. PESANTUBBEE (2005)
ly greater number were Methodists.
Today, Baptist and Methodist churches flourish among
the Cherokee people. Cherokee gospel-singing is popular,
CH‘I SEE QI
and large tents filled to overflowing with audiences gathered
to hear Cherokee gospel songs can be seen at the annual
Oklahoma Cherokee festival held on Labor Day weekend.
CHIAO SEE JIAO
In 1985, Eastern and Western Cherokee reunited at Red
Clay in Tennessee. The reunion emphasized traditional ritu-
al symbolism, including the use of sacred fire in a Ceremony
CHIBCHA RELIGION SEE MUISCA RELIGION
of Flame held in Cherokee, North Carolina. The following
year the two groups met in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, again re-
uniting relatives who had been separated since the removal
CHIH-I SEE ZHIYI
of 1838.
Revivals and gospel-singing are popular events in Cher-
CHIH-YEN
okee country, East and West. For some Cherokee, Christian
SEE ZHIYAN
churches provide the structure for maintenance of Cherokee
identity and culture that the Green Corn ceremony and
stomp grounds once did. The church is the place where
CHILD. The child is a universal symbol of future potenti-
Cherokee can gather for communal feasts, share stories, and
ality as well as the carrier of the heritage of the past. The child
hear the language spoken and sung. However, it is not un-
is symbolic of the past, coming into being from generative
usual to find Cherokee who are participants in both Chris-
forces that preceded it, yet for it the future is an open possi-
tian churches and traditional stomp grounds. Cherokee heal-
bility. In Essays on a Science of Mythology (1949), Károly
ers are valued as much as Western doctors by many Christian
Kerényi states that the image of the primordial child repre-
and traditional Cherokee. For both groups, relationships to
sents the childhood of the world itself, even the origin of life.
the land in Northeastern Oklahoma or in North Carolina
There is a mystery about the child, for what it will be as an
remain integral to their identity as Cherokee.
adult is not yet and cannot be known. The child represents
innocence, purity, wonder, receptivity, freshness, noncal-
B
culation, the absence of narrow ambition and purpose. As
IBLIOGRAPHY
Journal of Cherokee Studies. Published by the Museum of the
yet innocent of life, the child portrays the beginning, the ori-
Cherokee Indian in cooperation with the Cherokee Histori-
gin of all. It symbolizes a primordial unity, before differentia-
cal Association.
tion has taken place. Gender differences are mainly in poten-
Kilpatrick, Jack Frederick, and Anna Gritts Kilpatrick. Run to-
tiality; consciousness has not been separated out from the
ward the Nightland: Magic of the Oklahoma Cherokee. Dallas,
unconscious; choice has yet to become a burden and a re-
Tex., 1967.
sponsibility.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHILD
1567
In the alchemical tradition of medieval Europe, a child
of danger, or a ruler who has been warned that the child will
wearing a crown or regal garments was a symbol of the phi-
kill or supplant him. The infant is abandoned, exposed, or
losopher’s stone, that is, of a wholeness realizing the mystical
sent away. In every myth of sanctified childhood, the world
union of the inner spirit with the eternal spirit. Something
assumes the care of the child. However rejected, the child is
of this feeling may sustain the devotion to the Infant Jesus
rescued by a providential act of nature or by rural people
of Prague, whose statue, preserved since 1628 in the Church
close to nature. Upon maturity the child discovers his or her
of Our Lady of Victory in Prague, portrays the infant Jesus
true identity and sets up a new order, rectifying previous
as Christ the King, with his left hand encircling a miniature
wrongs.
globe surmounted by a cross and his right hand bestowing
a blessing.
Not all hero myths have birth stories, but most of them
do, and the same motifs are found throughout the world, as
Because the child requires care and nurture, it represents
Joseph Campbell demonstrates in The Hero with a Thousand
the needs and demands of utter dependency. The child’s
Faces (1968). In a story from the Hindu epic Maha¯bha¯rata,
closeness to nature is indicated in numerous stories telling
the hero, Karn:a, is born of a virgin and the sun god, Su¯rya.
of a special child being cared for by animals. Children are
According to one account, the bodhisattva who later became
further associated with the Great Mother, and thus with ma-
Gautama Buddha entered his mother’s womb from the right
ternal elements such as water; in legend, then, one finds chil-
side, and at the end of ten months left the right side of his
dren brought by fishers such as the stork, or by water dwellers
mother again in full consciousness. The North American Al-
such as the frog, or born from Mother Earth under a bush
gonquin tell a story of the miraculous birth of Michabo,
or in a cave. Children are often used to personify the seasons:
who, in one form of the myth, is said to be the grandson of
Spring, amid leaves and flowers; Summer, holding ears of
the Moon and the son of the West Wind and a maiden who
corn; Autumn, with fruit; Winter, wrapped in a cloak.
had been miraculously fecundated by the passing breeze. His
Growth and development are implicit, for childhood is a
mother died in giving birth, but he did not need the fostering
temporary state. The child represents incredible power, vital-
care of a parent, for he was born “mighty of limb and with
ity, and persistence toward growth; one grows up physically,
all the knowledge that it is possible to attain.” The mother
whether one wishes to or not. Furthermore, there is rejoicing
of the Aztec hero Quetzalcoatl also died at his birth, but the
at growth, no matter how charming a child may be. There
newborn at once possessed speech, reason, and wisdom.
is grief at the death of a child but not at the loss of a child
to adulthood.
A rather common incident in the stories of American
Indian heroes is their immediate growth from early child-
Children and old people have something in common
hood to manhood, as in the case of Young Rabbit of the
and usually get along well with one another; both must ac-
Sioux, Bloodclot Boy of the Blackfeet, and the Divine Twins
cept dependency. The child also symbolizes that stage of life
of the Pueblo Indians. In Roman mythology, Romulus and
in which the old person, transformed, acquires a new sim-
Remus were born of a king’s daughter and the war god,
plicity. Together, they represent the continuity and flow of
Mars. In Greek mythology, King Acrisius of Argos, having
life. The child symbolizes a higher transformation of individ-
been warned by an oracle against male descendents, locked
uality, the self transmuted and reborn into perfection. Thus,
his daughter in an iron chamber; but Zeus penetrated the
not surprisingly, the motif of the child is found in religions
roof in the guise of a golden rain, and Danaë became the
and mythologies from earliest times and all around the
mother of Perseus. In Christian tradition, Jesus was born of
world. In Christianity, for example, the baby in the crèche
the Virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit.
and the adult on the cross are the two poles between which
the liturgical year moves, each in different ways pointing to
The extraordinary difficulties at the hero’s birth take a
the tasks of human life for spiritual development.
variety of forms. Sometimes the father is the child’s enemy,
as was Kronos, who devoured his children to prevent his pre-
THE CHILD IN MYTHOLOGY. The symbolism of the child
dicted demise by a child of his; or the father may be merely
implies a connection with the mythology of the hero. The
absent, as Zeus was when Dionysos was being torn to pieces
potential of the child is indicated in many myths depicting
by the Titans. Jesus was threatened by the edict of Herod,
heroic nature as predestined rather than simply achieved. Al-
who, having heard of the birth of a king, ordered all male
most invariably, the hero is described as endowed with ex-
children under two years of age put to death. The infant
traordinary powers from the moment of birth, if not of con-
Moses, being in similar danger from the Egyptian pharaoh,
ception.
was placed in a basket to float down the Nile. In the Hindu
In The Myth of the Birth of the Hero (1959), Otto Rank
story, Karn:a was likewise placed in a basket on a river, while
identifies many of the principal motifs associated with the
in an Old Norse saga, Siegfried was put in a glass vessel to
divine child. Typically, the child has parents of royal or noble
float down a stream to the sea. Romulus and Remus, when
lineage. In many stories the father is a god and the mother
condemned by the king, were set afloat in a tub on the river
a human, or some other miraculous quality characterizes the
Tiber. The delivery of the hero from danger is frequently ef-
birth. Since extraordinary difficulties attend the birth of a
fected by the waters of a river or sea. In Oceanic mythology,
hero, the child is endangered. Often the father is the source
the hero Ma¯ui was cast into the sea by his mother, because
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1568
CHILD
he was so small and scrawny that she thought he was dead.
assume that the psyche, like the body, has a built-in mecha-
The father of Oedipus ordered him exposed to die, because
nism for healing itself. Just as the body produces antibodies
an oracle had advised him that he would be killed by his own
to ward off attack from foreign invaders, so the psyche pro-
son.
duces images that are suggestive or corrective for its health.
Typically, the rejected child is rescued either by animals
The motif of the child, when occurring in the unconscious
or by simple, rural folk. In a Greek story about a hero of the
of an individual (as in a dream, an obsession, or a fascination)
Medes, Cyrus, the baby, upon being ordered exposed by his
or in the mythologies and fables of a culture, may suggest
royal grandfather, was raised by a herder who did not carry
a future potential development for the individual or the cul-
out the order but substituted his own still-born child. In an-
ture.
other Greek story, Paris, the son of Priam of Troy, was or-
The child symbolizes movement toward maturity.
dered exposed by his father and was left on a mountaintop;
Being itself the product of the union of two opposites, male
a she-bear nursed the child for five days, and when he was
and female, it is a symbol of wholeness. In the mythologies
found still alive, the servant who had left him there took him
of the divine child, there is a union of the divine and human;
home to raise him himself. Kr:s:n:a, an incarnation of the
spirit and body have become one, which is the essence of the
Hindu god Vis:n:u, grew up among cowherders and is famed
human experience. The miraculous element in the stories in-
for his sport with the gop¯ıs, or cowherdesses. A child that is
dicates that a special manifestation of the immanent divine
abandoned to nature, then saved and brought up by her, no
principle has become incarnate in the world. The child is a
longer shares the common experience of humankind, for as
symbol, then, of the wholeness toward which life moves. The
Mircea Eliade points out in Patterns of Comparative Religion
mythologies of the child hero or divine child illustrate the
(1958), the abandoned child has reenacted the cosmological
problems encountered in psychological growth and develop-
instant of beginning and grows up not in the midst of a fami-
ment toward wholeness. As a “miraculous” conception the
ly but in the midst of the elements. He is dedicated to a desti-
future potential is a given element, yet it is also precarious:
ny that no ordinary person could attain.
the child as future possibility is abandoned daily. Many diffi-
These stories commonly present the exile or the de-
culties and obstacles have to be overcome in any movement
spised one as handicapped, or make the hero an abused son
of the psyche toward wholeness.
or daughter, orphan or stepchild. The child of destiny has
The motif of the child may also occur as a corrective to
to face a long period of obscurity. This is a time of extreme
a conscious attitude that has become too rigid, too fixed, or
danger, with many obstacles. The myths agree that an ex-
stagnated. The child suggests something evolving toward in-
traordinary capacity is required to face and survive such expe-
dependence, which necessitates detachment from its origins.
rience: heroic infancies abound in anecdotes of precocious
In this sense, abandonment, though painful, is necessary for
strength, cleverness, and wisdom.
the future potential.
In time, the hero, now a youth, returns to his proper
The child has a naive view of life, is typically interested
home, often to overthrow his father and set himself in his
in learning more about life, and has a lot of energy for that
place, as did Oedipus and Perseus. Jesus said that he did not
task. It represents one of the strongest urges in every being,
come to abolish the Law but rather to fulfill it; however, his
namely, the urge to realize itself. There is an invincibility and
followers understood his teaching to be a new covenant as
uncomplicated vitality about the child that the stories de-
the basis of relationship with God. Gautama Buddha, reject-
scribe in various ways. The obscurity in which the child is
ing the scriptures and the caste system of traditional Hindu-
typically raised points to the psychological state of nonrecog-
ism, offered a new way, the Eightfold Path, for dealing with
nition, the naive condition of the beginning, before con-
the problems of life.
sciousness has become differentiated from the unconscious.
PSYCHOLOGICAL INTERPRETATION. Many students of my-
As such, the child symbolizes the goal of human develop-
thology, such as Károly Kerényi and Joseph Campbell, have
ment, when there has been a reintegration of consciousness
made use of C. G. Jung’s concept of archetypes to interpret
with the unconscious or nature. The wisdom of old age is
the worldwide occurrence of motifs like that of the child. In
a state in which the opposites and tensions of life and growth
Jung’s view, an archetype is a pattern through which human
have become reconciled and are more or less at peace. “You
nature has repeatedly expressed itself, employing different
must become as little children,” Jesus taught. Maturity can
imagery in different cultures but reflecting in each case a rec-
be seen as the unclouded joy of the child at play who takes
ognizable form common to all humankind. In his essay “The
it for granted that he or she is at one, not only with play-
Psychology of the Child Archetype” (1949), Jung suggests
mates, but with all of life.
that one function of the child motif in the adult psyche is
The symbol of the child is a source of energy for a new
to compensate or correct, in a meaningful manner, the one-
development. In “Reveries toward Childhood” in his Poetics
sidedness and extravagances of the conscious mind, by re-
of Reverie (1969), Gaston Bachelard says, “The great arche-
vealing the possibility for future development.
type of life beginning brings to every beginning the psychic
The symbolism of the child has no one meaning but on
energy which Jung has recognized in every archetype, . . .
the other hand it is not unlimited. Most personality theories
for the archetypes are reserves of enthusiasm which help us
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHILD, LYDIA MARIA
1569
believe in the world, love the world, create the world”
Child published her first novel, Hobomok: A Tale of
(p. 124).
Early Times (1824), a controversial story about an Indian-
white romance and marriage, when she was twenty-two, and
SEE ALSO Jesus; Kr:s:n:a; Heroes.
was soon feted as a promising young author. She wrote a
book or two per year while editing the first successful chil-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
The Hungarian classicist Károly Kerényi has published extensively
dren’s magazine, and she married David Lee Child, an ideal-
on mythology; his essay “The Primordial Child in Primordi-
istic and debt-prone political activist.
al Times,” in Kerényi and C. G. Jung’s Essays on a Science
In 1833 Child published An Appeal in Favor of That
of Mythology (1949; rev. ed., New York, 1963), has explored
Class of Americans Called Africans, the first significant study
the theme of the divine child, drawing primarily on Greek,
Roman, Finnish, Russian, and Indian mythologies. Daniel
of slavery, emancipation, and American racism. This ardent
G. Brinton’s collection of hero myths of American Indians,
yet well-researched plea for the eradication of slavery estab-
American Hero Myths (Philadelphia, 1882), demonstrates the
lished her as a leader of the abolitionist movement. She went
presence of similar motifs among the indigenous peoples of
on to edit the National Anti-Slavery Standard, thus becoming
the Western Hemisphere. Joseph Campbell’s classic work
the first female editor of a national political newspaper. Dur-
The Hero with a Thousand Faces (Princeton, 1968) describes
ing this time, Child concluded that Swedenborgianism was
the basic pattern of myths of the hero. Otto Rank’s The Myth
not a true religion because so many of its followers accepted
of the Birth of the Hero (New York, 1959) outlines the basic
slavery. She attended numerous religious institutions, in-
motifs of its subject and offers a psychoanalytic interpreta-
cluding a Catholic cathedral and a Jewish synagogue, but felt
tion. Joseph Campbell’s The Mythic Image (Princeton, 1974)
they were all too narrow-minded.
reexamines the motifs Rank identified and offers some illus-
trations and interpretation in a section on “Infant Exile.” C.
Child took seven years to write her three-volume Prog-
G. Jung’s essay “The Psychology of the Child Archetype” can
ress of Religious Ideas, in which she argued that all religions
be found in Essays on a Science of Mythology (cited above) and
are revelations of the divine spirit. People throughout history
in volume 9 of The Collected Works of C. G. Jung (New York,
have asked the same questions and expressed the same hopes,
1959); it provides a psychological interpretation of this
and the divine spirit has spoken to them using whatever
worldwide motif. Mircea Eliade’s Patterns in Comparative
Religion (New York, 1958) has in section 87, “Man’s De-
forms they were best able to receive. Symbols that may seem
scent from the Earth,” a brief discussion of the meaning of
odd to an outsider—the Egyptians’ golden scarab, the Chris-
the motif of the abandoned child. A philosophical reverie on
tians’ cross—feel quite different when viewed from inside a
the meaning of childhood can be found in Gaston Bache-
tradition. People should therefore respect all the world’s reli-
lard’s “Reveries toward Childhood,” in Poetics of Reverie
gions, acknowledging their weaknesses but cherishing the
(New York, 1969). The fourth issue of the journal Parabola:
ways in which they partake of truth and goodness. True reli-
Myth and the Quest for Meaning (August 1979) is devoted to
gion is a matter of faith and hope, not theological arguments
the meaning of the child and childhood.
or sectarian divisions.
WALLACE B. CLIFT (1987)
Christianity, Child suggested, has no privileged status.
Each religion builds upon the spiritual insights of earlier eras,
and Christianity is rooted in Jewish, Greek, and Persian
CHILD, LYDIA MARIA. Lydia Maria Child (1802–
thought. It may, furthermore, eventually be superseded by
1880) was a prolific author and a founder of the American
new, more true, beliefs that cannot yet be imagined. Child
abolitionist movement. Child wrote two books on religion:
warned against holding too tightly to old revelations. Each
The Progress of Religious Ideas (1855), which offered a history
revelation is designed to be comprehensible in a specific time
of the world’s religions and sought to put Christianity on a
and place, and once people move too far past that state of
level footing with other religions; and Aspirations of the
society a written revelation may hinder, not help, further
World: A Chain of Opals (1878), which collected what Child
spiritual growth.
considered the most valuable religious texts, including many
more excerpts from Greco-Roman, Buddhist, Persian, and
Child conceded that Christianity can have unusually
Hindu sources than from the Bible. Child’s radically univer-
good practical results. All religions have an iniquitous ten-
salist religious sensibility informed her life-long quest to
dency to divide humanity into competing sects, but Chris-
eradicate racial prejudice.
tianity alone sometimes preaches universal sympathy and be-
nevolence. Christians often fall into divisiveness, bigotry,
Child did not fit easily into religious categories. She was
and war, but Christianity can encourage them to see all peo-
born in Medford, Massachusetts, the daughter of a baker,
ple, even non-Christians, as one family. Christian sympathy,
and she rejected her parents’ Calvinism as an adolescent. The
for example, led England to abolish slavery. Christianity is
older brother who educated her, Convers Francis, became a
thus desirable not because it is more truthful than other reli-
Unitarian minister, but she found Unitarianism cold and in-
gions, but because it is potentially more moral.
tellectual. She was attracted to Swedenborgian mysticism,
but felt that it fed her imagination more than her heart or
Many reviewers protested Child’s refusal to give Chris-
her intellect.
tianity any preferential divine origin, but two of the aboli-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1570
CHINESE PHILOSOPHY
tionist ministers whom Child most respected—Theodore
years will be outlined here; ideas that are essentially religious,
Parker and Samuel May—enthusiastically praised her work.
treated elsewhere, will be noted only as may be necessary to
Forty years later, Elizabeth Cady Stanton echoed Child’s
show the religious relevance and historical context of philo-
views in her Woman’s Bible (1895–1898). Child’s readership
sophical themes. This overview will be at once chronological
was not large, but she gave courage to some of the nineteenth
and topical, as follows:
century’s most rebellious religious thinkers.
1. The pre-Classical background (to the sixth century BCE)
When Child was in her seventies, she finally found a
2. Classical philosophy (late sixth to late third century BCE)
compatible religious community. The Free Religious Associ-
ation was founded by a group of progressive Unitarians who
3. The first imperial era (to the third century CE)
wanted a place for people of all religions, including agnostics,
4. The development of Buddhism in China (to the ninth
to come together in an unconstrained pursuit of truth. Child
century)
found its gatherings inspiring and thought-provoking.
5. The Confucian revival (Tang and Song periods)
She had become particularly interested in Buddhism,
and avidly read new translations of Asian texts. In two Atlan-
6. The later empire (since the fourteenth century)
tic Monthly articles, written at a time of rising anti-Asian rac-
THE PRE-CLASSICAL BACKGROUND. China circa 550 BCE
ism, she portrayed Buddha and Jesus as almost identical fig-
consisted only of what is now North China; even the states
ures. Both, she explained, identified with the poor and
of the Yangtze River valley did not speak the language of
outcast and sought to open “the road to holiness” to every-
what was recognized as the civilized heartland to the north.
one. No longer did Child claim that only Christianity teach-
This known “world” had been in anarchy for more than two
es universal sympathy.
centuries, since the overthrow of the last Western Zhou king
Child’s last book was Aspirations of the World: A Chain
(in present-day Xi‘an) in 771 BCE. By about the sixth century
of Opals. Its goal, she explained, was to illuminate the soul’s
BCE there was a nominal quasi-feudal hierarchy under a pow-
universal aspirations and intuitions. Most of the book con-
erless successor Zhou “king” in Luoyang, but in fact, the po-
sists of selections from the world’s sacred scriptures, grouped
litical landscape was dotted with a patchwork of small quar-
into subject headings such as “Ideas of the Supreme Being,”
reling states under local lordlings who themselves often had
“Moral Courage,” and “Fraternity of Religions,” and ar-
no real power. China was still emerging from the Bronze Age
ranged in chronological order under each heading. Child in-
(iron casting had begun circa 700 to 600), but its civilization
cluded only the passages that she found most wise, beautiful,
was old, stretching back in time beyond memory or reliable
and intellectually and imaginatively satisfying. This “Eclectic
record. The Zhou dynasty had begun about five hundred
Bible,” she suggested, offered guidance and inspiration from
years earlier with a conquest by a western Chinese state. Ar-
the best aspects of all the world’s religions. In this work, as
chaeology has now validated the tradition of a Shang dynasty
in all her religious and political writings, Child sought to
before that, centered in Henan, which may have lasted an-
eradicate divisions within the human race and help readers
other five hundred years. The tradition of a still earlier Xia
see everyone as equal parts of one humanity.
dynasty, again of almost five hundred years, continues to be
debated; it was supposed to have started with three marvel-
B
ously wise rulers, Yao, who chose his own successor, Shun,
IBLIOGRAPHY
Child, Lydia Maria. An Appeal in Favor of That Class of Americans
who in turn selected Yu, the first ruler of the Xia.
Called Africans (1833). Edited by Carolyn Karcher. Amherst,
Speculative philosophy was soon to fill the third millen-
Mass., 1996.
nium BCE with still more (timeless) civilization-creating em-
Child, Lydia Maria. The Progress of Religious Ideas: Through Succes-
perors. The Chinese venerated their past, cherished what
sive Ages. 3 vols. New York, 1855.
they had, and invented what they needed. In the sixth centu-
Child, Lydia Maria. Aspirations of the World: A Chain of Opals.
ry BCE there existed a modest ancient literature, in large part
Boston, 1878.
anonymous: the earliest philosophers often quote the “Odes”
Child, Lydia Maria. Hobomok and Other Writings on Indians. Ed-
(Shi) or the “Documents” (Shu) to make a moral point; some
ited by Carolyn Karcher. New Brunswick, N.J., 1986.
of these still exist. The earliest known writing, discovered on
Karcher, Carolyn. The First Woman in the Republic: A Cultural Bi-
pieces of shell and bone used by Shang royal diviners, dates
ography of Lydia Maria Child. Durham, N.C., 1994.
from about 1200 BCE, and a few traditional texts surviving
even now may date to the eleventh century
Karcher, Carolyn, ed. A Lydia Maria Child Reader. Durham,
BCE. There was
N.C., 1997.
a wealth of learning for learned men to know. Such persons
were among the well born, if not so well born that all their
LORI KENSCHAFT (2005)
time was taken in ruling or fighting. Most people, then as
now, were farmers, and it is said that only the aristocrats kept
family records and sacrificed to ancestors.
CHINESE PHILOSOPHY. The major develop-
In the Shang, sacrifices to royal ancestors were often of
ments in Chinese philosophy during the past three thousand
human beings, and in the Zhou it still was common to bury
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHINESE PHILOSOPHY
1571
a lord with attendant sacrifices and to sacrifice war captives
self-cultivationist: a good life, he held, is one of constant self-
at one’s local altar to the soil. The earliest philosophers de-
improvement. And it is deontological: the world would be
nounced these practices. A high god, called Tian (Heaven),
better if we were good and always did what is right but that
or (earlier) Shangdi, was worshiped by the king who in theo-
is not what determines what is good and right. Confucius
ry held from Tian his “mandate” (ming) to rule as long as
had devoted disciples, but how to teach virtue was a problem
he maintained the “virtue” (de) of the founder of the dynastic
for him. He admitted that he taught only eager students and
line. Increasing population and the growth of urban centers,
evinced exasperation when a student grasped his teaching but
combined with constant war, eliminated smaller domains,
remained unmoved.
producing a class of unattached petty “gentlemen” (shi) who
in an earlier age would have been knights or minor hereditary
Mozi. In sharp contrast to Confucius, Mozi (who may
court officers and who had or aspired to some education.
have been originally a wheelwright) is utterly “practical.” The
The first philosophers and their disciples are from this group.
earliest strata of the Mozi text show him unconcerned with
Dissatisfied with present conditions, they looked back to an
the cultivation of character. He wrote, for example, that offi-
imagined better past in which they would have had secure
cials will be loyal if they are well paid; music—prized by the
roles, and were critical of the higher aristocrats whose power
Confucians for its harmonizing effect on the emotions and
came from their connections rather than from real ability or
the self—he dismissed as a useless expense. An idea or policy
character.
is approvable, according to Mozi, if it promotes one of three
T
basic social goods: order, wealth, and population growth. He
HE AGE OF CLASSIC PHILOSOPHY: THE FIRST PHASE. The
first philosophers were moralists, motivated by perceived po-
devotes a whole chapter to ghosts and spirits and another to
litical and social ills. For them the basic ill was disorder,
“the will of Heaven.” These entities must be obeyed and sac-
brought about by the greed of local lords or heads of power-
rificed to lest they punish or withhold gifts such as long
ful families and by their attempts to seek status to which they
life—contrast Confucius, who is willing to “die in the eve-
had no right. These philosophers were not revolutionary;
ning” if he can “hear the Way” in the morning—but there
they accepted the existing authorities, and if they looked for
is no tone of awe in what we read. The fundamental good
remedies they sought positions for themselves or their stu-
is order, its antithesis is offensive war (defensive war is ap-
dents as advisers and ministers. We can distinguish three po-
proved; the Moists became experts in its techniques). But
sitions. (1) Confucius (Kong Qiu; traditional dates 551?–
each human naturally pursues his or her own interest and
479
takes as “right” (yi) that which serves it, fighting with his or
BCE) would have real political power in the hands of men
of cultivated moral character and sought to train his students
her neighbors. It is the function of the state, by meting out
(and himself) in traditional morals and etiquette to make
rewards and praise or punishments and censure, to impose
them employable in court positions. (2) Mozi (c. 450–c. 380
one standard of right, which is to be the “will of Heaven.”
And Heaven’s will is that people “love one another impartial-
BCE), in training his students for office, worked out a specific
political program with a supporting philosophical argument
ly” (jian ai). If you love your neighbor’s family, city, and
that ignores the problem of moral character; for him, an offi-
state as you love your own, then all fighting will cease.
cial was “worthy” of his job if he discharged his duties effec-
Shown the cool advantages of adopting this attitude toward
tively. (3) Yang Zhu (fl. c. 400–350 BCE) concluded that the
others, it is inconceivable that an intelligent human will not
times could not be remedied. For him, the only reasonable
do so; and rulers know well how to get their subjects to com-
course was withdrawal and the choice of an optimally satis-
ply with their wishes and favor their ends. Condemning fa-
factory style of personal life.
talism—a doctrine that, he says, deceives men into thinking
human effort is useless—Mozi implies that one can adopt an
Confucius. Confucius (the Latinized form of Kong
attitude at will. But his stark logic has at least one flaw: al-
Fuzi, or Master Kong) stressed the importance of developing
though he demanded absolute obedience and dedication
traditional virtues, such as filial piety (xiao), courage, hones-
from his followers, nothing in Mozi’s system shows them
ty, loyalty, kindliness (ren), and familiarity with the rules of
why they should make this sacrifice. Nonetheless, there are
traditional polite behavior and ceremonial (li). In politics he
accounts of followers giving up their lives for his cause. The
was a legitimist, supporting the Zhou king and the rightful
Moists were tightly organized and were a force in the world
authority of the duke of Lu (his native state), which had
of thought for two centuries, before eventually disappearing
slipped into the hands of three collateral ducal families, and
by the time of the Qin unification of 221 BCE.
deploring any behavior in powerful persons that implied an
improper claim to status. The good society of the past was
Yang Zhu. Although none of Yang Zhu’s writings has
to be restored by making traditional standards and values real
survived, his views can be gleaned from other books. He was
again. This was Confucius’s concept of “rectifying names”
among the many in this period who concluded that nothing
(zheng ming), that is, making the referents of such terms as
could be done to right the world and that no interest of one’s
father and ruler really correspond to their meaning. Accord-
own was served by seeking to advance oneself in it. The best
ingly, traditional religious rituals had great value for him and
course, therefore, was to keep out of harm’s way and “nour-
he held tian (Heaven) in genuine awe; but he usually turned
ish one’s life,” avoiding office. Although some who shared
aside substantive religious queries. His moral philosophy is
these views with Yang Zhu were hedonists, Yang himself
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CHINESE PHILOSOPHY
probably was not; he believed that a measured asceticism
and yang and the “five powers” (wu de or wu xing). Perhaps
might well be the wisest way to conserve life and optimize
for the first time, an old manual of divination was caught up
satisfactions. In one account of this type of thought the great-
in philosophy, with a (now lost) commentary based on yin-
est satisfaction to be enjoyed is yi. It is probably “honor,”
yang wu xing theory. This same manual later acquired a
rather than “righteousness,” that is meant here, and to the
moral commentary attributed to Confucius and, as the Yi
extent that others’ yi meant social dutifulness, it would have
jing, became the ranking book in the Confucian classics. In
to be deemed by the follower of Yang as incompatible with
this combination of divination and metaphysics we see a pe-
life or nature. But such persons who withdraw from society
rennial Chinese concept of “resonant causality,” one thing
can be seen as engaging in a kind of self-cultivation; their
in the universe causing something else “like” it—a celestial
stance is not far from that of the Confucian-minded person
object or an Yi jing hexagram—to be activated in response.
who judges that the Way (dao) does not prevail in his time
Mengzi. This is the setting of the career of Mengzi
and so withdraws into private life to cultivate a personal “pu-
(Mencius), the ancient philosopher with probably the great-
rity” uncorrupted by the world’s temptations. Yang appears
est influence on later Chinese philosophical thought. Mengzi
in the pages of the Zhuangzi, and there is reason to think that
belongs to the moral-psychological line of philosophical de-
Zhuangzi may have at first been a follower. It is plausibly ar-
scent from Confucius. The Mengzi opens with him, an old
gued that recluses of this kind were the first Daoists.
man, in conversation with the kings of Wei (known also as
THE AGE OF CLASSICAL PHILOSOPHY: THE HUNDRED
Liang) in the year 320, and Qi in the year 319, urging them
SCHOOLS. By 350 BCE no one took the feeble Zhou king seri-
to desist from warfare and to lighten the burdens on their
ously. Sometimes tentatively, in the wake of a military victo-
people. He boldly argues that a bad ruler may be justly de-
ry, and sometimes by mutual agreement, the stronger of the
posed or killed, but he is in no way egalitarian, arguing
local “dukes” declared themselves “kings” (wang), each thus
(against Xu Xing’s followers) that rulers and educated men
implying an intention to succeed the Zhou. By 320 there
deserve their privileged place in society because they “work
were at least eight such “kings.” One of the most ambitious
with their minds,” having the duty of caring for the mass of
was the ruler of Qi (modern Shandong Province). Of course,
humanity through a government of foreseeing benevolence.
such ambition could only be realized in the end by military
Mengzi is best known for his theory of the innate goodness
action. In the meantime, however, a “king” had to build his
of people: we are all born with psychological “sprouts” im-
prestige by a display of his royal “virtue” (de), and the ruler
planted in us by Heaven, that if encouraged to grow natural-
of Qi ostentatiously opened his ears to the advice of all the
ly develop into the virtuous dispositions (xin) of benevolence
wise men he could entice into his court. Hundreds of wan-
(ren), dutifulness (yi), sense of propriety (li), and moral
dering philosophers and their disciples were housed in a sub-
“knowledge” (zhi, sense of right and wrong). (Thus, Mengzi
urb of Jixia, the Qi capital. (An early philosophical encyclo-
solves the problem of the teachability of virtue.) Human evil
pedia, the Guanzi, may be a residue of their work.) Other
results from the stunting of our originally good “nature”
new “kings” and lesser lords, especially the king of Wei in
(xing) owing to harsh conditions. Thus, a good government
Daliang (Kaifeng), tried to keep pace. Philosophy thrived in
would restore humanity to goodness by improving the peo-
great variety. By the third century BCE the main body of
ple’s lot and educating them.
Moists had split into three sects, each with its own text of
Mengzi attacked both the Moists—their “universal
the doctrine. One specialized group developed the science of
love,” he argued, denies the special duties we have to par-
military defense and had its own texts. Others were experts
ents—and the Yangists, whose “egoism” denies our duties to
in the theory of argument; their canons and explanations are,
rulers. He nonetheless draws from both. A life of virtue he
in effect, treatises on logic and epistemology.
held, would be in accord with our nature and would be what
Other philosophers, perhaps following the lead of the
we would naturally most enjoy. As for the Moists, by Meng-
Moist logicians, made reputations for their ability to baffle
zi’s time they were coming to see that their doctrinaire pro-
audiences with clever arguments for impossible theses. The
gram of universal love required a concession to self-
most famous are Hui Shi (“The sun at noon is the sun set-
cultivation ethics. One must first develop a capacity for lov-
ting” and other paradoxes) and Gongsun Long (“A white
ing, which has a natural “root” in affection for parents; at
horse is not a horse”). Proto-Daoists such as Shen Dao ar-
the bidding of doctrine, one can then apply it impartially.
gued that a conceptual knowledge impedes real understand-
It is to this that Mengzi objects: the “root” of benevolence,
ing. The Confucians had their schools, which stressed ritual,
he says, is indeed innate, but it has a deep structure and can
filial piety, or moral psychology and derived from one or an-
be developed and “extended” in only one way, diminished
other prominent disciple of Confucius. A school of social
in due degree at removes from the self. Against Gaozi, he ar-
primitivists, led by one Xu Xing, held that market prices
gues that not only our affective nature but also our sense of
should be standardized to prevent cheating and that a good
duty and respect is “internal” (innate). We can encourage our
ruler must not be supported by his people but should work
virtues to grow because we enjoy them; they develop and
in the fields with them. Zou Yan amazed his lavish royal
thrive with practice without being forced.
hosts with grand speculations about the patterns of history
Zhuangzi. The Zhuangzi is now recognized to be com-
and the geography of the world, based on the theories of yin
posite, the later syncretic parts perhaps actually dating to
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CHINESE PHILOSOPHY
1573
early Han, and other parts, such as a primitivist stratum, dat-
an uncommitted attitude but to the truth, which is the Con-
ing to the end of the third century BCE. It is usually held that
fucian Way. As in Mengzi (6A.15), one can be “obsessed”
the first seven chapters are by a man named Zhuang Zhou,
(bi) if one does not reflect carefully; but unlike Mengzi,
about whom almost nothing is known. In any case, these
Xunzi held that such obsession is likely to be an unwise intel-
chapters seem to be the earliest. It is necessary to date them
lectual commitment rather than an unevaluated sense appe-
after Mengzi (the opening of chapter 4 contains an obvious
tite. Accordingly, Xunzi is authoritarian; he believed that one
parody of the opening of book 2 of Mengzi); they were prob-
must be protected from wrong ideas. This, he maintains, is
ably written in the early third century BCE (chapter 2 satirizes
the business of the state. The moral order itself (li yi, “rites
Gongsun Long without naming him; he was a client of a
and right,” for Xunzi) was created by the sage-kings, on
prince of Zhao active as late as c. 250 BCE). The Zhuangzi
whose teachings we therefore depend if we are to be moral.
uses a novel medium in philosophy. Whereas the Lunyu (An-
Xunzi directly opposes Mengzi not only in this but also
alects) and Mengzi are collections, over time, of conversa-
in his related view that “human nature is evil”: we are com-
tions and sayings, and the Mozi a series of reasoned treatises
posed, according to Xunzi, of an appetitive “nature” (xing)
(a mode shortly to be copied by Xunzi and Han Feizi), the
that if uncontrolled causes men to quarrel for satisfactions
Zhuangzi makes its points through the use of fiction, some-
(as in Mozi), as well as a capacity for intelligent action (wei),
times fantastic and often quite funny. Confucius himself is
which enabled the wisest (the sage-kings) to see that rules
often stolen as a fictional character. It is reasonably argued
must be ordained if a tolerable social life is to be possible for
(by A. C. Graham) that Zhuang Zhou began as a follower
humankind. Mengzi has the problem of explaining convinc-
of Yang Zhu’s school of egoist withdrawal but then had a
ingly how evil is possible given the goodness of human na-
traumatic “conversion experience.” This seems to have
ture; Xunzi has the converse problem of explaining how mo-
shown him that literal withdrawal from the world is merely
rality is possible at all. The sages’ li yi are justified by their
another posture of involvement; genuine withdrawal must
utility, but to be moral we, and they, have to accept them
have the form of detachment while one plays the game of life,
as right. Mozi solves this problem (perhaps he did not recog-
“walking without touching the ground.” In this spirit one
nize it) by requiring that the state-imposed yi shall be what
may even accept political, social, and familial commitments.
Heaven wills; Xunzi’s Heaven, however, is merely the sky
Zhuangzi carries this attitude to the deepest philosophi-
above and the order of Nature, and only the uneducated be-
cal level. According to him, we must use language, but we
lieve it has divine power. What Xunzi says is that humans
must not suppose that our words really fit, for there is noth-
differ from animals in having yi not, it seems, in the Mencian
ing absolutely right about them. This is true of all of our eval-
sense of an innate disposition to particular duties, but in an
uative concepts that we articulate in words; the moral con-
innate capacity to be socialized. The wise person will calcu-
cepts of the Confucians are prejudices, time determined.
late, at a metamoral level, that only a life according to the
This applies even to such distinctions as dreams versus reality
Confucian Way can give optimum satisfaction; seeing this,
or life versus death (which may be better than life, for all we
the individual will necessarily choose it, and will choose to
know). The favorite word of the moral philosophers, dao, or
be educated so as to become the sort of person who can live
“way,” becomes for Zhuangzi the Way of all nature, of which
it. At the same time, one sees that it really is right that there
the wise man sees himself a part in both life and death. He
should be such standards: given the order of all nature, they
accepts both joyfully, using his mind as a mirror to reflect
are the only solution to the human predicament. Thus the
“rites” can be seen as the continuation in the human realm
reality just as it is, without any distorting preconceptions or
of the natural order of the heavens, and Xunzi writes fervent
preferences and “without injury to himself.” The book has
passages to this effect, religious in tone if not in content. In
been perennially popular; the most important philosophical
this way the problem implicit in (and ignored by) Mozi—
commentary (by Guo Xiang or Xiang Xiu) dates to circa 300
how we can make a calculated choice of our own attitudes—
CE. Zhuangzi’s epistemological-metaphysical outlook antici-
is avoided without recourse to Mengzi’s solution to the para-
pates that of the Ma¯dhyamika Buddhist philosophy, which
dox of virtue (that virtue cannot be taught unless one is virtu-
was transmitted to China in the early fifth century CE. Later
ous already, as Mencian man is).
still, Chan Buddhism inherited his provocative blend of
humor and paradox.
Xunzi can be called the first Chinese academic philoso-
pher—reviewing his predecessors, criticizing, picking and
Xunzi. The active life of Xunzi extends from the early
choosing, solving problems. He was much appreciated in the
third century BCE to 238, when he was forced to retire from
ensuing Han era, but by the time Han Yu read him and
a magistracy in Chu. A native of Zhao, he twice spent time
wrote about him in the ninth century, Xunzi had almost be-
in the philosophical center of Jixia in Qi, where he was recog-
come a curiosity. Still, the more authoritarian of the Neo-
nized as a successor to and rival of Mengzi. Explicitly Confu-
Confucians in following centuries are often closer to him
cian, Xunzi was actually eclectic. One probably early essay
than they realized.
(“Dispelling Obsessions”) describes the mind as a mirror, but
unlike Zhuangzi, Xunzi believed that the mind not only re-
Han Feizi. Two of Xunzi’s students were Li Si, later
flects but also stores and, if properly used, leads one not to
prime minister to the First Emperor of Qin, and Han Fei,
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CHINESE PHILOSOPHY
a prince of the Han state and last of the major preimperial
Dao, the second, with one on de, hence the title; however,
philosophers. The last two Zhou kings had been deposed by
archaeology has now yielded Han texts that reverse the order.
Qin in 256 and 249 BCE, and after three more decades the
In the Dao de jing we find again Zhuangzi’s conceptual
last of the resisting states were absorbed. The political philos-
relativism: the Dao itself is nameless; contrasting concepts
ophy that guided the new order was what Chinese bibliogra-
generate each other. Many of the sections recommend inac-
phers call Legalism (Fa jia), the doctrine that the function
tion, nonstriving, not reaching for too much (lest from suc-
of the state is to maximize its strength in agricultural produc-
cess one fall back to nothing: “reversion is the order of the
tion and in military power by eliminating useless classes (in-
Dao”), and adopting a “female,” seemingly nonresisting,
cluding philosophers) and regimenting the population with
posture in life and in state policy. The desirable society is one
a rigidly enforced code of law, using rewards for desired be-
in which the people are kept ignorant and simple. Often the
havior and severe punishments (mutilation or worse) for vio-
book deals explicitly with the way a ruler should govern his
lations. This would benefit the people and give them order:
state, suggesting that the way to effective power is inaction.
standing in fear of the state they would behave so that its ter-
A theme echoing Shen Dao condemns cleverness and
rors need never be used. The power of the ruler was to be
“knowledge”: “He who speaks does not know; he who knows
exalted, but at the same time the ruler was advised to avoid
does not speak.” The first virtue is simplicity, like that of a
action, keeping his officials in doubt about his intentions lest
newborn baby or of an “uncarved block” of wood. “The
they combine against him. Thus a curious, quasi-Daoist phi-
highest virtue (de) does not ‘virtue’ [de—i.e., display itself as
losophy of inaction, what H. G. Creel, in his What Is Taoism?
virtue]; therefore it has virtue” (cf. Zhuangzi, chap. 5). The
(Chicago, 1970), calls “purposive Taoism,” was the basis of
book teems with such simply stated teasing paradoxes.
a philosophy of power.
THE FIRST IMPERIAL ERA. The late Zhou era of contending
Han Feizi and Li Si were both Legalists. The one recom-
states was terminated by the Qin conquest, complete by 221
mended philosophically, and the other eventually carried
BCE; Qin disintegrated after the death of its first emperor.
out, the infamous “burning of the books” of proscribed
The succeeding Han dynasty, from 206 BCE to 220 CE (inter-
philosophical schools, including especially Confucian texts,
rupted by Wang Mang, 9–22) but ineffective after about
in 213 BCE. Legalism strongly influenced the development
190, was followed by a division into Three Kingdoms (221–
of Chinese law, but as a philosophy it was usually con-
279). An unstable reunification was ended in 317, when de-
demned by the Confucians, who became dominant a century
feats by non-Chinese northern “barbarians” drove the Jin
later. Han Feizi continued to be read and was esteemed high-
court south to the Yangtze River valley, then still a border
ly for his literary style.
area with only a tenth of China’s people. At the beginning
Laozi. The Daoist bent in Han Feizi is genuine. The
of the Han dynasty, Legalist political ideas were defended,
book that collects his writings includes a Legalist commen-
sometimes vigorously, by some court officials into the first
tary to selections from a short text that stands first among
century BCE. Daoism as a personal and political philosophy
the Daoist classics: the Dao de jing. It is ascribed to a certain
continued in favor and is represented by the Huainanzi (c.
Laozi, alias Li Er or Li Dan, supposed to have been an elder
130 BCE), an encyclopedic book assembled under the support
of Liu An, one of the Han princes. A syncretic Daoism,
contemporary of Confucius and an archivist in the royal
drawing from all of late Zhou thought, is represented by
Zhou court. In fact, a myth was invented sometime in the
chapter 33 of the Zhuangzi (second century
third century
BCE). Prominent
BCE that Confucius had made a trip to Luoyang
early Han Confucians include Jia Yi (200–168
to consult him. Although these things are still believed by
BCE) and, es-
pecially, Dong Zhongshu (179–104
some scholars, many now take the book to be a third-century
BCE). With the latter,
Confucianism gained imperial favor under the emperor
work, probably later than the earlier parts of the Zhuangzi.
Wudi. A system of recruiting scholars for official service was
The most radical view, that of D. C. Lau (Tao-te Ching,
decreed, and court scholars on the Confucian classics were
Hong Kong, 1982), sees it as a collage of short fragments of
established.
Daoist “hymns” and other lore that got assembled in an edi-
torial tradition into the present booklet of brief, sometimes
The New Text school. The Qin burning of the books
rhymed sections. According to this view, Laozi is a complete
left Confucians with the task of recovering their revered
fiction, yet he has become the patron saint of Daoism, even
texts. This produced a rich scholarship of commentary
a god. The Dao de jing has become incredibly popular in the
(much of it now gone) on various textual traditions of this
West—there are more translations of it than of almost any
or that classic. It also, more significantly, led to a lasting divi-
other book in the world—but no two interpretations are
sion between the so-called New Text schools, which used
alike. Although Han Feizi saw Legalism in it, Arthur Waley
texts existing only in the “new” reformed Qin-Han script,
(The Way and Its Power, London, 1935) sees it as the work
and the Old Text traditions, which were based on manu-
of a late Warring States “quietist” who was opposed to Legal-
scripts in antique script that (allegedly) had survived the Qin
ism. The dominant view is that it is filled with the profound-
suppression. The two sides had opposed philosophical orien-
est wisdom concerning life and being. It is conventionally or-
tations, as well as their own favored texts. The New Text par-
dered in two parts, the first opening with a meditation on
tisans favored the Gongyang Commentary on the Chun qiu
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CHINESE PHILOSOPHY
1575
(Spring and autumn annals of Lu, ascribed to Confucius).
and texts, and explicitly approves the naturalism of philo-
They held that Confucius had been a “throneless king,”
sophical Daoism.
founder of a theoretical “dynasty” intervening between Zhou
Daoism. Daoism in this age and later was of two sorts.
and Han. In his Chun qiu, New Text thinkers claimed, Con-
One, which became a religion, shared with New Text Con-
fucius had actually used “subtle” language to lay down the
fucianism the correspondence metaphysics of yin-yang and
moral and ritual rules of an ideal world order and had pre-
wu xing but was aimed at individual survival. For the person
dicted the rise of Han. This theory was fitted into a specula-
who could afford it, this Daoism meant adopting a regimen
tive philosophy of history in Dong’s Chun qiu fanlu, further
of life, breathing exercises, diet, and alchemy designed to
developed by the later Han writer He Xiu (129–182), ac-
make one’s physical body immortal. For others, there was the
cording to whom history goes through three great stages, cul-
possibility of getting one’s life prolonged as a reward for good
minating in an era of “great peace” (tai ping). A similar idea
deeds—an idea found in early Zhou bronze inscriptions, in
occurs in the classic called the Li ji, composed of short prose
the Shang shu, and in Mozi but not in the work of other
pieces probably by Han court ritualists; as a millenarian con-
Zhou philosophers—or of getting reborn as an immortal
cept, it has repeatedly surfaced in philosophy, religion, and
after death. In time, this cult developed a system of gods, rit-
popular rebel ideology during the past two thousand years.
uals, heavens, and hells.
The New Text persuasion saw Heaven as a personal
A second, quite different type of Daoist thought contin-
deity. Any unusual celestial phenomenon—such as a comet
ues or revives the Daoism as personal philosophy found in
or unpredicted eclipse—was Heaven’s sign of displeasure
early Han texts and in the Zhuangzi. The naturalistic skepti-
with the behavior of the ruler. Heaven and human affairs
cism of Wang Chong moves in this direction, but whereas
were intimately linked by way of yin-yang and Five Elements
Wang’s thought was a fatalism of despair, the revived interest
(wu xing) metaphysics, which grouped all aspects of the
in Zhuangzi and Laozi of the end of Han and following cen-
world in groups of fives (into which fours were forced); thus,
turies was a naturalism of detachment. Wang Bi (226–249)
water, black, winter, north, anger, and storing are in the
is the author of the standard commentary to Laozi and of a
same interacting category. The middle and late Han “apocry-
commentary to the Yi jing (Zhou yi yueli). An important
pha” (wei shu), representing Confucius as quasidivine, are
philosophical commentary to the Zhuangzi is attributed to
also the result of this type of thought, which was markedly
both Xiang Xiu (late third century) and Guo Xiang (d. 312).
numerological; for example, the Shiqu and Bohu imperial
These and others who applied themselves to “the study of
conferences on the classics, 51 BCE and 79 CE, were convoked
the Mysterious” (xuan xue) actually continued to take Con-
on the five hundredth anniversary of Confucius’s supposed
fucius as the greatest sage, but he became for them a Daoist
birthdate (and probably the one thousandth anniversary of
in fact (in the Zhuangzi he had been a Daoist in humorous
the supposed date of the beginning of the Zhou) and on the
fiction). He surpassed even Laozi in his attainment of “noth-
eight hundredth anniversary of the first year of the Chun qiu
ing” (wu), that is, “nonattachment” and “desirelessness,”
chronicle, respectively. Divination was in great vogue; this
since he had passed beyond the desire even for these things.
was the age when the Yi jing became the foremost classic. In
The interest in semantics and metaphysical paradoxes
moral philosophy and moral psychology, Dong Zhongshu
of the early third century
and his persuasion were more or less in accord with Mengzi,
BCE was also revived; most of the
extant text attributed to Gongsun Long was fabricated at this
holding that we are at least potentially “good” by nature.
time. These interests were expressed in a fashion of precious
The Old Text school. The Old Text faction in scholar-
philosophical conversation that came to be called “pure talk”
ship includes Liu Xin, court librarian in the Wang Mang era,
(qing tan). Other important additions to philosophical litera-
who was later charged with forging some of these texts (nota-
ture, probably from the third century CE, are the Liezi, an-
bly the Zuo zhuan commentary to the Chun qiu). A type of
other Daoist classic similar to Zhuangzi and pretending to
philosophy contrasting with the Dong and He Xiu sort is
be a Zhou work, and the forged Old Text chapters of the
usually typed Old Text. Naturalistic and skeptical, its major
Shang shu. The Liezi, like the Xiang-Guo commentary,
writers were Yang Xiong, who held that human nature is a
praises an ethic of following one’s nature, which, when prac-
mixture of good and bad, and, especially, Wang Chong
ticed among the aristocracy, led from aestheticism to eccen-
(27–c. 100), who thought that Mengzi, Xunzi, and Yang
tric hedonism. Ge Hong (c. 250–330) criticized this ethic—
were each right about the natures of some people. Like
from a Confucian point of view—as well as the Daoist philo-
Xunzi, these thinkers take Heaven to be a natural entity, not
sophical anarchism of his contemporary Bao Jingyan. Ge,
a being with intentions intervening in human affairs. Wang’s
however, was eclectic, and his own book Baopuzi is, among
Lun heng admits that portents foretell important historical
other things, an important work on alchemy as a method of
changes but holds that they are the spontaneous effect of qi
attaining immortality.
(matter-energy); Heaven’s Way is “nonactivity.” Wang holds
THE DEVELOPMENT OF BUDDHISM IN CHINA. There is evi-
a bleak fatalism: to him, nothing we do can alter what will
dence of a Buddhist presence in China from as early as the
happen in our individual lives or in history (here he is unlike
late Western Han dynasty. In the Eastern Han period there
Xunzi). He does not hesitate to criticize Confucian doctrines
were centers of Buddhism in a few cities, including Luoyang,
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1576
CHINESE PHILOSOPHY
where a Parthian, An Shigao, arrived circa 148 and began
concept of three levels of truth at successively more complete
translating texts in meditation in the H¯ınaya¯na tradition of
stages of negation. The Niepan, or Nirva¯n:a, school, based
escape from psychic causation (karman). More popular
on the Maha¯parinirva¯n:a Su¯tra, developed out of the interests
among philosophically minded Chinese Buddhists and their
of Daosheng, until it was absorbed later into Tiantai. The
Daoist friends were “wisdom” (prajña¯) treatises, and later
so-called Dilun school was based on the Shidi jinglun, a
texts, in the Ma¯dhyamika tradition of Na¯ga¯rjuna (second
translation, popular in the North, of a treatise by Vasuband-
century CE), which teach that the elements of phenomenal
hu on a su¯tra describing the ten stages of a bodhisattva. The
existence and our concepts of them are conditioned, relative,
Dilun school merged in the Tang with Huayan. The Shelun
and impermanent and thus “empty” (´su¯nya). Realization of
school was based on Asan˙ga’s Maha¯ya¯nasam:graha through
this concept leads to a saving mental detachment; thus this
Parama¯rtha’s translation in 563, and was later superseded by
kind of thought converged with philosophical Daoism. Early
the Faxiang, or “mere ideation,” school. Another well-known
Chinese philosophical Buddhists of this kind include Zhi
philosophical text in this tradition, widely read even by non-
Dun (314–366) in the South and Sengzhao (384?–414) in
Buddhists, is the Dasheng qixin lun (Treatise on awakening
the North.
of faith in the Maha¯ya¯na), which was important both for
Six Dynasties period. Sengzhao was a disciple of
Faxiang and Huayan adherents.
Kuma¯raj¯ıva (344–413), a Central Asian who was brought to
During the long period of North-South division (317–
Xi’an in 401 and is famous as a translator, especially of
588), Buddhism became the dominant religion in China,
Ma¯dhyamika texts. Another important northerner was
but it developed differently in the two areas. In the North,
Dao’an (312–385), who was learned in all aspects of Bud-
Buddhist institutions were wholly under the control of the
dhism and philosophical Daoism and the author of an early
state and were even used as a means of control of the popu-
catalog of translations. Among Dao’an’s many disciples was
lace. In the South, temples were lavishly patronized by em-
Huiyuan (334–416) in the South, a believer in Amita¯bha
perors (especially Wudi), but monks maintained much inde-
and his Pure Land (jingtu) paradise and the author of a trea-
pendence, and there was a more active climate of debate
tise on immortality.
between Confucians and Daoists; of special interest is the de-
By the sixth century, cults of salvation by faith came to
bate over the immortality of the soul. A Confucian, one Fan
assume a “three ages” theory of history, in which the present
Zhen, wrote Shenmie lun (On the mortality of the soul, c.
epoch was regarded as a final, degenerate age in which men
500), an essay attacking the Buddhist view (for example, that
can no longer save themselves by adhering to the pristine
of Huiyuan) and arguing that the soul is to the body as func-
Buddhist message as taught by S´a¯kyamuni Buddha. This
tion (yong) is to essence/structure (ti) or as sharpness is to a
idea combined with the Ma¯dhyamika concept of multiple
knife. (Buddhists continued to deny the permanence of the
truth (see, for example, Jizang, 549–623), which holds that
phenomenal self, regarding it as mere appearance or “func-
the mind must move through stages of ordinary thought be-
tion” [yong], as distinct from the real self which is “essence”
fore it can grasp emptiness, greatly increasing the speculative
[ti], or Buddha nature; popular faith, however, ignored the
range of Buddhist philosophy. Huiyuan’s most famous disci-
distinction. Here, Fan provocatively alters the categories ti
ple was Daosheng (c. 360–434), another southerner, whose
and yong.) Many vigorous replies to Fan are preserved. In the
theories anticipate important ideas in the Tiantai and Chan
South, critics of the new religion warred with words; in the
schools of the Tang era and prefigure central issues in Neo-
North, however, there were episodes of state repression, in-
Confucianism. Drawing on the Maha¯parinirva¯n:a Su¯tra,
stigated by Confucian and religious Daoist advisers to the
Daosheng argued that all beings have the “Buddha nature,”
emperor, in 446 and between 574 and 577. The most severe
which he identified with “emptiness” (´su¯nyata¯) and with the
of these came later, in 845, under a Daoist Tang emperor.
“true self” (zhen wo). Enlightenment has to be “sudden” (but
Sui-Tang period. It was under the reunified empire of
after gradual training), since ultimate wisdom cannot be ana-
the Sui (589–618) and Tang (618–907) that Buddhism
lyzed. Another major translator was Parama¯rtha (499–569,
reached its greatest strength. The Sui emperors used Bud-
arriving at the southern court of Liang in 548), who rendered
dhism as an official ideology to support the throne, while the
important Yoga¯ca¯ra (idealistic) texts of fully developed
Tang emperors claimed descent from Laozi and favors to
Maha¯ya¯na Buddhism.
Buddhism were made more cautiously. But it is in the philo-
Since Buddhist thought in China of this period flows
sophical schools that flourished in the Tang that fully devel-
in large part from the introduction and translation of texts,
oped Chinese Buddhism is seen best. The Sanjie jiao, a sect
texts themselves rather than great teachers are often the focus
based on the concept of the three ages, started in the Sui by
of schools. These schools did not endure as distinct ideologi-
Xinxing (540–594), was suppressed in 713. One of the most
cal traditions but represented a major intellectual develop-
important schools of doctrine was Tiantai, systematized by
ment toward the sort of “systematic theology” found in the
the monk Zhiyi (538–597). Tiantai synthesizes the great va-
great schools of the Tang era. Ma¯dhyamika thought is the
riety of Buddhist su¯tras and doctrines by holding there are
focus of the San-lun (Three Treatises) school, based on three
different levels of truth and that the Buddha went through
treatises translated by Kuma¯raj¯ıva, and noteworthy for its
different stages of teaching offering different means to salva-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHINESE PHILOSOPHY
1577
tion. For followers of Tiantai, the Lotus Sutra
school recognized a series of “patriarchs,” the sixth, accord-
(Saddharmapun:d:ar¯ıka Su¯tra) is said to represent the final
ing to some northern texts, being Shenxiu (seventh century);
and most complete teaching of the Buddha. The school is
his status was challenged by a southern monk, Shenhui
often characterized as holding that the world is universal
(670–762), who claimed that the actual sixth patriarch was
mind, comprising both a universal, pure (Buddha) nature
a certain Huineng (638–713). The Platform Su¯tra attributed
(compare Daosheng) and an impure nature that produces or-
to Huineng is one of the most widely read and influential
dinary phenomena, attachment, and evil. Zhiyi himself,
texts in and beyond Buddhism. All of the major Neo-
however, was much more a Ma¯dhyamika than an idealist. He
Confucian masters from the Song dynasty onward were
emphasized that mind and object are both “ungraspable”
probably familiar with it, and many had experimented with
(i.e., empty), and that delusion is not ultimately different
Chan early in their careers. The Chan religious goal is en-
from enlightenment; perhaps the most famous metaphysical
lightenment rather than rebirth in a (“Pure Land”) paradise,
dictum of Tiantai is that “all phenomena are (ultimately)
and the Huineng episode marks a division between “north-
real” (zhu fa shi xiang). A later master, Zhanran (711–782)
ern” and “southern” Chan, the alternatives being final in-
held that even inanimate things have the Buddha nature.
sight reached gradually through meditation and a direct and
sudden insight into the real nature of the self and phenome-
Another master, Xuanzang (596–664), was the most fa-
na in the midst of ordinary activity. Two schools have been
mous of the Chinese who went to India, brought back texts,
prominent since 845, the Caodong and the Linji. (Of three
and recorded their travels (others were Faxian, who left in
others, the Yunmen was active in the Northern Song dynas-
399, and Yijing, who traveled in the seventh century). With
ty.) Linji makes use of physical shocks and baffling, often hu-
his translations, Xuanzang and his disciple Kuiji (632–682)
morous puzzles to break the mind loose from ordinary think-
started the Faxiang (“dharma-appearance”), or Weishi
ing; while iconoclastic, it actually owes much to
(“mere ideation”), school, based on the views of Asan˙ga and
Ma¯dhyamika and to the Daoism of Zhuangzi.
Vasubandhu that the external world is illusory. There has
been a recent revival of this idealist philosophy in China led
THE CONFUCIAN REVIVAL. Han Yü (768–824) strongly crit-
by Ouyang Jingwu (1871–1943) and the monk Taixu
icized Buddhism as socially parasitic, and in eloquent essays
(1889–1947.)
and letters regarded as models of style he represented himself
as reviving the pre-Buddhist Confucianism of Zhou times.
The important masters of another prominent Tang
Confucians of the Song dynasty (960–1279) regarded him
school, the Huayan (Avatam:saka), were Fashun, or Dushun
and Li Ao (d. 844) as their precursors. A revival of Confucian
(557–640), Zhiyan (602–668), Fazang (643–712), and
thought, as the primary philosophy of social and political
Chengguan (738?–820?). Huayan thinkers held all reality to
participation, was stimulated by the reconstitution of the im-
be a blend of a “world of principle (li)” and a “world of
perial state in Sui-Tang and the development of the modern
things (shi),” all phenomena being manifestations of one ulti-
civil service examination system, which from the Song on-
mate principle. Even more than the Tiantai scheme, this sug-
ward required a thorough knowledge of the Confucian clas-
gests the dominant metaphysics of the Neo-Confucianism of
sics. Other factors contributed: the growth of cities, the in-
the following dynasties. The usually dominant Cheng-Zhu
vention of printing, and especially the development of the
school of Neo-Confucianism, however, tended toward a
Confucian “academies” (shuyuan, perhaps on the model of
metaphysical dualism; monistic varieties of Neo-
Buddhist temple schools), which began to appear in the Five
Confucianism are, perhaps, closer to Huayan, which appeals
Dynasties period (906–959) and multiplied in Song and
to the fundamental “non-obstruction” of li and shi (lishi
later. Funded both by the state and by private donors, the
wuai). The last master of Huayan was Zongmi (780–841).
Confucian academies were the primary forums of philosoph-
Another tradition of dualistic monism that leaves its mark
ical discussion, and in the late Ming (1368–1644) they be-
on Buddhist art, if not on wider philosophy, is the Zhenyan
came partly political, with famous lecturers drawing huge au-
(Tantric) school, whose man:d:alas and sexual imagery repre-
diences from distant parts. In the Song the new
sented wisdom and compassion in a female-male (yin-yang?)
Confucianism took two forms: One was political, social, and
relation.
reformist; the other, speculative and metaphysical.
The most important schools, after the persecution of
Since the new Confucian thought identified itself as a
845, were the Pure Land (Jingtu) and Chan. The former,
revival of very ancient ideals, in its reformist aspect it was si-
preaching that one can be reborn in paradise by reciting the
multaneously both antiquarian and radical. Fan Zhongyan
name of Amita¯bha, had as its early master (after Huiyuan)
(989–1052) is known for his adaptation of the bodhisattva’s
the northern monk Tanluan (476–542); important Tang
vow—to be the first to suffer hardship and the last to be
masters were Daochuo (562–645) and Shandao (613–681).
“saved”—to social service. Ouyang Xiu (1007–1072), best
The Chan school represents itself as deriving from an Indian
known as a historian, criticized Buddhism as a foreign intru-
monk, Bodhidharma, said to have come to China about 520,
sion and a sickness in society that must be cured by the reviv-
who was a master of meditation (dhya¯na, hence the name
al, by the state, of ancient customs, communal spirit, and
Chan); the school also sees itself as preserving a “mental
“rites.” In this way “government and doctrine” would once
transmission” of true insight from the Buddha himself. The
again proceed from the same source: state and society would
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1578
CHINESE PHILOSOPHY
revitalize each other by recombining. This vision of a benev-
THE LATER EMPIRE. The most important Ming philosopher
olent and selfless, albeit totalitarian, utopia has bewitched
was Wang Yangming (1472–1529, personal name, Sh-
major Confucian philosophers—among them Zhu Xi, Wang
ouren). His most arresting ideas, simple but puzzling enough
Yangming, Zhang Xuecheng, and Kang Youwei—to the
to provoke a century and a half of controversy, are as follows.
present. Wang Anshi (1021–1086), when directing the gov-
(1) We all have, or share, a mental faculty of moral intuition
ernment, was the center of a storm of controversy over his
(liang zhi), and there are no “principles” (li) other than the
reform program. Zhu Xi (1130–1200) too had his reformist
renditions of this faculty, if we only learn to let it operate
side (neglected in later attention to his thought), arguing for
without “obscuration” (bi), which is the source of evil. Thus,
a complete revision of the examination and education
“mind” (xin) is “principle” (li), and ethics is situational. (2)
system.
Complete experience and fully engaged practice involve the
The other aspect of Song thought was its speculative
operation of this faculty. We do not first apprehend some-
metaphysics and moral psychology. The fertile eleventh cen-
thing and then (perhaps consulting a set of rules) decide how
tury has three who can be called cosmologists. Zhou Dunyi
to judge it; thus, there is a “unity of knowledge and practice”
(1017–1073) offered the Taiji tu (Diagram of the supreme
(zhi xing heyi). (3) A “four-sentence teaching” (based on the
ultimate), showing all things as evolved from a first principle
Da xue) explains that the mind in “essence” (ti) is uninvolved
that differentiates itself into the yin and yang, then into the
in good and evil and that these predicates apply only to its
“five elements,” and so on. Zhang Zai (1020–1077) saw all
activities of thought and judgment.
things as continually condensing out of and dissolving back
Was Wang really a Buddhist? No, but his liang zhi was
into a primordial qi and drew the moral conclusion that we
the “sun,” and “obscuration” was the “clouds” (the images
and all things are one family. Finally, Shao Yong (1011–
are Huineng’s). For Wang mind is Mind, universal, as in
1077) tried to explain the universe through Yi jing binary nu-
Tiantai. And it is in the context of ordinary activity that liang
merology. Moral psychology includes monists Cheng Hao
zhi reveals to itself a “principle” that eludes abstraction; but
(1032–1085) and Lu Jiuyuan (Xiangshan) and dualists
the context, and the revelation, are moral. Indeed, as Feng
Cheng Yi (Hao’s brother, 1033–1108) and Zhu Xi. The lat-
Youlan suggests, if the Chan Buddhist could have accepted
ter tried to synthesize the work of his precursors, and his sys-
family and social relationships as the ordinary activity that
tem became orthodox for the imperial civil service examina-
is the locus of his Dao, he would have become a Neo-
tions in the Yuan and later dynasties.
Confucian. But the problematic of Buddhism continues to
The preeminence of Zhu’s thought was confirmed by
be played out within Wang’s Confucianism. Moralists after
the imperial publication of the encyclopedia Xingli daquan
Wang were split, some calling for a moral cultivation of strict
in 1415. Zhu’s idea resembles Huayan metaphysics: there is
discipline and others holding that intuition must be allowed
a realm of “principle” (li) and a realm of “embodiment” (qi,
to function without forcing or intervention, “here and now”
literally, “vessel,” but in effect “matter,” as in the homopho-
(dangxia). Among the latter were Wang Ji (1498–1583), and
nous graph qi). In the human individual, our moral “nature”
also Wang Gen (1483–1540) and his followers of the
(xing) is our principle, identified with Dao, so that (with
Taizhou school, including He Xinyin (1517–1579) and Li
Mengzi) we are by “nature” good; evil and selfish tendencies
Zhi (1527–1602), both of whom were so boldly individualis-
in us are the consequence of “impure” qi, different in differ-
tic that they died in prison.
ent individuals, which must be purified by moral cultivation.
China concurrently was experiencing one last intellectu-
Long study, for example, of the classics, increases the sum
al revival of Buddhism, prominent teachers being Zhuhong
of principle in the mind until a moment of synthetic moral
(1535–1615) and Deqing (1546–1643). There was a marked
illumination is attained (here is the Cheng-Zhu adaptation
syncretist tendency everywhere, and experiments in combin-
of the Buddhist “gradual attainment—sudden enlighten-
ing the Three Teachings (Confucianism, Daoism, and Bud-
ment” problem). Later philosophers debated endlessly on the
dhism) were thought interesting. (It was perhaps for this rea-
relation between these entities and their relation to the mind,
son that Matteo Ricci, himself a friend of Li Zhi, was easily
which Lu and later Wang Yangming identified with princi-
accepted in Chinese intellectual circles.) Some, on the far
ple. Whatever their metaphysics, such thinkers were moral
“left” among post-Wang Confucians, whose dangxia ethics
self-cultivationists who saw the primary moral-religious
tended to be antinomian, were known as “mad Chanists.”
“task” (gongfu) as the “correcting of the mind,” following the
Li himself actually donned monk’s garb and played with Le-
Li ji chapter Da xue (Great learning). This became for them
galist ideas. The last decades of the Ming were scarred by fac-
the foremost of the classic texts. The usual program was to
tional strife, especially involving the Confucians of the
“watch oneself” and to scotch each “selfish thought” (si yi)
Donglin Academy group, many of whom lost their lives in
as it arose, recalling the Buddhist anxiety about thoughts of
their conflict with court eunuchs.
“attachment” being the source of (bad) karman. Noteworthy
after Zhu are his student Zhen Dexiu (1178–1235) and the
After the Manchu conquest and establishment of the
Yuan moralist Xu Heng (1209–1281). This “mind learning”
Qing dynasty in 1644, the freewheeling Ming style of philos-
was pursued in some form by all the leading moralists of the
ophy ceased. The academies were absorbed into the govern-
ensuing Ming dynasty.
ment school structure, and at first the outstanding thinkers
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHINESE PHILOSOPHY
1579
were men who avoided government service. Such were
figured as villain, forging half of them) that portrayed Con-
Huang Zongxi (1610–1695), noted historian of Song, Yuan,
fucius as a reformer, holding a historical, Western-style theo-
and Ming philosophy and advocate of limitations on imperi-
ry of progress. Confucianism was to be a religion, since the
al power; Gu Yanwu (1613–1682), a philologist who accept-
model of the West showed that a lively religious faith was
ed Zhu Xi’s views but favored “search for evidence” (“the
necessary for progress and national strength. This idea lin-
study of li is the study of the classics”); Wang Fuzhi (1619–
gered into the twentieth century, naturally enough among
1692), recluse and anti-Manchu philosopher of history; and
the Chinese, for whom the West for generations had been
Yan Yuan (1635–1704), a “pragmatist” who rejected Song-
represented by missionaries, and who failed to see that the
Ming metaphysics as impractical and meaningless. Gu set the
Western faith that sent the missionaries to China was already
intellectual tone for the next two centuries, which prized
waning.
philological scholarship (often patronized by the imperial
court or by wealthy officials who financed expensive projects
THE TWENTIETH CENTURY. The 1920s saw the first real im-
of compilation, drawing many scholars together) and tended
pact of American and European contemporary academic phi-
to disparage mere “empty words,” that is, speculative philos-
losophy, notably in the lively controversy on “science and
ophy. But the Qing emperors vigorously promoted Cheng-
philosophy of life” in 1923. A primary problem for twenti-
Zhu moral philosophy for its disciplinary value, and they
eth-century thinkers was how to reconcile their commit-
were assured by flatterers that at last, as in the golden age of
ments to historical Chinese values with Western intellectual
antiquity, “government” (zhi) and true “doctrine” (jiao) were
temptations. Thus, Hu Shi (1891–1962), a student of John
again one.
Dewey, hunted through Chinese philosophy for examples of
pragmatism and logical method. Thus also, Marxists of the
This echo of Ouyang Xiu stirred the imagination of a
Liberation period (c. 1949) wrote one another little essays
genuinely independent thinker of the next century, Zhang
on “how to study” (xuexi), and on how to reform “individual
Xuecheng (1738–1801), a local historian whose philosophy
nature” (ge xing) into “party nature” (dang xing), picking into
of history pictured antiquity as a concrete “unity of knowl-
ancient Confucian (and even Buddhist) self-cultivationist lit-
edge and practice” (“the Six Classics are all history”) or of
erature. Those who saw Communism as a new religion, and
Dao and qi. Zhang much admired the experiments in Men-
the hallmark of religion as the desire for self-change, should
cian ethics of his contemporary Dai Zhen (1724–1777), but
not have been surprised. Twentieth-century thought some-
he censured Dai for his impatience with Zhu Xi. Intellectual-
times continued the past and sometimes merely used it, but
ist and not at all self-cultivationist, the famous philological
it seldom ignored it. There have been the non-Marxists
scholar Dai held that principles and human desires are not
(Xiong Shili, Confucian-Buddhist; Feng Youlan and He Lin,
antithetical and that to become a sage one must feed the
Neo-Confucian; Hu Shi, pragmatist; Zhang Dongsun, Neo-
mind with knowledge, testing candidate principles by apply-
Kantian), the Marxists (Li Dazhao, Chen Boda, Liu Shaoqi,
ing the Confucian golden rule (shu) until what is only “natu-
Mao Zedong himself), both at once (perhaps, Liang Shum-
ral” (ziran) is seen to be “necessary” (biran). For Dai, the
ing), and both by turns (Feng again). Such deeply thoughtful
prime form of evil is to mistake one’s own mere “opinions”
men as Xu Fuguan and Mou Zongsan (students of Xiong)
(yijian) for true principles and to force them on others.
and the late Tang Junyi can genuinely be called contempo-
What had happened in the Qing dynasty turn in
rary religious philosophers within the Confucian mold.
thought was both a reaction against the speculative and in-
trospective temper of earlier Neo-Confucianism and, at the
SEE ALSO Afterlife, article on Chinese Concepts; Alchemy,
same time, a further development of its implications. Wang
article on Chinese Alchemy; Buddhism, article on Bud-
Yangming had insisted that principles cannot be grasped ab-
dhism in China; Buddhism, Schools of, article on Chinese
stractly apart from concrete moral experience; the Qing in-
Buddhism; Buddhist Books and Texts, article on Exegesis
tellectualist translation of this idea was that philosophical in-
and Hermeneutics; Cheng Hao; Cheng Yi Chinese Reli-
sight cannot be separated from historical and philological
gion, overview article; Confucianism, overview article; Con-
“solid learning.”
fucius; Dai Zhen; Dao and De; Daoism; Dong Zhongshu;
Ge Hong; Guo Xiang; Gu Yanwu; Han Fei Zi; Kang You-
Neither Zhang nor Dai received philosophical recogni-
wei; Laozi; Legalism; Li; Liu An; Mappo¯; Mengzi; Mozi;
tion until the twentieth century. Meanwhile, another intel-
Na¯ga¯rjuna; Qi; Shangdi; Taiji; Taiping; Tian; Wang Bi;
lectual movement was gathering force: Qing philology.
Wang Chong; Wang Fuzhi; Wang Yangming; Xian; Xiao;
Leading many to reject “Song studies” (Song xue) for “Han
Xunzi; Yao and Shun; Yinyang Wuxing; Yu; Zhang Xuec-
studies” (Han xue), Qing philology in time led to a reassess-
heng; Zhang Zai; Zhou Dunyi; Zhu Xi; Zhuangzi;
ment of the Han era New Text philosophy of history of
Zhuhong.
Dong Zhongshu and He Xiu. Their ideas were taken up by
Kang Youwei (1858–1927) and others among the group of
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Confucian intellectuals pushing radical political reforms at
Briere, O. Fifty Years of Chinese Philosophy, 1898–1950. Translat-
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Doolin. London, 1956.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1580
CHINESE RELIGION: AN OVERVIEW
Chan, Wing-tsit. An Outline and an Annotated Bibliography of
CHINESE RELIGION
Chinese Philosophy. New Haven, 1961.
This entry consists of the following articles:
Chan, Wing-tsit, trans. and comp. A Source Book in Chinese Phi-
AN OVERVIEW
losophy. Princeton, 1963. Includes an especially useful bibli-
POPULAR RELIGION
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MYTHIC THEMES
HISTORY OF STUDY
Ch’en, Kenneth. Buddhism in China: A Historical Survey. Prince-
ton, 1964. Includes an especially useful bibliography.
Cua, Antonio S., ed. Encyclopedia of Chinese Philosophy. New York
CHINESE RELIGION: AN OVERVIEW
and London, 2003. Valuable for the study of contemporary
This article provides an introduction to the rise and develop-
thinkers.
ment of various religious movements, themes, and motifs
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over time. Its emphasis is on historical continuities and on
New York, 1970.
the interaction of diverse currents of Chinese religious
de Bary, Wm. Theodore, ed. The Unfolding of Neo-Confucianism.
thought and practice from the prehistoric era to the present.
New York, 1975.
The study of Chinese religion presents both problems
de Bary, Wm. Theodore. Neo-Confucian Orthodoxy and the Learn-
and opportunities for the general theory of religion. It is
ing of the Mind-and-Heart. New York, 1981.
therefore instructive, before embarking on a historical sur-
de Bary, Wm. Theodore, Wing-tsit Chan, and Burton Watson,
vey, to outline a theoretical approach that will accommodate
comps. Sources of Chinese Tradition. New York, 1960.
the wide variety of beliefs and practices that have traditional-
de Bary, Wm. Theodore, and Irene Bloom, comp. Sources of Chi-
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One indicator of the problematic nature of the category
Forke, Alfred. Geschichte der alten Chinesischen Philosophie; Gesch-
“religion” in Chinese history is the absence of any premodern
ichte der Mittelalterlichen Chinesischen Philosophie; Geschichte
word that unambiguously denotes the category. The modern
der Neueren Chinesischen Philosophie. Hamburg, 1927, 1934,
Chinese word zongjiao was first employed to mean “religion”
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by late-nineteenth-century Japanese translators of European
Fung Yu-lan. A History of Chinese Philosophy. 2 vols. 2d ed. Trans-
texts. Zongjiao (or shu¯kyo¯ in Japanese) is a compound consist-
lated by Derk Bodde. Princeton, 1952–1953. Includes an es-
ing of zong (shu¯), which is derived from a pictogram of an
pecially useful bibliography.
ancestral altar and most commonly denotes a “sect,” and jiao
Furth, Charlotte, ed. The Limits of Change: Essays on Conservative
(kyo¯), meaning “teaching.” (The compound had originally
Alternatives in Republican China. Cambridge, Mass., 1976.
been a Chinese Buddhist term meaning simply the teachings
Graham, A. C. Two Chinese Philosophers: Ch Eêng Ming-tao and
of a particular sect.) Zongjiao/shu¯kyo¯ thus carries the conno-
Ch Eêng Yi-ch Euan. London, 1958.
tation of “ancestral” or sectarian teachings. The primary ref-
Graham, Angus C. Disputers of the Tao: Philosophical Argument in
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Ancient China, La Salle, Ill., 1989.
texts being translated was, of course, Christianity. And since
Hsiao Kung-chuan. A History of Chinese Political Thought, vol. 1,
Christianity does in fact demand exclusive allegiance and
From the Beginnings to the Sixth Century A.D. Translated by
does emphasize doctrinal orthodoxy (as in the various
F. W. Mote. Princeton, 1979.
creeds), zongjiao/shu¯kyo¯ is an apt translation for the concept
Loewe, Michael, and Edward L. Shaughnessy, editors. The Cam-
of religion that takes Christianity as its standard or model.
bridge History of Ancient China: From the Origins of Civiliza-
Part of the problem arising from this situation is that
tion to 221 B.C. Cambridge, U.K., 1999.
Chinese (and Japanese) religions in general do not place as
Metzger, Thomas A. Escape from Predicament: Neo-Confucianism
much emphasis as Christianity does on exclusivity and doc-
and China’s Evolving Political Culture. New York, 1977.
trine. And so Chinese, when asked to identify what counts
Needham, Joseph. Science and Civilisation in China, vol. 2, History
as zongjiao in their culture, are often reluctant to include
of Scientific Thought. Cambridge, U.K., 1956. Includes an es-
phenomena that westerners would be willing to count as reli-
pecially useful bibliography.
gion, because the word religion—while notoriously difficult
Nivison, David S., and Arthur F. Wright, eds. Confucianism in Ac-
to define—does not carry the same connotations as zongjiao.
tion. Stanford, Calif., 1959.
Before the adoption of zongjiao, jiao itself (“teaching”)
Nivison, David S., Bryan W. Van Norden, eds. The Ways of Con-
fucianism: Investigations in Chinese Philosophy. Chicago,
came closest in usage to the meaning of “religion.” Since at
1996.
least the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), the standard rubric for
discussing the religions of China was san jiao, or the “three
Schwartz, Benjamin I. The World of Thought in Ancient China.
Cambridge, Mass., 1985.
teachings,” referring to Confucianism, Daoism, and Bud-
dhism. Yet this is problematic too, as it excludes what today
Wright, Arthur F., ed. Studies in Chinese Thought. Chicago, 1953.
is usually called “popular religion” (or “folk religion”), which
Wright, Arthur F. Buddhism in Chinese History. Stanford, Calif.,
throughout Chinese history has probably accounted for
1959. Includes an especially useful bibliography.
more religious behavior than the “three teachings” com-
DAVID S. NIVISON (1987 AND 2005)
bined. This exclusion is more than a matter of usage: jiao
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CHINESE RELIGION: AN OVERVIEW
1581
does not apply well to popular religion because popular reli-
school or business—can be explained in terms of ultimate
gion is strongly oriented toward religious action or practice;
orientation. And Confucianism, the most problematic strand
it has very little doctrine and, apart from independent sects,
of Chinese religion, can clearly be seen as a “means of ulti-
no institutionally recognized canonical texts in which doc-
mate transformation” toward the religious goal of “sage-
trines would be presented.
hood” (sheng), a term whose religious connotations are sug-
gested, for example, by the use of the same word to translate
Confucianism also presents problems. Although consti-
the Jewish and Christian “Holy Scriptures” (shengjing).
tuting a standard chapter in modern Western surveys of Chi-
nese religion, Confucianism is very often described as some-
The geographic scope of Chinese religions extends from
thing other than a religion in the strict (yet poorly defined)
mainland China to Taiwan, Singapore, Southeast Asia, and
sense. There was a time in Western scholarship when Bud-
scattered Chinese communities throughout the world. Al-
dhism was occasionally described in similar fashion, al-
though religion in the People’s Republic of China on the
though outside the most conservative theological frameworks
mainland was harshly suppressed from the 1950s through
that is no longer the case. But the status of Confucianism,
the 1970s, and indeed almost disappeared during that peri-
even in academic circles focused on Chinese religion, is still
od, there has been considerable (although not untroubled)
disputed.
revitalization since the early 1980s. Our discussion of reli-
gion in Chinese history will focus on mainland China and,
The problematic nature of Confucianism vis-à-vis reli-
after the nineteenth century, Taiwan.
gion is the most compelling reason to suggest at the outset
a conceptual framework in which all the varieties of Chinese
Contemporary Chinese religion is the product of con-
religion can be understood. In effect this is a “definition” of
tinuous historical development from prehistoric times. In
religion, although it should not be considered an exclusive
that period the area of present-day China was inhabited by
definition. It is, instead, one way of conceptualizing religion
a large number of tribal groups. In around 5000 BCE several
that is well suited to its subject—that is, that makes particu-
of these tribes developed agriculture and began to live in
larly good sense of Chinese religion—and that sheds light not
small villages surrounded by their fields. Domesticated
only on the noncontroversial forms of Chinese religion but
plants and animals included millet, rice, dogs, pigs, goats,
also on those forms that might be excluded by some defini-
sheep, cattle, and silkworms. The physical characteristics of
tions. But it should be acknowledged that, since religion is
these early agriculturalists were similar to those of modern
a multidimensional set of complex human phenomena, no
Chinese. The archaeological record indicates gradual devel-
single definition (short of a laundry list of common charac-
opment toward more complex technology and social stratifi-
teristics) should be expected to capture its essence. Indeed,
cation. By the late Neolithic period (beginning around 3200
perhaps religion has no essence.
BCE) there were well-developed local cultures in several areas
that were to become centers of Chinese civilization later, in-
The concept of religion that will be presumed here is
cluding the southeast coast, the southwest, the Yangzi River
that religion is a means of ultimate transformation and/or ulti-
valley, the northeast, and the northern plains. The interac-
mate orientation. This is an elaboration of a definition pro-
tion of these cultures eventually led to the rise of literate,
posed by the Buddhologist Frederick Streng, who suggested
bronze-working civilizations in the north, the Xia (before
that religion is “a means to ultimate transformation” (Streng,
1500 BCE) and Shang (c. 1500–1050 BCE). The existence of
1985, p. 2). “Ultimate transformation” implies (1) a given
the Xia kingdom is attested in early historical sources that
human condition that is in some way flawed, unsatisfactory,
have otherwise been shown to accord with archaeological dis-
or caught in a dilemma; (2) a goal that posits a resolution
coveries. However, archaeologists are still debating whether
of that problem or dilemma; and (3) a process leading toward
the Xia period constituted a state-level “dynasty,” as it has
the achievement of the goal. This formula is well suited to
traditionally been described. The Shang has been archaeolog-
Chinese religions because the concept of transformation
ically verified, beginning with the excavation of one of its
(hua) is in fact a highly significant element in Confucian,
capitals in 1928.
Daoist, and Chinese Buddhist thought and practice. The
qualifier “ultimate” means that the starting point, process,
There is some evidence for prehistoric religious activi-
and goal are defined in relation to whatever the tradition in
ties, particularly for a cult of the dead, who were often buried
question believes to be absolute or unconditioned. “Ultimate
in segregated cemeteries, supine, with heads toward a single
orientation” introduces an aspect of Mircea Eliade’s theory
cardinal direction. In some sites houses and circles of white
of sacred space and sacred time: spatial orientation to an axis
stones are associated with clusters of graves, while in others
mundi, a symbolic connection between heaven and earth; or
wine goblets and pig jaws are scattered on ledges near the top
temporal orientation marked in reference to periods of sacred
of the pit, perhaps indicating a farewell feast. There seems
ritual time, such as annual festivals. This addition to Streng’s
to have been a concern for the precise ordering of ritual acts,
definition accounts for certain popular practices that are not
perhaps an early version of the importance of universal order
conceived in terms of ultimate transformation. Much of the
or pattern in later Chinese cosmology. In the Wei River area,
contemporary practice of Chinese popular religion—such as
secondary burial was practiced, with bones from single graves
worship and sacrifice for such mundane ends as success in
collected and reburied with those of from twenty to eighty
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CHINESE RELIGION: AN OVERVIEW
others. Grave offerings are found in almost all primary buri-
the powers of rivers, mountains, rain, wind, and other natu-
als, with quantity and variety depending on the status of the
ral phenomena. Shangdi, whose authority exceeded that of
deceased: tools, pottery vessels, objects of jade and turquoise,
the most exalted royal ancestor, served as a source of unity
dogs, and, in some cases, human beings. Jade, in particu-
and order.
lar—a substance that does not break down and requires ex-
traordinary skill and effort to carve with the simplest of
To contact these sacred powers the Shang practiced div-
tools—was associated with high-status burials and perhaps
ination and sacrificial rituals, usually closely related to each
symbolized the eternity of the afterlife. The bi (a flat disk
other. In divination, small pits were bored in the backs of
with a central hole) and cong (a tube, square on the outside
turtle plastrons or the shoulder blades of oxen or sheep.
and circular inside) were jade mortuary objects—apparently
Heated bronze or wooden rods were placed in these impres-
not used in life—whose meanings have not been determined.
sions, causing the bones to crack with a popping sound. Di-
The bodies and faces of the dead were often painted with red
viners then interpreted the pattern of the cracks on the face
ochre, a symbol of life. All of these practices constitute the
of the bone, perhaps combined with the sound of the pop-
prehistoric beginnings of Chinese ancestor worship. Other
ping, to determine yes or no answers to petitions. The sub-
evidence for prehistoric religion includes deer buried in fields
jects of divination include weather, warfare, illness, adminis-
and divination through reading cracks in the dried shoulder
trative decisions, harvests, royal births (with the preference
bones of sheep or deer. This form of divination, attested in
for sons that was to continue throughout Chinese history al-
what is now northeast China by 3560–3240
ready present), and other practical issues, but the most fre-
BCE, is the direct
antecedent of similar practices in historical times. Buried
quent type of inquiry was in reference to sacrifices to ances-
deer suggest offerings to the power of the soil, a common
tors and deities. Sacrifices to ancestors and spirits residing
practice in later periods.
above consisted mainly of burning meat and grain on open-
air altars; gods of the earth were offered libations of ferment-
EARLY HISTORICAL PERIOD. The early historical period
ed liquors, and those of bodies of water given precious ob-
(Shang and Zhou kingdoms) saw the development of many
jects such as jade. Sacrificial animals included cattle, dogs,
of the social and religious beliefs and practices that continue
and sheep. Human beings were sacrificed during the funeral
to this day to be associated with the Chinese. Although obvi-
rituals of kings, presumably to serve them in the afterlife. At
ous links with the earlier period persist, it is with the emer-
least one powerful woman was also buried with human sacri-
gence of these kingdoms that the religious history of the Chi-
fices, in addition to thousands of precious objects (bronze
nese properly begins.
and jade objects, cowrie shells). This was Fu Hao (Lady
Hao), the wife of King Wuding, around 1200 BCE, who ap-
The Shang. The formation of the Shang kingdom was
parently commanded an army during her lifetime and was
the result of technological innovation such as bronze casting
given sacrifices after her death.
and to the development of new forms of social and adminis-
trative control. Extant evidence provides information about
The Shang had a ten-day week, and the titles of the dei-
the religion of the Shang aristocracy, characterized in the first
fied royal ancestors corresponded to the day on which sacri-
place by elaborate graves and ceremonial objects for the dead.
fice was made to them. Thus, their personal characteristics
Grave offerings include decapitated human beings, horses,
were less significant than their seniority and their place in the
dogs, large numbers of bronze vessels, and objects of jade,
ritual cycle. In the sacrifices themselves what was most im-
stone, and shell. Some tombs were equipped with chariots
portant was the proper procedure; the correct objects offered
hitched to horses. These tomb offerings indicate a belief that
in the right way were believed to obligate the spirits to re-
afterlife for members of the royal clan was similar to that of
spond. Thus, in Shang sacrifice we already see the principle
their present existence but in a heavenly realm presided over
of reciprocity, which has remained a fundamental pattern of
by the Shang high god Di (“Lord”) or Shangdi (“Lord on
interaction throughout the history of Chinese religions. In
High”).
Shang theology the king played the role of intermediary be-
tween the human and heavenly realms. He was responsible
The major sources for our understanding of Shang reli-
for maintaining harmonious relations with his ancestors, Di,
gion are inscriptions on oracle bones and in bronze sacrificial
and the other deities, and so ensuring their blessings on the
vessels. From these we learn that the most common recipi-
realm. The considerable expenditures of time and resources
ents of petition and inquiry were the ancestors of the royal
devoted to sacrifice and divination in the Shang court suggest
clan. These deified ancestors were believed to have powers
that the authority of the king depended in part on his role
of healing and fertility in their own right, but they also could
as the pivot between heaven and earth.
serve as intermediaries between their living descendants and
more powerful gods of natural forces and Shangdi. Ancestors
The Zhou. There are many references in Shang oracle
were ranked by title and seniority, with those longest dead
bone texts to a people called Zhou who lived west of the
having the widest authority. Since they could bring harm as
Shang center, in the area of modern Shanxi province. The
well as aid to their descendants, it was necessary to propitiate
Zhou, who were considered to be an important tributary
the ancestors to ward off their anger as well as to bring their
state, were at first culturally and technologically inferior to
blessing. Nature deities named in the inscriptions personify
the Shang, but they learned rapidly and by the eleventh cen-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHINESE RELIGION: AN OVERVIEW
1583
tury BCE challenged the Shang for political supremacy. The
ticed divination, sacrifice, and exorcism. The common
final Zhou conquest took place in about 1050 BCE. Rem-
ground shared by the elite and the common people was
nants of the Shang royal line were allowed to continue their
much more extensive than their differences, which for the
ancestral practices in the small state of Song, in exchange for
most part were differences in emphasis and interpretation.
pledging loyalty to the Zhou.
These distinctions begin to emerge in the Western Zhou and
become clearer in the Eastern Zhou, or Classical, period.
The Zhou system of government has been loosely called
“feudal,” but it differed from European feudalism in that the
The early Zhou elite, as might be expected, were chiefly
peasants were not bound to the land, and the local lords
concerned with their aristocratic ancestors, the powerful rul-
(gong, or “dukes”) owed allegiance to the central king (wang)
ing gods, and political matters, while the common people
based not on law but on bonds of kinship. The king directly
had more interaction with lower gods, demons, and ghosts
ruled only a small territory around the capital city, Chang’an,
that inhabited the world and generally made trouble for peo-
which was located in the Wei River valley near present-day
ple. The Zhou ancestors were believed to reside in a celestial
Xian. He controlled an army, which frequently was joined
court presided over by Tian, “Heaven,” the Zhou high god,
by armies of the various dukes. The Zhou kings were the first
similar to Shangdi in scope and function although less per-
to call themselves “Son of Heaven” (tianzi), a term that con-
sonalized. The ancestors had power to influence the prosperi-
tinued to be applied to the later emperors of China up to the
ty of their descendants, their fertility, health, and longevity.
early twentieth century. Corollary to their identity as Son of
Through ritual equation of natural forces with deities, the
Heaven, they alone had the right and responsibility to make
ancestors could also influence the productivity of clan lands.
annual sacrifices to heaven. This too was a practice that lasted
In addition, royal ancestors served as intermediaries between
until the twentieth century.
their descendants and Tian.
The Zhou dynasty lasted nominally almost eight hun-
Ancestral rituals took the form of great feasts in which
dred years, making it the longest-lasting dynasty in world
the deceased was represented by an impersonator, usually a
history. But in fact their power and their territory remained
grandson or nephew. In these feasts the sharing of food and
intact only until 771
drink confirmed vows of mutual fidelity and aid. The most
BCE, when the king was assassinated and
the capital was moved eastward to the more easily defended
important ancestor worshiped was Houji, who was both leg-
Luoyang. The periods corresponding to these two capitals
endary founder of the ruling house and the patron of agricul-
are called Western Zhou (1150–770
ture. As was true for the Shang, Zhou rituals were also direct-
BCE) and Eastern Zhou
(771–221
ed toward symbols of natural power such as mountains and
BCE). The Eastern Zhou was a period of increasing
fragmentation and is further divided into the Spring and Au-
rivers; most significant natural phenomena were deified and
tumn period (722–403
worshiped. The proper time and mode of such rituals were
BCE) and the Warring States period
(403–221
determined in part by divination, which in the Zhou in-
BCE). The former is named after a chronicle of the
state of Lu, in contemporary Shandong province, covering
volved both cracking bones and turtle plastrons and the ma-
these years and traditionally attributed to Confucius (Lu was
nipulation of dried stalks of the yarrow or milfoil plant. Divi-
Confucius’s home state). The latter period, as the name im-
nation was also employed in military campaigns, the
plies, saw almost constant warfare, as the last seven major
interpretation of dreams, the siting of cities, and in many
states (formerly Zhou fiefdoms) battled it out until only one
other situations involving important decisions.
was left standing, the Qin.
Milfoil divination became the method at the core of the
Zhouyi, or Changes of Zhou, a divination manual that ac-
The Western Zhou period, especially the periods of the
quired philosophical commentaries and became known as
earliest kings, was regarded by later Chinese thinkers as a gol-
the Yijing, or Scripture of Change, part of the earliest Confu-
den age of enlightened, benevolent rule by sage-kings. They
cian canon. The Yijing classifies human and natural situa-
especially revered the first two kings, Wen and Wu (whose
tions by means of sixty-four sets of six horizontal lines (hexa-
names mean “culture” and “military,” respectively), and
grams), each of which is either broken or solid. The solid
King Wu’s brother, the duke of Zhou, whose “fief” was the
lines represent qian, or Heaven, the creative or initiating
state of Lu. But it was the Eastern Zhou, the period of politi-
force of nature, while the broken lines represent kun, or
cal disintegration, that witnessed the origins of classical Chi-
earth, which receives and completes. The permutations of
nese civilization. It was during this era—sometimes called
these fundamental principles, according to early Chinese cos-
the Period of the Hundred Philosophers—that Confucian-
mology, constitute the patterns or principles of all possible
ism, Daoism, and many other schools of thought began.
circumstances and experiences. Through ritual manipulation
Unlike the sources available to us regarding Shang reli-
involving chance divisions, the milfoil stalks are arranged in
gion, which are limited to oracle bones and inscriptions on
sets with numerical values corresponding to lines in the hexa-
bronze ritual vessels, there are enough Zhou sources to allow
grams. One thereby obtains a hexagram that reflects one’s
us say something about the religion of common people as
present situation; additional line changes indicate the direc-
well that of the aristocracy. Both commoners and elite be-
tion of change, and thus a potential outcome. Contempla-
lieved in gods, ghosts, ancestors, and omens (the significance
tion of these hexagrams clarifies decisions and provides warn-
to human beings of unusual phenomena in nature) and prac-
ing or encouragement.
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CHINESE RELIGION: AN OVERVIEW
The Yijing is essentially a book of wisdom for personal
cy, and the moral right of rebellion. This status it owed in
and administrative guidance, used since at least the seventh
part to its support by Confucius and his school, who saw the
century BCE. However, from the sixth century BCE on com-
Mandate of Heaven as the foundation of political morality.
mentaries were written to amplify the earliest level of the
The corollary notion that Heaven has a moral will was the
text, and by the first century CE there were seven such levels
first formulation of what later became a foundation principle
of exposition, some quite philosophical in tone. The Scrip-
of Confucian thought: that human moral values are ground-
ture of Change was believed to reflect the structure of the cos-
ed in the natural world.
mic order and its transformations, and hence became an ob-
Commoners during the Zhou period had less reason to
ject of reverent contemplation in itself. Its earliest levels
trust in the moral will of Heaven, as the lives they led were
antedated all the philosophical schools, so it belonged to
more subject to hardships imposed by capricious natural
none, though the Confucians later claimed it as sacred scrip-
phenomena than those of the ruling elite. The Scripture of
ture. The polarity of qian and kun provided a model for that
Odes (Shijing), for example, contains the following verse that
of yang and yin, first discussed in the fourth century BCE.
probably reflects the feelings of common people:
The Yijing’s sometimes obscure formulations gave impetus
to philosophical speculations throughout the later history of
Great Heaven, unjust, Is sending down these exhaust-
Chinese thought.
ing disorders. Great Heaven, unkind, Is sending down
these great miseries. (Translated by Poo, 1998, p. 37)
A third focus of Zhou worship, in addition to ancestors
and nature gods, was the she, a sacred earth mound located
While such sentiments were undoubtedly not limited entire-
in the capital of each state and in at least some villages. The
ly to the common people, they are strikingly at odds with
state she represented the sacred powers of the earth available
the concept of a moral, just Heaven. Commoners’ beliefs
to a particular domain and so was offered libations upon
were closely tied to the agricultural cycle and the negative or
such important occasions in the life of the state as the birth
dangerous spiritual forces inhabiting the world. In contrast
of a prince, ascension to rule, and military campaigns. Beside
to the more abstract Heaven, these forces took the form of
the earth mound stood a sacred tree, a symbol of its connec-
an astonishing variety of gods, demons, and spirits. These in-
tion to the powers of the sky. The she was an early form of
cluded the gods of particular mountains, rivers, and seas
the shrine to the earth-god, or tudi gong, which is a promi-
(usually depicted in hybrid animal or animal-human forms),
nent part of Chinese popular religion today.
earth gods (tu shen), a sacred serpent, a thorn demon, a
water-bug god, hungry ghosts, and the high god, called
The early Zhou aristocracy carried out sacrificial rituals
Shangdi (High Lord, the same term used during the Shang
to mark the seasons of the year and promote the success of
dynasty), Shang Huang (High Sovereign), or Shang Shen
farming. These sacrifices, performed in ancestral temples,
(High God). With the possible exception of the high god,
were offered both to the high god Tian and to ancestors.
these deities were not immortal. Nor were they concerned
These and other Zhou rituals were elaborate dramatic perfor-
with human morality; unlike Tian, they responded only to
mances involving music, dancing, and archery, concluding
properly performed sacrifices. Sacrifice by commoners was
with feasts in which much wine was consumed.
generally performed for personal and familial welfare, unlike
the predominant concerns among the elite for affairs of state.
The most distinctive early Zhou contribution to the his-
tory of Chinese religions was the theory of tianming, the
When the early Zhou political and social synthesis
“Mandate of Heaven,” first employed to justify the Zhou
began to deteriorate in the eighth century and competing
conquest of the Shang and attributed to the duke of Zhou.
local states moved toward political, military, and ritual inde-
According to this theory, Heaven as a high god wills order
pendence, rulers from clans originally enfeoffed by Zhou
and peace for human society. This divine order is to be ad-
kings also lost their power, which reverted to competing local
ministered by virtuous kings who care for their subjects on
families. This breakdown of hereditary authority led to new
Heaven’s behalf. These kings are granted divine authority to
social mobility, with status increasingly awarded for military
rule, but only so long as they rule well. If they become indo-
valor and administrative ability, regardless of aristocratic
lent, corrupt, and cruel, the Mandate of Heaven can be trans-
background. There is some evidence that even peasants could
ferred to another line. This process can take a long time and
move about in search of more just rulers. These political and
involve many warnings to the ruler in the form of natural
social changes were accompanied by an increase in the num-
calamities and popular unrest. Those who heed such warn-
ber and size of cities and in the circulation of goods between
ings can repent and rehabilitate their rule; otherwise, the
states. But as warfare increased throughout this period, com-
mandate can be claimed by one who promises to restore righ-
moners were repeatedly conscripted into various armies,
teous administration. In practice it is the victors who claim
playing havoc with local agricultural economies (not to men-
the mandate, as did the founding Zhou kings, on the
tion social morale and family life) as able-bodied men were
grounds of the alleged indolence and impiety of the last
forcibly taken away from their fields. There were numerous
Shang ruler. The idea of the Mandate of Heaven has gripped
shifting alliances among the powerful states (as the former
the Chinese political imagination ever since. It became the
fiefdoms could now be called), and gradually their number
basis for the legitimacy of dynasties, the judgment of autocra-
decreased as the most powerful gobbled up the weaker ones.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHINESE RELIGION: AN OVERVIEW
1585
During the final century or so of the Warring States period,
in human life, and how should society and government be
some of the dukes began calling themselves kings (wang),
organized and run? How can rulers discharge their moral re-
usurping the title reserved for the central monarch under the
sponsibilities to their people and to Heaven? How can they
Zhou system.
maintain their legitimacy in light of the Mandate of Heaven?
This time of social mobility and political chaos was a
Confucius. It was in this context that we find the begin-
fertile period in the history of Chinese religion and philoso-
nings of Chinese philosophy. Confucius (c. 551–479 BCE)
phy. There began to appear a new class of intellectual elite,
was born in the small state of Lu, near the present city of
who would eventually produce the texts that formed the
Qufu, in present-day Shandong province. His given name
foundations of the Classical tradition. The intellectuals, like
was Kong Qiu; as an adult he was commonly known as Kong
the ruling elite, were interested in the abstract notion of a
Zhongni, although many called him by the honorific name
moral Heaven, although they understood it less as a doctrine
Kongzi, or Master Kong. “Confucius” is a latinized name in-
of political legitimation and more as a religious basis for a
vented by seventeenth-century Jesuit missionaries in China,
system of ethical thought and practice. The ruling elite, on
based on a very rarely used honorific name, Kongfuzi. Lu was
the other hand—finding that the need for legitimation of
a state in which the old Zhou cultural traditions were strong
their military takeover of the Shang (now over two hundred
but that was buffeted both by repeated invasions and by local
years in the past) was not as pressing as it once had been—
power struggles. Confucius’s goal was the restoration of the
seem to have lost interest in the idea and concentrated more
ethical standards, just rule, and legitimate government—the
on the older systems of worship of royal ancestors and spirits
dao, or “Way”—of the early Zhou period as he understood
of nature. These older rituals became more elaborate and
them. The models for the restoration of the dao were the
were focused on the ancestors of the rulers of the states rather
founding kings of the Zhou dynasty, who had ruled with rev-
than on those of the Zhou kings.
erence toward their ancestors and kindness toward their peo-
ple, ever fearful of losing Heaven’s approval. These models
Some intellectuals in this era were led to question the
had mythic force for Confucius, who saw himself as their
power of the gods. In theory, the loss of a state was ultimately
embodiment in his own age.
the result of ritual negligence by the ruler, while the victors
were supposed to provide for sacrifices to the ancestors of the
The sources from which the Way of the ancient kings
vanquished. But in practice, many gods charged with protec-
could be learned were ritual, historical, literary, and oracular
tion were deemed to have failed while their desecrators flour-
texts, some of which later came to be known as the Five
ished. The worldviews of the elite and the commoners were
Scriptures (wujing). (“Five Classics” is the usual translation,
not radically distinct: the panoply of spiritual beings was
but they certainly were regarded by Confucius and his fol-
known to all, and to the extent that members of the elite had
lowers as sacred texts, so “scriptures” is more accurate.) In
family roots in the agricultural tradition, they too engaged
addition to the Yijing, the divination text discussed above,
in the ritual forms of propitiation of and communication
they included the Shijing (Scripture of Odes), a collection of
with the various gods, ghosts, and spirits. The religious wor-
folk and aristocratic songs allegedly collected by Confucius;
ldview was a continuous whole, in which differences in em-
the Shujing (Scripture of Documents), purporting to consist
phasis corresponded to differences in the immediate con-
of official documents from the ancient Xia dynasty (still his-
cerns and interests of its participants.
torically undocumented) up through the Shang and early
Zhou dynasties; the Chunqiu (Spring and Autumn), the terse
By the sixth century many intellectuals had developed
history of Confucius’s home state of Lu; and the Liji (Record
a more rationalistic perspective, accompanied by a turning
of Ritual), which describes not only the formal rituals of the
away from gods and spirits to the problems of human society
early Zhou but also the modes of behavior, customs, dress,
and governance. The collapse of the Zhou system persuaded
and other aspects of the lives of the early kings. A sixth one,
the majority of intellectuals that there was a critical need for
the Yuejing (Scripture of Music), is no longer extant but sec-
a new political and ideological foundation for the state.
tions of it survive in the Liji.
There were, essentially, two aspects to the intellectual prob-
Although several parts of the Five Scriptures were later
lem posed by the Zhou breakdown: theoretical and practical.
attributed to Confucius, it is not likely that he wrote any-
The theoretical problem stemmed from the doctrine of the
thing that survives. The best source of his teachings is the
Mandate of Heaven: if Heaven indeed has (or is) a moral
Lunyu (Analects), a collection of his sayings recorded by his
will, and if Heaven has the power to influence human events
disciples after his death. Since the compilation of this text
by replacing evil rulers with good ones, how can such vio-
continued for over a century, much of it is not historically
lence and suffering continue? This question and the question
reliable. Nevertheless, throughout Chinese history until re-
of the nature and origin of evil, usually posed as the question
cent times it has been regarded as the definitive teachings of
of human nature, became central to the Confucian tradition
Confucius, so in terms of its influence on Chinese culture
by the end of the Zhou period. The practical problem, which
it can be read as a whole.
on the whole received more attention than the theoretical
one, was simply, how are social and political order and har-
Confucius believed that society could be transformed by
mony to be restored? What is the proper role of government
the moral cultivation of those in power, because virtue (de)
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CHINESE RELIGION: AN OVERVIEW
has a natural transformative effect on others. This inner
the social order but also in the cosmic order. Ritual or ritual
moral power or potential was “given birth to” in the individ-
propriety, therefore, was not merely a means of enforcing so-
ual by Heaven, and it was this that Heaven responded to,
cial order, nor was Confucius’s innovation a turn from reli-
not merely the outward show of ritual or the exercise of force.
gion to philosophy; rather, it was a philosophical deepening
Thus, government by virtue—that is, by setting a moral ex-
of a fundamentally religious worldview. Despite the fact that
ample—was actually more effective in the long run than gov-
he urged his followers to pay more attention to human affairs
ernment by force or the strict application of law and punish-
than to worshiping the variety of traditional spiritual beings,
ment. De had earlier referred simply to the power of a ruler
he denied neither their existence nor the importance of wor-
to attract and influence subjects—his charisma, in the We-
shiping ancestors. He redirected the religious sense of awe
berian sense—so in this and several other respects Confu-
and reverence that had traditionally been focused on the
cius’s innovation was to moralize a concept that hitherto had
realm of gods and spirits to the human social and political
been ethically neutral. The moral perfection of the individual
sphere.
and the perfection of society were coordinate goals, for the
The followers of Confucius came to be known as ru, or
moral perfection of the self required a morally supportive so-
“scholars,” signifying their relationship with the literary tra-
cial environment, in the form of stable and loving families,
dition. They were in a sense custodians of and experts in the
opportunities for education, and good rulers to serve as mod-
literate cultural tradition (wen), especially in the areas of
els. Society as a whole could best be perfected from the top
court ritual, official protocol, and history. By the fourth and
down, and in terms of the political situation it was most im-
third centuries BCE other schools of thought were develop-
portant to establish a government staffed by virtuous men
ing. They included a school of natural philosophy based on
(women did not serve in government). For these reasons
the concept of the yin (dark, quiescent) and yang (light, ac-
Confucius directed his teaching toward local rulers and men
tive) phases of qi (psycho-physical substance); an early form
whose goal was to serve in government. Literacy was a pre-
of Daoism (Taoism); a school of Legalism that taught the
requisite of the moral cultivation that he taught, and so he
strict application of law and punishment as the solution to
did not bring his message to the masses, the great majority
the era’s disorder; a school based on the investigation of
of whom at that time were illiterate.
names and their meanings; and several others. In the culture
He gathered a small group of disciples whom he taught
at large religious beliefs and activities continued unabated;
to become junzi (superior men), men of ethical sensitivity
divination and rituals accompanied every significant activity,
and historical wisdom who were devoted to moral self-
and a quest for personal immortality was gaining momen-
cultivation in preparation to become humane and able gov-
tum. One of the new schools of thought that reflected these
ernment officials. The term junzi had originally referred to
religious concerns was that of Mozi.
hereditary nobility, but Confucius used it to mean a kind of
Mozi. Mozi (Master Mo, fifth century BCE), a thinker
moral nobility. Likewise, he expanded the meaning of li, or
from an artisan background, was a thoroughgoing utilitarian
“ritual,” to mean proper behavior and a kind of reverent seri-
who taught that the fundamental criterion of value was prac-
ousness in one’s every action. The highest virtue was ren,
tical benefit to all. He was from Confucius’s home state of
“humanity” or “humaneness,” which Confucius understood
Lu and was educated in the emerging Confucian tradition,
to be the perfection of being human. Ren described the inner
but he turned against what he perceived to be its elitism and
moral character that was necessary in order for one’s outward
wasteful concern with elaborate rituals. In his ethical teach-
behavior, or li, to be authentic and meaningful. Confucius
ing Mozi reinterpreted along utilitarian lines such Confucian
regarded ren as a nearly transcendental quality that only the
principles as righteousness and filial reverence, focusing on
mythic sages of the past had actually attained, although later
the theme of universal love without familial and social dis-
Confucians claimed it was attainable by anyone.
tinctions. He also attracted a group of disciples whom he sent
out to serve in various states in an attempt to implement his
Thus, Confucius initiated a new level of ethical aware-
teachings.
ness in Chinese culture and a new form of education, educa-
tion in what he believed were universal principles for mature
For the history of Chinese religions the most significant
humanity and civilization. He assumed that the criteria for
aspect of Mozi’s thought is his concern to provide theological
holding office were intelligence and high moral principles,
sanctions for his views. For Mozi Tian, or Heaven, is an ac-
not hereditary status, and so further undermined the Zhou
tive creator god whose will or mandate extends to everyone;
feudal system that was crumbling around him. His ethical
what Heaven wills is love, prosperity, and peace for all. Heav-
teachings were intended to describe the Way (dao) of the su-
en is the ultimate ruler of the whole world; Tian sees all, re-
perior or morally noble person, a way that originated in the
wards the good, and punishes the evil. In this task it is aided
will of Heaven for its people. Although this Way had been
by a multitude of lesser spirits who are also intelligent and
put into practice by the glorious founders of the Zhou dynas-
vital and who serve as messengers between Tian and human
ty, it was not presently being practiced. The absence of the
beings. Mozi advocated that since this is the nature of divine
Way was manifested by widespread conflict and a breakdown
reality, religious reverence should be encouraged by the state
of ritual and propriety (li), indicating a breach not only in
as a sanction for moral order.
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CHINESE RELIGION: AN OVERVIEW
1587
To protect himself from intellectual skeptics Mozi at
this process requires a supportive, nourishing environment:
one point allowed that even if deities and spirits do not exist,
a loving and supportive family, opportunities for education,
communal worship still has social value. Although his whole
and a humane government.
attempt to argue for belief in Heaven on utilitarian grounds
As had Confucius, Mengzi assumed that ancestor wor-
could be understood as a last stand for traditional religion
ship was a basic requirement of civilized life, but neither
within a changing philosophical world, there is no reason to
thinker emphasized such worship as much as did later texts
doubt that Mozi himself believed in the gods.
like the Xiaojing, the Scripture of Filiality (third century BCE).
The fourth century BCE was a period of incessant civil
And while Confucius had relied largely upon the power of
war on the one hand and great philosophical diversity on the
the cultural tradition—in particular the words and examples
other. A variety of thinkers arose, each propounding a cure
of the ancient sages preserved in the Five Scriptures—to serve
for the ills of the age, most seeking to establish their views
as agents of individual and social transformation, Mengzi’s
by training disciples and attaining office. Some advocated
theory could be characterized as a developmental moral psy-
moral reform through education, others through authoritari-
chology. Mengzi represents both a further humanization and
an government, laissez-faire administration, rationalized bu-
a further spiritualization of the Confucian tradition, and his
reaucracy, agricultural communes, rule in accord with the
emphasis on the powers of human nature did much to shape
powers of nature, or individual self-fulfillment. Religious
the religious sensibilities of Chinese philosophy. In a third
concerns were not paramount for these thinkers; indeed, for
century BCE text closely associated with the Mencian school,
some they do not appear at all. The two traditions of this pe-
the Zhongyong (The mean in practice or Centrality and com-
riod that do warrant discussion here are the Confucian, rep-
monality), these tendencies were developed to a point not
resented by Mengzi (Mencius, c. 391–308 BCE) and that of
seen again until the eleventh- and twelfth-century revival of
the mystically inclined individualists, traditionally known as
Confucianism:
the school of Dao (daojia).
Only that one in the world who is most perfectly au-
Mengzi. Master Meng, whose given name was Meng
thentic is able to give full development to his nature.
Ke, was a teacher and would-be administrator from the small
Being able to give full development to his nature, he is
able to give full development to the nature of other
state of Zou who developed Confucius’s teachings and
human beings and, being able to give full development
placed them on a much firmer philosophical and literary
to the nature of other human beings, he is able to give
base. Mengzi was concerned to prepare his disciples for en-
full development to the natures of other living things.
lightened and compassionate public service, beginning with
Being able to give full development to the natures of
provision for the physical needs of the people. He believed
other living things, he can assist in the transforming and
that only when their material livelihood is secure can the
nourishing powers of Heaven and Earth; being able to
people be guided to higher moral awareness. This hope for
assist in the transforming and nourishing powers of
moral transformation is grounded in Mengzi’s conviction
Heaven and Earth, he can form a triad with Heaven and
that human nature contains the potential for goodness. What
Earth.
is needed are rulers who nourish this potential as “fathers and
Xunzi. The third most important Confucian philoso-
mothers of the people.” These teachings Mengzi expounded
pher before the Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE) was Xunzi
courageously before despotic kings whose inclinations were
(Xun Qing, c. 310 to c. 220 BCE), a scholar from the state
quite otherwise.
of Zhao who held offices for a time in the larger states of Qi
and Chu. Xunzi’s thought was influenced by several of the
Tian, or Heaven, for Mengzi is an expression of the un-
traditions that had developed before his time, including
derlying moral structure of the world, so that in the long run
those of the Logicians, Daoists, and Legalists. Xunzi agreed
“those who accord with Heaven are preserved, and those who
with the Legalist emphasis on the need for strong centralized
oppose Heaven are destroyed.” Heaven’s will is known
rule and a strict penal code. He also shared their low estimate
through the assent or disapproval of the people—a proto-
of human nature, which in his view tended toward selfishness
democratic aspect of Mengzi’s thought. The human mind
and competition. Nonetheless, Xunzi believed that human
possesses an innate potential for moral awareness, a potential
attitudes and behavior are perfectible by dint of much disci-
bestowed by Heaven at birth, so that “to understand human
pline and effort, so his differences with Mengzi on this point
nature is to understand Heaven” and “to preserve one’s mind
are those of degree. Both thinkers claimed that the ordinary
and nourish one’s nature is to serve Heaven.” This potential
person can become a “sage” (shengren), one who fully exem-
is more than mere possibility; it comprises innate and con-
plifies the virtue of humanity (ren). But for Mengzi this was
crete emotional dispositions that, when nourished or devel-
a developmental process, while for Xunzi it was a transforma-
oped, become the core virtues of humanity (ren), rightness
tion (hua) requiring the external leverage, so to speak, of past
or appropriateness (yi), propriety (li), and moral wisdom
sages.
(zhi). This natural course of human development, rather
than a static essence, is what constitutes human nature for
Xunzi’s chief contribution was his reinterpretation of
Mengzi. In cultivating our moral capacities we become fully
Tian as the order of nature, an order that has no conscious-
human and actualize the moral potential of the cosmos. But
ness and is not directly related to human concerns. This in-
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CHINESE RELIGION: AN OVERVIEW
terpretation is parallel to the views of the Laozi (Daodejing)
ries BCE, and its actual authors are unknown. Its earliest
and Zhuangzi texts concerning the cosmic “Way” (dao).
sections focus on the cosmological and physiological bases
Xunzi was concerned to separate the roles of heaven, earth,
of self-transformation according to the Way, using such con-
and man, with human attention directed toward ethics, ad-
cepts as qi (the psycho-physical substance of all things), jing
ministration, and culture. In this context rituals such as fu-
(life-giving essence), and shen (spirit), all of which remained
neral rites are valuable channels for emotions but have no ob-
central to the Daoist religion in its later development.
jective referent; their role is social and psychological, not
theological. Ignorant “petty people” who believe in the literal
The best-known book devoted to discussing the dao be-
efficacy of rain dances and divination are to be pitied; for the
hind all things is the early third-century BCE Daodejing (The
gentleman such activities are “cultural adornment.”
Way and Its Power), also known as the Laozi, after its reput-
ed author, a mythical sage known simply as the “Old Mas-
Xunzi thus gave impetus to the skeptical tradition in
ter,” said to have been an older contemporary of Confucius.
Chinese thought that began before Confucius and was rein-
The Laozi discusses the Way in more direct, metaphysical
forced by later thinkers such as Wang Chong (c. 27–100 CE).
terms than does the Zhuangzi, all the while protesting that
Xunzi’s teachings at this point provided a theoretical basis
such discussion is ultimately futile. Here we are told that the
for a rough bifurcation between elite and popular attitudes
dao is the source of all things, “the mother of the universe,”
toward religion and for sporadic attempts to suppress “exces-
the ineffable cosmic womb out of which all emerges. The dao
sive cults.” Xunzi’s epistemology also set up the intellectual
also “works in the world,” guiding all things in harmonious
framework for a critique of heresy, conceived as inventing
development and interaction. As both source and order of
words and titles beyond those employed by general consen-
the world the dao serves as a model for enlightened rulers
sus and sanctioned by the state. These themes had important
who gain power by staying in the background and letting
implications for the remainder of Chinese history, including
their people live spontaneously in response to their own
official attitudes toward religion today.
needs. The dao is the vital force of life perceived at its utmost
depth; it works mysteriously and imperceptibly, and yet
Early Daoist thought. The earliest extant writings fo-
there is nothing it does not accomplish. Its symbols are water
cused on the mysterious cosmic “Way” (dao) that underlies
rather than rock, valleys rather than hills, the female rather
all things are the first seven chapters of the extant Zhuangzi,
than the male. Although its perspective is profound, its au-
a text attributed to a philosopher named Zhuang Zhou of
thor intended this book to be a handbook of wise and suc-
the fourth century BCE, and a few sections of the Guanzi, an-
cessful living, living characterized by a natural, spontaneous
other fourth-century text. Zhuang Zhou, or Zhuangzi (Mas-
action that does not prematurely wear itself out.
ter Zhuang), was convinced that the world in its natural state
is peaceful and harmonious, a state exemplified by the
These texts were the sources of a persistent tradition of
growth of plants and the activities of animals. Disorder is the
naturalistic mysticism in the history of Chinese religions.
result of human aggression and manipulation, a tendency
They were the inspiration for much poetry, romantic philos-
that finds as much expression in Confucian and Moist mor-
ophy, and meditation, all intended as a corrective for the
alizing as in cruel punishments and warfare. Such moralizing
bustle and competition of life, a means to peace of mind, and
in turn is rooted in a false confidence in words, words that
a clarification and broadening of perspective. They describe
debators use to express their own limited points of view and
the enlightened person as living peacefully and long because
thus to dichotomize our understanding of the world. Indeed,
he does not waste his vital powers on needless contention and
all perspectives are limited and relative, conditioned by the
aggression. In the Laozi, for example, we are told that “He
interests and anxieties of species, social positions, and indi-
who knows when to stop is free from danger; therefore he
viduals. The answer to this problem is to understand and af-
can long endure” (chapter 44), and that one who is “a good
firm the relativity of views, and thus harmonize them all.
preserver of his life” cannot be harmed, “because in him there
This the sage does by perceiving the constant rhythms of
is no room for death” (chapter 50). Although in some pas-
change within all life and identifying with them. In his view
sages of the Zhuangzi an enlightened perspective leads to ac-
all dichotomies are unified; hence, there is no need for strug-
ceptance of death, a few others provide poetic visions of im-
gle and competition. The sage intuits the dao within and be-
mortals, those who have transcended death by merging with
hind all things and takes its all-embracing perspective as his
the dao. One of the terms Zhuangzi uses for these individuals
own. This perspective allows him to achieve a state of emo-
is zhenren, “perfected people,” a term that later became im-
tional equanimity, which even a serious illness or the death
portant in the fully developed Daoist religion that took shape
of a loved one cannot disturb. Indeed, such events illustrate
after the second century CE. These indications of immortality
the ultimate truth of the Way—change and transforma-
in the earliest Daoist texts provided the chief point of contact
tion—and can therefore provide opportunities to rejoice in
between the Classical tradition and those who sought im-
one’s participation in what is fundamentally real.
mortality by more direct means, including later practitioners
of Daoist religion.
The Guanzi is a long, composite text attributed to a fa-
mous statesman of the seventh century BCE, but it was proba-
The quest for immortality. An explicit concern for long
bly written or compiled from the fourth to the second centu-
life (shou) had already appeared on early Zhou bronzes and
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CHINESE RELIGION: AN OVERVIEW
1589
in poems in the Scripture of Odes. Beginning in the eighth
they could be exposed to the sun as an inducement to rain.
century BCE we find terms expressing a hope for immortality,
Female mediums were called wu, a word etymologically re-
such as “no death,” “transcending the world,” and “becom-
lated to that for dancing; male mediums were called xi. In
ing an immortal.” By the fourth century BCE there is evidence
the state of Chu, south of the center of Zhou culture, there
of an active quest for immortality through a variety of means,
were shamans believed able to practice “spiritual flight,” that
including exercises imitating the movements of long-lived
is, to send their souls on journeys to distant realms of deities
animals, diets enforcing abstinence from grains, the use of
and immortals.
food vessels inscribed with characters indicating longevity,
the ingestion of herbs and chemicals, and petitions for the
Han historical sources indicate that by the third century
aid of immortals residing in mountains or distant paradises.
BCE there were shamans all over China, many of whom were
It was in this context that Chinese alchemy began. The al-
invited by emperors to set up shrines in the capital. This was
chemical quest became the most dramatic form of the quest
done in part to consolidate imperial control but also to make
to transcend death, growing in popularity during the Qin
available fresh sources of sacred power to support the state
(221–206
and heal illness. Sporadic attempts were also made by offi-
BCE) and Western Han (206 BCE–9 CE) dynasties.
cials to suppress shamanism. These began as early as 99 BCE
The goal of all these practices was to return the body
and continued in efforts to reform court rituals in 31–30 BCE
to its original state of purity and power with its yin and yang
and to change local practices involving human sacrifice in 25
forces vital and in proper balance. The fact that some of the
CE. However, it is clear that shamanism was well established
compounds used were poisonous did not deter the experi-
among the people and continued to have formal influence
menters; those who died were believed by devotees to have
at court until the fifth century CE. Shamans were occasionally
transferred themselves to another plane of existence, that of
employed by rulers to call up the spirits of royal ancestors
the immortals (xian). All this effort and expense were consid-
and consorts, and incidents of court support continued into
ered necessary because in ancient China the person was un-
the eleventh century. Owing in part to the revival of Confu-
derstood to be a psycho-physical whole, composed through-
cianism in that period, in 1023 a sweeping edict was issued
out of one vital substance, qi, in different modes and
that all shamans be returned to agricultural life and their
densities. Corresponding to the yin and yang phases of qi
shrines be destroyed. Thus, the gradual Confucianization of
there were thought to be two “souls,” the po and hun, respec-
the Chinese elite led to the suppression of shamanism at that
tively. The po, associated with the gross physical body, would
level, but it continued to flourish among the people, where
ideally remain with the body after death, or would descend
its activities can still be observed in China, Taiwan, and other
to a murky underworld, the Yellow Springs. The hun, associ-
Chinese communities.
ated with the more intelligent and spiritual aspect of the per-
T
son, would rise up to heaven and would retain its integrity
HE BEGINNINGS OF EMPIRE. In the fifth century BCE the
disintegration of the Zhou feudal and social order quickened
only as long as it was ritually acknowledged and “nourished”
under the pressure of incessant civil wars. The larger states
through ancestor worship.
formed alliances and maneuvered for power, seeking hege-
These forms of continuation after death were perceived
mony over the others, aiming to reunify the area of Zhou
by some to be tenuous and limited, so they attempted to
culture by force alone. In 256 BCE the state of Qin, under
make the entire person/body immortal by transforming its
the influence of a ruthlessly applied ideology of laws and
substance. There was no doctrine of an eternal, immaterial
punishments suggested in the fourth century BCE by Shang
soul to fall back on as in India or the Hellenistic world, so
Yang, one of the founders of the Legalist school, eliminated
the only alternative was physical immortality. In China this
the last Zhou king and then finished off its remaining rivals.
tradition continued to develop through the Eastern (Latter)
Finally, in 221 the state of Qin became the empire of Qin
Han dynasty (25–220 CE) and produced texts of its own full
(221–206 BCE), and its ruler took a new title, “First Emperor
of recipes, techniques, and moral exhortations. As such, it be-
of Qin” (Qin shi huangdi). With this step China as a semi-
came one of the major sources of the Daoist religion that
continental state was born. There were many periods of divi-
emerged in the second century CE.
sion and strife later, but the new level of unification achieved
by the Qin was never forgotten and became the goal of all
Spirit mediums. The other important expression of Chi-
later dynasties.
nese religious consciousness before the Han dynasty was sha-
manism, which most commonly took the form of deities and
The Qin emperors attempted to rule all of China by the
spirits possessing receptive human beings. Spirit mediums
standards long developed in their own area; laws, measure-
both female and male are mentioned in discussions of early
ments, written characters, wheel tracks, thought, and so forth
Zhou religion as participants in court rituals, responsible for
were all to be unified. Local traditions and loyalties were still
invoking the descent of the gods, praying and dancing for
strong, however, and Qin rule remained precarious. After the
rain, and for ceremonial sweeping to exorcise harmful forces.
emperor died in 209, he was replaced by a son who proved
They were a subordinate level of officially accepted ritual
unequal to the task. Rebellions that broke out in that year
performers, mostly women, who spoke on behalf of the gods
severely undermined Qin authority, and by 206 one of the
to arrange for sacrifices. In conditions of extreme drought
rebel leaders, a village head named Liu Bang, had assumed
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1590
CHINESE RELIGION: AN OVERVIEW
de facto control of state administration. In 202 Liu Bang was
these deities, a limitation as well for two new rites he devel-
proclaimed emperor of a new dynasty, the Han (202 BCE–
oped in 219, the feng and shan sacrifices. These were per-
220 CE), built upon Qin foundations but destined to last,
formed on sacred Mount Tai, in modern Shandong prov-
with one interregnum, for over four hundred years.
ince, to symbolize that the ruler had been invested with
power by Heaven itself. Another driving force behind Qin
The Qin. The Qin was noteworthy both for its suppres-
encouragement of religious activities was the First Emperor’s
sion of philosophy and its encouragement of religion. The
personal quest for immortality. We are told that in this quest
Legalist tradition dominant in the state of Qin had long been
he sent groups of young people across the China Sea to look
hostile to the Confucians and Moists, with their emphasis
for such islands of the immortals as Penglai.
on ethical sanctions for rule. For the Legalists the only proper
standard of conduct was the law, applied by officials con-
The Han. The defeat of Qin forces in the civil wars
cerned with nothing else, whose personal views were irrele-
leading up to the founding of the Han dynasty deposed Le-
vant as long as they performed their task. The only sanctions
galist political thought along with the second and last Qin
the state needed were power and effective organization. Not
emperor. It took several decades for the new Han dynasty to
long after Qin became an empire, it attempted to silence all
consolidate its power. Since the Legalists had developed the
criticism based on the assumption of inner standards of righ-
most detailed policies for administering an empire, many of
teousness that were deemed to transcend political power and
these policies were followed in practice in modified form.
circumstance. In 213 BCE the court made it a capital offence
Some early Han scholars and emperors attempted to
to discuss Confucian books and principles and ordered that
ameliorate royal power with a revival of Confucian concern
all books in private collections be burned, save those dealing
for the people and Daoist principles of noninterference
with medicine, divination, and agriculture, as well as texts
(wuwei). For example, a palace counselor named Jia Yi (200–
of the Legalist school. In this campaign, several scores of
168 BCE) echoed Mengzi in his emphasis that the people are
scholars were executed, and a number of philosophical
the basis of the state, the purpose of which should be to make
schools were eliminated as coherent traditions, including the
them prosperous and happy so as to gain their approval. A
Moists and the Dialecticians. In the early Han dynasty both
similar point of view is presented in more Daoist form in the
Daoist philosophy and Confucianism revived, and Legalism
Huainanzi, a book presented to the throne in 139 BCE by a
continued to be in evidence in practice if not in theory. But
prince of the Liu clan who had convened a variety of scholars
a unified empire demanded unified thought, a dominant or-
in his court. This book discusses the world as a fundamental-
thodoxy enforced by the state. From this perspective variety
ly harmonious system of resonating roles and influences. The
was a threat to the Qin, and furthermore, there were no inde-
ruler’s job is to guide it, as an experienced charioteer guides
pendent states left to serve as sanctuaries for different
his team.
schools.
Both Jia Yi and the Huainanzi assume that the rhythms
Qin policy toward religion, by contrast, encouraged a
that order society and government emanate from the cosmic
variety of practices to support the state. To pay homage to
dao. The ruler’s task is to discover and reinforce these
the sacred powers of the realm and to consolidate his control,
rhythms for the benefit of all. This understanding of a Daoist
the First Emperor included worship at local shrines in his ex-
“art of rulership” is rooted in the teachings of the early Dao-
tensive tours. Representatives of regional cults, many of them
ist texts discussed above (Zhuangzi, Guanzi, and Laozi),
spirit mediums, were brought to the court, there to perform
which in the early Han were called the Huang-Lao school,
rituals at altars set up for their respective deities. The Qin
the tradition of the Yellow Emperor (Huangdi) and Laozi.
expanded the late Zhou tendency to exalt deities of natural
Four other Huang-Lao texts were rediscovered in 1973 at
forces; over one hundred temples to such nature deities were
Mawangdui, in a tomb sealed in 168 BCE. This early form
established in the capital alone, devoted to the sun, moon,
of Daoism, which was adopted by the early Han emperors,
planets, several constellations, and stars associated with wind,
is concerned with the dao as the creative source of both na-
rain, and long life. The nation was divided into sacred re-
ture and humanity, their patterns of order, and the ontologi-
gions presided over by twelve mountains and four major riv-
cal basis of law and administration. Here we see an attempt
ers, with many lesser holy places to be worshiped both by the
to apply Daoist philosophical principles to the ordering of
people and the emperor. Elaborate sacrifices of horses, rams,
society by blending them with Legalist ideas.
bulls, and a variety of foodstuffs were regularly offered at the
major sites, presided over by officials with titles such as
Some Confucian books had escaped the flames of 213
Grand Sacrificer and Grand Diviner. Important deities were
BCE, and those that did not were reconstructed or written
correlated with the Five Phases (wuxing), the modes of inter-
anew, with little but the old titles intact. By this time scholars
action of natural forces, the better to personify and control
such as Xunzi had already incorporated the best thought of
these powers.
their day into fundamentally Confucian expositions that ad-
vocated a strong centralized state and an ethical teaching en-
A distinctive feature of Qin religion was sacrifices to
forced by law. This expanded interpretation of Confucius’s
four “Supreme Emperors” responsible for natural powers in
teachings served his followers well in the early Han. They oc-
each of the four quarters. Only the emperor could worship
cupied the middle ground between Legalism and Daoist
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CHINESE RELIGION: AN OVERVIEW
1591
laissez-faire. There was room in their perspective for political
ence of women to men. Educated women as well as men ac-
power, criminal law, advocacy of benevolent rule, moral sua-
cepted this as a fact of nature. Ban Zhao (45–114 CE), the
sion, religious rituals, and personal ethical development, all
most famous female intellectual in Chinese history, wrote an
supported by a three-century tradition of training disciples
influential book called Lessons for Women (Nujie), which em-
to study sacred texts and emulate the models they provided.
phasized the propriety of women’s humility and subservi-
In addition, the philosopher Dong Zhongshu (c. 179–104
ence, although her support of education for girls could, in
BCE) incorporated into Confucianism the theories of Zou
its context, be considered a “feminist” position. In general,
Yan and the “Naturalists,” who in the fourth century BCE had
Confucians believed that women could become sages, but
taught that the world is an interrelated organic whole that
only by perfecting the virtues of the “woman’s Way” as wives
operates according to the cosmic principles of yinyang and
and mothers.
wuxing (Five Phases). The Huainanzi had already given this
Han state rituals were based upon those of Qin but were
material a Daoist interpretation, stressing the natural reso-
greatly expanded and more elaborate. The first Han emper-
nance between all aspects of the universe. In the hands of
or, Gaozu, instituted the worship of a star god believed to
Dong Zhongshu this understanding became an elaborate
be associated with Houji, the legendary founder of the Zhou
statement of the relationship of society and nature, with an
royal line. Temples for this deity were built in administrative
emphasis on natural justification for hierarchical social roles,
centers around the realm, where officials were also instructed
focused on that of the ruler.
to worship gods of local mountains and rivers. Gaozu
Dong Zhongshu provided a more detailed cosmological
brought shamans to the palace and set up shrines for sacri-
basis for Confucian ethical and social teachings and made it
fices to their regional deities. He also promoted the worship
clear that only a unified state could serve as a channel for cos-
of his own ancestors; at his death temples in his honor were
mic forces and sanctions. Dong was recognized as the leading
built in commanderies throughout the empire.
scholar of the realm and became spokesman for the official
These efforts to institute an imperial religious system
class. At his urging, the sixth Han emperor, Wudi (r. 140–87
supported by officials at all levels were energetically contin-
BCE), shifted his allegiance from Huang-Lao Daoism to Con-
ued by Emperor Wu, during whose fifty-four-year reign the
fucianism. In 136 BCE the Confucian classics were made the
foundations of imperial state religion were established for
prescribed texts studied at the imperial academy. Texts of
Chinese history into the twentieth century. The emperor’s
other schools, including the Daoist theories of administra-
religious activities were in turn supported by the philosophy
tion noted above, were excluded. This meant in effect that
of Dong Zhongshu, with its emphasis on the central cosmic
Dong Zhongshu’s version of Confucianism became the offi-
role of the ruler. Emperor Wu revived the jiao or suburban
cial state teaching, a status it retained throughout the Han
sacrifice at the winter solstice to express imperial support for
dynasty. So it was that the humble scholar of Lu, dead for
the revival of life forces. He also began to worship Taiyi, the
over three hundred years, was exalted as patron saint of the
“Supreme One,” a star deity most noble in the heavens, an
imperial system, a position he retained until 1911. State-
exalted version of a Zhou god. Taiyi was coequal with Heav-
supported temples were established in Confucius’s name in
en and earth, a symbol of both cosmic power and the emper-
cities all over the land, and his home at Qufu became a na-
or’s status. In the period 112–110 BCE Emperor Wu renewed
tional shrine. In these temples, spirit tablets of the master
the feng and shan sacrifices at Mount Tai, the sacred moun-
and his disciples (replaced by images from 720 to 1530) were
tain of the east, a key place of direct communication with
venerated in elaborate and formal rituals. As the generations
Heaven for the sake of the whole realm. In 109 BCE he or-
passed, the tablets of the most influential scholars of the age
dered that a ming tang (hall of light) be built at the foot of
came to be placed in these temples as well, by imperial de-
Mount Tai as a temple where all the major deities of China
cree, and so the cult of Confucius became the ritual focus
could assemble and be worshiped. Emperor Wu also toured
of the scholar-official class.
the realm, sacrificing at important shrines along the way, all
to express his religious convictions and assert his authority.
Dong Zhongshu’s incorporation of yinyang thought
into Confucian philosophy had the unfortunate effect of
Detailed instructions for these Han rituals were provid-
legitimating and accentuating what was already a patriarchal
ed by handbooks of ritual and etiquette such as the Liji (Re-
social system. The root meanings of yin (dark) and yang
cord of Ritual), the present version of which was compiled
(light) were not gendered, but neither did they necessarily
in the second century BCE but includes earlier material as
imply a complementarity of equals. The predominant inter-
well. Here we find descriptions of royal rituals to be per-
pretation of the yin-yang polarity throughout Chinese history
formed at the solstices and the equinoxes, as well as instruc-
(with a few texts like the Laozi as prominent exceptions) un-
tions for such matters as the initiation (“capping”) of young
derstood the relationship as a hierarchical complementarity,
men and the worship of ancestors. The emphasis throughout
with yin as quiescent and sinking and yang as active and ris-
is on the intimate correlations of nature and society, so that
ing. The general preference for yang over yin, combined with
social custom is given cosmic justification. The Liji comple-
the patriarchal association of women with yin and men with
ments Dong Zhongshu’s philosophy by extending similar
yang, provided philosophical justification for the subservi-
understandings to the social life of the literate elite. In this
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1592
CHINESE RELIGION: AN OVERVIEW
context periodic rituals served as concentrated reminders of
Another destination for the dead was an underworld
the cosmic basis of the whole cultural and political order.
that was a Han elaboration of the old myth of the Yellow
Thus did the imperial ruling class express its piety and solidi-
Springs, a shadowy place beneath the earth referred to as
fy its position.
early as the eighth century BCE. From the Han period, there
are tomb documents by which living officials transferred the
It should be noted, however, that the old Zhou concept
dead in their jurisdiction to those of their counterparts in the
of the “Mandate of Heaven” continued to influence Han po-
underworld. There are also references to a realm of the dead
litical thought in a form elaborated and attenuated at the
inside Mount Tai. The god of this mountain keeps registers
same time. Particularly in the writings of Dong Zhongshu,
of the life spans of all, and death may be referred to as “to
evidence for divine approval or disapproval of the ruler was
return to the Eastern Peak.” By the third and fourth centu-
discerned in natural phenomena, such as comets or earth-
ries CE it was believed that there was a subterranean kingdom
quakes, interpreted as portents and omens. In accord with
within Mount Tai, where judges decided the fate of the dead.
this belief, officials were appointed to record and interpret
These alternative beliefs represent the state of Chinese under-
portents and to suggest appropriate responses, such as
standings of afterlife before Buddhist impact.
changes in ritual procedure and the proclamation of amnes-
ties. The developing tradition of political portents recog-
What came to be called the Former Han dynasty ended
nized the importance of divine sanctions but provided a
in 8 CE when the throne was occupied by a prime minister
range of calibrated responses that enabled rulers to adjust
named Wang Mang (r. 9–23 CE), who established a Xin
their policies rather than face the prospect of rejection by
(“new”) dynasty that was to last for fourteen years. Wang’s
Heaven. The Mandate of Heaven in its earlier and starker
chief contribution to the history of Chinese religions was his
form was evoked chiefly as justification for rebellion in peri-
active promotion of prognostication as a way of understand-
ing the intimate relationship between Heaven and the court.
ods of dynastic decay. Nonetheless, portent theory in the
In 25
hands of a conscientious official could be used in attempts
CE Liu Xiu (r. 25–57), a member of the Han royal line,
led a successful attack on Wang Mang and reestablished the
to check or ameliorate royal despotism, and hence was an as-
(Latter) Han dynasty. Like Wang Mang, he actively sup-
pect of the state religious system that could challenge politi-
ported prognostication at court, despite the criticism of ra-
cal power as well as support it.
tionalist scholars such as Huan Tan (43 BCE–28 CE), who ar-
The Han emperor Wu devoted much effort to attaining
gued that strange phenomena were a matter of coincidence
immortality, as had his Qin predecessor. As before, shamans
and natural causes rather than messages from Heaven.
and specialists in immortality potions were brought to court,
A related development was controversy between two
and expeditions were sent off to look for the dwelling places
movements within Confucian scholarly circles, the so-called
of those who had defeated death. The search for immortality
New Text school of the Former Han and a later rationalistic
became quite popular among those who had the money and
reaction against it, the Old Text school. The New Text
literacy to engage in it. In part this was the result of the trans-
school developed out of Dong Zhongshu’s concern with por-
formation of the Yellow Emperor (Huangdi) into the patron
tents. Its followers wrote new commentaries on the classics
deity of immortality, the earliest popular saving deity of this
that praised Confucius as a superhuman being who predicted
type in China. This transformation, fostered by magicians
the future hundreds of years beyond his time. By the end of
or “technique specialists” (fangshi) at Emperor Wu’s court,
the first century BCE this interpretation of the sage in mytho-
included stories that the Yellow Emperor had ascended to
logical terms was vigorously resisted by an Old Text school
Heaven with his whole retinue, including a harem of over
that advocated a more restrained and historical approach.
seventy.
These two traditions coexisted throughout the remainder of
the Han dynasty, with the New Text scholars receiving the
A more common expression of hope for some sort of
most imperial support through the first century
continuity after death may be seen in tombs of Han aristo-
CE. After
Huan Tan, the best known rationalist was Wang Chong,
crats and officials, many of which were built as sturdy brick
whose Lunheng (Balanced Essays) fiercely criticizes religious
replicas of houses or offices, complete with wooden and ce-
opinions of his day, including prognostication and belief in
ramic utensils, attendants, and animals, as well as food,
spirits of the dead. Although Wang Chong was not well
drugs, clothing, jade, bamboo books, and other precious ob-
known by his contemporaries, his thought was rediscovered
jects. To a large extent this was a modification of Shang and
in the third century and established as a key contribution to
Zhou traditions. However, in a few Han tombs were tightly
the skeptical tradition in Chinese philosophy. An important
sealed coffins filled with an embalming fluid in which even
religious legacy of the New Text school was the exalted inter-
the skin and flesh of the bodies have been preserved. On top
pretation of Confucius as a semidivine being, which was ech-
of one of these coffins has been found an elaborate silk ban-
oed in later popular religion. Its concern with portents and
ner from the southern state of Chu, painted with a design
numerology also influenced Daoism.
evidently intended to guide the occupant to a paradise of the
immortals, perhaps that of the Queen Mother of the West,
We have noted the appearance of the Yellow Emperor
Xi Wang Mu.
as a divine patron of immortality and as a representative 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
CHINESE RELIGION: AN OVERVIEW
1593
a new type of personified saving deity with power over a
tection. The register also served as a passport to heaven at
whole area of activity. In the latter half of the Han dynasty
death. Daoist ritual consists essentially of the periodic renew-
the number and popularity of such deities increased, begin-
al of these alliances by meditative visualization, ritual confes-
ning with the cult of the Queen Mother of the West (Xi
sion and petition, and sacrificial offering of incense and sa-
Wang Mu). She was associated with the Kunlun Mountains
cred documents. Daoist texts are concerned throughout with
in the northwest, where she presided over a palace and re-
moral discipline and orderly ritual and organization.
ceived a royal visitor, King Mu of the Zhou dynasty, who
Under Zhang Daoling’s grandson, Zhang Lu, the Way
she predicted would be able to avoid death. In 3 BCE Xi
of the Celestial Masters established a theocratic state in the
Wang Mu’s promise of immortality to all became the central
area of modern Sichuan province with an organization mod-
belief of an ecstatic popular cult in her name that swept
eled in part on Han local administration. The administrative
across North China. Although this movement abated in a
units or “parishes” were headed by “libationers,” some of
few months, the Queen Mother herself is commonly por-
whom were women, whose duties included both religious
trayed in Latter Han iconography. Kunlun is described as the
and administrative functions. Their rituals included reciting
center pillar of the world, from where she controls cosmic
the Laozi, doing penance to heal illness, and constructing
powers and the gift of immortality. This goddess has contin-
huts in which free food was offered to passersby. Converts
ued to have an important role in Chinese religion until the
were required to contribute five pecks of rice, from which
present day.
the movement gained the popular name of “the Way of Five
Pecks of Rice” (Wudoumi dao). In 215 Zhang Lu pledged
Mountain-dwelling immortals constituted another
allegiance to a Han warlord (Cao Cao), whose son founded
source of personal deities in this period. These beings were
the new state of Wei in 220. The members of the sect were
believed to descend to aid the ruler in times of crisis, some-
required to disperse their self-governing community in Sich-
times with instructions from the Celestial Emperor (Tiandi),
uan, but they were allowed to continue their activities and
sometimes themselves identified with the “perfect ruler” who
taught that Wei had simply inherited divine authority from
would restore peace to the world. By the second century CE
the Celestial Master Zhang and his line. By the fourth centu-
the most important of these figures was Laozi, the legendary
ry the Celestial Masters developed more elaborate collective
author of the Daodejing, who appears as a deity called Huang
rituals of repentance, retrospective salvation of ancestors, and
Laojun (Yellow Lord Lao) or Taishang Laojun (Most High
the strengthening of vital forces through sexual intercourse.
Lord Lao). By this time Laozi had been portrayed for centu-
Eventually all branches of Daoism traced their origins to the
ries in popular legend as a mysterious wise man who disap-
Way of the Celestial Masters.
peared without a trace. We have seen that the book in his
We know less about the practices of the Way of Great
name contains passages that could be interpreted as support
Peace because it was destroyed as a coherent tradition in the
for the immortality cult, and by the first century he was re-
aftermath of a massive uprising in 184
ferred to as an immortal himself. In an inscription of 165
CE. Its leader, also
named Zhang (Zhang Jue, d. 184 CE), proclaimed that the
CE Laozi is described as a creator deity, equal in status to the
divine mandate for the Han rule, here symbolized by the
sun, moon, and stars. A contemporary text assures his devo-
wood (green) phase (of the Five Phases), had expired, to be
tees that he has manifested himself many times in order to
replaced by the earth phase, whose color is yellow. Zhang
save humankind, that he will select those who believe in him
Jue’s forces thus wore yellow cloths on their heads as symbols
to escape the troubles of the age, and that he will “shake the
of their destiny, and hence the movement came to be called
Han reign.” It is this messianic theme that provided the reli-
the Yellow Scarves (often misleadingly translated as Yellow
gious impetus for two large popular religious movements in
Turbans). The Han court commissioned local governors to
the late second century CE that were important sources of
put down the uprising, which was soon suppressed with
later Daoist religion and the popular sectarian tradition.
much bloodshed, although remnants of the Yellow Scarves
These movements were the Tianshi dao (Way of the Celestial
continued to exist until the end of the century.
Masters) in the west and the Taiping dao (Way of Great
Peace) in the north.
The Yellow Scarves are better understood as a parallel
to the Celestial Master sect rather than as connected to it,
The Way of the Celestial Masters began with a new rev-
although the two movements shared some beliefs and prac-
elation from the Most High Lord Lao to a man named
tices, particularly healing through confession of sins. The
Zhang Daoling in 142 CE. In this revelation Zhang was des-
Way of Great Peace employed a scripture known as the Taip-
ignated as the first “Celestial Master” and was empowered
ingjing (Scripture of Great Peace), which emphasizes the cy-
to perform rituals and write talismans that distributed this
clical renewal of life in the jiazi year, the beginning of the
new manifestation of the dao for the salvation of humankind.
sixty-year calendrical cycle. Both sects were utopian, but the
Salvation was available to those who repented of their sins,
Yellow Scarves represent a more eschatalogical orientation.
believed in the dao, and pledged allegiance to their Daoist
In retrospect, both of these groups appear as attempts to re-
master. The master in turn established an alliance between
construct at a local level the Han cosmic and political synthe-
the gods and the devotee, who then wore at the waist a list
sis that was collapsing around them, with priests taking the
or “register” of the names of the gods to be called on for pro-
place of imperial officials.
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CHINESE RELIGION: AN OVERVIEW
The most important legacy of the late Han popular reli-
Northern-Southern Dynasties periods. In this time of rela-
gious movements was their belief in personified divine beings
tively weak central government control, powerful local clans
concerned to aid humankind, a belief supported by new
emerged to claim hereditary power over their areas.
texts, rituals, and forms of leadership and organization. This
The beginnings of Buddhism in China. With the
belief was given impetus by the expectation that a bearer of
gradual expansion of Buddhism under the patronage of the
collective salvation was about to appear in order to initiate
Kushan rulers (in present-day northwest India, Pakistan, and
a new time of peace, prosperity, and long life. From the third
Afghanistan) into the oasis states of Central Asia, and with
century on this hope was focused on a figure called Li Hong,
the corresponding expansion of Chinese influence into this
in whose name several local movements appeared, some in-
same region, it became inevitable that Buddhism would be
volving armed uprisings. This eschatological orientation was
introduced into East Asia. Over a thousand-year period from
an important dimension of early Daoism, which at first un-
the beginning of the common era until the close of the first
derstood itself as a new revelation, intended to supplant pop-
millennium, the opportunities for cultural exchange with
ular cults with their bloody sacrifices and spirit mediums.
South and West Asia afforded by the so-called Silk Road—
In addition to such organized movements as the Yellow
actually a whole network of trade routes throughout Asia and
Scarves, Han popular religion included the worship of local
connecting it with Europe—nourished vibrant East Asian
sacred objects such as trees, rocks, and streams, the worship
Buddhist traditions. These began with earnest imitation of
of dragons (thought to inhabit bodies of water), the belief
their Indian antecedents and culminated in the great inde-
that spirits of the dead have consciousness and can roam
pendent systems of thought that characterize the fully devel-
about, and a lively sense of the power of omens and fate. By
oped tradition: Huayan, Tiantai, Jingtu, and Chan.
the third century there are references to propitiation of the
From about 100 BCE on it would have been relatively
spirits of persons who died violent deaths, with offerings of
easy for Buddhist ideas and practices to come to China with
animal flesh presided over by spirit mediums.
foreign merchants, but the first reliable notice of it in Chi-
nese sources is dated 65 CE. In a royal edict of that year we
Feng-shui (wind and water), or geomancy, also devel-
are told that a prince administering a city in what is now
oped during the Han as a ritual expression of the yin-yang
northern Jiangsu province “recites the subtle words of
and five-phases worldview. It is the art of locating graves,
Huang-Lao, and respectfully performs the gentle sacrifices to
buildings, and cities in auspicious places where there is a con-
the Buddha.” He was encouraged to “entertain upa¯sakas and
centration of the vital energies (qi) of earth and atmosphere.
sramanas,” Buddhist lay devotees and initiates. In 148 CE the
Spirits of the dead in graves so located, by virtue of being part
first of several foreign monks, An Shigao, settled in Luoyang,
of the natural flow of qi through the earth, are less likely to
the capital of the Latter Han. Over the next forty years he
roam the world as ghosts and harm their descendants. Like-
and other scholars translated about thirty Buddhist scriptures
wise, homes and cities harmoniously oriented with the flow
into Chinese, most of them from pre-Maha¯ya¯na traditions,
of qi benefit the living directly; to be in harmony with the
emphasizing meditation and moral principles. However, by
natural order is “auspicious.” The earliest extant feng-shui
about 185 three Maha¯ya¯na prajña¯pa¯ramita¯ (Perfection of
texts are attributed to famous diviners of the third and fourth
Wisdom) texts were translated as well.
centuries. Chinese religion was thus developed at a number
A memorial dated 166, approving Buddhist “purity,”
of levels by the time Buddhism arrived, although Buddhism
“emptiness,” nonviolence, and control of sensual desires, fur-
offered several fresh interpretations of morality, personal des-
ther informs us that in that year the emperor performed a
tiny, and the fate of the dead.
joint sacrifice to Laozi and the Buddha. In 193–194 a local
THE PERIOD OF DISUNION. By the time the first Buddhist
warlord in what is now Jiangsu erected a Buddhist temple
monks and texts appeared in China around the first century
that could hold more than three thousand people. It con-
CE, the Han dynasty was already in decline. At court rival
tained a bronze Buddha image before which offerings were
factions competed for imperial favor, and in the provinces
made and scriptures were read. During ceremonies in honor
restless governors moved toward independence. Political and
of the Buddha’s birthday, thousands came to participate,
military fragmentation was hastened by the campaigns
watch, and enjoy free food and wine. Thus, by the end of
against the Yellow Scarves uprising, after which a whole se-
the second century there were at least two centers of Bud-
ries of adventurers arose to attack each other and take over
dhist activity, Luoyang in the north and an area in the south-
territory. In the first decade of the third century three major
east. At court Buddhist symbols were used in essentially Dao-
power centers emerged in the north, southeast, and south-
ist rituals, but in the scriptures the novelty and differences
west, with that in the north controlling the last Han emperor
of Buddhism were made clear in crude vernacular transla-
and ruling in his name. By 222 these three centers each had
tions. Injunctions to eliminate desires, to love all beings
declared themselves states (the “Three Kingdoms” of the fa-
equally, without special preference for one’s family, and to
mous fourteenth-century historical novel by Luo Guan-
regard the body as transitory and doomed to decay rather
zhong), and China entered a period of political division that
than an arena for seeking immortality were not without pre-
was to last until late in the sixth century. This is known as
cedent in Chinese thought, but they did challenge the Han
the Six Dynasties period, or alternatively, the Wei-Jin and
Confucian orthodoxy.
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CHINESE RELIGION: AN OVERVIEW
1595
Although early sources mention terms for various cleri-
“school of names” (mingjiao) and that of those advocating
cal ranks, rules for monastic life were transmitted in a hap-
“spontaneous naturalism” (ziran). By the early fourth centu-
hazard and incomplete fashion. Monks and nuns lived in
ry Buddhist monks were involved in these debates, supported
cloisters that cannot properly be called monasteries until a
by sympathetic clans, advocating a middle ground between
few centuries later. Meanwhile, leadership of the Chinese
the conservatives and libertarians, spiritual freedom based on
clergy was provided first by Central Asian monks, then by
ethical discipline. Although Buddhism was still imperfectly
naturalized Chinese of foreign descent, and by the fourth
understood, it had gained a vital foothold.
century, by Chinese themselves. Nuns are first mentioned in
that century as well.
Chinese intellectuals first attempted to understand Bud-
dhism through its apparent similarities to certain beliefs and
The movement of Buddhism to China, one of the great
practices of Daoism and immortality cults. Thus, bodhisatt-
cultural interactions of history, was slow and fortuitous, car-
vas and buddhas were correlated with sages and immortals,
ried out almost entirely at a private level. The basic reason
meditation with circulation of the vital fluids, and nirva¯n:a
for its eventual acceptance throughout Chinese society was
with wuwei, spontaneous, nonintentional action. However,
that it offered several religious and social advantages unavail-
Indian Buddhism and traditional Chinese thought have very
able to the same extent in China before. These included a
different understandings of life and the world. Buddhist
full-time religious vocation for both men and women in an
thought is primarily psychological and epistemological, con-
organization largely independent of family and state, a clear
cerned with liberation from sam:sa¯ra, the world perceived as
promise of life after death at various levels, and developed
a realm of suffering, impermanence, and death. For the Chi-
conceptions of paradise and purgatory, connected to life
nese, on the other hand, nature and society are fundamental-
through the results of intentional actions (karma). Many
ly good; our task is to harmonize with the positive forces of
women found Buddhism an attractive alternative to the
nature, and enlightenment consists in identifying with these
“woman’s Way” supported by Confucianism, with its limit-
forces rather than in being freed from them. The interaction
ed options for fulfillment as wives and mothers. Buddhism
of these worldviews led Chinese Buddhists to interpret psy-
also offered the worship of heroic saviors in image form, sup-
chological concepts in cosmological directions. For example,
ported by scriptures that told of their wisdom and compas-
the key Maha¯ya¯na term “emptiness” (´su¯nyata¯ in Sanskrit,
sion. For ordinary folk there were egalitarian moral princi-
kong in Chinese) refers primarily to the interdependence of
ples, promises of healing and protection from harmful forces,
all things—that is, their lack of any independent nature or
and simple means of devotion; for intellectuals there were so-
being—and to the radically objective and neutral mode of
phisticated philosophy and the challenge of attaining new
perception that accepts the impermanence and interdepen-
states of consciousness in meditation, all of this expounded
dence of things without trying to control them or project
by a relatively educated clergy who recruited, organized,
onto them human concepts and values. Indeed, the first dis-
translated, and preached.
cussions of this term used it as a logical tool to destroy false
In the early fourth century North China was invaded
confidence in philosophical and religious concepts, particu-
by the nomadic Xiongnu, who sacked Luoyang in 311 and
larly earlier Buddhist ones. All concepts, according to this
Chang’an in 316. Thousands of elite families fled south
doctrine, are mutually contradictory and refer to nothing
below the Yangzi River, where a series of short-lived Chinese
substantial; hence they are “empty.” In China, however,
dynasties held off further invasions. In the north a succession
“emptiness” immediately evoked discussion about the origin
of kingdoms of Inner Asian background rose and fell, most
and nature of the phenomenal world. “Emptiness” was
of which supported Buddhism because of its religious appeal
equated with “nonbeing” (wu), the fecund source of exis-
and its non-Chinese origins. The forms of Buddhism that
tence, and “vacuity” (xu), the absence of concrete existence
developed here emphasized ritual, ideological support for the
or cognitive preconception, both of which are prominent
state, magic protection, and meditation.
concepts in the Laozi. As their understanding of Buddhism
deepened, Chinese thinkers became more aware of the epis-
It was in the south, however, that Buddhism first be-
temological force of the term “emptiness” but continued to
came a part of Chinese intellectual history. The Han imperial
see it primarily as a problem in interpreting the world itself.
Confucian synthesis had collapsed with the dynasty, a col-
In that respect it was somewhat consistent with certain Con-
lapse that encouraged a quest for new philosophical alterna-
fucian and Daoist ideas, such as the notion that persons and
tives. Representatives of these alternatives found support in
things are defined by their relationships with others or their
aristocratic clans, which competed with each other in part
positions in the overall pattern of things—the dao.
through philosophical debates. These debates, called qingtan,
or “pure conversation,” revived and refined a tradition that
Buddhist thought was already well developed and com-
had been widespread in the period of the so-called Hundred
plexly differentiated before it reached China. Likewise, Chi-
Philosophers (sixth and fifth centuries BCE), a tradition with
nese culture, religion, and philosophy were mature and high-
precise rules of definition and criteria for victory. By the mid-
ly developed when Buddhism entered China. So the story of
third century these debates revolved around two basic per-
Buddhism in China was a case of two mature cultural sys-
spectives, that of rather conservative moralists called the
tems, with some rather fundamental linguistic and social 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
1596
CHINESE RELIGION: AN OVERVIEW
ferences, interacting and transforming each other. But at first
It was in the fifth century as well that Chinese Buddhist
the Chinese knew of Buddhism only through scriptures hap-
eschatology developed, based in part on predictions attribut-
hazardly collected in translations of varying accuracy, for
ed to the Buddha that a few hundred years after his entry into
very few Chinese learned Sanskrit. Since all the su¯tras
nirva¯n:a the dharma (the Buddha’s teachings) would lose its
claimed to be preached by the Buddha himself, they were ac-
vigor, morals would decline, and ignorant, corrupt monks
cepted as such, with discrepancies among them explained as
and nuns would appear. In addition, from its inception as
deriving from the different situations and capacities of listen-
a full-fledged religion in the second century, Daoism had
ers prevailing when a particular text was preached. In prac-
proclaimed itself to be the manifestation of a new age of cos-
tice, this meant that the Chinese had to select from a vast
mic vitality, supported by pious devotees, “seed people.” A
range of data those themes that made the most sense in their
combination of these motifs led to the composition in China
preexisting worldview. For example, as the tradition develops
of Buddhist scriptures saying that since the end of the age
we find emphases on simplicity and directness, the universal
had come, more intense morality and piety were required of
potential for enlightenment, and the Buddha mind as source
those who wished to be saved. These texts also promised aid
of the cosmos, all of them prepared for by similar ideas in
from saving bodhisattvas such as Maitreya, the next buddha-
indigenous thought and practice.
to-be. In some cases the apocalyptic vision of these texts in-
The most important early Chinese Buddhist philoso-
spired militant utopian movements, led by monks but with
phers, organizers, and translators were Dao’an (312–385),
lay membership. By the early seventh century a few of these
Huiyuan (334–417), and Kuma¯raj¯ıva (334–413), each of
groups were involved in armed uprisings in the name of
whom contributed substantially to the growth of the young
Maitreya, which led eventually to a decline in official support
“church.” Dao’an was known principally for his organiza-
for his cult, although he remained important in popular sec-
tional and exegetical skills and for the catalog of Buddhist
tarian eschatology.
scriptures he compiled. His disciple Huiyuan, one of the
The first important school of Buddhist thought devel-
most learned clerics in South China, gathered a large com-
oped in China was the Tiantai, founded by the monk Zhiyi
munity of monks around him and inaugurated a cult to
(538–597). This school is noted for its synthesis of earlier
Amita¯bha, a popular Buddha. Kuma¯raj¯ıva, the most impor-
Buddhist traditions into one system, divided into five peri-
tant and prolific of the early translators, was responsible for
ods of development according to stages in the Buddha’s
the transmission of the Ma¯dhyamika (Sanlun) tradition to
teaching. According to Tiantai, the Buddha’s teachings cul-
China. His lectures on Buddhist scripture in Chang’an estab-
minated in his exposition of the Lotus Su¯tra, in which all ap-
lished a sound doctrinal basis for Maha¯ya¯na thought in the
proaches are unified. Zhiyi also systematized the theory and
Middle Kingdom. Another formative early figure was Daos-
practice of Maha¯ya¯na meditation. His most important philo-
heng (d. 434 CE), a student of Kuma¯raj¯ıva. He is known for
sophical contribution was his affirmation of the absolute
his emphasis on the positive nature of nirva¯n:a, his conviction
buddha mind as the source and substance of all phenomena.
that even nonbelievers have the potential for salvation, and
In Zhiyi’s teaching the old Ma¯dhyamika logical destruction
his teaching of instantaneous enlightenment. Like the con-
of dualities is replaced by a positive emphasis on their identi-
cept of emptiness, these ideas resonated well with certain
ty in a common source. So, in impeccably Buddhist lan-
Confucian and Daoist concepts, such as the goodness of
guage, he was able to justify the phenomenal world, and thus
human nature in Mengzi and the Daoist notion of spontane-
to provide an intellectual foundation for much of the later
ity. Such themes helped lay the foundation for Chan (Japa-
development of Buddhism in China.
nese, Zen) Buddhism in the seventh and eighth centuries.
In 581 China was reunified by the Sui dynasty (581–
The history of monastic Buddhism was closely tied to
618) after three and a half centuries of political fragmenta-
state attitudes and policies, which ranged from outright sup-
tion. The Sui founder supported Buddhism, particularly the
pression to complete support, as in the case of Emperor Wu
Tiantai school, as a unifying ideology shared by many of his
of the Liang dynasty (r. 501–549), who abolished Daoist
subjects in both north and south. After four decades of rule
temples and built Buddhist ones, and three times entered a
the Sui was overthrown in a series of rebellions, to be re-
monastery himself as a lay servitor. However, by the fifth
placed by the Tang (618–907). Although the new dynasty
century Buddhism was becoming well established among
tended to give more official support to Confucianism and
people of all classes, who, to gain karmic merit, donated land
Daoism, Buddhism continued to grow at every level of
and goods, took lay vows, served in monasteries, and estab-
society.
lished a variety of voluntary associations to copy scriptures,
provide vegetarian food for monks and nuns, and carve Bud-
The rise of Daoist religion. By the fourth century
dha images. The most important image-carving projects were
Daoism was characterized by a literate and self-perpetuating
at Yungang in Shanxi and Longmen in Henan, where huge
priesthood, a pantheon of celestial deities, complex rituals,
figures, chiefly those of S´a¯kyamuni, Amita¯bha, and
and revealed scriptures in classical (literary) Chinese. Al-
Maitreya, were cut into cliffs and caves. Such major projects
though the first elements of this tradition appeared in the
of course also involved large-scale official and clerical
second-century popular movements discussed above, the tra-
support.
dition underwent further development at the hands of gentry
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHINESE RELIGION: AN OVERVIEW
1597
scholars versed in philosophy, ethical teachings, and alche-
diets, and sexual techniques, all reinforced by moral dedica-
my. These scholars saw themselves as formulators of a new,
tion. Ge Hong’s concerns were supported by members of the
more refined religion superior to the popular cults around
old aristocracy of the state of Wu (222–280) whose families
them. This new system was led by priests who, though not
had moved south during the Latter Han period.
officials, claimed celestial prerogatives.
When the northern state of Jin was conquered by the
Daoism is fundamentally rooted in the concept of qi,
Xiongnu in 316, thousands of Jin gentry and officials moved
the psycho-physical-spiritual substance out of which nature,
south, bringing the Celestial Master sect with them. The
gods, and humans evolve. The source and order of this vital
eventual result was a blending of Celestial Master concern
substance is the dao, the ultimate basis of life in the universe.
for priestly administration and collective rituals with the
The gods are personified manifestations of qi, symbolizing
more individualistic and esoteric alchemical traditions of the
astral powers of the cosmos and organs of the human body
southeast. Between the years 364 and 370 a young man
with which they are correlated. Under the conditions of ordi-
named Yang Xi claimed to receive revelations from “perfect-
nary existence qi becomes stale and dissipated, so it must be
ed ones” (zhenren, a term from the Zhuangzi) or exalted im-
renewed through ritual and meditative processes that restore
mortals from the Heaven of Supreme Purity (Shangqing).
its primal vitality. Some of these practices consist of visualiz-
These deities directed Yang to make transcripts and deliver
ing and calling down the cosmic gods to reestablish their
them to Xu Mi (303–373), an official of the Eastern Jin state
contact with their bodily correlates. In this way the adept in-
(317–420) with whom he was associated. Yang Xi believed
gests divine power and so recharges his or her bodily forces
his new revelations to be from celestial regions more exalted
for healing, rejuvenation, and long life. In others, the sub-
than those evoked by the Celestial Master sect and Ge Hong.
stances of the human body—jing (life-giving “essences,” such
The Perfected Ones rewrote and corrected earlier texts in po-
as sexual fluids), qi (“vital breath,” in a more specific sense
etic language, reformulated sexual rites as symbols of spiritual
than the general qi of which all things are composed), and
union, and taught new methods of inner cultivation and al-
shen (spirit)—are manipulated and purified through visual-
chemy. These teachings were all presented in an eschatologi-
ization and meditation. Physical exercises and dietary prac-
cal context, as the salvation of an elect people in a time of
tices (such as abstinence from grains, which are thought to
chaos. They prophesied that a “lord of the Way, [a] sage who
contain the dark yin power of the earth) are also parts of the
is to come” would descend in 392. Then the wicked would
Daoist regimen. The general aim of these practices is to en-
be eliminated and a purified terrestrial kingdom established,
hance spiritual and physical health. Accomplished practice
ruled over by such pious devotees as Xu Mi, now perceived
results in the purification of the psycho-physical being into
as a priest and future celestial official. It is perhaps not acci-
the embryo of a new, immortal self. Rituals are also per-
dental that these promises were made to members of the old
formed for an entire community; Daoist masters can release
southern aristocracy whose status had recently been threat-
their cosmic power through ritual actions that revive the life
ened by the newcomers from the north.
forces of the community around them.
Xu Mi and one of his sons had retired to Maoshan, a
When the Celestial Master sect was officially recognized
mountain near the Eastern Jin capital (modern Nanjing);
by the state of Wei (220–265) in the early third century, its
hence, the texts they received and transcribed came to be
leadership was established in the capital, Luoyang, north and
called those of a Maoshan “school.” In the next century an-
east of the old sect base area in modern Sichuan. In the north
other southern scholar, Tao Hongjing (456–536), collected
remnants of the Yellow Scarves still survived, and before long
all the remaining manuscripts from Yang Xi and the Xu fam-
the teachings and rituals of these two similar traditions
ily and edited them as the Zhengao (Declarations of the Per-
blended together. A tension remained, however, between
fected). With this the Maoshan/Shangqing scriptures were
those who saw secular authority as a manifestation of the
established as a foundation stone of the emerging Daoist
Way and those determined to bring in a new era of peace
canon.
and prosperity by militant activity. Uprisings led by charis-
matic figures who claimed long life and healing powers oc-
In the meantime another member of Ge Hong’s clan
curred in different areas throughout the fourth century and
had written a scripture in about 397, the Lingbaojing (Scrip-
later.
ture of the Sacred Jewel), which he claimed had been re-
vealed to him by the spirit of an early third-century ancestor.
Meanwhile, in the southeast another tradition emerged
This text exalted “celestial worthies” (tianzun), who were
that was to contribute to Daoism, a tradition concerned with
worshiped in elaborate collective rituals directed by priests
alchemy, the use of herbs and minerals to attain immortality.
in outdoor arenas. The Lingbaojing established another
Its chief literary expression was the Baopuzi (The Master
strand of Daoist mythology and practice that was also codi-
Who Embraces Simplicity) written by Ge Hong in about
fied in the south during the fifth century. Its rituals replaced
320. Ge Hong collected a large number of alchemical formu-
those of the Celestial Master tradition while remaining in-
las and legends of the immortals, intended to show how the
debted to them. Lingbao texts were collected and edited by
body can be transformed by the ingestion of gold and other
Lu Xiujing (406–477), who wrote on Daoist history and
chemicals and by the inner circulation of the vital qi, special
ritual.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1598
CHINESE RELIGION: AN OVERVIEW
Daoism was active in the north as well, in the Northern
tain reference to Manichaeism in a Chinese source is dated
Wei kingdom (386–534), which established Daoist offices
694, although it may have been present about two decades
at court in 400. In 415 and 423 a scholar named Kou Qian-
earlier. As was true with Zoroastrianism, Manichaeism in its
zhi (365–448) claimed to have received direct revelations
early centuries in China was primarily practiced by foreign-
from Lord Lao while he was living on a sacred mountain.
ers, although its leaders soon composed catechisms and texts
The resulting scriptures directed Kou to reform the Celestial
in Chinese stressing the congruence of their teachings with
Master tradition; renounce popular cults, messianic upris-
Buddhism and Daoism. In 755 a Chinese military com-
ings, and sexual rituals; and support the court as a Daoist
mander named An Lushan led a powerful rebellion that the
kingdom on earth. Kou was introduced to the Wei ruler by
Tang court was able to put down only with the help of for-
a sympathetic official named Cui Hao (d. 450) in 424 and
eign support. One of these allies was the Uighur, from a
was promptly appointed to the office of “Erudite of Tran-
kingdom based in what is now northern Mongolia. In 762
scendent Beings.” The next year he was proclaimed Celestial
a Uighur army liberated Luoyang from rebel forces, and
Master, and his teachings “promulgated throughout the
there a Uighur kaghan (king) was converted to Manichaeism.
realm.” For the next two decades Kou and Cui cooperated
The result was new prestige and more temples for the reli-
to promote Daoism at the court. As a result, in 440 the king
gion in China.
accepted the title Perfect Ruler of Great Peace, and during
the period 444 to 446 proscribed Buddhism and local “exces-
However, in 840 the Uighurs were defeated by the Kir-
sive cults.” Although Cui Hao was eventually discredited and
ghiz, with the result that the Chinese turned on the religion
Buddhism established as the state religion by a new ruler in
of their former allies, destroyed its temples, and expelled or
452, the years of official support for Daoism clarified its le-
executed its priests. Nonetheless, at least one Manichaean
gitimacy and political potential as an alternative to Confu-
leader managed to escape to Quanzhou in Fujian province
cianism and Buddhism.
on the southeast coast. In Fujian the Manichaeans flourished
as a popular sect, characterized by their distinctive teachings,
THE CONSOLIDATION OF EMPIRE: SEVENTH TO FOUR-
communal living, vegetarian diet, and nonviolence, until the
TEENTH CENTURIES. The Chinese religious traditions that
fourteenth century. They were called the Mingjiao (“religion
were to continue throughout the rest of imperial history all
of light”). They disappeared as a coherent tradition as a result
reached maturity during the Tang (618–907) and Song
of renewed persecutions during the early Ming dynasty
(960–1279) periods. These traditions included Buddhism,
(1368–1644). Several Manichaean texts were incorporated
Daoism, neo-Confucianism, Islam, and popular religion in
into the Daoist and Buddhist canons, and it is likely that
both its village and sectarian forms. It was in these centuries
Manichaean lay sects provided models for similar organiza-
as well that other foreign religions were practiced for a time
tions that evolved out of Buddhism later. Manichaean dual-
in China, particularly Manichaeism, Nestorian Christianity,
ism and demon exorcism may have reinforced similar themes
and Judaism (one Jewish community continued to flourish
in Daoism and Buddhism as they were understood at the
until the nineteenth century). Rituals performed by the em-
popular level.
peror and his officials continued to be elaborated, with many
debates over the proper form and location of altars and types
According to a stone inscription erected in Chang’an
of sacrifices to be offered. During the Tang dynasty, cults de-
(present-day Xian) in 781, the first Nestorian missionary
voted to the spirits of local founders and protectors were es-
reached China in 635 and taught about the creation of the
tablished in many cities. These city gods (chenghuang shen)
world, the fall of humankind, and the birth and teaching of
were eventually brought into the ranks of deities to whom
the Messiah. The ethics and rituals described are recogniz-
official worship was due.
ably Christian. Chinese edicts of 638 and 745 refer to Nesto-
rianism, which appears to have been confined to foreign
Manichaeism, Nestorian Christianity, Judaism, and
communities in large cities on major trade routes. In 845
Islam. The area of the Tang dynasty rivaled that of the Han,
Nestorianism was proscribed along with Buddhism and
with western boundaries extending far into Central Asia.
other religions of non-Chinese origin, but it revived in China
This expansion encouraged a revival of foreign trade and cul-
during the period of Mongol rule in the thirteenth and four-
tural contacts. Among the new foreign influences were not
teenth centuries. In 1289 the court established an office to
only Buddhist monks and scriptures but also the representa-
supervise Christians, and a 1330 source claims that there
tives of other religions. There is evidence for Zoroastrianism
were more than thirty thousand Nestorians in China, some
in China by the early sixth century, a result of contacts be-
of them wealthy and in high positions, no doubt a result of
tween China and Persia that originated in the second century
the Mongol policy of ruling China in part with officials of
BCE and were renewed in an exchange of envoys with the
foreign origin. In this period the church was most active in
Northern Wei court in 455 and around 470.
eastern cities such as Hangzhou and Yangzhou. The Nestori-
A foreign tradition with more important influence on
ans were expelled from China with the defeat of the Mongols
the history of Chinese religions was Manichaeism, a dynamic
in the mid-fourteenth century, and no active practitioners
missionary religion teaching ultimate cosmic dualism
were found by the Jesuits when they arrived about two hun-
founded by a Persian named Mani (216–277?). The first cer-
dred years later. So the first Christian contact with China ex-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHINESE RELIGION: AN OVERVIEW
1599
pired, leaving no demonstrable influence on Chinese religion
of the Chinese language, and the adoption of some Chinese
and culture.
social customs, for most the Islamic core remained. Muslims
did not accept such dominant Chinese traditions as ancestor
There is no certainty regarding the date of Judaism’s en-
worship and pork eating, and they kept their own festival cal-
trance into China. Two of the four surviving commemora-
endar. This resistance was the result in part of the tenacity
tive stelae from the synagogue in Kaifeng trace it to the Han
of their beliefs, in part of the fact that their numbers,
dynasty, suggesting that the emigration might have followed
mosques, and essentially lay organization permitted mutual
the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple in 70 CE But most
support.
scholars agree that it was more likely during the Tang that
Jewish merchants from Persia or Bukhara first settled in Kai-
Muslims in China have always been predominantly
feng, on the Yellow River in Henan province. Other pre-
Sunn¯ı, but in the sixteenth century Sufism reached China
modern Jewish communities existed in Ningbo, Hangzhou,
through Central Asia. By the late seventeenth century S:u¯f¯ı
Yangzhou, and Guangzhou, all probably established by mer-
brotherhoods began a reform movement that advocated in-
chants arriving by sea, but the Kaifeng community was the
creased use of Arabic and a rejection of certain Chinese prac-
most successful. Kaifeng was the capital of the Northern
tices that had infiltrated Islam, such as burning incense at fu-
Song dynasty (960–1127), and at some point during that pe-
nerals. Sufism also emphasized ecstatic personal experience
riod the emperor received representatives of the Jewish com-
of Alla¯h, the veneration of saints, and the imminent return
munity at court and bestowed upon them Chinese surnames,
of the mahd¯ı, who would bring a new age, this last theme
one of which was his own (Zhao). In 1163, under the Jurc-
due to Sh¯ıE¯ı influence as well.
hen Jin dynasty that had conquered northern China, the
These reformist beliefs, coupled with increased Chinese
Jews built their first synagogue, with approval from the gov-
pressure on Islam as a whole, led eventually to a powerful up-
ernment. Over the ensuing centuries the synagogue was de-
rising in Yunnan between 1855 and 1873, an uprising al-
stroyed by floods, rebuilt, and expanded several times.
lowed to develop momentum because of old ethnic tensions
The Chinese first learned of Islam in 638 from an emis-
in the area and the distraction of the Chinese court with the
sary of the last Sassanid king of Persia, who was seeking their
contemporary Taiping rebellion (1851–1864). The Yunnan
aid against invading Arab armies. This the Chinese refused,
rebellion was eventually put down by a combination of Chi-
but a number of Persian refugees were admitted a few years
nese and loyalist Muslim forces, and the Muslims resumed
later after the Sassanid defeat and allowed to practice their
their role as a powerful minority in China, called the Hui
Zoroastrian faith. In the early eighth century Arab armies
people.
moved into Central Asia, and in 713 ambassadors of Caliph
The chief role of Islam in China was as the religion of
Walid ibn Yaz¯ıd were received at court in Chang’an, even
this minority group, although in some twentieth-century
though they refused to prostrate themselves before the em-
popular texts it was recognized as one of the “five religions”
peror. However, in 751 a Chinese army far to the west was
whose teachings were blended into a new synthetic revela-
defeated in the Battle of Talas by a combination of Central
tion, along with Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism, and
Asian states with Arab support. This defeat led to the replace-
Christianity. Another aspect of Islam’s historical impact was
ment of Chinese influence in Central Asia with that of the
to sharply reduce Chinese contact with India and Central
Arabs and the decline of Buddhism in that area in favor of
Asia after the eighth century, and thus to cut off the vital flow
Islam. In 756 another caliph sent Arab mercenaries to aid the
of new texts and ideas to Chinese Buddhism. And since the
Chinese court against An Lushan; when the war ended many
1980s, mostly in the Uighur Autonomous Region of Xinji-
of these mercenaries remained, forming the beginning of Is-
ang, there has been increasing pressure, fueled by Islamic
lamic presence in China, which by the late twentieth century
militancy, for independence from the People’s Republic of
totaled about thirty million people, one of the five main con-
China.
stituencies of the People’s Republic. The eighth-century
Arab population was augmented by Muslim merchants who
Tang Buddhism. The first Tang emperor, Gaozu (r.
settled in Chinese coastal cities, for a time dominating the
618–626), approved of a plan to limit both Daoist and Bud-
sea trade with India and Southeast Asia.
dhist temples. His son Taizong (r. 626–649) agreed with the
Daoist contention that the imperial family was descended
The major influx of Muslim peoples occurred during
from Laozi, whose legendary surname was also Li; however,
the Yuan dynasty (1206–1368) when the land routes across
Taizong also erected Buddhist shrines on battlefields and or-
Central Asia were secure and the Mongols brought in large
dered monks to recite scriptures for the stability of the em-
numbers of their non-Chinese subjects to help administer
pire. Buddhist philosophical schools in this period were mat-
China. It was in this period that Islam spread all over China
ters of both belief and imperial adornment, so, to replace the
and established major population bases in the western prov-
Tiantai school, now discredited on account of its association
inces of Yunnan and Gansu. Here their numbers increased
with the Sui dynasty, the Tang court turned first to the Faxi-
through marriage with Chinese women and adoption of
ang or Weishi (“consciousness only”) school, an idealist
non-Muslim children, all converted to Islam. Although the
teaching known in Sanskrit as Yoga¯ca¯ra or Vijñanavada.
result was a dilution of Arab physical characteristics, the use
Some texts of this tradition had been translated earlier by
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1600
CHINESE RELIGION: AN OVERVIEW
Paramartha (499–569), but it came to be thoroughly under-
inscriptions and disseminating scriptures. Wealthy monaste-
stood in China only after the return of the pilgrim Xuanzang
ries became centers of money lending, milling, and medical
in 645 from his sixteen-year-long overland journey to India.
care, as well as hostels for travelers and retreats for scholars
Xuanzang was welcomed at court and provided with twenty-
and officials. In high literature the purity of monks and
three scholar-monks from all over China to assist in translat-
monasteries was admired, while in popular stories karma, re-
ing the books he had brought back. The emperor wrote a
birth, and purgatory became unquestioned truths. The state
preface for the translation of one major Vijñanavada text,
made sporadic attempts to control this exuberance by licens-
and his policy of imperial support was continued by his son
ing monasteries, instituting examinations for monks, and is-
Gaozong (r. 650–683).
suing ordination certificates, but state control was limited
and “unofficial” Buddhist practices continued to flourish.
However, the complex psychological analysis of the Vij-
ñanavada school, coupled with its emphasis that some beings
An important factor in this popularity was the rise of
are doomed by their nature to eternal rebirth, were not in
two more simple and direct forms of Chinese Buddhism,
harmony with the Chinese worldview, which had been better
much less complex than the exegetical and philosophical
represented by Tiantai. Hence, when imperial support de-
schools that were dominant earlier. These were the Pure
clined at Gaozong’s death in 683, the fortunes of the Faxiang
Land (Jingtu) school, devoted to rebirth in Amita¯bha’s para-
school declined as well, despite the excellent scholarship of
dise, and the Chan (“meditation”) school, which promised
Xuanzang’s disciple Kuiji (632–682). At the intellectual level
enlightenment in this life to those with sufficient dedication.
it was replaced in popularity by the Huayan (“flower gar-
These traditions were universalist and nonhierarchical in
land”) school as formulated by the monk Fazang (643–712).
principle yet came to have coherent teachings and organiza-
This school, based on a su¯tra of the same name (Sanskrit,
tions of their own appealing to a wide range of people. Both
Avatam:saka), taught the emptiness and interpenetration of
should be understood as products of gradual evolution in the
all phenomena in a way consonant with old Chinese assump-
seventh and eighth centuries, as a positive selection from ear-
tions. Furthermore, in Huayan teaching the unity and inte-
lier teachings, particularly Tiantai, and as a reformist reac-
gration of all things is symbolized by a Buddha called Vairo-
tion against the secularization of the Tang monastic estab-
cana who presides over his Pure Land in the center of an
lishment.
infinite universe. However dialectically such a symbol might
be understood by Buddhist scholars, at a political and popu-
By the third century CE texts describing various “pure
lar level it was appropriated more literally as a Buddhist cre-
realms” or “Buddha lands” had been translated into Chinese,
ator deity.
and some monks began to meditate on the best known of
these “lands,” the Western Paradise of the Buddha
It is no accident that the Huayan school was first active-
Amita¯bha. In the fourth century Zhi Dun (314–366) made
ly supported by Empress Wu Zhao (Wu Zetian, r. 684–704)
an image of Amita¯bha and vowed to be reborn in his para-
who took over the throne from her sons to set up her own
dise, as did Huiyuan in 402. These early efforts concentrated
dynasty, the Zhou. Since Confucianism did not sanction for
on visualization of buddha realms in states of meditative
female rulers, Empress Wu, being a devout Buddhist, sought
trance. However, in two Pure Land su¯tras describing
for supporting ideologies in that tradition, including not
Amita¯bha and his realm, devotees are assured that through
only Huayan but also predictions in obscure texts that the
a combination of ethical living and concentration on this
Buddha had prophesied that several hundred years after his
buddha they will be reborn at death in his realm, owing to
death a woman would rule over a world empire. Monks in
a vow he had made eons ago to create out of the boundless
Wu Zetian’s entourage equated her with this empress and
merit he had accumulated on the long path to Buddhahood
further asserted that she was a manifestation of the future
a haven for sentient beings. This promise eventually led some
Buddha Maitreya.
monks to preach devotion to Amita¯bha as an easier way to
salvation, available to all, through a combination of sincere
When Empress Wu abdicated in 704, her son continued
thinking on the Buddha and the invocation of his name in
to support the Huayan school, continuing the tradition of
faith. To strengthen their proclamation, these monks argued
close relationship between the court and Buddhist philo-
that in fact Amita¯bha’s Pure Land was at a high level, beyond
sophical schools. However, during this period Buddhism
sam:sa¯ra (the cycle of rebirth), and thus functionally equiva-
continued to grow in popularity among all classes of people.
lent to nirva¯n:a for those less philosophically inclined.
Thousands of monasteries and shrines, supported by dona-
tions of land, grain, cloth, and precious metals, were built
Philosophers of the fifth and sixth centuries such as
by convict workers, the poor, and serfs bound to donated
Sengzhao and Zhiyi discussed the Pure Land concept as part
lands. Tens of thousands of persons became monks or nuns,
of larger systems of thought, but the first monk to devote his
elaborate rituals were performed, feasts provided, and ser-
life to proclaiming devotion to Amita¯bha as the chief means
mons preached in both monastery and marketplace. Bud-
of salvation for the whole of society was Tanluan (476–542),
dhist observances such as the Lantern Festival, the Buddha’s
a monk from North China where there had long been an em-
birthday, and the Ghost Festival became widely practiced,
phasis on the practical implementation of Buddhism. Tan-
while pious lay societies multiplied for carving images and
luan organized devotional associations whose members both
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHINESE RELIGION: AN OVERVIEW
1601
contemplated the Buddha and orally recited his name. It was
emerging tradition were constructing genealogies going back
in the fifth and sixth centuries as well that many Chinese
to S´a¯kyamuni himself; these were intended to establish the
Buddhist thinkers became convinced that the final period of
priority and authority of their teachings. The genealogy that
Buddhist teaching for this world cycle was about to begin,
came to be accepted later claimed a lineage of twenty-eight
a period (called in Chinese mofa, the Latter Days of the Law)
Indian and seven Chinese patriarchs, the latter beginning
in which the capacity for understanding Buddhism had so
with Bodhidharma (c. 461–534), a Central Asian meditation
declined that only simple and direct means of communica-
master active in the Northern Wei kingdom. Legends con-
tion would suffice.
cerning these patriarchs were increasingly elaborated as time
The next important preacher to base his teachings solely
passed, but the details of most cannot be verified. The first
on Amita¯bha and his Pure Land was Daochuo (562–645).
Chinese monk involved whose teachings have survived is
It was he and his disciple Shandao (613–681) who firmly es-
Daoxin (580–651), who was later claimed to be the fourth
tablished the Pure Land movement and came to be looked
patriarch. Daoxin specialized in meditation and monastic
upon as founding patriarchs of the tradition. Although both
discipline and studied for ten years with a disciple of the
of these men advocated oral recitation of Amita¯bha’s name
Tiantai founder, Zhiyi. He is also noted for his concern with
as the chief means to deliverance, such recitation was to be
image worship and reciting the Buddha’s name to calm the
done in a concentrated and devout state of mind and was to
mind.
be accompanied by confession of sins and the chanting of
su¯tras. They and their followers also organized recitation as-
One of Daoxin’s disciples was Hongren (601–674),
semblies and composed manuals for congregational worship.
who also concentrated on meditation and on maintaining
Owing to their efforts, Pure Land devotion became the most
“awareness of the mind.” His successor was Faru (d. 689),
popular form of Buddhism in China, from whence it was
whose spiritual heir in turn was Shenxiu (d. 706), who had
taken to Japan in the ninth century. Pure Land teachings
also studied with Hongren. Shenxiu was active in North
supported the validity of lay piety as no Buddhist school
China, where he was invited to court by the Empress Wu
had before, and hence both made possible the spread of
and became a famous teacher. In the earliest and most reli-
Buddhism throughout the population and furthered the de-
able sources Hongren, Faru, and Shenxiu are described as the
velopment of independent societies and sects outside the
fifth, sixth, and seventh Chan patriarchs, with Faru eventual-
monasteries.
ly omitted and replaced in sixth position by Shenxiu. How-
ever, in the early eighth century this succession, based in the
The last movement within orthodox Buddhism in
capitals of Luoyang and Chang’an in the North (and hence
China to emerge as an independent tradition was Chan (Jap-
retrospectively referred to as the “Northern school”), was
anese, Zen), characterized by its concentration on direct
challenged by a monk named Shenhui (670–762), who had
means of individual enlightenment, chiefly meditation. Such
studied for several years with a teacher named Huineng
enlightenment had always been the primary goal of Bud-
(638–713) in a monastery in Guangdong province in the
dhism, so in a sense Chan began as a reform movement seek-
south. Shenhui labored for years to establish a new form of
ing to recover the experiential origins of its tradition. Such
Chan, a “Southern school,” centered on recognizing the bud-
a reform appeared all the more necessary in the face of the
dha nature within the self, and thus less concerned with wor-
material success of Tang Buddhism, with its ornate rituals,
ship, scripture study, and prescribed forms of meditation.
complex philosophies, and close relationships with the state.
Chan evolved out of the resonances of Maha¯ya¯na Buddhism
Shenhui’s most lasting achievement was the elevation of
with the individualist, mystical, and iconoclastic strand of
his teacher Huineng to the status of “sixth patriarch,” dis-
Chinese culture, represented chiefly by the philosophy of the
placing Shenxiu. This achievement was textually established
Laozi and Zhuangzi, especially the latter. This philosophy
through the composition of a book entitled The Platform
had long advocated individual identification with the ineffa-
Su¯tra of the Sixth Patriarch (platform here means the high
ble foundations of being, which cannot be grasped in words
chair on which the abbot sits while giving dharma talks) in
or limited by the perspectives of traditional practice and mo-
about 820 by members of Shenhui’s school. Portions of this
rality. Such identification brings a new sense of spiritual free-
book are very similar to the teachings of Shenhui, who did
dom, affirmation of life, and acceptance of death. The im-
not cite any writings by Huineng, although he was no doubt
portance of meditation had long been emphasized in
influenced by his study with him. In the Platform Su¯tra
Chinese Buddhism, beginning with Han translations of
Huineng is portrayed as a brilliant young layman of rustic
su¯tras describing the process. The Tiantai master Zhiyi dis-
background who, although he is only a kitchen helper in the
cussed the stages and positions of meditation in great detail
monastery, confounds Shenxiu and is secretly given charge
in the sixth century. Thus, it is not surprising that by the sev-
of the transmission by Hongren, the fifth patriarch. This
enth century some monks appeared who advocated medita-
book teaches instantaneous enlightenment through realiza-
tion above all, a simplification parallel to that of the Pure
tion of inner potential while criticizing gradualist approaches
Land tradition.
that rely on outer forms such as images and scriptures. As
The first references to a “Chan school” appeared in the
such it is an important source of the Chan individualism and
late eighth century. By that time several branches of this
iconoclasm well known (and often exaggerated) in the West.
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CHINESE RELIGION: AN OVERVIEW
Although Buddhism flourished at all levels of Chinese
During the tenth through thirteenth centuries Daoism
society in the Tang period, an undercurrent of resentment
developed new schools and texts and became more closely
and hostility toward it by Confucians, Daoists, and the state
allied with the state. The Song emperor Chenzong (r. 990–
always remained. Han Yu (768–824), one of China’s great
1023) bestowed gifts and titles on a number of prominent
writers, campaigned against Buddhist influence and argued
Daoists, including one named Zhang from the old Way of
for a revival of the teachings of Confucius and Mengzi. This
the Celestial Masters, based on Mount Longhu in Jiangxi
hostility came to a head in the mid-ninth century, strongly
province. This led to the consolidation of the Zhengyi (Or-
reinforced by the fact that Buddhist monasteries had accu-
thodox Unity) sect led by hereditary Celestial Masters. The
mulated large amounts of precious metals and tax-exempt
other official Daoist ordination centers in this period were
land. From 843 to 845 Emperor Wuzong (r. 840–846), an
those at Maoshan and the Lingbao center in Jiangsu.
ardent Daoist, issued decrees that led to the destruction of
4,600 monasteries and 40,000 temples and shrines, and the
A century later, during the reign of Emperor Huizong
return of 260,500 monks and nuns to lay life. Although this
(r. 1101–1125), the most famous imperial patron of Dao-
suppression was ended in 846 by Wuzong’s successor, mo-
ism, three new Daoist orders appeared, one with a popular
nastic Buddhism never fully regained its momentum. None-
base in southeastern Jiangxi, another a revival of Maoshan
theless, Buddhist ideas, values, and rituals continued to per-
teachings, and the third the Shenxiao Fa (Rites of the Divine
meate Chinese society through the influence of the Chan and
Empyrean), initiated by Lin Lingsu, who was active at court
Pure Land schools, which survived the 845 persecution be-
from 1116 to 1119. Lin’s teachings were presented in a new,
cause of widespread support throughout the country.
expanded edition of a fourth-century Lingbao text, the
Durenjing (Scripture of Salvation). The scripture proclaimed
Tang Daoism. Daoism continued to develop during
that a new divine emperor would descend to rule in 1112,
the Tang period, in part because it received more support
thus bestowing additional sacred status on Huizong. This li-
from some emperors than it had under the Sui. As noted ear-
turgical text in sixty-one chapters promises salvation to all
lier, Taizong claimed Laozi as a royal ancestor, and in 667
in the name of a supreme celestial realm, a theme welcome
the emperor Gaozong (r. 650–683) conferred on Laozi the
at a court beset with corruption within and foreign invaders
title of emperor, thus confirming his status. Empress Wu,
without. The Jiangxi movement, called Tianxin (Heart of
Gaozong’s wife, swung the pendulum of support back to
Heaven) after a star in Ursa Major, was most concerned with
Buddhism, but Daoism was favored in later reigns as well
the ritual evocation of astral power to exorcise disease-
and reached the high point of its political influence in the
causing demons, particularly those associated with mental ill-
Tang with the suppression of Buddhism and other non-
ness. The first edition of its texts was also presented to Hui-
Chinese religions in the 840s.
zong in 1116.
The most important Daoist order during the Tang was
In 1126 the Song capital Kaifeng was captured by the
that based on Maoshan in Jiangsu, where temples were built
Jurchen, a people from northeastern Manchuria who, with
and reconstructed, disciples trained, and scriptures edited.
other northern peoples, had long threatened the Song. As a
Devotees on Maoshan studied Shangqing scriptures, medi-
result the Chinese court moved south across the Yangzi River
tated, practiced alchemy, and carried out complex rituals of
to establish a new capital in Hangzhou, thus initiating the
purgation and cosmic renewal, calling down astral spirits and
Southern Song period (1127–1279). During this period
preparing for immortality among the stars. These activities
China was once again divided north and south, with the Jur-
were presided over by a hierarchical priesthood, led by fashi,
chen ruling the Jin kingdom (1115–1234). It was here in the
“masters of doctrine,” the most prominent of whom came
north that three new Daoist sects appeared, the Taiyi (Grand
to be considered patriarchs of the school.
Unity), the Dadao (Great Way), and the Quanzhen (Com-
plete Perfection). The Taiyi sect gained favor for a time at
Daoism in the Song and Yuan periods. The old Tang
the Jin court because of its promise of divine healing. Dadao
aristocracy had begun to lose its power after the An Lushan
disciples worked in the fields, prayed for healing rather than
rebellion in the eighth century. The turmoil of the ninth and
using charms, and did not practice techniques of immortali-
tenth centuries sealed its fate and helped prepare the way for
ty. Both groups were led by a succession of patriarchs for
a more centralized state in the Song, administered by bureau-
about two hundred years but failed to survive the end of the
crats who were selected through civil service examinations.
Yuan dynasty. Both included Confucian and Buddhist ele-
This in turn contributed to increased social mobility, which
ments in a Daoist framework.
was also enhanced by economic growth and diversification,
the spread of printing, and a larger number of schools. These
The Quanzhen sect was founded in similar circum-
factors, combined with innovations in literature, art, philos-
stances by a scholar named Wang Zhe (1113–1170) but con-
ophy, religion, science, and technology, have led historians
tinues to exist. Wang claimed to have received revelations
to describe the Song period as the beginning of early modern
from two superhuman beings, whereupon he gathered disci-
China. It was in this period that the basic patterns of life and
ples and founded five congregations in northern Shandong.
thought were established for the remainder of imperial
After his death seven of his leading disciples continued to
history.
proclaim his teachings across North China. One of them was
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHINESE RELIGION: AN OVERVIEW
1603
received at the Jin court in 1187, thus beginning a period
sophical minds, in particular, were devoted to Buddhism.
of imperial support for the sect that continued into the time
However, in the eleventh century there appeared a series of
of Mongol rule, particularly after another of the founding
thinkers determined to revive Confucianism. In this task
disciples visited Chinggis Khan at his Central Asian court in
they were inevitably influenced by Buddhist theories of
1222.
mind, enlightenment, and ethics; indeed, most of these men
went through Buddhist and Daoist phases in their early years
In its early development the Daoist quest for personal
and were “converted” to Confucianism later. Nonetheless,
immortality employed a combination of positive ritual tech-
at a conscious level they rejected Buddhist “emptiness,” as-
niques: visualization of astral gods and ingestion of their es-
ceticism, and monastic life in favor of a positive metaphysics,
sence, internal circulation and refinement of qi, massage, in-
ordered family life, and concern for social and governmental
gesting elixirs of cinnabar, mica, or gold in suspension, all
accompanied by taboos and ethical injunctions. During the
reform. With a few exceptions the leaders of this movement,
Song and Yuan periods, the ingestion of elixirs, called waidan
known in the West as neo-Confucianism, went through the
(external alchemy), was replaced by forms of meditation and
civil service examination system and held civil or military
visualization in which the bodily substances and meditative
offices.
exercises were expressed in alchemical terms. This new form
Early neo-Confucianism had both rationalistic and ide-
of practice, called neidan (internal alchemy), is well expressed
alistic tendencies; the aim of both was to actualize the inher-
in the writings of Zhang Boduan (983–1082). Under Con-
ent sagehood of every human being by realizing and acting
fucian and Chan influence the Quanzhen school further
upon the ultimate principle (li) of the natural/moral order.
“spiritualized” the terminology of the older practices, turning
The more rationalist school believed that this order or princi-
their physiological referents into abstract polarities within
ple was present in humans as their fundamental, metaphysi-
the mind, to be unified through meditation. Perhaps in part
cal nature (xing), but that the physical nature of the mind
because of this withdrawal into the mind, Quanzhen was the
(xin) obscured the metaphysical nature and hindered our
first Daoist school to base itself in monasteries, although celi-
awareness of it. This line of thinking was developed by
bacy to maintain and purify one’s powers had been practiced
Cheng Yi (1033–1107) and Zhu Xi (1130–1200) and be-
by some adepts earlier, and some Daoist monasteries had
came known as the Cheng-Zhu school. The idealistic ap-
been established in the sixth century under pressure from the
proach, which later became known as the Lu-Wang school
state and the Buddhist example.
after Lu Jiuyuan (1139–1193) and Wang Yangming (1472–
The Quanzhen sect reached the height of its influence
1529), said that the fundamental natural/moral order was
in the first decades of the thirteenth century, and for a time
fully present to awareness in the active, functioning mind
it was favored over Chinese Buddhism by Mongol rulers.
and so did not require intellectual learning to be known.
Buddhist leaders protested Daoist occupation of their
Thus, both schools focused on the mind; their differences
monasteries and eventually regained official support after a
concerned whether li was already present in the mind and
series of debates between Daoists and Buddhists at court be-
needed only to be acted upon, or whether it first had to be
tween 1255 and 1281. After Buddhists were judged the win-
intellectually induced through the rational investigation of
ners, Kublai Khan ordered that the Daoist canon be burned
human nature and the natural world. Interaction between
and Daoist priests returned to lay life or converted to Bud-
these poles provided the impetus for new syntheses until the
dhism. In the fourteenth century the Quanzhen sect merged
seventeenth century. But Zhu Xi’s version—synthesizing the
with a similar tradition from South China, the Jindandao
teachings of not only Cheng Yi but also his brother Cheng
(Golden Elixir Way) also devoted to attaining immortality
Hao (1032–1085), their former teacher Zhou Dunyi (1017–
through cultivating powers or “elixirs” within the self. The
1073), their uncle Zhang Zai (1020–1077), and their friend
name Quanzhen was retained for the monastic side of this
Shao Yong (1011–1077)—was made the basis of the civil
combined tradition, whereas the Jindandao continued as a
service examinations in 1313 and hence came to have a pow-
popular movement that has produced new scriptures and
erful influence throughout literate society that lasted until
sects since at least the sixteenth century. The older Daoist
the examination system was abolished in 1905.
schools continued to produce new bodies of texts from the
In the history of Chinese religions, the impact of neo-
eleventh century on, all claiming divine origin, powers of
Confucianism is evident at different levels. The intellectual
healing, exorcism, and support for the state.
and institutional success of this movement among the Chi-
The revival of Confucianism. Confucianism had re-
nese elite led many of them away from Buddhism and Dao-
mained a powerful tradition of morality, social custom, and
ism toward a reaffirmation of the values of family, clan, and
hierarchical status since the fall of the Han, but after the
state. While the elite were still involved in such popular tra-
third century it no longer generated fresh philosophical per-
ditions as annual festivals, geomancy, and funeral rituals, the
spectives. There were a few Confucian philosophers such as
rational and nontheistic orientation of neo-Confucianism
Wang Tong (584?–617), Han Yu, and Li Ao (fl. 798), but
tended to inhibit their participation in ecstatic processions
from the fourth through the tenth centuries Buddhism and
and shamanism. These tendencies meant that after the elev-
Daoism attracted a great many intellectuals; the best philo-
enth century, sectarian and popular forms of religion were
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1604
CHINESE RELIGION: AN OVERVIEW
increasingly denied high-level intellectual stimulation and ar-
Although the Tang dynasty has traditionally been called
ticulation. Indeed, state support for a new Confucian ortho-
the Golden Age of Chan Buddhism, it was actually during
doxy gave fresh impetus to criticism or suppression of other
the Song that Chan became firmly established and developed
traditions. Another long-term impact of neo-Confucianism
the styles today associated with it. Notwithstanding its often
was the Confucianization of popular values, supported by
colorful and iconoclastic teaching methods, Chan has always
schools, examinations, distribution of tracts, and lectures in
been characterized by disciplined communal living in
villages. This meant that from the Song dynasty on the oper-
monasteries, centered on group meditation but with a strong
ative ethical principles in society were a combination of Con-
emphasis on traditional Buddhist ethics. The hallmarks of
fucian virtues with Buddhist karma and compassion, a ten-
Chan monasticism have traditionally been ascribed to Baiz-
dency that became more widespread as the centuries passed.
hang Huaihai (749–814). These include the rejection of a
central Buddha hall containing images in favor of a dharma
All of these developments were rooted in the religious
hall, where the abbot would lecture and conduct services; a
dimensions of the neo-Confucian tradition, which from the
sam:gha or monks’ hall, with platforms along the sides for
beginning was most concerned with the moral transforma-
sleeping and meditation; private consultations with the
tion of self and society. This transformation was to be carried
abbot; and shared responsibility for manual labor, including
out through intensive study and discussion, self-
agricultural work to reduce dependence on outside dona-
examination, and meditation, often in the social context of
tions with the reciprocal obligations they involved. Evaluat-
public and private schools and academies, where prayers and
ing this traditional view, historians have noted that the earli-
sacrificial offerings to former Confucian “sages and worthies”
est extant text containing Baizhang’s rules dates from the late
accompanied study and discussion. Through the process of
tenth century, and the earliest extant detailed code of monas-
self-cultivation one could become aware of the patterns of
tic conduct is dated 1103 or 1104; thus, we have Song dynas-
moral order within the mind and in the cosmos, an insight
ty texts purporting to describe Tang dynasty monasteries.
that itself became a means of clarifying and establishing this
Research has also found that the allegedly unique features of
cosmic order within society. So Confucianism became a
Chan monasteries were also found in Tiantai monasteries
more active and self-conscious movement than it ever had
and that the claim of a distinct style dating back to the Tang,
been before.
a style actually common to the majority of monasteries,
served as support for the Song policy by which all publicly
Song Buddhism. Song Buddhist activities were based
supported monasteries were designated as Chan and their ab-
on the twin foundations of Chan and Pure Land, with an
bacies restricted to monks in a Chan lineage. This policy
increasing emphasis on the compatibility of the two. Al-
took effect during the Northern Song. After Chan thus be-
though the joint practice of meditation and invocation of the
came the “established” sect, agricultural labor was reduced
Buddha’s name had been taught by Zhiyi and the Chan pa-
as Chan monasteries received donations of land and goods
triarch Daoxin in the sixth and seventh centuries, the first
from wealthy patrons.
Chan master to openly advocate it after Chan was well estab-
During the Song Chan produced new genres of Bud-
lished was Yanshou (904–975). This emphasis was contin-
dhist literature that eventually became more central to its
ued in the Yuan (1279–1368) and Ming (1368–1644)
teaching than the older Maha¯ya¯na su¯tras. The “recorded say-
dynasties, so that by the late traditional period meditation
ings” (yulu) of patriarchs and abbots with their disciples were
and recitation were commonly employed together in
an adaptation of an older Chinese form whose most notable
monasteries as two means to the same end of emptying the
example was the Analects (Lunyu) of Confucius. From these
mind of self-centered thought.
were extracted shorter sayings and conversations demonstrat-
During the Song dynasty Buddhism physically recov-
ing the struggle to attain enlightenment. These records, codi-
ered from the suppression of the ninth century, with tens of
fied as “public cases” (Chinese, gongan; Japanese, ko¯an), were
thousands of monasteries, large amounts of land, and active
meditated upon by novices as they sought to experience reali-
support throughout society. By the tenth century the Chan
ty directly. And “Lamp Records” (denglu) were compilations
school was divided into two main branches, both of which
of the saying of various lineages, demonstrating what Chan
had first appeared earlier, the Linji (in Japanese, Rinzai), em-
teachers called the “mind-to-mind transmission” that con-
phasizing gongan practice and dramatic, spontaneous break-
nected them with S´a¯kyamuni Buddha. This doctrine also
throughs to enlightenment in the midst of everyday activi-
supported the Chan claim to represent a more authentic
ties, and the Caodong (in Japanese, So¯to¯), known for a more
form of Buddhism than the other major Chinese schools
gradual approach through seated meditation, or zuochan (in
(Tiantai, Huayan, and Pure Land), each of which focused on
Japanese, zazen). The most prominent Song representative
a particular su¯tra (the Lotus, the Avatam:saka or Huayan, and
of the Linji lineage was Dahui Zonggao (1089–1163), a pop-
the three Pure Land su¯tras, respectively). Thus, Chan Bud-
ular preacher to laypeople as well as a meditation master. In
dhism constructed what we might call a mythic history of
the Caodong lineage the most prominent teacher was Hong-
itself that had important “political” ramifications.
zhi Zhengjue (1091–1157), who taught meditation as “silent
One of the most important developments in Song Bud-
illumination” (mozhao).
dhism was the spread of lay societies devoted to good works
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CHINESE RELIGION: AN OVERVIEW
1605
and recitation of the Buddha’s name. These groups, usually
moral causation. By the fourth century, Daoist writers were
supported by monks and monasteries, ranged in membership
developing elaborate mythologies of personified deities and
from a few score to several thousand, including both men
immortals and their roles in a celestial hierarchy.
and women, gentry and commoners. In the twelfth century
these societies, with their egalitarian outreach and congrega-
During the Song period all these various strands came
tional rituals, provided the immediate context for the rise of
together to reformulate popular religion as a tradition in its
independent popular sects, which in turn spread throughout
own right, defined by its location in the midst of ordinary
China in succeeding centuries. The Song associations were
social life, its pantheon of personified deities, views of after-
an organized and doctrinally aware means of spreading Bud-
life, demonology, and characteristic specialists and rituals. Its
dhist ideas of salvation, paradise and purgatory, karma, and
values were still founded on pragmatic reciprocity, but some
moral values to the population at large, and so they contrib-
assurances about life after death were added to promises for
uted to the integration of Buddhism with Chinese culture.
aid now.
Popular religion. The other major tradition that took
This popular tradition is based on the worship or propi-
its early modern shape during the Song period was popular
tiation of gods, ghosts, and ancestors. The boundaries be-
religion, the religion of the whole population other than or-
tween these categories are somewhat fluid. Under ideal cir-
thodox Daoist priests, Buddhist monks, Confucian scholars,
cumstances, when a person dies the hun, or yang soul, rises
and state officials in their public roles (although elements of
to heaven and becomes an ancestor (zu or zuxian) and the
popular religion overlapped with these more specialized vo-
po, or yin soul, remains with the body in the earth—provided
cations). Zhou and Han sources note a variety of religious
that the death was normal, the body was buried in a proper
practices current throughout the population, including an-
funeral, and subsequent memorial services or ancestral sacri-
cestor worship, sacrifices to spirits of sacred objects and
fices are properly made by blood or ritually adopted descen-
places, belief in ghosts, exorcism, divination, and the activi-
dants. If these conditions are not met, either the hun or the
ties of spirit mediums. Many of these practices began in pre-
po (depending on local beliefs) can become a ghost (gui).
historic times and formed the sea out of which more struc-
Ghosts can be ritually adopted or—in the case of unmarried
tured and focused traditions gradually emerged, traditions
women—posthumously married, thereby becoming ances-
such as the state cult, Confucian philosophy, and Daoist reli-
tors; they can even be enshrined and worshiped as minor
gion. Each of these emerging traditions was associated with
gods. Although scholars differ on whether the propitiation
social elites who had to define themselves as different from
of ancestors should be called worship or veneration (since
their peasant and artisan surroundings. In the process they
they are not gods), the basic ritual actions performed for gods
often came to criticize or even suppress cults active among
and ancestors (burning incense, praying, offering food or
common folk devoted to local spirits and concerned primari-
“spirit money”) are virtually identical. The status of the par-
ly with efficacious response to immediate needs. Since the
ticular recipient is indicated by certain variations, such as of-
Chinese state had always claimed religious prerogatives, the
fering uncooked food for a god but cooked food for an ances-
most important factor was official authorization by some
tor; cooked food implies a meal being shared, and ordinary
level of government. Unauthorized cults were considered
people do not presume to invite gods into their homes for
“excessive,” beyond what elite custom and propriety admit-
meals. Phenomenologically, the difference between a god
ted. Nonetheless, such distinctions were of importance pri-
and an ancestor is that the former has more numinous power
marily to the more self-conscious supporters of literate alter-
(ling) and can therefore exert influence on a circle of the liv-
natives; to their less theologically inclined peers, “popular
ing wider than his or her own family.
religion” was a varied set of customs that reflected the way
the world was.
Beyond the household popular religion is practiced at
shrines for local earth-gods and at village or city neighbor-
Popular religious practices were diffused throughout the
hood temples. Temples are residences of the gods, where
social system, based in family, clan, and village, at first devot-
they are most easily available and ready to accept petitions
ed only to spirits with limited and local powers. By the Han
and offerings of food and incense. Here, too, the gods convey
dynasty personified deities of higher status appeared, along
messages through simple means of divination, dreams, spirit
with organized sects such as the Way of the Celestial Masters,
mediums, and spirit writing. The most common forms of
with ethical teachings and new myths of creation and world
divination are the use of “moon-blocks” (shengbei) and
renewal, all reinforced by collective rituals. These develop-
divinationslips (quia). Divination usually accompanies sacri-
ments were produced by literate commoners and minor offi-
ficial offerings to ascertain whether they are pleasing. Great
cials at an intermediate level of education and status, and
bronze incense burners in temple courtyards are the focal
show remarkable resemblance to the first records of such
points of ritual communication, and it is common for local
middle-class thought in the writings of Mozi, six hundred
households to fill their own incense burners with ashes from
years earlier. This level of Chinese religious consciousness
the temple. All families residing in the area of the village or
was strongly reinforced by Maha¯ya¯na bodhisattvas, images,
the city neighborhood are considered members of the temple
offering rituals, myths of purgatory, and understandings of
community.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1606
CHINESE RELIGION: AN OVERVIEW
Most of the deities characteristic of this tradition are
through purgatory can be ameliorated through the transfer
human beings deified over time by increasing recognition of
of spirit money by Buddhist or Daoist rituals. When its guilt
their efficacy and status. Having once been human they owe
has been purged, the soul advances to the tenth court, where
their positions to veneration by the living and hence are con-
the form of its next existence is decided. This mythology is
strained by reciprocal relationships with their devotees.
a modification of Buddhist beliefs described in detail in texts
Many of the deities of popular religion are responsible for
first translated in the sixth century.
specific functions such as providing rain or healing diseases,
The period of Mongol rule. The Mongols under Ch-
while others are propitiated for a wide variety of reasons—
inggis Khan (1162–1227) captured the Jin capital of Yanjing
sometimes simply for general good fortune, or to maintain
(modern Beijing) in 1215 and established the Yuan dynasty
a harmonious relationship with the unseen world (an exam-
(1279–1368).
ple of “ultimate orientation”). Under Daoist influence the
pantheon came to be organized in a celestial hierarchy presid-
From China they ruled their vast domain, which ex-
ed over by the Jade Emperor, a deity first officially recog-
tended all the way to central Europe. For the next several
nized as such by the Song emperor Zhenzong in the begin-
decades the “Middle Kingdom” was the eastern end of a
ning of the eleventh century. The Jade Emperor is called
world empire, open as never before to foreign influences. In
Yuhuang dadi (Jade Emperor Great Lord) or Yuhuang
the realm of religion these influences included the Nestori-
shangdi (Jade Emperor High Lord)—the latter incorporat-
ans, a few Franciscan missionaries in the early fourteenth
ing the name of the high god of the Shang dynasty.
century, the growth of the Jewish community in Kaifeng,
and a large number of Tibetan Buddhist monks.
Gods are symbols of order, and many of the gods of
Daoism and popular religion are equipped with weapons and
The first Mongol contact with Chinese Buddhism was
troops. Such force is necessary because beneath the gods is
with Chan monks, a few of whom attained influence at
a vast array of demons, hostile influences that bring disorder,
court. In the meantime, however, the Mongols were increas-
disease, suffering, and death. Although ultimately subject to
ingly attracted by the exorcistic and healing rituals of Tantric
divine command, and in some cases sent by the gods to pun-
Buddhism in Tibet, the borders of which they also con-
ish sinners, these demons are most unruly and often can be
trolled. In 1260 a Tibetan monk, ’Phags-pa (1235–1280),
subdued only through repeated invocation and strenuous rit-
was named imperial preceptor and soon after chief of Bud-
ual action. It is in such ritual exorcism that the struggle be-
dhist affairs. Tibetan monks were appointed as leaders of the
tween gods and demons is most starkly presented. Some de-
sam:gha all over China, to some extent reviving the Tantric
mons are ghosts (gui), or the spirits of the restless dead who
(Zhenyan) school that had flourished briefly in the Tang.
died unjustly or whose bodies are not properly cared for; they
By the early fourteenth century another form of popular
cause disruption to draw attention to their plight. Other de-
religion appeared, the voluntary association or sect that could
mons represent natural forces that can be perceived as hos-
be joined by individuals from different families and villages.
tile, such as mountains and wild animals. Much effort in
These sects developed out of lay Buddhist societies in the
popular religion is devoted to dealing with these harmful in-
twelfth century, but their structure owed much to late Han
fluences.
religious associations and their popular Daoist successors,
There are three different types of leadership in this pop-
Buddhist eschatological movements from the fifth century
ular tradition—hereditary, selected, and charismatic—
on, and Manichaeism. By the Yuan period the sects were
although of course in any given situation these types can be
characterized by predominantly lay membership and leader-
mixed. Hereditary leaders include the fathers and mothers
ship, hierarachical organization, active proselytism, congre-
of families, who carry out ancestor worship in the clan tem-
gational rituals, possession of their own scriptures in the ver-
ple and household, and sect leaders, who inherit their posi-
nacular, and mutual economic support. Their best known
tions. Hereditary Daoist priests also perform rituals for the
antecedent was the White Lotus sect, an independent group
community. Village temples, on the other hand, tend to be
founded by a monk named Mao Ziyuan (1086–1166). Mao
led by a village elder selected by lot on a rotating basis. Char-
combined simplified Tiantai teaching with Pure Land prac-
ismatic leaders include spirit mediums, spirit writers, magi-
tice, invoking Amita¯bha’s saving power with just five recita-
cians, and healers, all of whom are defined by the recognition
tions of his name. After Mao’s death the sect, led by laymen
of their ability to bring divine power and wisdom directly
who married, spread across south and east China. In the pro-
to bear on human problems.
cess it incorporated charms and prognostication texts, and
by the fourteenth century branches in Guangxi and Henan
Popular religion is also associated with a cycle of annual
were strongly influenced by Daoist methods of cultivating
festivals, funeral rituals, and geomancy (feng-shui). Popular
the internal elixirs. This led to protests from more orthodox
values are sanctioned by revelations from the gods and by be-
leaders of the Pure Land tradition, monks in the east who
lief in purgatory, where the soul goes after death, there to be
appealed to the throne that they not be proscribed along with
punished for its sins according to the principle of karmic ret-
the “heretics.” This appeal succeeded, and the monastic
ribution. There are ten courts in purgatory, each presided
branch went on to be considered part of the tradition of the
over by a judge who fits the suffering to the crime. Passage
Pure Land school, with Mao Ziyuan as a revered patriarch.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHINESE RELIGION: AN OVERVIEW
1607
The more rustic side of the White Lotus tradition was
MING AND QING RELIGION. Mongol rule began to deterio-
prohibited three times in the Yuan but flourished nonethe-
rate in the early fourteenth century because of struggles be-
less, with its own communal organizations and scriptures
tween tribal factions at court, the decline of military power,
and a growing emphasis on the presence within it of the fu-
and the devolution of central authority to local warlords,
ture buddha Maitreya. During the civil wars of the mid-
bandit groups, and sectarian movements. After twenty years
fourteenth century this belief encouraged full-scale uprisings
of civil war Zhu Yuanzhang, from a poor peasant family, de-
in the name of the new world Maitreya was expected to
feated all his rivals and reestablished a Chinese imperial
bring. The Ming founder Zhu Yuanzhang (1328–1398) had
house, the Ming dynasty (1368–1644). Zhu (Ming Taizu,
for a time been an officer in one of the White Lotus armies,
r. 1368–1398) was an energetic ruler of strong personal reli-
but after his victory he tried to suppress the sect. It continued
gious beliefs who revised imperial rituals, promulgated strict
to multiply nonetheless under a variety of names.
laws against a variety of popular practices and sects, and re-
cruited Daoist priests to direct court ceremonies. For him the
The first extant sectarian scriptures, produced in the
Mandate of Heaven was a living force that had established
early sixteenth century, indicate that by that time there were
him in a long line of sacred emperors; his ancestors were
two streams of mythology and belief, one more influenced
deemed powerful intermediaries with Shangdi. He elaborat-
by Daoism, the other by Buddhism. The Daoist stream in-
ed and reinforced the responsibility of government officials
corporated much terminology from the Golden Elixir school
to offer regular sacrifices to deities of fertility, natural forces,
(Jindandao) and was based on the myth of a saving mother
and cities, and to the spirits of heroes and abandoned ghosts.
goddess, the Eternal Venerable Mother, who is a modified
Ming dynasty. Under the Ming, such factors as the di-
form of the old Han-dynasty Queen Mother of the West, a
versification of the agricultural base and the monetization of
figure mentioned in Quanzhen teachings as well. The Bud-
the economy had an impact on religious life; there were more
dhist stream was initiated by a sectarian reformer named Luo
excess funds for building temples and printing scriptures,
Qing (1443–1527), whose teachings were based on the Chan
and more rich peasants, merchants, and artisans with energy
theme of “attaining Buddhahood through seeing one’s own
to invest in popular religion, both village and sectarian. Sec-
nature.” Luo criticized the White Lotus and Maitreya sects
tarian scriptures appeared as part of the same movement that
as being too concerned with outward ritual forms, but later
produced new vernacular literature of all types, morality
writers in his school incorporated some themes from the
books to inculcate neo-Confucian values, and new forms and
Eternal Mother mythology, while other sectarian founders
audiences for popular operas. More than ever before the late
espousing this mythology imitated Luo Qing’s example of
Ming was a time of economic and cultural initiatives from
writing vernacular scriptures to put forth their own views.
the population at large, as one might expect in a period of
These scriptures, together with their successors, the popular
increasing competition for resources by small entrepreneurs.
spirit-writing texts of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries,
These tendencies continued to gain momentum in the Qing
constitute a fourth major body of Chinese sacred texts, after
period.
those of the Confucians, Buddhists, and Daoists.
Ming Buddhism showed the impact of these economic
The number of popular religious sects increased rapidly
and cultural factors, particularly in eastern China, where dur-
during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, all part of the
ing the sixteenth century reforming monks such as Yunqi
same general tradition but with different founders, lines of
Zhuhong (1535–1615) organized lay societies, wrote morali-
transmission, texts, and ritual variations. Such groups had
ty books that quantified the merit points for good deeds, and
been illegal since the Yuan, and some resisted prosecution
affirmed Confucian values within a Buddhist framework.
with armed force or attempted to establish their own safe
Zhuhong combined Pure Land and Chan practice and
areas. In a few cases sect leaders organized major attempts to
preached spiritual progress through sparing animals from
overthrow the government and put their own emperor on
slaughter and captivity. The integration of Buddhism into
the throne, to rule over a utopian world in which time and
Chinese society was furthered as well by government approv-
society would be renewed. However, for the most part the
al of a class of teaching monks, ordained with official certifi-
sects simply provided a congregational alternative to village
cates, whose role was to perform rituals for the people.
popular religion, an alternative that offered mutual support
Buddhism also had a synergetic relationship with the
and assurance and promised means of going directly to para-
form of neo-Confucianism dominant in the late Ming,
dise at death without passing through purgatory.
Wang Yangming’s “learning of the mind.” On the one hand,
Popular religious sects were active on the China main-
Chan individualism and seeking enlightenment within influ-
land until the start of the Cultural Revolution in 1966, and
enced Wang and his disciples; on the other hand, official ac-
they continue to multiply in Taiwan, where they can be le-
ceptance of Wang’s school gave indirect support to the forms
gally registered as branches of Daoism. Since the late nine-
of Buddhism associated with it, such as the teachings of
teenth century most sectarian scriptures have been composed
Zhuhong and Hanshan Deqing (1546–1623).
by spirit writing, direct revelation from a variety of gods and
Daoism was supported by emperors throughout the
culture heroes.
Ming, with Daoist priests appointed as officials in charge 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
1608
CHINESE RELIGION: AN OVERVIEW
rituals and composing hymns and messages to the gods. The
priests given responsibility for the sensitive task of establish-
Quanzhen sect continued to do well, with its monastic base
ing the imperial calendar. In 1663 the number of converts
and emphasis on attaining immortality through “internal al-
had grown to about one hundred thousand. The high point
chemy.” Its meditation methods also influenced those of
of this early Roman Catholic mission effort came during the
some of Wang Yangming’s followers, such as Wang Ji
reign of the Kangxi emperor (r. 1662–1722), who, while not
(1497–1582). However, it was the Zhengyi sect led by he-
a convert, had a lively curiosity about European knowledge.
reditary Celestial Masters that had the most official support
Nonetheless, Chinese suspicions remained, and the mis-
during the Ming and hence was able to consolidate its posi-
sion was threatened from within by rivalries between orders
tion as the standard of orthodox Daoism. Zhengyi influence
and European nations. In particular, there was contention
is evident in scriptures composed during this period, many
over Jesuit acceptance of the worship of ancestors and Con-
of which trace their lineage back to the first Celestial Master
fucius by Chinese Christian converts. In 1645 a Franciscan
and bear imprimaturs from his successors. The forty-third-
obtained a papal prohibition of such “accommodation,” and
generation master was given charge of compiling a new Dao-
this “rites controversy” intensified in the ensuing decades.
ist canon in 1406, a task completed between 1444 and 1445.
The Inquisition forbade the Jesuit approach in 1704, but the
It is this edition that is still in use today.
Jesuits kept on resisting until papal bulls were issued against
By the seventeenth century, Confucian philosophy en-
them in 1715 and 1742. Kangxi had sided with the Jesuits,
tered a more nationalistic and materialist phase, but the
but in the end their influence was weakened and their minis-
scholar-official class as a whole remained involved in a variety
try made less adaptable to Chinese traditions. There were
of private religious practices beyond their official ritual re-
anti-Christian persecutions in several places throughout the
sponsibilities. These included not only the study of Daoism
mid-eighteenth century; however, some Christian communi-
and Buddhism but also the use of spirit-writing séances and
ties remained, as did a few European astronomers at court.
There were several more attempts at suppression in the early
prayers to Wenchang, the god of scholars and literature, for
nineteenth century, with the result that by 1810 only thirty-
help in passing examinations. Ming Taizu had proclaimed
one European missionaries and eighty Chinese priests were
that each of the “three teachings” of Confucianism, Bud-
left, but church membership remained at about two hundred
dhism, and Daoism had an important role to play, which en-
thousand.
couraged synthetic tendencies present since the beginnings
of Buddhism in China. In the sixteenth century a Confucian
The first Protestant missionary to reach China was Rob-
scholar named Lin Zhao’en (1517–1598) from Fujian took
ert Morrison, sent by the London Missionary Society to
these tendencies a step further by building a middle-class reli-
Guangzhou in 1807. He and another missionary made their
gious sect in which Confucian teachings were explicitly sup-
first Chinese convert in 1814 and completed translating the
ported by those of Buddhism and Daoism. Lin was known
Bible in 1819. From then on increasing numbers of Protes-
as “Master of the Three Teachings,” the patron saint of what
tant missionaries arrived from other European countries and
became a popular movement with temples still extant in Sin-
the United States.
gapore and Malaysia in the mid-twentieth century. This ten-
Christian impact on the wider world of Chinese reli-
dency to incorporate Confucianism into a sectarian religion
gions has traditionally been negligible, although there is
was echoed by Zhang Jizong (d. 1866) who established a for-
some indication that scholars such as Fang Yizhi (1611–
tified community in Shandong, and by Kang Youwei (1858–
1671) were influenced by European learning and thus helped
1927) at the end of imperial history. Confucian-oriented
prepare the way for the practical emphases of Qing Confu-
spirit-writing cults also flourished in the late nineteenth and
cianism. Zhuhong and Ricci had engaged in written debate
early twentieth centuries, supported by middle-level military
over theories of God and rebirth, and even the Kangxi em-
and civil officials and producing produced tracts and scrip-
peror was involved in such discussions later, but there was
tures of their own. These “Phoenix Halls” (luantan) spread
no acceptance of Christian ideas and practices by Chinese
to Taiwan in the second half of the nineteenth century and
who did not convert. This is true at the popular level as well,
continue to exist in the twenty-first.
where in some areas Chinese sectarians responded positively
During the sixteenth century Christian missionaries
to both Roman Catholic and Protestant missionaries. Chris-
tried for the third time to establish their faith in China, this
tians and the sectarians were often persecuted together and
time a more successful effort by Italian Jesuits. In 1583 two
shared concerns for congregational ritual, vernacular scrip-
Italian Jesuits, Michael Ruggerius and Matteo Ricci (1552–
tures, and a compassionate creator deity. Yet nineteenth-
1610), were allowed to stay in Zhaoqing in Guangdong
century sectarian texts betray few traces of Christian influ-
province. By their knowledge of science, mathematics, and
ence, and even when Jesus speaks in later spirit-writing
geography they impressed some of the local scholars and offi-
books, it is as a supporter of Chinese values.
cials; Ricci eventually became court astronomer in Beijing.
Chinese Judaism thrived, at least in Kaifeng, through
He also made converts of several high officials, so that by
the Ming and part of the Qing dynasties. The Ming, in fact,
1605 there were two hundred Chinese Christians. For the
has been called a “Golden Age” of Judaism in Kaifeng. Many
next several decades the Jesuit mission prospered, led by
members of the community achieved success in the civil ser-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHINESE RELIGION: AN OVERVIEW
1609
vice examinations and were appointed to relatively high gov-
Dalai Lama was invited to visit Beijing, and in the early eigh-
ernment positions; good relations with Chinese officials
teenth century his successors were put under a Qing protec-
helped the community to rebuild its synagogue after floods
torate. In 1780 the Panchen Lama paid a visit to the Qian-
six times during the Ming.
long emperor (r. 1736–1795) on his seventieth birthday at
the imperial retreat of Rehe (formerly written Jehol, now
In 1605, a Kaifeng Jew named Ai Tian visited the capi-
called Chengde), northeast of Beijing. At Rehe the earlier
tal at Beijing and, having heard that there were westerners
Qing emperors had built a dozen Tibetan Buddhist temples
there who worshiped one god but were not Muslims, paid
(in addition to a Confucian temple and school), including
Matteo Ricci a visit, thinking that these westerners might be
a smaller replica of the Potala Palace in Lhasa.
fellow Jews. After some awkward conversation, in which Ai
thought Ricci was a Jew and Ricci thought Ai was a Chris-
Early Qing emperors were interested in Chan Bud-
tian, the truth emerged and the Chinese Jews came to the
dhism as well. The Yongzheng emperor (r. 1723–1735) pub-
attention of the Western world for the first time. During the
lished a book on Chan in 1732 and ordered the reprinting
Rites Controversy the Jesuits consulted with the Kaifeng
of the Buddhist canon, a task completed in 1738. He also
Jews on their practice of honoring ancestors in the synagogue
supported the printing of a Tibetan edition of the canon, and
and used that as part of their argument for toleration of the
his successor, Qianlong, sponsored the translation of this vo-
custom.
luminous body of texts into Manchu. The Pure Land tradi-
There were unsuccessful missionary efforts to convert
tion continued to be the form of Buddhism most supported
the Jews to Christianity, but the Jews suffered neither dis-
by the people. The most active Daoist schools were the mo-
crimination from Chinese society nor repression from the
nastic Quanzhen and the Zhengyi, more concerned with
Chinese government, except for a few slightly restrictive de-
public rituals of exorcism and renewal, conducted by a mar-
crees concerning kosher slaughter during the Yuan dynasty.
ried priesthood. However, Daoism no longer received court
Nonetheless, the high level of involvement of Kaifeng Jews
support. Despite repeated cycles of rebellions and persecu-
in the civil service examination system, which required a
tions, popular sects continued to thrive, although after the
heavy investment of time in the study of Chinese classics,
Eight Trigrams uprising in 1813 repression was so severe that
history, and literature, resulted in fewer educated Jews study-
production of sectarian scripture texts declined in favor of
ing Hebrew. This eventually contributed to their complete
oral transmission, a tendency operative among some earlier
assimilation in Chinese society and the disappearance of Jew-
groups as well.
ish practice in China. Another factor was the expulsion of
The most significant innovation in Qing religion was
the Christian missionaries after the Rites Controversy, as
the teachings of the Taiping Tianguo (Celestial Kingdom of
they had been the Chinese Jews’ major link to the world out-
Great Peace), which combined motifs from Christianity,
side China.
shamanism, and popular sectarian beliefs. The Taiping
Qing dynasty. The Manchus, a tribal confederation re-
movement was begun by Hong Xiuquan (1814–1864), a
lated to the Jurchen, had established their own state in the
would-be Confucian scholar who first was given Christian
northeast in 1616 and named it Qing in 1636. As their
tracts in 1836. After failing civil service examinations several
power grew, they sporadically attacked North China and ab-
times, Hong claimed to have had a vision in which it was
sorbed much Chinese political and cultural influence. In
revealed that he was the younger brother of Jesus Christ,
1644 a Qing army was invited into China by the Ming court
commissioned to be a new messiah. Hong proclaimed a new
to save Beijing from Chinese rebels. The Manchus not only
kingdom upon earth, to be characterized by theocratic rule,
conquered Beijing but stayed to rule for the next 268 years.
enforcement of the Ten Commandments, the brotherhood
In public policy the Manchus were strong supporters of Con-
of all, equality of the sexes, and redistribution of land. Hong
fucianism and relied heavily on the support of Chinese offi-
and other Taiping leaders were effective preachers who wrote
cials, but in their private lives the Qing rulers were devoted
books, edicts, and tracts proclaiming their teachings and reg-
to Tibetan Buddhism. Most religious developments during
ulations and providing prayers and hymns for congregational
the Qing were continuations of Ming traditions, with the ex-
worship. They forbade the worship of ancestors, Buddhas,
ception of Protestant Christianity and the Taiping move-
and Daoist and popular deities. Wherever the Taipings went
ment it helped stimulate.
they destroyed images and temples. They rejected geomancy
and divination and established a new calendar free of the old
Before their conquest of China the Manchus had
festivals and concerns for inauspicious days.
learned of Tibetan Buddhism through the Mongols and had
a special sense of relationship to a bodhisattva much venerat-
In the late 1840s Hong Xiuquan organized a group
ed in Tibet, Mañju´sr¯ı. Nurhachi (1559–1626), the founder
called the God Worshipers Society with many poor and dis-
of the Manchu kingdom, was considered an incarnation of
affected among its members. They moved to active military
Mañju´sr¯ı. After 1644 the Manchus continued to patronize
rebellion in 1851, with Hong taking the title “Celestial
Tibetan Buddhism, which had been supported to some ex-
King” of the new utopian regime. Within two years they cap-
tent in the Ming as well, in part to stay in touch with the
tured Nanjing. Here they established their capital and sent
dominant religion of Tibet and the Mongols. In 1652 the
armies north and west, involving all of China in civil war as
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1610
CHINESE RELIGION: AN OVERVIEW
they went. Although the Qing government was slow to re-
people have more surplus funds and freedom of belief than
spond, in 1864 Nanjing was retaken by imperial forces and
ever before. Many new temples have been built, sects estab-
the remaining Taiping forces slaughtered or dispersed. For
lished, and scriptures and periodicals published. The same
all of the power of this movement, Taiping teachings and
can be said for Chinese popular religion in Hong Kong,
practices had no positive effect on the history of Chinese reli-
Macao, and Singapore. The Daoist priesthood is active in
gions after this time, while all the indigenous traditions re-
Taiwan, supported by the presence of hereditary Celestial
sumed and rebuilt.
Masters from the mainland who provide ordinations and le-
gitimacy. There are also several large and prosperous Chan
The Qing also witnessed the decline of Chinese Jewish
organizations with branches all over the world. Another rap-
religious life. By the mid-nineteenth century in Kaifeng there
idly growing Buddhist sect in Taiwan is the Buddhist Com-
were no Jews left who could read Hebrew. Without a rabbi
passion Relief (Ciji) Foundation, founded by the nun Cheng
there was little reason to keep the Kaifeng synagogue in re-
Yan in 1966 to mobilize social work and education from a
pair, so the community sold the property to the Canadian
Maha¯ya¯na Buddhist perspective.
Anglican mission. Today on the site is a hospital, behind
which is “South Teaching the Torah Lane” (Nan jiaojing hu-
The constitution of the People’s Republic establishes
tong), formerly the heart of Kaifeng’s Jewish quarter. Two
the freedom both to support and oppose religion, although
or three hundred Jews still live in Kaifeng, and others are
proselytization is illegal. In practice religious activities of all
spread throughout the country, but aside from the their eth-
types declined drastically there after 1949 and virtually dis-
nic self-identification they have little knowledge of or contact
appeared during the Cultural Revolution of 1966 to 1976.
with Judaism. Since the 1980s there has been a revival of in-
In official documents and state-controlled media religion was
terest in this tradition, both among Chinese Jews themselves
depicted along Marxist lines as “feudal superstition” that
and in the academic world. Since the 1990s several institu-
must be rejected by those seeking to build a new China.
tional centers of Judaic studies have been established at major
Nonetheless, many religious activities continued until the
universities in China.
Cultural Revolution, even those of the long-proscribed pop-
ular sects. The Cultural Revolution, encouraged by Mao Ze-
THE END OF EMPIRE AND POSTIMPERIAL CHINA. In the late
dong and his teachings, was a massive attack on old tradi-
nineteenth century some Chinese intellectuals began to in-
tions, including not only religion but also education, art, and
corporate into their thought new ideas from Western science,
established bureaucracies. In the process thousands of reli-
philosophy, and literature, but the trend in religion was to-
gious images were destroyed, temples and churches confis-
ward reaffirmation of Chinese values. Even the reforming
cated, leaders returned to lay life, and books burned. At the
philosopher Kang Youwei tried to build a new cult of Confu-
same time a new national cult arose, that of Chairman Mao
cius, while at the popular level spirit-writing sects proliferat-
and his thought, involving ecstatic processions, group recita-
ed. In 1899 a vast antiforeign movement began in North
tion from Mao’s writings, and a variety of quasi-religious cer-
China, loosely called the Boxer Rebellion because of its mar-
emonials. These included confessions of sins against the rev-
tial arts practices. The ideology of this movement was based
olution, vows of obedience before portraits of the chairman,
on popular religion and spirit mediumship, and many Boxer
and meals of wild vegetables to recall the bitter days before
groups attacked Christian missions in the name of Chinese
liberation. Although the frenzy abated, the impetus of the
gods. This uprising was put down in 1900 by a combination
Cultural Revolution continued until Mao’s death in 1976,
of Chinese and foreign armies after the latter had captured
led by a small group, later called “the Gang of Four,” cen-
Beijing.
tered around his wife, Jiang Qing (1914–1991).
The Qing government attempted a number of belated
This group was soon deposed, a move followed by liber-
reforms, but in 1911 it collapsed from internal decay, foreign
alization of policy in several areas, including religion. Since
pressure, and military uprisings. Some Chinese intellectuals,
1980 many churches, monasteries, and mosques have re-
free to invest their energies in new ideas and political forms,
opened and religious leaders reinstated, in part to establish
avidly studied and translated Western writings, including
better relationships with Buddhist, Christian, and Muslim
those of Marxism. One result of this westernization and secu-
communities in other countries. There has been an accelerat-
larization was attacks on Confucianism and other Chinese
ing revival of popular religion as well, spurred in part by the
traditions, a situation exacerbated by recurrent civil wars that
return of market capitalism under Deng Xiaoping (1905–
led to the destruction or occupation of thousands of temples.
1997). This occurred primarily in the southeast at first; since
However, these new ideas were most influential in the larger
the early 1990s Taiwanese have been allowed to travel to the
cities; the majority of Chinese continued popular religious
mainland, and many have financially supported the recon-
practices as before. Many temples and monasteries survived,
struction of local temples, especially in Fujian province, from
and there were attempts to revive Buddhist thought and mo-
which most mainland Taiwanese emigrated. But the revival
nastic discipline, particularly by the monks Yinguang (1861–
of popular religion is occurring throughout China, most no-
1940) and Taixu (1890–1947).
tably in rural areas.
Since 1949 Chinese religions have increasingly pros-
The official line on religion has moderated, the govern-
pered in Taiwan, particularly at the popular level, where the
ment now acknowledging that some aspects of China’s tradi-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHINESE RELIGION: AN OVERVIEW
1611
tional culture are worth preserving; also that religion will
imported from the West. Although China was once thought
eventually disappear on its own when the perfect socialist
by westerners to be a “timeless” realm in which nothing
state is realized, so it is unnecessary to forcefully hasten the
changed, the story of religion in China, as far back as we can
process. Along with the booming capitalist economy that de-
see, has been one of constant change.
veloped in the 1990s and into the twenty-first century, “so-
S
cialism with Chinese characteristics”—a popular slogan of
EE ALSO Afterlife, article on Chinese Concepts; Alchemy,
article on Chinese Alchemy; Amita¯bha; Ancestors, article on
Deng Xiaoping—allows the state to tolerate and support reli-
Ancestor Worship; Bodhidharma; Buddhism, articles on
gion, within limits.
Buddhism in Central Asia and Buddhism in China; Bud-
The religious revival includes many groups devoted to
dhism, Schools of, article on Chinese Buddhism; Chan;
various forms of qigong, the “manipulation of qi,” which has
Chinese Philosophy; Chinese Religious Year; Christianity,
roots in Daoist self-cultivation. In 1999 the government
article on Christianity in Asia; Confucianism, overview arti-
cle; Confucius; Dao and De; Daochuo; Daoism, overview
began a severe crackdown on one such cult, Falun Dafa
article; Daosheng; Domestic Observances, article on Chinese
(Great Law of the Dharma Wheel), commonly referred to
Practices; Dong Zhongshu; Fangshi; Fazang; Flight; Ge
in the West as Falun Gong (Exercise of the Dharma Wheel),
Hong; Han Fei Zi; Huangdi; Huayan; Huineng; Huiyuan;
which more accurately denotes their Buddho-Daoist-
Inner Asian Religions; Islam, article on Islam in China; Je-
inspired form of mental and physical cultivation. Founded
suits; Jiao; Jingtu; Judaism, article on Judaism in Asia; Kang
in 1992 by Li Hongzhi (b. 1951), Falun Dafa attracted prac-
Youwei; Kou Qianzhi; Kuiji; Kuma¯raj¯ıva; Legalism; Li;
titioners in the tens of millions in part because of its claims
Liang Wudi; Linji; Liu An; Lu Xiujing; Maha¯vairocana;
to improve health and lengthen life in the context of the
Maitreya; Manichaeism; Mañju´sr¯ı; Mappo; Mengzi; Mille-
aging of the Chinese population and the collapse of state-
narianism, article on Chinese Millenarian Movements;
supported cradle-to-grave health care. In April 1999 the or-
Mongol Religions; Morrison, Robert; Mozi; Nestorianism;
ganization, largely through the medium of e-mail, secretly
Nianfo; Pure and Impure Lands; Qi; Ricci, Matteo; Sacri-
organized a silent demonstration by more than ten thousand
fice; Sengzhao; Shamanism, overview articles; Shandao;
practitioners outside the residence compound of China’s top
Shangdi; Soul, article on Chinese Concepts; Taiping; Taixu;
leaders in Beijing to protest what they said was a slanderous
Tanluan; Tao Hongjing; Theodicy; Tian; Tiantai; Wang
magazine article and the refusal of the authorities to let them
Chong; Wang Zhe; Xian; Xi Wang Mu; Xunzi; Yinyang
register as a voluntary association, as required by law. The
Wuxing; Yoga¯ca¯ra; Yuhuang; Zhang Daoling; Zhang Lu;
group’s ability to mobilize such large numbers and the fact
Zhang Zai; Zhenren; Zhenyan; Zhiyi; Zhou Dunyi;
that Li Hongzhi had emigrated to the United States in 1998
Zhuangzi; Zhu Xi; Zoroastrianism.
apparently motivated the repression.
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E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1614
CHINESE RELIGION: POPULAR RELIGION
As a consequence of such loose and varied usage, words
are not Confucian, Buddhist, or Daoist can be labeled as
such as “popular religion” or “folk religion,” although often
Chinese popular religion, but this term does not necessarily
used in a similar way, might arguably be totally eliminated.
imply any social class, lack of intellectual sophistication, or
Yet scholars and observers need hermeneutical tools to un-
heterodoxy. On the other hand, while the three religions
derstand the religious field in Chinese history, and “popular”
have nationwide institutions, cult communities are funda-
should be useful if defined properly. This essay considers the
mentally local in nature, and they have been therefore aptly
elements of popular religion in the context of Chinese reli-
described as “local religion. ”
gion, and it attempts to delineate what “popular” implies by
HISTORICAL CONSTRUCTION. Most of the fundamental ele-
looking at the roles of clerical institutionalized religions, local
ments of Chinese religion began to be observed during antiq-
lay communities, and individual specialists and devotees.
uity, that is, in the period before the unification of the Chi-
D
nese world under the Qin empire (221
EFINITIONS. With the exception of religions, notably Islam
BCE). Religious beliefs
and Christianity, that arrived in China from elsewhere and
and practices of the ancient royalty and nobility have been
could not become fully integrated because of exclusive claims
documented through partly transmitted liturgical manuals
of truth, most religious practices, beliefs, and organizations
and archaeological evidence, but local cults and commoners’
in China can be described as belonging to a single system,
practices have also been reconstructed through fragmentary
best termed “Chinese religion” (sometimes called “Chinese
evidence, notably recently excavated manuscripts. Shared
traditional religion”). This organic, non-hierarchical system
practices among various social classes and regions have led
integrates traditions of individual salvation (self-cultivation
scholars to speak of a “common religion” for the late antiqui-
through meditation and body techniques, morality, and spir-
ty and the Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE). The major fea-
it-possession techniques, including spirit-writing), commu-
tures of this common religion include care for the dead, ad-
nal celebration (cults to local saints and ancestors), and death
dressing both the corpse (hence the importance of grave
rituals together with the three institutionalized religions,
maintenance, and in later times geomancy) and souls that go
Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism.
through a netherworld administration and can either be in-
stalled as ancestors, or, if not given proper rituals, suffer as
The three institutionalized religions are precisely de-
ghosts or demons. A bureaucratic vision of the universe, and
fined, each with a distinctive clergy, a canon (scriptures that
particularly of the netherworld, had already been formed by
define orthodoxy), a liturgy, and training centers (monaste-
the Han, and it would be further developed by Daoism. It
ries and academies where the canon is kept and the clergy
informs the contracts and formal demands to netherworld
is trained and ordained). The institutions defined by these
officials concerning the fate of the dead, the prolongation of
four characteristics can be referred to as “Buddhism,” “Dao-
the living person’s life-span, and the cure of illnesses caused
ism,” and “Confucianism” stricto sensu. Confucianism, Bud-
by ghosts or demons. Ancestors as well as gods can be requit-
dhism, and Daoism within Chinese religion do not function
ed through sacrifices of alcohol, grains, and most important-
as separate institutions that provide their members an exclu-
ly, meats; the offerings differ by type of sacrificial animal or
sive way to salvation, as in the nineteenth-century Western
cooking methods according to the relationship between the
concept of religion; rather, their purpose is to transmit their
person and the ancestor or god. Sacrifices are preceded by
tradition of practice and make it available to all, either as in-
ritual purification (zhaijie), including abstinence from alco-
dividual spiritual techniques or liturgical services to whole
hol, meat, sex, and unclean activities. Incense, first used as
communities. In late imperial times and well into the twenti-
a purificatory fumigant, would later gradually become the
eth century, only clerics and a small number of retired lay-
most basic and common offering (in ancient time as powder,
men (jushi) would declare themselves as Buddhists or Dao-
and later as sticks). Gods or ancestors can possess the living
ists, but very few Chinese indeed have never engaged in
so as to participate in the sacrificial banquet or speak to hu-
Buddhist or Daoist practices. The wide acceptance and offi-
mans; spirit-mediums (wu), or shamans as they are some-
cial status of the doctrine of the three religions’ coexistence
times called (somewhat problematically) in Western lan-
has made them complementary to one another.
guages, were recognized intermediaries, but it also happened
that non-specialists, and indeed children, could be possessed.
The three institutionalized religions serve the whole of
Possession played a major role in exorcisms from ghosts or
Chinese religion, which is not “syncretism” as it is too often
demons; the exorcising deities are themselves usually former
described (the word syncretism should be reserved to certain
ghosts or demons. All of these features of the common reli-
sectarian traditions): they are expected to coexist but not
gion of late antiquity still comprise the basic elements of Chi-
mingle, and people do not confuse them. The many inde-
nese religion in the twenty-first century.
pendent communities that form the social structure of Chi-
nese religion choose from among the shared repertoire of be-
Confucianism formed during the Han dynasty as the
liefs and practices those services offered by the three religions
self-proclaimed heir of the elite sacrificial religion of antiqui-
that give them relevant meaning, and their choices hinge on
ty, became the state religion during the Han, and would re-
socio-economic, ideological, and theological considerations
main so until the end of the empire in 1911. Meanwhile,
much more complex than an elite/popular dichotomy can
during the second century BCE, Daoism gradually organized
suggest. Therefore, the large majority of communities that
into communities and a distinctive liturgy, and Buddhism
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHINESE RELIGION: POPULAR RELIGION
1615
began to flow into China from Central Asia. These three reli-
gradually declined, which opened the way for many sectarian
gions often conflicted with one another until a doctrine of
movements to flourish. Such movements offered conven-
their equal orthodoxy and coexistence was formulated during
tional services (healing, morality teachings, and liturgical ser-
the Tang era (618–907). At the same time, all three attempt-
vices such as death rituals) but at the same time fully em-
ed to control the pre-existing local cults by integrating them
braced the modern discourse of religion against superstition.
into their clerical structures and reforming their practices,
This was notably the case with movements that practiced
but with limited success; for example, Buddhism and Dao-
spirit-writing and proselytized on a very large scale, such as
ism notably attempted, but failed, to suppress animal sacri-
Tongshan she, Daoyuan, or Yiguandao. The Qigong move-
fices. From the third to the tenth centuries, Buddhist and
ment of self-healing, first supported by the Communist au-
Daoist monasteries were the largest religious institutions,
thorities, also occupied the vacant space. Progressive liberal-
and clergy-led pious associations were omnipresent in rural
ization on the mainland since the 1980s, however, has
and urban China, but local cults continued to practice as
allowed a remarkable renewal of local cults on a scale unex-
well.
pected by most scholars, and the Chinese religious field is
gradually recovering its erstwhile diversity.
The modern religious organization of Chinese society,
still existing despite twentieth-century upheavals, gradually
SOCIAL STRUCTURES. Western descriptions of Chinese reli-
took shape between the tenth and the thirteenth centuries.
gious life have long tended to emphasize its motley, disorga-
This process included the growth of the cult of local saints
nized nature. Closer examination, however, reveals that it is
which superseded clerical institutions (monasteries) as the re-
based on well-defined social structures, some of which are co-
ligious centers of society; the appearance of the large temple
terminous with local society (village, clans) and others which
festivals and opera performances; the adoption of local saints
are more purely religious: thus, even though religious groups
within the liturgical pantheons of Confucianism, Buddhism
are strongly linked to secular social organizations, the former
and Daoism (through the process of state and Daoist canon-
do not merely reflect the latter, and religious communities
ization of local gods); the growth of lineages and corpora-
have their own logic and agency. What best characterizes the
tions as powerful religious and economic institutions; the
social organization of Chinese religion is the communities’
employment of Buddhist and Daoist clerics in temples of
fundamental autonomy. While they can, and often do, nego-
local saints, lineages, and corporations as contractual manag-
tiate alliances and build networks, for both religious (large-
ers; the democratization of salvation techniques (meditation,
scale celebrations) and secular purposes (order-maintenance,
inner alchemy); the phenomenal growth of spirit-writing
infrastructure building, arbitrating local tensions, and con-
(fuji, fuluan) and the formation of a common ethics shared
flicts), all temples, communities, and other religious groups
by the whole of Chinese religion based on spirit-writing reve-
are independent, refusing to take any order from any external
lations and expressed in morality books, shanshu. Spirit-
authority, secular or spiritual. Some scholars have described
writing is fairly uniform as a technique, but it is used by
the networks of cult communities as China’s civil society.
many different kinds of groups, including immortality cults,
The typology and relative importance of the social
gentry morality cults, and sectarian movements.
structures of Chinese religion vary among different regions
of the Chinese world, between rural and urban areas, and be-
The early modern religious organization of Chinese so-
tween Chinese residents and the diaspora; it is possible, how-
ciety was dramatically upset by twentieth-century political
ever, to distinguish basic types. The most fundamental dis-
revolutions. As early as the 1898 reforms, an edict called for
tinction opposes ascriptive communities, where adhesion is
the seizure of all local temples to be turned into schools, and
compulsory and by household relative to social status, and
although promptly revoked, this measure was again adopted
congregations characterized by free, individual participation.
after 1901. Political reformists considered temple cults as the
Three main types of ascriptive communities exist: the territo-
center of local identities and autonomy, and an obstacle to
rial communities, the clans, and the corporations.
nation-building: they wanted to destroy temples and associa-
tions in order to seize their material and symbolical resources
Of the three, the territorial communities are the most
and build a modern nation-state. At the same time, the intro-
prevalent and also the most ancient direct descendants of the
duction around 1901 of the Western notions of religion and
earth god cults, she, of antiquity. According to one of the old-
superstition caused a complete reformulation of the imperial
est and most fundamental principles of Chinese religion, all
religious policies: now, major world religions (with a church
persons living within a given area must take part in the cult
structure, a canon, and a philosophy) were tolerated, but su-
of the territorial god of that region, or domain (jing). In
perstitions were targeted for destruction. This became the of-
many places, the generic impersonal she, or tudi gong in mod-
ficial stance of the Republic of China (1912–) and the Peo-
ern parlance, evolved during the Song (960–1279) into local
ple’s Republic (1949–) that gave relative recognition to five
saints, each of which was given its own individual name,
religions (Buddhism, Daoism, Islam, Catholicism, Protes-
birthday, and history, and she altars became elaborate tem-
tantism, with the first two defined in a narrow, monastic
ples with statues. The imperial state, notably under the first
sense) but actively suppressed all local cults, temples, and fes-
emperor (r. 1368–1398) of the Ming dynasty (1368–1644),
tivals. Because of destructions and financial ruin, local cults
tried to revert the territorial cults to canonical she altars, but
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1616
CHINESE RELIGION: POPULAR RELIGION
with limited success. During the modern period, territorial
piety and moral dedication. On the other hand, the imperial
communities exist at different levels: while streets, or small
state did not approve of such congregations. The religious
neighborhoods maintain modest shrines to an anonymous
policy of the late imperial state drew a line between ascriptive
generic tudi gong, many larger villages and urban neighbor-
communities, which respected the natural patriarchal struc-
hoods have one communal temple for the cult of a saint em-
tures of local society and recognized them as orthodox, and
bodying local identity and history. Walled cities have a tem-
devotional congregations, which were outlawed. In practice,
ple for the territorial cult of the whole city, the Chenghuang
however, most congregations were left to themselves and op-
(god of the moat and walls, or, more commonly, city god),
erated openly, since it proved impossible for the authorities
a cult that appeared during the Tang period and became fully
to clearly separate the two kinds of groups.
institutionalized and universal during the early Ming. In all
cases, the territorial temple is built and owned in common,
The congregations were extremely varied. Many origi-
and all households have a duty to contribute to it, often
nated in medieval Buddhist and Daoist pious societies (yi or
through a poll tax (dingkou qian).
she). The societies financed, within or without monasteries,
activities such as rituals, the making of scriptures or icons,
The clans or lineages are of more recent origin. Even
or and mutual aid between members. They were often under
though the ancestral cult has been a fundamental element of
clerical leadership. In the early twenty-first century, such so-
Chinese religion throughout recorded history, it was orga-
cieties continue to exist; after the tenth century, however,
nized at the family level (jia, or household) only. The advent
they became less numerous than other congregations—often
of very large kin groups based on common descent (proved
called xianghui, or incense communities—that worshiped
or supposed) from a common ancestor, and pooling re-
local saints and were housed in temples. These devotional
sources for cults to this ancestor, seems to be a twelfth-
groups may organize rituals to celebrate the birthday of their
century innovation. Although not canonical institutions,
saint or contribute to the upkeep of a temple by making spe-
these clans shared the neo-Confucianism ideology, and rose
cific offerings or by maintaining and cleaning chapels; the
to prominence between the Song and the Ming to become
best-endowed congregations built their own temples. Pil-
influential on the economic, social, and religious scenes.
grimage associations also developed on a major scale, as pil-
Modern worship focuses on the ancestral cults using Confu-
grimages to holy mountains (such as Taishan, Wudang shan,
cian liturgy, but many clans also sustain cults to local saints
Xishan, and Miaofeng shan near Beijing) drew hundreds of
and employ a variety of religious specialists.
thousands of pilgrims a year during the period between the
sixteenth and the nineteenth centuries. Amateur troupes also
The emergence of corporations is also a Song phenome-
perform during temple festivals, processions, or pilgrimages.
non, but one that reached maturity only by the late Ming,
Many congregations run charitable programs (offering tea or
since it was strongly linked to the commercial and urban de-
food to pilgrims or beggars, and providing medicine, clothes,
velopment that characterized these two periods. Professional
or coffins to the needy). Devotional groups focused on chari-
and commercial guilds, called hui or zuo, managed relations
table acts developed and institutionalized themselves be-
with the state; regulated competition, prices, and wages; su-
tween the sixteenth and the nineteenth centuries; they even-
pervised training and confirmation of apprentices, and were
tually became large philanthropic foundations, shantang, but
organized as cults to patron saints (zushiye). A related type
never lost their devotional dimension.
of organization, not well attested before the Ming, is the
common-origin association, usually called huiguan or gong-
Finally, many congregations were oriented towards in-
suo. Most of the time, huiguan were also trade guilds, since
dividual salvation and spiritual practice. This category in-
numerous trades were comprised of monopolies of people
cludes groups that were led by clergy and geared towards lec-
from certain districts. Larger cities, however, also contained
tures and meditation practice. In addition, increasingly after
larger provincial huiguan that welcomed people from differ-
the sixteenth century, the category added spirit-writing cults
ent trades. Both guilds and common-origin associations es-
formed of laypersons, with one or several spirit-mediums re-
tablished halls in which members could meet and unite in
ceiving direct revelations from gods and saints and publish-
ritual celebration. The most affluent groups built their own
ing these revealed communications in book form. Many such
place, with a temple and facilities (such as a hotel, meeting
texts were morality books; consequently, these cults also en-
rooms, and an opera stage). The poorer guilds constructed
gaged in charity, and their roles largely overlapped with phil-
a hall or chapel within a larger temple.
anthropic foundations. Another sub-category was the sectari-
an tradition, also geared towards revelation, study of sacred
These three kinds of ascriptive communities are quite
texts, and meditation, but with a distinctive theology and
different from congregations characterized by free adhesion.
body of scriptures, called baojuan.
In the former, one, or rather one’s household, had to join
a particular clan, trade guild, and territorial community
Sectarian groups are often called minjian zongjiao, liter-
whether one liked it or not; on the other hand, in the latter,
ally “popular religions”, in scholarly Chinese publications.
joining a devotional group was an extra, an individual op-
This label is confusing, because the Western-language term
tion. Those who chose to join one of these groups received
“popular religions” encompasses much more than just the
social approval; their participation was seen as a mark of
sectarian tradition. Some scholars, considering the distinc-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHINESE RELIGION: POPULAR RELIGION
1617
tiveness of the theology and scriptures of the sectarian tradi-
Buddhists or Daoists are hired as temple managers (zhuchi)
tion, have considered it to be China’s fourth religion. On the
on a contractual basis: they are financially supported (by
other hand, fieldwork observation shows that most sectarian
temple land endowments and community taxes) and can
groups are not marginalized or exclusive communities. Rath-
adopt and train the disciples of their choice; they have to
er, they are devotional associations whose leaders provide—
manage the temple’s day-to-day liturgical life, under the su-
to members and outsiders alike—services such as healing,
pervision of temple community leaders. They might lose
teachings on morality, death rituals, and local leadership in
their positions if they appropriate temple property or gravely
village affairs. These social services are very similar to those
misbehave. Occasionally, Buddhist managers are replaced
offered by other groups.
with Daoist ones and vice versa, so the confessional affilia-
Although ascriptive communities and voluntary congre-
tion of the resident cleric and that of the temple are two
gations, including sectarian groups, are clearly different, they
clearly separate questions. Male or female clerics can be tem-
share much in common in terms of organization, such as the
ple managers; in the early twenty-first century, estimates of
nomination processes for leaders, modes of financing, rules,
the proportion of women in these roles range between 25
and ritual celebrations. Through these groups, individuals re-
and 30 percent. Buddhists and Daoists not living in the tem-
ceive access to a large range of religious services, to specialists,
ple can be contracted to perform scheduled rituals; they are
and to salvation. All sorts of them can be found throughout
also available to families and individuals for death rituals and
the Chinese world, but their relative importance varies by re-
other services (such as exorcisms or consecrations). Parish
gion (for instance, clans are much more prevalent in South
systems are rare, and families are free to hire the cleric of their
China), and even from village to village. In places where
choice if they can afford it. Confucian clerics (lisheng, males
some types of organizations are rare or weak, others tend to
only) almost never work as temple managers, but they may
take over their role, and there have been instances of sectari-
be invited to preside over sacrifices or family rites (notably
an groups acting as a village’s territorial community.
funerals).
TEMPLES AND SPECIALISTS. Most religious communities
Other non-clerical specialists also work full-time or by
build a temple, but this is not absolutely necessary for the
invitation in temples and for families. Diviners help layper-
purpose of the cult. Many groups, either because they cannot
sons to interpret oracles, notably those communications ob-
afford it, or because they are illegal and cannot have highly
tained through divination sticks (lingqian, sets of oracular
visible meeting places, have no shrine of their own. Each reli-
poems; some sets are devoted specifically to medical queries,
gious group, however, must have an incense burner (xianglu)
yaoqian). Some Buddhists and Daoists double as diviners,
and a material support for their deity (a statue, a name tablet,
but this service is often provided by professional diviners,
or a painting that has to be consecrated, kaiguang, a ritual
yinyang xiansheng, sometimes doubling as geomancers. Spir-
normally done by a Daoist or a Buddhist cleric). Families
it-mediums, trained and ordained by Daoists, are important
also have a domestic altar in the house’s main room, which
temple specialists, acting either during festivals or on a regu-
contains statues or tablets of ancestors as well as some protec-
lar schedule (for example, holding sessions once a week).
tive deities. Most faith communities build their own temple,
Laypersons can come and ask questions (such as advice on
or a chapel or hall within an existing temple. Many such tem-
upcoming decisions or requests for cures) to the god through
ples were constructed (probably over one million as of 1900),
the medium; the latter answers either verbally (with an inter-
most of which had many different cults beside the main deity
preter at hand) or writes a talisman (sometimes with his or
that gave the temple its name; separate chapels and icons
her own blood) that can protect or heal. In the village world,
were erected by sub-groups or individuals within the com-
many spirit-mediums and healers work at home, indepen-
munity. All Chinese temples conformed to a single general
dently from temples: they maintain an altar with their own
model in terms of architecture, layout, and symbolic vocabu-
favorite deities, and can heal petitioners’ illnesses through a
lary. A temple belongs either to the clerical, or more often,
combination of divination, propitiations, and exorcism.
the lay community that built it, so most temples can not be
Both men and women can become spirit-mediums or heal-
deemed Daoist, Buddhist, or Confucian—or even “syncret-
ic”—rather, they are the meeting place for communities con-
ers; they need only to be called by the gods (a vocation which
stituted in their alliance with their saints. Only temples built
is often resisted), and to develop charisma; in modern times,
by clerical communities—that is, Buddhist and Daoist
women healers seem to have become more numerous. Spirit-
monasteries, and Confucian academies—can be said to be-
mediums and healers’ own deities are extremely varied, but
long to a definite religion. Temple community leaders are
fox spirits are very common throughout Northern China,
chosen, usually every year, by a combination of bids (leaders
and groups of five exorcistic deities (Wutong, Wuchang) pre-
are usually wealthy locals who pay dearly for the symbolic
dominate in southern China.
capital of religious leadership), rotation, and election by the
Yet another category of specialist is the spiritual master
god (divination, drawing by lots); they preside over the ritu-
who teaches self-development techniques, from yangsheng,
als and manage temple assets and regulations.
cultivation of health to achieve long life (through breathing
Temples can hire religious specialists, and many of the
techniques, dietetics, gymnastics, and sexual techniques) to
larger temples who can afford it do so. Among specialists,
more elaborate and demanding body-and-mind practices de-
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1618
CHINESE RELIGION: POPULAR RELIGION
signed to produce supra-normal powers and eventually salva-
cosmology. This cosmology, formed during late antiquity
tion (as an immortal). Among these masters, Daoists and
and the Han period, dictates that the material and spiritual
Buddhists compete with sectarian leaders, martial artists, and
realms are not separate. The universe is a whole organic sys-
doctors of Chinese medicine.
tem, constantly evolving according to known rules, described
through operative symbols (including yin and yang, five
POPULAR RELIGION, STATE AND SOCIETY. Popular religion
phases, and trigrams). All beings are in constant interaction
and the state have a long history of complicated relation-
(ganying), even at long distances. Due to their different in-
ships. Until the twentieth century, anti-superstition cam-
herent qualities and histories, beings are more or less pure
paigns, Chinese religion, and local cults in particular had
and endowed with spiritual power, ling, meaning efficacy
never been completely banned: territorial, clan, and corpora-
tion cults were mostly recognized as orthodox, and their lit-
and charisma. All beings—humans, animals and even
urgy, notably sacrifices, was Confucian, that is, the same as
plants—can purify themselves (through morality and self-
that practiced by the state cults. On the other hand, the im-
cultivation) before and after death, and thereby ascend the
perial state has always tried to curtail the number and the size
ladders of the spiritual hierarchy and increase their ling. Mir-
of temple cults, for a host of theological, economic, and
acles and the answering of prayers are manifestations of ling.
socio-political reasons. Most often, the state has limited the
Beside these basic principles, the formulation of cosmologi-
number of cults in which commoners were allowed to partic-
cal and theological thinking is entrusted to clerical specialists
ipate, even though such laws seem to have been consistently
(Buddhists, Daoists, Confucians, and sometimes sectarian
ignored throughout history. The state has recognized certain
leaders): that is why these specialists are invited by cult com-
local cults by integrating them into its own register of sacri-
munities to write texts (such as stele inscriptions, scriptures,
fices(sidian); all other cults were deemed yinsi, a complex no-
hagiographies, and liturgical hymns) to justify their cults and
tion meaning “profligate,” “immoral,” or “wanton,” that is,
practices and place them in a larger orthodox framework.
causing financial and emotional excesses and eventually bear-
These sources, in particular the stele inscriptions which are
ing no graces but only harm. Such immoral cults were for-
the records of temple communities, mix the external dis-
bidden but nonetheless remained extremely common; usual-
course of literate clerical specialists and the internal discourse
ly, state toleration and accommodation alternated with
of the community.
occasional repression, and stories of officials destroying “im-
Communities and individuals by and large share similar
moral” temples are common from the Han dynasty to the
values, especially since the Song period, which included the
modern period. Officials also attempted to distinguish or-
advent of a common ethics (integrating elements of Confu-
thodox local territorial gods from forbidden devotional con-
cian, Daoist and Buddhist origins) that was expressed in mo-
gregations, notably those involving women. Late imperial
rality books. All practitioners agree that actions carry retribu-
law forbade women to visit temples (Confucian orthodoxy
tion (conceived either as automatic karma accounting, or,
aspired to confining them at home), which they nonetheless
more often, as a post-mortem judicial process administered
did in great numbers; large-scale women-only pilgrimage as-
in courts of hell), and this concept determines the fate of
sociations also were formed. Nighttime celebrations and par-
each human (and animal) being after death. The theological
ticipation of mediums were also targeted by officials, with
exegesis provided by specialists is supplemented by an abun-
equally little success.
dance of “popular theology,” mostly in accord with clerical
Attempts at curtailing the celebrations of local temple
formulations, that expresses itself in genres such as the novel
cults were linked to a growing Confucian fundamentalism
or the opera. Vernacular novels such as Fengshen yanyi, Xiyou
during the Ming and Qing periods. At the same time, sectari-
ji, or Shuihu zhuan, have played a major role in transmitting
an movements were banned outright because of rebellions.
lore on gods and ritual; moreover, their authors have even
For this reason, some scholars have looked at Chinese popu-
been accused by some officials of encouraging heterodoxy
lar religion as a field of resistance to state power. For the most
and inspiring rebellions.
part, local cults do not develop an ideology of opposition and
Who are the deities? Anthropologists have found that
resistance; the vast majority of communities align themselves
most Chinese divide the realm of other-worldly beings into
with law and order, but because religious groups were the
three categories—gods, ghosts and ancestors—and indeed,
only natural and tolerated form of social organization in im-
similar distinctions already existed before the Han period.
perial China, and as the individual temple communities in-
These are not strictly separate categories, however, as the an-
carnated local identity and autonomy, it is only natural that
cestors of one group are the ghosts of another, and as both
resistance movements came to be religiously organized. The
ghosts and ancestors can become gods. Ancestors are those
twentieth-century anti-superstition destructions had much
who, having gone through a good death, and being subse-
more effect on popular religion than did imperial policies,
quently fed by their patrilineal descendants, stay with them
and also caused more resistance among the people.
at a carefully maintained distance. Ghosts and demons are
THEOLOGY. As Chinese religion does not have a common
those who have suffered a bad death (early death, suicide, dis-
canon and spiritual authorities, there is no unified formal
memberment, and other unnatural circumstances—the de-
theology. All cults and specialists, however, share a common
monology is very rich) and who could not be ritually in-
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CHINESE RELIGION: POPULAR RELIGION
1619
stalled as ancestors. They roam around, seeking vengeance,
to answer to higher authorities. The head of this pantheon
and they can cause illnesses and accidents. Ghosts and de-
is Yuhuang, the Jade emperor god, commonly called Heav-
mons have to be kept at bay, which includes being bribed
en. Yet, whereas many authors have taken this bureaucratic
by sacrifices (notably during their seventh-month propitia-
metaphor as a way to project human society and the imperial
tion ceremony) and disempowered by exorcisms. Gods (shen)
political system onto the other world (a thesis followed by
are also dead human beings endowed with exceptional ling
scholars who think that religion merely reflects socio-
(due to morality and fortitude). Although many gods are,
political realities without any autonomous agency), there are
like ghosts, victims of bad death, unlike ancestors, they are
many differences between the human world, even in ideal-
thought to work mostly for the good of humans, especially
ized form, and the way the Chinese say the other world
those orthodox gods (zhengshen) who have a privileged posi-
works. First, many deities, notably territorial gods (Chengh-
tion in the spiritual bureaucracy. Nearly all gods, ghosts, and
uang and tudi gong), are mostly officials within a hierarchical
ancestors are dead humans, with a history, birthdays and
system (the Chinese often say “our gods are our officials”),
death days to be celebrated, and traces left on earth (places
but many others work from outside the spiritual bureaucra-
where they committed such and such acts of prowess; howev-
cy, either as benevolent mediators (Guanyin and the Daoist
er, there is little cult worship of relics outside of the Buddhist
immortals) or as outsiders, helping their devotees in an exclu-
context). For this reason, local gods, notably those who were
sive relationship that is not validated by inclusion in larger
canonized by the state or by the Daoists, can also be referred
symbolical schemes. The bureaucratic metaphor accommo-
to as saints. In addition, there are a few nature gods and pure
dates both integration with larger, pan-Chinese political and
Daoist stellar deities that are not dead humans.
symbolical systems and of the need for autonomy and self-
defense from the intrusions of such systems. At the same
All cults are reciprocal, contractual relations between a
time, there is a gendered aspect of such oppositions: male de-
human community and a deity. The community nourishes
ities tend to be territorial and bureaucratic, and ascriptive
(through sacrifices) and houses (in temples) the deity in ex-
communities are often managed by male worthies; while fe-
change for the god’s support. If support and miracles fail to
male deities tend to operate from outside hierarchical pan-
happen, the cult dies out, and new cults arise. Since each
theons, and voluntary congregations are the main venues for
community contracts its own relationship with its deity and
the activities of women. Both men and women, however,
freely elaborates its hagiography and iconography, there is no
share the same goal: salvation through becoming ancestors
cohesive pantheon structuring all of the deities. There are
or gods.
many concurrent pantheons: the liturgical pantheons of the
LITURGY. The Chinese religion’s economy of salvation offers
Daoists, Buddhists, and Confucians, which are more or less
several channels for both individual and communal interac-
unified throughout China, as well as those of the innumera-
tion with deities, thereby fulfilling worldly needs and provid-
ble communities; there are also regional pantheons integrat-
ing ultimate salvation. Temples are not open at all times to
ing local gods in the framework of common rituals, myths,
individuals. People tend to visit on certain occasions: the
and temple cult alliances within one area. Although they only
temple festival, New Year’s Day, and on the first and fif-
overlap partially, these various pantheons do not really con-
teenth day of each month in the lunar calendar—the official
tradict one another. Many gods are known nationwide,
suppression of which during the late 1920s was meant to
whereas most local saints are unheard of outside of their
eradicate superstitions. People usually visit temples when
home county. Nationwide gods usually have been canonized
they have a prayer to address to deities, as there is no compul-
by both the state and Daoism, and most of them rose to re-
sory attendance in Chinese religion (however, all must pay
gional and national status during the pivotal Song-Yuan peri-
taxes to the local territorial temple and clan shrine). Beside
od. The most common ones include emperor Guan
burning incense, devotees bring offerings (foodstuffs, can-
(Guandi, full name Guan Yu, a martial and upright hero,
dles, flowers, and cash donations) and formulate their prayer,
known as the god of war), Zhenwu (a Daoist saint, also a
either orally or, if there is a clerical specialist present, in a for-
martial deity), Mazu (a fisherwoman patron saint of boat-
mal written request (shu), prepared by the cleric and burnt
men), Eastern Peak (Mount Taishan, head of the nether-
(all messages and offerings to gods are sent to them through
world courts), Lü Dongbin (an alchemist saint, healer, and
fire). Written petitions to deities existed as early as late antiq-
instructor through spirit-writing), Wenchang (a Daoist pa-
uity and have been developed by Daoism; they are used par-
tron saint of scholars and spirit-writing morality books).
ticularly when the devotee feels he or she has been the victim
Some gods are specialized in certain services (such as healing
of wrongdoing and seeks justice through the gods; ordeals
or granting rain) but most local saints will answer any prayer.
may also be staged. The objects of prayers are naturally those
It is, moreover, difficult to associate a god with definite val-
of most common concern to Chinese people: health, pros-
ues or beliefs, as a god can mean very different things in dif-
perity, children and continuation of lineages, favorable
ferent communities.
weather and agriculture, and business success.
One fundamental structure of Chinese pantheons is the
Prayers are normally accompanied by a vow (yuan).
bureaucratic metaphor, that is, the idea that gods fill posi-
When praying, the devotee promises (xuyuan) to do some-
tions in a bureaucracy, are promoted or demoted, and have
thing (give a donation, build a new temple, engage in charity,
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1620
CHINESE RELIGION: POPULAR RELIGION
make a pilgrimage, or become a vegetarian); if the prayer is
(which are colloquially known as ghost festivals) that try to
answered, she or he returns to the temple to make good on
save all suffering (and potentially malefic) ghosts and demons
the promise (huanyuan). Temples, as well as home altars of
of the community, thus serving as communal exorcism, re-
spirit-mediums and other specialists are full of votive offer-
membrance, and expiation of bad conscience. Mulian plays
ings (such as wooden boards, furniture, banners, and other
are dramatic, entertaining, and highly didactic, as the travel
decorative elements) carrying the name and words of thanks
through the hells allows the actors to dramatize their values
of those who did huanyuan and bear witness to the god’s effi-
and beliefs regarding morality and retribution.
cacy. People who have been cured by a religious specialist or
SCHOLARSHIP AND HISTORIOGRAPHY. Because Chinese offi-
a god often become the adopted son or daughter of the spe-
cial historiography documents poorly and in a very biased
cialist or god through ritual adoption. Healing seems to have
way all local, non-clerical religious institutions and practices
always been the most common cause for an individual con-
(in fact, most of them document repression and conflict),
verting to a community or a cult.
historians have long underestimated the extent, variety, and
vitality of local religion. Only a few historians and folklorists
The communal liturgy of Chinese local cults is the tem-
(such as Sawada Mizuho), who study anecdotes and other
ple festival, miaohui or saihui, usually held to commemorate
narrative sources, have been able to address the complexity
the birthday of the main god. A festival combines several ele-
of past religious culture. The study of popular religion has
ments: clerical liturgy, sacrifice, performing arts and proces-
been conducted mostly by anthropologists, first in Taiwan,
sions, as well as socio-economic functions (a temple fair or
Hong Kong, and overseas communities, and since the 1980s
market is organized, and allied communities are invited).
in mainland China. Among the pioneers were K. Schipper,
Daoists or Buddhists are often contracted to perform grand
S. Feuchtwang, D. Jordan, and S. Sangren, all of whom
classical liturgy, which is fundamental for integrating the cult
worked in Taiwan, following up on late nineteenth-century
in the larger scheme of Chinese civilization, notably the Dao-
and early twentieth-century observers, often missionaries (J.
ist jiao ritual that places the community and its gods into a
de Groot, C. Day, J. Shryock, W. Grootaers). Since the
cosmic alliance and its economy of universal salvation. For
1970s, historians have supplemented the theories of anthro-
this reason, scholars have described Daoism as the liturgical
pologists with written material, notably regarding sectarian
framework of local cults. Local saints, except for some Bud-
movements (S. Naquin, D. Overmyer, B. ter Haar) or local
dhist and Daoist vegetarian saints, are also honored with ani-
cults (P. Katz). One very influential paradigm, formulated
mal sacrifices. Since the Song period, after the formation of
mostly from a sociological perspective by C.K. Yang, was
the beef taboo (which reserved sacrifices of oxen or buffalo
that Chinese popular religion was “diffuse” (transmitted by
and consumption of beef to certain imperial and purely Con-
families and through shared values, rather than through in-
fucian cults), sacrificial victims are pigs, sheep or goats, and
stitutions). With the renewal of temple cults and other large-
smaller animals (such as poultry or fish). As in sacrificial tra-
scale organizations on the mainland since the 1980s, howev-
ditions worldwide, the meat is first tasted by the deities,
er, and the discovery of huge amounts of written material
thereby sanctified, and eventually shared by the community
produced by these cults and found in the field, social scien-
during a banquet. Buddhists and Daoists usually take little
tists have had to reconsider the importance, not only of the
part in this sacrifice, however, that often follows a Confucian
religious beliefs and values, but also of the social structures
liturgy. The ostentatious and competitive aspect of festivals
of local religion in premodern and modern Chinese society.
is apparent; different families or congregations compete to
During the 1990s, researchers led important efforts to collect
see who can provide the largest and most spectacular offer-
and publish written material found in the context of local
ings.
cults; these studies have greatly expanded knowledge of the
At the same time, local vernacular liturgy is performed
field, notably the Taiwanese-led projects around the journal
outside the temple. Processions are an important part of tem-
Minsu quyi and related collections. Materials include scripts
ple festivals, particularly for territorial cults; these processions
of rituals (performed by local Daoist lineages or other spe-
cialists) and operas, hagiographies, stele inscriptions, and re-
precisely follow the boundaries of the territory or jurisdiction
cords of pious associations.
of the god; they have also an exorcistic value (expelling ghosts
and demons and all pestilence from the community) and
At the same time, theories elaborated on the basis of
spirit-mediums play a major role. Processions also include
early fieldwork in Taiwan and Hong Kong are beginning to
voluntary devotional associations that perform martial art,
be challenged or refined, thanks to observations in inland
farces, stilt walking, lion dances, and other kinds of popular
provinces; some of these provinces, although inhabited by
shows. In front of the temple, operas are performed for the
tens of millions of people, are still poorly documented. Much
gods and community members. One particularly important
research on Chinese popular religion has dealt with the ques-
opera, found throughout China, is the Mulian cycle, which
tion of diversity: Are popular and elite religious ideas and
tells the story of the monk who visited the hells looking for
practices different enough to justify the notion of two differ-
her sinful mother and managed to save her, as well as all the
ent religions, or are they just varying expressions of a funda-
other suffering souls. Mulian plays are staged during the sev-
mentally unique religious tradition? This debate has been
enth month at the same time as the large-scale celebrations
brought to more subtle levels by discussing ways in which
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHINESE RELIGION: POPULAR RELIGION
1621
attempts, mostly by late imperial and modern elite, to bring
How ambiguous exorcist gods became integrated in ortho-
unity (hegemony) to religious representations and practices
dox local ritual in sixteenth-century Huizhou (Anhui
partially succeeded, shaping the discourse of the villagers in
province).
a Confucian framework, and partially failed, as villagers are
ter Haar, Barend. “Local Society and the Organization of Cults
able to maintain their cults and rituals under the appearance
in Early Modern China: A Preliminary Study.” Studies in
of Confucian orthodoxy. Another topic of Chinese religion
Central and East Asian Religions 8 (1995): 1–43. Temple
with questions of unity or diversity is the liturgical calendar.
cults and their social organization as seen by an historian.
The basic structure of the calendar is the same throughout
Hansen, Valerie. Changing Gods in Medieval China, 1127–1276.
the Chinese world, with the new year event (a family celebra-
Princeton, N.J., 1990. An authoritative study on the birth
tion of renewal and settling accounts with both humans and
of regional and national cults.
Heaven), rites for ancestors, propitiation of ghosts and de-
Katz, Paul. Demon Hordes and Burning Boats: The Cult of Marshal
mons during the seventh month; yet at the same time, much
Wen in Late Imperial Chekiang. Albany, N.Y., 1995. A local
variety exists among regional and local yearly events.
cult, seen through history, hagiography, and ritual.
Lopez, Donald S., ed. Religions of China in Practice. Princeton,
SEE ALSO Afterlife, article on Chinese Concepts; Ancestors,
N.J., 1996. A very readable selection of important primary
article on Ancestor Worship; Divination; Domestic Obser-
sources from antiquity to the present.
vances, article on Chinese Practices; Millenarianism, article
Naquin, Susan. Peking: Temples and City Life, 1400–1900. Berke-
on Chinese Millenarian Movements; Soul, article on Chi-
ley, Calif., 2000. A very detailed study of urban temples,
nese Concepts.
their history, and their functions.
Overmyer, Daniel. “From ‘Feudal Superstitions’ to ‘Popular Be-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
liefs’: New Directions in Mainland Chinese Studies of Chi-
Clart, Philip. “Confucius and the Mediums: Is There a ‘Popular
nese Popular Religion.” Cahiers d’Extrême-Asie 12 (2001):
Confucianism’?” T’oung Pao 89, nos. 1–3 (2003): 1–38. On
103–126. A critical discussion of the nascent Chinese schol-
twentieth-century spirit-writing cults as popular Confucian-
arship, clarifying many complex terminology and conceptual
ism.
issues.
Cohen, Myron. “Shared Beliefs: Corporations, Community and
Poo, Mu-chou. In Search of Personal Welfare: A View of Ancient
Religion among the South Taiwan Hakka during the
Chinese Religion. Albany, N.Y., 1998. A comprehensive dis-
Ch’ing.” Late Imperial China 14, no. 1 (1993): 1–33. A so-
cussion of early Chinese common religion.
ciological approach of religious organizations.
Sangren, Steven P. “Traditional Chinese Corporations: Beyond
Dean, Kenneth. Daoist Ritual and Popular Cults of South-east
Kinship.” Journal of Asian Studies 43, no. 3 (1984):
China. Princeton, N.J., 1993. A superb fieldwork and com-
391–415. An excellent argument for a comparative approach
prehensive description of how Daoists provide a “liturgical
of the different forms of religious organizations in Chinese
framework” for local cults.
society.
Dean, Kenneth. “Transformations of the She (Altars of the Soil)
Schipper, Kristofer. “Neighborhood Cult Associations in Tradi-
in Fujian.” Cahiers d’Extrême-Asie 10 (1998): 19–75. A his-
tional Tainan.” In The City in Late Imperial China, edited
tory of territorial cults and their evolution through the early
by William G. Skinner, pp. 651–676. Stanford, Calif., 1977.
modern period.
A seminal study on territorial communities.
Durand-Dastes, Vincent. “Prodiges ambigus. Les récits non-
Schipper, Kristofer. “Structures Liturgiques et société civile à
canoniques sur le surnaturel entre histoire religieuse, histoire
Pékin.” Sanjiao wenxian 1 (1997): 9–23. The religious orga-
littéraire et anthropologie.” Revue bibliographique de sinologie
nization in early modern Beijing.
(2002): 317–343. An excellent historiographic discussion on
Sutton, Donald. “From Credulity to Scorn: Confucians Confront
the use of narrative literature for the study of popular
the Spirit Mediums in Late Imperial China.” Late Imperial
religion.
China 21, no. 2 (2000): 1–39. The growing Confucian fun-
Feuchtwang, Stephan. Popular Religion in China: The Imperial
damentalism turning against the most important specialists
Metaphor. London, 2001. A classic, theoretically complex,
of popular religion.
but comprehensive discussion of popular religion in a Tai-
Wolf, Arthur P. “Gods, Ghosts, and Ancestors.” In Religion and
wanese village.
Ritual in Chinese Society, edited by Arthur P. Wolf,
Goossaert, Vincent. Dans les temples de la Chine: Histoire des cultes,
pp. 131–182. Stanford, Calif., 1974. The classical study on
vie des communautés. Paris, 2000. A synthetic introduction
popular theology.
to Chinese temples.
Yang, C.K. (Yang, Qingkun). Religion in Chinese Society. Berkeley,
Calif., 1961. The classical analysis of Chinese popular reli-
Goossaert, Vincent. “Le destin de la religion chinoise au 20e siè-
gion as diffuse religion.
cle.” Social Compass 50, no. 4 (2003): 429–440. A first dis-
cussion of the modern history of Chinese religion, faced with
Yü, Chün-fang. Kuan-yin: The Chinese Transformation of Avalo-
anti-superstition campaigns, temple destruction, and the
kitesvara. New York, 2001. A superb history of how the
birth of scholarly study of local cults.
Buddhist bodhisattva Guanyin became a popular Chinese
goddess.
Guo, Qitao. Exorcism and Money: The Symbolic World of the Five-
Fury Spirits in Late Imperial China. Berkeley, Calif., 2003.
VINCENT GOOSSAERT (2005)
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1622
CHINESE RELIGION: MYTHIC THEMES
CHINESE RELIGION: MYTHIC THEMES
extends from the Xia (tentatively identified with the preliter-
“Who was there to pass down the story of the beginning of
ate Erlitou culture) and Shang dynasties of the late third and
things in the remote past? What means are there to examine
second millennia, down through the feudal conditions and
what it was like before heaven above and earth below had
intellectual ferment in the Zhou period (tenth through third
taken shape?” (Hawkes, 1959, p. 46). These cryptic queries,
centuries), and to the rise of the early Qin and Han imperial
the very first of the “Heavenly Questions” found in the Chuci
traditions during the last few centuries before the common
anthology of the early third century BCE, simultaneously sug-
era. In contrast to notions of a monolithic classical tradition
gest the significant presence and problematic nature of an-
going back to the prehistoric beginnings of sinitic civilization
cient Chinese mythology. The fact that myths—stories of
and as indicated by the southern provenance of the Chuci,
the beginning of things—were an important subject in the
cultural development during the foundational period is best
life and literature of ancient China is indicated by the tanta-
viewed as a dynamic amalgamative process that gradually in-
lizing diversity of mythic episodes and personnel so familiar-
corporated various local and barbarian cultures.
ly alluded to in the Chuci and in other early Chinese literary
BROKEN STORIES AND THEMATIC FUNCTION. It may be
and artistic works. At the same time, the interrogative format
possible to find a culture or religion without myths, or with
and enigmatic terseness of the “Heavenly Questions” aptly
very weakly developed mythological traditions, and it is true
dramatize the overall riddle posed by ancient Chinese my-
that ancient China did have a special preoccupation with rit-
thology.
ual behavior. Be this as it may, the pioneering work of Henri
THE PROBLEM OF CHINESE MYTH. There are allusive
Maspero, Marcel Granet, Gu Jiegang, Carl Hentze, and Edo-
mythological references in archaic Chinese literature but
uard Erkes in the 1920s and 1930s—along with the corrobo-
they are almost always fragmented and disguised in ways that
rating efforts of Bernhard Karlgren and Wolfram Eberhard
make it very difficult to determine the character and import
in the 1940s—showed that the supposed absence or special
of specific myths. Moreover, while the rich zoomorphic ico-
poverty of Chinese mythic fabulation was a view that could
nography found on the Shang and Zhou dynasty bronze ritu-
not be sustained. As is seen in the clash between Karlgren’s
al vessels suggests a dualistic system of shamanistic symbol-
historicist perspective and the various comparative methods
ism, the highly stylized and formulaic nature of the evidence
of some of the other scholars, there was no final agreement
(e.g., the bipartite animal mask design known as the taotie)
as to what could actually be known of the ancient myths, but
and the lack of any consistent correlation between artistic
it is demonstrably certain that mythological traditions played
and literary evidence allow for only very tentative conclu-
an important role in early Chinese culture.
sions as to the prevailing mythological universe of meaning.
The increased interdisciplinary study and appreciation
Instead of coherent stories of the gods, animal ancestors, and
of the early Chinese religion and mythology in contemporary
semi-divine sage-kings of the sacred time of the beginnings,
scholarship (especially noteworthy is the work of Kwang-
there are only bits and pieces of various myths that pointedly
chih Chang, Sarah Allan, Rémi Mathieu, Jean Levi, Michael
raise the difficult methodological question of knowing what
Loewe, and John Major) confirm the conclusions from the
means there are to examine such an apparently unmythical
first part of this century. This work, together with the un-
deposit of myth.
avoidable judgment that recent archaeological discoveries
This situation is compounded by the fact that, while
(including epigraphical, textual, and extraliterary evidence)
China is not wholly unusual in possessing only fragmented
clearly document the centrality of cosmological and religious
and composite mythological materials from the ancient peri-
ideas in ancient China, collectively underscore the vital sig-
od, early sinological scholarship tended to portray China as
nificance of mythic themes not only for nonorthodox materi-
uniquely deficient in mythology. Indeed, assumptions con-
als like the Chuci, Shanhai jing, or Zhuangzi, but also for the
cerning the special poverty of Chinese mythology, especially
classically standardized works espoused by Confucian and
in relation to creation myths, were generally used to support
imperial tradition. In addition to this, and despite the cau-
scholarly judgments concerning the essentially philosophical,
tion that must be employed when analyzing ancient Chinese
humanistic, or historical nature of the ancient tradition.
documents, there is a growing consensus that Karlgren’s
Such opinions about the largely nonmythological and nonre-
strictures against using the systematized Han dynasty materi-
ligious character of early China have a long pedigree in the
als for reconstructing ancient mythology, and his idea that
history of scholarship that was reinforced by both orthodox
much of Han mythology was an ad hoc product of that peri-
Chinese scholiasts and enlightened Western academicians
od, need to be amended. Thus, it is unreasonable to suppose
who equated ancient Chinese culture with the great tradition
that mythological materials found primarily in Han sources
of the Confucian classics and agreed on the irrational and de-
were a fabrication disconnected from earlier traditions. Fur-
generate role of religion and myth in human culture.
thermore, the very fact of a cosmological system of thought
in the Han dynasty often indicates something important
This discussion will be limited to mythic materials and
about the nature and function of earlier myths.
themes specifically related to the ancient origins, early cultur-
al development, and ultimate political coalescence of Chi-
Ancient Chinese culture is not an example of an ancient
nese tradition—that is, the formative historical period that
religious or ritual tradition without mythology. The question
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHINESE RELIGION: MYTHIC THEMES
1623
one must ask is how and why the myths—or the particular
tern, or repetitive static structure, that functions as an exem-
recurrent and overlapping constellations of mythic themes,
plary frame for determining the significance of the past for
figures, and images from various local cultures—were pre-
the present and future. In this way, the constantly changing
served, combined, and transformed in certain patterned ways
reality of nature and social life only demonstrated to the an-
within different textual traditions. Given the compelling as-
cient Chinese that history, like the Dao as the first principle
sumption that there were active oral traditions of myth-
of mythic transformation, always stays relatively and struc-
telling in both aristocratic and folk circles, it is probably the
turally the same. Aside from the different manipulations of
case that myths in a coherent storied form were present in
selected mythical themes seen in particular textual traditions,
ancient China. But the more addressable and interesting
the underlying abstract logic of mythical thought—stressing
question is why the broken shards of mythic narratives were
binary structural opposition, tertiary synthesis, and numeri-
so often used in particular thematic ways in different written
cally coded relational permutation—dwells at the heart of
documents. The very fact that myths were written down in
the yinyang wuxing cosmological system that became univer-
a fractured and composite way most likely indicates that in-
sal in the Han dynasty.
dividual mythic traditions were losing some of their original
sacred, cultic, or religiously functional character. It still must
These considerations concerning the thematic presence
be asked, however, whether or not the thematic glosses on
and structural function of myth in China are helpful in pro-
myth, or the skeletal remains of mythic narratives, found in
viding some means of answering the Chuci’s “Heavenly
written sources may still function mythically—even when
Questions,” but they do not obviate the fact that formidable
they appear in the profanized guise of history or philosophy.
problems of content and method still complicate the study
of ancient Chinese mythology. Suffice it to say that the basic
In this sense, also, it may be questioned whether the oft-
thematic contours of archaic mythology may be known with
repeated claim that Chinese texts represent a curious instance
reasonable confidence for periods as early as the Western and
of the reverse euhemerization of earlier mythic stories has any
Eastern Zhou dynasties and that it is possible, and desirable,
real significance. If reverse euhemerization refers to the false
to work with this material inasmuch as it reflects on, and in-
historicization of myth, making myths appear real, rather
forms, the overall history of archaic Chinese religion; the dif-
than the making of myths from actual historical events as the
fering visions of life seen among the various philosophical
standard definition of euhemerization would have it, then it
movements emerging during the Eastern Zhou period; the
nevertheless seems that the intellectual and imaginative pro-
development of a shared tradition of correlative thought;
cess involved was still primarily mythical in nature. In both
and, most generally, the organismic Chinese worldview.
cases history was fit to the demands of mythic form. Both
T
types of euhemerization are made up yet are to some degree
HEMATIC REPERTORY: BEGINNINGS AND RETURN. Work-
ing with the remnants of myths, or more accurately, with
historically factual.
composite mythic units found variously in the earliest texts,
Ancient Chinese literature is basically nonnarrative in
makes it possible to reconstruct what may be called a typo-
any extended sense and is not informed by myth in the over-
logical sacred history of the beginning of things in the remote
arching, dramatic, and epic way of some other ancient litera-
past. It must be stressed that this typology is only a partial
tures. From a structural point of view, however, mythologi-
digest of some of the more representative and recurrent
cal thought may be seen primarily as an intellectual and
mythic themes and that the sequential movement from cos-
imaginative strategy of bricolage that constantly juggles, rear-
mic to civilizational origins is an artificial construct of a gen-
ranges, and transforms assorted mythological signs—bits and
eralized structural logic or mythic grammar inherent in
pieces—according to a deeper code of relational contrast and
much of early Chinese thought.
dynamic synthesis. The cultural function and communica-
tive power of myth is to be found at the structural level that
By the time of the Han dynasty all of the basic typologi-
perdures beneath the shifting surface dimension of particular
cal themes were shared as a common inheritance of mythic
mythic images or narrative plot development. What is pre-
lore, but it is never the case that the different units were fully
served, and what continues to function mythically in early
articulated in the manner presented here—although the
Chinese literature, therefore, are the thematic structures of
eclectically Daoist compendium known as the Huainanzi
different myths that most generally stress formulas of order
(c. 100 BCE) comes close to being a comprehensive synthetic
and disorder, qualities, relations, and states of being as op-
handbook of Chinese mythic history. It is also important to
posed to an interconnected narrative flow of motivations, ac-
note that the use or exclusion of particular mythic units is
tion, and consequences. It is this basic emphasis on mythic
a salient factor for distinguishing different textual and ideo-
structure over mythic narrative in Chinese literature that
logical traditions. Myth to some extent always refers to the
may be related, as Andrew Plaks suggests, to the distinctive
issue of beginnings or world foundation. Where the arche-
Chinese concern with ritual issues of correlative spatial rela-
typal beginnings are located in the remote past with respect
tionship.
to a particular conception of world and order will, therefore,
have a significant relation to the different understandings of
Thus understood, the bits and pieces of myth found in
human nature and social life seen in various ideological
ancient Chinese texts betray a kind of slated thematic pat-
movements emerging in the Eastern Zhou period.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1624
CHINESE RELIGION: MYTHIC THEMES
The typology developed here also does not suggest any
Chicago, 1982, p. 154); rather, it is primarily the experience
actual historical priority in the sequential arrangement of
of existing in a world made meaningful and real by its con-
thematic units since, for example, it seems from the docu-
nections with a greater cosmic order.
mentary evidence that full-fledged cosmogonic themes only
Cosmic and human beginnings. There are several clus-
coincided with the rise of philosophical speculation during
ters of mythic images and themes that are concerned with
the Eastern Zhou period, whereas various clan origin myths
the question of existential origins and a kind of fall from the
and cosmic disaster themes can be reliably traced to the
formative first order of things. From the standpoint of the
much earlier Western Zhou dynasty, or perhaps even to the
mythic logic suggested by most of these materials, the prima-
Shang period. In fact, in relation to the datable appearance
ry structural category refers to the primordial, or very first,
of individual mythic units and images in extant literary and
issue of world creation.
extra-literary sources, and as a counterpoint to the typologi-
cal sequence, there was an apparent movement from the ear-
Cosmogonic origins. Contrary to claims that ancient
liest myths of clan origin, animal ancestors, and the closeness
China was devoid of any kind of authentic creation mytholo-
of heaven and earth to the later myths of the Eastern Zhou
gy, there was certainly a genre of explicit cosmogonic specu-
period, where an antagonistic relationship among humans,
lation during the Eastern Zhou period that was thematically
animals, and the gods was often emphasized. It was in this
rooted in the mythic image of a primal chaotic monad or
later period (roughly after the eighth century BCE) that a di-
raviolo known as hundun (variously imagined as a cosmic
minished faith in an active sky or high god (Shangdi, Tian)
egg, gourd, rock, sac, dumpling, etc.; also personified as a
and the appearance of nontheistic cosmogonic themes, hy-
strangely faceless and Humpty-Dumpty-like emperor of the
brid human-animal mythological imagery, myths of the
center in the Zhuangzi or as a divine bird in the Shanhai
combat of cultural saviors with chaotic forces, and the ac-
jing). Hundun was that primordial condition or ancestral fig-
counts of sage-kings and model emperors as civilizational
ure that gave rise to the multiplicity of the phenomenal
transformers came to the fore. There is an evident relation
world through a spontaneous process of separation (i.e., the
here with changes in the aristocratic religious tradition, so-
splitting of the chaotic one into the dual cosmic structure of
cial-political life, and kinship practices that may be linked
heaven and earth) or transformation (i.e., the metamorphosis
with the emergence of philosophical and humanistic
of the one body of the primal animal ancestor into the multi-
thought. It is, however, not so much a matter of philosophi-
ple parts of the cosmos). The hundun theme also seems to
cal or rational thought replacing mythic irrationality as a
have incorporated other mythic variants that told of the cre-
question of differing conceptualizations, still modeled on
ative activites of world parents or some consanguineous male
mythic structures and themes, as to what constitutes the fun-
and female pair of deities (e.g., Fu Xi and Nügua) who gener-
damental principles of existential order.
ate the world through their incestuous sexual union. These
themes, moreover, clearly represent the archaic prototype for
With these various qualifications in mind, it is feasible
the later (c. third to sixth century) depictions of Pangu as the
to consider the overall typological repertory of mythic
primal man or chaos giant who was born from the embryonic
themes arranged under the four general headings of (1) cos-
hundun.
mic and human beginnings, (2) cosmic disasters, beginning
again, and cultural saviors, (3) civilizational beginnings, sage-
The theme of the primal unity and precivilizational in-
kings, and model emperors, and (4) returning to the begin-
nocence of the chaotic hundun is most prominent in the an-
ning as the cultivated renewal of individual and social life.
cient Daoist texts as a metaphor for the chaotic order, un-
This scheme of four phases of beginning has interrelated dia-
trammeled freedom, and wholeness of human nature and
chronic and synchronic implications. Diachronically, there
primitive society, which can be reattained by means of a kind
is a progressive movement from the cosmic, natural, early
of internalized mystical reversal of the cosmogony. In the
cultural, and later civilizational orders or worlds, but struc-
guise of Pangu, the hundun theme is associated with the in-
turally each stage represents a new beginning that recapitu-
carnate cosmic body of Laojun, the revealed savior in later
lates an earlier cosmic situation. The sacred history of the
sectarian Daoism. In the classics and other Confucian-
various human worlds as a series of new beginnings presup-
inspired texts of the ancient period, on the other hand, the
poses a constant return to some first condition of cosmic
image of hundun is never presented in a cosmogonic context
unity as the precondition for a new creation or renewal of
and is only rarely mentioned as a personified barbarian rebel
life. In this way there is a kind of cosmogonic intentionality
(Hundun) who dangerously challenged the proper ritual
and cosmological methodology that, while not always stated,
order of civilizational life. The underlying structure and logic
implicitly informs the ancient Chinese understanding of ex-
of the hundun creation scenario also may be related to the
istence. While the literary use of myths may be broken from
shared cosmological system of yinyang dualism and to the
specific earlier cultic traditions, there is very much of a reli-
idea of a third term or mediating principle (i.e., the cosmo-
giously salvational vision here that is designed to establish
logical ether known as qi or the principle of man/shaman/
and maintain contact between humans and the cosmos. The
emperor/priest) between the two things of heaven and earth.
idea of the sacred, as Mircea Eliade says, “does not necessarily
Most generally, the hundun theme of a self-generated crea-
imply belief in God or gods and spirits” (Ordeal by Labyrinth,
tional process without a creator is most explicit in the early
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CHINESE RELIGION: MYTHIC THEMES
1625
Daoist texts, but may be said to inform the cosmological
general pattern that has some affinity with a kind of virgin
metaphysics associated with the ubiquitous ultimate princi-
birth motif related to the cosmogonic image of a primal egg,
ple of the Dao.
rock, or gourd can be detected (e.g., the fragmented origin
Lay of the land. Themes associated with the creative
accounts of the Si clan of the Xia dynasty and the Zi clan
fashioning, cosmetic arranging, or cartographic determining
of the Shang dynasty). The most elaborate mythic remnants,
of the cosmos are found more often than actual cosmogonic
as recounted in the Shi jing, tell of the descent of the Zhou
accounts; they most often imply that a world inhabited by
dynasty from the “abandoned one” known as Hou Ji (Lord
humankind already existed. Despite this overt fixation on a
Millet) whose mother gave birth after she had stepped into
preexisting human world, it seems that a prior world popu-
the footprint left on earth by the heavenly supreme god
lated by gods and animal spirits is often intended. Whatever
(Tian, Shangdi?). Fragments of this nature thematically hint
the case may be, the major thematic emphasis is placed on
at very ancient totemic beliefs. As an assertion of the divine
the sacred patterns of space and time that are common to
origins and chosen status of a particular ancestral grouping
gods or humankind and, in this sense, many different mythic
of humankind they were used to support the exclusivist polit-
units may be grouped together as cosmographical accounts
ical claims of aristocratic privilege. In this way they represent
of the first order of material existence.
the contextual mythic prototype for the classical theory of
the tianming (“mandate of Heaven”) that from the Zhou pe-
Throughout most of the earliest texts, and as displayed
riod on was used by the tianzi (“son of Heaven”) to sanction
by iconographical symbolism, there are a number of basic re-
the legitimacy of dynastic authority.
current images that collectively describe the original divine
form of things—for example, the image of the heavens as
Rupture and fall. In Chinese tradition there is no theme
round and the earth as square and the tripartite division of
of the sinful fall of humankind or the intrinsic corruption
a lower, middle, and upper realm together with the idea of
of human nature comparable to what is seen in Western mo-
an axis or pillar(s) that connects what is above and below.
notheistic traditions, but it is recognized that humans some-
Various other themes link patterns of space and time so that
how do not enjoy the kind of regular harmony and spontane-
the solar cycle is said to involve the sequential daily passage
ous virtue that existed in some distantly past period. There
of one of ten suns from a sacred mulberry tree in the east to
is, therefore, a typical Chinese idea of a series of falls, some
another tree in the extreme west. In general, themes of the
of which were not as inevitable, necessary, and permanent
sun and moon, as well as those of other celestial bodies, were
as others. Within a cosmic context there was the necessary
important in classical sources as indications of the regular cy-
separation of Heaven and earth that created the space that
cles of cosmic life as related to the ritual calendar and social
made both natural and human life possible. However, in the
order.
course of mythic time there was also a second separation, or
Although specific ancient myths of an earth deity are
rupture, of the ongoing communication between the divine
hard to identify (Yu and Huangdi betray some traces of this
world of the gods and ancestors and the earthly world of hu-
kind of figure), the cosmic structure of the natural landscape
mankind. The best known example of this is seen in the two
of the earth is suggested by the prominence given to sacred
ancient accounts of Zhongli (or Zhong and Li as separate fig-
mountains such as Tai or Kunlun (and certain gourd-shaped
ures), who cut the cord binding Heaven and earth after
islands in the eastern sea) that may be taken as the Chinese
Shangdi’s displeasure over the disruption on earth caused by
equivalent to the universal idea of an axis mundi connecting
troublesome barbarian peoples. The issue here seems to be
the heaven and earth. This emphasis on what is above and
a clash between two rival ritual systems associated with dif-
below the human landscape and on the sacred lay of the land,
ferent clan traditions, but the underlying implication is that
especially on those distant and hidden places on the earth
a separation and distinction between two different orders, di-
that give access to the heavens or otherworld of the ancestors,
vine and human or civilized and barbarian, is inevitable and
is also thematically connected with the common motif of a
necessary. Aside from the passing reference to some divine
shamanic and initiatory journey between the heaven and
unhappiness over the licentious practice of one rebellious
earth, or to the mountains, paradise islands, and chaos re-
group of humankind, the important point is that the inci-
gions beyond the conventional order of the middle kingdom.
dent was not interpreted as an act of wrathful divine retri-
Traveling in space in this way symbolically represents a jour-
bution.
ney back in time to the pristine conditions of the freshly cre-
Another expression of the idea of a ruptured linkage be-
ated cosmos.
tween heaven and earth concerns the breaking of one of the
Human origins. Aside from a few minor references to
cosmic pillars (Mount Buzhou to the northwest) by the
Nügua, who was said to have created humankind by drag-
chaos monster known as Gonggong (also associated with
ging a string in some mud, most of the accounts that deal
the deluge theme, and like Hundun often identified with
with human origins recall clan origin myths that tell of the
rebels and barbarians that threaten the virtuous order of dy-
divine creation of the founding ancestor or first man of the
nastic civilization). This rupture caused the tilt of the ecliptic
ruling families of the early dynasties. Most of this material
(i.e., the orbital plane of the moving heavenly bodies—
has been reworked and retrospectively systematized, but a
suggesting some affinity with pan-Eurasian astronomical ori-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1626
CHINESE RELIGION: MYTHIC THEMES
gin myths) and required that rivers flow to the southeast. In
The deluge and Yu the Great. The references to Yu, his
one extant account Nügua is presented as a female fashioning
taming of a great flood and the definitive organization of the
deity who repairs the earth (after the disruption caused by
human world, are attested in the earliest written sources (i.e.,
Gonggong?) by smelting together multicolored stones and
in the oldest sections of the classical Shu jing and Shi jing,
creating new heavenly props from a turtle’s legs. Again, there
as well as in the Mengzi and numerous other Eastern Zhou
is an acceptance of the necessarily flawed nature of things but
and Han dynasty documents). In extant sources the deluge
no real suggestion that Gonggong’s blundering actions were
is set in the predynastic time of Yao and tells of the diluvian
sinful in a way that utterly precludes any human access to
labors of the semi-beastial figures known as Gun and Yu
the divine. It is always implied that in time there are ways
(both names etymologically reveal traces of their totemic sta-
to repair the breach, at least temporarily.
tus as aquatic, reptilian, or avian animal ancestors). The un-
Philosophical expressions of this theme tend to describe
explained occasion of the flood causes the sage emperor Yao
humankind’s alienation from the Dao as an almost inevitable
(or the sky deity Shangdi) to charge his minister Gun with
process of losing an original innocence or faceless spontane-
the task of controlling the wanton waters that were “swelling
ity (as in the face-giving operation on emperor Hundun in
up to heaven.” After laboring unsuccessfully for nine years,
the Zhuangzi that is equated with death); as a matter of giv-
Gun was summarily executed and Shun replaced him with
ing up primitive social life for the artificial ways of civiliza-
Yu, miraculously born after three years from the split open
tion (as in the Laozi); or, in contrast to the Daoist position,
body of Gun (in some accounts the body had been trans-
as a forgetting of the proper rituals and virtue of civilized
formed into a rock). Yu wisely did not try to employ his fa-
human intercourse (as in Confucian literature). For both
ther’s method of damming up the waters, but sought out the
Daoists and Confucians there are different salvational meth-
hidden channels in the earth and allowed the waters to drain
ods (ways of mystical, ritual, and moral wisdom that emulate
away naturally. Yu then erected mountains, adjusted the flow
the cosmic knowledge of the mythic ancestors) for returning
of the rivers, made the earth suitable for agriculture, con-
to the conditions that originally linked humans to the Dao.
quered various barbarian rebels, and divided up the land-
scape according to a ninefold plan. In recognition of these
Cosmic disasters, beginning again, and cultural sav-
accomplishments, Shun established Yu as the founder of the
iors. Worldwide mythologies concerning some great natural
Xia dynasty, traditionally the first civilized state in ancient
disaster or combat between the forces of chaos and order
China.
often allude to a kind of permanent structural tension be-
tween the divinely created world of nature that cyclically re-
There are other random details that can be culled from
quires regenerative periods of chaotic regression and the
various sources, but in general terms the story of Yu stresses
world of human culture that is threatened by the fickleness
not the actual flood, or its causes, but the necessary methods
and chaotic ambiguity of nature and the gods. Combat my-
of ordering the human world in a way that maintains a har-
thology in this sense refers to the theme of the establishment
monious relationship with the secret structure of the cosmos.
of a human cultural order after the creation of some previous
It is said that Yu assumed the form of an animal, limped
natural and divine world. The secondary creation, or recre-
from his titanic labors (the so-called step or dance of Yu),
ation, of the cultural order, moreover, often implies a chal-
received the sacred Luoshu (Luo River Writing) and Hetu
lenge to, or usurpation of, the cosmic powers of the chthonic
(Yellow River Chart) cosmic diagrams, and cast the nine ding
gods and ancestors. The agent responsible for fixing the per-
cauldrons; these are all symbolic details that suggest Yu’s sha-
manent cultural order is, however, frequently depicted as an
manic function and his use of an esoteric methodology. In
ambiguous figure: someone who is partially related to the
this way, the theme of Yu’s mastery of the techniques of the
gods and has beastly characteristics, yet at the same time, a
creative reordering of the world may be associated with the
semihuman savior who insures the renewal and continuation
sacred duties of the king and emperor who was responsible
of the human order.
for insuring the continuation of the human order. In later
liturgical Daoism this same mythic theme, with its emphasis
In ancient China there are muted indications of this
on the hidden methods of recreating the world, was assimi-
kind of combat mythology seen in the fragmented tales of
lated into the figure and ritual of the Daoist priest.
Yu and Yi, but they are never accentuated in the epically dra-
matic, or heroic, fashion seen in Indo-European traditions.
The method of Yu, his way or dao, was taken as a model
As with the Zhongli fragments and the clan origin myths,
for the fundamental moral principle that human nature
Yu and Yi were most commonly associated with the system-
(xing) can only be effectively cultivated by following the in-
atized sage-king and model emperor lore that recounted the
born channels of humans’ natural, or original, dispositions.
establishment and progressive manifestation of the aristo-
In fact, the theme of Yu’s cosmological methods and cosmo-
cratic order of dynastic civilization. Regardless of these trans-
gonic power constitutes a paradigmatic reference point for
formations, the overall thematic pattern of the Yu and Yi
political, religious, and moral techniques designed to renew
fragments strongly suggest a more universal scenario of cre-
corporate social life and the human body. From this perspec-
ation and cultural genesis that is not necessarily identified
tive, then, it may be said that the theme of Yu the Great is
with a particular civilizational order.
not just the classical mythos of the origins of dynastic civili-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHINESE RELIGION: MYTHIC THEMES
1627
zation; rather, it most basically tells of the semidivine techno-
In the evolving classical interpretation of the beginnings
logical prowess of human culture. By reading the blueprint
there is a tendency to incorporate increasingly remote peri-
of the world correctly as a kind of cosmic engineer, and by
ods of mythical time into a single process of civilizational de-
going with the flow of things, a meaningful cultural and per-
velopment. Thus Confucius especially honors the founda-
sonal order can be created out of the experience of chaos.
tional figures of the early Zhou period (the kings Wen and
Wu, and the sage-minister Zhou Gong), but by the Han pe-
The ten suns and the archer Yi. The extremely meager
riod the semistandard grouping included three sage-kings
plot of the sun theme tells of the unexplained simultaneous
(the San Huang) and five model emperors (the Wu Di) who
appearance of ten suns during the reign of Yao, and of the
were held to be the direct predynastic precursors of the
resulting conditions of a life-destroying drought. Nine of the
founders of the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties. Different
suns were shot out of the sky with arrows by the ambivalent
salvational figure known as Yi (or Hou Yi; there is some con-
figures, all revealing animal traits and other mythic charac-
fusion between a good and evil Yi). Further details given in
teristics, were included in these cosmologically coded group-
the Huainanzi relate that Yi, besides shooting the suns, killed
ings of three and five, but one fairly typical list would desig-
and tamed various wild beasts that were disrupting the
nate Fu Xi, Suiren/Zhurong, and Shen Nong (the inventor
world. In a manner akin to the labors of Yu, Yi therefore es-
of agriculture) as the San Huang; and Huangdi (the Yellow
tablished the conditions that allowed for the flourishing of
Emperor), Zhuanxu, Ku, Yao, and Shun as the Wu Di.
human civilization.
These figures were used to trace out a pseudo-historical
The theme of the ten suns and the archer Yi has, like
pattern of cultural development and genealogical inheritance
the deluge theme, many worldwide parallels. In the context
that can be said to have run from the Mesolithic (especially
of the standarized dynastic tradition, the deluge and sun
Fu Xi, Nügua, and Suiren, who domesticated animals, estab-
themes can be linked respectively with the Xia and Shang
lished marriage ritual, invented fire, and contributed other
cultural orders in a way that suggests a fundamental antago-
basic cultural technologies), to the neolithic (Shen Nong,
nistic pairing, or cyclic contrast, between the primal forces
who as the Divine Farmer invented the plow and cleared the
of water, flood, earth, west, aquatic ancestors (Xia associa-
land), down to the late Neolithic threshold of city-state civi-
tions) and the forces of fire, sun, drought, heaven, east, and
lization (the Wu Di, who are responsible for creating the rit-
avian ancestors (Shang associations). There is a hint of the
ual principles of state governance). Thus the Yellow Emper-
standardized wuxing cosmological system here (the five
or, among his other achievements, is said to have arranged
phases that were aspects of the dual cycle of yinyang), but this
the sixty-year cycle of the calendar and to have instituted the
kind of emblematic symbolism also points at more archaic
cult of state sacrifice. It should be noted that the Yellow Em-
traditions of totemic classification related to different clan
peror, as the first of the Wu Di, often assumes a paradigmat-
origin mythologies. Thus, there is some possibility that the
ic, though ambivalent, role similar to Yu’s function as a pri-
ten suns theme represents a dim remnant of early clan my-
mordial cultural creator and, like Yu, the Yellow Emperor
thology connected with the founding ancestors and ritual
became a model for salvational techniques found in both
calendar of the Shang tradition. This kind of analysis is most
Daoist and Confucian tradition.
appealing, but the broader structural implications of the ten
The scheme of the San Huang and Wu Di is largely the
suns and deluge theme should not be overlooked: that dynas-
result of the confucianized attempt to charter a particular vi-
ties, like nature and human nature, follow a dualistic cyclic
sion of the cosmic regularity of the dynastic cycle and the sa-
pattern, and that moments of the overaccentuated presence
cral implications of aristocratic rule (the Confucian implica-
of any one duality must be combated to ensure the continua-
tions are especially seen in the role given to founding
tion and harmony of the total cycle.
ministers; both Shun and Yu were said to have started their
Civilizational beginnings, sage-kings, and model em-
careers as virtuous bureaucrats). One of the basic structural
perors. The sun and flood myths were incorporated into the
applications of the predynastic cycle (and its dynastic exten-
sequence of civilizational development classically associated
sion to the rise and fall of Xia, Shang, and Zhou) is to medi-
with the sage-kings and model emperors of antiquity. There
ate the tension surrounding the problem of political succes-
is an important thematic difference, however, between the
sion. The crucial issue, therefore, often concerns the conflict
more demiurgic salvational struggles of Yi and Yu and the
between a hereditary principle of rule (associated with dynas-
relatively placid unfolding of the civilizational order. Even
tic continuity) and rule by meritorious virtue (associated
though they are artificially presented as bureaucrats under
with dynastic change). This structural pattern and the use of
Yao and Shun, Yu and Yi may be said to represent cultural
model kings and emperors as a transformative set of myths
creators. The sage-kings and model emperors, on the other
is, however, not limited to Confucian tradition. The funda-
hand (and despite their original mythological identities), are
mental question of the meaning of virtue (de) as a principle
more prosaic examples of what might be called civilizational
of creativity could, for example, be evaluated in different
transformers whose accomplishments depend to some degree
ways based on which aspects of the mythic cycle were empha-
on the prior establishment of a foundational cosmic land-
sized. In this way, references to the sage-kings and model em-
scape and cultural methodology.
perors are found throughout both classical and nonclassical
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1628
CHINESE RELIGION: MYTHIC THEMES
literature of the Eastern Zhou and Han dynasties and, de-
Death was seen, in other words, as a navigation of a sacred
pending on how certain figures were treated or ignored, can
landscape that led back to the heavenly bliss of mythic time
be used to characterize a particular ideological position.
when humans, animals, and gods lived in total harmony. Fi-
nally, it may simply be noted here that the salvational possi-
Returning to the beginning. The sacred history of the
bility of “no-death” or “long life,” as related to the develop-
beginnings traced above has already indicated that in ancient
ment of immortality cults in the Han period (such as those
China (making some exception for the Fa jia, or Legalists)
associated with the goddess Xi Wang Mu) most often im-
the ways of cultivating human life in the present depend on
plied the use of methods that would allow for this kind of
the different cosmic methods of remembering and emulating
mythic journey before one’s natural death.
the mythic models from the remote past. This refers especial-
ly to the ways or methods of returning to the Dao that are
MYTH AS THE DIVINATION OF STRUCTURE. To return to the
modeled on cosmogonic and cosmological notions concern-
beginning of this essay, it would appear that the Chuci’s
ing the creatio continua of natural and human life, and the
“Heavenly Questions” can only be answered in the spirit that
cyclic waxing and waning of dynasties. The inner structure
they were asked: as a puzzling out of an underlying code of
of all forms of existence, it seems, is mythic in nature since
meaning known only through the relative shape and fit of
change is fundamentally understood as a constant series of
individual bits and pieces of myths. Although most of the
new beginnings or sets of structural permutations, that re-
pieces have been lost, it can still be said that much of the fas-
turn to the recapitulate the first processes of creation. The
cination and significance associated with the enigma of Chi-
problem of living after the mythic age is from this perspective
nese myth is exactly that, as more of the facts of the Chinese
primarily a problem of forgetting one’s mythical ancestry and
past are accumulated and comparatively analyzed, the more
continuing linkages with cosmic life. The possibility of living
it seems that the cultural configuration of those very facts de-
a creatively virtuous life, one that is in tune with the rhythm
pends on the forms of life imagined mythically and enacted
of regeneration, depends therefore on humankind’s interpre-
ritually.
tive ability to detect the cosmic signs left in the world by the
At the very outset of Chinese civilization, the Shang
mythic ancestors. Living a meaningful life, it may be said,
dynasty oracle bones suggest that human life was fundamen-
hinges on the imaginative perception of the traces of cosmic
tally perceived as a riddle that could only be deciphered by
structure hidden amidst the flux of experience.
a method that attended to the pattern of cracks, the divine
signs of hidden structure in existence, made manifest on the
Connected with the general principle of return are vari-
skeletal remains of animals. In relation to the inscribed form
ous golden age or paradise themes that serve as both individ-
of both the human question and heavenly answer, emphasis
ual and social ideals. In the Han dynasty utopian visions of
was placed on a structural methodology that allowed the
the time of the Datong (great unity) and Taiping (great
technically proficient to divine the holy writ that was secretly
peace) were common phenomena that, upon the collapse of
traced in the bare bones of animals from the very beginning.
the dynasty, became associated with a messianic and apoca-
In ancient China, it seems, knowing the past or future was
lyptic future. In the ancient period, however, such utopian
not a matter of telling a story; rather, it involved a divination
realms were firmly located in the past and early Confucian
of the mythical structure of meaning. If China does not offer
and Daoist longings can be differentiated in terms of where
us a heady narrative broth to feast on, it certainly provides
the golden age is located in mythic time and how it is charac-
us with bones and marrow to gnaw.
terized in relation to the prevailing social order. Thus, in
contrast to the Confucian nostalgia for the perfect ritual pro-
SEE ALSO Afterlife, article on Chinese Concepts; Axis
priety of the earliest dynastic states, the early Daoists tended
Mundi; Chaos; Confucianism; Dao and De; Historiogra-
to stress the sacredness of an egalitarian rural society.
phy, overview article; Huangdi; Liu An; Myth, article on
Myth and History; Shangdi; Structuralism; Taiping; Tian;
Another expression of the theme of return is seen in the
Xi Wang Mu; Yao and Shun; Yinyang Wuxing; Yu.
ancient ideas of the afterlife and the destiny of the dead. By
the Han dynasty, one basic aristocratic view imagined death
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Pictorial Vessels.” Representations 8 (Fall 1984): 61–83.
tion.” History of Religions 38 (1999): 331–353.
Kaltenmark, Max. “La naissance du monde en Chine.” In his La
Cahill, Suzanne. “The Goddess, the Emperor, and the Adept: The
Naissance du monde. Paris, 1959.
Queen Mother of the West as Bestower of Legitimacy and
Karlgren, Bernhard. “Legends and Cults in Ancient China.” Bulle-
Immortality.” In Goddesses Who Rule, edited by Elisabeth Be-
tin of the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities 18 (1946): 199–
nard and Beverly Moon, pp. 197–214. New York, 2000.
365.
Hansen, Valerie. “The Law of the Spirits.” In Religions of China
Major, John S. “Myth, Cosmology, and the Origins of Chinese
in Practice, edited by Donald S. Lopez Jr., pp. 284–292.
Science.” Journal of Chinese Philosophy 5 (1978): 1–20.
Princeton, 1996.
Maspero, Henri. “Légendes mythologiques dans le Chou King.”
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Studies 58, no. 1 (1995): 69–90.
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Lai, Whalen. “Recent PRC Scholarship on Chinese Myths.” Asian
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Anyang.” History of Religions 35 (1995): 163–184.
Pierre Grimal, pp. 271–292. New York, 1965.
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and Bureaucratic Career of Mazu.” In Goddesses Who Rule,
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edited by Elisabeth Benard and Beverly Moon,
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CHINESE RELIGION: HISTORY OF STUDY
ism in the Yao tien.” T’oung pao 67 (1981): 141–153.
The study of Chinese religion is connected intimately with
Eliade, Mircea. Ordeal by Labyrinth: Conversations with Claude-
the overall history of Western fascination with Chinese tradi-
Henri Rocquet: with an Essay on Brancusi and Mythology.
tion. In the most obvious sense, the important historical role
Translated by Derek Coltman. Chicago, 1982.
of Christian missionaries in China testifies to a pronounced
Girardot, N. J. “Myth and Meaning in Early Taoism.” Berkeley,
and not always strictly apologetic interest in the subject of
1983.
non-Christian forms of belief and practice. The question of
Graham, A. C. “The Nung-chia ‘School of the Tillers’ and the Or-
the nature and significance of Chinese religion has also had
igins of Peasant Utopianism in China.” Bulletin of the School
a special (and at times contradictory) prominence in the rise
of Oriental and African Studies 42 (1979): 66–100.
of Western secular scholarship. Thus the early awareness of
Hawkes, David. Ch’u Tz’u: The Songs of the South. Oxford, 1959.
and debate over the meaning of Chinese and Asian tradi-
Levi, Jean. “Le mythe de l’âge d’or et les théories de l’évolution
tions—especially concerning the comparative similitude of
en Chine ancienne.” L’homme 17 (January–March 1973):
“other” cultural manifestations of religion—can be associat-
73–103.
ed with both missionary sentiment and the intellectual revo-
Loewe, Michael. Ways to Paradise: The Chinese Quest for Immortal-
lution in Western thought during the Enlightenment.
ity. London, 1979.
In the case of China, these developments took a unique
Mathieu, Rémi. Le Mu tianzi zhuan: Traduction annotée, étude cri-
turn. The eighteenth-century skeptical spirit toward “super-
tique. Paris, 1978.
stitious” and “idolatrous” forms of religion found distinct
Plaks, Andrew H. Archetype and Allegory in the Dream of the Red
comfort in the image (conveyed by the Jesuits) of a Confu-
Chamber. Princeton, 1976.
cian China politically ministered to by a special class of moral
Schneider, Laurence A. A Madman of Ch’u: The Chinese Myth of
philosophers who condemned the “degeneracy” and “super-
Loyalty and Dissent. Berkeley, 1980.
stition” of Buddhism, Daoism, and popular religion. China
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1630
CHINESE RELIGION: HISTORY OF STUDY
was often seen by Voltaire and other Enlightenment thinkers
mythically associated with legends telling of its fantastic,
as a special exception to the principle that religious irrational-
monstrous, or paradisiacal nature. Such a vision of the “mar-
ity and priestcraft ruled the history of all major civilizations.
vels of the East” is most characteristically observed in the
This imaginary vision of the classical purity of China is
semifictitious fourteenth-century work known as the Travels
strongly reflected in the history of Sinology and is responsi-
of Sir John Mandeville. At about this same time more realistic
ble for traditional difficulties in fully appreciating the rich
firsthand accounts of religions in Mongolian-ruled Cathay
history of Chinese religious experience.
appeared in the travel reports of early Franciscan missionaries
and most notably in Marco Polo’s Description of the World.
Although the study of Chinese religion has been broadly
But it was not until the great Portuguese trade efforts of the
intertwined with Western intellectual and cultural history
sixteenth century that detailed reports about China and
since the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, this discus-
Japan became available in Europe. This new wealth of
sion will focus only on the history of certain key figures and
knowledge is especially exemplified by the widely distributed
movements that have specifically contributed to the scholarly
Historia . . . del gran Reyno de la China (1585), written and
study of Chinese religions. In this regard Chinese religions
compiled by the Spanish Augustinian Juan González de
will be taken to mean the three literate traditions known as
Mendoza. This work’s grudging concern with the hidden si-
Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism (and their interac-
militude of Chinese religion in relation to the “holy, sacred,
tions); the common body of beliefs and practices that charac-
and Christian religion” typifies a kind of interpretive strategy
terize Chinese communities and are sometimes referred to
that was to be reflected in different ways throughout the cen-
as popular religion; the syncretic sectarian movements of late
turies of Western intercourse with China.
imperial China, the ancestral cult, and various associated the-
matic issues, such as archaic religion, ritual, myth, and cos-
SEVENTEENTH AND EIGHTEENTH CENTURIES. In the same
mological symbolism, and related topics of comparative
decade that Mendoza’s work was published, Matteo Ricci
method and interpretation. But this straightforward listing
(1552–1610), an Italian Jesuit priest, arrived in the China
of topics must be tempered with the understanding that the
of the late Ming dynasty and, drawing upon the tradition of
history of the study of Chinese religions has always involved
Jesuit missions to Asia (already established by Francis Xavier
the definitional ambiguities associated with the categories of
and Alessandro Valignano), inaugurated a new era in the
religion, salvation, and the sacred (for example, the signifi-
Western understanding of Chinese civilization. Indeed Ricci
cance of such terms as Dao, Tian, and Shangdi). Further dif-
may be considered not only the founding father of Sinology
ficulties concern the porous interrelationships of different lit-
as the specialized, linguistically proficient study of China but
erate traditions (thus the problematic nature of the common
also the first great interpreter of Chinese religions. The work
“three religions” rubric) and the diffuse functional relation
fostered by Ricci was carried on and enriched by a long line
between Chinese religions and social and familial life. These
of distinguished Jesuit scholars whose efforts span the early
considerations have often resulted in overly facile assertions
seventeenth century and extend to the second period of the
about the syncretic and eclectic nature of Chinese religions
French Jesuit mission at the end of the seventeenth century
or about the fundamental hierarchical dichotomy between
and into the eighteenth century. The pioneering translations
“great” traditions (that is, aristocratic, civic, literate, ortho-
of the Chinese classics and the detailed observations of Chi-
dox, and those that are usually equated with state Confucian-
nese life and religion produced by these indefatigable mis-
ism) and “little” rituals (folk, popular, oral, nonorthodox,
sionary-scholars gave rise to the European vogue of chinoise-
and those practices associated with regional sectarian reli-
rie and, even more profoundly, influenced the intellectual
gions).
and religious ferment of the Enlightenment, especially in
France and Germany.
The history of the study of Chinese religions has there-
Ricci’s studied openness to Chinese tradition was not
fore contributed to Western and East Asian intellectual his-
as plainly objective as it seemed, however, because the Jesuits
tory, Christian missionary tradition, and the emergence of
tended to adopt the intellectual biases as well as the dress and
comparative religion and Sinology as distinct academic disci-
etiquette of China’s lettered class, the Confucian scholars
plines. Given this complex historical and intellectual legacy,
and bureaucrats. These men promulgated a canon of classical
it will be necessary to condense and organize the following
writings that expressly excluded Buddhist, Daoist, and other
discussion under three general phases of development: (1)
heterodox points of view. To study Chinese tradition there-
seventeenth- and eighteenth-century contributions by Jesuit
fore meant first and foremost to peruse the classics, modeled
missionaries and the French Enlightenment roots of academ-
upon the neo-Confucian vision of the unity of Chinese civili-
ic Sinology, (2) European Orientalism and Protestant mis-
zation and on Zhu Xi’s methods of commentarial exegesis.
sionary scholarship in the nineteenth century, and (3) the
This mandarin perspective meshed with Ricci’s own educa-
emergence of the interdisciplinary study of Chinese religions
tion in a Renaissance and Counter-Reformation tradition of
as an academic area in the twentieth century.
Christian humanism that honored the philosophical and
By way of setting the stage for the coming of the Jesuit
moral worth of classical Greek thought.
mission at the end of the sixteenth century, it is sufficient
In the spirit of Mendoza’s concern for similitude, Ricci
to recognize that the medieval European image of China was
examined the classics and found that ancient China shared
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHINESE RELIGION: HISTORY OF STUDY
1631
a special sympathy with Christianity because of its apparent
the occult presence of Jehovah in early Daoist texts, though
reverence for the one God, called Shangdi (ruler, lord on
very much related as an interpretive genre, was the so-called
high, supreme ruler) or Tian (heaven). For Ricci, these ap-
Figurist movement associated with Joachim Bouvet, J.-F.
pellations revealed the remnants of an archaic tradition of
Foucquet, and Prémare. Inspired by the biblical tradition of
monotheistic belief and practice that had been lost, it
allegorical interpretation, the Figurist movement took Ricci’s
seemed, under the baleful influence of Buddhist and Daoist
approach to the Chinese classics to the extreme; it tried to
idolatry. To be successful in China therefore, Christianity
show how the ancient Chinese texts disclosed not only hid-
needed only to purify the false pantheistic accretions of lat-
den vestiges of monotheism and Trinitarian belief but also
ter-day Confucianism and to complete and fulfill the litera-
remnants of ancient Hebrew law and, prefiguring the New
ti’s philosophical appreciation of the natural law with the
Testament, allusions to an incarnate future redeemer.
missionaries’ gift of divine revelation.
In Paris during this same period academics took the first
Most of the Jesuit commentators tended to share Ricci’s
steps in the direction of a secular tradition of professional Si-
accommodationist methodology, but his sympathetic atti-
nological scholarship. Various scholars of the Académie des
tude toward Confucianism, the classics, and ancestral ritual
Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, such as Nicolas Fréret (1688–
was not universally accepted by all Jesuits (see, for example,
1749), the Arabist Étienne Fourmont (1683–1745), and the
Niccolo Longobardo’s Traité sur quelques points de la religion
Syriac specialist Joseph de Guignes (1721–1800), turned
des Chinois, 1701, which stressed the materialistic atheism of
their attention from the Near East to the Far East. Making
neo-Confucian thought) or by the other, ecclesiastically con-
use of the communications coming from the Jesuits—and
tentious orders of Catholic missionaries. In fact issues of mis-
aided by Arcade Hoang, a native Chinese who had been sent
sionary policy toward Chinese religions, including the “term
to Paris for training as a priest—these academicians sought
question”—whether Shangdi (Tian) could be considered au-
to catalog, edit, publish, and sometimes plagiarize the rapidly
thentically theistic—gave rise to the embittered “rites contro-
accumulating materials coming from China. Other more
versy,” which led eventually to the papal suppression of the
original efforts concerning religion include in particular de
Jesuit order in 1773. The rites controversy can also be associ-
Guignes’s studies on the Indian origins of Buddhism based
ated in many ways with the growing European debate over
on his study of Chinese sources. Other works by de Guignes,
the definitional or essential nature of religion as reflected, for
such as his treatise entitled Observations sur quelques points
example, in the theory of deism as a “natural religion” of rea-
concernant la religion et la philosophie des égyptiens et des
son. Thus the whole rites episode and its related intellectual
chinois (1780), represented only a secularized version of the
environment can help explain why Sinologists have often
Jesuit fathers’ Figurist view and to some degree anticipated
found the Chinese to be less intrinsically religious than other
the nineteenth-century pan-Babylonian diffusionists.
traditions.
NINETEENTH CENTURY. In the face of the West’s growing
A second phase in the crystallization of a self-conscious
confidence in its imperial destiny, racial superiority, and dy-
Sinological tradition in the West is seen in the French Jesuit
namic progress, the old infatuation with Confucian China
mission sent to China toward the end of the seventeenth cen-
gave way to a more negative, and at times contemptuous,
tury under the royal consent of Louis XIV. This effort con-
conviction that Chinese culture was inherently stagnant.
tinued into the “enlightened” climate of the eighteenth cen-
This belief culminated philosophically in the mid- to late
tury and was favored by the newly tolerant rule of the
nineteenth century with the German philosopher G. W. F.
Manchu emperor of the Kangxi period during the early Qing
Hegel’s idea of the retarded spiritual development of Confu-
dynasty. Like the remarkable clerics of the first part of the
cianism in particular and of Chinese civilization in general
seventeenth century, this new wave of missionaries included
as well as with Leopold von Ranke’s conclusion that China
a roster of truly accomplished scholars who focused on Con-
represented a realm of the “eternal standstill.” This more
fucian classical tradition in the broad humanistic spirit of
negative evaluation of China, however, was only a special in-
Ricci. These scholar-priests took special care to communicate
stance of a broader, antipodal Orientalist mode of nine-
the fruits of their Sinological labor back to Europe—for ex-
teenth-century scholarship that tended to view all Near and
ample, the impressive translations of the classics by Antoine
Far Eastern cultures as manifestations of monolithic and
Glaubil and the still useful compilations of miscellaneous
backward entity: the Orient, the East, or Asia.
translations and descriptive material about Chinese life and
letters known as the Lettres édifiantes et curieuses (1703–
The subject of Oriental religions was particularly impor-
1776) and the Mémoires concernant l’histoire, les sciences, les
tant in Western scholarship because it seemed to give access
arts, les mœurs, les usages, etc., des chinois (1776–1814).
to the underlying and essentially desiccated “national spirit,”
or Volksgeist, of other cultures. The study of “other” reli-
The interpretive perspective of the works found in the
gions, whether Asian or primitive, became central to many
Lettres and Mémoires often reflected the old quest for hidden
new nineteenth-century humanistic sciences, such as folklore
similitude so that, for example, J.-J. Amiot and J.-H. Pré-
studies, comparative philology, sociology, and anthropology,
mare argued that chapter 14 of the Laozi revealed a phoneti-
as well as in other comparative historical pursuits, such as Re-
cally encoded reference to Jehovah. More substantial than
ligionswissenschaft. But the specific study of Chinese religions
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1632
CHINESE RELIGION: HISTORY OF STUDY
was not as relevant to these endeavors as was the study—
“translation” of the Laozi (Daodejing) in 1838 led to Julien’s
influenced by pervasive currents of German romanticism—
more careful translation and commentary in 1841; his publi-
of the Indo-European traditions that seemed to share a com-
cation of Les livres sacrés de l’orient (1852) anticipates F. Max
mon linguistic heritage with the West. In this way the “mys-
Müller’s monumental series Sacred Books of the East.
tery” and “perennial philosophy” of Indian and “Aryan” reli-
gion (and the resultant stereotype of Eastern mysticism,
Stanislas Julien, the inheritor of Rémusat’s chair at the
typically identified with Buddhism and Upanis:adic Hindu-
Collège de France, epitomized the best kind of philologically
ism) were often found more stimulating than what the
oriented scholarship of the day. He was moreover a tireless
American philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson called the arid
and combative promoter of academic Sinology throughout
moralism and “doleful monotony” of Confucian China.
Europe and through the work of his students influenced sev-
eral generations of European scholarship. Much of Julien’s
French academic scholarship. The rapid establishment
work concerned Chinese religion and philosophy. While
of academic Sinology in France came about as the direct in-
maintaining the traditional exegetical interest in classical
heritance of the Jesuit tradition and the embryonic eigh-
Confucianism, he also produced the first philogically compe-
teenth-century Parisian school of Sinological Orientalism.
tent translation of the Laozi and a detailed study of the Song
The fruition of these developments took place in 1814 with
dynasty Taishang ganying pian (The Most High’s text of ac-
the installation of Abel Rémusat (1788–1832) in the first
tions and response), a tract on popular morality. In keeping
European chair of “langues et littératures chinoises et tar-
with the interests of the French tradition, Julien also pub-
tares-mandchoues” at the Collège de France and with the
lished important studies on the celebrated seventh-century
founding in 1822 of the Société Asiatique. An autodidact of
Buddhist pilgrim Xuanzang and on the philological princi-
the Chinese written language, Rémusat (like almost all of the
ples used in the transcription of Sanskrit Buddhist terms
French Sinologists until Chavannes) was wholly dependent
from Chinese texts.
on livresque scholarship. Within the sanctuary of his library,
however, Rémusat displayed multifaceted interests and can
Anglo-American missionary scholarship. In compari-
take credit for being the first academic Sinologist to pay some
son with French and continental scholarship (in addition to
serious though misguided attention to the nature and signifi-
the French scholars, J. H. Plath, August Pfizmaier, Gustave
cance of Laozi and early Daoism. In addition Rémusat
Schlegel, and Charles-Joseph De Harlez should be noted),
should be remembered for his translation and study of Chi-
English tradition generally emphasized the gifted amateur
nese sources dealing with Buddhist history outside of China.
over the professional pedant and tended to display a singular
listlessness with respect to Sinological scholarship. By the
Rémusat and de Guignes’s oblique concern for Chinese
mid–nineteenth century, however, the best and most exten-
sources as they illuminated Buddhist origins became the gen-
sive scholarly work was being done along the coast of China
eral approach among French Sinologists and tended to pre-
by a sedulous group of British and American Protestant mis-
vent a full analysis of Chinese Buddhism on its own terms.
sionaries. As a part of their evangelical faith and by taking
Another factor that contributed to the neglect of East Asian
full advantage of their direct exposure to the living Chinese
Buddhism was the increasing emphasis later in the nine-
tradition, the missionary scholars made the careful study of
teenth century on the Pali canon. The Pali scriptures were
Chinese language and culture a significant and sometimes
held to be the original expression of authentic Buddhist tra-
overriding aspect of their work. To bring the gospel to
dition and were considered moral and philosophical, in con-
China—understood as the “land of Sinim” (Is. 49:12)—was
trast to the idolatrous degeneracy of the su¯tra literature and
to them most of all a divine calling that had been recorded
religious practices of the Maha¯ya¯na school. In like manner
prophetically in the Old Testament. The diligence of these
the philosophical mysticism and moral purity of the classical
missionaries cannot be questioned, but it should be noted
Daoist texts were generally preferred to what were viewed as
that the Protestant evangelical theology was most often
the corrupt religious superstition and ritual excess of later
premised on a Calvinist view of the essentially depraved na-
Daoism. This kind of overemphasis on the earliest Daoist
ture of pagan nations and religions. This view differed signif-
texts and the almost total neglect of the sectarian religious
icantly from the accommodationist perspective and human-
traditions of later Daoism typified the field of Daoist scholar-
istic sympathy of the Jesuits.
ship until the late twentieth century.
The dominant passion of the Anglo-American mis-
Several other prominent figures in Paris published on
sionaries, from Robert Morrison in 1807 until those at the
Chinese philosophy and religion during the first part of the
end of the century, was to make the one and only true classic,
nineteenth century (e.g., Léon de Rosny, the pioneer Ja-
the Bible, available in Chinese translation. To this end an in-
panologist who also wrote on Chinese religions), but Jean-
credible amount of missionary scholarship was devoted to
Pierre Guillaume Pauthier (1801–1873) and Stanislas Julien
producing a definitive interdenominational edition of the
(1797–1873) may be singled out as having been especially
Scriptures. These labors had important repercussions because
influential in the academic discourse of the period. Pauthier,
the need to find equivalent Chinese religious terms and con-
the less-substantial scholar of the two, commands notice for
cepts for an accurate and intelligible translation of the Scrip-
his voluminous and popular works. His controversial partial
tures led to broad investigations of Chinese religious tradi-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHINESE RELIGION: HISTORY OF STUDY
1633
tion. In the most pointed sense such questions led to the
gether with several short sectarian works. Like the extensive
heated debate known as the term question.
prolegomena to his Confucian translations, Legge’s long in-
Like the earlier Jesuit controversy, the term question re-
troduction to the Daoist volumes is a valuable overview of
volved around the problem of whether the classically sanc-
classical Daoist studies up to his time (summarizing the work
tioned terms Shangdi and Tian were appropriate for express-
of Julien, John Chalmers, F. H. Balfour, and Herbert Giles).
ing the true meaning of the creator God in the Bible. Despite
Legge also wrote a rather desultory popular overview of Chi-
the rancor, this controversy did have the virtue of forcing the
nese religions and, in emulation of French scholarship, pro-
combatants to argue etymology and semantics on the basis
duced a translation and study bearing on the travels of the
of Chinese sources and, in the case of the more liberal fac-
Buddhist Faxian. But Buddhist studies were never even a
tion, to invoke fashionable nineteenth-century philological
minor vocation for Legge; in this area one must turn to the
and comparative theories linking linguistic and cultural de-
influential work of Edkins and Eitel as well as to the relative-
velopment. Thus a series of curious diffusionist works that
ly more sympathetic studies of Samuel Beal and Timothy
argued for the Mesopotamian origins of Chinese civiliza-
Richard.
tion—a Babylonian variation on de Guignes’s old Egyptian
Jesuit and other amateur scholarship. The nineteenth
theories—appeared during the last part of the nineteenth
century is the great age of the Protestant apostolate to China,
century.
but after the reconstitution of the Jesuit order in 1814, a re-
More important than these quaint examples of early
newed Jesuit mission, starting in 1842, again made substan-
Orientalist license were the general attitude and work of the
tial contributions to the study of Chinese religions. Com-
liberal faction of missionary scholars, a group whose intellec-
mendable in this regard are the copious studies found in the
tual breadth was especially manifested in such popular China
Variétés sinologiques (established in 1892), which revived the
coast periodicals as the Chinese Respository, the Chinese Re-
old encyclopedic spirit of the Mémoires. Individually impor-
corder, and the China Review. Many of the leading figures
tant for their emphasis on Chinese philosophy and religion
in this group (such as Walter Medhurst, S. Wells Williams,
were three outstanding Jesuit scholars: Séraphin Couvreur
W. A. P. Martin, John Chalmers, Ernst Eitel, and Joseph Ed-
(1835–1919), Léon Wieger (1856–1933), and Henri Doré
kins) produced not only responsible scholarship about gener-
(1859–1931). Couvreur and Wieger produced important
al aspects of Chinese tradition but also haphazardly objective
scholarly translations and studies concerning the classics,
appraisals of Chinese religions. Especially noteworthy in this
Daoism, and Buddhism; Henri Doré is primarily remem-
regard are Eitel’s studies on Buddhism and the popular geo-
bered for his eighteen-volume Recherches sur les superstitions
mantic art of feng-shui and Edkins’s influential accounts of
en Chine (1911–1938). This was a copious though not al-
the general nature of Chinese religions, his studies on the Yi
ways representative descriptive handbook on multifarious
jing, and his various writings on Chinese Buddhism.
popular “superstitions” current at the end of the Qing dynas-
The greatest scholarly figure among the missionaries was
ty. The good father, it should be noted, seems to have partly
the Scottish Congregationalist James Legge (1815–1897).
cribbed his findings from the work of the Chinese Jesuit
Best known for the Chinese Classics (1893–1895), his massive
priest Pierre Hoang (Huang Bailu).
(five volumes) and still-standard translations, with copious
Doré’s work reflects the fact that, toward the end of the
notes based on traditional neo-Confucian commentaries,
nineteenth century, popular religious tradition was at last re-
Legge is the Protestant missionary equivalent of Ricci and the
ceiving some extensive if often bemused attention. Repre-
scholarly equal of Julien. Starting out as a conventionally
senting the earliest ethnographic and folkloric investigation
pious missionary with a talent for languages and rigorous
of Qing regional religion, mythology, and ancestral ritual
habits of study, Legge became embroiled in the term ques-
were several outstanding works by Anglo-American and Eu-
tion in the 1850s, about the same time he decided to embark
ropean amateur scholars (Justus Doolittle, N. B. Dennys, J.
on his translation project. It was the combination of these
Dyer Ball, and Arthur H. Smith) who lived in Chinese coast-
two factors—the bitter recriminations engendered by the
al cities. The most significant figure who can be loosely iden-
term debate and his growing Riccian respect for Confucius
tified with this scholarly trend is the Dutchman J. J. M. de
and the classics—that progressively alienated Legge from his
Groot (1854–1921). After a year in the field preparing for
more parochial colleagues in the mission field and caused
a career as a government interpreter, he published an obser-
him by the 1860s to redefine his vocation primarily in schol-
vant analysis of the seasonal round of popular religious festi-
arly terms.
vals in Amoy (Les fêtes annuellement célébrées à Emoui: Étude
After assuming the first British chair of Chinese at Ox-
concernant la religion populaire des Chinois, 1886). De Groot
ford University in 1876 and accepting Max Müller’s com-
is most famous, however, for his incomplete, six-volume
mission to undertake the Chinese volumes for the Sacred
magisterial synthesis titled The Religious System of China
Books of the East series (1879–1904), Legge produced transla-
(1892–1910), which moved away from popular religion to
tions of various Confucian classics, including a controversial
a consideration of classical sources and the ancient substra-
rendition of the Yi jing. As a new and surprisingly congenial
tum of all later forms of Chinese religion. This work was in-
venture for him, he translated the Laozi and Zhuangzi, to-
temperate in tone and essentially sought to debunk what de
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1634
CHINESE RELIGION: HISTORY OF STUDY
Groot had come to regard as the retarded pretensions of the
Cast in the mold of Chavannes but possessing even
elite tradition (see also his Sectarianism and Religious Persecu-
greater linguistic facility, bibliographical erudition, and
tion in China, 2 vols., 1903–1904). However, de Groot’s
breadth of interests was the peripatetic polymath Paul Pelliot
idea of the universismus (or the underlying archaic unity of
(1878–1945). More intently than any of the other scholars
elite and popular manifestations of Chinese religion, espe-
of the period, Pelliot took as his mission the social, religious,
cially popular Daoism) represented an important yet mostly
and intellectual interrelationships of all of the Asian cul-
ignored methodological counterpoint to the artificial “three
tures—especially the rich historical interconnections be-
religions” rubric of classically inspired Sinology.
tween Central and East Asian traditions. Given this versatili-
ty, Pelliot produced a diverse stream of articles and reviews,
TWENTIETH CENTURY. The beginning of the twentieth cen-
many of which dealt with aspects of Chinese religious history
tury saw the passing of the old apologetic missionary move-
that often broke with the old classical fixation. One of the
ment, which, as a reaction to internal disillusionment and
most celebrated of Pelliot’s accomplishments was his partici-
external Chinese antagonism, had moved away from an in-
pation in the exploration and appropriation of the Dun-
terest in Chinese religion and pure scholarship. Within aca-
huang manuscripts during the years from 1907 to 1911. In
demic circles French scholarship continued as the premier
terms of importance for understanding Chinese history and
Western Sinological tradition, although important work was
religion, the discovery of a cache of thousands of fragmented
also done by other European, Russian, and American schol-
Buddhist texts (along with some rare Daoist and Confucian
ars as well as by Japanese and Chinese scholars who, in the
texts) dating from the fifth to the tenth centuries is compara-
modernizing spirit of Western critical analysis, had trans-
ble only to the archaeological recovery of the Shang dynasty
formed the conservative traditions of Confucian classical
in the 1920s and 1930s and the discovery of the Mawangdui
exegesis.
burial deposit of early Han dynasty texts and artifacts in the
Early twentieth-century French Sinology. Édouard
1970s.
Chavannes (1865–1918) was the first to demonstrate the
Following in the grand tradition of Chavannes and Pel-
technical by combining amazingly encyclopedic interests
liot but making more significant methodological contribu-
with both philological rigor and humanistic sensitivity. More
tions to the study of Chinese religions were Marcel Granet
so than ever before Chavannes made use of native Chinese
(1884–1940) and Henri Maspero (1883–1945). Granet was
textual scholarship and emphasized the importance of lin-
the more methodologically innovative of the two in that his
guistic and anthropological field experience in Asia (facilitat-
approach was couched within a broad sociological frame-
ed by the École Française d’Extrême-Orient, founded in
work that often lent itself to venturesome speculation. From
Hanoi at the beginning of the century). Chavannes is partic-
this perspective Granet, making use of the broadest assort-
ularly remembered for Mémoires historiques de Se Ma Tsien
ment of textual materials from differing periods, attempted
(1895–1905), his erudite partial translation of Sima Qian’s
to reconstruct the social and religious life of ancient feudal
Shiji. The elaborate annotations to this five-volume transla-
China. Religious data of the most diverse sort, especially in-
tion often constitute miniature dissertations on multifarious
formation relating to the archaic folk tradition, was crucial
issues concerning ancient Chinese religion and testify to
for Granet’s understanding of Chinese civilization and re-
Chavannes’s belief in the importance of religion to an under-
sulted in a series of brilliant and sometimes overly intuitive
standing of early China. This belief is also seen in his work
interconnected studies on the cultic and folkloric implica-
on the cultic foundations of archaic religion, Le dieu du sol
tions of the Shi jing (Book of poetry), on the mythic and ritu-
dans la Chine antique (1910), and on the popular religious
al structures at the heart of the feudal tradition of the Chou
traditions associated with the sacred mountain Tai. Later
period, and on the overall religious and intellectual system
works on religion included several studies of Buddhism,
(La religion des Chinois, 1922; and La pensée chinoise, 1934).
Buddhist folklore, and during his last years Daoist ritual.
Maspero shared Granet’s passion for a synthetic under-
The work of Chavannes’s colleague and collaborator
standing of Chinese history and wrote with great technical
Sylvain Lévi (1863–1935) along with the even more impres-
mastery about a varied array of topics. Especially noteworthy
sive contributions of the Belgian scholar Louis de La Vallée
for its methodological implications is Maspero’s long mono-
Poussin (1869–1938) marked the emergence of a Franco-
graph “Légendes mythologiques dans le ‘Chou king’” in the
Belgian school of Buddhology. Concerned with the overall
Journal asiatique (1924). By making use of ethnographic data
cultural context of Buddhist history, the school demanded
from Tai tribes to reconstruct ancient Chinese mythology
philological training in all of the requisite canonical lan-
and religion only partially preserved in early Chinese litera-
guages (Sanskrit, Pali, Tibetan, and Chinese). Along with its
ture, Maspero showed that the classical “history” of the Shu-
emphasis on the non-Pali Maha¯ya¯na texts and commentaries
jing (Book of history) was fundamentally informed by myth
associated with the East Asian tradition, the Franco-Belgian
and ritual themes. After 1926 Maspero began to explore the
school distinguished itself from German and English scholar-
largely untapped history and meaning of religious Daoism.
ship by characteristically stressing the broad philosophical
Anticipating and to some degree inspiring the broad interest
implications of Buddhist thought.
in the overall Daoist tradition that would emerge in the
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHINESE RELIGION: HISTORY OF STUDY
1635
1960s, Maspero’s work surveyed various aspects of sectarian
dealt with religious topics. The most important of these fig-
Daoism and generally argued for a continuity between the
ures was Laufer, whose erudition and synthetic abilities ri-
mysticism of the early Daoist classics and the esoteric prac-
valed those of the French masters. His studies on ancient
tices of the later religious tradition.
Chinese religion (e.g., Jade: A Study in Chinese Archaeology
and Religion, 1912), which made brilliant use of comparative
Continental and British scholarship before World
linguistics, archaeology, and ethnography are still valuable.
War II. Besides the French contributions there were signifi-
In more of an ephemeral vein was the work of Paul Carus,
cant works by Scandinavian scholars (such as J. G. Anders-
who, besides bringing the famous Zen Buddhist scholar
son, M. W. de Visser, and Bernhard Karlgren) and by Ger-
D. T. Suzuki to the United States, wrote a number of semi-
man scholars (such as Otto Franke, Adolph Forke, Bruno
popular books on Daoism and Buddhism.
Schindler, August Conrady, Ernst Boerschmann, Eduard
Erkes, and Carl Hentze). By far the greatest of these scholars
Prewar Japanese scholarship. In Japan the adoption
was Karlgren, who is justly renowned for his work on the
of Western scholarly methods progressed more rapidly than
phonological development of the Chinese language as well
in China. By the early Meiji period at the end of the nine-
as for his studies of archaic bronze iconography; also impor-
teenth century the old Kangaku School of neo-Confucian
tant was his long article “Legends and Cults in Ancient
scholarship had given way to various intellectual movements
China” in the Bulletin of the Museum of Far Eastern Antiqui-
that emphasized a newly critical approach to classical Chi-
ties (1946). This article established strict historical criteria for
nese civilization and its relation to Japanese tradition. A na-
the determination of authentic archaic mythology. In point-
tionalistic cast often colored these fledgling adaptations of
ed contrast to Karlgren’s approach was the work of Erkes and
Western historiography, often combined with an element of
Hentze, which showed the impact of various comparativist
Eastern Orientalism that typically relegated Chinese and Jap-
schools of German anthropology. The most exaggerated and
anese religions to the margins of the historical process. At the
controversial example of the German influence is found in
same time Japanese philological and bibliographical mastery
the work of Hentze. Based on his diffusionist comparisons
of Chinese sources and the newly engendered passion for a
with primitive cultures and early Mesoamerican civilizations,
universal understanding of China independent of orthodox
Hentze found an elaborate religious system of lunar symbol-
dynastic views established the foundations for a truly critical
ism in the zoomorphic and geometric glyphs on the bronze
historiographical and social scientific appraisal of Chinese re-
vessels of the Shang dynasty. Within German circles special
ligions.
mention must also be made of Max Weber and Richard Wil-
During the first few decades of the twentieth century
helm. As a non-Sinologist, Weber admittedly based his work
Japanese works devoted to religious issues were generally few
on China (see his The Religion of China: Confucianism and
in number. Blandly bibliographical and descriptive in ap-
Taoism, translated by Hans H. Gerth, 1951) on secondhand
proach, they were usually confined to compartmentalized
information and was often ignored by specialists; neverthe-
studies of textual filiation or to restricted sectarian aspects of
less this work demonstrated the relevance of a comparative
Buddhist and Daoist history (particularly valuable were the
sociological method for understanding Chinese religions.
descriptive surveys of Chinese and aboriginal religions on
The Sinologist Richard Wilhelm produced a number of in-
Taiwan conducted during the Japanese occupation). But by
fluential studies and translations concerning classical philos-
the 1920s and 1930s Japanese scholarship, while maintain-
ophy and religion, but he is best known for his “scriptural”
ing its superior talent for critical textual analysis, manifested
translation of the divinatory Yi jing. Through the enthusias-
more of a willingness to study the history of religions as an
tic patronage of Carl Jung, this work achieved a broad cultur-
integral aspect of Chinese sociopolitical history. This new in-
al following in Europe and North America during the 1960s
terpretive climate was signaled by the founding in 1936 of
and 1970s.
the Japanese Society for Historical Research on Chinese
Buddhism, which brought together scholars interested in the
In England Legge’s classically staid ruminations largely
history of Buddhism and Daoism as related to the larger in-
prevailed, although the works of William Soothill, L. C.
stitutional framework of Chinese tradition.
Hopkins, Perceval Yetts, Herbert A. Giles, and Lionel Giles
represent partial exceptions to the rule. It was really not until
During this period Japanese scholars, especially in the
the maverick genius of Arthur Waley emerged that British
area of Buddhology, started to engage in cooperative re-
scholarship rose above mere academic competence. Early
search, as is exemplified by the four-volume Hôbôgirin
American scholarship also tended to reflect the amateurish
(1929–1931), the joint French-Japanese Buddhist encyclo-
character and methodological narrowness of English Sinolo-
pedia project edited by Paul Demiéville under the supervi-
gy. Outstanding, however, was the pioneering work on Dao-
sion of Sylvain Lévi and Takakusu Junjiro. Another factor,
ist alchemy by the historian of science Tenney L. Davis and
which paralleled related developments in China, was the rise
the anthropological studies of Chinese local culture and reli-
of the Japanese school of folklore studies under the tutelage
gion by Daniel Kulp and David Crockett Graham. Finally,
of Yanagita Kunio. Concerned with anthropological and so-
Friedrich Hirth, Berthold Laufer, and Paul Carus should be
ciological methods of comparison that in this period often
mentioned as immigrant scholars whose work frequently
reflected German Kulturkreiselehre diffusionism, it is the Jap-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1636
CHINESE RELIGION: HISTORY OF STUDY
anese folkloristic tradition of scholarship that constituted the
marily with classical language and literature; instead, the field
foundation of the important Japanese participation, after
splintered into particular subdisciplines that were defined in
World War II, in the history of religions as an international
terms of various discrete historical periods and methodologi-
academic discipline of study.
cal perspectives. These developments moreover tended to re-
inforce the old devaluation of the history of Chinese religions
Prewar Chinese scholarship. Given the greater degree
because, as a part of the growing emphasis on modern and
of instability in Chinese political life, it is not surprising that
revolutionary China, it seemed self-evident that religion had
a coherent, Western-style scholarship at first flourished more
little importance for understanding Communist China. In
successfully in Japan than in China. The missionary experi-
the study of Chinese tradition then the rational and secular
ence had left many Chinese intellectuals acutely antagonistic
presuppositions of Western academic scholarship and social
toward the relevance of religion, whether Christian or tradi-
scientific methodology were especially strengthened by a
tional, in Chinese history; this attitude, coupled with the
whole set of apparent verifications coming from the confla-
classical Confucian aloofness toward the “spirits” and the
tion of the classical Confucian, early-twentieth-century Chi-
more modern secular implications of Western scholarly
nese modernist, and Chinese Communist self-images.
methods, resulted in a situation that was hardly conducive
to the dispassionate study of Chinese religions. The eventual
Consequently from the 1940s to the 1950s the focused
triumph of an officially atheistic, Marxist orthodoxy tended
Sinological study of religion was at a low ebb. Yet these rela-
only to reinforce this prejudicial approach to the history of
tively quiescent years laid the foundations for the upsurge of
native religions.
interest in Chinese religions in the decades that followed.
During this transition a loose international group of scholars
In addition to such well-known figures as Liang Qichao
often dealt with selected religious topics while maintaining
and Hu Shi, who were imbued with Western notions of so-
something of the old notion of Sinology as a comprehensive
cial Darwinism, a number of other prominent scholars were
discipline. These academics included the Americans Derk
influenced by modern methodologies and made lasting, al-
Bodde, H. G. Creel, Schuyler Cammann, Arthur Wright,
though sometimes rather indirect and polemical, contribu-
Alexander Soper, and Wing-tsit Chan; those continuing the
tions to the academic study of Chinese religions. Perhaps
French tradition, such as Paul Demiéville, Rolf Stein, and
most important in terms of his iconoclastic impact on tradi-
Étienne Balasz; and other European and Asian scholars such
tional Chinese historiography was Gu Jiegang. Gu was iden-
as Arthur Waley, J. J. L. Duyvendak, Werner Eichhorn,
tified with the so-called Doubting Antiquity movement of
R. H. van Gulik, and Fung Yu-lan.
the 1920s and 1930s, which produced the seven-volume
A second category of scholars during this same period
Gushi bian (Critiques of ancient history, 1926–1941). This
more directly inspired the kind of specialized approach to re-
work signaled the end of the Confucian classical paradigm
ligion in terms of subject area and methodology that charac-
in historical and textual scholarship and remains in the early
terized the 1970s and 1980s. Thus Buddhist and Daoist
twenty-first century a storehouse of miscellaneous materials
scholars included Max Kaltenmark, Michel Soymié, Erwin
pertinent to the study of Chinese religion, mythology, and
Rousselle, and Erik Zürcher in Europe; Yanagida Seizan, Ki-
folk tradition. Along with articles and monographs pub-
mura Eiichi, Yoshioka Yoshitoyo, Tang Yongtong, and Chen
lished by the Yenching Journal of Chinese Studies and other
Guofu in Asia; and Kenneth Ch’en, Richard Robinson, Wal-
periodicals influenced by Western social science, Gushi bian
ter Liebenthal, Arthur Link, and Holmes Welch in the Unit-
definitively established the relevance of ancient Chinese my-
ed States. Lastly, some researchers studied popular and local
thology and religion to an understanding of the foundations
tradition from novel social scientific perspectives: Francis
of the very classical tradition that denied them. In addition
L. K. Hsu, who examined village culture and ancestral reli-
to his concern with ancient history, Gu also became involved
gion from a social-psychological frame of reference, and
in the analysis of modern popular tradition and religion
Wolfram Eberhard, who studied traditional Chinese reli-
through his relationship with the Folklore Studies move-
gion, mythology, morality, and folklore in relation to the so-
ment, which appeared in South China in the late 1920s. Al-
ciocultural history of local cultures.
though its motivations were often more political than schol-
arly in nature, this loose group of scholars produced the first
In the 1960s the overall climate concerning the rele-
substantial scholarly collections of Chinese folk tales and
vance of religion to modern life and the general academic sig-
songs and, drawing upon Arnold van Gennep’s Durkheimi-
nificance of the study of world religions changed in dramatic
an Le Folklore (1924), established the value of a folkloristic
ways. For the first time the specialized study of Chinese reli-
theory of culture for Chinese tradition.
gions became recognizable as a specific professional focus for
scholars working in different academic disciplines. This was
Postwar to the present. The postwar years witnessed
a gradual, largely unconscious development throughout
the growing dominance of social scientific methodologies
most of that decade and the next, but by 1974 public ac-
and the establishment of specialized academic disciplines, de-
knowledgment came in the form of the founding of the in-
partments, and area studies—especially in American univer-
ternational Society for the Study of Chinese Religions by
sities. As a result of these developments scholars abandoned
three American scholars: Holmes Welch, Daniel Overmyer,
the old ideal of Sinology as a holistic pursuit concerned pri-
and Laurence Thompson.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHINESE RELIGION: HISTORY OF STUDY
1637
Although the overt emergence of the study of Chinese
first concerns the archaic religion of ancient China. Continu-
religions as a field of concentration occurred in the 1970s,
ing work on received texts, including oracle bone and bronze
several earlier formative developments deserve note. One of
inscriptions, as well as the archaeological discovery of origi-
these was the appearance of C. K. Yang’s Religion in Chinese
nal and in many cases previously unknown texts has revolu-
Society (1961), which applied a neo-Weberian sociological
tionized this field of study. Japanese scholars like Akatsuka
analysis to Chinese tradition and, arguing against prevailing
Kiyoshi, Ito Michiharu, and Shirakawa Shizuka combined
attitudes, showed the intrinsic significance of religion within
traditional paleographic skills with anthropological and so-
even the Confucian milieu of the “great tradition.” Even
ciological insights to reenvision ancient China as a land
more important for its grand compass, international impact,
where religious concerns were paramount. In an insightful
and interdisciplinary implications was the publication of the
series of studies David Keightley has applied a stricter meth-
first few volumes of Joseph Needham’s monumental and still
odology to reconstruct the mentality of the Shang, finding
appearing Science and Civilisation in China (1954–). Volume
there the origin of Chinese bureaucracy and much of the
2, which discusses Daoism as a part of the “history of Chi-
later Chinese religious outlook. New bronze inscriptions
nese science,” was particularly important. First published in
have also transformed scholars’ understanding of the West-
1956, it did not really capture scholarly attention until the
ern Zhou. Jessica Rawson has drawn on inscriptions and ma-
1960s.
terial remains to delineate a ritual reform in the mid-Western
The interest in Daoism stimulated by Needham was
Zhou, and Lothar von Falkenhausen has combined inscrip-
also complemented by the work being done in the 1960s on
tional and textual evidence to reassess the shamanic tradition
the living liturgical traditions of sectarian Daoism in Taiwan
in ancient China and its possible ties to later Daoism.
by Kristofer Schipper, a Paris-trained scholar and the first
Westerner to be initiated as a Daoist priest. Schipper’s revo-
Turning to excavated manuscripts of the Warring States
lutionary fieldwork—along with the work of Needham, Na-
period, the discovery of Mawangdui in 1973 was followed
than Sivin, and others who had been working on Daoist tra-
rapidly by major troves of texts from Shuihudi, Baoshan, and
dition—culminated in the first international conference on
Guodian. The philosophical works in these tombs attracted
Daoist studies, held in Italy in 1968. This event was doubly
immediate attention from scholars like Ikeda Tomohisa,
significant. It not only signaled the rapid development of
Robert Henricks, William Boltz, and Robin Yates. The more
Daoist studies, which continues in the early twenty-first cen-
surprising element in these tombs was a genre of technical
tury, but also—as is shown by the presence of the Romanian-
literature, including divinatory and medical texts, that,
born American religious scholar Mircea Eliade at the confer-
though common at the time, was not transmitted to later
ence and by the publication of the conference papers in the
generations. Jao Tsung-I (Rao Zongyi), Li Ling, Mu-chou
journal History of Religions—marked the emergence of a new
Poo, Mark Kalinowski, and Donald Harper have done
spirit of cooperation between scholars of Chinese religions
groundbreaking work in this area. Grave goods and other
and those working in the comparative history of world reli-
material remains from this period, like jade suits and funereal
gions, a discipline previously preoccupied with primitive and
banners, as well as Han funerary documents, like grave-
Indo-European traditions. This kind of collaborative ap-
quelling texts and land contracts, are also important reflec-
proach was ratified by the establishment of the Society for
tions of Warring States religious belief and have been studied
the Study of Chinese Religions and tends to characterize the
by Ikeda On, Anna Seidel, and Michael Loewe.
interdisciplinary range of articles on Chinese religion found
The second major area of research is China’s indigenous
currently in older, established journals in Sinology and in
organized religion, Daoism. Early scholarship in this field
comparative religion, folklore, and philosophy as well as in
centered on Japan and Paris, with the studies of Yoshioka
several specialized journals started in the 1970s and 1980s
Yoshitoyo, O
¯ fuchi Ninji, Miyakawa Hisayuki, and Kubo
(such as Journal of Chinese Religions, Journal of Chinese Philos-
Noritada leading the way for Rolf A. Stein, Kristofer Schip-
ophy, Early China, Journal of the International Association of
per, Anna Seidel, Isabelle Robinet, and Michel Strickmann.
Buddhist Studies).
The primary focus of these scholars, with the exception of
In the late twentieth century and early twenty-first cen-
Kubo, was the early pre-Tang period of Daoist history. The
tury a veritable flood of outstanding scholarship concerning
next generation took these studies further, focusing on the
Chinese religions has led to the rejection of many outdated
early Celestial Master church (Angelika Cedzich, Stephen
assumptions about Chinese civilization. Fortunately this
Bokenkamp, Terry Kleeman), the Taipingjing (Barbara Hen-
scholarly enterprise is also on the verge of becoming fully in-
drischke, Jens O. Petersen), the system of precepts and mo-
ternational in scope. Besides the continuing contributions of
nastic regulations (Benjamin Penny, Livia Kohn), fourth-
Japanese scholarship and the efforts of Chinese scholars in
and fifth-century reformation movements within Daoism
Taiwan, Singapore, and Hong Kong, the mainland Chinese
(Yamada Toshiaki, Kobayashi Masayoshi, Kamitsuka
Academy of Sciences and its affiliated Institute for Research
Yoshiko), Daoism’s relationship to popular cults (Peter
on World Religions have been revitalized.
Nickerson, Lai Chi Tim), and hagiography (Robert Cam-
TRENDS IN SINOLOGY. Five areas may be singled out for their
pany). The Tang has still received little attention, with most
prominence in research in the early twenty-first century. The
of that focused on the small coterie of Daoists at court
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1638
CHINESE RELIGION: HISTORY OF STUDY
(T. H. Barrett, Russell Kirkland), but studies of Song Dao-
ern China. Pioneering work on these groups by Li Shiyu,
ism have flourished with important studies of Song scriptural
Sawada Mizuho, and Marjorie Topley was followed by the
sources (Piet van der Loon, Judith Boltz), the Quanzhen
substantial historical studies of Daniel Overmyer and Susan
movement (Hachiya Kunio, Mori Yuria, Stephen Eskildsen,
Naquin, but Barend ter Haar has shown the need for great
Vincent Goossaert), internal alchemy (Fabrizio Pregadio,
care in using external accounts of such groups. Song
Lowell Skar), and ecstatic religion (Edward L. Davis). Dao-
Guangyu and David Jordan deserve special mention for their
ism in late imperial China remains largely unexplored, but
work on Yiguandao. Although these groups were initially
the important work of Kenneth Dean seeks to link modern
identified as “folk Buddhism,” many self-identify as Daoist;
practice to Qing and earlier antecedents, and scholars like Li
Philip Clart has dubbed these movements “maternist” be-
Fengmao, Maruyama Hiroshi, Shiga Ichiko, and Asano
cause of their shared focus on the Unborn Venerable Mother
Haruji bring a command of canonical sources to their field-
(Wusheng laomu) as supreme deity, and he argues forcefully
work on living practitioners. Important developments in the
for spirit writing groups as self-cognizant modern Confu-
field include the first major exhibition of Daoist art, orga-
cians. Whatever nomenclature is ultimately adopted, studies
nized by Stephen Little; the publication of the Daoist Hand-
make clear that these are organized religious movements
book, edited by Livia Kohn; the publication of the Encyclope-
quite distinct from both the community-based common reli-
dia of Taoism, edited by Fabrizio Pregadio; and the
gion and the institutionalized religions of Buddhism and
publication of Kristofer Schipper and Franciscus Verellen’s
Daoism. Some are comparable in size and history to Protes-
annotated catalog of the Daoist canon.
tant Christian denominations, have a distinct theology and
A third major field of inquiry has been Buddhism. Early
canon, and deserve greater recognition and study.
Western research focused on the transmission of Buddhism
The fifth major area of interest is the mass of traditional
to China and the early schools (Erik Zürcher, Leon Hurvitz,
beliefs, practices, and observances that is sometimes dis-
Arthur Link, Lewis Lancaster), but a younger generation,
missed as popular superstition; this compendium is now un-
raised on Alan Watts and often practicing Buddhists them-
derstood to be a distinct religion, the Chinese common reli-
selves, has given Chan studies pride of place in Western Bud-
gion, and to be an essential element of Chinese society from
dhology. The influence of Yanagida Seizan is felt through
its earliest times to the present. The primary manifestation
students like Peter Gregory, John McRae, and Bernard
of this religion is the worship of deities in periodic and occa-
Faure, but other scholars have questioned the influence of
sional observances involving communal ritual performance.
Japanese sectarian scholarship on the early history of Chan
Detailed synchronic and diachronic studies have appeared of
(Griffith Foulk) and on the idea of schools as an important
specific deities, like Mazu (Li Xianzhang), Guanyin (Chün-
element of Chinese Buddhism (Robert Sharf). Philologically
fang Yu), Guandi (Prasenjit Duara, Barend ter Haar), Wen-
based doctrinal scholarship continues, particularly with re-
chang (Terry Kleeman), Xuanwu Zhenwu (Pierre-Henry de-
gard to Yoga¯ca¯ra (Daniel Lusthaus) and Huayan (Robert Gi-
mello, Daniel B. Stevenson), but much interest has shifted
Bruyn), Lü Dongbin (Isabelle Ang, Paul Katz), Linji (Meir
to apocryphal scriptures (Robert Buswell, Kyoko Tokuno)
Shahar), Wutong (Angelika Cedzich, Richard von Glahn),
and the influence of Tantric texts and practices in China
and the Stove God (Robert Chard). Anthropology has always
(Michel Strickmann, Iyanaga Nobumi, Charles Orzech).
been an important source of information on Chinese reli-
One important trend of research has been to look at Bud-
gious life, and the fieldwork of scholars like Gary Seaman,
dhism within Chinese society. Chikusa Masaaki’s studies of
Stephan Feuchtwang, William Watson, David Jordan, and
Song Buddhism and sectarian movements were followed by
Stevan Harrell have greatly expanded the understanding of
Stephen Teiser’s studies of the Ghost Festival and mortuary
the role of religious observances in daily life. The emergence
ritual, Victor Mair’s works on Dunhuang popular literature
of a corps of foreign-trained native anthropologists, like Yih-
and the use of images in popular preaching, John Kieschn-
yuan Li, Mei-rong Lin, and Hsun Chang, has led to more
ick’s exploration of Buddhism’s influence on Chinese mate-
detailed studies focused specifically on religion and to indige-
rial culture, and Timothy Brook’s study of Buddhism in late
nous analytical concepts like the “sacrificial circle” (jisiquan)
imperial society. Buddhist art and architecture have provided
and “belief circle” (xinyang quan).
another point of access to lived Buddhism for scholars like
Modernity has not been kind to Chinese religion, which
Marsha Weidner, Angela Howard, and Nancy Steinhardt.
has suffered persecutions beginning with the Taiping Revo-
Chinese scholarship on Buddhism since Tang Yongtong has
lution and carrying through the Republican New Life Move-
been constrained by political factors, but the late twentieth
ment and the Cultural Revolution. Nonetheless much of tra-
century saw the emergence of major scholars like Yang Ceng-
ditional practice has survived or been revived, and there is
wen, Wei Daoru, and Sun Changwu. Finally, Buddhism is
an active program of rescue ethnography trying to document
also a vibrant living religion, and the work of Charles B.
the local Chinese religious world. The Minsu quyi (Folklore
Jones and others has shed light on modern developments like
and performing arts) series edited by C. K. Wang has pre-
the belief in a “human Pure Land” (renjian jingtu).
served a large body of local ritual drama. John Lagerway and
A fourth area of interest in the field of Chinese religions
Tam Wai-lun have mounted a massive project to document
centers on the sectarian societies of later imperial and mod-
religious life in South China villages, concentrating 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
CHINESE RELIGION: HISTORY OF STUDY
1639
Hakka areas of Guangdong and Fujian; Daniel Overmyer is
Thompson, Laurence G. Chinese Religion in Western Languages: A
organizing a similar project for North China. Opening up
Comprehensive and Classified Bibliography of Publications in
of the mainland has also permitted the first in-depth studies
English, French, and German through 1980. Tucson, Ariz.,
of local religion (Xiaofei Kang, Thomas DuBois). This local
1984.
material, once accumulated in sufficient detail, will inevita-
General Historical Studies and Early Period
bly enrich and transform the understanding of Chinese
The various specialized studies of Sinology or the study of Chinese
religions.
religions include the following.
Finally, something must be said about the phenomenal
Brear, Douglas. “Early Assumptions in Western Buddhist
Studies.” Religion 5 (Autumn 1975): 136–157.
rise of the Falun Gong movement. Within the course of a
single decade, this organization became the largest and fas-
Dehergne, Joseph. “Les historiens jésuites du taoïsme.” In Actes du
Colloque International de Sinologie: La mission française de
test-growing of the world’s new religions. The religious char-
Pékin aux dix-septième et dix-huitème siècles, pp. 59–67. Paris,
acter of the Falun Gong is evident to any student of Chinese
1976.
religions despite the disavowals of its members, but it is a
Demiéville, Paul. “Aperçu historique des études sinologiques en
unique organization, drawing institutionally on both the tra-
France.” Acta Asiatica 11 (1966): 56–110.
dition of Chinese secret societies and the organizational prin-
ciples of the Chinese Communist Party. For several years it
Girardot, N. J. “Chinese Religion and Western Scholarship.” In
China and Christianity, edited by James D. Whitehead et al.,
has been the object of a sustained program of religious sup-
pp. 83–111. Notre Dame, Ind., 1979.
pression unparalleled in scope since the Inquisition. Al-
Honey, David B. Incense at the Altar: Pioneering Sinologists and the
though a few Sinologists have published on this topic (nota-
Development of Classical Chinese Philology. New Haven,
bly David Ownby), this new and successful form of Chinese
Conn., 2001.
religious organization has to date largely escaped the notice
Lach, Donald F. Asia in the Making of Europe. 4 vols. Chicago,
of the field.
1965–1977.
SEE ALSO Confucianism, article on History of Study; Dao-
Lancashire, D. “Buddhist Reaction to Christianity in Late Ming
ism, article on History of Study; Granet, Marcel; Jesuits;
China.” Journal of the Oriental Society of Australia 6 (1968–
Ricci, Matteo.
1969): 82–103.
Maspero, Henri. “La sinologie.” In Société asiatique: Le livre du
BIBLIOGRAPHY
centenaire, 1822–1922, pp. 261–283. Paris, 1922.
Bibliographical Sources
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Philip Clart.
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Clart, Philip. “Bibliography of Western Language Publications on
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ter. Hong Kong, 1983.
Pfister, Louis. Notices biographiques et bibliographiques sur les jésu-
Modern Period Studies
ites de l’ancienne mission de Chine, 1552–1773. 2 vols. Shang-
The following works include helpful discussions of particular as-
hai, 1932–1934.
pects of historical and intellectual developments in China in
Seaman, Gary, ed. Chinese Religion: Publications in Western Lan-
the twentieth century.
guages, 1981 through 1990. Ann Arbor, Mich., 1993.
Barrett, T. H. “Change and Progress in Understanding Chinese
Seaman, Gary, and Zhifang Song. Chinese Religions: Publications
Religion.” Numen 29 (December 1982): 239–249.
in Western Languages, vol. 3: 1991–1995. Edited by Gary
Barrett, T. H. Singular Listlessness: A Short History of Chinese Books
Seaman. Ann Arbor, Mich., 1998.
and British Scholars. London, 1989.
Seaman, Gary, and Zhifang Song. Chinese Religions: Publications
Ch’en Yao-shen and Paul S. Y. Hsiao. Sinology in the United King-
in Western Languages, vol. 4: 1996–2000. Edited by Gary
dom and Germany. Translated by William W. G. Wan and
Seaman. Ann Arbor, Mich., 2002.
T. W. Kwok. Honolulu, 1967.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1640
CHINESE RELIGIOUS YEAR
Demiéville, Paul. “Henri Maspero et l’avenir des études chin-
Sakai Tadao, and Noguchi Tetsuro. “Taoist Studies in Japan.” In
oises.” T’oung pao 38 (1947): 16–42.
Facets of Taoism, edited by Holmes Welch and Anna Seidel,
Eberhard, Wolfram. “Studies in Chinese Religions: 1920–1932.”
pp. 269–287. New Haven, Conn. 1979.
In Moral and Social Values of the Chinese: Collected Essays,
Schneider, Laurence A. Ku Chieh-kang and China’s New History.
pp. 335–399. Taipei, 1971.
Berkeley, Calif., 1971.
Eliasberg, Danielle. “Maspero: L’histoire de la religion populaire
chinoise.” In Hommage à Henri Maspero, 1883–1945,
NORMAN J. GIRARDOT (1987)
pp. 55–60. Paris, 1983.
TERRY F. KLEEMAN (2005)
Franke, Herbert. Sinologie An Deutschen Universitäten. Wiesba-
den, Germany, 1968.
Freedman, Maurice. “On the Sociological Study of Chinese Reli-
CHINESE RELIGIOUS YEAR. The religious year
gion.” In Religion and Ritual in Chinese Society, edited by Ar-
of traditional China may be visualized as a circular base that
thur A. Wolf, pp. 19–41. Stanford, Calif., 1974.
is the calendar, upon which three overlays are superimposed.
Honey, David B. “The Foundation of Modern German Sinolo-
The first overlay shows the annual pan-Chinese observances;
gy.” Phi Theta Papers, 1984, 82–101.
the second shows the celebrations of local, popular cults cen-
Jong, J. W. de. “A Brief History of Buddhist Studies in Europe
tered on the birthdays of particular deities; the third shows
and America.” Eastern Buddhist, n.s. 7, no. 1 (May 1974):
the schedule of official state sacrifices. I shall discuss each of
55–106, no. 2 (October 1974): 49–82.
these cycles of observances in turn.
Kaltenmark, Max. “Henri Maspero et les études taoïstes.” In
Hommage à Henri Maspero, 1883–1945, pp. 45–48. Paris,
THE RELIGIOUS YEAR AND THE CALENDAR. Traditionally,
1983.
the dates of religious significance in the year were made
Lagerwey, John. “Questions of Vocabulary; or, How Shall We
known through a calendar issued by the Bureau of Astrono-
Talk about Chinese Religion?” In Daojiao yu minjian zong-
my in the Ministry of Rites. This calendar combined lunar
jiao yanjiu lunji, edited by Lai Chi Tim, pp. 166–181. Hong
and solar calculations, but for the religious year the former
Kong, 1999.
were more important. The waxing and waning of the moon
Lalou, Marcelle. “Onze années de travaux européens sur le boudd-
was the most conspicuous indicator of change in the heavens,
hisme (mai 1936–mai 1947).” Museon 61 (1948): 245–276.
and the new and full moons thus formed focal points in the
Maspero, Henri. “Édouard Chavannes.” T’oung pao 21 (1922):
nexus of natural and human time. Solstices and equinoxes,
43–56.
as determined by the astronomers, were not so obvious, but
Nakamura Hajime. “A Survey of Maha¯ya¯na Buddhism with Bibli-
were nevertheless important moments in the religious year
ographical Notes.” Journal of Intercultural Studies 3 (1976):
because of their connection with the dominant or recessive
60–145, 4 (1977): 77–135, 5 (1978): 89–138.
phase of yin and yang.
Overmyer, Daniel L., ed. Ethnography in China Today: A Critical
Assessment of Methods and Results. Taipei, 2002.
The official calendar also indicated other kinds of time,
of which two were most important in the religious year. The
Peiris, William. The Western Contribution to Buddhism. Delhi,
1973.
first was the marking of hours, days, months, and years by
a cycle of two-character designations formed by sixty combi-
Strickmann, Michel. “History, Anthropology, and Chinese Reli-
gion.” Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies 40 (June 1980):
natory permutations of two series of symbols called the ten
201–248.
celestial stems (tiangan) and the twelve terrestrial branches
Wright, Arthur F. “The Study of Chinese Civilization.” Journal
(dizhi). The second was the division of the year into twenty-
of the History of Ideas 21 (1960): 232–255.
four climatic periods. The pairs serve not simply as a method
Yu, David C. “Present-Day Taoist Studies.” Religious Studies Re-
of marking, but, from the correlations of the stems and
view 3 (October 1977): 220–239.
branches with other factors in the cosmos, they also hint at
the many occult forces affecting the fate of humankind. The
East Asian Scholarship
Useful studies of East Asian scholarship include the following:
division of the year into fortnightly climatic periods is inti-
Beasley, W. G., and E. G. Pulleyblank, eds. Historians of China
mately connected with the timing and meaning of major
and Japan. London, 1961.
events in the ritual year. These fortnightly periods are called
Fogel, Joshua A. Politics and Sinology: The Case of Naito Konan
nodes (jie) or breaths (qi). They derive from observations,
(1866–1934). Cambridge, Mass., 1984.
both celestial (division of the heavens into degrees) and ter-
Goto Kimpei. “Studies in Chinese Religion in Postwar Japan.”
restrial (meteorological phenomena), already made in an-
Monumenta Serica 15 (1956): 463–511.
cient times. Widely applied throughout China, their descrip-
Jan Yün-hua. “The Religious Situation and the Studies of Bud-
tive names—clear and bright, a little warm, frost descends,
dhism and Taoism in China: An Incomplete and Imbalanced
a lot of snow—show their origination in the northern re-
Picture.” Journal of Chinese Religions 12 (Fall 1984): 37–64.
gions, where four distinct seasons obtain. The term jie, which
Overmyer, Daniel L. “From ‘Feudal Superstition’ to ‘Popular Be-
came to designate the fortnightly periods, has retained its
liefs’: New Directions in Mainland Chinese Studies of Chi-
correlative meaning of the celebration of rites at fixed times.
nese Popular Religion.” Cahiers d’Extrême-Asie 12 (2001):
Hence, the festivals of the year, particularly those tied to the
103–126.
twenty-four climatic periods, are also called jie.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHINESE RELIGIOUS YEAR
1641
The calendar was not merely a schedule of times and
inspection during the absence of the terrestrial deities. Every-
seasons, but was more in the nature of an almanac, spelling
one is on good behavior during this inspection period.
out behaviors suitable, and indeed essential, for every season.
New Year’s Eve is called Guonian (the passing of the old
Eventually it developed into a handbook containing medical
year) or Chuxi (the eve of the passing year). It is observed
lore, moral guidance, and techniques for prognostication and
by seven traditional practices:
divination. The issuing of the imperial calendar was an act
of religious import in itself, in that it was taken as evidence
1. Ci nian (bidding farewell to the old year). Sacrifices
of the divine mandate possessed by the ruling dynasty. In ef-
are offered to gods and ancestors, to Zaojun, and to Chuang-
fect, only such a divinely commissioned ruler could reveal
mu, the tutelary mother of the bed. Propitiary sacrifices are
the times and influences according to which all people must
also placed at the gate for haoxiong (good elder brothers), that
govern their lives. The concept of a religious year in the Chi-
is, bereaved spirits, souls denied their rightful sacrifices,
nese case must thus be understood as a yearlong effort on the
whose resentment constitutes a menace to the living. On the
part of ruler and people to grasp the complicated processes
family altar in the main hall are set offerings of cooked rice,
of the cosmos and make them work for humans. In this over-
other foods, and strings of money. After the sacrifices have
all context the observances of the religious year underline the
been made, firecrackers are set off to scare off demons.
moments of greatest significance to family, community, oc-
2. Tuanyuanfan yu weilu (family reunion meal and sur-
cupational group, and state.
rounding the stove). The gathering of the family from far
P
and near for the communal meal is also called shousuijiu
AN-CHINESE OBSERVANCES. Rather than present a sche-
matic overview, the following outline focuses on the island
(wine that safeguards the New Year). A brazier placed under
province of Taiwan, where the traditions have been fully pre-
the round table is festooned with coins and described as
served amidst the changes of modernization. A Chinese sum-
“warm as spring, the prospering breath of wealth.” The fami-
mary of the religious year, the section titled “Suishi yu Shen-
ly gathering is thus called “surrounding the stove”; should
dan” in Ruan Changrui’s Zhuangyandi shijie (Taibei, 1982),
there be a family member who cannot attend the feast, some
has been relied upon here.
of his clothing is draped over an empty chair to indicate his
symbolic presence and that the family is thinking of him. At
The twelfth and first months: the New Year. By far
this meal the last course is a fish, which must not be eaten,
the most protracted, the busiest, and the most important of
however, for fish is homophonous with having abundance
the annual festivals, the New Year begins in the middle of
(yu).
the twelfth month with the Weiya (tail end of the year) ob-
3. Yasuiqian (money of the year that is given away).
servance and continues through to the full moon of the first
After the communal feast the elders hand out money to the
month. In former times all business came to a virtual stand-
youngsters. This is also called fen guonianqian (dividing the
still during most of this period; nowadays the length of the
money of the passing year). In the past, one hundred cash
holiday has been considerably curtailed, but many traditional
were strung together (the old coppers had a square hole in
practices are continued. On “tail end of the year,” the twelfth
the center), and even though these have now been replaced
day of the twelfth month, sacrifices are made to Tudigong
by paper money, the meaning is still “may you live one hun-
(the local earth god), the all-important tutelary deity of
dred years.”
household and community. On this evening the proprietors
of businesses hold feasts for their employees to thank them
4. Shousui (safeguarding the year). After the elders give
for their hard work and to wish for a successful new year.
money to the children, the family sits around the stove, chat-
ting, joking, and playing games to see the old year out. Safe-
On the twenty-fourth day of this month, Zaojun (lord
guarding the year is said to contribute to the longevity of the
of the cooking stove) leads the various deities assigned to ter-
parents.
restrial duties to the court of Yuhuang Shangdi (supreme em-
peror of jadelike augustness), ruler of the bureaucratic pan-
5. Tiao huopen (jumping over the fire pan). After the
theon in Heaven; there he makes the required annual report.
feast, all male members of the family take turns jumping over
Zaojun is in effect the spirit overseer of the household. Pre-
a pan filled with burning rice straw in front of the family
sumably because his report will influence the life span re-
gate. They call out certain auspicious phrases as they do so.
corded in the heavenly registers, he also is considered one of
The passing over fire signifies purification or making a new
the siming fujun (arbiters of longevity). On this day, the
beginning.
deity’s mouth is smeared with something sweet so that he
6. Tie chunlian (pasting up spring scrolls). To welcome
will have only sweet things to report. The paper icon of Zao-
the new year, spring scrolls bearing auspicious words are
jun, found above each stove, is then burnt, the smoke con-
pasted on the gateposts. Pieces of lucky red paper with the
veying the report directly to Heaven. Once the deities have
graph for spring written on them are pasted on such places
left for the court of Heaven, the house undergoes a thorough
as the leaves of the gate and the rice barrels. Other felicitous
cleaning, which also gets rid of any huiqi (inauspicious
phrases are pasted elsewhere. The pasting up of spring scrolls
breaths). The next day, celestial deities, deputed by the Su-
derives from the ancient practice of hanging apotropaic
preme Emperor of Jadelike Augustness, arrive to make their
peachwood amulets at the gate. There are colored paper
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1642
CHINESE RELIGIOUS YEAR
scrolls hung over the lintel on blue paper if a male infant has
year and symbolizes the complete family circle as well as
died during the year or on yellow paper if a female infant has
completeness or perfection in general. After dark everyone
died.
takes to the streets and temples to show and view ingeniously
designed lanterns and to enjoy the boisterous dragon and
7. By ancient custom, on New Year’s Eve people attend-
lion dances accompanied by the din of gongs and drums, and
ed plays held in front of a temple. If a debtor stayed until
the acrobatics of martial arts troupes. With this festival the
dawn of New Year’s Day, his creditor would not dare to dis-
season comes to an end.
turb the gathering by trying to collect the debt. The debt,
collectible before the new year, could then be postponed be-
Second month. On the second day of the second
cause the new year had arrived. These events were thus called
month a minor observance balances the tail end of the year,
pizexi (fleeing-from-debt plays).
which, as we saw, falls on the twelfth day of the twelfth
The first five days of the new year are called Xinzheng
month. On the occasion of Touya (head of the year), as on
(correct, or fixed, beginning) or Xinchun (beginning of the
the earlier occasion, the main events are sacrifices to Tudi-
new spring). They are greeted with the spring scrolls, fire-
gong and the giving of a feast by the shopkeeper for his em-
crackers, and music, while people crowd the streets in a
ployees.
happy bustle. On the first day people eat long noodles sym-
Third month. The second major festival of the year,
bolic of their hope for longevity. Dressed in new clothes and
Qingming Jie, takes place at the beginning of the climatic
bearing fruits and other offerings, they go to the temples to
period called Qingming (clear and bright) and is dedicated
burn incense and worship the deities. Then they pay a New
to the ancestors. On the first of the month, families visit the
Year’s call on friends and relatives. On this day everyone
ancestral tombs to tidy them up. A sacrificial meal including
takes care to avoid saying or doing things of bad omen. No
auspicious red-colored rice, called yimu guo (saluting-the-
work is done, and everyone enjoys himself. On the second
tomb rice), is offered. The family head divides up longevity
day newly married girls pay a visit to their natal homes. On
noodles and red-colored rice among all the junior relatives.
the fourth day the deities who had been away at their annual
In general, the services at the tomb, called peimu (shoring up
audience at the court of Heaven return to this world and are
the tomb), are quite solemn and impressive. Sacrifices in-
received with offerings and prayers for good fortune during
clude twelve dishes of edibles in addition to the rice. A peeled
the new year. With day five life returns temporarily to nor-
egg is left atop the grave to express the idea that the old gives
mal, but the season is not yet over. On the evening of the
way to the new (xin chen dai xie). The children share some
eighth day everyone takes a bath and observes a fast called
of the saluting-the-tomb rice and some money. This is called
Shoushou (safeguarding longevity) until midnight. Then, led
yinmu guo (rice with the seal of the tomb), and shows the
by the head of the family, all members of the household per-
abundant virtue of the ancestors, which in turn abides forev-
form Dali, the great ritual, consisting of three kneelings and
er among their descendants. When the visit to the grave is
nine knockings (ketou, or kowtow as it is known in the West)
ended, a strip of red paper is left on top in commemoration.
and the presentation of incense. Thus is marked the begin-
ning of the ninth day, the birthday of the Supreme Emperor
Fourth month. The eighth day is the festival of washing
of Jadelike Augustness, by whose indulgence all beings are
the Buddha, whose birthday it is said to be. The image of
born and nurtured.
the Buddha in every temple is ceremonially washed, incense
is burned, and scriptures are chanted.
The fifteenth day marks the close of the New Year fes-
tivities. It is called Shangyuan Jie (festival of the First Primor-
Fifth month. The fifth of this month is called Duanwu
dial). The triad Shangyuan, Zhongyuan, and Xiayuan, of
(double wu) because both month and day contain the fifth
whom the first is recognized here, are otherwise known in
celestial stem (wu) in their designations. The great event of
Daoism as the San Guan (three controllers), supervisors of
the day in the South is the dragon boat races. These are pop-
the realms of Heaven, earth, and the waters. In popular reli-
ularly said to be a reenactment of the search for the body of
gion they are also identified with the three sage-kings of leg-
Qu Yuan, a loyal statesman and poet of ancient times who
endary antiquity: Yao, who attained perfect goodness, is the
drowned himself when his advice was no longer heeded by
Celestial Controller; Shun, who reclaimed the land, is the
his lord. For this day people make a special kind of sweet
Terrestrial Controller; and Yu, who tamed the floods, is
dumpling wrapped in bamboo leaves that was originally sup-
the Controller of the Waters. The birthday of each controller
posed to have been thrown into the water for Qu Yuan’s spir-
is widely celebrated. Sacrifices to the Celestial Controller are
it to consume. Nowadays, people exchange such dumplings
presented at dawn on the fifteenth.
as presents on Duanwu.
The major event of the day, however, takes place in the
Because the fifth month marks the junction of spring
evening and is called Yuanxiao Jie (festival of the First Pri-
and summer and was associated with the onset of epidemic
mordial night) or Dengjie (lantern festival). The family again
diseases, it has the reputation of being the duyue (poisonous
gathers at a communal feast, and special round dumplings
month). Precautions are taken against the depredations of
of the First Primordial night (yuanxiao yuanzi) are eaten. The
disease-causing spirits: strong yellow wine is drunk; a pack-
roundness of the dumplings is like this first full moon of the
age of calamus, mugwort, and banian branches wrapped 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
CHINESE RELIGIOUS YEAR
1643
lucky red paper is suspended above the gate; colored threads
tion, is performed on a large scale both by households and
are tied around the wrists of children and bags of incense are
in temples. Altars are erected, sacrifices are offered to the
hung by a red string around their necks. The proximity of
poor souls, and priests, both Buddhist and Daoist, chant
the double fifth to the summer solstice, the moment when
their sacred texts. Tall beacon posts are hung with lanterns
the ascendancy of yang will begin to give way to yin, no
and pennants to guide the spirits to the ritual places; paper
doubt has something to do with the prominence of the
and bamboo rafts take candles or small lamps out on the wa-
Duanwu festival.
ters to attract the attention of the souls of the drowned. Fi-
nally, on the last day of the month, the spirits must return
Sixth month. The first and fifteenth of this month are
to their subterranean prisons and the gates are closed for an-
occasions for celebrating the completion of the first half of
other eleven months. The beacon lanterns are taken down,
the year. The deities and ancestors receive sacrifices and
final sacrifices are presented, and the worlds of the living and
thanks for their help, with wishes for their continued support
the dead return to their normal condition of separation.
during the remainder of the year. On the sixth day, clothing,
books, and paintings are aired to rid them of mildew from
Eighth month. This month sees the minor birthday cel-
the spring rains. Old people also air their shouyi (longevity
ebrations of two deities, humble in rank, but intimately in-
garments), the special coats, embroidered with the graph for
volved in the daily life of the people. On the third day sacri-
longevity, that they will wear to the grave. On the nineteenth
fices are offered to Zaojun. On the fifteenth day sacrifices are
of the month many women go to the temples to offer sacri-
made to Tudigong and also to the ancestors. The offerings
fices to Guanyin (the bodhisattva Avalokite´svara), their most
include yue bing (moon cakes), for the fifteenth is also the
venerated protectress, who is said to have attained the Way
night of the birthday of Yin Niangniang (the goddess of the
(de dao) and to have ascended to Heaven on this day.
moon). The full moon of this month is one of the most en-
Seventh month. On the seventh day of this month the
joyable festivals of the year, with fine weather contributing
charming legend of the weaving maid and the cowherd (orig-
to the pleasure of moon-viewing parties. It no doubt origi-
inally simply the names of two stars) comes alive again. This
nally had specific connections with the harvest, but that con-
celestial couple can only meet on this one night each year
nection is no longer apparent.
when magpies form a bridge across the Celestial River (Milky
Ninth month. Despite the promise that the Chongjiu
Way). On this day, Qi Niangma (seventh imperial mother,
or Chongyang (double-nine) day seems to hold, with its im-
the deity of the weaving-maid star) receives special sacrifices
plication of the fullness of yang (nine is the number given
because she is considered an important protector of children.
to yang lines in the Yi jing), nothing seems to remain of any
The fifteenth day is Zhongyuan Jie (festival of the Second
former religious significance of this day. The activities tradi-
Primordial). This day is considered the birthday of the Dao-
tionally characterizing double-nine are going for a hike in the
ist Controller of Earth, or, in popular view, the ancient sage-
hills and flying kites.
king Shun. Sacrifices are offered to deities and ancestors at
the family altars.
Tenth month. Like the ninth month, the tenth is not
a time of much religious celebration. On the fifteenth day
Despite these festivals, the central concern of the sev-
occurs the Xiayuan Jie (festival of the Third Primordial), and
enth month is the problem of bereaved spirits and damned
hence the birthday of the Daoist Controller of the Waters
souls. During this month the gates of the dark realm are
or, in popular understanding, the ancient sage-king Yu.
open, and hungry ghosts (from the Indian concept of preta)
are free to roam about in that invisible but very real dimen-
Eleventh month. The important observance of the
sion that impinges upon the world of the living. Three times
eleventh month is the Dongjie (winter festival), marking the
during this month religious rituals are performed to counter
solstice. Just prior to this day there is another gathering of
this danger. On the first day every household sets out gener-
the family to sacrifice to ancestors, called Qiuji (autumn sac-
ous offerings of food at the entranceway. Incense sticks are
rifice). Then, as winter begins, feasts mark the solstice with
placed in bowls, special burial clothes and silver paper spirit-
special foods such as butong (winter supplements). Soups
money are burned to send into the invisible dimension. At
with dumplings again play on the meaning of the word yuan
the gateway is hung a lamp on which are written auspicious
(round, hence perfect or complete).
words. At the same time that this hospitable attitude is being
POPULAR CULTS AND THE BIRTHDAYS OF THEIR DEITIES.
exhibited, people take good care not to expose themselves to
Practically every day of the year is designated as the birthday
danger.
of one or more of the deities. These deities are of varied ori-
On the fifteenth, the second and by far the most impor-
gins and may be classified in different ways. Aside from those
tant of the rituals to cope with the wandering ghosts takes
actually deriving from popular, local religions, they include
place. The entire community invites these pitiable (and dan-
supernaturals originally connected with the traditions of
gerous) visitors to a great feast at which not only will they
Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism. These have largely
be able for once to eat their fill, but also will receive the mer-
lost their original significance and are integrated into popular
its that accrue from the religious services held. Pudu, the ritu-
religion where they acquire attributes that suit popular needs.
al that assists all souls to cross over to the other shore of salva-
An example of this phenomenon was the identification of the
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1644
CHINGGIS KHAN
Daoist San Guan (three officials) as the ancient sage-kings
al Customs and Festivals in Peking, (1936; reprint, Hong
Yao, Shun, and Yu. The most famous case is the transforma-
Kong, 1965), an annotated translation by Derk Bodde of a
tion of the bodhisattva Avalokite´svara (Chin., Guanshiyin)
work by the Manchu author Tun Li-ch’en; Lewis Hodous’s
into the most popular deity of all, the compassionate moth-
Folkways in China (London, 1929); C. S. Wong’s A Cycle of
er-figure, Guanyin, whose birthday is celebrated on the nine-
Chinese Festivities (Singapore, 1967); and Henry Yi-min Wei
teenth day of the second month.
and Suzanne Coutanceau’s Wine for the Gods; An Account of
the Religious Traditions and Beliefs of Taiwan (Taipei, 1976).
A few of the deities that originated in popular cults be-
Wolfram Eberhard’s Chinese Festivals (1952; reprint, Taipei,
came so important that they were adopted by the state and
1972) discusses the origins and significance of some of the
became objects of official sacrifices as well. The most out-
major observances. More specialized treatments include
standing example on Taiwan is Mazu (granny), who was
Marcel Granet’s Fêtes et chansons anciennes de la Chine (Paris,
given the highest imperial rank of Tianhou (consort of Heav-
1919), translated into English by E. D. Edwards as Festivals
en). Her most important function is to protect all who must
and Songs of Ancient China (New York, 1932), in which see
especially part 2; Derk Bodde’s Festivals in Classical China:
venture upon the waters. (Her birthday is celebrated on the
New Year and Other Annual Observances during the Han
twenty-third day of the third month.) Guan Sheng Da Di
Dynasty, 206 B.C.–A.D. 220 (Princeton, 1975); Göran Aij-
(holy great emperor Guan), originally a famous general of the
mer’s The Dragon Boat Festival on the Hupeh-Hunan Plains,
Three Kingdoms period (third century CE), became the
Central China (Stockholm, 1964); and Carole Morgan’s Le
greatest of the military gods and protector of the empire; his
Tableau du Boeuf du Printemps: Étude d’une page de
birthday is celebrated on the thirteenth day of the fifth
l’almanach chinois (Paris, 1980).
month. While many popular deities are pan-Chinese, their
New Sources
birthdays celebrated everywhere, there are also many others
Chang, P. F. Chinese Festivals Customs and Practices in Sarawak.
whose cults are only local, or of importance chiefly to certain
Sarawak, Malaysia, 1993.
groups or occupations.
Grayson, James H. “Is There an East Asian Millennium? East
RELIGIOUS YEAR OF THE STATE. Since ancient times the
Asian Conceptions of Time.” In Calling Time, edited by
state has considered the ritual offering of sacrifices to be one
Martyn Percy, pp. 61–73. Sheffield, 2000.
of its most basic duties and prerogatives. The calendar issued
Holzman, D. Immortals, Festivals, and Poetry in Medieval China:
by the imperial Bureau of Astronomy gave the annual sched-
Studies in Social and Intellectual History. Brookfield, Vt.,
ule of official sacrifices, which formed a separate system from
1998.
the universal festivals and from the birthdays of deities cele-
Jian, T. Strukturen, Funktionen und Symbole des chinesischen Festes
brated in the popular cults.
Frühlingsanfang im historischen Wandel. New York, 1999.
In China, as elsewhere, some observances have become
Kurihara, Keisuke. “The Hsia Hsiao-cheng, the Earliest Chinese
more or less drained of religious content and their original
Agricultural Calendar” tr. by Barry Steben. In Contacts be-
significance forgotten by all but scholars or obscured by later
tween Cultures, edited by Bernard Hung-Kay Luk,
rationalizations. In the religious year as a whole a few themes
pp. 276–278. Lewiston, N.Y., 1992.
are conspicuous: concern for unity of the family, including
Maheu, Betty Ann. “Welcome to the Year of the Dragon.” Tripod
filiality to the ancestors and protection of the children; desire
20, no. 115 (2000): 45–50.
for longevity; hopes for blessings in general; and fear of re-
Stepanchuk, C. Red Eggs and Dragon Boats: Celebrating Chinese
sentful ghosts and attempts to propitiate them. Aside from
Festivals. Berkeley, 1994.
these hopes and fears, the colorful practices marking the
Wong, C. S., and R. Pinsler. An Illustrated Cycle of Chinese Festivi-
course of the year may be understood as one of the clearest
ties in Malaysia and Singapore. Singapore, 1987.
expressions of traditional popular culture.
LAURENCE G. THOMPSON (1987)
SEE ALSO Chinese Religion, article on Popular Religion;
Revised Bibliography
Confucianism, article on The Imperial Cult; Yuhuang.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
CHINGGIS KHAN (1162–1227), great Mongol lead-
A complete calendar of the religious year can be found in Henri
Doré’s Recherches sur les superstitions en Chine, 18 vols.
er and founder of a vast empire in Asia. One of the extraordi-
(Shanghai, 1911–1938). Doré’s opus has been translated by
nary personages of world history, Chinggis Khan is a striking
M. Kennelly as Researches into Chinese Superstitions, 13 vols.
example of an emperor who became a god.
(1914–1938; reprint, Taipei, 1966); see volume 5, pages
Born in Mongolia, northeast of present-day Ulan Bator,
563–656. An abbreviated calendar can be found in Doré’s
and called Temüjin in his youth, he was the eldest son of a
Manuel des superstitions chinoises, 2d ed. (Shanghai, 1936),
pp. 132–137. The festival year observed in different localities
chieftain of the Mongol Borjigit clan. Having succeeded in
is described in Justus Doolittle’s The Social Life of the Chi-
uniting the Mongol and Turkic tribes of the area, he adopted
nese, vol. 2, edited by Paxton Hood (New York, 1868),
the title of Chinggis Khan and set out to conquer the world.
chaps. 1–3; J. J. M. de Groot’s Les fêtes annuellement célébrées
He subdued the Chin empire in North China, the Hsi-hsia
à Émoui (Amoy), 2 vols. (1886; reprint, Taipei, 1977); Annu-
kingdom northeast of Tibet, the Turkic states in Turkistan,
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHINGGIS KHAN
1645
and the empire of Khorezm, comprising Transoxiana as well
same time, however, in ideological or even genealogical
as Afghanistan and Eastern Iran. Mongol units even ad-
terms, Chinggis Khan becomes a successor to the first king
vanced as far as India and the Crimea. When Chinggis Khan
of humankind, the Indian Mahasammata.
died in 1227 near Ning-hsia, capital of Hsi-hsia, he left the
There are three aspects to the deification of Chinggis
broad foundations of an empire that would extend, under his
Khan. First, he became the ancestral deity of the ruling Bor-
sons and grandsons, from Korea to the Near East and south-
jigit clan, the state, and the whole Mongol people, guarding
ern Europe and from southern Siberia to Indochina.
them against all evil. Sacrifices to Chinggis Khan, his family,
The story of Chinggis Khan’s life reads like that of an
and his war genies (sülde) seem to be offered even today in
epic hero. Indeed, the thirteenth-century Secret History of the
his main sanctuary, the Eight White Yurts, in the Ordos dis-
Mongols, the first work of Mongolian literature, patterns Ch-
trict of Inner Mongolia. He is also still officially venerated
inggis Khan’s biography after the model of the hero-king,
by Mongolian refugees in Taiwan. Second, Chinggis was in-
and thus reflects the indispensable qualities of a ruler and the
corporated into the Lamaist-Buddhist pantheon as a local
hopes set upon him. Chinggis Khan possesses the mandate
guardian deity of comparatively low rank. In the practice of
of Heaven and Heaven’s support to restore law, order, and
folk religion he became fused with the ancestral deity. Third,
peace on earth. He is of noble totemistic descent: his forefa-
traits of an initiatory god were imputed to Chinggis Khan;
ther, the ancestor of the Mongol royal family, is a blue-gray
as this deity, he introduced marriage customs, seasonal festi-
wolf whose son is born on the holy mountain Burkhan
vals connected with the nomadic economy, and certain ritual
Qaldun. It is this “good place,” the center of the world,
practices of daily life.
where Chinggis Khan’s career begins as well. From here he
SEE ALSO Inner Asian Religions; Mongol Religions.
goes forth to conquer nations and peoples in all directions,
and to this same place his dead body returns. He has a good
BIBLIOGRAPHY
wife, a good horse, and good companions, and he finds him-
Basic observations on the religious role of Chinggis Khan have
self in a situation favorable for his activities.
been made by Walther Heissig in his Die Religionen der Mon-
After Chinggis Khan’s death, his character develops in
golei (Stuttgart, 1970), translated by Geoffrey Samuel as The
three ways: Chinggis Khan becomes a means of political
Religions of Mongolia (Berkeley, 1980). The ideological de-
velopment of Chinggis Khan’s character is dealt with by Her-
identification, a figure of political theology, and a deity. Ch-
bert Franke in his excellent study From Tribal Chieftain to
inggis Khan is used as a means of political identification by
Universal Emperor and God: The Legitimation of the Yüan
the Mongols as well as by the Chinese. To the Mongols, as
Dynasty (Munich, 1978). Indispensable for everyone inter-
the founder of their unified state, he is a symbol of Mongol
ested in Chinggis Khan’s biography and thirteenth-century
national independence, or at least autonomy. To the Chi-
Mongol political and religious thought are the anonymous
nese, he is the glorious first emperor of a Chinese dynasty
Secret History of the Mongols and two Persian chronicles writ-
of Mongol nationality, a symbol of the multinational charac-
ten by al-Juwayni and Rash¯ıd al-D¯ın. The following English
ter of Chinese history.
translations are available: The Secret History of the Mongols,
for the First Time Done into English out of the Original Tongue
Chinggis Khan’s association with political theology is
and Provided with an Exegetical Commentary, 2 vols.,
twofold. It was probably during the time of Kublai, grandson
by Francis Woodman Cleaves (Cambridge, Mass., 1982–);
of Chinggis, that the concept of a dual Buddhist world gov-
The History of the World-Conqueror, by EAla-ad-Din
ernment was introduced: the ruler of the state is the king,
EAta-Malik Juvaini, translated by John Andrew Boyle in two
as represented by Chinggis Khan and his successors, the
volumes (Cambridge, Mass., 1958); and The Successors of
Mongolian great khans; the head of the religion is the reli-
Gengis Khan, translated from the Persian of Rash¯ıd al-D¯ın
gious teacher, the lama, as represented by Buddha
T:ab¯ıb by John Andrew Boyle (New York, 1971). An excel-
S´a¯kyamuni and his successors, the Tibetan hierarchs. The
lent biography of Chinggis Khan written by a Western histo-
rian is René Grousset’s Le conquérant du monde (Paris,
two orders of state and religion, based on mutual harmony
1944), translated into English by Denis Sinor and Marian
and distribution of functions, guarantee secular and spiritual
MacKellar as Conqueror of the World (Edinburgh, 1967).
well-being. This concept, however, has never been fully real-
The most recent study on Chinggis Khan’s life and activities
ized. Kublai became not the ruler of a Tibeto-Mongol Bud-
is Paul Ratchnevsky’s C
ˇ inggis-Khan: Sein Leben und Wirken
dhist state, but rather the first Mongol emperor of China.
(Wiesbaden, 1983).
Another notion of Chinggis Khan that links political
New Sources
and religious images proved to be more successful. In this
Onon, Urgunge. The Secret History of the Mongols: The Life and
view, Chinggis Khan, protected by Heaven, becomes the son
Times of Chinggis Khan. Richmond, 2001.
of Heaven (Tengri) or the son of Khormusta, the lord of the
Ratchnevsky, Paul. Genghis Khan: His Life and Legacy. Translated
gods (tengri), the Indian Indra, whose attribute is the thun-
and edited by Thomas Nivison Haining. Oxford, 1992.
derbolt. In Maha¯ya¯na Buddhism, Indra developed into the
Turnbull, Stephen. Genghis Khan & the Mongol Conquests, 1190–
bodhisattva Vajrapa¯n:i, the “bearer of the thunderbolt,” a fig-
1400. New York, 2003.
ure symbolic of power. It is power that is the principal quali-
KLAUS SAGASTER (1987)
ty of Chinggis Khan and his people, the Mongols. At the
Revised Bibliography
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1646
CHING-T’U
CHING-T’U SEE JINGTU
cal process: the dual cultivation of concentration and wis-
dom, as explained in the Liuzu tanjing (Platform scripture
of the sixth patriarch); faith and understanding according to
the complete and sudden school of Hwao˘m; and the distinc-
CHINUL (1158–1210), also known as National Master
tively So˘n approach of investigating the critical phrase
Puril Pojo; founder of the indigenous Chogye school of Ko-
(hwadu; Chin., huatou). Chinul was the first Korean master
rean So˘n (Chin., Chan; Jpn., Zen). Chinul was born in 1158
to teach the formal hwadu technique developed by Dahui
to a gentry family in the Koryo˘ capital of Kaeso˘ng. When
Zonggao, which is better known by the synonymous term
seven years old, he was ordained into the Sagul-san lineage
kongan (Chin., gong’an; Jpn., ko¯an). In several of his writings
of the Nine Mountains school of early So˘n and soon distin-
Chinul provides an exhaustive outline of the correct ap-
guished himself in both meditation and scriptural study.
proach to investigating the hwadu, while emphasizing its af-
Chinul became dissatisfied with the quality of practice with-
finities with more traditional soteriological schemes. The ini-
in the degenerate So˘n schools of his time, however, and in-
tial investigation of the meaning of the hwadu (ch’amu˘i;
creasingly turned for guidance to the sources that he consid-
Chin., canyi) counteracts the discriminative tendencies of
ered to contain authentic information on Buddhist
thought by focusing the mind on a single insoluble question.
meditative culture: scriptures and commentaries and the re-
This concentration ultimately removes the obstacle of under-
cords of early So˘n and Chan masters. Prompted by his vision
standing and catalyzes the awakening of understanding.
of the basic unity of So˘n and the scriptural teachings (kyo;
Continuing to investigate only the word itself devoid of any
Chin., jiao), Chinul developed an approach to Buddhism
conceptual content (ch’amgu; Chin., canju) engenders the
that combined the theoretical aids of Hwao˘m (Chin., Huay-
state of no-thought (munyo˘m; Chin., wunian), which brings
an) doctrine, especially as formulated in works by the Huay-
about the awakening of realization and the adept’s initiation
an commentator Li Tongxuan (635–730), with the practical
into the formal ma¯rga.
concerns of Chan meditation, as typified in the instructions
of Dahui Zonggao (1089–1163). This unique synthesis is
SEE ALSO Buddhism, article on Buddhism in Korea; Chan;
rightly regarded as one of the most distinctively Korean con-
Huayan; Zongmi.
tributions to Buddhist thought and illustrates the ecumenical
BIBLIOGRAPHY
penchant that is so characteristic of the Korean church.
Buswell, Robert E., Jr. The Korean Approach to Zen: The Collected
Chinul’s insights provided a modus operandi for consolidat-
Works of Chinul. Honolulu, 1983.
ing the divided Koryo˘ Buddhist church, which remained bi-
Buswell, Robert E., Jr. “Chinul’s Systematization of Chinese
furcated between the So˘n and scholastic schools despite
Meditative Techniques in Korean So˘n Buddhism,” in Chi-
U
˘ ich’o˘n’s attempts at unification a century before. More im-
nese Buddhist Traditions of Meditation, Studies in East Asian
portant for the future of the tradition, however, Chinul’s
Buddhism, no. 4, edited by Peter N. Gregory, pp. 199–242.
thought also served as the inspiration for the development
Honolulu, 1986.
of a truly indigenous Korean school of So˘n, the Chogye
Buswell, Robert E., Jr. “Ch’an Hermeneutics: A Korean View,”
school, of which he is considered the founder.
in Buddhist Hermeneutics, edited by Donald S. Lopez, Jr.,
pp. 231–256. Honolulu, 1988.
Chinul outlined an approach to Buddhist practice that
begins with the intuitive grasp of the significance of the scrip-
Buswell, Robert E., Jr. “Chinul’s Ambivalent Critique of Radical
Subitism in Korean So˘n.” Journal of the International Associa-
tural teaching that an ordinary person (i.e., the practitioner
tion of Buddhist Studies 12, no. 2 (1989): 20–44.
himself) is already identical to the buddhas (enlightened be-
Buswell, Robert E., Jr. “Chinul’s Alternative Vision of Kanhwa
ings). This sudden awakening of understanding (haeo; Chin.,
So˘n and Its Implications for Sudden Awakening/Gradual
jiewu) brings about the provisional entrance into the Bud-
Cultivation.” Pojo sasang 4 (1990): 423–447.
dhist path of practice (Skt., ma¯rga) at the first of the ten le-
Buswell, Robert E., Jr. Tracing Back the Radiance: Chinul’s Korean
vels of faith. Awakening was then to be refined continuously
Way of Zen. Honolulu, 1991.
in order to remove defilements and develop salutary qualities
Gregory, Peter N. “The Integration of Ch’an/So˘n and the Teach-
of mind. This gradual training finally culminates in the
ings (Chiao/Kyo) in Tsung-mi and Chinul.” Journal of the In-
awakening of realization (chu˘ngo; Chin., zhengwu), the direct
ternational Association of Buddhist Studies 12, no. 2 (1989):
experience of the truths that are originally understood intel-
7–19.
lectually, which takes place at the first of the ten abidings
Kang, Kun Ki. Moguja Chinul yo˘n’gu (A Study of Chinul). Seoul,
(da´saviha¯ra), the formal entrance into the bodhisattva path.
2001.
This approach of sudden awakening/gradual cultivation
Keel, Hee-Sung. Chinul: The Founder of the Korean So˘n Tradition.
(tono cho˘msu; Chin., dunwu jianxiu) was heavily indebted to
Berkeley, 1984.
the insights of the Chinese Chan/Huayan master Zongmi
Shim, Jae-ryong. Korean Buddhism: Tradition and Transformation.
(780–841), another of the main influences on Chinul’s
Seoul, 1999.
thought.
Yi, Chongik. Kangoku Bukkyo¯ no kenkyu¯ (A Study of Korean Bud-
Three principal meditative techniques were used by
dhism). Tokyo, 1980.
Chinul to bring about the consummation of this soteriologi-
ROBERT EVANS BUSWELL, JR. (1987 AND 2005)
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CH’O
˘ NDOGYO
1647
CHINVAT BRIDGE, the “crossing” or “bridge of the
Molé, Marijan. “Dae¯na¯, le pont C
ˇ invat et l’initiation dans le
separator” or of the “decision”—the meaning is not cer-
Mazdéisme.” Revue de l’histoire des religions 158 (1960): 155–
tain—is, in the Zoroastrian tradition, a mythical bridge that
185.
souls must cross to go to Paradise. They succeed in crossing
Nyberg, H. S. Die Religionen des alten Iran. Leipzig, 1938.
it only if they are souls of the asha-van, that is, faithful fol-
Pavry, J. D. C. The Zoroastrian Doctrine of a Future Life. New
lowers of asha, truth and order (Vedic, r:ta), the fundamental
York, 1926.
principle of Indo-Iranian religion. If they are souls of the
Widengren, Geo. Stand und Aufgaben der iranischen Religions-
dregvant, that is, followers of druj (falsehood), they will fall
geschichte. Leiden, 1955.
off the bridge, which for them will narrow itself to a razor’s
Widengren, Geo. Les religions de l’Iran. Paris, 1968.
edge, and they will forever reside in Hell. Indeed, Chinvat
Bridge stretches over the infernal abysses. One of its ends is
GHERARDO GNOLI (1987)
Translated from Italian by Roger DeGaris
on the peak of Mount Hara¯, also known as Alburz or Hara¯
Berez (“high Hara¯”)—a mythical mountain that figures im-
portantly in Indo-Iranian cosmological conceptions; the
CHIPPEWA RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS
other end reaches Paradise (garo¯dman), which the soul of
SEE
the ashavan will enter after passing through the “Region of
ANISHINAABE RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS
the Mixed” (hamistaga¯n) and then through the halls of Good
Thought, Good Word, and Good Deed.
CHI-TSANG SEE JIZANG
Awaiting the soul on Chinvat Bridge is a divine tribunal
composed of the deities Mithra, Sraosha (“discipline”), and
Rashnu (“the judge”), assisted by Arshta¯t (“justice”). It is
CH’O
˘ NDOGYO (Religion of the Heavenly Way) is an
then that the soul confronts its own inner self, its da¯ena¯, the
indigenous Korean religion influenced by Confucianism and
sum of its thoughts, words, and deeds. The da¯ena¯ can take
Daoism. It was founded in 1860 by Ch’oe Suun (Che-u;
the form of a magnificent maiden or of a horrible witch, ac-
1824–1864) in reaction to the traditional religions of Korea
cording to the individual case. It serves as psychopomp for
and in an attempt to offer a new religious dispensation to the
the rest of the voyage, accompanying the soul of the ashavan
masses. Originally known as Tonghak (Eastern Learning),
to paradise, where it is received by Vohu Manah (“good
the movement was also a reaction to Christianity, known as
thought”), one of the Amesha Spentas, or beneficent immor-
Sohak (Western Learning). The name was changed to
tals, and comforted for the difficult and painful test it experi-
Ch’o˘ndogyo in 1905.
enced during its separation from the body.
Suun was born in Kyo˘ngju, the ancient capital of the
This scenario is very ancient: Chinvat Bridge and the
kingdom of Silla. According to Ch’o˘ndogyo tradition, he re-
da¯ena¯ are both mentioned in the Ga¯tha¯s. Many aspects of
ceived from God a revelation of ch’o˘ndo (the Heavenly Way),
this belief—in particular, that of the bridge—are reminiscent
a new universal truth. His teaching attracted a large follow-
of conceptions in other religious traditions, above all those
ing, but it was regarded as dangerous by the government, and
of the shamanistic variety.
he was martyred. Nevertheless, the movement continued to
A passage to the beyond, Chinvat Bridge can also be
grow under the leadership of Suun’s successor, Ch’oe
considered the path of the soul to heaven during an ecstatic
Haewo˘l (Si-hyo˘ng; 1827–1898), and under the third leader,
experience (Nyberg, 1938). It thus figures not only in con-
Sohn U
˘ iam (Pyo˘ng-hu˘i; 1861–1922), Ch’o˘ndogyo became
ceptions of the afterlife but also in the religious transports
one of the major religions of Korea. The writings of these
that occur during initiations, which are analogous to death.
first three leaders form the Ch’o˘ndogyo scripture
(Ch’o˘ndogyo kyu˘ngju˘n). The most important part of this
BIBLIOGRAPHY
canon is Suun’s writings, known as Tonghak Scripture or
Boyce, Mary. A History of Zoroastrianism, vol. 1. Leiden, 1975.
even Ch’o˘ndogyo Scripture.
Corbin, Henry. Terre céleste et corps de résurrection. Paris, 1961.
The antigovernmental Tonghak Revolution of 1894, a
Eliade, Mircea. Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy. Rev. &
popular uprising under Tonghak leadership, helped to mod-
enl. ed. New York, 1964.
ernize Korean society. Ch’o˘ndogyo also played a leading role
Gnoli, Gherardo. “Aˇsavan: Contributo allo studio del libro di
among Korean religions in the Samil (March 1) Indepen-
Arda¯ Wira¯z.” In Iranica, edited by Gherardo Gnoli and Adri-
dence Movement of 1919 against Japanese colonialism.
ano V. Rossi, pp. 387–452. Naples, 1979.
Since the demise of Sohn Uiam, Ch’o˘ndogyo has remained
Kellens, Jean. “Yima et la mort.” In Languages and Cultures.
a religion with a democratic system of ecclesiastical govern-
Studies in Honor of Edgar C. Polomé, edited by M. A. Jazayery
ment. Currently, Ch’o˘ndogyo membership is approximately
and W. Winter, pp. 329–334. Berlin–New York–
one million and its headquarters are in Seoul. The church
Amsterdam, 1988.
plays no active role in South Korean politics. In North
Lommel, Herman. Die Religion Zarathustras nach dem Awesta dar-
Korea, Ch’o˘ndogyo has been persecuted under communism
gestellt. Tübingen, 1930.
since 1945.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1648
CHO
˘ NG YAGYONG
BELIEFS AND PRACTICES. The common term for God in
a glossary and an extensive bibliography. Benjamin B.
Ch’o˘ndogyo is Hanullim, or Heavenly Lord, although scrip-
Weems’s Reform, Rebellion, and the Heavenly Way (Tucson,
ture also uses the epithet Ch’o˘nju, a Chinese form of Hanul-
1964) deals mainly with the role that Ch’o˘ndogyo played in
lim. (The latter is related to other Korean names for God,
Korean politics, but it also contains much of Ch’o˘ndogyo
Hanu˘nim and Hananim.) Ch’o˘ndogyo conceives God as the
history and cites some Ch’o˘ndogyo ideas and practices. It in-
cludes a useful glossary, bibliography, and index. These two
totality of life or the universe, and his immanence is empha-
studies are the only books in English that deal exclusively
sized more than his transcendence.
with Ch’o˘ndogyo.
The Ch’o˘ndogyo view of human nature is expressed in
The following books in Korean are good sources for understand-
two key phrases, “Si Ch’o˘nju” (“Man bears divinity”) and
ing Ch’o˘ndogyo: Che-u Ch’oe’s Ch’o˘ndogyo Kyo˘ngjo˘n
“In nae Ch’on” (“Man is God”). Man is one with God in
(Tonghak Kyo˘ngjo˘n) (Seoul, 1961), Paek Se-myo˘ng’s
essence and in potentiality, and realizes this oneness in the
Tonghak sasang kwa Ch’o˘ndogyo (Seoul, 1956), and Ch’oe
practice of sincere faith and morality. These ideas reflect a
Tong-hu˘i and Kim Yong-ch’o˘n’s Ch’o˘ndogyo (Iri, 1976).
mystical as well as a humanistic tendency. Since man is essen-
New Sources
tially divine, one must treat others with the utmost concern,
An, Sang-jin. Continuity and Transformation: Religious Syntheses in
respect, sincerity, dignity, equality, and justice. Thus the in-
East Asia. New York, 2001.
junction “Sain yo˘ch’o˘n” (“Treat man as God”) has been the
Belrene, Paul. “The Eclectic Mysticism of Ch’oe Cheu.” Review
central ethical teaching of Ch’o˘ndogyo. This democratic
of Korean Studies 2 (1999): 159–182.
principle was a revolutionary one in nineteenth-century feu-
Lee, Sang-Chan. “A Critical Study of the Popular View of the
dalistic Korean society.
‘Righteous Army Movement’ of 1896.” Seoul Journal of Kore-
The Ch’o˘ndogyo concept of human destiny is basically
an Studies 12 (1999): 124–151.
this-worldly, expressed in terms of a divine life or kingdom
YONG-CHOON KIM (1987)
of heaven on earth. Ch’o˘ndogyo emphasizes a cooperative
Revised Bibliography
community of humankind.
In Ch’o˘ndogyo, the spiritual life is fostered by obser-
vance of the Five Practices (ogwan):
CHO
˘ NG YAGYONG (1762–1836), foremost repre-
1. Incantation (chumun). Ch’o˘ndogyo devotees seek one-
sentative of Korea’s Sirhak (Practical Learning) movement
ness with God by chanting a formula that translates:
and creator of a theistic Confucian philosophy. He is best
“Ultimate Energy being here and now, I yearn for its
known by his honorific name, Tasan. The Sirhak movement
great descent. Bearing God, I become firm and well.
was characterized by a spirit of seeking evidence to establish
Never forgetting, I become aware of all.” It is chanted
fact, as opposed to more speculative modes of thought, and
at 9:00
a spirit of practicality as seen in studies concerned with ad-
PM every day and also at other times on special
occasions. At the Sunday worship service, the second
ministrative and economic reform. Contemporary Koreans
half of the incantation (“Bearing God . . .”) is chanted.
look to Sirhak as a kind of indigenous proto-modernity with-
in their own tradition, although the movement seems to have
2. Pure Water (ch’o˘ngsu). In all ceremonies and at 9:00 PM
largely dissolved by the second half of the nineteenth centu-
daily, a bowl of pure water is placed on a table and the
ry. Tasan is especially revered as the preeminent intellectual
worshipers meditate on the significance of water as a
figure of the movement, a polymath who mastered the prin-
symbol of spiritual purity.
ciples of Western mechanics to build a town wall, wrote in-
3. Service Day (siil). The Sunday worship service includes
sightful treatises on government and social reform, and in his
prayer, hymns, scripture reading, and a sermon.
many works passed in critical review some two thousand
4. Sincerity Rice (so˘ngmi). Believers put aside some rice
years of Confucian learning. He was also one of East Asia’s
each day and offer it to the church at the end of the
most prolific authors: his collected works, written in literary
month.
Chinese, come to more than eighteen thousand pages.
5. Prayer (kido). Prayer expresses the worshiper’s wishes.
In his youth Tasan was a member of the small group
A silent meditative prayer called simgo (heart address)
of scholars that became interested in the Chinese writings of
is also practiced at mealtimes, before and after sleeping,
the Jesuit missionary Matteo Ricci (1552–1610). In 1784,
and in all ceremonies.
while on a tribute mission to Beijing, one of the members
of the group, Yi Su˘nghun, visited a European missionary and
Finally, Ch’o˘ndogyo stresses moral discipline. It requires of
was baptized; he returned to Korea and baptized a number
its followers that they keep a steadfast mind, avoid materialis-
of other members in the group, including Tasan’s two broth-
tic desires, and cultivate sincerity, respect for others, and
ers. The movement spread rapidly, and when the first priest
faith.
arrived in Korea in 1794 there were already some four thou-
sand Korean Catholics.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
My book on Ch’o˘ndogyo thought, The Ch’o˘ndogyo Concept of
It is not clear whether Tasan was ever baptized, but his
Man: An Essence of Korean Thought (Seoul, 1978), contains
connections to Catholicism were close enough to implicate
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHRISTENSEN, ARTHUR
1649
him in the first large-scale purge of Catholics from govern-
CHOSEN PEOPLE SEE ELECTION
ment in 1801. The nineteen years of exile that followed these
persecutions were a period of enforced seclusion in which
Tasan devoted himself completely to study and writing, a
CHOU TUN-I SEE ZHOU DUNYI
style of life he maintained after the ban was lifted. During
this long period he occupied himself not only with the prac-
tical studies typical of Sirhak but with the whole tradition
CHRIST SEE JESUS
of Confucian scholarship. In fact more than half of his volu-
minous collected works is devoted to commentary on the
Confucian classics and related matters.
CHRISTENSEN, ARTHUR (1875–1945), Danish
Orientalist and folklorist. Arthur Emanuel Christensen was
Tasan’s reappraisal of the Confucian tradition is unusu-
born in Copenhagen, where, apart from short periods of
al, perhaps unique, for he took his viewpoint from the earli-
study and travel, he spent his life. He studied in Berlin and
est classics, those that preserved an early Chinese theism that
Göttingen, passing his Studentereksamen in 1893 and obtain-
was already waning by the time of Confucius. On this basis,
ing his candidatus magisterii (master’s degree) in French, his-
he reconstructed not just a primitive theistic Confucianism
tory, and Latin in 1900. During his university years, Chris-
but a philosophically systematic Confucian theism that
tensen was also a fervent student of Persian, Avestan, Arabic,
matched the sophisticated metaphysical and ascetic systems
Sanskrit, and Turkish. He studied under the famous
of the neo-Confucians. His work in this regard is notable es-
Iranologist F. C. Andreas, and, in 1903, he obtained his
pecially for the completeness and maturity with which he
Ph.D. He became a teacher and journalist, specializing in
grasped the ramifications of a theistic perspective.
foreign politics. In 1919, he was appointed professor ex-
Tasan’s Confucianism had no intellectual heir. In part
traordinarius of Iranian philology at the University of Co-
this is because he spent his last thirty-five years under a cloud
penhagen, an office that he held for the rest of his life.
of suspicion and in relative isolation, in part because his ac-
Christensen was a prolific writer who wrote on many
complishments occurred when Korea was on the threshold
aspects of Iranian cultural history, including language (dia-
of a tumultuous change that dislocated the tradition he had
lect studies), folklore, general history, history of religions,
accepted as authoritative.
philosophy, and music. His magnum opus, L’empire des Sas-
sanides: Le peuple, l’état, la cour (1907), was written from a
SEE ALSO Confucianism in Korea; Ricci, Matteo.
religio-historical point of view. Though Christensen elabo-
rated various points in Sassanid history, he was chiefly con-
B
cerned with chronological and purely historical and legend-
IBLIOGRAPHY
ary elements. Examples of this interest are his Le règne du roi
For general introductions to Sirhak, see The Traditional Culture
Kawa¯dh I et le communisme masdakite (1925), which deals
and Society of Korea: Thought and Institutions, edited by
with the fifth-century communalist reformer Mazdak, and
Hugh H. W. Kang (Honolulu, 1975), and my article “An
Introduction to Silhak,” Korea Journal 15 (1975): 29–46. A
“La légende du sage Buzurjmihr” (Acta Orientalia 8, 1930),
biographical account of Cho˘ng Yagyong’s life can be found
which examines one of the strangest figures of the Sassanid
in Gregory Henderson’s “Cho˘ng Ta-san: A Study in Korea’s
tradition.
Intellectual History,” Journal of Asian Studies 16 (1957):
Of religious life as such Christensen seems to have had
377–386. A discussion and analysis of the meeting of theistic
no real sense; in his heart he doubted that it was possible to
and nontheistic worldviews in Cho˘ng’s work is my “Cho˘ng
gain secure knowledge of what had once been a living reli-
Tasan’s Philosophy of Man: A Radical Critique of the Neo-
gion in ancient Iran. His intention was to give a complete
Confucian World View,” Journal of Korean Studies 3 (1981):
representation of the Iranian legendary history, the religious
3–38.
and national heritage that the Sassanids took over and at-
New Sources
tempted to legitimate as their own. He carried out his plan
Kalton, Michael C. et al., trans. The Forty-Seven Debate: An Anno-
in a series of works of extraordinary importance for Indo-
tated Translation of the Most Famous Controversy in Korean
Iranian research in the areas of legend and religion, and for
Neo-Confucian Thought. Albany, 1994.
the understanding of legends and folktales in general.
Kim, Sunghae. “Cho˘ng Yagyong (Tasan): Creative Bridge be-
Through his endeavors to provide a theoretical and practical
tween the East and the West.” In Confucian Philosophy in
foundation for the study of tradition, legend, and myth,
Korea, edited by Haechang Choung and Hyong-jo Han,
Christensen encountered the works of folklorists such as Axel
pp. 213–291. Songnam, 1996.
Olrik and C. W. von Sydow, which led him into studies of
general folklore, folk psychology, and philosophy. Christen-
Setton, Mark. Cho˘ng Yagyong: Korea’s Challenge to Orthodox Neo-
sen’s foremost contribution to the study of folklore is his
Confucianism. Albany, 1997.
Trebro⁄dre- og Tobro⁄dre Stamsagn (1916), which gives a simple
MICHAEL C. KALTON (1987)
and natural psychological explanation of national ancestral
Revised Bibliography
legends.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1650
CHRISTIAN ETHICS
To Avestan studies Christensen brought new under-
faith involves a particular way of life. The good news of salva-
standing and inspiration. Problems concerning the time and
tion in Jesus Christ calls for a life of discipleship. The scrip-
environment of Zarathushtra (Zoroaster) and the chronolo-
tures point out that Christian believers are to live and act in
gy of the Gatha and the Yashts were his main concern. The
certain ways. Conversion to Jesus Christ and membership in
systematic expression of his thought is given in several works:
the Christian community involve moral exigencies.
“Quelques notices sur les plus anciennes périodes du Zoroas-
C
trisme” (Acta Orientalia 4, 1926, pp. 81–115), Études sur le
HRISTIAN ETHICS IN GENERAL. The Bible is the book of
Christianity, but it does not contain Christian ethics as such.
Zoroastrisme de la Perse antique (1928), and Le premier
The Bible does include moral teachings and descriptions of
chapitre du Vendidad et l’histoire primitive des tribus iranien-
the moral life of believers in Yahveh and in Jesus. The dis-
nes (1943). These works reveal Christensen as a bold inter-
tinction between morality and ethics is significant. Morality
preter whose theses would both inspire and irritate his con-
refers to the actions, dispositions, attitudes, virtues, and ways
temporaries and future scholars.
of life that should characterize the moral person and society,
in this case the Christian person and the Christian communi-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
ty. Christian ethics operates on the level of the theoretical
Christensen’s Recherches sur les Ruba¯ Eiya¯t de EOmar Hayya¯m (Hei-
¯
and the scientific and tries to explain the Christian moral life
delberg, 1905) was written as his doctoral thesis; it was pub-
in a thematic, systematic, coherent, and consistent manner.
lished in Danish in 1903. Later, he returned to this topic
with Critical Studies in the Rubáiyát of Umar-i-Khayyám (Co-
It is possible for one to attempt a biblical ethic that makes
penhagen, 1927). His great work, L’empire des Sassanides: Le
such an explanation of biblical morality, but that ethic would
peuple, l’état, la cour (Copenhagen, 1907) was twice revised
be based on the moral teaching found in Scripture. Biblical
and expanded under the title L’Iran sous les Sassanides, 2d ed.
ethics and Christian ethics are not coextensive. The subject
(1944; Osnabrück, 1971); it has also been translated into
matter of Christian ethics is the Christian moral life and
Persian. An examination of the shortcomings of Christen-
teaching, which is much broader than biblical moral life and
sen’s magnum opus can be found in Phillipe Gignoux’s article
teaching.
“Die religiöse Administration in sasanidischer Zeit: Ein
Überblick,” Archäologische Mitteilungen aus Iran (suppl. 10,
The relationship between Christian ethics and philo-
1983): 253ff.
sophical ethics is important. The significant differences be-
Among Christensen’s works on the legendary history of Iran, the
tween the two result from the different sources of ethical wis-
following deserve mention: “Reste von Manu-Legenden in
dom and knowledge employed. Philosophical ethics is based
der iranischen Sagenwelt,” in Festschrift Friedrich Carl An-
on human reason and human experience and does not accept
dreas (Leipzig, 1916), pp. 63–69; Les types du premier homme
the role of faith and revelation that is central to Christian
et le premier roi dans l’histoire légendaire des Iraniens, 2 vols.
ethics. However, Christian ethics poses the same basic ques-
(Stockholm, 1917–1934); Les Kayanides (Copenhagen,
tions and has the same formal structure as philosophical eth-
1931); and Les gestes des rois dans les traditions de l’Iran an-
ics. All ethics attempts to respond to the same questions:
tique (Paris, 1936). Notable among Christensen’s studies of
What is the good? What values and goals should be pursued?
Iranian folklore are the following: Contes persans en langue
What attitudes and dispositions should characterize the per-
populaire (Copenhagen, 1918); “Les sots dans la tradition
populaire des Persans,” Acta Orientalia 1 (1922): 43–75; and
son? What acts are right? What acts are wrong? How do the
Essai sur la démonologie iranienne (Copenhagen, 1941) in
individual and society go about making ethical decisions?
which he shows how ancient Iranian elements of folk belief
What are just societal structures?
survive within the framework of present-day Islam. A signifi-
cant example of Christensen’s work of general folklore and
Contemporary ethicists speak about three generally ac-
folk psychology is his Politik og masse-moral (Copenhagen,
cepted formal approaches to ethics. The classical forms are
1911), which was translated by A. Cecil Curtis under the
teleology and deontology. The teleological approach deter-
title Politics and Crowd-Morality (London, 1915).
mines what is the end or the good at which one should aim
A biographical appreciation of Christensen by Kaj Barr and H.
and then determines the morality of means in relationship
Andersen appears in Oversigt over Det Kongelige Danske Vi-
to that end. The deontological model understands morality
denskabernes Selskab: Forhandlinger (Copenhagen, 1945–
primarily in terms of duty, law, or obligation. Such an ap-
1946), pp. 65–102; it includes a complete bibliography of
proach is primarily interested in what is right. In the twenti-
327 items. A biographical note by myself and Frank le Sage
eth century, some ethicists (e.g., H. Richard Niebuhr) have
de Fontenay appears in Dansk biografisk leksikon, 3d ed., vol.
proposed a third model: the responsibility model, which is
3 (Copenhagen, 1979), pp. 233–236.
primarily interested in what is “fitting.” Within Christian
JES P. ASMUSSEN (1987)
ethics all these different models have been employed. Teleol-
ogy, for example, sees the end of the moral life as union with
and participation in God, which becomes the good and the
end of the moral life, thus specifying as good those means
CHRISTIAN ETHICS. The three primary manifesta-
that attain that end. Deontological Christian ethics has often
tions of Christianity—Eastern Orthodoxy, Roman Catholi-
seen the moral life in terms of the Ten Commandments or
cism, and Protestantism—have recognized that Christian
the revealed word of God as the law Christians are to follow.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHRISTIAN ETHICS
1651
God’s law determines what is right and wrong. The responsi-
ence can be sources of ethical wisdom and knowledge. The
bility model understands the moral life on the basis of the
Roman Catholic tradition has emphasized natural law based
Christian’s response to the action and working of God in the
on the ability of human reason to arrive at ethical wisdom
world and in history.
and knowledge. This emphasis has often been more primary
The vast majority of Christian ethicists would agree that
than the influence of revelatory sources. Eastern Orthodox
theological ethics is truly a form of ethics, that it asks the
and Protestant ethics have been more suspicious of human
same questions and has the same formal structure as philo-
reason and experience, although today many ethicists in
sophical ethics. However, some Christians working out of a
these traditions give reason and experience an important,
more fundamentalistic approach to the scriptures or out of
though still subordinate, role.
a Barthian perspective might not agree that Christian ethics
EARLY HISTORY. In the first one thousand years of Christian-
is a species of ethics as such.
ity, there was no discipline of Christian ethics as such. Moral
SOURCES. What distinguishes Christian ethics from philo-
teaching was primarily pastoral, apologetical, homiletical,
sophical ethics and other religious ethics are the sources of
and catechetical, although at times there were systematic
wisdom and knowledge that contribute to Christian ethics.
studies of particular issues. An early problem for the Chris-
All Christian ethics recognizes the Christian scriptures, tradi-
tian church was the relationship of Christian mores to the
tion, and church teaching as the revelatory sources of moral
culture and mores of the wider society. Pedagogical devices
wisdom and knowledge. However, there is much discussion
such as “the two ways” (elaborated on in the Didache and
as to how these sources relate to one another and to the non-
Shepherd of Hermas) and catalogs of virtues and vices were
revelatory sources of Christian ethics. The three major ex-
used by the early Christian writers. Often the patristic au-
pressions of Christianity—Eastern Orthodoxy, Roman Ca-
thors borrowed from Stoic and Neoplatonic philosophies of
tholicism, and Protestantism—and their corresponding
the times. The apologists of the second century attempted
ethical traditions emphasize different sources of Christian
to show that Christian morality was in keeping with the best
ethics. At least in theory, all these traditions give primary em-
pagan understandings of morality.
phasis to sacred scripture, but there is no general agreement
In the third century, Tertullian stressed the differences
about how the scriptures should be used in Christian ethics.
between pagan and Christian moral teaching and proposed
The role accorded scripture in Christian ethics depends
a rigorous and legalistic morality. The early church fathers
heavily on one’s understanding of scripture’s relationship to
relied heavily on scriptural teaching and often understood
other sources of wisdom and knowledge. On such questions
moral life in terms of the imitation of Christ. Exhortation
as those having to do with conversion or change of heart, the
to perseverance in the face of martyrdom, the avoidance of
general attitudes a Christian should have, and the goals and
any type of idolatry, and the need for prayer, fasting, alms-
dispositions of the Christian life, the scriptures can give
giving, chastity, patience, and justice were stressed. Eastern
much content to Christian ethics. On the question of precise
moral thought, as reflected in that of Athanasius and the Al-
norms and rules of moral action, however, many Christian
exandrians, stressed the divinization of human beings
ethicists are cautious in their attempts to find specific con-
through the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Antiochian school
crete norms that are absolutely binding in all circumstances.
understood justification in terms of sharing in the suffering,
Protestantism’s emphasis on the primacy of scripture and
death, and resurrection of Jesus. Throughout the period of
downplaying of tradition and church teaching distinguishes
persecution great emphasis was put on martyrdom, but after-
its ethics from that of the other two major forms of Chris-
ward substitutions for martyrdom (the word originally
tianity.
meant “witness”) were proposed: the monastic life or strict
Since the church is a living communion proceeding
obedience to God’s will, sometimes called “the martyrdom
through different historical and cultural circumstances under
of conscience.”
the guidance of the continuing presence of the Holy Spirit,
In the West after the third century, the most significant
God’s self-revelation comes also through tradition as the
figures were Ambrose, Augustine, and Pope Gregory I. Am-
preaching, teaching, celebration, and practice of the Chris-
brose’s De officiis is perhaps the most systematic, scientific
tian faith. Within the general category of tradition, special
approach to Christian morality, with its basis in the treatise
emphasis is given, especially by the Eastern Orthodox
of Cicero. Gregory, in his homilies and his Moralia in Job,
churches, to the teachings of the patristic period and to the
often relies on the moral teaching of Augustine but empha-
councils and legislation of that time. Authoritative or au-
sizes the practical and pastoral aspects of Christian morality.
thentic church teaching is a special form of tradition that is
Augustine defends a Christian moral understanding against
found in the councils and synods of the churches, and in
the dualism and pessimism of Manichaeans on the one hand
Roman Catholicism it is connected with the teaching office
and the optimism of Pelagians on the other. Augustine de-
of the bishops, especially of the pope as the bishop of Rome
voted a number of works to specific moral questions, such
and pastor of the universal church.
as lying, continence, marriage, and concupiscence. His major
Christian ethics has always grappled with the question
works, the Confessions and the City of God, also contain some
of whether human nature, human reason, and human experi-
methodological and substantive considerations in Christian
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1652
CHRISTIAN ETHICS
ethics, even though there is no fully systematic treatise on
by sin but still remains. “Likeness” refers to the human po-
moral theology. Augustine stresses the centrality of the grace
tential to become like God. In the Orthodox tradition, as in
of God, which delivers sinners from evil and makes the
the Roman Catholic tradition, Christian morality is not het-
Christian life possible. The moral life is described in terms
eronomous, for Christian morality brings the human to its
of love. The love of God aims at the enjoyment of God for
fullest perfection. In the same way such an ethics stresses
God’s own sake and uses everything else for the love of God,
both the providence of God and the responsibility of Chris-
whereas desire involves attempts to enjoy self, neighbor, and
tians.
earthly things without reference to God. These two different
Within the Orthodox tradition there is doubt that natu-
loves are the sources of the good life and the bad life, respec-
ral law is a source of ethical wisdom and knowledge. Many
tively. Augustine’s eschatology emphasizes a great difference
affirm such knowledge on the basis of creation and the image
between the present world and the future reign of God at the
of God embodied in human moral capacity, but others
end of time, a recognition that grounds his profound realism
strongly deny this knowledge. At times the polemical nature
about life in this world.
of discussions between the Orthodox and Roman Catholic
In the East, the fathers showed a great interest in con-
traditions seems to have influenced the Orthodox denial of
templation. Obedience to God’s commandments, the prac-
natural law.
tice of asceticism, and contemplation were proposed not only
for monks but for all Christians. At the end of the patristic
Law in general has a significant but not exclusive role
era in the East, John of Damascus (d. 749) summarized pa-
to play in Orthodox ethics. Law is found in the Ten Com-
tristic teachings on the moral life by using Aristotelian con-
mandments, the Beatitudes, the teachings of the New Testa-
cepts.
ment, and the sayings of the church fathers. Although some
Orthodox ethicists might have become legalistic or ritualis-
Before the end of the first millennium an important de-
tic, the tradition itself generally guards against legalism, espe-
velopment occurred in the practice of the sacrament of pen-
cially by invocation of the principle of “economy.” Economy
ance. In the West, the new form of private penance spread
allows exceptions to the law when the law stands in the way
from Ireland to the continent, and with the new repeatable
of the higher values of human persons and communities.
private penance the libri poenitentiales (penitential books)
came into existence. These books assigned a particular pen-
Orthodox ethics has been accused of lacking a world-
ance for a particular sin and were often used in a very mecha-
transforming aspect and failing to develop an adequate social
nistic way. There were also penitentials in the East, such as
ethic, but many defenders of the Orthodox tradition deny
the Penitential of John the Faster and others, which were bor-
this charge. In the past, social ethics was colored by recogni-
rowed from the West. However, the sacrament of penance
tion of a “symphony” between the church and the state in
in the East always emphasized the spiritual direction aspect
the single organism of the Christian empire. Today, the di-
of the relationship between penitent and monk-confessor,
verse settings in which the Orthodox church functions have
thereby avoiding, at least in theory, the dangers of legalism
forced it to try to work out a social ethic and the church’s
and ritualism. A scientific and systematic Christian ethic de-
relationship to the state. Russian Orthodoxy in the twentieth
veloped only in the second millennium.
century often found itself in relationship to communist gov-
ernments, but the situation dramatically changed after 1989.
THE EASTERN ORTHODOX TRADITION. Eastern Orthodox
In Europe and the United States, Russian and Greek Ortho-
theology, in both its Greek and Russian approaches, is distin-
dox churches now also find themselves in a diaspora situation
guished from other Christian ethics by its emphasis on tradi-
in which they, as a minority, must develop their own ap-
tion, especially the teachings of the church fathers, as impor-
proach to social ethics. The Greek Orthodox church and the
tant sources of moral wisdom and knowledge. The most
Russian Orthodox church have joined the World Council of
distinctive characteristic of Orthodox ethics is its relationship
Churches, so that Orthodoxy now participates, though not
to spirituality. Pastoral practice has emphasized the role of
without tensions, in the current discussions and positions
monks and confessors as spiritual directors who help guide
taken on contemporary social questions by the World
the spiritual life of the faithful. The goal or end of the moral
Council.
life is to become like God. The way to this full deification
(theosis in the Greek) is through asceticism and prayer. Con-
HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF EASTERN ORTHODOX ETH-
templation and contemplative prayer as parts of the struggle
ICS. Christian ethics as a separate discipline emerged compar-
for deification are stressed. This perfectionist ethic calls for
atively late in the Orthodox tradition. After the Great Schism
constant deepening of the believer’s participation in divine
of the ninth century, the penitentials continued to be an im-
life.
portant genre of moral teaching in the East. Despite some
legalistic and ritualistic tendencies, Orthodoxy’s emphasis on
The anthropological basis for this movement toward de-
spirituality and striving for perfection served as a safeguard
ification is the creation of human beings in the image and
against a minimalistic legalism.
likeness of God. “Image” consists in the human moral capac-
ities of virtue, intellect, ethical judgment, and self-
In Russian Orthodoxy the seventeenth-century Kiev
determination. The image of God is darkened and wounded
school attempted to refute Roman Catholicism and its ethics
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHRISTIAN ETHICS
1653
by developing a theology strongly influenced by scholasti-
divine and human, Jesus and the church and Mary and the
cism. The Orthodox Confession of Petr Moghila (d. 1646),
saints, love (as well as the virtues) and the commandments.
which was approved with slight modifications by the Greek
This approach is an attempt to be universal and to embrace
patriarch at the Synod of Jerusalem (1672), explains Chris-
all elements, but it may fall into dichotomy. For example,
tian moral teaching on the basis of the nine precepts of the
rather than seeing tradition as a mediation of revelation
church, the seven sacraments, the Beatitudes, and the Ten
whose privileged witness is in sacred Scripture, Scripture and
Commandments. However, even the Kiev school stressed
tradition were seen as two separate fonts of revelation. Fur-
more distinctly Russian and patristic theology in its ascetical
ther, faith and works, properly understood, mean that the
and spiritual works.
gift of salvation is mediated in and through the human re-
The eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in Russian Or-
sponse; a perennial danger is to absolutize works. Likewise,
thodox ethics again saw both dialogue and polemics with
mediation insists on the importance of love, but love mediat-
Roman Catholic and Protestant ethics in the West. Feofan
ed through all the other virtues and commandments, which,
Prokopovich (d. 1736) ignored the Orthodox tradition, re-
however, must not be emphasized only in themselves.
jected Catholic scholasticism, and turned to Protestant au-
In the Roman Catholic tradition, natural law can best
thors for his ethical principles. Some subsequent authors fol-
be understood as human reason directing human beings to
lowed the same approach, but F. Fiveiskii (d. 1877) returned
their end in accord with their nature. In the classic tradition
to more patristic sources and to a more Catholic methodolo-
based on Thomas Aquinas (d. 1274), human nature has a
gy in his manual of moral theology, the official textbook in
threefold structure: that which is shared with all substances,
all seminaries until 1867.
that which is common to humans and all the animals, and
The years from 1860 to 1863 saw the publication of
that which is proper to human beings as such. Human nature
P. F. Soliarskii’s moral theology, which tried to combine pa-
has its innate teleology on these three levels, and human rea-
tristic, Roman Catholic, and Protestant approaches to ethics.
son discovers these ends and directs all human activity to
An abridged edition of this influential work was used in the
them. In practice, Catholic moral theology often considered
schools for forty years. In the late nineteenth century the in-
life in this world or in the temporal sphere as almost totally
fluence of modernism and its stress on the role of the natural
governed by natural law and not by the gospel, or by any ex-
moral sense influenced some approaches to moral theology.
plicitly Christian considerations. Before Vatican II, Catholic
However, in addition to these manuals of moral theology,
moral theology was dependent on reason and philosophical
there was also a spiritual and mystical literature that drew
ethics and downplayed the role of the Scriptures and specific
heavily from patristic sources. In the twentieth century,
theological understandings.
Nikolai Berdiaev and Sergei Bulgakov appealed to the Rus-
sian Orthodox tradition in developing what can be called a
The third characteristic of Roman Catholic moral theol-
communitarian personalism with emphasis on subjectivity,
ogy is its insistence on relationship to the church. Catholic
freedom, love, and the need to transform the objective world.
ecclesiology recognizes a special teaching office in matters of
faith and morals that is given to the church, specifically the
According to Stanley S. Harakas, Christian ethics as a
pope and the bishops. Since the seventeenth century there
separate theological discipline in Greek Orthodoxy devel-
has been a growing intervention of authoritative papal teach-
oped in the modern period and emerged as a separate, dis-
ing in moral matters. Catholic ecclesiology in accord with
tinct, scientific discipline only in the nineteenth century.
the teaching of Vatican I (1870) recognizes an infallible
Three different schools or approaches characterize Greek Or-
teaching function that is exercised through ecumenical coun-
thodox moral theology from that time. The Athenian school,
cils and the ex cathedra teaching of the pope, as well as defin-
strongly influenced by philosophical idealism, sees no vital
itive teachings by the pope and the bishops. A noninfallible,
differences between Christian ethics and philosophical eth-
authoritative teaching office is also exercised by the councils
ics. The Constantinopolitan school is Christocentric and de-
and especially by the pope through encyclicals, allocutions,
pends heavily on Scripture and the church fathers. The Thes-
and the various offices of the Curia Romana. The vast major-
salonian school is apophatic in character, stresses a
ity of Catholic moral theologians agree that there has never
personalist perspective, and is heavily dependent on the mo-
been an infallible papal teaching on a specific moral matter.
nastic tradition. In his Toward Transfigured Life, Harakas
tries to bring these three schools together.
The authoritative church teaching offices have also
THE ROMAN CATHOLIC TRADITION. The characteristics of
served to keep the methodology of Catholic ethics somewhat
Roman Catholic “moral theology,” as Christian ethics has
monolithic. In the late nineteenth century, and subsequent-
come to be called in the Catholic tradition, are insistence on
ly, the popes have authoritatively directed that Roman Cath-
mediation, acceptance of natural law, and the role of the
olic theology and philosophy be taught according to the
church. Mediation is perhaps the most characteristic aspect
principles and the approach of Thomas Aquinas. Until com-
of Roman Catholic theology in general. There is a distinctive
paratively recently, Catholic theology in general and moral
Catholic emphasis on conjunctions—of Scripture and tradi-
theology in particular followed a Thomistic philosophical
tion, faith and reason, faith and works, grace and nature, the
approach.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1654
CHRISTIAN ETHICS
Church rites and practice have also influenced Catholic
to intervene when necessary to protect the rights of workers
moral theology. Ever since the seventeenth century the pri-
or any particular class that was suffering. The tradition of hi-
mary purpose of moral theology textbooks has been to train
erarchical social teaching still exists, but now it stresses some
confessors for the sacrament of penance, with emphasis on
of the newer methodological emphases in Catholic theology
their role as judges of sinful actions. This narrow orientation
and deals with contemporary political and economic prob-
resulted in an act-centered approach that was casuistic, based
lems, especially in a global perspective.
primarily on law, and aimed at determining the existence and
There were attempts at renewal in moral theology, espe-
gravity of sins.
cially from the scriptural and Thomistic perspectives, but
HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF ROMAN CATHOLIC ETHICS.
Bernhard Häring’s The Law of Christ (1954) was the most
Roman Catholic moral theology or Christian ethics devel-
significant single work in the renewal of Catholic moral the-
oped into a scientific discipline earlier than in Eastern Or-
ology in the pre–Vatican II period. Häring proposed a bibli-
thodoxy. In the thirteenth century, systematic and scientific
cally inspired, Christocentric approach to moral theology
theology appeared with the work of the great Scholastic theo-
based on the divine call to be perfect even as the gracious
logians, especially Thomas Aquinas. Moral theology in
God is perfect.
Thomas’s thought is an integrated part of his systematic the-
ology, not a separate discipline. The basic structure of
The Second Vatican Council (1962–1965) greatly in-
Thomas’s moral theology is teleological. The ultimate end
fluenced the renewal of moral theology. Now there was
of human beings is a happiness attained when the intellect
greater dialogue with other Christians, non-Christians, and
knows perfect truth and the will loves the perfect good. For
the modern world in general. Contemporary Catholic moral
the Christian, the beatific vision fulfills and perfects human
theology, while upholding the goodness of the natural and
nature. The Franciscan school, represented by Alexander of
of the human, has tried to overcome the dichotomy or dual-
Hales (d. 1245), Bonaventure (d. 1274), and John Duns
ism between the supernatural and the natural. The gospel,
Scotus (d. 1308), affirmed the primacy of the will and of
grace, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit are related to what
charity and emphasized moral theology as wisdom.
happens in daily life in the world. Contemporary moral the-
ology recognizes the need to consider more than acts and lays
The fourteenth century saw a criticism of Thomas from
more emphasis on the person and on the virtues and atti-
a nominalist perspective that grounded the good not in onto-
tudes of the person. No longer is there a monolithic Catholic
logical reality but solely in the will of God and employed a
moral theology based on a Thomistic natural law; instead,
more deontological approach to ethics. After the thirteenth
many different philosophical approaches are used. In general,
century there appeared the Summae confessorum, very practi-
there has been a shift from classicism to historical conscious-
cal handbooks without any philosophical basis or analysis,
ness, from the objective to the subjective, from nature to per-
which often arranged in alphabetical order the problems that
son, from order to freedom. In addition to developments in
the confessor would face in practice.
methodology, there are also widespread debates in contem-
The Institutiones theologiae moralis appeared in the sev-
porary Catholic moral theology about the existence of intrin-
enteenth century. These manuals, which became the stan-
sically evil actions, absolute norms, and the possibility of dis-
dard textbooks of Catholic moral theology until Vatican II,
sent from noninfallible church teaching. As a result of these
began with a brief description of the ultimate end, which was
differences, some contemporary Catholic moral theologians
followed by treatises on human acts, law as the objective
are calling into question some official Catholic teachings in
norm of morality, and conscience as the subjective norm of
such areas as sexual and medical ethics, but the official teach-
morality. The virtues are mentioned, but sinful acts, often
ing office has not changed on these issues.
described on the basis of the Ten Commandments, remain
THE PROTESTANT TRADITION. Protestant Christian ethics
the central concern. The sacraments are discussed, but al-
has as its distinctive characteristics an emphasis on freedom,
most exclusively from the viewpoint of moral and legal obli-
an anticasuistic approach, the primacy of Scripture, and an
gations. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries a con-
emphasis on the theological nature of the discipline. Martin
troversy that arose between rigorists and laxists was finally
Luther (d. 1546) and the reformers in general stressed the
resolved after papal intervention through the moderate ap-
freedom of the Christian, and freedom has characterized
proach of Alfonso Liguori (d. 1787), who was later named
much of Protestant life and ethics. In Protestantism there is
the patron of Catholic moral theology and of confessors.
no central church teaching authority to propose authoritative
teaching on specific issues or to insist upon a particular ap-
Beginning with Leo XIII’s encyclical Rerum novarum in
proach, as in Roman Catholicism. Consequently, in Protes-
1891, a series of official teachings on the social question ap-
tant ethics there is a great pluralism and a diversity of ap-
peared. Leo and his immediate successors used a natural-law
proaches.
methodology, understood the state as a natural human soci-
ety, proposed an anthropology that insisted on both the per-
The emphasis on freedom colors the Protestant under-
sonal and communitarian aspects of human existence (thus
standing of God and how God acts in human history. God
avoiding the extremes of capitalism and socialism), recog-
is free to act and to intervene in history. Generally, Protes-
nized the right of workers to organize, and called for the state
tant ethics opposes any attempt to claim that God must al-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHRISTIAN ETHICS
1655
ways act in a particular way. The stress on God’s freedom
theological grounds shy away from the ontology and meta-
has also influenced a general Protestant unwillingness to base
physics that undergird Roman Catholic natural-law think-
absolute norms on human reason and nature. The freedom
ing. Protestants have also tended to give more significance
of the believer as well as God is safeguarded in Protestant
to history than to nature, because history is more compatible
ethics.
with biblical categories and with the insistence on the free-
dom of God and of human beings.
The early reformers objected to the Roman Catholic
emphasis on merit. They held that salvation comes from
HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF PROTESTANT ETHICS. The
faith, not from human works. Protestantism ultimately re-
first systematic, scientific, and independent treatment of
jected the Catholic sacrament of penance and thus never de-
Protestant ethics separated from dogmatic theology was pro-
veloped the casuistry involved in carrying out the role of the
duced by Georg Calixtus (d. 1656). Although the early re-
confessor as judge. Protestant ethics has been described as an
formers did not write scientific Christian ethics as such, they
ethics of inspiration, primarily because it does not usually get
dealt with significant methodological and substantive issues
into a minute philosophical discussion of the morality of par-
affecting Christian ethics.
ticular acts.
Justification by faith active in love stands at the heart
The Reformation insistence on the importance of Scrip-
of Lutheran theology and is opposed to merit, justification
ture characterizes much of Protestant ethics, but Scripture
by works, and legalism. The emphasis on Scripture, even to
has been used in different ways. When God’s immanence is
the point of accepting the axiom “scripture alone,” is another
stressed, there is a tendency to find in Scripture a moral mes-
characteristic of the Reformation. Luther stressed freedom
sage that can be lived by Christians in this world. When the
above all, but the dialectical aspect of his thought is seen in
transcendence of God is stressed, Scripture tends to be used
his famous saying “A Christian is a perfectly free lord of all,
more dialectically to include a judging and critical role with
subject to none. A Christian is a perfectly dutiful servant of
regard to every human enterprise. Perhaps the greatest
all, subject to all.”
change in Protestantism came to the fore in the nineteenth-
century dispute over a critical approach to Scripture. Where-
Lutheran social ethics is based on the two-realm theory,
as liberal Protestantism—and soon most of mainstream Prot-
referring to the realm of creation and the realm of redemp-
estantism—employed literary and historical criticism to un-
tion. In the realm of creation, which involves the social life
derstand the Bible, fundamentalist Protestantism has
of human beings, there are true vocations for Christians, but
continued to see the Bible primarily in terms of propositional
the content of these vocations and what one does are not af-
truths or ethical norms and rules that God has revealed for
fected by Jesus, faith, or grace. Redemption affects only one’s
all time and that Christians are called to obey. Such a deon-
motivations. For this reason, Lutheran social ethics has often
tological approach based on God’s absolute laws given in
been accused of passivism and acceptance of the status quo.
Scripture cannot be accepted by Protestants who approach
John Calvin (d. 1564) shared much of Luther’s theolog-
Scripture with the hermeneutical tools of biblical scholar-
ical presuppositions, but he gave greater emphasis to the will,
ship. Many contemporary Protestants see in Scripture the de-
both in God and in human beings. God is primarily sover-
scription of the mighty acts of God in history to which fol-
eign will. Justification does not involve a pietistic response
lowers of Jesus must respond, and they consequently adopt
in trust; it means that the will of God becomes active in be-
a responsibility model of Christian ethics rather than a deon-
lievers. Calvin came closer to a Roman Catholic understand-
tological approach.
ing, and Calvinists (like Catholics) have tended to become
Protestantism in general gives more significance to the
legalists. Calvin was also more open than Luther to a natural-
theological aspects of Christian ethics than did traditional
law approach, although not to the Catholic metaphysics of
Roman Catholic ethics. Catholic ethics tended to see the
natural law. Like Luther, Calvin stressed the secular vocation
moral life of all in this world in the light of natural law,
of Christians, but he interpreted Christian work in the world
whereas Protestantism has generally understood life in this
in a more active and transforming way. Some later Calvinists
world in relationship to the Bible and to theological con-
have seen in worldly success a sign of God’s predestining will
cerns. Soteriology, Christology, and eschatology all have
for the individual. In the twentieth century, Max Weber pro-
some influence on much of Protestant ethics. For example,
posed the controversial theory that the spirit of capitalism
Protestant ethics tends to see sin primarily in theological cat-
was compatible with and abetted by Calvinist ethics.
egories as a lack of faith, whereas Roman Catholicism under-
The Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition, or the left wing
stands sin primarily as actions that are morally wrong.
of the Reformation, from its sixteenth-century origins has
For some Protestants the primacy of grace and of Christ
stressed the radical call of discipleship, believer’s baptism,
rules out any significant role for the human and the natural
and a committed, inflexible following of the radical ethical
in Christian ethics. For others the effects of sin are so strong
demands of the gospel. The believers form a sect that stands
that human reason and human nature cannot be valid
in opposition to the existing culture and society and bears
sources of ethical wisdom and knowledge. Even those Protes-
witness to the gospel, especially the call to peace and nonvio-
tant ethicists who would be more open to the human on
lence.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1656
CHRISTIAN ETHICS
There has been no dominant figure in Anglican ethics,
CONTEMPORARY SCENE. It is impossible to summarize the
and thus no established pattern of doing Anglican ethics.
developments in Christian ethics since the mid-twentieth
However, in the Anglican community there have been im-
century. Paradoxically, greater diversity exists in Christian
portant ethical thinkers who have served as a bridge between
ethics in general and in each of its three traditions, but at the
Roman Catholic ethics and Protestant ethics. Methodism
same time the boundaries separating the three traditions are
developed a moral theory calling for spiritual growth and
disappearing and a more ecumenical approach has come to
moral renewal.
the fore. There are many reasons for this greater diversity.
No longer does the European–North American world totally
The Enlightenment had a great influence on Protestant
dominate the field of Christian ethics, especially in the Cath-
theology and ethics. Nineteenth-century Protestantism saw
olic and Protestant traditions. South America, Africa, and
the emergence of liberal theology. Friedrich Schleiermacher
Asia have produced an increasing number of Christian ethi-
(d. 1834), the most outstanding theologian in the nineteenth
cists. The emphasis on context and particularity intensifies
century, stressed experience and has been called the founder
the diversity as Christian ethicists deal with the realities of
and most famous proponent of Protestant liberalism. Schlei-
their own cultures and ethos. The industrialized world has
ermacher proposed an ethical theory dealing with goods, du-
also witnessed a growing number of women teaching and
ties, and virtues, and he saw moral concerns as present and
writing in Christian ethics. Until the latter half of the twenti-
influencing all other areas of life, especially political, intellec-
eth century, the seminary was the primary home of Christian
tual, aesthetic, and religious. Late-nineteenth- and early-
ethicists, but now the discipline exists in colleges and univer-
twentieth-century liberal theology stressed the immanence of
sities. As a result, the number of people teaching and writing
God working in human experience and history, the possibili-
in the area of Christian ethics has grown considerably. The
ty of Christians living out the ethics of Jesus, and evolution-
move to the academy means that Christian ethics now ad-
ary human progress, while it downplayed divine transcen-
dresses both the church and the academy with different em-
dence and the power of sin. Within the context of liberal
phases according to different individuals. In this milieu,
Protestant theology, the Social Gospel movement came to
methodological diversity has flourished. The field of Chris-
the fore in the first two decades of the twentieth century in
tian ethics has become so vast and complex that different spe-
the United States, especially under the leadership of Walter
cializations, such as personal ethics, sexual ethics, bioethics,
Rauschenbusch (d. 1918). In response to the problems creat-
economic ethics, and political ethics, have come into exis-
ed by the industrial revolution and in response to the priva-
tence. It is difficult now for any one person to claim to em-
tism and individualism of past Christian ethics, the Social
brace the whole area of Christian ethics.
Gospel stressed that the kingdom of God should be made
more present on earth and that the social order can and
But the ecumenical aspect of Christian ethics has also
should be Christianized. In England and Germany many
increased dramatically, together with shared concerns and
Christian thinkers embraced a moderate Christian socialism.
approaches even in different cultures and countries. In the
United States, Europe, France, and England, ecumenical so-
The harsh realities of World War I and the Great De-
cieties of Christian ethicists exist, hold annual meetings, and
pression occasioned the rise of the neo-orthodoxy of Karl
encourage greater professionalization in the discipline. These
Barth in Europe and the Christian realism of Reinhold Nie-
groups both exemplify and facilitate a more ecumenical way
buhr in the United States. The reaction stressed the transcen-
of doing Christian ethics. In the diaspora situation, Eastern
dence of God, the dialectical relationship between the exist-
Orthodox ethicists are a small minority, but they are actively
ing world and the kingdom of God, the power of sin, and
involved in many of these societies.
the fact that the fullness of God’s kingdom lies outside histo-
ry. In respect to the contemporary international scene, the
The important moral issues facing the world in the po-
World Council of Churches has addressed many contempo-
litical, economic, technological, biomedical, and personal
rary social issues with strong support for liberation move-
areas are the same for all Christians. Addressing issues such
ments and has called for just, participative, and sustainable
as violence, poverty, justice, and bioethical experimentation
societies.
brings Christian ethicists from diverse traditions closer to-
gether. Not only content but also methodological approach-
Even greater diversity characterized Protestant ethics in
es have blurred the lines separating the different traditions
the latter part of the twentieth century. Methodologically,
and have emphasized common traits. Liberation theology
teleological, deontological, and responsibility models contin-
well illustrates a methodological approach that is found
ued to thrive. Some newer methodological approaches have
today in different religious traditions. Liberation theology
also appeared—an emphasis on praxis, narrative approaches,
began primarily with Catholic theologians in South America
virtue theory, and on the particularity of Christian ethics as
in the late 1960s who emphasized the option for the poor,
directly addressing only the Christian church and not the
praxis, and the scriptural account of Exodus as paradigmatic
world. In terms of content or substance, conservative, liberal,
for understanding salvation and the role of the church today.
and radical approaches have appeared in both personal and
Various forms of liberation theology now exist in practically
social issues.
all countries of the world, especially in those with a large
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHRISTIAN IDENTITY MOVEMENT
1657
number of poor, oppressed, and marginalized people. In the
teologia morale moderna (Rome, 1979–1980). Vereecke has
United States, black liberation theology began around the
also published a collection of essays on the history of moral
same time, originally as a black Protestant approach, though
theology—De Guillaume d’Ockham à Saint Alphonse de Lig-
one which has now influenced both black and white, and
uori: Études d’histoire de la théologie morale moderne (Rome,
both Protestant and Catholic, churches in the United States.
1986). John Mahoney’s The Making of Moral Theology: A
Feminist liberation theology originally developed primarily
Study of the Roman Catholic Tradition (Oxford, U.K., 1987)
does not pretend to be a complete history but is the best his-
in the United States and quickly spread across the globe and
torical volume available in English. Thirteen volumes of the
across religious traditions and boundaries. Diverse groups of
series Readings in Moral Theology (New York, 1979–2003),
women have occasioned the development of more particular
originally edited by Charles E. Curran and Richard A. Mc-
forms of feminist liberation theology, such as womanist (Af-
Cormick, indicate the contemporary developments and dis-
rican American women) and mujerista theology (Latina and
cussions within Catholic moral theology.
Hispanic women). Thus, on the contemporary scene, Chris-
In the contemporary era, various authors have dealt with the his-
tian ethics has become much more diverse, but, at the same
torical development of Protestant ethics, in addition to earli-
time, communalities and more ecumenical approaches
er works by Troeltsch and H. Richard Niebuhr mentioned
among the three traditions have come to the fore.
above. William H. Lazareth’s Christians in Society: Luther, the
Bible, and Social Ethics (Minneapolis, 2001) explains and de-
SEE ALSO Discipleship; Free Will and Predestination, article
fends Lutheran ethics from a contemporary perspective. Eric
on Christian Concepts; Grace; Justification; Merit, article
Fuchs’s La morale selon Calvin (Paris, 1986) takes a similar
on Christian Concepts; Political Theology.
perspective with regard to John Calvin. James M. Gustaf-
son’s Christ and the Moral Life (New York, 1968) explains
B
and criticizes six different approaches taken in Christian eth-
IBLIOGRAPHY
There is no in-depth contemporary overview of the history of
ics to the role of Jesus Christ. Edward LeRoy Long Jr.’s A
Christian ethics. The best available work remains Ernst Tr-
Survey of Christian Ethics (New York, 1967) elucitates the
oeltsch’s The Social Teaching of the Christian Churches, 2
history of Christian ethics in the light of three motifs for for-
vols., translated by Olive Wyon (New York, 1931; Louis-
mulating the ethical norm and three motifs for implement-
ville, Ky., 1992), which was originally published in German
ing ethical decisions. Gary J. Dorrien’s Soul in Society: The
in 1911 but is still valuable today despite its datedness and
Making and Renewal of Social Christianity (Minneapolis,
somewhat biased perspectives. Troeltsch, like most Western-
1995) provides an overview of the development of Christian
ers writing on the subject, does not discuss Eastern Orthodox
social ethics in the twentieth century.
ethics. H. Richard Niebuhr’s Christ and Culture (New York,
CHARLES E. CURRAN (1987 AND 2005)
1951) is a frequently cited analysis of Western Christian eth-
ics in the light of five possible models for understanding the
relationship between Christ and culture. J. Philip Woga-
man’s Christian Ethics: A Historical Introduction (Louisville,
CHRISTIAN IDENTITY MOVEMENT is an
Ky., 1993) is a concise and informative historical overview
offshoot of Protestantism found mostly in the United States
of Christian ethics from biblical times in the light of contem-
and other English-speaking countries. The movement is
porary perspectives.
characterized by an anti-Semitic and racist theology. Once
There are many studies of individual thinkers in the patristic era,
the dominant religious orientation on the extreme right in
but the best history of the period written by a Christian ethi-
the United States, Christian Identity now appears to be in
cist is George W. Forell’s History of Christian Ethics, vol. 1,
decline.
From the New Testament to Augustine (Minneapolis, 1979).
HISTORY. Christian Identity developed out of British-
There is comparatively little literature on Eastern Orthodox ethics
Israelism (also known as Anglo-Israelism). British-Israelism
in modern Western languages. In addition to encyclopedia
emerged in Great Britain during the second half of the nine-
articles, George A. Maloney’s A History of Orthodox Theology
Since 1453 (Belmont, Mass., 1976) and Man: The Divine
teenth century. It was neither a church nor a sect but rather
Icon (Pecos, N. Mex., 1973) provide both historical details
an interpretive tendency among Protestants, largely members
and anthropological considerations for Christian ethics.
of the Church of England. Its distinctiveness rested upon its
Georges Florovsky’s Collected Works, 5 vols. (Belmont,
revisionist approach to sacred history. According to Anglo-
Mass., 1972–), and John Meyendorff’s Byzantine Theology,
Israelites, the British Isles had been populated by the Lost
2d ed. (New York, 1979), include helpful chapters dealing
Tribes of Israel, who had wandered west from their original
with Christian ethics. Stanley S. Harakas’s Toward Transfig-
place of exile in the Middle East. In many versions of British-
ured Life (Minneapolis, 1983) and Wholeness of Faith and
Israelism, the tribes were also said to have populated much
Life: Orthodox Christian Ethics, 3 vols. (Brookline, Mass.,
of northwest Europe. British-Israelites, active at the summit
1999), provide a systematic Christian ethics from the Greek
of empire, saw British imperialism as both a divine mission
Orthodox tradition that includes valuable historical data.
and a demonstration of God’s favor.
No one has written a definitive history of Catholic moral theolo-
gy. Louis Vereecke, the recognized authority in the field, has
British-Israelism quickly spread to the United States,
published four volumes of printed notes for students at the
where it fitted well with conceptions of manifest destiny. In-
Accademia Alfonsiana with the general title Storia della
deed, as the power of the United States increased, American
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1658
CHRISTIAN IDENTITY MOVEMENT
Anglo-Israelites began to suggest that the country might be
to be satanic, Identity seeks to completely delegitimize any
the inheritor of Britain’s divine role.
Jewish claims to God’s promises. Instead, divine promises
belong to the “true” Israelites, that is, whites of northwestern
The heyday of British-Israelism came in the 1920s and
European heritage. Jews thus come to be seen as literally de-
1930s, a time when many fringe religious movements gained
monic, and history, both sacred and secular, is recast as a cos-
a hearing. Its chief spokesperson was a Massachusetts lawyer,
mic battle between the white race and its Jewish adversaries.
Howard Rand, whose Anglo-Saxon Federation of America
Jews are also seen as counterfeit Israelites, seeking to wrest
organized chapters throughout the country. Rand’s prosely-
control of the divine promise from its rightful white bearers.
tizing was significantly aided by William Cameron, a Ford
Motor Company executive. Cameron was the editor of
Nonwhites are said to be the result of separate acts of
Henry Ford’s newspaper, the Dearborn Independent, notori-
creation, not involving Adam or Eve. They are considered
ous for its anti-Semitic articles in the early 1920s. Cameron’s
morally inferior to whites and easily manipulable, and are
close association with Rand and the Anglo-Saxon Federation
thought to inhabit some status intermediate between hu-
anticipated Christian Identity’s fusion of British-Israelism
mans and nonhumans. To the extent that they perform any
and anti-Semitism.
roles in the Identity worldview, they are allies to Jews and
sources of racial impurity.
Gradually, the links between British-Israelism in the
United States and its English parent weakened. The separa-
The vision of racial struggle (white “Israelites” versus
tion was facilitated by the increasing links between the Amer-
Jews and nonwhites) supports Identity’s version of millenni-
ican extreme right and Anglo-Israelism. This was especially
alism. The struggle will reach its climax in an imminent bat-
the case in southern California, among individuals associated
tle between the forces of light and the forces of darkness—
with Gerald L. K. Smith, the most prominent anti-Semite
Armageddon defined in racial terms. However, Identity re-
in the country during the 1940s. Although Smith does not
jects the premillennial dispensationalism that dominates
appear to have been a British-Israelite, he and his followers
Protestant evangelicalism. The rejection is in part based on
were clearly sympathetic to its rising antipathy toward Jews.
the prominence dispensationalists give to the fulfillment of
Three individuals in Smith’s circle finally created a vari-
prophecies concerning the Jewish people, and their support
ation on British-Israelism that definitively marked it off from
for the State of Israel. It is also a function of Identity’s unwill-
both its original version and Rand’s Americanized form.
ingness to accept the concept of the Rapture (i.e., the mo-
These three—Wesley Swift, William Potter Gale, and Ber-
ment at which the saved will be taken up to be with Christ
trand Comparet—represent the first leadership cadre of
during the chaos of the Tribulation).
Christian Identity. Their ideas took shape between the end
Rejection of the Rapture means that Identity believers
of World War II and the late 1960s, by which time a second
expect to have to survive the Tribulation, with its seven years
generation of leadership was beginning to emerge.
of war and persecution. They will, in other words, need to
WORLDVIEW AND DOCTRINES. British-Israelism had origi-
remain on earth through the reign of antichrist until the sec-
nally been philo-Semitic, seeing Jews as partners of the
ond coming. Since they must endure the Tribulation, much
Anglo-Saxon peoples in God’s plan. Indeed, British-
attention goes to the details of living during a coming period
Israelism strongly supported Jewish settlement in Palestine,
of disorder. That accounts for the frequent overlap of Identi-
and saw Britain’s administration of Palestine under a League
ty with survivalism, that is, a lifestyle characterized by separa-
of Nations’ mandate as a divine sign that Anglo-Jewish coop-
tion and self-sufficiency, geared to a time when the normal
eration was predestined. However, the opposition of Zionists
routines of life can no longer be maintained.
to British administration of Palestine after World War II en-
PATTERNS OF CONDUCT. Racialism and survivalism have
gendered hostility in Anglo-Israelites, who could not under-
often been reflected in the Identity movement’s preference
stand why Jews did not see them as kin. This feeling of be-
for parts of the country characterized by low population den-
trayal was notably strong in Rand and his followers.
sity and very small numbers of Jews and nonwhites. Pockets
The shift from philo-Semitism to anti-Semitism pres-
of believers may thus be found in such areas as the Pacific
aged the major doctrinal innovation of Christian Identity,
Northwest east of the coastal cities, and the Missouri-
the so-called two-seed theory. The two-seed theory, most
Arkansas Ozarks. At its most extreme, Identity sometimes
closely associated with Swift, asserts that two lines of descent
has been used as a rationale for total withdrawal from the
emanate from Eve: One consists of the offspring of Eve and
larger society (“going off the grid”). A conspicuous example
Adam, Abel and Seth; the other comes from the child of Eve
was the paramilitary Ozark commune, the Covenant, Sword,
and Satan, Cain. For most Identity believers, Cain’s father
and Arm of the Lord (also called Zarephath-Horeb),
was Satan, not Adam, and the sin in the Garden of Eden was
founded in 1976. This group maintained its insularity until
the sexual union of Eve with a humanoid “serpent.”
a law enforcement raid in 1985.
The two corollaries drawn from this interpretation are,
As self-proclaimed Israelites, Identity groups believe
first, that the primal sin was miscegenation; and, second, that
themselves to be governed by the precepts of the Hebrew
the Jews are Cain’s descendants. By claiming Jewish ancestry
Bible. They often celebrate such traditionally Jewish holidays
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHRISTIAN IDENTITY MOVEMENT
1659
as Passover and Sukkot and may observe some biblically-
in the West in the early 1980s; Eric Robert Rudolph,
sanctioned dietary laws. They likewise frequently refer to
charged with the 1996 Centennial Olympic Park bombing
God in biblical terms as Yahweh, YHWH, or YHVH. In
in Atlanta; and Richard Wayne Snell, executed in 1995 for
other liturgical respects, however, they resemble nondenomi-
murder.
national evangelicals.
By the mid-1980s, both federal and state law enforce-
ORGANIZATION AND AUTHORITY. British-Israelism never
ment agencies had become increasingly concerned about
became a sect. It always advised adherents to remain mem-
threats posed by Identity believers. This fear was exacerbated
bers of their accustomed churches. This tendency was main-
by dramatic confrontations between the FBI and Identity ad-
tained in the United States by the Anglo-Saxon Federation.
herents; notably, the standoff in 1992 with Randy Weaver
Indeed, Rand never presented himself as other than a layper-
and his family at Ruby Ridge in Idaho, and the standoff in
son. However, the post–World War II development of Iden-
1996 with the Montana Freemen, many of whose members
tity took a different course.
were affiliated with Identity.
The key figures in the movement’s early development—
The rising tempo of surveillance and prosecution ap-
Swift, Gale, and Comparet—all had ministries of some sort,
pears to have had an impact on Identity in several ways. First,
ranging from Swift’s church in Antelope Valley, California,
activities have become less visible. Second, growth appears
to Comparet’s less conventional mail and tape ministry.
to have either stopped or continued at a much lower rate.
None had formal seminary training, although Swift appears
Third, believers have sought to destigmatize themselves by
to have attended a Bible college. Nonetheless, they presented
rejecting the term Identity in favor of more acceptable terms,
themselves as spiritual leaders and, especially in the cases of
such as Israel, Kingdom, and Covenant. This has been the case
Swift and Gale, had congregations.
with two of the most prominent clergy, Pastor Dan Gayman
of the Church of Israel in Schell, Missouri, and Pastor Pete
The pattern set at that time persisted: independent min-
Peters of the LaPorte Church of Christ in LaPorte, Colorado.
istries linked only by personal ties and doctrinal similarities.
Identity has also faced increasing competition within its
These ministries have included small churches with regular
own constituency of white racial separatists. It now confronts
services, Bible study groups, and various types of outreach
active recruiting efforts from racist faiths unrelated to either
using printed materials, audio and video recordings, and
Identity specifically or Christianity in its other manifesta-
websites. As a result, power in the movement has always been
tions. These rivals include racial forms of Neopaganism, such
highly diffused. Given the tendency of individual pastors to
as Odinism and Ásatrú, which seek to reconstitute pre-
resist encroachments on their autonomy, attempts to impose
Christian northern European religion, and the World
even minimal coordinating mechanisms have failed. Rela-
Church of the Creator, a nontheistic belief system built
tions among Identity notables have consequently been char-
around the sacred nature of race.
acterized by a high level of personal rivalry.
In one respect, Identity has been able to secure some
The demographic profile of rank-and-file adherents is
recognition, in federal and state prisons. Despite resistance
difficult to determine with any exactness. Identity organiza-
by prison administrations, anxious to avoid the intensifica-
tions tend to be secretive and suspicious, since many have
tion of racial animosity, Identity inmates have pushed reli-
attracted the attention of law enforcement agencies. In addi-
gious claims based on legislation that expands rights of free
tion, the size of the body of believers (most estimates have
exercise, notably the Religious Freedom Restoration Act
ranged from about five thousand to thirty thousand) makes
(1993) and the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized
the movement too small to register in even the largest-sample
Persons Act (2000).
religious identification surveys.
Anecdotal evidence suggests, however, that the mem-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
bership (ethnicity and race aside) closely tracks that of the
Aho, James A. The Politics of Righteousness: Idaho Christian Patri-
general populations in areas of Identity activity. There seems
ots. Seattle, 1990. Based on extensive interviews with both
to be no convincing evidence that believers display unusual
Identity and non-Identity members of the Idaho radical
right.
levels of social or personal pathology. Some Identity pastors
have made significant efforts to recruit particular popula-
Barkun, Michael. Religion and the Racist Right: The Origins of the
Christian Identity Movement. Rev. ed., Chapel Hill, N.C.,
tions, including Midwestern farmers, unemployed urban
1997. Describes the historical development of Identity con-
youth, and white prison inmates. Only the latter appears to
cepts and organizations.
have been productive, as a function of racial polarization in
Flynn, Kevin, and Gary Gerhardt. The Silent Brotherhood: Inside
many correctional facilities.
America’s Racist Underground. New York, 1989. Journalistic
CHRISTIAN IDENTITY AND THE STATE. Although the great
account of the Order.
majority of Identity believers appear to be entirely law-
Jeansonne, Glen. Gerald L. K. Smith: Minister of Hate. New
abiding, a significant minority have been implicated in vio-
Haven, Conn., 1988. Detailed biography of Smith.
lent crimes and other law violations. These include many
Kaplan, Jeffrey. Radical Religion in America: Millenarian Move-
members of the insurgent group known as the Order, active
ments from the Far Right to the Children of Noah. Syracuse,
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1660
CHRISTIANITY: AN OVERVIEW
N.Y., 1997. Discussion of Identity and other fringe the-
claim: Jesus was born under Caesar Augustus and “suffered
ologies.
under Pontius Pilate,” at particular dates in the chronology
Levitas, Daniel. The Terrorist Next Door: The Militia Movement
of the history of Rome (even though the specific dates of
and the Radical Right. New York, 2002. Examination of Wil-
those two events may be impossible to determine with abso-
liam Potter Gale’s career.
lute precision). In this respect Christianity shows its continu-
Noble, Kerry. Tabernacle of Hate: Why They Bombed Oklahoma
ing affinities with the Judaism out of which it came, for there
City. Prescott, Ont., 1998. Unusual first-person account of
too the historical process becomes the peculiar arena of di-
the Covenant, Sword, and Arm of the Lord.
vine activity. The primal revelation for Judaism—and for
M
Christianity—is the divine declaration to Moses (Ex. 3:6):
ICHAEL BARKUN (2005)
“I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” To this primal
revelation Christianity adds the assertion (Heb. 1:1–2) that
the God who in past times had spoken through the prophets
CHRISTIANITY
and acted through the exodus from Egypt has now spoken
This entry consists of the following articles:
definitively and acted decisively in the life, death, and resur-
AN OVERVIEW
rection of Jesus, seen as the “Christ,” the anointed and cho-
CHRISTIANITY IN THE MIDDLE EAST
sen one of God.
CHRISTIANITY IN NORTH AFRICA
CHRISTIANITY IN EASTERN EUROPE
Early Christianity. It is, then, with Jesus of Nazareth
CHRISTIANITY IN WESTERN EUROPE
CHRISTIANITY IN LATIN AMERICA
that the history of Christianity takes its start. Almost every-
CHRISTIANITY IN THE CARIBBEAN REGION
thing that is known of him, however, comes from those who
CHRISTIANITY IN NORTH AMERICA
responded, in loyalty and obedience, to the events of his life
CHRISTIANITY IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA [FIRST EDITION]
CHRISTIANITY IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA [FURTHER
and the content of his teaching. Therefore the history of the
CONSIDERATIONS]
earliest Christian communities, to the extent that we are in
CHRISTIANITY IN ASIA
a position to reconstruct it, is at the same time the history
CHRISTIANITY IN AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND
of Jesus as they remembered him. His own immediate fol-
CHRISTIANITY IN THE PACIFIC ISLANDS [FIRST EDITION]
CHRISTIANITY IN THE PACIFIC ISLANDS [FURTHER
lowers were all Jews, and it is within that framework that
CONSIDERATIONS]
they interpreted the significance of what they had received
and perceived: he was the Christ, or Messiah, who had been
promised to the patriarchs of Israel. As the record of those
CHRISTIANITY: AN OVERVIEW
promises, the Hebrew scriptures were sacred for early Chris-
Christianity is defined by one of its leading modern inter-
tians no less than for Jews, enabling them to claim a continu-
preters, Friedrich Schleiermacher (1768–1834), as “a mono-
ity with the history of the people of God since the creation
theistic faith . . . essentially distinguished from other such
of the world. The apostle Paul both summarized and reinter-
faiths by the fact that in it everything is related to the re-
preted the message of the first generation of believers. To-
demption accomplished by Jesus of Nazareth.” While many
gether with the written deposit of their memories of Jesus in
interpreters of the meaning of Christianity would dispute the
the Gospels, the writings of Paul and several other docu-
content that Schleiermacher gave to each of the crucial terms
ments were circulated widely in Christian communities
in that definition, the definition as such would probably
throughout the Mediterranean world, eventually becoming
stand. It is beyond the scope of this article, or even of this
the Christian addendum (or “New Testament”) to the He-
encyclopedia, to present an exhaustive summary of all that
brew scriptures (or “Old Testament”).
Christianity is and has ever been: entire encyclopedias several
times the size of this one (some of them listed in the bibliog-
Paul was also responsible for the transformation of
raphy, below) have been devoted to such a summary, and
Christianity from a Jewish sect to a Gentile movement by
even they have been far from exhaustive. What this article
the end of the first century of the common era. The impor-
can do, supported by other articles throughout this work, is
tance of this change for Christian history is impossible to ex-
to sketch some of the main points in the history of Christian-
aggerate. Jesus had been born in an obscure corner of the
ity and then to identify some of the features of Christianity
Roman Empire, but now his followers took upon themselves
that most students of the movement, whether professing per-
the assignment of challenging that empire and eventually of
sonal allegiance to it or not, would probably recognize as be-
conquering it in his name. The opposition between empire
longing to its “essence.” Although both the “history” and the
and church during the second and third centuries sometimes
“essence” are, unavoidably, controversial in that not every-
took the form of persecution and martyrdom, but all that
one would agree with this (or with any) account of them,
was replaced in the fourth century by the creation of a Chris-
such an account as this can claim to represent a majority con-
tian Roman Empire, when the emperor Constantine (306–
sensus.
337) first made the new faith legal, then made it his own,
THE HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY. Christianity is a historical
then made it the official religion of the realm. As part of their
religion. It locates within the events of human history both
political and philosophical defense against their adversaries,
the redemption it promises and the revelation to which it lays
the apologists for Christianity in the second and third centu-
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CHRISTIANITY: AN OVERVIEW
1661
ries had also sought to clarify its relation to Greek and
written (and where both Peter and Paul had been martyred),
Roman thought, but with its official adoption their succes-
and as the congregation at the capital of the civilized world,
sors in the fourth and fifth centuries undertook to interpret
Rome early acquired a special position as “the apostolic see,”
Christian theology as the perennial philosophy in which the
which it would consolidate by the leadership in faith and life
aspirations of all religions were now corrected and fulfilled.
that it exercised during the crises of the fourth and fifth cen-
Among these later apologists, Augustine of Hippo (354–
turies. Actually, the criterion of “apostolicity” was a circular
430) in his City of God articulated the Christian case against
one: apostolic foundation of episcopal sees, apostolic author-
those who charged that by undermining the traditional val-
ship of biblical books, and apostolic orthodoxy of creedal be-
ues of Roman religion the church had been responsible for
lief supported one another, and no one of them was ever suf-
the decline and fall of the Roman Empire. On the contrary,
ficient of itself—even in the case of the see of Rome—to
he said, Christianity was the support of just rulers and legiti-
serve as such a criterion in isolation from the others.
mate governments, and by its faith in the God of history, as
well as by its moral teachings about work and the family, it
Official establishment of Christianity. Constantine’s
promoted the welfare of society; the City of Earth would
acceptance of Christianity and the eventual establishment of
function best if it acknowledged the transcendent reality of
it as the official faith of the Roman Empire is rightly seen
the City of God, which was beyond history but which had
as the most portentous event—for good or ill or some combi-
made its presence known within this particular history.
nation of the two—in all of Christian history; conversely,
“the end of the Constantinian era,” which is how many
The century that began with Constantine and ended
thoughtful observers have characterized the twentieth centu-
with Augustine also saw the stabilization of the internal life
ry, has brought about the reshaping and rethinking of all the
and structure of the Christian movement. One by one, alter-
structures of faith and life that Christianity evolved in the
native ways of thought and belief that were adjudged to be
aftermath of its new status from the fourth century on. Both
aberrations were sloughed off or excluded as “heresies” or
in the Roman West, where Constantine prevailed in 312 “by
“schisms.” Some of these (particularly the various species of
the power of the cross,” as he believed, and in the Byzantine
apocalyptic or millenarian expectation) were efforts to per-
East, where Constantine established the new capital of the
petuate ways of being Christian that no longer suited the
Christian Roman Empire two decades later, Christianity un-
needs of the life of the church when the long-expected sec-
dertook to create a new civilization that would be a continua-
ond coming of Jesus Christ failed to materialize, while others
tion of ancient Greece and Rome and yet would be a trans-
(notably the several Gnostic systems) involved the adaptation
formation of those cultures through the infusion of the
to the Christian message of schemes of revelation and salva-
spiritual power of Christ as Lord.
tion that were also manifesting themselves in other religions.
In opposition to these alternative ways of thought and belief,
The Christian culture of Byzantium. That pattern of
Christianity, since before the days during which the books
continuation with transformation took a special form in the
of the New Testament were being written, identified the
Christian culture of the Byzantine Empire, whose history
content of orthodox belief and fixed its form in a succession
persisted for more than a thousand years from the creation
of creedal statements. The earliest of these, including that
of Constantinople as “New Rome” in 330 CE to its fall to
eventually formulated as the Apostles’ Creed, are put into the
the armies of the Turkish sultan Mehmed II (and its change
mouth of one or another or all twelve of the apostles of Jesus,
of name to Istanbul) in 1453. Constantine and his succes-
and the most important creedal statement was adopted
sors—and, above all, the emperor Justinian (r. 527–565)—
(under Constantine’s patronage) at the Council of Nicaea in
saw themselves in their Roman capacity as the legitimate
325 (see “The Pattern of Christian Belief,” below).
heirs of the ancient pagan caesars, but at the same time in
their Christian capacity as “equal to the apostles” (isapos-
During those same early centuries, Christianity was also
tolos). In the exercise of this special authority, they frequently
identifying the structures of authority that were thought to
became involved in the administrative, liturgical, and doctri-
guarantee the preservation of “apostolic” faith and order: the
nal affairs of the church, and often without opposition and
Bible and the bishops. As already noted, the Bible of the
with great success. Contemporary historians tell us that it
Christians consisted of two parts (or “testaments”): the books
was the emperor Constantine who came up with the formula
they had inherited from Judaism, and the combination into
“one in being [homoousios] with the Father,” which resolved,
a “New Testament” of four gospels about the life and teach-
at the Council of Nicaea in 325, the dispute over the meta-
ings of Jesus, epistles attributed to Paul and other apostolic
physical relation between Christ and God. Later historians
figures, the Acts of the Apostles, and (from among the many
have coined for this special status of the Byzantine emperor
extant apocalyptic writings) the Revelation to John. The bish-
the term Caesaropapism, implying that what the pope was in
ops through their uninterrupted succession were believed to
the West, the caesar was in the East. While the reign of Con-
certify the continuity of the church with its apostolic founda-
stantine, and even more that of Justinian, may have merited
tions. As the church that could claim to have been shepherd-
such a designation, the patriarch of Constantinople repeated-
ed by all twelve apostles, Jerusalem held a unique place; but
ly asserted the authority of the church to determine its own
as the church that Peter had governed and to which Paul had
destiny, above all in the areas of belief and worship. Most
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1662
CHRISTIANITY: AN OVERVIEW
notably, in the iconoclastic controversies of the eighth and
papacy already present as a political and cultural force. Those
ninth centuries, which were brought on by the campaign of
tribes that chose to ignore that force by clinging too long to
a series of emperors to remove images from the worship of
Germanic paganism or to forms of Christianity that had
the church, the defenders of the church’s autonomy, who in-
been outlawed as heretical also lost the opportunity to shape
cluded especially monks and empresses, eventually carried
the future of European history, but the Franks, by allying
the day, and the authority of the emperor to legislate unilat-
themselves with the bishop of Rome, were to determine its
erally for the church was significantly curtailed.
subsequent course through much of the Middle Ages. The
symbolic high point of the alliance came on Christmas Day
One reason for this success in the iconoclastic disputes
in the year 800 with the crowning of the Frankish king
was the special place of icons in Byzantine (and later in Slav-
Charles, known to history as Charlemagne (c. 742–814), as
ic) Orthodoxy, which one scholar has called its “distinctive
“emperor” at the hands of Pope Leo III in Rome, even
identity.” As interpreted by its defenders, the cult of the
though there was still an emperor in Constantinople. With
icons was anything but the relapse into idolatrous paganism
its own emperor—and, above all, its own bishop and su-
of which it was accused by the iconoclasts; instead it repre-
preme pontiff—the West was free to pursue its own destiny.
sented the commitment of Orthodoxy to the reality of the
And although the schism between West and East, in a tech-
full incarnation of the Son of God in the human figure of
nical and canonical sense, did not take place until several
Jesus: worship of the image of Jesus Christ was in fact ad-
centuries later, and in a spiritual sense may be said to have
dressed to one who was in his single person completely God
happened in 1204, the historical intuition that located it as
and completely man. Thus, to a degree unknown in the West
having originated in the ninth century was in many ways
even in the high Middle Ages, Greek Christianity defined it-
sound.
self by its liturgy and devotion, not only (perhaps not pri-
marily) by its dogma and life. The very term orthodoxia in
Confrontation with Islam. Each in its own way, both
Greek, and its Slavic counterpart pravoslavie, meant in the
Eastern and Western Christendom were compelled, from the
first instance “correct worship,” which also included “correct
seventh century onward, to come to terms with the reality
doctrine.” Embodied as it was in the curriculum of Byzantine
of Islam. During the one hundred years after the death of
educational institutions at all levels, the continuing hold that
the prophet Muh:ammad in 632 CE, the geographical spread
a christianized Neoplatonism exercised over its expositors en-
of Islam was both more rapid and more effective than that
abled them to make use of its metaphysics and epistemology
of Christianity had been during its first several centuries.
in the service of the church’s message. The Byzantine icons
Several of the major centers of the Eastern churches—
were only one part of a total Christian culture, in which ar-
Antioch, Alexandria, Jerusalem itself—became Muslim in
chitecture, poetry, and music also contributed their special
government, although a large Christian population was able
part. One feature of this culture was a commitment to pre-
to practice its faith under varying degrees of pressure. Even-
serving the indigenous culture of each people to which the
tually, in 1453, Constantinople also became a Muslim city.
Christian message came: while the Western missionaries, in
The Muslim conquest of Palestine was likewise responsible
introducing the Mass, taught each nation Latin when they
for the most historic confrontation ever between Christianity
taught it the gospel (and thus, even without intending to do
and another faith, in the Crusades, as successive armies of
so, gave it at least some access to pre-Christian Roman cul-
Western Christians sought to reconquer the “holy places” as-
ture), Eastern missionaries translated not only the Bible but
sociated with the life of Jesus—an enterprise that eventually
also the liturgy into the language of the people. It was, above
failed.
all, in the Byzantine missions to the Slavs (where the two phi-
losophies about the proper language of the liturgy clashed)
The monks. Because its administrative structure and in-
that this peculiarity of the Eastern church served to create an
tellectual tradition were so different from those of the Byzan-
integrally Slavic Orthodoxy, through which the Ukraine,
tine East, the medieval Christianity of the West expressed its
Bulgaria, Russia, and Serbia came of age as nations.
relation to society and culture in a distinctive fashion as well.
In even greater measure than in the East, the bearers of its
Christianity in the Middle Ages. In the Latin West, by
civilizing force were monks. The missionaries who brought
contrast, the outcome of the Constantinian settlement took
the gospel to the barbarians—for example, Boniface (673–
a radically divergent form, in which it was not principally the
754), the “apostle of Germany” sent from Rome, and Cyril
Christian emperor and the Christian empire, but the bishop
(c. 826–869) and Methodius (c. 815–c. 884), the “apostles
of Rome and the papacy, that was to set the tone of the his-
to the Slavs” sent from Constantinople—were monks. So
torical development of Christianity. With the transfer of the
were the scribes who then brought Classical civilization to
capital to Constantinople, the pope came to symbolize and
the same barbarians; thus the Benedictine monk the Venera-
to embody the continuity with ancient Rome. Within less
ble Bede (c. 673–735) laid many of the foundations of schol-
than a century after that transfer, the bishop of Rome was
arship in England. Most of the reformers who throughout
calling himself “supreme pontiff” (pontifex maximus), a title
the Middle Ages recalled the church to its primitive faith and
that had belonged to the pagan caesars. When the various
its ancient loyalties came from monasticism, as was evident
Germanic tribes arrived in western Europe, they found the
above all in the work of Bernard of Clairvaux (1090–1153),
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CHRISTIANITY: AN OVERVIEW
1663
“the unmitered pope” of the twelfth century, and then in the
ern Orthodoxy, despite the schisms both of the Middle Ages
program of Francis of Assisi (1181/2–1226). The cloisters
and of the Reformation, than they were to Socinianism or
likewise supplied most of the theologians who systematized
even to Anabaptism or even perhaps to Calvinism. In their
and defended the faith: Anselm of Canterbury (c. 1033–
ecclesiastical structures, the churches that came out of the
1109) was a Benedictine abbot, Thomas Aquinas (c. 1225–
Reformation ranged from a retention of the historic episco-
1274) was a Dominican friar, and Bonaventure (c. 1217–
pate (e.g., in England and Sweden) to a presbyterian form
1274) and Duns Scotus (c. 1266–1308) were both Fran-
of church government (e.g., in Scotland and in many,
ciscans.
though by no means all, of the Calvinist churches on the Eu-
ropean continent) to an insistence on the primacy and au-
Repeatedly, of course, the monastic communities them-
tonomy of the local congregation (e.g., in various of the dis-
selves needed to be reformed, and in virtually every century
senters from Anglicanism in the seventeenth and eighteenth
of the Middle Ages there arose movements of renewal dedi-
centuries, including the Congregationalists and Baptists, es-
cated to the purification of the monastic ideal and, through
pecially in the New World). While the mainstream of Protes-
it, renewal of the life of the total church. When the leaders
tantism has in its doctrine maintained a loyalty to the doc-
of such movements managed to establish themselves as lead-
trines of the Trinity, of the person of Christ, of original sin,
ers of the total church, the result was often a great conflict.
and of salvation through the death of Christ, as these had
Thus in the eleventh century the reformer Hildebrand be-
been developed in the early and medieval church, it has di-
came Pope Gregory VII (in 1073) and set about renewing
verged from earlier development (and thus from Roman Ca-
the administration, the morals, and the faith and life of the
tholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy) above all in its under-
church. He sought to enforce the law of clerical celibacy, to
root out financial and political corruption, to free bishops
standing of the nature of the church and of the meaning (and
and prelates from the dominance of secular princes, and to
hence the number) of the sacraments, with only baptism and
purge the church of heresy and schism. This brought him
the Lord’s Supper being regarded as authentic sacraments by
into collision both with his own ecclesiastical subordinates
most Protestants. (See “The Pattern of Christian Belief,”
and with the empire, but it also gave him the opportunity
below.) The principal difference, at least as seen both by the
to formulate for all time the special prerogatives of the
Protestant reformers and by their Roman Catholic adversar-
church and the bishop of Rome (see “The Community of
ies, lay in the area of religious authority: not the church or
Christian Worship,” below).
its tradition, not the papacy or a church council, but the
Bible alone, was to be the norm that determined what Chris-
Reformation Christianity. Such reform movements, it
tians were to believe and how they were to live.
seemed, could always be counted on to rescue the church in
The Roman Catholic response to the Protestant Refor-
times of crisis—until, through Martin Luther (1483–1546)
mation is sometimes called the “Counter-Reformation,” al-
and the Reformation, a crisis arose in which the primary im-
petus for reform was to express itself not through monasti-
though that term has come to be regarded by many scholars
cism or the papacy, but against both monasticism and the pa-
as excessively negative in its connotations because it seems
pacy (although it must be remembered that Luther, too, was
to ignore the positive reforms that were not merely a reaction
originally a monk). Already in various late medieval reforma-
to Protestantism. “The Roman Catholic Reformation” is in
tions, such as those of the “Spiritual” Franciscans and the
many ways a preferable designation. First through a series of
Hussites, there was the sense that (to cite the four standard
responses to the theology and program of the reformers, then
“marks” of the church enumerated in the Nicene Creed)
above all through the canons and decrees of the Council of
Christendom could be neither one nor holy nor catholic nor
Trent (1545–1563), the Catholic Reformation took up the
apostolic until it had replaced the secularized and corrupt au-
issues addressed by Luther and by his most eminent succes-
thority of the bishop of Rome with the authenticity of the
sor, John Calvin (1509–1564), both in the area of church
word of God, for which some looked to a church council
life and morals and in the area of church teaching and au-
while others put their confidence in the recovery of the mes-
thority. Many of the corruptions that had acted as tinder for
sage of the Bible. That sense finally found its voice in the
the Reformation received the careful attention of the council
program of the Protestant reformers. Beginning with the be-
fathers, with the result that Roman Catholicism and the pa-
lief that they were merely the loyal children of Mother
pacy emerged from the crisis of the Reformation diminished
Church recalling her to her genuine self, they soon found
in size but chastened and strengthened in spirit. The creation
themselves so alienated from the structures and teachings of
of the Society of Jesus by Ignatius Loyola (c. 1491–1556) in
the church of their time that they were obliged to look for,
1534 provided the church with a powerful instrument for
and if need be to invent, alternative structures and teachings
carrying out the program of reform and renewal, and many
of their own.
of the tools employed by the reformers (e.g., the printing
press and the catechism) lent themselves to that program just
The structures and teachings of the several Protestant
as effectively. A deepening mystical devotion gave new life
groups covered an extremely wide spectrum, such that those
to medieval spirituality, particularly in sixteenth-century
at one end of the spectrum (Lutherans and Anglicans) were
Spain, and the theology of Thomas Aquinas acquired new
in many ways closer to Roman Catholicism and even to East-
authority as the defenders of the faith closed ranks against
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1664
CHRISTIANITY: AN OVERVIEW
Protestant thought. The historical coincidence of the discov-
partly of the ecumenical movement and partly of the Russian
ery of the New World and the Protestant Reformation,
Revolution, as both Protestants and Roman Catholics looked
which both Protestants and Roman Catholics interpreted as
to Orthodoxy for the correction of what had come to be seen
providential, enabled Roman Catholic missionaries to re-
as Western deficiencies and overemphases in the aftermath
coup in North and South America the losses in prestige and
of the Reformation.
membership caused by the Reformation. It was above all in
Latin America that this recovery became a decisive religious
Post-Reformation Christianity. The ecclesiastical map
and cultural force. Although divided (by the papal Line of
of the West after the Reformation shows a Europe divided
Demarcation of 1493) between Spain and Portugal, Latin
between an almost solidly Roman Catholic south and a pre-
America was “united” in the sense that it was colonized and
dominantly Protestant north, with the latter in turn divided
converted by Roman Catholic Christianity; the process of
between Anglican, Lutheran, and Reformed or Calvinist
the Christianization of native populations was a gradual one,
forms of Christianity. The same competition was exported
and many beliefs and practices of their pre-Christian history
into Christian missions in Africa and Asia and into the
were carried over into their new faith. The effect of these and
Americas. Among the most influential developments of the
other missionary campaigns in the sixteenth and seventeenth
centuries following the Reformation was the effort, which
centuries was to make the term catholic in Roman Catholic
took a distinct form in each denomination but nevertheless
begin to mean in fact what it had always meant in principle:
manifested a similarity of spirit, to encourage a deeper seri-
present throughout the known world.
ousness about the claims of the Christian gospel upon per-
sonal faith and life: Jansenism within French (and then
The Christian East. Throughout the Middle Ages and
North American) Roman Catholicism, Puritanism (and later
the Reformation there were sporadic efforts in the West to
on Methodism) within English Protestantism, and Pietism
establish (or reestablish) contact with the East; these ranged
within the Lutheran and Reformed churches of the conti-
from the dispatch of various legations, to the translation of
nent and of the New World. Especially during the eighteenth
various classic works in one direction or the other, to mar-
century, these movements had it as one of their primary goals
riages between Western monarchs and Byzantine or Russian
to combat and counteract the influence, both in the church
princesses. The Crusades, which the East sometimes invited
and in public life, of the rationalism, freethinking, and “infi-
and sometimes dreaded, did at least reacquaint many mem-
delity” associated with the Enlightenment. Combining as it
bers of the two traditions with one another, although the
did the application to Christian history and biblical literature
most unforgettable instance of such reacquaintance was the
of the methods of historical criticism (particularly in German
catastrophe of the sack of Christian Constantinople by the
theological scholarship) with the reexamination or even the
armies of the Fourth Crusade in 1204. Followed as it was
rejection of the special claims of Christianity to a privileged
two and a half centuries later by the Muslim capture of Con-
place in Western society (particularly in the legislation of the
stantinople and the end of the Byzantine Empire, the tragedy
French Revolution), the Enlightenment came to represent
of 1204 is probably better entitled than any other event to
the campaign for the secularization of culture. An important
the dubious distinction of being the point at which the East-
feature of that combination of emphases in Enlightenment
ern and Western churches came into schism—a schism that,
thought was a fundamental reconsideration of the traditional
except for repeated but short-lived attempts at reunion (the
Christian assertions of finality and uniqueness. As the philo-
most notable of which was probably the Union of Florence
sophical and historical basis for such assertions was coming
in 1439), has persisted ever since. Although the loss of Con-
under increasing attack from within such traditionally Chris-
stantinople to the Turks drastically reduced its sphere of in-
tian institutions as the theological faculties of universities,
fluence, the ecumenical patriarchate of Constantinople con-
the discovery of other religions both in the historical past and
tinued to enjoy a preeminence of honor within Eastern
in the distant parts of the present world was bringing such
Orthodoxy, as it does to this day. Numerically as well as po-
concepts as the uniqueness of the Christian message into seri-
litically, however, it was Slavic Orthodoxy, above all in Rus-
ous question. The special privileges that Christianity had en-
sia, that became the “heir apparent,” uniting itself with Rus-
joyed since the Constantinian era were gradually withdrawn.
sian culture as it had with medieval Greek culture. Plagued
Separation of church and state, as developed especially in the
though it was by internal schisms, and caught in the political
United States, and the growth of religious toleration and reli-
and cultural upheavals of the tsarist empire, the church in
gious liberty were the social and political expressions of the
Russia went on producing saints and scholars, and through
new situation that was beginning to become evident at the
the icons and the liturgy it suffused the faith and life of the
end of the eighteenth century.
common people with the meaning of the Christian faith: the
icon painter Andrei Rublev (c. 1360–c. 1430) and, in more
The nineteenth century. Despite the losses in both influ-
modern times, the novelist and spiritual thinker Fyodor Dos-
ence and numbers that it suffered in the period of the En-
toevsky (1821–1881) were among the products of this tradi-
lightenment, Christianity entered the nineteenth century
tion best known in the West. The nineteenth and twentieth
with a strong sense of its continuing relevance and special
centuries witnessed an upsurge of interest in Eastern Ortho-
mission. The critical reexamination of the Christian tolera-
doxy throughout Western Christianity, as a consequence
tion of slavery—long overdue, in the opinion of observers in-
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CHRISTIANITY: AN OVERVIEW
1665
side and outside the church—came to full realization in the
expression in the recovery of historic Christian beliefs, in the
nineteenth century, even though a civil war in the United
creation of contemporary forms of worship, and in the reex-
States was necessary to bring this about. It was likewise in
amination of patterns of Christian life both individual and
the nineteenth century, surnamed “the great century” in the
corporate. It remains to consider these three areas of belief,
leading history of Christian missions, that most of the major
worship, and life, which, taken together, may be said to con-
Christian denominations of the West, Protestant as well as
stitute the essence of Christianity.
Roman Catholic, set out to evangelize the globe. Although
THE ESSENCE OF CHRISTIANITY. Christianity has manifested
the Christian missionary and the colonialist conqueror often
an almost infinite variety of expressions as it has spread its
marched arm in arm across that globe, the results for native
presence and influence into all the major cultures of the
cultures were quite ambiguous: sometimes a loss of national
Western world and into most of those of the East as well.
identity and cultural deracination, but on the other hand no
With a billion or more adherents throughout the human
less often a deepening sense of historical particularity and the
race, it continues to be heterogeneous and pluralistic in its
acquisition of scholarly instruments for understanding it and
forms of organization and worship, belief, and life—so much
thus of overcoming both the colonialism and the missions.
so that it appears difficult or foolhardy or impossible to at-
Significantly, it was from the mission schools founded in the
tempt to identify any characteristics as the distinctive genius
nineteenth century that a disproportionately high number of
or continuing essence of Christianity. A well-known criteri-
the revolutionary leaders of the twentieth century in develop-
on was the one proposed by Vincent of Lérins in the fifth
ing nations were to emerge. On the home front, the confron-
century—what has been accepted “everywhere, always, by
tation between traditional Christian beliefs and the discover-
all” (ubique, semper, ab omnibus)—but the welter of detail
ies of modern science engaged the attention of the churches.
about the history of Christianity scattered across the hun-
The most violent such confrontation was brought on by the
dreds of articles dealing with the subject in the volumes of
work of Charles Darwin, whose books The Origin of Species
this encyclopedia should convince even the most casual read-
(1859) and The Descent of Man (1871) called into question
er that if there is an “essence of Christianity” it cannot possi-
the traditional Christian belief in a special creation of the
bly be everything that Christianity has ever been to everyone
human species in the image of God as based on the biblical
in every time and every place. Therefore, to quote again from
accounts of creation in the Book of Genesis. Yet as the nine-
Schleiermacher, “the only pertinent way of discovering the
teenth century ended, there was a widespread expectation
peculiar essence of any particular faith and reducing it as far
that the next would truly be “the Christian century.” Chris-
as possible to a formula is by showing the element which re-
tianizing the Social Order by Walter Rauschenbusch (1861–
mains constant throughout the most diverse religious affec-
1918), first published in 1912, was a representative state-
tions within this same communion, while it is absent from
ment of that expectation.
analogous affections within other communions.”
The twentieth century. As things turned out, the twenti-
The search for an essence of Christianity is as old as the
eth century proved to be the age of two world wars, of the
primary deposits of Christianity themselves. Already in the
coming to power of Marxist regimes throughout most of his-
Hebrew scriptures, which Christianity took over as its Old
toric Eastern Christendom, and of moral and intellectual cri-
Testament, the prophet Micah had declared: “God has told
ses (including the Nazi Holocaust and the issues raised by
you what is good; and what is it that the Lord asks of you?
modern technology) that would shake the traditional beliefs
Only to act justly, to love loyalty, to walk wisely before your
and historical confidence of Christians with unprecedented
God” (NEB Mi. 6:8). And an unknown first-century Chris-
force. The reaction was, if not an overt loss of faith, then a
tian writer, author of what came to be called the letter to the
growing indifference in many traditionally Christian groups.
Hebrews in the New Testament, stated that “anyone who
The most influential Christian theologian of the twentieth
comes to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards
century, Karl Barth (1886–1968), protested the synthesis of
those who search for him” (Heb. 11:6). The most successful
the gospel with human culture and called for a reassertion
formula for the essence of Christianity, however, was that of
of that gospel in its native power and uniqueness. At the
the apostle Paul: “In a word, there are three things that last
same time, however, the most influential Christian event of
for ever: faith, hope, and love; but the greatest of them all
the twentieth century, the Second Vatican Council of 1962–
is love” (1 Cor. 13:13). Already in the second century,
1965, undertook a reform of Christian faith and life that
Irenaeus (c. 130–c. 200), bishop of Lyons, was invoking this
reached out to other Christians and to other religious tradi-
formula as a summary of what “endures unchangeably,” and
tions with a new openness. The council was the manifesta-
in the fifth century it became the basis and the outline for
tion within Roman Catholicism of a new ecumenical con-
Augustine’s Enchiridion, to which Augustine himself usually
sciousness that had its origins in Protestantism; the divisions
referred as On Faith, Hope, and Love. From Augustine, in
that had followed in the wake of the Reformation now came
turn, the formula went on to provide the table of contents
under question in the light of the recognition that what sepa-
for the early catechisms in the age of Charlemagne and then
rated Christians from one another was less significant than
for the rapid expansion in the number and use of catechisms
all the things that still held them together. That ecumenical
by all parties in the age of the Reformation. Hence it may
consciousness throughout the Christian movement found
serve as a device for organizing this description of the essence
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CHRISTIANITY: AN OVERVIEW
of Christianity in its historical sweep, its geographical expan-
the second and third centuries the reality of his human life
sion, and its genius. Considered both in its history and in
needed to be defended; during the fourth century the divine
its contemporary expressions, Christianity has been, and is,
dimension of his being demanded attention; during the fifth
a system of faith, of hope, and of love, a pattern of belief (and
and sixth centuries the relation between the divine and the
thought), a community of worship (and culture), and a way
human in him required clarification. What emerged from
of life (and society). Paul’s triad of faith, hope, and love may
the process of debate and definition—especially in the creeds
thus be used to correspond to the even more universal sche-
formulated at the councils of Nicaea in 325, Constantinople
ma of the true, the beautiful, and the good.
in 381, and Chalcedon in 451—was a picture of Jesus Christ
as having two “natures,” divine and human: he was simulta-
The pattern of Christian belief. As a system of faith,
neously “one in being” with God and “one in being” with
Christianity manifests “faith” in all the various meanings that
this term has acquired in the history of religion: as loyalty
humanity, and therefore able to mediate between them. The
to the divine, based on the prior loyalty of the divine to the
full content of the two natures and of the relation between
world and to humanity; as the confidence that God is trust-
them has continued to engage the speculative talents of
worthy in truth and love; as dependence on the Father of
Christian theologians ever since.
Jesus Christ, who is the source of all good in this life and in
The Trinity. The final creedal statement of the relation
the life to come; as the commitment to direct thought and
between Christ and God was part of a more complete state-
action in accordance with the divine word and will; and as
ment of belief, the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, which
the affirmation that certain events and declarations, as given
many theological exponents of Christianity would regard as
by divine revelation, are a reliable index to that will and
the central teaching of the Christian faith. Its fundamental
word. It is the last of those meanings that provides a basis
outline is already given in the “great commission”—which,
for describing in an epitome what it is that Christianity be-
according to the Gospels, Jesus entrusted to his disciples be-
lieves, teaches, and confesses.
fore withdrawing his visible presence from them (Mt.
“Whoever wishes to be saved must, above all, hold to
28:19)—to baptize “in the name of the Father and of the Son
the catholic faith.” These opening words of the so-called
and of the Holy Spirit.” Threefold though that single “name”
Athanasian Creed (not in fact written by Athanasius, but a
was, it was the relation of the Son to the Father that carried
Latin and Western creed, compiled perhaps in the fifth cen-
the principal weight in the clarification of the formula. Thus
tury) would not, as they stand, automatically elicit the assent
the original creed adopted at Nicaea, after enumerating the
and support of all Christians; nor, for that matter, would all
various “titles of majesty” belonging to Jesus Christ as the
Christians who do accept such a statement be agreed on the
Son of God, simply added “And [we believe] in the Holy
precise content and extent of that “catholic faith.” Differ
Spirit,” with no similar elaboration of how and why the
though they do on these questions, however, Christians
Third Person was entitled to stand alongside the Father and
throughout history have affirmed the importance of the act
the Son. But before the fourth century was over, the status
of believing, as well as of the content of what is believed, as
of the Holy Spirit, and thus the complete dogma of God as
a mark of identification by which believers would be known.
Trinity, had achieved the form it has held in Christian ortho-
doxy throughout the history of the church. The dogma pres-
The person of Jesus Christ. Christian belief began with
ents itself as strictly monotheistic. The opening words of the
the need to specify the significance of the person of Jesus,
Nicene Creed are “We believe in one God,” and everything
seen as the “Christ.” The initial stages of that process are visi-
that follows about Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is set into
ble already in the pages of the New Testament. Its titles for
that framework. The technical philosophical term for the
him—in addition to Christ, such titles as Son of man, Son
oneness of God was ousia in Greek, substantia or essentia in
of God, Word of God (Logos), and Savior—were an effort
Latin. But this single divine ousia had its being in three
to account for that significance, for within the events of
hupostaseis, or “persons.”
Jesus’ human life the God of Israel and the creator of the
world had been disclosed. Before the theologians had invent-
The doctrine of the Trinity has from the beginning been
ed ways of defining the content of these titles in any satisfy-
one of the most productive—and one of the most problemat-
ing detail, the devotion and worship of the church were al-
ic—points of contact between Christian theology and specu-
ready identifying Jesus with God. This is evident, for
lative philosophy. Both the Greek Neoplatonist Plotinus (c.
example, from the earliest non-Christian account of the
205–270) and the German idealist G. W. F. Hegel (1770–
church that we possess, the letter of Pliny the Younger (62–
1831), with many others between them, taught a philosophi-
113), governor of Bithynia, to the Roman emperor Trajan
cal version of the Trinity with which many theologians felt
(r. c. 98–117), which describes Christians as gathering for
obliged somehow to come to terms. The metaphysical inge-
worship and “addressing a song to Christ as to God” (Christo
nuity of philosophers and theologians—from the first of
ut deo). But this devotional practice had yet to be squared
Latin theologians, Tertullian (160?–225?), and the boldest
both with the monotheism that the church inherited from
of Greek theologians, his contemporary Origen (c. 185–c.
and shared with Israel and with the concrete events of the
254), to philosophical theologians of the twentieth century,
life of Jesus as these were described in the Gospels. During
such as the Protestant Paul Tillich (1886–1965) and the
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CHRISTIANITY: AN OVERVIEW
1667
Roman Catholic Karl Rahner (1904–1984)—has therefore
sion of the church, the manner of this reconciliation has not
continually experimented with new ways of accounting for
received such attention. It has been left more to hymnody
(if not of “explaining”) the relation between the One and the
and preaching than to dogma and metaphysics to supply the
Three. Perhaps the most creative of such speculations was
metaphors for describing it. One of the most widely distrib-
that of Augustine’s On the Trinity, which constructed a series
uted such metaphors in early Christian writers, beginning
of trinitarian analogies in the universe and in the human
with the sayings of Jesus himself (Mt. 20:28), is the descrip-
mind as “images [or footprints] of the divine Trinity.”
tion of redemption as “ransom” (which is, of course, what
redemption means): the death of Christ was paid (to God or
Sin and grace. All the councils that formulated these
to the devil) as the price for setting humanity free. The diffi-
basic doctrines of the Trinity and of the person of Christ
culties that such a notion entailed for the Christian picture
were held in the Greek-speaking eastern part of the Christian
of God made a modification of the ransom theory seem im-
Roman Empire under the patronage of the Christian emper-
perative: the death of Christ took place in the course of a bat-
or, who was from the year 330 onward resident at Constanti-
tle between God-in-Christ and the devil with his allies, a bat-
nople, and the creeds, which are in Greek, bear the marks
tle in which death triumphed initially by the nailing of
of that origin. Still it is a mistake to ignore the role of the
Christ to the cross but in which Christ was victorious in the
Latin West in the determination of normative Christian
end through his resurrection. It remained once again for the
teaching: both at Nicaea and at Chalcedon there were deci-
medieval West to provide the most inventive of these theo-
sive interventions from Western theologians and bishops.
ries. According to Anselm in his Why God Became Man, the
Nevertheless, the most distinctive and original Western con-
reconciliation of the human race with God was fundamental-
tributions during the first five centuries came not in the doc-
ly the reconciliation between the justice of God, which was
trines of God and Christ but in the doctrines of sin and
committed to upholding “the moral order of the universe”
grace. With significant anticipations in various Western
(rectitudo) and therefore could not ignore human sin or for-
thinkers, it was once again Augustine who formulated these
give it by a simple fiat, and the mercy of God, which was
latter doctrines in the concepts and terms that were to domi-
bent on restoring humanity to the condition for which God
nate most of subsequent Christian teaching in the West, that
had intended it by its creation. God became man in Christ,
of Roman Catholicism but no less the theology of Protes-
because as man he would be able, by his death, to produce
tantism. Many early interpreters of Christian belief—for ex-
the satisfaction demanded by divine justice, but as God he
ample, Gregory of Nyssa (c. 335–c. 395) in his treatise On
would render a satisfaction of infinite worth that could thus
the Creation of Man—had articulated the biblical teaching
be applied to the entire human race. With some modifica-
(Gn. 1:26–27) that, among all creatures on earth, humans
tions and refinements, Anselm’s theory has established itself
alone possessed the special prerogative of having been created
both within Roman Catholicism and within most of classical
“in the image of God,” with the promise of immortal life and
Protestantism.
of a “participation in the divine nature” (2 Pt. 1:4). But in
so doing they had often spoken more explicitly about human
Justification. Classical Protestantism differs from
free will than about human sinfulness. Yet this did not imply,
Roman Catholicism in the interpretation of redemption not
Augustine insisted, that every human being faced the same
on the way redemption was achieved by God in Christ, but
choice between good and evil that Adam and Eve had faced.
on the way it is appropriated by the Christian. Luther’s doc-
On the contrary, humanity had since Adam and Eve been
trine of justification by faith—or, more fully and more pre-
under a curse of what Augustine called “the sin of origin”
cisely, justification by grace through faith—directed itself
(peccatum originis), which infected every human being except
against what he perceived to be the widespread tendency of
Jesus Christ (and perhaps his mother, the Virgin Mary).
medieval Christianity to give human works part of the credit
Even without committing acts of sin, therefore, each mem-
for restoring the right relation between God and man. This
ber of the human race was corrupted from birth; the tradi-
he attacked as a denial of the purely gratuitous character of
tional practice of infant baptism (see “The Community of
salvation. The role of the human will in salvation was purely
Christian Worship,” below) was for Augustine evidence of
passive, accepting the forgiveness of sins as a sheer gift and
the universality of this sinful condition.
contributing nothing of its own goodness to the transaction
with God. Faith, accordingly, was not (or, at any rate, not
Redemption. Neither the belief in God as Trinity nor
primarily) an act of the intellect accepting as true what God
the dogma of Christ as divine and human in nature nor the
has revealed but an act of the will entrusting itself uncondi-
doctrine of humanity as created in the image of God but fall-
tionally to the favor of God as conferred in Christ. Such un-
en into sin is, however, an end in itself for Christian faith.
conditional trust led to the transformation of human life
As a religion of redemption, Christianity presents itself as the
from the self-centered quest for gratification to the God-
message of how, through Christ, reconciliation has been
centered service of others (see “The Christian Way of Life,”
achieved between the holiness of God and the sin of a fallen
below). Partly in response to Luther’s doctrine, the Council
humanity. But while the Trinity, the person of Christ, and
of Trent at its sixth session affirmed that “faith is the begin-
(though less universally or explicitly) the doctrine of original
ning of human salvation, the foundation and the root of all
sin all have been subjects of a public and ecumenical confes-
justification,” but it condemned anyone who “says that the
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CHRISTIANITY: AN OVERVIEW
sinner is justified by faith alone, as though nothing else were
to see the entire company of the church’s bishops, particular-
required to cooperate.”
ly when they are in council assembled, as a corporate and col-
legial entity, with the bishop of Rome as “first among equals”
The community of Christian worship. As a system of
(primus inter pares) but not as monarch. One of the major
hope, Christianity holds forth the promise of eternal life
accents of the Second Vatican Council was a new emphasis
through Jesus Christ. In the words of what has been called
on episcopal collegiality but not at the expense of the prima-
“the gospel in a nutshell” (Jn. 3:16), “God loved the world
cy of the bishop of Rome within the college. That accent was
so much that he gave his only Son, that everyone who has
closely joined in the decrees of the council to a recovery of
faith in him may not die but have eternal life.” But that
the definition of the church as principally the community of
promise and hope of life for those who have faith does not
Christian worship.
stand in isolation from the full range of Christian hope, the
expectation of all the gifts of God for time and for eternity,
Protestant views of the church. The Protestant rejection
and the acceptance of those gifts in thankfulness and praise.
of the authority of the pope is closely joined to a redefinition
Hope, consequently, expresses itself chiefly in prayer and
of the nature of the church. There had always been the recog-
worship, both the personal prayer of the individual Christian
nition in the medieval doctrine of the church, particularly
believer and the corporate worship of the Christian com-
as this had come down from Augustine, that the organiza-
munity.
tional, empirical church was not coextensive with the church
The holy catholic church. One integral component of
as it exists in the eyes of God: some who participate in, or
Christianity both as “ a pattern of belief” and as “a communi-
even preside over, the church as an institution today will ulti-
ty of worship” is expressed in the words of the Apostles’
mately perish, while others who now persecute the church
Creed: “I believe in the holy catholic church, the commu-
are destined to become members of the body of Christ. That
nion of saints.” According to the accounts of the New Testa-
definition of the true church as “the company of the elect,”
ment, it was the intention of Jesus to found a church (Mt.
and hence as invisible in its membership and in its essence,
16:18): “I will build my church.” Whether one accepts the
appears in one form or another in the thought of most of the
literal historicity of those accounts or not, Jesus did, in fact,
Protestant reformers. It did not imply, except in the polemics
gather a community of disciples and establish a table fellow-
of a radical few, that there was no visible church. With differ-
ship. The earliest Christianity we are able to uncover is al-
ing forms of ecclesiastical administration (see “Reformation
ready a churchly Christianity, to which in fact we owe the
Christianity,” above), the reformers took over or adapted
Gospels and all the other books of the New Testament. For
patterns of organization that would suit the church for its
Christians of every persuasion and denomination, the church
function as the community of Christian worship and the
is at the same time the primary context of worship.
center of Christian instruction. A favorite Protestant term for
the church, therefore, is the phrase in the Apostles’ Creed,
There is, however, far less unanimity about the nature
“the communion of saints.”
of the church or about its organization and its authority. The
tripartite complex of authority that emerged from the con-
The preaching of the word of God. Although they would
flicts of early Christianity (see “The History of Christianity,”
agree that the church is the community of Christian worship,
above) vested in the office of the monarchical bishop the visi-
the several denominations disagree about the structure of
ble governance of the church and defined the church accord-
that community—and about the content of that worship. It
ingly. Two formulas of Cyprian (d. 258), bishop of Car-
is characteristic of most Protestant groups that in their litur-
thage, summarize this definition: “Where the bishop is, there
gies and forms of worship they assign centrality to communi-
the church is” (Ubi episcopus, ibi ecclesia) and “There is no
cation of the Christian message through preaching: “Where
salvation apart from the church” (Extra ecclesiam nulla salus).
the word of God is, there the church is” (Ubi verbum Dei,
For Cyprian himself, as became evident in his disputes with
ibi ecclesia) is how they have recast Cyprian’s formula. As the
Stephen I (bishop of Rome from 254 to 257), each bishop
leader of the worshiping community, the minister is princi-
carried the authority of the office on his own and was an-
pally (though never exclusively) the proclaimer of the word
swerable to the authority of Christ and of his brother bish-
of God, a word of God that is found in, or identified and
ops, but not to any one bishop as monarch of the entire
even equated with, the Bible. The emphasis on biblical
church. But there were already signs of a developing pyrami-
preaching has sometimes led to a didactic understanding of
dal structure of authority, with certain centers having clear
worship, but this has been counterbalanced in Protestantism
jurisdiction over others. Among these, the see of Rome had,
by the literally tens of thousands of “psalms and hymns and
and has, preeminence. As noted earlier, this understanding
spiritual songs” (Col. 3:16) that the Protestant churches have
of authority led in the Middle Ages to a definition of the
developed because of their equally great stress on the partici-
church as a visible monarchy, analogous in some ways to
pation of the congregation and of each individual worshiper
other monarchies, of which the pope was the absolute
in the service. The traditional concern of Protestant Chris-
ruler—“judging all, but being judged by none,” as the Dicta-
tianity with the authentic faith and experience of the individ-
tus papae of Gregory VII said. Orthodoxy, by contrast, has
ual—expressed in Luther’s axiom “You must do your own
resisted the pyramidal model of church authority, preferring
believing as you must do your own dying”— is likewise audi-
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CHRISTIANITY: AN OVERVIEW
1669
ble in these hymns, many of which, typically, are cast in the
Whatever differences of emphasis there may be between
language of the first person singular.
Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy about the Eu-
charist, they are much smaller than the differences among
The sacraments. It would, however, be a grave distor-
the several Protestant groups. Luther objected to transub-
tion (albeit a distortion to which even sympathetic interpret-
stantiation as an excessively philosophical formula, and
ers of Protestant Christianity have sometimes been subject)
above all to the sacrificial understanding of the Eucharist as
to interpret Protestantism as a thoroughgoing individualism
a diminution of the redemptive work of Christ, but he vigor-
in its understanding of worship, for the definition of the
ously defended the real presence against his fellow Protes-
church as “the community of Christian worship,” in Protes-
tants. They in turn laid stress on the “true presence” of Christ
tantism as well as in Orthodoxy and in Roman Catholicism,
in his spirit and power rather than on the “real presence” of
is embodied above all in the celebration of the sacraments.
the actual body and blood. Within Protestantism, conse-
Except for certain details (e.g., whether it is the recitation of
quently, the memorial aspects of the celebration of the Lord’s
the words of institution or the invocation of the Holy Spirit
Supper, which Christ according to the Gospels instituted to
in the epiclesis that effects the transformation of bread and
be eaten in his remembrance, have been prominent and
wine into the body and blood of Christ in the Eucharist),
sometimes even central. The other historic accent of Chris-
Eastern Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism stand in basic
tian eucharistic worship that has found a new emphasis in
agreement on the nature of sacramental worship and the
meaning of the seven sacraments. Among the many defini-
Protestant practice and devotion is the understanding of the
tions of sacrament that have appeared in the Christian tradi-
Lord’s Supper as a corporate expression of the “communion”
tion, two (one from the East and one from the West) may
of Christian believers with one another. “Body of Christ” in
suffice here: “the mystery of faith,” since in Christian Greek
the New Testament refers sometimes to the Eucharist, some-
must¯erion means both “mystery” and “sacrament”; and, in a
times to the church, and sometimes (notably in 1 Corinthi-
formula based on Augustine, “sacred sign,” which by a visible
ans) to both at the same time. Compared with those two
means represents (or represents) an invisible divine grace.
themes of memorial and communion, the specification of
just how the body and blood of Christ can be present in the
The Eucharist. The primary sacrament and the center
sacrament is of lesser significance.
of Christian worship is, for both the Eastern and the Western
tradition, the Eucharist or Lord’s Supper, which is, in one
Baptism. The other action of the community of Chris-
form or another, celebrated by all Christian groups. Al-
tian worship on whose “sacramental” character all Christians
though the celebration is also a memorial and an expression
would agree is baptism. Throughout the Acts of the Apostles,
of community, what sets the Roman Catholic and Orthodox
baptism functions as the means of initiation into the Chris-
understanding of the Eucharist apart from that of most other
tian movement and into the reality of Christ himself, and in
groups is their definition of this sacrament as real presence
the epistles of Paul baptism is the way of appropriating the
and as sacrifice. In fulfillment of the words and promise of
benefits of the death and resurrection of Christ. Although all
Jesus, “This is my body” and “This is my blood,” the bread
the explicit references in the New Testament to the practice
and wine presented for the sacrament become the very body
of baptism mention only adults as its recipients, and that
and blood of Christ, identical in their substance with the
generally only after a profession of their faith, the custom of
body born of Mary, even though the taste, color, and other
administering it also to children began quite early; just how
attributes or “accidents” of bread and wine remain. The
early is a matter of controversy, but by the end of the second
Fourth Lateran Council in 1215 defined this doctrine as
century infant baptism was sufficiently widespread to have
“transubstantiation,” and it was reaffirmed by the Council
called forth objections from Tertullian. Except for that dif-
of Trent in 1551. As the real presence of the body and blood
ference from subsequent tradition, Tertullian formulated in
of the one whose death on the cross and resurrection effected
his treatise On Baptism what can be regarded as an all but
the redemption of the world, the Eucharist is as well a sacri-
universal consensus about the effects of baptism: remission
fice—not as though the first sacrifice were inadequate and
of sins, deliverance from death, regeneration, and bestowal
Christ needed to be sacrificed over and over, but “in union
of the Holy Spirit. Eastern and Western Church Fathers, all
with the sacrifice” of Calvary. The daily offering of that sacri-
the medieval scholastics, and many of the Protestant reform-
fice for the living and the dead is at the center of Roman
ers would be able to subscribe to that formulation. Because
Catholic worship, devotion, and doctrine; and although Or-
of their misgivings about any view of any of the sacraments
thodoxy is, characteristically, less explicit in some of its de-
that might appear magical, Protestants have tended to avoid
tailed formulations about the metaphysics of the presence
describing the conferral of these effects as something auto-
and more content to speak of it as a “mystery,” its representa-
matic. The Anabaptists of the sixteenth century on the conti-
tives, when pressed, will come up with language not far re-
nent, and the several bodies of Baptists in England and espe-
moved from that of the West—especially of the West as in
cially in the United States since the seventeenth century,
the twentieth century it has, thanks to a repossession of the
have carried that position to the conclusion of repudiating
tradition of the Greek fathers, come to speak about the mys-
the practice of infant baptism and insisting on “believers’
tery of the Eucharist.
baptism” as the only form of administering the sacrament
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1670
CHRISTIANITY: AN OVERVIEW
that is consistent both with the original intention of Jesus
cretely for the Christian in the world has been, however, a
and with the true nature of the Christian community.
continuing issue and problem, for the Christ whom the be-
liever is invited to imitate was not married, did not hold pub-
Other sacraments. Although baptism and the Lord’s
lic office, and was not supported chiefly from a trade or pro-
Supper are for most Protestants the only two ordinances that
fession. The imitation of his example has come to mean,
qualify as sacraments, the medieval development in the West
therefore, the application to one’s own situation of the love
led to a system of seven sacraments, which Eastern Christian-
and faithfulness that Christ brought to his. Repeatedly, when
ity, when obliged to become specific, has likewise affirmed.
The sacrament of penance (together with the reception of ab-
the demands of society or, for that matter, the requirements
solution) developed as a way of coping with sins committed
of the church have proved to be too complex or abstract, “the
after the reception of forgiveness in baptism. As the contri-
imitation of Christ” has become a way of reducing them to
tion of the heart, the confession of the mouth, and the satis-
their essence. Thus, in what has probably been, except for
faction of a work restoring what had been taken away by the
the Bible itself, the most widely circulated book in Christian
sin, penance became, in the Latin Middle Ages, one of the
history, Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis (1379/80–
principal means by which the imperatives and the promises
1471), the summons of the figure in the Gospels rises above
of the Christian gospel were applied to individuals and com-
the intervening voices with a clarity and directness that has
munities. With the universal acceptance of infant baptism,
spoken to followers in every century; and in the twentieth
the individual’s assumption of the responsibilities of Chris-
century, The Cost of Discipleship, by the young Lutheran
tian discipleship, originally associated with adult baptism,
theologian and martyr under the Nazis, Dietrich Bonhoeffer
came to be the central content of the sacrament of confirma-
(1906–1945), has applied that New Testament summons of
tion. As infant baptism attended the beginning of life with
“Follow me” to a new generation of disciples.
sacramental grace, so at death, or in a crisis or illness that
Obedience. The imitation of Christ has also implied
might portend death, the anointing of the sick (or the sacra-
ment of “extreme unction”) brought that grace to the end
obedience to his will, as this was expressed both in his own
of life as well. The only one of the seven “sacraments” to
teachings and in the Mosaic law. In its treatment of that law,
which the name was applied in the New Testament
the New Testament manifests an ambivalence: Christ is seen
(must¯erion in Greek, sacramentum in Latin) was marriage
as “the end of the law” (Rom. 10:4), and yet he himself is
(Eph. 5:32); on that authority, it became part of the sacra-
represented as warning in the sermon on the mount (Mt.
mental system. And as the ordinance by which all the other
5:17), “Do not suppose that I have come to abolish the law
sacraments were usually made possible, the ordination of
and the prophets.” The ambivalence manifests itself likewise
priests itself was defined to be a sacrament. Each of the seven,
in the descriptions of the Christian way of life as obedience.
therefore, combines in a special way what is also the special
The Christian catechisms that have proliferated especially
emphasis of Christian hope and of Christian worship: the sa-
since the sixteenth century (see “Reformation Christianity,”
credness of each person, but in the context of the sacred com-
above) have usually incorporated an exposition and applica-
munity.
tion of the Mosaic Decalogue as their description of what it
means in practical terms to be a Christian. That has been
The Christian way of life. As a system of love—and
perhaps even more true of Protestant than of Roman Catho-
love is, in the formula of Paul, the “greatest” of the three (1
lic catechisms, despite the polemic of Protestants against
Cor. 13:13)—Christianity presented itself to its hearers as a
“moralism” and “legalism” in Roman Catholic theology and
way of life; especially in Acts, “the way” became a standard
ethics. But both Roman Catholic and Protestant ethicists
designation for Christianity itself. In its symbiosis with the
and teachers have also repeatedly defined Christian obedi-
societies and cultures in which it has taken root, the Chris-
ence as not the strict observance of a legal code, not even of
tian way of life has been characterized by even greater hetero-
the legal code in the Ten Commandments, but as the sponta-
geneity than Christian belief or Christian worship. That het-
neity of the Spirit. “Love God, and do what you will” was
erogeneity makes generalizations about it in such a summary
Augustine’s characteristically epigrammatic way of describ-
as this even more hazardous, and the specifics of the forms
ing that spontaneity; but that same Augustine is at the same
of Christian ethics in society must be left for treatment else-
time one of our earliest authorities for the use of the Ten
where in this encyclopedia. It is nevertheless possible to sin-
Commandments in Christian pedagogy. Augustine is as well
gle out briefly certain leitmotifs that run across the varieties
an early source for the adaptation to Christian purposes of
of Christian morality, both individual and social.
the philosophical consideration of the nature and the num-
The imitation of Christ. Ever since the New Testament,
ber of the “virtues”: to the classical (or, as they came to be
the human life of Jesus Christ has served as an example set
called in Christian parlance, “cardinal”) virtues of prudence,
forth for imitation; it has usually been more than an exam-
temperance, fortitude, and justice, Christian ethical thought
ple, but never less. “Bend your necks to my yoke, and learn
added the three “theological” virtues of faith, hope, and love.
from me, for I am gentle and humble-hearted; and your souls
Obedience to the will of God and the cultivation of these
will find relief” the New Testament (Mt. 11:29) represents
seven virtues were seen as the content of the Christian way
him as commanding. Just what that imitation implies con-
of life.
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CHRISTIANITY: AN OVERVIEW
1671
The transformation of the social order. Each of the “car-
probe the implications of the unavoidable statements of the
dinal” and “theological” virtues makes sense only in a social
New Testament about the entire world as the object of the
context, and obedience to the will of God has traditionally
love of a God “whose will it is that all men should find salva-
been seen as pertaining to society as well as to the individual.
tion and come to know the truth” (1 Tm. 2:4). Origen in
The petitions of the Lord’s Prayer, “Thy kingdom come, thy
the third century, Gregory of Nyssa in the fourth century,
will be done, on earth as it is in heaven,” have been taken
Nicholas of Cusa in the fifteenth century—these and other
to mean that the reign of God and the will of God have as
theologians, committed though they were to the church and
their object here on earth the creation of a social order that
to its orthodoxy, have taken up the exposition of a universal
conforms as closely as possible to the reign of God in heaven.
vision in which the love of God revealed in Christ cannot
That is indeed how both the East (see “The Christian Cul-
be completely fulfilled until all God’s creation has been rec-
ture of Byzantium,” above) and the West (see “Christianity
onciled.
in the Middle Ages,” above) have interpreted their mission
Faith, hope, and love. The complex, sometimes laby-
through most of Christian history, and that was how they
rinthine, interactions of faith, hope, and love with one an-
carried out their mission within those societies. Calvinism
other throughout Christian history and throughout Chris-
and Puritanism were especially committed to the creation of
tianity as a system suggest the absence of a set of universal
social and political institutions that lived up to the will of
principles that could, in the fashion of Euclid’s geometry,
God, and the pacifism of Anabaptist and Quaker groups dur-
yield the Christian worldview. Christianity is, rather, the
ing the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries was inspired by
product of a continuing and organic history. Its principal in-
a similar commitment. During the nineteenth and twentieth
stitutional expression has been the church in its various orga-
centuries, however, such an interpretation of the Christian
nizational forms, but Christianity is more than the church.
mission took on new urgency—and occasioned new contro-
Although its chief intellectual product has been a theological
versy—in a society where the institutions of Christianity no
development that spans twenty centuries, the Christian mes-
longer command attention or widespread obedience. The
sage is not coextensive with its theology. Its most telling ef-
Social Gospel associated with the name of Rauschenbusch
fect on history has been in the faith and life of its celebrated
(see “The Nineteenth Century,” above) was the most ambi-
saints and seers, but Christianity has consistently declared
tious of modern efforts to rethink the fundamentals of the
that its power and spirit can be found as well among the si-
Christian way of life in relation to the situation of an indus-
lent in the land, the meek who shall inherit the earth.
trial society and to define the very meaning of salvation (as
well as of other themes of Christian teaching and devotion)
SEE ALSO Apostles; Atonement, article on Christian Con-
in social terms. Although the Social Gospel has in greater or
cepts; Baptism; Biblical Literature; Christian Ethics; Chris-
lesser measure affected the ethical thought of most Protestant
tian Liturgical Year; Church; Community; Confession of
groups, Roman Catholicism was, during most of the twenti-
Sins; Constantinianism; Councils, article on Christian
eth century, the major center for the development of new so-
Councils; Creeds, article on Christian Creeds; Crusades;
cial and political theory. In a series of “social encyclicals” be-
Deity; Denominationalism; Discipleship; Dogma; Drama,
ginning with the Rerum novarum of Pope Leo XIII (1810–
articles on European Religious Drama, Modern Western
1903) of May 15, 1891, the papacy itself has often taken the
Theater; Eastern Christianity; Ecumenical Movement; En-
lead in stimulating such development. But the application
lightenment, The; Eucharist; Evil; Faith; Fall, The; Free
of the theory to modern society—the phenomenon of
Will and Predestination, article on Christian Concepts;
“worker priests” in France, and especially the creation of “lib-
Gnosticism, articles on Gnosticism as a Christian Heresy,
eration theology” by Roman Catholic theologians in Latin
Gnosticism from Its Origins to the Middle Ages; God, arti-
America—has often produced confusion and provoked con-
cles on God in Postbiblical Christianity, God in the New
troversy. Even those whose political or theological conserva-
Testament; Gospel; Grace; Heresy, article on Christian
tism finds such trends dangerous, however, usually speak in
Concepts; Hope; Hypostasis; Iconoclasm; Iconography, arti-
the name of a particular definition of the social order that
cle on Christian Iconography; Icons; Incarnation; Jesus; Jus-
they regard as conforming, at least in some measure, to the
tification; Literature, article on Religious Dimensions of
same ideals.
Modern Western Literature; Marriage; Merit, article on
Christian Concepts; Missions, article on Christian Missions;
Christian universalism. The Christian way of life as love
Monastery; Monasticism, article on Christian Monasticism;
is conventionally seen as finding its ultimate fulfillment in
Music, article on Religious Music in the West; Ordination;
the church as the loving community of believers set apart
Papacy; Persecution, article on Christian Experience; Poetry,
from the world. But alongside that strain in the Christian tra-
article on Christian Poetry; Political Theology; Prayer;
dition there has always stood a concern and a love for the
Priesthood, article on Christian Priesthood; Protestantism;
entire world, a Christian universalism no less pronounced
Reformation; Religious Communities, article on Christian
than is Christian particularism. It has sometimes expressed
Religious Orders; Repentance; Roman Catholicism; Sacra-
itself in a sense of urgency about Christian missions, to
ment, article on Christian Sacraments; Schism, article on
“bring the world to Christ.” But a less prominent, yet no less
Christian Schism; Sin and Guilt; Soul, article on Christian
persistent, expression of Christian universalism has sought to
Concepts; Ten Commandments; Theology, article on Chris-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1672
CHRISTIANITY: CHRISTIANITY IN THE MIDDLE EAST
tian Theology; Trent, Council of; Trinity; Vatican Coun-
nineteenth century, which, both by its successes and by its
cils, article on Vatican II; Worship and Devotional Life, ar-
failures, is an eloquent statement of the predicament and the
ticle on Christian Worship.
promise of the Christian message.
New Sources
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Barraclough, Geoffrey, ed. The Christian World. New York, 2003.
Christianity is fortunate in having had more works of general ref-
Campenhausen, Hans, Freiherr von. The Fathers of the Church.
erence published about it than any other world religion.
Combined edition of the Fathers of the Greek Church and
Probably the most convenient of these is The Oxford Dictio-
the Fathers of the Latin Church. Peabody, Mass., 1998.
nary of the Christian Church, 3d ed., rev. (Oxford, 1997).
Also in English, and especially helpful for its bibliographies,
Chadwick, Henry, and Gillian Rosemary Evans, eds. Atlas of the
is The New Catholic Encyclopedia, 15 vols. (Detroit, 2001).
Christian Church. New York, 1988.
With more articles, a good many of which, however, are rela-
Chadwick, Owen. A History of Christianity. London, 1995.
tively brief, the Lexikon für Theologie und Kirche, 11 vols., 2d
ed., edited by Michael Buchberger (Freiburg, 1957–1967),
Crossan, John Dominic. The Birth of Christianity. San Francisco,
is a masterpiece of condensation. The succeeding editions of
1998.
the Realenzyklopädie für protestantische Theologie und Kirche,
Ehrman, Bart D. Lost Christianities: The Battles for Scripture and
24 vols., 3d ed. (Leipzig, 1896–1913), whose fourth edition
the Faiths We Never Knew. Oxford, 2003.
is now in preparation, have contained status reports on re-
Horsley, Richard A., ed. Paul and Empire: Religion and Power in
search into most of the themes treated in this article. And the
Imperial Society. Harrisburg, Pa., 1997.
Dictionnaire de théologie catholique, 15 double vols. (Paris,
1909–1950), presents comprehensive articles, some of them
Koester, Helmut. Ancient Christian Gospels: Their History and De-
entire monographs, on many of the same themes.
velopment. Philadelphia, 1990.
The monographic literature on the history and the theology of
O’Mahoney, Kieran J., ed. Christian Origins: Worship, Belief, and
Christianity is, quite literally, incomprehensible in its scope
Society. London and New York, 2003.
and cannot engage our attention here. But among more gen-
Sheehan, Thomas. The First Coming: How the Kingdom of God Be-
eral works, perhaps the best overall treatment of its history
came Christianity. New York, 1986.
is in Histoire de l’église depuis les origines jusqu’à nos jours, ed-
ited by Augustin Fliche, Victor Martin, and others (Paris,
JAROSLAV PELIKAN (1987)
1934–1964). The Pelican History of the Church, 6 vols., ed-
Revised Bibliography
ited by Owen Chadwick (Harmondsworth, 1960–1970), is
excellent, except for its omission of a volume on the Chris-
tian East, and always readable and often incisive. The more
CHRISTIANITY: CHRISTIANITY IN THE
ambitious Oxford History of the Christian Church may well
be a collaborative work destined to match Fliche-Martin in
MIDDLE EAST
comprehensiveness. Atlas zur Kirchengeschichte, edited by
The origins of the Christian communities in the Middle East
Hubert Jedin, Kenneth Scott Latourette, and Jochen Martin
are rooted in the birth and first development of Christianity
(Freiburg, 1970), provides a sense of place for ideas and
in the old cities of Jerusalem, Antioch, and Damascus. Sever-
books that in the theological literature sometimes seem to be
al million Christians continue to live in the Middle East at
suspended in mid-air. The history of those ideas is the con-
the beginning of the twenty-first century; most are scattered
cern of my work The Christian Tradition: A History of the De-
in Egypt (3.5 million), Jordan (150,000), Israel (105,000),
velopment of Doctrine, 5 vols. (Chicago, 1971–), and the
the Palestinian territories (76,000), Syria (950,000), Leba-
books are chronicled with a sureness of touch and with great
non (1.35 million), Iraq (615,000), Turkey (115,000), and
fairness in Johannes Quasten’s Patrology, 4 vols. (Utrecht,
Iran (150,000). Although their numbers have declined con-
1950–1960).
siderably in modern times, these communities represent an
Of the many thousands of attempts at a systematic formulation
autochthonous Christian presence whose origins date further
of Christianity as a religion of faith, hope, and love (and
back than the birth and spread of Islam in the Middle East.
therefore not only of Christian dogmatics, but of the entire
Christian message), it may seem presumptuous to select only
Most Middle Eastern Christians are Arabs or, to a lesser ex-
five: John of Damascus’s On the Orthodox Faith in the eighth
tent, belong to such long-established groups as the Assyrians
century, which has played a significant part in all three major
or the Armenians.
segments of Christendom, Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and
A PLURAL PRESENCE. Middle Eastern Christianity is charac-
Protestant; Peter Lombard’s Sentences in the twelfth century,
terized by a plurality of churches, bearing witness to the rich
which, with the more than one thousand commentaries that
cultural and religious life and the historical evolution of the
have been written on it, shaped Christian teaching for centu-
Christian communities of the early centuries. The division
ries; Thomas Aquinas’s Summa theologiae in the thirteenth
into independent churches was the result of doctrinal dis-
century, which many students of Christian thought would
regard as the climax of its development; John Calvin’s The
putes linked to the Christological debates of the fourth and
Institutes of the Christian Religion in the sixteenth century,
fifth centuries as well as to relations with the Latin Catholic
which summarized the principal tenets of the Protestant Ref-
Church. Beginning in the fifteenth century the latter tried
ormation more masterfully than any other book of theology;
to reunite with the Eastern churches by forming new Catho-
and Friedrich Schleiermacher’s The Christian Faith in the
lic churches that would maintain their own hierarchy and
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHRISTIANITY: CHRISTIANITY IN THE MIDDLE EAST
1673
oriental liturgy but remain in dogmatic communion with the
and the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem (86,500). These
Church of Rome, recognizing the jurisdictional primacy of
seven churches are fully united with the Church of Rome
the pope (the so-called Uniat churches). In the nineteenth
and recognize the jurisdictional primacy of the pope. In the
century, due in part to the increasing political and economic
late 1980s the Council of the Catholic Patriarchs of the Mid-
presence of the European states in the Middle East, many
dle East was established to provide a forum for addressing
more Protestant and Latin missionaries arrived. The Latin
the common problems of the Catholic communities in the
Patriarchate of Jerusalem was restored in 1847, and at the
region.
same time Eastern Protestant communities were formed.
The Reformed family. The Reformed family, in exis-
After twenty centuries of historical evolution, the Eastern
tence since the nineteenth century, comprises thirteen differ-
churches have been divided into four great families.
ent Protestant denominations, all of them modest in size.
The Oriental Orthodox family. The Oriental Ortho-
This family includes Lutheran, Evangelical, and Presbyterian
dox family is the most important in terms of the number of
communities as well as the Union of the Armenian Evangeli-
faithful living in the Middle East. It includes the Coptic Or-
cal Churches of the Middle East for a total of about 81,000
thodox Church (at least 3,200,000 members), the Syrian Or-
members, mainly in Egypt, Lebanon, and Syria.
thodox Church (177,000), and the Apostolic Armenian
Council of the Churches of the Middle East. The var-
Church (540,000 in the Middle East). These churches sepa-
ious churches have their own institutions, including epar-
rated from other churches of the Roman Empire in the fifth
chies, community councils, various kinds of pastoral struc-
century (the beginning of the sixth century for the Armenian
tures, ecclesiastical courts, and schools (in countries where
Church) when they refused to accept the diophysite Christo-
confessional schools are allowed). One church’s institutions
logical doctrine. This doctrine, as expressed by the Council
often extend into the geographical regions of the other
of Chalcedon in 451, recognized in Christ two natures coex-
churches. The desires of individual churches to maintain
isting in one divine person. The three Oriental Orthodox
their own identities and liturgical traditions has not prevent-
churches instead remained faithful to the definition given by
ed ecumenical activities, which led to the formation of the
Cyril of Alexandria (c. 378–444), who spoke of “the one in-
Council of the Churches of the Middle East (CCME) in
carnate nature of the Word of God.”
1974. All Middle Eastern Christian churches participate in
The Assyrian Church or Church of the East (120,000
the CCME, which helps to promote a more unified ap-
members in the Middle East) also forms part of the Oriental
proach to the problems and issues facing Middle Eastern
Orthodox family. It separated from the other churches at the
Christians. The prospect of ecumenism, even if it is some-
time of the Council of Ephesus (431 CE), rejecting the con-
times difficult to achieve in concrete terms, is one of the few
demnation of the position of Nestorius, who held that in
remaining sources of renewed energy for the Arab and East-
Christ there were two natures closely linked through a moral,
ern churches in the long term.
not an ontological, bond.
THE HISTORICAL STATUS OF NON-MUSLIMS IN MUSLIM
The Oriental Orthodox churches are completely inde-
COUNTRIES. By the end of the seventh century Arab Mus-
pendent of each other and do not have juridical or disciplin-
lims had conquered every part of the Middle East, and a new
ary links with either the Roman Catholic Church or the East-
period began for the region’s Christian communities. From
ern Orthodox communion represented by the Patriarch of
the start Islam had to face the problem of its relations with
Constantinople.
members of other religions because there were Jews and
Christians living in cities where Muslims first organized their
The Orthodox (Chalcedonian) family. The Orthodox
own political and social structures. In addition Muslims had
(Chalcedonian) family is represented in the Middle East by
taken control of predominantly Christian areas that were
four autocephalous churches comprising approximately one
previously under Byzantine control as well as Zoroastrian re-
million members. These four churches are all members of the
gions that had been part of the Sassanian Empire.
Eastern Orthodox communion. They have been divided
from the Catholic Church since 1054, the date of the mutual
Dhimma system. To accommodate non-Muslims,
excommunication of the Church of Rome and the Patriarch-
Islam adopted a system that was already in place in the By-
ate of Constantinople. The Orthodox Patriarchates of Anti-
zantine and Sassanian Empires, according to which different
och, Jerusalem, and Alexandria were set up in the fifth centu-
groups of people were accepted into society under a special
ry by Christians and clergy who accepted the ruling of the
status. Called dhimma, which means “protection” in Arabic,
Council of Chalcedon. The Middle Eastern Orthodox fami-
this system mandated that Muslims were obliged to protect
ly also includes the Patriarchate of Constantinople in
groups on whom dhimma status had been conferred. In turn
Turkey.
the dhimm¯ı (protected) people had to submit absolutely to
Muslim rule, recognizing Islam as the supreme power.
The Catholic family. The Catholic family comprises
seven churches: Maronite (550,000 members), Chaldean
Islamic rulers conferred the status of dhimm¯ı on mem-
(417,000), Melkite (450,000), Coptic Catholic (150,000),
bers of the religions of the book, that is, those religions that
Armenian Catholic (60,000), Syrian Catholic (100,000),
had a sacred book as the basis of their doctrine, which includ-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1674
CHRISTIANITY: CHRISTIANITY IN THE MIDDLE EAST
ed Judaism and Christianity as well as Sabaism and Mazda-
Millet system. The millet (nation) system remained in
ism. In concrete terms the dhimma system aimed to enable
force throughout the Middle East until the end of the nine-
Muslims and non-Muslims to live alongside one another
teenth century, although an important change in the status
within the Muslim state, yet it guaranteed the absolute su-
of Christians took place with the rise of the Ottoman Empire
premacy of Islam and reduced non-Muslims to a lower legal
in the fourteenth century. No radical changes were made to
and social status. Although the dhimm¯ı were free to practice
laws governing Christians, but the status of Christians
their own religion, they were forbidden any role in politics,
changed as religious communities became increasingly insti-
government, or the military, which were reserved exclusively
tutionalized within the millet system, in which the inhabi-
for Muslims. Furthermore the dhimm¯ı were subjected to
tants of the Ottoman Empire were grouped on the basis of
heavier taxes than those levied on Muslims, including the
religion.
jizya, a special per capita tax, as well as taxes on land and
business activities.
Along with the Muslim and Jewish millet, two Christian
millet were recognized: the Greek Orthodox and the Grego-
To guarantee the supremacy of Islam, non-Muslims
rian Armenian. Within each millet, the representative au-
were not allowed to engage in any kind of missionary activi-
thority was made up of members of the religious hierarchy,
ty, and Muslims were prohibited by law from converting to
who had jurisdiction over their community for all matters
another religion. Under Islamic law both the missionary and
regarding religion, cult, and family law. Thus the millet sys-
the convert could be punished by death. The imposition of
tem identified the religious communities as intermediary bo-
a death penalty for conversion (h:add al-riddah) guaranteed
dies between the individual and the state. The millet system
the integrity and growth of the Islamic community and pre-
also allowed religious communities broader financial autono-
vented the expansion of other religious communities within
my, as well as more control over the organization of commu-
Muslim regions. Islamic law on mixed marriages had a simi-
nity life and the management of the community’s assets. The
lar function, and the Muslim partner in such a marriage was
millet system thus gave greater organizational freedom to
clearly privileged. The law provided for the conversion to
Christians and Jews while preserving the political and social
Islam of a non-Muslim man who wanted to marry a Muslim
dominance of Islam and the Muslim millet. Only with the
woman; the children were obliged to be Muslim. A non-
Ottoman tanzimats (reforms) of 1839 and 1876 did the su-
Muslim woman married to a Muslim man was forbidden to
preme political and religious Muslim power, the sultan ca-
teach her own religion to her children, who had no choice
liph, decree for the first time in Muslim history the legal
but to follow the creed of their Muslim father.
equality of all the subjects of the Empire.
The provisions governing the dhimm¯ı were made even
stricter by conditions outlined in a document attributed to
SOCIAL AND POLITICAL DYNAMICS OF CHRISTIANS IN THE
Caliph Omar (d. 644). These conditions were probably elab-
MODERN MIDDLE EAST. The situation of Christian commu-
orated in subsequent decades and were eventually absorbed
nities in the modern Middle East is highly complex. Chris-
into traditional Islamic law. According to these rules Chris-
tians came to exercise an important political and cultural role
tians and Jews were forbidden to profess their faith in a man-
in the Arab states that were established after the collapse of
ner that was considered excessively public. In addition they
the Ottoman Empire in 1922. Christians were among the
were prohibited from wearing crosses or other overtly reli-
leading supporters of the nahd:a, a cultural and political re-
gious symbols and from openly practicing certain rites, such
naissance that arose in the Arab world at the end of the nine-
as processions or the ringing of bells. Churches and syna-
teenth century. The nahd:a promoted the concept of “Arabi-
gogues were also expected to be simple in appearance and
anness,” the common historical identity of both Arab
smaller than nearby Muslim buildings to correspond to the
Muslims and Christians. The cultural development that
legally and socially inferior status of the religious communi-
Middle Eastern Christians had enjoyed in the preceding dec-
ties to which they belonged and to express their submission
ades, due to their relations with Western societies and their
to the dominance of Islam. Tight restrictions were imposed
openness to democratic and liberal ideas, allowed them to ex-
on the construction of new churches and the restoration of
ercise an indisputable influence within the various move-
old ones.
ments for national independence. It was a renaissance that
involved many fields: economics, politics, philosophy, cul-
Such legal provisions, through which Islam regulated
ture, and art. Modern ideas proliferated throughout Middle
the coexistence of Muslims and non-Muslims within the
Eastern societies largely because Christian Arabs, who
Muslim state, reveal Islam’s tolerance toward other religious
founded newspapers and magazines, initiated a new intellec-
communities. It is clear, however, that although the dhimma
tual debate. In politics the majority of the opposition parties
system allowed peoples of different faiths to live side by side
were established by or initiated with the help of the Christian
in the past, such a system could not but clash with modern
Arabs.
sensibilities, for the dhimma sanctioned a model of legal in-
equality between Muslims and non-Muslims in which only
The aim of this cultural and political movement was to
the former enjoyed full rights, whereas the latter had to ac-
create modern states in which one’s right to full citizenship
cept an inferior status that prohibited them from entering
would depend on nationality, not on religion. Arab Chris-
politics or gaining full legal rights.
tian elites emphasized their national Arab identity, which
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHRISTIANITY: CHRISTIANITY IN THE MIDDLE EAST
1675
they felt united them culturally with all Arabs, regardless of
ernment and the group that holds political power, and the
their religious beliefs. This new political culture, which was
attitudes assumed vary according to the context. In Jordan
supported by many Muslim intellectuals and politicians who
the Christian community is strongly attached to the monar-
were open to modernity, was especially favorable to Chris-
chy. In Palestine, Christians have joined Muslims in the
tians because it enabled them to overcome the traditional so-
struggle for national liberation. Syrian Christians, together
ciopolitical arrangement of the Muslim state, in which non-
with other minorities, exercise a modest share of power. It
Muslims were treated as second-class citizens and denied a
is worth noting that in Syria, as in Iraq until April 2003, the
political role.
government was ruled by the Baath Party, which holds a sec-
ular ideology in which people are involved in politics on the
Starting in the 1930s and especially after World War II,
basis of nationalism, not religion. Many Christians are mem-
a number of new Arab national states, which were potentially
bers of the Baath Party, which they consider a bulwark
secular, were set up and obtained independence. But the
against Islamization.
young democratic systems in these states were not stable, and
several nations evolved in the direction of nationalistic, au-
A fourth type reflects the situation of Middle Eastern
thoritarian forms of government. This occurred in Syria and
Christian communities that were subjected to political and
Iraq and to some extent in Egypt. Furthermore the dialectic
military action by governments aimed at eliminating them.
of conflict grew between supporters of reform and modern-
The most striking case is that of Armenian Christians in Tur-
ization and those who advocated a return to traditional Is-
key, up to one million of whom were massacred or deported
lamic state institutions and Islamic law (shar¯ı Eah), a move-
on the order of the government of the Young Turks in 1915.
ment represented by such groups as the Muslim
When the war between Greece and Turkey ended in 1923,
Brotherhood founded in 1928 and the radical Islamic groups
the Turkish government took part in a population exchange
of the late twentieth century and early twenty-first century.
in which some 1.344 million Orthodox Christians in Turkey
were sent to Greece, whereas 464,000 Muslims entered Tur-
These complex political and cultural dynamics have led
key from Greece. The Christians who remained in Turkey
to a change in the relations between Middle Eastern Chris-
were further oppressed by the Turkish state during the 1940s
tian communities and the states to which they belong. A ty-
and the 1950s. The result was the emigration of almost all
pology of four main sociopolitical situations reveals the status
of Turkey’s remaining Christians. Although in 1915 there
of Christian communities in the various states of the Middle
were approximately 2.5 million Christians in Turkey, by
East, showing how these communities evolved during the
2000 there were only about 100,000.
twentieth century and where they stand at the beginning of
the twenty-first.
A similar fate lay in store for Assyrian Christians in Iraq,
who were massacred in 1933 by Iraqi troops and irregular
The first type is a well-established “national” church.
bands supported by the government. These Assyrian Chris-
Egypt, for example, is home to the largest Christian commu-
tians had been allied with the British, who had promised
nity in the Middle East, and the Egyptian Coptic Church,
them their own independent state and then failed to support
which has existed for much of the country’s history, has the
them.
appearance of a national church. For this reason the Copts,
THE CRISIS AT THE BEGINNING OF THE TWENTY-FIRST
despite being a minority, identify strongly with the Egyptian
CENTURY. Declining birthrates, widespread instability and
state, even though their actual participation in social and po-
conflict, and the threat of Muslim fundamentalism are the
litical life is restricted.
primary causes behind the crisis in the Christian communi-
The second type is a state with a majority Christian pop-
ties of the modern Middle East. In 1915 Christians made up
ulation. In Lebanon, for example, which was established with
an estimated 20 percent of the population of the area that
French support as an independent country in 1943, Maro-
includes present-day Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan,
nite Christians, along with other Christians, made up the
Israel, Palestine, and Egypt. By 2000 the most optimistic es-
majority. Thus their role in Lebanese politics was dominant
timates calculated the number of Christians at 10 percent,
for decades. During the 1990s, however, Lebanese Christians
whereas the more pessimistic estimates calculated that Chris-
lost their demographic majority to Muslims, and the coun-
tians made up no more than 6 or 7 percent of the population
try’s 1975 to 1990 civil war weakened the Maronite commu-
in these regions.
nity. The political power of Lebanese Christians was further
There are many reasons behind this decline. Some of
weakened by Syrian military intervention in Lebanon in
them are sociodemographic, with Christians and Muslims
1989 and by the consequent Syrian political influence on the
displaying different birth and mortality patterns. The lower
country.
demographic growth among the region’s Christians, along
The third type is characteristic of Syria, Jordan, and Iraq
with the aging of the population, has been a major reason
as well as, to some degree, the Palestinian and Israeli area,
for the decrease in their numbers relative to the Muslim pop-
where there is no single dominant Christian church but rath-
ulation.
er a mosaic of Christian communities, all of which are in the
However, the decrease in the number of Christians in
minority. These churches are closely dependent on the gov-
the Middle East has been influenced by another important
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1676
CHRISTIANITY: CHRISTIANITY IN THE MIDDLE EAST
factor closely linked to the region’s contemporary political
emigrated, among whom were at least 300,000 Maronite
and cultural context: emigration. The scale of Christian emi-
Christians. Even the Armenians, who were a flourishing
gration from the countries of the Middle East is massive. It
community in Lebanon, emigrated in large numbers. Al-
has been calculated that, since the middle of the twentieth
though the emigration involved the broader Lebanese popu-
century, approximately three million Middle Eastern Chris-
lation and not just Christians, the percentage of Christians
tians have emigrated to Europe, the Americas, and Australia.
who left the country, especially during the first ten years of
That figure accounts for one-quarter to one-third of the total
the war, was higher than that of Lebanese Muslims. Al-
Christian population of the area. The causal factors behind
though the emigration of Lebanese Christians has decreased
this tide of emigration have mainly been the difficult socio-
substantially since the beginning of the peace process, the de-
political conditions within many Middle Eastern countries,
mographic loss has been significant and will have an impact
the authoritarianism of their governments, and the general
on future developments with repercussions for the political,
instability of the area, characterized since the 1950s by a con-
social, and economic role of Christians in Lebanon.
tinuous series of conflicts, including the long-standing Arab-
The experience of Lebanese Christians is particularly se-
Israeli conflict, the war in Lebanon from 1975 to 1990, and
rious because not only does it concern life in Lebanon itself,
the Gulf War from 1990 to 1991, which led to an embargo
it also has negative symbolic value for all Christians in the
and ultimately to the difficult postwar situation in Iraq in
Middle East. Lebanon has been the only Middle Eastern na-
2003.
tion in which Christians played a determinant political role.
To these factors must be added the long-standing influ-
This role is evidenced by the fact, unique in the Arab world,
ence of Muslim political and legal tradition and the emer-
that the president of the Lebanese Republic is, according to
gence of new Islamist movements, which have made it diffi-
the constitution, a Maronite Christian (with a Muslim hold-
cult for Christians to enjoy full citizenship rights in most
ing the position of prime minister), whereas all other Arab
Middle Eastern countries. The reemergence of Islam as a po-
countries require the head of state to be a Muslim. Lebanon
litical and social solution leading to the formation of Islamic
was therefore a concrete symbol of freedom from a political
states cannot but increase the fears of Christians, who in this
system in which Muslims subordinated Christians. More-
kind of political structure would be reduced to the status of
over the Lebanese system, despite its limitations, has so far
a protected minority, without political freedom and subject
been the only Arab country to guarantee a democratic gov-
to discrimination. The formation of such a state was the rea-
ernment.
son for the massive emigration of Christians from Iran after
The long war between Iran and Iraq and the interna-
the Islamic revolution of 1979.
tional conflict involving Iraq since 1990 have played a signif-
The impact of the region’s wars on Middle Eastern
icant role in speeding up the emigration of Iraqi Christians.
Christians is even more serious and long-lasting. The Israeli-
Statistics confirm that, whereas in 2000 Christians made up
Palestinian conflict has been responsible for a large-scale emi-
only 3.2 percent of the total Iraqi population, over 30 per-
gration of Palestinians, a high percentage of whom are Chris-
cent of Iraqi emigrants that year were Christian.
tian. The Arab-Israeli War of 1948 led to the exodus of ap-
The greater propensity of Middle Eastern Christians to
proximately 726,000 Palestinians, of whom about 60,000
emigrate—in comparison with Muslims—is also influenced
were Christians. Between 1967 and 2003 more than 20 per-
by the higher educational level of the Christian population,
cent of the total number of Christians living on the West
which makes Christians less inclined to bear difficult eco-
Bank or in the Gaza Strip chose to emigrate.
nomic situations and facilitates their integration into West-
Just as decisive in causing the emigration of large num-
ern societies. Their emigration is also encouraged by the exis-
bers of Christians was the Lebanese conflict, which began in
tence in many countries of well-organized diaspora
1975 and lasted for more than fifteen years. This conflict
communities of Eastern Christians. This emigration of Mid-
evolved into a real civil war in which fighting occurred not
dle Eastern Christians, which generally involves younger
just between different religious groups but also between dif-
generations, is also a factor in aging and the decrease in the
ferent factions within religious groups. Lebanon became the
fertility rate among the remaining Christians in the region.
theater of a conflict that was influenced by the various politi-
In addition emigration of young, well-educated Christians
cal dynamics of the bordering countries, especially the con-
may lead to the impoverishment of the Middle Eastern
flict between Israel and the Palestinians, which caused the
Christian community’s professional and intellectual re-
emigration to Lebanon of large numbers of Muslim Palestin-
sources. Such a “brain drain” may have a negative effect on
ians. The presence of these immigrants helped destabilize a
the community’s social and political influence.
society and a state that was based on a delicate balance be-
The future of the Christian communities in the Middle
tween religious confessions and that was already feeling the
East is linked to the various conflicts in the region and the
pressure of changing social and demographic circumstances.
consequent economic problems as well as the dynamics with-
The long civil war in Lebanon also caused a major wave
in Islam in its encounter with modernity. The success of the
of emigration from the country. It has been estimated that
peace processes in the Middle East and the movement to-
between 1975 and 1990 approximately one million Lebanese
ward democratic and egalitarian forms of government are
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHRISTIANITY: CHRISTIANITY IN NORTH AFRICA
1677
factors of fundamental importance to the future stability of
Mark. The existence of a considerable Jewish community in
a meaningful Christian presence in the Middle East.
that area even before the birth of Christ surely established
continuous communications with Jerusalem during the first
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towns more closely to Egypt than to Carthage and the rest
pretation. Princeton, N.J., 1970.
of the western states of North Africa.
Haddad, Robert M. “Detribalizing and Retribalizing: The Double
Role of Churches among Christian Arabs in Jordan, a Study
According to tradition, the evangelist Mark was a native
in the Anthropology of Religion.” Muslim World 82 (1992):
Jew of Cyrene, who came to Alexandria by way of the Pen-
67–95.
tapolis and, after laying the foundations of the new church
Labaki, Boutros. “Confessional Communities, Social Stratifica-
in Egypt, returned to Cyrene to evangelize. The First Coun-
tion, and Wars in Lebanon.” Social Compass 35 (1988):
cil of Nicaea (325) decreed that Cyrenaica should be consid-
533–561.
ered an obedientiary of the see of Alexandria. To this day the
Pacini, Andrea, ed. Christian Communities in the Arab Middle
Coptic patriarch carries the five western towns in his title as
East: The Challenge of the Future. Oxford, U.K., 1998.
a province of the see of Mark. We must assume that there
Roberson, Ronald. The Eastern Christian Churches: A Brief Survey.
was a continuous flow of ecclesiastical and missionary per-
6th ed. Rome, 1999.
sonnel between the two regions, much like the interaction
Valognes, Jean-Pierre. Vie et mort des Chrétiens d’Orient: Des ori-
between Carthage and Rome. The overwhelming Greek ele-
gines à nos jours. Paris, 1994.
ment in both Cyrene and Alexandria also facilitated commu-
Wessels, Antonie. Arab and Christian? Christians in the Middle
nication between them.
East. Kampen, Netherlands, 1995.
Most clerics of Cyrenaica received their education in Al-
ANDREA PACINI (2005)
exandria, formerly in the Museion and later in the catecheti-
cal school. Alexandrian culture, both philosophically and
theologically, had its representative in the Pentapolis in the
CHRISTIANITY: CHRISTIANITY IN NORTH
person of Synesius of Cyrene (c. 370–413), bishop of Ptole-
AFRICA
maïs, whose name has come down in history as one of the
Although we lack written sources, archaeological evidence
fathers of the Eastern church.
suggests an early origin for the North African churches.
Synesius was born of wealthy pagan parents in Cyrene
However, we must distinguish between two obvious centers
around the year 370. After obtaining all the education avail-
in the first century of the preaching of Christianity on the
able in his country he went to Alexandria, where he attended
southern shores of the Mediterranean. One center was in Cy-
the classes of Hypatia (c. 370–415), the best of the pagan
renaica, within reach of the influence of Alexandria. The
Neoplatonist professors in the Museion. Synesius was capti-
other was in Carthage, undoubtedly influenced from neigh-
vated by the spell of her teaching and became one of her
boring Rome across the sea.
Neoplatonist disciples. From Alexandria, Synesius went to
Tradition associates the emergence of Christianity in
Athens but was disappointed by the lack of educational op-
Cyrenaica with the evangelization of Egypt by the apostle
portunities there. On return, his fellow citizens commis-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1678
CHRISTIANITY: CHRISTIANITY IN NORTH AFRICA
sioned him to go to Constantinople to plead with the Byzan-
land. Outside the pale of the church, they retained their old
tine emperor for relief from heavy taxation. The success of
practices. Arab conquest forced Greek emigration, and there
his mission increased his popularity and paved the way for
was greater rapport between Berbers and Arabs than between
his leadership of the Libyan people.
Berbers and Greeks. This accounts in part for the sudden dis-
appearance of Christianity from the Pentapolis and the
At this point Synesius went back to Alexandria, where
spread of Islam after the advent of the Arabs.
he was married by Patriarch Theophilus (385–411). This is
sufficient proof that he had become a Christian, though
CARTHAGE. Carthage was founded in the eighth century BCE
there is no evidence of baptism until 410. At that point, in
by the Phoenicians, accompanied by Jewish traders. After the
appreciation for his success in Byzantium and for his organi-
Roman conquest and the fall of the city in 140 BCE, other
zation of military defense against the Berbers, his people
European settlers came to stay, but the Berber natives re-
unanimously elected him to the episcopate. But Synesius was
mained on the periphery of the agricultural territories. Ar-
a married man and a staunch Neoplatonist, and he was un-
chaeological work has revealed the extent of Roman culture
willing to give up either his marriage or his philosophy for
in North Africa from Leptis Magna (near present-day Tripo-
the proffered privilege of elevation to bishop. Finally, both
li) in the east to Caesarea (northern Algeria) on the Mediter-
the clergy and the people of Ptolemaïs made a strong appeal
ranean shore. The Romans established series of forts along
to the patriarch to consecrate him as their bishop, and their
the southern frontier, and these were strengthened by the By-
appeal was granted, an exception to Coptic Church tradition
zantines and in particular by the emperor Justinian for defen-
holding celibacy a requirement for the episcopate.
sive purposes. North African agricultural land supplemented
In the latter decades of his life, Synesius built fortified
Egypt as the granary of the Roman Empire. The natives
churches to which his people resorted for prayer and for de-
spoke what may be described as Libyan Punic, though the
fensive purposes when harassed by Berber marauders from
Romanized inhabitants and the Roman settlers conversed in
the south. Remains of these buildings are still standing in the
Latin, which came to be the official language of the country
area of the Green Mountains in Cyrenaica. He also com-
and the church, in contrast to Greek in Cyrenaica.
posed religious hymns and homilies that inspired his congre-
Pagan religions of varied character from the Phoenician
gations. Yet he retained his sense of humor and found time
worship of Baal and Astarte to the animistic beliefs of the na-
to write a treatise in praise of baldness. In the realm of litera-
tives, later joined by the gods of the Roman pantheon, were
ture, however, he is better known for a set of 156 letters, ad-
in use at the coming of the Christian preachers of the gospel.
dressed to many people, including Hypatia and the patriarch
It is difficult to fix precise dates for the introduction of Chris-
Theophilus, which he wrote between the years 399 and 413.
tianity into the western section of North Africa, though we
These letters, which have been translated into English, are
may assume that the preaching of the gospel initially came
a rich source of information about the social life of the peri-
from Rome. This is confirmed by the later demonstrations
od, geography, and the economy of the world he knew. They
of close relationship with the see of Rome. The first concrete
show elements of syncretism in their considerations of Neo-
record of Roman registers revealing the existence of an orga-
platonist philosophy and Christian theology. Synesius may
nized and well-developed church surfaced suddenly just a
have been the greatest personality in the history of the Pen-
couple of decades before the end of the second century.
tapolis.
Christianity was largely concentrated in Carthage and its ad-
On the whole, the Pentapolis followed Alexandria in all
jacent territories. From east to west, these included Tripolita-
phases of its development during the Christian period. It was
nia, Africa Proconsularis, Numidia, Mauretania Caesariensis,
subjected to the same wave of persecutions under Roman
and Mauretania Tingitana, covering roughly modern-day
rule. Even in heresy, there arose the same divisions in Cyre-
Tripolitania, Tunisia, Algeria, and northern Morocco. The
naica as in Alexandria. During the Arian controversy, there
spread of Christianity must have taken place rapidly among
were followers of Athanasius and supporters of Arius, includ-
the Carthaginian population, but it never took root among
ing two bishops, Theonas of Marmarica and Secundus of
the Berbers, who remained outside the fold of Roman civili-
Ptolemaïs. The third-century heresy of Sabellianism, or sub-
zation and were systematically besieged by the church. The
ordinationism, which made a distinction between the Son
position of the church reached a high degree of efflorescence
and the Father, the Logos and the Creator of the Logos, arose
in the following few centuries, thanks to a number of people
from a discussion by Sabellius, bishop of Ptolemaïs, and was
whose contributions to Christian thought and culture re-
opposed by two other bishops from the Pentapolis, Amon
mained a standing monument for Carthaginian Christianity
and Euphranor.
in spite of its sudden disappearance after about five centuries
of existence.
Cyrenaican Christianity appears to have been concen-
trated almost entirely among the Greek population, who
In its early days, the church at Carthage was subjected,
fought the Berber natives along the southern frontier of the
with the rest of the Roman Empire, to persecutions and con-
Sahara. The Berbers were considered a race of marauders
tributed its full share in martyrdom. Namphamo of Numidia
whom the Greeks wanted to push into the desert. Thus the
claimed to be the first martyr for his faith, and he could have
Berbers lived as foreigners beyond the border of their home-
been of Punic origin. However, the majority of the martyrs
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHRISTIANITY: CHRISTIANITY IN NORTH AFRICA
1679
of Carthage were either Romanized natives or Roman set-
without, and he was continuously beset with danger. In the
tlers. Despite persecution, the church grew. At the death of
year 258, a new wave of persecutions swept the empire by
Tertullian around 225, Carthage already had more than sev-
the order of Emperor Valerian, whose agents pursued the
enty bishoprics. In the year 250, during Cyprian’s episco-
bishop. Cyprian did not flee, and he was martyred in 258.
pate, the number increased to about 150. When the Edict
Approximately a century after Cyprian’s martyrdom,
of Milan was issued in 313, the number rose to 250 bishops.
the genius of the North African church reached its peak in
The country teemed with new churches. Cyprian mentions
Augustine of Hippo (354–430), whose life and work became
eighty-eight in his works, and twenty-nine more were added
one of the greatest landmarks in the development of Chris-
before the year 325.
tian theology. A native of North Africa and born of a pagan
In spite of its significant progress, the church began to
father and a Christian mother, Augustine was bishop of
suffer from internal division with the appearance of the
Hippo from 396 until his death in 430. He wrote against
Donatist movement. Though the source of the division was
many heresies, including Manichaeism, Donatism, and Pela-
theological, Donatism began to assume the shape of nation-
gianism. The two principal works that made Augustine the
alism, which was concentrated in Numidia against Carthage.
foremost writer of his age are his spiritual autobiography, the
The controversy dragged on until the coming of the Vandals
Confessions, and the City of God, a work seminal for medieval
in 429. The Vandals were of Arian confession and would
Christian thought. In the City of God, Augustine labors to
have nothing to do with either catholics or Donatists, who
vindicate Christianity against the attribution that the calami-
were stifled under Vandal rule until the recovery of the coun-
tous fall of Rome to the hordes of Alaric in 410 was due to
try by the Byzantines in 533 on behalf of Emperor Justinian.
the advent of the new religion. According to Augustine, the
In keeping with his imperialist policy, Justinian aimed at a
kingdom of God, the celestial Jerusalem, was the eternal
unified church and state and discouraged all schismatic ten-
kingdom that no earthly ravages or philosophical intellectu-
dencies in his provinces, including North African Donatism.
alism could impair, and its only visible form on earth was
Donatism was weakened, but it flickered until the destruc-
the catholic church. In this way Augustine was able to sub-
tion of the church by the Arabs in the seventh and eighth
stantiate all the elements of patristic thought in the service
centuries.
of catholic Christianity more effectively than any of his pre-
SHAPERS OF CHRISTIAN THOUGHT. The sudden extinction
decessors.
of Carthaginian Christianity could not minimize the glories
If the North African church had produced no creative
of the North African church in the first centuries. Foremost
writers beyond Tertullian, Cyprian, and Augustine, it would
among those who gave that church great stature in the annals
have more than justified its major importance in Christian
of Christian civilization are Tertullian, Cyprian, and Augus-
antiquity. But North Africa contributed even more in a smal-
tine of Hippo.
ler way through the works of other minor authors. Of these
Tertullian (160?–225?) lived in the age of Roman perse-
may be cited Arnobius of Sicca (253–327), well-known rhet-
cutions, and this is reflected in his writings. He was born a
orician and teacher who was a Christian convert from pagan-
pagan in Carthage, but became a Christian in 193. The first
ism. Another was Lactantius, also a professor of rhetoric,
Church Father to write in Latin, Tertullian fought idolatry
who lived during the reign of Diocletian (284–304). After
and heresy in all its forms, whether Gnostic, Manichaean,
Christianity had been declared the state religion, the emperor
or Marcionite. A prolific theologian, he used his gift of elo-
Constantine in 317 appointed Lactantius to be tutor of his
quence to defend Christian martyrs. To him we owe the first
own son Crispus. Lactantius was already advanced in years
use of the word trinity, a creation of his lucid logic in the def-
and died about 320.
inition of the unity of God. He drew the main basic lines
ADVENT OF ISLAM. After the conquest of Egypt in 640–642,
of Western theology, parallel to Origen’s efforts in the East
a further thrust westward into the Pentapolis and the rest of
at the catechetical school of Alexandria. Subsequent genera-
North Africa by the Arabs became inevitable, initially to safe-
tions of theologians continued to build on Tertullian’s illu-
guard the fairest of their acquisitions, the Nile Valley. Cyre-
minating trinitarianism and Christology after his death.
naica surrendered to the Arab conquerors without difficulty
and Carthage fell into their hands in 698. As the Arabs came
Born a pagan and educated in rhetoric, Cyprian
in, the Greek and Roman populations went out, emigrating
(c. 205–258) ultimately became a Christian some decades
en masse to Byzantium, Sicily, Italy, and Spain. With their
after the death of Tertullian, whose work he knew. Like Ter-
exit, the churches of North Africa vanished with surprising
tullian, Cyprian became an ascetic. He was elected bishop
rapidity.
of Carthage shortly after his conversion (c. 248). Cyprian
wrote numerous letters, which are among the best sources of
First among the factors that precipitated the disappear-
the history of the church in the third century, as well as short
ance of Christian foundations in North Africa, despite their
treatises dealing with practical theological matters, such as
remarkable development and past glories, was that the
the enforcement of rebaptism on heretics. His real strength
church had remained embedded in urban districts. Its con-
lay in his pastoral genius as a man of action and a superb or-
gregations never really cared to undertake missionary work
ganizer. He led a stormy life within the church as well as
amid the Berber tribes. In contrast, the Arabs, who were no-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1680
CHRISTIANITY: CHRISTIANITY IN EASTERN EUROPE
mads like the Berbers, offered the Berbers Islam with equality
Julien, Charles-André. Histoire de l’Afrique du nord. 2 vols. Paris,
and full brotherhood. The Berbers accepted the offer and
1956. Translated by John Petrie as History of North Africa,
even participated with the Arab armies in further conquests.
2 vols. (London, 1970).
Second, waves of emigration from Arabia to North Africa
Leclercq, Henri. L’Afrique chrétienne. 2d ed. 2 vols. Paris, 1904.
came to fill the vacuum created by Christian departure from
Quasten, Johannes. Patrology. 3 vols. Utrecht and Westminster,
these regions. Instances of the advent of whole tribes settling
Md., 1950–1960.
in North Africa include the accounts of Banu¯ Hila¯l and Banu¯
Synesius. Letters and Hymns. Edited by Dionysius Petavius. Paris,
Sa¯lim, whose adventures in these provinces are still the sub-
1612. Available also in Patrologia Graeca, edited by J.-P.
ject of Arabic folklore. A third factor was that most of the
Migne, vol. 66 (Paris, 1859). See also by Synesius: Hymni,
heterodox parties among the Arabs took off to the distant
2 vols., edited by Nicolas Terzaghi (Rome, 1939–1954),
west, where they could pursue their doctrines undisturbed
translated by Augustine Fitzgerald as The Essays and Hymns
and even launch missionary work for their beliefs. The
of Synesius of Cyrene, 2 vols. (Oxford, 1930); and his letters,
Khariji faction inaugurated the movement, and the Sh¯ıE¯ı fol-
in Rudolf Hercher’s Epistolographi Graeci (Paris, 1873),
lowed suit; the latter were eventually able to establish their
translated by Augustine Fitzgerald as The Letters of Synesius
own caliphate and build an empire of their own. Fourth, the
of Cyrene (Oxford, 1926).
economy of the romanized provinces of North Africa was es-
AZIZE SURYAL ATIYA (1987)
sentially founded on slavery and slave trade, while Islam of-
fered full enfranchisement to all slaves willing to convert. Fi-
nally, there was the burden of Byzantine taxation, which was
continually on the ascendance. Though it would be a mis-
CHRISTIANITY: CHRISTIANITY IN EASTERN
take to contend that total relief accompanied the advent of
EUROPE
the Arabs, the Berbers were assured of Arab leniency, and,
The story of Christianity in eastern Europe and northern
at any rate, had nothing to lose by the change of masters.
Eurasia is complex—a tangled web of changing peoples, na-
tions, and church allegiances; of political, military, and cul-
It is therefore no wonder that the Berber population
tural conflicts; and of ideological, social, and spiritual forces
found it more to their advantage to accept the new situation
in a seemingly perpetual flux. This article traces the course
readily and even participate with the conquerors in the exter-
of twenty centuries of Christian history in this region, which
mination of all remaining pockets of Roman settlers, and
is bounded on the south by the tip of the Greek Peninsula,
with them the vestiges of a church that they regarded as the
ringed roughly by the Adriatic, Aegean, Black, and Caspian
symbol of their past humiliation. These factors account for
Seas; on the north by the Baltic Sea and the Finnish Peninsu-
the precipitous downfall of Carthaginian Christianity and
la; on the east by the Ural Mountains; and on the west by
the almost total disappearance of churches from North Afri-
the eastern slopes of the Alps and the river Elbe.
ca by the twentieth century.
The history of the Christian Church in eastern Europe
Even though the door was left ajar for the reappearance
and northern Eurasia can be understood through the inter-
of Christian elements from the West during the modern pe-
play over the centuries of four major factors: Greek-
riod of European colonization, these do not appear to have
Byzantine, Latin-Roman, and Frankish-German influences,
had any real impact on the prevalent status of Islam. Al-
and the migrations of peoples who eventually settled in east-
though stray Christians mainly of Coptic origin remain, in
ern Europe and northern Eurasia, primarily the Slavs. These
the present day, all the countries of North Africa, from Libya
factors represent distinctive religious, cultural, and ethnic
to Morocco, must be regarded as totally Muslim and without
traditions that molded the development of the Christian
any surviving Christian element.
Church over the centuries in this region. There are others,
of course, including the Muslim Ottoman Empire in the fif-
SEE ALSO Augustine of Hippo; Berber Religion; Cyprian;
teenth through nineteenth centuries and the Soviet Union
Donatism; Tertullian.
in the twentieth century. Nevertheless, the story of how
Christianity developed in this area can be told by describing
BIBLIOGRAPHY
the motives, mind-sets, interests, and policies together with
Altaner, Berthold. Patrology. Translated from the fifth German
the successes and failures of these four major forces.
edition. New York, 1960.
Historically, the first actor at work in the molding of
Atiya, A. S. A History of Eastern Christianity. Rev. ed. Millwood,
N.Y., 1980.
Christianity in eastern Europe and northern Eurasia was the
Greek-Byzantine tradition. Highlighted by the apostle Paul’s
Bardenhewer, Otto. Patrology: The Lives and Works of the Fathers
mission to the Gentiles and his crossing over into Europe,
of the Church. Saint Louis, 1908.
the Christian church abandoned the exclusivism of its Jewish
Buonaiuti, Ernesto. Il Christianesimo nell’Africa Romana. Bari,
roots to become a world religion. To be sure, he was not
1928.
alone in this effort. Many anonymous evangelists and layper-
Groves, C. P. The Planting of Christianity in Africa (1948–1958).
sons, including traveling businesspeople, contributed to the
4 vols. Reprint, London, 1964.
spread of the Christian faith from its origins in Palestine to
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHRISTIANITY: CHRISTIANITY IN EASTERN EUROPE
1681
as far as Rome and Spain. Although the Christian faith
The third group of actors in the drama of Christianity
moved outward in all directions—toward Africa, Asia, and
in eastern Europe and northern Eurasia were the Frankish
the Indian subcontinent—the church’s major growth came
and Germanic kingdoms, which while Roman Catholic in
as it entered the Greco-Roman world of the Mediterranean
faith were primarily concerned with their military, econom-
basin. As it sought to preach the message of salvation in Jesus
ic, and political expansion in the area of eastern Europe. It
Christ, it used not only the lingua franca of its day, the spo-
is not that these concerns were unique to the Frankish and
ken and written Greek of the first century, but also Greek
Germanic kingdoms, but that these interests affected the de-
concepts, problematics, and philosophical traditions to com-
velopment of Christianity in significantly different ways
municate, understand, and interpret the faith. Beginning
from that of the see of Rome or of Byzantine Orthodoxy.
with the New Testament idea of Christ as the Logos (Jn. 1),
The reason for this is that Roman Catholicism in the western
there is an ongoing record of the incarnation of the Christian
European region sought actively to differentiate Western
message into the Greco-Roman cultural milieu. What came
Christianity from Eastern Christianity, especially through es-
out of this process, Orthodox Christianity, certainly could
pousal and promulgation of the filioque clause in the creed,
not be identified with any specific Greek philosophical sys-
which asserts that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father
tem; it was uniquely Christian, but it formulated its faith and
and the Son.
practice with the tools of the Greek heritage. Strongly con-
In 691 CE Clovis III (682–695 CE) became king of all
cerned with clear doctrinal formulation of the teachings re-
Franks, beginning a process of consolidation of political
garding the Holy Trinity and the person of Jesus Christ, the
power in the West. With Charles Martel’s (c. 688–741 CE)
Greek tradition emphasized the transcendent dimension of
victory over Arab forces at the Battle of Tours (732 CE), the
faith, the reverence and awe of worship, the conciliar under-
integrity of western Europe was assured. A formal political
standing of church life, and the ascetic spirituality of monas-
split between the eastern and western parts of the Roman
ticism. This early tradition of Christianity, formulated in the
empire, exemplifying the cultural division of Eastern and
writings of the Church Fathers primarily within the eastern
Western Christianity, occurred with the crowning of Charle-
part of the Roman Empire known as Byzantium, was em-
magne (742–814 CE) by Pope Leo III (r. 795–816 CE) in the
bodied and essentially preserved in what much later came to
year 800 CE as the first emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.
be called the Eastern or Greek Orthodox Church, with all
From that point on, Frankish and Germanic forces perceived
its various local expressions.
the Byzantine Empire and its Greek church as rival powers
However, while accepting and defending as Christian
opposed to their interests.
orthodoxy the formulations of doctrine described above,
With the inclusion of filioque in the Nicene-
Christianity in the western part of the Roman Empire quick-
Constantinopolitan Creed, at the insistence of the Franks
ly gave to the Christian message and life nuances and empha-
(not originally by the Roman see) the stage was set for a long,
ses that characterized its Latin heritage. Less theologically
drawn-out process of schism between the Western (eventual-
speculative, the sober Latin tradition focused on the practical
ly Roman Catholic) Church and the Eastern (eventually
and on the sense of order and pattern required in an increas-
Eastern or Orthodox) Church. (Filioque literally means “and
ingly unstable cultural, political, and social milieu produced
the Son,” referring to the claim made mainly in the West that
by the inroads of numerous barbarian tribes beginning in the
the Holy Spirit proceeded from the Son as well as from the
fourth century. While the Greek tradition concerned itself
Father; the doctrine was rejected by Eastern Churches.)
with the subtleties of church doctrine, frequently generating
Much of the conflict between East and West played itself out
new heresies, Latin Christianity became a stronghold of fun-
in eastern Europe and northern Eurasia. From the point of
damental Christian orthodoxy while concurrently remolding
view of the history of the church from the ninth through the
this orthodoxy according to its own genius. In practice, that
sixteenth centuries, Frankish and subsequently Germanic in-
meant an understanding of the Christian faith largely colored
terests in the region translated into efforts to make Roman
by legal concepts. For example, while the Greek East general-
Catholicism dominant at the expense of Eastern Orthodoxy.
ly tended to understand sin in relational terms (sin as the
In contradistinction, during this and subsequent periods,
breaking of the appropriate relationship between the Creator
Eastern Orthodoxy became one of the major forces in the
and the creature), the Latin West emphasized its legal dimen-
struggle of the peoples in the region to retain their cultural,
sions (sin as guilt). This difference, and the exigencies of the
spiritual, and political identity and autonomy. In the six-
breakdown of cultural unity and civil authority in the West
teenth century the Germanic influence in eastern Europe was
between the fourth and eighth centuries, favored the devel-
expanded with the rise of the Reformation. From that time
opment of a monarchical understanding of the church, lead-
on, church history was strongly influenced by Protestant in-
ing to the rise of the Roman papacy as the single, supreme
terests in the area.
ecclesiastical (and frequently secular) authority in the West.
The combination of an early reputation for careful ortho-
The final actors in the story of Christianity in eastern
doxy in doctrine, with the centralization of authority in the
Europe and northern Eurasia are the various peoples who
Roman see, became the source of what eventually would
historically had lived in the region or who came from else-
come to be called the Roman Catholic Church.
where to settle there. Southeastern European peoples, pri-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1682
CHRISTIANITY: CHRISTIANITY IN EASTERN EUROPE
marily in Macedonia, Achaia, Crete, the Aegean Islands, and
tians existed among the Geto-Dacians as a result of Christian
Byzantium, were able to trace the continuity of their ecclesi-
influence in the armies of Trajan (53–117 CE; ruled 98–117
astical and cultural roots to early Christianity and beyond.
CE), who had subdued them.
In contrast, central and northern Europe was an area repeat-
A legend recorded by Eusebius of Caesarea (c. 260–c.
edly overrun by peoples from the Asian steppes. As a result,
330 CE) and attributed to Origen (c. 185–c. 254 CE) holds
the continuity of Christian history was repeatedly broken
that the apostle Andrew preached in the land of the Geto-
and reestablished, formed and reformed, in eastern Europe.
Dacians, then referred to as Scythia. The Passion of Saint An-
Primarily, though not exclusively, it was Slavic peoples
drew, included in the Constantinopolitan Sunaxarion (lives
who began the invasion of Europe by attacks on Asia Minor
of saints for liturgical use), claims that Andrew preached in
and the Balkans around the year 220 CE. Appeased in part
Pontus, Thrace, and Scythia. Although there is a ninth-
by a Byzantine policy that combined military strength, pay-
century legend that Andrew ordained a certain Apion as
ment of tribute, and settlement, the waves of invaders moved
bishop of Odessus (present-day Varna, Bulgaria), the first
westward in the third to fifth centuries beyond the effective
historical record of a bishop of the region was made by the
boundaries of the Byzantine Empire. In eastern Europe the
historian Socrates (c. 380–450 CE) regarding Theodore the
newcomers were displaced by new conquerors, and the
Thracian at the Synod of Sardica (343–344 CE). A bishop
groups often mingled. Eventually, a measure of identity with
from the area named Terentius participated in the ecumeni-
particular geographic areas was achieved by the settlers.
cal council at Constantinople in 381 CE. A Bishop Timothy
was recorded in attendance at the ecumenical council held
The history of the Christian Church in eastern Europe
in Ephesus (431 CE).
and northern Eurasia can largely be told in terms of the com-
petition of Greek-Byzantine, Latin-Roman, and Frankish-
LEGITIMIZATION AND THE BARBARIAN INROADS. After Con-
Germanic efforts to gain the loyalty of these largely Slavic
stantine (d. 337 CE), together with the coemperor Licinius
peoples. Or, conversely, the history of the church in this area
(d. 325 CE), proclaimed Christianity to be a legal religion in
can be understood as the response of the Slavic and other
313 CE with the Edict of Milan, more and more of the popu-
peoples of the region to what the first three had to offer.
lation within the boundaries of the Empire began to be
E
Christianized. But the appearance of the barbarians caused
ARLY CHRISTIANITY. Christianity entered eastern Europe
through the missionary work of the apostle Paul as well as
the boundaries of the Roman Empire to contract, and what-
the influence of countless Christians who shared the good
ever earlier Christian presence existed in the area was severely
news of the redemption of humankind by God in Christ
weakened or destroyed. Among the earliest of the barbarian
through the Holy Spirit. They planted the Christian seed
tribes to appear were the Goths.
primarily in cities. Illustrative is Paul’s dramatic entry into
During the period from 230 to 240 CE the Goths came
Europe as a result of a dream in which a Macedonian begged
out of southern Russia to attack the Roman provinces. A suc-
him to “Come over to Macedonia and help us,” as described
cession of Roman emperors fought against them, including
in Acts 16. The Christian Scriptures indicate the first-century
Claudius (214–270 CE), Aurelian (c. 215–275 CE), Diocle-
establishment of Christianity in cities, such as Philippi in
tian (245 or 248–313 or 316 CE), and Constantine. Chris-
Macedonia; Thessalonica, Veroia, and Nicopolis on the
tianity in its Arian form seems to have been introduced to
western coast of the Greek Peninsula; Athens in Attica; Pa-
the Goths through prisoner exchanges in Cappadocia around
tras, Corinth, and Sparta in the Peloponnese; on the Aegean
the year 264 CE, but it was at least a century before Christians
Islands of Chios and Samos; and on the island of Crete.
were of any great number among them. By the mid-fourth
The northern boundary of the Roman Empire in the
century there seemed to be an adequate Christian population
last decades of the second century extended to the Danube
among the Goths to require a bishop. Thus in 341 CE Ulfilas
in Illyricum and beyond in the province of Dacia (present-
(c. 311–c. 382 CE) was ordained first bishop of the Goths
day Romania). On either coast of the Adriatic Sea and the
by the patriarch of Constantinople, Eusebius. Ulfilas’s work
Black Sea there were small enclaves of Christians, but the vast
was primarily in Plevna (in modern-day Bulgaria), and he
numbers of Thracians, Moesians, Illyrians, and Dacians in
translated the Scriptures and services into the Gothic tongue.
the region had not been Christianized. Nevertheless, condi-
It should be noted here that the orientation of these early ef-
tions existed favorable to their eventual conversion. For ex-
forts at Christianization was from the East. Yet over the next
ample, the northern branch of the Thracians, the Geto-
few centuries the constant incursions and displacement of
Dacians (considered the ancestors of the Romanian people),
tribes in a westward direction meant that little permanency
although polytheists, believed in a supreme god whom they
of the Christian presence could be expected.
called Zalmoxis, the god of heaven and light. The Geto-
MISSIONS IN CONFLICT. It was not until the ninth century
Dacians were known to ancient Greek historians, such as
that Christianity began to gain a permanent foothold in the
Herodotos (c. 484–between 430 and 420 BCE), who de-
area. By this time not only had the foundations of Christian
scribed, in addition to this concept of a supreme god, their
doctrinal understanding been formalized through seven ecu-
strong belief in the immortality of the soul. It is not at all
menical councils, but the four factors described above had
unlikely that during this early period a scattering of Chris-
also been clearly defined. As they met on the eastern Europe-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHRISTIANITY: CHRISTIANITY IN EASTERN EUROPE
1683
an stage, they determined the organized forms that Chris-
Around 860 CE Prince Rostislav (846–c. 870 CE) of Mo-
tianity would take there and, in turn, much of its ethnic and
ravia appealed to Patriarch Photios (Photius, c. 820–891 CE)
political identity as well.
of Constantinople for missionaries who could preach in the
language of the people and conduct worship in Slavonic.
The barbarians, although intent on expansion and the
Constantine, known later as Cyril, (c. 827–869
acquisition of land, were also attracted by the quality of the
CE) and Met-
hodius (c. 825–c. 884
Greco-Roman culture of the Empire, which they respected.
CE), two Greek brothers from Thessa-
lonica, were chosen for the task. Before going to the mission
The chief ingredient of this attraction was Christianity. In
field, they created a Slavonic alphabet, into which they trans-
many cases these peoples were seized with a strong desire to
lated the Bible and the service books. Their mission policy
embrace the faith because of what they had seen and heard
thus included worship in the language of the people, the
in terms of the quality of life of Christians, the development
preaching of the Eastern form of Christianity (without the
of a Christian civilization base on Hellenic Paideia, and the
filioque), and the rapid indigenization of the clergy with its
power and influence of the Church in society as well as
consequent spirit of local autonomy in church government.
through the missionary efforts of the church. Among these
When they came into inevitable conflict with the German
in the ninth and tenth centuries were the peoples of Bulgaria
missionaries, Cyril and Methodius appealed to the pope and
to the south, Moravia to the north, and Russia to the east.
obtained his approval for their methods in Moravia. The
The spirit of competitive choice among the recipients of the
Germans not only ignored this approval but even jailed Met-
faith, as well as conflict among the transmitters of the faith,
hodius for over a year. Following Methodius’s death, the
became evident during this period.
Germans expelled the Byzantine missionaries and imposed
In the East the dominant power was the Byzantine Em-
Western Christianity in the region.
pire, whose fortunes had improved sufficiently in this period
to permit consideration of missionary efforts; that is, the
During this same period Patriarch Photios also sent mis-
spreading of the Greek or Eastern form of Orthodox Chris-
sionaries to Russia, and a short-lived mission survived there
tianity. In the West the Frankish Empire was divided in 843
until 878 CE. As in the past, Christianity nevertheless contin-
ued to infiltrate the populace through ordinary contacts from
CE at the Treaty of Verdun into three parts, the most eastern
of which was to become Germany. Louis I (778–840
Byzantium in the south, Bulgaria in the west, and Scandina-
CE) the
German became the founder of the German Carolingian
via in the north. Thus, when Prince Vladimir (c. 956–1015)
dynasty, which lasted until 911
was baptized in 988
CE. This dynasty pursued
CE, the Christianization of the land was
vigorous missionary efforts in eastern Europe and northern
readily accomplished, at least in the cities and especially in
Eurasia.
the region around the capital city of Kiev. As Vladimir had
married the sister of the Byzantine emperor, Christianity was
The first area in which the two missionary efforts came
adopted in its Byzantine form. Originally centered in Kiev,
into conflict was Bulgaria. Both German and Byzantine mis-
Christianity gradually spread north and east, developing
sionaries saw the Bulgarian Slavs as ripe targets for missioniz-
deep and strong roots among the people, and social concern,
ing. The Bulgars, however, in their choice between Western
liturgical piety, and monasticism united with the culture and
and Eastern forms of Christianity, were motivated by their
language of the Russian peoples. Nevertheless, Western in-
own ethnic, cultural, and political perspectives, with inde-
fluences were also present in Russian Christianity, influences
pendence as a prime concern. In the year 860 CE the drama
that found resonance many centuries later.
began to unfold. Although at first attracted to the German
missionaries, Khan Boris (d. 907 CE) accepted baptism from
SCHISM AND IMPERIAL CONTENTION. The eleventh century
the Greeks. Later, feeling that his church was not indepen-
and early twelfth century were marked by the definitive
dent enough, he turned from Constantinople to the West,
Great Schism between the Eastern and Western Churches.
admitting German missionaries whose policies even more
Begun in the ninth century, it is traditionally marked by the
strongly curtailed the independence of the Bulgarian church.
mutual excommunications of Patriarch Michael Cerularios
These policies included the imposition of Latin in worship,
(c. 1000–1059) and Cardinal Humbert (c. 1000–1061) in
subjugation of the hierarchy to the pope, celibacy of the cler-
1054 and considered completed by the capture of Constanti-
gy, and the filioque doctrine, even though it was not current
nople in 1204 by the Crusaders. The Venetians, at the head
in Rome at the time. By 870 CE Khan Boris had reacted to
of the Fourth Crusade, established a Latin empire with a
these restrictions by expelling the German missionaries and
Latin patriarch in Constantinople. The Byzantines set up
inviting back those from Constantinople. Since then Eastern
their capital in Nicaea and were unable to return to Constan-
Orthodoxy has been the dominant religion in the Bulgarian
tinople until 1261. The result was that the pattern of conflict
nation.
in the Christianization of the peoples of eastern Europe was
intensified over the next few centuries.
During this same period a somewhat similar drama
played itself out to the north, but with opposite results. The
On the southwestern shores of the region, the Croatians
major difference here was that Rome and Constantinople
had long been subjected to efforts at Christianization by
supported the same missionary policy in contrast to the rival
Latin missionaries in the sixth through eighth centuries, even
efforts of the Germans.
though the Eastern empire held nominal control over 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
1684
CHRISTIANITY: CHRISTIANITY IN EASTERN EUROPE
area. After 800 CE, however, the Franks brought the Cro-
in Moscow. The church figured strongly in the rebuild-
atians fully within the orbit of the West, completing the task
ing of the Russian nation, and by the time of the death of
by the tenth century. On their eastern border, however, an-
Sergii of Radonezh (c. 1314–1392), Moscow was clearly the
other people—the Serbs—opened themselves up to the disci-
center of Russian Orthodoxy. In the north, Novgorod and
ples of Cyril and Methodius. On the dividing line between
Pskov, while free from the Mongols, were attacked in the
Eastern and Western Christendom, the ninth-century Prince
mid-thirteenth century by westerners—the Swedes and the
Mutimir (r. 865–891 CE), after some vacillation, looked to-
Germanic Teutonic Knights—intent upon imposing West-
ward Constantinople for the form of the faith to be practiced
ern Christianity in the area. The Russians, under Prince Ale-
by the Serbs. Slavonic worship and Orthodox practices were
ksandr Nevskii (c. 1220–1263), maintained the relative in-
accepted, and a strong Slavo-Byzantine culture was formed.
dependence of the area. With the fall of Constantinople, the
In 1219 Sava (c. 1176–c. 1236) was consecrated as archbish-
Russians began to think of Moscow as the “Third Rome,”
op of Serbia in Nicaea, then the Byzantine capital. This con-
and the metropolitan of Moscow was honored with the rank
secration reflected the strength of the Serbian Empire at the
of patriarch in 1589. The Russians emerged stronger and
time. In 1375 Constantinople recognized the Serbian patri-
more united as an Orthodox nation as a result of their re-
archate that had been proclaimed three decades earlier.
sponse to the Mongol threat.
To the east of Serbia lay Romania, whose early Christian
To the northwest the power in the region in the fif-
history has been noted. The Romanians are not Slavs but,
teenth century was Hungary, which contained the Muslim
as their name indicates, a Latin people. Clearly within the
advance northward. Christianity was introduced into Hun-
Greek-Byzantine ecclesial tradition, they have maintained
gary in the ninth and tenth centuries by Western missiona-
much of their orderly Latin heritage. At the same time they
ries; King Stephen I (977–1038) set down a formal constitu-
have adopted a great deal from their Slavic neighbors, espe-
tion for the church in 1001. In 1279 Esztergom (German,
cially in the area of worship. The Romanian church is a fruit-
Gran) was named the see of the primate of the Hungarian
ful amalgam of these various influences. By the fourteenth
church, and, until the Reformation, Christianity in the area
century, metropolitanates had been set up in various parts
was Western in form with no real influence from the East.
of the Romanian region.
To the northeast of Hungary were the Poles. The histo-
At this same time, the Ottoman (Turkish) Muslim
ry of the Polish people has been turbulent, and this turbu-
forces began to spread into the region from the southeast.
lence has had a great impact on the form of Christianity in
They conquered the Bulgarian center of Taburnovo in 1393,
that land. Scholars once believed that Christianity began in
took control of Serbia in 1441, captured Constantinople and
Poland in the tenth century in conjunction with the German
destroyed the last vestige of the Byzantine Empire in 1453,
see of Magdeburg, but modern scholarship now holds that
subdued Bosnia in 1463, captured the Albanian fortress
in all likelihood Christianity came to Poland from Moravia;
town of Kruje in 1478, put down the last resistance in Mol-
that is, from the missionary impetus inaugurated by Cyril
davia and Walachia (Romania) by 1490, and conquered
and Methodius. Situated between northwestern Russia and
Dyrrachium in 1501. The majority of the Christian peoples
powerful Roman Catholic neighbors to the west, Poland was
in this area were Eastern Orthodox in faith. The Muslims
subject to influences from both sources. In the eleventh cen-
governed the conquered peoples in accordance with a system
tury the civil leaders were allied with the West, although
that identified each religion as a “nation.” Known as the mil-
many elements of Eastern Christianity were present in their
let system, it required that all Orthodox Christians under Ot-
church. Thus the Gregorian reforms of the Western Church
toman domination be governed through the patriarchate of
were imposed by civil authorities in the face of stiff episcopal
Constantinople. This system, over the whole area south of
and lower-clergy opposition. The influence of Orthodox
the Danube, lasted for approximately four hundred years, to
Russia was also felt, and there was a significant Eastern Or-
the mid-nineteenth century.
thodox population in Poland. Nevertheless, until the Refor-
mation, the church of the Poles was generally under control
The major Orthodox nation not conquered by the Mus-
of the West, while at the same time it was marked by signifi-
lims was Russia. However, the history of the Russians was
cant Eastern influence. Its borders often shifting, Poland
not without severe disturbances. The establishment of
sometimes had larger, sometimes smaller populations of Or-
Kievan Orthodox Christianity in the tenth century was fol-
thodox Christians in its eastern regions.
lowed by a genuine flowering of church life for the next few
centuries in Kiev (present-day Ukraine) and by active mis-
In a similar fashion the area north of Poland along the
sionary work to the north. Notable were the establishments
eastern coast of the Baltic Sea—known historically as Lithua-
in Novgorod and Pskov. However, Kievan influence was
nia, and subsequently as Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia—
broken in the thirteenth century with the coming of the
was from the beginning of its history caught between the ri-
Mongols. When Kiev fell to them in 1240, a century and a
valry of Western and Eastern forces with all its ecclesiastical
quarter of survival struggle aimed at maintaining Russian life
consequences. Lithuania came into being at the time of the
was begun by the church. Gradually, power and strength re-
Mongol conquest of Russia, and its first and only king,
turned to the Russians, but they then came to be centered
Trointen (r. 1259–1282), received Christianity from the
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHRISTIANITY: CHRISTIANITY IN EASTERN EUROPE
1685
Germans. By 1341, Lithuania had become a large empire as
Protestantism in the geographical area of the Czech Re-
a result of the king’s expansionist policies. Russian Ortho-
public and Slovakia has deep roots going back to the four-
doxy and Polish Catholicism vied for Lithuania’s loyalty, but
teenth-century work of Jan Hus (1372 or 1373–1415) and
in 1385 a political union of Lithuania with Poland led to the
the Brethren of the Common Life. In 1609 the Hapsburgs
baptism of the Lithuanians into Roman Catholicism by Pol-
granted the Brethren freedom, but they were soon persecuted
ish clergy. This Polish-Lithuanian relationship continued
anew. Protestantism survived among the Brethren in Re-
into the sixteenth century. Nevertheless, a significant Ortho-
formed and Lutheran forms, albeit among a few, until the
dox population to the east remained ecclesiastically under the
establishment of the Czechoslovak state in 1918. Lutheran
jurisdiction of the metropolitan of Kiev. These Orthodox be-
Protestantism came to Hungary in 1518 but shortly thereaf-
came the occasion for the inception of a new phenomenon
ter was supplanted by Reformed Protestantism. Both forms
in church history—Uniatism, also known as Eastern Rite
suffered under the Counter-Reformation until their adher-
Catholicism.
ents were granted civil rights in 1790 and 1791, and relations
with the predominantly Roman Catholic nation were estab-
Conceived as a means of unifying the religion of the
lished in 1867.
populace, Uniatism subjected the Orthodox population to
the primacy of the pope and Western doctrine while allowing
Protestant churches in small numbers were established
the retention of the liturgical forms and customs of Eastern
in Romania, particularly in Transylvania. Unitarianism
began in this area. The Lutheran bodies there have strong
Orthodoxy. The Council of Brest (1596) split into Eastern
German ethnic ties. Although early Reformed Protestantism
and Western factions, with the Western faction opting for
in Transylvania had Hussite and Lutheran connections, in
the Uniate approach and many Orthodox bishops accepting
1567 it adopted the Second Helvetic Confession of Faith.
it. The Polish king approved the move and initiated a severe
The small number of both Reformed and Lutheran Protes-
persecution of those Orthodox who refused to join. With Je-
tants in modern-day Yugoslavia were incorporated into the
suit support, the Polish king, Sigismund III Vasa (1566–
nation from border areas, primarily Hungary. The Reforma-
1632), took Moscow in 1607, forcing a short-lived union
tion did not reach Greece, Bulgaria, or Russia until the nine-
with Rome on the Russian Orthodox. This effort came to
teenth century, and then with only modest results, primarily
an end in 1613 with Czar Mikhail Romanov’s (ruled 1613–
in evangelical and Baptist forms.
1645) restoration of Russian sovereignty. Uniatism, or East-
ern Rite Roman Catholicism, was henceforth a complicating
MODERN NATION-STATES. The eighteenth and nineteenth
force in the relations of Roman Catholicism and Eastern Or-
centuries saw the formation of the modern nation-states. The
thodoxy.
French Revolution set a pattern for self-government along
national lines. In Orthodox Russia, czardom reigned, but the
Northernmost of the nations of the region under discus-
influence of the West, both Protestant and Roman Catholic,
sion here is modern-day Finland. Christianity came to this
was strong. Peter the Great (1672–1725) removed the ca-
area in the late eleventh century and early twelfth century
nonical head of the Russian church, the patriarch of Mos-
concurrently from both the East and the West. Roman Ca-
cow, through his Ecclesiastical Regulation of 1721, substitut-
tholicism was introduced by the Crusaders and Eastern Or-
ing a state church patterned after German Protestant models.
thodoxy by Orthodox monks from Novgorod, who estab-
Scholastic theology, along with Italian Renaissance music,
lished the famous Monastery of Valamo in 1100. The area
art, and architecture, was incorporated into Russian church
was subject to the competition of its Roman Catholic Scan-
life. This anomalous situation lasted until the Bolshevik Rev-
dinavian neighbors to the west and its Orthodox Russian
olution of 1917, when the patriarchate was restored.
neighbors to the east.
During the early nineteenth century, as the Ottoman
In the sixteenth century the whole religious map of Eu-
Empire began to dissolve, the various Balkan peoples ob-
rope was changed by the Protestant Reformation. Although
tained their freedom through revolutions. Each Orthodox
the Reformation was primarily a western European phenom-
Balkan nation as it came into being sought an independent
enon, it did have significant impact in eastern Europe, in
status for the Orthodox Church within its boundaries, and
some areas achieving dominance and in others remaining a
the nations that had patriarchates before the Ottoman con-
quest sought to reinstate them. In 1833 the patriarchate of
minority factor. In the north, Finland became largely Lu-
Constantinople acknowledged the independence of the
theran, with only a minority of Orthodox. Lutheranism was
church of Greece. Following in quick succession, the Bulgar-
introduced into Estonia and Latvia and soon became domi-
ian church received its independence in 1870, the Serbian
nant, even under Russian control, in the eighteenth century.
in 1879, and the Romanian in 1885. In these nations the Or-
Protestantism in its Lutheran form entered Poland from
thodox Church was recognized as the state church.
Germany but was nearly erased by the Counter-
Reformation. When Poland was partitioned in 1795, with
Of importance for religious life in Hungary was the cre-
Austria and Prussia assuming control of its western regions,
ation in 1867 of an Austro-Hungarian “dual monarchy” that
Lutheranism returned to favor. It has remained a “remnant”
allowed a measure of religious freedom for Protestants—a
church in this predominantly Roman Catholic nation.
pattern of church-state relations that lasted until World War
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1686
CHRISTIANITY: CHRISTIANITY IN EASTERN EUROPE
II. The partition of Poland by Russia, Austria, and Prussia
Union and the nations under its influence, Marxism was
during the second half of the eighteenth century meant the
ideologically antireligious. However, the Communist bloc
Orthodox in that country came under the jurisdiction of the
nations approached the Christian church with varying de-
Russian church, and the Uniates were compelled to return
grees of opposition. Albania during this period declared itself
to Orthodoxy. Although the western part of Poland re-
the first “atheist state,” claiming that all vestiges of religion
mained subject to Austria and Prussia, Polish Roman Catho-
had been eliminated. The Soviet Union constitutionally
lics were severely restricted, and Rome was no longer able to
granted freedom of worship but prohibited all other church
exercise control over them. Similarly, Finland was to a large
activity. The rest of the nations in the bloc followed this poli-
extent occupied by Russia (beginning in 1809), and a strong
cy but made less-restrictive accommodations with the
Russian influence on church life resulted. By the end of the
church. For some nations, such as Poland, this took place out
century, however, the Orthodox Finns had asserted their na-
of political reality, and for other nations, such as Romania
tional identity with the institution of services in Finnish.
and Serbia, accommodations were worked out as a result of
undeniable ethnic and cultural necessity. In these countries
Eastern Europe and northern Eurasia assumed a defini-
the dominant number of believers and the identification of
tive national shape in the period just prior to and following
the national culture with religious tradition made necessary
World War I. Most notable for church history were the
a more lenient religious policy by the Marxist governments.
emergence of Finland, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia,
and Albania as new nations, primarily as a result of the disso-
The dissolution of the Soviet empire had powerful in-
lution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Finland was over 90
fluence in changing the political and religious face of Eastern
percent Lutheran with a small Orthodox population that was
Europe. In Russia the fall of Soviet Marxism was intimately
also recognized as a state church. In 1923 the Finnish Ortho-
supported by the Russian Orthodox Church, which sought,
dox achieved autonomy under the patriarchate of Constanti-
and in a significant measure obtained, its pre-Soviet role in
nople. Similarly, in Poland the Roman Catholic Church be-
public life. Though not proclaimed the official religion of the
came totally dominant, but there remained small Lutheran,
state, it is recognized as the dominant religious force in the
old Catholic, Polish Catholic (which came into existence in
nation, whereas a few other religions, among them Roman
1897), and Orthodox Churches. The Polish Orthodox
Catholicism, Lutheranism, and Islam, are also recognized.
Church was recognized by the patriarchate of Constantino-
Perhaps the most striking change has taken place with the
ple as autonomous, that is, self-governing under supervision
disintegration of Yugoslavia. The process began in 1989 with
of the mother church, in 1924. In 1980, 92 percent of the
the efforts of Slobodan Milosevic´ to remove the autonomy
population of Czechoslovakia was Roman Catholic. Small
of the province of Kosovo, in the face of its Albanian Muslim
Hussite and Brethren Churches also existed, along with a
majority, to prevent its secession. This eventually led to mili-
small autonomous Orthodox Church recognized by the ecu-
tary action and efforts to expel its Muslim population. In
menical patriarchate in 1922. Albania became an indepen-
1991 the constituent provinces of the nation, Croatia, Slove-
dent nation in 1912 but was always subject to threats of dis-
nia, and Macedonia, declared independence, provoking a
memberment by its neighbors. Its population prior to World
widening war among the ethnic groups. The former two de-
War II was predominantly Muslim—the only such nation
veloped Roman Catholic identities and the last an indepen-
in eastern Europe—with a Roman Catholic minority in the
dent national Orthodox identity. When Bosnia-Herzogovina
north and an Orthodox minority in the south. The paradigm
voted for independence the same year, an all-out war for con-
of the religious situation in eastern Europe at the time was
trol of the former province pitted Roman Catholic Cro-
that of Yugoslavia during and up to the end of the commu-
atians, Serbian Orthodox, and Muslims against each other
nist era. An amalgam of a number of peoples, Yugoslavia in-
under their ethnic identities. The conflict ended a year later
cluded Roman Catholics in its western provinces of Slovenia
with North Atlantic Treaty Organization action, forcing an
and Croatia and Orthodox in its eastern provinces of Serbia
uneasy peace.
and Montenegro, thus reflecting the divided status of the
In Poland the dominant Roman Catholic Church and
church in eastern Europe and northern Eurasia as a whole.
the smaller Lutheran and Polish Orthodox Churches sought
AFTER WORLD WAR II. Although the redrawing of national
an ecumenical solution to their national political life in the
boundaries as a result of World War II, primarily at the ex-
postcommunist period. In tiny Estonia, rival church group-
pense of the Soviet Union’s western neighbors, had an im-
ings of Estonian Orthodox and Russian Orthodox sought to
pact on church order, the geographical demography of Or-
work out relations. This resolution, however, provoked
thodox, Roman Catholics, and Protestants did not change
stressful relations between the ecumenical patriarchate of
radically. Affecting all churches, however, were the forces of
Constantinople (Istanbul) and the Moscow patriarchate.
secularism, communism, and ecumenism. For more than
Of great influence was the establishment of the Europe-
two millennia the primary struggles of the various churches
an Union, to which several of the nations of eastern Europe
were among themselves. In the twentieth century the
have been admitted. The essentially “borderless” character of
churches came to share common enemies that discounted the
the European Union has challenged old presuppositions of
significance of religious faith. Secularism has taken many
nationhood and, especially for Christianity, the assumption
forms, but the most militant was Marxism. In the Soviet
of close church and national identities.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHRISTIANITY: CHRISTIANITY IN WESTERN EUROPE
1687
The story of Orthodox, papal, and Franco-German
tianity. New York, 1937–1945. Chapters 3 and 4 cover the
Roman Catholic and Protestant competition in the great ex-
early history of the spread of Christianity in eastern Europe
panse of eastern Europe and northern Eurasia may have
from both the West and the East.
largely come to an end. The twentieth-century ecumenical
Mylonas, George E. The Balkan States: An Introduction to Their
movement brought together in previously unimagined ways
History. St. Louis, Mo., 1946. A good overview. Argues the
the disparate Christian churches. In the post–World War II
Greek position on Macedonia.
era, Orthodox, Roman Catholics, and Protestants of all
Nowak, Frank. Medieval Slavdom and the Rise of Russia (1930).
kinds struggled to replace confrontation and conflict with di-
Westport, Conn., 1970. A readable short history of Russia
alogue, understanding, and cooperation. It may be that the
to Catherine the Great.
return to a pre-Constantinian status vis-à-vis the state may
Obolensky, Dimitri. The Byzantine Commonwealth: Eastern Eu-
contain within it the seeds of a new unity for Christendom.
rope, 500–1453. London, 1971. A history of Byzantium with
What can be affirmed is that in the twenty-first century the
a focus on the cultural, political, and ecclesiastical cohesion
various churches, after twenty centuries of conflict, relate to
with the peoples of eastern Europe.
each other with difficulty but of necessity in an unaccus-
Purmonen, Veikko, ed. Orthodoxy in Finland: Past and Present.
tomed spirit of increased cooperation.
Kuopio, Finland, 1981. A collection of essays written by Or-
thodox Finns regarding their church.
SEE ALSO Cyril and Methodius; Eastern Christianity; Ecu-
menical Movement; Greek Orthodox Church; Marxism;
Russell, James C. The Germanization of Early Medieval Christiani-
ty: A Sociohistorical Approach to Religious Transformation. Ox-
Russian Orthodox Church; Schism, article on Christian
ford, 1994. Argues that through history there has been a
Schism; Uniate Churches.
basic rewriting of the Christian message to conform with
German culture.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Byrnes, Timothy A. Transnational Catholicism in Postcommunist
Sutton, Jonathan, and William Peter Van Den Bercken, eds. Or-
Europe. Lanham, Md., 2001. Studies Croatia, Poland, and
thodox Christianity and Contemporary Europe. Dudley, Mass.,
Slovakia, showing deep involvement of the Roman Catholic
2003. Selected papers of an international conference held at
Church in ethnic conflicts.
the University of Leeds, England, in June 2001.
Chadwick, Owen. The Christian Church in the Cold War. Penguin
Tachiaos, Anthony-Emil N., ed. The Legacy of Saints Cyril and
History of the Church, vol. 7. New York, 1993. Covers the
Methodius to Kiev and Moscow. Proceedings of the Interna-
period from World War II to the collapse of the Soviet
tional Congress on the Millennium of the Conversion of
Union.
RusD to Christianity, November 1988. Thessalonike, Greece,
Dvornik, Francis. The Slavs: Their Early History and Civilization.
1992.
Boston, 1956. A thorough introduction.
Ware, Timothy. The Orthodox Church. Rev. ed. London and New
Dvornik, Francis. Byzantine Missions among the Slavs: SS. Constan-
York, 1993. A clear, detailed introduction to the Orthodox
tine-Cyril and Methodius. New Brunswick, N.J., 1970. The
Church.
major historical source in English on the topic.
Yannaras, Christos. The Church in Post-Communist Europe. Berke-
Geanakoplos, Deno John. Byzantine East and Latin West: Two
ley, Calif., 2003. A critique of consumerism, which the au-
Worlds of Christendom in Middle Ages and Renaissance. New
thor claims has supplanted communion as a lynchpin of
York, 1966. Important insights on the cultural sources of ec-
modern Orthodox Church life.
clesiastical conflicts. Excellent study.
STANLEY SAMUEL HARAKAS (1987 AND 2005)
Greinacher, Norbert, and Virgil Elizondo, eds. Churches in Social-
ist Societies of Eastern Europe. Concilium, no. 154. New
York, 1982. Centers on Roman Catholic concerns. A collec-
tion of articles of varying quality.
CHRISTIANITY: CHRISTIANITY IN WESTERN
Hösch, Edgar. The Balkans: A Short History from Greek Times to
EUROPE
the Present Day. Translated by Tania Alexander. London,
Although the history of Christianity in each of the regions
1972. Readable, and a good introduction.
to which it has spread manifests certain special characteristics
Hussey, Joan M., ed. The Byzantine Empire. Vol. 4 of The Cam-
that set it apart, the development of Christianity within the
bridge Medieval History, 2d ed. Cambridge, U.K., 1966–. A
history of western Europe has in many decisive ways shaped
standard reference volume. See parts 1 and 2, “Byzantium
and Its Neighbours” and “Government, Church, and Civili-
its development in all other regions. The English man of let-
sation.”
ters Hilaire Belloc (1870–1953) formulated the significance
Jelavich, Charles, and Barbara Jelavich. The Balkans. Englewood
of that development—as well as a highly idiosyncratic and
Cliffs, N.J., 1965. A clearly narrated introduction with a
debatable philosophy of history—in his epigram of 1912:
number of helpful maps.
“Europe will return to the [Christian] faith, or she will per-
Lanckoron´ska, Karolina. Studies on the Roman-Slavonic Rite in Po-
ish. The faith is Europe. And Europe is the faith.” Belloc’s
land. Orientalia Christiana Analecta, no. 161. Rome, 1961.
pronouncement is partly historical and partly hortatory, and
Provides evidence of early Eastern influence in Poland.
even those who would vigorously reject the first and hortato-
Latourette, Kenneth Scott. The Thousand Years of Uncertainty, a.d.
ry half of his formulation would probably acknowledge the
500–a.d. 1500. Vol. 2 of A History of the Expansion of Chris-
historical force of the second half. Through most of its histo-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1688
CHRISTIANITY: CHRISTIANITY IN WESTERN EUROPE
ry, what most people, insiders or outsiders, have identified
having ever actually made such a journey to Spain is tenuous,
as the Christian faith has been the particular form that the
tradition was quick to attribute one to him.
Christian faith has acquired in its European experience. Asia,
Africa, and the Americas have imported most of their Chris-
As that reference indicates, however, the most powerful
tianity from western Europe or Britain, and while Christiani-
Christian center in Europe was, from the beginning, at the
ty did indeed begin in Asia Minor, most Christians in Asia
most powerful city in Europe: Rome. One tradition attri-
Minor now practice and believe versions of Christianity that
butes the founding of that community to the apostle Peter
have come there only after having first been filtered through
around 42 CE, but critics of the credibility of that tradition
Europe. The history of Christianity in western continental
have often pointed to the absence of any reference to Peter
Europe and the British Isles is, therefore, indispensable to the
in the letter that Paul addressed to Rome fifteen years later
understanding of Christianity wherever it exists today. It is
(even though the final chapter of that letter is a catalog of
no less indispensable to the understanding of the history of
proper names). But whoever it was that founded it, the
western Europe itself. And in that sense at least, Belloc was
Christian church at Rome was prominent enough both for
right.
Paul to send it his most important letter and for the emperor
Nero to instigate a persecution of it, during which both Peter
In recounting the history of Christianity in western Eu-
and Paul were said to have suffered martyrdom. That perse-
rope and the British Isles from the time of the apostle Paul
cution did not diminish the power and prestige of the
to the present, this article is designed to account for the iden-
Roman church, which became a significant presence in the
tification of Christianity with Europe and to describe its later
city and (especially after the capture of Jerusalem in 70 CE
significance. Therefore, various incidents and individual de-
and its consequent decline as the mother city of Christianity)
tails of persons and places are selected as they illustrate the
first among the Christian centers of Europe—indeed, of the
several stages of the process, and much more must be omitted
Mediterranean world.
than can be included.
Although many of the most notable leaders of Christian
BEGINNINGS OF CHRISTIANITY IN EUROPE. The coming of
thought during the second, third, and fourth centuries were
Christianity to Europe may in some ways be read as the leit-
not located in Europe but either in Alexandria (Clement, Or-
motif of the Acts of the Apostles in the New Testament. The
igen, Alexander, Athanasius, Cyril) or in Roman North Afri-
entire life and ministry of Jesus had taken place in Palestine.
ca (Tertullian, Cyprian, Augustine) or still in Asia Minor
He did not speak a European language, and except for a few
(Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Cyril of Jerusalem, Jerome), most
Romans, such as Pontius Pilate, he did not meet any Europe-
of them had some sort of European connection: Athanasius
ans. Acts also begins within Palestine, in Jerusalem, but the
found asylum in Rome when he was driven out of Alexan-
story of the second half of the book is set largely in Europe,
dria; before Jerome went to Palestine, he had undertaken the
one of its high points being the confrontation of the apostle
translation of the Vulgate at the behest of Pope Damasus,
Paul with an audience in Athens (Acts 17) and its climactic
whom he served as secretary; Augustine was brought to
conclusion coming in the final chapter with his arrival at
Christianity in Europe through the teaching of Ambrose,
Rome. It was either to Europe or from Europe that Paul ad-
bishop of Milan. Similarly, although the first seven ecumeni-
dressed the bulk of his letters, including the three longest
cal councils of the church were held at such Eastern cities as
ones (Romans and 1 and 2 Corinthians), and he wrote all of
Nicaea, Constantinople, Ephesus, and Chalcedon, rather
them in Greek. From the Gospels it would have been diffi-
than in Rome or any other European city, it was in fact the
cult to predict that Christianity would become European,
power and prestige of Christian Europe that often deter-
much less that Europe would become Christian, but with the
mined their outcome. The Spanish bishop, Hosius of Cordo-
career of Paul that direction had begun to become clear.
va, was in many ways the most authoritative of the bishops
at Nicaea in 325, and when, according to the contemporary
For the period of two and a half centuries between the
account, the bishops at Chalcedon in 451 declared that
career of Paul and the conversion of the emperor Constan-
“Peter has spoken through the mouth of [Pope] Leo,” they
tine (r. 306–337) there exist many items of information
were acknowledging once more the special status that Euro-
about the appearance of Christianity in one or another part
pean Christianity had achieved as early as the beginning of
of Europe. One of the most instructive of these is the ac-
the fourth century.
count, preserved by Eusebius of Caesarea (c. 260/270–c.
339) in book 5 of his Church History, of the persecution of
The event with the most far-reaching consequences for
a Christian community at Lyons, in Gaul, in 177–178. The
the history of European Christianity, indeed for the history
church in Gaul is thought by many scholars to have been the
of Christianity everywhere, was the conversion of the emper-
source of the earliest Christian missions to the British Isles,
or Constantine and the ensuing transformation of the
which date from the second or third century, when some of
Roman Empire into a Christian empire. That change took
the Celtic inhabitants of Britain were converted (hence the
place on European soil when, in the Battle of the Milvian
usual designation “Celtic church”). The apostle Paul wrote
Bridge on October 28, 312, Constantine defeated the forces
to the church in Rome, “I hope to see you in passing as I
of his rival Maxentius, who was emperor for Italy and Africa,
go to Spain” (Rom. 15:24). Although the evidence for his
and thus became sole emperor. Attributing his victory to the
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHRISTIANITY: CHRISTIANITY IN WESTERN EUROPE
1689
Christian God, Constantine identified the cross of Christ as
then ecclesiastically, in the name of the orthodox faith. As
the “sacred sign” by which the Senate and the Roman people
a consequence, in the course of the two centuries after Clovis,
had been restored to their ancient glory. Christianity rapidly
the Frankish crown became the principal protector of the
moved from being persecuted to being tolerated to being
Roman see, which reciprocated by supporting Frankish po-
preferred to being established. Constantine in 330 trans-
litical and territorial ambitions. The coronation as Holy
ferred the capital of his newly christianized empire from
Roman Emperor of the Frankish king Charles, known to his-
Rome to Byzantium, renamed Constantinople, or “New
tory as Charlemagne, by the pope in the year 800 was as
Rome.” For the history of Christianity in Europe, this move
much the recognition of an already existing status quo as it
away from Europe served, somewhat ironically, to endow
was the creation of anything new, but it has served ever since
Europe with a position of even greater consequence for the
as perhaps the primary symbol of the spiritual unity of
future, for much of the aura that had surrounded Rome and
“Christian Europe” as a cultural entity.
the Roman emperor continued to surround Rome, but now
descended instead upon the Roman bishop, who from Eu-
The Christianization of Europe and of the nations that
rope would declare and enforce his position in the collegial
came into Europe was at the same time the conquest of their
company of bishops as “first among equals” (equals who
indigenous religious traditions, sometimes by missionary ac-
would become less equal in the process).
tivity and sometimes by military victory. Formally and exter-
nally, the conquest was taken to mean the total obliteration
Simultaneous with the developing establishment of a
of the old faith. Thus, when in the early 720s Boniface, the
Christian empire and of a Christianized European society,
Benedictine monk who bears the title “apostle of Germany,”
and in part as a reaction against it, monasticism both Eastern
chopped down an oak sacred to the worship of the German
and Western gave institutional form to the ascetic impera-
god Thor at Geismar, this was interpreted to be the replace-
tives of primitive Christianity. Now that the sharp line of dif-
ment of the “false gods” of paganism with the Christian
ferentiation between the church and “the world” had been
deity. Yet the same Thor or Donar, god of thunder (Donner),
blurred, it was necessary to find a new and more striking way
was to give his name to the Germanic designations for the
to draw the line by “forsaking the world” and going into a
sixth day of the Christian week (“Thursday” or “Donner-
monastery. Above all, it was the work of Benedict of Nursia
stag”), the very week that began with a Sunday devoted to
(c. 480–c. 547), through his Rule, that gave European mo-
the weekly commemoration of the resurrection of Jesus
nasticism a settled form. The monks were to become the
Christ. Similarly, Friday’s name came from Freyja, German-
principal missionaries to the new populations of Europe as
ic goddess of love and counterpart of Venus, who gave her
well as the principal transmitters of the cultural heritage,
name to that same day in French. The names of gods were
classical as well as Christian, and thus the educators of medi-
sometimes transformed into the names of saints who often
eval Europe. It was in recognition of this role that Benedict
had the same provenance and some of the same functions as
has been designated “patron saint of Europe.”
the gods. In sending Augustine to Kent, Pope Gregory I (r.
MEDIEVAL EUROPE. In all of these ways European Christian-
590–604) gave instructions that the new centers of Christian
ity was developing in the direction of the forms and struc-
worship should be at the places already revered as holy by
tures it was to have when it came to deal with the new popu-
the native population; thus, sacred springs and streams be-
lations that arrived in Europe. The beginning of the Middle
came the sites of Christian baptisms. “Conquest,” therefore,
Ages may be defined for our purposes here as the period dur-
involved some measure of continuity as well as the more ob-
ing which those new populations were becoming Christian.
vious forms of discontinuity.
Some of these, most notably the Goths, had already be-
Conversely, Christianity became European at the cost
come Christian before their arrival: Ulfilas, the fourth-
of increasing discontinuity between itself and Christian
century “apostle of the Goths,” had worked among them as
churches elsewhere. Such ruptures of continuity took place
a missionary, translating the Bible into Gothic. Paradoxical-
even within Western Christianity, as the centralized authori-
ly, however, the christianization of the Goths was to work
ty of Rome—administrative, liturgical, sometimes also doc-
against them when they came to Europe, because the form
trinal—clashed with older regional systems. Much of the
of Christianity that Ulfilas had brought them was tainted
History of the English Church and People by Bede “the Venera-
with the Arian heresy and therefore stood in the way of an
ble” (c. 673–735) is devoted to the process by which older
immediate political alliance between the Goths and the bish-
“Celtic” practices on such questions as monastic tonsure and
op of Rome. The future of Christian Europe belonged to
the date of Easter had to surrender to customs developed on
such an alliance, in which all the Germanic, Celtic, and west-
the continent and enforced by the papacy. Even more dra-
ern Slavic tribes would eventually share. Among these tribes
matic and far-reaching in their implications were the deepen-
it was the Franks who came to assume a position of leader-
ing differences between East and West. As “New Rome,”
ship when, in a reprise of Constantine’s conversion, their
Constantinople developed forms of organization and wor-
king, Clovis, became an orthodox Catholic Christian in 496.
ship that gave to Byzantine Christianity a special character
With the support of the Catholic episcopate, Clovis set about
that it was to transmit to its daughter churches in eastern Eu-
the task of subduing the “heretical” Visigoths, militarily and
rope. The dream of a single Christian empire reaching from
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1690
CHRISTIANITY: CHRISTIANITY IN WESTERN EUROPE
one end of the Mediterranean to the other, all held together
beginning at the Council of Clermont in 1095 and ending
by a Greco-Roman Christian culture, never became a reality
with the Turkish victory over the Christian forces at Nicopo-
for any significant length of time, not even under the emper-
lis in 1396, were, on one level, an expression of the medieval
or Justinian (r. 527–565), who strove to achieve it by every
ideal of a united Western Christian Europe: England,
means available, from armies to dogmas to jurisprudence.
France, Germany, and Italy joined forces under the cross of
And as the Christianity of western Europe began to come of
Christ and with the inspiration and blessing of the church
age, its family resemblance to Byzantium became less dis-
to rescue the “holy places” in Palestine. On another level,
cernible. The rise and rapid expansion of Islam in the seventh
however, the Crusades are frequently interpreted as a disaster
and eighth centuries had, among many other consequences,
both for Christianity and for Europe, for they not only failed
the result of isolating Eastern Christendom and the Chris-
to achieve their goal in Palestine but also proved to be divi-
tianity of western Europe from each other. Fundamental dif-
sive within Christendom itself. The Crusades, as well as the
ferences of missionary methodology asserted themselves,
confrontations between “spiritual” and “secular” authority,
most prominently in the Christianization of the Slavs during
for which parallels can be found throughout the history of
the ninth and tenth centuries. Byzantium sought to make a
European and British Christianity both in the Middle Ages
nation Christian by translating the Bible and the liturgy into
and since, illustrate the church’s paradoxical role as simulta-
that nation’s language, Rome sought to do so by teaching it
neously the patron of national cultures (whose kings were
to pray in Latin and to accept Roman primacy. The collision
said to rule “by the grace of God”) and the embodiment of
between these two methodologies on the Slavic mission field
a cultural ideal transcending all national boundaries.
coincided with increasing tensions over jurisdictional ques-
That paradox was also at work in other aspects of medi-
tions (such as the proper titles for the patriarchs of Old and
eval culture. In the millennium from Boethius (c. 480–c.
New Rome) and doctrinal disputes (such as that over the
525) to Martin Luther (1483–1546), the intellectual history
procession of the Holy Spirit from the Father and the Son).
of Europe during the Middle Ages is, to a remarkable extent,
All of these were symptomatic of the growing alienation—or,
the history of Christian thought in its interaction with phi-
to put the matter more positively, of the growing self-
losophy, science, and political theory, as these came into me-
awareness of western Europe as a Christian civilization in its
dieval Europe both from classical antiquity and from con-
own right rather than a Byzantine outpost.
temporary Islam and Judaism; the Scholasticism of the
One other difference between Byzantine Christianity
twelfth and thirteenth centuries, whose most influential
and the Christianity of western Europe during the Middle
spokesman was Thomas Aquinas (c. 1225–1274), was an im-
Ages was political. Although the Eastern church was not the
portant chapter in the history of philosophy no less than in
servile department of state that Western polemics have often
that of theology. Much of the architecture of the Middle
described it to have been, its vision of the Christian empire
Ages was made possible by the needs of the church for basili-
did view the imperial power as having been transmitted di-
cas, abbeys, and cathedrals, and its art by the themes of
rectly from God through Christ to the emperor, without the
Christian worship and devotion. Sacred music and secular
mediation of church and hierarchy. By contrast, as the sym-
music not only coexisted but interacted, both in the monas-
bolism of the coronation of Charlemagne by the pope sug-
tery and in the community. Early monuments of the litera-
gested, the mediation of the church was seen in the West as
tures of Europe, such as Beowulf and the Norse sagas, docu-
essential to the legitimacy of political power; it was seen that
ment the blending of Christian and non-Christian elements
way by a succession of popes, but also by many emperors and
in western Europe, and so, under more explicitly Christian
kings, who invoked papal authority to validate their political
inspiration, do late monuments such as Piers Plowman and
sovereignty. Claiming the right to “bind” and “loose” (cf.
Dante’s Commedia. Here again, the relation between univer-
Mt. 16:18–19) not only the forgiveness of sins but also polit-
sal and particular—a Latin literature, which is European,
ical office, the papacy repeatedly came into conflict with the
versus the several vernacular literatures, which are national—
civil power, which often made use of the territorial church
manifests the ambivalence of the Christian role in what the
in its own land as an instrument of power politics. In the
medieval historian Robert S. Lopez has called “the birth of
conflict between Pope Gregory VII and Emperor Henry IV,
Europe.”
climaxing in their encounter at Canossa in 1077, one of the
EUROPE IN THE REFORMATION. Thus there were in medieval
issues was the tension between the particularistic ambitions
Europe, and in the Christianity of medieval Europe, centrif-
both of the German emperor and of the German church and
ugal forces far more powerful than could be acknowledged
the universal claims of the pope, who, as part of his campaign
by the political and ecclesiastical rhetoric of the oneness of
to purify and reform the church, strove to secure its indepen-
the corpus Christianum. Such oneness as there was had proba-
dence from the economic and political entanglements of the
bly reached its zenith in 1215 at the Fourth Lateran Council,
feudal system. A century later, Thomas Becket, archbishop
when political and ecclesiastical representatives from all over
of Canterbury, defended those universal claims against the
western Europe had hailed the authority of Pope Innocent
king of England, Henry II, and was murdered in 1170.
III. But both before and after that council, this authority and
Combining as they did religious zeal, military ambition,
the unity it symbolized were in jeopardy. National churches
national rivalry, and a yearning for the exotic, the Crusades,
pledged their allegiance to the pope—and went their own
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHRISTIANITY: CHRISTIANITY IN WESTERN EUROPE
1691
way in polity, liturgy, and religious practice. Kings and em-
medieval reform. Humanist and churchman at once, Fran-
perors craved anointing from the church, but often craved
cisco Jiménez de Cisneros (1436–1517) demonstrated the
its property and power even more. And theologians opened
possibility of holding together Roman Catholic orthodoxy
their treatises with affirmations of their creedal orthodoxy,
and a commitment to educational and ecclesiastical reform.
but manipulated the ambiguities of creedal language to ig-
What kind of evolution of Christianity all these various
nore or revise or even undermine the dogmatic tradition.
reform movements would have brought about on their own
But whatever cleavages of nations, parties, and schools
is a subject only for speculation. For it was revolution, not
of thought there may have been in medieval Europe, the
evolution, that swept across Christian Europe during the six-
principle—and the illusion—of unity-within-diversity re-
teenth century, transforming both the map of Europe itself
mained. All of that was shattered by the Reformation of the
and the character of European Christianity in the process.
sixteenth century. Conditions in the church throughout
The one church of the Middle Ages became the several
western Europe during the later Middle Ages had convinced
churches of the Reformation. Each of these reformations was
nearly everyone that some sort of reform in capite et membris
to shape the history of European Christianity in a distinct
(“in head and members”), as the saying went, was needed;
way.
there were widespread complaints about episcopal and cleri-
The Lutheran Reformation carried out into cultural,
cal negligence, abuses of authority at all levels were perceived
political, and ecclesiastical structures the impulses set in mo-
to be rampant, ignorance and superstition among the people
tion by Martin Luther’s struggle for faith. Although Luther
were being overlooked or even encouraged by the church,
began that struggle on the assumption that he could find sal-
and even the most responsible voices in ecclesiastical posi-
vation only within the institutional forms of the Western
tions acknowledged that almost every high official (some-
church, he ended by repudiating many of them, even de-
times up to and including the pope) could be suspected of
nouncing the pope as antichrist. A right relation with God
having bought his office and thus of having committed the
was the consequence not of human moral striving but of the
sin of simony. The spectacle of a schism between two popes,
divine gift of forgiving grace. That gift, moreover, was appro-
one at Rome and the other at Avignon, seemed to prove that
priated by faith alone, faith being understood as confidence
the medieval tradition of reform, as enunciated in the elev-
and trust in the divine promise. And the authority for know-
enth century by Gregory VII, was inadequate to the crisis of
ing this promise and being assured of this grace was not the
the fifteenth century. During that century, a series of church
voice of the church, but the word of God in the Bible. To
councils (Pisa, 1409; Constance, 1414–1417; Basel-Ferrara-
be sure, these three Reformation principles—often cited in
Florence, 1431–1445) sought to achieve reform by legislat-
their Latin formulations as sola gratia, sola fide, sola Scrip-
ing changes in church life, reestablishing (unsuccessfully) ties
tura—became the common property of much of Protestant-
to the Eastern churches, formulating orthodox doctrine on
ism, not only of Lutheranism, even though Lutheranism
various issues, such as purgatory, that had not been set down
often claimed to be alone in carrying them out consistently.
before, and clarifying the relation between the authority of
But in the Lutheran churches of Europe, above all in Germa-
the pope and the authority of the council. This last issue led
ny and Scandinavia, these principles, enunciated officially in
to new schisms, this time between pope and council. Some
the Augsburg Confession of 1530, served as the foundation
advocates of reform, notably Jan Hus in Bohemia, even set
for new developments in many fields of culture. The Luther-
into motion forces that would produce separate churches.
an chorale, which began with the hymns of Luther himself,
flourished from the sixteenth to the eighteenth century, pro-
In the intellectual and cultural life of Europe, this was
ducing not only hundreds of new liturgies and hymnals but
at the same time a period of intense activity and of vigorous
also the sacred music of Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–
change. Although it is historically incorrect to interpret the
1750). In formulating the implications of the Reformation
humanism of the Renaissance, whether Italian or Northern,
principles, the theologians of the Lutheran church construct-
as a rejection of the essential content of Christianity, it did
ed systems of Christian doctrine that sometimes rivaled those
represent an attack on many of its received traditions. Thus
of the medieval Scholastics for comprehensiveness, if not for
the humanists attacked medieval Scholasticism both for its
philosophical sophistication.
ignorance of classical culture and for its distortion of Chris-
tianity. They made the monks the object of ridicule for cari-
The Calvinist tradition—or, as it has often preferred to
caturing the ethical imperatives of the New Testament, and
identify itself, the Reformed tradition—shared many of the
they pointed to the contradictions between those imperatives
central emphases of the Lutheran Reformation, but sought
and a great deal that was going on in the institutional life of
to carry them out with greater consistency. As worked out
European Christianity. In keeping with the humanistic
in the career and thought of John Calvin (1509–1564), it
motto “Back to the sources!” Italian humanists like Lorenzo
took sola Scriptura to mean an elimination of those features
Valla (1406–1457) and northern humanists like Erasmus
in worship and Christian culture that could not claim explic-
(1469?–1536) devoted their scholarly attention to recovering
it biblical warrant. The primacy and sovereignty of divine
the original text and the authentic message of the New Testa-
grace implied that not only salvation, but also damnation,
ment, and in this sense they also belong to the history of late
was the consequence of the will of God. Perhaps most impor-
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1692
CHRISTIANITY: CHRISTIANITY IN WESTERN EUROPE
tant of all was the Reformed belief that the social order, no
Catholic doctrine and order but also a call for greater dedica-
less than the life of the individual believer, must be brought
tion to the cause of reform. The most abiding expression of
into conformity with the revealed word of God. In the Cal-
that dedication came at the Council of Trent (1545–1563),
vinist lands of Europe, therefore, far more than in the Lu-
which reaffirmed the church’s teaching by identifying which
theran ones, the Reformation brought about a concerted ef-
positions among the many being espoused by churchmen
fort to reshape politics and economics in accordance with
and theologians lay within the bounds of orthodoxy and
this standard. Whether or not this helped to create a spiritual
which did not. No less urgent an item on the council’s agen-
climate in which modern European capitalism was able to
da was the elimination of the abuses to which its fifteenth-
take seed, as Max Weber and other scholars have contended,
century predecessors had already addressed their attention.
is still a matter of controversy, but Calvinism certainly did
Bishops were now obliged to be resident in their dioceses,
shape attitudes toward work, property, social justice, and
instead of collecting the income and leaving the duties to sur-
public order not only in the Swiss and other non-Lutheran
rogates. Preaching and teaching were prominent among
forms of Protestantism on the continent, but far beyond the
those duties, and therefore the professional training of future
borders of western Europe (including North America).
clergy in seminaries was incumbent on the church every-
where. Implementation of the Catholic reformation was en-
One of the regions in which the Calvinist Reformation
trusted not only to a revitalized episcopate and clergy and a
became a major cultural force was the British Isles. Through
reformed papacy but also to the renewal of the religious or-
the reformatory work of John Knox (c. 1514–1572), it was
ders and to the development of a new religious order, indeed,
the Reformed version of Protestantism that prevailed in
a new kind of order, in the Society of Jesus, founded by Igna-
Scotland. Doctrinally this meant that the Scots Confession
tius Loyola (1491–1556). In part to compensate for the loss-
of 1560, which Knox composed together with several col-
es of European territory to Protestantism, the Jesuits and
leagues, was to be the first official statement of the teaching
other religious orders undertook an intensification of mis-
of the Reformed Church of Scotland, until it was replaced
sionary activity in the New World, as well as in Asia.
by the Westminster Confession of 1647. Liturgically, the Re-
formed character of the Church of Scotland was guaranteed
Also a part of the Reformation in Europe, despite their
by The Book of Common Order (1556–1564), in which Knox
exclusion from conventional accounts, were the representa-
and his associates set down forms of worship that in their
tives of the several radical reformations. Anabaptism criti-
judgment conformed to the scriptures and affirmed the evan-
cized Lutheranism and Calvinism for not having gone far
gelical commitments of Reformation faith.
enough in their rejection of traditional Roman Catholic
forms, and it pressed for a “believers’ church,” in which only
The relation of England to the Reformed tradition was
those who made a public commitment and confession would
considerably more equivocal. Although the earliest influ-
be members; since that excluded infants, the practice of in-
ences of the continental Reformation came to England
fant baptism was repudiated. To be consistent, many of the
through the writings and the disciples of Luther, the terms
Anabaptists, notably the Mennonites, likewise disavowed the
of the settlement that emerged from the break with Rome
Constantinian union between church and state, and some of
occasioned by the divorce of Henry VIII (1491–1547) avoid-
them even repudiated the definition of “just war” and hence
ed putting the Church of England unambiguously into any
the theory that Christians could wield the sword. Although
one confessional camp. The Book of Common Prayer, the re-
such groups as the Mennonites retained the orthodox doc-
tention of the apostolic succession of ordaining bishops, and
trines of the Trinity and the divinity of Christ, the radical
the Thirty-nine Articles, taken together despite their deep
critique of traditional Christianity led others to question
differences of approach, defined the settlement. It was only
these as well. Despite their relatively small numbers, the
with the rise of Puritanism and its protest against such am-
churches and sects of the radical Reformation were express-
biguity that Reformed patterns of churchmanship and theol-
ing misgivings about the forms of institutional and orthodox
ogy began to press for control within Anglicanism. The es-
Christianity, misgivings that appear to have been wide-
tablished church of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries
spread, though unacknowledged, throughout Europe, both
left a permanent imprint on English culture through such lit-
Roman Catholic and Protestant. Thus the end result of the
erary monuments as the Authorized Version of the Bible and
Reformation was a Europe balkanized into confessions and
(despite profound divergences) the works of John Milton
denominations that continued to divide among themselves,
(1608–1674).
a Europe in which the assumptions of a thousand years about
Unless the term Reformation is understood in a polemi-
a common Christian worldview were less and less valid.
cal and denominational sense as coextensive with the term
EUROPEAN CHRISTIANITY IN THE MODERN PERIOD. If it is
Protestantism, however, it is necessary to include in it the his-
correct to characterize the era of the Reformation as a time
tory of the Roman Catholic reformation as well, and not
when revolution began to replace evolution as a means of
simply to interpret this as a “counterreformation.” The Prot-
dealing with the problems of church and state, it is even
estant Reformation did not exhaust the imperative sense of
more appropriate to see the situation of European Christiani-
reform within the church. In every country of Europe, there-
ty in the modern period as one of coping with an age of revo-
fore, Luther’s activity evoked not only a defense of Roman
lution—or, more accurately, of revolutions in every sphere
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHRISTIANITY: CHRISTIANITY IN WESTERN EUROPE
1693
of human activity. One of the most widely used histories of
that truth. Enlightenment science, and above all the philoso-
Christianity in the modern period bears the title The Church
phy that both underlay much of the science and was based
in an Age of Revolution.
upon it, seemed increasingly to make the Christian doctrine
of creation irrelevant.
Politically, the Europe that emerged from the conflicts
of the Reformation would seem to be the negation of revolu-
Enlightenment thought was the most vigorous expres-
tion. When history textbooks speak of this as “the age of ab-
sion of the more general attack on traditional European
solutism,” they are referring to the achievement, under such
Christianity known as “secularism,” which may be defined
monarchs as Louis XIV of France (r. 1643–1715), of a level
as the belief that, here in this world (Lat., saeculum), religious
of royal authority seldom witnessed before or since, in which
ideas about revelation and eternal life are not necessary to the
the church, though with some reluctance, acted as a buttress
development of a good life for the individual or society.
of the secular power. Yet before the century that began with
Philosophically that belief has expressed itself in the con-
Louis XIV on the throne of France had ended, the overthrow
struction of rational systems of thought and of conduct that
of monarchy in France and the proclamation of a new order
attacked or simply ignored the claims of supernatural grace
(even of a new calendar) symbolized the end of secular abso-
and revelation. Politically it took the form of gradually with-
lutism, and increasingly the end of Christian hegemony.
drawing from the church the privileged status it had held in
Many of the leaders of the French Revolution were openly
the countries of Europe. Public education excluded Chris-
hostile not only to the institutional church but also to the
tian teaching from its curriculum and Christian ceremonies
principal teachings of the Christian tradition as a whole; oth-
from its practice. The state would determine the criteria for
ers sought a more positive relation between Christianity and
what made a marriage valid, and the church ritual would at
revolution. Both overt opposition and the quest for rap-
best serve only as a public attestation of a status defined by
prochement were to play a part in Christian reactions to the
secular criteria. The clergy, who in medieval Europe had
successive revolutions of modern Europe, for example in
been tried in their own courts even for offenses against the
1848. Christianity was identified, by friend and foe alike, as
political order (the issue on which Becket had clashed with
allied with the ancient regime; and by the time it had come
the English crown) lost their special legal standing. Of the
to terms with the revolutionary regime, that was already
many instances in modern European history when secular-
being overthrown by a new revolution, with which Chris-
ism and Christianity clashed, the most renowned was proba-
tianity must once more come to terms. A permanent out-
bly the Kulturkampf in nineteenth-century Germany, in
come of those seemingly constant shifts was the creation, in
which the newly united German empire took drastic steps
many countries of Europe, of Christian democratic parties,
to curb the cultural and political status of the Roman Catho-
sometimes at the conservative end of the political spectrum
lic Church. Although most of those steps were in fact eventu-
but often centrist in their policies, and even of various forms
ally reversed, the Kulturkampf has come to symbolize a pat-
of Christian socialism. The condemnation of socialism and
tern widespread throughout Europe.
of other modern revolutionary movements in the Syllabus of
Errors issued by Pope Pius IX in 1864 must be seen in coun-
The case of the Kulturkampf suggests another closely re-
terpoint with the “social encyclicals,” especially those of Pope
lated phenomenon that has also been a major force in rede-
Leo XIII (r. 1878–1903), which articulated a reconciliation
fining the place of Christianity in modern European culture,
of Christian teachings with the best in the democratic sys-
the dominance of nationalism. The nineteenth century, the
tems; a similar range of political opinion, and thus of re-
“great century” of Christian missions, was as well the century
sponse to the revolutions of the time, was present as well in
of nationalist expansion into the European colonial empires.
the various branches of European Protestantism during the
As the custodian of nationality and the patron of the national
eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
cultures of Christian Europe, Christianity had long main-
tained a dual role in fostering and yet restraining the devo-
What Christians of all denominations found objection-
tion to the nation. Now that such devotion was assuming the
able in much of revolutionary ideology was not only its at-
proportions of a principal rival to the church for the deepest
tack on political regimes with which the institutional church
loyalties of European populations, this dual role meant that
had made its peace, but also its alliance with intellectual and
Christianity sometimes expressed itself in national terms so
social movements that seemed bent on undermining the
exclusive as to obscure its universal significance. One of the
Christian faith itself. Thus the theoretical foundations of
most frequent arenas for the clash between Christianity and
both the French and the American revolutions contained
national aspirations has been the effort of national govern-
many elements of the philosophy of the Enlightenment.
ments to control the governance of the church within their
Against the traditional Christian insistence on the need for
own territories on such questions as episcopal appointments:
revelation, Enlightenment thought defended the capacity of
Gallicanism was the effort by French ecclesiastics and states-
the natural mind to find the truth about the good life, and
men to assert what were taken to be the historic rights of the
against the Christian distinction between the capacities of
church in France against the centralized ultramontane au-
human nature and the superadded gift of divine grace, it as-
thority of the papacy. The most notorious expression of na-
cribed to human nature the ability to live in accordance with
tional religion came in the program of the German Chris-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1694
CHRISTIANITY: CHRISTIANITY IN LATIN AMERICA
tians in Nazi Germany, who identified the Christian gospel
Fliche, Augustin, and Victor Martin, eds. Histoire de l’Église, de-
with Germanic ideology and Aryan purity.
puis les origines jusqu’à nos jours. 21 vols. Paris, 1935–1964.
Each volume of this learned set provides information and in-
As the supreme expression of nationalistic devotion,
sight; Émile Amann’s L’époque carolingienne (Paris, 1937),
modern warfare has also been the ultimate test of Christiani-
the sixth volume, stands alone as an account of the Carolin-
ty’s relation to European culture. From Augustine and
gian period and its aftermath.
Thomas Aquinas had come the definition of just war, which
Latourette, K. S. A History of the Expansion of Christianity. 7 vols.
Christianity applied, with greater or lesser appropriateness,
New York, 1937–1945. As Stephen Neill (see below) has
to modern European wars from the Thirty Years’ War to
said, “It is baffling to his successors that, when we think we
World War II. Church leaders in European nations on both
have made some specially bright discovery of our own, we
sides during those wars invoked the blessing of the same
nearly always find that he has been there before us.”
Christian God not only on the individuals who fought but
Neill, Stephen C. A History of Christian Missions. Baltimore, 1964.
also on the nationalist cause for which they fought. The same
European without being Eurocentric, it puts European
church leaders, however, often reminded their nations of the
Christianity into a world context.
moral demands of a humanity beyond the nation, and in the
Nichols, James. History of Christianity, 1650–1950. New York,
efforts for peace and reconstruction after a war Christianity
1956. As its title suggests, this volume makes “secularization”
has often played a constructive role. The archbishop of Upp-
its central theme.
sala, Nathan Söderblom (1866–1931), received the Nobel
Pelikan, Jaroslav. The Christian Tradition: A History of the Devel-
Peace Prize in 1930 for his work after World War I. In the
opment of Doctrine. 4 vols. Chicago, 1971–1984. Not exclu-
aftermath of the invention of nuclear weapons, Christianity
sively, but primarily, European in its focus.
in Europe—joined then by both Roman Catholicism and
Southern, Richard W. Western Society and the Church in the Mid-
Protestantism elsewhere—took the lead in the task of re-
dle Ages. Harmondsworth, 1970. Unlike most histories of
thinking the very notion of just war. It was also from Chris-
medieval Christianity, Southern’s narrative concentrates on
tianity in Europe that there came the reminder of what Pope
society and culture in the Middle Ages.
John Paul II called “the common Christian roots of the na-
Vidler, Alec. The Church in an Age of Revolution. Baltimore, 1961.
tions of Europe” and the summons to find in those roots a
A judicious selection of persons and events to interpret the
vision of the continuing relation between Christianity and
history of Christianity, especially in Europe, during the past
European culture. Thus, in a sense quite different from Bel-
two centuries.
loc’s own, the thesis that “Europe is the faith, and the faith
Wand, J. W. C. A History of the Modern Church from 1500 to the
is Europe” has continued to find support.
Present Day. London, 1946. An interesting contrast to the
viewpoint set forth by other volumes in this bibliography.
SEE ALSO Crusades; Enlightenment, The; Humanism; Mod-
ernism, article on Christian Modernism; Monasticism, arti-
New Sources
cle on Christian Monasticism; New Religious Movements,
Hastings, Adrian. History of English Christianity. London, 1991.
article on New Religious Movements in Europe; Papacy;
Phillips, Paul T. A Kingdom on Earth: Anglo-American Social
Reformation; Scholasticism.
Christianity, 1880–1940. University Park, Pa., 1996.
J
B
AROSLAV PELIKAN (1987)
IBLIOGRAPHY
Revised Bibliography
Bainton, Roland H. The Reformation of the Sixteenth Century.
New ed. Foreword by Jaroslav Pelikan. Boston, 1985. De-
ceptively clear yet complex and profound, a splendid intro-
duction to the subject, with bibliographies that carry the
CHRISTIANITY: CHRISTIANITY IN LATIN
reader to the next level.
AMERICA
Cambridge Medieval History. 8 vols. Cambridge, 1911–1936.
The discovery of Santo Domingo in 1492 marks the begin-
There is no volume of this comprehensive work without di-
ning of Latin American church history. There were no priests
rect relevance to the understanding of the history of Chris-
among the one hundred men aboard the Pinta, the Niña,
tianity in Europe.
and the Santa Maria; nevertheless, the seamen were Spanish
Cambridge Modern History. 13 vols. Cambridge, 1902–1912. An-
Christians. To be Spanish or Portuguese around the begin-
tiquated though it is in both methodology and facts, this re-
mains the most useful account of the entire story. Its very
ning of the sixteenth century meant being impregnated with
quaintness makes its discussions of Christianity especially
that particular concept of church and state that had spawned
helpful.
the Crusades, with tragic consequences for the indigenous
Chadwick, Owen. The Reformation. The Pelican History of the
American peoples. Only ten months before Columbus’s
Church, vol. 3. Baltimore, 1964. Together with the other
landing, Spain had expelled the Moors from Granada and
volumes of the series listed below (Cragg, Neill, Southern,
thus concluded its eight-centuries-old war of liberation.
and Vidler), the best place for the English reader to begin.
Fired by the conviction that the Spanish crown was the di-
Cragg, Gerald R. The Church and the Age of Reason, 1648–1789.
vinely chosen instrument for the salvation of the New
Baltimore, 1960. Remarkably free of animus, a thoughtful
World, Isabel and Ferdinand, and, later, Philip, promoted
and provocative reading of the Enlightenment.
the Conquest wholeheartedly. They sent fifteen hundred
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHRISTIANITY: CHRISTIANITY IN LATIN AMERICA
1695
men in a convoy of seventeen ships on the second expedition
rights and will through civil authorities: viceroys and their
in 1493, including civil representatives, an ecclesiastical dele-
various subordinates were appointed for New Spain (Mexi-
gation (headed by the famous Benedictine Bernard Boyl),
co) in 1535, for Peru (the Andean region) in 1544, for Gra-
and a contingent of nobles to garner lands and servants for
nada (greater Colombia) in 1717, and for the Plata (River
Christ. The decadent feudal society thus imposed artificially
Plate area) in 1776.
extended Spanish structures and indelibly stamped the orga-
C
nization and future of Latin American society, to the great
OLONIAL CHURCH (1492–1808). The conquistadors were
fired by a medieval devotion to the extension of Christen-
detriment of both.
dom. The Catholic monarchs, Ferdinand of Aragon and Isa-
The “enemy” to be conquered in the New World bore
bel of Castile, supported by the staunch integralist Francisco
no resemblance to the evicted Moors. Anthropologists and
Jiménez de Cisneros and succeeded by Charles I (as Holy
historians differ widely among themselves as to the nature
Roman Emperor, Charles V) and Philip II, molded Spain
of the cultural disparity between the Spanish and the higher
into a unified nation that would be capable of what each be-
Indian civilizations. Some estimate that the Indians had
lieved to be a divine mission—the Christianization of the
reached approximately the level of the first Egyptian dynasty;
Americas. Together they directed the political-ecclesiastical
others reject such cultural comparisons as unilateral. The
enterprise for 124 years.
Aztec, the Maya, and the Inca lived in basically sedentary,
Foundations of the colonial church. The first twenty-
agricultural communities, some of which were subject to the
five years following the discovery of Santo Domingo saw the
higher cultural influence; others were nomadic and tended
implantation of Spanish colonies in the Caribbean basin.
to be more primitive in culture and religion. The syncretic
Few priests accompanied the first voyages. In the ten years
Indian religions incarnated traditional dualisms: day and
following, 125 priests (including 89 Franciscans and 32 Do-
night, sun and moon, good and evil, subject to an overarch-
minicans) went to the West Indies to evangelize an estimated
ing, implacable fate. The amazing rapidity with which these
250,000 natives. Their equipment included materials for the
cultures were destroyed resulted, at least in part, from the su-
building of churches and monasteries, books, trinkets for
periority of Spanish weaponry, the use of horses (which had
opening communication with the Indians, and subsistence
disappeared in indigenous prehistory), and the brutal annihi-
items. Of particular significance during this initial period
lation of ancient beliefs and customs in order to impose a
were the prophetic denunciations of the abuse of the Indians
religion and form of life incomprehensible to the Indian
made by two Dominicans, Antonio de Montesinos (in 1511)
peoples.
and Bartolomé de Las Casas (from 1514 until 1566). The
Agreements between the popes and Iberian Catholic
greatest obstacles to the mission were the use of armed force
kings go back to the thirteenth century, when Portugal was
in the subjection of the natives and the encomienda system
given ecclesiastical, political, and economic rights over coun-
by which the Indians were assigned to the care of those who
tries discovered and to be discovered. Near the end of the
received lands for the purposes of work and instruction in
successful reconquest of Granada, two papal bulls were is-
the Christian faith.
sued, giving the Spanish kings extensive powers over ecclesi-
The conquest and Christianization of the mainland
astical matters there. In 1493 the Roman pope conceded
began with Hernando Cortés in Mexico (1519) and was ex-
rights of jurisdiction to the Spanish and Portuguese crowns
tended to Peru by Francisco Pizarro (1531). These men were
over discoveries on either side of an imaginary line drawn
accompanied by priests, both regular and secular clergy. For
from north to south 100 leagues (556 km) west of the
the most part the regulars (monastic orders) concentrated on
Azores, moved 370 leagues (2,054 km) farther west in 1494.
the mission, while the secular clergy served as parish priests
Although there have been different interpretations as to
of the Spanish, Creole, and, later, much of the mestizo, pop-
whether the rights dispensed by the pope were territorial or
ulation.
solely ecclesiastical, the Catholic kings understood both to
be included and acted accordingly. The right to the lands was
Church organizations proliferated during the sixteenth
coupled with the duty to evangelize the native peoples. The
century. By the close of the century, some fifteen bishoprics
extension of the kingdom of God was the goal.
had been established in each of the two then-existing viceroy-
alties, Mexico and Peru. Soon after the conquest, diocesan
The royal rights conferred by the papal concordat in-
and provincial meetings were held to determine polity and
cluded the establishment of bishoprics in the conquered ter-
practice for institutional and mission work. Of the fifteen
ritories, the nomination of bishops, the reception of tithes
provincial councils held during the colonial period, the four
for the furtherance of evangelical work, the building of con-
of greatest importance were Lima I (1551) and III (1582–
vents and churches, the appointment of all clergy, and the
1583) and Mexico I (1555) and III (1585).
sending of missionaries. Thus both civil and ecclesiastical
concerns were united under one head, the king, and the pope
In Lima I the first forty resolutions established the orga-
was effectively excluded from all decision making in the con-
nization of the Inca Indian Church on the basis of the origi-
version of the Americas. The creation of the Supreme Coun-
nal tribal and regional divisions of the empire. Also, catechet-
cil of the Indies (1524) facilitated the execution of the king’s
ical instruction in the language of the people was required
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1696
CHRISTIANITY: CHRISTIANITY IN LATIN AMERICA
prior to baptism. The eighty resolutions that followed set
cordat. After the initial discovery of the Americas, the con-
forth the colonial ecclesiastical structure, marking clearly the
quistadors were always well accompanied by priests, chiefly
division between Spanish and Indian sectors of society.
Franciscans, Dominicans, and Augustinians. Within fifty
The first Mexican council treated with deep concern
years members of these orders numbered over eight hundred
such matters as the indoctrination of the indigenous peoples,
in Mexico alone. Thereafter, the Jesuits and other orders
the use of their native languages in evangelization, their need
added strength to the missionary effort.
for sacraments, the regulation of their traditional feasts and
The method of the missionaries, in general, was to up-
dances, the establishment of separate villages for them, and
root old rites and most external manifestations of Indian reli-
their freedom in choosing spouses. The councils of Lima III
gion (on the principle of tabula rasa) in order to teach the
and Mexico III were influenced by the Council of Trent
true, Catholic religion. After an initial and not too successful
(1545–1563) and indicated a continuing concern about ec-
attempt to use translators, many of the priests determined
clesiastical and clerical reforms and the welfare of the Indi-
to learn the native languages. Evangelization was carried out
ans, whose numbers had dropped substantially during this
in two different ways in the sixteenth century: (1) in the enco-
period.
mienda a priest was assigned large numbers of natives for pas-
Civil authorities and churchmen agreed that the separa-
toral care, indoctrination, and administration of the sacra-
tion of the Indians into their own villages was the best policy.
ments; (2) itinerant priests went from village to village, often
For the colonists it assured better control of the native tribes
suffering great hardships, preaching, baptizing, and defend-
and family groups, and for the missionary priests it made
ing the Indians against abuse. Although force was still used
their indoctrination and christianization more effective. As
when necessary, many Indians were converted by peaceful
early as 1539 the Franciscan Fray Juan de Almeda established
means through the direct approach of the priests. Unfortu-
such a village in Huejotzingo, near Puebla in Mexico, for
nately, the good done was often subverted by the subsequent
over forty thousand Indians. The Franciscans were soon fol-
incorporation of the new Christians into the forced labor
lowed by the Dominicans, Augustinians, and Mercedarians,
system.
but many areas in the wide expanses of territory were without
Historians differ as to the culpability of the Spaniards
spiritual care. Near the end of the sixteenth century, the
in their Christianization of New Spain (Mexico, which in-
priest Juan de Mendieta wrote that some priests traveled
cluded what is now Texas and the southwest United States)
more than 100 miles to minister to groups of over one hun-
and of Peru (which included parts of Colombia, Ecuador,
dred thousand Indians.
Bolivia, and Chile). That there was unspeakable cruelty and
Quarrels were frequent between the religious orders
that large sections of the Indian population were decimated
over jurisdiction in the villages, but were even more frequent
are clear historical facts. It is equally clear that many priests,
between the orders and the secular priests of the church.
like Las Casas (e.g., Montolinia, Valdieso, Anchieta, Zumár-
Schools, trades, civil government, and hospitals were estab-
raga, and Juan del Valle) fought for Indian rights against civil
lished in the villages. Early attempts were made to prepare
leaders, plantation and mine owners, and even other clerics.
indigenous clergy, but after disheartening experiences, most
A body of ordinances called New Laws for the Indies was
of the church authorities agreed that the natives were not suf-
adopted in 1542, papal encyclicals were issued (e.g., that of
ficiently dependable. Several early councils and for a time
Paul III in 1537), and royal edicts were emitted by both
several monastic orders specifically forbade the ordination of
Spanish and Portuguese kings, all of which required just
non-Spanish priests.
treatment of the Indians.
The church in Brazil developed more slowly than in the
A key point at issue is the number of Indians present
Spanish colonies. Although six Jesuits arrived as early as
in the Americas at the time of the Conquest. Estimates vary
1549, only seven bishoprics existed at the time of indepen-
from six million to nearly a hundred million. The Brazilian
dence. As in Spanish America, the religious orders bravely
J. V. Cesár, a member of the National Indigenist Council,
supported royal edicts commanding decent treatment for the
estimates thirty-five million both at the time of the Conquest
Indians, but the practice of royal governors and landholders,
and in the late twentieth century (Atualizaça˜o 12, Belo Hori-
who wanted Indians as slaves, won out over theory. The Jesu-
zonte, 1981, p. 27). Sherburne F. Cook and Woodrow
its, often criticized for amassing economic power, were ex-
Borah carefully estimated that the nearly seventeen million
pelled from Brazil in 1759.
Indians in central Mexico in 1532 were reduced to just over
one million by 1608 (The Indian Population of Central Mexi-
An explosive situation and a significant number of up-
co, 1531–1610, Berkeley, 1960, p. 48). The exaggerated
risings both in the black and Indian populations resulted
claims for baptisms must be viewed critically: Pedro de
from the large numbers of Africans brought as slaves to Bra-
Gante claimed fourteen thousand in one day; Bishop Zu-
zil. By 1818 more than half the population (excluding the
márraga of Mexico reported that Franciscans alone had bap-
Indians in the interior) was black; 23 percent were white; 17
tized more than one million by 1531. Another chronicler
percent, mestizo; and 7 percent, Indian.
claimed that more than ten million had been baptized solely
Missions. Real efforts were made by the kings to chris-
by Franciscans and Dominicans by the mid-seventeenth
tianize the indigenous population, as stipulated in the con-
century.
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CHRISTIANITY: CHRISTIANITY IN LATIN AMERICA
1697
The Jesuits, admitted to Brazil in 1549, Peru in 1568,
life to the mission; their life and work were strictly con-
and Mexico in 1572, largely displaced the Mercedarians as
trolled, and their passive obedience tended to result in an at-
a missionary agency. They joined the Franciscans, Augustini-
titude of stoical fatalism. Such was their dependence that
ans, and Dominicans as the chief executives of mission in the
after the expulsion of the Jesuit order in 1767 by the Portu-
seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. While all the orders
guese and Spanish kings, the missions fell into decadence.
served sacrificially and in diverse ways of evangelization, the
Natives had not been schooled to provide leadership, to ward
secular priests tended to the Spanish and mestizo population,
off the attacks of the encroaching Spanish or Portuguese
and the Jesuits dedicated much of their effort to education
seeking lands and slave labor, or to adapt to the new social
and to the establishment of reductions, Indian villages estab-
and political context. Within thirty years half the Indians in
lished by the Spanish. They, as well as the other orders, stud-
Paraguay and Brazil had scattered, many to the nearly inac-
ied the native languages, wrote grammars and dictionaries,
cessible interior. By the early nineteenth century, no missions
and published texts for study. They founded universities to
remained. By the exclusion of the more than 2,200 Jesuits,
prepare professionals in law and medicine, implant Triden-
the empire lost one of its most cohesive forces.
tine theology, and teach arts and languages. The colleges and
The success of the missions in colonial times remains
seminaries founded by the monastic orders paralleled the co-
a highly controversial issue. The positions taken by various
lonial universities established by royal license, such as the
scholars disagree with respect to the relative degree of adapta-
universities of Mexico, Santo Domingo, and Lima. The lat-
tion or change accomplished by the evangelization. Some
ter prepared candidates for the secular clergy, while the reli-
basic views are the following:
gious orders each prepared their own candidates. The Jesuits
were never really integrated into the episcopal system.
1. Only an external imposition of liturgy and ecclesiastical
forms upon the pagan religion was accomplished.
The schools were often developed on land received by
(George Kubler, Julio Jiménez Rueda, J. C. Mariátegui)
royal concession, donated by rich ranchers, given as payment
for crimes or as testaments, or contributed by the clergy or
2. A kind of syncretism was attained, either by a mixture
members of the order. The efficient operation of these estates
or a juxtaposition of the Christian and pagan religions.
covered the cost of the schools and generated capital for fur-
(Pedro Borges Morán)
ther investments and for the respective orders. For example,
3. An incomplete evangelization was effected, producing
the landed property of forty-five of the largest Jesuit estates,
a genuine change through progressive catechesis. (En-
distributed in diverse regions of Mexico, included a total of
rique Dussel)
1,100,874 hectares (1 hectare = 2.471 acres) in 1767, less
than two centuries after the arrival of the Society of Jesus in
4. The Indians essentially became Christians; the purity of
Mexico. The greatest concentrations of Indians and mestizo
their faith depended much on the methods of evange-
workers were in the smaller plots (500 to 1,000 hectares),
lism used. (Constantino Bayle, Fernando de Armas Me-
while the larger ones (100,000 to 200,000 hectares) were in
dina)
largely unpopulated areas.
The missionary strategy of Catholics and Protestants in the
Throughout Latin America the Indian villages orga-
nineteenth and twentieth centuries was profoundly affected
nized in the sixteenth century frequently took on the more
by their views on this question.
ordered form called reductions in the seventeenth and eigh-
Later conflicts and crises. The church in the New
teenth centuries. In particular, the Franciscans, Dominicans,
World faced seemingly insuperable difficulties. The royal
and the Jesuits established reductions in the areas of Califor-
claims to the lands in the Americas and to its peoples were
nia and Mexico, Colombia and Venezuela, Ecuador and
contested by many. The Indians and blacks often revolted;
Peru, and Brazil and Paraguay. Most noted for their organi-
the Inquisition was needed to maintain internal order and
zation and extension were those among the Guaraní people
loyalty; the Protestant nations, through pirates and colonists,
of Brazil, Paraguay, and northern Argentina.
contested Iberian exclusiveness; and, finally, local crises shat-
The social organization of the reductions reflected the
tered the empire.
theocratic character of the Jesuit order: a religious commu-
In the eighteenth century, a major Indian rebellion
nism strictly ordered and based upon absolute obedience to
erupted under the leadership of Tupac Amarú (1742–1781),
the Jesuit fathers. The more than thirty reductions of Para-
a lineal descendant of the great Inca chieftain of the same
guay, with 3,500 or more Indians in each, occupied a total
name. Educated by the Jesuits and accorded royal honors
area of 53,904 square kilometers, with an additional zone of
and wealth, he was recognized by his people as the heir of
influence comprising over 315,000 square kilometers. The
the Inca, but he defended them in vain before the Spanish
total population reached 150,000 in 1743.
authorities.
The Indians who entered the reductions were like in-
Finally, he organized an army of seventy to eighty thou-
dentured servants: some entered by personal choice or as a
sand poorly equipped men. Bolivia, southern Peru, and the
penalty for crimes; as prisoners of war; as purchased proper-
north of Argentina soon were under the control of his forces.
ty; and some were born in the village. They were bound for
He hoped that the Spanish could be conciliated and the two
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1698
CHRISTIANITY: CHRISTIANITY IN LATIN AMERICA
peoples could live side by side in peace, but the Spanish au-
to an official end in 1654. Two chiefs of Indian tribes con-
thorities called for reinforcements from Buenos Aires and
verted by Dutch missionaries were severely persecuted by the
Lima, and within six months Túpac Amaru was captured,
Portuguese authorities.
horribly tortured, and torn apart by horses tied to his limbs,
The church in Latin America faced a growing crisis to-
which were later displayed on poles in rebellious Indian vil-
ward the end of the colonial period. The decadence of the
lages. Thousands had joined the revolt, plundering and de-
Spanish Bourbon dynasty and its loss of control of the seas
stroying everything Spanish they could find. Estimates of the
contributed to the weakening of the royalist position in the
total number of victims on both sides reached eighty thou-
colonies, and Enlightenment thought challenged the existing
sand. The superior arms and power of the Spanish and the
social structures. Widespread libertinism and immorality, as
Portuguese proved, as always, to be decisive.
well as jealous criticism of the church for its extensive posses-
The title of apostolic inquisitor was officially given to
sions (nearly half of the land in Mexico by 1800), aggravated
Zumárraga, bishop of Mexico, in 1535, although Cisneros
anticlericalism. Finally, the shift from an economy built on
had conceded the power of inquisitor to all the bishops of
trading precious metals to an agriculturally oriented system
the “Indies” in 1517. Other inquisitors were named and ex-
created serious difficulties for many businessmen and labor-
ercised their function later in the sixteenth century. The
ers. The church was to struggle for its place in a new world
Holy Office of the Inquisition was established by royal de-
of independent nations.
cree in 1569 for Mexico and Lima and in 1610 for Cartage-
na. Its principle objectives were to combat (1) depraved cus-
CHURCH AND NATIONAL STATES (1808–1960). The libera-
toms (cursing, immorality, witchcraft, lack of respect for civil
tion of Spanish and Portuguese America from European po-
or ecclesiastical authorities, etc.); (2) heresy (religious or po-
litical control began a radically new period of Latin American
litical); and (3) Jewish beliefs and customs. In the sixteenth
church history. No longer did the kings function as the offi-
century 902 cases were processed, 600 were found guilty, and
cial heads of the church and its mission. The wealthier, edu-
17 were executed. Estimates place the total number killed at
cated Creoles (Spanish people born in the Americas) took
about a hundred. The Inquisition served as a police court for
over the reins of government (both in the church and state)
the church in the reforming of wayward clergy, the censure
from the Spanish-born elite. The Creoles formed about 20
of objectionable literature and plays, the securing of ortho-
percent of the population in 1800 and exercised control over
dox doctrine, and the punishment of captured sea pirates
the mestizos (mixed Indian and white, 26 percent), Indians
from Protestant nations. In all this it was largely successful.
(46 percent), and blacks (8 percent).
Some Indians were executed for idolatry before 1575, but
By the end of the nineteenth century the majority of the
thereafter they were judged to be too new in the faith, too
population in Guatemala and Bolivia was indigenous; the
weak, and too much like children to be subject to the judg-
majority in Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Co-
ment of the Inquisition.
lombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, and Paraguay was mesti-
Between 1529 and 1550 the Protestant Welser Colony
zo; that in Costa Rica, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Chile, Argentina,
settled in northern Venezuela, having received extensive po-
Uruguay, and Brazil was white; and that in Panama and the
litical territory from Charles V. The plan included coloniza-
Dominican Republic was mulatto.
tion and trade, especially of black slaves. Three hundred col-
A different situation existed in the Protestant lands of
onists arrived in 1530 and five hundred in 1535, but a lack
British Guiana and Dutch Guiana (Surinam). Both had been
of workers, anarchy, misery, and bankruptcy practically
governed by the Dutch until Britain took the part that was
ended the project, with revocation of the royal concession
to bear its name during the Napoleonic wars. Blacks and mu-
occurring in 1550.
lattos formed over half of the population in British Guiana,
A French colony of three hundred, mostly Huguenots,
and over 20 percent in Surinam. However, with the abolition
with some Catholics, arrived in Brazil in 1555 and 1558, ac-
of slavery, Hindus, Javanese, Portuguese, and Chinese were
companied by pastors from Geneva. The French vice-
brought in as laborers. Indigenes were few. Most of the pop-
admiral in charge of the colony broke the agreement of non-
ulation became Christian, except for the Hindus. The major-
intervention in religious matters, and tried and executed
ity were Protestants; some were Roman Catholics. In Suri-
three Calvinists. The remaining colonists were totally defeat-
nam, the Moravians, who had begun work in 1738, were the
ed by the Portuguese in 1567, and the colony came to an
largest group. In British Honduras and French Guiana the
end.
greater part of the population was Roman Catholic, with
Protestant minorities.
Dutch colonists established plantations and factories in
northeastern Brazil around 1630. Two “classes” (presby-
Identity crisis. It is clear that the emancipation from
teries) were founded, and two missionaries, with the help of
Spanish rule in Spanish and Portuguese America was a rebel-
seven fellow pastors, established mission posts, translated the
lion of the elite. Scarcely 4 percent of the masculine popula-
Bible into Tupí, and took steps for the evangelization of the
tion could vote. The great mass of the population reacted to
blacks. The Protestant governor was too tolerant of diverse
the change of “lords” with indifference. At times some
religious views for some and was recalled. The project came
fought or served as cannon fodder in the cause of emancipa-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHRISTIANITY: CHRISTIANITY IN LATIN AMERICA
1699
tion, but socioeconomic structures remained basically unal-
became realities in different countries at different times (in
tered for the great majority. A liberal facade concealed the
Colombia as late as 1930). The struggle of the church in this
awful reality of the misery and slavery of the masses.
period was to conserve and restore the church of Christen-
dom, what is often called the corpus Christianum, or the inte-
The rising spirit of nationalism, stimulated and exploit-
gralist vision, akin to the medieval model of the union of the
ed by foreign interference, destroyed hopes for a confedera-
(Catholic) church and state. This, however, proved to be a
tion of Latin American nations, and, consequently, for a
losing battle.
united church. Simon Bolívar’s plan to unite Colombia,
Venezuela, and Ecuador failed, as did the attempted union
In the revolutionary period, the crisis between church
of Bolivia and Peru in 1838 and the confederation of Central
and state demanded primary attention, and mission played
America in 1839.
a secondary role. The expulsion of priests and religious or-
ders, repeated across the Americas, caused disruption. In the
The majority of the episcopacy, which had been named
latter half of the nineteenth century, many religious orders
by the king, initially opposed the independence movement,
returned to engage in traditional missionary activity. As in
while many (in some countries, most) of the regular and sec-
previous centuries, however, sickness, wars, and poverty
ular clergy actively participated in it. The patriots wanted to
caused the Indian population to decline, from 35 percent of
foster a national church but had no patience with those who
the total inhabitants in 1800 to 8.8 percent in 1950.
had militated against the revolution. Many of the new states,
such as Argentina (1824), Bolivia (1826), Nicaragua (1830),
The arrival of large contingents of immigrants, mostly
Colombia (1861), and Mexico (1917), confiscated ecclesias-
Catholics, particularly from Italy, Spain, and Portugal, rap-
tical properties, especially in rural areas.
idly increased the relative size of the minority group—the
whites. From 19 million in 1800 (fewer than 20 percent of
The leaders of the new nations believed they inherited
the total population), the white population rose to 63 mil-
the rights of the crown, including its authority over the
lion in 1900 (over 35 percent) and 163 million in 1950 (44.5
churches. Religious hospitals passed to state control; the state
percent). This surge of immigration also promoted the colo-
was the administrator of the tithes (in some cases, they were
nization of large untapped areas of Latin America.
discontinued); the religious and secular priests were declared
responsible to their new “lords” and not to any foreigner; and
The history of the Protestant churches in Latin America
the Inquisition was suspended. Many national constitutions
took a new turn as a result of the wars of independence. The
affirmed that “the Catholic Roman Apostolic religion is the
opposition to the hegemony of Spain and Portugal (and con-
religion of the nation,” as it was expressed in Argentina
trol of the seas by the British and Dutch), which opened
(1813). Nine years later Argentine president Bernardino Ri-
doors to commerce with and immigration from northern Eu-
vadavia canceled the right of priests to be tried in eccelesiasti-
rope; the surge of anticlericalism because of the negative atti-
cal courts, abolished tithes, and closed the smaller monaste-
tudes of much of the episcopacy toward the revolution; and
ries. Such actions eventually took place in most of the
the new currents of thought favoring secularization, liberty,
republics, but they were considered reforms and not a rejec-
and tolerance all prepared the way. Progress, however, was
tion of the church.
slow; estimates place the number of Protestant missionaries
in all Latin America by the end of the nineteenth century at
Many bishops, priests, and monks voluntarily left the
less than nine hundred.
revolutionary situation for reasons of conscience and loyalty
to the previously constituted authorities; others were ex-
Most of the growth of the Protestant church in the
pelled. In many places this occasioned a severe shortage of
twentieth century occurred because of immigration. Though
priests and a lack of bishops. Pope Pius VII first ordered obe-
by far the greatest number of immigrants were Latin and
dience to the restored Spanish king Ferdinand in 1816. This
Catholic, the majority of the English and German immi-
proved to be an impossibility, creating a crisis for the nation-
grants were Protestant. The English tended to settle in the
al churches. The process of official recognition of the new
cities, while the Germans settled in rural areas. The River
republics began with the naming of bishops by Gregory XVI
Plate region in Argentina and Uruguay early received large
in 1831.
numbers of Protestants, and worship services were estab-
lished, in their respective languages, for Anglicans in 1820,
Thus, during the first part of the nineteenth century,
for Scottish Presbyterians in 1825, for German Lutherans in
the political tendency of the republics was conservative; the
1843, and for Italian Waldensians in 1859. They were fol-
church was recognized, but was subject to state control. The
lowed by Russian-German contingents, Swiss and Dutch Re-
second half of the century and the first decades of the twenti-
formed, Scandinavian Lutherans, Armenian Congregational-
eth, however, marked a progressive rupture between church
ists, and Slavic Baptists. In general, these immigrant groups
and state. The influx of European liberalism and positivism,
ministered pastorally to their own people without any real
the Masonic movement, and the increasing spirit of secular-
interest in the evangelization of others.
ization were decisive factors in promoting the crisis. Such re-
forms as the official adoption of civil jurisdiction over educa-
The first Protestant missionary to arrive in Spanish
tion, the public use of cemeteries, and freedom of worship
America was James Thomson of the British and Foreign
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1700
CHRISTIANITY: CHRISTIANITY IN LATIN AMERICA
Bible Society. He came to Argentina in 1818 and, using the
and of serving as an instrument of North American imperial-
English community as a base, promoted the Lancaster system
ism. The Protestants denounced Catholicism as pagan and
of education, with the Bible as a study text for reading. The
unfit to evangelize the Latin American peoples, as well as
new governments were open to this method, as were some
being responsible in large part for their poverty.
Catholic clergy. Thomson and his associates sold thousands
Third, the rapid population growth of Latin America
of Bibles in Spanish, made visits to at least nine of the Latin
increased the Catholic church membership to nearly half the
American republics, and established centers for Bible distri-
worldwide total, while the Protestant churches likewise expe-
bution in key cities. Throughout the century representatives
rienced rapid expansion through immigration and the mis-
and missionaries of the Bible societies frequented many cities
sions.
across the continent. By 1900 they had distributed two mil-
lion Bibles, testaments, and scripture portions.
Fourth, the character of society was changing rapidly
from rural to urban. With the industrialization of the large
In addition to the work of the Bible societies and the
cities, increasing numbers of people migrated toward metro-
impulse given by immigration groups, missionaries from the
politan centers in hopes of improving their marginal social
various denominations overseas constituted a third factor in
situation. This migration created shanty towns called villas
evangelization. Reports of the work of the Bible societies had
de miseria or favellas. Church ties and loyalties were much
aroused much interest in Protestant lands. The earliest mis-
weaker in the city than they were in rural areas (Azevedo,
sion boards to begin work were English, followed by mis-
1980, pp. 121, 122).
sionaries from the United States, Canada, and Sweden.
Catholicism. The nineteenth century had been marked
The methods used included public preaching and per-
by hostility to the church in most of the republics; frequently
sonal witnessing directed toward a radical conversion from
modified concordats were signed beginning in 1852. In the
Catholicism. Methodists and Presbyterians in particular es-
twentieth century new constitutions and/or concordats
tablished both primary and secondary schools. With the rise
brought increasing liberty for most religious groups, but Ca-
in the level of education, religious publications became more
tholicism continued to receive official recognition in coun-
important. Only nine medical institutions were established
tries such as Peru, Argentina, and Paraguay. Many of the na-
during the nineteenth century in Latin America, as com-
tional Catholic churches received state subsidies and were
pared to 94 in Africa and 415 in Asia. Little work was done
subject to varying degrees of state control. Other countries
among the indigenous peoples in this period, except by En-
(Chile, Uruguay, Brazil) progressively introduced a separa-
glish Anglicans and, in Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, and
tion of church and state that permitted freedom of worship
Chile, by the South American Missionary Society. Especially
as long as this did not oppose Christian morality and public
noteworthy was the conversion of the Miskito Indians of
order. Until Vatican II, however, such permission often re-
Nicaragua through the work of the Moravians and the for-
mained an empty promise because of strong anti-Protestant
mation of a Moravian community of fifteen thousand in that
popular sentiment and controls exercised by the Roman
country.
church. State funds supported missions to the Indians in
A characteristic inclination of the missions, in addition
order better to exercise national control and to use the mis-
to their strong anti-Catholicism, was to become replicas of
sion as an instrument of civilization and culture, as in the
the sending agencies with the missionary as the director and
Concordat of Colombia in 1902. Mexico is an exception to
teacher; there was only a partial adaptation to the receiving
this general trend. The revolution of 1917 resulted in the
culture. This marked the Protestant church as foreign and
confiscation of all church properties and the termination of
exogenous to Latin society.
the church’s role in education and government. Many priests
were deported and church buildings damaged. The relation
Conflict and growth. Several new factors profoundly
between the churches and the state remains strained.
affected the history of the church near the turn of the twenti-
eth century. First, the center of gravity for commercial and
The conservatism of Latin American Catholicism at the
political power shifted from Europe and England to the
turn of the century is clearly reflected in the first plenary
United States. In 1880 Great Britain had four times more
Latin American Council held in Rome in 1899. The 998 ar-
investments in Latin America than the United States; in
ticles produced examine the evils of contemporary society—
1920 they were equal; but by 1950 the United States had
liberalism, superstition, Masonry, paganism, Protestantism,
four times more investments than Britain. The governments
socialism—and the methods of combating them. No new
of the Latin American nations were controlled by oligarchies
approaches to these problems were defined by the thirteen
and dictators who frequently maintained close relations with
archbishops and forty-one bishops from Latin America. The
their big northern neighbor.
agenda did indicate, however, the revival of Rome’s interest
in the long-neglected continent.
Second, the twentieth century brought a serious con-
frontation between the Catholic and the Protestant churches.
From this point on, the church began to deepen its in-
The Catholics accused the Protestants of introducing liberal
tellectual and cultural foundations in the republics. Through
individualism that disintegrated the family and community,
new agreements made during the first decades of the century,
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHRISTIANITY: CHRISTIANITY IN LATIN AMERICA
1701
educational rights were restored to the Catholic church.
sential. A third group supported by such organizations as
Many church schools were founded on primary and second-
Opus Dei and the Cursillos de Cristiandad, was reactionary,
ary levels, crowned by the establishment of many church uni-
striving to restore Tridentine theology and medieval struc-
versities, as in Bogotá (1937), Lima (1942), Medellín
tures. The majority of Catholics, however, may be consid-
(1945), Río de Janeiro and Sa˜o Paulo (1947), Quito (1956),
ered conservative, being disinclined to identify with any of
Buenos Aires and Córdoba (1960), and Valparaíso and Gua-
the other three groups. These four groups—the progressives,
temala (1961).
the revolutionaries, the traditionalists, and the conserva-
tives—characterize the attitudes of the Catholic Church to-
One result of this intellectual revival was the study of
ward society up to the present.
the neo-Thomism propounded by Jacques Maritain (1882–
1973), which provided the foundation for a new social con-
Two types of organization characterize the Catholic
sciousness. A broad movement called Catholic Action, born
churches: the regular dioceses, archdioceses, and congrega-
in Europe and promoted by Pius XI (1922–1939), took root
tions, on the one hand, and the mission territories on the
in the Latin American republics after 1929, with strong
other. The number of dioceses and mission territories in-
youth participation. Catholic Action was basically a lay
creased in all of Latin America from about 100 in 1900 (or-
movement under clerical control, directed at the raising of
ganized during four centuries) to 547 by 1965. In Brazil in
the Christian conscience, particularly that of the upper class
particular, the number of ecclesiastical districts increased
with respect to the needs of the common people. It was also
from 12 in 1889 to 217 in 1975. According to CELAM
aimed at gaining political and civic control for the Catholic
(Council of Latin American Bishops), the total number of
church, thus restoring by democratic means the power lost
priests in 1967 was 42,589, of whom 15,381, or 36 percent,
during the tumultuous nineteenth century. The way was pre-
were foreign, mainly from Spain (54 percent) and the United
pared for this movement by the organization of Catholic
States (20 percent). The heavy dependence on foreign assis-
labor unions, agricultural cooperatives, and other groups,
tance indicates the more basic problems of the lack of new
stimulated by the papal encyclical Rerum novarum (1890).
priests and the abandonment of the office. In 1900 the ratio
The Christian Democratic political parties that emerged in
of priest to population was 1 to 3,829; in 1963 it had
Latin America after 1930 owe their inspiration to this at-
dropped to 1 to 4,891. One must remember that only 66.6
tempt to reinstate Catholic Christendom by the ballot box.
percent of the diocesan priests and 31.7 percent of the orders
The movement has been basically reformist in character and
are in congregational service. Thus the number of members
includes many of the conservative sections of the church. Be-
under the care of each priest should be doubled to give a true
tween 1930 and 1950 the church and state sometimes coop-
picture.
erated for the victory of populist movements (for instance,
Since the priests tend to concentrate in the cities, the
those of Eduardo Frei in Chile and Juan Domingo Perón in
rural areas feel the shortage more. Prien (1978, p. 1067) gives
Argentina).
statistics for Guatemala, from the largest city to the smaller
Since 1960 new winds have blown across the continent.
ones: in Guatemala City there is one priest for 5,970 mem-
The century began with compromises and agreements be-
bers; in Quetzaltenango, the ratio is 1 to 9,374; in Zacapá,
tween church and state; next, Catholicism tried to restore its
1 to 16,216; in Jalapa, 1 to 20,556; and in Maturín, 1 to
corpus Christianum in conformity to the new situation: and
24,200. The percentages of the monks and nuns working in
then came the meeting of Vatican II, followed by the meet-
the capitals of their respective countries in the sixties were
ing of the Latin American Council of Bishops at Medellín
as follows: Santiago, 46 percent; Montevideo, 78 percent;
(1968), where clear steps were taken toward an identification
San José (Costa Rica), 75 percent; Caracas, 53 percent; and
with the poor.
Quito, 45 percent. Estimates vary in placing the number of
active Catholics from 10 to 25 percent of the total member-
This last change did not occur all at once. Innovating
ship. Papal statistics indicate that in 1970 about 90 percent
currents had been present since the fifties, particularly in
of the Latin American population was Catholic. David B.
France and northern Europe, with repercussions in Latin
Barrett (1982) estimated in mid-1980 over 329 million affil-
America. The Catholic Action groups shifted from the Ital-
iated Catholics in all Latin America, or 88.6 percent of the
ian model to that of the French, from a concentration on
population (p. 783).
doctrinal correctness to existential priorities. Additional con-
Some countries, such as Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, and Co-
tributing factors were the formation of community reflection
lombia, have missionary territories. These function directly
groups, a new openness to biblical studies, liturgical renewal,
under the jurisdiction of the papal Sacred Congregation of
and catechetical instruction directed toward responsible liv-
the Doctrine of the Faith. Most of the missionaries have
ing. This marked a significant break from the traditional
come from the monastic orders; some of them were prepared
alignment with the elite and powerful.
in the Pontifical Seminary for Foreign Missions established
Those who favored the new options were of two groups:
in 1920. The number of Christians in areas considered mis-
the progressives, who leaned toward a development model
sion districts (largely Indians) has multiplied rapidly: in
of social reform, and the revolutionaries, who believed that
1911, there were 472,000; in 1925, 1,675,000; and in 1938,
radical structural change, with or without violence, was es-
nearly two million.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1702
CHRISTIANITY: CHRISTIANITY IN LATIN AMERICA
As of 1980 the vast majority of the total Latin American
by the Holy Spirit, and meetings in homes. The recognition
Indian population was found in five lands: Bolivia (70 per-
of every member as a bearer of God’s Spirit gives a sense of
cent of its population), Guatemala (60 percent), Peru (55
belonging and personal recognition. The growth has been
percent), Mexico (20 percent), and Ecuador. The largest ho-
phenomenal. Having begun in 1910, Pentecostalism in 1980
mogeneous language group is the Aymares in Bolivia (one
constituted about 70 percent of the estimated eighteen mil-
million) and Peru (a half million). Catholic missionary or-
lion in the Latin American Protestant community.
ders have made significant advances among these popula-
The relatively small contingent of evangelicals (the term
tions. During World War II the American Catholic Mission-
equivalent to Protestants in Latin America) at the beginning
ary Society shifted much of its efforts to Latin America,
of this century stimulated movements of cooperation among
bringing in missionaries with previous experience in Asia and
the denominations. The Panama Conference of 1916, with
Africa. Many entered unchristianized areas in the Amazon
few Latin Americans participating, affirmed what the plan-
and the Andes, regions of difficult access for white civiliza-
ners of the 1910 Edinburgh mission conference did not ac-
tion. Others worked in Central America, Colombia, Venezu-
cept, namely, that Latin America was a mission field. The
ela, Chile, and Bolivia. On occasion they met with opposi-
Panama delegates resolved that responsibility for mission in
tion from nationalistic governments, though this was more
the Latin American countries should be divided among the
frequent in the case of Protestant missionaries.
various mission societies to avoid competition and duplica-
Anthropologists and sociologists have criticized the mis-
tion of efforts. Cooperation was sought in publication of lit-
sion effort severely, claiming the unnecessary destruction of
erature, education, regional conferences, missionary meet-
Indian cultural and tribal values and accusing the church of
ings, university work, social reform, and preparation of new
collaborating, albeit inadvertently, with the state. Church
missionaries. Great efforts were made to approach and con-
authorities are sharply divided over the issue, some placing
vert the elite through education. Three-fourths of the Latin
a higher priority on preserving Indian values and others on
American population could not read in 1900. An effort was
a vigorous program of evangelization and catechization.
made to teach the illiterates in order to give them personal
Protestantism. Protestantism in Latin America may be
access to the Bible. Other continental meetings were held in
divided into three groups: the historic churches, which ar-
Montevideo (1925) and Havana (1929). Later, the Con-
rived through immigration; the mission churches, which
ferencia Evangélica Latinoamericana (CELA) met in Buenos
were begun by missionaries and foreign resources; and the
Aires (1949), Lima (1961), and Buenos Aires (1969), with
popular churches or movements that grew spontaneously,
chiefly Latin American participation.
without significant outside assistance. Most of the immigrant
Beginning in 1920, Henry Strachan (later followed by
groups arrived in the nineteenth and early twentieth centu-
his son, Kenneth) and Juan Varetto launched the mass cam-
ries; in 1914 they constituted about one half of the Protes-
paigns that for several decades marked the new approach of
tant community. These groups are strongest in Brazil, Argen-
the missions. Many of the evangelical churches presented
tina, Chile, Uruguay, and Bolivia, where lands and
their preaching and teaching in the public arena, some for
opportunities for a new life had opened in a temperate zone.
the first time. This helped to overcome the sense of inferiori-
The mission groups represented most of the other half
ty and lethargy that had characterized many of the historic
of the total Protestant community in 1914, when their mem-
churches as well as some of the mission groups.
bership was estimated at approximately 470,000. They,
Reasons given for the increased Protestant activity at
more than the historic churches, dedicated their efforts to the
this time include the following:
Latin population, particularly to the Roman Catholics, but
1. the rapid growth of the economic and cultural penetra-
also to the Indians. The increase of Protestant missionaries
tion of the United States into Latin America, which
sent to the southern countries was dramatic: there were
awakened the interest of the churches in mission possi-
1,438 missionaries in 1903; 2,951 in 1938; 4,488 in 1949;
bilities there and opened the doors to the coming of the
and 11,363 in 1969. This meant an increase of 690 percent,
missionaries;
compared with 283 percent for Africa and 39 percent for all
of Asia in the same period. What was true for personnel was
2. the changing social and intellectual situation in Latin
equally true for the efforts expended in money, religious edu-
America, which made the peoples more accessible to a
cation, Bible institutes, schools, and seminaries.
different presentation of the Christian faith;
The third group of Protestants consists almost exclusive-
3. the active participation of Latin Americans in the pro-
ly of the Pentecostal churches. Their rise coincides with the
motion and direction of the work, which made Protes-
growth of popular religiosity in the Catholic Church. Those
tantism better adapted to the Latin American situation;
attracted to the Pentecostals tend to be from the lower eco-
4. the Asian wars, causing large numbers of Asian mis-
nomic class—the socially segregated, laborers, and the unem-
sionaries from faith missions to come to Latin America
ployed. There is an emphasis on spontaneous participation
and contribute new methods and policies for the work;
in worship, prayers with audible sharing by all, healing,
speaking in tongues, opening ministry to everyone qualified
5. the growing economic power of the churches in the
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHRISTIANITY: CHRISTIANITY IN LATIN AMERICA
1703
United States, which made possible the large invest-
tional liturgy but acknowledge the supremacy of the pope in
ments in personnel and funds over a sustained period
Rome) are also present, particularly in Brazil, Argentina, and
(Azevedo, 1980, p. 133).
Chile.
These last factors apply more to the first two Protestant
THE CHURCH AND SIGNS OF NEW LIFE. Since the mid-
groups than to the Pentecostals, for whom the second and
twentieth century, signs of new life have begun to appear
third are most relevant.
both in Roman Catholic and Protestant churches. Efforts to
Like the Catholics, the Protestant churches in general
identify with the realities of the Latin American situation do
have been divided on social problems. In most countries dur-
not exclude strong currents of traditional conservatism
ing the last few decades positions have had to be taken with
which, on the Catholic side, continue to support elitist
reference to military dictatorships and the doctrine of the na-
power groups and, on the Protestant side, reject responsibili-
tional security state. Often Protestants and Catholics have
ty for societal improvement. But the new movements clearly
suffered persecution, torture, and death for their convictions.
point to significant changes in church attitudes and pro-
Protestant attitudes may be divided into three groups: tradi-
grams.
tional (obedience to the state in all except false worship); pro-
Catholicism. The organization of the Latin American
gressive (the right to disobey the state on questions of social
Council of Bishops (CELAM) in 1955 gave to the Roman
justice and the duty to struggle for the establishment of a just
Catholic churches of the region a formal unity and coherence
society); and radical (a recognition of the need to overthrow
not found on other continents. This time the unity was not
unjust social structures by violence, if necessary).
buttressed by civil force or restricted by the patronato that
It is impossible to state with accuracy the number of
had given the national states certain rights over the churches.
Protestants in Latin America. Barrett (1982, p. 783) affirms
The chief characteristic of CELAM was its concern for the
that in 1980 they constituted 4.9 percent of the population,
whole of human life and society.
or approximately eighteen million in the total community.
Evidence of the new weight accorded to the Latin Amer-
Dussel (1974, p. 192) gives the following percentages of total
ican churches was the large representation at Vatican II
population for 1961:
(1962–1965). The 601 Latin American bishops (22.33 per-
>10%
Chile, British Guiana, Surinam, French
cent of the total) were second in number only to the Europe-
Guiana
ans, with 31.6 percent. No Latin American priests had been
present at Trent (1545–1563), and only 61 bishops had been
5–10%
Brazil
at Vatican I (1870).
2–5%
Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua,
Catholic scholars judge the second general conference
Panama
of CELAM at Medellín in 1968 to be a watershed in its his-
1–2%
Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia,
tory. Before Medellín the pastoral task had been conceived
Honduras
as the dispensation of sacramental grace within the contours
of a Christian society. Medellín recognized that society was
1%
Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Costa
pluralistic, and that in this society a transformation of tradi-
Rica
tional values was possible and necessary. The popular mani-
Read, Monterroso, and Johnson estimate the number of
festations of the faith needed to be impregnated by the word
Protestant adult communicant members at 4,915,477 in
of the gospel. Devotional acts to the saints had to be changed
1967.
from intercessory devices to models for life in imitation of
Christ. The fatalism nurtured by the traditional sacramental
Orthodox churches. A variety of Orthodox churches
view was rejected, and in its place an emphasis was placed
are represented in Latin America. Around 140,000 Arabic-
on the pastoral task of educating people to become active col-
speaking Syrians had come to Argentina and Brazil by 1915.
laborators with God in the fulfillment of their destiny. A call
Most were under the spiritual guidance of the patriarch of
was made for organizing grass-roots community groups for
Antioch, though some priests came from Russia to provide
Bible study and joint action in meeting social needs, especial-
pastoral care. Somewhat less than half a million Orthodox
ly in marginal economic areas.
came as refugees in the years following the Russian Revolu-
tion and World War II. Many were lost to Orthodoxy, some
In the eleven years between Medellín and CELAM III
identifying with spiritism, others with Protestantism. Greek,
in Puebla (1979), more than two hundred thousand small
Russian, and Syrian congregations and dioceses have been
ecclesiastical communities began to function effectively, par-
organized in Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Peru, Co-
ticularly in Brazil, but also in other countries across the con-
lombia, Ecuador, and Chile, while the Russian Orthodox
tinent. Lay groups, sometimes with pastoral presence, were
also have churches in Venezuela and Paraguay. There is a
questioning the unchangeableness of their social plight in the
Russian bishop in Sa˜o Paulo and an archbishop for Latin
light of biblical teaching and were becoming active partici-
America in Buenos Aires. A relatively few number of Uniates,
pants for change. The Puebla Conference took up these con-
Maronites, and Ruthenians (groups that maintain their na-
cerns by first analyzing the Latin American situation, then
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1704
CHRISTIANITY: CHRISTIANITY IN LATIN AMERICA
making its recommendations. Recognition of the dignity of
later group was subsumed into the Latin American Church
the human person, and particularly of the rights of the poor
Council (CLAI), officially organized in 1982, with a broad
and oppressed, was declared to be at the heart of the gospel
representation from the three sectors of the Protestant
message.
churches. A group of churches with less emphasis on social
responsibility formed a parallel organization called the Evan-
The Puebla bishops were united in their harsh judgment
gelical Confraternity of Latin America (CONELA) the same
of capitalism, Marxism, and the national security state: capi-
year.
talism, for increasing the distance between rich and poor
people and nations; Marxism, for sacrificing many Christian
Theological education slowly became a priority for
values and creating false utopias sustained by force; and the
Protestantism. The movement called Seminary by Extension
national security state, for supporting dictatorships that
was born in Guatemala in an effort to further train a large
abuse police power to deprive human beings of their rights.
percentage of pastors and laity who already lead churches.
Differences arise among Christians, however, when basic
This new educational model has spread rapidly throughout
causes of poverty and oppression are defined and concrete
Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Economic problems have
programs for change proposed.
made more traditional Western methods of theological edu-
cation difficult. Hundreds of Bible institutes and theological
The theology of liberation was formulated after 1960 by
seminaries were established to prepare pastoral leadership. A
theologians and social scientists through reflection on Latin
Latin American Committee for Theological Education
American social and political reality and attempts to trans-
(CLAET), composed of three regional groupings of institu-
form its oppressive structures. The best-known Catholic ex-
tions, was established in 1979.
ponents include Gustavo Gutierrez (Peru), Juan Luis Segun-
Protestant theology has developed slowly. Most of the
do (Uruguay), Segundo Galilea (Chile), José Miranda
publications in Latin America have been translations from
(Mexico), Hugo Assman and Leonardo Boff (Brazil), Jon So-
European and especially United States sources with more
brino (El Salvador), and Enrique Dussel (Argentina). They
local writing in recent decades. The movement Church and
affirm the necessity of moving toward a social system charac-
Society in Latin America (ISAL) attempted to provide a
terized by priority for the poor, use of the social sciences in
theological basis for a Christian attitude toward oppressive
the analysis of reality, recognition of the ideological base
social structures. Some of its early efforts formed part of the
from which every person develops religious understanding;
Protestant contribution to the theology of liberation; among
and importance given to praxis—active and obedient disci-
its leading exponents are José Miguez-Bonino (Argentina),
pleship, supported by theory, with the eventual goal of the
Rubem Alves (Brazil), and Sergio Arce (Cuba). Publications
transformation of society. This theology has been variously
featuring reflections on this theme have come chiefly from
interpreted in Latin American church hierarchy. The fervor
centers of theological education in Buenos Aires, San José,
with which it is debated, the mutual concern about the large
Mexico City, and Puerto Rico. The Latin American Theo-
majority of marginalized peoples, and the evangelical zeal for
logical Fraternity (FTL) has stimulated writing by theolo-
ministry mark a significant renovation in Catholicism.
gians across a wide spectrum of positions. These manifesta-
Protestantism. Protestantism has likewise developed
tions of the life of the church confirm the increasing
differently from its mother institutions. The dramatic
integration of Protestantism into Latin America, the identifi-
growth of the Pentecostal church bears a resemblance to
cation of its concerns on many pastoral levels with those of
other moments in church history when the chief advances
the Catholic Church (as on human rights issues), and the
were made among the poor. In their search for identity, ful-
continuing missionary zeal characteristic of its heritage.
fillment, and meaning there is a strong similarity between the
small, spontaneous Pentecostal groups and the Catholic
SEE ALSO Afro-Brazilian Religions; Afro-Surinamese Reli-
grass-roots communities. The Pentecostals lack the structural
gions; Kardecism; Las Casas, Bartolomé de; Mesoamerican
cohesiveness and the social commitment of the Catholics,
Religions, article on Contemporary Cultures; Political The-
but the inner spiritual vitality, the concern for healing in the
ology.
church’s ministry, and the forthright heralding of the word
BIBLIOGRAPHY
of the gospel that characterize the Pentecostals have awak-
ened responses from sectors of society largely unresponsive
General
The best single volume on Roman Catholic church history is En-
to the historic and mission churches.
rique D. Dussel’s Historia de la iglesia en América Latina, 3d
In addition to the three Protestant consultations for
ed. (Barcelona, 1974), translated into English as History of
Latin America (CELA) mentioned earlier, other Protestant
the Church in Latin America (Grand Rapids, Mich., 1982).
The book has an excellent bibliography according to geo-
ecumenical groups that have arisen since 1960 in response
graphical area but hardly refers to churches other than the
to social and spiritual crises and a felt need for cooperation
Roman Catholic. On both Catholic and Protestant history,
include a Latin American youth organization (ULAJE,
the Brazilian Israel Belo de Azevedo gives an excellent recent
founded in 1941), various university student organizations,
summary in Portuguese, As Cruzadas inacabadas (Rio de Ja-
an educational commission (CELADEC, 1961), and an as-
neiro, 1980). In the preparation of this article I found these
sociation of Protestant churches (UNELAM, 1965). This
two books particularly helpful.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHRISTIANITY: CHRISTIANITY IN LATIN AMERICA
1705
Covering the whole of Latin America will be the series of ten re-
Special Themes
gional volumes published by CEHILA, Comisión de Estu-
Two brief but excellent analyses of the receiving cultures at the
dios de Historia de la Iglesia en América Latina, under the
time of the Conquest are Laurette Séjourné’s América Latina:
general editorship of Enrique D. Dussel, who will write an
Antiguas culturas precolombinas (Mexico City, 1971), which
introductory volume. The goal is to interpret church history
has been translated into German as Altamerikanische Kul-
from the perspective of the poor and oppressed. Volume 7,
turen (Frankfurt, 1971), and Henri Lehmann’s Les civilisa-
Colombia y Venezuela (Salamanca, 1981), has appeared in
tions précolombiennes, 7th ed. (Paris, 1977), which has been
Spanish; volumes 2.1 and 2.2, Brazil (Petropolis, Brazil,
translated into Spanish as Las culturas precolombinas (Buenos
1977–1980), have appeared in Portuguese. Latin American
Aires, 1960). One of the best histories of the relation be-
Church Growth by William R. Read, Victor M. Monterroso,
tween the church and state remains J. Lloyd Mecham’s
and Harmon A. Johnson (Grand Rapids, Mich., 1969) pres-
Church and State in Latin America: A History of Politico-
ents a detailed compilation of statistics from the evangelical
Ecclesiastical Relations, 2d rev. ed. (Chapel Hill, N.C., 1966).
Protestant perspective with heavy emphasis on numerical
The rising phenomenon of Pentecostalism receives careful at-
growth. This book also appears in Spanish, Avance evangélico
tention in the studies of Christian Lalive d’Epinay, El refugio
en la América Latina (El Paso, Tex., 1970), and in Portu-
de las masas: Estudio sociológico del protestantismo chileno (San-
guese, O crescimiento da igreja no América Latina (Sa˜o Paulo,
tiago, 1968), and Emilio Willems, Followers of the New Faith:
1969). Prudencio Damboriena does much the same from the
Culture Change and the Rise of Protestantism in Brazil and
Catholic viewpoint in his El protestantismo en América La-
Chile (Nashville, 1967). For a description of the encomendero
tina, vol. 1, Etapas y métodos del protestantismo Latino-
system and other relevant themes, see Lewis Hanke’s The
americano, and vol. 2, La situación del protestantismo en los
Spanish Struggle for Justice in the Conquest of America (Pitts-
países Latino-americanos (Bogotá, 1962–1963). These form
burgh, 1949). Gustavo Gutierrez describes the history of
numbers 12 and 13 of the valuable series FERES (Federación
Latin American theology and formulates a new theological
Internacional de los Institutas Católicos de Investigaciónes
perspective in Teología de la liberación: Historia, política y
Sociales y Socio-religiosas), which provides documentation
salvación (Lima, 1971), which has been translated as A Theol-
and socioreligious studies about Latin America published in
ogy of Liberation: History, Politics and Salvation (Maryknoll,
forty-two volumes during the decade of the sixties. See also
N.Y., 1973). For statistics, see the World Christian Encyclope-
number 21 of the same series, La iglesia en América Latina
dia, edited by David B. Barrett (Oxford, 1982). A complete
by Isidoro Alonso (Bogotá, 1964), for a description of recent
indexed bibliography of all theological works in Spanish and
ecclesiastical structures of the Catholic Church. Some of the
Portuguese is published annually in the Bibliografía teológica
best general descriptions remain those of the veteran histori-
comentada (Buenos Aires, 1973–) by the Instituto Superior
an K. S. Latourette in his Christianity in a Revolutionary Age:
Evangélico de Estudios Teológicos (ISEDET). Introductions
A History of Christianity in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Cen-
to sections are in Spanish with English summaries. See also
turies, 5 vols. (1958–1962; reprint, Westport, Conn., 1973);
Latin America: A Guide to the Historical Literature, edited by
see volume 3, pages 284–352, and volume 5, pages 158–240.
Charles C. Griffin (Austin, 1971).
See also volumes 5 and 7 of his A History of the Expansion
New Sources
of Christianity, 7 vols. (1937–1945; reprint, Grand Rapids,
Mich., 1970), pages 68–129 and 164–185, respectively.
Boff, Leonardo. Eccleiosogenesis: The Base Communities Reinvented
Two extensive works from the perspective of the United
the Church. Translated by Robert R. Barr. Maryknoll, N.Y.,
States are Donald M. Dozer’s Latin America: An Interpreta-
1986.
tive History (New York, 1962), which has been translated
Ingraham, John M. Mary, Michael, and Lucifer: Folk Catholicism
into Portuguese as América Latina: Una perspectiva histórica
in Central America. Austin, Tex., 1986.
(Porto Alegre, 1966); and Hubert Herring’s A History of
Latin America from the Beginnings to the Present (New York,
Ireland, Rowen. Kingdom Come: Religion and Politics in Brazil.
1961), which has been translated into Spanish as Evolución
Pittsburgh, 1992.
histórica de América Latina (Buenos Aires, 1972). Herring of-
fers a comprehensive bibliography (pp. 831–845) with em-
Levine, Daniel. Popular Voices in Latin American Catholicism.
phasis on English titles up to 1960. His history is ably com-
Princeton, N.J., 1992.
plemented by Germán Arciniegas’s Latin America: A Cultural
Martin, David. Tongues of Fire: The Explosion of Protestantism in
History (New York, 1967). After working several years in El
Latin America. Oxford and Cambridge, Mass., 1990.
Salvador and Brazil, Hans-Jürgen Prien wrote his monumen-
tal 1,302-page Die Geschichte des Christentums in Latei-
Míguez Bonino, José. Faces of Latin American Protestantism. 1993
namerika (Göttingen, 1978), which has been translated into
Carnahan Lectures. Grand Rapids, Mich., 1997.
Spanish as La historia del cristianísmo en América Latina (Sal-
amanca, 1981). The series “Biblioteca de Autores Cristianos”
Stephen, Lynn, and James Dow, eds. Class, Politics, and Popular
(Library of Christian Authors) elucidates the Catholic inter-
Religion in Mexico and Central America. Washington, D.C.,
pretation of the church’s history from the Conquest to inde-
1990.
pendence in the two-volume Historia de la iglesia en la Améri-
Stoll, David, and Virginia Garrard-Burnett, eds. Rethinking Prot-
ca Española desde el Descubrimiento hasta comienzos del siglo
estantism in Latin America. Philadelphia, 1993.
XIX: no. 248, México, América Central by Léon Lopetegui
and Félix Zubillaga (Madrid, 1965), and no. 256, Hemisferio
SIDNEY H. ROOY (1987)
Sur by Antonio de Egana (Madrid, 1966).
Revised Bibliography
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1706
CHRISTIANITY: CHRISTIANITY IN THE CARIBBEAN REGION
CHRISTIANITY: CHRISTIANITY IN THE
sionaries to gain permission from the planters to enter many
CARIBBEAN REGION
of the estates in the West Indies, both the Methodists and
One of the distinctive characteristics of Caribbean Christian-
the Baptists used a system of slave leaders to supervise their
ity is the racial and ethnic diversity of its adherents. A high
followers. The black assistants visited the sick, held prayer
proportion of the people of the region is either black or Afri-
meetings, and oversaw the conduct of the members in their
can American (mixed African and non-African descent). Al-
charge.
though a large proportion of the black population was ex-
One of the first Baptist missionaries to reach the West
posed only superficially to Christian teachings during the
Indies was a manumitted slave from Virginia, George Liele
period of slavery beginning in the sixteenth century and con-
(Lisle). Liele organized a church in Jamaica in 1783, and by
tinuing into the nineteenth, and despite extensive disillu-
1791 had enrolled 450 members, all blacks and most of them
sionment with the historical churches in the decades imme-
slaves. In 1813 the Baptist Missionary Society began to send
diately after emancipation, Christianity has continued to
out missionaries from London. Despite the hostility they en-
spread widely in the region. The long and close relationship
countered, regular services were conducted and schools
between religion and sociopolitical doctrine in the societies
opened at Kingston, Spanish Town, Falmouth, and other
from which the dominant class in the colonial period came
places. Three missionaries were sent to Jamaica in 1800 by
has persisted in many parts of the Caribbean to the present
the Scottish Missionary Society, a nondenominational body.
day.
The established Church of Scotland began its work in Kings-
THE EARLY YEARS. The sixteenth and seventeenth centuries
ton in 1819, a program that was carried on later by the Unit-
have been called the missionary centuries in the New World.
ed Presbyterian church.
Priests accompanied the explorers, and Catholic and Protes-
tant missionaries were an important part of pioneer settle-
SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND CARIBBEAN CHRISTIANITY. Differ-
ments. In 1685 the Code Noir prescribed that all slaves in
ences in world view that developed in the Caribbean as reli-
the French islands were to be instructed and baptized in the
gions there changed have been related, by Raymond T.
Roman Catholic religion. The colonists paid little attention
Smith, to social structural factors. In one such relation the
to the code, especially the sections dealing with religious ob-
main characteristics are hierarchial structure of offices and
ligations that were opposed to their economic interests.
the solemn quality of religious proceedings. The model in
Priests varied greatly during the first half of the eighteenth
this trend has been the Church of England, but the noncon-
century; some were zealous about their duties, others attend-
formist churches also became establishment-oriented after
ed only to the external aspects of religion. In 1764 the Jesuits
the controversy over emancipation had passed. A second
in Haiti were accused of stirring up the slaves and were ex-
trend, ethical and sectarian individualism, is represented in
pelled from the colony. With the revolt of the slaves in 1791,
European Protestantism but also in sects originating in the
the Catholic religion in Haiti almost disappeared.
United States, including the Seventh-day Adventists and Je-
hovah’s Witnesses. The third trend involves more demon-
The first Lutheran congregation was established in Saint
strative types of worship and includes such neo-African cults
Thomas, Danish West Indies, in 1666 and for two and one-
as Shango and such ancestral cults as Kumina; revivalist cults
half centuries the Lutheran church was the state church. In
such as the Revival Zionists, the Spiritual Baptists, and the
the late 1750s, a Lutheran mission for the slaves was estab-
Shakers; and such groups as Pentecostalism, the Salvation
lished in the island. In some parts of the West Indies, in Bar-
Army, and the Nazarenes.
bados, for example, the early slaves brought from Africa were
not permitted to become Christians. In 1700 the Anglicans
Roman Catholic Church. From the beginning of the
organized the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in
Republic of Haiti in 1803 until 1858, a schism existed be-
Foreign Parts to preach to the heathen, that is, slaves and free
tween the state and the Roman Catholic Church. Because
men in North America and the West Indies.
the Constitution of 1805 provided for the complete separa-
tion of church and state, the Vatican refused to recognize
Moravian (United Brethren) missionaries arrived in
Haiti as a state and forbade priests to enter the country. In
Saint Thomas in December 1732. Count Nikolaus von Zin-
1860 an agreement between the pope and Haitian officials
zendorf, founder of Moravian missions, opposed the emanci-
ended the long break. However, Catholicism had not devel-
pation of the slaves and did not favor teaching them to read
oped deep roots in Haiti, and, during the schism, folk belief
and write. In addressing the converts at a mass meeting in
was combined with Christianity. Since that time, vodou has
1739, he exhorted them to be obedient to their masters, ad-
continued to maintain its hold on the Haitian mass. After
ding that “your conversion will make you free, not from the
President François Duvalier came to power in 1957, the state
control of your masters, but simply from your wicked habits
increasingly exercised control over the Catholic Church
and thoughts, and all that makes you dissatisfied with your
through intimidation and violence, including the expulsion
lot.”
of the archbishop of Port au Prince and dozens of French and
The work of Methodist missionaries in the Caribbean
Canadian missionaries, the closing of the major Catholic
began in 1770, but the Methodist Missionary Society was
seminary, the banning of the Catholic daily paper, and the
not founded until 1789. Because it was difficult for mis-
dissolution of the Christian trade union.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHRISTIANITY: CHRISTIANITY IN THE CARIBBEAN REGION
1707
The Catholic Church has never been as influential in
The Baptists quickly acquired a following among the
the national life of Cuba as in other Latin American coun-
slaves, and following emancipation their congregations grew
tries. Its decline during the last years of Spanish rule contin-
even more rapidly. The Presbyterian church has remained
ued after Cuba became independent in 1902. The shortage
one of the smaller religions in the Caribbean. In the past
of priests, the fact that most of the priests and nuns were for-
forty years, Pentecostalism, a part of the fundamentalist
eigners, the meager education of the priests, identification of
movement in American Protestantism, has been the fastest
the church with conservatism, its reputation for corruption
growing religion in the Caribbean. Offering hope of deliver-
and antipopular policies alienated it from a large part of the
ance from unjust social orders, this faith is almost ideally
Cuban population.
adapted to the needs of the disadvantaged. The Pentecostal
style of worship has spread to small supplementary prayer
The situation of the Catholic church in the former Brit-
groups within both the Roman Catholic Church and a num-
ish West Indies has been somewhat different. The first Cath-
ber of the historical Protestant churches.
olic priest to serve in Jamaica came to the island in 1792, but
DEMOGRAPHICS. The proportions of adherents to various
for many years the number of Catholics in the country re-
forms of Christianity differ in each of the Caribbean coun-
mained small. Roman Catholics constitute fewer than 10
tries. For example, in Cuba the population of professing
percent of the population, but the church is influential in Ja-
Catholics dropped from almost nine-tenths at the beginning
maican life. Catholics comprise 36 percent of the population
of the twentieth century to less than three-fourths by the
of Trinidad and Tobago, including spiritist Catholics (Cath-
time Fidel Castro came to power in 1959. Two decades later,
olics who are involved in such cults as Shango).
only one-third of Cubans were professing Catholics; one-
Anglican Church. Unquestionably the Church of En-
fourth of that number were also involved in Santería and
gland in Jamaica in the eighteenth century was not a mission-
other Afro-Cuban cults. Protestants constitute about 1 per-
ary church for the slaves; it was the religion of the white set-
cent of the Cuban population, the nonreligious and atheists
tlers and officials. The twenty Anglican churches in Jamaica
more than half, practicing Christians who keep their religion
in 1800 were small, and probably fewer than three hundred
private approximately one-tenth, and those who are adher-
persons attended religious services each Sunday. The Church
ents only of Afro-Cuban syncretistic cults less than one-
of England, disestablished in most of the colonies between
thirtieth.
1868 and 1870, continues to be an important force in the
In Haiti, more than four-fifths of the population is
life of the former British colonies.
Roman Catholic (nine-tenths of whom are also involved in
Protestant Churches. The United Brethren (Moravi-
vodou). Approximately one-seventh are Protestants, and less
an) church in Saint Thomas grew rapidly after 1740, and
than one-thirtieth belong to indigenous black sects and other
mission stations established in Saint Johns, Antigua, and in
religions.
Basseterre, Saint Kitts, became quite successful. Those in Ja-
In Jamaica, seven-tenths of the population is Protestant,
maica, Barbados, and Tobago were much less successful. In
while Roman Catholics, black indigenous church members,
February 1755 King Frederick V of Denmark ordered that
revivalists and other cultists each constitute approximately
instruction in Christianity be given to the slaves in Saint
one-tenth. Finally, in Trinidad and Tobago, Roman Catho-
Thomas, and by 1785 the Lutheran mission in the Virgin
lics constitute somewhat more than one-third of the popula-
Islands was small only by comparison to the Moravian pro-
tion, Protestants three-tenths, and black indigenous sectari-
gram. Separate services were conducted for the Danish and
ans, Shangoists, and other religionists about one-thirtieth.
the black congregations.
SEE ALSO Caribbean Religions, article on Afro-Caribbean
In the forty years prior to emancipation, Methodist and
Religions; Santería; Vodou.
Baptist missionaries in the West Indies were harassed for al-
legedly provoking insubordination among the blacks. De-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
spite this persecution, by the time the Emancipation Act was
Barrett, David B., ed. World Christian Encyclopedia: A Compara-
passed in London in 1833 the Methodist membership in the
tive Study of Churches and Religions in the Modern World,
West Indies had grown to 32,000, two-thirds of whom were
A.D. 1900–2000. Oxford, 1982. An excellent reference vol-
slaves. Confusion and suspicion arose in the British West In-
ume that provides data on religions throughout the world.
dies by the time the apprenticeship system came to an end
Calley, Malcolm J. C. God’s People: West Indian Pentecostal Sects
in 1838. Methodism entered a period of decline in member-
in England. New York, 1965. A study of West Indian immi-
ship and enthusiasm when many former slaves became disil-
grants to England with valuable commentary on Pentecostal-
lusioned by the continuing gulf between whites and blacks.
ism.
The Methodist church in the West Indies revived somewhat
Curtin, Philip D. Two Jamaicas: The Role of Ideas in a Tropical
after the excesses of the Great Revival of 1861–1862 had
Colony, 1830–1865 (1955). Reprint, New York, 1968. A
passed. Never among the largest Protestant denominations
leading historian’s analysis of the roles of Christianity and of
in the Caribbean, the Methodist church is, nevertheless, an
Afro-Christian religions in Jamaica in the period before and
important religion in the region.
after emancipation.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1708
CHRISTIANITY: CHRISTIANITY IN NORTH AMERICA
Gonzales, Justo L. The Development of Christianity in the Latin Ca-
law or religion. Puritans in the Massachusetts Bay Colony
ribbean. Grand Rapids, Mich., 1969. A critique of the pro-
saw them as “minions” of the devil, heathen who practiced
grams of Christian churches in the French-speaking and
nefariously in the forests. French Franciscans argued that
Spanish-speaking countries of the Caribbean.
until Indians were civilized they were not capable of Chris-
Hollenweger, Walter J. The Pentecostals: The Charismatic Move-
tianity. And French Jesuits, in the most positive estimate,
ment in the Churches. London, 1972. A lucid account of the
saw a natural nobility in the “savage” peoples. These early
Pentecostal movement by a prominent theologian.
opinions, if expressed more subtly, continued to inform the
Simpson, George Eaton. Black Religions in the New World. New
ideas and work of missionaries who, after Canada and the
York, 1978. A study of religions that have been important
United States became political realities, carried on their work
to blacks in the New World.
among the Indians.
Simpson, George Eaton. Religious Cults of the Caribbean: Trini-
Spanish missions. As early as the 1520s, Roman Catho-
dad, Jamaica and Haiti. 3d ed. Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico,
lic priests were in Florida and the Chesapeake, and by 1595
1980.
there was serious missionary work in Florida. Meanwhile, in
Smith, Raymond T. “Religion in the Formation of West Indian
New Mexico, Franciscan friars had accompanied the Spanish
Society.” In The African Diaspora: Interpretive Essays, edited
conquerors, and in 1598 they began an era of forced mission
by Martin L. Kilson and Robert I. Rotberg, pp. 312–341.
Cambridge, Mass., 1976. This volume includes chapters on
presence among reluctant Pueblo peoples. In California, ef-
slavery and on the religions of blacks in the Caribbean.
forts to convert the Indians proceeded less violently under
the missionary leadership of the fabled Franciscan priest
GEORGE EATON SIMPSON (1987)
Junípero Serra (1713–1784). At its height, the system of mis-
sions established by Serra attracted over 21,000 Indians, who
settled around the missions, Christianized and living accord-
CHRISTIANITY: CHRISTIANITY IN NORTH
ing to Spanish order in farm communities.
AMERICA
French missions. If the Spanish arrived in the New
Christianity came to North America with European explor-
World as conquistadores, the French came, especially, as fur
ers, colonizers, and settlers, expressing in a New World ver-
traders. In this context, both Franciscan Recollets and Jesuits
sion enduring continuity but also substantial change. In
evangelized, the Jesuits particularly among the Hurons, liv-
what became Canada and the United States (the limits of
ing with them and speaking their language. Although for a
North America for this article), national and political consid-
time Iroquois hostility effectively ended the work of the Jesu-
erations proved important, but smaller, regional forms of
its, by 1668 they were preaching among their former Iro-
Christianity also flourished. North American Christianity
quois persecutors. When the French opened the Mississippi
struggled with its plurality, perhaps, ironically, achieving its
to Europeans, Indians in southern New France heard the
greatest unity in its large-scale dedication to mission.
gospel, while those at the other end of the French empire also
CHRISTIANS MADE AND BORN. Intrinsic to the Christian vi-
knew the mission presence. Still, by the close of the French
sion was a commitment to mission—to the task of bringing
era in Canada, the missionaries had been more successful in
all peoples to God through the saving power of his son Jesus
making the Indians loyal to France than in converting them.
Christ. So far did the ideology of mission extend in North
English missions. Evangelization of Indian peoples ap-
America that, even in the case of those reared ostensibly as
pears clearly among English intentions in colonizing North
Christians, the mission to convert became in many instances
America. Yet the English were demonstrably slower and fee-
a major concern.
bler in implementing their aims than either the Spanish or
Conversion of native North Americans. Aims for the
the French. The Mayhew family worked successfully among
conversion of indigenous North American peoples figured
native North Americans at Martha’s Vineyard and Nantuck-
large in the rhetoric of the colonizing nations. But the reli-
et, and in seventeenth-century New England John Eliot
gious impulse was also molded by the political ambitions of
(1604–1690) preached in the Massachuset tongue and trans-
European nation-states. Hence, conversion went forward as
lated the Bible and other works for his converts, settling four-
an arm of the colonial ventures of the Spanish, French, and
teen villages of “praying Indians.” Eliot was in at least one
English governments.
sense representative, for Protestant missions in British North
America were tied to a deep sense of the importance of the
In an often-cited debate between Juan Ginés de
word. Introducing Indians to Christianity meant, above all,
Sepúlveda and the Dominican Bartolomé de Las Casas
introducing them to a sacred book.
(1550), the Spanish had pondered the question of whether
native North Americans were slaves by nature or fit subjects
Canadian and American (U.S.) missions. After Canadi-
for Christianization. The outcome, supporting Sepúlveda
an confederation, Protestant missionary efforts went forward
and Aristotle’s theory of natural slavery, was not surprising,
in the West, encouraged in part by the development of the
since the Spanish already considered Aztec religion, with its
Canadian Pacific Railway. Meanwhile, Roman Catholics had
human sacrifice, worship of the devil. Similarly, both English
achieved a solid presence among certain groups in the West
and French called the Indians “savages,” wild men without
as well. In the United States, by 1787 the interdenomina-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHRISTIANITY: CHRISTIANITY IN NORTH AMERICA
1709
tional Society for Propagating the Gospel among the Indians
In Canada, the situation for blacks had been in many
had been established, to be followed in 1810 by the Ameri-
ways different. When the imperial parliament abolished slav-
can Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions and later,
ery in 1833, British North America had already long been
in 1881, by the National Indian Association. As in Canada,
free of the institution. But without the long and oppressive
Protestants and Roman Catholics alike evangelized, and in
incubation period of slavery, Canadian blacks evolved a per-
both countries the twentieth century saw Christian denomi-
haps less distinctive religious life than American blacks had.
nations still at work. Much of the effort continued to be tra-
Still, by 1840 racial prejudice meant that black congregations
ditional, but there was growing awareness of the problem of
were separated from white ones, and blacks willingly fostered
cultural imperialism. Christian missionaries learned that cul-
distinct institutions within the larger churches. They joined
tural contact was a two-way process and that Indians had
a range of denominations including the Baptist and Method-
much to contribute to a renewed Christianity.
ist as well as the Presbyterian and Anglican. Often, too,
blacks in Canada, as in the United States, left the mainstream
Conversion of African North Americans. The Chris-
denominations to form their own sectarian groups. But over-
tianization of African North Americans largely occurred in
all, Baptist fellowships predominated among blacks in Cana-
the United States. In Canada, economic conditions did not
da as in the United States.
favor slavery, and only a small free black population strug-
gled along. In the United States, the majority of converted
Conversion of European North Americans. Although
slaves embraced some form of Protestantism.
the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions
At first, many slaveholders were reluctant to allow
worked to an extent among native North Americans, it had
proselytizing among their slaves, fearing that Christian bap-
been founded for work abroad. Other denominational and
tism might render slaves materially equal or doubting that
nondenominational organizations followed, and by late in
blacks had souls to save. For their part, blacks did not readily
the nineteenth century the Student Volunteer Movement
adopt the Anglican Christianity of the early eighteenth cen-
was aiming at “the evangelization of the world in this genera-
tury. In time, however, slaveholders became more convinced
tion.” Reflective of the tenor of its times, it joined other mis-
of the practical value of converting slaves for social control,
sionary societies in mingling evangelical zeal with expansion-
while by the end of the eighteenth century, Baptist and
ist political ambitions. Similarly, in British North America
Methodist missionaries brought a revivalist Christianity that
the Canada Foreign Missionary Society had been established
blacks found more attractive.
as a nondenominational agency in 1854, and by the begin-
ning of the twentieth century the major Christian groups in
In the years that followed, two kinds of Christianity
Canada were engaged in serious mission work abroad. From
evolved. First, there was the official church Christianity that
1893, foreign mission boards from the United States and
slaveholders fostered and controlled. Second, there was the
Canada came together in New York, meeting annually until,
so-called invisible institution, a form of unchurched Chris-
in 1911, they formed the Foreign Missions Conference of
tianity created and controlled by blacks, blending elements
North America.
of their African past and their lived experience on the planta-
tions with Christian language. An “instant” (conversion-
Despite the clear commitment these nineteenth- and
oriented) Christianity, unlike the gradualism of the Angli-
twentieth-century efforts expressed, the more important mis-
cans, it was shared in part by European North Americans in
sionary focus remained the unconverted at home. Typically
the revivals.
raised in a Christian milieu and even holding Christian theo-
logical beliefs, the unconverted were those who had not expe-
Meanwhile, black churches arose not merely at the ini-
rientially encountered the gospel. For a variety of historical
tiative of white slaveholders. In the northern United States,
and sociological reasons, this mission to the unconverted was
free blacks had already begun to form their own churches in
most noticeable in the United States. Here the Puritan and
the late eighteenth century. In the South, prior to the 1830s,
revolutionary heritage intensified a religious situation already
Baptist congregations had also enjoyed a measure of inde-
volatile in all of North America, separated from European
pendence and control. However, only after the Civil War did
culture and institutions and undergoing other forms of
black churches, both North and South, proliferate. By the
change.
late nineteenth century, the Holiness movement flourished
among blacks, and by the early twentieth century, Pentecos-
Puritanism. The Puritan movement had arisen in En-
talism had become popular. Beyond these, massive immigra-
gland as various separatist and nonseparatist groups sought
tion to northern cities helped to spawn a series of small but
to purify the Anglican Church. Imbued with Calvinism and
intense religious movements based in Christianity but in-
also with elements from the left wing of the continental Ref-
cluding new revelation. Yet for the most part, blacks who
ormation, Puritans sought simplicity in worship and in life,
counted themselves church members in the twentieth centu-
and they preached a free, or gathered, church of the elect.
ry were Baptists or Methodists, usually belonging to separate
In the English Atlantic colonies, Puritan presence was a
black congregations of larger white denominations. As a
major factor, with key colonial governments controlled by
rough estimate, almost two-thirds were Baptists and nearly
different Puritan groups. Moreover, Puritanism in the colo-
one-quarter were Methodists.
nies fostered significant developments in the movement’s re-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1710
CHRISTIANITY: CHRISTIANITY IN NORTH AMERICA
ligious teaching and practice. Increasingly, a doctrine of spe-
tury, emotional religion grew with increasing Pentecostal
cial chosenness and covenantal relationship with God
membership. During the Great Depression a religious awak-
prevailed. Puritans paid greater and greater attention to
ening spread in the West, and during the fifteen years after
inner, emotional states, stressing the necessity for an experi-
World War II a revival swept through Canada, paralleling
ence of conversion before one could become a full member
one in the United States.
of the church. From this perspective, Puritans faced a genera-
tion of unbelievers not only among peers who were strangers
Evangelicalism and moral crusades. Revivalism pro-
but even among their children. Puritans could not expend
vided a condensed version of what evangelicalism worked to
resources converting Indians because, in part, they were al-
achieve in North American culture more broadly. The reli-
ready too busy converting their own.
gious imperative of mission meant commitment to transform
both individual and society. Canadians and Americans alike
Revivalism. Influenced by this understanding and by
responded energetically, and a common moralism pervaded
frontier conditions and economic forces, in the early middle
their cultures. Already in New France, Roman Catholic
decades of the eighteenth century the Great Awakening
moral rigorism had blended with harshness of land and cli-
spread in the English Atlantic colonies. Under the preaching,
mate to produce a quality of asceticism in public life. Later,
especially, of the itinerant Methodist George Whitefield
in the British era, Canadian Protestants displayed even great-
(1714–1770) and the latter-day Massachusetts Puritan Jona-
er rigor. Mid-nineteenth-century ministers denounced alco-
than Edwards (1703–1758), emotional and physical mani-
hol and behavioral impropriety in general, particularly re-
festations became outward signs of God’s inward work
buking abuses of the Sabbath. After confederation, the war
among thousands. Then, by the turn of the century, the Sec-
against alcohol became the great evangelical cause, and sab-
ond Great Awakening brought visible signs of conversion to
batarianism also grew as a public cause. A more collective so-
a new generation. In Kentucky and Ohio, lengthy camp
cial concern was evidenced in the nineteenth-century con-
meetings attracted massive crowds who fell under the power
of the Spirit, experiencing strong physical and emotional
demnation of slavery—less of an issue in Canada than in the
manifestations.
United States—but it was only in the twentieth century that
moralism was effectively transmuted into social witness. The
Throughout the nineteenth century and into the twen-
new Social Gospel was more subdued on issues like temper-
tieth, American revivals followed cyclically. Each regenera-
ance and sabbatarianism and more emphatic on questions of
tion brought converts to the churches, but over time enthusi-
economic organization and social service. By 1907, Canadi-
asm waned and there was need for further missionary effort.
an Protestants had established a Social Service Council, while
With Charles G. Finney (1792–1875) and his deliberate use
Roman Catholics, in the wake of the social teachings of Pope
of “new measures,” revivalism became a technique for mass
Leo XIII, inaugurated a visibly successful epoch of Catholic
evangelism. Later, as more and more people moved to the
trade unionism. In the United States, the Puritan legacy of
cities, urban revivalism found its chief organizer and innova-
moralism remained, and in the nineteenth-century atmo-
tor in the lay preacher Dwight L. Moody (1837–1899). The
sphere of nonestablishment, the need for public witness to
greatest of the twentieth century’s preachers, William A.
propriety seemed the stronger. From other quarters, the Ar-
(Billy) Sunday (1862–1935) and Billy Graham (b. 1918),
minian teachings of religious liberals emphasized personal re-
built on Moody’s work and adapted it to new technologies
sponsibility in Christian life, while Enlightenment deism,
and times. And throughout the century a flourishing Holi-
with its stress on the moral life, fostered the moralistic ethos.
ness-Pentecostal movement institutionalized physical and
Two great public crusades for moral purity, the antislavery
emotional religion so that even regular worship services be-
and temperance movements, flourished side by side, the for-
came revivals.
mer ended by the Civil War, the latter successfully culminat-
In Canada, revivalism never achieved the spectacular
ing in the Prohibition amendment of 1919. By the second
presence that it had in the United States. It is significant that
half of the twentieth century, new abolition crusades
the first notable revival in British North America took place
achieved public prominence, both in conservative struggles
in Nova Scotia, the place to which New Englanders in large
to end legal abortion and in liberal challenges to environ-
numbers immigrated before and during the Revolution. At
mental pollution. The Social Gospel, with its calls for the
the opening of the nineteenth century, a great revival spread
coming of the kingdom of God on earth, was an American
through Upper Canada (Canada West), with many of the
movement that spread to Canadian shores. After the Civil
same physical and emotional expressions that characterized
War and in the early twentieth century, its concerns were
the American frontier revival. Itinerating Methodists who
clearly articulated, and in the 1960s it again found a voice
crossed the border built a rapidly growing denominational
in the militant civil rights movement. Meanwhile, from the
connection, especially among the large numbers of American
Roman Catholic side the social teachings of the church had
immigrants to the area. Then, from roughly 1885 to 1900,
their impact, although in the early century much less promi-
the Holiness movement and the Salvation Army brought
nently than in Canada. Still, the Catholic Worker move-
their brand of aggressive revivalism to the disinherited and
ment, arising during the depression, offered a telling witness
competed effectively in urban settings. In the twentieth cen-
to social concern within Catholicism. In the post–Vatican II
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHRISTIANITY: CHRISTIANITY IN NORTH AMERICA
1711
era, that concern became a leading feature of the American
British North Atlantic colonies. Roman Catholicism
church.
came to the British North Atlantic colonies in a far less privi-
leged position. With a royal charter granted to George Cal-
CHURCHES, DENOMINATIONS, AND INDEPENDENT RELI-
vert, the first Lord Baltimore (1580?–1632), the Maryland
GIOUS GROUPS. The Christian genius for organization was
colony was founded as a refuge for Catholics persecuted in
nowhere more apparent than in North America. Here the
England. Laws passed in 1639 and a decade later guaranteed
old European church establishments became problematic. In
religious liberty, but Puritans quickly took control of the
the late eighteenth-century United States, the diversity of co-
government and in 1654 repealed Maryland’s Act of Tolera-
lonial establishments made a national church impractical. In
tion. Even in the first days of the colony, Catholics had been
New France, military defeat ended official church establish-
a minority, and by the early eighteenth century they were de-
ment. And in British Canada, the Anglican establishment
nied voting rights although they were paying taxes to support
found it impossible to become the religion of all or most of
an Anglican establishment. Likewise, New England proved
the people. Hence, denominationalism became the hallmark
to be hostile ground for Catholic growth.
of North American Christianity: whatever the claims of an
Old World church to universality, now the term church be-
Growth and change in North American Catholicism.
came simply a label of convenience. Still, the denominations
After Quebec fell to the British in 1760, the Church of En-
understood themselves as participating in something larg-
gland was the official established church, but in practice
er—a universal church to which all Christian groups be-
Roman Catholicism enjoyed the privileges of establishment.
longed. Beyond the denominations, other forms of Chris-
Closely bound to the culture and ethos of the French Cana-
tianity flourished. There were sectarian movements, which
dians, it became a badge of ethnic identity, the sign of the
maintained strong barriers against the outer world and held
French nation still flourishing in the heart of British North
to a more intensive religious regimen than the mainstream.
America. The Quebec Act of 1774 brought a vast territory
There were other religious groups that claimed sources of
of British North America into the French Canadian prov-
revelation in addition to Christian scripture or, at least, of-
ince, retained much of the old French legal and customary
fered a major reinterpretation of it. The cultural climate of
structure, conferred citizenship and ability to hold office on
the United States, more than that of Canada, fostered these
Roman Catholics, and permitted their church to maintain
groups and, likewise, encouraged the multiplication of de-
its tithing policy. After the Union Act of 1840 made Upper
nominations.
and Lower Canada (Canada West and East) one governmen-
tal unit, Catholics in 1845 obtained a return to denomina-
Roman Catholicism. Roman Catholic spirituality
tional schools, a pattern that continued—not without chal-
stressed tradition as much as the written word of the Bible.
lenge—in the Canadian system. By the end of the nineteenth
Strongly authoritarian, the Roman Catholic Church had the
century, French Canadians considered themselves a sacred,
most to lose in the evolving denominational situation. Yet
if beleaguered, people, with a special destiny to preserve their
in some ways it was more compatible with the North Ameri-
faith.
can setting than was Protestantism. With its strong sacra-
mental cast, Roman Catholicism could see nature and the
Outside French Canada, Roman Catholicism grew
material world as the vehicle for spiritual reality. Hence, in
apace, brought in part by other immigrants. In the Mari-
its dealings with Indian peoples, Catholicism perhaps ex-
times, three distinct traditions—Acadian, Irish, and Scot-
pressed less contempt for native ways and more willingness
tish—flourished despite the tensions between them and de-
to incorporate aboriginal forms into a native North Ameri-
spite the largely Protestant environment. To the west,
can Catholicism. Moreover, among the European immi-
French missions served the settlers, but English-speaking
grants, Catholicism provided the highly tangible institution-
Catholics were not absent. Although their church continued
al and ritual structures that could reassure those who were
to be dominated by the French, with time the role of the mi-
homesick for cultures and countries left behind.
norities increased. In the last quarter of the twentieth centu-
ry, Catholicism was Canada’s majority religion, and in 1975
New France. Catholicism in New Spain had been the
some 52 percent of the population counted themselves
religion, mostly, of Spanish conquerors and Indian converts.
Roman Catholic.
In New France, however, white settlement meant a trans-
planted European church that learned quickly to adapt to life
To the south, the American Revolution had inaugurated
on the frontier. Religious orders of men and women had
an era of religious toleration. To be sure, there was anti-
come, the nuns making New France a pioneer in social con-
Catholic feeling and, at times, violence against Catholics in
cern and the French clergy forming a dedicated core. Their
the nineteenth and even the twentieth centuries. But the
flock evidently responded. Although the settlers were re-
larger saga of Roman Catholicism was one of increasing inte-
membered for their gaiety and enjoyment of life, European
gration into national life. Indeed, one of the biggest prob-
travelers were also impressed by their piety. There were, in-
lems Catholics faced was that of becoming too well-
deed, tensions between various religious orders and problems
integrated, too much like the Protestant majority. Thus, the
arising from the absenteeism of a series of bishops in Quebec,
trusteeship controversy of the early national period centered
but Catholicism was in northern North America to stay.
around the initiatives of Catholic laymen who attempted to
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1712
CHRISTIANITY: CHRISTIANITY IN NORTH AMERICA
follow the Protestant congregational model, calling and dis-
(1789). Meanwhile, Presbyterian and Baptist groups contin-
missing their pastors at will. And later efforts by liberal bish-
ued the Puritan vision, while Methodists, as new arrivals,
ops led in part to Leo XIII’s Testem benevolentiae (1899),
achieved a separate American organization. The years of the
warning against the heresy of “Americanism.”
early republic were times of spectacular Methodist develop-
Not only did American Catholicism encounter the
ment and growth, but Baptist fellowships, Methodism’s clos-
Protestant majority with its denominational plurality, but
est competitors, also flourished, and restorationism (to the
the church also found an abundant ethnic plurality within
primitive New Testament church) grew with the Disciples
its own ranks. By the 1840s, a massive Irish immigration was
of Christ, or “Christians” (1832). Thus, the evangelical char-
changing the character of American Catholicism, and over
acter of these and other denominations was heavily im-
time other groups joined the Irish: Germans, Italians, Poles,
printed on the culture. Nonetheless, a small but important
and Hispanics (the last through territorial acquisition as well
liberal movement in religion had also arisen from Puritan-
as through immigration). There were marked tensions
ism, assuming institutional form in 1825 as the American
among these groups, but in the end the Irish form of Catholi-
Unitarian Association. Liberalism likewise appeared in the
cism won, dominating the hierarchy and imprinting its char-
popular religion of rural New England as Universalism, so
acter on American Catholic life.
called because of its teaching of universal salvation.
Protestantism. Reformation spirituality had been born
The Civil War brought serious denominational splits,
in protest against sacramentalism and traditionalism in the
and the post–Civil War epoch yielded new tensions between
medieval church. It preached collective return to biblical
liberals and conservatives within denominations. With the
sources of revelation and individual reliance on the grace of
new science of the era and the growing prestige of Charles
God in winning salvation. In fact, it was only a matter of
Darwin’s evolutionary theory, some preached world accep-
time before the centrifugal tendencies implicit in the Refor-
tance, welcoming “higher criticism” of the Bible and pro-
mation came to realization. Thus North America, settled
pounding a theology of immanence. Others, deeply troubled
largely by dissenting Protestants, proved fertile ground for
by these developments, welded millennial and rationalistic
a series of separate and at times competing denominations.
themes to shape a fundamentalism stressing biblical literal-
At the same time, with its emphasis on the priestly vocation
ism and inerrancy. In this milieu, too, a “gospel of wealth,”
of all Christians in whatever worldly station, Reformation
enjoining material prosperity, and a critique of poverty,
spirituality encouraged new sources of linkage between reli-
preaching the Social Gospel, seemed to pull in opposite di-
gion and culture. If church and state eventually became sepa-
rections.
rated in North America, unofficially they sustained each
The results, for the twentieth century, included a de-
other.
nominationalism that often concealed within the ranks of
American denominationalism. The Virginia colony was
the same religious organization individuals and groups of
settled by nondissenting members of the Church of England,
quite different theological and ethical bent. After 1925, fun-
but New England and Pennsylvania were colonized by sec-
damentalism for a time seemed less important, but the move-
tarian groups—nonseparatist Puritans, separatist Pilgrims,
ment enjoyed a widespread resurgence by the last quarter of
and separatist Quakers. These “outsider” groups moved from
the century. At the same time, the twentieth century saw the
quasi-sectarian status in England to the religious and politi-
development of a world ecumenical movement in which
cal center in the New World. But when church nonestablish-
American denominations participated, especially through
ment was safeguarded by the new constitution, there were
the World Council of Churches (1948) and the National
officially no religious “insiders” in the nation. Hence, from
Council of the Churches of Christ (1950).
two directions there was movement toward homogenization.
Canadian denominationalism. In the territory that be-
For the Puritans of New England, however, something
came the Dominion of Canada, Protestantism first came
of the sectarian character remained. With their emphasis on
with Huguenot traders and settlers. Nearly two centuries
congregational autonomy, Puritans quickly became Congre-
later, in 1760, the Church of England officially became the
gationalists. But their moralism and righteousness, their
established church. Establishment, however, was mostly a
sense of destiny and chosenness, and their millennialism
legal fiction. Anglican clergy were insufficient in numbers
spread throughout religious and political culture. On the one
and enthusiasm, the Anglican relationship to government
hand, these attitudes engendered in the early republic a pub-
often proved a liability, and the formal character of worship
lic Protestantism with a heavy ideological tinge. On the other
and gradualist model of Christian life were poorly adapted
hand, these attitudes encouraged, by their clarity, the self-
to life on the frontier.
definition of others and the multiplication of religious
Protestant groups that reaped benefits from Anglican
groups. Moreover, immigrants continued to bring Old
problems were largely Presbyterians, Methodists, and, to a
World religions to the United States, further increasing the
lesser extent, Baptists. With this denominational spectrum,
plurality.
and with the far greater Roman Catholic population (four
After the Revolution, the American Church of England
times as numerous as Anglicans in 1842), resentment flared
reconstituted itself as the Protestant Episcopal Church
periodically over government aid to the Church of England
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CHRISTIANITY: CHRISTIANITY IN NORTH AMERICA
1713
through lands set aside as clergy reserves. When, in 1854,
thodoxy had solid grounds for its claim to be the fourth
legislation proclaimed the desirability of ending any appear-
major faith in the nation (after Protestantism, Roman Ca-
ance of connection between church and state and commuted
tholicism, and Judaism).
parts of the reserves as a permanent endowment, dissatisfac-
Early twentieth-century immigration brought Eastern
tion remained. But the Church of England, the Church of
Orthodoxy to Canada as well, when Russians, Greeks, Serbi-
Scotland, and the Wesleyan Methodist Church—along with
ans, and especially Ukrainians came. In 1918, the Ukrainian
the Roman Catholic Church—all received a share of the
Greek Orthodox Church of Canada was established, provid-
commutation. The voluntary principle, in the end, had won.
ing a religious center for its adherents in western Canada.
Generally, if not officially, the Protestant and Roman
Meanwhile, Russian Orthodoxy grew, particularly in Alber-
Catholic churches supported the Confederation of 1867. By
ta, despite the differences, as in the United States, between
1881, the four major Protestant denominations could count
various factions. By the late twentieth century, Eastern Or-
over half the Canadian population as members. Methodists
thodox adherents in Canada numbered over 362,000.
had established themselves as the largest among these
Independent religious groups. The spirituality of in-
churches, while Presbyterians were a close second. Moreover,
dependent religious groups, in general, stressed intensity of
both denominations, through a series of unions and reorga-
commitment and the transforming power of religion in every
nizations, successfully brought together nearly all groups in
aspect of life. Frequently millennial in orientation, these
their respective denominational families.
groups often expected the dawn of a new age. Moreover, the
These late-century mergers to form national bodies
line between them and the Protestant denominations is diffi-
paved the way for the union, in 1925, between the Method-
cult to draw. From one point of view, many of the sectarian
ist and Presbyterian churches and the much smaller Congre-
movements may be considered Protestant, provided that
gational Union to form the United Church of Canada. The
they are not considered closely related to mainstream Refor-
new church became, in effect, the “national” Protestant
mation churches and, on the other hand, that any roots in
church, the body that, of all Protestant bodies, provided a
Reformation churches are taken into account. Even more,
counterweight for Catholicism. A liberal evangelical commu-
when such sectarian movements lose their exclusiveness and
nion, it supported the Social Gospel. Likewise, when union
move in a more denominational direction, their inclusion
sentiment arose anew with the ecumenical organization of
with other Protestant groups becomes virtually automatic.
the Canadian Council of Churches in 1944, the United
Beyond the sects, religions like Mormonism and Christian
Church was part of the undertaking. Since close to four out
Science fall outside the scope of Protestantism, although for
of five Canadian Protestants were United Church members
practical purposes these religions are also often lumped to-
or Anglicans, the denominational center seemed even
gether with the Protestant churches.
stronger.
Sectarian movements. Marking their boundaries with
Eastern Orthodoxy. Wherever it existed in North
the outside world far more strongly than do denominations,
America, Eastern Orthodox spirituality grew in national
sects form tightly knit groups of committed coreligionists.
churches that enjoined continuity with the past. Formality
Yet they are often intensely conversionist, with a powerful
and ritual splendor in the Divine Liturgy mediated a familial
missionary urge, a sense of impending end to the present era,
closeness, as the mystical Christianity of traditional Ortho-
and an accompanying doctrine and experience of new birth.
doxy blended with the often intense nationalism of its con-
In short, what the evangelical denominations in North
gregations. Although it never became mission-minded, Or-
America in many ways adumbrated, its sectarian movements
thodoxy did adapt to its new setting, introducing English
carried to logical and psychological completion. Moreover,
into the Divine Liturgy, erecting pews in churches (unlike
in the United States, where sects appeared in far greater
the traditional arrangement), and bringing feasts and holy
number and variety than in Canada, the national ideology
days into conformance with the Western calendar.
of newness helped to foster the experience of new birth.
The third major branch of Christianity first came to
Some sects in the two countries were simply European
North America in the eighteenth century: Russian Ortho-
imports, attracted by promises of religious freedom and
doxy grew in Alaska until, in the beginning of the twentieth
abundance of land. But because of the isolation of such
century, some one-sixth of its people were Orthodox. Mean-
groups (e.g., the Amish, the Mennonites, and the Hutterites)
while, after Alaska became a possession of the United States,
and their relatively smaller numbers, they did not have nearly
Russian Orthodoxy moved to San Francisco (1872) and
so much impact on culture as sectarian movements closer in
then, by the end of the century, to New York. In the twenti-
spirit to mainstream Protestantism. Thus, Adventist move-
eth century, Greek Orthodoxy—present even before the turn
ments like the Millerites of the early 1840s attracted wide
of the century with immigration—grew larger than its Rus-
public notice in the United States and Canada—and a fol-
sian cousin, so that by 1975 there were almost two million
lowing difficult to number, much of it within the Baptist and
Greek Orthodox Christians in the United States. Together
other evangelical denominations.
with one million Russian Orthodox and still another million
In another example, the American Holiness-Pentecostal
or so in separate national Orthodox churches, American Or-
movement grew from Methodist perfectionism and other
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1714
CHRISTIANITY: CHRISTIANITY IN NORTH AMERICA
sources until, by the late nineteenth century, the expulsion
Numbers of other new religious groups, based at least
of Holiness associations or their secession from the Method-
partially in Christianity, prospered and grew in North Amer-
ist churches came about. In congregations like the Church
ica. The typical pattern was foundation in the United States
of the Nazarene, Holiness people were, religiously, relatively
and subsequent migration into Canada, where the move-
conservative, but a more radical expression of perfectionism
ment had a much smaller following. Many of these groups
came early in the twentieth century in Pentecostalism. For
seemed bizarre and exotic to more conventional Christians,
Pentecostals, the signs of the Holy Spirit—speaking in
but, typically, their members linked themselves to Chris-
tongues and added biblical gifts like prayer, prophecy, and
tianity.
healing—descended in an atmosphere of miracle and millen-
Such disparate groups as the nineteenth-century Oneida
nialism. Their movement, interracial at first but then sepa-
community that taught a regulated pluralism of sexual part-
rated along color lines, spread to Canada and throughout the
ners in complex marriage, the enduring Spiritualist churches
world. In Canada, Holiness had developed indigenously, but
from the second half of the nineteenth century that sought
it also migrated northward from the United States just at the
to establish contact with the spirits of the departed, and the
time that the Canadian West was experiencing a rapid
apocalyptic Children of God organization from the late
growth of cities. The Nazarenes quickly rose to prominence
1960s that embraced a totalitarian patriarchalism, all ex-
among the Holiness sects, even as Pentecostalism entered
pressed currents in the religious culture of North America.
from both the United States and Great Britain, finding a fa-
They took religious freedom seemingly as far as it would
vorable climate for increase.
go—even to a commitment that, paradoxically, sometimes
New religious movements. Like the sects, new religious
became willing bondage. They announced an alienation
movements arose far more often and more prominently in
from tradition and a yearning for identity and community
the United States than in Canada. In fact, one such move-
in a North American society grown perhaps too plural and
ment, the Mormons, by the late twentieth century had estab-
too large. In short, the spread of new religious movements,
lished itself as among the largest religious organizations in
from Mormonism to the Unification Church of Sun Myung
the United States. In Canada, the Mormons also achieved
Moon, must be linked to the history and sociological base
a presence, appearing in Ontario and Upper Canada and
of North American Christianity.
building a temple in Cardston, Alberta. Eventually they
NATIONAL AND REGIONAL CHRONICLES. By the late twenti-
could be found throughout Canada. The major develop-
eth century, the United States and Canada had long since
ment, though, was in the United States, where Mormon
divided sovereignty over North America between them.
founder Joseph Smith (1805–1844) preached a new revela-
Christianity was the predominant religion in both countries,
tion transmitted to him on golden plates, a salvation history
and in both it exhibited characteristics suggesting the politi-
that centered on early America. Smith’s written transcrip-
cal and cultural ambience of North America. At the same
tion, the Book of Mormon, grounded the movement, which
time, each country showed marked differences from its
evolved a distinctive theology of materialism, supporting the
neighbor in the forms its Christianity assumed.
American venture and pronouncing a final goal of deifi-
cation.
Canadian Christianity. Because of their special history,
Canadians generally thought of themselves as two nations—
Similarly, the founder of Christian Science, Mary Baker
groups bound by ties of blood, tradition, and ethnic identi-
Eddy (1821–1910), in Science and Health gave her followers
ty—in one political state. The political balance of power be-
a book that they ranked beside the Bible. Built on a Congre-
tween French Canadians and English Canadians had a reli-
gational heritage of Puritanism and a resurgence of Plato-
gious counterpart in the more or less equal division between
nism in the nineteenth century, Eddy’s teaching stressed the
Roman Catholic and Protestant Christians (although a large
illusory nature of the material realm and encouraged follow-
proportion of Catholics were English-speaking and not
ers to look to divine Truth, experiencing physical healings
French at all). Protestant Christians comprised fewer denom-
and other material goods as signs of their apprehension of
inations than in the United States, historically most belong-
spiritual reality.
ing to the three or four biggest churches. Hence, it is fair to
say that Canadian Christianity was both more and less plural
Eddy’s Christian Science church was relatively small in
than Christianity in the United States.
size, but it was the best organized of a series of movements
in the United States that preached and practiced mental heal-
Canadian Christianity was more plural because the con-
ing. These metaphysical movements often expressed in more
centration of Christians into fewer religious groups fostered
concentrated form a general idealism in American culture,
greater visibility and leverage for denominations with suffi-
and, in their growing emphasis on themes of prosperity,
cient power and status in the community to count. But Ca-
from their own perspective they too taught a theology of ma-
nadian Christianity was also less plural than its American
terialism. At the same time, Christian Science and New
counterpart, for the obvious reason that there were fewer
Thought (the general name for other metaphysical move-
groups in absolute numbers, but also because of an ecume-
ments such as Unity) traveled across the border into Canada
nism especially apparent in Protestant Christianity. It was
where, in missions and churches, they spread their message.
less plural, too, because of the subtle Erastianism that en-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHRISTIANITY: CHRISTIANITY IN NORTH AMERICA
1715
couraged all denominations to uphold a central cultural
in the United States than in Canada—over antislavery, tem-
order. Christianity in Canada tended to be “social” Chris-
perance, civil rights, and other social issues. Yet for all the
tianity, more conservative than in the United States and less
mass emotion, the rhetoric of religious individualism became
rigid in its boundary between church and state.
uppermost in the United States. This rhetoric went hand in
hand with the ideology of newness and evangelical mission
Mission-minded and voluntaryistic like the American
and hand in hand, too, with a pronounced ahistoricism and,
Christian churches, the Canadian denominations had
in restorationist sentiment, a willingness to skip over long
worked on a huge geographical scale, and so—perhaps more
centuries of Christian history. Linked to a search for religious
than and ahead of their country’s politicians—they thought
simplicity and sometimes to anti-intellectualism, restoration-
in terms of the North American continent as a whole. More-
ist movements expressed in institutional form a general spirit
over, with the imposing strength of Roman Catholicism be-
in American Christianity.
fore them, Canadian Protestants were particularly urged in
cooperative directions. Thus, in some sense they provided
Certainly, as early as the mid-nineteenth century,
the public unity that the state could not give because of its
Roman Catholicism was the single largest Christian denomi-
divisions between English and French. Much more than
nation in the United States, and by 1983 it included some
Christianity in the United States, Canadian Christianity
29 percent of the population. But, with a different history
maintained its ties with the past, favoring continuity and tra-
and a lesser size, Catholicism never achieved the impact on
dition over religious change and novelty.
American culture that had been its birthright in Canada. Si-
multaneously more and less established than in Canada, pub-
Finally, Canadians overwhelmingly counted themselves
lic Christianity continued to be Protestant Christianity.
denominational Christians, exceeding even the high Ameri-
can church membership (nearly 70 percent of the people) in
Finally, this public Christianity assumed explicitly polit-
the late twentieth century. At the beginning of the twentieth
ical form in what many scholars have called civil religion.
century, 90 percent of Canadians belonged to six major
While the Enlightenment ideology present at the time of the
Christian groups (including as the largest the Roman Catho-
American Revolution encouraged a form of religious nation-
lic). By the 1960s, with some substitutions, the figure was
alism that was not specifically Christian, later a public alli-
higher still, and by the early 1970s over three-quarters of the
ance between gospel and flag became commonplace. By the
population were Roman Catholic, United Church, or Angli-
1970s and 1980s, a new Christian Right was working to
can Church members.
shape political events. Conservative Christians were probably
the fastest-growing Christian groups in Canada as in the
American Christianity. The Puritan ethos left its mark
United States, but again, because of the different histories of
on American religion, and numerical, political, and cultural
the two countries, they could not capture the public space
balance made the United States distinctly Protestant. Al-
in Canada in the same way as in the United States. Hence,
though the nation was far more plural than Canada in the
in American religion, public Protestantism, civil religion,
number of its Christian groups (a conservative estimate in-
and cultural religion became aspects of the same center.
cludes more than two hundred), public Protestantism meant
that, with less overt cooperation between church and state,
Regional Christianity. Living together in one area,
the country could become in some ways far more Christian,
Christian peoples may share a common history as well as a
far less secular, than its northern neighbor.
common religion. Likewise, they sometimes develop ties
that, in effect, constitute them as a new “particular people.”
Thus, while the Canadian system accommodated itself
European sectarian groups that settled in North America of-
to the support of denominational schools, in the United
fered striking cases of the growth of such religious regional-
States the nineteenth-century public schools openly taught
ism. Rural places and urban centers alike often assumed the
Protestant Christianity. Similarly, even as Puritanism faded
character of a religious and ethnic group. Meanwhile, more
into other denominational forms, its spirit remained to
diffused throughout larger areas, identifiable forms of region-
transform public and political life. Manifest destiny and po-
al Christianity flourished. This was clearly true in the French
litical imperialism became the harvest of the Puritan past.
Canadian Catholicism of the province of Quebec, but it was
Explicitly present in Puritanism, millennialism resur-
also true in, for example, the Eastern Cherokee Christianity
faced time and again—in liberal expectations of a new era,
of western North Carolina after the Indian Removal of 1838.
in sectarian beliefs that the millennium had already come or
The pattern could be noticed distinctly in the fundamentalist
was just about to break, in fundamentalist announcements
Protestantism of southern Appalachia, and it was strikingly
of the signs of the swift return of Christ. Nationally, too, po-
present in black religion as, in sections of the American
litical millennialism suffused foreign and domestic policy, so
South, it joined to its Christianity inherited African thought
that wars were generally read as epochal events that would
forms and indigenous folk religion.
determine the future of the nation and even the world.
The larger North American landscape. In the end,
Tied to this generalized cultural millennialism, ultraism
however, North American Christianity should be seen from
flourished in American social history. The ultraism was evi-
a continental perspective. With its voluntaryism, activism,
dent in the moralistic crusades—which were more strident
and moralism, it has been generally evangelistic in tone. 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
1716
CHRISTIANITY: CHRISTIANITY IN NORTH AMERICA
call to mission clearly gave it a distinct identity: Roman
2, Since 1865 (Grand Rapids, Mich., 1982–1983). The doc-
Catholic and, more, Eastern Orthodox strains of mystical
uments, selected to show a pluralism present in American re-
piety never made their mark on Christian culture as a whole.
ligious history from the first, contain a wealth of materials
Denominational in organization, the essence of North Amer-
for the beginner or the more advanced student. With the
ican Christianity has been at once its plurality and its seeking
possible exception of Mead’s essays, all the works above con-
for a genuine pluralism, a state of pleased acceptance of the
sider American Christianity not exclusively, but as the largest
plural situation. At the same time, North American Chris-
theme in the religious mosaic of the United States, which
they seek to describe comprehensively.
tianity modified the plurality to reflect political and national
needs for unity.
Among more specialized studies in American Christianity, Righ-
teous Empire: The Protestant Experience in America (New
With the second half of the twentieth century, religion
York, 1970) by Martin E. Marty, republished in a second
in North America encountered the increasing secularization
edition as Protestantism in the United States: Righteous Empire
of culture. Although in both the United States and Canada
(New York, 1986), is still the best treatment of Protestant-
Christian church membership included the large majority,
ism, reading it in terms of its impact on culture and cultural
it also seemed that, except for the fundamentalist political
imperialism. For Roman Catholicism, the account by John
thrust of the New Right, Christianity had a diminished con-
Tracy Ellis, American Catholicism, 2d ed., rev. (Chicago,
nection with everyday life. In a certain sense, the mission-
1969), is yet the classic short work. The book by Henry War-
minded evangelical ethos seemed more a style or habit than
ner Bowden, American Indians and Christian Missions:
a substantive transformer of the world. On the other hand,
Studies in Cultural Conflict (Chicago, 1981), is sensitive to
North American Christianity has perhaps grown more mod-
the contact situation but suggestive more than comprehen-
est, chastened by a new awareness of the danger of cultural
sive as a treatment of the Christianization of Amerindian
imperialism. At the start of the twenty-first century, it has
peoples in American territory. Still, its account of Huronia
turned inward to find spiritual roots in its biblical heritage
provides a highly readable introduction to the work of the
Jesuits in New France. The pathbreaking work by Albert J.
and outward to listen to the words and messages of non-
Raboteau, Slave Religion: The “Invisible Institution” in the An-
Christian others at home and abroad.
tebellum South (Oxford, 1978), considerably advances the
study of black Christianity. More comprehensive in scope
SEE ALSO Christian Science; Denominationalism; Mormon-
but written to argue a distinct theological agenda is Gayraud
ism; New Religious Movements, article on New Religious
S. Wilmore’s Black Religion and Black Radicalism: An Inter-
Movements in the United States; North American Indian
pretation of the Religious History of Afro-American People, 2d
Religions, article on New Religious Movements.
ed., rev. and enl. (Maryknoll, N.Y., 1983). Even with the
theological tour de force, it is the best survey presently avail-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
able.
The one book that deals with all of North American Christianity
Lamentably, Canadian Christianity has not received nearly the
as defined in this article is Robert T. Handy’s A History of
scholarly attention that its American counterpart has. The
the Churches in the United States and Canada (New York,
1977). It is clear and straightforward, written from the per-
most useful short history, though dated, is H. H. Walsh’s
spective of church history and with meticulous attention to
The Christian Church in Canada (Toronto, 1956). More re-
detail.
cent and more expansive is the three-volume work, A History
of the Christian Church in Canada, produced under the gen-
For American (U.S.) Christianity, the most exhaustive source,
eral editorship of John Webster Grant. The first volume of
highlighting the theme of Puritanism, is the monumental
this trilogy, The Church in the French Era: From Colonization
work by Sydney E. Ahlstrom, A Religious History of the Amer-
to the British Conquest (Toronto, 1966), also by H. H.
ican People (New Haven, 1972). More concise but also infor-
Walsh, intersperses nuanced biographical sketches in its
mative is Winthrop S. Hudson’s Religion in America, 3d ed.
chronicle of events and offers an absorbing, contextualistic
(New York, 1981). My book America: Religions and Religion
account. The second volume, by John S. Moir, The Church
(Belmont, Calif., 1981) offers a different approach from the
in the British Era: From the British Conquest to Confederation
previous works, employing the perspectives of history of reli-
(Toronto, 1972), continues the chronicle to 1867 within a
gions and interdisciplinary history to study the counterpoint
crisp and comprehensive church historical framework. The
between the manyness and oneness of American religion(s).
third volume, The Church in the Canadian Era: The First
As a collection of essays that masterfully explores denominational-
Century of Confederation (Toronto, 1972), by John Webster
ism and other central themes in American religious history,
Grant, completes the series in somewhat more discursive
the classic work by Sidney E. Mead, The Lively Experiment:
fashion. For a more popular and colloquial introduction,
The Shaping of Christianity in America (New York, 1963), is
there is the handsome and illustrated Religion in Canada: The
insightful and rewarding. The Historical Atlas of Religion in
Spiritual Development of a Nation, by William Kilbourn,
America, rev. ed. (New York, 1976), by Edwin S. Gaustad,
A. C. Forrest, and Patrick Watson (Toronto, 1968). Its im-
is invaluable as a religious atlas. The book is especially useful
pressionistic surveys sweep through Canadian religious histo-
for its careful charts and graphics. Another invaluable work
ry, virtually all of it Christian, to good effect; and its photo
of historical craftsmanship, edited by Edwin S. Gaustad, is
essays prove rewarding complements to the text. And for a
his two-volume documentary collection, A Documentary His-
useful documentary collection, see the volume edited by
tory of Religion in America, vol. 1, To the Civil War, and vol.
John S. Moir, The Cross in Canada (Toronto, 1966).
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHRISTIANITY: CHRISTIANITY IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA [FIRST EDITION]
1717
More specialized accounts of Canadian Christianity include the
CHRISTIANITY: CHRISTIANITY IN SUB-
important work of John Webster Grant, Moon of Wintertime
SAHARAN AFRICA [FIRST EDITION]
(Toronto, 1984), chronicling the ambiguous encounter be-
While it is impossible to obtain precise figures of religious
tween Christian missionaries and Canadian Indians since
allegiance, it is reasonable to state that the number of Chris-
1534. More regionally specific, the brief but impressive study
by Cornelius J. Jaenen, The Role of the Church in New France
tians in Africa in 1985 was not less than 150 million. Chris-
(Toronto, 1976), supersedes the Walsh volume on New
tianity is now either the majority religion, or about to be-
France and argues the role of Catholic Counter-Reformation
come it, in almost all parts of the African continent south
piety in its cultural formation. Likewise studying Catholi-
of the equator as well as in important parts north of the equa-
cism in Quebec is the work by Nive Voisine with the collab-
tor, notably along much of the west coast. Bantu-speaking
oration of André Beaulieu and Jean Hamelin, Histoire de
Africa, in particular, is becoming overwhelmingly Christian.
l’Église catholique au Québec, 1608–1970 (Montreal, 1971).
Some 150 years ago, there were only a handful of Christians,
It is regrettably without notes or index. L’Église catholique au
and those were mostly in a few European-controlled coastal
Canada, 1604–1886 (Trois-Rivieres, 1970) by the Abbé
settlements. A century ago, the missionary advance into the
Hermann Plante is more widely ranging but unfortunately
interior was still only just beginning, while Islam was far bet-
ends in the late nineteenth century and also contains neither
ter established in both the west and east and set to spread
notes nor index.
further. The most likely religious future for the continent re-
The short introduction by Douglas J. Wilson, The Church Grows
mained a slow but irresistible islamization like that which
in Canada (Toronto, 1966), although it purports to be a gen-
had been proceeding for centuries in the West African interi-
eral study, almost entirely concerns Protestantism. Its
thumbnail sketches of denominations and sectarian move-
or as in eastern areas like Somalia. This did continue in some
ments are useful, but there are inaccuracies. A classic study
parts, such as the Tanzanian coast, among the Yao of Malawi
of evangelism and revivalism in Canada, dated in its interpre-
and still more widely in much of West Africa.
tive framework but rich in its use of primary source materials
Elsewhere, however, recent African history has wit-
and lively, if lengthy, in its account, is Church and Sect in
nessed the most extensive mass movement into Christianity
Canada (Toronto, 1948) by S. D. Clark. Finally, Church and
State in Canada West: Three Studies in the Relation of Denom-
anywhere in the world in modern times. Countries like
inationalism and Nationalism, 1841–1867 (1959; reprint,
Zaire, Ghana, Togo, Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi,
Toronto, 1968) by John S. Moir surveys issues regarding the
Zambia, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Angola, and South
clergy reserves and education in Canada West (Upper
Africa have a dominantly Christian sense of identity at the
Canada).
level of culture and popular religion, however mixed this may
New Sources
be with traditional religion—especially in remoter areas.
Albanese, Catherine L. America: Religion and Religions. 2d ed.,
This still inadequately recognized fact has not only pro-
Belmont, Calif., 1992.
foundly affected the history and future of Africa but also al-
tered the modern worldwide balance of Christianity. Increas-
Brauer, Jerald C., ed. The Lively Experiment Continued. Macon,
Ga., 1987.
ingly the Christian churches must appear on the
international scene as a racial alliance of white and black to
Dorrien, George. The Making of American Liberal Theology: Imag-
a degree that could hardly have been envisaged in the early
ining Progressive Religion 1805–1900. Louisville, Ky., 2001.
decades of the twentieth century.
Dorrien, George. The Making of American Liberal Theology: Ideal-
ism, Realism, and Modernity 1900–1950. Louisville, Ky.,
BEGINNINGS OF CHRISTIANITY IN AFRICA. Before the last
2003.
decades of the nineteenth century, there was nothing to sug-
Eck, Diana. A New Religious America. New York, 2001.
gest that Christianity would grow so explosively. Africa had
time and again proved to be a continent in which Christiani-
Gausted, Edwin F., and Mark A. Knoll, eds. A Documentary Histo-
ty failed to make a lasting breakthrough. The large and im-
ry of Religion in America. 3d ed. Grand Rapids, Mich., 2003.
pressive early churches of Egypt and the North African coast
Hackett, David G., ed. Religion and American Culture. New York
were overtaken by Muslim conquest. In Egypt the Christian
and London, 1995.
church survived, at times tenuously, as an underprivileged
Hall, Donald A. Lived Religion in America. Princeton, N.J., 1997.
minority, but to the west it did not. Furthermore, it had
Lippy, Charles H. Being Religious, American Style. Westport,
failed to penetrate across the Sahara, unlike Islam in subse-
Conn., 1994.
quent centuries. Certainly, it prospered in Ethiopia and also,
Noll, Mark A. A History of Christianity in the United States and
for several centuries, in Nubia. Nevertheless, any spread
Canada. Grand Rapids, Mich., 1992.
southward was limited. Under Muslim pressure Nubian
Pinn, Anthony B. The Varieties of African American Religious Expe-
Christianity was extinguished by the fifteenth century while
rience. Minneapolis, 1998.
the Ethiopian church only just survived the sixteenth-
century jiha¯d of Ahmad Grañ.
West, Cornell, and Eddie S. Glaude Jr., eds. African American Re-
ligious Thought. Louisville, Ky., 2003.
From the sixteenth to the eighteenth century, under the
CATHERINE L. ALBANESE (1987)
patronage of the Portuguese empire, there was a considerable
Revised Bibliography
amount of evangelistic work undertaken in several parts of
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1718
CHRISTIANITY: CHRISTIANITY IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA [FIRST EDITION]
the continent—in some places, notably Warri, the Kongo,
came into an ill-advised and destructive clash with Bishop
and the interior of Angola, with some apparent success. In
Crowther and the Sierra Leoneans. The important legacy of
the seventeenth century especially, the Kongo kingdom
this period was a significant start on translation of the Bible
seemed deeply christianized in the period of the Capuchin
into scores of African languages, that would prove to be the
missionaries. However, for a variety of reasons, such as the
true foundation for African Christianity. Missionaries like
lack of a steady flow of missionaries, colonial politics and
Robert Moffat (1795–1883) of Kuruman were often un-
slave-trading, and the failure to establish truly indigenous in-
imaginative, quarrelsome among themselves, and far from
stitutions, almost nothing endured. Little by little, Christian
strikingly successful in terms of “conversions,” but enough
practices were absorbed by the tolerant embrace of African
of them became remarkable linguists to ensure that the most
traditional religion, until by the early nineteenth century
widely available reading matter for the early generations of
they had simply faded away.
literate Africans would be the Christian scriptures. The for-
mal preaching of missionaries seldom proved very convinc-
At this point Catholic missionary efforts were for a
ing or even comprehensible (except to a more-or-less captive
while taken over by Protestant efforts in the wake of the
audience of house servants and ransomed slaves), but the
evangelical movement, the growth of British imperial power,
Bible in its range of historic particularity, legal prescription,
and the campaign to abolish the slave trade. A small crowd
and deep mystery provided a compelling vision, and one
of black people returning to Africa in 1787 under the aegis
seemingly more at home in traditional Africa than in nine-
of a London emancipationist committee may be taken as in-
teenth-century Europe.
augurating the new era. They were settled in Sierra Leone
around what is now Freetown. Reinforced by further settle-
By the start of the twentieth century there were several
ments, they made of Sierra Leone an Anglican and Method-
peoples, beyond Sierra Leonean Krios and the Xhosa, among
ist powerhouse. Fourah Bay College, founded at Freetown
whom a wide movement of Christian conversion was clearly
by the Church Missionary Society in 1827, developed into
under way: the Yoruba, Igbo, and other West Africa coastal
the first institution of higher education for black Africa. Sier-
peoples; the Kongo (renewing an old allegiance) and the Ng-
ra Leone became, for the nineteenth century, the source of
wato in the south; and the Ganda in the east (following the
a network of West African coastal Christian communities,
striking martyrdoms of 1886 under King Mwanga). The Ng-
English in speech and often in nomenclature, confident, and
wato and the Ganda were exceptional in that they lived in
urban-based. Its most outstanding representative was the
the interior. They remained the exceptions. But the circum-
Yoruba-born Samuel Ajayi Crowther (1809?–1891), Angli-
stances of the continent as a whole were changing greatly.
can bishop on the Niger. This Krio (creole) Christianity
THE COLONIAL PERIOD. In the 1890s Africa was parceled
proved highly vocal, the protagonist of a distinct African
out among the European powers, and the fortunes of Chris-
Christian identity, yet it did not mix easily with the rural
tianity would, for a while, depend considerably upon its rela-
multitude, and Sierra Leone as a whole remained one of the
tionship with the colonial order. The latter undoubtedly
least christianized of African countries. A comparable black
helped missionary activity in various important ways, just as
Christianity—though less elitist and vocal, and more rural—
missionaries both pressed for, and facilitated, the colonial
was growing up at much the same time in South Africa, espe-
takeover, so that Christianity and colonial conquest could
cially among the Xhosa. With Crowther, one can here com-
seem at times like two sides of a single coin. Modern anti-
pare the Presbyterian minister Tiyo Soga (1829–1871),
colonialism has often branded Christianity in Africa, with
hymn writer and Bible translator.
some justification, as an accomplice of colonialism. But if the
Elsewhere, the institutional initiative would long re-
link between the two was often unhealthily close, it is also
main with the white missionaries. The second half of the
true that colonial conquest in no way required christianiza-
nineteenth century was their golden age, presided over by the
tion— indeed, many colonialists would have preferred islam-
brilliant, restless, and quite untypical spirit of David Living-
ization. The British empire, in particular, had been too pro-
stone (1813–1873). Henry Venn, secretary of the Church
foundly shaped by India to want to christianize its subjects,
Missionary Society from 1841 to 1872 and the man respon-
while the French government at the time was generally anti-
sible for Crowther’s appointment, brought a new maturity
clerical. Missionaries could occasionally speak out against co-
to Protestant missionary thinking. So too did Cardinal
lonial proceedings on behalf of native rights; they did quite
Charles Lavigerie, founder of the White Fathers society for
a lot to uncover the atrocities committed in the Congo Free
Africa missions (1868), and Bishop Melchior de Marion Bré-
State. They also began quite early in a few places (notably
sillac, founder of the Society of Missions of Africa (SMA,
the Free Church of Scotland at Lovedale in South Africa and
1856), for Roman Catholics.
Livingstonia in Malawi) to provide a level of liberal educa-
tion for Africans which colonists found both unnecessary
From the 1870s on there was a marked increase in both
and dangerous and which in fact served to cradle modern na-
the number and the educational level of missionaries. Yet for
tionalism. Basically, however, missionaries were seldom a de-
many years the effect of the new missionary wave may well
cisively influential part of early colonial society. By 1914,
have appeared to be not much greater than that of its pre-
even though Africa was covered by a remarkable network of
decessors. The new breed of missionaries on the west coast
missions—often in intense rivalry with one another (espe-
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CHRISTIANITY: CHRISTIANITY IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA [FIRST EDITION]
1719
cially Catholic versus Protestant)—there seemed to have
es, African politicians seldom fail to express gratitude for
been little decisive impact, except in a few places.
their contribution toward secondary education.
Nevertheless, an enormous religious change had begun
But the effective (rather than symbolic) role of the cen-
to take place in thousands of different places. Three principal
tral mission station and the missionaries (increasingly admin-
instruments were at work: the village school, the catechist,
istrators) who staffed it remain secondary in importance for
and the vernacular Bible. Colonial requirements, the pres-
the understanding of the almost ubiquitous, rapid, yet largely
sures of modernity, and the deep vitality and adaptiveness
uncharted evolution of modern African Christianity. The
of African societies combined to produce a sudden, quick-
two levels could easily come into conflict. The character of
spreading urge for elementary Western education. No one
popular Christianity inevitably left a great deal to be desired
but the missions tried to meet the demand, which they them-
from the viewpoint of missionary orthodoxy. Should a zeal-
selves saw as the hand of God. Everywhere, as a consequence,
ous but polygamist catechist be retained? Could God be ex-
bush schools were opened and passages from the Bible were
pected to address and instruct new converts through dreams
read. Baptism followed as a natural sequence. But in the face
and visions? Could the illnesses of Christians be explained
of the new demand, missionaries were few and none too mo-
and combated in terms of bewitchment? The missionary an-
bile. The person who could cope with the new situation was
swer to such questions was most often a firm no. For their
the catechist—a poorly trained and more poorly paid village-
part, Africans frequently remained unconvinced on these
level representative of both Christianity and modernity.
matters, and from the end of the nineteenth century a multi-
tude of independent churches began to arise, first in South
Besides the catechists, who were officially appointed by
Africa and Nigeria, then in many other parts of the continent
the churches, there were thousands of other self-appointed
where there was already a significant missionary presence.
evangelists—miners, shopkeepers, migrant laborers—who
spread elements of Christian life with enthusiasm: Bible
INDEPENDENT CHURCHES. Independent church movements
reading, hymn singing, and even such concomitants as play-
took roughly two chief forms. The first produced what in Ni-
ing football. All this occurred in places well beyond the con-
geria have been called the “African” churches and in South
trol of any missionary. The school and the catechist were, in
Africa the “Ethiopian” churches. Early examples are the
secular terms, the agencies of a new economic and social
United Native African Church, founded in Lagos in 1891,
order, but in religious terms they were the agency of a new
and the Ethiopian Church, founded in Pretoria in 1892.
biblically fed religious consciousness and sense of com-
These are essentially cases of schism, in which full members
munity.
of an established church, often including some clergy, have
divided from the missionary body over issues like the promo-
The institutional structure and official statistics of the
tion of local leadership, nationalist sympathy and cultural
main churches were slow to reflect the deep underlying flow.
ethos, and acceptance of polygamists in continuing member-
Many churches imposed long periods of catechumenate be-
ship. Such new churches sprang mostly from Methodist,
fore baptism, precisely to avoid the degenerating syncretism
Baptist, Presbyterian, or low church Anglican missions, and
of an earlier age. This, together with stern rules of behavior
very seldom from Lutherans, high church Anglicans, or
(monogamy, abstinence from alcohol, appropriate dress), en-
Roman Catholics. They have almost always retained substan-
sured that a high proportion of the people who were now
tial continuity in doctrine, liturgy, and church order with
coming to regard themselves as Christians were not accepted
those from which they seceded. They fit closely enough with-
officially as church members. Training for ordination was far
in a pattern of bifurcation characteristic of nineteenth-
more severely circumscribed. The appointment of Bishop Jo-
century Protestantism in both Britain and the United States.
seph Kiwanuka as Roman Catholic vicar apostolic of Ma-
saka, Uganda, in 1939 was absolutely exceptional. The num-
Churches of this sort, of African origin, are found in
ber of the ordained before 1950 was in most countries and
many parts of the African continent, and new ones have con-
churches extremely small, where ordained clergy existed at
tinued to come into existence in almost every decade of the
all. Almost until the coming of political independence to the
twentieth century. From about the second decade of the cen-
greater part of black Africa around 1960, official Christianity
tury, however, there began the still more widespread devel-
remained carefully controlled by white missionaries operat-
opment of prophet and healing churches, generally classed
ing from a small number of complex missions—small de-
as “Zionist” in southern Africa, and in Nigeria called mostly
nominational cities they had built up and ruled. Mission sta-
“Aladura,” or praying churches. These bodies generally grew
tions were of real importance because of the secondary
out of the career of a prophet, yet they were also influenced
schools and hospitals they contained, as well as because they
by American or European Zionist and Pentecostal groups
provided the administrative and symbolic centers for the vast
(e.g., the Christian Catholic Apostolic Church, with its
network of rural Christianity. Their boarding schools en-
headquarters at Zion City near Chicago, founded in 1896
sured that the new elite, as well as the masses, would be chris-
by John Alexander Dowie). These links, such as they were,
tianized in the very process of coming into existence. To a
were easily left behind. Adoption of the name “Ethiopian”
very large extent, Africa’s new ruling class sprang from these
had no administrative or doctrinal significance. It was merely
schools. Even when most critical of missionaries and church-
symbolic and persuasive, with its biblical foundation (Ps.
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CHRISTIANITY: CHRISTIANITY IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA [FIRST EDITION]
68:31, Acts 8:27) and reference to the one part of black Africa
iah Shembe was doing the same in Zululand, Ignatius Lek-
that had both been Christian for centuries and retained its
ganyane in northern Transvaal, Samuel Mutendi in Rhode-
political and ecclesiastical independence (Ethiopia’s military
sia (present-day Zimbabwe). In the 1930s, John (Johane)
victory over Italian invaders at Adwa in 1896 sent a thrill of
Maranke and Johane Masowe were two striking John-the-
excitement across the continent). So too the name “Zion”
Baptist figures in Rhodesia (each took the name of John after
was appealing as a profound symbol of the immediate renew-
his vocation experience). In the 1950s it was the turn of Alice
al of God’s holy city as celebrated, for example, in Psalms
Lenshina (Mulenga) in Zambia. And there were many
122–134.
others.
African Zionist and praying churches were much more
The major prophets of this sort were frequently sur-
innovative than Ethiopian ones: their preoccupation was
rounded and followed by scores of lesser prophets. No single
with healing instead of schooling (indeed, they were often
typology for the prophetic phenomenon in modern Africa
opposed to Western education); they grew faster, their mem-
can be established, but some general remarks can be made.
bership was poorer. In some places (though this was not true
One should distinguish between the prophet movement it-
of Nigeria) they could be seen as a fairly typical expression
self, especially in its initial outbreak, and the increasingly in-
of the religion of the deprived. At the start, they depended
stitutionalized church which usually, though not always, fol-
mostly upon the personal impact of prophetic founders and
lowed it. The latter has a consequential character, deriving
often continued to be ruled dynastically by the founders’
from the need for a new community to cater to the prophet’s
families, although they were prone to more and more divi-
clientele and the inability of existing churches to cope with
sions into separate groups. If their prime secular concern was
either the prophet or his clientele, but it does not seem to
undoubtedly healing, the balance within them between heal-
be a primary intention of the prophet. At least initially, the
ing, evangelism, and the appeal of a total religious communi-
prophets we have named probably did not see themselves as
ty offering a complex liturgical life centered upon a “sacred
doing anything very different from many black evangelists
city,” a Zion of their own, has varied greatly between
working for the mission churches or, indeed, from the early
churches.
white missionaries themselves. They may have simply taken
The first of the major African prophets of the twentieth
the Bible more literally than the early white missionaries did,
century was the native Liberian William Wade Harris, a
but the prophetic character of many an early missionary,
Grebo schoolteacher of Methodist and Episcopal back-
with his long peregrinations, prayers for rain, healing skill,
ground. During a period of imprisonment he experienced vi-
and apparently strange powers of many sorts, should not be
sions of the angel Gabriel commanding him to become an
overlooked. The prophetic vocation really came from the
evangelist like John the Baptist. His subsequent months of
sheer impact of Bible and missionary upon the more imagi-
peregrinatory preaching during 1914 in southern Ivory
native. For new converts, lacking almost any other literature,
Coast and Ghana produced tens of thousands of baptisms
the Bible could have an immediacy and an applicability
and permanently altered the religious character of the area
which few of even the most fundamentalist of missionaries
he traversed. The decisive effect was fully recognized both by
could really go along with. Visions, dreams, and miracles of
missionaries and by colonial officials. Harris had abandoned
healing seemed to be the staple of this strange book that had
his European ways, his shoes, and his trousers; he had also
been translated into their tongue and presented as having an
abandoned any particular church affiliation. He preached a
absolute authority; and these became the staple of early Afri-
very simple Christian monotheism, expelled devils, carried
can prophetic Christianity, as they were not of missionary
the Bible wherever he went, and baptized all who rejected
Christianity.
and destroyed their pagan “fetishes.” Harris insisted upon
In many places there seemed to be a need for move-
the observance of the Sabbath and the Ten Commandments,
ments of this type regardless of whether any major figure was
but not upon monogamy. He established no church of his
present or not. Just at the time Harris was making such an
own, and many thousands of his converts became Roman
impact upon the Ivory Coast, a remarkably similar move-
Catholic or Methodist, but he did leave “twelve apostles” in
ment of conversion was developing without any central
the villages he converted, and out of these communities the
preacher at all, white or black, in the Usoko district of the
Harrist church subsequently grew.
Nigerian coast. Such movements, if handled one way, might
At almost exactly the same time Garrick Braide, an An-
produce massive new advances for a historic church; if han-
glican catechist, carried on a similar mission in the Niger
dled another way, they led to an explosion of independency.
Delta. In the 1920s, the Aladura prophets (Moses Ori-
Significant churches almost always developed from the major
molade, Abiodun Akinsowon, Joseph Babalola, and others)
prophets: the Harrist church, the Church of Jesus Christ on
were preaching, healing, and destroying “fetishes” up and
Earth through the Prophet Simon Kimbangu, the Eternal
down Yoruba country in western Nigeria. For a few months
Sacred Order of the Cherubim and Seraphim of Orimolade,
in 1921 Simon Kimbangu (1889?–1951), of Baptist back-
the VaHosanna of Masowe, the Nazareth Baptist Church
ground, set an immense prophetic movement afoot in the
(Amanazaretha) of Shembe, the Lumpa of Lenshina. Many
lower Kongo, west of Kinshasa. At much the same time, Isa-
of these came to be centered upon a holy city—a Zion or
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CHRISTIANITY: CHRISTIANITY IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA [FIRST EDITION]
1721
New Jerusalem—in which the founder had lived and was
must be added that others (like the Kimbanguist and the
eventually buried, to which the sick came for healing, a cen-
Lumpa churches) have condemned polygamy without re-
ter for pilgrimage and liturgy. Kimbangu’s Nkamba, Shem-
serve.
be’s Ekuphakameni, Lenshina’s Kasomo are just a few of
many examples. With the passing of time, however, in a sec-
Perhaps the most difficult area has been that of witch-
ond and third generation, many churches which were pro-
craft beliefs. Throughout Africa—among some peoples a
phetic and Zionist in origin became increasingly administra-
great deal more than others—sickness, death, and misfortune
tive and “Ethiopian”: spiritual healing was formalized or
were and still are explained in terms of bewitchment. The
almost disappeared, schools became a preoccupation. The
traditional healer (nganga in most Bantu languages) then had
Kimbanguist church is one clear example. It is also true that
to be someone who could both detect and counteract witch-
some churches which began as “Ethiopian” and were rather
craft. Most missionaries did not believe in the possibility of
Western in form subsequently developed in a more prophetic
witchcraft (in this they conformed with colonial law) and
and healing direction.
countered traditional medicine with Western “scientific”
practice. While for the missionaries the difference in kind be-
African ecclesiastical independency is, then, an im-
tween Western medicine and the nganga’s was clear, for Afri-
mensely varied response both to the scriptures and to the ex-
cans it often was not. Some independent churches have re-
perience of missionary Christianity. It is also, to a greater or
jected both kinds of medicine in favor of faith healing alone,
lesser extent, in continuity with traditional patterns of Afri-
but others tend to interpret sickness in traditional bewitch-
can religion and society. Modern African Christianity is heir
ment terms and the more concerned they are with healing
to African traditional religions as well as to the nineteenth-
the more they may be assimilable to a typical antiwitchcraft
century missionary movement, but here again the intricacies
movement. The prophet can appear to be remarkably like
and varieties of the relationship must not be underestimated.
the traditional nganga, however much the prophet may de-
There was a larger measure of harmony between the com-
nounce the latter. The Holy Spirit to which the prophet ap-
mon pattern of African traditional religion and traditional
peals in the battle against witchcraft may seem no different
Christianity (especially in its more Catholic forms) than mis-
from the spirit through which the nganga works.
sionaries recognized. The high god of African religions—
Nzambi, Mulungu, Leza, Mwari, Katonda, or whatever
If some independent churches do, then, represent some
name the god took—had attributes extremely similar to the
degree of merging of Christianity and African traditional re-
God of the biblical tradition, even if the cult of ancestors
ligion, no generalization may be offered as to which eventual-
often made him seem, especially to the outside observer, un-
ly controls the symbiosis. In some of the better-known
duly remote. Christian theism came to support itself easily
churches Christian orthodoxy prevails increasingly, but in
upon traditional theism. Nor was the moral law much of a
many smaller groups it is African tradition which prevails.
problem area, although missionaries sometimes thought it
Each has proved naturally inclusive, not only in modern
was (the practice of polygamy provided a special case).
times but also down through the centuries, and it is as possi-
ble for elements of Christian thought, vocabulary, and ritual
The main point of conflict was, and still largely is, the
practice to be absorbed into an essentially non-Christian pat-
veneration of ancestral spirits and the many rites—domestic,
tern of religion as it is for elements of traditional religion to
agricultural, and communal—which involve the invocation
be carried on, sometimes not incongruously, in the lives of
of those spirits. Missionaries condemned participation in all
believing and committed Christians. In much of this, the in-
such rites, and most churches continue to do so officially, but
dependent churches are no special category. We simply see
the majority of Christians probably return to traditionalism
in them, through the many studies conducted recently, pro-
for at least some of these occasions. For the most part, inde-
cesses which are almost equally at work in all the larger
pendent churches are as opposed to such practices as the mis-
churches of Africa, for we must not forget that more than
sion churches. Indeed, while the latter (especially the Roman
four-fifths of African Christians belong not to independent
Catholic Church) have tended to become accommodating
churches but to mission-founded churches. If the former
with time, the former maintain the inflexibility of opposition
may constitute as much as one-third of black Christians in
of the nineteenth-century missionary.
South Africa, and are also very numerous in southern Nige-
ria, southern Ghana, and central Kenya, they are almost
In regard to some other aspects of traditional culture the
completely absent in some countries, such as Uganda and
case is different. On many points the Old Testament and Af-
Tanzania, and in many others they are fewer than 10 percent
rican traditions appear to be somewhat allied against the
of the Christian body.
New Testament and the missionary church: food taboos are
a case in point. When these are recognized in an independent
TRADITIONAL CHURCHES. As a whole, African Christianity
church, it is not clear whether it provides an example of the
is denominationally a highly complex reality, the field in
maintenance of traditional culture or a case of excessive He-
which a thousand flowers are free to bloom. Beyond the in-
braism. Polygamy is another example. Many an independent
dependent churches, all the main European and American
church has rejected missionary insistence upon monogamy
traditions are powerfully represented in one country or an-
and appealed to the Old Testament for support, though it
other. The Anglican communion is present wherever the
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CHRISTIANITY: CHRISTIANITY IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA [FIRST EDITION]
British empire used to be present and in Rwanda and Burun-
professors in university departments, like Kinshasa,
di as well, but it is particularly strong in Nigeria, Uganda,
Yaoundé, Ibadan, Legon, and Makerere, its principal con-
Kenya, and South Africa; Methodists are numerous in Nige-
cern has been with the relationship between traditional reli-
ria, Ghana, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Zaire; Presbyteri-
gion and Christianity. Harry Sawyerr (Sierra Leone), John
ans in Kenya and Malawi; Baptists in Zaire and Liberia; The
Mbiti (Kenya), Bolaji Idowu (Nigeria), John S. Pobee
Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa; Lutherans in Tan-
(Ghana), and Ngindu Mushete (Democratic Republic of the
zania and Namibia; the Church of the Nazarene in Swazi-
Congo) are among its leading representatives. Their theolog-
land. And that is not a complete list. In Zambia the United
ical or academic contributions have not been of major world
Church of Zambia was inaugurated in 1965, the year of the
significance. In South Africa, African theology has developed
country’s political independence, with the blessing of Presi-
less academically as black theology, with a more political and
dent Kenneth Kaunda. It incorporated Presbyterians, Con-
social orientation, a local version of liberation theology.
gregationalists, and Methodists, but such unions have not
Elsewhere African theology has remained apolitical, de-
been favored. Ecumenical relations are mostly excellent but
spite the often anguished condition of contemporary Africa,
the desire to maintain an independent ecclesiastical identi-
a condition which has at times deeply affected the life of the
ty—whether originally the church is mission-founded or in-
church. The murder of Anglican Archbishop Janani Luwum
dependent—is extremely strong.
in Idi Amin’s Uganda and that of Cardinal Bayenda in Braz-
The nineteenth century was preeminently a period of
zaville, both in 1977, were symbolic of many other compara-
Protestant mission, and the legacy of a multitude of African
ble events. In South Africa the long tradition of ecclesiastical
churches today reflects that fact. In the twentieth century
criticism of racial discrimination, represented notably by
Roman Catholicism has spread with great effectiveness. The
Trevor Huddleston’s Naught for Your Comfort (1956), is car-
systematic and disciplined efforts of the great Roman Catho-
ried on by Bishop Desmond Tutu, formerly secretary of the
lic mission societies of priests, monks, and nuns cannot quite
South African Council of Churches and later the Anglican
be paralleled upon the Protestant side. Today, not only is the
bishop of Johannesburg.
Roman Catholic Church the church of the majority of all
The strength of the African churches, however, does not
Christians in its older areas of predominance (French- and
lie at this formal and clerical level of written discourse and
Portuguese-speaking especially), such as the Democratic Re-
church organization, useful as it can be to have, for example,
public of the Congo, Togo, Rwanda, and Burundi, but it has
international links of the sort represented by the All Africa
also become the largest single church in almost every country
Conference of Churches (founded in 1963 in Kampala, with
of Africa (Namibia, with its Lutheran predominance, is per-
a general secretariat based in Nairobi and plenary confer-
haps—apart from Ethiopia—the most striking exception).
ences about every six years). In African Christianity, theolo-
gians and bishops are of limited importance. The growth of
If almost all the main churches have an almost com-
Christianity in Africa has been a popular and lay phenome-
pletely black leadership at the level of the episcopate or pre-
non, a shift in the underlying religious consciousness of half
siding ministers, it is equally true that almost all are extreme-
a continent in response to the modern missionary move-
ly short of ordained men or women (and when they have
ment, the vernacular Bible, the pressures of colonialism, and
them, they often find it difficult to pay them). But for the
the village school. The catechist remains its most characteris-
Roman Catholic Church, with its rigid pattern of celibate
tic figure, and the hymn, whether a European translation or
priesthood, this is above all the case. There are now some two
an indigenous creation, is its most appropriate form of ex-
hundred black Catholic bishops and half a dozen cardinals
pression and vehicle of its theology. African Christianity is
(the first being Rugambwa of Bukoba and later of Dar es Sa-
pietistic rather than political.
laam, Tanzania). In a few areas, such as the Igbo dioceses of
Nigeria, southern Uganda, and parts of Tanzania, there are
The future of African Christianity is uncertain, despite
also hundreds of African priests. Elsewhere the shortage is
its vast vitality. Its northern flanks are being pressed increas-
acute.
ingly hard by Islam. Elsewhere it is sure to continue to grow
numerically for some time, but its intellectual expression, its
While the number of Roman Catholic missionaries in
ability to cope with secularization and Marxism, the compe-
Africa is still remarkably large, it is declining steadily in most
tence of its clerical leadership, and the weight of its influence
countries as a result of political pressures and a decline in the
in future councils of world Christianity are all matters upon
sense of missionary calling in the old sending countries of
which it remains difficult to speak with confidence.
Europe. Meanwhile, the number of African Christians grows
inexorably since political independence, still more than in
SEE ALSO African Religions, article on New Religious
colonial times. The typical Christian community in rural Af-
Movements; Ethiopian Church; Harris, William Wade;
rica is a priestless one, led today, as mostly in the past, by
Kimbangu, Simon; Lenshina, Alice; Maranke, John; Politi-
a catechist or committee of village elders. Baptism, not the
cal Theology; Shembe, Isaiah.
Eucharist, is the sacrament of African Christianity.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
AFRICAN THEOLOGY. African theology, of a formal kind, re-
Charles P. Groves’s The Planting of Christianity in Africa, 4 vols.
mains a long way from this village reality. Written mostly by
(1948–1958; reprint, London, 1964), is in many ways out-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHRISTIANITY: CHRISTIANITY IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA [FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS]
1723
dated and concentrates too much upon the missionary role,
Contemporary paradigms in African spirituality are
but it is accurate, wide-ranging, and has not been replaced.
challenging the traditional ways of studying theology and
For recent history, my A History of African Christianity,
church history. This reality is a telling testimony to the fact
1950–1975 (Cambridge, 1979) is the standard work. The
that Africans have confidently claimed Christianity as their
professional rewriting of nineteenth- and early twentieth-
own. It is now intellectually moribund to contend that the
century missionary history is represented at its best by J. F.
Christian churches of Africa are alien institutions or that they
Ade Ajayi’s Christian Missions in Nigeria, 1841–1891 (Lon-
are relics of colonial domination and control. It is imperative
don, 1965) and John McCracken’s Politics and Christianity
in Malawi, 1875–1940 (Cambridge, 1977). Bengt Sundk-
that scholars continue to ponder and probe the dynamic and
ler’s Bara Bukoba (London, 1981) is a fine study of the devel-
unfolding experiences of African Christians in all their rich
opment of a single church—the Lutheran church in Bukoba,
manifestations.
Tanzania—by its scholar-bishop. The following four sympo-
African Christianity evokes a protean image, always
sia all contain much valuable material: Christianity in Tropi-
cal Africa, edited by C. G. Baëta (Oxford, 1968); Christianity
changing and persistently in the process of transformation
in Independent Africa, edited by E. Fasholé-Luke, R. Gray,
and renewal. In the twenty-first century, African Christianity
A. Hastings, and G. Tasie (London, 1978); Themes in the
continues to experience remarkable growth and expansion.
Christian History of Central Africa, edited by T. O. Ranger
Indeed, the churches in Africa are bursting at the seams and
and John C. Weller (Berkeley, 1975); and The History of
exhibit an unprecedented diversity. Africa has become home
Christianity in West Africa, edited by O. U. Kalu (London,
to all the different denominations within the Christian faith.
1980).
The Anglican Church in Nigeria has more members than in
From the very extensive literature on African independent church-
England, America, and Canada put together. By 1985, there
es, the following may be selected. For South Africa, Bengt
were over 16,500 conversions a day in Africa, resulting in the
Sundkler’s early Bantu Prophets in South Africa (1948; 2d ed.,
addition of over 6 million new Christians annually. In 2000,
London, 1961) remains basic, though its approach is signifi-
the Christian population in Africa was 360 million. By the
cantly modified in the author’s much later Zulu Zion and
year 2025, the number of Christians in Africa will reach
Some Swazi Zionists (Oxford, 1976). M. L. Daneel’s Old and
around 633 million.
New in Southern Shona Independent Churches, 2 vols. (The
Hague, 1971–1974), is the most authoritative and detailed
CHRISTIANITY AROUND AFRICA. Christianity in contempo-
central African study; for West Africa, see Harold W. Tur-
rary Africa is a highly variable phenomenon. It continues to
ner’s History of an African Independent Church, 2 vols. (Ox-
be a powerful force in politics, national integration, and the
ford, 1967), and J. D. Y. Peel’s Aladura (London, 1968).
development of civil society. Since the 1980s the Roman
David B. Barrett’s Schism and Renewal in Africa (Nairobi, 1968)
Catholic Church has played a remarkable role in instituting
attempts an overhasty but not-to-be-ignored continent-wide
constitutional reforms in Francophone Africa. In the case of
assessment. John S. Pobee’s Toward an African Theology
Cameroon, Catholic theologians such as Jean-Marc Ela, Fa-
(Nashville, 1979) is the most up-to-date guide concerning
bien Eboussi Boulaga, and the late Englebert Mveng have
religious thought, while my Christian Marriage in Africa
produced remarkable literature on African liberation the-
(London, 1973) sums up the issues in one much-contested
ology.
area. The Journal of Religion in Africa (Leiden, 1967–) is in-
dispensable for the study of the whole subject.
In Anglophone African nations, the church has similarly
A
been involved in politics and issues of social justice. For ex-
DRIAN HASTINGS (1987)
ample, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), which
was established in 1986 as an ecumenical body of Protes-
tants, Catholics, and African Initiated Churches (AIC, for-
CHRISTIANITY: CHRISTIANITY IN SUB-
merly called African Independent Churches), has been ex-
SAHARAN AFRICA [FURTHER
tremely critical of the sociopolitical anomalies in Nigeria.
CONSIDERATIONS]
Even in the face of President Abacha’s reign of terror (1993
African Christianity is a complex topic, and the literature on
to 1998), CAN remained outspoken and refused to be pum-
the subject is voluminous. The historical metamorphosis and
meled into submission. Likewise in Ghana, Mensa Otabil,
transmutation of African Christianity appears on a variety of
the leader of Ghana’s International Central Gospel Church,
interrelated levels: missions, conversions, struggles for auton-
has been very critical of the International Monetary Fund
omy, charismatic renewals, and the creative ways Africans
and the World Bank’s policies in Africa. His political theolo-
have shaped Christianity for themselves and appropriated it
gy underscores the importance of political consciousness,
within the context of their own worldview and culture. In
black pride, and self-empowerment.
terms of growth and ecclesiastical representation, African
Christianity maintains a robust record. In fact, the ebb and
Political leaders in Zambia have a new appreciation of
flow of world Christianity in the twenty-first century will be
the political clout of Zambian born-again Christians. The
largely determined by the trends and events within African
Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia accused Kenneth Kaunda
Christianity. The creative genius of African Christianity is
of flirting with the demonic, and their persistent vitriolic
manifest in the exciting religious movements and models
criticisms eventually contributed to his political demise.
that have emerged in Africa.
Kaunda’s successor, Frederick Chiluba, did not waste time
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1724
CHRISTIANITY: CHRISTIANITY IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA [FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS]
in proclaiming his own evangelical credentials and had a
and internecine violence. The intense politicization of reli-
flamboyant though short-lived romance with Zambia’s evan-
gion in many African countries has continued to aggravate
gelical and Pentecostal leaders.
the deepening antagonism between Christians and Muslims.
In South Africa, the evangelical branch of the Dutch
Islam’s persistent demand that religion and state should
Reformed Church (DRC) presented a vocal and strident op-
remain as mutually enforcing agents has likewise generated
position to the odious nationalist agenda of this ecclesiastical
passionate responses from Christians in sub-Saharan Africa.
body. The never-ending historical and theological justifica-
In recent times, the imposition of full-blown shar¯ı Eah (Is-
tions for apartheid by the Dutch Reformed Church were
lamic law) in many states in northern Nigeria has engendered
completely renounced by many outspoken evangelicals. The
violent religious riots in Nigeria. In fact, the shar¯ı Eah issue
most forthright and distinguished representative of the evan-
has reawakened slumbering religious tensions in Nigeria and
gelical tradition within the Dutch Reformed Church was
constitutes the greatest challenge to Nigeria’s fledging de-
David J. Bosch (1929–1992). Before his tragic death, he
mocracy. One of the dilemmas facing Christians and Mus-
served as the dean of the theological faculty at the University
lims in Africa is how to live amicably and in a way that ac-
of South Africa, Pretoria; general secretary of the Southern
cords respect to each group.
African Missiological Society (1968–1992); and editor of the
renowned journal Missionalia. Bosch vigorously articulated
CONCLUSION. Pliny, the Roman historian, once said that
the perversity of the obnoxious racial policies of the Dutch
there is always something new coming out of Africa. The
Reformed Church from a theological perspective.
aphorism is particularly relevant in the context of theology.
As the center of Christianity inexorably shifts to the South-
African Christians are weary of the Western secular in-
ern Hemisphere, Africa provides an important venue for
tellectual tradition and its mistrust of religion’s crucial social
Christian development and experience. Among the chal-
influence. Although African Christians have embraced some
lenges facing the churches in Africa is how they may become
of the ideals of democratic pluralism, Western liberal antipa-
more self-critical and also be more responsive to the plethora
thy towards religious sensibilities does not find fertile soil in
of death-dealing problems plaguing Africans in the twenty-
sub-Saharan Africa. The African experience boldly affirms
first century. These two agendas are quintessentially part of
that Christianity invigorates rather than undermines culture
the good news of Jesus Christ.
and society.
THE RISE OF PENTECOSTALISM. The last decades of the
BIBLIOGRAPHY
twentieth century witnessed the veritable explosion of New
Emmanuel A. Ayandele’s The Missionary Impact on Modern Nige-
Pentecostal churches all over Africa. Some of the new para-
ria, 1842–1914: A Political and Social Analysis (London,
digms within these churches include American evangelical
1966) provides important insights into the relationship be-
religious tenets, the gospel of prosperity, healing, deliverance
tween Christianity and the colonial powers. The book also
from principalities and powers, and charismatic worship in
examines the life and contributions of important figures like
a technologically stylish setting. These new dimensions un-
Bishop Ajayi Crowther, Edward Blyden, and James Johnson.
derscore Paul Gifford’s thesis on the pervasive presence of ec-
Kwame Bediako’s Christianity in Africa: The Renewal of a
clesiastical externality in Africa Christianity. It is also a con-
Non-Western Religion (Edinburgh, 1995) is an excellent anal-
firmation of what has been described as Africa’s active
ysis of the transformation of African Christianity into a non-
Western religion. Richard Gray’s Black Christians and White
engagement with external influences. The new gusto of Pen-
Missionaries (New Haven, Conn., 1990) offers a thorough
tecostal zeal is especially appealing to urban youths.
study of how Africans have made Christianity uniquely Afri-
The gospel of prosperity also provides a welcome mes-
can. Gray argues that many Christian themes are analogous
sage for the rich, since the accumulation of wealth is not con-
to some of the salient themes in African religion. This is a
sidered anathema. Furthermore, it offers hope for the less fi-
very useful book for understanding the symbiotic role be-
tween religion and culture in Africa. Paul Gifford’s African
nancially successful, for whom it opens new vistas and
Christianity: Its Public Role (London, 1998) offers a valuable
infinite possibilities. This new wave of Pentecostalism arro-
study of the sociopolitical engagement of Christianity in
gantly tends to reject some of the rituals and spiritual prac-
Ghana, Uganda, Zambia, and Cameroon. The History of
tices within the AIC because of their alleged pagan nature.
Christianity in Africa, edited by Ogbu Kalu (Essex, U.K.,
Pentecostal diatribes are also directed at the mainline church-
1980), is an impressive collection of essays on Christianity
es that they often portray as indulging in a form of Christian-
in West Africa. These essays cover such topics as the modus
ity that is bereft of power and Holy Ghost fervor.
operandi of Christian missions in West Africa, the patterns
R
of missionary expansion, Christianity and colonial society,
ELATIONS WITH ISLAM. One of the crucial challenges for
and some examples of modern responses to Christianity in
African Christianity in the twenty-first century is its relation-
West Africa. Lamin Sanneh’s West African Christianity: The
ship with Islam. The interaction between these two
Religious Impact (Maryknoll, N.Y., 1983) is indispensable for
Abrahamic religions has fluctuated dramatically over the cen-
understanding the historical development of Christianity in
turies. It is truly a relationship saturated with both meaning-
West Africa. Sanneh’s poignant reflection on Christian-
ful engagements and baffling ambiguities. It runs the gamut
Muslim encounters is also very useful and important. Harvey
of thoughtful dialogue, lethargic encounters, open conflicts,
Sindima’s Drums of Redemption: An Introduction to African
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHRISTIANITY: CHRISTIANITY IN ASIA
1725
Christianity (Westport, Conn., 1994) offers an excellent in-
ern China. The discovery by the Jesuits in 1623 of the fa-
troduction to the different stages in the Christian expansion
mous “Nestorian monument” in the precincts of the old
in Africa. Sindima deals with issues such as the early African
Tang dynasty (618–907) capital, Chang-an, has made avail-
church, the Ethiopian church, African prophets and evange-
able reliable information as to the origins, arrival (635 CE),
lists, and the rise of African theology. Bengt Sundkler’s His-
and fortunes of those engaged in this tremendous adventure.
tory of the Church in Africa (Cambridge, U.K., 2000) is a
This church survived for about two centuries.
massive work on African Christianity. This 1,200-page book
coherently covers all the different and complex historical de-
The second Christian incursion came with the Francis-
velopments, voices, models, and movements in African
can attempt to establish a mission in Khanbaliq (Beijing),
Christianity. Sundkler was a Swedish missionary in Tanzania
with the hope of the conversion of Kublai Khan (1216–
and South Africa and later a professor at the University of
Uppsala, Sweden. He died before this book was finished.
1294), hopes frustrated by the turning of the peoples of Cen-
Christopher Steed, also of the University of Uppsala, presid-
tral Asia to Islam and not to Christianity. John of Monte
ed over the publication of this monumental work.
Corvino (d. around 1330) arrived in Beijing in 1294, gath-
ered around him Christians of the Uighur people (who had
AKINTUNDE E. AKINADE (2005)
been converted to the Nestorian form of Christianity), and
secured consecration as archbishop. Other missionaries had
joined him; however, distance from the home church made
their work difficult, and after about half a century the mis-
CHRISTIANITY: CHRISTIANITY IN ASIA
sion ceased to exist.
Christianity in Asia consists of a wide range of phenomena.
It includes the mission churches, denominations, and related
The third attempt was made by Jesuits in the sixteenth
institutions established by Western missionaries, numerous
century. Matteo Ricci (1552–1610) and his colleagues se-
independent and indigenous movements (churches or sects
cured the favor of the Chinese by their achievements in as-
established by Asian Christians, which are organizationally
tronomy and by introducing striking clocks, learning Chi-
independent of Western churches), as well as the personal
nese, and adopting many Chinese ways. In the opinion of
beliefs and ritual practices adopted by individuals influenced
their critics, Ricci and his colleagues were prepared to go too
by Christianity but unaffiliated with any of its organizational
far in their adaptation of the Christian gospel to Chinese cus-
forms. In order to understand the significance of this reli-
tom and tradition. In 1744 the pope forbade all such accom-
gious tradition in Asia, the study of Christianity must in-
modation to non-Roman ways. The mission maintained it-
clude both the history of transplanted Christian traditions
self, with varying fortunes, for a century and a half. It never
and foreign missionary efforts as well as the diverse “native”
completely died out, but at the end of the eighteenth century
responses to and appropriations of Christianity that fall out-
it was hardly more than a shadow of what it had been. The
side the framework of the Western churches. A review of the
discovery of the diary of Andrew Li, a Chinese priest who
literature indicates that the history and impact of the West-
had been trained in the seminary of Ayutthaya (Thailand),
ern mission churches has received the overwhelming atten-
in which the students, from many lands, were allowed to talk
tion and efforts of scholars, but that in recent decades there
with one another only in Latin, has shed a great deal of light
has been a broadening of research interests and more serious
on this period of decline.
consideration of what Asians have contributed to the devel-
opment of Christianity in their own countries and in the re-
The fourth missionary incursion, Roman Catholic and
gion as a whole.
Protestant, followed the infamous Opium Wars of 1840 to
1842, and the unjust Nanjing treaty. Missionaries gradually
This article will focus on three principal areas of Asia:
managed to establish residence in all the provinces of China
(1) the Far East (the countries bordering the Pacific Ocean),
as far as the borders of Tibet, the Roman Catholics relying
which have been profoundly influenced by the Confucian
on the protection of the emperor Napoleon III and the Prot-
worldview and by Buddhism; (2) Southeast Asia, where the
estants for the most part following the advice of Hudson
dominant influence has been Buddhist, though not without
Taylor of the China Inland Mission in making their appeals
Hindu and Islamic factors; (3) the Indian subcontinent, the
only to the regularly constituted Chinese authorities. The
home of Hindu culture, though with areas in which Hindu-
church grew slowly but steadily through the adhesion of in-
ism has been almost completely submerged by Islam.
dividuals and families. But the Christian mission was always
THE FAR EAST. The history of Christianity in the Far East
under suspicion as being associated with the hated imperial-
is not one story. The introduction of Christianity and subse-
ism of the Western powers.
quent patterns of development have differed considerably in
With the failure of the so-called Boxer Rebellion at the
China, Taiwan, Japan, and Korea. In some instances there
end of the nineteenth century, many Chinese felt driven to
have been repeated introductions in response to the changing
seek new moral resources for the restoration of China; they
political climate of these lands.
found an answer in the teaching of Jesus Christ, though with
China. By the seventh century CE, Nestorian Christians
more emphasis on the moral and social teaching than on the
had made their way from Mesopotamia (Iraq) as far as west-
specifically religious content. An astonishing number 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
1726
CHRISTIANITY: CHRISTIANITY IN ASIA
young people accepted baptism; many of them were later to
who form a comparatively small percentage of the popula-
be distinguished in China’s national life.
tion of the island, speak their own languages and follow an-
cestral traditions entirely different from those of the lowland
Then, in 1949, the communists overthrew the govern-
Taiwanese. In the twentieth century, entire communities
ment of Chiang Kai-shek and took over rule of China. Their
have become Christian.
attitude was one of hostility to all religions, though some
Christians succeeded in making a deal with this hostile gov-
The whole situation on the island changed with the
ernment. Churches were closed; the Christians were driven
mass emigration from continental China that followed the
underground. Many observers believed that for the fourth
collapse of the Kuomintang government. Chiang Kai-shek
time China had rejected the Christian message and that the
himself, with many of his leading followers, left their homes
church was dead, except perhaps for small house groups.
to begin a new existence in Taiwan, claiming that they, and
When the government loosened its restrictions on the prac-
not the Marxists, represented the true spirit and succession
tice of Christianity in 1979, it became clear that the churches
of China. This was by no means to the liking of the Taiwan-
were very much alive and in some areas had even increased
ese. Under the Japanese they had been compelled to learn
their membership. The government’s estimate of the Chris-
the Japanese language; now they were compelled to learn the
tian population in 1982, in fact, was three million, or three
Mandarin form of Chinese, which is considerably different
times the membership in 1949.
from the form of the Amoy dialect that the Taiwanese had
traditionally spoken. With the continental Chinese came a
The Roman Catholics are in a particularly ambiguous
proliferation of Christian churches and sects. Roughly one-
position because many Chinese have refused the allegiance
third of the Catholics in Taiwan are Chinese who fled the
to Rome that Rome demands. The Protestants have formed
mainland. In the last several decades of the twentieth centu-
a national council, which has brought them together without
ry, the Pentecostal and charismatic renewal movements have
eliminating denominational differences and without allaying
been particularly influential. Roughly one-third of the
the anxieties of those who feel that the council has made too
300,000 Taiwanese Protestants would identify themselves as
many concessions to the Marxist rulers.
Pentecostals or charismatic Christians.
Since the 1980s the fortunes of Christianity in China
Japan. Japan was almost wholly unknown to the West
have changed dramatically. The demographic shift of masses
until Francis Xavier (1506–1552), with a small group of Je-
from rural to urban areas has been accompanied by the rapid
suit colleagues, managed to land in the country in 1549 and
growth of Christian churches, underground house churches,
remain for the greater part of three years. The Jesuit enter-
and independent Christian movements. As in India, Chris-
prise was crowned with astonishing success. Rulers were con-
tianity has also met with considerable success among minori-
verted and were followed into the Christian church by their
ty tribal groups. A study in 1997 discovered that in Fugong
dependents. At the end of the sixteenth century it was reck-
County in southwest China, an area where the Lisu minority
oned that there were 300,000 Christians in Japan. Then the
is concentrated, about seventy percent of the people were
climate changed. During a period of terrible persecution,
Christian. There is considerable disagreement on the actual
many missionaries died agonizing deaths, though a few re-
number of Christians in contemporary China. As of 2003,
canted and denied their Christian faith. Almost all the faith-
the government estimated that there were at least sixteen mil-
ful reverted to their previous religions; in 1638 it was con-
lion Christians; the China Christian Council suggests a
cluded that “the Christian century in Japan” had come to an
number of at least twenty-five million, whereas experts from
end with the elimination of the church. For more than two
outside of China suggest figures ranging from forty million
centuries Christianity was a proscribed religion. However,
to one hundred million. Whatever the actual number, it is
when at last in 1859 missionaries were able again to enter
clear that Chinese Christianity is in a growth phase and its
the closed land, they discovered with astonishment that a
influence is spreading widely throughout society.
remnant of believers had maintained the faith in many of its
Taiwan. The Christian situation on the island is com-
essentials. Some of these so-called hidden Christians (Kakure
plicated. For a century the main Christian mission on Tai-
Kirishitan) rejoined the Roman Catholic church once it was
wan was Presbyterian (Canadian in the north, English in the
reestablished in Japan, whereas many others continued to
south). When the Presbyterians came to the ninetieth anni-
practice their own version of the faith in small isolated com-
versary of the founding of the mission, they asked themselves
munities on the island of Kyushu.
what they should do to celebrate the centenary and decided
Never, since the sixteenth-century Jesuit success, has
that, in the decade leading up to it, they would double their
there again been anything like a mass movement of Japanese
membership and double the number of their places of wor-
into the Christian church. Japanese Christians are often
ship. Strong popular support achieved this goal.
marked by three characteristics: intense intellectual activity,
During the period of Japanese colonial occupancy, and
with faith depending on thoughtful conviction rather than
in the face of the strongest possible opposition from the Japa-
on emotional decision; a strong spirit of independence, as in
nese, remarkable Christian movements began to take place
the non-church movement of Uchimura Kanzo¯ (1861–
among the peoples dwelling in the mountains. These people,
1930), which refused to be tied to any kind of denomina-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHRISTIANITY: CHRISTIANITY IN ASIA
1727
tional organization; and a steady determination not to be
87 different countries in 1990 to 10,745 serving in some 162
subject to Western domination.
different countries in 2002.
During World War II, the government decided that
Little information is available regarding the fate of
only three Christian bodies, the Roman Catholic, the East-
churches and Christians in North Korea. As far as is known,
ern Orthodox, and a Protestant amalgam called the United
Christian churches have no visible existence under the Marx-
Church of Christ in Japan (Kyo¯dan), should be recognized.
ist regime. From occasional contacts that are possible be-
Some Anglicans, some Lutherans, and some Holiness
tween Christians in the south and relations and friends in the
churches refused to join the Kyo¯dan and lost all legal recog-
north, it seems that, as in China, Christians are maintaining
nition, enduring varying degrees of official disapproval and
their faith under conditions of extreme difficulty. Many
even persecution. With the end of the war and establishment
Christians are active in the efforts for the political reunifica-
of religious freedom with the new constitution in 1947,
tion of North and South Korea.
some of the denominations that had been absorbed into the
SOUTHEAST ASIA. The countries which stretch in a wide
Kyo¯dan during the war withdrew and reestablished indepen-
semicircle from the Philippines to Pakistan represent a great
dent denominational identities. The Kyo¯dan remains the
variety of races, languages, religions, and forms of culture.
largest Protestant denomination, but smaller independent,
It is extremely difficult to reduce them all to any kind of
evangelical, and Pentecostal groups tend to be more effective
common denominator. It is true that they all have come, at
in attracting new members.
one time or another, under strong Buddhist influence, and
that three of these countries have adopted Buddhism as their
The Roman Catholic church in Japan has become an
national religion. With the single exception of Thailand, all
important source of support for many non-Japanese laborers
have come under colonial domination and have thus been
and immigrants from countries such as the Philippines and
bound to the West in about equal proportions of adaptation
Brazil, and their involvement in local parishes is creating new
and resentment. Beyond that, generalization is difficult, and
church dynamics and posing new challenges for pastoral
it will be best to address each country separately, especially
care. Although church membership in modern Japan has
as the degree of Christian influence varies greatly from one
never exceeded one percent of the population, the influence
country to another.
of Christianity remains significant in education, social work,
and literature.
The Philippine Republic. The Philippine Republic is
the only Christian nation in Asia. The Spaniards arrived in
Korea. Korea has drawn much from Chinese culture
1538 and remained in power for three and a half centuries.
and for a time was forced to endure Japanese rule, but the
In the course of those years, almost the entire population was
Korean language and many of the features of Korean life may
brought within the Roman Catholic church, though a Mus-
have originated in Central Asia. After experiencing some
lim minority remained in the southern islands.
rather ineffective attempts at Roman Catholic evangeliza-
tion, the country remained entirely closed to foreign influ-
With the victory of the Americans in the war with Spain
ences until the second half of the nineteenth century. Chris-
(1889–1902), sovereignty passed from the Spaniards to the
tian missionaries during that period were mostly Americans,
Americans. To some Filipinos this change seemed like deliv-
notably Methodists and Presbyterians. The small Anglican
erance, for there had been increasing resentment among Fili-
mission distinguished itself by a special concern for the Kore-
pinos at the domination of Spaniards in every part of the life
an traditions of language and culture.
of the people, not least in the life of the church.
Roman Catholics constituted the majority of the peo-
After initial resistance, many Korean animists, whose
ple, though at times restless and discontented. One sign of
adherence to Buddhism was largely formal, responded posi-
this was the uprising within the church, which led to the for-
tively to the Christian message. From the start, the Korean
mation of the Philippine Independent Church, often called
Christians were encouraged to be independent and to serve
the Aglipayan Church after its first leader, Gregorio Aglipay
as evangelists among their own people, the foreigners keep-
(1860–1940). This church came under strong Unitarian in-
ing in the background. In South Korea all churches are inde-
fluence, but in later times it restored more orthodox Chris-
pendent and self-governing, though many of them are linked
tian tradition and recovered a regular Episcopal succession
to worldwide churches and denominations. The church has
through the American Episcopal Church. In the early 1980s
grown rapidly since the 1960s and is known for the develop-
the church claimed three million members, though this may
ment of mega-churches. The largest church in the world
be an overestimate.
today, in fact, is the Yoido Full Gospel Church in Seoul,
which claims over 700,000 members and a Sunday atten-
With the religious freedom brought by the Americans,
dance of more than 200,000. The growth of the Korean
Protestant missionaries poured in; they converted many dis-
church has also been accompanied by the development of
contented Catholics. Almost all the main American Protes-
numerous mission agencies and overseas missionary work. In
tant bodies are represented. The first Episcopal bishop,
the last decade of the twentieth century, the number of Kore-
Charles Henry Brent, well known for his creative connection
an missionaries serving overseas grew from 1,645 serving in
with the Faith and Order movement, told his missionaries
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1728
CHRISTIANITY: CHRISTIANITY IN ASIA
to go to the mountain peoples, whom the Roman Catholic
they had once possessed, and which one day would be
church had never succeeded in reaching.
brought back to them by white teachers.
It took time for the Roman Catholic church to adapt
This formed a point of entrance for Christianity, and
itself to the new situation. But gradually the lesson was
Karens form a large part of the Christian population of
learned, and an indigenous episcopate was brought into
Burma. Work has also been carried on successfully among
being. The church has produced some fine scholars. Ecu-
the Chins, Kachins, and other peoples in the areas stretching
menical relations are far better than they were, and, though
up to the frontiers with China and India. Roman Catholic
a number of tensions still exist, cooperation among Chris-
activity has also been vigorous. The best-known figure of the
tians has been carried further than in many other countries.
Roman Catholic church in Burma was Bishop Bigandet
The charismatic movement has also had an impact on the
(vicar apostolic, 1856–1893), an eminent scholar whose
Catholic and Protestant churches in the Philippines, with an
works on Buddhism in its Burmese form are still author-
estimated seven million or more involved in some way.
itative.
Vietnam and Cambodia. Roman Catholic missions
Restrictions on the residence of foreigners in Myanmar
had notable success in Vietnam in the seventeenth and eigh-
have led to the withdrawal of all foreign Christian workers.
teenth centuries. In the twentieth century, the Marxists took
The churches, forced to rely on their own resources, have suf-
over, and many Christians fled from the north to the south.
fered from a sense of isolation. But the Anglican Church,
With the fall of the South Vietnamese government in 1975,
much smaller in number than the Baptists, has reported that
Christians found themselves faced with the alternatives of ac-
its numerical progress is considerably more rapid than in the
cepting communist rule or again becoming refugees. Many
days when it was under the care and supervision of foreign
died in their search for freedom. Because Cambodia was
missionaries. Christianity largely remains a religion of ethnic
largely neglected by Christian missionaries, Cambodian
minorities (roughly five percent of the population), whereas
Christians are few, and Buddhism has remained the major
the majority (eighty-nine percent) within Myanmar
tradition.
maintains their association with the Therava¯da Buddhist tra-
dition.
Thailand, Burma, and Sri Lanka. Buddhism, wherev-
er it exists, has proved resistant to Christian evangelism;
Sri Lanka is inhabited by adherents of four religions:
Christians who are present in Buddhist countries in many
Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity. But Bud-
cases have come from non-Buddhist peoples or communi-
dhists prevail. The Buddhist priesthood has been extremely
ties. Thailand, squeezed in the nineteenth century between
influential in political as well as in religious affairs. Serious
British and French dominions, has managed to preserve
attempts have been made to turn Sri Lanka into a Buddhist
throughout history a somewhat precarious independence: its
country and to make Sinhala the only official language.
citizens would probably point to the Buddhist faith as the
These attempts have led to grave dissensions between those
power that has preserved their country in its integrity. A
who speak Sinhala and those who speak Tamil, among
Buddhist country ruled by a monarchy imbued with Bud-
whom are many Christians.
dhist tradition, Thailand is, however, a tolerant country, and
During the Portuguese period, many inhabitants of the
the number of Christian missionaries increased greatly with
island became members of the Roman Catholic church.
the advance of the twentieth century. Conversions from
Under the Dutch a considerable number became Protestants;
Buddhism, however, have not been numerous. The majority
but, with the religious toleration introduced by the British
of Christians in the country have come from the Chinese mi-
at the end of the eighteenth century, a large majority of Prot-
nority, not from among the Thais, and the total number of
estants reverted to the Roman Catholic church, which em-
Christians represents less than one percent of the population.
braces about four-fifths of all the Christians on the island.
Since the 1980s a number of Pentecostal and charismatic
Myanmar (known as Burma prior to the name change
churches and movements have been added to the traditional
in 1989), after a century under British rule, obtained its in-
mix of Catholics and Protestants, and the older denomina-
dependence in 1947 and declared Buddhism to be the na-
tions have recorded gradual decline. Overall, the Christian
tional religion. Actually, large sections of the population are
population remains a small minority
neither Burmese nor Buddhist; it is among these peoples that
the Christian churches have made their greatest gains. Bap-
Buddhism in Sri Lanka is marked by the excellence of
tists are more numerous than any other Christian body in
its scholars and by the powerful influence of its teachings.
Burma. Their first great missionary, Adoniram Judson
A few Christians have become Buddhists, among them a for-
(1788–1850), who made himself a Burmese scholar and
mer prime minister of the country. Christians in Sri Lanka
translated the Bible into that language, was imprisoned by
have become aware of the vitality of their country’s Buddhist
the Burmese authorities and endured terrible sufferings from
tradition. A number of them have studied deeply and have
which he never entirely recovered. It was he who made con-
qualified themselves as experts in Buddhism; such interreli-
tact with the Karens, a large non-Burmese group, and discov-
gious dialogue is perhaps more active in Sri Lanka than in
ered among them a tradition concerning a sacred book which
any other part of the world.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHRISTIANITY: CHRISTIANITY IN ASIA
1729
Indonesia. Indonesia, a republic three thousand miles
however, within the narrow compass of the region between
long and including about three thousand islands, stands
the mountains and the sea, and, so far as is known, made no
somewhat apart from the rest of Southeast Asia, showing
attempts to evangelize other parts of India. In fact, it made
marks of Hindu, Buddhist, and Islamic religions. It has the
rather few attempts to convert local non-Christians.
largest Muslim population of any country in the world.
When the Portuguese occupied Goa (1510) and made
The Dutch, when they were dominant, carried on mis-
it the base for the establishment of their sea-borne empire,
sionary work, with a good deal of success especially in
the situation was radically changed. The newcomers made
Ambon and northern Sulawesi. Indonesia is the only country
no attempts to conquer extensive tracts of land as they had
in the world in which there is a steady drift of Muslims into
done in the Americas; but they did regard commerce and
the Christian church. It seems that one cause has been the
conversion to Christianity as intimately related to one anoth-
sharp reaction of many Muslims against the vengeance taken
er. By the end of the sixteenth century, as a result of special
by Muslims against actual or suspected communists at the
privileges for Christians and special hindrances for Hindus,
time of an attempted communist coup in 1965.
the great majority of the population in the Portuguese pos-
sessions had entered the Roman Catholic church. In 1599,
The most notable success has been obtained among the
at the Synod of Udiyamperur (Diamper), the archbishop of
non-Muslim Batak people of northern Sumatra. Missionary
Goa had persuaded the entire body of Thomas Christians to
Ingwer Nommensen (1834–1918), when he first saw beauti-
renounce the patriarch of Baghdad and accept the authority
ful Lake Toba in 1885, envisioned a time when the church
of the patriarch of Rome. Half a century later a third of the
bell in every village would call the faithful to worship. Since
Thomas Christians, in rebellion against the autocracy of the
that time millions of Bataks have entered the Christian
Jesuits, reasserted their independence in the formation of
churches and evangelism continues. The skill and energy
the Malankara Syrian Orthodox Church, in which they still
with which Indonesian Christians have freed themselves
have their home.
from Dutch and German influences is reflected in the sense
of independence that marks Christians of that country, an
A new complexion was given to missionary work by the
independence which is being modified by an increasing will-
great adventure of the Italian aristocrat Roberto de Nobili
ingness to enter into the life of the wider Christian world and
(1606–1656 in India), who set to work to turn himself into
to accept the help offered by other Christians.
a brahman in order to win the brahmans. Nobili’s consider-
able knowledge of Sanskrit and extensive literary activity in
THE INDIAN SUBCONTINENT. In 1757, at the battle of Plas-
Tamil left a permanent mark on the Indian church.
sey, the British established themselves as the strongest power
in India. British unification of the subcontinent was com-
With the support of the king of Denmark, the Protes-
plete in 1848. This unity lasted for almost a hundred years.
tants entered the field in 1706 in the small Danish territory
In 1947 Muslims asserted their independence through the
of Tranquebar. Protestant missionary Christian Friedrich
formation of Pakistan as an independent state (to be fol-
Schwartz served in India from 1750 until 1798 and left the
lowed by the separation of East Pakistan), and the constitu-
indelible impression of a serene and gentle radiance upon
tion, under the name Bangladesh, of a third independent
Europeans and Indians alike.
state in the subcontinent.
In the first half of the nineteenth century, growth both
The date at which the Christian faith first appeared in
for Roman Catholics and for Protestants was slow. The great
India has been the subject of many debates and still presents
period of expansion began in 1858, when the British govern-
itself as a fascinating historical problem. It is certain that a
ment took over rule in India from the East India Company.
Christian church has existed in Kerala (in southwestern
Christians of many nations entered into the work, which in
India) for many centuries. The members of the various
fifty years spread into almost every corner of India except in
churches of the Thomas Christians are at one in their convic-
those areas where independent Indian rulers refused permis-
tion that their church, in its original form, was founded by
sion for any kind of Christian propaganda in their domains.
the apostle Thomas himself.
Three features of this period deserve special mention.
A number of scholars support the view that churches did
First, the immense educational effort of the missionaries,
exist in India not later than the second century; all but the
aided by financial support from the government, produced
most skeptical accept a date in the fourth century as almost
a large Christian middle class, educated and professional,
certain. Through the centuries the church maintained its dis-
which prepared the way for the development of independent
tinctiveness by retaining Syriac as the language of worship
Indian churches. Second, the underprivileged “outcastes,”
and receiving its bishops from Mesopotamia. Information
seeing no hope of a better future under the Hindu system,
for the medieval period is scanty; but when communication
began to press into the Christian churches. This movement
with the West was renewed, with the arrival of the Portu-
was disapproved of by a great many missionaries and by the
guese by the sea route in 1498, the church was found to be
majority of educated Indian Christian leaders, but the pres-
flourishing, Christians forming an accepted and respected el-
sure would not be stayed. These “untouchables” (dalits), in
ement in Indian society. This ancient church remained,
fact, represent well over half of all Protestant and 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
1730
CHRISTIANITY: CHRISTIANITY IN ASIA
Catholic church members. Third, many among the aborigi-
nous church in Asia defined by the “three selfs”: self-control,
nal peoples, having no wish to be incorporated into the
self-support, and self-propagation, but usually understood as
Hindu caste system, saw in the Christian way a greater
a duplication of the denominational expressions of churches
freedom than they could hope to enjoy elsewhere. Some
in Europe or North America. There has been an overall de-
whole peoples have become Christian and others greatly
cline in the number of missionaries related to the old estab-
Christianized.
lished mainline churches and denominations of Europe and
In the twentieth century, the great change was the trans-
North America, although evangelical churches in the West
fer of power from foreign agents to indigenous leaders. The
maintain a strong missionary presence in Asia where legally
first Indian Anglican bishop, V. S. Azariah, was consecrated
permitted. Whereas there remain many examples of depen-
in 1912; the first Indian bishop of the Latin rite, Tiburtius
dence on Western church theologies, creeds, and polities,
Roche, was consecrated for Tuticorin in 1923. Rome showed
most churches in Asia are under the direction of native rather
its recognition of the maturity of the Indian church by the
than foreign leaders, and many new independent and post-
appointment of the first Indian cardinal, Valarian Gracias of
denominational forms of Christianity have emerged in the
Bombay, in 1953. The four fully united and independent
last quarter of the twentieth century.
churches of South India, North India, Pakistan, and Bangla-
The transplantation of “normative” theologies from the
desh have manifested an independent ecumenical spirit.
West has largely been replaced by a serious concern to devel-
In the early 1980s, Christians numbered less than three
op new forms of theological interpretation and Christian
percent of the population in India, much less in Pakistan and
practice rooted in local cultures. Catholics refer to these
Bangladesh. But it may be argued that Christian teaching has
theological developments as “inculturation,” whereas Protes-
had an impact upon contemporary Indian ethical thought.
tants usually use the term “contextualization.” Just as Greek
The government of independent India has abolished by law
philosophy and categories shaped the early development of
“untouchability.” This righteous action owes much to the
Western theologies, the Asian religious traditions—Hindu,
passionate advocacy by missionaries of the rights of the un-
Buddhist, and Confucian, for example—represent impor-
derprivileged. The Sarda Act, which raised the age of mar-
tant resources for these new theological initiatives. Heroic
riage for both boys and girls, was brought forward by Hindu
and largely successful attempts to nurture a specifically Asian
reformers; these reformers were building on the work of
Christianity have been made. The full flowering of Asian
Christians whose opposition to child marriage was well
theology may be yet to come, just as the full flowering of
known.
Christian thought and expression in the Syriac, Greek, and
British rule came to an end in 1947. When the change
Latin languages did not begin until three centuries after the
took place, both those who welcomed it with enthusiasm and
ministry of Jesus Christ. What has become abundantly clear
those who viewed it with considerable alarm accepted it
is that Asians were not passive recipients of transplanted
without question; not a single missionary left his or her post
Christianity, but active agents who reinterpreted and recon-
for reasons of political change. Nevertheless, political change
structed the Christian faith in terms that made sense to them.
was bound to affect the lives and prospects of Christians in
In most of the multi-religious Asian societies considered
a number of ways. While the Indian constitution contains
here, Christians remain a minority group. In this situation,
a statement in favor of religious freedom, Christians often
many church leaders have realized the importance of under-
find life more difficult than it was in earlier days.
standing the values and traditions that shape the larger ma-
Pakistan has from the start been riven by dissensions.
jority with whom Christians must cooperate in order to
In any Muslim state Christians face a number of difficulties;
build and sustain a civil society. Representatives of many
Christians in Pakistan may have to face the possibility of in-
churches and Christian institutions have invested consider-
creasing difficulties.
able effort in dialogue with people of other faiths and estab-
CONCLUSION. In 1948 the World Council of Churches and
lished research and study centers that sponsor various activi-
the International Missionary Council convened in Manila a
ties and publications aimed at interreligious understanding.
meeting of leaders in the East Asian churches. The result of
Inter-Religio, a network of sixteen Christian institutes and
the meeting was the formation of the East Asia Secretariat,
centers from eight countries in East Asia, is one example of
without any authority but with the expressed aim of promot-
this important development.
ing fellowship and mutual understanding. This was the be-
As has been the case in other non-Western contexts, the
ginning of a process which has proved highly productive.
study of Christianity in Asia was initially burdened by a Eu-
The Asian churches have come to feel that they ought to be-
rocentric and North American orientation, and studies tend-
long to one another. They have, for instance, held a meeting
ed to focus on transplanted mission churches, missionary
to discuss the problems of Christian faith and order in an
leaders, and institutions. A growing number of scholars are
Asian setting.
now seriously considering some additional ways in which
The missionary movement of the nineteenth and early
Asians have engaged and reshaped Christianity throughout
twentieth century aimed at the development of an indige-
this region of the world.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHRISTIANITY: CHRISTIANITY IN AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND
1731
SEE ALSO Chinese Religion, overview article; Japanese Reli-
CHRISTIANITY: CHRISTIANITY IN AUSTRALIA
gions, overview article; Jesuits; Korean Religion; Ricci, Mat-
AND NEW ZEALAND
teo; Southeast Asian Religions, articles on Insular Cultures,
Christianity has developed in Australia and New Zealand
New Religious Movements in Insular Cultures; Syriac Or-
along broadly similar lines. Such similarities include the oc-
thodox Church of Antioch; Uchimura Kanzo¯; Xavier,
currence of colonization at about the same time, largely by
Francis.
emigration from the British Isles; the early presence of major
Christian denominations, both locally and in extending mis-
B
sionary activity in the South Pacific; periodic sectarian strife;
IBLIOGRAPHY
and, by the end of the twentieth century, the clearly evident
There are short summaries on all the countries dealt with in this
effect of secularizing influences. Important differences in-
survey in the World Christian Encyclopedia, edited by David
clude the much greater geographical extent of Australia, the
B. Barrett (Oxford, 2001, second edition). Whereas this is
situation of the respective indigenous inhabitants, and the
a useful resource, readers should know that the membership
partly different ethnic background and denominational affil-
data and figures for Christians tend to be on the high side.
For statistical data on Catholics in Asia, see Bryan T. Froehle
iations of immigrants.
and Mary L. Gautier, Global Catholicism: Portrait of a World
CONTACTS BETWEEN CHRISTIANITY AND INDIGENOUS CUL-
Church (Maryknoll, N.Y., 2003). An important reference
TURES. British penal settlements were established in New
work that serves as a useful guide to contemporary scholar-
South Wales on the east coast of Australia in 1788 and, on
ship and bibliographical materials both on mission churches
a smaller scale, in Van Diemen’s Land (Tasmania) in 1803.
and indigenous Christian developments is Scott Sunquist,
During the nineteenth century, ex-convicts, free settlers, and
ed., A Dictionary of Asian Christianity (Grand Rapids, Mich.,
government-assisted immigrants increased the population
2001). An indispensable resource on theology in Asia is John
and spread it to Western and South Australia, Victoria, and
England, et al eds., Asian Christian Theologies: A Research
Queensland.
Guide to Authors, Movements, Sources. Vols. 1–3 (Delhi,
2003). For recent events and developments in China, the
The Aborigines—tribally and linguistically distinct
best source is the periodical literature; see, for example, The
groups scattered throughout Australia, with a population
China Quarterly, No. 174 (June 2003). Other useful re-
variously estimated between 300,000 and 750,000—were
sources include Daniel H. Bays, ed., Christianity in China
quickly displaced in the eastern colonies and reduced in
from the Eighteenth Century to the Present (Stanford, Calif.,
numbers by disease, loss of hunting grounds, malnutrition,
1996); Alan Hunter and Kim-Kwong Chan, Protestantism in
and brutality from settlers. Officials and missionaries found
Contemporary China (Cambridge, U.K., 1993); Samuel H.
Aborigines to be enigmatic, and provision for religious obser-
Moffett, A History of Christianity in Asia, Vol. I, Beginnings
vances in the settlements took slight account of them. Their
to 1500 (Maryknoll, N.Y., 1998); and Nicolas Standaert, ed.,
seminomadism hindered missions and made it easy for set-
Handbook of Christianity in China, Vol. I (Leiden, 2001). On
tlers to assert that Aborigines had no substantive territorial
Japan, see Mark R. Mullins, ed., Handbook of Christianity in
claims. Missions, schools, and various measures, which
Japan (Leiden, 2003), and on Korea and Japan, see Mark R.
sought simultaneously to isolate Aborigines from their own
Mullins and Richard Young, eds., Perspectives on Christianity
communities and segregate them from Europeans, had limit-
in Korea and Japan (Lewiston, N.Y., 1995). For a study of
ed success during the nineteenth century.
independent indigenous Christian movements, see Mark R.
Mullins, Christianity Made in Japan (Honolulu, 1998). For
From the late eighteenth century onward, whalers, seal-
India, see James Massey, Roots of Dalit History, Christianity,
ers, and traders were attracted to New Zealand, inhabited by
Theology and Spirituality (Delhi, India, 1996) and Stephen
the Maori, who numbered between 70,000 and 100,000 in
Neill, History of Christianity in India, 2 vols. (Cambridge,
1840. In that year New Zealand was annexed as a British col-
U.K., 1984–1985). On interreligious dialogue and relations
ony, and Governor William Hobson signed the Treaty of
in Asia, see Wesley Ariarajah, Hindus and Christians: A Cen-
Waitangi with northern Maori chiefs; subsequently, signa-
tury of Protestant and Ecumenical Thought (Grand Rapids,
tures were collected widely from other chiefs. The proceed-
Mich., 1991); Judith M. Brown and Robert Eric Frykenberg,
ings, the part played by missionaries, the meaning of the trea-
eds., Christians, Cultural Interactions, and India’s Religious
Traditions (Grand Rapids, Mich., 2002); Walen Lai and Mi-
ty’s terms, and the treaty’s contemporary relevance remain
chael von Bruck, Christianity and Buddhism: A Multicultural
controversial. Disputes over land erupted into violence (at
History of Their Dialogue (Maryknoll, N.Y., 2000); and Peter
its most intense between 1860 and 1865), followed by exten-
K.J. Lee, ed., Confucian-Christian Encounters in Historical
sive and unjust confiscation. Initial criticism of governmen-
and Contemporary Perspective (Lewiston, N.Y., 1991). An
tal action and settlers’ attitudes by some church leaders, such
important book for locating recent trends in Asia within the
as Octavius Hadfield, an Anglican missionary, became
larger context of world Christianity is Philip Jenkins, The
muted as the conflict proceeded. One legacy was widespread
Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity (Ox-
alienation of Maori from the British and their churches.
ford, 2002).
The Church Missionary Society had begun work among
STEPHEN C. NEILL (1987)
Maori in the far north of the North Island in 1814, partly
MARK R. MULLINS (2005)
at the behest of Samuel Marsden, a Church of England (An-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1732
CHRISTIANITY: CHRISTIANITY IN AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND
glican) chaplain to the convict colony in New South Wales.
a third of the population. In 1833 William Ullathorne was
In 1822, Wesleyan Methodists began work among the
appointed vicar-general; a year later John Bede Polding was
Maori, initially in the far north; both missions gradually ex-
designated bishop of Sydney. Dioceses for other Australian
tended southwards. Early Anglican and Methodist missiona-
colonies were created in the 1840s. Governance remained
ries were firmly Protestant and evangelical, and the arrival
the prerogative of bishops and clergy, among whom the Irish
in 1838 of Bishop Jean Baptiste Pompallier as the head of
soon established a long-sustained predominance. Caroline
a Catholic mission generated anti-Catholicism and suspicion
Chisholm (1808–1877), a Catholic laywoman with a hu-
of French motives. Catholic missionaries, initially drawn
manitarian concern for immigrants, provided a different
from the Marist order, were, under Pompallier’s guidance,
style of leadership.
more ready to accommodate native customs and often
achieved closer identification with the Maori. Their impact
By 1803, Presbyterianism was established among Scot-
was diminished by their relatively late arrival, the itinerant
tish immigrants in Sydney. John Dunmore Lang, who ar-
style of their ministry, Pompallier’s administrative inepti-
rived in 1823, was a dominant, and sometimes dominating,
tude, and, after 1850, the withdrawal of the Marist order
figure in public and ecclesiastical life. By 1850, Presbyterian-
from the diocese of Auckland, which comprised the upper
ism was strongly represented, especially in Melbourne, but
half of the North Island and much of the Maori population.
events in both Scotland and Australia made it prey to contro-
versies and divisions, although these were mostly resolved
By 1845 about half the Maori population was worship-
over the next half-century. A national Presbyterian General
ing in Christian congregations. The general state of Maori
Assembly first met in 1901 after wary negotiations over the
society, the nature of the missionaries’ impact, and the part
respective functions of state and national assemblies. The ini-
played by other factors (e.g., war-weariness among the
tial Methodist class meeting was held in Sydney in 1812; the
Maori, the attractions of literacy, improvements in the quali-
first minister arrived in 1815. An Australasian Conference
ty and methods of missionaries, and the role of Maori leader-
first met in 1855; and in 1902 the Methodist Church of Aus-
ship) are debated by historians. Indigenous evangelists, cate-
tralasia brought together the branches of Methodism, thirty
chists, and teachers significantly assisted conversions. The
years before Great Britain did so. By the 1830s several smal-
wives of missionaries played an important part in caring for
ler denominations, notably Baptists, Congregationalists, and
their families, but also in having charge of mission stations
Quakers, were represented; Lutheranism brought by Ger-
when husbands were absent and in influencing Maori
man migrants, was, like Methodism, especially strong in
women and girls. The Maori often combined Christian ideas
South Australia. By the close of the nineteenth century, Sev-
with their own traditional beliefs and practices, initially in-
enth-day Adventists, the Salvation Army, Brethren, and Uni-
formally, but soon in reactive movements that combined sec-
tarians added to denominational variety.
ular and religious concerns. One of the earliest such move-
In nineteenth-century Australia the overwhelming ma-
ments, led by Papahurihia, later known as Te Atua Wera,
jority of the population professed adherence to one of the
emerged in the 1830s. Other movements followed, including
major denominations. Anglicanism embraced many nominal
that led by Pai Marire and Ringatu during the 1860s, and
adherents and infrequent worshipers, and it lost its quasi-
the movements associated with Rua Kenana and Tahupotiki
establishment status to become one denomination among
Wiremu Ratana in the first and second decades of the twenti-
others. Methodism, on the other hand, shed vestiges of sec-
eth century, respectively.
tarianism to gain denominational status. Catholics and
CHURCH DEVELOPMENT. By 1900 all the major denomina-
Methodists (especially the former), were initially overrepre-
tions, and several minor ones, were represented in Australia.
sented among the less affluent, while Anglicans and Presbyte-
Anglican chaplains to the penal settlements arrived first;
rians were slightly overrepresented among the more affluent.
mostly evangelicals, they were precursors of the strong pres-
ence their version of Christianity has maintained in Austra-
Systematic colonization of New Zealand began in the
lia. Their ministry to convicts, about a fifth of whom were
1840s. Two major settlements had ecclesiastical associations:
women, was less successful than that offered to free settlers,
Otago (1848) with Presbyterianism, and Canterbury (1850)
where clergy initially found more support from laity than
with the Church of England; neither ended up religiously ex-
from military and civil authorities. An important stage was
clusive. George Augustus Selwyn, from 1841 to 1867 the
reached in 1836 when William Grant Broughton became the
first Anglican bishop of New Zealand, was a commanding,
first and only Anglican bishop of Australia. His diocese was
sometimes autocratic, figure. By 1869 the original diocese
subsequently subdivided, and the dioceses (and later the gen-
had been subdivided into six dioceses. A constitution of
eral synod) were governed by synods of bishops, clergy, and
1857, fostered by Selwyn and enacted without consulting the
laity.
Maori, established the church in New Zealand as an autono-
mous province with close links to the Church of England
Initially, no provision was made for Catholics, despite
and gave synodical representation to clergy and laity. In 1848
the presence of Irish convicts. In 1820, two Irish priests ar-
the Catholic Church in New Zealand was divided into two
rived in Sydney, but their activities were severely restricted.
dioceses, based in Auckland and Wellington; dioceses in
By 1828, Catholics in New South Wales constituted almost
Dunedin and Christchurch followed later. Irish and Catholic
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHRISTIANITY: CHRISTIANITY IN AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND
1733
identity were mutually reinforcing but were modified by the
lic system was inaugurated in 1872, and in New South Wales
presence of English and French clergy and religious.
state aid to denominational schools was withdrawn in 1880.
Eventually all Australian colonies terminated state aid and es-
Presbyterianism, which began as a ministry to settlers,
tablished free, compulsory, and secular education at the pri-
not a mission to the Maori, had its New Zealand beginnings
mary level. In New Zealand aid was given to denominational
in Wellington in 1840 and Auckland in 1842; during the
schools during the Crown Colony period and was continued
1850s and 1860s it spread more widely. Initially, Presbyteri-
by some provincial governments until their abolition in
anism was organized in two separate bodies, one based in the
1876. The Education Act of 1877 stipulated that primary
southernmost provinces of Otago and Southland and the
education should be free, compulsory, and secular; state aid
other covering the rest of New Zealand. Reunion moves fal-
was withdrawn.
tered in the 1860s but succeeded in 1901. The early presence
of Methodist missionaries, along with an emphasis on lay in-
While many Protestants in both countries supported
volvement, ensured that Methodism was active in the earliest
state education in principle, Catholics and some Anglicans
years of settlement. The varieties of British Methodism were
opposed it and developed schools at their own expense.
represented, but had united by 1913 when Methodism in
Catholic schools, able to draw on religious orders for teach-
New Zealand became an autonomous conference. The first
ing staff, were more numerous and helped to reinforce Cath-
Baptist church in New Zealand was formed in Nelson in
olic community and identity. Especially in Australia, Protes-
1851. The New Zealand Baptist Union was inaugurated in
tant and Anglican secondary schools gained a long-lasting
1882. By 1900, other groups—Congregationalists, Church-
elite status. Behind the move to secularization in both
es of Christ, Quakers, Brethren, Seventh-day Adventists,
countries was a dislike of sectarian squabbling, suspicion of
Unitarians, and Lutherans—were represented in smaller
Catholic and Anglican designs, fears of social divisiveness, in-
numbers.
efficiencies and inequalities in existing systems, and the
growing popularity in government circles of theories of secu-
The social composition of the major churches in New
lar education.
Zealand was broadly similar to that of Australia, but the level
of regular church attendance in New Zealand was lower than
The secularizing of primary education, along with con-
that in New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia—as
cerns about the effects of urbanization and falling church at-
well as, for that matter, England and Scotland. The differ-
tendance, especially among workingmen, may have helped
ence between Australia and New Zealand may be related to
generate the sense of crisis among Christian leaders that arose
the slightly different denominational composition, since
in the 1870s. Moves to defend “Christian standards” were
Methodists and Irish Catholics, more strongly represented
channeled into opposition to educational changes, evangelis-
in Australia, had higher church attendance figures than
tic efforts, and moves to secure legislation on a range of issues
Anglicans.
including Sunday observance, temperance, gambling, prosti-
CHURCH, STATE, AND SOCIETY. Debate on church-state re-
tution, the age of consent, and indecent publications. Visions
lations in Great Britain extended to Australia and New Zea-
of what constituted a Christian society and how it was to be
land. The most significant early measure in Australia was the
realized varied. Protestants and Catholics rarely cooperated.
New South Wales Church Act of 1836, which broke the An-
Few Catholics were prepared to support Protestant-led
glican monopoly of governmental financial aid and did not
moves on gambling, sabbatarianism, and temperance. An
distinguish between the major denominations in providing
economic depression during the 1890s helped generate con-
funds to build churches and maintain clergy. Similar ar-
cern about social justice, some of which was expressed in
rangements were made in other Australian colonies. South
“Christian socialism.” More generally, however, there was an
Australia began with a voluntary system and flirted briefly
emphasis on personal religion and morality and their out-
with state aid, but it set a precedent in 1851 by terminating
working in public life. To this period belong the beginnings
such aid, which was phased out in other Australian colonies
of church social-service agencies; Methodist “city missions”
by 1895. Hobson, the first governor of New Zealand, was
and the Salvation Army were conspicuous.
directed to guarantee “the most absolute toleration” to all de-
Although there were instances of denominational coop-
nominations. Once representative government was in place
eration, which sometimes bridged the Catholic-Protestant
in 1854, the House of Representatives affirmed “the privilege
divide, sectarian strife surfaced. Anti-Catholicism was evi-
of a perfect political equality in all religious denominations”
dent in colonial New South Wales; in New Zealand suspi-
and declined responsibility for the Anglican bishop’s stipend.
cion first fastened on early French Catholic missionaries.
Controversy over the control and funding of education
Subsequent conflict was fed by various causes, including
was also exported to the colonies. In Australia a pattern of
Protestant aversion to Catholicism, Catholic resentment of
state aid to denominational schools emerged. Erosion of such
Protestant social and political ascendancy, the presence of a
aid began in New South Wales in 1866 when separate boards
largely working-class Irish-Catholic subculture, strongly
for state and church schools were consolidated, existing de-
Protestant lodges and friendly societies, and disputes over ed-
nominational schools were regulated, and assistance was
ucation. On both sides were public figures with a propensity
withheld from new church schools. In Victoria a secular pub-
for inflammatory rhetoric: Daniel Mannix, archbishop 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
1734
CHRISTIANITY: CHRISTIANITY IN AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND
Melbourne from 1917 to 1963 (and coadjutor from 1913
in the party’s electoral victory in 1935. In Australia, Ernest
to 1917), personified militant Catholicism. During World
Burgmann, the Anglican bishop of Goulburn from 1934,
War I, conscription and the 1916 Easter Rising in Ireland
emerged as an outspoken social critic and supporter of work-
fueled sectarian strife, which continued into the postwar
ing-class aspirations. Some Catholics, influenced by their
years, sustained by anti-Catholic organizations.
church’s social teachings, envisaged a more just social order,
but they also sought to curb Communist influence in trade
Leadership in church and society up to around 1900
unions. These efforts, in which B. A. (Bob) Santamaria, a
and for some time thereafter was predominantly male. In a
leading and controversial lay intellectual, played a key role,
few smaller denominations—Primitive Methodists, Bible
were one cause of a major split in the Australian Labour Party
Christians (a branch of Methodism), Salvation Army, and
in the 1940s and early 1950s and its political defeat and inef-
Unitarians—women were allowed to preach; from the 1890s
fectiveness until the 1970s. These events strained a long-
onward, some larger Protestant denominations appointed
standing alliance between the Labour Party and Catholicism,
women as deaconesses. Women were active in many roles,
which had weakened as Catholics moved up the socioeco-
including evangelism, pastoral care, charitable work, overseas
nomic ladder.
missions, and teaching, particularly in Sunday schools,
which gained added importance in the wake of the secular-
Missionary work among the Maori resumed towards
ization of public education at the primary level. In Catholi-
1900, in some areas competing with Mormons and the Rin-
cism, and on a much smaller scale in Anglicanism, women’s
gatu and Ratana movements. Assimilative policies were only
religious orders, some led by outstanding women—
slowly abandoned; measures such as the Anglican appoint-
including Mary McKillop (1842–1909) in Australia and Su-
ment of Frederick Augustus Bennett as bishop of Aotearoa
zanne Aubert (1835–1926) in New Zealand—worked effec-
in 1928 typically gave the Maori an enhanced but still limit-
tively in education, nursing, and charitable enterprises. In
ed role. Church-related secondary schools contributed to-
the closing years of the nineteenth century, various women’s
wards the emergence of Maori leadership. Aborigines were
organizations emerged, some church-based, others in which
subjected to drastic assimilative measures, including the re-
churchwomen worked alongside other women in matters of
moval of Aboriginal children for adoption or institutional
common concern, such as temperance and women’s suffrage.
care. Protestant and Catholic missions among Aborigines in
Measures facilitating female participation in church govern-
northern Australia were reestablished beginning around
ment did not follow generally or quickly, even after female
1900, with varying success. Among Europeans, an under-
suffrage was granted, initially in New Zealand in 1893.
standing of Aboriginal culture remained rare, and protests
against the conditions under which many Aborigines lived
WORLD WARS, ECONOMIC DEPRESSION, AND THE
was rarer. More hopefully, significant indigenous ministry
CHURCHES. A sense of national identity (among Protestants
had real beginnings, notably with the evangelist Uraiakurai
particularly), combined with imperial loyalty, was evident
and with James Noble, the first Aboriginal Anglican deacon.
from around 1900. It became apparent in moves leading to
the federation of the Australian colonies in 1901, and in New
Women, often in significant educational, medical, and
Zealand in support for the South African War (1899–1902).
missionary roles, outnumbered men in overseas missions, but
With few dissentients, mostly from smaller Christian bodies
the roles that women could take locally changed only slowly.
such as Quakers and Brethren, church leaders and represen-
In 1927 Winifred Kiek, a South Australian Congregational-
tative assemblies strongly supported participation in both
ist, was the first woman ordained in either country, although
world wars, although more soberly during World War II.
deaconesses increasingly exercised ministry in major Protes-
The disastrous Gallipoli campaign in 1915 to 1916 was
tant churches after about 1900. In the Catholic and, to some
speedily memorialized in the annual Anzac (an acronym
extent, the Anglican Church, laywomen’s organizations were
from Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) Day obser-
supervised by clergy and bishops and confined to devotional,
vance, which blends religious and secular elements and now
missionary, and charitable activities. Anglican and Catholic
commemorates the dead in other conflicts also. Australian
leadership, including leading laywomen, remained strongly
Lutherans during World War I and conscientious objectors
supportive of traditional patterns of marriage, family, and
in both countries and conflicts were victims of prejudiced pa-
women’s roles, and they were more resistant to changes in
triotism. For some—chaplains, combatants, and church
divorce law than other denominations.
leaders—World War I was an unsettling experience,
strengthening support for pacifism and the League of Na-
A higher birth rate, along with immigration after World
tions during the interwar years.
War II, especially from Italy and other predominantly Cath-
olic countries in Europe, buttressed Catholic numbers in
Between the two wars lay the economic depression of
Australia. Migration brought numerical strength, ethnic and
the late 1920s and early 1930s. Despite financially restrictive
ecclesiastical variety, and concomitant tensions with the Or-
budgets the churches provided relief measures, although as
thodox churches. New Zealand was less affected by such im-
the depression deepened some church members criticized
migration because numbers were smaller. There was some
government policies. In New Zealand the Labour Party capi-
leveling off of active membership in Protestant churches in
talized on support from the churches, and this was a factor
the interwar years, but the majority of children were baptized
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHRISTIANITY: CHRISTIANITY IN AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND
1735
and attended Sunday school. In both countries about 90 per-
moves to achieve organic union between Anglicans, Church-
cent of all marriages were performed by a religious celebrant.
es of Christ, Congregationalists, Methodists, and Presbyteri-
Liberalizing trends in theology, present from the late nine-
ans stalled by 1981. National councils of churches, founded
teenth century, gained added strength in Protestantism, but
in New Zealand in 1941 and Australia in 1946, continue
less so among Anglicans. Conservative evangelicals, edged
functioning, but with diminished support and vigor. Since
from influential roles in some theological colleges and leader-
the Second Vatican Council, Catholics participated in some
ship positions, established a network of bible colleges, sum-
joint ventures, including theological education and local, less
mer conferences, and transdenominational organizations.
formalized ecumenical endeavors. At the same time that re-
The diocese of Sydney and its theological college, Moore
union moves abated, the internal unity of major Protestant
College, emerged as guardians of conservative, confessional,
denominations became strained over various theological and
and firmly Protestant Anglicanism within and beyond
moral issues, including the ordination of persons in same-sex
Australia.
relationships. Moreover, Pacific Islanders, Indonesians, Chi-
nese, Koreans, and Vietnamese have established church com-
The years between approximately 1945 and 1960 were
munities in the region that are strongly attached to tradition-
comparatively placid and prosperous. During the immediate
al beliefs and morality.
postwar years there was a strong desire to return to normalcy;
rising affluence benefited some, and suburbs mushroomed.
Pentecostalism, represented from the 1920s by numeri-
Fund-raising schemes financed the construction of church
cally small denominations, the largest being the Assemblies
buildings and Catholic schools. Church life was relatively
of God, burgeoned from the 1960s, but gains in this sector
stable: theology, structures, and piety were still largely intact
of Christianity do not outweigh losses elsewhere. Pentecos-
from earlier times. Missions, notably those led in both coun-
talism, along with the charismatic movement in major de-
tries by the Australian Methodist Alan Walker or by Billy
nominations, forms one aspect of a strong resurgence in con-
Graham, expressed and enhanced Protestant confidence.
servative evangelicalism. The foundation of “Christian
Traditional Catholic devotionalism was similarly buoyed up
schools” and the increase in parental home schooling are im-
by revivalist missions led by local clergy and religious, and
portant aspects of this revival. From the 1960s and 1970s,
by overseas visitors like Father Patrick Peyton, who preached
large increases in state aid to schools outside the public sys-
a “rosary crusade” in both countries.
tem have helped increase their number, sustain their viabili-
ty, and widen educational options. Some denominational
CONTROVERSY, CHANGE, AND CHALLENGE. The 1960s were
schools have rejected integration with the state system on the
labeled the “hinge years”—their cultural turbulence generat-
grounds that it propagates secular values. Despite sniping
ed by longstanding trends and catalytic events, and their leg-
from teachers’ unions and opposition from organizations
acy compounded during subsequent decades. Technological
such as the Australian Council for the Defence of Govern-
developments, notably in contraception, television, comput-
ment Schools, the provision of governmental assistance to
ing, and electronic media, helped engender far-reaching so-
schools outside the public system has continued. Complete
cial consequences. Customary patterns of employment, rec-
reversal of this policy seems unlikely, not least because it
reation, censorship, women’s roles, and family life
would be politically hazardous.
underwent change. Christians were as polarized as their fel-
low citizens on questions of race, culture, gender, and na-
Maori and Aborigines, increasingly urbanized, have be-
tional identity, and likewise on specific issues like the Viet-
come more outspoken about discrimination and land issues.
nam War, abortion, homosexuality, and free-market policies.
Some in the churches have taken up their cause, especially
In addition, Catholics faced the upheaval precipitated by the
the Conference of Churches (formerly the National Council
Second Vatican Council (1962–1965), strains on schooling
of Churches) in Aotearoa, New Zealand, the Uniting
systems, reaction to the birth-control encyclical Humanae
Church in Australia, and the National Council of Churches
Vitae (1968), allegations of sexual abuse by clergy and other
in Australia. Beginning in the 1960s, all major denomina-
religious, the dilution of Catholic distinctiveness, and a de-
tions in New Zealand made structural changes to give Maori
cline in vocations to the priesthood and religious life—along
more determinative roles. In Australia, as governmental and
with a high dropout rate from both. Some laity responded
ecclesiastical policies shifted from assimilation to self-
by adopting an autonomous attitude towards belief and prac-
determination, some Aborigines have been ordained by
tice, others by maintaining a traditionalist stance; one official
major denominations, and more genuinely indigenous ex-
response has been the appointment of such trusty conserva-
pressions of Christianity have emerged. In both countries
tives as George Pell, archbishop, successively, of Melbourne
these changes have helped open the way to the deployment
and Sydney and a cardinal since 2001.
of indigenous art in Christian contexts.
Moves towards organic union, first mooted about 1900
Women have increasingly undertaken theological study
and never entirely shelved, slowed. In Australia the two Lu-
and wider roles in church governance and ordained ministry.
theran denominations united in 1966, and in 1977 the Unit-
In New Zealand, women were ordained in the Methodist
ing Church brought together Methodists, Congregational-
(1959) and Presbyterian (1965) churches shortly before their
ists, and about two-thirds of Presbyterians. In New Zealand,
Australian counterparts. Among Australian Anglicans, con-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1736
CHRISTIANITY: CHRISTIANITY IN AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND
troversy over ordaining women to the priesthood was more
Church provided for the constitutional arrangements of co-
divisive and protracted than in New Zealand, where the first
lonial Anglicanism. There were local initiatives before 1900,
such ordinations were held in 1977, compared with 1992 in
but they did not extend to the creation of new denomina-
Australia. Penelope Jamieson became the first woman dioce-
tions or major sectarian movements, although significant
san bishop in Anglicanism on her appointment to Dunedin
Maori reactive movements emerged. While much local
in 1990. The Catholic and Orthodox churches and, where
church architecture was imitative, timber was sometimes
priesthood is concerned, some sections of Anglicanism, nota-
used effectively for construction, interior enhancement, and
bly the diocese of Sydney, have resisted this change while uti-
furnishings. Some local musicians, while influenced by over-
lizing the ministry of women in other ways. Especially in
seas styles, contributed original compositions to hymnody
some smaller denominations and independent congrega-
and church music. Where ministry is concerned, lay preach-
tions, traditional views of women’s roles find support from
ers and, among Anglicans, lay readers were widely used, and
the predominantly male leadership and associated women’s
in Australia the Australian Inland Mission (Presbyterian) and
groups. Conversely, feminism has led some women to vari-
Anglo-Catholic Anglicans developed forms of ministry
ous responses, including seeking reform of existing struc-
adapted for ministry to settlers in the outback.
tures, developing feminist theologies and liturgies, or aban-
doning the churches.
Overseas influences remain important and pervasive.
Air travel and speedier communication via electronic media,
In both countries most major denominations are experi-
tape cassettes, the internet, and video ensure that this is the
encing a decline in numbers of adherents as a proportion of
case. Liberal, radical, and conservative theologians, feminists
the total population. Major denominations are also seeing
and their critics, world leaders in Pentecostalism and the
changing patterns of attendance, with fewer people attending
charismatic movement, spiritual guides, and church leaders
services weekly. All such denominations, but some more
visit Australia and New Zealand frequently. But the situation
than others, have an aging population, and as a result Sun-
has changed in two respects. Australians and New Zealand-
day-school enrollments have plummeted. Churches and con-
ers, now firmly ensconced in leadership positions, are part
gregations of an evangelical or charismatic character have a
of an international interchange. Especially in Australia,
lower age profile. Censuses from 1971 onward show substan-
which has more substantial financial, institutional, and per-
tial increases in those indicating “no religion” or opting for
sonnel resources, there are now theologians of international
an increasing number of non-Christian options. Denomina-
standing, including Charles Birch in Sydney and Elaine
tional loyalty is less of a concern for younger generations, in-
Wainwright, an Australian and head of the school of theolo-
cluding some church leaders. Except among relatively recent
gy at the University of Auckland. Church leaders, clerical
immigrants, the linkage between ethnic identity and ecclesi-
and lay, participate in international commissions, confer-
astical affiliation has weakened. Rites of passage are less often
ences, and consultations. Along with much that remains de-
observed in Christian settings, and the number of people
rivative, significant local initiatives in architecture, liturgy,
who attend church occasionally is probably falling. In ex-
religious dance, church music, theology, and spirituality have
plaining the downturn, some scholars invoke theories of sec-
emerged, some displaying the influence of indigenous cul-
ularization variously interpreted; others stress accelerating
tures and sensitivity to local natural environments. The tran-
cultural and social changes dating back to the 1960s. Some
sition from colonial dependence has led to interdependence
scholars also note the decline in support for voluntary organi-
and interaction rather than complete independence.
zations and the alleged corrosiveness of liberal theologies,
while others focus on evidence for the survival of religious
Estimating the impact and significance of Christianity
beliefs—“believing without belonging”—and suggest strate-
and the churches on cultural and public life is a complex
gies for church growth accordingly.
task. In Australia the poet Francis Webb and the painter Ar-
thur Boyd, and in New Zealand James K. Baxter and Colin
CONCLUDING PERSPECTIVES. There was much in nine-
McCahon (in the same roles, respectively), are examples of
teenth-century church life in Australia and New Zealand that
the artists, dramatists, novelists, and poets who have drawn
was derivative. Until about 1900, the churches in Australia
on the Christian heritage in richly varied ways. Among histo-
and New Zealand were substantially dependent on clerical
rians, sociologists, and social commentators, some claim too
personnel from abroad. Overseas newspapers, periodicals,
much for the influence of Christianity and the churches, oth-
and books fuelled local theological debates. While some im-
ers too little. Some see the influence of Christianity and
migrants were eager to shake off the shackles of their past,
Christian churches as predominantly conservative, while
real and imagined, others preferred to follow familiar ways
others highlight the espousal of radical causes by groups and
in church life. The main sources of influence and personnel
individuals, and yet others stress the historically ambiguous
for Protestants and Anglicans were England, Scotland, and
record of the treatment of indigenous peoples, children, and
Wales; for Catholics, Ireland and Italy; and for Australian
women by religious institutions and some professionals.
Lutherans, Germany. The United States, too, played its part
with the arrival of Seventh-day Adventists, Mormons, and
Where influence is concerned, there are differences in
Jehovah’s Witnesses; the visits of American Protestant and
extent and character over time, between social groupings,
Catholic revivalists; and the precedent that the Episcopal
and from one region to another, especially in Australia. Sta-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHRISTIANITY: CHRISTIANITY IN THE PACIFIC ISLANDS [FIRST EDITION]
1737
tistics of attendance and participation have their uses, espe-
Emilsen, Susan, and William W. Emilsen, eds. Mapping the Land-
cially where they disclose trends, but they hardly touch and
scape: Essays in Australian and New Zealand Christianity, Fest-
test the inner essence of religious faith and practice. All this
schrift in Honour of Professor Ian Breward. New York, 2000.
said, some things are clear. Legislative enactments governing
Harris, John. One Blood: 200 Years of Aboriginal Encounter with
Sunday observance, censorship, abortion, gambling, alcohol,
Christianity, A Story of Hope. Sydney, 1990.
and homosexual behavior, once strongly backed by many
Hilliard, David. “Australasia and the Pacific.” In A World History
Christians, have been progressively eroded, despite the oppo-
of Christianity, edited by Adrian Hastings, pp. 508–535.
sition of Christian conservatives. In this respect, and more
Grand Rapids, Mich., and Cambridge, UK, 1999. Succinct
generally, public life has become more secular. Church lead-
survey with useful bibliographical note.
ers no longer have the extent of informal contact with politi-
Jackson, H. R. Churches and People in Australia and New Zealand,
cians they once had; with fewer members (and therefore
1860–1930. Wellington, New Zealand, and Sydney, 1987.
fewer potential voters), church leaders have less clout with
Kaye, Bruce, Tom Frame, Colin Holden, and Geoff Treloar, eds.
government. Anglican cathedrals in both countries are often
Anglicanism in Australia: A History. Melbourne, 2002.
still the setting for important national and civic occasions,
but only remnants of quasi-establishment status linger.
McEldowney, Dennis, ed. Presbyterians in Aotearoa, 1840–1990.
Wellington, New Zealand, 1990.
Even apart from strictly religious considerations there
Moore, Albert C. Arts in the Religions of the Pacific: Symbols of Life.
is more to be said. Church-related institutions—hospitals,
London and New York, 1995. Introductory survey of the
schools, university residence halls, city missions and other
arts of indigenous peoples, with bibliography.
welfare agencies, and voluntary organizations— have made
important contributions in areas where government assis-
O’Farrell, Patrick. The Catholic Church and Community: An Aus-
tralian History. 2d ed. Sydney, 1985.
tance is sometimes parsimonious. It is difficult to point to
any one major reform or protest movement sponsored solely
O’Farrell, Patrick, and Deirdre O’Farrell, eds. Documents in Aus-
by churches, but some leaders and members have participat-
tralian Catholic History, 1788–1968. 2 vols. London, 1969.
ed in such moves, and, on the basis of local and overseas con-
Piggin, Stuart. Evangelical Christianity in Australia: Spirit, Word,
tacts, have contributed valuable perspectives. Christians in-
and World. Melbourne, 1996.
volved in such activities have had their values shaped and
Thompson, Roger C. Religion in Australia: A History. 2d ed. Mel-
efforts upheld by the worship and fellowship of church com-
bourne, 2002. Lucid and compact, stresses the generally con-
munities. Although the major churches still have substantial
servative role of the churches.
financial and personnel resources, as well as a degree of pub-
West, Janet. Daughters of Freedom: A History of Women in the Aus-
lic goodwill, they face an uncertain future. Their current
tralian Church. Sydney, 1997.
weaknesses mirror their diminished, although still signifi-
cant, influence in the culture and public life of Australia and
COLIN BROWN (1987 AND 2005)
New Zealand.
SEE ALSO Australian Indigenous Religions, article on Ab-
CHRISTIANITY: CHRISTIANITY IN THE
original Christianity.
PACIFIC ISLANDS [FIRST EDITION]
B
Christianity has become the religion of almost all the original
IBLIOGRAPHY
Black, Alan W., ed. Religion in Australia: Sociological Perspectives.
peoples of the Pacific Islands. The Indo-Fijian population in
Sydney, 1991.
Fiji and various immigrant groups in Hawaii are the only
Breward, Ian. A History of the Australian Churches. Sydney, 1993.
population groups that remain largely outside any Christian
With extensive bibliography.
church. The following examples illustrate the fact that the
Breward, Ian. A History of the Churches in Australasia. Oxford,
indigenous island peoples hold to Christianity firmly and
2001. The best single treatment of the topic, with compre-
vigorously. Samoa has more ministers in proportion to its
hensive bibliography.
size than does any other country, and it is reported that 80
Carey, Hilary M. Believing in Australia: A Cultural History of Reli-
percent of the people of Vanuatu are in church on Sunday.
gions. Sydney, 1996.
In Tonga, until recently, the most common occupation after
Crumlin, Rosemary. Images of Religion in Australian Art. Sydney,
gardening and fishing was the Christian ministry. Both
1988.
Papua New Guinea and Western Samoa refer to the Chris-
tian faith in their constitutions. Finally, in the country of
Davidson, Allan. Christianity in Aotearoa: A History of Church and
Society in New Zealand. 2d ed. Wellington, 1997. Compre-
Tuvalu, people not in church are presumed to be sick, and
hensive in coverage, with bibliography.
teams from the congregations visit them during the time of
Davidson, Allan K., and Peter J. Lineham. Transplanted Christian-
the church service.
ity: Documents Illustrating Aspects of New Zealand Church
INTRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION. The distribution of the
History. 3d ed. Palmerston North, New Zealand, 1997.
various confessional groups in the Pacific reflects the process-
Donovan, Peter, ed. Religions of New Zealanders. 2d ed. Palmer-
es by which Christianity was introduced to the region. Al-
ston North, New Zealand, 1996.
most invariably the predominant church of any island or
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1738
CHRISTIANITY: CHRISTIANITY IN THE PACIFIC ISLANDS [FIRST EDITION]
country is the church of the first missionaries to reach it. The
his military prowess. In Fiji there was a similar pattern. Tha-
move from the traditional religion to Christianity was nor-
kombau, the most rapidly rising chief of the islands, made
mally made by the people as a whole—a whole island group
the decision for Christianity in 1854 and was able to defeat
in Polynesia or a whole village in Melanesia—thus preserving
his non-Christian rivals. In both Tonga and Fiji the over-
the religious unity that had existed previously and making
whelming majority of the indigenous people became and re-
for considerable religious uniformity within each land.
main Methodists.
The first missionaries to work in the islands, the Span-
In the islands north and west of Fiji there are no large
iards who came with Sanvitores to the Mariana Islands in
political units, so the spread of Christianity was slower—
1668, established Roman Catholicism as the religion of the
village by village. Vanuatu was the only country where the
Mariana peoples. That condition continues to the present
Presbyterians began the first churches and where they are
time. The Catholicism of the Marianas is similar in many
now the major religious body. The Solomon Islands is the
ways to that of the Philippine Islands, because the missiona-
only country in the Pacific Islands where the Anglicans were
ries came from the Philippines and because in the following
the first to establish continuing work. Their Melanesian Mis-
years there was much immigration from the Philippines. The
sion began work not only in the Solomons but also in north-
Catholic missionaries also tried to penetrate the western Car-
ern Vanuatu. The Anglican church continues as the largest
oline Islands, but their work there was subject to many fluc-
church in the Solomons, though it divides the country with
tuations, and as a consequence conformity to Roman Ca-
Methodists in the west, the Seventh-day Adventists in the
tholicism is not so general there.
Morovo Lagoon, the South Sea Evangelical Church on the
The Spanish efforts died down, but a new missionary
island of Malaita, and the Roman Catholics on several is-
élan in Europe brought fresh Protestant and Catholic work-
lands. The South Sea Evangelical Church is unique among
ers to the islands in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth
the churches thus far considered in that it was begun by a
centuries. The Protestant pioneer body was the London Mis-
nonchurch mission, inspired and led by an Australian
sionary Society, and its first emissaries began work in Tahiti
woman, Florence Young, who began her work in the islands
in 1797. After many disappointments the missionaries were
in 1904.
surprised by a sudden shift to Christianity by the principal
After the Spanish decline Roman Catholic missionaries
ruler, Pomare II, in 1815, and soon thereafter Pomare made
were usually from France. In most lands they came after the
himself the undisputed ruler of Tahiti and Christianity the
Protestants and so had only a minority status. This is true
undisputed religion of the island. The Protestant church
in Tahiti and most of French Polynesia (except the Marque-
begun then has continued as the majority religion of Tahiti
sas), and in the Cook Islands, Samoa, Tonga, Fiji, Vanuatu,
and of the islands associated with it. The London Missionary
and the Solomons. In New Caledonia, however, the Catho-
Society missionaries then moved on to the Cook Islands and
lics came first. Marist missionaries from France began con-
also to Samoa, where they established their largest and most
tinuing labors in that island in 1851 and, after many initial
flourishing church. From Samoa they reached out to Tuvalu
difficulties, began what is now the major religious communi-
and the Loyalty Islands, where again they became the church
ty there. Large French and other Catholic immigrations have
of the majority, and to Kiribati, where they eventually had
swelled this majority, and the church is now fairly evenly di-
to share the land equally with the Roman Catholics, who
vided between the indigenes and the immigrants.
came from France at the end of the century.
Papua New Guinea does not fit into the usual Pacific
Another Congregational body, patterned on the Lon-
pattern of one original and predominant church. It contains
don Missionary Society, began missions in Hawaii. This was
as many people as all the other islands put together, and nei-
the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions.
ther its history nor its geography has been conducive to a
When its first group of missionaries reached Hawaii in 1820,
united Christian development. The London Missionary So-
the traditional religion had already been repudiated, the great
ciety established the first continuing mission in 1871 and
idols destroyed, and the sacred enclosures desecrated. This
soon spread along nearly the whole of the south coast. Meth-
resulted from the influence of sailors and merchants from
odists, this time from Australia, came in 1875 to the Bis-
Europe and America who had broken the ancient taboos
marck Archipelago and later to the islands east of Papua.
with impunity and had thus shaken the faith of the people.
French Catholics followed shortly in both Papua and the Bis-
In the following years, Queen Kaahumanu took the lead in
marck Archipelago. After the British and German empires
presenting Christianity to the people of Hawaii and gaining
came to rule, the Anglican church established itself on the
their adherence to it.
northeast coast of Papua and strong German-Lutheran and
At about the same time, national movements into
German-Catholic missions developed in German New
Christianity were taking place under the auspices of the En-
Guinea. Out of these missions have come the five major
glish Methodists in Tonga and Fiji. The royal leader who
church traditions of the country: Congregational, Method-
made Methodism the church of Tonga was Taufa’ahau (later
ist, Roman Catholic, Anglican, and Lutheran, with the Cath-
known as King George), who was converted in 1831 and
olics by far the largest. The number of major religious bodies
thereafter brought the entire kingdom under his control by
was reduced by one in 1968, when the Congregationalists
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHRISTIANITY: CHRISTIANITY IN THE PACIFIC ISLANDS [FIRST EDITION]
1739
and the Methodists combined to form the United Church,
ported by the churches of which they are a part. Catholic
but that consolidation did not significantly counterbalance
priests are at present primarily expatriates, but the situation
the proliferation of denominations that began in the 1950s,
is changing steadily, so that the day of the indigenous priest-
primarily in the New Guinea Highlands. The Highlands had
hood is not far off in many countries. By the early 1980s it
been largely unknown and had been closed to Christian pen-
was already a reality in Samoa, Fiji, Tonga, Wallis-Futuna,
etration before that time. But in the 1950s and 1960s there
and some parts of Papua New Guinea. The Roman Catholic
came a rush of many church and para-church missions into
church, of course, maintains its ties to Rome, but it also exer-
the area, making it the most variegated part of the Pacific Is-
cises much independence in national and regional structures.
lands in terms of religion.
The major Protestant churches have all achieved full inde-
I
pendence from the missions and handle their own affairs.
NDIGENOUS MISSIONARIES. The missionaries who came to
New Guinea and to the other islands of the Pacific were not
INTERCHURCH RELATIONS. During the nineteenth century
solely the Europeans who have received most of the atten-
the different Protestant missions worked, by design, in differ-
tion; there were also Pacific-islanders in abundance. As soon
ent territories and enjoyed fairly cordial relationships. Be-
as Tahiti and its neighbors were converted, missionaries radi-
tween Roman Catholics and Protestants, however, there was
ated out from there to the Cook Islands and Samoa. Usually
intense rivalry and much ill feeling. With the coming of the
they were taken to their new posts by European missionaries,
twentieth century the sense of hostility began to subside.
but once in place they did the major work of starting the new
After there were no more adherents of traditional religion
churches. Tonga sent early missionaries, with royal backing,
who might be won by either camp, there was little point in
to start Methodist churches in Samoa and Fiji. The Congre-
further competition. People who were already Catholics or
gational church in Hawaii in the middle of the nineteenth
Protestants seldom changed sides.
century launched missions to the Marshall Islands and the
New ecumenical attitudes in the wider world have
eastern Caroline Islands, where they began what are still the
begun to have their effect in the Pacific. Regional confer-
principal churches of those islands.
ences of the Protestant churches began to be held in 1926,
The great challenge and opportunity for islander mis-
and eventually, in 1966, these led to the creation of the Pacif-
sionaries came in the late nineteenth and early twentieth cen-
ic Conference of Churches, a body that includes nearly all
turies when New Guinea and the western Solomons were
the major Protestant denominations. The Catholic Bishops’
opening up. The Congregationalists of Samoa and the Cook
Conference for the Pacific was formed in 1968, and a parallel
Islands and the Methodists of Fiji and Tonga proved to be
organization for Papua New Guinea was also created. In
the great mission-senders for these new lands. Some 650
1973 this Conference took the unprecedented step of decid-
men, often accompanied by wives who were equally dedicat-
ing to join the Pacific Conference of Churches. This was the
ed to missionary labors, went to the new areas. Much of the
first time Catholics anywhere determined to join Protestants
church life in the lands where they labored bears the imprint
in a regional church structure. Today all the major churches
of their particular styles of Christianity. Within New Guinea
recognize each other and often engage in cooperative efforts.
itself the missionary tradition was continued by many hun-
NEW RELIGIOUS MOVEMENTS. The unity evidenced by the
dreds of Christians who went from the coastlands and outer
major churches does not extend to all the minor churches
islands into the Highlands when they were opened. Notable
and sects, many of which have entered the islands in more
are the hundreds of Lutheran pioneers, many of whom went
recent years. The newer churches of the New Guinea High-
even before the Highlands were officially opened. The Solo-
lands have been brought together in a cooperative structure
mon Islands showed a similar activity in the work of the Mel-
of their own, the Evangelical Alliance, but elsewhere in the
anesian Brotherhood, an Anglican order of young men
Pacific the newer or smaller churches and sects are vigorously
begun in 1926 and numbering over one thousand through
competitive and are growing at the expense of the older, es-
subsequent years, who were dedicated to bringing Christiani-
tablished churches, especially in the urban areas. The largest
ty to the most isolated and resistant areas.
of the smaller churches is that of the Mormons, which is by
FOLK CHRISTIANITY. Most of the churches of the islands
no means new and may not long be small. It has been grow-
may be described as folk churches; that is, they are deeply
ing rapidly and has become one of the larger minority bodies
intertwined with the societies around them and they are not
in most Polynesian countries.
inclined to distinguish themselves from or to stand out
In addition to the influx of new religious movements
against those societies. Although they were originally the
from outside the Pacific, many new movements have been
product of alien influences, they now believe themselves to
created by the Pacific peoples themselves. These have usually
be protectors of the island traditions and opponents of the
been short-lived, emotionally intense movements that have
newer alien influences that are pouring in.
combined features of traditional island religion and Chris-
Churches play a large role in village life and are often
tianity. The first of these appeared in Tahiti soon after the
directly linked to village leadership. The church buildings are
conversion of that country and was known as the Mamaia
usually constructed by the village people and are maintained
cult. Samoa, during the time of its conversion, saw a similar
by them. Protestant pastors are selected, trained, and sup-
phenomenon in the cult of Sio Vili. Fiji produced a whole
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1740
CHRISTIANITY: CHRISTIANITY IN THE PACIFIC ISLANDS [FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS]
series of such movements that rose and fell in succession. In
Caledonia (1960), the Cook Islands Christian Church
the years shortly before and after World War II, Papua New
(1965), and the United Church in Papua New Guinea and
Guinea saw a plethora of new movements that drew world-
the Solomon Islands (1968), all originating from a London
wide attention. They were often called cargo cults, since
Missionary Society base. The Evangelical Lutheran Church
many of them provided ritual ways of trying to secure the
of Papua New Guinea is of interest for its stage-by-stage se-
cargo that was seen coming to Europeans. These cults often
curing of complete autonomy between 1956 and 1976, as
emerged from the churches and were often led by former
is the Pacific Christian Church (a Protestant concern inde-
church officers. Many tried to enlist entire communities,
pendent in Papua New Guinea by 1966) in setting the goal
since the effectiveness of the rituals was believed to require
for its Irian Jaya counterpart to pass beyond “mission status.”
community-wide participation, and thus they damaged and
In the Catholic sphere, Vatican II had the effect of generat-
even for a time destroyed church life in certain places. Typi-
ing a new council of bishops for the Pacific region (1966 for
cally, cult leaders tried to organize and control every aspect
Polynesia and Melanesia; 1984 for Micronesia), localizing
of their members’ lives in an attempt to establish complete
territorial control. With all these developments came the in-
harmony and cooperation. When, however, their own com-
digenization of church leadership. A strong stock of Melane-
munities developed divisions or the anticipated cargo failed
sian bishops became manifest. Anglican George Ambo of
to arrive, members gradually lost interest and the movements
Papua, for example, inspired austerity and personal discipline
died down. In recent years they have largely disappeared,
following the tightening of foreign purse strings that affected
though a few continue in a quieter style and show signs of
his church; New Guinea Lutheran Zuruwe Zurenuo and the
possible permanence—the Pa-liau movement in Manus, the
United Church’s Leslie Boseto of the Solomon Islands pres-
Christian Fellowship Church in the western Solomons, the
ented strong visions of postmission solidarity; while the con-
John Frum movement on the island of Tanna in Vanuata,
troversial Bougainvillean Catholic Gregory Singkai minis-
and the Modekgnei movement in Belau.
tered to different sides in the complex Bougainville crisis
with extraordinary bravery (1990–1993). As a great man
SEE ALSO Cargo Cults.
combining ecumenism and peacemaking across the Pacific
(as well as astute pastoral care and engagement in the “de-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
mocracy movement” in his own country), Tongan Catholic
The history and recent development of Christianity in the Pacific
bishop Patelisio Finau (1934–1993) seems to tower above all
Islands is covered in two books: John Garrett’s To Live
such leaders in recent times.
among the Stars: Christian Origins in Oceania (Suva, Fiji,
1982), which concentrates on the nineteenth century, and
Aside from mainline denominations, separatist or inde-
my The Island Churches of the South Pacific: Emergence in the
pendent churches with indigenous leaders and homegrown
Twentieth Century (Maryknoll, N. Y., 1982), which concen-
concerns have also made a showing in the Pacific. In Melane-
trates on the twentieth. One of the few thorough analyses of
sia, where over twenty such churches have emerged (some
Christianity in a Pacific country is Alan R. Tippett’s Solomon
reminiscent of fixtures documented by Bengt Sundkler for
Islands Christianity: A Study in Growth and Obstruction (Lon-
don, 1967). A fine analysis of the work of an anthropologi-
southern Africa), the history of cargo cult movements pro-
cally sensitive missionary exploring what Christianity might
vides an important background. Sizable examples of such
mean to Pacific peoples is James Clifford’s Person and Myth:
movements like to appear as churches to enhance their legiti-
Maurice Leenhardt in the Melanesian World (Berkeley, 1982).
macy, as with the Pomio kivung on New Britain, for in-
The basic study of the new religious movements has long
stance, with its indigenous messiah Koriam Urekit and the
been Peter Worsley’s The Trumpet Shall Sound: A Study of
use of the Ten Commandments as its platform; and with
“Cargo” Cults in Melanesia (London, 1957). Many fine
Niu Apostolik in New Guinea’s Sepik region, where local
studies of particular cults have followed. Of these the best
leaders have taken over the paraphernalia of a Canadian sec-
known are Kenelm Burridge’s Mambu, a Melanesian Milleni-
tarian mission to flout the authority of the long-established
um (London, 1960) and Peter Lawrence’s Road Belong Cargo:
Catholics. In Polynesia, a more socially conservative zone, a
A Study of the Cargo Movement in the Southern Madang Dis-
trict, New Guinea (Manchester, 1964).
few special ecclesial independencies have manifested. The
Cook Islands Christian Church is split down the middle over
CHARLES W. FORMAN (1987)
the place of the remarkable woman healer Apii Piho in the
divine scheme of things. Her 1987 announcement that she
was Jesus Christ himself created an impetus among her sup-
porters to inject honorific references to her in worship, even
CHRISTIANITY: CHRISTIANITY IN THE
while not making major departures from the liturgy.
PACIFIC ISLANDS [FURTHER
CONSIDERATIONS]
The most important new trend across the whole Pacific,
During the 1960s mission organizations of the mainstream
though, involves local initiatives to so intensify church com-
Christian churches backed away from “foreign control.” This
mitment that they result in breakaway congregations or new
allowed for the formation of national Protestant churches.
worship groups. During the 1980s many small and previous-
Among these, to illustrate, were l’Église évangélique in New
ly unknown mission groups appeared in the region (or else
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHRISTIAN LITURGICAL YEAR
1741
consolidated after insignificant beginnings). In that decade,
and tradition while at the same time forestalling narrow con-
to illustrate, Papua New Guinea’s Eastern Highlands, espe-
servatism and celebrating a multiethnic nation marks the
cially its capital, Goroka, constituted the most highly mis-
achievement of Sevati Tuwere, with his work Vanua (2002),
sionized place on earth, with over sixty organizations (at least
surely the most mature and systematic theological treatise by
half of them originating in the United States) contending for
an islander scholar thus far.
souls. Many such small missions were conservative Evangeli-
SEE ALSO Cargo Cults; Oceanic Religions, article on New
cal, if not self-defining Fundamentalist, organizations, with
Religious Movements.
most being ready to join the Evangelical Alliance that had
been founded in 1975. Such groups admittedly widened
BIBLIOGRAPHY
local ranges of religious choice, but they made only a small
Breward, Ian. A History of the Churches in Australasia. Oxford His-
dent in preexisting structures. The smaller sectaries destined
tory of the Christian Church. Oxford, 2001.
to have the most disturbing effects up until the present time,
Ernst, Manfred. Winds of Change: Rapidly Growing Religious
however, were Pentecostal (or Charismatic), and in Papua
Groups in the Pacific Islands. Suva, Fiji, 1994.
New Guinea, in the biggest and most populous part of Ocea-
Salamonsen, Peter J. “Roman Catholic Participation in Pacific Is-
nia, a Pentecostal Council was hastily put together in 1980.
lands Regional Ecumenism as Enhanced by the Leadership
of Patelisio Finau, Bishop of Tonga.” Ph.D. diss., University
Pentecostal missions—the Assemblies of God and the
of Sydney, Sydney, 2002.
Four Square Gospel Church the best known and most sizable
Trompf, Garry, ed. The Gospel Is Not Western: Black Theologies
among them—combine old-style revivalism with a stress on
from the Southwest Pacific. Maryknoll, N.Y., 1987.
spiritual gifts. The experience of altered states—such as glos-
Wagner, Herwig, and Hermann Reiner, eds. The Lutheran Church
solalia, group succumbing to a spirit wind, ecstatic prayer,
in Papua New Guinea: The First Hundred Years 1886–1986.
and prophesying—chimes with islanders’ expectations of real
Adelaide. 1986.
and dramatic contact with the spirit world, as in Africa and
GARRY W. TROMPF (2005)
among African-originated communities of the Americas.
Pentecostalism has consequently spread into the mainline
churches and been the basis for large Christian gatherings
that supplement or even break away from prevenient centers
CHRISTIAN LITURGICAL YEAR. The Chris-
of worship. Manfred Ernst, researcher at Fiji’s Pacific Theo-
tian liturgical year consists of two cycles, differently defined
logical College in Suva takes Pentecostalism as the most deci-
in Eastern and Western traditions. The Eastern (Byzantine)
sive of the Winds of Change in contemporary Pacific religion
rite distinguishes between movable and fixed festivals: the
(as his 1994 book title has it). He takes both Fiji and West-
former are those whose dates vary each year with the date of
ern Samoa as important centers of these shifts. One must ap-
Easter but always fall on the same days of the week; the dates
of the latter are constant but may fall on any day of the week.
preciate, of course, that Pentecostal-type revivalism has had
Western tradition, on the other hand, includes with the
a prior history in the Pacific region, outbursts of fervor af-
movable festivals certain feasts whose date is fixed (most im-
fecting the South Sea Evangelical Church on north Malaita
portantly, Christmas, December 25) and the seasons depen-
(the Solomon Islands) in the 1970s and spreading to the
dent on those. This whole cycle is known as the temporale,
Baptist mission area in the Enga area of the Papua New
or (as in the present Roman Missal) the Proper of Seasons.
Guinea Highlands. A Maori and two Solomonese evangelists
The second cycle in Western tradition includes festivals of
are prominent in this story, only going to show the attrac-
saints and other anniversaries on fixed dates and is called the
tions of Pentecostalism in drawing out colorful indigenous
sanctorale, the Proper of Saints.
leadership styles.
EASTER, THE CHRISTIAN PASSOVER. The schematizations of
A crucial feature of latter-day Pacific Christianity has
the year refer to and are reflected in the organization of litur-
been the emergence of indigenous theologies. Most of these
gical books. The roots of the distinction, however, reach
have been contextual, in efforts either to provide identity for
back to the second century, when Easter (Pascha), which had
regional Christians (witness Tongan Sione Havea on “Coco-
been kept at Jerusalem on the fixed Jewish Passover date, was
nut Theology,” especially for Polynesians) or to divest intro-
adjusted to the structure of the week so as to fall always on
duced religion of its foreignness (the Papuan John Kadiba,
Sunday, the day of the resurrection. That adjustment renders
for example, asking the islander faithful to consider using
Easter’s date variable and is, therefore, the basis of the Chris-
sweet potato and coconut juice for Communion rather than
tian cycle of movable feasts. The precise computation of the
bread and wine). In some cases liberationist propensities are
date of Easter was fixed at the Council of Nicaea (325 CE)
felt, with talk of revolution against land theft, paternalism,
as the Sunday following the full moon after the vernal equi-
and demoralization on the lips of the Maori radical Anglican
nox. Several factors, however, have disturbed that agreement,
priest Hone Ka’a, or projections of the just society by Catho-
and the dates set for this major Christian festival differ be-
lic (former Father) John Momis, the Bougainvillean activist
tween East and West in most years, yielding differing dates
and first minister for decentralization in an independent
as well for those seasons and festivals dependent upon the
Papua New Guinea. A theology both to integrate the gospel
Easter date.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1742
CHRISTIAN LITURGICAL YEAR
THE PASCHAL FAST. When the observance of Pascha was
risen in him to new life (Rom. 6:4). Baptism was performed
transferred from the Jewish date to Sunday, the original pre-
in a separate chamber during the Old Testament lessons in
ceding one-day fast was extended to two days, the Friday on
the fourth and following centuries, but today it is more likely
which Jesus was crucified and the Saturday on which he lay
to be performed after them in the presence of the congrega-
in the tomb. By the middle of the third century four more
tion. Following the conferral of baptism, the first Eucharist
days were added in Syria and Egypt; this six-day total seems
of Easter is celebrated with exuberant rejoicing over the res-
universal by the end of that century, yielding the Holy Week
urrection of Christ and for the sacramental realization of res-
still observed by Christians. On Thursday of Holy Week the
urrection in the newly baptized.
institution of the Eucharist at the last supper of Jesus with
his disciples is celebrated, and the celebration often includes
In the West today the paschal vigil opens with the light-
a reenactment of Jesus’ washing of the feet of his disciples.
ing of a new fire in the darkness. From this fire the paschal
In the West an anthem accompanying the ceremony had as
candle, a large candle representing the risen Christ, is lighted
its text the verse “A new commandment I give unto you, that
and carried into the church in a procession during which a
you love one another as I have loved you” (Jn. 13:34). Its
minister proclaims at three points: “The Light of Christ.”
Latin incipit, “Mandatum novum,” gave the name Maundy
The same minister then sings over the paschal candle an an-
to the foot washing and to the Thursday on which it oc-
cient poem of praise called Exultet. The light ritual just de-
curred.
scribed precedes the vigil readings today in Roman Catholic,
Anglican, and Lutheran churches. A somewhat simpler light
A Western pilgrim named Egeria described the services
ritual precedes the readings in Orthodox churches now as it
at Jerusalem in 383. She noted that on Friday morning the
did in Jerusalem sixteen centuries earlier. At Jerusalem today,
wood of the cross (discovered in the course of excavating the
and since the tenth century, the light ceremony has been
tomb of Christ) was exposed for the veneration of the people
transferred to a point following the Old Testament readings.
who, one by one, passed by and kissed it. Such veneration
There, the Holy Light produced within the tomb of Christ
attached as well to a major fragment of that wood at Rome
is passed to the ministers and congregation outside the tomb
in the sixth century, and this led to a similar veneration of
and is carried by them to the other churches of the city in
a symbolic cross on Good Friday throughout the Western
symbolic proclamation of the resurrection.
church, still encountered today. Egeria also described a ser-
PENTECOST. Already in the second century the paschal feast
vice at Calvary during the hours from noon to three during
initiated a fifty-day period of rejoicing (Pentecost) during
which the passion narratives were read from the four Gos-
which fasting and kneeling were forbidden. But by the final
pels. An extraliturgical service of preaching during these
two decades of the fourth century the unified celebration of
hours was instituted at Lima, Peru, in 1687, and has since
Christ’s resurrection and ascension and the outpouring of
achieved wide popularity in both Roman Catholic and Prot-
the Holy Spirit had given way to distinct festivals: the Pascha
estant churches, often consisting of seven sermons on
of the Resurrection on Easter Sunday, the Ascension on the
Christ’s words from the cross, interspersed with hymns.
fortieth day (a Thursday), and the sending of the Holy Spirit
THE PASCHAL VIGIL. Like Passover, the early Christian
upon the church ten days later on Pentecost Sunday. In Gaul
Pascha was a nocturnal observance, as testified to by the Epis-
not only was fasting resumed after the ascension, but fasts
tle of the Apostles, a work from Asia Minor of the second half
were ordered on the three days preceding the ascension on
of the second century. The earliest detailed account of that
which processions with rogations (litanies) were held to ask
vigil’s content, the description coming from liturgical direc-
protection from natural disaster. Prior to twentieth-century
tories of the first half of the fifth century, relates activities
liturgical reforms it was common to extinguish the paschal
in Jerusalem. After an initial lamp lighting, the vigil consist-
candle, symbol of the risen Christ’s presence with the
ed of a series of twelve Old Testament lessons, each followed
church, at the conclusion of the gospel reading on Ascension
by prayer. These lessons recalled themes already traditionally
Day. Since Vatican Council II, however, in an effort to re-
associated with Passover: creation, the sacrifice of Isaac, the
cover the integrity of the fifty-day period, the candle burns
Exodus from Egypt, and so on. Similar series of twelve les-
at all services through the day of Pentecost, and fasting is sus-
sons are documented later in Spain and Gaul, retaining many
pended throughout the period.
of the Jerusalem readings. Such a series became standard in
western Europe and was continued in the Roman Missal fol-
The conclusion of the paschal rejoicing at the end of
lowing the Council of Trent (1545–1563). That series of les-
Pentecost Sunday has been marked by a ceremonial return
sons is found today in the North American Lutheran Book
to fasting and kneeling for prayer. The resumption of fasting
of Worship. Similar but shorter series occur in recent revisions
is noted by Egeria, and in the fifth century, notice is given
of the Roman Missal (1969) and The Book of Common Prayer
of devotions performed (while kneeling) at the end of that
(1979).
Sunday on the Mount of Olives. Such a penitential service,
called Gonuklisia (“the bending of the knee”), is still ob-
A climactic point in the paschal liturgy since the third
served in the Eastern churches on the evening of Pentecost,
century has been the conferral of baptism, that rite of initia-
marking the end of paschal festivity. The week following
tion by which, as Paul said, we are buried with Christ and
Pentecost Sunday is the occasion for one of four seasonal
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHRISTIAN LITURGICAL YEAR
1743
fasts at Rome called, in English, Ember Days, from the Ger-
from the paschal fast by several weeks. A similar six-week pat-
man term Quatember (Lat., quatuor tempora, “the four sea-
tern is still visible in the Byzantine Lent, now prior to Holy
sons”). Other Embertides, largely unobserved in Roman
Week rather than following Epiphany, hence making Palm
Catholic practice today but maintained in Anglican church-
Sunday the day before the Holy Week fast.
es, fall in September, in late December, and in the first week
Egeria describes a procession down the Mount of Olives
of Lent.
with palms on the afternoon of this Sunday at Jerusalem in
LENT AND PALM SUNDAY. Lent is the major fast season of
383, and such a procession was later adopted by other
the Christian year, a period of forty days commemorating the
churches, which already called that day the Sunday of the
fast of Jesus in the wilderness. It is seen by Christians today
Passion. Palm Sunday is now generally understood to be the
as preparation for the celebration of Easter. Considerable va-
beginning of Holy Week. Its focus is a procession with palms
riety has characterized this fast, stemming from two factors.
or other branches celebrating Christ’s entrance into Jerusa-
First, in the West the last of the six weeks is Holy Week,
lem, followed by the Eucharist whose theme is the passion
while in the East Lent is the six weeks preceding Holy Week.
of Christ. In the Byzantine rite, the sixth week of Lent lead-
Second, from the seventh century on there was a general con-
ing into Palm Sunday is called Palm Week, the individual
cern that there be forty days of actual fasting. In the Eastern
days being similarly characterized, reinforcing the Coptic
empire Saturday (Sabbath) was not a fast day, with the single
suggestion that Palm Sunday was originally the conclusion
exception of the day before Easter, and Sunday was never a
of Lent, rather than the beginning of Holy Week (as it is gen-
fast day. Therefore, a week of fore-fast was added before the
erally understood in the West today).
beginning of Lent to yield the desired total. In the West,
CHRISTMAS AND EPIPHANY. The principal festivals of fixed
where Lenten Sabbaths were fast days, the original six weeks
date are those associated with the nativity of Jesus. In Rome
yielded thirty-six days, and the beginning of the season was
by 336 such a festival on December 25 marked the beginning
set on Wednesday of the preceding week.
of the year. Earlier (perhaps from the beginning of the sec-
Although the Byzantine Lent took on a penitential qual-
ond century) in the Eastern churches the festival of the nativ-
ity through monastic influence in the eighth century, that
ity known as Epiphania or Theophania, terms associated in
quality has never been so pronounced as in the Western
classical Greek with the human manifestation of a deity, was
church, where Lent was also the time of formal humiliation
set on January 6. In some churches the themes of Christ’s
for those excluded from the community because of grave
baptism in the Jordan and his first miracle at Cana were cele-
sins. Admitted to the order of penitents at the beginning of
brated on or near that same day.
Lent, these separated sinners were solemnly restored to com-
The coincidence of the Roman date for the Feast of the
munion in the latter days of Holy Week. One of the ceremo-
Nativity, December 25, with the date of Natalis Solis Invicti,
nial dimensions of admission to the order of penitents in
a winter solstice festival established by the emperor Aurelian
Gaul was the sprinkling of ashes on their heads. By the elev-
in 274 CE, has encouraged the hypothesis that Christmas rep-
enth century that penitential discipline had fallen into dis-
resents a Christian appropriation of the solstice festival, and
use, but the old ceremonies continued, now for all the faith-
similar pagan backgrounds have been proposed for the
ful. By the end of the eleventh century the imposition of
Epiphany festival on January 6. Contrary to this prevailing
ashes was virtually universal in the West, giving the name Ash
view, Louis Duchesne in his Christian Worship (London,
Wednesday to the first day of Lent. That ceremony continues
1903) suggests that those dates were computed as nativity
to mark the beginning of the great fast. This general peniten-
dates from the inclusion of the Incarnation (i.e., the concep-
tial tone is also manifested in the Western church by the sup-
tion of Christ) in the themes celebrated at Pascha on known
pression of the joyous acclamation “Alleluia” in all Lenten
fixed dates, March 25 in Africa and Rome, April 6 in Asia
liturgical services, while “Alleluia” continues to be sung in
Minor and elsewhere in the East. In modern times, March
the Byzantine liturgy during Lent.
25 is celebrated as the Feast of the Annunciation (the con-
ception of Christ) nine months before Christmas, except
The association of Lent with the forty-day fast of Jesus
among the Armenians, who continue to follow the tradition
has been taken generally by scholars to be a secondary sym-
of Jerusalem by observing the Nativity on January 6 and the
bolic interpretation, unrelated to the origins of the great fast,
Annunciation nine months earlier. In the course of the later
since this time before Easter has no connection in Jesus’ life
fourth and fifth centuries other Eastern churches adopted the
to the temptation that followed immediately upon his bap-
Roman festival of December 25, thenceforward devoting
tism in the Jordan. Studies suggest, however, that the forty-
January 6 only to the celebration of Christ’s baptism. In that
day duration of the fast that we encounter after Nicaea may
same period the January festival was adopted at Rome, and
have originated in an earlier Alexandrian “Lent” that fol-
its nativity theme was narrowed to the visit of the Magi, from
lowed immediately after the celebration of the baptism of
which it came to be considered the manifestation of Christ
Jesus on January 6, the Feast of the Epiphany. That six-week
to the Gentiles.
period ended with the conferral of baptism in the sixth week
and with a “feast of palms” celebrating Christ’s triumphal
In most Latin cultures, the Epiphany festival remains
entry into Jerusalem on the following Sunday, all separated
the occasion for the exchange of gifts, after the example 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
1744
CHRISTIAN LITURGICAL YEAR
the Magi, while in northern Europe and English-speaking
many other feasts (e.g., of various New Testament figures or
countries that custom, continued from pre-Christian year-
angels) where there is no question of a known place of burial.
end festivities, attaches rather to Christmas. In the Byzantine
Since the later Middle Ages, still other festivals have been in-
and other Eastern churches where Epiphany celebrates
stituted simply as an aid to the promulgation of particular
Christ’s sanctification of water by his baptism, a major fea-
theological or devotional concerns, but this approach to festi-
ture of the celebration is a blessing of water that is drawn by
val is less evident since the Second Vatican Council.
the faithful and carried to their homes, a custom for which
THE LITURGICAL YEAR SINCE THE REFORMATION. At the
pre-Christian roots are also claimed in modern scholarship.
Reformation, churches of the reformed tradition placed a re-
ADVENT. Analogous to the period of preparation for Easter,
newed emphasis on the weekly observance of Sunday as the
a fast before the nativity developed in the West into a prepa-
primary liturgical articulation of time, while Lutheran and
ratory season. In addition to the Roman December Ember-
Anglican traditions continued to observe most of the tradi-
tide, churches in Gaul observed fasts of six weeks or more;
tional liturgical year but severely restricted the number of
a common form was called Saint Martin’s Lent, from its be-
feasts of saints, limiting them to New Testament figures for
ginning on November 11, the Feast of Saint Martin of
the most part. Since the Second Vatican Council the reform
Tours. That season, known as Advent, developed themes as-
of the Roman calendar has been widely adopted in the Unit-
sociated both with the advent of Christ at his nativity and
ed States and Canada, with the general shape of its temporal
the second advent at the end of this world’s history, the two
cycle and accompanying lectionary followed by Roman
advents having been expressed by the same term (parousia)
Catholics, Episcopalians (Anglicans), Lutherans, Presbyteri-
since the Greek theologians of the second century. A forty-
ans, Methodists, and other participants in the Consultation
day fast is also kept before Christmas in the Eastern churches,
on Church Union. Of these, the Episcopal and Lutheran
but this never received the liturgical articulation of Advent
churches have developed their own calendars of saints, fol-
in the West, where Advent today comprises the four weeks
lowing traditional principles.
(or, in Milan, six weeks) before Christmas.
LITURGICAL COLORS. In earlier times clergy were garbed in
T
a frequently washed tunic of white linen and an over-
HE SANCTORAL CYCLE. From the death of Stephen (Acts
7), Christianity has honored those whose faith in Christ has
garment (worn for warmth) that was usually of a dark col-
brought them to martyrdom. The liturgical expression of this
ored wool. As these garments became more ceremonial in
honor is documented as early as the second century, in the
function, a wider range of colors and materials came to be
case of the martyrdom of Polycarp at Smyrna, and in the fol-
used. All through the Middle Ages in the West color systems
lowing centuries this veneration achieved a high level of local
varied from place to place, while reflecting some general
organization as the anniversaries of martyrs’ deaths came to
principles. The first attempt at standardization of liturgical
be observed by the celebration of the Eucharist at their
colors is assigned to Pope Innocent III (d. 1216). He pres-
tombs. A Roman martyrology of 354 includes a few North
ented a system in which white was assigned to festivals of
African martyrs, probably revealing the presence of an Afri-
Christ, the Blessed Virgin, and saints who were not martyrs.
can community at Rome. That same document reveals me-
Red was for feasts of apostles and martyrs, for feasts of the
morial observances of bishops of Rome who were not mar-
Cross, and for Pentecost. Black was to be used during Advent
tyrs. Both the bishops’ list (first prepared in 336) and the list
and Lent and at masses for the departed, with the option of
of martyrs present the dates of their memorial celebrations
violet as a substitute for black. For all other occasions, green
in calendrical order (beginning from December 25) and des-
was the assigned color. While other medieval color systems
ignate in each case the cemetery where the observance was
continue to be followed in some places, the Roman system
held. A Syriac martyrology of the following century reveals
outlined by Innocent is surely the predominant system in
an increasing unification of these local lists, conflating the
Western churches, except that violet now generally replaces
martyrs’ observances of a great many cities. This tendency
black. The 1969 reform of the Roman Missal, however, as-
to veneration over a wider area and the addition of revered
signs red for Palm Sunday and Good Friday, and urges the
Christians other than martyrs to liturgical calendars led in
general principle of the Eastern traditions that on the most
the Middle Ages to central control over the liturgical venera-
festive occasions one should use the richest materials avail-
tion of saints; this became in time a complex procedure for
able, without regard to color. While Eastern traditions have
beatification and canonization. However, a uniform liturgi-
never sought to associate feasts and seasons with particular
cal calendar of saints was never produced, for local interests
colors, there, too, the natural psychological tendency is to
continued to be selective. Revision of the Roman calendar
match colors to emotions, to associate, for example, dark
in 1969 has given a much larger place to optional obser-
with sorrow, bright with joy.
vances.
SEE ALSO Christmas; Easter; Epiphany.
Many feasts represent anniversaries of the dedication of
churches, and such a dedication festival at fourth-century Je-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
rusalem is continued in modern calendars as the Feast of the
A useful but now somewhat dated general historical survey can be
Holy Cross. The dedications of churches also lie behind
had in Allan MacArthur’s The Evolution of the Christian Year
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHRISTIAN SCIENCE
1745
(London, 1953). A more recent presentation of historical de-
ism. Yet while other revolts against Calvinism, such as those
velopment is Adolf Adam’s The Liturgical Year: Its History
of Unitarianism and Transcendentalism, led to an attenua-
and Its Meaning after the Reform of the Liturgy (New York,
tion or even an abandonment of Christian convictions,
1981). Another work arranged not historically but as a com-
Eddy’s Christianity was so deeply ingrained that she found
mentary through the Christian year is Adrian Nocent’s The
it impossible to think of any ultimate answer to what she
Liturgical Year, 4 vols. (Collegeville, Minn., 1977). For still
called the “problem of being” outside of a theistic, biblical
more current scholarship, see the collection of papers of the
context. In her own words, “From my very childhood, I was
1981 Congress of Societas Liturgica published in Liturgical
Time, edited by Wiebe Vos and Geoffrey Wainwright (Rot-
impelled, by a hunger and thirst after divine things—a desire
terdam, 1982). For more particular studies of individual fes-
for something higher and better than matter, and apart from
tivals, see Patrick Cowley’s Advent: Its Liturgical Significance
it—to seek diligently for the knowledge of God as the one
(New York, 1960); John Gunstone’s Christmas and Epiphany
great and ever-present relief from human woe.”
(London, 1967); Roger Greenacre’s The Sacrament of Easter
Running parallel to this search, and contributing heuris-
(New York, 1965); and John Gunstone’s The Feast of Pente-
cost (London, 1967).
tically to it, was Eddy’s own long quest for health. She had
exhausted the healing methods of the time, including home-
New Sources
opathy, and the techniques of the Maine healer Phineas
Baggley, John. Festival Icons of the Christian Year. Crestwood,
Quimby, to whom she turned in 1862, and although she
N.Y., 2000.
found useful hints concerning the mental causes of disease,
Beckwith, Roger T. Calendar and Chronology, Jewish and Chris-
she never found the permanent health for which she was
tian. Leiden and New York, 1996.
looking. Her growing disenchantment with all curative
Bellenir, Karen, ed. Religious Holidays and Calendars: An Encyclo-
methods returned her to her spiritual quest, which led to a
pedic Handbook. Detroit, 1998.
radically different perception of God and creation from that
Bradshaw, Paul, and Lawrence A. Hoffman, eds. Passover and Eas-
held by Quimby, namely, that reality is, in truth, wholly
ter: Origin and History to Modern Times. Notre Dame, Ind.,
spiritual.
1999.
Eddy identified the advent of this conviction with her
Bradshaw, Paul, and Lawrence A. Hoffman, eds. Passover and Eas-
“instantaneous” recovery in 1866 from the effects of a severe
ter: The Symbolic Structuring of Sacred Seasons. Notre Dame,
accident while reading an account of one of Jesus’ healings.
Ind., 1999.
She described the event as follows: “That short experience
Roll, Susan K. Toward the Origin of Christmas. Kampen, Nether-
included a glimpse of the great fact that I have since tried
lands, 1995.
to make plain to others, namely, Life in and of Spirit; this
Talley, Thomas J. The Origins of the Christian Liturgical Year. 2d
Life being the sole reality of existence.” This passage is remi-
ed. Collegeville, Minn., 1991.
niscent of much mystical writing, but Eddy saw the experi-
THOMAS J. TALLEY (1987)
ence as the point at which she discovered a spiritual truth so
Revised Bibliography
concrete that it would be “scientifically” provable in the ex-
perience of others.
There can be no doubt that this moment of recovery
CHRISTIAN SCIENCE is a religious movement em-
marked an important turning point in Eddy’s life, impelling
phasizing Christian healing as proof of the supremacy of spir-
the development of the theology and metaphysics to which
itual over physical power. Founded by Mary Baker Eddy, a
she gave expression in her major book, Science and Health
New Englander of predominantly Calvinistic background,
with Key to the Scriptures, first published in 1875. The prima-
Christian Science emerged as a distinct phenomenon in
ry purpose of the book was not to set forth a new systematic
American religious life during a period of both social and re-
theology, but rather to serve as a textbook for religious prac-
ligious crisis. The dramatic conflict between science and
tice. The focus throughout was on awakening the capacity
faith, as witnessed in battles over Darwinism and critical bib-
of its readers to experience the presence of God directly; the
lical scholarship, was only the most obvious aspect of a devel-
“honest seekers for Truth,” to whom the book was dedicated,
oping breakdown in a Christian cosmology that pictured ex-
were invited to explore the saving and physically healing ef-
perience as split between a natural and a supernatural order.
fects of that experience.
Christian Science, however, rejected traditional cosmology
A key point of Christian Science is that the understand-
and was therefore free to address religious issues in a way that
ing of God must include a changed view of reality itself. In
was limited neither by creedal formulas nor by assumptions
effect, Science and Health challenged the traditional Chris-
based on nineteenth-century natural science.
tian view of God as the creator of a material world—not on
Eddy from her earliest years showed a deep-seated long-
philosophic grounds, even though Eddy’s conclusions are
ing for the divine that was broadly characteristic of the Chris-
partially articulated in philosophic terms—but on the
tian tradition and especially prominent in Puritanism. She
grounds of a radical reinterpretation of the meaning of the
found it impossible, however, to reconcile her deepest reli-
gospel. Christian Science takes the works of Jesus, culminat-
gious feelings with the theology of a then decadent Calvin-
ing in his resurrection and final ascension above all things
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1746
CHRISTIAN SCIENCE
material, as pointing to the essential spiritual nature of being.
of the mortal mind that accepts existence as something sepa-
Accordingly, his life exemplifies the possibility of action out-
rate from God. Healing, therefore, must be predicated on the
side of and contrary to the limits of a finite, material sense
action of the divine Mind or power outside of human
of existence. From the standpoint of traditional Christianity,
thought. In Eddy’s words, “. . . erring, finite, human mind
Jesus’ works constituted supernatural interruptions of natu-
has an absolute need of something beyond itself for its re-
ral process and law; from the standpoint of Christian Sci-
demption and healing.” Healing is regarded not merely as
ence, they resulted from the operation of divine power com-
a bodily change, but as a phase of full salvation from the flesh
prehended as spiritual law. In biblical terms this meant the
as well. It is the normalization of bodily function and forma-
breaking through of the kingdom of heaven—of the divine
tion through the divine government of the human mentality
order of things—into ordinary sense-bound experience.
and of the bodily system that that mentality governs.
Nineteenth-century Protestant orthodoxy associated the
The emphasis in Christian Science upon healing—
kingdom of heaven with a realm in the beyond and the here-
primarily of sin, secondarily disease—is based on the con-
after; Christian Science, however, views it as the spiritual po-
crete issues of everyday lived experience. The healing empha-
tential of present experience to be actualized once sinning
sis differentiates Christian Science from philosophies of ide-
mortals cease to identify their own limited, erring percep-
alism with which it is often carelessly identified, including
tions as reality. Regeneration or spiritual awakening occurs
the Emersonian transcendentalism that was part of its imme-
as one sees through sense appearance to what Eddy called
diate cultural background. Indeed, departures from Eddy’s
“the spiritual fact of whatever the material senses behold.”
teaching within the Christian Science movement itself have
The spiritual fact for her was not an otherworldly phenome-
tended generally toward metaphysical abstraction, wherein
non, but a transforming power—a reality drastically ob-
her statements almost completely lose their bearings on daily
scured by the misconceived sense of life, substance, and intel-
experience.
ligence, apart from God. So great is this error of
misconceiving, or fundamental sin, that a revelatory break-
In the context of Eddy’s writings, however, such state-
through from outside material existence is required in order
ments almost always point to the demand and possibility of
to manifest the true spiritual nature of creation. The advent
demonstrating in actual experience what she understood as
of Jesus, according to Christian Science, constitutes the deci-
spiritual fact. Her abstract statement that “God is All,” for
sive spiritual event that makes possible the salvation of hu-
instance, taken by itself could imply a pantheistic identifica-
manity from the flesh.
tion of humankind and the universe with God. Taken in the
full context of her teachings, it indicates that God’s infini-
Christian Science does not deify Jesus, a point that its
tude and omnipotence rule out the legitimacy, permanence,
severest critics have sometimes said separates it conclusively
and substantiality of anything contrary to God’s nature as
from traditional Christianity. Yet Jesus’ actual role in the
Principle, Mind, Spirit, Soul, Life, Truth, and Love, an asser-
achievement of humanity’s salvation is as important to its
tion that is taken to be demonstrably practical in concrete
theology as for traditional Christianity. His life of obedience
situations, to some degree at least.
and sacrifice is understood as the means through which the
reality of being for humankind has broken through in the
The radical claim as to the ultimate unreality of matter
midst of ordinary human experience. This true spiritual self-
is to be assessed in these terms. Christian Science asserts that
hood is identified as the eternal Christ, as distinct from Jesus,
matter is not the objective substance it appears to be, but is
although uniquely and fully incarnated in him. His mission
rather a concept of substance shaped by the limitations of the
is viewed as opening up the possibility for all men and
human mind. This assertion no more denies the existence of
women to make actual their own spiritual union with God.
humankind or natural objects than the challenge posed in
He did this by proving practically that neither sin nor suffer-
physics to conventional views of perception and to the sub-
ing is part of authentic spiritual selfhood, or Christ.
stantiality of matter denies the existence of the universe. But
While Christian Science holds that evil has no God-
it does point to the necessity of bringing the true spiritual
derived existence and therefore can be regarded ontologically
nature of humanity and the universe to light through pro-
as not real, it strongly emphasizes the need for healing rather
gressive demonstration.
than ignoring the manifold manifestations of the carnal
With this emphasis on practical regeneration and heal-
mind, defined by the apostle Paul as “enmity against God,”
ing, one sees the clearest link between Christian Science and
and as operating with hypnotic intensity in human experi-
the American Puritan tradition. An undue emphasis on the
ence. Such healing is to be accomplished not through per-
practical aspect of Christian Science by some followers has
sonal will or effort but through yielding to the action of the
sometimes led to a secularization of its teaching, with healing
divine Mind. Salvation, while seen as the effect of divine
regarded as an end in itself rather than as one element of a
grace, requires prayer, self-renunciation, and radical, unre-
full salvation. This tendency clearly characterizes the mind-
mitting warfare against the evils of the mortal condition.
cure and New Thought movements. These movements, in
Salvation includes obedience to Jesus’ command to heal
some respects akin to Christian Science, use similar terms,
the sick. Sickness is one expression of the fundamental error
which, however, bear a notably different meaning.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHRISTIAN SCIENCE
1747
As with any religious movement, the motives of those
clesiastical terms, shaping it to provide practical means for
who call themselves Christian Scientists vary. Of the
the study, communication, and teaching of Christian Sci-
350,000–450,000 who might so identify themselves, it is
ence as a way of life. It was not part of her original purpose
likely that a majority are not formal members of the
to found a separate denomination; rather, she and a group
Christian Science denomination. While many have made
of her students founded the Church of Christ, Scientist, in
Christian Science a way of life and joined, others have sought
1879, when it became clear that other Christian churches
it, sometimes intermittently, for comfort and support. There
were not disposed to accept her teaching. The overall struc-
may be limited truth, too, to the hypothesis that activity in
ture of the church was laid out in a document of skeletal sim-
the Christian Science movement, in which women have been
plicity, the Manual of the Mother Church, which Eddy first
numerically predominant, has provided an outlet for women
published in 1895 and continued to develop until her death.
in a society that has otherwise restricted their role—
The central administrative functions of this “mother”
particularly in the religious world. On the other hand, such
church, the First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, are
an argument may reflect an unconscious male stereotyping
presided over by a five-member, self-perpetuating board of
that seeks reductionist explanations when women advance or
directors. The Mother Church, with its branches, including
espouse ideas.
some 3,000 congregations in fifty countries, constitute the
Evidence of the religious experiences of long-term, com-
Church of Christ, Scientist; the congregations are self-
mitted adherents of Christian Science suggests that it may
governing within the framework provided by the Manual.
have survived for more than a century because it has met a
more basic religious need. Disaffected Protestants, particu-
Taken as a whole, the church’s activities can best be un-
larly, have seen in it a release not just from bodily suffering
derstood as vehicles for disciplined spiritual education. These
but also from spiritual malaise—an alternative to the attitude
include the Bible “lesson-sermons” consisting of passages
that accepts with Christian resignation the tragedies of pres-
from the Bible and the Christian Science textbook studied
ent life in hope of compensation either in a life beyond or
by members during the week; the religious periodicals pub-
according to some transcendent scale of eternal values. Chris-
lished by the church; and Christian Science lectures, Sunday
tian Science, however, regards the ultimate spiritual victory
schools, the intensive two-week course of class instruction,
over evil prophesied in the Bible as requiring confronta-
and follow-up refresher meetings attended by those seriously
tion with all aspects of evil and imperfection in present expe-
committed to the religion.
rience.
The absence of an ordained clergy, ritualistically ob-
Although Christian Science is explicitly committed to
served sacraments, and all but the most spare symbols point
universal salvation, it focuses initially and primarily on the
to the almost Quaker-like simplicity of the Christian Science
potential for transformation and healing within the individu-
concept of worship, in which silent prayer has an important
al. This focus, deviant as it has often seemed to conservative
role and the sacraments are conceived of as a process of con-
Christians, tends to associate it with the traditional Protes-
tinuing purification and quiet communion with God. Spon-
tant concern over individual salvation, giving it a conserva-
taneous sharing of experiences of healing and spiritual guid-
tive cast in the eyes of more liberal Christians who wish to
ance marks the Wednesday “testimony meetings.”
transform the social order. The identification of Christian
Christian Science practitioners, listed monthly in the
Science with a conservative, well-to-do, middle-class ideolo-
Christian Science Journal, are members who devote them-
gy may be as misleading in a sociological sense as it is theo-
selves full time to the ministry of spiritual healing, and a sig-
logically. In fact, a greater segment of the movement comes
nificant body of testimonies of healing—amounting to some
from rural or lower-middle-class backgrounds than most
50,000 published accounts—has been amassed in Christian
outside accounts would suggest.
Science periodicals over the years. There is good evidence
On the whole, the church does not share the social ac-
that this sustained commitment of an entire denomination
tivism of many mainstream denominations, but its purpose
over more than a century to the practice of spiritual healing
in publishing the Christian Science Monitor—an internation-
has been a significant factor in the reawakening of interest
al newspaper of recognized excellence—indicates a substan-
in Christian healing among many denominations in the
tial commitment to an interest in the public good. Eddy
1960s and 1970s.
founded the Monitor in 1908 as the most appropriate vehicle
By the 1979 centennial of the founding of the church,
for the political and social expression of the practical idealism
the Christian Science movement found itself experiencing
of her teaching. In addition, it was intended to educate
greater challenges from the currents of secular materialism
Christian Scientists about the need for the healing of society
than it had encountered since the early days of its founding.
at large, not just the individual.
The increasing secularization of Western society worked
The character of the Monitor, to a degree, reflects the
against the kind of radical Christian commitment it re-
educational purpose of the church that publishes it. Eddy,
quired, while at the same time its healing practices encoun-
surprisingly sensitive to the dangers of institutionalized reli-
tered new challenges in an increasingly medically oriented
gion, conceived of the church in instrumental rather than ec-
society.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1748
CHRISTIAN SOCIAL MOVEMENTS
The history of the church, however, confirms that it is
New Sources
no exception to the general tendency of religious movements
Christian Science Publishing House. Christian Science: A Source-
to grow or decline according to inner vitality rather than ex-
book of Contemporary Materials. Boston, 2000.
ternal pressure. Nor are external signs of growth in them-
Fraser, Caroline. God’s Perfect Child: Living and Dying in the
selves altogether valid indicators of spiritual strength; indeed,
Christian Science Church. New York, 1999.
it was because of this that Eddy forbade the publication of
Harley, Gail M. Emma Curtis Hopkins: Forgotten Founder of New
church membership statistics at a time when the movement
Thought. Syracuse, N.Y., 2002.
was growing rapidly. The great numerical growth of the
Schoepflin, Rennie B. Christian Science on Trial: Religious Healing
movement in the decades after Eddy’s death may well have
in America. Baltimore, 2003.
been attributable more to sociocultural factors unrelated to
STEPHEN GOTTSCHALK (1987)
and, in some respects, opposed to the specific religious and
Revised Bibliography
redemptive purposes of the church itself.
It is too soon to assess the long-term significance of
some signs of decline of the Christian Science movement. In-
CHRISTIAN SOCIAL MOVEMENTS. The
deed, these signs must be qualified by other factors, among
richness of the Christian vision of God’s transcendence and
them the erosion of the insularity and complacency evident
presence, the range of constituencies to which it appeals, and
to some degree in the church’s posture in earlier decades, the
the variety of contexts into which it has moved have pro-
maturing of the movement, its willingness to position itself
duced an enormous variety of social movements. Yet some
in relation to the rest of the Christian world, and the signifi-
main developments can be traced.
cant growth it has experienced in some developing nations.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND. In the ancient world, religions
were linked to specific groups, primarily ethnic or political.
SEE ALSO Eddy, Mary Baker.
Peoples and cities had their own deities, and religion secured
stability and security. The defeat or victory of their warriors
or rulers brought about the decline or ascendancy of their
BIBLIOGRAPHY
religion.
The basic document of the Christian Science movement is Mary
Baker Eddy’s Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures
The ancient Hebrews shared many of these views. But
(1875; reprint, Boston, 1914), which contains the full state-
specific aspects of that tradition pressed in a different direc-
ment of its teaching. Extensive historical background on
tion. The “Lord” of the Hebrew Bible was understood to be
Christian Science can be found in Robert Peel’s trilogy, Mary
the truly universal sovereign, not limited to any people, po-
Baker Eddy: The Years of Discovery, The Years of Trial, The
litical order, or military destiny. Rather, the prophets in-
Years of Authority (New York, 1966–1977). Peel’s earlier
spired by this God demanded not only communal loyalty
Christian Science: Its Encounter with American Culture (New
and rightly ordered worship for the well-being of the nation,
York, 1958) places Christian Science in its New England cul-
but also witnesses to principles of justice that were universal
tural context, relating it to both transcendentalism and prag-
in scope and required fair treatment of the stranger. Indeed
matism, while my own The Emergence of Christian Science in
they pointed to an expected “messianic age” that would bring
American Religious Life (Berkeley, 1973) gives a full account
of Christian Science within the context of American religious
a great transformation and a fulfilled righteousness for all
development. An early, pathbreaking study of the theology
peoples.
of Christian Science is the essay by Karl Holl, “Szientismus,”
Christianity claimed that it was the true heir of these
in Gesammelte Aufsätze zur Kirchengeschichte, vol. 3 (Tübing-
prophetic directions. In Jesus Christ the one universal and
en, 1921–1928). A representative though reductionist treat-
righteous God entered into the concreteness of human per-
ment of Christian Science from a sociological perspective is
sonhood and made transcendent reality into an accessible,
the section on Christian Science in Bryan R. Wilson’s Sects
immanent, and transforming presence. The life, teachings,
and Societies: A Sociological Study of the Elim Tabernacle,
Christian Science and Christadelphians (1961; reprint, West-
death, and resurrection of this Son of God inaugurated the
port, Conn., 1978). Charles S. Braden’s Christian Science
new age and manifest a new Spirit as the decisive animating
Today: Power, Policy, Practice (Dallas, 1958) attempts an
factor in human affairs. The announcement and celebration
overview of organizational developments, drawing largely on
of this divine immediacy became the good news that opened
dissident sources. One reason for the paucity of adequate ac-
the door to liberation from sinful self-preoccupations, ritual-
ademic accounts of Christian Science is suggested in Thomas
istic compulsions, and obsessions with wealth and power.
C. Johnsen’s article “Historical Consensus and Christian Sci-
Moreover out of the precedents of the Jewish synagogue and
ence: The Career of a Manuscript Controversy,” New En-
the Greco-Roman “mystery cults,” the early followers of
gland Quarterly 53 (March 1980): 3–22. A popular but slap-
Christ established a new social institution—a center of loyal-
dash history of the early phases of the movement is Norman
ty and fellowship outside the usual traditions of social partic-
Beasley’s The Cross and the Crown (New York, 1952). Basic
ipation, namely the church.
documentation on Christian Science healing is given in the
church-published A Century of Christian Science Healing
Particular population groups seem to have been most at-
(Boston, 1966).
tracted to this new vision and new community of disciple-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHRISTIAN SOCIAL MOVEMENTS
1749
ship. The poor and the sick were given hope; widows and
their efforts to touch and transform the everyday life of the
orphans found companionship; artisans and traders who
laity. Some lay orders, meanwhile, such as the Templars and
were marginalized by aristocratic elites and priestly restric-
Hospitalers, were more aggressive in the conventional sense.
tions discovered new networks for creative interaction; intel-
In the late Middle Ages and increasingly during the Refor-
lectuals who found the old religions, cults, and speculations
mation, nonmonastic alternatives arose, some inspiring so-
unsatisfying or sterile discerned a greater wisdom and vitali-
cial movements with more intentionally overt sociopolitical
ty; and, later, on rulers of the Roman Empire and (still later)
overtones, such as those led by John Wyclif (c. 1330–1384),
the princes of North Europe, who needed a moral and spiri-
Jan Hus (1372 or 1373–1415), and Thomas Müntzer (1468
tual architecture to give shape to new civilizational develop-
or 1489/90–1525), and a few people, such as Jon of Leiden,
ments, sought guidance in this faith’s doctrines and legitima-
formed communities that held wives, husbands, and proper-
tion from this church’s leadership. This faith itself was a
ty in common. It is therefore impossible to understand the
social movement from the start.
magisterial reformations of Martin Luther (1483–1546) and
John Calvin (1509–1564) without seeing how much their
It is not that Jesus, Paul, or any other early Christian
sociopolitical thought continued that of their Roman pre-
leader started a movement with specific social, political, or
decessors.
economic objectives in mind. The “kingdom” they sought
was not, as Jesus said, “of this world.” Nevertheless it was “in
What these Christian communions had in common was
the world,” and it altered perspectives on social life precisely
not only the confession of Christ but a social effect that was
because its sense of transcendence and its belief that the pres-
only partially intended. The formation of new organized bo-
ence of that transcendent reality made a difference in life.
dies of believers, distinct from both political (royal or imperi-
al) and familial (sib, clan, or tribal) authorities, gradually
Wherever Christianity has gone it has brought with it
carved out a series of social spaces in which various interests
an impulse, sometimes subverted, to form new centers of so-
claimed and eventually won the legal right to exist in inde-
cial existence distinct from ethnicity, any single cultural tra-
pendent institutions. It revolutionized social history.
dition, any particular political power, or any distinct eco-
nomic caste or class. Whenever Christian communities have
That space was often not wide, but networks of scholars,
become too closely identified with one or another of these
leagues of peasants, and associations of artisans, mystics,
traditional orders of life, dissenting factions, alternative con-
traders, and bards found elbow room under the mantle of
gregations, or paraecclesial movements, claiming to represent
patrons and patron saints, in the shadow of monasteries or
the true, prophetic faith, have challenged that accommoda-
nunneries, or at the feet of the cathedrals in the free cities.
tion. The relation of these alternative bodies to the majority
These innovative organizations claimed the God-given right
developments of the tradition and their roles in society are
to address sociopolitical matters in terms of a Christian vi-
decisive for understanding Christian social movements in the
sion of righteousness and hope, often without the approval
West.
of established hierarchies. The very fact that they introduced
new centers of organized conviction into late-feudal social
Christianity seems always to have pressed in two direc-
settings brought about a reshaped and pluralistic constella-
tions. One is toward consolidation of the movement’s
tion of moral and social authority into what were otherwise
growth by the establishment of a church that would take re-
limited, often closed systems—a major change in itself. In
sponsibility for guiding the moral and spiritual lives of the
this they followed what had already been anticipated in the
people and institutions in a territory where the movement
early church when, as a tiny minority, it formed communi-
gained influence. The other is sectarian in the sense that it
ties of commitment that differed from both the ethnic iden-
draws people into an alternative lifestyle and communities
tities of Jews and Greeks, the political orders of both the old
of commitment that are self-consciously distinct from the es-
polis and the Roman imperium, and from the householders
tablished institutions of a society—including the church.
and servants in all the regional cultures. It is possible to dis-
The “sects” may seek to ignore the life of “the world,” re-
cern the deepest roots of proto-democratic societies more
nouncing sex and the family, politics and power, and eco-
clearly in these developments than in the polities of the an-
nomics and wealth, or they may seek to transform “the
cient cities or the theories of the modern Enlightenment. In-
world” and all of these spheres of life by “aggressive,” even
deed, the latter is dependent on these antecedents.
militant discipline.
MODERNIZING MOVEMENTS. Modern Christian social
In the medieval period of the West, alternative congre-
movements are distinguished from their earlier prototypes by
gations were, for the most part, channeled into either monas-
their increasing ability to organize freely, by their more overt
tic orders that claimed, with considerable success, to repre-
goals of addressing specific social problems or groups, and
sent the ideal models of faithfulness or into various
by the growth of a kind of historical consciousness that ex-
“confraternities”—guilds or lay orders for devotion and ser-
pects human agency, in the service of God’s promises of re-
vice without abandoning family, power, and wealth. Some
demption, to help the needy, empower the weak, establish
orders, such as those founded by Saint Basil and Saint Bene-
justice, and resist injustice by concerted action. Movements
dict, were more withdrawing. Orders such as the Domini-
sharing these characteristics have evolved in a variety of di-
cans and Franciscans, by contrast, were gently aggressive in
rections.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1750
CHRISTIAN SOCIAL MOVEMENTS
Some movements were organized in order to form insti-
tion. It uprooted families, made traditional skills obsolete,
tutions of charity, staffed by committed “sisters” or “broth-
and generated cities full of new classes, factories, immigrants,
ers” who dedicated their lives to service. Christian hospitals,
and misery. Specific churches became identified with partic-
schools, orphanages, and homes for the mentally or physical-
ular minorities, and new sects developed special affinities for
ly handicapped were founded in nearly every sizable commu-
the new classes that replaced the older, hierarchically ordered
nity in the Western world—as well as increasingly in devel-
status groups of aristocratic landlords, artisans, and peasants.
oping countries, where mission movements have been active.
Religious leaders ministered to these emerging class-
Hospitals often still bear the names of their founding reli-
conscious workers or bosses and became the advocates for
gious groups, even if their twenty-first-century support
their material interests. Comparable dynamics continue in
comes less from church-related sources and more directly
developing nations, as worker or peasant movements protest,
from government, insurance companies, or foundations. The
in the name of Christ, the identification of Christianity with
number of orphanages and homes for the handicapped has
bourgeois values and as new clusters of political, business,
been reduced due to better medical care for mothers and for
and professional leaders meet, also in the name of Christ, to
children with birth defects—and due to the increased op-
increase their awareness of moral and spiritual values to guide
tions for safe abortion, sharply opposed by Catholics and
them as they lead the world toward a new global order.
many evangelicals, yet accepted in some circumstances by
most Protestants. Adoption agencies, advocacy groups for
Many argue that post-Reformation Christianity was the
and by handicapped persons, and pregnancy counseling ser-
key stimulus to democratic, technological, and economic so-
vices have increased, many under religious sponsorship or
cieties, and also, indirectly, to the Enlightenment and mo-
with their support Indeed, current advocates of governmen-
dernity. Others argue that political, social, and technical
tal funding for “faith-based” groups as full partners in fight-
changes brought about the religious developments. While
ing certain social problems are seeking to extend this history
each surely influenced the other, the weight of evidence
into new channels of care and action.
seems to fall on the former contention. The religiously legiti-
Until the late nineteenth century most of the colleges
mated political revolutions of the seventeenth and eighteenth
and universities of the West were founded by churches, or-
centuries and the technological revolutions of the nineteenth
ders, or sects or by those political authorities who wanted to
and twentieth ushered in new patterns of economic produc-
foster a specific religious perspective, improve the image of
tivity and, ironically, new conceptions of the social order.
their city or region, and better prepare their citizens for a
Some of these conceptions became ideologically driven
growing economy. Dedicated Christian educators extended
movements within established churches, new sects, and some
the range of higher education by founding colleges and uni-
denominations, each reflecting a somewhat distinctive un-
versities in nearly every country around the world. Believers
derstanding of the faith as well as the particular social inter-
also founded community organizations that sought to im-
ests of its constituency. The European history of militant Lu-
prove neighborhoods and cities and joined fraternal and ser-
theranism among the Prussian Junkers, Catholic
vice organizations, such as the Freemasons, Eastern Star, Ro-
conservatism of the Iberian peoples, or nationalist Anglican-
tary, or the Lions, that played similar roles in local
ism of the British Tories could find parallels in the chauvinist
communities.
movements among Protestants in the United States. Other
parallels include the Pietistic ecclesiolae that developed in the
Several movements on the Continent focused more on
Netherlands, the early Methodist “classes” among the coal
social action than on social service and echoed accents that
miners of England, and later the Innere Mission in Germa-
came from the “Radical Reformation” of the sixteenth centu-
ny, the Salvation Army among the urban poor in England
ry (sometimes bloodily persecuted by the Catholic and early
and America, and the civil rights movements led by African
Protestant Churches). Later, in the Cromwellian revolution
American Christians and the (now mostly defunct) Christian
in England, certain parallels to the earlier examples also ap-
labor organizations or “worker priest” movements in all in-
peared. The Puritan “Chaplains” of the “New Model Army”
dustrializing countries.
and the lay “Diggers” and “Levelers” called for structural re-
form of authority, landownership, and status systems as well
In America, the pervasive early influences of the Re-
as the reform of the churches and the freedom of religion.
formed and the sectarian traditions stamped the structure of
More than a century later, after the American and French
religious and civil life in distinctive ways, especially by the
Revolutions, many Christians saw direct political involve-
idea of “covenant.” The notion of covenant, as it was distin-
ment to support schools, good government, and the taming
guished in Protestant thinking from both voluntaristic “con-
of the American frontier as duties of faith. Overtly Christian
tract” and pre-given static “orders of society,” suggested that
political parties were formed in many countries of Europe,
people can construct or reform their social institutions but
and in the United States parties were formed not only to pro-
that the moral norms that must govern the agreements, re-
tect regional interests but to preserve the moral, spiritual, and
constructions, and new institutions are established by God
democratic values of Protestantism as settlers moved west.
and must be discerned in community and implemented by
The Anglo-American dream of nations of yeoman farm-
concerted action. It was to fulfill the possibilities of covenan-
ers and village traders was shattered by the industrial revolu-
tal forms of life that the early Pilgrims and Puritans came to
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHRISTIAN SOCIAL MOVEMENTS
1751
the New World. The experience of leaving behind the old
countries. Those who supported the missionary movements
society and seeking to establish a new one in a new land rein-
abroad were usually, however, among those who resisted im-
forced biblical images of exodus and new covenant. It evoked
perialism and supported antislavery, labor, and child protec-
expectations of historical change and made the quest for the
tion movements. They also often supported movements
new and better more important than satisfaction with the old
against liquor, gambling, pornography, and prostitution. In
and settled. But immigration and religious innovation
fact many “morally uplifting crusades” were soon to arise in
brought a pluralization of religions that even such theocratic
the wake of revivalisms, themselves paraecclesial movements
regimes as the one in Massachusetts could not contain. Fur-
that offered the possibility of liberation from personal sin (by
ther, the fact that American developments took place in a
decision for Christ) and of the empowerment to transform
context without previous feudal or imperial traditions that
the social habits and individual vices that sapped the spirits
had to be overcome produced widespread social experimen-
of ordinary people.
tation with a priority of local freedom over centralized politi-
cal order. Such factors interacted to produce a variety of al-
The most important social movement of the nineteenth
ternative congregations, paraecclesial movements, and
century, however, was the struggle to free the slaves in the
voluntary organizations unique in human history. In this
West. In the United States a number of slave uprisings, polit-
context the famous fugitive from Puritan Massachusetts,
ical struggles over the extension of slavery into new states,
Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790), started some two hundred
and humanitarian emancipation movements had raised the
associations for social betterment in Pennsylvania; the dissi-
question to visibility from the early 1800s, but not until
dent Puritan, Roger Williams (1603?–1683), founded Provi-
the northern churches began to mobilize at midcentury did
dence, Rhode Island, on the principle of religious freedom
the movement gain momentum. Although there were some
and became the symbolic hero of the separation of church
slaves in the north as well, the rising tide of moral objection
and state; and James Madison (1751–1836) argued in The
converged with sharp debates about how to interpret Scrip-
Federalist that religious and party pluralism, supported by
ture on social issues, how to understand apparent racial dif-
checks and balances in government, could preserve a new
ferences, how to chart the economic future of the nation, and
kind of freedom and prevent tyranny.
how to understand the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of
Rights. Several Protestant Churches split on these issues, set-
By the 1830s all the state constitutions in the United
ting the stage for persistent theological tensions. The result-
States were altered so that all churches were disestablished
ing Civil War freed the slaves, defeated the confederated
and legally viewed as voluntary associations. Even many who
states, and accelerated the late entry of the United States into
had fought the trend gradually became enthusiastic propo-
the industrial revolution. It also made the attempt by south-
nents of the idea that Christian social witness was to be car-
ern plantation owners to replicate a landed aristocracy with
ried out by voluntary, paraecclesial social organizations. That
a feudal peasantry in a land without peasants obsolete eco-
freedom of religion means not only tolerance but also the
nomically as well as morally.
right and duty of committed people to organize movements
for social service and social change outside the government
Many of the old practices, however, did not die the day
and distinct from the worshiping congregation became the
Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) issued the Emancipation
dominant view. It was believed that this was precisely what
Proclamation, for efforts were made to keep the old quasi-
God had intended from the Exodus, through the prophets
feudal system in revised form, not by chattel slavery but by
and the formation of the Jesus movement (with the calling
instituting new patterns of servitude enforced by custom and
of the disciples unrelated to the priesthood) to Pentecost in
discriminatory statute. Still, the end of the saddest era in
the New Testament, though only now were the fuller social
American history was announced. In the wake of these events
implications of those events becoming actualized.
an enormous number of missionaries, teachers, and nurses
went to the South from northern churches to evangelize the
MISSIONARY MOVEMENTS. A veritable explosion of social
former slaves and to build schools, colleges, clinics, and hos-
movements took place on these foundations during the nine-
pitals for (and with) the newly freed black Americans. Newly
teenth and twentieth centuries. The United States became
formed black churches, especially Baptist and Methodist,
a nation of “joiners.” “Home mission” societies ministered
provided opportunities for the cultivation of a new gen-
to the Native Americans who were being pushed ever west-
eration of leaders who not only led worship but also be-
ward, to the settlers on the semicivilized frontiers, and to the
came central figures in community organization and social
newly arrived immigrants in the growing American cities.
advocacy.
Numerous “foreign mission” societies were formed as well
to bring the faith and civilization to other lands. Many of
After the war, Christians organized advocacy and coop-
the modern churches of Asia, Africa, and the Pacific Islands
erative associations, such as the Farmers’ Alliance and the
struggle to bring about open, democratic societies that re-
Colored Farmers’ National Alliance and Cooperative Union.
spect human rights and foster economic development. They
Less overtly rooted in Christian thought was the Patrons of
find their roots in the missionary efforts, although they often
Husbandry (the “Grange”), which drew some patterns of rit-
are also critical of those missionaries who cooperated with
ual from the Freemasons. In the northern cities Christian
or were advocates of the imperialist policies of their home
paraecclesial movements attempted to address the new class
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1752
CHRISTIAN SOCIAL MOVEMENTS
conflicts arising with rapid industrialization by using evange-
in W. D. F. Bliss’s New Encyclopedia of Social Reform (1910).
lism techniques combined with social service and social ac-
All the mainline churches were deeply stamped by this
tion strategies. The immigrants to the cities from the farms
movement.
and from Europe were met with city missionary societies and
“settlement houses,” the innovative Young Men’s Christian
World War I and the Great Depression shattered the
Association (YMCA) and the younger but also growing
tendency toward an overheated optimism in parts of the So-
Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA), plus na-
cial Gospel and brought other developments that modified
scent Christian labor unions. Such organizations were subse-
the direction of Christian social movements. Several of the
quently established around the world.
movements generated out of the Social Gospel began to lose
their distinctive Christian bases and became little more than
The methods of raising funds to sustain these organiza-
groups of liberal civic-minded activists, while others simply
tions in the late nineteenth century and early twentieth cen-
became interest groups struggling to get as many material
tury were innovative. The voluntary associational character
gains for their constituents as possible. Simultaneously, and
of church organization produced a new interpretation of the
partly in reaction to these trends, evangelical movements and
biblical concept of stewardship, one that called upon church
fundamentalism arose as fresh social and religious forces spe-
members to not only pledge regular contributions to sustain
cifically critical of evolutionary biological, anthropological,
the church, but also to support mission, outreach, cultural
social, and ethical theories, which they felt displaced the
activities, social action work, and benevolence agencies that
Gospel and overturned the authority of Scripture.
were thought to serve the wider purposes of the Kingdom
C
of God in society.
ATHOLIC DEVELOPMENTS. During this same period two
European movements of considerable consequence were also
Funds to support these missionary and social move-
underway. Socialist proletarians of the Marxist left engaged
ments were often raised by women’s groups. Victorian
in increasingly sharp criticism of any connection between re-
women of means and charitable intent were sometimes sati-
ligion and socially progressive movements, sometimes target-
rized as “Lady Bountiful,” but many struggling families kept
ing democratic politics and capitalist economics as the ene-
body and soul together because of their gifts in an age before
mies of radical social change and the ideological masks of
welfare. Moreover the wives of workers and farmers orga-
Protestant, bourgeois self-interest. Simultaneously, a series of
nized literary and musical events, bake sales, quilting bees,
aristocratic conservatives, from John Ruskin (1819–1900) in
and knitting parties “for good Christian causes.” Informal
England to Bishop Wilhelm Ketteler (1811–1877) in Ger-
networks of cooperation to help the poor became more for-
many, Comte de Mun (1841–1914) in France, and Cardinal
malized and focused in such organizations as the Women’s
Gaspard Mermillod (1824–1892) in Switzerland, also un-
Rights Convention (1848), the Women’s Christian Temper-
dertook the study of emerging social problems and wrote a
ance Union (1873), the Women’s Missionary Society, the
series of critiques of democracy, which they saw as the legacy
Christian Women’s Action Guild, the Women’s Society for
of the antireligious French Revolution, taken over by a con-
Christian Service, and a host of similar bodies. The full effect
spiracy of Jewish bankers and Protestant factory owners to
of these organizations is undocumented, but the existing lit-
reduce the workers and farmers to industrial servitude. Both
erature suggests that, besides helping the needy, they provid-
democracy and capitalism, they said, were based on nothing
ed an opportunity for the development of organizational
more than individualistic and utilitarian “contracts” without
skills and perspectives on family, political, and social issues.
any moral or spiritual bases. These Anglo-Catholic and
These were the training grounds for those who were to lead
Roman Catholic leaders developed positive proposals on the
the struggles for suffrage and later causes identified as femi-
duties of the “Christian state,” the “Christian family,” and
nist. Some contemporary women’s movements have been
the “Christian Church” as organic, comprehensive commu-
hostile to Christianity, but such women’s organizations have
nities based on natural law and revealed dogma by which the
been forceful advocates of social development and equal op-
lives of all persons were to be sustained and guided and the
portunity in both church and society.
restoration of a Christian society attained.
Many concerns of the period began to congeal into a
One of the great ironies of these two developments was
wider theological-social realignment at the end of the nine-
that the actual programs of the antireligious, socialist left and
teenth century under the general rubric the “Social Gospel.”
of the “social Catholic” premodernist right converged to pro-
This was less a single social movement than a congeries of
duce attitudes and political policies in many European coun-
movements signaled by a social understanding of faith that
tries that promoted workers’ organizations and limited but
demanded institutional transformation toward economic de-
did not prohibit the development of free markets. When
mocracy. While Washington Gladden (1836–1918), Rich-
these themes were officially propagated by Pope Leo XIII
ard T. Ely (1854–1943), and Walter Rauschenbusch (1861–
(reigned 1878–1903), a new course was set for Catholic en-
1918) are among the more memorable apologists for the So-
gagement with modern social issues, one that had great con-
cial Gospel, the enormous variety of social concerns
sequence in the post–World War II period with the rise of
addressed under this mantle, from the perspective of the
“political theology” and later “liberation theology” in Latin
meaning of the term for social movements, are well cataloged
America. These were adopted by religious leaders in de-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHRISTIAN SOCIAL MOVEMENTS
1753
colonializing nations around the world and by many heirs
benefits of capitalism and democracy, strongly linked these
of the Protestant Social Gospel, who took them as the unoffi-
to the defense of human rights, and approved sharp Vatican
cial standards of faith in the last quarter of the twentieth
critiques of liberation theology.
century.
POLITICAL ACTIVISM. Internationally the rise of National
These developments could not fully erase the memories
Socialism in Germany and Stalinism in the Soviet Union
of earlier hostilities between Catholics and Protestants. The
forced Christian social movements at mid-twentieth century
flood of Catholic immigrants into the industrializing cities
to become increasingly and overtly political in defense of de-
of the United States, especially from Ireland and, later, Italy,
mocracy. In the United States, extremist organizations such
also sparked anti-Catholic movements. For most of the nine-
as the Ku Klux Klan and the White Citizens Councils attri-
teenth century and much of the twentieth, Catholic popula-
buted the ills of the world to blacks, Catholics, Jews, and
tions were in a defensive and difficult position, and the ener-
communists, and they attempted to use Christian symbols
gy expended and the sacrifices made to find jobs, to build
to legitimate their hate. Nearly all church bodies preached
churches, and to establish Catholic schools as an alternative
against such organizations, and many threw their attention
to the largely Protestantized public schools are a monument
instead to a wide variety of religiously based efforts on the
to faith. Catholic lay leaders also formed paraecclesial lay fra-
other end of the political spectrum, such as the Fellowship
ternal orders, such as the Knights of Columbus, that echoed
of Socialist Christians and the Fellowship of Reconciliation.
conservative views on social and religious questions even as
More notable, however, is the fact that Christian Realism—a
their members swelled the ranks of left-leaning unions and
tough-minded theological orientation usually associated
political parties.
with Reinhold Niebuhr (1892–1971)—became the reigning
mode of articulating the Christian vision for social justice
As these Catholics endeavored to form social move-
during the Great Depression, World War II, and the cold
ments, some adopted motifs from the essentially Protestant
war.
Social Gospel. However, when they became too enthusiastic
about the virtues of religious pluralism, lay leadership in both
The building of vast armies to meet international threats
church and society, secular democratic government, or the
and the increased involvement of the government in eco-
formation of religiously neutral unions, their efforts were
nomic matters increased the size and scope of political, ad-
condemned by Rome as “Americanism” and “modernism.”
ministrative, and regulative bureaucracies in the United
Still, papal teachings had opened the door to modern eco-
States. These developments in government deeply affected
nomics, and new patterns of Catholic social thought and ac-
Christian theology and church-related social movements.
tivity were stimulated. A new generation of American Catho-
They supported national policies that institutionalized on
lic scholars and activists fomented social service and social
nonreligious bases many of the programs begun in voluntary,
advocacy within a decidedly democratic framework and to-
faith-based movements, they modified church and religious
ward a new form of welfare capitalism in the twentieth cen-
organizations as the agencies providing services for the needy
tury. The Bishops’ Program of Social Reconstruction (1919)
in local communities, and they evoked a general turn to po-
is a landmark of this direction.
litical strategies of advocacy for specific public policies in the
emerging welfare society.
Figures such as Fr. John A. Ryan (1867–1945) and Fr.
John Courtney Murray (1904–1967) provided intellectual
After World War II these trends continued, but other
and moral guidance for Catholic involvement in the democ-
trends also became prominent. A new generation of leaders
ratization of economic opportunities and for Catholic partic-
arose from the black churches, the most famous of whom was
ipation in democratic political life. The line from these roots
Martin Luther King Jr. (1929–1968). King organized a new
to contemporary Catholic social movements in the United
Christian social movement—the Southern Christian Leader-
States is not difficult to draw. Catholic movements against
ship Conference—to confront the “betrayal of the American
abortion, for peace and justice, and in support of human
dream” and the racist customs and organizations that had es-
rights continued to grow, especially after Vatican II (1962–
tablished discriminatory laws after the end of slavery nearly
1965) spoke of the ministry of the laity and Popes John
a century before. He initiated a series of nonviolent marches
XXIII (reigned 1958–1963) and John Paul II endorsed these
and demonstrations that “called the country to its highest
motifs. The U.S. Roman Catholic Bishops’ Pastoral Letter
ideals” and “the faith to its first principles of justice.” (Lin-
on War and Peace (1982), issued at the height of the cold
coln, 1970, p.13). Although the National Association for the
war, has been widely adopted as almost a manifesto for nu-
Advancement of Colored People and the National Urban
merous Protestant and Catholic antinuclear movements.
League had already worked for racial justice for decades and
The U.S. Catholic bishops drafted a Letter on the Economy
U.S. military forces had been integrated after it was recog-
(1986), which both commends the achievements of capital-
nized as absurd to fight the racist policies of Adolf Hitler
ism and demands active engagement, in the name of Christ,
(1889–1945) with segregated forces, King’s movement
to redress its negative effects. John Paul II, the Polish pope
touched the festering conscience of the world more deeply,
who was clearly involved in efforts to overthrow communism
and his strategies were soon adopted by other minority
in Eastern Europe, cautiously but firmly accented the relative
groups and activists with other agendas.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1754
CHRISTIAN SOCIAL MOVEMENTS
The U.S. involvement in Vietnam brought about an-
These brief references to political activism should not
other spate of church and paraecclesial efforts to alter com-
obscure the fact that liberation theology engendered several
mon habits of mind and public policy. The organization
social movements, not only in Latin America but also in al-
Clergy and Laity Concerned about Vietnam was perhaps the
most every part of Africa and Asia as the “new countries”
most important national organization to protest the Vietnam
sought independence from the colonial powers that previ-
War, but local organizations seemed to spring from the chap-
ously governed them, and then from the internal hegemonies
lains’ offices on nearly every university campus. Many of the
that emerged in one-party states after the colonialists were
people engaged in the antiwar protests were those who had
deposed. Scholars disagree on whether the views developed
marched with King. After the war they organized boycotts
in these regions of the world can be considered “theology”
against growers who employed migrant workers at below-
in any enduring sense of the word, or whether they are in-
standard pay rates, clothing manufacturers who resisted
stead a form of baptized ideology combined with local religi-
unionization, and infant-formula manufacturers who uti-
osity. But even critics acknowledge liberation theology’s so-
lized questionable marketing techniques in poor countries.
cial importance in giving a voice to those who were
Others attempted to pressure stockholders of corporations
previously only recipients of other people’s perspectives.
doing business in, say, the Republic of South Africa in the
Still, many wonder if this combination of piety and
days of apartheid to change policies or divest entirely, or to
analysis, having made its witness against colonialism, imperi-
influence those operating in Central American or Southeast
alism, and hegemony, can also provide models for the recon-
Asian countries to raise the minimal wages paid to workers
struction and development of liberated societies. In the Phil-
there. Such authors as Rachel Carson (1907–1964) brought
ippines after Ferdinand Marcos (president 1965–1986), in
to public attention potential damage to the environment,
Indonesia after Suharto (president 1967–1998), in central
and soon a variety of Christian “eco-justice” efforts were
Africa after successive coups, in southern Africa after apart-
under way to protect God’s creation. These issues were all
heid, and in much of Latin America after right-wing dicta-
taken up by the “mainline churches” as major causes, and
tors and guerrilla oppositions, ideas of liberation may engen-
concern about them survived, slightly modified, in the hand-
der effective models of democratic order with human rights,
books of church bureaucracies and slogans at antiglobaliza-
economic viability, racial justice, sexual equality, and free-
tion demonstrations.
dom of religion, but the record has not proven promising.
More often than not, in those church circles inclined to
Nevertheless the liberation movements did give people
mount social movements, the source of the world’s problems
at the margins of the dominant institutions and traditions
has been identified as “capitalism,” usually understood in
the courage to speak up. Two groups the liberationists did
not expect to take that challenge have in fact exercised that
quasi-Marxist terms. However, the collapse of the Soviet
option with vigor and effect. One is the feminists, and the
Union, the privatization and deregulation of the economies
other is the evangelicals.
in most countries, the resurgence of conservative religions as
the guide to social development and public policy, and con-
Much of feminism traces its origins to the Enlighten-
flicting views of the nature of capitalism have brought frus-
ment and can take one of two forms: liberal (accenting indi-
tration to “mainline” Christian social movements. Indeed it
vidual rights and moral autonomy) or radical (accenting so-
is almost a cliché to say that the “mainline” has been “side-
cial solidarity and the interdependence of sexism with
lined” by its predictable and passé social analysis. Nowhere
classism, racism, and ecological domination). But not all
is this clearer than in the critiques of globalization as merely
modes of feminism are liberal or radical in these senses. A
the result of Western forms of predatory capitalism. The fact
large literature has been developed by and about feminist
that globalization involves the spread of human rights, the
Christians, heirs in a way of the nineteenth-century mission-
development of international law, the adoption of democra-
ary movements. They join their liberal and radical sisters in
cy, increased international cooperation to control disease and
that they too are critical of patriarchal religion and the ways
hunger, the striking formation of new middle classes, and the
in which clergy have subordinated or exploited women’s gifts
spread of technology along with access to education and
and leadership abilities both in church and society, but they
means of communication is hardly mentioned. Globalization
see aspects and dynamics in the classical texts and traditions
also involves a shift in perspective about sociological exis-
that are indispensable to both personal identity and commu-
tence that is as dramatic as the shift Galileo Galilei (1564–
nity formation. All seek the recognition that women have
1642) brought to cosmological existence. Ironically, many
been subordinated, oppressed, or simply viewed as sexual ob-
church leaders are as eager to condemn this shift as vigorous-
jects in much of human history, and all want the restructur-
ly as their predecessors did Galileo. That is not to say that
ing of authority and work in household and economy, access
the churches are socially irrelevant, but it is to suggest that
to political power and professional opportunity, and more
what they do on the ground is more effective and more de-
control of reproduction.
pendent on more globalized perspectives than those that
The confluence of Enlightenment and Christian ethical
dominate the antiglobal theologies of many mainline nation-
norms has had a wide effect in the use of ordinary language,
al and ecumenical church bodies.
in the use of theological symbols, in expectations of shared
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHRISTIAN SOCIAL MOVEMENTS
1755
duties in the home, and, more widely, in the way in which
between personal and public issues and between faith and
women are perceived and conduct themselves in the work-
secular social philosophy is fading, and that lifestyle issues
place—from the research lab to the battlefield, from the
and theology are central to public debates. In addition, many
judge’s bench to the pulpit. They have made what once were
feminists realize that a majority of women are deeply reli-
considered “private” issues matters of public awareness and
gious, and many evangelical Christians recognize that the pa-
policy, and they have forced those who thought they were
triarchal treatment of women is contrary to the deeper
doing “objective” analysis of medical, social, and political
strands of the faith. Both of these movements, like the grow-
problems to acknowledge the presence of bias in the presup-
ing consensus about the importance of human rights, ecolog-
positions and perceptions of problems. This movement has
ical responsibility, and concern for the inequalities of eco-
had worldwide repercussions, and women from every reli-
nomic opportunity around the world, also supported by
gious background have followed parallel paths to those al-
feminist and Christian groups, show no sign of fading. It is
ready cut through the thickets of exegesis, tradition, debate,
doubtful that any social movement that does not recognize
and role conflict by feminist Christians.
the vitality and validity of much that these two movements
Parallel to the influence of feminism, evangelical Protes-
emphasize can flourish.
tantism, with some wings essentially Pentecostal and others
SEE ALSO Denominationalism; Evangelical and Fundamen-
fundamentalist (and often in conversation and ethical agree-
tal Christianity; Freemasons; King, Martin Luther, Jr.; Leo
ment with conservative forms of Catholicism) have also had
XIII; Methodist Churches; Missions, article on Missionary
great effects. The interaction of these groups is evident in
Activity; Modernism, article on Christian Modernism; Nie-
Christianity Today and First Things, two of the liveliest and
buhr, Reinhold; Pietism; Political Theology; Rauschen-
most widely circulated Christian journals in the world.
busch, Walter; Reformation; Religious Broadcasting; Reli-
Whereas the views of these groups were obscured by main-
gious Communities, article on Christian Religious Orders;
line development in the past, they are obscure no more, to
Salvation Army; Troeltsch, Ernst; Williams, Roger.
the chagrin of many ecumenical and liberal Christians. They
have founded a series of academic and research institutions,
BIBLIOGRAPHY
they have bought a number of radio and television stations,
Biblical and Early Church Traditions
they have become a major force in national politics in North
Bammel, Ernst, and C. F. D. Moule. Jesus and the Politics of His
and South America, and they have missionary and human
Day. Cambridge, U.K., 1984. Major essays on the sociopo-
services organizations that reach into most of the countries
litical context and effects of the early Christian movement.
of the world and into the center of the most difficult urban
Hays, Richard B. The Moral Vision of the New Testament. San
subcultures.
Francisco, 1996. A leading biblical scholar treats the social
Evangelical Protestantism’s new public activism seems
and ethical implications of biblical texts.
to have come in reaction to a series of public developments—
Malina, Bruce J., and Richard L. Rohrbaugh. Social Science Com-
the Roe vs. Wade ruling allowing abortion, the removal of
mentary on the Synoptic Gospels. Minneapolis, 2003.
public prayer from the public schools, the acceptance of gay
Theissen, Gerd. Sociology of Early Palestinian Christianity. Phila-
relationships as equal in moral value to heterosexual mar-
delphia, 1978. One of the leading scholars of the social con-
riage, and the neglect of religious, biblical, and theological
text of early Christian movements.
influences in social and intellectual history due to a presump-
European Developments
tion that modernity means secularism. The fact that religious
Berman, Harold J. Law and Revolution: The Formation of the West-
freedom, constitutional democracy, human rights, modern
ern Legal Tradition. Cambridge, Mass., 1983. The legal his-
science, and modern technological and economic advances
tory of social change in European developments.
developed in cultures shaped by evangelical forms of Chris-
Himmelfarb, Gertrude. The Idea of Poverty: England in the Early
tianity, and only secondarily anywhere else, is not noted. Yet
Industrial Age. New York, 1983. An interpretation of the de-
as mainline Christian interpretations of life and social history
velopment of the idea of “the poor” as an “oppressed” group.
fall into relativism and missionary zeal erodes, perspectives
Klinken, Jaap van. Diakonia: Mutual Helping with Justice and
appreciative of Christianity and new missionary movements
Compassion. Grand Rapids, Mich., 1989. A documented his-
are spreading throughout the world at the hands of Catholic,
tory of the growing Protestant sense of the moral duty to
Evangelical, and Pentecostal theologies. They in fact have
help those with less opportunity.
grown at exponential rates in Africa, Asia, and the many
Stark, Rodney. The Rise of Christianity. Princeton, N.J., 1996. A
parts of the Americas. For these movements the crucial issues
sociological understanding of the reasons various groups
are openness to faith, a positive evaluation of religious free-
turned to the Christian faith.
dom, and the theological cultivation of those patterns of life
Thompson, E. P. The Making of the English Working Class. New
that can form a wholesome civil society, generate social capi-
York, 1966.
tal, and empower marginalized peoples to participate in the
Troeltsch, Ernst. The Social Teaching of the Christian Churches
cultural and economic dynamics of globalization.
(1911). 2 vols. Chicago, 1981. First published in English in
While these two movements differ in a great number of
1931. The now classic Protestant interpretation of the inter-
respects, they share a recognition that the earlier sharp line
action of doctrinal development and social influences.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1756
CHRISTMAS
Weber, Max. “The City.” In Economy and Society, vol. 3, chap.
uct of social influences and an affirmation of religion as a
16. New York, 1968. A suggestive hypothesis about the pre-
personal, decisive social force.
Protestant development of modernizing forces in medieval
Stackhouse, Max L., with Peter Paris, eds. God and Globalization.
cities.
4 vols. Harrisburg, Pa., 2000–2004. An attempt to identify
Williams, George Hunston. The Radical Reformation. 3d ed. Kirk-
the universalistic dynamics of religion, particularly Chris-
ville, Mo., 1992. A collection of the primary documents of
tianity, in shaping the new global civilization that is emerg-
the non-Lutheran, non-Calvinist Protestant movements that
ing in the early twenty-first century.
established the “free church” traditions of “disestablished re-
Wijaya, Yahya. Business, Family, and Religion: Public Theology in
ligion.”
the Context of the Chinese-Indonesian Business Community.
Woodhouse, A. S. P., ed. Puritanism and Liberty. London, 1938.
Oxford and New York, 2002. An example of the ways in
American Developments
which global forces are altering thought and action in non-
Ahlstrom, Sydney E. A Religious History of the American People.
Western societies.
New Haven, Conn., 1972. The most exhaustive single vol-
MAX L. STACKHOUSE (1987 AND 2005)
ume of American church history in existence.
Carter, Paul Allen. The Decline and Revival of the Social Gospel.
Ithaca, N.Y., 1956. The historical treatment of the transition
from the early Social Gospel to the “Christian realism” of
CHRISTMAS is the Christian celebration of the birth
midcentury Christian activism versus the Nazi threat.
of Jesus Christ. The name, English in origin, means “Christ’s
Donaldson, Dave, and Stanley Carlson-Their. A Revolution of
Mass,” that is, the mass celebrating the feast of Christ’s nativ-
Compassion. Grand Rapids, Mich., 2004. A challenging de-
ity. Names for Christmas in Romance languages are derived
fense of the idea of “faith-based” subsidies.
from the Latin nativitas. The French Noël comes from either
Evans, Christopher H. The Social Gospel Today. Louisville, Ky.,
nativitas or nowell, meaning “news.” German employs the
2001. Collected essays on the importance of continuing in-
term Weihnachten, meaning “holy (or blessed) night.” An-
fluence of the “social gospel” in liberal Protestanism.
other name for the whole season is Yule. Originally this name
Hopkin, Charles Howard. The Rise of the Social Gospel in Ameri-
did not have Christian connotations but derived either from
can Protestantism, 1865–1915. New Haven, Conn., 1940.
the Germanic jol (“turning wheel”), with reference to the
The best overview of the rise of “social Christianity” in the
gain of sunlight after the winter solstice, or from the Anglo-
industrial age.
Saxon geol (“feast”). The name of this pre-Christian winter
Lincoln, C. E., and Lawrence Mamiya. The Black Churches in
feast of the solstice was eventually applied to the whole of
America. Boston, 1970. To date, the most comprehensive in-
the Christmas season.
terpretation of the role of African American religion in
American life.
There is no certain knowledge of the origin of the
Christmas feast. It may have been celebrated as early as the
McKelvey, Blake. The Urbanization of America, 1860–1915. New
Brunswick, N.J., 1963. A key representative documentation
beginning of the fourth century in North Africa, but certain-
of the social and religious effects of urbanization in the Unit-
ly it was observed at Rome by the middle of the same centu-
ed States.
ry. Two theories have been advanced for the occurrence of
Niebuhr, H. Richard. The Social Sources of Denominationalism.
the feast on December 25. One theory argues that Christmas
New York, 1929. A widely used introduction to the interac-
originated in opposition to or competition with the Roman
tion of social thought and theological understanding in mod-
Feast of the Invincible Sun (Sol Invictus) that had been cele-
ern America.
brated on the old date of the winter solstice. The computa-
Smith, Timothy L. Revivalism and Social Reform in Mid-
tion theory, on the other hand, argues that the birth of Christ
Nineteenth-Century America. New York, 1957. The primary
was calculated on the basis of the idea that the conception
text for the resurgence of the evangelical tradition as a major
of Christ coincided with his death, which supposedly oc-
force in social science in the United States.
curred on March 25.
Modern and Contemporary Movements
By the end of the fourth century the observance on De-
Aikman, David. Jesus in Beijing: How Christianity Is Transforming
cember 25 of the feast of Christ’s nativity had spread
China and Changing the Global Balance of Power. Washing-
throughout most of the Christian world. At Antioch, Chry-
ton, D.C., 2003. A journalistic account of the growth of
sostom regarded it as the actual date of Christ’s birth. In the
Christianity in China as an example of the explosion of con-
mid-fifth century the Jerusalem church, too, accepted the
servative faith in the developing world.
December 25 date, which then replaced the older celebration
Jenkins, Philip. The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global
of the nativity there on January 6. The Armenians, however,
Christianity. Oxford, U.K., 2002. An interpretation of the
ways in which Christianity is changing the face of Africa.
have never accepted December 25 as the Feast of the Na-
tivity.
May, Melanie A. Bonds of Unity: Women, Theology, and the World-
wide Church. Atlanta, 1989. Addresses the importance of
The Western Christian observance of Christmas was
feminist theology on the global scene.
strongly influenced by the celebration of this feast in the city
Smidt, Corwin. Religion as Social Capital: Producing the Common
of Rome. Three masses came to be celebrated by the pope
Good. Waco, Tex., 2003. The rejection of religion as a prod-
on Christmas Day. The original mass was held at Saint
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHRONOLOGY
1757
Peter’s on Christmas morning. But in the course of the fifth
at Christmas probably originated with the pagan Roman cus-
century a second mass was added “in the middle of the night”
tom of exchanging gifts (strenae) at the New Year. The popu-
(first at cockcrow and later at midnight) at the shrine of
lar gift bringer, Santa Claus, is an American invention; he
Christ’s crib, which had been erected at the Church of Santa
combines features of the traditional children’s saint, Nicho-
Maria Maggiore as a replica of the crib at Bethlehem. Finally,
las of Myra, with some elements of the Germanic fire god,
during the Byzantine period of the sixth century a third mass
Thor, who fought the giants of ice and snow from his home
was added in Rome, this one at dawn at the Church of Sant’
in the polar regions.
Anastasia, a martyr whose feast was celebrated in Constanti-
Other customs of the Christmas season include the bak-
nople on December 25. Probably for the sake of conve-
ing of special foods, the cooking of poultry dinners on
nience, in the course of the eleventh century the original
Christmas Day, and the singing of special songs, notably car-
mass celebrated at Saint Peter’s was transferred to Santa
ols, a species of simple song that originally had wider applica-
Maria Maggiore, already the site of the second mass. Since
tion than as Christmas music. The celebration of Christmas
the eighth century the Western Christian celebration of
thus includes both Christian observances and wider folkloric
Christmas has been provided with an octave, or eight days
customs, the latter relating to general festivity at the time of
of liturgical observance, in imitation of the feasts of Easter
the winter solstice.
and Epiphany.
In the early sixth century the emperor Justinian made
SEE ALSO Gift Giving; Sol Invictus; Winter Solstice Songs.
Christmas a public holiday. The feast was extremely popular
in all European countries during the Middle Ages, inspiring
BIBLIOGRAPHY
the composition of music and liturgical drama. The obser-
For a complete bibliography, see Sue Samuelson’s Christmas: An
Annotated Bibliography of Analytical Scholarship (New York,
vance of Christmas received added impetus in the early thir-
1982). The most comprehensive treatment of the history of
teenth century when Francis of Assisi originated the devotion
the Christmas celebration is still Hermann Usener’s Das
of the Christmas crib.
Weihnachtsfest (Bonn, 1889). For a survey of the liturgical
After the sixteenth century most of the Reformation
development of the feast, see Ildephonso Schuster’s The Sac-
churches retained the Christmas feast. Martin Luther, for ex-
ramentary (New York, 1924). A good treatment of the cus-
ample, showed great devotion to Christmas in his preaching.
toms associated with Christmas may be found in Francis X.
Weiser’s Handbook of Christian Feasts and Customs (New
However, the English Puritans tried to do away with the cel-
York, 1958), as well as in the same author’s The Christmas
ebration of Christmas altogether in the course of the seven-
Book (New York, 1952). For a treatment of the feast from
teenth century. The feast was revived with the restoration of
the perspective of the history of religions, see E. O. James’s
the English monarchy in 1660, but on a somewhat more sec-
Seasonal Feasts and Festivals (New York, 1961).
ular basis. Under the Puritan influence in early America, es-
J
pecially in New England, Christmas was a regular workday
OHN F. BALDOVIN (1987)
until the middle of the nineteenth century.
The customs of Christmas in the Northern Hemisphere
CHRISTOLOGY SEE JESUS
include, in addition to Christian religious practices and mid-
winter feasting, various celebrations of the returning light of
the sun. In northern European folklore, the twelve days be-
tween Christmas and Epiphany are a time when the evil spir-
CHRONOLOGY. The tendency to describe time in
its are considered to be especially active, combating the com-
human terms inevitably leaves its mark on the various sys-
ing of spring and the gradual victory of sunlight over
tems used for signifying time in all its widely varying forms
darkness that follows the winter solstice; thus Christmas Eve
and dimensions: from the identification of the period of light
is called there “the devil’s funeral.” To celebrate the victory
and the period of darkness within a day, to the artificial
of life over winter’s death and to combat evil spirits, homes
groupings of several days (seven-day week, ten-day week),
are decorated in this darkest period of the year with lights
the month (lunar or solar), the seasons, the year, cycles of
and evergreens of all kinds. Similarly, the Yule log was kin-
many years, and the era. This tendency is found within the
dled on Christmas Eve in northern countries and kept burn-
most diverse cultures and in everyday life as well as in the
ing until Epiphany, and remains of the log were kept to kin-
world of mythical traditions.
dle the next year’s Yule fire. The Christmas tree itself seems
Scholars have long been gathering and analyzing a su-
to be of rather recent origin: it may be as late as the sixteenth
perabundant documentation relating to the concrete systems
century that Germans first decorated a fir tree with lights,
(mathematico-astronomical, economic, sacral) that in specif-
fruits, and tinsel. From Germany the custom spread quickly
ic historical situations have been used to signify time. Unfor-
and became universally popular, even in the Southern Hemi-
tunately, scholars have not always asked themselves why such
sphere.
an activity should have been necessary. Rather than continu-
The custom of sending special greeting cards at Christ-
ing to collect data of a phenomenological kind on the various
mas originated in nineteenth-century England. Giving gifts
methods of describing time, it seems more important to ex-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1758
CHRONOLOGY
amine closely the ideology underlying them. Very useful for
larger part and which he seems anxious to regain possession
this purpose are historico-religious studies of the calendar,
of as soon as possible. In this context we may think of the
which have now made clear the decisions made in every type
care with which, by means of suitable indications on their
of culture to distinguish, within the otherwise vague, indis-
epigraphical calendars, the Romans set apart the days that
tinct, and insubstantial temporal dimension of reality, that
were fasti (i. e., on which it was permitted to administer jus-
which is elevated to the rank of sacred from that which is de-
tice), to the point of distinguishing within the twenty-four-
liberately left as profane.
hour period the time during which such activity was licit be-
tween the two phases of sacrifice. The Japanese set apart the
Sacred time is saved from the anonymity of assimilation
kannazuki (“months without gods”), during which they,
either to the perpetual self-renewal of nature or to the mo-
convinced that during these periods the Shinto¯ kami neglect
tionless stability of the mythical world, and is thereby ren-
their faithful, consider it a duty not to waste time in cultic
dered eternal in its periodic ritual scansions. Unlike profane
practices. Similarly, the civil authorities of various countries
time, sacred time tends to abstract not only from nature’s in-
have brought mounting pressure to bear on the religious au-
exorable rhythms (which it seeks in some way to control) but
thorities to reduce the number of feast days and thus increase
also from the rarefied and static character of the period of
the number of workdays. The time that human beings re-
origins (which has now been left behind) and from the atmo-
serve to themselves can—and by reason of existential diffi-
sphere of the festival (which, being out of the ordinary, is not
culties must—be henceforth structured in a well-defined
congenial to it). As a result, sacred time always shows a face
functional relation to productive activity.
that is entirely its own, though in forms that vary according
to the cultural environment and the historical situation. The
It seems almost superfluous in our day to call attention
phenomenology of sacred time ranges from the relatively
to the important influence of various economic motivations
simple impositions of taboos at specified times (which are
on the progressive establishment and stratification of calen-
thereby automatically removed from the everyday), to the
drical systems in the most diverse civilizations. Certain wide-
prudent development of festive parentheses (inserted into
spread phenomena in this area are obvious: the coincidence
profane existence as a means of linking this to the period of
of the beginning and end of the year with the period when
origins), and on to the infinitely more complex restructur-
consumer goods are most available; the strategic location of
ings of calendrical rhythms. (The motives behind these
festive periods in relation to essential work periods; and the
rhythms—astronomical, economic, political, and/or so-
close relation established between annual and seasonal
cial—are redeemed at the religious level, while the beginning
rhythms and the needs created by human fatigue. I shall
and end of these rhythms are linked in the celebration of the
therefore only remind the reader of three considerations.
New Year.)
First, the specific character of a calendrical structure is often
determined by an agrarian economy (e.g., in ancient Egypt,
History, for its part, presents us with well-defined in-
where the New Year coincided with the flooding of the Nile,
stances of sacral descriptions of the temporal dimension.
which was essential to the grain cycle and with which the
These include the dedication, in the true and strict sense, of
three seasons of inundation, emersion, and repair of the irri-
limited periods of time to supreme beings (the “days of the
gation system were likewise closely connected). Second,
gods” in ancient Egypt and the “week” of the bolon ti ku or
within one and the same civilization there are often several
“lords of the underworld” among the Maya); the indication
calendrical systems, each of which, with its different set of
of such days and months by name (as in the Zoroastrian reli-
characteristics, looks to a different economic component of
gion and in the Roman, in which January was named after
the society in question (e.g., at Rome, where the spelt harvest
the god Janus, and March after the god Mars); and finally,
became fully available only in February, thus determining an
the constant tendency to identify the beginning of linear
agrarian-type New Year in March, whereas April 21 signaled
time (time that is supremely profane by reason of the unique-
the beginning of the work year for those engaged in pastoral
ness of each instant) with events of exceptional religious im-
activities). Finally, the names of the months often echo par-
portance. Such events included, for the Hebrews, creation
ticular rural occupations (e.g., “The Garlic Harvest” in the
and, for a more restricted period of time, the destruction of
Iran of the Achaemenids; “The Heaping of the Harvest” in
the Jerusalem Temple; for the Romans, the inauguration of
pre-Columbian Peru; “The Sowing of the Rice” in China).
the sanctuary of the supreme god, Jupiter Optimus Maxi-
mus; for the Western world, the birth of Christ; for Buddhist
Our consciousness of the influence exercised by the eco-
India and Indochina, the death of the Buddha and his attain-
nomic factor on the cultural description of time is, moreover,
ment of nirva¯n:a; and for the Islamic faithful, the emigration
such that we can see it already reflected in the sacral tradi-
of Muh:ammad from Mecca to Medina.
tions of primitive cultures. In these cultures, myths abound
showing that primitive man’s anxiety focused not so much
On the other hand, the consecration, and therefore sur-
on the need of having time as on a concern that the time
render, of a period of time (which is thus removed from the
available be suited (“long enough” or “with daylight
crises of everyday life) brings the redemption, for man and
enough”) for hunting (the Paiute of Nevada; the Caddo of
for his existential needs and cultural requirements, of the re-
eastern Texas) or for salmon-fishing (the Tlingit of the
maining part of the temporal dimension, which is usually the
Northwest Coast).
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CHRONOLOGY
1759
But whether sacred or profane, time is essentially a reali-
himself to granting their desire (the Tsimshian of the North-
ty that is conceived, planned, and activated in service of
west).
human beings and therefore must be adapted to their needs.
In short, individuals or social groups adapt time to their
Humans view as habitual and secure the limits represented
own use, whereas otherwise it would have other proportions,
by the day (among some peoples, only the period of day-
dimensions, and characteristics. There would, for instance,
light), the month (in some cultures, only the period of the
have been as many months of winter as there are hairs in the
waxing moon), the year (in some societies, only the seasons,
trickster’s fur coat, instead of winters of only seven months
which are defined in economic terms), and, sometimes, the
(the Assiniboin of Canada); ten cold moons and, for sole
century. Beyond these limits, human beings seem to feel dis-
nourishment, soup made of refuse, instead of two such
placed, lost, threatened, and crushed by the unnaturally vast
moons, with sunflower seeds, roots, and berries to eat (the
dimensions that time appears to take on whenever it is geared
Atsugewi of California); lunar months of forty days, as Por-
no longer to them but to suprahuman beings who live in a
cupine wanted, instead of months according to rule (the
“different” time or, more precisely, are thought of as “outside
Tsimshian); excessively short days instead of “long days” (the
of time.” Thus human beings can make nothing of a “day
Hausa); periods of either light alone or darkness alone, with
of Brahma,” which in Hinduism is equivalent to an incom-
either sleeping or fishing excluded, instead of the indispens-
mensurable kalpa, just as they cannot render useful to them-
able alternation of day and night (natives of Mota in Melane-
selves, except in an ultimately apotropaic way, the vast eras
sia and the Tlingit).
in which, according to certain higher civilizations (Vedic
It is also significant that time is made available in peri-
India, the classical world, pre-Columbian America), phases
ods that are keyed to specifically human existence. In fact,
of dissolution usually, and in significant ways, preclude a re-
time alone makes possible the existence of beds and sleep (na-
newal of cosmic reality or even a termination of human reali-
tives of Mota); fire and the eating of cooked foods (the Sulka
ty. In the final analysis, human beings would even have a
of New Britain); the present manner of making love (the
struggle appreciating properly the decidedly more restrained
Pomo and the Selk’nam); and death (the Luiseño of Califor-
yet barely sufficient three millennia that, according to the
nia and the Bambara). Prior to the acquisition of time,
Zoroastrian religion, the creator Ahura Mazda¯ needs in order
human beings had not yet carved out a special—that is to
to establish and then annihilate creation, after having impris-
say, human and cultural—place for themselves that would
oned and destroyed evil within it.
differentiate them from the suprahuman and subhuman
The fact that time should be geared principally to man,
worlds. As long as time did not exist, either absolutely or in
tailored to his measure and defined in function of his needs,
its definitive forms and with its definitive characteristics,
mythical beings exercised governance (Rome); the gods were
both existential and cultural, is constantly made clear precise-
not yet born (Egypt); it was possible to marry the moon (the
ly in those mythical traditions that, from time to time and
Aleut); men were still like the animals (the Tsimshian); and,
in one civilization after another, emphasize this point at le-
finally, it was possible to use the channels of communication
vels that are diverse but that, in every case, deal with the com-
between earth and heaven (the Bambara, the Sulka, and na-
mon necessity of turning absolute time into a human catego-
tives of Vanuatu).
ry. To begin with, great importance is attached in myth to
the active role played by the human race in the acquisition
As for the acquisition or conquest of time as a function
of time during the period of origins, as compared with the
of elementary human needs, here, too, there is a widespread
more passive role played by the suprahuman powers. Those
and much accentuated mythical motif. Claim was laid to a
who request, take, conquer, or otherwise obtain time may be,
winter that was not too long and that was mitigated by the
according to circumstances, the First Man (natives of Vanua-
summer so that humans might endure the cold (the Assini-
tu; the Sulka of New Britain); the earthly wife of the moon
boin and the Micmac). There was a desire for daylight in
(the Aleut of Alaska); a child (the Micmac of Cape Breton);
order to obtain food and cook it (the Paiute, Caddo, Tlingit,
the carpenter and his sons (the Bambara of the Sudan); the
and Atsugewi), and for the darkness of night in order to safe-
shaman (the Caddo); or mythical kings (Rome and China).
guard personal privacy (the Selk’nam) and to rest (the
Or the social group in its entirety may play this active role
Caddo, natives of Mota, and the Sulka). And all manner of
by determining to couple peacefully in the dark (the
efforts were made to divide the year into months in order to
Selk’nam of Tierra del Fuego); by turning in need to Wild
have rest from fatigue (the Bambara) and to be able to com-
Duck against the negative action of Coyote and the inepti-
memorate the dead (the Luiseño).
tude of Wolf (the Paiute); by paying Bazzagro to keep the
Finally, one also finds a marked awareness that the ac-
sun in the sky, while Coyote appears to play a secondary role
quisition of this human category of time had immediate and
in the entire event (the Pomo of California); by crying out
lasting repercussions in relation to the world of nature, which
their desire for “long days” so that Maikaffo, the master of
now received its definitive shape. With time, light first ap-
atmospheric phenomena, cannot but hear and heed (the
peared (the Tlingit, natives of Vanuatu, Israel), and darkness
Hausa of the Sudan); or by claiming and obtaining a certain
as well (the Tlingit). With time, the moon rises and begins
course of the sun through the sky, while the creator limits
its successive phases (the Luiseño, Pomo, Aleut, Tlingit, and
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CHRONOLOGY
Bambara), and plants and animals come into existence (the
the sun” into the arc of the seasons or into cycles of many
Tlingit and Sulka, natives of Vanuatu, Iran, Israel) and take
years in pre-Columbian America; or the ritual hammering
on their definitive traits (the Paiute, Tsimshian, Tlingit).
in of the clavus annalis (“nail of the year”) at Rome, and the
The gods can now be born and, in turn, generate the world
comparable way of marking the passage of the years in Etru-
(Egypt), and death comes upon the earth (the Bambara and
ria; or various epigraphic calendars.
Luiseño).
Given the well-known fact that the specialization of
Paradoxically, time marks the real beginning of history
trades appears with the rise of the higher civilizations, con-
and opens the way for nature to exist. Nature would other-
ceptions of the kind cited can be found only sporadically in
wise have been different or would not even have existed at
primitive cultures, whereas other cultures give them a privi-
all. This enables us to understand how, among the rich and
leged place. In the myths of primitive peoples, the kind of
complex systems used for describing time in both primitive
toil by which time in its various forms is acquired is far from
cultures and the higher civilizations, those systems that give
being the labor of a craftsman; rather, it is related to the ha-
material embodiment to time by specifically human and cul-
bitual activities of the various sectors of these societies. In
tural means acquire special prominence. One such means in
these stories time is hunted down and captured with bow and
widespread use is the voice. In its most diverse forms, time
arrow (the Caddo); hoisted up by brute strength and ropes
can be announced in a loud voice to the collectivity by the
(the Aleut and Sudanese); ferried in a canoe (natives of
qualified sacral personnel, or at least by individuals of exalted
Mota); given new form by means of an obsidian knife (na-
religious standing. We may think here of the solemn public
tives of Mota); or even looked upon as something to be trad-
proclamation of the new moon (on the basis of which the
ed—for example, “bought” with a basket of pearls or a little
month now beginning acquired its special structure) by a
necklace or even a pig (the Pomo, Paiute, and natives of
pontifex minor (minor pontiff or subpontiff) in Rome; or of
Mota, respectively).
Muh:ammad’s reestablishment in Mecca in 631 of a lunar
A further method of circumscribing or actuating time
year uncontaminated by intercalations of any kind. Actions
is even more human and cultural by comparison with the
of this type, usually ritualized in various ways according to
other systems. This is the system that actualizes time, in
the particular cultural environment, seem to be found in a
forms that vary constantly from civilization to civilization,
significant degree in those cultural traditions in which time
through the more or less massive display of ludic activity.
has not yet become an integral part of the order of things.
Scholars have long known and studied rituals in both primi-
Time may make its first appearance as something announced
tive and higher cultures that focus on spectacle. Less well
and proclaimed (the Luiseño, Atsugewi, Paiute), but remem-
known, on the other hand, is the fact that such rituals (usual-
ber also Genesis 1:1–5, where God says: “Let there be light!”
ly celebrated to highlight the salient moments of human, so-
Or time may be repeated (the Assiniboin and Atsugewi), dis-
cial, and cosmic existence and to create or recreate them from
cussed (the Assiniboin, Paiute, Atsugewi, Nandi of north-
time to time at the sacral level) often specifically signal the
eastern Africa, and Tsimshian), or even obtained by shouting
passage of time by materially describing, characterizing, in-
(the Maidu, Tlingit, and natives of Mota) on the part of su-
fluencing, and even “realizing” its several and diverse forms
prahuman beings or primitive humankind.
and modalities. Among the Witóto, for example, the ritual
Another system of circumscribing time is that represent-
game of soccer, in which the ball is identified with the moon,
is played in precise relation to the various phases of this heav-
ed by work and, in particular, the manual labor of craftsmen.
enly body. In the same context the Shasta of Oregon, try to
In archaic societies such work soon acquired a properly cre-
“strike the moon” by hitting the ball with twelve vertebrae
ative value in relation to realities that are in themselves ab-
of a salmon, and thus to help the moon increase so that,
stract and difficult, if not impossible, to regulate, as wit-
month by month, it may travel the entire arc of the year; this
nessed by the well-known Roman saying that the individual
action, in their view, even accelerates the moon’s course in
is the faber (creator) of his own destiny. The labor of a hand-
winter. The Pygmies of Africa annually dance around a fire
worker and, more specifically, of a weaver, a carpenter, or an
to bring about the succession of the seasons; at the spring
engraver—that is, the labor of individuals who are accus-
feast of Ysiah, the Yakuts of Siberia stage a combat between
tomed to using fibers, nails and hammer, or chisel and burin
winter and the salutary season; and the Delaware of Oklaho-
in order to produce something that is new, different, and,
ma assign a clearly solstitial character, value, and purpose to
above all, irreversible (cloths; various objects; and marble
the game of soccer.
and/or metals that are shaped and moved from one place to
another) in relation to the raw material that human labor has
Examples of this kind help us to grasp the ultimate func-
now immobilized in a given form and thus rendered us-
tion of the countless elements of spectacle (dances and songs,
able—is the kind of labor that seems to show through, even
games and contests of every kind, dramatic representations,
if sublimated to a henceforth symbolic level, in conceptions
etc.) that, as is well known, are a constant component of
of time as something knotted, nailed, chiseled, or engraved.
New Year festivals both in the most widely varying primitive
One can cite the knotted cords used for measuring time
cultures and in the archaic higher civilizations. Even in these
among various primitive peoples, as well as the “binding of
last, in fact, ludic activity, though tending to become what
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHRYSOSTOM
1761
in the modern world is now simply sport and theatricals, still
BIBLIOGRAPHY
to a degree seeks to shape the varied and manifold formula-
Duval, Paul-Marie. “Observations sur le Calendrier de Coligny.”
tions of time by describing its rhythms in the form of specta-
Études celtiques 11 (1966–1967): 269–313.
cles. To multiply examples here would carry us beyond the
Goudoever, J. M. van. Fêtes et calendriers bibliques. Théologie hi-
limits set for this article; we need only think of the Assyrian
storique, vol. 7. 3d ed. Paris, 1967.
determination of the years by means of a game of chance,
Hallo, William W. “The First Purim.” Biblical Archaeologist 46
or the Greek custom of dating time in relation to the Olym-
(Winter 1983): 19–26.
piads celebrated every fifth year. Reflect, too, on the wealth
Hartner, Willy. “The Young Avestan and Babylonian Calendars
and complexity of the elements offered by the inevitable pro-
and the Antecedents of Precession.” Journal for the History of
jection of motifs of this kind in the mythic traditions of these
Astronomy 10 (1979): 1–22.
civilizations. One can cite the Egyptian story told by Plu-
Herz, Peter. “Untersuchungen zum Festkalender der römischen
tarch, according to which the five days added annually to the
Kaiserzeit nach datierten Weih- und Ehreninschriften.”
other 360 were made up by the god Thoth out of the frac-
Ph.D. diss., University of Mainz, 1975.
tions of time he had acquired by playing chess with the
Melena, José L. “Reflexiones sobre los Meses del Calendario Mi-
moon. Thoth’s purpose in thus composing these days was
cénico de Cnoso y sobra la Fecha de la Caída del Palacio.”
to create a specific chronological space that would at last
Emerita 42 (1974): 77–102.
allow the divinities to enter the world, since the sun god Re
Michels, Agnes K. The Calendar of the Roman Republic. Princeton,
would not allow them to be conceived and born during the
1967.
regular year.
Mikalson, Jon D. The Sacred and Civil Calendar of the Athenian
Given the limitations of space, I shall restrict myself to
Year. Princeton, 1975.
a brief consideration of how all this was verified in Roman
Strobel, August. Ursprung und Geschichte der frühchristlichen
society, where there were many rituals of a spectacular kind.
Osterkalendars. Berlin, 1977.
If we keep in mind that the rotation and revolution of the
G
heavenly bodies, which regulate the course of time, were as-
IULIA PICCALUGA (1987)
Translated from Italian by Matthew J. O’Connell
similated in Roman culture to the special movement proper
to ludus (“play”), we will readily understand the imposition
of a complex astronomical symbolism on the space occupied
by the circus, where every chariot race was intended to mime
CHRYSOSTOM (c. 354–407), bishop of Constantino-
the course of the sun through the heavens. We will also see
ple (397–404), father of the Eastern church, biblical com-
a more specific meaning in the fact that the periodic ludi
mentator, and orator. Born John, he was given the name
served to mark in a solemn manner the expiration of fixed
Chrysostom (“golden mouth”) in the sixth century. Though
periods of time. Thus, the lustrum, or purificatory sacrifice,
probably the most popular of the Eastern church fathers,
defined a regularly recurring cycle of four years; the ludi
John Chrysostom is not the most accurately documented,
saeculares, or centennial games celebrated the end of a
and much remains to be elucidated concerning both his life
saeculum; and the various New Year festivals—the Saturna-
and the number and authenticity of his works.
lia, Feriae Annae Perennae (festival of the goddess of the
John was born at Antioch at an unknown date; 354 is
year), and Palilia (festival of Pales, the tutelary deity of shep-
the most likely. The only period of his life for which we have
herds and cattle)—abounded in spectacle.
reliable information is that of his tenure as bishop of Con-
When thus reduced to a mere product of a game, time
stantinople and his trial and exile. The currently accepted
seems to be rendered completely subordinate to a given cul-
version of his story is based on a seventh- or eighth-century
ture. This does not mean, however, that time is undervalued
biography ascribed to the patriarch George of Alexandria (c.
in the slightest; on the contrary, there is always the greatest
620–c. 630), which largely draws upon two sources: an apol-
esteem for it, independent of cultural contexts and historical
ogetic dialogue (c. 408) by Palladius, bishop of Helenopolis
situations. The value assigned to time is extremely high in
in Bithynia and a friend of John, and the church history of
comparison with other categories, as seen in the widespread
Socrates Scholasticus of Constantinople (c. 380–c. 440). Ac-
conviction that time is something “precious” that “must not
cording to these sources, John was the son of Secundus, an
be lost.” This evaluation is independent of oscillations in
officer in the Syrian army, and a Greek woman, Theousa,
value when moving from a merely economic level (in myth,
left a widow when John still was a child. The boy was sent
time can be “bought,” while in the modern world it becomes
to the best schools and was a pupil of the Greek rhetorician
“money” pure and simple) to a highly ideological level. Thus
and sophist Libanius (314–393). At the age of eighteen he
time is equated with the uniqueness of existence in some
abandoned the pursuit of “vain verbosity” and became a
myths (the Assiniboin, Luiseño, Bambara) in which the con-
Christian. At this time he was continually in the company
quest of time has been made possible only by someone’s sac-
of the bishop of Antioch, Meletius (360–381). He was bap-
rifice, suffering, and death.
tized and three years later was advanced to the office of read-
er. After some time he withdrew from the city to lead an as-
SEE ALSO Calendars; History; Sacred Time.
cetic life, first, for four years, in the company of an old
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1762
CHRYSOSTOM
hermit, then, for two years, in solitude. Having ruined his
practical and moral (Against the Circus Games, On Almsgiv-
health by immoderate austerities, he returned to Antioch, be-
ing). His eight homilies that bear the common title Against
came a deacon in 381, and in 386 was ordained a priest by
the Jews were primarily aimed at Christians who frequented
Meletius’s successor, Flavian I (381–404).
the synagogues or indulged in the superstitious practices in
which some Jews seem to have dealt at that time. He wrote
John was a zealous priest and soon achieved a reputation
occasional orations on liturgical feasts, in praise of saints, and
as a pulpit orator. In 397, at the death of Nectarius, bishop
on important political events (On the Disgrace of Eutropius).
of Constantinople, he was forcibly abducted to Constantino-
Some speeches relating to his difficulties and banishment,
ple at the emperor’s order and elected a bishop. His early
such as the famous sermon against the empress, may have
popularity as bishop and orator was soon adversely affected
been forged in later years by his enemies or his followers.
by the simplicity of his life, his endeavors to repress abuses
John also left several treatises, for example, On the Cohabita-
in the clergy, his defense of the poor, and his criticisms of
tion of Clerics and Virgins, On Priesthood, On Vainglory and
injustices and the display of wealth. He finally drew upon
the Education of Children. Dating from the time of his exile
himself the hatred of the empress by accusing her openly of
are his 236 extant letters, the most important of which are
avarice and injustice. In 403, John’s enemies joined in a
the seventeen addressed to Olympias, a widow, deaconess,
mock synod (the Synod of the Oak), presided over by his
and great benefactress of the poor. John’s writings have been
worst enemy, Theophilus, patriarch of Alexandria, who then
widely translated.
initiated a trial against John and declared him deposed. Or-
dered into exile, he was, however, recalled to Constantinople
Though venerated as one of the four fathers of the East-
the following day because of a crisis at the palace, probably
ern church, John was not primarily a theologian. He was a
a miscarriage by the empress Eudoxia. He is said to have re-
pastor, concerned with the preservation of faith and morals
entered the city immediately and been reconciled with the
in his flock. His teaching reflects the orthodox doctrine of
court. These restored relations were, however, soon impaired
the church in the period between the crises of Arianism and
once more, after bitter complaints by John that the church
Nestorianism. He was successful in restoring unity among
offices were being disrupted by public festivities that fol-
the divided Christians of Antioch and avoided in his orations
lowed the dedication of a statue of the empress. According
and writings any statement that might endanger their mutual
to Socrates, the opening words of John’s sermon, “Again He-
understanding. His popularity as a preacher and as a martyr,
rodias raves,” were interpreted as an insult to the empress and
however, was such that in later times hundreds of works,
exploited by his enemies. He was subsequently suspended
even those of his opponents and of heretics, were circulated
from his functions and finally banished by order of the em-
and preserved under his name.
peror. For three years he remained in Cucusus, in Lesser Ar-
menia; then, owing to his continued popularity, chiefly in
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Constantinople, he was sent to a more remote place near the
The most extensive biography of John Chrysostom is Chrysosto-
Black Sea. On the road, he died of exhaustion and maltreat-
mus Baur’s Der heilige Johannes Chrysostomus und seine Zeit,
ment at Comana on September 14, 407.
2 vols. (Munich, 1929–1930), translated as John Chrysostom
and His Time, 2 vols. (Westminster, Md., 1959–1960). For
Beginning in 404 a bitter conflict arose in Constantino-
John Chrysostom as a church father, see volume 3 of Johan-
ple between John’s two successors, Arsacius and Atticus, and
nes Quasten’s Patrology (Westminster, Md., 1960),
his followers, who refused to recognize those who had taken
pp. 424–482. An edition of the most ancient source, the text
an important part in their bishop’s eviction. After the death
attributed to Martyrius of Antioch, is to be issued in the near
of Atticus (425) a reconciliation occurred. In 437 Chrysos-
future in the series “Subsidia hagiographica” (Brussels). The
tom’s relics were brought back to the capital, and he was ven-
first detailed studies have been published; see, for example,
erated as a saint and a martyr.
my “Que vaut le témoignage de Pallade sur le procès de saint
Jean Chrysostome?,” Analecta Bollandiana 95 (1977): 389–
In recent years, the study of a long unexplored source,
414.
the so-called Life of Chrysostom (attributed to Martyrius of
Antioch), composed by an eyewitness and issued in Constan-
An exhaustive list of the works of John Chrysostom and their edi-
tions can be found in Maurice Geerard’s Clavis Patrum grae-
tinople a few weeks after John’s death, calls into question the
corum, vol. 2 (Turnhout, Belgium, 1974). The first edition
previously unchallenged authority of Palladius and Socrates.
of Chrysostom’s complete works was made by Henry Savile
Thus the commonly accepted accounts of the Synod of the
in 8 volumes (Eton, 1612). The most complete edition was
Oak prove to be unreliable. Many other details of the events
published by Bernard de Montfaucon in 13 volumes (Paris,
of John’s life are similarly under reexamination.
1713–1738); it was several times reprinted and finally repro-
duced in Patrologia Graeca, edited by J.-P. Migne, vols.
John was known chiefly as an orator and composer of
47–64 (Paris, 1858–1860). In recent times several of his
homilies, many of which are preserved only in the notes of
works have been re-edited in various collections of patristic
scribes. Many of his sermons are commentaries on books of
literature. For example, Sources chrétiennes includes thirteen
the Old and New Testaments: Genesis, the Psalms, the gos-
separate volumes on Chrysostom (Paris, 1947–1983). Corpus
pels according to Matthew and John, and the letters of Paul.
christianorum, series Graeca, vol. 4 (Turnhout, 1978), re-
Other sermons are dogmatical (e.g., baptismal catecheses) or
prints a spurious work; four volumes of Chrysostom’s works
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHURCH: CHURCH POLITY
1763
are forthcoming. On spurious works, see J. A. de Aldama’s
province under the presidency of an archbishop, or metro-
Repertorium pseudochrysostomicum (Paris, 1965).
politan, who was the bishop of the capital city of the prov-
F. V
ince. By the fourth century the beginnings of a patriarchal
AN OMMESLAEGHE (1987)
system could be detected in the large regional groupings of
provinces. Eventually, all the dioceses and provinces of the
Empire were subject to one of five patriarchs (father-ruler),
CHUANG-TZU SEE ZHUANGZI
namely, the bishops of Rome, Antioch, Alexandria, Jerusa-
lem, and Constantinople. The prominence of these bishop-
rics may be accounted for on grounds partly theological and
CHU HIS SEE ZHU XI
partly political.
Among the five patriarchs, the bishop of Rome was ac-
corded a certain primacy that was not clearly defined. The
CHU-HUNG SEE ZHUHONG
support of the Roman bishop, or pope (father), was particu-
larly crucial in the fifth-century doctrinal disputes over the
relation of the divine and human nature of Christ. These
controversies were settled at ecumenical (worldwide) coun-
CHURCH
This entry consists of the following articles:
cils or synods of bishops held in Asia Minor. The conciliar
condemnation of the monophysites and Nestorians greatly
CHURCH POLITY
ECCLESIOLOGY
weakened the patriarchates of Antioch and Alexandria, in
CHURCH MEMBERSHIP
which they were largely concentrated. Constantinople
emerged from these crises as the bastion of orthodoxy. After
CHURCH: CHURCH POLITY
the Muslim conquests of the seventh century, only Rome
and Constantinople survived as major churches. The grow-
The governance of the Christian churches has assumed a va-
ing estrangement of Eastern and Western Christianity be-
riety of forms based on historical factors as well as on theo-
came complete with the sack of Constantinople by the Cru-
logical positions regarding the origin or root of ministerial
saders in 1204.
functions. In a descending degree of local autonomy, these
forms are broadly classified as congregational, presbyterial,
In the West the position of the bishop of Rome, the
or episcopal, but within each category significant modifica-
only see (bishopric) to claim apostolic foundation, remained
tions exist. After a historical survey of church governance
unchallenged for over thirteen hundred years. From the peri-
from its beginnings through the Middle Ages, the orga-
od of the Gregorian Reform (c. 1050), it embarked on a pro-
nization of the major denominations will be considered indi-
gram of centralization, making effective use of councils,
vidually.
papal legates, and revivified canon law. In the wake of the
One cannot speak with precision or certitude about
Great Western Schism (1378–1417), during which there
ministry in the early church because it is difficult to date and
were three simultaneous claimants to the papacy, attempts
evaluate the documentary evidence, including the New Tes-
were made to declare the ecumenical council the supreme au-
tament writings, and because of differences of organization
thority in the church to which even the pope owed obedi-
in the primitive local communities. At the conclusion of an
ence. In the sixteenth century the failure to deal with abuses
eighty-year evolutionary process there emerged, apparently
led to the Reformation and the establishment of a number
first at Antioch around 110
of separate churches with divergent patterns of government.
CE, a threefold hierarchical lead-
ership that gradually became normative throughout the
EPISCOPAL FORM OF GOVERNMENT. The Roman Catholic,
Christian world. The hierarchy (sacred rule) consisted of
Orthodox, and Anglican churches, which considered the his-
three grades: a single bishop charged with the “supervision
torical continuity of ministry from the beginning of Chris-
or oversight” (episcop¯e) of the community; a group of consul-
tianity to have the highest priority, retained the episcopacy
tors called presbyters (elders); and a subordinate group of
as the key office in the church. The bishops were viewed as
deacons, who assisted in the administration of property. Cer-
the successors of the twelve apostles. Each of these commu-
tain functions, such as presiding at the Eucharist, were ordi-
nions, however, has structured its episcopal commitment in
narily reserved to the bishop. The distinction was thus made
a different way.
between the people and their leaders, soon called “clergy,”
Roman Catholic. Echoing the Second Vatican Coun-
who were ordained; that is, set apart for the ministry by the
cil, the Code of Canon Law promulgated by John Paul II
imposition of the bishop’s hands. The local church presided
(r. 1978–) in 1983 affirms: “Just as, in accordance with the
over by the bishop was in time known as a “diocese” or
Lord’s decree, Saint Peter and the other apostles constitute
“eparchy.”
one college, in like fashion the Roman Pontiff, Peter’s succes-
Church organization gradually accommodated itself to
sor, and the bishops, the successors of the apostles, are united
the political divisions of the Roman Empire. The local
with each other” (canon 330). The special responsibility of
churches in a Roman province constituted an ecclesiastical
Peter continues in the bishop of Rome, the pope, who is head
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1764
CHURCH: CHURCH POLITY
of the college of bishops, the vicar of Christ, and the shep-
368). In current canonical terminology, a particular church
herd of the universal church here on earth. He obtains full
is a diocese that is entrusted to a bishop assisted by a presbyt-
and supreme power in the church once he has accepted legiti-
erate. As a general rule, a diocese is circumscribed by territo-
mate election by the cardinals. The college of bishops, whose
rial bounds so as to embrace all the faithful within that area.
head is the pope and whose members are sacramentally or-
It is the prerogative of the pope to appoint bishops to
dained bishops and officially recognized (i.e., in hierarchical
take charge of particular churches or to confirm those who
communion), also possesses full and supreme power. The
have been legitimately elected. (In a few European dioceses
college exercises its power over the universal church in a sol-
and in the Eastern Catholic or Uniate churches, the right to
emn manner through an ecumenical council that can be con-
elect a bishop is recognized.) At least every three years, the
voked only by the pope.
bishops of an ecclesiastical province are to draw up a list of
The Second Vatican Council introduced a new struc-
priests suitable for the episcopacy that is then sent to Rome.
ture known as the Synod of Bishops. Since 1965 this repre-
A diocesan bishop governs the particular church committed
sentative body of about two hundred bishops chosen from
to his care with legislative, executive, and judicial power ac-
different regions of the world has met, usually every three
cording to the norms of the law. He exercises legislative
years, to aid the pope in promoting faith and morals, in
power personally, executive power either personally or
strengthening ecclesiastical discipline, and in directing the
through vicars, and judicial power either personally or
church’s worldwide activity.
through a judicial vicar. He is aided in his government by
the presbyterial council (a body of priests) and by his staff,
The cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church, who are
including vicars, a chancellor, a finance council, a promoter
appointed for life by a reigning pope, constitute a special col-
of justice, and a defender of the bond (for suits alleging the
lege whose chief function is to elect the bishop of Rome.
nullity of marriage or of holy orders). Every five years the
From 1586 until 1958 the number was limited to seventy;
bishop is to send to Rome a report on the state of the diocese.
beginning, however, with the move of Pope John XXIII
Upon reaching the age of seventy-five, he is asked to submit
(r. 1958–1963) to promote representation from all areas in
his resignation to the pope.
the world, the college of cardinals has expanded to about two
hundred. Only those not yet eighty years of age, however,
Every diocese is divided into parishes, which are estab-
may participate in a papal election. The cardinals also act as
lished by the bishop after consulting the presbyterial council.
a body of advisers when summoned to deal with questions
Parishes are usually territorial, but they may also be deter-
of major importance, and they head the most important de-
mined on a personal basis, incorporating, for example, all
partments of the Curia Romana.
those of Korean nationality or all those belonging to a uni-
versity community. The parish is to be entrusted to a pastor
The pope usually conducts the business of the church
appointed by the bishop, who is considered an extension of
through the Curia, which acts in his name and by his author-
the bishop bringing spiritual care to his people. Every parish
ity. The Curia consists of the Secretariat of State (which also
must have a financial council in which the laity participates.
performs a coordinating function), nine congregations (in-
In many dioceses a pastoral council (with only consultative
cluding the Doctrine of the Faith, Divine Worship and the
voice) is organized. If the number of parishioners requires it,
Sacraments, the Causes of Saints, and the Evangelization of
the bishop may appoint additional priests as parish assistants
Peoples), three tribunals, twelve pontifical councils (e.g., for
or curates. Parishes may also be entrusted to religious com-
Promoting Christian Unity, for the Laity, for the Family, for
munities such as the Dominicans or Franciscans.
Justice and Peace, and for the Interpretation of Legislative
Texts), and a number of offices (especially, Economic Af-
While the diocese is the basic administrative unit in the
fairs) and institutes (e.g., the Vatican Library).
Roman Catholic Church, there is some provision for supra-
diocesan structures. These include provinces, a grouping of
Furthermore, the papacy maintains a corps of represen-
neighboring dioceses presided over by the metropolitan or
tatives throughout the world. When these legates are only to
archbishop, and the episcopal conference, which includes all
the local churches, they are known as apostolic delegates. If
the bishops of a given nation or territory. While an archbish-
they are accredited to states and governments, they are ran-
op has only a general supervisory role in the province, a con-
ked nuncio, pronuncio, or internuncio. (Reciprocally, more
ference may make deliberative and binding decisions in par-
than 170 governments, including the United States, main-
ticular matters, while on other issues the diocesan bishop has
tain diplomatic relations with the Vatican.) In addition to
freedom regarding implementation.
serving a liaison function, the papal legates, in cooperation
Of the approximately 1.07 billion Catholics in the
with the bishops, clergy, and laity of the country, transmit
world, about 17 million belong to the Eastern churches. Ex-
to Rome lists of potential candidates for the episcopacy.
cept for the Maronites, these churches represent various
The Roman Catholic Church, over which the pope pre-
groups that have reunited with Rome since the sixteenth cen-
sides, is made up of particular churches—certain portions of
tury. Almost all of them have larger counterparts that are
the people of God “in which and from which the one and
Eastern Orthodox or non-Chalcedonian Orthodox. The
unique Catholic church exists” (Code of Canon Law, canon
Eastern churches, Catholic as well as non-Catholic, follow
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHURCH: CHURCH POLITY
1765
different rites, which entail a special liturgy, law, and spiritu-
isphere with two million communicants, was originally in-
al tradition. Thus, in addition to the Latin church, to which
corporated in 1921 as the Greek Orthodox Diocese in North
the vast majority of Catholics belong, there are also twenty-
and South America. It eventually embraced the Archdiocese
one Catholic Eastern churches. These churches, with consid-
of New York, nine dioceses in the United States, and one
erable autonomy, especially in the choice of bishops, are in
each in Canada and South America. On July 30, 1996, the
six instances headed by patriarchs who acknowledge the pri-
Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate provided sepa-
macy of the pope.
rate metropolitanates for Canada, South and Central Ameri-
ca, so that the Archdiocese of America subsequently exercised
Orthodox and other Eastern churches. The Eastern
jurisdiction only over the United States. The archdiocese,
Orthodox and other Eastern churches are firmly committed
with its seat in New York City, includes the Direct Archdioc-
to apostolic succession and the episcopacy. The Eastern Or-
esan District (New York) and eight metropolises (Atlanta,
thodox churches accept the first seven ecumenical councils
Boston, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, New Jersey, Pittsburgh,
(through the Second Council of Nicaea in 787), as do
and San Francisco). It numbers one and a half million
Roman Catholics. The smaller Eastern churches, refusing to
members.
recognize the third (Ephesus [432]) and fourth (Chalcedon
[451]) ecumenical councils, are divided into two Nestorian
According to a new charter approved by the patriarch
churches and four others known collectively as non-
on January 18, 2003, the archbishop and the metropolitans
Chalcedonian Orthodox.
make up the eparchial synod that governs the archdiocese,
The Eastern Orthodox Church is not centrally orga-
subject to the superior authority of the ecumenical patriarch-
nized but is a federation composed of fifteen autocephalous,
ate. The synod ordinarily meets twice a year and has exclusive
or self-governing, churches and four others, which are
jurisdiction over all legal issues that affect the archdiocese as
known as autonomous. “Autocephaly” connotes the right
a whole and its metropolises.
possessed by a group of eparchies (dioceses) to settle all inter-
In each archdiocesan district and in each metropolis,
nal matters on their own authority and to elect their own
there is a spiritual court of first instances to, as the 2003 char-
bishops, including the head of the church. The boundaries
ter stipulates, to deal with family problems, as well as with
of autocephalies are usually coterminous with those of a state
moral and disciplinary charges against clergy and lay persons.
or nation. Four of these autocephalies (Constantinople, Al-
The eparchial synod comprises a second instance or appeals
exandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem) are based upon ancient
court. The ecumenical patriarchate is the final court of ap-
Christian tradition, as has already been noted. The remain-
peals. Archdiocesan clergy-laity congresses are convened at
ing eleven have resulted from modern political develop-
least triennially. “Except for dogmatic or canonical matters,”
ments: Russia, Romania, Serbia, Greece, Bulgaria, Georgia,
says the charter, “they are concerned with all other matters
Cyprus, Poland, the Czech lands and Slovakia, Albania, and
which affect the life, mission, growth and unity of the archdi-
North America. The autonomous churches—Finland,
ocese” (Article 10 a). There is also a clergy-laity assembly for
Japan, and Ukraine—while to a large degree self-governing,
the archdiocesan district and each metropolis to treat local
have not yet achieved full independence. The head of the
matters, “including the uniform governance of the parishes,
monastery of Saint Catherine in the Sinai Peninsula has the
educational programs, financial programs and philanthropic
rank of archbishop of Sinai; his jurisdiction over the immedi-
concerns, as well as with the better organization and effec-
ate neighborhood constitutes an autonomous church.
tiveness of the parishes” (Article 11 b). Councils at both the
From antiquity the heads of the churches of Constanti-
archdiocesan and local levels, comprising representatives of
nople, Alexandria, and Antioch have been known as patri-
clergy and laity, meet at least twice a year to function in an
archs. That title is also accorded the heads of the Russian,
advisory and consultative capacity. The election of the arch-
Romanian, Serbian, and Bulgarian churches. The head of the
bishop is the “exclusive privilege and the canonical right of
Georgian church is known as catholicos-patriarch; the heads
the Holy Synod” (Article 13 a), though the eparchial synod
of the others are metropolitans or archbishops. Ecclesiastical
and the archdiocesan council have an advisory role. For the
provinces in western Europe, North and South America, and
election of other bishops, three names are submitted to the
Australia depend upon one of the autocephalous churches or
Holy Synod, which chooses one of them.
one of the emigrant Russian jurisdictions. There is no bishop
The second largest Orthodox body in the New World
among the Orthodox churches who holds a position analo-
is the Orthodox Church in America, with approximately one
gous to that of the pope in the Roman Church, but the patri-
million members. It received independent status from the
arch of Constantinople is recognized as the ecumenical or
Patriarchate of Moscow in 1970, against the will of the ecu-
universal patriarch. He holds a place of honor and prece-
menical patriarch, who refused to recognize its autocephaly.
dence, and his authority over the Orthodox world is a moral
It adopted a new statute in 1971. The supreme canonical au-
one, the first among equals. Supreme authority belongs only
thority is the Holy Synod, which includes as voting members
to a pan-Orthodox council.
all the diocesan bishops under the presidency of the metro-
The Greek Orthodox Church in North and South
politan. It meets twice annually and is competent to treat “all
America, the largest body of Orthodox in the Western Hem-
matters involving doctrine, canonical order, morals and litur-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1766
CHURCH: CHURCH POLITY
gical practice” (The Statute of the Orthodox Church in Ameri-
The parent body, the Church of England, is an estab-
ca, Article 2, Official Text 1974). The synod regulates the
lished church with the sovereign of the country as its su-
election of bishops and the establishment of new dioceses.
preme governor. Acting upon the advice of the prime minis-
ter, the sovereign appoints the archbishops and bishops.
The All-American Council is “the highest legislative and
Since the 1970s, however, procedures that give more weight
administrative authority within the Church” (Statute, Article
in the selective process to ecclesiastical authorities have been
3). It is composed of the metropolitan and all bishops (who
followed. The church is divided into the province of Canter-
must approve all resolutions by a majority), the priests of
bury, whose archbishop is styled Primate of All England and
each parish (and an equal number of lay delegates); priests
Metropolitan, and the province of York, whose archbishop
not having parishes; two delegates from each seminary; and
is called Primate of England and Metropolitan. The arch-
one representative from each organization officially accredit-
bishop oversees all the dioceses within the province, confirms
ed by the Holy Synod. It convenes every three years. The
the election of every bishop and is his chief consecrator, and
metropolitan is elected by the All-American Council with the
hears appeals in his provincial court. The archbishop of Can-
approval of the Holy Synod. He is assisted by the Metropoli-
terbury, with the approval of the crown, may grant licenses
tan Council, the permanent executive body of the church.
and dispensations that are valid throughout the province of
He is the bishop of one of the dioceses.
York as well. The jurisdiction of the bishop in his diocese is
The diocese, the basic church body, comprising all the
similar to that of a Roman Catholic bishop. He can promul-
parishes of a determined geographical area, is governed by
gate binding rules of discipline, but in the matter of parochial
a diocesan bishop with the advice of an assembly and coun-
appointments he is limited by extensive rights of patronage
cil. The Diocesan Assembly nominates a candidate for an
held by laity and certain corporate bodies. At the parish level,
episcopal vacancy. If the candidate is unacceptable to the
church councils elected by the lay members cooperate with
Holy Synod, it elects its own candidate. The Diocesan As-
the incumbent in developing church activities.
sembly is made up of all the clergy and an equal number of
Each province, not more than three times a year, holds
elected lay delegates. For validity, all resolutions of the as-
a convocation that, subject to the supreme authority of Par-
sembly must be approved by the diocesan bishop. The Dioc-
liament, determines policy with regard to doctrine and prac-
esan Council, the permanent body of diocesan administra-
tice. The convocation, under the presidency of the archbish-
tion, meets at least twice a year. Its decisions become effective
op of Canterbury, has an upper house of bishops and a lower
upon approval by the diocesan bishop. The bishop, as head
house made up of senior archdeacons, representatives from
of all parishes within the diocese, appoints the parish clergy.
each cathedral chapter, and elected representatives from the
The rector, the head of a parish, is assisted by a parish council
clergy. Both provinces together form the General Synod or
elected by a meeting of all the parishioners.
Church Assembly, composed of a third house of laity in ad-
dition to the house of bishops and the house of clergy. The
Besides the two main bodies of the Orthodox Church,
Assembly deals with legal and administrative matters but not
there are a number of smaller national and language jurisdic-
with doctrine.
tions, such as an archdiocese dependent upon the Arab-
speaking patriarchate of Antioch and dioceses under the pa-
In the United States the church affiliated with the An-
triarchates of Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, and Albania. There
glican communion is the Protestant Episcopal Church. It is
is also a Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bish-
governed by a bicameral General Convention meeting trien-
ops, which seeks to coordinate the activities of the various
nially or at special call. The House of Bishops consists of all
jurisdictions throughout the Americas.
bishops; with the approval of the other house, it elects one
of its members as presiding bishop, an office held until retire-
Anglican and Episcopalian churches. The episcopal
ment. The presiding bishop is entrusted with general execu-
constitution of the church and apostolic succession are also
tive power over the whole Episcopal Church. The House of
fundamental to the Anglican Communion, which is made
Deputies comprises not more than four priests and four lay-
up of thirty-eight provinces found mainly in English-
people elected from each diocese. All legislation must be
speaking countries and former colonies of England. The
passed by both houses. Between sessions of the General Con-
communion has been described as a federation without a fed-
vention, the church is governed by the presiding bishop in
eral government. Usually every ten years, an assemblage of
consultation with the Executive Council, whose members are
archbishops and bishops of the entire communion, called the
elected by the General Convention and the Provincial Syn-
Lambeth Conference, convenes in the Lambeth Palace, Lon-
ods. The council is organized into a number of departments,
don, under the presidency of the archbishop of Canterbury.
with staff to coordinate activities at home and abroad.
The conference, which does not publish details of its debates,
issues resolutions with only morally binding force. At the
To establish a diocese there must be at least six parishes
1968 conference, a body representing the laity and the clergy
and six voting presbyters. The diocese meets in convention
as well as the bishops was formed. The Anglican Consultative
annually with all diocesan clergy and representatives from
Council, headquartered in London, meets biennially with
each parish as members. The convention elects clerical and
about fifty delegates.
lay delegates to the provincial synod and to the General Con-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHURCH: CHURCH POLITY
1767
vention. Each diocesan convention also elects a standing
hundred to one thousand delegates, ministers and lay, cho-
committee to advise the bishop between sessions. The con-
sen by the Annual Conferences based on size of membership.
vention lays down rules and procedures for filling an episco-
The General Conference also meets quadrennially before the
pal vacancy. The person chosen must be confirmed by a ma-
Jurisdictional Conferences. It defines and fixes the powers
jority of the standing committees of all the dioceses as well
and duties of all ministers, bishops, and subordinate confer-
as of the diocesan bishops in the United States. A bishop
ences. It regulates the boundaries of jurisdictional confer-
must retire at the age of seventy-two.
ences with the concurrence of the Annual Conferences in-
volved. The General Conference initiates and directs all
The diocesan convention is responsible for defining the
connectional enterprises of the church and provides boards
boundaries of parishes and for establishing new ones. Each
for their implementation.
parish is governed by a vestry and wardens selected according
to diocesan law. The number and qualifications vary from
PRESBYTERIAL FORM OF GOVERNMENT. Presbyterians do
one diocese to another. Similarly, there is no canon specify-
not admit as normative a historically validated episcopal suc-
ing their specific duties, term of office, or voting rights. The
cession. They hold that there is no New Testament warrant
vestry elects the pastor or rector and notifies the bishop of
for a distinct office of bishop; presbyters (elders) and bishops
its choice. The bishop may try to dissuade the vestry but has
designate the same leadership body in the church (Acts
little option in the matter. The appointment is considered
20:17–28, 1 Tm. 3:1–13). The polity of Presbyterian
to be for life; the rector cannot be removed unwillingly ex-
churches rests on three constitutive principles: (1) “the parity
cept with the consent of the bishop.
of presbyters” (both clergy and lay); (2) “the right of the peo-
ple through their representatives or lay elders to take part in
Methodist churches. The vast majority of the Method-
the government of the church”; and (3) “the unity of the
ists in the United States recognize the centrality of the epis-
Church, not simply in faith and order, but in a graduated
copacy in their governing structure, although they do not ac-
series of Church Courts [session, presbytery, synod, General
cept it as an order different from the presbyterate. (Churches
Assembly] which express and exercise the common authority
deriving from British Methodism do not have bishops.) Ap-
of the Church as a divine society” (Moffatt, 1928, p. 2).
ostolic succession in the sense of historic continuity in the
ministry is not viewed as necessary. The ordained ministry
The basic governing body is the session, which is made
consists of elders (presbyters) and deacons who are “set apart
up of the minister or ministers of the local church and a
by the Church for the specialized ministry of Word, Sacra-
group of ordained laity (ruling elders) elected by the congre-
ment, and Order,” as stated in the Book of Discipline of the
gation. Administrative authority rests with the representative
United Methodist Church (par. 302, 1972) It also states that
body, not with the whole congregation. The session is
“to be ordained to the ministry of Order is to be authorized
charged with the “spiritual oversight of the congregation.”
to equip the laity for ministry, to exercise pastoral oversight,
While the minister presides, all elders have equal rights of
and to administer the Discipline of the Church” (par.
discussion and vote. All congregations in a given geographi-
309.1).
cal area belong to a presbytery, which is composed of all the
ordained ministers in the area and elders from each congrega-
The Annual Conference corresponds to a diocese in the
tion. The presbytery has several key responsibilities similar
Episcopal and Roman Catholic churches. It consists of all the
to those of a diocesan bishop in Roman Catholicism. The
presbyters in a given geographical area plus an equal number
presbytery supervises ministerial candidates, ordains minis-
of elected lay representatives. A bishop presides over the con-
ters, concurs in a “call” to specific pastorates, and in general
ference. He is responsible for appointing ministers to parish-
oversees the discipline of the local congregations. The pres-
es after consultation with the district superintendents as well
bytery elects a moderator and a stated clerk, who may be ei-
as with representatives of the local congregations. The ap-
ther clerical or lay. The stated clerk functions as a chief ad-
pointments do not convey tenure but must be renewed an-
ministrator.
nually. Each parish or local congregation has a Charge Con-
ference, which serves as a liaison with the general church; the
The presbyteries of a region are grouped into a synod.
Charge Conference elects lay members of the Annual Con-
A synod must have at least three presbyteries. Elected repre-
ference and all local officers.
sentatives, both clerical and lay, from each of the presbyteries
constitute a synod, which meets once a year. It serves as a
The Annual Conferences are grouped into Jurisdictional
court of appeal from actions taken by the presbyteries and
Conferences made up of an equal number of lay and clerical
stands in an intermediary position between the presbyteries
delegates. In the United States there are five regional jurisdic-
and the General Assembly. The General Assembly, the high-
tions, which normally meet once every four years. Their chief
est representative body, meets annually for about one week.
responsibility is to fill vacancies in the ranks of the bishops,
Its members are elected directly by the presbyteries, on the
to determine the boundaries of the Annual Conferences, and
basis of one ministerial commissioner and one ruling elder
to provide for the work of the church within the jurisdiction.
commissioner for a determined number of church members
The highest legislative authority in the United Method-
in the presbytery. It is the supreme court of appeal in matters
ist Church is the General Conference, composed of from six
of doctrine and discipline. The General Assembly elects 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
1768
CHURCH: CHURCH POLITY
moderator, a largely honorary official, who acts as titular
counsel in the selection of ministers. Ministerial standards
head of the church for the next year. In fact, however, the
are set and recommendations are made to the congregations,
stated clerk holds the most powerful leadership position.
who proceed to elect and ordain the ministers.
In 1983, the two largest Presbyterian bodies in the Unit-
Congregationalism is also espoused by the United
ed States merged to form the Presbyterian Church (USA).
Church of Christ, which was formed by the merger of four
Presbyterians are joined with other churches of the Calvinist
denominations in 1957: the Congregational Church, the
tradition in an international confessional group, the World
Christian Church, the Evangelical Synods, and the Re-
Alliance of Reformed Churches, with headquarters in
formed Church. Each of the uniting churches has main-
Geneva.
tained its own theological position and form of worship. The
C
constitution of the United Church of Christ states explicitly
ONGREGATIONAL FORM OF GOVERNMENT. Opposed in
principle to any form of control above or outside the local
that “the autonomy of the local church is inherent and modi-
church, a third group of Christian denominations is orga-
fiable only by its own action” (Horton, 1962, p. 135) The
nized along congregational lines so that each community is
local congregations, however, are joined together for mutual
independent. The defenders of this ecclesial pattern of gov-
support.
ernment maintain that the New Testament does not recog-
The organization resembles that of the Presbyterian
nize any higher structure. Paul, for example, sent a general
Church. The churches of an area are grouped into an associa-
letter to the several churches in Galatia (Gal. 1:1–2). The au-
tion that meets annually and that is made up of all the clergy
thor of Revelation was told to write to the seven churches in
and elected lay delegates. It accepts new churches into mem-
Asia Minor (Rv. 1:4). The Acts of the Apostles indicates that
bership and is responsible for licensing, ordaining, and in-
each congregation has the right to choose its own leaders
stalling ministers. Associations within a region are joined in
(6:3, 13:2). The congregation can also regulate discipline
a conference composed of the ministers and elected lay dele-
without reference to any bishop, presbytery, or council (1
gates; meeting annually, it serves as a coordinating body. The
Cor. 5:12, Mt. 18:17).
“minister” of the conference, also called the superintendent
or president, acts as the executive officer.
In the United States, the Baptists have been the most
conspicuous advocates of a democratic polity. Although Bap-
The highest body in the United Church of Christ is the
tists do not have an official creed, they generally subscribe
General Synod, which assembles biennially. The conferences
to two important confessions of faith, the Philadelphia Con-
elect delegates to the General Synod, which has an equal
fession (1742) and the New Hampshire Confession (1833).
number of clergy and lay people. The synod chooses a presi-
Each congregation is self-constituting: the members bind
dent for a four-year term and a moderator to preside over
themselves together by covenant, accepting as the sole rule
the synodal sessions. An executive council is elected to trans-
of faith the Bible, which the members interpret according to
act business between synods.
their own lights. The members choose their own leaders—
CONTINGENT POLITIES. Not all churches fit neatly into one
variously called elders, bishops, or pastors—who are set apart
system or another. The Lutheran Church, the third largest
for the ministry. The laity retains full control so that all busi-
body of Christians in the world after the Roman Catholics
ness is determined by majority vote.
and the Eastern Orthodox, does not hold that any polity is
Congregational autonomy, however, has had to be ac-
divinely sanctioned. The sixteenth-century reformers were
commodated to the needs of fellowship and cooperation
prepared to continue such existing institutions as the episco-
with other churches. Historically, the chief impetus leading
pacy, provided that the gospel was preached and the sacra-
to the formation of “conventions” was the concern for for-
ments were administered. Thus, at the start of the twenty-
eign missions that swept the United States at the beginning
first century there are bishops in the Scandinavian countries
of the nineteenth century. Baptist churches are grouped into
where, except for Sweden, Lutheranism is the established
associations at local, state, and national levels. The five larg-
church. In general, however, apostolic succession and episco-
est of the thirty-one bodies in the United States, embracing
pal ordination are not considered essential to the church.
about 90 percent of the denomination, are the Southern
An early treatise of Martin Luther (1483-1546) suggests
Baptist Convention; the National Baptist Convention, USA;
that he advocated a congregational type of government (On
the National Baptist Convention of America; the American
the Right and Power of a Christian Congregation or Communi-
Baptist Churches, USA; and the Progressive National Baptist
ty to Judge All Doctrine and to Call, Install, and Depose Minis-
Convention, Inc. In addition there is the Baptist World Alli-
ters, 1523). Although every Christian is a priest (Rv. 5:10)
ance, founded in 1905 to discuss matters of common con-
and has the same right with respect to Word and sacraments,
cern; it meets every five years. The delegates, or messengers,
no one may use this right publicly except by the consent of
who participate in the meetings of the associations have no
the community. Otherwise there would be a “shameful con-
power to bind the groups they represent. Even with this un-
fusion,” a kind of “Babylon in the Church, as the Apostle
derstanding there have been protests that the Baptists are
teaches” (Luther, Concerning the Ministry, 1523, Works 40,
drifting toward denominational centralism or Presbyterian-
pp. 34–35). The congregation retained the right to remove
ism. One important function of the associations is to give
any minister who should preach falsely.
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CHURCH: CHURCH POLITY
1769
In the United States the three largest denominations,
Presbyterian Church (USA), the United Church of Christ,
about 95 percent of the nine million Lutherans in the coun-
and the Reformed Church of America formally entered into
try, acknowledge varying degrees of local autonomy. Parishes
full communion. In A Formula of Agreement, the four bodies
are generally grouped into districts, which in turn are orga-
acknowledged, as reported by their committee of theolo-
nized into territorial synods. The powers exercised by the
gians, that though the sixteenth-century differences “regard-
synod are specified in a constitution. At all levels, pastors and
ing Eucharist, Christology, and predestination continue to
lay representatives participate in the government. Synodal
shape and reflect our identities, they cannot claim to be
authority is concerned chiefly with the ordination and disci-
church-dividing today and should not stand in the way of
pline of the clergy and ownership of property.
achieving ‘full communion’ among us. In addition, we af-
firm that the differences among these churches of the Refor-
ECUMENISM. Despite the diversity of views about the minis-
mation on questions of confessional commitment, ministry,
try and government in the church, the ecumenical move-
and ecclesial polity fall within the bounds of allowable evan-
ment in the twentieth century uncovered a certain compati-
gelical diversity and are therefore not church-dividing”
bility and explored the possibility of reconciliation. In the
(Nickle and Lull, eds., 1993, p. 65).
early 1960s nine church bodies in the United States—
including Methodist, Disciples of Christ, Presbyterian, Epis-
On January 6, 2001, after twenty-five years of dialogue,
copal, and United Church of Christ—formed an association
the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Episco-
known as the Consultation on Church Union (COCU). On
pal Church entered into full communion. The ecumenical
a number of occasions over the next thirty years, representa-
accord, “Called to Common Mission,” provided for the rec-
tive committees attempted to formulate a detailed plan for
ognition of the present clergy of both denominations as
union. Though the member churches could subscribe to the
equal, but stipulated that in the future all ordinations were
theological consensus presented, they were unwilling to rati-
to include the laying on of hands of a bishop ordained in a
fy the structures or the nature of the ordained ministries, es-
historic line of succession. However, because Lutheran tradi-
pecially the episcopacy, proposed for the new uniting
tion had sanctioned ordination by pastors, some Lutheran
church. Finally, at Memphis, Tennessee, on January 19,
synods almost immediately sought an exemption so that “for
2002, the consultation, COCU, was formally superceded by
pastoral reasons in unusual circumstances” a synod president
a simpler relationship, Churches Uniting in Christ (CUIC).
could authorize a pastor to preside at an ordination. The Lu-
As reported by Thomas F. Best, each church retained its own
theran position has always been that polity is essentially adia-
identity and decision-making structures, but with the antici-
phoral (something indifferent, neither prescribed nor forbid-
pation that the participating churches will achieve “mutual
den by scripture). At the same assembly at which they
recognition and reconciliation of ordained ministry by the
approved full communion with the Episcopalians, the Lu-
members of Churches Uniting in Christ by the year 2007”
therans also sanctioned the agreement with the Moravian
(2002, p. 403).
Church in America. The historian Martin Marty has noted
that “it is the first time in U.S. religious history that a church
The status of ministry is central in any discussion of
has bridged the gap between churches so diversely gov-
church polity. The most thorough investigation of ministry
erned—congregational, Presbyterian, synodical, conferencial
was undertaken by the Faith and Order Commission of the
and episcopal” (1999, p. 797). Undoubtedly the major polity
World Council of Churches. In 1982 it submitted to all
issue yet to be resolved among Christians is that of a prima-
Christian churches for an official response the document,
tial authority.
long in preparation, entitled Baptism, Eucharist, and Minis-
try. After receiving and analyzing almost two hundred re-
SEE ALSO Apostles; Armenian Church; Coptic Church; De-
sponses, the commission published a summary report of its
nominationalism; Eastern Christianity; Ethiopian Church;
consultation Baptism, Eucharist, and Ministry 1982–1990
Greek Orthodox Church; Nestorian Church; Papacy; Refor-
(Faith and Order Paper no. 149, 1990). According to that
mation; Russian Orthodox Church; Schism, article on
report, the vast majority of the responses affirmed that the
Christian Schism; Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch;
church, from its earliest existence, has needed ministers,
Uniate Churches.
“persons ordained through the invocation of the Spirit and
the laying on of hands and holding specific authority and re-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
sponsibility” (p. 75). While there was “considerable appreci-
Baima, Thomas A. The Concordat of Agreement between the Episco-
ation for the description of the development of the threefold
pal Church and the Evangelical Church in America: Lessons on
pattern of bishop, presbyter and deacon,” many of the Refor-
the Way toward Full Communion. Lewiston, N.Y., 2003. An-
alyzes method and content of negotiations.
mation and Free churches “question its normative character”
(pp. 80–81) and hold deep differences over episcopal suc-
Brand, Chad O., and R. Stanton Norman, eds. Perspectives on
cession.
Church Government: Five Views on Church Polity. Nashville,
2004. Representatives support their own and respond to
Despite disparate polities, a number of churches have
other traditions.
sought common ground for unity. At a service on October
Campenhausen, Hans von. Ecclesiastical Authority and Spiritual
4, 1998, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, the
Power in the Church of the First Three Centuries. Translated
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1770
CHURCH: ECCLESIOLOGY
by J. A. Baker. Stanford, Calif., 1969. Treats the relationship
sharing, instruction, reflection, and mission. Most Christian
between ministerial office and charismatic gifts.
bodies, but not all, see this visible community as imperfectly
Dulles, Avery. Models of the Church. New York, 1974. Discusses
representing on earth an invisible communion of saints
five major approaches, types, or models through which the
called together by God in Jesus Christ. The church can thus
character of the church may be grasped.
be viewed as one social institution among many, but also as
Gray, Joan, and Joyce Tucker. Presbyterian Polity for Church Offi-
a shared form of life shaped by profound theological self-
cers. Louisville, Ky., 1999. Treats the impact of Reformed
understandings. Seen institutionally, the church has subsist-
theology on church government.
ed in a variety of communal forms and structures of gover-
Kirby, James E. The Episcopacy in American Methodism. Nashville,
nance throughout a long and very complex history. Under-
2000. Traces the evolution of Itinerating General Superin-
stood theologically, the church has been the object of many
tendents into residential diocesan officials.
varying images, descriptions, terminologies, and conceptuali-
Kirk, Kenneth E., ed. The Apostolic Ministry: Essays on the History
ties interwoven with the circumstances of that history. The
and the Doctrine of Episcopacy. London, 1946. A team of
systematic study of the church in all these interacting dimen-
writers explores the Christian doctrine of ministry.
sions constitutes the field of ecclesiology. This realm of in-
Kretschmar, Georg, et al. The Councils of the Church: History and
quiry relates constructively to most of the other principal
Analysis. Edited by Hans J. Margull. Philadelphia, 1966.
themes of Christian thought, among them the doctrine of
After a historical treatment of councils, authors from various
God, Christology, soteriology, theological anthropology,
churches present their respective theologies on the subject.
and theological ethics.
Longenecker, Richard N., ed. Community Formation in the Early
CHURCH IN THE NEW TESTAMENT. The English word
Church and in the Church Today. Peabody, Mass., 2002. Fol-
church translates the New Testament (NT) Greek ekklesia
lowing nine scriptural and historical essays, the final three
(assembly), the commonest equivalent for the Hebrew qahal
“assess modern episcopal, Presbyterian, and congregational
(assembly, gathering, or congregation) in the Septuagint or
polities in light of their biblical and theological roots.”
Greek translation of the Jewish Scriptures, the Bible of the
Maring, Norman H., and Winthrop S. Hudson. A Baptist Manual
NT writers. It is possible that ekklesia was used of early
of Polity and Practice. Rev. ed. Valley Forge, Pa., 1991.
church gatherings to distinguish them from the Jewish syna-
Mead, Frank S., and Samuel S. Hill, eds. Handbook of Denomina-
gogues (Greek synagoge, translating the Hebrew term edah
tions in the United States. 11th rev. ed. Revised by Craig D.
[assembly, or gathering] as virtually synonymous with qahal)
Atwood. Nashville, 2001. Describes the historical back-
to which many early Christians still belonged. The term ekk-
ground, main teachings, and governmental organization of
more than 250 religious bodies.
lesia in this sense is found among the earliest Christian writ-
ings: see for example the phrase ekklesia tou theou (assembly
Meyendorff, John. The Orthodox Church: Its Past and Its Role in
of God) in 1 Thessalonians 2:14.
the World Today. 3d ed. Crestwood, N.Y., 1981. Chapter 8
discusses the autocephalous churches in the post–World War
The NT provides myriad images of this ekklesia. Several
II era.
stand out: “people of God,” “body of Christ,” “communion
Niebuhr, H. Richard, and Daniel D. Williams. The Ministry in
of faith, hope, and love,” “creation of the spirit,” and “new
Historical Perspectives. New York, 1956. Nine authors treat
Israel.” Another image, the “kingdom (or rule) of God,” cen-
the ministry from the primitive church to the twentieth cen-
tral to the preaching of Jesus, becomes understood as the es-
tury, with emphasis on Protestantism.
chatological fulfillment of the church’s life.
Pelikan, Jaroslav. Spirit versus Structure: Luther and the Institutions
of the Church. New York, 1968. After sketching Luther’s re-
Whether Jesus of Nazareth intended (or could indeed
jection of sacramental ordination, monasticism, and canon
have envisioned) anything like the “church” that in fact fol-
law, Pelikan considers the struggles of the reformers to deal
lowed on his words and work has been a topic of continuing
with the need for concrete structures.
debate. The definitive factor in inaugurating this new com-
Puglisi, James F., ed. Petrine Ministry and the Unity of the Church:
munity of faith seems not to have been Jesus’ intention as
Toward a Patient and Fraternal Dialogue. Collegeville,
such but rather the experience of the living presence of the
Minn., 1999. Twelve Protestant and Catholic scholars com-
risen Messiah, an experience variously described by the Gos-
ment on recent papal overtures.
pel writers and by Paul. Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection,
Sykes, Stephen, et al. The Study of Anglicanism. Rev. ed. London
as interpreted by his followers, gave rise to the movement
and Minneapolis, 1998. A collection of essays that introduce
that rather quickly became the NT ekklesia. But how, and
“the history and ethos of the Churches which constitute the
by what stages, this band of believers evolved so as to become
Anglican Communion.”
the church, with all the latter’s institutional and doctrinal
JOHN E. LYNCH (1987 AND 2005)
complexity and eventual multiplicity, is a matter of much
controversy.
What can be said with certainty is fairly meager. By the
CHURCH: ECCLESIOLOGY
middle of the first century Paul was freely using the term
The word church refers to the visible community in which
body of Christ and other theologically significant expressions
Christians come together for worship, prayer, communal
to refer to the community of believers. The traditional ac-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHURCH: ECCLESIOLOGY
1771
count of “birthday of the Church” on the Day of Pentecost,
clesiological significance of episcopacy had already been
as described in Acts 2, may certainly contain historical ele-
clearly expressed in the letters of Cyprian (200–258), third-
ments. But it came, in its present form, from a much later
century bishop of Carthage, who held that the bishop was
tradition. The same later tradition also gave us what is some-
necessary to the very being (esse) of the church, not merely
times described as the first universal council (Acts 15), an
to its well-being (bene esse): “The church is in the bishop, and
event during which Paul’s mission to Gentiles was affirmed,
the bishop in the church.” Bishops were successors to the
along with minimum conditions for their admission to the
apostles. But Cyprian also proclaimed the essential equality
new community. It is this event that launched the communi-
of bishops, resisting the already growing power of the bishop
ty’s transition from being one of many Jewish sects to being
of Rome. A century later Eusebius, in support of this empha-
a self-standing body, yet one still without obvious signs of
sis on continuity, made lists of the bishops who had served
becoming what it did in fact become, a “church” for the
in several key dioceses.
Roman Empire as a whole.
CONSTANTINE AND CREEDS. By the early fourth century the
GEOGRAPHICAL DISPERSION, EPISCOPACY, AND THE FOR-
church was well positioned to take advantage of the emperor
MATION OF THE CANON. Evidence exists within the NT for
Constantine’s (c. 274–337) unexpected move in 312 or 313
the early emergence of a variety of geographically dispersed
CE granting toleration and many other legal favors to the
centers of Christian activity—Damascus, Antioch, Alexan-
church within the Empire. Constantine’s personal “conver-
dria, and others—whose ecclesiological self-understandings
sion,” as described by Lactantius (c. 260–340) and Eusebius,
evidently varied. Many of these places are linked by being
was not itself ecclesiologically important. But the new and
recipients of Paul’s letters, in which they are urged to see
growing relation of the church to the Roman state was, lead-
themselves as members of “one body in Christ.” But a con-
ing as it did to complex and portentous developments. In
nected ecclesial community across the Empire did not begin
380, for example, the emperor Theodosius (346–395) did
to be a reality until diocesan bishops—for example, Irenaeus
what Constantine had not: he made Christianity the only
(c. 130–203) and Cyprian (c. 205–258)—considered as suc-
licit religion of the Empire. Roman emperors had previously
cessors to the apostles, took up their tasks of indicting hereti-
claimed the title pontifex maximus; that is, chief priest of the
cal communities (Gnostics, Montanists, Novatians, Marcio-
state-sanctioned pagan cults. It was natural that once they
nites), regulating a common doctrinal patrimony, and taking
had become Christian, they should claim similar power in
steps toward defining a single canon of Scripture. By the late
the church, not as priests, but as protectors, enforcers, and
second century, nearly the whole of what became the NT was
legitimators. Constantine’s calling of the Council of Nicaea
authoritative in the church for practical purposes. Yet the
and his enforcement of its decrees was a case in point. Above
first known list of canonical writings corresponding to the
all, the emperors wished to maintain a voice in appointments
present NT was made by Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria
to high church office.
(296–373), in 367. Wholly uniform agreement on the con-
tent of the canon was achieved still later.
Still, there had not as yet emerged any authoritative ec-
clesiology, any doctrinal definition of the church’s nature as
It has become increasingly clear to modern scholars that
such. “The church” was not yet what was later called a theo-
this canon-forming process may have excluded more writings
logical locus, a topic of doctrinal reflection. Cyprian’s creed
than it allowed in. Expressions of the faith existed that were
(c. 250) named the church not as an object of belief in itself
deemed inconsistent with the apostolic tradition handed
but only as the community “through” which members be-
down in the major dioceses. Some scholars argue that writ-
lieve in the forgiveness of sins and eternal life. The earliest
ings approved for inclusion in the canon of Scripture tended
versions of the Nicene and Apostles’ Creeds made no men-
to be those that affirmed Jesus Christ, one way or another,
tion of the “holy catholic church” as such. That reference was
as God, leaving aside communities more inclined to see Jesus
added in the Constantinopolitan supplement of 381 to the
as only a Gnostic or prophetic teacher.
Creed of the Council of Nicaea of 325, and the church was
In sum, by the fourth century the church was beginning
now to be not only “believed” as a reliable witness to the
to take on a determinate form as to structures of leadership,
truth but also “believed in”—a significant further step: “We
canonical sources, and the outlines of doctrine. Even so, dif-
believe in one holy, catholic and apostolic church. . . .”
ferent ecclesiological tendencies were evident. In Tertullian
With these words there emerged for the first time what came
(c. 160–225) one finds what would today be termed a thor-
to be called the four “marks” of the church, later prominent
oughly sectarian ecclesiology. In the work of Eusebius of
in Catholic attempts to counter Orthodox and Protestant
Caesarea (c. 264–340) one finds an ecclesiology suitable for
claims.
the then new relationship between church and Empire.
AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO. A full theological reflection on the
It is plain that the Christian community’s emerging
church’s nature was to come only in the work of Augustine
structure rested substantially upon the theory and practice
of Hippo (354–430). This bishop and saint believed deeply
of episcopacy, from the time when the bishop was, in effect,
in the Catholic Church as a visible, worldwide institution
pastor of the local congregation (the so-called Ignatian pat-
continuous with the church of the apostles. The word catho-
tern) to the period of multicongregational dioceses. The ec-
lic was henceforth no longer just an adjectival “mark” of the
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CHURCH: ECCLESIOLOGY
church in the Creed. Now it was part of a proper name: the
lishment of monastic and other orders, beginning with the
Catholic Church. Augustine could now say that he believed
Benedictine order about 528 or 529, protected by papal
in the gospel only on the authority of this church, whose
favor and rapidly proliferating across Europe, added a new
character and historical role the saint adumbrated at several
and vital dimension to Catholic ecclesiology. Meanwhile, the
points in his writings, notably those arguing (against the
popes continued their efforts to define and maintain ecclesi-
Donatists) that ordination, baptism, absolution, and other
astical independence in the civil realm. The reigns of two
acts of the church are not dependent on the moral character
popes in particular illustrate this point. With Gregory I “the
of the one who administers them but rather on the church’s
Great” (590–604) the papacy began to take over many of the
objective being and authority as expressed in these acts. Here
functions previously lodged in the state. Four hundred years
was an anticipation of the Council of Trent’s declaration
later, Gregory VII (1073–1085), codified his conception of
that, in the sacraments, grace is conferred ex opere operato (by
papal power in twenty-seven affirmations—not all of them
the act performed).
new, but none before made explicit in this manner. This
Augustine contributed further to Catholic ecclesiology
pope is especially remembered for his encounter with the
by locating the church significantly in his world-historical
Holy Roman Emperor, Henry IV, over the authority of secu-
drama The City of God. The true membership of that city,
lar princes to create bishops, the so-called investiture contro-
he taught, consists of God’s chosen and predestined ones and
versy. Henry made a symbolic submission to the pope but
is in principle invisible. The Church on earth visibly repre-
won a tactical political victory. Tensions over this and related
sents the heavenly City, although not all church members are
church–state issues continued for centuries to shape the
actually citizens of the holy commonwealth, for not all be-
Western Church’s character and self-understanding.
long to the company of the elect. The earthly church, not-
THE EASTERN CHURCHES. No such centralized and politi-
withstanding its representative function, is therefore a corpus
cized ecclesiology emerged in the East. Circumstances did
permixtum, a mixed body of the elect and the nonelect, and
not demand them. Constantinople’s patriarch ruled in the
likewise of sinners and saints. Elect persons may belong in
shadow of the emperor and the power of the civil authorities.
either of the latter categories. The earthly church’s sacra-
Furthermore, it appeared that the genius of the Eastern
ments are nevertheless necessary for salvation. In principle,
Church was not for wrestling with the contingencies of
Augustine agreed with Origen (c. 185–c. 254), Cyprian, and
human events but for reflecting on humanity’s relationships
the very similar language of the Athanasian Creed, extra eccle-
with divinity. The ecclesiology of the East was far more tied
siam nulla salus (no salvation [occurs] outside the church).
to the liturgy and to a conception by which the church be-
THE PAPACY. The character of the Catholic Church, early
came a doorway to theosis, humanity’s spiritual pilgrimage
and late, is inseparable from the history of the papacy. Ac-
toward unity with God. While the church of the West up
cording to tradition Peter was the first pope, but the whole
to the time of the Reformation maintained its administrative,
early history of the papal institution, and with it the roots
liturgical, and theological unity, the Eastern Church expand-
of the power and preferment of the See of Rome in relation
ed the variety of its expressions and relationships, each “au-
to other dioceses, is shrouded in obscurity and controversy.
tocephalous” body representing a different political history
By the close of the second century, however, if not earlier,
and set of cultural traits. “Oriental” Orthodox churches were
the bishop of Rome had achieved a significant degree of pri-
already well established in Egypt, Syria, Armenia, India, and
macy over other bishops. Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons, writing
elsewhere. As early as the fourth or fifth century an Eastern
near the year 200, approvingly relates the story of this prima-
Christianity, with a Latin culture, existed in what is now Ro-
cy, holding the See of Rome to have been founded by Peter
mania. By the seventh century Eastern Christianity was
and Paul, followed by other bishops in an unbroken line to
spreading into the Slavic territories of Eastern Europe, giving
his own day. Even so, at this time and for some centuries af-
rise to the Bulgarian and other Orthodox churches. By the
terward, sees such as Jerusalem, Alexandria, and Antioch re-
tenth century orthodoxy was spreading into Russia, where
main important centers of power and influence.
it eventually became the largest of the Orthodox bodies.
Political events from the fourth century onward offered
As this expansion proceeded, tensions between the East-
opportunities for strengthening the papal institution. This,
ern and Western branches of the Church were growing more
in turn, accentuated the relative administrative autonomy of
marked. Specific differences—liturgical, canonical, theologi-
the church, as well as its hierarchical character. Constantine’s
cal—played their part. Among these, but hardly alone, was
removal of his imperial administration from Rome to Con-
the theological question raised by the addition in the West
stantinople gave the bishop of Rome added scope for inde-
of the word filioque (and the Son) to the clause in the Ni-
pendent action, as did the shift, in 404 CE, of the official im-
cene-Constantinopolitan Creed having to do with the “pro-
perial residence remaining in the West from Rome to
cession” of the Holy Spirit. Such tensions were exacerbated
Ravenna. Leo I “the Great” (440–461) took notable advan-
by ecclesio-political pressures, including the presence of un-
tage of these circumstances to strengthen the Petrine office.
ruly crusaders from the West in the eastern territories and
Other developments of ecclesiological importance oc-
competition for ecclesiastical control over southern Italy and
curred not long afterward. Among other things, the estab-
Sicily.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHURCH: ECCLESIOLOGY
1773
Matters came to a head over the claim of Pope Leo IX
simply reasserting historic Christianity as it had been before
to supremacy by the See of Peter over the entire Catholic
its corruption by Rome.
Church, a supremacy the pope deemed incompatible with
Excommunication by the pope followed in 1520, and
the autonomy of territorial churches in the East. Despite the
an imperial ban came in 1521. Faced with the challenge of
desire of the emperor to maintain the religious unity of his
reconstituting a church for Germany independent of papal
realm, successive attempts to negotiate these disputes went
authority, Luther turned first to Augustine’s distinction be-
nowhere.
tween the church as a visible gathering, on the one hand, and
In 1054 a papal sentence of excommunication of the pa-
an invisible company of those predestined for salvation from
triarch and his followers was followed by an act of excommu-
before the world’s beginning on the other. For Luther, as for
nication in return. Events were to prove that this was not a
Augustine, the visible church contained a mixture of the elect
final breach. Negotiations went on for nearly four hundred
and the nonelect. Yet, being the nominalist that he was, Lu-
years, to be ended finally by the conquest of Constantinople
ther rejected the seeming metaphysical realism of Augustine’s
by the Ottoman Turks in 1453.
notion of the church of the elect. He preferred to see this no-
tion rather as a critical principle for judging the fidelity of
Thus was established a separation that has continued to
all historical expressions of the church. Specific types of ec-
the present day, perpetuating two broad ecclesiological cul-
clesiastical structure and governance were to him adiaphora,
tures in East and West, with much in common but marked
matters of indifference, so long as the Word was rightly
differences owing to historical and cultural experience. The
preached and the Eucharist and baptism rightly adminis-
overriding characteristic of the Eastern churches has consis-
tered, implying communion with the true Body of Christ.
tently been their maintenance of continuity with the ecclesi-
Luther later added to these primary signs several secondary
astical forms and teachings of the Church Fathers and of the
ones: the power of the keys, ministry, public prayer, and
first seven ecumenical councils, from Nicaea (325) to Second
Christian life shaped by the cross.
Nicaea (787). These churches, apart from their diaspora
One infers that this reformer would in principle have
communities in the West, including the Americas, have over
preferred a church consisting of congregations of committed
the years been relatively little influenced by Western cultural
believers. Yet, for the sake of consistency and order, he held
phenomena such as the Renaissance, the Reformation, and
to the principle of the territorial church to which all inhabi-
the Enlightenment. This isolation has begun to be overcome
tants were admitted by baptism. Moreover, with the old ec-
by these churches’ participation in the modern ecumenical
clesiastical structure dissolving, Luther gave the lay princes
movement.
of these territories reason to disregard the episcopal and papal
THE RISE OF PROTESTANTISM. It would be simplistic to
courts. The princes, in turn, were not slow to exercise admin-
claim that significant ecclesiological development in the
istrative authority over the parish clergy. Hence the system
West halted from the time of the great popes to the coming
of German Landeskirchen, or territorial churches that has
of the Reformation. Medieval theologians refer from time to
persisted to the present day. In the outcome, some Landes,
time to this subject. But it is only with the Protestant reform-
especially in the south, remained Catholic, while others in
ers that ecclesiology again became a foreground issue in the
various ways embraced the Reformation, following in each
church, with markedly varied outcomes in different parts of
case the religious allegiance of the prince in question.
Europe.
John Calvin (1509–1564). A generation later, John
Calvin found himself in an analogous but yet significantly
Martin Luther (1483–1546). Early in his career, Lu-
different situation. He was summoned to the independent
ther sought to reform, but not divide, the church of the
city-state of Geneva as a theological mentor in that commu-
West. He regarded the division his activities in fact brought
nity’s effort to become a self-standing Christian community
about as temporary, pending correction of certain abusive
on Reformation principles. Calvin was therefore preoccupied
practices in the parent body. Therefore, he did not set out
with the organization of a community that gathered at one
to formulate an alternative ecclesiological position. But Lu-
moment as church and at another as civic commonwealth.
ther soon found himself at the heart of a movement of Ger-
Calvin’s ecclesiology and his statecraft therefore interpene-
man princes, merchants, bishops, and priests, all with reasons
trate. The state was to uphold pure doctrine and the
for wishing to be free of Roman authority. Theological dis-
Church’s temporal interests. Yet church and state were not
covery coincided with practical political and economic inter-
to be confused or to interfere with one another.
ests. In 1520 Luther attacked the papal institution in a series
of tracts denouncing the alleged superiority and privileges of
While he extended, even radicalized, Augustine’s notion
the clergy over the laity, the pope’s claim to have exclusive
of predestination, Calvin did not see the visible and invisible
authority to interpret Scripture, and the claim that only the
churches as two different realms, but rather as two ways of
pope could call a council of the church. Papal doctrine, he
speaking about the one church. For Calvin the church exist-
said, held the church in a kind of Babylonian captivity, espe-
ed where the gospel was properly preached and the sacra-
cially where the sacraments were concerned. Luther main-
ments administered according to God’s Word. But Calvin
tained that in pressing these views he and his followers were
was unwilling to lay upon others the specific ecclesiological
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1774
CHURCH: ECCLESIOLOGY
and political provisions that Geneva had found suitable for
groups of various kinds. Congregationalism as a distinct
regulating its own Christian life. The Calvinist or “Re-
body was the product of a coalition of these impulses joined
formed” ecclesiology is therefore open to being expressed in
in support of the Cromwellian revolution of the seventeenth
many different outward forms. This is what happened as ver-
century and developed institutionally in the wake of that rev-
sions of Calvinism spread across Europe, to North America,
olution’s collapse.
and to other parts of the globe.
Congregationalists practiced the autonomy of the local
The “left wing” of the Reformation. Within Europe,
congregation within a loosely overarching church structure.
the church structures built on the work of Luther and Calvin
The emphasis on decision making by the local gathering was
remained territorial—intended, that is, to embrace the corpus
generally shared by the various sorts of English nonconform-
permixtum represented by whole populations. But the Euro-
ists; Congregationalism thus came to represent the more
pean continent also saw a proliferation of separatist, “free
conservative wing of nonconformity, while on the left arose
church,” or “believers’ church” ecclesiologies. The “radical
such groups as the Society of Friends, the Levellers, the Dig-
reformers” behind these movements—Anabaptists, Menno-
gers, and the apocalyptically oriented Fifth Monarchy Men.
nites, Hutterites, and many others—in effect collapsed the
classical distinction between the visible, imperfect church on
A fully Presbyterian ecclesiology, though favored by
earth and the invisible church of the true saints, making the
many sixteenth-century English Puritans, was to become
demand for visible conformity with Christ’s teachings a cen-
dominant only in Scotland, as articulated in John Knox’s
tral tenet of the earthly Christian community. This meant
First Book of Discipline (1561), and achieving its classical
a separation from the territorially conceived Lutheran and
shape under an act of 1690 establishing the Church of Scot-
Reformed bodies, a rejection of infant baptism, and a policy
land as it was to remain for generations in that nation. This
of withdrawal from the affairs of the state and the practices
polity was characterized by the rule of “presbyteries” (region-
of warfare and judicial violence. The radical reformers saw
al governing bodies composed of ministers and elders), held
precedents for their vision in the life of groups in the early
to the principle of “parity” of clergy—recognizing no higher
church. Bodies with comparable ecclesiological convictions
order of ministry in the church than that of presbyter or
have continued to exist through the centuries to the present
elder—and to governance by a hierarchy of church “courts”
day.
from the “session” of a local congregation to the General
Assembly.
Ecclesiological developments in Britain. The ecclesial
expressions that emerged in Britain under the influence of
The character of Scottish Presbyterian anti-episcopal
Lutheran, Calvinist, and “free church” conceptions were
sentiment was shaped by centuries of highly intricate politi-
shaped by the particular histories of those islands in the six-
cal conflict between Scotland and England in the course of
teenth and seventeenth centuries.
which episcopacy became associated with rule by the English
In England, King Henry VIII proclaimed himself “su-
sovereign. Scottish Presbyterians made common cause with
preme head on earth of the English church,” replacing the
the English Parliamentary Party against King Charles I and
pope in this role and thereby launching the history of Angli-
with the Puritans of the Cromwellian period, helping to em-
canism. This body retained the episcopal form of church
body their theological and ecclesiological principles in the
governance and the claim to apostolic succession, yet it en-
Westminster Confession of Faith (1646).
tertained a variety of theological self-understandings from
Transitions beyond Europe: the “denomination.”
“protestant” or “evangelical” to “catholic” in tendency. Si-
Virtually all of the European churches—Roman Catholic,
multaneously, Roman Catholicism continued through
classical Protestant, and free church alike—leapt across the
changing fortunes in Britain. The rise of “Anglo-
Atlantic to North America, and then, at a later date, to mis-
Catholicism” in nineteenth-century Anglicanism brought a
sion fields across the globe. Colonial America saw several in-
part of that communion close to Catholicism in virtually
stances of territorial domination and formal establishment of
every respect but formal allegiance to the pope. Indeed, the
religious bodies, such as Anglicanism in Virginia and Con-
rise of this position in Anglicanism may have been responsi-
gregational Puritanism in Massachusetts. But Christian bo-
ble for the rise in English of the term Roman Catholic Church,
dies that had previously been territorially established in con-
as opposed to merely Catholic Church, in order to distinguish
ception and practice eventually found themselves living
the latter from its Anglican counterpart.
alongside many others in the same districts, cities, and towns.
Meanwhile, a Congregational ecclesiology grew, by a
This, combined with various understandings of the “separa-
lengthy process, out of sixteenth-century “Puritan” attempts
tion of church and state,” the disappearance of ecclesiastical
to purify the Church of England. Many leaders of this effort
establishments, and nineteenth-century immigration from
had been in contact with Protestants in centers such as Basel,
the European continent gave birth to a new notion, that
Strasbourg, and other cities of the Rhine Valley. Some of the
of the “denomination.” It was now impossible to consider
former hoped to replace the episcopal governance of the En-
all the inhabitants of a territory to be church members by
glish church with an essentially Presbyterian system. Failing
baptism. Denominations were now competing with one an-
this, some of this opinion joined separatist, or independent,
other in open markets as alternative ecclesial possibilities.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHURCH: ECCLESIOLOGY
1775
Sometimes, of course, certain denominations became
the founding of the Life and Work movement (Stockholm,
numerically dominant in their regions—Baptists or Method-
1925) and the Faith and Order movement (Lausanne,
ists in the American South, Lutherans in the upper Mid-
1927). Further decades of consultation led to the founding
west—leading them to function like European territorial
of the World Council of Churches (WCC) in Amsterdam
churches. In other cases, they were forced to function as if
in 1948. All this brought about profound changes in eccle-
they were independent or separatist bodies whether or not
siological attitudes, despite the fact that the WCC never pro-
their original ecclesiologies would have supported such a no-
fessed to be a churchly body in itself and always made clear
tion. Even Roman Catholicism came to be looked upon as
that membership in it did not involve any compromise of
one “denomination” among others in many parts of America
a church’s ecclesiological convictions. A wide range of eccle-
and the rest of the world.
siastical bodies joined, including most mainstream Protes-
tant churches in Europe, North America, and the former
From the notion of “denomination” as an American ad-
mission fields, as well as most of the Orthodox communions
aptation of ecclesiastical bodies born elsewhere, it was an easy
of the East. Many evangelical groups and the Roman Catho-
step to forms of the church, having little or no continuity
lic Church remained formally outside. But Rome has for
with European origins, arising to meet local or freshly identi-
years been officially represented on the WCC’s Commission
fied needs. A significant example, among others, would be
on Faith and Order, devoted to church unity matters.
the emergence of the “black church” in America, going back
as far as the seventeenth century to what has been called the
The Second Vatican Council. Meanwhile, the Second
“invisible institution” among the transplanted African
Vatican Council of the Roman Catholic Church, meeting
slaves—a “clearing of freedom” in a world of oppression.
from 1963 to 1965, not only dealt profoundly and innova-
After emancipation, the black churches became “denomina-
tively with ecclesiological issues but also became an event of
tions” in their own right, with the vitally important social
great ecclesiological importance by demonstrating the signif-
role of being “a nation within a nation,” forming a new para-
icance of the conciliar strand in the structure and governance
digm of what it meant to be a church.
of that body.
Likewise, missionary efforts transplanting churches
The council’s “Dogmatic Constitution on the Church,”
from Europe and the New World to other parts of the globe,
Lumen Gentium, opens with the affirmation that “the
beginning with Spanish colonization enterprises in the six-
church, in Christ, is in the nature of sacrament—a sign and
teenth and seventeenth centuries and being undertaken in
instrument that is—of communion with God and of unity
earnest, if differently, by American and European Protestants
among all men.” This church is both the mystical body of
in the later nineteenth century, generated ecclesiastical poli-
Christ and also a visible community. These are not two reali-
ties resembling the former ones but with histories of their
ties but one, in which a divine and a human element come
own. The rise of nineteenth- and twentieth-century Ameri-
together, much as do the divine and human natures of Jesus
can evangelicalism, which gave much impetus to these mis-
Christ. This church “constituted and organized as a society
sionary efforts, produced a new, effectively postdenomina-
in the present world, subsists in the Catholic Church, which
tional consciousness that paid little attention to
is governed by the successor of Peter and by the bishops in
ecclesiological matters but in fact represented an ecclesiology
communion with him. Nevertheless, many elements of sanc-
in which most of the older categories and barriers simply dis-
tification and of truth are found outside its visible confines.”
appeared. In their place arose a broad evangelical culture in
which one could, as it were, reach a direct, institutionally un-
At the same time this church is heir to the whole biblical
mediated relationship to God in Jesus Christ. Revivalist en-
tradition concerning the “people of God,” from God’s cove-
thusiasm for spreading the gospel cut across all ecclesiastical
nant with Israel to the new people of God inaugurated by
lines and exported this spirit to other parts of the world.
Christ. This messianic people, although it does not include
all human beings, is the “most sure seed of unity, hope and
TWENTIETH-CENTURY DEVELOPMENTS. The twentieth cen-
salvation for the whole human race.”
tury was marked by a new self-consciousness about the im-
portance of ecclesiological issues and the means of pursuing
Liberation theology and the “base communities.”
them. It began to be seen that these issues have to do with
The rise of “liberation theology,” largely a product of Latin
the visible form of the presentation of the Christian message
American Catholicism but also represented by Protestant
to the world. The impact of ecclesiastical divisions on this
writers, has been in many ways a product of the Second Vati-
presentation began to be felt particularly by nineteenth-
can Council’s “people of God” ecclesiology. The most im-
century Protestants in the mission fields, where historical
portant ecclesiological product of this movement has been
reasons for such divisions meant little and the divisions
a “reinvention” of the church in the form of ecclesial “base
themselves came to be seen as scandalous.
communities.”
The rise of the ecumenical movement. Such realiza-
Most such communities began as neighborhood gather-
tions began to resonate in the sending churches of Europe
ings designed to respond to the absence of enough priests to
and North America, coming to expression particularly in
offer the sacraments in the parish churches. In these settings,
World Missionary Conference at Edinburgh in 1910 and in
lay leadership sought to connect the gospel with the practical
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1776
CHURCH: ECCLESIOLOGY
needs and aspirations of the people. There emerged a view
visions and the roles of openly homosexual persons in the
of the church as sacramental and communal as opposed to
leadership of the church.
juridical and hierarchical, an ecclesiology with political im-
It is not clear that the twentieth-century achievements
plications of a new kind, as recognized by the 1968 Medellín,
of ecumenism and conciliarism can be preserved. At the very
Colombia, conference of Latin American Catholic bishops,
least, the whole configuration of organized interchurch rela-
and restated by the 1979 Puebla, Mexico, bishops’ gathering
tionships is in a process of change. At this writing, it cannot
as a “preferential option for the poor.”
be known how these questions will be resolved. Profound
Meanwhile, the ecclesio-genetic notion of the base com-
changes are taking place in the world that are bound to have
munities has been borrowed by other groups in other parts
an impact on the global shape of the ekklesia. The diminish-
of the world. Among the most prominent are gatherings of
ing influence of traditional churches in Europe and North
women determined to “reinvent the church” in their own
America contrasts with the rising profile of evangelical move-
way. These groups vary widely in style and thought, but are
ments there and across the globe. The shift of major centers
united in the perception that the entire patriarchally domi-
of Christian population toward the southern hemisphere
nated development of the church’s self-understanding has
brings traditional ecclesiologies under the pressure of new
been fundamentally distorted by a systematic exclusion of
cultural assumptions.
women’s voices and contributions.
Churches are questioning the justice, and the conse-
quences, of their traditional alliances with Western power
End-of-century ecumenism: ecclesiology and ethics.
centers. Overcoming violence worldwide has become a prior-
The impact of liberation themes on ecumenism had the ef-
ity issue. And finally, the possibility of new, more positive
fect, from roughly the 1970s onward, of affirming the inti-
relationships with other world faiths over issues concerning
mate connection of ecclesiology with social ethics. Explorers
humanity in general opens directions for inquiry and action
of the meaning of this connection added human-science per-
whose consequences cannot be foreseen.
spectives to ecumenical insights to portray a church that ex-
pressed its being, its esse, as an alternative moral community
SEE ALSO Christian Social Movements; Ministry; Missions,
in the world. Here was a vision of the church as disciplined
article on Christian Missions; Monasticism, article on Chris-
moral community, as opposed to churches largely assimilated
tian Monasticism; Nuns, article on Christian Nuns and Sis-
to the values of the cultures around them. This vision in turn
ters; Priesthood, article on Christian Priesthood.
raised the question whether churches separated by differ-
ences with regard to ministry and sacraments might find a
BIBLIOGRAPHY
kind of moral communion with one another, or at least dis-
Congar, Yves M. J. The Mystery of the Church. Translated by A.
V. Littledale. Baltimore, 1960.
cover a moral dimension in their search for sacramental com-
munion.
Congar, Yves M. J. A History of Theoology. Edited and translated
by Hunter Guthrie. Garden City, N.Y., 1968.
AT THE DAWN OF THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY. The twen-
Dulles, Avery R. Models of the Church. Garden City, N.Y., 1978.
ty-first century has begun with considerable convergence in
Dulles, Avery R. The Church: A Bibliography. Wilmington, Del.,
the formal, classical arenas of ecclesiological thinking. The
1985.
work of the WCC’s Commission on Faith and Order, called
Florovsky, Georges. Bible, Church, Tradition: An Eastern Orthodox
by some “the most comprehensive theological forum in
View. Belmont, Mass., 1987.
Christendom,” has continued, together with a wide range of
Kinnamon, Michael, and Brian F. Cope, eds. The Ecumenical
bilateral dialogues among the different communions. The
Movement: An Anthology of Key Texts and Voices. Geneva and
WCC document The Nature and Purpose of the Church: A
Grand Rapids, Mich., 1997.
Stage on the Way to a Common Statement (1998) comes clos-
Meyendorff, John. Catholicity and the Church. Crestwood, N.Y.,
est to articulating the “state of the question” in twenty-first-
1993.
century ecumenical discussions of ecclesiology. There exists
Minear, Paul. Images of the Church in the New Testament. Philadel-
a broad convergence in biblical and theological terms about
phia, 1960.
the church’s nature and purpose. But seemingly intractable
Moltmann, Jürgen. The Church in the Power of the Spirit, Minne-
differences remain as to how these insights should shape visi-
apolis, 1993.
ble institutional structures and strategies. The discussion of
Mudge, Lewis S. The Church as Moral Community: Ecclesiology and
these issues continues, as does work on ecclesiology-and-
Ethics in Ecumenical Debate. New York, 1998.
ethics matters, where common agendas are hard to reach.
Niebuhr, H. Richard. The Social Sources of Denominationalism.
Meanwhile, the primary institutional context for ecu-
New York, 1929.
menical thinking, the WCC, is coming under increasing
Rahner, Karl. The Church after the Council. New York, 1966.
ideological and financial pressures. The Orthodox churches
Schillebeeckx, Edward. The Church and Mankind. Glen Rock,
are pressing the council for greater recognition of their tradi-
N.J., 1965.
tional claims. Other member churches are distracted by in-
Schmemman, Alexander. The Historical Road of Eastern Ortho-
ternal issues, notably conflict over conservative versus liberal
doxy. New York, 1963.
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CHURCH: CHURCH MEMBERSHIP
1777
Troeltsch, Ernst. The Social Teachings of the Christian Churches
fenders. Once the Roman Empire became officially Chris-
and Groups. Translated by Olive Wyon. New York, 1960.
tian, membership in the church increasingly became a condi-
Welch, Claude. The Reality of the Church. New York, 1958.
tion for rights of citizenship.
WCC Commission on Faith and Order. The Nature and Purpose
The fathers of the Greek church connected membership
of the Church: A Stage on the Way to a Common Statement.
with baptism and the Eucharist—sacraments that they
Geneva, 1998.
viewed as effecting union with Christ and participation in
his divine life through faith and charity. These themes con-
LEWIS S. MUDGE (2005)
tinue to be vital, especially in Eastern Christian churches,
which emphasize chrismation as a necessary complement to
baptism.
CHURCH: CHURCH MEMBERSHIP
Augustine (d. 430) and the later Western fathers, nota-
The question of church membership may be approached
bly Gregory I (d. 604), distinguished two aspects of the
from various points of view: the theological, the juridical,
church. On the one hand, it is a communion of grace and
and the sociological. The theological approach, which will
spiritual gifts; on the other, a visibly organized society with
be emphasized here, grows out of the biblical foundations of
doctrinal, sacramental, and ministerial structures. For the
the Christian faith.
followers of Augustine the visible structures were a sign of,
OLD TESTAMENT. The “people of God” are identified with
and a means of entry into, the invisible community, which
Israel as an ethnic group and a nation in various books of
had primary importance. Against the Donatists, Augustine
the Old Testament (Dt. 7:7–8, Is. 41:8, 51:2, etc.). By birth
insisted that sinners were still members of the church,
the individual received the call to live up to the religious heri-
though they belonged to it only in an external way. The
tage of the people. Especially in the Judaism of the Diaspora,
church in its visible aspect, Augustine recognized, does not
non-Israelites who believed in the God of Israel were admit-
perfectly coincide with the communion of the just or of
ted to the ranks of the proselytes and could, through circum-
the predestined, who constitute the church in its deeper
cision and immersion, become Israelites in the full sense. A
dimensions.
person who was once an Israelite could be put under the ban,
MIDDLE AGES. Early medieval theologians such as Bede the
or could apostatize, but could not cease to be a member of
Venerable (d. 735), following Augustine, spoke of the uni-
the people of God.
versal church as having existed from the time of Abel and as
NEW TESTAMENT. There is no discussion of church mem-
including the angels and the souls of the blessed. But they
bership as such in the New Testament, but certain condi-
regarded the visible structures of the church as essential to
tions for membership seem to be implied in metaphors such
its present historical phase. Before the reforms of Gregory
as the net, the flock, the vine and branches, the olive tree,
VII (d. 1085), the church was closely identified with the
and the New Israel. In Romans 12:4–8 and 1 Corinthians
Christian people, who were held to be under two sets of rul-
12:12–31, Paul compares the members of the church to
ers, temporal and spiritual. After Gregory VII a clearer line
which he is writing to organs or limbs of a body. His letter
was drawn between membership in the church and member-
to the Ephesians speaks of Christians as members of the body
ship in the state.
of Christ and of one another (Eph. 5:30, 4:25). In the New
In the high Middle Ages the great scholastic theolo-
Testament, baptism is seen as the basic sacrament of incorpo-
gians, including Thomas Aquinas, saw the church primarily
ration, and it is regularly linked with the profession of Chris-
as a communion of grace, and consequently they looked on
tian faith (Acts 2:38, 8:37, etc.). According to Paul, baptism
membership principally as a grace-relationship to Christ.
makes one a son of God “through faith” (Gal. 3:26–27). The
Thomas held that all human beings except those already
Eucharist further unifies the community insofar as all partake
damned are in one way or another united to Christ as head
of the one bread (1 Cor. 10:17). All members of the commu-
(Summa theologiae 3.8.3c). Those gifted with faith and chari-
nity are seen as having an active role in keeping with their
ty are most perfectly members of the church on earth; those
personal spiritual gifts (Rom. 12:6–18, 1 Cor. 12:7, 1 Pt.
who have faith but not charity are imperfectly members; and
4:10).
infidels are members only in potency. Some scholastic theo-
In various ways the New Testament authors indicate
logians, such as Albertus Magnus, held that although sinners
that membership or some of its effects may cease. For certain
are members of the church, they are not members of Christ’s
grave offenses, believers are ostracized (2 Thes. 3:14),
mystical body.
shunned (Ti. 3:10), avoided (1 Cor. 5:11), treated as heathen
In the late Middle Ages some saw membership as a pure-
(Mt. 18:17), and excluded from the homes of the faithful (2
ly individual relationship to God and as being hidden from
Jn. 10). It is even taught that those who quit the Christian
human eyes. John Wyclif (d. 1348) and Jan Hus (d. 1415)
fellowship can never have been true Christians (1 Jn. 2:19).
spoke of the church as the “multitude of the predestined”
CHRISTIAN ANTIQUITY. As the ancient church wrestled with
(numerus praedestinatorum) known to God alone. For them,
problems of orthodoxy and discipline, it made provision for
reprobates (i.e., those not predestined to glory) were only pu-
the exclusion of heretics, schismatics, and other serious of-
tative members.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1778
CHURCH: CHURCH MEMBERSHIP
REFORMATION AND COUNTER-REFORMATION. The six-
ing up to their professed faith. The council accepted the Au-
teenth-century Protestant reformers Martin Luther, Philipp
gustinian theme that sinners are in the church in a bodily
Melanchthon, and John Calvin held that although the
way but not in their hearts (no. 14). Vatican II’s Decree on
church is visible by reason of its functions of proclaiming the
Ecumenism stressed baptism as the fundamental sacrament
word of God and administering the sacraments, membership
of incorporation (nos. 3, 22). The 1983 Code of Canon Law
in the church is hidden. For practical purposes, they held,
returns to Bellarmino’s three conditions for full communion
we must treat as members those who profess to believe in
in the Catholic Church: the bonds of professed faith, sacra-
God and Christ, who partake of the sacraments, and who live
ments, and ecclesiastical governance (can. 205).
as Christians. But God alone knows who belongs to him by
The concept of church membership in Protestantism
sincere faith and election. Reformation theologians often
has undergone notable changes since the Reformation. The
stated that no one could be saved without belonging to the
“free churches” that arose in the succeeding centuries were
church, but by church in this context they meant “commu-
often nonaggressive sects or “denominations”—that is to say,
nion of saints” rather than a given socially organized institu-
voluntary, nonobligatory associations reflecting certain pref-
tion. Repeating a well-known medieval axiom, they denied
erences with regard to doctrine, worship, or organization.
that God is bound to the means of grace he has instituted.
Membership in a denomination is seen as implying a willing-
In reply to the reformers, Roman Catholics accented the
ness to abide by the rules of the organization, even though
visibility of the church and the guarantees of apostolic suc-
one might wish to change some of those rules. Denomina-
cession. For Roberto Bellarmino (d. 1621), church member-
tional membership is not equated with belonging to the
ship required three conditions: external profession of the true
community of salvation. In some denominations infant bap-
faith, sacramental communion, and subjection to the legiti-
tism is rejected in favor of a “believers’ baptism” adminis-
mate pastors, especially the pope as vicar of Christ. Whoever
tered to adolescents. In such denominations small children
is unbaptized or excommunicated or guilty of manifest here-
are not considered church members.
sy or schism is not a member of the church of Christ (De
The World Council of Churches in 1961 referred to the
controversiis 4, De ecclesia, bk. 3, chap. 2). Bellarmino, how-
mutual recognition of members as an essential of Christian
ever, recognized that non-Catholics and non-Christians, if
unity. Various ecumenical organizations have taken up this
they were living in the grace of God, could belong to what
theme. In the United States, the Consultation on Church
he called the “soul” of the church.
Union has been pressing since 1974 for a recognition that
For Francisco Suárez (d. 1617), the church had existed
baptism in any one of the participating churches effects
in some form since Adam. From the time of Christ, however,
membership in the universal church. A few Christians have
it was the “political or moral body of those who profess true
practiced or advocated dual or plural church membership as
faith in Christ” (De fide, disp. 4, sec. 1, n. 3). Whereas Bellar-
a means of manifesting that the church is one in spite of the
mino held that occult infidels were members of the church,
multiplicity of the denominations.
Suárez denied this—yet the difference was not sharp, because
JURIDICAL ASPECTS. The juridical consequences of member-
even for Bellarmino such secret unbelievers were not “true”
ship may be inferred by scrutiny of the constitutions of par-
members (De controv. 4.3.10).
ticular ecclesiastical bodies. Some recognize more than one
kind of membership, distinguishing, for instance, between
MODERN PERIOD. Until recently Roman Catholic theolo-
communicant and noncommunicant members. To be a
gians continued to adhere in substance to the positions of
communicant (i.e., to be entitled to receive the sacraments),
Bellarmino and Suárez. Bellarmino’s doctrine was a major
one must have attained a certain minimum age (e.g., thirteen
influence on Pius XII, who in his encyclical Mystici corporis
years) and live up to certain requirements, such as church at-
Christi (1943) equated “real” (reapse) membership in the
tendance and financial support. Most churches have proce-
mystical body of Christ with being a Roman Catholic. Vati-
dures for excommunication or exclusion from the rights and
can Council II (1962–1965) modified this stance by avoid-
privileges of membership.
ing the category of membership and by speaking instead of
degrees of relatedness and incorporation. According to the
Spelled out to some degree in canon law, the juridical
Constitution on the Church (Lumen gentium), non-
consequences of membership are theologically rooted in the
Christians who live by the grace of God are positively related
status of being reborn in Christ. Among the duties of mem-
(ordinantur) to the people of God (no. 16). All baptized
bers the following are commonly mentioned: professing the
Christians are joined (conjunguntur) with Christ and with
true faith, participating in the worship of the church, render-
Catholics (no. 15), as are also catechumens who explicitly in-
ing obedience to pastors, maintaining communion with the
tend to become incorporated into the church (no. 14). To
church, defending the freedom of the church, supporting its
be fully incorporated in the church, however, one must ac-
ministers, fostering Christian unity, and promoting peace
cept the visible structures of Roman Catholicism, be in sacra-
and justice in the world. Among the rights of church mem-
mental communion with the pope, and be gifted with the
bers the following are frequently asserted: to hear the word
grace of the Holy Spirit (no. 14). In effect, therefore, Vatican
of God, to receive the sacraments, to exercise the apostolate,
II reserved full membership to Roman Catholics who are liv-
to inquire freely into theological questions, to have freedom
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHURCHES OF CHRIST
1779
of expression, association, and assembly, to enjoy personal
ty. Membership, subjected to analysis, includes various com-
privacy and a good reputation, and to be protected against
ponents—for instance, communion with God through
arbitrary deprivation of office. Some of these “Christian
grace, faith, hope, and charity; relationship to one’s fellow
rights” coincide with human rights recognized in secular
believers; sharing the ideals and doctrines officially professed
society.
by the community; eligibility for sacramental life; and active
SOCIOLOGICAL ASPECTS. Sociologists commonly recognize
participation. Members who are marginal by some of these
various kinds and degrees of membership depending on the
criteria may be modal or nuclear by other criteria.
extent to which the individual is identified with, committed
SEE ALSO Community; Denominationalism; Excom-
to, and active in the church. Joseph H. Fichter, for example,
munication.
distinguishes four categories: the nuclear member, who is ex-
ceptionally active and committed; the modal, who is ordi-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
nary; the marginal, who is somewhat alienated or disaffected;
Carrier, Hervé. The Sociology of Religious Belonging. Translated by
and the dormant, who does not believe or practice but has
Arthur J. Arrieri. New York, 1965. A valuable, highly objec-
not positively defected. Dormancy, as explained by Fichter,
tive study of attitudes toward religious groups, conversion,
is more a matter of religious ignorance or apathy than of ac-
integration, and disaffiliation, from the standpoint of social
tive rejection.
psychology. Requires some updating.
These sociological observations could be applied to non-
Congar, Yves. L’église: De Saint Augustin à l’époque moderne. Paris,
Christian or nonreligious organizations, such as political par-
1970. A history of ecclesiology from a Roman Catholic per-
spective, with informative comments on changing concepts
ties, and they do not focus on what is specific to the church
of church membership.
as a mystery or sacrament of the divine. But sociological anal-
ysis raises certain questions of a theological character—for
Les droits fondamentaux du Chrétien dans l’église et dans la société.
Acts of the Fourth International Congress on Canon Law.
example, whether dormant members should be considered
Edited by Eugenio Corecco, Nikolaus Herzog, and Angelo
members from a theological point of view.
Schola. Fribourg, 1981. A massive collection (1,328 pages)
PRESENT PERSPECTIVES. Looking over the history of the the-
of papers on the rights of Christians, chiefly in connection
ology of membership, one is struck by the correspondence
with the canon law of the Roman Catholic Church.
between changes of theory and shifts in the actual situation
Dulles, Avery. Church Membership as a Catholic and Ecumenical
of the churches. Organic models of membership, developed
Problem. Milwaukee, 1974. A short study that attempts to
from such vitalistic metaphors as body of Christ, had their
correlate theological and sociological aspects, taking account
strongest appeal when society in general was highly organic
of Vatican Council II and the ecumenical movement.
and when the individual had little autonomy against the
Gassman, Benno. Ecclesia Reformata: Die Kirche in den Reformier-
group. Juridical models, which came into vogue in the early
ten Bekenntnisschriften. Freiburg, Basel, and Vienna, 1968. A
modern period, corresponded to the fragmentation of Eu-
Tübingen dissertation on the ecclesiology of the Reformed
rope into highly organized competitive groups, such as na-
confessional writings, with comparisons between them and
tion-states and confessional churches, in which the sovereign
Vatican II. The question of church membership is adequate-
ly handled.
rulers exercised strong coercive power. Voluntarist theories
of membership came to prevail when freedom and individu-
Internationale katholische Zeitschrift “Communio” 5 (May/June
ality were cultivated, especially in the nineteenth century. In
1976). A theme issue on church membership with articles by
Karl Lehmann, Matthäus Kaiser, Yves Congar, Joseph Ratz-
a period such as our own, when the social determinants of
inger, and Hans Urs von Balthasar.
human existence are keenly felt, such religious individualism
may seem inadequate.
Kilcourse, George. Double Belonging: Interchurch Families and
Christian Unity. New York, 1992.
Current thinking about membership will presumably be
Moberg, David O. The Church as a Social Institution. Englewood
influenced by the contemporary situation of religious plural-
Cliffs, N.J., 1962. A standard textbook on the sociology of
ism and rapid social change, as well as by the fact that mem-
religion in the American context with several chapters touch-
bership in a church and membership in civil society no lon-
ing on church membership.
ger imply each other in most countries. Many Christians,
Die Zugehörigkeit zur Kirche. Report of the Seventh International
subjected to a variety of influences, seem to be only partially
Conference on the Sociology of Religion, Königstein im
identified with their religious community, yet they are un-
Taunus, June 30 to July 2, 1962. Edited by Walter Menges
willing to leave that community, which they cherish for its
and Norbert Greinacher. Mainz, 1964. Papers by European
positive values. Some suspect that as secularization contin-
scholars on various aspects of membership—historical, socio-
ues, the church will increasingly consist of a minority who
logical, theological, and pastoral.
have made an explicit choice, often against the tenor of
AVERY DULLES (1987 AND 2005)
society.
By forcing new reflection on the idea of membership,
the present complex situation makes it evident that the term
CHURCHES OF CHRIST emerged from the Stone-
membership does not correspond to any single objective reali-
Campbell movement (also called the Disciples, or Restora-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1780
CHURCHES OF CHRIST
tion, movement) during the half-century following the
N. B. Hardeman (1874–1965), G. C. Brewer (1884–1956),
American Civil War. Opposition to instrumental music in
and Foy E. Wallace Jr. (1896–1979). All were widely known
worship, missionary societies, and a professional ministry
evangelists who through their preaching, writing, and teach-
characterized the views of conservatives who had essentially
ing exercised a powerful conservative influence on the
coalesced by the time of the first U.S. Religious Census in
churches.
1906.
A series of controversies and small schisms occurred in
The majority of Churches of Christ were then located
the first half of the twentieth century, reflecting the literalis-
in the states of the former Confederacy, with a membership
tic biblical hermeneutic then characteristic of Churches of
of approximately 160,000. By 1926 this number had grown
Christ. All legitimate beliefs and practices, members be-
to over 435,000, with estimates of 600,000 in 1941. This
lieved, were discerned from the New Testament through a
growth was largely the result of evangelism by traveling
three-fold hermeneutic of direct command, apostolic exam-
preachers and ordinary members who were convinced
ple, and necessary inference. Debates arose over the scriptur-
Churches of Christ had restored New Testament Christiani-
alness of full-time preachers, Sunday schools, multiple cups
ty. In 2000 the Atlas of American Religion listed Churches of
in the Lord’s Supper, and dispensational premillennialism.
Christ as one of seven national denominations, partially
The mainstream accepted the first three as expedient, but re-
based on the group’s presence in every part of the nation, a
jected premillennial eschatology as inimical to its conviction
reflection of this early persistent evangelism.
that the restored church is the kingdom of God on earth.
The fiercely congregational Churches of Christ have no
The attitude that Churches of Christ were the only true
official denominational structures or binding creeds. In the
Christians, coupled with the socioeconomic reality that the
twentieth century their identity and uniformity was largely
membership was largely rural and working class, contributed
formed around three unofficial loci: religious schools, jour-
to its cultural and religious isolation in the first half of the
nals, and influential traveling evangelists.
twentieth century, with the exception of a few southern cities
like Nashville and Louisville. In the 1940s, however,
Five colleges became important centers of learning and
Churches of Christ began to take on national stature and an
identity for Churches of Christ. Lipscomb University, origi-
international presence.
nally Nashville Bible School, was founded by David Lip-
scomb and James A. Harding in Nashville, Tennessee, in
Members of Churches of Christ who served in World
1891. The school embodied the educational model of Alex-
War II returned home promoting evangelism and benevolent
ander Campbell, who opposed the creation of a clergy class
assistance to Europe and Asia. In 1946 the Broadway Church
through narrowly focused theological training. Instead, all
of Christ in Lubbock, Texas, called a national meeting to dis-
students studied the Bible in the context of a liberal arts edu-
cuss cooperation for these purposes, and some larger congre-
cation. This model has prevailed in schools affiliated with
gations took the role of “sponsoring church” for specific na-
Churches of Christ. The other major institutions established
tions. The group’s colleges grew with the postwar influx of
in the early twentieth century are Abilene Christian Univer-
students under the GI Bill, and an increased desire for
sity in Abilene, Texas (1906); Freed-Hardeman University
trained ministers prompted the establishment of new
in Henderson, Tennessee (1908); Harding University in
schools. In 1943, Olan Hicks established the Christian
Searcy, Arkansas (1924); and Pepperdine University in Mali-
Chronicle as a communion-wide newspaper, and it eventually
bu, California (1937).
became the largest circulated paper in Churches of Christ.
A national radio program, the Herald of Truth, began in
With the absence of official statements of belief, jour-
1952 under the sponsorship of the 5th and Highland
nals functioned as a major locus for creating and maintaining
Church of Christ in Abilene, Texas.
doctrinal consensus. The most influential journals in
Churches of Christ in the twentieth century were the Gospel
Some viewed these moves with alarm, seeing them as ev-
Advocate, established in 1855 by Tolbert Fanning in Nash-
idence of growing institutionalism and modernization. A
ville, Tennessee, and the Firm Foundation, established in
noninstitutional movement, led by individuals like Fanning
1884 by Austin McGary in Austin, Texas. Both continued
Yater Tant (1908–1997), editor of the Gospel Guardian, at-
to shape and reflect mainstream positions for the body until
tacked church support of colleges, cooperative mission ef-
the 1970s.
forts, and orphans homes as unscriptural and indicative of
a desire for worldly prestige. By the end of the 1950s, ap-
The most important early thought-shaper was David
proximately two thousand noninstitutional congregations
Lipscomb (1831–1917), editor of the Gospel Advocate for
had formed a separate communion.
nearly half a century. His opposition to the “innovations” in-
troduced by those in what would become the Disciples of
Separate black congregations were formed when African
Christ and his strict ideas of congregational polity became
Americans who opposed instrumental music and missionary
identifying characteristics of Churches of Christ, though his
societies withdrew from the Disciples in the early twentieth
beliefs on Christian nonparticipation in government were
century. Two leaders symbolized different approaches to seg-
not universally accepted. Other important leaders included
regation in Churches of Christ. Marshall Keeble (1878–
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHURCH UNIVERSAL AND TRIUMPHANT
1781
1968), an evangelist who baptized over thirty thousand peo-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
ple, represented an accommodationist stance, acting deferen-
The first major effort at a history of Churches of Christ was un-
tially to whites and thereby securing their support. G. P.
dertaken by Earl Irvin West in two volumes titled The Search
Bowser (1874–1950) consistently attacked white racism as
for the Ancient Order: A History of the Restoration Movement,
contrary to the gospel. He was known especially for his work
first published by the Gospel Advocate Company in 1949
as an educator and editor, operating several schools and
and 1950. West’s treatment, eventually expanded to four
volumes, reflected the triumphalistic attitude characteristic
founding the Christian Echo in 1902. In 1945, African
of Churches of Christ in the early twentieth century. In the
American Churches of Christ established an annual National
1990s a new, more self-critical, historiography arose that re-
Lectureship, and in 1950 founded Southwestern Christian
flected an identity shift in the mainstream that had begun at
College in Terrell, Texas. At the beginning of the twenty-
least by the 1960s. Among the chief representatives of this
first century, these churches numbered over 169,000 mem-
new approach are:
bers in more than 1,200 congregations.
Childers, Jeff W., Douglas A. Foster, and Jack R. Reese. The Crux
In the 1960s a growing rift could be detected between
of the Matter: Crisis, Tradition, and the Future of Churches of
conservatives and progressives in mainstream Churches of
Christ. Abilene, Tex., 2002.
Christ. In 1966, conservative Ira Y. Rice Jr. (1917–2001)
Foster, Douglas A. Will the Cycle Be Unbroken? Churches of Christ
published the first of three volumes titled Axe on the Root,
Face the 21st Century. Abilene, Tex., 1994.
in which he attacked leaders he believed were abandoning
Harrell, David Edwin, Jr. The Churches of Christ in the Twentieth
traditional positions. The next year progressives began Mis-
Century: Homer Hailey’s Personal Journey of Faith. Tuscaloo-
sion magazine to challenge the body’s biblical hermeneutic
sa, Ala., 2000.
and the assumption that Churches of Christ were the only
Holloway, Gary, and Douglas A. Foster. Renewing God’s People:
true Christians. Wineskins magazine, begun in 1992 and re-
A Concise History of Churches of Christ. Abilene, Tex., 2001.
named New Wineskins in 2001, has become the most impor-
Hooper, Robert E. A Distinct People: A History of the Churches of
tant progressive journal. The rift continued to develop so
Christ in the Twentieth Century. West Monroe, La., 1993.
that at the beginning of the twenty-first century a de facto
Hughes, Richard T. Reviving the Ancient Faith: The Story of
division existed, though nowhere officially recognized.
Churches of Christ in America. Grand Rapids, Mich., 1996.
In 1993, congregations of the International Church of
Because of the congregational polity of Churches of Christ, accu-
Christ (ICOC), formerly known as the Boston Church of
rate statistics have been difficult to obtain. Mac Lynn, work-
Christ, asked not to be included in church directories. These
ing with the Glenmary Institute’s efforts to gather extensive
churches had become a source of controversy for their aggres-
national religious data, has produced reliable statistics on the
sive evangelism, cultic control of members, and rigid hierar-
body in his directories Churches of Christ around the World:
chal structure. In late 2002 a shakeup of the ICOC’s leader-
Exclusive of the United States and Her Territories. Nashville,
ship resulted in more prerogative for local congregations,
Tenn., 2003; and Churches of Christ in the United States: In-
most of which are located in major world cities.
clusive of Her Commonwealth and Territories. Nashville,
Tenn., 2003.
Churches of Christ in the United States grew from
915,000 members in 1965 to over 1.24 million in 1980.
DOUGLAS A. FOSTER (2005)
Growth has been slow in the United States since then, with
a count of slightly over 1.26 million in 2000. Growth outside
the United States, however, has been dramatic in the same
CHURCH OF ENGLAND SEE ANGLICANISM
period. By 2003, studies indicated almost one million mem-
bers of Churches of Christ in Africa alone, with several hun-
dred thousand in India. Missionaries and indigenous evange-
lists supported directly by individual American
CHURCH UNIVERSAL AND TRIUM-
congregations was the rule, though many national churches
PHANT is a modern movement that has its roots in vari-
are now self-supporting.
ous New Age predecessor groups, such as Theosophy, New
Three major bodies share the Stone-Campbell heritage:
Thought, and the Saint Germain Foundation. The move-
Churches of Christ, the Christian Church (Disciples of
ment started its existence in 1958 as Summit Lighthouse, a
Christ), and the “independent” Christian Churches/
Washington, D.C.-based group founded by Mark L. Proph-
Churches of Christ, the last two dividing over issues sur-
et (1918–1973). Prophet was a follower of the teachings of
rounding the twentieth-century fundamentalist-modernist
Guy Ballard (1878–1939) and Edna Ballard (1886–1971),
controversy. In 1984, talks labeled the “Restoration Forum”
founders of the Saint Germain Foundation, and of two spin-
began between Churches of Christ and independent Chris-
off groups, Bridge to Freedom and Lighthouse of Freedom.
tian Churches, and in 1999, leaders from all three groups in-
The mission of these three groups was to publish hidden
augurated the Stone-Campbell Dialogue to explore ways
spiritual teachings from higher planes of existence to guide
they might minister together.
the world at a critical moment in human history. The Bal-
lards alone published over three thousand discourses given
SEE ALSO Campbell, Alexander; Disciples of Christ.
to them by the “ascended masters,” who were seen as disem-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1782
CHURCH UNIVERSAL AND TRIUMPHANT
bodied adepts responsible for the spiritual progress of hu-
1924). Militz taught that the goal of human existence was
mankind. For the Ballards, the key ascended master was
the union of the human soul with the divine being in heaven,
Saint Germain, who was believed to have contacted Guy Bal-
an experience she termed ascension. This exalted state was the
lard on Mount Shasta in northern California in a 1930 vi-
birthright of every human soul and the crowning stage of
sion. Saint Germain designated Ballard the messenger of the
evolution. Summit Lighthouse adopted this concept and ar-
ascended masters for the coming Seventh Golden Age of
ticulated it in a spiritual anthropology that posited a tripar-
spiritual realization. Following Guy Ballard’s death in 1939
tite human nature consisting of the I AM presence (the di-
and a prolonged prosecution of the Saint Germain Founda-
vine spark or God self), the Christ consciousness (an interior
tion for mail fraud, the Bridge to Freedom was founded by
mediator between the human and divine planes of existence),
a disgruntled New York member, Geraldine Innocente
and the human soul (a mortal component that could become
(d. 1961). Innocente claimed contact with the ascended mas-
immortal if ascension was achieved). Summit Lighthouse
ters and published her “dictations” under the pseudonym of
(and later Church Universal and Triumphant) taught that
Thomas Printz. Prophet, a one-time follower of Innocente,
the carefully graded path of initiation freed disciples from
became another claimant to messenger status and decided to
negative karma, wed them to the Christ consciousness, and
publish his own “dictations” through Summit Lighthouse.
led them to final ascension.
Prophet announced that he had received the mantle of “mes-
senger” from the ascended masters for the dawning Age of
A third central teaching of Summit Lighthouse con-
Aquarius.
cerned the collective mission of the ascended masters, Sum-
mit Lighthouse, and the United States in spearheading a
During this early period, Prophet published Pearls of
Golden Age of spiritual freedom and illumination for hu-
Wisdom, small booklets containing his messages from the as-
mankind. This mission had its roots in Prophet’s Gnostic-
cended masters. He also organized the Keepers of the Flame
inspired version of creation, in which a creator deity had em-
Fraternity for a committed inner core of disciples. The Keep-
anated perfect replicas of itself into the universe at the begin-
ers made a monthly tithe and were sent a graded series of
ning of time. These divine sparks, in turn, had become
spiritual instructions that laid out Summit Lighthouse’s cen-
enmeshed in the material world and had forgotten their true
tral teachings.
identity and ancestry. It was the mission of the ascended
masters and of Summit Lighthouse to reveal the truth of the
The first of these teachings concerned a practice known
human condition and to furnish a path whereby humanity
as decreeing. This practice has its roots in the New Thought
could be restored to its spiritual heritage.
movement of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centu-
ries. Emma Curtis Hopkins (1849–1925), a prominent pur-
The United States played a central role in this mission.
veyor of New Thought doctrines, taught that verbal affirma-
According to Summit teachings, America has been spon-
tions using the biblical name of God, “I Am,” connected
sored since its beginnings by the ascended master Saint Ger-
students with their inner divine nature and assured that what
main, the Lord of the Seventh Ray of Freedom. Prophet
was affirmed would manifest in the material universe. Both
claimed that Saint Germain was the inspiration behind the
the Saint German Foundation and Summit Lighthouse
U.S. Constitution and that he had anointed George Wash-
adopted this practice and made it central to their respective
ington as the country’s first president. The country’s unique
ritual repertoire. The attraction of decreeing was the belief
role as a “New Atlantis” and forerunner of planetary spiritual
it gave students that they could overcome negative condi-
illumination, however, was threatened by “fallen ones,” who
tions in their lives and bring about both physical and psycho-
were seeking to weaken the United States through socialism,
logical healing. A derivation of this teaching would be adopt-
rock and jazz music, tobacco, alcohol, gambling, and abor-
ed by modern-day “prosperity gospel” proponents such as
tion. Summit Lighthouse (and later Church Universal and
Robert Tilton, Kenneth Copeland, and Robert Schuller. In
Triumphant) adopted a nationalistic political outlook that
Summit Lighthouse’s version of decreeing, the affirmations
cast the movement as a spiritual army commissioned by the
were vocalized at a rapid pace that sounded like a buzzing
ascended masters to do battle with the “dark forces” threat-
with indistinct phrases. To take one example:
ening the nation’s entry into the prophesied Golden Age.
The church’s elitism, utopianism, and millennialism would
I AM Light, glowing Light, Radiating Light, intensified
result in an increasingly paranoid outlook and a cycle of
Light. God consumes my darkness, Transmuting it into
apocalyptic extremism that threatened its very existence in
Light. This day I AM a focus of the Central Sun. Flow-
ing through me is a crystal river, A living fountain of
the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Light That can never be qualified By human thought
During the early 1960s, Prophet had a small coterie of
and feeling. I AM an outpost of the Divine. Such dark-
followers who attended his classes in Washington, D.C., or
ness as has used me is swallowed up By the mighty river
who belonged to Summit study groups around the country.
of Light which I AM!
In 1963, Prophet divorced his first wife and married a young
A second central teaching detailed the path of ascension.
student, Elizabeth Clare Wulf (b. 1939). While Mark Proph-
This teaching traces its roots to Christianity and to the writ-
et was clearly the public spokesperson and “messenger” for
ings of New Thought teacher Annie Rix Militz (1856–
the movement, behind the scenes he began training his new
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHURCH UNIVERSAL AND TRIUMPHANT
1783
wife as “comessenger.” The couple left Washington and
Following a bitter lawsuit brought by a disgruntled ex-
moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado, in 1966. As the
member and a spate of negative publicity, the church moved
counterculture emerged during this period, many young
its international headquarters to southern Montana in 1986.
people were drawn to Summit’s teachings. A select group of
The move was also occasioned by fears of earthquakes in Cal-
these students moved into the Prophets’ handsome mansion,
ifornia and of nuclear attack by the Soviet Union, and by
La Tourelle, where they lived in spartan simplicity and assist-
zoning battles with the church’s Malibu neighbors. Prophet
ed the Prophets’ increasingly ambitious national outreach.
extolled the new Royal Teton Ranch property as a site where
Part of this outreach included four seasonal conclaves,
members could work together under the ascended masters’
at New Year’s, Easter, the Fourth of July, and Columbus
protection to neutralize impending negative karma for the
Day, which brought together disciples from around the
earth and thus ensure the safe entry of the planet into the
world. In 1970, the Prophets established Montessori Inter-
Golden Age of Aquarian illumination.
national, an alternative educational system based on the
The church entered a period of increased apocalyptic
teachings of Maria Montessori (1870–1952) and a potpourri
anxiety during the late 1980s after warnings from the ascend-
of progressive educational theories. They also founded As-
ed masters about a possible nuclear war with the Soviet
cended Master University (later called Summit University)
Union between 1989 and 1991. Members frantically con-
in 1972 to provide new members with an intensive and ex-
structed a network of fallout shelters on ranch property high
tended exposure to the group’s spiritual teachings. Students
in the foothills of the Teton mountains and called on its far-
lived and ate in common, participated in decreeing and dic-
flung membership to move to the adjacent Paradise Valley.
tation sessions, and enjoyed one-to-one sessions of spiritual
When a series of prophesied events failed to materialize in
counseling with the Prophets. Summit University would un-
early 1990, the group found itself dubbed as a “doomsday
dergo myriad refinements in both curriculum and mission
cult” by the international media. Prophet tried to calm fears
over the next thirty years, perhaps reaching its apex in 1977
that the group was a “dangerous cult” about to implode by
with Camelot, the movement’s New Age mystery school
appearing on national television programs such as The Oprah
constructed on the 218-acre campus of the former Thomas
Winfrey Show, Nightline, and Larry King Live, and defending
Aquinas College near Malibu, California.
her church as a patriotic group that wished to live in harmo-
Following Mark Prophet’s sudden death in 1973, Eliza-
ny with its neighbors. She also publicly disavowed any specif-
beth Clare Prophet took firm control of the movement,
ic doomsday prophecies, while maintaining that the Soviet
which she renamed Church Universal and Triumphant in
Union still posed dangers to the United States.
1974. Summit Lighthouse became the movement’s increas-
ingly successful publishing subsidiary. The key movement
This period of intense apocalyptic expectation and sub-
publications of this period were Climb the Highest Mountain
sequent collective exhaustion resulted in a mass exodus of
(1972) by Mark and Elizabeth Clare Prophet, and The Great
church members and a severe downsizing of the organiza-
White Brotherhood in the Culture, History, and Religion of
tion’s Montana staff. By the mid-1990s, the church was be-
America (1976) by Elizabeth Clare Prophet. While acknowl-
ginning to sell off parcels of its property simply to meet on-
edging the movement’s roots in Theosophy and the I AM
going operational expenses. In 1996, Church Universal and
Activity, these books were asserted as crucial new revelations
Triumphant’s board of directors appointed Gilbert Clair-
from the Ascended Master El Morya for the Aquarian Age.
bault, a Belgian management consultant, as its president and
They also proclaimed Church Universal and Triumphant as
began a wholesale reconstitution of the church and its mis-
the true church of the “ascended masters” Gautama Buddha
sion. The group has moved away from its prior ideology of
and Jesus Christ. Elizabeth Clare Prophet moved the church
apocalyticism and hyper-patriotism and now represents itself
to southern California in 1976 and was successful in estab-
as a mainstream church whose mission is to make the Proph-
lishing study groups and teaching centers across the United
ets’ considerable body of New Age teachings available to an
States.
international audience in the form of both print and elec-
tronic media. Another aspect of its new mission is to engen-
During the late 1970s and early 1980s, Elizabeth Clare
der the creation of spiritual communities around the world
Prophet was a nationally known purveyor of New Age spiri-
whose members embrace the church’s esoteric teachings and
tuality who made regular appearances on television and
alternative healing, educational, and spiritual practices.
radio. Her national tours, billed as “Stumping for Higher
Consciousness,” used state-of-the-art audiovisual technology
A further crisis enveloped the church in 1999 when
and included dramatic dictations, decreeing, and initiatory
Prophet disclosed that she was suffering from Alzheimer’s
blessings. Prophet advocated her conservative positions on
disease. This was a severe blow to a movement that had seen
such controversial social issues as pornography, abortion, ter-
its leader as the one true spokesperson for the ascended mas-
rorism, and America’s need for a strong civil defense. Al-
ters and as a spiritual master who had balanced her karma
though nationalistic and nativistic in the tone of its public
and was ready for ascension. In July 1999, Prophet turned
pronouncements, the church was inclusive in its member-
over both her temporal and spiritual authority to a leadership
ship, which reflected a wide spectrum of socioeconomic, eth-
group consisting of a president, a board of directors, and a
nic, and national backgrounds.
24-member council of elders. The church has embraced en-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1784
CHURINGA
trepreneurial currents found in other New Age religious
spoken in Turkey and the Turkic languages spoken in the
groups and is actively marketing its myriad products around
Russian Federation, Poland, Iran, Afghanistan, and China.
the world. To keep its worldwide membership in regular
The second group, which included Khazar and Bulgar until
communication, the church broadcasts its decreeing rituals
they became extinct in the Middle Ages, is now made up
and public meetings to subscribers via the internet.
solely of Chuvash. Thus the Chuvash language and people
Elizabeth Clare Prophet is now fully retired from
play a key role in reconstructing most of what is known today
church work and resides in Bozeman, Montana. As the
of ancient Turkic religion.
movement strives to routinize her considerable charisma in
In the eighth century the Chuvash moved from the
various ministerial and organizational offices, she remains a
south to the middle Volga region, where they formed the
revered figure in the movement. Groups of disgruntled
major part of the Volga Bulgar empire, a state that came
members maintain contact through various newsletters, chat
under Khazar jurisdiction. A gradual Islamization from the
rooms, and conferences, and there has been an ongoing bat-
region of Khorezm, however, led to the Volga Bulgar emper-
tle between those who advocate a more corporate culture for
or’s acceptance in 922 of the religious authority of the caliph
the group and those who seek to retain the charismatic atmo-
in Baghdad. The empire flourished until the Mongol inva-
sphere and governance of the church’s founding period.
sion of 1236, when the Chuvash found shelter and a fair de-
gree of autonomy in the forested regions on the right bank
SEE ALSO Hopkins, Emma Curtis; New Thought Move-
of the middle Volga. The Kipchaks of the Kazan region,
ment; Prophet, Mark and Elizabeth Clare; Theosophical
however, posed a constant threat and tried to spread Islam.
Society.
By the middle of the sixteenth century Russian colonization
reached the Chuvash territory; after their occupation of
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Kazan, the Russians began attempts to Christianize the Chu-
Lewis, James R., and J. Gordon Melton, eds. Church Universal
vash, who tried to evade conversion by fleeing to the lands
and Triumphant in Scholarly Perspective. Stanford, Calif.,
between the Volga and the Ural.
1994.
Prophet, Elizabeth Clare. The Great White Brotherhood in the Cul-
The Chuvash joined forces with Muslim Tatars and
ture, History, and Religion of America. Colorado Springs,
Bashkirs in several unsuccessful uprisings against the Rus-
Colo., 1976.
sians in the eighteenth century. By the 1860s large numbers
Prophet, Elizabeth Clare. The Lost Years of Jesus: Documentary Evi-
of Chuvash tried to convert to Islam as a last resort, but these
dence of Jesus’ 17-Year Journey to the East. Livingston, Mont.,
efforts were also thwarted by the Russians, who, in addition
1984.
to their existing policy of translating the Bible and Russian
Prophet, Elizabeth Clare. The Lost Teachings of Jesus. 2 vols. Liv-
Orthodox religious books into Chuvash, began to set up
ingston, Mont., 1986.
schools that featured Chuvash as the medium of instruction
and a curriculum that was almost entirely religious. By the
Prophet, Mark L., and Elizabeth Clare Prophet. Climb the Highest
Mountain: The Everlasting Gospel. Colorado Springs, Colo.,
end of the nineteenth century more than fifty such schools
1972.
had been established among the Chuvash. Although many
Chuvash finally converted as a result, the indigenous tradi-
Prophet, Mark L., and Elizabeth Clare Prophet. Science of the Spo-
ken Word. Colorado Springs, Colo., 1974.
tions, amalgamated with some Christian and Islamic ele-
ments, continued to flourish into the twentieth century.
Whitsel, Bradley C. The Church Universal and Triumphant: Eliza-
beth Clare Prophet’s Apocalyptic Movement. Syracuse, N.Y.,
Chuvash popular religion comprises traditional ele-
2003.
ments to which have been added significant layers of Islamic
P
influence and a certain, though superficial, stratum of Rus-
HILLIP CHARLES LUCAS (2005)
sian Orthodox Christianity. The core of the traditional reli-
gion has preserved elements of the ancient Turkic religion.
The central figure of the Chuvash pantheon is Tura,
CHURINGA SEE TJURUNGAS
whose name is a Chuvash derivative of the Old Turkic deity
name Tängri (Tengri). The name Tura˘ is also used for the
Muslim and Christian God and was adopted in the Chuvash
translations of the Bible. The Old Turkic name Tängri de-
CHUVASH RELIGION. The nearly two million
noted both “God” and “sky.” The latter meaning is now ab-
Chuvash-speaking peoples inhabit the Chuvash Republic,
sent from Chuvash, but its earlier presence can be inferred,
Tatarstan, and Bashkortostan, all autonomous republics
and its disappearance can be attributed to a transformation
within the Russian Federation. The Chuvash have had a long
of beliefs through the influence of Islam and Christianity.
history of contact with Islam and Christianity that has in va-
The concept is still retained to a certain extent; “to thunder,”
rying degrees affected the traditional indigenous religion.
for example, is expressed in Chuvash by Tura˘ a´satat, where
In the first few centuries BCE the Turkic language family
a´sa- carries the original meaning of “father, grandfather, God
separated into two groups: the first now includes the Turkish
the father, thunder.” Tura˘, like Tängri prior to contact with
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CHUVASH RELIGION
1785
Christianity and Islam, is qualified also as the creator,
consist of four types of forest: the “black forest” of leafy trees,
S´uratakan.
the spruce forest, the poplar forest, and the juniper forest.
Thus there is a conjunction of the Inner Asian concept of
The Chuvash medicine man is called yum´sa˘ and can be
the four cardinal points with the typical “forested” world
either male or female. The yum´sa˘ s cure various types of dis-
image of the Finno-Ugric peoples.
ease, perform particular rituals, trace stolen or lost animals,
take part in weddings, and assist at childbirth. Some scholars
The dominant elements of contemporary Chuvash pop-
have identified the yum´sa˘s with shamans, but this hypothesis
ular religion, however, do not originate from traditional
is unacceptable, for the yum´sa˘s feature none of the salient
Chuvash religion but from Islam. In some places Chuvash
characteristics of the shaman, for example, trance, journey
peasants worshiped a god called Xa˘rpan, to whom they sacri-
to the otherworld, and use of a special garment and a sacred
ficed a white ram. It is thought that the role of this deity,
drum. Additionally, it has been recognized that if the yum´sa˘
or at least his name, was influenced by Islamic sacrifice,
were indeed a shaman, the term itself would be etymological-
called qurba¯n in Arabic. The lord of the wolves that protect
ly identical to the Turkic qam, “shaman.” Szalontai-
the sheep is venerated as Pixampar, a name derived from the
Dimitrieva (1982, pp. 171–178) has pointed out the diffi-
New Persian payghamber (“prophet”). The Chuvash recog-
culties of this identification and suggests that the term may
nize an evil spirit, who is called Sˇuytan, from the Arabic
be a recent loan from a Tatar term that can be traced to the
shayt:a¯n.
Old Turkic form, yumˇci, which has a corresponding Mongo-
The most respected of all spirits is the kiremet. The kire-
lian form, domˇci (“sorcerer, medicine man”). Another im-
met is the soul of a deceased person. Some Chuvash groups
portant Chuvash figure is a different type of sorcerer, the
specify that it is the soul of someone who was wicked or evil
tuxatma˘ˇs. In this case there is no doubt that the concept and
or who died a violent death. Kiremets dwell beneath the
role of the tuxatma˘ˇs is borrowed. The term can ultimately
earth, and all localities have their own kiremets. In many re-
be traced to the Arabic du Ea¯D (“prayer”). In Chuvash tuka tu-
gions, forest clearings, meadows, cemeteries, hills, or brooks
or tuxat- denotes “to cast a spell or charm,” and thus the
may be worshiped as kiremets; in this sense the word bears
tuxatma˘ˇs is the person who casts the spell; the prayer of the
the closest resemblance to its Arabic cognate, kara¯mah
Muslim muezzin came to be identified with the sorcerer’s in-
(“miracle”). Usually the area is encircled with a fence and
cantation. In its present linguistic form, the term appears to
cannot be plowed or used for secular purposes. Periodically,
have been a recent loan, perhaps from the southern Bashkirs.
sacrifices are offered within this area. In some regions of
Some traits of the Old Chuvash religion can be recon-
northern Chuvashia kiremets inhabit trees and have a special
structed only with the help of other sources. A certain type
guard, the kiremet ketü´si (“herdsman of the kiremet”). This
of sorcerer (Old Turkic, bögüˇci) is no longer extant among
designation indicates the influence of the nomadic herdsmen
the Chuvash but most likely was a part of old Chuvash cul-
on the nonnomadic forest peoples of northern Chuvashia.
ture. The evidence for this comes from the Hungarians, who
The Chuvash also derived their notion of the angel of
borrowed and preserved the concept and role of the bögüˇci
death from Islam. He is known both as Esrel (cf. Arab.
from the Chuvash during their close contact from the sixth
EIzra¯D¯ıl) and Masar Pu´seˇ (“ruler of the cemetery,” cf. Arab.
to ninth centuries.
maza¯r). The central orientation in prayer, however, is not to-
Other influences can be found among the Finno-Ugric
ward Mecca, but toward the east, following the Türk tradi-
Mari (Cheremis) people, whose term for sin (sulak) is derived
tion. Thus during prayers or sacrifice the Chuvash faces east,
from the Chuvash ´sila˘x. The Christian Tatars have borrowed
and in the grave one’s head is positioned on the western side
their word for prayer, keläü, from the Middle Chuvash. Chu-
because one must look eastward. The eyes of the dead, and
vash also borrowed from contacts with other peoples; their
sometimes also the nose, mouth, and ears, are covered with
word for human being (´sin) is a loan from the Middle Per-
small linen patches. Excavations in the Volga region and in
sian ja¯n (“soul”). Later, the same Iranian term came as a New
Hungary indicate similar burial customs dating to the ninth
Persian loan into Chuvash a second time through the Tatar
century. Until recent times the Chuvash also placed money
in the form of cun and retained the meaning of “soul.”
and food in the grave, and sometimes the saddle, harness,
and parts of the horse as well. These practices can be traced
Not only comparative linguistics but also contemporary
to burial customs in southern Russia and Hungary between
Chuvash folk practices serve as a source for reconstructing
the eighth and tenth centuries. In some parts of southern
traditional Chuvash religion. One of the incantations spelled
Chuvashia the funeral feast is not held until the Friday of the
by a yum´sa˘ on a sick person refers to a pillar that stands in
seventh week after death.
the middle of the world and supports the sky with the sun
and moon on either side. The sky is said to be like the roof
In northern Chuvashia the funeral ceremonies include
of a nomadic tent whose roof cover is closed with a ring. This
placing a plank between a chair and a table that serves as a
fits the description of a yurt, although the Chuvash have not
“bridge.” The soul of the deceased must travel from the chair
lived in yurts for more than seven hundred years. In contrast,
across the bridge to the table and from there to God. The
the world beneath is not said to be the steppes of the early
ceremony is called the Feast of the Grave-post and is derived
Chuvash, who were nomads. Rather, this world is said to
and transformed from Islam and early Iranian religion. 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
1786
CICERO
various elements contributing to Chuvash popular religion
cient “personal religion” from public and private devotion
are evident in different Chuvash practices; many aspects of
and cult (sacra publica, sacra privata). Personal religion for
this religion, however, remain to be studied systematically by
a man of learning such as Cicero meant philosophical specu-
scholars.
lation. For him, investigation into the nature of the gods and
personal opinion on divinity belonged to the sphere of phi-
SEE ALSO Islam, article on Islam in Central Asia; Tengri;
losophy, while “religion” indicated an official institution
Turkic Religions.
with the purpose of paying homage to the essential values of
the res publica.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Denisov, Petr Vladimirovich. Religioznye verovaniia chuvash. Che-
If the diverse interests of Cicero converge upon every-
boksary, 1959. A historical overview of Chuvash religion
thing involving public life and the public figure, religion,
with attention to the political history of these peoples.
from his point of view, was an inalienable part of this. The
Magnitskii, Vasilii Konstantinovich. Materialy k ob’iasneniiu staroi
laws on religion that form the opening of his ideal constitu-
chuvashskoi very. Kazan, 1881. One of the first descriptions
tion in the work De legibus show how far from his mode of
of the “black faith” of the Chuvash, with original texts and
thought was the notion of the independence of the clergy
Russian translations.
from the state. But religion, consisting of sacra publica, did
Mészáros, Gyula. Csuvas népköltési gyüjtemény, vol. 1, A csuvas
not require speculative thought. In De natura deorum the
o
˝svallás emlékei. Budapest, 1909. Materials collected in 1906
pontifex Cotta compares the immutable contents of the
in Chuvashia on religion, customs, and folklore; contains
mores handed down by their parents with the transient na-
original texts with Hungarian translations.
ture of philosophical speculation regarding divinity. Religion
Nikol’skii, Nikolai Vasil’evich. Khristianstvo sredi chuvash srednego
signifies an entire collection of customs, festivals, rites, sacri-
Povolzh’ia v XVI–XVIII vekakh. Kazan, 1912. Working with
fices, prayers, processions, and feasts, all serving to express
original documents, the author describes not only the Chris-
the essence of productive, civic human society. For Cicero,
tianization of the Chuvash but also their popular beliefs.
religion was an institution, not a creed; it was an institution
Szalontai-Dimitrieva, Judith. “The Etymology of the Chuvash
of protection that permitted and ensured social stability, a
Word Yum´sa˘ ‘Sorcerer.’” In Chuvash Studies, edited by An-
safeguard of law and constitutional order. Ethical values, em-
drás Róna-Tas, pp. 171–178. Budapest and Wiesbaden,
phasized by Cicero, are independent of religion: gods and
1982. Includes an analysis of the functions of the yum´sa˘.
human beings have the same rational ability. On the other
New Sources
hand, the problem of transcendence was discussed philo-
Braslavskii, Leonid. Religioznye i okkul tnye techeniia v Chuvashii.
sophically and without any particularly personal contribu-
Cheboksary, 2000.
tion or involvement. Cicero provides a more or less contem-
Salmin, Anton Kirillovich. Religiozno-obriadovaia sistema chu-
porary bibliography, so to speak, on the subject, and the
vashei. Cheboksary, 1993.
discussion on divinity is unfolded in minute, scholarly detail.
Trofimov, Aleksei Aleksandrovich. Chuvashskaia narodnaia kul-
In De natura deorum, the existence of the gods is seen
tovaia skulptura. Cheboksary, 1993.
as a social, political, and philosophical problem, but it does
Vovina, Olesia Petrovna. In Search of the National Idea: Cultural
not have any bearing upon religious feeling: the problem of
Revival and Traditional Religiosity in the Chuvash Republic.
the existence of the gods is resolved via a patriotic list of po-
Washington, D.C., 2000.
litical occurrences. A member of the pontifical college,
Werth, Paul William. “Subjects for Empire: Orthodox Mission
Cotta, is entrusted with the refutation of the Stoic theory of
and Imperial Governance in the Volga-Kama Region, 1825–
the Pronoia. Religion is the servant of ethics and the patriotic
1881.” Ph.D. diss., University of Michigan, Ann Arbor,
sentiments and institutions created by the empire. But the
1996.
inherently fragmentary and compartmentalized nature of an-
ANDRÁS RÓNA-TAS (1987)
cient religion makes it inaccessible to the modern mind,
Revised Bibliography
which sees religion as a kind of system complete in itself.
Ancient religion is open and dynamic. The res divinae
are not a complete self-contained corpus. Four centuries
CICERO (106 BCE–43 BCE) was a lawyer and public figure
later, Augustine makes fun of the pedantic and muddled ac-
who undertook the senatorial cursus honorum, reaching the
count of Varro. The emperor Julian counted 300,000 gods.
consulship in 63 BCE. He was subsequently involved in the
For the ancients, religion was an uninterrupted and endless
civil war between Pompey and Caesar before falling victim
discovery of divine powers, which could be in turn individu-
to the purge of the Second Triumvirate (Octavian, Lepidus,
ally identified and worshiped. Religion neither concerns it-
Mark Antony). In discussions of Cicero and religion one
self with nor explains the afterlife. In Seneca, the investiga-
should avoid the temptation to anachronistically confuse
tion of the nature of god and the creation of the world is
what may be defined as the religion of the ancient Romans
completely devoid of any religious content whatsoever.
with the common idea of religion in modern times, and one
Again, the gods of Cicero, as simply gods of his own age, are
should be careful to distinguish what might be termed an-
ephemeral in character and they fall short of modern expecta-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CIJI
1787
tions, which have been formed by two millennia of subtle
SEE ALSO Ambrose; Apocatastasis; Apotheosis; Atheism; Au-
and detailed speculation on divinity. Christian apologists
gustine of Hippo; Casuistry; Conscience; Roman Religion;
had great sport contrasting the sublime and profound nature
Skeptics and Skepticism; Superstition; Theology.
of speculation on God with the weak and disorganized na-
ture of the gods. The discussion of the Stoic Balbo in De na-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
tura deorum ends up as a naturalistic treatise and a doctrinal
There is little recent work concerning religion in Cicero (in the
summary in which the gods are in effect everything that hu-
sense of analyzing all his works), although the numerous
commentaries on the works of Cicero on this subject may be
manity sees and considers admirable. Besides, the ancient
of use. See, for example, The Nature of the Gods, translated
names of the gods are closely derived from the power they
with an introduction by P. G. Walsh (Oxford, 1997). The
represent. Jupiter, Neptune, and Minerva are names behind
commentary of Arthur Stanley Pease remains essential: M. T.
which are hidden powers, made legitimate and institutional-
Ciceronis: De natura deorum, I–II (Cambridge, Mass., 1955–
ized by pietas, via ancestral ceremonies and rites. Thus, syn-
1958; reprint, 1979). See also Pease’s commentary on De
cretism is a defining characteristic of ancient religion. These
divinatione (Urbana, Ill., 1923; reprint, Darmstadt, Germa-
gods do not possess ideological or philosophical depth; they
ny, 1963) and De fato (reprint, Darmstadt, 1963). For vari-
are not, in effect, the subject of speculation.
ous aspects of Cicero’s concern with religious matters, see:
Auvray-Assayas, Clara. Modèles anthropologiques romains dans le
The reader is surprised by the Ciceronian passages dis-
De natura deorum. Paris, 1994. See pages 207–219.
cussing the numerous and confused nature of the gods and
Fontanella, Francesca. “L’interpretazione ciceroniana del culto
their realms of competence (a catalog of the various spheres
degli eroi e delle virtù.” Rivista storica Italiana 102 (1995):
of influence of the Catholic saints would be similarly disorga-
5–19.
nized). Cicero’s approach is quantitative because research on
Guillaumont, François. Philosophe et augure: Recherches sur la théo-
divinity is either focused upon the religious principle of
rie cicéronienne de la divination. Brussels, 1984.
“manifestation” (epiphania) or else on the popular discussion
Mandel, Joshua. “State Religion and Superstition as Reflected in
of the main findings of Greek philosophical knowledge. The
Cicero’s Philosophical Works.” Euphrosyne 12 (1983–1984):
theme of destiny and predestination assigns to the gods an
79–110.
instrumental and secondary role. As with every polytheist, so
Troiani, Lucio. “La religione e Cicerone.” Rivista storica Italiana
with Cicero: the divine may be broken down into an infinite
96 (1984): 920–952.
number of powers and aspects, which are often ascribed by
Turpin, Jean. “Cicéron: De legibus I-II et la religion romaine.” In
ancient traditions to legendary figures with various names,
Aufstieg und Niedergang der römischen Welt II 16, no. 3. Ber-
depending upon time and place.
lin, 1986. See pages 1877–1908.
The mystical note that Cicero introduces in Somnium
LUCIO TROIANI (2005)
Scipionis is in defense of the civic virtues of a man who goes
Translated from Italian by Paul Ellis
to heaven because he has behaved on earth not as a saint but
as a man of state. Even the philosophical consideration of
transcendence is proposed in terms of the well-trodden path
CIJI, or Tzu Chi (from the Wade-Giles transliteration; in
of Greek philosophy. It is a handbook on research into the
English, Compassion Relief), is a lay Buddhist movement
divine. Prayer and interior contemplation to seek the divine
founded in Taiwan under monastic leadership that has a mis-
within oneself are not properties of Ciceronian thought. Re-
sion of relieving suffering through secular action. Since the
ligious discourse is constantly and firmly linked to civic val-
1990s the movement has become one of the largest formal
ues and the merit of an active public life. Fate, of which the
associations in Taiwan; it is also growing internationally,
gods are instruments, is the subject of speculation in the light
mainly within the Chinese diaspora. The founder and the
of its reflection and influences on public life. In short, there
leader is the Venerable Zhengyan (Cheng Yen) (1937–), a
exists a preordained order or an inaccessible fate that is inter-
Buddhist nun hailed as “the Mother Teresa of Asia” who has
ested in the political events of the state and of no great rele-
received international awards for “reawakening Taiwan’s
vance per se. Cicero is well aware that the gods must be in-
modern people to the ancient Buddhist teachings of compas-
voked, not so as to become better, but for the sake of good
sion and charity.” Her work and influence through Tzu Chi
health and prosperity. As Seneca notes (Epistulae ad Lucilium
provides disaster relief for victims throughout the world. The
10, 5), acknowledgment of one’s own weakness to a god was
movement is commonly known in Chinese as [Fojiao] Ciji
not unknown to the religious sensibility of the ancient world.
gongde hui ([Buddhist] Compassion Relief Merits Society,
This form of religion was unacceptable to the nobles, howev-
or, as translated by the organization, the Buddhist Compas-
er, and they criticized this attitude amongst any in their ranks
sion Relief Tzu Chi Association), although its official title is
who endorsed this approach. For example, the frequent at-
Fojiao ciji jijinhui (The Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu
tendance of Scipio Africanus to the temple of Zeus Capi-
Chi Foundation).
tolinus was regarded by Valerius Maximus (I, 2, 2) as a case
FOUNDING. Compassion Relief’s origins emerged from the
of “fake religion.”
experiences of Zhengyan. Born in 1937 in the town of Ch-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1788
CIJI
ingshui (Qingshui), Taizhong county in west central Tai-
trayal of the God” (Chen Huijian, 1998, p. 29). Instead,
wan, Zhengyan grew up in a middle-class mercantile family.
Zhengyan convinced them that Buddha’s compassion was as
Compassion Relief literature says that at age sixteen, Zheng-
great as the universal love of the lord God. But the Catholic
yan vowed to Bodhisattva Guanyin (Avalokite´svara) that she
nuns then asked why Buddhists, with their concept of uni-
would give up twelve years of her life in exchange for her
versal love, tended to concentrate only on improving them-
mother’s recovery from a stomach ulcer. Her mother was, os-
selves rather than build schools or hospitals as the Christians
tensibly, cured miraculously without surgery—surgery that
did?
was life-threatening at that time—and Zhengyan became a
vegetarian, as she had also vowed to do. However, the idea
On April 14, 1966, Compassion Relief was founded in
of pursuing the Buddhist priesthood did not occur to her
Hualian. At that time, it consisted of Zhengyan, her five mo-
until her father suddenly died of a stroke in 1960, and after
nastic disciples, and thirty housewives. Their goal was to es-
she had encountered a local Buddhist nun, the Venerable
tablish a charity fund to provide relief and defray medical
Xioudao. This nun inspired her to restore the priesthood’s
costs for the poor. The housewives each donated NT$0.50
economic autonomy and, most importantly, to see Bud-
(about U.S.$0.013) every day from their grocery money and
dhism as the path toward a universal vocation—a vocation
proselytized among their families and friends. The nuns
that can never be achieved by a woman within the limit of
made handicrafts whose sale supported the monastic order
a family.
and added to the relief fund.
Zhengyan left home to become a Buddhist nun. After
DEVELOPMENT. Compassion Relief developed slowly in its
two years of wandering around various temples, she arrived
first decade. By 1979, the Venerable Zhengyan had resolved
in 1962 at a small temple of Bodhisattva Dizang
that building a general hospital should be the long-term mis-
(Ks:itigarbha) in Hualian, a town located in a backwater sec-
sion of Compassion Relief. The nine-hundred-bed hospital
tion of eastern Taiwan. Following the local practice, she took
was open in Hualian in 1986, one year before Taiwan lifted
a learned layperson as her teacher, though she shaved her
martial law. This was followed by Compassion Relief’s rapid
own head and studied scripture by herself.
growth across the island at the start of the 1990s, when Tai-
wan was emerging as a developed economy and democratic
At an accidental encounter in 1963 in Taipei, the well-
polity. By 2000, Compassion Relief claimed over four mil-
known secularizing and reformist scholar-monk Yinshun
lion members worldwide (of these, about two million were
(1906–) granted Zhengyan’s request that he be her tonsure
in Taiwan). Although these numbers may have been exagger-
master. Yinshun gave her a new Dharma-name, “Zhengyan”
ated, Compassion Relief is clearly one of the largest Buddhist
and the advice that would later guide her immense vocation,
organizations in Taiwan, where the total Buddhist popula-
telling her, “Be committed to Buddhism and to all living
tion was about 4.9 million as of 2000. In Taiwan at the start
beings!”
of the twenty-first century, Compassion Relief was running
two state-of-the-art Western hospitals (the second one in
Zhengyan completed the precepts, returned to Hualian,
Dalin, in Jiayi county in western Taiwan), a secular educa-
and meditated daily on the Lotus Su¯tra for half a year in soli-
tional system ranging from elementary school to a university
tude and austerity in a humble straw hut behind the Bodhi-
with a medical school, a television channel and publishing
sattva Dizan temple. In 1964 Zhengyan began to lead her
houses, and the largest databank of bone-marrow donations
few disciples and to lecture on the Four Books, the Lotus
in Asia. The foundation was also giving away NT$5.4 billion
Su¯tra, and the Emperor Liang’s Penance. In contrast to the
(over US$157 million in 1999 dollars) in charity each year,
traditional Chinese Buddhist priests who rely on alms,
much of it internationally.
Zhengyan and her disciples supported themselves by subcon-
tracting handicraft work from factories, thus abiding by the
Since 1990, Compassion Relief has become increasingly
Baizhang Huaihai’s dictum of “no toil, no meal.”
transnational. It has overseas branches among Chinese com-
munities in about thirty countries and has delivered relief to
Two events in Hualian in 1966 induced Zhengyan to
disaster victims in over thirty countries around the world.
found Compassion Relief. One day at a hospital, Zhengyan
Compassion Relief runs free clinics in California and
saw a pool of blood in the hallway and inquired about it. She
Hawai’i and a dialysis center in Penang, Malaysia. Large
was told that an aboriginal woman had experienced a miscar-
branches in Western countries such as the United States run
riage. Although her family spent eight hours carrying her to
weekend schools that teach Mandarin and traditional charac-
the hospital, she received no treatment because she could not
ters to youngsters of Chinese heritage. Since 1991, Compas-
afford the NT(New Taiwan)$8,000 (about U.S.$200) de-
sion Relief has delivered help to disaster victims in over fifty
posit. The unfortunate woman had died, leaving the blood
countries around the world. Such accomplishments have
on the floor. Zhengyan nearly fainted upon learning about
won Zhengyan several international awards, among them the
such a tragedy and asked herself: “How could humans be so
Philippine Magsaysay Award, a nomination for the Nobel
cruel to each other?” (Chen Huijian, 1998, p. 28).
Peace Prize, the Noel Foundation Life Award, and an honor-
The second trigger occurred when three missionizing
ary doctorate in the social sciences from the University of
Catholic nuns came to convert Zhengyan and “save the be-
Hong Kong.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CIJI
1789
Zhengyan’s mission has expanded to include the Four
lowers often say, “Just do it!” They view Zhengyan’s mission
Great Compassion Relief Missions and the four “footprints.”
as providing skillful methods that enable thousands of people
The Four Great Missions (si da zhiye) are charity (on-site in-
to walk on the path of bodhisattva, to embody the bodhisatt-
vestigation, evaluation, and long-term care); medical care
va’s ideal of relieving the suffering, that is, to humanize Bud-
(e.g., building hospitals); education (e.g., building a universi-
dhist teachings and bring the bodhisattvas into this world.
ty and organizing a Compassion Relief teachers’ association
Compassion Relief collectivity embodies the bodhisattva’s
and youth corps); and culture (e.g., Compassion Relief pub-
thousand eyes and thousand hands that carry out relief proj-
lications and television). The additional four footprints
ects across political and ethnic borders; as exemplified in the
(jiaoyin) are international disaster relief, bone-marrow drives
Buddha’s words: “Great compassion for those who are
(collecting bone-marrow samples for an international data-
known and unknown, boundless mercy for all beings.”
base and transplantation), environmentalism (e.g., sorting
Zhengyan teaches classic Buddhist texts, but the most
garbage for recycling), and community volunteerism (e.g.,
important book in Compassion Relief is her book, Still
cooperating with government social workers to provide local
Thoughts. First published in 1989, it had gone through one
elders with long-term care). In contrast with the often ad hoc
hundred printings by 1992, with over one million copies
nature of Buddhist charity and its emphasis on spiritual rath-
having been sold by 2001. Still Thoughts is a collection of
er than material relief in Chinese societies, Compassion Re-
quotes from Zhengyan’s teaching and sermons given at vari-
lief has established a reputation for searching out causes
ous times throughout her career. The quotes are brief para-
and mobilizing for effective implementation of concrete
graphs and concise sentences of Buddhist teaching, in plain
assistance.
words and set in the context of modern life. It is considered
the “bible” upon which Compassion Relief followers model
The Compassion Relief headquarters remains in
their speeches and conduct. Still Thoughts has been translated
Zhengyan’s residential monastery in Hualian, called the Still
into English and German.
Thoughts Abode (jinsi jinshe). A triad configuration depict-
ing Buddha S´a¯kyamuni and the bodhisattvas Avalokite´svara
The significance of Compassion Relief for contempo-
and Ks:itigarbha is enshrined in the main hall, and the mon-
rary Buddhism is many-faceted. It is not only an example of
astery consisted of fewer than two hundred nuns in 2003.
Buddhist women’s leadership and secularized Buddhism but
Under Zhengyan’s charismatic leadership, the Compassion
also demonstrates a model of contemporary Buddhism’s re-
Relief umbrella organization has basically two divisions: the
sponse to globalization: the global vision of its mission was
foundation and its staff on the one hand; and the volunteers,
an adaptation to, and a manifestation of, the role of religion
including the nuns, on the other hand. The foundation con-
in a context of intensified global communications. The result
sists of six hundred staff members and has the largest endow-
of Compassion Relief’s global mission has been to put Bud-
ment of any foundation in Taiwan, controlling about
dhism on the world map, crossing borders through interna-
NT$12 billion (U.S.$350 million) in funds, solely from
tional outreach programs. This global mission is made possi-
fund-raising. The volunteer organization has about seven-
ble by organizing the resources of the Chinese, and especially
teen thousand commissioners (weiyuan) worldwide who
the Taiwanese, diaspora and channeling it into an active reli-
proselytize for Compassion Relief, seeking to follow its prin-
gious diaspora for universal causes.
ciples of sincerity, integrity, trust, and honesty. About 70
SEE ALSO Buddhist Ethics; Missions, article on Buddhist
percent of the commissioners are women. Male participation
Missions; Nuns, article on Buddhist Nuns.
has rapidly increased, however, since around 1990, resulting
in the formation of a male auxiliary team, the Faith Corps,
BIBLIOGRAPHY
in 1992. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, the
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Cheng Yen [Zhengyan] and the Buddhist Compassion Relief
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Tzu Chi [Ciji] Foundation. Taipei, 1994.
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Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation. Buddhist Com-
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ing gently. The disciplines also bar participation in politics
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or demonstrations.
Cai Cixi et al., eds. Tzu Chi [Ciji] USA 10th Anniversary: Annual
Compassion Relief followers concentrate on building a
Report. Monrovia, Calif., 1999.
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Chen Huijian. Zhengyan Fashi de Ciji Shijie (The Venerable
jectives are incorporated in the expression, “May all minds
Zhengyan’s world of Ciji). Taipei, 1998.
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Faun, Peter. The Miracle World of Compassion. Taipei, 1991.
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Pen, Shu-chun. “Reflecting Mountains When Facing Mountains,
out; in Compassion Relief, only action counts, and its fol-
Reflecting Water When Facing Water: The Story of Dharma
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1790
CINEMA
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ma Master Cheng Yen [Zhengyan], pp. 242–263. Taipei,
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Three Contemporary Women’s Groups.” Ph.D. diss., Uni-
Shaw, Douglas, ed. Lotus Flower of the Heart: Thirty Years of Tzu
versity of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, 1991.
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Lu, Hwei-syin. “Gender and Buddhism in Contemporary Tai-
Shaw, Douglas, ed. Ten Thousand Lotus Blossoms of the Heart:
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Dharma Master Cheng Yen and the Tzu Chi World, Taipei,
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1997.
Social Sciences 8, no. 4 (1998): 539–550.
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Ting Jen-chieh. “Helping Behavior in Social Context: A Case
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Small and Medium Size Real Estate Forms.” Master’s thesis,
University of Oregon, 1994.
College of Management, Metropolitan State University,
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CHINESE ALCHEMY
Huang, C. Julia. “Weeping in a Taiwanese Buddhist Charismatic
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ˇ INVATO¯ PERETU SEE CHINVAT BRIDGE
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Huang, C. Julia. “The Compassion Relief Diaspora.” In Buddhist
CIRCLE. The circle is used as a polyvalent symbol (com-
Missionaries in the Era of Globalization, edited by Linda Lear-
monly representing the cosmos and cosmic movement) as
man. Honolulu, 2005.
well as a pattern of ritual action (in which macrocosmic reali-
Huang, Chien-yu Julia. “Recapturing Charisma: Emotion and
ties are transformed into microcosmic space with various
Rationalization in a Globalizing Buddhist Movement from
Taiwan.” Ph.D. diss., Boston University, 2001.
meanings). As a symbol and as a ritual pattern, the circle is
a cross-cultural form occurring in the round shapes of hous-
Jones, Charles B. Buddhism in Taiwan: Religion and the State,
1660–1990. Honolulu, 1999.
es, public buildings, tombs, cult objects (such as altars), and
ritual spaces. The circle is used ritually by inscribing circles
Laliberté, André. “Tzu Chi and Buddhist Revival in Taiwan: Rise
on the ground, on amulets, or other objects and as a pattern
of a New Conservatism?” China Perspectives no. 19 (Septem-
ber/October 1998): 44–50.
for processions around altars, temples, spaces, and towns for
various reasons. Circular shapes are often understood as pat-
Laliberté, André. “The Politics of Buddhist Organizations in Tai-
wan, 1989–1997.” Ph.D. diss., University of British Colum-
terned after the solar and lunar disks, and circular move-
bia, 1999.
ments are frequently thought to replicate the circular motion
Laliberté, André. 2001. “Buddhist Organizations and Democracy
of heavenly bodies; both circular shapes and motions are fre-
in Taiwan.” American Asian Review 19, no. 4 (Winter 2001):
quently assigned a sacred or religious function. In the past,
97–129.
scholars frequently indulged in the vain pursuit of the origins
Laliberté, André. “‘Love Transcends Border’ or ‘Blood Is Thicker
of the ritual use of circular shapes and motions, falsely as-
Than Water’? The Charity Work of the Compassion Relief
suming that such traditions have a unified origin providing
in the People’s Republic of China.” European Journal of East
a key to understanding their meaning. However, the mean-
Asian Studies 2, no. 2 (December 2003): 39–58.
ing of such ritual patterns is probably polyvalent and must
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CIRCLE
1791
be based on contextual analysis, combining the emic expla-
tion peri is prefixed to a number of verbs with variations on
nations found in ancient interpretations and the etic explana-
the meaning “to encircle,” “surround” (e.g., periecho¯,
tions arrived at through cross-cultural comparison by mod-
periist¯emi, perikykloo¯, peritechizo¯, peritith¯emi, peritrecho¯). The
ern theorists.
primary Latin word for “circle” or “circular course” is circus
and its diminutive form circulus, which describes “a circular
NEOLITHIC AND BRONZE AGE. The megalithic passage
figure or form.” The preposition circum (around, about) is
tombs in eastern Ireland, at Newgrange, Knowth, and
used as a prefix for a large number of verbs to describe vari-
Dowth (c. 3200 BCE), built by Neolithic farming communi-
ous types of circular movement. According to the dominant
ties, exhibit a ritualistic architecture. They are laid out in
pre-Hellenistic cosmology, the earth was shaped like a circu-
large circular shapes that have clear astronomical alignments,
such as the winter solstice sunrise at Newgrange and the
lar disk, encircled by Ocean (Herodotos 4.36), flowing in
equinox sunrise at Loughcrew. According to ancient Roman
one direction (clockwise); the river Acheron, further out,
sources, the Gauls associated the moon with death, and it
flowed in the opposite direction, and Tartarus, the land of
may well be that the shape of the moon with this symbolic
the dead, was located below the earth (Plato, Phaedo 112e).
significance is replicated in circular megalithic tomb archi-
Concentric circles dominate this cosmology. According to
tecture. The same is true of the megalithic stone circle con-
Plato (Philebus 62a), Socrates speaks of the person who has
structed somewhat later at Stonehenge in the vicinity of
knowledge of the divine circle and sphere (kyklou men kai
Salisbury, Wiltshire, England (constructed in three stages
sphairas)—based on the Platonic doctrine of ideas—but is ig-
during the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age, c. 1800–
norant of the human sphere and circle, even when building
1400
a circular house. Here Plato’s theory of ideas provides a basis
BCE). Stonehenge IIIa (c. 1600 BCE) consists of a circle
of thirty upright monoliths capped by a continuous ring of
for distinguishing between microcosmic imitations of the
carefully dressed stone lintels. The solstitial alignment of the
macrocosmic circle or sphere.
various phases of the construction of Stonehenge suggest that
In the lengthy description (ekphrasis) of the shield of
it functioned as a place of worship involving the sun and
Achilles in Iliad 18.483–608, one design depicts a city at
moon, though little more is known. John North, in Stone-
peace where a dispute has arisen between two men. Heralds
henge: Neolithic Man and the Cosmos, argues, “The aim [of
keep back the crowd from the area where elders sit upon pol-
the Neolithic builders] was not to discover the patterns of
ished stones “in a sacred circle” (Iliad 18.504). The scholiast
behaviour of the sun, Moon or stars but to embody those pat-
explains that “the law courts are sacred.” The reason they are
terns, already known in broad outline, in a religious architec-
sacred, thus rendering the circle of stone seats as sacred, is
ture” (North, 1996, p. xxxvi).
the belief that Zeus presides over judicial proceedings (Iliad
Unusual evidence for the cults of prehistoric Cyprus is
9.98–99). Eustathius, expanding on the scholiast, comments
in a clay sanctuary model of polished red earthenware found
in Eustathii Commentarii ad Homeri Iliadem Pertinentes, “A
in a dromos tomb, part of an extensive necropolis dating to
sacred circle is the kind in the agora, where because of local
the Early Bronze, c. 2000 BCE. Described in detail in “The
law and custom, such a circle is understood to be sacred”
Excavations at Vounous-Bellapais in Cyprus, 1931–32”
(Eustathius, 1997–1987, p. 4.236). This reflects a link be-
(Dikaios, 1938), the model consists of an open-air temenos
tween the “sacred sircle” consisting of “smooth stones,”
or sacred precinct enclosed by a circular wall with a large
sometimes with a sacred hearth or pit at the center (Odyssey
arched entrance. On the floor is a semicircular curb that sep-
6.266), where the speaking and debating was done, and the
arates three statues of divinities from the rest of the temenos.
“encircling agora” (Euripides, Orestes 919), where the assem-
Numerous seated and standing figures suggest that a ceremo-
bly was gathered. Speakers within the “sacred circle” custom-
ny of some type is depicted, which somehow involves the
arily held a scepter and enjoyed a limited immunity.
symbolic significance of the bulls, heads, and snakes that dec-
In Plutarch’s narrative of the founding of Rome by
orate the wall opposite the entrance. The circular temenos
Romulus (Romulus 9), he relates how a circular trench
wall contrasts with other Early and Middle Bronze domestic
(bothros kykloteres) was dug around what later became the
architecture in which the rectangle predominates. Since the
Comitium (a place of public assembly for the Comitia
fundamental architectural principle in the Neolithic and
Curiata, which by the third century CE became a circular am-
Chalcolithic periods in Cyprus is the circle, the round te-
phitheatre), into which each participant placed fruits and
menos of this clay model represents a survival from an earlier
some earth from his native land. This trench was called
period (the circular form also characterizes some Early
mundus, reflecting a conscious cosmic symbolism. With this
Bronze age tombs at Vounous).
center, the city was marked out in a circle indicating the
ANCIENT GREECE AND ROME. The Greeks had several words
pomerium, leaving unplowed the places for the gates. The
for “circle,” including gyros (a trench around trees, used for
wall was thought to be sacred, for the city was the dwelling
the circle of the heaven or earth in LXX Iob 22.14 and Is
place of gods and people. The mythical character of this story
40.22), kyklos (the circle of the sky in Herodotos 1.131), and
is underlined by the fact that, although the city was tradition-
trochos (wheel, circular race); the terms kirkos and krikos both
ally called Roma Quadrata, the plowed trench is described
mean circle in the sense of a “ring” or “hoop.” The preposi-
as circular.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1792
CIRCLE
ROUND ALTARS AND TEMPLES. Vitruvius has a brief discus-
Round shapes were closely associated with the graves,
sion of circular temples (aedae rutundae) in which he focuses
shrines, and temples of heroes in Greco-Roman antiquity,
exclusively on architectural matters (On Architecture 4.8).
though there is little evidence that either a consistent associa-
Servius claims that round temples were usually dedicated to
tion with heroes or with cosmic symbolism determined the
Vesta, Diana, Hercules, and Mercury (Commentarii in Aen-
architectural use of circles, apses, and domes. The grave of
eidem 4.8.3). While there appears to be a close association
Aeptytus was reportedly a mound surrounded by a circular
between circular spatial and architectural forms and hero
base of stone (Iliad 2.592; Pausanias 8.16.3); the oracle of
cults, there are no hard and fast rules or associations. In the
Trophonius was a circular construction of white marble
Greek world of the classical period, round temples were com-
(Pausanias 9.39.9), and Osiris reportedly had a circular tomb
monly found in connection with the cult of Hestia, where
(Herodotos 2.170). The Maussolleion, the monumental
the hearth of the polis was located. The hearth of individual
tomb of Maussollos of Caria (d. 353 BCE) and his wife Arte-
homes as well as the hearths of cities clearly symbolized the
misia was constructed in the vicinity of Halicarnassus (Strabo
sacred center of both.
14.656; Diodorus 16.45; Pliny hist. nat. 36, 30–31). The
Mausoleum Augusti, the first Augustan building on the
The Greek term tholos generally referred to a round
Campus Martius was begun in 28 BCE but not completed
building with a conical roof in the archaic and classical peri-
until several years later. The circular marble base measured
ods, but in the Hellenistic period the same term is used for
more than eighty-five meters in diameter and surrounded a
a variety of complex round architectural forms. In Athens,
mound about forty-five meters high (Suetonius Aug. 100.4;
the term tholos was used of the rotunda or prytaneion, called
Strabo 5.3.8 [236]). A bronze statue of Augustus was located
the “Skias” in inscriptions, in which the magistrates dined
at the summit. Alexander the Great also had a circular tomb.
(Plato Apology 32c; Andocides 1.45; Demosthenes 19.249;
The Mausoleum Hadriani was constructed with a square
Aristotle Athenian Constitution 43.3; Pausanias 1.5.1). The
base eighty-seven meters on each side and ten meters high.
prytaneion at Epidauros was also called the Thymela in in-
Mounted on this base is a drum sixty-four meters in diameter
scriptions and tholos by Pausanias (2.27.2–5), constructed in
and perhaps twenty-one meters high. The Mausoleum Ha-
the 380s BCE. Important tholoi of the Hellenistic period in-
driani had only the circular shape in common with the Mau-
clude the Rotunda of Arsinoe in Samothrake in the sanctuary
soleum Augusti.
of the Great Gods, built in the 280s BCE; the tholos near
Kepoi on the Black Sea; and the round court with three an-
The ritual of marching around a sacred place, often car-
nexed tholoi in Pella. The temple of Vesta (aedes Vestae) in
rying ritual objects, whether an altar or shrine, as a prelimi-
Rome was a rotunda where the city hearth was located. It
nary means of setting such a sacred place apart for cultic pur-
contained no image of the goddess and was part of a complex
poses was widespread throughout the ancient world. One
of buildings called the Atrium Vestae. It was circular and
aspect of the protocol of classical Hellenic sacrifice involved
thought to have originated as a structure of wattles with a
the ritual encirclement of the sacred space containing the
thatched roof, for example, preserving the tradition of a
altar, the worshipers, and the victim before the killing of the
primitive Italic round hut (Ovid Fasti 6.261–266).
victim. Two ritual objects which are frequently mentioned
as being carried around the altar are a basin containing lustral
The most famous round temple in Rome is the Pan-
water and a basket containing barley corns, a fillet, and a
theon, actually the third in a succession of three buildings,
knife (Aristophanes Peace 948–962, 971, Birds 850, 958; Ly-
the last built after 118 CE by Hadrian. Rather than a temple
sistrata 1129–1131). In a festival called Laphria in honor of
sensu stricto, the Pantheon in its three reincarnations was a
Artemis, logs of green wood were arranged in a circle around
dynastic monument (Hadrian reportedly held court there),
the altar (Pausanias 7.18.11).
a templum mundi (i.e., a “temple of the world”) with Rome
A
and its emperor at the center of the Roman world. The cos-
NCIENT MEDITERRANEAN MAGIC. The ritual circle, when
used by individuals for private and antisocial purposes, be-
mic symbolism of the enormous dome as representing the
comes a magic circle. The ouroboros—the figure of a snake
celestial home of the gods struck Dio Cassius (59.27.2–4).
“biting” (bora) its “tail” (oura), thus forming a circle—is a
The oculus (“eye”) at the top of the dome provides all the illu-
polyvalent ancient Egyptian symbol representing many
mination for the building, which would have spotlighted dif-
things, including the sun, the moon, an earth-surrounding
ferent parts of the floor and walls with the movement of the
boundary, rejuvenation and rebirth, eternity, or a cartouche
sun.
for the names of kings with claims to be world rulers. Two
Two round temples of Hercules were erected in Repub-
ouroboroi were incised on the walls of a shrine of Tutankha-
lican Rome, a temple of Hercules Victor ad Forum Boarium
men (1357–1349 BCE), one encircling his feet and the other
(Livy 10.23.3) and a temple of Hercules Victor ad Portam
his head. The serpent about the head is named Menen the
Trigeminam (Macrobius Sat. 3.6.10). Though Augustus did
Enveloper. In a papyrus of the twenty-first dynasty, the de-
not erect any significant cultic rotundas in Rome, the arch
ceased woman (named Her-Uben) adores the solar disk sur-
and exedra shapes were used extensively during his princi-
rounded by an ouroboros representing eternity. The “Book
pate. In Augustan temples, apses framed cult statues delimit-
of Overthrowing Apep,” from the Ptolemaic period in
ing a divine realm.
Egypt, describes one use of the ouroboros figure, which is
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CIRCLE
1793
pierced with a knife and thrown to the ground to destroy the
including an olivewood table (Betz, 1992, III, p. 292), the
evil beings associated with Apep.
hide of an ass (Betz, 1992, IV, p. 2016), a papyrus sheet
(Betz, 1992, IV, p. 2070), and a shell (Betz, 1992, VII,
While the ouroboros is rarely mentioned in classical and
pp. 468–470). The one performing a magical procedure can
Hellenistic Greek texts, Plato relates a cosmology in which
also stand in the center of a protective circle drawn on the
he describes certain rivers as coiling around the earth one or
ground with chalk (Betz, 1992, VII, p. 858).
more times in a circle like serpents (Phaedo 112e7), which
seems to reflect the ouroboros mythology. The ouroboros is
ANCIENT ISRAEL AND EARLY JUDAISM. The verb chûgh be-
commonly found on magical amulets, typically functioning
longs to the semantic field of “circles and circular motion”
as a border providing sanctity to that which is depicted with-
and is distinguished from other lexemes in this field by its
in it, sometimes functioning as a symbol for the universe,
geometrical meaning “to draw a circular line [with a com-
eternity, or the year. Such an amulet is described in The
pass].” The term is used in cosmological contexts for describ-
Greek Magical Papyri in Translation: “And engraved on the
ing two concentrical circular boundaries, the earth disk and
stone is: Helios as a lion-faced figure, holding in the left hand
the heavenly mountain island. The circle of the horizon is
a celestial globe and a whip, and around him in a circle is
described in Proverbs 8:27: “When he established the heav-
a serpent biting its tail [ouroboros]” (Betz, 1992, p. 7). Anoth-
ens, I was there, when he drew a circle on the face of the
er magical text gives instructions for an amulet on a lamella
deep.” Isaiah 40:22 refers to God as “he who sits above the
or papyrus containing a sequence of magical words, magical
circle of the earth,” while Job 26:10 says that God “has de-
characters, and an inscription: “Protect my body and the en-
scribed a circle upon the face of the waters.” The heavens also
tire soul of me [insert name],” all written inside an ouroboros
are circular in Job 22:14, which describes God as “walking
serpent (Betz, 1992, p. 134). This protective charm placed
on the circle of heaven.” These important texts attest to the
the bearer in the protective cosmic circle framed by the ouro-
Israelite perception of the circle as a cosmological shape,
boros, symbolizing protective encirclement. The ouroboros
which can serve as a pattern for ritual imitation. There is
continued to be popular through the Middle Ages. A four-
meager evidence for Israelite ritual circumambulation of the
teenth-century CE Venetian alchemical manuscript is pic-
altar prior to sacrifice in Psalms 26:6: “I wash my hands in
tured in Gnosis: The Nature and History of Gnosticism, depict-
innocence and go about thy altar, O Lord,” where the pur-
ing the ouroboros encircling an inscription in Greek meaning
pose is to enclose a sacred area so that evil influences cannot
“the All is One” (Rudolf, 1983, p. 70).
penetrate. Joshua 6:3–4, a fragment of a liturgical or ceremo-
nial text, contains divine instructions to march around Jeri-
Acts of Thomas 32 (a third-century CE Christian docu-
cho once each day for six days, culminating in seven encircle-
ment) refers to the ouroboros serpent, for the snake speaking
ments on the seventh day. The Septuagint Joshua 6:3 is much
to Thomas claims to be related to “the one who is outside
shorter than the Masoretic text: “And you arrange the fight-
the ocean, whose tail is set in his own mouth.” A similar
ing men in a circle [kyklo¯i] around it [the city].” This circu-
ouroboros conception is in the Coptic Gnostic Pistis Sophia
mambulation ritual, in which the number seven plays an im-
(126): “The outer darkness is a great serpent whose tail is in
portant role, can be interpreted as a ritual means of laying
its mouth, and it is outside the whole world, and it surrounds
claim to territory or as a ceremony of ritual cursing.
the whole world.” In Christian Coptic magical texts, men-
tion is made of the drawing of a magic circle around a person
In Mishnah Taanith 3:8, the story is told of how Honi
to prevent demons from entering. The comparative rarity of
ha-Me’aggel (“the Circle-Drawer”), a first century BCE holy
these references suggests that the ritual and magical use of
man, prayed for rain. When his prayer was not answered, he
the circle played only a minor role in early Christian ritual
drew a circle (Hebrew, me’aggel), swearing an oath by God’s
practices.
great name that he would not step outside the circle until
God sends rain. When a few drops fell, he complained that
Rings were often used as magical objects because of the
this was not enough. When it rained torrentially, he com-
inherent power of the circular shape. Greek Magical Papyri
plained that it was too much. It then began to rain moderate-
in Translation (Betz, 1992) contains instructions for prepar-
ly. This story is summarized in Josephus (Ant. 14:22), who
ing a defixio in which the inside and outside of an iron ring
calls him Onias, but with the magical features suppressed.
(kirkos) are traced on papyrus with formulas and symbols to
The fact that he is addressed in rabbinic sources as “the cir-
be inscribed within the outline of the ring as well as inside
cle-drawer” suggests that this epithet reflected a fixed feature
and outside the outline. In another text in the Greek Magical
of his prayer ritual.
Papyri (Betz, 1992, XII, pp. 270–350), there are instructions
for making a ring, also called a kyklos or “circle,” on which
Circular and spherical shapes were combined in the
an ouroboros serpent is engraved on heliotrope stone. This
magical bowls made and used by Jews, Mandaeans, Chris-
ring is said to be useful for opening doors, breaking chains,
tians, and Manichaeans from the fifth to the seventh centu-
and performing exorcisms. Some magical procedures are
ries CE in Mesopotamia for apotropaic and exorcistic pur-
written, like the script on magical bowls, in a tight spiral
poses. The ouroboros is occasionally found in the center of
from inside to outside with a figure in the middle. Magical
Aramaic incantation bowls, however, in these cases the circle
formulas can also be written in a circle on various materials,
does not circumscribe a place of protection but is rather 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
1794
CIRCLE
place for trapping a demon, specifically depicted within the
later embellished by subsequent cultures. Some of the medi-
ouroboros, at the bottom center of the bowl. The adjurations
cine wheels clearly had solar and calendrical functions, and
are written in a long, tight spiral beginning from the bottom
all of them were the sites of special ceremonies.
of the bowl and ending up near the rim. These inscriptions
are often framed by two circles, one at the bottom of the
The Lakota and several other Plains tribes depict the sa-
bowl (sometimes replaced with the ouroboros) and near the
cred cosmic order represented by Wakan-Tanka (“Great
rim of the bowl.
Spirit”) with the circle, and they understand the circle as a
key symbol representing the whole of the universe and their
NATIVE AMERICAN CULTURES. The Adena culture, an Early
part in it. The centrally important significance of the circle
Woodland culture of eastern North America, consisting of
is emphasized in the following statement by Black Elk, in
numerous small communities of ancient North American In-
Black Elk Speaks:
dians who occupied the middle Ohio River Valley (c. 800
BCE to c. 200 CE), used circular architecture in the construc-
You have noticed that everything an Indian does is in
tion of houses of poles and bark and ceremonial circles con-
a circle, and that is because the Power of the World al-
structed of earth. There are approximately five hundred ex-
ways works in circles, and everything tried to be round.
tant Adena cites, three hundred in the central Ohio Valley
In the old days when we were a strong and happy peo-
and the rest scattered in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ken-
ple, all our power came to us from the sacred hoop of
tucky, and Indiana. Some of the larger Adena sites consist
the nation, and so long as the hoop was unbroken, the
people flourished. The flowering tree was the living
of large earthworks in the shapes of circles and other geomet-
center of the hoop, and the circles of the four quarters
ric figures. The Grave Creek Mound (Moundsville, West
nourished it. (Neihardt, 1979, p. 194)
Virginia), the largest Adena burial mound, is 240 feet in di-
ameter and 62 feet high, with an encircling ditch (40–45 feet
The largest representation of the circle among a number of
wide; 4–5 feet deep). The Dominion site (located in present-
Plains tribes (including the Arapaho, Kiowa, Cheyenne, and
day Columbus, Ohio) is the oldest Adena circle (dated some
Sioux) were their encampments, called “the sacred hoop,”
time after 500 BCE). Other Adena circles include the Mount
just as they speak of the “hoop of the world.” Everything
Horeb site in Kentucky and the Anderson site in Indiana.
within the camp circle was Lakota, while outside were ene-
These circular structures have no obvious or certain interpre-
mies, evil spirits, and eventually the white people. Tribal di-
tation, though astronomical and cosmological symbolism is
visions among the Cheyenne were located at the same place
highly likely.
in the circular encampment, and the lodge of medicine ar-
rows and the lodge of the buffalo cap were placed within the
The term medicine wheel was first applied to the stone
circle at predetermined locations. According to Black Elk,
circle, cairn, and spoke configuration called the Big Horn
Buffalo Calf Woman gave the peace pipe (with its round
Medicine Wheel ten thousand feet above sea level on Medi-
bowl) and prescribed the camp circle, both of which share
cine Mountain in Wyoming. Medicine wheels were original-
comparable degrees of sanctity. The pipe bowl was decorated
ly small decorative hoops—3 inches to 4 inches in diame-
with seven circles, representing the seven major rituals of the
ter—made by the Cheyenne or Ojibwa with a web in the
Lakota. The centers of the sweat lodges and of the bowls of
middle or two or more spokes bridging the circle and with
the sacred pipes, where fires were made, represented the sun
several bird feathers attached to the lower perimeter. The
at the center of a circular cosmos. When the world is per-
term medicine indicates the ritual significance of both the
ceived as disordered, it can only be restored to its proper bal-
miniature hoops and by extension the stone circle configura-
ance by sacred ritual, which the Lakota refer to as “making
tions. The Big Horn Medicine Wheel, which is about eighty-
roundness.”
five feet in diameter with a central circular cairn thirteen feet
in diameter, has twenty-seven stone spokes corresponding to
The Teotihuacan civilization of Mesoamerica (c. 400–
the twenty-seven days of the lunar month. Following the
800 CE) oriented major urban sites using astronomical obser-
identification of the Big Horn Medicine Wheel, about seven-
vations. Evidence for this survives in the form of “pecked”
ty-five similar artificially constructed stone surface forms
crosses (so-called because cross petroglyphs are “pecked”
were identified (in the northern Plains from Wyoming to
using a percussive device producing cuplike depressions in
South Dakota and north into Canada), characterized by a va-
stone or plaster floors of important buildings and in rock
riety of stone circle, central cairn, and spoke configurations.
outcroppings outside of buildings), indicating astronomical
These medicine wheels have several common features: they
orientations. The form of pecked crosses typically consists of
are made of unmodified chunks of stone, and they include
a double circle (sometimes single or triple) centered on a pair
a central cairn, two or more stone spokes, and one or more
of orthogonal axes (Aveni, 1980, p. 227). In Teotihuacan
concentric stone rings arranged in a symmetrical form. The
(which was the location for such important buildings as the
medicine wheels were frequently added to, making dating
Pyramid of the Sun and the Pyramid of the Moon), the axes
difficult. The earliest medicine wheels were constructed by
of the crosses align with the grid of that ceremonial city (the
the Oxbow complex in southeastern Saskatchewan (and ex-
peculiar clockwise deviation from true north in the axial plan
tending somewhat into Alberta, Manitoba, Montana, and
of Teotihuacan is shared by sites all over Mesoamerica), some
North Dakota), dating from 2750 to 1050 BCE. These were
apparently functioning as architectural benchmarks. 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
CIRCUMAMBULATION
1795
combination of pecked crosses and circles (reminiscent of
Rakob, Friedrich, and Wolf-Dieter Heilmeyer. Der Rundtempel
calendar wheels) seems to unite spatial and calendrical with
am Tiber in Rom. Mainz am Rhein, Germany, 1973. Archi-
religious functions, though no single hypothesis can account
tectural and archaeological analysis of one of the ancient
for their origin.
round temples in Rome.
Richardson, L. A New Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome.
SEE ALSO Circumambulation.
Princeton, N.J., 1992.
Robert, Fernand. Thymélè: Recherches sur la signification et la desti-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
nation des Monuments circulaires dans l’Architecture religieuse
Allcroft, A. H. The Circle and the Cross. London, 1927. A rich and
de la Grèce. Paris, 1939. A comprehensive discussion of cir-
lavishly illustrated collection of circular architectural, some-
cular architecture and its symbolism in the world of ancient
what marred by a fixation on the problem of origins.
Greece.
Altmann, Walter. Die italischen Rundbauten. Berlin, 1906. A clas-
Rudolf, Kurt. Gnosis: The Nature and History of Gnosticism. San
sical discussion of round architectural forms in ancient Italy,
Francisco, 1983.
particularly Rome.
Aveni, Anthony F. Skywatchers of Ancient Mexico. Austin, Tex.,
Seidenberg, Abraham. “The Ritual Origin of the Circle and
and London, 1980.
Square.” Archive for History of Exact Sciences 25, no. 4
(1981): 270–321. An important article on the ritual uses of
Betz, Hans Dieter, ed. The Greek Magical Papyri in Translation.
the circle, flawed by an emphasis on unknowable origins.
2d ed. Chicago, 1992.
Bonner, Campbell. Studies in Magical Amulets, Chiefly Graeco-
DAVID E. AUNE (2005)
Egyptian. Ann Arbor, Mich., 1950. A large collection of mag-
ical amulets including pictures and descriptions of many
contained the ouroboros (“snake biting its tail”).
Brown, Joseph Epes. The Gift of the Sacred Pipe. Norman, Okla.,
CIRCUMAMBULATION is a ritual term meaning
1982. A transcription of some of the revelations of Black Elk,
literally “to walk a circle around” a holy place, person, or ob-
the Lakota medicine man.
ject. Such rituals are related to the widespread significance
Brumley, John H. Medicine Wheels on the Northern Plains: A Sum-
of the sacred circle, which is the architectural ground plan
mary and Appraisal. Manuscript Series no. 12. Edmonton,
and ideational scheme of such monuments as the stupa, such
Canada, 1988. An authoritative anthropological analysis of
cities as Banaras and Jerusalem, and such ritual constructions
the native American stone circles in the northern Plains states
as the medicine lodges and Sun Dance lodges of the North
and Canada.
American Plains Indians. Thus, this topic is related to that
Burl, Aubrey. Great Stone Circles: Fables, Fictions, Facts. New
of the sacred circle or the man:d:ala and is its ritual extension.
Haven, Conn., and London, 1999. A comprehensive treat-
One walks around what is set apart, circumscribed as charged
ment of stone circles in Britain, Ireland, and Brittany.
or sacred; one might even say that circumambulation sets
Castleden, Rodney. The Making of Stonehenge. London and New
something apart by circumscribing it with one’s own body.
York, 1993.
It is also to be noted that circumambulation, as a rite of both
Dikaios, P. “The Excavations at Vounous-Bellapais in Cyprus,
centering and bonding, is related in some ways to the many
1931–32.” Archaeologia 88 (1938): 1–174.
types of circle dancing such as the Ghost Dance of the Plains
Eustathius. Eustathii Commentarii ad Homeri Iliadem Pertinentes.
Indians, the maypole dances of the British Isles, and the cir-
Edited by M. van der Valk. Leiden, 1971–1987.
cular dances and marches of the Shakers; such dance forms,
Gaster, T. H. Myth, Legend, and Custom in the Old Testament.
however, will not be discussed here.
New York, 1969. An important work focusing on many of
Circumambulation is a fundamental rite of orientation,
the magical traditions of the Hebrew Bible, including the use
and is often thought of as a human repetition of the apparent
of circular shapes and circular processions.
movement of the sun. The Lakota would walk “sunwise”
Grinnell, George Bird. The Cheyenne Indians: Their History and
around a fire or a ritual arena. The sense of this direction as
Ways of Life. 2 vols. New Haven, Conn., 1924.
the natural order also appears in Hindu ritual texts such as
Montgomery, James A. Aramaic Incantation Texts from Nippur.
the S´atapatha Bra¯hman:a and the Gr:hyasu¯tras, which speak
Philadelphia, 1913. An early and comprehensive publication
of the sunwise movement of ritual performance in rites
of the corpus of magical bowls.
meant to secure the blessings of the gods. This sunwise cir-
Naveh, Joseph, and Shaul Shaked. Amulets and Magic Bowls. Jeru-
cling is known as pradaks:in:a, “going to the right.”
salem, 1985. The publication of some incantation bowls dis-
Pradaks:in:a around the sacred fire or the teacher, and later
covered after Montgomery’s 1913 publication.
around the temple, became an act of centering and honoring
Neihardt, John Gnelsenau. Black Elk Speaks. Lincoln, Neb., and
in the Hindu tradition.
London, 1979.
North, John. Stonehenge: Neolithic Man and the Cosmos. London,
In Native American and Hindu traditions, as in many
1996. Important work on the cosmological symbolism of
others, reversing the direction of circling was considered a
Stonehenge.
reversal of the natural order and was associated with catastro-
Paper, Jordan. Offering Smoke: The Sacred Pipe and Native Ameri-
phe or death. This circling to the left, contrary to the appar-
can Religion. Moscow, Idaho, 1988.
ent course of the sun, was called prasavya in the Hindu tradi-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1796
CIRCUMAMBULATION
tion and was associated with the left hand and with rites for
Buddha’s world-kingship. The entire stupa was surrounded
the dead, for the ancestors, and for the na¯gas, or serpents.
by a fence, with gates in the four principal directions. Be-
Anticipating or recovering from disasters, the Lakota circle
tween the fence and the an:d:a was a pradaks:in:apatha, a circu-
counterclockwise after the fashion of the “thunder beings,”
mambulatory path. Very often, as in the case of the stupa of
whose movement, unlike that of the sun, is antinatural. In
Amaravati in the Andhra area of India, there was an upper
sixteenth-century England this turning in an unnatural di-
circumambulatory of the an:d:a itself, with its own enclosing
rection came to be called widdershins and was associated with
rail. The famous stupa of Borobudur in Java was built in nine
danger, magic, and witches.
levels, with a circumambulatory around each of the lower six
levels that took the pilgrim not only around the stupa but
In the Hindu tradition today, pradaks:in:a is simulta-
also past bas-reliefs depicting the earthly life, the previous
neously an act of taking a place, deity, or person as one’s cen-
lives, and the instructive deeds of the Buddha.
ter and of honoring that center, keeping it ever on the side
of the auspicious right hand. The most concise pradaks:in:a
The circling of the stupa, called the chedi in modern
honoring the sacred place on which one stands, is simply to
Thailand, continues as a common part of festival rituals. In
turn all the way around in place, as pilgrims do at the very
the evening during the Thai celebration of Vi´sa¯kha Pu¯ja¯ (the
southern tip of India at Kanya¯ Kuma¯r¯ı. The most extensive
day of the Buddha’s birth, enlightenment, and death) monks
is the pradaks:in:a of the entire subcontinent of India, from
and laity circle the chedi three times, holding lighted candles.
the north at Badrina¯th, to the east at Pur¯ı, to the south at
Other festival days are marked with a similar threefold circu-
Ra¯me´svaram, to the west at Dva¯raka¯ (Dwarka), and back to
mambulation.
the north again. One of India’s great rivers, the Narmada¯ of
The divine also circumambulates, reaffirming the sacred
central India, has a traditional circumambulation in which
claim upon the territory circumscribed by the route. In Sri
pilgrims, beginning wherever they wish, walk its entire
Lanka, for example, the annual procession of the relic from
length of 801 miles from Amarakant:aka to the Bay of Cam-
the Temple of the Tooth takes a circumambulatory route
bay and back again. Mountains too are circumambulated, as
through the city of Kandy. In South India, such annual cir-
in the well-known routes around Kaila¯sa in the Himalayan
cuits of the gods are common. During the Chittarai festival
north, Aruna¯cala in the Tamil country of the south, and Ka-
in Madurai, for example, when the goddess M¯ına¯ks:¯ı moves
madgiri and Govardhan in the northern sanctums of Ra¯ma
in her giant chariot through the concentric rectangular circu-
and Kr:s:n:a, respectively. Many of India’s sacred cities also
mambulatory streets of the city, she reclaims the four direc-
have pradaks:in:a routes, the best known being the Pañcakro´s¯ı
tions as her own.
pradaks:in:a of the city of Banaras (modern-day Varanasi).
This sacred circuit of the city takes pilgrims five days to per-
In the ancient Hebrew tradition, the story of Joshua’s
form, passing 108 shrines along the way and circumscribing
siege of Jericho displays the power of the Lord in encircling
with their footsteps the perimeter of the sacred zone of the
the city. For six days Joshua’s army, led by the ark of the cov-
city where simply to die is to attain moks:a (“liberation”).
enant and seven priests with seven trumpets of rams’ horns,
made one circuit a day around the city; on the seventh day
More common, however, is simply the pradaks:in:a of the
they made seven circuits and the city wall fell (Jos. 6). In the
sanctum sanctorum, the garbhagr:ha, in a Hindu temple. De-
later tradition, circumambulatory circuits (haqqafot) are per-
pending upon the size of the temple, the pilgrim will circum-
formed both to mark holy ground and, it would seem, to re-
ambulate either the entire complex or merely the inner courts
member the power of the Lord that was with the children
before approaching the deity for dar´sana. There may be sev-
of Israel in the siege of Jericho.
eral circumambulatories, which usually will include their
own circuit of ancillary shrines. In some popular temples, es-
The most festive haqqafot take place during the Feast of
pecially in the North, this is a very “close” circumambula-
Booths, Sukkot, when those present make seven ceremonial
tion, with the devout running their hands along the temple
circuits carrying the festal bouquet of willow branches and
walls, frequently stopping to touch the place at the back of
lemons around the altar in the synagogue. In the time of
the temple nearest the image of the divine inside. In the
Philo Judaeus the procession, like that of Joshua, took place
South, however, especially in Kerala and Karna¯taka, there are
once a day for six days and seven times on the seventh. At
often circumambulatory markers, outside of which the hon-
Simh:at Torah, haqqafot are performed with the scrolls of the
orific circuit must be made, at a respectful distance of several
Torah being carried around the synagogue.
feet from the temple itself.
Christian worship has tended to focus the attention of
The circumambulation of a center also formed a strong
the worshiper directionally toward the east or vertically to-
part of the early Buddhist tradition of worship, especially the
ward the vaulting heavens, rather than inward toward an en-
circling of the stupa with its hemispherical dome, originally
compassed center. Even so, Christian architecture displays a
said to house a relic of the Buddha. The dome of the stupa,
tension between the center, which can be circumambulated,
called the an:d:a (“egg”), was said to have cosmic significance
and the “transcendent” or the “east,” which cannot. In the
as the dome of heaven: the smaller superstructure on top was
Middle Ages, churches were built with ambulatories to facili-
Mount Meru, and the surmounting umbrellas signaled the
tate the movement of pilgrims through the church and
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CIRCUMAMBULATION
1797
around the altar, beneath which or near which a relic was en-
In the Sephardic and Hasidic traditions of Judaism,
shrined. Circumambulation is an important part of pilgrim-
seven haqqafot are made around a cemetery prior to burial.
ages, such as that of Saint Patrick’s Purgatory on an islet in
It has also been the custom in Ireland, Holland, Germany,
Lough Derg in Ireland, where pilgrims walk around the ba-
and elsewhere in northern Europe to carry the casket in pro-
silica four times, saying seven decades of the rosary beads. In
cession three times, sunwise, around the cemetery before
the Christian tradition, as in others as well, circumambula-
burial. According to the Maha¯parinirva¯n:a Su¯tra, five hun-
tion is often part of rites of consecration. For instance, when
dred of the Buddha’s disciples circled his body before his cre-
the new basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City
mation pyre was lit. The Hindu cremation rite today begins
was consecrated in 1976, the consecrating procession circled
as the chief mourner, usually the eldest son, circles the pyre
the building sprinking it with sanctified water, anointing it
four times counterclockwise, carrying the flaming bundle of
with holy oil, and fumigating it with incense.
sacred ku´sa grass and touching the body symbolically with
each round, finally lighting the pyre at the head. In Buddhist
The Muslim h:a¯jj has the circumambulation (t:awa¯f) of
Thailand as well the body is circumambulated three times
the KaEbah as one of its central rites. The original meaning
before the cremation. In the case of a king or member of the
of h:a¯jj is “to describe a circle,” and this circling of the KaEbah
royal family, a special palace-mountain pavilion called the
is a pre-Islamic rite, said to have been done naked, a practice
phra meru is built for the cremation. On arrival, the body
that was prohibited by the Prophet. Here the circles are made
is borne around the phra meru three times, uttaravatta, in a
with the left side, said to be the side of the heart facing to-
“left-hand direction,” before being placed upon the elaborate
ward the sacred KaEbah. The t:awa¯f consists of seven circuits
pyre. While the threefold circumambulation in the Buddhist
of the KaEbah. The full pilgrimage contains three t:awa¯fs: the
tradition ordinarily marks reverence for the Buddha, the
initial t:awa¯f on arrival, which is part of the ordinary Dumrah,
Dharma, and the Samgha, here it is said to remind the living
or lesser pilgrimages; a t:awa¯f on return from the journey to
of the three wearisome worlds of sam:sa¯ra—that of earth, of
Arafat; and a farewell t:awa¯f before leaving.
heaven, and of hell.
The t:awa¯f is interpreted in a spiritual way by theolo-
SEE ALSO Circle; Man:d:alas; Pilgrimage, article on Muslim
gians such as al-Ghaza¯l¯ı, who describes t:awa¯f as a form of
Pilgrimage.
prayer. T:awa¯f is not merely the circling of the body around
the KaEbah but the circling of the heart around God. In
BIBLIOGRAPHY
doing t:awa¯f, the faithful are like the angels circling the
Heiler, Friedrich. Erscheinungsformen und Wesen der Religion.
throne of God. Some Su¯f¯ıs were believed to have reached
Stuttgart, 1961.
such a high peak that the KaEbah came to circumambulate
Pandey, Raj Bali. Hindu Sam
˙ ´ska¯ras. 2d rev. ed. Delhi, 1969. A
them, and not they the KaEbah.
description of the major sam:ska¯ras, or sacraments from birth
to death of the Hindu Brahmanical tradition.
In many traditions, circumambulation is associated not
Turner, Victor, and Edith Turner. Image and Pilgrimage in Chris-
only with places of holiness or of worship, but also with life-
tian Culture. New York, 1978. An anthropological study of
cycle rites. Marriage rites often involve circling, since a wed-
Christian pilgrimages, looking at both Mexican and Irish pil-
ding is preeminently a rite of bonding and union. In some
grimages as well as Marian pilgrimages in other countries.
traditional Jewish communities, the bride makes either three
Von Grunebaum, G. E. Muhammadan Festivals. New York, 1951.
or seven haqqafot around the groom at the wedding. The cir-
A discussion of Muslim worship, including the rites of the
cling establishes a common world for the couple. Roman
pilgrimage to Mecca, the h:a¯jj.
weddings, for instance, called for the circling of the bride and
Wells, Kenneth E. Thai Buddhism: Its Rites and Activities (1939).
groom around the family altar. In the Agni Pradaks:in:a rite
Reprint, Bangkok, 1960. A study of daily, weekly, and yearly
of the Hindu marriage, the bride follows the groom three
Buddhist rites and festivals in Thailand, with discussions of
times around the sacred fire, her sari tied to his dhoti. The
major life crisis rites such as ordination to the monastic order
rite immediately precedes the “seven steps,” the legal culmi-
and funerals.
nation of the marriage ceremony. Interestingly, this rite re-
New Sources
peats the groom’s three circuits around the sacred fire during
Deegan, Chris. “The Narmada: Circumambulation of a Sacred
his initiation rite, the Upanayana, just before he received the
Landscape.” In Hinduism and Ecology: The Intersection of
sacred Sa¯vitr¯ı mantra from the guru¯ and thus established the
Earth, Sky, and Water, edited by Christopher Key Chapple
primary bond of his years of education.
and Mary Evelyn Tucker, pp. 389–400. Cambridge, U.K.,
2000.
In addition to being a rite of honoring, centering, and
Nakamura, Susumu. “Pradakshin:a¯, A Buddhist Form of Obei-
bonding, circumambulation also can set apart what is cir-
sance.” In Semitic and Oriental Studies: A Volume Presented
cumscribed. This is especially the case for the “dangerous
to William Popper on the Occasion of His Seventy-Fifth Birth-
holy,” that is, the dead. Both the dead and places associated
day, edited by Walter J. Fischel, pp. 345–354. Berkeley,
with the dead are circumambulated, sometimes counter-
1951.
clockwise, as a protective or apotropaic rite to keep the
Peters, Francis. The Hajj: The Muslim Pilgrimage to Mecca and the
spheres of the living and dead apart.
Holy Places. Princeton, 1994.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1798
CIRCUMCISION
Sudhi, Padma. “An Encyclopaedic Study on Circumambulation.”
the portion of their foreskin that remained in order to appear
Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute 65, nos.
uncircumcised to the Greeks and Romans, the rabbinate ad-
1–4 (1984): 205–226.
vocated a fuller circumcision. Some hellenized Jews sought
D
to appear uncircumcised because the Greeks and Romans
IANA L. ECK (1987)
Revised Bibliography
viewed the practice with revulsion and periodically enacted
laws to make the custom difficult for Jews and Egyptians
under their rule.
CIRCUMCISION is the surgical removal of the fore-
Muslim circumcision usually occurs on what is termed
skin from the penis; sometimes it also refers to less common
the seventh day (in fact it is the eighth day, since the day of
practices of uncovering the glands of the penis by removing
birth is not counted). In practice, the time varies widely.
some of the foreskin and leaving the remainder as a flap, as
Some Muslims perform circumcision within the first five or
practiced by the Maasai and Ki-kuyu of East Africa, or cut-
six years; others delay it until as late as adolescence. While
ting the foreskin away but retaining it as two flaps, as prac-
circumcision is not discussed in the QurDa¯n, Muslims agree
ticed by the Tikopia of Polynesia. Early social theorists spec-
that it must occur before marriage and is required of male
ulated about circumcision’s origins, suggesting that it may
converts. In many cases, it is accompanied by lavish feasts
have (1) marked captives, thereby signifying subjection, (2)
and celebrations. A few Arabs combine circumcision with
attracted the opposite sex, (3) been a tribal or ethnic mark,
radical flaying and scarification of the lower abdomen.
(4) been hygienic, (5) increased sexual pleasure, (6) removed
Coptic Christians (including Ethiopians) circumcise in
men from maternal bonds, (7) tested bravery, (8) sacrificed
imitation of Old Testament Jews, but the time at which cir-
part of the self to ensure future rebirth, (9) been a form of
cumcision is performed varies from the first week of life to
symbolic castration to support the domination of youths by
the first few years.
their elders, or (10) even simulated menstruation. None of
CIRCUMCISION AND ETHNICITY. Besides signifying mem-
these theories is accepted today, though various combina-
bership in a religion, circumcision may indicate ethnicity or
tions of them may be cited by those groups who circumcise.
merely a human condition properly marked by the creativity
GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION. Circumcision is commonly
of culture. Thus the Yoruba and Igbo of Nigeria usually cir-
associated with Semitic religions (Islam, Judaism, and Coptic
cumcise during infancy; for them the operation signifies no
Christianity), but, in fact, it predates all of these. It was prac-
religious or moral commitments nor does it distinguish them
ticed among ancient Egyptians, although not universally. It
from their neighbors, who also circumcise. Even in respect
is widespread among peoples in Africa, western Asia, and the
to a single society generalizations about circumcision may be
Pacific, including Australia. Early travelers’ records and ency-
formulated with difficulty, as examples from Africa will illus-
clopedias report circumcision among some New World peo-
trate. The western Dinka of the Sudan circumcise while the
ples, but these accounts seem dubious, and, at most, the
eastern Dinka do not. Their neighbors, the Nuer, do not or-
practice there appears to have been rare. Circumcision was
dinarily circumcise, but on rare occasions they may, in order
not common in Europe or North America (except among
to purify someone who has committed incest. Among the
Jews) until the 1870s and became widespread only at the
Azande of the Sudan and Zaire circumcision was introduced
turn of the century. Today about 85 percent of newborn
by neighboring peoples, with the result that within even the
American males undergo the operation, but it is far less com-
same village or extended kin group some will be circumcised
mon elsewhere in the English-speaking world and in Europe.
while others will not. Among the Amba of Uganda circumci-
It is our only form of prophylactic surgery, and currently
sion was unknown until an unexplained interest in the cus-
members of the medical profession are in disagreement as to
tom, learned from neighbors to the west, led to sporadic
whether it is scientifically justifiable. Some cite its prevalence
waves of circumcision among youths and even adults.
in America as an indication of a misconceived preoccupation
Among the Sotho of southern Africa circumcision was once
with medicine and hygiene.
universal, but under government and mission influence
S
many have abandoned the practice while others continue to
EMITIC CIRCUMCISION. Muslims, Jews, and Coptic Chris-
tians usually circumcise during infancy. Ideally Jews circum-
observe it. Among some migratory pygmies in Zaire circum-
cise on the eighth day of life. Among Orthodox Jews circum-
cision has been interpreted as a mark of cultural subjugation
cision is performed by a professional circumciser (mohel)
to their sedentary African overlords. Even where circumci-
rather than a physician, and blood must be drawn from the
sion is a traditional practice and remains prevalent it now
wound either by mouth or, today, through a suction pump.
often takes place in hospitals, despite protests from elders,
In America, Jews have figured significantly in developing sur-
who advocate the old ways.
gical devices that facilitate the operation. Circumcision is not
CIRCUMCISION AND RITES OF SEXUAL INITIATION. Where
strictly necessary to make one a Jew: since 1892, for example,
circumcision is associated with a world religion, it rarely
Reform Jews have not required it of converts. Before the Hel-
marks sexual maturity. Such an association is common, how-
lenistic period circumcision among Jews took a less radical
ever, among preliterates, although even among these many
form than it does today. Because some Jews would “blister”
peoples circumcise infants or children rather than adoles-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CIRCUMCISION
1799
cents. Early circumcision may be a mark of ethnicity, or it
reestablishment of social and moral order through altruistic,
may be considered hygienic or aesthetically attractive, but it
sacrificial suffering.
does not provide a means by which trauma may be harnessed
Circumcision is widespread in East Africa. Among sed-
to the inculcation of moral and metaphysical values, as oc-
entary speakers of Bantu language it is usually performed an-
curs in many rituals of initiation. Nor can infantile circumci-
nually on groups of youths approaching adolescence. These
sion serve as a test of bravery. These aspects of circumcision,
groups are segregated in the bush (the sphere of disorder)
however, are of special interest to the anthropologist of
apart from villages and women. Novices are stripped, shaved,
religion.
bathed, and sometimes marked with ashes or white earth, all
Among the societies that practice circumcision as a rite
to denude them of their previous status and to place them
of passage to adulthood, those of central Australia and East
in a liminal state, neither minor nor adult. The actual opera-
Africa provide the most complex and dramatic examples.
tion is often performed by an expert who is outside or pe-
ripheral to the group. Bravery under pain is usually required.
In central Australia circumcision is the primary opera-
The shedding of blood is viewed as polluting, a “hot” proce-
tion in defining male adulthood, although it is often accom-
dure that temporarily creates disorder so as to achieve a great-
panied by tooth evulsion, bodily scarification, and, a year or
er eventual order. Rituals and medicines are therefore applied
two later, subincision. Much pressure is exerted on the initi-
to “cool” the wound and allow it to heal.
ate to show no fear or pain. Among those Australian Aborigi-
During their weeks of recovery, novices are hazed by
nes who practice circumcision (and not all do), the operation
older circumcised youths or by elders. They fast and observe
marks the beginning of a youth’s indoctrination into the
numerous prohibitions, as may also their kin, in order to en-
men’s secret ceremonial life, the preservation of which is be-
sure recovery. In their isolated quarters, the novices—
lieved to be vital for maintaining social and natural harmony.
vulnerable and impressionable because of the wounds, fast-
At this time novices witness complex ceremonies in which
ing, and exposure that they have suffered—are subjected to
the mythical origins of the world are enacted and, thereby,
intensive instructions about sexual behavior, moral attitudes,
the order of the world is reasserted. The initial rites convey
and proper conduct. Toward the end of their confinement,
only basic features of this information; only after a man has
the novices may don strange garb and tour nearby villages
witnessed many such ceremonies over the years, first as a
representing their status of being nameless, nonsocial crea-
spectator-novice, then as an actor-participant, and finally as
tures. Upon recovery, they return to their homes and enjoy
an organizer, does he become truly knowledgeable. Circum-
the company of women at dances and feasts that celebrate
cision, therefore, is not only the occasion when a youth pass-
their new adulthood. Circumcision marks their ritual death
es into the circle of informed adults, but it also provides re-
as minors and their rebirth as responsible adults.
peated opportunities for him to continue to acquire deeper
knowledge of traditions.
In other East African societies, especially Para-Nilotes
such as the Maasai, rites of circumcision are not held every
Australian circumcision furthers male solidarity by for-
year. Instead, they are held for several successive years until
ever separating youths from their mothers. The initiates re-
a sufficient group is recruited; then the rites are not practiced
ceive ritual objects that are forbidden to the sight of women.
for some time. Through circumcision men enter named trib-
Admitted to frequent and complex secret male ritual activi-
al age groups whose members provide mutual aid and hospi-
ties, they begin to spend longer periods away from camp at
tality and, when young, form fighting units.
ceremonies that exclude women. It is only after these rituals
that a youth is likely to have heterosexual relations and
In East Africa and Australia circumcision is understood
marry. Male solidarity sometimes involves a homosexual ex-
to remove the vestiges of polluting femininity (the foreskin)
perience, since a circumciser may be obliged to have sexual
from a youth, converting him into an adult male. It provides
relations with a newly recovered novice to whom he will later
a powerful measure of commitment to group values in the
give a wife.
face of considerable suffering, and it represents a permanent
moral and physical transformation. Women are afforded no
Aborigines associate circumcision with marriage not
comparable process, and (despite any physical operation)
simply to prepare a man to take a wife but to reinforce the
they remain minors subordinate to men, according to the
bonds the man enjoys with the men of his wife’s family.
norms that govern social organization. Where such initiation
Thus a man’s potential father-in-law and brothers-in-law, his
occurs we find the belief that society improves upon nature
own father, and his uncles (his father’s affinal ties and mem-
by transforming the male body into a more proper vehicle
bers of the group that helped to circumcise his father) often
for a moral person to inhabit. The social person and the nat-
figure in his circumcision. Male solidarity and hierarchy are
ural body are brought into closer conjunction. The endur-
closely associated with the bestowal of and submission to
ance of pain and the observance of ritual restrictions express
pain, a prevalent theme in Aboriginal belief and ritual. This
both a willingness and a capacity to subject personal appe-
in turn relates to the fact that periodically in a society cir-
tites and feelings to collective ends. At the same time the
cumcision and subincision involve the shedding of male
powers that shape the cultural process assume a physical real-
“genital blood,” a blessing with deep mystical value for the
ity in the experience of bodily suffering.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1800
CIRCUMPOLAR RELIGIONS
SEE ALSO Castration; Clitoridectomy.
gral observance of the rule of Benedict of Nursia (d. 525).
The order takes its name from the first community to adopt
BIBLIOGRAPHY
the reform, the Abbey of Cïteaux in Burgundy, France. Ben-
Beidelman, T. O. The Cool Knife. Bloomington, 1997. Detailed
edict’s Rule for Monasteries, written around the year 500, be-
description of male and female circumcision and initiation
came virtually the exclusive rule for monasteries in western
among Bantu people of East Africa, useful bib-
Europe after the time of Charlemagne (d. 814). With the
liography.
foundation of Cluny in 909, a reform to bring about a more
Bleich, David. Judaism and Healing. New York, 1984. An apology
observant monastic practice was effectively forwarded by a
for Jewish circumcision.
succession of great, holy, and long-lived abbots; however,
Dunsman, W. D., and E. M. Gordon. “The History of Circumci-
this was achieved at the cost of local autonomy and the bal-
sion.” British Journal of Urology International 83, Supplement
ance of liturgy, sacred reading, personal prayer, and manual
1: 1–12. Restriceted to Western cultures.
work that is so characteristic of Benedict’s Rule. At Cluny
Eilberg-Schwarts, Howard. The Savage in Judaism. Bloomington,
and many of its dependent monasteries, the liturgy was cele-
1990. Jewish practices compared to those of preliterate so-
brated with great splendor and duration, while manual labor
cieties.
became for the monks a nominal exercise.
Friedman, David M. A Mind of Its Own. New York, 2001. Cul-
In the time of the Gregorian reform, many monastic
tural history of the penis, excellent bibliography.
founders arose who drew their inspiration from the Gospels,
Glass, J. M. “Religious Circumcision: A Jewish View.” British
monastic traditions, and in some cases Benedict’s Rule. They
Journal of Urology International 83, Supplement 1: 11–12. An
laid great stress on poverty, solitude, and simplicity of life-
apology for Jewish circumcision.
style. Most notable among these monks was Robert of
Gollaher, David L. “From Ritual to Science.” Journal of Social
Molesme (d. 1110), who, after entering the order at Mou-
History 28 (1994): 5–36. Circumcision argued as a justified
tier-la-Celle, near Troyes, attempted reforms in various
medical treatment.
monasteries and finally succeeded in gathering the hermits
Gollaher, David L. Circumcision. New York, 2000. Valuable
of Collan into a notable Benedictine community at
survey.
Molesmes. The community’s fervor brought fame and for-
Hoffmann, Lawrence J. Covenant of Blood. Chicago, 1976. Semit-
tune, and then a more relaxed observance of the rule. Again
ic circumcision.
Robert, with the permission of the legate, Hugh of Die, set
Meggitt, M. J. Desert People: A Study of the Walbiri Aborigines of
out to seek the fullness of the Benedictine way of life, estab-
Central Australia. Sydney, 1962. Most reliable account of cir-
lishing the New Monastery at Cîteaux in 1098. He was ac-
cumsion among Australian Aborigines.
companied by the prior and subprior from Molesmes, and
Morgenstern, Julian. Rites of Birth, Marriage, Death, and Kindred
nineteen others.
Occasions among the Semites. Cincinnati, 1966. Contains a
Within two years Robert was required by papal authori-
useful survey of Jewish and Muslim circumcision.
ty to return to Molesmes, but the reform was carried forward
Spencer, Paul. The Samburu: A Study of Gerontocracy in a Nomadic
by Alberic, his prior (d. 1109), and then by Stephen Harding
Tribe. Berkeley, 1965. Contains a useful description of cir-
(d. 1135), who had been his subprior. Under the latter, an
cumcision among para-Nilotes of East Africa.
expansion began that accelerated rapidly with the arrival of
Strage, Mark. The Durable Fig Leaf. New York, 1980. Survey of
Bernard of Clairvaux (d. 1153).
the history of the penis.
To Stephen is largely attributed the Charter of Charity,
Thorn, Mark. Taboo No More. New York, 1990. Short and witty
which bound together Cîteaux and the many monasteries
survey of the history of the penis.
that would spring from it directly or indirectly, forming
Turner, Victor. “Three Symbols of Passage in Ndembu Circumci-
them into an order. The federated nature of this order re-
sion Ritual: An Interpretation.” In Essays on the Ritual of So-
spected the autonomy of the local community, while ensur-
cial Relations, edited by Max Gluckman, pp. 124–173. Man-
ing ongoing regularity of observance by an annual gathering
chester, England, 1962. Influential essay on symbolism of
circumcision in Central Africa.
of the college of abbots in a chapter and by a system of annu-
al visitation of all the monasteries. As early as the 1130s these
T. O. BEIDELMAN (1987 AND 2005)
successful elements of the Cistercian reform began to find
their way into other Benedictine federations; later, in various
forms, chapters and visitation became part of the structure
CIRCUMPOLAR RELIGIONS
of almost every religious order.
SEE ARCTIC
RELIGIONS
While the concern of the Cistercian reformers to live to
the full Benedict’s rule too often descended to bickering over
observances (see A Dialogue between a Cluniac and a Cister-
cian), its true aim as powerfully expressed by the leading Cis-
CISTERCIANS. The Cistercians are an order of monks
tercian fathers—Bernard of Clairvaux, William of Saint-
and nuns that arose in the twelfth century to foster the inte-
Thierry (d. 1148), Guerric of Igny (d. 1157), and Ælred 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
CITIES
1801
Rievaulx (d. 1169)—was to attain to the experience of God
SEE ALSO Benedict of Nursia.
through mystical love, the goal pointed to by Benedict in the
prologue and epilogue to his Rule and in its central chapter,
BIBLIOGRAPHY
the seventh, “On Humility.”
The most complete work on the Cistercians is that of Louis J.
The Cistercian order experienced very rapid expansion
Lekai, The Cistercians: Ideals and Reality (Kent, Ohio, 1977).
with the founding or affiliation of over three hundred
For a complementary study from the point of view of the
Strict Observance, see Jean de la Croix Bouton’s Histoire de
monasteries in all parts of western Europe prior to the death
l’Ordre de Cîteaux, 3 vols. (Westmalle, Belgium, 1959–
of Bernard of Clairvaux. This expansion continued through
1968). However, the most extensive study of the origins of
the following centuries until there were over seven hundred
the Strict Observance is Lekai’s The Rise of the Cistercian
Cistercian abbeys of monks, as well as innumerable convents
Strict Observance in Seventeenth Century France (Washing-
of nuns following their observance. The order was slow to
ton, D.C., 1968). Its later development is found in Anselme
incorporate communities of women; only in the wake of the
Le Bail’s L’Ordre de Cîteaux (Paris, 1924). Thomas Merton
Second Vatican Council have the abbesses emerged as fully
in Waters of Siloe (New York, 1949) treats the American seg-
equal members of the college of superiors.
ment of Cistercian history most completely. For a deep and
authoritative presentation of the spirituality that animates
In order that monks might have the opportunity to live
the Cistercian life, see Jean Leclercq’s Bernard of Clairvaux
the Benedictine rule to the full and strive after a truly con-
and the Cistercian Spirit (Kalamazoo, Mich., 1976). Louis
templative life, the lay-brother vocation was promoted; this
Bouyer’s The Cistercian Heritage (London, 1958) is a more
system provided larger workforces to build the monasteries
comprehensive and popular presentation of the spirituality
and care for the order’s ever-growing landholdings. The ten-
of the order. A Dialogue between a Cluniac and a Cistercian
sions that inevitably arose between the increasingly clerical-
can be found in Cistercians and Cluniacs: Documents in the
ized choir monks and the hardworking brothers could even
Feud between White Monks and Black Monks, translated by
erupt at times into violence.
Jeremiah F. O’Sullivan and Irene Edmonds (Kalamazoo,
Mich., 1986).
Through the influence of the schools, scholastic scholar-
ship began to replace a contemplative patristic theology.
New Sources
Berman, Constance H. The Cistercian Evolution. Philadelphia,
With the great geographical expansion of the order, the re-
1999.
form structure began to break down, and observance de-
clined. The unlettered who had been attracted to the Cister-
Elder, E. Rozanne, ed. New Monastery: Texts and Studies on the
cian lay brotherhood began, in the thirteenth century, to
Early Cistercians. Kalamazoo, Mich., 1998.
turn to the new fervent mendicant orders. The Cistercians
McGuire, Brian Patrick. Friendship and Faith: Cistercian Men,
began to fragment into national or regional congregations.
Women, and their Stories, 1100-1200. Aldershot, U.K., 2002.
The Protestant Reformation wiped out monastic life in many
Newman, Martha G. The Boundaries of Charity: Cistercian Culture
countries. An attempted reform within the order in the sev-
and Ecclesiastical Reform, 1098-1180. Stanford, Calif, 1996.
enteenth century led to a “war of observances” and the emer-
Pennington, M. Basil. The Cistercians. Collegeville, Minn., 1992.
gence of the Strict Observance, prior to further losses
Pennington, M. Basil. The School of Love: The Cistercian Way to
through the French Revolution and other secularizing move-
Holiness. Harrisburg, Pa., 2001.
ments. The policies of Emperor Franz Josef forced the
monks in the Austrian Empire to take up tasks left off by the
Scholl, Edith, ed. In the School of Love: An Anthology of Early Cis-
Jesuits when they were temporarily suppressed.
tercian Texts. Kalamazoo, Mich., 2000.
The Cistercians experienced a renewal in France in the
Tobin, Stephen. The Cistercians: Monks and Monasteries of Europe.
Woodstock, N.Y., 1996.
nineteenth century that spilled over to the rest of the world
in the next century. In 1892 Leo XIII sought to reunite all
M. BASIL PENNINGTON (1987)
the Cistercians, but the pope’s efforts resulted instead in the
Revised Bibliography
formation of two Cistercian orders, one now known as the
Cistercians of the Strict Observance (Trappist), which in-
cludes both monks and nuns, and another composed of
CITIES. In order to obtain the deepest historical under-
twelve congregations of monks and over eighty convents of
standing of urban religiosity, one may begin with the Neo-
nuns. A number of these congregations suffered extensively
lithic site of Çatal Hüyük, located on Turkey’s Anatolian
at the hands of the Communists in Eastern Europe and Viet-
Plateau. The main mound represents the continuous habita-
nam and found refuge in other countries.
tion of a coherent cultural group between about 7000 and
The Strict Observance was brought to new prominence
5700 BCE, making this one of the oldest known cities in the
by the writings of one of its members, Thomas Merton (Fa-
world. The earliest excavations exposed residential abodes
ther Louis of Gethsemani Abbey, Trappist, Kentucky). As
adjoining structures identified as shrines in a section of the
the largest order of contemplative men in the church today,
city described by James Mellaart, the principal excavator
it has played an increasingly significant role in the contempo-
(1967), as a sacred or priestly quarter. The remarkably pre-
rary spiritual renewal of the Roman Catholic Church.
served shrine rooms reveal a dominant female image, molded
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1802
CITIES
on the walls in plaster with arms upraised and legs extended,
earliest cuneiform writing from the end of the millennium
sometimes portrayed as pregnant and sometimes portrayed
has allowed a deeper look at belief systems and social organi-
with an animal’s head emerging from her womb. Other im-
zation. Thorkild Jacobsen (1976) describes Sumerian religi-
ages of animal heads in plaster adorn the walls of the shrines,
osity as being based on an understanding of the entire uni-
and short pillars with mounted bulls’ horns adorn the edges
verse in terms of its “numinous” qualities. The different
of raised platforms. Multiple plaster representations of
features of the natural world follow patterns of change and
breasts molded around animal skulls, or with animal skulls
growth that corresponded to the many attributes of sacred
protruding from them, hang on the walls of some shrines,
power, resulting in thousands of names for spiritual entities
while stone statuary of a female image associated with leop-
linked to natural and artificial phenomena. The attempts to
ards coincides with painted plaster images of leopards in
understand these entities through their signs and to manipu-
other rooms. Detailed paintings in a single shrine portray
late the rules for their manifestation form the background for
giant vultures swooping down on decapitated human figures.
massive numbers of cuneiform records concerned with divi-
Burials under the raised platforms of shrines and residences
nation and correct behavior. The attempts include astro-
indicate initial exposure of the dead and elimination of flesh
nomical observation and various performances in which
through the action of birds, before the final interment of
groups of people invoked or placated sacred forces, including
bones, sometimes with red ochre or grave goods.
the calendar-based agrarian festivals celebrating the death
A different vision of early urban religiosity comes from
and rebirth of anthropomorphic images of fertility. Tenden-
the ancient site of Jericho, well known from a number of bib-
cies toward representation of the sacred in human form seem
lical passages and excavated repeatedly since the nineteenth
to have become more prominent when larger populations
century. Excavations in the 1950s found what may be the
concentrated in central places. As the Mesopotamian plain
oldest monumental architecture in the world: a circular
became dotted with cities, along with places dedicated to
watchtower 28 feet in diameter and surviving to a height of
subsidiary sacred forces conceived as divine persons, each set-
24.5 feet behind fortification walls. A population of perhaps
tlement created the “house” of a god associated with the life
3,000 people lived here in the early eighth millennium
of the entire community.
BCE.
Settlers at this site in the following millennium were using
The center of the divine presence was the temple, a
small female figurines with hands supporting their breasts,
quadrilateral roofed structure with an image of a deity, which
often interpreted as fertility goddesses. They also were bury-
most sources describe as an anthropomorphic statue made
ing their dead beneath the floors of houses, but removing
of wood and ornamented with precious substances. When
their skulls in order to plaster and paint them in a lifelike
a statue was installed with the correct rituals, the god entered
manner, insert shells in their eye sockets, and exhibit them
into it and became one with it. As a living presence, the stat-
(Kenyon, 1970, pp. 39–57, 331).
ue/deity enjoyed a daily round of services, including baths,
These first cases of population concentration, civic ar-
offerings of food and drink, music, incense, and the worship
chitecture, and occupational specialization introduce several
of devotees. The temple household included kitchens for
recurring themes in the discussion of religion and its rela-
food preparation and habitation quarters for functionaries
tionship to cities. The first theme concerns the style of religi-
who prepared offerings, performed worship, and maintained
osity connected with urbanization: death and the invocation
the temple infrastructure. In order to support offerings and
of fertility seem to constitute fundamental problems at the
the personnel of the gods, temples came to control economic
origins of town life. The second theme concerns the disposi-
resources in the form of land or investments in commercial
tion of sacred and public space, represented in the case of
undertakings. The earliest written sources from the late
Çatal Hüyük by the presence of buildings apparently dedi-
fourth and early third millennia mostly describe economic
cated to the performance of rituals. One may ask whether
transactions involving temples. This characteristic of the
the multiplicity of sites indicates many publics oriented
source material has supported the theory that the administra-
around specific kinship groups or priestly lineages, or wheth-
tion of the earliest cities was theocratic, with temples per-
er this multiplicity connotes a concept of the sacred and ritu-
forming the management and distribution functions that al-
al practice uniting all members of the settlement within an
lowed expansion of agriculture and trade (Wiggermann,
overarching community of citizens. The two examples of
1995, pp. 1861–1862).
burial practices mentioned above suggest ritual practice oc-
The perennial scholarly problem is tracing the interac-
curring within more restricted social environments based on
tions between the theocratic model of early urbanization and
kinship or participation within specific rituals.
a model based on kingship. The earliest rulers of Sumerian
CITY-GODS AND RULERS: MESOPOTAMIA. The first detailed
city-states were “lords” (en) selected from a restricted body
portrait of urbanization on a regional scale becomes possible
of citizens after rites of divination. The installation of the
during the fourth millennium BCE in Mesopotamia—old
ruler occurred through a sacred marriage with the deity, at
Sumer and Akkad, the territories that would become Babylo-
times represented by a priest or priestess of the city god’s
nia. Archaeological work has traced here the transition from
temple. The preponderance of temple economic transac-
village farming communities to cities, and the study of the
tions, the absence of buildings clearly identifiable as “pal-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CITIES
1803
aces,” and the primarily honorific actions of the lords suggest
notice the creation of architecture of privatized worship
that their ability to wield independent power initially re-
(Crawford, 1991, pp. 71–73, 101), an increasing attention
mained limited. Armed conflict among Sumer’s cities in the
to the human individual, and a concern with a personal god.
early third millennium, a time when “city-states” emerged,
CEREMONIAL CENTERS: CHINA AND THE AMERICAS. Per-
indicates that war leaders were becoming more important in
haps the most influential body of scholarship concerned with
determining the outcomes of economic or territorial strug-
religion and the city has engaged in a comparative study of
gles. In the city of Lagash, for example, administrative texts
the cosmographic qualities of the ceremonial center, as origi-
dating between 2500 and 2350 BCE suggest that the king
nally exemplified in Mesopotamia. Paul Wheatley’s classic
controlled the city’s economy through the domains of the
study of the Chinese Shang and Zhou cities (second–first
city’s main temples. The person regarded as the fulfiller of
millennia BCE) propounded the study of the ceremonial cen-
this tendency was Sargon of Akkad (Agade), who in the late
ter as a program for understanding “traditional” urbanization
twenty-fourth century BCE brought all Mesopotamian city-
in Asia and, by extension, throughout the world:
states under his authority, reputedly campaigning as far as
the Mediterranean Sea. Sargon claimed to be an appointee
Whenever, in any of the seven regions of primary urban
of the supreme god Enlil, and arranged for his daughter’s ap-
generation . . . , we trace back the characteristic urban
pointment as priestess of the moon-god Sin in the city of Ur,
form to its beginnings we arrive not at a settlement that
thus posing as a traditionalist who preserved the archaic he-
is dominated by commercial relations, a primordial
gemony of independent cities. His grandson, Naram-Sin,
market, or at one that is focused on a citadel, an arche-
typal fortress, but rather at a ceremonial complex. . . .
initiated major renovations at Enlil’s temple in Nippur, but
Beginning as little more than tribal shrines, in what
also appointed governors over cities and appeared as a divine
may be regarded as their classic phases these centers
being in his own right (Franke, 1995). Even after the eclipse
were elaborated into complexes of public ceremonial
of Naram-Sin’s empire, kings of Sumerian city-states repre-
structures, usually massive and often extensive, and in-
sented themselves with divine attributes, while still claiming
cluding assemblages of such architectural items as pyra-
that their power derived from the favor of their city’s leading
mids, platform mounds, temples, palaces, terraces,
deity. The many deities of Mesopotamian sites came to con-
staircases, courts, and stelae. Operationally they were
stitute a pantheon governed by the king-like Enlil, who ruled
instruments for the creation of political, social, eco-
from the temple city of Nippur in conjunction with an as-
nomic, and sacred space, at the same time as they were
symbols of cosmic, social, and moral order. (1971,
sembly of the gods and through Enki, the master of intelli-
p. 225)
gence, whose hometown was Eridu.
Wheatley’s particular interest concerned the change of the
By the eighteenth century BCE, when Sumeria came
Zhou city center from a ceremonial enclave—a walled enclo-
under the hegemony of emperors based in Babylon or Assyr-
sure for an altar of the god of the soil and a temple of ances-
ia, a radical transformation of urban sacrality had taken
tors—toward a multifaceted administrative, military, and
place. A ranked hierarchy of personified deities now stood
economic hub for a “spatially integrated hinterland”
behind the phenomena of nature, dictating the fate of the
(pp. 175–178, 186–187). For this project he built on the
world within a complex array of laws that required obedience
centuries-old doctrines of geomancy (feng-shui), scholarship
and observation of ritual injunctions (Bottéro, 1992,
linking Chinese city planning to “cosmo-magical” elements
pp. 208–231). Adjacent to now-expanded temples at the
already visible in Shang or Zhou divination records, and the
centers of major cities stood massive stepped pyramids or zig-
orientation of excavated cities toward the cardinal directions.
gurats, which probably included shrines on their summits ac-
The project, however, had the more ambitious goal of link-
cessible by long flights of stairs. Religious institutions, espe-
ing Chinese materials to comparative theories of “astro-
cially in northern Mesopotamia, appeared less like the
biology” that aligned earthly prosperity to a cosmic order,
organic outgrowths of the urban fabric and more like massive
manifest in the stars, through orientation of the built envi-
interventions of wealth and power located on heights above
ronment around a universal axis. Wheatley was interested in
the population, culminating in massive urban planning proj-
constructing an urban progression from village farming com-
ects of the “neo-Babylonian” kings in the seventh and sixth
munity through dispersed ceremonial center to compact city,
centuries (Van De Mieroop, 1997, pp. 84–86). The
considering the “ideal-type ceremonial center . . . as a func-
Babyonians placed Marduk at the head of the pantheon and
tional and developmental stage in the evolution of city life”
the Assyrians placed Assur on top, each representing his capi-
(p. 329). The goal of this effort, shared by many in the social
tal city as in the older dispensation, but now portrayed as
sciences of the twentieth century, was an understanding of
lords of the universe supported by emperors as their divinely
these “foci of orthogenesis” as characteristic of the premod-
appointed representatives on earth, demanding conformity
ern, distinct from the “uniqueness of the present-day city”
from those below them. Thus, urban religion came to legiti-
(pp. 478–482).
mize empire, and the city became a cosmogram constructed
by and for political leaderships. Paradoxically, as the imperial
The framework of the ceremonial center has proven par-
motif was coming to dominate the city’s sacred center during
ticularly durable in the study of precontact Mesoamerica,
a period of expanding social and economic complexity, we
where urbanization originated in the early first millennium
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1804
CITIES
BCE in Mexico’s Olmec culture and achieved its “classic”
the urban center. Major monuments demonstrate orienta-
form between the second and tenth centuries CE in central
tion to sacred caves or mountains in the surrounding envi-
Mexico and the Maya world. The heart of the early Me-
ronment, and to the positions on the horizon where celestial
soamerican city consisted of shrines on raised platforms dedi-
bodies rise or set (Sˇprajc, 2004). Pyramids are mythical
cated to the worship of deities and often associated with buri-
mountains, centers of the universe, surmounting caves where
als accompanied by grave goods. The most spectacular city
deceased ancestors and beings from the underworld reside.
was Teotihuacan in central Mexico, which emerged as a sig-
The gods presiding over their “places of sleep” in palace tem-
nificant site around 100 CE and reached its peak around 500
ples and on the summits of pyramids, like honored ancestors,
CE, when its population was between 125,000 and 200,000.
are distant beings contacted through rituals of petition and
A primary road (called by the later Aztecs the Street of the
supplication. The ball games played on the ubiquitous courts
Dead) bisected Teotihuacan beginning in the north at the
of the Maya cities seem closely connected to stories of the
giant Temple of the Moon, passing by the giant Temple of
descent of the hero-twins to the underworld and their tri-
the Sun, and ending after 1.5 miles at the Great Enclosure
umph over death, known from surviving Maya artwork or
and the Citadel housing the Temple of Quetzalcoatl. There
literature and from ethnographic study (Grube, 2000,
were more than one hundred religious structures along the
pp. 186–189, 200, 270, 291). The plazas of the ceremonial
Street of the Dead alone. In addition, the city included over
center are described as oceans, lakes, or standing water, and
two thousand “apartment compounds” associated with their
the city of Izapa in Chiapas demonstrates the cosmological
own platforms, suggesting that every residential unit of sixty
significance: about 2,000 years ago, the citizens diverted
to a hundred persons had its own shrine or temple (Marcus,
water from the nearby river into channels that fed reservoirs
2000, p. 67; Cowgill, 2003, pp. 41–44).
surrounding an enormous pyramid, transforming the site
into the primordial sea at the world’s creation, from which
The hypercentralization of Teotihuacan stands in con-
the pyramid-mountain of sustenance rises to support the first
trast to settlements in eastern Mexico, Belize, Guatemala,
maize (Kappelman, 2001, pp. 83–86).
and Honduras, where dozens of states arose, each focused on
its own ceremonial complex. One example is Tikal, one of
Earlier scholarship on the classic Maya envisioned a
the superpowers of the classic Maya world, where more than
theocratic society concerned with the cyclical rhythms of cos-
4,000 structures dispersed over an area of 6.2 square miles
mic time and pursuing the peaceful goals of an agrarian econ-
housed a population of between 50,000 and 90,000 inhabi-
omy. More recent research, based on the comparative study
tants in the sixth century CE. The central area known as the
of material culture and epigraphy, has portrayed an economi-
Great Plaza, about 100 meters square, included high pyra-
cally complex world involving long-distance trade, dominat-
mids with surmounting temples on the west and east sides,
ed by nobilities and royal families of fifty warring states who
and an array of lower pyramids on the north side. The south
supervised the assembly of the ceremonial centers. With the
side of the plaza included an extensive palace complex or
adoption of divine names at their enthronement, rulers took
“acropolis” and, between the palace and the eastern pyramid,
the position of ajaw (leader, priest, and king), and after 400
a ball court. Four main causeways linked the plaza to seven
CE they often described themselves as the “divine kings”
more large complexes within a 1.2-mile radius (Escobédo
(k’uhul ajaw) of particular territories. Rulers saw themselves
and Valdés, 1998; Grube, 2000, pp. 219–221).
as the personification of the world axis, and iconography dis-
plays them in the costume of the world tree flanked by ser-
Intensive research on landscapes and the decipherment
pents’ heads representing branches and a headdress of the
of Maya hieroglyphic script in the late twentieth century
bird of heaven. The kings enacted public dance dramas in
have provided understandings of sacred cosmological con-
costume, taking the roles of deities such as the god of maize
cepts and the organization of space in the Mesoamerican city
in the stories of creation. Royal men and women, at times
(Arellano Hernández et al., 1999, pp. 34, 108–113, 129–
under the influence of hallucinatory substances, pierced their
133, 136–139). The universe is tripartite, consisting of a
bodies in order to collect their blood, aiming simultaneously
middle world on the surface of the earth, the starry sky of
at visionary experiences. Their blood, dropping on paper,
the gods above, and an underworld of death below. It is also
would be burned along with copal, the sweet-smelling
quadrilateral, oriented to the four cardinal directions associ-
“blood” of trees—an activity connected to the idea of the
ated with the sun’s equinoxes, special colors, and characteris-
breath-soul, related to aromas and also to sound—that is, to
tics, and revolving around a central axis where the world tree
music. There are numerous references to smearing the
grows. The gods are natural forces and also superhuman be-
mouths of gods with blood—in effect, feeding the gods—
ings connected with specific geometric positions in the uni-
which involved the public sacrifice of animals and captured
verse and controlling different natural phenomena. People
enemies. Success in military campaigns correlates closely
pay close attention to their spatial position in order to align
with construction projects at the end of calendar periods, oc-
themselves most effectively with natural powers and also to
casions for the reenactment of the destruction and re-
enable through their alignments the auspicious aspects of
creation of the world order (Arellano Hernández et al., 1999,
creation. These alignments occur in daily life and in every
pp. 92–93; Grube, 2000, pp. 149–153, 292). In these ways
household, but appear most forcefully in the architecture of
the geography of the sacred center became entwined with the
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CITIES
1805
public rituals and militaristic ambitions of hereditary politi-
or Saraswati) Civilization, which reached its mature stage be-
cal elites.
tween 2500 and 1900 BCE, there are no indications of tem-
ples or other religious monuments. Amid hundreds of sites
Attempts to understand the ceremonial center through
scattered over the largest geographic expanse of any primary
material culture have underlain the study of various preliter-
urbanization, only the Great Bath complex at Mohenjo-
ate societies of North America, ranging from the Southwest-
Daro provides a hint of ritual purpose (Possehl, 2002,
ern pueblo cultures of the Anasazi, oriented around sacred
pp. 148–152). With the resurgence of urban sites in north-
subterranean halls (and peaking between the ninth and thir-
ern India during the early first millennium BCE, despite
teenth centuries CE), to the Eastern cultures oriented around
strong indications of religiosity provided by the “mother
artificial mounds. Among the latter, the Mississippian com-
goddess” figurines available from many excavations, sacred
plexes (peaking between the ninth and fourteenth centuries)
centers are not visible in the urban fabric within the concen-
typically include central plazas adjoining earthen mounds,
surrounding clusters of family habitation structures, and pro-
trated habitation patterns of walled cities (Allchin, 1995,
tective wooden stockades sometimes with defensive ditches.
pp. 224–225, 268–272). Truly monumental religious archi-
Population estimates for these sites range from 500 at the
tecture emerges only in the late first millennium BCE in the
smallest to perhaps 25,000 at the largest in Cahokia, Illinois.
form of Buddhist monastic institutions, which do display, in
Within the matrix of political, commercial, and environmen-
the stupa complex associated with Buddhist relics, features
tal factors that could have supported these complexes, mak-
of the world axis and orientation to the cardinal directions
ing the surviving architecture a “sociogram” providing clues
(Mitra, 1971). Early Buddhist monasteries are not urban
to stratification, these monuments were obviously sacred
centers, however; generally they stand in the suburbs of cities
sites embodying concepts of centrality, symmetry, bounda-
or along commercial routes.
ries, and domains. The largest, flat-topped mounds seem to
We do not encounter the centrally located sacred center
have supported shrines or the habitations of elites who per-
in South Asian cities until the late first millennium, with the
formed sacerdotal functions. The alignment of wooden post
transition from monastic to temple architecture. All the fea-
circles at Cahokia suggests orientation with celestial bodies.
tures of the cosmogram appear in the temple, beginning with
Many objects of daily or special ritual use (e.g., pipes) pro-
the consecration of the man:d:ala at its base, with a sacred axis
vide a rich body of imagery, including animal figurines,
and deities at the cardinal and intermediate points. The
cross-in-circle motifs, and a recurring birdman image. Sever-
foundation and square “womb room” built above, with the
al examples of more spectacular human statuary provide in-
main image of the deity at the center and subsidiary images
sights into agrarian ritual iconography. Early travelers’ ac-
on the outer walls, combine with quadrilateral pillared halls
counts and ethnographic studies, along with archaeological
and the surrounding walls of compounds to create a unified
evidence from burials within and around mounds, suggest
geometry of the gods manifested on earth. The towering
that rituals of death and renewal were important. Religious
spire over the central shrine represents the Himalayan moun-
beliefs among the contemporary Creek Nation provide illu-
tain home of the gods; the shrine becomes the vima¯na or
minating, if speculative, links to the monumental landscape
chariot of the deity moving through space (Michell, 1977).
through narratives of human origins in the earth beneath
mounds, associations with mountains, and ritual alignments
By the eleventh century, with an urban revival in full
of human groups along axes of a central square (Brown,
swing throughout the subcontinent, temples were attracting
1997; Wesson, 1998; Dalan et al., 2003, pp. 149, 184).
resources from kings, agrarian leaders, and merchants who
were looking for markers of legitimacy. In places like Tan-
The concept of the ceremonial center remains an impor-
javur or Bhubaneswar, temple gigantism emerged at the
tant tool for describing the relationship between cosmologi-
heart of the cities; in other areas, multiple temple nodes with
cal systems and the organization of space, as well as the rela-
surrounding habitation sites created a distributed urban pat-
tionship between ritual performances and the geography of
tern reminiscent of classic Maya urbanism. A distinctive style
the city, especially for social elites. In general, the study of
of urban planning in southern India produced “temple cit-
earlier time periods has relied necessarily on the interpreta-
ies” through the accumulation of additional surrounding
tion of the built environment as an expression of such sys-
walls (resulting in compounds hundreds of yards in width),
tems, and thus the landscape of the cosmogram appears more
or through the accumulation of concentric streets, each in-
often as an overarching principle of social organization. With
habited by different occupational specialists or castes, sur-
access to written records, scholars tend to highlight the inter-
rounding the temple grounds (Kulke, 1995; Champakalak-
actions of stratified social groups under conditions of politi-
shmi, 1996). Within the temple cities, the experience of
cal struggle and economic development, within the parame-
sacred space provides clues to history and structure. For ex-
ters of varying ecosystems.
ample, at the temple of Suchindram near the tip of peninsu-
TEMPLE URBANISM IN SOUTH ASIA. The study of urbaniza-
lar India, the east-west axis of the complex creates a haptic
tion in South Asia reveals the varying fate of the cosmogram
experience of moving towards the town, connecting the dev-
within a variety of social and environmental variables. In the
otee with the collective memory of the town’s foundation.
case of the earliest cities within the Harappan (Indus Valley
The bathing tank beside the temple creates a polarity be-
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1806
CITIES
tween the upper, “male” town located around the temple of
beginning in 1000 resulted in two additional models of sa-
S´iva and the lower, “female” town located near the bathing
cred space based on Islam, resembling urban developments
tank and the goddess shrine—part of a configuration includ-
typical of southwest Asia (Lapidus, 1969; Bianca, 2000). The
ing four other goddess shrines on the periphery of the city.
first model revolves around the royal or administrative court,
Festivals at the temple also preserve these urban memories
and places the mosque (masjid) at the center of urban life
(Pieper, 1980, pp. 65–80).
within the fortified center. This model is visible by the four-
teenth century in the capital of the Sultanate at Delhi, in-
Between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries, Vijay-
anagara, the “city of victory,” became capital of an empire
cluding the mosque and spectacular Qut:b Minar in Tughlu-
uniting southern India within a single political formation for
qabad, as well as the provincial capitals of Islamic successor
the first time. The archaeological remains of the city include
states such as Bidar, Bijapur, and Golconda in peninsular
dozens of temples and civic structures enclosed in part within
India. Recent research on old Delhi or Shahjahanabad,
massive defensive walls; combined with literary sources, they
founded in the mid-seventeenth century, highlights not only
provide an unparalleled view of the relationship between sa-
the major public monuments established by an imperial mas-
cred and administrative geography. The performance of
ter plan but a variety of subsidiary mosques, gardens, and
kingship within the capital exemplified concepts of the ruler
utilities laid out by political subordinates. A hierarchical ma-
as upholder of law, agent of material prosperity, and media-
trix of neighborhoods (mahalla) including semi-public and
tor within cycles of good and evil. Annual alternations be-
private spaces revolves around local mosques, temples, Sikh
tween a period of rest, when the court, army, and king resid-
shrines (gurdwara), and, later, Christian churches (Ehlers
ed at the capital, and a period of movement (which included
and Krafft, 2003). The second model is based on the S:u¯f¯ı
war, pilgrimage, or peaceful missions in the empire and be-
shrine (darga¯h), where the memory of a saint’s holiness leads
yond), created specific configurations of action within space.
to a concentration of buildings around his burial place. An
The transition between the two periods witnessed the cele-
early example is the shrine of Ba¯ba¯ Far¯ıd al-D¯ın Ganj-i Sha-
bration of the Maha¯navami festival that commemorated the
kar in the Punjab town of Pakpattan, where the saint settled
propitiation of the goddess Durga¯ by the epic hero-king
down at the site of a river ferry during the thirteenth century.
Ra¯ma before he marched against the evil Ra¯van:a, involving
After his death and the passing down of his spiritual power
the display of the king’s military strength, the wealth of his
to family successors, his hermitage became the site for monu-
household, and his marital alliances. Simultaneously, the fes-
mental architecture, pilgrimage, and a network of social in-
tival represented the reorganization of an older sacrality and
teractions based on economic development or the legitimacy
memories of place. During the early phases of their rule,
of political leadership within emerging caste formations
when they operated as little kings, the Vijayanagara kings
(Eaton, 2000, pp. 203–246). A similar phenomenon hap-
had obtained the support of Pampa¯, a local goddess associat-
pened in Delhi, where the thirteenth-century hermitage of
ed with a small shrine. When the kings emerged as a regional
the saint Niz:a¯m al-D¯ın Awliya¯D became the focus for a kas-
power, they adopted a male deity, Viru¯pa¯ks:a (a manifesta-
bah that eventually became part of the expanding city.
tion of the pan-Indian deity, S´iva), as their dynastic emblem.
The roles of urban commercial interests in the construc-
They constructed for this god a temple lying west of a newly
tion of religious centers have become of greater interest to
laid-out administrative zone and south of their old seat of
researchers focusing on recent centuries. A study of Chennai
power, and celebrated his “marriage” to the local goddess,
(Madras) between the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries
Pampa¯. When Vijayanagara became the capital of an empire,
identifies three types of dialogue between communities, the
the kings and their city took on cosmic significance associat-
marketplace, and sacred sites. The first produced eclectic or
ed with Ra¯ma, an incarnation of the pan-Indian god Vis:n:u.
generic all-community temples, “a celebration of the com-
A newly constructed Ra¯ma temple in the royal core divided
mon mercantile nature” of the trading communities of the
the “zone of performance” to the east from the “zone of resi-
“native” settlement called Georgetown and of the personnel
dence” to the west, splitting the king’s two bodies, as it were.
of the British East India Company. The second involved dif-
Displays of the king’s office and festivals occurred in the for-
ferent castes constructing community-only temples, where
mer zone, whereas the latter contained the royal quarters and
social rivalry was manifested through processions, flags, or
the old temple dedicated to S´iva, now the protector of the
debates over the rights to use certain streets. The third pro-
household rather than the kingdom. Road construction now
duced temples that served as a “branch offices” of more im-
oriented the royal core towards a mythic landscape of Ra¯ma,
pressive or older shrines. The three types of temple demon-
rather than S´iva or the goddess Pampa¯. Shrines of various
strate how “foreigners” could find a place in South Asia, and
members of the court and of other communities allied them-
selves with this new orientation, many being located on the
how social difference and similarity could find voice through
main road that led out of the Ra¯ma shrine (Fritz et al., 1984,
the vocabulary of religious architecture and community
pp. 146–154).
space (Waghorne, 1999a, pp. 654, 682).
COURTS, MARKETS, AND PERFORMANCE IN SOUTH ASIA.
Another study of Chennai during colonial and post-
Muslims had long been active within South Asia, mostly as
colonial times examines the relationship between the more
traders, but Turkish military campaigns from the northwest
prominent Beeri Chettiar merchants, who were largely
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1807
Tamil-speaking worshipers of S´iva, and their rivals, the Ko-
places such as Beirut, Belfast, or Sarajevo. No single theory
mati Chettiars and Balijas, who were Telugu-speaking wor-
can explain all instances of “religious terrorism,” but Mark
shipers of Vis:n:u. Their economic competition led to a num-
Juergensmeyer (2000) suggests that they are performative
ber of community conflicts and riots during the eighteenth
and function as “theater.” Most of the groups and individu-
and nineteenth centuries, and also to the division of George-
als behind these events work from a “script” of cosmic war,
town into a western part occupied by the Komatis and an
and social struggle is perceived in terms of a spiritual con-
eastern part occupied by the Beeris. Temples associated with
frontation. They perceive themselves as martyrs and heroes,
one of these communities, displaying their prestige, wealth,
rather than terrorists, and satanize or depersonify the
and status, shaped not only the boundaries of “community”
“enemy.” They engineer events for their graphic and emo-
but also the forms in which authority functioned. Even
tional impact on witnesses and various audiences through
today, processions from the Kandasami temple in Park
transnational media. The “stage” of theatrical terror is often
Town, earlier considered a “satellite” area of the Beeri Chett-
urban because the events target symbols or hubs of modern
iar community, travel to the older “center” where the com-
societies: embassies, markets, subways, airports. During the
munity no longer has houses, businesses, or control over the
1995 gas attack on the Tokyo subway system by Aum
main community temple. Through controversies over the
Shinrikyo¯, for example, bags of poisonous sarin were meant
processional route, extensions of it into new areas, and
to do the most damage when the train lines converged at Ka-
the patronage of the festival, new leaders seek to direct the
sumigaseki subway station located close to the main build-
caste—now a citywide community—from the power base of
ings of the government, humiliating national security organi-
a new temple that was once spatially peripheral and ritually
zations. The repeated attacks on the World Trade Center in
subordinate (Mines, 1994).
New York City aimed simultaneously at a symbol of global
The relayering of spatial and social histories within sa-
capitalism and at the U. S. government, viewed as an imperi-
cred centers and performances accompanies the growth of
alist power.
cities into manufacturing, technology, and service hubs. For
Perhaps the deepest scholarship on urban religious vio-
example, the city of Bangalore began as a fort-settlement in
lence concerns Europe during the Reformation of the six-
the sixteenth century consequent to the decline of Vijayana-
teenth and seventeenth centuries, when the Wars of Religion
gara, became a “garden city” in the colonial period, and pop-
pitted Catholic and Protestant against each other. Cities are
ularly appears now as “India’s Silicon Valley.” In the high-
crucial to all discussions of the Reformation, for it is mostly
tech city, public religious performances remain modes of
in urban centers that the leading reforming figures found
civic life that attract devotion while preserving urban memo-
ministerial positions, publishers, or followings, even if (as in
ries. The Karaga festival, Bangalore’s largest religious extrava-
the case of the Peasants’ War of 1524–1525) there were im-
ganza, occurs for nine days in the month of March or April
portant interactions with the countryside. Some of the most
every year. The key moment is the incarnation of the goddess
egregious cases of religious violence occurred within urban
Draupad¯ı, wife of the Pa¯n:d:ava brothers from the epic
environments: the Anabaptist kingdom of Münster (1534–
Maha¯bha¯rata, who is simultaneously cosmic power (´sakti).
1535), which evolved into a totalitarian communism before
She manifests herself in the form of a sacred icon and within
its extermination, or the Saint Bartholomew Day’s Massacre
the body of a male priest from the Tigala community who,
(1572), which began in Paris and spread throughout the
by carrying the icon, becomes conjoined with her. The annu-
major cities of France. Theological tracts and city archives
al “birth” of the goddess occurs in Bangalore’s Cubbon Park
have allowed scholars to investigate the players in religious
at a small covered well, the remainder of a large lake eliminat-
violence—persons from artisanal or manufacturing trades
ed by office buildings and sports complexes. Her birth is a
and the urban proletariat, who interacted with clergy, the
reminder of the city’s earlier environment—a network of
urban patriciate, and the nobility. During the late twentieth
lakes, wells, and ponds—and the processions of the goddess
century, numerous local histories have shed light on these
over a nine-day period include visits to the former locations
struggles to redefine the City of God and the New Jerusalem.
of water bodies, many of which were destroyed through con-
struction activities, pollution, or neglect after 1950. The
The scholarship ranges between two approaches, one
daily festival processions also visit various Hindu temples and
concentrating on intellectual or theological ideas and the
the tomb of the S:u¯f¯ı saint, Hazrat Tawakkal Mastan, signal-
other concentrating on social, political, or economic vari-
¨
ing the participation of diverse publics in this “theater of the
ables. Some authors who try to blend these approaches use
civic.” The festival, which conjures for participants an alter-
the latter as an envelope for discussing the writings of theolo-
native urban landscape, attracts over 100,000 participants on
gians (whose biographies are important parts of analysis) and
its final day, and is spreading in smaller versions throughout
the deliberations of ministerial councils (e.g. Williams, 1962,
the suburbs of the metropolis (Srinivas, 2001).
pp. 241–298; Strayer, 1976, pp. 206–207). Analyses in-
URBAN VIOLENCE AND RELIGION. The focus of this article
formed by political economy remain sensitive to theology
so far has been on the pacific embedding of the sacred, but
but focus on class struggle or the attempts by urban com-
religion in the city also seems to cause deadly conflict, pro-
munes to preserve their political freedom and order within
viding justification for riots, bombings, and civil war in
an incipient world system (Ozment, 1975; Heller, 1991). In-
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1808
CITIES
fluenced by the French Annales school, the “linguistic” and
Some scholars have attempted to categorize these variables
“cultural” turns in historiography, and a new social history
in order to determine the “riot-proneness” of specific com-
crossing disciplinary boundaries, Natalie Davis embeds her
munities (Varshney and Wilkinson, 1996), although Paul R.
work within the concrete conditions of production and class
Brass (1997, 2003) also implicates security forces as major
but situates the Reformation in Lyon within a symbolic anal-
players in the production of the “institutionalized” commu-
ysis of “the moment of social interaction.” Approaching
nal riot. Stanley Tambiah (1996) compares incidents with
Protestantism and Catholicism as two languages attempting
religious overtones in Sri Lanka and India to riots in Pakistan
to grasp the challenges of the city, she presents their alterna-
that feature coreligionists, in an attempt to create a compara-
tive visions of sacred space, time, and the body as a prerequi-
tive understanding of “ethnic” conflict within sociological
site for understanding the “rites” of violence and a concern
categories.
with pollution (Davis, 1975, pp. 152–188; Davis, 1981;
PILGRIMAGES AND RELIGIOUS MOVEMENTS IN THE CITY. If
Benedict, 1981, pp. 63–64). Another classic study of the city
the daily social practices within cities divide, differentiate, or
of Romans demonstrates that the class struggle in the late six-
hierarchize the specialized zones frequented by their citizens,
teenth century achieved public expression and was compre-
then religious pilgrimages, which break down the division
hensible for townspeople only through religious idioms that
between citizens, can work to eliminate class categories and
are amenable to analysis through comparative anthropologi-
transgress urban boundaries. One could argue, in fact, that
cal discourse (Ladurie, 1979). Finally, as part of a movement
the movement through space to participate in collective cele-
back to religion through sociology and poststructuralism, a
brations is one of the primary manifestations of religiosity
major study of Reformation violence begins with an exami-
and urbanism alike. Many pilgrimage destinations originated
nation of cases where children committed atrocities. Vio-
as cities or became cities when people clustered around sa-
lence becomes a ritual performance expressing a code, “pro-
cred attractions. Mass public transportation has made pil-
phetic because implicated in a prophetic collective
grimage, this gravitation toward sacred spaces, one of the
consciousness, in a mental eschatological conjuncture, for
most significant manifestations of religious localization.
which it is necessary to research the constitutive schemas”
(Crouzet, 1990, vol. 1, p. 93). A continuing stream of studies
Scholars have been especially interested in the modes
on the urban Reformation attempt to blend culture and soci-
through which pilgrimage has altered the understanding of
ety, theology, and the built environment, within the context
urban space. As Maurice Halbwachs (1992, pp. 193–235)
of institutions or communities (e.g., Roberts, 1996; Tittler,
has pointed out in his essay “The Legendary Topography of
1998).
the Gospels,” early Christian embedding of Jerusalem’s
meaning in the narratives of the Gospels occurred through
In more recent times, South Asia has been the scene of
pilgrims’ exercises of spatial localization. A new way of mov-
the world’s most intractable “communal” rioting, peaking in
ing through space affirmed the Christian reading of Jerusa-
1947, when approximately one million people died in mas-
lem, where places were already commemorated and associat-
sive demographic shifts, but continuing at the rate of several
ed with ancient memories of Jewish history. Christian
hundred recorded incidents annually within India. The roots
pilgrimages through Jerusalem, making use of sites already
clearly go deep into doctrinal, theological, and social phe-
part of collective memorabilia, endowed them with different
nomena of the nineteenth century, the intellectual categories
meanings by situating them within new narratives or actions.
developed under colonialism, and the problematic of “secu-
In a similar process, the QurDa¯n reinscribed an originally
larism” in the postcolonial nation-state. The major religious
pantheistic pilgrimage site, the KaEaba, as the activity space
confrontations since independence (the civil war between
of Abraham, linking Islam with Judaism and Christianity,
Sinhalese and Tamils in Sri Lanka, the 1984 anti-Sikh riots
while pilgrimage to Mecca established a series of conceptual
after Indira Gandhi’s assassination, the 1992 Hindu-Muslim
categories and somatic experiences that remapped the city
riots in India after the demolition of the Babri Masjid) clearly
and its environs. This process is happening constantly in the
occured as responses to political events. The main scholarly
contemporary world, as new pilgrimage sites regularly appear
issue concerns the many clashes that occur regularly in cities,
alongside the manifestation of charisma by saints and other
constituting a persistent source of religious animosity that
spiritual figures.
may erupt into civil war. A veritable industry of research and
analysis has grown around this problem, ranging from the
In a phenomenon similar to that which occurred in thir-
official reports of governments, journalists, and citizens’ bo-
teenth-century India, Sufism is still proving a rich ground
dies after each occurrence to scholarship from social scientists
for the generation of sacred cities and pilgrimage networks.
aimed at understanding the etiology of individual events,
For instance, Shaykh Ah:mad (Amadou) Bamba (1853–
common patterns, and the potential for preventative public
1927) of Senegal rests in a mausoleum in the city of Touba,
policy. Detailed studies by Asghar Ali Engineer and asso-
the early development of which he oversaw. This city and its
ciates (e.g., 1984) have demonstrated a complex interaction
Great Mosque (inaugurated 1963) is a place of pilgrimage
of sociocultural and economic variables, and a process by
for his disciples, or Mourides. Supported by contributions
which neighborhood incidents lead to violent action, typical-
to its infrastructure from Mourides, in less then a century
ly with the instigation of male activists and local politicians.
Touba has become Senegal’s second largest city. Devotees
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CITIES
1809
have produced a thriving visual culture that includes devo-
ceptance of material success have allowed So¯ka Gakkai to at-
tional icons, murals, cosmological architecture, writing, and
tract members from a variety of cultural and national
other forms that grace homes, businesses, vehicles, junk-
backgrounds (Metraux, 1996).
yards, walls, and clothes in the city. This visual culture has
Some religious movements support distinct “ethnic”
also been a crucial part of the social and expressive explosion
identities even when they try to avoid them, contributing to
in the capital, Dakar, since Senegalese independence in
or perpetuating a layer of cultural segmentation within urban
1960, and it features in public debates about identity, mem-
environments. The movement dedicated to the Indian guru
ory, and an alternative modernity. Although the saint be-
Sathya Sai Baba (b. 1926) has expanded to include perhaps
longs to the colonial period, he reveals new messages even
ten million people worldwide, most of them in urban areas.
today for his followers and is a conduit for healing and mira-
In a study of this movement in Trinidad, Morton Klass
cles. The potency of his image works through the transna-
(1991) focused on its roles among urban and suburban Indi-
tional chains that link Senegal to other cities through migra-
an (and Hindu) Trinidadians who form the overwhelming
tion, import-export economies, and employment networks
majority of devotees. He points out that there are political
(Roberts and Roberts, 2003).
differences between Indian Trinidadians and Afro-
The example of Ah:mad Bamba demonstrates the rele-
Trinidadians attributable to different notions of their cultur-
vance of pilgrimage phenomena to the study of “religious
al resources and pancultural affiliations; Afro-Trinidadians,
movements,” a branch of scholarship that forms part of a
therefore, remain a minority in the Sai Baba movement. A
larger “social movements” literature examining intersections
separate study of the Malaysian Sai Baba movement in the
between religion and political and cultural processes such as
city of Kuala Lumpur in the mid- to late 1990s explored the
postcolonialism and transnationalism. This scholarship looks
way the Indian-dominated leadership attempts to include
at the contemporary proliferation of what are sometimes de-
Chinese devotees. A nonsectarian and multiethnic profile in-
scribed as “New Age movements,” “new religions,” “revital-
cluding Chinese devotees “enhances the hope which this
ization movements,” and “fundamentalist movements,”
neo-Hindu movement offers to members of the marginalized
many of which flourish on urban soil. Some of these move-
Indian minority to win an audience among the Malay major-
ments, such as the Baha¯D¯ıs, propound an avowedly universal
ity and thus achieve recognition as the rightful proprietors
message and attempt to create novel, transurban forms of ex-
of an eternal, all-subsuming and unifying spiritual vision.”
pression. Others, such as the Swaminarayan movement origi-
Nonetheless, ethnic boundaries in Kuala Lumpur tend to be
nating in Gujarat (and globalized through Gujarati merchant
reproduced (Kent, 2000, p. 5).
communities), or evangelical Christian missionary efforts in
MODERN IMAGINARIES AND URBAN RELIGIOSITY. Are there
Asia and Africa, preserve a universal message within an enve-
religious imaginations and practices distinctive to contempo-
lope of older “Hindu” or “Christian” traditions.
rary cities? In Gods of the City (1999) Robert Orsi argues that
the dynamic interaction between religious traditions, con-
Japan has been the scene for intensive studies of many
temporary cityscapes, and their social conditions results in
“new religions” emerging in the twentieth century under
specific maps, styles, and idioms of “urban religion.” In The
conditions of hyperurbanization. So¯ka Gakkai, perhaps the
Madonna of 115th Street (1985), Orsi examines street behav-
best known, has been most successful at crossing national
ior, processions, and festivals, like the festa of the Madonna
boundaries and becoming a global organization. It began in
of 115th Street in New York’s Italian Harlem, as modes of
the 1930s as a religious organization meant to propagate doc-
boundary-making by immigrants, the creation and negotia-
trines of one of the smaller Nichiren Buddhist sects. It grew
tion of ethnic identities, the production of community, and
rapidly as a lay evangelist organization promising meaning
the theater or social drama of urban lives. Others, looking
and comfort in postwar Japan, becoming a national and
at recent diasporas in American cities, have examined strate-
global movement with about eight to ten million middle-
gies through which immigrant groups make sense religiously
and upper-class followers (over a million outside Japan) in
of an urban landscape that differs considerably from the
the 1990s. It sponsors an educational system, art museums,
spaces they left. Thus, Mama Lola, a Brooklyn Vodou priest-
newspapers, and various cultural organizations and is in-
ess discussed by Karen McCarthy Brown (1999), travels back
volved in social activism including the fostering of world
and forth between Haiti and Brooklyn and maintains social
peace and antiwar activities. It is heavily urban-based (tightly
and spiritual loyalties in two places. She, like others, trans-
organized into prefectural, city, district, and block groups).
poses Haitian places onto New York: Brooklyn’s Prospect
Members are encouraged to improve their material condi-
Park sometimes functions as the sacred forest of Vodou ritu-
tions and also spend time in daily prayer, meetings of the
als. Such religious identities may retreat into basements, or
groups, and proselytizing. The So¯ka Gakkai belief is that reli-
are practiced behind closed doors, while signs of more ac-
gion must be the basis of a moral and just society; social insti-
ceptable Catholic identity appear publicly. The more afflu-
tutions need to be purified; and modern, rationalized Bud-
ent South Asian diaspora in the United States, normally with
dhist beliefs must fuse with all features of society. Despite
greater social and cultural capital than the Haitians, con-
the continued embedding of ritual within a Japanese Bud-
struct temples as a largely suburban phenomenon located
dhist format, the envelope of rational peacefulness and ac-
close to freeways rather than within an “ethnic” part of the
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city (Waghorne, 1999b). Unlike the temple in India where
menians, and Greeks. Thus, the vast majority of Istanbul’s
one god or goddess or a sectarian tradition usually predomi-
citizens were Muslims in the 1980s, when the state adopted
nates, in the United States several deities live in harmony
a strategy aimed at transforming it into a world city. The cap-
under one roof, in a manner that parallels the multiple reli-
ture of the city government by an Islamicist party that
gious affiliations of their suburban devotees.
pushed for changes in public culture (such as dress codes for
women) became an embarrassment for an avowedly secular-
Globalization and economic restructuring, combined
ist nation-state, aligned with financial interests in a concern
with massive shifts of population, have reconfigured “place-
that Islamicist culture could jeopardize Turkey’s member-
based religious identities” in cities throughout the world. For
ship in the European Union. In a city with multiple pasts,
example, in the small town of Dacula in Gwinnett County,
the question of historic preservation during urban renewal
Georgia—the fastest-growing county in the United States in
projects became a deeply contested issue involving the inter-
the 1980s—one study has explored the relationship of urban
play of nationalist and religious tropes. The nationalist dis-
deconcentration to the institutional dynamics of Christian
course pushing for urban renewal viewed the neighborhood
congregations. Until the early 1980s, eleven out of twenty-
of Pera, for example, as a symbol of a non-Turkish “Europe
four churches (such as Pleasant Hill Methodist and the black
in Istanbul,” while Islamicists advocated the destruction of
Mt. Zion Methodist) still traced their origins to the time be-
fore the town’s founding, and five were founded subsequent-
older buildings (some of considerable architectural merit) for
ly. Within a period of thirteen years, however, eight new
the building of a mosque (Keyder, 1999). How the inhabi-
congregations were established, almost “as if locals had
tants of the city appeared and behaved in public and the na-
placed a sign on Highway 316 designating the area ‘Church
ture of their buildings remained issues intimately connected
Growth Parkway’” (Eiesland, 2000, p. 48). As industrial and
with religious conceptions.
corporate jobs mushroomed around transportation infra-
Urban planning thus struggles with the reinsertion of
structure, the new congregations evolved strategies for at-
sacred spaces by several publics. In her study of Aboriginal
tracting members, ranging from an exuberant mega-church
claims to space in Perth, Australia, Jane Jacobs (1996,
to specialized ministries. Meanwhile, in Africa, Kano in
p. 127) provides another viewpoint on political agitations
northern Nigeria changed during the 1970s from a mercan-
that “reactivated a (pre-) modern knowing of space within
tile center into a large industrial metropolis with new sub-
the specific conditions of modernity.” The contests she de-
urbs growing around the old walled city. The crash of oil
scribes concerned an area near the Swan River in Perth that
prices in the early 1980s resulted in a recession that produced
had been used previously by the colonial government to es-
challenges for local Muslim identity and practice in the face
tablish a depot in 1833 excluding the Aborigines. In the
of state-based corruption and capitalist commodification.
1980s this area was developed by corporate interests into a
Michael Watts (1996) describes the rise of a fundamentalist
brewery and a hotel chain with theaters, office spaces, and
(though not antimodern) Muslim leader in Kano among
a theme park—the quintessential signs of the service econo-
subaltern classes, such as migrant workers, for whom the
my. Laws concerning Aboriginal land in Australia had tend-
state and its elites symbolized moral bankruptcy. The two
ed to designate territory as sacred only when it was far away
paths of urban economic development elicit, on the one
hand, the marketing of religion, and on the other, the use
from urban centers, but Aboriginal claims in this case located
of religion as a source of revitalization.
the spiritual firmly within the area of the Swan Brewery. Ab-
origines occupied the area for a while in 1989. While their
Religion plays an important role in the heritage politics
action ultimately failed and the area was given over to devel-
of various cities as they wrestle with the rise of the nation-
opment, Jacobs argues that the Aboriginal occupation not
state, socialism, democracy, globalization, and explosive de-
only brought the sacred back to the city but set off an “anx-
mographic growth. Istanbul, for instance, has been a world
ious” politics of occupation by the government and develop-
city since the fourth century, serving as an imperial capital
ers. The controversy between “beer, work, tourism and
for the Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman empires and a
sport” and “urban dreamings,” as Jacobs categorizes it, puts
major commercial node for Afro-Eurasia. Just before World
into relief the binary imaginings of planners and the unpre-
War I, it had about a million people—a majority non-
dictable potential for sacred upsurges within the city.
Muslim—including many Italian, Turkish, Greek, or Tartar
inhabitants. Muslims, Christians, and Jews coexisted with-
Rather than a steady decline of religion under condi-
out intermarriage under Ottoman administrators, their reli-
tions of urban anomie, we are witnessing the rise of spiritual
gious and cultural lives compartmentalized within corporate
leaders and religious movements who claim an authority that
entities. When the state adopted the project of moderniza-
rivals the authority of nations, transnational corporations,
tion, binary constructs (East versus West, Islam versus Chris-
and secular ideologies. For many believers among a world
tianity, Turk versus non-Turk, local versus global) began to
population that will be mostly urban after 2007 (United
dominate public discourse. During the early twentieth cen-
Nations, 2002, p. 5), religion provides alternative sources of
tury, anticolonial and nationalist policies took on ethnic con-
value, critiques of capitalism, and avenues of cultural moder-
tent, and religion rationalized ethnic purification of Jews, Ar-
nity.
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CITIES
1811
SEE ALSO Marduk; Maya Religion; Mesopotamian Reli-
Engineer, Asghar Ali, ed. Communal Riots in Post-Independence
gions, overview articles; Mosque, article on Architectural As-
India. Hyderabad, India, 1984.
pects; Olmec Religion; Pilgrimage, overview article; Vio-
Escobédo, Hector, and Juan Antonio Valdés. “Archaeology of the
lence.
Central Lowlands: Tikal.” In Maya Civilization, edited by
Peter Schmidt, Mercedes de la Garza, and Enrique Nalda,
BIBLIOGRAPHY
pp. 356–371. London, 1998.
Allchin, F. Raymond. The Archaeology of Early Historic South Asia:
Franke, Sabina. “Kings of Akkad: Sargon and Naram-Sin.” In
The Emergence of Cities and States. Cambridge, U.K., and
Civilizations of the Ancient Near East, vol. 2, edited by Jack
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scriptive values:
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society that would replace the monarchy and the church. But
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CIVIL RELIGION
1813
even after their revolutions democratic European states still
Abraham Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address and Gettys-
possessed the residue of ancient traditions embedded in their
burg Address as examples of civil religion. In particular the
histories and institutions. In other words, they were already
first few presidents had set the tenor in their words and
“a people” prior to the foundation of democratic institutions.
deeds. Bellah argued that American civil religion, although
The difference between European and American identities
derived from Christianity, is not to be equated with a posi-
was noted by Alexis de Tocqueville when he toured the Unit-
tive religion. The “God of the Republic” can be characterized
ed States in the 1830s. “Up to the present,” he noted, “I
as having more of a concern for “order, law, and right, than
don’t see a trace of what we generally consider faiths, such
to salvation and love” (Demerath and Hammond, p. 172).
as customs, ancient traditions, and the power of memories”
This God is active in history and shows a “special concern
(Pierson, 1938, p. 153).
for America.” (Demerath and Hammond, p. 172). A higher
None of these cultural forms of customs, ancient tradi-
law and a transcendent force exist by which to judge the po-
tions, or the power of memories was present in the American
litical processes of the American people (Demerath and
nation; thus the basis for a civil society was always rather ten-
Hammond, p. 172).
uous. What was present was a historical style of Protestant-
In a subsequent discussion, “American Civil Religion in
ism, which was embraced by the majority population. Al-
the 1970’s,” published in the Anglican Theological Review,
though the U.S. Constitution denies the meaning of any
Bellah asserted that he had invented the notion of “civil reli-
positive religion as the “religion of the Republic” and all spe-
gion” as a social science category of interpretation, stating,
cific religions are entitled to have the right of full expression
“In a sense, and not in a trivial sense, civil religion in America
and freedom, it was assumed by the “majority” of Americans
existed from the moment the winter 1967 issue of Daedalus
that the proper lens of interpretation for important national
was printed” (Bellah, 1973, p. 8). He admitted that there had
issues was through a Protestant point of view.
been other interpretations on the topic prior to the publica-
INTRODUCTION OF “CIVIL RELIGION” IN THE AMERICAN
tion of his article, but he took credit for the specific contextu-
ACADEMY. Will Herberg’s 1960 work Protestant, Catholic,
alization of this notion. Prominent in these prior interpreta-
Jew was an attempt to break through this Protestant sense
tions of an American religion was the American church
of America by offering an alternative and plural understand-
historian Sidney E. Mead, who referred to the United States
ing of the nature of American religiosity. The title of his
as a “nation with the soul of a church,” a phrase he took from
book is taken from one of the popular identifiers on identifi-
G. K. Chesterton (Mead, 1975). Mead showed that while
cation tags of American soldiers in World War II. Along with
there was nothing like a “church” in the Constitution of the
the soldier’s serial number and blood type was one of these
first pluralistic and “secular” democracy, there was a strong
religious identifiers. An apocryphal story is told that if a sol-
tradition of voluntary association imbibed through the Puri-
dier declared himself or herself an atheist, then his or her tag
tan Dissenters in the seventeenth century and early eigh-
was stamped “p” for Protestant. This story goes to the heart
teenth century that was not to be seen as entirely at odds with
of the matter, for the designation was only a sign of religion
the beliefs in popular sovereignty later propounded by the
and carried with it no serious meaning or commitment. The
likes of Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin.
designation expressed a sentimentality associated with reli-
gious rhetoric rather than any efficacious religious meaning.
In The Nation with the Soul of a Church (1975) Mead
argues that a principle of religious freedom began with the
Robert Bellah’s article “Civil Religion in America,” pub-
Lutheran Reformation and continued through a variety of
lished in Daedalus in 1967, brought to the surface the prob-
Calvinist sects. The American sects emphasized covenant
lematical nature of the foundational principles of American
theology, which resembled social contracts and reflected the
society. Bellah made clear that his article grew out of a con-
idea that voluntary consent of the governed was the basis of
cern occasioned by the public debate that had grown out of
all good government. The Puritans were able to wed this
the candidacy of Senator John F. Kennedy for president of
democratic formulation to a sense of chosenness, with their
the United States. Kennedy was a Roman Catholic, and
Calvinist notions of “election” or sainthood as the condition
therefore the issue of both his adherence to a hierarchical reli-
of the governing bodies or theocracy. Thus voluntary con-
gious church whose administrative center lay outside of the
sent to the laws of the Puritan state coalesced with consent
United States as well as the fact that he was not a member
to divine laws and “destiny” for a “peculiar people.” Mead’s
of the Protestant majority raised questions about the de facto
formulation is based upon the history of American religion
meaning of what constitutes an American.
from the Puritans through American denominationalism
As a sociologist, Bellah focused his meaning of Ameri-
into the mid–twentieth century. He discerns that through
can civil religion in the symbols and rituals that provided a
this history Americans have been able at various times to ap-
sense of cohesion and continuity for Americans. He drew at-
peal to a meaning of their destiny as it is revealed beyond the
tention to the founding documents and the rhetoric of the
empirical historical situations. They have been within these
American Republic in the Declaration of Independence and
spaces at various moments able to discern unique and quali-
the Constitution, which he argued made possible the exis-
tative meanings of freedom as they relate to the very constitu-
tence of a civil society in the United States. He pointed to
tion of an American self.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1814
CIVIL RELIGION
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND AND MANIFESTATIONS OF
stood within the register of deism as a benevolent and “great
AMERICAN CIVIL RELIGION. Catherine Albanese (1999), fol-
governor.” Freemasonry, a semisecret society, flourished as
lowing closely upon Mead, has delineated several modes civil
a method for the spread of deism and “fifty-two of the fifty-
religion has taken during American history. She has shown
six signers of the Declaration of Independence were Masons”
that the Enlightenment and Puritan traditions combined to
(Albanese, 1999, p. 440). During the Revolutionary War,
shape the rhetoric, symbols, and structure of American civil
the Puritan rhetoric of chosenness converged with natural
religion. The Puritans laid the groundwork for a national
law, and drawing on Puritan symbols, many revolutionaries
symbology that could be drawn upon by subsequent revolu-
depicted themselves as involved in a millennial battle with
tionaries and later generations of Americans in times of war
Great Britain. This adaptation of Puritan rhetoric and
and crises.
typologies to “America,” or what Ralph Waldo Emerson
called “Nature’s Nation,” increased during the nineteenth
John Winthrop imagined the 1630 Puritan crossing of
century after the Louisiana Purchase and the expansion of
the Atlantic in terms of a biblical typology—the crossing was
the continent. As Giles Gunn pointed out, Sidney Mead
a reenactment of the Exodus story of Israelites from Egyptian
claimed that with the Second Great Awakening came a “reac-
captivity and the crossing of the Red Sea. He compared the
tionary evangelical enthusiasm” that “sever[ed] religious life
colony to the “chosen” people and a “city set upon a hill”;
in America from intellectual life” (Gunn, 1992, p. 225). In-
their duty was to be a light unto Europe so all could follow
deed the varieties of denominations and sects that developed
their example. The American people may inherit what Al-
during this period seemed to turn inward and focus on indi-
banese calls a “melodramatic” edge from the Puritans along
vidual purity. Nonetheless in the nineteenth century expan-
with a strong sense of suffering and guilt (Albanese, 1999,
sion gave impetus to the continuation of Enlightenment no-
p. 439). Perhaps the guilt was occasioned by their departure
tions of progress adapted to millennialism.
from Britain; perhaps their sense of failure stemmed from the
imminent British Reformation, which as Perry Miller
American civil religion finds its most intense expression
claimed in his famous book Errand into the Wilderness, may
during periods of crises and wars. The “War of 1812, like
have left uncertainty as to whether their “errand” was not
the Revolution, was a holy war” (Albanese, 1999, p. 450).
more similar to that of an errand boy (Miller, 1956, p. 3).
Moreover in 1845 John L. O’Sullivan coined the term “man-
In any case, the Puritans developed their chosenness with
ifest destiny” to justify American expansion and the annexa-
gravity, guilt, and a sense of the imminence of their own fail-
tion of Texas. The Civil War furthered the attachment of
ure and depravity, the latter of which was also grounded in
millennial rhetoric associated with New England Puritans to
the Calvinist focus on predestination and original sin.
the Civil War between the North and the South. Julia Ward
Howe’s “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” was sung with
Although the Puritan focus on innate depravity would
its martial rhythms and its casting of the South as the anti-
seem to be at odds with the language of the Declaration of
Christ over which the righteous North would prevail (Al-
Independence, during the eighteenth century the situation
banese, 1999, p. 451). During this time there was also a con-
of Puritans had changed. As can be witnessed in the sermons
struction of the sacredness of the “founding fathers.” Lin-
of the Northampton clergyman Jonathan Edwards, the expe-
coln’s Gettysburg Address was, however, one attempt to
rience of conversion or chosenness gained closer proximity
interrogate the meaning of the American Revolution in
to a language of the senses and nature. According to many
terms of the promises for civil religion that attended to the
critics, the First Great Awakening (1730–1740) that Ed-
ordering of the nation. In the twentieth century many critics
wards initiated can be seen as a forerunner to the American
argued that there was a decline in the efficacy of American
Revolution. To be sure, for many itinerant preachers and the
civil religion. Through ceremonies like Memorial Day, an at-
general populace involved in mass revivalist democracy, the
tempt was made to connect Americans to their foundations,
focus on a sensuous experience of conversion often con-
but “as veterans began to die, a bond with the past was bro-
verged with Puritan millennialism and a sense of imminent
ken” (Albanese, 1999, p. 455). Although civil religion may
natural redemption of the American land as the “Promised
have emerged in times of “trial” through successive genera-
Land” and the place in which the new millennium would
tions, and especially during the Vietnam War, Albanese
begin. While Jonathan Edwards maintained a balance be-
claims that the “many” of the United States were losing faith
tween millennialist rhetoric and the ordering of the township
in the “oneness” that civil religion symbolized.
space of Northampton into a space for cultural expressions
E P
of religious concern, in the hands of those less concerned
LURIBUS UNUM: FOUNDING A “NOVUS ORDO SE-
with local communities the typologies could be adapted to
CLORUM.” At this juncture where the story of American civil
religion seems to end, the notion of the many and the one
the Enlightenment belief in individual and national rational-
needs to be revisited. In addition to her delineation of the
ity, prosperity, and progress.
various historical forms of civil religion in the United States,
Benjamin Franklin may be one such figure who recog-
Albanese paid attention to the “religion” and rituals of the
nized the utility of revivalism for the creation of moral and
founding. She noted the conscious imitation of Rome and
“civil” citizens. Natural law seemed to coincide with God’s
Roman rituals in the festivals and early celebrations of the
law. And God, for the Enlightenment founders, was under-
founding of the nation. A mingling of Puritan and 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
CIVIL RELIGION
1815
elements served in the symbolism and rituals surrounding
mise at the founding of the Republic on the meaning of free-
George Washington. He was both a Moses figure and a
dom was repeated throughout American history. Thus one
Roman hero, who like “Cincinnatus, the Roman general,
might return to the critical debate on the decline in the com-
. . . left his plough to fight for the country and then, when
mitment to American civil religion in the twentieth century,
the task was done, had dropped the sword to return to his
most aptly characterized by Bellah’s title of his 1975 book
farm” (Albanese, 1999, p. 443). In Albanese’s opinion the
The Broken Covenant. From this perspective, that sense of be-
Roman allusions, such as the motto e pluribus unum, were
trayal of not only the authenticity of the words but also the
an attempt to capture the spirit of a republic that would at-
acts of founding a revolutionary democracy has been present
tend to the plurality of creeds and nations united by the one-
for much longer.
ness of a state.
CRITICAL UNDERSTANDINGS OF AMERICAN CIVIL RELI-
In another vein Hannah Arendt also analyzed the mean-
GION. In his essay in the Anglican Theological Review, Bellah
ing of the founding of the American Republic. She noted
in response to his critics made it clear that it had not been
that the language of the founding works almost in a formula-
his intent to define civil religion as a good thing. He said,
ic manner as it determines a structure of meaning and consti-
“Like all things human, civil religion is sometimes good and
tution. Arendt undertook a philosophical analysis of the lan-
sometimes bad, but in any case, it seems likely to be with us
guage of the founding as a basis for the civil religion in the
for a very long time” (Bellah, 1973, p. 10). Almost every no-
United States. Arendt’s analysis shows that though the
tion of civil religion or one of its predecessors or derivatives
American Republic was the first of the modern democracies,
has been established with a positive quality while allowing
its founding could not totally shed the problem of founding,
for ambiguities that move toward a negativity. Arendt has
as Rykwert and de Coulanges set forth in ancient cultures.
pointed to the fact that this quality of civil religion was pres-
For in the founding of a modern state the revolutionaries un-
ent in the founding itself. Mead noted that this negative
derwent a unique experience of novelty and the issue of be-
quality might be found in the emphasis Americans have
ginning anew. “Novus Ordo Seclorum” (a new secular order)
given to space over time. Given such an emphasis, Americans
is the title of a chapter in Arendt’s On Revolution (1963); it
seem to have had little patience with memories—with the
is the Latin motto on the Great Seal of the United States and
meaning of the actual events that took place in the land.
on the American dollar bill. Arendt clarified that if the
While Herberg’s formulation of Protestant-Catholic-Jew at-
founders’ attitude was “religious,” that sense of religion was
tempted to show that an Americanness could be expressed
closer to religare, which consists of binding “back to a begin-
in any of these forms, the formula was always in danger of
ning.” For the Romans that beginning entailed a binding “to
turning into an innocuous triviality because any of these des-
the beginning of Roman history, and the foundation of the
ignations or all of them together might be understood as a
eternal city” (Arendt, 1963, p. 198). The modern revolution-
kind of religion in general (see Demerath and Hammond,
aries faced the problem of a free act, which, in their case, did
1969, p. 172).
not consist of binding oneself to a “distant past” (as in
Ambiguity around the notion of American civil religion
Rome). Rather, they faced the problem of manifesting the
persists, and the attempt to connect it to normative or posi-
specific novelty of the “American” situation. Their beginning
tive religious expressions has been unsatisfactory. The reason
needed to account for the plurality and the aboriginal order-
for this might be located in the problematic of founding a
ing of the land that immediately surrounded them. This
revolutionary democracy. Arendt argued in subsequent re-
means that if they were to legitimate a foundation premised
flections on the American Revolution in her book Willing
on revolution, they would have to provide spaces for the vol-
(1978) that the revolution itself created a “hiatus” or a radical
untary association and public debate to continue.
break with the past; the hiatus is the revolutionary time of
possibility and freedom, a space in between the “no more”
While the founders did provide a “constitution,” they
of the old order and the “not yet” of the new (Arendt, 1978,
were not as successful in providing spaces for the spirit of rev-
p. 204). The problem of the constitution of a civil religion
olution and freedom to continue. According to Arendt, even
based on a revolutionary spirit that had detached itself from
the founders immediately worried that their foundation
the meaning of ancestors or sacred space may be viewed next
would encourage apathy. While the ritual of “voting” might
to the problems of constituting a religion of the Republic
serve to activate some of the population in the spirit of politi-
that would also take into account the presence of aboriginal
cal freedom, it was too infrequent an occurrence to maintain
people, Native Americans, and African Americans. In terms
the revolutionary spirit of the Republic. Many critics have
of revolutionary beginnings and civil religion, a long and
pointed out that this failure to provide spaces for novelty to
hopeful, while often prophetic and judgmental, tradition has
continue to appear coincides with the retention of slavery in
existed with African Americans.
the founding of the Republic. While slavery was one of the
main topics of discussion during the Constitutional Conven-
And yet these traditions have for the most part been left
tion, it was not mentioned in the Declaration of Indepen-
out of most formal discussion of American civil religion.
dence, and the mention of it in the Constitution was the
Charles H. Long noted this exclusion in his essay “Civil
basis for the famous three-fifths compromise. This compro-
Rights—Civil Religion: Visible People and Invisible Reli-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1816
CIVIL RELIGION
gion” (1974). This essay is included in the collection Ameri-
public debate over the issues of the day. While it may seem
can Civil Religion edited by Russell E. Richey and Donald
clear that “American civil religion” in its more positive Chris-
G. Jones in 1974 with the approaching bicentennial of the
tian orientations and its faith in national heroes has declined
signing of the Declaration of Independence. Bellah, Mead,
in the twentieth century, the problematic of the nation’s re-
and Herberg contributed as well. Here Long noted that the
ligio-political identity and the meaning of its revolutionary
issue of “American” civil religion brought to the fore ques-
founding remains central as the nation further reflects on its
tions of what it means to be American and in particular what
powerful status in international affairs and the increasing di-
it means to be invisible in the telling of the national story,
versity within its borders.
which has gained a well-nigh “cosmogonic language, a lan-
guage of beginnings; it structures the American myth of be-
SEE ALSO Politics and Religion.
ginnings, and has continued to express the synchronic di-
mensions of American cultural life since that time” (Long,
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1974, p. 214). From this perspective, the issue of American
The ideological and intellectual foundations of the new Western
civil religion is one of contestation, “concealment,” and ex-
democratic states stem from the Reformation and Enlighten-
clusion in the telling of a myth of origins.
ment critiques of hierarchical and sacredotal authority as the
ordering principle for society and in the drive for a form of
Myth, as Long notes, is a “true story,” and African
freedom defined for and located in the individual person.
American versions of American civil religion often used the
New democratic governments were brought into being to es-
language of religio-political symbols while defining another
tablish and maintain the rights of the individual. Democratic
space for freedom of expression through music, art, and the
states, for the most part, did institute new human rights for
cultural redefining of a transnational “America” to emerge.
the individual but this left open the meaning of a binding
This tradition begins at least as early as the black music of
that would hold together a group of individuals into an abid-
the spirituals and the oral traditions of speaking and preach-
ing bond of unity. The United States of America is a case in
point.
ing, later finding written expression as Walker’s Appeal in
Four Articles (1829), in which David Walker challenged the
In addressing this issue, many revolutionaries had recourse to
Jeffersonian natural hierarchies and “Nature’s God.”
models from ancient societies, such as those in Fustel de
Coulanges, The Ancient City (Garden City, N.Y., 1956; orig-
A sense of importance is also brought to Africa in the
inally published 1873); and Joseph Rykwert, The Idea of a
creation of the United States, while European Christians
Town (Princeton, N.J., 1976), which show how religious rit-
were challenged on their hypocritical understandings of an
uals and beliefs created the “common bond” that held socie-
“equality” before God. Slave revolts, such as those led by Ga-
ties together. Jean-Jacques Rousseau, The Social Contract
briel Prosser and Denmark Vesey and especially the 1831 re-
(Baltimore, 1968; originally published 1762), notes that rev-
olutionary democratic societies, like ancient societies, needed
volt led by Nat Turner, often relied on biblical typologies of
some form of religion to guarantee the integration and cohe-
the Israelites in Egypt, and the leaders became Moses figures
sion of modern democratic societies. Émile Durkheim, The
for their people. While an eschatological and often violent
Elementary Forms of the Religious Life, translated by Karen
protest tradition emerged to challenge the white Protestant
Fields (New York, 1995), in his description of Australian Ab-
civil religious tradition in the United States, Frederick Doug-
original religion, alludes to a similar notion about the social
lass and other black abolitionists seemed to share more close-
integrative meaning of religion. Catherine L. Albanese, Sons
ly the Enlightenment values of natural equality and the Prot-
of the Fathers (Philadelphia, 1976), discusses the imitation of
estant work ethic. One might also cite W. E. B. Du Bois’s
Roman rituals in the ceremonies connected with the inaugu-
The Souls of Black Folk (1903) and his later Black Reconstruc-
ration of George Washington as the first president.
tion (1935) as major documents of American civil religion.
The Puritan dimensions of American cultural and religious insti-
In the former Du Bois addressed both the issue of ordering
tutions have been ably set forth in Perry Miller’s essays, Er-
American society and the telling of its myth of beginnings.
rand into the Wilderness (Cambridge, Mass., 1956), a good
“Your country?” he asked and then inserted a black presence
introduction to the range of his scholarship on the Puritans.
into the sacred story by reminding Americans that “before
Discussions of the rhetoric of chosenness and New England
the Pilgrims landed [Africans] were here” (Du Bois, 1903,
Covenant theology commonly begin with analyses of John
Winthrop’s lay sermon preached aboard the Arabella in
p. 275). The stories, music, spirit, and folk traditions of both
1630, “A Modell of Christian Charity.” Winthrop Papers:
Africans and aboriginal tribes were present, Du Bois claimed,
Volume II, 1623–1630. New York, 1968, 282–295. Stephen
and were “gifts,” added and intermingled in blood, sweat,
A. Marini, Radical Sects of Revolutionary New England (Cam-
and wars in the formation of the “Promised Land.” Finally,
bridge, Mass., 1982), indicates the radical and intense frag-
one must mention the last great documents of this tradition
mentation within the religious and secular parts of society
as the speeches, events, and works of Martin Luther King Jr.
prior to the Revolutionary War. Sidney E. Mead, The Lively
Experiment (New York, 1963), discusses the “shape of Prot-
The African American tradition is a reminder that what-
estantism” in relation to the expansion in geographical space
ever form civil religion takes, its more hopeful organization
of the American Republic. Jonathan Edwards is often cited
includes that enunciated by Edwards in his “awakening” of
as setting the precedent for an enduring form of Puritanism
active and free persons who are provided with a place for
as the basis for a “secular” religious polity, as seen in his writ-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CLASSIFICATION OF RELIGIONS
1817
ings on revivalism, especially The Works of Jonathan Edwards,
Thinking across the American Grain, chap. 9, pp. 212–236
vol. 4: The Great Awakening, edited by Perry Miller (New
(Chicago, 1992), is an interrogation of the concept from a
Haven, Conn., 1972), in which C. C. Goen provides an in-
literary perspective informed by the tradition of American
troduction that addresses Edwards’s often disputed “post-
pragmatism. Hannah Arendt examines the philosophical
millennialism,” pp. 1–94. An analysis of this transition is in
meaning of the founding documents and rituals of the Unit-
Alan Heimert, Religion and the American Mind, from the
ed States in On Revolution (New York, 1963) and in Willing
Great Awakening to the Revolution (Cambridge, Mass.,
(New York, 1978), the latter published posthumously.
1966). Along with Miller, Joseph Haroutunian, Piety versus
Hardly any discussion of civil religion in the United States has em-
Moralism: The Passing of the New England Theology (New
phasized the issue of slavery as an institution or the existence
York, 1932), offers an examination of the more “progressive”
of enslaved Africans in the country at the time of its found-
use of Edwards’s theology by his New Divinity followers.
ing. Though this is a perennial issue of the country, having
Alexis De Tocqueville commented on the importance of the
been one of the major causes of one the greatest wars in
Puritan townships and municipalities to the formation of a
human history, it is seldom mentioned in relationship to ei-
democratic spirit in the United States in his two volume
ther a religious or civil ordering of the country. Slavery was
work, Democracy in America (New York, 1990; Volume I
discussed almost every day in the constitutional convention
originally published 1835; Volume II originally published
and provisions were made to count the number of slaves for
1840). George W. Pierson alludes to De Tocqueville’s com-
representation, but the founding made no change in their
ments on the disregard of ancient traditions and cultures in
status. For the institution of slavery and the enslaved in the
the United States in Tocqueville and Beaumont in America
Constitutional Convention, see Paul Finkelman, An Imper-
(New York, 1938).
fect Union (Chapel Hill, N.C., 1981). Charles H. Long,
Broader interpretive works that deal with the history of religion
“Civil Rights—Civil Religion: Visible People, Invisible Reli-
in America include Martin E. Marty, Righteous Empire (New
gion,” pp. 211–221, in American Civil Religion, edited by
York, 1970); and Sydney E. Ahlstrom, A Religious History of
Russell E. Richey and Donald G. Jones (New York, 1974),
the American People (New Haven, Conn., 1972). Albanese’s
contributes to this discussion. There is, however, a long tra-
textbook, America: Religion and Religions (Belmont, Calif.,
dition of African American thought concerning the civil or-
1999), gives prominence to the various expressions of civil
dering of the country, including David Walker, Walker’s Ap-
religion in American cultural history. The sociologists N. J.
peal in Four Articles (1829), which has been reprinted as
Demerath III and Phillip E. Hammond survey the religious
David Walker’s Appeal to the Coloured Citizens of the World,
situation in America in Religion in Social Context (New York,
edited by Peter P. Hinks (University Park, Pa., 2000); W.
1969).
E. B. Du Bois, The Souls of Black Folk (Chicago, 1903) and
H. Richard Niebuhr puts forth theologically critical positions re-
Black Reconstruction (New York, 1935); and Martin Luther
garding the plurality of religious institutions in the United
King Jr., Strength to Love (New York, 1963), Where Do We
States in The Social Sources of Denominationalism (New York,
Go From Here? (New York, 1967), and Why We Can’t Wait
1957). Given the constitutional principle of the separation
(New York, 1964). In addition a great deal of the contempo-
of church and state and the fact that American culture was
rary Black Theology movement can be seen as contributing
a Protestant culture in terms of style and history, the many
to the meaning of a civil religion. See especially James H.
immigrants from other parts of the world, the progeny of the
Cone, Black Theology and Black Power (New York, 1969)
Africans enslaved within the country, and the aboriginal
and A Black Theology of Liberation (Philadelphia, 1970).
populations, one looked for a meaning of America that could
Gayraud S. Wilmore’s interpretive discussion of African
provide the serious binding that is necessary for a functional
American Christianity, Black Religion and Black Radicalism
society. Sidney E. Mead, The Nation with the Soul of a
(Maryknoll, N.Y., 1998) also makes a major contribution to
Church (New York, 1975), explains the meaning that could
this discussion.
provide the serious binding necessary for a functional society
CAROLE LYNN STEWART (2005)
within the structures of a form of secular Protestantism. Will
Herberg attempts to extend a meaning of America in terms
of a pluralistic religious meaning in Protestant, Catholic, Jew
(Garden City, N.J., 1960).
CLASSIFICATION OF RELIGIONS is necessi-
Within this context one must understand Robert N. Bellah’s pro-
tated by the diversity, complexity, and greatly increased
grammatic “Civil Religion in America,” Daedalus 96 (Winter
knowledge of religions and by the development of the scien-
1967): 1–21. Bellah responds to some of his critics in “Amer-
tific study of religion during the past hundred years. The stu-
ican Civil Religion in the 1970’s,” Anglican Theological Re-
dent of religion seeks to find or bring some system of intelli-
view, supp. ser., 1 (July 1973): 8–20, and continues his expo-
gibility to the manifold expressions of religious experience,
sition of civil religion in The Broken Covenant (New York,
not only to make the data manageable but to discern com-
1975) and with Richard Madsen, William M. Sullivan, Ann
mon characteristics by which religions and religious phe-
Swidler, and Steven M. Tipton in Habits of the Heart (New
nomena can be grouped together and compared with or dis-
York, 1986). Trenchant critiques of American civil religion
are in John Murray Cuddihy, The Ordeal of Civility (New
tinguished from others. Basically, there are two kinds of
York, 1974) and No Offense: Civil Religion and Protestant
classification. One orders historical religions in terms of their
Taste (New York, 1978). Another critical examination of
similarities and differences; the other orders religious phe-
Bellah’s position is in John F. Wilson, Public Religion in
nomena into categories (e.g., sacrifice, purification, rites of
American Culture (Philadelphia, 1979). Giles B. Gunn,
passage).
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1818
CLASSIFICATION OF RELIGIONS
EARLY MODERN CLASSIFICATION SCHEMES. The work of F.
A persistent binary normative classification has been the
Max Müller (1823–1900), the father of the comparative
division of religions in relation to “truth,” yielding the two
study of religions, gave impetus to the classification of reli-
categories: “true religion” and “false religion.” This division
gion. Primarily a linguist, Müller used his philological meth-
has appeared frequently among the great monotheistic reli-
od as a model for the comparative study of religions and the
gions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) but has not been
classification of religions along racial-genetic lines. In his
limited to them. Normative classifications do not increase
view, racial, linguistic, and religious “families” (Aryan, Se-
understanding.
mitic, and Turanian) coincided. Language provided the pri-
The use of normative classification by Christians goes
mary evidence for this coincidence.
back at least to the church fathers. It arose in the context
The Dutch scholar C. P. Tiele (1830–1902), one of the
of the religious competition of the early centuries, a time of
founders of the scientific study of religion and a contempo-
great religious ferment and rivalry, to meet the needs of
rary of Müller, also gave particular attention to the classifica-
Christian apologetics. Thus, for example, other religions
tion of religions. Tiele was impressed by the moral and ethi-
were said to exist as the result of divine condescension to the
cal qualities he found in religions. He saw these qualities as
needs and weaknesses of humans and no longer had any va-
expressions of a “religious idea” that had evolved in the
lidity after the appearance of Christianity. Judaism with its
course of history. He distinguished between “nature reli-
Torah, it was said, had been a “schoolmaster” preparing its
gions” and “ethical religions.” The former were those in
adherents for the coming of the Gospel, and the other reli-
which ethical elements were either absent or, at most, mini-
gions were merely imperfect copies of the true religion, pla-
mally present. These religions included polyzoic naturalism
giarisms at best.
(a belief that all nature is endowed with life), polydemonis-
Other Christian classifications of religions originated in
tic-magical religions (animism), therianthropic polytheism
the Middle Ages, and received a status that they retained in
(gods in the form of animals), and anthropomorphic poly-
large measure through the magisterial authority of Thomas
theism (gods in the form of men). The ethical religions
Aquinas (1225–1274). Thomas taught a basic distinction be-
(“spiritualistic ethical religions of revelation”) were divided
tween natural religion and revealed religion, the former
into two categories: natural nomistic (legalistic) religious
based on religious truth that can be known through the use
communions (including Daoism, Confucianism, Brahman-
of reason itself and the latter on divinely revealed truth. This
ism, and Judaism) and universalistic religious communions
distinction coincides in part with the distinction between re-
(Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam). Of the former category
ligions based on “general revelation” and those based on
Judaism was considered transitional in the direction of un-
“special revelation.”
iversalistic religions. To the latter category only Buddhism
and Christianity fully belong, for Islam is thought to retain
Protestantism has also provided various binary classifi-
some particularistic and nomistic elements.
cations of religions. Examples from the Reformation include
Martin Luther’s norm of justification by faith and John Cal-
Tiele’s emphasis on the ethical as a new and decisive re-
vin’s sola gratia; a later instance is the distinction between
ligious element came to be used frequently in distinguishing
“heathen religions” and the Christian religion, commonly
the “higher” from the “lower” religions. While it is true that
made at the beginnings of the Protestant missionary move-
the monotheistic religions emphasize ethics and morality, it
ment.
is not the case that a concern for morality is absent in so-
called primitive religions. The judgment of Tiele and others
Less obviously normative are classifications of religions
of his time, and the classifications based on it, reflected prej-
that are ostensibly scientific, particularly those classifications
udices concerning “primitive” peoples.
based on theories about the origin and development of reli-
gion that appeared during the late nineteenth and early twen-
TYPES OF CLASSIFICATION. Some classifications of religions
tieth centuries. The theory that enjoyed the greatest vogue,
are extraordinarily broad, the broadest being binary or bipar-
E. B. Tylor’s “animism,” argued that the earliest form of reli-
tite. Familiar bipartite classifications give such contrasting
gion was based on belief in anima or souls, spiritual entities
pairs as true-false, natural-revealed, literate-preliterate, East-
capable of separation from the body. Tylor theorized that
ern-Western, and Christian–non-Christian. The most obvi-
this primitive belief was based on certain real but misinter-
ous difficulty with such broad classifications is that they do
preted universal human experiences (sleep, dreams, trances,
not distinguish sufficiently to do justice to the diversity and
hallucinations, and death). He admitted, however, that reli-
complexity of the religious world.
gion as it is found in the world is more than this, for every-
where it has undergone development. It evolves through var-
Normative classification. The most common type of
ious stages, which Tylor tried to sketch out, thereby
classification, historically, has been normative. Religions
accounting for the various kinds of theism, including poly-
have been classified according to the norms or standards of
theism and monotheism.
the classifiers. Typically, these norms were religiously, cultur-
ally, and historically conditioned, if not derived, and tended
The theories of Tylor and others who developed evolu-
to be subjective and arbitrary.
tionary schemes typically postulated not neutral stages but
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CLASSIFICATION OF RELIGIONS
1819
scales having normative significance. Evolution was seen as
Geography appears at first to afford the possibility of a
a movement from simple, rudimentary, indeed crude, begin-
convenient, intelligible, neutral classification of religions but
nings, through successive stages, each exhibiting increasing
turns out not to do so. In any case, its value is doubtful, for
complexity, toward completion and perfection. “Earlier”
the significance of geographical considerations, especially on
meant lower and inferior; “later” meant higher and superior.
a large scale, is minimal for the understanding of particular
Chronology was given valuative meaning. Not surprisingly,
religions and groups of religions, recent studies in the ecolo-
monotheism was seen as the highest religious stage yet at-
gy of religion notwithstanding.
tained. Each religion could be distinguished and classified in
PHILOSOPHICAL CLASSIFICATION. The philosophical con-
terms of its place on the scale, the several great monotheisms
sideration of religions led in the modern period to some at-
coming at the top. At the same time, one could reveal the
tempts in the West to classify religions on a philosophical
“primitive” foundations and beginnings of all religions, in-
rather than a theological or geographical basis. Perhaps the
cluding the highest. The evolutionists, like the later Freud-
most wide-ranging and best-known effort is that of the Ger-
ians, believed they could disclose the secret that lay at the be-
man philosopher G. W. F. Hegel (1770–1831), especially in
ginning. Moreover, they assumed that the nature, the essence
his Lectures on the Philosophy of Religion (1832). Briefly,
of religion, is identical with its origin.
Hegel saw religions in relation to the dialectical movement
Geographical classification. Geography has been a
of the whole of human history toward the ultimate realiza-
ready means of classification of religions, especially since
tion of freedom. He envisioned a vast scheme of evolution
many religions and types of religion can be observed to be-
in which Spirit progressively realizes itself through the ongo-
long exclusively or mainly to certain geographical areas.
ing dialectical process of thesis, antithesis, and synthesis.
Again, simply binary classifications have appeared, the most
Hegel classified religions in terms of the stages they rep-
common being “Eastern religions” and “Western religions.”
resent in the progressive self-realization of Spirit. Contrasting
Often “Western” means Judaism and Christianity (religions
self and nature, he considered as the lowest level of religion
of “Near Eastern” origin, actually), with Islam conveniently
the religions of nature. In these religions humans are com-
forgotten by many classifiers. “Eastern” or “Asian” may mean
pletely immersed in nature and have only such consciousness
India and China and the lands under their cultural and reli-
as derives from sense experience. A higher stage of religion
gious influence. This simple bipartite division not only
is represented, according to Hegel, by those religions in
groups together religions (especially those of the “East”)
which humans have begun to emerge from nature and be-
which differ greatly from one another, but omits important
come conscious in their individuality. Specifically, this stage
areas of the world and their religions.
is represented by Greek and Roman religions and Judaism.
The actual geographical distribution of some of the
The highest stage of religion is that in which the opposites
major religions renders problematic classification by geo-
of nature and individuality are transcended in the realization
graphical distribution. Some, for example Christianity, may
of what Hegel called Absolute Spirit. This is the level of Ab-
be found in most regions of the world, although the propor-
solute Religion, which he did not hesitate to identify with
tion of adherents to the general population will vary widely.
Christianity.
In this regard Islam is a particularly difficult case. Originat-
ing in the Near East, it quickly became a religion of wide
Hegel’s general scheme, as well as his classification of re-
geographical distribution, generating the “Islamic world,” a
ligions, has been criticized for its assumption that human his-
great band stretching at least from Morocco in the West to
tory exhibits continuous progress. Further, Hegel’s classifica-
Indonesia in the East, with important communities in the
tion of religions is value-laden, most obviously in its claim
North (the Soviet Union and China) and South (sub-
that the Christian religion is the absolute religion. One sees
Saharan Africa). The fact that some religions have become
again that normativeness is not the sole preserve of theolo-
virtually extinct in the lands of their origins (e.g., Indian
gians.
Buddhism) also complicates geographical classification.
A somewhat different philosophical approach to classifi-
Further, it is difficult to stay simply with geographical
cation is found in the work of another nineteenth-century
criteria. Many textbooks on “comparative religion” (under
German thinker, Otto Pfleiderer (1839–1908), especially in
such titles as Religions of the World and Religions of Mankind)
his Die Religion, ihr Wesen und ihre Geschichte, 2 vols.
combine the geographical and the historical in their outlines,
(1869). Pfleiderer’s approach focused upon the essence
utilizing such headings as “Religions of Middle Eastern Ori-
(Wesen) of religion. In his view, the essence is found in two
gin,” “Religions of Ancient Rome,” and “Religion in the Is-
elements, freedom and dependence, which are variously in-
lamic World” as well as headings of purely geographical des-
terrelated in the religious consciousness generally and in spe-
ignation (e.g., “Religions of the Indian Subcontinent”). Such
cific historical religions. Some religions (e.g., Egyptian and
textbooks tend to leave out some important geographical re-
ancient Semitic religions) emphasize the religious sense of
gions. They may present religions of India, the Near East,
dependence, whereas other religions (e.g., the religions of the
the Far East, and perhaps religions of Greece and Rome.
Aryans, Greeks, and Romans) stress the opposite pole, free-
They are much less likely to include African religions and the
dom. Still other religions clearly contain both elements but
religions of the Amerindians and the Pacific islands peoples.
in unequal proportion (Brahmanism, Buddhism, Zoroastri-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1820
CLASSIFICATION OF RELIGIONS
anism). In Pfleiderer’s view the highest manifestation of reli-
specific phenomena as the worship of earth gods, concep-
gion is one in which the two elements, freedom and depen-
tions of the soul, and ritual purifications.
dence, are in equilibrium, reconciled in an ultimate
Another Dutch phenomenologist of religion was Ge-
harmony. This possibility he believed is found only in the
rardus van der Leeuw (1890–1950), whose Religion in Es-
monotheistic religions, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
sence and Manifestation (Phänomenologie der Religion, 1933)
The possibility is fully realized, however, only in Christiani-
is considered a classic. His broadest phenomenological cate-
ty, for Islam is still inclined toward dependence and Judaism
gories were the object of religion (which he analyzed in terms
toward freedom. Here again a Western Christian thinker’s
of power and the forms of power), the subject of religion (sa-
classification of religions is used as a means of affirming the
cred man and community), and object and subject in recip-
religious superiority of Christianity.
rocal operation. Using these categories, he was able to classify
Phenomenology of religion. The term phenomenology
and interpret an impressive number and variety of specific
can mean several things. It can refer to the twentieth-century
religious phenomena: sacred stones and trees, demons,
philosophical school initially associated with the German
priests, saints, sects, souls, sacrifices, taboo, sacred times and
philosopher Edmund Husserl, and later with Martin Hei-
spaces, festivals, myth, mysticism, faith, and many others.
degger, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Paul Ricoeur, and others.
Unlike Kristensen, van der Leeuw gave some attention
In this sense it is phenomenological philosophy devoted to
to “religions” (i.e., historical religious wholes), quoting
the study of religion. However, the term phenomenology of
Heinrich Frick’s assertion that “religion actually exists only
religion refers to the application of phenomenological meth-
in religions.” His classification was twelvefold. It was, howev-
ods to the study of the history of religions, as, for example,
er, curious and mixed, for it included not only historical reli-
by W. Brede Kristensen, Gerardus van der Leeuw, C. Jouco
gions but types of religion without specific historical form,
Bleeker, and Mircea Eliade. In the hands of these scholars
and forms of religious dynamic. Specifically, van der Leeuw
phenomenology is less a philosophy than a method for the
distinguished eight historical forms of religion: (1) religion
study of religions.
of remoteness and flight (Confucianism and eighteenth-
The interest of phenomenologists of religion is in the
century Deism); (2) religion of struggle (Zoroastrian dual-
classification of religious phenomena that are not limited or
ism); (3) religion of strain and form (Greek religion); (4) reli-
specific to a particular historical religion but cross the reli-
gion of infinity and asceticism (Indian religion, especially
gious lines. For example, the phenomenologist of religion is
Hinduism); (5) religion of nothingness and compassion
interested in such categories as rites of sacrifice, myths of ori-
(Buddhism); (6) religion of will and obedience (Jewish reli-
gin, and fertility deities. Further, phenomenologists seek to
gion); (7) religion of majesty and humility (Islam); and (8)
discern the “meaning” of religious phenomena in a nonre-
religion of love (Christianity). To these forms he added reli-
ductionistic and nonnormative manner, believing that the
gion of repose and religion of unrest. The former he associat-
phenomena will disclose their meanings to those who ap-
ed with mysticism and the latter with theism. Both are ele-
proach them “phenomenologically,” that is, in a disciplined
ments in historical religions but have no proper historical
but open and nonprejudicial way.
form of their own. Finally, van der Leeuw distinguished two
forms of the “dynamic of religions.” One manifests itself by
W. Brede Kristensen (1867–1953), a Dutch scholar of
syncretism and mission, the other by revivals and reforma-
Norwegian origin and a pioneer of phenomenology of reli-
tions.
gion, understood phenomenology as a new method of orga-
nizing data in the study of religion. One could, of course,
The usual criticism of phenomenology of religion, in-
organize the data historically or geographically as had been
cluding its classifications, whether of phenomena or histori-
done in the past. But one could also organize data phenome-
cal religions, is that it is not sufficiently historical. While
nologically, in which case one would attempt to discern com-
phenomenologists of religion often begin with the historical
mon themes and to describe the meanings of these themes
data and seek to understand the data “historically,” at least
among religions, regardless of their historical tradition or
initially, the tendency is often toward abstraction, and then
geographical location. Ultimately, one seeks the essence of the
toward reification of these “forms” of religious dynamic,
religious phenomena. In The Meaning of Religion (1960),
with the result that the phenomenologist’s attention is drawn
Kristensen described the task of phenomenology of religion
away from the religions in their historical particularity.
as that of classifying and grouping the divergent data of reli-
RECENT ATTEMPTS AT CLASSIFICATION. The enterprise of
gion in such a way that one may obtain an overall view of
classifying religions is no longer in vogue. It is not often that
their religious content and the religious values therein. The
one finds students of religion devoting their energies to this
phenomena should be grouped according to characteristics
task. While the need to order data continues, other reasons
that correspond to the essential and typical elements of reli-
that encouraged classification have diminished. As intimated
gion. Kristensen classified the subjects of the phenomenolo-
above, one reason for classification has been to provide a
gy of religion into three broad groups: religious cosmology
framework for the assertion of the superiority of Christianity.
(the world), religious anthropology (humans), and cultus
That motive, whether consciously or unconsciously held, has
(acts of worship). Within their scope he was able to treat such
faded. Another reason was directly connected with the vogue
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CLASSIFICATION OF RELIGIONS
1821
of evolutionism, for it encouraged and facilitated classifica-
by imitating mythical models. The classical religions, which
tion in terms of religious stages. That, too, has declined.
include the religions of the ancient Near East, Iran, India,
the Far East, and the Greco-Roman world, evidence a signifi-
Nevertheless, there have been some recent attempts to
cant emancipation of logos from muthos. These religions are
classify religions. Illustratively, attention may be called to
further marked by a change in man’s view of himself— no
three. The sociologist of religion, Robert N. Bellah, has
longer is he only a part of nature—and by a sophistication
sought to construct an evolutionary interpretation of reli-
and systematization of the theoretical, practical, and socio-
gion. In an essay titled Religious Evolution (1964) he pro-
logical expressions of his religious experience.
posed a sequence of five ideal typical stages of development:
primitive, archaic, historic, early modern, and modern.
A completely satisfactory classification of religions con-
These stages are examined in terms of their religious symbol
tinues to elude scholars. Some general requirements for more
systems, religious actions, religious organizations, and social
adequate classification of religions, however, are the follow-
implications. He maintains that the symbol systems have
ing. First, the classification should be comprehensive, that is,
evolved from the simple to the complex. Also, religious col-
inclusive ideally of all religions. Second, the classification
lectivities have become progressively differentiated from
should be objective and descriptive, not subjective and nor-
other social structures. Finally, beginning with the historic
mative. Third, the effort should be made to do justice to par-
stage, the consciousness of the self as a religious subject has
ticular religions and to avoid misrepresenting or caricaturing
increasingly developed. Religious evolution is thus seen as a
them because of prejudice or the desire to make them fit a
process of differentiation and development that can best be
particular scheme of classification. Fourth, judgments should
understood historically and sociologically.
be made in order to distinguish what is essential or funda-
The influential and prolific historian of religions Mircea
mental in religions from what is accidental or incidental.
Eliade has delineated two fundamentally different religious
Fifth, one should be alert equally to similarities and differ-
orientations: cosmic and historical. The former is the princi-
ences among religions. Finally, it is imperative to recognize
pal topic of The Myth of the Eternal Return (1949). It is the
that “living religions” are indeed alive and always changing
type of orientation characteristic of so-called primitive and
and that “dead religions” have had a history: both, in short,
archaic religions and, in fact, of all “traditional” religion.
are categories of dynamic entities. This dynamism is one fac-
Cosmic orientation is distinguished by its experience and
tor that makes the classification of religion an unending task.
conception of time (as cyclical and reversible). Sacred time
is mythical, not historical. History is deprecated in favor of
BIBLIOGRAPHY
transcendental models provided by myth. By means of return
to the powerfully creative, mythical time of origins, humans
Two studies of the problem of classification appeared in the twen-
tieth century. They are Duren J. H. Ward’s The Classification
are enabled to overcome the deleterious effects of ordinary,
of Religions: Different Methods. Their Advantages and Disad-
profane time. Moreover, the objects and structures of the
vantages (Chicago, 1909) and Fred Louis Parrish’s The Clas-
world (“nature”) are means by which the sacred manifests it-
sification of Religions: Its Relation to the History of Religions
self (“hierophanies”). In striking contrast to the cosmic reli-
(Scottdale, Pa., 1941). The latter is especially complete and
gious orientation, with its distinctive ontology, is the histori-
contains a useful bibliography for the study of classification.
cal religious orientation. It, too, involves a conception of
Additional relevant, though less focused, works include Mor-
time. Time is linear, chronological, historical. It is irrevers-
ris Jastrow’s The Study of Religion (1901; reprint, Chino,
ible, and historical events are unique (not typical, as in cos-
Calif., 1981), containing chapters on classification; C. P.
mic time). History is affirmed, for it is primarily in and
Tiele’s Elements of the Science of Religion, 2 vols. (Edinburgh,
through historical events that the sacred manifests itself.
1897–1899), especially the first volume; P. D. Chantepie de
Myth is understood as sacred history. In Eliade’s view, this
la Saussaye’s Manual of the Science of Religion (London,
second type of religious orientation is characteristic of the
1891), which is Beatrice S. Colyer Ferguson’s translation of
monotheisms—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam—and is
volume 1 of his Lehrbuch der Religionsgeschichte (1887);
largely confined to them. However, even within these reli-
Henri Pinard de la Boullaye’s L’étude comparée des religions,
2 vols. (Paris, 1922–1925), especially volume 2, Ses méthodes;
gions the contrasting religious orientation makes itself felt,
F. Max Müller’s Introduction to the Science of Religion (Lon-
as, for example, in the “cosmic Christianity” of Eastern
don, 1873), a clear presentation of his influential views on
Europe.
the comparative method; and, finally, Gustav Mensching’s
A third recent attempt to classify religions is found in
Die Religion: Erscheinungsformen, Strukturtypen und Lebensge-
setze (Stuttgart, 1959), containing a more recent discussion
an essay (“Primitive, Classical, and Modern Religions,”
of the classification of religions.
1967) by Joseph M. Kitagawa. It relates to both Eliade’s and
Bellah’s classifications. According to Kitagawa, religions can
New Sources
be distinguished by the kinds of religious experience and ap-
Broughton, Vanda. “A New Classification for the Literature of
prehension characteristic of them. Primitive religion is char-
Religion.” Paper presented at the 66th IFLA Conference,
acterized by an orientation in which the ultimate purpose of
2000. Available at http//www.ifla.org/IV/ifla66/papers/034–
life is participation in the creation of “cosmos” out of “chaos”
130e.htm.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1822
CLEANLINESS
Mills, Jack, and Vanda Broughton, eds. Bibliographic Classifica-
in which a religious view is transmitted is comprehensible
tion: Class P: Religion, The Occult, Morals and Ethics. 2d ed.
(otherwise a correspondence must be shown to be so far-
London, 1997.
reaching that the former has to be regarded as the model,
HARRY B. PARTIN (1987)
even if the way of influence is unknown). A broadly con-
Revised Bibliography
ceived exposition of these ideas appeared in his Religions-
geschichtliche Erklärung des Neuen Testaments: Die Abhängig-
keit des ältesten Christentums von nichtjüdischen Religionen
CLEANLINESS S
und philosophischen Systemen (1909; translated as Primitive
EE PURIFICATION
Christianity and Its Non-Jewish Sources, 1912). A German re-
vision of Religionsgeschichtliche Erklärung published in 1924
also incorporates his work Der Einfluss der Mysterienrelig-
CLEMEN, CARL (1865–1940), Protestant theologian
ionen auf das älteste Christentum (The influence of mystical
and historian of religions. Carl Christian Clemen was one of
religions on primitive Christianity; 1913), while his book
the founders of research in the science of religion and of its
Die Reste der primitiven Religion im ältesten Christentum
institutionalization in Germany. After qualifying for a lec-
(Traces of primitive religion in primitive Christianity; 1916)
tureship in New Testament studies in Halle, he taught there
adds a portrayal of concepts originating in nature religions.
from 1892 to 1903 and in Bonn from 1903 to 1908. After
A summary view of the opposite relationships is provided by
visiting the United States as a guest lecturer in 1908 and
the late work Der Einfluss des Christentums auf andere Relig-
1909, he became in 1910 associate professor and in 1920
ionen (The influence of Christianity on other religions;
professor of the history of religions in the philosophy depart-
1933). Clemen’s summary work, Die Religionen der Erde: Ihr
ment of the University of Bonn. The breadth of his scholar-
Wesen und ihre Geschichte (1927), was translated into English
ship is indicated by the fact that his publications number ap-
as Religions of the World: Their Nature and Their History
proximately six hundred titles, that he lectured on the Old
(1931). The broad scope of his approach to method is seen
Testament and on systematic and practical theology, and
in writings such as Die Anwendung der Psychoanalyse auf
that he taught Avestan.
Mythologie und Religionsgeschichte (The application of psy-
His publications first concerned the New Testament
chology to mythology and the history of religion; 1928) and
and its background in the history of religions. His inaugural
Grundriss der Religionsphilosophie (Outline of the philosophy
lecture at Bonn, published as Die religionsgeschichtliche Met-
of religion; 1934). Yet his ideal was strongly source-oriented
hode in der Theologie (1904), outlined his program, first, of
historical research, and his edition of Fontes historiae reli-
summarizing the different challenges confronting theology
gionum ex auctoribus Graecis et Latinis collecti, beginning with
from the religio-historical method, especially that of the Reli-
his collection of sources and published as Die griechischen
gionsgeschichtliche Schule, and second, of tracing the deriva-
und lateinischen Nachrichten über die persische Religion (Greek
tion of religious views in the New Testament. For him the
and Latin accounts of Persian religion; 1920), has become
religio-historical method is a principle of research that Chris-
an aid of lasting importance to religio-historical research.
tian theology simply must apply if it is to be considered a
field of knowledge. In this, however, Clemen believed that
BIBLIOGRAPHY
the comparison of Christianity with other religions (1) does
Mensching, Gustav. “Carl Clemen.” Die christliche Welt 54 (Au-
not hinder the researcher, despite a temporary presumption
gust 3, 1940): 353–354.
of the equality of religions, from being convinced of the ad-
Rühle, Oskar. “Clemen, Carl.” In Die Religion in Geschichte und
vantage of a certain religion and church; (2) does not pro-
Gegenwart. 2d ed., vol. 1. Tübingen, 1927.
mote the relativization of Christianity or, in its historical ob-
Schrey, Heinz Horst. “Clemen, Carl Christian.” In Neue deutsche
servation of Christianity, exclude the confirmation of its
Biographie, edited by Erich Angermann et al., vol. 3. Berlin,
absoluteness; and (3) will lead, in fact, in its attempt to ex-
1957.
plain Christianity by means of other religions, to the verifica-
Waardenburg, Jacques. Classical Approaches to the Study of Reli-
tion of Christianity’s originality and of its possession of con-
gion, vol. 2, Bibliography. The Hague, 1974. See pages
tent that was already present and only poured into borrowed
39–40.
forms.
CHRISTOPH ELSAS (1987)
Research is indebted to Clemen, in connection with
Translated from German by Roger Norton
these arguments, for a more precise definition of the idea of
“influence” among religions through his application of three
criteria. One can speak of “influence” if any one of the fol-
lowing criteria is met: (1) if a special religious view cannot
CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA (150?–215?),
be explained completely from the original ideas of the reli-
Christian theologian. Little is known about the life of Titus
gions concerned; (2) if any hypothesized influence of one re-
Flavius Clemens. A few details can be gathered from Clem-
ligion is actually demonstrable in another religion, and the
ent’s allusion to his education (Miscellanies 1.1, 2.2) and
precedence of the former is plausible; and (3) if the manner
from the report of the fourth-century Christian writer Euse-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA
1823
bius of Caesarea (Ecclesiastical History 5.10–11, 6.6,
from classical authors in his writings, although he probably
6.11.5–6). Born in the mid-second century to pagan parents,
derived many of his citations not from the original sources,
perhaps in Athens, Clement traveled extensively as a young
but from the handbooks popular in his day. Like the Gnos-
man, seeking an intellectual mentor. This he found in Pan-
tics, Clement valued religious knowledge highly, but he ar-
taenus, who, according to Eusebius, served as head of a
gued, allegedly against them, that God’s creation, the materi-
Christian school in Alexandria. Clement is said to have suc-
al world, was good. He accused Gnostics of holding either
ceeded Pantaenus as chief of the school in the late second
overly ascetic or, conversely, libertine positions regarding the
century, probably remaining a layperson after his conversion
use of the body and material things, thus he (somewhat luke-
to Christianity. In 202 or 203, at the time of the emperor
warmly) endorsed the virtues of Christian marriage. More-
Septimius Severus’s persecution of Christians, Clement left
over, since Clement understood Gnostic notions of “elec-
Alexandria for Asia Minor. Presumably he died before 215.
tion” to mean “fatalistic determinism,” he championed the
freedom of the will and freely chosen good deeds as necessary
The following treatises of Clement are extant: Exhorta-
components of Christian salvation.
tion to the Greeks (Protrepticus); The Instructor (Paedagogus);
Miscellanies (Stromateis); Who Is the Rich Man That Is Saved?
Among the more prominent themes in Clement’s works
(Quis dives salvetur?); a collection of excerpts from Valentin-
are the following: the progressive revelation of truth through
ian teachings, with Clement’s comments (Excerpta ex Theo-
the Logos (the Word) from ancient to early Christian times;
doto); and a work of exegetical notes on the Old Testament
Greek philosophers’ plagiarism of ideas from the Old Testa-
(Eclogae propheticae). Only fragments remain of other trea-
ment; humans’ creation in the “image of God” that constant-
tises. Although scholars disagree on the precise dating of
ly recalled them to more virtuous lives; the incorporeality of
Clement’s works, the period 195–210 probably encompasses
God, misrepresented by Scripture’s anthropomorphisms (al-
them all. He wrote the Protrepticus first, followed by the Pae-
though Clement sometimes engaged feminine images for
dagogus, the Stromateis, and the Quis dives salvetur? Clem-
God); the necessity of allegorical interpretation of Scripture;
ent’s influence on later theology was largely channeled
detailed guidelines provided by the Logos as “Instructor” for
through the writings of his brilliant successor, Origen.
daily activities such as eating and sleeping; the benefits that
preparatory instruction in philosophy and other secular dis-
Clement’s works testify to the diversity of Christians in
ciplines provided for Christians; the possibility of advance-
Alexandria around the year 200. There were “simple believ-
ment in the Christian life from belief to knowledge and from
ers,” wary of speculation, who understood Scripture literally
self-control to impassability (although good deeds and love
and thought ecclesiastical authority enough to direct their
were incumbent upon Christians at all stages); and the claim
lives. Those able to embrace a more advanced theology
that the appellation “Gnostic” was more appropriately ap-
sought to align the best of classical culture with their faith.
plied to those advanced in Catholic orthodoxy than to those
(Perhaps this group included those Clement hoped to com-
he deemed heretics.
fort with his assurance that riches did not automatically
debar them from salvation if they practiced inward detach-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
ment from their wealth and heeded Christianity’s call for
Bardy, Gustave. Clément d’Alexandrie. Paris, 1926. A standard
charity.) In addition to Alexandrians within the Catholic
older biography of Clement, with discussion of his writings.
Christian fold, there were many Gnostics, especially the fol-
Buell, Denise Kimber. Making Christians: Clement of Alexandria
lowers of Valentinus and Basilides, who self-identified as
and the Rhetoric of Legitimacy. Princeton, 1999. Explores
Christians, but whom Clement considered heretics. Clem-
Clement’s metaphors of procreation and kinship which au-
ent, following his predecessors, the second-century Apolo-
thorize power relations.
gists, also addressed pagan critics who mocked Christianity
Chadwick, Henry. Early Christian Thought and the Classical Tra-
dition: Studies in Justin, Clement, and Origen. New York,
as a religion for the uneducated. The pagan writer Celsus’s
1966. An insightful study of Clement’s relation to the classi-
searing attack on Christianity, The True Word, had been
cal tradition.
composed only about fifteen years before Clement began his
Countryman, L. William. The Rich Christian in the Church of the
writing career.
Early Empire: Contradictions and Accommodations. New
Although Clement did not reject the “simple believers,”
York, 1980. An examination of Clement’s treatise Who Is the
he advocated higher theological education and an allegorical
Rich Man That Is Saved? in relation to early Christian atti-
tudes toward wealth. See especially Chapter 1.
interpretation of Scripture, conceding that the Bible was sty-
Dawson, David. Allegorical Readers and Cultural Revision in An-
listically inelegant and was replete with anthropomorphic de-
cient Alexandria. Berkeley, 1992. Analyzes Clement’s her-
pictions of God. Responding to more theologically educated
meneutic and the social purposes of his allegorical reaings.
Christians and to pagan critics, Clement argued that Chris-
See especially Chapter 4.
tianity was a species of philosophy, far superior to Greek
Hoek, Annewies van den. “The ‘Catechetical’ School of Early
myth or to the mystery religions. (Recent scholars have em-
Christian Alexandria and Its Philonic Heritage.” Harvard
phasized Clement’s indebtedness to various philosophical
Theological Review 90 (1997): 59–87. Discusses the debate
traditions, especially Middle Platonism.) Clement attempted
over whether there was a “school” at Alexandria and its possi-
to display his erudition by quoting several hundred passages
ble origins.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1824
CLEMENT OF ROME
Hunter, David G. “The Language of Desire: Clement of Alexan-
and the individual importance of its author. It is a letter of
dria’s Transformation of Ascetic Discourse.” Semeia 57
exhortation from one church to another, both of which
(1992): 95–111. Shows how differentiating the terms Clem-
shared the tradition of having been evangelized by Peter and
ent uses for “desire” creates a more nuanced view of his dis-
Paul.
cussion of marriage.
Clement of Rome was subsequently but erroneously
Kovacs, Judith L. “Divine Pedagogy and the Gnostic Teacher ac-
credited with a second “letter” (2 Clement), really a sermon,
cording to Clement of Alexandria.” Journal of Early Christian
Studies 9 (2001): 3–25. Analyzes how Clement’s notion of
probably written around the middle of the second century,
teaching relates to his view of the Logos as an “instructor.”
and two third-century letters on virginity. In addition, the
fourth-century pseudo-Clementine Homilies and Recogni-
Lilla, Salvatore R. C. Clement of Alexandria: A Study in Christian
tions feature Clement as the protagonist of their dramatic
Platonism and Gnosticism. Oxford, 1971. A detailed investi-
gation of Clement’s philosophical interests and his relation
narratives. There seems to be no reason to suppose that any
to gnosticism.
historically reliable information about the first-century
Clement can be derived from these materials. Subsequent to
Méhat, André. Étude sur les Stromates de Clément d’Alexandrie.
Paris, 1966. A comprehensive study of the Miscellanies,
the time of the pseudo-Clementines, Clement of Rome
Clement’s major work.
seems not to have played a large role in Christian tradition.
He was remembered as the first pope of whom more than
ELIZABETH A. CLARK (1987 AND 2005)
the name alone was known, and as the author of the earliest
extant piece of Christian literature outside the New Testa-
ment.
CLEMENT OF ROME, supposed author of a letter
sent from the church of Rome to the church of Corinth in
BIBLIOGRAPHY
For the English-speaking reader, 1 Clement is most accessible
the last years of the first century CE. The date most common-
through the translation and commentary in Robert M. Grant
ly given for the letter is 96–97. In the course of the second
and H. H. Graham’s The Apostolic Fathers, vol. 2, First and
century the author of this letter came to be identified as
Second Clement (New York, 1965). The Greek text is avail-
Clement and was thought to have been the third bishop of
able in Franz X. Funk’s Die apostolischen Väter, revised by
Rome, after Peter and Paul. Although there is no particular
Karl Bihlmeyer (1924), new ed., edited by Wilhelm Schnee-
reason to doubt that the person who actually penned the let-
melcher (Tübingen, 1970). The scholarly discussion of 1
ter was so named, there is some doubt as to whether at this
Clement is largely a German affair. The most useful mono-
time Rome had a bishop in the later sense of the word, that
graphs are Otto Knoch’s Eigenart und Bedeutung der Escha-
is, a single head of the church.
tologie im theologischen Aufriss des ersten Clemensbriefes (Bonn,
1964); Karlmann Beyschlag’s Clemens Romanus und der
The letter, known as 1 Clement, tells us nothing about
Frühkatholizismus (Tübingen, 1966); and Gerbert Brunner’s
the person who wrote it. Indeed, the letter is intended to be
Die theologische Mitte des ersten Klemensbriefs (Frankfurt,
understood as the expression of a church rather than an indi-
1972). These books also illustrate the impact of Catholic-
vidual. In response to disagreements at Corinth, it focuses
Protestant polemics on the study of early Christianity.
on the need for harmony and the evils of discord. The author
JAMES F. MCCUE (1987)
draws upon materials from the Bible (the Hebrew Bible in
the Septuagint Greek translation) and from Greco-Roman
tradition. He knows several of Paul’s letters, perhaps includ-
CLITORIDECTOMY. The term clitoridectomy covers
ing Hebrews. He also uses material similar to what we find
a range of ritual surgical operations: (1) drawing blood from
in the synoptic Gospels, but it is doubtful whether he knew
the clitoral prepuce or removal of the prepuce, (2) excism of
the Gospels in their present form.
the clitoris, (3) excism of the clitoris and labia minora, and
First Clement gives early expression to ideas that would
(4) infibulation, requiring removal of the clitoris, the labia
subsequently be very important in the Roman tradition and
minora, and the anterior two-thirds of the labia majora, the
elsewhere. The leadership of the church is seen as standing
two sides of which are then joined so that a small posterior
in a chain of authority extending from God, through Christ,
opening is left for the passage of urine and menstrual blood.
on through the apostles, and finally to the bishops or presby-
The first type occurs in Islamic countries of the Middle East,
ters (the terms seem to be used interchangeably), who now
Africa, and Asia. The second type occurs in East, West, and
stand as a group at the head of the individual churches. To
central Africa, on the Arabian Peninsula, and in Brazil, east-
overthrow the established ministers (as apparently had been
ern Mexico, and Peru. The third type occurs throughout Af-
done at Corinth) when they have been blameless in the per-
rica, in Arab countries, and in parts of Aboriginal Australia.
formance of their duties is to rebel against God.
Infibulation occurs in Sudan, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Eritrea,
Some have interpreted 1 Clement as the earliest expres-
southern Egypt, northern Nigeria, Mali, and the Central Af-
sion of Roman primacy, and Clement of Rome therefore as
rican Republic.
the first pope on record as having acted papally. This, howev-
In countries where clitoridectomy is practiced, the rite
er, is to exaggerate the authoritarian character of the letter
may be performed virtually universally or it may have 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
CLITORIDECTOMY
1825
sparse and patchy distribution. For example, in northern
by the time of puberty and marriage. Although some Islamic
Ghana almost all women in the Kusase ethnic group will
texts prohibit clitoridectomy before the tenth year (Wen-
have had clitoridectomy, while none in the neighboring Tal-
sinck, 1979, p. 20), in Sudan it is done between two and
lensi group will have undergone this ritual. Nor is there a
eleven years, and in Egypt between three and eleven years of
clear relationship between clitoridectomy and religion: in an
age, although there are cases of it being done before the age
area of southern Nigeria five contiguous ethnic groups per-
of one.
form the rite, but the Etsako are Muslim, the Esan and Ijan
Clitoridectomy is usually performed by a traditional
are predominantly Christian, and the Bini and Ukwuani pri-
midwife. In Egypt the decision is primarily taken by the girl’s
marily observe their traditional religion.
mother, then in descending order of importance, by both
In Sudan, few women in the south are infibulated, but
parents together, an aunt, a sister or grandmother, and the
from 90 to 95 percent of the women in the Arabic north are
father alone (Aziza, 1983, p. 14). However, fathers usually
(Dareer, 1983, p. 41). In neighboring Egypt an estimated 95
pay for the ceremony, and in the case of infibulation, hus-
percent of women have had some kind of clitoridectomy, but
bands pay for re-fibulation following each childbirth.
most is of the third type and only relatively few, near the
There is no single meaning of clitoridectomy. In all so-
Sudan border, have been infibulated (Aziza, 1983, p. 13). In
cieties that circumcise females, males are also circumcised.
both countries urban, better-educated women tend to have
The reasons given for both sexes is that it is a ritual of mem-
minimal surgery or no clitoridectomy. Egyptian mummies
bership into a religious tradition, an ethnic group with the
dated 200 BCE show evidence of clitroidectomy (Dareer,
status of adult, or a prerequisite for legitimate and moral
1983, p. 41), and present-day Coptic Christian as well as
marriage, sexuality, and procreation.
Muslim women in Egypt have clitoridectomy, suggesting
that it is a pre-Islamic custom. This speculation is further
In Mediterranean and Islamic countries clitoridectomy
supported by the fact that the Islamic countries of Saudi
is often explained as an aspect of family honor. The phrase
Arabia, Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan do not practice clitori-
“son of an uncircumcised woman” is considered injurious in
dectomy.
the sense that it is synonymous with “son of a whore”—that
is, a woman of excessive sexual appetite caused by her not
There is no mention of clitoridectomy in the QurDa¯n,
being circumcised. In Egypt, for example, clitoridectomy is
but more or less authentic h:adiths mention its practice in
thought to protect a girl’s chastity by reducing her libido,
pre-Islamic Arabia. Although texts and dictionaries are not
thus maintaining the family’s honor and the girl’s suitability
very explicit, evidence suggests minimal excision of the pre-
for a good marriage. In Muslim Java a mild pricking of the
puce of the clitoris (Bosworth, 1978, p. 913). In an Islamic
prepuce is associated with ritual filing down of teeth, suggest-
tradition preserved by Ahmad ibn Hanbal (d. 855), circum-
ing a symbolic statement about curbing all appetites.
cision is called sunnah for males and honorable for females
(Wensinck, 1979, p. 20). Sunnah means to follow the tradi-
In countries concerned with female modesty as a sign
tions of the prophet Muh:ammad, who according to tradition
of family honor, public evidence of defloration is often an
was circumcised. The commentaries of al-Nawaw¯ı, edited in
important rite following marriage. A woman who cannot
Cairo in 1283, say, however, that circumcision is equally
demonstrate virginity by blood on the marriage bed may be
obligatory for males and females, specifying removal of a
divorced or even put to death at the hands of her own family
small part of the skin in the highest part of the genitals
to preserve their honor. Infibulation may be associated with
(ibid.). Some contemporary Muslim teachers cite the general
an extreme expression of that honor.
Islamic rule that forbids cutting parts of the body unless the
Nawal El Saadawi (1980) has suggested a Marxist inter-
benefits exceed the pain and injury, and the Sudanese reli-
pretation, following Engels, whereby in societies with patri-
gious and political leader El Sayed Abdel Rahman El Mahadi
lineal inheritance an emphasis on female chastity protects in-
explicitly forbade infibulation (Dareer, 1983, p. 44). Thus
heritance of private property by ensuring that a man’s heirs
one can understand the confusion revealed in a Sudanese sur-
are his own children. Just as ruling classes impose the moral
vey where 60 percent of the women said religion and custom
values of renunciation of pleasure on laborers, while they
demanded infibulation, but of those who disagreed, 50 per-
value extravagance themselves, so men constitute a “ruling
cent did so on religious grounds (ibid., p. 43).
class” over women and impose the renunciation of sexual
Clitoridectomy was not practiced in the ancient Jewish
pleasure on them while they enjoy sexual freedom and seduc-
religion, and it is not mentioned in either testament of the
tion with impunity. This Marxist interpretation cannot be
Bible.
a universal explanation for clitoridectomy because there are
societies with patrilineal inheritance of property where
Clitoridectomy is a rite and in its minimal form is per-
women may be punished or even put to death for an in-
formed on girls individually, accompanied by gifts. Or girls
fringement of sexual rules, but which lack rites of clitori-
may be initiated in a large class with accompanying rites that
dectomy.
involve all the women of a village or indeed a whole chief-
dom (MacCormack, 1979). The age at which girls experi-
In a wider comparative framework, the explanation that
ence clitoridectomy varies, but in all cases it should be done
genital surgery is universally a by-product of male suppres-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1826
CLOTHING: CLOTHING AND RELIGION IN THE EAST
sion of women is called into question. For example, in coastal
Griaule, Marcel. Conversations with Ogotemmêli: An Introduction
West Africa there are groups that practice clitoridectomy but
to Dogon Religious Ideas. London, 1965.
also allow a considerable amount of premarital freedom to
MacCormack, Carol P. “Sande: The Public Face of a Secret Soci-
women. In the patrilineal Mende area of Sierra Leone, for
ety.” In The New Religions of Africa, edited by Bennetta Jules-
example, women may even hold overt political office, and
Rosette, pp. 27–37. Norwood, N.J., 1979
the pain of clitoridectomy, experienced in a group, may serve
MacCormack, Carol P. “Health, Fertility and Birth in Moyamba
to bond women together into potentially cohesive chapters
District, Sierra Leone.” In Ethnography of Fertility and Birth,
of a women’s secret society, thus enhancing their political
edited by Carol P. MacCormack, pp. 115–139. London,
power and control of wealth (MacCormack, 1979). Among
1982.
some Aboriginal Australian and some Melanesian ethnic
Myers, R. A., et al. “Circumcision: Its Nature and Practice among
groups, men undergo much more extreme and painful ritual
Some Ethnic Groups in Southern Nigeria.” Social Science
genital surgery than women, and this usually occurs in socie-
and Medicine 21 (1985): 581–588.
ties with patrilineal descent where men are described as being
Saadawi, Nawal El. The Hidden Face of Eve: Women in the Arab
dominant.
World. Translated and edited by Sherif Hetata. London,
1980.
Virtually everywhere, clitoridectomy is described as an
act of purification, making women clean. On the Sherbro
Wensinck, A. J. “Khita¯n.” In The Encyclopaedia of Islam, new ed.,
coast of Sierra Leone, women say that without this puberty
vol. 5, pp. 20–22. Leiden, 1979.
rite a girl can achieve womanhood biologically but will re-
New Sources
main a girl socially. Using a functional model of analysis, we
Genital Cutting and Transnational Sisterhood: Disputing U.S. Po-
might say that the ritual scar and body modification are the
lemics. Edited by Stanlie M. James and Claire C. Robertson.
sign of being brought within an adult moral sphere. The man
Urbana, 2002.
with whom an initiated woman shares an intimate relation-
Hosken, Fran P. The Hosken Report: Genital and Sexual Mutilation
ship will know that she has been taught the responsible role
of Females. Lexington, Mass, 1994.
of potential procreator.
Lightfoot-Klein, Hanny. Prisoners of Ritual: An Odyssey into Fe-
Using a structuralist model of analysis, “making women
male Genital Circumcision in Africa. New York, 1989.
clean” removes the clitoris, the small male penis, making
Manresa, Kim. The Day Kadi Lost Part of Her Life. North Mel-
women fit unambiguously—purely and “cleanly”—within
bourne, Victoria, 1998.
the female category. Furthermore, the pain of clitoridectomy
Walker, Alice, and Pratibha Parmar. Warrior Marks: Female Geni-
might be seen as a metaphor for childbirth. In Sierra Leone,
tal Mutilation and the Sexual Blinding of Women. New York,
the position assumed for clitoridectomy is the same as the
1993.
position assumed in childbirth. The place is the same, since
CAROL P. MACCORMACK (1987)
ideally a woman returns to her natal initiation place to give
Revised Bibliography
birth, under the hand of the midwife who initiated her. The
social group is similarly constituted of local female kin and
other townswomen, all being members of the women’s secret
society. The pain of clitoridectomy, controlled by time,
CLOTHING
place, and the technical skill of the midwife, is a metaphor
This entry consists of the following articles:
for the pain of childbirth. As the midwife controls bleeding
CLOTHING AND RELIGION IN THE EAST
CLOTHING AND RELIGION IN THE WEST
and protects against infection in clitoridectomy, so she does
DRESS AND RELIGION IN AMERICA’S SECTARIAN
in childbirth. Womanhood is symbolically achieved in cli-
COMMUNITIES
toridectomy and is confirmed, under the midwife’s hand, in
childbirth. In Sierra Leone the two events are logically related
as part of the same message, although they are separated in
CLOTHING: CLOTHING AND RELIGION IN
time (MacCormack, 1979, 1982; see also Griaule, 1965,
THE EAST
p. 158).
Clothing in the East communicates a wide range of personal
and collective information about religious practice. A Bud-
SEE ALSO Androgynes; Bodily Marks; Circumcision; Initia-
dhist monk’s tonsure and saffron robes or a Hindu guru’s
tion, article on Women’s Initiation.
choice not to wear any clothing are religiously sanctioned
costumes that reinforce the distinctiveness of an observant
BIBLIOGRAPHY
community as separate from the larger, secular society. Other
Aziza, Hussein. Facts about Female Circumcision. Cairo, 1983. Is-
kinds of clothing also speak to religious affiliation.
sued by the Cairo Family Planning Association.
IDENTITY. A Jewish male’s yarmulke and tallith, a Muslim
Bosworth, C. E., et al. “Khafd.” In The Encyclopaedia of Islam,
woman’s hajib, or a Parsi’s white cotton shirt and white
new ed., vol. 4, pp. 913–914. Leiden, 1978.
lamb’s wool cord may be sanctioned for worship, but in daily
Dareer, Asma El. “Epidemiology of Female Circumcision in the
life they signify a personal covenant with the divine, empow-
Sudan.” Tropical Doctor 13 (1983): 41–45.
ering the individual and at times serving political and cultur-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CLOTHING: CLOTHING AND RELIGION IN THE EAST
1827
al ends. By the same token, the traditional use of colored tur-
mological principles at the core of Indian esoteric beliefs, in
bans by Islamic societies—white for believers, yellow for
which the avatars of deities appear in many forms: some bes-
Jews, and blue for Christians—have in effect discriminated
tial, some feminine, some masculine, some theologically neu-
against ethnic and religious minorities.
ter. The artistic transformation of Bodhisattva Avalokitésvara
in East Asia during the late eighth century and the ninth cen-
The unbleached hemp garments worn by the eldest Chi-
tury from a neuter but essential masculine form into a female
nese son signify his withdrawal from society in order to at-
deity initially had less to do with costume than with the em-
tend to the duties prescribed for mourning. As chief mourner
phasis on female physical attributes—sweet face, elaborate
he leads the ceremonies honoring the memory of the depart-
hairdo, and female body type—but over time the deity’s at-
ed and conducts the rites associated with the ancestor cult.
tire also changed. Such developments affected the appeal of
As the mourning period passes, the gradual reentry into the
this deity among female Buddhist devotees.
world is marked by changing the sack cloth to undyed or
white garments of varying degrees of refinement, then to
Cross-gender dressing among the hijras, a community
blue-trimmed white garments and eventually blue clothing.
of male-to-female transgenders in India and among related
groups throughout South and Southeast Asia, sets them
Coiffure and headgear are particularly important sym-
apart and contributes to their own identity as a third gender,
bols. In East Asia, from at least the second millennium BCE,
neither female nor male. Traditionally, they conduct cere-
hair dressed in knots on the top or at the back of the head
monies within the larger community associated with birth.
distinguished populations of the urbanized south from the
shaved heads or plaited tresses of northern nomads. Letting
Shamanism. Cross-gender dressing is also conspicuous
one’s hair hang free or go undressed was a sign of disengage-
among some Tunguz-speaking tribal culture groups of east-
ment from Chinese civilized society. For this reason the ton-
ern Siberia, where male shamans wear feminine garments. In
sure and queue that Manchu rulers enforced upon all popu-
North Asian cultures shamanic practitioners may be either
lations of the Chinese Empire during the seventeenth
male or female. Yet for both genders clothing is intended to
century through the early twentieth century was an over-
transform the wearer into an intermediary capable of bridg-
whelming symbol of political and cultural domination. Ton-
ing the gap between the physical world and the world of the
sure could also demonstrate commitment to Buddhist mo-
spirits. Masks and garments tend to be highly personal,
nastic practices. In other instances hair styles reflect folk
crafted by the shaman after a vision or intervention of the
beliefs. Binding hair at the “four corners” of the head into
spirit world. In eastern Siberia they often take the form of
tufts was thought to ward off the danger of Chinese children
a bird, bear, or stag. The cut of these garments, whether of
falling into the hands of demons, as the tufts provided a con-
animal skin or cloth, is significantly different from normal
venient grip for Buddhist deities or good spirits to retrieve
clothing, in part demonstrating the otherworldliness of sha-
the child.
manic practice. For example, coats may incorporate con-
struction features, such as fringes or gussets, to simulate the
In western Asia, shaving the head or letting certain parts
animal they represent. Symbols for the sun, moon, and earth
of the hair grow helped distinguish Muslim and Jewish pop-
may be painted, appliquéd, or made of iron and attached to
ulations.
the upper body garment. Other decorative devices may evoke
Gender. In many Eastern religions, clothing addresses
the sky gate, the goal of the spirit journey of the shaman. In
issues of gender. For Buddhist and Muslim societies, cloth-
addition, snakes, birds, horses, and other auspicious beasts
ing de-emphasizes or obscures feminine identity by altering
are often part of the decorative program. A second common
or completely negating notions of beauty or sexuality. In
shaman garment type is decorated with bonelike forms that
most Muslim cultures some form of head covering or veil is
create an X-ray impression of the wearer’s body.
prescribed for women. In Pakistan, for example, a large scarf
Dance and performance. Among the dance costumes
or shawl called a dupatta is worn over the head to cover the
worn at Chinese folk festivals one can also find garments
hair and affords proper modesty. In contrast, the Afghan veil,
marked with bone diagrams and garments that imitate the
called a burka, is an all-enveloping garment that a woman
animal protectors of shamanist power. The Cham dances of
is required to wear in public, reducing all women to an anon-
Tibet arose in pre-Buddhist times and were later incorporat-
ymous, generic, nonmale presence.
ed into Tibetan Buddhist ritual. They employ forms of ec-
Cross-gender. Within Buddhist practice, nuns and
static dancing that evoke shamanistic practice. Cham cos-
members of female lay groups undergo tonsure and wear
tumes include masks, headgear, and garments that evoke
plain garments based on those worn by male members of
birds, stags, horses, and other beasts familiar to the Siberian
monastic orders. In appearance they become male, yet the
pantheon. The bone diagram garments were also used in Ti-
transformation also underscores their secondary place as
betan Buddhist ceremonial dancing. Although the surviving
women within the karmic cycle of rebirth through which
examples of these costumes are made of imported Chinese
sentient beings evolve from lower to higher forms on the
and Indian silks, the fluttering scarves and pendant sleeves
path to nirva¯n:a. The message of such cross-gender attire is
as well as other construction features differentiate these coats
conspicuously ambiguous, reflecting some of the larger cos-
from lay or clerical attire. Similar garments were in use
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1828
CLOTHING: CLOTHING AND RELIGION IN THE EAST
among Mongol populations that converted to Tibetan Bud-
and control are similar. The value system ascribed to secular
dhism in the fourteenth century.
power—luxury, magnificence, and conspicous consump-
tion—are co-opted to serve the divine.
In contrast, in the secular Hindu world throughout
South Asia, dance dramas are the focus of public ceremonies
Shinto¯. Vestments worn by Shinto¯ clergy—white ki-
and celebrations associated with religious events, although
mono and white or red trousers (hakama) as well as the outer
the dramas themselves are not forms of worship. The colorful
coats (kariginu) and black lacquered silk hats—are based on
costumes, headdresses, and masks used in these performances
tenth-century Japanese court attire. While color signifies pu-
constitute highly specialized costumes that suggest links be-
rity, the style of these garments and their political identifica-
tween religion and political culture. Many are consciously ar-
tion coincide with the period of centralization of priestly
chaic, evoking the mythic times, which are often the settings
power in the hands of clan heads and the more structured
for these dramas. Similarly the garments and accessories
form of worship that evolved in reaction to Buddhism and
worn by court dancers in Thailand and Indonesia evoke the
Confucianism from China. Shinto¯ worship began to incor-
bejeweled costumes seen on representations of Buddhist
porate public ceremonies in which priests and priestesses
deities.
conducted ritual observances. Other public gatherings were
RITUAL CLOTHING. In those communities where a clergy
marked by events such as kagura dances that utilized special-
acts as intermediary between the human and the divine there
ized costumes and masks.
are often prescribed public rituals or displays. Here special
Daoism. Although it was also transformed into a much
clothes are used to transform the priest into a ritual celebrant.
more sophisticated state religion as a result of the influence
Throughout Asia, clothing used within religious con-
of Buddhism, Daoism as practiced in late imperial China
texts is often among the most primitive garment types pre-
used vestments linked to Siberian shamanism. When offici-
served by a culture. At one extreme are the palm-fiber gar-
ating at public celebrations, the highest-ranking Daoist
ments worn by medicine men on the island of Buru in
priests wear a mantle called jiang-i (robe of descent), bearing
eastern Indonesia. The material is used as it comes from the
cosmological symbols similar to those found in Siberian con-
source without further processing. The capes and mantles of
texts.
green leaves, or their embroidered imitations worn by images
This Daoist vestment is a full-length garment formed
of some of the Daoist immortals, reflect similar primitivism.
of two lengths of cloth seamed up the back and the sides and
Although made of luxury silk and greatly embellished, the
left open at the front. The back of the garment is decorated
highest-ranking Daoist priests’ robes described below are
with astral symbols, ranked by registers from top to bottom
among the most basic East Asian garment constructions.
and from center to edge. Symbols for the principle lumina-
From the point of view of structure, these garments that are
ries are arranged across the top of the garment. At the right
simply made of two lengths of fabric folded over the shoul-
shoulder the sun is represented by a red disk with a three-
der, seamed up the back and at the sides leaving space for
legged cock symbol; the moon at the left shoulder is depicted
the wearer’s hands, contrast sharply with the more complex
as a white disk in which a rabbit pounds the elixir of immor-
constructions having sleeves that are worn by second-ranking
tality; and a constellation, conventionally depicted as three
priests.
balls joined by lines, is placed between. Explanation for these
At another level this conservativism is reflected in the
astral symbols can be documented to the first century BCE.
preservation of ancient textile forms within religious con-
Through these symbols, daily, monthly, and annual time
texts. The tendency is particularly marked in Southeast Asia.
could be calculated, and a calendar—one of the prime re-
Among the Batak tribes in Sumatra the most prestigious fab-
quirements for agrarian societies—could be fixed.
rics are those called ragidup. These large rectangular cloths
The decoration of the rest of the garment conveys no-
are composed of three loom lengths joined along their sel-
tions of an unseen heaven. Prominent in this celestial dia-
vages. Often the center panel is wider and is made of lighter-
gram is a central image of paradise, often depicted as a mul-
colored fiber. The cloth is produced on a simple loom, de-
tistoried tower within an ovoid frame of circular disks
spite the presence of more sophisticated weaving equipment
representing stars. This refers to the Three Isles of the Im-
within the culture. These cloths are used in ritual gift giving
mortals located in the Eastern Sea. Five abstract forms ar-
and within religious ceremonies. A similar three-panel cloth
ranged in a semicircle beneath the tower represent the five
with a light-colored central panel called a khamar is preserved
mythical peaks of the world. They guard the five principal
in Bhutan. It is used by Tibetan Buddhists as a mark of es-
directions: East, South, West, North, and Center. Below
teem. It parallels the use of the chaksay pankhep reserved for
these, four mountain or pavilion structures symbolize the
royalty that is placed over the lap when the owner sits in au-
physical directions of the earth gates. Such association with
dience and that is used as a napkin for wiping the hands.
paradise is often enhanced by figural imagery depicting vari-
VESTMENTS. When a priesthood interacts with the larger so-
ous deities within complex pantheons. The hem may display
ciety, its authority is often tied to issues of status and rank.
the universal ocean with dragons, horses, tortoises, serpents,
As is often the case, when clerical authority is set up in oppo-
and other mythical beasts. The front of the coat is generally
sition to political culture, the attributes of patriarchal power
plain except for a dragon symbolizing the East and a tiger
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CLOTHING: CLOTHING AND RELIGION IN THE EAST
1829
symbolizing the West. These figures flank the front opening
sanghati was a large mantle used for travel composed of nine
and act as protective devices. Unlike shamanic garments,
panels; two more panels were added for each advance in
which assist the spirit journey of the individual, Daoist vest-
grade, reserving the twenty-five-panel kasaya for the highest-
ments function symbolically, transforming the wearer into
ranking clergy.
an animator of political and religious systems that promoted
In Central Asia, China, and Japan the patchwork man-
control and stability.
tle acquired a significant secondary feature. Additional
Buddhism. Buddhism appropriated existing secular
patches at the corners and along the longer side worn closest
costume. Like Hinduism, from which it developed, it was
to the head added symbolic protection. The corner patches,
initially a religion isolated from the population at large. Bud-
usually in contrasting fabric, were associated with the deva
dhist devotees lived within monastic communities and
kings who serve as guardians of the Buddhist law at each of
adopted clothing that stressed the rejection of worldly soci-
the cardinal points of the compass. The large patches on the
ety. Over time the three-part costume based on the common
long side, a characteristic of the uttarasanga type, in China
attire of the Indian subcontinent became ritual attire. The
and Japan are named after the bodhisattvas Samantabhadra
lower body was covered with a sarong (antaravasaka). A
and Mañju´sr¯ı, the principal attendants of S´a¯kyamuni, the
shawl (uttarasanga), utilizing a length of loom-woven fabric,
historical Buddha. These garments, often made of sumptu-
was draped in various manners around the upper body. A
ous secular silks donated to temples by pious devotees, creat-
third garment called sanghati, literally “a twelve-fold cloth,”
ed colorful focus for public ceremonies and demonstrated
was worn over the left shoulder.
the power and authority of the Buddhist church. The mag-
nificence of the fabrics used for making these vestments are
The shawl became the most significant garment for
seemingly in conflict with the principles of renunciation and
Buddhism. It evolved into a rectangle constructed of smaller
poverty. However, through the destruction of secular goods
pieces, thus symbolizing the tattered and patched garments
by cutting them into pieces and reconstructing them as vest-
of the mendicant Buddha. The patchwork mantle, also called
ments, the goods metaphorically shed their worldly asso-
kasaya, was formalized to differentiate and identify its wearer
ciations.
as a member of a religious community and became the sub-
ject of monastic regulation.
PRIVATE WORSHIP. Eastern religious traditions include sects
that place a major emphasis on communal ritual and those
Originally the name kasaya referred to a color distinc-
for which religious practice is of a more private, individual
tion, which set the “impure” colored mantles of monks apart
nature. This division affects the manner in which clothing
from the normal bleached white clothing of Indian laity. In
promotes notions of religious belief. Where religious practice
time the “impure” colored clothing of monks of the
is largely self-determined and reclusive, a clergy, if it exists,
H¯ınaya¯na sect was enhanced by yellow dye, which still dis-
is less involved with public demonstration; hence clothing
tinguishes the clothing of the Buddhist monks of Sri Lanka
plays a less conspicuous role, and the notion of vestment is
and Southeast Asia.
largely absent.
The specialized patchwork form of the garment spread
Islam. Islam has produced no vestments. The central re-
north and east across Asia, accompanying proselytizing Bud-
ligious leaders, whether mullahs, mujtahids, or ayatollahs, are
dhist missionaries. As the faith moved north and east, public
in effect jurists who interpret Islamic law and serve as teach-
worship evolved. In the less temperate regions of Central
ers. Clothing types used by these groups, regardless of ethnic
Asia, China, Korea, and eventually Japan, the simple three-
origin, reflect the basic attire of the Arab founders of the
part Buddhist costume was abandoned. The mantle was re-
faith: a cotton or wool caftan, a wool mantle ( Daba E), and a
tained as symbolic apparel and worn over the normal dress
cotton turban. Worship is an obligation of the faith, and
typical of each region. The monastic clothing used in Tibet
when possible worship is practiced communally, but the
among Buddhist communities is a notable exception. There
prayer leader or ima¯m does not function as intermediary be-
the sarong and mantle made of red-dyed wool was used. In
tween God and man. His clothing remains undifferentiated
all the Maha¯ya¯na sects in East Asia a hood offered the ton-
from that of the congregation. Individuals are expected to
sured heads of monks protection and conveyed public status.
practice their religion while remaining active participants of
In Tibet the color of the hood distinguished the sect within
society. Those who have made the pilgrimage to Mecca are
the larger Buddhist community.
entitled to wear special clothing, although it plays no liturgi-
cal role.
In East Asia, monastic costume continued to be regulat-
ed by prescription according to function and rank of the
Hinduism. Within the Hindu tradition of India, public
wearer. Most regulations focused on the mantle. In Japan,
worship, although extremely complex, also occurs without
for example, the meanings of the original names of Buddhist
the intervention of priests. Hinduism is without founder or
garments were appropriated to describe variations of the
prophets. It has no ecclesiastical or institutional structures.
pieced mantle. The antaravasaka became a five-paneled
As a result there are virtually no specialized Hindu religious
working outer mantle; the uttarasanga (the original shawl)
garments. Traditionally, the Brahman class was the source
defined a seven-paneled mantle worn at assembly. The
of the priesthood, but individual adherents practiced priestly
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1830
CLOTHING: CLOTHING AND RELIGION IN THE EAST
vocation outside society based largely on the study of scrip-
ably from culture to culture. In those religions with extensive
tural sources. For them, ritual was largely private, such as the
scriptures, such as Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, or Judaism,
placing of a sacred cord across the shoulder, both binding the
descriptions as well as specific proscriptions affect clothing
devotee to religion and cutting the individual off from soci-
choices. Issues of ritual and clothing are discussed in Cather-
ety. The central religious figure for Hinduism is the guru, or
ine M. Bell, Ritual: Perspectives and Dimensions (New York,
teacher, who follows a self-determined, often reclusive way
1997); and Linda B. Arthur, ed., Undressing Religion: Com-
mitment and Conversion from a Cross-Cultural Perspective
of life that aims at purification and extinction from the cycle
(Oxford and New York, 2000). Ruth Barnes and Joanne B.
of rebirth. Clothing worn by brahmans, minimal and plain,
Eicher, eds., Dress and Gender: Making and Meaning in Cul-
reflects this distancing.
tural Contexts (New York, 1992), discusses the ramifications
SECULAR ATTIRE. Until the late nineteenth and early twenti-
of gender when considering clothing and religion.
eth centuries the attire of political elites often retained ves-
One of the best discussions of dress in Islam is Fadwa El Guindi,
tiges of ritual obligations that had been associated with rulers
Veil: Modesty, Privacy, and Resistance (New York, 1999). A
of antiquity.
good source on shamanic practice is Mircea Eliade’s Shaman-
ism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy, rev. and enl. ed. (New
South Asia. Court attire within the Hindu-Muslim
York, 1964), which has exhaustive bibliographic references.
courts of Java utilized a set of restricted batiked patterns on
Particular references and illustrations of Mongolian sha-
the sarongs and shawls to distinguish royalty and the higher
manic and Lamaist dress are in Henny Harald Hansen’s
ranks of the aristocracy. Many of these designs symbolized
Mongol Costumes (Copenhagen, 1950). Additional informa-
cosmic principles and underscored the significance of court
tion on Tibetan Buddhist practice is in Newark Museum,
ceremony and its relationship to religious belief.
Catalogue of the Tibetan Collection and Other Lamaist Articles
in the Newark Museum, 5 vols. (Newark, N.J., 1950–1971).
China. The link between religion and politics is particu-
larly evident in the court attire of imperial China and in the
A comprehensive reference to East Asian religious practices in En-
Chinese-influenced court attire in Korea, Japan, Vietnam,
glish is J. J. M. de Groot’s The Religious System of China: Its
and various Central Asian kingdoms. Motifs symbolizing
Ancient Forms, Evolution, History, and Present Aspect, Man-
ners, Customs, and Social Institutions Connected Therewith, 6
water, land, and sky were placed on these garments to repre-
vols. (Leiden, 1892–1910). This massive study remains one
sent the physical world over which the ruler held sway. In
of the best standard references to traditional religious prac-
addition, fabulous mythical beasts, of which the dragon was
tices in China. Data on Daoist practices are summarized in
the most common, represented the supernatural power and
Stephen Little with Shawn Eichman, Taoism and the Arts of
moral authority of imperial rule. The arrangement of these
China (Chicago, 2000). An interesting account of some Bud-
motifs conveyed a sense of universal order by reflecting no-
dhist practices is P. Steven Sangren, “Female Gender in Chi-
tions of geopolitical control with reference to the points of
nese Religious Symbols: Kuan Yin, Ma Tsu, and the ‘Eternal
the compass. Wearing the garment also demonstrated cosmic
Mother’,” Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society,
control and underscored the balance of forces in the universe.
vol. 9, no.1, pp. 4–25 (Chicago, 1983).
The wearer’s body symbolized the world axis, while the neck
Political and religious functions of Chinese court attire are dis-
of the garment symbolized the gate of heaven, separating the
cussed in Schuyler V. R. Cammann’s China’s Dragon Robes
physical world represented by the coat from the spiritual rep-
(New York, 1952), and in John E. Vollmer’s Ruling from the
resented by the wearer’s head. In effect, the garment was only
Dragon Throne: Costume of the Qing Dynasty, 1644–1911
animate when worn, making each courtier an active partici-
(Berkeley, Calif., 2002). A discussion of Japanese Shinto¯
practices and vestments is in International Congress for the
pant in imperial rule.
History of Religions Shinto¯ Committee, Basic Terms of Shin-
The emperor’s sacrificial obligations on behalf of the
to, rev. ed. (Tokyo, 1985).
state were confirmed through clothes decorated with a spe-
For discussions of South Asian garments and religions see Emma
cial set of twelve symbols. These included the sun, moon,
Tarlo, Clothing Matters: Dress and Identity in India (Chicago,
stars, earth, elements of the natural world, and symbols of
1996); and Serena Nanda, Neither Man nor Woman: The
political authority. Their use was reserved exclusively for the
Hijras of India (Belmont, Calif., 1998). Henk Schulte Nord-
emperor.
holt, Outward Appearances: Dressing, State, and Society in In-
donesia (Leiden, 1997), and Penny Van Esterik, Materializ-
These official garments had impacts throughout society.
ing Thailand (Oxford and New York, 2000) include
Chinese wedding attire in particular imitated court costume
discussions of religious clothing in Southeast Asia. Articles
and prerogatives. Other types of quasi-official attire were
by international scholars documenting clothing and textiles
used in conjunction with Buddhist and Daoist festivals and
throughout the Indonesian Archipelago, including descrip-
for the special garments made for religious images.
tions of religious usages, are in Mattibelle Gittinger, ed., In-
donesian Textiles: Irene Emery Roundtable on Museum Tex-
SEE ALSO Calendars; Hair; Masks; Textiles.
tiles, 1979 Proceedings (Washington, D.C., 1980). This
volume contains a bibliography and extensive citations to a
considerable literature in Dutch, German, French, and En-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
glish.
Data about clothing used as vestment or as religious dress within
Eastern traditions are scattered and diverse, varying consider-
JOHN E. VOLLMER (2005)
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CLOTHING: CLOTHING AND RELIGION IN THE WEST
1831
CLOTHING: CLOTHING AND RELIGION IN
in high-church status can be highly elaborate rather than
THE WEST
humble and can symbolize the priest’s divine character.
Christianity, Judaism, and Islam all have individual forms of
Dress of sanctity differentiates the wearer from the pro-
dress that visibly identify members of the religion and that
fane. This is usually accomplished by using different colors
help maintain the traditions, customs, and hierarchies of the
or forms that are different from the secular. One of the most
religion. Dress is defined, and will be discussed here in rela-
familiar dresses of sanctity is that of the worshiper or
tion to religious clothing, as an assemblage of modifications
“churchgoer.” In the United States, church dress is frequent-
or supplements to the body (Eicher and Roach-Higgins,
ly a person’s newest, and perhaps most elegant, but it other-
1992). This definition includes a long list of modifications
wise is like secular dress. Until the mid-1960s, women wore
to the body, including hair, body art (piercing and tattoo-
hats and gloves to church, but this tradition has vanished.
ing), scents, and plastic surgery. Jewelry, accessories, and
In the West, symbols of dress are consistently worn in the
other categories of items added to the body as supplements
Jewish synagogue. The yarmulke worn by most Jewish men
are also included as dress. When examining religious dress,
indicates their reverence to God. Muslim worshipers remove
the cultural, economic, historical, and political context must
shoes before entering a mosque so as to not soil the holy
be understood and analyzed to gain an appreciation of the
place. Consequently, slipper-type shoes are frequently worn
meaning of dress within each religion. Christianity, Judaism,
(Storm, 1987). The fez allows the men to cover their heads
and Islam have dominant ideologies that guide decisions
and touch their heads to the floor in prayer.
about dress. For example, beliefs about dress within Chris-
SACRED DRESS. There are many examples of articles of dress
tianity are influenced by the biblical account of Adam and
that are considered sacred by their wearers. For Orthodox
Eve in the Garden of Eden; therefore modesty is a goal, par-
Jews, the halakhah (traditional Jewish law) governs daily and
ticularly for women. This double standard may reflect the
ritual acts. It separates the sacred from the profane. In terms
patriarchal nature of the European cultures in which Chris-
of halakhic law, the Bible contains a prohibition on cross-sex
tianity evolved (Renbourn, 1972). A woman’s head or hair
dressing and forbids the mixing of flax and wool (sha Datnez)
was thought to be provocative, and by the third century CE
in the construction of fabrics for clothing (Baizerman, 1992).
the church required women to cover their heads when at-
There are specifications about tying tzitzit (corner tassels) on
tending church (Storm, 1987).
the prayer shawl, or tallith. Women cover their hair and
Judaism is based on the philosophy that individuals
heads based on custom. To some this is an expression of
exist to glorify God; to be appropriately well dressed is there-
modesty, while to others, “exposed hair equals nudity, and
fore a religious duty, not one of personal preference. Ancient
seeing it would therefore be sexually provocative to men”
Jews divided the “pure” upper body from the “impure” lower
(Schneider, 1984, p. 236).
body by wearing a girdle (Storm, 1987). Islamic philosophy
Within the Roman Catholic Church, vestments of both
emphasizes the group over the individual and promotes the
priests and nuns are considered sacred. For example, the cha-
separation of the sexes. Women’s bodies should be covered
suble is the chief garment of a priest celebrating Mass. It is
and their movements within society restricted in the public
worn outside the other vestments. In the West all who cele-
sphere. The Islamic fundamentalist movement reflects a con-
brate Mass wear the same chasuble. In France, Ireland, the
cern over the westernization of dress and promotes a return
United States, and frequently England, a cross is marked on
to traditional dress and behavior.
the back. Protestant clergy dress more to emphasize their role
as pastor (meaning shepherd) or minister (one who serves),
In Dress, Drinks, and Drums (1931), Ernest Crawley
so their clothing tends to be similar to that of the congrega-
provides a historical perspective by segregating clothing into
tion. However, among some denominations, such as Luther-
two categories: sacred and profane. Profane dress is that
ans or Presbyterians, the dress of the clergy may be more for-
which is not related to religion or religious matters, while sa-
mal, including a surplice and cassock.
cred dress involves religion. Crawley identified four kinds of
D
sacred dress: sanctified, priestly, godly, and sacrificial. In
RESS, HIERARCHY, AND GROUP MEMBERSHIP. Dress is an
important way of marking the hierarchy and group member-
terms of Western religions, sacrificial and godly dress is non-
ship within religious organizations. The history of the Cath-
existent. Priestly dress includes that of Roman Catholic
olic priesthood shows that religious garb was in opposition
priests or monks whose dress indicates the diminished im-
to the lay dress. With the vestment the priest establishes a
portance of “maleness” and shows their rejection of worldly
persona of divinity. “The changing of vestments has a power-
desires and goods. For example, most priests wear no facial
ful psychical appeal. The dress is a material link between his
hair, which symbolizes their voluntary departure from sexual
person and the supernatural; it absorbs, as it were, the rays
relationships (Storm, 1987). The shaven head of a Roman
of Deity, and thus at the same time inspires the human wear-
Catholic nun prior to the dress reforms of Vatican II in 1962
er” (Crawley, 1931, p. 164).
(and of some nuns who are members of cloistered orders)
demonstrates her turning away from worldly pleasures for a
Clothing of contemporary Hasidic Jews is considered
life of celibacy and spiritual pursuit. Dress can also reflect a
identical to the traditional Jewish garments that were once
priest’s or a nun’s life of poverty. Ironically, some vestments
the apparel of all Jews. The type of Hasidic clothing and the
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1832
CLOTHING: CLOTHING AND RELIGION IN THE WEST
way of looking Hasidic varies from class to class—that is, the
fashionable. Since the 1980s these women have successfully
extent of affiliation within Hasidism determines the particu-
entered the more competitive business world and have
lar type of garments worn, and these garments serve as an
learned how to dress fashionably to both fit in and move
identifier of social rank (Poll, 1962). Garments vary from
ahead. This trend encompasses a broad swath of society and
zehr Hasidish (extremely Hasidic) to modernish (modern).
is having an increasingly influential impact on consumer
When a person wears clothing symbolizing a higher status,
America, including the market for more modest fashions in
the frequency and intensity of his or her religious behavior
retail settings.
should be consistent with the type of garment he or she
R
wears. Wearing a garment symbolizing a higher status creates
ELIGIOUS DRESS, SOCIAL CONTROL, AND MORALITY. Re-
ligious dress can provide social control and is an important
a chain reaction of more and more intensified religious ob-
method to structure behavior, particularly as it relates to mo-
servance. Items of dress include shich and zocken (slipper-like
rality. Christianity has historically handed down a code of
shoes and white kneesocks), shtreimel and bekecher (fur hat
morals, including strict rules about clothing. Early Christian
and long silk coat), kapote (overcoat), biber hat (large
teachings stress the link between the outward appearance of
brimmed hat), and bord and payes (beard and side locks)
the body and the state of the person’s soul (Ribeiro, 1986).
(Carrel, 1999, p. 164).
An important example of this is the process of becoming a
Jewish women who strictly observe halakhah (Jewish
nun, in which dress symbolizes the transition from secular
law) frequently wear wigs to cover their hair, which, accord-
life to spiritual. This involves relinquishing the individuality
ing to the Talmud, exudes sensual energy. However, there
of dress choice by deferring to the uniform appearance of the
is nothing to say that these wigs cannot be stylish. In New
habit. At each stage before taking final vows, women are en-
York the most fashionable hairdressers create wigs for Ortho-
couraged to give up their prior self-images, accompanied by
dox women. They work to make them modest, not matron-
a commitment to learn to conform to the demands of the
ly, and definitely not “wiggy,” the word Orthodox women
new religious life. Postulancy is the first stage, where they re-
use to describe the heavy appearance of wigs (Hayt, 1997).
ceive black uniforms and give up personal possessions. The
Covering real hair with a wig (whether the wig is made of
postulant’s uniform varies slightly from order to order but
the woman’s own hair or not) is perfectly modest to these
mainly consists of a short white veil, blouse, and black skirt.
Jewish women who follow the laws of the Torah. As fre-
Upon successful completion of this initial period, the
quently happens in cultures throughout the world, what
postulant proceeds to become a novitiate, a year spent isolat-
might seem an illogical contradiction to outsiders is com-
ed from everyone except other novices. In a ceremonial rite
pletely sensible to an insider of the religious group.
of passage, a novice receives the habit, a religious name, and
DRESS AND RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS. Religious dress can be
a new identity as a “bride of Christ.” As stated in the Cere-
separated from secular dress by using different colors or
monial for the Reception of Novices of the Sisters of Provi-
forms. Dress is frequently associated with the Christian sac-
dence, each component of the habit is symbolically linked
raments of baptism, communion, marriage, and ordination,
to the vows. The habit symbolizes an enduring state of hu-
which symbolize the individual’s religious development. For
mility; the cincture is a sign of chastity and temperance; the
a first communion, for example, girls frequently wear an or-
tunic is a sign of gravity and modesty; and the white veil is
nate white dress with a white veil or hair covering, and boys
a sign of innocence. During the final period the woman takes
wear a blue or white suit. Dress for marriage is designed to
vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience and retains limited
symbolize the virtue of the two individuals being “eternally”
access to the outside world. Heads are shaved prior to mak-
united (Storm, 1987).
ing final vows as a symbolic gesture related to the vow of
chastity. In the 1960s and 1970s many nuns in noncloistered
Dress acts as a visible symbol for the precepts of Protes-
orders relinquished habits for secular dress as part of larger
tant fundamentalism, including the facts that religious prin-
reforms dictated by Vatican II in 1962. Women religious in
ciples govern all aspects of their lives (including dress) and
non-cloistered orders and their transition to secular clothing
that women’s roles are frequently more “traditional,” with
provide a model for understanding how religious dress can
individual needs and beliefs relinquished to the greater good
identify social role as well as personal identity (Michelman,
of the family and religious group. In 1986, Concerned
1998).
Women of America, a group of female religious advocates
drawn from both the fundamentalist and the evangelical
Traditional practices for Muslim men making the pil-
movements, wrote of the “supernaturalism” inherent in a
grimage to Mecca call for the wearing of no other garment
woman’s beauty and its potential for good or evil in the
other than the ih:ra¯m, which consists of two seamless wrap-
workplace (Edwards, 1993). However, since the 1980s fun-
pers, one passed around the legs, the other over the shoulder,
damentalist Protestant women have had to adapt to the new
with the head left uncovered. The ceremony of putting them
economic realities of entering corporate America. For exam-
on at a pilgrims’ station is al-ih:ra¯m, “the making unlawful”
ple, at Bob Jones University, a conservative Protestant col-
(of ordinary clothing, behavior, and occupations). The cere-
lege in South Carolina, classes begin with prayer, but young
mony of taking them off is al-ihlal, “the making lawful.” The
women are also taught to be Christian, competitive, and
pilgrim shaves his head when the pilgrimage is over. The
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CLOTHING: CLOTHING AND RELIGION IN THE WEST
1833
ih:ra¯m is the shroud prepared in the event of the pilgrim’s
DRESS, SOCIAL CHANGE, AND CLASS DIFFERENCE. Al-
death. More likely it is preserved and used as a shroud when
though changes in religious dress occur with much less fre-
he dies (Crawley, 1931).
quency than changes in the dress of the general population,
forces of social, economic, and political change do influence
Some fundamental religious groups believe that female
sacred dress. For example, in Iran some Islamic women wear
sexuality is dangerous if left uncontrolled. This belief leads
Chanel-style suits (secular dress) under a chador (sacred
to the religious practice of prescribing modest and proper
dress) (Sciolino, 1997). These women are described as the
dress for female members. Modesty is generally understood
cultural elite, women who have both a Western education
to be the covering of certain parts of the body that, according
and growing political influence in their country. Education
to the belief system of individuals, have a sexual connotation
and wealth provide social agency to individuals, so limits on
if exposed in public. J. C. Flugel, in The Psychology of Clothes
movement and role-taking in society may seem more prob-
(1930), suggests that dress serves three main purposes—
lematic to women in the cultural elite than to poorer women
decoration, modesty, and protection. James Laver (1969)
who lack access to political and social power.
contends that until the late twentieth century it was almost
universally agreed that the fundamental reason for wearing
Religions have used sumptuary laws to regulate the con-
clothing was modesty. The Book of Genesis in the Bible re-
duct of members as well as to designate social class. Sumptu-
counts that Adam and Eve, having eaten of the fruit of the
ary laws include regulations restricting extravagance in food,
Tree of Knowledge, “knew that they were naked” and made
drink, and dress, usually on religious or moral grounds. Mus-
themselves “aprons” of fig leaves.
lim sumptuary rules followed those of Jewish tradition and
proscribed against tattooing, nudity, and the potential idola-
Modesty is culturally relative. Research on dress of the
try of representing the human form in pictures. Dress dictat-
Kalabari people of Nigeria in West Africa shows that dress
ed by religion means the individual does not make compli-
for women became much more modest after Christian mis-
cated decisions over current fashion and can devote time to
sionaries from Europe introduced the concept of sin and
his or her social identity, in particular his or her religious life.
shame associated with the nude body (Michelman and
Christianity, Islam, and Judaism use dress to perpetuate
Erekosima, 1992). Previously, young girls had exposed
their beliefs and organizations by maintaining their tradi-
and drawn attention to their developing breasts and buttocks
tions and customs. Dress can be considered sacred by the re-
as part of the cultural norms of dress. Although now done
ligion’s members and is separated from the profane or secu-
only for ceremonial reenactment, this was a stage of dress
lar. Hierarchy and group membership can be expressed
that exhibited a girl’s ability to move to a higher social status
within religious organizations through dress. Religious tradi-
through the process of physical maturation and her potential
tions, morality, and modesty are frequently prescribed
for bearing children. This example demonstrates that, at least
through dress. “While dress is commonplace, it is not
from an anthropological perspective, exposure of body parts
ephemeral, vacuous or meaningless. We wear our identities
is not inherently shameful.
on our bodies and our bodies are used by religions to visually
communicate world views” (Arthur, 1999, p. 6).
Modesty is also frequently related to the religious beliefs
of a group of people and is associated with holiness. For ex-
SEE ALSO Textiles.
ample, many Muslim women cover their heads, necks, arms,
legs, and even faces in public, believing that it is proper for
BIBLIOGRAPHY
a woman to show these “sexual” parts of her body only with-
Arthur, Linda B. “Dress and Social Control of the Body.” In Reli-
in the confines of her home. Worldwide attention was fo-
gion, Dress, and the Body. New York, 1999, pp. 1–7.
cused on the proscribed attire for men and women under the
Baizerman, Suzanne. “The Jewish Kippa Sruga and the Social
rule of the Taliban in Afghanistan. Since the downfall of the
Construction of Gender in Israel.” In Dress and Gender:
Taliban, these restrictions have lessened. Much of the public-
Making and Meaning in Cultural Contexts, pp. 92–105, ed-
ity, particularly regarding Afghani women, who were re-
ited by Ruth Barnes and Joanne B. Eicher. New York, 1992.
quired to wear a complete covering of the body in public,
Crawley, Ernest. Dress, Drinks, and Drums: Further Studies of Sav-
have raised concerns among non-Muslims of oppression of
ages and Sex. London, 1931.
women, particularly as it regards the political control of their
Edwards, Lynda. “Worldly Lessons.” New York Times, May 30,
bodies.
1993, pp. C1, C9.
Eicher, Joanne B., and Mary Ellen Roach-Higgins. “Definition
Mennonites have many religious proscriptions about
and Classification of Dress.” In Dress and Gender: Making
women’s dress that relate to their belief that clothing is “a
and Meaning in Cultural Contexts, edited by Ruth Barnes and
mirror of the soul,” reflecting their inner attitudes and val-
Joanne B. Eicher, pp. 8–28. New York, 1992.
ues. In contrast, there is much immodesty in American mov-
Flugel, John Carl. The Psychology of Clothes. London, 1930.
ies, television, and music. In the United States there is an in-
Hayt, Elizabeth. “For Stylish Orthodox Women, Wigs That
creasing “backlash” to immodesty, particularly among the
Aren’t Wiggy.” New York Times, April 27, 1997, pp. 43, 48.
more fundamental religious groups that are developing a
Laver, James. Modesty in Dress: An Inquiry into the Fundamentals
wider influence on the broader American culture.
of Fashion. Boston, 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
1834
CLOTHING: DRESS AND RELIGION IN AMERICA’S SECTARIAN COMMUNITIES
Michelman, Susan O. “Breaking Habits: Fashion and Identity of
through dress because self-presentation and self-promotion
Women Religious.” Fashion Theory 2, no. 2 (1998): 165–
are used by people to visually present identity that is congru-
192.
ent with their belief systems. Members of religious groups
Michelman, Susan O., and Tonye Victor Erekosima. “Kalabari
actively construct their own lives and use dress symbolically
Dress in Nigeria: Visual Analysis and Gender Implications.”
to express religious beliefs, adaptation to social change, and
In Dress and Gender: Making and Meaning in Cultural Con-
the conformity to social norms and religious authority.
texts, edited by Ruth Barnes and Joanne B. Eicher,
pp. 164–182. New York, 1992.
Many of America’s sectarian religious groups fit into the
sociological notion of high-context cultures; in such commu-
Poll, Solomon. The Hasidic Community of Williamsburg. New
nities, social cues are clearly embedded in expectations hav-
York, 1962.
ing to do with members’ daily lives. In high-context cultures,
Renbourn, E. T. Materials and Clothing in Health and Disease.
visible symbols provide for a rich coding system that is readi-
London, 1972.
ly understood by the culture’s members. Dress is the most
Ribeiro, Aileen. Dress and Morality. London, 1986.
visible symbol for America’s sectarian societies—they have
Schneider, Susan Weidman. Jewish and Female: Choices and
developed cultural norms with regard to defining what forms
Changes in Our Lives Today. New York, 1984.
of dress are considered acceptable to their specific groups.
Dress codes, both formal and informal, exist as a means of
Sciolino, Elaine. “The Chanel under the Chador.” New York
Times Magazine, May 4, 1997, pp. 46–51.
showing identity. In the case of the most stringently enforced
dress codes found in America’s ethno-religious groups, an in-
Storm, Penny. Functions of Dress: Tool of Culture and the Individu-
dividual’s own personal identity is subsumed by group
al. Englewood Cliffs, N.J., 1987.
identity.
SUSAN O. MICHELMAN (2005)
RELIGIOUS IDEOLOGIES. Fundamentally, dress codes are less
about clothing than about the control of the body by the
more powerful members of a group who enforce ideologies
pertinent to that religious culture. America’s ethno-religious
CLOTHING: DRESS AND RELIGION IN
AMERICA’S SECTARIAN COMMUNITIES
groups are based on patriarchy that is divinely ordered. They
subscribe to the notion that God ordained male power.
America is home to numerous sectarian religious groups,
Where religious dress codes exist, they express group identity
most of whom immigrated to the United States from their
and simultaneously function as a means of reinforcing male
original homes in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. They
patriarchal control within the group. Dress codes are related
are sects, rather than organized religions, as their beliefs focus
to gendered power; in essence, dress codes within most of
on separation from the dominant religions, power systems,
America’s ethno-religious groups are a reflection of male
and culture at large. In spite of their relocation to the United
control over women’s bodies.
States, many of these groups intentionally avoid assimilation
into the larger American culture. Whereas they may be phys-
To examine how dress can be expressive of religious ide-
ically located in the United States, they symbolically indicate
ologies, it is helpful to understand how each of America’s
their uniqueness. Sectarian religious groups use cultural
major religions perceives the role of dress as a means of iden-
boundary markers such as dress, language, and other customs
tity expression. These values are based on long-standing be-
that focus on maintaining their ethnic and religious heritage;
liefs found in each group’s history. Judaism is based on the
hence they are often referred to as “ethno-religious” groups.
concept that people exist to glorify God, and to be appropri-
ately dressed, then, is a religious duty. Similarly for Chris-
Dress is one of the most interesting cultural boundary
tianity, modesty with regard to body exposure is an impor-
markers because it is a visual manifestation of cultural identi-
tant value that is a key indicator of religious conservatism.
ty. As a window into the social world, dress is bound by a
For fundamentalist Christians, such as the Anabaptist groups
tacit set of rules, customs, conventions, and rituals that guide
(Amish, Mennonites, and Hutterites) whose religious pre-
face-to-face interaction. To many of America’s sectarian reli-
cepts include the requirement that they be uniquely separate
gious groups, clothing is an important symbol of religious
from the larger society, dress is used to show that separation.
identification. However, for most of these groups the regula-
In these ethno-religious sectarian groups, dress is often
tion of personal appearance goes beyond clothing. The term
hyper-conservative or may even be a form of fossilized fash-
dress, as it is used here, includes clothing, grooming, and all
ion, where the garments look much like those worn by their
forms of body adornment. Dress also includes behaviors re-
ancestors hundreds of years ago.
lated to the control of the body, such as dieting, plastic sur-
gery, and cosmetics. Holistically, then, dress functions as an
Islamic ideology focuses on male power and requires
effective means of nonverbal communication. Ideas, con-
separation of the sexes in public and private spheres. Among
cepts, and categories fundamental to a group, such as age,
American sectarian religious groups, codes of modesty go be-
gender, ethnicity, and religion, help define a person’s identi-
yond the covering of women’s bodies to include restriction
ty that is then expressed outwardly through a person’s ap-
of women’s behavior. America is home to a disparate group
pearance. Both individual and group identity are projected
of people who fled their original countries seeking more free-
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CLOTHING: DRESS AND RELIGION IN AMERICA’S SECTARIAN COMMUNITIES
1835
dom and issues of dress codes in the home country have often
DRESS AND SOCIAL CONTROL. With many of America’s sec-
been cited as unduly restrictive. For example, when in public,
tarian societies, dress is an immediate and visible indicator
Saudi Arabian women cover everything but the eyes with
of how a person fits into his or her religious sect. As a marker
cloaks (abbaya) and veils, referred to as “life’s uniform.”
of identity, dress may be used to gauge the person’s commit-
Throughout the larger cities in Iran, posters announce the
ment to the group and to the religious value system. In many
specifics of the dress code requiring Iranian women to dress
of the most conservative groups, suppression of individuality
similarly to Saudi women. Iranian women are required to
is expected in order to show obedience to the rules of the reli-
wear chadors that cover all but their faces. In Afghanistan
gious organization. Ethno-religious groups frequently use
under Taliban control, women were killed if they did not
clothing to simultaneously express ethnicity, gender norms,
wear the all-enveloping burka or chadaree. Muslim women
and level of religious involvement (religiosity). Through con-
who have immigrated to the United States continue to wear
formance to a strict religious value system, the most conser-
clothing that meets standards of modesty acceptable to the
vative of the American sectarian groups exert control over
woman, her family, and her religious community. It is much
their members’ spirituality and simultaneously control their
more rare to see Muslim women in America who are com-
bodies. Since strict conformity is often equated with religios-
pletely veiled; whereas loose, modest clothing and head veils
ity, compliance to strict codes of behavior is demanded. The
are common in the United States, face veils are not.
internal body is subject to control by the religious culture,
MODESTY AND FEMALE SEXUALITY IN DRESS. Among all of
especially with regard to food and sex. The external body,
the major ethno-religious groups in America, modesty in
however, is much more visibly restrained. Strict dress codes
women’s dress is associated with gender norms; this is a
are enforced because dress is considered symbolic of religiosi-
major issue to sectarian societies. Gender issues are para-
ty. Clothing becomes a symbol of social control as it controls
mount in the dress codes of conservative religious groups, be-
the external body. Whereas a person’s level of religiosity can-
cause the control of female sexuality is often of great impor-
not be objectively perceived, symbols such as clothing are
tance in patriarchal societies. The dress codes generally relate
used as evidence that the member of the religious group is
to modesty and require clothing to cover the contours of the
on the “right and true path.”
female body.
Normative social control begins with personal social
As used by religious groups, the issue of modesty goes
control through self-regulation, followed by informal social
beyond the covering of women’s bodies in order to disguise
control. The member wants to fit into the group and express-
female curves and secondary sexual characteristics; in the
es role commitment by following the social norms, visibly
conservative strains of all of the major religions, dress codes
expressed in the group’s dress code. When the individual be-
also deal with the care and covering of women’s hair, as it
gins to offend, for example, by wearing a garment that is too
is associated with women’s sexuality. Further complicating
revealing of body contours, peers may disapprove and use
matters, dress codes are conflated with gender and power is-
subtle methods of informal control to pressure the individual
sues in America’s ethno-religious groups. At the root of this
to conform to the group norms. Finally, the threat an offend-
issue is the control of female sexuality that is perceived to be
er introduces to the social order is managed through formal
necessary by some religious groups as a means to maintain
social control measures, such as disciplinary actions and ex-
social order.
pulsion administered by specialized agents, including minis-
An understanding of how dress works within religious
ters, rabbis, and other moral arbiters. Thus, norms are man-
groups calls attention to the complexity of meanings sur-
aged through social control to inhibit deviation and insure
rounding visible symbols such as dress and sheds light on the
conformity to social norms at even the most minute level.
ways bodies can communicate social and religious values.
Through symbolic devices, the physical body exhibits
The dress of America’s sectarian religious groups can be used
the normative values of the social body. Symbols such as
to facilitate social and ideological agendas. In these societies
dress help delineate the social unit and visually define its
clothing and personal adornment are used for establishing
boundaries because they give nonverbal information about
and maintaining personal and social identities, social hierar-
the individual. Unique dress attached to specific religious
chies, definitions of deviance, and patriarchal systems of
and cultural groups, then, can function to insulate group
power, which is evidenced in social control measures, and
members from outsiders while bonding the members to each
these are subtly expressed in dress codes. As a consequence,
other. Normative behavior within the culture reaffirms loyal-
dress within conservative religious groups is a symbol of the
ty to the group and can be evidenced by the wearing of a uni-
individual’s commitment to his or her ethno-religious soci-
form type of attire.
ety, while it also symbolizes the group’s control over its indi-
vidual member’s lives. For America’s fundamentalist Chris-
Within American culture there are specific ethno-
tian groups, and the Anabaptist groups in particular, dress
religious groups that intentionally separate themselves from
is important with regard to its role as a cultural boundary
the rest of society and attempt to reestablish the small, face-
marker that has an active role in maintaining the social con-
to-face community. Many originated in Europe and moved
trol system and in greatly retarding social change and accul-
to America when religious freedom was promised to immi-
turation.
grants. Shakers, Mennonites, Hutterites, and Amish are such
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1836
CLOTHING: DRESS AND RELIGION IN AMERICA’S SECTARIAN COMMUNITIES
groups. These groups are often perceived by the outside
of 1 Corinthians 11:2–6, their hair is not cut but is parted
world as quite unusual, but that derives more from their
and put in a bun; over that a white prayer covering is worn.
unique customs and behaviors than from their religious dif-
Differences between Amish communities are seen in the
ferences from mainstream Christianity. An essential factor in
pleating of the prayer covering. Pants, cosmetics, and jewelry
ethno-religious groups, social control is significant in terms
are not allowed.
of the survival prospects of the group. Among Orthodox
Amish men and boys are allowed to have buttons on
Jews in Williamsburg, New York, social control was achieved
their solid-colored shirts, but they often have hooks and eyes
in ways remarkably similar to those used by the Amish and
on outerwear such as jackets and vests. They wear dark-
conservative Mennonites. The most important features in-
colored suits, “plain coats” (straight-cut coats without lapels)
cluded isolation from the external society; emphasis on con-
and broad-fall trousers with suspenders, like those worn cen-
formity with status related to religiosity (symbolized by
turies ago. Hats are broad-brimmed. In winter, black felt hats
clothing status markers); a powerful clergy; and rigorous
are worn, in summer the hats are of straw. Their hair is worn
sanctions to insure conformity to norms.
in a bowl cut, and they are not allowed to wear mustaches.
Some of America’s sectarian ethno-religious groups use
Once married, men grow beards.
fossilized fashion to separate themselves from the outside
Mennonites. Only one-fourth of the Mennonite
world. Notable among these are the Shakers, Amish, Hasidic
groups dress plain in the twenty-first century. Like the Quak-
Jews, Hutterites, and several conservative Mennonite groups.
ers and many Brethren groups, many Mennonite groups
Fossilized fashion has been explained as a sudden “freezing”
began to eliminate clothing restrictions in the late nineteenth
of fashion, whereby a group continues to wear a style long
century as they began to assimilate into the larger American
after it has gone out of style for the general population. This
culture. Mennonite ministers had concerns with regard to as-
phenomenon has been explained as expressing dignity and
similation and the perception that it might draw Mennonites
high social status or the group’s religious, old-fashioned, sec-
away from their spiritual roots; as a result these concerns led
tarian identity. Within certain ethno-religious groups, fossil-
to a revival of plain dress between the 1920s and 1940s.
ized fashion is used in contemporary settings as a visual sym-
Nonetheless, by the 1980s most Mennonite groups had near-
bol of traditional gender roles for women; this generally
ly abandoned plain dress. Those wishing to maintain plain
occurs in societies that find change to be a threat.
dress standards frequently joined more conservative Menno-
SECTARIAN DRESS. Some of America’s sectarian groups are
nite groups. Plain dress is still used in the most conservative
referred to as “plain people” because they believe that sim-
Mennonite communities, such as among the Holdeman
plicity is a prerequisite for Christian living. Their religious
Mennonites (Church of God in Christ, Mennonite) and
mandate that they live separate from the world is visibly
among the Old Order Mennonites.
manifest in their use of “plain dress” that identifies them as
Modesty and gender segregation are the prevailing fea-
uniquely different from other Americans. In 1986 there were
tures for women’s dress in the plain Mennonite groups.
just under 800,000 people living in these sectarian societies.
Dress styles are regulated by tradition; they are quite similar
In spite of assimilation pressures, however, at that time over
to those worn by their forebears in the previous centuries.
half of these groups still dressed plain or semiplain.
Dresses are loose, high-necked, often long-sleeved, with
Among the best known of America’s plain people are
skirts worn at calf length or longer. The most conservative
the Amish, Hutterites, and Mennonites who are descended
Mennonite women also wear an apron and cape to disguise
from the Anabaptists, a radical group that originated during
the bust and abdomen. A head covering (black for Holde-
the Protestant Reformation in the 1500s. As the Anabaptists
man women, white for other Mennonites) is required to be
migrated from Europe to America in the eighteenth and
worn over uncut hair, which is pinned up in a bun. Fabric
nineteenth centuries, schisms occurred, and frequently the
for dresses may be of subtle prints or patterns. Slacks and
concept of how the group was to maintain its separation
shorts are not allowed. Similarly, jewelry, fancy buttons, and
from the larger American culture was at issue. Cultural
cosmetics are prohibited as worldly.
boundary markers that are visual, such as dress, figured into
In the plain Mennonite groups, dress is more restrictive
many of these schisms. Today there are a wide range of dress
for women than for men; it is the women’s responsibility to
standards in the approximately 3,000 communities of
maintain the tradition of plain dress. Mennonite men in the
Amish, Hutterites, and Mennonites in the United States; 65
plain groups are not as distinctly dressed. In some groups a
percent of these groups use plain dress.
plain suit is worn to church, and men are prohibited from
Amish. Among America’s sectarian societies is the Old
wearing ties and shaving beards, though some may trim their
Order Amish, whose dress is used to visually separate them
beards. Outside of church, plain Mennonite men often dress
from outsiders. Amish women and girls are known for wear-
much like non-Mennonite neighbor men, in denim pants
ing long, loose dresses made from solid-colored fabric that
and plaid shirts. In contrast, Hasidic Jewish men wear more
are pinned rather than buttoned. These dresses are covered
distinctive clothing than their wives.
with a cape over the bust and apron; in winter a shawl is
Hasidic Jews. Among the most visibly orthodox of the
worn for warmth. Following the perceived biblical mandate
Jewish groups, Hasidic Jews are easily distinguishable by
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CLOTILDA
1837
their dress: men with beards and long side curls typically
BIBLIOGRAPHY
wear broad-brimmed black hats, black suits, and even black
Arthur, Linda B. “Clothing Is a Window to the Soul: The Social
topcoats. Their dress is sometimes confused with that of
Control of Women in a Holdeman Mennonite Communi-
Amish men, as both groups wear fossilized fashion that origi-
ty.” Journal of Mennonite Studies 15 (1997): 11–29.
nated from the 1600s. Hasidic Jews wear the same clothes
Arthur, Linda B., ed. Religion, Dress, and the Body. Dress, Body,
as centuries ago in order to protect themselves against assimi-
Culture Series. Oxford, 1999.
lation and to reinforce their respect for the teachings of the
Arthur, Linda B., ed. Undressing Religion: Commitment and Con-
Torah.
version from a Cross-Cultural Perspective. Dress, Body, Cul-
A Hasidic man’s everyday wardrobe consists of a wool
ture Series. Oxford, 2000.
suit in a dark color with a long tailored jacket (bekeshe),
Damhorst, Mary Lynn, Kimberly A. Miller, and Susan O. Mi-
under which he wears a white shirt. He wears a felt hat most
chelman. The Meanings of Dress. New York, 1999.
days. On the Jewish Sabbath, dress is more formal. The
Gingerich, Melvin. Mennonite Attire through Four Centuries.
bekeshe is black satin or silk, and the hat (streimel) is a round
Breinigsville, Pa., 1970.
hat made of fur. Under the jacket he wears a rectangular
Goffman, Erving. The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. Garden
prayer shawl.
City, N.J., 1959.
Hasidic Jewish women take care to dress modestly but
Hostetler, John A. Amish Society. Baltimore, 1980.
have no prescribed garments. Skirts and sleeves are long, and
Poll, Solomon. The Hasidic Community of Williamsburg. New
they wear stockings. If they are married, their natural hair
York, 1962.
must be covered, even in the home. Hair is perceived as a
Scott, Stephen. Why Do They Dress That Way? Intercourse, Pa.,
sexual element appropriate only for the husband’s view. Prior
1986.
to immigration to the United States, Hasidic women covered
their hair with kerchiefs or wigs that were obviously artificial.
LINDA B. ARTHUR (2005)
However, the use of fine human hair has made the wigs often
look as good as or better than women’s own hair, and the
rabbis have started questioning whether these wigs now meet
CLOTILDA (c. 470–545), queen consort of Clovis, king
the religious requirements of modesty.
of the Franks. Her Christian faith of the Nicene, or catholic,
DRESS AND SOCIAL CHANGE. With changing social, politi-
tradition greatly influenced her husband and all of northern
cal, and economic environments, even the most sectarian re-
Gaul. Clotilda was born a Bergundian, in the Rhone valley
ligious group has to contend with the impact of social
in eastern France; her grandfather was Gundioc, king of the
change. Changes in dress often signal underlying changes in
Bergundians. Her father, Chilperic, a Christian, was one of
social roles as well as gender roles. Traditional gender roles
four heirs to the king. A violent dispute among the heirs led
can be marked by a particular form of dress where the roles
to Chilperic’s death and to Clotilda’s having to live with an
are stable for long periods of time; when dress changes sud-
uncle in Geneva. Commerce between the Bergundians in
denly in these groups, one can expect to find a change in gen-
Geneva and the Salians, a group of Franks living in Paris
der roles. A good example is that of the change in the dress
under King Clovis, led to Clotilda’s meeting Clovis and to
of Roman Catholic priests and nuns following the changes
their eventual marriage.
instituted by Vatican II in the 1960s. The changes were more
Clotilda was a Christian devoted to the orthodox faith,
pronounced for nuns, and as their roles within the church
as opposed to Arianism. Clovis disdained her faith until the
dramatically changed, so too did their dress. Additionally,
Alemanni, a formidable Germanic people, invaded northern
when roles are restrictive, one can expect to see a restriction
Gaul. He vowed that if he defeated the Alemanni he would
in women’s dress in the form of either dress codes or physi-
accept Clotilda’s Christ. His victory in 495 led to his bap-
cally restrictive clothing.
tism, along with that of three thousand of his warriors, on
In conclusion, dress in America’s sectarian societies can
Christmas Day of 496. The Franks were the first Germanic
be used visually to provide distinction between the sacred
tribes to convert to the orthodox faith; most of the tribes to
and the profane, especially in the symbolic separation of the
the south of them were Arians. With Clotilda’s help, Clovis
ethno-religious subculture from a dominant culture. As
expanded the area of his rule, defended the Catholic faith
ethno-religious groups encounter social change, dress often
against Arianism, and became an important link in the
symbolically becomes important as certain items of a reli-
spread of Christianity in northwestern Europe.
gious group’s clothing may be classified as sacred in contrast
to what is considered profane. Due to their symbolic mani-
After the death of her husband in 511, Clotilda’s four
festation of religious values, dress codes can be seen as sacred
sons engaged in a bitter feud that led to several deaths. Deep-
rules. Dress in these groups is used intentionally to visually
ly saddened, Clotilda retired to a convent in Tours, a town
separate these religious groups from the larger culture.
where the famous Martin had been bishop in the fourth cen-
tury. She maintained her keen interest in civic matters and
SEE ALSO Anabaptism; Christianity; Islam; Judaism; Protes-
became fabled for her piety and her practical deeds of gener-
tantism; Sexuality.
osity.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1838
CLOWNS
BIBLIOGRAPHY
such figures subsume holistically, albeit lumpishly, all of
The best biography, and one that is quite readable, is Godefroi
their contradictory sets of attributes.
Kurth’s Saint Clotilda, translated by V. M. Crawford (Lon-
don and New York, 1913).
These contradictions within the ritual clown rarely are
resolved. Instead, whichever attribute a clown presents in
H. MCKENNIE GOODPASTURE (1987)
performance, the projection of its contrary always is immi-
nent. Thus the opposing attributes within the figure contin-
uously oscillate among themselves. Given this attribute of in-
CLOWNS. The term clown is used here as a gloss for a
ternal oscillation, such clown figures can be said to subsume
cluster of figures that appear in the religious events of various
within themselves a notion of border or boundary that they
peoples and that have certain attributes in common. It is,
straddle and across which they move, back and forth, for as
therefore, a term of analysis employed in thinking about the
long as they remain true to type. The ritual clown is an emi-
place of such figures in religious performance. This usage is
nently paradoxical figure: It is neither wise nor foolish, yet
not intended to be homologous with the perceptions of any
it is both without being wholly one or the other. As a para-
given people, whose culture is likely to connote more par-
doxical being, the figure evokes inconsistencies of meaning
ticularistic significance to such characters and their cognates.
and referential ambiguities in ritual contexts that otherwise
Instead, it is suggested in this article that what ritual-clown
have an appearance of solidity and stability. The clown is a
figures have in common with one another is a certain logic
construct with a sense of incompleteness, yet whole (a lump),
of composition. Characters of such composition then have
that is in a condition of transformation (congelation) but
crucial functions for the rituals and dramas within which
that is somehow out of place in context (a clod).
they perform.
Externally, the ritual clown appears as an ill-formed
The etymology of the word clown in the English lan-
unity. Pueblo Indian clowns of the American Southwest are
guage suggests the logic of composition for such figures. Ac-
lumpish in form or painted in stripes of contrasting colors.
cording to the Oxford English Dictionary, the term appeared
Other clowns often are particolored or piecemeal beings that
in English usage in the second half of the sixteenth century:
hang together loosely. Internally, the ritual clown manifests
it originally meant “clod,” “clot,” or “lump.” Clod and clot
qualities of multiplicity and fluidity: it is fluctuating and un-
were long synonymous. Clod connotes the coagulation of liq-
stable. This interior organization can be summated as a con-
uids and a lumpish adhesion of materials. Clot connotes a
dition of self-transformation: the figure is continually in mo-
semisolid lump formed by congelation and coagulation. Put
tion within itself, and so it remains permanently unfinished.
together, clown, clod, and clot connote an entity that is unfin-
It is a powerful figurative rendition of processuality. This
ished or incomplete in its internal organization: one that
makes it a powerful solvent of contexts and structures within
hangs together in a loose and clumsy way. The clown is
which it is located. These attributes are crucial to the roles
lumpish in its imperfect—but congealing and adhering—
it performs within ritual and ceremonial occasions.
fusion of attributes. It also has a sense of frozen motion, of
Clowns seem to have especial affinities to the bounda-
congealed liquidity, that connotes processuality and dyna-
ries of ritualistic occasions. In European folk rites and dramas
mism rather than structure and stasis. In the European tradi-
that were associated with seasonal transitions, especially
tion, the clown had affinities to festival fools, folk fools, and
those from winter to spring, and so with notions of the re-
holy fools, all of whom had the tendency to melt the solidity
generation of natural and social orders, folk fools at times
of the world. The word fool, according to the Oxford English
played the role of master of ceremony. These characters tend-
Dictionary, derives from the Latin follis, which literally means
ed to be killed and revived in these events, and so they
“bellows” but is also used in the sense of “windbag.” The
bridged and mediated cosmic transitions. Among the Tewa,
term buffoon, with connotations similar to those of fool, is
Hopi, and Zuni Pueblo Indians of the American Southwest,
cognate with the Italian buffare, “to puff.” In the derivation
ritual clowns were indisputable masters of the boundary.
of fool there is a sense of lightness and motion, and so of
More generally, where such clown figures are common in
processuality. Given the likely affinity between the clown
ceremonials, they either control the overall organization of
and the fool, there is in the clown a figure that is integrated
sequencing of events or they appear during the interludes be-
in a clumsy fashion and that adheres to itself with an incipi-
tween phases of rites. In either instance, they are located in
ent sense of internal movement.
transitional zones that connote the sequential movement or
Clowns are ambiguous and ambivalent figures. Within
transformation of ritual from one context to another. Given
their variegated composition they subsume attributes that
that these figures encompass a notion of boundary within the
contradict and invert one another. The clown in ritual is at
composition of their being—one through which they end-
once a character of solemnity and fun, of gravity and hilarity,
lessly oscillate—their affinity to the external boundaries of
of danger and absurdity, of wisdom and idiocy, and of the
ritual events, and to those within ritual, should be clear.
sacred and the profane. The interior logic of composition of
They are ambulatory manifestations of boundariness, for
such a figure is not homogeneous. It is neither wholly one
their composition resonates with, and so is keyed to, borders
attribute of a set nor another. Given this sense of neither/nor,
of ritual in terms of its spatial and sequential ordering.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CLOWNS
1839
This delineation of ritual clowns is quite distinct from
of place in many of the ceremonies and dramas in which they
those modern clowns of the European tradition of the circus
appear. And a sense of unease pervades many of the explana-
and from stock figures of comedy. Circus clown perfor-
tions of why they are there. The commonest, and the least
mances usually consist of at least a pair of clowns who are
satisfactory, is that clowns provide comic relief, either from
distinguished categorically from one another. The white-
the seriousness and tedium of the ritual medium itself or
faced clown is an epitome of “culture”: he is formal, elegant,
from the everyday suppression of forbidden themes that
authoritative, rigid, and overcivilized. By contrast, the
clowns raise to overt and conscious scrutiny. There are vari-
“auguste” clown is thoroughly sloppy, ill kempt, amoral, and
ous versions of this thesis. Thus, such figures are said to en-
chaotic: he inverts the attributes of the white-faced clown
able members of audiences to think or to behave in otherwise
and is identified with those of “nature.” In performance these
repressed ways, or it is said that these clowns exist in order
two clowns are viable in tandem, so that their respective sets
to violate taboo, given the need to evoke themes that must
of characteristics complement each other.
be suppressed in the everyday contexts of life. These ap-
These clowns also have an intimate relation to bounda-
proaches readily lend themselves to varieties of psychologistic
ries; but theirs is an exterior one, for a sense of boundary is
reductionism, such that clowns are said to concretize and to
established by their interplay in performance rather than by
release unconscious psychic tensions by bringing them to
their being part of the logic of composition of either or both
conscious thought. An added explanation is that these figures
of them. Thus the boundary between, say, categories of “na-
reduce the tension and anxiety that are generated by awe-
ture” and “culture” becomes located somewhere between
some and mysterious sacrality, since, through harmless bur-
these two figures instead of within one or both of them. Each
lesque, the frightening is made familiar and known.
figure itself has a homogeneous and stable composition, and
Clowns in ritual and drama do indeed invert, mock, and
so the contrast of opposites is evident only when they are to-
satirize both taken-for-granted conventions of life and those
gether: they manipulate boundaries only as a duo. By way
that are sacralized and venerated, whether through gentle
of contrast, the ritual clown dissolves boundaries by itself.
irony, through dramatic allegory, or through scatological
Stock comic figures that appear in ritual dramas, and whose
burlesque. Yet, within the same occasions, they often are the
ethnographic provenance seems much more extensive than
righteous upholders of morality and propriety. Such groups
that of ritual clowns, also tend to have homogeneous and in-
as the Hopi Indians of the American Southwest explicitly
ternally stable compositions. In general they lack, in and of
recognize that clowns underline moral precepts by their
themselves, the transformative capacities that are integral to
amoral antics. The Hopi state that clowns show life as it
clowns in ritual.
should not be. Others, such as the Tewa, Zuni, and Mayo
Nonetheless, figures that approximate the attributes of
Indians, accord explicit sacred and moral stature to their
ritual clowns, as these are delineated here, do have a fairly
clowns. Among the Mayo, these are more figures of fright
widespread distribution among peoples of the world, some
than of amusement. Still other peoples seem to refrain from
of whom are mentioned here, although lack of space prevents
exegesis and simply summate clowns in ritual as figures of
adducing these. Clowns in ceremonial and ritual are reported
fun.
for the Mayo and Yaqui peoples of northern Mexico, for the
There are two signal difficulties with discussions of ritu-
Pueblo Indian peoples of the American Southwest, and for
al clowning that rely on one or another version of catharsis
other native peoples of California, the Great Plains, and the
or of satirical inversion to explain the existence of these con-
Northwest Coast of North America. In European traditions,
trary characters. In the first instance, either or both of these
festival fools were prominent in various English dramas of
functions can be and are performed by figures of much sim-
springtime and in the Swiss-German Fastnachtsspiele; they
pler composition. Stock comic characters, who appear in cer-
had affinities to the Italian tradition of buffo and perhaps to
emonial and dramatic activities, and whose composition is
picaresque literary works. Clownlike figures are reported in
homogeneous and not transformative, often meet such re-
the Turkish puppet theater, in some Iranian improvisatory
quirements. These are the quintessential butts, bunglers, and
folk theater, and in the traditional Szechwan theater of
schemers, whose rollicking antics and exaggerated amorality
China. Such figures also are found in modern Javanese lu-
serve onlookers with a license to frolic with the unspeakable,
druk performances and in the Javanese puppet theater. They
and perhaps with the unthinkable, in the security of knowing
appear quite elaborated in various South Indian traditions:
or feeling that these are unnatural and temporary versions of
in Carnatic puppet performances, in Kannada yaksagana
order that will revert to their moral counterparts and so will
dance dramas, in the kutiyattam dramatic tradition of Kerala,
reaffirm righteous values and conduct. Why then should
and in Tamil karakam dances and terukkuttu street dramas
clown figures of such complex and inconstant composition
as well as in the stories of the sixteenth-century Tamil and
be equated in role and function with these facile and straight-
Telugu court jester Tenali Rama. The provenance of such
forward stock comic characters? The likely answer is that
figures extends south to Sri Lanka and north to the tradition
they should not be, and that ritual clowns carry out other
of dance dramas in Tibetan monasteries.
tasks more in keeping with their own interior organization.
There is a multiplicity and duplicity in clowns, a radical
The second difficulty in discussions of ritual clowning
emphasis on the disharmonic that at first sight appears out
is that these clowns are treated as if they reflect, in unmediat-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1840
CLOWNS
ed ways, themes of more general cultural and psychological
truths of transcendence for the participants. Therefore, a
significance. In other words, clowns are torn from the con-
common fate of clowns in ritual is their demise as contrary,
texts of their appearance and performance without any expla-
oscillating, reflexive characters. Either they are tamed and
nation of their presence there. Yet, first and foremost, and
brought to heel, or their internal composition is made homo-
prior to a consideration of their significance for more abstract
geneous. Then they no longer arouse reflectiveness among
motifs of psychic balance and cultural values, it is in terms
participants, for their presence no longer causes the partici-
of the occasions of their appearance that the presence of
pants to doubt the validity of transcendent experiences. At
clowns should be explicated.
this point, clowns simply reinforce the values of such truths
or revelations in straightforward ways.
That clowns in ritual are living studies in vivid contrast
and in shades of comparison is indicative of their status in
This depiction of the clown in ritual recognizes that the
performance. As interlocutors and as commentators, their af-
especial properties of this figure are a function of its unusual
finities are to boundaries that separate ceremonial or narra-
design, and so, too, of its place during religious and dramatic
tive action from the mundane or that distinguish between
occasions. If the figure of the clown is apprehended as a com-
different phases or contexts within ritual performance itself.
plex device that unlocks perception to an awareness of the
In a sense, they keep one foot within an ongoing context of
artifice of textual coherence, then it is comprehended also as
participation and experience, while the other foot is already
a dynamic device that enables certain religious occasions to
leading into another. As such, they are agents of change, me-
be enacted and accomplished. It is then incumbent upon fur-
diators who dissolve and transform the fixity of categories of
ther thought to search other ceremonial media, in which
performance and narrative that boundaries organize and in-
clowns have no place, for analogous mechanisms that accom-
tegrate.
plish transformation of context and transitions between con-
Ritual and ceremonial occasions have programs or texts,
texts and so enable these occasions to progress in sequence
prescribed or inscribed, that are their elementary organiza-
through their programs.
tion. Occasions in which clowns appear are always composed
SEE ALSO Drama; Masks; Tricksters.
of more than a single adumbrated context of meaning and
experience. That is, these occasions are constituted of a num-
ber of phases that contrast with one another in their pro-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
grammatic purpose and that must be shifted, one into anoth-
Useful overviews of fools and of clownlike figures in European tra-
er, in sequence. Written or oral texts and programs often
ditions are found in Enid Welsford’s The Fool: His Social and
Literary History (London, 1935) and in Barbara Swain’s Fools
suggest that such transitions are accomplished simply be-
and Folly during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance (New
cause they are inscribed or prescribed. Yet, in the practice of
York, 1932). The complex and contrastive characters of
performance, each phase or context of an occasion has the
clown figures are discussed evocatively in William Wille-
tendency to adumbrate and to reify itself in stable and seam-
ford’s The Fool and His Sceptre (London, 1969). The clown
less ways that wholly engross participants in its experience.
as a solvent of perception and of structure is implied strongly
This lack of discordance works against the necessary decom-
in Wolfgang M. Zucker’s “The Clown as the Lord of Disor-
position or deconstruction of context, in order to make way
der,” in Holy Laughter, edited by M. Conrad Hyers (New
for the next, and so to enable the overall occasion to be shift-
York, 1969). The logic of composition of ritual clowns dis-
ed in sequence through its constituent phases, as specified by
cussed in this article is expanded and elaborated in my article
program or text.
“The Ritual-Clown: Attributes and Affinities,” Anthropos 76
(1981): 321–370. Paul Bouissac makes a semiotic analysis of
The design of the clown is precisely that of a whirligig—
the nature-culture distinction in modern European circus
one that swirls in counterpoint to the adumbration and con-
clown performances in “Clown Performances as Metacultur-
cordance of any ritual context in which it is located. As it
al Texts,” a chapter in his Circus and Culture (Bloomington,
revolves within itself, the clown gathers up the interwoven
Ind., 1976), pp. 151–175. A clear, if simple, example of a
strands of the coherence of context, mixes them up, and so
cathartic explanation of ritual clowning is John J. Honig-
contradicts their integration and unravels them. Just as the
mann’s “An Interpretation of the Social-Psychological Func-
tions of the Ritual Clown,” Character and Personality 10
clown upends any configuration of meaning into which it
(1941–1942): 220–226. The view that the activity of ritual
enters, so it takes apart context and opens the way to the co-
clowns should be explicated first and foremost with reference
hering of alternative patterns of meaning.
to wider themes of culture, outside the contexts of perfor-
Such occasions often have a sense of climax that arouses
mance, is put ably by Laura Makarius in her article “Ritual
within the participants the recognition of some transcendent
Clowns and Symbolical Behavior,” Diogenes 69 (1970): 44–
73. In an ethnographic vein, there are few accessible and
reality and seamless truth. Then the inherently reflexive
complete accounts of ritual clowning in context. One decent
properties of the clown must be stilled. Otherwise, true to
description is of a Tewa Pueblo Indian rite, in Vera Laski’s
its own rhythm and logic, it would continue to raise ques-
Seeking Life (Philadelphia, 1958). Louis A. Hieb’s “The Ritu-
tions and doubts about such contexts, and so it would signify
al Clown: Humor and Ethics,” in Forms of Play of Native
that even the experience of transcendence is artificial and
North Americans, edited by Edward Norbeck and Claire R.
transitory. This likely would destroy the significance of the
Farrer (Saint Paul, Minn., 1979), pp. 171–188, argues
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
COCKS
1841
against cross-cultural delineations of ritual clowns, since the
Along with the goddess Cihuacoatl (“serpent woman”),
meanings of such figures are highly specific to particular cul-
Coatlicue represents the aggressive mortuary aspect of Aztec
tures. Clowning as Critical Practice: Performance Humor in
goddesses.
the South Pacific (Pittsburgh, 1992), edited by William R.
Mitchell, is a rich and insightful collection on the prominent
BIBLIOGRAPHY
roles of clowning practices in Pacific societies. Chapter Five,
Brundage, Burr C. The Fifth Sun: Aztec Gods, Aztec World. Austin,
on “Clowning and Chiasm,” in Claire R. Farrer’s, Living
1979. See especially Brundage’s helpful chapters on “The
Life’s Circle: Mescalero Apache Cosmovision (Albuquerque,
Quality of the Numinous” (pp. 50–79) and “The Goddess-
1991) contains a fertile discussion of clowns in ritual. Abdel-
es” (pp. 153–175). Brundage’s work takes seriously the reli-
lah Hammoudi’s, The Victim and Its Masks: An Essay on Sac-
gious factor in Aztec society and develops in this book a
rifice and Masquerade in the Mahgreb (Chicago, 1993) has a
framework to relate specific aspects of the sacred to a general
rich analysis of a ritual in which clowning is prominent.
understanding of the religious system.
Fernandez, Justino. Coatlicue: Estética del arte indígena antiguo. 2d
DON HANDELMAN (1987 AND 2005)
ed. Mexico City, 1959. Fernandez’s work, with a stimulating
prologue by Samuel Ramos, discusses Coatlicue’s aesthetic
character in relation to a general model of Aztec art.
COATLICUE (“serpent skirt”) was one of an array of
New Sources
Aztec earth-mother goddesses, the Teteoinnan, who repre-
Matos Moctezuma, Eduardo. Piedras negadas: de la Coatlicue al
Templo Mayor. (Neglected Stones: From Coatlicue to the Great
sented the notion of maternal fertility associated with the
Temple). Mexico City, 1998.
earth. Coatlicue’s monumental stone image, excavated in
1790 in the heart of Mexico City, is one of the finest and
DAVÍD CARRASCO (1987)
Revised Bibliography
most monstrous achievements of Mesoamerican religious art.
It is an eight-foot-tall stone figure consisting of a female form
draped with a blouse of severed human hands and hearts, a
skirt of intertwined serpents with skull belt buckles in front
COCKS. The cock is preeminently a sun symbol. In west-
and back, ferocious rattlesnakes for hands, and a head com-
ern Asia the crowing cock is closely associated with solar ritu-
posed of two giant rattlesnake heads facing one another. Ac-
als; in the ancient Near East it became an integral part of the
cording to art historians, these two giant serpent heads
solar iconography during the second millennium BCE, and
emerge from spurts of blood resulting from Coatlicue’s de-
the mythology of the “fire cock” has spread widely and sur-
capitation. Her feet are giant jaguar claws. A serpent of blood
vived in the folklore of western Asia. The solar cock is also
flows from beneath her skirt of serpents. This masterpiece
attested among some of the most primitive peoples of Asia;
of Mesoamerican sculpture, located today in the Museo Na-
the Nagas of Assam, for example, believe that the sun is lured
cional de Antropología in Mexico City, reflects the com-
out of darkness by the cock’s crowing. According to the Miao
bined qualities of terror and destruction associated with
of southern China, the sun, which hides itself behind the
some aspects of the goddess cult of the Aztec capital, Te-
mountain and darkens the whole world, shows itself again
nochtitlán (1325–1521).
with the crowing of a cock. Similarly, Japanese myths tell
how Amaterasu, the sun goddess, hides in the heavenly cave
Coatlicue’s primary creative act, told in book 3 of Fray
but comes out again on hearing the crowing of cocks.
Bernardino de Sahagún’s Historia general de las cosas de la
The symbolic importance of the cock is well attested in
Nueva España (compiled 1569–1582; also known as the
the Greco-Roman world. There, the motif of the crowing
Florentine Codex), consisted of the dramatic birth of the war
cock, the bird of dawning, was enriched by the motif of the
god Huitzilopochtli. This teotuicatl (“divine song”) tells how
cock as fighter. The fighting cock, although associated with
Coatlicue was sweeping out a temple on Coatepec (“serpent
warrior divinities (such as Ares and Athena), was especially
mountain”) when a ball of feathers made her pregnant with
connected with Dionysos, in whose theater the official fights
Huitzilopochtli. Her children, the centzon huitznahua (“four
occurred. Significantly, the pugnacity of the cock was taken
hundred southerners”), became outraged at this and pre-
as an aspect of its sexual life; representations of the cock with
pared for war against their mother. Led by Coatlicue’s ag-
a human phallus as head and neck are quite numerous. Espe-
gressive daughter, Coyolxauhqui (“she of the golden bells”),
cially interesting are three associations of the cock with
the four hundred warriors began their march toward Coate-
Greco-Roman funerary symbolism: (1) it was one of the ani-
pec. When Coatlicue became frightened, a voice from her
mals offered to the deities of the underworld in connection
womb comforted her, saying, “Do not worry, I know what
with the cult of the dead; (2) as is suggested by its representa-
must be done.” When the warriors arrived at Coatepec,
tion together with Persephone and Hades, the cock was
Coatlicue gave birth to Huitzilopochtli, fully grown and
viewed as the herald of the dawn of the new world, the future
dressed as a warrior. Using his xiuhcoatl (“serpent of light-
life; as such, it symbolized hope of life after death; and (3)
ning”), he dismembered his sister Coyolxauhqui and slaugh-
as the victor of a fight, the cock symbolized the soul of the
tered most of the rest of his siblings as well.
departed; it was commonly associated, especially on tomb-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1842
CODES AND CODIFICATION
stones, with Hermes, the psychopomp who escorted the soul
murabi from the eighteenth century BCE, it became clear that
to a blessed life after death. In Mithraism, the cock was
Maine’s connection of codification with the struggles of ple-
frequently used in cult meals, where presumably its connec-
beians against aristocrats was much too simple. On the other
tion with the rising sun and immortality or future life was
hand, the finding did confirm the existence of the literary
significant.
genre of the law code. The law code was in widespread use
In Judaism the cock has been used in the Kapparah, a
as a means to make legal regulations accessible to the public.
practice designed as a means of ritual atonement for sins. The
We can thus broadly define law codes as collections of laws
cock has also been regarded as a charm that could exorcise
(in casuistic style) written on stones, papyrus, or parchment
demons; at the dedication of a new house, Jews used to kill
and made accessible to the public.
a cock on the spot to purge the house of a demonic presence.
There also existed, however, cultures that did not attach
Moreover, the crowing cock at dawn was a symbol of the re-
much value to recording their traditions in writing. Among
demption of the messianic age.
the Celts, for example, the powerful priesthood of the druids
Christianity has continued this idea, making the cock
considered it fitting that their holy traditions be transmitted
a symbol of the risen Lord, Jesus Christ, the new light. In
only in oral and not in written form, as reported by Caesar
announcing the approach of day, the cock reminds Chris-
in the Gallic Wars (4.14). The Zoroastrians handed down
tians not only of Peter’s denial but also of their own resurrec-
their holy texts by word of mouth for centuries until, forced
tion in a future life. Even cockfighting has found its Chris-
by external circumstances, they wrote them down in the
tian representations, which inspire believers to win the
third century CE. In rabbinic Judaism some rabbis advocated
struggle with their own lower nature so that they can inherit
that written and oral tradition should be separated. “You are
eternal life.
not permitted to recite from writing things that are transmit-
In Islam, too, the cock is a benevolent bird. Muslims
ted orally; those that are written you are not permitted to say
have believed that a cock would crow when it became aware
orally” (B. T., Temurah 14b). And some Islamic Eulama¯D ad-
of the presence of jinn, evil spirits. And, as the bird of dawn-
vanced the view that the h:ad¯ıth should not be written down.
ing, the cock still serves to awaken the sleeping faithful for
In these cases oral traditions could become public without
morning prayer.
being written down.
MEANS OF CODIFICATION: STELA, SCROLL, AND CODEX.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
The oldest texts of law codes of the ancient Near East were
The best treatment of the cock in Greek tradition remains Sir
D’arcy W. Thompson’s A Glossary of Greek Birds (1895; re-
written down on stelae, large stones that were inscribed and
print, London, 1936), pp. 33–44. See also Erwin R. Goode-
publicly displayed. In some cases the texts of these stelae were
nough’s admirable account of cock symbolism in Pagan Sym-
copied on clay tablets by pupil-scribes. By means of these
bols in Judaism, volume 8 of his Jewish Symbols in the Greco-
clay tablets Mesopotamian codes were preserved, even
Roman World (New York, 1958), pp. 59–70.
though the original stelae had disappeared. In the Hebrew
New Sources
scriptures (Old Testament) two tables (luh:ot) are mentioned,
Baird, Merrily. Symbols of Japan: Thematic Motifs in Art and De-
on both sides of which the text of the Decalogue has been
sign. New York, 2001.
engraved (Ex. 32:15–16). The prophet Isaiah received the
M
order to write the word of the Lord on a tablet (made of
ANABU WAIDA (1987)
Revised Bibliography
wood or ivory with a layer of plaster or wax on it), that it
might “become an eternal witness for a day to come” (Is.
30:8; cf. Hab. 2:2). The Book of Isaiah (eighth century BCE)
CODES AND CODIFICATION. While codes and
also testifies to the transition to writing on papyrus, the pith
codification are only rarely discussed in broad studies of reli-
of an Egyptian water plant. For in Isaiah 8:1 the Lord asked
gion, there are nevertheless preliminary studies that allow us
the prophet to take a papyrus leaf (gillayon) and write on it.
to outline the subject with some accuracy. Henry Sumner
The oldest Hebrew papyrus is a palimpsest found in the
Maine, in his Ancient Law, first published in 1861, tried to
Wadi MurabbaEat that goes back to the eighth century BCE.
describe the evolution of human society by comparing all
The sheets of papyrus (chartes) were stuck together to form
preserved collections of ancient laws. With the discovery and
a scroll with the text on the inside. In the second century BCE
diffusion of the art of writing, laws engraved on tablets took
parchment came into use. It was prepared from the skin of
the place of the customary law recollected by privileged aris-
various animals and turned out to be stronger than papyrus.
tocracies, and “democratic sentiment” added to their popu-
Pergamon exported parchment of particularly fine quality.
larity. “Inscribed tablets,” Main notes, “were seen to be a bet-
Sheets of parchment that could be inscribed on both sides
ter depository of law and a better security for its acccurate
were since the first century BCE put in layers and folded as
preservation than the memory of the aristocracies” (1905,
a codex. Christians promoted the use of the codex, while
p. 12).
Jews stuck to the scroll.
In 1901–1902, when French archaeologists discovered
Scroll and codex, then, were used in addition to the stela
in former Susa the stela with the text of the code of Hum-
to record collections of laws. The Hebrew Book of the Cove-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CODES AND CODIFICATION
1843
nant (sefer ha-berit; Ex. 24:7) should be imagined as a scroll;
bedos the right to write down their laws, he asked them to
the same holds true for the “book of the torah” (sefer ha-
draw up only those laws they deemed the best. Sometimes
torah; 2 Kgs. 22:8, 23:2) discovered at the time of the Juda-
there are clear cases of breaching custom. Solon prohibited
hite king Josiah (639–609 BCE), which is partly identical
in 594–593 BCE loans on the person of the debtor. The regu-
with Deuteronomy. The Codex Justinianus, on the contrary,
lations concerning debt-slavery in Mesopotamian and Jewish
was a manuscript in the form of a codex.
codes show similar attempts to temper severe customs con-
cerning debtors. They reflect efforts to subordinate private
There are some differences between these means of cod-
power to public control.
ification. Laws written down as edicts could be sent to bu-
reaus throughout the empire. But there was always the prob-
We must further discern between two sanctions: restitu-
lem of authenticity. “A law that has been sent must be
tion and punishment. The law codes are full of examples of
accepted and must undoubtedly be valid, and the power to
this distinction. The codes have the form of a collection of
emend and to revoke shall be reserved to our clemency
casuistic laws: conditional sentences in the third person. The
[i.e., that of the Emperor]” (Codex Theodosianus 1.1.5).
dependent clause contains the facts supposed and the main
The scrolls indeed enabled scribes to make emendations. The
clause the sanction. The arrangement of topics conforms to
scribe could add glosses to the text or introduce new autho-
no general logic but seems random and includes homicide,
rized regulations at the end of the transmitted ones. Stelae
battery, theft, slavery, sexual offenses, property rights, bride-
could scarcely be falsified, but they were not easily used for
price, inheritance, and so on. The difference between restitu-
the dissemination of edicts. It is therefore not surprising that
tion and punishment concerns the sanction. A thief could
laws sometimes were edited in both fashions. The Jewish law
be forced to restitute what he had stolen. In this case his ac-
of purification, prohibiting foreigners to enter the Temple,
tion was regarded as a civil breach. In other cases theft was
was made public by means of slabs, one of them reading:
regarded as a serious offense, and the thief was made to resti-
“No alien [allogen¯es] shall enter the holy place; if he is caught,
tute a multiple value of the thing stolen (as in Exodus 21:37–
he shall die” (Gerhard Pfohl, Griechische Inschriften, Munich,
22:3). And finally theft could be judged as a crime to be pun-
2d ed., 1980, no. 135). In the beginning of the second centu-
ished by death or mutilation (as in code of Hammurabi 6f).
ry BCE, a local official ordered stelae to be set up in his villages
Stanley Diamond maintains, as previous scholars have, that
recording letters of King Antiochos III that protected these
the customary law followed only the principle of restitution.
villages from molestation. Stelae inscribed and publicly dis-
Only with the rise of the state and legislation did homicide
played could make such orders respected.
and theft become punishable crimes. The institution of the
CUSTOM AND LAW, RESTITUTION AND PUNISHMENT. When
state was responsible for the severity of sanctions (In Search
laws were codified and written down their institutional con-
of the Primitive, 1974, chap. 6). Émile Durkheim argued pre-
text was changed. There is a process of assimilation and elim-
cisely the opposite. He drew a distinction between two types
ination that is typical of oral transmission in a nonliterate so-
of sanctions: restitutive sanctions and repressive ones. These
ciety: what continues to be of social relevance is stored in the
two types are supposed to correspond to two types of social
memory while the rest is usually forgotten. Literacy puts an
solidarity: the mechanical and the organic. In societies based
end to this process. The tradition becomes a fixed object, and
on mechanical solidarity there is a predominance of repres-
inconsistencies within it become obvious. If systems of writ-
sive law, whereas restitutive (cooperative) laws prevail in so-
ing are complex, as in the ancient civilizations, then a deep
cieties based on organic solidarity. Though it holds true that
gulf may develop between the esoteric literate culture and the
Durkheim vastly overstated the role of repressive law and un-
popular culture. In the ancient Near East, scribes formed a
derstated the degree of reciprocity in primitive societies,
class of their own, separate from the priesthood and in the
there remains much testimony that primitive societies are
service of the king. They became the experts in law and dis-
disposed toward penal sanctions. It is therefore improbable
lodged the elders previously responsible for the transmission
that with the creation of the state came repressive sanctions.
of oral tradition (Goody and Watt, 1968).
On this issue the reflections of Henry Sumner Maine
It is common to discriminate custom from law. We call
are still valid. He discerned two types of offenses: offenses
“custom” any habitual or usual course of action, any estab-
against one’s neighbor and offenses against God (Maine,
lished practice. We call “law” a rule of conduct administered
1905, pp. 307–309). Offenses against one’s neighbor (torts)
by a ruler or his subordinates. Laws are enforced by explicit
gave rise to an obligation that was fulfilled by payment. In
sanctions while customs are enforced by social control. These
the Hittite laws, for example, the general sanction for homi-
are merely logical distinctions. But it is evident that the his-
cide is the handing over of a number of persons. Offenses
torical factor of writing worked in favor of laws sanctioned
against God (sins), on the contrary, are punished with severi-
from above. Even if customs remained unchanged, their in-
ty. Take for example the Jewish laws regarding homicide: “Ye
corporation in an official code reinforced the power sustain-
shall take no ransom for the life of a manslayer liable to
ing them. Often the institution of a law code became an op-
death, for he shall surely die. . . . So ye shall not pollute the
portunity to select from among customary practices. When
land wherein ye are, for blood polluteth the land and no ex-
in 303 BCE Antigonus I granted the citizens of Teos and Le-
piation can be made for the land for the blood which is shed
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1844
CODES AND CODIFICATION
therein but by the blood of him that shed it” (Nm. 35:31–
neiform tablets the number of copies of these codes is sur-
33). Durkheim advanced a similar idea: “In primitive socie-
prisingly small. The codes did not leave clear traces in
ties, criminal law is religious law” (The Division of Labor in
Mesopotamian jurisdiction. J. J. Finkelstein (1961) con-
Society, New York, 1947, p. 92). E. Adamson Hoebel (1954)
cludes that the purpose of these codes was not legislation. Of
also subscribed to the view that in primitive society criminal
course a litigant could appeal to the provisions of a code, but
law coincides with certain notions of sin (p. 259).
such an appeal would have carried moral rather than legal
A. S. Diamond (1935) used this distinction to classify
force. The codes must be regarded as political justifications
preserved law codes. He arranged them in three groups. In
of kingship.
the first group (early codes) the sanctions imposed are only
The three codes proclaiming in prologue and epilogue
pecuniary, including those for homicide and battery (e.g.,
protection of the weak against the strong belong together
the early laws of the peoples of western Europe). The second
even in terms of their contents. In the Hittite laws the sanc-
group (“central” codes) comprises codes in which some civil
tion of killing a free man or woman is the handing over of
wrongs are regarded as criminal offenses and others not (e.g.,
four persons (HL 1). For theft of cattle the sanction is pay-
the Hittite laws of the sixteenth century BCE). The last group
ment of a stated multiple of the value (HL 45.57ff.). If a man
(late codes) is formed of codes that regard the more serious
steals from a house, “in former times he restituted for the
wrongs—homicide, adultery, rape, and theft—as crimes
theft one mine of silver. But now he gives twelve shekels
(e.g., the code of Hammurabi, eighteenth century BCE). Di-
[one-third of a mine] silver” (HL 94). A similar alleviation
amond postulated an evolution according to which the field
of punishment is decreed in HL 166–167: here a capital
of the law of criminal offenses gradually expanded. Consider-
sanction has been replaced by a restitutive one. Only adul-
ing the historical dates of the law codes mentioned it seems
tery, rape, and sexual offenses are punished with death (HL
far more appropriate to speak of logical types of codes.
187f., 197f.). Herein the code of Hammurabi is in accor-
COMPARISON OF LAW CODES. A review of extant law codes
dance with the Hittite laws (CH 129f; cf. CE 26.28; LU 6f.).
should attempt to address two main scientific problems: Did
But in the other cases the code of Hammurabi inflicts heavy
the codes contribute to public control of private power, as
penalties. The following offenses are regarded as crimes pun-
exercised, for example, in the enslavement of others? What
ishable by death: an unproved accusation of murder (CH 1),
are the reasons that law codes differ, principally with regard
murder (LU 1), false testimony (CH 3), theft of property
to sanctions for the same offense?
(CH 6f.; only by night, CE 12f.), kidnapping (CH 14), hid-
Mesopotamian codes. The most important Mesopota-
ing of a slave (CH 16), burglary (CH 21), robbery (CH 22;
mian law codes are the following: the laws of the Sumerian
LU 2), sorcery (CH 2, AL 47). These severe penalites are im-
king Urnammu (hereafter called LU, 2111–2094
posed only in cases of offenses against citizens. The rape of
BCE); the
laws of King Lipit-Ishtar (LL, 1934–1924
a female slave, for example, can be requited by a pecuniary
BCE); the code of
the city Eshnunna (CE, eighteenth century
payment (LU 8; CE 31, to be compared with 26). The Assyr-
BCE); the code
of the Akkadian king Hammurabi (CH, 1793–1750
ian laws very often prescribe mutilations—the removal of
BCE);
the Hittite laws (HL, c. 1600
ears, fingers, eyes, or lips, for example, sanctions quite rare
BCE); the Assyrian laws (AL,
eleventh century BCE). (These texts are collected in Borger,
in the code of Hammurabi, which prescribes amputation of
1982.)
a hand only if an overseer steals the seed or fodder of an
owner (CH 253).
The most famous code is of course the code of Hammu-
rabi. It was written on a diorite stela, topped by a bas-relief
Did criminal law arise from religion, as Maine,
showing Hammurabi receiving from Shamash, the sun god
Durkheim, and Hoebel maintain? The codes themselves
and god of justice, the commission to write the law book.
refer to a more specific concept: The king established justice
The stela was carried off as a trophy of war to the Elamite
(misharum) on behalf of the gods (LU, prologue; LL, epi-
capital Susa. The code of Hammurabi is particularly valuable
logue; CH 5.14ff., 47.84ff.). It is not so much religion in
because it reveals something of how such a code was intended
general but the specific idea of a divine, just order that lies
to function. The epilogue speaks about the motives of the
behind these codes. We must therefore explain the differ-
king and the function of the stela. The king set up the stela
ences between sanctions (pecuniary versus capital) in terms
with the aim of protecting the weak against the strong, pro-
of different concepts concerning this order. The case of debt
curing justice for the orphan and the widow, and establishing
slavery can elucidate the essence of these differences. The
equity in the land (CH 47). The motivations given in the
Hittite laws do not deal at all with enslavement of citizens,
LU (104–116, 162–168) and in the LL (1f., 19.6ff.) are sim-
though such enslavement did exist. The Assyrian laws, the
ilar. A citizen who has been injured shall read the stela, recog-
code of Eshnunna, and the code of Hammurabi, on the other
nize his legal claims, and thank Hammurabi. If a subsequent
hand, presuppose as a fact that a creditor who has a claim
king disregards the words of the stela, kingship shall be taken
to corn or silver seizes persons of the debtor’s family (CH
away from him (CH 48f.). The epilogue of LL blesses him
115; AL 39, 44, 48). This is only illegal if the claim is not
who does not damage the stela (19.36–45). It has to be men-
substantiated, in which case a fine must be paid (CH 114).
tioned that among the hundreds of thousands of extant cu-
The code of Eshnunna gives more details: if the seized 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
CODES AND CODIFICATION
1845
is a female slave, the pledger shall pay silver in full compensa-
property delicts, and seduction (21:37–22:16). Thereupon
tion for her; if he doesn’t return her and she dies, he shall
follow apodictic laws on different subjects (22:17–23:19).
give two female slaves as replacement; if he distrains the wife
The Book of the Covenant belongs to the group of
or children of a citizen and causes their death, he shall die
codes that regard private wrongs as capital offenses. A com-
(CE 22–24). The code of Hammurabi goes beyond these
parison with the code of Hammurabi, however, shows simi-
regulations and introduces laws protecting the person legally
larities and differences. Murder and abduction are in both
seized. “If the distress dies in the house of him who has taken
codes capital crimes. But not all the capital offenses enumer-
him as a distress through blows or ill-treatment, the owner
ated in the code of Hammurabi are regarded as such in Israel.
of the distress shall convict his merchant, and if [the distress
In Judaism, the thief caught stealing livestock and selling
is] a [free] man’s son, his son shall be put to death or, if [he
them shall return fivefold (for oxen) or fourfold (for sheep)
is] a [free] man’s slave, he shall pay one-third mine of silver
the number he stole. If the cattle are found in his possession
and forfeits anything whatsoever that he has lent” (CH 116).
alive he shall pay double. If he has not the means to do so
“If a man has become liable to arrest under a bond and has
he himself shall be sold. If the owner kills the thief there is
sold his wife, his son or his daughter or gives [them] into ser-
no blood revenge, except if it happened in broad daylight
vitude, for three years they shall do work in the house of him
(Ex. 21:37–22:3). On the other hand, the code of Hammu-
who has brought them or taken them in servitude; in the
rabi did not regard offenses against parents as crimes deserv-
fourth year their release shall be granted” (CH 117). These
ing death. In Israel offenses against persons and their status
regulations were an effort to establish a public control over
seem to weigh more heavily than offenses against property.
the harsh and merciless practice of debt slavery. The custom-
ary law of enslaving the debtor’s family yields to statute law
The Book of the Covenant acknowledged loans on the
decreed by the emperor. Some of these emperors ordered at
person and enslavement of debtors. But it made an attempt
the beginning of their rule a remission of debts. “Whoever
to temper the severe customs regarding the Hebrew debtors.
has given barley or silver to an Akkadian or an Amorite as
The Hebrew slave shall be released after six years. A female
an interest-bearing loan . . . because the king has invoked
slave that doesn’t please her master may not be sold to a for-
eign people (21:7–8). Assault of a debt slave shall be avenged
the misharum for the land, his document is voided” (Edict
if he dies immediately. Bodily injuries shall lead to his release
of Ammisaduqa 4). “Because the king has instituted mis-
(21:20–21, 21:26–27). We recognize efforts similar to those
harum in the land, he [the enslaved citizen or his wife or his
in the Mesopotamian codes to alleviate the harsh fate of debt
children] is released” (20). The release (anduraru) of the
slaves and to institute a public control over it.
debt-slaves is due to justice. As J. J. Finkelstein cogently ar-
gued, the misharum and the law codes drew from the same
Deuteronomy departs from the genuine form of law
concept, a concept of divine, just order that secured the citi-
codes. But Moshe Weinfeld (1972) has cogently argued that
zen’s property (human and otherwise) and reputation from
it still reflects this genre, maintaining that the book marks
infringement. The code of Hammurabi added to these rights
the transition from a narrow casuistic law corpus to a hu-
the protection against permanent enslavement.
manistic law code. Laws concerning property are nearly com-
pletely lacking. The Deuteronomic legislator aimed at setting
Jewish codes. The most important Jewish codes were
forth a code of laws assuring protection for individuals and
the Book of the Covenant (sefer ha-berit; Ex. 24:7) incorpo-
particularly persons in need. The debt slave is regarded as a
rated into Exodus (20:22–23:19) and the legal part of Deuter-
citizen, a brother (ah:), who only sells his service—but not
onomy (12–26), perhaps identical with the “book of the
his person—to his master. He conducts an independent fam-
torah” (sefer ha-torah), discovered at the time of Josiah (639–
ily life. His master is obliged to manumit him after six years
609 BCE) in the Temple (2 Kgs. 22:8, 23:2). As compared
(Dt. 15:12–18). A slave who seeks refuge shall not be turned
with the Book of the Covenant, the genre of the law code
over to his master (23:15f.)—an offense punished by death
in Deuteronomy has lost its genuine form.
in the code of Hammurabi (CH 16). The code in Deuterono-
The Book of the Covenant contains casuistic law and
my still follows the casuistic form, but it introduces a new
apodictic law. Albrecht Alt has argued that the Israelites took
element unparalleled in the codes of ancient Near East: the
over from the Canaanites the secular casuistic law, while the
motive clause. The release of the debt slaves is not only a
sacral apodictic law belonged to their own heritage. But Alt
command of God. The Deuteronomic legislator adds a fur-
understated the religious background of the casuistic law in
ther reason to follow the law: “Remember that you were a
the code of the ancient Near East (see Alt, Kleine Schriften
slave in Egypt and your Lord has released you” (15:15). He
zur Geschichte des Volkes Israel, Munich, 1959,
does not base the political recognizance of his code on the
pp. 278–332). The Book of the Covenant starts with a pro-
power of kingship but on the personal conviction of citizens.
logue. Yahveh commissions Moses to erect an altar and to
Greek and Roman codes. The most important codifi-
give the Israelites laws (mishpatim; Ex. 21:1) with regard to
cations are the laws of Solon, the laws of Gortyn, and the
slaves (21:2–11); the capital offenses, including intentional
Roman Twelve Tables. The legislation of Solon was preced-
homicide, abduction, beating and cursing of one’s parents
ed by that of Draco (seventh century BCE). The thesmoi of
(21:12–17); inflicting bodily injuries (21:18–36); and theft,
Draco addresses the prosecution of homicide. Intentional
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1846
CODES AND CODIFICATION
homicide was avenged by the kin of the victim, manslaughter
sians in 333–332 BCE, Alexander ordered that the expelled
was compensated by payment of a wergild. The laws of
democrats should return, that Chios should be a democracy,
Draco had officially been published on wooden tablets, set
and that scribes should draw up and systematize the laws. I
up on revolving pillars (axones). The laws of Solon were pub-
have already suggested that the sunoikismos of Teos and Lebe-
lished in the same way.
dos in Asia Minor should be recognized as an act of common
legislation. After his victory over the Egyptian forces in 200
The legislation of Solon (594/3 BCE) is only transmitted
fragmentarily by Greek historians. The archonship of Solon
BCE the Seleucid ruler Antiochos III recognized the Jewish
customs and laws as patrioi nomoi. It was a privilege of politi-
(594 BCE) was preceded by civil strife in which the enslave-
cal communities to dispose a written law code. The law
ment of poor Athenians by wealthy ones seems to have been
code—in the ancient Near East a justification of kingship—
an important issue. Solon at first ordered a cancellation of
had in the Hellenic and Hellenistic culture the function of
debts (seisachtheia); afterwards he enacted laws. His laws pro-
a constitution.
hibited loans on the person of the debtor, arranged the popu-
lation according to property qualifications into four classes,
According to Livy, the Roman law of the Twelve Tables
and established rules for electing the magistrates. Solon also
was compiled in 450–449 BCE in an attempt to control the
made the curious law that whoever in a time of political strife
struggle between plebeians and patricians and to secure equal
did not take an active part on either side of a conflict should
liberty for the two groups (Livy, 3.31.7). His account can
be deprived of his civic rights. He prohibited dowries and
hardly be considered satisfactory in view of its inconsistencies
changed the rule of inheritance. Citizens without children
and improbabilities. The Twelve Tables are known only
could convey by testament their property to anyone they
from later sources. The law code begins with a number of
wished. Previously the heritage had to remain in the genos
short rules indicating how to start and pursue legal proceed-
(kin group) of the deceased. He enacted a law saying that a
ings (cf. the law of Gortyn). They proceed to debt slavery:
son who had not been given the chance to learn a craft by
“Unless they make a settlement, debtors shall be held in
his father was not obliged to sustain him later. Another law
bonds for 60 days. On the third market day they shall suffer
inhibited the export of agricultural products except olive oil.
capital punishment or be delivered up for sale abroad, across
the Tiber” (table three). Tables four to six contain funda-
Aristotle may have committed a historiographical error
mental principles of conveyance and of property law. Table
when he assigned to Solon the setting up of a constitution
eight deals with criminal law. Intentional homicide is a capi-
(politeia); only since the fourth century has Solon been re-
tal offense. For theft the sanctions vary, from paying double
garded as founder of a constitution. But Aristotle referred
the amount of the stolen object’s value to a capital sentence.
rightly to the democratic feature of the laws of Solon
(Athenaio¯n Politeia, 9.1). The law that nobody could con-
SOME FINAL REMARKS. The later codices of the Roman Em-
tract a loan secured on a person was a breach of the custom
pire deviated fundamentally from the preceding ones. The
of debt slavery. This breach didn’t occur all over the Greek
Theodosian Code was a compilation of laws issued by the
world, but the view that law that could breach custom seems
emperors from 313 until 438 CE. In 429 Theodosius ordered
fairly common. Law was identified with statute law, and this
such a compilation be made, and nine years later the code
identification remained characteristic of the whole Greek
was solemnly promulgated. The code contained the legisla-
world. “Unwritten law” (agraphos nomos) should not be used
tive enactments issued by the emperors on given dates. These
by the court. The conflicts that could arise between custom
imperial laws (called constitutions) had been edicta (official
and statute law are illustrated by the Antigone of Sophocles.
proclamations), decreta (decrees in the settlement of law-
This preference for statute law was a natural corollary of de-
suits), rescripta (decisions in answer to officials and private
mocracy. Justice, to which Solon also had appealed, became
persons) and epistulae (letters to officials). The emperor was
subject to the political discourse of citizens.
conceived as the sole source of law, and his enactments were
considered divine. His orders were called constitutiones, since
The most important source of pre-Hellenistic legislation
they formed the fundamental law. The contravention of a
is that found in the city of Gortyn (Crete). An inscription
given statute would be considered a crime, punishable usual-
from the fifth century BCE begins with an injunction against
ly be death. The fundamental Greek identification of justice
taking the law into one’s own hands: “Gods! He who will
and law was thus fused with monarchy. Again, as in the Mes-
institute legal proceedings regarding a freeman or a slave shall
opotamian codes, there is an emphasis on punishment. And
not take him away before the judgement.” But a condemned
again, not religion in a general sense, but specific notions of
man or a debtor (katakeimenon) can be taken away without
justice, had given rise to the code.
punishment. The inscription gives laws concerning rape and
Other famous codes are the Syrian lawbooks and the
adultery (punished with a fine); conveyance of property in
Zoroastrian Madigani Hazar Dadastan. In the Islamic com-
case of divorce, adoption, and death; ransom of compatriots;
munity a law code as such did not develop. The QurDa¯n was
marriage, especially of an heiress; security and liability; and
regarded as the supreme source of Islamic law. Besides this
adoption.
source, the sunnah, the h:ad¯ıth, the consensus of the Islamic
There are some texts elucidating the process of codifica-
community, and the analogical method were used to develop
tion of Greek law. After the liberation of Chios from the Per-
rules.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CODRINGTON, R. H.
1847
SEE ALSO Law and Religion; Revenge and Retribution.
Henry Codrington was educated at Charterhouse and at
Wadham College, Oxford, where, as his later high church
BIBLIOGRAPHY
views suggest, he may have been touched by the Oxford
Borger, Rylke, Heiner Lutzmann, Wilhelm H. P. Römer, and
Movement. In 1857, two years after he was ordained, he gave
Einar von Schuler. “Rechtsbücher.” In Texte aus der Umwelt
up excellent prospects in England to go to New Zealand with
des Alten Testaments, vol. 1, pp. 15–125. Gütersloh, 1982.
his vicar, Edmund Hobhouse, who had been elevated to the
A fresh translation of Mesopotamian law codes provided
bishopric of Christchurch. In 1863 he accompanied Bishop
with explanations and a list of recent studies.
John Coleridge Patteson on the island voyage of the mission
Diamond, A. S. Primitive Law, Past and Present (1935). London,
ship Southern Cross, and in 1867 he joined the peripatetic
1971. An attempt to describe the general development of law
Melanesian Mission, which advocated a policy of racial
by studying the offenses regarded as crimes and by arranging
equality and minimal interference in traditional native cul-
the codes in different classes.
ture. When Patteson was killed in 1871 by Melanesians pre-
Fikentscher, Wolfgang R., Herbert Franke, and Oskar Köhler,
viously victimized by Australian “blackbirders” (kidnappers),
eds. Entstehung und Wandel rechtlicher Traditionen. Freiburg,
Codrington declined the bishopric, but he served for some
1980. A collection of profound essays dealing with the great
years as acting head of the mission. Despite a propensity to
cultures and attempting a historical anthropology of law.
severe sea-sickness, he did on several occasions make the is-
Finkelstein, J. J. “Ammis:aduqa’s Edict and the Babylonian ‘Law
land voyage; he preferred, however, to direct the mission
Codes.’” Journal of Cuneiform Studies 15 (1961): 91–104.
school on Norfolk Island, to which young Melanesians were
Tries to establish the relationship between reform acts and
brought for training as native teachers. There he also took
law codes of Mesopotamian kings.
over the linguistic studies Patteson had begun (in part under
Fried, Morton. The Evolution of Political Society: An Essay in Politi-
the stimulus of the German-born Oxford philologist and
cal Anthropology. New York, 1967. A meritorious study that
comparative religionist F. Max Müller). Through the inter-
defines the essential notion of social control and sanction,
mediacy of Lorimer Fison, a Wesleyan missionary-
power and authority, custom and law.
anthropologist with whom he had become acquainted dur-
Goody, Jack, and Ian Watt. “The Consequences of Literacy.” In
ing the public furor surrounding Patteson’s death, Codring-
Literacy in Traditional Societies, edited by Jack Goody,
ton established contact with the British social evolutionary
pp. 27–68. Cambridge, U.K., 1968. A prolific article that
anthropologist E. B. Tylor. By 1880 he had begun to send
sets forth the differences between memorizing in oral cul-
tures and in literate cultures and that evaluates the systems
ethnographic material to the Journal of the Anthropological
of writing with regard to their spread.
Institute.
Hoebel, E. Adamson. The Law of Primitive Man: A Study in Com-
Returning on leave to England in 1883 to complete the
parative Legal Dynamics. Cambridge, Mass., 1954. A funda-
translation of the Bible into Mota (the Melanesian lingua
mental study in the anthropology of law.
franca), Codrington resided for two years in college at Ox-
Kohler, Josef, and Erich Ziebarth. Das Stadtrecht von Gortyn und
ford, where he attended lectures by Tylor. While there he
seine Beziehungen zum gemeingriechischen Rechte (1912). Hil-
published one of his two major works, The Melanesian Lan-
desheim, 1972. A valuable study that gives text, translation,
guages (1885), which long remained a standard reference; the
and commentary of the inscription of Gortyn and adduces
companion study of their culture, The Melanesians (1891),
other relevant Greek legal texts.
was published after a second truncated tour of duty with the
Maine, Henry Sumner. Ancient Law: Its Connection with the Early
mission. After a brief period as rector of a country parish, Co-
History of Society and Its Relation to Modern Ideas (1861).
drington served the remainder of his long life as prebendary
London, 1905. Maine’s early study, still in print in various
of the cathedral in Chichester.
editions, recognized the ancient law codes as systems of their
own.
As a religious scholar, Codrington is best known for the
Rendtorff, Rolf. Das Alte Testament: Eine Einführung. Neukirc-
idea of mana, which he saw as the basis of all Melanesian reli-
hen-Vluyn, 1983. A useful overview of the Old Testament,
gious belief. Despite his contact with Tylor, Codrington re-
including the legal codes incorporated into it.
mained closer to the philologically oriented pre-Darwinian
Weinfeld, Moshe. Deuteronomy and the Deuteronomic School. Ox-
“ethnological” tradition to which Müller, too, was tied. Un-
ford, 1972. A comprehensive study comparing the “Book of
like his friend Fison, he was little concerned with evolution-
the Covenant” with Deuteronomy and tracing the relation of
ary problems. He remained dubious of the evolutionary so-
Deuteronomy to Mesopotamian law codes.
cioreligious concept of totemism, and though he did not
explicitly reject Tylor’s rationalistic doctrine of animism, by
H. G. KIPPENBERG (1987)
implication he called it into question. Suspicious of received
anthropological categories, Codrington saw ethnography as
a matter of “setting forth what natives say about themselves.”
CODRINGTON, R. H. (1830–1922), Christian mis-
It was in this context (as well as in an effort to find a universal
sionary to Melanesia and scholar of Melanesian languages
substructure for Christian missionizing) that he focused on
and cultures. The second son of an Anglican rector, Robert
mana: “the persuasion that there is a supernatural power 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
1848
COHEN, ARTHUR A.
longing to the region of the unseen”—a power emotionally
number of extremely important Jewish books including the
experienced rather than rationally surmised, which natives
English translation of Franz Rosenzweig’s (1886–1929) The
could turn to their benefit. Offered originally in a letter to
Star of Redemption.
Max Müller, Codrington’s definition of mana was used by
Müller to attack Tylorian intellectualist views in a series of
In 1969 he retired from publishing to write theology
lectures published as The Origin of Religion (1878). Subse-
and fiction full time (although in the 1980s he re-entered
quently adopted by R. R. Marett as the basis for the concept
business with his wife, the celebrated designer and artist
of “preanimistic” religion, the concept of mana played an im-
Elaine Lustig Cohen, and became a very successful dealer in
portant role in the critique of social evolution that developed
rare early twentieth-century art documents and books). Al-
in British anthropology after 1900. It was also manifest in
though he occasionally taught a course at universities and
such major critiques of evolutionary rationalism as
participated intensely in New York literary and intellectual
Durkheim’s Elementary Forms of the Religious Life (1912) and
circles, Cohen eschewed most institutional, educational, and
Freud’s Totem and Taboo (1912).
organizational ties in the Jewish world. In 1986, at the age
of fifty-eight, he died of leukemia.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
EARLY THEOLOGY. Cohen first won major attention with his
Codrington has not yet found a biographer, and biographical ma-
second book, The Natural and Supernatural Jew (1962),
terial must be sought in obituaries and standard biographical
which sets out the basic structure of his religious thinking.
sources, notably the article by Ernest Beaglehole in the Inter-
The foundation of that structure, intimated in the book’s
national Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences (New York, 1968).
title, is the distinction between the natural and the supernat-
A considerable body of his correspondence and relevant
printed materials are preserved in Rhodes House, Oxford. A
ural Jew. The natural Jew, Cohen wrote, is “a creature situat-
bibliography of his writings is contained in the obituary by
ed in nature and activated by history” (Stern and Mendes-
Sidney Ray, in Man 97 (1922): 169–171. Codrington is also
Flohr, 1998, p. 44)—that is, one whose fate is essentially de-
the subject of my article “Robert Henry Codrington: Mela-
fined by his or her cultural and social circumstances and who
nesian Man and Evolutionary Categories,” in After Tylor:
cannot alone transcend the determinations of nature and his-
British Social Anthropology, 1888–1951 (Madison, Wis.,
tory. In contrast, the supernatural Jew is a messianic being,
1995).
the Jew aware of being called by God to the transhistorical
GEORGE W. STOCKING, JR. (1987 AND 2005)
vocation of bringing redemption, who must testify that
“there is no redemption until all history is redeemed” (Stern
and Mendes-Flohr, 1998, p. 45). These two types, Cohen
emphasized, are not to be understood as opposites or as mu-
COHEN, ARTHUR A. Arthur A. Cohen (1928–
tually exclusive: they “are joined in every Jew” (Stern and
1986) was an American Jewish theologian, novelist, essayist,
Mendes-Flohr 1998, p. 48). Although “the supernatural Jew
editor, and publisher. Born in New York City, Cohen grew
may occasionally forget that he is also flesh and blood”—that
up in an affluent, assimilated Jewish home and was educated
is, fated to live in history—such a Jew, Cohen wrote, “is as
at the University of Chicago where he studied philosophy
much in error as is the natural Jew who forgets what links
and religion. His first year at Chicago, on realizing “that
him to eternity” (Stern and Mendes-Flohr, 1998, p. 48). The
Western culture is a Christian culture” (Stern and Mendes-
renewal of the Jewish vocation lies in the reuniting in the Jew
Flohr, 1998, p. 34) he underwent a spiritual crisis and seri-
of both selves, natural and supernatural, and in turning Juda-
ously considered converting to Christianity. To save their
ism toward history and culture in such a way that they will
son from taking this path, his horrified parents enlisted the
be made into “bearers of ultimate and consummate mean-
help of their rabbi, Milton Steinberg (1903–1950; arguably
ing” (Stern and Mendes-Flohr, 1998, p. 49).
the most original Jewish American religious thinker of his
day), and under Steinberg’s tutelage, Cohen began to study
In distinguishing between the natural and the supernat-
Hebrew and Jewish texts. In 1949, after receiving a master
ural, the historical and the meta-historical, Cohen’s work
of arts degree from the University of Chicago, Cohen spent
both drew on the new existentialist philosophy coming out
six months in Jerusalem where he met Martin Buber (1878–
of Europe at the time and represented a rejection of the ideo-
1965) whose theology subsequently became the subject of
logical rationalism that had characterized the Jewish theolo-
Cohen’s first book, published in 1958). He later studied
gians of the previous generation, preeminently Mordecai M.
briefly at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in
Kaplan (1881–1983), the naturalist Jewish theologian and
New York. In 1951, he left academia for good to cofound
founder of Reconstructionism. Cohen and his contempo-
the Noonday Press, the first of several publishing ventures
raries—such other Jewish thinkers as Will Herberg (1901–
in which Cohen was involved—the others were Meridian
1977), Eugene Borowitz (b. 1924), and Emil Fackenheim
Books (where Cohen pioneered the publication of high-
(1916–2003)—argued for a renewal of Jewish theology as a
quality paperbacks), World Publishing House, and Holt,
prerequisite for the renewing of Judaism itself and reasserted
Rhinehart, Winston, where he eventually became editor-in-
the centrality of supernaturalist categories like faith, revela-
chief and vice-president. At Holt, Cohen commissioned a
tion, chosenness, and messianism.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
COHEN, ARTHUR A.
1849
More than his contemporaries, however, Cohen empha-
tence—the means by which the paradoxes of theology can
sized the messianic, eschatological side of Judaism, which for
be rendered into life” (Cohen, 1962, p. 146), as he wrote
him meant the quintessentially unredeemed condition of the
about the dedication to language shared by his own literary-
present world. Like Rosenzweig (whose adolescent near-
theologian models, the German-Jewish theologian Rosenz-
conversion to Christianity clearly anticipated, if not served
weig and the medieval Jewish poet and philosopher Judah
as the model for Cohen’s own early experience), Cohen pred-
Halevi (1086–1145). Rosenzweig once remarked that Juda-
icated his understanding of the Jewish vocation on a repudia-
ism must be smuggled into life; Cohen used fiction to smug-
tion of Christianity, indeed on an essential theological enmi-
gle Judaism into art.
ty between Judaism and Christianity. The latter was always
Although he is often described as a novelist of ideas, it
for Cohen a promise and a reality to be denied by the Jew.
would be more accurate to say that Cohen’s fictions are all
This theme was the primary subject of his second major early
about characters—poets, artists, intellectuals, messiahs—
work, a collection of related essays entitled The Myth of the
obsessed with ideas. Thus, Simon Stern recounts the history
Judeo-Christian Tradition (1970).
of its protagonist, the Simon Stern of the book’s title, a mil-
POST-HOLOCAUST THEOLOGY. Beginning in 1974, Cohen’s
lionaire real estate dealer on the Lower East Side who, in the
theology became increasingly concerned with the Holocaust.
aftermath of the Holocaust, attempts to save the remnants
In a lecture delivered that year to the Leo Baeck Institute in
of European Jewry (a select number of survivors chosen for
New York, Cohen argued that the Holocaust represented an
their capacity to “endure” history) by rescuing them from
unprecedented manifestation of absolute evil that fundamen-
Europe, bringing them to New York and building for them
tally changed the terms of God’s relationship to the Jewish
a temple-like sanctuary in New York City. By the novel’s
people. Because it defied all the traditional categories of Jew-
end, however, this project of redemption has failed, and the
ish theodicy (e.g., sin and punishment, divine retribution,
temple itself has been destroyed in a fire (once again!).
and so on) the Holocaust was, in Cohen’s terminology, the
Cohen’s protagonist, Simon Stern, although certainly a fail-
Tremendum, a term Cohen borrowed from the nineteenth-
ure, is a genuine, messiah. However, his particular messianic
century German theologian Rudolph Otto (1869–1937),
mission in the novel is ultimately not to save humanity but
who had used it to define God’s presence as a mysterium tre-
to prove the impossibility of redemption so long as history
mendum, a terrifying and unfathomable mystery. Cohen
lasts. In this way, through the novel, Cohen succeeded in rec-
analogously identified the Holocaust as a manifestation of
reating a classic Jewish myth that was also a perfect expres-
sheer terror—although one unaccompanied by the presence
sion of Cohen’s own personal theological obsessions.
of God.
As a novel, Simon Stern is often creaky, heavy-handed,
In Cohen’s view, for the Jew living after the Holocaust,
and shapeless, but its enormous intellectual and spiritual en-
the Tremendum was the defining event of his or her relation-
ergy, epitomized in the book’s sprawling, massive shape, en-
ship to God, hence of Jewishness itself. Drawing on the Pass-
compasses the boundless Jewish yearning for redemption and
over Haggadah (as Julian Levinson has pointed out), Cohen
the equally boundless messianic disappointment. Even if the
wrote that a Jew must feel as though he or she “was really,
book fails on purely literary grounds as a novel, it is an ex-
even if not literally, present in Egypt, and really, if not literal-
traordinary epic of the theological imagination.
ly, present at Sinai” (Stern and Mendes-Flohr, 1998,
The impossibility of neatly categorizing Simon Stern is
p. 248). As such, the Holocaust represented a challenge to
almost a perfect correlative for Cohen’s own exceptionality
traditional conceptions of the Jewish God. Even so, Cohen
as an American Jewish thinker. In his numerous essays,
was adamant in his belief that Jewish theology could meet
Cohen wrote about nearly every conceivable subject—from
that challenge. “The time is now to build again upon the
Franz Kafka (1883–1924) and George Frederick Handel’s
wreckage of previous understandings” of Jewish theology,
(1685–1759) Jephthah to architecture, art, and the history
and particularly its conception of the divinity. Even if “the
of modern typographical design (about which he happened
God who will endure may . . . prove to be less imperious
to be a world-recognized authority). As a single corpus, all
and authoritarian, . . . [He] may gain in credibility and
of his writings, although hardly adhering to any conventional
truth what He has lost in unconditional absoluteness” (Stern
generic classification, were inhabited and enlivened by a sin-
and Mendes-Flohr 1998, p. 101).
gle literary and intellectual persona.
FICTION AND LITERARY ESSAYS. The most remarkable fea-
Perhaps the most unusual example of the deep coher-
ture of Cohen’s theological work was his career as a novelist.
ence of Cohen’s literary-theological oeuvre is an essay he
In the course of this career, Cohen published five novels and
wrote titled “The Typographic Revolution: Antecedents and
one book of three novellas. Although only one of these books
Legacy of Dada Graphic Design” (1979). On its surface, this
is on an explicitly Jewish and theological theme—In the Days
dense and complex study traces the prehistory and influence
of Simon Stern (1973)—Cohen’s turn to fiction as a medium
of Dada typography—those chaotic and inventive arrange-
for Jewish theology was not entirely surprising. Even his ex-
ments of letters and print familiar to all students of early
plicitly theological writing possessed the rare eloquence and
twentieth-century art. As Cohen argues, however, the Dada-
passion of poetry, what he called “the language of exis-
ist letters are actually ideograms come alive, and the Dadaist
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1850
COHEN, HERMANN
ambition to enliven letter types so that they can be “reappre-
(1828–1875; author of the famous idealistic History of Mate-
hended as living voice, speaking volumes, shouting and mak-
rialism). Through Lange, a committed Protestant, Cohen, a
ing love” (Stern and Mendes-Flohr, 1998, p. 475) should be
committed Jew, received his first appointment at the Univer-
understood in conjunction with the inquiries of such con-
sity of Marburg in 1873. He stayed there until his voluntary,
temporary philosophers and theologians as Ferdinand Ebner,
albeit disgruntled, retirement in 1912. Thereafter he taught
Nicolai Berdyaev, Buber, and Rosenzweig, all of whom,
at the Liberal rabbinical seminary in Berlin, the Hochschule
Cohen asserts, sought to reconceive the direct speech be-
für die Wissenschaft des Judentums, where he wrote his last
tween humans and God and thus to reclaim those “realms
works. Shortly after his arrival in Marburg he married Mar-
of intimacy” in which the living voice of the divine once
tha Lewandowski, daughter of the chief cantor of the Berlin
spoke. The brilliance of this essay, with its unexpected con-
Jewish community and liturgical composer, Louis Lewan-
nections between avant-garde typography and modern theol-
dowski (1821–1894). (She later died in the concentration
ogy, exemplifies the uniqueness of Cohen’s own voice as a
camp of Theresienstadt.)
religious thinker. The writing produced by that voice was
During his long incumbency in Marburg, Cohen not
like nothing else in American Jewish culture.
only produced the bulk of his own philosophic oeuvre but
S
also gathered around him a group that came to constitute the
EE ALSO Jewish Thought and Philosophy, article on Mod-
ern Thought.
Marburg School of Neo-Kantianism. Among the many
scholars associated with him in this undertaking were his stu-
dent and subsequent colleague Paul Natorp (1854–1924)
BIBLIOGRAPHY
and, later, Ernst Cassirer (1874–1945). Cohen attracted
Cohen, Arthur A. The Natural and the Supernatural Jew: An His-
many devoted students and disciples, particularly Jews from
torical and Theological Introduction. New York, 1962.
German-speaking countries, from Eastern Europe, and even
Katz, Steven T. Historicism, the Holocaust, and Zionism: Critical
America. However, his personal, philosophical, and social re-
Studies in Modern Jewish Though and History. New York,
lations at the university became increasingly strained down
1992. See pp. 251–273.
through the years, not least because of growing political reac-
Levinson, Julian. “Arthur A. Cohen’s Resplendent Vision.”
tion during that period against the overtly ethical (i.e., Kant-
Prooftexts 23 (2003): 259–267.
ian), anti-Marxist, and antimaterialist socialism of the Mar-
Morgan, Michael L. Beyond Auschwitz: Post-Holocaust Jewish
burg school. In the politics of the time the names of Cohen’s
Thought in America. Oxford, 2001. See pp. 14–54.
students Kurt Eisner (1876–1919) and Eduard Bernstein
Stern, David, and Paul Mendes-Flohr, eds. An Arthur A. Cohen
(1850–1932) became quite well known.
Reader: Selected Fiction and Writings on Judaism, Theology,
Literature, and Culture. Detroit, Mich., 1998.
Throughout his life Cohen never ceased to be active in
Jewish matters. For example, he published his The Love of
DAVID STERN (2005)
Neighbor in the Talmud: Affidavit before the Royal Court of
Marburg in 1888 (in German) in response to the notorious
Rohling/Delagarde anti-Semitic episode in which the old
COHEN, HERMANN
“blood libel” and Jewish xenophobism combined with the
(1842–1918) was a Jewish phi-
then nascent German racism. He wrote voluminously on
losopher of religion and founder and exponent of Marburg
Jewish subjects; in 1924 his writings were collected in three
Neo-Kantian philosophy. Born into a cantor’s family in the
volumes, edited and introduced by Franz Rosenzweig, au-
small-town Jewish community of Coswig/Anhalt, Germany,
thor of The Star of Redemption. Just before the outbreak of
Cohen received intense religious training from his father in
World War I Cohen made a triumphal tour of the largest
addition to the general education typical of his time and
Jewish communities in Russia, a trip that the German gov-
place. The transition from these beginnings to the modern
ernment supported for political reasons. Cohen hoped also
rabbinical seminary of Breslau was natural. Part of the semi-
by means of this tour to advance in the East the enlightened
nary’s curriculum was the requirement of university studies,
Jewish social and educational values of the Jews of the West.
and while at the University of Breslau, Cohen decided that
philosophy, rather than the rabbinate, was his vocation.
COHEN’S WRITINGS. Cohen’s work can be divided into
three parts: his exegetical readings of Kant, his system of phi-
SCHOLAR. Transferring to the University of Berlin, Cohen
losophy, and his specifically Jewish work.
first fell under the influence of the folk-psychological episte-
mologists Heymann Steinthal (1823–1899) and Moritz Laz-
Exegetical readings of Kant. Several of Cohen’s books
arus (1824–1903), but he quickly progressed toward the
crystallized and solidified the aprioristic, transcendental, crit-
ideas of Immanuel Kant (1724–1804) and a more logistic
ical foundations of the Kantian system: Kants Theorie der Er-
outlook. His habilitation thesis on Kant’s theory of experi-
fahrung (1871), Kants Begründung der Ethik (1877, 1910),
ence was published in 1871, and in the context of the “back
and Kants Begründung der Ästhetik (1889). In 1883 he pub-
to Kant” movement of the day, his ideas had a revolutionary
lished Das Prinzip der Infinitesimalmethode und seine Gesch-
impact. He particularly impressed the radical social reformer
ichte: Ein Kapitel in der Begründung der Erkenntniskritik (The
and professor of philosophy at Marburg, Friedrich Lange
Principle of the Infinitesimal Method and Its History: 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
COHEN, HERMANN
1851
Chapter in the Foundation of the Critique of Cognition),
INFLUENCE OF COHEN’S WORK. Cohen’s influence in mat-
in which he argues that the (sensuous) given, which Kant
ters of religion was not limited to Jewry, although here it was
treated as the separate, empiricist source of knowledge, is also
magisterial. At the University of Marburg he interacted
a rational construction, and thus that reality is a totally apri-
closely with the Protestant theology faculty, first with Julius
oristic, regulative product.
Wellhausen (1844–1918), whose Bible criticism he esteemed
highly as a good scholarly undergirding to prophetic Juda-
The system of philosophy. Cohen’s radicalized, Neo-
ism, and then especially with the liberal, proto-Social Gospel
Kantian understanding of reality and of ethics that developed
philosophical theologian Wilhelm Herrmann (1846–1922).
directly from his critiques of Kant found expression in his
Natorp himself became increasingly active in liberal Protes-
Logik der reinen Erkenntnis (Logic of Pure Cognition; 1902,
tantism. A second generation of Christian thinkers resulted
1914), Ethik des reinen Willens (Ethics of the Pure Will;
from what might be called this Marburg school of Kantian
1904–1907), and Ästhetik des reinen Gefühls (Aesthetic of
liberal theology, albeit largely by way of dialectical antitheses:
Pure Feeling; 1912). Here the universe is determined by the
Karl Barth (1886–1968) and Rudolf Bultmann (1884–
three “interests” of reason (i.e., cognition, will, and feeling),
1976) deliberately place primary emphasis on the subjectivi-
which strive for the traditional ideals of truth, goodness, and
ty of faith in place of Cohen’s argument for the objectivity
beauty. All three operate under what Kant had called “the
of ethical and social values.
primacy of practical (i.e., ethical) reason.” The infinite task
of the attainment of practical reason produces the unending
Cohen’s philosophical and Jewish influence is scattered
history of regulative progressive science, progress toward the
in diverse and embattled manifestations. Around the turn of
good society (as in ethical socialism), and the synthesis of the
the century a rebellion emerged against what was perceived
two in a world perfectly true and perfectly good, that is, mes-
as the extreme scientific, rationalistic theoreticism of Mar-
sianically beautiful.
burg Neo-Kantianism. In reaction, there appeared positions
that asserted the ultimate power of “reality” over reason in
Cohen’s Jewish philosophy. Cohen’s work in the area
“life-philosophy,” re-Hegelianizing historicism, positivism,
of Jewish studies—intimated in his philosophizing and, in-
and nascent existentialist phenomenologism. In German cir-
creasingly, explicitly identified with it—was systematically
cles the value of historical and even metaphysical Germanism
elaborated in the final decade of his life and was consummat-
(Deutschtum) was apostrophized, and in Jewish circles a par-
ed in the posthumously published Religion der Vernunft aus
allel affirmation of the peoplehood of Israel and the historical
den Quellen des Judentums (Religion of Reason out of the
or even metaphysical genius of the Jewish people was pitted
Sources of Judaism; 1919, 1929). Cohen’s Jewish philosoph-
against bloodless and lifeless assimilationist universalism.
ical theology (although he did not use this terminology) con-
The fact that Franz Rosenzweig (1886–1929), a disciple of
sists of a translation back into classical Jewish terms of the
Friedrich Meinecke (1862–1954) and author of important
philosophical position Cohen held he had extracted from Ju-
studies on G. W. F. Hegel (1770–1831), became Cohen’s
daism with the help of the progressive line of thought run-
last important, brilliant disciple added another complicating
ning from Plato (c. 428–348 or 347 BCE) through Moses
element, for Rosenzweig interpreted the “late Cohen” as the
Maimonides, (1135/8–1204) to Kant. Thus God is the idea
precursor of a total break with systematic rationalism in favor
(in the Neo-Kantian, regulative sense) of the normative, infi-
of a form of metahistoricism inspired by Friedrich Schelling
nite realization of the good in the world. This realization is
(1775–1854).
known in religion as the establishment by means of the imi-
tation of God of the messianic kingdom on earth. The Law
Politically, religiously, and philosophically very differ-
(halakhah) is the historical Jewish specifications of the cate-
ent extrapolations continue to be made from Cohen’s funda-
gorical imperative and the foundation of the universal
mental analyses. Leading Jewish Orthodox authorities like
human moral brotherhood of the “Noachide covenant,”
Joseph Ber Soloveitchik (1903–1993) and Yitzchok Hutner
which is also the religious, prophetic goal of socialism. The
(1906–1980) never ceased drawing on their Cohenian
last third of Religion of Reason leading up to the religious vir-
studies in the 1920s, whereas rationalistic reformers like Ben-
tues of truthfulness and peacefulness is, together with the
zion Kellermann (1869–1923) and fully acculturated West-
cited and appended texts, a Jewish restatement of the last
erners like Cassirer struck out in their own directions from
third of Ethics of the Pure Will. The role of the Jewish people
Cohen. These varied approaches demonstrate how decisive
in history is then to represent “ethical monotheism” physi-
the intellectual experience of Cohen has remained for subse-
cally and to disseminate it morally throughout the world.
quent Jewish thought. Cohen’s Jewish writings have been
Therefore, Cohen rejected the Zionism that was nascent at
translated into Hebrew, English, and other languages, but
the time: The conflict between the two views is well ex-
the technical philosopher Cohen has remained within the
pressed in the classic debate between Cohen and Martin
confines of German-language culture. Even there he has suf-
Buber (1878–1965) in “Answer to the Open Letter of Dr.
fered many depredations. The Weimar backlash against ra-
M. Buber” (1917) and in the writings of Cohen’s former stu-
tionalism as too cold and intellectual forced a number of
dent Jakob Klatzkin, who became the leading theoretician of
Marburg-influenced figures such as Natorp, Nicolai Hart-
the radical Zionist “negation of the Diaspora.”
mann (1882–1950), and José Ortega y Gasset (1883–1955)
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1852
COKE, THOMAS
toward the positions of Edmund Husserl (1859–1938),
Humanity,’ by Hermann Cohen,” Modern Judaism 24
Martin Heidegger (1889–1976), and others. The Nazi peri-
(2004): 36–58.
od saw the final destruction of the Neo-Kantianism of Mar-
For Cohen’s place in modern Jewish thought, see Julius Gutt-
burg. Since World War II, however, a new, qualified appreci-
mann’s Philosophies of Judaism, translated by David W.
ation of transcendental philosophy has arisen, through the
Silverman (New York, 1964) and Kenneth Seeskin, “Jewish
work of men such as Hans Wagner, Helmut Holzhey, Wer-
Neo-Kantianism: Hermann Cohen,” in History of Jewish Phi-
ner Flach, Wolfgang Marx, and others. But the contributions
losophy, edited by D. H. Frank and O. Leaman (London,
that Cohen’s work can still make toward a fully developed
1997). The writings of Steven Schwarzschild (1924–1989)
and effective constructionalism in the areas of philosophy of
sustained Jewish thought in a Cohenian key; see Menahem
Kellner, ed., The Pursuit of the Ideal: Jewish Writings of Steven
science, ethics, and even of religion have not yet been fully
Schwarzschild (Albany, N.Y., 1990). The revival of interest
realized.
in Cohen’s thought at the close of the twentieth century is
In the last decades of the twentieth century, interest in
evidenced by new studies in German, Italian, French and
Cohen’s thought surged. Rosenzweig’s misleading yet en-
English, including Andrea Poma, The Critical Philosophy of
trenched interpretation of Cohen’s late philosophy of reli-
Hermann Cohen, translated by John Denton (Albany, N.Y.,
1996) and Michael Zank, The Idea of Atonement in the Phi-
gion as a break with systematic idealism resulted in the bifur-
losophy of Hermann Cohen (Providence, R.I., 2000).
cation of Cohen interpretation into a systematic Neo-
Kantian and a Jewish religious line. In more recent
STEVEN S. SCHWARZSCHILD (1987)
interpretations, however, scholars such as Michael Zank,
ROBERT S. SCHINE (2005)
Robert Gibbs, Hartwig Wiedebach, and Andrea Poma have
built on the post-World War II generation above, overcom-
ing the separation of Cohen’s Neo-Kantian system and his
COKE, THOMAS (1747–1814), chief associate of
specifically Jewish thought. The result is a recognition of the
John Wesley in the organization of worldwide Methodism.
continuities in Cohen: The messianic age, for example, as the
Born in Brecon, Wales, Coke attended Jesus College, Ox-
ideal future of the peace of humankind, was prefigured in
ford, and earned in 1775 the degree of doctor of civil law.
the concept of time postulated in the ethics of the early
Having been ordained a deacon of the Church of England
Cohen.
in 1770 and a priest in 1771, he served as curate of South
In the midst of the age of nationalism and of the politics
Petherton, Somerset, from 1771 to 1777. In 1776 he fell
of identity, Cohen’s ideal of the state is also receiving re-
under the spell of John Wesley and in 1777, largely because
newed attention as an ethical union of citizens that ought to
of his Methodism, was dismissed from his curacy. Becoming
supersede aspirations for the sovereignty of the primordial
Wesley’s colleague, he took over most of the supervision of
nation. Nonetheless, despite the resurgence in the study and
the Irish societies, served as Wesley’s secretary and agent, and
appreciation of Cohen, it remains an open question whether
employed his legal acumen in 1784 to draw up the deed poll
his thought will serve as a foundation for constructive work
incorporating the British Methodist Conference. In the same
in the future outside the sphere of Jewish philosophy.
year he helped Wesley prepare and publish his revision of
The Book of Common Prayer.
SEE ALSO Cassirer, Ernst; Jewish Studies, article on Jewish
Wesley conveyed his own ecclesiastical authority to
Studies from 1818 to 1919; Jewish Thought and Philoso-
Coke in a form of ordination as “superintendent” for Ameri-
phy, article on Modern Thought; Kant, Immanuel; Mai-
ca, and thus transmitted ministerial orders to the Methodists
monides, Moses; Rosenzweig, Franz; Schelling, Friedrich.
there. Coke ordained Francis Asbury as his episcopal col-
league—an act confirmed, at Asbury’s insistence, through
BIBLIOGRAPHY
election by the American preachers—but Coke was the lead-
Under the general editorship of Helmut Holzhey, director of the
er in formulating the American preachers’ original Discipline
Hermann-Cohen-Archiv at the University of Zurich, publi-
on the basis of Wesley’s “large” Minutes. Altogether, Coke
cation of Cohen’s Werke (Hildesheim, Germany, 1978–) is
spent less than three years in America, so that eventually As-
nearing completion. Cohen’s writings on religion available
in English are limited: His major work of philosophy of reli-
bury took precedence over him, especially after it was discov-
gion, Die Religion der Vernunft aus den Quellen des Judentums
ered that in 1791 Coke had clandestinely sought a union of
was published posthumously in 1919 as Religion of Reason
American Methodism with the Protestant Episcopal Church.
out of the Sources of Judaism, translated by Simon Kaplan
However, Coke had other irons in the fire. Among his
(New York, 1972). Selections from Cohen’s writings on Jew-
many published works were a commentary on the Bible
ish themes, Jüdische Schriften, 3 vols. (Berlin, 1924), have
(1801–1807) and a History of the West Indies (1808–1811).
been published as Religion and Hope: Selections from the Jew-
ish Writings of Hermann Cohen, translated by Eva Jospe (New
He formed a tract society in 1782, advocated a missionary
York, 1971; reprint, Cincinnati, 1993) and Alan Mittleman,
society in 1784, began to evangelize the West Indies in 1786,
“‘The Jew in Christian Culture’ by Hermann Cohen,” Mod-
and was traveling to a mission in India at the time of his
ern Judaism 23 (2003): 51–73; Mittleman has also translated
death. It was he more than any other who kindled Method-
“‘The Significance of Judaism for the Religious Progress of
ism’s missionary zeal.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
COLONIALISM AND POSTCOLONIALISM
1853
SEE ALSO Methodist Churches.
nold, Julius Hare, and, especially, F. D. Maurice. There are
also strong affinities between Coleridge and John Henry
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Newman, particularly in the two writers’ approaches to reli-
Easily the best biography is Thomas Coke, Apostle of Methodism
gious epistemology. Through the writing of George Mac-
(Nashville, 1969) by John Ashley Vickers. Additional in-
Donald, Coleridge had—especially in his views on symbol,
sights and information can be found in chapter 9 of my book
which are deeply grounded in his theology—an indirect in-
From Wesley to Asbury: Studies in Early American Methodism
fluence on the imaginative literature of such writers as G. K.
(Durham, N.C., 1976) and in The Encyclopedia of World
Chesterton, Charles Williams, J. R. R. Tolkien, and C. S.
Methodism, 2 vols., edited by Nolan B. Harmon (Nashville,
Lewis. Among Coleridge’s poems, The Rime of the Ancient
1974).
Mariner, with its anguished spiritual odyssey, became a para-
FRANK BAKER (1987)
digm for imaginative and spiritual journeying. In the United
States, Aids to Reflection was particularly influential, made
known especially by James Marsh, by W. G. T. Shedd (who
published a seven-volume edition of Coleridge in 1853), and
COLERIDGE, SAMUEL TAYLOR (1772–1834),
by Ralph Waldo Emerson. Through Emerson, Coleridge’s
English Romantic poet, literary critic, journalist, philoso-
influence on American Transcendentalist thought was con-
pher, and religious thinker. With William Wordsworth,
siderable.
Coleridge helped inaugurate the Romantic era with the pub-
lication of Lyrical Ballads (1798). A devoted writer, he later
Coleridge struggled against rationalism—both within
worked sporadically as a journalist and lecturer. His life was
the Protestant tradition and in the secular world—and
shadowed by an unhappy marriage, ill health, and a lifelong
against materialism, and he wrote vigorously of the need for
drug addiction.
a renewal of the spiritual dimensions of society and culture.
His most important contribution to the religious thought of
Raised in the Church of England by his minister father,
his own time may well be his introduction into England of
Coleridge became a Unitarian during his student years at
German idealist thought and of higher criticism of scripture,
Cambridge, but he returned definitively to a trinitarian the-
while his most lasting contribution may be his reflections on
ology in 1805. Although essentially orthodox in his adher-
the nature of religious language, especially on the role of
ence to Church of England doctrine, Coleridge was often
symbol in religious experience.
daringly innovative in his theological speculations on such
concepts as the Logos, the Trinity, original sin, and the
BIBLIOGRAPHY
church. Aids to Reflection (1825) contains profound insights
The central resource for the study of Coleridge is The Collected
into the nature of faith and the relationship between faith
Works of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, 16 vols., edited by Kath-
and reason; On the Constitution of the Church and State
leen Coburn (Princeton, 1970–); the lengthy introductions
(1830) offers a conservative view of the nature of the church
to these volumes are especially helpful. The most complete
and its “clerisy”; and Confessions of an Inquiring Spirit (pub-
studies of Coleridge’s religious thought are James D. Boul-
lished 1840) introduces into England the approaches to
ger’s Coleridge as Religious Thinker (New Haven, 1961) and
scripture of the German “higher criticism.” His Notebooks
my work Coleridge and Christian Doctrine (Cambridge,
(published 1957–) and Marginalia (published 1980–) also
Mass., 1969; 2d ed., 1987). Basil Willey’s Samuel Taylor
contain perceptive reflections on doctrine, church history,
Coleridge (New York, 1972) is, in the author’s own words,
and theological controversy.
an “intellectual and spiritual biography”; it brings both learn-
ing and good sense to Coleridge’s complex life. Stephen Pri-
Coleridge was one of the most widely read men of his
ckett’s Romanticism and Religion: The Tradition of Coleridge
century. Hence, the influences on him were many, including
and Wordsworth in the Victorian Church (Cambridge, U.K.,
David Hartley, Joseph Priestley, and William Godwin
1976) traces skillfully and perceptively the influence of Cole-
(whose necessitarianism he later rejected); Plato and the sev-
ridge, especially his analysis of religious language, in religious
enteenth-century Cambridge Platonists; the medieval
writing of the later nineteenth century. James Cutsinger’s
Schoolmen; mystics like Jakob Boehme and (to a lesser ex-
The Form of Transformed Vision: Coleridge and the Knowledge
of God (Macon, Ga., 1987) is a helpful analysis of Coleridge’s
tent) Emanuel Swedenborg; philosophers in the so-called
theological foundations, and my book Romanticism and
pantheist tradition like Giordano Bruno and Barukh Spino-
Transcendence: Wordsworth, Coleridge, and the Religious
za; and the German transcendental philosophers, especially
Imagination (Columbia, Mo., 2003) explores the role of the
Immanuel Kant and Friedrich Schelling. Each was interpret-
religious imagination in Coleridge’s work.
ed, however, according to the needs of Coleridge’s own or-
J. R
ganic philosophy and used to further his own theological
OBERT BARTH (1987 AND 2005)
speculations.
Coleridge’s influence on subsequent religious thought
was widespread, both in England and in the United States.
COLONIALISM AND POSTCOLONIAL-
He is commonly seen as a forerunner of the Broad Church
ISM. Religion, as well as the study of religion, can be locat-
movement through such disparate thinkers as Thomas Ar-
ed in colonial contexts. Colonialism is the use of military and
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1854
COLONIALISM AND POSTCOLONIALISM
political power to create and maintain a situation in which
In response to this colonial ultimatum, indigenous peo-
colonizers gain economic benefits from the raw materials and
ple could submit or resist. But people also found ways to re-
cheap labor of the colonized. More than merely a matter of
appropriate and reverse the chain of references that spanned
military coercion and political economy, however, colonial-
the Atlantic Ocean to link the New World with the Old. For
ism represents a complex intercultural encounter between
example, the Andean nobleman Guaman Poma, who had
alien intruders and indigenous people in what Mary Louise
lived through the Spanish conquest of the Inca empire, the
Pratt calls “contact zones.” In analyzing colonial encounters,
subjugation of the Andean people, and the dispossession of
scholars need to consider both their material and cultural
native lands, published a book in 1621 that reversed the
terms and conditions. In the political economy of colonial-
terms of the Requirement. Drawing upon the new Christian
ism, cultural forms of knowledge and power, discourse and
resources, Guaman Poma argued that under colonial condi-
practice, techniques and strategies, played an integral role in
tions the world was “upside-down.” To restore the proper
the formation of colonial situations.
order of the world, he proposed, the chain of references es-
tablished by Spanish colonization had to be reversed. Ac-
European explorers, traders, conquerors, and colonial
cording to Guaman Poma, the restoration of Inca political
administrators operated with an ideology of territorial expan-
sovereignty would reveal the order of a world in which the
sion and intercultural negation that became thoroughly inte-
mineral wealth of Peru supported the Spanish king in Cas-
grated into European modes of thinking about and engaging
tile, who supported the Catholic pope in Rome, who sup-
the larger world. According to the early nineteenth-century
ported the religion of the God of heaven and earth. In revers-
German philosopher G. W. F. Hegel, for example, all great
ing these alien religious terms, therefore, Guaman Poma
nations “press onward to the sea” because “the sea affords the
tried to intervene in a world that had been turned upside
means for the colonizing activity—sporadic or systematic—
down by Spanish colonization (Adorno, 2000).
to which the mature civil society is driven” (Hegel, 1974,
On the other hand, reworking the familiar terms of in-
pp. 282–283). By taking to the sea, Hegel argued, colonizers
digenous religious signification was also an option. In Africa,
solved certain internal problems, such as poverty, overpopu-
for example, indigenous myths of sea and land were recast
lation, and limited markets, that blocked the development
to make sense out of the strange encounters and violent op-
of a mature civil society. But they also encountered “barbar-
positions of colonial contact. During the seventeenth centu-
ians” in strange lands who were allegedly incapable of devel-
ry, many Africans concluded that white people who came
oping the maturity of civilization. In relation to such perma-
from the sea actually lived under the ocean. Drawing on ear-
nent children, Hegel insisted, “the civilized nation is
lier mythic themes, this identification of Europeans with the
conscious that the rights of the barbarians are unequal to its
sea became a symbolic template for interpreting the colonial
own and treats their autonomy as only a formality” (Hegel,
encounter. Using this symbolic framework, Africans could
1967/1821, p. 219). In this formulation, with its thematics
reconfigure the encounter in terms of the mythic opposition
of distance and difference, denial and domination, the phi-
between sea and land.
losopher only recapitulated the basic ingredients of a Europe-
Under the impact of British colonization in nineteenth-
an culture of colonialism.
century southern Africa, myths of the sea were reworked to
On colonized peripheries, however, indigenous people
make sense of the military incursions, dispossession of land,
deployed a range of strategies for engaging these European
and new relations of power. As the Xhosa chief Ngqika ob-
territorial claims and cultural representations. On the one
served, since the Europeans were people of the sea—the “na-
hand, reversing the alien terms of European religious signifi-
tives of the water”—they had no business on the land and
cation was an option. During the era of sixteenth-century
should have stayed in the sea. The Xhosa religious visionary
Spanish conquests in the Americas, for example, the conquis-
and war-leader Nxele developed this political observation
tadors were armed with a theological formula, the Require-
about sea and land into an indigenous theology that identi-
ment, that was designed to be read before a gathering of na-
fied two gods, Thixo, the god of the white people, who had
tives to enact a ceremony of possession that certified Spanish
punished white people for killing his son by casting them
claims on new land. In a carefully constructed chain of refer-
into the sea, and Mdalidiphu, the god of the deeps, who
ences, the Requirement announced to Native Americans that
dwelled under the ground but had ultimate dominion over
the Spanish conqueror who stood before them represented
the sea. Similarly, during the first half of the nineteenth cen-
the authority of the king of Spain in Castile, who represented
tury, a Zulu emergence myth was reworked in terms of this
the authority of the pope in Rome, who represented the au-
colonial opposition between land and sea. In the beginning,
thority of the apostle Peter in Jerusalem, who represented the
uNkulunkulu created human beings, male and female, but
ultimate authority of the supreme God who had created
also black and white. Whereas black human beings were cre-
heaven and earth. Although the Requirement invited the na-
ated to be naked, carry spears, and live on the land, white
tives to freely convert to Christianity, the text concluded that
human beings were created to wear clothing, carry guns, and
those who refused would experience the force of total warfare
live in the sea.
and that the deaths and damages that resulted would be their
For these African religious thinkers, therefore, the
fault (Seed, 1995, p. 69).
mythic origin—the primordium—was clearly located in the
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
COLONIALISM AND POSTCOLONIALISM
1855
new era that opened with the colonial opposition between
COLONIAL COMPARATIVE RELIGION. As a sustained reflec-
people of the sea and people of the land. By appropriating
tion on religious difference, the study of religion has its his-
foreign religious resources and recasting local religious re-
torical roots not only in the European Enlightenment but
sources, indigenous people all over the world struggled to
also in this long history of colonialism. On the frontiers of
make sense out of colonial situations.
colonial encounter, European explorers, travelers, missiona-
An important facet of the European colonial project,
ries, settlers, and colonial administrators recorded their find-
however, was the assertion of control over not only material
ings on indigenous religions all over the world. With remark-
but also symbolic, cultural, and religious resources. In nine-
able consistency over a period of five hundred years, these
teenth-century southern India, for example, British colonial
European observers reported that they had found people in
interventions in religion on the Malabar coast succeeded in
the Americas, Africa, and the Pacific Islands who lacked any
reifying religious differences and separating religious com-
trace of religion. At the beginning of the sixteenth century,
munities of Hindus and Christians that had lived in harmo-
the explorer Amerigo Vespucci observed that the indigenous
ny for centuries. Tracing their traditional origin to the first-
people of the Caribbean had no religion. In the seventeenth
century apostle of Jesus and their spiritual power to ongoing
century, the traveler Jacques le Maire insisted that among the
connections with Christian holy men of West Asia, the Saint
inhabitants of the Pacific Islands there was “not the least
Thomas Christians of the Malabar coast had maintained
spark of religion.” In the context of expanding trading rela-
close relations with the Hindu rulers of the region. Sharing
tions in eighteenth-century West Africa, the trader William
the same military disciplines and upper-class status with the
Smith reported that Africans “trouble themselves about no
Hindu rajas, the Saint Thomas Christians received patron-
religion at all.” Well into the nineteenth century, European
age, financial support, and royal protection for their church-
observers persisted in claiming that the aboriginal people of
es, shrines, and festivals. In exchange, the Christians sup-
Australia had “nothing whatever of the character of religion,
ported the shrines and participated in the festivals of the
or of religious observance, to distinguish them from the
Hindu ruling class.
beasts that perish” (Chidester, 1996, pp. 12–13).
This interreligious cooperation changed dramatically,
As this global litany of denial accumulated, it developed
however, after the British East India Company established
multiple layers of strategic significance in European colonial
its domination of the region in 1795. Between 1810 and
encounters with indigenous people. Because they supposedly
1819, under the authority of the British resident Colonel
lacked such a defining human characteristic as religion, in-
John Monro, the network of economic, social, and religious
digenous people had no human rights to life, land, livestock,
exchange between Christians and Hindus was broken. Di-
or control over their own labor that had to be respected by
recting state funds for the construction and repair of their
European colonizers. In this regard, the denial of the exis-
churches, Monro exempted Saint Thomas Christians from
tence of any indigenous religion—this discovery of an ab-
paying taxes and tributes to Hindu officials. Since these
sence—reinforced colonial projects of conquest, domina-
funds were also used to support Hindu temples, shrines, and
tion, and dispossession.
festivals, Saint Thomas Christians were thereby removed
from the system of mutual exchange by which high-caste
Obviously, the discovery of an absence of religion im-
Hindus and Christians had cooperated in supporting reli-
plied that European commentators in colonial situations
gion. Increasingly, Saint Thomas Christians became targets
were operating with an implicit definition of religion, a defi-
for the animosity of high-caste Hindus. By the 1880s, riots
nition that was certainly informed by Christian assumptions
frequently broke out between them, and annual religious fes-
about what counted as religion. More significantly, however,
tivals, which had been events of interreligious celebration,
these denials indicated that the term religion was used as an
became occasions for interreligious provocation. During
oppositional term on colonial frontiers. In its ancient geneal-
these festivals, Hindus and Saint Thomas Christians
ogy, of course, religio was always a term that derived its
marched past each other’s shrines, as one observer reported,
meaning in relation to its opposite, superstitio. On contested
“howling, screaming, and crying out obscene words” (Bayly,
colonial frontiers, however, the conceptual opposition be-
1989, p. 294).
tween religion and superstition was often deployed as a stra-
British colonial interventions, therefore, had succeeded
tegic denial of indigenous rights to land, livestock, or labor.
in reifying the boundaries between two religions—Hindu
In the eastern Cape of southern Africa, for example, the be-
and Christian—that had been part of the same network of
liefs and practices of indigenous Xhosa people were explicitly
social class, martial culture, and religious worship in south-
denied the designation “religion” during the first half of the
ern India. As many analysts have observed, the British colo-
nineteenth century by European travelers, missionaries, set-
nial reification of religious boundaries not only reinforced a
tlers, and colonial magistrates who were trying to establish
certain kind of European Christianity in India but also pro-
British military control over the region. Supposedly lacking
duced the modern religious classification “Hinduism.”
any trace of religion, the Xhosa allegedly were immersed in
Under colonial conditions, the primary categories of the
superstition. Invoking the defining opposite of religion in
study of religion—“religion” and “religions”—emerged as
this particular colonial situation, the traveler Henry Lichten-
potent signs of identity and difference.
stein, for example, reported that the Xhosa’s “superstition,
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1856
COLONIALISM AND POSTCOLONIALISM
their belief in magic or enchantment, and in omens and
Ironically, the colonial project of containment that
prognostics, is in proportion to their want of religious feel-
sought to keep people in place at the same time generated
ings” (Lichtenstein, 1928, pp. 301, 311–313). As a recurring
theoretical terms for the displacement of indigenous people.
motif in European reflections on religious difference in open
Throughout the colonized world, European observers devel-
frontier zones, this opposition between religion and supersti-
oped theories of history, genealogy, and descent that traced
tion served the colonial project by representing indigenous
indigenous people back to cultural centers in the ancient
people as living in a different world.
Near East. In the Americas, for example, European travelers,
missionaries, and colonizers during the seventeenth century
How did European observers move from the denial to
argued that Native Americans were descended from ancient
the discovery of indigenous religions in colonial situations?
Israel, a claim that was stated succinctly in 1650 in the title
Although that question has to be investigated through de-
of Thomas Thorowgood’s book, Jews in America, or Proba-
tailed attention to historical conditions in specific regions,
bilities That the Americans Are of That Race. By implication,
a general answer can be suggested by the experience of the
if they were actually Jews from ancient Israel, then Native
Xhosa in the eastern Cape of southern Africa. According to
Americans did not actually belong in America.
the reports of every European commentator, the Xhosa
lacked any trace of religion until 1858, when they were
In southern Africa, European commentators also traced
placed under a colonial administrative system—the magiste-
the genealogy of indigenous people back to the ancient Near
rial system—that had been designed by the Cape governor,
East. Anticipated by the early eighteenth-century findings of
the German visitor Peter Kolb, who traced the Khoikhoi or
Sir George Grey, for the military containment, surveillance,
“Hottentot” religious system of the subjugated indigenous
and taxation of indigenous people in the eastern Cape. Fol-
people of the Cape back to the Judaism of ancient Israel,
lowing his researches on indigenous traditions in Australia
nineteenth-century European commentators argued that all
and New Zealand, Grey was both a professional colonial ad-
Africans in southern Africa came from the north. The Xhosa
ministrator and an amateur scholar of religion. It was the
had been ancient Arabs, the Zulu had been ancient Jews, and
new context of colonial containment, however, that inspired
the Sotho-Tswana had been ancient Egyptians. Besides
the magistrate J. C. Warner to be the first to use the term
transposing the religious differences of the ancient Near East
religion for Xhosa beliefs and practices. Insisting that the
onto the southern African landscape, thereby reifying the
Xhosa had a religious system, Warner worked out a kind of
ethnic, cultural, and religious differences that had been
proto-functionalist analysis by determining that Xhosa reli-
shaped by colonialism, this fanciful genealogy also implied
gion was a religion because it fulfilled the functional “pur-
that indigenous Africans were not actually indigenous to
poses” of providing psychological security and social stabili-
southern Africa because they originally belonged in the Near
ty. Although Warner hoped that the Xhosa religion would
East. Similarly, a British colonial comparative religion that
ultimately be destroyed by military conquest and Christian
traced Hinduism back to ancient Indo-European migrations
conversion, he concluded that in the meantime their indige-
that originated in Siberia or Persia could work not merely
nous religious system could function to keep them in their
as a historical reconstruction but also as a strategy of displace-
place just like the colonial magisterial system.
ment. Pursuing this contradictory dual mandate of structural
Throughout southern Africa, the European “discovery”
containment and historical displacement, colonial compara-
of indigenous religions can be correlated with the colonial
tive religion operated throughout the world to deny, discov-
containment of indigenous people. While the discovery of
er, locate, and displace the beliefs and practices of the colo-
a Zulu religious system followed the imposition of the colo-
nized.
nial location system in Natal in the 1840s, the recognition
IMPERIAL COMPARATIVE RELIGION. In his inaugural lectures
of a Sotho-Tswana religious system was delayed until the co-
on the science of religion in 1870, F. Max Müller, who has
lonial reserve system was imposed after the destruction of
often been regarded as the “founder” of the modern study
their last independent African polity in the 1890s. By that
of religion, demonstrated that the culture of British colonial-
point, however, when colonial administrators assumed that
ism and imperialism permeated his understanding of the aca-
every African in the region was contained with the urban lo-
demic study of religion. First, the study of religion was a sci-
cation system or the rural reserve system, European com-
ence of distance and difference. The distance between the
mentators found that every African in southern Africa had
metropolitan center and the colonized periphery was conflat-
been born into the same “Bantu” religion.
ed with the difference between the civilized and the barbar-
ian, the savage, or the primitive. In developing a comparative
The southern African evidence suggests, therefore, that
method for the study of religion, Müller and other metropol-
the “discovery” of indigenous religions under colonial condi-
itan theorists played on this theme of distance and difference
tions was not necessarily a breakthrough in human recogni-
in order to infer characteristics of the “primitive” ancestors
tion. As a corollary of the imposition of a colonial adminis-
of humanity from reports about contemporary “savages” liv-
trative system, the discovery of an indigenous religious
ing on the colonized periphery of empire. “Though the belief
system was entangled in the colonial containment of indige-
of African and Melanesian savages is more recent in point
nous populations.
of time,” as Müller observed in his 1870 lectures, “it repre-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
COLONIALISM AND POSTCOLONIALISM
1857
sents an earlier and far more primitive phase in point of
arguments, and contradictions in colonial contexts. The
growth” (Müller, 1873, p. 25). In similar terms, E. B. Tylor,
Zulu informant Mpengula Mbande, for example, reported
the “father of anthropology,” asserted that the “hypothetical
arguments about uNkulunkulu, tracking African disagree-
primitive condition corresponds in a considerable degree to
ments about whether he was the first ancestor of a particular
modern savage tribes, who, in spite of their difference and
political grouping, the first ancestor of all people, or the su-
distance. . .seem remains of an early state of the human race
preme god who created all human beings.
at large” (Tylor, 1871, vol. 1, p. 16). Whatever their differ-
Second, local European “experts” on the colonized pe-
ences, nineteenth-century metropolitan theorists of religion,
riphery synthesized these religious conflicts and contradic-
such as Müller, Tylor, John Lubbock, Herbert Spencer, An-
tions into a “religious system.” Relying heavily on Mbande’s
drew Lang, W. Robertson Smith, and James Frazer, em-
local fieldwork, the Anglican missionary Henry Callaway be-
ployed a comparative method, which came to be known as
came the leading authority in the world on Zulu religion,
the comparative method, that used reports about the differ-
and, by extension, on “savage” religion in general, by pub-
ent, the exotic, and the savage from distant colonized periph-
lishing his classic text, The Religious System of the Amazulu
eries to draw conclusions about the evolutionary origins of
(1868–1870). Like other “men on the spot” in colonized pe-
religion.
ripheries, Callaway corresponded with the metropolitan the-
Second, the study of religion was a science of denial and
orists in London.
domination. “Let us take the old saying, Divide et impera,”
However, his exposition of the Zulu “religious system”
Müller proposed, “and translate it somewhat freely by ‘Clas-
was dissected by those metropolitan theorists in the service
sify and conquer’” (Müller, 1873, pp. 122–123). More than
of a third mediation, the mediation between the “primitive”
merely a rhetorical flourish, this “old saying” provided legiti-
ancestors of humanity, who could supposedly be viewed in
mation for an imperial comparative religion that aspired to
the mirror of the Zulu and other “savages” on the colonized
global knowledge over the empire of religion. Classification
peripheries of empire, and the “civilized” European. What
according to language gave Müller a measure of conceptual
was construed as a religious system in the colony, therefore,
control over the library of the sacred texts of the world. But
was taken apart and reassembled in London as religious data
imperial conquest enabled him to develop theories of religion
that could be used in support of an evolutionary progression
that were anchored in British India and British South Africa.
from the primitive to the civilized.
In his last work to be published before his death, the pam-
phlet The Question of Right between England and the Trans-
The colonial situation, as Jean Paul Sartre observed,
vaal (1900), which was printed and widely distributed by the
“manufactures colonizers as it manufactures colonies”
Imperial South African Association, Müller asserted that the
(Sartre, 1965, pp. xxv–xxvi). On colonial peripheries and at
British Empire “can retire from South Africa as little as from
imperial centers, nineteenth-century comparative religion
India” (p. 11). These two imperial possessions, he suggested,
played a role in manufacturing European colonial discourse,
were essential for maintaining the global power and authori-
especially through its representations of “others” in colonized
ty of the British Empire.
regions such as “exotic” India and “savage” South Africa. As
Nicholas Dirks has proposed, these efforts contributed to
But they were also essential for Müller’s imperial com-
manufacturing colonizers as “agents of Western reason”
parative religion that mediated between “civilized” Great
(Dirks, 1992, p. 6). In the twenty-first century, we must still
Britain and the “exotic” and “savage” peripheries of empire.
wonder about the colonial and imperial legacies that have
While his edition of the Rig Veda and his expertise on the
been inherited by the academic study of religion. In our at-
religious heritage of India were made possible by the finan-
tention to structure and history, morphology and genealogy,
cial support of the East India Company, Müller’s imperial
psychological and social functions, and other analytical con-
comparative religion rested on comparative observations that
cerns, do we reproduce the containments and displacements
depended heavily on the British possession of South Africa.
of “others” that were so important to European colonial and
Although he observed that in the empire of religion there was
imperial projects? However this question might be answered,
“no lack of materials for the student of the Science of Reli-
it is clear that a critical academic study of religion must be
gion” (Müller, 1873, p. 101), Müller knew that those raw
self-reflexive and self-critical of the political implications of
materials had to be extracted from the colonies, transported
its theory and practice.
to the metropolitan centers of theory production, and trans-
P
formed into the manufactured goods of theory that could be
OSTCOLONIAL PROSPECTS. As we find in postcolonial
used by an imperial comparative religion.
studies generally, postcolonial prospects for the academic
study of religion are largely a matter of location. In Oriental-
In his relations with South Africa, for example, Müller
ism (1978), Edward Said used the analytical term strategic lo-
was engaged in a complex process of intercultural mediation
cation to capture the subject position of European authors
in order to transform raw religious materials into theory.
in relation to the broad discursive formations of European
First, Africans on the colonized periphery were drawn into
colonialism and imperialism. In more recent developments
this process as informants—often as collaborators, some-
within postcolonial theory, however, attention has shifted
times as authors—as they reported on religious innovations,
away from the critique of European colonial representations
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1858
COLONIALISM AND POSTCOLONIALISM
of “others” to a recovery of the subjectivity and agency of the
While some scholars of religion have embraced indi-
colonized. At the risk of oversimplifying the complex theo-
geneity as their own strategic location, they have had to con-
retical controversies that have raged in this emergent field,
tend with trends in postmodern, post-structural, and other
we can identify two extreme positions in postcolonial
postcolonial analysis that have generally undermined any
studies—indigeneity and hybridity—that are relevant to the
confidence in the continuity or uniformity of tradition. With
future of the academic study of religion.
respect to historical continuity, influential research on the
First, indigeneity represents a range of analytical strate-
“invention of tradition” has shown how supposedly timeless
gies based on the recovery of place, the authenticity of tradi-
traditions—even the primitive, the archaic, or the exotic tra-
tion, and the assertion of self-determination in a project to
ditions that fascinated colonial and imperial comparative re-
forge postcolonial meaning and power on indigenous terms.
ligion—can turn out to have been recent productions. For
Privileging the self-representation of indigenous people who
example, the Indian caste system, which has supposedly been
have passed through the experience of colonization, indi-
a perennial feature of Hinduism from time immemorial, has
geneity generates analytical terms for recovering the purity
been investigated in recent research as a complex product of
of local traditions from the defiling effects of global imperial-
indigenous interests and colonial order. In defense of indi-
ism. Drawing inspiration from political struggles against co-
geneity, however, as Rosalind O’Hanlon has argued, it is
lonialism, indigeneity engages the precolonial not merely
possible to reject the British colonial “notion of an ageless
through a romantic politics of nostalgia but also through the
caste-bound social order” while not attributing the entire his-
liberation movements of the colonized world.
torical process to a “colonial conjuring” that produces a pic-
In this respect, the work of the radical psychiatrist
ture of Indians “who are helpless to do anything but repro-
Frantz Fanon, who actively identified with the liberation
duce the structures of their own subordination” (O’Hanlon,
struggles of colonial Africa, has informed an understanding
1989, pp. 98, 104, 100). In this respect, indigeneity has
of indigenous tradition that is both postcolonial and postro-
made an important contribution by stressing the agency of
mantic. “Colonization is not satisfied merely with holding
the colonized as historical actors in the formation of reli-
a people in its grip and emptying the native’s brain of all
gious, social, and political structures.
form and content,” Fanon observed. “By a kind of perverted
The “invention of structures,” however, has also been
logic, it turns to the past of oppressed people, and distorts,
called into question, most effectively in the work of Benedict
disfigures and destroys it” (Fanon, 1963, p. 170). While the
Anderson on “imagined communities,” which analyzed colo-
recovery of a “pure” tradition from colonial distortions and
nial instruments—the census, the archive, the administrative
disfigurements was therefore part of his postcolonial project,
system, and so on—for the production of an imaginary sense
Fanon linked that recovery of the past with a present of
of social uniformity, but also in the general distrust of any
struggle—armed, violent struggle—against colonialism. Al-
“essentialism” that has been the result of postmodern theory.
though Fanon’s position has been characterized as a type of
However, even anti-essentialist critics can propose that in
“nativism,” it was an indigeneity that sought to forge a new
some situations a “strategic essentialism” might be necessary
humanity in the modern world by means of a militant anti-
to intervene on behalf of the marginal, oppressed, or “subal-
colonialism.
tern” in struggles over representation in colonial relations.
Certainly, many examples could be cited of postcolonial
For advocates of indigeneity in the academic study of reli-
religious indigeneity in which religious “traditionalists” have
gion, some form of “strategic essentialism” seems to be neces-
deployed “modern” means to assert their power, place, puri-
sary in order to pursue an authentic recovery of traditions
ty, and authenticity. Insisting that the only indigenous reli-
that however much they might be “invented” or “imagined”
gion of India is Hinduism, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak
nevertheless produce real effects in the real world.
Sangh has actively engaged in electoral politics on the plat-
form of “Hinduness” (Hindutva) in ways that have not just
Second, hybridity captures a range of analytical strate-
recovered but have actually redefined what it means to be a
gies that follow a logic not of place but of displacement. As
Hindu in contemporary Indian society. Rejecting colonial
a strategic location, hybridity is dislocated in migration and
constructions of African mentality, a variety of African
diaspora, contact and contingency, margins and mixtures. As
movements have nevertheless promoted visions of African
a theoretical intervention in both colonial situations and the
humanity and personality, communalism and socialism, in
postcolonial horizon, attention to hybridity rejects the binary
the interests of a postcolonial African renaissance. Arguing
distinction between the colonist and the colonized. Accord-
that indigenous land should be regarded as sacred and com-
ing to the most vigorous proponent of colonial hybridity, the
munal rather than alienable property, Native Americans con-
cultural theorist Homi Bhabha, the analysis of colonial situa-
tinue to press cases for the recovery of traditional sacred land
tions should focus on neither “the hegemonic command of
in the modern courts of law in the United States. The failure
colonial authority” nor “the silent repression of native tradi-
of almost all of these land claims has suggested to many
tions.” Rather, analysis should be directed toward the cultur-
scholars of Native American religion that the long history of
al space in between, the intercultural space of contacts, rela-
colonial occupation, with its denial, containment, and dis-
tions, and exchanges. According to Bhabha, intercultural
placement of indigenous religion, has not ended in America.
relations in colonial situations are based, “not on the exoti-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
COLONIALISM AND POSTCOLONIALISM
1859
cism of multiculturalism or the diversity of cultures, but on
Bayly, Susan. Saints, Goddesses, and Kings: Muslims and Christians
the inscription and articulation of culture’s hybridity.” In the
in South Indian Society, 1700–1900. Cambridge, UK, 1989.
colonial contact zone of intercultural relations, Bhabha in-
Bhabha, Homi. The Location of Culture. London, 1994.
sists, “it is the ‘inter’—the cutting edge of translation and ne-
Callaway, Henry. The Religious System of the Amazulu. Springvale,
gotiation, the in-between space—that carries the burden of
South Africa, 1868–1870; reprint, Cape Town, 1970.
the meaning of culture” (Bhabha, 1994, pp. 38–39).
Chidester, David. Savage Systems: Colonialism and Comparative
As Bhabha and other postcolonial theorists have devel-
Religion in Southern Africa. Charlottesville, Va., 1996.
oped this analysis of cultural hybridity, emphasis has shifted
Dirks, Nicholas, ed. Colonialism and Culture. Ann Arbor, Mich.,
from the self-representation of indigenous people in their
1991.
traditional places to the translations, negotiations, and im-
Fanon, Frantz. The Wretched of the Earth. Translated by Con-
provisations of the displaced. Migrants, exiles, and diaspora
stance Farrington. New York, 1963.
communities have received special attention. For example,
Hall, Stuart. “Cultural Identity and Diaspora.” In Identity, Com-
cultural theorist Stuart Hall has adapted the notion of hy-
munity, Culture, Difference, edited by Jonathan Rutherford,
bridity as a strategic location for analyzing a dispersed Afro-
pp. 222–237. London, 1990.
Caribbean identity that was formed out of the New World
Hegel, G. W. F. Philosophy of Right (1821). Translated by T. M.
that was “the beginning of diaspora, of diversity, of hybridity
Knox. Oxford, 1967.
and difference” (Hall, 1990, p. 235). In clarifying the New
Hegel, G. W. F. The Essential Writings. Edited by F. Weiss. New
World origin of this diaspora identity, Hall has insisted that
York, 1974.
it does not entail a politics of nostalgia that evokes myths of
Hobsbawm, Eric, and Terrence Ranger, eds. The Invention of Tra-
“scattered tribes whose identity can only be secured in rela-
dition. Cambridge, UK, 1983.
tion to some sacred homeland to which they must at all costs
King, Richard. Orientalism and Religion: Postcolonial Theory,
return, even if it means pushing other people into the sea.
India, and “the Mystic East.” London, 1999.
This is the old, the imperializing, the hegemonizing, form
Lichtenstein, Martin Karl Heinrich. Travels in Southern Africa in
of ‘ethnicity’” (Hall, 1990, p. 235). By contrast to such an
the Years 1803, 1804, 1805 (1811–1812). 2 vols. Translated
ethnic, dominating, imperializing, or even indigenous sense
by Anne Plumptre. Cape Town, 1928.
of place, purity, and essence, which Hall identifies with the
Lopez, Donald S., Jr., ed. Curators of the Buddha: The Study of
hegemonic constructions of colonialism and imperialism, the
Buddhism under Colonialism. Chicago, 1995.
diaspora identity that he is interested in exploring “is de-
MacGaffey, Wyatt. “Dialogues of the Deaf: Europeans on the At-
fined, not by essence or purity, but by the recognition of a
lantic Coast of Africa.” In Implicit Understandings: Observ-
necessary heterogeneity and diversity; by a conception of
ing, Reporting, and Reflecting on the Encounters between Euro-
‘identity’ which lives with and through, not despite, differ-
peans and Other Peoples in the Early Modern Period, edited by
ence; by hybridity” (Hall, 1990, p. 235).
Stuart B. Schwartz, pp. 249–267. Cambridge, UK, 1994.
In the study of religion, this postcolonial notion of hy-
Martin, Joel W. “Indians, Contact, and Colonialism in the Deep
South: Themes for a Postcolonial History of American Reli-
bridity has been anticipated by the term syncretism. Although
gion.” In Retelling U.S. Religious History, edited by Thomas
the term has borne the burden of suggesting impure or illicit
A. Tweed, pp. 149–180. Berkeley, Calif., 1997.
mixtures of religion, it has more recently been recovered as
Müller, F. Max. Introduction to the Science of Religion: Four Lec-
a medium of religious innovation. For religious studies, as
tures Delivered at the Royal Institution; with Two Essays, On
Ella Shohat has noted in postcolonial studies, “‘Hybridity’
False Analogies and the Philosophy of Mythology. London,
and ‘syncretism’ allow negotiation of the multiplicity of
1873.
identities and subject positionings which result from dis-
Müller, F. Max. The Question of Right between England and the
placements, immigrations and exiles without policing the
Transvaal: Letters by the Right Hon. F. Max Müller with Re-
borders of identity along essentialist and originary lines”
joinders by Professor Theodore Mommsen. London, 1900.
(Shohat, 1992, p. 108). Liberated from the “policing of bor-
O’Hanlon, Rosalind. “Cultures of Rule, Communities of Resis-
ders” inherent in colonial constructions of genealogical ori-
tance: Gender, Discourse, and Tradition in Recent South
gins and systemic essences, a postcolonial study of religion
Asian Historiography.” Social Analysis 25 (1989): 94–114.
can engage the complex and contested negotiations over per-
Parry, Benita. “Resistance Theory/Theorising Resistance or Two
son, place, and power that inevitably arise in intercultural re-
Cheers for Nativism.” In Colonial Discourse/Postcolonial The-
lations.
ory, edited by Francis Barker, Peter Hulme, and Margaret
Iverson, pp. 172–193. Manchester, UK, 1994.
SEE ALSO Orientalism; Politics and Religion; Primitivism;
Transculturation and Religion, overview article.
Pratt, Mary Louise. Imperial Eyes: Travel Writing and Transcul-
turation. London, 1992.
B
Said, Edward. Orientalism. New York, 1978.
IBLIOGRAPHY
Adorno, Rolena. Guaman Poma: Writing and Resistance in Colo-
Sartre, Jean-Paul. “Introduction.” In The Colonizer and the Colo-
nial Peru. 2d ed. Austin, Tex., 2000.
nized, by Albert Memmi. New York, 1965.
Anderson, Benedict. Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Ori-
Seed, Patricia. Ceremonies of Possession in Europe’s Conquest of the
gin and Spread of Nationalism. 2d ed. London, 1991.
New World 1492–1640. Cambridge, UK, 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
1860
COLORS
Shohat, Ella. “Notes on the Post-Colonial.” Social Text 31/32
however, (e.g., in ritual or artistic contexts) these representa-
(1992): 99–113.
tions expand to other associations. For example, in the con-
Tylor, E. B. Primitive Culture. 2 vols. London, 1871.
text of the circumcision rite, red is a prominent color and
could certainly be associated with blood. From its specific
Van der Veer, Peter. Imperial Encounters: Religion and Modernity
and universal association with blood, however, are formed
in India and Britain. Princeton, N.J., 2001.
other meanings having to do with lineage, male potency,
Warner, J. C. “Mr. Warner’s Notes.” In A Compendium of Kafir
hunting, and warfare. Likewise, during the Ndembu female
Laws and Customs, edited by John MacLean, pp. 57–109.
initiation rite, red has equally powerful but opposite mean-
Mount Coke, South Africa, 1858.
ings such as menstruation, childbirth, and matrilineage.
DAVID CHIDESTER (2005)
From the specific associations of red and blood other mean-
ings of the color have developed that are specific to particular
cultural contexts. Over the course of several weeks of seclu-
sion, young boys and girls are formed into adult members
COLORS. Like other forms of religious symbolism, the
of Ndembu society through color symbolism.
symbolism of color emerges from the immediate material ex-
MESOAMERICAN COLOR USE. As is true for many ancient
perience of human beings. Common elements of life are the
monuments around the world, in Mesoamerican archaeolog-
basis for reflections on the meaning of color. Various plants
ical sites the gray and lifeless stone monuments seen today
(flowers, trees, medicinal herbs, etc.), animals, insects, the
were originally plastered in white and awash in vibrant col-
human body, celestial and climatological phenomena are just
ors. The architectural remnants of today are but dim remind-
a few things that orient the meanings of color symbolism.
ers of the vitality of these ceremonial centers. Colors of black,
This implies that there are universal themes in color symbol-
blue, red, and yellow decorated ancient Mesoamerican tem-
ism that are involved with local knowledge of particular ge-
ples and palaces. Murals of deities, animals, kingly exploits,
ographies. The naive and immediate experience of color gives
as well as numerous other topics, were painted with an as-
rise to complex speculations about the nature of the cosmos.
sortment of colors. Ancient cities such as Tikal, Bonampak,
Beginning with a basic distinction of primary from second-
Tula, Teotihuacan, Cholula, Chichén Itzá, and Tenochtitlan
ary colors, one is soon led on to such notions as warm and
were all brightly painted.
cold colors, for example. There are no set universal character-
istics of color symbolism just as there are no completely cul-
Pre-Columbian picture books and texts were composed
tural-specific meanings of color. Nevertheless, exploring
of a series of images. Often these images depicted the activi-
color symbolism of religions other than one’s own is valuable
ties of gods, heroes, divinatory calendars, and conquests and
because it informs commonly held meanings. Indeed, vari-
tribute. Invariably, artisans who crafted these books used
ous artists and cultures play with the organic connections be-
brilliant colors to better communicate their messages. Ce-
tween colors and their referents.
ramics, stone carvings, and other art objects were also
adorned with an assortment of colors. Pre-Columbian texts
For example, in Paul Klee’s (1879–1940) work primary
often feature body painting, and specific colors and arrange-
colors are associated with different sounds, geometrical
ments of colors represented the activities of gods and hu-
forms, and even subjective experiences. According to Klee,
mans. For example, a red-striped body represented human
blue is associated with the circle and with the experience of
sacrifice. Black stripes on the face and yellow hair were asso-
stability; yellow, with the triangle and the sensation of speed;
ciated with the fire god Xiuhtecuhtli or Ixcozauhqui (Yellow
and red, with the square and the experience of power. Simi-
Face). White was often associated with the bleached bones
larly, Wassily Kandinsky (1866–1944), one of the greatest
of the god Mictlanteuchtli, the lord of the dead who resided
abstract painters, observed that a yellow circle seemed to de-
in the underworld. Painted images in these books indicate
velop outward in an expansive movement so that it appears
that body painting was an important feature of Mesoameri-
to approach the observer, whereas a blue circle seemed to
can ritual life. Just as colors adorned the temples that served
contract and move away from the viewer. In the world of
as the central focus of ceremonial activity, likewise practi-
fashion, it is well known that the colors of black and white
tioners of the ceremonies used colors to adorn their bodies.
have opposing effects on human perceptions: White is expe-
Color was therefore an important feature of Mesoameri-
rienced as expansive whereas black is contractive. Both Klee
can symbolism. At the level of practice, colors could symbol-
and Kandinsky played with associations that were well-
ize specific material phenomenon, including yellow for the
grounded in specific phenomena to induce a perceptual ex-
sun, red for blood, and blue for water. Often certain colors
perience in the viewer. In other words, they played with
were associated with specific cardinal directions. However,
human associations between color and its various conceptual
no one-to-one correlation existed between color and a partic-
meanings. This strategy has been utilized in various cultural
ular aspect of material life. Colors would often be associated
contexts as well.
with several things at once, thus the meaning of specific col-
Red, white, and black are the three most used colors in
ors was multivalent. At the level of ideology colors could be
Ndembu ritual. At first glance these colors are representative
intimately associated, for example, with a deity, a geographi-
of blood, milk (or semen), and feces. In different contexts,
cal location, or a specific ritual activity.
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COLORS
1861
Blue and red were often directly associated with water
penance (i.e., Lent) and in funeral services; and black has fall-
and blood. For example, on temples in which human sacri-
en into disuse (except on Good Friday, when it is used to
fices took place and on picture books that represented the
symbolize Christ’s descent into death prior to his resurrec-
activities of the gods, blue and red consistently refer to water
tion) because of its associations with the devil by Church Fa-
and blood. Ceremonies dedicated to fertility deities, such as
thers, particularly during the late Middle Ages. On occasion
Chac for the Maya and Tlaloc for the Aztec, underscored the
silver may replace white, and gold may be used instead of
relationship between water and blood. Thus, stylized depic-
white, green, or red. In other words, the symbolism of white,
tions of these deities and adornments on their temples, in
silver, and gold have a preeminent place in the color symbol-
particular, prominently utilized blue and red.
ism of the Catholic Church. Codification of the ceremonial
uses of color attempted to reduce the local associations for
The use of colors was part of the total sensual experience
the sake of maintaining global unanimity.
of being in the city. One’s participation in ceremonial events,
as well as everyday activities, meant being surrounded by rich
THE COLOR GOLD. The polyvalence of gold is worth noting.
sensory stimuli including music and sound, light and dark,
Throughout Christendom, mysticism is often expressed by
smells and tastes, and colors. The affective use of color, there-
use of gold. Byzantine mosaics and icons, as well as medieval
fore, gave people the sense of being intimately integrated into
paintings utilize gold to articulate the high spiritual value of
Mesoamerican social and cosmological realities.
specific individuals In his Speculation in Colors (1915), the
Russian Orthodox philosopher Evgenii Trubetskoi (1863–
CHRISTIAN SYMBOLISM. In contrast—and yet related—to
1920) noticed the influence of a solar Christological mysti-
Hellenistic and Roman traditions, Christian color symbol-
cism in the golden backgrounds of the icons, because only
ism was generally based on white, which was associated with
the color of gold can reflect the supreme sunlight of the heav-
purity and innocence. In the Catholic Church color most
enly world. Artists devised the assist—the insertion of shining
often symbolized the virtues of purity and spiritual hierarchy.
golden lines radiating the dress of divine figures—for this
As such, more attention is paid to the universal aspects of
reason. The assist is especially common in depictions of
color associations. White was the color of the martyrs, the
Christ and, above all, in depictions of the transfiguration, the
candidatus exercitus (white-clad army). Opposed to white was
resurrection, and the ascension, and the other post-
black, considered to be the color of sadness and later intro-
resurrection events. It is clearly intended as a symbol of
duced into funeral liturgies. Cobalt blue was the color of
Christ’s superhuman glory. Behind it lies the speculative
darkness and the devil, whereas red was the color of the em-
metaphysics of light exemplified in the golden backgrounds
pyrean sky and of the angels. Purple, the imperial color of
of the Byzantine mosaics in churches in Ravenna and Byzan-
ancient Rome, became the color of the cardinal’s robe. The
tium (modern Istanbul) aimed at turning the inner space of
comparative difficulty in attaining purple led to its associa-
the Roman basilicas into space-light and lightening the heav-
tions with social prestige and power, which became connect-
iness of the architectural material. The golden background
ed with the spiritual hierarchy of the Catholic church. In ad-
produces an atmosphere pervaded with immaterial light
dition to these associations, color is also associated with the
(phos to aulon) and draws the believers out of material con-
yearly passage of time. Use of color in the vestments of offici-
cerns toward the contemplation of the divine mysteries.
ant, on the altar, and in the attire of the attendants also leads
Gold symbolism in the development of Christianity associat-
to symbolism that is part of the Christian liturgical year.
ed solar symbolism with the universality of Christ’s liberating
From the ninth century on, colors were a constant ele-
presence in the world. The promise of Christian salvation
ment of Christian ritual. Despite early attempts to standard-
was directly associated with the heavens—above and outside
ize church usage, variations persisted. In Greece, for example,
earthly confines. Many of the world’s great and global reli-
red was the color of mourning (perhaps associated with
gions have utilized solar symbolism to promote the universal-
blood), but in Milan, where the local Ambrosian ritual was
ity of their message. For example, in the Buddhist text, the
celebrated, red was connected with the Holy Sacrament. In
Supreme Su¯tra of the Golden Brilliance, the Buddha’s immate-
France, red was the liturgical color on All Saints Day (No-
rial body is presented as shining gold and is identical with
vember 1; a clear reference to the blood of martyrs) whereas
the dharmaka¯ya (the body of the Law). The essence of the
in Rome white, the symbol of triumph, was used for the
universe is thus compared to a golden light that shines forth
same feast.
like sunlight. In several Gandharan traditions (defined as an
area of Afghanistan and Pakistan from the first to fifth centu-
The first codification of the liturgical colors began
ries CE), they speak of the Buddha’s shadow as golden and
under Innocent III (1198–1216) and reached its definitive
shining.
form under Pius V (1566–1572) after the Council of Trent
(1545–1563). In the final codification, white is a primary
The golden backgrounds of mosaics, icons, and paint-
color and is used in the great festivities of the liturgical year
ings on wood were created by applying very thin sheets of
to symbolize triumph, innocence, and purity; red is reserved
gold to a prepared surface. Because this method cannot be
for the feast of the martyrs, symbolizing the blood of sacrifice
used on the larger scale of frescos, some painters, notably
and eternal life; green is a symbol of hope and is to be regard-
Giotto (1267–1337), filled the backgrounds of murals with
ed between white and red; violet is used during periods of
a blue pigment made by powdering the gemstone lapis lazuli
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1862
COMENIUS, JOHANNES AMOS
to create the most precious color of that time. In Giotto’s
Similarly, for the Haudenosaunee (People of the Long-
frescoes the blue of lapis lazuli can be compared to the golden
house; better known as the Iroquois), of upstate New York
backgrounds of the Byzantine Siensese tradition, with the re-
and Canada, the colors purple and white have deep signifi-
sulting orientation toward a heavenly mysticism and away
cance. These are the colors of wampum, which is a bead
from the fundamental realism of the paintings. Nevertheless,
carved from the quahog shell found along the New England
in the ancient Christian tradition, azure and blue had a nega-
Atlantic coast. As with ancient people of the Mediterranean
tive value. The high values of gold, silver, and lapis lazuli over
basin, purple is regarded as a precious color. The colors of
and against other materials are connected with their associa-
wampum symbolize cosmological attributes—black of night
tions to salvation, resurrection, and heaven. Not only were
and light of day. The purple and white signify the opposing
the materials that were used for making these colors com-
forces of the universe that come together in the working of
paratively rare in the West, but their associations with the
creation. Wampum belts and strings, therefore, are items of
spiritual values of the church make them seem intrinsically
human manufacture that establish proper relationships with
valuable.
the Creator. Wampum has been used continuously by the
Haudenosaunee in Longhouse ceremonies. Because of the re-
Compared with blue, gold is free of the ambiguity asso-
ligious significance of wampum, it has been used in forming
ciated with other colors, but the blue of lapis lazuli was wide-
international and intercultural alliances between the Hau-
ly used in the area of Central Asia. Many Buddhist paintings
denosaunee and the Dutch, English, French and American
found in the area of Kuqa have this blue appearing alongside
governments, as well as a number of indigenous nations.
green. On one hand, it was used in Tibetan Buddhist art to
Today the purple and white Confederacy Belt, which sym-
depict terrifying gods with enormous powers. In the sole sur-
bolizes the unity of the original five nations (Seneca, Cayuga,
viving wall painting of Tumshuq, and in several others
Onondaga, Oneida, and Mohawk), can be seen everywhere
around Kuqa, inauspicious figures either are completely blue
throughout Haudenosaunee territory and serves as the flag
or have blue beards. On the other hand, ascetics and monks
of the Haudenosaunee.
are also depicted with blue beards.
The meaning and use of color is a universal human phe-
ALCHEMY AND NATIVE AMERICAN TRADITIONS. Color plays
nomenon. Yet the orientations that individual human com-
an important role in the Western alchemic tradition. Accord-
munities have to color symbolism is specific to their local
ing to this tradition, the alchemic process passes though four
contexts and environments. Color has a powerful effect on
stages, each associated with a color: the nigredo (black) or ini-
human emotions and can unify and divide groups of people.
tiatory death, the albedo (white) or beginning of rebirth, the
It is an integral part of ceremonial life triggering a range of
rubedo (red) or sublimation, and the auredo (gold), the al-
emotional responses that is often referenced to a sacred reali-
most unreachable final stage that represents spiritual perfec-
ty. There is no color code of religious meanings but rather
tion. The series seems to coincide with the elementary set of
specific colors can mean a range of things depending on the
colors that the Greek philosophers Pythagoras (571–497
context of their use. Certainly, without color religion would
BCE) and Empedocles (492–432 BCE) regarded as the only
be a much less urgent and powerful phenomenon in human
ones allowable on a palette, namely, black, white, red, and
life.
yellow.
SEE ALSO Alchemy, overview article; Art and Religion;
As with the Mesoamericans and alchemy, the Lakota-
Christian Liturgical Year.
speaking people of the Great Plains of North American asso-
ciate colors with different aspects of life. In the Pipe Ceremo-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
ny, the colors red, yellow, black, and white are associated
Barreiro, José, ed. Indian Roots of American Democracy. Ithaca,
with the cardinal directions. A variety of ceremonies per-
N.Y., 1992.
formed for the fertility of the earth, for healing, human life
Neihardt, John G. Black Elk Speaks. Lincoln, Neb., 1932; reprint,
stages, and so on utilize this color symbolism. The Oglala
1979.
healer Black Elk’s vision emphasized the colors associated
Turner, Victor. The Forest of Symbols: Aspects of Ndembu Ritual.
with the six grandfathers, which were the deities associated
Ithaca, N.Y., 1967.
with foundational elements of the universe. During these dif-
ficult times of the early reservation, Black Elk’s community
PHILIP P. ARNOLD (2005)
performed his Great Vision in a ceremony. A tipi was erected
in the middle, elaborately painted to reflect his boyhood vi-
sion. Horses of specific colors—yellow, red, black, and
COMENIUS, JOHANNES AMOS (1592–1670),
white—were used in the ceremony. Black Elk’s vision was
the “grandfather of modern education.” Born Jan Amos
performed by his community and thereby brought out of the
Komensky´ in Nivnitz, Moravia, he was orphaned early and
realm of the human mind into activity. His Oglala people
did not begin school until the age of sixteen. He died in Am-
invested significant resources in reproducing the colors of the
sterdam, a lifelong refugee from religious wars, the last bish-
vision accurately so as to reestablish proper relationships with
op of the Moravian and Bohemian Brethren, formerly
deities that controlled their world.
known as the Old Church.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
COMMUNITY
1863
Said to be unoriginal in philosophy, Comenius’s genius
Comenius’s Dictionary of Tongues and All Sciences was
lay in teaching. His philosophy and his teaching were forged
translated into Arabic and Russian, as well as into other Eu-
from personal experience with both religious intolerance and
ropean languages, and the students of three continents
bad schooling. He was convinced that international tensions
thumbed its pages. Orbis pictus (The visible world), pub-
were grounded in religious differences, which in turn were
lished in 1658, was his most famous text; it was illustrated,
grounded in lack of knowledge of the order of nature as well
featured parallel passages in Latin and in the student’s ver-
as of others’ religions.
nacular, and was intended to be employed by students at a
rate commensurate with their individual abilities. These texts
His grand strategy was “Pansophia,” a philosophy of
were based on earlier works: Gate of Tongues Unlocked (1631)
universal knowledge based on a universal language built on
and Labyrinth of the World (c. 1623). His best-known work
a universal education that included women. Invited to En-
is Didactica magna, written between 1628 and 1632. It has
gland to develop a system of education, he was prevented
influenced teaching methods in the Western world more,
from carrying out his program by the Civil War. He visited
perhaps, than any other book of educational theory.
Sweden and planned the reformation of schools there only
to flee the outbreak of war in 1648. He returned to Leszno,
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Poland, whence he had fled from Nivnitz as a young man,
A good biography of Comenius is Matthew Spinka’s John Amos
and where he had done most of his writing, but was forced
Comenius: That Incomparable Moravian (Chicago, 1943). A
by the war between West Prussia and Poland to escape to
good analysis of his contribution to education is John E.
Amsterdam in 1655, losing in this final move all his manu-
Sadler’s J. A. Comenius and the Concept of Universal Educa-
scripts.
tion (London, 1966).
For Comenius, schools as he found them were “the
WAYNE R. ROOD (1987)
slaughterhouse of the mind,” devoted as they were to the
dreary and sometimes desperately enforced study of Latin in
a world where that language was no longer used. In his
COMMUNION SEE EUCHARIST
schools there was to be no “stuffing and flogging,” but, rath-
er, a reasonable following of “the lead of nature.” “A rational
creature should be led,” he wrote, “not by shouts, imprison-
ment and blows, but by reason.” Nothing was to be learned
COMMUNITY. Although groupings or community
“for its own sake,” but “for its usefulness in life.” Everything
formations are a regular feature of the phenomenon of reli-
was to be learned by practice: “Let the students learn to write
gion, it is important to recognize that they are neither neces-
by writing, to talk by talking, to sing by singing, to reason
sary nor equally prominent in all religions. There are situa-
by reasoning.” Comenius likened education to nature, where
tions otherwise completely typical of the category “religion”
the existence of objects was prior to the development of lan-
wherein the communal element is lacking, and others where-
guage. “The principle of succession,” he wrote, in which “na-
in it is loosely structured, evanescent, or deemed unimpor-
ture prepares the material before giving it form, develops ev-
tant. For example, even though monasteries constitute a rig-
erything from within, always ending in particulars, makes no
orous and elaborate kind of community, the name for them
leaps [and] advances only from strength.” Knowledge, there-
in Western languages derives from the Greek monos, mean-
fore, comes most naturally through the senses: “The sense of
ing “single, alone.” Hermit monks and wandering sam:nya¯sins
hearing should be conjoined with that of sight, and the
take as a major element in their piety and ascetic practice the
tongue should be trained in coordination with the hand.”
renunciation of community. Also, many people in modern,
Objects were to be brought into the classroom for use in
industrialized societies consider themselves religious because
teaching.
of certain attitudes, practices, and beliefs but do not take part
in a communal structure in which these religious factors are
His plans for state schools, radical in his century, are
shared or are decisive.
now generally accepted. Schools were to open at a uniform
date each year and holidays were to be frequent but short.
Therefore, in the following paragraphs, as various types
According to his plans, a definite learning task would be as-
of religious communal organization are reviewed and their
signed to each hour of the day; after each class there was a
dynamics analyzed, one must remember that these groups
recess. The length of the day was longer the higher the grade.
vary in intensity and importance in their respective cultures
Comenius proposed that each teacher have a separate room
and traditions, and that they do not exhaust the possibilities
and all learning be done under the teacher’s supervision;
for religious life. Nevertheless, it is not too much to say that
there was to be no homework. Comenius hoped for the es-
nearly all religious situations do have a communal dimension
tablishment of a central college which was to be provided
and that in many the community is the decisive factor.
with facilities for both advanced learning and teacher prepa-
It is a prejudice of modern society to speak of “organized
ration. From a generation so trained, he believed, a Christian
religion” as if organization added an extraneous element to
republic might grow. “There is no more certain way under
what legitimately exists without it. It is possible, of course,
the sun,” he wrote, “to raise a sunken humanity.”
to define or to believe in a religion that is a matter of one’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
1864
COMMUNITY
aloneness. It should also be recognized, however, that for
in a religious community. One’s role in the family (as moth-
many other people the social factor—belonging to and hav-
er, son, etc.) or one’s lineage (e.g., in a caste system) may also
ing a place in a religious community—may be the dominant
determine religious status, and one’s political office or status
aspect of their religious life and that, further, it may be a hid-
as a leader in the society at large tends to take on religious
den factor even in the life of the one who rejects its signifi-
significance.
cance.
Religious communities are different from other social
The following description and typology of religious
groups in their concept of the community as a sacred phe-
communities is highly abstract and theoretical. It describes
nomenon. Instead of conceiving of the community in practi-
poles, although most groups actually lie somewhere on a con-
cal or casual terms, the distinctly religious group sees itself
tinuum between such poles; it speaks of pure types, even
as part of a larger structure, plan, or purpose, one that tran-
though most of life is compromised and blended; it isolates
scends the immediate or basic needs of humanity. Conscious
factors and structures that are in actuality mixed with other
correlation of the community with patterns of symbols that
social patterns as well as influenced and changed by belief,
are not social in their primary reference is a signal of the pres-
rite, and experience. All this notwithstanding, focusing on
ence of religious rather than secular community.
these social structures, abstracted from their living contexts,
Where nature and its processes are the focal point of re-
may be helpful in sorting out the communal element from
ligious attention, the community is conceived and structured
among the many contributing factors in a religious phenom-
with reference to the natural world. The subgroups within
enon and so may lead to a better understanding of the whole.
a tribe, for example, are linked in the mind with animals,
CHARACTERISTICS OF RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY. Some form
stars, and the like. This totemism does not indicate an oblit-
of initiation usually marks entrance into a religious commu-
eration of the distinction between nature and culture in such
nity. Entrance rituals may also be duplicated, reinforced, or
peoples but rather shows an attempt to correlate one with
elaborated on subsequent occasions. Later transition ceremo-
the other or to use the elements of the natural world as a
nies often mark the beginning of new status within a group
means of labeling and systematizing society.
(e.g., ordination or monastic profession). There are also ritu-
Among religious groups for whom nature is not the pri-
als and procedures for leaving a group, by incorporation into
mary concern, the concept of the community as a sacred en-
a higher status beyond the perimeters of the former group,
tity takes a variety of forms. A special relationship with one
or by censure and repudiation. Even death, which would
or more gods or goddesses may be expressed by seeing the
seem to end an individual’s membership in a community,
group as the servants, the messengers, or perhaps the co-
can be understood as an initiation into a yet higher degree
workers of the divine beings. There is a fine line between
of existence in the group. In such cases, certain ceremonies
metaphors and ontological assertions in theological language,
during the ritual year may celebrate the return of the dead
so one often does not know how precisely to take images,
to participate in the life of the community.
such as the church as the “body” of Christ, that seem to give
Communal ritual activities for other purposes or on
a group a kind of organic participation in the sacred.
other occasions than initiation or ordination are also charac-
A concept of the group as sacred can be linked with the
teristic marks of religious communities. These rituals may be
merit or attainments of adepts with various degrees of skill.
focused on seasonal change, agricultural processes, famous
Those who are most advanced in ascetic practice, meditation,
events of history, and doctrines, usually with all these ele-
or yoga may constitute a sacred core around or below which
ments blended together. Gathering as a group for such rites
those of lesser attainments are ranked. This arrangement
is perhaps the most persistent aspect of religious community,
leads to a pattern illustrated by Buddhism, according to
and is arguably its reason for being.
which the term for the community, sam:gha, may refer to the
Differentiation of function and of merit or value is often
inner circle of monks (bhikkhus) or to the larger group, the
recognized in communal structure. In some cases special
laity, who subscribe to the doctrine but practice it less exclu-
functions within the group, especially leadership in ritual ac-
sively.
tivities, are assumed by individuals specially selected and
It is possible, of course, for a religious community to be
consecrated; in other cases leaders emerge from the group
structured along lines that are not particularly religious from
charismatically. That is, some religious traditions are highly
the point of view of believer or observer, as is so, for example,
sensitive to structural arrangements and carefully delineate
in the military model of the Salvation Army and the constitu-
lines of command and authority, carefully categorizing all
tional administrative arrangement of some American Protes-
functions and degrees. In other traditions the patterns of au-
tant denominations. In such cases, concepts of the group as
thority are quite casual, very much dependent on individual
a sacred entity might become almost entirely separate from
initiative and lacking ritual recognition.
its actual structural appearance. Tensions can develop in reli-
Religious communities often validate, or give religious
gious groups when the social structure and the theology be-
meaning to, natural or social distinctions. Gender, for exam-
come too divergent. It is odd, for example, to have a monas-
ple, is often a significant determinant of an individual’s role
tic pattern that is almost inevitably based on merit and
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
COMMUNITY
1865
attainment existing within a tradition that doctrinally asserts
mony such as circumcision or some act of consecration
equality before God or some alternate kind of sacred
marks the official (or ontological) entrance into society. In
hierarchy.
many places such initiation is more marked for boys than for
girls, although there may be rituals connected with the onset
To summarize, we can assume that we are observing a
of menstruation. It is to be expected that gender, lineage, and
religious community, whether it is so labeled or not, when
comparable identifications will be more significant in natural
most or all of the following characteristics are evident in ref-
religious groups than in others.
erence to the sacred: rituals of initiation and incorporation
(as well as those of rejection); other communal rituals; and
In natural religious groups the religious leaders or func-
status levels and functional distinctions.
tionaries are generally the leaders of the society as a whole.
It is rare, however, to find a community that does not also
“NATURAL” RELIGIOUS GROUPS. One of the clearest dis-
have its religious specialists, perhaps a shaman or medicine
tinctions to be made among religious communities is that be-
man, whose appearance and role depend on a special recogni-
tween groups specifically and self-consciously organized
tion that is not determined by “nature” in the sense used
around religious beliefs and activities and those societies or
here.
“natural” groups wherein whatever is religious is part of the
whole social structure. This distinction may also be made by
It should also be noted that specific religious organiza-
noting that the specific religious groups are typically or theo-
tions may exist within natural religious groups. The primi-
retically voluntary, while one is born into the latter type of
tive secret society is an example of such a group: it has its
community, and there is no choice about joining it. A further
own dynamics as a voluntary group with special religious
way of making the distinction is by observing the relation-
functions and rites apart from the society as a whole. Similar-
ship between the religious dimension and the political or
ly, groups based on family, gender, ethnic background, and
governmental dimension: specific religious groups are not in-
related natural factors may be found within or alongside spe-
volved per se in governing, whereas the natural religious
cific religious communities or may even seem to merge with
group is identical with the social group as a whole, including
them. Men’s fraternities are a common example of a gender-
its political functions.
based grouping, and the practical identity (at least in former
years) of Spanish background and Roman Catholicism is an
These broad categories have been labeled in many ways;
example of the apparent merging of the natural with the spe-
for example, the terms differentiated and undifferentiated
cific religious community.
have been used, based on the degree to which the religious
group is differentiated from the society as a whole. Some-
Humans face a special situation in the phenomenon of
times it seems better to designate the natural, or undifferenti-
the nation as a religious community—special in that the
ated, type of religious community as “folk” religion and, by
basis of community is not necessarily “natural” in the way
contrast, to see the specific religious community as “univer-
that it is for gender, family, or lineage. In a nation, unrelated
sal” in character. Folk religion is part of the culture of a par-
peoples can be joined together, slaves or slave populations
ticular group of people and is not easily distinguished from
may be incorporated into the political unit, and foreigners
all the other patterns and practices that define the culture.
may have a place in the society as merchants or mercenaries.
A universal religious group, however, tries to cross cultural
When the nation is also a religious community, however, it
and ethnic boundaries by assuming that all people every-
typically develops a set of stories (a mythology) to make the
where can become members of its community.
diverse groups appear to be a family. It is not at all certain,
for example, that the ancient Israelites were all descended
The terms specific and natural are used in this article to
from Jacob; but new tribes could be included by having their
name these groups, even though the latter term presents a
patriarchs included among Jacob’s sons. Emphasis on the
problem of multiple meanings. Many presuppositions lie be-
“natural” in this type of religious nation may also be seen in
hind any use of nature, and most of these are irrelevant to
the Israelites’ insistence on the number twelve (the names of
their present use. One should not assume, for example, that
the sons of Jacob vary, but they are always twelve in number);
natural religious groups are sociobiologically based in a way
this probably reflects a desire to repeat in human society the
that specific groups are not. In fact, nothing that follows
pattern of the heavens: twelve lunar cycles within a single
need be understood as affecting theories concerning the bio-
solar cycle.
logical determination of human social behavior. All that is
To the Israelites and other ancient peoples, political and
meant by the use of natural in this context is the identity of
religious functions were indistinguishable. While in modern
the religious community with those forms of social organiza-
times people differentiate between religious and civil law, an-
tion that are mostly inevitable in human life: family, clan,
cient lawgivers recorded both in the same codes and in the
ethnic group, and nation.
same manner. The king was political, military, and religious
Even though one is born into such social structures, ini-
functionary in one. Society, nature, and the gods were all
tiation into “real” participation in the community is one of
seen as part of one interrelated organism. This outlook led
the signs that the social unit is also a religious community.
to such phenomena as blaming crop failure on the weakness
At birth or puberty, or at both of these life passages, a cere-
or immorality of the king. The king was characteristically
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1866
COMMUNITY
seen as a god, the son of a god, or a representative and link
and can be applied with some adjustments to other religions
from the heavens to earth and society.
as well.
This set of concepts is not entirely limited to the past.
The kind of group that is least involved in the rest of
Some modern nations take on many of these characteristics
society is called a “cult.” A cult may comprise barely more
(for some of their people) and thus become religious commu-
than the audience for a charismatic leader or healer. It is
nities of a sort. Nations, both ancient and recent, have been
loosely organized; often it is small and short-lived. Its reli-
known to cultivate epics of their origin, promote their pecu-
gious style is personal and emotional.
liar concepts of the world, claim special connection with a
god or gods, and link their success (or failure) to divine pur-
A “sect” is a religious community that is more clearly
pose. Not all of these nation-religions are generally recog-
organized than a cult, that provides a great amount of reli-
nized as such, but the Shinto¯ tradition of Japan clearly exem-
gious value to its members (in terms of social relationships,
plifies this phenomenon.
ritual activities, ethical and doctrinal direction, and so forth),
but that plays little role in the society at large. Taken to its
The religious and political dimensions of human life
extreme, a sect can form a completely separate miniature
may be connected in another way as well, one that goes be-
state either mixed into the society geographically or located
yond the nation as a political unit. Islam, the most recent of
in its own separate territory.
the major religions, exhibits some of the characteristics of the
very ancient natural religious community. It is based on the
It is also possible, however, for a sect to move in a differ-
premise that the religious regulation and the civil regulation
ent direction and become more stable within the larger soci-
of life are to be derived from one source and litigated in one
ety. A sect so changed would be an “established sect,” or an
way. The international community of Islam thus presumes
“institutionalized sect.” In this situation the wider society’s
that a family of nations or peoples can be Muslim in law and
acceptance of the sect can be great even though the sect re-
belief. Some Muslim nations have begun to reject the notion
mains exclusive and self-centered. An established sect has lost
of a secular government (i.e., one that is determined not by
its appearance of opposition to the rest of the society and
religious belief but by human deliberation) in favor of a reli-
other religious groups, but it remains doctrinally or theoreti-
gious government based on the QurDa¯n. Although Islamic
cally exclusive.
government of this sort does not necessarily have a kinglike
At this point the “denomination” assumes its place in
figure or a theology of agriculture, in most other ways it is
the six-type scheme as another type of Western religious
like the ancient nations, a natural religious community.
community. It is the kind of group that maintains separate
SPECIFIC RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIES. Specific religious com-
and distinct organization despite its acceptance of the legiti-
munities are sometimes called “founded” religions because
macy of other denominations or communities. It may con-
they have appeared within the scope of recorded history as
ceive of itself as the best, but hardly the only, community
the result of efforts of a particular person or small group. As
in which adequate religious practice can be found. It is also
noted above, this category could also be termed “universal,”
relatively more involved with and accepted by the larger
“differentiated,” or “voluntary.” Contemporary pluralistic
society.
societies include religious communities of this type, even
Students of American religious communities have been
though some characteristics of natural religious communities
struck by the tendency of each Christian sect and denomina-
can be observed on occasion.
tion to be made up of people from a single socioeconomic
Sociologists of religion, mainly Westerners interested in
class. Furthermore, they note that a sect tends to become an
Christian groups, have put most of their energies into analyz-
established sect or a denomination and that as it does, the
ing specific religious groups. As the examination of the social
class composition of its members tends to change. Some of
dimensions of religion became a recognized scholarly disci-
the characteristics of the transition from sect to its more es-
pline, the categories “church” and “sect” were developed to
tablished form or to a denomination are an increase in the
distinguish between religious communities. This terminolo-
members’ and the institution’s wealth; movement toward the
gy applied well to sixteenth-century Europe but was insuffi-
center of the surrounding culture and away from criticism
cient elsewhere. For America it was necessary to add at least
of it; less ridicule of other religious communities and more
the category “denomination.” One widely used typology of
cooperation with them; less exclusion of potential members
religious groups that developed out of the earlier distinctions
for being thought potentially unworthy; fewer casually pre-
lists six major types of religious community: cult, sect, estab-
pared part-time leaders and more professionally trained full-
lished sect (or institutionalized sect), denomination, ecclesia,
time ministers; more concern for children and education; less
and universal church. These categories were developed par-
emphasis on death and the next world and more attention
ticularly with reference to the ways in which the religious
to life in this world; and less spontaneity and emotion in
community is integrated into the society as a whole and to
worship and more use of hymns and texts from the liturgical
a lesser degree with reference to the internal dynamics of each
traditions. The established sect and the denomination might
group or its theology. Nevertheless, these six types can pro-
be similar in most of these departures from the patterns of
vide a framework for understanding Christian communities
a sect, but the denomination has a different theology, while
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
COMMUNITY
1867
the established sect, no matter how institutionalized or ac-
tarian in its lack of involvement with the society as a whole
cepted, retains its exclusive and condemnatory thought and
and in its governmental structures.
speech.
The different circumstances of non-Western religious
The next two categories, beyond denomination, repre-
communities can be understood better in terms and catego-
sent the most established and, culturally and socially, the
ries other than the six reviewed above. The following catego-
most prominent kinds of religious community. One has
ries have been developed especially by anthropologists and
been called the “ecclesia” and consists of the established na-
ethnologists, and they help people to understand the sub-
tional churches, for example, the churches of England and
groups within larger religious communities or traditions.
of Sweden. The other is termed “universal church.” It is as
well established as the ecclesia but exists in many nations and
COMMUNITIES WITHIN COMMUNITIES. One large distinc-
cultures; the classic example is the Roman Catholic church
tion that can be made within both natural and specific reli-
of the thirteenth century.
gious groups is that of “great” and “little” traditions. The
professional leadership of a society or a specific religious
One of the characteristics of the specific religious com-
community promotes a literate, fairly sophisticated, and
munity as compared with the natural religious community
often transcultural understanding and practice of its religion.
is its voluntary character. Yet this characteristic is almost
The ordinary members of the group, however, may be im-
completely absent in the ecclesia and universal church and
perfectly incorporated into this tradition. They may main-
is of little importance in the denomination and the estab-
tain some notions and practices from older religions or par-
lished sect. The sect is noted for its emphasis on conversion,
ticipate in the tradition in a way that is based on different
a voluntary, adult decision to join the group. The more es-
media. These two strata do not form clearly separate commu-
tablished churches, however, incorporate the children of
nities but constitute a pattern in many countries.
members almost automatically into the community, thus op-
erating somewhat like a natural religious group. Further-
On a much smaller scale there are other communal for-
more, kings and other political functionaries tend to become
mations that can be found in both natural and specific reli-
semireligious officials in the ecclesia and the universal church
gious communities. Prominent among these is the master,
categories.
guru, or teacher with his following. This is the basic format
of the cult as defined above, but it is also both a regular phe-
As noted above, most of the terminology used here has
nomenon in almost all religions as well as the point of origin
been derived from studies of Western Christian religious
for many new religious communities. The master with his
communities, but it can be applied to Eastern Christianity
disciples is an evanescent phenomenon. Beyond the first gen-
and other religions with some limited success. Sunn¯ı Islam
eration it must become something like a sect, pursuing a sep-
can be seen as a universal church; Sh¯ıE¯ı Islam in Iran can be
arate identity; it must institutionalize the master-pupil pat-
seen as an ecclesia; other Sh¯ıE¯ı groups can be seen as sects
tern in a more or less monastic structure; or it may do both
or established sects, and so on. Eastern Christian groups are
(as does, for example, Buddhism). The model of the Hindu
usually of the ecclesia type in their home countries and have
ashram or of the Muslim S:u¯f¯ı shaykh with his disciples indi-
had to shift character in order to be denominations in Ameri-
cates a recognition of this kind of religious community in
ca. In Thailand and Sri Lanka, Buddhism has had ecclesia
their respective traditions but without much regularization
status; its role in China can be analyzed in various periods
or institutionalization.
as taking the forms of sect, denomination, and so on—all
this despite its essentially monastic structure.
The monastic community is often to be found within
larger religious communities. It may be defined as a group
It is more important in examining non-Western reli-
of people drawn from a larger religious community who live
gious communities to note their patterns of internal relation-
together for shorter or longer periods of time in order to cul-
ships and their role in the larger religious tradition than to
tivate religious techniques and disciplines. This inclusive def-
concentrate on their relationship to the state or society. In
inition can apply to secret societies or to men’s groups within
non-Western societies, the different mix of natural and spe-
tribal societies as well as to the institutions prominent in
cific groups must be considered, as well as the recent and in-
Buddhism, Hinduism, and Christianity. Islam displays a
complete phenomenon of secularity (the separation of civil
variation of this kind of community in the S:u¯f¯ı orders.
from religious jurisdiction). For example, Hinduism is, for
the most part, a natural religious community, but some asso-
Monastic communities may be at the center of their
ciations within it are of the specific type. These groups
larger traditions, as in Buddhism. Here the monks may be
(samprada¯yas) select a certain god or family of gods, a certain
the only leaders of the religious community and thus take
style of worship, and certain temples from the whole range
on functions characteristic of priests and ministers in other
of Hinduism, and these elements become the basis for the
traditions. Within Christianity, however, monasticism has
group’s religious life. Thus a community with its own leaders
been a supplementary pattern of religious leadership that ex-
and priests emerges. This phenomenon has many of the char-
ists alongside the priestly hierarchy. Often monastic commu-
acteristics of the denomination in its recognition of other (al-
nities as well as other subgroups have originated in a protest
most as good) practices and gods in Hinduism, but it is sec-
against prevailing practices or doctrines in the larger group.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1868
COMPARATIVE-HISTORICAL METHOD [FIRST EDITION]
When such a protest becomes estranged, a new religion is
Gross, Rita. “Some Reflections about Community and Survival.”
formed, but often the protest is institutionalized and be-
Buddhist-Christian Studies 23 (2003): 3–20.
comes another option within the larger community.
Kramer, Matthew. John Locke and the Origins of Private Property:
Certainly the most common subgroup in any large reli-
Philosophical Explorations of Individualism, Community, and
gious community is the worshiping unit. This can be quite
Equality. New York, 1997.
an independent group with little involvement in the larger
Tan, Sor-hoon. “From Cannibalism to Empowerment: An Ana-
tradition (such as the Christian “congregationalist” polity),
lects-Inspired Attempt to Balance Community and Liberty.”
or it can be a casual association of people whose primary
Philosophy East and West 54 (January 2004): 52–71.
communal identity is with the larger group (e.g., those Hin-
Warner, R. Stephen, and Judith Wittner, eds. Gatherings in Dias-
dus who happen to be at the same temple at any given time).
pora: Religious Communities and the New Immigration. Phila-
Pilgrimage to a certain shrine can give a very large communi-
delphia, 1998.
ty the sense of being essentially one worshiping group even
Wurthnow, Robert. The Restructuring of American Religion. 1988;
when most religious practice actually takes place in various
reprint, Princeton, 1990.
localities. Islam’s concept of the ummah, with its h:a¯jj and
GEORGE WECKMAN (1987)
orientation of prayer toward Mecca, is the most prominent
Revised Bibliography
example.
SEE ALSO Church; Cults and Sects; Excommunication; Ex-
pulsion; Jewish People; Monasticism; Religious Communi-
COMPARATIVE-HISTORICAL METHOD
ties; Sam:gha; Schism; Secret Societies; Society and Religion;
[FIRST EDITION]. A means of studying religion as
Ummah.
a whole, as well as the particularities of each tradition or sub-
B
tradition, the comparative-historical method draws on his-
IBLIOGRAPHY
The most comprehensive typology of religious communities that
torical data in comparing religions. As Wilhelm Schmidt
attempts to cover all religions and cultures is Joachim Wach’s
(1868–1954) argued, the method aims to show not only the
Sociology of Religion (1944; reprint, Chicago, 1962). There
interplay of the general and the particular elements of reli-
is a shorter typology in Gerardus van der Leeuw’s Religion in
gion, but also the interplay of influences between religious
Essence and Manifestation, 2 vols., translated by J. E. Turner
phenomena and the secular factors in human culture.
from the 2d German ed. (1938; reprint, Gloucester, Mass.,
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS. The comparative-historical
1967). Werner Stark’s The Sociology of Religion: A Study of
Christendom, 5 vols. (New York, 1966–1972) discusses the
method differs from purely historical approaches because it
forms of community extensively, but it ignores non-
is cross-cultural. “Pure history” can deal, for example, with
Christian examples and structures. The distinction between
the unfolding of European pietism or South Indian bhakti
church and sect was formulated by Ernst Troeltsch in The
without getting involved in comparisons and contrasts be-
Social Teaching of the Christian Churches, 2 vols., translated
tween the two phenomena. Obviously the comparative-
by Olive Wyon (1911; reprint, New York, 1931). The form
historical method presupposes “pure history” which, togeth-
of the denomination was added to Troeltsch’s pattern by H.
er with ancillary disciplines such as philosophy and archaeol-
Richard Niebuhr in The Social Sources of Denominationalism
ogy, supplies the facts upon which comparisons depend. It
(New York, 1929). The sixfold typology of religious commu-
differs from psychology and phenomenology of religion,
nities was developed by J. Milton Yinger in Religion, Society,
however, insofar as these disciplines content themselves with
and the Individual (New York, 1965) and elaborated by him
exploring timeless patterns or types of religious phenomena.
in The Scientific Study of Religion (New York, 1970). A sur-
vey of the attempts to develop a typology of religious groups
Thus these disciplines may be concerned with patterns of
is to be found in Roland Robertson’s The Sociological Inter-
mystical experience, for example, but not with how these
pretation of Religion (New York, 1970) and in Michael Hill’s
patterns arise historically or to what extent they are affected
A Sociology of Religion (London, 1973). The dichotomy of
by social and cultural conditions. In the discipline of psy-
the great and little traditions was created by Robert Redfield
chology of religion, religious data are selected in a way that
in The Primitive World and Its Transformations (Ithaca, N.Y.,
is distinct from the comparative-historical method, but the
1953) and The Little Community: Viewpoints for the Study of
distinction between phenomenology of religion and the
a Human Whole (Chicago, 1955). Examples of sects, mostly
comparative-historical method cannot be put always so clear-
Christian but from many places around the world, are given
ly. Insofar as phenomenology also deals with various types
in Bryan R. Wilson’s Religious Sects: A Sociological Study
of changes in religious phenomena over the course of history,
(London, 1970).
the distinctions begin to vanish.
New Sources
Cross, Mike. Communities of Individuals: Liberalism, Communi-
The difference between the comparative-historical
tarianism, and Sartre’s Anarchism. Burlington, Vt., 2001.
method and theology stems less from the selection of data
Etzioni, Amitai. The New Golden Rule: Community and Morality
than from the special way that theology approaches data.
in a Democratic Society. New York, 1996.
Theology (a term that usually is shorthand for Christian the-
Fergusson, David. Community, Liberalism, and Christian Ethics.
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sentially the systematic exploration of the truth of a particu-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
COMPARATIVE-HISTORICAL METHOD [FIRST EDITION]
1869
lar religious tradition or subtradition. The comparative-
problem, for if it is not possible to gain a common definition
historical method does not begin from the assumption of the
of religion, can we be sure that we are talking about a “reli-
truth or falsity of any one religious position. Thus, although
gious factor” in human affairs? Perhaps this factor is merely
the ancillary disciplines of theology (such as church history,
a chimera based on the conventions of European languages.
the history of ideas, philology, and so on) may overlap with
Further, can we be sure that, given that the religious factor
those of the comparative study of religion, their essential aim
exists, we are not excluding phenomena that are of the same
and ethos are different. The comparative-historical method
kind, though they may not be conventionally labeled “reli-
aims to be as objective as possible about the nature and
gious”? The two sides of this problem are interrelated. We
power of religion; it is not concerned with whether a particu-
might, for instance, define religion as relating to a transcen-
lar faith is true. Its objective is to relate religion’s actual influ-
dent being or state (e.g., God or nirva¯n:a). This definition
ences and effects within the world of human history.
may adequately group some of the “great” traditions, but it
The comparative study of religion, in the sense indicat-
leaves doubt about other religions (Stoicism, some religions
ed, has a forceful rationale: there is an aspect of human cul-
of small-scale societies in Africa and elsewhere, etc.), and ex-
ture, namely religion, that calls for interpretation, explana-
cludes the symbolic and “religiously functioning” aspects of
tion, and delineation in ways similar to other aspects of
secular ideologies and ways of life. Pragmatically, it seems
human culture, such as politics and economics. This exami-
best to begin with a religious core and draw into our analysis
nation is called for whether or not a religion is transcenden-
worldviews and elements of symbolism that exhibit analogies
tally derived—whether, in short, its claims about its origin
with the religious properties of this core. In this way, we use
are true or not. The comparative-historical method considers
the comparative method to arrive at a field of inquiry. The
it important to explore recurrent patterns of religious
field in its widest form is worldview analysis, or the delinea-
thought, symbolism, ritual, and experience that can be found
tion and interpretation of worldviews that are both religious
cross-culturally. This approach suggests that religions have
(in the traditional, transcendentally oriented sense) and secu-
a relatively independent occurrence—whatever the theory at
lar. This approach, however, begins with the kinds of analysis
which we might ultimately arrive regarding their ultimate or-
that are specially relevant to the exploration of traditional re-
igin—and so may be used to explain various historical devel-
ligious worldviews.
opments. Thus, for example, the occurrence of devotional re-
Some scholars, because of the invidious implications of
ligion might help to explain certain patterns of social
the term comparative, prefer cross-cultural. This term has
organization.
some drawbacks, but it also has two considerable merits.
PROBLEMS IN COMPARATIVE STUDIES. There are at least two
First, obviously, it avoids the term comparative; and, second,
major problems, however, with the comparative study of reli-
it suggests that analogies are drawn from different cultural
gion. One has to do with objectivity, and the other with the
traditions, and so may make use of terminology and attitudes
definition of religion. The first problem has a particular as
that are not Western. As greater numbers of scholars from
well as a general form. In particular, there was a reaction in
religious traditions other than those of the West make their
the early twentieth century against the use of the term com-
contributions to worldview analysis, and as we become in
parative, since Western and colonialist assumptions often en-
general more globally conscious, a new cross-cultural vocab-
tered into the making of comparisons. This criticism con-
ulary will in all probability emerge. Already there are signs
tributed to the fashionability of the phrase “phenomenology
of the appearance of this vocabulary: terms such as taboo,
of religion” as an alternative way of labeling the enterprise.
totem, yoga, bhakti, Dao, nirva¯n:a, and karma are in general
In general, some scholars have doubted whether it is possible
use in English.
to be genuinely objective about religion since religion has
AIMS OF COMPARATIVE-HISTORICAL STUDY. Generally
necessarily to do with subjectivity, and the study of religion
speaking, the comparative-historical method has two prelim-
is full of value judgments. In response to this criticism, two
inary aims: to demonstrate historical connections, and to
considerations are important. On the one hand, objectivity
point out independent occurrences of similar phenomena.
may be better defined as “descriptive success,” and so the
The tracing of historical connections indicates the scope of
question is, Can we be descriptively successful in describing
the diffusion of key concepts, rites, institutions, and so on.
different forms of subjectivity? On the other hand, though
Often such diffusion is the first hypothesis of many investi-
complete neutrality may not be possible, it is possible to be
gators. For example, early investigators who saw the similari-
relatively neutral in regard to value judgments. In a qualified
ties between ideas in the Bhagavadg¯ıta¯ and in the New Testa-
manner, therefore, descriptive success and a kind of detach-
ment supposed that a single influence, one way or another,
ment are feasible. Here the charge of bias can be turned into
informed both. The use of the swastika symbol both in India
an advantage: it stimulates us to examine our assumptions,
and among American Indian groups is also suggestive of very
and thus to generate a new level of self-awareness that is nec-
ancient diffusion. But the most interesting cases from the
essary for the practice of epoch¯e, or phenomenological de-
theoretical angle are those where a strong degree of indepen-
tachment.
dence of cultural origins can be shown and yet the phenome-
The other main problem with the comparative-
na are similar. It is, for example, striking when the utterances
historical method concerns definition. This is a complex
of mystics in apparently independent traditions are similar.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1870
COMPARATIVE-HISTORICAL METHOD [FIRST EDITION]
Such similarity is suggestive of at least a perennial phenome-
though the evolutionary model is less fashionable now than
nology—that is, the existence of certain recurring, character-
in the latter part of the nineteenth century, which saw the
istic patterns of human experience—if not of a perennial phi-
emergence of comparative religion as a discipline, there is still
losophy. It is partly on this basis that scholars build up their
an interest in the dynamic patterns of development in society
phenomenologies of religion.
that are generated by religion—an interest stimulated by the
work of Max Weber (1864–1920). An example of a recent
But the comparative method is also historical. This in-
evolutionary scheme is found in Robert N. Bellah’s paper
troduces two complications into any typology of religious
“Religious Evolution” (American Sociological Review 29,
factors or themes. The first complication is particularity.
1964, pp. 358–374).
Though it may be that a certain recurrent theme occurs in
two traditions, it nevertheless has a different contextual
INTRA- AND EXTRARELIGIOUS EXPLANATIONS. Of greater
meaning in each. For instance, there may appear to be a simi-
importance, however, are more detailed studies of the modes
lar mystical experience described in Sufism and Maha¯ya¯na
under which different religious themes interact both within
Buddhism. But the meaning of the two experiences will di-
and outside the bounds of religion, strictly defined. It is, for
verge: the one involves a close unity with God, the other the
instance, important to see the ways in which doctrines reflect
attainment of ultimate emptiness. The meaning of each ex-
aspects of experience and myth, or ritual reflects aspects of
perience affects the way each is perceived, both because the
doctrine and ethics, and so on. These interactions within the
Sufi and the Maha¯ya¯na Buddhist have different expectations
boundaries of religion can be called intrareligious, and expla-
leading into their experiences and also because, ex post facto,
nations that refer to them might be termed intrareligious ex-
the experiences suggest differing accounts of the ultimate.
planations. It is also important to consider how doctrines,
More generally, it may be said that each tradition or sub-
myths, and the rest impinge upon or are affected by social
tradition is organic, in that the meaning of each of the partic-
and economic factors in society. Such relations are extrareli-
ular elements woven together into a whole is affected by the
gious, and explanations referring to them are extrareligious ex-
meanings of all the other elements associated with it within
planations. The most extreme cases of extrareligious explana-
the whole. Thus, because the comparative method is histori-
tions are “projection” theories of religion (an example would
cal, it recognizes the importance not only of general similari-
be Freud’s theory of religion), in which religion is under-
ties but also of the particularity of each historical context.
stood to be “caused” by deep structures in nonreligious
Comparisons are therefore never quite exact but are analogi-
human nature or human society. Cases of intrareligious ex-
cal in character. Although the method upholds the value of
planations include the understanding of “negative” theology
comparisons, it nevertheless recognizes the need for contex-
as a consequence of mystical experience, worship as a conse-
tual modification.
quence of the numinous experience, priesthood as a conse-
quence of sacramental ritual, and humility as an ethical con-
The other complication is that the traditions or ele-
sequence of worship. Extrareligious interactions can be seen
ments of traditions under consideration are examined in
in such phenomena as the erosion of the liturgical year by
time; they are the consequences of change, and they them-
the new, indifferent rhythms of industrial society; the in-
selves give rise to changes. A religious ideology may indeed
crease of pilgrimage in South Asia due to the development
retain some “original message” or primordial revelation in an
of buses and railways; and the pressure for gender-related
unchanged manner. Nevertheless, any such relatively un-
changes in ecclesiastical organization due to women’s move-
changed revelation is still transmitted by a process that can
ments. Cases of the reinforcement of religious symbolism by
only be described historically. Indeed, it seems as though an
symbolic factors associated with nonreligious worldviews and
element that has been transmitted from an ancient culture
ideologies (such as nationalism) can be seen in modern Irani-
down to modern times, in order to have retained its identity
an nationalism, the Buddhist revival in Sri Lanka, and so on.
through changing contexts, must have had to change its
overt message if it has managed to retain the same meaning.
The period from World War II onward, and especially
Likewise, an overtly unchanged element that has been trans-
from the mid-1960s until the mid-1980s, saw an immense
mitted “without change” through differing contexts might
expansion in both historical and comparative studies in the
well have undergone a change in meaning because of the al-
field of religion, notably in the English-speaking world, and
tered context. In either case the historical method involves
particularly in North America. The consequence of this ex-
the exploration of changes.
pansion has been a fine array of monographs and studies on
varied aspects of religion. But although there has been inten-
It follows then that in addition to relatively time-free ty-
sive work in cross-cultural dialogue between religions, there
pological comparisons there are comparisons of kinds of
have been few large-scale comparative studies. The times are
changes. Such a typology, which can be called a “dynamic
clearly ripe for such endeavors, which would build upon ex-
phenomenology,” blurs the distinction between the compar-
cellent foundational studies in particular religious traditions.
ative-historical and phenomenological methods. It also takes
The most flourishing aspect of recent comparative studies
us back to some of the early preoccupations of the compara-
has been in the field of mysticism, which has attracted the
tive study of religion, namely, the delineation of the evolu-
interest of scholars involved in hermeneutical and philosoph-
tion of religion from animism through monotheism. Al-
ical studies as well as historians and others. The interfaces 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
COMPARATIVE-HISTORICAL METHOD [FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS]
1871
comparative study in religion with anthropology and sociol-
to say that Bianchi viewed the comparative-historical meth-
ogy as they relate to ritual process has also proved fruitful,
od as the dynamic fulcrum of the history of religions.
as in the influence and work of Victor Turner (1920–1983).
The most influential phenomenological synthesis remains
The comparative-historical method is very much at the
Gerardus van der Leeuw’s Religion in Essence and Manifesta-
heart of the academic discipline of religion. The process of
tion (1938), an indication that the field awaits a new synthet-
comparative religion proper, taking its place beside tradition-
ic overview after a period of intense, but on the whole less
al biblical theology around 1870, marks the inauguration of
broad, activity. Already, however, the comparative-historical
the academic study of religion. Theology itself has increas-
method is beginning to be seen as a vital tool not only for
ingly become historicized and comparative since that time.
the framing of new hypotheses about the patterns of religious
As a recent series of articles in the journal Numen have ar-
developments both in the past and today, but also for the
gued from a variety of perspectives, comparison is a primary
testing of older ways of thinking about the nature and prove-
rather than secondary process within analytical inquiry; it is
nance of religion.
inevitable, marking one of a number of theoretical options.
Definitions of particular phenomena are not plausible with-
SEE ALSO Comparative Religion; Evolution, article on Evo-
out reference to, or comparison with, more general categories
lutionism; Hermeneutics; History of Religions; Phenome-
through which they can be comprehended. Comparison and
nology of Religion; Psychology, article on Psychology of Re-
generalization thus need not be confused with the quest for
ligion; Religionsgeschichtliche Schule; Sociology; Study of
theoretical infallibility and belief in universal principles.
Religion; Women’s Studies in Religion.
Used properly, comparison simply starts scholars thinking—
it need not prevent them from it.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
The series “Religion and Reason,” edited by Jacques Waardenburg
In the years that have passed since Smart’s original arti-
(The Hague, 1971–), is an invaluable collection of mono-
cle was written, the emphasis of religious scholarship has
graphs on the theory of religion; it includes an excellent an-
gradually shifted from a preoccupation with religion as a po-
thology of classical readings, Classical Approaches to the Study
tential object of analytical inquiry to the many subjective
of Religion, vol. 1, Introduction and Anthology (The Hague,
processes by which something designated as “religion” has
1973), compiled by Waardenburg. The most up-to-date sur-
been conceived. As applied to the comparative-historical
vey of recent work is Ursula King’s monograph-long essay,
method, this has resulted in an increased emphasis on the
“Historical and Phenomenological Approaches,” in Theory
historical half of the equation, while the drawing of compari-
and Method in Religious Studies: Contemporary Approaches to
the Study of Religion, edited by Frank Whaling (Mouton de
sons has become theoretically conservative. Increased histori-
Gruyter, Berlin/NY, 1995), pp. 41–176. A complement to
cism has resulted in some degree of decline in the production
the Waardenburg volume is a reader in sociology and anthro-
of compelling theoretical work. Generalization within and
pology titled Sociology of Religion, edited by Roland Robert-
about particular religious traditions has become difficult;
son (Baltimore, 1969). The most useful history of the field
generalization about the nature of religion has become al-
is Eric J. Sharpe’s Comparative Religion: A History (London,
most impossible.
1975). A discussion of some of the central themes of this arti-
cle can be found in my book The Science of Religion and the
Solutions to this problem have not been altogether satis-
Sociology of Knowledge (Princeton, 1973).
fying and have spawned a literature, often languid and un-
N
productive, that questions whether the study of religion is
INIAN SMART (1987)
adequately substantive as an academic genre. The highly
technical linguistic considerations that permeate scholarship
on non-Western religions, the increasingly myopic historical
COMPARATIVE-HISTORICAL METHOD
approach, and the recourse to semantics and semiotics in all
[FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS]. The central
genres of religious study arose in response to legitimate con-
focus of the comparative-historical method is to develop
cerns about the excessive breadth of scholarship in the field.
comparisons between religious formations (comparative)
It may be time for the pendulum to swing, however, and for
while accounting for their development within particular
questions to be asked about the limitations of these new
contexts through time (historical). As such, the method can
trends. As Jonathan Z. Smith has noted, philological exper-
be distinguished from the following: the phenomenology of
tise has become the standard for achieving professional status
religion, which tends toward ahistorical typologies; theology,
in the field, but this direction has come with hidden costs:
which operates within single traditions; social scientific (psy-
“Philology is the vocation; generalization the avocation. This
chological, sociological) approaches, which are usually not as
has led to the wholesale adoption of a sort of common-sense
rigorously historical; and from formalist, philosophical ap-
descriptive discourse as a major rhetoric for work in the field”
proaches to religion. The comparative-historical method
(Smith, 2001, p. 140). Debate within each unique academic
converges unavoidably on other articles from the Encyclope-
locus can easily become internalized and accessible (or of in-
dia of Religion besides Ninian Smart’s, most notably “History
terest) only to scholars working within fields of close enough
of Religions” and “Comparative Religion.” It is reasonable
proximity.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1872
COMPARATIVE-HISTORICAL METHOD [FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS]
Little attention has been paid to why this may particu-
In Britain the term civilization, borrowed from the
larly be a problem within the field of religion. The study of
French, grew in usage as F. Max Mueller began to shape a
religion has been, especially in terms of the way it originated,
field of religion through his philological endeavors and im-
one of—if not the—most truly global of all the academic dis-
plied something very different than Kultur. Civilization indi-
ciplines. It addresses all of the major civilizations of the
cated a broader and more comparative conception of social
world, and though its focus on small-scale societies has la-
organization where a society becomes what it is by demon-
mentably decreased, this genre has formed a significant part
strating cognizance of how it differs from other societies. The
of the disciplinary history as well. The very breadth of the
rise of Britain to a position of global eminence corresponded
discipline makes comparative statements of any depth tenu-
with the colonial phenomenon, and modern British society
ous, and this would appear to be a legacy with which the field
was built significantly around its perceived position as global
is destined to grapple. As a softer discipline whose net is cast
organizer. Normative notions of what it meant to be “civi-
wide and which is poised between any number of epistemol-
lized” were made possible by establishing what was not civi-
ogies, a willingness to persist in asking the question of what
lized. Thus comparison, to a much greater extent than geo-
religion is across daunting theoretical chasms may define the
graphical identification and history, became the hallmark for
heart of its enterprise.
cultural orientation. Comparative religious categories mir-
rored the emerging intercultural hierarchies, a point made
The emergent emphasis on historical context forces the
clear by the time of the first world’s fair, which took place
recognition that the concept “religion” at which the compar-
in London in 1851. Evolutionary theory was spawned dur-
ative-historical method is aimed is not a monolith, and the
ing this period, and all of the world’s cultures became located
results of applying the method are diverse because of this. As
within a schematic that was at once a spatial typology of cul-
a new form of intellectual inquiry, religion went through var-
tures, descending from civilized to primitive according to the
ious transformations within the varying European national
culture’s perceived industrial sophistication, and also a tem-
traditions from its earlier usages. Definitions of religion re-
poral chronology ascending from primitive to civilized based
volved primarily around its relationship to its cultural set-
on perceived degrees of natural evolution. This ubiquitous
tings. While other countries certainly claimed variations on
heuristic device for organizing the world’s cultures was
the theme, the reconceiving of religion in Britain and Ger-
known as social evolution. Along with F. Max Muller’s for-
many, in particular, makes for an informative case study.
ays into comparative philology that focused more precisely
In Germany, Kultur indicated a more organic under-
on compartive religious understanding emerging out of the
standing of social organization that located its roots within
larger civilizational context of India, social evolution increas-
a particular geographical space. A people’s Kultur gained its
ingly became a pivotal theoretical principle around which
depth, meaning, and potency through historical develop-
early comparative religion in Britain was built in a more
ment in that place. Cultural legitimacy was inherent and in-
global sense. It also helped to shape British society as a glob-
ternal—a property right, so to speak. Comparison with other
ally minded “civilization” rather than a more organic Kultur.
peoples was not the principal means of conferring authentici-
The early use of the comparative-historical method in
ty. So it was with the early German approach to religion as
Germany and Britain shows that its application can vary
a new cognitive category—at least for those who did not seek
widely depending from where and toward what it is being
to dismiss religion altogether. In the tradition of Kant and
applied. In a context like the history of religions within the
Hegel, and eventually Otto, religion and the religious im-
Chicago School, a bridge was established to some degree be-
pulse were both primordial and obvious. From the German
tween the British and German approaches to studying reli-
context, there emerged the notion of Religionsgeschichte,
gion. Comparing religions in the Americas has proved a vir-
roughly “history of religions,” and also the more prevalent
tual necessity in maintaining a constructive social dialogue.
Religionswissenschaft, or “science of religions.” The combin-
Ideally, a pragmatic historical approach to understanding re-
ing of history and science in Germany, following the histo-
ligion in context would combine with a keen conceptual
riographical vision of von Ranke, involved the art of estab-
awareness of the problems of comparative-historical catego-
lishing, through an intuitive synthesis, the pivotal and
ries to produce scholarship that is adequately balanced be-
compelling aspects of a given historical datum. With this
tween the two aspects of the method. Specific studies would
background, it is more understandable that the notion of a
then emphasize either the historical or the conceptual, de-
science of religion, specifically, never was encumbered by the
pending on their datum.
scientific literalism that has predominated in a place like the
United States. The concept of religion in Germany was com-
Any method results in the need for interpretation, and
parative only in a secondary sense. Primarily, it grew out of
the comparative-historical method needs to be applied to in-
the collective embrace of Kultur, which was grounded in a
terpretive strategies as well. Interpretation must itself be lo-
deep sense of geographical identification that had gained
cated within an intellectual context and confined to some de-
force through time. Where religions were compared, it was
gree so that scholars dealing with obscure historical materials
more to reinforce or embellish an existing notion of religion
do not argue from some latent form of common sense, as
that was not primarily comparative.
Smith has cautioned. To remain relevant, comparative-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
COMPARATIVE MYTHOLOGY
1873
historical epistemologies should bear some connection to
and potentially take readers away from the idea that the com-
identifiable hermeneutical systems that comprise the ances-
parative-historical method can be identified and used in any-
try of the study of religion.
thing approaching a methodical manner. Recent book-
length studies employing or examining the comparative-
Finally, the comparative-historical method must be able
historical method tend to approach it indirectly and demon-
to address the object of religion as well as account for the
strate it rather than announce it. A look at the new radical
more subjective processes that have generated the concept in
historicism can be found in Ivan Strenski’s Four Theories of
modernity. William Paden and Ferren MacIntyre have made
Myth in the Twentieth-Century History (Iowa City, Iowa,
theoretical suggestions in this direction. In a more historical
1987). Regarding historiography in Germany and America
sense, the epistemological basis of the study of religion needs
and how much national traditions vary in conducting histor-
to demonstrate flexibility to accommodate the wide range of
ical study, see Peter Novick’s That Noble Dream: The “Objec-
tivity Question” and the American Historical Profession (Cam-
historical studies that mark the field. Without some willing-
bridge, U.K., 1988). In regard to Asia, see Richard King’s
ness to “imagine religion,” potentially informative aspects of
Orientalism and Religion: Post-Colonial Theory, India, and
the field of religion where historical reconstruction is chal-
“The Mystic East” (London and New York, 1999). An inter-
lenging, such as the exploration of nonliterate cultures or a
esting study of the comparative-historical method in a colo-
crucial datum like African American slave religion, run a
nial context can be found in David Chidester’s Savage Sys-
strong risk of being inadequately represented or tacitly dis-
tems: Colonialism and Comparative Religion in Southern Africa
missed. In France, for instance, where historical method can
(Charlottesville, Va., 1996). An example of the method ap-
perhaps be considered as having reached its apogee with the
plied to the metropole can be found in John P. Burris’s Ex-
Annales School, there exist in church archives superior histor-
hibiting Religion: Colonialism and Spectacle at International
ical records extending back to the medieval period. In this
Expositions, 1851–1893 (Charlottesville, Va., 2001).
circumstance, the notion of moving backward in time with
JOHN P. BURRIS (2005)
a precision that borders on the scientific appears tenable and
attractive. Yet if this kind of standard is made the benchmark
for authentic historical work in religion globally, much data
will be inassimilable and fruitful opportunities for compara-
COMPARATIVE MYTHOLOGY. An early form
tive religious understanding will be lost. Cross-cultural gen-
of comparative mythology is the so-called interpretatio Grae-
der studies face similar challenges, where the process of tap-
ca, that is, the use of Greek names for gods of other peoples.
ping more comprehensive meanings within what is rapidly
Thus, for instance, Near Eastern storm gods were interpreted
developing into a global gender revolution is vital. Given the
by Greek authors as Zeus, who shared essential features with
breadth of the field of religion as it has developed, more
them. Similarly, Roman authors identified Celtic or Ger-
imaginative approaches to historical work and its interpreta-
manic gods as Jupiter, Mars, or Mercury. Such identifica-
tion appear crucial if the comparative-historical method is to
tions, employing interpretatio Romana, are readily apparent
be put to its full use in moving the study of religion into the
in the English and French names of the days of the week;
future.
the English names are derived from the Germanic gods, the
French from the Roman: thus Tuesday, Ty´r’s (or Tiu’s) day,
SEE ALSO Comparative Mythology; Comparative Religion;
corresponds to mardi, day of Mars; Wednesday, Woden’s day,
History of Religions.
corresponds to mercredi, day of Mercury; and Thursday,
Thor’s day, corresponds to jeudi, day of Jupiter.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
As a technical term, comparative mythology was intro-
For current perspectives on the problem of comparison, see the
duced in 1856 by the German-born British philologist F.
useful articles in Numen 48 (July 2001), especially Robert
Max Müller. He based his argument on the observation that
Segal’s “In Defense of the Comparative Method,” and Wil-
liam Paden’s “Human Behaviors and Cultural Variations,”
the Indo-European languages were related to each other and
as well as Jonathan Z. Smith’s “A Twice-Told Tale: The His-
obviously should be derived from one common language.
tory of the History of Religions’ History,” in Numen 48
Since, according to Müller, myths originated through literal
(April 2001), and Ferren MacIntyre’s speculative yet provoc-
interpretations of metaphoric expressions leading to a per-
ative “Was Religion a Kinship Surrogate?” in Journal of the
sonification of such natural phenomena as the sun and the
American Academy of Religion, 72, no. 3 (September 2004).
dawn, it would be useful to compare not only the languages
See also John P. Burris’s article “Text and Context in the
but also the myths of Indo-European peoples. Strangely
Study of Religion,” in Method and Theory in the Study of Reli-
enough, he made little use of his observation for a compari-
gion 15, no. 1 (2003), the responses to it by David Chidester
son of divine names in the various religions; he was more in-
and Russell McCutcheon in Method and Theory in the Study
terested in combating evolutionistic interpretations of my-
of Religion 15, no. 3 (2003), and Burris’s rejoinder in Method
and Theory in the Study of Religion 16, no. 2 (2004).
thology based on material from “primitive” peoples.
There has been a proliferation of edited volumes on comparison
When two or more myths are similar in some respects,
in the field of religion in recent years, but these volumes,
there are, roughly speaking, three possible theories. One is
though containing useful articles, are inevitably inconsistent
that they form part of a common heritage; another is that
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1874
COMPARATIVE MYTHOLOGY
a myth or mythological motif has spread from one religion
same structure is reflected in the functions of the Zoroastrian
to another (“diffusion”); a third is that parallel, independent
“archangels,” the Amesha Spentas, which replace the old
development has produced similar results in two or more dif-
gods in Zoroastrian monotheism, and in the characters of the
ferent places. Following the third line of reasoning, we might
legendary kings of early Rome. Thus Romulus represents the
assume one of two possible explanations: either that similar
orderly ruler; Numa Pompilius, the priest, is the mysterious
ecological conditions produce similar myths or that the
one; Tullus Hostilius is the warrior; and Ancus Marcius rep-
human mind contains archetypes that are expressed in simi-
resents material welfare. It should also be noticed that the Sa-
lar symbols everywhere. However, a combination of these
binians were admitted into Roman society after a war, just
two explanations should not be entirely ruled out.
as were the gods of the third function, and only then was the
Roman community complete. In other words, mythology
INDO-EUROPEAN RELIGIONS. A common heritage can be as-
has been transformed into legendary history.
sumed in the various Indo-European religions. Linguistic
comparison of divine names reveals several interesting facts.
An interesting detail is the fact that of two Roman he-
For instance, the Vedic Dyaus corresponds to the Greek Zeus,
roes in the wars against the Etruscans, one, Horatius Cocles,
the Roman Jupiter (Iovpater, “father Jove”), the Nordic Ty´r,
is one-eyed, and the other, Gaius Mucius Scaevola, loses his
and perhaps also the Latvian Dievs. Parjanya is an Indian rain
one hand. The Irish war god Nuadha has a silver hand in-
god; the Baltic peoples have a god of the thunderstorm called
stead of the one he lost in battle, and among the Nordic
Perku¯nas or Pe¯rkons, while Fjo˛rgynn is a somewhat obscure
gods, Odin is one-eyed and Ty´r has only one arm.
Nordic god. In India, Yama is the first man, in Iran Yima,
That Greek mythology has only a few traces of this pat-
while Ymir in Nordic mythology is the giant from whose
tern is probably due to influence from pre-Greek Aegean reli-
body the world was created. The relationship is especially
gion. Dumézil’s method is not primarily based on philologi-
close between Indian and Iranian religions. The Indian god
cal evidence and is thus not open to criticism based on
Mitra corresponds to the Iranian Mithra, with very similar
difficulties in establishing the exact relationship between the
functions: Vedic mythology uses Vr:trahan in the epithet of
Indo-European languages. On the other hand, there is a dif-
Indra as the killer of the dragon Vrtra; in Iran, Verethraghna
ficulty in the fact that the names of the gods of one particular
is a god of war and kingship. The fact that Sanskrit deva
function are not always linguistically related, and that related
means “god” but Iranian daiva is “demon,” while Sanskrit
names may appear in different functions.
asura means “demon” and Iranian ahura is the name of the
highest god, indicates an early conflict between the two reli-
NEAR EASTERN MYTHOLOGIES. Comparison of Semitic my-
gions. It is worthy of notice that the functions of gods with
thologies can also be based in part on linguistic evidence. Il
related names are not always identical.
or el is in all Semitic languages (except Ethiopic) either the
common word for “god” or the name of the highest god. But
A different and more promising approach to the com-
there are also problems. For instance, in South Arabia, Athtar
parative mythology of the Indo-European peoples was sug-
is a god, perhaps connected with the morning star, but Baby-
gested by the French scholar Georges Dumézil (1898–1986).
lonian and Assyrian Ishtar is a goddess, also connected with
He started from the observation that most Indo-European
the morning star, while the early Canaanite texts from Ugarit
religions have a myth about the preparation of a drink of im-
know both a god Athtar and a goddess Athtart, the latter
mortality, which was stolen and recovered and then became
identical with the Astarte of the Old Testament. It may be
the object of ritual drinking. Continued researches, however,
assumed that an originally androgynous deity, perhaps a sky
resulted in the observation that behind the mythology of
god (like Ethiopian Astar), has been differentiated in two di-
most of these peoples a tripartite structure could be detected.
rections as male and female. A similar shift of gender is
As a matter of fact, the gods of the pantheon are orga-
known also in the case of the sun, sometimes worshiped as
nized in such a manner that they reflect the tripartite social
a male god (Babylonian Shamash), sometimes as a goddess
structure of Indo-European society. There are the functions
(South Arabia, Ugarit). The male form in Babylonia may be
of rulership, of warfare, and of fertility and wealth. The first
due to Sumerian influence.
function has two aspects: the mysterious and magical on one
Three themes of ancient Near Eastern mythology are of
side and the orderly and lawful on the other. It is represented
particular interest here: (1) the dying and reviving god, (2)
by Varun:a and Mitra in India, by Jupiter and Dius Fidius
the killing of the dragon, and (3) death and immortality.
in Rome, and by Odin and Ty´r in Scandinavia. The warlike
function is represented by Indian Indra, Roman Mars, and
The dying and reviving god. The Sumerian god Du-
Scandinavian Thor. The gods of the third function are ad-
muzi (Akkadian, Tammuz), the god of flocks and grain, is
mitted to the circle of gods only after a battle, followed by
killed and carried to the netherworld, but it is finally decided
a settlement, which makes the pantheon complete; they are,
that he shall spend part of the year on earth to promote fertil-
for instance, the Vedic twin gods A´svins or Na¯satyas and the
ity. Baal, the Canaanite god of thunder and fertility, is killed
Nordic Vanir (Freyr, Freyja, etc.), while in Rome the lesser-
by his enemy Mot, and while he is dead, vegetation withers,
known god Quirinus may belong here. Celtic evidence is
but his sister Anat defeats Mot, and Baal is finally restored
scanty but can probably be fit into the same pattern. The
to life. The story of Aqhat seems to reflect the same pattern:
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
COMPARATIVE MYTHOLOGY
1875
Aqhat is offered immortality by the goddess Anat in ex-
with creation. The defeated party is here called either Levia-
change for his fine bow but refuses and is killed, which re-
than (Lotan) and tannin or tehom (“the deep”; i.e., Tiamat).
sults in the withering of vegetation. His sister seeks him, but
The elements of the myth recur, but they are combined dif-
here the tablet is broken, and we do not know the outcome.
ferently. Since the motif is absent in the Sumerian myths of
If the point of the story is man’s mortality, we should expect
creation, it may be of West Semitic origin. The enemy slain
him to remain dead; if the vegetation motif is predominant,
is the sea, but the results differ.
as in the Baal myth, it is likely that he was revived.
Death and immortality. The hero of the Gilgamesh
The Egyptian Osiris is somewhat different: he is king
epic, seeking eternal life, finds the “plant of life,” but it is
and connected with the grain; he is killed by his brother Seth,
snatched away by a serpent, and he remains mortal. In anoth-
but his wife Isis finds his dismembered body and restores it
er Babylonian myth, Adapa is offered the “food of life” but
to life, and Osiris becomes the ruler of the dead. We know
he refuses to eat it and remains mortal. In the Old Testa-
that the god’s death and resurrection were celebrated in sea-
ment, Adam and Eve have access to the “tree of life” but are
sonal festivals. Different again is the Hittite myth of
deprived of it through a serpent and are henceforth mortal.
Telepinu: he disappears and vegetation withers and procre-
The problem is the same: why is man mortal? The symbols
ation fails; he is found sleeping and brought back, and life
of eternal life differ—plant, food, tree—but the result is the
returns to normal.
same. In other words, the intention of the myth is the same
There is a common pattern in these myths, probably re-
in all three cases, but the concrete expressions differ.
flecting the vicissitudes of vegetation in the seasonal cycle,
To sum up: myths intend to answer existential ques-
but the actual form of the myth differs from country to coun-
tions; the symbols used are sometimes identical, sometimes
try insofar as the common features have been combined with
differing in details; and mythical motifs can be combined in
local elements to form a new unity. The problem is further
different ways in different contexts.
complicated by the fact that some of the characteristic ele-
ments of the pattern reappear in connection with the Nordic
MYTHOLOGIES OF OTHER CULTURES. Similar observations
god Baldr, who is supposed to be invulnerable but is killed
can be made in comparative study of mythologies in many
with the only weapon that can hurt him, namely, a twig of
other parts of the world. Three mythic themes provide inter-
mistletoe. Baldr, however, remains dead, though nearly ev-
esting examples: (1) the origin of death, (2) the earth diver,
erything weeps for him. Dumézil has found a parallel to this
and (3) the flood.
myth among the Ossets, a tribe in the Caucasus, probably
The origin of death. In most parts of Africa there is a
descended from the ancient Scythians. Here the willful Syr-
myth of the origin of death. Common to most of them is
don finds out the only way to kill the supposedly invulnera-
the idea that man was originally intended to live forever. God
ble Soslan (or Sosryko). In both myths Dumézil finds traits
sent a message to that effect, but the messenger was delayed
that point to some connection with the rites of the summer
and overtaken by another messenger, who brought the mes-
solstice. It is not clear whether we have here a case of the mi-
sage of death. Other myths report that the message was dis-
gration of myths or an example of common Indo-European
torted so as to imply death instead of life. Other tribes say
heritage.
that man was offered two bundles, one containing life, the
Furthermore, in the Finnish national epic, the Kalevala,
other death; by mistake, man chose death. There are also
we are told that the hero Lemminkäinen was killed by means
myths that ascribe death to the disobedience of man. In the
of an inconspicuous plant. His mother found him, reassem-
last case, one might suspect Christian influence, but the
bled the parts of his body, and brought him back to life. Here
other myths, which occur in several versions in several tribes,
is an element that is strongly reminiscent of the Osiris myth.
are certainly indigenous and provide a good example of how
It is also interesting that a bee plays a significant role at the
the outward form of a myth may vary, though the intention
resuscitation of Lemminkäinen, just as a bee wakes up the
is the same.
Hittite Telepinu. It is hard to prove any historical connec-
The earth diver. Creation myths among many North
tion among the three myths involved, but it seems that ele-
American Indian tribes tell of a primeval sea: a bird or animal
ments from different sources have been combined into a new
dives into the water and brings up some soil from which the
story.
earth is created. This myth of the earth diver is known also
The killing of the dragon. In the Babylonian epic of
from several peoples in Northeast Asia. It has the idea of the
creation the god Marduk kills a monster, Tiamat, represent-
primeval sea in common with Babylonian, Israelite, and, to
ing the primeval ocean, and creates the world out of her
some extent, Egyptian cosmogony; but is any historical rela-
body. In Canaanite myth where Baal kills Prince Sea, the re-
tionship possible? Such relationship does exist, however, be-
sult is not creation but the establishment of his rulership and
tween North America and Northeast Asia. In some North
the building of a temple. There are also fragments in Ca-
Asian versions of the earth-diver myth, the motif is com-
naanite mythology that tell of the killing of a being called
bined, rather illogically, with the myth of the great flood. Ac-
Lotan or tannin (“dragon”). Reminiscences of the battle
cording to one Samoyed myth, seven men who have been
motif are also found in the Old Testament in connection
saved from the flood send a bird to the bottom of the sea to
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1876
COMPARATIVE MYTHOLOGY
fetch a turf to form the earth. This is obviously a combina-
tory in a similar way. In analyzing a specific myth, Lévi-
tion of two elements of different origin.
Strauss often explains the significance of a unit by adducing
comparative material from the same culture, but only in the
The flood. The myth of the flood, on the other hand,
third volume of his Mythologiques does he bring in a global
is a problem in its own right. It is well known from the Bible
perspective.
and from ancient Mesopotamia. A study of the biblical and
the three Mesopotamian versions reveals that they have sev-
SEE ALSO Comparative Religion; Cosmogony; Death; Drag-
eral conspicuous details in common (the god reveals the se-
ons; Dying and Rising Gods; Grimm Brothers; Indo-
cret of the coming flood to one righteous man, he builds a
European Religions, article on History of Study; Müller, F.
ship, he sends out birds to see if the water has receded, and
Max; Myth; Myth and Ritual School.
he offers sacrifices after being saved); but it can be shown that
the story has been modified in each case to suit the context
BIBLIOGRAPHY
of a larger narrative complex into which it has been inserted
Max Müller’s essay “Comparative Mythology” is found in the sec-
(Gilgamesh epic, Atrahasis epic, the primeval history of Gen-
ond volume of Chips from a German Workshop (London,
1868). Together with A˚ke Ström, I have reviewed the com-
esis). But flood stories are known from many other parts of
parative work done in Indo-Iranian and Indo-European
the world, both in Asia and in North and South America.
studies in Religions of Mankind Yesterday and Today (Phila-
Have they originated independently in areas where large riv-
delphia, 1967). In Arische Religion (Leipzig, 1914), Leopold
ers cause inundations from time to time, or is there any kind
von Schroeder deals with the same material.
of connection? The latter alternative can be proved in the an-
Georges Dumézil sets forth his theories in many places. Several
cient Near East, but the other stories show differences too
general introductions are available: L’idéologie tripartie des
great to make direct borrowing likely.
Indo-Européens (Brussels, 1958), L’héritage indo-européen à
Rome (Paris, 1949), and Les dieux des Indo-Européens (Paris,
CONCLUSION. Thus, comparative study of mythology raises
1952).
questions that are difficult to answer. Similar myths appear-
ing in different parts of the world seem to have no communi-
My own observations on the comparative mythology of the an-
cient Near East are published in numerous places: “Remarks
cation with one another. Neither common heritage nor dif-
on the Method of Comparative Mythology,” in Near Eastern
fusion seems probable. Myths that are strikingly similar to
Studies in Honor of William Foxwell Albright, edited by Hans
the Greek myth of Orpheus, who tried to bring his wife, Eu-
Goedicke (Baltimore, 1971); “Israel’s Place among the Reli-
rydice, back from the netherworld but failed to do so, appear
gions of the Ancient Near East,” in Supplements to Vetus
in several North American Indian tribes, but no historical
Testamentum 23 (1972): 1–8; and “The Impact of the An-
connection can be shown. Is it possible that such a character-
cient Near East on Israelite Tradition,” in Tradition and The-
istic myth can develop independently in two distant places?
ology in the Old Testament, edited by D. A. Knight (Philadel-
The New Zealand Maori are reported to have a creation
phia, 1977). For a treatment of Athtar and related deities,
myth, according to which there was first darkness and water,
consult my Word and Wisdom (Lund, 1947), and for a dis-
but the god Io pronounced a word and there was light, he
cussion of dying and reviving gods, it is valuable to look at
the classic work by James G. Frazer that has been edited by
pronounced a second word and the sky came into being, and
Theodor H. Gaster and published as The New Golden Bough,
a third word and the earth was there. In this case, it seems
abr. ed. (1959; London, 1980).
likely that Christian ideas have influenced either the myth
African myths about the origins of death are the subject of Hans
or the one who recorded it. But in other cases we may ask
Abrahamsson’s The Origin of Death (Uppsala, 1951). Anna
if there is not some truth in Jung’s theory of archetypes in
Birgitta Rooth has published the article “Creation Myths of
the human mind whereby similar existential questions are
North American Indians,” Anthropos 52 (1957): 497–508,
answered by similar symbols. Or, as Mircea Eliade puts it in
and A˚ke Hultkrantz sets forth his views on Orpheus tradi-
a somewhat different terminology, essential aspects of reality
tions among Native Americans in The North American Indi-
appear in the human mind as images and symbols forming
an Orpheus Tradition (Stockholm, 1957). Flood stories are
certain patterns that meet a need and fulfill a function, that
dealt with by Richard Andree in Die Flutsagen (Braun-
of revealing the hidden modalities of our existence.
schweig, 1891) and also by Ruth E. Simoons-Vermeer in
“The Mesopotamian Flood Stories: A Comparison and In-
A new approach to the study of myth has been suggested
terpretation,” Numen 21 (1974): 17–34. For an introduction
by the French structuralist Claude Lévi-Strauss. He breaks
to the theories of Lévi-Strauss and structuralism, see two
down the myth into small units and analyzes their mutual
works by Edmund Leach: The Structural Study of Myth and
relationships. The units are meaningful only in terms of the
Totemism (London, 1967) and Lévi-Strauss (London, 1970).
positions they occupy in the total structure of the myth and
New Sources
in the context of the culture concerned. Thus there emerges
Doniger, Wendy. Other Peoples’ Myths: The Cave of Echoes. 1988;
a pattern consisting of thesis, antithesis, and synthesis. In the
reprint, Chicago, 1995.
myth of Oedipus, for instance, there is an overvaluation of
Doniger, Wendy. “Myths and Methods in the Dark.” Journal of
kinship (e.g., Oedipus marries his mother), an undervalua-
Religion 76 (October 1996): 531–537.
tion of kinship (e.g., Oedipus kills his father), and a synthesis
Doniger, Wendy. Splitting the Difference: Gender and Myth in An-
implying that contradictory kinship relations are contradic-
cient Greece and India. Chicago, 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
COMPARATIVE RELIGION
1877
Doty, William. Mythography: The Study of Myths and Rituals.
While travelers and theologians have always formed
1986; reprint, Tuscaloosa, Ala., 2000.
views about other peoples’ religions, the notion of an aca-
Golden, Kenneth, ed. Uses of Comparative Mythology: Essays on the
demic field of comparative religion emerged in the late nine-
Work of Joseph Campbell. New York, 1992.
teenth century in European and American universities, re-
Napier, David. Foreign Bodies: Performance, Art, and Symbolic An-
flecting scholarly goals. It addressed the need to synthesize
thropology. Berkeley, 1992.
the enormous amount of information that was accumulating
Worthen, Thomas. The Myth of Replacement: Stars, Gods, and
about the religions of the world, past and present, including
Order in the Universe. Tucson, Ariz., 1991.
new knowledge about non-Western traditions. This involved
not only analyzing commonalities, differences, and types of
HELMER RINGGREN (1987)
Revised Bibliography
religious life, but also postulating stages of historical or evo-
lutionary development. This entry gives an overview of some
salient points in the history of comparative religion (see Shar-
pe’s Comparative Religion: A History, 1986, for a comprehen-
COMPARATIVE RELIGION. The term compara-
sive account) and then addresses issues that had surfaced by
tive religion broadly signifies the study of all traditions and
the beginning of the twenty-first century.
forms of religious life, as distinguished from the study or ex-
SOME RELIGIOUS VERSIONS OF “COMPARATIVE RELIGION.”
position of just one. Ideally, and more specifically, it is the
The nineteenth-century founders of academic comparative
disciplined, historically informed consideration of common-
religion faced provincial, heavily biased Euro-Christian maps
alities and differences among religions. Indeed, such cross-
about “other” religions. For example, until the early nine-
cultural or global perspective is entailed in the notion of an
teenth century, Western culture still divided all religion into
academic study of religion.
four kinds: Christianity, Judaism, Islam, and paganism. In
Comparison is a fundamental mental activity: grouping
that schema, everything outside the biblical traditions was
some things together under a common class or pattern, but
“idolatry”—the supposed worship of false gods, or idols—
also noticing how the examples vary in relation to each other.
and Christianity was given a place of automatic superiority
Such connections and relationships are the basis of thought
to Judaism and Islam. Likewise, other religious cultures have
and science. Without them, there are only isolated, contex-
also conducted the study of religions through the standard
tless facts. It is on the basis of comparison that generaliza-
of their own faith.
tions, interpretations, and theories are formed. Hence, com-
parative frames can create new ways of perceiving and
Historically, and to take a Western example, Christian
organizing the world.
theologians developed specific strategies for explaining the
existence of other religions. These ranged from outright neg-
One cannot generalize about religion on the basis of a
ative accounts (other religions were the work of demons) to
single case, just as geologists do not construct geological sci-
relatively positive ones (other religions resulted from an in-
ence on the basis of the rocks that simply happen to be in
nate human capacity to know God, even though the special
one’s backyard. The local rocks, like the local religions, are
revelation of Christ was the fulfillment of that capacity). In
themselves instances of certain universal chemistries and pat-
between were a host of “historical” explanations: polytheistic
terned formations. Accordingly, without identifying these re-
religions were originally monotheistic, traceable to the sons
curring factors it is not possible to know what any particular
of Noah, but deteriorated due to human depravity; religions
religious tradition or phenomenon has in common with oth-
that appeared “like” Christianity must have borrowed or re-
ers and, consequently, how it differs from them.
ceived the ideas through historical contact; other gods were
At the same time, the comparative enterprise has been
simply deified kings and heroes and hence not really gods at
used for many different purposes. Thus, while cross-cultural
all. Allegorical interpretation was another form of compari-
perspective has been considered one of the great achieve-
son. Here the gods and myths of other religions could be
ments of religious studies, it has also come under criticism
construed as containing “signs” of Christian truths; for ex-
as a source of distortion and cultural bias. Indeed, a whole
ample, Athena could be said to stand for God’s wisdom.
range of religious and scientific motivations have driven
In the latter third of the twentieth century, the notion
comparative religion, and that has made it an area of contro-
of interfaith dialogue gained some currency, featuring a “lis-
versy. For example, it has been used to demonstrate the supe-
tening” stance toward other religions, and not merely a pre-
riority of one’s own religion; to show that all religions are
judging position that stereotypes others. Wilfred Cantwell
“the same”; to demonstrate that one can understand each re-
Smith (1916–2000), an influential Christian comparativist
ligion from its own point of view; or to simply map a varie-
and specialist in Islam, emphasized that the comparative
gated landscape of different traditions. Likewise, it has been
study of religion needed to responsibly describe the living
used to demonstrate any number of competing theories
qualities and values of other peoples’ faiths in a way that
about the origin and nature of religion. Insofar as it has taken
those persons themselves would be able to recognize.
an even-handed approach to all religions, religious conserva-
tives have perceived it as a relativizing of belief, and hence
Alongside such views of other religions, another reli-
a threat to religious convictions.
gious approach existed, one that could broadly be called uni-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1878
COMPARATIVE RELIGION
versalism. In that version of comparison, all religions refer to
scure, might become intelligible. The field of anthropology,
the same underlying spiritual reality, manifest through vary-
in sharp contrast, went on to focus on field studies of particu-
ing cultural forms—just as water remains water regardless of
lar cultures and tended to reject the grand, armchair ap-
what it is called in different languages. Even in the world of
proach to comparison represented by Frazer’s encyclopedic
ancient Greece, there was a well-known doctrine of “the
lists of parallels.
equivalence of the gods.” Thus, the fifth-century BCE histori-
As students of religion aspired to develop an academic
an Herodotus could report that the gods of Egypt were basi-
field, they began to map their subject matter not only histori-
cally Egyptian names for Greek divinities. In the Far East,
cally but structurally. From the end of the nineteenth centu-
Buddhists commonly interpreted native Chinese and Japa-
ry to the mid-twentieth century, so-called phenomenologies
nese gods as “manifestations” of cosmic buddhas. Universal-
of religion tried to catalog and describe every kind of reli-
ism remains a popular form of comparative religion for those
gious phenomenon, including types of objects of veneration
interested in sameness and unity rather than difference.
(e.g., sky, sun, fire, ancestors) and kinds of ritual practice.
THE RISE OF ACADEMIC COMPARATIVE RELIGION. From
What a Linnaeus had done for the botanical world was now
the mid-nineteenth century, in contrast to explicitly norma-
to be done for religion: its many species or “classes of phe-
tive approaches, an academic version of comparative religion
nomena” needed to be named and organized. By the latter
emerged. This was made possible by expanding knowledge
part of the twentieth century, after the age of these encyclo-
of non-Western religions and preliterate cultures, and also
pedic collections, creative comparative work tended to focus
by evolutionary rather than scriptural views of human histo-
on particular topics, such as origins myths, evil, mysticism,
ry. An influential advocate was F. Max Müller (1823–1900),
sacrifice, pilgrimage, rites of passage, theology, violence,
a German-born and Oxford-based scholar of the Sanskrit
women’s rites, and the body.
language, sometimes regarded as the “father of comparative
religion.” Müller, who edited a fifty-volume translation series
Theories of religion, whether of a sociological or psy-
titled The Sacred Books of the East (1879–1910), made a par-
chological kind, all engaged in identifying recurrent patterns
ticularly strong case that the study of religion should outgrow
and typologies in religion, though not necessarily under the
in-house Western mappings and take into account the great
banner of “comparative religion.” Examples can be seen in
civilizational religions of Asia. He also advocated that com-
the psychological archetypes of the school of C. G. Jung
parative religion is to any one religion as comparative philol-
(e.g., the Great Mother, the Hero, the Trickster); or Max
ogy is to the study of any particular language, and as compar-
Weber’s typologies of ways that religions reflected social val-
ative anatomy is to the anatomy of any one species. He
ues in various cultures; or Claude Lévi-Strauss’s “structural-
applied to religion what the poet Goethe said of language,
ism,” which identified patterned binary oppositions in the
that “he who knows one, knows none” (Müller, 1872, p.11).
language of mythology. In the field of religious studies per
Thus the study of one religion could shed light on the study
se, arguably the most influential comparativist of the last
of another. Müller outlined a broad program that included
generation was the Romanian-born scholar Mircea Eliade.
learning about a religion through its own writings, grouping
MIRCEA ELIADE (1907–1986). Eliade’s “history of reli-
religions according to regional and linguistic patterns, exer-
gions” approach at the University of Chicago (he joined the
cising critical historical methods, understanding the nature
faculty in 1956) produced a notable generation of scholars
of religious and metaphoric language, and avoiding the com-
oriented to cross-cultural, thematic studies and provided an
mon tendency to compare positive aspects of one religion
expansive, creative vision about the cultural importance of
with negative aspects of another.
a global, comparative perspective. Eliade’s “new humanism”
represented the culmination of the classic tradition, but
Another of the best known of these premodern com-
also an approach that many of the newer generation in the
parativists was the Scottish classicist and anthropologist
last two decades of the century either contested or tried to
James G. Frazer (1854–1941), particularly through his work
modify.
The Golden Bough, first published in 1890 and later to grow
to twelve volumes. The work is a vast compendium of world-
Eliade’s work had exceptional range. He was equally in-
wide patterns of ritual and myth—motifs that Frazer inter-
terested in the elite and popular forms of religious culture,
preted as marking stages of human thinking prior to the age
projecting a fascination with the sheer variety of “modalities
of science. A primary theme of the book is the renewal of
of the sacred.” He sometimes likened this diversity to the
the world through ritual or symbolic deaths, deaths that in
many creative universes constructed by the arts. His view was
turn lead to the rebirth of nature or society. Frazer examined
that religions are not just philosophical beliefs, but inhabit-
the topic through cyclical rites of succession to sacred king-
ed, engaged worlds defined by ways that the sacred is per-
ship, but also through the symbolisms of seasonal festivals,
ceived and ritually enacted. Nonreligious worlds lack this di-
mythologies of “dying and rising gods,” rites of scapegoating
mension of sacrality. Eliade was well known for his
and expulsion, and related themes such as sympathetic magic
descriptions of thematic ways that religious cultures symbol-
and taboo. He also held that once some of these patterns are
ize their worlds through representations of sacred space, sa-
understood as ways that the “archaic” human mind worked,
cred time, and natural symbols, and his ideas here may be
then particular historical practices and beliefs, otherwise ob-
summarized briefly.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
COMPARATIVE RELIGION
1879
Many religious cultures endow certain spaces or objects
An example of the issue of cultural difference is pointed
with the function of being “the center of the world,” an “axis
out in Jonathan Z. Smith’s critique (To Take Place, 1987,
of the world” (axis mundi), or an “opening” to the world of
pp. 1–23) of Eliade’s attribution of the “center of the world”
the gods. These become sites of orientation and ritual, link-
motif to the totemic pole of the Australian Arunta. Eliade
ing “heaven and earth.” The comparison of religions shows
had interpreted the pole as a kind of portable “world axis”
innumerable such centers of the world, side by side, each ab-
that could be carried from place to place, allowing the tribe
solute for their respective believers. A grand-scale example
to remain “at the Center.” Smith argued that a more careful
would be the great Muslim shrine, the KaEbah, in Mecca, the
examination indicated a different contextual orientation. He
place toward which Muslims face in their daily prayers and
tried to show that aboriginal Australian notions of space were
toward which they are faced at burial.
based on memorialized ancestral “traces” and “tracks” rather
than constructed, hierarchic edifices, and thus differed from
As with space, religious cultures ground themselves in
the kinds of Near Eastern imagery Eliade had based his cate-
their own sacred histories. In the “great” times of origin, the
gory on. The latter featured notions of a “Center” based on
gods or ancestors created all the significant religious institu-
strong political centralization and significant ritual templates
tions and teachings that adherents still live by and that they
about constructed vertical relations between upper and lower
still rehearse. This is not just chronological time, but a world
worlds, such as city-state temples. Smith concluded that “the
that can be accessed periodically and continually re-
‘Center’ is not a secure pattern to which data may be brought
presented through ritual and festival times. In this way, one’s
as illustrative; it is a dubious notion that will have to be estab-
present world is reconnected to its origins. To this extent,
lished anew on the basis of detailed comparative endeavors”
religious people live out of the archetypes, laws, and narra-
(p. 17).
tives of their past, whether in oral or scriptural form.
Another form of suppressing differences is the kind that
Eliade also held that sacrality is expressed through and
has a “colonialist,” politically hegemonizing function. Critics
incorporated in various symbolisms of the natural world.
here are concerned about a conceptual imperialism exercised
These include the transcendence of the sky, the fecundity
by one culture, religion, gender, or class on others. It is
and periodic renewal of the earth and its vegetation, the
charged that the comparativists’ maps can subordinate, oblit-
power of the sun, the waxing and waning cycle of the moon,
erate, or render invisible the subjectivity and voices of others.
the durability of stone, and the solubility and regenerative
Generalizations about initiation rites, for example, might in
qualities of water—all described at length in his comprehen-
fact be based entirely on male examples, and descriptions of
sive Patterns in Comparative Religion (first published in
“origins” mythologies may only draw illustrations from the
French, 1949). In turn, however, these universal or archetyp-
traditions and interests of the socially elite classes.
al values were to become a point of criticism, namely, that
A second criticism of comparativism is the argument of
they were too ahistorical and “Platonic.”
incomparability. Religious phenomena, it is claimed, are in-
OBJECTIONS TO COMPARATIVISM. Eliade’s work, and that of
delibly embedded in unique sociocultural settings. If re-
all who drew generalizations from cross-cultural materials,
moved from those wholes—plucked out, so to speak, and set
elicited a set of issues about the nature of the comparative
alongside similar pieces from other cultures—they will lose
enterprise. In a benchmark critical essay published in 1971
their original meanings, meanings that are always linked to
in History of Religions, Jonathan Z. Smith challenged the lack
local and contextual behaviors. An alternative approach
of methodological foundation and control for what usually
would be to build a specialist’s knowledge of a particular reli-
passed as comparison. Indeed, in the last two decades of the
gious tradition, through its own self-representations and cat-
twentieth century, where an age of specialization was replac-
egories. In this sense, area specialists have always been wary
ing an age of generalization and a postmodern ideological cli-
of comparativists encroaching on and decontextualizing their
mate challenged Western metalanguages, comparativism
subject matter.
came under full suspicion—even though global, multicultur-
A third objection to comparative work stems from the
al “understanding” was emerging on another, popular front.
postmodern challenge to the very notions of objectivity and
A number of critical issues surfaced and may be summarized
neutrality. Many would deny that there are such things as
under five points.
objective cultural “facts.” It would follow that comparativists
cannot draw valid generalizations simply by lining up sup-
The first criticism is that comparison suppresses cultural
posed data, because all cultural descriptions and patterns are
difference. It can do this in two ways. The first is by impos-
ultimately invented, or at best imagined, by the scholar.
ing a false, superficial homogeneity on all its examples. Uni-
versal patterns, with their preestablished meanings, are then
A fourth kind of criticism is that comparativism has typ-
allowed to override specific contexts of meaning. In this
ically been too theological in the way it organizes its material.
sense, the distinctiveness of religious cultures would seem to
While it is not surprising that many scholars interested in re-
remain elusively off the comparative grid, for the representa-
ligion have religious interests themselves, Eliade’s work and
tion of others is reduced to only those points that illustrate
that of the phenomenology of religion tradition have often
and replicate the scholar’s own categories, themes, or molds.
assumed that religion is ultimately based on a general divine
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1880
COMPARATIVE RELIGION
reality that is then manifest in various forms. Consequently,
(1996) breaks down the otherwise stereotyped difference be-
religious life is represented as a kind of encounter with divine
tween Hinduism and Judaism by identifying common as-
revelation. Critics with a naturalistic view of religion take
pects of these two traditions. Hence, both are “textual com-
this to be an unwarranted reference to a metaphysical foun-
munities” that have codified the norms of orthodoxy in the
dation of all religion. Instead of taking an outsider’s analyti-
form of scriptural canons; both are cultural systems con-
cal viewpoint, the comparativist is thus accused of simply as-
cerned with blood lineages and intergenerational transmis-
suming or replicating the language of religious insiders.
sion of tradition; and both involve regimens with strict regu-
lations concerning purity, impurity, and dietary laws. Again,
Finally, and in contrast, there is the argument that com-
these traditions are not “the same,” but they do have signifi-
parative religion is not objective enough: it is merely descrip-
cant patterns and points of resemblance.
tive and not explanatory, and thus lacks scientific value. In
order to contribute to cumulative knowledge, as opposed to
Affirmation of differences. Comparison involves not
just positing individualistic interpretations, comparativism
only connecting two or more examples to illustrate a com-
would need to show in a testable way how specific religious
mon factor, but also showing how the examples differ in rela-
ideas and practices recur and vary in relation to specific social
tion to that factor. The differences then reveal the variability
and historical conditions. The challenge here is not just to
of the pattern in cultural contexts. In turn, the many varia-
assert commonality or difference, not just to list parallels, but
tions enrich understanding of the pattern and can lead to dif-
rather to explain them, and the charge is that comparative
ferentiating the pattern into its subtypes. Thus many kinds
religion scholarship has yet to incorporate and apply the can-
of sacred space or origins myths can be identified.
ons of empirical and analytical methods.
Using culturally defined topics as a basis of comparison,
RECONSTRUCTING COMPARATIVISM. Important critiques of
such as “God,” or “Saviors,” privileges those religious ideas
comparison meant that the method and rationale of cross-
by making them the standard. But what if the unit of com-
cultural descriptions have had to be defined and controlled
parison lies at the panhuman rather than cultural level? Are
more carefully and plausibly. Hence, the post-Eliadean peri-
there not common forms of human behavior shared by all
od has seen several emergent articulations that attempted to
societies? New lines of comparativism have therefore looked
address, if not remediate, some of the problems just listed.
for species-level continuities of human behavior and cogni-
tion. For example, in The Implied Spider (1998) Wendy
Aspectual, limited comparative focus. One element of
Doniger advocates a “bottom-up” rather than a “top-down”
a reconstituted comparativism has been to secure greater def-
approach, meaning that instead of assuming commonalities
inition of the act of comparison itself. Thus, focusing on and
regarding broad culturally infused topics such as sacrifice or
controlling the exact, stipulated point of analogy, the com-
“high gods,” comparativists could find certain shared panhu-
parativist should acknowledge that the objects—the things
man factors such as gendered sexuality, body, desire, and
compared—may be quite incomparable in other respects and
procreation and their concomitant story motifs or shared
for other purposes. As Fitz John Porter Poole put it in the
human problems, and then identify individual diversity in
seminal article “Metaphors and Maps” (1986), restrained
relation to them. This variety is endless, even among individ-
comparison “does not deal with phenomena in toto or in the
uals in given cultures.
round, but only with an aspectual characteristic of
Human universals, here, do not refer to preexisting,
them. . . . Neither phenomenologically whole entities nor
ahistorical meanings but to shared predispositions and kinds
their local meanings are preserved in comparison”
of social behaviors found in all cultures. For example, hu-
(pp. 414–415). Comparisons, like all explanations, maps,
mans not only sleep, procreate, and eat, they also form socie-
and generalizations, are necessarily abstractions, and no com-
ties that fashion laws and moral orders, create “histories,”
parative pattern covers the complexity of the objects to which
perform periodic rites, and endow objects and persons with
it applies. For example, to describe or explain someone as a
special charisma or authority. Cultures will improvise on
Canadian does not pretend to assume that the person’s indi-
these common social dispositions in their own manner and
vidual complexity, special voice, or “difference” is accounted
with their own contents. Thus religious groups articulate
for under that generic trait. Nor is the individual’s particular-
“pasts” and “origins,” but each of these histories is different
ity obliterated by such a trait designation: it is simply not ad-
and comprises its own worldview; and every religion has a
dressed. Apples and oranges may not be “the same,” but they
kind of sacred moral order, but what it is that constitutes
do share some common aspects—for example, they both are
order and its violation will differ. Likewise, members of every
round, edible, and belong to the class “fruit.” Canadians, or
religion remember their past in periodic rites and festivals,
sacred space, or “the paradigmatic function of myth,” are also
but the content of what is recalled is different in every case,
such classes.
revealing what is of value to that particular group. For exam-
One outcome of this approach is that large-block, essen-
ple, the content of major annual rites may variously have to
tialized comparisons, such as Asian versus Western religion,
do with the sacred authority of a social hierarchy (e.g., kings,
can give way to specific, controlled analogies between partic-
emperors, ancestors), or the display of ideal military values,
ular kinds and aspects of religious behavior. For example, re-
or the prestige of the religious founder. In this sense, cultural
search such as that of Barbara Holdrege in Veda and Torah
difference is not suppressed but showcased.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
COMPARATIVE RELIGION
1881
Debates about the relation of particularity and com-
Müller, F. Max. Lectures on the Science of Religion. New York,
monality will continue. Also evolving are more clearly de-
1872. Seminal charter statement advocating the comparative
fined protocols of comparison and fresh theoretic frame-
study of religion as a new field of study.
works for synthesizing cross-cultural material. The emerging
Neville, Robert Cummings, ed. Ultimate Realities: A Volume in the
global orientation of the study of religion in higher education
Comparative Religious Ideas Project. Albany, N.Y., 2001. A
will provide a setting for those developments. Just as compar-
major collaborative consideration of the processive nature of
ative perspective contains the risks of distortion, it also has
comparison and the vulnerability of comparative categories
the potential to add new contexts of intelligibility to the his-
to correction and specification.
tory of religions, and to foster intercultural understanding.
Numen: International Review for the History of Religions 48, no. 3
(2001). The entire issue is devoted to essays on new ap-
SEE ALSO Comparative-Historical Method [Further Consid-
proaches to comparativism.
erations]; Phenomenology of Religion; World Religions.
Paden, William E. Religious Worlds: The Comparative Study of Re-
ligion. 2d ed. Boston, 1994. Overview of common patterns
BIBLIOGRAPHY
of religious “worldmaking” and the ways those patterns are
Carman, Jon B., and Steven P. Hopkins, eds. Tracing Common
exemplified through different cultural values.
Themes: Comparative Courses in the Study of Religion. Atlanta,
Patton, Kimberley C., and Benjamin C. Ray, eds. A Magic Still
1991. Shows various ways that comparative topics and per-
Dwells: Comparative Religion in the Postmodern Age. Berkeley,
spectives can be addressed in college religion courses.
2000. Essays by fourteen scholars on the importance of com-
Doniger, Wendy. The Implied Spider: Politics and Theology in
parative perspective in relation to the challenges of postmod-
Myth. New York, 1998. Example of how the “webs” of uni-
ernism.
versal human dispositions can contextualize individual varia-
Poole, Fitz John Porter. “Metaphors and Maps: Towards Com-
tions.
parison in the Anthropology of Religion.” Journal of the
Eliade, Mircea. Patterns in Comparative Religion. Translated by
American Academy of Religion 54 (1986): 411–457. Cogent
Rosemary Sheed. Cleveland, Ohio, 1958. A classic, encyclo-
analysis of the epistemological basis of comparative method
pedic account of recurrent types of religious symbolism.
by an anthropologist of religion.
Saler, Benson. Conceptualizing Religion: Immanent Anthropologists,
Eliade, Mircea. The Sacred and the Profane. Translated by Willard
Transcendent Natives, and Unbounded Categories. Leiden,
R. Trask. New York, 1959. Widely read summary statement
1993. Extensive review of resources for conceptualizing com-
by the best-known comparative religion scholar.
parative categories.
Frazer, James G. The Golden Bough, abridged ed. New York,
Sharpe, Eric C. Comparative Religion: A History. 2d ed. La Salle,
1963. First published in 1922. Frazer’s own abridgment of
Ill., 1986. A richly informative account of the general devel-
his twelve-volume work on ritual and mythic motifs.
opment of comparative religion as an academic field.
Holdrege, Barbara. Veda and Torah: Transcending the Textuality
Smart, Ninian. Dimensions of the Sacred: An Anatomy of the
of Scripture. Albany, N.Y., 1996. A major compara-
World’s Beliefs. Berkeley, 1996. Outline of comparative
tive study of Judaism and Hinduism, showing some pro-
themes by a well-known figure in the field.
found commonalities.
Smith, Jonathan Z. “Adde Parvum Parvo Magnus Acervus Erit.”
Jay, Nancy. Throughout Your Generations Forever: Sacrifice, Reli-
History of Religions 11 (1971): 67–90. Now classic essay call-
gion, and Paternity. Chicago, 1992. Exemplary comparative
ing for more serious attention to the methodology of com-
study of the role that gender plays in the institution of
parison.
sacrifice.
Smith, Jonathan Z. Imagining Religion: From Babylon to Jones-
Jones, Lindsay. The Hermeneutics of Sacred Architecture: Experi-
town. Chicago, 1982. Chapters 1 and 2 review and pose criti-
ence, Interpretation, Comparison. 2 vols. Cambridge, Mass.,
cal issues about comparative method.
2000. Chapters 10 to 12 of volume 1 address two distinct,
complementary, often sequential modes of comparison: syn-
Smith, Jonathan Z. To Take Place: Toward Theory in Ritual. Chi-
chronic morphological comparison and diachronic historical
cago, 1987.
comparison.
Smith, Jonathan Z. Drudgery Divine: On the Comparison of Early
Jordan, Louis Henry. Comparative Religion: Its Genesis and
Christianities and the Religions of Late Antiquity. Chicago,
Growth. Edinburgh, 1905. Comprehensive survey of com-
1990. Addresses issues of method in comparison, by way of
parative religion scholarship at the turn of the twentieth
a critique of Christian interpretations of Hellenistic period
century.
religions.
Wach, Joachim. The Comparative Study of Religions. Edited by Jo-
Martin, Luther H., ed. “The New Comparativism in the Study
seph M. Kitagawa. New York, 1958. Midcentury classic.
of Religion: A Symposium.” Method and Theory in the Study
of Religion 8, no. 1 (1996): 1–49. Debate on the function of
Waldman, Marilyn Robinson. Prophecy and Power: A Comparative
comparison by scholars representing different approaches.
Study of Islamic Evidence. Cambridge, Mass., 2004. Though
focused on Islam, addresses broad questions about the com-
Martin, Luther H. “Comparison.” In Guide to the Study of Reli-
parison of religions as a strategic sociopolitical act as well as
gion, edited by Willi Braun and Russell T. McCutcheon,
an academic method.
pp. 45–56. London, 2000. Reviews the critical role that the-
ory plays in the uses of comparative religion.
WILLIAM E. PADEN (2005)
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1882
COMPASSION
COMPASSION SEE KARUNA¯
at the Collège de France. In 1842, the sixth and concluding
volume of the Cours appeared, followed by Discours sur
l’esprit positif, which appeared as part of his treatise on popu-
lar astronomy. Although his request for a chair in the history
COMTE, AUGUSTE (1798–1857), French philoso-
of positive sciences met with no success, publication of his
pher, founder of positivism. Born into a Roman Catholic,
Discours sur l’ensemble du positivisme (Discourse on the Unity
royalist family in Montpellier, France, Comte completed his
of Positivism; 1848), and the creation of a subsidy by Émile
early education by preparing for the École Polytechnique
Littré through Comte’s Société Positiviste (founded 1848),
under the direction of Daniel Encontre, from whom Comte
provided financial support for the philosopher.
learned that philosophy is a complete view of reality. Comte
Comte’s four-volume Système de politique positive (Sys-
ranked high in the Polytechnique entry competitions, but he
tem of Positive Polity) appeared during 1851–1854. In the
studied there only a few years. Republican political opinions,
preface to his Catéchisme positiviste (Positivist Catechism;
later expressed in his memoirs, moved him to participate in
1852), Comte presented himself as founder of the religion
the student rebellions that were instrumental in causing the
of humanity. Littré, unable to follow in this new develop-
royalist government to close the school for reorganization.
ment, broke with him. Also in 1852, the second volume of
In 1817 Comte became secretary to Claude-Henri de
the Système was issued, which contained an important chap-
Rouvroy Saint-Simon, the social philosopher. Comte’s writ-
ter on religion: “General Theory of Religion, or Positive
ing appeared in numerous publications edited by Saint-
Theory of Human Unity.”
Simon. Indeed, Comte’s Sommaire appréciation de l’ensemble
The two aims of religion, according to Comte, are regu-
du passé moderne (Summary Evaluation of the Impact of the
lation of the individual and unification of individuals. For
Recent Past; 1820) came out under Saint-Simon’s signature.
him, the etymology of the Latin religio is religare: to connect
In this work Comte describes the ancien régime as having two
and unite. This unity depends upon both an intellectual and
poles, or capacities, the theological and the military; these are
a moral condition; the first determines dogma, the second
being superseded by two new poles: the scientific and the in-
cult. Beyond individual and social unity lies an external
dustrial.
world, here considered as the foundation of faith, as the aim
In Prospectus des travaux scientifiques nécessaires pour re-
of activity, and as an object of affection. “Faith is but an aux-
organiser la société (Prospectus of the Scientific Tasks Neces-
iliary of love” (Système, vol. 2, p. 48). Moral unity rests en-
sary for the Reorganization of Society; 1822), Comte pres-
tirely in sociability prevailing over personality (Catéchisme
ented a law of three states through which human history and
positiviste, in the dialogue between the priest and the
each of the sciences must pass in their development; he gave
woman). Positivism is a religion of relation and does not pro-
one hundred examples. Revised as Système de politique posi-
pose a merely individual synthesis. It is rather the great being,
tive (System of Positive Polity; 1824), this theory appeared
or humanity as a whole, that is loved for its perfectibility.
with one thousand examples, unsigned, in a publication of
Humanity, the positivist God, is behind and before us as the
Saint-Simon’s. After he left Saint-Simon, Comte gave lessons
progressive realization of the ideal that reveals itself in reali-
in mathematics. In 1825 he married Caroline Massin.
zation.
Considérations philosophiques sur les sciences et les savants
SEE ALSO Positivism.
(Philosophical Considerations concerning Sciences and Sci-
entists; 1825) and Considérations sur le pouvoir spirituel
BIBLIOGRAPHY
(Considerations concerning Spiritual Power; 1826) were
The writings of Comte can be found in his Œuvres, 12 vols. (Paris,
published while Comte prepared his Cours de philosophie pos-
1968–1970). The works available in English translation in-
itive (Course on Positive Philosophy). He gave the first les-
clude The Positive Philosophy of Auguste Comte, 2 vols., a con-
son in this course on April 2, 1826. Among those present
densation of the Cours by Harriet Martineau (London,
were the zoologist Henri-Marie de Blainville, the scientist
1853); The System of Positive Polity, 4 vols., translated by J.
Louis Poinsot, the economist Charles Barthelemy, and the
H. Bridges et al. (London, 1875–1877); and The Catechism
naturalist Alexander von Humboldt. The course ended with
of Positive Religion, translated by Richard Congreve (London,
its third meeting because of Comte’s mental problems. Mel-
1858). Henri Gouhier’s La vie d’Auguste Comte, 2d rev. ed.
(Paris, 1965), and Joseph Lonchampt’s Précis de la vie et des
ancholic, he attempted to drown himself in the Seine, but
écrits d’Auguste Comte (Paris, 1889) are informative biogra-
was rescued. He took up his work again in the spring of
phies.
1828.
New Sources
The course resumed, and the first volume based on these
Comte, Auguste, Oscar A. Haac, and John Stuart Mill. The Corre-
lectures was published in 1830. In this same year, Comte in-
spondence of John Stuart Mill and Auguste Comte. New Bruns-
augurated a free public course on astronomy that continued
wick, 1995.
for seventeen years. Beginning in 1832, he served as assistant
Harp, Gillis J. Positivist Republic: Auguste Comte and the Recon-
master at the École Polytechnique, but the minister of in-
struction of American. Liberalism, 1865–1920. University
struction offered no reply to Comte’s queries about a chair
Park, 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
CONFESSION OF SINS
1883
Kennedy, Emmet. “The French Revolution and the Genesis of a
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Religion of Man, 1760–1885.” In Modernity and Religion.
Further information on Conall Cernach can be found in Rudolf
Notre Dame, Indiana, 1994.
Thurneysen’s Die irische Helden- und Königsage bis zum sieb-
Pickering, Mary. Auguste Comte: An Intellectual Biography. Cam-
zehnten Jahrhundert, 2 vols. (Halle, 1921), the classic study
bridge, U.K., 1993.
of Táin Bó Cuailnge.
Scharff, Robert C. Comte after Positivism. Cambridge, U.K., 1995.
PROINSIAS MAC CANA (1987 AND 2005)
Wernick, Andrew. Auguste Comte and the Religion of Humanity:
The Post-Theistic Program of French Social Theory. Cam-
bridge, U.K., 2001.
CONCENTRATION S
Wright, T. R. The Religion of Humanity: The Impact of Comtean
EE ATTENTION;
Positivism on Victorian Britian. Cambridge, U.K., 1986.
MEDITATION
ANGÉLE KREMER-MARIETTI (1987)
Revised Bibliography
CONFESSION OF FAITH SEE CREEDS
CONALL CERNACH. The father of Conall Cernach
was Amhairghin, the famous poet and hero of the Ulster-
CONFESSION OF SINS. The word confession has a
men, and he himself is represented as the most important of
twofold meaning that can be partially explained by etymolo-
the Ulster heroes save Cú Chulainn. He is also sometimes
gy. The Latin confiteor, from which confession derives, means
named as a foster brother of Cú Chulainn, though evidently
specifically “to confess a sin or fault,” but also, in a more gen-
more mature in years: at the time of Cú Chulainn’s birth he
eral sense, “to acknowledge or avow.” Thus one may speak
was already one of the Ulster warriors, and it was he who
both of the sinner who confesses his sins and of the martyr
guarded the southern border of Ulster when the youthful Cú
who confesses his faith. Since the confession or witness of a
Chulainn came there to perform his first initiatory exploit
martyr normally took place before a tribunal, it did in fact
in the epic Táin Bó Cuailnge (The cattle raid of Cuailnge).
bear a formal resemblance to the confession of sins. The re-
But whereas Cú Chulainn died without progeny, Conall
semblance should prevent us from separating the two basic
Cernach appears in the genealogies as the ancestor of the
meanings of the word confession too sharply. Nevertheless,
Cruthin or Pictish tribes of Ireland. In Fledh Bhricrenn (The
this entry will be concerned solely with an examination of
feast of Bricriu) he contests the prize of the “champion’s por-
the confession of sins in the strict sense, in other words as
tion” with Cú Chulainn but has to give best to the younger
utterances concerning sins or offenses that are made in order
hero. It was Conall Cernach who avenged Cú Chulainn’s
to escape from these sins and their consequences. Confession
death, beheading his slayer Lughaidh mac Con Roí. When
in this strict sense normally occurs in a ritualized context that
he himself was slain and beheaded by his lifelong foes the
transcends the individuality of the sinner or offender. It must
Connachtmen, it is said that his head was so large that it
be done before a “recipient” who hears the confession. In
could have held four men playing “chess” (fidhchell) or a cou-
many cases, it is performed in the interest not only of the one
ple lying together.
confessing but also of the community (familial, social, eccle-
He is sometimes described as cloen (“crooked”) because
siastical) to which both the confessing person and the recipi-
his inveterate enemy, the Connachtman Cet mac Mághach,
ent belong.
to whom he was a nephew, had stamped his heel upon his
neck after his birth, for it was prophesied that he would kill
Two principal approaches to the study of confession can
half the men of Connacht. The name Conall derives from
be distinguished. On the one hand, one may view the confes-
a Celtic form, *cuno-valos (“strong as a wolf”), and, appropri-
sion of sins as one of many elements, such as prayer, sacrifice,
ately, his epithet cernach may mean “triumphant” and is so
the priesthood, and so forth, in the phenomenology of reli-
understood in early texts. But there was also an alternative
gion. These common elements can be recognized within var-
interpretation. According to the Cóir Anmann (Fitness of
ious religions throughout the ages in different cultural areas,
names), the word cern means “bump, protuberance” as well
though they may have been motivated and shaped quite dif-
as “victory,” and Conall’s epithet is said to refer to the fact
ferently. On the other hand, one may view the partial phe-
that he had “a lump on one side of his head as big as the boss
nomenological similarities of the different rituals that are
of a shield.” Because of this and an episode in the tale of The
conventionally labeled confessions of sins as the products of
Cattle Raid of Fróech, Anne Ross has suggested that there is
historical convergences.
an affinity between Conall Cernach and the Gaulish horned
In the first approach, the comparative-historical study
god Cernunnos (Pagan Celtic Britain, London, 1967,
of confession may transcend the purely phenomenological
pp. 149ff.). Though she does not advert to it, her argument
classification of the different forms and functional interpreta-
is supported by the fact that Irish cern is etymologically relat-
tions of confession to suggest hypotheses concerning the pro-
ed to Irish corn, Latin cornu¯, Old High German horn, and
cess of its formation. It may study the relative antiquity of
so on.
the various subtypes of confession and the particular cultur-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1884
CONFESSION OF SINS
al-historical contexts in which confession originates as a
tural people of East Africa, one finds a nontheistic form of
more or less structured institution. This was the approach of
confession. Here the transgression of a taboo or other cere-
Raffaele Pettazzoni (1883–1959), who developed the theory
monial regulation can be eliminated by “vomiting” it, that
that the confession of sins originated from forms of magic,
is, confessing it to the sorcerer.
specifically from the magic of the spoken word. Confession,
This distinction between theistic and nontheistic forms
in this theory, was originally a ritual intended to expel or
of confession should not be overemphasized, however, im-
eliminate a sin by means of its verbal expression. The sin it-
portant though it is in the history of religions. As already
self could be unconscious and involuntary; it was conceived
noted, fundamentally identical gestures and expressions may
of as a kind of substance that was charged with destructive
be found in both forms, but they receive particular meaning
or obstructive power. Pettazzoni believed that such rites were
only from the context of their use.
well adapted to cultural contexts such as those found in agri-
cultural, matriarchal societies. This theory elicited scholarly
The study of the content of confession is no less impor-
objections, particularly from scholars belonging to the Vien-
tant than the study of its general forms. One of the most typ-
nese cultural-historical school. They pointed out that Pettaz-
ical, perhaps the most typical subject of confession, is a
zoni’s unilinear reconstruction of the history of confession—
woman’s confession of adultery, particularly when the con-
leading from the magical to the theistic and assigning an eth-
fession is occasioned by the act of childbirth. The recipient
ical character only to the latter, with its stress on the
of the confession may be a priest, a sorcerer, the husband,
voluntary character of sin and the value of contrition—could
or perhaps another woman. The woman making the confes-
in fact mean a return to a farfetched evolutionism.
sion must either enumerate her partners or identify them by
name. This requirement may be intended to allow the of-
Moreover, if one explains the similarities observed
fending partner to redress his wrong by offering a sacrifice
among the different forms of confession as being the result
or paying a fine (as among the Luo of Dyur and the Nuer
not of a unilinear evolution but rather of occasional conver-
of East Sudan respectively). This requirement reflects the be-
gences in the history of religions, as in the second approach,
lief that the concrete effects of a wrong action can be elimi-
one can avoid appealing to such a general theory. In fact,
nated only through an equally concrete confession of each
magical and theistic forms of confession, far from being
act. Unconfessed adultery possesses an inherently obstructive
products of a single unilinear evolution, are sometimes found
power that must be removed by means of ritual confession.
together within a single cultural-historical milieu. Their rela-
The Luo, the Nuer, and also the Atcholi of Uganda believe
tive antiquity cannot be determined merely by citing the fre-
that the destructive power of unconfessed adultery may be-
quency with which they are mentioned in extant religious
come manifest through the death of the delivered child.
documents. To be sure, it is necessary to distinguish between
These regulations and beliefs presuppose the ethical value of
a sin conceived as the infringement of a moral code, emanat-
marriage, a standard that influences the understanding of
ing from (or at least guaranteed by) a deity, and a sin result-
confession. To explain the negative effects of adultery in the
ing from the neglect of a taboo, a law not necessarily motivat-
case of the child’s death as due to sickness deriving from the
ed by the will of a suprahuman, personal agency. A
material effects of libertinage would be clearly reductive. In
distinction must also be made between voluntary and invol-
New Caledonia, young male initiands are questioned by el-
untary transgression, both of moral codes and of mere ta-
ders concerning any previous sexual behavior. They must
boos. But the coexistence of these alternatives in some reli-
confess cases of illicit sexual relations with women; not doing
gions does not necessarily imply that one is chronologically
so would cause danger to the society as a whole.
later than the other. Furthermore, the motivation for appar-
ently identical eliminatory or deprecatory ritual gestures may
Another typical occasion for making a confession in
differ according to the context: magical techniques can be
nonliterate societies is the activity of hunting or fishing. The
used to reinforce theistic motivations, while theistic beliefs
magical practices associated with these activities are well
sometimes motivate magical practices.
known. For example, women must observe particular taboos
C
while their husbands are away hunting in order not to com-
ONFESSION OF SINS IN NONLITERATE CULTURES. An inter-
promise the success of the expedition. The husbands them-
pretation of the confession of sins among nonliterate peoples
selves, during the days preceding departure, must abstain
must consider that there is indeed a tension between theistic
from various activities, in particular from cohabitation with
conceptions of confession, where the goal is divine forgive-
their wives. Confession is another preparatory practice. Indi-
ness, and nontheistic conceptions, where the efficacy of con-
vidual members of the hunting or fishing party must confess
fession is intrinsic to the act itself. The Sanpoli and Nespelen
their sins prior to departure, since the unacknowledged
(Salish Indians), whom Wilhelm Schmidt (1868–1954) ran-
breaking of a taboo or a persistent condition of impurity and
ked among the Urvölker, in other words among the people
culpability would endanger the success of the entire expedi-
of the greatest possible antiquity, practice a theistic form of
tion. One who resisted making the required confession
confession, accompanied by prayer to the supreme being.
would be excluded from participating.
The purpose of the confession is the sinner’s attainment of
heaven and presupposes the positive disposition of the per-
Another peculiarity of confession of sins in nonliterate
son confessing. By contrast, among the Kikuyu, an agricul-
societies is the fact that the transgression to be confessed need
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CONFESSION OF SINS
1885
not be voluntary or conscious, particularly a transgression of
the confessing person. Here two different ritual procedures
taboos or of ritual regulations. The same is true of other puri-
are intermingled. Evil is not the consequence of a sin that
ficatory rituals. As shall be discussed below in greater detail,
goes unconfessed; it is rather the consequence of a confession
the need for confession of sin to be circumstantial and at the
that was not sincere. The ethical side of confession becomes
same time thorough (i.e., not achieved through generic for-
paramount; a reference to the elimination of occult sin
mulations) led to the construction of long lists of possible
would be out of place here. This instance makes clear the in-
sins or offenses. Such lists were to be recited by the one con-
adequacy of reducing confession strictly to a material utter-
fessing in order to avoid the omission of any committed sin.
ance having magic, autonomous effects.
This clear example of the elaboration of sacral techniques
Confession is also found in association with other ritu-
demonstrates how the original need for confession may be
als. Among the Nandi, a solemn form of confession is associ-
eventually overshadowed by the need for completeness. Yet
ated with circumcision. Among the Sulka (New Britain) and
this need to be complete does not essentially contradict the
the Maya (Yucatan), confession is associated with initiation,
nature of confession, whether theistic or magical. Confession
and in Chiapas (Mexico) with marriage. In other words, con-
is characterized not by generic utterances of culpability but
fession may be an element in rites of passage, both individual
by the necessity to be concrete and specific, to evoke and de-
and seasonal.
stroy the very existence and malignant efficacy of a particular
sin.
Confession is sometimes associated with such ritual and
ascetic procedures as fasting, abstinence, and chastity, evi-
Characteristic of confession among preliterate peoples
dently because of their importance in achieving ritual or ethi-
is also that it may be associated with the rhythms of the astro-
cal purity. Confession has also been associated with the
nomical year as well as with the production cycle. Among
scapegoat ritual, but it is preferable, in this instance, to speak
the Lotuko of East Sudan, there is a public confession by
not of confession but of the magical or juridical transfer of
warriors at the beginning of the great hunting season. Their
sin onto an animal destined to be eliminated from the com-
confessions are made individually with lowered voice and
munity. Confession as an explicit acknowledgment of sin is
then repeated by the priest serving the rain god. The reason
quite different; moreover, it requires a recipient, a more or
for this procedure cannot be to avoid exposing the warriors
less qualified “hearer” or counterpart. In confession among
to shame; more probably, the custom is meant symbolically
primal cultures, there is an efficacy not only in the word that
to preserve, to the extent that it is possible, the originally in-
is spoken, but also in the word that is heard. The dialogical
dividual character of confession. Other instances of confes-
context is thus crucial. Both speaker and hearer embody a
sion on the occasion of annual ceremonies of renewal are
circle that functions, whether theistically, magically, or both,
found among the Bechuana, the Algonquin, and the Ojibwa.
to consume the sin confessed.
New Year rituals of confession are clearly eliminatory.
CONFESSION OF SINS IN TRADITIONAL HIGH CULTURES
Faults and their evil efficacy must not be allowed to extend
AND WORLD RELIGIONS. We pass now to the significance
beyond the close of the expiring year; they must be abolished.
of confession of sins in traditional high cultures (both past
Other eliminatory rituals or customs may take place on such
and present), which are mostly polytheistic, and to the world
occasions, such as throwing away or destroying old and dam-
religions. It is worth recalling that the term confession is here
aged implements. In confession, however, elimination con-
used not as a univocal, but as an analogical term in accor-
cerns things not exterior to humans but interior to them.
dance with classical logic. This means that the term confession
This remains true whether the interiority of sin is conceived
overshadows sets of concepts and realities having in common
of magically (as a substance, fluid, or influx) or theistically,
some typical characteristics or aspects, not always the same,
as a condition of being and a reality reflected in the con-
sets separated by differences that reach to the same depth as
science of the person confessing. Such annual confessions,
the similarities. Thus there is a kind of “family resemblance”
though remaining fundamentally an act of the individual,
that is different from a strictly definable “universal.”
also have collective, even cosmic, implications. These are all
the more evident when a confession is made by the king as
Mexico and Peru. Confession was practiced in old
an authorized representative of the collectivity, bound to it
Mexico in connection with Tlacolteótl, the goddess of impu-
by the bonds of “sympathy.” This common idea is found in
rities. She symbolized the sexual offenses (particularly adul-
other well-known rites where the very person and life of the
tery) that were the main object of confession. The priests of
king are involved in rituals ensuring the perpetuity of the
the goddess acted as the recipients of confession, and the
world and the smooth transition from one season to the next.
confession itself was understood as taking place before the
The king as an individual sinner, as the proper subject of
great, omniscient god Tezcatlipoca. The confession was se-
confession, paradoxically becomes the representative of the
cret and was followed by the imposition of a complicated
multitude and acts in the people’s interest. Thus, even here,
penance, to be performed on the festival day of the goddess.
the individual nature of the act of confession is preserved.
The penance involved drawing blood from the tongue or ear,
and it was accompanied by symbolic eliminatory acts, such
Finally, we must note the connection of confession of
as casting away wooden sticks that had been in contact with
sins with the ordeal that may be used to test the sincerity of
the wound. Extraction of blood was frequent in the religious
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CONFESSION OF SINS
life of the Mexicans, having an eliminatory and perhaps sac-
India. In contrast to the political character it acquires
rificial meaning. Another object of confession was intoxica-
in the Inca, Japanese, and Chinese empires, the confession
tion on the sacred drink, pulque.
of sins or dismeritorious deeds in India belongs to the main-
In modern Mexico, confession is practiced by the
stream of religious speculation and practice. In the Vedas
Huichol at the time of the annual expedition to collect the
there is an insistence on the purifying properties of fire and
hikuli, a sacred plant. This expedition requires a condition
water together with faith in Varun:a, a heavenly and omni-
of purity in the participants, which is achieved through con-
scient god. Varun:a punishes sinners by entangling and bind-
fession of sexual offenses. For mnemonic purposes, knots
ing them in his net. He can also liberate the sinner from these
corresponding to sins are tied in a rope that is then burned
bonds. He is connected with ethical laws, especially with the
at the end, a typical symbolic form of elimination.
eternal order of r:ta, yet his modus operandi is clearly magical,
and his jurisdiction extends to involuntary offenses. Never-
Confession was also practiced in Peru, where it was asso-
theless, the Vedas know nothing of confession proper; they
ciated with the bath (upacuna) and with other eliminatory
know only of generic declarations of fault. It is in the
or symbolic acts, such as blowing away powders. The recipi-
Bra¯hman:as, which exalt the magical omnipotence of sacri-
ent of confession was the ichuri, who was not a priest but
fice, that confession is found, with particular reference to
belonged, rather, to a low class of diviners. The typical occa-
adultery; here confession is accompanied by eliminatory ritu-
sion for confession was sickness, whether of oneself or one’s
als. Brahmanic confession occurs at the summer feast of
relatives, and the integrity of the confession could be tested
Varun:apragha¯sa; the name of the god may indicate a partial
by ordeal. Other occasions included bad weather and times
continuity with the ethical sphere of the Vedic Varun:a. Start-
of preparation for festivals. The emperor (the inca) and the
ing this ceremony without having first confessed adultery is
high priest ordinarily confessed their sins directly to the sun
believed to create an insupportable burden for one’s con-
and to the great god Viracocha, respectively. This fact re-
science, even in the context of an objective or material con-
duces the value of these examples for the study of the typolo-
ception of sin. The confession of adultery must be complete,
gy of confession, since confession normally has a human re-
including the names or the number of lovers, since otherwise
cipient. Nevertheless, if this irregularity is attributed to the
it could cause evil to the confessing woman’s relatives. Con-
special status of the emperor, the confession of the inca may
fession is followed by an eliminatory sacrifice. An important
continue to be looked upon as genuine.
feature of this ritual is its mythic motivation: it was created
The sickness of the inca was an occasion for his subjects
by the god Praja¯pati. Similar motivation exists in the case of
to practice confession, not only in homage to the emperor’s
the Shinto¯ ritual described above, which is connected with
dignity, but to show the sympathetic connection between the
the figure of Susano-o.
emperor and his people. In China the reverse happened.
There, the emperor confessed to the people.
In the su¯tra literature, as in classical antiquity, what is
alleged to be a confession of sins is actually an individual’s
The site of confession in Peru was the peninsula that
public proclamation that he is a sinner, a proclamation that
provided access to the shrine of the sun, located on a sacred
does not involve a specific recipient. It is more a notification,
island in Lake Titicaca. A long and detailed list of sins was
as Pettazzoni rightly noted when he criticized the theory of
employed, and some had to be confessed before the high
Franz Boas (1858–1942) that such a procedure constituted
priest. Generally speaking, the practice of confession in Peru
the most ancient form of confession.
did not involve secrecy.
Japan and China. The biannual Shinto¯ ceremony of
Jainism. Confession in Jainism (alocana and, more gen-
Oho-harahi resembles a rite of confession, but it is only a rec-
erally, pratikramana) is mainly a monastic institution, per-
itation of a complete list of possible sins or impurities by the
formed twice daily. The laity make confession before their
nakatomi, a high dignitary, or by other priests. The ceremony
respective guru¯s. Jainism combines the elimination of impu-
is accompanied by such symbolic eliminatory acts as throw-
rities (sin) with the doctrine of the annihilation of karma,
ing impure objects into running water. Cases of individual
conceived of as something substantial. Confession before
confession are attested.
death is considered important, and an insincere confession
can perpetuate the cycle of rebirths.
In China, eliminatory rituals were related to the grand
conception of the Dao, the universal, heavenly order. A dis-
Buddhism. The pra¯timoks:a is a gradated list of possible
turbance of this order, whether caused by the emperor or by
transgressions (sins) of the monastic rules governing the life
his people, had serious consequences. It was the emperor’s
of individual Buddhist monks or nuns; it is recited bimonth-
duty to redress the wrong, often through the vicarious per-
ly at night services called uposatha. The participant monks
formance of penance and a written confession of sins. Indi-
must be in a state of purity; transgressions must be confessed
vidual confession was also practiced in China, particularly in
in an individual and reciprocal form. Similar occasion for
the context of the Daoist tradition, especially in the case of
confession was the pava¯ran:a (“invitation”), which occurred
sickness. Sins were written down, perhaps in imitation of the
during the rainy season, when the monks led a sedentary life.
emperor’s confession or as a means of reinforcing their ex-
Monks would invite their fellows to make statements con-
pression, and were then thrown into water.
cerning their (i.e., the inviter’s) individual conduct. Both cel-
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1887
ebrations were originally public confessions, made in re-
to the confession of sins in Greek and Roman Orphism. Ver-
sponse to the reading of the list of transgressions at the
gil (Aeneid 6.566–569) speaks of a “confession” in the other-
pra¯timoks:a and to the threefold interrogation by the presid-
world, imposed by the judge of souls, Rhadamanthys, on
ing monk. In the classical form of the ritual, however, it was
those who persisted in enjoying their bad deeds until the end
presupposed that the monks had achieved the required state
of their lives without having been purified. This does not
of purity through confession prior to the pra¯timoks:a recita-
necessarily imply an allusion to the neglected confession of
tion, so that no one was expected actually to accuse himself
sins during life. The same situation is found in Dante’s Com-
of transgression during the ritual. The purpose of repeated
media (Inferno 5.7–10), where the souls come before Minos,
interrogation was to confirm this state of purity formally.
the judge of the dead in the netherworld, and “confess,” that
These formal, silent answers, based as they were on previous
is, declare their sins in order to be sent to the appropriate
confessions, were also a kind of negative confession designed
eternal penance. The same holds for Thespesius’s episode in
to reveal sincerity of conscience: a proclamation of purity.
Plutarch, where the homologein (“acknowledgment of sinful-
ness”) of a sinner in the netherworld is mentioned: a man
With Buddhism, the objective conception of transgres-
who had always refused to reveal his sin on earth is con-
sions and purification, found in both Jain and Brahmanic
demned to confess it continuously.
conceptions of karma, was abolished. Karma was now under-
stood to be produced through the subjective element of voli-
The sole testimony of a confession of sins in Greece
tion, and there was a corresponding modification of the
seems to consist of two anecdotes concerning the mysteries
meaning of confession. With time, however—it would
of Samothrace, which are told about two Spartan admirals,
seem—monastic casuistry tended to lower this new moral
Antalkidas and Lysandros, who were requested by the priest
emphasis in the Buddhist conception of confession.
in charge of the ritual of initiation (or perhaps purification)
to mention the worst deed they committed in their lives.
Western Asia and Greece. It is difficult to assimilate
Possibly the so-called confession inscriptions of Phrygia (also
the practices described in some of the epigraphic and literary
of Lydia and Knidos) are evidence of a genuine confession
texts of the religions of antiquity to the category of confes-
of sins. Here persons of lower estate confess their transgres-
sion of sins. These texts mention the mere acknowledgment
sion of some ritual regulation or their violation of some sacral
and subsequent public declaration of a sin or other offense
person or property and dedicate a confessional inscription at
by an individual. It is scarcely possible to speak of the confes-
the sanctuary as a record of the misdeed. According to Pet-
sion of sins when the regent of Byblos writes to Amenophis
tazzoni, these inscriptions testify to a particular connection
IV that he has confessed his fault to the gods, or when the
of the Anatolian form of confession with the local great god-
Hittite king Mursilis confesses a sin before the god of heaven.
dess. In another instance, an inscription recording a perjury
The same applies to the repeated confessional utterances (ho-
is placed in the Anatolian sanctuary of Zeus Asbamaios. But
mologein, exomologeisthai) of the “superstitious man” de-
these inscriptions are, in fact, testimonies to a popular pat-
scribed by Plutarch, a man continually and scrupulously re-
tern of behavior rather than to a ritual structure. All in all,
sorting to purificatory rituals in the sanctuary. Similarly, the
it is with good reason that Pettazzoni criticized the belief of
Galli of the Magna Mater, when participating in the proces-
Richard Reitzenstein (1861–1931) that confession of sins
sion of the goddess, enthusiastically and repeatedly declared
was a phenomenon diffused throughout the Greek world.
the particular misdeeds of their past life, as well as describing
the punishment (usually some form of sickness) that the god
Southern Arabia, Babylon, and Egypt. Some confes-
had inflicted upon them. This repeated evocation of past
sional inscriptions have been discovered in southern Arabia,
faults is the exact opposite of a ritual of confession, which
although their chronology is uncertain. They seem similar to
is meant to eliminate the dangerous presence of sin once and
the confessional inscriptions of Phrygia, but with a peculiar
for all. Nor can the term confession be applied to certain texts
emphasis on sexual sins.
of Roman poets concerning personal experiences in the con-
Babylonian religion recognized several theistic and mag-
text of the cult of Egyptian deities or describing the vicissi-
ical means for eliminating ethical and ritual offenses. For in-
tudes of mythic or legendary characters: Ovid, Metamor-
stance, lists of sins were written on tablets and were then de-
phoses 11.129–143 (esp. v. 134, “peccasse fatentem,”
stroyed. Nevertheless, a ritual of confession properly so called
[confessed his fault] referring to the sinful King Midas) and
is far from clearly attested. The same holds for the Babylo-
Fasti 4.305–327 (esp. v. 321, “si tu damnas, meruisse fatebor,”
nian penitential psalms, despite their ritual background. He-
[if you do condemn me, I will confess my guilt] referring to
rodotus attributed to the people of Babylon the custom of
the falsely accused Roman matron Claudia Quinta, who in-
placing the sick in the public square so that they might con-
troduced the sacred stone of the Magna Mater to Rome in
fess their sins publicly; this is nearer to the repetitious decla-
204 BCE).
rations of the enthusiastic Galli, mentioned above, than to
ritually structured confession. Among other things, there is
None of these records mentions the recipient of an oral
here no appointed recipient of confession.
confession, a necessary element of any penitential structure
or institution. The texts present no more than a free initiative
More akin to present typology is the negative confession
by the concerned sinner. The same is true of writings related
of the king at the beginning of the New Year festival in Baby-
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CONFESSION OF SINS
lon, the Akitu festival. True, a negative confession in which
towards evil from their youth. The prophets see the whole
the king declares his innocence of a series of offenses against
nation of Israel as sinful. The psalmists and sages also pro-
the city and the people is in a sense the opposite of a confes-
claim this universality: “But all are unfaithful, altogether cor-
sion of sins. Yet both establish an immediate connection be-
rupt; no one does good, no, not even one” (Ps. 14.3).
tween the evocation of sin and the annihilation of it and its
Judaic law determines the notion of sin. Every transgres-
consequences. The most famous example of a negative con-
sion of the law is a rebellion against the will of God and is
fession is found in the Egyptian Book of Going Forth by Day
therefore a sin. A distinction is made between sinning defi-
(no. 125) where two complete lists of possible sins are used
antly and sinning through ignorance. There is also a tenden-
for the examination and weighing of the soul in the afterlife.
cy to put the burden of guilt on both the individual and the
This kind of totalitarian confession encompasses all kinds of
community. As sin is regarded as having the world in its grip,
possible sin, whether conscious or unconscious, in order to
observing the law is considered to be the only way to over-
omit none of them. Although this is not confession in the
come the inclination to sin. The consequence of sin is pun-
strict sense, it nevertheless achieves its purpose.
ishment, which may manifest itself as sickness, death, and
Israelite religion and Judaism. The Old Testament
eternal damnation. But repentence and the return to God is
texts, including the penitential psalms, are sometimes mis-
possible at any stage in life, thanks to God’s mercy.
takenly conceived of as evidence of an institutionalized ritual
of the confession of sins within the vast array of purification
Christianity. The mission of the Old Testament
rituals. This also applies to the so-called collective confes-
prophets was to awaken in the people a sense of sinfulness
sions, in which the general wording “we have sinned” (corre-
and a recognition of their personal and collective guilt. Sin,
sponding to the “I have sinned” of the former texts) does not
then, was regarded as a deliberate violation of the will of God
properly fit into our typology. As far as the scapegoat ritual
attributed to human pride, self-centeredness, and disobedi-
is concerned, it has already been remarked that this is not
ence. The New Testament discusses confession in many
a proper form of confession, but rather the religiously valo-
places, but there is no mention of its having to be specific
rized transfer of sin for the purpose of expelling it. Although
or detailed, or that it has to be made to a priest. The activity
the procedure has an oral, declaratory element, it cannot be
of John the Baptist, who baptized ordinary people and also
assigned to the typology of confession.
prepared Jesus for his public ministry by baptizing him, is
often referred to as the origin of confession in Christianity:
Israelite religion and Judaism consider sin to be a sec-
at that time baptism was accompanied by a public confession
ondary issue. It is linked to the monotheistic belief in one
(Mt. 3:6).
God and the mythical fall of the first man, Adam, which is
described concretely and is pictorially devoid of any theologi-
Generally sin is portrayed in the context of forgiveness,
cal or theoretical speculation. The most commonly used root
as in the parable of the prodigal son (Lk. 15:11–32), where
for sin-related words in the Old Testament is h:at:t:, meaning
sin is manifested in the son’s leaving his father to enjoy a de-
to miss the mark, to fall short of the goal, especially in main-
bauched lifestyle. The forgiveness that the father shows at his
taining unity between persons. Sin, then, is something very
son’s return is seen as analogical to the heavenly Father’s for-
ordinary that is committed in everyday life. The relation to
giveness. The son’s sin was an offence not only against his
God is envisaged as analogical to relations between humans.
father, but also against heaven. The miserable servitude the
Consequently, sin is a personal failing in one’s relation to
son suffered was the natural consequence of his sin. Howev-
God and his commandments.
er, by returning he passed from death to life.
Sin, depicted as an inherited consequence of the fall in
In its first centuries of existence, the Christian church
Judaism (Gn. 3), refers (1) to the conduct of being disobedi-
practiced a canonical penance for sins considered mortal or
ent to God and his commandments, (2) to the turning away
capital. The penitential act started with the sinner entering
from the right path and right way of life, and (3) to failing
the order of penitents through a confession rendered before
to fulfill the purpose that God intended when he created the
the bishop, or at least with the acceptance of the assigned
world. In rabbinical literature it refers both to disobedience
penance. With the gradual introduction of the private form
in the sense of “not doing” what one is supposed to do and
of confession, from the seventh century onward, a new form
to transgression or the “actual doing” of what is forbidden.
of the celebration of reconciliation came into practice. The
Sin is conceived of as an attitude of defiance or hatred of,
private form of confession necessarily emphasized the “accu-
even revolt against, God.
sation” made by the penitent.
Sin leaves its mark not only on the sinner, but also on
Later on, theologians distinguished between actual and
nature itself, and on all humankind universally. The sinner
original sin. Actual refers to sin in the ordinary sense of the
encounters a sense of guilt. The deluge, the plagues of Egypt,
word. It is a category covering evil acts, whether of thought,
and the curses on unfaithful Israel are conceived of as marks
word, or deed. The somewhat misleading expression original
on nature. As a result of the fall, all human beings were con-
sin refers to the morally vitiated condition in which humans
sidered sinners. This universality of sin was the cause of the
find themselves at birth as an inherited consequence of the
flood and of the inclination in the hearts of men and women
first human sin.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CONFESSION OF SINS
1889
Actual sin is subdivided into mortal and venial sin, the
sins that allows the sinner to go on as before. In true repen-
gravity of the sin being used as a criterion. A mortal sin, then,
tance there is an aspiration for a lasting resolve: “Now that
is a deliberate turning away from God, an act committed in
you are well, give up your sinful ways, or something worse
full knowledge and with full consent of the sinner’s will.
may happen to you” (Jn. 5:14). The sacrament may be re-
Until the turning away is repented it cuts the sinner off from
garded as the “medical examination of the soul”: it concerns
God’s grace. In contrast, a venial sin is often committed with
our relation to God, to our neighbors, and to our union with
less awareness of wrongdoing. Although it weakens the sin-
God.
ner’s union with God, it is not a deliberate turning away and
Confession is virtually nonexistent in the Protestant tra-
therefore does not entirely block the inflow of God’s grace.
dition, although there has been a slight revival of the habit
Originally anyone who had been baptized was expected to
in recent years in connection with spiritual retreats and pil-
refrain from committing serious sins, but if they did so, ex-
grimages. Nowadays, penance is a Roman Catholic sacra-
pulsion from the Christian community was irrevocable. The
ment that is considered to be instituted by Christ. The con-
practice of readmitting sinners to the community after pen-
fession of all serious sins committed after baptism is
ance was instituted during the third century CE despite
imperative. In the tradition of Eastern Christianity, private
strong protest from the Novatians and others. The excom-
confession is usually made regularly to a personal spiritual
municated were received on Maundy Thursday by the bish-
father, who thus is able to follow and guide the individual’s
op after having done penance during Lent.
spiritual struggle and development.
A new form of penance, which became part of the ascet-
Zoroastrianism, Mandaean religion, and Manichae-
ic life, was adopted in Irish monasteries: monks regularly
ism. From Sassanid times on, Zoroastrianism recognizes a
confessed to a priest and received absolution, and penance
form of the confession of sins, the patet (“expiation”), made
appropriate to the sin was prescribed. This monastic practice
before a priest or, in his absence, before the sun, the moon,
spread to the continent of Europe in the seventh century and
and the divine fire. An annual confession is encouraged in
also became popular among the laity. The origin of the prac-
the month of Mihr (after Mihr, the god Mithra). According
tice of the confession of sins that still prevails in the Ortho-
to Pettazzoni, Zoroastrian confession was actually derived
dox and Roman Catholic churches lies in this monastic
from Christian confession, but alternative explanations are
habit. Penance was made one of the seven sacraments in the
possible. It resembles the form of confession found in the
fourth Lateran Council of 1215.
Manichaean Xastvanift, a book preserved in the Uighur lan-
The Roman Catholic Church initially considered pen-
guage of Central Asia. The meaning of confession in Mani-
ance obligatory only for mortal or capital sins, that is, sins
chaeism depended upon the Manichaean concept of sin,
committed in full awareness of their being violations of the
which was based on belief in a radical dualism of soul and
will of God. It was enough to repent of venial sins and to
body. The soul was believed not to be responsible for the ac-
adopt a penitent attitude. However, over time the church
tions of the body. Salvation was accordingly attained by
began to encourage the confession of minor sins at least once
means of the soul’s complete separation from the body, a sep-
a year as part of Christian spiritual life.
aration effected through a knowledge, or gnosis, of the soul’s
heavenly origin and a series of radical abstentions from bodi-
In principle, valid confession requires complete repen-
ly activities.
tance (contritio) out of love of God, although incomplete re-
pentance (attritio) may become complete through the sacra-
There are three main Manichaean texts used in confes-
ment of confession. Before absolution is given, the confessor
sion. (1) The Xastvanift, mentioned above, consists of a list
is ordered to do penance, which was originally quite severe.
of sins and is intended for the laity (the “hearers”); it contains
The practice of easing penance through indulgence arose
the recurrent formula “Man astar hirza” (“Forgive my
during the Middle Ages.
fault”), which was used in the liturgy, read aloud, perhaps,
by the priest to the faithful. Also employed were (2) a prayer
The practice of repentance is connected to the sacra-
composed in Chinese and used for communal confession,
ment of confession, which has many names: the confession
and (3) a form of confession composed in Sogdian and in-
of sins, the remission of sins, and penance. Repentance aptly
tended for the elite, bearing the title Manichaean Book of
describes the content and character of the sacrament. It is
Prayer and Confession. Possibly this latter text was read dur-
founded on Christ’s promise to his apostles: “If you forgive
ing Bema, the annual festival of the Manichaeans.
anyone’s sins, they are forgiven. . . .” (Jn. 20:22); “If your
brother does wrong, reprove him; and if he repents, forgive
The Mandaeans, adherents of a gnostic, ethnic religion
him” (Lk. 17:3–4).
that survives still in Iraq, recognize a confession for sins that
can be repeated no more than two times before the sinner
The process of repentance is illustratively described in
is excommunicated. The Mandaean confession covers both
the parable of the prodigal son: his leaving and turning away
conscious and unconscious faults. It is similar to the Parsi
from his father and his subsequent return to his father’s
and Manichaean forms of confession.
house, the goal of which was to find God and his kingdom.
The sacrament of confession does not imply forgiveness of
SEE ALSO Purification; Repentance.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1890
CONFUCIANISM: AN OVERVIEW
BIBLIOGRAPHY
2002), which includes a useful bibliography from the per-
For a discussion of the topic by one of its major interpreters, see
spective of ecclesiastical history.
Raffaele Pettazzoni’s La confessione dei peccati, 3 vols. (Bolo-
UGO BIANCHI (1987)
gna, Italy, 1929–1936; reprint, 1968). Pettazzoni’s La confes-
RENÉ GOTHÓNI (2005)
sion des péchés, 2 vols. (Paris, 1931–1932), is the enlarged
translation by René Monnot of volume 1 of the work men-
tioned above. For the Viennese school’s criticism, see Leo-
pold Walk’s “Pettazzoni, Raffaele’s ‘La Confessione dei pec-
CONFUCIANISM
This entry consists of the following articles:
cati,’” Anthropos 31 (1936): 969–972, and a series of articles
by Michele Schulien listed in Etnologia religiosa (Turin, Italy,
AN OVERVIEW
THE CLASSICAL CANON
1958), p. 286, note 7, by Renato Boccassino. Further studies
THE IMPERIAL CULT
by Pettazzoni on the theme are found in his Essays on the His-
HISTORY OF STUDY
tory of Religions (Leiden, 1954): “Confession of Sins and the
Classics,” pp. 55–67, and “Confession of Sins: An Attempt-
ed General Interpretation,” pp. 43–54, with a further bibli-
CONFUCIANISM: AN OVERVIEW
ography found on page 54, note 12. P. Wilhelm Schmidt’s
Over the two and a half millennia since the death of Kongzi
Der Ursprung der Gottesidee, vols. 5, 7, and 8 (Münster, Ger-
(trad. 551–479 BCE), the figure whose name was latinized
many, 1934, 1940, 1949), discusses the concept among most
into “Confucius” by Jesuit missionaries in the sixteenth cen-
primitive, as well as pastoral, cultures (consult the indexes).
tury, diverse groups have identified him as the source of their
See Franz Steinleitner’s Die Beicht im Zusammenhange mit
texts and practices. As a result, a wide variety of phenomena
der sakralen Rechtspflege in der Antike (Leipzig, Germany,
are called “Confucianism,” many of which appear to have
1913) for the Anatolian confessional inscriptions and related
only a distant connection to one another. The term “Confu-
topics.
cian” is applied to religious traditions grounded in the trans-
mission and interpretation of sacred texts and practices, as
On the confession of sins in other traditions and cultures, see Ar-
well as to educational, ethical, and social systems. While
thur Darby Nock’s Essays on Religion and the Ancient World,
2 vols., edited by Zeph Stewart (Cambridge, Mass., 1972; re-
some have argued that Kongzi’s primary message was philo-
print, Oxford, 1986), pp. 66 and 427, note 77; Jacques Du-
sophical and secular, historians are increasingly questioning
chesne-Guillemin’s La religion de l’Iran ancien (Paris, 1962),
the justification for considering the ethical dimension of
pp. 113ff.; and Kurt Rudolph’s Die Mandäer, vol. 2: Der
Confucianism as either more original than, or as separate
Kult (Göttingen, Germany, 1961), pp. 247–254. The last
from, its other aspects. Wing-tsit Chan’s entries—
work cited includes an extensive bibliography concerning
“Foundation of the Tradition” and “Neo-Confucianism”—
confession in Zoroastrianism, Manichaeism, and Mandae-
in the first edition of the Encyclopedia of Religion are among
ism. On doctrine and practice in contemporary Catholicism,
the most cogent yet nuanced treatments of Confucianism
see John J. O’Brien’s The Remission of Venial Sin (Washing-
viewed as the legacy of a genealogy of philosophers. Instead
ton, D.C., 1959); Charles J. Keating’s The Effects of Original
of trying to rewrite his classic treatment, this article shifts
Sin in the Scholastic Tradition from St. Thomas Aquinas to
perspectives to portray Confucianism as a set of plural and
William Ockham (Washington, D.C., 1959); G. Vander-
diverse strands that different interests have woven together
velde’s Original Sin: Two Major Trends in Contemporary
(and occasionally unraveled) over the course of several mil-
Roman Catholic Reinterpretation (Amsterdam, 1975); and
lennia of East Asian history.
Pope John Paul II’s Reconciliatio et Paenitentia: Post-synodal
Apostolic Exhortation of John Paul II to the Bishops, Clergy, and
The following description begins with three topics cen-
Faithful on Reconciliation and Penance in the Religion of the
tral to the formative period of most strands of Chinese Con-
Church Today (London, 1984). For the discussion of sin by
fucianism: the legacies of the former sages; Kongzi and the
the spiritual masters of the Orthodox Christian tradition, see
disciple traditions; and the attempts to define the link be-
The Philokalia, 4 vols. (London, 1979–1995). On the discus-
tween ethical self-transformation and rulership in the centu-
sions of sin from a modern perspective, see Richard J.
ries immediately after Kongzi’s death. In this period, exper-
Bautch’s Developments in Genre Between Post-Exilic Peniten-
tise in a set of practices based in the rites, music, and classics
tial Prayers and the Psalms of Communal Lament (Atlanta,
of antiquity became the basis of vocations in advising rulers
Ga., 2003); Kay Carmichael’s Sin and Forgiveness: New Re-
and teaching potential officials. Through the filter of dialogs
sponses in a Changing World (Aldershot, U.K., 2003); Anselm
transmitted in multiple disciple traditions, Kongzi came to
Schubert’s Das Ende der Sünde: Anthropologie und Erbsünde
be considered the paragon of these specializations. The sec-
zwischen Reformation und Aufklärung (Göttingen, Germany,
2002); and Patricia A. Williams’s Doing without Adam and
ond phase saw a redefinition of the relationship between the
Eve: Sociobiology and Original Sin (Minneapolis, 2001). For
state and the legacies that Kongzi represented, as the study
a historical outline, see “Confession des péchés” in Diction-
of the classics bifurcated into official academic positions
naire de théologie catholique (Paris, 1923–1950), and
sponsored by the state and private institutions, where trans-
“Beichte” in Theologische Realenzyklopädie (Berlin and New
missions of the classics gradually were cast as alternatives to
York, 1980). See also Roberto Rusconi, L’ordine dei peccati:
very different kinds of Daoist and Buddhist lineages. In the
La confessione tra Medioevo ed età moderna (Bologna, Italy,
early imperial and medieval period, the authority of Kongzi’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
CONFUCIANISM: AN OVERVIEW
1891
representation of antiquity was grafted onto a variety of
port of the ancestors, and for this reason the term for virtue
novel social institutions. In the third phase, as the dynasties
has also been translated as “power” and understood as a form
of late imperial China alternated between rule by indigenous
of “moral charisma.” The practice of carrying out divinations
and foreign powers, and as the spread of monastic institu-
and sacrifice to assure good fortune continued after the
tions transformed society, Kongzi’s project was seen as a
Shang, and broadened to address anthropomorphic deities
model for a quest to recover the indigenous traces of the early
and celestial officials as part of Chinese popular religions.
sages. Under the influence of the redefinition of the tradition
sparked by Zhu Xi (also romanized as Chu Hsi, 1130–1200
In the Zhou, Shang reliance on the approval of the
“Highest Ancestors” (Shangdi) was redirected to a concern
CE), competing scholastic lineages theorized the connection
between practice and politics, and between knowledge and
with the conditional guidance of Heaven. Bronze inscrip-
the study of the classics. Confucianism today both receives
tions (jinwen) from Western Zhou vessels commemorate
support and is subject to restrictions in the People’s Republic
honors bestowed in such a way as to reveal an elaborate
of China, even while its adaptation to modernity has contin-
scheme of sumptuary rituals, records whose location in
ued in the communities of the East Asian diaspora.
tombs suggest that they were directed to the ancestors. Re-
L
cords in the Classic of Documents in the voice of the Zhou
EGACIES OF THE EARLY SAGES. Even prior to the birth of
Kongzi in 551
rulers explain how the Shang lost the support of Heaven
BCE, many of the elements that are today asso-
ciated with Confucianism had long been present in Chinese
through immoral and irreverent actions. The Zhou’s own
society. Both the textual record of antiquity and the writings
usurpation of the Shang is cast as a matter of complying with
associated with Kongzi and his disciples credit the develop-
the mandate, and the Zhou rulers’ resulting claim to the title
ment of principal political and religious ideals and institu-
of “Son of Heaven” (tianzi) became both the prototype for
tions to the great sage kings of antiquity, such as the third
divinely sanctioned political authority in imperial times and
millennium
a paradigm for the ideal relationship between the human and
BCE rulers Yao, Shun and Yu, and the more re-
cent founders of the Zhou dynasty (trad. 1027–221
nonhuman worlds. Through ritual, the Zhou continued to
BCE).
The central political narrative of pre-imperial China was the
draw a parallel between state hierarchy and family hierarchy,
receipt of the sanction of Heaven (tian) by the eleventh cen-
and to affirm the continuity of loyalty on the part of the infe-
tury
rior and kindness on the part of the superior, even after the
BCE Zhou founders, Kings Wen and Wu, on account
of their virtue (de). References to this mandate (ming) are
death of the superior.
ubiquitous in both the Classic of Documents (Shujing) and
The ritual system of the Zhou encompassed myriad sea-
Classic of Poetry (Shijing), works that predate Kongzi and
sonal and occasional rites and defined role-specific behavior
were considered authoritative by him. This implicit connec-
both at home and at court. The rites defined a pattern of
tion between personal virtue and political legitimacy informs
complementary obligations, while they reinforced social and
Confucian traditions to the present day, even while the con-
familial hierarchies. The regularity of ancestral sacrifice and
notations of the term Heaven and the nature of the connec-
the elaborate and expensive nature of court funeral ceremo-
tion have changed over time. Kongzi also credited the Zhou
nies illustrate the importance placed on situating the mourn-
founders with the codification of an archaic ritual system
er in a proper relationship with the ancestral spirits, a prac-
built on a set of normative hierarchical social networks.
tice that likely served both a therapeutic and a protective
While early records testify to a developed system of ancestor
function. The Zhou religious system, at least as it existed in
worship that reinforced the value of intergenerational family
the imagination of early imperial China, was based on an
loyalty, there is less evidence that many elements of the ritual
elaborate regimen of sacrificial observances. According to the
code preserved in works like the Zhou Rituals (Zhouli), the
“Methods of Sacrifice” (Jifa) chapter of the Records of Ritual,
Ceremonies and Rituals (Yili), and the Records of Ritual (Liji)
the Zhou state had altars for sacrifice to Heaven and Earth
actually date to the early Zhou period. Regardless of their ac-
(tan and zhe), temples for sacrifice to the imperial ancestors
tual age, the antiquity of the political and ritual order associ-
(zongmiao), and platforms for sacrifice to the spirits of the
ated with the ancient sages and, in particular, with the re-
soil and grain (she and ji). There were also altars to the sea-
forms of the Zhou, was a central religious assumption of the
sons, cold and heat, sun and moon, stars, floods and drought,
age into which Kongzi was born.
and the four directions. The same chapter records sacrifices
The identity of religion and politics dates back to the
to the “hundred spirits,” those animating the “mountains
earliest records in China, the “oracle bone” inscriptions
and forests, rivers and valleys, rises and hills. They can gener-
(jiaguwen). The Shang court (trad. c. 1750–1027 BCE) used
ate clouds, make the wind and rain, and appear as monstrous
inscribed cattle scapulae and tortoise plastrons to record in-
beings.” In keeping with the need to secure blessings for spe-
quiries addressed to the ancestors of the ruling clan. The ap-
cific or generalized actions that animated Shang religious
plication of heat produced a crack in the bone or shell that
practice, the emphasis in Zhou observance emphasized ap-
was interpreted as a divine communication, and the political
propriate action toward the spirit world, rather than gather-
authority of the ruler derived in part from an ability to con-
ing specific information from it. Texts like the Zuo Commen-
tact the ancestral spirits. In the oracle bones, the ruler’s
tary [to the Spring and Autumn] (Zuozhuan) contain what are
“shining” virtue correlated with an ability to secure the sup-
generally accepted to be retellings of ancient records of how
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1892
CONFUCIANISM: AN OVERVIEW
rulers conducted divination and sacrifice to eliminate baleful
lects 8.21), writing: “I follow Zhou” (Analects 3.13). In par-
omens such as droughts or illnesses connected with nature
ticular, he identified himself with the Duke of Zhou, whom
deities such as particular mountain and river spirits. Some-
he saw as the epitome of the gifted sage (Analects 8.11), and
times, in the Zuo Commentary, such sacrifices are condemned
who appeared to him in his dreams (Analects 7.5). There is
by an interlocutor who favors action directed at Heaven be-
no question that such claims served to confer the authority
cause the latter’s reach is universal rather than local, as in the
of a usable past on Kongzi’s teachings; at the same time, his
case of nature deities. Hierarchies in the pluralistic Zhou
re-conceptualization of systems and attitudes inherited from
pantheon influence later religious developments, such as the
the Zhou was the heart of his project of developing a model
Confucian veneration of Heaven and an emphasis on ritual
for rulership and public service.
purity. The particular henotheism of Zhou sacrificial prac-
EARLY TRADITIONS SURROUNDING KONGZI AND HIS DIS-
tices formed the background for attempts at communicating
CIPLES. While the traditions of Confucianism contain many
with ancestral or celestial spirits to neutralize dangers from
elements that predate Kongzi, the centrality of his role is il-
rogue or terrestrial spirits. In addition, elements of the lan-
lustrated by the fact that many of these components later be-
guage and form of the ritual purification (zhaijie) ceremony,
came identified with his name. Observers outside of China
entailing abstinence from certain foods and actions, turn up
have exaggerated this point by translating as “Confucian” a
in later discussions of self-transformation.
number of terms that do not reference Kongzi in the original
Chinese, such as Ru (more accurately, classicists), the deriva-
Beyond their specific discussions of the sages’ reception
tive terms Rujia and Rujiao (bibliographical and ceremonial
of the mandate and the necessity of ritual performance, the
sub-traditions based on classical texts and practices), jingxue
Zhou worldview also drew a connection between the two.
(the exegesis of the classics), and even daoxue (the study of
The attitude of reverence (jing) in the presence of the ances-
the indigenous Way, which overlaps with the English term
tral spirits was the same one the Classic of Documents says the
neo-Confucianism). Narratives about Kongzi were among
current ruler should have when listening to the words of the
the focal points that these traditions used to clarify their own
rulers of the past. More generally, proper ritual performance
projects, although they were not the only ones used in this
demonstrates reverence in the eyes of the ancestral spirits and
way. Defining Kongzi’s life and thought was at the heart of
of Heaven, in effect a domestication of the way that proper
the contest over the appropriation of his authority by these
court behavior was evidence that the sages of antiquity were
burgeoning multifocal traditions.
qualified to rule as kings. Historically, the qualities of famil-
ial piety (xiao and di) displayed by the sage king Shun’s sub-
After Kongzi’s death around 479 BCE, works purporting
jecting himself to harsh abuse at the hands of his father and
to record dialogs, teachings, and biographical narratives of
elder brother was testimony to his virtue and qualities as
the sage began to appear. Collections based on material from
ruler. The connection between political authority and ances-
the early Zhou period, such as the songs of the Classic of Odes
tor worship that derived from the Zhou identity of clan and
and the terse chronicles of the state of Lu in the Spring and
political authority is also demonstrated by Liu Zehua’s obser-
Autumn (Chunqiu), were identified as having been edited by
vation that in the Zhou period, familial piety was a matter
him. Recent archaeological discoveries confirm that narra-
of revering both one’s ancestors and parents and one’s lineage
tives and chapters concerning Kongzi circulated indepen-
founder. These elements of early Zhou religion were adapted
dently in the fourth and third centuries BCE. The third centu-
and preserved by the classical tradition that grew out of the
ry BCE collection Han Feizi records the existence of eight
teachings of Kongzi, and they therefore represent a selective
distinct disciple traditions and notes that what each group
prehistory of Confucianism rather than a comprehensive
“adopted and discarded (from Kongzi) was different and
portrayal of the Zhou religious landscape.
contradictory, but each claimed to represent the authentic
Kongzi.” The project of taking these diverse sources and as-
The degree to which Kongzi looked to Zhou institu-
sembling a complete picture of Kongzi and his teachings was
tions as a model in his teachings is apparent in the Analects.
undertaken in earnest after the early imperial dynasties of
In the eighth century BCE, infighting and incursions on the
Qin (221–206 BCE) and Han (206 BCE–220 CE) unified the
western border forced the removal of the Zhou capital east
Warring States–period patchwork of independent kingdoms
from Hao to Luoyang, setting the stage for the two major
that had grown up as Zhou central authority waned. Influen-
divisions of the Eastern Zhou period (770–256 BCE): the
tial collections of dialogs and narratives organized in the sec-
Spring and Autumn period (722 – 481 BCE) and the Warring
ond and first centuries BCE, such as the Analects and the Re-
States period (403 – 221 BCE). By the sixth century BCE, the
cords of Ritual, were based on selections from disciple-specific
old Zhou polity was weakened and shared power with a set
traditions or independently circulating stories, as was the first
of increasingly autonomous states competing for authority,
biographical treatment of Kongzi in the Records of the Histo-
and both ritual forms and moral justifications for authority
rian (Shiji), compiled around 100 BCE. Portraits of Kongzi
were often sacrificed in the face of military expediency. In
transmitted through later history were generally based on
the Analects (Lunyu), the text that today is identified most
principles of selection from this distant vantage point, several
closely with the historical Kongzi, he nostalgically argues that
centuries after his death and after the transition to an imperi-
the virtue of the rulers of Zhou was the highest of all (Ana-
al government. This is one reason why, while few call into
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CONFUCIANISM: AN OVERVIEW
1893
question the historicity of Kongzi, there is growing scholarly
ranged under the names and short biographies of each disci-
awareness of the ways in which his teachings and biography
ple. The names are divided into three categories: “virtuous
have been mediated. This also explains an important facet
actions” (dexing), “government service” (zhengshi), and
of the emphasis in later Confucian scholarship on textual
“learning in cultural forms” (wenxue). In these conversations,
dating and authenticity. Debates over the provenance and
particular attention is paid to the way Kongzi addressed the
age of individual works of antiquity are secondarily debates
particular strengths and concerns of each of his students. The
about the nature of the biography of Kongzi, and indeed
bipartite structure of the Records of the Historian reflects the
about the very nature of his project and his teachings. The
fact that at the end of the second century BCE, Sima Qian
following section introduces how three influential early im-
was reliant on two kinds of dialogs: pedagogical ones trans-
perial collections selected and transmitted early materials as-
mitted through the disciple traditions and political anecdotes
sociated with Kongzi, and then triangulates the views of self-
preserved in diverse Warring States sources.
transformation practice, theories of ritual performance, and
ethics of government service implicit in these sources.
The Records of Ritual mixes these two types of text in
a composite collection that reflects the different genres and
The earliest biographical arrangement of Kongzi materi-
viewpoints surrounding ritual at the time of its collation in
als, some of which overlap the Analects, was made by Sima
the early empire. The Records of Ritual was likely compiled
Qian (c.145–c.86 BCE). Two chapters of his Records of the
in the first century BCE. Kongzi is cast as a ritual expert in
Historian portray Kongzi as an advisor to rulers and as a
many of its chapters, but there are at least three distinct ways
teacher who trained his disciples to become moral officials,
in which he treats the subject. Chapters like “Tan Gong,”
a division that likely reflects two dominant narratives about
and “Disciple Zeng asked” (Zengzi wen) record questions
Kongzi. In the “Hereditary House of Kongzi,” Kongzi is por-
from disciples about the authenticity of specific funerary and
trayed as an advisor who, due to his own integrity and the
sacrificial practices and Kongzi’s definitive answers. These
jealousies that his abilities inspired, was forced to move from
dialogs pay particular attention to issues such as the actions,
state to state in search of patronage. While Sima Qian gener-
clothing, gait, and carriages suitable to particular ranks, and
ally placed treatments of individuals in the “arranged tradi-
relationships to the deceased. By contrast, the “Transforma-
tions” (liezhuan) section of the Records of the Historian, he
tions of the Rites” (Liyun) and “Vessels of the Rites” (Liqi)
placed Kongzi among the treatments of “hereditary noble
chapters tend to historicize ritual practices in the context of
lineages” (shijia), something that the Tang dynasty commen-
the governance of the sage kings, explaining the function and
tator Zhang Shoujie explained was because scholars and all
adaptation of ritual. These chapters contain narratives about
those who cultivate themselves through the “six arts” (liuyi)
the proper attitude to ritual as well anthropologies that ex-
revered Kongzi and recognized him as the epitome of sage-
plain the reason for sacrifice, such as the “Transformations
hood. According to the “Hereditary House of Kongzi,”
of the Rites” explanation of sacrificial ceremonies as attract-
Kongzi was born in the state of Lu and as a small child dis-
ing the spirits in order to secure the blessings of Heaven. A
played an unusual interest in and knowledge of the rites,
third set of chapters locates the rites less historically and more
causing at least one member of the Lu nobility to seek his
cosmologically. “Duke Ai asked” (Aigong wen), “Black
guidance in ritual forms. Kongzi was given the sobriquette
Robes” (Ziyi), “Records of Dykes” (Biaoji), “Great Learning”
Zhong Ni, literally “second-born Hill,” because of a rise on
(Daxue) and “Doctrine of the Mean” (Zhongyong) contain
his forehead. In Sima Qian’s time, these aspects of the biog-
wide-ranging dialogs and essays stressing the importance of
raphy would have been read as omens of his extraordinary
ritual hierarchies for social order, often relating this to no-
ability. In adulthood, however, Kongzi only rose to occupy
tions of cosmic order. Ritual is related to good government
technical and clerical offices, directing ceremonies and man-
by the assumption that proper behavior and correct measures
aging provisions and animals.
on the part of a ruler create complementary responses on the
Sima Qian arranges Kongzi’s advice to rulers about ad-
part of the ruler’s subjects. Indeed, the ability of the sage
hering to ritual and self-control in a narrative framework that
ruler to transform his people is only one aspect of the sage’s
stresses the way Kongzi was slandered, overlooked, or treated
special relation to Heaven that is explored in some of these
in a ritually improper way. Kongzi journeyed from Lu to
chapters. Because it was collated in imperial China, the Re-
Zhou, returned to Lu, and subsequently went through the
cords of Ritual contains several distinct layers that likely rep-
states of Qi, Wei, Song, Zheng, Chen, Cai, and She in a fu-
resent either different schools of thought or distinct stages
tile search of a patron who would recognize his extraordinary
in the development of early views on the nature of Kongzi’s
abilities and heed his advice. The picture of how the age
teachings on ritual.
never recognized Kongzi’s talents reflects Sima Qian’s own
Made up of compact statements and dialogs that are
self-conception as a victim of mistreatment by Emperor Wu
often only loosely related from one to the next, the twenty
of the Han (r. 140–87 BCE).
chapters of the Analects derive from the records of the disci-
A second set of Kongzi narratives is related in the “Ar-
ple traditions. The dating of the Analects is controversial.
ranged Traditions of Zhong Ni’s Disciples” chapter of the
Han dynasty historian Ban Gu (32–92 CE) dates it to the
Records of the Historian, mostly instructive conversations ar-
fifth century BCE, writing: “At the time, each disciple kept
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CONFUCIANISM: AN OVERVIEW
his own records. After the master died, the second-
ed poems in the Classic of Odes). Taken together with the col-
generation disciples together collated them, then considered
lections described above, these works provide a more robust
and selected from among them.” However, references to the
picture of early approaches to moral self-transformation, rit-
title of the Analects only appear in works from the second
ual performance and public service.
century BCE; the earliest excavated version, the first commen-
taries, and evidence that it had taken on a fixed form come
The course of self-transformation that Kongzi advocat-
from the first century
ed is predicated on a model wherein a mastery of the classical
BCE. While there is no single theme
in the Analects, many of its chapters see Kongzi exhort his
arts, rites, and music leads to the development of a set of cul-
disciples to pursue the noble ideal (junzi, often translated as
tivated moral dispositions. Proficiency in the “six arts” of the
“gentleman”) by cultivating a set of moral dispositions. The
rites, music, archery, charioteering, writing and mathematics
description of the noble ideal often turns on the presence of
led one to behave consistently with the noble ideal. Scholars
particular ethical dispositions of benevolence (ren, a sensitivi-
of religious ethics like Philip J. Ivanhoe have treated the cul-
ty to the personhood of others) and ritual propriety (li, regu-
tivation of dispositions like benevolence as an example of
lating speech and demeanor as befits one’s status). These two
classical “virtue ethics” (since de is usually translated as “vir-
dispositions are intimately linked: Kongzi tells his disciple
tue,” the term “excellence” will be used where one might
Yan Yuan, “To control one’s self and return to ritual propri-
apply the category of a virtue like the Greek arête in a com-
ety is to act with benevolence” (Analects 12.1), while else-
parative context). Characteristically for such a system, evalu-
where he asks rhetorically, “Being human but not benevo-
ation of actions is not based on outcomes but on the presence
lent, how could this accord with the rites?” (Analects 3.3). At
of authentic moral motivation. That is, Kongzi would criti-
other times, the noble ideal of the Analects is distrustful of
cize seemingly good actions that are really the result of desires
others’ words when actions can also be examined, and it pos-
for personal gain or fear of punishment. This is the basis for
sesses a capacity to judge people and circumstances that
the famous condemnation of punishment in the Analects:
comes from wisdom (zhi, a knowledge of the past that allows
“Lead them by government and equalize them through pun-
one to assess the present). Personally, the noble ideal is loath
ishment, and people will know to avoid it but not to be
to speak and scrupulous about trustworthiness (xin, being
ashamed. Lead them by virtue and equalize them through
true to one’s word). In public life, the Analects expects the
ritual, and they will have shame and so regulate themselves”
noble ideal to be steadfast in resisting coercion and preserv-
(Analects 2.3). A contrast with this virtue ethics model is the
ing righteousness (yi, conducting oneself impartially and fair-
radically different ethical system of Kongzi’s rough contem-
ly) even if it imperils the prospects for advancement. Finally,
porary Mozi (trad. 480–390 BCE, also romanized as Mo
in private life, the noble ideal is reflective about study and
Tzu), who counseled rulers in defensive warfare and the fru-
practices familial piety, because the constancy of both the
gal use of resources. Mozi’s ethic looked only at the conse-
self-transformation process and the omniscience of Heaven
quences and not the motivations of action. Chapter 16 of the
means that ethical action cannot be compartmentalized. In
posthumous collection Mozi rejects traditional norms like fa-
this way, the noble ideal cultivates the Way (dao), a norma-
milial piety as partial and therefore unjust, arguing for im-
tive path to personal or political perfection. The Analects is
partial distribution of resources instead: “one must treat
perhaps most concerned with the application of ritual and
one’s friend’s body as if it were one’s own, and one must treat
ethics in public life, and Kongzi continually examines the
one’s friend’s parent as if he or she was one’s own.” Because
motives and conduct of his disciples from their preparation
Mozi’s cosmology held that good acts are automatically re-
for an official career through their service in that career.
warded by Heaven, he had no patience for programs for the
cultivation of excellences, such as chanting the Classic of Odes
These three early imperial repositories of lore about
and practicing ritual forms. Conversely, Kongzi’s advocacy
Kongzi share significant features and derive from a common
of gradual training to develop dispositions was precisely be-
fund of stories in wide circulation, and are reinforced by
cause he held that good behavior did not always benefit the
more fragmentary accounts in Warring States texts and ar-
actor. The disciple Zixia’s statement that “life and death are
chaeologically discovered materials. Warring States collec-
a matter of the mandate, while wealth and noble rank are a
tions of essays—such as the Mencius (Mengzi or Meng Tzu),
matter of Heaven” (Analects 12.5) illustrates Kongzi’s rede-
Xunzi (also romanized as Hsün Tzu), and Zhuangzi (also ro-
ployment of the Zhou concept of Heaven’s mandate to de-
manized as Chuang Tzu)—all contain passages that credit
scribe the fragility of the moral person’s situation in the
Kongzi as the originator of their own perspectives, although
world, a microcosm of the Zhou view of the contingency of
sometimes the content of their teachings differ significantly
divine support for the ruler.
from those in early imperial collections. Materials excavated
in the 1990s from tombs sealed at the end of fourth century
Beyond the efficacy of ritual in the context of a program
BCE include material from the Records of Ritual (e.g., the
of personal self-transformation, Kongzi also justified reinsti-
“Black Robes” chapter), alternate versions of chapters in the
tuting the ritual system of the Zhou on the basis of its social
Analects (e.g., a text named “Zhong Gong” that appears to
utility. The value of reverence, inherited from the Zhou, is
have been abridged as Analects 13.3), and new works (e.g.,
an important facet of Kongzi’s treatment of ritual (Analects
“Kongzi discusses the Odes,” a pedagogical exegesis of select-
2.7), and it is applied not only to sacrificial contexts but also
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to the context of official service (Analects 13.19). With its
acteristic of all members of a species or kind). Kongzi’s de-
emphasis on self-transformation, the Analects draws a dis-
fense of Zhou institutions was explicitly challenged by the
tinction between formally proper ritual, and authentic ritual
moral skepticism of the Zhuangzi and the political absolut-
performance with proper feelings: “When one says ‘The rites
ism of the Han Feizi, even while the Mengzi and Xunzi
this, the rites that . . .’ is it really only a matter of jade and
grounded it in distinct theories of human nature. Their ad-
silk?” (Analects 17.10). A related facet of Kongzi’s discussions
aptations demonstrated a growing attention to human psy-
of ritual is his criticism of excessive sacrifice, either directed
chology and to the mechanisms by which the inner cultiva-
at ritually improper contemporary rulers (Analects 3.1, 3.6)
tion of the sage was related to the external authority of the
or at those who sacrifice to other than their own ancestors
ruler. Because the Mengzi and Xunzi rhetorically situate
(Analects 2.21). By contrast, chapters of the Records of Ritual
themselves in the tradition of Kongzi’s advocacy of the culti-
that justify the rites based on cosmology argue that the rites
vation of moral dispositions, they are often seen as the second
replicate an ideal balance between humans and the ancestors
major stage of Confucian traditions.
and support a natural hierarchy in society that leads to har-
mony. In the “Duke Ai asked” chapter, Confucius tells the
The phrase “inside a sage and outside a king” (neisheng
duke: “In order to enact good government one must first at-
waiwang) is often invoked to refer to one of the central con-
tend to ritual, because ritual is the root of good government.”
cerns of later Warring States texts: the need to examine and
While ritual performance is theorized in several different
account for the link between self-transformation and ruler-
ways, rarely is it justified by simple appeal to tradition.
ship. This phrase is common to both ritual texts and late
Warring States works like the Zhuangzi. Central to this in-
The political perspective of the early dialogs borrows the
quiry were accounts of the sage kings of antiquity and theo-
notion of rule by virtue from Zhou religion but adapts it to
ries about the origin and nature of sagehood. Two works that
the particular sociological status of Kongzi and his early dis-
address this concern by taking related but ultimately differ-
ciples. No longer genuinely in the service of regional kings,
ent approaches are the excavated “Five Kinds of Action”
the minor official Kongzi’s education of his disciples effected
(Wuxing) and the Mencius. Both texts locate four of Kongzi’s
the adoption of an unconventional set of values that ren-
cardinal excellences (benevolence, righteousness, wisdom,
dered them immune to the temptation to take advantage of
and ritual propriety) in cultivated dispositions present at
their official status. In the Analects, Kongzi explains: “Wealth
birth in the inner mind (xin, the locus of cognition and emo-
and noble rank are what all people desire, but if they are not
tion located in organ of the heart). However, they differ in
attained in a way consistent with the Way, then one cannot
the way they relate this to the debate over the exceptional
accept them” (Analects 4.4). When one of his disciples in the
characteristics of the sage.
service of a wealthy clan helps them collect excessive taxes
to augment their already exceptional wealth, Kongzi dis-
The Mencius is attributed to the disciples of the fourth
avows him, and says: “It is now suitable for the younger disci-
and third century BCE writer Mengzi (Meng Ke or Mencius,
ples to shriek at him and play the drums to chastise him”
c. 380–c. 290 BCE), and both its content and form depict
(Analects 11.17). Kongzi stressed to his disciples that they not
Mengzi as a latter-day Kongzi, an advisor to the rulers of dif-
be ashamed of poverty, and that he himself preferred to be
ferent states and a teacher of various disciples. It embeds the
paid not in luxury items, but in meat, rejecting standards of
character traits advocated in the Analects into a model of the
conventional economic exchange but accepting an item of
body in which a disposition to morality is part of one’s make-
value in a sacrificial context. In a similar way, Kongzi ob-
up at birth. “Sprouts” (duan) of moral reactions are already
serves: “The noble ideal understands righteousness, while the
present in the inner mind, as the Mencius notes: “people have
petty person understands profit” (Analects 4.15). The culti-
these four sprouts just like they have four limbs” (Mencius
vation of the excellences is in effect an alternative system of
2A6). Proof of their existence lies in the natural, spontaneous
value that renders initiates incorruptible in official contexts.
reaction to the sight of another person in danger, such as an
This version of the Zhou notion of Heaven mandating rule
infant about to fall in a well (Mencius 2A6). Yet the Mencius
by the virtuous was in effect an argument for administration
admits that it is possible that a person who is continuously
by the benevolent, modified in a context in which kingship
exposed to the depredations of a hostile environment might
was effectively the product of military success.
end up as bereft of their original moral dispositions, like a
SELF-TRANSFORMATION AND RULERSHIP IN THE FOURTH
bare mountainside whose trees and topsoil have been lost to
AND THIRD CENTURIES BCE. The florescence of diverse per-
deforestation (Mencius 6A8). For this reason, despite its
spectives on politics, religion, and philosophy known in Chi-
common currency, it is simply not the case that the Mencius
nese history as the “many masters and hundred experts”
holds that “human nature is good” (xing shan). Instead, the
(zhuzi baijia), and included by Karl Jaspers in his description
text argues that the inner mind has dispositions to goodness
of the “Axial Age,” led to the development of both alterna-
at birth, which need to be cultivated in order to flourish.
tives to and elaborations of Kongzi’s views. In this period,
What the Mencius does say that is not a part of Kongzi narra-
the pivot of disagreements over methods of government and
tives is that the biological model in which all people are born,
personal self-transformation was a lively debate over the con-
with the sprouts of morality in their inner mind, is what
tent of human nature (xing, the course of development char-
makes sagehood a possibility for all people (even members
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CONFUCIANISM: AN OVERVIEW
of the border nations) at birth (cf. Mencius 4B1). Numerous
similar views with Kongzi. The phrase “the Way of the cos-
times the Mencius contains statements to the effect that the
mos” only has one controversial appearance in the Analects,
sage king “Shun was a person, and I, too, am a person,”
but it plays a significant part in the chapters of the Records
(Mencius 3A1, 4B28, 4B32, 6A7, 6B2). Yet the fact that peo-
of Ritual that explain ritual in cosmological terms. In the
ple begin life with the same sprouts of moral reactions does
“Duke Ai asks” chapter, when the duke asks why the noble
not assure they all end up as sages.
ideal is to value the Way of the cosmos, Kongzi’s reply points
out the ways in which the ideal acts like the sun and moon,
Archaeologists have excavated two manuscript versions
including “not acting intentionally yet completing things, as
of the “Five Kinds of Action,” one in Hunan province in
with the Way of the cosmos.” This self-negating language re-
1973 and one in Hubei province in 1993. A complex, and
calls a section of another chapter of that text, “Kongzi was
at times obscure treatise on moral psychology, this text adds
at leisure” (Kongzi xianju), and a parallel passage in an early-
a fifth term associated with “the Way of the cosmos” (tian-
third-century excavated text called “Father and Mother to
dao, with tian here translated as “cosmos” connoting a natu-
the People” (Min zhi fumu), which record Kongzi’s advice
ralistic version of the previously anthropomorphic “Heav-
that the ruler put into practice “soundless music, disem-
en”) to the four cardinal excellences listed in chapter two of
bodied ritual, and sacrifice without offerings.” This apopha-
the Mencius. In positioning “sagehood” as the culmination
tic mode implies an early stage of cross-fertilization between
of the human excellences, the “Five Kinds of Action” ad-
Confucianism and its erstwhile Daoist critics.
dresses problems of plural and conflicting values common to
virtue ethics systems by arguing that sagehood harmonizes
The intuitionist aspects of the Mencius may have been
moral actions in a way that eliminates potential quandaries.
similar to the Zhuangzi, but they are also the key to the text’s
The Five Kinds of Action also develops a metaphorical vo-
disagreements with the Xunzi. The contents of the Xunzi are
cabulary to describe the way that sagehood is transmitted
diverse, but the chapters thought to be authentically the
across generations through “hearing,” establishing a model
work of Xunzi (Xun Qing, c.310–c.220 BCE) are chiefly es-
in which cultural forms that express the intentions of the
says that argue that sagehood can only be accomplished by
sages of the past can “activate” people in the present similar
the process of externally oriented habituation through ritual
to the way one instrument can cause another to sound
and music. According to the Records of the Historian, Xun
through the phenomenon of resonance. The resultant
Qing was patronized by the King of Qi at Jixia from 285 –
changes in an activated person’s inner mind are observable
275 BCE, where he held a ritual-related post. The “Encourag-
as changes in the voice, according to section six of the “Five
ing Learning” (Quan xue) chapter of the Xunzi explains that:
Kinds of Action”: “if one is sharp-eared then one can hear
“In terms of its process, [learning] begins with reciting the
the Way of the noble ideal. If one can hear the Way of the
classics and ends with reading the rites. In terms of its signifi-
noble ideal then one will have a jade tone.” This view of sage-
cance, [learning] begins with being a candidate for office,
hood as the result of a special endowment from the cosmos,
and it ends with being a sage.” Where the Mencius locates
making a person physically different from others, takes a step
morality in the inner mind, the Xunzi looks to cultural
away from the universality of the more biologically oriented
forms. Since human nature has none of the dispositions that
Mencius in explicating its model of self-transformation.
Mencius thought it did, society is wont to fall into chaos as
people compete for resources to sate their unlimited appe-
The above descriptions of an intuitive, and at times
tites. Only the Zhou solution to this predicament, the rites
mystical, approach to self-transformation illustrates the affin-
and music developed by the sage kings, hold the possibility
ities between certain threads of Warring States Confucianism
of changing behavior. In addition to ritual and music, a per-
and texts such as the fourth through second century BCE Zh-
son needs the influence of a teacher to habituate the proper
uangzi, classified as “Daoist” (daojia). The phrase “the Way
set of reactions to external stimuli, in effect transforming the
of the cosmos” is part of the basis of the Zhuangzi’s challenge
person’s affective dispositions (qing). The Xunzi’s view of af-
to methods of self-transformation associated with the Zhou
fective dispositions dovetails with that of an early third cen-
founders and with Kongzi. Much of that composite text ad-
tury excavated text called “A discussion of human nature and
vocates a return to an innate human nature, one imagined
affective dispositions” (Xingqing lun) which holds that “study
to have existed prior to the forced imposition of the distinc-
and acculturation shift one’s intentions” and that the shift
tions inculcated by ritual performance. Reading the term for
is not simply a matter of human nature. By properly training
Heaven as something closer to modern conceptions of the
a person in ritual, music, and the classics, one may systemati-
cosmos, the Zhuangzi advocates that people return to an
cally alter affective responses to external stimuli and in so
original, spontaneous, and Heaven-given human nature. By
doing change that person’s behavior. Similar to the excavated
elevating a cosmically endowed disposition to sagacity above
text’s denial that self-transformation is only a matter of
the four innate dispositions of the Mencius, the “Five Kinds
human nature, the Xunzi directly criticizes the quasi-mystical
of Action” argues that for the sage, the cultivation of these
notion of “hearing” the Way of the noble ideal: “Just because
dispositions may lead to a spontaneous level of action in har-
their eyes are clear-sighted and their ears sharp of hearing,
mony with the cosmos. While the author of “Five Kinds of
does not mean they understand what they are taught.” In-
Action” is unknown, there are other early texts that associate
stead, the text celebrates the effect of ritual and music in both
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limiting one’s appetites and transforming them into an in-
on the ways that the legacy of Kongzi was appropriated by
tention to pursue sagehood.
the imperial state, and on early attempts to transmit the clas-
sics through independent channels.
Epistemologically, the two alternatives provided in the
Mencius and Xunzi differ in where they locate morality: in
As the state took control of access to the vocations of
the inner mind versus in the cultural creations of the sage
advising rulers, and to the teaching of potential officials
kings. While the Mencius enjoyed a renaissance in the Song
based on expertise in the rites, music, and classics, service as
dynasty (960–1279 CE), the views of the Xunzi exerted more
an imperial official was increasingly associated with mastery
influence in the early imperial period. In part, this influence
of the texts and practices that Kongzi had refashioned out
was through the secondary influence of Xunzi’s student
of the cultural memory of the Zhou. The Qin and early Han
Prince Fei of the state of Han (c.280–c.233 BCE), associated
emperors appointed Erudites (boshi) as experts in important
with the third century “Legalist” (fajia) work Han Feizi. Like
classical texts, even though Sima Qian’s Records of the Histori-
the Xunzi, the Han Feizi argues that people struggle and
an relates the story that the Han founder, Emperor Gao, was
compete for their livelihoods because of population growth
not very fond of the scholar-officials of his age. Gao re-
combined with a scarcity of goods, and that one must adopt
marked that since he had unified the empire on horseback
the most efficacious system to avoid a state of social chaos.
he had little need for the classics of Odes and Documents. The
In a way more similar to some sections of the Zhuangzi, how-
major institutionalization of the study of those classics did
ever, the Han Feizi concluded that, “benevolence and righ-
not happen until two imperial edicts were issued by Emperor
teousness were useful in ancient times, but not in the pres-
Wu (r. 140–87 BCE). A 136 BCE edict added Erudites in the
ent.” Instead, a ruler should apply a strict code of penal law
Classic of Documents, Classic of Ritual (probably a reference
and a precise set of assignments for officials indexed to a clear
to the Rituals of Zhou), and Classic of Changes (Yijing) to the
set of models of behavior (fa, a term also used to refer to law).
existing ones in Master Gongyang’s commentary to the
While this conclusion, giving up as it did on the possibility
Spring and Autumn (Chunqiu Gongyangzhuan) and the Clas-
of self-cultivation for the majority, was diametrically op-
sic of Odes. In 124 BCE, he established an Imperial Academy
posed to that of his mentor, Prince Fei shared many of
(taixue) under the supervision of the Master of Rites (tai-
Xunzi’s assumptions about the malleability of human behav-
chang), modeled on the institutions of the early Zhou. The
ior and the importance of training. This was a point on
Imperial Academy functioned to evaluate a candidate’s
which most early imperial writers also agreed.
knowledge of these Five Classics (wujing) to determine their
The Han Feizi’s influence on the Qin dynasty (221–206
suitability for service in office. In less than a generation, how-
ever, critics like Sima Qian offered veiled criticisms of the
BCE) may be seen in its detailed legal codes, a large part of
which was adopted in the following Han dynasty, to the con-
way in which the institutionalization of the study of the clas-
sternation of some who worried about its effect on people’s
sics had co-opted the tradition that he traced back to Kongzi.
ability to develop a sense of shame (cf. Analects 2.3 above).
Many of the Western Han writers that are today identified
This is just one of the many ways in which social and eco-
as Confucian were celebrated in their day primarily for their
nomic changes in the early imperial period exerted pressure
expertise in the classics and their assembly of collections of
on the reception of the texts and practices of the Zhou as re-
explanatory material about the classics. Examples are Fu
vitalized by Kongzi, and as grounded in human nature by
Sheng (fl. 200 BCE), an expert in the Classic of Documents,
the Mencius and Xunzi.
and Han Ying (c. 200–120 BCE), an expert in the Classic of
Odes, who both served as Erudites.
HAN CONFUCIAN TRADITIONS AND THE INFLUENCE OF THE
IMPERIAL STATE. The 221 BCE unification under the Qin led
Two particularly influential Western Han exegetes were
to major changes in the system of patronage and in the na-
Jia Yi (200–168 BCE) and Dong Zhongshu (c.179–c.104
ture of official service, two major aspects of the social back-
BCE), both of whom adapted thinking about cultivating ex-
ground of the pre-imperial works associated with Kongzi,
cellences to the new imperial cosmology of the Han. In the
Mengzi, and Xunzi. Not only would Kongzi’s movement
early empire, the epistemological project of synthesizing
from state to state as he fled unprincipled patrons have been
“many masters and hundred experts” texts and different re-
impossible in the unified empire, but the rejection of con-
gional practices, was conceptualized as a search for an overar-
ventional economic exchange within the master-disciple
ching “Way” behind the validity and efficacy of what were
community was undermined by the bureaucratization of the
at one time competing schemes. In his essay titled “Protect-
fields in which advisors, teachers, and experts in the classics
ing and Tutoring,” Jia Yi, the outspoken Erudite and Palace
had once specialized. In addition, the link between self-
Grandee for Emperor Wen (180–157 BCE), explains the fail-
transformation and sagehood became a sensitive topic, since
ure of short-lived Qin dynasty as being a matter of failing
the imperial clan’s reliance on hereditary succession did not
to value yielding and righteousness, and of abrogating ritual
fit well with transmitted narratives that celebrated nonhered-
in favor of punishment. At the same time, in his ethical theo-
itary transfers of power based on virtue. In the following
ry Jia Yi accepted the idea that self-transformation is a matter
treatment of the Qin, Western Han (206 BCE – 9 CE), and
of an externally oriented habituation: “The fate of the people
Eastern Han (25 CE–220 CE) dynasties, the emphasis will be
of the world depends upon the crown prince and, in turn,
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CONFUCIANISM: AN OVERVIEW
the competence of the crown prince is determined by early
vided alternatives to the official network, beginning with the
instruction and the selection of the prince’s attendants.” In
second-century example of the unjustly punished imperial
accepting the Xunzi’s understanding of the origins of morali-
advisor, Master Shen. Shen was an expert in the Classic of
ty, Jia Yi well represents the Han view that human nature
Odes who established a school after retiring to his home in
is malleable and self-transformation a matter of practice. In
Kongzi’s old state of Lu and became recognized as a teacher
the Han, Dong Zhongshu was most famous for his interpre-
of the major Han exegetes of that classic. By the Eastern
tation and transmission of the Gongyang commentary to the
Han, the History of the Latter Han (Hou Hanshu) records that
Spring and Autumn, but today he is recognized as the person
the Odes specialist Wei Ying had several thousand registered
who adapted Kongzi’s ethics to the Han belief that “the cos-
students. Besides the popularity of private academies for the
mos and human beings resonate with one another” (tianren
teaching of the Five Classics, a related phenomenon was the
ganying). In his discussion of the human nature debate in
development of a set of prophetic texts ancillary to each of
“An in-depth investigation into names” (Shencha minghao),
those classics. The reign of the Eastern Han founder, Emper-
Dong Zhongshu used the dualistic model of a balance be-
or Guangwu (r. 25–57 CE), began in an atmosphere strongly
tween the feminine and masculine principles of yin and yang
influenced by a view of Kongzi as the “pure king” (suwang)
to effect a compromise in which affective dispositions (which
who had encoded his method of rulership between the lines
need to be regulated) and human nature (which may be
of the classic Spring and Autumn chronicle. Not only Guang-
good, but needs to be awoken) together are responsible for
wu, but other pretenders to the imperial crown sought to
moral behavior. The Warring States controversy between the
ground their claims to authority in prophecies associated
Mencius and Xunzi was thus bypassed by a cosmologically
with Kongzi from texts with titles like Kong Qiu’s Secret Clas-
justified compromise view of self-transformation. Like Jia Yi,
sic (Kong Qiu mijing). The intellectual historian Feng Youlan
Dong Zhongshu was less interested in identifying the con-
observed of the Han view of Kongzi that “if these views had
tent of human nature than describing the correct environ-
prevailed, Kongzi would have held in China a position simi-
ment and method for self-transformation.
lar to that of Jesus Christ.” These prophecies became the
models for a new genre of writing called “apocrypha” (chen-
Following the brief interregnum of the Xin dynasty
wei), actually a combination of two types of work: “charts
(9–23 CE), the Eastern Han saw the maturation of trends
and proofs” (tuchen) or prophecy texts and “weft books” (we-
begun in the first centuries of the early empire, magnifying
ishu) or texts ancillary to the classics. The many texts in the
the stature of Kongzi both in educational and religious con-
latter category constitute a shadowy complement to each of
texts. Besides establishing fourteen new Erudites and contin-
the Five Classics, often using numerology and correlations
uing the practice of basing the official examinations on texts
to obliquely comment on the relations of the classic to king-
associated with Kongzi, students at regional schools and
ship.
scholars at the Imperial Academy sacrificed to Kongzi as the
founder of the scholarly traditions. Emperor Ming (r. 57–75
MEDIEVAL CONFUCIAN TRADITIONS AND THE ENCOUNTER
CE) combined the sacrifice to Kongzi with sacrifices to the
WITH BUDDHISM. The secret methods of a prophetic Kongzi
Sage’s disciples in 59
must have been especially attractive in an Eastern Han
CE. Observances at the Master’s birth-
place were first augmented by official sacrifices at the capital
dynasty weakened by a combination of natural disasters, in-
in 241
fighting between eunuchs, aristocratic clans and the ruling
CE. In the first century BCE, the imperial court began
to favor a compilation that included shorter pieces long asso-
house, and religious rebellions. Following the gradual demise
ciated with Kongzi, the Analects, in contexts such as the edu-
of central authority in the second century CE, the strands of
cation of the crown prince. The Eastern Han exegete Zheng
official and unofficial Confucianism responded in different
Xuan (127–200
ways to the initial stages of major changes in the Chinese reli-
CE), who is credited with commenting on
eighty texts and established an authoritative school of Ana-
gious landscape. While sacrifices connected with Kongzi
lects interpretation, claimed to have been visited by Kongzi
continued in the Imperial Academy in Luoyang, the city was
in a dream. Other Han works, such as Yang Xiong’s (53
also home to the first translators of Buddhist su¯tras from the
BCE–
18
West, and to refugees fleeing the rebellions in the Southwest
CE) imitation of the Analects called the Model Sayings
(Fayan), the partially extant Records of Kongzi in the Three
and Northeast that eventuated in the community of healers
Courts (Kongzi sanchao ji), a lost eight-chapter work called
that became the basis for the Celestial Masters (Tianshi) tra-
Zheng’s Treatises (Zhengzhi) devoted to Zheng Xuan’s an-
dition of organized Daoism (daojiao). As the Han gave way
swers to questions about the Analects, and the Sayings of
to the Six Dynasties period (222–589 CE), few would have
Kongzi’s School (Kongzi jiayu) attributed to Wang Su (195–
predicted that it would be four centuries until a similarly uni-
256
fied dynasty would emerge. Spurred on by the way in which
CE) show that a connection with Kongzi was of increas-
ing interest to writers and readers, even as Kongzi was in-
Buddhism’s independent institutional existence allowed it to
creasingly invoked by the imperial state.
maintain its integrity without relying on a precarious social
organization, the other previously diffuse traditions emerged
At the same time, Kongzi was also a potent symbol for
from this period of disunity having copied those characteris-
those who questioned the prerogatives of the imperial state.
tics to become part of the “Three Teachings” (sanjiao): Con-
In the Western Han, a number of non-official schools pro-
fucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CONFUCIANISM: AN OVERVIEW
1899
Records of the early reception of Buddhism in China
exegesis of the legacy of the Zhou as synthesized by Kongzi
are limited to brief mentions in official histories, providing
continued in official schools and private academies, but as
only occasional glimpses of the way that it affected culture
imperial patronage became increasingly unreliable, more
outside the imperial court. Some of these indicate that Bud-
modest goals of consolidation and preservation took prece-
dhist practice was first received as a method of controlling
dence. The retrospective concern with preserving the order
desires along the lines of early Daoist practices like “preserv-
of the Zhou and Han also contributed to a turn toward bibli-
ing the one” (shouyi). The response of classical scholars to
ography, taxonomy, and the assembly of comprehensive
Buddhism changed during the Six Dynasties, with initial
commentaries on the classics. Nevertheless, the Liang Eru-
strategies of accommodation to other traditions giving way
dite Huang Kan (488–545 CE) surpassed the precedent set
to criticism. While exegetes like He Yan (190–249 CE) and
by He Yan by not only assembling the glosses of prior com-
Wang Bi (226–249 CE) of the Wei (220–265 CE) dynasty de-
mentators on the Analects, but also incorporating them into
veloped a hybrid “Study of the Mystery” (Xuanxue, also
his own synthetic interpretation of the text based in part of
translated as “Abstruse Learning” or “Mysterious Learning”)
the Xunzi’s view of human nature and affective dispositions.
that integrated elements from works like the Zhuangzi,
Individual courts such as the Liang (502–557 CE) continued
scholar officials in the Eastern Jin (317–420 CE) and South-
to establish Erudites and authorize textual lineages in the
ern Dynasties periods (420–529 CE) developed a broad at-
classics, while others like the Cheng Han (302–347 CE) in
tack on Buddhist cosmology. Study of the Mystery applied
the southwest derived their authority from association with
classical exegetical principles to the mysteries of the Classic
Daoist lineages. Famous anti-Buddhist polemics were writ-
of Changes, the Laozi, and the Zhuangzi. It also applied terms
ten by Fan Zhen (450–510 CE) and Xing Shao (496–c. 563
deriving from the latter texts, such as “naturalness” (ziran)
CE), and the competition between the Three Teachings for
and “nothingness” (wu), to the understanding of classical
patronage was institutionalized in a set of debates in the
texts like the Analects. Finally, in what some scholars argue
Northern Qi (550–557 CE) about the relative merits of dif-
is an accommodation to Buddhism, but which also owes
ferent traditions.
much to the interpretations of the Classic of Changes, Study
Even while nominal affiliation with one of the three
of the Mystery drew new ontological distinction such as
teachings became increasingly important for individuals in-
those between “substance” (ti) and “function” (yong), with
tent on securing patronage, the pluralistic atmosphere led to
which one may distinguish between the essential featureless
cross-fertilization of doctrines and practices between the tra-
substance of a thing, containing all of its potential permuta-
ditions. Critics of elements of Buddhism like Liu Jun (462–
tions, and its function in a given situation at a specific time
521 CE) enlisted aspects of Daoist cosmology when he refut-
and place. The sage was able to realize the identity of sub-
ed the Buddhist notion of karma. Liu Jun argued that natural
stance and function, and thereby adapt a knowledge of the
endowments of pneumas and unpredictable environmental
past to any situation in the future. While Study of the Mys-
influences determined the outcome of people’s lives, reading
tery had a major influence in Six Dynasties period commen-
the Zhou notion of the “mandate of Heaven” in terms of the
taries, it also rather quickly attracted criticism from Confu-
Study of the Mystery notion of “naturalness.” Other scholars
cian scholars in their official capacities. The conservative
consciously sought to bring Buddhist ideas into Confucian-
reaction is seen in writings attributed to Sun Sheng (302–
ism. Examples include Yan Zhitui’s (b. 531 CE) integration
373 CE), a chronicler of the early Six Dynasties period who
of the “five precepts” (wujie) of Buddhism into discussions
attacked the Study of the Mystery claim that the Daoist pa-
of ethical behavior and Wang Tong’s (584 – 617 CE) advoca-
triarch Laozi was a sage comparable with Kongzi, and who
cy of a unification of the Three Teachings. In addition, the
argued against the notion that any aspect of consciousness
very terms of debates with Buddhism shifted the Confucian
could survive death (as Buddhist cosmology held). Fan Ning
discourse toward issues like cosmology and the social conse-
(339–401 CE) specifically criticized Wang Bi for allowing
quences of religious institutions, and away from late Warring
“benevolence and righteousness to sink into darkness,” hold-
States concerns with moral psychology and the nature of self-
ing that Kongzi’s “subtle” or “esoteric” (wei) doctrines could
transformation. It was only after the reunification of China
be learned from the study of the early commentaries to the
in the sixth century CE and the development of a nativist im-
Spring and Autumn.
pulse to revive the pre-Buddhist transmission of Confucian-
Following the division of the former Han state into sep-
ism that the first attempts were made to recover those no-
arate lines of successive kingdoms in the north and south
tions and use them to create “indigenous” alternatives to
from the fifth and sixth centuries, the continuity of interpre-
increasingly popular Buddhist and Daoist practices.
tive traditions became even more closely associated with the
TANG AND SONG CONFUCIAN TRADITIONS AND THE STUDY
careers of individual scholars. On the popular level, this peri-
OF THE INDIGENOUS WAY. While the idea of interpretive lin-
od is identified with the growth and consolidation of Bud-
eages had been a part of Confucianism since the institution-
dhism, the accelerated translation of Sanskrit texts, and the
alization of the study of the classics in the early empire, the
increased accuracy of translations by Kuma¯raj¯ıva (344–409
reunification under the Sui (581–618 CE) and Tang dynas-
CE) and his disciple Seng Zhao (374–414 CE) led to a sense
ties (618–907 CE) saw the rise of more general conceptions
of its deeper differences from Daoism. The transmission and
of the “transmission of the Way” (daotong) and the “trans-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1900
CONFUCIANISM: AN OVERVIEW
mission of good governance” (zhengtong) that had been aban-
Mencius and two chapters of the Records of Ritual: the “Great
doned during the preceding period of disunity. When Tang
Learning” and the “Doctrine of the Mean.” The latter two
writers attempted to rejuvenate classical ideals in an effort to
works had already attracted interest both inside and outside
recover a transmission from the sage-kings that had not been
Confucian traditions, in part because the interplay between
corrupted by foreign doctrines, they began to look outside
psychology and cosmology implicit in their use of concepts
the canon of the Five Classics for records of the early period.
such as the quality of sincerity (cheng) linking the sage to the
Han Yu (768–824) traced the transmission of the Way from
cosmos, and the strategy of “attending to oneself in solitude”
the ancient sage kings to the rulers of the Zhou dynasty to
(shendu), read by Zhu as a type of enhanced self-scrutiny.
Kongzi and then to Mengzi. Later writers such as Pi Rixiu
Read in this way, these works lent themselves to the concerns
(833–883 CE) and Liu Kai (947–1000 CE) amended the
and practices of the time. Zhu Xi held that each of the four
transmission so as to identify the first figure in the revival of
was written in a different generation, and so each represented
the transmission as Wang Tong, but they also identified Han
a successive stage in the transmission of the Way. The four
Yu as Wang’s successor. In addition to attacking the validity
began with Kongzi’s version in the Analects, followed by the
of Buddhist ideas of karma and rebirth, Han Yu’s rhetoric
disciple Zengzi’s “Great Learning,” the second generation
also centered on the proper origins of knowledge, holding
disciple Zisi’s “Doctrine of the Mean,” and finally Zisi’s stu-
that Buddhist traditions were invalid because they did not
dent Mengzi’s Mencius. Even though the canon no longer
derive from the Way of the ancient sage kings. As a result,
centered on the Zhou classics associated with Kongzi, this
Buddhism lacked the proper connection between knowledge
reading of the Four Books illustrated the way that the inter-
and action, and so contradicted Confucian values of ritual
pretation of the Way changed from one generation to the
propriety and social engagement. Tang writers like Han Yu
next, and so shed light on the process of teaching and learn-
and Li Ao (d. c. 844 CE) began to reweave disparate strands
ing in an inductive fashion. As Song interpretations of the
of the traditions associated with Kongzi in such a way as to
Four Books became the basis of the imperial examination
emphasize earlier concerns with idealism and human nature.
system, the reception of the classics was dramatically changed
through the imposition of Zhu Xi’s new interpretive
Complementing this classical revival, the emperors of
orthodoxy.
the Tang established an official network of temples dedicated
to Kongzi in all prefectural and county schools, while simul-
While Song writers developed a new interpretive para-
taneously supporting and exercising control over Daoism
digm for recovering the meaning of pre-Buddhist texts, the
and Buddhism. Yan Shigu (581–645 CE) was commissioned
method was only partially developed from the vocabulary of
by Emperor Taizong (626–649 CE) to direct the compilation
early texts themselves. In particular, the dual concepts of
of an authoritative edition and commentary on the Five
“principle” (li, a different character than the li for ritual) and
Classics, resulting in the “Corrected Meanings of the Five
“matter” (qi, a neutral description of the animating pneumas
Classics” (wujing zhengyi), which took sixteen years to com-
of the cosmos that came to be especially associated with
plete. During the Tang, however, the classics began to take
human desires) were central to Zhu Xi’s reading of the Four
second seat to the revival of interest in Warring States “many
Books, even though their currency in Confucian traditions
masters and hundred experts” texts. In an atmosphere that
largely dates from early imperial times. Zhu Xi was the son
acknowledged a plural approach to the traces of the sage
of a local official who was exposed to Chan Buddhism, but
kings, influential figures like Liu Zongyuan (773–819 CE)
at twenty he turned his attention to the classical scholarship
applied a similar approach to Buddhism when he criticized
of the Cheng brothers (Hao, 1032–1085 CE and Yi, 1033–
Han Yu’s sole focus on the social effect of monastic institu-
1107 CE) and their new explanation of human nature. Schol-
tions. Liu Zongyuan wrote that Chan (in Japan, Zen) Bud-
ars sometimes trace their explanation to Zhou Dunyi (Zhou
dhism as expressed through Huineng’s (638–713) Platform
Lianxi, 1017–1073 CE) and Zhang Zai’s (Zhang Zihou,
Su¯tra of the Sixth Patriarch (Liuzu tanjing), with its condem-
1020–1077 CE) conception of a “supreme ultimate” (taiji).
nation of popular practices in favor of reflection in order to
Zhou Dunyi’s supreme ultimate imbues all things, both ani-
remove the desires that obscure self-nature, was in agreement
mate and inanimate, but expressed in its purest state it is sim-
with Confucianism on some key points, such as what he
ply the nature of human beings, as outlined in his “Explana-
characterized as the Mencius’s view that “human nature is
tion of the Diagram of the Supreme Ultimate” (Taijitu shuo).
good.” At the same time, the Tang expanded the corpus of
The Chengs developed and elevated the notion of human na-
the imperial service examination system to include texts like
ture to subsume related notions of fate, mind, affective dis-
the Zhuangzi, as pre-imperial texts of all kinds were increas-
positions, the Way, and the cosmos. Cheng Yi held that mo-
ingly seen as a means to recover the ancient past.
rality inheres in the part of one’s nature that is an expression
of the natural pattern of principle, but is obscured by materi-
In the Northern Song dynasty (960–1127 CE) this cul-
al. “Settling one’s nature” (ding xing) and cultivating an atti-
minated in an official redefinition of the canon, in part
tude of reverence refines the matter of the inner mind, mak-
through the efforts of the pivotal figure Zhu Xi (1130–1200
ing it possible to discover the purity of cosmic principle
CE). The Five Classics gave way to the “Four Books” (sishu),
contained therein. Because human nature, once settled, re-
which elevated the Analects to canonical status along with the
flects the same cosmic principle that underlies ritual 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
CONFUCIANISM: AN OVERVIEW
1901
Way, social hierarchies implicit in the rites are then also im-
ciple” or an “original inner mind” prior to its becoming ob-
plicit in the cosmos.
scured by matter—appear to show a movement in the direc-
tion of Chan Buddhism. However, even critics of Zhu Xi,
Zhu Xi adopted the Cheng brothers’ view of a human
such as the twentieth century “New Confucian” (xin Ru)
nature that contains cosmic principle, and integrated this
Mou Zongsan (1909–1995), rejected the notion that the
with a concrete approach to self-transformation. For this rea-
Song revival was “equal parts Confucian and Buddhist” (yang
son, Zhu’s rereading of Confucian traditions is sometimes
Ru yin Shi). Mou argued that while the two traditions shared
called the “Study of Principle” (lixue), or the Cheng-Zhu
certain generic conceptual schemes and attitudes to practice,
school. Some scholars have applied terms like rationalist or
these were external to the distinctly Confucian inner essence
metaphysical to what has also been called Zhu Xi’s “neo-
of Zhu Xi’s thought. On one level, Mou is echoing Cheng
Confucian” position. While these terms fail to capture cer-
Hao’s Song dynasty critique of Buddhism—that it includes
tain aspects of the cosmological basis for Zhu Xi’s readings,
comportment by which to control oneself internally, but not
it is true that human nature was an expression of a cosmic
the excellences by which to order oneself externally. On an-
principle that transcended the category of human beings.
other level, his testimony is itself evidence of how a tradition
Zhu Xi’s noble ideal attains benevolence through discovery
predicated on the intergenerational transfer of sagely knowl-
of the cosmic principle that had been understood by past
edge resists the imposition of models that call into question
sages, and so self-transformation was a matter of rediscover-
the integrity of this transfer. What is certain is that in scho-
ing their system of ritual and the study of the classics. To ac-
lastic conflicts throughout the early imperial period, the ac-
complish this, he promoted a program that combined quiet
cusation of Buddhist influence was a partisan charge leveled
sitting (qingzuo) to settle the inner mind and a method of
against most Confucian writers. Zhu Xi himself hesitates in
studying the classics that stressed the need to “penetrate
accepting Xie Liangzuo’s (1050–c.1121 CE) use of the term
things” (gewu). “Penetrating things” is a phrase adapted from
“awakening” (jue) to explain benevolence because it has too
a description of the way the ancient sages moved from self-
much of a Chan Buddhist flavor. The compilation of his
transformation to ordering the state in the “Great Learning,”
writings compiled by his disciples called Classified Utterances
and for Zhu Xi it was the method that allows one to “fully
of Master Zhu (Zhuzi yulei) contains condemnations of the
comprehend principle” (qiongli). In engaging the affairs and
writings of Zhu Xi’s contemporary Lu Jiuyuan (Lu Xiang-
things of the past, “penetrating things” depends on fostering
shan, 1139–1193 CE) along the same lines. Lu Jiuyuan’s call
a resonance between the principle in the subject’s mind and
for a return to the “inner mind” is ridiculed as revealing a
the principle of the object being interpreted. According to
lack of understanding of the Analects phrase “control one’s
Chen Lai, one need not experience actual situations or devel-
self and return to ritual propriety,” as well as a neglect of the
op concrete rules, but instead one must develop the capacity
importance of the records of past sages and worthies. As
to infer such rules from study and ethical practice. A cross
such, “inner mind” was considered nothing more than Chan
between meditation and hermeneutics, this view of learning
Buddhism.
through mutual activation meant that exegesis was a crucial
Zhu Xi’s “Study of Principle” became the orthodoxy for
part of the process of becoming a moral person. Zhu Xi es-
the study of the classics through the institution of the civil
tablished an academy called “White Deer Hollow” (Bailu
examination system, yet even after the abolition of that sys-
dong), where moral instruction, commentary, and sacrifice
tem, his commentaries continued to be regarded as authori-
were all part of the curriculum. While Zhu Xi was critical
tative. Imperial edicts in 1415 and 1715 led to the sponsor-
of study undertaken in order to attain office, graduates of his
ship of the issue and reissue of versions of The Great
academy went on to take the civil service examination, and
Collection on Human Nature and Principle (Xingli daquan)
in the middle of the thirteenth century his commentaries
based on Zhu’s writings. In part this was a testament to his
came to be regarded as the best guarantee of success on the
own exegetical flair and the clarity of his presentation. Yet
examination.
despite a major challenge in the Ming dynasty (1368–1644
While a variety of factors, including nativism, led to this
CE), the dominance of the “Study of Principle” continued
emphasis on recovery of an indigenous Way, no scholarly
well into the Qing dynasty (1644–1911 CE), in part because
consensus exists on the degree to which Zhu’s reconceptual-
it provided a model that fused scholarship with practice, and
ization itself was influenced by Buddhism. In part this is be-
in part because it revived the early goals of moral self-
cause underlying issues of cultural identity are still being con-
transformation without challenging dynastic authority.
tested. The lack of consensus is also because the possibility
MING AND YUAN CONFUCIAN TRADITIONS AND THE RELA-
of isolating purely “Confucian” and “Buddhist” figures in
TION BETWEEN PRACTICE AND POLITICS. In the Yuan
the whirling dance of translated Sanskrit su¯tras, hybrid Chi-
(1206–1368 CE) and Ming dynasties, the gap between offi-
nese Buddhist works, Buddhist commentaries on pre-
cial service and the study of the classics was reflected in the
Buddhist classics, and Daoist-influenced anti-Buddhist po-
critique of a lack of social engagement on the part of “School
lemics, is so remote. It is true that some of the central differ-
of Principle” adherents made by Wang Yangming (born
ences between late imperial Confucianism and what came
Wang Shouren, or Wang Bo’an, 1472–1529 CE), the major
before it—such as the notion of the recovery of “cosmic prin-
figure in the alternative “Study of the Inner Mind” (Xinxue)
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1902
CONFUCIANISM: AN OVERVIEW
tradition. Although the Yuan Dynasty was ruled by the
knowledge of principle is incipient in the original substance
Mongols, a dual-track civil service examination system was
of the inner mind.
reinstituted in 1314, and the curriculum for both Chinese
This imperative to social engagement coincided with a
and non-Chinese tracks included “School of Principle” com-
different approach to classical traditions. In his critique of
mentaries on the Four Books, causing it to gain wide curren-
Zhu Xi’s program, Wang Yangming returns to the “Great
cy. Yuan scholar officials, like Jin Lüxiang (Jin Jifu, 1232–
Learning” in arguing that the “investigation of things” must
1303 CE), a representative of the southern Jinhua school who
be in service of “arriving at knowing” (zhizhi) of morality
accentuated the importance of commentary in the study of
and so refers to investigating the principles that were already
the classics, with few exceptions saw themselves as continu-
present in the inner mind. Wang eschewed complex textual
ing in the “School of Principle” tradition.
exegesis, arguing that classics are but commentaries on the
When Zhu Yuanzhang (1328–1398 CE), the founding
mind. Instead, he focused on character formation through
emperor of the Ming, replaced the Mongol Yuan with a
realizing “original substance” (benti) by the cultivation prac-
highly centralized and autocratic state, his xenophobia and
tice (gongfu) of applying morality by being sincere in daily
anti-intellectualism boded at best a continuation of the con-
life. Philip J. Ivanhoe has likened Wang Yangming’s view of
servative Yuan scholarship. Yet even the first generation of
moral self-transformation to a model of acting on affections,
Ming scholars showed a greater willingness to innovate with-
and Wang himself quotes the “Great Learning” when he lik-
in the “Study of Principle” framework than might have been
ens moral action to “loving pretty colors or hating bad
expected. Xue Xuan (Xue Dewen, 1392–1464 CE), associat-
stench.” Just as with Zhu Xi, modern scholars have com-
ed with the Hedong School of the “Study of Principle,”
pared Wang Yangming’s view that moral knowledge depends
served in office until retiring to teach for the last eight years
on clearing away the dust of the desires to reveal the mind’s
of his life. He revived the idea of “returning to human na-
inherent moral principles to Chan Buddhist notions of the
ture” (fuxing), promoted by Li Ao in the Tang dynasty, in
“original mind” (benxin). Despite his vociferous criticism of
such a way as to deny the notion that principle preceded mat-
Buddhists as living a life of emptiness and silence, lacking
ter and argue that principle and matter arise simultaneously.
any engagement with society, the revisionist “Study of Inner
This had the effect of moving the “School of Principle” even
Mind” scholar Liu Zongzhou (Liu Qidong, 1578–1645 CE),
further from a focus on the discovery of principle in an un-
acknowledged the mutual influence when he wrote that
touched inner mind as advocated by Lu Jiuyuan, toward Xue
Wang Yangming “resembled Chan but then condemned
Xuan’s explicit emphasis on the training of the senses and
Chan.” Indeed, criticisms of “Study of Inner Mind” by later
the body through ritual and daily activities. Chen Xianzheng
Confucians sometimes read like criticisms of Chan by later
(Chen Gongfu, 1428–1500 CE) emphasized bodily training
Buddhists.
though quiet sitting, but connected it to a revival of Lu Jiuy-
uan’s equation of the inner mind and cosmic principle. Chen
Even viewed in the context of the orthodoxy of Zhu Xi’s
Xianzheng’s success in the civil service examination late in
intellectualism, Wang Yangming’s reification of intuition
life and his positive message of returning to a natural state
was a radical epistemological position, and the later history
to access the cosmic principle in the inner mind made him
of the “Study of Inner Mind” school is one of different de-
the first Ming voice in what developed into a genuine alter-
grees of accommodation with prior views concerning the leg-
native to the “School of Principle.”
acies of the past sages. While Wang Yangming’s early disci-
ples—such as Wang Ji (Wang Longxi, 1498–1583 CE),
Echoing the criticisms of Lu Jiuyuan and Chen Xianz-
whose theory of the inner mind led to a version of reincarna-
heng that Zhu Xi artificially divided the inner mind and cos-
tion, and Wang Gen (Wang Xinzhai, 1483–1540 CE)—were
mic principle, the “Study of Inner Mind” (also called the Lu-
dedicated to making their teacher’s intuitionism more ro-
Wang School) posited a necessary relationship between
bust, others tried to temper it. Chen Xianzhang’s student
knowledge (zhi) and action (xing), and a superiority of expe-
Zhan Ruoshui (Zhan Yuanming, 1463–1557) argued that
riential knowledge gained through action over ordinary
there was no correction possible once one has arrived at one’s
knowledge gained through study. This emphasis on access-
inner mind’s true knowing, and so integrated that goal into
ing an intuitive level of understanding has led some to label
the more general project of “in every place realizing cosmic
it (somewhat misleadingly) as “idealism.” The founder of the
principle” (suichu tiren tianli). While Zhan Ruoshui agreed
school was Wang Yangming (1472–1529), who passed the
that the inner mind was central to the discovery of principle,
civil examination at the age of twenty and went on to serve
his understanding of the inner mind was of a nexus between
in a variety of official positions. Wang appropriated the
the external world full of the resources that the “Study of
phrase “true knowing” (liangzhi) from Mencius 7A15: “What
Principle” drew on, and the intuitions favored in “Study of
a person is able to do without having to learn is what he can
Inner Mind.” Liu Zongzhou reread the phrase “attend to
truly do; what a person knows without having to reflect is
oneself in solitude” from the “Doctrine of the Mean” to refer
what he truly knows.” In its original context, true knowing
to a solitary disposition to goodness in the original mind that
is identified with caring for parents and respect for elders,
must first be made sincere through self-cultivation practice
and Wang Yangming used this to explain the way that
before embarking on external study. That Wang Yangming’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
CONFUCIANISM: AN OVERVIEW
1903
viewpoint was developed in numerous directions is shown
read the classics alongside historical and literary works and
by Liu Zongzhou’s student, Huang Zongxi (Huang
wrote a commentary on the Zhuangzi. Gu Yanwu, like Wang
Taichong, or Huang Lizhou, 1610–1695 CE), who delineates
Fuzhi, a Ming official who refused to serve under the Qing,
eight regional “Study of Inner Mind” schools in his chronicle
developed a number of new approaches to classical studies,
of Ming scholasticism, Examples of the Studies of Ming Classi-
making contributions in phonology, textual criticism, and
cists (Mingru xue’an). Huang Zongxi’s own rejection of pure
historical geography. While he grounded this approach in
intuitionism is illustrated by his description of Wang Ji and
Kongzi’s imperative to “study widely in literature” (boxue,
Wang Gen as promoters of Chan Buddhism. As Zhu Xi’s
see Analects 6.27, 9.1, 12.15, and 19.5), Gu Yanwu’s valua-
writings had, Wang Yangming’s works also had a major im-
tion of the work of early imperial commentators like Zheng
pact on Confucianism, as well as literature and politics in Yi
Xuan signaled a major shift in Confucian hermeneutics to-
Korea as well as Tokugawa (1600–1868) Japan.
ward a more historical approach. Other Ming loyalists
QING CONFUCIAN TRADITIONS AND THE STUDY OF THE
broadened the subjects of classical research, with Fu Shan
CLASSICS. In late imperial China, issues of national identity
(Fu Qingzhu, 1607–1684 CE) focusing on medical and
and academic and political authority were all bound up in
“many masters and hundred experts” texts, and Lü Liuliang
the identification of Kongzi as a ritualist and a scholar.
(Lü Zhuangsheng, 1629–1683 CE) making pointed observa-
When, in 1644, the Manchu Qing dynasty replaced the
tions about foreign relations in historical texts. The explicit
Ming, the new rulers recognized the legitimacy that might
justification for such broad study was its potential applica-
be conferred by continuing patronage of classical scholar-
tion in contemporary society, in spite of the fact that these
ship. While discourse on the Chinese past was increasingly
authors eschewed official service under the Manchus.
limited to a discussion of ritual and exegesis, new trends in
interpretation and a valuation of evidence-based scholarship
The middle period of the Qing was characterized by the
(kaozheng) over Song and Ming scholasticism led to a new
further development of independent scholarly fields that
orientation to classical traditions. While scholars associated
each identified itself with the tradition of Kongzi, and it con-
with “School of Principle” and “Study of Inner Mind” tradi-
tinued the focus on the issue of the social relevance of classi-
tions of self-transformation still taught students and held of-
cal learning. Yan Yuan (Yan Yizhi, 1635–1704 CE) was an
fice, a dissatisfaction with those traditions gave rise to a new
early critic of the exegetical emphasis of Han Studies for their
kind of exegete who did not aspire to sagehood, but instead
neglect of practical knowledge in other fields. Yan Yuan’s
to accurately understand the past. Later and more iconoclas-
view of the classics was that they should be seen as an expres-
tic Qing scholars developed new perspectives on the classics
sion of intentions that under different historical circum-
that elevated proper engagement with texts to the highest
stances might have been expressed through concrete actions.
level of experience.
By contrast, Dai Zhen (Dai Dongyuan, 1723–1777 CE) took
the developing Han Studies emphasis on philological meth-
The “Han Studies” (Hanxue) movement associated with
od and, in his “Tracing the Origins of Goodness” (Yuan-
Gu Yanwu (Gu Yinglin, 1613–1682 CE) was begun in the
shan), argued that it was a necessary antidote to the subjectiv-
atmosphere of the anti-Manchu sentiment of the early Qing.
ity inherent in later imperial readings of the classics. He
Han Studies may be linked to resistance to foreign rule, in
attacked the differentiation of principle and matter, the hier-
that it sought to return to an authentic Chinese worldview,
archy between which was the cosmological justification for
before it was polluted by what many Qing scholars called the
longstanding social hierarchies that he maintained had to
Buddhist-inspired “Song Studies” (Songxue). Because careful
end. What the approaches of Yan Yuan and Dai Zhen had
research into the early meanings of the classics had the effect
in common was a genuine disregard for the dualism that in-
of undermining the anachronistic cosmologies that earlier
formed the writings of both Zhu Xi and Wang Yangming,
imperial scholars had used to interpret them, Han Studies
and by the eighteenth century the bitter disagreements be-
was a pragmatic reaction against the academic tendency to
tween their followers had been replaced by a view that they
focus on abstract concepts like cosmic principle, and a turn-
shared common shortcomings. Nonsectarian approaches like
ing away from what was seen as a sterile and failed approach
that of Peng Dingqiu (Peng Qinzhi, 1645–1719 CE) pro-
to the past. The earliest Han Studies scholars were icono-
moted not only the essential unity of the “Study of Principle”
clasts who generally rejected affiliation with established lin-
and “Study of Inner Mind,” but also a synthesis of the Three
eages and pursued different approaches like historical study,
Teachings that emphasized conduct and a vegetarian diet.
philology, or natural philosophy as pragmatic alternatives to
The Qing’s dissemination of “morality books” (shanshu) that
earlier and narrower models of classical scholarship. The
promoted a syncretic moral system that stressed values like
Ming loyalist Wang Fuzhi (Wang Chuanshan, 1619–1692
loyalty to the state reinforced the idea that the Three Teach-
CE) sought to use Zhang Zai’s “supreme ultimate” to provide
ings were based on a common moral foundation.
School of Principle cosmology a more materialistic basis, re-
jecting Zhu Xi’s view of the primacy of principle over matter,
It was in the Qing Dynasty that several tendencies ce-
and arguing, for instance, that desires also contained an ex-
mented Kongzi’s status as the founder of the diverse strands
pression of principle. An autodidact, Wang Fuzhi criticized
of scholarship, service, and practice with which he had previ-
the more abstract elements of Daoism and Buddhism, but
ously been associated. Kongzi was increasingly viewed as 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
1904
CONFUCIANISM: AN OVERVIEW
founder of the projects in which both private and official
log and attempts to accommodate traditional views to the
scholars were engaged. In the words of the Qing scholar Pi
concerns of modernity have come to the fore. At the same
Xirui (Pi Lumen, 1850–1908 CE), the author of History of
time, there is interest in a revival of Confucian ethics as a re-
the Study of the Classics (Jingxue lishi), “The first age of the
source for combating official corruption in the People’s Re-
study of the classics began with Kongzi’s editing of the Six
public of China, while particular Confucian traditions, such
Classics.” Here the “Six Classics” refer to the Five Classics
as evidence-based scholarship and sacrifice at temples to
plus the lost classic of Music (Yuejing). When classical schol-
Kongzi, continue in many traditional venues.
ars like Pi Xirui constructed genealogies from which they
Throughout history, the traditions drawn upon by peo-
claimed authority, Kongzi was always placed at the begin-
ple who today identify themselves with Confucianism were
ning. What both proponents of evidence-based scholarship
woven and unwoven in response to outside influences. These
and those who tried to reconcile the approaches of Zhu Xi
traditions have adapted in response to criticisms by Warring
and Wang Yangming had in common was the search for a
States thinkers like Mozi and Zhuangzi, to the popularity of
pure past whose interpretation had been politicized by the
early Buddhist institutions, or to the perception that religion
disagreements of late imperial scholars. The assumed unity
played a role in the technological progress of nineteenth-
of Kongzi’s intentions became the basis for postulating the
century imperial powers. While recent scholarship on the
existence of a common source from which the many strands
historical development of Confucianism has called into ques-
of Qing Confucianism once derived. The period also saw a
tion the notion that Kongzi founded the multiple threads of
renewal of interest in Kongzi as a prophetic figure and reli-
the tradition, there is no question that, for the past several
gious founder, a renewal tied to late Qing encounters with
centuries, contests over his biography and teachings have
the west.
been the dominant common feature of these threads. Going
back in time, however, other common features may be
The culmination of the emphasis on social relevance of
found: a theory of history based on a particular model of fa-
the classics was Kang Youwei’s (1858–1927 CE), portrait of
milial and social relations; an ethic of stewardship; a view of
Kongzi as a prophetic social reformer. Kang Youwei was clas-
archaic ritual practice; and a set of texts and interpretations
sically trained at a time when European, American, and Japa-
that form the curriculum of the civil service examinations.
nese imperial aspirations convinced most Chinese of the
Whether one considers Confucianism a religion or not is ul-
need to promote scientific and military development. In his
timately a question of whether one is looking at the “human-
1897 Kongzi as a Reformer (Kongzi gaizhi kao), Kang Youwei
istic” thread isolated out by Jesuits looking for natural theol-
turned back to early commentaries on the Spring and Au-
ogy and reformers looking for natural philosophy, or at other
tumn and the Confucian apocrypha to construct a view of
threads at other times.
Kongzi as a religious founder along the lines of Jesus Christ,
and to reject the orthodox Study of Principle reading of
SEE ALSO Chinese Religion, overview article.
Kongzi as a teacher and advisor. His direct influence on the
young Qing emperor Guangxu (r. 1875–1908) led to a series
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1905
Ivanhoe, Philip J. Confucian Moral Self-Cultivation. 2d ed. India-
you will have nothing to use to establish yourself.” On hear-
napolis, 2000.
ing this a disciple remarks that he has learned about three
Ivanhoe, Philip J. Ethics in the Confucian Ttradition: The Thought
important things: the odes, the rites, and how Kongzi kept
of Mengzi and Wang Yangming. 2d ed. Indianapolis, 2002.
the proper distance from his son. Since a “proper distance”
Jaspers, Karl. Origin and Goal of History. New Haven, Conn.,
exemplified the normative relationship between teacher and
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student, Kongzi’s insistence on it even in the case of teaching
Jensen, Lionel. Manufacturing Confucianism: Chinese Traditions
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and Universal Civilization. Durham, N.C., 1997.
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means of teaching the classics and applying the practices of
Kanaya, Osamu. ShinKan shisoshi kenkyu. Tokyo, 1960.
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Lau, D. C., trans. Analects. Harmondsworth, U.K., 1979.
Liu Zehua. Zhongguo zhengzhi sixiang shi, 2 v. Hangzhou, China,
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Machle, Edward. Nature and Heaven in the Xunzi: A Study of the
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CE) distinction between the classics (jing) of the “sages”
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(shengren) and the commentaries (zhuan) of the “worthies”
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Tu Weiming. Confucianism in an Historical Perspective. Singapore,
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Van Norden, Bryan. Confucius and the Analects: New Essays. New
of the classical canon is divided into three chronological sec-
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M
a modern situation in which the approach to the Confucian
ARK CSIKSZENTMIHALYI (2005)
classics is intertwined with that of other traditions to their
canons.
THE FIVE CLASSICS. The Five Classics (wujing), established
CONFUCIANISM: THE CLASSICAL CANON
as the basis of the imperial curriculum in the second century
A focus on the ritual, music, and texts of a bygone era of so-
BCE, were seen as vehicles for the preservation of the norms
cial harmony has been a central feature of many of the tradi-
and practices of the Zhou dynasty, a goal that was seen as
tions now identified as Confucian, from classical studies to
a continuation of a project begun by Kongzi. As such, train-
moral education for government service. In teaching disci-
ing oneself using these texts was an undertaking that was it-
ples and rulers Kongzi (Confucius, 551–479 BCE) relied on
self traditional, and the word for a person who had received
songs preserved in the Classic of Odes (Shijing) and myriad
such training was classicist (ru). While the term ru is usually
forms of ceremony and etiquette believed to date back to the
translated as “Confucian” based on the traditional view of
earliest years of the Zhou dynasty (c. 1150 to 256 BCE). Since
Kongzi as the first classicist, this article will attempt to distin-
Kongzi’s time the task of preserving the culture of the ancient
guish between the several Chinese terms translated as “Con-
sages has been understood to require the transmission and
fucian” to preserve distinctions made by practitioners them-
interpretation of a normative set of texts and practices. While
selves. The earliest records of classicists connect them
different eras used different taxonomies for the canon, from
specifically to the teaching and performance of the Classic of
the Five Classics (wujing) to the Thirteen Classics (shisan-
Odes and the Classic of Documents (Shujing), which, with the
jing) to the Four Books (sishu), a certain attitude and ap-
Classic of Changes (Yijing), Spring and Autumn (Chunqiu),
proach to these works was basic to the training that aspiring
and the Records of Rites (Liji), comprise the Five Classics.
scholars and officials received. In the Analects, Kongzi tells
his son, “If you do not study the odes, you will have nothing
Classic of Odes. The Classic of Odes is a collection of
to use when you speak. . . . If you do not study the rites,
305 songs (excluding six titles transmitted without text), dat-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1906
CONFUCIANISM: THE CLASSICAL CANON
ing from the beginning through the middle of the Zhou
conveyed Heaven’s mandate to the imperial regent, the duke
dynasty, with the final compilation thought to have taken
of Zhou (Zhougong). Because the basis of Heaven’s endorse-
place in, or slightly before, Kongzi’s time. Both the form and
ment of the dynasty was the personal virtue (de) of its found-
content of these songs varies and the classical division of the
ers and rulers, politics was intimately linked to a discussion
collection into sections reflect a generic distinction, and per-
of character and to the possession of particular traits such as
haps signal that these divisions were once independent texts.
reverence (jing). The “Announcement of Kang” argues that
Modern scholarship has used particular songs as evidence for
since Heaven’s mandate may change, the ruler must always
Zhou ancestral sacrifice and popular religious festivals. In
keep the possibility of its withdrawal in mind, which causes
pedagogical contexts their narration of affective dispositions
him to be reverent.
(qing) in particular situations in the past has been seen as a
For much of modern Chinese history the authenticity
guide for training one’s reactions so as to conform with the
of a large portion of the Classic of Documents has been con-
dispositions of the sage kings.
tested. Following the literary purges of the Qin dynasty
(221–206 BCE), there were several discoveries of lost portions
The earliest references to the Classic of Odes mention the
of the text, beginning with Fu Sheng’s (c. 245–c. 180 BCE)
sections “Airs” (feng), “Elegantiae” (ya), and “Hymns” (song),
claim to have preserved twenty-nine fascicles of the text in
with the Elegantiae section further divided into “Lesser”
the wall of his house. The discovery of other materials trans-
(xiao) and “Greater” (da) subsections. In the “Prefaces to the
mitted by Kongzi’s descendents resulted in an “ancient text”
Odes” (Shi xu), associated with early imperial members of the
(guwen) version of the Fu Sheng materials with twenty-four
disciple traditions of Zixia (507–400 BCE), this four-part
fascicles of other material. In the first century CE Liu Xiang
structure is called the “four beginnings” (sishi). The folksong-
(79–8 BCE) championed this version of the classic, and in the
like Airs are divided into subsections associated with differ-
fourth century CE the Fu Sheng chapters were redivided into
ent states, and the “Great Preface” (Da xu) explains that its
thirty-four fascicles, resulting in the fifty-eight-fascicle text
songs “take a given country’s affairs and tie them to their
transmitted today. Beginning in the late Tang and Northern
sources in particular individuals.” The Elegantiae sections
Song dynasties textual scholars noted discrepancies that
contain court pieces about the culture heroes of the Zhou
caused them to question the authenticity of the “ancient
dynasty, as well as pieces for special occasions and, occasion-
text” chapters. Nevertheless, the archaeological discovery of
ally, criticisms and plaints. The “Great Preface” explains that
attributed quotations of “ancient text” chapters dating to the
“elegantiae means ‘correct’” and explains their function as
late Warring States period (403–221 BCE) indicates that even
describing “the origins of the rise and fall of kingly govern-
sections of the Classic of Documents that are not authentic re-
ment.” The Hymns, many of which likely were performance
cords of the early sage kings may well be forgeries of great
pieces for sacrificial occasions, are described in the “Great
antiquity.
Preface” as “praising the form and appearance of flourishing
Classic of Changes. The use of divination to provide
virtue in order to report completed accomplishments to the
justification for rule is one instance of the use of the divina-
luminous spirits.” Similarly, discovered in the 1990s, the
tion or omen text the Classic of Changes (Yijing). The Classic
early third-century BCE “Kongzi’s discussion of the Odes”
of Changes is a layered text consisting of an early Zhou dynas-
(Kongzi Shilun) says, “The Hymns are (about) sagely virtue.”
ty omen manual transmitted alongside a set of increasingly
An example of these last forty songs is the “Great Brightness”
abstract commentaries dating to the Warring States and early
song, addressed to the people or soldiers of Zhou, justifying
imperial periods. Its title (and its alternate title Changes of the
their rule with the phrase “There is a mandate (ming) that
Zhou, or Zhouyi) refers to the “change” inherent in the mo-
comes from Heaven, that mandates [the rule of] our own
ment of performance of casting and counting out milfoil
King Wen.”
stalks or, probably in its earliest form, reading cracks pro-
Classic of Documents. The concept of “Heaven’s man-
duced by heat in cattle scapulae or tortoise plastrons. These
date” (tianming) is also at the core of many of the proclama-
media were seen as particularly sensitive membranes between
tions that make up the fifty-eight-fascicle Classic of Docu-
the natural or spirit worlds and that of human beings, and
ments (Shujing), also known as the Books of the Predecessors
skilled diviners could use them to read incipient patterns. In
(Shangshu). Among the core chapters widely accepted as gen-
the context of producing and reading these patterns the Clas-
uine are the “Great Announcement” (Da gao), “Announce-
sic of Changes is used to interpret the resulting symbols: a
ment of Kang” (Kang gao), “Announcement of Shao” (Shao
hexagram or hexagrams (gua) diagnostic for particular ques-
gao), “Many Officials” (Duo shi), and “Lord Shi” (Jun shi),
tions or concerns. In its history as one of the Five Classics,
traditionally dated to the reign of King Cheng of Zhou
however, the original practical aspect of the Classic of Changes
(d. 1006 BCE). While Heaven’s mandate was historically the
was less important than its status as a description of a natural
command issued to the Zhou founders to overthrow the last
system that subsumed considerations of change and contin-
corrupt ruler of the Shang dynasty (c. 1500–1050 BCE), the
gency and so could be applied to analyze history, alchemy,
term is also used more generally for a divine justification for
and a host of other areas.
authority claimed by both rulers and rebels alike. The “Great
The base text of the Classic of Changes consists of sixty-
Announcement” records how divination using tortoise shells
four named hexagrams, each constructed of six solid or bro-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CONFUCIANISM: THE CLASSICAL CANON
1907
ken lines, a brief “hexagram statement” (guaci), and a series
was the ideal ruler and the Spring and Autumn was the key
of “line statements” (yaoci) indexed to numbers generated as
to his method of government.
part of the process of determining each line of the hexagram.
The first two hexagrams, qian and kun, are made up of six
In the early imperial period three commentaries to the
solid and six broken lines, respectively, and each is followed
Spring and Autumn defined three separate schools of inter-
by a terse and somewhat opaque hexagram statement, and
pretation of the events and of Kongzi’s historiography: the
then six-line statements that apply only if the lines of the
Gongyang, Guliang, and Zuo traditions. Each of these
hexagram are solid or broken lines of a certain kind. The at-
schools developed around a particular commentary to the
tached commentaries to the base text are also collectively
Spring and Autumn. The two commentaries most representa-
known as the “Ten Wings” (Shiyi). The earliest layers of
tive of the “praise and censure” approach are the Gongyang
commentary are devoted to the further elucidation of the
and Guliang commentaries, which formally resemble a cate-
symbolic features of the hexagram, such as the Judgements
chism: simple questions and answers about the judgments
(Duan) and Greater and Lesser Images (Da/Xiao Xiang). Later
behind choices of words made by Kongzi. The Gongyang
layers are essays on the hexagrams and the cosmos, such as
commentary, supposedly written by the late Warring States
the bipartite Commentary on the Appended Phrases (Xici), the
period figure Gongyang Gao from the state of Qi, but actual-
Explanations of the Trigrams (Shuogua), and the Order of the
ly dating to the second century BCE, is allegedly based on cen-
Hexagrams (Xugua). The Words about the Patterns (Wenyan)
turies of esoteric transmission through the lineages of disci-
commentary contains detailed commentary on the first two
ples of Kongzi. The Guliang commentary is associated with
hexagrams only, and the Miscellaneous Hexagrams (Zagua)
Guliang Chi, supposedly an early Warring States period fig-
provides pithy explanations of the meanings of pairs of hexa-
ure from the state of Lu, who Yang Shixun, the Tang dynasty
grams. While these commentaries have become part of the
subcommentator, claims received training in the Spring and
Classic of Changes itself, commentary on the Yijing has been
Autumn from Kongzi’s disciple Zixia. The most influential
a feature of Chinese literature of all types and affiliations.
commentary, however, is the one associated with the fifth-
Han dynasty (206
century BCE state of Lu historian Zuo Qiuming, although it
BCE–220 CE) commentaries are classed as
“image and number” (xiangshu) because they correlated each
probably is an amalgam of a number of sources, both histori-
element of the hexagram to an image and a set of numbers.
cal and fictive. The Zuo commentary differs from the other
Wang Bi (226–249
two because of its incorporation of detailed narratives and
CE) initiated a strategy of reading the text
in isolation from the universe of correlations previously em-
by the fact that its coverage of the Spring and Autumn events
ployed. This type of commentary, known as “meaning and
extends to 469 BCE, while the Gongyang and the Guliang
pattern” (yili), became dominant by the Northern Song
commentaries both extend to 482 BCE. That the Zuo version
dynasty.
covers events that postdate the traditional death of Confu-
cius was explained by Du Yu (222–284), the Jin dynasty
Spring and Autumn. The Spring and Autumn (Chun-
(265–420) commentator, as being the result of the master’s
qiu) is a concise chronicle of diplomatic, political, and other
disciples having completed his work based on the archives
noteworthy happenings in Kongzi’s home state of Lu from
of Lu. Modern scholars tend to see these differences as re-
the period 722 to 481 BCE. The term annals is often added
flecting a more basic difference in the nature of the source
as a suffix to the translation to express the sense in which the
material on which the commentaries were based.
terms spring and autumn signify the passage of the year, and
the nature of the text as a year-by-year description of events.
Records of Ritual. The “Three Ritual Compendia”
Although its content appears to have been based on official
(sanli) are ostensibly collections of record of the archaic ritual
Lu records, later traditions recount that Kongzi composed
system of the Zhou period, called Zhou Rituals (Zhouli), the
it shortly before his death, as a means to preserve his norma-
Ceremonies and Rituals (Yili), and the Records of Ritual (Liji).
tive vision once he had given up on transforming the society
The six sections of the Zhou Rituals formulaically reconsti-
in which he lived. This view, which emphasizes the political
tute the governmental structure of the Zhou, with each sec-
import of the Spring and Autumn among the Five Classics,
tion containing short descriptions of sixty offices under the
is seen in the Mengzi (Mencius, c. 380–c. 290 BCE), which
jurisdiction of a different state bureau. While modern schol-
quotes Kongzi as saying, “Those who understand me will do
ars generally do not think the Zhou Rituals predates the Han
so on account of the Spring and Autumn, and those who be-
period (206 BCE–220 CE), for much of Chinese history it has
rate me will also do so on account of the Spring and Au-
been treated as a source, albeit somewhat idealized, for infor-
tumn.” Indeed, for the commentarial schools that developed
mation on predynastic China. The seventeen sections of the
in the early imperial period, the style of the work was seen
Ceremonies and Rituals provide a more practical description
to contain subtle clues to moral evaluations of historical fig-
of ritual protocol in different situations, from capping rites
ures, and small deviations were read as indications of Kong-
for the children of members of the official class to guidelines
zi’s praise or censure. Zhao Qi (c. 107–201), in commenting
for receiving and hosting the impersonator of the deceased
on Kongzi’s speech in the Mengzi, uses the term unsullied
during a funeral. While traditionally associated with the elev-
king (suwang) to express a view that became associated with
enth-century BCE figure the duke of Zhou (Zhougong), the
the “new text” (jinwen) school of Confucianism, that Kongzi
actual record of transmission of the Ceremonies and Rituals
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1908
CONFUCIANISM: THE CLASSICAL CANON
may only be verified as of the Han period. The forty-nine
sion encoded for use by future sages, the apocrypha were seen
sections of the Records of Ritual, by contrast, are acknowl-
in the Han as part of a genuinely esoteric transmission. The
edged to have been edited after the beginning of the dynastic
corpus generally referred to as the “apocrypha” (chenwei) is
period in 221 BCE, although the discovery in the last two dec-
actually a combination of two types of work: “charts and
ades of exemplars of chapters of the work in preimperial
proofs” or prophecy texts (tuchen) and “weft books” (weishu)
tombs shows that it is constituted of older materials. Dai De
or texts ancillary to the classics. The distinction between
(first century BCE) and his nephew Dai Sheng (73–49 BCE)
“charts and proof” texts and “weft books” is now made on
are credited with paring a collection of ritual writings into
the basis of whether or not the title includes the title of a
the current diverse collection of dialogues about ceremony
companion “classic,” but it is unclear whether this formal
and etiquette between Kongzi and his disciples or the rulers
distinction actually reflects differences between the genesis
he advised, abstract discussions of the minutiae and origins
of the two genres. In the latter part of the Han period many
of particular ritual forms, and cosmological or psychological
of the prophetic texts that had been used by different factions
essays that integrate ritual into the discussion of other
at the beginning of the dynasty to furnish political omens
themes.
had the name of one of the Five Classics added as prefixes
Early discussions of the Five Classics are vague about
to their titles. As a result, while these texts came to be associ-
which of the “Three Ritual Compendia” were included, but
ated with particular classics, their origins and content gener-
the Records of Ritual soon gained prominence. While it is a
ally have little to do with the classic with which they are asso-
composite text that contains many different views of the
ciated.
function and significance of ritual, its account of the impor-
After the decline of the Han the long period of political
tance of ritual both reflected and informed the central role
disunity known as the Six Dynasties period (220–589) saw
that ritual plays in many forms of Confucianism. In one dia-
a variety of administrative structures come and go as short-
log between Kongzi and Duke Ai of Lu in chapter 48 of the
lived kingdoms established themselves in a land divided for
Records of Ritual, Kongzi explains, “Inside, it is the way to
most of the period between north and south. This was also
govern the rites of the ancestral temple, sufficient to allow
the period in which Buddhism took root in China, and dur-
one to match the spirit luminances of Heaven and Earth.
ing which organized Daoism became established. It saw the
Outside, it is the way to govern the rites of correcting and
rise of the Classic of Filial Piety (Xiaojing) and the Analects
instructing, sufficient to establish reverence between superior
(Lunyu) to the level of classic, leading to the occasional use
and inferior.” Sun Yirang (1848–1908) explains that
of the term Seven Classics (Qijing) to refer to the Classic of
“matching the spirit luminances” in this passage refers to
Filial Piety and Analects added to the Five Classics. The terse,
copying the movement of the sun and moon in the ancestral
eighteen-section Classic of Filial Piety is likely a Han-period
temple rites. This quotation reflects how ritual oriented the
composition, although it is traditionally associated with
performer in both a cosmologically and socially optimal way
Kongzi’s disciple Zengzi (505–435 BCE) and is largely com-
and implies that there is a relationship between correct ritual
posed of dialogues between the two. It centers on the impor-
behavior on the part of the ruler and maintenance of social
tance of the virtue of “familial piety” (xiao, also translated
order in the state.
as filial piety), both for individual development and for social
The Five Classics in Chinese history. While the Five
order. The twenty sections of the Analects, while perhaps
Classics came from diverse origins both generically and
compiled as late as the early Han, are largely composed of
chronologically, in the early empire their reception became
dialogs featuring Kongzi, his disciples, and their patrons that
inextricably bound with the reputation of Kongzi. The estab-
probably date from the time of Kongzi through the Han.
lishment of a “Confucian orthodoxy” by the Martial Emper-
The Analects’s discussion of the noble ideal (junzi, often
or (Wu, r. 140–87 BCE) beginning in 136 BCE led to the ins-
translated “gentleman”) centers on the cultivation of a set of
titutionalization of an examination system that made a
virtues that constitutes the Way (Dao), a means to achieving
knowledge of the Five Classics the requirement for an official
personal and political ideals. The expansion of the Five Clas-
career. Because of Kongzi’s reputation as teacher and advisor,
sics attests to the beginning of the redefinition of the canon,
the ethical foundation in the Five Classics with which he
one that had much to do with the expansion of the category
came to be associated was seen to be necessary training for
of sacred texts to include works that were sacred for reasons
officials. As the preparatory system for the examinations be-
other than their pedigree as a continuation of the golden age
came increasingly institutionalized, the commentary on and
of the Zhou.
transmission of the classics became a path to salary and
The Analects became increasingly important as the pri-
office.
mary source of Kongzi’s ethics and his view of service, and
Drawing on the authority of the orthodox classics, a
is now perhaps the best known of the Confucian classics.
new genre of text often called the “Confucian apocrypha” de-
Collected from a body of diverse sayings and anecdotes writ-
veloped in the first century CE. While the classics were seen
ten on bamboo slips and circulated in the late Spring and Au-
as the exoteric transmission of Confucius for use by every-
tumn and Warring States periods, its aphoristic passages were
one, and the Spring and Autumn was the exoteric transmis-
likely originally intended as a guide to proper ritual behavior
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CONFUCIANISM: THE CLASSICAL CANON
1909
for princes and officials charged with maintaining court eti-
The culmination, and perhaps the most influential re-
quette. The extant Analects was collated by Zheng Xuan
formulation of the classics in later imperial China, was the
(127–200), although one excavated version of the text un-
Thirteen Classics (shisanjing), which was established during
earthed in 1973 indicates it circulated in something close to
the Northern Song dynasty. The chief change was the addi-
its current form in 55 BCE. The Analects discusses develop-
tion of the Mengzi, a late fourth- or early third-century BCE
ment of the character traits such as benevolence (ren), which
work in the style of the Analects that located the latter work’s
it explains in particular contexts. In chapter twelve Kongzi
self-cultivation program in a model of human nature. Ac-
tells different disciples different things: for example, “If
cording to the Records of the Historian (Shiji, c. 100 BCE)
something goes against ritual propriety, do not look at it”
Mengzi (Mencius, 391–308 BCE) “withdrew and together
(12.1); “When abroad, behave as though you were at home
with the followers of [his disciple] Wan Zhang, put in order
receiving an important guest” (12.2); and “The mark of be-
the [classics of] Odes and Documents and interpreted the in-
nevolence is that one is hesitant to speak” (12.3). Traditional
tentions of Kongzi. They wrote the [Mengzi] in seven chap-
commentaries explain this as an example of Kongzi’s use of
ters” (73.2343). This description of the composition of the
expediencies directed at the strengths and weaknesses of par-
Mengzi accurately identifies Mengzi as continuing the “in-
ticular disciples. Alternatively, this might represent the com-
tentions of Kongzi.”
pilation of the Analects from diverse sources, perhaps trans-
mitted in different disciple traditions.
At the same time, the elevation of the Mengzi reflects
R
the Confucian need for resources to address psychological
EDEFINING THE CANON: THE THIRTEEN CLASSICS AND
THE FOUR BOOKS. The reunification under the Sui (581–
claims made by Buddhists that the Analects did not contain.
618) and Tang dynasties saw redefinitions but not reconcep-
For example, Mengzi 2A2 argues that within each person’s
tualizations of the canon based on the model of the Five
mind are incipient bases of the virtues of benevolence, righ-
Classics. Emperor Wen (r. 179–157 BCE) of the Tang dynas-
teousness (yi), ritual propriety (li), and wisdom (zhi). Mengzi
ty sponsored the inscription of the Twelve Classics
2A6 argues that people have these incipient dispositions to
(shi’erjing) on stelae at the Imperial Academy in what is today
goodness “just like they have four limbs.” By grounding mo-
called Xi’an. The only major addition, however, was the Ap-
rality in the human nature and the body the Mengzi was per-
proaching Elegance (Erya), a nineteen-section systematic
haps more consonant with the Buddhist goal of returning to
compilation of commentarial glosses that is effectively a dic-
an original “nature” unclouded by desires. The Mengzi’s
tionary. While the Approaching Elegance is thought to date
place in the canon may be traced back at least to Han Yu’s
from the third or second centuries BCE, its inclusion among
(768–824) contention that Mengzi was the last classical rep-
the classics was relatively late. Besides the Approaching Ele-
resentative of the Transmission of the Way (Daotong).
gance, the Analects, Classic of Filial Piety, and Twelve Classics
were either members of the Five Classics or commentaries
A more radically alternative formulation of the canon
thereon. Instead of only the Records of Ritual, the Twelve
was created by the Song scholar Zhu Xi. Zhu Xi singled out
Classics also includes the Zhou Rituals and the Ceremonies
two chapters of the Records of Ritual—Great Learning
and Rituals. Instead of the Spring and Autumn, the Twelve
(Daxue) and Doctrine of the Mean (Zhongyong)—along with
Classics includes the Gongyang, Guliang, and Zuo commen-
the Analects and the Mengzi as members of the Four Books
taries. These moves may best be seen as an expansion of the
(Sishu). The Great Learning and Doctrine of the Mean had
Five Classics rather than as a basic change in the canon.
some of the same appeal that the Mengzi had in the later im-
perial post-Buddhist period. Both texts, products of the Han
At the same time the Tang imperial house had changed
synthetic combination of morality and cosmology, link psy-
the civil examination system in significant ways. The Tang
chology and ethics using concepts such as the magnetic
rulers traced their descent to the mythical sixth- or fifth-
power of “sincerity” (cheng) and a quasi-divine conception
century Daoist sage Laozi and elevated several Daoist texts
of the “sage” (sheng). Associating these three texts so closely
to the status of classics. This happened to both the Master
with the Analects allowed Zhu Xi to read the latter text in
Zhuang (Zhuangzi), which was renamed True Classic of
a new way, one that proved immensely influential even
Southern Splendor (Nanhua zhenjing) and the Master Lie
through the present day.
(Liezi), renamed the True Classic of the Ultimate Virtue of the
Void (Chongxu zhide zhenjing). At the same time, views of
In 1190 Zhu Xi published his commentary on the Four
canon were influenced by the translation of the Buddhist
Books, called the Collected Commentaries on the Sentences and
Tripitika (sanzangjing). The imperial house sponsored the
Sections of the Four Books (Sishu zhangju jizhu). Because of
publication of Buddhist and Daoist works, even as Emperor
his intellectual stature, Zhu Xi’s formulation had immediate
Taizong (599–649) commissioned Yan Shigu (581–645) to
influence on his contemporaries, and his Collected Commen-
create a definitive annotated edition of the Five Classics.
taries on the Sentences and Sections of the Four Books became
These developments signaled that the traditional rationale
orthodox parts of the civil service examination system at the
for the status of the Five Classics, their connection to the
start of the fourteenth century. This happened despite Zhu
Zhou dynasty, could no longer be considered the sole oper-
Xi’s criticism of the examination system as leading people to
ant ground for entry into the canon.
pursue training in the classics out of self-advancement.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1910
CONFUCIANISM: THE IMPERIAL CULT
MODELS OF CANON FORMATION IN CHINA. The legacy of
Lynn, Richard John, trans. The Classic of Changes: A New Transla-
the Song dynasty today is two alternate Confucian canons.
tion of the I Ching as Interpreted by Wang Bi. New York,
From the viewpoint of the history of Chinese literature the
1994.
category of the Thirteen Classics is still widely used today.
Makeham, John. Transmitters and Creators: Chinese Commentators
While there was a broadening of the canon as a result of the
and Commentaries on the Analects. Cambridge, Mass., 2003.
movement to historicize the classics in the Qing dynasty
Nylan, Michael. The Five “Confucian” Classics. New Haven,
(1644–1911), the benchmark of “evidentiary scholarship”
Conn., 2001.
(kaozheng) is the Commentaries and Subcommentaries to the
Pi Xirui. Jingxue lishi. Rev. ed. Taibei, 1987.
Thirteen Classics (Shisanjing zhushu), edited by Ruan Yuan
(1764–1849) in 1815. From the viewpoint of the history of
Pi Xirui. Jingxue tonglun. Beijing, 1998.
Chinese thought Zhu Xi’s reformulation of the Four Books
MARK CSIKSZENTMIHALYI (2005)
is still widely influential, and the Four Books are still the
basis of elementary education in many parts of the Chinese
diaspora.
CONFUCIANISM: THE IMPERIAL CULT
At the same time, in contexts where classical scholarship
is taught, the category of the Five Classics is often still used.
From early imperial times to the twentieth century, the em-
This perhaps best reflects the fact that these three canons
peror and officers of the court and civil bureaucracy offered
were selected and have authority for different reasons: the
cult sacrifice to the gods that governed the cosmos. The ritu-
Five Classics based on the authority of the Zhou-period insti-
als that serviced these gods were based on and authorized by
tutions and later on Kongzi’s status as the transmitter of
the ritual canons of the Confucian classics, and, as such, were
those institutions; the Thirteen Classics based on the author-
the privileged domain of classically educated men called Ru,
ity of the late imperial sponsorship of authoritative and dis-
or “Confucians,” who mastered that canon. Sacrifices were
tinctively Confucian texts and commentaries that grew out
performed according to a regular calendar in temples inside
of the Five Classics; and the Four Books based on the author-
the imperial capital, at open altars outside of the capital walls,
ity of Zhu Xi and his engagement of issues relevant to the
and at ritual spaces throughout the empire down to the
post-Buddhist religious climate.
county level. The geographic expanse of these ritual com-
plexes constituted the most visible signs of the extent of the
These three models of canon formation indicate the va-
Chinese imperium and provides concrete evidence of inter-
riety of functions that religious and philosophical literature
action between elite and popular religious practices. Succes-
fulfilled in traditional China. The inclusion of the Five Clas-
sive dynasties drew from the precedents of the ancient canon
sics as translated by James Legge (1815–1897) in Max Mül-
to define and regulate imperial cults by specifying the
ler’s Sacred Books of the East (1879–1910) drew attention to
amount and type of foods offered to each god, the rank or
their points of similarity to the canons of other religious tra-
status of the sacrificer, the music played, hymns sung, and
ditions. In part as a result of such comparisons, the twentieth
prayers chanted during the ceremony. The aim of sacrifice—
century saw changes in the reception of Confucianism both
or what might be more appropriately understood as ritual
inside and outside of China. Imputing aspects of the role of
feasting—was to satiate the gods to enlist their cooperation
the canon in other traditions led to the de-emphasis of ritual
in the proper maintenance of the cosmic order in ways favor-
and the ritual classics in Confucianism, as well as an empha-
able to the well-being of the living. In addition to realizing
sis on Kongzi’s role as a religious founder and on the Analects
these aims, the effect of proper performance of these rites was
as an expression of his founding vision. At the same time,
the demonstration of the sovereign’s virtue and affirmation
an appreciation of the way that the Confucian canon
of the dynasty’s legitimacy in ruling the empire.
changed and developed within the tradition has led to a new
FORMATION OF THE IMPERIAL CULT. Prior to the imperial
emphasis on understanding the role of commentary and
era, which began with the unification of China under a single
hermeneutics in the formation of meaning in Confucian
emperor in 221 BCE, there were numerous royal cult tradi-
traditions.
tions associated with the courts that ruled various parts of
China. These traditions were distinguishable by the language
BIBLIOGRAPHY
of their practitioners and their liturgical arrangements, as
Chen Mengjia. Shangshu tonglun. Beijing, 1985.
well as by their basic conceptions of the gods and their rela-
Cheng, Anne. Étude sur le confucianisme Han: L’élaboration d’une
tionships with the living. Shamanism and trance-induced,
tradition exégétique sur les classiques. Paris, 1985.
intimate commingling between gods and mortals character-
Henderson, John B. Scripture, Canon, and Commentary: A Com-
ized some of these early courtly traditions, whereas studied
parison of Confucian and Western Exegesis. Princeton, N.J.,
separation and reverent distance between humans and gods
1991.
predominated in other traditions, particularly those that
Hong Zhanhou. Shijing xueshi. 2 vols. Beijing, 2002.
eventually formed the basis of Confucian ritual.
Loewe, Michael. Early Chinese Texts: A Bibliographical Guide.
Inscriptions on bones and, later, on bronze vessels pro-
Berkeley, Calif., 1993.
vide material evidence of an ancient royal cult during 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
CONFUCIANISM: THE IMPERIAL CULT
1911
Shang dynasty (c. 1500–1050 BCE) based on divination,
offered. The hierarchical system of cults, ranked into three
oracular communication with the royal ancestors, and sacri-
tiers of great, middle, and miscellaneous, makes clear that the
fice to gods and ancestors. While the use of oracles had de-
power of the gods and the realms over which they governed
clined by the Zhou dynasty (c. 1150–256 BCE), inscribed
at times overlapped, usually because a more ancient god’s
bronze vessels for sacrifices to gods and ancestors were used
power was superseded by that of another, more recent, one.
in a thriving royal cult. Ritual specialists of the late Zhou and
By reading the pantheon of the Ming dynasty as a guide, it
early Han (206 BCE–220 CE) dynasties variously selected, co-
is possible to gain insight into the cosmic order that envel-
opted, omitted, and redefined elements of these heteroge-
oped the gods, the stars, the natural forces, and the world of
neous cults to form the imperial cult that thrived until the
the living.
end of the nineteenth century and then dissolved in the early
twentieth century. Detailed elaborations of and critical re-
Cult of Heaven/Shangdi. Heaven occupied the pinna-
flections upon Zhou ritual traditions appear throughout the
cle of the imperial pantheon. Heaven received Great Sacrifice
ritual canons—principally in the Li ji (Record of rites) and
(dasi) on the winter solstice at a round open-air altar (yuan-
the Zhouli (Rites of Zhou)—of the Five Classics. The most
qiu, “round mound”) south of the city only from the Son
salient characteristic of the royal cult as codified in the clas-
of Heaven, the emperor. The spirit seat upon which the god
sics was the primary role of Heaven as the highest deity rul-
was invited to sit bore the name “Lofty Heaven Lord on
ing the cosmos and the most exalted in the ritual hierarchy
High” (Hao Tian Shangdi). The altar was open so that all
to receive sacrifice from the king. Another conspicuous fea-
celestial spirits, such as Heaven, could gain access to the ritu-
ture of imperial cults was the central role of royal ancestors
al feast at the altar only after it was rendered into smoke and
as crucial mediators between the reigning emperor and the
dispersed into the ether. The altar was round because Heaven
highest gods. The Han conquest of the empire brought
was itself construed as round. Only the emperor could offer
about the unification of these royal and regional cults under
a Great Sacrifice because he was the highest living being and
the authority of a single court, although many inconsisten-
because he had exclusive access to Lofty Heaven Shangdi
cies, contradictions, and redundancies persisted. The Han
through the intermediary presence of his own ancestor, the
dynasty nonetheless probably marks the first period about
founding emperor of the dynasty, whose spirit tablet faced
which one can speak of a single pantheon, understood as a
west next to that of Heaven on the highest platform of the
conception of the gods coexisting collectively within a rela-
altar. The presence of lesser deities invited to share in this
tively cohesive whole.
ritual feast as correlates suggests that the cosmic realm over
which Heaven reigned was further subdivided into other
During the period of disunity that followed the fall of
subordinate realms. The sun received secondary sacrifice as
the Han, ritual specialists debated cult liturgies at the royal
Great Light, and the moon as Evening Light. Gods of the
courts of regional kingdoms. By the eighth century the Tang
stars occupying the twenty-eight heavenly spheres, the five
court (618–907) systematized these liturgies into a coherent
planets (Venus, Jupiter, Mercury, Mars, and Saturn), Lord
official ritual system that would remain the foundation of the
Wind, and commanders Cloud, Thunder, and Rain received
imperial cult until the end of the imperial era, although vir-
secondary sacrifice at the Great Sacrifice. The power of these
tually every aspect of cult practice continued to be subject
gods affected the human world from above as it circulated
to frequent debate and reform, especially during the Song
throughout the heavens, above the world of the living. All
(960–1279) and Ming (1368–1644) dynasties.
of these correlate deities also received Middle Sacrifice from
The most far-reaching changes to the system of imperial
officers of the court as the chief deities at their own altars.
cults took place in the sixteenth century, largely precipitated
Cult of Earth. Heaven was not omnipotent in the cos-
by repercussions of a succession crisis—or complication—
mos, it was simply the highest of all gods. As a yang force,
that led to Ming Shizong’s (r. 1521–1567) coronation as em-
it initiated all things and thus required a receptive yin
peror. Although historians are suspicious of his personal mo-
force—the Earth—to bring all things to fruition. Earth re-
tives in provoking a series of important reforms known by
ceived sacrifice as August Earth God (Huangdi chi) on the
his reign name, Jiajing, it is clear that he tapped into contro-
summer solstice at an open square mound/altar (because
versies over the imperial cult’s canonical precedents that had
Earth was seen as square) north of the city. As in the cult of
erupted intermittently and with fierce intensity among ritual
Lofty Heaven Shangdi, the emperor observed a three-day pu-
scholars both in and out of the court for at least five hundred
rification fast, then offered Great Sacrifice to Earth, again
years.The description of the pantheon that follows is largely
with the intermediary presence of his ancestor, the dynastic
based on the Jiajing reforms, which were retained with few
founder. The presence of lesser gods who received correlate
major changes until the early twentieth century.
sacrifice at the square altar reveals the properly terrestrial
The gods of the imperial pantheon governed specific
quality of the cosmos governed by Earth. The Five Sacred
realms of the cosmos. The correlation between gods and
Peaks and other lesser mountains, the Four Seas and the Four
mortals was painstakingly regulated through exact prescrip-
Rivers (Yangzi, Yellow, Huai, and Ji) constituted subservient,
tions of the locations and type of ritual space where each god
more particularized forces subsumed under the power of
was to receive sacrifice and the person by whom it would be
Earth. Some of these, such as Mount Tai among the Five Sa-
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1912
CONFUCIANISM: THE IMPERIAL CULT
cred Peaks, were historically more ancient objects of cult ven-
capital in Beijing. The reign of the second emperor was ex-
eration than Earth, an overtly less particularized cosmic force
punged from the court annals and his name tabooed in the
associated with things terrestrial. These cosmic forces exerted
hallowed ancestral halls. The conventions of imperial succes-
powerful, yet more circumscribed, influence in relation to ce-
sion are again interrupted in the sequence of tablets with the
lestial gods, along Earth’s “square” surface.
presence of an ancestor who never reigned at all. He was
posthumously granted the status of emperor, amid tumultu-
These separate sacrifices to Heaven and Earth at altars
ous court controversy, after Ming Shizong succeeded his
dedicated to each during the Ming and Qing (1644–1911
cousin, who had left no heir, as emperor. Rather than allow
CE) were based on the precedents established in the Record
himself to be adopted into his cousin’s line, Shizong insisted
of Rites and the Rites of Zhou. During most of the imperial
upon retroactively inserting his parents into the line of em-
era, however, Earth received joint sacrifice with Heaven at
the round altar in the southern suburb. The rationale for
perors. Historians have debated his motives for centuries, but
joint sacrifices was initially not based on canonical precedent
at the very least, filial piety, ancestral cult devotion, and po-
but on the intuitive conviction that as coeval forces in the
litical legitimation are inextricably tangled together in this
cosmos they should be combined. The joint rites were vigor-
affair.
ously debated in the Song, when opponents appealed to the
The official ancestral cult of the imperial court descends
canonical authority of the Rites of Zhou, and proponents to
from ancient rites that date to as early as the Shang dynasty.
the less lofty, but apparently more compelling, argument of
Extant oracle-bone inscriptions record sacrifices to the royal
precedents set by long-standing dynastic practice. Joint sacri-
ancestors and entreaties by kings for their ancestors to inter-
fices were continued in the Yuan and early Ming dynasties,
cede in their requests to the gods to bring rain, bountiful har-
although vigorous debate began anew in the first year of the
vests, or military victories. By the Zhou dynasty, the cult of
Ming and culminated in the ritual reforms of the Jiajing era,
ancestors was widely practiced among the lower hereditary
when separate liturgies were formulated. Even after these
lords, when ritual scholars began to codify these rites. By the
changes, and in spite of the zealousness of the debates, sacri-
Song dynasty, ancestral cult practices were nearly universal
fice to Earth was not, in practice, scrupulously observed,
among virtually all people throughout China. Even before
while that to Heaven most certainly was.
the Ming—when the court began to regulate cult practices
Cult of imperial ancestors. The cults of Heaven and
of commoners for the first time—the canonical rites of serv-
Earth shared the status of the highest-ranking Great Sacrifice
ing the spirits of the ancestors found in the Confucian clas-
in the Ming ritual statutes with the imperial ancestors. The
sics profoundly influenced the religious consciousness of
ancestors of Ming emperors and their principal consorts re-
peasants. Commoners, Confucian literati, and the Son of
ceived sacrifice five times a year in a walled complex in the
Heaven all believed that the spirits of departed ancestors re-
southeastern quarters inside the imperial city. The main gate
quired sustenance, which only male descendants could prof-
of the Imperial Temple opened from the south into the com-
fer. The ritual feasting of ancestral spirits by the living consti-
pound where three enclosed halls were arrayed along a north-
tuted the primary means of communication with the spirit
south axis that paralleled the layout of the imperial city. The
world. Cult feasting served to sustain the ancestors in the
first hall called the Great Shrine (taimiao) was the location
netherworld, which they requited by exercising influence
of combined rites for former emperors (dixia). The second
over the fate of their living descendants. In addition to mate-
building, the Inner Apartments (qindian), housed the spirit
rial benefits and emolument, high status among the living
tablets of no more than seven imperial ancestors, kept in
brought expanded privileges to offer sacrifices to ever-greater
niches housed in seven halls according to the ritual prece-
numbers of ancestors.
dents found in the Record of Rites. Behind the Inner Apart-
Notwithstanding Confucian criticisms of popular cus-
ments was the Hall of Removed Tablets (tiaomiao) for the
toms as licentious, it is often difficult to distinguish elite
dynastic founder’s ancestors, extending back five genera-
from popular religious practice, particularly on the crucial
tions; other former emperors who were removed from
level of the relationship between the living and the spirits of
among the seven emperors housed in the Inner Apartments
their ancestors. Licentiousness largely referred to the mixing
as the most recently deceased rulers were also installed there.
of sexes across lineage and affinal lines or to noncanonical,
The arrangement of the tablets in the Ming Imperial
usually sexual, relations between gods and shaman priestess-
Temple clearly illustrates the intersection of cult practice and
es. The religious sensibilities of commoners tended to be
court politics. The founding emperor, Ming Taizu (r. 1368–
more overtly intertwined with local and noncanonical reli-
1398), occupied the middle, superior position in the Inner
gious ideas—in the specific sense of ideas not found in the
Apartments, followed by his successor, seated to his left, then
Confucian canon—from Daoism and Buddhism than those
the five most recent ancestors of the reigning emperor, who
of the classically educated elite. But the Confucian literati
led the ceremony. The tablet to Taizu’s left was that of Ming
were hardly free from such influences. Were one to distin-
Taizong—the Yongle emperor (r. 1402–1424), later canon-
guish elite from popular religion at all, one would need to
ized as Ming Chengzu—who killed his nephew, the second
do so as a difference of degree of “strict canonical purity” at
emperor, burned the palace in Nanjing, and relocated the
one end of a spectrum and increasingly dense saturation 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
CONFUCIANISM: THE IMPERIAL CULT
1913
regional, local custom or Daoism and Buddhism at the other,
Middle-level and miscellaneous cults. The second
rather than as a difference of kind. Although Confucian clas-
level of the imperial pantheon was occupied by lesser gods
sical learning and philosophy no doubt influenced common-
that received middle-level sacrifices (zhongsi) from officers of
ers, particularly through the examination system, it was
the court, and, on some occasions, by the emperor or the heir
largely through the spread of ancestor worship into virtually
apparent. Some middle-level cults were regional variations of
every household in China that Confucianism had its most
the higher cults, such as soils and grains, stars, wind and rain,
profound and permanent impact.
mountains and rivers. Other middle-level cults developed
later, with little, or at best a tenuous, canonical foundation.
Cult of soils and grains. A fourth cult ranked as Great
Two agricultural cults began in the Eastern Han (25–220
Sacrifice is that of the gods of soils (she) and grains (ji), which
CE). The First Farmer received sacrifice at a shrine, followed
are among the most ancient of the imperial cults. They are
by the principal consecration officer’s ceremonious turning
also among the most complex in that they are simultaneously
of the first three furrows of the planting season. Although
local—grounded in the very soils of the community—and
court debates questioned if this was not a conflation with the
overtly tied to the ruler’s sovereignty. In ancient times, the
soils god, it continued, with occasional participation by the
she altar was synonymous with the king, the land of his king-
emperor, until the Qing dynasty, when Manchu rulers per-
dom, and the welfare of his subjects. To destroy the altar
formed this rite assiduously. Parallel sericulture rites per-
once used to honor the soils gods was unthinkable, and to
formed by the empress also date to the Eastern Han period.
use it was either usurpation or confusion of different polities.
The she cult of many ancient ritual traditions substituted for,
Confucius was venerated as the principal deity in a mid-
or overlapped with, the cult of Earth as Heaven’s counter-
dle-level cult of civil culture. Initially a local cult observed
part, as seen in the “Single Victim Suburban Sacrifice” (jiao
by Confucius’s descendants and disciples in Qufu, Shan-
tesheng) chapter of the Record of Rites, which states, “She sac-
dong, where he lived, the cult of Confucius was patronized
rifice takes the way of Earth as the deity.” In the second
by imperial entourages since the early Han. By the Tang
month of the spring and autumn during Ming times, Great
dynasty it was integrated into the imperial pantheon, with
Sacrifice was offered by the emperor to gods of soils and
a temple cult in the capital. From the Tang until the early
grains on separate altars at a two-tiered open, square altar
Ming, Taigong Wang, a general who served the founders of
(thus replicating Earth’s square mound in the northern sub-
the Zhou dynasty, was the primary deity of a military cult.
urbs) within a walled complex inside the imperial city. Rites
He was enshrined as a correlate in the cult of past rulers in
at the she altar, built on an earthen mound with different col-
1388 and replaced by Guandi, a heroic minister at the end
ored soils from the five cardinal directions (North, South,
of the Han dynasty to whom miraculous powers were attri-
East, West, and Center), included correlate sacrifices to Lord
buted and who had acquired an enormous popular following
Soil (Houtu goulong). Rites at the ji altar for grains, built
throughout the empire. The kings and emperors of past
on an earthen mound with yellow soil and (at least during
dynasties also received cult sacrifice in the Temple of Former
the Yuan dynasty) no spirit tablet, included correlate sacri-
Dynasts beginning in the Ming. This consolidated various
fices to Lord Millet (Houji), ancestor of the Zhou royal
local rites performed since the Sui (581–618) at tomb sites
family.
of past rulers scattered throughout north China, beginning
with the legendary sage-kings of high antiquity. The liturgy
The cults of Heaven, Earth, the imperial ancestors, and
and temple layout followed that of the Imperial Temple, ex-
soils and grains occupied the highest level of the imperial
cept that court officials were usually dispatched to perform
pantheon. As recipients of Great Sacrifice, they are distin-
these rites. The gods of walls and motes (usually referred to
guishable from all other cults in at least four interrelated
as “city gods” in English), and those of the flags and banners
ways: (1) they were the most exalted and powerful gods rul-
of the southern wall and instruction halls of provincial capi-
ing the cosmos, and thus the emperor alone could offer sacri-
tals, also received middle-level sacrifice.
fice, except under extraordinary circumstances when either
the heir apparent or a high-ranking official acted as surro-
Most of these middle cults had counterparts as miscella-
gate; (2) they were most closely tied to the virtue and legiti-
neous cults (qunsi) and received minor sacrifices (xiaosi) from
macy of the ruler who led the rites, and any ruler who was
local officials at the district and county levels. Local officials
not virtuous was not legitimate; (3) they were all located in
also offered sacrifices to the ghosts of abandoned ancestors
the imperial city or outside its walls—their exact location was
and those who died violent deaths at special altars outside
geographically and cosmically fixed not only by the sur-
the walls of towns and cities. In addition to these official
rounding terrain as ascertained by geomancy, but also by
cults, the Ming court also passed sumptuary prescriptions
their proximity to the emperor’s throne; and (4) they were
regulating private cults, such as those for the gods of soils and
all sanctioned by the Confucian canon. Although the canoni-
grains of individual plots of land, for ancestors extending
cal sources contain more than one version of some of these
back two generations at altars in the homes of commoners
cults—which partly explains why controversies about them
or shrines operated by larger clan organizations, and for the
never ceased—there was no doubt in anyone’s mind that
spirits that inhabited kitchen stoves. The Ming court was
they originated in the golden era of the Zhou dynasty.
more inclined than its predecessors to prescribe ritual duties
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1914
CONFUCIANISM: THE IMPERIAL CULT
to commoners, thereby formally linking the loftiest of impe-
ticeably absent in writings on imperial cults—but by so con-
rial cults, which were tended by the emperor at the center,
centrating one’s consciousness on the spirits that one can “al-
with cult activities of merchants and artisans in towns, as well
most certainly see them at the altar.” The virtue of one’s
as cultivators in villages, within a cohesive, overarching
reverence toward the spirits is a precondition of the rite.
pantheon.
Upon completing the rite, what one has accomplished or
RITUAL PURITY. In the Confucian world of cults, the orderly
gained is the success of communicating the feast to the gods.
operation of the cosmos required proper performance of the
POLITICAL LEGITIMATION AND THE IMPERIAL CULTS. Some
rites of sacrifice to the gods. Proper performance of the rites
twentieth-century social scientists have argued in a function-
entailed observing distinctions among the gods, who were di-
alist mode that imperial cult rituals were simply a means em-
vided into a three-tiered hierarchy based on criteria of antiq-
ployed by the ruling elite to control the populace. As with
uity, canonicity, and cosmic power. Ritual distinction was
other religions with direct connections to regimes of political
marked by a number of indicators: the kind and location of
power, successful performance of the rites of the imperial cult
the ritual space where a cult was practiced; the kind and
brought prestige and enhanced political legitimacy to those
amount of offerings; the music, dance, and prayers of the lit-
who performed them. Not to perform the rites was a clear
urgy; and the position or rank of the person who offered the
indication of illegitimacy, and they were apparently rarely if
sacrifice. And what of the living persons who came before
ever abandoned by ruling dynasts, except in times of grave
the gods offering gifts of supplication at the altar? What qual-
trouble when it was not possible to perform them. As such,
ifications must the sacrificer possess to earn such a privilege?
these cult rituals were a sine qua non of legitimate rule during
A key to understanding the religious import of the rites of
imperial times because the gods were believed to possess great
the imperial cult is that the sacrificer did not act for his own
power and their assistance was deemed necessary.
benefit but for that of the entire community for which he
SUBURBAN SACRIFICE TO HEAVEN/SHANGDI AT THE
was responsible. An imperial cult conducted by a formal,
ROUND ALTAR. The following description of the sacrifice to
governing body, by definition, is public; it is “civil,” not pri-
Heaven is based on the imperial liturgy of the Ming dynasty
vate. The sacrificer acts for the well-being of a people and
after the Jiajing reforms. Understanding a complex ritual
does not seek nor expect personal gain, such as salvation, en-
such as this depends not only upon grasping its numerous
lightenment, or inner, spiritual transformation. It is clear
details, but also obtaining a clear sense of the sequence of its
from the relationship between the living and the gods that
parts and of the duration of ritual time involved in perform-
such things were not in the offing, even if the sacrificer
ing the liturgy. Although all elements of the rite were neces-
sought them.
sary, some carried more weight, as demonstrated by, for ex-
How are we to understand the inner state of the sacrific-
ample, the emperor’s repeated visits to the Imperial Shrine
er? Surely there was a range of interpretations of cult rites
to notify his ancestors of his intention to perform this rite
among those who practiced them, but the canonical descrip-
and to request the founding emperor’s presence at the altar.
tion of the inner state of the sacrificer found in the Record
The materials offered to the god, such as jade and the animals
of Rites was repeatedly endorsed in later ritual texts and dis-
used for the feast, were carefully selected and inspected. In-
cussions of the rites, which emphasize ritual efficacy. These
cense was used to attract the gods, who were invited to par-
sources stress the necessity of undergoing purification rites
take in the feast no less than three times. The fastidious at-
before the sacrifice in order to realize a state of reverence and
tention to the person of the sacrificer, his clean and proper
single-minded concentration on the spirit that is to receive
clothes, pure mental state, and appropriate corporeal demea-
sacrifice. This state of ritual purity makes it possible to com-
nor all attest to the singular importance of each.
municate the sacrifices to the gods. Ritual purity is realized
Preparation for the ceremony began ten days before-
in the days before the actual sacrifice through observing regu-
hand when the Office of Imperial Sacrifice sent officers to
lations and a fast. A ritual specialist explained the process to
inspect the animals to be used in the sacrifices: nine calves,
the first emperor of the Ming by saying:
three sheep, and three pigs. Five days before the ceremony,
imperial guards escorted the emperor to the cleansing pen to
The regulations delimit the external and the fast orders
the internal. The regulations prescribe a bath and
inspect the victims. Imperial sacrifice focused on presenting
change of clothes. In your comings and goings, do not
food to the gods—not on killing—and thus these animals
drink wine, eat meat, inquire about the illness of others,
were not slaughtered at the altar, but were carefully prepared
observe mourning, listen to music, or pass judgment on
in the temple kitchen in advance as part of a feast for the
criminals. The fast concentrates the mind on the sacri-
gods. The night before this the emperor, wearing ordinary
fice; it is to be strict, cautious, and fearful. Think only
dress, went to the Imperial Shrine inside the Forbidden City,
of the spirit that is to receive the sacrifice, as if it is there
where he offered incense to each of the imperial ancestors,
above you or to your left or right. The fast means to be
beginning with the dynastic founder. He then announced his
perfectly pure and completely sincere without a mo-
intention to offer sacrifice to August Heaven Shangdi. Four
ment’s lapse. (Mingshi 47.1239–1240)
days before the ceremony, erudite members of the Office of
Thus the ritual purity of the sacrifice is not achieved through
Imperial Sacrifice drafted the prayer that was to be read at
extirpating defilement or purging sin—a concept that is no-
the ceremony.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CONFUCIANISM: THE IMPERIAL CULT
1915
Three days before the ceremony, the emperor, wearing
the pantheon, so it is difficult to read particular symbolic sig-
ritual garb, resided in the bedchambers of the Imperial
nificance into these items). The emperor knelt at the altar,
Shrine. Holding a jade scepter tablet that identified him, the
and offered up incense three times; he then bowed, pro-
emperor formally greeted the ancestral spirits at the main in-
ceeded to the altar of the dynastic founder, and performed
cense table by prostrating himself and offering incense. Be-
the same offerings, then returned to his position on the south
fore the niche of the founding emperor’s spirit tablet he of-
side of the third tier. He repeated the same sequence of ac-
fered libation and read a prayer stating his intention to offer
tions, then presented the first offering (chuxian): He washed
sacrifice to Shangdi, and his request for the founding emper-
and dried a tripod, filled it with wine, knelt before the spirit
or’s presence at the ceremony. On this same day, the emper-
tablet, offered incense, raised the tripod as offering (dianjue),
or and other celebrants began to follow regulations to bathe,
poured some of the wine at the base of the altar to guide the
wear clean clothes, and refrain from engaging in any activity
spirit to the precise location of the feast, and placed the tri-
that might distract them from concentrating on the impend-
pod on the altar in front of the tablet. He performed the
ing ceremony, such as consoling the bereaved, drinking wine,
same sequence when presenting the first offering to the dy-
listening to music, and interacting with their wives. They
nastic founder. The prayer was then read while the emperor
also observed a purification fast that aimed to bring unified
prostrated himself, rose, bowed, then returned to his
order to their hands, feet, and mind.
position.
On the day before the sacrifice, the emperor went to the
At this point, the secondary consecration officers went
Hall for Receiving Heaven in the inner court of the Forbid-
to the altars for the other gods on the middle tier and offered
den City to personally write out the prayer on a new green
incense, silk, and libation. The emperor then presented the
mulberry-wood board. At this time he also placed green jade
second (yaxian) and final offerings (zhongxian) to Shangdi
and green silk in boxes (shades of blue-green were associated
and the dynastic founder, which was followed each time by
with the color of the heavens). He then offered incense three
the secondary consecration officers’ presentation of offerings
times and performed one set of three kowtows. Wearing ritu-
to the other gods. The emperor drank some of the blessed
al dress, the emperor informed the spirits of his ancestors that
wine and received a portion of the sacrificial meat; the viands
he was heading to the Altar of Heaven, then he rode the car-
were then cleared away and the spirits escorted away from
riage to the Round Altar. After inspecting the victims, he
the Round Altar. The text of the prayer and the silk were fi-
went to the fasting quarters attached to the altar complex,
nally burned as a means of commuting them to the world
where he observed a strict fast during which he devoted him-
of the spirits. Once these had been at least half consumed
self entirely to the pending sacrifice.
by fire, the ceremony ended.
Before dawn on the morning of the sacrifice, the minis-
SEE ALSO Chinese Religion, overview article, article on
ter of rites led the collected officers to the incense altar before
Mythic Themes.
the spirits. All knelt to perform three kowtows, then took the
spirit tablets out of their niche cupboards, beginning with
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study about which one might write a history, is best under-
stood as an inspired scholarly practice analogous to biblical
THOMAS A. WILSON (2005)
hermeneutics in the West. The history of this engagement
with texts in the interest of getting at the timeless truths of
antiquity has been eloquently retold by John Henderson in
CONFUCIANISM: HISTORY OF STUDY
Scripture, Canon and Commentary (1991) and Benjamin
Any effort to describe Confucianism (ru, literally “weakling”
Elman in From Philosophy to Philology (1984), but it is not
but conventionally glossed as “scholar”) as an object of study
really about Confucianism per se.
requires one to acknowledge that it is a historically related
RU: A CHINESE CONTEXT OF CONFUCIANISM STUDY. The
symbolic complex made from the fateful conjunction of early
life Confucianism has lived as a form of study in the West
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CONFUCIANISM: HISTORY OF STUDY
1917
was distinct, and until very recently largely different, from
The earliest uses of ru are found just before the forma-
the scholarly history of ru in China. The epistemic status of
tion of the first Chinese imperial state, when it meant “pli-
the ru as an object of study was registered in the first “histo-
able” or “weak” in the sense of disinclined to physical work;
ry” of China, Sima Tan (d. 110 BCE) and Sima Qian’s Shiji
yet the term was clearly associated with the story traditions
(Grand Scribe’s Records, c. 90 BCE). Here the category rujia
of an honored teacher, Kongzi. An eponymous discourse or
was explicitly identified as one of the primary traditions of
a school of thought, Kongjiao—“Kong teaching,” with per-
Chinese antiquity. Ru was a native tradition self-consciously
haps “Confucianity” being better—did not exist until the
attested to in the writings of the Warring States (479–256
first years of the twentieth century, when it was an antidote
BCE) and achieved a degree of national prominence in the
self-consciously administered by the state to combat the ef-
first two imperial dynasties Qin (221–206 BCE) and Han
fects of foreign religious and social doctrines. This later in-
(206 BCE–221 CE), when scholars (boshi) of specific classical
vention, more literally Confucianism, was conceived as a na-
works (Shijing [Book of Poetry], Shangshu or Shujing [Book
tional ethos distinct from ru, which referred to scholars of
of Documents ], and Yijing [Book of Changes ]) were ap-
the Wujing (Five Classics—Book of Documents, Book of
pointed to government posts, a practice that continued,
Changes, Book of Odes, Record of the Rites, Spring and Au-
somewhat fitfully with well-noted interruptions, until the
tumn Annals) and, later in the Yuan and Ming eras, the Sishu
abolition of the official examination system in 1905. With
(Four Books—Selected Sayings [of Kongzi], Book of Meng-
the advent in the Han of an elaborate scholastic enterprise
zi, Doctrine of the Mean, Great Learning).
involving the cataloguing of all extant written works and the
THE AGONISTIC RELATION OF RU AND THE IMPERIUM. This
writing of an official history of civilization, ru—the de facto
political tradition of administrative dependence on ru texts
classicists of this time—assumed an official presence dispro-
and ethos was noted with admiration by Western observers,
portional to their numbers among the plural intellectual tra-
but there was even more evidence conducive to their judg-
ditions of the early imperial period.
ment that Confucianism was the clavis Sinica, or key to
The Chinese Empire was built upon texts—
China. In 1313 the Mongols, ruling as the Yuan dynasty, re-
astronomical, divinatory, legal, medical, philosophical, ritu-
established the metropolitan examination, which promoted
al, and strategic—and was as much a semiotic system as a po-
the annotations and commentaries on the Wujing and the
litical entity. With classicists such as ru serving as prominent
Sishu of the southern Song classicist Zhu Xi (1130–1200),
producers and interpreters of texts, they were, as Christopher
founder of a fundamentalist ru sect called daoxue (learning
Connery has argued, drawn into the care of the empire. In
of the path), as the required texts for preparation for official
the Han capital of Chang’an an imperial academy, the Guozi
service. The vernacular quality of Zhu’s commentaries made
jian, was founded with a syllabus organized around favored
them especially suitable for use by conquest elites, and their
ru texts. An imperial sacrifice to Kongzi was initiated at his
particular recensions endured until the twentieth century.
natal home of Qufu more than 750 miles to the east of the
This six-century continuity of use, and especially the exclu-
capital (in the second century BCE) along with a panoply of
sive reliance on the Sishu, ensured the regnancy of daoxue—
other official celebratory rites, by means of which the emper-
and by association ru—as an intellectual orthodoxy indefea-
or sought legitimacy with both man and nature. This partic-
sibly linked to the operations of the imperial bureaucracy.
ular cultural concatenation of the appointment of ru and the
Moreover, the formal enshrinement of Zhu Xi and the eleva-
formation of the imperial Kongzi cult may be taken as the
tion of daoxue and its prominent followers in the hierarchy
Chinese foundation of “Confucianism”; it was also a phe-
of the Kongzi temple by the Yuan (1279–1368), Ming
nomenon that, at a much later period, drew the attention of
(1368–1644), and Qing (1644–1911) dynasties effected the
the Jesuit missionaries and became the focus of scholarly in-
canonization of ru as an orthodoxy whose transmission was
quiry, as some sought in this confluence evidence of so-called
a concern of the state.
Oriental Despotism or of a distinctive modern conjunction
For the most part, self-identified followers of the ru tra-
of royal authority and religious tolerance.
dition filled the ranks of classical scholars, both independent
The official rise to prominence of the previously undis-
and official; however, there was no systematic study of ru
tinguished ru fellowship is dated at 136 BCE, a moment that
until perhaps the Mingru xue’an (Cases of Ming Scholars) of
is considered epochal, because it is here that the monolithic
Huang Zongxi (1610–1695). Published in 1676, within the
myth of a two-thousand-year marriage of “Confucianism”
same interval as Jesuit translations in Latin of Chinese scrip-
and the Chinese imperium began. Beyond the nascent na-
tural texts were first being published in Europe, the Mingru
tional prominence of metropolitan ru celebrated in the impe-
xue’an inaugurated a new genre of historical scholarship. The
rial cult to Kongzi, there were a number of other ru textual
popularity of Huang’s critical review of the lives and teach-
communities—eight according to Han Feizi (c. 280–233
ings of an apostolic succession of ru exemplars inspired simi-
BCE)—all inspired by the memory of the culture hero. On
lar compilations on the Song (960–1279) and Yuan periods
evidence provided by the Shiji, it is also known that by the
(Song-Yuan xue’an), all construed as records of intellectual
time of the Han dynasty’s founding there were myriad au-
descent, providing a historical sketch of the diversity and
tochthonous temple cults to Kongzi. By the dawn of imperial
proliferation of ru over imperial time. In Huang’s hands ru
times, the tradition of ru meant classical study (jingxue).
was a prominent object in an historical field, a tradition
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CONFUCIANISM: HISTORY OF STUDY
whose elaboration could be documented through subsequent
of this cultural icon grew in proportion with the Jesuits’
generations of practitioners. His genealogical reconstruction
deepening interest in the original teaching of Kongzi and his
used the methods of standard philology, not merely to parse
disciples, who they described as the legge d’letterati (order of
obscure classical phrasing but to historicize the present ru as
the literati), i veri letterati (true literati) and xianru (the pri-
active appropriators of the traditions they received. This sub-
mordial ru). Throughout the second, and authoritative, cate-
tle shift in interpretive agency relocated authority to the
chism written and published in Chinese by Ricci in 1596,
reader and away from the government-sanctioned canon,
Tianzhu shiyi (The real significance of the Heavenly Master),
and anticipated the remarkable intellectual developments of
Kongzi’s tradition was assimilated by the missionaries who
eighteenth-century classicism, developments advanced by ru
increasingly identified themselves as defenders of zhenru or
but in a manner inconsistent with the honored synarchy of
the “real ru.”
state and scholarship.
Their identification was occasioned by a belief that the
Yet just as late Ming ru, like Huang, moved to dissolve
texts attributed to Confucius—the Lunyu (Selected Sayings,
the heteronomy of research and regime and scholar-official
or Analects), the Zhongyong (Doctrine of the Mean), and the
and state, Jesuit missionaries—standing outside the reach of
Daxue (Great Learning)—bore witness to an ancient belief
this emergent critical culture—reasserted the identity of ru
in the one God, shangdi (lord on high), but more commonly
and the empire while insisting that in an era of scholarly dis-
referred to by the Jesuits’ Chinese neologism, tianzhu (Mas-
enchantment with inherited tradition, they, too, could en-
ter of Heaven). Between 1596 and 1608, when Ricci was
gage the texts of antiquity as legitimate readers. And from
asked to prepare a history of the Jesuit mission in China, ru,
this point the story of the study of the Confucianism with
legge d’letterati, and the Jesuits were indistinguishable, so
which we are familiar develops.
much so that interpretation of Chinese cultural phenomena
was inflected with the Jesuit favor for this tradition, which
CONFUCIANISM: INVENTION AND INTERCULTURAL COM-
in their eyes was so much like their own. The understanding
MUNICATION. Since the mid-seventeenth century, when
of Confucianism as a body of texts and a discipline of study
transmission of native Chinese texts to Europe became possi-
founded by Confucius slowly emerged from the Jesuits’ Chi-
ble, Confucius and Confucianism have been interpreted as
nese enculturation and was documented in the history of the
the core of the sapientia sinica, or the wisdom of the Chinese,
mission’s entrance into China compiled by Matteo Ricci be-
a unique object of aesthetic and religious apprehension avid-
tween 1608 and 1610, Della entrata della Compagnia di
ly sought by linguists, missionaries, philosophers, and scien-
Giesù e Christianità nella Cina (On the Entrance of the Jesuit
tists. Thus, to study Confucianism was to pursue even great-
Company and Christianity into China), but not published
er understanding of China itself, and with proper attention,
until 1615, after Nicolá Trigault (1577–1628) had complet-
to disclose the implicit theological unity of East and West.
ed a tendentious Latin translation (De Christiana expeditione
This meant that such scholarly attention was equally animat-
apud Sinas [On the Christian Expedition among the Chi-
ed by the prospects of compatibility and dissimilarity on the
nese]). Here, in an exposition on the tre leggi diverse (three
grounds of reason and faith, entities of great value in a period
different orders) of Chinese religion, readers learned that:
of cultural crisis and religious conflict.
the greatest philosopher among them is Confutio [Con-
The study of Confucianism as we know it begins with
fucius], who was born 551 years before the coming of
the work of a handful of missionaries of the Society of Jesus,
the Lord to the world and for more than seventy years
who between 1582 and 1610 insinuated themselves into
lived a very good life teaching this people through
southern Chinese life at the invitation of regional Chinese
words, works, and writings. . . . Not only the literati
officials. The missionaries sought converts through a process
but the kings themselves venerate him through so many
of thorough enculturation (described by modern scholars as
centuries measuring backwards in time . . . and they
“accommodationism”) by which they sought to prove the
avow that they themselves display a soul grateful for the
doctrine received from him.
theological compatibility of Christianity and native Chinese
faith. Indeed, it can be argued that the apologetic catechisms,
What the early missionaries welcomed in Kongzi’s teaching
letters, and translations generated by these Jesuits represent-
were those things they esteemed in their own sodality: the
ed the origin of Confucianism. The first work demonstrating
importance of undying fraternal affection; the role of rites
an awareness of the figure from whom the term Confucianism
in molding meaningful life; elected service to the wise in
was derived was a Latin draft of the first Jesuit catechism for
achieving social harmony; and study as a mechanism of
prospective Chinese converts, Vera et brevis divinarum rerum
moral self-fashioning. Such appreciation of what would later
expositio (True and brief explanation of the divine things).
be called Confucianism as the religious doppelgänger of
The seventh chapter of this primitive xylographic pam-
Christianity inspired subsequent efforts to illuminate Chi-
phlet—produced between 1579 and 1583 by Michele Rug-
nese religious understanding through translation of scriptur-
gieri (1543–1607) and Matteo Ricci (1552–1610)—was or-
al texts from Chinese into Latin and French. Indeed, from
ganized as a dialogue between a native philosopher and a
the first bilingual (Latin and Chinese) translation of the Sishu
Christian priest and included a single mention of “Confuti-
through the publication of the Reverend David Collie’s The
us.” Over a little more than a decade, missionary awareness
Four Books (1828) and beyond, the bulk of missiological and
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CONFUCIANISM: HISTORY OF STUDY
1919
scholarly work on Confucianism consisted of efforts to trans-
edge. In this intellectual context the Jesuits and their Chinese
late and interpret these texts, often without the aid of Chi-
texts were construed as scientific authorities providing testi-
nese commentary. This was the principal legacy of the Sino-
mony on behalf of the universality of divinely authored cre-
Jesuit mission, something borne out well in the reliance of
ation. The local, self-constituting character of the Jesuit mis-
James Legge (1815–1897) on Catholic missionary transla-
sion in China ensured that the Jesuits’ texts were widely read,
tions in his encyclopedic translation of the Sishu and the
because their authority lay in their having been there “among
Wujing between 1865 and 1895.
the Chinese,” as the message they were believed to convey
about intimations of the divine in China transcended the
Less than a decade following Ricci’s death in 1610,
particular.
however, the interest in indigenous sources of Chinese Chris-
tianity was aggressively contested by a new generation of mis-
Upon its publication in 1687 the Confucius Sinarum
sionaries who, along with their Vatican patrons, believed that
philosophus was met with intellectual excitement from its lay
Confucianism had been willfully misrepresented by the first
audience, despite its conceptual sophistication and awkward
Sino-Jesuit translators and commentators. Consequently, in
Latin equivalents of Chinese terms. The work was immedi-
the early decades of the seventeenth century and continuing
ately abridged and translated into French, appearing the fol-
through the eighteenth, a theological debate raged over the
lowing year in Amsterdam as La Morale de Confucius, Philo-
possibility of regarding Chinese religion as compatible with
sophe de la Chine. An English translation of the French
Christianity, specifically the popular ancestral rites of Chi-
abridgement, The Morals of Confucius, A Chinese Philosopher,
nese families and the established native terms for God: shang-
was published in 1691 in London. Both books were reprint-
di, tian, and tianzhu. Strictly literal interpreters like Niccolò
ed and, like the first editions, were published as leather-
Longobardo (1565–1655), whose De Confucio ejusque doc-
bound parchment pocket books. Each was less than 125
trina tractatus (1623; A treatise on Confucius and his doc-
pages and offered an abbreviated sampling of the Jesuit trans-
trine) denounced the apologetic tendency of Ricci’s followers
lations of the Daxue, Zhongyong, and Lunyu, a shortened bi-
to accommodate Chinese and Christian conceptions of God
ography of Confucius, a preface by the editors, and an intro-
in the term tianzhu. Longobardo’s was the first of a number
ductory essay titled, “On the Antiquity and Philosophy of
of texts devoted to the demolition of interpretative sympathy
the Chinese.” This abbreviation and publication of signifi-
and the reaffirmation of Catholic orthodoxy, but accommo-
cant portions of the Confucius Sinarum philosophus occurred
dationist views continued to exist.
alongside the abridgment and republication of the Philosoph-
The favored texts of Confucianism, specifically the
ical Transactions of the Royal Society, which were translated
Lunyu, Zhongyong, Daxue, Mengzi, and Yijing, continued to
into national vernaculars. So, in the same way that the mul-
draw the interest of theological and linguistic speculation.
tilingual European scientific community was sustained by
Accommodationism underwrote the production of substan-
the rapid circulation of the summary volumes of the Royal
tial works of annotated translation such as Sapientia Sinica
Society, an educated lay community was joined through the
(1662; Wisdom from China), Sinarum scientia politico-
movements of an information network.
moralis (1687; The politico-moral learning of the Chinese),
Confucius could offer more than a political vision of
Confucius Sinarum philosophus (1687; Confucius, philoso-
reasoned stability and civil order; in fact, Confucius and the
pher of the Chinese), and Sinensis imperii libri classici sex
written language of which he was the most learned represen-
(1711; The authoritative six classics of the Chinese).
tative were conceived of by some natural philosophers and
As the first translations of selected texts from the Chi-
scientists in Europe as features of a semiotic system analo-
nese canon appeared in seventeenth-century Europe, Confu-
gous to mathematics, a universal system of real characters.
cius—the cherished Jesuit symbol of archaic monotheism—
As an unmediated reflection of nature or the universe, the
became a favorite figure among the educated. Very technical
cogency of this system was dependent on textual evidence of
translations and interpretive works produced by the mis-
the very sort provided by Philippe Couplet (1623–1693) and
sionaries in China were hastily republished and even popu-
others in the Confucius Sinarum philosophus.
larized. Many of these texts, translated from Latin to native
CONFUCIANISM, COMPARATIVE THEOLOGY AND THE CON-
vernaculars and republished, circulated widely. For example,
FUCIUS SINARUM PHILOSOPHUS. The Confucius Sinarum
the Sinarum scientia politico-moralis was translated into
philosophus, or Scientia Sinensis (Chinese learning), like Isaac
French as “La Science des Chinois” and republished in 1672
Newton’s Principia Mathematica that was published in the
by Melchisedec Thévenot in a popular four-volume work of
same year, sought to establish the one-to-one correspon-
travel literature titled Relations de divers voyages curieux (Ac-
dences between God’s providential order and other signify-
counts of various strange journeys).
ing systems. It represented the accumulation of one hundred
The increasing popularity of travel literature in the late
years of translation and exegesis in its demonstration of
seventeenth century was a consequence of the rise of some-
China’s archaic monotheism and offered the first document-
thing akin to ethnographic authority that was, in turn, part
ed use of the descriptive term Confucian. Earlier missionary
of a larger epistemological shift away from faith and insight
scholarship had similarly focused on history and geography,
to experiment and observation as the basis of reliable knowl-
cartography, or language and grammar, but this work was
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1920
CONFUCIANISM: HISTORY OF STUDY
different: it was a massive annotated translation in service to
1633), that “[Christianity] fulfills what is lacking in our
a more ambitious ecumenical program of comparative theol-
Master Confucius and in the philosophy of the literati; it
ogy. It contained detailed chronological tables of Christian
truly removes and radically extirpates nefarious superstitions
and Chinese history, an incomplete translation of a recension
and the cult of the demons [Daoism, Buddhism, and neo-
of the Sishu, an exhaustive critical introduction including a
Confucianism].” In the instability of Europe after the reli-
disquisition on popular religion, and a biography of Confu-
gious wars of the sixteenth century, a reasoned defense of na-
cius.
tional faith in a single religion or ideology, such as the Jesuits
described for China, was read politically as a justification for
The Jesuit compilers assembled this heterogeneous fund
the peaceful coexistence of national singularity and religious
of plural schools, practices, texts, and interpretations into a
uniformity.
system identified as the legacy of the mythic philosopher-
hero. It was just this metonymic reduction of the many to
This same interpretive mechanism of unequal comple-
the one that was responsible for the political significance of
mentarity—Christianity as the “high religion” supplemented
the Confucius Sinarum philosophus for new states seeking to
by the “lower religions” of ethnic others like the Chinese—
articulate, justify, and enforce absolute claims to nationhood.
would soon be found in a host of works on pagan religion
Confucius was, in fact, China, and so too could Louis XIV
and world chronology written by figures like Isaac Newton
(r. 1661–1715) be France or William III
and David Hume as the quarrel between the Ancients and
(r. 1689–1702) be England. The Jesuits could not have fore-
the Moderns raged among European philosophes. The semio-
seen such an interpretation of their work, but they did be-
tic taxonomies of the imperial genealogy and the Tabula
lieve that China could be reduced to Confucius, offering at
Chronologica (a comparative chronology of Chinese and bib-
least two reasons that would justify this equivalence.
lical time) included as appendices of the Confucius Sinarum
First, they argued that because he was the author of the
philosophus were readily admitted into the rhetoric of authen-
libri classici (the classics), which are the literary summation
tic representation of the physical world that occupied the en-
of China’s ancient culture, Confucius had been immemorial-
ergies of seventeenth-century lay intellectuals. The perplex-
ly honored. While he was described by Ricci and Trigault
ing chasm they faced between the fallen languages of man
as the Chinese equal of “ethnic philosophers” like Plato or
and the work of God provoked a search by way of linguistics,
Aristotle, a living icon of a system of thought, the authors
experimental science, mathematics, and natural philosophy
of the Confucius Sinarum philosophus compared Confucius
to invent new semiotic forms capable of representing God’s
to the Oracle at Delphi, though in higher regard than the
creation while avoiding the sin of hubris.
latter because he enjoyed more authority among the Chinese
And, once Chinese scriptural texts of Confucianism
than that attributed to the Oracle by ancient Greeks. In this
were understood as semiotic forms representative of nature,
way they presumed Confucius’s teachings were a good pro-
then the Jesuits’ translations and interpretive commentaries
paedeutic to Christianity, suggesting the necessary evolution
could serve the same pious function as the strategies of Leib-
of one into the other.
niz and Newton. Moreover, Jesuit translations of the “real
Second, like the early accommodationists, they saw
characters” of Chinese offered evidence of the reasonableness
Confucius’s teaching, ju kiao (rujiao), as a distillation of the
of the contention of European scientists that real characters,
ancient belief in Xan ti (Shangdi), or what the authors now
the calculus, or a universal language could be deduced from
called Religionem Sinensium (The Chinese religion.) Here
the “natures of things” as unmediated expressions of God’s
they exceeded the ground-level ethnographic notations on
intention. In so doing, the Jesuits named the Chinese system
religious practice made by Ricci, demonstrating a compelling
that some Europeans believed was isomorphic with nature
cognate philological link between Xan ti, Deus, Elohim, and
and about which, as Umberto Eco has shown, the Europeans
Jehovah. The authors claimed that these four terms were ety-
increasingly expounded in a search for “the perfect lan-
mologically derived from the same source. It was just such
guage.” These missionaries called this religious system “Con-
curious philology in support of ecumenism that especially
fucian.”
appealed to Leibniz, whose efforts to create a characteristica
In inventing this eponymous term the accommodation-
universalis (universal system of characters) were justified by
ist compilers of the Confucius Sinarum philosophus achieved
the testimony of these translations.
the fateful reduction of China to Confucius. The “Dedicato-
Revealing something of the indistinguishability of the-
ry Letter” addressed to Louis XIV that opens the work asserts
ology and contemporary politics, the authors remind us that
that “by the blood of Chinese rulers, he who is called Confu-
the Chinese monarchy had been in place for more than four
cius . . . is the wisest moral philosopher, politician, and ora-
thousand years, seventeen hundred of which were continu-
tor.” Elsewhere, Couplet and his coauthors chronologically
ously under the Magistratum Confucium (Magistracy of Con-
document the transmission of the genuine ru teachings from
fucius). The essential equation of China and Confucianism
the heralded moral philosopher to themselves when they
and Christianity as the inevitable singular belief system of
write, “the lineage of this one [Confucius] has been propa-
China was reinforced in the European imagination by the
gated with a not-uninterrupted series in this year 1687.” At
testimony of “Siu Paulus,” or Paul Xu (Guangqi, 1562–
the close of the Confucii Vita, the compilers summarize Chi-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CONFUCIANISM: HISTORY OF STUDY
1921
nese dynastic descent from the Han dynasty to the present,
French edition of Diogenes Laertius’s (fl. third century CE)
taking care to note the millennial tribute to Confucius paid
Lives of the Philosophers, which included a ninety-page expo-
by a succession of imperial families. Further, in obvious def-
sition of the life and doctrines of Confucius. Yet, this En-
erence to the self-conception of le Roi Soleil (the Sun King),
lightenment encomium of Confucius did not easily endure
they report that, although Confucius was symbolic of Chi-
as the changing politics of global contact and of the Vatican
nese religion, the rites performed to him were thoroughly
caused the less sympathetic view to supersede accommoda-
secular—“civiles sunt honores ac ritus illi Confuciani” (civil are
tionism. A rising tide of authoritarianism and the active re-
the honors and those Confucian rites)—and here the authors
pression of popular cults and Western religions under the
deliver the inevitable neologism, “Confucian.”
Qing moved in sequence with the insistence of Catholic au-
thorities on the fundamental incompatibility of Christianity
A paragraph below this phrase, a similar formulation ap-
and Chinese religion, culminating in Pope Clement XIV’s
pears. It reads “vero magis confirmat ritus illos Confucianos
merè esse politicos” (he confirms those Confucian rites are
(1705–1774) ruling Dominus ac Redemptor (Master and Re-
truly political), which again affirms the secular character of
deemer) of 1773 that dissolved the Society of Jesus.
the rites in honor of Confucius. These were assurances that
When Protestant missionaries made inroads into
the worship of Confucius was not idolatrous and therefore
China’s hinterland in the early decades of the nineteenth
worthy of comparison with the cultlike adulation rendered
century, arguments for a global theologico-cultural compati-
to Louis XIV by his people. Consequently, the invocation
bility were silenced by the gunships of China’s colonial trad-
of Louis XIV, “MAGNI LUDOVICI [LOUIS THE
ing partners; Confucianism, with its deference to patriarchal
GREAT],” in the summary paragraph of Confucii vita, was
authority, was identified as a fundamental cultural weakness.
intended as a way for Couplet and colleagues to pay homage
By the first years of the twentieth century, China was no lon-
to their monarch and benefactor by deliberately drawing a
ger the site of exotic imaginings, wanderlust, and curiosity
comparison between the undying symbol of the Chinese
it had been for Jesuit missionaries and European accommo-
people and the living icon of the French and their enlight-
dationists. It was “opened” by the Western nations that had
ened culture. In this way the Chinese dependency complex
established a commanding economic, political, and religious
of ru and imperial government was reproduced by Jesuit mis-
presence along China’s coast. The meaning of Confucianism
sionaries. Confucianism was the key to China and it was the
and the nature of its study changed. Confucianism became
language of God among the Chinese. For this reason, above
a symbol of local obstruction of a vast cultural space made
all, whether one wished to extol or repudiate Chinese civili-
continuous through the operation of the market. The Jesuit
zation, Confucianism and Confucius influenced Europe’s in-
melding of native Chinese practice and Christianity, which
tellectual agenda.
undergirded the seventeenth-century search for the perfect
CONFUCIANISM: THE WILLFUL DIVERGENCE OF CHINA AND
language and drew China and the West closer, was replaced
THE WEST. In seventeenth- and eighteenth-century works,
by nineteenth-century ideas of greater currency and scientific
Confucianism and China were either lionized as exemplify-
weight—nationalism, imperialism, and evolution—making
ing the light of reason, as in Novissima Sinica, Nouveaux
the imaginative space between China and the West as great
mémoires sur l’état présent de la Chine (1696), Portrait hi-
as their geographic distance.
storique de l’empereur de la Chine (1698), China Illustrata,
The history and politics here are quite complex, but
and Recherches philosophiques sur les Egyptiens et les Chinois
they tell us little about Confucianism, that is until Max
(1773), or denounced for superstitions as in Lettres Persanes
Weber (1864–1920) turned his attention to the sociology of
(1721) and De L’Esprit des lois (1748), or extolled for enlight-
Chinese religion. The publication in 1915 and 1920 of his
ened despotism in “Despotisme de la Chine.” Nevertheless,
two-volume Konfuzianismus und Taoismus—more common-
Confucianism remained a touchstone from which Chinese
ly known by the problematic title of its English translation,
civilization was judged to be enlightened or retrogressive. By
The Religion of China (1951)—drew benefit from the equa-
the time Leibniz penned his “Remarks on Chinese Rites and
tion of China and Confucianism and from the interpretive
Religion” (1707) in which he defended the secular, perfor-
predilection to hold Confucianism accountable for China’s
mative quality of Chinese rituals, the century-long war that
cultural stagnation. The Religion of China marks a turning
had broken out within the church itself over the heretical
point in the study of Confucianism. It returned China to
qualities of Chinese rites and terms (the Rites and Terms
meaningful engagement with the West as it cast the specific
Controversy) was resolved with the Nanjing Decree against
history of Confucianism’s mediation of capitalism against
Chinese practice by papal legate Charles-Thomas Maillard
the backdrop of world secularization. Weber’s comparative
de Tournon (1668–1710), coinciding with a decline in Eu-
sociology was motivated by an historical interest in deter-
ropean interest in Confucianism as antidote to the poisons
mining the specific conditions for the rise of rational capital-
of religious war and inchoate linguistic nationalism.
ism in Europe. His study of China was premised on a nega-
The two views of Confucianism persisted through the
tive question—why rationalization did not give rise to
eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, with the sympathetic
capitalism—the answer to which cast light on both Europe’s
one grandly proclaimed in 1758 with the publication of a
Protestant and China’s Confucian spiritualities.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1922
CONFUCIANISM: HISTORY OF STUDY
Weber’s conclusion that the development of rational en-
tianity in the West. This striking reformulation, based on a
trepreneurial capitalism in China was undermined by Con-
creative reading of the Book of Changes, selective interpreta-
fucianism’s distinctive ethos of rational, world accommoda-
tion of key Warring States’ texts, and a critical exegesis of the
tion, in contrast with Protestantism, whose impulses toward
Bible, was provocative among a circle of Chinese scholars
transcendence displayed a productive, world-renouncing
writing from the late 1930s to the 1950s. However, this in-
tension, has been contested for a century. And yet by calling
spired reconception of ru would not secure wider scholarly
attention to Confucianism as a mediating spirituality by
favor until the 1980s, when Western scholars of Confucian-
means of which the Chinese, especially the literati (ru schol-
ism appropriated the vestiges of Hu’s argument and rede-
ar-officials), processed the dramatic changes in consciousness
fined ru as a religion definitive of Chinese and East Asian
and material life brought by modernization, he provided the
modernity.
analytical tools used in all subsequent study of Confucian-
ism, especially the scholarly work on neo-Confucianism of
Since the 1950s the study of Confucianism has pros-
the 1950s through the 1970s and even the contemporary in-
pered in the United States in particular. Works in the early
tellectual movements of xinrujia, or New Confucianism.
1950s on intellectual history focused on Chinese thought,
though sometimes without sufficient context, but always to
TWENTIETH-CENTURY REPUDIATION AND RECOVERY. Even
the greater credit of Confucianism. In 1953 alone, several
though the twentieth century may be considered the most
significant publications appeared. Studies in Chinese Thought,
productive period of scholarly work on Confucianism, its
edited by Arthur Wright (1913–1976) under the auspices of
scholarship has displayed a certain defensiveness due in part
Robert Redfield (1897–1958) aimed to bring about “inter-
to the collapse of the Chinese dynastic state and its reaction-
cultural communication” through a thoroughly historical ac-
ary ru-infected ideology, Kongjiao. Nativist, nationalist radi-
count of the dispositions of the Chinese mind in a broadly
cals and student revolutionaries between 1880 and 1919 saw
comparative context. A complete translation by Derk Bodde
in ru the entire sordid history of their civilization’s cultural
(1909–2003) of Feng Youlan’s (1895–1990) magisterial his-
effeteness and political sterility. For these pro-Western,
tory of Chinese philosophy, Zhongguo zhexue shi (1934; A
“New Culture” intellectuals, insofar as ru and Kongzi were
History of Chinese Philosophy), provided Western readers an
symbolically wedded to the ritual theater of Chinese autocra-
organized interpretation of certain key figures and texts in
cy, they could not be recuperated. China’s humiliating posi-
Chinese thought. Also in 1953, Études sociologiques sur la
tion vis-à-vis the world was attributed by these figures to the
Chine (Sociological studies of China), by Marcel Granet
inherent weakness of Kongjiao, which they saw as lying at
(1884–1940), was similarly comparative yet more analytical.
the center of the Chinese imperium, a bulwark against the
advance of modernity. Nothing symbolized this national
These several volumes succeeded in establishing the fun-
helplessness more than the ceding of Chinese territories to
daments of the Chinese worldview within a larger history of
Germany and Japan in the Treaty of Versailles ending the
ideas, avoiding the narrow equivalence of Confucianism and
Paris Peace Conference.
Chineseness, thereby advancing scholarship beyond the ear-
nest exploration of religio-cultural common ground by Jesuit
On May 4, 1919 the May Fourth Movement was
missionaries and proto-sinologists. Later conference vol-
launched with the cries of more than 3000 of Beijing Univer-
umes, beginning with John K. Fairbank’s (1907–1991) Chi-
sity’s students and professors who took to the streets to pro-
nese Thought and Institutions of 1957, were to unfold the
test this imperialist compromise of Chinese national sover-
elaborate, diverse and interlocking connections of time,
eignty. Seized by a populist urge to forge a new culture
space, and community in China. Instead, works such as Con-
governed by science and democracy, they inveighed against
fucianism in Action (1959), The Confucian Persuasion (1960),
the regressive traditionalism of Confucianism, calling on the
and Confucian Personalities (1962) displayed a striking pre-
nation to “smash the shop of the Kong clan” (pohuai Kongjia
ponderance of the unitary cultural ideal metonymically en-
dian). Still, in the first years after World War II, cultural de-
capsulated in Confucianism and its nominal derivative, Con-
fenses of Confucianism and ru were advanced by Chinese
fucian. A chrestomathy of the essays from these
and by Western scholars of Chinese intellectual history. The
Confucianism collections was produced under Arthur
effort to restore dignity and respect to a once-vital intellectu-
Wright in 1964, bearing the title Confucianism and Chinese
al tradition was aimed at reversing the rueful, dismissive tra-
Civilization, thus revealing the limits of scholarly imagina-
jectory of May Fourth and to counter the conclusions of Max
tion to compass a grand territory of Chinese experiences. The
Weber on Chinese religion.
reduction of Chinese diversity to ideological unity represent-
ed by these anthologies provoked a countermovement to ex-
For the radicals, ru symbolized a culture so corrupt it
plore the full range of China’s unrepresented popular cul-
required eradication. Against these impulses of rejection,
tures that would not come of age until the new social history
scholars like Hu Shi (or Shih; 1891–1962) contended that
of the early 1980s.
the demonization of ru, not ru itself, was a pathology. In
“Shuoru” (An explication of Ru), an essay notable for its
CONFUCIANISM RESTORED: INDIGENOUS VALUES AND RE-
courage and insight, Hu advanced a theory that ru was a reli-
LIGION. William Theodore de Bary (1919–) and Wing-tsit
gious force, a fount of world civilization on a par with Chris-
Chan (1901–1994) together inveighed prolifically against
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CONFUCIANISM: HISTORY OF STUDY
1923
the notion that Confucianism accounted for China’s weak-
talist reading of a “New Confucianism” (xinruxue) has been
ness. They reasserted Confucianism, or more specifically,
embraced by social scientists as definitive of late-twentieth-
neo-Confucianism, as definitive of Chinese modernity, a re-
century Asian modernity and is fully in evidence in recent
source of humanitarianism and liberalism denied by the
essay collections such as Joseph B. Tamney and Linda
iconoclastic excesses of early twentieth-century radicalism.
Hsueh-Ling Chiang’s Modernization, Globalization, and
Their work was challenged by the common twentieth-
Confucianism in Chinese Societies (2002) and Daniel A. Bell
century revolutionary conclusion that the great tradition of
and Hahm Chaibong’s Confucianism for the Modern World
China’s ancient civilization was irrelevant and that Confu-
(2003). Such works regard China’s impressive economic
cianism had failed—a failure doubly reinforced by the icono-
transformation as caused by its system of values, that is,
clastic ideology and politics of the nation’s two national par-
“Confucianism,” thus using Weber’s own conception of me-
ties, the Communists and the Nationalists. Also, the
diating spirituality to turn on its head his argument about
rediscovery of a materialist, scientific Marx and the intellec-
the lack of capitalism in China.
tually creative rage of protesting students in the 1960s and
1970s in Europe and the United States problematized the
Consequently, the term Confucianism, meaning here
notion of a broad civic culture of Confucian shidafu (scholar-
traditional values of social hierarchy and familial tranquility,
officials) that, through the universality of civilization, over-
exerts considerable influence over academic commentary on
came the particularity of class.
the political and economic reforms that have brought China
unforeseen prosperity, as seen in recent works by André
Furthermore, the trend of postwar area studies scholar-
Gunder-Frank, Samuel Huntington, and David Landes.
ship encouraged by the U.S. government was toward social
This common reading has achieved conceptual assent in the
science and contemporary politics, with a focus on the causes
West and elaboration in China, Singapore, Taiwan, and
and consequences of the Chinese revolution. Chan and de
Hong Kong as an ideology of sensible capitalist development
Bary’s work bucked all these trends in claiming that the cul-
under the watchful eye of Kongzi/Confucius and managed
tural context of twentieth-century China was generated in
by authoritarian governments. An editorial in Renmin ribao
the Song era with the advent of Zhu Xi’s daoxue, otherwise
(People’s Daily) in 1996 declaimed the harmony of Confu-
known as “neo-Confucianism.” The study of Confucianism
cianism and China’s market Leninism, asserting that “Con-
via neo-Confucianism accelerated in the 1970s and 1980s,
fucianism’s rule of virtues and code of ethics and authority”
with additional conference volumes as the principal vehicle
were “the soul of the modern enterprise culture and the key
for its development. Politics and cultural struggles drove
to gaining market share and attracting customers.” Such is
U.S. scholars to advance a defense of Confucianism and the
the complex and sometimes contradictory rhetorical context
Chinese civilization through a reappraisal of neo-
of today’s New Confucianism.
Confucianism and the compensatory redescription of Chi-
N
nese philosophy through common western philosophical
ATIVISM AND NEW CONFUCIANISM. The term xinrujia (or
xinruxue), loosely translated as “New Confucianism,” refers
terms.
to an intellectual and cultural phenomenon of the last dec-
Picking up on Hu Shi’s early-twentieth-century view,
ades of the twentieth century, coinciding with the Chinese
while developing Chan and de Bary’s interests in neo-
economic reforms begun in the early 1980s. Cited by foreign
Confucianism, Tu Weiming (1940–) has become one of the
pundits and Communist Party officials as a significant deter-
principal representatives for the creative reinvention of Con-
mining factor in China’s rapid and largely successful eco-
fucianism as religion. Tu and other Confucian-values advo-
nomic transformation, this postmodern Confucianism has
cates place themselves self-consciously in what he has termed
growing numbers of followers and advocates, principally in
a “Third Wave” of rejuvenation of the ru tradition. This con-
academic institutions in Beijing, Hong Kong, Taipei, and
temporary incarnation of the tradition must be recognized,
the United States. The increasingly self-proclaimed existence
he insists, as a new ethical world religion on par with Islam,
of these dangdai xinrujia (contemporary New Confucians)
Judaism, and Christianity and capable of generating a similar
is evidence of a revolution in cultural politics and emergent
fundamentalism: “Confucianism so conceived is a way of life
global intellectual affinities generated by the search of a de-
which demands an existential commitment on the part of
racinated intelligentsia for moral justification and the acci-
Confucians no less intensive and comprehensive than that
dental advent of the Chinese economic miracle. By turns
demanded of the followers of other spiritual traditions such
considered a matter of cultural identity, religion, philosophy,
as Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, or Hinduism.”
and social ethos, “New Confucianism”—in its vast range of
contemporary cultural reference— is, not unlike its predeces-
In this particular context Tu’s argument for equal theo-
sor, “Confucianism,” everything and yet no-thing.
logical status with world religions resembles the formalistic
equating of Chinese and Western philosophy found in
Arguably, any Confucianism put forward with good
Wing-tsit Chan’s Sourcebook of Chinese Philosophy, where
faith at any time after China’s twentieth-century revolution
one learns that “in order to understand the mind of China,
must be “new”; there have certainly been currents of ru advo-
it is absolutely necessary to understand Chinese thought, es-
cacy running in the broader tumultuous stream of Chinese
pecially Neo-Confucianism.” The Tu Wei-ming fundamen-
culture in the twentieth century and indeed in previous cen-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1924
CONFUCIANISM: HISTORY OF STUDY
turies. Nevertheless, New Confucianism in China at the turn
then, represent but one of a growing number of xinruxue
of the twenty-first century is a distinct product of China’s
manifestations in the post–Cultural Revolution era, in which
economic reforms, particularly the capitalist triumphalism of
the urge for a secure native identity by Chinese both at home
the Deng Xiaoping era (1979–1997). It unites the diverse
and abroad is paramount.
contemporary constituencies of the meta-national entity that
The faith of this form of New Confucianism is likely
is wenhua Zhongguo (cultural China), while explaining in a
to remain prominent in explaining the eminence of Asia in
mild chauvinist temper the rapid economic expansion of
the twenty-first century, given the widespread acceptance of
China and the four “mini-dragons” of Hong Kong, Singa-
the facticity of Confucianism and of its principal explanatory
pore, South Korea, and Taiwan.
role in the sophisticated accumulation of Asian capital and
In the creative convulsion of the 1980s, Ruxue or “Con-
Chinese modernization. However, China’s capitalist Confu-
fucianism” returned to respectability as China opened (kai-
cian achievement, that some characterize as “harmony above
fang) to the outside world while looking inward in search of
all,” or of the “pervasiveness of the Confucian mentality in
cultural resources that might offer moral solace and regener-
contemporary East Asia,” occludes a broader vision of the na-
ate indigenous models for community in the wake of a
tion’s definitive religious pluralism. In this way the scholars
broader spiritual crisis (jingshen weiji). Ru revivalism first
of New Confucianism, whether in Boston, Hong Kong, Bei-
took its place as a discrete movement to reassess cultural
jing, or Taipei, commit the grievous error of Han-era ortho-
identity, quickly thereafter metamorphosing into a state-
doxy—namely, aligning themselves and their readers with
supported research institute in Beijing, the China Confucius
the official country, as Kristofer Schipper has pointed out,
Research Institute (Zhonghua Kongzi yanjiusuo). And, of
against “the real country, the local structures being expressed
the manifold cultural exuberances of this anxious era, New
in regional and unofficial forms of religion.”
Confucianism, perhaps because of its alignment with the
This, of course, was the legacy of Matteo Ricci’s eleva-
party-state, was one of the few that survived the massacre at
tion of la legge d’letterati above the sects of Buddhism and
Tiananmen in 1989 and the subsequent campaign against
Daoism, as it was the logical interpretive consequence of
bourgeois liberalism. It endured and became a discourse with
Max Weber’s valorization of the Confucian life orientation
multiple constituencies as scholars in China who had long
over that of Daoism. So it is that all turn-of-the-twenty-first-
worked on the subject in isolation or self-censorship learned
century talk about a “spiritual Confucianism” or of “Confu-
of a larger academic dialogue in East Asia and the United
cian humanism” and any of the other manifestations of es-
States over the restitution of Confucian studies.
sentialist cultural self-definition in fact continues the four-
century-old tale of intercultural (transnational) communica-
This late-twentieth-century frenzy of reinvention fol-
tion. The invention of Confucianism is one of the significant
lowed a longer interval of multiple forms of conceptual in-
moments in the cultural politics of modernity. Our instinc-
vention by Chinese scholars. The very term New Confucian-
tive familiarity with the figure of Confucius and the ethics
ism may be traced to He Lin (1902–1992), the Chinese
and social order for which it stands is testament to the con-
idealist who, writing in the early 1940s about xinrujia, saw
joined cultural consciousness of the modern era. Confucian-
in the unfolding of a “new” Confucianism (that is, the xin
ism’s invention and reinvention at the hands of its many
xinxue [new learning of the mind] of Wang Yangming,
makers, West and East, has occurred in circumstances of cri-
1472–1529), a cultural path for China’s reconciliation of
sis or tumultuous change—late-sixteenth-century Europe,
subjective and objective spirit in a manner parallel to that
seventeenth-century Europe, late-nineteenth-century China,
sketched out by Hegel’s phenomenology for Europe. His vi-
mid-twentieth-century United States, and late-twentieth-
sion was blocked by decades of oscillating violence against
century China. Its development as a field of study thus bears
“revisionism,” bourgeois sentiment, and tradition, most
the marks of these times and conveys past and present inter-
spectacularly the prolonged national campaign of the 1970s
pretation forward, with the religious lives of authentic China
to criticize Lin Biao (1908–1971) and Kongzi (piLin
just beyond our representative reach.
piKong), wherein everything that was wrong with China was
placed at the feet of Confucianism.
SEE ALSO Chinese Religion, article on History of Study;
Daoism, article on History of Study.
Owing to the simultaneous emergence of the revival of
Confucianism (fuxing ruxue) and of Asian regional hyper-
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Late-Modern World. Albany, N.Y., 2000.
Wright, Arthur F., ed. The Confucian Persuasion. Stanford, Calif.,
Nivison, David S., and Arthur F. Wright, eds. Confucianism in Ac-
1960.
tion. Stanford, Calif., 1959.
Wright, Arthur F., ed. Studies in Chinese Thought. Chicago, 1953.
Pauw, Cornelius de. Recherches philosophiques sur les Egyptiens et
Wright, Arthur F., and Denis Twitchett, eds. Confucian Personali-
les Chinois. Berlin, 1773.
ties. Stanford, Calif., 1962.
Quesnay, François. “Despotisme de la Chine.” Paris, 1767.
Wright, Arthur F., ed. Confucianism and Chinese Civilization.
Ricci, Matteo. Fonti Ricciane (Storia dell’Introduzione del Christ-
New York, 1964.
ianesimo in Cina). 3 vols. Edited by Pasquale M. d’Elia, S.J.
Xinzhong, Yao. An Introduction to Confucianism. Cambridge,
Rome, 1942–1949.
U.K., 2000.
Saussy, Haun. Great Walls of Discourse and Other Adventures in
Xinzhong, Yao, ed. Encyclopedia of Confucianism. 2 vols. New
Cultural China. Cambridge, Mass., 2002.
York, 2003.
Schipper, Kristofer. The Taoist Body. Translated by Karen C.
Xu, Yuanhe. Ruxue yu dongfang wenhua [Confucianism and East-
Duval. Berkeley, Calif., 1993.
ern Culture]. Beijing, 1994.
Shryock, John K. The Origin and Development of the State Cult of
Yu, Yingshi. “Zhongguo jinshi zongjiao lunli yu shangren jings-
Confucius. New York, 1932.
hen” [Modern China’s Religion and Ethics and the Spirit of
Sima Qian. Shiji. 10 vols. Reprint, Beijing, 1975.
Merchants]. Zhishi fenzi [Intellectuals] 2, no. 2 (1986):
Smith, Wilfred Cantwell. The Meaning and End of Religion. New
3–45.
York, 1978.
Yu, Yingshi. Xiandai Ruxue lun [On Contemporary Confucian
Tamney, Joseph B., and Linda Hsueh-Ling Chiang, eds. Modern-
Studies]. Shanghai, 1998.
ization, Globalization, and Confucianism in Chinese Societies.
Zhongguo Ruxue baike quanshu [Encyclopedia of Confucianism in
Westport, Conn., 2002.
China]. Beijing, 1997.
Taylor, Rodney L. The Religious Dimension of Confucianism. Alba-
LIONEL M. JENSEN (2005)
ny, N.Y., 1990.
Taylor, Rodney L., and Gary Arbuckle. “Confucianism.” Journal
of Asian Studies 54, no. 2 (May 1995): 347–354.
CONFUCIANISM IN JAPAN. The earliest Japa-
Thévenot, Melchisédec. Relations de divers voyages curieux [Ac-
counts of Varied Strange Journeys]. 4 vols. Paris, 1696.
nese chronicles tell us that Confucianism was introduced to
Japan near the end of the third century CE, when Wani of
Trigault, Nicolá, and Matteo Ricci. De Christiana expeditione
Paekche (Korea) sent the Confucian Analects (Chin., Lun-yü;
apud Sinas ab Societate Iesu Suscepta, es Matthaei Ricci com-
mentarus libri [On the Expedition of Christianity among the
Jpn., Rongo) to the court of Emperor O
¯ jin. Although the ac-
Chinese undertaken by the Society of Jesus, a book by Mat-
tual date of this event may have been a century or more later,
teo Ricci]. Augsburg, 1615.
it is also likely that continental emigrants familiar with Con-
Tu, Wei-ming. Humanity and Self-Cultivation: Essays in Confucian
fucian teachings arrived in Japan prior to the formal intro-
Thought. Berkeley, Calif., 1979.
duction of Confucianism.
Tu, Wei-ming. “The Search for Roots in Industrial East Asia: The
JAPANESE CONFUCIANISM TO 1600. The Confucianism to
Case of the Confucian Revival.” In Fundamentalisms Ob-
which the Japanese were first exposed represented more than
served, edited by Martin E. Marty and R. Scott Appleby,
the humble ethical dicta of Confucius himself. By this time,
pp. 740–781. Chicago, 1991.
those doctrines had been overlaid and to some extent ob-
Tu, Wei-ming, ed. The Triadic Concord: Confucian Ethics, Indus-
scured by the doctrines of Daoism and Yin-yang dualist spec-
trial Asia, and Max Weber. Singapore, 1991.
ulation, which combined to form a sophisticated cosmology.
Tu, Wei-ming. Way, Learning, and Politics: Essays on the Confu-
Prior to the seventh century it is likely that these Confucian
cian Intellectual. Albany, N.Y., 1993.
teachings remained a virtual monopoly of scribes and literati
Tu, Wei-ming, ed. The Living Tree: The Changing Meaning of
attached to the Yamato court where they probably assisted
Being Chinese Today. Stanford, Calif., 1994.
with quasi-diplomatic correspondence and record keeping.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CONFUCIANISM IN JAPAN
1927
Both supporting and being supported by the political
Korea in the 1590s was the consequent introduction of new
forces of centralization in the nascent Japanese state, Confu-
texts from the Confucian tradition into Japan. Fujiwara
cian teachings first achieved prominence in Japan during the
Seika (1561–1619) was made aware of this new tradition
time of Sho¯toku Taishi (573–621), who served as regent to
during his study in a Zen monastery. He had his first inter-
his aunt, the empress Suiko (592–628). In 604, Sho¯toku Ta-
view with Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542–1616), the future empire
ishi issued the Seventeen-Article Constitution, which was in-
builder, in 1593, a decade before Ieyasu would be granted
tended to centralize further the administration of Japan by
the title of sho¯gun. Regarding Neo-Confucianism as a possi-
emphasizing administrative efficiency and harmony among
ble basis for stable international relations, Ieyasu invited the
contending factions. The constitution reflected the Confu-
philosophically eclectic Fujiwara Seika to join his govern-
cian cosmology that regarded the universe as a triad com-
ment, but Seika declined and recommended in his stead a
posed of heaven, earth, and man, with each element having
young student of his, Hayashi Razan (1583–1657).
specific and mutual responsibilities. Again under Confucian
Like his teacher, Hayashi Razan had studied Zen but
influence, the cause of centralization and unification was fur-
was soon drawn to the orthodox teachings of Zhu Xi. With
thered by the Taika Reforms of 646, which asserted the Con-
his appointment to Ieyasu’s government, a degree of official
fucian imperial principle of unified rule, and by the intro-
attention was conferred on these teachings, and his descen-
duction of a complex legal and administrative system
dants would serve as official Confucian advisers to the Toku-
patterned after the codes of the Chinese Tang dynasty during
gawa government throughout the period. Known for the
the eighth century.
quality of their scholarship and their initial fidelity to the
The influence of Confucian principles in government
teachings of Zhu Xi, Hayashi Razan’s descendants succeeded
administration declined during the ninth and tenth centuries
in securing further official recognition for their doctrines.
along with the political power of the imperial court. Confu-
Tokugawa Yoshinao (1600–1650) erected the Seido¯ (Sages’
cian advice on how to regulate the state and the affairs of
Hall) near the Hayashi residence in Edo (Tokyo), and the
man was secondary to the more superstitious uses to which
fifth Tokugawa sho¯gun, Tsunayoshi (r. 1690–1709) en-
the Confucian cosmology could be applied. The Korean
dowed the Hayashi school, the Sho¯heiko¯ (School of Prosper-
monk Kwalluk (Jpn., Kanroku) had brought books on geo-
ous Peace) alongside the Seido¯. Nonetheless, after Hayashi
mancy and divination as early as the year 602, and “Confu-
Razan the most important Tokugawa Confucians all came
cian” advice on where to build a home or when one might
from outside the Hayashi family.
auspiciously marry was more familiar at the popular level
The final important champion of fidelity to the teach-
than were other Confucian principles. Perhaps disillusioned
ings of Zhu Xi in Japan was Yamazaki Ansai (1618–1682).
by this trend, Japanese Confucians of the eleventh and
His school, the Kimon, had as its goal the popularization of
twelfth centuries engaged more in textual analysis and criti-
the ethics of Zhu Xi. Like other Neo-Confucians, this school
cism than in original thought or interpretation.
generally took a dim view of human emotions and feelings,
The Neo-Confucian doctrines of Zhu Xi (Jpn., Shuki,
regarding them as potentially disruptive to the delicate bal-
more commonly, Shushi; 1130–1200) were introduced to
ance that must lie at the heart of both man and the cosmos.
Japan, if the sources are to be believed, soon after Zhu Xi’s
Another center for seventeenth-century Confucianism
death. Institutionally, the doctrines were taught in Zen
was the domain of Mito, where the daimyo, Tokugawa Mit-
monasteries where such Neo-Confucian practices as “main-
sukuni (1628–1701), began a major historiographical enter-
taining reverence and sitting quietly” (jikei seiza) were re-
prise seeking to reinterpret the Japanese polity in terms of
garded as intellectually stimulating variations of what Zen
Confucian imperial principles. He was assisted in this ven-
practitioners already knew as “sitting in meditation” (zazen).
ture, titled the Dainihonshi (History of Great Japan), by the
Though Neo-Confucian doctrines were from time to time
Chinese Ming loyalist and refugee Zhu Shun-shui (Jpn.,
favorably received at the imperial and shogunal courts, par-
Shushunsui; 1600–1682).
ticularly during the reigns of the emperors Hanazono (r.
1308–1318) and Go-Daigo (r. 1318–1339), and despite the
During the second half of the seventeenth century, Neo-
attempts of the Ashikaga Academy to propagate Neo-
Confucian assumptions and vocabulary penetrated the new
Confucian teachings, Neo-Confucianism would remain
popular culture of Japan, but what has been called the “emo-
largely in the shadow of its Zen patrons through the six-
tionalism” of the Japanese at this time made the puritanical
teenth century. Nonetheless, since Neo-Confucianism origi-
Neo-Confucian stance on emotions and feelings incompati-
nally arose in China as a secular and rational alternative to
ble with the mainstream of Japanese culture. These teachings
the teachings of Buddhism, it may have been inevitable that
had dominated long enough, however, to leave a lasting lega-
a rupture would eventually occur between the two, and it was
cy of humanism and rationalism that enriched later Toku-
out of that rupture that Neo-Confucianism achieved inde-
gawa thought.
pendent status in Japan.
In China, the most compelling Confucian alternative to
TOKUGAWA CONFUCIANISM (1600–1868). Perhaps the
the orthodox teachings of Zhu Xi were the teachings of the
only positive result of the abortive Japanese invasions of
fifteenth-century figure Wang Yang-ming (Jap., O
¯ yo¯mei).
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1928
CONFUCIANISM IN JAPAN
His teachings, known in Japan as Yo¯meigaku, were first
With the decline of the school of Ogyu¯ Sorai during the
propagated by Nakae To¯ju (1608–1648), who emphasized
mid-eighteenth century, Confucianism as a whole began to
the Wang school’s teachings on intuition and action. Ku-
decline. After Hayashi Razan, the most influential Confucian
mazawa Banzan (1619–1691), a pupil of To¯ju, interpreted
adviser to the government was Arai Hakuseki (1657–1725),
these activist teachings in terms of their relevance to the sam-
who served as mentor to the sixth sho¯gun, Ienobu, and as
urai class. These teachings would have their greatest impact
adviser to the seventh, Ietsugu, during the years 1709–1715.
in Japan during the nineteenth century when such leaders as
He was instrumental in revising the Laws Governing Mili-
Sakuma Sho¯zan (1811–1864) and his disciple Yoshida Sho¯in
tary Households and was known as an able administrator
(1830–1859) became ideological leaders of the Meiji restora-
who sought to tighten fiscal policy and management. Known
tion. Both tried to stow away on one of Commodore Perry’s
for the high degree of rationalism in his thought, he was also
vessels in 1854 but were caught and imprisoned. Sakuma’s
a gifted historian.
advocacy of “Eastern ethics and Western science” inspired
Aware of and concerned over the decline of fidelity to
generations of later reformers. Yoshida went so far as to plan
the Neo-Confucian teachings in the official bakufu (military
to assassinate a shogunal emissary to the imperial court who
government) college of the Hayashi family, Matsudaira Sa-
was seeking the emperor’s approval of a treaty with the Unit-
danobu (1758–1829), head of the Council of Elders (ro¯ju¯),
ed States. His plot was exposed, and he was beheaded
promulgated in 1790 the Prohibition of Heterodox Studies
in 1859, but he continued to serve as a model for loyalist
(Kansei igaku no kin). This attempt at ideological reform en-
activism.
joyed some measure of success in the bakufu college, the edict
In Japan, however, the most intellectually compelling
had limited effect on the more important regional schools
alternative to Neo-Confucian teachings was presented by a
scattered throughout Japan.
succession of schools known collectively as Ancient Learning
CONFUCIANISM IN MODERN JAPAN. During the mid-
(Kogaku). Yamaga Soko¯ (1622–1685), the first proponent
nineteenth century, the historical, emperor-centered nation-
of Ancient Learning, argued that if the goal of Confucian ex-
alism of the Mito school came to find points of agreement
egesis was to find the true message of the sages, then that end
with the xenophobic, Shinto¯-influenced patriotism of the
might better be served by reading the works of Confucius
nativist (Kokugaku) schools. Spurred into action by the phi-
and Mencius (Meng-tzu) directly rather than by reading the
losophy of Yo¯meigaku, Confucian activists took the lead in
commentary on those works by Zhu Xi or others. Yamaga
restructuring the Japanese polity in the Meiji restoration of
was drawn to the relevance of Confucian teachings in a mili-
1868, in which direct rule was returned to the imperial court.
tary age, and he is regarded as the modern founder of the
Nonetheless, Confucianism as an independent doctrine de-
teachings of Bushido¯, the Way of the Warrior. His publica-
clined during the decades immediately following the restora-
tion in 1665 of a frontal attack on the orthodox teachings
tion, in part because Confucian teachings had been identi-
of Zhu Xi resulted in his banishment from Edo during the
fied so strongly with the previous Tokugawa government.
years 1666–1675. He insisted that Japan, and not China,
Further, most prominent Tokugawa Confucians died during
was the true “central kingdom” and repository of Asian
the first twenty-five years of the Meiji period, and only a
culture.
scant handful had satisfactory successors to carry on the
teachings. Still, the Confucian ideals of loyalty, duty, filial
Ito¯ Jinsai (1627–1705) and his son Ito¯ Togai (1670–
piety, and harmony persisted well into this period.
1736) further developed the fundamentalist assumptions of
Ancient Learning. In their school, the Kogido¯ (School of An-
Motoda Eifu (1818–1891), Confucian tutor and advis-
cient Meanings), located in Kyoto, Confucius was revered as
er to the Meiji emperor, was the last important Japanese
the supreme sage of the universe, and the school openly
Confucian. He regarded Confucianism as a remedy for ex-
showed disdain for the metaphysical explanations of the
cessive infatuation with Western methods and served as
Sung and Ming Confucians in China.
Confucian lecturer in the Imperial Household Ministry from
1871 to 1891. Concerned over the lack of ethical teachings
The most important Ancient Learning figure, however,
in the new public school curriculum, he was responsible for
was Ogyu¯ Sorai (1666–1728), whose methodology was
issuing in 1890 the Imperial Rescript on Education that in-
known as Kobunjigaku (School of ancient words and
troduced Confucian teachings on loyalty and filial piety into
phrases). An ardent Sinophile, Sorai regarded ancient Chi-
the standard curriculum.
nese writings as the repository of intellectual resources for es-
tablishing the organization of social institutions, the perfor-
Confucianism played a relatively passive role through
mance of ancient rituals, and principles of governmental
the end of World War I. By this time the originally Confu-
administration. He revolutionized Confucian teachings in
cian notions of loyalty and filial piety had come to be regard-
East Asia by insisting that the principles of the Confucian
ed as native Japanese virtues, and in 1937 these virtues were
way were not a priori principles but were, rather, the prod-
propounded in a work entitled Kokutai no hongi (Essentials
ucts of the sages’ own inventive wisdom. Sorai thus insisted
of the national polity) as the cardinal principles of Japanese
that aspiration to sagehood was at the least irrelevant to, and
national morality. Confucianism served Japanese imperialist
at worst destructive of, the polity.
aims in Korea after its annexation in 1910, in Manchuria
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CONFUCIANISM IN KOREA
1929
after 1932, and in the Japanese-controlled portions of North
fucian precepts found their way into aristocratic codes of be-
China after 1937. Japanese militarist rulers in these territo-
havior, even becoming incorporated into the rules of con-
ries regarded Confucian teachings as one way to emphasize
duct for the hwarang, a knightly class instrumental in the
a common cultural heritage in East Asia. They felt that the
Silla unification of the Korean Peninsula in 668.
survival of such teachings in Japan indicated not only that
Confucian civilization was superior to Western civilization
Under the Unified Silla (668–935), Confucianism
but that Japanese civilization was the primary form of civili-
found a more fertile environment. Government examina-
zation in East Asia.
tions were instituted at the Royal Academy in 788 and close
relations with Tang China led late in the dynasty to the rise
After World War II, Confucian teachings were removed
of a group of scholars who were steeped in Confucian learn-
from the Japanese curriculum by the occupation authorities,
ing there, and who returned to Korea with a Confucian vi-
and Confucianism has not yet recovered from this blow.
sion of government and a resolve to restore the deteriorating
Nonetheless, to the extent that an abiding emphasis on edu-
social order. An example is Ch’oe Ch’iwo˘n (b. 857), who
cation and such ideals as harmony and loyalty can be said
passed the Tang government examinations but returned
to belong to Confucianism, these qualities may be funda-
hoping to end anarchic conditions in the provinces. Disillu-
mental to Japanese culture and society and are likely to
sioned, he died a recluse.
survive.
From the inception of the Koryo˘ dynasty (918–1392)
B
an expanded role for Confucian doctrine was envisioned. In
IBLIOGRAPHY
the celebrated “Ten Injunctions” addressed to his descen-
A most valuable source book of materials on Japanese Confucian-
ism is Sources of Japanese Tradition, 2 vols., compiled by Ryu-
dants by the dynastic founder, Wang Ko˘n (r. 918–943),
saku Tsunoda, Wm. Theodore de Bary, and Donald Keene
Buddhism was chosen to govern spiritual matters, geomancy
(New York, 1958). Joseph J. Spae’s Ito¯ Jinsai (New York,
was to be used for prophecy and prognostication, and Con-
1967) is helpful for information on the Ancient Learning
fucianism was chosen as the guiding principle in the sociopo-
school, as is John Tucker’s Ito Jinsai’s Gomo Jigi and the
litical sphere. Two of the injunctions are direct restatements
Philosophical Definition of Early Modern Japan (Amsterdam,
of traditional Confucian precepts. One declares that the peo-
1998). Other helpful studies of individual Tokugawa Confu-
ple’s livelihood and welfare should be the foremost concern
cians include Mary Evelyn Tucker’s Moral and Spiritual Cul-
of government while another admonishes the occupant of
tivation in Japanese Neo-Confucianism: The Life and Thought
the throne to heed ministerial advice in fulfilling this task.
of Kaibara Ekken (Albany, N.Y., 1989), and Kate Wildman
Nakai’s Shogunal Politics: Arai Hakuseki and the Premises of
In the late tenth century the government was reorga-
Tokugawa Rule (Cambridge, Mass., 1988). From a method-
nized into a centralized bureaucratic structure. Local officials
ological point of view, an important work is Maruyama
were appointed by the central government. Among the long-
Masao’s Studies in the Intellectual History of Tokugawa Japan,
term results were the emergence of the civil and military bu-
translated by Mikiso Hane (Princeton, 1975). See also the
volume that I have edited, Confucianism and Tokugawa Cul-
reaucracy as a social force and the transformation of the
ture (Hawai’i, 1997). Herman Ooms’s Charismatic Bureau-
Koryo˘ polity into an aristocratic-bureaucratic state in which
crat: A Political Biography of Matsudaira Sadanobu, 1758-
the power of the ruling elite derived from government posi-
1829 (Chicago, 1975) is a superb account of this important
tion rather than an ancestral seat. This change reflected the
late Tokugawa figure. Finally, two helpful studies of the
Confucian rhetoric of government; it conformed to the hier-
modern fate of Confucian thought in Japan, are Confucian-
archical order at whose summit reigned the sovereign as pa-
ism in Modern Japan, 2d ed. (Tokyo, 1973), by Warren W.
terfamilias of the state with corresponding responsibilities to
Smith Jr., and Wei-Ming Tu’s (ed.) Confucian Traditions in
and respect from his subject-children.
East Asian Modernity: Moral Education and Economic Culture
in Japan and the Four Mini-Dragons (Cambridge, Mass.,
Under this Confucian system, civil officials served in the
1996).
capital, where the mode of life included the pursuit of schol-
P
arly and literary activities. Educational institutions such as
ETER NOSCO (1987 AND 2005)
the National Academy, established in 992, and twelve private
academies, the first founded by Ch’oe Ch’ung (984–1068)
in the eleventh century, arose to serve this group. This early
CONFUCIANISM IN KOREA. While Confucian-
Koryo˘ civil elite is often characterized as having been more
ism did not achieve status as a dominant thought system in
interested in the literary rather than the philosophical aspect
Korea until the founding of the Yi dynasty (1392–1910), the
of Confucian studies. This group seems to have accepted the
introduction of the Confucian classics to the peninsula pre-
Confucian precepts of civilization with its moral and politi-
dates the common era. In the seventh century, the Silla gov-
cal implications. The Samguk sagi (Historical record of the
ernment, at first a tribal federation, turned to Confucianism
Three Kingdoms), the first extant dynastic history in Korea,
as a tool of centralization. In 651, the Royal Academy was
written by the twelfth-century Confucian scholar Kim Pu-
established, in which officials, drawn from the aristocracy,
sik, expresses this outlook. The work is an attempt to place
were exposed to the Confucian classics. Furthermore, Con-
Korean history in the context of Confucian civilization.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1930
CONFUCIANISM IN KOREA
Moral appraisal is the foremost criterion for evaluating the
society that was not fully realized for several centuries. The
legitimacy of historical states or depicting events or persons.
most conspicuous changes were the adoption of a new system
of education, a restructuring of social organization along pat-
The military coup of 1170 disrupted this Confucian so-
rilineal groups, the adoption of Confucian ritual, and the
cial order. The Mongols, who invaded Korea in 1231, were
propagation of Confucian ethics through local associations.
instrumental in bringing about the end of military rule in
In order to disseminate Confucian values more widely to the
1259. Koryo˘ kings, married to Mongol princesses and de-
educated class, the Yi government sought to establish a na-
void of power, spent a great deal of time prior to their acces-
tionwide public school system. Four schools in the capital
sion and after their retirement in the cosmopolitan Yuan cap-
and one school in each county supposedly would make pri-
ital. Establishments such as that of the scholar-king
mary education widely available, while the Royal College in
Ch’ungso˘n (r. 1289, 1308–1313) served as meeting places
the capital would provide advanced education for qualified
for Chinese and Korean scholars, and Korean scholars for the
students. This departed from Koryo˘ practice, in which edu-
first time had firsthand exposure to Song dynasty (960–
cation was limited to a small elite. Private schools and acade-
1279) neo-Confucian scholarship, particularly that of the
mies began to appear in the mid-fifteenth century; although
Zheng-Zhu school, so-called for its putative founders, Zheng
government-supported, they became alternatives to govern-
Yi (1033–1108) and Zhu Xi (1130–1200). The result was
ment service for renowned scholars. Thus, the relationship
an impressive array of scholars beginning with An Hyang
between the private academies and the state became ambiva-
(1243–1306) and Paek Ijo˘ng (fl. 1300), commonly regarded
lent—mutually supportive but competitive for influence and
as having introduced neo-Confucianism to Korea, and in-
the opportunity to define orthodoxy.
cluding, by the mid-fourteenth century, such scholars as Yi
Saek (1328–1396), Cho˘ng Mongju (1337–1392), and Yi
The civil service examination became the accepted
Sungin (1347–1392). They succeeded in including the neo-
channel of entry to an official career. Almost all high officials
Confucian texts—the Four Books and Five Classics—in the
passed the munkwa, the final stage of the civil service exami-
civil service examination and in the curriculum at the Royal
nations; of the two preliminary examinations, the one in the
College and in reinstituting the royal lecture, complete with
exposition of classics became more important than the one
neo-Confucian texts and teacher-officials who lectured to the
in literary composition. Nonetheless, the rigid class structure
king-student.
of Korean society precluded the development of the strict
meritocracy envisioned by the Yi founders and power still re-
FOUNDING OF THE YI NEO-CONFUCIAN POLITY. Neo-
mained confined to a relatively small elite. But the examina-
Confucianism was posited on a holistic vision of the moral
tions did have the effect of confucianizing the governing
universe in which a unifying moral principle operated in the
elite; by the mid-sixteenth century, Confucian ideology was
phenomenal as well as the nonphenomenal world, particular-
no longer just a means by which the governing class ruled
ly in the human world. Society should be organized to con-
but rather the system of values by which they were measured.
form to this moral order and an individual should try to live
From the king down to the lowest officials, all had to justify
in accordance with its principles. Commitment to neo-
their actions and intentions in the context of Confucian rhet-
Confucianism rendered it impossible for its practitioners to
oric and ideals. This Confucianization of the official class was
concede the religious realm to Buddhism. The founding of
paralleled by an attempt to disseminate Confucian normative
the Yi dynasty was, in this sense, not merely a change in po-
values among the peasantry.
litical power. Its founders were all confirmed neo-
Confucians and they sought to create a new sociopolitical
THE DEVELOPMENT OF CONFUCIAN SCHOLARSHIP. By the
order based on their moral vision. Cho˘ng Tojo˘n (1342–
sixteenth century, Korean scholars turned to the more purely
1398), the leader of this group, campaigned to discredit Bud-
intellectual and speculative aspects of Confucian learning,
dhism. Motivated by the neo-Confucian belief in the central-
looking directly to the Zheng-Zhu school. Despite close ties
ity of man, Cho˘ng challenged the Buddhist view that this
with Ming dynasty (1368–1644) scholarship, Korean Neo-
world, the phenomenal world, was illusion, terming such a
Confucianism developed independently of contemporary
view invalid and harmful. His theoretical attack was accom-
scholarship there. While Korean scholars accepted the au-
panied by institutional sanctions against the Buddhist estab-
thority of the Zheng-Zhu school, they defined issues in their
lishment, which undermined its special position. Cho˘ng ar-
own way, adding insights and interpretations. The scholars
ticulated the new political ideology in the coronation edict
Pak Yo˘ng (1471–1540), So˘ Kyo˘ngdo˘k (1489–1546), and Yi
he composed for Yi T’aejo (r. 1392–1398). The raison d’être
O
˘ njo˘k (1491–1553) reflect the diversity and independence
of the government was the attainment and maintenance of
of the Korean school. Pak devoted himself to the question
a Confucian moral order. Thus, it should be staffed with
of ihak (Chin., lixue, “learning of principle”), one of the
people who understood Confucian moral principles. The le-
main themes of Neo-Confucian philosophy. Based on his
gitimacy of the Yi monarchy was based on the claim that it
study of the Daxue (Great Learning), he asserted that princi-
had received from Heaven a mandate to carry out this task.
ple and knowledge should be sought entirely within one’s
self. Later scholars found in this assertion a resemblance to
Beginning with changes in the political structure, the Yi
the works of the Ming-dynasty thinker Wang Yangming
government launched a massive transformation of Korean
(1472–1529) and for this reason found his thinking hetero-
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CONFUCIANISM IN KOREA
1931
dox. So˘ Kyo˘ngdo˘k, on the other hand, turned to Zhang Zai’s
clouded by selfish desire. T’oegye used the terms tosim
(1020–1077) t’aeho˘ (Chin., taixu, “great void”). Speculating
(Chin., daoxin, “moral mind”) and insim (Chin., renxin,
on the cosmology of creation, it was natural that he should
“human mind”) to describe the two aspects of mind. The
grant primacy to the role of ki (Chin., chi, “material force”).
term moral mind described a mind rectified and discerning
Primarily interested in observing natural phenomena and
of moral principle while human mind referred to a mind
unconcerned with the moral implications of the role of prin-
containing seeds of selfish desire and prone to error. Moral
ciple, he parted from Zhu Xi. Unlike So, who lived as a re-
cultivation was necessary to develop mind into a moral state.
cluse and shunned bookish learning, Yi O
˘ njo˘k had a long
Korean scholars seized upon this question of mind and
official career and left copious writings. His erudition, his in-
the result was one of the characteristic themes of Korean neo-
terests in a broad range of topics, and his laborious textual
Confucian thought. The debate centered around the sadan
studies set new standards for scholars of future generations.
(Chin., siduan, “four beginnings”) and the ch’ilcho˘ng (Chin.,
It was Yi Hwang (1501–1570), better known by his pen
qiqing, “seven emotions”). The Four Beginnings, which ap-
name, T’oegye, who brought Korean neo-Confucianism to
pear in Mengzi (Mencius), are the moral qualities of man that
maturity. Working at a time when Wang Yangming’s
give rise to the original goodness of human nature. The
thought seemed to be gaining influence in the Korean schol-
Seven Emotions, mentioned in the Zhongyong (Doctrine of
arly community, he devoted himself to defining orthodoxy,
the mean), are human feelings. The questions debated were
to distinguishing “right learning” from deviant thought. The
whether both the Four and the Seven were feelings, how they
definition of a Korean orthodoxy within the tradition of the
were related to the moral mind and the human mind, and
Zheng-Zhu school, one that excluded the ideas of the Wang
their relationship to principle and material force. T’oegye
Yangming school, is often attributed to his efforts. T’oegye
took Cho˘ng Chiun’s (1509–1561) position that the Four is-
accepted Zhu Xi’s dual theory of principle and material force
sued from principle and therefore must be good while the
and the relationship between them. While Zhu Xi acknowl-
Seven issued from material force and therefore could be ei-
edged that principle and material force cannot exist in isola-
ther good or evil. The Four were the basis of the moral mind
tion, he held that principle is prior and material force posteri-
and the Seven the basis of the human mind. Challenged by
or. The superiority of principle was a defining feature of his
Ki Taesu˘ng (1527–1572) in their famous “Four-Seven” de-
philosophy: principle was identified with the Way (dao) and
bate, T’oegye acknowledged that both involved principle and
the nature (xing), which are permanent and unchanging,
material force and that both were feelings, but he insisted
while material force was identified with physical entities,
that their origins were different. The Four are initiated by
which constantly change. But Zhu Xi’s position proved
principle and material force follows them while the Seven are
somewhat ambiguous. One could ask whether the priority
initiated by material force and principle rides on them. In
of principle was existential or evaluative, that is, did it exist
order to posit that the four are initiated by principle, T’oegye
first or did it just have a superior moral value? Further, in
had to endow principle with a generative power. Principle
what sense did principle exist prior to material force if it
does not merely constitute human nature; it guides the mind
could not manifest itself without material force? Much of
toward the realization of goodness.
T’oegye’s work was devoted to this question. He concluded
T’oegye later used the same theory to take issue with
that the priority of principle applied in the realm of ethical
Wang Yangming’s theory of the unity of knowledge and ac-
values, and that principle exerted a positive ethical influence.
tion. In his emphasis on innate knowledge, Wang dismissed
He wrote, for instance, that “Good occurs if principle mani-
the need for acquiring knowledge through examination and
fests itself and material force follows, while evil occurs if ma-
inquiry. T’oegye argued that this was applicable to the emo-
terial force veils principle and principle recedes.”
tional activity of the mind but not to rational thought.
Like the Song neo-Confucians, Korean scholars includ-
While Yi T’oegye chose to limit himself to what was ex-
ing T’oegye were deeply concerned with the problem of
plicit in Zhu Xi, Yi I (1536–1584), known by his pen name,
human evil. If man’s original nature was good, then how can
Yulgok, preferred a more independent and creative approach
one explain evil? T’oegye again accepted Zhu Xi’s concept
to scholarship. Taking the formula “obtain truth through
of human nature based on his dual theory of principle and
one’s own effort” as his credo, he regarded adhering too rig-
material force. Principle is immanent in everything in the
idly to previous masters’ positions as contrary to the spirit
universe. What individuates one thing from another is mate-
of neo-Confucian learning. He accepted Zhu Xi’s authority,
rial force. Since principle is good, what determines the moral
but he was willing to differ with him on specific issues. Yul-
quality of an entity is its material force. Man has an original
gok is regarded as having established the school of Material
nature and a physical nature and only when he returns to
Force in Korea. Yulgok conceded that, at least logically, prin-
original nature does he act in accordance with moral princi-
ciple and material force were distinct. What is referred to as
ple. What determines the morality of human action is mind.
the primacy of material force in Yulgok is his theory of the
The mind possesses innate knowledge of moral principle and
inseparability of principle and material force in both func-
has the cognitive capacity to discern it. Yet, this capacity of
tion and manifestation. As principle cannot be expressed
mind can be prevented from functioning when it becomes
without material force and material force has no root without
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1932
CONFUCIANISM IN KOREA
principle, they are interrelated. Thus, to him it was illogical
As T’oegye emphasized the universality of principle and
to conceive of them as prior and posterior and he denied that
Yulgok spoke of individuating principle, their successors
principle has its own generative power. Principle is passive
pushed to extremes in developing these opposing views. Ulti-
and material force is active and they always manifest them-
mately, this led to the eighteenth-century debate concerning
selves together. His belief in their inseparability led him to
man’s relationship to the cosmos. If principle is universal and
object to the notion that principle is unchanging and always
omnipresent then man is connected to other things through
in a pure state. Departing from Zhu Xi, he held that princi-
principle sharing the nature. If, however, principle is com-
ple was not a unified entity but that the principle in each
pletely determined by material force then man, who possess-
thing was distinct, conditioned, and determined by its mate-
es different material force than other things, would not share
rial force. Hence an individuating principle in a thing is al-
the same nature. The debate, known as the Nak-Ho debate,
ways changing and in varying states of purity.
began between Yi Kan (1677–1727) and Han Wo˘njin. Yi
Yulgok’s ideas of the Four Beginnings and the Seven
took the position that men share their natures with other
Emotions were also developed along these lines. In a cele-
things in the universe while Han maintained that man was
brated debate with So˘ng Hon (1535–1598) on the subject,
separated from other things with respect to original nature.
he denied that the Four are associated with principle and the
This debate generated an intense discussion, which eventual-
Seven with material force. They both are manifestations of
ly came to involve much of the Korean scholarly community
material force that contains principle. The difference is that
of the time.
the Four are “good” manifestations of material force or, more
Both the school of Principle and that of Material Force,
specifically, the Seven themselves manifested as good. Like-
despite their differing interpretations, were viewed both by
wise, the “moral mind” and the “human mind” do not rise
themselves and by others as firmly within Zheng-Zhu ortho-
from different origins but are rather purely descriptive terms
doxy, this, even though both schools had views that some-
referring to different states. In positing that an entity—the
times departed from the original Zheng-Zhu teachings. Re-
Four Beginnings—could be a good manifestation of material
interpreting specific issues within the tradition was one
force, Yulgok was challenging the dichotomy that made ma-
thing, but a direct challenge to orthodoxy was another. Pak
terial force the source of evil and principle the source of
Sedang (1629–1703) was termed a heterodox thinker for his
good.
work Sabyo˘nnok, in which he directly opposed Zhu Xi’s
Yi T’oegye and Yi Yulgok are regarded as the founders
scholarship and offered his own views. As a result of the fall
respectively of the school of Principle and the school of Ma-
of the Chinese Ming dynasty to the “barbarian” Qing dynas-
terial Force. T’oegye’s philosophy was developed by the
ty (1644–1911), seventeenth century Korean intellectuals
Yo˘ngnam school while Yulgok’s was developed by the Kiho
became concerned with orthodoxy in an attempt to redefine
school, which emerged as political as well as scholarly rivals.
Korea’s role in the Confucian world. Perhaps the conflict be-
Continuing refinements in the study of principle and materi-
tween Song Siyo˘l and Yun Hyu (1617–1680) indicates this
al force and new interpretations of the Four Beginnings and
process. Song Siyo˘l’s position can be characterized by his de-
the Seven Emotions constituted the mainstream of Korean
sire to maintain Zhu Xi orthodoxy intact in Korea. As a fol-
neo-Confucian scholarship. The scholars of the school of
lower of Yulgok, his philosophy differed somewhat from that
Principle emphasized the generative power of principle that
of Zhu Xi, but he maintained an unswerving loyalty and
T’oegye proposed. Yi Hyo˘nil (1627–1704), Yi Sangjong
commitment to the supremacy of the Zheng-Zhu school.
(1710–1781), and Yi Chinsang (1811–1878) assigned ever
Yun Hyu, on the other hand, preferred a wider definition of
greater roles to principle, endowing it with priority in exis-
orthodoxy. He regarded Zhu Xi as a great scholar, but felt
tential sequence and in function as well. This tendency cul-
that measuring one’s scholarship by him or, for that matter,
minated in Yi Hangno (1792–1868) who identified princi-
even by Confucius, was too confining and harmful. He wrote
ple with creative force, divinity, and mind.
his own commentaries on several of the Four Books, for
which he was ostracized by Song and his followers as
The scholars of the school of Material Force corre-
heterodox.
spondingly attributed even greater function to material force.
Song Siyo˘l (1607–1689), for example, posited that mind,
The intellectual scene in the eighteenth century was
which acts, is material force and the nature, which does not
somewhat freer and more diverse. Cho˘ng Chedu (1649–
move, is principle. Han Wo˘njin (1682–1750) refined this
1736), who received high honors from King Yo˘ngjo
theory, but Im So˘ngju (1711–1788) went one step further.
(r. 1724–1776), openly espoused ideas of Wang Yangming
He declared that since mind and the nature are one then the
which had long been suppressed in Korea. This period also
latter should also be material force. He denied that principle
witnessed the flowering of the Sirhak (“practical learning”)
could exist at all without material force. Hence man could
school. Centuries of factional struggle and growing competi-
not be good because of principle but must be good because
tion for office had left many scholars outside the mainstream
his material force is good. This flies in the face of the Zheng-
of political power. Practical Learning scholars were disaffect-
Zhu school dictum that the (original) nature, being perfectly
ed intellectuals who wrote treatises on social and economic
good, is principle.
reform. They fall largely into two groups. Yu Hyo˘ng-wo˘n
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CONFUCIUS
1933
(1622–1673) and Yi Ik (1681–1763) accepted the Confu-
cho˘nso˘, 2 vols. (reprint, Seoul, 1961); Yi Ik’s So˘ngho saeso˘l,
cian vision of an agrarian society presided over by the rule
2 vols. (reprint, Seoul, 1967); Yi O
˘ njo˘k’s Hoejae cho˘nso˘ (re-
of virtue and urged social improvement through land reform
print, Seoul, 1973); Yu Hyo˘ngwo˘n’s Pan’gye surok (reprint,
and moral rule. Pak Chi-wo˘n (1737–1805), Hong Taeyong
Seoul, 1958); and Yun Hyu’s Paekho cho˘nso˘, 3 vols. (Taegu,
(1731–1783), and Pak Chega (b. 1750), on the other hand,
1974).
searched for alternatives. They addressed themselves to such
Works in English
issues as commerce, trade, and technology. Pak Chi-wo˘n’s
Articles in English include Martina Deuchler’s “The Tradition:
biting satire of the class system, Hong Taeyong’s interest in
Women during the Yi Dynasty,” in Virtues in Conflict, edited
science as it was expressed in his notion of the moving earth,
by Sandra Matielli (Seoul, 1977), pp. 1–47; Park Chong-
and Pak Chega’s belief in technology founded on a startling
hong’s “Historical Review of Korean Confucianism,” Korea
theory of a consumer economy clearly departed from the
Journal 3 (September 1963): 5–11; and Key P. Yang and
conventional mode of thinking. Cho˘ng Yagyong (1762–
Gregory Henderson’s “An Outline History of Korean Con-
fucianism,” Journal of Asian Studies 18 (November 1958 and
1836), often considered the greatest Practical Learning schol-
February 1959): 81–101 and 259–276. The Rise of Neo-
ar, encompassed both trends in his reform ideas. His atten-
Confucianism in Korea, edited by Wm. Theodore de Bary
tion to the improvement of local government is well known.
and me (New York, 1985), contains a number of important
While these scholars worked within the Confucian political
essays. See Julia Ching’s “Yi Yulgok on the ‘Four Beginnings
and value system, they are regarded as precursors of modern-
and the Seven Emotions”’ (pp. 303–322); Chai-sik Chung’s
ization for their critique of contemporary society and their
“Cho˘ng Tojo˘n: ‘Architect’ of Yi Dynasty Government and
innovative proposals for reform.
Ideology” (pp. 59–88); Martina Deuchler’s “Reject the False
and Uphold the Straight: Attitudes toward Heterodox
In the late nineteenth century as Korea came under in-
Thought in Early Yi Korea” (pp. 375–410); Tomoeda
creasing pressure from the major powers and the Confucian
Ryu¯taro¯’s “Yi T’oegye and Zhu Xi: Differences in Their The-
value system itself came under attack, Confucian thinking
ories of Principle and Material Force” (pp. 243–260); and
turned defensive. Confucian scholars committed to preserv-
Tu Wei-ming’s “Yi T’oegye’s Perception of Human Nature:
ing the orthodox tradition became conservatives who op-
A Preliminary Inquiry into the Four-Seven Debate in Korean
posed treaties and modernizing measures. Seeing themselves
Neo-Confucianism” (pp. 261–282).
as the defenders of the only true civilization, they put up real
New Sources
resistance. Ch’oe Ikhyo˘n (1833–1906) was a representative
Chong, C.-s. A Korean Confucian Encounter with the Modern
scholar of this generation. His fearless memorials objecting
World: Yi Hang-no and the West. Berkeley, 1995.
to the government’s domestic and diplomatic policies result-
Chung, E.Y.J. The Korean Neo-Confucianism of Yi T’oegye and Yi
ed in frequent banishment. When Korea became a protector-
Yulgok: A Reappraisal of the “Four-Seven Thesis” and Its Prac-
ate of Japan in 1905, he organized what is known as the
tical Implications for Self-Cultivation. Albany, N.Y., 1995.
Righteous Army and fought against Japanese and Korean
royal troops. Arrested by the Japanese and imprisoned in
Haboush, J. K. The Confucian Kingship in Korea: Yongjo and the
Politics of Sagacity. New York, 2001.
Tsushima Island, he died of starvation, considering it un-
principled to accept food from the enemy. The role of Con-
Haboush, J. K., and M. Deuchler. Culture and the State in Late
fucianism in Korea’s modernization process, however, re-
Choson Korea. Cambridge, Mass., 1999.
mains to be examined.
Kim, Y.-G. Karl Barth’s Reception in Korea: Focusing on Ecclesiology
in Relation to Korean Christian Thought. New York, 2003.
SEE ALSO Buddhism, article on Buddhism in Korea; Cheng
Ko, D., J. K. Haboush, and J. R. Piggott. Women and Confucian
Hao; Cheng Yi; Chinese Religion; Cho˘ng Yagyong; Korean
Cultures in Premodern China, Korea, and Japan. Berkeley,
Religion; So˘ Kyo˘ngdo˘k; Wang Yangming; Yi T’oegye; Yi
2003.
Yulgok; Zhang Zai; Zhu Xi.
Kum, C.-t.a. Confucianism and Korean Thoughts. Seoul, 2000.
Palais, J. B. Confucian Statecraft and Korean Institutions: Yu Hy-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
ongwon and the Late Choson Dynasty. Seattle, 1996.
Works in Korean
J
For an overview of the history of Korean Confucianism, see Youn
AHYUN KIM HABOUSH (1987)
Revised Bibliography
Sa-soon’s Han’guk yuhak yo˘n’gu (Seoul, 1980). Works by the
major thinkers include: Ch’oe Ikhyo˘n’s Myo˘namjip (Seoul,
1906); Cho˘ng Tojo˘n’s Sambongjip (reprint, Seoul, 1961);
Cho˘ng Yagyong’s Cho˘ng Tasan cho˘nso˘, 3 vols. (reprint,
CONFUCIUS (552?–479 BCE), known in Chinese as
Seoul, 1960–1961); Hong Taeyong’s Tamho˘nso˘, 2 vols. (re-
Kong Qiu (also styled Zhongni); preeminent Chinese philos-
print, Seoul, 1969); Ki Taesu˘ng’s Kobong munjip (reprint,
Seoul, 1976); Pak Chega’s Pukhagu˘i (Seoul, 1971); Pak
opher and teacher. The name Confucius is the Latin render-
Chiwo˘n’s Yo˘namchip (1932; reprint, Seoul, 1966); Pak Se-
ing of Kong Fuzi (“Master Kong”). Confucius was born in
dang’s Sabyo˘nnok (Seoul, 1703); Song Siyo˘l’s Songja taejo˘n,
the small feudal state of Lu, near modern Qufu (Shandong
7 vols. (1929; reprint, Seoul, 1971); Yi T’oegye’s T’oegye
Province). Little can be established about his life, forebears,
cho˘nso˘, 2 vols. (reprint, Seoul, 1958); Yi Yulgok’s Yulgok
or family, although legends, some of very early origin, are
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1934
CONFUCIUS
abundant and colorful. The biography in Sima Qian’s Shi
cerned with the problems of restoring order and harmony to
ji (Historical Annals, second century BCE) is unreliable. The
society and of keeping alive the ancient virtues of personal
Lunyu (Analects), a record of Confucius’s conversations with
integrity and social justice. For him, a good ruler is one who
his disciples, likely compiled in the third century BCE, is
governs by moral persuasion and who loves the people as a
probably the best source, although here, too, apocryphal ma-
father loves his children. Confucius was especially learned in
terials have crept in. The Analects may be supplemented by
rites and music, finding in them both the inspiration and the
the Zuo zhuan, a commentary to the Chun qiu (Spring and
means for the achievement of moral rectitude in society. He
Autumn Annals; also third century BCE), and by the Mengzi
reflected deeply on the human situation about him in the
(Mencius; second century BCE).
light of the wisdom of the ancients. By about the age of thirty
he felt himself “standing firm” (Analects 2.4) on his insights
In all these accounts, fact and legend are difficult to sep-
and convictions.
arate. The Zuo zhuan makes Confucius a direct descendant
of the royal house of the Shang dynasty (c. 1766–1123 BCE),
Like others of his time, Confucius viewed service in the
whose heirs were given the ducal fief of the state of Song by
government—the opportunity to exert moral suasion on the
the succeeding Zhou dynasty (1111–256 BCE). According to
king—as the proper goal of a gentleman (junzi). At about
this account, three to five generations prior to the sage’s
thirty-five, he visited the large neighboring state of Qi. He
birth, his forebears moved to the neighboring state of Lu. His
stayed there for about one year and was so enthralled by the
father is said to have been a soldier and a man of great
shao music (attributed to the sage-king Shun) that for three
strength; his mother, to have been a woman much younger
months, he claimed, he did not notice the taste of the meat
and not the first wife. Some accounts make Confucius the
he ate (Analects 7.14). Clearly, he hoped to be of use at the
issue of an illegitimate union. Tradition has it that at his
ducal court. The Analects (12.11) reports his conversations
birth dragons appeared in his house, and a unicorn (lin) in
with Duke Jing of Qi about government, and his emphatic
the village. These may command as much belief as the de-
belief that a ruler should be a good ruler, the minister a good
scription of Confucius that endows him with a forehead like
minister, the father a good father, and the son a good son.
that of the sage-king Yao, shoulders like those of the famous
The duke decided not to use him (Analects 18.3).
statesman Zichan, the eyes of Shun, the neck of Yu, the
mouth of Gaoyao, the visage of the Yellow Emperor, and the
In Lu again, Confucius hesitated some time before ac-
height of Tang, founder of the Shang dynasty.
cepting public office, perhaps because of the complexity of
Lu politics. The Ji family, which had usurped power, was it-
Of Confucius’s childhood and youth, we hear little even
self dominated by its household minister, Yang Hu (or Yang
from legends, except for references to the early loss of his fa-
Huo), and Confucius was reluctant to ingratiate himself with
ther, followed later in his youth by the death of his mother.
this man (Analects 17.1; Mengzi 3B.7). Perhaps it was at this
His favorite childhood game was reportedly the setting up
point that he determined to develop his ideas and to teach
of sacrificial vessels and the imitation of ritual gestures. He
disciples. He said of himself that “at forty, I had no more
married young; some accounts allege that he later divorced
doubts” (Analects 2.4). But some time after 502 (Mengzi
his wife, although that cannot be proved and is unlikely to
5B.4), at about age fifty, he accepted the office of sikou (po-
be true. He is also supposed to have visited the capital of the
lice commissioner): “At fifty I knew Heaven’s decree” (Ana-
Zhou dynasty (present-day Luoyang) and to have met Laozi,
lects 2.4). In 498 he attempted in vain to break the power
from whom he sought instruction. But this report as well ap-
of the three leading families of Lu and restore power to the
pears to be unfounded.
duke. Perhaps this failure caused him to leave Lu the follow-
In the Analects, Confucius says that he was of humble
ing year. The Analects (18.4) claims that Confucius left be-
status. Perhaps he came from the minor aristocracy, as he re-
cause the head of the Ji family of Lu had been distracted from
ceived an education—although not from a famous teacher—
his duties by dancing girls, while the Mengzi (6B.6) gives as
and also trained in archery and music. He probably belonged
the reason the fact that the head of Lu had failed to heed his
to an obscure and impoverished clan. He would say of him-
advice. (The Shi ji reports that Confucius became prime
self that by age fifteen he had fixed his mind on studying
minister of Lu, but there is reason to question the authentici-
(Analects 2.4). As a young man, he held minor offices, first
ty of the account.)
overseeing stores with the task of keeping accounts, and later
After leaving Lu, Confucius traveled for some thirteen
taking charge of sheep and cattle (Mengzi 5B.5). Confucius
years with a small group of disciples. He first visited the state
probably served in a junior post at the Lu court, if the Zuo
of Wei (Analects 13.9). Although Duke Ding of Wei did not
zhuan is correct about his encounter in 525 with the viscount
have a good reputation, Confucius took office under him,
of Tan, a visitor in Lu, of whom he asked instructions regard-
but left his service when the duke asked his advice on military
ing the ancient practice of naming offices after birds. At this
rather than ritual matters (Analects 15.1). To avoid assassins
point Confucius would have been twenty-seven years old.
sent by an enemy, he had to disguise himself while passing
Confucius lived in an age of great political disorder. The
through the state of Song (Analects 7.23; Mengzi 5A.8). In
Zhou royal house had lost its authority and the many feudal
Chen he accepted office under the marquis; but his stay in
lords were competing for hegemony. He himself was con-
Chen was marred by many difficulties and he was once near
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CONFUCIUS
1935
starvation (Analects 15.2; Mengzi 7B.18). In 489 he went on
Confucius’s political ambitions remained largely unreal-
to the state of Cai, where he met the governor of She, a visi-
ized; he is remembered by posterity above all as a teacher,
tor from Chu. When the governor asked Confucius’s disciple
indeed as the greatest moral teacher of East Asia. He is said
Zilu about his master, Confucius offered this description of
to have accepted students without regard to their social status
himself: “[Tell him I am] the kind of man who forgets to eat
or ability to pay. While the Shi ji credits him with three
when trying to solve a problem, who is so full of joy as to
thousand disciples, the more conservative number of seventy
forget all worries, and who does not notice the onset of old
(or fewer) is more likely. With two known exceptions, most
age” (Analects 7.19). He was then about sixty-three years old.
of the disciples were of humble station and modest means.
He also said of himself: “At sixty, my ears were attuned [to
The majority came from Confucius’s own state of Lu, al-
truth]” (Analects 2.4).
though a few were from the neighboring states of Wei, Chen,
and Qi.
From Cai, Confucius traveled to Wei via Chen and
found it in disorder as the deceased duke’s son sought to oust
The modern scholar Qian Mu divides the disciples into
the new ruler, his own son, from the ducal throne. Such dis-
two groups—those who had followed Confucius even before
putes help us to understand Confucius’s insistence on the
he left Lu for ten years of travel and those who came to him
“rectification of names” (zheng ming)—that fathers should
after his return to Lu. The earlier disciples include Zilu, Yan
be paternal and sons filial. After extensive travel through
Hui, and Zigong. Zilu was the oldest in age, only some nine
states that lay within present-day Shandong and Henan,
years younger than Confucius himself; his valor and rashness
Confucius returned to Lu around 484. He was given an of-
stand out in the Analects. Yan Hui, the favorite of Confucius,
fice, perhaps as a low-ranking counselor (Analects 14.21). He
was about thirty years his junior. His early death at about
also occupied himself with music and poetry, especially the
forty caused much sorrow to Confucius. Zigong, about Yan’s
ya and the song, which now make up two of the sections of
age, was an enterprising and eloquent diplomat. Zilu per-
the Shi jing (Book of Poetry). During this period he con-
ished—in a manner that had been predicted by Confucius—
versed with Duke Ai of Lu and with the head of the Ji family
during a rash effort to rescue his master in the state of Wei
on questions of government and ritual.
(480). Zigong served at the Lu court and was leader of the
disciples at the time of Confucius’s death. He is reported to
It is known that Confucius had at least one son, Kong
have stayed on at his master’s grave in Qufu for three years
Li (Boyu), and one daughter, whom he married to his disci-
longer than the mourning period of twenty-seven months
ple Gongye Chang. He also married the daughter of his de-
prescribed for the death of one’s parents, vivid testimony to
ceased elder brother to another disciple, Nan Rong (Analects
the depth of his commitment to his teacher.
5.1, 11.5). Of his son little is known, except that the father
The later disciples were mostly much younger, some-
urged him to study poetry and rites (Analects 16.13). Al-
times forty years Confucius’s junior. Those mentioned in the
though he is popularly portrayed as a severe moralist, the An-
Analects include Ziyou, Zixia, Zizhang, Youzi, and Zengzi,
alects show Confucius as fond of classical music and rituals,
who was only about twenty-seven at the time of his master’s
informal and cheerful at home, affable yet firm, command-
death. All five men played important roles in spreading Con-
ing but not forbidding, dignified and yet pleasant, with an
fucius’s teachings, but Zengzi, exemplary for his filial piety,
ability to laugh at himself. In his old age, he devoted more
is remembered as the principal spiritual heir through whom
and more time to his disciples. He also knew that he had
Confucius’s essential message reached later generations.
reached spiritual maturity: “At seventy I could follow my
heart’s desires without overstepping the line” (Analects 2.4).
Traditionally, Confucius has been credited with the ed-
But his last years were saddened by the successive deaths of
iting of the Five (or Six) Classics: the Shi jing (Book of Poet-
his son, his favorite disciple, Yan Hui, and the loyal though
ry); the Yi jing (Book of Changes), a divination manual with
flamboyant Zilu.
metaphysical accretions; the Shu jing (Book of History), a
collection of speeches and documents; the Li ji (Book of
According to the Zuo zhuan, Confucius died in 479 at
Rites); the Chun qiu (Spring and Autumn Annals), historical
the age of seventy-three. While no description exists con-
records of the state of Lu during the years 722 to 481, said
cerning his last hours, the account of a previous illness shows
to have been compiled by Confucius; and the now lost Yue
how Confucius probably faced death. At that time Zilu
jing (Book of Music). Modern scholarship does not support
wanted the disciples to attire themselves like stewards in at-
these traditional attributions. Although the Analects men-
tendance upon a high dignitary. Confucius rebuked him,
tions Confucius’s knowledge of the Poetry, History, and
saying, “By making this pretence of having stewards when
Changes, there is no evidence that he had a part in editing
I have none, whom do you think I shall deceive? Shall I de-
these texts; nor was it his immediate disciples who, in their
ceive Heaven? Besides, is it not better for me to die in the
study of these texts, started the traditions of transmission for
hands of you, my friends, than in the hands of stewards?”
them. Of his relation to antiquity, one can say that Confu-
(Analects 9.12). When Zilu requested permission to pray for
cius loved the ancients—above all the duke of Zhou, to
him, Confucius replied, “I have already been praying for a
whom the dynasty allegedly owed its rituals and other insti-
long time” (Analects 7.35). The word praying here has been
tutions—and that he read widely in the ancient texts and
understood to mean living the life of a just man.
passed his understanding on to his disciples.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1936
CONFUCIUS
Confucius’s place in history derives from his activities
joyed as a custodian of Zhou culture. Its rulers were descend-
as a teacher and from the teachings that he crystallized and
ed from the duke of Zhou, the man who established the insti-
transmitted. In an age when only aristocrats had access to
tutions of the dynasty and who acted as regent after the death
formal education he was the first to accept disciples without
of his brother, the dynasty’s founder.
regard to status. He instructed them—according to each dis-
Confucius’s emphasis on rituals is significant, as it is rit-
ciple’s ability—not only in the rituals, knowledge of which
ual that governs human relationships. Rituals have a moral
was expected of all gentlemen, but also in the more difficult
and social function as well as a formal and ceremonial one.
art of becoming one who is perfectly humane (ren). Although
The Chinese word li refers also to propriety, that is, to proper
none of his disciples attained high political office, Confucius
behavior. Confucius teaches also the importance of having
the teacher wrought a real social change. Because of his
the right inner disposition, without which propriety becomes
teaching, the word gentlemen (junzi, literally, “ruler’s son”)
hypocrisy (Analects 15.17).
came to refer not to social status but to moral character. A
new class gradually emerged, that of the shi (originally, “offi-
Confucius’s philosophy might appear unstructured to
cers” or “government counselors”), a class of educated gen-
those who cast only a cursory glance at the Analects, perhaps
try. Those among the shi especially distinguished for scholar-
because the book was compiled several generations after
ship and character were known as the ru (originally meaning
Confucius’s death. But the teachings found in the Analects,
“weaklings”). Hence the Confucian school is known in Chi-
with all their inner dynamism, assume full coherency only
nese as “the Ru school.”
when put into practice. Confucius did not attempt to leave
behind a purely rationalistic system of thought. He wanted
Confucius had a clear sense of his mission: he consid-
to help others to live, and by so doing, to improve the quality
ered himself a transmitter of the wisdom of the ancients (An-
of their society. In defining as his main concern human soci-
alects 7.1), to which he nonetheless gave new meaning. His
ety, and in offering moral perfection as the human ideal,
focus was on the human, not just the human as given, but
Confucius has left behind a legacy that is perennial and uni-
as endowed with the potential to become “perfect.” His cen-
versal. On the other hand, his teachings also show certain
tral doctrine concerns the virtue ren, translated variously as
limitations that derive from his culture, the authoritarian
goodness, benevolence, humanity, and human-heartedness.
character of government, and the superior social status en-
Originally, ren denoted a particular virtue, the kindness that
joyed by men, for instance. These limitations do not, howev-
distinguished the gentleman in his behavior toward his infe-
er, change the validity of his central insights into human na-
riors. Confucius transformed it into a universal virtue, that
ture and its perfectibility.
which makes the perfect human being, the sage. He defined
it as loving others, as personal integrity, and as altruism.
SEE ALSO Chinese Religion, article on History of Study;
Laozi; Li; Ren and Yi; Shangdi; Tian.
Confucius’s teachings give primary emphasis to the eth-
ical meaning of human relationships, finding and grounding
BIBLIOGRAPHY
what is moral in human nature and revealing its openness
For information on Confucius in English, a useful reference work
to the divine. Although he was largely silent on God and the
is the Encyclopaedia Britannica (Macropaedia) (Chicago,
afterlife, his silence did not bespeak disbelief (Analects
1982). His life is well summarized in Richard Wilhelm’s
11.11). His philosophy was clearly grounded in religion, the
Confucius and Confucianism, translated by George H. Dan-
inherited religions of Shangdi (“lord on high”) or Tian
ton and Annina Periam Danton (New York, 1931); in H.
(“heaven”), the supreme and personal deities of the Shang
G. Creel’s Confucius: The Man and the Myth (New York,
and Zhou periods, respectively. He made it clear that it was
1949), reprinted under the title Confucius and the Chinese
Heaven that protected and inspired him: “Heaven is the au-
Way (New York, 1960); in the introduction to James Legge’s
thor of the virtue that is in me” (Analects 7.23). Confucius
translation of the Analects (1893; 3d ed., Tokyo, 1913),
believed that human beings are accountable to a supreme
which is not critical enough of the sources; in the introduc-
tion to Arthur Waley’s translation, The Analects of Confucius
being, “He who sins against Heaven has no place left where
(London, 1938), which is definitely better; and in the intro-
he may pray” (Analects 3.13); nevertheless, he showed a cer-
duction and appendixes to D. C. Lau’s much more recent
tain scepticism regarding ghosts and spirits (Analects 6.20).
translation, Confucius: The Analects (London, 1979), which
This marked a rationalistic attitude that became characteris-
is a further improvement. A summary of Confucius’s teach-
tic of the Confucian school, which usually sought to resolve
ings is also given in Liu Wu-chi’s A Short History of Confu-
problems by active human involvement rather than by hop-
cian Philosophy (Harmondsworth, 1955), and in the relevant
ing or praying for divine intervention.
chapters in Fung Yu-lan’s A History of Chinese Philosophy,
translated by Derk Bodde, vol. 7 (Princeton, 1952). (Vol-
Confucius himself was devoted to the civilization of the
ume 2 has excellent chapters on Neo-Confucianism.) My
Zhou dynasty, although he might have been a descendant
Confucianism and Christianity (Tokyo, 1977) is a compara-
from the more ancient Shang royal house. The reason for this
tive study from a theological perspective.
may have derived from the fact that Chinese civilization as-
Certain Chinese works are indispensable for a study of Confu-
sumed a definitive shape during the Zhou dynasty, or from
cius’s life. Cui Shu’s (1740–1816), Zhusi kaoxin lu, a small
the special relationship Confucius’s native state of Lu en-
work in three juan (with a three juan supplement), offers an
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CONGREGATIONALISM
1937
excellent critical study. Qian Mu’s Xian Qin zhuzi xinian,
Civil War, Congregationalists, then usually called Indepen-
vol. 1 (Hong Kong, 1956), is immensely useful. Gu Jiegang’s
dents, were particularly prominent in the army, reaching the
Gushibian, vol. 2 (Shanghai, 1930–1931), should also be
peak of their influence during the Commonwealth through
consulted.
Oliver Cromwell and such outstanding ministers as John
There are interesting Japanese studies of Confucius’s life. Kaizuka
Owen and Hugh Peter. The Restoration of Charles II was
Shigeki’s Koshi (Tokyo, 1951) has been translated into Chi-
a disaster for their cause, and the Act of Uniformity of 1662
nese (Taibei, 1976); Geoffrey Bownas’s English translation,
was the first of many efforts to suppress them. Most of the
Confucius (London, 1956), is also recommended. Morohashi
two thousand ministers ejected from livings in the Church
Tetsuji’s Nyoze gamon Koshi den (Tokyo, 1969) reports both
of England at that time were Presbyterians, but many Inde-
facts and legends while distinguishing between them wherev-
er possible.
pendent ministers who did not hold livings also suffered.
Persecution was not so severe as to prevent creative work
New Sources
being done, and the major theological works of John Owen,
Gier, Nicholas. “Whitehead, Confucius, and the Aesthetics of Vir-
the greatest poems of John Milton, an Independent, and
tue.” Asian Philosophy 14 (July 2004): 171–191.
John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress (although Bunyan’s closest
Henderson, John B. Scripture, Canon, and Commentary: A Com-
affinities were with the Baptists) all appeared after the Resto-
parison of Confucius and Western Exegesis. Princeton, N.J.,
ration. The works of the latter two, along with some of the
1991.
hymns of Isaac Watts, have become part of the furniture of
Jensen, Lionel. Manufacturing Confucianism: Chinese Traditions
the English imagination.
and Universal Civilization. Durham, N.C., 1997.
Mou, Bo. “A Re-Examination of the Structure and Content of
The accession of William and Mary in 1688 made life
Confucius’s Version of the Golden Rule.” Philosophy East
more tolerable for Congregationalists, and, after a threatened
and West 54 (April 2004): 218–249.
setback in the reign of Queen Anne, they played a significant
Olberding, Amy. “The Consummation of Sorrow: An Analysis of
minor part in eighteenth-century England. They were partic-
Confucius’s Grief for Yan Hui.” Philosophy East and West 54
ularly active in education, where the Dissenting Academies
(July 2004): 279–302.
were educational pioneers at a time when Oxford and Cam-
Sim, May. “The Moral Self in Confucius and Aristotle.” Interna-
bridge languished. The spiritual influence of such leading
tional Philosophy Quarterly 43 (December 2003): 439–463.
ministers as Philip Doddridge and Isaac Watts helped pre-
Van Norden, Bryan W. Confucius and the Analects: New Essays.
vent Congregationalists from becoming Unitarians, as most
New York, 2002.
Presbyterians did at that time. Congregationalists received a
considerable spiritual quickening toward the end of the cen-
JULIA CHING (1987)
tury through the influence of the Methodist revival. One re-
Revised Bibliography
sult was the founding in 1795 of the London Missionary So-
ciety, through whose agency churches were established in
Africa, India, Madagascar, China, Papua, and the South Sea
CONGREGATIONALISM.
Congregational
Islands.
churches arose in England in the late sixteenth and seven-
English Congregationalism shared fully in nineteenth-
teenth centuries. In their early days, Congregationalists were
century ecclesiastical prosperity. As members of the emerging
also known as Independents. They are most numerous in the
lower middle classes crowded into the churches, they became
United States, England, and Wales, but recently most of
more politically minded. Voluntarism, opposing state sup-
them have joined with others to form united churches in sev-
port of denominational education, and the Liberation Soci-
eral parts of the world.
ety, advocating the disestablishment of the Church of En-
Among churches, they have stood somewhere between
gland, were influential. The Congregational Union, linking
the Presbyterians and the more radical Protestant groups,
the churches in a national organization, was formed in 1832,
with a distinctive emphasis on the rights and responsibilities
and the Colonial (later Commonwealth) Missionary Society
of each properly organized congregation to make its own de-
for promoting Congregationalism in English-speaking colo-
cisions about its own affairs without recourse to any higher
nies in 1836. Many large new churches were erected, and
human authority. This, along with an emphasis on freedom
some ministers, like R. W. Dale of Birmingham, were well-
of conscience, arose from convictions concerning the sover-
known public figures. Civic disabilities were steadily re-
eignty of God and the priesthood of all believers.
moved. Mansfield College was founded at Oxford in 1886.
HISTORICAL SURVEY. The “Congregational way” emerged as
Thriving churches in city centers and residential neighbor-
a major factor in English life during the English Civil War,
hoods were hives of social, philanthropic, and educational
but its roots lay in Elizabethan Separatism, which produced
activities, which anticipated many of the services taken over
Congregationalism’s first three martyrs, Henry Barrow, John
by the state in the twentieth century. The victory of the Lib-
Greenwood, and John Penry. Some of the Separatists settled
eral Party in the 1906 election represented the peak of the
in Holland, and it was from among these that the Mayflower
political and social influence of Congregationalism. After
group set out for New England in 1620. During the English
that, numerical and institutional decline began, hastened by
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1938
CONGREGATIONALISM
the upheaval of World War I and the increased mobility of
the modified Calvinism represented by Edwards and those
population. Although churches were losing much of their
who were moving toward Unitarianism. Unitarianism be-
popular appeal, the emergence of several distinguished theo-
came dominant in the Boston area but not in Connecticut,
logians and ecumenical leaders in the interwar period provid-
where Congregationalism remained the established church
ed evidence of continuing vitality. In 1972 the majority of
until the early nineteenth century.
Congregationalists joined with the Presbyterian Church in
Despite the loss to the Unitarians, who took with them
England to form the United Reformed Church.
many of the most handsome colonial churches, Congrega-
In the rest of Britain, Congregationalists have been
tionalism flourished in the nineteenth century and was active
strongest in Wales, where the Welsh-speaking churches,
in the westward expansion of the nation. It adopted in 1801
known as the Union of Welsh Independents, retain their
a Plan of Union with the Presbyterians, who were concen-
identity. These churches were transplanted successfully from
trated chiefly in the Middle Atlantic states, for joint home
the countryside to industrial Wales during the industrial rev-
missionary activity. One factor in the ultimate breakdown
olution and became strong centers of distinctively Welsh life,
of this agreement was the growing theological liberalism of
cherishing their traditions of preaching, hymns, and poetry.
Congregationalism. Horace Bushnell was a representative
The numerically smaller Scottish churches acted as a liber-
theologian who challenged the traditional substitutionary
alizing influence in Scottish life and gave much to the wider
view of the atonement and whose influential book Christian
church through such outstanding figures as Robert Moffat,
Nurture (1847) questioned the need for the classic conver-
David Livingstone, George McDonald, and P. T. Forsyth.
sion experience. The so-called Kansas City Creed of 1913
It is in the United States that Congregationalism
summed up this liberalism, which represented a break with
achieved its greatest public influence and numerical strength.
the Calvinist past. This liberalism continues to prevail, al-
The New England experiment has been a major factor in de-
though substantially modified after World War II by the in-
termining the character of the nation. The Separatists of the
fluence of neoorthodoxy.
Plymouth Colony were more radical than the Puritans of
The mainly Congregational American Board of Com-
Massachusetts Bay, but they had enough in common to form
missioners for Foreign Missions (1810) promoted missions
a unified community and to repudiate the more radical views
in China and the Near East. A national Congregational orga-
of Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson. Their statement
nization was founded in 1871, and its boards of Home Mis-
of faith, the Cambridge Platform of 1648, accepted the the-
sions and Education have done much to start schools and
ology of the English Presbyterian Westminster Confession
colleges among the black community in the South. Modern
of 1646 but laid down a Congregational rather than a Pres-
Congregationalism has been exceptionally active in the ecu-
byterian polity. In this, it was followed by the English Savoy
menical movement. Union with the Christian Churches in
Declaration of 1658.
the United States was achieved between the wars and with
The original New Englanders were not sectarian; they
the substantial Evangelical and Reformed Church in 1961,
worked out an intellectually powerful and consistent system
to form the United Church of Christ.
of theology and church and civil government that they
BELIEFS AND PRACTICES. The beliefs and practices of most
strove, with considerable success, to exemplify. John Cot-
Congregationalists have been broadly similar to those of
ton’s Keyes of the Kingdom of Heaven and the Powers Thereof
other mainline evangelical Protestant churches of the more
(1644) is a classic statement of their view of the church. The
liberal kind. The English historian Bernard Manning de-
very success of the New England settlement made it difficult
scribed them as “decentralized Calvinists,” but this fails to
for succeeding generations to retain the original commit-
allow for their emphasis on the free movement of the Holy
ment, and the Half-Way Covenant was devised to find a
Spirit, which gives them some affinity with the Quakers as
place for those who were baptized but could not make a
well as with Presbyterians. In its origin, their notion of the
strong enough confession of faith—permitting them a form
“gathered church” was not a form of secular voluntarism but
of church membership that did not confer a place at the
an attempt, as against Anglican territorialism, to recognize
Lord’s Table or in church government. Education was seen
“the crown rights of the Redeemer” and the primacy of the
as vital from the outset. Harvard College was founded in
free Spirit’s action in gathering together the covenant people
1637 to maintain the succession of learned ministers. Yale
of God. Their strong emphasis on this freedom has not only
and others followed later, the precursors of a long succession
led them to be reluctant to give binding authority to creeds
of distinguished colleges founded under Congregational aus-
but also served indirectly to promote the rights of minorities
pices across the country.
of many kinds, especially in England. The long-faced, repres-
sive Puritan of legend is largely a caricature.
New life came with the Great Awakening, the revival
movement begun in 1734, in which Jonathan Edwards, a
Preaching is important in Congregationalism because
minister at Northampton, Massachusetts, and one of the
the word in scripture is thought of as constitutive of the
greatest American theologians, was prominent. Differences
church. The ministry derives its authority from the word,
began to emerge at the turn of the century between the two
not vice versa. Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are the only
wings of Congregationalism, those who continued to accept
recognized sacraments, and infant baptism is customary.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CONSCIENCE
1939
Traditionally, public prayer has been ex tempore, but more
Congregationalism: A Study in Church Polity (London, 1952)
recently set forms have been widely used. Hymns are impor-
and The United Church of Christ (New York, 1962) are two
tant. The English Congregational Praise (1952), with many
works by the most representative American Congregational-
hymns by Isaac Watts, the greatest Congregational writer of
ist of the twentieth century. Geoffrey F. Nuttall’s Visible
hymns, is an outstanding compilation.
Saints: The Congregational Way, 1640–1660 (Oxford, 1957)
emphasizes the “spiritualizing” element in Congregational-
Congregational polity is sometimes charged with pro-
ism, and R. Tudur Jones’s Congregationalism in England,
moting spiritual individualism, but this is based on a misun-
1662–1962 (London, 1962) is a comprehensive tercentenary
derstanding. It is an attempt to give the most concrete ex-
history. A fresh view of Congregationalism in the light of the
pression to the church as a local visible community. It must
ecumenical movement is presented in my book Congrega-
be properly organized, with Bible, sacraments, a duly called
tionalism: A Restatement (New York and London, 1954), and
and trained ministry, and deacons and members in good
essays on modern Congregationalism can be found in Kon-
gregationalismus (Frankfurt, 1973), edited by Norman Goo-
standing. With these, no body can be more fully the church,
dall as volume 11 of “Die Kirchen der Welt.”
because all necessary means of grace are available. Congrega-
tionalism has never concluded that this has meant spiritual
New Sources
Long, Edward Le Roy. Patterns of Polity: Varieties of Church Gover-
isolation or indifference to “the communion of the churches
nance. Cleveland, 2001.
with each other.” This is shown by the fact that no group
Sell, Alan P. F. Visible, Orderly and Catholic: The Congregational
of churches has shown a greater readiness to enter schemes
Ideal of the Church. Alison Park, Pa., 1986.
of reunion.
DANIEL JENKINS (1987)
One of the most distinctive Congregational institutions
Revised Bibliography
is that of the church meeting, a regular gathering at which
all church members have the right and responsibility to par-
ticipate in all decisions. This has not always had the vigor
CONSCIENCE, as commonly understood, is the facul-
that its place in the polity demands, but strong efforts have
ty within us that decides on the moral quality of our
been made to revive it in recent times. Women have always
thoughts, words, and acts. It makes us conscious of the worth
been active in Congregational churches, which were among
of our deeds and gives rise to a pleasurable feeling if they are
the first of the American and British denominations to admit
good and to a painful one if they are evil.
women to the full-time ministry of the word and sacraments.
ORIGIN OF THE NOTION. Three articulations of human ex-
Until they merged with other bodies, Congregational
perience appear to be at the basis of the Western notion of
churches were linked in associations or unions, at local and
conscience: the Hebrew scriptures, the writings of Cicero,
national levels, and in an International Congregational
and the writings of Paul.
Council, to which such related bodies as the Swedish Mis-
Hebrew scriptures. In the Hebrew scriptures God is
sion Covenant Church and the Dutch Remonstrant Brother-
presented as someone who knows and evaluates our entire
hood also belonged. In the course of the twentieth century,
being. Psalm 139 develops the theme:
churches in the United States appointed officials called state
superintendents, and those in England officials called moder-
O Lord, thou has searched me and known me! Thou
ators, to exercise a general ministry to churches over a wide
knowest when I sit down and when I rise up; thou dis-
cernest my thoughts from afar. . . . If I take the wings
area. When a covenant with the Church of England and the
of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the
Methodist Church was proposed by the United Reformed
sea, even there thy hand shall lead me, and thy right
Church in England in 1980–1982, it was implied that the
hand shall hold me. . . . Search me, O God, and know
moderators should be made into bishops. This was hotly
my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if
challenged by a substantial minority as a denial of the Re-
there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way
formed understanding of the ministry. The failure of the
everlasting! (Ps. 139:1–2, 9–10, 23–24)
Church of England to ratify the covenant meant that this
The pious psalmist is confident that the divine scrutiny will
particular proposal was abandoned.
vindicate him. Others, the enemies of Israel, are the wicked
Congregational churches have existed chiefly in En-
ones who will be found wanting. (See also Job 34:21–23.)
glish-speaking countries and in communities related to
The idea of divine omniscient scrutiny leads, however,
them, and they have not been among the larger Christian
to vigorous self-scrutiny: “the spirit of man is the lamp of the
groups. Their ideas and practices, however, have had a great-
Lord, searching all his innermost parts” (Prv. 20:27). The
er influence than their size might suggest. The Congrega-
prophet Jeremiah is appalled by what he sees when he looks
tional tradition continues to exercise influence as one ele-
inside himself:
ment in the life of larger reunited churches in many lands.
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately
corrupt; who can understand it? “I the Lord search the
BIBLIOGRAPHY
mind and try the heart, to give to every man according
Williston Walker’s Creeds and Platforms of Congregationalism
to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings.” (Jer.
(New York, 1893) is a classic sourcebook. Douglas Horton’s
17:9–10)
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1940
CONSCIENCE
But, here again, the prophet is confident that God is his ref-
judge pleased. Philo, like Paul, sees this internal authority as
uge (see vv. 17–18). That God, not the self, judges the self
a gift of God, but he also accepts immanent views of it (Wal-
is good news: the Strong One who sees me all (in my interi-
lis, 1975).
ority as well as my outward acts) is a good protector, and I
am safe in his hands.
But there is in Paul something else that is peculiar to
him and was to prove very influential on all subsequent de-
Writings of Cicero. Cicero uses conscientia in another
velopments. Though he seems to have had a morally rather
sense, to refer to an internal moral authority on important
robust conscience, not haunted by feelings of guilt (Stendahl,
issues. Most of the time conscience is consciousness of some-
1976), Paul frequently wrote in a manner that revealed a
thing, agreeable consciousness of one or many good deeds
troubled self-consciousness. He feels pain at not being ac-
(Orationes Philippicae 1.9; Res publica 6.8) or disagreeable
knowledged for what he is (Gal. 1:10); a physical handicap
consciousness of a trespass (Tusculanae disputationes 4.45,
humbles him (2 Cor. 12:7). We thus find in his writing a new
where he speaks metaphorically of the bite of conscience).
sort of literary voice: a self-consciousness bruised by despair-
He speaks with zeal of the force of this inner testimony:
ing self-humiliation. His will is divided; his body does not
“Great is the power of conscience, great for bliss or for bane”
obey him; his urgent convictions are challenged by adversar-
(Pro Milone 61; see also De natura deorum 3.85, where it is
ies, his life’s work nearly overthrown. Under his pen, all this
specified that the workings of conscience unfold without our
is not trivial autobiographical detail but is made to reflect a
having to assume divine design). Some passages speak of bad
cosmic crisis. Paul feels that he and others are caught in the
conscience as if it were the internalization of a disapproval
transition between a passing age and a new dispensation. His
voiced by others or by public opinion in general (In Catili-
inner troubles interiorize the death of Christ. Still caught up
nam 3.25; Tusculanae 4.45). Good conscience, however, is
in the age that is passing, he feels impotent, worthless; but
presented as independent of public opinion. (Here, he speaks
this conviction of despair is considered by him to be a form
mainly of his own.) Cicero, for instance, has a good con-
of suffering through which he—and, he believes, all men—
science about withdrawing from public life and devoting
must pass before they can share in new life with the risen
himself to writing (Epistulae ad Atticum 12.28.2) and is de-
Christ (Altizer, 1983). Inner pains are thus inevitable birth
termined never to stray from the straight path of conscience.
pangs. A subtle shift has occurred: the notion that God wel-
In such cases conscience is referred to without stating what
comes a contrite heart (Ps. 34:18) is in the process of becom-
it is consciousness of. While one text stresses to the juror that
ing indistinguishable from the notion that God likes—or re-
he should follow his conscience alone but that he should also
quires—a broken heart. In Romans, conscience, the accuser,
take comfort from the fact that he is not alone in his judging
caught up in an eschatological drama, always convicts (3:9,
(Pro Cluentio 159), most texts make the good conscience a
7:15–20). Good conscience before God means surrender of
rather isolated self-approval. A stunning metaphor states that
what men call good conscience. This eschatological turmoil
no theater, no audience offers an applause that has more au-
gives to Paul’s writings on conscience a ring very different
thority than that of conscience (Tusculanae 2.64). Finally, we
from Philo’s serene utterances.
should note that Cicero speaks of conscience in a rhetorical
context and with moralizing intent; he inveighs against evil
HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS. The church fathers adopt the
men, commends good ones, and voices his assurance of his
notion of conscience as an inner voice of divine origin. The
own worth.
assumption is that all human beings have it, and only Chris-
tians obey it and thus please God. The firmness of the Chris-
Writings of Paul. In the New Testament, Paul uses the
tians’ conscience enables them to obey God rather than men,
notion of conscience (Gr., suneid¯esis) as he finds it in every-
live as people who do not belong to this world, and accept
day speech and common moral reflections. He puts forward
martyrdom with joy. Augustine compares conscience to a tri-
his own unshakable good conscience (Rom. 9:1, 2 Cor. 1:2;
bunal in the mind and speaks of it with a tone of restive in-
see also Acts 23:1); he urges respect for the conscience of oth-
trospection. He thus confirms the blending, initiated by
ers, especially when that conscience is weak and judges mat-
Paul, of the three notions of divine judgment, moral self-
ters erroneously (1 Cor. 8:7, 8:10); he appeals to conscience
evaluation, and the troubled forays into the hidden recesses
(2 Cor. 4:2); he allows that in evil people conscience is cor-
of one’s heart. A classic passage links the three realities with
rupted (Ti. 1:15). Romans 2:15 launched a momentous new
the Latin conscientia:
understanding of it: conscience is a witness within all men,
including pagans; it states what the law of God requires (it
“What O Lord could be hidden from you, even if I
is “the law written in their hearts”), and it accuses all men.
wanted not to confess it, since the abyss of human con-
science is naked before your eyes? I should only be hid-
So far, Paul speaks of suneid¯esis very much like Philo (who
ing you to me, not me from you. Now that my tears
speaks mainly of elenchos, “reproof”). The Jewish philoso-
testify how disgusted I am with myself, you only are my
pher found in all men a “true man” who should be ruler and
light and please me; you are the object of my love and
king, who is a judge and umpire, a silent witness or accuser.
desire. I am ashamed of myself so that I cast myself aside
Human beings live thus with a court of law inside them, and
to choose you and want to please myself or you only
they should behave in such a way as to keep their internal
through you.” (Confessions 10.2.2)
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CONSCIENCE
1941
That God knows the self is a source of comfort that over-
and comforted. The system reaped behavioral fruit: the lives
comes the intense discomfort the introspective self feels. The
of Western Christians were progressively ordered in confor-
misery of self-rejection seems to be the necessary price to be
mity with Christian moral principles. Consciences were
paid before one reaches divine acceptance.
slowly educated. Fear of divine judgment loomed large
among the motivational forces. While the theologians’ syn-
The Middle Ages use the notion of conscience primarily
deresis and conscientia were purely moral principles, the pas-
to elaborate a theory of moral judgment. In their systematic
toral tribunal of conscience often functioned in an atmo-
construction, the Scholastics use two terms to designate two
sphere of religious anguish: God would be angry if sins were
functions. Synderesis (the word probably appears first as an
not confessed and corrected. His searching of the hearts was
erroneous reading; medieval ignorance of Greek let it be-
felt to be a perilous affair; sinners were threatened with out-
come established) is the faculty that knows the moral law;
right condemnation.
it remained unaffected by the fall. The Franciscan school
makes of it a potentia affectiva, namely a disposition of the
While canon lawyers instituted the tribunal of con-
heart. The Dominicans make of it a sort of cognition; it ex-
science and while pastors appealed to or pounded on individ-
ists in the reason. Conscientia applies the moral law to con-
ual consciences, the national monarchies and the royal law
crete cases. It is a habitus of the practical intellect, say the
of France and England developed in such a way as to give
Franciscans; an act, according to the Dominicans, which ap-
an increasing social relevance to the notion of moral con-
plies knowledge to action. To Thomas Aquinas (c. 1225–
science. Frenchmen in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries
1274) synderesis decides; it always orients us to the good.
began to be aware of themselves as one people, living togeth-
Conscientia controls; we can set it aside. When it functions,
er civilly in a good land under the rule of a just and Christian
conscientia is a witness; it says what we have done or not
king. This emergence of national consciousness came simul-
done. It binds or motivates; it says what we should or should
taneously with urbanization, with an increased practice of
not do. Finally, it excuses or accuses; it tells us whether what
prudence and courtesy in social relations (the arts of peace),
we have done was well or not well done. While synderesis can-
and with the rise of an ethics of intention, such as that dis-
not err, conscientia, a sort of decree of the mind, is fallible
cussed by Abelard (1079–1142). Now new collective repre-
(Summa theologiae 1.79.12–13). Conscience now is no lon-
sentations give expression to a shared will to live together for
ger an occasional voice at important moments, but a con-
the sake of peace and to the happy sense of forming together
comitant of all morally relevant action.
a good society. The sense of the sacred has begun to shift
from a largely supernatural realm to the national Christian
Medieval theologians also examine whether one is obli-
society that provides a good, secure life. A sacred bond now
gated to follow an erroneous conscience. It is allowed that
unites the righteous king and the loyal people. And a man
some consciences are invincibly erroneous, that is, their error
can now encounter people he has never seen before (and with
cannot be overcome by the use of moral diligence or thor-
whom no one in his village has ever had dealings) and still
ough study. Even in these circumstances the self must obey
have civil relations: strangers are conscious at the outset of
conscience. Romans 14:23 is the norm: whatever is not from
belonging to the same people. In England, the old Aristote-
faith is deemed sinful. One must, however, at all times seek
lian notion of equity is introduced into the royal law: law is
to correct one’s conscience by instruction. Thomas Aquinas
said always to aim at justice and to be corrigible whenever
teaches that to hold in contempt the dictates of an erroneous
principles of equity are violated, for instance, whenever the
conscience is a mortal sin and that conscience binds, even
helpless are dealt with unfairly, or whenever widows and or-
when it contradicts the precepts of a superior, if it endures.
phans are oppressed. Correction is said to be introduced “for
This intellectual clarification is accompanied by a sys-
the sake of conscience.” In France and in England, society
tem of practical guidance. In 1215, the Fourth Lateran
can henceforth be said to have a collective and civil con-
Council made it an obligation for all Christians to confess
science, to be sensitive to the moral demands of common
their sins and receive the sacrament once a year. This came
peace and universal justice, to visualize royal power as not
to be known as the tribunal of conscience. A practice was re-
simply heroic but merciful as well. (This Western confidence
quired and an occasion offered: the self had to embark upon
that human beings can collectively govern themselves well is
intellectual deliberation on its behavior and could obtain ex-
reflected in Calvin’s Institutes 2.2.13.)
pert advice or counsel. Benjamin Nelson (1981) described
The stage is now set for the great crises and transforma-
this system of spiritual direction under a threefold heading:
tions of the sixteenth century. For the first time conscience
conscience, casuistry, and the cure of souls. The individual,
has become a culturally central, crucial notion among Chris-
like all men, is obligated by the universal moral law. Like
tians. The three notions of it we originally identified now
some other men, he has peculiar dilemmas related to his age,
merge to define the problem: the man of conscience is “spiri-
his class, his role in life; casuistry studies these cases of con-
tual,” he lives “before God”; he is also moral and has obliga-
science and enlightens the individual by drawing upon the
tions to his fellow men; he has a rapport with himself and
experience of those whose lot is comparable. Finally, the in-
feels condemned or saved. The Protestant Reformation saw
dividual is unlike everyone else; he has his own sorrows and
itself as a defender of conscience. The word became one of
fears; his soul needs to be ministered to in a therapeutic way
its most militant terms.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1942
CONSCIENCE
The reformers spoke of conscience as being oppressed
(The sixteenth century began many moves toward certainty:
by the medieval system. While considering itself obliged to
the Protestant Reformation gave subjective assurance and the
obey “the pope’s commandments,” conscience saw itself
scientific revolution began to give objective certainty; Galileo
weighed down by the burden of bad and illegitimate laws of
did not weigh the relative merits of authorities; he knew for
human origin, which it was impossible to obey. There was
sure. See Nelson, 1981.) Luther’s conscience is lyrical: he is
anguish in trying to obey and anguish in disobedience be-
ultimately safe in God’s arms and above pleasing men or
cause of the nagging sense of fearsome consequences. Luther
worrying about their opinions. All the reformers agree: he
articulated his own scrupulous monastic experience of an-
who has faith has good conscience. No human forum can
guish over every action and involuntary impulse by inden-
accuse him. Conscience has nothing to do with a man’s deal-
tifying with Paul. He vibrated in unison, he thought, with
ing among his fellow men but only with his reception of di-
Paul’s and Augustine’s autobiographical statements. Con-
vine forgiveness. Paul Tillich (1948) coined the term trans-
science and the law jointly accused him and brought him
moral conscience to refer to this notion of man’s innerness as
death. (Unlike Paul, Luther was under the yoke of bad law;
it meets God. Calvin is clear: conscience must not be con-
identifying with Paul, he overlooked the difference in the ob-
fused with “police.” Its business is not with men but with
jective content of the laws.) The monk Luther, however, was
God (Institutes 3.19.15–16; 4.10.3). It must be unhappy at
not alone. Henry VIII, a Catholic king, was afraid his mar-
first. “It is necessary that conscience drive our misery home
riage to Catherine of Aragon was sterile because it had been
to us before we can have some sense of God” (Institutes 1.1.1
cursed by God. (Catherine had been engaged to Henry’s
and 4.19.15–16). While Calvin as an elect does not let others
brother; even though the brother was dead, the marriage was
challenge his own conscience, he openly distrusts the con-
incestuous by canonical if not dynastic rules.) Was his con-
science of others: “Nothing is more common, just as nothing
science genuinely troubled or was his second marriage expe-
is easier than to boast of faith and a good conscience” (Neal,
dient or self-indulgent? (It is significant that the issue is still
1972). The notion of conscience as a subjective absolute is
debated.)
reinforced by the practice of religious privatism: sins are re-
mitted by private confession to God, without confession to
In any case, the medieval burden of being trapped by
a fellow human being or reparation to the victim. With Cal-
a guilty conscience was thrown off by many who broke their
vin, the assurance of conscience among the elect is coupled
vows or changed their lifestyles. The religious authorities’
with a particularly vigorous moral action in the world. The
guiding conscience had ceased to be credible in the eyes of
concept that had been used to detach the individual from the
many of the people of God. Most theological reformers also
world now presides over the conscientious effort to shape
rejected the very principle of trying to please God with deeds
the world according to the Christian’s moral aspirations. The
(works); no action was conceivable that could give man a joy-
stage is set for the polemics in which Protestants blame Cath-
ful conscience before God. Thus the Protestant Reformation
olics for the erroneous precepts they impose on conscience,
also rejected the whole system of the tribunal of conscience.
and Catholics blame Protestants for their unbridled “consci-
Freed by grace, living in faith, the Christian immediately re-
entious” energies.
ceives a good conscience from his God. He thus recaptures
the sense of the covenant found in the Hebrew scriptures:
The sixteenth century witnessed also the rise of a fresh,
that God can fathom our hearts and that he alone judges us
vigorous articulation of conscience in the civil tradition. Sur-
once again becomes good news. We are not accountable to
rounded by wars waged for the sake of conscience, the
ecclesiastical authorities, and they should not haunt our con-
French moralist Montaigne (1533–1592) inaugurated the
sciences and enrich themselves at our expense. Thus with
art of writing for oneself the story of an observant, rigorously
good consciences, redeemed Christians walk straight in the
honest conscience (Brunschwicg, 1953). Both moral and in-
paths of righteousness. Activities of public reform persuade
trospective, this conscience ponders the actions of the self
these Christians that they are indeed setting up a more moral
and of others and looks at the relations and roles the self is
order. For its part, the Roman Catholic Church maintains
involved in. Self-critical, open to instruction and correction
the system of casuistry and cure of souls. But in time, with
from those who have experience of the world, this conscience
a more saintly clergy, the authority of the spiritual directors
treasures selected friendships and enjoys a measure of self-
is restored. Consciences are again more guided than tyran-
acceptance. It holds on to the few truths and rare marks of
nized.
humanity it believes itself to be capable of. The dramas of
acceptance and rejection at the hands of the biblical God re-
It must be seen that the Protestant Reformation fostered
cede in the background. Front stage belongs to the dramas
a new Western assurance of conscience. Conscience became
of human likes and dislikes. Descartes (1596–1650) puts an
safe, certain. The system of casuistry was dealing in probabil-
analysis of conscience at the center of his philosophy. In his
ities, constantly weighing pros and cons, and every authority
case, conscience is troubled or disturbed by the experience
was liable to be overthrown by other authorities. The civil
of its fallibility and by the idea of the infinite; the goodness
conscience was also always open to correction. Reading his
of God provides decisive reassurance on both points. In the
Bible, the Protestant Christian gained subjective certainty
ambit of French civilization, conscience will henceforth keep
once and for all: he was God’s child and his path was straight.
these crucial characteristics: it is autonomous, moral, and so-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CONSCIENCE
1943
cial, somewhat skeptical, worldly wise, and it has a modest
conscience and their followers could now become manifest.
but firm pride.
Moralists became aware of time, of the necessary distinction
between what is abiding and what is transitory in a man’s
The authority of conscience receives its fullest religious
sense of himself. Conscience then came to be seen as a firm
legitimacy in the theory of inner light common to many sev-
statement that the self utters before others or privately, a plea
enteenth-century English sects. Instead of being an act of in-
entered in a public or inner forum. Like consciousness, con-
terpretation of a law, this conscience is an absolute and final
science is an event; but unlike it, it is also a moral discourse,
insight. It is also British philosophy that gave to moral con-
a public claim. Hence, the critical question: is this discourse
science its most ample philosophical underpinnings. The
fully aware of the actualities of the case? Is conscience con-
theory of moral sense identifies the consciousness of right
scious? (Engelberg, 1972).
and wrong with the voice of an inner moral law (the unwrit-
ten, inborn law of which Cicero spoke in Pro Milone 10).
Nineteenth-century probings ordinarily shared the con-
Inner voices or feelings are described as edicts of one’s con-
viction that human beings should always be as fully con-
science. L. Butler (1692–1752; Sermons) affirms that it has
scious as possible, with actions completely lucid and deliber-
a natural authority; it is the voice of God within us. Con-
ate. Rousseau (1712–1778) believed he could derive norms
science has become a faculty of the mind that judges immedi-
for political life from the assumption that politics consists of
ately and finally on moral matters. In the Middle Ages con-
free, conscious, virtuous interaction among autonomous, in-
science was a function: people had more or less of it, and
dependent individuals. (He even believed the whole of social
tried more or less to exercise it. With the reformers it was
life could consist of such interaction.) Kant (1724–1804)
a fact of spiritual life: people had a troubled or a joyful one;
pursued the point with theoretical thoroughness. All moral
it became an individual organ—you have your conscience
action proceeds from good will and is conscientious. Das
and I have mine, just as each of us has his own stomach. This
Gewissen never errs. It is “the moral faculty of judgment,
conscience was said to be infallible and generally philan-
passing judgment upon itself . . . a state of consciousness
thropic. It was also inviolate. No serious conflicts of con-
which is itself a duty” (Religion within the Limits of Reason
science were foreseen. The stage was set for the good con-
Alone 4.2.4). With each action, the individual should reflect
science of the West to be applied in colonial expansion. All
and proceed only if he is sure that this action obeys the dic-
human beings have conscience, it was thought. Western
tates of conscience. The consequence does not escape Hegel
Christians liberated what they deemed to be inferior races
(1770–1833): consciences will be in conflict, each vibrating
from the fears to which their idolatrous and superstitious
with its assurance, each alone in its certainty of obeying the
consciences were prone; they established liberty of con-
moral law (Despland, 1975). Far from being a reliable guide,
science (freedom of religion) wherever they ruled, and they
conscience now appears to be potentially immoral arrogance.
did all this without violating consciences. Being most devel-
The nineteenth century is full of denigrations of con-
oped, the Western consciences helped others develop too.
science. The poet William Blake (1757–1827) is sarcastic:
Western expansion was optimistically expected to moralize
“Conscience in those that have it is unequivocal”
the world.
(“Annotations to Watson”). Goethe (1749–1832) com-
MODERN CONFLICT BETWEEN CONSCIENCE AND CON-
mends an alternative: Faust heals himself, grows by purging
SCIOUSNESS. Theoreticians declare what conscience always
himself of conscience (he does not let himself be crippled by
says to the inner man. Conscience may in fact behave accord-
the episode with Marguerite) and ever widening his con-
ing to theory; but also it might not. Or, more commonly,
sciousness. Nietzsche (1844–1900) attempts to show that
the individual realizes that what conscience pronounces
conscience only imitates ready-made values; the hard human
clashes with some other inner state he is aware of at a given
task is to embody knowledge in ourselves, to create conscious
moment. Distinctions need to be made among the voices in
values; and consciousness is not given gratis.
one’s inner debate. Luther translated the medieval conscientia
But the claims of conscience remain tenacious even in
with das Gewissen. Two centuries later, Christian Wolff
the post-Romantic age. Conscience, however, becomes more
(1679–1754), the founder of German philosophy, translated
tragic, more solitary. Rare are those who see in it the work-
the conscientia of the Cartesians with das Bewusstsein. In six-
ings of an other-regarding instinct. To Kierkegaard (1813–
teenth-century English, conscience can denote authoritative,
1855), the inwardness of conscience is demonic: more con-
secure moral conscience or simple, trivial consciousness.
science means more consciousness and deeper despair. Such
(The French language still uses la conscience to speak both
is also the case in Dostoevskii’s Notes from the Underground
of the moral rationales the self fully accepts and of fleeting
(1864): conscience has become an obsessive inner court; the
mental events.) With the eighteenth century, the sense of a
self is the accuser, the accused, the judge, and the execution-
separation between conscience and consciousness became
er. In a bizarre extension of Paul’s and Luther’s autobio-
widespread. While moral beings naively went on believing
graphical pages, self-consciousness merges into compulsive
in their stable, good, unerring conscience, literature (the
self-humiliation, with no redemption in sight. Conscience is
novel especially) increasingly explored the chasm between
no longer active knowledge immersed in the social flow of
conscience and the vagaries of consciousness. The semiblind
life but purely retrospective, solitary self-condemnation, or
yet massive good conscience of the modern theoreticians of
entirely fearful anticipation.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1944
CONSCIENCE
More balanced statements of this construction are
Jewish view of conscience. The article is not in the least em-
found in the writings of Coleridge (1772–1834) and Conrad
barrassed by the fact that rabbinic Judaism has no such no-
(1857–1924). The poet-critic Coleridge stresses that con-
tion. (For a respected account of Jewish morality, see Neus-
science no longer acts “with the ease and uniformity of in-
ner, 1981: the will has some power to affect the world, and
stinct”; rather, consciousness is the problem. In Lord Jim,
its intention should be good.) Attempts to find everywhere
Conrad shows us his protagonist haunted by a conscience
notions of conscience comparable to the Western one have
that prevents his awareness of the good new life he has built
now largely been abandoned. Current influential works in
for himself, while in Heart of Darkness we see Kurtz surren-
the discipline of comparative religious ethics have no re-
dering conscience and letting his consciousness be flooded
course to it (Little and Twiss, 1978; Bird, 1981). In contrast,
by instinctual experience. Without conscience, Kurtz is all
the concept is important in current philosophical ethics
awareness and lacks an interpreter; he stands thus naked be-
(Childress, 1979).
fore horror.
ANTHROPOLOGICAL AND THEOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS.
APPLICATION OF THE NOTION TO THE STUDY OF RELIGIOUS
Etymology may once again be suggestive. Conscience is
AND ETHICAL SYSTEMS. Hindu and Buddhist philosophies
“knowledge-with,” that is, a shared knowledge of something.
have very articulate and complex theories of consciousness.
The foundational experience is the awareness that somebody
All religious traditions have notions of moral law and moral
else is aware of what I have done; I have been seen, and I
judgment. All encourage reflectivity and offer conceptual
know that he knows, and I know that he knows that I know
tools and practical techniques for self-evaluation. But the no-
that he knows. There is, for a fleeting moment, a shared
tion of conscience as internal organ is not found outside of
awareness between us. There is intelligence in the birth of
Christianity. As commonly understood, it is peculiar to the
conscience: the other can be a clever accomplice or an articu-
West. The generalization of the tribunal of conscience, the
late critic. But there is also co-feeling: my action is endorsed
universal legal requirement for annual confession and pen-
or disapproved of. The mutual awareness is not just mental.
ance, is a uniquely Western phenomenon. Westerners seem
There is also compassion: he knows how it feels to do what
to have taken on a special burden of responsibility. (This was
I have done, and I know how it feels to observe this being
probably not particularly helpful morally.) I must have a vi-
done. Conscience, then, is not just a matter of sight and scru-
sion of myself—of my vocation, for instance—for which I
tiny; there is also sensitivity and heart in it. And if conscience
alone will be accountable. Consider, for instance, the notion
makes us potentially morally liable, it makes us also aware
of conscience found in the writings of the German existen-
of potential moral support.
tialist philosopher Heidegger (1889–1976): that there is an
objectless call of conscience that summons us, not to be in
After this initial point, conscience becomes an interpre-
a particular manner, but to choose in what manner we shall
tive activity. Thus, I own my act and articulate its meaning,
be. The wars against guilty thoughts and the self-
serenely, aggressively, or defensively. But while I interpret,
condemnatory forays into self-consciousness seem also
others (the initial fellow-feeler or some third party) also in-
linked to the unique history of Western man (the Gnostic
terpret. My interpretation will be happy and secure if it
and the celibate monastic episodes being probably particular-
agrees in detail or broadly with a wider community of inter-
ly influential). Recall that most of the decisive articulations
pretation. It was the merit of the medieval “domestication”
of conscience were autobiographical statements focusing on
of conscience (Lehmann, 1963) that an authoritative, plausi-
inner turmoils.
ble community was always near. Conscience was the court
of first instance to adjudicate the worth of my action, and
Nineteenth-century founders of the science of religion
it was the court of last instance. But there was guidance from
used the idea of evolution of conscience to bridge the gap
intermediate courts, which could function in a human man-
between themselves, the Western scholars able and desirous
ner, with intellectual stability and a measure of understand-
to know all mankind, and the people they studied, whose
ing. It was the weakness of the Kantian theory that con-
outlook was perceived as regional, if not primitive. So they
science became the only (first and last) tribunal. (Paul had
wrote about the dawn of conscience in the ancient Near East
had the good sense to admit that God, not his conscience,
and about the various stages of conscience reached in non-
judges him. See 1 Corinthians 4:4.) Kant prepared the “de-
Christian religions. The moral and religious dignity of man
cline and fall” of conscience: solitary conscience is either hos-
was commonly tied to the functioning of this individual
tile to self and cruel, or self-righteous and insensitive to oth-
organ. The evolutionary view was self-serving and is now dis-
ers. Freud (1856–1939) could only spell out the irrelevance
carded, but it had the merit of affirming a commonality
and uselessness of this conscience (Lehmann, 1963).
among all humankind.
The interpretive activity of conscience must therefore
Articles on conscience in James Hastings’s Encyclopaedia
always be an account to the other, to others. De Jaucourt
of Religion and Ethics (vol. 4, 1911) illustrate this stage of
(Encyclopédie, 1765) emphasized quite soundly that what is
scholarship. There is a polemic against the nascent sociologi-
important about conscience is the quality of the reasons it
cal reductionist view that sees in conscience an interioriza-
can put forward. Hegel saw quite correctly that, to be moral,
tion of social rules. A lengthy article seeks to establish the
an action must be owned and expressed: it must be said that
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CONSCIENCE
1945
it is from conscience. Accountability before somebody else
ly assumes that a moral subject is already established, before
(the one or those affected, or an ideal observer) is intrinsic
hearing the claims of the other; one might recall here that
to morality; the effort of persuasion directed toward others
Paul told the Corinthians not to advance their own (strong)
in their otherness is bound with the aspiration to worth. The
consciences but to heed the (weaker) consciences of others.
self needs to be at least symbolically endorsed by others, to
What is heard in the depths of the encounter with the wid-
be supported at least in words. It is the utmost hypocrisy to
ows, the orphans, and the poor of the land is the infinite call
claim that conscience can judge itself with skill and authori-
of vast human need. Within the compass of being, there are
ty. Conscience does not produce a private hell or heaven but
persons who are not beings; that is, they are not beings one
a public person. When conscience is alive it evaluates the ac-
should simply adapt oneself to or exercise power on. In each
tion of the self as part of a continuing moral action (and in-
person there is also an infinite with which one can and
teraction and further interaction). It is a diseased conscience
should talk, in lucid awareness of one’s own strength. The
that carries out nothing but introspective, retrospective self-
primal condition of conscious human freedom is to be unfree
appraisal. The healthy conscience lives in the present. (In the
because claimed by the presence of a weaker other. He who
moment of conscience, consciousness becomes conscious of
is conscious of the nature of ordinary human relations has
its past social unconsciousness, and moves on.) And con-
just put food in his mouth and a roof over his head: he has
science lives in the presence of another human being or be-
time to think. The mere fact of his respite makes him infi-
ings. It forges an intention, takes an initiative, faces others
nitely liable to those who are still hungry. And the infinite
with a proposal, issues forth in a public act (Jankélévitch,
that meets us in other concrete human beings is an infinity
1933, 1950). Wise and foolish consciences, happy and un-
of demands that cannot be answered by a mere rule of what
happy ones, are not immobile, self-enclosed realities. They
is right and sufficient; it is also an infinity of stories that can-
are stages in conscious histories. Healthy consciences share
not be reduced to one plot. Thus there is in every other being
their stories. Each narrates old stories and listens to old sto-
an excess of possibilities over the possibilities that are inher-
ries: in the process, a new story is shared and action shaped.
ent in me; something new should result from our encounter.
It takes a story to account for one’s conscience, and it takes
Scripture affirms that God meets us in the lowest among our
a shared, ongoing story for conscience to form—and enjoy
brethren. Only in these meetings are found the birthplace of
forming—action.
morality and the voice of God. (See the analyses of Lévinas,
presented in Smith, 1983.) Kierkegaard praised the faith that
On the interreligious scene today, it is to be wished that
clung to the divine promise and readied itself to disobey the
dialogue and encounter shall proceed from conscience. And
law. In contrast, Emmanuel Lévinas urges us to give up the
the notion of conscience may well be—or become—part of
hope of a warm rapport with God and love the law instead,
the account that each will give to the other of his or her own
austerely. This is what God requires; what we (both we the
humanity. Such meeting of consciences cannot occur with-
strong and we the weak) most need in order to fulfill God’s
out the labor of consciousness: each trying to communicate
requirement are some firm exterior rules of justice (Lévinas,
over a period of time what he is aware of.
1976, pp. 189–193).
Any attempt in the West to develop a theologically rele-
SEE ALSO Christian Ethics; Conversion; Morality and Reli-
vant notion of conscience must overcome two traditional
gion; Religious Experience; Sin and Guilt; Theology, article
tendencies. First of all, religious conscience should be purged
on Christian Theology.
of its tendency to reject the fellowship of men and become
absorbed in the private dialogue of the soul with God. Con-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
science, wrote Luther, is the place where we must live with
Altizer, Thomas J. J. “Paul and the Birth of Self-Consciousness.”
God as man and wife (Lectures on Psalms 3.593.28–29). It
Journal of the American Academy of Religion 51 (September
must also heal itself of the tendency to assume that God will
1983): 359–370.
love us if we hate ourselves. From Augustine on, the notion
Bird, Frederick. “Paradigms and Parameters for the Comparative
has persisted that to lay bare before God our innermost
Study of Religious and Ideological Ethics.” Journal of Reli-
hearts, admit we find there utter corruption, and profess to
gious Ethics 9 (Fall 1981): 157–185.
feel pain will miraculously turn a bad conscience into a good
Brunschwicg, Léon. Le progrès de la conscience dans la philosophie
one. Such self-serving self-humiliation is either an insincere
occidentale (1927). 2d ed. 2 vols. Paris, 1953.
act or an abject one. Self-torture does not make man morally
Childress, James F. “Appeals to Conscience.” Ethics 89 (July
better. A bad conscience may prevent worse sins, but it never
1979): 315–335.
brings joy.
Despland, Michel. “Can Conscience Be Hypocritical? The Con-
A reconstruction might proceed from the biblical sense
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Review 68 (July–October 1975): 357–370.
then constituted by the hearing of—or sensitivity to—a call,
Engelberg, Edward. The Unknown Distance: From Consciousness to
a commandment. The idea of conscience can be built on
Conscience, Goethe to Camus. Cambridge, Mass., 1972.
what happens in an encounter between persons, rather than
Jankélévitch, Vladimir. La mauvaise conscience (1933). Paris,
on the notion of a moral experience. Such a notion mistaken-
1982.
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1946
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Jankélévitch, Vladimir. L’ironie ou la bonne conscience. 2d ed.
self, it becomes amorphous and changing. Sometimes
Paris, 1950.
changes from one state of consciousness to another are not
Lehmann, Paul L. Ethics in a Christian Context. New York, 1963.
recognized until the change has occurred, as if these states
Lévinas, Emmanuel. Difficile liberté. 2d ed. Paris, 1976.
were separated by a zone of forgetfulness. When one observes
changes in consciousness in someone else, the description al-
Little, David L., and Sumner Twiss, Jr. Comparative Religious Eth-
ways seems colored with one’s own biases and preconcep-
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tions, in spite of attempts to be objective. A physiologist sees
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only a range from stupor through sleep and from the normal
Harvard University, 1972.
everyday waking state to hyperexcitability. A psychiatrist
Nelson, Benjamin. On the Roads to Modernity. Totowa, N.J.,
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of awareness, all of which is considered more primitive than
Smith, Steven G. The Argument to the Other: Reason beyond Reason
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everyday waking one. All phenomena are merely variations
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Conference on Philosophical Theology, edited by Donald A.
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Crosby and Charley D. Hardwick, pp. 173–187. New York,
Psychologists and psychiatrists who subscribe to the psy-
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chodynamic view at least acknowledge the reality of the un-
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conscious. Thoughts, words, and deeds may be influenced
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by images held below the surface of consciousness, many of
McLaren, John, and Harold Coward, eds. Religious Conscience, the
which are representations of past traumatic experiences or
State, and the Law: Historical Contexts and Contemporary Sig-
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the social sciences, however, is that the unconscious is more
Redmond, Walter. “Conscience as Moral Judgment: The Proba-
primitive and undeveloped than the waking rational state.
bilist Blending of the Logics of Knowledge and Responsibili-
The model only ranges from the normality of the waking
ty.” Journal of Religious Ethics 26 (1998): 389–405.
state through the maladjustment of the neurotic to the com-
Rittgers, Ronald K. The Reformation of the Keys: Confession, Con-
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The very acknowledgment of different states of conscious-
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ness, perforce, implies a disintegration of the essential conti-
Zachman, Randall C. The Assurance of Faith: Conscience in the
nuity of waking consciousness.
Theology of Martin Luther and John Calvin. Minneapolis,
1993.
Most of the major religions and philosophies of the
world, on the other hand, speak, most often in symbolic
MICHEL DESPLAND (1987)
terms, about higher and lower states of consciousness other
Revised Bibliography
than those of ordinary experience. These are the realms of
the heavens and hells—the highest ecstatic states of expanded
consciousness possible for humans to experience or the low-
CONSCIOUSNESS, STATES OF. Consciousness
est states of suffering even beyond imagination. According
is the great enigma. We experience it in the present moment.
to these teachings, people have the potential to experience
Yet when one tries objectively to understand it within one-
qualitatively different and superior levels of perception,
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CONSCIOUSNESS, STATES OF
1947
awareness, and orientation toward themselves, others, and
factors was facilitated by circulating this subtle fluid and re-
the universe. Indeed in such states the ultimate nature of re-
balancing the underlying realm within the patient. Such a
ality may be revealed.
realignment seemed to be induced by Mesmer’s own magne-
tism and internal balance, for it was inexplicable by the pre-
But the problem is always the same with each of these
vailing theories of the day. The inferences are that one’s state
teachings, namely that religious traditions tend to advocate
of consciousness, balance, or sensitivity may profoundly af-
that transformation from a lower state to a higher state of
fect another person, and that this balance corresponds to the
consciousness may result from adherence to the ideas, meth-
fundamental order of the universe itself. He wrote:
ods, and prescribed meditations of only one’s own authentic
spiritual discipline, whereby consciousness is refined, con-
Man’s sleep is not a negative state, nor is it simply the
verted, and realigned from “the coarse to the fine.” The ques-
absence of wakefulness; modifications of this state have
tion still remains, however, about the extent to which such
taught me that the faculties of a sleeping man not only
experiences can only be mediated through a specific religious
are not suspended, but that often they continue to func-
tradition, or whether or not this is a generic transformation
tion with more perfection than when he is awake. One
can observe that certain persons walk, and conduct their
toward spiritual consciousness possible in each individual re-
affairs with more planning and with the same reflection,
gardless of the tradition or cultural context. Individuals, not
attention, and skill as when they are awake. It is still
institutions, after all, experience states of consciousness. In-
more surprising to see faculties which are called “intel-
stitutions meanwhile can foster the experience of interior
lectual” being used to such an extent that they infinitely
states or either actively or inadvertently repress them.
surpass those cultivated in the ordinary state. (Mesmer,
1980, p. 112)
Most contemporary histories, however, do not delve
into the religious literature but look more toward the objec-
GUSTAV THEODOR FECHNER. A German mathematician,
tive, scientific approach to the study of states of conscious-
physicist, and philosopher, Fechner (1801–1887) is often
ness in the West, which they maintain begins only with
credited as the founder of modern psychophysics for his ex-
Franz Anton Mesmer in the late eighteenth century.
pression of the Weber-Fechner Law, in which the just notice-
F
able difference between two weights can be detected. In-
RANZ ANTON MESMER. A remarkable healer of what are
called psychosomatic and hysterical illnesses, Mesmer
tensely interested in the mind-body problem, Fechner’s true
(1734–1815) was knowledgeable in medicine, psychology,
intent, however, was to measure the threshold between any
hermeticism, and alchemy. He postulated that people possess
two different states of consciousness, but this idea was lost
two distinct realms of consciousness, the ordinary waking
on later reductionists in experimental psychology who
state and an underlying unseen realm. In this invisible realm
claimed him as their patron saint. Fechner experienced a ner-
two related powers seem to be activated. The first is an ex-
vous breakdown in 1839 as an aftereffect from experiments
change of rarefied energies or “fluids” between individuals
gazing into the sun, and he spent a year in a condition of
that allows certain sensitive persons to influence others by
blindness, during which time he had various Asian scriptures
their presence; that is, to influence them in more subtle ways
read to him. In 1851 he produced his own text outlining a
than are generally believed operative in human exchanges.
theory of universal consciousness. Borrowing his main title
The second is a faculty of superior intelligence and will. The
from the great Zoroastrian scripture by the same name, he
recognition of these submerged potentials as put forth by
called it Zend Avesta: Oder über die Dinge des Himmels und
Mesmer and the psychologists who succeeded him led to in-
des Jenseits.
vestigation into the powers, scope, and subtleties of the un-
William James later became enamored with Fechner’s
conscious as opposed to the functioning of normal everyday
writings on the subject. In his Hibbert Lectures at Oxford
waking consciousness.
in 1907, James summarized Fechner’s doctrine of the earth
In his healing endeavors, Mesmer found himself capable
soul and of beings intermediary between God and man.
of affecting other people by his presence. He was able to
James also wrote a preface to the fourth edition of the En-
transmit a mysterious energy that he named “animal magne-
glish translation of Fechner’s Little Book of Life after Death
tism” to his patients. He believed he had the ability to trans-
(1907), in which Fechner outlined the three great spheres of
fer surplus energy from himself to others. While treating a
evolutionary consciousness—a womb consciousness charac-
woman who vacillated between episodes of illness and peri-
terized by the fetus immersed in amniotic fluid, waking ra-
ods of relative calm, he was reminded of the endless oscilla-
tional consciousness in the physical body, and a higher spiri-
tions of the tides and the seasons. This gave Mesmer the idea
tual consciousness after death. Fechner believed that each
that these bouts, like the ebbs of the tides, might be essential
stage presaged and was therefore preparation for the next,
components of a more complete process. That insight gener-
but that all stages were available simultaneously in human
ated his strategy of inducing an “artificial tide” in his patient
beings while still alive in the body.
(with the aid of magnets) to evoke a cathartic ebb or “crisis,”
WILLIAM JAMES. James (1842–1910) is the most noted
a therapeutic convulsion to enhance the body’s “fluid” circu-
modern psychologist to have seriously investigated altered
lation and bring about a cure. The cures he effected in this
states of consciousness and the influence of states of con-
way persuaded him that the cure of illness caused by mental
sciousness on the perception of reality. An avid physiologist,
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1948
CONSCIOUSNESS, STATES OF
psychologist, philosopher, and psychical researcher, James
cal states in order to grasp psychology’s true contribution to
studied trance states in mediums from an early age. He also
the religious sphere and to understand the experience of
experimented throughout his professional life with mind-
higher states of consciousness as central to the evolution of
altering drugs, including ether, chloral hydrate, nitrous
human spirituality in different cultures.
oxide, and peyote. He was an expert hypnotist and often en-
But what is the relationship between altered states of
couraged people to try automatic writing. In his monumen-
consciousness, the superior intellectual faculties described by
tal Principles of Psychology (1890) he defined consciousness
James, and the evolution of this power of sustained directed
as a stream and investigated subconscious conditions at the
attention toward ultimate reality? On the whole, these ques-
periphery of awareness, such as fugue states in somnambu-
tions—so central to the esoteric traditions—were only slight-
lism. He also studied the hypnogogic zone—the twilight pe-
ly addressed at the interface between depth psychology and
riod between waking and sleeping—in his 1896 Lowell Lec-
religious studies, and largely ignored by mainstream scientif-
tures on exceptional mental states. In The Varieties of
ic psychologists, until interest in the neurosciences forced the
Religious Experience (1902) James discussed ultimately trans-
issue of different states of consciousness on reductionistic
forming mystical states that, although inaccessible to purely
theorists. Other scientific and medical men, both around
rational consciousness, impart exceptional meaning and un-
James and since James’s time, have also been interested in
derstanding to experience. The enhanced powers of cogni-
the reality of different states of consciousness, however.
tion exhibited in such states suggest that human beings pos-
sess faculties beyond those of the ordinary mind for attaining
PIERRE JANET. Phenomena such as dissociation and som-
certainty and wisdom:
nambulism—the waking fugue state—and the study of hys-
teria and other “neuroses,” including multiple personality,
One conclusion was forced upon my mind at that time,
brought the French neurologist Pierre Janet (1859–1947)
and my impression of its truth has ever since remained
into the international spotlight in the late 1880s through the
unshaken. It is that our normal waking consciousness,
so-called French experimental psychology of the subcon-
rational consciousness as we call it, is but one special
scious. This school of thought flourished between 1880 and
type of consciousness, whilst all about it, parted from
1910 as a driving force behind a larger French, Swiss, En-
it by the filmiest of screens, there lie potential forms of
consciousness entirely different. . . . No account of
glish, and American psychotherapeutic axis that dominated
the universe in its totality can be final which leaves these
developments in scientific psychotherapy in the West long
other forms of consciousness quite disregarded. How to
before psychoanalysis came into international prominence.
regard them is the question—for they are so discontinu-
In such works as L’automatisme psychologique (1889), L’état
ous with ordinary consciousness. . . . At any rate, they
mental des hysteriques (1894), and The Major Symptoms of
forbid a premature closing of our accounts with reality.
Hysteria (1907), Janet postulated that human beings are ei-
(James, 2002, p. 318)
ther in control of themselves if they are psychologically
strong or operate under the control of the subconscious if
James defined mystical states by demarcating four of their sa-
they are psychologically weak.
lient qualities. The first is the “noetic” or cognitive aspect of
the mystical state. This is not the rational, discursive, com-
The separation of subconscious from conscious aware-
parative function of thinking, however. It is, rather, visionary
ness through psychological weakness creates a debilitated
understanding or wisdom—a power of heightened intellec-
person, exemplified by the dissociated personalities and am-
tual discernment and relational understanding in which posi-
nesiacs Janet treated. Such a person is compelled to live in
tioning, valuation, and function are apprehended and seem-
a distorted corner of reality. This nonintegrated person be-
ingly disparate facts are properly ranked and organized into
comes enslaved by the impulses and fears buried in the sub-
meaningful entities. The second quality he characterized as
conscious and succumbs to its cunning power to constrict
“ineffability.” Because they are ineffable, these transforma-
and obfuscate reality into piecemeal fragments. The subcon-
tions in consciousness cannot be verbalized in a manner that
scious absorbs the very fragments it has manufactured, and
ever does justice to the nuances of the experience. The third
these fragments are in turn present for the next event, creat-
quality is “transience.” Mystical states usually are short-lived.
ing still further splintered replacements for reality. This pro-
Having their own distinctive flavor, they appear to be con-
cess condemns its victims to a life of intellectual distortion
nected and continuous with each other, and those who expe-
and neurotic symptoms.
rience them generally report a new and vivid awareness of
being in the present moment. Fourth, mystical states are
Optimal human functioning, according to Janet, is the
characterized by a feeling of “passivity,” as if one’s personal
rule of the conscious mind over the subconscious. It is the
will were suspended and one had opened oneself to a higher
sublimation and integration of the subconscious into ordi-
or superior force. The experience is of not quite being one-
nary consciousness. He calls the apex of his “hierarchy of the
self; there is another force, power, or “person” operating
mind” a “grand synthesis,” which he counterposes against
through one.
the automatic actions or motor discharges of “psychological
automatism,” that which is relegated to the lowest rung of
At the end of this groundbreaking work James postulat-
his system. Later in his career, under the influence of James
ed the need for a cross-cultural dynamic psychology of mysti-
Mark Baldwin, Janet reworked his theories into a develop-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CONSCIOUSNESS, STATES OF
1949
mental model of the normal personality and, turning away
conscious had never and could never come directly to con-
from an exclusive focus on pathology, also applied his model
sciousness. One approached the unconscious, rather, indi-
to an understanding of religious phenomena.
rectly, through the method of symbolism. Thus, whereas the
T
goal of psychoanalysis was a return to the ability to love and
HÉODORE FLOURNOY. Another figure in the late nine-
teenth century associated with the so-called French, Swiss,
to work, the heart of Freud’s method was an exploration of
English, and American psychotherapeutic axis, Flournoy
the unconscious through free association, the interpretation
(1854–1920) was a professor of experimental psychology at
of dreams, and analysis of other unconscious behavior, such
the University of Geneva. He was a close friend of James and
as humor, slips of the tongue, and recurring symptoms where
an important influence on C. G. Jung and Jean Piaget. His
the unconscious suddenly interposes itself into the field of
major contribution to the psychology of the subconscious
waking consciousness.
was an investigation of Helene Smith, a case of multiple per-
In Civilization and Its Discontents (1930) Freud was in-
sonality with speaking in tongues (Flournoy, 1899). His final
clined to identify the mystical experience as merely one more
conclusion was that, whereas an experimental psychology of
self-deception to which humans, in their desperation and na-
the subconscious had failed to prove the spiritualists’ claim
ïveté, fall prey. There Freud wrote of a friend who was op-
for the reality of life after death, there was concrete evidence
posed to his idea that religion is a crutch allowing psycholog-
for the development of exceptional human abilities beyond
ically weak people, enfeebled because of their ignorance of
what seemed normally possible (Flournoy, 1911).
scientific truths, to project a father figure in the form of God
RICHARD MAURICE BUCKE, F. W. H. MYERS, AND ROBER-
onto the universe. The solace provided by this wishful think-
TO ASSAGIOLI. The Canadian psychiatrist Richard Maurice
ing assuages their fears in the face of a terrifying and unintel-
Bucke (1837–1902) took the issue much further by postulat-
ligible world. Freud considered himself a scientist first, and
ing an evolutionary model of consciousness similar to that
therefore declared himself to one correspondent as “a God-
of Fechner (Bucke, 1901). Humans are emerging from the
forsaken incredulous Jew.” But other interpreters, such as
domain of the primitive and instinctual into the rational and
David Bakan (1991), have analyzed Freud’s theories in light
are evolving toward a more cosmic and expanded spiritual
of an unconscious legacy from the Jewish mystical tradition.
state. Possibly the most important theorist of the time in this
C. G. JUNG. As a younger colleague of Freud from 1906 to
regard was F. W. H. Myers (1843–1901), the British psychi-
1912, a close correspondent with Freud, and at one point
cal researcher. Myers postulated a spectrum of states of con-
heir apparent to the psychoanalytic throne, Jung (1875–
sciousness ranging from the psychopathic to the transcen-
1961) can be considered the twentieth-century exponent of
dent, with waking consciousness appearing merely as one
the symbolic hypothesis. He took the method of symbolism
state among many, its primary function being the preserva-
much further than Freud, but epistemologically he is more
tion of the biological vehicle that experiences those other
accurately placed within the context of the late-nineteenth-
states. Dissolutive states tended toward personality disinte-
century psychologies of transcendence. This places him more
gration, while evolutive states showed the higher spiritual
centrally within the psychologies of James, Flournoy, and
possibilities of the race in the future. Myers’s work had a
Myers than as a mere acolyte of Freud. Jung’s entire psychol-
major influence on James, Flournoy, Jung, and others, such
ogy is a commentary on different states of consciousness. He
as the young Italian psychiatrist Roberto Assagioli (1888–
spoke about a dialogue between consciousness and the un-
1974), who associated himself with this axis and the idea of
conscious, individuation, wholeness, and the development of
a growth-oriented dimension of personality as early as 1909.
the “self” rather than the “ego” as the mature center of per-
SIGMUND FREUD. Freud (1856–1939), however, is generally
sonality. In “The Spiritual Problem of Modern Man,” chap-
recognized in mainstream Western history as the purveyor
ter ten of Modern Man in Search of a Soul (1933), he de-
of a theory of different states of consciousness in psychology
scribed the modern person as the rare, exceptional human
and psychiatry. Fallaciously, he is said to have discovered the
being who, completely conscious and having fully integrated
unconscious, when in actuality he was the first to succeed in
the solutions of the past and faced the problems of the future,
injecting a dynamic language of the unconscious into West-
is free to break with all constraints and live wholly in the
ern reductionistic science. His task was to establish the con-
present.
scious, rational functions of the ego as the controlling factor
For Jung, consciousness consisted of three realms. The
in the growth of civilization. The ego is moderated by two
first is the everyday, waking rational state, which includes the
opposing forces, the ethical boundaries of right and wrong
functions of the ego, contact with the proverbial objects of
set by the superego, and a dynamic tension created by imme-
one’s material identity, and the many masks a person wears
diate sexual gratification of primitive, instinctual needs of the
in society at large that are the ways he or she wishes to be
id, the basic force of the unconscious.
seen, as opposed to the way he or she really is. The second
Consciousness, for Freud, was the ego’s awareness and
most accessible layer is the personal unconscious, which con-
mediation of the unconscious in relation to forces in the ex-
tains one’s motivations for personal survival and the largely
ternal world. What was preconscious was what the ego could
repressed material that violates the self-image he or she can
consciously represent from the unconscious. What was un-
tolerate for himself or herself. It also contains the cultural
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1950
CONSCIOUSNESS, STATES OF
habits and heritage that condition him or her unawares. The
actualized person who surpasses all personal motivations and
third and fundamental layer is the collective unconscious.
strives for the good of humanity by acting from feelings of
This is a transcendent, primordial realm that contains a per-
“wholeness,” “justice,” “self-sufficiency,” and “aliveness,”
son’s impersonal aspirations, cunning adversaries, and ulti-
strivings capable of affecting all aspects of life. These fortu-
mate possibilities. Access to it is mediated by the archetypes,
nate people have thoroughly developed the inner self with
inborn biologically conditioned modes of perceiving and
which all people are born but which is generally squelched,
thinking that have to be penetrated and transcended if one
obfuscated, or distorted by societal and parental condition-
is to prevail in confrontation with the unconscious and
ing. Such conditioning can be overcome, however.
achieve psychic growth and health, a process Jung called in-
Peak experiences are most often the prerogative of Mas-
dividuation.
low’s self-actualized persons. These experiences are held to
The collective unconscious helped Jung account for the
be transformations of consciousness and perception wherein
plethora of parapsychological phenomena—such as psycho-
life is imbued with a sense of transcendent meaning. In To-
kinesis, clairvoyance, and synchronicity—that captivated
ward a Psychology of Being (1968), Maslow reported that they
him. If a person’s psychic life is somehow linked to that of
are states where vision is whole rather than partial, where per-
all humanity, then reports of apparently inexplicable events
ception is based upon reality rather than subjective projec-
such as extrasensory perception are not quite so unintel-
tion, and where life’s meaning and goodness are experienced
ligible.
directly and with certainty. Time appears to be suspended,
E
and the experiencer escapes the stress of “becoming.” He or
XISTENTIAL-HUMANISTIC AND TRANSPERSONAL PSYCHOL-
she seeks a tension-free life in the calm of “effortless being.”
OGIES. In the 1960s, transpersonal psychology emerged from
Through such self-actualizing development and peak experi-
its existential-humanistic and phenomenological roots as a
ences, one is then able to live a completely engaged life.
movement devoted in part to the study of meditation and
alternative states of consciousness. Though by no means rep-
Fueled by the writings of such thinkers as Aldous Hux-
resentative of the mainstream of psychological research in the
ley, who was involved with the Vedanta Society in Southern
West, transpersonal psychologists are intrigued by the possi-
California from the 1940s; Alan Watts, an Episcopal priest
bility that human beings possess transcendent powers of con-
and disciple of D. T. Suzuki who became a leading interpret-
sciousness. Some speculate about the brain’s untapped po-
er of Zen; and even the existential Christian theology of Paul
tential and hold a view of the universe as continuous with
Tillich (a major influence on both Rollo May and Carl Rog-
oneself, being both conscious and purposive. They are con-
ers); Asian concepts of consciousness, particularly the episte-
vinced that one can be motivated by broader and less-selfish
mological idea of states higher than the normal everyday
impulses than physiological needs and egoistic emotions. For
waking condition, entered the scientific lexicon through hu-
these psychologists, the most important motivations spring
manistic and transpersonal psychology. Maslow talked about
from a selflessness that revolves around the pondering of ulti-
a Daoistic attitude of noninterference and comfortability
mate questions—questions about the meaning, purpose, and
with paradox in the self-actualizing personality. Gardener
value of human life. Often influenced by the influx of East-
Murphy and Lois B. Murphy published Asian Psychology
ern psychologies and philosophies into the West, transper-
(1968). Elmer Green and Alyce Green at the Menninger
sonal psychology seeks to reverse what it considers the dis-
Foundation began studying yogic adepts, such as Swami
proportionate attention given to psychological afflictions at
Rama. Indeed, a new dialogue seemed to be emerging at the
the expense of great potentialities as human beings. This
interface between psychology and comparative religions.
movement may be understood as an attempt to reconnect
The Hindu Vedantic tradition, for example, speaks of
the science of psychology with the perennial metaphysical
four states of consciousness. The first (ja˜grat) is the habitual
teachings of the spiritual traditions.
waking consciousness, analogous to that experienced by
ABRAHAM MASLOW. Maslow (1908–1970) was particularly
Plato’s shackled prisoner. The second (svapna) occurs when
interested in fully developed or “self-actualized” people who
one experiences reality as the product of one’s subjective pro-
frequently undergo “changes in consciousness” that he called
jections rather than as random, inexplicable, and either indif-
“peak experiences.” Believing people have an inherent inner
ferent or cruel in its circumstances. Svapna conforms to the
core that strives for growth (cf. Carl Rogers, Rollo May),
experience of the unchained prisoner seeking escape. The
Maslow developed a hierarchy of human motivations that
third state (susupti) is one of “divine wisdom”—clearly the
seeks to encompass the entire spectrum of personality. Thus
purview of the liberated person. The fourth (tur¯ıya) is, fit-
there are not only self-actualizing personalities but a self-
tingly, ineffable.
actualizing dimension to all personalities.
According to the philosophy of Sa¯m:khya Yoga, the
Maslow designated the lowest and most basic needs as
mind can be found in any one of five habitual states of con-
physiological and safety needs; these are fundamentally per-
sciousness: Ksipta, or restless; Mudha, meaning stupefied;
sonal, selfish, and self-serving. The next stages include aes-
viksipta, or distracted; ekagra, meaning one-pointed; and
thetic and cognitive impulses. At the top of Maslow’s hierar-
niruddha, referring to the concentration of sama¯dhi. Yoga,
chy are “beta” or “being” needs. These operate in the self-
relative to attaining the concentration of sama¯dhi, pertains
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CONSCIOUSNESS, STATES OF
1951
only to the last two. One-pointed concentration weakens the
ological monitoring. The field of biofeedback, for instance,
afflictions, loosens the bonds of karma, and paves the way
became one of the primary technologies through which the
toward sama¯dhi or complete absorption. In the various stages
scientific study of techniques such as Yoga and meditation
of sama¯dhi the mind produces a continuously flowing stream
was conducted. From the 1970s onward, an exponential pro-
of insights into all objects (samprajnatasamadhi), whereas the
gression of scientific studies on meditation then appeared in
highest state of consciousness is described as a complete sepa-
the scientific literature.
ration of lifeless inert matter (prakr:ti) from pure conscious-
The earliest work was conducted at Harvard Medical
ness (purus:a); that is, a separation of the illuminating quality
School by the cardiologist Herbert Benson, who first identi-
(sattva) of consciousness from the stream of all objects them-
fied the relaxation response, and at Maharishi International
selves, a condition called asamprajnatasamadhi. This last is
School of Management in Iowa by scientific researchers who
chittavrittiniruddha or a complete cessation of the fluctua-
were studying the effects of transcendental meditation (TM).
tions of all mental activity.
Based primarily on data from the study of the electroenceph-
According to the philosophy of Buddhism, which origi-
alogram and other physiological differences noted between
nally borrowed heavily from the Yoga tradition, the perfec-
sleep and meditation, these investigators postulated the exis-
tion of meditative concentration is described. According to
tence of a fourth state of consciousness beyond waking,
the Tibetan teachings of the Jewel Ornament of Liberation
sleeping, and sleep with dreams.
(Sgam-Po-Pa, 1959), the first stage is overcoming restless-
The meditative state, they maintained, was a wakeful
ness. The second stage is the promotion of insight coupled
hypometabolic state of parasympathetic dominance; that is,
with tranquility. The third leads to compassion for all sen-
a relaxed, wakeful state of sustained attention. Benson main-
tient beings. The fourth is to abide in the oneness of thought
tained that periodic entry into this state could have measur-
without swerving between the opposites of being and nonbe-
able effects on improving health, especially from stress-
ing. The fifth is transcendence, which means the arising of
related illnesses. Based on almost thirty years of studying ad-
discriminative awareness born from wisdom and transmuta-
vanced meditation practitioners, the TM researchers have
tion. The sixth is that same state but now purified through
gone a step further and claimed that additional experimental
emptiness and compassion. The seventh is the attainment of
evidence they have collected on this fourth state suggests that
unsurpassable enlightenment.
it is a higher state of consciousness, such as those described
The idea of levels of consciousness is also evident in the
in the inner sciences of Asian cultures.
work of the S:u¯f¯ı teacher Javad Nurbakhsh Shaykh of the
Psychedelic drugs also contributed significantly to the
NiEmatullah¯ıyah order, who delineates four stages of devel-
modern revolution in the scientific study of consciousness.
opment:
Psychedelics were first introduced into the general popula-
1. self becoming emptied,
tion in the United States in the late 1950s. This occurred
2. self becoming illuminated,
first through physicians and scientists in the military working
with various U.S. government intelligence agencies, who dis-
3. self becoming adorned,
seminated psychoactive substances, such as lysergic acid
4. self having passed away (fana¯D).
diethylamide (LSD), among prisoners, soldiers, and test
groups of civilians before dispersing such substances
Through a spiritual training revolving around an exceptional
throughout the medical establishment. Within a short time,
master-pupil relationship, an initiate on the path (t:ar¯ıqah)
in an unprecedented occurrence within the research commu-
may penetrate the sufferings, confusions, and convolutions
nity, scientists began to experiment personally with these
inherent in egoism—represented by life in the Platonic
agents. Psychiatrists, psychologists and nonprofessionals in
cave—and pass beyond them to bliss, truth, and communion
others countries then followed suit as word spread about the
with God.
drug and its effects on consciousness throughout popular
Such interest soon directed attention back to the West-
culture.
ern mystical tradition. Jakob Boehme, Meister Eckhart,
Soon a scientific literature developed that was radically
Hildegard of Bingen, Saint Ignatius, Saint Teresa, Maimoni-
split in the interpretation of the empirical evidence defining
des, and numerous others have all come in for study of their
the physiochemistry and effects of various substances such
deep contemplative spirituality and its meaning for under-
as the cannabinols, LSD, mescaline, and fungi such as psilo-
standing of profound and transforming states of conscious-
cybin. Scientists and physicians associated jointly with the
ness. Fueled by the possibility of a dynamic, transcendent
military and medical establishments universally declared that
psychology of interior experience, humanistic and transper-
psychedelics were psychotomimetics, suitable only for mind
sonal psychologists then delved more deeply into not only
control and the artificial induction of insanity in warfare. An
their own cultures but the mystical traditions of all world
entirely different group of scientists, however, began experi-
cultures.
menting with these drugs on themselves and their patients
The new emphasis on alternate states of consciousness
in controlled clinical settings and came to the conclusion that
was also influenced through dramatic developments in physi-
particularly psychedelic compounds were invaluable aids 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
1952
CONSCIOUSNESS, STATES OF
the treatment of other chemical addictions, such as alcohol-
(single photon emission computed tomography, as opposed
ism and morphinism, that psychedelics immeasurably deep-
to positron emission tomography [PET] scans or functional
ened the experience of psychotherapy and contributed signif-
magnetic resonance imaging [fMRI]) to get a picture of the
icantly to accelerating the process of self-knowledge, and
brain’s activity during peak meditative states of oneness or
moreover that such substances held the promise of opening
union. From a neurophysiological perspective, they have
science up to an entirely new understanding of altered states
proposed a heightening of the attentional areas in the frontal
of consciousness.
cortex, which they associate with activities of the will, and
a diffuse, quiescent blurring of the boundaries between self
Two of the foremost models of consciousness in this
and not-self mediated by the posterior superior parietal lobe.
vein have been proposed by Charles Tart, now a professor
Moreover they have proposed that the parietal lobe is a major
of psychology, emeritus, at the University of California at
controlling factor in the experience of a continuum ranging
Davis, and Stanislav Grof, former psychiatrist at the Mary-
from pleasure of an aesthetic moment, including everyday
land Psychiatric Institute. Tart, a parapsychologist, psyche-
insights, to the heightened, transforming experience of reli-
delic researcher, and personality theorist, in a series of pio-
gious ecstasy. They have also proposed an evolutionary role
neering works in the 1960s and 1970s proposed that the
for such experiences relating the peak experience to ritual and
framework of traditional science was sufficient only for an
mythmaking that have become wired-in to the nervous sys-
understanding of the rational waking state. Newer forms of
tem.
science were required that were internally consistent with
and exclusive to the state of consciousness in which they were
THE CORRELATION BETWEEN BRAIN STATES AND MENTAL
applied. Tart’s call for the development of state-specific sci-
STATES. As noted, the idea that human beings have access
ences was accompanied by the assertion that scientists need-
to higher realms of consciousness is prevalent in all esoteric
ed to have experienced the particular conditions they were
contemplative traditions. To speak in purely Western terms,
studying as a necessary prerequisite for objectivity. Grof un-
in Plato’s remarkable allegory the ordinary human condition
dertook a variety of different investigations of altered states
is portrayed as existence in a cave, where shackled prisoners
of consciousness, including the recovery of birth memories,
with limited vision—able to look only at the wall in front
the study of transformative religious visions, and shamanic
of them—mistake shadows and echoes for reality. Libera-
states of healing, especially in non-Western cultures.
tion, the ascent into the real world, is arduous and requires
loosening the chains, turning around, overcoming the initial
CONTEMPORARY NEUROSCIENCE, NEUROPHILOSOPHY, AND
confusion, and persisting in a quest that brings knowledge
NEUROTHEOLOGY. Neurotheology refers specifically to mod-
and freedom. The prisoner must become realigned so that
ern attempts to study religious experience using the tech-
he or she can control his or her dark fears and shadowy
niques and theories of the neurosciences, which include
thoughts and so escape from the cave. Once he or she is out
neuroimaging of meditative and contemplative states of con-
of the cave, complete vision is possible through the liberation
sciousness. Neurotheology in this sense is an extension of the
of the higher mind (nous). Higher consciousness evolves in
more recent term neurophilosophy, in which cognitive scien-
its encounter with reality, thereby apprehending the laws of
tists, such as Daniel Dennett, Patricia Churchland, Paul
the universal order—the True, the Beautiful, and the Good.
Churchland, and Robert Searl, have dominated the discus-
sion about the philosophical implications of the biology of
Modern science has progressively attempted to pene-
consciousness. Here again, however, is the paradox that the
trate into this domain, but to what end? The trend has been
neuroscience revolution is generating humanistic implica-
to reduce all phenomena to scientific terms, still elevating the
tions that demand a return to the kind of philosophical dis-
objectivist stance and denigrating the experiential. But now
cussions long banned from the discourse of reductionistic
engaged in the scientific study of consciousness and the
science. The problem is that the new breed of scientific phi-
organ that created science in the first place, scientists are con-
losophers are all trained in cognitive behaviorism and Aristo-
fronted with the phenomenology of their own enterprise.
telian and Kantian thought, the very epistemologies that the
One result is that science itself may in the end become trans-
scientific revolution in consciousness is fast transcending,
formed.
and if these so-called neurophilosophers know any philoso-
phy at all, it is the analytic philosophers from Alfred North
The quintessential example is the physiological moni-
Whitehead and Bertrand Russell through Ludwig Wittgen-
toring of advanced meditators. Tibetan monks skilled in the
stein to Rudolf Carnap, Herbert Figel, and Willard van
techniques of G tumo Yoga are able to raise their body tem-
Orman Quine, whose overemphasis on the logical ordering
perature in frigid conditions and sleep on the snow. They
of sense data alone may become the approach in science most
also engage in a meditation practice where they compete to
vulnerable to extinction.
see how many wet sheets they can dry on their backs outside
in the cold. Advanced physiological monitoring confirms
Meanwhile a surge of interest in neurotheology has
this phenomenon and further shows that their meditations
come from the work of Andrew Newberg and the late Eu-
are quite specific in that the internal core body temperatures
gene D’Aquili. Studying Buddhist meditators and Francis-
remain the same but they raise their skin temperatures some-
can nuns, D’Aquili and Newberg employed SPECT scans
times as much as 18 degrees centigrade, which accounts for
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CONSCIOUSNESS, STATES OF
1953
the warming effect. When queried individually, each monk
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recounts entering a meditative state according to his own id-
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Evolutionary Transpersonal Psychology of Consciousness.”
unconscious physiological processes? The answer is that the
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Annual Meeting of the American Psychological Association
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(August 15, 1983, Los Angeles, California) cosponsored by
not be a thought without some chemical reaction some-
Division 36 and the Transpersonal Psychology Interest
where. This example offers similar confirmation that
Group as part of the symposium “The Dialogue between
thoughts not only are driven by body chemistry, but that
Psychology and World Religions.”
they can alter it as well, in ways not normally deemed possi-
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With a new introduction by Elijah Anderson together with
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and compiled by George Bloch. Los Altos, Calif., 1980.
vine substance or given over to the divine. And third, as
Needleman, Jacob. Consciousness and Tradition. New York, 1982.
something extraordinary in its environment, a consecrated
Nurbakhsh, Javad. Sufism. Tehran, 1977.
object is often ritually marked off, delimited from the mun-
Schimmel, Annemarie. Mystical Dimensions of Islam. Chapel Hill,
dane, everyday
N.C., 1975.
MAKING PLACES HOLY. The power of limits themselves to
Sgam-Po-Pa. The Jewel Ornament of Liberation. Translated by
consecrate holy places is evident in the practical significance
Herbert V. Guenther. London, 1959.
of the Therava¯da Buddhist concept of s¯ıma¯ (“boundary”). In
Silberer, H. “Report on a Method of Eliciting and Observing Cer-
Therava¯da Buddhism monks and laity are represented as two
tain Symbolic Hallucination-Phenomena.” In Organization
orders in society, each with its own role in the economy of
and Pathology of Thought, edited by David Rapaport,
salvation. The monks, through observing their ascetic code,
pp. 195–207. New York, 1951.
help maintain the cosmic order; the laity should serve the
Sri Krishna Prem. The Yoga of the Bhagavat Gita. New York,
monks. These two roles are played out in different physical
1949.
spaces, with a boundary between them. Thus, in the villages
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CONSECRATION
1955
of modern Thailand, the monastic compound is set clearly
and is treated to lavish banquets. Deities in household
apart. Monks may leave the compound for specific monastic
shrines, on the other hand, are treated more like guests who
duties but not to gossip in the village; villagers should enter
may only be visiting for a particular festive occasion. In order
the compound to serve the monks. In addition to the definite
to perceive the divinity in these household images, the per-
but sometimes unmarked boundary around the extended
formance of a consecratory rite may be particularly crucial.
monastic compound, the observance hall, where monks are
Grand images at major temples are sometimes understood
ordained and make group confession, has a marked bounda-
to have arisen spontaneously: S´r¯ına¯thj¯ı, they say, emerged
ry of its own. This boundary is denoted by stones—called
from Mount Govardhan, sacred to Kr:s:n:a. But a clay image
s¯ıma¯ stones—that are installed according to prescribed rites;
from the bazaar brought into the house for a temporary peri-
it is normally respected by laypersons, who must remove
od must be visibly transformed in order to be seen to embody
their shoes to enter the observance hall. Here, then, ritual
the deity’s person.
consecration expresses a crucial socioreligious division visible
in this world.
The household consecration ceremony performed for
Gan:e´sa, the elephant-headed deity, by Hindus of Maharash-
When interaction with sacred reality is seen to demand
tra reveals how human beings can put life into divine images.
traffic between worlds, the consecration of a physical struc-
When the image is brought home it is put on an altar,
ture on earth may instill in it the presence of an otherworldly
around which designs of powdered chalk have been drawn
being. Sometimes this link between worlds is forged with the
and ceremonial implements laid out. Special space has thus
help of material traces left by a holy person who has passed
been demarcated for the deity to be embodied, but the image
beyond the earthly realm. Relics of the Buddha are ideally
itself remains lifeless clay. In the ritual’s central act
embedded in the great stupas of ancient India and the pago-
(pra¯n:apratis:t:ha¯) the worshiper installs vital breath into the
das still found in Southeast Asia. In reverencing these struc-
image. But to do this the worshiper himself must first take
tures, built as memorials to the Buddha, devotees revere the
on the aspects of the divine through preliminary consecra-
Buddha’s person. In the consecration of Roman Catholic
tions. To align his microcosmic world with the macrocosm,
churches, usually named after saints, installation of the relics
the worshiper makes brief utterances while touching parts of
of the patron saint plays a part in a larger ceremony through
his body and his ritual implements, identifying himself as the
which the building is literally marked out for, and consigned
primal cosmic being and the implements as cosmic elements.
to, the crucified Lord.
The breath is installed in the deity when, to the accompani-
ment of a priest’s recitation of particular utterances, the wor-
Each of the three major parts of the ceremony presents
shiper touches the image with a kind of grass understood to
a phase in the building’s transformation. The bishop begins
be a potent conduit. At the climax of this rite, the worshiper
by marking off and purifying the church externally, cir-
understands both himself and the deity to have a common
cumambulating it three times and sprinkling its walls with
identity in the cosmic life force. This identity is then invoked
water. He then has the door unlocked and makes the sign
in further ritual worship that includes feeding the deity and
of the cross with his staff on the threshold; inside, a cross of
sprinkling it with water, both important aspects of consecra-
ashes is drawn joining the four corners of the church.
tory ritual in many Indian traditions.
Through the cross on the door and on the floor during this
first phase of the ceremony, Christ the crucified is under-
The installation of the image of Gan:e´sa in Maharashtri-
stood to take possession of the church. The second phase of
an homes takes place on the day of his annual festival, which
the ceremony makes the church a suitable dwelling place for
falls in August or September. The consecration of the day
the Lord through both negative and positive means: first evil
itself is thus marked by the visit of Gan:e´sa, which may be
is banished through the sprinkling of specially prepared holy
extended for some time longer. As long as the image of the
water, and then a solemn prayer for grace and sanctification
deity continues to remain in the house it is offered daily cere-
is offered. The third phase, in which relics are enclosed in
monial hospitality, with flowers, songs, and incense. Both
the altar, materially links the spiritual focus of the church to
the image and the time remain sanctified. But when Gan:e´sa’s
the power of a divine intercessor.
visit is over, usually within ten days, the worshiper symboli-
cally closes the image’s eyes by brushing them with the same
PUTTING LIFE INTO THE IMAGE OF A DEITY. In Hindu tem-
kind of grass he used to enliven it. The breath is then said
ples, the central physical repositories of spiritual power are
to leave the clay image, which is immersed in a nearby source
not relics but images. Devotees often see the image as a mani-
of water and dissolves. In separating from each other, both
festation of the deity itself. In their ritual worship, devotees
breath and clay return to a state that is both formless and
interact with the deity as a person with whom they attempt
timeless; but through their interpenetration in the enlivened
to come into intimate terms. In large temples, long-hallowed
image, the ritual transformation of a material form has
images are enthroned and revered as sovereigns. At the tem-
helped consecrate a particular time.
ple to S´r¯ına¯thj¯ı in Na¯thdwa¯ra, Rajasthan, for example, peo-
ple are allowed to see the image only at the times of day an
One of the most important media through which Hin-
important personage would be pleased to grant audience.
dus interact with a deity like Gan:e´sa is consecrated food.
S´r¯ına¯thj¯ı wears clothes suited to the time of day and season
Devotees offer food to the god in hospitality and later eat
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1956
CONSECRATION
what are then seen as the deity’s leavings. Through eating the
may claim a divine status of his own. The Christian West
deity’s leavings, the devotee partakes of his substance and his
has known a series of contests and accommodations between
power. The idea that something of the deity’s person inheres
papal and royal power, which led in the early Middle Ages
in these leavings derives from pervasive Hindu cultural pre-
to the celebration of royal consecration as a sacrament of the
suppositions. For traditional Hindus see the world as a hier-
church. God was understood to empower the king through
archy of interpenetrating substances, and food, ingested in
the bishop, and the king, transformed, was given status in
the body, is a potent medium for transmitting psychic sub-
the clergy. In ancient India, on the other hand, though clergy
stance between individuals. Thus, food prepared by people
performed the consecration of the king, his religious status
of low spiritual status is degrading to those above, food of-
was of a different order from theirs. From the beginning, rit-
fered by brahmans and gurus can offer spiritual benefits, and
uals of royal consecration in India have closely resembled rit-
food left over from the plate of the deity is likely to be the
uals performed for divinities. In fact the essential part of the
most powerful of all. Through contact with a higher being,
ritual, the anointing—abhis:eka in Sanskrit, literally “sprin-
food is consecrated naturally in Hindu eyes, sometimes with-
kling”—seems to have been preeminently a royal ceremony
out any special ritual at all. In Hindu tradition, communion
that was later applied to the consecration of divine images.
with the deity through consecrated food takes place without
But more than the consecration of images, royal consecra-
mystery.
tions were also likely to have a visible social and political im-
GIVING PERSONS DIVINE AUTHORITY. Communion via the
port. However deified he might sometimes appear, the king
sharing of consecrated food in Roman Catholic tradition is
was also very much a man subject to the flux of worldly af-
deliberately identified as a mystery and requires a consecrator
fairs, and his consecration was usually marked by prayers for
legitimately ordained in the church to be effective. Although
his popularity, the prosperity of himself and his people, and
the precise meaning of transubstantiation remains an issue
the extent and stability of his dominion. To maintain all
of theological speculation, the rite effecting this transforma-
these potentially fleeting goods, the consecration of early In-
tion of bread and wine into the physical substance of
dian kings was ideally repeated annually, a custom that finds
Christ—a daily, worldwide occurrence—is fairly simple. The
parallels in the royal New Year festivals of ancient Mesopota-
priest, reenacting the role of Jesus at the last supper, utters
mia and the Chinese imperial sacrifice performed on the
over the offerings a formula taken from the Gospels: “Take,
winter solstice. The brilliance of the ancient king’s reign was
eat; for this is my body.” During the act of consecration, the
usually in practical fact as well as religious belief closely
priest is understood to represent Jesus, and for his act to be
linked to the welfare of his people, and both could use regu-
valid, he must be unambiguously acknowledged by hierarchs
lar, visible signs of renewal.
recognized as true successors to the apostles. Thus the con-
secrator himself needs to be consecrated.
PERSONAL CONSECRATIONS AND RENEWAL. The renewal
and repetition of consecration becomes increasingly impor-
While the rite conferring priesthood for a long time
tant in tradition to the extent that consecration is understood
highlighted the priest’s sacramental authority, it has always
to be a human act and a personal one. In Indo-Tibetan Tan-
expressed his spiritual inheritance through apostolic succes-
tra, the consecration of a deity—referred to as abhis:eka, like
sion. As an essential element of the ordination rite, the tradi-
the royal anointing—expressly ties outer ritual to inward
tion of instruments—which distinctly expresses sacramental
contemplation and is performed as a regular spiritual exer-
power—is known only from the twelfth century. In this tra-
cise. In some instances, moreover, the outer ritual may be
dition ordinands touch a chalice filled with wine and a paten
dispensed with and only the inward consecration remain. As
containing bread (the “instruments”) while the bishop utters
in Roman Catholic practice, the power to perform consecra-
a formula that bestows on the applicants the power to cele-
tions in most Buddhist traditions requires a legitimate
brate Mass. But the tradition of instruments was always ac-
source: initiations into both the powers of deities and the
companied by that of the laying on of hands, which dates
sanctity of monkhood need to come through a recognized
from early Christian times, and is accompanied with prayer
lineage. But the established channels of sacramental authori-
by a spiritual elder for the personal religious welfare of the
ty in Catholicism and Buddhism are oriented in different di-
ordinand. Now understood to be the only essential rite of
rections. In the Roman rite, the power to consecrate is be-
ordination for bishops and deacons as well as for priests, the
stowed largely for the good of others, not for the personal
laying on of hands expresses the continuity of saving grace,
benefit of the recipient, who as consecrator becomes a public
from senior to junior, through the generations. From the
instrument for the distribution of grace in the world. Once
consecration of a bishop as successor to the apostles of Jesus
given, the power is supposed to be permanent; a force of its
to the transformation of ordinary foodstuffs into the body
own working through the individual consecrator, it is not
of Christ, the rituals of consecration in Roman Catholic tra-
closely dependent on his spiritual state. In Buddhism, on the
dition make the power of a divine personage of the past pres-
other hand, sacraments are more inwardly oriented: in Bud-
ent in today’s world.
dhist Tantra people perform regular consecrations largely for
In premodern societies, the religious authority of the
their own spiritual benefit; in Therava¯da, the value of the
priest often exists in tension with that of a monarch, who
monk for the community lies in his inner purity, and if this
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CONSERVATIVE JUDAISM
1957
cannot be maintained it is thought best for all that he leave
different Hindu traditions are presented in Gods of Flesh,
the order.
Gods of Stone (Chambersburg, Pa., 1985) edited by Joanne
Waghorne and Norman Cutler in association with Vasudha
For people in ritual and devotional traditions every-
Narayan. The work of Paul Courtright on the worship of
where, consecration in its most general sense can become a
Gan¸e´sa, a description of whose consecration is condensed
way of life. In the orthodoxies of Hinduism and Judaism all
into an article for the last-mentioned volume, is found in ful-
vital acts are ideally carried out according to divinely or-
ler form in his Gan¸e´sa: Lord of Obstacles, Lord of Beginnings
dained precepts and are usually attended by ritual or prayers.
(New York, 1984). In Ancient Indian Kingship from the Reli-
In this way, rising, eating, sex, and even elimination become
gious Point of View (Leiden, 1966), J. Gonda summarizes ac-
consecrated, that is, made part of the sacred world. For ar-
counts of Indian royal consecrations found in diverse San-
dent devotees, consecration can mean surrender, a giving up
skrit sources. A detailed account of the rite described in the
of one’s person and one’s goods to the Lord. Through dedi-
priestly srauta sutras with a valuable socio-religious interpre-
cation, the Christian religious attempt to consecrate them-
tation is presented by J. C. Heesterman in The Ancient Indi-
an Royal Consecration (The Hague, 1957). On the complex
selves fully to the service of God; Hindus following the path
rituals of Buddhist Tantra see Yael Bentor, Consecration of
of the Bhagavadg¯ıta¯ give up the fruits of their works to
Images and Stupas in Indo-Tibetan Tantric Buddhism (Lei-
Kr:s:n:a. Entailing an infinite succession of individual acts,
den, 1996).
consecration as a way of life demands perpetual vigilance, an
A full treatment of ritual consecrations and their historic develop-
acting out of the tension between divine absolutes and tem-
ment in Catholicism is given in The Liturgy of the Roman Rite
porary realities that lies at the heart of consecration’s reli-
by Ludwig Eisenhofer and Joseph Lechner, translated by
gious meaning.
A. J. and E. F. Peeler, ed. H. E. Winstone (Freiburg, Edin-
CONCLUSION. Deriving from Latin roots that connote an act
burgh-London, 1961). The development and meaning of the
of bringing particular things “together with” (com) the “sa-
Catholic priest’s sacramental authority is concisely described
cred” (sacrum), the very word consecration implies a dichoto-
by Joseph Lécuyer, C.S.SP. in What Is a Priest?, translated by
my between what is sacred and what is profane. Marking this
P. J. Hepburne-Scott (New York, 1959). On the relationship
dichotomy, moreover, is an important aspect of consecratory
between the divine authority of kings and hierarchs in West-
ern Europe, the classical account remains Gerd Tellenbach’s
acts in many religious traditions. But in cross-cultural per-
Church, State and Christian Society at the Time of the Investi-
spective the concept of consecration also suggests other con-
ture Contest, translated by R. F. Bennett (New York, 1959).
tinuities in the religious thought and practice of diverse peo-
ples. When accompanying the enshrinement of relics of the
DANIEL GOLD (1987 AND 2005)
dead or the initiation of living persons into hallowed spiritual
lineages, an act of consecration in the present maintains the
efficacy of specific divine sources revealed in the past. The
efficacy of the act may also demand a consecration of the
CONSERVATIVE JUDAISM evolved out of the de-
consecrators themselves, whose ritual performance presents
sire of Eastern European Jewish immigrants to find their way
some of their most exalted religious potentials: while cele-
in the United States; it was one of a myriad of syntheses of
brating Mass, the priest already ordained in the church is
Jewish identity and modernity invented by acculturating
seen to be most fully representative of Jesus; to enliven an
Jews. While its intellectual and institutional origins lie in the
image, the Hindu worshiper is identified with the primordial
nineteenth century, the Conservative Jewish denomination
cosmic person. Finally, the difference between temporary
rests on the confluence of modernizing rabbis trained at the
and permanent consecration that emerges from a global per-
Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City, Americaniz-
spective highlights the continuing religious problem people
ing Eastern European Jewish immigrant masses, and the na-
face in attempting to establish the divine in the material
tional organizational infrastructure that emerged to inculcate
world: consecrations taken as permanent express the abso-
Conservative Judaism to Jewish men, women, and children.
luteness of divine presence; those seen as temporary reveal
IDEOLOGICAL AND INSTITUTIONAL ORIGINS. Conservative
the limits of human effort and the impermanence of material
Judaism considers European rabbi and scholar Zacharias
embodiments.
Frankel (1801–1875) to be its ideological founder. In 1845,
in Frankfurt am Main, at a conference of rabbis engaged in
SEE ALSO Blessing; Images; Ordination; Relics.
reforming Judaism, the men agreed to amend the traditional
worship service to dispense with the Hebrew language in all
BIBLIOGRAPHY
but a handful of prayers. Although Frankel was open to
Most ready material on consecration is to be found in works on
adapting Judaism in response to the challenges posed by the
specific traditions. Monastic ordinations and the concept of
encounter of Jews with modernity, such a drastic break with
boundary in Therava¯da Buddhism are approached through
their classical sources by John Holt in Discipline: The Canon-
the Jewish past was an anathema. He seceded from the con-
ical Buddhism of the Vinayapit:aka (New Delhi, 1983) and ex-
ference, advocating an alternative response to modernity:
amined in contemporary Thai tradition by S. J. Tambiah:
positive-historical Judaism. The response prioritized reason
Buddhism and the Spirit Cults in North-east Thailand (Cam-
based on scholarship and a deep appreciation for conserving
bridge, U.K., 1970). The meanings of enlivened images in
the traditions of the past, as opposed to the will of the laity,
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1958
CONSERVATIVE JUDAISM
to guide the process of accommodating Judaism to the new
This early Seminary, which distinguished itself by its
realities of the nineteenth century. In 1854 Frankel became
embrace of the English language and secular education, grad-
the founding president of Breslau’s Jüdisch-Theologisches
uated seventeen rabbis and cantors between 1894 and 1902.
Seminar, a new rabbinical school whose graduates espoused
Its first graduates included Mordecai M. Kaplan (1881–
positive-historical Judaism. When, in 1886, the Jewish
1983), who became professor of homiletics at the Seminary
Theological Seminary of America was established in New
and who led an influential wing within the Conservative
York City, its founders not only evoked the Breslau school
movement that eventually became a separate denomination
in choosing a name, they also saw it as a model.
called Reconstructionist Judaism. In 1901 these Seminary
At the same time, nineteenth-century American Jews
graduates founded an alumni association, which grew into
and their rabbis were engaged in reforming Judaism. Re-
the Rabbinical Assembly, the union of Conservative rabbis.
sponding to their increasing distance from tradition and
But, even as they did, their alma mater, the early Seminary,
their desire to transmit Judaism to the next generation, virtu-
which had long suffered a lack of financial support, was on
ally every synagogue by 1870 had adopted some reforms. But
the verge of collapse.
twentieth-century labels do not neatly fit nineteenth-century
What saved the Jewish Theological Seminary from ex-
American Jewish realities. In some synagogues, led by immi-
tinction was its reorganization in 1902. A group of wealthy
grant rabbis whom historian Moshe Davis dubbed “men of
New York Jews, most of them personally committed to Re-
the Historical School,” English-language prayers and ser-
form Judaism and all engaged with other institutions advanc-
mons, and Sunday schools that educated girls as well as boys,
ing the Americanization of Eastern European Jewish immi-
emerged. Other synagogues went further, ending the practice
grants, were persuaded to endow the Seminary and to bring
of separating men and women in worship and abolishing the
to the United States the renowned Cambridge University
head covering and ritual garb traditionally worn by Jewish
scholar Solomon Schechter (1847–1915) as its president.
men.
Events in the 1880s suggested that those advocating the
THE SCHECHTER YEARS. Although Schechter led the Semi-
most extensive reforms would soon triumph. In July 1883,
nary for only thirteen years, until his death in 1915, he left
as the first rabbis ever trained on American soil prepared to
so clear an imprint on the school that it became known, both
be ordained, prominent Jews journeyed for the historic occa-
in his lifetime and afterwards, as Schechter’s Seminary. Envi-
sion to Cincinnati’s Hebrew Union College. Invited to a
sioning the Seminary as a great Jewish academy, Schechter
celebratory banquet, the traditionalists among them were ap-
hired a distinguished faculty, including Louis Ginzberg
palled to find clams, shrimp, and frog’s legs, all decidedly
(1873–1953) as professor of Talmud. He also revamped the
unkosher or treyf foods in violation of Jewish law, on the
rabbinical curriculum to make it a postgraduate school;
menu. The traditionalists stormed out of the treyfah banquet
launched a teachers course, which evolved into the Teachers
and were soon calling for a new rabbinical seminary. In Janu-
Institute, to train educators to work alongside Seminary rab-
ary 1886, after Reform rabbis had rejected Jewish law and
bis; transformed the library into one of the largest and most
tradition in the Pittsburgh Platform of 1885, a coalition of
valuable collections of Judaica ever owned by Jews, an indis-
traditionalist leaders and moderate reformers founded the
pensable resource for advancing Jewish scholarship in Ameri-
Jewish Theological Seminary of America for those Jews who
ca; and moved the Seminary to its new home in Manhattan’s
would both uphold Mosaic law and adhere to a historical Ju-
Morningside Heights in the heart of the academic setting
daism resting upon the great interpretations of rabbinic liter-
bounded by Union Theological Seminary and Columbia
ature codified in works like the Talmud.
University. Schechter’s presidency thus charted the Semi-
nary’s future by setting the training of rabbis, teachers, and
THE EARLY SEMINARY. The “early Seminary,” as the school
scholars at the heart of its mission.
in the years between its founding in 1886 and its reorganiza-
tion in 1902 has since become known, was not intended to
Schechter had hoped that the Seminary he revisioned
be a denominational institution promulgating Conservative
would unify the diverse elements of American Jewry. But as
Judaism. Although at its opening exercises, Professor Alexan-
Orthodox rabbis prohibited Orthodox synagogues from hir-
der Kohut (1842–1894), a graduate of the Jüdisch-
ing Seminary graduates—who, they asserted, were tainted by
Theologisches Seminar, spoke of Conservative Judaism, and
the critical scholarly methodologies of Ginzberg—and as Re-
although its founders pledged their allegiance to historical
form leaders openly expressed criticism, Schechter realized
Judaism, this rhetoric cannot camouflage the fact that Con-
the impossibility of this dream. Moreover, his espousal of Zi-
servative Judaism, as such, did not yet exist. In fact, many
onism, which he considered a bulwark against assimilation,
of the early Seminary’s first leaders, including its president
had alienated many among his own board of directors, who
Sabato Morais (1823–1897), would, if labels must be as-
were either neutral towards Zionism or who even opposed
signed, more properly be termed Orthodox. And well into the
it. Needing to extend his base of support, Schechter ulti-
1920s, when a merger of the Jewish Theological Seminary
mately did what he had hoped to avoid. Joined by Seminary
and Orthodoxy’s Yeshiva College was contemplated, the
rabbis who felt isolated in their pulpits out in the field, he
boundaries between Conservative Judaism and a moderniz-
launched a new federation of synagogues—the third in the
ing Orthodox Judaism remained poorly defined.
United States, since both Reform and Orthodoxy already
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CONSERVATIVE JUDAISM
1959
had their own synagogal unions—to support the Seminary
rooms for study and meetings, and gymnasiums and swim-
and advance its vision of Judaism.
ming pools for recreation. Although the idea of the syna-
gogue-center had its roots in earlier nineteenth-century
In 1913, twenty-two congregations formed the United
American Jewish settings, including Reform synagogues and
Synagogue of America (renamed in 1991 the United Syna-
the Young Men’s Hebrew Associations (YMHAs), the proto-
gogue of Conservative Judaism), which embraced
type of the interwar synagogue-center was the Jewish Center,
Schechter’s vision and welcomed any congregations that
founded in 1917, by Seminary professor Kaplan. As Jewish
were not avowedly Reform (that is, those using Reform’s
immigrants and their children flocked to these new institu-
Union Prayer Book and where men worshiped without cover-
tions, they became ethnic enclaves where American Jews
ing their heads with skullcaps or hats). The new union would
could pray and play together.
advance Jewish life in the United States, especially the obser-
vance of the Sabbath and the dietary laws of kashrut. It would
ORGANIZATIONAL GROWTH. Even as the United Synagogue
foster Jewish education and promote Jewish religious life in
reached out to pioneer new congregations, it simultaneously
the home as well as in the synagogue. Its members would
created the umbrella organizations of Conservatism’s various
pray in Hebrew, but their synagogues would maintain deco-
lay groups, essentially developing different structures, often,
rous behavior in worship (in contrast to an unmodernized,
but not always, modeled on those Reform Judaism’s Union
immigrant-style prayer). Their rabbis would preach in En-
of American Hebrew Congregations had already organized,
glish, and they would welcome women to assist in their
for connecting the various segments of the American Jewish
work.
community to the synagogue and Conservative Judaism. In
THE EMERGENCE OF THE CONSERVATIVE SYNAGOGUE. By
1918 the National Women’s League of the United Syna-
1929, less than two decades later, the United Synagogue had
gogue of America (now the Women’s League for Conserva-
expanded to 229 member congregations. It had become the
tive Judaism) became the umbrella for the sisterhoods that
central address for American Jewish men and women who,
flourished as gendered spaces in these new synagogues. The
as they left behind immigrant ghettos for the comfort of mid-
organization’s founding president and guiding spirit was Sol-
dle-class apartments in new urban neighborhoods, sought a
omon Schechter’s widow and intellectual companion,
new expression of Judaism for themselves and especially for
Mathilde Schechter (1859–1924). In 1929 another deliber-
their American-born children. United Synagogue leaders de-
ately gendered entity emerged, the National Federation of
liberately sought out these upwardly-mobile Jewish men and
Jewish Men’s Clubs. The first of a variety of Conservative
women who were equally distanced from the Yiddish-
Jewish youth organizations dates to 1921, but this early asso-
speaking Orthodoxy of their youth and the dramatic ritual
ciation was abandoned in favor of new models after World
and ideological transformations of Reform Judaism. Conser-
War II when a different kind of teen culture emerged in a
vative rabbis promised moderate reforms—for example, a
rapidly suburbanizing United States.
late Friday evening service with its greater reliance on English
These different entities offered programs geared to their
for prayer; Sunday schools, Hebrew schools, and adult edu-
specific constituencies and presented a path to national lead-
cation classes; and the seating of men and women side-by-
ership for Conservative laity. They sponsored conventions
side in prayer in contravention of the customary Jewish prac-
and retreats, developed new educational programs, and pub-
tice of separating the sexes in worship. But these reforms
lished an array of movement literature, including institution-
were balanced by retaining the traditional Hebrew Saturday
al magazines, all meant to foster a greater awareness of how
morning service, albeit with an English-language sermon;
it was indeed possible, even in the midst of secular American
mandating intensive preparation for the ceremony of bar
culture, to live a full Jewish life at home and in the syna-
mitzvah; and maintaining allegiance to Jewish law and ex-
gogue. All remained dedicated to Conservative Judaism’s
pecting Conservative Jews to continue to usher in the Sab-
principles of upholding historic Jewish observances and ad-
bath in their homes by lighting candles and blessing wine,
vancing knowledge of Hebrew and Torah. In so doing they
to walk to synagogue on Sabbath mornings and on holidays,
helped shape a specific Conservative Jewish denominational
and to adhere to kashrut.
identity.
In general, concedes Jack Wertheimer, Seminary pro-
THE GREAT DEPRESSION AND WORLD WAR II. The prom-
vost and historian of Conservative Judaism, services in these
ising expansion of Conservative Judaism through the United
new synagogues were poorly attended since, in the years be-
Synagogue came to a grinding halt with the onset of the
tween World War I and World War II, most men worked
Great Depression. The economic crisis affected both Conser-
on Saturday mornings. That meant that women filled the
vative synagogues and the national organizations and institu-
pews and assumed from the inception of the Conservative
tions. With the world moving towards war, the energies of
synagogue an active role in its congregational life.
American Jews focused on an endangered Jewry across the
Many of these new synagogues were lavish synagogue-
Atlantic and embattled Zionists in British-mandate Pales-
centers—“shuls [synagogues] with pools,” a unique Jewish-
tine. As a result, the era of the depression and the early years
American invention. Synagogue-centers offered sanctuaries
of World War II were years of stasis, at best, for much of the
and chapels for worship, social halls for fellowship, class-
Conservative movement.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1960
CONSERVATIVE JUDAISM
That began to change, however, with America’s entry
others asserted that Conservative rabbis had the right to
into the war in December 1941. Helping the war effort occu-
enact new legislation and must abrogate old laws that had
pied Conservative men, women, and youth at home and in
become irrelevant and were, moreover, ignored by most
their synagogues. But as the war sent tens of thousands of
Conservative Jews.
American Jews into the military, many met there, for the first
Behind Conservatism’s disputes over interpreting
time, Conservative rabbis serving as chaplains in the U.S.
halakhah were diametrically opposed theological under-
armed forces. When these soldiers returned home after the
standings of God and revelation. They are perhaps best un-
war, they formed the nucleus of a new generation of Conser-
derstood as emanating from the two polestars of the Semi-
vative Jews, paving the way for a second era of remarkable
nary faculty at midcentury, Kaplan and Abraham Joshua
movement growth.
Heschel.
IDEOLOGICAL AND THEOLOGICAL DIVIDES. A careful look
In his magnum opus Judaism as a Civilization (1934),
at those Conservative rabbis—on the eve of World War II
Kaplan proposed a total revolution in Jewish theology, de-
they numbered just over three hundred, most, but not all,
manding that it be “reconstructed” to naturalism. He reject-
ordained at the Seminary (by 1944, a third were military
ed the notion of a supernatural God, redefining God as the
chaplains)—would have then revealed significant ideological
Power in the universe that makes for salvation, the sum of
and theological divisions within the Conservative move-
the forces that enable men and women to make the most of
ment. Conservative rabbis were united by their belief in the
their lives. For Judaism to survive the challenges of moderni-
historic body of Jewish law which, they asserted, must govern
ty, there could be no miracles, no supernatural revelation.
a Jew’s life from birth to death. But they knew that moderni-
Since no authoritarian God could have revealed the com-
ty, secularization, and Americanization had deeply affected
mandments to the nation at Sinai, Kaplan revisioned the
Jews’ attachment to halakhah. (Halakhah, literally “the way,”
commandments as folkways, understanding Judaism’s sacred
refers to the entire corpus of Jewish law and includes laws
seasons, rites, and rituals as existing to answer human needs.
found in the Bible, the many classics of rabbinic literature,
Consequently, they must be adapted to meet the changed
and modern interpretations too.) American Jews, including
circumstances of contemporary life. Concomitantly, he also
Conservative Jews, had fashioned their own Jewish tradition,
rejected the historic concept that the Jews were God’s chosen
picking and choosing from halakhah, observing certain holi-
people.
days and forgetting others, upholding certain rites and ritu-
als, even inventing new ones, and ignoring others. This
To many Conservative leaders, in the decades when
halakhic anarchy undermined the tradition Conservative rab-
those embracing Kaplan’s Reconstructionism remained
bis upheld. The solution, they believed, was for them to take
within the movement, this theology was utterly anathema.
charge of shaping halakhah. They would be the ones to guide
They understood belief in a supernatural God and his revela-
American Jewry to strike the proper balance between the
tion as fundamental theological concepts, though they also
forces of Tradition and Change (the title of a significant col-
understood the difficulties these beliefs posed for moderns.
lection of movement essays, edited by Mordecai Waxman
Many of these rabbis were deeply influenced by the spiritual
and published in 1958). If they succeeded, then Conservative
pietism and personal traditionalism of the charismatic Semi-
Jews could and would volunteer to adhere to Jewish law and
nary professor of Jewish ethics and mysticism Heschel.
praxis.
Heschel’s philosophical and theological writings related
Conservative rabbis all agreed that halakhah must be ad-
directly to the moral dilemmas of the moment. His Depth
justed, adapted to meet modern realities and changing cir-
Theology went below the surface phenomena of modern
cumstances. They also shared an opposition to Reform Juda-
doubt and rootlessness to illumine the Living God, not as
ism’s deliberate abrogation of Jewish law, even as they
a philosophical abstraction or psychological projection but
claimed that the Orthodox had erred in maintaining a rigid,
as the Most Moved Mover, the God of pathos who stands
unadjusted halakhah. But if these stances united Conserva-
in a dynamic and reciprocal relationship to creation, who is
tive rabbis they were nevertheless deeply divided over the ex-
overwhelmingly real and shatteringly present. Depth Theol-
tent to which Jewish law could and should be properly ac-
ogy explored the ongoing encounter between man and God,
commodated to contemporary realities, over the best way to
showing it to be an arduously difficult dialogue in which
forge a synthesis of modernity with halakhah.
God remained a constant partner in man’s work in the
world.
Almost from its inception, Conservative Judaism was
wracked by different visions of the acceptable methods of ad-
ADJUSTING JEWISH LAW. These differences over theology
justing tradition to the modern world. For many rabbis
and ideology were reflected in the three wings of the Conser-
halakhah could be adapted only through time-honored pro-
vative movement. By 1927, when the Rabbinical Assembly
cesses of reinterpretation of classic texts to prove that innova-
formed its first Committee on Jewish Law to answer for the
tions remained within the basic spirit of Jewish law, and that
movement the myriad of halakhic questions congregants and
they would, therefore, be acceptable to all of Jewry, which
rabbis raised, the divisions had crystallized among the move-
Schechter had considered the will of “Catholic Israel.” But
ment’s elites—its rabbis and Seminary professors—into a re-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CONSERVATIVE JUDAISM
1961
ligious and ideological right, center, and left. Those on the
As the war broke out, the Seminary began admitting
right, which included most of the Seminary faculty, favored
larger classes to train the increasing number of rabbis needed
the maintenance of tradition over any but the most essential
to serve at home and at the front. As the war ended, the need
changes. Those on the left, represented by the Reconstruc-
for Conservative rabbis became so acute that the Rabbinical
tionists who followed Kaplan’s philosophy, considered major
Assembly began admitting more and more rabbis trained in
adaptations essential to meet the radically changed world in-
Reform and Orthodox settings who preferred to be Conser-
habited by a modernizing Jewry. In the middle stood a large
vative rabbis.
center trying valiantly to balance the sometimes shaky coali-
As Jewish servicemen returning home joined the urban
tion.
exodus, they organized new synagogues for their growing
As Conservative leaders established a series of commit-
families in the burgeoning suburbs. Many decided that mid-
tees on Jewish law to answer the enormous number of ques-
dle-of-the-road Conservative Judaism, whose chaplains they
tions raised—in some years they exceeded 170—the rabbis
had first encountered during the war, would attract the wid-
were careful to balance committee members from among the
est swathe of suburbanizing Jews. While the number of Re-
conservative and liberal wings of the Rabbinical Assembly.
form synagogues grew in these years, the growth in the Con-
The committees answered a host of questions about dietary
servative movement was greater. By 1949 the United
laws, synagogue customs, architecture, Shabbat and holiday
Synagogue had 365 congregations, nearly a 100 percent in-
observance, funeral practices, conversion, circumcision, and
crease in just four years. By 1971, with the era of remarkable
intermarriage. Could unfermented wine be used for ritual
growth over, the United Synagogue counted 832 congrega-
purposes in order to comply with Prohibition? Was it per-
tions, comprising some 350,000 families with an estimated
missible to withhold a get, the Jewish bill of divorcement,
1.5 million members.
until a civil court had dissolved the marriage? Could inter-
A NATIONAL IDENTITY. The explosion of synagogues was ac-
married Jews join a synagogue? Was eating broiled fish in res-
companied by a simultaneous expansion of movement activi-
taurants and hotels permissible? What could the rabbis do
ties and new initiatives designed to solidify Conservatism’s
about the plight of a wife chained to a husband who no lon-
presence as a national movement among American Jewry.
ger lived with her but who refused or was unable to grant
The United Synagogue advised emerging congregations on
her a divorce, which, under Jewish law, only he could do?
synagogue management, budget, personnel, youth work, and
Was it permissible to drive to synagogue services on the Sab-
successful synagogue programs. By the end of the 1940s,
bath? What could be done, within the confines of Jewish law,
Conservative cantors, synagogue administrators, and Jewish
to adjust the unequal status of women?
educators had formed new professional associations. In 1947
If the committee on Jewish law ruled unanimously on
the Seminary established a West Coast branch, the Universi-
a question, then all Conservative rabbis, and presumably all
ty of Judaism, in Los Angeles. Moreover, after many years
Conservative Jews, must abide by the ruling (note the rabbis
of false starts, a prayer book for the movement, The Sabbath
had little coercive power over the laity). But if the law com-
and Festival Prayer Book, was at last published in 1946. As
mittee published a majority and minority report, then the
it became almost universally accepted in Conservative syna-
rabbis were free, according to Jewish custom and tradition,
gogues, it contributed to a clearer sense of national move-
to follow either opinion. Thus all Conservative rabbis were
ment identity among the laity.
prohibited from officiating at intermarriages. But Conserva-
Conservative leaders already had ambitions beyond the
tive synagogues have the option of abrogating the second day
United States, and in 1957 they established a World Council
of observance of certain holidays and of completing the read-
of Synagogues (now the World Council of Conservative Syn-
ing of the Torah, the Five Books of Moses chanted on Sab-
agogues) to extend their unique vision of Judaism around the
bath morning, over either one or three years.
globe. In 1962 they launched a rabbinical seminary in Argen-
As World War II was ending, the Conservative move-
tina to train modern Spanish-speaking rabbis. As increasing
ment’s coalition of the right, center, and left continued to
numbers of Conservative rabbis made their homes in Israel,
hold, and it would hold throughout the first postwar decades
the movement grew there too. In 2003 the Masorti move-
when a new era of remarkable expansion required the ener-
ment, as Conservative Judaism is known in Israel (masorti
gies of all in the movement.
means “traditional”), numbered fifty congregations and in-
P
cluded a kibbutz and educational institutions. This is a sig-
OSTWAR EXPANSION. By the late 1930s, Seminary leaders,
notably Louis Finkelstein (1895–1992), who became its
nificant achievement, given that early in the history of the
president in 1940 and retired as its chancellor in 1972, rec-
new state full jurisdiction over marriage, divorce, and burial
ognized that the hegemony of world Jewry was shifting from
for all Israeli Jews was handed over to the Orthodox, and its
Europe to the United States. Determined that Conservatism
rabbinate has yet to recognize the authority of rabbis or-
must become a, if not the, leading force guiding American
dained outside Orthodox settings.
and even world Jewry, Finkelstein set a course to raise funds
EDUCATION AND CONSERVATIVE YOUTH. Perhaps the great-
and develop new initiatives to extend Conservative Judaism’s
est of Conservative Judaism’s successes in these first postwar
reach.
decades lay in the field of Jewish education. Abiding by 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
1962
CONSERVATIVE JUDAISM
dictum, “And you shall teach them diligently unto your chil-
school became the nucleus of the family-centered suburban
dren” (Dt. 6:7), the movement invested extraordinary re-
congregation, drawing parents and children together to the
sources in an array of formal and informal programs of Jew-
synagogue.
ish education at a time when American women were giving
BAT MITZVAH. It also had unintended and unanticipated
birth to the demographic bulge known as the baby boom.
consequences, for not only was Hebrew school the path to
The Conservative synagogue became a central site for educat-
bar mitzvah, it also became the path to bat mitzvah. Bat
ing young Jews as nursery schools and Sunday schools were
mitzvah was a new Jewish rite marking the transition from
held on its premises. At the same time, Conservative leaders
childhood to adolescence among American girls. In 1922,
and laity created their first Jewish parochial schools, known
Kaplan created the first bat mitzvah in the United States for
as day schools; by 1958, there were fourteen Conservative
his daughter Judith. In the decades that followed, bat mitz-
day schools. In these settings children and teens spend ap-
vah won limited acceptance on an individual basis in Conser-
proximately 40 percent of every day immersed in Jewish
vative synagogues. Its form—whether it took place at the Fri-
studies, including Hebrew language and classical Jewish
day evening or Saturday morning Sabbath service, and which
texts. In 2003 over seventy schools in twenty states and Can-
portions of the service the bat mitzvah girl read—differed
ada were affiliated with the movement’s Solomon Schechter
from synagogue to synagogue. By 1948 a third of Conserva-
Day School Association.
tive synagogues had adopted bat mitzvah, and by 1960 al-
most all celebrated both bar and bat mitzvah, even though
New youth programs in these first postwar decades pro-
it would take another decade or two for bat mitzvah to paral-
vided informal Jewish education. They included not only
lel exactly the bar mitzvah rite in most Conservative congre-
United Synagogue Youth, founded in 1951 for high school
gations.
students, but also programs for teens seeking advanced Jew-
ish education and other programs for the increasing numbers
Yet, even as bat mitzvah was becoming the norm for
of Jewish youth attending college. The first of what would
Conservative synagogues, it nevertheless signaled the end of
become a network of movement camps, Camp Ramah,
a girl’s public participation and leadership of the service.
opened in Wisconsin in 1947. Designed as Hebrew-speaking
Boys could continue, if they wished, to use what they had
camps where campers would pray daily and live Judaism dur-
learned in Hebrew school. They could, as teens and adults,
ing the long, hot summers, they were expected to propel the
bless the Torah scroll and read from it. They could even con-
next generation of Conservative Jews to lives filled with Juda-
tinue their Jewish learning and become rabbis. In these years
ism, observance, and study. United Synagogue Youth and es-
no one expected that the bat mitzvah girl would ever again
pecially Camp Ramah (both included Israel travel experi-
ascend to the pulpit, and surely she would never think of be-
ences) became training grounds for those who would go on
coming a rabbi. Thus, Conservatism’s educational triumphs,
to become lay leaders and for the next generations of Conser-
the creation of strong institutions for youth education, un-
vative rabbis.
wittingly helped set the stage for its most significant public
crisis.
Yet, in terms of its reach to the greatest number of Con-
servative youth, surely the pinnacle of Conservatism’s educa-
YEARS OF UNEASE. By 1968, with the war in Vietnam raging,
tional achievements was the three-day-a-week afternoon con-
the youth rebellion in full swing, and the end of the demo-
gregational school, the Hebrew school. Prior to its
graphic baby boom that had caused the suburban synagogue
emergence, most boys learned what they needed to know for
explosion, the era of enormous movement growth was at an
bar mitzvah (the rite of passage to adult status in the syna-
end. As the 1960s have come to stand for years of turmoil
gogue, which occurs at age thirteen) in community Hebrew
in American society, when Americans launched a war on
schools. The shift from the community school to the congre-
poverty, struggled to bring civil rights to all, and began a re-
gational Hebrew school began in the 1920s during the Con-
markable revisioning of gender roles, the Conservative move-
servative synagogue’s first period of expansion, but the three-
ment too experienced its own years of unease.
day-a-week congregational Hebrew school, which eventually
In 1968 the Reconstructionists, long the most ardent
absorbed the Sunday school for all but the youngest children,
champions of Conservatism’s liberal wing, defected. As long
became the pillar of the new Conservative suburban syna-
as Kaplan remained a professor at the Seminary—and he
gogue. It became the medium by which Conservative chil-
taught rabbinical students there for more than five decades
dren, and in the educationally egalitarian suburbs they in-
(from 1909 to 1963)—he refrained from creating the struc-
cluded girls as well as boys, acquired the knowledge and skills
tures that would proclaim Reconstructionism’s indepen-
necessary to fit into congregational life. Here children
dence. Gradually, over the course of the 1960s, they had
learned Hebrew prayers, studied the Bible, and were intro-
emerged. The final step was the establishment of the Recon-
duced to Jewish history, literature, and culture. They came
structionist Rabbinical College in Philadelphia in 1968. Its
to understand the centrality of Israel to the Jewish people and
founding meant that those who would have become the stan-
to comprehend Jewish values and ethics. By moving the He-
dard bearers of Conservatism’s liberal wing in the next gener-
brew school to the synagogue and requiring attendance three
ation could now become Reconstructionist, rather than Con-
times a week for five years before bar mitzvah, the Hebrew
servative, rabbis.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CONSERVATIVE JUDAISM
1963
At the same time Conservative leaders experienced an-
marriage that only her husband could end. Even when Amer-
other defection, that of their best and brightest youth. In
ican courts had issued a civil divorce, if a husband refused
1968 in Boston, Jews in their twenties, mostly graduate stu-
to grant a Jewish divorce the wife remained unable, as Con-
dents and many, perhaps most, raised in elite Conservative
servative rabbis understood Jewish law, to remarry. In the
institutions, founded the first havurah (plural, havurot), a
late 1960s the Rabbinical Assembly took steps to resolve this
small intimate group for prayer, celebration, and study. Cre-
halakhic impasse.
ating a Jewish expression of the wider American countercul-
Marshall Sklare (1921–1992), who wrote the definitive
ture, by the mid-1970s havurot flourished in all major Jewish
sociological study of the Conservative movement, under-
communities. The young men and women of the havurot,
stood well that the inferior position of women in Jewish law
and they included at least one former national president of
transgressed Western norms. But, as he wrote at midcentury,
United Synagogue Youth, rejected the grand suburban syna-
he observed that Conservative women were not agitating for
gogues in which they had come of age, depicting them as
full equality. They seemed then, to Sklare, quite satisfied
spiritually arid temples to the hollowness of affluence.
with the changes in women’s status already made in Conser-
Many Conservative leaders perceived the rebellion of
vative Judaism.
their youth as indicative of the movement’s weaknesses.
By the early 1970s, however, that was no longer true.
They charged that their congregational schools had, despite
In March 1972, three months before the first American
their best efforts, failed. With the exception of the climactic
woman was ordained by Reform Judaism’s Hebrew Union
experience of bar and bat mitzvah, they had not won over
College, a group of women in New York, riding the crest of
the youth who must become the next generation of Conser-
the new wave of American feminism and deeply committed
vative Jews. Yet, Rabbi Wolfe Kelman (1923–1990), known
to Conservative Judaism, appeared at the annual meeting of
as “the rabbi of the rabbis” for his long tenure as executive
the Rabbinical Assembly. As girls, they had received the same
director of the Rabbinical Assembly, argued that the Conser-
educations as their brothers in Conservative schools and
vative youth who were the chief architects of the Jewish
camps. As women, they were denied the opportunity to use
counterculture were actually a sign of the movement’s suc-
that knowledge. As feminists, they deemed this a gross af-
cess. They had learned enough in Conservative settings to
front to their intelligence and sensibilities. They called for
criticize the institutions in which they were raised and were
an end to the second-class status of women in Jewish life, de-
so committed to Judaism that they demanded more from it.
manded that women be allowed to participate fully in all reli-
Nevertheless, as the size of the movement stabilized, as
gious observances, and launched an agonizing public debate
the Reconstructionists seceded, and as the youth who should
over whether or not the Conservative movement would or-
have become the next generation of Conservative synagogue
dain women rabbis.
members seemed to defect, the late 1960s and early 1970s
From 1972 to 1983, Conservative leaders found them-
became years of unease within Conservatism. This unease
selves inextricably engaged in an intricate political dance of
was compounded in the 1970s as many of the grand old syn-
shifting alliances, studies undertaken, commissions formed,
agogue-centers built in the 1920s, which had survived the
hearings held, motions tabled, and votes counted. Each twist
early migrations to the suburbs, declined, and as the first sub-
and turn of the question of women’s ordination in these
urban congregations built in the 1950s and early 1960s faced
years, as the ball was thrown from one arena of Conservative
hard choices about refurbishing aging buildings in the hopes
Judaism to another, reflected just how divisive and painful
of attracting new members. But these concerns would pale
the prospect of women rabbis was for those enmeshed in the
before the conflict that was about to emerge—the demand
debate.
to ordain women as Conservative rabbis.
For example, the movement convened the Commission
THE CRISIS OVER WOMEN’S ORDINATION. Conservative Ju-
for the Study of the Ordination of Women as Rabbis, and
daism had already responded to several questions about the
it held public hearings in five cities to gather the opinions
status of women. Mixed seating, the sitting of men and
of Conservative Jews. In December 1978 its members divid-
women together in worship, which had become characteris-
ed. Eleven believed that Jewish law did not prohibit women’s
tic of the Conservative synagogue as it emerged, also became
ordination, and they recommended their admission to the
the denominational boundary distinguishing Conservative
rabbinical school the following September. Three commis-
from modern Orthodox congregations. Conservative rabbis,
sion members dissented, arguing ominously that women’s
long uncomfortable with praying each morning “Blessed be
ordination would disrupt the unity of the movement. A year
He who did not make me a woman,” emended this prayer
later, the Seminary faculty, fearing schism within their ranks,
in the 1946 Sabbath and Festival Prayer Book. Bat mitzvah
tabled the question of admitting women to the rabbinical
and a 1955 ruling permitting females to have an aliyah, the
school for the foreseeable future.
honor of blessing the Torah scroll, gave Conservative girls
and women new, albeit limited, roles in the synagogue ser-
But by the fall of 1983, when it was evident that the
vice. Finally, Conservative elites had wrestled for decades
Rabbinical Assembly would soon admit a woman ordained
over the agunah, which chained the wife to an untenable
at Hebrew Union College (she would have been a Conserva-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1964
CONSERVATIVE JUDAISM
tive rabbi if she could have been), the Seminary faculty con-
To close the gap in observance, Conservative leaders
vened again. This time they voted to admit women to the
have repeatedly tried to convey to the laity the movement’s
rabbinical school. The vote propelled some from the right
position on loyalty to Jewish tradition. In 1979 Isaac Klein
wing of the movement to break off. Decrying Conservatism’s
(1905–1979), one of Conservatism’s most important legal
selective loyalty to halakhah, they established the Union for
experts and long a leader of its right wing, published A Guide
Traditional Judaism. In May 1985, Amy Eilberg, who had
to Jewish Religious Practice, a modern code for Jewish living
accumulated advanced standing through prior coursework as
that incorporated many of the movement’s decisions on Jew-
she waited patiently for Conservative leaders to allow
ish law. In 1988 the movement published Emet Ve-Emunah:
women’s ordination, was ordained a rabbi.
Statement of Principles of Conservative Judaism. Earlier at-
tempts to reach consensus on such a statement had always
JUDAISM IN THE CENTER. The bitter debate over women’s
failed. This one succeeded largely because Emet ve-Emunah
ordination was “a struggle for the soul of the movement”
(truth and faith) conveyed its centrist stance by presenting
(Wertheimer, 1993, p. 348). Indeed, in the wake of women’s
the divergent theological views on God, revelation, Jewish
ordination, the Conservative movement was transformed. By
law, and the election of Israel that had evolved among Con-
the 1990s it had at last moved firmly to the center. The seces-
servative thinkers. For example, it reported that “Conserva-
sions, first of the Reconstructionists on the left and then of
tive Judaism affirms the critical importance of belief in God,
the opponents of women’s ordination on the right, explain
but does not specify all the particulars of that belief” (p. 18).
the shift, but only partially. The successful suburbanization
of Orthodox Judaism, which occurred later than that of
As the twentieth century gave way to the twenty-first,
Conservative Judaism and which Conservative leaders had
thorny halakhic issues emerging from the new sociological
not anticipated during the heyday of suburban synagogue ex-
and behavioral patterns of American Jews continued to chal-
pansion in the 1950s and 1960s, also contributed significant-
lenge Conservative leaders. As the intermarriage rate soared
ly to moving Conservatism to the center. New suburban Or-
in the late twentieth century, it forced Conservative rabbis
thodox synagogues allowed traditional Jews to create strong
to think ever more carefully about the position of the inter-
Sabbath-observant communities of like-minded families who
married family in the synagogue. Could the non-Jewish
once would have become the more traditional elements in
spouse become a member and vote and eventually hold syna-
Conservative congregations. The result was a shift to the cen-
gogue office? What roles would the non-Jewish parent play
ter in the movement, which in the past had to balance its co-
in the children’s bar mitzvah? in their weddings? Could the
alition so carefully that the presidents of the Rabbinical As-
non-Jewish spouse be buried in the synagogue cemetery?
sembly rotated among the right, center, and left.
Even as Conservative leaders grappled with these specific
questions, they continued to uphold the historic Jewish prin-
Now egalitarianism won the day in Conservative wor-
ciple of matrilineal descent, recognizing any child of a Jewish
ship. By 1981, less than a decade after the 1973 decision to
mother as a Jew, and refusing to embrace patrilineality, ac-
count women in the quorum necessary for prayer—an early
cording to which the child of a Jewish father and a non-
concession to the demand for women’s ritual equality, only
Jewish mother is recognized as a Jew.
47 percent of Conservative congregations had done so. By
1995 to 1996, 83 percent counted women in the prayer quo-
The shift to the center and the stances on intermarriage
rum, and in more than three-quarters of congregations
may help explain changes in the position of Conservatism
women led services and read from the Torah. Rather than
within the spectrum of American Jewry and the decline in
egalitarianism muting Conservatism’s loyalty to halakhah, it
the size of the movement. At one time Conservative Judaism
likely increased overall levels of observance and knowledge
was the largest denomination in American Jewry. In 1971,
in every synagogue community.
42 percent of Jews choosing a denominational label identi-
fied themselves as Conservative. By the time of the 1990 Na-
Even as Conservatism’s new commitment to women’s
tional Jewish Population Survey, 35 percent identified them-
full and equal participation paralleled that of Reform and Re-
selves as Conservative, whereas 38 percent described
constructionist Judaism, its adherence to tradition and loyal-
themselves as Reform. Only slightly more than half of Con-
ty to halakhah continued to parallel Orthodoxy. Neverthe-
servative Jews actually belong to a Conservative synagogue.
less, Conservative Judaism has long been characterized by a
(American Jews affiliate voluntarily with a synagogue and
striking gap in observance. In public movement settings, in
must pay annual dues and synagogue fees, which, in 2003,
its synagogues, schools, and camps, loyalty to Jewish tradi-
typically exceeded $2,000 a year for a family with children).
tion, to Sabbath observance, and to kashrut was and is the
In 2003 the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism
norm. But Conservative Jews, with the exception of the elites
numbered 760 synagogues, a decline from the nearly 850
(the Seminary professors and rabbis), by and large violate
congregations at its peak.
these norms personally and in their homes. For example, of
all those who identified as Conservative in the 1990 National
These synagogues differed in another significant way
Jewish Population Survey, only 23 percent report lighting
from those of the 1950s and 1960s. The Conservative syna-
Sabbath candles regularly and less than 15 percent keep
gogue of the 1990s had come to reflect the Jewish sensibili-
kosher.
ties of its generation of congregants, many of whom came
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CONSERVATIVE JUDAISM
1965
to their synagogues with more intensive Jewish educations
tury of Commitment: One Hundred Years of the Rabbinical As-
than their parents had. Not only had they studied in Jewish
sembly (New York, 2000). Since the study of Conservative
schools as children, celebrated bar and bat mitzvah as teens,
Judaism belongs to the fields of American religion and Amer-
and attended Jewish youth groups and summer camps, but
ican Judaism broadly, it is often presented in larger studies.
many had also taken Jewish studies courses in college and
See especially Jonathan D. Sarna, American Judaism: A Histo-
had visited Israel at some point in their lives. This new gener-
ry (New Haven, 2004). See also Nathan Glazer, American Ju-
daism (1957; rev. ed., Chicago, 1972); Jack Wertheimer, A
ation of Conservative synagogue members was the genera-
People Divided: Judaism in Contemporary America (New
tion of the postwar baby boom, and they had, at last, turned
York, 1993); and Marc Lee Raphael, Judaism in America
to the synagogue as they became parents and needed its
(New York, 2003).
structures and settings for their own children. Yet, like the
children of their peers who had founded the Jewish counter-
Specific aspects of this article are based on the following. The stan-
dard work on the nineteenth-century origins of Conservative
culture in their youth, they expected greater spontaneity and
Judaism is Moshe Davis, The Emergence of Conservative Juda-
informality in the synagogues they would join, as they did
ism: The Historical School in 19th Century America (New
elsewhere in their lives.
York, 1963). On American synagogues instituting reforms in
Consequently, many late-twentieth-century Conserva-
the nineteenth century, see Leon A. Jick, The Americaniza-
tive synagogues tried to respond to their different constituen-
tion of the Synagogue, 1820–1870, (1976; reprint, Hanover,
cies and their needs. One answer was to institute a variety
N.H., 1992). On the early Seminary, see Robert E. Fierstien,
A Different Spirit: The Jewish Theological Seminary of Ameri-
of worship services designed to bring greater intimacy to the
ca, 1886–1902 (New York, 1990). On the emergence of the
synagogue. Depending on the congregation, these might in-
Conservative synagogue, see several of the essays in Jack Wer-
clude a traditional service for those who remained uncom-
theimer, ed., The American Synagogue: A Sanctuary Trans-
fortable with egalitarianism, a main egalitarian service where
formed (New York and Cambridge, UK, 1987), especially
bar and bat mitzvah were celebrated, various havurot meeting
those by Karp and Wertheimer. On the synagogue-centers,
within the congregation, different children’s services, and a
see Deborah Dash Moore, At Home in America: Second Gen-
learners’ service to give those who wished to do so a chance
eration New York Jews (New York, 1981), and David Kauf-
to discuss the liturgy and weekly biblical readings.
man, Shul with a Pool: The “Synagogue-Center” in American
Jewish History (Hanover, N.H., 1999). On the ideological di-
Moreover, the late Friday evening service, which had
visions within the movement, see especially the essays on
characterized the Conservative synagogue in its founding era,
halakhah and the Rabbinical Assembly in Pamela S. Nadell,
was starting to fade. By 1995 fewer than two-thirds of Con-
Conservative Judaism in America: A Biographical Dictionary
servative congregations still regularly held this service. The
and Sourcebook (New York, 1988). On the emergence of bat
circumstances which had brought about its creation in
mitzvah, see Paula E. Hyman, “The Introduction of Bat
American Jewish life had changed, and Conservative Judaism
Mitzvah in Conservative Judaism in Postwar America,”
was, once again, adapting to new sociological realities, this
YIVO Annual 19 (1990): 133–146, and Regina Stein, “The
time that of the two-career family and a desire by many, espe-
Road to Bat Mitzvah in America” in Women and American
cially Conservative rabbis, to turn back to the customary
Judaism: Historical Perspectives, edited by Pamela S. Nadell
and Jonathan D. Sarna (Hanover, N.H., 2001). On the
early service on the eve of the Sabbath followed by the tradi-
havurot, see Riv-Ellen Prell, Prayer and Community: The
tional meal with family at home. This process of adaptation
Havurah in American Judaism (Detroit, 1989). On women’s
had long been and will likely remain a hallmark of this cen-
ordination, see Pamela S. Nadell, Women Who Would Be
trist religious movement of American Judaism.
Rabbis: A History of Women’s Ordination, 1889–1985 (Bos-
ton, 1998), and Beth S. Wenger, “The Politics of Women’s
SEE ALSO Jewish Thought and Philosophy, article on Mod-
Ordination: Jewish Law, Institutional Power, and the De-
ern Thought; Orthodox Judaism; Reconstructionist Juda-
bate over Women in the Rabbinate” in Tradition Renewed:
ism; Reform Judaism; Zionism.
A History of the Jewish Theological Seminary, edited by Jack
Wertheimer (New York, 1997), pp. 485–523. For studies
utilizing the data of the North American Study of Conserva-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
tive Synagogues and their members, 1995–1996, see Jack
Among the most important writings on the history of Conserva-
Wertheimer, ed., Jews in the Center: Conservative Synagogues
tive Judaism are those by Abraham Karp, especially “A Cen-
and Their Members (New Brunswick, N.J., 2000).
tury of Conservative Judaism in the United States” in Ameri-
can Jewish Year Book 86 (Philadelphia, 1986): 3–61, and
The literature produced by the Conservative movement is volumi-
“The Conservative Rabbi,” American Jewish Archives 25
nous. It includes conference proceedings, journals, and mag-
(1983): 188–262. The definitive sociological study of the
azines published by the various institutions of the move-
movement is Marshall Sklare’s Conservative Judaism: An
ment. Among the most useful of these are the annual
American Religious Movement (1955; rev. ed., 1972; reprint,
Proceedings of the Rabbinical Assembly and the journal Conser-
Lanham, Md., 1985). Conservative institutions have a strong
vative Judaism. Other movement publications of importance
sense of historical consciousness and have published their
are the essays by the key figures in the movement’s first half
own histories. See, for example, Jack Wertheimer, ed., Tradi-
century collected in Mordecai Waxman, ed., Tradition and
tion Renewed: A History of the Jewish Theological Seminary, 2
Change: The Development of Conservative Judaism (New
vols. (New York, 1997), and Robert E. Fierstien, ed., A Cen-
York, 1958); Isaac Klein, A Guide to Jewish Religious Practice
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1966
CONSTANTINE
(New York, 1979); Jewish Theological Seminary of America,
never been a persecutor; indeed, in 306 he had ordered the
Rabbinical Assembly, United Synagogue of America,
restoration of property in Britain and Gaul that had been
Women’s League for Conservative Judaism, and Federation
confiscated from Christians during the Great Persecution
of Jewish Men’s Clubs, Emet Ve-Emunah: Statement of Prin-
(303–305). Unlike Galerius, who had vigorously persecuted
ciples of Conservative Judaism (New York, 1988); Simon
Christians in the East, Constantine was a tolerant pagan,
Greenberg, ed., The Ordination of Women as Rabbis: Studies
content with the accumulation of heavenly patrons (Sol In-
and Responsa (New York, 1988); and Nina Beth Cardin and
David Wolf Silverman, eds., The Seminary at 100: Reflections
victus, Apollo). In 312 he may well have considered the God
on the Jewish Theological Seminary and the Conservative Move-
of the Christians simply another heavenly patron, demon-
ment (New York, 1987).
strably more powerful than others but not necessarily incom-
patible. Though he refused to participate after 312 in dis-
PAMELA S. NADELL (2005)
tinctly pagan ceremonies, Constantine retained the title
pontifex maximus and evidently did not find the demands of
government and religion irreconcilable. Exclusive commit-
CONSTANTINE
ment and a sense of mission, however, would develop over
(272/273–337), known as Constan-
time. Early on he expressed his gratitude and allegiance
tine the Great, Roman emperor and agent of the Christian-
through special exemptions and benefactions; after 324 he
ization of the Roman Empire. Born at Naissus, the only son
of Helena and Flavius Constantius, Constantine was assured
did not hesitate to use his office to condemn pagan beliefs
a prominent role in Roman politics when Diocletian, the se-
and practices and to promote the christianization of the em-
nior emperor in the Tetrarchy, appointed his father Caesar
pire.
in 293. Educated in the imperial court at Nicomedia, and
Politics accounts in large measure for Constantine’s
permitted to accompany the eastern emperors on provincial
transformation from benefactor to advocate. The conversion
tours and military campaigns, he doubtless expected to suc-
did not alienate pagans, for religion had not been an issue
ceed to his father’s position when Diocletian and Maximian
in the civil war, and nothing indicates that Licinius, whom
abdicated in 305. But Galerius, who may have contrived the
Galerius had chosen as co-emperor in 308, objected to Con-
abdication and as the new eastern emperor controlled the
stantine’s evident Christian sympathies in 312. At Milan the
succession, ignored Constantine—and Maxentius, the son of
following year, in fact, the two survivors joined in the publi-
Maximian—and instead nominated as Caesars his own
cation of Galerius’s edict of toleration, drafted just before his
nephew and the praetorian prefect Severus. Constantine
death in 311, and ordered the restoration of Christian prop-
could not challenge this decision immediately, but when his
erty in the East. As political rivalry developed over the next
father died at York in July 306, he reasserted the claim, this
few years, however, the religious policies of the emperors di-
time backed by the British and Gallic armies, and requested
verged, especially after the inconclusive civil war of 316/7.
confirmation from the eastern emperor. Galerius resisted,
Politics and religion became so entangled that Constantine,
preferring Severus as Constantius’s successor, but to avoid a
using attacks on Christians in the East as pretext, could de-
confrontation offered Constantine the lesser rank of Caesar.
clare his campaign against Licinius in 324 a crusade against
When Maxentius rebelled at Rome in October 306, howev-
paganism. His victory at Chrysopolis (September 18) simul-
er, he refused to grant a similar concession, and for the next
taneously removed the last challenge to his authority and le-
seven years civil war disrupted the western half of the empire.
gitimized his emerging sense of mission.
In the end it was Constantine who dislodged the resil-
Denunciations of pagan practices followed immediate-
ient Maxentius from Rome, defeating his army at the Milvi-
ly, coupled with lavish grants for the construction of church-
an Bridge on October 28, 312. For Lactantius and Eusebius
es and preferential treatment of Christian candidates for ad-
of Caesarea, Christian observers who produced accounts of
ministrative posts. Constantine also took the lead in efforts
the event a few years later, this was more than a political tri-
to restore order in an increasingly divided church. The
umph. On the eve of the battle, they insisted, Constantine
Council of Nicaea (325), which three hundred bishops at-
had experienced the vision (or visions) that inspired his con-
tended, was not his first attempt at ecclesiastical arbitration.
version to Christianity. Constantine’s motives are beyond re-
A decade earlier he had summoned fractious North African
construction, but it is clear that he believed the victory had
bishops to a council at Arles (314) to decide a disputed elec-
been won with divine assistance. Even the inscription on the
tion in Carthage and to rule on the orthodoxy of the Numid-
triumphal arch in Rome erected by the Senate in 315 to
ian bishop Donatus. The latter was condemned, but his
mark the event attributed his success to the “prompting of
partisans (Donatists) continued for the remainder of Con-
a deity.” If the language is ambiguous, perhaps in deference
stantine’s reign to resist the council’s decision. The prospects
to the sentiments of the pagan majority, Constantine’s legis-
for settlement in 325 were bleaker still. The nature of Christ,
lation and activities after 312 attest the evolution of his
not simply a disputed election or the propriety of rebaptism,
Christian sympathies.
was the question at issue. Arius, a presbyter of Alexandria in
Whether the “conversion” represented a dramatic break
Egypt, had repeatedly argued that Christ was a created being,
with the pagan past is more problematic. Constantine had
a view that seemed to deny his divinity. The bishops assem-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CONSTANTINIANISM
1967
bled in Nicaea (Bithynia), responding to the counterargu-
CONSTANTINIANISM CONCEIVED. Following his “conver-
ments of Alexander (bishop of Alexandria) and others, con-
sion” in 312, Constantine proceeded by stages to establish
demned Arianism and adopted a creed (the Nicene Creed)
Christianity as the sole religion of the empire. From 312 to
that declared the Father and Son to be of the same essence.
320 he tolerated paganism but he elevated the standing of
This language satisfied the majority in attendance, but it did
Christianity with increasing vigor. From 320 to 330 he
not silence Arians. By midcentury, in fact, the Arian posi-
thrust the organization of the church into the foreground
tion, not the Nicene, had been accepted by most of the east-
and directed a frontal attack on polytheism. From 330 to
ern churches represented at Nicaea and by the successors of
337, after moving the capital from Rome to Byzantium, he
Constantine.
waged an open war on the old religion.
Pagans, of course, would not have found much to ap-
Constantine, whatever the exact nature of his conver-
plaud in all this; their prosperity was determined by Con-
sion, believed that the supreme God whom Christians wor-
stantine’s handling of everyday affairs, not by his perfor-
shiped had given him the victory at the Milvian Bridge and
mance in church councils. Victories over the northern
dominion over the empire. He hoped that by doing God’s
barbarians, reform of the coinage, rationalization of the bu-
will he would obtain further prosperity for himself and his
reaucracy—these were the issues that shaped their sense of
subjects and feared that if he offended God he would be cast
well-being. That the emperor, especially during the last de-
down from power and pull the empire down with him. In
cade of his reign, was attentive to these concerns is clear, so
a letter to an official charged with responsibility for healing
much so that he can be credited with the refinement and im-
the Donatist schism, the emperor confessed he would feel se-
plementation of the reforms introduced by his pagan pre-
cure “only when I see all venerating the most holy God in
decessors. And yet, it is his Christianity that sets him apart.
the proper cult of the catholic religion with harmonious
His reputation rests on his skillful manipulation of Christian
brotherhood of worship.” This concern for right worship
symbols—the Milvian Bridge, the Council of Nicaea, the
prompted him to seek not merely the establishment of Chris-
foundation of Constantinople (the “second Rome” that
tianity but the conservation of a united and orthodox Chris-
served as the principal capital after its dedication in 330). He
tianity. Bitterly offended by division among Christians, he
was both the new Augustus and the thirteenth apostle, the
felt duty-bound to impose unity, first in the Donatist contro-
pagan emperor who, after his encounter with the God of the
versy and then in the Arian. To resolve the latter, he sum-
Christians, adopted as his personal mission the Christianiza-
moned a universal council representing the whole church to
tion of the empire. In pursuit of this objective, he had created
meet at Nicaea, and presided over it himself. In an opening
by his death in 337 a Christian Roman empire that would
address he deplored the internecine strife in the church as a
endure for a thousand years.
disaster greater than war or invasion. During the crucial part
of the debate, he himself chaired and took an active part in
BIBLIOGRAPHY
guiding the proceedings. He used his imperial presence to
Barnes, Timothy D. Constantine and Eusebius. Cambridge, Mass.,
1981.
secure an inclusive formula with which all except ardent Ari-
ans could agree, proposing the phrase “of one essence” (ho-
Barnes, Timothy D. The New Empire of Diocletian and Constan-
moousios) to express the Son’s relation to the Father.
tine. Cambridge, Mass., 1982.
Dörries, Hermann. Constantine the Great. Translated by Roland
Though Constantine’s peacemaking efforts within the
H. Bainton. New York, 1972.
church turned out rather badly both for his and later genera-
Jones, A. H. M. Constantine and the Conversion of Europe. Rev.
tions, he put in motion a program that would eventually se-
ed. New York, 1962.
cure the triumph of Christianity over its competitors. When
Momigliano, Arnaldo, ed. The Conflict between Paganism and
his co-emperor Licinius turned sour toward Christianity and
Christianity in the Fourth Century. Oxford, 1963.
backed away from the tolerance guaranteed by the Edict of
Milan (313), Constantine initiated against him a virtual cru-
JOHN W. EADIE (1987)
sade culminating in his defeat and death in 324. Thence-
forth, as Constantine once remarked in a speech to bishops
he was entertaining, he considered himself “a bishop estab-
CONSTANTINIANISM is a policy establishing a
lished by God of those outside [the church].” He thought
particular Christian church as the religion of the state, also
of himself, too, as a “thirteenth apostle.” If he did not under-
known as Caesaropapism. Formulated originally by the
take to promote missionary work outside the empire, he did
Roman emperor Constantine I, the Great (d. 337), it was
so within its boundaries. He grew increasingly impatient
continued in the Byzantine Empire (until 1453), the Frank-
with the unwillingness of his subjects to accept the Christian
ish kingdom, the Holy Roman Empire (962–1806), and nu-
faith until finally, in 330, exasperated with the tenacious grip
merous states of Europe, being modified in most states since
of paganism on old Rome, he established a new Christian
the Protestant Reformation but persisting in some even
capital at Byzantium. Thereafter he held back nothing, raz-
today. According to this policy, state and church should
ing and looting temples and lavishing public monies on the
form a close alliance so as to achieve mutual objectives.
churches, forcing pagans to return property confiscated from
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1968
CONTARINI, GASPARO
Christians under Licinius, building churches of great splen-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
dor in important cities, and enticing soldiers and public offi-
Constantine’s Christian intentions have been the subject of many
cials with lavish favors. His successors, Julian (361–363) ex-
recent books. Most helpful in interpreting his policy are An-
cepted, followed suit, and by the time of Justinian (527–
drew Alföldi’s The Conversion of Constantine and Pagan
565), intolerance toward non-Christians had become a
Rome, translated by Harold Mattingly (Oxford, 1948), and
public virtue.
A. H. M. Jones’s Constantine and the Conversion of Europe
(London, 1948). A critical assessment of Constantinianism
CONSTANTINIANISM CONTROVERTED. Constantinianism
can be found in Hermann Dörries’s Constantine and Reli-
was never seriously contested in the Byzantine Empire, but
gious Liberty, translated by Roland H. Bainton (New Haven,
it has been in other nations, especially in the West. The so-
1960).
called Donation of Constantine, a spurious document com-
E. GLENN HINSON (1987)
posed between 752 and 778 in the Carolingian (Frankish)
kingdom, inaugurated a long history of debate over relations
between church and state with strong advocacy of the superi-
CONTARINI, GASPARO (1483–1542), Venetian
ority of popes to princes by grant of Constantine himself.
statesman, author of philosophical and theological works,
Charlemagne, king of the Franks from 778 to 814, and his
proponent of Roman Catholic church reform, and cardinal.
successors operated on the Constantinian model, aiding the
Born in Venice on October 16, 1483, he died in Bologna
church in its evangelism but using it to achieve royal aims
on August 24, 1542. Belonging to an ancient patrician clan,
and freely interfering in ecclesiastical affairs. Their practice
Contarini received a solid education first in Venice and then,
of lay investiture, secular rulers handing symbols of office to
from 1501 to 1509, at the University of Padua, where he
the clergy at their installation, however, touched off a fierce
studied philosophy, mathematics, and theology. In 1511,
battle with the papacy on which compromise was not
during a period of inner turmoil and search for personal vo-
achieved until 1122. Subsequently, Innocent III during his
cation, he arrived at the conviction that humankind is justi-
years as pope (1198–1216) stood Constantinianism on its
fied before God by faith, not works. This belief, similar to
head by liberal interference in matters of state in the Holy
Martin Luther’s, later enabled him to deal sympathetically
Roman Empire and virtually every nation in Europe.
with Protestantism.
The strongest objections to Constantinianism, however,
His career in the service of Venice began in 1518.
have been voiced by sects that have suffered from its empha-
Among its highlights were embassies to Emperor Charles V
sis on uniformity. The ancient Donatists, ruing their request
from 1521 to 1525, and to Pope Clement VII from 1528
for imperial involvement in ecclesiastical disputes, soon ad-
to 1530. Dispatches from both missions show the develop-
vocated separation of church and state. So too did some me-
ment of Contarini’s considerable diplomatic skill. Between
dieval sects. The most persistent and consistent voice against
1530 and 1535 he was a member of the Venetian govern-
Constantinianism, however, has come from the so-called free
ment’s inner circle, holding high office almost continuously,
churches that emerged at the time of the Protestant Reforma-
including that of the head of the Council of Ten. This period
tion in the sixteenth century and after. Many of these, espe-
also saw the completion of his best-known work, De mag-
cially Anabaptists and Baptists, have denounced the alliance
istratibus et respublica Venetorum, which contributed to the
of church and state that Constantine effected as a “fall” of
widespread diffusion of the idea of Venice as a perfectly or-
the church, resulting not only in religious intolerance and
dered state.
persecution but also in an adulteration of Christianity. Ac-
cording to a Hutterite chronicle, this well-intended alliance
On May 21, 1535, Pope Paul III appointed Contarini
is how “the disease of craftiness, which creeps about in dark-
cardinal. He became the center of a group of reformers at the
ness, and the corruption which perverted at high noon, [was]
papal court, heading a commission to propose reforms in the
introduced by violence” and “the Cross was conquered and
church before the calling of a general council. As a member
forged to the sword.” In opposition to Constantinianism, the
of subsequent commissions for the reform of various curial
free churches espoused voluntary association in congrega-
offices, he was an insistent spokesman for the necessity of re-
tions and separation of church and state. “Gathered church-
moving abuses and clashed with his conservative colleagues.
es” composed of “regenerate members,” and not the state or
In January 1541, he was chosen as papal legate to the reli-
its magistrates, would, by this plan, exercise discipline in doc-
gious colloquy between Catholics and Protestants in Regens-
trine and behavior over their constituents. Although govern-
burg. In an unsuccessful effort to break down the differences
ment has a legitimate role to play, the free churches further
between the two confessions, Contarini proposed a theory
stated, it should restrict its activities to the civil realm and
of double justification. It was eventually rejected by both
leave religion to the churches. God alone is Lord over the
sides. He spent the last months of his life as papal legate in
human conscience in religious matters.
Bologna, suspected by intransigents in Rome of having been
too accommodating to Protestants and of leaning toward
SEE ALSO Anabaptism; Arianism; Constantine; Donatism;
their ideas. Contarini remains perhaps the most attractive
Heresy, article on Christian Concepts; Innocent III; Refor-
personality among Catholic reform thinkers before the
mation.
Council of Trent.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CONVERSION
1969
BIBLIOGRAPHY
on the inner transformation of the convert. The term conver-
Franz Dittrich’s Gasparo Contarini (Braunsberg, 1885) is still the
sion was employed initially within Judeo-Christian circles to
fullest biography. Contarini’s works have been issued under
describe a believer’s self-identification with a religious tradi-
the titles Gasparis Contarini cardinalis opera (1571; micro-
tion either through faith in God and/or through commit-
film reprint, Rome, 1964) and Regesten und Briefe des Cardi-
ment to new beliefs, rituals, and a religious community.
nals Gasparo Contarini, 1483–1542, edited by Franz Dittrich
Comparatively, converts to Buddhism, especially in its earli-
(Braunsberg, 1881). Useful studies include Hubert Jedin’s
“Gasparo Contarini,” in Dictionnaire d’histoire et de géogra-
est Indian environs hundreds of years before the emergence
phie ecclésiastiques, vol. 13 (Paris, 1956), pp. 772–784; James
of Christianity, described their own experience not as “con-
B. Ross’s “The Emergence of Gasparo Contarini: A Biblio-
verting” but as “enlightenment.” To the faithful within mo-
graphical Essay,” Church History 41 (1972): 22–46; and
notheistic religious traditions, conversion was seen positively
Gigliola Fragnito’s “Gasparo Contarini,” in Dizionario bio-
as testimony to the truth of the religion as well as guarantor
grafico degli Italiani, vol. 28 (Rome, 1983), pp. 172–192.
of salvation. Pejoratively, conversion often meant sacrificing
ELISABETH G. GLEASON (1987)
personal or social identity, a rejection of local lifeways and
customs, through the “turning to” another religious tradition
that may have been associated with a dominant political, so-
cial, or religious power.
CONTEMPLATION SEE ATTENTION;
MEDITATION; PRAYER
Constructing theories and interpretations of conversion
can be an arduous enterprise. “Insiders” assume that people
convert to the insider’s religion because the religion is, of
CONTRITION
course, true. “Outsiders” to a particular religion will not as-
SEE CONFESSION OF SINS;
sert that a person converts to another religion because it is
REPENTANCE
true. Moreover, the secular person may use explanations that
are related to psychological needs, sociological factors, cul-
tural forces, economic incentives or deprivations, and/or po-
CONVERSION. The nature and definition of conver-
litical constraints or inducements to make sense of the phe-
sion elicits enormous controversy. Given the complexity, and
nomena, thereby reducing the concept of conversion to a
to some, the transcendent mystery of conversion, it is no sur-
monocausal force rather than recognizing its pluriform na-
prise that scholarly consensus has yet to be achieved. For
ture. Facile definitions of such robust and dynamic phenom-
some, conversion is a form of pathology. For others, it is an
ena fail to account for the multifaceted process that affects
example of human manipulation and coercive power. It is
social, psychological, religious, and political life. Definitions
important at the outset of this article to note that Buddhism,
of conversion abound, yet the use of theory helps human be-
Christianity, and Islam have been traditionally identified as
ings to begin to intellectually grasp its meaning. Given the
conversionist (or missionary) movements. However, conver-
inherent complexity of conversion, there exists no single
sion studies necessarily deals with a much broader array of
comprehensive theory that successfully disentangles the nu-
religions and topics than those confined to any of these three
merous threads that together give rise to religious change.
religions. The subject of conversion, once the exclusive fran-
For instance, not all conversions entail inner transforma-
chise of evangelical Protestants and psychologists of religion,
tion—some require adherence to divine laws revealed to
is now investigated by scholars in anthropology, history, mis-
human beings. Furthermore, some scholars suggest that con-
siology, religious studies, theology, and sociology.
version entails an abrupt and radical religious reorientation
Fundamentally, conversion is religious change. Since
or intensification, while others assert that conversion pro-
the 1980s, however, the very definition of conversion erupt-
cesses are gradual, with the convert progressively entering a
ed as a zone of contention. What changes? Who changes?
new religious tradition or deepening their commitment to
How does one change? How much change is necessary for
their present tradition.
the change to be considered conversion? What is authentic
The study of conversion has dramatically expanded. In
conversion? These debates permeate the extensive and grow-
addition to numerous articles and monographs, the most
ing literature on the nature of conversion. The word conver-
common format is the edited book with articles addressing
sion itself is a source of debate. Especially in areas where mis-
various dimensions of the phenomenon. In some cases the
sionaries from a variety of religious traditions have been
books are organized according to disciplines, in other cases
active, the specter of forced, or at the very least, manipulated
they are focused on a particular religion or a region of the
conversions, elicit a desire to reject the word conversion as a
world. Recent contributors to this genre include Robert W.
symbol of the colonial missionary enterprise.
Hefner, Andrew Buckser, and Stephen D. Glazier in anthro-
Two common English definitions of conversion origi-
pology; Christopher Lamb, M. Darrol Bryant, and Peter van
nated from the Greek terms epistrophe, which can mean
der Veer in religious studies; and Rowena Robinson and
“conversion” or “turning around,” and metanoia, which can
Sathianathan Clarke in the study of conversion in India.
mean “repentance” or “to turn around,” with an emphasis
Others have added to the extensive literature in historical
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1970
CONVERSION
studies, including Steve Kaplan, Kenneth Mills, Anthony
sion in part compensates for severely deprived and distorted
Graftson, and James Muldoon, while Kenneth J. Collins and
parenting patterns or it can be congruent with parental
John Tyson have written about Wesleyan studies. These
modes of relating to the dependent child. Attachment theory
studies are valuable in providing rich detail and texture to
emphasizes the primacy of affective and emotional relation-
descriptions of conversion processes. There is a need for stu-
ships as formative.
dents of conversion to work more systematically in interdis-
ciplinary studies in order to build a more coherent, cumula-
Attribution theory. Attribution theory is based on the
tive approach to theory and research.
universal human need to create and/or find meaning in life,
including meaning for inexplicable daily events as well as
This article on conversion focuses on a number of theo-
more profound issues of the human predicament, such as un-
retical orientations currently deployed in the study of con-
deserved suffering and death. Adopting a new system of attri-
version. Various theories elucidate different dimensions and
butions about the nature of self, others, and God is a signifi-
processes involved in the phenomenon of conversion, and
cant aspect of what happens for many converts. Attribution
each theory grows out of different sets of assumptions and
theory asserts that religion or a religious perspective provides
methods of research. No single theory currently dominates
meaning and a sense of purpose to those issues that haunt
the field of conversion studies. By exploring a wide array of
human consciousness. This theory stresses the cognitive and
conversion theories, the diversity and complexity of conver-
intellectual spheres of conversion processes.
sion will be illumined. The theories are organized according
to broad categories that focus on the person, social and cul-
SOCIAL/CULTURAL THEORIES. Social and cultural theories
tural approaches, religious and theological approaches, and
include:
convergent models; the latter are theoretical approaches that
Multicultural theory. Increasingly, scholars of conver-
seek to be interdisciplinary and inclusive.
sion recognize the importance of the cultural dimensions of
PERSONALISTIC THEORIES. Personalistic theories include:
the conversion process. Previously the bulk of theoretical
work on conversion was derived from people of European
Psychoanalytic theory. According to the psychoanalyt-
racial and cultural heritage. Unquestioned assumptions
ically oriented scholar, the phenomena of conversion is driv-
about patterns of family life, modes of selfhood, and norms
en and shaped by the primal forces within the personality.
of mental health were either ignored or were assumed to be
Sigmund Freud suggested that the id, ego, and superego en-
superior to people of other racial, ethnic, and national ori-
gage in constant conflict, giving rise to the human urgency
gins. While most Euro-American scholars previously tended
to seek gratification of powerful desires, where culture, reli-
to universalize their perceptions of self, personality, and mo-
gion, and conscience (superego) serve to constrain. In
tivation, more recently there has been growing interest in re-
Freud’s view, conversion processes are fragile compromises
searching non-Western settings or people with Asian, Latin
in the ongoing conflict of the life and death instinct, where
American, African, or Pacific Island backgrounds.
the drama of infant, mother, and father are mirrored in the
dynamics of conversion. Religious rituals, beliefs, and rela-
Alan Roland’s self theory postulates variable dimensions
tionships are motivated by such powerful emotions as guilt,
of self that are virtually universal but have different valence
grief, terror, emotional deprivations, and all kinds of suffer-
or importance in various cultures. Roland suggests that the
ing that propels the person into religion. Adherents of psy-
five dimensions constituting the whole self are the individual
choanalytic theory interpret conversion as inherently patho-
self, the family self, the spiritual self, the developing self, and
logical, interpreting it as a means to overcome childhood
the private self. For instance, in India and Japan, the family
fears and conflicts rooted deep within the personality.
self is more developed and most people in those countries
tend to be focused on the family aspect of selfhood. Mul-
Archetypical theory. Carl G. Jung developed the arche-
ticultural theories of conversion take into account, for in-
typical theory that asserts that there are fundamental, univer-
stance, the norms of individual self and family self in their
sal patterns within the human psyche that give form to
assessment of conversion dynamics. Whereas in the West,
human experience. Based upon his work, scholars of arche-
where the norm is the isolated, autonomous convert, people
typical theory postulate that conversion takes place when a
from some non-Western cultures may convert “en masse,”
person is captivated by a powerful religious symbol or experi-
as a group mirrors their contours of selfhood. A viable theory
ence that meets profound needs within that person’s psyche.
of conversion requires recognition of different forms of self-
Scholars following archetypical theories take seriously the
hood in the person and group and the contours of selfhood
symbol systems of religion in order to understand the attrac-
subsequent to conversion. Likewise, other social scientific
tion and impact upon a convert.
theories of conversion, namely those from anthropological
Attachment theory. Some scholars of conversion assert
and sociological perspectives, require sensitivity to the per-
that human beings form emotional ties reflecting the connec-
spective of the Western or non-Western assumptions regard-
tion of an individual with their original primary caregiver.
ing the role of culture and society in the motivations to con-
Building on some of the foundational notions of Freud and
vert. Conversion theories will be enhanced significantly
evolutionary theory, John Bowlby’s work asserts that conver-
when people from various parts of the world develop theories
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CONVERSION
1971
reflective of and relevant to indigenous cultures and reli-
struction and the resulting narrative provides new meaning
gions.
to a person’s self, God (or other transcendent reality of a par-
ticular tradition), relationships, community, and world.
Postcolonial theory. This approach seeks to investigate
Conversion in this sense means adopting a new story that res-
the experience of Africans, Asians, and Latin Americans with
onates with the convert, finding connections between “my”
imperialism and colonialization. Scholars working in post-
story and “the” story, and incorporating the story into one’s
colonial theory examine the processes by which the presence
own life narrative. Conversion stories among evangelical
of military, economic, and cultural power have shaped the
Christian traditions frequently present themselves as person-
infrastructures and superstructures of societies, cultures,
al testimonies, often weaving biblical stories and themes into
economies, and subjectivities of people in post-colonial na-
the convert’s own narrative, and thus making past biblical
tion states. Conversion to a world religion, such as Islam or
truths contemporaneous with the current believer’s own ex-
Christianity, is interpreted as a part of the “colonization of
perience. Likewise, a convert to Buddhism can speak of a
the mind and spirits” of the dominated peoples. Submission
personal experience of awakening along the lines as pre-
and resistance of the colonized in the conversion process are
scribed in the Buddhist scriptures.
important themes for postcolonial theorists. Furthermore,
the blending of the local religious tradition with the world
Globalization theory. The increasing interconnected-
religion, sometimes understood as syncretism, often creates
ness and ease of global communication systems, such as tele-
a robust and creative religious experience. That is to say, un-
vision, radio, and the Internet, and ease of mobility through
derstanding conversion in a postcolonial context involves
airlines, automobiles, and trains have invigorated and, in
recognizing human actors as actively engaged in negotiating
some cases, made possible the growth of new religious move-
strategies and tactics of submission as well as resistance and
ments, the spread and intensification of world religions, and
innovation.
the global revitalization of such movements. Globalization
has enabled unprecedented mass communication, through
Identity theory. With increased urbanization and mod-
which the yearnings for spiritual renewal and transformation
ernization, along with ethnic and religious pluralism, old no-
are contacted and cultivated. For example, through global-
tions of self, communities, relationships, and convictions are
ized media even hinterland villages may have access to reli-
changing. In social psychology and sociology, identity theory
gious programming and watch images of the Muslim pil-
suggests that conversion is a process of gaining convictions
grimage (h:a¯jj), Christian televangelists healing the sick, or
and values that consolidate understandings of the self to
Hindu devotees chanting sacred text, all beamed in from dis-
structure the relationships with others and to provide a sense
tant locations. Scholars of the globalization theory of conver-
of continuity in a fragmented world. In this sense, conver-
sion stress not only the content of the message but the form
sion consolidates identity and helps to maintain it through
of the communication.
time, providing a sense of meaning in a world characterized
by social mobility and anomie.
RELIGIOUS/SPIRITUAL THEORIES. Religious and spiritual
theories include:
Intellectualist theory. According to Robin Horton,
Theological theories. Whenever scholars employ theo-
human actors seek to understand, predict, and control space-
ry to illuminate their data, it is important to keep in mind
time events. Horton proffered a theory of microcosm and
that all attempts at understanding complex phenomena are
macrocosm based on his work in Africa. In the African con-
inherently reductionist. Theoretical biases and perspectives
text, the microcosm consisted of the quotidian world occu-
come into play in all theory construction. As such, some
pying most of a community’s daily activities. Their religious
scholars of conversion note the normative issues within each
life concerned the explanation, prediction, and control of
religion. Historically, earlier discussions of the theologies of
their concrete world. However, virtually all groups, accord-
conversion were dominated by evangelical Christians, where-
ing to Horton, had a macrocosm—the wider world—that
as liberal Christians emphasized social concerns. The Roman
was only minimally developed because their daily energy was
Catholic Church, following the reforms of the Second Vati-
focused on the microcosm. With increasing social mobility
can Council (1962–1965), also began to reexamine the phe-
small-scale African communities interacted with people from
nomena of conversion. Historically, Buddhism, Christianity,
a wider social world, which expanded the myths, rituals, and
and Islam have been the “missionary religions” aimed explic-
symbols of the small-scale societies to include the macro-
itly at converting others. Newer religious movements, such
cosm—a broader world of a high god, rationalized religion,
as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the
and often a formal scripture. Horton’s theory reflects evolu-
Unification Church, each have their own set of normative
tionary motifs, since the theory assumes that conversion en-
guidelines for what constitutes authentic conversions. For
tails a movement from microcosm to macrocosm based on
one, conversion may entail accepting a God as revealed by
active cognitive decision-making.
a prophet (e.g., Joseph Smith and Mormonism), but for oth-
Narrative theory. Some scholars assert that conversion
ers, conversion may consist in accepting the prophetic in-
involves, among other things, learning a new narrative that
sight of a founder that may be focused less on a transcendent
reconstructs a person’s biography in light of a new allegiance,
being than on an immediate experience of belonging and
a new theology, and a new set of rituals. Biographical recon-
community.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1972
CONVERSION
Whether scholars write from within a particular reli-
and is required to begin making alterations in beliefs,
gious tradition or from a variety of theoretical perspectives,
rituals, and relationships that are consistent with the pre-
many recognize the crucial role of religious experience, di-
scriptions and proscriptions of a new religious community.
vine intervention, and transcendence. They apply descrip-
Stage six is commitment, where a decision is required and,
tions and definitions of the process of conversion according
in many cases, a public demonstration of the status change
to their theological anthropology, their doctrine of human
is expected. Stage seven is consequences. Given the fact that
nature. These normative theologies disclose their assump-
converts are in the process of changing many different as-
tions regarding the deep structures of the human being and
pects of their life, discernment of the nature of these changes
focus on the way in which human beings were created, their
is important. Indeed, some religious traditions seek to assess
desires and aspirations, the human predicament, and, in
the authenticity of a conversion based on these changes. The
some traditions, the urgent need for a relationship with a
criteria are based on the expectations of specific religious
transcendent being or law that gives meaning, orientation,
communities, including such dimensions of affective, intel-
and, indeed, even their salvation.
lectual, ethical, religious, and social/political domains. Schol-
Translation. Another feature of the phenomenon of
ars of conversion assess the consequences based on criteria
conversion is the relationship between sacred texts and the
derived from their own disciplines, whether from history, so-
convert. Some religions affirm the sacred quality of a particu-
cial sciences, religious studies, or otherwise. Many scholars
lar language as it is used for prayer, worship, and reading,
of conversion believe that authentic conversion is a continu-
while others emphasize the inherent translatability of scrip-
ous process of transformation.
tures, with the assumption that the Divine endorses mother-
Feminist theory. Feminist theory elucidates the influ-
tongue communication. Islam, which affirms the distinctive-
ence of gender inequality in all aspects of life. In Western so-
ly sacred role of Arabic, exemplifies the former and Chris-
ciety, patriarchy has generally dominated society, culture,
tianity and Buddhism, which has since their beginnings
and religion, giving priority to male perspectives in religious,
emphasized translation into vernacular languages, the latter.
social, cultural, and economic domains. As a result, feminist
The translatability and untranslatability of sacred texts plays
studies of conversion have only recently emerged. Feminist
a significant role in understanding the conversion process as
theory points to issues that need to be addressed in the study
lives of converts are shaped and guided in part by sacred texts
of religious change. For instance, do women experience con-
and the cultural and revelatory traditions that in part gave
version differently from men, and, if so, in what ways? Do
rise to them.
religious models of conversion constrict and distort women’s
CONVERGENCE MODELS. Convergence models include:
motivations, needs, and desires? Is religious conversion heal-
Process theory. Lewis R. Rambo developed a stage
ing and helpful to women, or just another mode of domina-
model of conversion as a heuristic device that attempts to il-
tion? Preliminary studies indicate that, indeed, women do
luminate the phenomena by highlighting crucial dynamics
experience conversion differently than men, have significant-
and elements of religious change. It is important to note that
ly different motivations for conversion, and often approach
while Rambo’s theory is neither unilinear nor universal, the
the process of religious change in different ways. Future con-
usefulness of his model lies in its ability to systematically or-
version studies must incorporate feminists’ concerns in re-
ganize the complex phenomena of religious change as well
search and writing.
as some of the technical issues emerging in conversion schol-
Christianization and Islamization theory. In the con-
arship. It should be noted that this stage model does not as-
version studies literature there is a growing body of work that
sume a discrete, unidirectional movement through the
falls under the broad headings of Christianization and Islam-
stages, but rather a dynamic process of interplay between the
ization theories. These studies explore the religious, histori-
stages.
cal, cultural, social, political, economic, and ideological fac-
Rambo lays out seven stages of the converting process.
tors and forces that create and sustain comprehensive
Stage one identifies the context in which converting takes
processes by which religions, in these cases Christianity and
place, which functions as the matrix of conversion. Stage two
Islam, are disseminated, cultivated, consolidated, and sus-
is crisis, where disordering and disrupting experiences call
tained by a wide range of forces that create an environment
into question a person’s or group’s taken-for-granted world.
in which individual religious change takes place. These pro-
This crisis is often triggered by the interaction of external or
cesses have parallels in discussions of other inclusive process-
internal forces, exemplified by colonial contact in the former
es called Sankritization, Buddhization, Confucianization,
case and the words of a charismatic religious leader in the lat-
Hellenization, modernization, and secularization. Some
ter. Stage three is quest, which encompasses different ways
scholars of conversion would reject this all-embracing pro-
people actively respond to crises. Stage four is encounter,
cess as being called conversion. It is, however, accurate to say
which describes the contact between the potential convert
that in many studies of conversion and in the ordinary use
and the advocate of a new religious option. Stage five is inter-
of the term, it is common to speak of the conversion of Ar-
action, in which the converting person or group learns more
menia, the Roman Empire, the Philippines, Syria, and so
about the teachings, lifestyle, and expectations of the group,
forth. Conversion must be seen as more than merely 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
CONVERSION
1973
ual religious change because it usually entails the transforma-
unite themselves with a government-recognized religion and
tion of political, social, and cultural environments that create
thereby distance themselves from any association with the
what might be described as an ecology of conversion that
PKI. Social and political realities, along with personal con-
makes individual conversion possible.
cerns, play an important role in understanding conversion.
Conversion patterns in Indonesia during the unstable period
All-inclusive studies often focus on geographical areas
of 1965–1966 suggest that sometimes conversion may be ap-
in which Christianity or Islam gain ascendancy. In the case
pealing because it distances the convert from the larger popu-
of Christianity, these include explorations of the Christian-
lation. For instance, in the Indonesian case, Javanist and
ization of the Roman Empire, British Isles, Europe, Russia,
Chinese converts became Christians rather than Muslims,
Latin America, the Philippines, and Korea. Studies of con-
who were part of the punishing forces.
version to Islam include such geographical areas as Arabia,
Iran, Egypt, Africa, Southeast Asia, India, the Malay Archi-
Throughout the history of conversion worldwide there
pelago, Britain, Europe, and so forth. Few of these studies
have been moments where conversions were imposed by
emphasize individual experience but rather the roles persons
force or, at least, strongly encouraged in order for people to
might play as missionaries, emissaries, leaders (charismatic or
prosper in a newly established social order. The use of mili-
otherwise), or traders. Most focus on Christianization or Is-
tary force, social pressure, and economic incentives has been
lamization, in other words, the creation of social, cultural,
employed by followers of world religions at least at some
religious, and political environments in which individuals,
point in their histories to bring people into the fold. These
families, communities, and societies flourish as Christian or
external forces of conversion can be potent motivators for re-
Muslim zones of influence and power. Many such studies
ligious change, and sometimes the fundamentalist interpreta-
are, of course, historical, but there are also examinations of
tion of a religion can in part provide legitimation for such
the processes of Christian or Islamic conversion using various
aggression. The history of colonialism is replete with in-
interpretative models such as the diffusion of innovation the-
stances of forcible conversions, where external forces played
ory by Richard W. Bulliet.
a significant role in conversion patterns.
In the study of Islamization, other theoretical explana-
While it is true that all conversions are both contextual
tions for Islamic conversion include the use of force, attrac-
and personal, scholars can also discern whether a conversion
tiveness of Islam as a movement for the liberation of slaves
is caused and experienced primarily within in the personal
and soldiers, compliance with new political regimes, desire
sphere and which are influenced primarily by contextual dy-
for the privileges of Islamic political power (e.g. tax relief),
namics. Another way to state this issue is to what degree is
influence of traders (through intermarriage and patronage re-
a conversion primarily internal and which is fundamentally
lationships), attractiveness of monotheism (especially for
contextual? Moreover, many theistic traditions would simply
those from “pagan” and “primal” religions), and the provi-
suggest that conversion is the result of a god who calls people
sion of mystical and transcendent experiences through such
to join the community of faithful followers of truth, thus rec-
things as S:u¯f¯ı modes of spirituality. In the case of Christian-
ognizing a force (i.e., God) that is beyond both personal and
ization, explanations for conversion, in addition to some of
contextual domains. It must be expressed, however, that all
the same interpretations as those used for Islam, include ex-
personal conversions are influenced by the context and all
periences of healing, the attraction of communities of grace
contextual conversions are experienced personally.
and fellowship, the appeal to women of new understandings
The contemporary social and political world is shaped
of the role of women, and the deployment of various forms
in part by the pervasive influence of conversion. Buddhism
of persuasion, coercion, and force.
pervades Thailand, Burma, Cambodia, Vietnam, and con-
BRIEF ILLUSTRATIONS. Conversion to Christianity in the ar-
tinues to have an important impact on China, Korea, Japan,
chipelagic nation of Indonesia, the largest Muslim country
and much of Asia. Islam is the dominant religion of the Mid-
in the world, during the mid-1960s illustrates the complexity
dle East, Indonesia, parts of south Asia, and in many areas
of the phenomena, combining elements of globalization,
of Africa. Christianity is predominant in Europe, the Ameri-
postcolonial, and identity theories. Since its independence
cas, Australia, and the Philippines, and has experienced sig-
on August 17, 1945, Indonesia, with more than 13,000 is-
nificant resurgence in the non-Western world. The presence
lands, has experienced a series of social, political, and eco-
of world religions on all six continents represents members
nomic crises that threaten to pull the country apart. Septem-
from diaspora communities but also converts to those reli-
ber 30, 1965, marks the failed coup attempt on President
gions. Latin America exemplifies a region where conversion
Sukarno by left-wing officers. The Indonesian Communist
within a religion, that is, from Roman Catholicism to Pente-
Party (PKI) was held responsible for the coup attempt, and
costalism, has given way to significant social change, with
military and Muslim organizations responded by purging the
about half of Latin America’s Pentecostals living in Brazil.
communist threat in the nation. Most reports estimate that
The religious world is a dynamic force field of dissemination,
about 500,000 people were killed. Some converted to Hin-
conflict, establishment, decline, renewal, and reversals of var-
duism. More striking is the fact that roughly two million
ious religious movements, institutions, and ideologies. Con-
Javanists and Chinese converted to Christianity to quickly
version is integral to these transformations. The cultural ge-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1974
COOMARASWAMY, ANANDA
ography of the world continues to be shaped by the dynamics
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Syncretism: The Politics of Religious Synthesis. New York,
1994.
Levtzion, Nehemia, ed. Conversion to Islam. New York, 1979.
Stromberg, Peter G. Language and Self-Transformation: A Study of
MacMullen, Ramsay. Christianizing the Roman Empire (AD 100–
the Christian Conversion Narrative. New York, 1993.
400). New Haven, Conn., 1984.
Ullman, Chana. The Transformed Self: The Psychology of Religious
Montgomery, Robert L. The Diffusion of Religions. Lanham, Md.,
Conversion. New York, 1989.
1996.
van der Veer, Peter, ed. Conversion to Modernities: The Globaliza-
Montgomery, Robert L. The Lopsided Spread of Christianity: To-
tion of Christianity. New York, 1996.
ward an Understanding of the Diffusion of Religions. West-
Viswanathan, Gauri. Outside the Fold: Conversion, Modernity, and
port, Conn., 2001.
Belief. Princeton, N.J., 1998.
Mills, Kenneth, and Anthony Grafton, eds. Conversion in Late An-
LEWIS R. RAMBO (1987 AND 2005)
tiquity and the Early Middle Ages: Seeing and Believing. Roch-
CHARLES E. FARHADIAN (2005)
ester, N.Y., 2003.
Mills, Kenneth, and Anthony Grafton, eds. Conversion: Old
Worlds and New. Rochester, N.Y., 2003.
COOMARASWAMY, ANANDA (1877–1947),
Muldoon, James, ed. Varieties of Religious Conversion in the Middle
Sinhala art historian and religious thinker who spent the last
Ages. Gainesville, Fla., 1997.
three decades of his life in the United States.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
COOMARASWAMY, ANANDA
1975
Coomaraswamy’s work falls into three periods, distin-
ning of a reversal in British (and Western) opinion of Indian
guished less by topic than by purpose and sensibility. From
art that was largely due to the efforts of Coomaraswamy and
1903 to 1916, as a young scholar and idealistic author, Coo-
his colleagues, such as the British critic Roger Fry, in the
maraswamy was a well-known proponent of traditional Indi-
newly founded India Society.
an and Sinhala culture and a stirring essayist on behalf of cul-
Coomaraswamy’s next major publication in the field of
tural and political independence in both countries, then
art history, Rajput Painting (1916; reprint, 1975), formally
under British rule. He was also an extraordinarily perspica-
disclosed to the world the Hindu painting of Rajasthan and
cious art historian who discovered and restored in historical
the Punjab, now universally admired and widely studied but
perspective one of the great schools of Indian painting. In
essentially unknown until Coomaraswamy’s research. Con-
his middle years, from 1917 to 1931, when he was curator
fused with contemporaneous Muslim painting, the master-
of Indian and Muslim art at the Museum of Fine Arts in Bos-
works of this art lay unrecognized in obscure collections
ton, he applied his erudition to the production of a series of
throughout India and had hardly been valued until Coo-
scholarly books and articles on Asian art; many of these
maraswamy traveled far and wide, built a splendid collection,
works are still consulted for both fact and interpretation. Un-
and for the first time interpreted them in historical and aes-
like the publications of his youth, which show more than a
thetic terms.
trace of late romantic idealism and a concern for literary fi-
nesse, the works of his middle period are scientific in the best
During these predominantly Indian years, broken by so-
sense: directed toward factual knowledge and coolly analyti-
journs in England, where he maintained a home, Coo-
cal in approach. In 1932 Coomaraswamy began to combine
maraswamy also published Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists
his early, value-oriented scholarship with the factuality of his
(1913) and Buddha and the Gospel of Buddhism (1916). The
middle period; this synthesis led to the masterful works of
latter is an early and graceful summary of Buddhism for gen-
his old age. In book after book, essay after essay—he was
eral readers, published in an era that had seen few if any
once described as “New England’s most prolific author”—
studies of its quality. Essays from this period were collected
Coomaraswamy undertook a scholarly and yet visionary ex-
a few years later for his first American publication, The Dance
of Shiva (1918; reprint, 1957). Coomaraswamy had recently
ploration of traditional religious art and culture, primarily
moved to the United States, and this widely read book estab-
of India and medieval Europe. These works, his final contri-
lished his popular reputation there as an authority on Indian
bution, have an eloquence, a force of conviction, and a stun-
culture.
ning erudition that make them still, and perhaps classically,
a literature to which both scholars and seekers may turn for
Accepting a curatorial post at the Boston Museum,
guidance and inspiration.
which acquired his unique collection of Indian painting,
Coomaraswamy now entered his period of rigorous scholarly
Born in Ceylon (present-day Sri Lanka) to a distin-
effort. His work in the 1920s is epitomized by two publica-
guished Hindu legislator and his English wife, Ananda Kent-
tions, the multivolume Catalogue of the Indian Collections in
ish Coomaraswamy was educated in England. He earned the
the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (1923ff) and his History of
degree of doctor of science in geology from London Univer-
Indian and Indonesian Art (1927; reprint, 1972). Both works
sity and in 1902 returned to Ceylon as a geologist. There he
of exact scholarship in art history were written as a much-
combined professional work with a growing interest in the
needed service to the field he had helped to found.
indigenous, precolonial culture of the island, which had been
weakened by nearly a century of British rule. Deeply influ-
As noted above, Coomaraswamy’s work—and un-
enced by William Morris (1834–1896), the British crafts-
doubtedly his person—underwent a major transformation in
man, author, and humanitarian socialist, Coomaraswamy
about 1932. While he continued to write art history at nearly
toured the island, making observations and taking photo-
his customary pace, he also began to publish studies of the
graphs that became the substance of his first major non-
religions, myths, aesthetics, and traditional cultures of India
geological publication, Mediaeval Sinhalese Art (1908). The
and medieval Europe—indeed, of tradition wherever he en-
book was a pioneering effort to inventory and interpret a tra-
countered it. The art historian ceded some ground to the reli-
ditional and inherently religious art.
gious thinker and philosopher; the scientist ceded to the man
of conviction, who contrasted the secular, industrialized way
Coomaraswamy’s geological career gave way to his au-
of life in the modern world with the traditional order of life
thentic vocation. Shifting his interest and residence to the
in which knowledge is primarily religious and art is visible
larger world of India, where he became an intimate of the
religion. Although the books and essays of this period were
family of the poet Rabindranath Tagore (1861–1941) and
born of a powerful conviction that modern man must re-
an active polemicist on behalf of swadeshi (“home rule”),
member and allow himself to be moved by the depth and
Coomaraswamy also engaged in studies of art history that
light of tradition, Coomaraswamy’s writings were not pre-
gradually drew near a major discovery. His Indian Drawings
dominantly polemic in character; for the most part they are
(1910) and its companion Indian Drawings, Second Series,
encyclopedic works that explore the metaphysics and theolo-
Chiefly Rajput (1912) are primarily portfolios of illustrations
gy, the iconography and symbols, and the artistic and social
and are of limited textual interest, but they mark the begin-
forms of the East and West, often on a comparative basis.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1976
COPERNICUS, NICOLAUS
Coomaraswamy was one of the first erudite practitioners of
In 1496 Copernicus and his brother were sent to Bolo-
cross-cultural study and interpretation to be biased—if he
gna by their uncle to further their educations. During his de-
was at all—toward the East. His later works initiate the read-
cade in Italy, Copernicus studied medicine at Padua, contin-
er unforgettably into both the general structure and the
ued his observations of the heavens, and became well enough
countless details that constitute traditional religious culture
versed in philosophy and classical literature to translate the
in the premodern world. Occasional polemic essays drive
letters of a Byzantine poet into Latin. In 1503 Copernicus
home, with wit and passion, the importance that this lesson
took his degree in canon law from the University of Ferrara.
in ancient things holds for modern man. No brief summary
Watzenrode had arranged for Copernicus’s election to a ben-
can do justice to his works in this period. It must suffice to
efice in the Diocese of Warmia to ensure his nephew’s finan-
say that they blend remarkable scholarship with the dispas-
cial independence, and Copernicus returned to Poland to
sionate quality of religious passion known in Indian tradition
embark upon his duties as a canon of Frombork Cathedral.
as jñana. As he once asked in an essay, “Can we imagine a
For the next four decades he was engaged in ecclesiastical ad-
perfected ardor apart from understanding, or a perfected un-
ministration and other service to the diocese. He wrote an
derstanding without ardor?”
important treatise on coinage, painted a self-portrait, and
conscientiously practiced medicine. Astronomy remained his
BIBLIOGRAPHY
passion, however, and in 1510 he built a modest observatory
The major works from Coomaraswamy’s late period include The
in a tower near the cathedral.
Transformation of Nature in Art (1934; New York, 1956), El-
ements of Buddhist Iconography (1935; New Delhi, 1972),
COPERNICUS AND ASTRONOMY. In order to evaluate Coper-
Why Exhibit Works of Art? (1943; reprinted as Christian and
nicus’s significance in relation to religion, one must first un-
Oriental Philosophy of Art, New York, 1956), Hinduism and
derstand how he transformed astronomy. His enduring lega-
Buddhism (1943; Westport, Conn., 1971), Figures of Speech
cy was the rehabilitation of the long-neglected heliocentric
or Figures of Thought (London, 1946), Am I My Brother’s
hypothesis. The concept of a moving earth was not new of
Keeper? (New York, 1947), and Time and Eternity (Ascona,
course, having been proposed in the third century BCE by Ar-
1947). A three-volume collection entitled Coomaraswamy
(vol. 1, Selected Papers: Traditional Art and Symbolism; vol.
istarchus of Samos and discussed by Archimedes, although
2, Selected Papers: Metaphysics; vol. 3, His Life and Work), re-
Philolaus and Ecphantus the Pythagoreans are the ancients
spectively edited and written by me (Princeton, 1977), gath-
whom Copernicus mentions in connection with the idea.
ers additional writings from the late period and explores
But the ancient arguments against heliocentrism, both from
Coomaraswamy’s life and mind, with emphasis on the later
common sense and from lack of observed stellar parallax, had
years.
been so overwhelming that the alternative geocentric cosmol-
New Sources
ogy prevailed from antiquity through the late Middle Ages.
Coomaraswamy, Ananda K. “The Interior Image.” Parabola 11,
no. 2 (May 1986): 14–19.
Aristotle (384–322 BCE) envisioned a set of nested con-
centric spheres bearing the planets, the sun, the moon, and
Coomaraswamy, Ananda K. Early Indian Architecture: Huts, and
Related Temple Types. Cambridge, Mass., 1988.
the stars around a spherical, stationary earth. This system was
enlarged and codified by the second-century Egyptian as-
ROGER LIPSEY (1987)
tronomer Ptolemy in the Almagest, which became the basic
Revised Bibliography
astronomical text of the scholastic canon. In order to preserve
uniform circular motion while accounting for the periodic
retrograde motion of the planets against the backdrop of the
COPERNICUS, NICOLAUS (1473–1543), Polish
fixed stars, the system invoked a scheme of epicycles and ec-
cleric and astronomer, was born Mikołaj Kopernik in Torún,
centrics that revolved on the deferent circle about the equant
Poland, on February 19, 1473. He was raised in the comfort-
point. Ptolemaic astronomy was integrated with Aristotelian
able circumstances of a wealthy burgher family and was edu-
physics in scholastic science, in which circular motion was
cated at the cathedral school. Upon the death of his father
proper to the heavens and rectilinear motion to the earth and
in 1583, Copernicus and his younger brother Andreas were
in which the four terrestrial elements (earth, water, fire, and
taken under the guardianship of their maternal uncle, Canon
air) were disposed appropriately according to their degrees
Lucas Watzenrode, who had been trained in the cosmopoli-
of levity or gravity. The pre-Copernican cosmology was in
tan humanist atmosphere of Bologna and later was made
turn integrated with theology to form an orderly scholastic
prince bishop of the Diocese of Warmia. Copernicus matric-
synthesis of physics, astronomy, and theology. Each science
ulated in the Collegium Maius of the renowned Jagiellonian
in this hierarchy of disciplines operated from its own set of
University of Kraków, which at that time was strong in
principles, and together they governed everything from the
mathematics and had an endowed chair of astronomy dating
nature of matter and planetary motion to the geographic lo-
from 1410. Copernicus’s study of the theories of such
cation of heaven and hell.
luminaries as Ptolemy, Euclid, Sacrobosco, and Regiomon-
tanus was complemented by his own observation in Kraków
By the sixteenth century Ptolemaic astronomy had
of the comets of 1491 and 1492 and of four lunar and solar
begun to encounter difficulties in accurately predicting celes-
eclipses during the next two years.
tial phenomena. The system of eccentrics and epicycles re-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
COPERNICUS, NICOLAUS
1977
volving about the equant point “saved the appearances” in
As a conservative reformer, Copernicus preserved the as-
accounting for retrograde planetary movements without sac-
sumption of uniform circular motion and continued to em-
rificing uniform circular motion. But the minute inaccura-
ploy Ptolemy’s epicycles and eccentrics. Indeed he has been
cies of this system when compounded annually over more
referred to as the last great Ptolemaic astronomer. Where he
than a millennium had pushed astronomical reckoning off
departed from the tradition of Ptolemy was in pursuing the
by ten days. This cumulative error posed serious calendrical
insight that shifting the reference frame from the earth to the
problems, including the difficulty of correctly calculating the
sun not only increased observational accuracy but for the first
date of Easter, the central Christian feast on which much of
time made logical sense out of the order of the planets. Rath-
the church year was based.
er than viewing the sun, moon, and planets with their vary-
ing dimensions as arbitrarily assigned to widely divergent pe-
As Copernicus continued his quest for improving pre-
riods and orbital angles, a heliocentric system generated an
dictive accuracy in astronomy, he gradually turned his atten-
intrinsic order. The planets farthest from the sun had the
tion to the possibility of a moving earth, sketching his system
longest orbital periods and the widest orbital angles, while
in the Commentariolus. This unpublished outline circulated
those closest to the center revolved most tightly and rapidly
widely in draft form among his students before 1514 and
around the sun. Likewise the Copernican model also made
challenged established tradition by proposing three kinds of
coherent sense of retrograde motion. Instead of interpreting
terrestrial motion: (1) real diurnal rotation of the earth to ac-
the looping paths of the planets against the sidereal backdrop
count for the apparent diurnal rotation of the heavens; (2)
as actual celestial occurrences, Copernicus understood these
annual revolution about the stationary sun to account for the
motions to be mere optical illusions resulting from the annu-
solar year; and (3) motion in declination to account for the
al revolution of the terrestrial observatory inside or outside
precession of the equinoxes.
the orbits of its fellow planets. Copernicus offered a remark-
Copernicus continued to elaborate his planetary theory
ably prescient rebuttal to Ptolemy’s objection that a moving
during the next quarter century. In 1539 a Lutheran scholar
earth would leave any loose objects drifting westward. He
from Wittenberg named Georg Joachim Rheticus (1514–
suggested two possible explanations, one based on an Aristo-
1574) learned of Copernicus’s theory and traveled to From-
telian mingling of qualities and another on the idea of mo-
bork to study it in detail with the Catholic astronomer. He
mentum: “The reason may be either that the nearby air, min-
became Copernicus’s first disciple, published his own sketch
gling with earthy or watery matter, conforms to the same
of the system, Narratio Prima, in 1540, and finally persuaded
nature as the earth, or that [this] air’s motion, acquired from
Copernicus to offer his theory to the world. The latter in
the earth by proximity, shares without resistance in its un-
1541 authorized Rheticus to carry a copy of the manuscript
ceasing rotation” (DR I.8).
to Nuremberg, where it was published by Johannes Petreius
Astronomers appreciated the increased predictive accu-
under the title De revolutionibus orbium coelestium libri sex
racy of Copernicus’s system, although initial reaction to his
(1543). As circumstances did not permit Rheticus to remain
revolutionary postulate was guarded. More significantly the
in Nuremberg to oversee publication, that duty was entrust-
fruitfulness of his effort may better be measured by the range
ed to the Lutheran theologian Andreas Osiander (1498–
and diversity of theories he stimulated. De revolutionibus
1552), who added an unauthorized preface stating, “These
gave free rein to an incremental rethinking of astronomy and
hypotheses need not be true nor even probable; if they pro-
physics that challenged the existing hierarchy of disciplines
vide a calculus consistent with the observations, that alone
and that within a century blossomed into a full-scale scientif-
is sufficient.” Osiander emphasized the hypothetical nature
ic revolution. Ptolemaic astronomy no longer offered a satis-
of astronomy used as a calculating device, apparently for the
factory architectonic vision of the cosmos, and Copernicus
purpose of protecting the work from overzealous censors.
was not the only thinker prepared to suggest an alternative
But whether or not Copernicus was aware of this preface
model. The Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe (1546–1601)
when De revolutionibus was presented to him in 1543 as he
proposed a “geo-heliocentric” model in which the five plan-
lay dying, he almost certainly would not have agreed with
ets revolve around the sun, which in turn revolves with the
Osiander’s disclaimer that heliocentrism should be treated as
moon around the earth. Brahe appreciated Copernicus’s suc-
a mathematical convenience rather than as a genuine claim
cess in circumventing the most discordant aspects of the
about the true physical nature of the cosmos.
Ptolemaic system, but he personally could not overcome a
De revolutionibus sits in the paradoxical position of
revulsion of ascribing to the sluggish earth the quick motion
being on the one hand essentially a conservative work in the
shared by the “ethereal torches.” But Brahe did initiate a
classical tradition of astronomy and on the other hand a book
break with the Aristotelian assumption of celestial immuta-
that sparked a major revolution in scientific thought. With
bility when he claimed that the nova of 1572 was in fact a
the exception of an engaging broad exposition of the system
new star and when he concluded that, because the comet of
in the first of its six books, De revolutionibus is a highly math-
1577 looped around the sun in an orbit closer than that of
ematical treatise that made few initial converts. Although it
Venus, there could be no crystalline spheres.
was widely read in astronomical circles, fewer than a dozen
Copernicus and Brahe inhabited a pre-Newtonian, pre-
committed Copernicans before 1600 can be identified.
dynamical age, and their respective modifications of geocen-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1978
COPERNICUS, NICOLAUS
trism remained committed to uniform circular motion as a
to as a period of restrictive orthodoxies in which Aristotelian-
perfection proper to the heavens. A more remarkable depar-
ism became applied as a mechanical criterion of the truth.
ture from classical astronomy was initiated by Brahe’s stu-
In such an atmosphere it is not surprising that the initially
dent Johannes Kepler (1571–1630), whose close observation
favorable reception of Galileo’s telescopic discoveries should
of Mars led him to postulate elliptical planetary orbits with
have been accompanied by suspicion of his Copernicanism
the sun occupying one focus of the ellipse. The psychological
and ultimately by the suspension of De revolutionibus, “until
impact of this “breaking of the circle” was arguably a chal-
corrected,” by the Congregation of the Index in 1616. This
lenge greater even than the shift to heliocentrism, and the
suspension was honored mostly in the breach, and Owen
introduction of a dynamic element was a significant step on
Gingerich has shown that only about 8 percent of the five
the path to the eventual Newtonian synthesis.
hundred extant copies of the first edition were censored by
their owners in full compliance with the index.
Further challenges unfolded with the telescopic observa-
tions of Galileo Galilei (1564–1642). Galileo’s publication
Copernicus’s deceptively simple insight in De revolu-
of Sidereus nuncius (1610) provided physical evidence that
tionibus carried with it enormous implications for a wide
seemed to confirm the mathematical theory of heliocentrism,
range of disciplines and questions. In physics and astronomy
although genuine empirical proof of the earth’s annual orbit-
it played an important role in initiating the process of scien-
al motion only arrived with Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel’s
tific discovery that has led from Kepler and Galileo through
(1784–1846) establishment of stellar parallax in the 1830s
Sir Isaac Newton (1642–1727) and Pierre-Simon de Laplace
and the confirmation of diurnal axial rotation awaited Jean-
(1749–1827) to the twenty-first century. In epistemology
Bernard-Léon Foucault’s (1819–1868) pendulum in 1851.
the Copernican revolution upset the established order of the
Nevertheless Galileo’s charting of the revolutions of the
scholastic curriculum by daring to use mathematics, a lower
moons of Jupiter and the phases of Venus suggested, by anal-
science, to correct astronomy, a science of higher dignity. An
ogy, the plausibility of the heliocentric cosmological model.
extension of this epistemological challenge was Galileo’s ele-
Likewise his observation of lunar craters implied the similari-
vation of sense experience—in the form of experiment and
ty of the moon to the earth, and his discovery of sunspots
observation—into a more important role than it had enjoyed
furthered the argument that mutability is not confined only
under Scholastic Aristotelianism.
to the terrestrial realm.
Copernicus and his successors also contributed to the
REACTIONS TO COPERNICUS’S THEORY. The fortunes of the
secularization of modernity through the disenchantment of
Copernican hypothesis were shaped not only by its incre-
cosmology, the removal of the earth from its central location,
mental scientific acceptance but also by factors such as the
and the relativization of human concerns by contrast with
flexibility of intellectual culture and the circumstances of ec-
the infinity of time and space. Copernicus contended that
clesiastical politics. Since the Condemnations of 1277 the
the size of the universe was “similar to the infinite.” Theolog-
church had wisely refrained from committing itself to a sin-
ically an intriguing swing occurred from the church’s relative
gle cosmological model, and Nicole d’Oresme (c. 1325–
neutrality on cosmology before Copernicus to its rigid adher-
1382), bishop of Lisieux, had felt free to consider a number
ence to the Aristotelian-Ptolemaic worldview during the Gal-
of arguments for diurnal rotation in his 1377 commentary
ileo affair and back again to a relative independence from
on Aristotle’s De caelo. Copernicus himself dedicated De re-
cosmological commitment. Although theology cannot re-
volutionibus to Pope Paul III, and the immediate response
main wholly apophatic about the world in which it is embed-
on the part of the post-Tridentine church was such that no
ded, too close an adherence to a particular worldview will
particular restrictions were imposed on Catholic astrono-
leave the believer high and dry when the paradigm changes,
mers. However, whereas the Counter-Reformation was not
as inevitably it will. From a modest and relatively self-
in itself antiscientific, it was certainly not about to embrace
contained pre-Copernican cosmos focused on the human
innovations that would undermine its dogmas. One conse-
drama of salvation, scholars have moved to a vast and much
quence of this was the papal mandate to carry out policies
less obviously anthropocentric universe. In Copernicus’s
of the Council of Trent (1545–1563), including reinforcing
prophetic words, “So vast, without any question, is the di-
exegesis that emphasized wherever possible the literal inter-
vine handiwork of the most excellent almighty” (DR I.10).
pretation of the Bible.
SEE ALSO Galileo Galilei; Kepler, Johannes; Newton, Isaac;
Moreover astronomical speculation could also carry het-
Ptolemy.
erodox implications, as in the case of Giordano Bruno
(1548–1600), who postulated a plurality of worlds and the
BIBLIOGRAPHY
infinity of the universe. Although Bruno was executed for
Copernican studies were enriched with numerous publications
theological heresy rather than for his scientific views, he was
surrounding the quincentenary of the astronomer’s birth in
a vehemently anti-Aristotelian admirer of Copernicus, and
1973. The English translation of Copernicus’s writings is Ni-
from the 1590s astronomical innovation became associated
colaus Copernicus, Complete Works, 3. vols. (London, 1972–
with heterodoxy. In the decades after the Council of Trent
1992). Edward Rosen, translator, Three Copernican Treatises,
the Catholic Church entered what William Shea has referred
3d ed. (New York, 1971), includes an accessible Commen-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
COPTIC CHURCH
1979
tariolus and supporting materials. Concise biographical
of the age of persecutions. With the Edict of Milan (313),
sketches include Wanda M. Stachiewicz’s Copernicus and His
whereby the emperor Constantine guaranteed freedom of
World (Montreal, 1972); and Jan Adamczewski’s nicely illus-
worship to Christians, Alexandria gained in prestige as a
trated Nicolaus Copernicus and His Epoch (Philadelphia,
major Christian ecclesial and theological center.
1972). Many of Rosen’s meticulous examinations of specific
details are in his Copernicus and His Successors (London,
THE CATECHETICAL SCHOOL OF ALEXANDRIA. The cate-
1995).
chetical school of Alexandria, which appears to have taken
A classic account of Copernicus’s astronomical science in a tradi-
shape late in the second century, became a center of Chris-
tional “revolution” context is Thomas S. Kuhn’s The Coper-
tian scholarship under the leadership of some of the greatest
nican Revolution (Cambridge, Mass., 1957). See also Rosen,
church fathers. Pantaenus, credited with being its first head,
Copernicus and the Scientific Revolution (Malabar, Fla.,
is reported to have traveled as an evangelist as far east as
1984). Noel M. Swerdlow and Otto Neugebauer provide a
India. Clement of Alexandria, who succeeded him, advocat-
detailed analysis in Mathematical Astronomy in Copernicus’s
ed the reconciliation of Christian doctrine and the Bible with
“De revolutionibus” (New York, 1984), which includes a de-
Greek philosophy.
finitive biographical study by Swerdlow. Various features of
Copernicus’s science are treated in Owen Gingerich’s The
The school of Alexandria came of age under Origen, one
Eye of Heaven: Ptolemy, Copernicus, Kepler (New York,
of the most prolific authors of all time, whose exegetical,
1993).
philosophical, and theological writings had broad influence
Kenneth J. Howell examines the reception of Copernicanism in
on the early church, including such pillars of orthodoxy as
light of scriptural exegesis in God’s Two Books: Copernican
his pupils Heraclas (patriarch 230–246, and the first in the
Cosmology and Biblical Interpretation in Early Modern Science
annals of the Coptic church to bear the title “pope”) and
(Notre Dame, Ind., 2002). For an important study of Protes-
Gregory Thaumatourgos, as well as Antony, Athanasius, the
tant and Catholic attitudes to Copernicanism before Galileo,
Cappadocian Fathers, and Jerome. The school of Alexandria
see Robert S. Westman, “The Copernicans and the Church-
proved to be an arena of free scholastic endeavor, defending
es,” in God and Nature: Historical Essays on the Encounter be-
the “catholic” faith in a “pagan” environment, offering the
tween Christianity and Science, edited by David C. Lindberg
first attempts at a Christian systematic theology, and paving
and Ronald L. Numbers (Berkeley, Calif., 1986). James M.
the way for ecumenical developments in the early church.
Lattis shows the importance of the Jesuit influence in Be-
tween Copernicus and Galileo: Christoph Clavius and the Col-
ECUMENICAL COUNCILS. An ecumenical movement intend-
lapse of Ptolemaic Cosmology (Chicago, 1994).
ed to unify the church and combat heresy was inaugurated
Indispensable to the study of the early fortunes of the heliocentric
by Constantine with the Council of Nicaea (325). At this
hypothesis is Gingerich’s An Annotated Census of Copernicus’
and subsequent councils, “orthodox” teaching was defined
“De revolutionibus” (Nuremberg, 1543, and Basel, 1566) (Lei-
for theological questions concerning the (triune) identity of
den and Boston, 2002), an examination of over six hundred
God and the (divine and human) person of Christ. Alexan-
extant copies of Copernicus’s book. Gingerich recounts this
dria played a major role in the early councils, in which the
quest as an engaging intellectual adventure in The Book No-
teachings that the Son is homoousios (“of one being”) with
body Read: Chasing the Revolutions of Nicolaus Copernicus
(New York, 2004).
the Father (championed by Athanasius, patriarch 326–373),
that the incarnate Word is one Lord and one Son, and that
PETER M. J. HESS (2005)
Mary is therefore the theotokos or “God bearer” (championed
by Cyril, patriarch 412–444) were upheld.
Alexandrian authority appeared to have been cemented
COPTIC CHURCH. The Coptic church is the ancient
at the Second Council of Ephesus (449)—dismissed as a
church of Egypt; the name Copt derives from the Greek Aig-
“Robber Council” by Rome—which was dominated by
uptioi (“Egyptians”). According to tradition within the
Cyril’s nephew, Dioscorus (patriarch 444–454). However,
church, its founder and first patriarch was Mark the Evange-
a change of emperors and an alliance of the sees of Rome and
list, who first preached Christianity in Alexandria in the for-
Constantinople challenged the Alexandrian ecclesiastical he-
ties of the first century CE. For several centuries the new faith
gemony. The new, pro-Western emperor Marcion called a
interacted in various ways with Judaism, traditional Egyptian
council in Chalcedon in 451, which promptly condemned
religion, Hellenistic philosophy, and Gnosticism, amid spo-
Dioscorus (although not on doctrinal grounds), who was
radic waves of Roman persecution. The consummation of
consequently deposed and exiled.
the persecutions came under Diocletian, from the beginning
Henceforth, the place of the Coptic church in the
of whose reign in 284 CE the Copts began their own calendar
Christian world was curtailed. Two parallel lines of succes-
“of the martyrs” (1 Anno Martyrum). This church calendar
sion to Mark the Evangelist gradually came into existence.
remains in use to the present day.
One, allied to the Byzantines (and eventually labeled mel-
Biblical and other Christian texts preserved in second-
kite), accepted the “two nature” formula of the Council of
and third-century papyrus manuscripts are testimonies to the
Chalcedon for describing the divine and human Christ; the
penetration of the new faith into Egypt long before the end
other, which gained strong local support, held to Cyril’s “one
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1980
COPTIC CHURCH
nature of the incarnate Word” formula, a position called mo-
most part of Libya (the Pentapolis), Nubia, and Ethiopia.
nophysite by its opponents.
The influence of Egyptian Christianity on Nubia, in the
M
upper reaches of the Nile, is confirmed by archaeological ex-
ONASTICISM. Though several social and economic factors
must have played a role in accelerating the withdrawal of
cavations. While the Byzantine emperor Justinian (r. 527–
Egyptian Christians to the desert, it remains true that early
565) aimed at winning the northern Nubian kingdom
monasticism was principally a movement of piety that, in its
of Nobatia to the Chalcedonian cause, Egyptian anti-
earliest stages, was practiced close to home by “village ancho-
Chalcedonians, with the support of the empress Theodora,
rites.” Early Christian imagination was captured, however,
were able to arrive in the Nobatian capital before the Chalce-
by the figure of Antony (c. 250–356), who fled to the soli-
donian delegation, and won the Nobatian king for the “one
tude of the eastern desert from his native village on the Nile
nature” Christian confession.
after hearing Matthew 19:21 (“Jesus said to him, ‘If you
The conversion of the kingdom of Ethiopia took place
would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the
in the fourth century. Two Syrian Christian brothers, ship-
poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow
wrecked on their way to India, were taken into the household
me.’”). Others followed Antony’s example and a monastic
of the Ethiopian monarch. One of them, Frumentius, was
colony arose around his cave in the Red Sea mountains.
eventually ordained bishop by Athanasius himself, beginning
There they practiced a life of austerity, prayer, and medita-
a long association of the Ethiopian church with the See of
tion on scripture. Although committed to solitude, they
Saint Mark.
found it spiritually profitable to be within sight of their great
mentor for guidance, and advantageous in a variety of ways
Isolated cases provide instances of Egyptian missionary
to be within reach of other brothers. These circumstances led
work in Asia. As mentioned earlier, Pantaenus is said to have
to the development of a form of monastic life that may be
preached the gospel in India. Eugenius of Clysma, according
called communal eremiticism. This form of monastic life is
to legend, had been a Pachomian monk before he became
familiar from many of the sayings of the Desert Fathers (in-
the founder of monasticism in Mesopotamia.
cluding such giants as Macarius the Great), many of whom
In Europe, the ideals of the Egyptian desert ruled in the
inhabited the monastic centers of Nitria, Cellia, and Scetis
monasteries of southern Gaul and elsewhere, and spread
(present-day Wa¯d¯ı al-Nat:ru¯n), to the west of the Nile Delta.
widely: sea, forest, and swampland often played the role of
Another form of monastic life, the cenobitic, is associat-
“desert.” A popular story concerning Egyptian Christians in
ed with the name of Pachomius (d. 346). Originally a pagan
present-day Switzerland is that of the Theban Legion, a
legionary, he was inspired by the goodness of Christian vil-
group of Christian legionaries from Egypt led by Mauritius.
lagers who ministered to the needs of the soldiers and was
They were martyred by Maximian (286–305) for refusing to
baptized a Christian. After spiritual training by a desert ascet-
sacrifice to Roman deities and for refusing to kill Christian
ic, Pachomius developed a community and subsequently an
converts. Verena, a saintly woman who had accompanied the
original rule. The rule prescribed a carefully regulated com-
legion, is commemorated for healing the sick and baptizing
munal life and stressed productive labor in addition to the
new converts in the region of Zurzach. Three martyred saints
study of scripture, prayer, meditation, and discussion. Pa-
who were baptized in defiance of imperial command are the
chomian monasteries multiplied rapidly during their found-
subject of the coat of arms of the city of Zurich.
er’s life, including foundations for women as well as men,
In late antiquity Egypt boasted one of the great Chris-
and attracting persons from afar.
tian pilgrimage centers of the Mediterranean world, the
The holy men and women of Egypt came to be a source
shrine of the Egyptian martyr Menas (southeast of Alexan-
of inspiration throughout the Christian world. Athanasius
dria). Terra-cotta ampullae bearing the image of the saint
wrote the Life of Antony, which provided a new model of ho-
have been discovered throughout Europe, bearing witness to
liness for the world. Visitors to the monks in the late fourth
the great number of European visitors who flocked to his
century included Rufinus of Aquileia, who made a Latin
shrine, especially in the fifth and sixth centuries.
translation of the History of the Monks in Egypt; Melania the
FROM CHALCEDON TO THE ARAB CONQUEST. The Council
Elder, a great monastic leader and “female man of God;” Pal-
of Chalcedon in 451, with its condemnation of the Alexan-
ladius, who compiled the lives of the Desert Fathers in The
drian patriarch Dioscorus and with its dyophysite (“two na-
Lausiac History; Cassian, who wrote the Institutes and the
ture”) interpretation of Cyril’s Christological legacy contrary
Conferences in order to bring Egyptian monasticism to Gaul;
to the miaphysite (“one nature”) interpretation of many of
and Jerome, who translated the rule of Pachomius into Latin.
Cyril’s most ardent supporters, led to the cleavage of Chris-
MISSIONARY ENDEAVOR. Those who brought the way of life
tendom into two divergent camps. To this day, Chalcedon
of the Egyptian monks to their homelands may be regarded
is bitterly remembered by the Copts of Egypt, as well as by
as unchartered ambassadors of early Egyptian Christianity,
others (the Syrian, Ethiopian, and Armenian Orthodox).
but, further, Egyptian Christians themselves were active in
The outcome of Chalcedon was immediately felt in Egypt:
an extensive missionary enterprise. The sphere of influence
the Byzantine emperors who aimed at unity within the
of the patriarch of Alexandria came to include the eastern-
church as the primary bearer of cohesion in the empire at-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
COPTIC CHURCH
1981
tempted to impose that unity through imperial sanction and
pilgrimage to the shrine of Saint Menas effectively came to
military support of pro-Chalcedonian patriarchs. In opposi-
an end (as did the revenues it brought the bishop in Alexan-
tion to this, the majority of Egyptian bishops remained faith-
dria). In the tenth century, the patriarchal residence was dis-
ful to the anti-Chalcedonian position of Dioscorus and elect-
placed from the city of Alexandria to the Delta.
ed patriarchs accordingly, although these patriarchs seldom
The Sh¯ıE¯ı Fa¯t:imid dynasty (969–1171 CE) appears to
led an untroubled existence: Timothy Aelurus (“the Cat”)
have ushered in a period of stabilization and recovery for the
spent much of his tenure (457–477) in exile, while his suc-
Copts. Coptic civil servants enjoyed high positions in the
cessor Peter Mongus (477–490) spent years in hiding until
Fa¯t:imid administration and Coptic craftsmen flourished.
an imperially promulgated doctrinal compromise (the Heno-
The patriarchal residence was eventually established in
ticon of Zeno, 482) allowed him to surface. In the next cen-
churches near the Fa¯t:imids’ new city of al-Qa¯hirah (Cairo).
tury, under the pro-Chalcedonian emperor Justinian, the
At the end of the tenth century, bishop (and former civil ser-
anti-Chalcedonian patriarch Theodosius spent long years
vant) Sa¯w¯ırus ibn al-MuqaffaE became the first Coptic theo-
(537–566) in exile in Constantinople. On the other hand,
logian to write extensively in the Arabic language, while in
Coptic tradition recalls that his contemporary, the pro-
the late eleventh century both clergy (including patriarchs
Chalcedonian patriarch Apollinaris (551–570), began his pa-
Christodoulos and Cyril II) and leading laymen (such as
triarchate by revealing the priestly robes under his military
Mawhu¯b ibn Mans:u¯r ibn Mufarrij) contributed to a project
uniform.
of translation of fundamental documents, including the ac-
The early seventh century was a period of great disrup-
counts that became the History of the Patriarchs (a primary
tion in the life of the Egyptian church: a period of Persian
source for Egyptian church history), from Coptic into
occupation (616–629) was followed by Byzantine recovery
Arabic.
and the reassertion of coercive pro-Chalcedonian policies in
The process of Arabization of the Copts (and their liter-
Egypt by the emperor Heraclius, who appointed Cyrus, a
ature) continued through the eleventh and twelfth centuries,
bishop from the Caucasus, as Chalcedonian patriarch (631–
a period marked with difficulties from the chaos at the end
642). For ten years his anti-Chalcedonian rival Benjamin
of Fa¯t:imid rule, periodic drought and famine, and Crusader
(patriarch 622–662) was a fugitive within Egypt, moving
incursions. At the beginning of the thirteenth century there
from monastery to monastery. With the Arab conquest of
was a nearly twenty-year vacancy in the patriarchate (1216–
Egypt in the early 640s, however, a new era began for Egyp-
1235). These factors make all the more remarkable the cul-
tian Christians (who were called al-Qibt: by the Arabs). The
tural flowering that took place within the Coptic community
Arab Muslims promised significant religious freedoms to the
at that time, in which the patronage of wealthy Copts, a re-
“People of the Book,” that is, to Christians and Jews, in ex-
vival of patristic tradition, cross-fertilization by outside
change for acceptance of Arab Muslim rule and the payment
Christian traditions available in Arabic, and the extraordi-
of the poll tax or jizyah. In fact, after the fall of Alexandria,
nary theological, artistic, and scientific talents of clergy (such
the conquerors offered the fugitive Coptic patriarch Benja-
as Bishop Paul of al-Bu¯sh) and laity (such as the renowned
min honorable safe-conduct and possession of churches hith-
Ibn al-EAssa¯l brothers) came together to usher in a golden age
erto held by the Chalcedonians: the frequently retold story
of Copto-Arabic theology, history, and philology, as well as
of the friendly meeting between Benjamin and the Muslim
a period of great accomplishment in art (gloriously on dis-
general and governor EAmr ibn al-EA¯s: is foundational to the
play in the recently restored wall paintings in the Monastery
modern Egyptian discourse of al-wah:dah al-wat:aniyyah, “na-
of Saint Antony, in the eastern desert near the Red Sea).
tional unity” or good relations between Muslims and Copts.
The Mamlu¯k era (1250–1517
L
CE) was difficult for the
IFE IN A “NEW WORLD ORDER.” Muslim rule created a
Copts. Coptic administrators were indispensable but resent-
new barrier between the Christians of the “East” and those
ed, and Copts were frequently the victims of excessive taxa-
of the “West”: for Byzantine Christians, or those of the Latin
tion, discriminatory legislation, or even mob violence (espe-
West, the Coptic church (and its Christological teachings)
cially in 1321 and 1354) in which churches and monasteries
now fell on the other side of the border and largely out of
were destroyed. Many Copts converted to Islam. In terms of
mind. Within the Islamic empire or Da¯r al-Isla¯m, Christians
literature, the brilliant creativity of the early thirteenth cen-
had to adjust to what turned out to be not a temporary incur-
tury gave way to compilations and encyclopedias, and then
sion like that of the Persians, but a new Islamic world order.
to only the very occasional original work. We have but short
Coptic civil servants carried on in their work for new superi-
notices about the patriarchs of this era, with the exception
ors, while church leaders learned new forms of interaction
of the saintly Matthew the Poor (1378–1409), a burst of
with Muslim governors (and their demands for revenue).
holiness in the midst of a precarious and sometimes chaotic
The monasteries became more important than ever as centers
existence.
of Coptic identity and spiritual power, even as Christianity
in Alexandria and in the Delta, in particular, began a long
The Mamlu¯k era came to an end with the Ottoman
period of decline. Periodic Coptic revolts in the Delta (be-
conquest of Egypt in 1517. Egypt became something of a po-
tween 725 and 831) failed, and with their failure the Islam-
litical and cultural backwater under Ottoman administra-
ization of the region accelerated. In the mid-ninth century,
tion. However, the Coptic nobility (ara¯khinah) gained influ-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1982
COPTIC CHURCH
ential administrative and financial positions close to the local
ers, many of whom (including Pope Shenouda III, who be-
decision-makers, and by the eighteenth century were able to
come pope in 1971) became monks and contributed to a
provide patronage to numerous activities within the commu-
monastic revival. Pope Cyril VI (1959–1971) was a charis-
nity including the building and restoration of churches, the
matic monk who has come to be revered as a saint and mira-
copying of manuscripts, and the painting of icons, with re-
cle worker. Since the 1960s the number of monastic profes-
sults that can be seen throughout the churches and monaste-
sions has soared, monasteries have been greatly expanded,
ries of Egypt today.
deserted ones have been repopulated, and new ones—
THE MODERN PERIOD. The French expedition of 1798 to
including convents for nuns—have been established.
1802 marks the beginning of intensive Egyptian contacts
Throughout the country, Coptic sacramental life, catechesis,
with the West. Under the modernizing policies of
artistic production, and charitable work have been enlivened.
Muh:ammad EAl¯ı (r. 1805–1848) and his successors, Copts
New bishoprics have been established, and totaled around
came to be treated as full Egyptian citizens: in 1855 the ji-
eighty in Egypt and the Coptic diaspora in 2004 (up from
zyah was abolished (and soon Copts were for the first time
thirty-two in 1977). Bible studies (such as those regularly led
conscripted into the Egyptian army), and in 1879 the full
by the pope) and other educational opportunities draw great
equality of all Egyptians was declared. Pope Cyril IV (1854–
crowds, while centers of scholarship and publication (such
1861), known as “the father of reform,” provided impetus
as the Orthodox Centre for Patristic Studies and the Saint
to a Coptic “awakening”—one in which the Coptic laity
Mark Foundation) are admired for their work both at home
played a major role—that led to the establishment of schools
and abroad.
and a theological college, benevolent societies, and book pro-
The role of the Egyptian church in the ecumenical
duction. Competition from Protestants and Catholics (who
movement has been resumed, with active Coptic Orthodox
established Coptic Evangelical and Coptic Catholic commu-
membership in the World Council of Churches and the
nities, with schools, hospitals, development agencies, and
Middle East Council of Churches. Beginning in 1973, joint
theological institutions) also challenged the Coptic Ortho-
Christological statements have been arranged with Chalce-
dox community to effective organization, teaching, and liter-
donian Christians of Orthodox, Catholic, and Reformation
ary endeavor.
backgrounds. A very significant development of the late
twentieth century is the internationalization of the Coptic
In the early twentieth century, Copts could aspire to full
church: while Coptic emigration has posed the challenges of
participation in Egyptian social and political life. But:rus
brain drain to the community in Egypt, the church has
Gha¯l¯ı Pasha served as prime minister from 1908 to 1910,
moved vigorously to establish bishoprics and scores of con-
and the Copts openly aired their grievances at a Coptic Con-
gregations in Europe, the Americas, and Australia, while con-
gress in 1911. Copts participated with Muslims in the na-
tinuing missionary activity in sub-Saharan Africa. In many
tionalist movement, and (after World War I) the struggle for
cities around the globe, the Coptic Orthodox have become
independence and the development of democratic politics:
part of the local Christian mosaic.
two Copts were in the cabinet that nationalist hero and Wafd
Party leader SaEd Zaghlu¯l formed in 1924.
The re-invigoration of Coptic identity in the twentieth
century in many ways reflects phenomena in the Muslim
The liberal experiment, with its hope of “the nation for
community. As Christians and Muslims in Egypt increasing-
all,” did not live up to its early promise. Following the revo-
ly find their identity in their specific religious traditions rath-
lution of 1952 the position of the Copts was affected by re-
er than in a sense of shared Egyptianness, the possibility of
forms that cut into the Coptic elite’s landholdings, wealth,
conflict remains; a challenge for the twenty-first century will
and dominance in certain professions. The Copts’ sometimes
be the discovery of renewed content for the old slogan of
precarious sense of national belonging was challenged by a
al-wah:dah al-wat:aniyyah. Egyptian Christians look to the fu-
revival of the politics of specifically Islamic identity in Egypt,
ture, however, with a remarkable record of survival, aided by
beginning with the remarkable growth of the Muslim Broth-
several factors. They have developed a profound spirituality,
erhood (founded in 1928) and continuing throughout the
rooted in scripture and tradition, nourished by the stories of
century with demands for the implementation of the Islamic
saints and martyrs, and given concreteness by sacred geogra-
shar¯ı Eah and the development of specifically Islamic institu-
phy—the network of ancient churches and monasteries
tions and forms of life. Incidents of intercommunal violence
blessed by the saints and, indeed, by the holy family itself.
increased in frequency in the 1970s and still flare up from
As the largest Christian community in the Middle East (with
time to time, while in the 1990s a militant Islamist insurrec-
an estimated seven million adherents), Copts are bearers of
tion in Middle Egypt sometimes claimed Coptic lives and
a torch that they are determined to hand on to posterity.
property.
SEE ALSO Monasticism, article on Christian Monasticism;
If the political road beyond the heady accomplishments
Pachomius.
of the nationalist movement was strewn with disappoint-
ments for the Copts, the community was energized by other
BIBLIOGRAPHY
developments. A Coptic “Sunday School Movement” begun
The fundamental resource for Coptic studies is Aziz Suryal Atiya,
in the mid-1930s led to the rise of a cadre of remarkable lead-
ed., The Coptic Encyclopedia (New York, 1991). Nearly as en-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CORBIN, HENRY
1983
cyclopedic in scope is the work of Otto F. A. Meinardus in
established contacts there with leading thinkers. For almost
such volumes as Monks and Monasteries of the Egyptian Desert
a year (1935–1936) he was attached to the French Institute
(Cairo, 1961; rev. ed., 1992); Christian Egypt, Ancient and
in Berlin. Much of Corbin’s early publication consisted of
Modern (Cairo, 1965); Christian Egypt, Faith and Life (Cairo,
translations from German or reviews of German works. In
1970); Two Thousand Years of Coptic Christianity (Cairo,
1931 he met Martin Heidegger and became the first to trans-
1999); and Coptic Saints and Pilgrimages (Cairo and New
late Heidegger into French. The translation appeared in
York, 2002).
1939 as Qu’est-ce que la métaphysique? The early writings also
There is a vast literature on particular topics in Coptic studies: one
evidenced other interests, ranging from the spiritual tradition
may consult the congress reports of the International Associ-
of the Reformation to contemporary Protestant theology and
ation of Coptic Studies or the volumes in the series Études
the hermeneutics of Martin Luther.
Coptes for recent developments and bibliographies. Some
older monographs remain indispensable, including Hugh G.
The determinative event for Corbin’s career was his
Evelyn-White, The Monasteries of the Wadi’n Natrûn (New
meeting Louis Massignon in the Bibliothèque Nationale in
York, 1926); and O. H. E. Khs-Burmester, The Egyptian or
the autumn of 1929, for it was Massignon’s presentation of
Coptic Church: A Detailed Description of Her Liturgical Ser-
a lithographed edition of H:ikmat-al Ishra¯q of Shiha¯b al-D¯ın
vices (Cairo, 1967).
Yah:ya¯ Suhraward¯ı that first made Corbin acquainted with
General surveys of the history of the Coptic Orthodox Church in-
the work of this great Iranian philosopher. Corbin saw the
clude Aziz Suryal Atiya, A History of Eastern Christianity
presentation as a symbolic act, the transmission of wisdom
(London, 1968); and Theodore Hall Partrick, Traditional
from master to disciple. He followed Massignon’s courses in
Egyptian Christianity: A History of the Coptic Orthodox
the university and in 1954 was appointed as his replacement
Church (Greensboro, N.C., 1996). Studies of early Egyptian
in the chair of Islam and the religions of Arabia at the École
Christian history include Colin H. Roberts, Manuscript, So-
ciety, and Belief in Early Christian Egypt (London, 1979); Bir-
Pratique des Hautes Études. Corbin published the first of his
ger A. Pearson and James E. Goehring, eds., The Roots of
numerous works on Suhraward¯ı in 1933 and in the same
Egyptian Christianity (Philadelphia, 1986); C. Wilfred Grig-
year married Stella Leenhardt, who was his helper as well as
gs, Early Egyptian Christianity: From Its Origins to 451 C.E.
companion through the succeeding years.
(Leiden, and New York, 1990); and James E. Goehring, As-
cetics, Society, and the Desert: Studies in Early Egyptian Monas-
In 1939 Corbin was seconded from the Bibliothèque
ticism (Harrisburg, Pa., 1999).
Nationale to the French Institute in Istanbul where he in-
tended to spend six months. Because of World War II, how-
For the Coptic “sacred geography” see David Frankfurter, ed., Pil-
ever, six years were to elapse before he returned to France.
grimage and Holy Space in Late Antique Egypt (Leiden, 1998);
Gawdat Gabra, ed., Be Thou There: The Holy Family’s Jour-
During this long period Corbin explored the numerous and
ney in Egypt (Cairo and New York, 2001); Elizabeth S. Bol-
rich libraries of Turkey and laid the foundation for his later
man, ed., Monastic Visions: Wall Paintings in the Monastery
studies in Iranian philosophy. The most basic development
of St. Antony at the Red Sea (Cairo and New Haven, Conn.,
of these years was his discovery of the corpus of Suhraward¯ı’s
2002); Massimo Capuani, Christian Egypt: Coptic Art and
works. The first volume of the first of his editions of
Monuments through Two Millennia (Collegeville, Minn.,
Suhraward¯ı, Opera metaphysica et mystica (1945), containing
2002); and Gawdat Gabra, Coptic Monasteries: Egypt’s Mo-
three treatises of the master, was prepared in Istanbul and
nastic Art and Architecture (Cairo and New York, 2002).
published there.
For the Coptic community today see Nelly van Doorn-Harder
and Kari Vogt, eds., Between Desert and City: The Coptic Or-
Corbin paid his first visit to Iran in the autumn of 1945,
thodox Church Today (Oslo, 1997); John H. Watson, Among
even before returning to France. The visit brought him into
the Copts (Brighton, U.K., 2000); and Mark Gruber, Journey
contact with Iranian scholars who became his collaborators
Back to Eden: My Life and Times among the Desert Fathers
in later years, but, more important, it planted the seeds from
(Maryknoll, N.Y., 2002).
which sprang the department of Iranology of the new Insti-
tut Franco-Iranien in Tehran. In 1946 he was appointed
AZIZ SURYAL ATIYA (1987)
M
head of the department of Iranology, a post that he held until
ARK N. SWANSON (2005)
retirement in 1973. The enduring fruit of Corbin’s work in
Tehran is the monumental “Bibliothèque iranienne,”
founded in 1949, a series of text editions, translations, and
CORBIN, HENRY (1903–1978), French writer, phi-
studies offering unparalleled resources for the analysis of Ira-
losopher, and Iranologist. After early training in music and
nian and Islamic philosophy. From his appointment as pro-
philosophy, Corbin eventually attained the diplôme des études
fessor in Paris in 1954 onward, it was Corbin’s custom to
supérieures de philosophie of the University of Paris in 1927.
pass each autumn in Iran and to return to Paris for his teach-
From 1925 he began the study of Near Eastern languages
ing in the winter and spring. From 1949 also began his asso-
and received the diploma in Arabic, Persian, and Turkish in
ciation with the annual Eranos conferences, which he attend-
1929 when he was already employed as a librarian working
ed faithfully; many of Corbin’s more important writings
with oriental manuscripts in the Bibliothèque Nationale. In
were contributions to the Eranos meetings and first appeared
1930 he made the first of several journeys to Germany and
in the pages of the Eranos Jahrbuch.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1984
CORDOVERO, MOSHEH
Corbin’s scholarly work may be classified into five prin-
soul has its life, and which is known through visions and
cipal categories: first is his contribution to knowledge of the
dreams. He discerned a strong bond and parallelism between
philosophy of Suhraward¯ı. Not only did he publish and
the spirituality of the West exemplified in such as Jakob Boe-
study the long-neglected works of the Iranian thinker, but
hme, the stories of the Grail, or Emanuel Swedenborg, and
he adopted the latter’s philosophy of light as his own.
that of Iran, and he called for a universal spiritual chivalry
Suhraward¯ı had professed his purpose to be the resurrection
(java¯nmard¯ı) that would preserve mankind’s ancient spiritu-
of the ancient Iranian philosophy of light, and Corbin shared
al heritage, its inner life, against the corrosion of modernity,
that purpose. He was most interested in Suhraward¯ı’s an-
secularism, and historicism.
gelology, which presented the gradations of reality in the cos-
mos in terms of hierarchies of angels. The angelology provid-
SEE ALSO Images.
ed a link between the thought of ancient Iran and Twelver
ShiEi gnosis, enabling Corbin to hold there to be a distinct
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Irano-Islamic philosophy. The scholarly attention that
A number of Corbin’s books are available in English translation.
Suhraward¯ı receives today is largely due to Corbin’s influ-
These include Avicenna and the Visionary Recital (New York,
1960), Creative Imagination in the Sufism of Ibn EArabi
ence.
(Princeton, 1969), Cyclical Time and Ism¯ı E¯ıli Gnosis (Lon-
The second focus of Corbin’s work was Shiism. He did
don, 1983), The Man of Light in Iranian Sufism (Boulder,
important studies on the Isma¯E¯ıl¯ıyah, but greater attention
Colo., 1978), and Spiritual Body and Celestial Earth: From
went to the Twelvers, whose mystical and philosophical as-
Mazdaen Iran to Shiite Iran (Princeton, 1977).
pects in particular he explored. Here also he was a pioneer
Biographical notes and bibliographies of Corbin’s works are to be
in his work on imamology, studying the ahadith of the
found in Les Cahiers de l’Herne, in the number entitled Henry
Twelver imams, and in his work on such groups as the
Corbin, edited by Christian Jambet (Paris, 1981), and in Mé-
Shaykh¯ıyah. He was the first to describe the so-called School
langes offerts à Henry Corbin, edited by Seyyed Hossein Nasr
of Isfahan, a group of thinkers responsible for the revival of
(Tehran, 1977). Both volumes also contain appreciations of
his work by scholars and associates.
Iranian philosophy in Safavid times and whose principal
thinker was Mulla S:adra (S:adr al-D¯ın al-Sh¯ıra¯¯ı). Corbin be-
New Sources
lieved Twelver Shiism to be the complete or integral Islam
Corbin, Henry. “A Subtile Organ.” Parabola 26, no. 4 (2001): 75.
since it was concerned with the esoteric as well as the esoteric
Corbin, Henry, Vladimir Ivanow, and Sabine Schmidtke. Cor-
aspect of the prophetic revelations, as other branches of Islam
respondance Corbin-Ivanow: Lettres échangées entre Henry Cor-
were not.
bin et Vladimir Ivanow de 1947 à 1966. Paris, 1999.
Corbin is also responsible for redirecting the study of
Nasr, Seyyed Hossein. “Henry Corbin (1903–1978): souvenirs et
reflexions sur son influence intellectuelle vingt ans apres.” Es-
Islamic philosophy as a whole. In his Histoire de la philosophie
oterisme, Gnoses and Imaginaire Symbolique, edited by Rich-
islamique (1964), he disputed the common view that philos-
ard Caron, et al., pp 783–796. Leuven, 2001.
ophy among the Muslims came to an end after Ibn Rushd,
Shayegan, D. Henry Corbin: la topographie spirituelle de l’Islam ira-
demonstrating rather that a lively philosophical activity per-
nien. Paris, 1990.
sisted in Iran and, indeed, continues to our own day.
Wasserstrom, S. M. Religion after Religion: Gershom Scholem, Mir-
Sufism also attracted Corbin’s interest, his principal
cea Eliade, and Henry Corbin at Eranos. Princeton, 1999.
contribution being the study of L’imagination créatrice dans
C
la soufisme d’ibn EArab¯ı (1958). Again rejecting the common
HARLES J. ADAMS (1987)
Revised Bibliography
opinion, Corbin did not believe Sufism to be the unique ve-
hicle of spirituality in Islam. He found an even more signifi-
cant spirituality among the Twelver ShiEah, one that refused
the approach of the S:u¯f¯ı orders but was, nonetheless, deeply
CORDOVERO, MOSHEH (1522–1570), Jewish
and genuinely mystical. In genetic terms he thought Shiism
mystic of Safad. Mosheh Cordovero is among the most
to be the origin of all other mysticism in Islam. In this light
prominent individuals in the history of Qabbalah, or Jewish
Sufism appears as a kind of truncated Shiism, possessed of
mysticism. The likelihood is that Cordovero was born in
Shiism’s spirituality but lacking its essential basis, the doc-
Safad, a small Galilean city north of Tiberias in Israel where
trine of the imams.
an important renaissance of Jewish mysticism occurred in the
Finally, Corbin was concerned with a broad spiritual
sixteenth century. From his name it appears that his family
philosophy of contemporary relevance. He was primarily a
was Spanish in origin.
philosopher, and his Iranian and S:u¯f¯ı studies, though they
Cordovero studied rabbinic law with the outstanding
have a historical aspect, were attempts to answer questions
legal authority Yosef Karo (1488–1575), but it is in the
that he thought to have been raised for all men at all times.
sphere of Qabbalah that he attained widespread fame as a
His purpose was not merely to describe a spiritual philoso-
teacher and author. His master in qabbalistic studies was his
phy but to advocate it. The central concept of this philoso-
brother-in-law Solomon Alkabetz. It appears, however, that
phy was the mundus imaginalis or imaginal world, where the
a reversal of roles took place and pupil became teacher. Cor-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
COSMOGONY
1985
dovero quickly succeeded in becoming the principal master
New Sources
of esoteric studies in Safad. His disciples included most of
Sack, Bracha. Kabbalah of Rabbi Moshe Cordevero (in Hebrew).
the great mystics of that city: Eliyyahu de Vidas, Avraham
BeDer-ShevaE, Israel, 1995.
Galante, Hayyim Vital, Avraham ben EliEezer ha-Levi
LAWRENCE FINE (1987)
Berukhim, ElEazar Azikri, ShemuDel Gallico, and, for a short
Revised Bibliography
while, Isaac Luria.
Cordovero was a highly prolific writer; his most impor-
tant works include Pardes rimmonim, Ellimah rabbati, and
COSMOGONY. The word cosmogony is derived from
Or yaqar, a massive commentary on the classic text of thir-
the combination of two Greek terms, kosmos and genesis. Kos-
teenth-century Qabbalah, the Zohar. Cordovero’s major lit-
mos refers to the order of the universe and/or the universe
erary contribution was his construction of a highly systemat-
as an order. Genesis means the coming into being or the pro-
ic synthesis of qabbalistic ideas: he may be considered the
cess or substantial change in the process, a birth. Cosmogony
foremost systematizer of qabbalistic thinking.
thus has to do with myths, stories, or theories regarding the
birth or creation of the universe as an order or the description
At the same time, however, Cordovero addressed cre-
of the original order of the universe. One type of narrative
atively the theoretical problems raised by qabbalistic theolo-
portraying meanings and description of the creation of the
gy and speculation. For example, one central theoretical issue
universe is the cosmogonic myth. These myths, which are
in the qabbalistic system concerns the nature of the relation-
present in almost all traditional cultures, usually depict an
ship between the aspect of the godhead that is utterly con-
imaginative religious space and time that exist prior to the
cealed and beyond human comprehension. Ein Sof (“the in-
universe as a normal habitation for human beings. The be-
finite”), and the ten qualities of divine being that emanate
ings who are the actors in this primordial time are divine,
from within the depths of Ein Sof, known as the sefirot
superhuman, and supernatural, for they exist prior to the
(“divine radiances”). Are the sefirot of the same “substance”
order of the universe as known by the present generation of
as Ein Sof, which is, after all, the source of their existence,
human beings.
or are they separate and differentiated from Ein Sof? Cor-
dovero offered a compromise: the sefirot should be conceived
Cosmogonic myths in their narrative form give a rhetor-
as both separate from Ein Sof as well as possessing substan-
ical, stylistic, and imaginative portrayal of the meaning of the
tive identification with it. Whereas from the divine point of
creation of the world. These myths set forth a tonality and
view Ein Sof embraces all reality, from the human perspec-
stylistics for the modes of perception, the organizing princi-
tive the sefirot are perceived as lower stages, constituting a
ples, and provide the basis for all creative activities in the cul-
secondary reality that has an existence separate from Ein Sof.
tural life. While these myths are always specific to the cul-
tures in which they are found, it is possible to classify them
Besides being a subtle and master theoretician of Qab-
in various ways. One may classify them according to the cul-
balah, Cordovero was a spiritual mentor, as evidenced by the
tural-historical strata in which they appear; thus, one might
rules of piety that he established for his disciples. Testimony
place together myths from hunter-gatherer cultures, or from
is also preserved concerning his experiences of automatic
early Neolithic cultures, agricultural societies, and so on.
speech, which he had when he and Alkabets would wander
Myths may also be classified in terms of specific religions or
among the gravesites of departed teachers. It was on these oc-
cultural-geographical areas (e.g., ancient Near Eastern
casions that he and Alkabetz would, in the manner of sudden
myths, Hindu myths, etc.), or in terms of linguistic groups
motor automatism, utter qabbalistic mysteries and words of
(e.g., Indo-European myths).
esoteric knowledge.
Myths may be classified further according to the sym-
bolic structures and relationships portrayed and narrated in
BIBLIOGRAPHY
the myths. In the cosmogonic myth the symbols give expres-
A valuable full-length study of Mosheh Cordovero’s speculative
sion to the religious imagination of the creation of the world.
system is Yosef Ben Shlomo’s Torat ha-Elohut shel R. Mosheh
As the prototypical story of founding and creation, the cos-
Cordovero (Jerusalem, 1965). Useful information on Cor-
mogonic myth provides a model that is recapitulated in the
dovero can be found in Gershom Scholem’s Kabbalah (New
creation and founding of all other human modes of exis-
York, 1974), especially pages 401–404. An essay on Cor-
tence. In this sense, it expresses, to use Bronislaw Malinow-
dovero’s doctrine of evil is Kalman Bland’s “Neoplatonic and
ski’s phrase, a charter for conduct for other aspects of the cul-
Gnostic Themes in R. Moses Cordovero’s Doctrine of Evil,”
ture. As such some creation myths find extended expression
Bulletin of the Institute of Jewish Studies 3 (1975): 103–130.
in ritual actions that dramatize certain symbolic meanings
An excellent translation of a short but influential ethical trea-
tise written by Cordovero is The Palm Tree of Deborah, trans-
expressed in the myth. Myths should not, however, be
lated and edited by Louis Jacobs (1960; New York, 1974).
thought of simply as the theoretical or theological dimension
Cordovero’s rules of mystical piety and ethics are found in
of a ritual. Even when analogous meanings are portrayed in
my own Safed Spirituality: Rules of Mystical Piety, The Begin-
myth and ritual, these meanings may arise from different
ning of Wisdom (New York, 1984).
modes of human consciousness. There are mythic meanings
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1986
COSMOGONY
that may arise from ritual activity. R. R. Marett, the English
de force against the impacted empirical cultural histories as
anthropologist, surmised that myths might have arisen as at-
the basis for a new founding and ordering of the world and
tempts to give order to the dynamic rhythms and experiences
the human community. The power of the deity in myths of
of life that first found expression as ritual activities. Pierre
this type establishes the cosmos as unrelated to, and discon-
Bourdieu, the French ethnologist, has refined interpretations
tinuous from, all other structures prior to the statement of
of this kind by making a distinction between two types of
the creation of the cosmos and the human condition as
theories. There is a theory that is the result of speculative
enunciated in the myth. To the extent that older structures
human thought and there is another kind of theory that
are present they are reintegrated within the new mode of cre-
arises out of practical activity. Myth as theory may be of ei-
ation.
ther type, but in each case the myth is a distinctive expression
Thus in the Egyptian myth of Khepri, it is stated, “I spat
of a narrative that states a paradigmatic truth; this is especial-
out what was Shu, and I sputtered out what was Tefnut.”
ly true in the cosmogonic myth.
In the Hebrew myth the action is just as direct: “And God
Creation myths are etiological insofar as they tell how
said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light” (Gn. 1:3). In
the world came into existence, but what is important in the
the Polynesian myth, one of the names of the creator god is
etiology of the creation myth is the basis for the explanation,
Io-matua-te-kora, which means “Io, the parentless”; this
that is, the basis of the explanation is in the founding or cre-
deity has no parents, brothers, or sisters. The deity exists in
ation of the world itself. In other etiological stories the ulti-
the void in himself and by himself; the autonomous and self-
mate cause is not of primary importance.
created nature of the deity appears out of the void or out of
T
nothingness, which are understood to be potent realities.
YPES OF COSMOGONIC MYTHS. Cosmogonic myths may
be classified into the following types according to their sym-
Thus in a Tuomotuan myth it is stated that “Kiho mused
bolic structures: (1) creation from nothing; (2) from chaos;
all potential things whatever, and caused his thought to be
(3) from a cosmic egg; (4) from world parents; (5) through
evoked.” The notion of nothingness as a creative potency is
a process of emergence; and (6) through the agency of an
related to the mode of creation as a conscious, deliberate act;
earth diver. Cosmogonic myths are seldom limited to any
it is either stated explicitly or defined by the style of the nar-
one of these classifications; several symbolic typological
rative. The deliberate process of the creation signifies willful
forms may be present in one myth. For example, in the Vis:n:u
volition and the fact that the creation is brought forth as a
Pura¯n:a, the creation myth shows how Vis:n:u evolves from
form of perfection from a supreme being.
the primordial reality of prakr:ti; how Vis:n:u as a boar dives
The creator deity in myths of this kind is often symbol-
into the waters to bring up earth for the creation (earth
ized by the sky or sky deities. In such cases the sky symbolism
diver); how the creation is produced from austerities and
shows that the deity who creates from nothing is not contin-
meditation; how creation results from the churning of the
gent to the world although the created order is contingent
primordial ocean. There is in addition the symbolism of the
to the deity. Ultimately, the creation from nothing empha-
cosmic egg as a meaning of the creation. The classification
sizes that the creation is not a mere ordering or even found-
of myths into these types is thus meant not to be a stricture
ing but has come forth as a powerful religio-magical evoca-
of limitations but rather to emphasize a dominant motif in
tion from a powerful supreme being.
the myth.
Creation from chaos. Some creation myths describe
Creation from nothing. Though the type of cosmo-
how the creation arises out of a prior matter or stuff that is
gonic myth recounting creation from nothing is usually
either negative or confused. The chaotic condition may be
identified with the monotheistic religions of the Semitic tra-
variously depicted as water, a monster, or as the qualities of
ditions, it is a more pervasive structure. However, its identifi-
coldness, sterility, quiescence, repression, and restraint. In
cation with these religions opens up a fruitful line of study.
any case, the situation of chaos inhibits creation.
It is clear that the monotheistic religions—Judaism, Chris-
In a number of Near Eastern and Indian myths, chaos
tianity, and Islam—presuppose a religious history prior to
is in the form of a serpentlike monster. Mary Wakeman has
their coming into being: for Judaism, the western Semitic
classified such myths into two types, a space model and a
tradition as expressed in Mesopotamia; for Christianity, the
time model. In the space model the monster is a withholder
Hebrew tradition; and, finally, for Islam, the traditions of
of water, sun, and fertility. The monster is repressive and acts
Hebrews and Christians.
as a tyrant in relation to its subjects. The monster prevents
Given this history, it is legitimate to raise the issue of
vital forces and energies from finding expression in a created
the relationship of prior empirical cultural history as a back-
order. The restraint and repressive nature of the monster
ground to the religious imagination of creation de novo, or
does not allow the place and space for a created order to
creation from nothing, in these traditions. The facticity of
come forth. Chaos is thus defined as a holding back of the
the Near Eastern religions enables us to more easily recognize
orders and energies of creation; this is a situation of primor-
the issue of the prehistory of those cultures in which this kind
dial confusion and indeterminacy. It is clear, however, that
of myth appears. As a matter of fact, the very powerful sym-
there is power and potency in this confused situation. The
bolism of a deity who creates from nothing is a symbolic tour
repressive and restraining nature of chaos is equally the ex-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
COSMOGONY
1987
pression of an inertia in the face of a definitive order; chaos
twilight, and instead of either wet or dry, the world was sup-
in this sense defines a stasis.
posed to be damp, and the twins were supposed to be am-
phibious. Due to a mishap this perfection was not attained
In the time model all the potencies are similarly con-
and thus the created order as we know it is a compromise
tained within a primordial chaos. There is no change, no
alternating between the dualism of day and night, wet and
movement, and no differentiation. Conversely, some myths
dry, land beings and water beings, male and female sexes.
portray the chaos as a constant state of flux in which every-
A philosophical statement of this myth of dualism stated
thing changes so fast that no distinguishable ordered form
in terms of androgyny is found in Plato’s Symposium
is possible. In the time model of myths of chaos, the drama
shows how the forces and potencies of creation are energized
(190–192).
to move and also how the constant flux is reduced to a mea-
World-parent myths. In some myths creation is the re-
sured movement in which the tendency to dissipation is bal-
sult of the reproductive powers of primordial world parents.
anced by a force of cohesion and integration, and this ten-
The birth of offspring from the world parents is often por-
dency is complemented by the deployment and expansion
trayed as an indifferent or unconscious activity. Even the sex-
of the order. Human existence is seen as a mean between
ual embrace of the world parents is without passion or intent.
these extremes; thus the meaning of ordered human time ap-
The sexual embrace does not appear as the result of a desire
pears from the regulation of this original chaos.
or an intention; it is simply the way things are. In this way
In some myths of this type the chaos is never completely
the sexual embrace of the world parents is like the twins con-
overcome. While order may emerge from the chaos in the
tained within the world egg, and the embrace itself recapitu-
forms of space and time, vestiges of the chaos remain and the
lates an original androgyny. As a matter of fact, the Dogon
created order is always in danger of slipping back into chaos
myth states that the male and female in sexual embrace is an
or chaos appears as the destiny of the cosmos when it has ex-
imitation of the original androgynous archetype. In myths
hausted the meaning of its time and space.
of this kind there is a reluctance on the part of the primordial
couple to separate from this embrace. The embrace has no
Creation from a cosmic egg. In many myths involving
beginning or climax; it is perpetual and the world parents are
creation from chaos there is also the symbolism of a cosmic
indifferent or unaware of the offspring produced from this
egg or an ovoid shape out of which creation or the first creat-
embrace.
ed being emerges. Myths of this kind are found in Polynesia,
Africa, India, Japan, and Greece. The egg is obviously a sym-
In world-parent myths the world parents are, in most
bol of fertility. In egg myths the potency for creation is con-
cases, the second phase of the primordial ordering. Prior to
tained within the form of the egg. The incubation of the egg
the appearance of the world parents there is a chaotic or inde-
implies a time-ordered creation and a specific determination
terminate phase. For example, in Enuma elish, the Babylo-
regarding the created order.
nian creation myth, it is stated that waters commingled as
Hermann Baumann has suggested that one motif of the
a single body in a state of indeterminacy; the Polynesian
egg symbolism has to do with the statement and resolution
myth of Rangi and Papa speaks of a darkness resting over ev-
of the problem of sexual antagonism, and has its origin in
erything. In a similar fashion, in the Egyptian myth of Seb
megalithic cultural circles. For Baumann there is, first of all,
and Nut primeval chaotic waters precede the coming into
an early stage in megalithic cultures in which the meaning
being of the world parents. From this point of view, the
of creation is expressed in the form of a sky father and earth
world parents are part of the ordering of the cosmos, a specif-
mother as sexually differentiated deities; there is another
ic stage of its coming into being as a habitat for the human
stage in which the parents are separated and may reside with-
community.
in the egg as twins. A third stage portrays the meaning of sex-
The offspring of the world parents tend to be aliens to
uality as abstract principles such as yin and yang in China.
their parents. The close embrace of the parents allows no
In this stage the gods possess these abstract principles as attri-
space and thus no reality for their mode of being. The world
butes. In the final stage there is the attempt to recover the
parents are for the most part indifferent to the needs and de-
antagonism of sexual differentiation and to resolve it. This
sires of their offspring. A tension comes about because of this
is the myth of androgyny.
alienation and the offspring become the agents of the separa-
The symbolism of the egg also connotes a state of pri-
tion of the world parents. In some cases the agent of separa-
mordial perfection out of which the created order proceeds.
tion is another deity or one of the offspring, but in most cases
In a Dogon myth from West Africa, the god Amma created
the separation marks the beginning of a community and a
a world egg as the first order of creation. Within the egg
discourse among the offspring. In Enuma elish this commu-
twins were incubating. In time these twins were supposed to
nity and discourse have to do with a battle between the off-
come forth as androgynous beings, indicating perfection on
spring and the world parents. The same sequence takes place
the level of sexuality. Other aspects of the created order were
in the Polynesian myth of “the children of heaven and earth.”
correlated with this mode of perfection. For example, instead
In cases of this sort the community of offspring are the arche-
of the dualism of day/night, the world was to be in perpetual
typal models for the human community.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1988
COSMOGONY
The separation of the world parents is a rupture in the
sand, mud, or earth, any substantial form of matter out of
order of creation. In Enuma elish the mother’s body is made
which a more stable mode of order might be established. Sev-
into the earth that human beings now inhabit. This is similar
eral animals make the attempt and fail; finally, one of the an-
to a theme in the Dogon world-egg myth, where one of the
imals succeeds in bringing up a piece of earth, mud, or sand.
twins leaves the egg before maturity, tearing the yolk of the
Upon coming to the surface of the water the bit of matter,
egg off with him; this yolk becomes the earth. Amma must
which is usually so minuscule that it is lodged under the ani-
then sacrifice the other twin to make the earth habitable for
mal’s fingernails, expands to great proportions, thus consti-
human beings. In other versions of this type of myth the sep-
tuting the landmass of the world on which all beings reside.
aration comes about when a woman who is pounding grain
needs more room for her pestle and pushes the world parents
Some myths of this kind tell the story of the antagonism
apart so that she can have more room for her work.
between two creative primordial beings. In some of the
myths, which bear certain Christian elements, God and
The agents of separation in the world-parent myths are
Satan have created the primordial waters. God sends Satan
the cultural heroes who make space for the specific tasks of
to dive into the waters to bring back a piece of earth. After
the human community. They bring light where there was
several attempts Satan brings back a small portion of earth,
darkness, and they set forth a certain meaning and destiny
which expands into the world. But after this landmass is cre-
for the human community. The symbolism of light in the
ated, God does not know how to make further determina-
form of the sun is prominent in these myths, for it refers to
tions of directions, valleys, mountains, and so on. Satan
human knowledge and the destiny of the human communi-
seems to have this knowledge and muses to himself how stu-
ty. The separation of the world parents presages the human
pid God is, for he does not know how to order the landmass.
community as a distinct mode of being, but the price of this
God sends a bee over to eavesdrop on Satan’s musings. The
separation is the remembrance of the tragic rupture between
bee overhears Satan giving the proper knowledge as he muses
the parents and the offspring as a necessary condition for the
to himself; he flies back and gives this knowledge to God,
human mode of being.
who then orders the world in its proper proportions. In an-
Emergence myths. The emergence myths describe the
other version, it is a human being who dives into the waters
creation of the cosmos in the symbolism of gestation and
to bring up earth. He brings up earth and gives it to God,
birth. The most prominent symbol in myths of this kind is
but he secretly hides a piece of earth in his mouth, thinking
that of the earth as a mother. The earth is depicted as the
that he will make a world on his own. When God orders the
source of all powers and potencies. Within this womb of the
earth to expand, the hidden earth in the mouth of the human
earth are all the seeds and eggs of the world; they exist in em-
also begins to expand and the human must expose his secret.
bryonic form within the earth. The emergence of the forms
God then orders him to give him that piece of earth, and out
of the world from the womb describes a process whereby the
of it God makes the swamps and boggy places of the earth.
maturation of the forms within the earth take place before
Earth-diver myths are widespread, but there is a prepon-
appearing on the face of the earth. The movement through
derance of them in the aboriginal cultures of North America.
the layers and strata of the earth is a gradual and cumulative
In these cultures the myths are part of the trickster-
one; at each stage some new forms are added to the growing
transformer-culture hero cycle of myths. This type of cultur-
embryos. The process is also one of integration and harmo-
al figure is somewhat unique to myths of this kind. In these
ny, which has an ethical and logical meaning, for the mean-
myths the antagonism and tensions between the creator deity
ing of the ethical is understood in terms of the harmonious
and a culture hero in the form of an animal or a human being
relationship among all the forms of the created order. The
is made clear. The antagonism is not a direct one of confron-
capacity for the ethical is acquired during the process of the
tation as in the separation motif in the world-parent myths;
emergence upward through the strata of the earth.
it is subtle, indirect, and subdued, but nevertheless intense.
In emergence myths hardly any prominence is given to
There is obviously a desire on the part of the culture hero
the meaning of the male principle as father. The myths of
to create a different world in a different mode from that of
this kind emphasize the earth as womb and mother, the con-
the creator deity.
tainer of all powers and potential realities. When the matura-
The American folklorist Alan Dundes interprets this
tion is complete and humans emerge from the earth they are
meaning in a psychoanalytical manner. He interprets the div-
exposed to the light for the first time. The light at the last
ing into the waters to bring up a piece of substantial matter
emergence is the symbol of the sun, which is the male order-
according to Freud’s suggestion that what is ejected from the
ing principle, but the basic formation of humans has taken
body as waste is at the same time experienced as a source of
place within the bowels of the earth.
value and the basis for a new creative order. Insofar as the
Earth-diver myths. In earth-diver myths water consti-
trickster-transformer-hero exhibits male characteristics,
tutes the primordial stuff of the beginning. Water, in its un-
Dundes speculates that this is an expression of birth envy on
differentiated indeterminacy, covers everything in the man-
the part of the male. The waters, which can be seen as a sym-
ner of a chaos. A culture hero, usually an animal, dives into
bol of the primordial womb, are potent but cannot give
the primordial waters in an attempt to bring up a particle of
birth; it is only through the earth diver that the necessary
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
COSMOGONY
1989
form of matter is brought to the surface as a basis for the cre-
the offspring of the world parents, or the twins who are ma-
ation. But once brought to the surface there is still an antago-
turing in the egg, or the earth diver who does not wish to
nism or a distrust between the creator deity and the earth
be subject to the imitation of deities and divine models for
diver.
existence.
Mac Linscott Ricketts, a historian of religions, interprets
In the world-parent and egg myths the impatience of
these motifs as a new and paradoxical meaning of sacrality.
the offspring and the twins leads to tragic results, for in both
The trickster-transformer-hero is for him the religious sym-
cases there is a tearing, killing, and violation of the primordi-
bol of the human being who is independent of the gods and
al order for the sake of existence. This tragic element explains
their power. It expresses the desire to know on the part of
the finitude of the human community and introduces death
the human, and this desire for knowledge does not follow
as a cosmogonic structure of human existence. It further-
the pattern of archetypal participation in the sacredness of
more qualifies the perfection of the primordial order, for
that which has been created in primordial times by the gods.
with the coming of human existence the meaning of the pri-
The trickster-transformer-hero figure represents for Ricketts
mordial order itself is changed.
the rejection of the ways of the gods as a mode of life and
This is turn raises the issue of the mutual contingency
knowledge; his way is a kind of “primitive humanism,”
of the human order and the primordial order. While a case
wherein knowledge is sought through experiments that re-
for mutual contingency and dependence could be made for
veal the foolishness and the humorous, even comical nature
a myth such as Enuma elish, the Egyptian myth of Khepri
of the human being who attempts to know apart from the
with its powerful evocation of creation from the power of the
sacred power and forms of the creator deities.
deity does not lend itself to any mode of dependence of the
IDEOGRAMS, THEMES, AND STRUCTURES. Rudolf Otto, in
creator upon the creation. The aseity of the deity and the re-
his classic work The Idea of the Holy, speaks of ideograms as
lationship of the deity to the created order thus becomes a
modes of expression that lie somewhere between experience
meaning that receives theoretical and practical forms in most
and concept. It is possible to discern from the cosmogonic
communities.
myths such orderings of meaning that will color more sys-
Dualisms. What is the meaning of the distinction be-
tematic thought concerning the meaning of the creation of
tween the two modes of primordiality, and which possesses
the world.
the greater qualitative power? Is the first ordered form of the
Primordiality. The primordial has to do with the prob-
primordial time an absolute victory and advance over the pri-
lem of the basic stuff out of which the creation has emerged.
mordial chaos? This is an initial issue of dualism in cosmo-
In one sense what is before the creation may always be under-
gonic myths. There is also the dualism of the structure of the
stood as chaos, for the only modes of order are those that are
first order and the offspring of that order. There is the dual-
forthcoming in the created order itself. However, the mean-
ism of partners in the creation. In the Dogon myth there is
ing of this primordial order expresses in symbolic terms the
ostensibly a good twin and a malevolent one, and the human
intention of the creation. The primordial order may be spo-
condition is constituted by a mixture of both of them.
ken of in neutral terms or as alien and inimical or it may,
The human condition is thus riddled with ordinary and
as in the emergence myths, connote a nurturing womb.
qualitative dualisms—that of night and day, wet and dry,
Mircea Eliade has spoken of two meanings of primor-
male and female, and so on. Are these the marks of finitude
diality; one is the original primordiality, which may be seen
of lesser beings or does the human condition represent the
in the symbols of water, earth, darkness, or nothingness. The
original intention of creation? These dualism are also be-
other mode of primordiality is the first mode of ordering in
tween the nonhuman creators, as in the case of God and
the creation; this may be through a world egg, world parents,
Satan in the earth-diver myths. How can these dualisms be
a creator deity, and so forth. It is at this stage that a specific
handled on the human level? Are they to be harmonized and
meaning and direction is given to the creation of a world for
alternated, or do they represent fundamental differences and
human habitation, for this is the stage at which cultural he-
orientations in the cosmos?
roes appear.
ETHICS. The ethical has to do with the proper, appropriate,
Ruptures. Ruptures and discontinuities are present at
and right conduct of a community. It is obvious that such
several points in cosmogonic myths. There is first of all the
behavior must be based upon some principles, and those
rupture between the primordial stuff and the first mode of
principles in one way or another presuppose an explicit or
ordering. In some cases this discontinuity is stated as the
implicit understanding of the nature of the world in which
word of power of a powerful deity whose very power breaks
one lives. Cosmogonic myths are narrative statements of the
through the inertia of the first primordiality. In other cases
origin of the various worlds of humankind. The origin of the
a new form simply appears, as in a world egg that appears
world is often the basis for the principles that define the re-
upon the waters. The other stage of rupture is occasioned by
sources, possibilities, limitations, and validities of the mean-
the desire of the embryonic and prehuman forms, which are
ing of human existence for the human community. There
the result of this first stage of ordering, to exist. These are
is not, however, a one-to-one relationship between the struc-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1990
COSMOGONY
tures and themes of cosmogonic myths and the ethics of a
ends of Genesis (Chicago, 1901); Mary K. Wakeman’s God’s
community.
Battle with the Monster (Leiden, 1973); Before Philosophy: The
Intellectual Adventure of Ancient Man, by Henri Frankfort,
The cosmogonic myths, more often than not, serve as
Henriette A. Frankfort, John A. Wilson, and Thorkild Ja-
background and context for thinking about the issue of eth-
cobsen (Harmondsworth, 1963); and Henri Frankfort’s
ics. It is not only those elements of the cosmogonic myth that
Kingship and the Gods (Chicago, 1948).
may lead to explicit philosophical and ethical principles that
For a general philosophical and comparative study of ancient Near
are important. Equally important are the style and rhythms
Eastern and Greek cosmogonies, see Paul Ricoeur’s The Sym-
of these stories of the ordering of the world that are a basis
bolism of Evil (New York, 1967). Langdon Gilkey’s Religion
for reflection and creative thinking in a community. There
and the Scientific Future (New York, 1970) deals with ancient
may be similar structures in the cosmogonic myths of differ-
cosmogonic themes in light of contemporary philosophy and
ent communities, but these similar structures may very well
Christian theology.
lead to quite different ethical reflections and modes of behav-
W. K. C. Guthrie’s In the Beginning: Some Greek Views on the Ori-
ior. The philosopher of religion Paul Ricoeur has put forth
gins of Life and the Early State of Man (London, 1957) is one
the notion that the “symbol gives itself to thought.” By this
of the best introductions to Greek cosmogonic thought.
he means to set forth a basis for religious and ethical thought
Louis Gernet’s essays in his The Anthropology of Ancient
within a religious community. Thought can arise as a reflec-
Greece, translated by John Hamilton and Blaise Nagy (Balti-
more, 1981), relates certain cosmogonic notions to law, so-
tion upon a tradition of thought within a community, but
cial institutions, and the beginnings of Greek philosophy.
thought may also arise out of that which is not understood
The origins of the Greek style of thinking within ancient
as simply a part of the traditional thought of the community.
Greece and its basis for Western thought are explored in
The symbol and the myth define a more archaic mode of pre-
Richard B. Onians’s The Origins of European Thought (Cam-
sentation, expression, and style that engenders thought with-
bridge, 1954) and in Bruno Snell’s The Discovery of Mind
in a community. There may be some cosmogonic myths that
(New York, 1960).
are inimical to ethical reflection or that set forth ethical op-
For the trickster figure in cosmogonic myths, see the following
tions that are to be rejected by the community, as well as cos-
works: Daniel G. Brinton’s The Myths of the New World: A
mogonic symbols that appear to be neutral or indifferent as
Treatise on the Symbolism and Mythology of the Red Races of
far as ethical reflection is concerned. This does not mean that
America (New York, 1868); Mac Linscott Ricketts’s “The
such myths and symbols cannot constitute part of the ethical
North American Indian Trickster,” History of Religions 5
reflection of the community, for the myths do not simply
(Winter 1966): 327–350; Robert D. Pelton’s The Trickster
present principles that are to be carried out in behavior. The
in West Africa (Berkeley, 1980); and Stanley Walens’s Feast-
ing with Cannibals: An Essay on Kwakiutl Cosmology (Prince-
relationship between symbol and myth on the one hand, and
ton, 1981). See also The Trickster: A Study in American Indi-
modes of thought, behavior, and conduct, on the other, is
an Mythology, edited by Paul Radin (New York, 1956).
a much more problematic one.
The most thorough discussion of the distribution and meaning of
Cosmogonic myths form the horizons of meaning in
the egg as a symbol in cosmogony is Anna-Britta Hellbom’s
cultures where they still have their original power and effica-
article “The Creation Egg,” Ethnos 28 (1963): 63–105. For
cy. In this way the meaning of thought and behavior is
earth-diver myths, see Alan Dundes’s “Earth-Diver: Creation
shaped by them. It is instructive to understand the term
of the Mythopoeic Male,” in his Sacred Narrative (Berkeley,
shaped in an aesthetic sense, as something being created with-
1984). This anthology of interpretive essays on cosmogonic
myths also contains Mircea Eliade’s “Cosmogonic Myth and
in the context of certain resources of materials that are sug-
Sacred History,” Franz Kiichi Numazawa’s “The Cultural
gested by the cosmogonic myth, for it is necessary for ethical
Background of Myths of the Separation of Sky and Earth,”
thought and moral conduct not only to be right but to be
and Anna Birgitta Rooth’s “The Creation Myth of North
appropriate, to fulfill aesthetic concerns, and to fulfill some
American Indians.”
of the possibilities adumbrated as possible orders for the
For a general survey of Indo-European creation myths, see Bruce
world.
Lincoln’s “The Indo-European Myth of Creation,” History
of Religions 15 (1975): 121–145. In this article Lincoln de-
SEE ALSO Androgynes; Chaos; Culture Heroes; Dragons;
scribes and compares the structures of the Purus:a myth of
Egg.
R:gveda 10.90, the Bundahishn of the Zoroastrian Avesta, the
Prose Edda of Germanic mythology, and the creation myth
BIBLIOGRAPHY
of the S´atapatha Brahmana. Hans H. Penner’s article ana-
For a general discussion of cosmogony within the framework of
lyzes in detail the creation myth in the Vis:n:u Pura¯n:a in
cosmogonic myths, see Charles H. Long’s Alpha: The Myths
“Cosmogony as Myth in the Vishnu Purana,” History of Reli-
of Creation (New York, 1963) and Barbara C. Sproul’s Pri-
gions 5 (Winter 1966): 283–299. Since the creation myth
mal Myths: Creating the World (San Francisco, 1979). For an-
sets forth the origin of all modes and forms of life, the origin
cient Near Eastern myths of creation, see Ancient Near East-
of death and evil are often narrated in the cosmogony.
ern Texts Relating to the Old Testament, edited by J. B.
Wendy Doniger O’Flaherty’s The Origins of Evil in Hindu
Pritchard (Princeton, 1950); Theodor H. Gaster’s Thespis:
Mythology (Berkeley, 1976) discusses this meaning in Hindu
Ritual, Myth, and Drama in the Ancient Near East, 2d rev.
myths; Hans Abrahamsson’s The Origin of Death (Uppsala,
ed. (Garden City, N.Y., 1961); Hermann Gunkel’s The Leg-
1951) classifies a wide variety of myths of death in Africa.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
COSMOLOGY: AN OVERVIEW
1991
Most speculative, philosophical, and theological works of religious
The natural sciences customarily associate the term with the
cultural traditions proceed from a theme or structure in the
study of cosmic views; more specifically, these sciences re-
culture’s cosmogonic or cosmological tradition. Charles
serve cosmology for the scientific study of the universe con-
Hartshorne and William L. Reese’s Philosophers Speak of God
sidered as a whole. Thus, it is the most encompassing task
(Chicago, 1953) is an example of this type of discussion in
of astronomy and is distinct from, even if presupposed by,
the Western tradition. A group of essays discussing the rela-
sciences with a comparatively more limited object, such as
tionship of cosmogony to ethics can be found in Cosmogony
and Ethical Order, edited by Robin Lovin and Frank E. Rey-
physics or geology.
nolds (Chicago, 1985). C. F. von Weizsäcker’s The Relevance
IMAGES OF THE WORLD AS SUBJECTS FOR HISTORIANS. For
of Science: Creation and Cosmogony (Chicago) is still the best
historians, including historians of religions, the study of cos-
introduction to the relationship of religious mythical cosmo-
mology surveys and tries to classify and understand the sig-
gonies and those of modern physics.
nificance of mythical images and religious conceptions con-
New Sources
cerning the cosmos and the origin and structure of the
Anderson, Gary. “The Interpretation of Genesis 1:1 in the Tar-
universe. The variety of images held, historically and global-
gums.” Catholic Biblical Quarterly 52 (1990): 21–9.
ly, leads to one central question: What is the relation be-
Bowler, Peter J. Evolution: The History of an Idea. 3d ed. Los Ange-
tween human views of the world and the validity and author-
les, 2003.
ity of the tradition in which these views are held? Invariably,
Clifford, Richard. Creation Accounts in the Ancient Near East and
the two are related—despite the contemporary uncritically
in the Bible. Washington, D.C., 1994.
held views concerning a separation between the sciences and
Currid, John D. “An Examination of the Egyptian Background
the humanities. Hence the two meanings of cosmology
of the Genesis Cosmogony.” Biblische Zeitschrift 34 (1990):
noted previously do not present an ambiguity: The study of
18–40.
the structure of the universe and the history of cosmological
imagery are interrelated and inseparable. In their study of
Drees, Willem B. Beyond the Big Bang: Quantum Cosmologies and
God. La Salle, Ill., 1990.
cosmology, natural scientists do not usually need to concern
themselves with images of the world held in past civilizations
Keller, Catherine. Face of the Deep: A Theology of Becoming. Lon-
and in regions distant from the centers of modern scientific
don and New York, 2003.
learning. For the historian of religions, however, the opposite
North, John David. Measure of the Universe: A History of Modern
is true: The cosmic views held by modern scientists cannot
Cosmology. New York, 1990.
be ignored for they are but the latest in a long series of views
Reeves, John C. Jewish Lore in Manichaean Cosmogony: Studies in
and are thus as worthy of consideration as those, for instance,
the Book of Giants Traditions. Cincinnati, 1992.
of the tribes of central Australia or the Hindus of India.
C
Nicholas of Cusa (1401–1464) was an early student of the
HARLES H. LONG (1987)
Revised Bibliography
world’s structure, but also a theologian and cardinal. It re-
mains important to keep in mind that the separation be-
tween the sciences and the humanities is a recent (nineteenth
century) academic idea, which epistemologically is still under
COSMOLOGY
debate.
This entry consists of the following articles:
AN OVERVIEW
The history of religions is the only discipline seeking to
AFRICAN COSMOLOGIES
relate two branches of learning that have been kept apart for
AUSTRALIAN INDIGENOUS COSMOLOGY
OCEANIC COSMOLOGIES
a considerable time, that is, the humanities (including histo-
INDIGENOUS NORTH AND MESOAMERICAN COSMOLOGIES
ry) and the natural sciences. With respect to images and the-
SOUTH AMERICAN COSMOLOGIES
ories of the universe, the borderline between science and
HINDU COSMOLOGY
myth has fluctuated throughout history. The significance of
JAIN COSMOLOGY
BUDDHIST COSMOLOGY
religious and historical studies in cosmology is largely due to
SCIENTIFIC COSMOLOGIES
this fluctuation, because the investigations of the historian
of religion must overstep the boundaries that normally divide
basic disciplines of study (i.e., specialized disciplines precisely
COSMOLOGY: AN OVERVIEW
delineated and separated from each other in objective and
Cosmology is the term for the study of cosmic views in gen-
method) and can thereby illuminate features and themes or
eral and also for the specific view or collection of images con-
provide insights that in any given specialization can hardly
cerning the universe held in a religion or cultural tradition.
be surmised.
The twofold meaning of the term is reminiscent of the dou-
ble meaning of mythology, which is at the same time the
In most instances, every aspect of a culture or religion
study of myths and the dominant or representative assem-
presupposes a view of the cosmos. Nevertheless, even this
blage of myths in a given tradition. However, the double
generalization should be made with some caution. In the case
usage of the term cosmology is still wider in one respect: Quite
of the modern natural sciences, there is no doubt about the
explicitly, it also relates to inquiries in the natural sciences.
pervasiveness of an implicit worldview, even though many
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1992
COSMOLOGY: AN OVERVIEW
of the details of this view may be open to debate. However,
is tied to a new cosmology produced by scientific discoveries.
in the study of religious images of the world, the presupposi-
A relation to traditional religious systems might seem com-
tion of a cosmic view does not necessarily apply. The sacred
pletely absent, if it were not for the accompanying fully con-
and the phenomenal world are related, but they are by no
scious realization that the central place of humans in the cos-
means identical. Certainly, notions of what is sacred vary
mos has faded. Thus, the anxiety concerns precisely the
widely from one tradition to another, yet in every tradition
cardinal point in all traditional religious imageries: In more
one notion or configuration of the sacred is prominent and
than one manner the world seems to have become less
forms the sine qua non of that particular religion and consti-
human, if not inhuman. It is, however, not correct to assume
tutes the vantage point for understanding it. The same is not
that all the cosmologies held on to by people in ancient and
true for images of the cosmos, for in certain traditions cosmic
distant cultures were stories of perfect peace. It should be re-
imageries are of mere secondary importance (as in Christiani-
membered that the biblical creation account ends with the
ty and Buddhism). In the case of the biblical texts alone, im-
entrance of evil and the expulsion of the first people from
ages of the cosmos change several times without affecting the
paradise, and, according to many African myths, an acciden-
religious tradition. A hierophany (a manifestation of the sa-
tal forgetfulness in the conveyance of a message causes the
cred) can lead to an image of the cosmos, but images of the
mortality of people.
cosmos do not necessarily take on a sacred significance.
CLASSIFICATION OF COSMOLOGIES. Cosmic worldviews may
C
be examined from two distinct perspectives: geographical lo-
OSMOLOGY AND WORLDVIEW. According to this explana-
tion of cosmology, the terms cosmology and worldview, al-
cation and culturally evolved themes.
though related, cannot often be used interchangeably. Wor-
Geography. The most obvious grouping of cosmic
ldview is the term for a more general, less precisely delineated
views is given according to the continents of the earth, the
but commonly accepted set of ideas (i.e., an ideology) con-
various regions within them, and their ethnic and linguistic
cerning life and world. Cosmology refers to more consciously
divisions. Although a necessary first step that appeals to the
entertained images, doctrines, and scientific views concern-
quest for empirical knowledge, this method is most valuable
ing the universe. In religious traditions, the natural place to
in showing the extreme difficulty of making generalizations
look for cosmology is the myths of creation or birth of the
and is useful in demonstrating the impossibility of finding
world (cosmogony), whereas questionnaires might be the
helpful answers to a number of elementary questions. The
best means to arrive at a dominant worldview. The philoso-
greatest problem for the longest period of time has been the
pher Immanuel Kant (1724–1804) introduced the term
self-overestimation of Westerners who regarded themselves
Weltanschauung (worldview), but he used it as a synonym for
as very well-educated indeed—never having had a primitive
cosmology or image of the world. The more nebulous term
thought in their minds and the natural inheritors of the clas-
(especially as used by English-speakers) Weltanschauung is to
sical Greeks. It took Europeans and Americans a long time
a large extent the result of philosophical discussions and dis-
to pay proper attention, intellectually, to Africa, which was
agreements that have taken place for the most part outside
so often maltreated and exploited, especially during coloniza-
of theological circles. The meaning of the term worldview in
tion—worse than any other continent.
common use at the beginning of twenty-first century is a
generally sensed answer to a question concerning the mean-
At the same time, however, one cannot help but observe
ing of life that is felt rather than expressed. Its lack of articu-
in Africa a variety of traditions and a great dissimilarity in
lation distinguishes it from cosmology. No wonder that so
historical influences and levels of culture. Although there
much discord has continued to exist among philosophers on
may seem to be in African traditions few pure cosmologies
the meaning and definition of worldview, although it has
in the sense of myths explicitly dealing with the origin and
been accepted as a philosophical concept (e.g., by Karl Jas-
structure of the universe when compared with, for instance,
pers, 1883–1969). It is easy to see that a worldview, precisely
traditions in the Pacific or the sheer beauty of Indonesian
to the extent that it is held uncritically, can be a remnant of
myths, this deficiency is more than made up for by a pro-
an earlier cosmology.
nounced significance given to human acts in the world from
its inception. In particular, the discovery and presentation of
The relation between scientific views of the universe and
Dogon myths have opened Western eyes to the philosophical
worldview—and the influence of the former on the latter—
profundity of African thought. The choices made by people
are strikingly exemplified in developments of the twentieth
as reflected in their acts obviously concern the world, even
century and, if anything, increasingly so in the twenty-first
when the cosmos itself is not described in its origin and struc-
century. Discoveries in astronomy, the popularization of un-
ture with the poetic beauty characteristic of, for example,
imaginable distances in space, and the beginning of space
many Indonesian myths. Marcel Griaule’s Conversations with
travel have contributed to a new anxiety.
Ogotemmêli, an Introduction to Dogon Religious Ideas (1965)
opened Western eyes for the profundity and philosophical
Human beings have become conspicuously lonesome
depth of the Dogon myths in the West.
creatures in the universe. Typically, in science fiction litera-
ture, space travelers risk the danger of literally getting lost in
A geographic compilation of cosmic views leads to a
space. This anxiety is part of a widespread worldview, which
very natural and necessary first conclusion: Humanity is an
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
COSMOLOGY: AN OVERVIEW
1993
important theme in traditional cosmologies. Whether poetic
The predominant significance of the earth in a number
visions of primordial mountains and oceans or a preoccupa-
of traditions is commonly referred to with the adjective
tion with the risks or failures in human acts prevail, the world
chthonic. Derived from the Greek word chthon (earth), it was
of human beings is the theme of all traditional mythology,
first used by classicists to describe the quality of many deities
including the narratives and the symbolism that refer ex-
in Greece, whether female (such as Gaia and Semele) or male
pressly to nature, the universe, the cosmos, and the earth.
(such as Ploutos, identified with Hades). Gaia (from earth)
This basic conclusion must indeed be drawn; it eliminates
is the equivalent of Tellus in Roman mythology, and Plou-
much unnecessary confusion on cosmological and cosmo-
tos, called Pluto by the Romans, is the provider of wealth
gonic myths as supposed steps toward satisfying innate
that comes from the earth. Gaia is regarded as the oldest of
human scientific curiosity or cravings for establishing causes.
the deities in Greek tradition, arising by her own power out
of chaos. In many cosmogonic myths in the ancient Mediter-
Cultural themes. Any worldwide survey of cosmologi-
ranean world, the theme of the spontaneity of life and life
cal views must consider as a crucial factor the variety of cul-
arising from death is repeated and elaborated. Its variations
tural levels on which views of the cosmos have developed. At
are not limited to the classical civilizations in the Mediterra-
first glance, this variety may seem only to increase the almost
nean but occur wherever agricultural life exists.
overwhelming abundance and complexity of the material to
be studied; however, in the end it provides the only sturdy
Divine male fashioner. Many nonliterate traditions
vantage point for a thematic classification on which some
know of a primordial celestial god who created the world and
scholarly agreement might exist. This is not to say that the
then withdrew after having accomplished that act (deus otio-
various livelihoods (hunting–gathering, tilling the soil, live-
sus, lit., god without work). The great monotheistic systems
stock raising) are presented as ironclad systems in myths. Yet
(those of ancient Israel, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, as well
to quite an extent, views of the cosmos are in harmony with
as Zoroastrianism) that also speak of a supreme creator are
the social order in a tribe or tradition and, as a rule, reflect
very different because they brought into existence an under-
the prevailing mode of production (and may shed light on
standing of monotheism proper that extends beyond the idea
the legal customs of the society as well).
of a god who merely creates. Their monotheism is the result
of their fight against polytheism of one type or another and
The generating earth. Even though no unambiguous ex-
is a matter of a revolution in the development of religion.
amples of matriarchy have been found, many examples of fe-
Not by chance are they historically rooted in pastoral tradi-
male cosmic principles and deities do exist. In certain very
tions and in civilizations far more extensive than those of
early agricultural societies, as in prehistoric Eastern Europe,
early hunters and gatherers. Here, the father is the undisput-
it is likely that supreme goddesses to some extent mirrored
ed head of the family. The world is governed strictly by the
the importance of women in society. However, much more
creator, Yahweh, the biblical god who sets the course for the
is at stake than a mere projection of society. There are indica-
celestial bodies. However, societies of a pronounced patriar-
tions that a mother deity functioned at one time as the sole
chal type with a monotheistic religion are relative latecomers
generative principle, giving birth without the participation
in history, and their diversity is striking. One would hesitate
of a male counterpart. It is not necessary to think of the peo-
to emphasize similarities between them beyond a few general
ples holding such ideas as ignorant concerning impregna-
lines linking cosmic structure, social structure, and their type
tion; obviously, such ignorance, wherever it existed, could
of deity.
not be the point of the cosmogony.
The pater familias (father as head of the household) in
Evidence of the imageries of a sole maternal figure
Roman religion may focus the attention on a striking feature
comes from well-developed early and classical cultures, in-
yet brings to mind the complexity of an ideologically pasto-
cluding those of the Greeks, Egyptians, Hittites, and Japa-
ral, agriculturally based, and advanced urban society. Also,
nese. The earth—constituting “the whole place” in which
it is a reminder that the most typical examples of monothe-
humans found themselves—evidently was conceived as the
ism (as in Israel and Islam) are not an inevitable product of
center or foundation of the cosmos. A Sanskrit word for
one homogeneous socio-cultural development. After all,
earth, prthivi, is feminine and literally means “the one who
Rome did not itself yield to monotheism until Christianity’s
is wide.” Taking all evidence together, caution is advised in
gradual conquest in the third, fourth, and fifth centuries CE.
speaking without further qualification of motherhood as the
cause of all these imageries. Less socio-psychologically but
World parents. Enlarging on the themes of the earth’s
not less concretely, the preoccupation with the fact and act
generative power and a supreme fashioner is the theme of the
of generating seems central in all examples of the generatrix
world parents. The primordial union out of which all there
(she who brings forth). In the settled, archaic society of the
is was born is often that of sky and earth, that is, the primal
Zuni, but also among many other Indians of the New
pair of parents. Iconographically, the pair is often depicted
World, myths speak of people emerging from the earth in
as if in shorthand form through a square or rectangle (the
very early, mythical times. Here the subject of originating is
earth) and a circle (the sky). Here also, an inadequate scien-
much more emphatically presented in the tradition than is
tific knowledge and fanciful illusions concerning the struc-
the principle of motherhood.
ture of the universe is not under question but rather the fun-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1994
COSMOLOGY: AN OVERVIEW
damental issues in a lasting religious quest. In addition to the
the striking example of a historically traceable influence—the
immediate world of humans, there exists the sky, at the same
theme recurs with an earth diver who attempts to keep
time undeniably there and yet unreachable. The sky is the
the earth to himself or who sets himself up in opposition to
first image of what in philosophy will come to be called tran-
the divine creator. There is little doubt that a dualism of Ira-
scendence. Out of the opposites of earth and sky, the world
nian (Zoroastrian) or Manichaean origin is making itself felt
(perhaps more precisely called “the human world”) is born.
here. In the new versions, the earth, in the end, is the product
of both the good maker and the helper, who turns out to be
Pointing to the theme of the world parents as an expres-
a satanic figure. Thus the existence of evil is acknowledged,
sion of the mystery of all creation is far from exhausting the
but the (good) god is not held responsible for it. Such a dual-
subject. This theme occurs with infinite variations. In an-
istic cosmogonic procedure is described in various ways in
cient Egypt, for example, the earth and the sky are male and
Eastern European and Siberian traditions.
female, respectively, unlike the vast majority of traditions. In
the ancient Near East, in their relationship the primordial
Again, caution is in order in making generalizations, for
pair, Tiamat and Apsu, exist distinct from and prior to the
the opposition of good and evil is not alien to any human
establishment of sky and earth; they are portrayed as a series
society, even though in some cases specific historical influ-
of opposites, one of which is the opposition of the primeval
ences can be inferred. Of general importance is the realiza-
salt water and fresh water oceans that were crucial to Babylo-
tion, first, that all myths are subject to historical changes,
nian existence. The two form the beginning of the god’s life
even if these changes have not been traced in detail and, sec-
and the beginning of organization necessary for the world
ond, that a cosmogonic myth of any thematic type is not nec-
that is yet to come. Hence, the pair of deities is both theo-
essarily wiped out or replaced but can be merely modified
gonic (related to the study of the origins of gods) and cosmo-
when a great religious system is superimposed on a civiliza-
gonic.
tion. For example, in the myth of the earth diver, first a dual-
OTHER MOTIFS. Traditionally, especially since the nine-
istic change came about (no doubt from outside) and yet the
teenth century, anthropologists and historians of religions
new, dualistic version continued its life after Christianity had
have been interested in social structures and cultural struc-
gained ascendancy in Eastern Europe.
tures and generally were neither trained for nor interested in
Themes that in all probability were created indepen-
typically exact science questions. In recent decades however,
dently in various traditions include the world egg, the cosmic
more scientists have begun to look at ancient cultures and
tree, creation ex nihilo (out of nothing), creation from chaos,
at societies that not long ago were generally understood to
and creation from sacrifice. Each of these usually occurs in
be primitive. In so doing, they have found evidence of much
conjunction with other themes. The tree of the world and
greater interest in the skies in early ages than anthropologists
of life occurs in one form or another from the ancient Ger-
and historians of religions had previously realized. Moreover,
manic and Celtic peoples to ancient Babylonia and to classi-
in the science of astronomy more and more voices are speak-
cal and modern Java. Perhaps even more than the others, this
ing of mysteries.
symbolism allows for interpretations of the cosmos at large
Several other themes that deal with the origin of the
(the macrocosm) and the “world” of a person’s body and ex-
world and its structure may be related with certainty to the
istence (the microcosm). Many traditions elaborate on such
specific cultural environments in which they are narrated.
double application. Chapter 15 of the ancient text the
Nevertheless, they cross-cultural boundaries or occur with
Bhagavadg¯ıta¯ (c. 200 BCE) is an excellent example.
modifications that can be expected by cultural anthropolo-
The imagery of the world egg occurs also in many places
gists and historians. However, with chthonic creativity and
(e.g., Africa, Polynesia, Japan, and India) that are far apart
the world parents, it is not necessary here to think in terms
and cannot be expected to have been in contact in such a way
of diffusion from one point of the globe to another. On the
as to explain the similarity. The power of the imagery must
basis of observation and experience, one may conclude that
be sought in the imagery itself. Just as water is always and
independent origins are not uncommon and in fact are often
everywhere given as a basic ingredient expressive of perfect
more likely. Among the notable exceptions are the variations
potentiality because it takes on any form given to it, having
within the cosmos of conflicting dualisms that are observable
no form of its own (hence symbolically interchangeable with
in many areas of the world and that are attributable directly
chaos) and plays an essential role at birth, the egg is given
or indirectly to Iranian or Manichaean influences.
as a cosmogonic image precisely because it represents a form
A number of archaic hunters’ traditions know of an
that contains all there is “in principle” and produces life. The
earth diver, a creature that descends to the bottom of the pri-
creation out of nothing, well known from the traditional
mordial ocean to pick up the earth from which the dry land
Christian interpretation of Genesis 1, occurs unambiguously
is to be fashioned on the surface of the water (for example,
and articulately in a Tuamotuan tradition (Polynesia). Sacri-
the theme occurs in North America among the Huron). In
fice as an act resulting in the creation of the world is especial-
some regions, the motif appears with the addition of a char-
ly well developed in early India (Vedism and Brahmanism).
acter, often divine, who orders the earth diver to descend and
COMMON CHARACTERISTICS OF RELIGIOUS COSMOLOGIES.
fetch the required particles of earth. Finally—and herein lies
When symbolism and mythology depict cosmogony and cos-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
COSMOLOGY: AN OVERVIEW
1995
mology, the view is confirmed that the cosmos is always the
have antiscientific, fundamentalist religious movements oc-
world of humanity and is not an external object of inquiry.
curred. It is certainly impossible on the basis of the cumula-
Additionally, an ethical concern, which by itself has no evi-
tive evidence to regard religious and mythical views of the
dent part in the study of nature or of astronomy, is very
cosmos merely as precursors to science or as preliminary or
much in evidence in religious views of the world. The behav-
inadequate endeavors that are discarded with the develop-
ior required of human beings is often described and always
ment of science. Moreover, not only from the point of view
implied in the account of the world’s structure.
of the historian of religions but also from that of the historian
of science, no single moment in history can ever be estab-
Even if certain features do not make an obvious ethical
lished to pinpoint the supposed fundamental change from
impression on many modern and Western readers, they nev-
myth to science. In fact, no such moment exists. The relation
ertheless may illuminate something concerning the rules that
between clearly recognizable religious views and scientific
govern human behavior. Sacrificial or headhunting tech-
views is complex, but much clarity can be gained by looking
niques are given within the structure of the cosmos. The re-
critically at the sort of questions that are asked, the nature
newal of the world celebrated in the Babylonian New Year
of the assumptions questioners make under the influence of
festival is a cosmological event that has little, if anything, in
their own culture, or the intellectual habits of their age.
common with modern scientific researches, most obviously
so because it implies a renewal that must be observed in
One tradition, fundamentalism, although largely limit-
human existence. Another example is the teachings concern-
ed to the history of American Protestantism, illuminates the
ing many births and rebirths in Hinduism, Jainism, and
study of the problem of science and religion with regard to
Buddhism; they fit in traditions that speak of world cycles,
cosmology. Fundamentalism is rooted in America’s frontier
successions of worlds, and multiple worlds. Finally, the inti-
experience and in rural life, yet ideologically it has had an
mate relationship of the macrocosm and the microcosm,
emotional impact on urban communities and educational in-
which is widely attested, is a striking formal link between var-
stitutions. The public evil of religious illiteracy is the root
ious views of the cosmos.
cause of most questionable ideas concerning religion and sci-
ence. Taking biblical statements about the cosmos literally,
DO SCIENCE AND RELIGION VIEW THE COSMOS DIFFER-
fundamentalists build up a supernaturalism that does not re-
ENTLY? Contrary to popular opinion, pondering the conflicts
place naturalism so much as it is superimposed on it, while
between science and religion is not often necessary. It is more
the religious character of religious accounts is obscured in the
to the point to think of differences in questions asked and
process. In a legal procedure in 1981 and 1982, a group of
in subject matter. Pre-Islamic Indian literary sources are al-
fundamentalists known as creationists tried to provide edu-
most unanimous with respect to the conception of the conti-
cational institutions with the right to spend equal time on
nents of the earth. They depict the continents geometrically
creation science (i.e., based on biblical statements about the
rather than empirically, and India itself occurs in the center
physical universe) alongside the teaching of generally accept-
of the world’s map. The idea of many long ages and periods
ed modern scientific inquiries. The assumption was that reli-
with truly astronomical numbers and the concept of many
gious accounts can be viewed for their factual, that is, verifi-
worlds existing both in succession and simultaneously are
able and inferential accuracy. The question of the religious
pan-Indian. As indicated, the center is and remains the
intention is not raised, because the creation scientist postu-
human world and the human quest for liberation. This does
lates a factuality that is positivistic in nature—in the sense
not mean that the large figures of years given in the Pura¯n:as
of the French philosopher, Auguste Comte (1798–1857)
are figments of the imagination or betray a disregard for sci-
and after the manner of the English social philosopher, Her-
ence. Quite the reverse is true, despite earlier fashions in
bert Spencer (1820–1903) for whom religion covered every-
scholarship that disparaged India’s talent for science (a tradi-
thing not yet figured out by science.
tion fostered by some eminent Sanskritists). On this score
scholarship has been set right by recent investigations in the
Rather than holding up ideas of this sort for ridicule,
history of science, with David Pingree in the forefront of this
scholars have used them to show more clearly the weakness
work.
of ideas shared in the widest intellectual circles. The modern
intellectual problem of creating a dichotomy in which docu-
On a wider scale, a comparable correction has been
ments show a unity or seem to indicate no more than aspects
made with respect to the generally held opinion that prehis-
of the same thing cannot be ignored. The contrast between
toric people and, in their wake, members of every nonliterate
modern science and traditional religious ideas concerning the
tradition were wanting in intellectual power capable of rais-
world and cosmogony has occupied the minds of many
ing scientific questions. This correction has been made
Westerners, especially since the eighteenth century. This
through the work of Alexander Marshack, who persuasively
contrast has blurred the intention of world images given in
interpreted prehistoric data as records of precise astronomic
religious traditions.
observations. None of this suggests oppositions between reli-
gion and science; such oppositions are in fact a very recent
It would not be appropriate to allow a conflict generated
phenomenon in history and are restricted to very few sciences
by the French Enlightenment and repeated and modified
and only to specific religious traditions. Only in recent times
since then in Western intellectual history to distort percep-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1996
COSMOLOGY: AN OVERVIEW
tion of all religious symbolism concerning the world, its na-
ism; and Abu¯ H:a¯mid al-Ghaza¯l¯ı, twelfth century, in Islam).
ture, and origin. Instead, religion and science should be
Any such great change is reflected in the image of the world.
viewed together in their development, with the understand-
The breakdown of the classical, Aristotelian world
ing that every attempt to view religious cosmologies side by
image, shaken by Nicolaus Copernicus (1473–1543), Tycho
side with modern scientific cosmologies fails if the cardinal
Brahe (1546–1601), Galileo Galilei (1564–1642), Johannes
point mentioned before is missed: The former are human-
Kepler (1571–1630), and Isaac Newton (1642–1727), is
centered, whereas the latter is only human-observed and
principally due to René Descartes (1596–1650), the initiator
human-calculated. However, this distinction, with which
of philosophy in modern Western history. Instead of being
modernity should be familiar, is not a division, and few ages
a human environment and accessible through the senses, the
and communities have found it necessary to make the dis-
world now becomes a definite object of rational inquiry of
tinction into a special subject for discourse or emphasis.
a new, truly objective character of which humans are no lon-
The ancient Babylonians thought of the earth as the
ger the unquestionable center. The conflict between Galileo
center of the universe and conceived of it as a mountain, hol-
and the church is well known and has been given so much
low underneath and supported by the ocean, whereas the
attention as to obscure the structures of both science and reli-
vault of heaven kept the waters above from those below; the
gion. This conflict is limited to only one science (astronomy)
waters above explained the phenomenon of rain. Roughly
and only one religion (Christianity) in a particular phase of
the same cosmic scheme occurs throughout the entire an-
each. Other sciences, such as the science of music or the sci-
cient Near East and returns in the creation account in the
ence of crystals, have never found themselves in a comparable
Book of Genesis. Another example is Thales of Miletus
predicament with Christianity. It stands to reason that a reli-
(c. 600 BCE), the Ionian natural philosopher, who is famous
gion such as Buddhism, in which the subject of the world’s
for positing water as the primal substance of the universe. Al-
creation and the earth’s central position in it has no signifi-
though this schematization may appear scientifically primi-
cant part at all, could not be expected to provoke comparable
tive, such a scheme was, in fact, never presented in any tradi-
polemics between astronomers and defenders of the religious
tion and is only the summary that the modern mind draws
tradition.
from far more complex mythologies.
Two final points must be made to complete the subject
Although the study the development of the natural sci-
of the distinctive place of religion with respect to cosmology.
ences can (mistakenly) take place in isolation, the documents
First, an absolute break between religion and the sciences
of the exact sciences, available from the ancient Babylonians
after Copernicus and Descartes is not a meaningful division.
(the period of the Hammurabi dynasty, 1800–1600 BCE) and
From Gottfried Leibniz (1646–1716) to Pierre Teilhard De
the ancient Egyptians on are recorded not only in mathemat-
Chardin (1881–1955), Carl F. von Weizsäcker (b. 1912),
ical signs, as one might expect, but are also surrounded by
Stephen Hawking (b. 1942; widely known through his A
mythological images. Mythological images simultaneously
Brief History of Time), and Karl Jaspers, writers, scientists,
absorb and appropriate scientific discoveries, calendrical cal-
and theologians have dealt with the unity and meaning of
culations, and established views of the world, stars, and plan-
the world, a world designed to be religiously and scientifical-
ets as their symbols. Although a distinction must be drawn
ly comprehensible. Second, significantly (and complementa-
between the two sciences, the documents make no such sepa-
ry to the first one point), in considering the cosmos under
ration and establish no contrast. Various scholars (e.g., Mir-
two aspects in the religious documents that exist, the reli-
cea Eliade and Werner Müller) have stressed the cosmic char-
gious view—wherever it does come to the fore—tends to
acter of all archaic religious traditions. It is of great
show a certain priority. This is not only true in the temporal
importance, however, to add that the history of science
sense that the historical development shows religious as-
points to the interwovenness of science (notably astronomy
sumptions concerning the world before the first recognizable
and physics) and religion.
scientific strides are taken, but also in terms of relative im-
portance. Karl Barth (1886–1968) rightly emphasized (in
Epistemological considerations are not separable from
part in opposition to theories by the New Testament theolo-
socio-religious traditions and cannot be kept for long from
gian Rudolf Bultmann, 1884–1976) that the histories of Is-
the work of a modern scientist. Basic definitions functioning
rael and of the church have unfolded under the impact of
in scientific research are not central in scientific education,
various dominant views of the cosmos without being dis-
yet typically normal, consensus-bound research ultimately
turbed by them. Characteristically, in the entire history of
results in revolution. The process of change in religion is
the church, no creed ever made the structure of the universe
quite analogous. As a rule, renowned mystics, prophets, and
an item worthy of concern. The same holds true for other
great reformers have followed their tradition so persistently
religious traditions as well. Even though in archaic traditions
as to arrive willy-nilly at a change that in some cases amount-
the sacred can be expressed primarily through cosmic forms,
ed to a rebirth or total overhaul of a tradition (e.g., the great
the sacred supersedes the cosmic in all religions.
reformers in Christianity; Na¯ga¯rjuna, second century CE, in
Buddhism; the great bhakti philosophers, especially
SEE ALSO Ages of the World; Cosmogony; Deus Otiosus;
Ra¯ma¯nuja, traditionally dated to 1017–1137 CE, in Hindu-
Dualism; Earth; Egg; Eschatology, overview article; Evangel-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
COSMOLOGY: AN OVERVIEW
1997
ical and Fundamental Christianity; Goddess Worship, over-
one of the most sympathetic introductory works on the reli-
view article and article on Theoretical Perspectives; Hieros
gions of Africa. Willibald Kirfel’s Die Kosmographie der Inder
Gamos; Metaphysics; Monotheism; Science and Religion.
(Bonn, 1920) treats views of the world among Hindus, Bud-
dhists, and Jains.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
The most influential works in the history of science in the illumi-
In many, if not most creation myths, one finds notions of human
nation of the wider philosophical and religious context of the
or political power. For this reason alone, it is useful to look
origins of modern science are by Alexandre Koyré: Entretiens
at Said Amir Arjomand, ed., The Political Dimensions of Reli-
sur Descartes (New York, 1944) and From the Closed World
gion (Albany, 1993). For African creation accounts, the most
to the Infinite Universe (Baltimore, 1957). Samuel Noah
helpful work is Herman Baumann’s Schöpfung und Urzeit des
Kramer, ed., Mythologies of the Ancient World (Garden City,
Menschen im Mythus der afrikanischen Völker (Berlin, 1936).
N.Y., 1961) discusses different mythologies, including cos-
Jean Bayet’s Histoire politique et psychologique de la religion
mic views, ranging from the ancient Near East to ancient
Romaine, 2d ed. (Paris, 1969) has a special eye for the inter-
Mexico and to India, China, and Japan. The best observa-
wovenness of human orientations and conceptions of the
tions made within the context of Vedic and Brahmanic ritual
world throughout Roman history. Hendrik Bergema’s De
concerning the cosmos are available in Herta Krick’s Das Rit-
boom des levens in schrift en historie (Hilversum, Netherlands,
ual der Feuergründung (Vienna, 1982). W. Brede Kristen-
1938) is the most extensive collection of tree symbolisms in
sen’s Het leven uit de dood (Haarlem, Netherlands, 1926) is
religious traditions. Jean Bottéro, The Birth of God. The Bible
the unsurpassed study on the relation of cosmogonies to the
and the Historian, translated by Kees W. Bolle (University
spontaneity of life as a central issue in ancient Egyptian and
Park, Pa., 2000) is mandatory reading for all who have a reli-
Greek religion. Reprinted and revised several times since its
gious or theological interest in this subject. Kenneth Brecher
first publication in 1934, Harvey Brace Lemon’s From Gali-
and Michael Feirtag, eds., Astronomy of the Ancients (Cam-
leo to the Nuclear Age (Chicago, 1965) is quite educational
bridge, Mass., 1980) is a collection of essays by experts in as-
for anthropologists and historians of religions concerned
tronomy and history of science. The collection is not only
with the development of physics and scientific cosmologies.
interesting in itself but also is useful reading for all students
Including all periods and many civilizations yet with most
of the mythology in ancient and tribal cosmogonies. Follow-
relevance to cosmogonies in nonliterate traditions, one of the
ing the lead of the earlier work by Hertha von Dechend and
most attractive collections is Charles H. Long’s Alpha: The
Giorgio de Santillana, Hamlet’s Mill; an Essay on Myth and
Myths of Creation (New York, 1963).
the Frame of Time (Boston, 1969), the contributors point to
Henry Margenau and Roy Abraham Varghese, eds., Cosmos, Bios,
evidence of exact observation of the sky, found in the earliest
Theos: Scientists Reflect on Science, God, and the Origins of the
cultures, that is clearly present in the materials.
Universe, Life, and Homo Sapiens (LaSalle, Ill., 1992) con-
A sociological attempt to show that human beings by nature ori-
tains essays and answers concerning life and the universe by
ent themselves toward a more encompassing world than that
eminent astronomers, mathematicians, physicists, biologists,
of their observable social and psychological reality is made by
and chemists and does not at all abstain from pronounce-
Peter L. Berger and Thomas Luckmann in The Social Con-
ments dealing with religion.
struction of Reality (Garden City, N.Y., 1966). Eduard J. Di-
Alexander Marshack’s The Roots of Civilization (New York, 1972)
jksterhuis’s The Mechanization of the World Picture (Oxford,
was the first work to break down artificial barriers between
1961) is the classic study of philosophies and discussions
religion and scientific views of the universe on the basis of
leading from antiquity to the birth of science in modern his-
prehistoric data. Jacques Merleau-Ponty and Bruno Moran-
tory. Mircea Eliade’s Cosmos and History: The Myth of the
do’s The Rebirth of Cosmology (New York, 1976) is a detailed
Eternal Return (New York, 1954), Myth and Reality (New
reflection on the limits of modern astronomy. A collection
York, 1963), and Patterns in Comparative Religion (New
of studies on cosmos and myth in seventeen different nonlit-
York, 1958) offer the most comprehensive religio-historical
erate traditions, plus one playful attempt at a structural anal-
studies of cosmic symbolism, especially in archaic societies,
ysis of the Book of Genesis as myth by Edmund Leach, are col-
with special emphasis on cosmogony as the fundamental
lected in John Middleton, ed., Myth and Cosmos (Garden
myth in any tradition and on the significance of world re-
City, N.Y., 1967). Marijan Molé’s Culte, mythe et cosmologie
newal. Eliade’s Australian Religions: An Introduction (Ithaca,
dans l’Iran ancien (Paris, 1963) presents a full discussion of
N.Y., 1973) elaborates on these and other themes in the par-
ancient Iranian cosmology, with elaborate textual documen-
ticular compass of some culturally most archaic tribal tradi-
tation. Werner Müller’s Die heilige Stadt: Roma quadrata,
tions. Adolf E. Jensen’s Myth and Cult among Primitive Peo-
himlisches Jerusalem und die Mythe vom Weltnabel (Stuttgart,
ples (Chicago, 1963) is especially concerned with the relation
Germany, 1961) discusses the tenacity of cosmic views form-
between cosmic views and human behavior. Marcel Griaule’s
ing the model of city planning and includes a lengthy bibli-
Conversations with Ogotemmêli, an Introduction to Dogon Re-
ography. Teachings concerning the cosmos and its hierarchy,
ligious Ideas (London, 1965) is the work that more than any
with special attention to microcosmic views, are given in Sey-
other made it difficult to speak seriously anymore about
yed Hossein Nasr’s An Introduction to Islamic Cosmological
“primitive thought.” The Dogon people of western Sudan,
Doctrines (Cambridge, UK, 1964). Volume 2 of Joseph
the preface sums up, “live by a cosmogony, a metaphysic,
Needham’s Science and Civilisation in China, 7 vols. (Prince-
and a religion which put them on a par with the peoples of
ton, N.J., 1956) is the best study available on any civilization
antiquity, and which Christian theology might indeed study
that illuminates the rise of science, cosmology, views of na-
with profit” (p. 2). Noel Q. King, Religions of Africa, A Pil-
ture within the course of religious traditions and change.
grimage into Traditional Religions (New York, 1970) remains
Otto Neugebauer’s The Exact Sciences in Antiquity, 2d ed.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
1998
COSMOLOGY: AFRICAN COSMOLOGIES
(New York, 1969) is a classic work on the topic. Martin P.
inevitably destined to prevail and thereby bring Africa and
Nilsson’s Geschichte der griechischen Religion, 3d ed., 2 vols.
Africans into the domain of respectably articulated “world”
(Munich, 1967–1971) is indispensable for the study of reli-
religions—and cosmologies.
gious complexities within which cosmic views in Greece
arose and changed. F. S. C. Northrop’s Man, Nature and
To counter these questionable yet still all too common
God (New York, 1962) deals with the problem of cosmology,
stereotypes it is helpful to begin by pointing out that there
science, and nature within a world that is religiously, cultur-
are in the early twenty-first century at least eight hundred
ally, and philosophically diverse yet has no option but to
distinct language cultures in sub-Saharan Africa alone. The
come to terms with its unity. Jacob K. Olupona, ed., African
time is long past when scholars of these cultures could feel
Traditional Religions in Contemporary Society (St. Paul,
comfortable with cosmological and religious generalizations,
Minn., 1991) is a collection of essays mainly by scholars of
supposedly common to all, on the basis of detailed studies
African universities.
of a few. Texts that were for too long taken as definitive ac-
The best available text on astronomy from classical India is David
counts of African “traditional” religion are therefore chal-
Pingree, ed., trans., and comm., The Yavanajataka of Sphu-
lenged by new generations of scholars who reject the negative
jidhvaja, 2 vols. (Cambridge, UK, 1978). For the problem
value judgments implicitly justified by cosmological para-
of monotheism and the origin of the cosmos, see Raffaele
digms derived from predominantly non-African sources.
Pettazzoni’s Essays on the History of Religions (Leiden, 1954)
and The All-Knowing God (London, 1956). In view of the
There is a growing consensus that Africa and Africans must
great importance of myths of creation and cosmologies and
finally speak for themselves, from the standpoints of indige-
their significance for the notion of power in the world, see
nous believers, rather than defer to the potentially method-
the world-encompassing Raffaele Pettazzoni, Miti e leggende
ologically distorted interpretations of purely academic field-
(New York, 1978). Don K. Price’s “Endless Frontier or Bu-
workers.
reaucratic Morass?” Daedalus 107 (Spring 1978): 75–92, and
Robert L. Sinsheimer’s “The Presumptions of Science,” Dae-
This means that a substantial body of established schol-
dalus 107 (Spring 1978): 23–36, both present indirect but
arly texts is now directly challenged. Cosmological para-
eloquent arguments for the necessity of a more significant
digms patched together from such disparate sources as the
framework for science than science itself can provide. James
accounts of explorers, missionaries, colonial administrators,
B. Pritchard, ed., Ancient Near Eastern Texts relating to the
traders, folklorists, anthropologists, historians, and art histo-
Old Testament, 3d ed. with supp. (Princeton, N.J., 1969) is
rians increasingly are deconstructed by scholars of religion
a large collection of myths, laws, and epic texts in which cos-
with a social scientific predisposition and by philosophers in
mological ideas are embedded. Dualistic views characteristic
the African context. This can mean that there are more than
of Manichaeism are described in Henri-Charles Puech’s “Le
ideological motives involved when Africa reclaims Egyptian
manichéisme,” in Histoire des religions, vol. 2, edited by
civilization (cosmology included) as part of its intellectual
d’Henri-Charles Puech (Paris, 1972). Joseph Silk, The Big
Bang: The Creation and Evolution of the Universe (San Fran-
heritage. This can also mean that pioneering portrayals of Af-
cisco, 1980) provides a readable account of the famous theo-
rican cosmologies, such as Placide Tempels’s Bantu Philoso-
ry—very useful for humanists and social scientists who wish
phy (a hierarchical, pantheistic, vital force ontology extend-
to be informed. Carl F. von Weizsäcker’s The History of Na-
ing from a Supreme Being downward to the lowliest forms
ture (Chicago, 1949) is a balanced and thoughtful account
of matter) or Marcel Griaule’s Conversations with Ogotem-
of the modern natural sciences between philosophy and reli-
mêli: An Introduction to Dogon Religious Ideas (an elaborate
gion and is of abiding interest. A. J. Wensinck, Studies of A.
symbolist rendering of a Dogon cosmology and cosmogony
J. Wensinck (New York, 1978), interprets a number of cos-
that includes and interrelates everything from stellar constel-
mological symbols in Mesopotamian, ancient West Semitic,
lations to the patterns of plowed fields), are coming to be
and Arabic traditions.
treated as the systematized, empathic renderings of Western
KEES W. BOLLE (1987 AND 2005)
devotees and the elaborated images of idiosyncratic sources
whose ideas were thereafter presented as if representative of
an entire culture.
COSMOLOGY: AFRICAN COSMOLOGIES
Consequently noncontroversial accounts of authentical-
An account of African cosmologies must first come to terms
ly African cosmologies—past or present—are not easy to
with a set of issues likely to generate controversy. Foremost
identify. Nevertheless in what follows attempts will be made
has been the scholastic predisposition to regard them as of
to represent contemporary, even if not entirely methodologi-
less interest because of their supposed comparative simplicity
cally compatible, viewpoints on the cosmologies of three Af-
and lack of theoretical sophistication in articulating visions
rican ethnic groups: the Yoruba of West Africa (principally
of a cosmos generally, even in mythical terms. This is linked
Nigeria), the Maasai of East Africa (principally of Kenya),
to a view of indigenous religions in the African context as
and the Kongo of Central Africa (principally as located in
anachronisms that are the vestigial remains of cultures whose
the Democratic Republic of Congo, formerly known as
precolonial authenticity has been in a state of decline for sev-
Zaire).
eral centuries. Christianity and Islam, on the other hand, are
YORUBA COSMOLOGY. It has become a truism that more has
often portrayed as dynamic missionary enterprises, almost
been written about the Yoruba and their culture than any
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1999
other in sub-Saharan Africa. Nevertheless this should not be
Muh:ammad. In addition the qualitative distancing between
taken to imply that a consensus has been reached about how
the spiritual and the physical introduced by such a hierarchi-
best to represent Yoruba cosmological beliefs, even if the
cal model does not do justice to Yoruba sensitivities about
many accounts of a Yoruba cosmology that have been pub-
such relationships. In fact the spiritual is not somehow “up
lished might lead one to believe otherwise.
there.” It too is “here,” constantly intermixed with the so-
called physical realm, even if from a different dimension that
Most of these standardized accounts represent the cos-
involves having recourse to specialized techniques (ritual cer-
mology as a pantheon. At its head or top is the “sky” god,
emonies, divination, dreams, and offerings—a more inter-
Olodumare. He “reigns” over the spiritual (orun) and materi-
culturally neutral term than the implicitly pejorative “sacri-
al (aye) worlds he ultimately is responsible for creating
fices”) to communicate and interact with it (Soyinka, 1976).
through many lesser (a step down the pantheon) divinities
(orisha). Olodumare is portrayed as distant from both these
Doctrine or Ritual? Jacob K. Olupona’s 1991 Kingship,
lesser divinities and the created world with which they prin-
Religion, and Rituals in a Nigerian Community, a study of re-
cipally interact. The Yoruba have any number of splendid,
ligion in the Yoruba cultural context, stands out as designed
elaborate myths detailing the story of creation and various
specifically to accommodate a religion and view of the cos-
encounters between these lesser divinities and between the
mos that does not arise from a body of received doctrine.
divinities and the material world, human beings included of
This shift in the religious substratum is more revolutionary
course (Courlander, 1973). A step further down the pan-
than it might at first seem. In received religions a body of
theon is reserved for the ancestors (ara orun), an exceptional
religious doctrine forms the bedrock, whereas rituals and cer-
few of whom may have been elevated to orisha status, where-
emonies are treated as comparatively peripheral and therefore
as most are in between lifetimes in the physical world. The
of secondary importance. Now the converse becomes the
Yoruba traditionally believe that the individual human “life”
case, and what was peripheral becomes the bedrock. This also
consists of an indefinite series of reincarnations within the
serves to redeem the intellectual character of Yoruba indige-
same family line.
nous religion by suggesting that it has never been done jus-
tice in conventional fieldwork studies, because again the basis
Taking yet another step down the pantheon, one enters
on which it was approached was skewed so as to favor doctri-
the physical world, where human beings as well may be rated
nal-based religions as paradigmatic. Therefore a religion that
or ranked on one of seven different levels, depending on their
expressed itself principally via ritual ceremonies did not re-
talents and abilities (Hallen, 2000). Events within that world
ceive the methodologically specialized treatment it deserved.
are frequently attributed to the activities of the lesser divini-
This could also help to explain the persistent concerns of aca-
ties, and therefore it is of critical importance that there be
demic field-workers to construct a systematized pantheon of
an avenue or pathway of communication between the spiri-
Yoruba spiritual and physical elements, because the cosmolo-
tual and physical worlds, which is provided by the agency of
gy then could be reconstituted (even if misleadingly) in a dis-
the diviner (babalawo). The underlying system of divination
cursive format that imitated the architectonics of doctrinal-
is known as Ifa and consists of an intricate and extensive
based religions.
body of oral literature to which diviners refer when providing
information to their clients (Abimbola, 1976). In this Yoru-
Yet another negative consequence of the pantheon ap-
ba pantheon there is no personified force of evil, especially
proach is that it gives the impression that the same religious
one comparable to the Christian or Muslim Satan or devil.
and cosmological views are shared by all Yoruba. But as
Therefore on the level of humanity, individuals usually bear
Olupona points out, it is the Yoruba themselves who ac-
the ultimate responsibility for their immoral (not “evil”) be-
knowledge that they are divided into different cultural
havior, especially when such behavior manifests a publicly
groups, and each of these groups can in turn be subdivided
identifiable pattern (Hallen, 2000; Olupona, 2000, p. xix).
into its constituent elements (e.g., individual cities and
towns). Therefore one sensible way to reestablish a basis for
Beginning in the latter part of the twentieth century,
a systematic approach to assessing the possible universality
this model of a Yoruba cosmology was challenged by a num-
as well as the potentially culturally relative meanings of
ber of scholars who saw it as a distorted overview—though
myths, ritual ceremonies and their cosmological portents
it may contain many accurate elements—of a still vital cul-
would be to begin on a microcosmic level—what myths are
tural tradition. The distortion is due primarily to the imposi-
told and how rituals are enacted in a particular city or
tion of something like a Greek or Roman spiritual and physi-
town—before proceeding to hazard generalizations about
cal pantheon on a cultural context, where it is out of place
some sort of Pan-Yoruba religion or cosmos.
because it misrepresents the ways in which people in that
context relate to and act out their views of the cosmos. These
Another stereotype of Africa’s indigenous societies that
scholars pointed out that religion and its component cosmo-
must be challenged is the idea that they are static, oriented
logical beliefs in Yoruba culture are not the product of a “re-
exclusively toward “traditions” inherited from the past and
ceived” body of doctrine, as is the case with Christianity and
therefore resistant to change. For what Olupona finds in
the Bible or Islam and the QurDa¯n (Olupona, 1991). There
present-day Ondo is indeed a “traditional” culture but one
is also no prophetic figure corresponding to Christ or
that is changing to adapt to and come to terms with present-
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2000
COSMOLOGY: AFRICAN COSMOLOGIES
day realities. In religious and cosmological terms, the intro-
time and the cosmology of which they are constituent ele-
duction of Christianity and Islam has had the most profound
ments are said to arise from the world the Maasai inhabit as
consequences. But the institutions of indigenous Ondo reli-
empirically firsthand.
gion, most importantly as personified by the town’s tradi-
Although the Maasai are nomadic, they are said to have
tional ruler or king (Oshemawe), have recast the annual cycle
a refined sense of spatial order—within certain empirical
of public ritual ceremonies involving the king so that they
limits. This extends from the precisely detailed layouts of
serve a civic as well as a religious function. In other words,
their huts and homesteads to the uninhabited grazing lands
indigenous religion in the Ondo Yoruba context is now sus-
for their herds—still sometimes referred to by those who
tained and perpetuated by the wider social and cultural con-
write about Africa’s cultures as the “bush.” By day the bush
texts with which its rituals, ceremonies, and myths have be-
may constitute an environment that offers obvious benefits
come intimately associated. Indeed Olupona goes so far as
and usually identifiable dangers, but by night it becomes a
to speak of a civic dimension to these public ritual ceremo-
place where many natural and supernatural hazards (sorcery
nies that complement the viewpoints of those (Christians,
among them) may victimize the unwary, so that it is primari-
Muslims, and so on) who have no reason to view them in
ly groups of moran who may on occasion undertake ritual
more conventionally religious terms.
ceremonies there in relative safety.
What this means is that the annual cycle of religious cer-
By the early twenty-first century the pastoral Maasai
emonies can now also be regarded as occasions in which the
consisted of sixteen separate but federated territorial groups.
entire town—indigenous practitioners, Christians, and Mus-
Although there must obviously be a sense of spatial identity
lims—can all actively participate in some form or other be-
arising from the territory of the federation as a whole, the
cause they serve to renew and to energize the Ondo cosmos
individual Maasai is said to more or less view the space that
in the most general terms (Olupona, 1991, p. 21). Effectively
is within his or her ethnic domain as the one that is truly
the king has supplanted the Supreme Being as the principal
privileged to him or her. What lies beyond is the relatively
agent of that cosmos. Yet his status as an orisha or divinity
unfamiliar, though there is acknowledgment of an other,
as well as a temporal ruler instills these proceedings with a
hidden dimension to a space of indefinite, also supernatural,
spiritual force that attracts the participation of other, purely
extension that cannot be known in straightforward empirical
spiritual orishas: the ancestors, the chiefs who rule under him,
terms.
and the body of the townspeople. Rather than the townspeo-
ple factionalizing along religious lines, this localized, revi-
Time in the Maasai cosmos is said to be most impor-
sionist role of the king and the ritual ceremonies with which
tantly determined by the cycle of ritual ceremonies that take
he is involved have enabled the town to retain a robust sense
place every fourteen to fifteen years and govern groups of
of unity. Olupona suggests that this might not have hap-
males’ progression through childhood to moran status and
pened were it not for the fact that Yoruba religion can be so
finally to that of elders who are entitled to marry and settle
eclectic and that this eclecticism can in large part again be
down (nomadically) in an individual homestead, raising fam-
attributed to the fact that the religion is not based on a fixed
ilies and building up herds of cattle. The model of time is
body of doctrine or dogma, cosmology included.
said to be lived by the individual Maasai, so it is not so much
cyclical in nature as it is spiral. This is because the individual
MAASAI COSMOLOGY. The solitary Maasai warrior (moran)
lifetime progresses through the cycle of ritual ceremonies
fashionably festooned with ochre and a red tunic, standing
only once as it advances from childhood to elder status, even
on one or two legs with spear or staff upright while guarding
if the ceremonies continue to be performed for other individ-
a grazing herd of cattle, has become one of the Western icons
uals and groups. Consequently the Maasai are said to be a
of sub-Saharan Africa. The once mighty Maasai military con-
“very age-conscious people” (Spencer, 2003, p. 15). Al-
federation, thanks to colonialism and the rise of independent
though the moran may be more vigorous physically, the el-
African nation-states, has been compelled to recast itself as
ders govern and determine the ritual cycle. Therefore their
a nomadic, pastoralist society devoted primarily to raising
status in the community is, in the end, supreme—as a source
the cattle their myths tell them were originally a gift from
of both political stability and morality.
God (Nkai).
The elders, as those who control the timing and organi-
There is considerable controversy as to what their reli-
zation of the ritual ceremonies, are also looked to as those
gious and cosmological beliefs may have been in the past. But
best qualified to deal with the wider, spiritual dimensions to
Paul Spencer’s 2003 study, Time, Space, and the Unknown:
the Maasai cosmos (Spencer, 2003, p. 65). They determine
Maasai Configurations of Power and Providence, written es-
when the offerings are to be made to Nkai to ensure his con-
sentially from a structuralist viewpoint, sets out to document
tinued providence, because he is said to be ultimately respon-
them in the present. This contemporary Maasai cosmology
sible for everything that happens in the Maasai world. But
effectively reflects their current lifeworld, a term that is un-
although Nkai may have once been in close contact with the
derstood in phenomenological-hermeneutical circles to refer
Maasai, for example, when he first provided them with cat-
to a socially constituted, everyday, cultural universe. This
tle, he has since withdrawn in a manner that makes it diffi-
means that the views attributed to them about space and
cult to determine whether and why fortune or misfortune
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2001
will affect a particular individual’s lifetime. And that lifetime
cial and cultural contexts of which they are intrinsically and
constitutes everything that the individual has to look forward
dynamically constituent. Kongo cosmology and religion are
to, because the Maasai are said not to believe in an afterlife
also said to be expressed primarily via myths and ritual cere-
and therefore in any forms of ancestral spirits.
monies, and the two combined create a distinctive cosmolo-
gy. In Kongo cosmology the universe consists of the land of
When the Maasai feel the need to turn to a higher au-
the living (nza yayi, “this earth”) and the land of the dead
thority than the elders for guidance or counsel, they turn to
diviners (il-oibonok). The oracles used by qualified diviners
(nsi a bafwa), which are separated by a body of water. Inter-
are said never to lie, but it can also prove difficult to get them
action between these two realms is vigorous and constant.
to give a clear and unambiguous diagnosis of the underlying
Unlike the Yoruba, the Kongo do not believe in reincarna-
problem. The most prominent lineage among families who
tion or, like the Maasai, that there is no afterlife. The individ-
claim to have special powers in this regard are the Loonki-
ual dead (bafwa) remain in the world of spirits, of whom the
dongi, who trace their origin back to Kidongoi, a boy with
most powerful is Nzambi Mpungu, not a prominent figure
extraordinary powers who is said to have come down from
or causal agent in the indigenous Kongo cosmology but later
the sky. Within the ranks of diviners, the most powerful—
conscripted by missionaries to serve as the Christian “God.”
communally announced and acknowledged—are said to be
Yet it is the land of the dead that is regarded as the primary
analogous to prophets in that their powers to “see” the truth
source of power (kindoki), so ritual interaction with it is as-
about any situation are held in awe and are believed by many
signed a high priority for maintaining order in both their
to be infallible. These are the specialized professionals to
land and that of living human beings. Other inhabitants of
whom even the elders turn when faced with a delicate or dif-
the land of the dead that are important as sources of power
ficult situation.
are the “nature spirits” (bisimbi), who are attended to by
priests (banganga) on behalf of local communities.
Spencer’s (2003) account of Maasai cosmology contains
several recurrent themes that suggest it may have more in
Although this basic model has been somewhat degraded
common with that of the Yoruba than originally thought.
by the hostile onslaughts of colonialism, missionary Chris-
He remarks repeatedly on the Maasai inability or unwilling-
tianity, and even the bureaucratic institutions of an indepen-
ness to elaborate many of their most important cosmological
dent Zaire—which all recast it as pagan superstition—it has
beliefs. With reference to any subject beyond the immediate-
managed to survive in revitalized form in that country’s Afri-
ly empirical, words or phrases such as “reticence,” “beyond
can Christian churches. In Kongo cosmology myth and ritu-
human comprehension,” “dimly perceived,” “unknowable,”
al correspond to the words and actions used to maintain
“avoid the topic,” “enigmatic,” and “reluctant to elaborate”
order and to control and to exercise power in and between
pepper his text. Yet when it comes to descriptions of the ritu-
the lands of the living and the dead. Because the land of the
al ceremonies in Maasai culture, they are said to be elaborate
dead is regarded as the major source of such power, it is the
and even “flamboyant.” Therefore one cannot help wonder-
human agents who interact with it via rituals that play
ing whether this is another example of a religion and cosmol-
the most prominent role in the cosmology. Before colonial-
ogy that is based on and expressed by its ritual ceremonies
ism these were said to have been the chiefs (mfumu), priests
rather than a body of received doctrine. If this is the case,
(banganga), witches (ndoki), and magicians (nganga). The
it would explain the Maasai inability to elaborate on their re-
former two were associated with those who exercise their
ligion and cosmology in discursive fashion and therefore
powers in a socially benevolent manner, whereas the latter
make efforts to get them to do so of indeterminate value.
two were thought susceptible to a degree of individualized
KONGO COSMOLOGY. The traditional cultures of Zaire were
self-interest that might result in the victimization of their fel-
subjected to one of the most disruptive forms of colonialism
low human beings.
when that nation was part of the Belgian Congo. Therefore
The onset of colonialism, missionary Christianity, and
what is truly remarkable about modern-day Kongo cosmolo-
then the nation-state led to the abolition of chieftaincies as
gy is how many of its precolonial elements have survived,
independent political agencies and of diviners as indepen-
even if the institutions and agents through which they are
dent spiritual agents, for reasons that should be obvious in
expressed have been dramatically transformed. Even though
an arena where power itself was being contested. Although
colonialism did not directly suppress Kongo cosmology at
missionary Christianity sought to fill the resultant spiritual
the local, village level, what this perhaps testifies to is the pas-
vacuum, it was the rise of independent African Christian
sion, the depth of feeling and commitment on the part of
churches, most notably that of the self-announced prophet
the Kongo to their indigenous religion and cosmology.
Simon Kimbangu in 1921, that provided a politically correct
As Wyatt MacGaffey (1983, 1986) states, it is the ab-
institutional home and outlet for the framework of a Kongo
stracted academic study of select behavior and beliefs that
cosmology that had endured in the hearts and minds of the
transforms things that are lived realities, that are literally
people. In this contemporary adaptation the church-based
worth living and dying for, into “subjects” like “African cos-
prophet (ngunza) assumes the role of the priest-diviner, and
mology” or “African traditional religion.” Therefore to rein-
the various rituals as modified (principally by the removal of
vent them it is necessary to put them back into the wider so-
traditional ritual objects) now provide the same high-priority
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2002
COSMOLOGY: AUSTRALIAN INDIGENOUS COSMOLOGY
services—mediation with the dead, protection against witch-
Soyinka, Wole. Myth, Literature, and the African World. Cam-
craft and sorcery, explanations of past misfortune or fortune,
bridge, U.K., 1976.
and projections of the same with regard to the future—as be-
Spencer, Paul. Time, Space, and the Unknown: Maasai Configura-
fore. For example, it is noteworthy that interactions between
tions of Power and Providence. London, 2003.
the Kongo and Europeans, such as the slave trade and colo-
Tempels, Placide. Bantu Philosophy. Paris, 1959.
nialism, are now regarded as periods during which the Con-
BARRY HALLEN (2005)
golese people generally were victimized by European witch-
craft. Therefore one point of MacGaffey’s (1983, 1986) texts
is that the phenomenon of Kimbanguism is indisputable evi-
COSMOLOGY: AUSTRALIAN INDIGENOUS
dence that an indigenous cosmology, expressed principally
COSMOLOGY
by myth and ritual ceremony rather than by doctrine, can
In 1788, when Captain Arthur Phillip raised the Union Jack
survive sustained, deliberate attempts to extinguish it and can
on the eastern coast of Australia, he did not know that he
reemerge and refashion itself, so as to structure and inform
had just entered a land that had at least 250 distinct lan-
a new social institution that will provide it with the public
guages. Potentially this meant that there were 250 unique
forum it fully deserves, in fact demands.
ways to view the land and sea that indigenous Australians
CONCLUSION. Africa’s indigenous religions and cosmologies
called home. Sadly many of these languages are now extinct,
are neither dying, nor are they operating as anachronisms.
and many are in perilous condition with only a few speakers.
They have proved themselves capable of adapting to chang-
Each language reflects its own cosmology, its own way of un-
ing circumstances over which they may have little or no con-
derstanding the land to which it belongs. It is, therefore, dan-
trol. Furthermore African cosmologies are diverse, and there-
gerous to generalize about anything in indigenous Australia.
fore it is best to avoid unwarranted generalizations about
Thus, in this description of indigenous Australian cosmology
their common characteristics or attributes. This also means
I will draw on two regional examples, one from the Yolngu-
that cosmologies expressed via myth and ritual ceremonies
speaking people of northeast Arnhem Land and the other
have their own integrity and should not be regarded as the
from the Yanyuwa people of the southwest Gulf of Carpen-
products of cultures that are somehow less sophisticated. The
taria.
religions with which they are associated, Africa’s indigenous
Indigenous people in many parts of Australia all use the
religions, should therefore be accorded the same respect and
term dreaming to refer to the relationship between people
integrity as the so-called, self-designated world religions. Last
and their environment and the laws that set out the realm
but far from least, there is the as yet unresolved issue of
of Aboriginal experience; the same term can also be used to
whether African-inspired Christian churches are best regard-
describe cosmological processes. It is the law that embodies
ed as a further manifestation of Africa’s indigenous religions.
their beliefs, and the law is said to be derived from “the
dreamtime” or “the dreaming.” The term is misleading be-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
cause it carries connotations of an imaginary or unreal time.
Abimbola, ’Wande. Ifá: An Exposition of Ifá Literary Corpus. Iba-
Despite its popular currency among both indigenous and
dan, Nigeria, 1976.
nonindigenous people, the terms dreaming and dreamtime
Courlander, Harold. Tales of Yoruba Gods and Heroes. New York,
carry a series of ideological and political connotations stem-
1973.
ming from colonial discourses of conquest and dispossession.
Deng, Francis Mading. Dinka Cosmology. London, 1980.
These issues are discussed and highlighted by Wolfe (1991).
Fu-Kiau, Kimbwandènde Kia Bunseki. African Cosmology of the
While indigenous people still continue to use the word
Bântu-Kôngo. 2d ed. Brooklyn, N.Y., 2001.
dreaming, it is important, while we need to keep the word,
Griaule, Marcel. Conversations with Ogotemmêli: An Introduction
to move beyond the word and explore what is really meant
to Dogon Religious Ideas. Oxford, 1965.
by it. In a more detailed rendering the dreaming and its law
Hallen, Barry. The Good, the Bad, and the Beautiful: Discourse
refer to a body of moral, jural, and social rules and correct
about Values in Yoruba Culture. Bloomington, Ind., 2000.
practices that are believed to derive from the cosmogonic ac-
MacGaffey, Wyatt. Modern Kongo Prophets: Religion in a Plural
tions by which ancestral beings—with the ability to change
Society. Bloomington, Ind., 1983.
from animal and phenomenal forms into humans—shaped
MacGaffey, Wyatt. Religion and Society in Central Africa: The
and named the land, sea, and waterways, transforming parts
BaKongo of Lower Zaire. Chicago, 1986.
of their bodies into landscape features, natural phenomena,
Mudimbe, V. Y. Tales of Faith: Religion as a Political Performance
and plants. Along their journeys they also gave life to people
in Central Africa. London, 1997.
at particular places, bestowed these places upon them, and
Olupona, Jacob K. Kingship, Religion, and Rituals in a Nigerian
taught each group the correct manner of doing things: from
Community. Stockholm, 1991.
hunting and foraging, processing of food, and the making
Olupona, Jacob K., ed. African Traditional Religions in Contempo-
of tools to the performance of paintings, songs, and dances.
rary Society. New York, 1990.
These actions thus constitute the knowledge associated with
Olupona, Jacob K., ed. African Spirituality: Forms, Meanings, and
a place, a knowledge that is respected and observed by being
Expressions. New York, 2000.
followed in everyday practices as well as reenacted in ritual.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
COSMOLOGY: AUSTRALIAN INDIGENOUS COSMOLOGY
2003
The life worlds of indigenous people in Australia are re-
a group of people who identify with the land and own it. The
plete with images of relatedness that are used in many idiom-
image of the journey is held to be the mechanism that orders,
atic expressions; the sea, for example is used as a powerful
distributes, and differentiates groups’ rights to and owner-
symbol for establishing identity and notions of strength and
ship of particular tracts of land or countries. These are im-
in some instances of separateness from the mainland. For ex-
portant issues; the images of journey cross many hundreds
ample, the Yanyuwa people of the southwest Gulf of Carpen-
of kilometers. For example, the Groper Ancestor, who began
taria call themselves li-Anthawirriyarra, “a people whose spir-
her travels in northwest Queensland at a place called
itual origins are derived from the sea” (Bradley, 1997), while
Ngurdurri in Ganggalida country, close to the old Dom-
for the Yolngu people of the Galiwin’ku area the Arafua Sea
madgee mission, traveled looking for country and found it
itself is seen to provide ways for the Dhuwa and Yirritja moi-
on South West Island in Yanyuwa country. She then traveled
eties to relate to each other. The Yolngu of this area speak
northwest and came to a place near Numbulwar before going
of two distinct bodies of salt water: gapu dhulway, a body of
south and traveling up the Roper River and finishing her
shallow inshore water that belongs to the Yirritja moiety and
travels among the Marra and Wandarrang people at a place
associated clans, and gapu marmaba, a body of open sea water
called Nyamarranguru. Thus, while there may be no known
belonging to the Dhuwa moiety and associated clans. These
links of blood kinship among these people, the people who
two distinct bodies of salt water are known by the terms
share the Groper as an ancestral being are seen to share a sub-
Mambuynga and Rulyapa; they “play” with one another as
stance derived from the common ancestor. They are kin;
they join together, become separate, and then come together
there is a regional network established by such actions that
again (Sharp, 2002; see also Bagshaw, 1998).
daily transform themselves into duties of regional obligation
The actions of creator beings demand a different way
and sharing of ritual.
of doing things; in some communities they demand a differ-
Similarly, in northeast Arnhem Land the Shark Ances-
ent way of speaking, cooking, or eating (Memmot, 1982;
tor is said to have come from Umbukamba on Groote Island
Bradley, 1997). The law of the sea, for example, while similar
and then traveled to Dhurrputjpi and Wandawuy of the
to that of the mainland, is not the same as that of the main-
Djapu clans; from there to Rorruwuy of the Datiwuy clan;
land. However, despite cultural differences and languages
then to Garratha of the Djambarrpuyngu clan; and then to
and differing nuances about the law of the land and sea for
Ngangalala of the Djinang Murrungun clan (Tamisari,
indigenous people, they all provide an overpowering sense
1995, 1998). Thus, all of these clans share in the common
of connectedness and images of the “journey” and “transfor-
essence of the shark, and because of this they are kin; they
mation.” Ancestral beings first traveled the land and sea,
share in the wealth of the shark, and they come together to
some in the image of species such as kangaroos, eagles,
celebrate and demonstrate this during times of ritual. What
snakes, sharks, marine turtles, dugong, and sea birds, for ex-
is important in both of the above examples is the ways in
ample. Others are humanlike in form, such as the
which ancestral actions of transformations and of the journey
Djang’kawu sisters of northeast Arnhem Land, the Kilyiring-
are pervasive images that convey different levels of related-
kilyiring women in the Numbulawar and Roper Rivers areas,
ness among ancestral events, a group owning a given place,
and the li-Maramaranja, dugong hunters of the southwest
and the places that constitute the trajectory of any ancestral
Gulf of Carpentaria. These are among the numerous beings
journey.
that made journeys, all of which founded groups of people
who are their direct descendants today. As these beings trav-
The law that Shark or Groper, for example, put down
eled, they transformed their bodies, or moved their bodies
establishes a series of overlapping local and spatio-temporal
in certain ways, creating hills, trees, sand ridges, rivers, reefs,
connections: first of all between places that they shaped and
sandbars, the tides, and tidal currents. It is images such as
named along their journeys—a stretch of sea, an area of the
these that dominate the cosmogonies and cosmologies of in-
coast shaped by hitting the ground with their heads, and fur-
digenous people throughout Australia. These images are in
ther on, a depression they imprinted with their tails. Second,
fact central in illustrating how relatedness is at the basis of
these bodily transformations at each place also connect the
the law. A critical aspect of this law is that it provides an un-
plants, animals, and phenomena with which they have inter-
derstanding of how names and naming are crucial to its acti-
acted. The plants that grow there, like the place itself, are im-
vation, transference, and negotiation. People carry names
bued with their power. Third, by bestowing these places
from their country, they know the names of the different
upon different groups of people, they related the groups that
parts of their land and sea, they know the names of the hills,
are positioned at different stages of the journey. These
ridges, creeks, rivers, sand dunes, reefs and sandbars, the
groups identify with Shark and Groper; they are Shark and
channels and beaches, and they have names for the winds,
Groper people, yet they are associated with and are responsi-
rain, the waves, and the calm sea. It is an environment full
ble for different aspects of the practical teaching and esoteric
of a particular vocabulary and other ways of thinking and
knowledge given to them.
knowing.
These journeys do more than establish kinship links be-
Each cosmogonic action of the ancestral beings estab-
tween humans; they also provide a basis by which kinship
lishes a relationship among an ancestral being, a place, and
is established to place for land living and “nonliving” things.
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COSMOLOGY: OCEANIC COSMOLOGIES
In this way a place or an animal is one’s mother because it
their country, highlighting an evocative and emotional at-
belongs to one’s mother’s group. Similarly, a dugong is kin
tachment of “things” to people. The indigenous people of
to the particular sea grass species, and sea birds are kin to fish.
Australia stand within an ecological system dominated by
In other words, animals and plants are considered to be kin
thoughts of their country, their land, and the sea, which has
and to be related to their environment and other animals
as a part of its integral components human and nonhuman
rather than having a particular behavior and inhabiting a bio-
kin, ancestral beings, special knowledge, and power.
logical habitat. It is indicative that, as coastal indigenous peo-
ple would say, the law of an animal refers not only to its bio-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
logical and behavioral characteristics such as diet, size,
Bagshaw, G. “Gapu Dhulway, Gapu Maramba: Conceptualisa-
coloring, and habitat but also to what is perceived to be its
tion and the Ownership of Saltwater among the Burrarra and
temperament, moral orientation, and intentionality or “clev-
Yan-nhangu Peoples of Northeast Arnhem Land.” In Cus-
erness.” The nature of relatedness established between place,
tomary Marine Tenure in Australia, edited by N. Peterson
and B. Rigsby, pp. 154–177. Oceania Monograph 48 (1998).
ancestral events, and people goes beyond what is usually
characterized as observable biological phenomena. Because
Bradley, John. “Li-Anthawirriyarra, People of the Sea. Yanyuwa
of contemporary issues associated with maritime and coastal
Relations with Their Maritime Environment.” Ph.D. diss.,
management, it needs to be stressed that “putting down the
Northern Territory University, Darwin, 1997.
law” encompasses the classification of animals according to
Bradley, John. “Landscapes of the Mind, Landscapes of the Spirit:
both their biological characteristics and their potential to be
Negotiating a Sentient Landscape.” In Working on Country:
cultural, moral, and social beings who indeed created hu-
Contemporary Indigenous Management of Australia’s Lands
manity. We are dealing here with a non-human-centered
and Coastal Regions, edited by R. Baker, J. Davies, and
E.Young, pp. 295–307. Oxford, 2001.
moral ecology premised on attributions of intentionality, ob-
ligation, responsibility, and reciprocity (cf. Rose, 1992;
Memmot, P. “Rainbows, Story Places and Malkri Sickness in the
Bradley, 2001; Yanyuwa families et al., 2003). It is only by
North Wellesley Islands.” Oceania 53, no. 2 (1982):
understanding this that it is possible to even come close to
163–182.
understanding how indigenous people may frame their con-
Rose, D. Dingo Makes Us Human: Life and Land in an Australian
cerns. These are issues, as stated above, of cross-cultural com-
Aboriginal Culture. Cambridge, U.K., 1992.
munication that cannot be taken for granted. Thus, land and
Tamisari, F. “Body, Names and Movement: Images of Identity
sea are ancestors in themselves; they are sentient, they watch,
Among the Yolngu of North-East Arnhem Land.” Ph.D.
and if provoked by wrongful action by indigenous kin or
diss., London School of Economics and Political Science,
nonindigenous people they will release their wrath, hold
University of London, 1995.
back desired food, and create tempestuous seas that no boat
Tamisari, F. “Body, Vision and Movement: In the Footprints of
can cross. Entities living on the land will cause people to be-
the Ancestors.” Oceania 68, no. 4 (1998): 249–270.
come blind so that they will not find the place they are look-
Wolfe, P. “On Being Woken Up: The Dreamtime in Anthropolo-
ing for.
gy and in Australian Settler Culture.” Comparative Studies in
Society and History 33, no. 2 (1991): 197–224.
All indigenous people see the land and sea they call
home as being distinctive, as having a specialness rooted in
Yanyuwa Families, J. Bradley, and N. Cameron. “Forget about
the actions of ancestral beings and in the actions of their
Flinders”: A Yanyuwa Atlas of the South West Gulf of Carpen-
taria. Brisbane, Australia, 2003.
human ancestors. Different groups of indigenous people see
themselves as distinctive; their own perception and other
JOHN J. BRADLEY (2005)
people’s perceptions of them are as a people apart. Sea people
are people who hunt dugong, sea turtle, and fish and who
are ecologically, economically, technologically, and ances-
trally distinct, while for land-based people it will be the par-
COSMOLOGY: OCEANIC COSMOLOGIES
ticular species that inhabit their country. There are still great
Since over a quarter of the world’s discrete religions are
contrasts between the life of people who call the sea home
found in Oceania or on the islands of the Pacific Ocean, gen-
and those that do not.
eralizations about their worldviews do not come easily. Be-
cause the languages of Polynesia, and virtually all Micronesia,
Amid all of the important discussion that people have
belong to the Austronesian (formerly Malayo-Polynesian)
had, and continue to have, about their land, there are also
phylum, it is easier to detect a certain culturo-religious ho-
the less intimate but no less important relationships of peo-
mogeneity across these regions, astoundingly scattered
ple, creatures, and environment. As senior Yanyuwa woman
though their isolated protrusions of land may be. In the
Annie Karrakayn has commented concerning sea birds, in
southwest Pacific, on the other hand, Melanesia harbors the
particular the white-bellied sea eagle, “They make me think
most complex mix of languages on earth, concentrated in
about my country, my island, my sea, my mother, poor
larger islands, and reflecting a great variety of small-scale tra-
things.” What is being demonstrated in such a statement is
ditional pictures of the cosmos. One may safely concede a
the deep and enduring emotional links between people and
common social structure pertains in Polynesia and Microne-
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sia; their peoples are governed by chiefs, with chiefly seniori-
of the primal pair’s six children, raised up his father to the
ty usually being established through tracing one’s ancestry to
skies with his strong back and limbs, his feet firmly grounded
the leader of the first canoe arriving on a given island. Dis-
in his mother the earth. Here we find a cosmic Trennung,
tinctly hierarchical societies have arisen from this arrange-
a common motif of cosmogenesis around the globe, one un-
ment, with Hawai’i, Tahiti, New Zealand, and especially
derscored by recognition of an underworld, supervised by the
Tonga, being known for their monarchs ruling over nobles
formidable Hine-nui-te-po, Goddess of the Dead. On Raro-
(including priests) and commoners. In Melanesia, by com-
tonga (Cook Islands), the cosmos was conceived as arising
parison, chieftain societies are in the minority (albeit a signif-
out of an enormous coconut shell. It grew up from “Ancient
icant one), and more common is a competition between
Dirt” (that betokened the netherworld and the ancestral base
skillful “managers” of exchanges and war, one among the
of humanity, as well as earth) and reached its completion in
other contenders rising to the top as a clan leader or “big-
the heavens. In the Micronesian Gilbertese (now Kiribati)
man.” In this more characteristically Melanesian situation no
genesis, the young hero Naareau Riiki snares the cosmic eel
one ever secures supreme power over a whole culturo-
so as to uproot the sky, propping it up as separate from the
linguistic complex, which therefore remains acephalous and
sinking land and sea below.
unstable. Only rarely in Melanesian chiefly societies, more-
over, as in Viti Levu, Fiji, and in the Trobriand Islands, did
Common in the wider (non-Melanesian) Pacific is the
one chief achieve virtual paramountcy over various others.
sense of the surface of both earth and sea lying between two
major spirit realms of sky and the undersea depths. This im-
As a rule of thumb (while also being wary of sociological
aging pertains rather naturally to an island context, in which
reductionism), Oceanic cosmologies tend to reflect this rela-
upthrusts of land sit under a vast sky that reaches down to
tive contrast in social structure. The Austronesian world pic-
distant watery horizons like a huge upturned bowl. The most
tures of the wider Pacific tend to be more “vertical,” tending
vital sources of positive power typically lay above; the middle
more to differentiate the upper from the lower world and
arena usually contained spirit powers along with humans,
often distinguishing the land inhabited by humans from an
and strategies were taught as to the best means of interaction
underworld. In southwest Pacific Melanesia the outlook is
because forces were a mixture of the well disposed and the
more “horizontal,” with most of the nonhuman powers that
difficult; while the netherworld was most often a domain of
matter seen to surround settlements in the visible and proxi-
uncertainty, if not anxiety. The sky realm could be conceived
mate environment. Starting from two extreme points will
as having compartments (of the four directions), as well as
help our orientation. In Tonga one finds two kinds of grave,
layers, with the lowest “brow of heaven” (as the Micronesian
one for commoners known as fonua, with burials under plain
Chuukese of the Caroline Islands put it) peopled by deities
mounds of coral sand, and the other langi, for royals and no-
connected to everyday activities—fishing, weaving, lovemak-
bles, more impressive for being hedged about by blocks of
ing, and the like. Debate surrounds the authenticity of Maori
rock. Significantly, fonua denotes land and the earth, which
traditions of a deity called Io, who sits above all the layers
commoners have served and to which they return, becoming
of heavens like the removed ultimate mystery of the ancient
vermin under the ground. Langi, in contrast, means heaven
Gnostics; but the picturing remains consistent with Austro-
(and its great beings), to which sovereigns and those of noble
nesian vertical orientations and is commensurate with the in-
blood are destined, a vertical cosmic picturing and a hierar-
sistence that chiefs become stars after death and still influ-
chical power structure thus reinforcing each other. Taking
ence earthly affairs from afar.
a well-known Papua New Guinea Highlands case, in stark
contrast, the Wahgi recognize no major deities like the Ton-
In Melanesia such socio-cosmological correlations are
gans—though the powers behind prehistorically polished
more uneven. The mixture of Austronesian and many non-
round stones were taken as war gods—and their cosmology
Austronesian groups, and the greater number of inland-
is defined exclusively by the ancestors. The dead were depos-
based cultures, make it hard to spot patterns. Most typical
ited high in the mountains, and it is the departed who were
is the preconceptual “feel” of an environment that decreases
thought to push the clouds backwards and forwards across
in security the further one is away from a home base. What
the sides of the great Wahgi Valley, allowing for the sun and
Peter Lawrence (1984) has described as the “security circle”
moon to be seen, or not. The spirit powers, in any case, in-
usually consists of a cluster of hamlets, or lineages dwelling
cluding harmful place spirits (Tok Pisin: masalai) were basi-
close enough to constitute a clan. Each clan worked inherited
cally environal, or largely horizontal in relation to humans,
land available for gardening, in proximity to blood-related
being “out there” rather than above or below.
clans that made up an acephalous tribal complex. The jural
group and the political executive were at the clan level, and
In the Austronesian Weltanschauungen of Polynesia and
religious ceremonies were put on by clans, albeit sometimes
Micronesia, therefore, one may expect cosmogonic narratives
simultaneously, even together with others. Security dimin-
in which levels of the universe are given their places. In
ished as one passed into bushland that separated tribes, into
Maori myth (of Aotearoa/New Zealand), to illustrate, Rangi
tribal areas that were neighboring and often hostile to one’s
(heaven) and Papa (earth) were in an inextricable embrace
own, and then on into swamps, deep forests, and across rivers
until Tanemahuta, god of forests, birds, and insects, and one
and mountains where powerful spirits dwelt or where one be-
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came a truly vulnerable stranger. The spirit world generally
What of planes of existence? In a strange, broken line
manifested at “ground level,” and encounters with problem-
from mountainous Enga country down to the swamplands
atic masalai and ghosts were expected if wild areas were tra-
of the Fly River Delta, there are notions of the sky people
versed. Fears of such encounters often relate to assumptions
and sky villages. Among the Enga a special class of beings
about defensible territory. Ghosts connected to other tribal
(the yalyakali) are thought to occupy the sky realm, yet their
areas would be presumed to be highly inimical to outsiders.
appearance in the lives of humans is almost always connected
In the case of the Papuan Highland Fuyughe, notions of any
to a change in material existence—a special opportunity in
roundabout raids on enemy hamlets were forestalled by be-
hunting, for instance. In the Roku (western Trans-Fly) area,
liefs that each tribe was protected by sila (place spirits in the
the dead are supposed to live in the sky, yet again their capac-
form of huge serpents), beings who dwelt in the mountain
ity to act as conduits of material blessing on earth is the para-
overshadowing each tribal territory and who were ready to
mount point. Rocks, for example, are not found in Roku ter-
destroy any trespassers.
rain, yet the Roku dead are imagined to create them and then
send them to the beginning of those trade routes in the West,
It is not that the sense of transcendence was completely
whence they arrive to fulfil a material need.
absent from Melanesian traditional religions. Among the
Enga, for instance, to the west of the New Guinea Highland
In Melanesia, indeed, one even finds such concrete in-
Wahgi and in a society comparably preoccupied with the aid
teractions with spirit beings that some of them can only be
of the ancestors, one finds talk of an apparent “high god”
brought into being by human actions and others are discard-
Aitawe. While Aitawe sustains all things, however, he re-
ed when their purpose has been served. The war god called
ceives barely any ritual attention and does not figure in the
Kakar among the Murik Lakes tribes (at the mouth of the
religious foreground—in the Tee festival (for the ceremonial
Sepik), for example, is only brought to life when the carved
prestation of pigs), initiations, even rites to avert crises. This
war clubs that “constitute” him are put in a line. The accou-
relative inattention to “overarching” deities is typical of Mel-
trements signifying the ancestral being known as the Sir
anesia. If there are creator gods, they often put the basic envi-
Ghost among the Manus (New Guinea Islands) are taken
ronment in place and let other beings—often “culture he-
from rafters and thrown into the sea once the head of a
roes”—show creativity thereon (as with Anut of the Sor,
household dies and takes on the role of a new Sir. Whereas
Sengam, and related coastal Madang peoples), or, like the bi-
in the wider Pacific, spiritual presences tend to be more con-
sexual sky deity Ugatame of the Irian Jayan Kapauka, they
fined to worship areas or open-faced meeting houses (such
set a “predetermining scheme of things” (ebijata) but do
as the elaborately carved whare whakairo among the Maori),
nothing to police it. On the other hand, creative deities’ orig-
in Melanesia such presences extend to the poles and rafters
inal acts can be forgotten so that instead what comes to the
of houses’ interiors (whether communal or familial). The
fore is their role of bringing succor in war or their close-to-
spiritual energy in these poles is in various cultures conceived
hand sanctions against delicts—as with Yabowahine for
as a protective shield against sorcery, the fear of which is
Goodenough and Bonarua Islanders respectively (in the East
more prevalent in Melanesia than elsewhere in Oceania.
Papuan Massim cultural complex).
Moreover, whereas in Austronesian languages terms for
spirits are more indicative than symbolic, many non-
Powers that are high above are likely to be “brought
Austronesian languages nuance the natural environment in
down” in Melanesia to have special connections to a people’s
highly subtle ways. The Southern Highland Foi, for exam-
very ground, and any conceived high planes of existence were
ple, “feel” damp places and valleys as feminine, while dry
made quite comparable to the human one. Thus, among the
spots and high, airy terrain intimate masculinity (a dichoto-
Southern (Papua New Guinea) Highland Huli, the sun is
my familiar in Chinese sensibilities).
Ni, one of two cosmic brothers, but it is more important that
he looks over Huli territory (from the Huli point of view not
Cosmological differences can be expected to bear impli-
staying long to watch anywhere else) and that he laid his
cations for pictures of afterlife states. In the main, admitted-
“eggs,” shiny smooth black stones revealed in ritual and sig-
ly, the other world is expected to be an extension of the living
nifying the protection of tribes. At the same time the most
community and to hold all of those who are deceased,
powerful spirits for the Huli dwelt in caves, and certain sa-
whether good or bad, so long as their “soul” or “spirit” is re-
cred cave sites (gebeanda) became the focus of more than one
leased in funerary rites or their journey to the place of the
tribe. Whereas in the wider Pacific places of worship suggest
dead made without mishap. Thus, for the coastal Papuan
“open spaces,” with stone platforms and fenced arenas more
Roro those whose spirits reach the eastern horizon have been
than impressive temples being the key architectural feature,
individuals escaping some traumatic, sudden death. A sur-
Melanesia is famous for preoccupation with eerie “natural”
prise attack from behind by an enemy, or being taken to
shrines (such as caves and crevices), to which offerings will
one’s death by a crocodile, prevented this blessing, condemn-
be brought with the utmost caution, or with temples that
ing the deceased to the state of an angry wandering ghost
bear darkened interiors and contain hidden, awesome para-
near the place of the sad incident. In the belief of the Rai-
phernalia of a cult deity or else the trophies (oftentimes
ateans of Tahiti, for a Polynesian case, whether the dead went
skulls) of the ancestors’ previous victories.
to the realm of Light (Ao) or Darkness (Po) simply depended
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on whether the soul perched itself on the right rock of final
ing ancestors, even Jesus in his Second Coming (as inferred
departure or not. Culturally between, on the (Austronesian)
from mission teaching). The stress in such cults is on materi-
Papuan Muju Island, admission to “the Isle of the Blest”
al prosperity and tangible riches, reflecting Melanesian hori-
(Tum) came only through precariously balancing on the
zontal cosmologies. Prophets (konoors) among the Biakese,
great serpent Motetutau who took one there and by showing
to illustrate, proclaimed access to Koreri, and in the context
two special lines of tattooing to get around the hag guarding
of the Second World War members of a makeshift army pro-
this (horizontally placed) “heaven.”
testing against the Japanese believed that the magical touch
of eternity made them invulnerable to foreigners’ bullets.
Only occasionally do ethical dimensions show up in vi-
Other, comparable protest actions in Melanesian occurred
sions of post-mortem conditions. The Micronesian Wuvulu
in the hope that guns would be included in the cargo to drive
hold that each hamlet is guarded by puala-spirits whose reac-
tions to human behavior are interpreted by priests. The puala
colonial intruders from their land.
send bad people down to Mani Pino Pino directly below
In new religious movements of the wider Pacific, by
each settlement, where waste drips down and evildoers live
comparison, we find prophets presenting themselves as me-
in agony eating snakes and lizards, until the puala grant
diators between heaven and earth, even if the same Protestant
mercy and bring them up to the wonderful villages of the
and cargoist themes can also be found. In the context of the
dead. If cases like this in Melanesia have horizontally placed
second Maori War (1864–1865), for example, with so-called
purgatories—the Papua coastal Motu naming two islands
Hauhau “extremists” also taking themselves to be impervious
where malefactors have to work off the punishments they de-
to British firepower, the prophet Marire reassured his follow-
serve—a few of them project more vertical images. The
ers of Gabriel’s message that fallen fighters would be “glori-
Southern Highland Erave, for instance, speak of a red place
fied” and “stand on the roof of clouds.” The message of the
in the sky—a kind of Valhalla—receiving those who die on
freelance missionary Siovili of Eva on Samoa (1840s) was
the field of battle (and those women supporting them), while
that he had direct access to the “Great Spirit” above and that
a brown place of estrangement on earth level awaits the rest.
a cargo ship would arrive, not over an ordinary horizon, but
The general cosmological polarity suggested in the
from “the King of the Skies.” In the following century, when
above survey can be accepted only as a useful heuristic devise,
a new sect sprang up on Onotoa in the southern Gilberts
certainly not as a watertight generalization. The honoring of
(Kiribati), the leader Ten Naewa promised that God himself
the (sculptured) ancestor chiefs of Polynesia’s Easter Island,
would descend directly to the island, and later announced
or Rapanui, for example, and the Orongo bird cult that de-
himself to be “father of God” and his close protectors,
veloped more recently in the island’s history, did not inti-
“Swords of Gabriel.” The contrasting cosmological tenden-
mate transcendental or vertical conceptions; while some
cies detectable in such movements now continue behind dif-
groups of Melanesia’s north Papuan Orokaiva conceived of
ferent ecclesiastical and theological styles as Christianity con-
Asisi as a God high above humans, with the ancestors medi-
solidates in the region.
ating in between. On the balance of the evidence, moreover,
the smaller the scale of the culture in the Pacific, the less like-
SEE ALSO Caves.
ly social hierarchy and a tiering of the cosmos will appear re-
inforcing each other, and the more special features of the
B
landscape will call for sacralization or beckon ritual atten-
IBLIOGRAPHY
tion. One litmus test here would be caves, which are not uni-
Bennardo, Giovanni, ed. Representing Space in Oceania: Culture in
Language and Mind. Canberra, 2002.
formly doors to the underworld in Polynesia and Austrone-
sian cultures. In Melanesia, however, whether on land or
Goldman, Irving. Ancient Polynesian Society. London, 1970.
under water, they are most likely to be entrances to mysteri-
ous treasure or material blessing. Famous stories in this latter
Goodenough, Ward. Under Heaven’s Brow: Pre-Christian Religious
Tradition in Chuuk. Memoirs of the American Philosophical
connection concern Manamakeri, of the Biak-Numfor cul-
Society 246. Philadelphia, 2000.
tural complex (Irian Jaya), a hero who reveals that the access
to eternal life and permanent material blessing (koreri) is
Handy, Craighill. Polynesian Religion. Bernice P. Bishop Museum
under the ground; and also Edai Siabo, who found the secrets
Bulletin 34. Honolulu, 1927.
to generate the Hiri trade expeditions (of coastal Papua)
Lawrence, Peter. The Garia: An Ethnography of a Traditional Cos-
when diving into the depths of the sea.
mic System in Papua New Guinea. Melbourne, 1984.
Islander movements in response to outside intrusions
Moore, Albert. Arts in the Religions of the Pacific. London, 1997.
and colonialism have reflected the tendencies here being
plotted. Among the most famous new religious movements
Swain, Tony, and Garry Trompf. Religions of Oceania. Library of
in the colonized world are the Melanesian cargo cults. In
Religious Beliefs and Practices. London, 1995.
these, the followers of “prophet-visionaries” are convinced
Trompf, Garry. Melanesian Religion. Cambridge, U.K., 1991.
that European-style commodities—from tinned meat to au-
tomobiles—will arrive in abundance at the hands of return-
GARRY W. TROMPF (2005)
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COSMOLOGY: INDIGENOUS NORTH AND
that allows a people to communicate with the different
MESOAMERICAN COSMOLOGIES
realms. Because each form of communication is specific to
There are relatively few generalizations that can legitimately
a people, many different cosmic centers—and accordingly,
be made about Native American cosmology as a whole. Per-
cosmologies—must coexist.
haps the most important, if apparently contradictory gener-
It is in this general cosmographic context that we may
alization, is that all cosmologies are local. In other words,
consider two indigenous histories. For the Zuni case, we turn
each people, each nation, each pueblo, each city maintains
to the year 1896 and the newly initiated state of New Mexi-
its own cosmos. On some level, then, to understand Native
co. At this time, the Zuni pueblo in question consisted of
American cosmology as a whole one must comprehend a
a few thousand people occupying multi-room adobe houses
multiplicity of individual Native American cosmologies.
and dependent on rainfall irrigation of agricultural crops. So-
There are scholarly works that provide an overview of Native
cial life was organized by clans, each of which had specific
American cosmology through broad surveys of the various
roles in Zuni ritual life. From among these clans, a council
traditions. Some of these books are mentioned at the end of
of A’shiwanni, or rain priests, would select a pe’kwin, or sun
this essay, but no such endeavor is attempted here. Instead,
priest, charged with maintaining the ritual calendar for all
the intent here is to blend conventional scholarly methods
Zunis. Although a religious leader of his people, the pe’kwin
with indigenous methods of communicating cosmological
was elected and so was subject to removal from office should
knowledge in order to give the reader a substantive yet con-
he not fulfill his duties.
cise sense of the character of Native American cosmology.
Such a case transpired shortly before the appointment
Rather than selecting traditional narratives that are in-
of a new pe’kwin in 1896. A severe drought had brought suf-
tended to symbolize all Native American cosmologies, we
fering to the Zuni pueblo, and the Shi’wano’kia (“Priestess
turn to two specific indigenous histories. In both cases, we
of fecundity”) placed the blame for the failed crops on the
will see how calendric and astronomical practices reflect cos-
incumbent pe’kwin (Stevenson, 1970, p. 108). A trial of sorts
mological views. The first story comes from a late-
was held, accusations of sorcery were leveled, and the pe’kwin
nineteenth-century Zuni pueblo; the second from the Late
was removed from office. Matilda Coxe Stevenson described
Classic Maya city of Copán. Although separated by over a
the succeeding events as follows:
thousand miles and a thousand years, these two events pro-
He was impeached and removed and, after much dis-
vide insight into the means by which Native American cos-
cussion, a young man of the Raven division of the Dog-
mologies might be conceptualized as representing a single
wood clan was selected to fill the place. The
Native American cosmology.
Kia’kwemosi dispatched the elder and younger brother
Bow priests to make the announcement to the chosen
For Native Americans, the universe is generally consid-
party. The mother, who was present, wept bitterly and
ered to consist of three realms. The region below the surface
begged her son not to accept the position, saying to the
of the earth comprised the lower world. The region above
elder brother Bow priest: “He is so young, and he might
the reach of the highest trees constitutes the upper world.
make some mistake, and then perhaps he would be con-
The region in between is, approximately, the middle world.
demned as a sorcerer.” The mother’s grief touched the
There is a further “division” of the cosmos based on the
heart of the son, and he declined the honor which he
movements of the upper realm’s inhabitants, the most im-
most earnestly desired to attain. Another meeting of the
portant of which is the sun. Frequently this division is corre-
A’shiwanni was held, when a man of the Macaw divi-
lated to the concept of the four cardinal directions. Native
sion of the Dogwood clan was chosen, and in due time
American conceptualizations, however, explicitly tie these di-
he was installed in his high office. (Stevenson, 1970,
p. 166)
rections to the reference frame of the sun’s motion: east is
associated with the sun’s entry into the sky; west with the
This new pe’kwin did find himself in a predicament shortly
sun’s entry into the Underworld; north is the right hand of
after being installed. The Shi’wano’kia questioned whether
the sun; and south the left hand of the sun.
he had correctly set the ritual calendar, which required an
accurate identification of the summer solstice. Fortunately
All three levels of the cosmos are inhabited by different
for the young pe’kwin, the council of rain priests discussed
entities. Most entities make a single realm their permanent
the case and came down in favor of his calculations.
home, but some entities have the ability to move between
realms, or at least communicate across “boundaries.” Within
The above story provides an entry into Zuni cosmology,
this cosmography, time is controlled by the members of the
for it tells us that “natural” phenomena were ultimately sub-
upper realm. Generalizations about the role of the Under-
ject to “social” determination. From the “modern,” “scientif-
world in Native American cosmologies are more difficult to
ic” point of view the date of the summer solstice is in the
make, although it is most frequently considered to be the
realm of observable fact; there is really no discussion re-
abode of deceased human beings. The deceased, or ancestors,
quired: either the sun was at astronomical solstice, or it was
often play active roles in the lives of the “living,” but the pre-
not.
cise roles vary according to the tradition and the era. In each
But there is obviously more to it in the Zuni case. For
tradition, however, there is some ritually maintained center
one thing, Zuni astronomy itself is of necessity partly based
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2009
on interpretation given the inaccuracy of naked-eye observa-
the sun’s course, would not have supported his case. The
tion, and their mathematical model of the sun’s course. De-
point is that the pe’kwin was forced to intimately know his
termining when the summer solstice has arrived by observing
environment—physical, ecological, religious, and social—in
the sunrise is difficult, given that the sun appears to rise over
order to maintain the livelihood of the pueblo.
the same geographical feature along the horizon for a period
A similar set of negotiations can be observed in the his-
of approximately four days (Zeilik, 1985, p. S17). It is up
tory of another indigenous polity—although this consisted
to the priest to determine on which of these four days the
of some 30,000 people and thrived some one thousand years
sun “changed its course,” a determination based in turn on
earlier. At the Classic Maya city of Copán, during the sev-
computation and other solar observations. An element of ar-
enth century CE, the twelfth ruler of the dynasty, or ajaw,
bitrariness is thus inherent in the setting of the calendar.
found himself and his city at a moment of opportunity.
Moreover, the process of setting the date of summer sol-
Through alliances with its nearest neighbors, and likely prof-
stice had direct impact on the ceremonial life of the pueblo.
iting greatly from trade goods that passed from the south
Namely, harvests and ceremonies were set by the solar calen-
into the Mayan region, this city experienced a boom in pros-
dar, and that calendar was initiated with the observation of
perity. Undoubtedly this caused tensions among the local
the summer solstice by the pe’kwin. Zuni ceremonial life,
nobility, and the archaeological record provides us with a
then, was intimately tied to the agricultural cycle and to agri-
demonstration of Ruler 12’s efforts to ameliorate the con-
cultural productivity, and thus, in turn, to the survival of the
flicts and generate a cohesion that would maintain the health
pueblo. A poor agricultural yield was thought to result from
of the polity in the face of rapid change. A quick review of
problems in the relationship between the gods and the popu-
these efforts demonstrates an overlap in cosmological con-
lace. The pe’kwin was the mediator, so in the end, he was
ceptions between the Copánec and Zuni cases that will aid
held accountable.
us in characterizing indigenous views of the universe.
The Zuni gods were neither entirely benevolent nor en-
During the middle of the Classic period, the twelfth
tirely malicious. Some, in fact, seemed to randomly switch
ajaw had begun building up the monumental architecture
back and forth between reasonableness and juvenile mischief.
of Copán systematically. He did not restrict his focus to the
The pe’kwin had the difficult job of navigating these mood
civic-ceremonial center, however, but also built monuments
swings to obtain the best possible results for his people. It
among the foothills framing the Copán Valley. These outly-
was his job to read the clues wherever he might find them,
ing monuments (known as stelae) were critical to maintain-
and to lay a course accordingly. The setting of the ritual cal-
ing order among the local nobility and populace.
endar comprised an assessment on the pe’kwin’s part of both
The stelae themselves are unremarkable artistically rela-
the capriciousness of the gods and the needs of his communi-
tive to the far more elaborate monuments raised in the city
ty. The ambiguity inherent in the setting of the date of the
center. They were carved with long hieroglyphic texts, but
summer solstice allowed for flexibility and adjustments to
did not bear mythological iconography, or a royal portrait
compensate for whatever set of circumstances the pe’kwin
as did their counterparts. In fact, their placement was far
perceived.
more important than the textual message they carried. That
Furthermore, when the Shi’wano’kia in the story above
is, the stelae had been raised in locations that would allow
suggested that sorcery might have been the source of the
for a marking of the sun’s transit along the horizon. In
pe’kwin’s poor guidance, numerous allegations from the pop-
Copán the reasons for observing the sun’s movements were
ulace supported this claim. This tells us that there was a con-
different than they were in the Zuni pueblo mentioned
current social negotiation underlying the pe’kwin’s responsi-
above. The stelae did not mark the summer solstice; instead,
bilities. When the Shi’wano’kia relieves the old pe’kwin of his
stelae alignments pointed toward a more detailed integration
duties and suggests a replacement, she is setting up a social
of sky, earth, and Underworld mediated by Mayan calendrics
dynamic that affects her people. Namely, if the drought that
(Aldana, 2002, pp. S29–S39).
had begun in the time of the former pe’kwin were to contin-
To understand this point, we must first recall that each
ue, the people could still blame it on his ill practices. If, on
of the Mayan calendric components—the Long Count, the
the other hand, agricultural yield increased, then the new
365-day count, and the 260-day count—shared a basis in the
pe’kwin could be hailed as the reason for the renewed agricul-
number twenty. The Long Count tallied days according to
tural production. Either way, the psychological health of the
accumulations of twenty-day periods; the 365-day year was
community is maintained, either through a release of griev-
comprised of 18 months of 20 days each (with one final peri-
ances—with the old pe’kwin as the scapegoat—or through
od of 5 days); and the 260-day count was based on the rela-
the creation of a new focus for community optimism—the
tionship of 13 numbers to 20 day signs. Not surprisingly,
new pe’kwin who is seen as righting the course.
then, the stelae at Copán were set up to observationally and
We must be careful, however, to note that this does not
mathematically partition the year into 20-day periods (Al-
imply that the job of the pe’kwin was strictly political. If his
dana, 2002, pp. S29–S39; Aveni, 1980, p. 243).
calculations of the sun’s movements were significantly in
What made this more than a simple astronomical curi-
error, for example, the rain priests, who were also observing
osity was that these monuments were set up in the foothills
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COSMOLOGY: SOUTH AMERICAN COSMOLOGIES
framing the Copán Valley, among the lands occupied by the
Aldana, Gerardo, and William L. Fash. “Art, Astronomy, and
commoners in Copánec society. Furthermore, the specific
Statecraft of Late Classic Copán.” Forthcoming in a collec-
hillocks on which the stelae were placed appear to have held
tion of papers presented at “Science, Art, and Religion in the
sacred associations for the various lineages that comprised
Maya World,” a conference at Copán, Honduras, July 14,
Copán nobility (Proskouirakoff, 1973; Aldana and Fash,
2001.
2001). Given the explicit records of Ruler 12’s forged alli-
Aveni, Anthony F. Skywatchers. Austin, Tex., 2001. Revised and
ances with nearby polities, and his need to manage a rapidly
updated edition of Skywatchers of Ancient Mexico (Austin,
growing city, we may see a parallel between his position and
Tex., 1980).
that of the Zuni pe’kwin: both sought to meet the social and
Irwin, Lee. The Dream Seekers: Native American Visionary Tradi-
economic needs of their people through observing the activi-
tions of the Great Plains. Norman, Okla., 1994.
ties of celestial deities and by mediating between these deities
Proskouirakoff, Tatiana. “The Hand-Grasping-Fish and Associat-
and the human world. Namely, the twelfth ajaw drew to-
ed Glyphs on Classic Maya Monuments.” In Mesoamerican
gether the various noble clans of Copán by ritually connect-
Writing Systems: A Conference at Dumbarton Oaks, October
ing socially affiliated geographic regions through the move-
30th and 31st, 1971, edited by Elizabeth P. Benson,
ments of the sun. Because the sun was itself rhetorically tied
pp. 165–178. Washington, D.C., 1973.
to the legitimacy of Classic Mayan rulership, Ruler 12 was
Stevenson, Matilda Coxe. The Zuñi Indians. New York, 1970.
creating a cosmic metaphor: just as the sun set the order of
Originally published in the Twenty-Third Annual Report of
the celestial realm, so would Ruler 12 set the order in the so-
the Bureau of American Ethnology (Washington, D.C., 1905).
cial realm.
Sullivan, Lawrence E., ed. Native American Religions: North Amer-
Furthermore, the stelae were public and outside of the
ica. New York and London, 1989.
city center, making the observation of this celestial order
Sullivan, Lawrence E., ed. Native Religions and Cultures of Central
available to all members of the polity. Here, then, the Copán
and South America. New York, 2002.
ajaw was using astronomy to present a model of order to his
Zeilik, Michael. “The Ethnoastronomy of the Historic Pueblos
polity in order to ameliorate the tensions that arose from eco-
(1): Calendrical Sun-Watching.” Archaeoastronomy 16, no. 8
nomic change. The recurrent rise of the sun behind the stelae
(1985): 1–24.
on prescribed days exemplified the order that ideally should
GERARDO ALDANA (2005)
govern the city of Copán.
In the case of the ancient Mayan city, we see the elabora-
tion possible in a large polity, whereas the Zuni case shows
COSMOLOGY: SOUTH AMERICAN
us the intimacy of life in a smaller pueblo. Each case, howev-
COSMOLOGIES
er, reflects a specific example of a number of concurrent ne-
The complex spatial and temporal constructions of South
gotiations taking place in indigenous cosmological spaces.
American cosmologies, and the values associated with them,
An orientalizing view of these native cultures might divide
allow only the broadest of generalizations. Vertical structures
the Native American cosmos into realms whose separation
of the universe vary widely in composition from three-layer
had some physical meaning. We have seen here, however,
arrangements to massive twenty-five layer compositions in-
that an indigenous view of the universe requires a different
habited by a great variety of beings. In general, the upper
type of categorization. Rather than think of the sky, the
worlds are associated with the creative and life-renewing
earth, and the Underworld as three physical realms, we may
forces of light, lightness, and liquids (river, lakes); the under-
now see them as three social realms, or three polities that re-
worlds, associated with places of darkness, the netherworlds
quire the same types of negotiations within and across them
of the dead, and animal spirits; and this world, the center of
as do human polities. In the above cases, the sun played a
the universe, associated with human life. Different kinds of
particularly important role in the negotiation of what mod-
space and places of being in the universe are systematically
ern society would characterize as political and economic is-
associated with one another so as to constitute a whole. Hori-
sues. In indigenous terms, we might better conceptualize the
zontal space highlights the center (or centers), associated
negotiation as one between the sky clan and the human clan,
with a wide variety of images (cosmic trees, mountains, wa-
with the ruler/pe’kwin as the mediator. Cosmology thus be-
terfalls, ladders, vines) symbolizing communication between
comes the description of personalities and of the relation-
spatial planes; the periphery, or outer margin, which often
ships among them. In this context, the “laws of nature” can
expresses in inverted form key values of the center; and a vari-
be seen as contracts among clans or lineages—contracts the
ety of mediating elements, openings, and penetrations con-
leaders of communities are charged with maintaining under
necting inner and outer realms. The places where sacred be-
varying conditions.
ings first appear often become models for innumerable
spatial constructs.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Aldana, Gerardo. “Solar Stelae and a Venus Window: Science and
Such spatial constructions are intrinsically dynamic. For
Royal Personality in Late Classic Copán.” Archaeoastronomy
example, the Kogi (contemporary descendants of the ancient
Supplement 33, no. 27 (2002): 29–50.
Chibchan-speaking Tairona of the Sierra Nevada area of Co-
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COSMOLOGY: SOUTH AMERICAN COSMOLOGIES
2011
lombia) universe consists of nine different levels, from zenith
and justifies the present. The geography of the region is dot-
to nadir, and is shaped like a spindle, centered on the all-
ted with sites where mythic actions unfolded; the ceremonies
important vertical axis. Like an immense whirling spindle,
are explained by the initiative of mythic beings; the world
the universe weaves life from its male (central shaft) and fe-
is peopled by immortal beings that go back to the origin of
male (whorl) elements, spinning the thread from which the
the world; and the creators of humanity still live in a specific
universe’s fabric is woven. The beam of sunlight which, dur-
place in the region. In short, myth exists as a temporal—but,
ing the year, is cast onto the floor of the Kogi temples is con-
above all, a conceptual—reference.
sidered to be the pattern of life woven by the sun in the uni-
The primordial making of humans, according to upper
verse. A highly respected class of priests, the mama, during
Xingu mythology, was the work of a demiurge who gave life
some eighteen years of training, learn the lore and practice
to wooden logs placed in a seclusion compartment by blow-
necessary to maintaining yuluka (harmony or balance) in the
ing tobacco smoke over them. Thus were created the first
universe as the “law of the mother.” The essence of their task
women, among whom was the mother of the twins, Sun and
is to turn back the sun when it threatens to burn the world,
Moon, archetypes and authors of present-day humanity. In
or to avert rain when it threatens to flood it. The cardinal
homage to this woman, the first festival of the dead was cele-
directions of the universe are associated with colors, emo-
brated, which is the most important festival of the Upper
tions, animals, mythical beings, the ideal village-plan, the
Xingu and which thus consists of a reenactment of the pri-
structure of the temple with its four ceremonial hearths, the
mordial creation, at the same time it is the privileged mo-
four principal clans, and so on. The center of space is where
ment for public presentation of the young women who have
the mama communicate with divinity.
recently come out of puberty seclusion. Thus, it is a ritual
South American cultures recognize multiple types and
that ties together death and life—the girls who come out of
units of time independently of chronological history. Cos-
seclusion are like the first humans, mothers of men.
mic, meteorological, and sonic cycles, the seasonal ripening
of fruits, the appearance of animal species, and so on, all rep-
The first humans were thus made in a seclusion cham-
resent different modes of time. Festival rounds, ordered in
ber. The wooden girls were transformed into people after
calendric cycles, maintain the order of the universe, reenact-
being closed up in straw compartments similar to those that
ing the mythic events that created temporal order in the first
shelter adolescents in their parents’ house. Echoing this myth
place. In these rounds, distinct cycles of time are interwo-
of origin, the making of the person in the upper Xingu in-
ven—solar and lunar, seasonal, flowering cycles, cycles of
volves various periods of seclusion, all of which are conceived
song and sounds, the human life cycle, and periodic manifes-
of as moments for making the body: the couvade (restrictions
tations of emotions and colors. Ritual music, above all, is the
imposed on married couples with newborn children), puber-
symbol of cosmic time, transforming spaces (dwellings, bo-
ty, sickness, shamanic initiation, and mourning. This mak-
dies, etc.) into dynamic containers of changing life. Ritual
ing of the person is also a process of modeling the ideal per-
drunkenness, combat and noise, all prominent aspects in reli-
sonality, above all in the case of puberty seclusion, the most
gious festivities, refer to temporal constructs rooted in the
important of all seclusions.
primordium and its demise.
A TRANSFORMATIONAL UNIVERSE. Two key notions for un-
One of the central motifs of cosmology among the in-
derstanding South American cosmologies are transformation
digenous peoples of the Upper Xingu of central Brazil is the
and perspective. Various ethnologists of Lowland South
difference between the original models of beings, present in
America, and also historians of religion, have noted the cen-
the myths, and their later renewals. For example, it is cus-
tral importance of the notion of transformation for indige-
tomarily said that the original pequi tree produced much
nous traditions. Peter Rivière, for example, in his article
larger fruits, with abundant pulp and small seeds; and that
“AAE na Amazônia” (1995), discusses the notions of trans-
the first flutes were aquatic spirits, but the one who discov-
formation as found in mythic narratives, cosmologies, and
ered them hid them, making wooden imitations, which
social practices. Human nature is seen as varied and complex,
never could reproduce the potent voice of the original. The
which is symbolically expressed through clothing, masks, and
first human beings were carved out of wood by the demiurge,
body ornaments, which are understood, in turn, as ways of
who also tried to bring them back to life; because he failed,
domesticating an “animal” component, which is essential to
irreversible death was then commemorated in the ceremony
human nature. Clothing and body decoration mediate be-
of the Kwarup, in which trunks of the same wood serve as
tween the interior self, society, and the cosmos. “The native
symbols for the dead. The twins Sun and Moon, beyond
peoples of Amazônia live in a highly transformational world,
being the modelers of the Indians of the upper Xingu, are
where appearances deceive” (p. 192).
also models for them, since the majority of their mythic ad-
In many creation myths—for example, those of the
ventures consists of the inaugural realization of practices that
Mbyá-Guarani, Desána, Xavante—creation blooms from the
were later adopted by humans: wrestling, scarification, and
thought, dream, or intention of the original divinity, but the
shamanism.
very notion of “blooming” implies a transformation of some-
Thus, myth is not only a collection of founding events
thing that already exists. Thus, creation is more of a self-
that were lost in the dawn of time; myth constantly guides
transformation than a creation, as in the Christian tradition.
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For example, in the Xavante traditions, the primordial be-
forms himself into an animal, given that the animals of nami
ings, through their powers, transform themselves into the
budi are metamorphosed spirits.
sun, moon, animals, and plants. They are able to do this be-
cause they possess the principles of manifestation of certain
For the Kulina, transformation refers to the process of
cosmological possibilities, which are contained in their onto-
modification of an animal into a person, while metamorpho-
logical nature. The primordial beings conjugate in their own
sis is the process of modification of a spirit into an animal.
nature the duality of being and becoming, for they manifest
This cycle of transformations is based on a system of opposi-
phenomenal beings (the sun, moon, animals, etc.) from their
tions that can be synthesized in the following manner: spirit/
own beings, but without losing their original nature.
metamorphosis; shaman/death; body/transformation; and
newborn/game animal. According to the cycle, an undomes-
Transformations were also critical for the introduction
ticated being, the newborn nono, represented by the forest
of periodicity, cyclicity, and differentiation in the universe.
(nature, male), is domesticated through the ingestion of
Many creation myths begin with the description of a prior
foods produced in the gardens through female substances
condition of stasis, which, due to the actions of the primordi-
(maternal milk and saliva), and through learning and under-
al beings, comes to an abrupt end, a watershed moment that
standing the myths and music, until it becomes a social
initiates change in the cosmos. In traditions of the Northwest
being. After passing through adult life, this social being—
Amazon, for example, night did not exist in the beginning;
maqquideje or jadahi—has two ways in which he may return
it was always day, and the routine of the creator was always
to nature, his origin: after death, when his spirit will go to
the same until, one day, his wife advised him that her father
nami budi, to the villages of his ancestors, being transformed
was the owner of night and that night was a good thing. The
into a game animal, or through the metamorphosis of the
creator sought night and ended up introducing night into
shaman into a wild animal (normally a peccary).
the world. From that moment of rupture, two cycles were
initiated, diurnal and nocturnal, each with its own order.
The shaman, assisted by his tokorimé (spirit, double,
image, normally the peccary), goes to nami budi, the place
Native views of the world are also defined by what
of the dead, and, by identifying his animal tokorimé with that
Viveiros de Castro (1996) has called perspectivism. According
of the other spirits of the dead metamorphosed into pecca-
to this theory, the way in which humans see animals and
ries, succeeds in bringing them to the surface, near the vil-
other subjective entities that populate the universe—gods,
lage, where they then will be, by indication of the shaman,
spirits, the dead, inhabitants of other levels of the cosmos,
hunted and later devoured. In the final cycle of transforma-
meteorological phenomena, and at times even objects and ar-
tions, the spirits are hunted and eaten by the living, which
tifacts—is profoundly different from the way in which these
suggests a kind of endocannibalism, but this is necessary in
beings see them and see themselves. “Typically, humans see
order for the spirit of the dead to be incorporated once again
humans as humans, animals as animals and spirits as spirits;
into the system of reciprocity, which it abandoned abruptly
the animals (predators), however, and spirits see humans as
upon dying. During this cycle, the physical undomesticated
animals (game), while game animals see humans as spirits or
body goes in the direction of the village, the world of socia-
as predatory animals. Further, the animals and spirits see
bility. The other part, the spiritual domesticated part, goes
themselves as humans” (p. 117). This perspectivism has pro-
in the direction of the forest, the savage undomesticated
found implications for the way in which indigenous peoples
world. There is a relation between the physical body and the
understand relatedness among the beings of the universe and
social world, as well as between the spiritual body and the
its dynamics.
world of nature, where the world of sociability is that of the
TRANSFORMATION AND METAMORPHOSIS IN THE LIFE
living, while the wild world of the forest is related to the spir-
CYCLE: THE KULINA. The Kulina are an Arawá-speaking
its, the dead. In this way, the spiritual domesticated body,
people of the Amazon region in Brazil. Their cosmography
in its highest degree, goes in the direction of the world of na-
defines spaces for the spirit beings, plants, human beings,
ture and returns as a physical wild body, through shamanic
and animals. This cosmography presupposes the existence of
practices or death—the transformations of each occurring in
layers and, in each layer, places. The layers are basically:
the extremities of each place.
meme (sky), nami (earth), and nami budi (below the earth).
RITUAL RELATEDNESS AND TRANSFORMATION: THE EN-
There is also dsamarini (the place of the water) and two other
AWENÊ NAWÊ. For the Enawenê Nawê, Arawak-speaking
differentiations of the sky that are infrequently mentioned.
peoples of southwestern Brazil, rituals are associated with
Human beings, animals, and plants live on nami, the
two categories of spirits: the Enore, spirits of the sky, and the
earth, while the spirits occupy the underworld, nami budi.
Yakairiti, spirits that live underground, in the hills, and in
The animals and game animals also live in nami budi, com-
generally inhospitable places. When an Enawenê Nawê gets
ing up to the earth to be hunted by the men. The shaman,
sick, he attributes his misfortune to the Yakairiti spirits,
when he drinks rami (ayahuasca) or through his dreams,
whom he believes are upset with something and are threaten-
makes contact with the world of nami budi, visiting the great
ing to take him to the other world. In the Ya˜kwa ritual, there
subterranean villages where the spirits live or bringing the an-
is a generalized exchange between humans and the Yakairiti
imals up to the surface, near the village. To do this, he trans-
spirits, enacted by ritual groups involving all the village in-
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habitants. Everything is done with the intent of satisfying the
we find myth cycles that recount the story of creation as the
desires of the Yakairiti, so that, on the one hand, they will
struggle between two brothers whose deeds set the frame-
have no reason to threaten life in the village and, on the
work and conditions for human society and individual desti-
other, to maintain the harmony of the world.
ny. One is associated with darkness, evil, and the creation of
plants and animals; the other with light, shamanism, and pa-
The Enawenê Nawê perform several rituals during the
tronage to humanity. These mythic struggles set the stage for
year: from January to July, the Ya˜kwa, and from July to Sep-
the unceasing warfare between kanaimà sorcerers (“dark sha-
tember, the Lerohi (both dedicated to the Yakairiti); in Oc-
mans” who specialize in violent killings) and piai (light) sha-
tober, the Saluma˜; and in November and December, every
mans. Similar sorts of dialectical tensions between the benev-
other year, the Kateoko˜ (dedicated to the Enore). The Ya˜kwa
olent and malevolent forces of the cosmos may be seen
is the longest and most important of the Enawenê Nawê ritu-
among the Warao of the Orinoco delta, the Baniwa of the
als. It begins with the harvest of the new corn and ends with
Northwest Amazon, and among many Tupian groups.
the planting of the collective manioc (cassava) garden. Each
of the nine Enawenê Nawê ritual groups—collectively
For the Tupian Cinta Larga of the Juruena River region
known as Ya˜kwa (and which, in reality, are the Enawenê
in Brazil, for example, the universe is seen through the prism
Nawê clans)—is associated with a specific group of Yakairiti
of unity. The creation myth is a detailed account of how
spirits. The Enawenê Nawê believe that the Yakairiti spirits
Gorá created human beings, members of different tribes who
are likewise organized in groups and inhabit a specific part
populate the region, and conferred on them specific identi-
of their traditional territory.
ties and characteristics. Animals, birds, and other living be-
ings were created through the transformation of human be-
To perform the Ya˜kwa, the groups divide into the Hari-
ings—some became jaguars, others tapirs, and so on, all
kare (hosts) and the Ya˜kwa (clans). The Harikare (or hosts)
through the work of Gorá. Gorá and other minor heroes of
are responsible for the organization of the ritual and have to
Cinta Larga mythology are responsible for all that is positive
fetch firewood, light the fires, and offer the food, while the
in the social and cultural universe. The counterpart of these
others (the Ya˜kwa) sing and dance on the plaza together with
beneficial acts of creation is a spirit called Pavu that inhabits
the Yakairiti. For a two-year period, one of the ritual groups
the forest and incarnates the dark side of existence. Pavu
is the main host and is in charge of the garden, making vege-
wanders through the forest in search of victims and, as soon
tal salt (an offering to the Yakairiti), and organizing the ritu-
as it comes upon a solitary hunter or anyone passing through,
al. At the beginning of the ritual, following mythical tradi-
it launches its mortal attack. No one can resist its power, and,
tions, a group of men and boys leave the village for a two-
from this encounter, victims get fever that is inevitably fol-
month fishing expedition, during which they construct a
lowed by death.
dam and set fish traps. The Enawenê Nawê believe that large
quantities of fish are provided by the Yakairiti in exchange
BIBLIOGRAPHY
for the vegetal salt they receive in the course of the ritual. On
Instituto socioambiental (Socio-Environmental Institute). Povos
returning to the village, the men and boys dress and adorn
indígenas no Brasil. Available in Portuguese and English at
themselves to represent (that is, transform into) the Yakairiti
http://www.socioambiental.org/website/povind. A basic,
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though incomplete, reference on indigenous peoples in
lage, at which time there occurs a mock battle between the
Brazil.
Harikare and the Yakairiti. After that, the Ya˜kwa and
Rivière, Peter. “AAE na Amazônia.” Revista de antropologia (Sa˜o
Yakairiti dance and play the flutes together. Each of the nine
Paulo, USP) 38, no. 1 (1995): 191–203. A brief but impor-
ritual groups plays instruments specific to the group. During
tant article highlighting the importance of the notion of
the course of the ritual, it is as though the Yakairiti become
transformation to South American cosmologies.
humanized, thus dramatizing the relation of ambivalence
Sullivan, Lawrence. Icanchu’s Drum: An Orientation to Meaning
and symbiosis that characterizes their coexistence with hu-
in South American Religions. New York, 1988. Outstanding
mans in the cosmos.
source on native South American religions by a historian of
religions. Examines the cosmogonies, cosmologies, anthro-
A VIOLENT UNIVERSE. In many native South American cos-
pologies, and eschatologies of native peoples across the conti-
mologies, there exists a dialectical tension between dark and
nent. Masterful work of interpretation of myths, rituals, and
light consciousness, manifest as two historically opposed
beliefs.
forces: witches, or predatory spirits that kill; and shaman
Viveiros de Castro, Eduardo. “Os pronomes cosmológicos e o per-
prophets, or priests, with direct access to the sources of cre-
spectivismo Ameríndio.” Mana 2, no. 2 (1996): 115–144.
ation. Both are represented symbolically in mythical con-
Classic article on Lowland South American Indian cosmolo-
sciousness and both are necessary, the traditions seem to say,
gy, defining key notions of perspectivism, multinaturalism,
to the dynamics of cosmological and historical existence, il-
and animism.
lustrating the point that dark and light, predatory killing and
Viveiros de Castro, Eduardo. A inconstância da alma selvagem e
curing, are complementary opposites rather than antagonis-
outros ensaios de antropologia. Sa˜o Paulo, 2002. Collection of
tic possibilities of the cosmos. Thus, among the Carib-
the author’s most influential articles in ethnology, including
speaking peoples of the region of the Guianas and Orinoco,
revised versions of articles on the Xingu rituals.
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2014
COSMOLOGY: HINDU COSMOLOGY
Whitehead, Neil. Dark Shamans: Kanaimà and the Poetics of Vio-
VEDIC SPACE. Following from above, the basic form of cos-
lent Death. Durham, N.C., 2002. Superb historical and cos-
mological space is the sacrificial arena. However, many of the
mological analysis of the Kanaimà complex (dark shaman-
Vedic gods, such as Agni, the fire god, have three different
ism) among Carib-speaking peoples of the Guyanas region
forms corresponding to the three Vedic realms. These
and Roraima in Brazil.
“realms” are not only spatial but can also be described as
Wright, Robin. Cosmos, Self, and History in Baniwa Religion: For
mental states of mind: loka, or world, in its earliest meanings,
Those Unborn. Austin, Tex., 1998. Monograph on the Bani-
can mean the “freedom to exist unimpeded” or “expansive-
wa peoples of the Northwest Amazon, focusing on cosmogo-
ness” as much as it can mean a physical location. Yet these
ny, cosmology, eschatology, and conversion to Protestant
three realms are not the only form of imagined space: at
evangelicalism.
death, the Vedic funeral hymns assert, the various elements
ROBIN M. WRIGHT (2005)
within a person are scattered to various parts of the natural
world. Alternatively the person can go to the realm of Yama,
the overlord of the dead.
COSMOLOGY: HINDU COSMOLOGY
VEDIC TIME. The sacrificial world understood time as a kind
of simple cycle in which the year, the months, and the day
Hindu tradition possesses one of the richest and most con-
are products of the work of the sacrifice. The passing of time
tinually evolving cosmologies in the global culture. From the
is also homologized with death, and in later periods both
most ancient Indian religious compositions, the Vedas, to
death and the year were created by Praja¯pati, the “Lord of
contemporary twenty-first-century Indian theories combin-
Creatures,” who also gave instructions about the correct pro-
ing science and religion, time and space have been lavishly
cedures of the sacrifice. If one sacrificed well and long
narrated and meticulously calculated. Moreover moral, so-
enough, one attained status oneself as an ancestor deity to
cial, and philosophical meanings underlie these cosmologies
be propitiated by other living sacrificers on earth. Therefore
in compelling ways.
once one attained this status, the Vedic texts express a wish
This article will focus on six major frames for Hindu
to avoid a “re-death.” In addition Vedic texts show a high
cosmology: the Vedic, Upanis:adic, epic, Pura¯n:ic, non-
awareness of the motion and rhythm of the sun, moon, and
Sanskritic, and contemporary scientific-philosophical. Al-
stars and imagine them in a variety of colorful ways: the sun
though through the millennia Hindu thinkers have dramati-
as a horse crossing the sky in a chariot, night and the dawn
cally redrawn notions of time, space, and person, they also
as rivalrous sisters, and so on. There is evidence that astro-
share a wealth of common imagery: the reciprocal effects be-
nomical knowledge, such as the marking of the lunar aster-
tween natural and human affairs, the central idea of a cycle,
isms, might well have been fairly advanced, even at this early
and the divisions of space into particular realms and spheres.
stage of known religious history.
Each new cosmology does not completely replace the old but
stands alongside of it as yet another cosmological option.
VEDIC PERSON AND MORALITY. In one famous Vedic hymn
(R:gveda 10:90), which proved to be influential in a number
VEDIC COSMOLOGY. The Vedas and Bra¯hman:as are texts
of later Hindu schools of thought, the universe itself is un-
that existed before the idea of “Hinduism” per se emerged
derstood as a cosmic person (Purus:a). This Purus:a is sacri-
as a world religion. Present scholarly consensus puts the earli-
ficed in a primordial ritual procedure, and from parts of his
est date of the Vedas at 1500 BCE, but there remains debate
body emerge the various creatures of the earth, elements of
on the topic that might place the Vedas earlier. The
time and space, elements of the sacrifice, and most impor-
Bra¯hman:as are placed around 900 BCE. These texts were al-
tantly categories of the social world, called varn:a. These four
most entirely oral, guarded by the priestly Brahmanic tradi-
varn:as (brahmin priest; ks:atriya warrior; vai´sya agriculturalist
tion as the basic supporting texts of the sacrifice. The cos-
or trader; and ´su¯dra servant) become the basis of social orga-
mology of the Vedas speaks of the cosmos as Father Sky
nization expressed in later legal and religious texts. The
(Dyaus Pitr:) and Earth (Pr:thiv¯ı). In other texts the cosmos
model earthly Vedic person is one who studies the Vedas,
is divided into three realms: bhu¯r (earth), bhuvah: (air), and
sacrifices, and tends to the sacrificial fires and therefore be-
svah: (heaven). The sacrifice and not the gods is considered
comes ritually and morally responsible for the cosmos.
the source of time, space, and all things that make up the
universe. The Agnicayana, or the building of the fire altar,
And yet such a person is also a seeker. R:gveda 10:90 ends
as well as many other forms of sacrifice are viewed in the
with a philosophical paradox: “with the sacrifice the gods sac-
Bra¯hman:a texts as symbolic reconstructions of the cosmos.
rificed to the sacrifice.” This enigma also sets the tone for
Moreover the right placement of sacrificial implements and
much of Vedic cosmology: acceptance of multiple versions
correct chanting of mantras allows the unimpeded turning
of creation; Vedic cosmology is questioning and searching,
of the year, the months, and the seasons as well as the correct
not doctrinal or creedal in nature. One of the most famous
placement of the three realms. At times cosmological think-
cosmological hymns, the Nasad¯ıya hymn (R:gveda 10:129),
ing is so present and deeply assumed in Vedic texts that the
speaks of the world beginning from nothingness, where “the
“earthly realm” (as opposed to the other realms) is simply re-
One breathed, windless,” and then coming into existence
ferred to as iha, “here.”
through the power of heat. Desire is the primal seed, and the
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sages create by stretching a cord across the void. Yet even this
and the ancestors. However, it attributes, through etymolo-
spare, poetic cosmology ends with a query:
gies, different modes of being to each of the offerings and
Who really knows? Who will here proclaim it? Whence
each of worlds. In other passages the three-fold world is de-
was it produced? Whence is this creation? The gods
scribed in a progression of size from one to sixty-four, a nu-
came afterwards, with the creation of the universe. Who
merology that is recurrent in many later cosmological texts.
then knows whence it has arisen? . . . perhaps it
Finally, in other passages the three levels (bhu¯r, bhuvah:, svah:)
formed itself, or perhaps it did not—the one who looks
of the Vedic world are expanded into seven realms, many of
down on it, in the highest heaven, only he knows per-
the additional realms again connoting “modes of being”:
haps he does not know. (O’Flaherty, 1981, pp. 25–26)
mahas, janas, tapas (meditative heat), and satyam (truth).
UPANIS:ADIC COSMOLOGY. While the activity of sacrifice is
still presumed in the period of composition of the
The second kind of Upanis:adic space is the body itself.
Upanis:adic texts, the object of sacrificial knowledge is no
Each of the basic sacrificial procedures, present from the ear-
longer the actual procedures of the sacrifice or the gods per
liest Vedic ritual texts, becomes homologized with the indi-
se but a new force called brahman. Brahman is thought of
vidual breathing body as well as the world itself. In the
as the power behind the sacrifice, and as the Upanis:adic
Br:hada¯ran:yaka and other Upanis:ads the sacrificial fires are
thought developed, it was described as the power behind
seen as part of the inner workings of the body; the role of
every living thing and every element in the universe. Brah-
the Adhvaryu priest is identified with their eyes and the pro-
man is “the Whole” (Br:hada¯ran:yaka Upanis:ad 2:5) and tran-
cess of sight itself, and this sight can see the nature of the
scends even the gods. It also exists beyond all known things
whole world (Br:hada¯ran:yaka Upanis:ad 3:1:5). In other pas-
in this world, and yet is also present within them as well. It
sages it is not only the cosmology of the sacrifice that is given
is set apart from beings and yet dwelling within beings at the
to the body but also the cosmology of the entire world and
same time. This basic identification between the selves of be-
its topography. For instance, rivers of the world are identified
ings and brahman leads to the famous Upanis:adic equation
as the rivers contained within the body (Br:hada¯ran:yaka
that the self (a¯tman) is the same as the power behind the uni-
Upanis:ad 1:1:1; S´veta¯´svatara Upanis:ad 1:4:5), the eye of the
verse (brahman). As the sage Ya¯jn¯avalkya puts it, “The self
world is also the sight of the body (Cha¯ndogya Upanis:ad
within all is this self of yours.” The larger brahman is also
1:7:4), and so on.
spoken of as the a¯tman or “self” of the universe, thus giving
The third kind of Upanis:adic space is that of brahman
rise to the poetic nineteenth-century translation “the World-
itself. Brahman is also spoken of as a formulation of truth—a
Soul.”
truth that is to be attained by wise men and women who have
The earliest Upanis:ads probably originated around 600
practiced meditation and focused on the forest teachings for
to 500 BCE and were composed in prose. They shared a com-
a long time. Brahman is the highest object of the teachings
mon focus on many topics, such as the nature of brahman,
on hidden connections—an object rooted in austerity and
the nature of sacrificial speech and the verses, the various
the knowledge of the self (S´veta¯´svatara Upanis:ad 1:9). The
forms of breath, and the homologization of parts of the body
imagery here is not simply that of a truth to be attained but
to the powers in the universe. The teaching of the five fires
of an abode in its own right, where the sun never sets nor
as the essence of the major parts of the cosmos (e.g., fire as
rises (Cha¯ndogya Upanis:ad 3:11). Similarly other Upanis:ads
man, woman, and the three worlds) is especially distinctive
also describe brahman as a stainless realm (Pra´sna Upanis:ad
in these early prose compositions. The later Upanis:ads are
1.16) in its own right—a world of unending peace, an an-
composed in verse and develop the theme of brahman into
cient formulation that is heard in the heavenly abodes.
a theistic rather than monistic conception. They also focus
UPANIS:ADIC TIME: THE CYCLE OF BIRTH AND DEATH. One
on the idea of liberation through meditation. Both are
sees emerging in the Upanis:ads a theory of death and birth
themes common in later Pura¯n:ic cosmologies.
that is strikingly different than the Vedic sacrificial fear of
UPANIS:ADIC SPACE. Many of the Upanis:ads continue the
“re-death” (punarmr:tyu). The Upanis:ads contain the earliest
idea of the three worlds in the Vedas but add to this cosmolo-
records of what has been called sam:sa¯ra, or the endless cycle
gy an inner, more existential meaning. When the student
of birth and death, as well as moks:a, or the path that leads
A´svala asks how many oblations there will be, the sage
away from sam:sa¯ra. The story of Jaba¯la¯ is instructive on this
Ya¯jn¯avalkya responds that each oblation has its own modality
point (Cha¯ndogya Upanis:ad 3:4:1–4). Jaba¯la¯ is ashamed that
and is therefore connected to the specific world that shares
his native learning, gleaned at his father’s knee, is not suffi-
that modality. The oblations that flare will win the world of
cient in the court to which he travels. He must learn an en-
the gods, for the world shines that way. The oblations that
tirely new set of metaphors, in which each aspect of life
overflow (atinedante) will go to the world of the ancestors,
(man, woman, semen, food) is said to be identical with the
for that world is “over above” (ati). The oblations that lie
sacrificial fire. While such matters are not unusual for many
down (adhi´serate) will go to this human world, for that world
sections of the Upanis:ads, the subsequent section is startling-
is here below (adha).
ly new. Those whose conduct is good but who choose to
This imagery continues a basic cosmology that one sees
offer sacrifices in the village will go on the path of the moon
in earlier Vedic texts of the worlds of the gods, the fathers,
and be reborn accordingly. Those who choose the path of
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the forest and the knowledge of brahman will go on the path
new pantheon of gods, the triad of Vis:n:u, S´iva, and Brahma¯,
of the sun and leave this life altogether. And those whose
and the Dev¯ı, or goddess. These gods were probably part of
conduct is reprehensible will be reborn into a lesser, probably
the popular religious worlds of North India, even during the
repugnant womb. In other accounts the two paths are de-
period of Vedic sacrificial practice. However, as sacrificial
scribed as the path of the gods (devaya¯na) and the path of
practice waned and the patronage of temples increased, these
the father (pitr:ya¯na).
gods emerged as the larger, cosmological deities in their own
right. Devotion (bhakti) toward these deities is also an
UPANIS:ADIC PERSON AND MORALITY. Despite their varia-
emerging theme in the epics, in which the deity is seen as
tions, the Upanis:ads all share the concept of a cycle of infi-
the creator and sustainer of the universe. The body of the
nitely recurring births and deaths in which the nature of a
deity is the frame of the cosmos, and time (also an agent of
rebirth depends upon a person’s actions in life. The only way
the deity) moves beings toward their final state.
to escape this cycle of time is through knowledge of brah-
man, the infinite, which can be gained through slow and
At the basis of these ideas is an early Hindu philosophy
painstaking mastery of meditation under the guidance of a
called Sa¯m:khya, which means “counting.” In the sense that
teacher. Each Upanis:ad had a different method for teaching
its aim is to enumerate everything in the universe, it could
this knowledge, but all used the basic imageries of the sacri-
also be called a cosmology. According to Sa¯m:khya, the uni-
fice to show the ways in which bodily processes and processes
verse evolves from a feminine “natural matter” and becomes
of awareness allowed the student to conceive of the sacrifice
entangled with the masculine purus:a, which is an individual
as going on inside his body. In the Br:hada¯ran:yaka Upanis:ad
soul (and not to be confused with the earlier “cosmic per-
3:1:8–10, A´svala the hotr: (a priest trained in sacrifice and sac-
son”). Thus in these entanglements twenty-four “evolutes”
rificial recitation), asks Ya¯jn¯avalkya the teacher about how
emerge, including the senses and the elements. Sa¯m:khya is
many deities will be used by the Bra¯hman: priest to protect
the basis of the practice of Yoga, whereby the yogin gradually
the sacrifice that day. He answers, “One, the mind.”
extricates the soul from the evolutes of prakr:ti. After eight
Yajn¯avalkya argues that this is possible because the mind is
stages, the soul realizes its eternal nature and is no longer sub-
without limit, the all-gods are without limit, and the world
ject to the laws of action (karma) or transmigration
one gains by it is also limitless. Thus the deities become iden-
(sam:sa¯ra). Time, however, is not an agent in itself.
tified with mind itself—and by implication the Bra¯hman:
Sa¯m:khya’s ordering of the universe of prakr:ti is generally not
priest, the controller of the sacrifice, can earn his authority
hierarchical, although one text—the Yoga Bha¯s:ya—sees the
through the machinations of his own mind. Finally, in dis-
lower evolutes of prakr:ti as the hells and the higher ones as
cussing the hymns that are used in the sacrifice, A´svala asks
the heavens. The extrication of the soul from prakr:ti in the
what these hymns are with respect to the “self-body”
practice of Yoga is seen as the soul’s movement toward the
(a¯tman). Ya¯jn¯avalkya replies that the hymn recited before the
higher realms, and when it leaves the world altogether, it also
sacrifice is the out-breath, the hymn that accompanies the
dissolves it. On a smaller cosmological scale, Sa¯m:khya Yoga
sacrifice the in-breath, and the hymn of praise the inter-
philosophy contributes the basic idea that there are universal
breath.
qualities or “gun:as” inherent in every element on earth. These
gun:as are sattva (truth, light); rajas (passion, force) and tamas
The Br:hada¯ran:yaka Upanis:ad puts the relationship be-
(weight, darkness) are inherent in every particle of the uni-
tween self, body, and cosmos eloquently: “This self is the
verse.
honey of all beings, and all beings are the honey of this self.
The radiant and immortal person in the self and the radiant
EPIC SPACE. The epics and Dharma´sa¯stras and related texts
and immortal person connected with the body [here, also re-
of this period give an idea of how those heavens and nether-
ferred to as a¯tman]—they are both one’s self. It is the immor-
worlds might be inhabited. In the Maha¯bha¯rata, Arjuna vis-
tal; it is Brahman, it is the Whole” (2:5:9).
its S´iva and obtains a weapon from him in one of his heaven-
ly abodes; so too the gods dwelling in heaven remind Ra¯ma
EPIC COSMOLOGY. The two great Indian epics, the
of his duty toward his wife at the end of the Ra¯ma¯yan:a. The
Ra¯ma¯yan:a and the Maha¯bha¯rata, were probably composed
great Maha¯bha¯rata heroes, the Pan:d:ava brothers, also make
between 200 BCE and 200 CE. Both of these narratives act
ascents and descents to heaven and hell at the end of the great
as a kind of bridge between the worlds of the Vedas and the
battle. Most importantly it is during this transitional period
Upanis:ads and that of classical, Pura¯n:ic Hinduism. This
that one sees the intimation that the land of Bha¯rata is to be
same period saw the development of the early S´a¯stras or legal
identified with Indian civilization and the entirety of the
texts, which also contain cosmological information. The cos-
earth.
mology of the epics and the early S´a¯stras incorporates an in-
creasing systematization of the idea of samsaric time for the
EPIC TIME. The Bhis:maparvan of the Maha¯bha¯rata (4–12)
individual and expands the idea of the universe into one that
contains an entire depiction of the cosmos, which involves
dissolves and regenerates. Epic cosmology also incorporates
the beginnings of the devotional, or bhakti, tradition. So too
the ideas of Sa¯m:khya and Yoga philosophy, such as the
the S´antiparvan introduces the idea of the division of time
“qualities,” or gun:as, that are inherent in all beings and ele-
into kalpas and yugas, as does the Manu Smr:ti, one of the
ments in the universe. Such a cosmology involves an entirely
more well-known legal Dharma´sa¯stric texts developed dur-
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ing this time. The epic texts also introduce explicit teachings
The region of Jambudv¯ıpa that is the farthest north is
on the doctrine of the avata¯ras, or “descents” of god. These
called Uttarakuru and may well be Kuruks:etra, where the
avata¯ras appear at various points when time has lost its power
central battle of the Maha¯bha¯rata took place. Moving south-
to fight the demons and to restore the dharma, or moral
ward, one encounters the other vars:as: Hiranmaya, Ramyaka,
order, of the universe. As early as the great Bhagavadg¯ıta¯, or
Ketuma¯la, Ilavr:ta, Bhadra¯´sya, Harivars:a, Kim:purus:a, and
“Song of the Lord,” contained in the Maha¯bha¯rata, Kr:s:n:a
Bha¯rata. The final region, Bha¯rata, is assumed by many
apparently refers to the notion of time and to the integration
scholars to be India, as this is the same name for India in the
of the idea of the avata¯ra with that of the descending ages,
twenty-first century. In the Pura¯n:ic cosmograph, however,
or yugas. As Kr:s:n:a puts it:
it is a karmabhu¯mi, or realm where the laws of karma apply.
As such one can only attain moks:a, or liberation from these
Son of Bha¯rata, whenever there is a decline in dharma,
laws, in this region. Bha¯rata is also the only place on earth
and the absence of dharma increases, I create Myself. I
come into being from age to age with the purpose of
where rain falls. Bha¯rata itself is divided into nine sections.
fixing dharma—as a refuge for those who do good and
Moreover the celestial river Ganges also divides into seven
as a doom for those who do wrong. (4:7–8; in Patton,
branches—the traditional seven rivers found in ancient
2005)
Vedic texts.
EPIC PERSON AND MORALITY. Kr:s:n:a’s words lead directly
The full series of seven islands then begins with
to a new understanding of the relationship between cosmolo-
Jambudv¯ıpa, whose diameter is 100,000 yojanas.
gy and the morality of the human world. That relationship
Jambudv¯ıpa forms an actual circle with a radius of fifty thou-
is conceived of in terms of dharma (sacred role or duty).
sand yojanas. (A yojana is a word that occurs as early as the
Kr:s:n:a is beyond time and space and yet at the same time in-
R:gveda; it has been variously measured as two, four, five, or
carnates himself in order to make sure that dharma is in the
nine English miles, although it also has an etymological link
correct order and format. The cosmos is perceived as directly
to Yoga and yuga that makes its connotations metaphysical.)
responsive to any change in the correct pattern of dharma.
The rest of the ring-shaped islands are named as follows:
So too the reverse is the case: as one of the Dharma´sa¯stras
Plaks:adv¯ıpa, Sa¯lmaladv¯ıpa, Ku´sadv¯ıpa, Kraun:cadv¯ıpa,
argues, if one follows the dharma of hospitality toward a
S´a¯kadv¯ıpa, and Pus:karadv¯ıpa. All the islands are named after
brahmin guest, one can gain various heavens depending
some species of the trees and plants that grow on them. Each
upon the number of days the guest stays in one’s home. En-
concentric ring island is double the width of the previous
tertaining a brahmin guest forever allows one to attain svar-
one, so that the outermost, Pus:karadv¯ıpa, ends up with a
galoka.
width of 6.4 million yojanas. Finally, just as Jambudv¯ıpa is
P
divided into nine vars:as, or regions, of mountain ranges, so
URA¯N:IC COSMOLOGY. The medieval Hindu texts called
Pura¯n:as (“of the ancient times”) contain Hindu cosmology
too each of the five inner ring-shaped islands also is divided
at its most exuberant and efflorescent. Emerging during the
into seven mountain-range vars:as. The outer most island,
early first millennium
Pus:karadv¯ıpa, is delineated by a ring of mountains called
CE as a genre in their own right,
Pura¯n:as were sponsored by each temple or kingdom and usu-
Ma¯nassottara.
ally focused on a particular deity, which gave its own account
The oceans that separate the ring islands from one an-
of the world and its destruction. In the Pura¯n:as, the basic
other have the same width as the diameter they surround,
themes introduced in the epics and the S´a¯stras are elaborated
with the same expansion of measurement up to 6.4 million
upon imagistically, poetically, and mathematically. More-
for the last ocean. Their names are drawn from the substance
over the theme of bhakti, or devotion, which was dramatical-
of the oceans themselves: Lavan:oda (Salt Ocean), Iks:ura
ly introduced in the epics and Yoga texts, becomes para-
(Molasses Ocean), Suroda (Wine Ocean), Ghr:toda (Ghee
mount.
Ocean), Dadhyoda (Curd Ocean), Ks:¯ıroda (Milk Ocean),
PURA¯N:IC SPACE. Many Pura¯n:as, including the relatively
and Sva¯du¯daka (Freshwater Ocean). The Freshwater Ocean
early Vis:n:u Pura¯n:a, describe a flat disk of earth, which is it-
flows beyond the last ring island, Pus:karadv¯ıpa, and sepa-
self composed of a series of circles. These are in fact seven
rates it from the end of the universe (lokasam:sthiti). The
concentric islands that keep doubling in size as one moves
realm at the end of the universe is a golden realm that divides
outward. (The first is an actual circle, and the concentric is-
the world from the nonworld, similarly to the way in which
lands are ring-shaped.) The islands are separated from each
being and nonbeing are distinguished even in the earliest
other by a series of oceans, each of which has the width of
Vedic cosmologies. The golden realm also has a mountain,
the island it encircles. The center-most island is the most well
Lokaka¯loka (World and non-World). After this mountain is
known and is called Jambudv¯ıpa (Rose Apple Island). And
a region of perpetual darkness, where, the texts seem to sug-
at the center of the world, the golden mountain called Meru
gest, only the elements of earth, wind, air, and fire exist. After
anchors the entire arrangement. Meru is unusual in that it
that realm is the shell of the egg of Brahma¯, which envelopes
is an inversion of the usual mountains and points downward.
the universe in its entirety. The entire diameter of this uni-
Jambudv¯ıpa is further divided into nine vars:as, or regions,
verse is said to be 500 million yojanas.
that consist of mountain ranges. The lines are latitudinal,
What of the stars and other heavenly bodies? The stars
running from east to west.
move around Mount Meru in a circular direction, with the
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North Star (dhruva) as their pivot. Below them lies the flat
cerning the various destructions (pralayas), they are the glue
disk of the earth. The sun, moon, and planets move about
that holds this cosmology together and provides it with a co-
in chariots drawn by horses, as was the case even in the earli-
herent drama of salvation. Indeed Vis:n:u Pura¯n:a asserts it is
est Vedic texts. They are attached to the North Star by bands
not space but time that constitutes the body of the deity.
of air that allow them to travel in their proper orbits.
Hindu divisions of time are as follows. Fifteen “twin-
The Hindu cosmograph, with its conical center, Mount
klings of the eye” make a ka¯s:t:ha¯s, or one kala¯; and thirty kala¯s
Meru, and the chariot of the sun and disk of stars circulating
equal one muhu¯rtta. Thirty muhu¯rttas constitute a day and
above the disk of concentric islands and oceans may be based
a night of mortals; thirty such days make a month, which
on a projection of the celestial sphere onto a flat surface. In
is divided into two halves (waxing and waning). Six months
such an analysis the circle of the sun is the mythographic ex-
form an ayana, and two ayanas compose a year.
pression of the circle of the ecliptic. Mount Meru represents
The southern ayana is a night and the northern a day
the projection of the celestial Tropic of Cancer, while the
of the gods. Twelve thousand divine years, each comprising
Ma¯nassottara Mountain represents the projection of the
360 such days, constitute the period of the yugas (caturyuga).
Tropic of Capricorn. The prominence of the North Star, the
The kr:tayuga consists of four thousand divine years, the
conspicuous absence of the south polar star, and the stories
treta¯yuga of three thousand, the dva¯parayuga of two thou-
about the exile of Agastya (Canopus) to the Southern Hemi-
sand, and the kaliyuga of one thousand. The period that pre-
sphere to preserve the cosmograph all support the idea that
cedes a yuga is called a sandhya¯; it lasts for as many hundred
the Hindu cosmograph is a northern, planispheric projec-
years as there are thousands in the yuga. The sandhya¯nsa, at
tion of the sort used to construct such instruments as the
the end of the yuga, is of similar duration. Together the four
astrolabe.
yugas constitute a kalpa. A thousand kalpas is a day of
As for a vertical cosmology, there are seven worlds with
Brahma¯, and fourteen Manus, or descendants of man, reign
the same names as those of the Upanis:ads, although the
during that time period, which is known as Manvantara. At
Pura¯n:as make considerable elaboration on these. The
the end of a day of Brahma¯, the universe is consumed by fire,
bhu¯rloka contains the cosmograph of the seven islands out-
and its dissolution occurs. Brahma¯ then sleeps for a night of
lined above, with Bha¯rata as the only land where the law of
equal duration. Three hundred and sixty such days and
karma applies and liberation is possible. Most significantly,
nights constitute a year of Brahma¯, and one hundred such
there are seven Pa¯talas, or netherworlds: Atala, Vitala, Nitala,
years equal his entire life (maha¯kalpa). One para¯rddha, or
Gabhastimat, Maha¯tala, Sutala, and Pa¯tala. Below these are
half his life, has expired.
twenty-eight hell realms.
The various pralayas epitomize the agency of time by
The bhuvas:h:, or intermediate realm, is the realm of the
moving the soul—and the universe—from its current state
sun, which moves through its annual course in its chariot.
to its eventual salvation. The Pura¯n:as distinguish four types
Above this is the svarloka, which contains, in ascending
of dissolution, or pralaya, each reversing the process of cre-
order, the moon; its twenty-seven or twenty-eight Naks:atras,
ation at different levels. These include:
or houses of the moon; Mercury (Buddha); Venus (S´ukra);
1. Nitya pralaya, or physical death of the individual caught
Mars (Anga¯rika); Jupiter (Br:haspati); Saturn (S´ani); and the
in the cycle of transmigration;
Seven R:s:is (the Great Bear) and Dhruva (the North star,
2. A¯tyantika pralaya, or spiritual liberation (moks:a);
mentioned above).
3. Pra¯kr:ta pralaya, or dissolution of the elements at the end
The three basic realms of bhur, bhuvah:, and svah: are de-
of the life of Brahma¯;
scribed as kr:tika—meaning they are “created” worlds and
therefore transitory. They are the regions where conse-
4. Naimittika pralaya, or occasional dissolution associated
quences are experienced and renewed with every kalpa. In
with the cycles of yugas and descents of avata¯ras.
these three realms the fruits of karma that are acquired in
Yet calculations of time also had a meditative quality: the
Bha¯rata manifest themselves, and souls are reborn to enjoy
contemplation of infinity, or the largest number next to in-
these fruits. These are the enjoyment realms (bhogabhu¯mi)
finity, was meant to be close to a vision of God. The Brah-
as opposed to the karmabhu¯mi of Bha¯rata. Above the svar-
mavaivarta Pura¯n:a tells the well-known story of the dialogue
loka is the realm of mahas, which is considered a mixed realm
between Vis:n:u and Indra. In the form of a young boy, Vis:n:u
because it is a deserted by beings at the end of kalpa but is
tells Indra that a parade of ants crawling on the earth have
not destroyed. Finally, the three highest realms—janas,
all had lives as Indras—each ruling over their own solar sys-
tapas, and satyam—are described as akr:ittika: that which is
tems in different ages.
uncreated. They perish only at the end of the life of Brahma¯.
PURA¯N:IC PERSON AND MORALITY. In the Pura¯n:ic texts, the
PURA¯N:IC TIME. The Pura¯n:as divide time into such compo-
four yugas progress as a kind of inevitable decay in the moral
nents as yugas, as four age cycles, and kalpas, which are a day
quality of the universe. The Ku¯rma Pura¯n:a (1:27, 16–57;
and a night of Brahma¯. The Pura¯n:as provide a very thorough
28:1–7) states it elaborately. The text describes the medita-
analysis of these components. Together with doctrines con-
tional bliss, lack of self interest, and natural habitat of human
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beings in the first yuga, kr:tayuga; the arising of pleasure and
considerable debate as to the range and nature of astronomi-
greed in the treta¯yuga; the lack of firm resolve and the intro-
cal knowledge, it is known that the lunar mansions are men-
duction of war, death, and suffering in the dva¯parayuga; and
tioned in the Bra¯hman:as and that the Hindu science of cal-
the rampant hunger, fear, and inversion of social order in the
culation began with the cosmological Vedic altars and
final present age of the kaliyuga. Happiness, beauty, homes
developed into the elaborate calculations of the yugas, kalpas,
in the forest, and food dropping from trees gradually give
and maha¯kalpas in the Pura¯n:as. Jyotis:h:´sa¯stra encouraged
way to the moral decay of the world and then to the develop-
thinkers to assign dates to the grand conjunctions of the mid-
ment of practices aimed at liberation from such decay.
dle planets at Aries, and the date February 18 (or 19) of 3101
(or 3102) BCE is frequently cited as marking the beginning
The kaliyuga is considered the worst of the four yugas—
of the kaliyuga. One astronomical text, in the
the moment right before the final destruction and renewal
Vis:n:udharmottara Pura¯n:a (2:166–174), is the earliest of this
of the universe. The Pura¯n:as and many contemporary Hindu
genre and is the basis of the Brahma¯paks:a. Together with the
thinkers understand the present to be the kaliyuga. The deca-
Aryapaks:a and the Ardharatrikapaks:a, these three texts form
dence, greed, and confusion of social categories is both inevi-
the canonical schools of Hindu astronomy.
table and part of the turning of the cycles of time, and yet
the Pura¯n:as and other Hindu texts exhort each individual to
The great astronomer-sage A¯ryabhat:a (fifth–sixth cen-
be the moral exception in this period of decay.
turies CE) calculated the rotations of the earth and the sun
in terms of the yugas. His treatises (siddhantas) sketch his
NON-SANSKRITIC COSMOLOGIES. It is important to note,
mathematical, planetary, and cosmic theories and include a
however, that the extended discussion of cosmology above
sine table, astronomical computations, divisions of time, and
is based mainly on the Sanskrit textual tradition and that
rules for computation for eclipses as well as the longitude of
there are many important cosmologies within Hinduism that
planets. Among the other theorists, Vara¯hamihira (sixth cen-
may depart from these basic ideas in significant ways. In
tury
South India, for example, Tamil, Telugu, and Karnatak tra-
CE), Brahmagupta (seventh century CE), Bha¯skara
(twelfth century
ditions have developed complex and sophisticated classical
CE), and Ma¯dhava (fourteenth century CE)
all gave calculational and astronomical theories that contrib-
cosmologies of their own. Such texts focus on the meaning
uted to overall ideas about the universe, such as the rotational
of the temple and the city surrounding it as a center and ori-
powers of the planets and the centrality of the sun.
gin of the world and on a regional deity as its creator. The
temple spires and surrounding tanks frequently function in
Indeed by the time of Bha¯skara (c. twelfth century CE)
ways similar to, and are sometimes even compared with,
the old Pura¯n:ic cosmology was being questioned with the
Mount Meru and its surrounding islands in the Sanskrit
construction of a different model of the solar system. In the
texts. So too South Indian texts describe deities like
debates one can detect a conflict between the Pura¯n:ic cos-
Murukan (Murugan) residing in these temples as if they were
mology and the cosmology of the Jyotis:as. There are some
¯
a kind of paradise created at the beginning of the world. At
discussions that remind one of the contemporary cosmologi-
a village level, guardian deities of ponds, wells, and the inter-
cal debate between creationism and the Big Bang. For in-
sections of roads are also credited with cosmological powers
stance, the astronomical writers asked: If, as some of the
and roles in creation.
Pura¯n:as state, a tortoise is holding up the earth, then what
being or substance might be supporting that tortoise? Or if
Finally, the a¯divasis, or “tribal” communities of India,
one is assuming the gigantic height of Mount Meru and a
such as the Mun:d:a, Santal, and others, also possess unique
flat, disk-like earth, then would not one be able to see Mount
cosmologies, some of which incorporate Hindu deities such
Meru from every point on the disk of the earth?
as Ra¯ma, others of which involve completely separate deities
who have created and preside over the natural world and
Around 1200 CE al-B¯ıru¯n¯ı, an Arab astronomer and
look after the welfare of human beings. Many tribal cosmolo-
translator, noted the debates and problems of Pura¯n:ic cos-
gies incorporate narratives of the victory of good over evil.
mology that were present in the discussions of Indian astron-
The Mun:d:a, for example, tell the story of Singbonga, who
omers. Relatedly it is clear that there was a great deal of scien-
tried to stop the iron smelters from working as it was causing
tific collaboration between Hindus and Muslims in Mughal
pollution in the universe. When they refused, he had to de-
India, especially in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Jai-
stroy them in order to keep the world safe. So too the Kokna,
pur, where the appropriate description of the cosmos was ar-
Bhil, and Varli peoples understand that before humans the
gued out at great length.
world was filled with raks:asas, or demons; Ra¯ma and S¯ıta¯
Finally, in the contemporary period various more and
then passed through the area, killed the demons, and gave
less controversial attempts have been made to correlate scien-
birth to humans.
tific advances with Hindu cosmology. In the more contro-
SCIENCE AND COSMOLOGY. Any discussion of Hindu cos-
versial cases textual exegetes argue about whether it is appro-
mology would be empty without a discussion of astronomy
priate to view certain descriptions of “vehicles” in the epics
and related sciences. As mentioned previously, the astronom-
as referring to space travelers or whether the ancient word
ical sciences appear as early as the Vedic period in the form
yojana, mentioned above, refers to the speed of light. In a
of Jyotis:h:´sa¯stra, or “the science of light.” Though there is
more speculative and less controversial vein Yoga theorists
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draw parallels between the theory of the three gun:as and
more updated in is theoretical perspective on “end of time”
James C. Maxwell’s theories of electromagnetism; between
scenarios is Tom Forsthoefel’s “Uses and Abuses of Apoca-
the relation of space and time in Sa¯m:khya theory and the
lypticism in South Asia: A Creative Human Device,” Journal
theory of relativity; between the idea of the cosmic egg and
of Dharma 26, no. 3 (2001): 417–430. For an integration of
the theory of curved space in the general theory of relativity;
basic ritual themes and cosmological ideas, see Samarendra
and so on.
Saraf’s “Hindu Ritual Idiom: Cosmic Perspective and Basic
Orientations,” in The Realm of the Extra-Human: Ideas and
Many contemporary philosophers and historians, such
Actions, edited by Agehananda Bharati (The Hague, 1976),
as S. Radhakrishnan, B. K. Motilal, A. N. Balslev, and
pp. 151–163. The locus classicus for the relationship be-
W. R. Kloetzli, have written of the parallels (not equivalen-
tween theodicy, or justice, and Hindu cosmology remains
cies) between scientific and Hindu philosophical thinking.
Wendy Doniger O’Flaherty’s The Origins of Evil in Hindu
The Hindu philosophical school of Nya¯ya Vai´ses:ika and its
Mythology (Berkeley, Calif., 1976). There is also a series of
views on the atom’s role in the universe is one particularly
more comparative treatments of Hindu cosmology that take
on the themes of “worldview” and “nature.” Neither term is
salient example. Finally, the cosmological writings of astro-
indigenous to the Hindu texts, but nonetheless they are ex-
physicist Jayant Vis:n:u Narlikar land more squarely in the
cellent starting points for the comparativist. One could begin
world of physical science and cosmology. Considered a lead-
with Heinrich von Stietencron’s “Welt und Gottheit: Kon-
ing expert and defender of the steady state cosmology against
zeptionen der Hindus,” in Christentum und Weltreligionen,
the more popular Big Bang cosmology, Narlikar has also
edited by Hans Küng, Josef Van Ess, and Heinrich von Stie-
drawn some intriguing parallels with Hindu mythology—
tencron (Munich, 1984), pp. 271–310. A. Syrkin’s two-part
not in order to “prove” the existence of scientific knowledge
series in Numen gives a nice discussion of the avatar in Hindu
in ancient texts but rather to show the power of the cosmo-
cosmology; see “The Salutary Descent,” Numen 35, no. 1
logical imagination in both science and mythology. Many of
(1988): 1–23 and no. 2 (1988): 213–237. Non-Western
the cosmological myths referred to above, involving expan-
scholars have also contributed to efforts to think about cos-
mology comparatively and to engage Hindu themes—see,
sion and contraction, the in-breathing and out-breathing of
for example, G. P. Pokhariyal’s “The Hindu View of God,
Brahma¯, and so on, seem to involve metaphors of a “steady
Humanity, and Mother Nature,” in God, Humanity, and
state” similar to Narlikar’s physical and mathematical argu-
Mother Nature, edited by Gilbert E. M. Ogutu (Nairobi,
ments in scientific cosmology.
Kenya, 1992), pp. 165–171; and Tadakazu Yamada, James
Dator, and Russell Schweickart’s Cosmos, Life, Religion: Be-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
yond Humanism (Tenri, Japan, 1988.)
General Works on Hindu Cosmologies
Relatedly contemporary writing on the environment and Hindu
For a general overview of cosmology, the best resources are of
cosmology blossomed in the last decade of the twentieth cen-
course the original texts themselves. In translation, Wendy
tury. One of the most central authors, O. P. Dwivedi, began
Doniger O’Flaherty’s Rig Veda (Harmondsworth, U.K.,
with his “Environmental Stewardship: Our Spiritual Heri-
1981) and Walter Maurer’s Pinnacles of India’s Past: Selec-
tage for Sustainable Development,” Journal of Developing So-
tions from the Rgveda (Amsterdam and Philadelphia, 1986)
cieties 12, no. 2 (1996): 217–231. David R. Kinsley’s “Re-
both have good discussions of cosmogonic themes; Patrick
flections on Ecological Themes in Hinduism,” Journal of
Olivelle’s introduction to his Upanisads (Oxford and New
Dharma 16, no. 3 (1991): 229–245, is also important. Fol-
York, 1995) also has a good discussion. The classic treatment
lowing Dwivedi’s initiative are Augustine Thottakara, ed.,
of Pura¯n:ic cosmology remains Cornelia Dimmitt and
Eco-Dynamics of Religion: Thoughts for the Third Millennium
J. A. B. Van Buitenen’s Classical Hindu Mythology: A Reader
(Bangalore, India, 2000); Christopher Key Chapple and
in the Sanskrit Pura¯nas, rev. ed. (Philadelphia, 1995), which
Mary Evelyn Tucker, eds., Hinduism and Ecology: The Inter-
devotes entire sections to space and to time. The
section of Earth, Sky, and Water (Cambridge, Mass., 2000);
Bhagavadg¯ıta¯ is also an excellent resource for Hindu cosmo-
and Lance E. Nelson, ed., Purifying the Earthly Body of God:
logical thinking, especially chapters 10 and 11. See Laurie
Religion and Ecology in Hindu India (Albany, N.Y., 1999).
Patton’s translation of The Bhagavad Gita (Harmondsworth,
There is also a long tradition of scholarship that, while not specifi-
U.K., 2005).
cally environmentalist, addresses the idea of the Hindu cos-
For treatment of the themes of the cycle of time, the end of the
mos as the body of God. Many such works are comparative
world, and the renewal of the world, one might consult three
in nature, beginning with Ninian Smart’s “God’s Body,”
works: Horst Bürkle’s “Geschichtliche Einmaligkeit und
Union Seminary Quarterly Review 37 (1981): 51–59; Alex
zyklische Wiederkehr,” Internationale katholische Zeitschrift
Wayman’s “The Human Body as Microcosm in India, Greek
“Communio” 17, no. 4 (1988): 327–336; Michel Hulin’s
Cosmology, and Sixteenth-Century Europe,” History of Reli-
“Décadence et renouvellement: La doctrine des âge du
gions 22, N (1982): 172–190; Julius J. Lipner’s “The World
monde dans l’hindouisme,” in Der geheime Strom des Gesche-
as God’s ‘Body’: In Pursuit of Dialogue with Ra¯ma¯nuja,” Re-
hens, edited by Rudolf Ritsema (Frankfurt am Main, Germa-
ligious Studies 20 (1984): 145–161; and George A. Chal-
ny, 1987), pp. 177–208; and Vasudha Narayanan’s “Y51k
mers’s “Ra¯ma¯nuja and Alexander: The Concept of the Uni-
and Still Counting: Some Hindu Views of Time,” Hindu-
verse as the Body of God,” Scottish Journal of Religious Studies
Christian Studies Bulletin 12 (1999): 15–21. Mariasusai
6, no. 1 (1985): 26–33. More recent work has connected the
Dhavamony’s “Hindu Eschatology,” Studia Missionalia 32
bodies of gods and goddesses with politics; see, for example,
(1983): 143–180, has a rather more Christian view. A little
Konrad Meisig’s “‘Mutter Indien’ (Bha¯ratama¯ta¯): Zur Per-
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sonifizierung kosmologischer Vorstellungen im politischen
Brhada¯ranyaka Upanis:ad,” Indo-Iranian Journal 34 (1991):
Hinduismus,” in Religion im Wandel der Kosmologien, edited
1–17, gives a good specific case study of a single Upanis:ad
by Dieter Zeller, pp. 281–285 (Frankfurt am Main, Germa-
that can be used as a launching point for the study of other
ny, and New York, 1999). Kapila Vatsyayan’s book series,
Upanis:ads. For another integrative view of earlier and later
“Prakriti” (Indira Gandhi National Center for the Arts) con-
texts, see Petteri Koskikallio’s “When Time Turns: Yugas,
tains a number of excellent collections of essays on cosmolo-
Ideologies, Sacrifices,” in Studia Orientalia 73, edited by
gy by Indian and Western authors alike.
Palva Heikki, Tapani Harviainen, Asko Parpola, and Harry
Finally, George Michell, The Hindu Temple: An Introduction to Its
Halén (Helsinki, Finland, 1994), pp. 253–271.
Meanings and Forms (London, 1977) and Hindu Art and Ar-
Epic and Pura¯n:ic Cosmologies
chitecture (New York, 2000), and Stella Kramrisch, The
John E. Michiner’s Traditions of the Seven R:s:is (Delhi, 1981) gives
Hindu Temple (Delhi, 1976), remain the loci classici among
an excellent overview of the various cycles of time in the
examinations of the relationship between architecture and
Vedas, the epics, and the Pura¯n:as, especially the Ages of
cosmology. However, more specific, local treatments with
Manu and the role of the Vedic sages in creating and main-
important theoretical implications include Anthony Good’s
taining the cosmos. Also addressing both epic and Pura¯n:ic
“The Burning Question: Sacred and Profane Space in a
understandings of time is R. K. Dwivedi’s “A Critical Study
South Indian Temple Town,” Anthropos 94, nos. 1–3
of the Changing Social Order at Yuganta; or, the End of the
(1999): 69–84; Adam Hardy’s “The Hindu Temple: A Dy-
Kali Age,” in D. D. Kosambi Commemoration Volume, edited
namic Microcosm,” in Sacred Architecture in the Traditions
by Lallanji Gopal, Jai Prakash Singh, and Nisar Ahmad (Va-
of India, China, Judaism, and Islam, edited by Emily Lyle
ranasi, India, 1977), pp. 276–297. Wendell C. Beane’s
(Edinburgh, 1992), pp. 41–57; and K. R. Van Kooij’s “The
“Cosmological Structure of Mythical Time: Ka¯l¯ı-Sakti,” His-
Concept of Cosmic Totality in the Ancient Art of India,” in
tory of Religions 13 (1973): 54–83, connects these time cycles
Approaches to Iconology, edited by Hans G. Kippenberg,
with the goddess concept of shakti. Tracy Pintchman builds
L. P. van den Bosch, and L. Leertouwer (Leiden, 1986),
on these insights in “Gender Complementarity and Gender
pp. 37–49. Most compelling is Michael W. Meister’s “Sym-
Hierarchy in Pura¯nic Accounts of Creation,” Journal of the
bology and Architectural Practice in India,” in Sacred Archi-
American Academy of Religion 66 (1998): 257–282. For con-
tecture in the Traditions of India, China, Judaism, and Islam,
ceptions of place, Ian W. Mabbett’s “The Symbolism of
edited by Emily Lyle (Edinburgh, 1992).
Mount Meru,” History of Religions 23 (1983): 64–83, is a
Vedic and Upanis:adic Cosmologies
good introduction to the issues at stake, as is Adalbert J.
Two early works by Sadashiv Ambadas Dange and Richard F.
Gail’s “Die neun Abschnitte Bha¯ratavarsas: Eine textgesch-
Gombrich, respectively, remain excellent resources for Vedic
ichtliche Untersuchung,” Wiener Zeitschrift für die Kunde sü-
ritual cosmology. See Dange’s “Cosmo-Sexualism in the
dasiens und Archiv für indische Philosophie 17 (1973): 5–20.
Vedic Ritual,” in Charudeva Shastri Felicitation Volume, ed-
To see all of these cosmological traditions tied together into
ited by Suniti Kumar Chatterji, Triloki Nath, Satya Vrat,
a philosophical point of view, one might read Alfred Col-
and Dharmendra Kumar Gupta (Delhi, 1974), pp. 23–44;
lins’s “From Brahma to a Blade of Grass: Towards an Indian
and Gombrich’s “Ancient Indian Cosmology,” in Ancient
Self Psychology,” Journal of Indian Philosophy 19 (1991):
Cosmologies, edited by Carmen Blacker and Michael Loewe
143–189. For more local Pura¯n:as and their cosmologies, see
(London, 1975), pp. 110–142. M. A. Mehendale’s short
Don Handelman’s “Myths of Murugan: Asymmetry and Hi-
“Sapta Devaloka¯h,” in Charudeva Shastri Felicitation Volume,
erarchy in a South Indian Puranic Cosmology,” History of
edited by Suniti Kumar Chatterji, Triloki Nath, Satya Vrat,
Religions 27 (1987): 133–170; William L. Smith’s “The Ce-
and Dharmendra Kumar Gupta (Delhi, 1974), also gives a
lestial Village: The Divine Order in Bengali Myth,” Temenos
good basic introduction to the idea of the seven worlds. For
18 (1982): 69–81; and David C. Scott’s “Radha in the Erotic
more detailed, thematic studies of Vedic cosmology, see
Play of the Universe,” Asia Journal of Theology 12, no. 2
Marius Schneider’s “Das Schöpfungswort in der vedischen
(1998): 338–357.
Kosmologie,” in Musicae Scientiae Collectanea: Festschrift
No discussion of Pura¯n:ic cosmology would be complete without
Karl Gustav Fellerer zum 70. Geburtstag, edited by Heinrich
a discussion of the related medieval tradition of Tantric cos-
Hüschen (Cologne, Germany, 1973), pp. 523–526, and his
mology. Most scholarly works concentrate on S´aivite (Shai-
“Die Grundlagen der Kultsprache in der vedischen Kos-
vite) traditions, as do S. Arulsamy’s “Spiritual Journey in
mologie,” in Sprache und Sprachverständnis in religiöser Rede:
Shaiva Siddhanta,” Journal of Dharma 11, no. 1 (1986): 37–
Zum Verhältnis von Theologie und Linguistik, edited by
61; Gavin D. Flood’s “Shared Realities and Symbolic Forms
Thomas Michels and Ansgar Paus (Salzburg, Austria, 1973),
in Kashmir Shaivism,” Numen 36 (1989): 225–247; and
pp. 13–60. Albrecht Wezler’s “Thin, Thinner, Thinnest:
Paul E. Muller-Ortega’s “Aspects of J¯ıvanmukti in the Tan-
Some Remarks on Jaimin¯ıya Bra¯hmana 1:144,” in India and
tric Shaivism of Kashmir,” in Living Liberation in Hindu
Beyond: Aspects of Literature, Meaning, Ritual, and Thought:
Thought, edited by Andrew O. Fort and Patricia Y. Mumme
Essays in Honour of Frits Staal, edited by Dick Van Der Meij
(Albany, N.Y., 1996), pp. 187–217. Glen Alexander Hayes
(Leiden, 1997), pp. 636–650, engages the important ques-
turns to cosmological Tantra in Bengal in his “Cosmic Sub-
tion of worldview in the Bra¯hman:a literature. Henk W.
stance in the Vaisnava Sahajiya¯ Traditions of Medieval Ben-
Bodewitz gives a good sense of how early Vedic themes might
gal,” Journal of Vaisnava Studies 5 (1996): 183–196.
give rise to later Pura¯n:ic ones in “Pits, Pitfalls, and the Un-
derworld in the Veda,” Indo-Iranian Journal 42, no. 3 (July
Non-Classical Cosmologies
1999): 211–226. Moving forward to the Upanis:ads, Joel P.
The field of “folk” cosmology in Hindu traditions is just begin-
Brereton’s excellent “Cosmographic Images in the
ning to emerge. Earlier works include Stuart H. Blackburn’s
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COSMOLOGY: JAIN COSMOLOGY
“Domesticating the Cosmos: History and Structure in a
of Jain cosmological ideas in scriptural texts like the
Folktale from India,” Journal of Asian Studies 45, no. 3
Vya¯khya¯prajñapti and Stha¯na¯n˙ga Su¯tra (c. first century BCE–
(1986): 527–543; and Dieter B. Kapp’s “The Concept of
third century CE) and detailed descriptions are found in the
Yama in the Religion of a South Indian Tribe,” Journal of the
various subsidiary (upa¯n˙ga) scriptures of the canon such as
American Oriental Society 102, no. 3 (1982): 517–521. The
the Jambu¯dv¯ıpaprajñapti Su¯tra which date from around the
familiar theme of body and cosmos comes up in Lise F. Vail’s
fourth century CE. Uma¯sva¯ti”s Tattva¯rtha Su¯tra
“Founders, Swamis, and Devotees: Becoming Divine in
(c. fourth century
North Karnataka,” in Gods of Flesh, Gods of Stone: The Em-
CE) provides an authoritative systematiza-
bodiment of Divinity in India, edited by Norman Cutler, Va-
tion of ancient trends. Since medieval times knowledge of
sudha Narayanan, and Joanne Punzo Waghorne (Chambers-
traditional cosmology has been mediated to ascetic and lay
burg, Pa., 1985), pp. 123–140; this is also one of the
S´veta¯mbara Jains through a genre of texts called Sam:grahan:¯ı.
concerns in Hilde Link’s “Das Unbegreifbare begreifbar
The earliest recension is the Br:hatsam:grahan¯ı of Jinabhadra
machen: Südindische Baumeister gestalten einen sakralen
Ganin (sixth century CE), while the Laghusam:grahan:¯ı, com-
Platz,” Anthropos 88, nos. 1–3 (1993): 194–201.
piled by Candra Su¯ri in 1136, proved the most influential
Science and Cosmology
throughout the late medieval period and after. Manuscripts
For more general treatments of science and cosmology, see An-
of these texts are usually lavishly illustrated.
indita Niyogi Balsley’s “Cosmology and Hindu Thought,”
Zygon 25, no. 1 (1990): 47–58. For specific connections be-
BEGINNINGS. The Jain term for the universe, loka, is a San-
tween Pura¯n:ic and medieval scientific discourse there are two
skrit word found in the R:gveda (c. twelfth to tenth centuries
excellent resources: W. Randolph Kloetzli’s “Maps of
BCE), where it has the sense of “open space” (cf. Latin lucus,
Time—Mythologies of Descent: Scientific Instruments and
“sacred space”). However, descriptions of the loka in the
the Puranic Cosmograph,” History of Religions 25 (1985):
form of a detailed cosmology developed only gradually in the
116–147; and David Pingree’s “The Pura¯n:as and
course of the Jain canonical period (between c. 400 BCE and
Jyotihsha¯stra: Astronomy,” Journal of the American Oriental
400 CE) and it is uncertain to what extent Maha¯v¯ıra, the
Society 110 (1990): 274–280. Rory Fonseca’s “Constructive
twenty-fourth t¯ırthan˙kara (or teacher), was responsible for
Geometry and the Shr¯ı-Cakra Diagram,” Religion 16, no. 1
(1986): 33–49, is helpful with mathematical treatments of
communicating anything beyond the bare rudiments of the
the cosmos. Also see Chris Minkowski’s recent “Astronomers
system. Early Jain texts simply contrast the loka with the
and their Reasons: Working Paper on Jyotishastra,” Journal
non-loka without any explanation, and unquestionably there
of Indian Philosophy 30, no. 5 (2002): 495–514; and his
are aspects of developed Jain cosmology, such as the structure
“The Pandit as Public Intellectual: The Controversy of Vi-
of the continents of the Middle World, which derive from
rodha or Inconsistency in the Astronomical Sciences,” in
Hindu models that emerged near the beginning of the com-
Axel Michaels, ed., The Pandit: Proceedings of the Conference
mon era.
in Honour of Dr. K. P. Aithal. Heidelberg, 2001, pp. 79-96.
For more contemporary philosophical treatments, see Anindita
The Vya¯khya¯prajñapti Su¯tra contains a passage (5:9) in
Niyogi Balsley’s “Cosmos and Consciousness: Indian Per-
which Maha¯v¯ıra concedes that the basic structure of the loka
spectives,” in Science and Religion in Search of Cosmic Purpose,
had been taught by the twenty-third t¯ırthan˙kara, Pa¯r´sva,
edited by John F. Haught (Washington, D.C., 2000),
who supposedly flourished around the seventh century BCE.
pp. 58–68; and Karl E. Peters’s “Cosmology and the Mean-
Since the Vya¯khya¯prajñapti most likely does not antedate the
ing of Human Existence: Options from Contemporary Phys-
first century BCE, this may be an anachronistic attempt to
ics and Eastern Religions,” Zygon 25, no. 1 (1990): 7–122.
confirm the existence of a linkage between Pa¯r´sva and
Jayant Vis:n:u Narlikar’s basic scientific writings include The
Maha¯v¯ıra. Nonetheless, the description given of the loka as
Primeval Universe (Oxford, 1988) and Seven Wonders of the
Cosmos (Cambridge, U.K., 1999).
broad at the top and bottom like a bed and an upturned
drum respectively and narrow in the middle like the god
W. RANDOLPH KLOETZLI (1987)
Indra’s thunderbolt weapon is one that was not substantially
LAURIE LOUISE PATTON (2005)
altered thereafter. Only after the beginning of the second
millennium CE did Jain artists start to represent the loka in
the form of a (male or female) cosmic giant.
COSMOLOGY: JAIN COSMOLOGY
Jainism, a renunciatory tradition that emerged in the Ganges
The Su¯trakr:ta¯n˙ga Su¯tra (1:5) and the Uttara¯dhyayana
basin of India around the seventh and sixth centuries BCE,
Su¯tra (chapter 19), ancient texts of the S´veta¯mbara canon,
produced a model of the universe virtually unrivalled in com-
describe a variety of hells that were probably essential to early
plexity among ancient cosmologies. Without beginning or
Jain teachings about the perils of violence and the conse-
end, this vast system is not controlled by any overseeing deity
quent fall from human state, although there is no attempt
and is one in which human beings are restricted to an ex-
to provide either the elaborate systematization found at a
tremely delimited location. As such, it serves to remind Jains
later date or any linkage of them to a larger cosmic structure.
of the rarity of human birth, which alone can bring about
These hells are presented as places of torment of various
liberation.
kinds, encompassed simultaneously by darkness, blazing fire,
The rich textual sources for Jain cosmology span almost
and cold, where demonic torturers and tortured alike experi-
two millennia. It is possible to trace the early development
ence the consequences of their previous violent actions.
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Mention is made of a hellish river called Vaitaran:¯ı, whose
Dha¯tak¯ıkhan:d:a by the Salt Ocean (Lavan:asamudra), while
waves are like razor blades, and also of a huge mountain that
Dha¯tak¯ıkhan:d:a is separated from Pus:kara by the Black
looms over the suffering.
Water (Ka¯lodadhi) Ocean. At the center of Pus:kara is a range
THE STRUCTURE OF THE LOKA. What follows represents the
of mountains beyond which, that is to say as far as the outer-
standardized picture of the Jain universe, although there are
most island-continent of the Middle World called
many differences concerning detail between the S´veta¯mbara
Svayambhu¯raman:a, no human beings live, only animals
and Digambara sects. To pious Jains the vast complexity
which are reborn in the heavenly realms after death. Further-
and detail recorded by monastic cosmologists reflect
more, the normal operations of time cease at Pus:kara’s cen-
the omniscient and all-encompassing perception of the
tral mountain range.
t¯ırthan˙karas, the saving teachers.
Jambu¯dv¯ıpa, “The Island of the Rose-apple Tree,” is the
The loka is envisaged as being a finite tripartite structure
most precisely described area of the loka. It is named after
set in the non-loka, like a boat in water, consisting of an
the rose-apple (jambu¯) tree that stands beside Mount Meru,
upper tier of heavens, at the summit of which lies the realm
which is 100,000 yojanas in height and constitutes the cen-
of the liberated souls, a lower tier of hells, and, in between,
tral axis of the island-continent. On the perimeter of
a narrow band wherein is located a system of island-
Jambu¯dv¯ıpa is an encircling adamantine wall of eight yojanas
continents and oceans. Immediately outside the loka are at-
height in which four huge doors are set at the cardinal direc-
mospheric layers of various types of air. Beyond these is
tion points and through which the rivers of the island-
nothing, empty space in which no entity exists.
continent flow into the Salt Ocean.
The basic unit of cosmological measurement given in
Jambu¯dv¯ıpa is divided into seven regions (vars:a), sepa-
the scriptural texts is the yojana, loosely speaking, “a league.”
rated from each other by six mountain ranges that extend
Later Jain cosmologists employ the rajju, or “rope,” to mea-
outwards from Mount Meru from east to west. These regions
sure the dimensions of the loka. This represents the distance
are called Bha¯rata, Haimavata, Ramyaka, Videha (sometimes
traversed by a god flying in a straight line for six months at
Maha¯videha), Hari, Hairan:yaka, and Aira¯vata. Of these
a speed of 2,057,152 yojanas an instant. Overall, the loka is
regions, Bha¯rata, Aira¯vata, and half of Videha are
estimated as being fourteen rajjus in height from top to bot-
karmabhu¯mis, where religious actions are fully efficacious in
tom, seven rajjus wide at top and bottom, in its middle sec-
terms of possible rebirth and ultimate salvation, whereas the
tion a mere one rajju wide, and seven rajjus thick through-
remaining regions are bhogabhu¯mis, where human beings can
out.
flourish in worldly comfort but cannot advance seriously on
the path to liberation. Five karmabhu¯mis are also found on
Connecting the three realms of the loka is a vertical
both the island-continents of Dha¯tak¯ıkhan:d:a and Pus:kara.
channel called the trasana¯d:¯ı, in which all moving creatures
are located.
The region of Bha¯rata is located at the south of
Jambu¯dv¯ıpa and is effectively the equivalent of the contem-
In recent years, noteworthy large-scale models of the
porary geographical entity called South Asia, as can be seen
loka and the central island-continent of Jambu¯dv¯ıpa (see
by its two rivers, the Sindhu (Indus) and the Gan˙ga¯ (Gan-
below) have been erected at Pa¯lita¯na¯ and Ha¯stinapur respec-
ges), both of which flow in the west and east into the Salt
tively.
Ocean, and the presence to the north of the Himavat range,
THE MIDDLE WORLD. The configuration of the Middle
or the Himalayas. The influence of terrestrial geography can
World (madhyaloka) takes the form of a horizontal disk con-
also be seen from the fact that the capital city of Bha¯rata
taining a system of circular oceans, each of which abuts onto
called Ayodhya¯, the name of the hero-god Ra¯ma’s capital and
a circular island-continent (dv¯ıpa). The water of all the
from the third century CE the capital of the Gupta Empire
oceans is not uniformly salty; some taste of wine, milk, or
that dominated north India.
sugarcane. Although the constituents of this system are tech-
To the south of the Himavat range is a further range of
nically regarded as being beyond normal calculation
mountains called Vaita¯d:hya, which contains cities inhabited
(asan˙khya¯tan˙a¯), in actuality Jain cosmology is concerned
by vidya¯dharas, semi-divine beings with the power of flight
only with the central sixteen oceans and sixteen island-
who can traverse the whole continent, but lack the ability to
continents.
gain deliverance. The Vaita¯d:hya mountains, in conjunction
At the center of the Middle World are the “Two-and-a-
with the Sindhu and Gan˙ga¯, divide Bha¯rata into six parts.
Half Island-continents” (Ad:ha¯¯ıdv¯ıpa) that constitute the
Five of these are barbarian (mleccha) regions where inclina-
world of human beings, namely the island-continent of
tion to follow Jain teachings is weak and the possibility of
Jambu¯dv¯ıpa, spatially a disc of 100,000 yojanas in width (as
deliverance absent, while only one is “aryan,” inhabited by
opposed to the ring shape of the other continents), the is-
people who are naturally susceptible to Jainism and the
land-continent of Dha¯tak¯ıkhan:d:a, which is 400,000 yojanas
birthplace of all twenty-four t¯ırthan˙karas of this age. The re-
in width, and half of the island-continent of Pus:kara, which
gion of Aira¯vata in the north of Jambu¯dv¯ıpa evinces exactly
is 800,000 yojanas in width. Jambu¯dv¯ıpa, which is located
the same structure and constituents as Bha¯rata, with its two
at the very center of the Middle World, is separated from
rivers being called the Raktoda¯ and the Rakta¯. More broadly,
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COSMOLOGY: JAIN COSMOLOGY
the continents of Dha¯tak¯ıkhan:d:a and Pus:kara mirror the
further they descend. Animals can be reborn in most of the
geographical structure of Jambu¯dv¯ıpa.
hells. Female human beings cannot be reborn below the sixth
hell, while only male human beings and species of water-
The largest region of Jambu¯dv¯ıpa is the central strip
dwelling creatures can be reborn in the seventh hell.
called Videha (sometimes Maha¯videha, “Great Videha,” be-
cause of its importance), which divides the island-continent
The hells of the Lower World represent a terrifying ex-
and at whose center is Mount Meru, while two rivers, the
tension of the basic Jain principle that negative karma, the
Sita¯ and Sitoda¯, flow through it to the east and west. Videha,
result of evildoing in previous existences, has to be eliminat-
which is divided into thirty-two parts mirroring Bha¯rata and
ed by the practice of austerities. In Jainism the Lower World
Aira¯vata, is immune from any sort of disaster and its inhabi-
has no central ruler equivalent to the Hindu god Yama.
tants, Jain laypeople and ascetics, live morally responsible
Rather, a superficial chaos seems to prevail, though in actual-
lives. Cycles of time do not hold sway there as elsewhere and
ity the suffering inflicted by hell-beings on themselves and
t¯ırthan˙karas appear continually, from four to thirty-two si-
each other is in precise accord with evil previously commit-
multaneously. Of the four currently preaching in Videha at
ted, so that when the karmic penalty has run its course, the
present, S¯ımandhara is a significant object of devotion to
hell being dies and is then reborn in the Middle World as
Jains in India. Videha and its t¯ırthan˙karas are not directly
animal or human. While Jainism does posit the possibility
accessible to human beings in other regions of Jambu¯dv¯ıpa.
of eternal rebirth for some unfortunate predestined beings,
One must either be reborn there or, exceptionally, be trans-
unceasing residence in any one of the hells is not a possibility.
ported there by supernatural means, as in the case of the Di-
gambara teacher Kundakunda (early common era), whose
In the space between the Middle World and
hagiographies claim that he was able to visit S¯ımandhara and
Ratnaprabha¯, the first hellish realm of the Lower World, live
hear the doctrine being preached by him.
varieties of (sometimes) antinomian deities. The “Palace-
dwelling” (Bhavanava¯sin) gods experience lives of princely
Highly significant in Jain cosmology is the eighth is-
luxury similar to their terrestrial counterparts. The “Intersti-
land-continent from Jambu¯dv¯ıpa, which is known as
tial” (Vyantara) gods are often found in rock clefts or within
Nand¯ı´svara. Inaccessible to human beings, this island-
trees. Both categories of god frequently visit the world of hu-
continent contains fifty-two mountains, each of which has
mans and they might best be classified as demiurges, similar
on its peak a Jina temple of great magnificence. The gods
to the tutelary deities who form part of the Jain pantheon.
visit Nand¯ı´svara on regular festival days to worship the im-
ages in these temples. It is common for Jain temples today
THE UPPER WORLD. Above the Middle World and the gods
to contain representations of the shrines at Nand¯ı´svara.
of light is located the Upper World (u¯rdhvaloka), which is
seven rajjus high (including the negligible height of the Mid-
Around nine hundred yojanas above Jambu¯dv¯ıpa are the
dle World). This consists of a series of tiered heavens (kalpa)
celestial bodies: the planets and stars and their stations, con-
inhabited by the Vaima¯nika gods, so called because of the
ceived of as the chariots of the gods of light (jyotis:a). In keep-
celestial chariots (vima¯na), effectively palaces, in which they
ing with the mirroring structure of the north and south parts
ride. According to the S´veta¯mbara sect, the first, second, sev-
of Jambu¯dv¯ıpa, the Jain cosmologists assert that two moons
enth, and eighth heavens are divided into northern and
and two suns hold sway over the periods of darkness and
southern halves, thus constituting separate heavenly regions,
light.
while for the Digambaras the first eight heavens are divided
THE LOWER WORLD. Around one thousand yojanas beneath
in this way. Further divisions are also found within the
the Middle World is the Lower World (adholoka), seven raj-
higher heavenly tiers. Thus for the S´veta¯mbaras there are
jus high, which consists of seven tiers (bhu¯mi) constructed
twenty-six heavens in total, for the Digambaras thirty-nine.
of an earth-like material substance. Each tier has within it
The Vaima¯nika gods, whose period of existence and
a number of hells, with the highest containing three million
mental attainments are governed by karma, are divided into
and the lowest only five. These seven realms are called
two main categories. The lower category does not invariably
Ratnaprabha¯ (“Jewel-colored”), S´arkaraprabha¯ (“Gravel-
possess correct faith (samyagdr:s:t:i) in Jain principles and in-
colored”), Va¯luka¯prabha¯ (“Sand-colored”), Pan˙kaprabha¯
habit the twelve lower heavens. The higher category lives
(“Mud-colored”), Dhu¯maprabha¯ (“Smoke-colored”),
above the lower heavens and possesses the necessary faith that
Tamah:prabha¯ (“Darkness-colored”), and Tamastamah:-
will eventually lead to the attainment of deliverance. The
prabha¯ (“Most Intense Darkness-colored”). The bottom of
higher the level a god inhabits, the greater his psychic and
each tier of the Lower World fits into the top of the one
spiritual attainments. The lower heavens are variously col-
below, with the whole structure being supported upon space.
ored (black, blue, red, yellow, and white), but the higher
Ratnaprabha¯, the highest tier of the Lower World, is rel-
heavenly realms are increasingly white in token of their puri-
atively bright, but darkness increases at each successively
ty and distance from the passions. This reflects a doctrine of
lower level, as does the amount of suffering endured by those
Jain karma theory that holds that the life-monad (j¯ıva) as-
who are spontaneously born and live there. Such beings are
sumes colors (le´sya¯) according to the influence of the types
commensurately greater physically and more long-lived the
of karma it has accrued.
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The Vaima¯nika gods live in conformity to a hierarchical
throughout eternity and providing a totalizing explanation
structure replicating that of the cities, courts, and kingdoms
of human progress and decline. This is divided into two half-
of the human world. Many of their heavens are ruled by a
motions, a “down-moving” (avasarpin:¯ı) succeeded by an
category of gods called Indra, whose name derives from that
“up-moving” (utsarpin:¯ı) to be followed by a “down-moving”
of the Vedic warrior-god. Another category of god called
and an “up-moving,” and so on ad perpetuum. These move-
kilbis:aka functions in a serving capacity, effectively the
ments of time, sometimes also defined as six “spokes of a
equivalent of human untouchables. Jain narratives frequently
wheel” (ara) hold sway in the various karmabhu¯mi, but not
refer to Vaima¯nika gods who are able to travel to the Middle
in the five Videha regions of the innermost two-and-a half
and Lower Worlds to visit and counsel former relatives and
continents of the Middle World.
acquaintances living there.
Each downward motion commences with an “extremely
The goddesses of the Upper World cannot inhabit a
happy” (sus:ama¯-sus:ama¯) period that lasts 4 x 1014 sa¯garopama
heaven beyond the second level, although they are capable
years (one sa¯garopama, literally “ocean-like” period of time,
of reaching as high as the eighth level on a temporary basis.
is equal to 8,400,000 x 1019 years). This is succeeded by the
The gods and goddesses conduct sexual relations in the two
“happy” (sus:ama¯) period that lasts for 3 x 1014 sa¯garopama
lowest heavenly levels in the same manner as human beings.
years. During this period human beings, who are of massive
However, sexual activity becomes progressively more refined
physical dimensions and live for vast periods of time, exist
amongst the higher Vaima¯nika deities and passion plays no
in a sexually undifferentiated state and have all their physical
part in the upper heavenly levels where the deities are very
needs satisfied by wishing trees.
close to that final human birth which will bring about deliv-
erance.
The third stage of a downward movement, the “more
happy than unhappy” (sus:ama¯-duh:s:ama¯), lasts for 2 x 1014
A noteworthy feature of the Upper World is the Black
sa¯garopama years. The fourth stage, “more unhappy than
Fields (Kr:s:n:ara¯j¯ı). Located within the fifth heaven, they con-
happy” (duh:s:ama¯-sus:ama¯), lasts 1 x 1014 sa¯garopama years,
stitute a dark heavenly region consisting of eight masses of
less 42,000 calendrical years. During these stages, decline sets
water and coagulated vegetable matter, portrayed in Jain cos-
in and human beings progressively diminish in size, lifespan,
mological art as triangular, oblong, hexagonal and circular
and intellectual attainment, becoming sexually differentiated
in shape, which flow up from the Arun:avara ocean of the
and without any practical abilities. The first of twenty-four
Middle World. Rain and thunder are produced in the Black
t¯ırthan˙karas appears, who preaches the eternal Jain doctrine
Fields and they serve as an inevitable and repeated staging
and teaches human beings cultural skills. It is only during
post for all living beings in the beginningless rebirth process.
the third and fourth stages, in which there is neither an ex-
THE REALM OF THE LIBERATED. Twelve leagues above
tremity of knowledge nor of ignorance, that human beings
Pañca¯nuttara, the highest heavenly level of the Upper World,
can obtain liberation. During these periods there also appear
is ¯Is:atpra¯gbha¯ra, the “Slightly Curving Place,” so called be-
the various universal emperors (cakravartin), nonviolent he-
cause it has the shape of a parasol. This is the permanent
roes (baladeva), warlike heroes (va¯sudeva), and their enemies
abode of those who have achieved liberation (siddha) and
(prativa¯sudeva) whose careers mesh with those of the first
freedom from rebirth.
twenty-two t¯ırthan˙karas and provide the substance of an ex-
tensive Jain legendary history.
Jain cosmology depicts ¯Is:atpra¯gbha¯ra in concrete terms,
although its inhabitants are without physicality. The whole
The fifth stage, called “unhappy” (duh:s:ama¯), is the one
of this realm is made of white gold. It is eight yojanas high
in which those inhabitants of the Middle World subject to
at its middle point and (according to S´veta¯mbara cosmology)
the influence of time are located at present. It lasts for 21,000
4,500,000 yojanas wide. In the middle of ¯Is:atpra¯gbha¯ra there
calendrical years. During this time human beings assume
is a circular rock, eight yojanas in height and width. One yo-
“normal” physical dimension and longevity, no t¯ırthan˙karas
jana above this rock is the very edge and end of the loka and
are born, the Jain community goes into decline, and receptiv-
it is in this area that the liberated dwell, in number beyond
ity to Jain teachings diminishes, until at the end, with the
calculation.
almost complete disappearance of knowledge of the scrip-
TIME. For Jainism, the universe has no beginning or end. As
tures, there remain only a single monk, nun, layman, and
a consequence, the tradition evinces a major preoccupation
laywoman.
with time. Although Jainism subscribes to the basic system
The sixth stage, the “very unhappy” (duh:s:ama¯-
of time-units found in Brahmanic tradition and on occasion
duh:s:ama¯), lasts for 21,000 calendrical years. During this
utilizes the model of time as divided into epochs (yuga) elab-
stage, human beings degenerate completely and are reduced
orated in Pura¯n:ic Hinduism, it evolved its own system of
to the status of short-lived dwarves without any social skills
cosmic reckoning in which huge periods of duration were
who exist as troglodytes. Eventually, the sixth stage ends in
enumerated.
a conflagration and the succeeding upward movement of
The central unit of time for Jainism is envisaged as being
time starts, with its six stages in reverse order to those of the
equivalent to the turning of a wheel continually repeated
downward motion.
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COSMOLOGY: BUDDHIST COSMOLOGY
BIBLIOGRAPHY
region of the south, Saha¯ is our universe and is the field of
Caillat, Colette, and Ravi Kumar. The Jain Cosmology. Basel,
the Buddha S´a¯kyamuni.
Paris, and New Delhi, 1981. Contains outstanding illustra-
tions of Jain cosmological art.
At the core of each of these cosmologies is a drama of
Jnanmati, Aryika. Jaina Geography. Ha¯stinapur, India, 1985. A
salvation. It is this drama of salvation, implicit in all the Bud-
detailed account of the configuration of the Middle World
dhist cosmologies, that allows for the integration of the sci-
by a prominent Digambara nun.
entific and theological bases of these cosmologies, represent-
Kirfel, Willibald. Die Kosmographie der Inder. Hildesheim, Ger-
ed in images of motion and light. More specifically, these
many, 1967. See pp. 208–331. The definitive treatment of
cosmologies transform the astronomical themes of motion
Jain descriptions of the universe, containing full details of
and light into the mytho-philosophic themes of journey and
cosmological enumeration and measurement.
soul. The seemingly fantastic numbers characteristic of these
Ohira, Suzuko. A Study of the Bhagavat¯ısu¯tra: A Chronological
cosmologies are grounded in the power of mathematics that
Analysis. Ahmedabad, India, 1994. Important for the early
allows the astronomers to measure the motions of the heav-
development of Jain cosmology.
ens and enables the faithful to comprehend the theological
and mystical implications of these measurements.
PAUL DUNDAS (2005)
SINGLE-WORLD SYSTEM. The basic outlines of the single-
world system are generally agreed upon throughout a broad
spectrum of Buddhism and are a prominent feature of the
COSMOLOGY: BUDDHIST COSMOLOGY
Pali texts as well as the Buddhist Sanskrit literature. Buddhist
There is no single system of Buddhist cosmology. Virtually
text designate it as the cakrava¯la, after the mountain of iron
every theological tendency within the Buddhist tradition ad-
that surrounds it. Single, circular world systems are promi-
dressed the cosmological sciences from its special perspec-
nent in the Puranic and Jain cosmologies as well and have
tive—seeing the universe as the stage for a drama of salvation
a wide dispersion throughout the classical world in general.
cast in terms of its own particular philosophical and theologi-
This article ignores variations of detail in the Buddhist texts
cal predilections. Buddhist systems are related not only to
and is restricted to the extensive and systematic testimony of
other Indian systems, for example, Hindu, Jain, A¯j¯ıvika, and
Vasubandhu’s Abhidharmako´sa (hereafter Ko´sa), a
so forth, but to Hellenistic speculations as well.
Sautra¯ntika work composed in the fourth or fifth century of
The single-world system that is particularly prominent
the common era.
in the oldest Buddhist texts pictures the cosmos as a flat disk
with heavens and meditation realms above and hells below.
The cakrava¯la. The cakrava¯la is represented as a disk
Although the oldest tradition apparently limited its interest
ringed with a series of seven circular, golden mountain
to a single-world system, a grandiose cosmic structure devel-
ranges, arranged concentrically with Mount Meru at the cen-
oped on the perimeter of this single universe. Traces of
ter and the cakrava¯la wall of iron at the perimeter. Proceed-
themes associated with multiple-world systems appear in
ing outward from the center, the mountains are known as
texts of the Pali canon. A ten-thousand-world system is men-
Meru, Yugandhara, ¯Is:adha¯ra, Khadirika, Sudar´sana,
tioned in the Ja¯takas, though with little elaboration, and in
A´svakarn:a, Vinataka, Nimindhara, and Cakrava¯la. Mount
a more systematic way in Buddhaghosa’s Visuddhimagga (sec.
Meru has a height of eighty thousand yojanas and penetrates
414ff.). These and other similar cosmologies are variants of
the waters in equal measure; each of the mountain ranges is
the sa¯hasra cosmology, or “cosmology of thousands.” They
half the height and depth of the preceding range. The waters
focus on themes of cosmic time and belong to the H¯ınaya¯na
of various seas (s¯ıta¯) fill the regions between the mountain
schools of Buddhism.
ranges.
The cosmology of the Maha¯ya¯na, characterized by innu-
The landmasses are situated in the great ocean
merable world systems distributed throughout the ten re-
(maha¯samudra) that flows within the area bounded by
gions of space, can be characterized as an asam:khyeya cosmol-
Nimindhara and Cakrava¯la. The four landmasses, located at
ogy, or “cosmology of innumerables.” Although certain of
the points of the compass, are spoken of as “islands” (dv¯ıpa)
these world systems lack the presence of a Buddha, most are
and are named Pu¯rvavideha (in the east), Jambudv¯ıpa (in the
buddha fields (buddhaks:etras) where a fully and perfectly en-
south—named after the Jambu tree that is found there),
lightened Tatha¯gata resides and teaches the law for the bene-
Aparagoda¯n¯ıya (in the west), and Uttarakuru (in the north).
fit of countless beings. Generally speaking, there are three
The names of these islands are suggestive of theological direc-
types of buddhaks:etras: “pure” (vi´suddha), “impure”
tions as well: for example, Videha is the name of disem-
(avi´suddha), and “mixed” (mi´sraka). Sukha¯vat¯ı is the best
bodied deities and suggests the goal of yoga, which is to liber-
known among the Pure Lands, although in some texts it is
ate the soul from its bondage to the body; the Jambu tree
clearly subordinated to others. Saha¯ is the most important
is suggestive of the fruits of the path of Buddhism, Goda¯n¯ıya
of the Impure Lands—although from another perspective,
of Kr:s:n:a’s heaven, the Goloka, and Uttarakuru of the
Saha¯ may be considered a “mixed” land, alternately orna-
Kuruks:etra, the “field of the Kurus,” on which was fought
mented (pure) and unornamented (impure). Located in the
the great battle of the Maha¯bha¯rata.
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All of these entities rest on a layer of golden earth
rests atop Mount Meru. The Tus:ita is distinguished by the
(ka¯ñcanamay¯ıbhu¯mi), and all of the mountains except the
fact that it is here that the bodhisattva is born immediately
cakrava¯la are composed of excrescences of this golden earth.
prior to being born as a Buddha in Jambudv¯ıpa. The dura-
While the islands are not similarly composed, the vajra¯sana
tion of life in the Tus:ita corresponds to the ages in which
(“diamond throne”) situated in the middle of Jambudv¯ıpa
a Buddha appears. The uppermost heaven is the Akanis:t:ha;
is said to rest on the golden earth. The golden earth of the
the fourth infinity is designated bhava¯gra (“pinnacle of
cakrava¯la rests on a circle of water (a¯bman:d:ala); a layer of
being”).
wind (va¯yuman:d:ala) supports the water and in turn rests on
Associated drama. In its simplest form, the drama of
empty space (a¯ka¯´sa).
the single-world system depends on the fact that the universe
The four islands of the cakrava¯la are distinguished from
is limited and continuous. The monk travels through all the
each other in a number of ways, particularly with regard to
realms of the universe in the course of his meditations, even-
their size and shape and the life span of their inhabitants. Ut-
tually getting beyond it—detaching himself from it—to take
tarakuru is square, measuring 2,000 yojanas on a side, and
possession of an individual nirva¯n:a and achieve the state of
life there has a duration of 1,000 years. (A yojana has been
arhat. For the most part, neither the presence of a buddha
defined variously as the equivalent of 2.5, 4, 5, or 9 English
nor the divisions of cosmic time are central to this drama.
miles, although its etymological link to yoga and yuga sug-
COSMOLOGY OF THOUSANDS. There exist countless varia-
gests a metaphysical significance as well.) Goda¯n¯ıya is shaped
tions within this general heading, but the combination of
like a full moon measuring 7,500 yojanas around with a di-
thousands of worlds and the superimposition of one cosmic
ameter of 2,500 yojanas, and life there lasts 500 years.
level upon another is a fundamental characteristic of the
Pu¯rvavideha has the shape of a half moon with three sides
sa¯hasra cosmology. A second characteristic is the ultimate
said to be 2,000 yojanas in length and a fourth that is 350
unity of these various combinations of worlds in the realm
yojanas in length. Duration of life there is equal to 250 years.
of a single buddha, a single buddhaks:etra (buddha field), or
Jambudv¯ıpa, too, measures 2,000 yojanas on three sides, but
another similarly unifying entity.
its fourth side is only 3.5 yojanas long. It is said to be shaped
like a chariot. (In addition to the four main islands, the Ko´sa
The Majjhima Nika¯ya (3.101) describes a division of
recognizes eight intermediate islands, two of which are simi-
the brahmaloka into multiples of thousands of worlds,
lar in shape to each of the four main islands, although they
making a distinction between a sahasso-brahma¯ governing
are only one-tenth the size. The shape of the faces of the in-
a sahass¯ıi lokadhatu, and equivalent realms governed
habitants of each of the islands is said to resemble the shape
by a dvisahasso-brahma¯, a trisahasso-brahma¯, a catussahasso-
of the island.)
brahma¯, a pancassahasso-brahma¯, and a satasahassobrah-
ma¯, gods that rule over worlds numbering between 1,000
Jambudv¯ıpa provides an important exception to the su-
and 1,000100.
perhuman and unchanging durations of life found in the
Another example from the Pali texts is found at
other islands. The length of human life in Jambudv¯ıpa var-
An:guttara Nika¯ya 1.227, which describes (1) a system of one
ies; at the beginning of the kalpa it is incalculable, but even-
thousand universes, sahass¯ıi chu¯l:anika¯ lokadha¯tu (“small
tually it diminishes to only ten years and continues to fluctu-
chiliocosm”); (2) a system of one million universes,
ate throughout the kalpa. Because of these irregular life
dvisahass¯ı majjhimika¯ lokadha¯tu (“middle chiliocosm”), em-
expectancies, the inhabitants of Jambudv¯ıpa are particularly
bracing one thousand “small chiliocosms”; and (3) a system
aware of the workings of karman. Moreover, it is only in
of one billion universes, tisahass¯ı maha¯sahassi lokadha¯tu
Jambudv¯ıpa during a time of declining life spans that a Bud-
(“great chiliocosm”), embracing one thousand “middle
dha will appear. Another distinguishing feature of
chiliocosms.” The Ko´sa (vol. 3, pp. 138–141) describes the
Jambudv¯ıpa is that all the hells are situated beneath this is-
trisa¯hasramaha¯sa¯hasralokadha¯tu in virtually identical terms.
land. The Ko´sa distinguishes eight hot hells and eight cold
hells, although other systems are attested.
From this description it appears that a trisa¯hasrama-
ha¯sa¯hasralokadha¯tu (tisahass¯ı maha¯sahass¯ı lokadha¯tu) consists
A series of heavens is arrayed above the cakrava¯la in
of one billion universes like the one in which we live, each
three great divisions: (1) those heavens in the “realm of de-
consisting of four islands, a cakrava¯la wall, seven concentric
sire” (ka¯madha¯tu) corresponding to the six classes of the
ring mountains, a sun, a moon, and a Mount Meru. This
“gods of desire” (ka¯madeva); (2) the seventeen heavens be-
arrangement of thousands of worlds is the most representa-
longing to the “realm of form” (ru¯padha¯tu), grouped into
tive expression of the sa¯hasra cosmology and emerges as the
four classes of “meditation realms” (dhya¯na); and (3) the four
formulaic expression of a buddhaks:etra. Even Maha¯ya¯na texts
“infinities” of the “realm of nonform” (a¯ru¯pyadha¯tu). The
that recognize the existence of innumerable buddhaks:etras
significance of these divisions is uncertain except for the fact
acknowledge the fact that each is a trisa¯hasramaha¯-
that they form a schematic representation of Buddhist phi-
sa¯hasralokadha¯tu.
losophy and doctrine related to meditation. Nevertheless,
several of the heavens have characteristics worth noting. The
Interpretation of the meaning of the trisa¯hasrama-
ruler of the Tra¯yastrim:´sa is Indra, or S´akra, whose abode
ha¯sa¯hasralokadha¯tu remains problematic. However, it is
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COSMOLOGY: BUDDHIST COSMOLOGY
closely associated with speculations on the great division of
ation, it diminishes (apakars:a) to ten years. Each of the next
cosmic time. Because of this association, it is reasonable to
eighteen antarakalpas consists of an augmentation (utkars:a)
assume a connection between the thousands of the sa¯hasra
of life span from ten years up to eighty thousand years and
cosmology and the manner in which astronomers measured
a subsequent diminution back down to ten years again. The
the movements of the planets, multiplying the fractional
twentieth antarakalpa consists solely of augmentation up to
measurements of their observations by thousands of years to
eighty thousand years.
determine the beginning and end of the world, that is, that
While not specifically mentioned in the Ko´sa, it should
time when all planets were (will be) in a straight line. Based
be noted that messianic traditions within Buddhism focus on
on these associations, we may regard the universe as “ever-
the figure of Maitreya, the future and last Buddha of our age,
measuring,” constantly productive of the divisions of time
who will provide a new dharma (“teaching”) to replace the
grounded in the powers of discrimination.
degenerated teaching of S´a¯kyamuni. This will occur when
This association with measurements of time is strength-
the duration of life has reached eighty thousand years.
ened by the parallels between the sa¯hasra cosmology and the
cosmologies of the Hindu Pura¯n:as, since the “thousands of
When all beings have disappeared from the inferior
worlds” (i.e., one billion) of the sa¯hasra cosmology exactly
realms and are reunited in a meditation realm, presumably
equal the divisions of time of the Puranic cosmos—if one
through the power of meditation and possibly the attain-
leaves out references to days and nights and counts only
ment of nirva¯n:a, the “destructions” (sam:varta¯nis) take place.
years. The Puranic yugas consist of ten divine years, each
The agents of the destructions are the “great elements” and
equal to one thousand human years, for a total of ten thou-
are of three kinds: those by fire, those by water, and those
sand years in a ma¯hayuga. One thousand ma¯hayugas are the
by wind. The second meditation realm (dhya¯na) is the limit
equivalent of a kalpa, which is also a “day of Brahma¯,” and
(s¯ıma¯) of the destruction by fire; everything lower is burned
one hundred years of such days equal the life of Brahma¯ or
and scorched. The third dhya¯na is the limit of the destruction
a maha¯kalpa. (The full reckoning is: 10 x 1000 x 1000 x
by water; everything lower is decomposed or dissolved. The
100 = 1,000,000,000.) The trisa¯hasramaha¯sa¯hasralokadha¯tu
fourth dhya¯na is the limit of the destruction by wind; every-
apparently spatializes the temporal divisions of Hindu cos-
thing below it is scattered. There is no destruction by earth
mology.
because the receptacle world consists of earth. The destruc-
tions succeed one another in the following sequence: Seven
Associated drama. In contrast to the drama of the sin-
destructions by fire are followed by a destruction by water;
gle-world system, the manner whereby salvation occurs with-
this cycle of eight destructions is repeated a total of seven
in the structures of the sa¯hasra cosmology is inextricably re-
times. Then follow seven more destructions by fire and a
lated to the divisions of cosmic time and the appearance of
final destruction by wind. Thus there are seven times eight,
a buddha.
or fifty-six destructions by fire, seven by water, and a final
The largest division of time, corresponding to the dura-
(sixty-fourth) destruction by wind.
tion of the universe, is a maha¯kalpa. A maha¯kalpa in turn
While the soteriological drama associated with this cos-
consists of four “moments” (kalpas), each of which contains
mology is framed by the speculations on cosmic time, the
twenty antarakalpas. Thus, the maha¯kalpa consists of (1) a
drama proper divides itself into four discrete “moments.”
kalpa of creation (vivartakalpa), which extends from the
The first is that of the progress of the ´sra¯vaka, or one who
birth of the primordial wind to the production of the first
has undertaken the religious vocation toward becoming an
being that inhabits the hells; (2) a kalpa that consists of the
arhat. Second is the exercise of miraculous powers. Third is
duration of the creation (vivartastha¯yikalpa), which begins
the career of the bodhisattva, who makes a vow in the pres-
with the appearance of the first being in the hells; (3) a kalpa
ence of a buddha to pursue buddhahood rather than pass
of dissolution (sam:vartakalpa), commencing with the mo-
into the extinction of nirva¯n:a. The fourth moment in the
ment when beings cease to be reborn in the hells and ending
drama is the appearance of a Buddha.
with the moment when the “receptacle world” (i.e., the
world inhabited by sentient beings) is destroyed; and (4) a
The progress of the ´sra¯vaka toward the state of arhat
kalpa during which the world remains dissolved
consists of a series of practices, teachings, and meditations
(sam:vartastha¯yikalpa) and during which nothing remains but
designated in a general way as “the path.” Briefly stated, the
space (a¯ka¯´sa) where the world was. Each of the four kalpas
´sra¯vaka on the way to arhatship masters a path that consists
are sometimes designated asam:khyeya (“incalculable”) kalpas.
of sixteen “moments” of the four Holy Truths (abhisamaya)
and 182 moments of the stages of meditation (bha¯vana¯-
The twenty small or “intermediate” kalpas (antara-
ma¯rga) including taking possession of the “four fruits” of the
kalpas) are characterized as follows: In a period of creation,
path: srota¯panna (“stream winner”), sakr:da¯ga¯min (“once-
the receptacle world (bha¯janaloka) is created during the first
returner”), ana¯ga¯min (“nonreturner”), and arhat.
antarakalpa; beings appear during the remaining nineteen.
A reverse process occurs during a period of destruction. At
Following the exercise of certain miraculous powers ob-
the end of a period of creation, humankind has a life that
tained as a result of meditation, and having made a vow to
is infinite in duration. During the first antarakalpa of the cre-
become a buddha, the bodhisattva then perfects the various
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virtues (pa¯ramita¯s) during three asam:khyeya s of maha¯kalpas.
(upa¯ya), the cosmic Buddha projects three paths—those pur-
After countless rebirths among the excellent destinies, the bo-
sued by the arhat, the pratyekabuddha and the bodhisattva—
dhisattva is born in the Tus:ita Heaven, during which time
to suit the differing spiritual capacities of creatures. While
he develops the acts that are productive of the thirty-two
these three goals are pursued independently by beings ac-
marks of a great and almost certainly cosmic person
cording to their sensibilities, it is after having achieved these
(maha¯purus:a). During the course of one hundred supple-
various provisional nirva¯n:as that the true nirva¯n:a is bestowed
mentary cosmic ages (kalpa´sate ´sese), he exhibits in
upon them by the Buddha.
Jambudv¯ıpa the marks of a maha¯purus:a. This he does only
in the presence of a buddha.
There are additional continuities between this drama
and that found in the Pure Land traditions. There the faith-
The final stage in the drama involves the appearance of
ful are admonished to think at the moment of death of the
a buddha. While there is considerable doctrinal disagreement
Buddha Amita¯bha (“infinite light”), whose field, Sukha¯vat¯ı
on many points relating to this subject, it is generally agreed
(the Land of Bliss), lies in the west. In so doing, they will
that a buddha only appears during a period when the length
be reborn there in what will be their last birth; to live lives
of human life is declining and when it is between eighty
without interruption and to hear the dharma preached per-
thousand and one hundred (sometimes, eighty) years. Life-
fectly and thence to obtain final nirva¯n:a. I shall simply note
spans greater than this are too long to afford beings aware-
that Sukha¯vat¯ı is the realm of sukha (“bliss”), set over against
ness of the impermanent nature of things; less than this and
life is too brief and the five corruptions (kas:a¯yas) too power-
this world of duh:kha (“suffering”). The fundamental tenet
ful for the teaching to be mastered. Since the buddha is clear-
of the H¯ınaya¯na, of course, is that all existence is suffering
ly of a different order from the arhat, and since both are nec-
(duh:kha). The sukha world is therefore the visionary repre-
essarily in possession of nirva¯n:a, we must conclude that the
sentation of all duality and of all striving. It is thus an accom-
nirva¯n:a of the buddha is of a different order from that of the
modation to the sensibilities of all creatures and in some ways
arhat.
a provisional nirva¯n:a. From Sukha¯vat¯ı the second stage of
the drama unfolds, which is the ekaya¯na, or the nirva¯n:a
Since it is more important to provide a general means
granted as a result of the nirva¯n:a of the Buddha.
of interpreting these systems than to provide ever greater de-
tail, I suggest the following. The single-world system in isola-
With the same thought in mind, but using the stick
tion serves as an aid to monastic meditation in much the
rather than the carrot, the Japanese monk Genshin (942–
same way as Sa¯m:khya philosophy serves as a cosmological
1017) compiled extensive and horrible descriptions of the
framework for the practice of yoga. Time (motion) and the
hells associated with the single-world system in order to turn
cosmos are essentially contained within the body of the indi-
people’s minds toward rebirth in Sukha¯vat¯ı lest they remain
vidual in its unliberated mode. Time and space are the prod-
in the realm of duh:kha and become subject to its worst
ucts of the movements of the primordial matter (prakr:i) agi-
torments.
tated by the presence of a soul.
The Tiantai school of Chinese Buddhism utilizes the
As a corollary, there is little need for the great divisions
trisa¯hasramaha¯sa¯hasralokadha¯tu in another way, basing its in-
of time—kalpas, yugas, maha¯kalpas, and so forth. Where
terpretation on the second chapter of the Lotus Su¯tra. Here
these appear, time (and the cosmos) have been incorporated
we are told that it represents the three thousand worlds used
into the body of the deity. While arhatship or the attainment
as a model for the interpenetrating nature of all reality. These
of the individual nirva¯n:a is the essential drama of the single-
three thousand worlds are also known as dharmas and are or-
world system in the Pali texts, the Sarva¯stiva¯din texts estab-
ganized in the following manner. There are ten realms of ex-
lish a drama involving the relationship between the individu-
istence—those of the buddhas, bodhisattvas, pratyekabudd-
al nirva¯n:a (arhat) and the nirva¯n:a of the Buddha as a cosmic
figure whose body contains the elements of time. This sug-
has, direct disciples of the Buddha (´sra¯vakas), heavenly
gestion is supported in part by the fact that the Pali Abhid-
beings, spirits, human beings, departed beings, beasts, and
hamma recognizes a single unconditioned dharma and a sin-
depraved men. Each of these shares the characteristics of the
gle nirva¯n:a, whereas the Sarva¯stiva¯din literature recognizes
others, thus making one hundred realms. Each of these in
three unconditioned dharmas, including space and two types
turn is characterized by ten “thusnesses” or “such-likenesses”
of nirva¯n:a.
through which the true state is manifested in phenomena.
This makes one thousand realms of existence. Each realm is
Alternative dramas. Along with three classes of
further constituted by the three divisions of living beings,
saints—arhat, bodhisattva, and buddha—the Ko´sa recognizes
space, and the (five) aggregates (skandhas) that constitute
a fourth class of saint known as the pratyekabuddha, or per-
dharmas, thus making a total of three thousand realms of ex-
son who achieves enlightenment in isolation. The grouping
istence or aspects of reality. Because the interpenetration of
of four is noteworthy for its transformation in the
these three thousand realms (trisa¯hasramaha¯sa¯has-
Saddharmapun:d:ar¯ıka Su¯tra (Lotus Su¯tra).
ralokadha¯tu) is immanent in a single instant of thought, all
The Lotus Su¯tra describes a “path” to salvation known
beings have the buddha-nature in them and can thus be
as the ekaya¯na, or “single path.” By means of “devices”
saved.
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COSMOLOGY: BUDDHIST COSMOLOGY
While comparison of these variations in drama with that
viduals. According to the Lotus Su¯tra, “he does not teach a
of the sa¯hasra cosmology is useful, they are better understood
particular Nirva¯n:a for each being; he causes all beings to
in the context of another set of general cosmological struc-
reach complete Nirva¯n:a by means of the complete Nirva¯n:a
tures known as the asam:khyeya cosmology.
of the Tatha¯gata” (Kern, 1965, p. 81).
COSMOLOGY OF INNUMERABLES. The asam:khyeya cosmolo-
The drama of the sa¯hasra cosmology and that of the
gy belongs to the Maha¯ya¯na and is characterized by the “in-
asam:khyeya cosmology can be contrasted on many points.
numerable” (asam:khyeya) buddhas and buddhaksetras filling
The journey of the sa¯hasra cosmology is one that moves ar-
the ten regions of space in place of the single buddhaks:etra
duously and laboriously through each of the abodes of the
of the H¯ınaya¯na.
cosmography and extends indefinitely in time. The journey
Images of space. While the sa¯hasra cosmology was
of the asam:khyeya cosmology on the other hand occurs in an
dominated by the temporal categories of the kalpa, the
instant, transporting the individual to one of the many
asam:khyeya cosmology is dominated by spatial categories and
worlds separated from each other by the void of infinite
images. The emphasis on spatial imagery is carried to the
space. In the former, Buddhas are rare and quiescent, in the
point where the Maha¯ya¯na can argue that time does not
latter, numerous and active. Just as the Hindu cosmologies
exist. Just as the appearance of the Buddhas in the sa¯hasra
play with a juxtaposition of the term purus:a in its two mean-
cosmology was linked to the passage of time, the Buddhas
ings of multiple individual souls on the one hand and a sin-
are now associated with the directions or points of space and
gle, all-encompassing soul on the other, the Buddhist cos-
are referred to as the “Buddhas of the ten regions”
mologies are concerned with individual and cosmic nirva¯n:as.
(da´sadigbuddha). As a result, the appearance of a buddha in
It may be argued that all of Buddhist cosmological spec-
this cosmology is not a rare event. Instead, it is repeatedly
ulation falls into one of these two traditions. Those that ac-
stated that the Buddhas are “as numerous as the sands of the
cept time as the fundamental cosmological reality belong to
Ganges.”
the H¯ınaya¯na. Those that embrace metaphors of space be-
long to the Maha¯ya¯na. It is also likely that the cakrava¯la cos-
Associated drama. A new drama is expressed in a my-
mology and the Pure Land cosmologies actually constitute
theme that finds wide currency in Maha¯ya¯na texts. It re-
shorthands or simplifications of these two great traditions,
volves around the “great concentrations” of the buddha
the one for the benefit of the monastic vocation, and the
S´a¯kyamuni in his cosmic form and the manner in which the
other for the benefit of the devotional traditions of the
concentrations result in the exercise of miraculous powers,
Maha¯ya¯na.
most notably the issuance of rays of light from the body of
the Buddha. While the mytheme varies from text to text, it
SEE ALSO Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, article on Celestial
is analyzed with scholastic thoroughness in the
Buddhas and Bodhisattvas; Pure and Impure Lands; Soteri-
Maha¯prajña¯pa¯ramita¯ S´a¯stra (chaps. 14–15), a text tradition-
ology.
ally attributed to Na¯ga¯rjuna. The essential tenets of this
drama may be summarized as follows.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Texts and Translations
The Buddha enters into a concentration in which are
Abhidharmako´sa, translated by Louis de La Vallée Poussin as
contained all the concentrations. Departing therefrom he
L’Abhidharmako´sa de Vasubandhu, 6 vols. (1923–1931; re-
practices a variety of magical powers, the most notable of
print, Brussels, 1971).
which is the issuance of rays of light from his body. Touched
Maha¯prajña¯pa¯ramita¯ S´a¯stra, translated by Étienne Lamotte as Le
by these rays of light, all beings become intent upon enlight-
traité de la grande vertu de sagesse de Na¯ga¯rjuna, 5 vols. (Lou-
enment and are prepared to hear the great sermon of the cos-
vain, 1949–1980).
mic Buddha; the world is transformed into a Pure Land, and
O
¯ jo¯yo¯shu¯, translated by August Karl Reischauer as “Genshin’s Ojo
beings are either able to see and hear the dharma being
Yoshu: Collected Essays on Birth into Paradise,” Transactions
preached in other buddha fields or are transported to one of
of the Asiatic Society of Japan, 2d ser., 7 (1930): 16–97.
those fields where they can hear the dharma without obstacle,
Saddharmapun:d:ar¯ıka Su¯tra, translated by Hendrik Kern as
distraction, or interruption. The Buddha utilizes the magical
Saddharma-Pun:d:ar¯ıka; or the Lotus of the True Law (1884;
powers gained through concentration for the welfare of all
reprint, Delhi, 1965). The Chinese version of this text was
beings. The power of the rays of light is so great that it is
translated by Leon Hurvitz as Scripture of the Lotus Blossom
likened to the destruction of the universe by fire at the end
of the Fine Dharma (Lotus Sutra) (New York, 1976).
of a kalpa. As a result of his extinction in concentration, the
Sukha¯vat¯ıvyu¯ha Su¯tra, translated by F. Max Müller and edited by
Buddha exercises miraculous powers that benefit all beings
E. B. Cowell in Buddhist Maha¯ya¯na Texts, Sacred Books of
in accordance with their sensibilities. Just as the Hindu cos-
the East, vol. 49 (1894; reprint, New York, 1969).
mologies explore the multivalence of the term pralaya
Traibhu¯mikatha¯, translated by Frank E. Reynolds and Mani Rey-
(death/destruction of the universe/liberation) the Buddhist
nolds as Three Worlds according to King Ruang (Berkeley,
1982).
cosmologies explore the multiple meanings of nirva¯n:a.
Visuddhimagga, by Buddhaghosa, translated by Bhikkhu
In the last analysis, it is the nirva¯n:a of the cosmic Bud-
Ñya¯n:amoli as The Path of Purification, 2d ed. (Colombo,
dha that alone results in salvation, not the nirva¯n:as of indi-
1964).
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COSMOLOGY: SCIENTIFIC COSMOLOGIES
2031
Other Works of Interest
However, there was a problem with the idea of a limit-
Andrews, Allan A. The Teachings Essential for Rebirth: A Study of
less cosmos. Every line of sight would have to terminate
Genshin’s O
¯ jo¯yo¯shu¯. Tokyo, 1973.
somewhere on the surface of a star. In 1823 Wilhelm Olbers
Basham, A. L. History and Doctrine of the A¯j¯ıvikas: A Vanished In-
pointed out that this would imply that the night sky was ev-
dian Religion. London, 1951.
erywhere uniformly bright. The modern resolution of this
“Butsudo¯.” In Hôbôgirin: Dictionnarie encyclopédique du boudd-
paradox relies on the fact that the finite speed of light and
hisme d’après les sources chinoises et japonaise, 4 vols., edited
the finite age of the universe together mean that only a finite
by Paul Demiéville. Tokyo, 1929–1931.
number of stars are actually visible to us.
Hurvitz, Leon. Chih-I. Brussels, 1962.
An important discovery was made at the end of the eigh-
Kirfel, Willibald. Die Kosmographie der Inder (1920). Reprint,
teenth century by Sir William Herschel. He discovered that
Bonn, 1967.
the band of light known as the Milky Way is actually com-
Kloetzli, W. Randolph. Buddhist Cosmology: From Single World
posed of a multitude of stars, constituting a vast galaxy of
System to Pure Land; Science and Theology in the Images of Mo-
which the solar system is only a tiny component. Early specu-
tion and Light. Delhi, 1983.
lators, including Immanuel Kant (1724–1804), had pro-
Lamotte, Étienne. The Teaching of Vimalak¯ırti (Vimalak¯ır-
posed that this might be the case. They also suggested that
tinirde´sa). Translated from French by Sara Boin. London,
the luminous patches called nebulae might be other “island
1976. See especially “Note 1: The buddhaks:etra.”
universes,” similar to the Milky Way but at great distances
La Vallée Poussin, Louis de. “Cosmogony and Cosmology (Bud-
from it. The issue was not finally settled until the twentieth
dhist).” In Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics, edited by
century, but the idea was already in the air that created reality
James Hastings, vol. 4. Edinburgh, 1911. A lucid and highly
detailed discussion of H¯ınaya¯na cosmology.
might be much vaster than had earlier been supposed.
New Sources
Distances to nearby stars can be measured by parallax,
French, Rebecca R. “The Cosmology of Law in Buddhist Tibet.”
the slight shift in apparent celestial position as the Earth
Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 18,
moves around its orbit. Beyond that range, estimating dis-
no. 1 (1995): 97–116.
tance depends upon establishing a standard candle, a source
Gethin, Rupert. “Cosmology and Meditation: From the Agganna-
of light of known intensity whose observed dimming then
Sutta to the Mahayana.” History of Religions 36 (1997):
affords a measure of its distance. Stars of regularly fluctuating
183–217.
brightness, called Cepheid variables, provide this measure,
Hamilton, Sue. “The ‘External World’: Its Status and Relevance
for it is known that their intrinsic brightness is strictly corre-
in the Pali Nikayas.” Religion 29 (1999): 73–90.
lated with the period of their variation. In 1924 Edwin Hub-
Kong sprul, B. g. m. ¯ı, and R. Bokar. The Treasury of Knowledge.
ble used this method to establish that the Andromeda nebula
Book One: Myriad Worlds. Ithaca, N.Y., 2003.
is a distant galaxy, now known to be about two million light-
Mitchell, Donald W. “The Trinity and Buddhist Cosmology.”
years away from the Milky Way.
Buddhist Christian Studies 18 (1998): 169–180.
Hubble then went on to make his biggest discovery.
Sadakata, Akira. Buddhist Cosmology: Philosophy and Origins.
Light from distant galaxies is found to be reddened in com-
Tokyo, 1997.
parison with the same light from a terrestrial source. This is
Walker, J. L. “This Quiet Place That Buddhas Love.” Parabola 24
interpreted as due to the effect of recessional motion, and the
no. 1 (1999): 35–39.
degree of reddening induced is correlated to the speed of re-
W. RANDOLPH KLOETZLI (1987)
cession. The effect (Doppler shift) is similar to the change
Revised Bibliography
in frequency of an ambulance siren due to the motion of the
vehicle. Hubble discovered that the rate at which a galaxy is
receding is proportional to its distance. This was then inter-
COSMOLOGY: SCIENTIFIC COSMOLOGIES
preted as an effect due to the expansion of space itself. Just
General speculations about the nature of the world are as old
as spots on the surface of a balloon move away from each
as the Greek pre-Socratic philosophers, but a truly scientific
other as the balloon is inflated, so as space expands it carries
cosmology could not be formulated until there was some
the galaxies with it. Hubble’s discovery of the expanding uni-
knowledge of the basic laws of nature. Isaac Newton’s discov-
verse had a profound effect upon the development of cosmo-
ery of universal inverse-square-law gravity afforded the first
logical theory.
serious opportunity for such an endeavor. Because gravity is
RELATIVISTIC COSMOLOGY. Newton regarded space as a
attractive, an immediate problem was to explain why the uni-
container within which the motion of material atoms took
verse did not collapse in upon itself. Planetary motions
place in the course of the flow of absolute time. Albert Ein-
stopped this happening in the solar system, but what about
stein’s discovery of the theory of general relativity completely
the “fixed stars”? The answer first suggested was that in a uni-
changed this picture.
verse of infinite extent, populated uniformly by stars, the at-
tractive forces in different directions would cancel each other
In 1908 Einstein had what he regarded as his happiest
out, giving equilibrium.
thought. He realized that if he were to be falling freely, he
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COSMOLOGY: SCIENTIFIC COSMOLOGIES
would be completely unaware of gravity. This seemingly
universe, for his unmodified equations had solutions (discov-
rather insignificant observation led him to recognize the
ered by the Russian meteorologist Alexander Friedmann and
principle of equivalence, which lies at the root of general rela-
the Belgian priest Georges Lemaître) that corresponded to
tivity. There are two conceptually distinct meanings of mass:
the behavior later observed by Hubble. Moreover, his pro-
inertial mass (measuring a body’s resistance to having its state
posed static solution did not really work, for it was unstable
of motion changed) and gravitational mass (measuring the
and would have collapsed under disturbance.
strength of the body’s interaction with a gravitational field).
B
Despite their conceptual distinctness, these two measures are
IG BANG COSMOLOGY. If the galaxies are presently moving
apart, then in the past they must have been closer together.
always numerically identical. Quantitatively, inertial and
This leads to the conclusion that the universe we observe
gravitational mass are equivalent. This implies that all bodies
today appears to have emerged from the Big Bang, a primeval
move in the same way in a gravitational field. Doubling the
state of immensely condensed and energetic matter. Current
mass will double the inertial resistance to a change of motion,
estimates date this emergence at 13.7 billion years ago.
but it also doubles the gravitational force effecting the
change. In consequence the resulting motion is the same.
Taken literally, the Big Bang itself is an instant of infi-
This universal behavior means that the effects of gravity on
nite density and energy, a singularity that is beyond the
individual bodies can be reinterpreted as a general conse-
power of conventional science to analyze. (Some highly spec-
quence of the properties of space itself, or more accurately,
ulative ideas about the very early universe, close to the Big
taking into account Einstein’s earlier discovery of special rel-
Bang, will be discussed below.) Although some religious peo-
ativity’s close mutual association of space and time, the prop-
ple (including Pope Pius XII) succumbed to the temptation
erties of four-dimensional spacetime. The concepts of space,
to speak of the Big Bang as “the moment of creation,” this
time, and matter, held quite distinct by Newton, were united
was clearly a theological mistake. The Judeo-Christian-
by Einstein in a single package deal. He turned gravitational
Islamic doctrine of creation is concerned with ontological or-
physics into geometry. Matter curves spacetime and the cur-
igin (why is there something rather than nothing?), rather
vature of spacetime in turn affects the paths of matter. There
than temporal origin (how did it all begin?). God is as much
is no time without space and matter, a point Augustine had
the Creator today as God was 13.7 billion years ago. Big
realized fifteen centuries earlier.
Bang cosmology is very interesting scientifically, but not crit-
Einstein set to work to discover the equations that
ically significant theologically.
would give quantitative expression to his idea. The search
Nevertheless, three cosmologists, Hermann Bondi, Fred
was long, but in November 1915 he hit upon them. Immedi-
Hoyle, and Thomas Gold, feared that Big Bang cosmology
ately he was able to show that they predicted a small devia-
might favor religion, and so in the 1960s they proposed an
tion in the behavior of the planet Mercury, which had al-
alternative steady state theory, the picture of an everlasting
ready been observed but which had defied Newtonian
universe always broadly the same. This return to Aristotelian
explanation. Later, in 1919, observations of a total solar
ideas was reconciled with the recession of the galaxies by the
eclipse confirmed another prediction, relating to the bending
supposition of the continuous creation of matter, taking
of starlight by the Sun. Overnight Einstein became in the
place at a rate too small to be observed but sufficient over
public’s imagination the iconic scientific hero.
time to fill in the gaps left by the motion of the already exist-
This integration of space, time, and matter in a single
ing galaxies. Further observational results have disposed of
theory afforded the opportunity to construct a truly scientific
this idea.
account of the whole universe. However, there seemed to be
a problem. At the time, physicists still believed that cosmo-
As the universe expands, it cools. By the time it was a
logical theory should yield a static picture. Physics was to be
microsecond old, its temperature was already at the level
the last of the sciences to recognize the true significance of
where the cosmic processes taking place had energies suffi-
temporality and unfolding process. The geologists had got
ciently low for scientists to possess a reliable understanding
there at the end of the eighteenth century, and by mid-
of their nature. Discussion is further simplified by the fact
nineteenth century the biologists, with the publication of
that the early universe was almost uniform and structureless,
Charles Darwin’s Origin of Species in 1859, had followed
making it a very simple physical system to consider.
suit. In the early twentieth century, the physicists still held
By the time it was about three minutes old, the universe
the Aristotelian notion of an eternally changeless cosmos.
had cooled to the extent that nuclear interactions ceased on
Einstein could not find a static solution of his equations.
a cosmic scale. As a result the gross nuclear structure of the
Consequently, when he published his cosmological proposals
world got fixed at what it still is today, three-quarters hydro-
in 1918 he tinkered with the equations, adding an extra term
gen and one-quarter helium. By the time the cosmos was
(the cosmological constant). It represented a kind of anti-
about half a million years old, further cooling had taken it
gravity, a repulsive force designed to counterbalance over
to the point where radiation was no longer energetic enough
great distances the attractive force of conventional gravity.
to break up any atoms that tried to form. Matter and radia-
Einstein later called this addition the greatest blunder
tion then decoupled and the latter was left simply to cool fur-
of his life. He had missed the chance to predict an expanding
ther as cosmic expansion continued. Today this radiation is
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COSMOLOGY: SCIENTIFIC COSMOLOGIES
2033
very cold, three degrees above absolute zero. It was first ob-
However, there is a problem because beryllium is very unsta-
served in 1964 by Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson. Known
ble and this makes the second step problematic. In fact it is
as cosmic background radiation, it forms a fossilized deposit
only possible because there turns out to be a substantial en-
left over from the big bang era, telling us what the universe
hancement effect (a resonance) occurring at exactly the right
was like when it was half a million years old. One of the
energy. If the nuclear forces were different from what they
things we learn is that the cosmos was then very uniform,
actually are, this resonance would be in the wrong place and
with fluctuations about the mean density amounting to no
there would be no carbon at all. When Hoyle discovered this
more than one part in ten thousand. This background radia-
remarkable coincidence, he felt it could not just be a
tion put paid to the steady state theory, which could not ex-
happy accident but there must be some Intelligence lying
plain its properties in the natural way that was possible for
behind it.
Big Bang cosmology.
Examples can be multiplied. Developing life on a planet
Gravity has the long-term effect of enhancing small
depends upon its star providing a long-lived and reliable
fluctuations. A little more matter here than there produced
source of energy. Stars burn in this way in our universe be-
a little more attraction here than there, thereby triggering a
cause the force of gravity is such as to permit it. The most
snowballing effect by which the universe eventually became
exacting anthropic fine-tuning relates to Einstein’s cosmo-
lumpy with galaxies and stars. By a cosmic age of one billion
logical constant. Modern thinking has revived this notion,
years this process was in full swing. As stars condensed, they
but its strength has to be extremely weak to prevent the uni-
heated up and nuclear reactions began again on a local scale.
verse either collapsing or blowing apart. Many cosmologists
Initially, stars burn by converting hydrogen into helium. At
believe the force (usually called dark energy) is actually pres-
a later stage of stellar development, heavier elements, such
ent, but at a level that is only 10-120 of what one would regard
as carbon and oxygen, are formed by further nuclear process-
as its natural value. Anything larger than this tiny number
es. Inside a star this sequence cannot get beyond iron, the
would have made the evolution of life, or any complex cos-
most stable of the nuclear species. At the end of their lives,
mic structure, quite impossible.
however, some stars explode as supernovae, not only scatter-
These scientific insights are uncontroversial, but what
ing the elements they have made out into the environment,
their deeper, metascientific significance might be held to be
but also, in the explosive process itself, generating the miss-
has been highly contended. Few are prepared to treat these
ing elements beyond iron. In this way the ninety-two chemi-
anthropic coincidences as merely happy accidents, and so
cal elements eventually became available. One of the great
two contrasting explanatory proposals have been widely can-
triumphs of twentieth-century astrophysics was unraveling
vassed. One views the universe as a divine creation, explain-
the details of the delicate processes of nucleosynthesis. When
ing its finely tuned specificity as an expression of the Cre-
a second generation of stars and planets formed, there was
ator’s will that it should be capable of having a fruitful
available a chemical environment sufficiently rich to permit
history. The other is the multiverse approach, supposing that
the development of life. Thus began one of the most remark-
this particular universe is just one member of a vast portfolio
able developments in cosmic history known to us. With the
of different existing worlds, each separate from each other
eventual dawning of self-consciousness the universe became
and each possessing its own natural laws and circumstances.
aware of itself.
Our universe is simply the one in this immense cosmic array
THE ANTHROPIC PRINCIPLE. As scientists came to under-
where, by chance, the development of carbon-based life is a
stand the evolutionary processes of cosmic history, they
possibility. Although there are highly speculative scientific
began to realize that the possibility for the development of
ideas that might to a degree encourage multiversal thinking
carbon-based life depended critically on the details of the
(see below), the unobservable prodigality of the multiverse
laws of nature actually operating in the universe. The collec-
approach makes it seem a metaphysical proposal of consider-
tion of insights pointing to this conclusion has been given
able extravagance, which appears to do only one piece of ex-
the name of the anthropic principle, though carbon principle
planatory work in defusing the threat of theism.
would have been a better choice as it is the generality of life,
THE VERY EARLY UNIVERSE. The closer scientists try to press
rather than the specificity of Homo sapiens, that is involved.
to the Big Bang, the more extreme are the regimes involved
Many examples have been given of these anthropic “fine-
and therefore the more speculative their thinking.
tunings.”
Many believe that when the universe was about 10-36
One is provided by the stellar processes by which the
seconds old, a kind of boiling of space occurred, called infla-
elements necessary for life have been formed. Every atom of
tion, which expanded the universe very greatly and with im-
carbon in every living body was once inside a star, and the
mense rapidity. The idea is not only supported by some theo-
process by which that carbon was made depends critically on
retical arguments, but also gains credibility through its ability
the quantitative details of nuclear physics. Three helium nu-
to explain some significant facts about the universe. One is
clei have to combine to make carbon. One would expect a
cosmic isotropy: the background radiation appears virtually
two-step process, two heliums first fusing to form beryllium,
the same in all directions despite the fact that the sky con-
and then a third helium being added on to make carbon.
tains many regions which, on a simple extrapolation back to
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2034
COUNCILS: BUDDHIST COUNCILS
the Big Bang, would never have been in causal contact with
by the American Association for the Advancement of
each other. On an inflationary picture, however, these differ-
Science.
ent regions derive from an initially much smaller domain
Polkinghorne, John. Science and Creation: The Search for Under-
where there would have been the causal contact necessary to
standing. London, 1988. A scientist-theologian looks at the
produce uniformity of temperature and density. Inflation
universe considered as a creation.
would also have had a smoothing effect, thereby explaining
Polkinghorne, John, and Michael Welker, eds. The End of the
the large-scale homogeneity of the universe and the close bal-
World and the Ends of God: Science and Theology on Eschatolo-
ance between expansive and gravitational effects that is actu-
gy. Harrisburg, Pa., 2000. A collection of papers considering
ally observed (and which, in fact, is another anthropic ne-
eschatological issues in the light of modern science.
cessity).
Rees, Martin. Before the Beginning: Our Universe and Others. Lon-
Much more speculative is the attempt to understand the
don, 1998. Readable account of modern cosmological ideas;
Planck era, before 10-43 seconds, when the universe was so
supportive of the idea of a multiverse.
small that it has to be understood quantum mechanically.
Weinberg, Steven. The First Three Minutes: A Modern View of the
The proper unification of quantum theory and general rela-
Origin of the Universe. 2d ed. New York, 1988. Classic and
tivity has not been achieved. In consequence there are many
moderately technical account of early universe cosmology.
different hypothetical accounts of quantum cosmology. A
Worthing, Mark. God, Creation, and Contemporary Physics. Min-
frequent theme is that universes may continually arise from
neapolis, 1996. Creation considered in the light of modern
the inflation of fluctuations in the ur-vacuum of quantum
physics.
gravity, and our universe is just one member of this prolifer-
JOHN POLKINGHORNE (2005)
ating multiverse. The assertion that this process would repre-
sent science’s ability to explain creation out of nothing, is
merely an abuse of language. A quantum vacuum is a highly
COUNCILS
structured and active medium, very different from nihil.
This entry consists of the following articles:
COSMIC DESTINY. On the largest scale, the history of the
BUDDHIST COUNCILS
cosmos involves a tug of war between the expansive tenden-
CHRISTIAN COUNCILS
cies of the Big Bang and the contractive force of gravity. If
in the end gravity wins, what began with the Big Bang will
COUNCILS: BUDDHIST COUNCILS
end in the big crunch, as the universe collapses in upon itself.
Accounts considering the final events in the life of
If expansion wins (the currently favored option), the universe
Siddha¯rtha Gautama, the historical Buddha, are often quick
will continue to expand forever, becoming progressively
to point out that his last injunctions to his community in-
colder and more dilute, eventually decaying in a long drawn
clude exhortations to remember that all compounded things
out dying whimper.
are impermanent and to work diligently for the attainment
In its eschatological thinking, theology must take ac-
of salvation. What these accounts sometimes fail to empha-
count of these reliable scientific prognostications of the even-
size is that the Buddha also enjoined the community to ap-
tual futility of current process. Ultimately, a simple evolu-
point no successor in his stead. The Buddha was explicit in
tionary optimism is not a viable possibility.
arguing that his teaching (Dharma) and disciplinary training
(Vinaya) would provide sufficient guidance for the attain-
SEE ALSO Physics and Religion.
ment of nirva¯n:a. He further granted the community authori-
ty to abolish all lesser and minor precepts of conduct, al-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
though he failed to identify precisely which precepts he
Barrow, John, and Frank Tipler. The Anthropic Cosmological Prin-
deemed minor and lesser. In the absence of an appointed or
ciple. Oxford, 1986. An encyclopedic survey of anthropic in-
hereditary successor to leadership of the Buddhist communi-
sights and arguments.
ty, and with an obvious uncertainty as to which disciplinary
Drees, Willem. Beyond the Big Bang: Quantum Cosmologies and
rules were to be retained, much confusion could be expected
God. La Salle, Ill., 1990. A careful and quite technical survey
in the days and years following the leader’s demise. To com-
of possible connections between quantum cosmologies and
theology.
bat the anticipated disorientation, it was suggested that a
council be convened whose purpose would be to solidify
Hawking, Stephen. A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to
Black Holes. London, 1988. Famous exposition of the au-
basic Buddhist doctrine and discipline. In this way, the tran-
thor’s particular version of quantum cosmology.
sition from the ministry of the Buddha’s charismatic leader-
Leslie, John. Universes. London, 1989. A concise and careful ac-
ship to one of a newly established social identity was softened
count of scientific and philosophical issues relating to the an-
and advanced. Further, convocation of this first Buddhist
thropic principle.
council helped to establish a precedent upon which future
Leslie, John, ed. Physical Cosmology and Philosophy. New York,
Buddhist communities could draw for sanction in resolving
1990. A useful collection of reprinted papers.
disputes.
Miller, James, ed. Cosmic Questions. New York, 2001. A wide-
COUNCIL LITERATURE. Literature on these various Buddhist
ranging collection of papers given at a conference sponsored
councils derives from both primary and secondary sources.
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Initially, one looks to the canonical sources, and this avenue
acted incorrectly. As the convocation prepared to adjourn,
of inquiry yields fruitful results. Appended to the Vinaya
a traveling monk, Pura¯n:a, arrived in Ra¯jagr:ha and was invit-
Pit:aka, or disciplinary portion, of each Buddhist school’s
ed to join the proceedings. He declined, noting that he chose
canon is a section devoted to a consideration of the Buddha’s
to remember the Dharma and Vinaya precisely as spoken by
death and the first two Buddhist councils. Noncanonical
the Buddha. In so noting, further suspicion is thrown on the
sources also unearth a mine of useful material. In this re-
authority and impact of the council. Finally, the council con-
gard, we can consult such texts as the Pali D¯ıpavam:sa, as
cluded, referring to itself as the vinayasam:g¯ıti, or “chanting
well as the Samayabhedoparacanacakra of Vasumitra,
of the Vinaya.”
the Nika¯yabhedavibhan˙gavya¯khya¯na of Bhavya, the
At least three major functions for this first council at
Maha¯prajña¯pa¯ramita S´a¯stra, (often wrongly attributed to
Ra¯jagr:ha can be distinguished. In the first place, there is the
Na¯ga¯rjuna), Ji-zang’s San-lun hsüan-i (based on an earlier
practical concern. The council established authority for the
work of Parama¯rtha), the Maha¯vibha¯s:a¯ S´a¯stra, the
fledgling religious community in the absence of its founder,
S´a¯riputraparipr:ccha¯ Su¯tra, and others. There is also a wealth
and solidarity was enhanced as well. There was also a second-
of secondary material in Western languages, for which the
ary concern to begin the post-Buddha period with commu-
reader is referred to the appended bibliography.
nal purity confirmed. The meting out of formal penalties as-
MAJOR INDIAN COUNCILS. Current buddhological research
sured such a condition. Third, there is the obvious mythic
enables the documentation of no fewer than five Indian Bud-
function. A formal religious event effected a renewal of the
dhist councils, each of which must be described in order to
cosmic and social order, thus providing an auspicious begin-
unearth its import for the history of the tradition.
ning for the religious organization’s new mission. Further-
more, in the recitation of the Dharma and the Vinaya (in
The first council: Ra¯jagr:ha. The first Indian Buddhist
nothing like their later forms, however), an infant Buddhist
council was allegedly held during the rainy season immedi-
canon was established.
ately following the Buddha’s death in, according to the most
popular reckoning, 483
The general consensus of scholarship devoted to the first
BCE. It was held in the capital city
of King Bimbisa¯ra, ruler of Magadha and a chief royal patron
council almost uniformly concludes that the canonical ac-
of the Buddha and the Buddhist community. With food and
counts are at best greatly exaggerated and at worst pure fic-
shelter provided, Ra¯jagr:ha proved to be an ideal site for the
tion. On a small scale, it may be safe to assume that several
Buddhists’ deliberations. Most accounts tell that a leading
of the Buddha’s intimates gathered after his death to consider
Buddhist monk of the time, Ka¯´syapa, was selected to con-
their future plight in the Indian religious climate, but the au-
vene the council and charged with the task of inviting an ap-
thenticity of the dramatic event presented in the canon is
propriate assemblage of monks. There are, however, some in-
highly questionable.
dications that the Buddha’s first enlightened disciple, A¯jña¯ta
The Second Council: Vai´sa¯l¯ı. One hundred years pass
Kaun:d:inya, was chosen to preside, thus raising a later schol-
before there is any further information on the historical de-
arly debate as to whether personal merit or seniority was the
velopment of the Buddhist community. The occasion for
basis for leadership selection. In any case, as the records re-
this new look into the ongoing progress of the still-infant
count the story, five hundred monks, all having attained the
Buddhist religion was a council held in the town of Vai´sa¯l¯ı.
status of arhats (Pali, arahants; “enlightened ones”), were se-
The various Vinaya accounts record that a Buddhist monk
lected to participate in the council proceedings. The plan for
named Yas:as wandered into Vai´sa¯l¯ı and observed the resi-
the enactment of the council was to have the president of the
dent monks, or bhiks:us (formally identified as the
event question first Upa¯li, a disciple known for his mastery
Vr:jiputraka bhiks:us), engaged in ten practices that seemed to
of the disciplinary materials, on Vinaya, and then A¯nanda,
conflict with Yas:as’s understanding of injunctions made ex-
allegedly the Buddha’s most beloved disciple, on the various
plicit in the Vinaya. Yas:as, the tale has it, formally protested
sermons of the Buddha. Sources recount, however, that at
indulgence in these ten apparently illicit practices, but was
the time of his selection A¯nanda was not yet enlightened.
rejected by the community of monks and sentenced to a pen-
(This fact in and of itself casts some doubt on the accuracy
alty known as the pratisam:haran:¯ıya-karma. This punishment
of the account.) In due course, however, A¯nanda is reported
required that he beg the pardon of the monks he had offend-
to have attained nirva¯n:a, thus enabling him to participate in
ed by his accusation and obtain their forgiveness. Although
the expected fashion.
initially intending to comply with the penalty, Yas:as eventu-
ally changed his mind, resolving to convince the local laity
During Ka¯´syapa’s questioning of A¯nanda, reference was
that the Vr:jiputraka monks were at fault. Upon learning of
made to the Buddha’s suggestion that the lesser and minor
Yas:as’s renewed attack on their conduct, the resident monks
precepts be abolished. With the community in a quandry as
further punished this young agitator with the utks:epan:¯ıya-
to the best course of action, Ka¯´syapa decided to leave all
karma, literally banishing him from the community.
disciplinary rules intact, lest the community fall into disre-
pute in such matters. After the recitation of the doctrinal and
Undaunted by the formal act of banishment, Yas:as jour-
disciplinary materials, other issues of business were enter-
neyed to Kau´sa¯mb¯ı, seeking the support of a learned monk
tained and various penalties imposed on individuals who had
known as Sam:bhu¯ta S´a¯n:ava¯sin. Another well-respected
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COUNCILS: BUDDHIST COUNCILS
monk, Revata, also decided to come to Yas:as’s support on
Pa¯t:aliputra I: the noncanonical council. By the time
the issue of the ten practices. All the while, the Vr:jiputraka
of the consecration of King A´soka (c. 270 BCE), the Buddhist
bhiks:us were gathering supporters to their side as well. The
sectarian movement was already well advanced. Attempts to
conflict was brought to a conclusion in the convocation of
locate the beginnings of Buddhist sectarianism in the scrip-
a formal council in Vai´sa¯l¯ı. Revata was selected to preside
tures have continually failed. Nonetheless, through the
over the proceedings. Sarvaga¯min, an elder monk who had
painstaking efforts of Bareau, it has been possible to recon-
had the Buddha’s direct disciple A¯nanda as his upa¯dhya¯ya,
struct the evidence of a council from which the Buddhist sec-
or teacher, was questioned on each of the ten points. One
tarian movement had its birth. By using primarily nonca-
by one, Sarvaga¯min rejected each point on the basis of vari-
nonical sources, Bareau has been able to conclude that
ous scriptures. With the ten practices condemned and con-
another council followed that of Vai´sa¯l¯ı by less than half a
cord renewed, the council concluded, again referring to itself
century, and it is this event that must be considered here.
as the “recital of the Vinaya” (vinayasam:g¯ıti) or as the “recital
of the seven hundred,” the number of monks who attended
In the study of this new council, only one issue can be
the gathering.
found about which all the texts concur: that it was held in
Pa¯t:aliputra. Both the date of the council and the occasion
Of course it is necessary to consider just what these ten
for its convocation are troublesome. Four possible dates ap-
illicit practices were and why this particular event seems to
pear in the various texts: 100 AN (i.e., after the nirva¯n:a of
have had so great an impact on the early Buddhist communi-
the Buddha), 116 AN, 137 AN, and 160 AN. Bareau dismisses
ty. The ten points include: (1) preserving salt in a horn; (2)
the extreme dates as “manifestly aberrant,” and initially con-
taking food when the shadow is beyond two fingers wide; (3)
cludes that the event must have occurred either in 137 AN
after finishing one meal, going to another town for another
or 116 AN. According to Bareau, the former date would lo-
meal; (4) holding several confession ceremonies within the
cate the council under the reign of King Maha¯padma the
same monastic boundary; (5) confirming a monastic act in
Nandin, while the latter would place the proceedings in the
an incomplete assembly; (6) carrying out an act improperly
reign of Ka¯la¯´soka. Bareau prefers the former figure, assuming
and justifying it by its habitual performance in this way; (7)
that it would take thirty-seven years or so for the cause of
after eating, drinking unchurned milk that is somewhere be-
the council to develop fully: namely, disciplinary laxity and
tween the states of milk and curd; (8) drinking unfermented
five disparaging theses about arhats promulgated by an ap-
wine; (9) using a mat without a border; and (10) accepting
parently renegade monk named Maha¯deva. In other words,
gold and silver. Although there is considerable scholarly dis-
Bareau feels quite certain as to the cause of the convocation,
agreement concerning the meaning and implications of these
and infers the date from the cause.
practices, it is abundantly clear that each of the ten points
was fully rejected by the Vinaya of each Buddhist nika¯ya, or
As to the specifics of the council, Bareau tells us that by
school. Based on such scriptural certainty, then, is it possible
the reign of Maha¯padma the Nandin, the Buddhist commu-
to make any sense out of these points and their implications
nity had divided itself into two camps, one lax in discipline
for Buddhist history?
and supporting the tenets of Maha¯deva, the other rigorous
Although a reconciliation was effected by the council of
and strongly opposed to him. Unable to resolve their dispute
Vai´sa¯l¯ı, the very occasion of the council suggests forcefully
internally, the Buddhists approached King Maha¯padma and
that there were significant tensions and disagreements al-
asked him to mediate the dispute. The king assembled the
ready operative in the Buddhist community. That it was di-
two groups in his capital of Pa¯t:aliputra, but being incompe-
vided by various factions must be assumed. To make general
tent in religious matters, decided to put the matter to a sim-
statements, it may be summarized that the various differ-
ple vote. The “laxist” party was apparently in the majority
ences that were emerging as reflecting (1) rigorist versus laxist
and withdrew, calling itself the Maha¯sa¯m:ghikas, or “Great
tendencies; (2) monastic versus lay emphases; and (3) sacred
Assembly.” The minority party referred to itself as the
versus secular concern in the community.
Sthaviras, or “Elders.” Each group then began to develop its
own canon and religious community.
Virtually all scholars conclude that the council of
Vai´sa¯l¯ı was a historical event. Almost all sources place the
Virtually all the early sources in Buddhist literature con-
event one hundred years after the Buddha’s nirva¯n:a (al-
clude that the council described above was a historical event.
though two sources cite 110 years) at the Va¯luka¯ra¯ma Mon-
Further, they consider this initial council of Pa¯t:aliputra to
astery in Vai´sa¯l¯ı. Wilhelm Geiger and others have suggested
be the true starting point of the sectarian movement in Bud-
that the council of Vai´sa¯l¯ı is the beginning point of Buddhist
dhism. Recently, however, Bareau’s conclusions as to the
sectarianism, the point at which the sam:gha split into the
date and cause of the council have been questioned. Janice
Sthavira and Maha¯sa¯m:ghika schools. This premise, however,
J. Nattier and Charles S. Prebish have suggested that the
has been persuasively rejected by Marcel Hofinger, André
council took place in 116 AN, under the reign of Ka¯la¯´soka,
Bareau, myself, and others. Thus, at the conclusion of the
and that disciplinary laxity and Maha¯deva’s theses had noth-
council of Vai´sa¯l¯ı, the Buddhist community remained
ing at all to do with the schism (1977). Based on a reevalua-
bound together, albeit in a rather tenuous and uncertain
tion of Bareau’s sources and a consideration of the
union.
S´a¯riputraparipr:ccha¯ Su¯tra, Nattier and Prebish argue that 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
COUNCILS: BUDDHIST COUNCILS
2037
chief issue of the council, and the resulting sectarian split,
conference. Great debates were held on various aspects of
was unwarranted Vinaya expansion on the part of the future
Buddhist doctrine, and especially on the Abhidharma. The
Sthaviras. They are unable, at this time, to ascertain which
venerable scholar Vasumitra was president of the council, as-
hypothesis, if either, is correct. Nevertheless, it is clear that
sisted by A´svaghos:a. A new Vinaya was committed to writing
the sectarian movement in Buddhism emerged sometime in
at the conference, and a great commentary, known as the
the century following the Vai´sa¯l¯ı council; by 200 BCE more
Maha¯vibha¯s:a¯, on the Abhidharma text of the Jña¯naprastha¯na
than a dozen sects were evident in the Buddhist community.
was compiled. There is no question but that the position this
council occupies in the history of the Sarva¯stiva¯da nika¯ya is
Pa¯t:aliputra II: the third canonical council. No king
analogous to that of the council convened by A´soka nearly
has been more important for the early history of Buddhism
four centuries earlier for the history of the Therava¯da nika¯ya.
in its native land than A´soka. Although the traditional Bud-
dhist legends tend to conflict somewhat with the picture of
No collective meeting in Indian Buddhism ever attained
A´soka revealed by his numerous rock edicts and inscriptions,
the importance of the five heretofore considered. All of the
it has generally been concluded that A´soka was a pious ruler,
other major convocations were to take place outside of the
sympathetic to the many Buddhists in his domain. By utiliz-
Buddhist homeland.
ing materials in the Pali D¯ıpavam:sa, Maha¯vam:sa, Maha¯-
O
bodhivam:sa, and Samantapa¯sa¯dika¯, one can construct a fairly
THER ANCIENT COUNCILS. Recognizing the impact the In-
dian Buddhist councils have had on the continued growth
accurate account of the events leading up to the third Bud-
of the religion in its native land, councils have periodically
dhist council, and of the council itself.
met in other Buddhist countries as well. Of course A´soka was
The Maha¯vam:sa (v. 280) indicates that the close of the
renowned for exporting Buddhism through a series of mis-
council was in the seventeenth year of A´soka’s reign. The
sionary endeavors, with Sri Lanka at the forefront of his en-
D¯ıpavam:sa notes the date as 236 AN, or 247 BCE. Apparently,
terprise. Equally, within several centuries of the close of King
“heretics” had been entering the Buddhist community for
Kanis:ka’s reign in India, Buddhism had spread into Central
some time, undermining the Dharma, and therefore weaken-
Asia, China, and Tibet. It is no surprise then, that Sri Lanka
ing the entire social and religious structure of the sam:gha. In
and Tibet were the sites of other ancient Buddhist councils.
order to remedy the situation, A´soka chose a famous monk,
The fourth Therava¯din council. Records indicate that
Moggaliputtatissa, to preside over a huge assembly of a thou-
A´soka’s son Mahinda, a Buddhist monk, was sent to Sri
sand monks, who were to determine and restore orthodoxy.
Lanka to propagate the religion. Upon receiving Mahinda’s
Under Tissa’s guidance the offending viewpoints were reject-
teaching, King Deva¯nam:piyatissa became a lay disciple and
ed; eventually it was concluded that the Buddha was a
established a Buddhist monastery, called the Maha¯viha¯ra, in
vibhajyava¯din, or “distinctionist.” The viewpoints under dis-
his capital city of Anura¯dhapura. A branch of the bodhi tree
cussion were recorded in a now well-known Abhidharma
was exported to Sri Lanka, and an ordination lineage was
text, the Katha¯vatthu.
started for monks and nuns.
There is no question that this council was a historical
During the first century the Buddhist order was threat-
event. It is curious, however, that it is mentioned only in the
ened by invading Tamils from South India and King
Pali accounts, lending weight to the supposition that the
Vat:t:aga¯m:an¯ı was forced into exile for fourteen years (43–29
council may have been only a “party meeting” of the
Vibhajyava¯da sect. It is now well known that this sect was
BCE). After reassuming the throne, the king found his land
threatened by famine and the religious tradition split by
the parent of the Therava¯da nika¯ya. Other possibilities for
schismatic rumblings. To combat rising religious unrest, it
the function of the council include the separation of the
was decided to convene a conference in the capital city (in
Sarva¯stiva¯din group (the heretical faction under this inter-
25
pretation) from the Sthavira proper.
BCE), in the by then old and famous Maha¯viha¯ra. The
prime function of the proceedings was to write down the
The council of Kanis:ka. Near the end of the first cen-
scriptural texts of the Therava¯din school of Buddhism in the
tury CE, Kanis:ka became the ruling monarch of the great Ku-
Pali language. Thus the formal Tipit:aka (“three baskets,” i.e.,
shan dynasty. He tried hard to emulate A´soka’s example of
the Buddhist canon) was established, providing an institu-
ruling in accord with the Buddhist Dharma, and champi-
tionalized basis for the continued growth and development
oned the Sarva¯stiva¯din school of Buddhism. From his capi-
of the Therava¯da tradition. In addition, the Maha¯viha¯ra
tals of Purusapura and Mathura, he wielded much power in
community had an apparently orthodox, authoritative textu-
the Buddhist world. Near the end of his reign, about 100 CE,
al ground from which to refute their rivals in the
Kanis:ka sponsored a council, probably in Gandhara (but
Maha¯ya¯na-leaning community of the Abhayagiri Monastery.
possibly in Kashmir), to consider the doctrines of the
Eventually, the Pali scriptures compiled at this council found
Sarva¯stiva¯din school.
their way into all the Therava¯din countries of South and
Southeast Asia.
Following the suggestion of the Sarva¯stiva¯din scholar
Pa¯r´sva, invitations were sent to all the learned Buddhists of
The Lhasa council in Tibet. By the middle of the sev-
the time, from whom 499 were finally chosen to attend the
enth century of the common era Tibet had an unusual politi-
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COUNCILS: BUDDHIST COUNCILS
cal and religious relationship to India and China. King Srong
The sixth Therava¯din council. In 1954, nearly one
bstan sgam po of Tibet seems to have been married to both
hundred years after the Mandalay council, the sixth
Nepalese and Chinese wives, and there was a clear influx of
Therava¯din council was convened in Rangoon, Burma, by
Buddhist ideas from each of these countries. After the great
the prime minister, U Nu. The fact that the twenty-five hun-
monastery at Bsam yas was completed in 787, a Sarva¯stiva¯din
dredth anniversary of the Buddha’s death was approaching
ordination lineage was established, and the institution be-
made the notion of a council even more auspicious. The
came a lively place for the discussion of a wide variety of reli-
basic function of this sixth council was to recite and confirm
gious viewpoints.
the entire Pali canon. Nearly two years of preparations were
made prior to its inauguration on May 17, 1954.
Although King Khri srong lde btsan (r. 759–797?) was
able to undermine the claims to state religion of the indige-
U Nu delivered the initial address, charging the twenty-
nous Bon religion, his reign was further aggravated by inter-
five hundred monks in attendance to work diligently at recit-
nal disputes among the Buddhists in his kingdom. Not only
ing and editing these important scriptural resources. For two
did the Tantric tradition advanced by Padmasambhava con-
years recitation proceeded, culminating with closure on the
flict with older Indian ideas maintained by S´a¯ntiraks:ita, but
twenty-five hundredth anniversary of the Buddha’s death
a Chinese monk (generally called Hva-shang, or simply
(according to Burmese reckoning). The council, in addition
Maha¯ya¯na) argued against S´a¯ntiraks:ita as well.
to having tremendous religious significance, was a national
festival in Burma, and established solidarity among all
As a resolution to the problem, it was suggested that a
Therava¯da Buddhists there and throughout Asia.
council be held at court (in 792–794 CE), with the king in
The World Fellowship of Buddhists. In an attempt to
attendance. To present the traditional Buddhist viewpoint,
carry on the spirit demonstrated by the various Buddhist
S´a¯ntiraks:ita’s pupil Kamala´s¯ıla was invited to Tibet.
councils, the World Fellowship of Buddhists was established
Maha¯ya¯na argued the Chinese position. Two chief issues
in 1950 as an expression of true religious ecumenism. The
were considered. First, the Chinese monk argued that bud-
Fellowship has exercised its lofty intention through a series
dhahood was attained suddenly, intuitively, while the Indian
of conferences in various Buddhist countries. These confer-
monk maintained that the path to enlightenment was gradu-
ences have sometimes expressed political as well as religious
al. Second, the Indian representative argued, as a corollary
concerns, but they nonetheless reflect a spirit of cooperation
to the prior point, for the positive value of meritorious ac-
that is thoroughly consistent with the very first Buddhist
tion, while Maha¯ya¯na offered a radical opposition. In a lively
conclave, held in the rainy season following the Buddha’s
debate, the Chinese position was clearly defeated (so say the
death in 483 BCE.
prevailing accounts of the Indian faction), establishing the
efficacy of the Indian standpoint for Tibetan Buddhism. The
SEE ALSO A´soka; Buddha; Deva¯nam:piyatissa; Kamala´s¯ıla;
Chinese were forced in no uncertain terms to leave the coun-
Moggaliputtatissa; S´a¯ntaraks:ita; Therava¯da.
try, as is reported through both a Chinese source in the Dun-
huang manuscripts and the works of Kamala´s¯ıla (preserved
BIBLIOGRAPHY
in Sanskrit and Tibetan), but the memory of this monumen-
The best general, comprehensive work on the issue of Indian Bud-
tal debate persisted in the minds of many Tibetan Buddhists
dhist councils is André Bareau’s Les premiers conciles boudd-
for generations.
hiques (Paris, 1955). Much of this material, and the work of
other researchers, is summarized in Charles S. Prebish’s “A
MODERN COUNCILS. In the millennium between 800 and
Review of Scholarship on the Buddhist Councils,” Journal of
1800 CE little mention was made of Buddhist councils. To
Asian Studies 33 (February 1974): 239–254. A useful study
be sure, there were numerous proceedings of local import in
of the Ra¯jagr:ha council is presented in Jean Przyluski’s Le
the various Buddhist countries, but it was not until the latter
concile de Ra¯jagr:ha (Paris, 1926–1928). An equally valuable
half of the nineteenth century that another council took
resource for the Vai´sa¯l¯ı council is Marcel Hofinger’s Étude
place of major impact for the entire Buddhist world.
sur la concile de Vai´sa¯l¯ı (Louvain, 1946). The Vai´sa¯l¯ı council
is also discussed in Paul Demiéville’s “À propos du concile
The fifth Therava¯din council. In the Buddhist culture
de Vai´sa¯l¯ı, ”T’soung pao 40 (1951): 239–296, and Nalinak-
of Southeast Asia it is not at all unusual for royal monarchs
sha Dutt’s “The Second Buddhist Council,” Indian Histori-
to be religious scholars, with prior training from within the
cal Quarterly 35 (March 1959): 45–56. For a somewhat
Buddhist monastic order. Rama IV of Thailand, for instance,
dated but still important viewpoint, consult Louis de La Val-
developed extensive scholarship in the Pali texts during his
lée Poussin’s “The Buddhist Councils,” Indian Antiquary 37
twenty-seven years as a monk. It was in this tradition that
(1908): 1–18, 81–106. The most recent and controversial
material on Indian Buddhist councils is presented in Janice
King Mindon Min of Burma (r. 1852–1877) convened the
J. Nattier and Charles S. Prebish’s “Maha¯sa¯m:ghika Origins:
fifth Therava¯din council in Mandalay in 1871. The purpose
The Beginnings of Buddhist Sectarianism,” History of Reli-
of the council was explicit: to revise the Pali texts. To insure
gions 16 (February 1977): 237–272. For non-Indian coun-
the survival of the new scriptures the king had all the texts
cils, Demiéville’s Le concile de Lhasa (Paris, 1952) effectively
entombed in stupas, thus preserving the 729 marble tablets
covers the Tibetan materials. Donald Smith’s Religion and
upon which the texts were inscribed.
Politics in Burma (Princeton, 1965) is helpful for Therava¯din
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
COUNCILS: CHRISTIAN COUNCILS
2039
proceedings, and Buddhism in the Modern World, edited by
papal auspices, as also ecumenical and normative. Christian
Heinrich Dumoulin and John Maraldo (New York, 1976),
councils have varied greatly in size, procedure, composition,
offers a constructive overview.
and the way in which they have been convoked and ratified.
New Sources
The only criterion for determining their authority and im-
Bechert, Heinz. “The Importance of Asoka’s So-Called Schism
portance is the practical norm of “reception”: that a council’s
Edict.” In Indological and Buddhist Studies: Volume in Hon-
decisions are subsequently accepted by a church or a group
our of Professor J. W. de Jong on His Sixtieth Birthday, edited
of churches as valid and binding.
by L. A. Hercus et al., pp. 61–68. Canberra, 1982.
COUNCILS IN THE EARLY CHURCH. Precedents for early
Bechert, Heinz, ed. Zur Schulzugehörigkeit von Werken der
Christian conciliar practice lay in the Jewish Sanhedrin, or
H¯ınaya¯na-Literatur. Göttingen, 1985–1987.
national council of priests and elders, which regulated the re-
Cousins, Lance. “The ‘Five Points’ and the Origins of the Bud-
ligious affairs, as well as some secular matters, of postexilic
dhist Schools.” In The Buddhist Forum: Seminar Papers
Israel until the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE, and in the
1987–88, edited by T. Skorupski, pp. 27–60. London,
collegial bodies of priests and leading citizens that ruled most
1991.
local cults in the Hellenistic and Roman world. The first re-
Lamotte, Étienne. History of Indian Buddhism: From the Origins
corded gathering of Christian leaders to rule in a doctrinal
to the S´aka Era. Translated by Sara Webb-Boin. Louvain-la-
and disciplinary dispute was the “council” of apostles and el-
Neuve, 1988. See pages 124–139.
ders held in 48 or 49 CE and described in Acts of the Apostles
Prebish, Charles S. “Buddhist Councils and Divisions in the
15:6–29. That council decided not to require full observance
Order.” In Buddhism: A Modern Perspective, edited by
of the Mosaic law from Gentile converts. As the Christian
Charles S. Prebish, pp. 21–26. Delhi, 1995.
church established itself in other regions of the Greco-
Prebish, Charles S. “Saiksa-Dharmas Revisited: Further Consider-
Roman world, special meetings of the bishops in a particular
ations of Mahasamghika Origins.” History of Religions 35
province or region were occasionally called to deal with dis-
(1996): 258–270.
puted issues, such as the prophetic Montanist movement
Ruegg, D. Seyfort. Buddha-nature, Mind and the Problem of Grad-
(Asia Minor, c. 170), the date of the celebration of Easter
ualism in a Comparative Perspective: On the Transmission and
(Asia Minor, Palestine, Gaul, and Rome, c. 190), the read-
Reception of Buddhism in India and Tibet, London, 1992.
mission to Christian communion of those who had “lapsed”
Wang, B. “Buddhist Nikayas through Ancient Chinese Eyes.” In
in persecution (Rome, c. 230–250; Carthage, c. 240–250),
Buddhist Studies Present and Future (IABS 10th International
or the scandalous behavior of Paul of Samosata, bishop of
Conference 1991), edited by Ananda W. P. Guruge,
Antioch (Antioch, 264–268).
pp. 65–72. Sri Lanka, 1992.
During the late second and third centuries, episcopal
CHARLES S. PREBISH (1987)
synods probably met regularly in most regions, although the
Revised Bibliography
evidence is fragmentary. As the end of the illegal status of the
Christian churches drew near, however, their leaders became
bolder in organizing such meetings. A synod of Spanish bish-
COUNCILS: CHRISTIAN COUNCILS
ops held in Elvira, near Granada, some time in the first de-
cade of the fourth century enacted eighty-one canons on
Since the beginning of Christian history, designated leaders
church discipline that remained widely influential, particu-
of Christian communities have from time to time gathered
larly on the indissolubility of marriage and clerical celibacy.
to make authoritative decisions on common teaching and
Another local synod, at Arles in southern Gaul (August 314),
practice. Such gatherings are usually called councils or syn-
called to consider the response of Catholics to the schismatic
ods (from the Greek sunodos, “a coming together”). Al-
Donatist church in Africa, ruled against rebaptizing Donat-
though these two terms are sometimes used synonymously,
ists who wished to enter the Catholic Church.
especially in Greek-Christian literature, synod normally des-
ignates the gathering of representatives from a local church
EARLY ECUMENICAL COUNCILS. The first attempt to gather
or a single denomination, as distinct from council, which
a body of bishops representing the whole Christian world
usually means a meeting at which representation is intended
was the council called by the emperor Constantine I at Ni-
to be universal. Although only seven such meetings, all held
caea, in northwest Asia Minor, in the summer of 325 (June
in Greek cities in Asia Minor between the fourth and eighth
18–August 25). The Council of Nicaea is still recognized as
centuries, are recognized by most Christian churches today
the first ecumenical Christian council and as the model for
as worldwide, or “ecumenical,” councils (from the Greek
later authoritative gatherings. With the style and procedure
oikoumen¯e, “the inhabited world”) and as classically authori-
of the Roman senate likely in mind, Constantine commis-
tative in their articulation of Christian faith and church
sioned the 318 bishops who had assembled near his residence
order, the conciliar pattern of decision making has remained
in Nicaea, including several representatives from the Latin
a constant feature in the life of most churches. The Roman
church of the West, to settle the controversy raised by Arius’s
Catholic Church, in fact, has traditionally regarded fourteen
denial of the eternity and full divinity of Jesus. In asserting
later councils, most of them Western gatherings held under
that Jesus, as Son of God, is “begotten, not made” and “of
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the same substance as the Father,” the council’s creedal for-
The fullest articulation of the early church’s under-
mula laid the groundwork for the classical development of
standing of the person of Christ was made at a council held
Christian trinitarian theology in the half century that fol-
at Chalcedon, across the Bosporus from Constantinople, in
lowed. The Nicene council also excommunicated Arius and
the fall of 451 (October–November). In response to contin-
his followers, determined a unified way of reckoning the date
uing controversy over whether the humanity of Jesus consti-
of Easter, and issued twenty disciplinary decrees or canons,
tuted a distinct and operative reality or “nature” after the in-
mainly regulating the appointment and jurisdiction of bish-
carnation of the Word, the emperor Marcian convoked this
ops. Although the emperor’s influence was strongly felt at
meeting of over 350 bishops (including three legates from
Nicaea, it was the bishops themselves—under the leadership
Pope Leo I and two North African bishops) and forced it to
of Constantine’s adviser, Bishop Hosius of Cordova, and of
formulate a doctrinal statement on Christ that accommodat-
the young Alexandrian priest Athanasius—who formulated
ed a variety of theological traditions. The chief inspiration
common theological and practical decisions. The bishops of
of the document, however, was the balanced “two-nature”
the whole Christian world were now publicly recognized as
Christology articulated by Leo in his letter to Bishop Flavian
the senate of the church.
of Constantinople in 449. The council also enacted twenty-
After more than fifty years of sharp controversy over the
eight disciplinary canons, the last of which confirmed the
reception and interpretation of the Nicene formula, a period
second rank of the see of Constantinople and awarded it ju-
that saw the proliferation of local synods and the production
risdictional primacy in Asia Minor and northeastern Greece.
of many new creeds, the emperor Theodosius I convoked a
This meeting, regarded as the fourth ecumenical council, is
meeting of some 150 Greek-speaking bishops at Constanti-
the first for which we possess detailed minutes as well as final
nople in 381 (May–July) for what later was recognized as the
documents.
second ecumenical council (Constantinople I). In addition
Chalcedon’s formulation of the Christian understand-
to confirming Nicaea’s insistence on the full divinity of Jesus
ing of Christ proved to be only a new beginning for contro-
as Son, this council condemned those who denied that the
versy. After more than a century of recriminations, especially
Holy Spirit is a distinct individual within the trinitarian mys-
in the East, the emperor Justinian I convoked another meet-
tery of God. An expanded version of the Nicene Creed,
ing at Constantinople (Constantinople II) in the year 553
probably professed by the patriarch-elect Nectarius during
(May 5–June 2) and persuaded the 168 bishops present to
the council before his installation in the see of Constantino-
reformulate the Christology of Chalcedon in terms that more
ple, was taken by the Council of Chalcedon (451) to be the
clearly emphasized the centrality of Jesus’ divine identity.
official creed of the whole gathering and is still used as the
They also condemned the speculative theology of Origen
standard profession of faith in many Christian liturgies (the
(third century) and his followers, as well as that of the chief
“Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed”). This council also en-
opponents of Cyril of Alexandria from the previous century.
acted four disciplinary canons, including one that accorded
The Roman bishop, Vigilius I, was present in Constantino-
second place in ecclesiastical honor, after that of “old Rome,”
ple during the council but refused to attend, suspecting—
to the new imperial capital, Constantinople. That provision
along with most Western bishops—that it was being forced
was to become a cause of contention between the Eastern
to weaken the stated faith of Chalcedon in the interests of
and Western churches.
political unity. In February 554, however, he agreed to ac-
As a result of a bitter dispute between Nestorius, bishop
cept the decisions of Constantinople II, a step that resulted
of Constantinople, and Cyril, bishop of Alexandria, over the
in decades of controversy in Italy and Africa. This synod has
proper way of conceiving the relationship of the divine and
generally been accepted since then as the fifth ecumenical
human aspects of Jesus, the emperor Theodosius II sum-
council.
moned a meeting of bishops at Ephesus on the coast of Asia
In the century that followed, Greek theologians contin-
Minor, in the summer of 431, to resolve the issue, and more
ued to look for ways of reconciling the monophysites, Chris-
particularly to judge the propriety of calling Mary “Mother
tians who had broken from the official church after Chalce-
of God” (theotokos), as Cyril insisted on doing. Representa-
don by emphasizing the dynamic unity of the two-natured
tives of the opposing groups could not agree to meet, and
Christ as a divine person. One such attempt, favored by sev-
the would-be council ended abortively in mutual excommu-
eral seventh-century Byzantine patriarchs and emperors, was
nication. Later (April 433) Cyril came to an agreement with
the ascription to Christ of a single divine will and “activity,”
the more moderate of Nestorius’s supporters to excommuni-
or range of behavior. Led by the exiled Greek monk Maxi-
cate Nestorius and to accept the title theotokos as valid, but
mos the Confessor, a local Roman synod of October 649 re-
also to recognize that in Jesus two distinct natures—the
jected this new Christology as a subtle weakening of the inte-
human and the divine—are united without confusion in a
gral affirmation of Jesus’ humanity. This condemnation was
single individual. On the basis of this agreement, the meeting
confirmed by a small gathering of mainly Eastern bishops in
of Cyril’s party at Ephesus in 431 later came to be regarded
the rotunda of the imperial palace in Constantinople be-
as the third ecumenical council, and the dossier assembled
tween November 7, 680, and September 16, 681, a synod
there by Cyril’s supporters was used as a classical anthology
subsequently recognized as the sixth ecumenical council
of christological documents.
(Constantinople III).
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Ten years later, the emperor Justinian II summoned an-
in 867 condemned Roman incursions in the East, as well as
other gathering of bishops in the same rotunda to discuss
the Roman church’s introduction of the word filioque into
disciplinary issues and formulate practical canons that would
the creed; it asked the Frankish emperor Louis II to depose
supplement the authoritative theological decisions of Con-
Pope Nicholas. Another council in Constantinople, sum-
stantinople II and III. Hence its customary titles, the “Quini-
moned by the new Greek emperor, Basil I, in 869–870, de-
sext” (fifth-and-sixth) synod or the synod “in the rotunda”
posed Photios in an effort to win the pope’s support, but
(Gr., en trullo¯), also known as the Trullan Synod. The mem-
Photios became patriarch again after Ignatius’s death in 877
bership of this meeting was also entirely Greek, and a num-
and was recognized by the pope in a council of reunion held
ber of its canons explicitly rejected Western practices. Al-
in Constantinople in 879–880. This last meeting annulled
though this gathering is not regarded as ecumenical, its
the decisions of the council of 869–870, but Western canon-
legislation became one of the main sources of Orthodox
ists in the twelfth century included the earlier gathering
canon law and was also frequently cited by Western medieval
among the ecumenical councils, as Constantinople IV, be-
canonists.
cause its twenty-second canon, forbidding the appointment
of bishops by laypeople, provided a precedent for their own
The main theological controversy in the eighth- and
case against lay investiture. None of the Photian councils is
ninth-century Eastern church was no longer directly over the
recognized as ecumenical by other churches.
person of Christ, but over the related issue of the legitimacy
of using and venerating images in the context of worshiping
After the synod of 879–880, Eastern and Western bish-
a transcendent God. In 726, Emperor Leo III began the poli-
ops ceased to meet over common concerns for almost four
cy of removing and destroying the images in churches (icon-
centuries. Local and regional synods, however, continued
oclasm), and his successor, Constantine V, convoked a synod
to play an important role in civil and ecclesiastical life. In
of 338 bishops in Constantinople in 754 to ratify this prac-
Constantinople, the “residentiary synod” (Gr., sunodos
tice, excommunicating those who defended the use of im-
end¯emousa) of the patriarch functioned as the administrative
ages, including the theologian and monk John of Damascus.
cabinet of the Byzantine communion. Synods in North Afri-
In 787 (September 24–October 7), however, the empress
ca in the early fifth century (especially at Carthage in 418)
Irene convoked another synod at Nicaea (Nicaea II), attend-
and in southern Gaul in the early sixth century (especially
ed by some 350 Greek bishops and two papal representatives.
at Orange in 529) made important formulations of the
This synod reversed the decision of the year 754 and af-
Western church’s doctrine of grace. And provincial synods,
firmed the legitimacy of venerating images and of asking for
attended by both bishops and secular lords, became an in-
the intercession of the saints, while insisting also that wor-
creasingly important instrument of government in the
ship, in the strict sense, is due to God alone. A resurgence
Frankish kingdoms of the sixth and seventh centuries. In
of iconoclastic influence in the early ninth century delayed
Visigothic Spain, eighteen synods were held at Toledo be-
full acceptance of this council’s decrees in the East, while the
tween 589 and 702, dealing with both church and civil disci-
rivalry of the emperor Charlemagne and the poor Latin
pline and with the doctrinal issue of later Arianism. The
translation of the acts of Nicaea II that reached his court led
Celtic and Roman traditions of church order in Britain were
to resistance in the West and even to condemnation of the
unified by the Synod of Whitby in Northumbria in 664. For
council’s decisions at a synod of 350 bishops at Frankfurt in
the Carolingian empire, national synods were an important
June 794. However, Nicaea II was recognized as the seventh
instrument for fostering political and doctrinal unity.
ecumenical council at the Council of Constantinople (869–
870), a recognition that was endorsed for the West by Pope
It was only in the time of the “Gregorian reform,” how-
John VIII in 880. It is the last of the ancient councils recog-
ever, in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, that the popes,
nized as authoritative by virtually all Christian churches.
as part of their program of strengthening the power and inde-
pendence of the ordained clergy in ruling the church,
MEDIEVAL COUNCILS. After the death of Theophilus, the
thought again of convoking councils with a more than re-
last iconoclastic emperor, in 842, controversy in mid-ninth-
gional representation. Gregory VII, in his canonical summa-
century Constantinople over the manner of reinstating the
ry known as Dictates of the Pope, insisted that only the bishop
veneration of images led to the forced abdication of the patri-
of Rome has the right to convoke an ecumenical council—a
arch Ignatius in 858 and to the appointment of the learned
principle preserved ever since by Western canon law. Corre-
civil servant Photios, a layman, as his successor. A local synod
sponding to his vision of the papacy as the active center of
of 861, attended by two representatives of Pope Nicholas I,
a universal and politically independent church, Gregory and
confirmed Photios’s elevation and declared that the election
his successors began to invite bishops and abbots from other
of Ignatius had been uncanonical; the pope, however, was
parts of Europe to participate in Roman synods and also took
persuaded by Ignatius’s followers to break communion with
the lead in mobilizing European forces to regain the Chris-
Photios two years later. Tension between Rome and Con-
tian holy places in Palestine from Muslim occupation.
stantinople grew, both over the role of the pope as a source
of legitimation and a court of appeal for Eastern bishops and
Three twelfth-century Roman synods—the Lateran
over competing missionary activities of the two churches in
councils of 1123, 1139, and 1179—demonstrated the con-
Bulgaria. A synod summoned by the Greek emperor Michael
cern of the popes of this period to assert the independence
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of the hierarchy from lay control by enacting a variety of
IV in 1281, and his own church even denied him a Christian
measures that insured the moral and social integrity of the
burial on his death in 1282.
clergy. The council of 1179 also condemned the emerging
In the face of the increasing attempts of Philip IV (“the
Catharist or Albigensian heresy (a Western form of Gnosti-
Fair”) of France to control the church. Clement V—the first
cism), regulated the activities of monastic and military or-
pope to reside at Avignon—summoned a council to meet in
ders, and established the lasting rule that a pope must be
the independent French town of Vienne in 1311–1312 (Oc-
elected by a two-thirds majority of the senior Roman clergy,
tober 16–May 6). Eager to acquire the wealth of the Knights
who were known as “cardinals.” These three Lateran synods,
Templars, Philip had exerted strong pressure on the pope,
increasingly international in membership and deliberately
even before the council, to suppress the military order on al-
modeled on the councils of the early church, were and are
legations of venality, heresy, and immoral practices. The
regarded as ecumenical councils by the Roman Catholic
council found no grounds to support these charges, but
Church. Far more important, however, was the Fourth Lat-
Clement suppressed the Templars by a bull of March 1312.
eran Council, convoked in 1215 (November 11–30) by In-
The council also discussed plans for a new crusade, issued
nocent III. Innocent invited not only all bishops and heads
regulations for the growing number of new religious orders,
of religious orders from the Western church, but also bishops
and condemned the strict interpretation of the poverty of
of the Armenian, Maronite, and Greek churches. Only Latin
Jesus being advanced by the Spiritual Franciscans. Attended
bishops attended, however, and the council’s seventy canons
by 132 bishops and 38 abbots, all from western Europe, the
included a strong assertion of papal primacy and a complaint
Council of Vienne was the first to prepare documents in sub-
against the Greek church for rebaptizing Latin converts. The
commissions and to delegate a standing committee to finish
meeting—recognized in the West as the twelfth ecumenical
drafting documents still incomplete at the council’s dissolu-
council—not only continued the disciplinary reforms of its
tion. Western canonists consider it the fifteenth ecumenical
three predecessors but also issued doctrinal statements on the
council.
Trinity and the sacraments (introducing the word transub-
stantiation into official church vocabulary), forbade secret
In the Greek church a series of local synods in Constan-
marriages, and instituted the requirement of annual confes-
tinople (c. 1340) took up the controversy between Gregory
sion for adult Catholics.
Palamas, a monk of Mount Athos, and the Calabrian monk
Barlaam about the value of hesychastic prayer (contemplative
Continued conflict between the popes and the Hohen-
prayer prepared for by repetition of a mantra) and the possi-
staufen emperors led Innocent IV to convoke a council of
bility of experiencing the presence of God in this life. A
some 150 bishops at Lyons in June and July 1245. Besides
synod in July 1351 recognized as orthodox Palamas’s doc-
calling for renewed efforts to reconquer the holy places, this
trine that God’s “energies” or activities, if not God’s essence,
synod excommunicated the German emperor Frederick II,
can be experienced in a quasi-visual way by a soul purified
absolving his subjects from the moral duty of obeying him.
through constant prayer, a teaching that has been of central
Western canonists regard this synod as the thirteenth ecu-
importance for Orthodox monasticism ever since.
menical council. Gregory X summoned a second council at
Lyons in the summer of 1274 (May 5–July 17), in the hope
In the West, the years of the Avignon papacy (1308–
of restoring communion between the Eastern and Western
1378) saw continued centralization of papal authority, as
churches, a bond broken by mutual anathemas in 1054. The
well as increasing opposition to papal rule by the German
Greek emperor, Michael VIII Palaeologus, who had recap-
emperors, independent cities, and certain charismatic and
tured Constantinople from Latin occupiers in 1261, accept-
millenarian groups within the church. With the beginning
ed the invitation to attend, hoping to prevent further West-
of the Great Western Schism in 1378, in which two rival
ern attacks on his capital. Delegates of the Mongol khan also
popes claimed the church’s obedience, support began to
attended, as did some two hundred bishops and the nonvot-
grow among canonists and theologians for a more corporate
ing representatives of most Western rulers. Thomas Aquinas,
system of church government, by which the pope would be
invited to participate as a theological expert, died en route
understood as an executive appointed by and held account-
to Lyons. The Greek delegation participated in the papal Eu-
able to the whole church, represented in a carefully appoint-
charist on June 29, the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul, and
ed general council. This “conciliarist” theory, first proposed
agreed to a formal reunion of the churches on July 6, raising
in practical terms by William Durandus of Mende at the
no objection to the traditionally disputed Western doctrines
time of the Council of Vienne, was seen by a number of
of the procession of the Holy Spirit, purgatory, and papal
prominent theologians in the last decades of the fourteenth
primacy, or to the new Western understanding of seven sac-
century as the only way to end the schism. In 1409, a council
raments. The council is regarded in the West as the four-
at Pisa attempted to put conciliarism into practice by depos-
teenth ecumenical council. In 1283, however, a synod in
ing both rival popes and electing a new one (John XXIII).
Constantinople repudiated the union and deposed the patri-
The result, however, was simply that three claimants now
arch, John Beccus, who had agreed to it at Lyons. Michael
vied for the Roman see. In 1414, the emperor Sigismund al-
Palaeologus who had never succeeded in winning Greek sup-
lied with John XXIII to convoke another council at Con-
port for the council, was excommunicated by Pope Martin
stance to resolve the issue (November 5, 1414–April 22,
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1418). Following the representative system of the medieval
ruary 4, 1442). The date of closure of the council is uncer-
universities, the voting members of the council—who in-
tain. It is regarded by the Western church as the seventeenth
cluded over 325 bishops, 29 cardinals, more than 100 ab-
ecumenical council. In Byzantium, however, strong opposi-
bots, several princes, and several hundred doctors of theolo-
tion led by Mark Eugenikos, metropolitan of Ephesus, who
gy—decided to divide into four blocks, or “nations,” each
had also been a delegate to the council, was voiced against
of which would have one corporate vote in the council’s final
the union. A synod in Constantinople in 1484 officially re-
decisions. These “nations” were the Germans (including
pudiated the Florentine decree in the name of the Greek
eastern Europeans), the French, the English (including the
church.
Irish and Scots), and the Italians; from July 1415 the cardi-
AGE OF REFORMATION. Conciliarism had died as a practical
nals at the council were allowed to vote as a fifth unit, and
force in the Roman church with the end of the Council of
a Spanish “nation” was added in October 1416. Debate was
Basel. The Renaissance papacy continued to grow in power
conducted within the “nations,” and the whole council was
and wealth, although throughout Europe the demand for
managed by a joint steering committee, in which each “na-
“reform in head and members” continued to grow as well.
tion,” as well as the cardinals, was represented. The council’s
Faced with the attempt of Louis XII of France to convoke
decree, Sacrosancta, enacted on April 6, 1415, declared that
the antipapal reform synod at Pisa in 1511, Julius II sum-
the gathering was a general council of the church and that
moned a Roman council (the Fifth Lateran Council) on May
it therefore had supreme authority of itself, despite the ab-
15, 512, which continued under his successor, Leo X, until
sence of John XXIII, who had fled two weeks earlier. The
March 16, 1517. Aside from a few decrees aimed at correct-
council then condemned the reformist teachings of English
ing financial abuse and encouraging popular preaching, this
theologian John Wyclif (1330?–1384) and his Bohemian
council—recognized as ecumenical by the Western church—
disciple Jan Hus, the latter of whom was publicly burned in
achieved little.
Constance on July 6, 1415. The decree Frequens (October
The wave of institutional and theological reform set in
5, 1417) stipulated that another council was to meet five
motion by Martin Luther in the 1520s brought new pressure
years after the dissolution of the gathering at Constance, fol-
to bear on the popes to convoke a council to deal seriously
lowed by a third council seven years later and by subsequent
with “Protestant” issues. Paul III called a council at Mantua
councils at ten-year intervals. Having devised these limita-
in 1537, for which Luther prepared the theses that were later
tions on papal power, the council appointed a joint conclave
accepted by German Protestants as a kind of manifesto and
of cardinals and delegates from the “nations,” who elected
known as the Smalcaldic Articles. This meeting was trans-
Martin V on November 11, 1417. After further measures for
ferred to Vicenza in the same year and then suspended in
structural reform, the council adjourned in April 1418. Al-
1539. After several delays, it was reconvened at the Alpine
though Martin had previously rejected some aspects of con-
town of Trent, in imperial territory, on December 13, 1545.
ciliar theory (including the idea of appeal to a further coun-
Rejecting the conciliar structure agreed on at Constance and
cil) and never formally endorsed Sacrosancta or Frequens, he
Basel, the Council of Trent allowed only cardinals, bishops,
did declare, at the closing session, that he would observe
and heads of religious orders voice and vote in its full ses-
what the whole council had declared on matters of faith.
sions. During its first period (December 1545–March 1547),
After an abortive attempt to summon a council at Pavia
the council discussed the relation of scripture and tradition,
in 1423, in accordance with the decrees of Constance, Mar-
the canon of scriptural books, the doctrines of original sin
tin convoked another meeting at Basel in 1430. Eugenius IV,
and justification, and various proposed reforms in church ad-
who succeeded Martin in March 1431, hoped once again to
ministration. Transferred to Bologna (papal territory) in
effect a reunion with the Greek church and believed that an
1547, to escape the plague, the council continued to discuss
Italian setting would be more appropriate for that purpose.
the Eucharist and the other sacraments, but Paul III agreed
As relations with the delegates at Basel grew more strained,
not to let it formulate final decisions until it could return to
Eugenius ordered the council transferred to Ferrara in Sep-
Trent, where Protestants could participate more freely. A sec-
tember 1437, although most of the members refused to go
ond set of sessions was held in Trent from May 1, 1551, until
and remained in Basel as a rival assembly until 1448. The
April 28, 1552, in which documents on these topics were fin-
Greek delegation arrived in Ferrara in March 1438, and after
ished. After a ten-year hiatus due largely to continued war-
preliminary discussions the council was moved to Florence
fare among the German principalities, Pius IV reconvoked
in January 1439, where the city had offered to underwrite
the council on January 18, 1562, for a third and final period,
its costs. Led by Bessarion, metropolitan of Nicaea, the
during which documents were issued on the sacrificial char-
Greek delegation recognized the legitimacy of the Latin doc-
acter of the Mass, on Holy Orders and the education of the
trines of the procession of the Spirit, purgatory, and papal
clergy, on the sacramental nature of marriage, and on purga-
primacy without prejudice to the validity of the Greek tradi-
tory, as well as numerous disciplinary decrees. The Council
tion, which differed on these points. A decree of union be-
of Trent, recognized by Roman Catholics as a nineteenth ec-
tween the churches was signed on July 6, 1439. Subsequent
umenical council, was closed on December 4, 1563. Its de-
decrees of union were signed with the Armenian church (No-
crees laid the foundation for the doctrines and practice of the
vember 22, 1439) and with the Copts and Ethiopians (Feb-
Roman church for the next four centuries.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
2044
COUNCILS: CHRISTIAN COUNCILS
The sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, an age of
versal church in doctrinal matters, the pope “possesses that
rapid, often violent change in religious and civil institutions
infallibility with which the divine Redeemer wanted his
throughout western Europe as well as a time of bitter theo-
Church to be endowed in articulating its teaching of faith
logical controversy, also witnessed a number of gatherings
and morality.” Because of the outbreak of the Franco-
within and between the new Protestant communities. At the
Prussian War, the French troops that had been protecting
Synod of Dort in the Netherlands (November 13, 1618–
the Papal State were withdrawn that same summer, and on
May 9, 1619), representatives of the Reformed churches af-
September 20 Piedmontese troops occupied Rome. With
firmed, against the theories of the Leiden professor Jacobus
most of the delegates gone, Pius IX suspended the council
Arminius, a strict Calvinist doctrine of the predestination of
on October 20, 1870, despite the unfinished state of its agen-
both the saved and the damned, the total depravity of unre-
da. Although a number of subsequent interpretations of Pas-
deemed humanity, and the limited scope of Jesus’ atoning
tor aeternus, recognized approvingly by Pius IX himself,
death. In 1643, the English Parliament commissioned a
stressed that papal infallibility, as the council had envisaged
group of Calvinist divines to revise the Thirty-nine Articles
it, was simply a special, highly restricted exercise of the assur-
of the Church of England along Puritan lines and to draw
ance of faith in which the whole church believed itself to
up a Puritan confession of faith for the British Isles. On De-
share, the effect of the council’s decrees was to widen the gulf
cember 4, 1646, this Westminster Assembly completed its
between the Roman church and the other churches, as well
document, known as the Westminster Confession. It com-
as to emphasize Catholicism’s critical attitude toward secular
prised thirty-three articles, largely based on the teaching of
values. Vatican I is recognized in the Roman Catholic
Dort and the covenant theology of English Puritanism. Ac-
Church as the twentieth ecumenical council.
cepted by the Church of Scotland in 1647, it became the
chief confessional document of Scottish Presbyterianism.
By contrast with much of previous Christian history,
Protestant theology also made its influence felt in the Eastern
the conciliar principle has come to be used increasingly as
churches at this time. Synods at Constantinople in 1638 and
a means for fostering unity between Christian groups and
1641 condemned the writings of the Western-educated By-
mutual understanding between Christians and nonbelievers.
zantine patriarch Cyril I (d. 1638) for their Calvinist teach-
The modern ecumenical movement began, on the institu-
ing, and this condemnation was repeated at Orthodox syn-
tional level, with the World Missionary Conference, a meet-
ods in Jassy (Ia¸si, Romania) in 1642 and Bethlehem in 1672.
ing of Protestant missionary groups, at Edinburgh in 1910.
Two other cooperative bodies within Protestantism—Life
THE MODERN ERA. The Roman Catholic Church showed
and Work, founded in 1925 to foster common social and po-
little interest in large-scale conciliar gatherings during the
litical action, and Faith and Order, established in 1927 to
seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. A regional synod held
discuss doctrinal and liturgical issues—agreed in 1938 to
in Pistoia in Tuscany in September 1786, under the leader-
form a World Council of Churches. Delayed by World War
ship of Bishop Scipione Ricci, demanded a variety of admin-
II, the constitutive assembly of the council was held in Am-
istrative and pastoral reforms in the church but was rejected
sterdam in 1948; the International Missionary Council
by Roman authorities as antipapal and Jansenist in inspira-
joined it in 1961. Not a jurisdictional or legislative body, the
tion. Eighty-five propositions taken from its documents were
World Council seeks to facilitate common action and dia-
condemned by Pius VII on August 28, 1794. As the spirit
logue in faith among all Christian churches with ten thou-
of political revolution and scientific positivism swept
sand members or more and to be an intermediate step toward
through European culture in the mid-nineteenth century,
a more formal Christian unity.
however, Catholic interest in a general council that would
confront these attacks on religious tradition and give confi-
Although it is not yet a full member of the World Coun-
dent expression to the church’s teaching again grew. Pius IX
cil of Churches, the Roman Catholic Church took its own
appointed a commission to prepare for such a council in
decisive step toward Christian unity in the documents and
1865 and opened it solemnly—as the First Vatican Coun-
reforms of the Second Vatican Council (October 11, 1962–
cil—on December 8, 1869. The 774 bishops who attended
December 8, 1965), which it recognizes as the twenty-first
from around the world discussed prepared drafts on faith and
ecumenical council. Conceived by John XXIII in January of
revelation, authority in the church, reform of the Curia Ro-
1959 as a way of leading the Catholic Church toward spiritu-
mana, and other subjects. On April 24, 1870, the constitu-
al renewal, toward greater cooperation with other Christian
tion Dei filius was approved. It affirmed the compatibility of
churches and other religions, and toward a more open atti-
faith and reason and the necessity of supernatural revelation
tude to contemporary culture, the council was attended by
(contained both in scripture and in the church’s oral tradi-
between 2,100 and 2,400 bishops and heads of religious or-
tion) for a full knowledge of God. After prolonged debate
ders from within the Roman communion, as well as by invit-
on the opportuneness of a conciliar statement on papal pri-
ed observers from other Christian churches and religious bo-
macy and infallibility, a constitution on the church, Pastor
dies. Vatican II produced sixteen documents on a wide range
aeternus, was approved on July 18, declaring the “immediate,
of pastoral, institutional, and theological issues. Affirming
universal jurisdiction” of the pope over all Christians and af-
the ancient principle of the collegial responsibility of bishops
firming that when he acts solemnly as spokesman for the uni-
for the governance of the whole church, in union with the
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
COUNCILS: CHRISTIAN COUNCILS
2045
pope, the Constitution on the Church (Lumen gentium)
Chalcedon, Robert V. Sellers’s The Council of Chalcedon: A
opened new possibilities for conciliar government in the
Historical and Doctrinal Survey (London, 1953); on Con-
Catholic tradition, a step that has led to the regular conven-
stance, Louise R. Loomis, John H. Mundy, and Kennerly M.
ing of a worldwide synod of bishops in the years since the
Woody’s The Council of Constance: The Unification of the
council. Vatican II’s call for liturgical reform, its stress on the
Church (New York, 1961), a translation of the main diaries
centrality of the scriptures to Christian doctrine and practice,
and documents of the council, with thorough introduction;
on Florence, Joseph Gill’s The Council of Florence (Cam-
and its recognition of the validity of modern methods of bib-
bridge, 1959); on Trent, Hubert Jedin’s Geschichte des Kon-
lical criticism have lessened some of the centuries-old differ-
zils von Trient, 4 vols. (Freiburg, 1949–1975), a monumen-
ences between Protestants and Catholics and have given a
tal work of scholarship, of which the first two volumes have
model for practical reform to other churches. The council’s
been translated into English by Ernest Graf as A History of
declaration on religious freedom (Dignitatis humanae), as
the Council of Trent (London, 1957–1961), and Remigius
well as its decrees on ecumenism, on the Eastern churches,
Bäumer’s Concilium Tridentinum (Darmstadt, 1979), a use-
and on relations with Jews and other non-Christians, have
ful collection of historical essays; on Vatican I, Theodor
greatly altered official Catholic attitudes toward people of
Granderath and Konrad Kirch’s Geschichte des Vatikanischen
other faiths. Its Constitution on the Church in the Modern
Konzils, 3 vols. (Freiburg, 1903–1906); on Vatican II, Gio-
World (Gaudium et spes) expressed, in addition, a positive,
vanni Caprile’s Il Concilio Vaticano II, 5 vols. (Rome, 1966–
1969), the best general history of the council to date, Henri
welcoming attitude toward the potentialities and aspirations
Fesquet’s The Drama of Vatican II (New York, 1967), a lively
of modern society that invites Roman Catholics to move be-
diary of the council, Vatican II: An Interfaith Appraisal, ed-
yond the defensiveness of the nineteenth century. Although
ited by John H. Miller (Notre Dame, 1966), a useful sympo-
much clearly remains to be accomplished, the revolution in
sium by representatives of different faiths, and Commentary
Roman Catholic thought and practice since Vatican II and
on the Documents of Vatican II, edited by Herbert Vorgrim-
the continued growth of both the World Council and of in-
ler, 5 vols. (New York, 1968–1969).
dividual dialogues between churches, suggest that Christian
Good brief histories of Christian councils include Edward I. Wat-
councils may in the future both become genuinely ecumeni-
kin’s The Church in Council (London and New York, 1960),
cal once again and lead to the unity in plurality that is essen-
Francis Dvornik’s The Ecumenical Councils (New York,
tial to the Christian ideal of community.
1961), and Philip Hughes’s The Church in Crisis: A History
of the General Councils (New York, 1961). A useful collection
SEE ALSO Creeds, article on Christian Creeds; Ecumenical
of essays on the history and theology of councils, by Protes-
Movement; Iconoclasm; Sanhedrin; Trent, Council of; Vati-
tant scholars, is Hans-Jochen Margull’s The Councils of the
can Councils, articles on Vatican I, Vatican II.
Church (Philadelphia, 1966). No comprehensive history of
local synods exists, but there is a full bibliographical survey
B
of publications on individual meetings: Jakub T. Sawicki’s
IBLIOGRAPHY
Bibliographia synodorum particularium (Vatican City, 1967).
A convenient one-volume edition of the decrees of the twenty-one
councils recognized as ecumenical by the Roman Catholic
On the history of the theory of councils, the most thorough sur-
Church, in their Latin or Greek original, is Conciliorum oecu-
veys are those of Hermann-Josef Sieben, Die Konzilsidee der
menicorum decreta, 3d ed., edited by Giuseppe Alberigo and
alten Kirche (Paderborn, 1979), Die Konzilsidee des lateinisc-
others (Bologna, 1972). The most complete collection of
hen Mittelalters (Paderborn, 1983), and Traktate und Theo-
Christian synodal and conciliar documents is the Sacrorum
rien zum Konzil: Vom Beginn des grossen Schismas bis zum
conciliorum nova, et amplissima collectio, begun in 1759 by
Vorabend der Reformation, 1378–1521 (Frankfurt, 1983).
the Italian canonist Giovanni Domenico Mansi and contin-
The classic study of the origins of conciliarism is Brian Ti-
ued through Vatican I by Louis Petit and Jean-Baptiste Mar-
erney’s Foundations of Conciliar Theory (Cambridge, 1955);
tin, 57 vols. (1759–1798; reprint in 53 vols., Paris, 1901–
an excellent recent work on conciliarism in the period before
1927); the text is often defective, however, and modern criti-
Constance is Giuseppe Alberigo’s Chiesa conciliare: Identità
cal editions exist of the documents of most major councils.
e significato del conciliarismo (Brescia, 1981).
The most complete history of the Christian councils is still Karl-
New Sources
Joseph von Hefele and Josef Hergenröther’s Concilienge-
Albergio, Giuseppe, ed. History of Vatican II. 5 vols. English ver-
schichte, 10 vols. (Freiburg, 1855–1890), especially in its ex-
sion edited by Joseph A. Komonchak. Maryknoll, N.Y.,
panded French translation, Histoire des conciles d’après les doc-
1995.
uments originaux, 11 vols., by Henri Leclerq and others
Coppa, Frank J., ed. Encyclopedia of the Vatican and Papacy. West-
(Paris, 1907–1952); the first part of the German original,
port, Conn., 1999.
dealing with the seven ecumenical councils of the early
Frend, W. H. C. The Donatist Church: A Movement of Protest in
church, has also been translated into English by William R.
Northern Africa.. Oxford and New York, 1952; reprint,
Clark as A History of the Christian Councils, 5 vols. (Edin-
2000.
burgh, 1871–1896). An excellent recent series of mono-
graphs on all the councils up to Vatican I, edited by Gervais
Latourelle, René, ed. Vatican II: Assessment and Perspectives: Twen-
Dumeige, is “Histoire des conciles oecumeniques” (Paris,
ty-Five Years Later. 3 vols. New York, 1988–89.
1962–1973). Outstanding studies of individual councils in-
L’Huillier, Peter. The Church of the Ancient Councils: The Disci-
clude: on Constantinople I, Adolf Martin Ritter’s Das Konzil
plinary Work of the First Four Ecumenical Councils. Crest-
von Konstantinopel und sein Symbol (Göttingen, 1965); on
wood, N.Y., 1996.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
2046
COUVADE
Pottmeyer, Hermann Josef. Towards a Papacy in Common: Per-
in separate huts. This seclusion continues for six days, during
spectives from Vatican Councils I and II. Translated by Mat-
which the man keeps food taboos, ignores his normal subsis-
thew J. O’Connell. New York, 1998.
tence chores, and does not handle sharp tools. After three
Stevenson, James, and W. H. C. Frend, eds. Creeds, Councils and
days he is allowed to see the child, and gives it medicine to
Controversies: Documents Illustrating the History of the
make it strong. On the sixth day he ends his couvade by
Church, A.D. 337–461. Rev. ed. London, 1989.
again entering the wife’s seclusion hut, this time carrying a
Stump, Phillip M. The Reforms of the Council of Constance, 1414–
large knife with which he pretends to slash the infant.
1418. Leiden and New York, 1994.
Couvade among the Black Carib has also been studied
Torrance, Iain R. Christology after Chalcedon: Severus of Antioch
and analyzed somewhat extensively. Their couvade obser-
and Sergious the Monophysite. Norwich, U.K., 1988.
vances vary in length from two days to a full year, with three
B
months being the most typical duration. Various work ta-
RIAN E. DALEY (1987)
Revised Bibliography
boos are considered an important part of couvade, as is a
taboo on sexual intercourse, both marital and extramarital.
However, food taboos play almost no part in Black Carib
couvade.
COUVADE is the name given to various ritual acts per-
formed by a husband during his wife’s pregnancy, delivery,
A superficial approach to couvade would involve rather
and postpartum period. In their most extreme form, couvade
commonsense interpretations. Many men practicing cou-
customs are said to involve the male’s mimicking of or expe-
vade customs might be likely to see these practices as helping
rience of pregnancy symptoms and labor pains, followed by
to protect the infant from harm, and ethnographers studying
his postpartum recovery. Meanwhile, the woman’s actual
couvade could well see these practices as promoting the
physical experience is given minimal attention, and she con-
bonding of the father with his infant. Within a psychoanalyt-
tinues her regular activities with little interruption. This ex-
ic framework the institution of couvade might be considered
treme form of couvade seems to be more hypothetical than
an expression of womb envy, of men’s attempt to participate
actual. The term couvade is more generally used to refer to
more directly in, or even to usurp, the essential birth-giving
symbolic behaviors engaged in by men during and immedi-
task of females. However, the need to protect young infants,
ately after their wives’ pregnancies and deliveries.
to promote the bonding of fathers with their infants, and to
defuse cross-gender envy of males, who unconsciously long
Since in most, if not all, societies men’s activities are af-
for more direct participation in the birth process, exists in
fected to some extent by their wives’ pregnancies and deliver-
all societies. Yet only some societies practice couvade as de-
ies, it might seem reasonable to conclude that some form of
fined and described by most anthropologists. Thus most re-
couvade is universal. However, that usage would make the
cent students of couvade seek the rationale of couvade in
term so broad that some other term would then be needed
other, less universal, factors.
to refer to the more specific and more demanding practices
engaged in by men in certain tribal societies. One of the most
By and large, these analysts find the rationale of couvade
recent discussions of couvade suggests that the term not be
in specific features of a lifestyle’s social structure. One hy-
used to refer to activities such as giving a birth feast or help-
pothesis regarding couvade has made more refined use of
ing the wife with daily chores during pregnancy. It is suggest-
psychoanalytic analysis. Proponents of this hypothesis have
ed that a mild form of couvade is involved when the husband
suggested that couvade can result from “low male salience,”
keeps food taboos during the pregnancy or postpartum peri-
a combination of factors especially involving arrangements
od. A more intensive form of couvade would involve behav-
in which the mother sleeps with her children while the father
ior changes in the postpartum period, such as work taboos
sleeps elsewhere, or is absent altogether. It is hypothesized
and restrictions, or staying close to home for varying lengths
that the absence of significant contact with the father and the
of time. The most intensive form of couvade involves ritual
absence of other male role models, combined with such in-
seclusion of the husband during pregnancy or the postpar-
tense contact with the mother, promotes a cross-gender iden-
tum period, sometimes with his wife and sometimes in his
tity that encourages the male to engage in vicarious child-
own household or the men’s house.
birth observances. Advocates of this explanation of couvade
also stress that although other societies may also exhibit “low
These kinds of behaviors are fairly widespread among
male salience,” they do not have strongly institutionalized
small-scale societies, with a concentration of such practices
couvade. These societies, it is claimed, cope with “low male
in South American and Caribbean societies. However, theo-
salience” by means of rigorous and demanding male puberty
retical discussions of couvade also rely on reports of the prac-
initiation ceremonies. Through these rigorous initiations,
tice among the Ainu (the aboriginal tribal inhabitants of
young males are supposedly swayed from any cross-gender
Japan) and among some Pacific Island groups.
identification and take on a kind of masculine identity that
A condensed summary of couvade among the Kurtachi,
relieves them of tendencies toward couvade. It has been
a people of the Pacific Islands, provides a specific example
pointed out that few if any societies practice both intensive
of couvade. During delivery, husband and wife are secluded
couvade and intensive male puberty rituals.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
COVENANT
2047
Alternative theories of couvade stress other causal factors
versy about the etymology of b Erît, the linguistic link with
that explain the presence of couvade in some but not all so-
the Accadian bir¯ıtu(m) (string, tie) seems to be the most ac-
cieties. It is claimed that in societies with weak fraternal in-
ceptable solution. The literary contexts of b Erît confirm that
terest groups a man has no reliable legal or economic means
the rendering in the Vulgata and thus the translation as cove-
to claim paternity rights to a woman’s children. He cannot
nant fits well. It depends on the particular context what is
rely on a loyal kin group to back up his claims to the child,
meant by this notion: Either two partners with equal rights
nor can he refer to large economic exchanges or binding legal
mutually bind themselves (1 Kings 5:26; 15:19) or a stronger
agreements made prior to the marriage and childbirth.
partner imposes unilateral claims upon a weaker one or the
Therefore, he engages in a ritual behavior to establish his
stronger partner voluntarily binds himself without any
claims over the child, and this ritual show gains for him a
claims towards someone else (1 Kings 20:34; Hos. 12:2; Ezek.
communal consensus regarding his paternity claims. Accord-
17:13).
ing to this hypothesis, couvade is a form of ritual bargaining
C
rather than a magico-religious attempt to influence biologi-
ONTRACT, TREATY AND LOYALITY OATH IN THE ANCIENT
N
cal processes or a ritual expression of unconscious psychody-
EAR EAST. The legal order of the Middle East is based on
laws of contract. As transfers of ownership (such as the sale
namics. However, it would also seem that such political
of estates) and changes of marital status (marriage, adoption)
expressions cannot occur without some religious or psycho-
are laid down in a written contract (Accadian riksa¯tu[m]),
logical predisposition toward them.
mutual obligations are suable at a law court. Furthermore,
Couvade seems best explained by looking to varying hy-
in late Assyrian contracts breach of contract is identified with
potheses rather than by focusing on only one factor as the
oath-breaking, for which divine sanction is effected by means
sole rationale for these practices. It may be worthwhile to rec-
of curse and penalty for the benefit of the temple. Laws of
ognize the impulse toward couvade as universal, even though
contract are also applied to settle international relations be-
that impulse does not always result in the specific practices
tween states with equal rights as well as between a supreme
associated with “the couvade.” Males are universally interest-
power and vassal states (e.g. Hittite vassal treaties; Koroˇsec).
ed in the genesis, birth, and survival of infants whom they
Opposite to private contracts, international contracts are loy-
perceive as important. Thus, in varying degrees, males in all
alty obligations mutually or unilaterally affirmed upon by an
societies could be expected to experience some pregnancy
oath. There are two distinctive types of these contracts: first,
symptoms or observe some pregnancy taboos, become in-
a western type of Hethite and Syrian contracts (Sfire; Le-
volved in the childbirth process, and engage in special behav-
maire, 1984) that include a section of blessings in addition
iors in the immediate postpartum period. Although the term
to the curse; second, an eastern type of late Assyrian contracts
couvade refers to specific male childbirth practices in some
(Parpola and Watanabe, 1988) in which only the curse can
societies, the institution itself is the expression of a universal
be found. This second type is different from late Assyrian
impulse rather than a strange practice limited to some small-
loyalty oaths, such as that of King Esarhaddon (Watanabe,
scale societies.
1987). In these oaths, the officials of the Assyrian state and
its tributary vassals—among them the king of Judea—swear
SEE ALSO Birth.
unconditional loyalty to the Assyrian king and to the crown
prince by the gods.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Theoretical discussions of couvade stressing psychodynamics are
In the seventh century BCE a new and special form of
found in Robert L. Munroe, Ruth H. Munroe, and John W.
late Assyrian laws of contract emerges for the first time. Now
M. Whiting’s “The Couvade: A Psychological Analysis,”
the contracts are not only subject to divine protection, but
Ethos 1 (Spring 1973): 30–74, and Ruth H. Munroe and
the deity himself is a party to the contract. In a collection
Robert L. Monroe’s Cross-Cultural Human Development
of prophetic oracles spoken on the occasion of Esarhaddon’s
(Monterey, Calif., 1975). Couvade as a political ritual to es-
accession to the throne (Parpola, 1992), the god Ashur enters
tablish paternity rights is discussed in Karen Ericksen Paige
in a covenant (Accadian, adê) with the king; the other gods
and Jeffery M. Paige’s The Politics of Reproductive Ritual
of the pantheon join as well. Later, the citizens and vassals
(Berkeley, 1981). All these theoretical papers cite more de-
of Assyria ought to be reminded of this covenant by the oath
scriptive literature concerning couvade. A typical ethno-
ceremony of cultic water drinking. In return for the divine
graphic account of couvade is found in Allan R. Holmberg’s
Nomads of the Long Bow: The Siriono of Eastern Bolivia (Gar-
support against enemies the king has to engage in ritual
den City, N.Y., 1969).
duties.
RITA M. GROSS (1987)
CONTRACT, LOYALTY OATH, AND COVENANT IN THE HE-
BREW BIBLE. According to the practice in the Ancient Mid-
dle East, the Hebrew Bible also mentions contracts of sale
(e.g. Jer. 32:10–11), rent (e.g. Gen. 29:15–20, Exod. 2:9) and
COVENANT. The translation of the Hebrew notion of
marriage (Mal. 2:14, Prov. 2:17). In ancient Palestine the dif-
b Erît by covenant originates from its Latin rendering as foedus/
ferent lifestyles and interests of Nomads, shepherds, farmers,
pactum in Hieronymus’s Vulgata. Although there is a contro-
urban people, craftsmen, and Levites coexisted in a cramped
E N C Y C L O P E D I 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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COVENANT
space where economical and political relations had to be con-
tion, but rather upon a Hethite type of contract that was
stituted across family borders (e.g. Gen. 21:22–34; 26:23–
transmitted to Israel via Syria. Thus JHWH gets the charac-
33; 31:44–53). Therefore laws of contract were of special sig-
ter of a Grand King and His vassal Israel owes Him loyalty
nificance in ancient Israel surpassing the rules for changes in
of legal obedience. If the nation, by making the covenant,
ownership and marital status. With reference to William
is to be held liable for the law of Deuteronomy, the authors
Robertson Smith, Max Weber marked the ancient idea of
of the Deuteronomistic Deuteronomy yet are aware of the
making a covenant between JHWH, the God of Israel, and
possibility that the people may fail to keep the law due to
his people as a starting point of Israelite history of religion;
disobedience (Deut. 9:9–10:5).
however, this idea was not introduced because of an “elective
In the tale of Deuteronomy the authors let the people of
affinity” (Wahlverwandtschaft) of the federal structure
Israel enter into the covenant after their failure, so they ex-
prevalent in prenational Israel as confederacy of oath
press their hope that God is willing to adhere to his covenant
(Eidgenossenschaft) in the thirteenth through the tenth centu-
in spite of the people’s failure to obey the law—that is,
ries BCE.
JHWH does not revoke His covenant even though Israel
Expanding Weber’s theory, Martin Noth put forward
failed the law. In this way the Israelites overcome their expe-
the statement of an alliance of tribes organized on the model
rience of defeat against the Babylonians and their trauma of
of the ancient Greek amphictyony as Sitz im Leben of the
exile.
covenant theology. He and George Mendenhall were aiming
A second version of the origin of Israel. The Priestly
to corroborate this statement by an analogy between the
Code dating from the time of Exile represents a second major
structure of an early Israelite covenant schedule and Hethite
version of the tale of Israel’s origin and is the counterpart to
vassal treaties from the second millennium BCE. There was
the covenant theology in Deuteronomy. It deals with univer-
much argument against this early dating of the covenant be-
sal history and designs the final goal of creation and the
tween God and His people at the beginning of Israelite histo-
world history of all peoples (Gen. 1–11). The underlying
ry of religion. On the one hand it is opposed to the covenant
concept of the Priestly Code is the immanent presence of Is-
silence (Bundesschweigen) of the prophets in the eighth cen-
rael’s God in the tabernacle of the congregation, the estab-
tury BCE. Thus in Hosea 2:4–15 and 3:1–4, where the rela-
lishment of the expiatory cult of offerings at the altar, and,
tionship of the people and Israel towards JHWH is interpret-
along with the cult, the priest’s office ministered by the Aaro-
ed as a marriage, the covenant theology is merely prepared.
nites at Mount Sinai—God’s mount (Exod. 29:42–46). Ad-
On the other hand the covenant theology of the Sinai perico-
ditionally, the Priestly Code aims to prove that since the
pe (Exod. 19–24) is known to be a late creation of Israelite
Flood, mankind has overcome the former possibility to fail
literary history. Therefore Lothar Perlitt, who refers to Julius
God’s law once for all. After the Flood, God imposed the
Wellhausen, came to the conclusion that the covenant theol-
Noachian Laws on mankind, making a covenant with them
ogy ensued from preexile prophesy, taking its rise in the time
in which he commits himself to guarantee the preservation
of crisis of the late Assyrian Empire, and thus dated in the
of the earth and all humans (Gen. 9:1–17). Israel and man-
seventh century BCE.
kind as a whole cannot fail the covenant by which JHWH
Motifs of the late Assyrian royal ideology were partially
made Israel stand out from the world of the other peoples.
accepted, but also partially rejected in Judah. In modern
The Priestly Code does not locate the covenant at
times this process—especially concerning the covenant the-
Mount Sinai; further, it dates the Code back to the time of
ology—can be described in a more exact way (Otto) than in
the patriarchs; here it is Abraham with whom God makes a
the previous centuries. In Judah they adopted the motif of
covenant (Gen. 17). Thus the covenant is not linked any lon-
a covenant with a divine partner from Ashur in the seventh
ger to binding laws, but instead represents a mere act of di-
century BCE in order to legitimate the reign of kings (Ps.
vine grace. This covenant comprises God’s promise of nu-
89:4–5). The authors of preexile Deuteronomy accept the loy-
merous descendants and of the possession of the land of
alty oath of the Assyrian king in a subversive way by trans-
Canaan. Henceforth the nation of Israel is unable to fail the
forming the demand for unconditional loyalty to this king
covenant. An individual Israelite may, however, fail if he re-
into the demand of the same kind to JHWH (Deut. 13:2–10;
fuses circumcision—the token of this covenant—and will
28:20–44). The claim of the state for absolute power was
consequently be excluded from the ethnic community.
thereby set in bounds and the ground prepared for a reinter-
Scribes of postexilic times combine both programmatic texts,
pretation of the idea of covenant. As a result, within the Deu-
Deuteronomy, and the Priestly Code, thus forming a Hexa-
teronomistic framework of Deuteronomy the entire people of
teuch (Gen. 1–Josh. 24); its final goal is the making of a cove-
Israel became a partner of the covenant with JHWH at
nant between JHWH and Joshua, who acts on behalf of the
Horeb, God’s mount (Deut. 26:16–19), and in the land of
people of Israel (Josh. 24:25–27).
Moab (Deut. 29:9–14).
Referring to Deuteronomy, Joshua delivers a speech of
In the time of exile the covenant with JHWH at Horeb
admonition that precedes this covenant and points out the
replaced the king. As in Deuteronomy the law is linked to
consequences of its breach if the ban on worship of foreign
blessing and curse; it is not modeled upon the Assyrian tradi-
gods is violated. Thus he pursues the course that adds 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
COVENANT
2049
liability for the law and the possibility of Israel’s failure to
the verses in Exodus 24:8, 1 Corinthians 11:25, Luke 22:20,
the covenant theology of the Priestly Code based upon mere
and Jeremiah 31: 31–34. God establishes the eschatological
grace. Its sequel is realized by the extension of the Sinai peric-
community of the New Covenant (Latin: novum testamen-
ope (Exod. 19–Num. 10) in the final form of the Pentateuch
tum) on the basis of Jesus’ expiatory death. It is the dedica-
(Gen. 1–Deut. 34) that is structured by the sequence of mak-
tion of the last supper. In Galatians 3:15–18 Paul argues with
ing, breaking, and re-making the covenant (Exod. 19–34).
the term diath¯ek¯e from the law of descent in order to institute
God’s will to adhere to His covenant with Israel, despite their
his gospel, which is not tied to the condition of the law. Like
failure to the law (Exod. 32), remains the main statement in
a testament, the covenant with Abraham cannot subsequent-
the Pentateuch.
ly be altered by the law, which was given later at Mount
Sinai. In 2 Corinthians, 3:14, Paul calls the Torah read at the
In contradiction to the author-scribes of the Pentateuch,
synagogue service “old covenant” and contrasts it with the
prophetic circles in Jeremiah’s tradition regard the Sinai cov-
New Covenant, which is not based on the letter of the law
enant of old as being broken beyond repair. They instead
but on God’s spirit. In Romans, chapters 9–11, Paul expresses
hope for a new covenant between JHWH and His people.
his hope that Israel will likewise become part of the eschato-
In their view it is this new covenant that Israel will finally
logical New Covenant and that in this way God’s covenant
not be able to break; JHWH will write the law straight into
with Israel will not be cancelled (Rom. 11:29). The Epistle
the human heart. Circles in Ezekiel’s tradition expect, in a
of the Hebrews sets the obsolete “old covenant” of the Leviti-
similar way, that JHWH will give Israel a new heart—as well
cal Torah at Mount Sinai (Heb. 8:7–13; 10:15–18), under-
as His spirit—so that they may comply with the law. The
stood as the “first covenant,” against the New Covenant and
law itself should not be altered.
thus continues the tradition of Jeremiah 31:31–34. The New
COVENANT IN EARLY JUDAISM AND IN THE NEW TESTA-
Covenant is supposed to be the “better covenant” and the
MENT. The covenant theology has preserved its importance
“eternal covenant” that belongs to the divine order of God’s
in post-canonical Judaism that picks up the thread of the
roaming people. By Christ’s death on the cross this order was
Pentateuch theology. According to the Book of Sirach, the
established as an antithesis to Exodus 24:8 (Heb. 9:11–22),
story of JHWH with Israel consists of a series of eternal cove-
but its final completion has yet to come (Heb. 8:6; 11:1–
nants reaching from Noah to David (Sir. 44–45); the Mosaic
12:3).
Law—in its role as the “Book of the Covenant”—is the ex-
pression of the preexistent wisdom in this world. In the Book
COVENANT IN POSTBIBLICAL CHRISTIANITY. In the second
of Jubilees those who keep the covenant made with Abraham
century CE the antagonism between the old and the new cov-
and who undergo circumcision will not come to grief (Jub.
enant gains even more severity. In postcanonical texts like
15:25–28). The feast of Shavuot becomes the date of the
the letter of Barnabas (9:1–5) and in the dialogue of Justin
covenant at Mount Sinai (Jub. 1:1) and of the covenants
with Tryphon the Jew, the old covenant—intended for the
made with Noah and Abraham. Moreover, theologians of
Jews—was replaced by the new covenant of the Christian
the Essenes refer to the prophetic expectation of a new cove-
church. Yet in the third century the church had to contend
nant that they consider to be realized in their community.
against Gnostic and Marcionitic heresies that, with reference
This is also the case when membership with the Essene com-
to the Old Testament, considered the Creator in a theologi-
munity—that is, participation in the New Covenant—
cally negative way. The covenants of the Old Testament
stands for compliance with the written Torah according to
again gained in importance; they were part of the permanent
Essene exegesis, including the Manual of Discipline (Sekten-
salvation acts (Heilsökonomie) of God. Ireneus of Lyon sub-
regel). The new covenant also needs a regular renewal at
stantiated the unity of both Testaments as belonging to the
Shavuot, and on this occasion the members of the Essene
one Christian canon. Only in the combination of both,
community receive the blessing, whereas those who do not
God’s plan of salvation, consisting of the laws from Mount
participate in the New Covenant are cursed.
Sinai as well as the redemption through Christ, could be car-
ried out.
In the Septuagint—the Greek translation of the Hebrew
Bible—the notion b Erît is rendered not by synth¯ek¯e or spond¯e
Theologians of the Reformation, proceeding from
(treaty/covenant), but by a term from the law of descent:
Ireneus’s thought, developed a federal covenant theology
diath¯ek¯e (testament/last will). It says that God’s promise is
(Föderaltheologie). Heinrich Bullinger (1504–1575), a re-
staunch and unchangeable. Yet the Septuagint has overtones
former from Zurich, Switzerland, was the first to project a
of the possibility that during his lifetime the testator can dis-
Protestant federal covenant theology. To him the history of
pose of the estate bequest by will, despite the appointment
salvation from Abraham to Christ represented one single
of the heir. Thus JHWH is depicted as the giving father and
covenant with two aspects: the first concerning law and ritual
Israel as the receiving son without God’s sovereignty ever
in the Old Testament, the second concerning a covenant of
being restricted.
divine grace in the New Testament.
The New Testament continues the linguistic usage of
In the seventeenth century CE the covenant theology of
the Septuagint. The saying on the cup (Becherwort) at the
orthodox Calvinism reached its climax in the Netherlands,
last supper (Mark 14:24, Mattt. 26:28) typologically resumes
especially due to Johannes Coccejus (1603–1669). He devel-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
2050
COVENANT
oped his dogmatics by going beyond Aristotelian notions,
SEE ALSO Biblical Literature, article on Hebrew Scriptures;
preferring to elaborate a system of the history of salvation ac-
God, article on God in Postbiblical Christianity.
cording to which, step by step, the covenant of works (foedus
operum) with Adam will be replaced by the covenant of grace
BIBLIOGRAPHY
(foedus gratiae). This process is said to prepare mankind for
Eichrodt, Walther. Theology of the Old Testament (1933–1939).
the coming of God’s kingdom.
2 vols. London, 1961–1967. Organizes Old Testament
thought around the idea of a covenant.
From the eighteenth to the twentieth centuries, theolo-
Jobert, Anni. La notion d’Alliance dans le Judaisme aux abords de
gians in different countries were influenced by reformist cov-
l’ère chretienne. Paris, 1963. Basic study of early Jewish cove-
enant theology: Thomas Boston (1676–1732) in Scotland,
nant theology.
Charles Hodge (1797–1878) in America, as well as the Swiss
Kalluveettil, Paul. Declaration and Covenant: A Comprehensive Re-
theologians Karl Barth (1886–1968) and Walther Eichrodt
view of Covenant Formulae from the Old Testament and the
(1890–1978). Eichrodt was a reformist scholar of Old Testa-
Ancient Near East. Rome, 1982. A form-critical study of lan-
ment studies and developed Old Testament theology based
guage and form of contracts in the ancient Near East and the
on the patterns of covenant terminology.
Bible.
COVENANT IN RABBINIC JUDAISM AND IN ISLAM. Rabbinic
Koroˇsec, Viktor. Hethitische Staatsverträge: Ein Beitrag zu ihrer
Judaism interprets the Biblical b Erît in particular with “law/
juristischen Wertung. Leipzig, 1931. Legal interpretation of
commandment” in the contents of which the sign of cove-
Hittite international treaties.
nant—that is, the circumcision—is meant (compare Gen.
Lemaire, André Durand. Les inscriptions araméennes de Sfiré et
17:10) first of all. In accordance with that meaning the Isra-
l’Assyrie de Shamshi-Ilu. Geneva, 1984. Text, translation, and
elites may be called b Enê b Erît (sons of circumcision). Refer-
commentary of the Syrian Sfire-treaty.
ring to Exodus 34:27, the commitment to the law including
McCarthy, Dennis. Treaty and Covenant: A Study in Form in the
oral traditions can be qualified as b Erît, as well. In the Middle
Ancient Oriental Documents and in the Old Testament. 2d ed.
Ages the explicit idea of b Erît only plays a minor role in Jew-
Rome, 1978. Reliable interpretation of key-texts of ancient
ish theological thought. In Maimonides (c. 1135–1204), the
Near East treaties and biblical covenants.
covenant describes the union of Moses and the biblical patri-
Mendenhall, George. Law and Covenant in Israel and the Ancient
archs with God, a union directed at acquiring cognition, the
Near East. Pittsburgh, 1955. A pioneer study that initiated
goal of which is to have the insights transmitted to all women
much discussion of the relations between the Hittite vassal
and men.
treaties and the Hebrew Bible.
Noth, Martin. Das System der zwölf Stämme Israels. Stuttgart, Ger-
The biblical covenants are a main subject for apology
many, 1930. Important study of the “setting in life” of early
in order to either reject Christian theory about the replace-
Israelite covenant theology.
ment of God’s old covenant with Israel by Christ’s salvation
Otto, Eckart. Das Deuteronomium: Politische Theologie und Rechts-
work, or to reject the Islamic claim that the revelation of the
reform in Juda und Assyrien. Berlin, 1999. Study of the recep-
Prophet Muhammad exceeds the biblical covenants. Modern
tion of neo-Assyrian loyality oaths and covenant motifs in
Jewish philosophy and theology again attaches more impor-
Judah.
tance to the notion of covenant; it serves as an expression of
Otto, Eckart. Das Deuteronomium im Pentateuch und Hexateuch.
ethic autonomy based on mutual obligations between God
Tübingen, Germany, 2000. Study of the postexilic penta-
and mankind, or on a dialogic behavior between both of
teuch and covenant theology.
them as explained in Martin Buber (1878–1965).
Parpola, Simon. Assyrian Prophecies. Helsinki, 1997. Translitera-
According to the QurDa¯n (su¯rah 7:134–135), which
tion and translation of neo-Assyrian prophecies that include
adopted the biblical conception of b Erît, Moses’ covenant
motifs of a covenant between the god Ashur and the Assyrian
(Arabic: Eahd mu¯sa¯) with God enables Moses to intercede
king.
with God and to receive the tables of testimony (su¯rah
Parpola, Simon, and Watanabe, Kazuko. Neo-Assyrian Treaties
7:144–145). Moreover, God made a covenant with the
and Loyalty Oaths. Helsinki, 1988. Transliteration and trans-
prophets (su¯rah 3:81; 33:7), and in particular with the Israel-
lation of neo-Assyrian treaties and loyality oaths.
ites at Mount Sinai, as he had previously done with Moses.
Perlitt, Lothar. Bundestheologie im Alten Testament. Neukirchen-
The Israelites, however, broke this covenant (e.g. su¯rah 2:63–
Vluyn, Germany, 1969. Basic study of the origin of biblical
66). After all, God had entered into a covenant with all
covenant theology.
women and men, calling upon all people to adhere to the re-
Robertson Smith, William. Lectures on the Religion of the Semites:
vealed laws and to accept the reign of the one God (su¯rah
The Fundamental Institutions. 2d ed. London, 1894. Study
7:171–172). Islamic traditional exegesis of these QurDanic
of covenant motifs in early biblical and Arabic thought.
verses links God’s granting humans the ability to speak to
Tucker, Gene M. Contracts in the Old Testament. Ph.D. diss. Yale
the following demand of the covenant on Adamite mankind:
University, 1963. Study of profane contracts in Israel.
They have to accept God as the single One and at the time
Watanabe, Kazuko. Die adê-Vereidigung anläßlich der Thronfol-
of resurrection nobody can claim ignorance of the conditions
geregelung Asarhaddons. Berlin, 1987. Text and translation of
of the covenant in order to exculpate himself.
Esarhaddon’s loyality oath.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CRANMER, THOMAS
2051
Weber, Max. Die Wirtschaftsethik der Weltreligionen: Das antike
issued but did not publish excommunications of Henry,
Judentum (1920). Edited by Eckart Otto. Tübingen, Germa-
Anne, and Cranmer. Any hope of reconciliation ended when
ny, 2004. Translated by Hans H. Gerth and Don Martindale
the Act of Supremacy (1534) declared the king and his suc-
as Ancient Judaism. Glencoe, Ill., 1952. Study of the eco-
cessors “the only supreme head in earth of the Church of En-
nomic contexts of biblical covenant theology.
gland.”
ECKART OTTO (2005)
Cranmer supported but did not initiate the major re-
forms of Henry’s reign: the dissolution of all monastic and
religious houses between 1536 and 1539 (carried out more
COWS SEE CATTLE
because of the Crown’s greed for their vast properties than
for the sake of any principle) and the official authorization
in 1539 of the English “Great Bible,” for which Cranmer
CRANMER, THOMAS
wrote a notable preface in 1540.
(1489–1556), archbishop of
Canterbury (1533–1556), a principal figure in the reforma-
The stringent Act of Six Articles (1539) closed the door
tion of the Church of England. Born of a gentry family in
to any reforms in doctrine or practice. Cranmer spoke
Nottinghamshire, Cranmer entered Jesus College, Cam-
against it in the House of Lords, but he voted for it because
bridge, at the age of fourteen. After taking his B.A. (1511)
the king willed it. By now Cranmer was commonly believed
and M.A. (1515), he became a fellow of the college. His mar-
to be a Lutheran. In 1543 the privy council voted to arrest
riage to a gentlewoman named Joan cost him the fellowship,
him as a heretic, but Henry intervened and saved him. Until
but it was restored when Joan, with her baby, died in child-
Henry’s death Cranmer worked quietly on projects of liturgi-
birth.
cal reform, but of these only the English Litany of 1544 was
authorized.
After his ordination (before 1520), he was appointed
one of twelve university preachers and, on obtaining his B.D.
Reformers dominated the privy council of King Edward
(1521) and D.D. (1526), a university examiner in divinity.
VI (1547–1553), Henry’s precocious young son, who was
Cranmer kept aloof from other Cambridge scholars who met
educated by Protestant tutors. Among the councillors com-
frequently to discuss Luther’s writings. Instead, he privately
mitted to religious reform were the young king’s uncle the
tested these writings by his own independent study of the
duke of Somerset and Lord Protector, and Cranmer, his god-
Bible and early church fathers.
father. Cranmer soon published a Book of Homilies, one part
to be read every Sunday, and translated a Lutheran catechism
Cranmer left Cambridge in 1529 to serve the cause of
by Justus Jonas. Clerical celibacy was abolished. Commu-
King Henry VIII’s annulment of his marriage to Queen
nion including both bread and wine was ordered, for which
Catherine. During an embassy to Emperor Charles V in
Cranmer prepared The Order of the Communion (1548), a
1532 he became acquainted with several Lutheran leaders,
vernacular devotion for the people’s Communion at Mass.
among them Andreas Osiander at Nuremberg, whose niece
Margaret he secretly married. She bore him a daughter and
At Pentecost 1549 The Book of Common Prayer came
a son. Few were privy to this marriage until the next reign.
into use under an act of uniformity. The book’s reforming
principles were derived from Lutheran sources; but its Cath-
When Archbishop William Warham died in 1532,
olic heritage was preserved by Cranmer’s skillful adaptation
Henry decided that Cranmer would succeed him at Canter-
and translation of liturgical forms and prayers from Latin ser-
bury. The king was convinced that Cranmer would be duti-
vice books. The daily offices were reduced to two, matins and
ful not for any personal convenience, much less ambition,
evensong, with one chapter from both the Old and New Tes-
but from his sincere (and somewhat extreme) belief that
taments read at each. The Holy Communion eliminated all
scripture taught obedience to the divine right of kings and
sacrificial references except “praise and thanksgiving” and
princes. This conviction explains many compromises and
forbade any elevation of the consecrated elements. The
vacillations in Cranmer’s life. Privately he would advise
prayer book was not popular, however, with either conserva-
and admonish Henry and plead for mercy for the king’s vic-
tives or radical reformers.
tims, but he would never openly disobey him.
After Somerset’s fall from power, the duke of Northum-
In January 1533, Henry’s secret marriage to Anne Bo-
berland became Lord Protector. He was more interested in
leyn, already pregnant, made the annulment issue urgent. Al-
the church properties he acquired than in the radical reforms
though Pope Clement VII suspected Henry’s intentions, he
he promoted. In 1550 Cranmer published The Form and
consented to Cranmer’s consecration, which took place on
Manner for ordaining bishops, priests, and deacons, based on
March 30. Both before and twice during the rite Cranmer
the Latin Pontifical and a work of Martin Bucer, and also his
read a protestation that his oath of obedience to the pope did
principal theological work, A Defence of the True and Catho-
not bind him if it was against the law of God, the laws and
like Doctrine of the Sacrament of the Body and Bloud of Our
prerogatives of the Crown, or the reformation of the church.
Saviour Christ.
Within a few weeks, Cranmer pronounced the marriage
A revised prayer book was issued in 1552 under an act
to Catherine null and that to Anne valid. In July the pope
of uniformity. Most of the old vestments and ceremonies
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
2052
CREATION MYTHS
were abolished, and the Communion service was rearranged
CREEDS
and conformed to the Swiss reformers’ doctrine. All images,
This entry consists of the following articles:
crosses, rood screens, and other ornaments were smashed,
AN OVERVIEW
removed, or sold; and a wooden “holy Table” replaced all
CHRISTIAN CREEDS
ISLAMIC CREEDS
altars.
While Edward lay dying, Northumberland plotted to
CREEDS: AN OVERVIEW
place his cousin Lady Jane Grey (granddaughter of King
A creed is a confession of faith; put into concise form, en-
Henry VII) on the throne. Cranmer strongly opposed this
dowed with authority, and intended for general use in reli-
until Edward commanded him to submit. But the coup was
gious rites, a creed summarizes the essential beliefs of a par-
short-lived. Mary I, the elder daughter of Henry VIII, was
ticular religion. The notion of creed comes from the
acclaimed queen. Many reformers fled to the continent, and
Christian thought world, and it is not possible to identify in
Cranmer sent his family back to Germany.
other religions the exact parallel, in form and function, of
what Christians call a creed. However, approximate parallels
An ardent Roman Catholic, Mary persuaded Parliament
may be noted.
to revoke all reforms of Edward’s reign. Cranmer was arrest-
According to the definition given above, there are three
ed, tried, and condemned as a traitor; but Mary had other
Christian creeds: the Apostles’, the Nicene, and the Athana-
plans. When Cardinal Reginald Pole, papal legate and arch-
sian. Here is the text of the shortest and, as far as its sources
bishop-designate of Canterbury, arrived in 1554, he absolved
are concerned, the oldest of the three, the Apostles’ Creed,
the kingdom and restored papal authority. The burning of
as found in the Anglican Book of Common Prayer (1945):
heretics then began.
I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven
Under pressure, Cranmer wrote several recantations,
and earth: And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord:
but to no avail. On the day of his degradation and burning,
Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, Born of the
March 21, 1556, he publicly recanted all his recantations,
Virgin Mary: Suffered under Pontius Pilate, Was cruci-
hastened to the stake, thrust his fist into the fire crying “This
fied, dead, and buried: He descended into hell; The
third day he rose again from the dead: He ascended into
hand has offended,” and soon collapsed. His monument lives
heaven, And sitteth on the right hand of God the Father
in The Book of Common Prayer, often amended and enriched,
Almighty: From thence he shall come to judge the
which is used in the worship of all churches of the Anglican
quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost: The
communion.
Holy Catholic Church: The Communion of Saints:
The Forgiveness of sins: The Resurrection of the body:
B
And the Life everlasting. Amen.
IBLIOGRAPHY
The principal collections of Cranmer’s writings can be found in
The three Christian creeds are authoritative in large segments
The Remains of Thomas Cranmer, D. D., Archbishop of Can-
of the church, although Eastern Orthodoxy considers only
terbury, 4 vols., edited by Henry Jenkyns (Oxford, 1833),
the Nicene Creed as completely authoritative. Certain
and the two volumes edited by John Edmund Cox for the
branches of Protestantism (those that emphasize freedom
Parker Society, Writings and Disputations of Thomas Cran-
from traditional rites, a rational approach to religion, or the
mer, Archbishop of Canterbury, Martyr, 1556, Relative to the
autonomy of individual religious experience) ignore creeds
Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper (Cambridge, U.K., 1844) and
altogether.
Miscellaneous Writings and Letters of Thomas Cranmer, Arch-
In Judaism, a formula taken from Deuteronomy 6:4 and
bishop of Canterbury, Martyr, 1556 (Cambridge, U.K.,
1846).
called the ShemaE (from the first word, meaning “Hear!”) is
the expression of monotheistic faith:
Many other sources and later assessments of Cranmer are evaluat-
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one God.
ed in the biography by Jasper Ridley, Thomas Cranmer (Ox-
ford, 1962), with full bibliography and index of names. On
Recited liturgically, the ShemaE includes, in addition, Deu-
the controversies over Cranmer’s doctrine of the Eucharist,
teronomy 6:5–9, 11:13–21, and Numbers 15:37–41.
with much bibliographical detail, see Peter Brooks’s Thomas
In the Yasna, the chief liturgical work of the Avesta (the
Cranmer’s Doctrine of the Eucharist: An Essay in Historical De-
sacred writings of the Zoroastrian religion), are found several
velopment (London, 1965). A learned, fair, and readable ac-
short confessions of faith, summarizing in various wordings
count of the background of Cranmer’s work can be found
the principal beliefs of that religion. One of these (Yasna
in W. K. Jordan’s Edward VI: The Young King (Cambridge,
Mass., 1968) and Edward VI: The Threshold of Power (Cam-
12:1) is:
bridge, Mass., 1970).
I drive the da¯evas hence; I confess as a Mazda¯-worshiper
of the order of Zarathushtra, estranged from the da¯evas,
MASSEY H. SHEPHERD, JR. (1987)
devoted to the love of the Lord, a praiser of the Bounti-
ful Immortals; and to Ahura Mazda¯, the good and en-
dowed with good possessions, I attribute all things
good, to the holy One, the resplendent, to the glorious,
CREATION MYTHS SEE COSMOGONY
whose are all things whatsoever which are good.
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CREEDS: AN OVERVIEW
2053
In Hinduism, the widely used Ga¯yatr¯ı Mantra, based on
TERMS DESIGNATING CREEDS. Besides the word creed—not
R:gveda 3.62.10, corresponds in some ways to the definition
strictly a name in its origin, since it is derived from the Latin
of creed:
verb credo (“I believe”), with which the Apostles’ Creed and
the Nicene Creed open—Christians use the phrase “symbol
Om: [the supreme power]! O earth! O air! O heavens!
Let us meditate on the resplendent glory of Savitr: [the
of the faith” to designate a creed.
sun god] that it may awaken our thoughts.
In Islam, the creed is called the Shaha¯dah, meaning
This formula is more precisely an invocation of the gods, but
“witness.” Sikhs refer to their creed as the Mul Mantra or
implicit in it is a confession of faith. The recitation of a creed
“root formula.” In the Avesta, the term fravara¯ne is used for
functions as prayer in other religions as well.
“confession of faith.”
Buddhism’s Triple Refuge is a profession of faith in the
EXTENSION OF THE DEFINITION. Sometimes the definition
wisdom of the Buddha, in the truth of his teaching, and in
of creed is broadened to include longer, more detailed state-
the significance of the community:
ments of doctrine. These are more precisely called “articles
of faith” or “confessions of faith” in Christianity and
I take refuge in the Buddha; I take refuge in the Dhar-
Eaq¯ıdahs in Islam. Examples of such doctrinal treatises are
ma [doctrine]; I take refuge in the Sam:gha [community
likewise seen in Judaism, attributed to such great scholars as
of believers].
Philo Judaeus, Josephus Flavius, and Moses Maimonides.
In Islam, the creed is recited as a twofold witness:
Contrary to the strict definition of creed given above, articles
I witness that there is no god but God and that
of faith are not recited orally in liturgical settings, and their
Muh:ammad is the Messenger of God.
authority has been limited to certain segments of a religious
community.
In Sikhism, the opening words of Japji, the guru Na¯nak’s
prayer, are expressive of basic Sikh doctrine and are univer-
The advent of Protestantism in sixteenth-century Chris-
sally recited by that religious community:
tendom prompted the preparation and use of several impor-
tant confessions of faith that distinguish one denomination
There is but one God whose name is true, the Creator,
from another. Examples are the Augsburg Confession of Lu-
devoid of fear and enmity, immortal, unborn, self-
existent; by the favor of the Guru. The True One was
theranism (1530) and the Westminster Confession of the
in the beginning; The True One was in the primal age.
Reformed tradition (1646).
The True One is now also, O Na¯nak; The True One
Islamic Eaq¯ıdahs have often served to emphasize contro-
also shall be.
verted points of doctrine and practice or to attack heretical
FUNCTIONS OF CREEDS. Creeds function in different ways:
tendencies, so they do not necessarily deal with the full range
(1) as the basis for membership in a religious community,
of doctrine. Such statements of faith emerged from the five
whether accompanying a rite of initiation (Christian bap-
schools of Sunn¯ı jurisprudence that predominate in the
tism) or constituting one of the elements of religious distinc-
Muslim world today, as well as from schools of thought that
tiveness (Buddhism, Islam, Judaism, Sikhism); (2) as a test
have disappeared, and from theologians, legal scholars, mys-
of orthodoxy, in formal opposition to heresy (Christianity);
tics, and philosophers, both ancient and modern.
(3) as a type of prayer used in private or public worship (Hin-
duism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity; in Alsace, Lutherans are
BIBLIOGRAPHY
invited in their liturgy to “pray the creed”); (4) as a basis for
The article “Creeds and Articles” in the Encyclopaedia of Religion
religious instruction; (5) as a corporate or individual response
and Ethics, vol. 4, edited by James Hastings (Edinburgh,
in faith to divine revelation leading to conduct of commit-
1911), is not so much an overview of the subject as a series
ment (Jews call their creed “the acceptance of the yoke of the
of unconnected descriptions of beliefs in the various reli-
kingdom of heaven”); (6) as an expression of self-
gions, with quotations from original sources. The overall na-
understanding by the religious community; (7) as an asser-
ture of creeds is much more clearly set forth in the article
tion and confirmation of the unity of the community (Islam,
“Bekenntnis” by Gustav Mensching et al., in Die Religion in
Christianity, Judaism); or (8) as a witness to the world, ex-
Geschichte und Gegenwart, 3d ed., vol. 1, edited by Kurt Gall-
pressing the core of belief (Judaism, Islam, Christianity).
ing (Tübingen, 1957). Most of the article is devoted to
Christian creeds, and this rightfully, since the notion of creed
SOURCES OF AUTHORITY. Only in Christianity has the au-
is most specifically a Christian phenomenon.
thority of creeds been legislated formally by conciliar action.
The creed of Islam draws its authority from the fact that its
The exhaustive and still irreplaceable source of information about
elements are found in the QurDa¯n, and from its express word-
Christian creeds is Philip Schaff’s The Creeds of Christendom,
with a History and Critical Notes, 3 vols., 6th ed. (1919; re-
ing in the h:ad¯ıth, or from reports of the prophet
print, Grand Rapids, Mich., 1983). A more accessible work,
Muh:ammad where he affirms that the creed is one of the five
containing a good introduction on the nature and function
pillars upon which Islam is built. The Shema! of Judaism is
of creeds, is Creeds of the Church: A Reader in Christian Doc-
an exact quotation from the Bible. In other religions, the for-
trine from the Bible to the Present, 3d ed., edited by John H.
mulas functioning as creeds base their authority on commu-
Leith (Atlanta, 1982). J. N. D. Kelly, in Early Christian
nal unanimity.
Creeds, 3d ed. (New York, 1972), gives a fine study of the
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CREEDS: CHRISTIAN CREEDS
origins and development of creed making in Christendom.
NATURE AND AUTHORITY OF CHRISTIAN CREEDS. It is often
The entry by Louis Jacobs, “Shema, Reading of,” in Encyclo-
assumed that a creed is a catalog of authorized beliefs de-
paedia Judaica, vol. 14 (Jerusalem, 1972), describes the his-
signed as a test of orthodoxy. But the history of the origin
torical background, liturgical function, and theological
and use of Christian creeds proves that such an interpretation
meaning of the Jewish creedal formula.
is too narrow. A useful clue to this complex history may per-
A. J. Wensinck’s The Muslim Creed: Its Genesis and Historical De-
haps be taken from one possible meaning of the word “sym-
velopment (New York, 1965) deals with the subject in a
bol,” by which the Apostles’ Creed was known from the ear-
broad way, analyzing the content of several ancient !aq¯ıdahs.
liest times. Tyrannius Rufinus (c. 345–410) thought the
Some attention is given to the significance and function of
creed was so termed because it was intended as a kind of pass-
the Shahadah.
word or means of identification (Lat., symbolum). The basic
Perceptive remarks on the general nature of creeds, strictly defined
creedal function that underlies all the others is to establish
as a special type of holy word, can be found in Gerardus van
der Leeuw’s Religion in Essence and Manifestation, vol. 2
the identity of a community or to identify oneself with it.
(1938; reprint, Gloucester, Mass., 1967), pp. 441–443.
Types of creed. The several types of Christian creeds
R. MARSTON SPEIGHT (1987)
are generated by the diverse situations that demand the affir-
mation, or the reaffirmation, of identity. The roots of Chris-
tian creeds, so understood, must be sought in biblical faith—
CREEDS: CHRISTIAN CREEDS
in the self-understanding of the people of God. A clear pro-
Christian usage tends to apply the word creed preeminently
totype of the earliest Christian creeds is to be found in such
to the Apostles’, Nicene, and Athanasian creeds (the so-called
Old Testament declarations as Deuteronomy 26:1–11, which
ecumenical symbols), to use dogma for specific ecclesiastical
may be described as a historical credo or confession of faith
pronouncements, and to use confession of faith for the com-
for liturgical use. In content, it is a grateful recital of the re-
prehensive manifestos of the Protestant Reformation. But
demptive deeds of God—the deliverance from bondage and
the terminology remains fluid, and creed may be taken in a
the gift of the Promised Land—by which the people of Israel
broad, generic sense to include any official codification of a
were, and still are, constituted. And it is expressly designed
belief, or the beliefs, of a religious community. Distinctions
as a liturgical formula for the sanctuary—to accompany the
must then be made among the Christian creeds with respect
presentation of an offering to the Lord. Similarly, the core
to their functions, their degree of comprehensiveness, their
of the early Christian creeds was recital of the so-called
authority, and their several authorizing bodies.
Christ-kerygma, the deeds of God in Jesus Christ understood
as continuous with the Old Testament story. (Compare the
The various churches differ markedly on the status
second article of the Apostles’ Creed with, e.g., 1 Corinthians
claimed for their respective pronouncements. Creeds may be
15:3–7 and Acts 13:16–41.) And the Christian creeds too
invested with the authority of divine revelation. But at the
had their original place in a liturgical rather than a legal set-
opposite end of the scale, the entire notion of a normative,
ting: they celebrated the identity of the church as the com-
as distinct from a purely descriptive, statement of belief has
munity called into being by the crucified and risen Lord.
often been rejected outright as a threat to the unique authori-
From the earliest times there was a close connection between
ty of scripture, the freedom of faith, or new communications
creed and baptism, and in most of the historic liturgies of
from the Holy Spirit. Since the late nineteenth century, there
the churches, in both East and West, a creed has been recited
has also been a tendency to disparage creeds on the ground
or sung as part of the eucharistic service.
that they occasion discord in the church and misrepresent
the nature of Christian belief.
It would be a mistake, however, to link Christian creeds
The greatest number of Christian creeds date from the
exclusively with liturgy (the forms prescribed for corporate
Reformation era: they were by-products of the division of the
worship) or with any particular element in it, such as baptism
Western church, serving to legitimate the several groups that
or the Eucharist. Creeds also served the church’s educational
claimed to be, or to belong to, the true or catholic church.
needs. Here, too, the Old Testament appears to offer a pro-
For precisely this reason, the sixteenth-century confessions
totype: in Deuteronomy 6:20–25 there is a historical credo
asserted their continuity with the past; many of them ex-
without a liturgical context, and the recital of God’s marvel-
pressly reaffirmed the three ecumenical symbols, and some
ous deeds is simply for the instruction of the young, lest fu-
endorsed as well the pronouncements of the ecumenical
ture generations forget the events that brought the people
councils. But there was, and is, no unanimity on which
into existence. Early Christian creeds likewise found their
creeds and which councils may legitimately be classed as ecu-
place not only in the worship but also in the instruction of
menical.
the church, including catechetical instruction before
baptism.
The themes to be considered are, accordingly, the na-
ture and authority of Christian creeds in general, the ecu-
Besides the constant requirements of worship and edu-
menical creeds and councils, the Lutheran and Reformed
cation, periodic divisions within a church and threats from
confessions, other creeds of the Reformation era, and Chris-
outside have provided special occasions for the development
tian creeds in the modern world.
and use of creedal formulas. Indeed, it is sometimes said that
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CREEDS: CHRISTIAN CREEDS
2055
creeds and confessions are most properly born in times of cri-
Some of the Lutheran churches regard their Book of Concord
sis. Although this too is an oversimplification (like the notion
(1580) as a now-closed collection of symbolic books: no sub-
that creeds are tests of orthodoxy), it is certainly true that de-
sequent statement, after 1580, could attain symbolic status.
fense against the peril of false belief—in the form of heresy,
Others, however, never endorsed the Formula of Concord
persecution by another church, or paganism—has been one
or, with it, the Book of Concord.
stimulus to creed-making throughout Christian history. And
it must be added that not only the desire to exclude compet-
It is sometimes asserted that the authority of confessions
ing beliefs but also the desire to overcome divisions has pro-
is weaker in the Reformed church than in the Lutheran. But
duced creeds, in which previous recriminations are laid aside
the historical evidence is ambivalent. On the one hand, the
in a new sense of unity.
absence of a single preeminent confession and a closed sym-
bolic collection among the Reformed does appear to invite
The diverse uses of Christian creeds are reflected in the
continuous revision of their confessional stand. To this ex-
traditional nomenclature. An affirmation of communal iden-
tent, an admission of reformability is tacitly built into Re-
tity having symbolic authority might be called “creed,” “con-
formed confessionalism; and the authors of Reformed con-
fession,” “articles of faith,” “canons,” “decree,” “catechism,”
fessions have sometimes expressly disowned any exclusive
“declaration,” “covenant,” “consensus,” “platform,” “apolo-
claim for their particular terminology, or have invited correc-
gy,” and so on. But in practice, function and title do not in-
tion if in any respect they should be found to have departed
variably coincide, and many creeds have been put to more
from the word of God. On the other hand, subscription to
than one use.
the prevailing local creed or creeds has commonly been de-
manded of pastors and sometimes of schoolteachers—or
Authority of creeds. The status of creeds in the Roman
even of entire populations (as happened in Geneva in 1537).
church is closely bound up with the Roman Catholic under-
The history of the Westminster Confession (1647), the prin-
standing of the church, its magisterium and its infallibility.
cipal creed of the English-speaking Reformed (the “Presbyte-
Though degrees of authoritative statement are differentiated,
rians”), is particularly instructive. The Westminster Divines
the highest ecclesiastical pronouncements have a juridical
seem not to have wanted it to become the rule of faith and
character and are binding on the church’s members: to devi-
practice rather than a “help,” but that is exactly how the
ate openly and obstinately from any truth of the catholic
Scots used it north of the border, and Scottish influence be-
faith is heresy. The tendency of Rome to accumulate dogmas
came paramount. The Presbyterian appetite for heresy trials
is not approved by the Eastern Orthodox churches, but they
presupposed that the Westminster Confession had a legal
invest the Nicene Creed and the pronouncements of their
status not unlike that accorded by the Roman church to
seven ecumenical councils with much the same authority
Roman Catholic dogmas.
that Rome accords its more abundant dogmatic norms. By
contrast, the status of creeds in Protestantism is not uniform,
An unmistakable shift can be observed within Protes-
and in view of the Protestant appeal to the sole authority of
tantism when one moves from the Lutheran and Reformed
scripture, it is often seen as a problem.
churches to what may be broadly, if loosely, called the “free
church” tradition. For instance, in their Savoy Declaration
The followers of Martin Luther (1483–1546) wanted a
(1658) the Congregationalists adapted the Westminster
common form of doctrine to which all the evangelical
Confession to their own use but they expressly disavowed
churches could be expected to subscribe. Their Formula of
any intention to bind consciences, since that would belie the
Concord (1577) drew an explicit parallel between the au-
very name and nature of confessions of faith and turn them
thoritative ancient symbols and their own Augsburg Confes-
into exactions and impositions of faith. Since 1970, Congre-
sion (1530), “the symbol of our time.” This raised questions
gationalists have belonged to the World Alliance of Re-
about the relationship of the Augsburg Confession and other
formed Churches. But Congregationalism has generally, if
Lutheran symbols to the authority of scripture. The Formula
not always, affirmed a descriptive rather than a normative
drew a line between the word of God and postapostolic wit-
view of creeds. They “declare, for general information, what
ness to it, but allegiance to the symbols presupposed that
is commonly believed among” Congregationalists (English
they were no more than summaries of scriptural truth re-
Declaration, 1833). In this manner the agony of heresy hunts
quired by the threat of false teaching. An identity of content
is avoided, but the more strictly confessional churches are
was claimed between scripture as the norma normans and the
likely to argue that the basic creedal function of preserving
Lutheran confessions as the norma normata, so that an actual
the community’s identity is here in peril of being surren-
critique of the Lutheran church’s doctrine would appear to
dered.
be, in principle, as hard to undertake from within as Luther
found it to launch a critique of the Roman church’s doctrine.
Churches that renounce the use of creeds altogether
Irreformability of the Lutheran church’s dogmatic stand-
may differ from the confessional churches in little more than
point was implied in the assertion “We do not intend, either
the refusal to commit their beliefs to formal, written defini-
in this [the Formula of Concord] or in subsequent doctrinal
tions; they may in practice be just as intolerant of any devia-
statements, to depart from the aforementioned [Augsburg]
tions from the approved language of the community. If un-
Confession or to set up a different and new confession.”
written creeds are set aside, however, it may perhaps be
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CREEDS: CHRISTIAN CREEDS
concluded that there are three types of Protestant attitude to
lieve in God, the Father, Almighty? And in Christ Jesus, his
formulas of belief: a closed confessionalism that requires alle-
only Son, our Lord? And in the Holy Ghost, the holy church,
giance to a past symbol or a completed collection of symbols,
the resurrection of the body?” (Another explanation of the
an open confessionalism that calls for the drafting of present
term symbol is that the triple interrogation was understood
symbols of belief, and a purely descriptive confessionalism
to be symbolic of the Trinity.) The insertion of the Christ-
that denies to “human formularies” any binding or symbolic
kerygma into this presumed early-Roman baptismal confes-
authority at all. While these three types appeared among the
sion may have been encouraged by the need to refute doce-
Lutherans, the Reformed, and the Congregationalists, re-
tism, the denial of Jesus’ humanity. The received text of the
spectively, they cannot be simply identified as denomina-
Apostles’ Creed makes the point cumulatively: Jesus was
tional positions. All three communions have had a complex
conceived, was born, suffered, “was crucified, dead, and bur-
history of subscription controversies. And the three types do
ied.” Finally, the shift to the declarative form (“I believe
not exhaust the options. The Anglican communion, for ex-
. . .”), which required recital from memory, perhaps was
ample, understands itself largely as a worshiping community,
made initially in catechetical preparation for baptism, then
and its leaders often point to The Book of Common Prayer
carried over into the baptismal rite itself.
(1662) and the historic episcopate rather than the Thirty-
nine Articles (1563–1571) as the pledge of corporate
The Nicene Creed. Until modern times, it was tradi-
identity.
tionally assumed that the so-called Nicene Creed was the
creed promulgated by the Council of Nicaea (325), as revised
ECUMENICAL CREEDS AND ECUMENICAL COUNCILS. In the
and endorsed by the Council of Constantinople (381). Espe-
New Testament, faith, confession, and salvation are insepa-
cially since the researches of Eduard Schwartz (1858–1940),
rable (Mt. 10:32, Rom. 10:10). The simplest formula of
the tradition has been generally abandoned, but much schol-
Christian confession is the assertion that Jesus is Christ (Mk.
arly disagreement remains. Perhaps tradition was right in
8:29) or Lord (Rom. 10:9, 1 Cor. 12:3), and the Western text
linking the Nicene Creed with the Council of Constantino-
of Acts 8:37 evidently reflects early use of a similar formula
ple; hence modern scholarship designates it “the Niceno-
(“Jesus Christ is the Son of God”; cf. Mt. 16:16) in connec-
Constantinopolitan Creed” (C). But it does not seem to have
tion with baptism. But it was the conviction of the early
been a mere revision of the creed promulgated at Nicaea (N);
Christians that Jesus himself enjoined baptism in the triadic
rather, the two creeds must be said to belong to a common
name of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Mt. 28:19), and sum-
Eastern type, as does the creed of Caesarea, which was once
maries of Christian belief emerged, known as “rules of faith”
supposed to have been adopted at Nicaea as the first draft
but fluid in their wording, as the Christ-kerygma came to be
of N.
incorporated into a triadic framework. Similar to them in
basic structure, only more fixed in wording, two major fami-
The Eastern creeds are distinguished from R by their
lies of creed developed, culminating in the Apostles’ Creed
greater interest in the preexistence of Christ before the incar-
in the West and the Nicene Creed in the East.
nation: they place the Christ-kerygma in a cosmic setting.
Hans Lietzmann (1875–1942) thought it was possible to re-
The Apostles’ Creed. The legend that the twelve apos-
construct an Eastern or “Oriental” prototype (O) analogous
tles themselves jointly composed the creed named after them,
to R, but it remains uncertain whether O, or something like
each in turn contributing one clause, was not seriously
it, actually existed as the model for other Eastern creeds. In
doubted before the critical labors of Lorenzo Valla (c. 1405–
any case, N advances beyond O in the attempt to exclude
1457) and Reginald Pecock (c. 1393–c. 1461). In its present
Arianism: it affirms that the Son of God was “God from God
wording, the Apostles’ Creed makes its first verifiable appear-
. . . of the same substance [homoousion] as the Father” and
ance in the West no earlier than the eighth century, in a trea-
concludes with anathemas against the Arian watchwords
tise by the monk Pirminius (or Priminius, d. 753), and it has
(that there was a time when the Son was not, etc.). C, in
remained strictly a Western creed. But a long history certain-
turn, advances beyond N in affirming, against the Macedo-
ly brought it to its final form. It is generally agreed that the
nian heresy, the equality of the Holy Spirit with the Father
historical roots of the Apostles’ Creed are in the ancient bap-
and the Son, although the technical term homoousios is not
tismal confession of the Roman church, the “Old Roman
used of the Spirit as well. Some time in the sixth or seventh
Creed” (R), which Archbishop James Ussher (1581–1656)
century, the word filioque was inserted into the Latin text of
first attempted to reconstruct from Marcellus (d. around
C, so that the Holy Spirit was said to proceed from the Fa-
374) and Rufinus.
ther and the Son. The insertion became a bone of contention
between Rome and the Eastern churches, which firmly re-
More recent scholarship suggests that the earliest version
jected it.
of R was a Greek creed in interrogative form (“Do you be-
lieve . . .?”) and that it dates back to about CE 200, when
The Nicene Creed (C) came to be used liturgically in
Greek was still in use in the Roman church. Behind it there
the Eastern church in both baptism and the Eucharist; in the
probably lies a still earlier trinitarian confession, also of the
West it was adopted as the eucharistic confession. The creed
interrogative type but without the Christ-kerygma. It may
of Nicaea (N), by contrast, was designed not for instruction
simply have asked the candidate for baptism: “Do you be-
or worship but as a test of orthodoxy, which could be in-
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2057
voked even against a bishop of the church. In this respect,
church to seven councils: two of Nicaea (325, 787), three of
the Council of Nicaea marked a new stage in creedal history:
Constantinople (381, 553, 680), Ephesus, and Chalcedon.
its creed was the first to be promulgated by an ecumenical
The Roman church claims ecumenical rank also for its own
council with a claim to universal authority throughout the
synods, the last of which, Vatican II (1962–1965), was
entire church.
counted the twenty-first ecumenical council; and Rome con-
siders the decrees of an ecumenical council to be “an infalli-
The Athanasian Creed. The so-called Creed of Saint
ble witness to the Catholic rule of faith.” Protestants tend to
Athanasius (also known as the Quicunque Vult, from its
single out the first four “general councils” as especially wor-
opening words in Latin) was probably composed in southern
thy of reverence, but deny that their decrees are in principle
France during or after the post-Nicene debates on the incar-
infallible; rather, they are to be tested by the word of God.
nation. After the Council of Nicaea, theological interest
shifted from the eternal relations of Father, Son, and Spirit
LUTHERAN AND REFORMED CONFESSIONS. The Protestant
within the divine Trinity to the relationship between the di-
confessions of the Reformation era were intended to restore
vine and human natures of the incarnate Son. Arianism, now
to the church its true image and identity, which, it was wide-
officially condemned, was succeeded by the Apollinarian,
ly agreed, had been obscured by the errors and abuses of the
Nestorian, and Eutychian heresies. While the provenance of
later Middle Ages. The heart of the Reformation creeds is the
the Athanasian Creed can be inferred from the evidence of
rediscovery of the gospel as, in Luther’s memorable phrase,
its earliest use and influence, the date assigned to it depends
“the real treasure of the church.” The church, Luther held,
chiefly on the answer to the question which of the three
is the creation of the gospel; it is the word of God in Jesus
christological heresies it was intended to oppose. It was in-
Christ that makes the church the church. And he believed
deed argued by Daniel Waterland (1683–1740) that even its
that the church’s confession of the divinity of Christ was fa-
statements on the doctrine of the Trinity require a date no
tally impaired wherever this gospel was displaced or miscon-
earlier than 420, because they reflect the language of Augus-
strued.
tine’s (354–430) trinitarian speculations. In any case, the
Lutheran confessions. Of the ten symbols included in
Christological statements almost certainly allude not only to
the Lutheran Book of Concord, the first three are the ecumeni-
Apollinarianism but also to Nestorianism, possibly to Euty-
cal creeds; the rest, in chronological order of publication, are
chianism; and the three heresies were condemned respective-
Luther’s Large and Small Catechisms (1529), the Augsburg
ly at the councils of Constantinople (381), Ephesus (431),
Confession, Philipp Melanchthon’s (1497–1560) Apology for
and Chalcedon (451). The attribution of the creed to Atha-
the Augsburg Confession (1531), Luther’s Smalcald Articles
nasius, who died in 373, is clearly impossible and was already
(1537), Melanchthon’s Treatise on the Power and Primacy of
discredited in the seventeenth century by Gerrit Jansz Voss
the Pope (1537), and the Formula of Concord. Among the
(1577–1649). Alternative suggestions have been made; per-
distinctively Lutheran symbols, all German in origin, the
haps the most persuasive case points to Lérins, the island
Augsburg Confession holds a special place. Lutheranism was
abbey opposite Cannes, as “the cradle of the creed”
granted legal recognition by the Peace of Augsburg (1555)
(J. N. D. Kelly), and someone close to Vincent of Lérins
as “the religion of the Augsburg Confession.” The spread of
(d. around 450) and Caesarius of Arles (d. 542) as its author.
Lutheranism beyond Germany always meant adoption of
The first part of the Athanasian Creed presents the doc-
this confession, and the Formula of Concord itself claimed
trine of the Trinity, and the second part places the Christ-
to be simply the correct and final explanation of it in re-
kerygma in the protective setting of propositions against the
sponse to certain inner-Lutheran controversies.
christological heresies. Although the creed came to be sung
regularly in the West, it most likely originated not as a hymn
The confession was presented to Emperor Charles V on
but as a form of instruction for clergy; and its technical,
June 25, 1530, at the Diet of Augsburg (whence the name
metaphysical, and threatening style has gradually reduced its
by which it is familiarly known). Although earlier documents
liturgical use. In the East it was unknown until the twelfth
by other hands lay behind it, in its final form its principal
century and never won very high regard. The Chalcedonian
author was Melanchthon, whose ecclesiastical strategy it re-
definition, though never added to the number of the ecu-
flects. According to the Formula of Concord, the Augsburg
menical symbols, actually enjoys wider authority as a defense
Confession “distinguishes our reformed churches from the
against christological heresy because of its association with
papacy and from other condemned sects and heresies.” But
an ecumenical council.
that by no means conveys the author’s intention. He was cer-
tainly eager to disown the Zwinglians and the Anabaptists,
Recognition of the creeds and councils. Most of the
but precisely in order to confirm the essential Lutheran
major churches recognize the ecumenical creeds and councils
agreement with Rome. The confession (or “apology,” as it
insofar as they present fundamental Christian beliefs about
was initially called) set out to accomplish two goals: to de-
God and Christ. But only the Nicene Creed can fully claim
fend the catholicity of Lutheran doctrine and to justify the
the rank of ecumenical symbol, and it is unfortunate that its
innovations in Lutheran practice. Part one (arts. 1–21), the
significance is tarnished by debate over the filioque insertion.
confession of faith proper, contains a summary of the doc-
Ecumenical status is assigned by the Eastern Orthodox
trines taught in the Lutheran churches. It claims to present
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CREEDS: CHRISTIAN CREEDS
the faith of the catholic church, not of a particular Lutheran
cord.” It was a new departure—and the act of only one
church, and it insists that there can be no disagreement with
branch of the Reformed family—when the United Presbyte-
Rome if Rome’s teaching, too, conforms to antiquity. The
rian Church in the United States of America in 1967 autho-
contention is not over articles of faith but over a few usages,
rized its Book of Confessions, a selection of Reformed creeds
and these are taken up in part two (arts. 22–28), which lies
of international origin. In the 1983 edition, the Book of
outside the confession of faith in the strict sense.
Confessions of what had become the Presbyterian Church
(USA) included six documents from the Reformation era
Melanchthon’s design required the suppression of sever-
(along with the Nicene and Apostles’ creeds and two twenti-
al controversial issues, including the authority of scripture,
eth-century confessions): the Scots Confession (1560), the
papal primacy, and the priesthood of all believers. How well
Heidelberg Catechism (1563), the Second Helvetic Confes-
he succeeded is open to question, but it is significant that in
1980, when the 450th anniversary of his confession was cele-
sion (1566), the Westminster Confession (rev. ed., 1958),
brated, there were widespread discussions between Roman
and the two Westminster Catechisms (1647). None of these
Catholic and Lutheran theologians on the possibility that
six creeds stands very close to John Calvin (1509–1564), an
Rome might recognize the Augsburg Confession as a catholic
omission that could be remedied with the French (Gallican)
confession. Still, it is undeniable that the confession bears a
Confession of 1559, perhaps the outstanding Reformed
distinctively Lutheran stamp precisely in the regulative place
creed of the declarative type. Originally conceived as an apol-
it assigns to the gospel, understood as the message of justifi-
ogy of the persecuted French Protestants to the king of
cation through faith without any merits of our own. It is this
France, the confession was not a creed for theologians only
“chief article” that provides one implicit definition of an
but a confession of the church, and it came to be printed in-
“abuse” for part two of the confession: any usage implying
side the Bibles and Psalters of the French Reformed congre-
that grace can be earned is an abuse (art. 15). The same chief
gations.
article constitutes the actual core of part one, shaping the
Dogmatic uniformity is hardly to be expected through-
doctrines of church, ministry, and sacraments as well as the
out the total Reformed corpus confessionum, and no one con-
Lutheran understanding of the Christian life, neighborly
fession can be taken as regulative for them all. But they were
love, and the earthly callings.
first and foremost, like other Protestant confessions, “evan-
It is not surprising that the Roman Catholic critics of
gelical”—that is, reaffirmations of the gospel of Christ, or
the confession, while they welcomed the affirmation of the
(what for them was the same thing) of the lordship of Christ,
real presence in the Eucharist (art. 10), found uncatholic the
as alone constitutive of the church’s identity. This is particu-
pivotal notion that the sacraments in general are testimonies
larly clear in the documents from the early years. The very
of God’s good will for the purpose of arousing faith, that is,
first Reformed confession, the Sixty-seven Articles (1523) of
the faith through which we are justified (art. 13). Sacraments
Huldrych Zwingli (1484–1531), sounds the characteristic
are thereby interpreted (or reinterpreted) as functions of the
note in its opening assertions (cf. Ten Theses of Bern, 1528;
word of God, forms of the gospel proclamation; and the en-
Lausanne Articles, 1536). In subsequent confessions the pri-
tire medieval conception of the church and its ministry is
macy of the gospel comes to be set in a more systematic
transformed accordingly. This was one strictly doctrinal issue
framework, but it is still affirmed, either within the confes-
that lay behind the Lutheran charge, in part two of the con-
sions (e.g., First Helvetic Confession, 1536, art. 12; cf. art.
fession (art. 24), that it is an abuse to celebrate the Mass as
5) or in preambles to them (e.g., the French and Scots con-
a sacrifice for sin. It would be unfair to conclude (as has
fessions), and serves as the constant norm for sifting out
sometimes been done) that Melanchthon was devious or
truth from error in the prevailing beliefs and practices of the
naive. The point, rather, is that his concern was to reaffirm
church.
the gospel of grace without letting the Lutheran reform rend
The dogma of double predestination, sometimes imag-
the unity of the catholic church.
ined to be the center of Reformed or Calvinistic theology,
The Reformed confessions. Unlike the Lutherans, the
is not emphasized in the sixteenth-century confessions; in
Reformed churches of the sixteenth and seventeenth centu-
some (e.g., the First Helvetic Confession and the Heidelberg
ries were not held together by a single confession of faith.
Catechism) it is not even mentioned. If one looks for a dis-
Though they often acknowledged one another’s confes-
tinctively Reformed emphasis, it might more plausibly be lo-
sions—sometimes even the Lutheran Augsburg Confes-
cated in the concern for the order, discipline, and worship
sion—in general each national or regional church drew up
of the church. The “parity of presbyters” (i.e., the equality
its own standard or standards of belief. The most compre-
of all ordained clergy in rank) and the need for elders to assist
hensive collection of Reformed creeds (E. F. K. Müller,
the pastors in maintaining discipline are expressly included
1903) contains fifty-eight items, and the editor remarks that
in some of the confessions—apparently as matters of faith.
the number could be doubled without achieving complete-
But here too the fundamental principle is the sole lordship
ness. Other individual collections have appeared from time
of Christ, the only universal bishop of the church, the ever-
to time, but none has ever acquired, or could have acquired,
present and life-giving head of the body, who needs no
ecclesiastical endorsement as the Reformed “Book of Con-
“vicar” (French Confession, arts. 29–30; Scots Confession,
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2059
chap. 16; Belgic Confession [1561], art. 31; Second Helvetic
Augsburg Confession on everything except the marriage of
Confession, chap. 17; etc.). And the same line of thinking
priests. The synod also gave its sanction to a catechism draft-
prevents Zwingli’s memorialist conception of the Lord’s
ed (c. 1640) partly in opposition to the Calvinizers by Petr
Supper, which occasioned the breach with Lutheranism,
Moghila (1596–1647), metropolitan of Kiev, which was
from intruding into the major Reformed confessions. In the
probably the most influential witness to the Orthodox faith
Lord’s Supper the living and present Lord feeds and
of the Greek and Russian churches until superseded in 1839
strengthens his people “with the substance of his body and
by the Catechism of Filaret (1782–1867), metropolitan of
of his blood” (French Confession, art. 36; cf. Scots Confes-
Moscow. But neither Filaret’s catechism nor the documents
sion, chap. 21, Second Helvetic Confession, chap. 21, and
promulgated or endorsed by the Synod of Jerusalem have the
so on).
same authority in Eastern Orthodoxy as the Nicene Creed,
which commended itself all the more because it was safe from
OTHER CREEDS OF THE REFORMATION ERA. Besides the Lu-
the conflict in the Western church. Insofar as the Eastern
therans and the Reformed, other non-Roman churches in
church faced the Reformation at all, it has usually considered
the West produced statements of belief during the Reforma-
its responses to be strictly contextual; use of the Latin dogma
tion era. The Church of England had its Thirty-nine Arti-
of transubstantiation, for example, in the Confession of Do-
cles, the Unitarians their Racovian Catechism (1605), the
sítheos did not make it an Orthodox dogma.
Mennonites their Dordrecht Confession (1632); the Con-
gregationalists, the Baptists, and even the Quakers continued
The Roman Catholic Church. The Roman church, by
to add to the confessional literature of the earlier Reforma-
contrast, produced its most comprehensive standard of belief
tion. But none of these groups has invested its statements
(until that time) precisely in response to the Protestant Ref-
with the doctrinal authority the Lutherans and the Reformed
ormation. In 1545, fifteen years after the Diet of Augsburg,
accord to theirs; most of them would say that their confes-
the long-hoped-for council that was to settle the religious
sions are for instruction, not for subscription. Sometimes the
questions was finally convened at Trent. Its last session took
new statements borrowed freely from the old. Already in the
place in 1563, eighteen years later. The Orthodox and the
sixteenth century the Thirty-nine Articles were largely de-
Protestants were not represented, but Trent is considered by
rived from continental Protestantism, and in the following
the church of Rome to be the nineteenth ecumenical council.
century the Congregationalists and the Baptists (both “Par-
(The Lutherans were invited, and delegates from Saxony and
ticular” and “General” Baptists) made their own recensions
Württemberg did appear briefly in the spring of 1552, but
of the Presbyterian Westminster Confession, as John Wesley
they could be received only as errant children of the church,
(1703–1791) was later to make a Methodist recension of the
which had condemned Luther three decades before.) The
Anglican articles (the Twenty-five Articles of 1784).
canons and decrees of the Council of Trent were published
in their entirety in 1564. Not all twenty-five sessions pro-
Eastern Orthodox churches. The Eastern churches re-
duced decrees on doctrine. Those that did were mainly inter-
mained aloof, as far as possible, from the Reformation crisis,
ested in three matters of faith: authority, justification, and
judging it to be an internal problem of the Western church.
the sacraments.
Some exchange did take place, however, and it generated
more or less official Orthodox responses to Protestantism.
After adopting the Nicene Creed as its confession of
Most important among them was the Confession of Dosí-
faith and shield against heresies (sess. 3), the council pro-
theos, issued by the Synod of Jerusalem (1672) to combat
ceeded to specify the two witnesses to which it would appeal
the Calvinizing opinions advanced by, or attributed to, Cyril
in confirming dogmas and restoring morals in the church:
I (Kyrillos Loukaris, 1572–1638), former patriarch of Con-
scripture and unwritten traditions (sess. 4). The express con-
stantinople. It is generally assumed that the patriarch of Jeru-
cern of Trent, like that of the Protestants, was for “the purity
salem, Dosítheos (1641–1707), was the principal author of
of the gospel.” But there could be no question of appealing
the confession, which constitutes chapter 6 of the synod’s de-
to the gospel against the traditions or teaching of the church.
crees. He avoided Roman Catholic doctrines and practices
For the truths of the gospel, according to Trent, are con-
that Orthodoxy does not accept (papal supremacy, the celi-
tained both in scripture and in the unwritten traditions
bacy of all clergy, withholding the cup from the laity) and
handed down from the apostles; both are to be received with
took essentially the same stand as Rome against the Protes-
the same devout reverence. And the scriptures themselves are
tant views of authority and justification. The Calvinist doc-
not to be interpreted by anyone’s private judgment contrary
trine of the Eucharist is opposed (decree 17) not only by af-
to the sense that holy mother church has held and holds.
firming a propitiatory sacrifice but also by borrowing the
Latin idea of transubstantiation.
It did not follow that the Roman church wished to
stand behind the practices and beliefs that the Protestant
In addition to promulgating its own confession, the
confessions had judged to be violations of the gospel. Trent
Synod of Jerusalem endorsed the earlier replies of Jeremias
did reject the Lutheran protest in principle, and it could not
II (c. 1530–1595), patriarch of Constantinople, to overtures
accept the Lutheran inventory of abuses without discrimina-
from the Lutheran theologians of Tübingen. The replies
tion. But in its decrees on reform the council inaugurated
(published in 1584) rejected the distinctive doctrines of the
a Catholic reformation, which dealt extensively with many
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CREEDS: CHRISTIAN CREEDS
of the alleged abuses, eradicating some and purging others.
conscious attempts to rethink confessional positions in the
And in its decrees on doctrine it defined positions that can-
modern world. But it is also during the last three centuries
not be simply identified with positions the Lutherans and the
that the very idea of a creed has become most precarious.
Reformed had attacked. In particular, the decree on justifica-
tion (sess. 6), which took seven months to complete, seems
Modern anticreedalism. The problem of what may be
to deny forthrightly the very opinion against which the Lu-
termed “anticreedalism” has naturally made itself felt more
therans had most vehemently protested: that the grace of jus-
especially in Protestantism. From the first, even the most
tification can be merited (chap. 8). Trent’s denial of merit
staunchly confessional of the Protestant churches, the Lu-
before justification has been the subject of divided interpre-
theran, was not entirely of one mind about its symbolic
tation among twentieth-century historians, and in any case
books. Distinctions were made between one confession and
other confessional differences concerning justification, or
another, and not all the Lutheran bodies adopted the Formu-
possible differences, certainly remain, but the dividing lines
la of Concord. Moreover, in the non-Lutheran churches
are not as sharp as sixteenth-century polemics made them
there was a tendency to contrast all human formularies much
out to be. The same holds true for sacramental theology.
more sharply with the divinely inspired scriptures. Modern
anticreedalism, however, has other roots besides biblicism.
Among the controverted sacramental issues, none ranks
Most important is the drift toward a less dogmatic variety
higher in importance than the debate over the sacrificial
of Christian religion. With roots in sixteenth-century hu-
character of the Mass. Both the Lutheran confessions (e.g.,
manism and antitrinitarianism and in seventeenth-century
Augsburg Confession, art. 24) and the Reformed confessions
Arminianism, aversion to distinctively Christian dogmas
(e.g., Scots Confession, art. 22) presumed that in the Roman
flourished in English Deism and was nurtured by the theolo-
Mass the priest was credited with sacrificing Christ to ap-
gians of the German Enlightenment. In the course of the
pease God. The Mass, they alleged, therefore detracted from
eighteenth century, Protestant orthodoxy, already weakened
Christ’s self-sacrifice on the cross and violated the heart of
by Pietism, retreated before enlightened disdain for inherited
the gospel—that grace is not obtained through human
superstitions and dogmatic particularism. Friedrich Schleier-
works. The language of the Tridentine response (sess. 22) is
macher (1768–1834) tried to deal more sympathetically with
neither uniform nor wholly transparent. But no competition
the old creeds as authentic, though reformable, deliverances
between cross and altar is implied. The once-for-all offering
of the Christian consciousness. But the resurgence of Luther-
on the cross is said to be “represented” in the Mass and its
an confessionalism in the early nineteenth century was di-
benefits applied to daily sins, “so far is the latter from dero-
rected against Schleiermacher as well as against the rational-
gating in any way from the former” (chaps. 1–2). And
ists, and it was carried by German immigrants to the New
though the sacrifice of the Mass is carried out “by the church
World.
through the priests,” the decree adds: “. . . the same now
By the end of the nineteenth century, the beleaguered
offering by the ministry of priests who then offered himself
antidogmatic line in Protestant theology found new re-
on the cross” (chaps. 1–2).
sources in the work of Ritschlian church historian Adolf von
Confessional legacy of the Reformation. The Triden-
Harnack (1851–1930), who argued with massive erudition
tine decrees must be seen in relation to subsequent dogmatic
that Christian orthodoxy arose as a corruption of the gospel
pronouncements of the Roman Catholic Church, especially
by Hellenic metaphysics and intellectualism. Dogmas, as he
the constitutions of the First and Second Vatican Councils
put it, are “a work of the Greek spirit on the soil of the gos-
(1869–1870; 1962–1965). But the confessional legacy of the
pel”; by them, confidence in the Father God of Jesus is trans-
Reformation era appears less totally and irrevocably divisive
formed into intellectual assent to metaphysical propositions
than might be supposed. Just as the Reformed confessions
about the inner life of the godhead and the two natures of
did not perpetuate the Zwinglian sacramental views that the
the incarnate Son. From this standpoint, Harnack consid-
Lutherans found so offensive, so also the Tridentine decrees
ered himself free to subject even the Apostles’ Creed to de-
did not simply immortalize the errors and abuses with which
tailed criticism and to oppose its continued use as a legal or-
the Protestants charged the late medieval church. And a more
dinance.
irenic age would have to ask, in turn, how just were the Tri-
Strictly speaking, Harnack and the liberal Protestants
dentine anathemas hurled against the Protestants.
who rallied around him did not want to abolish the Apostles’
CHRISTIAN CREEDS IN THE MODERN WORLD. Although the
Creed, or creeds in general. Harnack in fact made a classic
Reformation era may be singled out as the most productive
case for what we have termed “open confessionalism.” While
period of Christian creed-making, dogmas have continued
he deplored what he saw as the “catholicizing” of Lutheran-
to be defined and confessions drafted down to the present
ism, he judged the opposite demand for a totally undogmatic
time. The Roman church’s dogmas of the Immaculate Con-
Christianity to be a mistake. The church’s task, he believed,
ception (1854), papal infallibility (1870), and the Assump-
was not to dispense with creeds but to add a new creed to
tion of the Virgin Mary (1950) were important develop-
the old. “Upon the path of the old Creeds we must remain,”
ments of traditional Roman Catholic beliefs about Mary and
he wrote. “Satisfied with them we cannot be. The entangle-
the papacy. Other creedal statements have been self-
ments of history divide us from them.”
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2061
The objection is sometimes made that such a program,
for what many Roman Catholics perceive as one-sidedness
despite the disavowals, abrogates the entire notion of a creed:
in the work of the First Vatican Council.
a temporary dogma is no dogma at all, and adoption of a new
The Council of Trent did not undertake to define the
confession is tacit denial of the old. But in the centuries that
nature of the church at all; differences among the fathers
separate the Reformation from the present, another danger,
themselves made any such venture impolitic. The First Vati-
more surely fatal to the life of a confessing church, has be-
can Council, on the other hand, which Rome counts as the
come increasingly clear: an old creed may be retained only
twentieth ecumenical council, did produce a Constitution
as a sacred relic, a token of outward conformity, to be in-
on the Church of Christ (1870), but it was concerned exclu-
voked on rare occasions for some shibboleth that it conve-
sively with the primacy of the pope and with his infallibility
niently enshrines—and not as the living confession of a
when he defines a doctrine concerning faith or morals. Vati-
church. And there is a growing readiness among Christians
can II, especially in its Dogmatic Constitution on the
of every communion, even among those who do not object
Church (Lumen gentium, 1964), presents a much fuller doc-
either to creeds in principle or to the specific dogmas of the
trine of the church, in biblical rather than juridical language.
traditional creeds, to admit that every confession of faith is
The hierarchical structure of the church and the primacy of
conditioned by the circumstances of its historical origin, and
the pope are reaffirmed. But Vatican II places a stronger em-
none is therefore likely to serve as the sufficient confession
phasis than Vatican I on the regular and collective, or “colle-
of another day. This admission has made it easier in practice
gial,” office of all the bishops in communion with the pope,
for the churches to reappraise the historic creeds of other tra-
and it takes “the church” to mean the whole body of the
ditions, while accepting the responsibility to add to their
Lord, the people of God, laity as well as clergy. All the faith-
own.
ful in their several ways share in the priestly, prophetic, and
Modern creeds. Four twentieth-century documents
kingly functions of Christ. By her relationship with Christ,
represent the continued activity of Christian creed-making
the church is a kind of sacrament—that is, a sign and instru-
in the modern world. Two of them address specific political
ment—of union with God and the unity of all humankind.
and social crises by reaffirming, sharpening, and applying el-
Not only the Catholic faithful but all who believe in Christ
ements already present in the confessional tradition: the lord-
are in some way united with this people of God in the Holy
ship of Christ (the original Christian confession), and recon-
Spirit, who is operative among them too with his sanctifying
power.
ciliation through Christ, respectively. The Barmen
Declaration (1934) was adopted by a synod of representa-
Finally, the Lima Document on Baptism, Eucharist,
tives from the Lutheran, Reformed, and United churches in
and Ministry (1982), which approaches the creedal type of
Germany to address the crisis of National Socialism. Largely
a union statement, may serve as a useful indication of the
inspired by Karl Barth (1886–1968), it was the response of
consensus and dissensus between the inherited confessional
the Confessing church to the so-called German Christians.
positions at the present time. Ecumenical dialogue has re-
Its six terse affirmations and corresponding condemnations
peatedly shown the possibility of agreement on traditionally
asserted the sole lordship of Jesus Christ, the one word of
divisive issues, including the doctrines of justification and
God, over every area of life against the encroachments of the
the sacraments. The Lima Document, produced for the
Nazi state and its Führer. Broader in scope, but still a declara-
Commission on Faith and Order of the World Council of
tion rather than a comprehensive confession of faith, the
Churches by representatives of all the major confessional tra-
Confession of 1967 was adopted by the United Presbyterian
ditions (including Roman Catholics, who have no official
Church in the USA to reaffirm the message of reconciliation
participation in the World Council itself), faces some of the
and bring it to bear on four urgent social issues: racial dis-
most divisive issues of all. Its main text establishes a large
crimination, international conflict, enslaving poverty, and
measure of agreement, mainly by appeal to the common bib-
alienation between the sexes.
lical heritage, and the additional commentaries indicate the
differences that either have been overcome or are still in need
The opening message (1962) of the Second Vatican
of further discussion. Even on two of the most intractable
Council also singled out two issues as especially urgent: peace
differences—between infant and believer baptism, and be-
between peoples and social justice. But the council’s sixteen
tween episcopal and nonepiscopal ministry—the way is
dogmatic constitutions, decrees, and declarations are not a
pointed out toward mutual recognition as a step in the direc-
response to a particular crisis or to critical issues; they are a
tion of greater unity of doctrine, order, and practice. It has
broad and detailed attempt at an “updating” (aggiornamento)
thus become a dominant concern of modern Christian creed-
of the Roman church’s entire stand in the twentieth centu-
making, not only to meet the political, social, and intellectual
ry—her self-understanding and her relationships with other
problems of the day but also to reverse the tendency of the
Christian groups, the non-Christian religions, and the whole
sixteenth- and seventeenth-century creeds toward inflexibili-
human community. They call for all Christians and men of
ty and separation.
goodwill to join the Catholic Church in “building up a more
just and brotherly city in the world.” In issuing this call, the
SEE ALSO Councils, article on Christian Councils; Theolo-
council made up for an omission in the work of Trent and
gy, article on Christian Theology.
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CREEDS: ISLAMIC CREEDS
BIBLIOGRAPHY
5 (Freiburg, 1959–1975). The translation by Ernest Graf, A
Despite its age (it was first published in 1877), the best resource
History of the Council of Trent (Saint Louis, 1957–), is unfor-
for the study of Christian creeds and confessions is still Philip
tunately still incomplete.
Schaff’s monumental Bibliotheca Symbolica Ecclesiae Univer-
Harnack’s position on the modern use of creeds is succinctly out-
salis: The Creeds of Christendom, with a History and Critical
lined in his somewhat neglected writing, Thoughts on the
Notes, 6th ed., 3 vols. (New York, 1931), which has been re-
Present Position of Protestantism (London, 1899). Reappraisal
issued (Grand Rapids, Mich., 1983). The Faith of Christen-
of creeds across the confessional divide may be illustrated
dom: A Source Book of Creeds and Confessions, edited by my-
from the discussions of the Augsburg Confession as a catho-
self (Cleveland, 1963), is a modest introduction to symbolics
lic document in The Role of the Augsburg Confession: Catholic
(the study of creeds) through analysis of the ecumenical
and Lutheran Views, edited by Joseph A. Burgess (Philadel-
creeds and six documents from the Reformation period.
phia, 1980), and Augsburgisches Bekenntnis im ökumenischen
Creeds of the Churches: A Reader in Christian Doctrine, from
Kontext, edited by Harding Meyer (Stuttgart, 1980). The
the Bible to the Present, edited by John H. Leith, first pub-
Barmen Declaration will be found in Cochrane, Leith, and
lished the same year (1963), includes many more documents
the Presbyterian Book of Confessions. For the complete text
with shorter historical introductions, and the third, revised
of the Confession of 1967, see the Book of Confessions or Re-
edition (Atlanta, 1982) contains important additions from
formed Witness Today: A Collection of Confessions and State-
the intervening two decades. All three of these general works
ments of Faith Issued by Reformed Churches, edited by Lukas
provide further bibliographical guidance.
Vischer (Bern, 1982). Denzinger-Deferrari includes the
The standard English work on the ecumenical symbols is J. N. D.
Marian dogmas of 1854 and 1950 and the dogmatic consti-
Kelly’s Early Christian Creeds, 3d ed. (New York, 1972).
tutions of Vatican I, but does not reach Vatican II, for which
Kelly is also the editor and translator of Rufinus’s A Com-
see The Documents of Vatican II, edited by Walter M. Abbott
mentary on the Apostles’ Creed, “Ancient Christian Writers,”
(New York, 1966). Leith reproduces the Lima Document in
vol. 20 (Westminster, Md., 1955), and he has published a
his third edition.
separate study of the third of the ecumenical symbols (barely
New Sources
mentioned in Early Christian Creeds), The Athanasian Creed
Pelikan, Jaroslav, and Valerie Hotchkiss. Creeds and Confessions of
(New York, 1964).
Faith in the Christian Tradition. 4 vols. New Haven, Conn.,
The best English edition of the Lutheran confessions is The Book
2003.
of Concord: The Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran
Stevenson, James, and W. H. C. Frend, eds. Creeds, Councils and
Church, translated and edited by Theodore G. Tappert and
Controversies: Documents Illustrating the History of the
others (Philadelphia, 1959). A useful collection of Reformed
Church, A.D. 337–461. Rev. ed. London, 1989.
creeds in English is Reformed Confessions of the Sixteenth Cen-
tury, edited by Arthur C. Cochrane (Philadelphia, 1966).
Westra, Liuwe H. The Apostle’s Creed: Origin, History, and Some
The seventeenth-century Westminster standards are includ-
Early Commentaries. Turnhout, Belgium, 2002.
ed in The Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (USA.), part
Young, Frances M. The Making of the Creeds. London and Phila-
1, Book of Confessions (New York, 1983). For free-church
delphia, 1991.
creeds, see Williston Walker’s The Creeds and Platforms of
Congregationalism (1893; reprint, Boston, 1960); W. J. Mc-
B. A. GERRISH (1987)
Revised Bibliography
Glothlin’s Baptist Confessions of Faith (Philadelphia, 1911);
and William L. Lumpkin’s Baptist Confessions of Faith (Chi-
cago, 1959). An able commentary on the Book of Concord is
Edmund Schlink’s Theology of the Lutheran Confessions (Phil-
CREEDS: ISLAMIC CREEDS
adelphia, 1961). Nothing comparable is available in English
An Eaq¯ıdah is an Islamic creed or creedal statement; the plu-
on Reformed creeds, but a useful symposium, occasioned by
ral, Eaqa¯Did (“articles of belief”), is used in a similar sense.
the proposal for the new Presbyterian Confession of 1967
and published as an issue of McCormick Quarterly (vol. 19,
Since there is no Islamic body corresponding to the Christian
no. 2, January 1966), provides extensive guidance on the cor-
ecumenical councils, Islamic creeds do not have the official
pus, theological character, and function of the Reformed
status of the Christian creeds and thus are not used liturgical-
confessions.
ly. What might be regarded as an exception to these asser-
For the reasons indicated, one cannot point to any collection of
tions is the Shaha¯dah, or confession of faith (“There is no
Eastern Orthodox symbols. A translation of the Confession
deity except God; Muh:ammad is the messenger of God”),
of Dosítheos was given in The Acts and Decrees of the Synod
which is universally accepted by Muslims and is repeated in
of Jerusalem, translated and edited by J. N. W. B. Robertson
the formal worship or prayers (s:ala¯t). The Shaha¯dah is not
(London, 1899), and is reproduced in both Leith’s and my
generally regarded as an Eaq¯ıdah, however, though it might
work. An English version of the Catechism of Filaret will be
be considered the basis of all later creeds. The terms Eaq¯ıdah
found in Schaff. The Roman Catholic Church, by contrast,
and Eaqa¯Did are applied to works of greatly varying length,
has a semiofficial collection of authorized symbols, including
ranging from those with fewer than a dozen lines to volumi-
the doctrinal decrees of Trent, in Heinrich Denzinger’s En-
nous theological treatises.
chiridion symbolorum, translated from the thirtieth edition by
Roy J. Deferrari as The Sources of Catholic Dogma (Saint
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE ISLAMIC CREEDS. Although
Louis, 1957). The most important guide to Trent is Hubert
they hold no ecumenical councils, the Sunn¯ıs, who are the
Jedin’s history, Geschichte des Konzils von Trient, 4 vols. in
great majority of all Muslims, have come to a large measure
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CREEDS: ISLAMIC CREEDS
2063
of agreement about the articles of belief through informal
than his essence that God knows. The latter view, which
consensus. Each legal/theological school, and notably the
made allowance for the special position of the QurDa¯n as
H:anaf¯ı and H:anbal¯ı schools, has developed creeds which the
God’s attribute of speech, came to be the standard Sunn¯ı po-
school has accepted and often attributed to its founder, even
sition and was accepted by the AshEar¯ıyah, the Ma¯tur¯ıd¯ıyah,
when the composition might date from several centuries
and others. With regard to the active attributes, the
later. The various subdivisions of Sh¯ıE¯ı Islam have also pro-
AshEar¯ıyah held that these are not eternal, since, for example,
duced their creedal statements, as have some of the minor
God cannot be creator until he has created. The
sects.
Ma¯tur¯ıd¯ıyah, on the other hand, held that these names and
attributes apply to God eternally. There was also some dis-
The process by which the Sunn¯ı creed was elaborated
cussion, especially in later times, when there was greater fa-
is similar to that in Christianity, namely through argument
miliarity with philosophical ideas, as to whether existence,
against the views of some believers which were felt to be he-
eternity, and the like were to be regarded as attributes.
retical by the main body of believers. Among the views ex-
cluded by the Sunn¯ıs were the Sh¯ıE¯ı belief that the prophet
3. God created the world and all that is in it; he did not
Muh:ammad had designated EAl¯ı to succeed him and that
create things from any preexisting thing. God’s creation of the
each of the following (Sh¯ıE¯ı) imams had been similarly desig-
world ex nihilo is always implied in the creeds, although it
nated by his predecessor, the Kha¯rij¯ı belief that a person who
is not always stated explicitly.
commits a grave sin is thereby excluded from the communi-
ty, and the MuEtazil¯ı belief that human acts are independent
4. God is unlike all created things: he is neither body nor
of God’s control.
substance nor accident (of a substance); he has no spatial limit
or position. Nevertheless, as the QurDa¯n indicates, he has two
THE MAIN DOCTRINES OF THE SUNN¯I ISLAMIC CREED. The
hands, two eyes, and a face, and he is seated on the throne.
following are the main articles of belief accepted by Sunn¯ıs,
The otherness and, in this sense, transcendence of God are
though the wording does not follow any specific creed. The
clearly expressed in the QurDa¯n (“No thing is like him”
order is roughly that of the H:anaf¯ı creed (found in Wen-
[42:11]), and this point received much emphasis in later
sinck, 1932); comments have been added.
times. It was a serious problem for the theologians to recon-
1. God is one and unique in the sense that there is no deity
cile this otherness of God with the anthropomorphisms in
other than God; he has neither partner nor associate, and neither
the QurDa¯n, which include not merely such terms as hands
begets nor is begotten. This is the first clause in the Shaha¯dah
and face, but also most of the names and attributes. Some
and also appears in the QurDa¯n, though not in the earliest
of those who insisted on the otherness and incorporeality of
portions. Alla¯h is the Arabic word for God, used also by Ara-
God, like the MuEtazilah, held that the anthropomorphic
bic-speaking Christians, but some of Muh:ammad’s contem-
terms were to be understood metaphorically, and they called
poraries recognized Alla¯h as a “high god” alongside other dei-
those who understood them literally mushabbihah (“those
ties. It is against such people, and polytheists in general, that
who make [God] resemble [humanity]”). Most Sunn¯ı theo-
this article emphasizes the uniqueness of God, which became
logians, following Ah:mad ibn H:anbal, said they were to be
one of the distinctive features of Islam.
accepted bi-la¯ kayf, or “amodally” (literally “without [asking]
how [they were to be understood]”), that is, neither literally
2. He has been from all eternity and will be to all eternity
nor metaphorically. Some later AshEar¯ı theologians allowed
with all his names and attributes. These attributes may be es-
metaphorical interpretation, within limits however.
sential or active (attributes pertaining to activity): among the
former are life, power (or omnipotence), knowledge (or om-
5. The Qur Da¯n, as it is written down, remembered, and
niscience), speech, hearing, sight, and will; and among the
recited, is the speech of God and uncreated. Our writing and
latter, creating, sustaining (with food), giving life, and raising
reciting of it, however, are created. This matter was the sub-
(from the dead). All these attributes are eternal; they are not
ject of violent discussions in the ninth century. In the so-
God and yet not other than God. The QurDa¯n frequently ap-
called inquisition (mih:nah) begun by Caliph al-MaDmu¯n
plies names to God, such as the Merciful, the Forgiving, the
around 833, prominent jurists and other officials were
Creator, the Knowing. Ninety-nine such “beautiful names”
obliged to state publicly that they believed the QurDa¯n to be
are commonly recognized and used in devotions. The theolo-
the created speech of God. Among those who refused to
gians held that God possesses the qualities or attributes (s:ifa¯t)
make the profession was Ah:mad ibn H:anbal, and for a time
corresponding to these names, as the quality of mercy corre-
he was the main defender of the uncreatedness of the QurDa¯n.
sponds to “the Merciful.” The seven essential attributes listed
The point at issue seems to have been that, if the QurDa¯n is
above were much discussed by theologians in the third and
created, God could have created it otherwise, and so it is not
fourth centuries AH (ninth and tenth centuries CE). Some, es-
unthinkable that the caliph, if regarded as inspired by God,
pecially the MuEtazilah, held that the attributes are not dis-
could alter its rules. On the other hand, if it is uncreated,
tinct from God’s essence, so that, for example, he might be
it expresses something of God’s being and cannot be human-
said to know by his essence; others held that the attributes
ly altered; this implies that the final decision about the appli-
have a hypostatic character (not unlike the three hypostases
cation of QurDanic rules to practical matters is in the hands,
of the Christian Trinity), so that it is by his knowledge rather
not of the caliph, but of the accredited interpreters of the
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2064
CREEDS: ISLAMIC CREEDS
QurDa¯n, namely the Eulama¯D, or religious scholars. The
references to intercession did not justify this belief, it came
Sh¯ıEah, who believe their imams are inspired, still hold
to be generally accepted.
the QurDa¯n to be created, but since the end of the inquisition
9. Paradise and Hell are already created, and will never
around 850, the Sunn¯ıs have adhered firmly to the doctrine
cease to exist. This was a denial of some sectarian views attri-
of the uncreatedness of the QurDa¯n.
buted to the Jahm¯ıyah and others.
6. God’s will is supreme, and he controls all mundane
10. God will be seen by the believers in Paradise. This is
events. No good or evil comes about on earth except as God wills,
asserted in the QurDa¯n, but it is difficult to understand literal-
but although he wills all events, good and evil, he does not com-
ly since God is incorporeal. It was eventually held to be true
mand or approve what is evil. Actions are good or bad, not in
“amodally” (bi-la¯ kayf).
themselves, but because God commands or forbids them; he
could, if he so willed, change what is good and bad. Human acts
11. God has sent messengers (rusul) and prophets (anbiya¯D)
are created by God and “acquired” by the individual. Belief in
to human communities with his revelations. Prophets are pre-
the absolute sovereignty of God (for which there are prece-
served (maEs:u¯m) from sin by God; Muh:ammad is the seal of
dents in the Bible and in pre-Islamic Arabia) enabled Mus-
the prophets. Prophets are sometimes said to be very numer-
lims to face life with assurance, knowing that no disaster
ous, reaching as many as 120,000, although only a small
could happen to them unless God willed it. The MuEtazil¯ı
number, sometimes 313, are messengers. According to the
assertion of human free will was seen to threaten God’s sov-
Ma¯tur¯ıd¯ıyah, prophets are preserved from all sins; according
ereignty, and so many Sunn¯ı theologians tried to find a way
to the AshEar¯ıyah, only from grave sins. The phrase “seal of
of reconciling God’s omnipotence with human freedom.
the prophets” is now always taken to mean “last of the
The MuEtazilah and their opponents agreed that when a peo-
prophets,” but originally it may have meant the one who, like
ple acted, it was through a “power” or “ability” which God
a seal, confirmed previous prophets.
created in them, but while the MuEtazilah held that this was
12. The most excellent of the community after Muh:ammad
a “power” to do either the act or its opposite and was created
is Abu¯ Bakr, then EUmar, then EUthma¯n, then EAl¯ı. This ap-
before the act, the others insisted that it was the “power” to
parently nontheological assertion is a denial of the Sh¯ıE¯ı view
do only the act in question and was created in the moment
that EAl¯ı was most excellent after Muh:ammad, and thus it
of acting. Many Sunn¯ı theologians, especially the
is an essential element of Sunn¯ısm. It was agreed upon only
AshEar¯ıyah, further held that while God created the act, the
after much discussion, especially regarding the place of
human agents only “acquired” (kasaba) it, meaning that they
EUthma¯n because of criticisms of his conduct.
somehow “made it theirs” or had it “credited” to them as
13. Faith (¯ıma¯n) consists in assenting with the heart, con-
their act. The MuEtazilah had shown that if the act was not
fessing with the tongue, and performing works; it may increase
the individuals’ act and was sinful, God could not justly pun-
or decrease. This is the AshEar¯ı and H:anbal¯ı understanding
ish them for it. Most Sunn¯ıs held that whether people were
of faith, or what makes a person a believer. The Ma¯tur¯ıd¯ıyah
believers or unbelievers depended on their own acts and not
and other H:anaf¯ıyah, on the other hand, exclude performing
on God. At the same time they thought that God could, in
works from the definition and then insist that faith can nei-
his goodness, help people to belief, yet also in his justice lead
ther increase nor decrease.
them astray or abandon them, in the sense of withdrawing
guidance from them, but ultimately such treatment followed
14. A believer who commits a grave sin does not thereby
on sins by the people in question.
cease to be a believer. This is directed against the Kha¯rij¯ıs,
who held that the grave sinner is excluded from the commu-
7. God will judge all human beings on the Last Day after
nity of believers. Sunn¯ıs generally came to hold that a grave
they have been raised from the dead. Among the realities of the
sinner of the community might be punished in Hell for a
Last Day are the balance (m¯ıza¯n), the bridge (s:ira¯t:), and the
time, but would eventually go to Paradise through the inter-
pool or basin (h:awd:). Before the Last Day sinners will be ex-
cession of Muh:ammad.
posed to the punishment of the tomb. God’s judgment on the
Last Day is prominent in the QurDa¯n and is implied in all
SH¯IE¯I BELIEFS. Whereas for Sunn¯ı Muslims true doctrine is
creeds even when not explicitly stated. A balance to weigh
what is asserted in the QurDa¯n and h:ad¯ıth as interpreted by
a person’s good deeds against bad deeds is spoken of in the
accredited Eulama¯D, for Sh¯ıE¯ı Muslims authority in matters
QurDa¯n, but there are no clear references there to the pool
of doctrine rests with the divinely inspired imam. There are
from which Muh:ammad quenches the thirst of the believers
three main subdivisions of the Sh¯ıEah, namely the Ima¯m¯ıyah
or to the knife-edge bridge over Hell from which evildoers
(Twelvers), the Isma¯E¯ıl¯ıyah (Seveners), and the Zayd¯ıyah.
fall down: these are popular eschatological conceptions
All believe that EAl¯ı was the rightful imam, or leader of the
which have found their way into some creeds, as is also the
Muslims in succession to Muh:ammad, and was followed by
belief in a punishment in the tomb ( Eadha¯b al-qabr).
his sons, H:asan and H:usayn, and that thereafter each imam
designated his successor, usually a son. The Twelvers, with
8. Muh:ammad and other prophets are permitted to inter-
their center in Iran, hold that in 874 the twelfth imam went
cede with God on the Last Day for sinful members of their com-
into occultation (ghaybah), but is still alive and will return
munities. Although the MuEtazilah held that the QurDanic
as the Mahdi at an appropriate moment to set things right
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CREOLIZATION
2065
in the world. The Isma¯E¯ıl¯ıyah accept the first six Twelver
CREMATION SEE FUNERAL RITES
imams, but hold that the seventh was a son of the sixth
named Isma¯E¯ıl, and that the series of imams continues until
today. The present Aga Khan is the imam of the best-known
subsection of the Isma¯E¯ıl¯ıyah. The original Zayd¯ı view was
CREOLIZATION. The term creolization describes the
that the rightful imam was a descendant of H:asan or H:usayn
process of acculturation in which Amerindian, European,
who claimed the imamate and made good his claim by the
and African traditions and customs have blended with each
sword. The Sh¯ıEah in general reject the twelfth of the articles
other over a prolonged period to create new cultures in the
presented above and also hold that the QurDa¯n is created, but
New World. Creole cultures are found in the southern Unit-
they accept most of the rest of the creed, although the
ed States, parts of Latin America, and in the Caribbean.
Zayd¯ıyah, and to a lesser extent the Twelver Sh¯ıEah, tend to
These regions share a similar history that includes long peri-
the position of the MuEtazilah. The strength of the Twelver
ods of European colonial rule, a history of slavery and resis-
Eulama¯D in Iran today is in part due to the fact that they rep-
tance to slavery, and the cultivation of sugar cane by forced
resent the Hidden Imam.
labor. The creolizing process that accompanied these events
has created rich forms of cultural expression that have been
SEE ALSO Attributes of God, article on Islamic Concepts;
woven together like the diverse strands in a tapestry to create
Polemics, articles on Christian-Muslim Polemics, Muslim-
new cultures. These traditions may bear a resemblance to the
Jewish Polemics.
older forms from which they derive, but they are distinct in
the varying ways they blend with one another.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
The term Creole was used initially in the sixteenth-
The only book devoted to the topic is the pioneer work of A. J.
century Caribbean to designate people of mixed race (also
Wensinck, The Muslim Creed: Its Genesis and Historical De-
called mulattos) who were born of African and European
velopment (1932; reprint, New York, 1965). This is built
parents. By the seventeenth century, it came to be applied
around translations of three H:anaf¯ı creeds and includes long
scholarly commentaries on them. Much more is now known
to anyone of European and African descent born in the New
about later developments of the creeds, and it should be
World. Since the colonial period, the term has been applied
noted that Wensinck was not clearly aware of the differences
to many aspects of culture. In the culinary arts it designates
between the H:anaf¯ıyah (including the Ma¯tur¯ıd¯ıyah) and the
a highly seasoned type of food cooked with ingredients like
AshEar¯ıyah, as seen in article 13 above. Creeds by al-AshEar¯ı,
okra and tomatoes. It refers to styles of dress that is reminis-
al-Ghaza¯l¯ı, Abu¯ H:afs: al-Nasaf¯ı, and al-Fah:a¯l¯ı are translated
cent of the colonial era, and in the arts certain musical
by D. B. Macdonald in his Development of Muslim Theology,
rhythms and dance steps are identified as Creole.
Jurisprudence and Constitutional Theory (1903; reprint, New
York, 1965), but otherwise the book is somewhat out of date.
LANGUAGE. Creolization’s most distinctive contributions to
Two versions of al-AshEar¯ı’s creed are translated and edited
the cultures of the New World are in the areas of linguistics
by Richard J. McCarthy in The Theory of al-Ash Ear¯ı (Beirut,
and religion. The Creole languages derive from earlier pidgi-
1953).
nized tongues that developed during the colonial period to
For the development of dogma, there is a brief account in Wen-
allow African slaves and their masters to communicate. Pid-
sinck’s book; I have given a much fuller account of the early
gins evolved into more sophisticated languages with more
period in The Formative Period of Islamic Thought (Edin-
complex grammatical and syntactical structures. Modern
burgh, 1973), and I present a survey up to the present in my
Creole languages make extensive use of words from the Euro-
Islamic Philosophy and Theology, 2d rev. ed. (Edinburgh,
pean languages and may also include some African and Am-
1984).
erindian words.
For the beliefs of the Twelver Sh¯ıEah, the creed by Ibn Ba¯bawayhi
Most Creole grammatical structures are based on the
(d. 991) is contained in A Shi’ite Creed, translated by A. A.
languages native to West Africa, and their forms vary de-
Fyzee (London, 1942); that of EAlla¯mah al-H:ill¯ı (d. 1326)
pending on which ethnic groups were brought from Africa
appears in Al-Ba¯bu Dl-H:a¯d¯ı EAshar, a Treatise on the Principles
of Sh¯ı Eite Theology, translated by William Miller (London,
or Europe to which regions of the New World. Based upon
1928). A modern work is A Shi’ite Anthology, edited by Wil-
the extent of their borrowings, the Creole languages may be
liam C. Chittick (Albany, N.Y., 1981). For the Isma¯E¯ıl¯ıyah
referred to as English-derived (as is Gullah in the United
there is a summary of a long creed from about 1200 in A
States), or French-derived (such as Haitian or Martiniquane
Creed of the Fatimids by Vladimir A. Ivanov (Bombay, 1936).
Creoles), or Dutch-derived (Papiamento in Curaçao). Their
The most important work on the Zayd¯ıyah is Wilferd Ma-
linguistic and literary forms, oral or written, express distinc-
delung’s Der Imam al-Qa¯sim ibn Ibra¯h¯ım und die Glaubens-
tive cultural and social realities that are unique to each
lehre der Zaiditen (Berlin, 1965).
region.
New Sources
RELIGION. Creolization has influenced many indigenous re-
Rahman, Fazlur. Major Themes of the Qur Dan. Minneapolis, 1989.
ligions in the New World. Like the Creole languages, the
W. MONTGOMERY WATT (1987)
creolization process combines religious traditions from the
Revised Bibliography
peoples of Africa, Europe, and the New World. Creole reli-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
2066
CREOLIZATION
gions are found in the Brazilian state of Bahia, the countries
The divisions that exist between these categories are
on the northern coast of South America, and in the Caribbe-
merely theoretical, for in reality these religions are not mutu-
an, Central America, and the southern parts of the United
ally exclusive but take diverse local forms, and the theology
States. These regions share common historical and socioeco-
of one region may influence that of another. These religions
nomic circumstances related to colonialism, the plantation
are shaped by their devotees, who may give their allegiance
system, and slavery. The religions that developed in these re-
to more than one tradition simultaneously. Their practition-
gions are divided by scholars into several categories.
ers’ religious lives reflect the religious diversity and syncretic
nature of the Creole cultures.
Roman Catholicism. In various parts of Central Amer-
ica, Amerindian and African religious traditions have been
CREOLIZATION AS RELIGIOUS ACCULTURATION. The pro-
intermixed with Roman Catholic beliefs and practices, in-
cess of creolization that resulted in the blending of various
cluding many of the local rituals associated with various
religious traditions began shortly after the establishment of
saints and the Virgin. These practices are found in various
the first European settlements in the late fifteenth century.
parts of Brazil and in the Spanish-speaking countries on the
The new settlers encountered native Amerindian peoples
western shore of the Gulf of Mexico.
who possessed their own religious traditions. The colonists,
obsessed with the need to acquire land and the prospect of
Neo-African. The Neo-African religions developed
finding gold, enslaved the indigenous peoples and forced
within the context of slavery and preserve a considerable
them into hard labor. The work was so onerous that by the
number of African religious traditions and some Amerindian
seventeenth century the number of Amerindians was reduced
traditions, combined with Roman Catholicism. They in-
by more than half.
clude Vodou in Haiti and some parts of Louisiana, Santería
in Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico, Can-
The rapid decrease in the indigenous population neces-
domblé in Brazil, and the Orísha sects in Trinidad and
sitated a new source of labor, and Amerindians were replaced
Grenada.
with African laborers. Africans were first brought to the Ca-
ribbean around 1512, and the total number transported to
Ancestral religions. The ancestral religions have pre-
the New World since then has been estimated at more than
served fewer African traditions and derive from various forms
twelve million. Most of the Africans came from West Africa
of Protestantism imported from the United States to the Ca-
and belonged to diverse ethnic groups whose religious tradi-
ribbean by Christian missionaries in the nineteenth and
tions they wove into the fabric of the New World’s colonial
twentieth centuries. They include Orísha in Trinidad,
life. In their contacts with each other, they shared their reli-
Kumina and Convince in Jamaica, Big Drum in Grenada,
gious traditions and succeeded in fashioning religious amal-
and Carriacou and Kele in Saint Lucia.
gams that have left indelible marks on the cultures of the
Revivalist religions. The Revivalist religions are nine-
New World, and eventually engendered a process of creoliza-
teenth and twentieth century phenomena, and are related to
tion that combined diverse African, Amerindian, and Euro-
charismatic Protestant movements imported from the Unit-
pean religious traditions.
ed States. They encompass Pentecostals, Baptists, Seventh
Creolization varied from region to region and depended
Day Adventists, and Revival movements throughout the Ca-
upon a number of variables. The ethnic mix and historical
ribbean and in parts of South America. This class includes
circumstances in different regions of the New World are im-
Shouters and Spiritual Baptists (a Creole sect distinct from
portant considerations in the process of creolization. The un-
Baptists) in Trinidad and Tobago, Saint Vincent, Grenada,
even demographic distribution of various ethnic groups in
Guyana, and Venezuela; the Shakers and Streams of Power
the colonies resulted in the prominence of some cultures and
in Saint Vincent, the Tie Heads (members of the Jerusalem
the preeminence of their religious traditions. The unique
Apostolic Spiritual Baptist Church) in Barbados and Saint
mixture of ethnic religious traditions in each colony contrib-
Lucia; the Jordanites of Guyana; the Spirit Baptists of Jamai-
uted to the marked diversity in beliefs and practices in differ-
ca; and the Cohortes and the Holiness Church and other
ent regions. The large number of Nigerians brought to Cuba
Pentecostal movements in Haiti.
and Brazil resulted in the preeminence of Yoruba beliefs and
Divination Another group of Creole religions empha-
practices in Cuban Santería and Brazilian Candomblé. Afri-
sizes divination (the intuitive reading of one’s future in an
cans brought from Benin and the Congo had a significant
object) and folk healing through mediums. It includes Myal-
impact on the theology of vodou in Haiti and Louisiana.
ism and various Revival movements in Jamaica, Espiritismo
The African names of these ethnic groups were pre-
and the various spiritist sects in Puerto Rico, Umbanda in
served in many of the Creole religious traditions of the New
Brazil, Maria Lionza in Venezuela, and various healing sects
World. Words for geographical locations or ethnic groups in
in Central America.
West Africa, like Arada (or Rada), Guinea, Kongo, Nago, and
Asian religions. Another set of Creole religions were
Ibo, are used in Vodou, Candomblé, and Santería today. But
brought to the New World beginning around 1850 by in-
they now characterize different pantheons of African spirits
dentured laborers from Asia. They include Hindu sects in
who function as sustainers of the cosmos, providers, or heal-
Trinidad, Tobago, and Guyana.
ers. Santería, Espiritismo, and Umbanda all incorporate their
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CREOLIZATION
2067
own pantheons of spirits who are wholly New World inven-
Evangelical influences. Protestantism was relatively
tions. They developed to fill the needs of colonial societies
rare in the Catholic colonies until the late eighteenth and
and include Amerindian spirits from Taino, Arawak, and
early nineteenth centuries. Some Protestant denominations
Carib religions.
flourished in Latin America and the Caribbean in the twenti-
The length of the period of colonialism and the extent
eth century thanks to their evangelical nature. They included
to which Europeans exercised a strong cultural presence in
Pentecostals, Baptists, Seventh Day Adventists, Jehovah’s
various regions had a significant impact on the process of
Witnesses, and more recently the Church of the Latter Day
creolization. A prolonged European cultural influence in a
Saints (Mormons). The number of Pentecostals and Baptists
country, such as Jamaica, tended to curtail its people’s ability
in Latin America and the Caribbean today probably exceeds
to maintain strong Amerindian or African religious tradi-
those of the other established Protestant denominations, not
tions. In Haiti, however, where European colonial domina-
only because of their religious zeal but also because of their
tion and cultural contact ended following the slave revolt in
ardent recruitment methods. The Pentecostals and Holiness
1804, the people managed to maintain many more African
groups believe in engaging directly with the spirit world
traditions than most other nations in the New World, which
through spiritual trances and glossolalia (speaking in
remained colonies well into the twentieth century. Other na-
tongues), akin to the African ritual styles entrenched in the
tions refused to recognize Haiti for a period of fifty-six years
southern United States, the Caribbean, and the state of Bahia
after independence, and the country’s relative isolation from
in eastern Brazil. This similarity may have contributed to the
foreign cultural influences allowed African traditions to en-
conversion of so many thousands of devotees.
trench themselves profoundly in the culture.
Pentecostalism and the Holiness sects are based on the
Catholic traditions. The way Creole religions incorpo-
New Testament story in which the Holy Spirit descended on
rated Christian traditions into their theology is a further con-
Christ’s disciples after his death, empowering them to proph-
sideration. The prominence of Christianity in these religions
esy and to preach the gospel in different tongues (Acts
varies from region to region and especially from Catholic to
2:1–4). Charismatics believe that the miracle at Pentecost
Protestant colonial territories. In the French, Spanish, and
can be replicated today and that their bodies can be filled
Portuguese colonies, Catholic religious beliefs and practices
with the Holy Spirit. Speaking in tongues is a profound spiri-
were incorporated into Candomblé, vodou, Espiritismo, and
tual achievement that makes it possible to receive divine reve-
Santería. Catholicism in these religions is visible in both the-
lations and to prophesy to the community, heal the sick, and
ology and in ritual. Theologically, the slaves in these areas
interpret dreams.
created a system of reinterpretation in which symbols associ-
ated with saints in Christian hagiology were made to corre-
Pentecostal theology has inspired the formation of reli-
spond with similar symbols associated with the gods in Afri-
gious Creole movements throughout the Caribbean and
can mythology. Saint James the Great, for example, the
Latin America, many combining traditional African rituals
patron saint of the Spanish campaigns against the Moors, be-
with evangelical Protestant theology. Because these groups
comes Ogún, Nigeria’s Yoruba god of war, in vodou and
are independent of each other it is difficult to estimate their
Santería. Saint Peter, believed to hold the keys to the king-
number, but there are probably about a hundred charismatic
dom of heaven, becomes Eleggua (or Legba), who in Yoruba
movements in the Caribbean, each slightly different. The
and Beninese traditions is the guardian of human destiny.
best-known are the Tie Heads of the Jerusalem Apostolic
Catholic symbols also found a home in the religions of the
Spiritual Baptist churches in Barbados, the Shouters and
New World, which make extensive use of crucifixes, missals,
Spiritual Baptists in Trinidad, the various Cohortes and Ho-
incense, holy water, and lithographs of various saints (and
liness churches (mainly Pentecostal) in Brazil, Haiti, and the
by extension of African or Amerindian spirits) in their reli-
Dominican Republic, the Shakers and Streams of Power in
gious rituals.
Saint Vincent, and the Native Baptists and Kumina sects in
Jamaica.
Protestant traditions. The mainly British Protestant
colonies present a different picture. By and large, the British
These sects are unusual in combining aspects of African
possessions tended to be less syncretic than the Catholic,
and Protestant traditions. They share a reverence for ances-
mainly because the Protestants undertook the evangelization
tors, a style of worship that includes antiphonal calls and an-
of the slaves at a much later period. The British thought that
swers between leader and congregants, hymns sung in rhyth-
Christianity was too sophisticated for Africans to under-
mic patterns accompanied by drums, and cadenced swaying
stand, and therefore considered their slaves unfit for it. The
of the congregants’ bodies, all reminiscent of African tradi-
Anglican Church of England did not make any systematic
tional religions and part of the Creole ritual practices. Like
efforts to evangelize the slaves in the Caribbean until the
African rituals, Pentecostal and Baptist styles of worship use
1820s, shortly after the arrival in Jamaica of Moravian and
every possible visible and auditory vehicle to engage the con-
Methodist missionaries from the United States. In contrast,
gregants. The rituals are “danced out” rather than conceived
the French began to convert their slaves to Christianity as
intellectually; they do not separate the mind from the body
early as the sixteenth century, and redoubled their efforts in
by leading a participant to high-flown intellectual exercises,
the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
but claim the entire person. But despite their Africanness,
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
2068
CREOLIZATION
these religions are not merely replicas of their African coun-
new communities. The Creole traditions in the diaspora will
terparts. The Creole religions in the New World are no lon-
very likely continue to diversify. How they do so will depend
ger Amerindian, Christian, or African, but uniquely new cre-
upon their demographic composition and the theological in-
ations.
clinations of their members.
Hinduism. Hinduism too has played an important role
SEE ALSO Syncretism; Transculturation and Religion.
in the creolization of religions in the New World, and espe-
cially in the Caribbean. Although there are small communi-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
ties of Hindus throughout the Caribbean, the largest concen-
Bastide, Roger. African Civilisations in the New World. Translated
trations are in Trinidad, Guyana, and Suriname. The
by Peter Green. New York, 1971.
religious presence of Hinduism in the Caribbean came about
Bastide, Roger. The African Religions of Brazil: Toward a Sociology
because of the abolition of slavery. After the British Emanci-
of the Interpenetration of Civilizations. Translated by Helen
pation Act of 1834, English colonizers imported East Indian
Sebba. Baltimore, 1978.
indentured laborers. Their importation to the New World
Bourguignon, Erika. Possession. San Francisco, 1976.
spanned a period of seventy-two years (1838–1910) in which
Brandon, George. Santeria from Africa to the New World: The
some 143,000 people came to Trinidad alone. More were
Dead Sell Memories. Bloomington, Ind., 1993.
brought to Suriname, Guyana, Martinique, and Guade-
Brown, Diana deG. Umbanda: Religion and Politics in Urban Bra-
loupe. These immigrants originated in the northwestern part
zil. New York, 1994.
of India and belonged to several social castes. About 15 per-
Brown, Karen McCarthy. Mama Lola: A Vodou Priestess in Brook-
cent of them were priests (brahmins) who founded support
lyn. Berkeley, 1991.
organizations in an effort to maintain Hindu traditions.
Desmangles, Leslie Gérald. The Faces of the Gods: Vodou and
Today these organizations have sought to standardize Hindu
Roman Catholicism in Haiti. Chapel Hill, N.C., 1992.
worship and supervise the teaching of its traditions in some
Fernández Olmos, Margarite, and Lizabeth Paravisini-Gebert.
sixty Hindu schools in Trinidad alone. Like other Creole re-
Creole Religions of the Caribbean: An Introduction from Vodou
ligions, Hinduism in the Caribbean is no longer an Asian re-
to Santeria to Obeah and Espritismo. New York, 2003.
ligion transplanted to the New World. It has created new
Glazier, Stephen D. Marchin’ the Pilgrims Home: Leadership and
myths, rituals, and festivals, such as the annual Holi Pagwa,
Decision-Making in an Afro-Caribbean Faith. Westport,
that bear little resemblance to those of India. Hinduism has
Conn., 1983.
evolved into a Creole religion original to the New World.
Lewin, Olive. Rock It Come Over: The Folk Music of Jamaica.
CREOLE RELIGIONS IN THE DIASPORA. Since the 1950s hun-
Kingstown, Jamaica, 2000.
dreds of thousands of Caribbean and Latin American people
Look Lia, Walton. Indentured Labor, Caribbean Sugar: Chinese
have migrated to other parts of the Caribbean and to the
and Indian Migrants to the British West Indies, 1838–1918.
United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Among
Baltimore, 1993.
some several million emigrants are priests and priestesses of
Lum, Kenneth Anthony. Praising His Name in the Dance: Spirit
the various Creole religions. They have established temples
Possession in the Spiritual Baptist Faith and Orisha Work in
wherever they are and continue to wield considerable author-
Trinidad, West Indies. Amsterdam, 2000.
ity over the people they serve.
McDaniel, Lorna. The Big Drum Ritual of Carriacou: Praisesongs
in Rememory of Flight. Gainesville, Fla., 1998.
Religion plays an important part in peoples’ lives in the
Moreau de Saint-Méry, Médéric Louis-Elie. Description topo-
diaspora, and their spiritual leaders assist them in celebra-
graphique, physique, civile, politique, et historique de la partie
tions and in times of hardship. Devotees recreate their rituals
française de l’isle de Saint-Domingue (1797). 3 vols. Paris,
by adapting them to their new cultural milieu. The day de-
1958.
voted to the Virgin Mary in the Catholic liturgical calendar,
Murphy, Joseph M. Working the Spirit: Ceremonies of the African
for example, July 16, is reserved for Ezili in Vodou and
Diaspora. Boston, Mass., 1994.
Oshún in Santería. On that day, many Haitians in New York
Rey, Terry. Our Lady of Class Struggle: The Cult of the Virgin Mary
will make pilgrimages to Our Lady of Mount Carmel
in Haiti. Trenton, N.J., 1999.
Church in New York, where they will honor the Virgin in
Schuler, Monica. “Myalism and the African Religious Tradition
her many aspects.
in Jamaica.” In Africa and the Caribbean: The Legacies of a
The Creole religions in the diaspora are noteworthy for
Link, edited by Margaret E. Crahan and Franklin W.
their multiethnic character. Ritual participation is open to
Knight. Baltimore, 1979.
members of all cultural and ethnic groups, whites as well as
Simpson, George Eaton. Black Religions in the New World. New
blacks. African Americans who seek to integrate aspects of
York, 1978.
black nationalism with an authentic African worldview are
Thomas, Eudora. A History of the Shouter Baptists in Trinidad and
particularly attracted to the Creole religious communities.
Tobago. Tacarigua, Trinidad, 1987.
The energy, creativity, and resourcefulness of these commu-
Zane, Wallace W. Journeys to the Spiritual Lands: The Natural His-
nities will undoubtedly further alter the Creole religions as
tory of a West Indian Religion. New York, 1999.
they adapt their cultural and religious traditions to suit their
LESLIE G. DESMANGLES (2005)
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CRESCAS, H:ASDAI
2069
CRESCAS, H:ASDAI (c. 1340–1410/11), Spanish
God’s knowledge, providence, and power; prophecy; human
rabbi, philosopher, natural scientist; author of the anti-
choice; and the purposefulness of the Torah. The funda-
Aristotelian Hebrew classic, Or Adonai (The Light of the
ments are concepts that follow necessarily (i.e., analytically)
Lord). Son of a distinguished family of scholars and mer-
from Crescas’s definition of the Torah as “the product of a
chants, Crescas was raised in Barcelona, studying there under
voluntary action from the Commander, Who is the initiator
the renowned Talmudist and homilist Nissim ben Re’uven.
of the action, to the commanded, who is the receiver of the
He served as rabbi in Barcelona and from 1387 was an advis-
action” (Light 2, intro.). Book 3 discusses eleven nonfunda-
er to the king and queen of Aragon, Joan I and Violant. In
mental obligatory beliefs of the Torah: God’s creation of the
1389, Crescas assumed the post of rabbi of Saragossa, and
world, the immortality of the soul, reward and punishment,
the next year he was recognized by the throne as judge of all
resurrection of the dead, the eternality of the Torah, the
the Jews of Aragon. Following the anti-Jewish mob riots of
uniqueness of Moses’ prophecy, the efficacy of the Urim and
1391, in which thousands of Spanish Jews—including his
Tummim, the coming of the messiah, the efficacy of prayer,
only son—were murdered and more than a hundred thou-
the spiritual value of repentance, and the special providential
sand were converted to Christianity, he devoted himself to
nature of the High Holy Days and the festivals. Book 4 ex-
the physical and spiritual reconstruction of the Jewish com-
amines thirteen nonobligatory beliefs held by sundry groups
munities of Aragon and of Spain as a whole. His Epistle to
of Jews; for example, the Jewish Aristotelian proposition that
the Jewish Community of Avignon (translated from the He-
God is the Intellect and the qabbalistic doctrine of metem-
brew in Kobler, 1952), dated 20 Heshvan 5152 (October 19,
psychosis (gilgul).
1391), is a terse chronicle of the massacres that may have
The Light is best known for its revolutionary logico-
been written as background for entreaties to the papal court.
conceptual critique of Aristotelian physics (e.g., theories of
The Epistle bears somber biblical allusions: the great Jewish
space, time, motion, the vacuum, infinity), important parts
communities of Spain are desolated Jerusalems (allusions are
of which were translated into Latin in Gianfrancesco Pico
made to Lamentations 2:2, 2:4, 2:7, 5:4); Crescas’s son is an
della Mirandola’s Examen vanitatis doctrinae gentium (1520).
Isaac sacrificed upon the altar (allusions are made to Genesis
In place of Aristotle’s closed world, Crescas suggested that
22:2, 22:7–8). His Refutation of the Dogmas of the Christians
both space and time are infinite extensions in actu in which
(1397–1398), written in Catalan but surviving only in the
many worlds—an infinite number?—are continuously being
Hebrew translation of Yosef ibn Shem T:ov (Bit:t:ul Eiqqarei
created by the infinitely good, infinitely loving God. Crescas
ha-Notsrim, 1451; Frankfurt, 1860; Kearny, N.J., 1904;
rejected Maimonides’ Aristotelian proofs of God, but did
translated in Lasker, 1992), was intended to combat chris-
offer a short metaphysical proof of his own: whether causes
tianizing literature aimed at Jews and conversos. It is a non-
and effects are finite or infinite, there must be a cause of the
rhetorical logical critique of ten basic elements of Christiani-
whole of them; for if all are effects, they would have merely
ty: original sin, salvation, the Trinity, the incarnation, the
possible (i.e., contingent) existence, and thus they must have
virgin birth, transubstantiation, baptism, the messiahship of
something that determines their existence over their nonexis-
Jesus, the New Testament, and demons. Even his profound
tence, and this is the first cause or God (Light 1.3.2, quoted
philosophical treatise, The Light of the Lord (1410; Ferrara,
in Spinoza, Epistle 12). Such rationalistic reflection, Crescas
1555; Vienna, 1859–1860; Johannesburg, 1861; and Jerusa-
held, can incline one toward belief in the true God of reli-
lem, 1990, ed. S. Fisher), written in Hebrew, was to some
gion, but only revelation can establish that belief firmly. In
extent a response to the troubles of his times. Its assault on
a celebrated discussion of human choice (Light 2.5), Crescas
Aristotelianism was in part motivated by the belief that Aris-
upheld the determinist view that the notion of human choice
totelian philosophy was weakening the commitment of Jew-
coheres with both divine omniscience and strict physical cau-
ish intellectuals to Judaism and thus facilitating their aposta-
sality. In his theologically significant discussion of teleology
sy. Crescas is also the author of a philosophic homily on the
(Light 2.6), he argued that love is the purpose of man, the
Passover, which inquires into the epistemological status of
Torah, the created universe, and God. Against the Aristote-
faith based on miracles, such as the splitting of the Red Sea
lians, he maintained that love is not intellectual, that the im-
(Jerusalem, 1988).
mortal essence of the human soul is not intellect, and that
The Light of the Lord, a counterblast to Maimonides’
God is to be understood not as passionless Intellect but as
Guide of the Perplexed, was planned as the philosophical first
joyfully loving.
part of a two-part work. The unwritten second part was to
Crescas’s own highly original philosophy emerges out
have been an analytic codification of rabbinic law and was
of his radical critique of Aristotle and of Aristotelians such
intended to supersede Maimonides’ rabbinic masterwork,
as Maimonides, Ibn Rushd (Averroës), and Levi ben Ger-
the Mishneh Torah (Code of Law). The Light is divided into
shom (Gersonides) and is argued in their vocabulary. In
four books. Book 1 discusses three roots (shorashim) of the
some areas, it is significantly influenced by Ibn S¯ına¯. Its spir-
Torah: God’s existence, his unity, and his incorporeality. (In
it, however, recalls Abu¯ H:a¯mid al-Ghaza¯l¯ı, Yehudah ha-
grouping these three principles together, Crescas followed
Levi, and Nissim ben Re’uven. It is also colored by Qab-
Maimonides; cf., e.g., Guide of the Perplexed, intro. to part
balah. Its precise relationship to Latin and Catalan writers
2.) Book 2 discusses six fundaments (pinnot) of the Torah:
is a subject for speculation.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
2070
CREUZER, G. F.
Among Crescas’s students was the well-known philo-
India as the homeland of all true religion and wisdom.
sophical popularizer Yosef Albo, who in his Hebrew Sefer ha-
Creuzer seemed to give solid historical support to this enthu-
’iqqarim (Book of Roots; 1425) adapted and simplified some
siasm for the East and its synthesis with Greece. But because
of his master’s teachings. Crescas’s Light of the Lord had an
Creuzer’s work claimed to be accurate history, it also became
appreciable influence on later Jewish philosophers, notably
the chief target of scholarly attacks on the excesses and de-
Judah Abravanel (c. 1460–1521) and Barukh Spinoza
fects of the Romantic mythologists. This quarrel between
(1632–1677).
“romanticists” and “rationalists” is a major episode in early
nineteenth-century history of religion. Creuzer’s data and
SEE ALSO Jewish Thought and Philosophy, article on Pre-
methods were rebutted, from various positions, by such fa-
modern Philosophy.
mous scholars as Gottfried Hermann (1819), Karl Otfried
Müller (1825), Christian Lobeck (1829), and Ludwig Preller
BIBLIOGRAPHY
(1854). One result of this controversy was that “rationalistic”
For Crescas’s life, see Yitzhak Baer’s A History of the Jews in Chris-
and philological study of myth often disdained “romantic”
tian Spain, 2 vols. (Philadelphia, 1961–1966). Crescas’s cri-
enthusiasm and speculation about myth as a living religious
tique of Aristotelian physics is the subject of Harry A. Wolf-
force.
son’s monumental Crescas’ Critique of Aristotle (Cambridge,
Mass., 1929); the volume includes Hebrew texts from the
Creuzer’s views on myth also met opposition in the Ro-
Light with facing English translation. Shlomo Pines explored
mantic camp. He firmly distinguished between myth and
the connection between Crescas’s science and that of Nicole
symbol. Divine meaning shone forth first of all in the sym-
d’Oresme and other Latin authors in “Scholasticism after
bol. The first interpretations here (as by Indic sages) took the
Thomas Aquinas and the Teachings of Hasdai Crescas and
form of images or pictographs, so as to preserve the symbol’s
His Predecessors,” Proceedings of the Israel Academy of Sciences
union of spirit and matter. Only later, and on a lower level,
and Humanities 1 (1967), n. p. See also Warren Zev Harvey’s
came the narrated stories found in myth. Creuzer suggests
Physics and Metaphysiscs in H:asdai Crescas (Amsterdam,
these are concessions to popular taste. For Creuzer, the sym-
1998). Crescas’ philosophic homily is edited and analyzed in
bol embodies monotheism; myths are the vehicles of poly-
Aviezer Ravitzky, Dershat Ha-Pesah: le-Rabbi H:asdai Crescas
theism. One general criticism is summed up in the judgment
(Jerusalem, 1988). On Crescas’s critique of Christianity, see
Daniel J. Lasker’s The Refutation of the Christian Principles
of the German idealist philosopher and mythologist Frie-
by H:asdai Crescas (Albany, N.Y., 1992) and his Jewish Philo-
drich Schelling, who suggests Creuzer simply reduced myth
sophical Polemics against Christianity in the Middle Ages (New
to allegory, and did so because he reproduced in Romantic
York, 1977). On his influence on Spinoza, see Wolfson’s The
terms the old Christian charge that polytheistic myth only
Philosophy of Spinoza, 2 vols. (Cambridge, Mass., 1934).
plagiarized (and confused) the original monotheistic reve-
Crescas’s Epistle to the Jewish Community of Avignon is found
lation.
in English translation in Franz Kobler’s Letters of Jews
through the Ages (London, 1952), pp. 272–275.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
WARREN ZEV HARVEY (1987 AND 2005)
No English translation of Creuzer’s Symbolik exists. There is a
French translation by Joseph D. Guigniaut under the title
Religions de l’antiquité considérées principalement dans leurs
formes symboliques et mythologiques, 4 vols. (Paris, 1825–
CREUZER, G. F. (1771–1858), German Romantic my-
1841). For the controversy over Creuzer’s Symbolik, see
thologist. Educated at Marburg and then Jena, Georg Frie-
Ernst Howald’s Der Kampf um Creuzers Symbolik (Tübingen,
drich Creuzer was appointed professor of philology at Mar-
1926), which contains excellent selections and commentary.
burg in 1802, and in 1804 professor of philology and ancient
Henri Pinard de la Boullaye’s L’étude comparée des religions,
4th ed., vol. 1 (Paris, 1929), pp. 261–268, discusses Creuzer
history at Heidelberg, where he taught for almost forty-five
as a religious historian. In The Rise of Modern Mythology,
years. Creuzer’s major work was Symbolik und Mythologie der
1680–1860 (Bloomington, Ind., 1972), Robert Richardson
alten Völker, besonders der Griechen (1810–1812).
and I discuss Creuzer as mythologist, with translated se-
Creuzer argued that ancient Greek religion derived from
lections.
a spiritually pure and noble monotheism carried from India
New Sources
by wandering priests. But this high monotheism needed to
Donougho, Martin. “Hegel and Creuzer; or, Did Hegel Believe
be adapted to the crude, native polytheism. There thus arose
in Myth?” In New Perspectives on Hegel’s Philosophy of Reli-
an exoteric and popular teaching for the vulgar many, one
gion, pp. 59–80. Albany, NY, 1992.
that spoke of many gods, and an esoteric teaching for the ini-
BURTON FELDMAN (1987)
tiated and refined worshiper. Creuzer claimed that this eso-
Revised Bibliography
teric tradition informed Eleusinian and Samothracian mys-
teries, Orphism and Pythagoreanism, and Neoplatonism.
His book quickly became famous and was both admired and
criticized. There was much speculation on the part of Ger-
CROSSROADS in religion belong to the general phe-
man Romantics—often extravagant or fantastic—about
nomenon of sacred places and are a specific instance of the
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CROWLEY, ALEISTER
2071
sacrality of roads. Wherever two or more roads intersect—
holy man, described in his life story, Black Elk Speaks (Lin-
forming a T or a fork or, most significantly, a junction of
coln, Nebr., 1932). Looking down from a high place, he saw
two roads at right angles to form a cross—there religious
the earth and two roads crossing, a red one and a black.
people often feel that the divine has intersected with the
These roads symbolized the good times and the troubled
mundane. The nature of this divine presence may be positive
times that his people must necessarily experience; yet the
but is very often negative. Most often, however, the divinity
crossing of them provided a center where there bloomed a
associated with a crossroads is paradoxically both good and
“holy stick” by which his people would flourish. It was this
evil: It seems that the meeting of different roads attracts and
image that provided Black Elk himself with a center and an
then expresses very well the meeting of opposites within the
orientation for the rest of his life.
god.
Buddhist pilgrims travel with pleasure to a crossroads,
BIBLIOGRAPHY
for it is there that they are likely to find a reliquary structure
After consulting the sources given and the standard scholarship for
each religion mentioned, one might read the two essays on
containing precious remains of the cremated body of the
“Cross-roads” by J. A. MacCulloch and Richard Wünsch in
Buddha. The Lord himself stated in the Maha¯parinibbana
the Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics, edited by James Has-
Sutta that the remains of all great beings should be treated
tings, vol. 4 (Edinburgh, 1911). For accounts of crossroads
alike: “At the four crossroads a stupa should be erected to the
rites, see James G. Frazer’s The Golden Bough, 3d ed., rev. &
Tatha¯gata” (5.26–28). Expectations were different for a
enl., 12 vols. (London, 1911–1915).
pious Greek or Roman who came to a meeting of three
GEORGE R. ELDER (1987)
roads, for that was the domain of the goddess Hekate, whose
name, Vergil says, “is howled by night at the city crossroads”
(Aeneid 4.609). Associated with death as well as with dark-
ness, Hekate could be propitiated by the burial of the body
CROWLEY, ALEISTER (1875–1947), was a British
of a criminal at her favorite place. This helps to explain the
poet, novelist and occultist, infamous throughout England
English custom, prevalent until modern times, of burying
and the United States as “the wickedest man in the world.”
suicides and criminals at a meeting of roads. The execution
Reviled as a drug fiend and debauchee and proclaiming him-
of criminals there probably gave rise to the phrase “dirty
self the “Great Beast, 666,” Aleister Crowley was also one of
work at the crossroads.”
the most important figures in the revival of modern Western
The folk deity Do¯sojin of Japan and the Olympian Her-
occultism in the twentieth century. Although seldom taken
mes of ancient Greece are gods of boundaries and of roads,
seriously by most scholars today, Crowley was not only an
but also of crossroads. They are both commonly represented
accomplished poet and mountain climber, but one of the
by phallic images that express uneasily, even for their wor-
first Western students of yoga and a major influence on the
shipers, the unexpected union of spirit and nature. Do¯sojin
rise of Neopagan witchcraft in Europe and the United States.
may be found at the crossroads in the shape of an upright
In many ways, Crowley might be said to embody some
stone phallus or—capturing the god’s ambivalence—a pair
of the deepest tensions in late Victorian English society as
of phalli or a male and female holding hands. Hermes’ qua-
a whole. The son of a preacher in the highly puritanical
drangular stone pillars are topped by the god’s head and
Plymouth Brethren sect, Crowley would later turn to the
fronted by his erect penis. Located at the juncture of roads,
most extreme forms of sensual excess, apparently not resting
these herms were supposed to guide and protect travelers, but
until he had shattered every imaginable social and religious
might just as easily bring them grief. As the Homeric Hymn
taboo. Born Edward Alexander Crowley, he studied at Trini-
to Hermes puts it, “And even though he helps a few people,
ty College in Cambridge, where he would change his name
he cheats an endless number.” Something similar must be
to Aleister, taken from Percy Bysshe Shelley’s poem, “Ala-
said of the Vedic god Rudra, whose “favorite haunt,” accord-
stor, or, The Spirit of Solitude” (1816). Having inherited a
ing to the S´atapatha Bra¯hman:a (2.6.2.8), is the crossroads.
large sum of money as a young man, Crowley was able to
Rudra is fierce but must be addressed as “S´iva” (Auspicious
spend much of his time pursuing his two passions, poetry
One) if he is to heal the wounds that he himself inflicts.
and mountain climbing. During his travels in India and Sri
Rudra is not himself phallic, but he provides a name and an
Lanka, Crowley also studied Hinduism and Buddhism, and
ambivalent character for the later Hindu deity S´iva, whose
would publish some of the first English works on Raja Yoga.
chief image is the phallus. Thus, one can understand the an-
cient advice to an Indian bridegroom traveling with his
Crowley’s first initiation into the world of occultism oc-
bride: “On the way, he should address crossroads. . . . ‘May
curred in 1898 when he was introduced to the esoteric group
no waylayers meet us’” (Gr:hyasu¯tra of Gobhila 2.4.2). In so
known as the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. An
doing, he is calling to Rudra for help, yet asking him to stay
eclectic blending of Rosicrucianism, Freemasonry, and Qab-
away.
balah, the Golden Dawn attracted a number of prominent
artists and intellectuals, including W. B. Yeats. In 1904,
Crossroads also appear, with a different level of mean-
however, Crowley received his own first great revelation and
ing, in the boyhood vision of Black Elk, the Oglala Lakota
the knowledge that he was to be the herald of a new age in
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CROWN
world history. According to his account, Crowley’s guardian
in a small guest house in London, increasingly addicted to
angel, Aiwass, spoke through Crowley’s wife and dictated to
heroin, until his death in 1947.
him The Book of the Law (Liber AL vel Legis). The Book of
Despite the general neglect of Crowley by most histori-
the Law announces the dawn of a third eon of human civili-
ans of religions today, he has clearly had a formative impact
zation: the first was the age of Isis, dominated by matriarchy
on almost all forms of occultism, magic, and Neopaganism
and worship of the mother-goddess; the second was the age
in the West since the mid-twentieth century. Gerald Gard-
of Osiris, when the patriarchal traditions of Judaism and
ner, the founder of the Neopagan Witchcraft revival in En-
Christianity were dominant; and the third is the age of the
gland in the 1950s, was a great admirer of Crowley and bor-
son, Horus, when the individual human will is supreme. The
rowed freely from him in his rituals. At the same time,
only law in this age is the law of Thelema (derived from
Crowley’s version of sexual magic and his rather skewed in-
the Greek, meaning “will”): “do what thou wilt shall be the
terpretation of Indian Tantra has had a profound influence
whole of the law.”
on the many contemporary forms of sex magic and “Western
Crowley’s ritual practices centered first and foremost
Tantra” so popular in the United States and Europe today.
around the art of magick, which he spelled deliberately with
Finally, on a broader historical level, Crowley could be
a k in order to distinguish it from popular ideas of magic.
said to embody many of the central trends in modern Europe
In Crowley’s definition, magick is the science and art of caus-
itself in the first half of the twentieth century. With his em-
ing change to occur in conformity with one’s will. Influenced
phasis on the power of the individual human will, his ideal
in part by Friedrich Nietzsche’s “will to power,” Crowley saw
of a liberated sexuality, and his hope for a utopian new age
the will as the most powerful force in creation, which, when
beyond all the old gods, Crowley epitomizes what Marshall
properly directed, can accomplish anything the individual
Berman calls the modern Faustian self. And with Crowley’s
desires.
own decline into drug addiction and poverty in the 1940s,
One of the primary reasons for the scandal and titilla-
he perhaps reflects the exhaustion of those Faustian ideals
tion that surrounds Crowley is his practice of sexual magick.
and the chaos of modern Europe amidst the disaster of
Rejecting the prudish Victorian morality in which he was
World War II.
raised, Crowley identified sex as the most powerful expres-
SEE ALSO Wicca.
sion of the will and the most potent source of magickal ener-
gy. Taking an apparent delight in violating social taboos,
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Crowley also employed explicitly transgressive acts, such as
Among the few academic studies of Crowley are Bradford Verter,
masturbation, homosexuality, and bestiality, in his magickal
“Dark Star Rising: The Emergence of Modern Occultism,
practice. After 1910, Crowley also became involved with the
1800-”, PH.D. Dissertation, Princeton University, 1997;
esoteric group known as the Ordo Templi Orientis (OTO).
and Hugh B. Urban, “The Beast with Two Backs: Aleister
The higher degrees of the OTO employed a variety of sexual
Crowley, Sex Magic and the Exhaustion of Modernity,”
rites, influenced in part by a somewhat distorted form of
Nova Religio, 7, no.3 (2004): 7-25. Despite the lack of aca-
demic scholarship on Crowley, his vast body of works exist
Hindu Tantra, a tradition that also involves sexual and trans-
in numerous editions; the most important include The Law
gressive rituals as a means to spiritual power. Crowley and
is for All: The Authorized Popular Commentary on Liber AL
the OTO, however, would employ sexual rites in ways that
sub figura CCXX, The Book of the Law (Tempe, Ariz, 1996),
no Indian ta¯ntrika would probably have dared to imagine.
and Magick in Theory and Practice (Paris, 1929). In addition
The peak of Crowley’s magickal career was the period
to his autobiography, The Confessions of Aleister Crowley: An
Autohagiography, edited by John Symonds (New York,
after 1920, when he founded his own spiritual community
1969), there are numerous biographies, the most recent of
called the Abbey of Thelema in Sicily. The original inspira-
which is Lawrence Sutin, Do What Thou Wilt: A Life of Ale-
tion derived from François Rabelais’s Gargantua and Panta-
ister Crowley (New York, 2000). Other nonacademic works
gruel (1534), which describes an ideal community that would
include Kenneth Grant, The Magickal Revival (New York,
transcend the hypocrisy of Christian monasteries. Crowley
1973), and John Symonds, The Magic of Aleister Crowley
took Rabelais’s ideal a good deal further, however, by creat-
(London, 1958). On Crowley’s literary works, see Martin
ing a utopian community in which every desire could be ex-
Booth, Aleister Crowley: Selected Poems (London, 1986).
pressed through free experimentation in drugs, sex, and
HUGH B. URBAN (2005)
physical excess. During this period, he would also publish his
infamous Diary of a Drug Fiend, a semiautobiographical
novel written at top-speed in order to fuel his own growing
CROWN. The significance of the crown lies chiefly in its
drug habit.
place on top of the head, where it marks the bearer’s relation-
By the end of his life, Crowley had exhausted most of
ship to what is above, to what is transcendent. At the same
his wealth and his own seemingly infinite will to power.
time the crown represents the joining of what is above to
Though he continued to believe that his Book of the Law
what is below, the divine and the human, the celestial and
might have a decisive role to play in the unfolding of global
the terrestrial. The crown symbolizes access to rank and to
events during World War II, he would spent his last years
superior force, and therefore to dignity, royalty, and power.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CRUMMELL, ALEXANDER
2073
From a very early time crowns were associated with the
1911), describes mostly Western history and tradition and
sun, especially with its rays. On a third-century bas relief
says relatively little about the religious symbolism of the
from the Roman city of Virunum the sun is shown receiving
crown. Nonetheless, the article is good background material.
his radiant crown from Mithra, who has beat him in a wres-
J. E. Cirlot, in A Dictionary of Symbols, 2d ed. (New York,
tling match. In alchemy the spirits of the planets receive their
1971), and Jean Chevalier and Alain Gheerbrant, in their
light in the form of crowns from their king, the sun. In the
Dictionnaire des symboles (Paris, 1982), have written interest-
ing discussions without pretending to cover the subject.
ancient religions of Mexico and Egypt, the king in his divine
aspect is the sun.
New Sources
Joseph Lowin. “Crown: A Hebrew Lesson.” Jewish Heritage On-
The crown’s meaning can also be discovered in its circu-
line Magazine 6 (November 2003). Available from http://
lar shape, which signifies perfection and eternity. The mate-
www.jhom/hebrew/crown_h.html.
rial of the crown may represent the divinity with which its
wearer is associated or even assimilated. Thus, the laurel
ELAINE MAGALIS (1987)
wreath often related its wearer to Apollo, while oak leaves
Revised Bibliography
were emblems of Zeus. At the end of the harvest in Europe
celebrants have traditionally worn wreaths of ears of grain.
During a Tibetan ceremony that seeks to eliminate the
CRUMMELL, ALEXANDER (March 3, 1819–
spirits of the dead, the priest wears a crown that guarantees
September 12, 1898), Episcopal priest and missionary, was
the cosmic worth of the sacrifice by bringing together sym-
a significant figure in both African American and West Afri-
bolically the five Buddhas and the material universe, as well
can Christianity. In The Souls of Black Folks, W. E. B. Du
as the four cardinal points with their center. In the West the
Bois devoted a chapter to analyzing Crummell’s intellectual
Crown of Charlemagne, made for Otto I, founder of the
and moral strength. Crummell believed that Christianity had
Holy Roman Empire, is octagonal in shape, recalling the
a providential role to play in the development of Africa.
walls of Rome and the ramparts of heaven.
Crummell was born in New York City. His father was
Crowns, often in the form of wreaths, have been award-
an African prince from the Temne people who had been kid-
ed to victors in war or contests where the honored hero is
napped and sold into slavery at the age of thirteen. Alexander
identified with a divine patron of the contest or with a war-
Crummell attended the African Free School and Canal Street
rior god. Another religious dimension is added when—as in
High School. In 1835 he traveled, with Henry Highland
Mithraism and Christianity—the souls of the elect are
Garnet, to Canaan, New Hampshire, to attend a new experi-
crowned like athletes or soldiers as victors over death.
mental interracial college. However, the town’s people
In some religious sacrifices the sacrificer wears a crown;
burned the college to the ground after he and Garnet gave
in others the victims, even animal victims, do the same. The
some inflammatory speeches during the town’s observance
dead may also be crowned: in Egypt both the mummy and
of Independence Day. Therefore Crummell attended Onei-
the statue that represented the deceased were crowned for
da Institute in Whitesboro, New York, from 1836 to 1839.
the triumphant entry into the next life. In Christianity the
Because he was denied admission to Union Theological Sem-
crowning of martyrs is often pictured: the wearer of the
inary in New York City, he had to be privately tutored to
crown is always related through it to a greater transcendent
pursue his goal of Episcopalian ordination. He was ordained
power.
a deacon in 1842 and a priest in 1844.
Objects, as well as persons, can be crowned. Holy scrip-
Crummell’s first call was as an organizing pastor to poor
tures, icons, pictures, and statues are frequently honored and
blacks in New York City. From 1848 to 1853 he traveled
dedicated with crowns. Crowns sometimes assume signifi-
throughout England, preaching and lecturing to raise funds
cance independent of the crowned. Among the Yoruba of
for his ministry. While he was in England he was encouraged
West Africa sheep were occasionally sacrificed to the crown,
to acquire additional education at Queen’s College, Cam-
which had magical powers. In ancient Egypt a crown or dia-
bridge, which he did. Although he raised monies for the con-
dem representing the highest sovereignty could execute the
gregation in New York, he did not return there himself but
king’s secret purpose or inflict vengeance. In one version of
went to Liberia as an Episcopal missionary. He became a citi-
the legend of Ariadne and Theseus, a crown of light guides
zen of that country and married there shortly after his arrival.
Theseus through the labyrinth after he has killed the
After establishing a number of churches in Liberia he accept-
Minotaur.
ed the job of principal of the Mount Vaughn High School
at Cape Palmas in 1858. Crummell became a member of the
faculty of Liberia College in Monrovia in 1861 and was also
BIBLIOGRAPHY
The image of the crown appears extensively in most religious liter-
active in promoting the interests of the American Coloniza-
ature, but no single source begins to explore the whole range
tion Society, making several visits to the United States to
of material with both examples and interpretation. G. F.
generate interest in emigration among blacks. He published
Hill’s long essay, “Crowns,” in the Encyclopaedia of Religion
The Relations and Duties of Free Colored Men in America to
and Ethics, edited by James Hastings, vol. 4 (Edinburgh,
Africa (1861) and The Future of Africa (1862).
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CRUSADES: CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE
Dismissed from Liberia College in 1866 due to dis-
modern times the word crusade is used metaphorically to des-
agreements with the administration over curriculum and
ignate evangelistic efforts at promoting all kinds of religious
other matters, Crummell formed his own school. But a peri-
or moral causes.
od of political turmoil in the country prompted him to re-
turn to the United States in 1872. Settling in Washington,
ROOTS AND CAUSES. While the roots of the movement were
D.C., he founded Saint Luke’s Episcopal Church, and in
complex, a major religious impulse came with the fusion of
1882 he published a collection of his sermons, The Greatness
pilgrimage and holy war. The Crusades continued the old
of Christ and Other Sermons. He founded the Conference of
tradition of pilgrimage to the Holy Land that was often un-
Church Workers among Colored People in 1883 to promote
dertaken in fulfillment of a vow or as a penance; its earlier
the advancement of blacks in the Episcopal ecclesial struc-
designations were via, iter, or peregrinatio. Attractive for pil-
ture. After he retired from the church, in 1894, he accepted
grims were not only the holy places themselves but their rel-
a teaching position at Howard University, which he held
ics, above all the Holy Sepulcher, to which the emperor He-
from 1895 to 1897. In 1897 he founded the American
raclius had restored the True Cross in 627 CE. The finding
Negro Academy, whose purpose was to provide mutual sup-
of the Holy Lance at Antioch (June 1098) revitalized the
port among black scholars and intelligentsia. His autobiogra-
First Crusade. In the Christian terra sancta mythology the
phy, The Shades and the Lights of a Fifty Years’ Ministry, was
name of Jerusalem (“vision of peace”) evoked the image of
published in 1894.
the heavenly city, the goal of the Christian life (cf. Gal. 4:26,
Heb. 12:22, Rv. 21:10–27). As “navel of the world” Jerusa-
B
lem also figured in apocalyptic expectation; according to the
IBLIOGRAPHY
Crummell, Alexander. The Relations and Duties of Free Colored
Tiburtine Sibyl, the last battles would be fought and the last
Men in America to Africa. Hartford, Conn., 1861.
emperor hand over his rule to Christ in Jerusalem.
Crummell, Alexander. The Future of Africa. New York, 1862.
During the twelfth century armed pilgrimages began to
Crummell, Alexander. The Greatness of Christ and Other Sermons.
be regarded as just wars fought in defense of the Holy Land
New York, 1882.
against its illegitimate occupation by the Muslim infidel. The
Crummell, Alexander. The Shades and the Lights of a Fifty Years’
notion of a just war as revenge for an injury done to Christ
Ministry. New York, 1894.
had been invoked in the fight against Muslims in Spain and
Du Bois, W. E. B. The Souls of Black Folk. Edited by Henry Louis
Sicily and, even earlier, in the Carolingian expeditions
Gates Jr. and Terri Hume Oliver. New York, 1999.
against pagans and Saracens. In 878, Pope John VIII offered
Moses, Wilson Jeremiah. Alexander Crummell: A Study of Civiliza-
spiritual incentives to those who would arm themselves
tion and Discontent. New York, 1989.
against his foes in Italy. Gregory VII (1073–1085) envisaged
a militia Christi for the fight against all enemies of God and
Murphy, Larry G., J. Gordon Melton, and Gary L. Ward, eds. En-
cyclopedia of African American Religions. New York, 1993.
thought already of sending an army to the East. An addition-
al factor was the expectation of religious benefits. In the pop-
Oldfield, John R. Alexander Crummell (1819–1898) and the Cre-
ular perception, the Crusade indulgence offered nothing less
ation of an African American Church in Liberia. Lewiston,
than full remission of sins and a sure promise of heaven. In
N.Y., 1990.
a feudal society of warriors, crusading for God’s sake under
Rigsby, Gregory U. Alexander Crummell: Pioneer in Nineteenth-
the banner of Saint Michael ranked as the ultimate fulfill-
Century Pan-African Thought. New York, 1987.
ment of the ideal of Christian knighthood.
JAMES ANTHONY NOEL (2005)
Among the political causes of the Crusades, the appeals
for help from the Byzantine emperors were prominent. The
year 1071 saw the defeat of the Byzantine army at Manzikert
CRUSADES
This entry consists of the following articles:
in Asia Minor. Jerusalem fell to the Seljuk Turks in 1077.
There is no clear evidence that these events led to increased
CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE
MUSLIM PERSPECTIVE
harassment of Christian pilgrims. Nevertheless, they caused
great alarm and spurred papal offers of assistance. Moreover,
in dealing with the fighting spirit of the aristocracy, reform
CRUSADES: CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE
movements such as the Cluniac and the Gregorian were pro-
Crusades were military expeditions against various enemies
moting the “Peace of God” (protection of unarmed persons)
of the church; the term refers particularly to the medieval
and the “Truce of God” (treuga Dei, suspension of all fight-
campaigns aimed at liberating the Holy Land from the Mus-
ing during specified times). In this situation, participation
lims. The word crusade (Span., cruzada; Fr., croisade) derives
in holy warfare provided an outlet for the martial vigor of
from the Latin crux (cross); the Latin term cruciata does not
Christian knights.
occur before the thirteenth century. It recalls the ceremony
of “taking the cross” (Mt. 10:38), the public act of commit-
CAMPAIGNS. Any attempt at systematizing the Crusades re-
ting oneself to participate in a crusade. Crusaders wore a red
mains arbitrary. Nevertheless, for clarity’s sake, we shall fol-
cloth cross sewn to their cloaks as a sign of their status. In
low the customary numbering of the main expeditions.
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CRUSADES: CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE
2075
First Crusade (1096–1099). Urban II’s call for partici-
tion, quarreling, and lack of cooperation. Only Acre was re-
pation in an expedition to the East at the Council of Cler-
captured (July 1191) and some ports secured, mainly
mont on November 27, 1095, met with an enthusiastic re-
through the initiative of Richard, who also took Cyprus from
sponse. He himself declared the acclamation “God wills it!”
the Byzantines and finally negotiated a three-year truce with
to be the divinely inspired battle cry for the Crusaders.
Saladin (September 1192).
Thousands took the cross, especially French, Norman, and
Flemish knights. Several bands of badly armed pilgrims from
Fourth Crusade (1202–1204). Pope Innocent III
France and Germany, most of them poor and inexperienced,
(1198–1216) made the reorganization of the crusade under
set out for Constantinople even before the army gathered.
papal auspices one of the priorities of his pontificate. A first
Some started by massacring Jews on their way through Ger-
appeal went out on August 15, 1198. The response was slow,
many. Many died in Hungary, and the remnants perished
and the fervor aroused by the preaching of Fulk of Neuilly
in Anatolia. The main force, under the papal legate Bishop
did not reach beyond France and Italy. The leaders contract-
Adhémar of Le Puy and an illustrious baronial leadership (in-
ed for transportation with the doge of Venice, Dandolo, but
cluding Godfrey of Bouillon, Baldwin II of Flanders, Ray-
lack of funds forced a diversion from the original plan to at-
mond IV of Toulouse, Robert II of Normandy, and Bohe-
tack the Muslims in Egypt. At the request of the Venetians,
mond I of Taranto), assembled at Constantinople
the Crusaders first attacked the Christian city of Zara in Dal-
(December 1096 to May 1097) and set out on a long, ardu-
matia (November 1202) and then sailed on to Constantino-
ous march through Asia Minor. After costly victories at Ni-
ple, where they hoped to enthrone Alexios, an exiled Byzan-
caea and Dorylaeum (June–July 1097) and enormous hard-
tine pretender to the crown, and to receive the material
ships, the Crusaders captured Antioch (June 3, 1098) and
assistance they needed. When these plans failed, the Crusad-
finally Jerusalem (July 15, 1099), consolidating their victory
ers laid siege to the city and finally stormed it (April 12,
by the defeat of a Fatimid army at Ascalon (August 12,
1204). Byzantium was looted for its treasure of relics, art,
1099). A side expedition under Baldwin had already taken
and gold, and was made the residence of a Latin emperor,
Edessa to the north (February 6, 1098). Only Nicaea was re-
with Baldwin IX of Flanders as the first incumbent. A Byzan-
turned to the Byzantine emperor, and four Crusader states
tine army recaptured the city almost casually in 1261.
were organized along the Syro-Palestinian coast: the counties
The Fourth Crusade was followed by the legendary
of Edessa and Tripoli, the principality of Antioch, and the
Children’s Crusade of 1212. A group consisting mostly of
kingdom of Jerusalem. Measured against the original goal,
young people under the leadership of a boy named Nicholas
the First Crusade was the only successful one. Its territorial
tried to cross the Alps and find passage to the Holy Land.
gains, protected by inland ridges and a system of fortresses
All trace of them was lost even before they reached the Medi-
along the coast, formed the basis that future Crusades sought
terranean ports. Crusade preaching, religious fervor, and re-
to defend against mounting Muslim pressure. Constant
spect for children as instruments of God’s power contributed
quarrels among the leaders and rival interests of the major
to the phenomenon. Later sources confuse this crusade with
European powers, however, prevented any effective coopera-
a French movement led by a shepherd boy, Stephen of
tion and success.
Cloyes, who wanted to deliver a heavenly letter to the king.
Second Crusade (1147–1149). The preaching of the
Fifth Crusade (1217–1221). In connection with his
Second Crusade had its immediate cause in the loss of Edessa
to the Muslims of Syria (1144). Moved by the preaching of
call for the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215, Innocent III
Bernard of Clairvaux, Louis VII of France and Conrad III
tried to stir up new interest in the crusade. In the Levant,
of Germany led separate armies through Asia Minor. The
Acre had become the center of Christian activity. From there
losses suffered by the troops were disheartening. Further-
an expedition under baronial and clerical leadership (Cardi-
more, rather than aiming at Edessa, the remnant joined the
nal Pelagius) attempted to strike at the heart of Ayyubid
Palestinian knights in an unsuccessful siege of Damascus
power in Egypt (May 1218). The harbor city of Damietta
(July 1148), which had been at peace with the kingdom of
was forced to surrender (November 5, 1219), but further
Jerusalem. This diversion worsened the plight of Edessa, An-
hopes were dashed by the defeat at al-Mansu¯ra on the way
tioch, and Tripoli. Even at home the crusade was soon recog-
to Cairo (July 24, 1221). A stunning novelty was the expedi-
nized as a disaster.
tion of Emperor Frederick II of Hohenstaufen (the so-called
Sixth Crusade, 1228–1229). Frederick sailed to Cyprus and
Third Crusade (1189–1192). At the initiative of the
Acre (June 1228), secretly negotiated a ten-year truce that
archbishop of Tyre, the Third Crusade responded to the de-
included the return of Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and Lydda to
feat of the Palestinian knights at H:it:t:¯ın in Galilee (July 4,
the Christians, and crowned himself king of Jerusalem
1187) and the resulting loss of Jerusalem to the sultan, Sala-
(March 18, 1229), although he had been excommunicated
din. The leadership included Frederick I Barbarossa, Philip
by Gregory IX for his failure to act on a Crusade vow earlier.
II Augustus of France, and Richard I (“the Lionhearted”) of
The Holy City was retaken by Muslim allies in 1244 after
England. But Frederick accidentally drowned during the
an expedition of Count Thibaut IV of Champagne had failed
march, and the crusading effort disintegrated through attri-
to secure the diplomatic gain (1239–1240).
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CRUSADES: CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE
Seventh and Eighth Crusades. Two crusades of the
announced through papal bulls, the first of these having been
thirteenth century are connected with the name of Louis IX
issued by Eugenius III (December 1, 1145). They normally
(Saint Louis) of France. In fulfillment of a vow, Louis sailed
included exhortation, narration (of the situation in the East),
to Cyprus with a splendid host of fifteen thousand men and
and the enumeration of privileges. The last point was of par-
attacked Egypt (Seventh Crusade, 1248–1254). Damietta
ticular importance. Canon law specified the Crusader’s re-
was occupied again (June 1249) but had to be returned to-
wards: plenary indulgence, legal advantages such as protec-
gether with a huge ransom when the king and his army were
tion of family and property and the right to be judged in
routed and taken captive on their slow march south (April
ecclesiastical courts, and financial incentives like exemption
6, 1250). Louis took up residence in Acre for four years, at-
from certain taxes and interest payments or the right to sell
tempting to strengthen the Crusader states by, for example,
and mortgage property. Violations were subject to severe
working toward an alliance with the Mongol khan. Another
punishment, including excommunication, which also ap-
expedition against the sultan of Tunis (Eighth Crusade,
plied to those who failed to act on a crusading vow.
1270–1272) also ended in failure. The king died in North
Africa (August 25, 1270), and the Muslims succeeded in
Originally, participants expected to pay their own way
buying off the Crusaders. In the meantime, all of Palestine
and to provision their vassals. As enthusiasm faded, the fi-
as well as Antioch was lost to the Mamluk sultan, Baybars.
nancing of a crusade became more complicated. Apart from
The last Christian bastion on the Syrian coast, Acre, was
using current income, popes from the mid-twelfth century
stormed by the sultan in 1291.
on authorized special Crusade taxes of 1 to 10 percent on ec-
clesiastical income for up to five years; taxing rights or a share
The fourteenth and fifteenth centuries saw several papal
of the ecclesiastical tithe could be granted also to secular lead-
attempts to revive the crusade or support expeditions to the
ers. In 1187, Pope Gregory VIII began granting Crusade in-
East. In 1365, King Peter I of Cyprus captured Alexandria;
dulgences for persons assisting the effort at home, who soon
this victory was widely hailed but inconsequential. Soon the
came to include the wives of Crusaders.
fight against the Ottoman Turks turned into a defense of
Christian lands, especially after Muslim victories over the
A consequence of the growing financial involvement of
Serbs, the Hungarians (Nicopolis, 1396), and a last Crusader
the popes was the wish to have more direct control of the
army under John Hunyadi and Julian Cardinal Cesarini
goals and operations. While Urban II still discouraged partic-
(Varna, 1444). The fall of Constantinople in May 1453 led
ipation of the clergy, in practice the situation soon changed.
to a serious initiative on the part of Pius II, who wished to
Many clerics joined the expeditions, and papal legates regu-
go on the crusade in person. He died on the way to joining
larly accompanied the armies. Conflicts over authority and
the fleet at Ancona (July 1464).
leadership were inevitable. Yet the popes had to be flexible.
No crusade could be conducted without popular support.
OTHER CRUSADES. During the medieval period crusades
The early enthusiasm probably was the expression of a genu-
were also used against internal foes in the West. The granting
ine religious sentiment, often in response to charismatic
of Crusade indulgences for the fight against the Moors in
preachers such as Peter of Amiens, Bernard of Clairvaux,
Spain beginning with Alexander II (1072) and a crusade to
Fulk of Neuilly, and Jacques of Vitry. But after the initial
convert the Slavic Wends in northern Germany (1147) set
success and the later shock over the failure of the Second
the precedent. These actions were followed by savage cru-
Crusade, a revival of the original zeal became more difficult
sades against Albigensian heretics in southern France (1209–
despite increased incentives and propaganda efforts. From
1229), northern German peasants (1232–1234), and the
the middle of the twelfth century on, critical voices were
Hussites (1421–1435), by wars of conversion against the
heard, including imperial publicists, Rutebeuf, Roger Bacon,
pagan Prussians in the Baltic region (after 1236), and similar
and William of Tripoli. Papal opinion polls (Gregory X,
expeditions. A different development came with the “politi-
1272; Nicholas IV, 1292) elicited many answers. As in the
cal” crusades to protect the papal lands in Italy against the
isolated event of Francis of Assisi’s visit to Sultan al-Kam¯ıl
Hohenstaufens. Gregory IX proclaimed the crusade against
during the Fifth Crusade (spring and summer 1219), the
Frederick II in 1240; Innocent IV followed in 1245; and the
need for a fundamental shift from military intervention to
French Angevins took Sicily (1261–1264) with full Crusad-
peaceful mission efforts was often stressed, leading to mis-
ers’ privileges granted by Urban IV.
sionary initiatives in the late Middle Ages, especially from the
mendicant orders.
CHARACTERISTICS. From the beginning, the movement de-
pended on the initiative of the papacy; as a result, the latter’s
OUTCOME. The results of the Crusades are difficult to assess.
claims to universal leadership were strengthened. Urban II
In terms of religion, the failures nourished doubts about
preached the crusade himself, as did other popes. Generally,
God’s will, church authority, and the role of the papacy. Re-
however, this task was delegated to bishops, papal legates,
ligious fervor yielded to apathy, cynicism, and legalism. On
and specially commissioned Crusade preachers. Few exam-
the other hand, the Crusades stimulated religious enthusiasm
ples of this preaching are known. We have, however, a manu-
on a large scale and gave Christendom a unifying cause that
al for Crusade preachers written around 1250 by the Domin-
lasted for centuries. They inspired a great literature of tracts,
ican master general, Humbert of Romans. A crusade was
chronicles, letters, heroic tales, and poetry, not only in Latin
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CRUSADES: MUSLIM PERSPECTIVE
2077
but in the vernaculars. Ignorance of Islam was replaced by
under the general editorship of Kenneth M. Setton, with
a measure of knowledge, respect, and occasionally tolerance.
Marshall W. Baldwin, Robert Wolff, and especially Harry
An emphasis on informed apologetics (for instance those of
W. Hazard as editors (vols. 1–2, Philadelphia, 1955–1962;
Thomas Aquinas and Ramón Lull) and on Eastern languages
new edition and continuation, vols. 1–5, Madison, Wis.,
(canon 11 of the Council of Vienne, 1311) as a prerequisite
1969–1984). Steven Runciman’s A History of the Crusades,
for mission was characteristic of the later Middle Ages.
3 vols. (Cambridge, 1951–1954), presents another compre-
hensive, though somewhat idiosyncratic, approach. The best
Politically, the Crusades brought few lasting changes.
short introduction is Hans Eberhard Mayer’s The Crusades
The Crusader states and the Latin empire remained episodes.
(Oxford, 1972).
Their precarious status forced new diplomatic contacts with
Carl Erdmann’s classic book on the roots of the movement is now
Eastern powers but also strengthened the Muslim conviction
available in English: The Origin of the Idea of Crusade
that holy war (jiha¯d) could be carried farther west. In this
(Princeton, 1977). Still the most thorough investigation of
sense the Crusades led directly to the Turkish wars of later
the religious aspects is Paul Alphandéry’s La Chrétienté et
centuries, during which Ottoman expansion threatened even
l’idée de croisade, 2 vols. (Paris, 1954–1959). Benjamin Z.
central Europe.
Kedar’s Crusade and Mission: European Approaches toward the
Muslims (Princeton, 1984) stresses the interaction of the two
The effect of the Crusades on relations with Byzantium
main strategies toward Islam.
was primarily negative. The Crusades needed Byzantine sup-
Much recent attention has focused on canonical and legal aspects.
port as much as Byzantium needed Western armies. But
Major studies are James A. Brundage’s Medieval Canon Law
what started as an effort to help Eastern Christians ended in
and the Crusader (Madison, Wis., 1969); Maureen Purcell’s
mutual mistrust and enmity (for example, the Crusades
Papal Crusading Policy, Studies in the History of Christian
against the Byzantines in 1237, 1261, and 1282). The
Thought, no. 11 (Leiden, 1975); and Joshua Prawer’s Cru-
shrewd moves of Byzantine diplomacy created the image of
sader Institutions (Oxford, 1980). A standard work on critical
the “treacherous Greeks” among Crusaders, while the sack
voices is Palmer A. Throop’s Criticism of the Crusade: A Study
of Constantinople left the indelible impression of Western
of Public Opinion and Crusade Propaganda (1940; reprint,
barbarity on the Greek mind. Thus, the “unions” of Eastern
Philadelphia, 1975).
churches with the West (at the councils of Lyons, 1274, and
New Sources
Florence, 1439) had no support at home.
Andrea, Alfred J. The Encyclopedia of the Crusades. Westport,
One novelty with an impact on European politics was
Conn., 2003.
the military orders founded in the East. The Templars’ fi-
Brundage, James A. The Crusades, Holy War, and Canon Law. Al-
nancial deals with the French crown led to their ruthless sup-
dershot, U.K., 1991.
pression (1307–1312); the Hospitalers’ odyssey took them
Kedar, Benjamin Z. Crusade and Mission: European Approaches to-
to the island of Rhodes (1309–1322) and to Malta (after
ward the Muslims. Princeton, N.J., 1984.
1530). The Teutonic Knights found a new task in the Baltic
Madden, Thomas F., ed. The Crusades: The Essential Readings.
states, and several chivalrous orders in Spain and Portugal
Oxford, and Malden, Mass., 2002.
were to influence Iberian politics for centuries.
Mastnak, Tomaz. Crusading Peace: Christendom, the Muslim
The Crusades imposed huge burdens on clergy and
World, and Western Political Order. Berkeley, Calif., 2002.
laity; at times the papacy was unable to support any other
Riley-Smith, Jonathan, ed. The Oxford History of the Crusades. Ox-
cause. Yet they also furthered the growth of a money econo-
ford, 2002.
my, banking, and new methods of taxation. The widening
Slack, Corliss Konwiser, compiler. English translations by Hugh
of the geographic horizon prepared Europe for the age of dis-
Bernard Feiss. The Crusade. Charters, 1138–1270. Tempe,
covery. Urban culture, especially in Italian city-states such as
Ariz., 2001.
Genoa, Pisa, and Venice, received strong impulses through
trade with the East. In the West, Islamic science, philosophy,
KARLFRIED FROEHLICH (1987)
and medicine deeply influenced intellectual life.
Revised Bibliography
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Many general bibliographies on the Middle Ages feature sections
CRUSADES: MUSLIM PERSPECTIVE
on the Crusades. Two specialized bibliographies provide a
The Muslims of Syria, who were the first to receive the as-
thorough introduction to sources and literature: A. S. Atiya’s
The Crusade: Historiography and Bibliography (1962; reprint,
sault of the Crusaders, thought the invaders were Rum, the
Westport, Conn., 1976) and Hans Eberhard Mayer’s Biblio-
Byzantines. Accordingly, they regarded the invasion as still
graphie zur Geschichte der Kreuzzüge (Hannover, 1960) with
another Byzantine incursion into Islamic territory, and, in
its supplement, Literaturberichte über Neuerscheinungen zur
fact, one inspired by previous Muslim victories in Byzantine
ausserdeutschen Geschichte und zu den Kreuzzügen, “Historis-
domains. It was only when the Muslims realized that the in-
che Zeitschrift, Sonderheft,” vol. 3 (Munich, 1969).
vaders did not originate in Byzantium that they began refer-
The most comprehensive treatment of the Crusades in English is
ring to them as Franks, although never as Crusaders, a term
found in the excellent volumes of A History of the Crusades,
for which there was no Arabic equivalent until modern
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
2078
CRUSADES: MUSLIM PERSPECTIVE
times. Even a century later, the Arab historian Ibn al-Ath¯ır
in order to obtain the materials he needed from Europe for
(1160–1233) characterized that first invasion as a part of the
his campaigns.
general expansion of the Frankish empire that had begun
with their conquests in Muslim Spain, Sicily, and North Af-
With the exception of their fortresses and churches, the
rica a decade before the campaign in Syria. Nevertheless, the
Franks left few traces in Muslim territory or consciousness.
establishment of Frankish kingdoms in Islamic territory, the
Although the Muslims looted columns and at least one portal
periodic reinforcement of troops from Europe, and the re-
from Crusader structures and incorporated them into their
currence of invasion all contributed to a growing Muslim
mosques as trophies of victory, Islamic architecture devel-
consciousness of the nature of the Frankish threat in Syria
oped independently. Nor is there any evidence of significant
and Palestine.
influence of Crusader minor arts on Islamic counterparts or,
for that matter, of substantial Crusader influence on any as-
This consciousness was reflected in the development of
pect of Islamic cultural and intellectual life. There are indica-
propaganda in Arabic designed to support the mobilization
tions, certainly, in the memoirs of the Syrian knight Usa¯mah
of Muslim forces against the infidel troops. The second half
ibn Munqidh (1095–1188) and the Spanish traveler Ibn Ju-
of the twelfth century saw the emergence of both a major
bayr (1145–1217) that Muslims observed their Frankish
Muslim leader and a literature to abet his efforts. The leader
neighbors with interest, interacted with them on occasion,
was Nu¯r al-D¯ın (1118–1174), who succeeded in forging the
and even approved of some aspects of their behavior—their
political unity of the Muslims of northern Syria and upper
treatment of peasants, for example. But the Muslims appar-
Mesopotamia, thereby providing the basis of a military force
ently made no effort to imitate the Franks. While it is some-
strong enough to confront the Franks. Fatimid Egypt was
times claimed that the Crusaders contributed to the persecu-
brought under the control of Nu¯r al-D¯ın’s lieutenant, S:ala¯h:
tion of Christians in Muslim territory, the evidence for this
al-D¯ın, known to the West as Saladin (1138–1193). The lit-
is by no means consistent. There are clear signs that the Mus-
erature consisted of poetry, jiha¯d (“holy war”) tracts, and
lims in Egypt could and did distinguish between the Copts
books extolling the merits of Jerusalem and Palestine. Cu-
and the Franks and treated each accordingly. Probably the
mulatively, these works celebrated a Muslim warrior for the
main Crusader legacy to the Arab Muslims should be sought
faith (muja¯hid) who would unite the believers in a jiha¯d to
in the field of commerce. There is little doubt that the activi-
drive the soldiers of the Cross from the holy places. After the
ties of European merchants in eastern Mediterranean ports
death of Nu¯r al-D¯ın, S:ala¯h: al-D¯ın was able to build on the
continued to be tolerated, even encouraged, by the Muslim
former’s political and military accomplishments and exploit
the fervor engendered for a Muslim hero as a means of
conquerors and thus kept commercial contacts between East
achieving spectacular success against the Crusaders. Al-
and West alive. However, recent Arabic historiography de-
though no single Muslim leader of equal stature emerged
picts the Crusaders as precursors of modern European infil-
under the Ayyubid or Mamluk dynasties that followed, liter-
trations of the Arab world.
ary support for prosecution of war against the Franks flour-
ished until the very end, when the fall of Acre and the re-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
maining Crusader fortifications on the coast was celebrated
A detailed study of the Muslim response to the Crusades is Em-
as a great victory for Islam, the culmination of a century-old
manuel Sivan’s L’Islam et la croisade: Idéologie et propagande
struggle.
dans les réactions musulmanes aux croisades (Paris, 1968),
which, though it focuses on the ideological reaction, relates
It should be emphasized, however, that with few excep-
it to political and military events as well. For a different per-
tions active support for a concerted Muslim campaign
spective on some of the material discussed by Sivan, see
against the Franks was limited to the areas threatened with
Hadia Dajani-Shakeel’s “Jiha¯d in Twelfth-Century Arabic
occupation, namely Syria, Palestine, and Egypt. Various at-
Poetry: A Moral and Religious Force to Counter the Cru-
tempts to enlist the help of the Abbasid caliph of Baghdad
sades,” Muslim World 66 (April 1976): 96–113. See also
were futile, partly, no doubt, because the institution of the
Amin Maalouf’s The Crusades through Arab Eyes (London,
caliphate was by this time virtually defunct. Even S:ala¯h:
1984).
al-D¯ın, who was assiduous in seeking caliphal sanction for
his activities, never received more than symbolic recognition
Attitudes of contemporary Arab Muslims toward the Crusades can
be studied firsthand in Arab Historians of the Crusades, edited
from a reluctant caliph.
by Francesco Gabrieli and translated from the Italian by
It should also be pointed out that war against the Franks
E. J. Costello (Berkeley, 1969), and in Usamah ibn Mun-
was never total, that Muslim rulers often felt no compunc-
qidh’s Memoirs of an Arab-Syrian Gentleman or an Arab
tions about allying themselves with Crusader princes in order
Knight in the Crusades, translated by Philip K. Hitti (1927;
reprint, Beirut, 1964). For a comparative study of Muslim
to gain their own ends, and that the call for jiha¯d was muted
and Christian concepts of holy war see Albrecht Noth’s
when it was expedient, as in 1229 when the Ayyubid ruler
Heiliger Krieg und Heiliger Kampf im Islam und Christentum
al-Malik al-Ka¯mil (d. 1238) ceded Jerusalem to Holy Roman
(Bonn, 1966).
Emperor Frederick II. S:ala¯h: al-D¯ın himself did not hesitate
to strengthen Egyptian ties with the Italian commercial cities
DONALD P. LITTLE (1987)
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CULIANU, IOAN PETRU
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CÚ CHULAINN SEE TÁIN BÓ CUAILNGE
published in German in 1990, and a long and significant sci-
entific correspondence between the two scholars has been
preserved in the Culianu family archive.
Culianu’s Italian period was productive. In this epoch
CULIANU, IOAN PETRU (January 5, 1950–May
he was a steadfast contributor to journals like Aevum and
21, 1991), a scholar of Romanian origin, was born in Ia¸si,
Studi e materiali di storia delle religioni, writing many articles
Romania. He descended from ancestors who played an im-
and book reviews pertaining to various fields of the history
portant role in the cultural milieu of this city, the ancient
of religions, always with a sharp interest in methodology.
capital of the province of Moldavia. His grandfather, Neculai
The following orientation of his research can be discerned
Culianu, was the dean of the University of Ia¸si in the late
through his articles published in prestigious journals like
nineteenth century and the early twentieth century as well
Numen after 1975 and Revue de l’histoire des religions after
as a member of the influential cultural group Junimea (the
1976. In 1975 Culianu was appointed the assistant of Profes-
Youthhood), founded in 1867 and directed by the literary
sor Ugo Bianchi (1922–1995), his mentor, at the Catholic
critic Titu Maiorescu. Culianu’s interest in the history of re-
University of Milan, and began his doctoral thesis. The re-
ligions was precocious despite the political and ideological
sults of many years of Italian research was collected and re-
circumstances of his early scholarly career. In 1967 he left
fined in a masterly synthesis on eros and magic in the Renais-
Ia¸si for Bucharest, where he enrolled in the Faculty of For-
sance, which was finally published in Paris in 1984 as Éros
eign Letters at the University of Bucharest. He studied Ital-
et magie à la Renaissance. By analyzing the phantasmagorical
ian Renaissance thought under the guidance of Nina Façon
background of different religious techniques of humanists
and in 1971 delivered a thesis on the philosopher Giordano
like Marsilio Ficino and Giordano Bruno, Culianu demon-
Bruno and the magical aspects of his works. Obtaining a
strated how the sixteenth- and seventeenth-century censure
short-term scholarship for Italy (University of Perugia) after
of Renaissance imagination played a huge role in evacuating
graduating from Bucharest, Culianu decided to pursue his
from the European religious scene the baffling techniques of
academic interests as an émigré rather than return to Roma-
manipulation through magic. In Italy, Culianu published a
nia. He spent the rest of his life outside his native country,
book on Gnosticism, including an interview with Hans
living in Italy (1971–1978), the Netherlands (1978–1986),
Jonas, that shows the great interest he developed for ancient
and finally the United States (1986–1991), where he died
Gnostic thought and its fictitious posterity in modern reviv-
when he was shot in a bathroom at the Divinity School of
als (Gnosticismo e pensiero moderno: Hans Jonas, 1985). In the
the University of Chicago. According to Tereza Culianu-
Netherlands, Culianu taught religious studies at Groningen
Petrescu, “of all the hypotheses regarding the murder, the
University and taught Romanian language and literature
only one privileged by evidence . . . is that of a political as-
while making several small contributions in neo-Latin and
sassination” (in S. Antohi, Zool, p. 57). His biography also
Romanian topics following the mentorship of Professor Wil-
includes long stages of research in France and after 1986 fre-
lem Noomen, for whom Culianu edited a Festschrift in
quent return trips to Europe.
1983.
Despite the interdictions of the communist-totalitarian
Culianu then embarked upon a new doctoral thesis
regime of his Romanian youth, he discovered and pursued
(doctorat d’État) at the Sorbonne on Gnostic mythical dual-
early the writings of Mircea Eliade (1907–1986) and placed
ism under the supervision of Michel Meslin. This followed
himself for many years as a disciple of the great Romanian-
the writing of two very useful syntheses, one dealing with
born historian of religion. Culianu’s first book (1978) was
“the ascension of the soul” in historical and comparative per-
a monograph on Eliade as a historian of religions and as a
spectives (Psychanodia I: A Survey of the Evidence concerning
writer. It was the first in western Europe to systematically
the Ascension of the Soul and Its Relevance, 1983) and the
discuss many of Eliade’s important books and articles written
other on the topic of ecstasy, ascension, and visionary de-
in the Romanian period (1924–1940/1945). Culianu inher-
scription of the otherworld (Expériences de l’extase: Extase, as-
ited from Eliade the interest for the comparative study of re-
cension, et récit visionnaire, de l’héllenisme au Moyen Age,
ligion and groundbreaking themes, for different axial fields
1984), books that continue to be important for the clear ex-
of the discipline, for literature—after 1967 Culianu pub-
position of all their sources, the lucid inquiry into most diffi-
lished novels in Romanian as well as in Italian and English—
cult and fascinating topics of religious studies, and the cri-
and for modern Romanian culture. For a span of five years
tiques they directed against the inadequacy, unfounded
Culianu was also the administrator responsible for Eliade’s
presuppositions, and factual errors of the German school of
legacy, his writings and archives preserved in Chicago, and
the history of religions. Starting in the early 1980s Culianu
was adopted in the 1980s as his most faithful disciple. Eliade
became more and more interested in different aspects of
and Culianu published together The Eliade Guide to World
Gnosticism, yet he equally improved his skill in divergent
Religions (1991), which was translated into various lan-
disciplines like anthropology, cognitive science, literary criti-
guages, but despite its title, the project and the writing of this
cism, and contemporary culture.
manual was entirely due to Culianu. The fourth and last vol-
Arguably the most important turning point in Culianu’s
ume of Eliade’s A History of Religious Ideas was edited and
academic career was his departure for the United States 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
2080
CULIANU, IOAN PETRU
1986. There he first worked as a fellow and then as an asso-
lection of Culianu’s books began publication in Romanian
ciate professor at the University of Chicago’s Divinity
by Bucharest’s Nemira Publishing House and in Ia¸si by Poli-
School. He adopted a fresh approach to the study of different
rom; the latter editorial project aimed to present about forty
variants of Gnosticism, aiming to trace in his books on West-
volumes containing Culianu’s collected papers translated
ern dualisms (the two editions of which are different from
into Romanian, of which fifteen have been published, in-
one another) the different types of Gnostic exegesis applied
cluding Culianu’s minor writings edited and introduced by
to the first paragraphs of the Book of Genesis, from the early
Antohi, Culianu’s contributions to the Encyclopedia of Reli-
Gnostics to some contemporary Gnostic-fashioned thinkers
gion and other encyclopedias, edited by Eduard Irinischi, and
and artists. By classifying all the types of exegesis and all the
the Eliade-Culianu corpus of correspondence, edited by
possible combinations between the models adopted through
Tereza Culianu-Petrescu and Dan Petrescu. These new vol-
the ages by the Gnostics, Culianu revealed the neglected par-
umes better expressed Culianu’s solidarity with and, later,
allel history of Christian dogmatic interpretation and their
important divergences from, his Romanian master, as well
religious and mythological patterns. The discovery of invari-
as the difficulty in assuming the scholarly heritage of Eliade.
ants along two millennia in religious and secular paradigms
The Ioan Petru Culianu Lectures on Religion, delivered by
concerning the exegesis of Genesis showed Culianu deter-
major scholars in the field, were established at the Central
mined to engage a new type of approach to cognitive studies.
European University of Budapest, also through the effort of
In 1990 he founded, with the aim of combining historical
Sorin Antohi.
and philological scholarship with the epistemology of cogni-
SEE ALSO Eliade, Mircea.
tive studies, an international journal, Incognita, which did
not survive after his premature death (only the first four vol-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
umes appeared in 1990 and 1991). Culianu’s last writings
Culianu, Ioan Petru. Mircea Eliade. Assisi, Italy, 1978.
include discussion on the hypothesis of determining the na-
Culianu, Ioan Petru. Iter in silvis: Saggi scelti sulla gnosi e altri studi.
ture of religion as a mind game. In Out of This World: Other-
Messina, Italy, 1981.
Worldly Journeys from Gilgamesh to Albert Einstein, his last
book (published posthumously), he convincingly combined
Culianu, Ioan Petru. “Religione e accrescimento del potere.” In
Religione e potere, edited by Gianpaolo Romanato, Mario
fresh enquiries on the major transcendent journeys in the
Lombardo, and Ioan Petru Culianu, pp. 173–252. Turin,
mythologies from the ancient Middle Eastern civilization to
1981.
China with the epistemological speculation about the fourth
Culianu, Ioan Petru. Psychanodia. Leiden, 1983.
dimension. In this research, sustained by a brilliant capacity
of attracting the attention of different types of readers, Culi-
Culianu, Ioan Petru. Éros et magie à la Renaissance, 1484. Paris,
1984. American ed., Eros and Magic in the Renaissance.
anu met some of the current hermeneutical paradigms in
Translated by Margaret Cook. Chicago, 1987.
Italy, France, and the United States, aiming like his mentor
Eliade to conceive the history of religions as a total discipline,
Culianu, Ioan Petru. Expériences de l’extase: Extase, ascension et récit
visionnaire, de l’héllenisme au Moyen Age. Paris, 1984.
capable of interacting with a huge constellation of other dis-
ciplines and methods of enquiry.
Culianu, Ioan Petru. Gnosticismo e pensiero moderno: Hans Jonas.
Rome, 1985.
The wide range of topics and academic skills Culianu
Culianu, Ioan Petru. I miti dei dualismi occidentali. Milan, 1989.
expressed from his very youth to his death were the subject
French ed., Les gnoses dualistes de l’Occident: Histoire et myths.
of internationally acclaimed exegesis. All his major books are
Paris, 1990.
accessible in English translation, and many of them have
Culianu, Ioan Petru. Dictionnaire des religions. With Mircea
been translated into German, Italian, and other languages.
Eliade, in association with H. S. Wiesner, Paris, 1990. En-
Meanwhile some work of his last period pertaining to the in-
glish ed., The Eliade Guide to World Religions. San Francisco,
troduction of cognitive sciences’ methods into the frame of
1991.
religious studies was sometimes criticized. The Tree of Gnosis:
Culianu, Ioan Petru. Out of This World: Other-Worldly Journeys
Gnostic Mythology from Early Christianity to Modern Nihilism
from Gilgamesh to Albert Einstein. Boston, 1991.
(1992) is probably his masterpiece, but one can only guess
Culianu, Ioan Petru. The Tree of Gnosis: Gnostic Mythology from
the developments Culianu aimed to pursue. Because of his
Early Christianity to Modern Nihilism. San Francisco, 1992.
untimely death he was not able to accomplish several
Culianu, Ioan Petru. Paˇcatul împotriva spiritului: Scrieri politice
planned works, such as A History of Magic and an essay on
(The sin against the Holy Spirit: Political writings). Bucha-
Raimundus Llullus’s ars combinatoria. His scholarly posterity
rest, 1999. Contains political articles from 1989 to 1991,
remains vivid, as can be appreciated through the two-volume
first published in New York.
Gedenkschrift edited ten years after his death by Sorin Anto-
Culianu, Ioan Petru. Studii române¸sti I: Fantasmele nihilismului;
hi, a Romanian historian of ideas, including more than forty
Secretul doctorului Eliade. Bucharest, 2000. Translated by
scholarly and biographical contributions from Italy, Roma-
Corina Popescu and Dan Petrescu as Romanian Studies I:
nia, and the United States (Religion, Fiction, and History: Es-
The Phantasm of Nihilism; The Secret of Dr. Eliade.
says in Memory of Ioan Petru Culianu, 2001). A subsequent
Culianu, Ioan Petru. Jocurile min¸tii. Istoria ideilor, teoria culturii,
Romanian edition was published in 2003. After 2000 a col-
epistemologie (Mind games: History of ideas, theory of cul-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CULT OF SAINTS
2081
ture, epistemology). Edited by Mona Antohi and Sorin An-
ation of the victims of persecution. The earliest forms of this
tohi. Ia¸si, Romania, 2002.
veneration were part of the traditional funerary memoria of
Culianu, Ioan Petru. Iocari serio. (Science and art in Renaissance
the dead. The inclusion of the names of martyrs in the litur-
thought). Translated by Maria-Magdalena Anghelescu and
gies of early Christian communities and the earliest celebra-
Dan Petrescu. Ia¸si, Romania, 2003.
tions of the anniversaries of martyrs, often observed at their
Culianu, Ioan Petru. Cult, magie, erezii. Articole din enciclopedii
tombs, rapidly gave rise to specific cults that went far beyond
ale religiilor. Translated by M. M. Anghelescu and D.
mere commemoration of the dead. The practice of petitions
Petrescu. Ia¸si, Romania, 2003. Includes a postscript by Edo-
addressed to martyrs on behalf of the living arose out of the
uard Irinischi about the Eliade-Culianu relationship in the
belief in the communion of saints, the resurrection of the
making of the Encyclopedia of Religion, including useful pre-
body, and the high status accorded those who had died for
viously unpublished material from Eliade’s archives.
the faith, and who, through their remains, remained physi-
Culianu, Ioan Petru. Dialoguri Întrerupte. Corespond¸ta˘ Mircea
cally present among the living. The acceptance of the inter-
Eliade–Ioan Petru Culianu. Edited by Tereza Culianu-
cessory role of the martyrs can be seen as early as the Passion
Petrescu and Dan Petrescu. Ia¸si, Romania, 2003. Contains
of Saint Perpetua (early third century).
revelations concerning their relationship, 1972–1986, and
for the historiography of the history of religions.
Although the martyr epitomized the ideal type of saint
Eliade, Mircea. Geschichte der religiösen Ideen. Vol. 3, pt. 2. Edited
for centuries, the end of the period of persecution (early
by Ioan Petru Culianu. Freiburg, Germany, 1990.
fourth century) brought with it a new concept of sanctity:
Fiction
namely, that those persons who lived lives of constant self-
Culianu, Ioan Petru. La collezione di smeraldi. Milan, 1989.
martyrdom and extraordinary virtue—had there been perse-
Culianu, Ioan Petru. Hesperus. Bucharest, 1992.
cutions they too would have been martyrs—were also worthy
Culianu, Ioan Petru. Pergamentul diafan. Bucharest, 1992.
of veneration. Increasingly, first in Syria but then throughout
Culianu, Ioan Petru. Arta fugii: Povestiri (The art of fugue: Short
Christendom, persons living lives of extraordinary asceticism
stories). Ia¸si, Romania, 2002.
were venerated as sancti (holy persons). Sancti were thought
capable of exerting hidden supernatural powers through mir-
Works on Ioan Petru Culianu
acles and, as an extension of this, powers within human soci-
Antohi, Sorin, ed. Religion, Fiction, and History: Essays in Memory
of Ioan Petru Culianu. 2 vols. Bucharest, 2001.
ety. Thus, sancti functioned as mediators among local groups
and between local communities and regional and central
Antohi, Sorin, ed. Ioan Petru Culianu: Omul ¸si opera (The man
and the works). Iasi, Romania, 2003.
powers. The sort of human and supernatural patronage that
these individuals provided was thought to continue at the
Anton, Ted. “The Killing of Professor Culianu.” Lingua Franca,
September–October, 1992.
site of their tombs after they had died. The bodies were pre-
served and honored as pledges (Lat., pignora) of their contin-
Anton, Ted. Eros, Magic, and the Murder of Professor Culianu. Ev-
ued interest in the living. The sorts of veneration accorded
anston, Ill., 1996.
to them—vows, petitions for cures and other miracles, incu-
Casadio, Giovanni. “Ricordo di Ioan Petru Culianu (1950–
bation at their tombs, and offerings of goods and specie to
1991).” Religioni e società 8 (1993): 85–92. Republished with
minor changes in Manichean Studies Newsletter, 1993,
the clerics who had charge of their tombs—closely resembled
pp. 4–15.
the practices associated with pre-Christian pagan cults, such
as that of Asklepios.
Casadio, Giovanni. “Ioan Petru Culianu ou la contradiction.”
Archævs 5 (2001): 15–24.
The initial cult of saints was focused on their tombs, but
Casadio, Giovanni. “Ioan Petru Culianu, ovvero la storia delle re-
the increasing demand for cult objects in the fourth century
ligioni come vita e come arte.” Archævs 6 (2002): 313–324.
led, in the eastern part of the empire, to the practice of mov-
Eco, Umberto. “Murder in Chicago.” New York Times Review of
ing bodies of saints to new locations, although such transla-
Books (April 10, 1997).
tions and the practice of dismembering bodies and distribut-
Idel, Moshe. “Ioan Petru Culianu.” Archævs 5 (2001): 11–14.
ing the various parts as relics were against Roman law. Along
Marchianò, Grazia. “Un uomo per altre latitudini: Ioan Petru
with the veneration of saints through their corporeal re-
Culianu.” In Estetica 1993: Oriente e Occidente, edited by
mains, a cult of saints focusing on their images, or icons, de-
Stefano Zecchi. Bologna, 1993.
veloped in the East. This cult, apparently encouraged by em-
Marchianò, Grazia. “I primi dieci anni postumi di Culianu: Con-
perors as an extension and reinforcement of the secular cult
getture su un pensiero fermato.” Archævs 5 (2001): 7–10.
of the emperor’s image, survived the violent iconoclastic at-
Zolla, Elémire. Ioan Petru Culianu. Turin, 1994. Reprinted in E.
tacks of the seventh and eighth centuries and became a major
Zolla, La filosofia perenne, Milan, 1999, pp. 179–205.
aspect of Eastern Christianity.
EUGEN CIURTIN (2005)
In the West, the cult of saints was more conservative
and, throughout the eighth century, continued to focus on
the tombs of martyrs and early confessors. Nevertheless, ob-
CULT OF SAINTS. The cult of saints in the early
jects that had been in physical proximity to saints’ tombs
Christian church began with the commemoration and vener-
were distributed as relics, particularly by the bishops of
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CULT OF SAINTS
Rome, who gained much of their prestige from controlling
of the region in which their remains were found resulted in
large quantities of remains of Roman martyrs. Relics of the
the advent of pilgrimages made on principal feast days as well
saints played a major role in the Christianization of the West
as at other times in the fulfillment of individual vows. The
because the relics were offered to new converts to replace
need to accommodate numbers of pilgrims without disrupt-
their pagan gods. The locations where bodies or relics were
ing the regular liturgical life of the church led to the develop-
found became primary sites for contact between the human
ment of the characteristic pilgrimage church, with its raised
and divine worlds and formed the basis for the reorganiza-
crypt and wide ambulatories allowing the faithful to reach
tion of sacred geography. While the classical world had em-
the saint’s tomb or shrine without disturbing the liturgical
phasized the sacrality of urban space and considered extraur-
life of the community.
ban cemeteries unclean, the Christian cult of martyrs and
saints gave priority to the suburban cemeteries at the expense
During the tenth century the popularity of three-
of the city.
dimensional images of saints began to increase, particularly
in the south of France. These statues, which were not un-
Churchmen such as Pope Gregory the Great (d. 604)
known earlier and probably developed from statue reli-
and the bishop Gregory of Tours (d. 594), both of whom
quaries, became increasingly important during the twelfth
sought to establish indigenous Christian traditions, attempt-
century, when expanded contact with the Near East and im-
ed to anchor the cult of saints within the control of the hier-
proved internal communication and centralization contrib-
archy by deemphasizing living saints, who were, after all, dif-
uted to the growth of the cults of more international saints,
ficult to regulate, in favor of the dead and by writing lives
particularly the Virgin and the apostles of Christ. Although
of Western martyrs and confessors. In these lives and in early
relics of the saints maintained their importance, miraculous
medieval hagiography (literature dealing with saints)—
statues and paintings, particularly in Italy during the later
which included not only passiones (“accounts of martyr-
Middle Ages, became the focus of devotions.
dom”) but vitae (“lives”), libri miraculorum (“books of mira-
cles”), and translations (“accounts of translations”)—saints
Some saints’ cults, such as those of the martyrs in Rome,
were largely presented as members of social elites elected be-
the cult of Saint James in Compostela, and the cult of Saint
fore birth as instruments of divine power. The social roles
Foy (Faith) in Conques, became international in their ap-
of such saints were severely limited: aside from the early mar-
peal. Most cults, however, were primarily local and regional.
tyrs, the men were normally bishops or monks and the
Consequently, competition between cults of different saints
women were almost without exception members of religious
and between different cult locations for the same saint could
orders who had spent their lives in the cloister. The saints’
be fierce. Beginning in the twelfth century devotion to exclu-
lives and the promotion of their cults, particularly those of
sively local saints gave way to more individual or group
Merovingian saints written in the seventh century, were
choices of patrons as both laity and religious chose specific
often closely related to the efforts of aristocratic relatives to
patrons for their activities and organizations. Devotion to
establish a sacred heritage on which to base their claims of
particular patrons became an integral aspect of solidarity and
lordship. Thus saints were presented less as models of the
identity in religious orders and communities, lay fraternities,
Christian life than as evidence of supernatural power.
craft and trade guilds, communes, and nascent states. In ad-
dition, specific saints became identified with specific types
Threats to Rome by the Lombards in the mid-eighth
of miracles and thus were sought for specialized assistance.
century led popes to translate the remains of many martyrs
into the city from the undefended catacombs. The Franco-
The competition among cults, as well as the concern of
papal political and cultural alliances of the following century
secular and religious authorities over the proper identifica-
resulted in an unprecedented number of translations—both
tion and recognition of saints, led in the course of the later
sanctioned and illicit—of saints from Rome, Spain, and
Middle Ages to an increasingly formal means of authentica-
Gaul to the northern and eastern territories of the Frankish
tion of saints. Prior to the ninth century the process had been
empire.
extremely informal: the existence of a popular cult among the
faithful was usually seen as proof of sanctity. Starting in the
The demand for the remains of the saints for the pur-
ninth century, however, church synods insisted that no new
pose of promoting Christianity was enormously important
or previously unknown saints could be venerated unless their
in the subsequent development of medieval religion. In the
sanctity was proved by the authenticity of their lives and mir-
ninth through eleventh centuries Roman martyrs and local
acles. The determination of authenticity was the responsibili-
saints, who were often deemed responsible for the evangeliza-
ty of the local bishop; recognition meant the inclusion of the
tion of specific regions, were the focus of much of religious
saint’s name and feast day (usually the traditional anniversary
life. Veneration centered on the tombs of the saints, usually
of his or her death) in the liturgical calendar of the diocese.
buried under the sanctuary of a church. Access to these
As of the tenth century local groups increasingly sought the
tombs was controlled by the clergy of the church, frequently
inclusion of the saint’s feast in the Roman calendar as well,
monks or canons, who were responsible for the celebration
and in time this led to the customary request that the pope
of the liturgy of the saints and direction of the cult. The im-
recognize the saint’s cult with a solemn canonization. With
portance of saints as miracle workers, patrons, and protectors
the growth of papal centralization, this practice became more
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CULT OF SAINTS
2083
formalized, and from the time of the pontificate of Innocent
prayers to them, and veneration of their relics are all ulti-
III (1198–1216), the right of canonization has been reserved
mately directed to Christ. The reality of several of the specific
to the pope. This did not, however, change the primary role
cults of saints, however, was often at great variance with this
of the faithful in the development of the actual cult. On the
official position, and throughout the Middle Ages orthodox
contrary, the role of the faithful was of the utmost impor-
reformers occasionally objected to excesses or deviations
tance: without an existing cult and evidence of post mortem
from the official stance. From the late twelfth century on,
miracles, no individual, no matter how exemplary his or her
radical reformers, such as Pierre Valdès, founder of the Wal-
life, could be canonized. Because of the enormous expense,
densians, went still further by rejecting the intercessory role
political negotiations, and investment of time necessary to
of saints, thereby denying the validity of the cult. Sixteenth-
effect a papal canonization, very few of the hundreds of per-
century reformers, especially John Calvin, were even more
sons who were the objects of cults were ever actually canon-
forceful in rejecting the mediatory role of saints and con-
ized, and those who were tended to be members of princely
demning the cult of relics and images as idolatry. Despite
or aristocratic families or important religious orders who
these oppositions, the cult of saints, especially that of the Vir-
could organize, finance, and sustain the canonization
gin, has continued to play an important role within the
process.
Catholic tradition, particularly in southern Europe and in
Latin America, where the cult of Christian saints has merged
The intervention of the papacy in the recognition of
with indigenous and African cults in a process similar to that
saints as well as the social and economic transformations of
which took place in Europe in late antiquity.
the later Middle Ages prompted a change in the popular
image of saints. From the thirteenth century on, more em-
SEE ALSO Asklepios; Iconoclasm; Icons; Persecution, article
phasis was placed on the quality of life of the individual as
on Christian Experience; Pilgrimage, articles on Eastern
an imitation of the life of Christ than on miracles. The spec-
Christian Pilgrimage, Roman Catholic Pilgrimage in Eu-
trum of social backgrounds from which the venerated men
rope, and Roman Catholic Pilgrimage in the New World.
and women came was also greatly broadened. Under the in-
fluence of mendicant spirituality there were more saints from
BIBLIOGRAPHY
the bourgeoisie, more women who had active roles outside
the cloister, and more laity who were seen to have achieved
Peter Brown’s The Cult of the Saints: Its Rise and Function in Latin
Christianity (Chicago, 1981) is a brief, interpretative intro-
sanctity.
duction to the cult of saints in late antiquity. More special-
Throughout the late Middle Ages there existed a broad
ized are his articles on saints and holy men in his Society and
consensus on both the existence of a sort of sensorial code
the Holy in Late Antiquity (Berkeley, 1982). Ernst Kitzinger’s
“The Cult of Images in the Age before Iconoclasm,” Dum-
by which one could recognize special servants of God and
barton Oaks Papers 8 (1954): 83–150, reprinted in his The
on a belief in the saint’s ability to intervene in all areas of
Art of Byzantium and the Medieval West (Bloomington, Ind.,
human need. However, from the twelfth century on, a wid-
1976), pp. 90–156, remains a fundamental introduction to
ening gulf separated the mental structures of the laity and the
the development of the cult of icons by a leading art histori-
majority of the clergy from the university-trained elite. In the
an. In Frantisek Graus’s Volk, Herrscher und Heiliger im Reich
later Middle Ages three groups of persons developed who
der Merowinger: Studien zur Hagiographie der Merowingerzeit
were accorded sanctity based both on geography and social
(Prague, 1965), the important Czech historian provides a
position. According to André Vauchez (1981), the popular
classic study of the place of saints and hagiography in early
saints were the first group. Venerated primarily in rural
medieval society. For the later, Carolingian, period, Joseph-
areas—generally in northern Europe—they were the closest
Claude Poulin’s L’idéal de sainteté dans l’Aquitaine carolin-
to the archaic type of saint: persons who, regardless of life
gienne d’après les sources hagiographiques, 750–950 (Quebec,
1975) examines the changing values of society as reflected in
and piety, met violent and undeserved deaths. The second
the cult of saints.
group, local saints, varied according to region. In northern
Europe they were, as in the early Middle Ages, persons of
Three recent studies have examined the cult of saints in the later
high rank whose bodies produced miracles. In the Mediterra-
Middle Ages in relation to changing social forms and spiritu-
nean world, the local saints were most often persons who had
al values. Michael Goodich’s Vita Perfecta: The Ideal of Saint-
hood in the Thirteenth Century (Stuttgart, 1982) presents a
renounced a normal existence for voluntary asceticism, pov-
computer-assisted prosopographical analysis of thirteenth-
erty, and chastity. The third group of saints most closely re-
century saints as an ideal cultural type. Donald Weinstein
sembled the type of saints whose cults were promoted by the
and Rudolph M. Bell, in their Saints and Society: The Two
official church.
Worlds of Western Christendom, 1000–1700 (Chicago, 1982),
examine saints between 1000 and 1700 in order to under-
The official teaching concerning the communion of the
stand the transformation of late medieval and early modern
saints, the efficacy of the saints as intercessors and, thus, the
piety. The most important of the three is that of André Vau-
validity of the cult of saints, has always insisted that whereas
chez, La sainteté en Occident au derniers siècles du Moyen-Âge
saints may be the object of veneration (Gr., dulia), they must
d’après les proces de canonisation et les documents hagio-
never be the object of adoration (Gr., latria). Since the vir-
graphiques (Rome, 1981). This magisterial examination of
tues of the saints are the virtues of Christ, praise of the saints,
the cult of saints in the later Middle Ages is essential for un-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
2084
CULTS AND SECTS
derstanding the interplay of social, religious, political, and
is typically hostile or indifferent to the larger society and that
cultural factors in the cult of saints.
may criticize churches as being “this-worldly.” Sects prefer
A number of recent anthologies have collected important articles
to remain poor and comparatively small rather than compro-
on saints from specialized journals. The most significant of
mise their integrity. Sects, however, may eventually evolve
these are Agiografia altomedievale, edited by Sofia Boesch Ga-
into churches and move toward the mainstream, being re-
jano (Bologna, 1976), and Saints and Their Cults: Studies in
placed at the margins of the religious field by new sects. This
Religious Sociology, Folklore and History, edited by Stephen
happens less often, according to Troeltsch, with mysticism,
Wilson (Cambridge, U.K., 1983). The latter is particularly
which is less structured and organized, and survives as a sum
valuable for its rich annotated bibliography on all aspects of
of individual experiences.
saints and hagiography both Christian and non-Christian.
Troeltsch’s typology remained influential in the sociolo-
New Sources
gy of religion until World War II. It was revised and refined
Blumenfeld-Kosinski, Renate, and Timea Szell, eds. Images of
Sainthood in Medieval Europe. Ithaca, N.Y., 1991.
in the 1940s and 1950s by J. Milton Yinger, who made fur-
ther distinctions within the descriptions of both sects and
Crook, John. The Architectural Setting of the Cult of Saints in the
churches. Yinger distinguished between “established sects,”
Early Christian West. Oxford and New York, 2000.
“sects,” and “cults.” The latter are small groups of believers
Howard-Johnston, James, and Paul Antony Hayward, eds. The
sharing a religious experience but not yet organized into a
Cult of Saints in Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages: Essays
structure. While some cults eventually disappear, others, ac-
on the Contributions of Peter Brown. Oxford and New York,
cording to Yinger, become sects, which he defined as reli-
1999.
gious organizations mostly made up of first-generation con-
Rollason, David W. Saints and Relics in Anglo-Saxon England. Ox-
verts and existing in a significant degree of tension with the
ford and Cambridge, Mass., 1989.
larger society. When second- and third-generation members
Thacker, Alan, and Richard Sharpe, eds. Local Saints and Local
appear, the sect moves to the stage of “established sect,” a
Churches in the Early Medieval West. Oxford and New York,
transitional position between the Troeltschian types of sect
2002.
and church. What really differentiates sects from churches
is, according to Yinger, “universalism.” A sect, even an estab-
PATRICK J. GEARY (1987)
Revised Bibliography
lished sect, does not (yet) regard itself as universal. It only
tries to organize a limited group of members. A “denomina-
tion” represents the first stage of the transformation of a sect
into a church, because it at least proclaims a universal goal,
CULTS AND SECTS. The terms cult and sect are re-
although in fact it is not able to pursue it. “Ecclesiae”
garded as stereotype-loaded terms that are associated with
(churches) are more universal than denominations, but only
new or unpopular religious movements, and these terms are
“universal churches” are churches in the fullest sense of the
thus mostly avoided by scholars. They are, however, widely
word, having achieved their universal goal in practice and
used by the media and by groups (especially so-called anticult
not only in theory. Although within Christianity only the
groups) that perceive certain new religious movements as ob-
Roman Catholic Church is, according to Yinger, a universal
jectionable and dangerous. In contemporary English, cult
church, theoretically every cult can eventually pass through
functions as the derogatory word, with sect reserved for less
the various stages and become a church.
controversial groups. In French, German, Spanish, and Ital-
ian, the derogatory word is the local equivalent of sect, and
Troeltsch and Yinger clearly had in mind Christianity,
the word cult is rarely used. Some dictionaries now translate
and Christianity only. After World War II, the media often
the French secte and similar non-English words with cult
described as sects and cults movements that were not Chris-
rather than with sect. Originally, however, the English cult
tian but derived from Hinduism, Buddhism, or the occult
and sect were nonpejorative, scholarly terms. Some earlier
tradition. Some sociologists, such as Bryan R. Wilson, tried
uses of sect and cult in sociology will be reviewed before dis-
to redefine sect as a word not necessarily connected to Chris-
cussing the current derogatory uses of these terms.
tianity. In Wilson’s view, the sect may be defined by its goal,
which is both more and less ambitious than the typical goal
FROM TROELTSCH TO STARK AND BAINBRIDGE. Ernst Tr-
of a mainstream church. A sect, unlike a church, does not
oeltsch (1865–1923), a German theologian and sociologist,
aspire to be recognized by the state as an institution, nor as
elaborated in the early twentieth century an influential dis-
part of the organizational fabric of society. On the other
tinction between churches, sects, and mysticism. Churches,
hand, it wants to deeply change the life of its members, and
according to Troeltsch, are religious groups well integrated
will occasionally claim that this change will result eventually
into the larger society. A typical mark of this integration is
in a revolutionary change of society itself. These goals may
the fact that most members are born into churches, rather
be pursued inside or outside Christianity.
than converted to them. Coming to conclusions similar to
those of Max Weber (1864–1920), Troeltsch saw the sect as
The latest influential sociological statement of the dif-
a religious movement where most members are first-
ferences between church, sect, and cult was included in The
generation converts. Troeltsch’s “sect” refers to a group that
Future of Religion: Secularization, Revival, and Cult Forma-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CULTS AND SECTS
2085
tion (1985) by American sociologists Rodney Stark and Wil-
THE ANTICULT MOVEMENT. For the anticult movement, the
liam Sims Bainbridge. A church is defined (following Tr-
distinction is simple. Religions and churches are joined out
oeltsch) as a religious group that accepts, and cooperates
of free will. Cults and sects (the distinction between the two
with, the dominant social milieu, while a sect is a religious
being somewhat blurred) use mind control, or “brainwash-
group in a situation of tension or hostility with respect to the
ing,” in order to attract members and keep them within the
social mainstream. However, the same group may be regard-
fold. Although only a tiny minority of academic scholars
ed at the same time as a sect in one country and a church
throughout the world would take this distinction seriously,
in another. A sect is by definition a group that exhibits some
it has been used in parliamentary reports and laws (particu-
degree of deviance while remaining within a tradition per-
larly in Europe) and is still widely quoted by the news media.
ceived as nondeviant in a given society. According to this def-
Prominent in the campaign to promote brainwashing
inition, Jehovah’s Witnesses are a sect because they are per-
theories in reference to new religious movements was Marga-
ceived as deviant by mainstream Christianity, yet remain
ret Thaler Singer (1921–2003), a clinical psychologist who
within a (heterodox) Christian tradition that is not perceived
was an adjunct professor at the University of California,
as deviant per se in the West. While sects, though deviant,
Berkeley. She often appeared in court cases and, in a sense,
remain within a nondeviant tradition, cults are perceived as
invented a new profession as a psychologist in the service of
both deviant and as belonging to a deviant tradition. For ex-
anticult lawsuits and initiatives. Based on the brainwashing
ample, Western members of the International Society for
arguments, private vigilantes started kidnapping adult mem-
Krishna Consciousness, popularly known as the Hare Krish-
bers of new religious movements on behalf of their families,
nas, are regarded as belonging to a cult rather than a sect be-
then subjected them to a sort of “counterbrainwashing” tech-
cause not only are they perceived as deviant, but the Hindu
nique, which they called deprogramming. The largest organi-
tradition itself is perceived as deviant and nonmainstream by
zation of the American anticult movement, the Cult Aware-
the general public in the West.
ness Network, was often accused of referring families to
Stark and Bainbridge also proposed a vertical model dis-
deprogrammers, although courts were initially tolerant of the
tinguishing between “audience cults,” “client cults,” and
practice.
“cult movements.” Audience cults are non-organized (much
Criticism of the brainwashing model was offered by the
as Troeltsch’s mysticism was) and include the following of
American Sociological Association and the American Psy-
a popular author or lecturer. Their “members” may pray or
chological Association, as well as by several prominent schol-
meditate in a common way, but they do not feel the need
ars of new religious movements. Scholarly criticism eventual-
to organize. Client cults are more organized, since they in-
ly reversed the trend toward belief in brainwashing in U.S.
clude the “clients” of a religious leader or group of leaders,
courts, starting in the U.S. District Court for the Northern
who sell services (courses or rituals) on a regular basis, and
District of California in United States v. Fishman (1990).
who would like to keep their client constituency through
Some later decisions deviated in varying degrees from Fish-
some sort of organization. Only cult movements are full-
man, so this ruling did not spell out once and for all the death
blown religious movements, where the permanent organiza-
of the brainwashing theory. Nevertheless, an important pre-
tion is more important than the transitional leader-client re-
cedent had been set in the United States that later triggered
lationship.
a chain of events which led to the end of deprogramming and
Eventually, Stark, Bainbridge, and Wilson all recog-
even of the largest American anticult organization, the Cult
Awareness Network. Caught in the act of referring a family
nized that cult and sect were becoming ambiguous labels and
to deprogrammers, the Cult Awareness Network was sen-
should preferably be avoided. Sociologists may use them in
tenced to such a heavy fine that it was forced to file for bank-
a purely neutral, Troeltschian way, without implying that
ruptcy. In 1996 the court-appointed trustee-in-bankruptcy
cults or sects are morally or socially “evil,” or less acceptable
sold by auction the organization’s files, name, and logo to
than “genuine” religions. However, since the media, begin-
a coalition of religious liberty activists led by Church of
ning in the 1970s, were using the words cult and sect to mean
Scientology members.
dangerous or even criminal religious organizations, most so-
ciologists and historians of religion eventually accepted the
Although the brainwashing theory lost its momentum
proposal by Eileen Barker to use new religious movement as
in U.S. courts in the 1990s, the suicides and homicides asso-
a value-free, nonderogatory substitute for sect or cult. The
ciated with the Temple Solaire in Switzerland and France in
term new religions had already been introduced by various
1994 and 1995 gave the theory new impetus in Europe,
authors, but had gained more acceptance in literature written
where it influenced parliamentary reports (largely unaware
in French rather than in English. Although there are prob-
of the complicated history of the U.S. controversy) and even
lems with the concept of “new religious movement,” a large
resulted in a controversial amendment to the French crimi-
majority of scholars follow Barker’s suggestion, and the small
nal code in 2001. Paradoxically, although the concept of
minority of academics still using sect or cult is in fact making
brainwashing was used during the Cold War in American an-
an implicit statement of sympathy with the goals of the an-
ticommunist propaganda targeting Chinese Communists,
ticult movement.
the ideology of brainwashing was used in the People’s Re-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
2086
CULTS OF AFFLICTION
public of China beginning in 1999 to distinguish between
Yinger, J. Milton. The Scientific Study of Religion. London, 1970.
“evil cults” and legitimate “religions” in a campaign that ini-
A final word by Yinger on the notion of sect, taking into ac-
tially targeted Falun Gong, but was extended to several un-
count later controversies.
derground Christian organizations. The same rationale was
MASSIMO INTROVIGNE (2005)
applied by the French government’s several attempts to pre-
vent “cults” such as the Church of Scientology from operat-
ing in France, starting from a parliamentary report published
in 1996. In the United States, notwithstanding the prevail-
CULTS OF AFFLICTION SEE AFFLICTION,
ing attitude of the courts against the theory of brainwashing,
ARTICLE ON AFRICAN CULTS OF AFFLICTION
brainwashing metaphors were widely used by the media to
provide a quick explanation for why such groups as the
Branch Davidians and even al-Qa¯Eidah should be seen as
CULTURE. In its most basic sense, culture is that por-
cults rather than religions.
tion or aspect of thought and behavior that is learned and
Although only a handful of academics accept them, dis-
capable of being taught to others. Culture includes customs
tinctions between legitimate “religions” and dangerous
and worldviews that provide a mental model of reality and
“cults” and “sects” remain popular in some European politi-
a guide for appropriate and moral action. Languages are cul-
cal milieus and in the media, while acquiring a new currency
tural in that they are learned symbolic information sets and
to explain suicide terrorism in the wake of the events of Sep-
are one of the most important means of encoding ideas and
tember 11, 2001.
knowledge for memory and communication. All religions are
S
cultural and all forms of spirituality exist within broader tra-
EE ALSO Anticult Movements; Brainwashing (Debate); De-
programming; New Religious Movements, articles on Histo-
ditions or cultures.
ry of Study, New Religious Movements in Europe, New
Culture becomes widely communicated and shared in
Religious Movements in Japan; New Religious Movements
social groups, and it serves as a foundation for general agree-
in Latin America, New Religious Movements in the United
ment and common acceptance of certain principles and per-
States, and Scriptures of New Religious Movements; Tem-
ceptions as valid, normal, and natural. In this way, the influ-
ple Solaire.
ences on culture are often masked and it is not automatically
apparent that one’s own views and beliefs are not simply ac-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
curate apprehensions of reality, but are, in fact, artificial and,
Anthony, Dick Lee. “Brainwashing and Totalitarian Influence:
to a degree, arbitrary. Because of this characteristic, culture
An Exploration of Admissibility Criteria for Testimony in
can be difficult to study, either in oneself or in others. Habit-
Brainwashing Trials.” Ph.D. diss., University of California,
Berkeley, 1996. The key criticism of the distinction between
ual use makes the cultural lenses that one continually wears
religions and cults based on brainwashing.
disappear from awareness, so that what is seen falsely seems
to be objective truth.
Barker, Eileen. The Making of a Moonie: Choice or Brainwashing?
Oxford, 1984. A case study showing that, in the case of the
In observing foreign peoples and ways of life through
Reverend Sun Myung Moon’s Unification Church, distinc-
one’s own cultural lenses, people tend to automatically judge
tions between cults and religions are not easy to apply.
others—insofar as their ways are different from one’s own—
Introvigne, Massimo. Il lavaggio del cervello: Realtà o mito? Turin,
as erroneous and inferior. At the same time, adherents to
Italy, 2003. A summary of controversies about the idea of
other traditions or cultures tend to look upon their customs
cults.
and beliefs using their own cultural assumptions, and they
Stark, Rodney, and William Sims Bainbridge. The Future of Reli-
can misinterpret and judge both thought and action accord-
gion: Secularization, Revival, and Cult Formation. Berkeley,
ing to foreign standards. This natural human tendency is
Calif., 1985. An early sociological attempt to define the no-
known as ethnocentrism, which is a major barrier to under-
tion of cult.
standing other ways of life and value systems. Ethnocentrism
Troeltsch, Ernst. The Social Teaching of the Christian Churches. 2
is overcome through cultural relativism, an approach in
vols. Translated by Olive Wyon. New York, 1931. An early
which judgment is withheld in a measured fashion in an at-
seminal work about the notion of sect.
tempt to understand another people’s way of life according
Wilson, Bryan R. Religious Sects: A Sociological Study. Englewood
to their own perspectives. Once an empathetic understand-
Cliffs, N.J., 1970. Proposes a definition, and a typology, of
ing is reached, one can begin to compare cultures more accu-
sects.
rately according to some external scientific or humanistic
Yinger, J. Milton. Religion in the Struggle for Power: A Study in the
standard, in order to discern patterns or make general-
Sociology of Religion. Durham, N.C., 1946. A further work
izations.
in the course of the definitional history of the term sect.
Yinger, J. Milton. Religion, Society, and the Individual: An Intro-
Culture is normally contrasted with instinctual modes
duction to the Sociology of Religion. New York, 1957. Further
of thought and behavior that are not learned, but rather are
comments by Yinger on the differences between sects and re-
genetically inherited. While the distinction between biologi-
ligions.
cal and cultural inputs is heuristically useful and, indeed,
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CULTURE
2087
necessary for an understanding of human emotion, cogni-
to discuss and model the great variety of ways of thinking
tion, motor behavior, social interaction, and institutions,
and living that different groups and societies around the
culture does not exist independently of biologically inherited
world display. This is nowhere more clear than in the study
characteristics, including instinctual drives and behaviors.
of religion, which has revealed both great diversity and re-
While some behaviors appear to be almost entirely instinctu-
markable similarities in the many religious traditions of the
al (such as an infant’s innate ability to suck) as a rule, both
world. Contemporary social scientists would agree that dif-
biology and culture are implicated in most mental and motor
ferences between religions are differences of culture, though
behavior. This can be seen, for example, in food preferences.
some would use different terms. For this reason, the study
The biological need for nourishment is culturally elaborated
of culture must be central to understanding religion as a
in the great variation in which particular foods are preferred,
human phenomenon.
such that any two peoples may find each other’s delicacies
H
unpalatable. These differences, while partly attributable to
ISTORY OF THE CONCEPT. In its earliest known English us-
ages, culture refers to the cultivation of food plants. Philip
genetic and constitutional factors, are largely explicable only
Smith (2001, p. 1) writes that by the sixteenth century this
in terms of cultural difference.
meaning was metaphorically applied to people to signify
Culture could also be contrasted with individual learn-
proper education and human achievement. In this sense, the
ing that is incapable of being communicated to others, or
term culture in English carries a positive bias and refers only
with idiosyncratic ideas and preferences not widely shared by
to those parts of learned ideals and behaviors that the observ-
the social group. Culture is often used in this sense in the so-
er considers good, proper, and refined, as when one speaks
cial sciences and humanities. When scholars stress a popula-
of a person being highly cultured, or of culture in the sense
tional rather than an individual perspective, culture typically
of fine arts. In other words, culture was originally meant to
implies a shared perspective ostensibly held by an entire pop-
refer to one’s own culture, carried to its most benevolent and
ulation, such as a religious group or an ethic group, referred
ideal state of development.
to as a culture. However, this usage can mask the fact that
Edward Burnett Tylor (1832–1917), the world’s first
learned information is not always shared.
professor of anthropology, was the most influential in adapt-
While many animal species include learning and even
ing and changing this English term for the social sciences,
social transmission of knowledge in their behavioral reper-
humanities, and popular usage. Alfred L. Kroeber and Clyde
toires, humankind differs from other species primarily in our
Kluckhohn (1952/1963, p. 14) verified that Tylor derived
much greater neurological capacity for culture and the degree
these new meanings from the German term Kultur as used
to which humans rely on socially learned information as a
in the mid-nineteenth-century writings of Gustav E. Klemm.
basis for both individual and group life. Human reliance on
Tylor’s definition, first proposed in the 1870s and still wide-
culture allows people to adapt to a great variety of environ-
ly quoted, broadened the term by removing its ethnocentric
ments and psychological stresses, to respond to innumerable
bias and narrow reference to artistic achievement to include
challenges, and to transmit to others the lessons learned
all socially learned knowledge and the behaviors, institutions,
through experience. One consequence of this ability to both
and artifacts that are produced as a result of that knowledge.
purposely and unconsciously transmit information is that
For Tylor, “Culture . . . , taken in its wide ethnographic
ideas originating in one person’s experience can become
sense, is that complex whole which includes knowledge, be-
widely shared among members of social groups. Once cultur-
lief, art, morals, law, custom, and any other capabilities and
al ideas are widely shared, they appear to acquire an added
habits acquired by man as a member of society” (1877
aura of truthfulness, supported by apparent mutual confir-
[1871], p. 3).
mation and elaboration. A second consequence of cultural
transmissibility is that individuals’ ideas can survive, albeit
Tylor’s definition accomplished four things. First, with
in somewhat altered form, beyond their lifetimes. The capac-
this usage, culture could be extended to people whose ideals
ity for and reliance on culture thus allows traditions to come
and practices the scholar personally disapproves of or consid-
into existence by providing a means for their codification and
ers inferior, so that all peoples could be recognized as having
transmission.
culture. This element became central to the development of
cultural relativism. Second, one could speak of multiple in-
Particularly in anthropology, where the concept was re-
dependent cultural traditions that develop in isolation from
fined, but also in the other social sciences and humanities,
one another. This allowed scholars to speak of societies shar-
culture is central because of its pervasive relevance to every-
ing ideas and beliefs as cultures. Third, the definition allowed
thing that human beings think, feel, and do. Much is cap-
one to treat all socially learned knowledge as part of a single,
tured by the term culture, and the phenomena scholars seek
great body of wisdom produced by humankind as a whole.
to describe, interpret, and explain under its rubric are among
This allowed scholars to see all peoples as participating in a
the most complex in nature. Therefore, the term has meant
common project of advancing knowledge. Fourth, one could
different things to different scholars, and it has undergone
speak of culture writ large as something that develops and
repeated critiques, abandonments, and redefinitions. Never-
evolves at a level beyond that of the individuals who bear cul-
theless, it has proven an extremely useful term with which
ture. This allowed scholars to analyze those learnable institu-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
2088
CULTURE
tions, including religions, that do not reside in full in any
testation. The term cultures implies discrete, localized group-
individual’s mind, but rather are distributed among people
ings, when in fact people and ideas often overlap and are not
and artifacts and seem to transcend the individual.
strictly bounded. Speaking of cultures can imply that these
are ahistorical grouping systems, when in reality they are al-
From around the time that Tylor’s new definition of
ways changing. Culture can be used to mean a primordial,
culture was introduced, anthropologists began increasingly
authentic, native way of life when in fact there is constant
to believe that racial and biological explanations could not
borrowing and mixing of ideas and practices. This usage can
account for the differences between customs and religions
also falsely imply that cultures are discrete objects. Finally,
throughout the world. Adopted babies grew up learning the
viewing human variation as cultural difference can encourage
language, religion, and skills of the people among whom they
scholars to exaggerate the differences between peoples, and
were raised, rather than inheriting those of their biological
to imply that these differences must be seen in hierarchical
ancestors. In light of these observations, they made culture
relationship with one another.
the central concept of their discipline—because through it
one could explain differences in beliefs and morals in terms
Brightman’s citation of earlier literature makes it clear
of learning, not innate characteristics. Fortuitously, this ex-
that, while many of these critiques have been presented as
planation carried with it the implication that all peoples have
new, scholars have in fact wrestled with all of these complexi-
an equal potential to learn and develop.
ties of the culture concept throughout the twentieth century.
What is perhaps different in some of the newer critiques is
Kroeber and Kluckhohn’s detailed history of the term
that alternative terms have been suggested, either to replace
culture shows that Tylor’s definition remained unelaborated
or to supplement culture and to shift attention to processes
for decades, following which a flurry of new definitions were
considered more useful for the study of humanity. For exam-
offered (1952/1963, pp. 291–292). They cite 164 of these
ple, Pierre Bourdieu uses habitus rather than culture to em-
offered by 1950. Scholars developed new definitions of cul-
phasize the disposition and practice of individuals as the
ture as a way of emphasizing certain elements of what was
proper locus of human social life (1977, pp. 72–95). Lila
coming to be seen as an excessively broad concept, including
Abu-Lughod (1991) takes this a step further, suggesting that
such elements as ideas; learned behavior; symbols; problem-
culture be abandoned altogether in favor of Bourdieu’s prac-
solving devices; normative rules or values; and patterns, sys-
tice and Michel Foucault’s discourse, both of which empha-
tems, and organizations that are abstracted from observed be-
size the agency of individuals and observable behavior and
haviors. Kroeber and Kluckhohn correctly anticipated future
speech rather than the supposedly timeless control of an ab-
revisions of these formulations in terms of “the interrelations
stract culture. Brightman (1995, p. 518) observes that anoth-
of cultural forms[,] variability and the individual,” and ob-
er alternative term, Antonio Gramsci’s hegemony, has come
served that some British and American anthropologists had
into common use among those who wish to emphasize the
avoided the concept altogether because of its vagueness
greater influence on ideals and behaviors exerted by people
(1952/1963, p. 357). These critiques were harbingers of de-
possessing disproportionate power in a society, while coun-
velopments in the second half of the twentieth century, in
terhegemony refers to areas of resistance within these spheres
which the culture concept was further contested, particularly
of domination.
in relation to the problems of the locus, variability, and dy-
Other threads of thinking on the culture concept can
namics of culture.
be seen in cognitive anthropology. Scholars like Claudia
CURRENT USE AND CONTESTATION IN THE SOCIAL SCI-
Strauss and Naomi Quinn (1998) have addressed the cri-
ENCES AND HUMANITIES. Because of all its ambiguities and
tique that culture is an abstract, timeless, and agentless con-
its uneven acceptance, the culture concept has come to be
cept by locating it in human perception, cognition, and
regarded with some suspicion, but nevertheless remains firm-
shared experience. In this view, culture operates in the mind
ly fixed in scholarship. From the 1970s to the 1990s, scholars
as generic images of reality, or schemas, that direct percep-
released a flurry of critiques of the concept. To summarize
tion and alter in response to experiences, allowing culture to
from Robert Brightman’s 1995 review of this literature, sev-
be relatively stable, but also capable of change.
eral areas of semantic difficulty have been identified. Since
Some scholars focus on cultural transmission and recep-
the term can be used as a reified abstraction, or to refer to
tion as a way to remove static or abstract implications from
ideas and meanings, culture can deflect attention from actual,
the culture concept. Some use analogies of genetic transmis-
observable human behavior and interaction. Culture is often
sion and evolution, while others, like Dan Sperber (1996,
used to refer to a legalistic guide for behavior, which down-
p. 82), explain cultural processes, including the spread of re-
plays the importance of individual agency or volitional
ligious beliefs, by using the metaphor of epidemiology. For
choice, strategy, and improvisation. In the same vein, culture
certain thinkers, such metaphors imply that culture exists in
can imply that objective, grammatical systems of behavior
units, sometimes called memes after Richard Dawkins’s coin-
control individuals like automatons. Culture is also often re-
age, variously conceived of as songs, stories, or religious be-
garded as a holistic, homogeneous, coherent, functionally in-
liefs. Such theorized units of culture are controversial, how-
tegrated pattern, when in fact there is a great deal of internal
ever, and not widely accepted by scholars, who see them as
variation, fragmentation, disorder, contradiction, and con-
arbitrary, unbounded, and changeable (see Aunger, 2001).
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CULTURE
2089
The interdependencies and relationships between the
To study religions—whether one’s own or others’—
cultural and genetic information that contributes to each in-
with cultural sophistication necessitates awareness of multi-
dividual’s capabilities and makeup, together with human
ple points of view. Awareness of the cultural perspective of
agency as a force in its own right, are also pressing concerns
both scholars of religion and the people they describe is vital
for some scholars of culture, as Lee Cronk (1999) discusses.
to assessing any study of religion. Missiologists begin with
Despite the various critiques, culture continues to be a useful
a cultural assumption of the primacy of a particular religious
term in the social sciences and humanities, not only in spite
tradition in relation to other religious cultures that they con-
of, but also because of, its multiple meanings and ambiguity.
sider erroneous and in need of change. Some social scientists
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CULTURE AND RELIGION.
work from materialist assumptions that deny the existence
Virtually all of the questions that scholars in the humanities
of supernatural beings and forces for lack of evidence, while
and social sciences seek to answer involve cultural factors,
others either embrace the existence of spirits or consider such
and questions about religion are no exception. There are cer-
questions unanswerable. Theories about religion, like reli-
tainly biological components to religious behavior, including
gions themselves, are cultural.
cognitive tendencies to anthropomorphize, or perceive hu-
IMPLICATIONS OF THE COMPARATIVE STUDY OF CULTURES
manlike attributes in nonhuman phenomena, which Stewart
FOR THE STUDY OF RELIGION. Cross-cultural research indi-
Guthrie (1993) sees as the source of religion. Cognitive con-
cates that religious thinking and behavior is found among all
straints limit what kinds of perception and beliefs are con-
peoples and in all cultures. The basis of this commonality is
ceivable, and, as Pascal Boyer (1994) argues, the combina-
sometimes attributed to a panhuman tendency to supernatu-
tion of ideas that are memorably bizarre or “unnatural” with
ralism, which is elaborated differently from one culture to
those that are believably ordinary or “natural” appears to be
the next. However, others argue that the concept of super-
a characteristic of all religious beliefs. However, no religious
naturalism is itself too culturally biased to describe all reli-
belief or behavior can be understood by reference to biologi-
gions. Scholars engaging this debate have not reached con-
cal factors alone, for culture overlays, stylizes, elaborates, and
sensus (see Lohmann, 2003). The degree to which culture
embellishes these foundations with meanings that are both
determines human religiosity itself remains contested. How-
deeply motivating and arbitrary. The capacity for religious
ever, there is no doubt that the particular beings, forces, and
thought and experience has its foundation in our biological
morals that people sense or believe in are culturally learned,
makeup, but it can only come to full expression with cultural
since they differ from one religion to the next. Variation in
inputs and processes. Thus, cognitive constraints interact
specific religious ideas shows the degree of cultural malleabil-
with culture to produce the range of specific supernatural be-
ity that humans possess with regard to religion. Perhaps the
ings and forces that are characteristic of the world’s religions.
most important implication of the comparative study of cul-
tures for the study of religion is that all religions appear to
No specific religious system can be understood without
be true from the perspective of the cultural systems in which
recourse to culture, for particular religions are forms of cul-
they are found; however, the arbitrariness and variability of
ture and exist within broader cultures. Regardless of whether
cultures indicates that no religion is a flawless representation
one takes a theological or an agnostic perspective on a partic-
of absolute truth.
ular religion, one must recognize that the stuff of religions
is cultural—it is socially learned and widely shared, and it
SEE ALSO Religion.
is made up of mental and public representations of reality
that guide behavior and are changed by experience. Success-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
ful religions can be seen as more widely appealing than oth-
Abu-Lughod, Lila. “Writing against Culture.” In Recapturing An-
ers, and therefore more likely to be culturally learned. The
thropology: Working in the Present, edited by Richard Fox,
fact that religions operate within broader cultural contexts
pp. 137–162. Santa Fe, N.Mex., 1991. An influential essay
is profoundly relevant to the study of religion because the
arguing that the term culture should be replaced with practice
“same” religious ideas change when they are transmitted
and discourse.
from one culture to another—as shown, for example, in Ke-
Aunger, Robert, ed. Darwinizing Culture: The Status of Memetics
nelm Burridge’s 1960 study of how beliefs of European mis-
as a Science. Oxford, 2001. A volume in which a variety of
scholars debate the utility of memes as models of culture’s
sionaries were interpreted very differently by their Melane-
units and their implications for cultural transmission and
sian recipients, creating a “cargo cult.” Syncretism, or the
evolution.
mixing of elements from different religious in situations of
Bourdieu, Pierre. Outline of a Theory of Practice. Translated by
culture contact, are an important area of cross-cultural reli-
Richard Nice. Cambridge, U.K., 1977. Broadly influential
gious studies—as explored, for example, in Charles Stewart
in social science, this book avoids the culture concept but de-
and Rosalind Shaw’s (1994) volume on this phenomenon.
scribes cultural phenomena, emphasizing individual disposi-
In other cases, religions appear to be transmitted wholesale
tions and decision-based behavior.
across cultural boundaries, as exemplified in Joel Robbins’s
Boyer, Pascal. The Naturalness of Religious Ideas: A Cognitive Theo-
(2004) account of a Papua New Guinea people’s adoption
ry of Religion. Berkeley, Calif., 1994. This book cross-
of Baptist Christianity and concepts of sin, modernity, and
culturally explores common themes in all religious ideas, ar-
globalization.
guing that these point to constraints in human cognition.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
2090
CULTURE CIRCLES
Brightman, Robert. “Forget Culture: Replacement, Transcen-
CULTURE CIRCLES SEE
dence, Relexification.” Cultural Anthropology 10, no. 4
KULTURKREISELEHRE
(1995): 509–546. Usefully summarizes critiques of the term
culture, its changing meanings, and its replacement with new
terms.
Burridge, Kenelm. Mambu: A Melanesian Millennium. London,
CULTURE HEROES. The culture hero is a mythical
1960; reprint, Princeton, N.J., 1995. A classic and readable
being found in the religious traditions of many archaic socie-
account of a cargo cult—an example of how Christian beliefs
ties. Although the culture hero sometimes assists the supreme
altered when they entered a new cultural context.
being in the creation of the world, the most important activi-
Cronk, Lee. That Complex Whole: Culture and the Evolution of
ty for the culture hero occurs after creation: making the
Human Behavior. Boulder, Colo., 1999. A book describing
world habitable and safe for humankind. The culture hero
approaches to cultural transmission and change drawing on
establishes institutions for humans, brings them cultural
biological evolutionary theory, sociobiology, and memetics.
goods, and instructs them in the arts of civilization. Thus,
Guthrie, Stewart Elliott. Faces in the Clouds: A New Theory of Reli-
the hero introduces culture to human beings.
gion. Oxford, 1993. A book exploring the causes and preva-
The culture hero, unlike the supreme being, is neither
lence of anthropomorphism, arguing that religion derives
from this tendency to misperceive.
omniscient nor omnipotent. In some cases, the hero’s behav-
ior resembles that of a clown or buffoon; in the myths of
Kroeber, A. L., and Clyde Kluckhohn. Culture: A Critical Review
many North American Indian tribes the culture hero appears
of Concepts and Definitions. Cambridge, Mass., 1952; re-
print, New York, 1963. A detailed tracing of the culture idea
as the trickster. Various scholars have referred to the culture
in the social sciences and humanities, including numerous
hero as transformer, demiurge, culture bringer, héros civili-
quoted definitions.
sateur, and, most frequently, Heilbringer.
Lohmann, Roger Ivar, ed. “Perspectives on the Category ‘Super-
HISTORY OF SCHOLARSHIP. The German historian Kurt
natural.’” Special issue, Anthropological Forum 13, no. 2
Breysig first introduced the term Heilbringer in 1905. Since
(2003). A collection of essays debating the value of supernat-
then, the idea of the culture hero has been interpreted in vari-
uralism as a culture-neutral concept for describing religions
ous ways. Early interpretations emphasized the place of the
cross-culturally.
culture hero in the evolution of the idea of a supreme being.
Robbins, Joel. Becoming Sinners: Christianity and Moral Torment
Breysig, for example, saw the culture hero as belonging to
in a Papua New Guinea Society. Berkeley, Calif., 2004. An
a stage of religious development that was not only earlier
ethnographic description of the cultural changes brought
than, but also inferior to, humankind’s awareness of a per-
about by the rapid adoption of Christianity by a remote
sonal supreme being. The German ethnologist Paul Ehren-
people.
reich, in developing his theory of “nature mythology,” inter-
Smith, Philip. Cultural Theory: An Introduction. Malden, Mass.,
preted the myths about culture heroes as attempts by
2001. An excellent and readable overview of cultural theory,
primitive humans to understand their natural surroundings.
wide-ranging but emphasizing sociology.
Ehrenreich saw in the culture hero the embodiment of the
Sperber, Dan. Explaining Culture: A Naturalistic Approach. Ox-
structure and rhythms of natural phenomena, for example,
ford, 1996. A lucid book that defines culture as mental and
the rising and setting of the sun, the waxing and waning of
public representations of reality, arguing that to explain cul-
the moon, and the movement of the stars and constellations.
ture, one must show why certain ideas, including religious
On the other hand, Wilhelm Schmidt, an ethnologist and
beliefs, become more common than others.
historian of religions, was the chief proponent of the doctrine
Stewart, Charles, and Rosalind Shaw, eds. Syncretism/Anti-
of primitive monotheism (Urmonotheismus). Theorizing that
Syncretism: The Politics of Religious Synthesis. London, 1994.
even early humans believed in a supreme being, he contend-
A collection of essays on cross-cultural religious mixing,
ed that the Heilbringer was never a genuine creator and that
known as syncretism—at times a controversial term insofar
the form appeared in archaic societies after, not before, the
as it is used to imply that mixed religions are less authentic
than others.
idea of the supreme being.
Strauss, Claudia, and Naomi Quinn. A Cognitive Theory of Cultur-
The interpretations of Breysig, Ehrenreich, and
al Meaning. Cambridge, U.K., 1998. A sophisticated treat-
Schmidt have been rejected by later students of culture and
ment of culture that responds to critics of the concept by
historians of religions, who, having access to more and differ-
drawing on cognitive theory to remove culture’s abstraction.
ent ethnological data, have recognized the autonomy and
Tylor, Edward B. Primitive Culture: Researches into the Develop-
complexity of the culture hero. Scholars such as Hermann
ment of Mythology, Philosophy, Religion, Language, Art, and
Baumann, Adolf E. Jensen, Mircea Eliade, Otto Zerries, Raf-
Custom. 2d ed. 2 vols. New York, 1877. The Victorian
faele Pettazzoni, and Harry Tegnaeus have made significant
source of the extremely influential first anthropological defi-
contributions to a new appreciation and understanding of
nition of culture, this book proposes a now dated evolution-
the culture hero. Rather than pursue an evolutionary ap-
ary model of cultural and religious advancement, but never-
proach, these scholars have examined the relation between
theless contains much of lasting value.
the details of the myths and the historical and cultural reali-
ROGER IVAR LOHMANN (2005)
ties of the archaic societies—their economic activity, their
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CULTURE HEROES
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political and social institutions, and their attitude toward
of South Africa, the moon sends an insect to tell humans that
space, time, and mortality.
after they die they will come back to life, as the moon does.
CHARACTERISTIC ACTIVITIES. In many of the myths that tell
The culture hero, Hare, overtakes the insect and volunteers
of the culture hero’s exploits, the culture hero is portrayed
to carry the message. However, Hare delivers the opposite
as setting the stage for human survival. The myth of the Ji-
message to humans, saying that they will perish forever.
carilla Apaches of the southwestern United States tells how
Through the adventures in which they ensure human
the culture hero Jonayaiuin saved humanity by destroying
survival, institute the difference between humans and ani-
huge monsters that were killing people. By removing this
mals, introduce humankind to social and economic activity,
threat of annihilation, the culture hero made the world fit
and originate human mortality, the culture heros save the
for human habitation. The Malecite Indians of northern
human race from chaos. They order and arrange the world,
Maine tell that long ago a monster, Aglabem, withheld all
introducing humankind to the possibilities of human cre-
the water in the world, causing people to die of thirst. Their
ativity.
culture hero, referred to as “a great man,” killed Aglabem and
BIRTH OF THE CULTURE HERO. The culture hero is able to
released the waters by felling a huge tree. This tree became
perform these feats because he is imbued with power; he
the Saint John River; its branches, the tributaries of the river;
comes from another world. His divine origin is revealed in
its leaves, the ponds and lakes at the heads of the streams.
his parentage and in the supernatural nature of his birth. Tu-
To the tellers of this myth, the shape of the landscape is evi-
dava, the culture hero of the Trobriand Islanders, was said
dence that the culture hero made the world fit for human
to have been born of a mother who became pregnant while
life.
sleeping in a cave, when her vagina was pierced by water
In various ways, the culture hero creates distinctions be-
dripping from a stalactite. The mother of Manabozho, the
tween humans and animals. The Tupian peoples of the Ama-
culture hero of the Menomini tribe of North America, was
zon basin in eastern Brazil believe that Korupira, a deity who
made pregnant by the wind. The mother of the culture hero
is referred to as “lord of the beasts,” protects wild game
of the Dinka of East Africa came to earth already pregnant.
against human hunters. Korupira has the power to close the
Among several African peoples, the culture hero was born
forest to hunters and punish those who kill his animals need-
from the knee or thigh of a man or woman. Regardless of
lessly. The Mbuti, hunters and gatherers who inhabit the
the way the culture hero is born, his origin is not of this
rain forest of central Africa, are one of many groups who
world.
credit their culture hero with bringing them fire. The Mbuti
DISAPPEARANCE AND TRANSMUTATION. After setting the
hero, Tore, stole fire, much to the chagrin of the neighboring
world in order for humankind, the culture hero usually dis-
chimpanzees, and gave it to humankind. From that time on,
appears. Sometimes the culture hero is killed while conquer-
humans have enjoyed the use of fire while chimpanzees have
ing monsters; frequently returning to a point of origin—into
lived in the forest without it. In the stories of numerous so-
the sky or earth. In the myths of several peoples, the culture
cieties, the culture hero introduced humans to speech and
hero is transformed into the moon or stars or constellations.
manners, established the social differences between males
In other instances, particularly among the Australian tribes,
and females, and instituted the laws of society.
the culture hero disappears into the earth at a specific spot,
The culture hero is also perceived as making economic
which is marked by a stone, a plant, or a body of water. Such
life possible for humans. According to the myths of the San
a place, imbued as it is with power, becomes the site of the
(Bushmen), a hunting and gathering people living in South
tribe’s initiation and increase ceremonies.
Africa and Namibia, the culture hero Kaang created all wild
One of the dramatic myths of the disappearance and
game and gave the animals their colors, names, and charac-
transformation of a culture hero is that of the people on the
teristics. He taught the San how to make bows, poisoned ar-
island of Ceram in Indonesia, reported by the German eth-
rows, traps, and snares, and he instructed them in hunting
nologist Adolf E. Jensen. The principal culture hero, Hainu-
techniques. Tudava, the culture hero of the Trobriand Is-
wele, who in this case was a maiden, was murdered by other
landers, not only taught the Trobrianders how to build ca-
beings in mythical times. Their punishment, imposed by
noes and to fish but introduced them to the cultivation of
Hainuwele’s sister, was that they were forced to consume the
yams and taros, the first root crops. Nyikang, the culture
body of their victim. Then the body of Hainuwele was trans-
hero and first king of the Shilluk, pastoral nomads of East
formed into useful root crops, which before that time had
Africa, is said to have been the son of a cow. He released the
not existed. Her sister became mistress of the underworld.
waters and provided grazing land for the Shilluk’s cattle.
This primeval murder signaled the end of mythical time and
Among the Dogon people of Mali, West Africa, the twin cul-
the beginning of the historical world.
ture heroes known as Nommo are credited with bringing the
The events leading up to the murder and transformation
first millet seeds from heaven to earth and with teaching the
of Hainuwele established the institution of cannibalism
arts of blacksmithing and pottery.
among the people of Ceram. It also established the initiation
In numerous myths, the culture hero is connected with
ceremony: The young men must kill, imitating the primordi-
the origin of death. In a story told by the Khoi (Hottentots)
al murder of Hainuwele as part of their rite of passage to
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CULTURE HEROES
manhood. Further consequences of this murder were the cul-
one of sociality, from isolation to being a part of the commu-
tivation of root crops, the delineation of the people into sepa-
nity. The trickster not only creates or modifies the physical
rate clans, the establishment of cult houses, the separation
and social environment of humankind; by violation of the
of humans from ghosts and spirits, and the establishment of
social rules and the contempt the trickster exhibits toward
rules governing entrance to the mythical land of the afterlife.
sacred objects, the trickster creates a kind of internal space
Jensen’s research demonstrated the significance of the mur-
for humankind. The trickster legitimates rebellion and dis-
dered culture hero among those peoples who practice root
obedience by constantly challenging the status quo of the
crop cultivation.
cosmos.
In the mythology of the Cheyenne of North America,
The phenomenon of the culture hero is very complex.
maize originated from the murdered body of their culture
Although the hero usually appears as male, some cultures
hero. The transmutation of the culture hero into food, how-
have a culture heroine. In some societies, the hero is the ob-
ever, is not limited to the myths of agricultural societies. The
ject of a cult; in others he or she is not. Sometimes the culture
Central Inuit (Eskimo) tell of Sedna, a female culture hero,
hero appears as the offspring of the supreme being and assists
who was murdered by her father. Different sea animals
in creation; in other instances, the culture hero is the su-
emerged from parts of her mutilated body—whales from her
preme being’s adversary. Visible forms of the culture hero
fingers, whale bones from her fingernails, and seals from the
range from human to animal, from insect to heavenly body.
second joints of her fingers. As in the case of Hainuwele’s
Having completed his or her task on earth, the culture
sister, Sedna became the mistress of the underworld.
hero disappears, sometimes ascending to the sky or descend-
VARIOUS MANIFESTATIONS. The culture hero often appears
ing to the underworld. Occasionally the culture hero is trans-
as twins, who usually symbolize opposites. They may be of
formed into a natural phenomenon such as the stars or the
different sexes. Frequently the elder is the hero while the
moon, while in some religious traditions the hero’s parting
younger is depicted as foolish and inept. The twin heroes of
accounts for shapes in the landscape.
the Iroquois of North America are brothers who have differ-
In spite of the multifarious forms and adventures of the
ent fathers: One, who represents good, is the son of the sun,
culture hero as they appears in different cultures, the culture
while his brother, who represents evil, is the son of the
hero clearly discloses one characteristic: The culture hero’s
waters.
mode of being reveals the sacrality of cultural and social insti-
While Hainuwele, Sedna, and many other culture he-
tutions and activities that constitute the context of ordinary
roes are anthropomorphic, the culture heroes of many socie-
life for humankind. Participation in these activities by the
ties are theriomorphic. In Oceania, the culture hero is fre-
people of archaic societies provides meaning and value to
quently a snake; in South America he is often a jaguar. In
their lives and enables them to live in a sacred cosmos.
many tribes of North America and Africa, the culture hero
appears as an animal or insect and has the characteristics of
SEE ALSO Animals; Cosmogony; Death; Lord of the Ani-
a trickster. Ananse the spider, the culture hero of many of
mals; Tricksters; Twins.
the peoples of West Africa, is popularly known as “the fool-
ish one”; the southern African San’s culture hero, Praying
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Mantis, is seen as a mischievous trickster. Among North
A general discussion of the culture hero can be found in the chap-
American tribes, the coyote, the hare, the mink, the chip-
ter entitled “Mythische Urzeitwesen und Heilbringer” in
munk, and the crow are common forms of the trickster.
Ferdinand Hermann’s Symbolik in den Religionen der Natur-
völker (Stuttgart, 1961), pp. 98–109. This book also contains
In many instances, the activities of the trickster parallel
an excellent bibliography. Two good books on the culture
those of other culture heroes: The trickster destroys mon-
hero in Africa are Hermann Baumann’s Schöpfung und Urzeit
sters, creates animals, and introduces humans to various
des Menschen im Mythus der afrikanischen Völker (Berlin,
forms of technology and social institutions. However, the
1936) and Harry Tegnaeus’s Le héros civilisateur (Stockholm,
trickster’s adventures are also marked by failures and stum-
1950). Otto Zerries’s Wild- und Buschgeister in Sudamerika
blings, deceptions and lies, awkwardness and crudity. Trick-
(Weisbaden, 1954) is an exhaustive study of the culture hero
in the myths of hunting and gathering cultures in South
sters are often portrayed as oversexed, gluttonous, and amor-
America. The role of the culture hero among archaic cultiva-
al. They continually violate the institutions and prohibitions
tors is discussed in Adolf E. Jensen’s Myth and Cult among
they had established. They can be alternately gracious and
Primitive Peoples (Chicago, 1963). This book also treats the
cruel, truthful and mendacious.
relation of the culture hero to the supreme being. The pio-
neering work on the trickster figure among North American
The American anthropologist Paul Radin (1956) inter-
Indians in Paul Radin’s The Trickster: A Study in American
prets the figure of the trickster and the trickster’s adventures
Indian Mythology (New York, 1956). A readable and enlight-
as symbolic of humankind’s development from an undiffer-
ening critique of Radin’s position can be found in Mac Lin-
entiated psyche to a differentiated and individual one. The
scott Ricketts’s “The North American Indian Trickster,”
adventures of the trickster, Radin contends, are symbolic of
History of Religions 5 (Winter 1966): 327–350. Robert D.
the movement from a state of asociality or nonsociality to
Pelton, in The Trickster in West Africa: A Study of Mythic
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CUMONT, FRANZ
2093
Irony and Sacred Delight (Berkeley Calif., 1980) extends the
In the 1970s Cumont’s reconstruction of the Mithra’s
study of the trickster to the peoples of Africa and applies
mysteries came under criticism by Richard Gordon and oth-
methods of literary criticism in his analysis.
ers. Three main problems were outlined: (1) The Anatolian,
JEROME H. LONG (1987)
or more precisely Persian, origin of the Mithra cult, which
seems to develop only in the Roman context; (2) the role at-
tributed to the magi; that is, the Persian and Chaldean astrol-
CUMONT, FRANZ. Franz Valèry Marie Cumont
ogers, in the cult’s transmission and diffusion; and (3) the
(1868–1947) was a Belgian historian of religions, as well as
dating of Mithraism, which, according to Cumont, appeared
a philologist, archaeologist, and epigraphist. He studied at
in the Hellenistic period, though it was only documented in
Ghent (1886–1888) and in Germany and Austria (Bonn,
Roman times. However, after the discovery of the
Berlin, Vienna [1888–1890], with Usener, Diels, Momm-
Mithraeum (Sanctuary of Mithra) in Dura-Europos in 1934
sen, Benndorf, and Bormann), after which he made the clas-
and then in Doliche (Commagene; c. 100 BCE), it seems that
sical “grand tour” in Greece and Rome (1891), followed by
Cumont’s ideas were not in error, and research tends to back
a year in Paris (École Pratique des Hautes-Études, IVe sec-
up both the Anatolian origin and the Hellenistic dating.
tion, 1892, with Duchesne, Haussoullier, etc.). He became
In 1905 Cumont lectured at the Collège de France
professor of classical philology and ancient history at the
about Asiatic cults in Roman paganism, which led in 1906
University of Ghent in 1892, a position he left in 1911 when
to his famous book (“a little book about a great topic,” as
the minister of education, supported by the Catholic lobby,
he said himself) Les religions orientales dans le paganisme ro-
denied him the chair of Roman history. Cumont’s Religions
main. The book focuses first on the historical background
orientales dans le paganisme romain (1906) had presented a
and channels of the Oriental cults’ diffusion in the Roman
new vision of the historical links between the diffusion of
Empire; it also contains four chapters about major cults from
Oriental religions and the development of Christianity. Cu-
Asia Minor (Cybele and Attis), Egypt (Isis and Serapis), Syria
mont had friendly relationships with several modernists, in-
(Atargatis, Baal, Adonis), and Iran (Mithra). The book ends
cluding Alfred Loisy, Louis Duchesne, and Ernesto Buonaiu-
with a conclusion on the role of astrology and magic. In the
ti; he also published works in modernist journals in France
fourth edition (1929), Cumont added a chapter on the Dio-
and Italy, and was thus considered a “subversive” scholar by
nysiac mysteries. He was the first to point out the importance
conservative Catholics. He retired in 1911, and in 1913 he
of the so-called Oriental cults for the evolution of Roman
decided to live in Rome and Paris as a private scholar, reject-
paganism, and he attempted to study them not only from
ing offers of several academic positions.
the legal and public point of view, but also from the social
Cumont passed through the two world wars without
and private one. Cumont emphasizes the multiethnic charac-
fighting, but he tried to maintain intellectual activity as a
ter of the Roman Empire, where the acculturative power of
sign of cultural resistance. He never married and died in
the religious practices was very strong. Cumont also tries to
1947 near Brussels, without direct heirs. Cumont be-
explain how the Oriental cults paved the way for the adop-
queathed his archive and rich library, in which the history
tion of Christianity.
of religions and the sciences were especially well represented,
to the Belgian Academy in Rome. The more interesting part
Though Cumont’s work had a deep influence on the
of the archive is the scholarly correspondence, which in-
next generations, his vision must be revisited. First, the con-
cludes about twelve thousand letters received by Cumont
cept of “Oriental religions” is too imprecise and too general.
from 1885 to 1947 from more than a thousand scholars
The “Oriental cults” were in fact more “Greco-Oriental”—
around the world. These documents offer a rich and complex
they passed first from Asia to Greece, where they were deeply
picture of the scientific, cultural, and political background
Hellenized, and then from Greece to Rome. Thus, Cumont’s
of Cumont’s period and activity, and of the scholarly “car-
vision is too linear and “diffusionist,” and the diffusion from
tography” of his time.
Asia to Rome seems to be an artificial reconstruction. The
reception of the “Oriental cults” in different parts of the
Cumont’s first major study is the Mithraic corpus Textes
Roman Empire (for example, on the Danubian limes) pro-
et monuments figurés relatifs aux mystères de Mithra (1894–
voked assimilations and syncretisms between the Roman,
1899), which was the foundation for the scientific study of
Greek, and Oriental cults and did not erase the Romans’ an-
Mithraism. Cumont published an abridged version, Les
cient religious beliefs, but it encouraged cultural interactions,
mystères de Mithra, in 1900, which was translated into Ger-
as demonstrated in Nicole Belayche’s work (e.g., 2001) on
man and English (The Mysteries of Mithra, 1910). In 1900
this topic. Nonetheless, Cumont’s Les religions orientales dans
Cumont and his brother Eugène traveled to Asia Minor
le paganisme romain remains a fundamental step in the histo-
(Pontus and Armenia) in search of the Asiatic roots of
ry of ancient religions.
Mithra, but, though he found and published a number of
new inscriptions, he did not find answers to his questions
In 1911 Cumont lectured in Sweden and in the United
about Mithra’s origin. His Textes et monuments figurés relatifs
States about Astrology and Religion among the Greeks and the
aux mystères de Mithra remained the standard work on Mith-
Romans (1912). In this work Cumont underlines the impor-
raism for more than half a century.
tance of astrological determinism and its consequences on
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2094
CUMONT, FRANZ
the religious conceptions of the soul’s destiny and of its after-
were written by Greeks, Romans, and others, who were not
life journey. This work is related to a great philological enter-
magi.
prise that Cumont began in 1898: the Corpus codicum as-
Cumont also played a major role in the excavations of
trologorum graecorum. The aim was to collect information
Dura-Europos (Fouilles de Doura-Europos, 1923–1924,
about astrological manuscripts conserved in major European
1926), begun in 1923 and later led by Cumont with Michael
libraries. Cumont, with several collaborators (in particular
Rostovtzeff. Cumont also encouraged the Belgian excava-
Franz Boll), published several volumes on the Italian, Ger-
tions in Apamea.
man, British, and French libraries. He used the occasion to
study ancient astrological conceptions and the relationship
From a methodological point of view, Cumont was a
between philosophical and religious theories, especially Neo-
complete scholar able to make use of all the sources (literary
platonism.
and material) available to him to present a vivid and richly
documented historical fresco. He was an excellent philologist
Cumont thereafter published numerous essays on Greek
(Hermann Diels’s favorite pupil), epigraphist, and historian
and Roman eschatology. In 1922 he published Afterlife in
of religions, sciences, and art, and he was also deeply involved
Roman Paganism; in 1942 Recherches sur le symbolisme fun-
in geographical and institutional history. He believed that
éraire des Romains; and in 1949 (posthumously) Lux Perpe-
the study of Asia, through excavations and the discovery of
tua, a scientific testament that has not been supplanted as a
archives, was a real revolution in historical science and that
standard work. Cumont traces the development of concep-
it was impossible to study the Greek and Roman world with-
tions of the soul, especially in the Roman world. According
out taking Asian influences into account. His point of view
to ancient popular belief, a dead person survived in the tomb
was obviously that of a classicist who did not always have
or as a shadow in the netherworld and could return to earth
firsthand knowledge of the different aspects of the “Orient.”
as a ghost to haunt the living. Belief in a celestial immortality
Cumont learned Syriac, but he was not an Orientalist in the
appeared to Cumont to have been borrowed from Irano-
strict sense of the word; he asked Charles Clermont-Ganneau
Chaldean magi by Greek philosophers. This belief, owing to
or Giorgio Levi della Vida to help him when he had to study
Pythagorean, Platonic, and Stoic influences, gradually spread
Semitic inscriptions. Nevertheless, Cumont was a great
from the cultivated elite to the common people, although at
scholar and a generous open-minded person who had a
this point the soul was still not conceived as nonmaterial;
major influence on historians and philologists of the 1950s
rather, it was believed to be a subtle fluid or vapor. It was
and 1960s, especially in France and Belgium, and including
not until the rise of Neoplatonism that the opinion arose,
Pierre Boyancé, Jean Gagé, Henri-Irénée Marrou, André-
which prevailed in Christianity, that the soul was distinct
Jean Festugière, and Jerome Carcopino.
from the conditions of space and time and reached, after
death, beyond the limits of the world into eternity. As for
BIBLIOGRAPHY
funerary art, most was allegorical, though a small proportion
Biographical sketches are available in L. Canet, “Préface,” in Cu-
was supposed to represent literally the afterlife in the nether-
mont’s Lux Perpetua (Paris, 1949), pp. vii–xxx; and Corinne
world. Cumont examines how Greek myths—such as the
Bonnet, “Franz Cumont,” in Religion und Geschichte in Ge-
stories of Phaeton, Marsyas, or the Muses—came to be used,
genwart, 4th ed. (Stuttgart, Germany, 1999), col. 504–505.
through philosophical interpretation, as themes for the deco-
On Cumont’s life, works, and correspondence, see Bonnet,
ration of the sarcophagi of the upper classes.
La correspondance scientifique de Franz Cumont conservée à
l’Academia Belgica de Rome (Brussels and Rome, 1997); as
Different aspects of Cumont’s reconstruction were chal-
well as Bonnet’s “La formation de Franz Cumont d’après sa
lenged by Arthur Darby Nock and Paul Veyne, who doubt
correspondance (1885–1892),” Kernos 11 (1998): 245–264.
that such a symbolic value is actually perceptible. Veyne pre-
See also Aline Rousselle, ed., Actes de la Table Ronde: “Franz
fers to speak of an “aesthetic” atmosphere, while Nock stress-
Cumont et la science de son temps,” Paris, 5–6/12/1997 (Paris,
es the fact that Cumont gives too much importance to philo-
1999; MEFRIM 111 [1999]); Bonnet, “Franz Cumont re-
censeur,” in Képoi: Mélanges en l’honneur d’André Motte, ed-
sophical and literary evidence, and consequently presents as
ited by Vinciane Pirenne-Delforge and Edouard Delruelle
a general phenomenon what was actually a conception
(Liège, Belgium, 2001), pp. 309–335; Bonnet, “Le grand ate-
among elites.
lier de la science”: Franz Cumont et l’Altertumswissenschaft,
Cumont’s works on Julian include Recherches sur la tra-
Héritages et émancipations, vol. 1: Des études universitaires à
la première guerre mondiale (Brussels and Rome, 2004).
dition manuscrite des lettres de l’empereur Julien (1898); with
Joseph Bidez, Imp. Caesaris Flavii Claudii Iuliani Epistulae,
On Mithraism, see Richard Gordon, “Franz Cumont and the
leges, poematia, fragmenta varia (1922); L’Égypte des as-
Doctrines of Mithraism,” in Mithraic Studies, edited by John
R. Hinnells (Manchester, UK, 1975), pp. 215–248; Roger
trologues (1937); and, with Bidez, Les Mages hellénisés (1938).
Beck, “Mithraism since Franz Cumont,” Aufstieg und
This last work is a critical edition of and an abundant com-
Niedergang der römischen Welt (ANRW) II, 17, no. 4 (1984):
mentary on texts (mostly in Greek) that were issued in antiq-
2002–2115; Robert Turcan, “Franz Cumont, un fondateur,”
uity under the authority of Zoroaster/Zarathushtra, or other
Kernos 11 (1998): 235–244; and Roger Beck, “The Mysteries
so-called magi. The very existence of such Hellenized magi
of Mithra: A New Account on Their Genesis,” Journal of
remains doubtful however: many if not all of those works
Roman Studies 88 (1998): 115–128.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CUNA RELIGION
2095
On iconographical analysis, see Arthur Darby Nock, “Sarcophagi
The various curing, exorcism, female puberty, and fu-
and Symbolism,” American Journal of Archaeology 50 (1946):
nerary texts are all recited verbatim as learned from an au-
14–170, and Paul Veyne, “L’empire Romain,” in Philippe
thoritative master. Not so with the texts of the chiefly God’s
Aries and Georges Duby, eds., Histoire de la vie privee, vol.
Way. Chiefs are free to render myths as they see fit, or even
I, De l’Empire Romaine à l’an mil (Paris, 1985),
to recount events from recent history. Some of their chants
pp. 221–222.
are not narratives, but complicated poetic metaphors.
On Oriental religions, see Ramsey MacMullen, Paganism in the
Roman Empire (New Haven and London, 1981); Nicole
COSMOGONY AND MYTHIC THEMES. Cuna cosmogony, as
Belayche, “‘Deae Syriae Sacrum’: La romanité des cultes
disclosed in God’s Way, posits an original creation by God,
‘orientaux,’” Revue Historique 302 (2001): 565–592; and
who sends the first man, Wako, to earth. In a primordial par-
“L’Oronte et le Tibre: L’‘Orient’ des cultes ‘orientaux’ de
adise, Wako finds the earth to be his mother, and the rivers,
l’empire romain,” in L’Orient dans l’histoire religieuse de
the sun, the moon, and the stars to be his brothers. The trees
l’Europe, edited by Mohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi and John
are young women. Wako lives here blissfully until God calls
Scheid (Louvain, Belgium, 2001), pp. 1–35.
him back. (This image of a primordial paradise resembles the
JACQUES DUCHESNE-GUILLEMIN (1987)
childhood of a male Cuna in a matrilocal household belong-
CORINNE BONNET (2005)
ing to his mother and composed of his brothers and sisters,
the type of household that exists before marriage disperses
the brothers to other households and brings in outsiders to
CUNA RELIGION. There are perhaps forty thousand
marry the sisters. Thus Wako does not have to grow up.)
Cuna Indians today, living mostly in the San Blas Reserve
Wako is merely the first of many human sons or emis-
on Panama’s Atlantic coast, with small groups along the inte-
saries whom God sends to earth. Most of their descendants
rior Bayano and Chucanaque rivers and in three villages in
become corrupt, necessitating more emissaries to correct
Colombia. The Cuna survived the traumatic but ephemeral
them. When this fails, God repeatedly visits catastrophic
Spanish conquest of the Darien Isthmus (modern-day Isth-
punishments upon mankind and the cycle begins again. This
mus of Panama) after 1510. They are thus one of the few
is not quite a creation cycle since mankind is never destroyed
remnants of the flourishing pre-Columbian chieftaincies of
and created anew. Rather, emissary prophets attempt to cor-
the circum-Caribbean. The Cuna maintained their autono-
rect wayward peoples. They succeed with some, for a time;
my partly by allying themselves with the buccaneers who ha-
others degenerate into evil spirits and—later—“animal
rassed the Spaniards.
people.”
CULT ORGANIZATION. Institutionally, Cuna religion is orga-
nized in both communal and shamanic cults. The communal
After Wako, God sends Piler, together with his wife, to
cult is maintained by the village chiefs (sailakana), who chant
found the human race. Piler’s grandchildren become vain-
from oral mythological texts known as Pap Ikar (“god’s
glorious and quarrelsome. After two successive groups of em-
way”) some three nights a week to the assembled village. Of-
issary teachers fail to correct them, God upturns the world,
ficial interpreters (arkarana) explain the arcane language of
banishing Piler’s descendants to the fourth layer of the un-
the chants, using homilies on contemporary morality. Fe-
derworld, where they remain as ponikan (“evil ones”) ready
male puberty feasts are collective rites sponsored by each vil-
to wreak illness upon mankind.
lage once a year.
The next great emissary prophet is Mako, sent to correct
The shamanic cult is not conducted communally, save
the obstreperous ponikan who are making their way through
for the rite of village exorcism that occurs during epidemics
tunnels up from the underworld. Like Piler, Mako is given
or other collective dangers. Shamans (neles) are credited with
a wife by God. Both he and his wife are called back to God
clairvoyance, through trance or dreams, into the four layers
unblemished. Their three morally ambiguous children, who
of the underworld. Neles, who may be male or female, are
are neither exemplarily good nor particularly evil, start the
born to their role and are discovered by midwives through
major cycle of Cuna mythology: that of Tat Ipelele
signs in their afterbirth. A born nele must nurture the gift
(“grandfather lord shaman”; also, the personified sun).
and be apprenticed to an adult nele.
Ipelele and his six siblings are born of an incestuous
Other experts are not clairvoyants. All know a sacred
union between two of Mako’s children. Forced by their
text, ikar (“path” or “way”). These texts invoke spiritual
crime to flee, Ipelele’s father becomes the Moon, while Ipe-
helpers, such as stick dolls (suar nuchu) or magical stones (ak-
lele’s mother takes refuge with Frogwoman. Frogwoman’s
wanusu), as allies in combating evil, meddlesome spirits, who
animal sons devour Ipelele’s mother, and Frogwoman raises
usually have captured the patient’s soul and who hold it in
the children as her own. Ipelele discovers the secret of his
their stronghold at the fourth level of the underworld. In ad-
birth and journeys to the underworld to find the herbal med-
dition, there are herbalists (inatuleti) who know native plant
icines that will revive his mother. Able to restore her only
medicines and brief incantations. Usually these specialists go
temporarily, Ipelele then devotes his life to heroic struggles
to work only after a nele has clairvoyantly diagnosed the
against the descendants of Piler, as well as against other
patient.
enemies.
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CUNA RELIGION
Ipelele marries the daughters of evil chiefs to learn their
forging alliances with evil spirits to learn their secrets. In the
secrets. He gives his sister to Wind in order to make an ally
underworld are the strongholds of the kings of the spiritual
of him. He discovers the powers inherent in tobacco, hot
allies. Heaven itself, revealed by the neles through a chant
pepper smoke, and cacao incense to make the ponikan drunk
that recounts the adventures of a soul brought back from the
and helpless during feasts he offers them. He turns many of
dead, is a stronghold at the fourth layer above. Its golden
them into “animal people,” animal spirits with their own
buildings not only evoke the ancient chiefly strongholds of
strongholds at the fourth layer of the underworld. He finds
nearby Colombia, but today heaven also includes skyscrap-
allies in magical stones and stick spirits (from the balsa tree),
ers, automobiles, and telescopes, which permit souls to gaze
which are the magical allies of shamans today. At one point,
upon the living, the underworld, and the United States (lo-
he even defeats the ponikan in battle, leaving the battlefield
cated, by implication, somewhere near the underworld).
strewn with their corpses. Finally, Ipelele is called back to
Souls who arrive at God’s golden house do so only after hav-
heaven to become the Sun, riding each day in a giant canoe
ing been physically punished for their earthly sins as they
steered by his helmsman servant and accompanied by his
journey through the underworld.
sister.
GOD AND MORALITY. The image of God, called Pap
After Ipelele’s ascent, the cycle of emissary preachers,
(“father”) or Diosaila (from the Spanish Dios and the Cuna
human corruption, and catastrophic punishment (by fire,
saila, “chief”), is that of a stern and distant paternal figure.
wind, darkness, and flood) is repeated four more times. After
He is never directly personified, unlike his sons and emissar-
the final flood comes the beginning of the present epoch.
ies. His morality is consistent with the good and harmonious
Here the great tribal culture hero, Ipeorkun (“lord gold
management of a matrilocal extended household and of a
kuna”) arrives among the Cuna, who are at this time corrupt,
community made up of a number of such households. That
ignorant, and little different from the “animal people” who
morality, preached weekly in the local assemblies, enjoins a
surround them.
man to be hard-working, productive, and cooperative, and
MYTHIC ORIGIN OF CUNA CULTURE. Now there is a reversal
a woman to be fertile, clean, industrious, and nurturant.
of the usual theme. Instead of the descendants of a prophet
Women must avoid gossip, and men, quarrels. Minor con-
lord becoming corrupt, the Cuna (like Ipelele before them)
flicts must be dealt with promptly by wise, paternal chiefs,
discover their true identity as olotule (“golden people”) and
and punishment meted out swiftly—often in the form of ver-
shed the filthy ways of the animal people. Ipeorkun, like
bal admonishments—after which all is forgiven and forgot-
Mako, is not a warrior but is rather a teacher who reveals the
ten. To do otherwise raises the specter of backsliding into the
particulars of Cuna culture: female puberty ceremonies; bod-
evil ways of the “animal people.”
ily cleanliness and, closely associated with it, purity; “correct”
MYTHOLOGY AND CULTURAL SURVIVAL. Armed with this
(Cuna) kin terms; terms for parts of the body; how to use
religion, the Cuna were an insuperable foe to the Spaniards,
the magical spirit allies of the shamans and the texts that con-
whom the Cuna associated with the ponikan, and whom they
trol them; how to mourn properly; how to build proper
correctly identified as the source of illnesses. Just as the poni-
houses; how to sleep in hammocks; and, finally, the texts of
kan steal men’s souls, so did the Spaniards capture their bo-
God’s Way. His sister teaches women the arts of cleanliness
dies and enslave them. The Cuna borrowed their mythologi-
and sewing. Ipeorkun—like Wako, Mako, and Ipelele—is
cal strategy for dealing with the ponikan and applied it to the
called to God.
Spaniards. Just as neles ally themselves mystically with friend-
After Ipeorkun come the eight Ipelerkan (“lord sha-
ly spirits, get the ponikan drunk magically, and confine them
mans”) to continue his teachings. They grow vainglorious
to their proper strongholds, so too did the Cuna form alli-
and corrupt, now in specifically Cuna ways. For instance,
ances with the Atlantic enemies of Spain, feast the Spaniards,
one of them who knows the female puberty text keeps the
and keep them at arm’s length. In 1925, the strategy was
young initiates for himself. The eight Ipelerkan are corrected
played out exactly. The great tribal chief Nele Kantule, who
by a young son of one of them, Nele Kwani, who foresees
was also a shaman, formed an alliance with an American ad-
a drought (another punishment from God) and bests them
venturer and organized an uprising against the Panamanian
all in a contest of magical powers.
administration, which took place during Carnival. The plot-
ters fell upon unsuspecting, drunken guardsmen and killed
Although the Cuna are a horticultural people whose sta-
them. The United States imposed on Panama a treaty favor-
ple is the banana in various forms, and whose cash crop is
able to the Indians.
the coconut, neither crop is sacralized or commemorated in
any myths yet collected. Cacao, tobacco, balsa wood, and
Cuna mythology is kept open-ended and vital through
magical stones, all supernatural allies in the struggle against
the neles and through the chiefs who incorporate recent his-
evil, are, however, richly attested in the Ipelele cycle of narra-
tory into their chants. The dominant ritual is the recitation
tives.
of texts. Prayer and sacrifice are not practiced.
COSMOLOGY. Cuna cosmology, with its four levels above
Cuna religion continues to be practiced vigorously de-
and four below the earth, is continuously revealed by the
spite the incursions of Christian missionaries and public
neles, who mystically journey through the cosmos, often
health clinics. One community, however, has already ap-
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2097
pointed “singing chiefs” for a traditional congress house sep-
Howe’s “Village Political Organization among the San Blas
arate from the “administrative chiefs” who conduct secular
Cuna” (Ph.D. diss., University of Pennsylvania, 1974).
affairs. It is possible that this development contains the seeds
ALEXANDER MOORE (1987)
of a Cuna church or ecclesiastical cult separate from the civil
government. Such a church could very well be the outcome
of continuing acculturation and urbanization.
CURSING, the antithesis of blessing, is a pan-global,
BIBLIOGRAPHY
pan-historical phenomenon in which language, spoken or
The single most important source for Cuna mythology is Norman
written and with or without special accompanying actions,
MacPherson Chapin’s Pab Igala: Historias de la tradición
is directed at bringing down evil or misfortune upon an in-
Cuna (Panama City, 1970). This comprehensive set of texts
tended object, person, or community. Although in colloquial
is arranged in a sequence that Chapin’s chiefly informants
parlance cursing commonly refers to imprecations spoken as
agree is correct. The current edition is mimeographed, but
spontaneous outbursts of rage or to cold-blooded private
a print edition is planned. There has been no such compila-
wishes of malice, as well as to “profane” language generally,
tion of curing, puberty, or funerary texts. The text for child-
this article emphasizes not only expressiveness but also the
birth appears in Nils M. Homer and S. Henry Wassen’s The
presumed efficacy of such language. A curse can be consid-
Complete Mu-Igala in Picture Writing (Göteberg, 1953). This
ered efficacious in a given cultural context either because of
is the subject of a celebrated essay by Claude Lévi-Strauss,
an explicit or implicit appeal to a deity or spiritual power to
“The Effectiveness of Symbols,” in Structural Anthropology
endorse and realize the curse or because the spoken or writ-
(New York, 1963). Chapin has corrected Lévi-Strauss’s eth-
ten word in and of itself is recognized as efficacious by the
nographic errors in “Muu Ikala: Cuna Birth Ceremony,” in
Ritual and Symbol in Native Central America, edited by Phil-
sender and the object of the curse and/or by the cultural
lip Young and James Howe (Eugene, Ore., 1976). This vol-
community. In the latter case, the curse may be considered
ume also contains Howe’s cogent “Smoking Out the Spirits:
operative upon being pronounced, and the object of the
A Cuna Exorcism,” pp. 69–76. The best study of curing is
curse may henceforth consider him or herself, and be regard-
Chapin’s “Curing among the San Blas Cuna” (Ph.D. diss.,
ed by the community, as “accursed.”
University of Arizona, 1983).
A middle ground between cursing as spontaneous oral
Unfortunately, recent work has shown the texts of Erland Nor-
outburst and culturally recognized or institutionalized ritual
denskiöld’s 1920s expedition to the Cuna to be garbled. His
is the broad category of inscribed personal curses that serve
An Historical and Ethnological Survey of the Cuna Indians,
exclusively private ends. Linguists and folklorists in many
written in collaboration with Ruben Pérez and edited by S.
cultural contexts have collected private and personal curses,
Henry Wassen (Göteberg, 1938), should be read only in
including modern Palestinian curses that follow biblical
connection with other works cited here.
curse formulas. For example, a da Dweh may call upon God
James Howe, Joel Sherzer, and Norman MacPherson Chapin have
(or sometimes Satan) to bring down affliction on an enemy’s
published Cantos y oraciones del Congreso Cuna (Panama
health, family, honor, or property: “may God make a disease,
City, 1979) in a beautiful edition that presents a number of
whose cure nobody knows, befall you,” “may God destroy
texts and excellent sociolinguistic and ethnological analyses.
your tent and your pasture. . . . may God deprive you of
Sherzer expounds the different styles used in reciting Cuna
all that throws a shadow” (Canaan, 1935, pp. 247, 259).
sacred texts in “Namakke, sunmakke, kormakke: Three Types
of Cuna Speech Event,” in Explorations in the Ethnography
Among the richest sources of such private curses are the
of Speaking, edited by Richard Bauman and Joel Sherzer
tabellae defixiones of the classical Greco-Roman world.
(New York, 1974).
Thousands of such tiny lead tablets, etched with inscriptions
The female puberty ceremony is described, without symbolic anal-
and sometimes diagrams and rolled and pierced by a nail,
ysis and without the major sacred texts, in Arnulfo Prestán
have been discovered at the bottoms of wells or buried at sta-
Simón’s El uso de la chicha y la sociedad Kuna (Mexico City,
dia, crossroads, marketplaces, and the thresholds of homes
1975). The continuing open-endedness or productivité of
and shops. These tabellae use succinct and sometimes cryptic
Cuna sacred texts is explained in Dina Sherzer and Joel
but often explicit subjunctive or optative language to call
Sherzer’s “Literature in San Blas: Discovering the Cuna
down mishap, misfortune, financial disaster, sexual dysfunc-
Ikala,” Semiotica 6 (1972): 182–199. I have explicated the
tion, bodily harm or death upon the object of the curse,
application of this mystical strategy to practical diplomacy in
whether a despised neighbor, a rival shop-owner, a court-
“Lore and Life: Cuna Indian Pageants, Exorcism, and Diplo-
room adversary, a chariot-racing competitor (Gager items
macy in the Twentieth Century,” Ethnohistory 30 (1983):
66, 45, and 6, respectively), or the object of frustrated sexual
93–106. My “Basilicas and King Posts: A Proxemic and
Symbolic Event Analysis of Competing Public Architecture
desire: “I bind you, Theodotis, daughter of Eus, by the tail
among the San Blas Cuna,” American Ethnologist 8 (1981):
of the snake . . . and the penis of the god so that you may
259–277, explicates the peculiarly rectangular Cuna house
never be able to sleep with any other man, nor be screwed,
construction both in mythological and symbolic terms. Fi-
nor be taken anally, nor fellate, nor find pleasure with any
nally, the single best ethnographic study of the Cuna is James
other man but me” (Gager item 54).
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Sometimes the tablet includes a tiny lead doll, bound
and ethical religious ideology assumed to be reflected in the
and pierced, and the written “binding” inscription implies
Hebrew scriptures and the polytheistic, “idolatrous,” and al-
an accompanying manipulative action that makes this more
legedly non-ethical religious ceremonialism of the neighbor-
like a spell or charm than a purely linguistic curse. The most
ing cultures of Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Canaan (see, for ex-
thorough and inclusive of all these defixiones curses is a Latin
ample, Pedersen, 1926/1964; Mowinckel, 1962; Hempel,
example c. 75–50 BCE against a woman in retribution for a
1961; Alt, 1934; and Blank, 1950–1951; cf. the criticism
curse she had put upon the scribe: it scrupulously enumerates
and the review of scholarship in Keim, 1992, pp. 7–10; Ger-
her body parts, including “intestines, belly, navel, shoulder
vitz, 1961, pp. 137–140; Brichto, 1963, chap. 7; and Craw-
blades, sides” and concludes, “Terribly destroy her, terribly
ford, 1992, chap. 2). According to this traditional reading,
kill her, terribly ruin her” (Falco, 140–41). The roots of such
cursing was a God-dependent supplication for the biblical
punitive counter-curse formulae can be traced to the much
Hebrews, whereas it was a mechanical, magical contrivance
earlier, first-century Mesopotamian Maqlu tablets, which
for the other Ancient Near Eastern cultures When a biblical
contain extensive counter-witchcraft directives and incanta-
text described curses similar to those of neighbor cultures,
tions: “May their witchcraft, poisons, and charms that are
the scholar might lament how “the common people of Israel
not good, but rather evil. / Turn upon them and attack their
even in the more mature stages of their religious develop-
heads and their faces. . . . May they dissolve, melt, drip
ment frequently relapsed into the gross practices of idolatry
ever away, / May their life force come to an end like water
and witchcraft [including]. . . . practices closely akin to the
from a water skin” (Tablet AfO 18, 1957–1958, ll. 56–7,
extant Greek and Roman tabellae defixionum, or curse tab-
76–7, in Abusch, 2002, pp. 73–74; cf. Cryer and Thomsen,
lets” (Fox, 1914, pp. 111–112). Thus, Alt in his classic 1934
2001, p. 47).
monograph on the origins of Israelite law, which influential
EARLY SCHOLARSHIP. In the matter of cultural interpreta-
scholar William Foxwell Albright endorsed in his review in
tion, scholarship on cursing in the mid-twentieth century
the Journal of Biblical Literature (1936, pp. 164–169), pro-
was heavily influenced by the turn-of-the-century research of
motes the chauvinistic idea that “Hebrew apodictic law was
Sir James Frazer’s Golden Bough, A Study in Magic and Reli-
original and unique in Israel,” whereas “less advanced” casu-
gion, 12 vols. (London, 1911–1915) and the Cambridge
istic law was followed in Mesopotamian and Canaanite cul-
school of ethnography. Their work globalized cultural
tures.
studies, but from a very hegemonic perspective. Thus, the
The following comment by Westermarck is typical of
early classic studies of cursing by Edward Westermarck, Er-
the cultural evolutionist viewpoint on the distinction be-
nest Crawley, and others often display cultural and ethnic
tween mechanical and intentional curses: “It is not to be ex-
stereotyping that derives both from their theoretical perspec-
pected, then, that distinctions of so subtle a nature should
tive of cultural evolution and from their uncritical use of
be properly made by the uncultured mind. . . . But with
travel accounts, colonial memoirs, and ethnographies as
the deepening of the religious sentiment this idea [of me-
sources of descriptive and anecdotal evidence. Canaan, for
chanically effective curses] had to be given up. A righteous
example, in his article on Palestinian cursing quotes with ap-
and mighty god cannot agree to be a mere tool in the hand
proval an earlier writer, Rihbany, who cautioned that in the
of a wicked curser” (1908, vol. I, pp. 235, 564; but cf. This-
matter of extravagant verbal outbursts one must “keep in
leton, 1974; Lauterbach, 1939; and Blank, 1950–1951,
mind the juvenile temperament of the Oriental” (Canaan,
p. 78). But as Graf has demonstrated in a study of Greek
1935, p. 260).
magical papyri, the Frazerian dichotomy is untenable (1991,
Early scholarship assumed a fundamental dichotomy
p. 194). Contemporary scholarship tends to show, in fact,
between the mentalities of “primitive” cultures, which used
that there is no definable, consistent contrast between the
magic, and the mentalities of “higher” civilizations, which
curse-formulas and usages of ancient Israel and those of her
developed religion. Scholars believed that cultures begin in
neighbors (see, for example, Gervitz, 1961 and 1962; Hillers,
magic and “progress” toward religion and that religion itself
1964 and 1984; Keim, 1992, chap. 1; Crawford, 1992,
naturally “progresses” from animism through polytheism to
pp. 231–235; and Cryer and Thomsen, 2001, pp. 120–34,
monotheism (see, for example, Malinowski, 1948 and the
144–146).
critical responses to Malinowski reviewed by Tambiah,
CONTEMPORARY PERSPECTIVE. Current anthropological
1968; cf. Keim, 1992, chap. 1; Fox, 1914, p. 122; and Cryer
and cultural studies and scholarship in comparative religion
and Thomsen, 2001, pp. 113–117). “Although the theoreti-
are no longer tied to the Frazerian evolutionist paradigm or
cal basis of this interpretive model has been largely discred-
unaware of its colonialist biases, as Mary Douglas shows in
ited and abandoned by anthropologists today,” as Keim con-
Purity and Danger: An Analysis of the Concepts of Pollution
cludes, “its legacy remains strong within the field of biblical
and Taboo (London, 1966). Instead, Western scholarship has
studies. . . . [as] the idealistic framework remained intact,
come to be as concerned with emic or indigenous self-
whereby the mythological and magical develops (in Israel)
representation and self-understanding, as with etic analysis
toward the historical and ethical” (p. 9).
and interpretation from the outside (see, for instance, the
Thus, until recently, biblical scholarship operated from
theoretical introduction by Frank Salomon and Stuart
similar presumed contrasts between the “higher” theocratic
Schwartz to the South America volume of the Cambridge His-
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2099
tory of the Native Peoples of the Americas, 1999). Anthropolo-
Ongka’s Big Moka, which shows an oath-making ceremony
gists no longer confidently plot a diachronic cultural progres-
intended to refute an accusation of death by sorcery in a vil-
sion from magic through religion to science (whose defining
lage of Papua, New Guinea (dir. Charlie Nairn, Granada
differences no longer seem self-evident, in any case) but are
Television International, 1974).
more inclined to see these as overlapping and synchronic
Comparable traditions have been widely reported for
mentalities, not only within cultures but within individual
other indigenous cultures of Native America, Africa, Oceania
psyches. Moreover, in his seminal monograph How to Do
and, especially, Aboriginal Australia. Death brought about
Things with Words, John Austin offered a significant philo-
by Aborigine “bone pointing” became a fixture of early eth-
sophical and linguistic contribution to the discussion of such
nographic reporting (Warner, 1941; Basedow, 1925) and of
speech acts as cursing and blessing, which seem to combine
popular culture as well, as in the Australian mystery novel
both utterance and performance. Although Austin’s taxono-
The Bone Is Pointed by Arthur Upfield (1947/1984). Similar-
my of “performative language” continues to be critiqued by
ly, it is reported that among the Maoris, “the anathema of
philosophers of language (see, for example, Tambiah, 1968;
a priest is regarded as a thunderbolt that an enemy cannot
Searle, 1965, 1975, and 1979), it has nonetheless proved
escape” (Polack, 1840, I.248; cf. Crawley, 1934, pp. 11–19
useful to analyses of ritual language, as in recent studies of
for other Maori citations). A healthy but inconclusive ongo-
West African ceremonialism (Finnegan, 1968; Ray, 1973–
ing scholarly exchange on the subject of vodou death, with
1974). The concept of performative language offers at least
an emphasis on Australian Aborigine culture, has appeared
the beginning of a more productive way to think and talk
over the years in the pages of American Anthropologist (Can-
about cursing or blessing as understood within given cultural
non, 1942; Lester, 1972; Lex, 1974; Eastwell, 1982; Reid &
contexts.
Williams, 1984), often looking for empirical explanations of
One way to create order out of the welter of ethno-
such reported deaths or, in the case of Reid and Williams,
graphic and literary sources on cursing is to survey the mate-
charging that vodou death is a European/American construct
rial thematically, the approach taken in Falco’s dissertation
and not an Aborigine reality.
on “The Malediction in Indo-European Tradition.” Draw-
PERSONAL CURSES AND INSTITUTIONALLY SANCTIONED
ing upon Indic, Hittite, Mesopotamian, Greco-Roman, Ger-
CURSES. Nonetheless, belief in the power of the word itself,
manic, and Celtic literary sources, Falco offers examples of
independent of any separate invocation of a deity, can be at-
curses that reference such universal themes as the body and
tested in many cultural contexts, including the Indo-
its parts (particularly the eye), food and hunger, sex, child-
European. In fact, it is particularly distinctive of the Sanskrit
lessness, homelessness, and pursuit and also more culturally
tradition, in which numerous Vedic, Brahmanic, and
specific themes such as allusions to swine and the sea and
Upanis:ads texts convey the idea that a primordial word, such
metaphors of atavistic dissolution into water, earth, and
as Brahma itself, embodies the fundamental creative and sus-
ashes. Particularly elaborate is the so-called Hittite Soldiers
taining power of the universe that can accomplish all things
Oath, actually more of a threat of sanction than an oath,
(Zimmer, 1956, pp. 74–83; Westermarck, 1908, I.563;
which charges that any soldiers breaking the military code
II.658, 716), and the idea of chanted mantra having all-
will be changed “into women, and may they dress them in
pervasive efficacious power is common to Hindu, Buddhist
a womanly fashion . . . and let them place in their hands
and Tantric traditions alike. Not surprisingly, therefore, effi-
a distaff and a spindle. . . . And let them be so cursed that
cacious curses abound in Indic, Persian, and other Indo-
their land not bear fruit, that their wives not bear children
European epic literature, as Falco demonstrates. A number
like unto their begetters, but monsters, that their cattle not
of biblical passages imply an automatic potency to curses
increase according to nature, that they suffer defeat in battle
(e.g., Num. 21–22), although this remains a subject of schol-
and in lawsuits and in marketplace, and that they perish ut-
arly controversy (see Fox, 1914, p. 122; Hillers, 1984,
terly” (Falco, 1992, pp. 89, 121).
p. 185; Lauterbach, 1939; Thiselton, 1974; and Blank,
1950–1951, pp. 78, 86).
In ethnographic study and popular culture, perhaps the
most familiar category of curses as speech acts that happen
Similar beliefs in mechanically effective cursing speech
are the reported instances of “vodou death.” Haitian vodou,
acts have been documented from numerous cultures
Brazilian Xango, and Cuban Santería derive from West Afri-
throughout the world (see especially Grimm, 1883–1886/
can religious traditions syncretically combined with aspects
1966; Frazer, 1911–1915; Westermarck, 1908 and 1933,
of folk Catholicism, and all are popularly supposed to in-
Crawley, 1934; Hobley, 1967; Skeat, 1965; Kluckhohn,
clude traditions of casting charms and spells, including fatal
1944/1967). The curse can be reified and treated as a baneful
curses that take effect instantaneously and across any distance
substance, as in reports of Irish folk opinion “that a curse
(for Haitian vodou, see Metraux, 1959/1972; Rigaud, 1953/
once uttered must alight on something” (Crawley, 1934,
1985; Pluchon, 1987; Abrahams, 1983). Casting of powerful
p. 368) or of old Teutonic images of curses alighting, set-
and deadly spells has been reported for Malaysia (Skeat,
tling, and returning home to their sender like birds (Grimm,
1965, chap. VI) and for Melanesia (Codrington, 1891,
1883–1886/1966 III.1227) or in the somewhat more sym-
pp. 51, 147) and is illustrated in the documentary film
bolic notions that Arabs considered curses so polluting and
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contagious that they would lie flat on the ground so that a
unless forgiven, is believed to be fatal (Westermarck,1908,
curse could fly over them, or that when forced to take an oath
I.622). Examples from Cameroon are given in Ngankam
a Berber might undress entirely so that the oath could not
Fogue, La malediction chez les Bamileke du Cameroun (Ba-
cling to the clothing (Westermarck, 1908, I.57–59). The
roussam, 1985; p. 14). Oedipus in exile delivers a terrible pa-
idea that curses can be contagious is the basis for two of Fra-
ternal curse against his disloyal sons (Sophocles, Oedipus at
zer’s most prominent themes in The Golden Bough, sympa-
Colonnus 1299, 1434). In fact, the curses of parents were em-
thetic magic and the transference of evil. Actual personifica-
bodied as avenging spirits, as the Erinyes among the Greeks
tion of curses is familiar from the Greek myth of the
or as the divi parentum of the Romans (Iliad 9. 453–457;and
pursuing Erinyes, who may be born of the blood of a mur-
21.412 seq.). The final scene of the third act of Verdi’s Rigol-
dered man, as in Aeschylus’s Eumenides (cf. Choephori 283
leto contains a highly dramatic malediction pronounced by
seq.; Plato, Laws ix.866).
a wronged father: Count Monterone curses his tormentor,
the jester Rigoletto, a curse fulfilled at last against both Rigo-
In contrast with private and personal cursing, culturally
letto and the count’s own innocent daughter. By extension,
recognized and institutionally sanctioned cursing involves
many cultures privilege the curses (and blessings) of the el-
speech acts that depend not only on the power of the words
derly and especially the dying; Grimm reports that in old
or formulas themselves, or on the deity or spiritual power
Teutonic ideology, the curse of a dying person was the
which may be invoked, but on the proper setting and cir-
strongest of all curses (1883–1886/1966, IV.1690; cf. Wes-
cumstances and, above all, on the recognized empowerment
termarck, 1908, II.637 for examples from Africa and classical
of the (special) person delivering or pronouncing the curse—
Rome).
the “technician of the sacred.” Depending on the religio-
cultural context, such a person may be designated as priest,
WOMEN AND CURSES. In cultures where women carry an
prophet, sage, shaman, wizard, or witch.
aura of taboo or where witchcraft is widely credited, a
woman’s curse can be particularly feared. Alice Ahenakew
The “specialist” in cursing goes under many different
tells the Cree story of “The Old Woman’s Curse,” about a
cultural designations, along a spectrum of degrees of per-
mother who inflicts a terrible fate on the young man who
ceived positivity and negativity, ranging from the priest who
robbed her of her daughter (Wolfart and Ahenakew, 2000,
heroically curses enemies on behalf of a community to the
pp. 20–24 and chap. 11). Zahan emphasizes the role of
witch or sorcerer whose curses are wholly malicious. The
women in nyctosophy among the Bambara of West Africa be-
major Mesopotamian text on witchcraft, Maqlû, consists of
cause of “woman’s enigmatic and impenetrable charac-
rubrics and incantations of an asipu or exorcist directed at
ter. . . . All the more amazing because of the psychological
subverting the negative powers of a kassaptu, a sorcerer or
character of her soul” (1970/1979, pp. 94–5), without ac-
witch, one who performs destructive magic: “May the curse
knowledging the gender bias inherent in such a comment.
of my mouth extinguish the curse of your mouth” (Abusch,
Similarly, Westermarck reports that among the Berbers of
2002, p. 132). In his writing about West African culture,
Morocco, “a person who takes refuge with a woman by
Dominque Zahan emphasizes the polarity between magi-
touching her is safe from his pursuer,” explaining that the
cians who are healers and sorcerers, whom he labels nycto-
“reason why women are regarded as able to offer an asylum
sophers, or practitioners of night-wisdom (1970/1979, chap.
is obviously the belief in their magic power and the great effi-
7). Both have fearful power that mediates between the com-
cacy of their curses” (1907, p. 367). There is a great deal of
munity and that which is wild or extraordinary, but among
evidence of malevolent cursing in medieval and Early Mod-
such groups as the Azande or the Lugbara, the sorcerer repre-
ern Europe (see Kittredge, 1929; Thomas, 1997; Douglas,
sents the inversion of the idealized human image (Ray, 1976,
1970), but scholars now discount the idea that there were
p. 151; Evans-Pritchard, 1936/1976). A similar fundamen-
active covens of female witches who consciously preserved el-
tal distinction between healer and witch as spiritual
ements of pre-Christian European religion (see the review of
“technicians” holds for the Navajo, but in addition Clyde
critical literature on European witchcraft in Thomas, 1997,
Kluckhohn states that four distinct kinds of witchery are des-
chap. 16, esp. pp. 514–515).
ignated by four distinct Navajo terms, with the sorcerer
S
(‘inzi’d) being the one to specialize in spells and curses
OCIAL JUSTICE AND CURSES. At the opposite pole from fig-
(1944/1967, pp. 31–33; cf. Simmons, 1974/1980, chap. 9).
ures of authority and technicians of the sacred, is another
group believed to have a special power to curse: the stranger,
Alternatively, the person’s power to curse may derive in-
the guest, the poor and the needy, and the victim of injustice.
stead from some more existential circumstance: from his or
Thus in many parts of the world—and numerous examples
her role as parent, a superannuated person, a stricken or
ranging from North Africa to the Tonga Islands and the Na-
dying person, or from the social role of stranger, guest, beg-
tive American Southwest are presented in the surveys by
gar, or victim of injustice. The curse of a parent is particular-
Westermarck and Crawley—strangers who step over the
ly dreaded in many cultures. According to a Moorish prov-
threshold are not only welcomed, but given a position of
erb, “If the saints curse you the parents will cure you, but
privilege at bed and board, at least for a limited period of
if the parents curse you the saints will not cure you,” and it
time, lest any dissatisfaction from a guest bring harm to the
is reported that among the Nandi of Uganda a father’s curse,
household. The Greeks believed that guests and suppliants
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2101
and beggars had their Erinyes, or avenging spirits, which per-
er is violated, or an oath, treaty, or covenant is broken.
sonified the curses they cast upon any who despised them or
Curses as protective threat-formulae are a familiar feature of
turned them away (Homer, Odyssey xvii.475; Aeschylus, Sup-
ancient Egyptian inscriptions. Represented in Western pop-
pliants 349, 489). Ecclesiasticus warns, “Do not avert your
ular culture as “the mummy’s curse,” the textual threat-
eye from the needy, and give no one reason to curse you, for
formulae (involving a variety of Egyptian word roots, includ-
if in bitterness of soul some should curse you, their Creator
ing and others) encompass a vast lexicon of stipulations and
will hear their prayer. . . . The prayer of the poor goes from
injunctions and a vast array of threatened punishments for
their lips to the ears of God, and his judgment comes speedi-
such criminal or sacrilegious acts as theft, defilement, efface-
ly” (Sir. 4:5–6; 21:5; cf. Prov. 28:27). A pair of Palestinian
ments, and other violations of tombs, stelae and monuments
proverbs sums up the philosophy of social justice underlying
(Morschauser, 1991; Nordh, 1996; Parrot, 1939). In the
this category of cursing: “Do not be an oppressor and you
words of one Sixth Dynasty tomb inscription: “As for any
do not need fear curses,” and “There is no veil separating
noble, any official, or any man who shall rip out any stone
heaven from the prayers and imprecations of the oppressed”
or any brick from this tomb, I will be judged with him by
(Canaan, 1935, p. 263).
the great God, I (will) seize his neck like a bird, and I will
cause all the living who are upon the earth to be
A special case of the conditional curse as an appeal for
afraid. . . .” (Pritchard 1969, p. 327c; for other examples,
social justice, protection, or sanctuary is the North African
see pp. 326–328). Similar protective curses are common in
Arab concept of l- Dâr, which signifies a compulsory relation-
Mesopotamian and Iron Age Syro-Palestinian Semitic in-
ship in which a claimant invokes support and protection at
scriptions (For Mesopotamian examples see Pomponio,
the implied risk of a curse in the event of being denied. As
1990; Grätz, 1998, chap. 2; and Speyer, 1969, pp.
Westermarck explains, the “constraining character of l- Dâr is
1170–1174. For Syro-Palestinian examples see Crawford,
due to the fact that it implies the transference of a condition-
1992, chaps. 4 and 5). An eighth-century Karatepe inscrip-
al curse,” mediated by what he calls “external conductors,”
tion carved in Phoenician upon a statue and pedestal of Baal,
such as sharing food, or grasping or touching a person, the
threatens any defacers of the name of King Azitiwada:
person’s child or horse, or grasping the person’s tent-pole
(1907, pp. 361–362). A similar claim and conditional curse
Now if a king among kings, or a prince among princes,
can be represented by a heap of stones:
or any man who is a man of renown, effaces the name
of Azitiwada from this gate and puts up his own name,
A common practice among scribes is to make a cursing
or more than that, covets this city and pulls down this
cairn for a wealthy man whom they have in vain asked
gate which Azitiwada made, and makes another gate for
for a present. They make a cairn either outside his house
it and puts his own name on it, whether it is out of cov-
or in some open place, read over it some passages of the
etousness or whether it is out of hatred and malice that
Koran, and, with the palms of their hands turned
hew pulls down this gate—then let Baalshamem and
downwards, pronounce a curse upon the niggard.
El-Creator-of-Earth and the eternal Sun and the whole
(p. 364)
generation of the sons of the gods efface that kingdom
and that king. . . . (Crawford, 1992, p. 162; cf.
A coercive claim can be made upon a saint by building a
p. 165, and Beyerlin, 1975, pp. 242–243; also see the
cairn or by tying a rag to a house or a tomb and declaring,
inscriptions of Hadad and Nerab, in Crawford
“O saint, behold! I promised thee an offering and I will not
pp. 200–207)
release [literally open] thee until thou attendest to my busi-
ness” (p. 369)—a threat/prayer analogous to that of Jacob
A sixth-century tomb found in Sidon tries to warn off poten-
wrestling with the angel (Gen. 32.26). Another method
tial tomb-robbers:
would be to sacrifice an animal at the threshold of the person
I, Tabnit, priest of Astarte, king of the Sidonians, son
whose benefits are sought, for “of all conductors of curses
of Eshmunazor, priest of Astarte, king of the Sidonians,
none is considered more efficient than blood” (p. 365). Wes-
lie in this sarcophagus. Whoever you may be who
termarck reports that in the Great Atlas Mountains a Jew
comes across this sarcophagus, do not open it and do
who settles in a Berber village “always places himself under
not disturb me. For they have collected no silver for me,
the protection of some powerful man by putting a¯r upon
nor have they collected any gold nor any other kind of
valuable. Only I am lying in this sarcophagus. You must
him.” Because a supplicant’s declaration that “I am in the a¯r
not open it and you must not disturb me, for that
of God and your a¯r,” implies a claim of sanctuary, Wester-
would be taboo to Astarte. And if nevertheless you do
marck concludes that la¯r “is thus a great boon to weak and
open it and do destroy me, may (you) not have any seed
helpless people, criminals, and strangers” (p. 366).
among the living under the sun nor a resting place
among the spirits of the dead. (Beyerlin, 1975, p. 245)
Protective curses. On the other hand, the protective
conditional curse is at the heart of prohibitive inscriptions
To maximize their efficaciousness, Egyptian curse-threats
and edicts of rulers and the elite, and of the traditions of
often were directed against the violator’s own mortuary cult
oaths, treaties, and covenants in Egypt and the Ancient Near
and ritual burial, his remembrance, his family, and his off-
East. In each case, the conditional curse invokes stated or
spring: “As for anyone who shall violate my corpse in the Ne-
agreed sanctions in the event that a tomb or boundary mark-
cropolis, or who shall damage my image in my chamber: he
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CURSING
shall be a hated one of Re. He shall not receive water or oint-
(Mercer, 1912, p. 40 n.3; Crawley, 1934, p. 47; cf. Gen. 15
ment for an Osirian, nor shall he ever bequeath his goods to
and the discussion in McCarthy, 1981, pp. 93–95). Crawley
his children” (Morschauser, 1991, pp. 117–129, 179). Some
(1934, pp. 39–48) and Westermarck (1908, chap. 50) pres-
inscriptions known as the execration texts, imply that magi-
ent within a Frazerian evolutionist model numerous exam-
cal actions accompanied the formulae (p. 142), and spells in
ples of such oaths, and the related convention of trial by or-
medical papyri and curses in royal decrees are particularly
deal, from worldwide cultural contexts.
prominent in the Rammesid period (Morschauser, 1991,
KUDURRU AND COVENANTS. The oath/curse formula charac-
p. 182; cf. Nordh, 1996, p. 103). A stock image in late New
terizes two important, distinct yet related genres of Ancient
Kingdom texts is the threat against a perpetrator, his wives,
Near Eastern literature: kudurru, or boundary-stone inscrip-
or children of sexual violation by an ass or of their sexual vio-
tions, and vassal-treaties, or covenants (for examples and
lation of each other: “He shall violate an ass, an ass shall vio-
sources see Fensham, 1963; Grätz, 1998, chap. 2, esp.
late his wife, and his wife shall violate his children” (Mor-
pp. 46–65; and Hillers, 1964, chap. 2). Scholars have dif-
schauser, 1991, pp. 198–200, 227–229).
fered over the commonalities and differences among these
Harsh and even crude as such curses sound, both Mor-
Ancient Near Eastern kudurru and treaty forms, but Dennis
schauser and Nordh emphasize the functionality of the
McCarthy has demonstrated “the essential elements of the
Egyptian curse-formulae as supplements to and guarantors
form: stipulations, the god lists or invocations, and the curse
of stipulations that, although having legal and moral stand-
formulae which are invariably found in the treaties from
ing, were nevertheless unenforceable, as in the case of the
Eannatum of Lagash to Ashurbanipal of Assyria” (McCarthy,
protection of the tombs, monuments, and inscriptions of the
1981, p. 122; cf. Fensham, 1962, p. 1–6; Hillers, 1964,
deceased. Nordh proposes further that curses were a way of
chap. 1). McCarthy reviews and analyzes important exam-
propagating the orthodox ideology of living in accordance
ples of Hittite, Assyrian, and Syrian treaty texts, including
with the all-embracing Egyptian cosmovision subsumed
the seventh-century Assyrian treaty of Esarhaddon and the
under the name of Maat (Nordh, 1996, p. 104; cf. Mor-
eighth-century Aramaic-Syrian treaties of Sefiré (McCarthy,
schauser, 1991, p. 266). As Keim insists,
1981, Part I; for original publication of texts see Wiseman,
1958; Dupont-Sommer, 1958, and Korosec, 1931; for trans-
One of the things that must be asserted at the outset,
lations and bibliography see Pritchard, 1969, pp. 534–541,
and reasserted in the course of study, is that ancient
653–662). McCarthy’s comparative study shows that al-
Near Eastern maledictions are religious. . . . There
though a verbal blessing and cursing formula typically con-
can be no question of such practices arising out of magi-
cludes the Hittite texts (chap. 4), the Sefire treaties actually
cal practices and then developing into religious systems.
incorporate the rubrics of acted out or performed curse-
If there was such a development, it was long before the
actions (1981, chap. 5; cf. Hillers, 1964, pp. 21–24), and
dawn of history and is no longer recoverable. Every-
the Esarhaddan treaty includes an exceptionally long and
thing we actually know about maledictions in the an-
cient Near East attests to the deeply religious nature of
graphic curse (a “baroque elaboration,” as McCarthy calls it
their forms and operations. (1992, p. 33)
(p. 121), accompanied by demonstrative actions: “just as
male and female kids . . . are slit open and their entrails roll
Indeed, the most renowned legal inscription of the Ancient
down over their feet, so may the entrails of your sons and
Near East, the Code of Hammurabi (c. 1675 BCE), concludes
daughters roll down over your feet” (p. 117 and chap. 6).
with an extended curse invoking the gods Adad, Sin, Innana,
“The reason for this emphasis on the curses,” McCarthy con-
and others to inflict terrible punishments on any who disre-
cludes, “is evident enough. They sought to secure the obser-
gard, distort, or efface the king’s words (Pritchard, 1969,
vance of the treaty by multiplying as it were the religious
pp. 178–180). In addition, Tzvi Abusch argues that the
sanctions and by the use of rites which were thought infalli-
counter-witchcraft ritual, the Mesopotamian Maqlu, was
bly to bring about the ruin of the transgressor” (p. 151).
based on the fundamental social contract embodied in an
oath, mamitu, whose violation by the witch brings down the
The Ancient Near Eastern vassal-treaty and its atten-
punitive counter-curse (2002, pp. 236–245, 253; and see
dant curse formulae provide an apt transition to analysis of
Mercer, 1912, pp. 26–28).
the curse traditions of the Hebrew scriptures, specifically in
relation to the central biblical idea of covenant (see Hempel,
As many scholars have pointed out, any oath intrinsical-
1961; Alt, 1934; Fensham; Hillers; Keim, 1992; and McCar-
ly implies a conditional self-curse calling down on oneself a
thy, 1981). The locus classicus is the blessing and cursing rit-
sanction or punishment in the event that the oath-taker
ual at Shechem in Deuteronomy 27, and the expansion or
proves untrue to what has been sworn. Often the medium
midrash on the blessings and curses in Deuteronomy 28, with
or vehicle of the oath embodies its assurance: the eye, the
its overwhelming preponderance of curse sanctions threat-
heart, the right hand, one’s children, orone’s parents are put
ened for disobedience to God’s law (Dt. 28:15–68; cf. the
at risk; or a weapon or a ritually slain animal are taken to rep-
parallel text in Lev. 26; see Lewy, 1962; Buis, 1967; Hillers,
resent either the means or the consequences of a violated
1964 chap. 3; McCarthy, 1981, chap. 9 and sources). The
oath, as with the custom of the Nagas of Assam in which
curses of Deuteronomy 28 are compulsively thorough, prom-
each party to an oath lays hand on a dog chopped in two
ising every manner of illness, misfortune, destruction, aban-
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2103
donment, and disaster: “Cursed shall be the fruit of your
in Numbers 22–24 in which Balak futilely urges Balaam to
womb, the fruit of your ground, the increase of your cattle
curse, rather than bless, Israel; Balak’s expectation is that
and the issue of your flock. Cursed shall you be when you
such a curse (or blessing) would be automatically efficacious
come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out” (Dt. 27:
upon pronouncement, whereas Balaam assumes that it
18–19). Although scholars continue to debate the origins of
would be dependent upon God. Qbb as revile also occurs in
cultic proclamation of covenant law, the cultic character of
Proverbs 11:26 and 24:24 as an unambiguous malediction
the Deuteronomic formulae is clear (see Alt, 1934;
upon bad behavior, and also in the familiar passage in which
Mowinckel, 1962; Grätz, 1998, chap. 3; Schottroff, 1969,
Job curses the night of his birth (3:8). In fact, the extended
esp. pp. 217–230; and the review of scholarship in McCar-
passage of Job’s curse upon his birth (3:1–9) includes parallel
thy, 1981, pp. 197–199). But, it is reported, so dread were
uses of three of the Hebrew words for curse: qbb, Earr, and
the Deuteronomic maledictions in medieval synagogues that
qillel. As a noun qelala is used to signify either that which
there were difficulties in obtaining readers at the appointed
is accursed or curse as the opposite of blessing (baraka—and
times; in one case, “on a Sabbath on which the ‘chapter of
sometimes berek, bless, is used euphemistically to mean qillel,
maledictions’ was to be read, the Scroll of the Torah was
curse, as in I Kings 21:13 and Job 1:5 and 9–11). As a verb
shamefully permitted to lie open for several hours, because
qillel is generally used in the Old Testament in a rather de-
no member of the congregation was willing to come up to
fuse and imprecise way to convey personal contempt, disre-
the pulpit” (Trachtenberg, 1970, p. 59, sources on p. 284,
spect, or abuse directed at a variety of objects, including par-
notes on pp. 32–35).
ents, kings, and, in Leviticus 24:10–16 and Exodus 22:27, the
Deity. In Genesis 8:21 God promises never again to qallel the
Other Old Testament texts that focus on the covenantal
earth, which as Brichto argues (1963, pp. 119–120), means
relationship, notably the Sinai texts of Exodus and various
abuse or treat injuriously, rather than curse (for full discus-
prophetic texts that espouse a covenant theology, have re-
sion on this root see Brichto, 1963, chaps. 4 and 5).
course to the curse sanctions of the Near Eastern treaty
model: “If the prophets of all periods knew the terms of the
Thus, the two primary terms for curse in the Old Testa-
covenant with Yahweh,” Hillers concludes, “they knew the
ment remain Ealah and Earr. The Ealah term usually has the
curses associated with the covenant as well, for these, an es-
force of conditionality and is associated with oaths and
sential part of the covenant between men . . . were also
swearing, and it is deeply implicated in the curse-sanctions
commonly attached to the covenant with God” (1964,
of treaties and covenant. As elsewhere in the Ancient Near
pp. 84–85). Hillers adduces numerous parallels between As-
East the Ealah curse is associated with the protection of prop-
syrian and Aramaic treaty-curses and such biblical passages
erty (Judg. 17:2; Lev. 5:1; Prov. 29:24), with juridical oaths
as Isaiah 34:11–17 and Jeremiah 13:26–27 and 50, which
(I Kings 8:31) or trial by ordeal (Num. 5:21–28, where guilt
call down curses of flood and desolation, devouring animals,
of adultery is tested by the curse of bitter waters), and with
broken weapons, incurable wounds, dry breasts, rape, and
royal commands (1 Sam. 14:24, where Saul precipitously
harlotry (1964, chap. 4). Fensham had earlier concluded that
puts a battlefield curse on anyone who eats before evening).
there “obviously exists a close connection between certain
But the most important association of Ealah is as punishment
curses of the ancient Near East and various prophetic male-
upon Israel for betrayal of the covenant (berith), as set forth
dictions,” focusing on examples of punitive maledictions
in Deuteronomy and a number of prophetic texts (Deut.
from Amos 4 and Isaiah 13. “We have followed the line
29:20; Isa. 24:6; Jer. 23:10; Ezek. 16:59; Dan. 9:11; and see
through from kudurru-inscriptions to treaties and hence to
Zechariah’s vision of the flying scroll of curses, Ezek. 5:1–4).
the Old Testament prophecies,” Fensham continues, al-
though the latter, he insists, substitute a moral/theological
The Earr term, cognate to the Arabic la¯r discussed earli-
grounding for the “mechanical, magical execution of the
er, forms the basic operative cursing rubric in the Old Testa-
treaty-curse” (1963, pp. 172–173). It is precisely this last
ment in its qal passive participle: “cursed be. . . .” Its fearful
point, however, that more recent scholarship calls into ques-
efficacy is associated with utterance by a figure of authority
tion. For example, Gervitz’s survey of West-Semitic com-
(Num. 5:18–27); a professional curser (Gen. 27:29; Num.
memorative, funerary and votive inscriptional curses shows
24:7); a king (e.g., Jehu, who curses Jezebel in 2 Kings 9:34);
the contain the same mix of apodictic and casuistic forms as
or the Deity, as in the paradigmatic curses in Genesis on the
do the Hebrew scriptures.
serpent, the ground itself, and Cain (Gen. 3:14, 17; 4:11);
or the angel of the Lord who curses those who do not partici-
Study of the topic of cursing in Old Testament contexts
pate in a holy war (Judg. 5:23). Such a curse has the force
is complicated by the fact that several quite distinct Hebrew
of a spell, as in the Balak/Balaam sequence in Numbers 22–
words are commonly translated as curse into English (or as
23, and it is the basis of the catalog of curses associated with
malediction in French or Fluch in German.). The major He-
violation of the covenant in Deuteronomy 27 and 28, dis-
brew terms are Ealah, Earr, qillel, and qbb (for major discus-
cussed above. In one enigmatic passage God threatens to
sions see Brichto, 1963; Keim, 1992, pp. 15–20; Scharbert,
curse Israel’s blessings (Mal. 2:2), in a passage that Gordon
1977; Gordon, 1997). The preponderance of occurrences of
takes as a satire on the priestly blessing (1997, I.525). In
the verb qbb in the OT occurs in the Balak/Balaam episode
other passages, a curse can be nullified by a blessing (Judg.
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CURSING
17:1–2), or it can be taken on by another person, as Rebekah
One distinctive cursing form found in the Intertestamental
does to protect Jacob (Gen. 27:13). Other uses of Earr in-
literature is the roll-call of woes: 2 Esdras contains woes
clude cursing the day one was born (Jer. 20:14–15; Job
against Assyria (2:8); the Sibylline Oracles call down woes
3:1–9), or, as a noun, it is used to signify that which is cursed
upon Babylon, Ethiopia, Libya (3:295–334), Phoenicia,
(Gen. 4:12 and 9:25; Josh. 9:23) or banned (Jer. 17:5). Com-
Crete, Thrace (3:492–511), Lycia (5:1–26), and Greece
pare it with the related term herem “identical with the curse
(11:183–185). The Apocalypse of Baruch declares that in the
in its most potent form” (Pedersen, 1926/1964, vol. 2,
last days the dead will be blessed (10:6, 11:7) and the living
p. 272), meaning that which is placed under a ban, even to
will be cursed (10:7, 14:14). Most impressively, the final
threat of extinction (Exod. 22:19; Deut. 7:6 and 13:13; Judg.
judgment section of 1 Enoch (94–105) contains a rolling de-
5:23 and 21:11).
nunciation of the foolish and the unrighteous, especially of
the wealthy who oppress the poor, for they will be given over
CURSING IN THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS. A special
“to a great curse” (94:6–8; 97:8–10).
case of the use of cursing in the Old Testament, one that has
been particularly problematical for pastoral theology, is the
These Intertestamental apocalyptic themes and the rhet-
“cursing psalms,” which Brueggemann has subsumed under
oric of the woes offer a direct connection to some of the most
the more general heading of “Psalms of Disorienta-
distinctive curse motifs in the New Testament. (Note that
tion” (1984, chap. 3; cf. Pedersen, 1926/1964, vol. 1,
the NT, like the Septuagint (LXX), adopts the Greek words
pp. 446–452; Mowinckel, 1962, pp. 48–52). Here cursing
anathematizo and kataraomoi as equivalents to the various
is turned into a weapon against personal enemies (Ps. 35) or,
Hebrew words for cursing.) The apocalyptic woes spread
more characteristically, into a weapon of Israel against its na-
over the earth in Revelations 9–12 directly carry over from
tional enemies (Pss. 79, 109 and 137). Thus, the familiar
the Intertestamental woes, as does Jesus’ pronouncement of
Psalm 137, “By the rivers of Babylon. . . .” concludes with
woes upon the towns of Galilee (Matt. 11:21–23; Luke 10:
the violent wishful prayer that the hated Edomites be
13–15). On the other hand, Jesus’ reiterated “Woe unto’s”
crushed for “what you have done to us!/Happy shall they be
reflect a more intense focus on personal authenticity and
who take your little ones and dash them against the rock!”
spirituality, as when Luke parallels the beatitudes with woes
(8–9). Most extravagant of all is Psalm 109, an uninhibited
unto the opposite behaviors (6:20–26). Jesus pronounces
prayer for Yahweh to visit every manner of cruel revenge
woes unto the betrayer of the Son of Man (Mark 14:21; Luke
upon the unnamed evildoers.
22:22). But the major instance occurs when Jesus pro-
nounces woes against the scribes and Pharisees as blind fools,
“Curses of the covenant” delivered by priests and Levites
hypocrites, and vipers (Matt. 23:13–36; Luke 11:42–52), a
appear in the initiation ceremony of the Qumran communi-
rolling denunciation that is the New Testament equivalent
ty (1QS 2:16 and 5:12; and CD 1:17; 15:2–3), and whoever
of the Deuteronomic curses in the Old Testament. Apart
attacks the covenantal relationship is accursed (11QTemple
from these texts, the only direct curses Jesus utters are the
64:9–12). The Talmud permits cursing the wicked (Men.
apocalyptic words of judgment, “Depart from me” (Matt.
64b), and acknowledges the efficacy of curses (Ber. 7a; Meg.
25:41), and the enigmatic cursing of the fig tree (Mark
15a; Sanh. 105b), especially when uttered by a sage, and even
11:12–22; Matt. 21:18–20), usually taken as an “acted out”
if undeserved (Ber. 56a; Mak. 11a). Hence, there also are
parable denouncing the barrenness of Israel (see Van Den
prohibitions against cursing, for example, by a wife (Ket.
Doel, 1968, pp. 247–251; Hatch, 1923; Robin, 1962).
72a), and against self-cursing (Shebu. 35a). A Jewish curse
Other than this, Jesus’ main teaching on the matter of curses
adapted from Psalm 109 that has retained currency is Yim-
is to refrain from all oaths (Matt. 23:16–22; cf. James 3:9),
mah shemo (vezikhro): “May his name (and memory) be blot-
and the Book of Revelation declares that in the Heavenly Jeru-
ted out!,” but the general rabbinic provision was to “Let
salem “Nothing accursed will be found there any more”
yourself be cursed, rather than curse someone else” (Sanh.
(22:3). Paul, nevertheless, concludes his First Epistle to the
49a). One well-known perpetuation of synagogue exclusion
Corinthians with the words, “Let anyone be accursed who
was the excommunication of Spinoza from the Portuguese
has no love for the Lord” (1 Cor. 22; a similar Islamic execra-
synagogue of Amsterdam in 1656 (Little, 1993, pp.
tion is found in QurDa¯n 2:161).
277–278).
The New Testament does present a number of instances
There is some continuity but not as much emphasis on
of individuals pronouncing oaths and curses, especially in the
cursing in the Old Testament Apocrypha and Intertestamen-
Acts of the Apostles. Examples include the oath of conspirators
tal literature (see Van Den Doel, 1968, chap. 2). In the wis-
against Paul (Acts 23:12), Peter’s implicit curses against Ana-
dom tradition, a well-known passage in Sirach parallels a
nias and Simon Magus (Acts 5:1–11, 8:9–24), and similar
mother’s curse and God’s curse (3:9, 16) and another warns
punitive curses of a folkloric character that occur in a num-
against the curse of the neglected poor (4:5–6). The Wisdom
ber of the New Testament Apocrypha (see Van Den Doel,
of Solomon reiterates the Genesis curse on the Canaanites
1968, p. 247). In 2 Peter 2:14 the apostle denounces false
(12:11) and promises that the ungodly and idolatrous will
teachers as “accursed children,” and earlier Peter had sworn
be accursed (Genesis 3:12; 14:8), and Tobit 13:12 calls ac-
an oath against himself upon denying Christ (Mark 14:71;
cursed all those who would dominate or harm Jerusalem.
Matt. 26:74).
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2105
But the curse of greatest theological richness occurs in
far less ecclesiastical sanction (Geary, 1983), when the chief
Galatians 3:10–14, in the teaching that “all who rely on the
relics held by a monastic church were taken from their usual
works of the law are under a curse” because justification is
places of veneration and placed on the floor of the chancel
only by faith, but that “Christ redeemed us from the curse
and covered with thorns. This ritual, combined with the ces-
of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written,
sation of virtually all work and ritual at the monastery, appar-
‘Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree’” (citing Deut.
ently created enough distress on the part of the local commu-
21:23). This radical doctrine of substitution (cf. 2 Cor. 5:21)
nity and the offending baron that a settlement of the relevant
may have led certain Gnostics to honor only a spiritual
issue could be negotiated. The religious phenomenology of
Christ and to repudiate the earthly Jesus, leading to Paul’s
the ritual is complex and conflicted: although the prayers are
otherwise enigmatic admonition, “Therefore I want you to
directed to God, the successful outcome is attributed to the
understand that no one speaking by the Spirit of God ever
saint, who has, however, not been prayed to but in effect co-
says, ‘Let Jesus be cursed!’” (1 Cor. 12:3).
erced and even punished for dereliction of duty. Verification
Early Christian writers wrestled with the question of the
of this interpretation comes from unauthorized versions of
appropriateness of cursing, generally labeling it a pagan prac-
the Humiliation ritual in which peasants would angrily strike
tice but allowing for it as an occasional moral corrective (Au-
the relic (an interesting contemporary representation occurs
gustine, De sermone Domine in monte 1:63–4; PL 34 1261–
in the Francine Prose novel Household Saints and its film ad-
62) or as a judgment of justice rather than revenge (Gregory
aptation). Behind all this, as Little argues, was the very real
the Great, Moralia in Job 6; PL 75:638–9). In the eighth cen-
need for justice and protection against very real adversaries
tury, Rhabanus Maurus Christianized the Deuteronomic
in a situation of extreme vulnerability. Nevertheless, by the
presentation of blessings and cursings (Deut. 27) by associat-
time of the Second Council of Lyons in 1274, the church
ing the curses with the Law and the blessings with the Gospel
forbade the ritual of Humiliation, although the tradition of
(Enarratio super Deuteronomium 3:24–5; PL 108:947–61).
the Clamor continued in the form of special votive masses
Thomas Aquinas’ scholastic solution was to conclude that
and prayers in time of trouble and in the Ash Wednesday
justified curses were curses only in accident and not in sub-
Commination in the Book of Common Prayer.
stance when judged according to intentionality (Summa
Although the Protestant Reformers were understand-
theologiaa IIa–IIae, q. 76).
ably hostile to the Catholic Church’s claim of authority to
CURSING AND THE CHURCH. Moreover, the post-
anathematize and excommunicate, many of the Reformed
Constantinian Church, building upon Paul’s comments in
churches (basing themselves upon Matt. 18:15–18 and 1
1 Corinthians 16:22 and Galatians 1:8, incorporated formal
Cor. 5:11) arrogated to themselves comparable powers of
procedures for anathema and excommunication, ratified at
“evangelical separation,” usually referred to among the radi-
the councils from Elvira (fourth century), Tours (sixth cen-
cal Anabaptist sects as banning or shunning. Characteristic
tury), and Toledo (seventh century) to Toulouges (eleventh
expressions of this reformed version of exclusion can be
century). In his study of medieval cursing rituals, Benedictine
found in several texts collected in George Hunston Wil-
Maledictions, Lester Little sets out the documentary history
liams’s Spiritual and Anabaptist Writers (1957/1970), includ-
of liturgical maledictory formulas in the monasteries of
ing Conrad Grebel’s “Letters to Thomas Müntzer” (1524),
northern France from the tenth through the thirteenth cen-
Balthasar Hubmaier’s “On Free Will” (1527), Caspar
turies. Little shows that in the context of deeply unsettled so-
Schwenckfeld’s “An Answer to Martin Luther’s Maledic-
cial structures, amid the threat of recurrent violence and dis-
tion” (c. 1544), Dietrich Philips’s “The Church of God”
order, and in the absence of effective instruments of law and
(c. 1560), and Ulrich Stadler’s “Cherished Instructions on
justice, the Benedictine monasteries developed a pair of elab-
Sin, Excommunication, and the Community of Goods”
orate ritual responses: the Clamor and the Humiliation of
(1537); and a systematic presentation is set out in Menno
the Saints. These rituals were influenced both by biblical pre-
Simons’s “On the Ban: Questions and Answers” (1550).
cedent and by the Irish Christian folk culture that had earlier
CURSING IN THE EARLY MODERN PERIOD TO THE PRESENT.
been carried by monks to the Continent. The rich tradition
One of the most familiar carry-overs of the curse tradition
of Irish saints, beginning with Patrick, whose weapons in the
in popular culture since the Early Modern period has re-
wilderness were fasting and cursing combined with the
mained the protective curse, famously called to the attention
strong language of the maledictory Psalms, produced a pow-
of tourists at Stratford-on-Avon, England, when viewing
erful ritual of prostration and cries unto the Lord for protec-
Shakespeare’s tomb engraving:
tion against enemies who ranged (in the eyes of the monks)
from marauding Vikings to recalcitrant or peremptory local
GOOD FRIENDS FOR JESVS SAKE FORBEARE,
barons. (See Little, 1993, Appendix C for “A Miscellany of
TO DIGG THE DVST ENCLOASED HEARE:
Curse Formulas”; Little also reminds us that a modern liter-
BLESE BE ye MAN yt SPARES THES STONES,
ary adaptation of the Clamor appears in Sterne’s Tristram
AND CVRST BE HE yt MOVES MY BONES.
Shandy.)
In Anathema! Marc Drogin has collected hundreds of fly-leaf
The Clamor was made even more dramatic when com-
book curses from medieval to Early Modern times aimed at
bined with the Humiliation of the Saints, a tradition with
protecting books from theft, defacement, misuse, or even
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
2106
CURSING
misreading, concluding with a contemporary British postal
tian material is covered in Katarina Nordh, Aspects of Ancient
mailing carefully inscribed, “PLEASE DO NOT BEND/ if
Egyptian Curses and Blessings (Uppsala, Sweden, 1996); Scott
anyone shall bend this, let him lie under perpetual maledic-
Morschauser, Threat-Formulae in Ancient Egypt (Baltimore,
tion. Fiat fiat fiat. Amen.” To this someone in Her Majesty’s
1991); and André Parrot, Maledictions et violations de tombes
Postal System succinctly appended, “FART” (1983, p. 111).
(Paris, 1939). The Mesopotamian Maqlû ritual for counter-
ing a witch’s curse is thoroughly analyzed by Tzvi Abusch in
Finally, note that the corpus of world literature is full
Mesopotamian Witchcraft (Leiden, 2002). Greek magical pa-
of curses that drive plots and provide dramatic and melodra-
pyri are studied by Fritz Graf in “Prayer in Magic and Reli-
matic dénouements, including: Enkidu’s curse on the prosti-
gious Ritual,” in Magika Hiera: Ancient Greek Magic and Re-
tute in Gilgamesh (vii.3); Oedipus’s unwitting self-curse
ligion, edited by Christopher Faraone and Dirk Obbink,
(Sophocles, Oedipus Rex 269–72); Dido’s curse on Aeneas,
pp. 188–213 (Oxford, 1991). The major study of curse tab-
who abandoned her (Aeneid IV.863–919); Medea’s curse on
lets or tabellae defixionum in the Greco-Roman world is John
Jason, who betrayed her (Euripides, Medea 160 seq.); Cali-
Gager’s Curse Tablets and Binding Spells from the Ancient
World (New York, 1992). Curses as a motif in the Indo-
ban’s curse on his new island overlords (Shakespeare, The
European literatures are the subject of Jeffrey Louis Falco’s
Tempest I.ii.353–67); Byron’s denunciation of Lord Elgin in
“The Malediction in Indo-European Tradition,” Ph.D. diss.
“The Curse of Minerva”; the bitter curses rained down upon
(UCLA, 1992). Cursing motifs in Germanic and Scandina-
Brother Lawrence in Browning’s “Soliloquy of the Spanish
vian folklore are dispersed throughout Jacob Grimm’s classic
Cloister”; and Dylan Thomas’s plea to a dying father: “And
early work, Teutonic Mythology, translated by James Steven
you, my father, there on the sad height, / Curse, bless me
Stallybrass, 4 vols. (1883–1888; reprint, New York, 1966).
now with your fierce tears, I pray / Do not go gentle into
For examples from India, see Heinrich Zimmer, Philosophies
that good night. / Rage, rage against the dying of the light.”
of India, edited by Joseph Campbell (New York, 1956),
pp. 66–83; and Paul Hockings, Counsel from the Ancients: A
Study of Badaga Proverbs, Prayers, Omens, and Curses (Am-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
sterdam, 1988), Index, p. 777.
A comprehensive survey of primary and secondary references to
cursing in the ancient Mediterranean world (Mesopotamian,
Magical formulas, including curses, from Ancient Mesopotamia
biblical, and Greco-Roman) is provided by Wolfgang Spey-
and Syria-Palestine, and from the Old Testament are illus-
er’s article “Fluch” in Reallexikon für Antike und Christentum,
trated and discussed in Frederick Cryer and Marie-Louise
Bd. VII (1969): 1160–1288. Such an assemblage will not
Thomsen, Witchcraft and Magic in Europe: Biblical and
have to be done again. Cursing, however, is a thematic topic
Pagan Societies (Philadelphia, 2001). Many relevant selec-
embedded in a vast range of other ethnographic literature of
tions from Egyptian and Mesopotamian texts, legal, political,
which there is no comparably complete or analytic survey.
and literary, are conveniently available in James B. Pritchard,
The widest ranges of reference are to be found in the work
ed., Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament,
of two early surveyors of ethnographic sources: Edward Wes-
3d ed. with supplement (Princeton, N.J., 1969); Walter
termarck and Ernest Crawley. For Westermarck see The Ori-
Beyerlin, ed., Near Eastern Religious Texts Relating to the Old
gin and Development of the Moral Ideas, 2 vols. (London,
Testamentv (Philadelphia, 1975); and Francesco Pomponio,
1908), especially chapters xxiii, xxiv, xxv, and l; Pagan Sur-
ed., Formule di maledizione della Mesopotamia preclassica
vivals in Mohammedan Civilization (London, 1933; Amster-
(Brescia, Italy, 1990). A major comparative study is Sebas-
dam, 1973) and his important article, “L DÂr, or the Transfer-
tian Grätz, Der strafende Wettergott: Erwägungen zur Tradi-
ence of Conditional Curses in Morocco,” Anthropological
tionsgeschichte des Adads-Fluchs im der Alten Orient und im
Essays Presented to Edward Burnett Tylor (London, 1907),
Alten Testament (Bodenheim, Germany, 1998). Thomas
pp. 361–374. For Crawley see Oath, Curse, and Blessing, ed-
Crawford’s Blessing and Curse in Syro-Palestinian Inscriptions
ited by Theodore Besterman (London, 1934), extracted from
of the Iron Age (New York, 1992) analyzes Semitic cursing
Crawley’s The Mystic Rose (London, 1902); the material is
inscriptions in Akkadian, Ugaritic, Aramaic, Phoenician,
also abstracted in Crawley’s article “Cursing and Blessing”
Hebrew, and Edomite. Contemporary Palestinian curses are
for the Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics, edited James
the subject of T. Canaan’s “The Curse in Palestinian Folk-
Hastings, vol. 4 (Edinburgh, 1908–1926; reprint, New
lore,” Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 15 (1935):
York, 1970), pp. 367–374. Another comprehensive presen-
235–279.
tation occurs in the article “Maldición” in volume xxxii of
Of particular importance among the Ancient Near Eastern texts
the Enciclopedia Vniversal Ilvstrada Evropeo-Americana (Ma-
for Old Testament study are treaties and covenants. Impor-
drid, 1958): 486–492. Also see the early overview article by
tant original texts were published in D. J. Wiseman, The Vas-
W. Sherwood Fox, “Cursing as a Fine Art,” Sewanee Review
sal-Treaties of Essar-haddon (London, 1958); A. Dupont-
Quarterly 27 (1919): 460–477. The classic expression of cul-
Sommer, Les inscriptions araméennes de Sifré (Paris, 1958);
tural evolutionism is James Frazer, The Golden Bough: A
and V. Korosec, Hethitische Staatsverträge (Leipzig, Germa-
Study in Magic and Religion, 12 vols. (London, 1911–1915).
ny, 1931). Important studies include Dennis McCarthy, S.
A key example of early-twentieth-century anthropological
J., Treaty and Covenant: A Study in Form in the Ancient Ori-
perspective on magic and religion is Branislaw Malinowski,
ental Documents and in the Old Testament (Rome, 1981);
Magic, Science and Religion and Other Essays (New York,
Paul Arden Keim, “When Sanctions Fail: The Social Func-
1948).
tion of Curses in Ancient Israel,” Ph.D. diss. (Harvard,
There has been a good deal of scholarship on the motif of cursing
1992); and Delbert Hillers, Treaty-Curses and the Old Testa-
in Ancient Near Eastern and Mediterranean literature. Egyp-
ment Prophets (Rome, 1964). Also see Delbert Hillers, “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
CURSING
2107
Effective Simile in Biblical Literature,” American Oriental Se-
ton, “The Supposed Power of Words in the Biblical Writ-
ries 65 (1984); Samuel Mercer, The Oath in Babylonian and
ings,” Journal of Theological Studies 25 (1974): 283–299. For
Assyrian Literature (Paris, 1912); F. Charles Fensham, “Male-
the biblical and later Jewish tradition, see Joshua Trachten-
diction and Benediction in Ancient Near Eastern Vassal-
berg, Jewish Magic and Superstition: A Study in Folk Religion
Treaties and the Old Testament,” Zeitschrift für die Alttesta-
(New York, 1970), chaps. 4, 5, and 8; and the article “Curs-
mentliche Wissenschaft 74.1 (1962): 1–9, and F. Charles Fen-
ing” in The Jewish Encyclopedia, edited by Isidore Singer et
sham, “Common Trends in Curses of the Near Eastern
al. (New York, 1916): IV, pp. 389–390.
Treaties and Kudurru-Inscriptions Compared with Maledic-
For the New Testament, the major studies, in addition to Speyer,
tions of Amos and Isaiah,” ZAW 74.2 (1963): 155–175.
are Anthonie Van Den Doel, “Blessing and Cursing in the
In addition to Speyer, already mentioned, major work on the sub-
New Testament and Related Literature,” Ph.D. diss. (North-
ject of cursing in the Old Testament has been contributed
western Univ., 1968); and L. Brun, Segen und Fluch in Ur-
by Josef Scharbert, including the articles “‘Fluchen’ und
christentum (Oslo, Norway, 1932). Regarding the cursing of
‘Segnen’ im Alten Testament,” Biblica 39 (1958): 1–26;
the fig tree; see A. De Q. Robin, “The Cursing of the Fig
“Curse,” in the Encyclopedia of Biblical Theology, edited by
Tree in Mark XI: A Hypothesis,” New Testament Studies 8.3
Johannes Bauer (New York, 1981): 174–79; and articles in
(1962): 276–281; and W. H. P. Hatch, “The Cursing of the
Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament, edited by G. Jo-
Fig Tree,” Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society III (1923):
hannes Botterweck and Helmer Ringgren, translated by John
6–12. Discussion of the various words for curse in the New
Willis (Grand Rapids, Mich., 1977): I.261–266, 405–418;
Testament occur in articles by Behm and by Büchsel in Theo-
and his book Solidarität in Segen und Fluch im Alten Testa-
logical Dictionary of the New Testament, edited by Gerhard
ment und in seiner Umwelt (Bonn, Germany, 1958). Other
Kittel, translated by Geoffrey Bromiley (Grand Rapids,
book-length studies focusing on cursing in the Old Testa-
Mich., 1964): I, 355–356 and 448–451.
ment include Willy Schottroff, Der altisraelitische Fluchs-
Aspects of ritual cursing in medieval Christendom, especially in
pruch (Neukirchen-Vluyn, Germany, 1969); and Herbert
monastic milieux, are the subject of studies by Patrick Geary,
Chanan Brichto, The Problem of “Curse” in the Hebrew Bible
“Humiliation of Saints,” in Saints and Their Cults, edited
(Philadelphia, 1963). Robert Gordon is author of a series of
Stephen Wilson, chap. 3 (Cambridge, U.K., 1983); and by
articles on the various Hebrew words for curse in the New In-
Lester Little, Benedictine Maledictions: Liturgical Cursing in
ternational Dictionary of Old Testament Theology and Exegesis,
Romanesque France (Ithaca, N.Y., 1993). Little is author of
edited by Willem A. VanGemeren (Grand Rapids, Mich.,
the article “Cursing” in the original edition of the Encyclope-
1997): vol. 1, items 457 and 826; vol. 3, items 7686 and
dia of Religion, edited by Mircea Eliade, vol. 4, pp. 182–185
7837; and vol. 4, pp. 491–493.
(New York, 1987), which includes a focus on Catholic, and
An important article that offers a comparative analysis of cursing
especially Irish, saint lore. Medieval book-curses are garnered
in the Hebrew scriptures and neighboring cultures is Stanley
in Marc Drogin, Anathema!: Medieval Scribes and the History
Gervitz, “West-Semitic Curses and the Problem of the Ori-
of Book Curses (1983). Reformation traditions of banning as
gins of Hebrew Law,” Vetus Testamentum XI.2 (1961):
a Protestant form of excommunication occur in various texts
137–158 (and see his article “Curse” in the Interpreter’s
collected in George Hunston Williams, ed., Spiritual and
Dictionary of the Bible, 4 vols. [New York, 1962]: I,
Anabaptist Writers (Philadelphia, 1957; reprint, 1970).
pp. 749–750). Earlier treatments of the same issue include:
The role of cursing in European witchcraft appears intermittently
Albrecht Alt, Die ursprünge des israelitischen Rechts (1934);
in the discussion by George Lyman Kittredge, Witchcraft in
Johannes Hempel, “Die Israelitische Anschauungen von
Old and New England (Cambridge, Mass., 1929); and in the
Segen und Fluch im Lichte altorientalisher Parallelen,” Bei-
more recent essays by Norman Cohn, Peter Brown, Keith
heft zur Zeitschrift für die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft 81
Thomas, and Alan MacFarlane collected in Part I (“The
(1961): 30–113; and, with respect to Deuteronomy, Imman-
Context of Witchcraft in Europe”) of Witchcraft: Confessions
uel Lewy, “The Puzzle of Dt. xxvii: Blessings Announced,
& Accusations, edited by Mary Douglas (London, 1970); and
but Curses Noted,” Vetus Testamentum XII.2 (1962): 207–
in Keith Thomas, Religion and the Decline of Magic: Studies
211; and Pierre Buis, “Deuteronome xxii 15–26: Maledic-
in Popular Beliefs in Sixteenth and Seventeenth Century En-
tions ou Exigences de l’Alliance?,” Vetus Testamentum
gland (New York, 1997).
XVII.4 (1967): 478–479. On the cursing element in the
Psalms, see Johannes Pedersen, Israel: Its Life and Culture, 4
Cursing as an aspect of magic is a subject of ethnographic study
vols. in 2 (Copenhagen, Denmark, 1926; reprint, London,
in worldwide contexts. Classic studies of magic in Africa in-
1964); Sigmund Mowinckel, The Psalms in Israel’s Worship,
clude: E. E. Evans-Pritchard, Witchcraft, Oracles, and Magic
2 vols., translated by D. R. Ap-Thomas (New York, 1962);
among the Azande, edited and abridged by Eva Gillies (1936;
Walter Brueggemann, The Message of the Psalms (Minneapo-
reprint, Oxford, 1976), esp. chaps. 3, 5, and 11; C. W. Hob-
lis, 1984); and Sheldon Blank, “The Curse, Blasphemy, the
ley, Bantu Beliefs and Magic, 2d ed. (London, 1967), esp.
Spell, and the Oath,” Hebrew Union College Annual XXIII.1
chap. 7, “The Curse and Its Manifestation”; the essays col-
(1950–1951): 73–95. The question of whether Old Testa-
lected in Witchcraft and Sorcery in East Africa, edited by John
ment texts manifest a belief in the automatic efficacy of
Middleton and E. H. Winter (London, 1963; reprint, 1969);
curses is addressed by W. Sherwood Fox, “Old Testament
Dominique Zahan, The Religion, Spirituality, and Thought of
Parallels to Tabellae Defixionum,” American Journal of Semit-
Traditional Africa, translated by Kate Ezra and Lawrence
ic Languages and Literatures 30.2 (1914): 111–124; by J. Z.
Martin (1970; reprint, Chicago, 1979), chap. 7, “Nicto-
Lauterbach, “The Belief in the Power of the Word,” Hebrew
sophers and ‘Healers’”; and Benjamin Ray, African Religions
Union College Annual XIV (1939); and by Anthony Thistle-
(Englewood Cliffs, N.J., 1976), chaps. 4 and 5. Relevant ar-
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
2108
CUSANUS
ticles include: Ruth Finnegan, “How to Do Things with
Navajo (Cambridge, Mass., 1946, 1974), chaps. 5 and 6; and
Words: Performative Utterances among the Limba of Sierra
Marc Simmons, Witchcraft in the Southwest: Spanish and In-
Leone,” Man 4.4 (1969): 537–552; Benjamin Ray, “‘Perfor-
dian Supernaturalism on the Rio Grande (Lincoln, Neb.,
mative Utterances’ in African Rituals,” History of Religions 13
1974, 1980). For other Native American examples, see They
(1973–1974): 16–25; the essays by Alison Redmayne and
Knew Both Sides of Medicine: Cree Tales of Curing and Curs-
R. G. Willis in Witchcraft: Confessions and Accusations: Part
ing Told by Alice Ahenakew, edited and translated by H. C.
II, “Cleansing and Confession of Witches,” and, on the sub-
Wolfart and Freda Ahenakew (Winnipeg, 2000); and, for
ject of “cursing deaths” in East Africa, Godfrey Lienhardt,
South America, Peter Riviere, “Factions and Exclusions in
“The Situation of Death: An Aspect of Anuak Philosophy,”
Two South American Village Systems,” in Witchcraft: Con-
in the same collection, chap. 13.
fessions and Accusations, chap. 11.
Curses, including death by cursing, is treated in studies of African-
The ur-text on performative language is John L. Austin, How to
derived vodou traditions. For Haiti see Alfred Metraux, Voo-
Do Things with Words: The William James Lectures Delivered
doo in Haiti, translated by Hugo Charteris (1959; reprint,
at Harvard University in 1955 (Cambridge, Mass., 1962).
New York, 1972), Section V; Milo Rigaud, Secrets of Voodoo,
The on-going debate is reflected in S. J. Tambiah, “The
translated by Robert Cross (1953; reprint, San Francisco,
Magical Power of Words,” Man 3.2 (1968): 175–208; and
1985), chap. 6; and Pierre Pluchon, Vaudou: Sorciers Empoi-
in the essays gathered in The Philosophy of Language, 3d ed.,
sonneurs (Paris, 1987). Non-academic and exploitive litera-
edited by A. P. Martinich (New York, 1996), part II,
ture on vodou abounds, as in the case of Robert Pelton, Voo-
“Speech Acts”: J. L. Austin, “Performative Utterances”
doo Charms and Talismans (New York, 1973), which
(1961); and John R. Searle, “What Is a Speech Act?” (1965),
contains instructions, for instance, on how “To Place a
“A Taxonomy of Illocutionary Acts” (1979), and “Indirect
Curse” (chap. 1). On performative language in the West In-
Speech Acts” (1975) Although there is little direct discussion
dies, see Roger Abrahams, The Man-of-Words in the West In-
of the subject of cursing in this literature, the concept has
dies: Performance and the Emergence of Creole Culture (Balti-
been invoked in the studies of African ritual by Finnegan and
more, 1983).
Ray.
Related material on cursing traditions is found in studies of South-
GEORGE SCHEPER (2005)
east Asian and Oceanic cultures, including Walter William
Skeat, Malay Magic (London, 1965), chap. vi, “Divination
and the Black Art”; Francisco Demetrio, S.J., Encyclopedia of
Philippine Folk Beliefs and Customs (Cagayan de Oro City,
CUSANUS SEE NICHOLAS OF CUSA
Philippines, 1991), pp. 52–54, 296; R. H. Codrington, The
Melanesians: Studies in Their Anthropology and Folklore (Ox-
ford, 1891), chaps. xi, “Prayers,” and xii, “Magic”; and the
book-length evangelizing work by Pieter Middelkoop,
CUSHITE RELIGION SEE KUSHITE RELIGION
Curse—Retribution—Enmity: As Data in Natural Religion,
Especially in Timor, Confronted with the Scripture (Amster-
dam, 1960). For the Maori see J. S. Polack, Manners
and Customs of the New Zealanders (London, 1840) and
CYBELE (Latin) or Kybele (Greek) is the Greek and
other nineteenth-century ethnographies cited in Crawley
Roman name given to a female deity of Anatolian origin
Oath 10–19.
whose worship was widely disseminated throughout the an-
cient Mediterranean world. The deity’s name in her home-
For the extensive and controverted reporting on vodou death or
land was Matar, or Mother; in some cases this was modified
bone-pointing among the Australian Aborigines, see, among
the older works, H. Basedow, The Australian Aboriginal (Ad-
by the Phrygian epithet Kybeliya, meaning “mountain,” the
elaide, Australia, 1925), pp. 178–179; and W. L. Warner, A
source of the term Cybele. The Greeks and Romans also ad-
Black Civilization: A Social Study of an Australian Tribe (Lon-
dressed the goddess as Mother (Meter in Greek, Mater in
don, 1941), p. 242; and, for the more recent scholarly debate
Latin), and the epithet Megale (Greek) or Magna (Latin),
in the pages of American Anthropologist: Walter Cannon, “
meaning “great,” was frequently used, causing her to become
‘Voodoo’ Death,” AA 44.2 (1942): 169–181; David Lester,
known as the “Great Mother.” Both the name and the visual
“Voodoo Death: Some New Thoughts on an Old Phenome-
image of the goddess first appear in Phrygia, in central Ana-
non,” AA 74.3 (1972): 386–390; Barbara Lex, “Voodoo
tolia (modern Turkey), during the early first millennium BCE
Death: New Thoughts on an Old Explanation,” AA 76.4
and spread from there, first to the Greek cities on the west
(1974): 818–823; Harry Eastwell, “Voodoo Death and the
coast of Anatolia, and then to mainland Greece and to Greek
Mechanism for Dispatch of the Dying in East Arnhem, Aus-
tralia,” AA 84.1 (1982): 5–18; and Janice Reid and Nancy
cities in the western Mediterranean. The goddess’s cult was
Williams, “‘Voodoo Death’ in Arnhem Land: Whose Reali-
imported into Rome at the end of the third century BCE, and
ty?,” AA 86.1 (1984): 121–133.
she became an important figure in Roman religion also. The
deity remained a prominent figure in Greek and Roman reli-
For classic studies of witchcraft and cursing traditions among Na-
gious practice until the dominance of Christianity in the
tive Americans of the Southwest, see Clyde Kluckhohn, Nav-
fourth century
ajo Witchcraft (Cambridge, Mass., 1944; Boston, 1967), sec-
CE.
tions 4, 5, and 10, Appendix II, “Sorcery,” and Appendix III,
THE ANATOLIAN BACKGROUND. The earliest clear evidence
“Wizardry”; Clyde Kluckhohn and Dorothea Leighton, The
for the deity is found in ancient Phrygia. In this region there
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CYBELE
2109
are numerous shrines to the goddess; frequently these con-
CYBELE IN THE GREEK WORLD. From Phrygia, the cult of
tain an image of the deity, often placed within a sculptural
the Mother goddess passed to Lydia, in western Anatolia,
relief that depicts the gabled end of a building in which the
where a fine marble image of the seventh or sixth century BCE
goddess appears as if standing in a doorway. Such shrines are
depicting the goddess standing in a temple has been found
particularly common in the region of Gordion, Ankara, and
in Sardis. During the same period, the earliest votive images
Bog˘azköy, and also further west in the Phrygian highlands,
of the goddess appeared in the Greek world, first in the
a region bounded by the modern cities of Afyon, Eski¸sehir,
Greek cities in Anatolia along the Aegean and Black Sea
and Kütahya. The goddess is regularly shown wearing an
coasts, and then in numerous centers on mainland Greece
elaborate gown and a high headdress, and often holds a pred-
and in Greek colonies in the western Mediterranean. In the
atory bird, perhaps a hawk; in a few cases the standing god-
Greek world the deity was addressed as Meter (Mother); Ho-
dess is flanked by a composite human-animal figure, young
meric Hymn 14, which probably dates from the sixth century
male figures, or lions. In some shrines, only the architectural
BCE, calls her “the Mother of all gods and all human beings.”
frame and doorway exist, suggesting that a portable image
She was regularly called the Mother of the Gods and was
of the goddess (now lost) was placed there. Some of the door-
often conflated with the Greek goddesses Rhea and Demeter.
way shrines are found on separate blocks, but others were
In Greek votive images the goddess appears as a seated figure,
carved directly into the natural rock of the landscape, where
usually holding a tympanum (drum) and phiale (ritual cup);
they form impressive monuments. Such monumental rock
often she has a lion cub in her lap, or two lions standing on
either side of her throne.
façades are particularly common in the Afyon-Eski¸sehir re-
gion; the façade at Midas City is the best known example.
Shrines to Meter are found in virtually every communi-
In several cases these façades bear inscriptions giving the
ty in the Greek world. One prominent example was in the
name of the goddess, Matar, occasionally with a qualifying
Agora of Athens, which contained a cult statue made by
epithet, such as Kubeliya. Others bear the names of Phrygian
Agoracritus, pupil of Phidias. Here the shrine of Meter
kings, such as Midas and Ates, suggesting a close connection
served as the repository of Athenian laws, a practice followed
between the Mother goddess and Phrygian royalty. In urban
in some Ionian Greek cities as well. The goddess was also
centers the goddess’s shrines are frequently located near the
worshiped with nocturnal mystery rites limited to initiates.
city gates. Shrines are also found along strategic transporta-
Briefly mentioned by Pindar (Pythian Odes 3), Herodotus
tion routes and passes, often in rural mountainous areas.
(4.76), and Euripides (Bacchae 78–79), these rites seem to
Others are situated near springs and other water sources, or
have been characterized by music, dance, and expressions of
near burial tumuli.
emotional intensity, features that were viewed with suspicion
by some Greeks, including Demosthenes (On the Crown
The origins of the goddess are much disputed. While
260).
some have claimed that her roots lie in older Anatolian reli-
gious practice, there is no secure evidence for a mother god-
During the Hellenistic period the cult of Meter became
dess in this region during the Neolithic or Bronze ages. Fe-
even more widespread and appears in a number of new Hel-
male figurines from Neolithic sites such as Çatal Hüyük and
lenistic city foundations. It is particularly well attested in
Hacilar probably have no connection with Cybele, nor is
Asia Minor, especially in Pergamum, where the goddess had
there any direct antecedent for the goddess in Hittite or other
an urban shrine with a magnificent marble cult statue. She
second millennium BCE Anatolian cultures. The Phrygians
was also worshiped in rural mountain sanctuaries near Perga-
immigrated into Anatolia from the Balkan region during the
mum, a link with her Phrygian identity as a mountain god-
Early Iron Age, and the origins of the goddess may lie in their
dess. Another prominent Asia Minor sanctuary is Pessinus,
ancestral homeland in southeastern Europe. On the other
in Phrygia, where the sanctuary of the Mother goddess was
hand, it is clear that the cult of the goddess as practiced in
the center of a temple state controlled by priests who bore
Phrygia was extensively influenced by the religious imagery
the title Attis.
of earlier and contemporary Anatolian cultures; the visual
During the Hellenistic period the cult of the Greek
image of the Phrygian Mother goddess bears a close resem-
Cybele was increasingly associated with that of a young male
blance to sculptural images of a contemporary Anatolian
figure, Attis. According to a complex mythological tradition
deity, Kubaba, worshiped in neo-Hittite cities in southeast-
preserved in variant sources (especially Ovid, Fasti 4.223ff.;
ern Anatolia. In addition, the attributes of the Phrygian
Pausanias 7.17, 9–11; and Arnobius, Against the Pagans
Mother goddess, especially the hawk and the association with
5.5–7), Attis was a beautiful Phrygian shepherd boy whom
mountains, have affinities with both earlier Hittite cultures
the goddess loved. When he proved to be unfaithful to her,
and with early first millennium BCE Anatolian peoples, such
the goddess drove him mad, whereupon he castrated himself.
as the neo-Hittites and Urartians. Yet the distinctive combi-
In this action he supposedly served as a model to the priests
nation of name, physical appearance, and architectural
of the goddess, the Galli, who emasculated themselves in
shrines that characterize the cult of the Mother goddess is
honor of Cybele. The origins of this mythological tradition
specific to Phrygia. The roots of the Greek and Roman Cyb-
and of the practice of ritual castration have been much dis-
ele lie in Phrygia.
cussed, and the source and meaning of both myth and ritual
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
2110
CYBELE
practice remain unclear. A god named Attis does not appear
tant shrines are known in Italy, Gaul, Germany, Spain, and
in Phrygian cult practice, and the name may refer to a mem-
North Africa. The cult continued to be prominent in the
ber of the Phrygian royal family who had important priestly
Eastern empire as well.
functions, functions that survived the collapse of the Phry-
Under the empire, the role of Attis in the cult became
gian kingdom and are reflected in the survival of the title
greater. His part in the cult may have been officially recog-
Attis in the Mother’s priesthood, such as that at Pessinus. A
nized for the first time by the emperor Claudius, according
fourth-century BCE votive offering to Attis from the Piraeus
to information contained in Johannes Laurentius Lydus’s De
forms the earliest indication of the cult of a god Attis in the
mensibus 4.59, written in the sixth century CE. The codex cal-
Greek world, and his cult is attested there in the Hellenistic
endar of 354 CE mentions five days of festivities in March
period as well. Votive images of Attis become common dur-
in honor of Attis, followed by the ceremonial washing of the
ing the Hellenistic period; these depict him as a young man
black stone in the Almo, a little river outside Rome. The in-
wearing a characteristic costume with a short tunic, leggings,
creased participation of Attis in the cult seems to have been
boots, and a soft hat with a pointed tip. The costume, origi-
celebrated with mystery rites. In the fourth century CE, the
nally worn by Achaemenian Persians, became so closely asso-
resurrection of Attis is explicitly affirmed by Firmicus Ma-
ciated with Attis that the dress, and especially the cap, are
ternus (De errore profanarum religionum 3), although it is
often called Phrygian.
doubtful whether the potential for resurrection was extended
CYBELE IN THE ROMAN WORLD. The cult of Roman Cybele,
to the cult’s practitioners.
the Magna Mater, was imported to Rome, probably from
The ritual of the taurobolium came to be associated
Pergamum, in 204 BCE, toward the end of the Second Punic
with the Magna Mater cult during the second century CE.
War. This step was taken by the Roman government after
Originally a bull sacrifice to the goddess, the rite was fre-
consultation with the Sibylline Books and was approved by
quently performed as homage to the emperor. During the
Apollo’s oracle at Delphi. From the first, the goddess was
late third and fourth centuries CE, the taurobolium entailed
connected with the Trojan origins of Rome. Members of sev-
a form of baptism by the blood of a sacrificed bull, as de-
eral prominent senatorial families, including the Cornelians
scribed by Prudentius (Peri stephanon 10.1001–1050). In the
and Claudians, assisted in the transfer of the goddess’s image,
fourth century CE, the cult of Cybele and Attis formed a con-
said to be an unformed black stone. The goddess was given
spicuous rallying point for that part of the Roman aristocracy
a temple on the Palatine, dedicated in 191 BCE, and an annu-
that had not been converted to Christianity; in the mid-
al festival called the Megalesia was instituted. The cult of
fourth century it attracted the emperor Julian, who wrote an
Attis was apparently introduced into Rome at the same time,
oration in honor of the Magna Mater. Public sacrifices to the
as is suggested by the discovery of a great many images of
goddess disappeared at the end of the fourth century, al-
Attis, dating from the second and first centuries BCE, in the
though in the fifth century the philosopher Proclus wrote a
precincts of the Palatine temple. The Galli, the emasculated
book, now lost, on Cybele.
priests of the goddess, also appeared in Rome. Their flam-
boyant costumes, feminine manners, and practice of ritual
SEE ALSO Castration; Dying and Rising Gods; Goddess
castration attracted much negative attention, and they be-
Worship, article on Goddess Worship in the Hellenistic
came the archetype of the effeminate male, as described in
World; Virgin Goddess.
Catullus 63. According to a passage of Dionysius of Halicar-
nassus, Roman Antiquities 2.19.5, from the first century BCE,
BIBLIOGRAPHY
the Roman senate at first prohibited the participation of
Borgeaud, Philippe. La Mère des dieux: De Cybèle à la vierge Marie.
Roman citizens in certain ceremonies of the cult of the
Paris, 1996.
goddess.
Cerri, Giovanni. “La madre degli dei nell’Elena di Euripide:
Tragedia e rituale.” Quaderni di storia 18 (1983): 155–195.
The Megalesia festival of the Magna Mater, celebrated
Graillot, Henri. Le culte de Cybèle, Mère des dieux, à Rome et dans
April 4 through April 10, was characterized by a procession
l’empire romain. Paris, 1912. Old, but still has important
of the Galli through the streets, in which an image of the
data on Cybele in Rome.
goddess seated in a chariot drawn by lions was carried aloft.
Gruen, Erich S. “The Advent of the Magna Mater.” In Studies in
Theatrical performances and banquets shared among mem-
Greek Culture and Roman Policy, pp. 5–33. New York and
bers of the aristocracy also formed part of the festivities. Her
Leiden, 1990.
cult was administered in Rome by the castrated Galli, under
Haspels, C. H. E. The Highlands of Phrygia: Sites and Monuments.
the control of the chief priest, the Archigallus; during the sec-
Princeton, 1971.
ond century CE these offices were opened to Roman citizens.
Hepding, Hugo. Attis, seine Mythen und sein Kult. Giessen, Ger-
Religious fraternities, such as the Dendrophori (“tree bear-
many, 1903. Reprint, 1967.
ers”) and the Cannophori (“reed bearers”), assisted in the cer-
Lancellotti, Maria Grazia. Attis, between Myth and History: King,
emonies. The liturgical language of the cult seems to have
Priest, and God. Leiden, 2002.
been Greek, and the surviving images of the goddess are simi-
Lane, Eugene N., ed. Cybele, Attis, and Related Cults: Essays in
lar to the Greek model. The cult of the Magna Mater spread
Memory of M. J. Vermaseren. Leiden, New York, and Co-
widely throughout the Western Roman Empire, and impor-
logne, 1996.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CYBERNETICS
2111
Mellink, Matcheld J. “Comments on a Cult Relief of Kybele from
tem by describing the processes that regulate its functioning.
Gordion.” In Beiträge zur Altertumskunde Kleinasiens: Fest-
Second, the field of cybernetics also seeks to develop laws
schrift für Kurt Bittel, edited by R. M. Boehmer and H.
that describe control processes in general and that are appli-
Hauptmann, pp. 349–360. Mainz am Rhein, 1983.
cable to all types of systems. Cybernetics focuses on the struc-
Nauman, Friederike. Die Ikonographie der Kybele in der phrygisc-
ture and functioning of any given system rather than on the
hen und der griechischen Kunst. Tübingen, 1983.
physical makeup of its elements.
Pensabene, Patrizio. “Nuovi indagini nell’area del tempio di Ci-
bele sul Palatino.” In La soteriologia dei culti orientali
APPLICATIONS. The earliest applications of cybernetics were
nell’Impero Romano, edited by Ugo Bianchi and Maarten J.
predominantly in engineering and computer science (robo-
Vermaseren, pp. 68–98. Leiden, 1982.
tics, circuit design, aiming artillery). Early work by Wiener,
Roller, Lynn E. In Search of God the Mother: The Cult of Anatolian
Claude Shannon, and John von Neumann was closely allied
Cybele. Berkeley, Los Angeles, and London, 1999. A compre-
with the fledgling field of artificial intelligence and machine
hensive treatment of the cult of Cybele in Anatolia, Greece,
learning. Since any system that evidences both complexity
and the Roman Republic and early empire.
and self-adaptation can be studied using cybernetics, the
Rutter, Jeremy B. “The Three Phases of the Taurobolium.” Phoe-
basic concepts were soon applied in a variety of fields, includ-
nix 22 (1968): 226–249.
ing economics (Kenneth Boulding), political science, man-
Sfameni Gasparro, Giulia. Soteriology and Mystic Aspects in the Cult
agement and industrial theory (Jay Forrester, Stafford Beer),
of Cybele and Attis. Leiden, 1985.
biology (Warren McCulloch, Humberto Maturana, William
Vermaseren, Maarten J. Cybele and Attis: The Myth and the Cult.
Ross Ashby), sociology and anthropology (Gregory Bateson,
Translated by A. M. H. Lemmers. London, 1977.
Stein Braten), and ethics (Valentin Turchin). As cybernetics
Vermaseren, Maarten J. Corpus cultus Cybelae Attisdisque. 7 vols.
moved into the social sciences in the 1960s and1970s, de-
Leiden, 1977–1989. The most comprehensive collection of
scriptions in the field changed from those of an observer ex-
epigraphical and artistic sources for the Cybele cult; interpre-
ternal to the system (e.g., a human observer of a mechanical
tations should be used with caution.
system) to those of an internal participant (e.g., a human
Wiseman, T. P. “Cybele: Virgil and Augustus.” In Poetry and Poli-
within a political or social community).
tics in the Age of Augustus, edited by Tony Woodman and
David West, pp. 117–128. Cambridge, UK, 1984.
Whereas early cyberneticists thought of information as
LYNN E. ROLLER (2005)
a commodity that flowed through systems, subsequent writ-
ers, such as Maturana, have viewed information as the prod-
uct of a system. In a further step one can think of the system
CYBERNETICS. Cybernetics is the study of control
itself as consisting of information. The computer scientist
and communication. Although it is often thought of as pri-
Ray Kurzweil has applied this approach to his understanding
marily the control systems in machines, cybernetic theory
of the human being, whereas the physicists Frank Tipler and
can also be applied to biological agents, to systems comprised
Stephen Wolfram view information as the building block of
of either mechanical or biological agents, or both. Of partic-
the whole universe. For these writers the concept of informa-
ular interest to cybernetics are systems that are complex,
tion informs not only the system’s outcomes or activities but
adaptive, and self-regulating through the use of feedback.
is considered the very basis of the system itself.
Norbert Wiener coined the term in 1947 as a transliteration
PHILOSOPHICAL AND THEOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS. This
of the Greek kybernetes, which means “steersman,” though
final understanding of both mechanical and biological agents
it was originally used in a broader sense than merely locomo-
as consisting essentially of information leads to the most im-
tive. Plato used the term to denote the act of governing a
portant philosophical and theological implications of cyber-
populace as well as that of steering a boat. and the term gover-
netic theory. A cybernetic view of the human person sees that
nor derives from the same root. Both terms refer to the con-
person as a system composed of information. The concept
trol and direction of complex systems.
of cybernetic immortality is based on the assumption that
Cybernetics describes the world in terms of systems and
thoughts, memories, feelings, and action define the human
information. A mechanical or biological agent can be consid-
person. These are products of consciousness, which is consid-
ered a hierarchy of interacting networks through which in-
ered an emergent property of the complex system of the
formation is moved, created, or transformed. Similarly, a sys-
brain. In other words, to the cyberneticist, human beings are
tem of agents can also be described and studied through the
basically biological machines whose unique identity is found
same concepts of control and feedback. Cybernetics uses
in the patterns that arise and are stored in the neuronal struc-
mathematical and logical models to describe the flow of in-
tures of the brain. If these patterns could be replicated—in
formation in a system. Since many systems are influenced by
sophisticated computer technology, for example—the defin-
random factors, statistical methods are also used to forecast
ing characteristics of the person would be preserved. In such
or describe information flow.
an anthropology the soul is considered that part of con-
The goals of cybernetics are twofold. First, for any given
sciousness that exerts the highest level of control on the sys-
system, cybernetics hopes to advance knowledge of that sys-
tem that makes up the human being.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
2112
CYCLADIC RELIGION
The ability to isolate the cognitive part of the system
CYPRIAN (c. 205–258), also known as Thascius Caecili-
and preserve its viability past the death of the body is held
us Cyprianus; bishop of Carthage. According to his own tes-
by some researchers as an alternative to the metaphysical im-
timony, Cyprian was raised in Carthage, where he was born
mortality proposed by many religions. Kurzweil suggests the
probably in the first decade of the third century. Scion of a
future possibility of a computer-based immortality, in which
noble pagan family, he had the opportunity to become well
the contents of the human mind are downloaded to a silicon-
trained in literature and rhetoric. Because he was a successful
based platform. Tipler envisions an eschatology in which the
rhetorician, he acquired fame and friends in the ranks of high
universe will contract to an “omega point” that will contain
society.
all the information that has ever existed, including that
Cyprian was already mature when in 246, attracted by
which makes up each human being. God is essentially the
the purity of Christian ethics, he was initiated into the Chris-
highest level of control in the cybernetic system of the uni-
tian faith by the presbyter Caecilius, whose name he adopted.
verse, thus becoming identical with the omega point at the
He found theological guidance in the works of Tertullian,
final contraction. Tipler notes that this omega point could
whom he called “the teacher,” even though he did not follow
allow for something not unlike the Christian concept of res-
him in his extreme views.
urrection of the body, in that the information that makes up
any given human being would be available, thus allowing for
Within a short period of time Cyprian had acquired
a reinstantiation of that individual. A cybernetic view of both
such authority that in 248, after the death of Donatus, bish-
God and the human person provides a way to maintain belief
op of Carthage, he was elected his successor “by the voice of
in a reductionistic materialism without giving up the hope
the people and the verdict of God.” A year later the persecu-
of immortality.
tions under Emperor Decius began. While the pagan mob
Cybernetic theories have also been used to describe the
cried, “Give Cyprian to the lion,” he found refuge outside
origin of religion in societies and the development of ethical
the city, whence he administered the church with the assis-
systems. In general, a cybernetic view of religion sees it as an
tance of a committee of vicars.
adaptive mechanism for the survival of groups as they evolve
The persecution badly disrupted the unity of the North
and change in an atmosphere of physical and social competi-
African church. The edict of Decius invited all Christians ei-
tion. Religion becomes one of many feedback mechanisms
ther to sacrifice to the idols, whereupon they would receive
for regulating the functioning of individuals within the social
a libellus (“certificate”), or to suffer martyrdom. Large groups
group.
of Christians everywhere became martyrs to the faith, but
others (the sacrificati) offered some kind of sacrifice, while
SEE ALSO Artificial Intelligence.
yet others (the libellatici) managed to obtain false documents
stating that they had offered sacrifice. When these lapsi, or
BIBLIOGRAPHY
“backsliders,” expressed the desire to return to the church,
Norbert Wiener’s Cybernetics (New York, 1948) introduced the
Cyprian instructed his clergy to grant full communion to the
term and the field. A more popular treatment of the field is
sick, but to give only pastoral care to the others until peace
in Wiener’s The Human Use of Human Beings (New York,
came, when a decision could be reached on how to receive
1988). William Ross Ashby’s An Introduction to Cybernetics
the lapsi.
(New York, 1956) remains the basic textbook in cybernetic
theory. The Principia Cybernetica website, constructed by
Cyprian found opposition to his policy, however, from
Frans Heylighen and available at http://pcp.lanl.gov, pro-
a group of tolerant Christians under the layman, later dea-
vides an excellent primer in both the theory and the philoso-
con, Felicissimus, who advocated the immediate acceptance
phy of cybernetic thought. Humberto R. Maturana and
of all backsliders without restriction. They were backed by
Francisco J. Varela, The Tree of Knowledge: The Biological
those presbyters who were displeased by Cyprian’s election
Roots of Human Understanding (Boston, 1992), apply cyber-
to the episcopate, as well as by numerous confessors, who
netic concepts to human cognition and to human social sys-
promptly gave letters of recommendation to backsliders.
tems. Ray Kurzweil’s The Age of Spiritual Machines (New
York, 1999) explores the possibility of cybernetic immortali-
When he returned to his see fourteen months after he
ty on a computer platform, whereas Frank J. Tipler’s The
left, Cyprian convoked a synod that established in concert
Physics of Immortality (New York, 1994) combines cybernet-
with Rome the fundamental principles for receiving the
ics with modern physics to present an eschatological vision.
backsliders. The sacrificati should undergo penance of vary-
Stephen Wolfram, in A New Kind of Science (Champaign,
ing length, while the libellatici would be received immediate-
Ill., 2002), presents another view of the universe as cybernet-
ic system.
ly. However, there was a reaction on the part of the rigorists
as well. Cyprian did not succeed in preventing a double
NOREEN L. HERZFELD (2005)
schism, which resulted from the election of two new bishops
as his rivals, Fortunatus and Maximus.
A new crisis, threatened during the reign of Gallus (252)
CYCLADIC RELIGION SEE AEGEAN
by an outbreak of the plague, was averted by the self-
RELIGIONS
sacrificing attitude of the Christians toward the victims 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
CYPRIAN
2113
the misfortune, both Christian and pagan. In the period that
moral disorder of pagan society. On Morality was written
followed, Cyprian carried out fruitful pastoral, social, and in-
during the same period to answer the question of why Chris-
terchurch activities.
tians endure the same evils as the pagans—dying prematurely
from the plague and from hunger. Cyprian reasons that nat-
The validity of the baptism of heretics, an old problem
ural laws, established by the divine will, have universal bear-
exacerbated by the extension of the influence of Novatian,
ing. Moreover, death is not a punishment for Christians:
a leading presbyter in Rome, was to vex the church anew.
what travelers do not long to return to their homeland?
How should the returning heretics be received? Cyprian, in
Heaven is the home of Christians.
accordance with the custom of the African church, and on
the basis of his own ecclesiological persuasions, thought that
Other treatises cover almsgiving, baptism, jealousy, and
no sacrament had any validity if performed outside the ca-
envy, or are meant to enhearten Christians facing persecu-
nonical church. Consequently, all heretics who returned
tion. A number of other short treatises, mostly from the third
would have to be rebaptized. His opinion was confirmed by
century, have been falsely attributed to Cyprian.
three successive synods in 255 and 256. Pope Stephen, main-
The letters of Cyprian, some of them small treatises in
taining that acceptance should be made only by the laying
themselves, are also important. Most refer to the problems
on of hands, broke relations with Cyprian.
of his episcopate: the consequences of persecution under De-
Under Valerian a new edict was issued against the Chris-
cius, the problem of the backsliders, the Novatian schism,
tians. Cyprian, not wishing to hide this time, was arrested,
and the question of the baptism of heretics. Popes Cornelius,
exiled to a place north of Carthage, and finally condemned
Lucius, and Stephen, and the bishop of Caesarea in Cappa-
to death. On hearing the decision, he said only “Deo gra-
docia, are his most eminent correspondents.
tias.” He was beheaded on September 14, 258.
A man of action, Cyprian was concerned exclusively
Though the Christian stage of Cyprian’s life was short
with practical questions as aspects of the great problem of the
and troubled, he became one of the great writers of the
church. “We struggle for the honor and the unity of the
church. He certainly did not possess the force and depth of
Church,” he declares (Letters 73.11). His insistence that there
Tertullian, whose terms and topics he borrowed extensively,
is only one leader of the faith and his fear of the separatist
but he showed greater understanding and moderation than
movements within the church led him to stress the element
the latter. His works are the product and proof of his practi-
of unity. He insisted that on a high level the church is one,
cal interests and they reflect all the major issues and personal-
because its founder is one, but simultaneously it is also uni-
ities of the day. Three ancient lists cite the titles of his writ-
versal. The one church is diffused into the universal through
ings, mostly short treatises and letters.
the multiplicity of bishops. The Petrine chair, the cathedra,
is the one church; the sees of the local bishops constitute the
A friend of Cyprian’s, Donatus, had difficulty in break-
universal church.
ing away from old pagan customs. In To Donatus, Cyprian
The fourth chapter of Cyprian’s On the Unity examines
says that he himself also feared that he would find difficulty
unity on a second level, the unity of the body of bishops. The
after his turn toward Christianity but that the water of regen-
interpretation of this text, preserved in two recensions, has
eration had made him a new man. To Quirinius, later called
presented problems for theological research. The longer re-
Testimonia, is a collection of biblical passages with short
cension, because it is favorable to papal primacy, was once
comments for the training of new Christians. On the Orna-
considered by many to be an interpolation. After the research
ments of Virgins was written at the beginning of Cyprian’s
of Othmar Perler, Maurice Bévenot, and others, however,
episcopate to praise the virtue of virginity and stress the need
both recensions are regarded as genuine. The long text stress-
for modesty in dress. Cyprian issued On the Lapsed when he
es that “primacy was given to Peter” by Christ and that
returned to his see in 251. In it he expresses his sorrow for
“those who abandon the chair of Peter cannot belong to the
the victims of the persecution and draws principles on the
church.” The mistake of earlier historians was that they iden-
basis of which the problem of the backsliders should be
tified the chair of Peter with the see of Rome. It appears that
solved.
Cyprian was already aware of such a misunderstanding, and
On the Unity of the Catholic Church was written in 251,
for this reason he removed those expressions and gave the
in face of the apparent danger of a split in the church, to
text the short form. What Cyprian wished to say was that
stress that the church of Christ is one and that those who
in the famous verse of Matthew 16:18, “Upon this rock
split it bring about an evil worse than the persecution. On
[petra] I will build my Church,” the rock and chair of Peter
the Lord’s Prayer, written in 252, presents an edifying allegor-
is the faith, and since the faith is one, the see is also one. In
ical interpretation of the Lord’s Prayer. The two treatises To
this one see all the apostles take part, as well as their succes-
Demetrianus and On Morality answer questions about suffer-
sors. “Episcopatus unus est” (“The episcopate is one”), and
ing. The first is an answer to the accusations that arose dur-
the particular bishops are coparticipants in it. Further, the
ing the plague, namely that Christian refusal to worship
bishops are closely joined by the law of personal love and
Roman deities was responsible for the present evils. Respon-
concord, and also through their common origin (Letters
sibility for these evils, states Cyprian, is to be found in the
43.5; 69.3). Therefore the important problems of the church
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
2114
CYRIL I
can be solved only by a common decision of the bishops in
(Turnhout, Belgium, 1972–1976). The works of Cyprian
synod.
have been translated by Robert E. Wallis in Saint Cyprian:
Writings, 2 vols., “Ante-Nicene Christian Library,” vols. 8,
On the local level, every church constitutes a unity
13 (Edinburgh, 1868–1869).
achieved through the bond of the bishop, the clergy, and the
laity. The faithful must be united with the bishop in the
Works about Cyprian
sense understood by Ignatius of Antioch; and he who is not
The comprehensive studies of Edward White Benson, Cyprian:
one with the bishop is not even with the church. But the
His Life, His Times, His Work (London and New York,
unity must operate reciprocally. Cyprian never acted without
1897), and Paul Monceaux, Histoire littéraire de l’Afrique
chrétienne, vol. 2, Saint Cyprien et son temps (Paris, 1902), are
consultation with his clergy and people.
still valuable, as is also the discussion of Cyprian’s doctrine
There are definite consequences of this kind of unity for
by Adehémar d’Alès, La théologie de S. Cyprien, 2d ed. (Paris,
the process of salvation. The church is the bride of Christ,
1922). The recent study of Michael M. Sage gives a complete
pure and incorrupt; therefore, “no one can have God as Fa-
and good picture of his personality, times, and activity. The
ther, if he does not have the Church as mother” (On the
studies of Ulrich Wickert, Sacramentum unitatis, Ein Beitrag
Unity 6). In opposition to Tertullian, Cyprian insisted that
zum Verständnis der Kirche bei Cyprian (Berlin, 1971), Peter
Hinchliff’s Cyprian of Carthage and the Unity of the Christian
the Holy Spirit is active only within the church: “Salus extra
Church (London, 1974), Charles Saumagne’s Saint Cyprien,
ecclesiam non est” (“There is no salvation outside the
évêque de Carthage, “pape” d’Afrique, 248–258: Contribution
church,” Letters 73.21). The church is the ark of Noah,
à l’étude des “persécutions” de Dèce et de Valérien (Paris, 1975),
whose passengers were the only ones saved from the great
and Michael A. Fahey’s Cyprian and the Bible: A Study in
flood. The sacraments of the church, especially baptism, Eu-
Third-Century Exegesis (Tübingen, 1971) present particular
charist, penance, and ordination, are valid only within the
aspects of Cyprian’s activity. Hugo Koch has presented his
framework of the canonical ecclesiastical life.
research, which sheds new light on the evaluation of Cypri-
an’s ecclesiology, in two writings, Cyprianische Untersuchun-
Cyprian’s feast is celebrated in the Western church on
gen (Bonn, 1926) and Cathedra Petri: Neue Untersuchungen
September 16, while in the Eastern church it is celebrated
über die Anfänge der Primatslehre (Giessen, 1930). Maurice
on October 2, and in the Anglican on September 26; the
Bévenot published, besides a number of small articles, a large
confusion occurs because of an Antiochian magician of the
work, The Tradition of Manuscripts: A Study in the Transmis-
same name who converted to Christianity. At the time of Au-
sion of Saint Cyprian Treatises (Oxford, 1961).
gustine, there were already three churches dedicated to Cyp-
P
rian’s name. His relics were transferred to Lyons under Char-
ANAGIOTIS C. CHRISTOU (1987)
Translated from Greek by Philip M. McGhee
lemagne and were later deposited at Moissac in southern
France.
The dissemination of Cyprian’s writings in the Middle
Ages shows that he was more honored than any other Latin
CYRIL I (1570/2–1638), surnamed Loukaris, known also
church writer, except for the four great doctors of the West-
as Cyril Lucar; Greek Orthodox patriarch of Constantinople.
ern church. He is one of the principal founders of Latin the-
Next to Gennadios Scholarios, the first patriarch after the fall
ology. Augustine was profoundly influenced by his views; the
of Constantinople, Cyril was the most brilliant and influen-
Council of Ephesus (431) used demonstrative passages from
tial head of the Greek church during the period of Turkish
his works; the Gelasian Decree put him at the head of its list
rule. Living at a time of intense conflict, when both Rome
of orthodox bishops; and the Decretum of Gratian gave offi-
and the Protestants were seeking to bring Greek Orthodoxy
cial weight to his treatise On Unity, which was widely used
under their control, Cyril strongly favored the Protestant
during the investiture controversy.
side.
He was born at Candia (modern-day Heraklion) in
SEE ALSO Donatism.
Crete, then under Venetian sovereignty, and was given the
baptismal name of Constantine. He studied at Venice under
BIBLIOGRAPHY
the celebrated Greek scholar Maximos Margounios, and
Works by Cyprian
then at the University of Padua. At his ordination (c. 1593)
The works of Cyprian were edited for the first time by Johannes
to the diaconate in Constantinople by Meletios Pegas, patri-
Andreae in Cypriannus opera (Rome, 1471). This edition is
arch of Alexandria, who was probably his relative, Loukaris
unsatisfactory, as is that of Étienne Baluze and S. Mauri,
took the new name of Cyril. In 1594 he was sent to Poland
Sancti Caecilii Cypriani (Paris, 1726), reprinted in Patrologia
to strengthen the Orthodox resistance against Roman Catho-
Latina, vol. 4, edited by J.-P. Migne (Paris, 1865). A critical
lic propaganda and to help with education. In 1596, when
edition, S. Thasci Caecilii Cypriani Opera omnia, 3 vols.,
“Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum,” 3.1–3
the Synod of Brest-Litovsk ratified the union of the Ortho-
(1868–1871), has been edited by Wilhelm Hertel. Robert
dox church in Poland with the Roman Catholic church,
Weber, Maurice Bévenot, Manib Simonetti, and Claudio
Cyril took part in the countersynod held in Brest by those
Moreschini have edited the excellent Sancti Cypriani episcopi
Orthodox who opposed the union. He stayed in Poland until
opera, 2 vols., “Corpus Christianorum, seria Latina,” 3, 3A
1598 and went for a second visit in 1600–1601. Returning
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CYRIL I
2115
in 1601 to Constantinople, Cyril was ordained priest, and
was eventually published at Geneva in 1638. But he is chiefly
in Egypt that autumn he was elected patriarch of Alexandria
remembered for his Confession of Faith, first published at Ge-
succeeding Pegas, an office he held until 1620, residing
neva in 1629. This work is openly Calvinist in its teaching,
much of the time in Constantinople.
and many have denied its authenticity; yet, even if it was
drafted by one of Cyril’s Protestant friends, such as Léger,
While in Poland, although siding with the antiunionist
Cyril himself appended his signature to it and accepted it as
party, Cyril maintained friendly relations with leading
his own.
Roman Catholics; in his early sermons (1599–1600) he
draws on Catholic apologists such as Roberto Bellarmino
Cyril’s life came to a tragic end on June 27, 1638. He
and makes use of Latin scholastic categories, accepting
was arrested on an accusation of inciting the Don Cossacks
among other things the doctrine of the Immaculate Concep-
to attack the Ottoman domains. After a few days in prison
tion. As late as 1608 he wrote to Paul V in terms implying
he was taken out to sea in a small boat and strangled. A man
a recognition of papal primacy. During his time as patriarch
of vision and energy, and endowed with an able intellect, in
of Alexandria, however, Cyril came to feel increasing sympa-
calmer times Cyril might have succeeded in effecting a theo-
thy with Protestantism, particularly in its Calvinist form. His
logical rapprochement between East and West, as well as in
Protestant contacts were chiefly Dutch: he formed a close
raising cultural and educational standards within the ecu-
friendship with Cornelius van Haag (or Haga), Dutch am-
menical patriarchate. As it was, his great gifts of leadership
bassador at Constantinople; corresponded with the theolo-
were largely wasted in an unremitting and futile struggle for
gian Jan Uytenbogaert; and met David Le Leu de Wilhem.
power.
He also exchanged letters with George Abbot, archbishop of
Cyril’s Confession of Faith expresses to a considerable de-
Canterbury, and in 1617 he sent a young Greek monk,
gree a reformed rather than an Orthodox viewpoint. He
Metrophanes Kritopoulos (1589–1639), to study at Oxford.
states that “the authority of scripture is higher than that of
Kritopoulos remained in England until 1624, later becoming
the church,” since scripture alone, being divinely inspired,
patriarch of Alexandria (1636–1639).
cannot err (sec. 2); and he denies the infallibility of the
church (sec. 12). He adopts the standard Calvinist teaching
In 1620 Cyril was elected patriarch of Constantinople
on predestination and election (sec. 3) and insists on justifi-
(he had been patriarch briefly in 1612). He remained on the
cation by faith alone, without works (sec. 13). He holds that
ecumenical throne until his death in 1638, though with
there are only two “sacraments of the gospel,” baptism and
some interruptions: he was deposed, reinstated in 1630, de-
the Eucharist (sec. 15), and he dismisses “the vainly invented
posed a third time and restored in 1633, deposed and again
doctrine of transubstantiation,” arguing that the faithful re-
reinstated in 1634, deposed in 1635 and not restored until
ceive the body of Christ “not by crushing it with their physi-
1637, thus serving altogether no fewer than seven different
cal teeth, but by perceiving it through the sense and feeling
periods in office. The frequency with which he was ejected
of the soul” (sec. 17). He rejects the doctrine of purgatory,
is an indication of the extreme instability of the ecumenical
denying that there can be change or progress after death (sec.
patriarchate at this time, subject as it was to constant interfer-
18), and he repudiates the veneration of icons (answer 4).
ence from the Turkish authorities, and with its bishops deep-
ly divided by internal strife. Throughout his years as patri-
Cyril’s Confession is the most far-reaching attempt ever
arch, Cyril was the center of a bitter conflict between the
made by an Eastern church leader to bring Orthodox teach-
anti-Roman and pro-Roman factions in the holy synod; be-
ing into line with Protestantism. It is hard to determine
hind this conflict lay the wider struggle between different
whether he was seeking merely to please his Calvinist sup-
states of western Europe for influence within the Ottoman
porters, or whether he was expressing his own deepest con-
empire. Cyril’s opponents in the synod, the chief among
victions in the hope of inspiring some sort of reformation
them being Cyril (Kontaris) of Beroea, himself on several oc-
within the Orthodox church. In fact the Confession found lit-
casions patriarch, were supported by the Propaganda Fide in
tle favor and was condemned by no fewer than six Orthodox
Rome and by the Jesuits in Constantinople, as well as by the
councils in the half century following Cyril’s death (Con-
French and Austrian ambassadors; on his side, Cyril relied
stantinople, 1638, 1642; Jassy, 1642; Constantinople, 1672;
upon the assistance of the Dutch and English embassies. He
Jerusalem, 1672; and Constantinople, 1691). The most sig-
enjoyed the friendship of Thomas Roe, English ambassador
nificant of these condemnations was at the Jerusalem Coun-
during 1621–1628, through whom he donated the Codex
cil of 1672; this council ratified the Confession composed by
Alexandrinus in 1628 to King Charles I of England. He also
Patriarch Dositheos of Jerusalem, which rebutted Cyril’s
became close friends with Antoine Léger, chaplain at the
Confession point by point. Even though Dositheos was influ-
Dutch embassy from 1628.
enced by Latin theology, his deviation from mainstream Or-
thodoxy was far less radical than Cyril’s. The influence of
As patriarch, Cyril struggled to raise standards of educa-
Cyril’s Confession was in this way largely negative, serving to
tion. In particular he opened a printing press at Constantino-
push the Greek church in an anti-Protestant direction; but,
ple in 1627, but this functioned for only a few months before
if only by way of reaction, it also served to clarify seven-
it was closed by the Turks in 1628. He commissioned a
teenth-century Orthodox thinking about the church, the sac-
translation of the New Testament into modern Greek, which
raments, and the state of the departed.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
2116
CYRIL AND METHODIUS
BIBLIOGRAPHY
ernor, however, he withdrew into a Greek monastery in Bi-
The Greek text of The Eastern Confession of the Christian Faith
thynia (in Asia Minor), where Constantine joined him in
may be found in part 1 of Ernest Julius Kimmel’s Monu-
855. In 860, the patriarch sent Constantine and Methodius
menta fidei ecclesiae orientalis (Jena, 1850), pp. 24–44. It has
on a mission to the Khazars, a people occuping the territory
been translated into English and edited by James N. W. B.
northeast of the Black Sea, who had asked that the Christian
Robertson in The Acts and Decrees of the Synod of Jerusalem
(London, 1899), pp. 185–215; another translation is George
message be explained to them. The result of their visit was
A. Hadjiantoniou’s Protestant Patriarch: The Life of Cyril Lu-
that two hundred Khazars requested baptism. This success
caris, 1572–1638, Patriarch of Constantinople (Richmond,
led to another, more important mission shortly thereafter.
Va., 1961), pp. 141–145. Some of Cyril’s earlier sermons
In 862, Rastislav, duke of Greater Moravia, sent a re-
have been edited by Keetje Rozemond in Sermons, 1598–
1602 (Leiden, 1974). Cyril’s correspondence may be found
quest for help to the emperor in Constantinople, Michael III.
in Monumens authentiques de la religion des Grecs, et de la
Rastislav’s Slavic-speaking subjects had already been widely
fausseté de plusieurs confessions de foi des chrétiens orientaux,
evangelized by missionaries from western Europe, that is,
edited by Jean Aymon (The Hague, 1708), pp. 1–200; also,
from the East Frankish kingdom (modern-day West Germa-
in Émile Legrand’s Bibliographie hellénique, ou Description
ny and Austria). The Slavic peoples, however, had no written
raisonnée des ouvrages publiés par des Grecs au dix-septieme
language and no strong cultural or church leadership, and
siècle, vol. 4, Notices bibliographiques (Paris, 1896),
Rastislav perceived a danger in the political and ecclesiastical
pp. 175–521.
influence of the neighboring Germanic tribes. He hoped that
Source material on Cyril’s career is to be found in Thomas Smith’s
aid from Constantinople would enable Moravia to remain
Collectanea de Cyrillo Lucario, patriarcha Constantinopolitano
politically and religiously autonomous.
(London, 1707) and in The Negotiations of Sir Thomas Roe
(London, 1740). Among modern studies, the most scholarly
Recognizing the importance of the request, the Byzan-
are in Greek: see especially Chrysostom Papadopoulos’s
tine emperor and the patriarch, Photius, agreed to send Met-
Kurillos Loukaris, rev. ed. (Athens, 1939) and Ioannis N.
hodius and Constantine. In the months before their journey,
Karmiris’s Orthodoxia kai Protestantismos (Athens, 1937),
Constantine prepared for the mission by developing a writ-
pp. 177–275. The work of Hadjiantoniou, cited above, is a
ten language for the Slavs. He formed the alphabet from He-
readable but partisan account by a Greek evangelical. There
brew and Greek letters (in its final form, this alphabet, the
is a briefer but more balanced treatment in Steven Runci-
Cyrillic, is still used in modern Russian and in a number of
man’s The Great Church in Captivity: A Study of the Patri-
archate of Constantinople from the Eve of the Turkish Conquest
other modern Slavic languages). Using this alphabet, Con-
to the Greek War of Independence (Cambridge, U.K. 1968),
stantine translated the Gospels and later the epistles of Paul
pp. 259–288. On the political background, see Gunnar He-
and the Book of Psalms into Slavic.
ring’s Ökumenisches Patriarchat und europäische Politik,
In late 863, the brothers began the mission. They sailed
1620–1638 (Wiesbaden, 1968).
around Greece and up the Adriatic to Venice, then traveled
KALLISTOS WARE (1987)
overland to Moravia, where they were warmly welcomed.
Their work included training a native clergy, instructing
them in the newly written Slavic language, and translating
CYRIL AND METHODIUS. Cyril, also known as
liturgical textbooks. The latinized clergy in the area vigorous-
Constantine (c. 826–869), and Methodius (c. 815–844)
ly opposed the Slavic liturgy; they held to a “trilingualist”
were called the “apostles to the Slavs” because of their reli-
theory that only Latin, Greek, and Hebrew were acceptable
gious and cultural contributions to the people of the Danube
for worship. To win papal support for their innovations, the
basin and later to all Slavic-speaking people. Constantine
brothers journeyed to Rome in 867. The also took along
(who took the name Cyril only in the last months of his life)
some trainees for ordination. On the way, they spent several
and Methodius were born into a prominent Christian family
months south of the Danube in Pannonia (modern-day
in Thessalonica, Greece. The brothers learned Greek and
western Hungary), where another Slavic chieftain, Kocel
probably also Slavic, since many Slavic people had migrated
(r. 861–874), welcomed the brothers and entrusted to them
south into their area of Macedonia. After their father’s death,
a group of young men for training.
Constantine moved to Constantinople. Then only fourteen,
he was cared for by the family of a high government official.
When the brothers reached Rome, Pope Adrian II wel-
He later attended the imperial university and benefited from
comed them and granted full approval to their Slavic liturgy.
studying with the leading teachers in the region, including
After some months, and while still in Rome, Constantine be-
Photius, the future patriarch of Constantinople (858–867,
came seriously ill. The brothers had been staying in a Greek
877–888). He became librarian of Hagia Sophia, the leading
monastery, and during his illness Constantine took a vow to
church in the East, and later professor of philosophy at the
remain a monk and at that point assumed the name Cyril.
imperial university. He also participated in religious debates
In less than two months, at the age of about forty-two, he
with church leaders and Muslim scholars.
died.
Methodius, meanwhile, had been awarded the gover-
With papal encouragement, Methodius returned to
norship of a Slavic-speaking district. After some years as gov-
work with the Slavic princes of Pannonia, Moravia, 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
CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA
2117
area around Nitra. Wishing to gain jurisdiction over the
monk from Antioch, made bishop of Constantinople by Em-
areas, Adrian II sent letters with Methodius approving
peror Theodosius II in 428, Nestorius preached against
the Slavic liturgy. The princes welcomed Methodius back,
Arian and Apollinaristic factions in the monasteries sur-
and in 869 the pope ordained him archbishop of Pannonia
rounding the capital. Both groups called Mary theotokos
and Moravia, with his cathedral at Sirmium (near present-
(Mother of God) in claiming that the Logos incarnate was
day Belgrade, Yugoslavia). Opposition to this appointment
born, grew up, and suffered. Nestorius became suspicious of
came from the neighboring Frankish (Bavarian) bishops,
this epithet and preferred Mother of Christ. Denounced to
Hermanrich of Passau, Adalwin of Salzburg, and Anno of
Cyril, who ignored the local circumstances and was eager to
Fresing, all of whom had long worked for Frankish ecclesias-
interfere in the debates at Constantinople, Nestorius was ac-
tical and political influence in the area. In 870, with the help
cused by his powerful Alexandrian rival of dividing Christ
of Svatopluk, the ruler of Nitra, Bishop Hermanrich con-
into two beings, a mere man and the Logos. An exchange
trived to arrest Methodius and imprison him in a monastery
of several letters between January and June 430 did not help.
in Swabia (southwestern Germany). In 873, Pope John VIII
Nestorius, with an obvious lack of needed theological acu-
ordered his release, reinstalled him in his former diocese, and
men, was unaware of the coming storm. Cyril gained
reaffirmed, with slight reservations, papal support for the
strength speedily, and now without diplomatic maneuvers,
Slavic liturgy.
he garnered the full support of the Roman bishop Celestine
The work of Methodius among the Slavs seems to have
and the ear of the emperor. The latter called for a general
prospered, but opposition continued from the Frankish cler-
council in Ephesus, at Pentecost, on June 7, 431. Before nu-
gy and from Svatopluk, the new ruler in Moravia. Accused
merous Eastern bishops, led by John of Antioch, could ar-
of heresy, Methodius successfully defended himself and won
rive—they were moderate supporters of Nestorius and op-
from John VIII a bull that praised his orthodoxy, reaffirmed
posed to the passionate initiatives of Cyril—Nestorius was
the independence of his diocese, and expressly authorized the
condemned as a heretic and deposed, on June 22. It took
Mass in Slavic. During the last years of his life, Methodius
Cyril two years to become reconciled with his Eastern col-
continued to meet opposition. Nevertheless, with the help
leagues. Nestorius was sent into a bitter exile in Petra, and
of two disciples, he completed the translation of the Bible
later to the Great Oasis in southern Libya. His supporters
into Slavic and codified both the civil and the ecclesiastical
were all sent to work camps as prisoners.
law. After Methodius’s death in 884, his disciples were ex-
The literary and theological legacy of Cyril focuses on
pelled by their Frankish opponents but found refuge in
his christological system and on biblical exegesis. In the wake
southern Poland, Bulgaria, and Bohemia. Through them the
of anti-Nestorian polemics, he demonstrated a strong oppo-
work of Constantine-Cyril and Methodius continued, con-
sition to the Antiochene school of scriptural hermeneutics.
tributing substantially to the growth of the Greek church and
The main teachers and actual founders of this school were
Slavic Christian culture in eastern Europe.
Diodorus, bishop of Tarsus from 378 to around 394, and
Theodore, bishop of Mopsuestia from 392 to 428. They
BIBLIOGRAPHY
were accused by Cyril of having paved the way for Nestorian-
A detailed study with notes, maps, and bibliography is Francis
ism, and were condemned by the imperial court. Most of
Dvornik’s Byzantine Missions among the Slavs: SS Constan-
tine-Cyril and Methodius (New Brunswick, N.J., 1970).
their invaluable biblical commentaries were destroyed.
H. MCKENNIE GOODPASTURE (1987)
Cyril’s commentaries include an interpretation of chris-
tological evidences taken by him from the Pentateuch. These
are known as Glaphura, which includes extensive interpreta-
CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA (c. 375–444), church fa-
tions of Isaiah and the Minor Prophets, as well as commen-
ther, theologian, and saint. Cyril succeeded his uncle
taries on John, Luke, Matthew, and the Pauline letters. In his
Theophilus as bishop of Alexandria in 412. His aggressive
exegesis he uses the traditional Alexandrian method, laying
nature involved him in a series of polemics against heretics.
out the literal, typological, and moral teaching of scripture.
His rhetorical skills were sometimes stronger than his theo-
His knowledge of different Greek versions and of the He-
logical judgment, and he was often forgetful of evangelical
brew text of the Old Testament was complemented by his
moderation. In the early days of his studies in the humanities
familiarity with allegorical and etymological techniques of
and in religion, he had not been trained to distinguish be-
interpretation. His dogmatic works on trinitarian theology
tween the authentic treatises of Athanasius, his most admired
popularized the notion of one divine substance in three per-
predecessor, and those by Apollinarius, listed under Athana-
sons. The main contribution of Cyril in the christological de-
sius’s name in the episcopal library of Alexandria. Thus he
bate was to prepare a clearer notion of the interrelated prop-
mistakenly urged a form of Christology best expressed by
erties of God and man in the unity of Christ, the so-called
Apollinarius’s phrase, which he believed to be Athanasian:
communicatio idiomatum.
“the unique incarnate nature of God the Logos.”
Through the centuries (in both the East and the West),
Cyril’s most famous controversy was with Nestorius, his
Cyril has been regarded as one of the main defenders of im-
colleague in the imperial metropolis of Constantinople. A
perial orthodoxy as it was transmitted into the Middle Ages.
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
2118
CYRIL OF JERUSALEM
SEE ALSO Nestorianism; Nestorius.
catecheses to the newly baptized give a detailed interpreta-
tion of the sacraments of baptism, confirmation, and the Eu-
B
charist. Some manuscripts ascribe this third section to Cyril’s
IBLIOGRAPHY
Grillmeier, Aloys. Christ in the Christian Tradition. 2d ed., rev. At-
successor, John of Jerusalem.
lanta, 1975.
These instructions seem to have been delivered im-
Kerrigan, Alexander. Saint Cyril of Alexandria, Interpreter of the
promptu, as is noted in some manuscripts. However, their
Old Testament. Rome, 1952.
style is clear, vivacious, and cordial. Their mode of instruc-
Scipioni, Luigi I. Nestorio e il concilio di Efeso: Storia, Dogma, Cri-
tion is based on sound pedagogical principles; the author re-
tica. Studia Patristica Mediolanensia, vol. 1. Milan, 1974.
peats a number of times the essential elements so that they
CHARLES KANNENGIESSER (1987)
may be consolidated in the minds of the hearers. The work
has been translated into many languages, both ancient and
modern.
CYRIL OF JERUSALEM
Of the homilies of Cyril only one has been preserved;
(313–386), ecumenical
it deals with the cure of the paralytic (Jn. 5:5). A letter ad-
doctor and father of the church. Born in or around Jerusa-
dressed to Emperor Constantius reports the miraculous ap-
lem, Cyril was ordained presbyter in 343 by Bishop Maxi-
parition of a cross of light above Calvary on May 7, 351.
mus II, whom he succeeded at the beginning of 348. Al-
Some other unimportant texts, including an anaphora, have
though seemingly indifferent to dogmatic subtleties, Cyril
been falsely attributed to him.
could not remain outside the climate of his time. He was ac-
knowledged by the Arians because he avoided the term ho-
As an adherent of the Council of Nicaea, Cyril declared
moousios (“of the same substance”), but he disappointed
that he neither separated the persons of the Trinity nor con-
them at the beginning of his episcopate by placing himself
fused them. He does not, however, use the critical term ho-
among the adherents of the Nicene dogma. This fact was one
moousios. This omission certainly is not owing to his insis-
reason for his break with Acacius, the Arian metropolitan of
tence on the necessity of biblical language in doctrine, since
Caesarea who had ordained him. A second reason for this
the term homoeos (“like”), which he does use to define the
rupture was the ambiguity of the seventh canon of the Coun-
relation of the Son to the Father, is also nonscriptural. Nei-
cil of Nicaea (325), which ordered that the bishop of Jerusa-
ther can it be attributed to a semi-Arian tendency, since his
lem be honored according to ancient custom but be subject
struggle against Arianism would therefore go unexplained. It
to the metropolitan of Caesarea.
may be ascribed to his fear of a deviation toward Sabellian-
Acacius, a favorite of the Arian emperor Constantius,
ism, a fear that possessed many adherents of the Nicene
succeeded in banishing Cyril from his see (357), and, al-
Creed. Indeed, Cyril said, “We should not either say there
though he was recalled by the Council of Seleucia in 359,
was a time when the Son was not, or put our faith in the doc-
Cyril had to endure further banishments lasting many years.
trine of huiopatoria (that is, the Father and the Son are the
Having returned under the reign of Julian, he was not per-
same person); let us not deviate either to the left or to the
sonally affected by the emperor’s plans to degrade Christiani-
right” (Catecheses 11.16). He might have been compelled to
ty and promote paganism by all means possible. However,
use the term later on as an indispensable weapon in the strug-
banishment under Valens kept Cyril far from his flock for
gle against Arianism, but we have no such evidence.
eleven years. After returning to his see in 378, he remained
Cyril characterizes the sacrament of baptism in two
undisturbed in his work until his death (386).
ways: first, according to the Pauline presentation, as a tomb
Cyril’s chief work was his Catecheses, a collection of
from which the baptized are resurrected, dying and rising to-
twenty-four instructions, delivered in the Church of the Res-
gether with Christ; and second, according to the Johannine
urrection before and after Easter 348. Their aim was to initi-
presentation, as mother of the new spiritual birth. In the eu-
ate the catechumens in the fundamental doctrines of Chris-
charistic doctrine he emphasizes clearly the real presence of
tian faith and life and to explain the main sacraments of the
Christ in the elements: “in the tupos of bread” the body of
church to the newly baptized.
Christ exists, and “in the tupos of wine” the blood of Christ
exists. Therefore, the faithful, receiving both of these, be-
The collection contains three types of instruction. One
come “co-bodily and co-bloodily” of Christ. Christ, who at
preliminary teaching (the Procatechesis), which emphasizes
Cana changed water into wine, would have no difficulty in
the importance of the last stage of instruction, draws the new
changing wine into blood. Yet Cyril does not mention the
tasks of the catechumens and points out the need for their
words of institution in the Eucharist, probably because they
preparation for baptism. Next, eighteen catecheses to the
are too sacred for such mention.
pho¯tizomenoi (those who had reached the stage of awaiting
baptism at the coming of Easter) deal with the subjects of
After his death Cyril was not often cited, but gradually,
repentance and baptism, describe the basic doctrines of
as knowledge of his theology spread, his major writings were
Christianity and the rules of life, and offer a theologically ed-
widely used by theologians, who came to consider them one
ifying interpretation of the creed. Finally, five mystagogical
of the more valid sources for Orthodox theologizing. In 1893
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N
CYRUS II
2119
Cyril was proclaimed a doctor of the church by Pope Leo
Nabonidus had alienated the Babylonian priesthood
XIII. His feast is celebrated in both the Eastern and the
through his extraordinary devotion to the moon cult. Capi-
Western church on March 18.
talizing on Nabonidus’s heresy, Cyrus achieved popularity
in Babylon by restoring the cult of its chief god, Marduk,
BIBLIOGRAPHY
and by reestablishing the shrines and proper worship of other
Dionysius Kleopas has edited the Procatechesis and the Catecheses
gods in their former locations. In a proclamation composed
in two volumes (Jerusalem, 1867–1868). A popular edition
in Babylonian, Cyrus asserts that Marduk delivered his lands
is F. L. Cross’s St. Cyril of Jerusalem’s Lectures on the Christian
to the conqueror and that Bel (Enlil) and Nabu, the local
Sacraments: The Procatechesis and the Five Mystagogical Cate-
Babylonian gods, love his rule. The Hebrew scriptures pre-
cheses (London, 1951). William Telfer has translated the
serve two versions of an edict by Cyrus in which the conquer-
texts with introduction in Cyril of Jerusalem and Nemesius of
or attributes his victories to the Israelite god, “YHVH God
Emesu (London, 1955).
of Heaven” who “commanded me to build him a temple in
Several studies treat particular aspects of Cyril’s activity and teach-
Jerusalem” (Ezr. 1:1–3, 6:3–5). The Judeans living in exile
ing. W. J. Swaans attributes the five mystagogical pieces to
in Babylonia saw Cyrus as their liberator because he permit-
John of Jerusalem in “À propos de ‘Catéchèses mysta-
ted them in 538 to return to their homeland in Judaea and
gogique,’ attribuées à S. Cyrille de Jerusalem,” Muséon 55
(1942): 1–42. Jacob H. Greenlee treats the biblical sources
to rebuild the Temple, which had been destroyed by Babylo-
in his The Gospel Text of Cyril of Jerusalem (Copenhagen,
nia in 587/6. A prophet of the Judean exile, the so-called Sec-
1955). The educational methods of Cyril are treated in De-
ond Isaiah, portrayed Cyrus as the “shepherd” chosen by the
metrios Moraitis’s Cyril of Jerusalem as a Catechete and Peda-
Lord to subjugate nations and reestablish the Jerusalem
gogue (in Greek; Thessaloniki, 1949); in Elias Voulgazakis’s
Temple (Is. 44:28, 45:1ff.; cf. Is. 41:1ff.).
The Catechesis of Cyril of Jerusalem (Thessaloniki, 1977), a
very important work in modern Greek; and in Antoine
Subsequent Jewish traditions tend to play down Cyrus’s
Paulin’s Saint Cyrille de Jerusalem Catéchète (Paris, 1959).
personal rectitude while seeing him as an instrument of God
Some aspects of Cyril’s theological teaching are examined by
(B.T., Meg. 12a). Christian exegetes have often regarded
Basilius Niederberger in Die Logosidee des hl. Cyrillus von Je-
Cyrus as a prefiguration of the Messiah.
rusalem (Paderborn, 1923); by Hugh M. Riley in Christian
Initiation: A Comparative Study of the Interpretation of the
Baptismal Liturgy in the Mystagogical Writings of Cyril of Jeru-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
salem, John Chrysostom, Theodore of Mopsuestia and Ambrose
Pierre Briant, From Cyrus to Alexander: A History of the Persian
of Milan, “Studies in Christian Antiquity,” no. 17 (Washing-
Empire, translated by Peter T. Daniels (Winona Lake, Ind.,
ton, D. C., 1974); and by Edward Yarnold in The Awe-
2002), pp. 1–49, takes a somewhat more skeptical view of
Inspiring Rites of Initiation: Baptismal Homilies of the Fourth
Cyrus’s achievements than the more conventional account in
Century (Slough, U.K., 1972).
Albert Ten Eyck Olmstead’s History of the Persian Empire:
P
Achaemenid Period (Chicago, 1948), pp. 34–58. The rela-
ANAGIOTIS C. CHRISTOU (1987)
tionship between Cyrus’s policies and his support of local
cults is delineated by Joseph Blenkinsopp in “Temple and
Society in Achaemenid Judah,” in Second Temple Studies, 1:
CYRUS II (c. 585–c. 529 BCE), called Cyrus the Great;
The Persian Period, edited by Philip R. Davies (Sheffield,
builder and ruler of the Persian empire from 559 BCE until
1991), pp. 22–53. Cyrus’s Babylonian proclamation is trans-
his death. A king of the Achaemenid dynasty, Cyrus (OPers.,
lated by A. Leo Oppenheim in Ancient Near Eastern Texts Re-
Kurush) combined great ambition, shrewd calculation, and
lating to the Old Testament, 3d ed. with suppl., edited by J.
military expertise to establish the largest empire in world his-
B. Pritchard (Princeton, 1969), pp. 315–316, and a good
tory. From his base in Anshan he conquered neighboring
analysis of this text, with bibliography in the notes, is Amélie
Media in alliance with the Babylonian king Nabonidus in
Kuhrt’s “The Cyrus Cylinder and Achaemenid Imperial Pol-
icy,” Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 25 (February
550, overtook Lydia in Asia Minor in 547, defeated resisting
1983): 83–97. The Hebrew and Aramaic edicts of Cyrus are
areas in the Greek mainland, then returned to Persia and
analyzed by Elias J. Bickerman in “The Edict of Cyrus in
drove his armies eastward as far as India. With his power thus
Ezra 1,” Journal of Biblical Literature 65 (1946): 249–275.
increased, he conquered Babylonia and proclaimed himself
king of all Mesopotamia—indeed, of the world—in 539.
EDWARD L. GREENSTEIN (1987 AND 2005)
E N C Y C L O P E D I A O F R E L I G I O N , S E C O N D E D I T I O N