Meta-religion : religion and power in world history / James W. Laine.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Laine, James W., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Religions--History.

Religions.

History.

Religion and politics--History.

Religion and politics.

Genre:

History.

Physical Description:

xvi, 282 pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Oakland : University of California Press, [2015]

Summary:

"While many textbooks treat 'world religions' in an apolitical way, as if each religion were a path for individual seekers after wisdom and not a discourse intimately connected with the exercise of power, Laine's book treats religion and politics as halves of the same whole, and he traces their relationship from the days of Alexander the Great to the secularists of modern Europe, with stops in classical India, China, and the Islamic world"--Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Alexander and Ashoka : cosmopolitan empires and religious policy from Egypt to India, 330-230 BC

Imperial religion : China to Rome, 250 BC- 250 AD

The debate over Dharma: Hindus and Buddhists compete for ideological dominance in South Asia

Confessional religion and empire before the rise of Islam

The rise of Islam and the early Caliphate, 622-711 AD

Imperial Islam : 690-1500 AD

The great Islamic empires of the early modern era (ca. 1500-1700)

Putting religion in its place : reformers, kings and philosophers challenge the church

Putting religion in its place : revolution and religious freedom

The contemporary era : the world-wide regime of meta-religion.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780520281363

0520281365

9780520281370

0520281373

OCLC:

881146191