The Frazerian roots of contemporary theories of religion and violence
The association of religion with violence rather than with peace long antedates 9/11. Among theorists of religion, the association goes back at least to J.G. Frazer, author of the classic The Golden Bough (first ed. 1890). Contemporary theorists who tie religion to violence are beholden to Frazer, e...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2007
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| In: |
Religion
Year: 2007, Volume: 37, Issue: 1, Pages: 4–25 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Frazer, James George 1854-1941, The golden bough
/ Reception
/ Girard, René 1923-2015
/ Burkert, Walter 1931-2015
/ Violence
/ Religion
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| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Parallel Edition: | Non-electronic
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| Summary: | The association of religion with violence rather than with peace long antedates 9/11. Among theorists of religion, the association goes back at least to J.G. Frazer, author of the classic The Golden Bough (first ed. 1890). Contemporary theorists who tie religion to violence are beholden to Frazer, even when they spurn any dependence. At the same time the function of religious violence for contemporary theorists has shifted from control over the physical world to control over the social world. That shift typifies the overall shift from a nineteenth-century approach to religion to a twentieth-century one. This article considers two of the most prominent contemporary theorists who connect religion to violence: Rene Girard and Walter Burkert. How they at once depend on Frazer and break with him is the subject of this article. |
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| ISSN: | 1096-1151 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Religion
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1016/j.religion.2007.01.006 |
