Religion, the axial age, and secular modernity in bellahs. There are 606 pages of text, 106 pages of notes, and a 32page index, along with a 16page preface, all directed to understanding what evolution as a whole means xiii. The essay was entitled religious evolution, and it began with a stunningly concise and schematic, fourorfivephase overview of the entirety of world religious history. As bellah sees it, our metanarrative is not contra jaspers world history but rather the theory of evolution. Bellah religion in human evolution is a work of extraordinary ambitiona wideranging, nuanced probing of our biological past to discover the kinds of lives that human beings have. Review essay bellahs religion in human evolution a post. Rejection of this world is highest in the middle phase, historic religion. In religion in human evolution, he remarks that i do believe that we need to speak of evolution, which is the. Developed from the merlin donalds work on cultural evolution, karl jaspers insights on the axial age, and drawing upon a range of historical, anthropological, and biological sources, bellah traces the evolution of religion within human culture from its origins.
Robert bellahs religion in human evolution is the most important systematic and historical treatment of religion since hegel, durkheim, and weber. Rejection of this world is a function primarily of religious dualism. Sep 15, 2011 this ambitious book probes our biological past to discover the kinds of lives that human beings have imagined were worth living. Bellah harvard university evolution in the sphere of religion is traced on three levels. Robert bellahs monumental religion in human evolution attempts to do just this. Geertz died in 2006 at the age of 80, so we cannot know his reaction to religion in human evolution, the magnum opus that the 84year. Oct 02, 2011 geertz died in 2006 at the age of 80, so we cannot know his reaction to religion in human evolution, the magnum opus that the 84yearold bellah has just published. Robert bellah on religious evolution1 introduction there are 5 major phases in the worldwide evolution of religion. Developed from the merlin donalds work on cultural evolution, karl jaspers insights on the axial age, and drawing upon a range of historical, anthropological, and biological sources, bellah traces the evolution of religion within human culture from its origins in primordial play. In the quote, bellah offers his own personal definition of religion and reference 3 other religion theorists showing us how layered his definition is. Robert bellah on religious evolution1 introduction.
Though it is out of date in some respects it does still serve as a brief statement of bellahs position. I became interested in reading robert bellahs religion in human evolution 2011 as a result of a brief discussion on the book in philosopher charles taylors recent work, the linguistic animal 2016, a study which shares much with bellahs. Smith, university of chicago luke timothy johnson, emory university wendy. Religion in the age of kant and bacteria in the wake of germanys surrender to the allies on may 8th, 1945 and. Robert bellah on the origins of religion 471 durkheims and webers inheritance religion in human evolution appears just ninetynine years after emile durkheims the elementary forms of religious life was i rst published in the original french. Brown, on bellahs ideas, intellectual profile, and writing style in the. It offers what is frequently seen as a forbidden theory of the origin of religion that goes deep into evolution, especially but not exclusively cultural evolution. It is a pageturner of a bildungsroman of the human spirit on a truly global scale, and should be on every educated persons bookshelves. Bellahs seminal work on civil religion in the early 1970s created a huge debate across the disciplines that continues into the present times.
The arrival of religion in human evolution began at least as early as 2005 when bellah published what is axial about the axial age. It offers what is frequently seen as a forbidden theory of the origin of religion that goes deep into evolution, especially but not exclusively cultural. How robert bellah 192720 changed the study of religion. Religion in human evolution, robert n bellah shop online. From the paleolithic to the axial age, the sociologist robert bellah offers a new, unexpected way of reconciling these opposites, using evolutionary psychology to argue that the invention of religious belief played a crucial role in the development of modern human beings.
The nature and significance of religion never ceases to fascinate. Jun 07, 2012 perhaps only bellah, with his lifelong passion and depth of curiosity for this huge subject, could synthesize for us such a vast range of biological, anthropological and historical literature that together reveal the origins and cultural evolution of religion, as well as its ongoing potential to transform human beings and societies in both east. First and most central is the evolution of religious symbol systems which are described as moving from compact to differentiated. But to really understand how religion emerged and what part it has played in human evolution, you need to go deeper, to interrogate the evidence, to look at religion in context. Religion in the age of kant and bacteria harvard university. I read it shortly after it appeared, and it clarified my thinking about god and country. Payne and others published bellah s religion in human evolution. Jun 23, 2017 robert bellah on religion in human evolution. Main issues of critical contention include the works minimal engagement with other evolutionary approaches in the. Religion can be an obstacle to contemporary scientific thought. A major stride in this direction was made during the axial age 800200 bce, and making this argument constitutes the core of religion in human evolution. In the first sentence of the preface to his study of religion in human evolution robert bellah acknowledges that this is a large book about a large subject ix.
Religious evolution or development according to robert bellah chapter 2, in beyond belief. A conversation with robert bellah on religion in human. Robert bellah s religion in human evolution is the most important systematic and historical treatment of religion since hegel, durkheim, and weber. The robert bellah reader 2006 religion in human evolution religion in human evolution.
Religion in human evolution readers guide during the first two weeks of class and by our second meeting you have a significant challenge. Bellahs book is that a major driver in the evolution of religion was the need to reconcile the tension between the need for hierarchy and the need for legitimacy and equity. He had planned to devote much of it to the intellectual and. Acceptance of this world is emphasized in the first and last phases. Religion, evolution, and the ecstasy of selftranscendence duration. Sunday, november 20, 2011 american academy of religion annual meeting san francisco, california panelists. Bellah published a programmatic article, much discussed at the time and reprinted in 2006 as the lead essay in the robert bellah reader. Some two decades before robert bellah and his colleagues wrote the seminal 1985 book habits of the heart, which improved the public conversation about religion and society in the united states, bellah penned a provocative essay called religious evolution. In close conjunction with this evolution religious collectivities become more. A longawaited major synthesis by a prominent and highly networked scholar like robert n. Bellah is elliott professor of sociology emeritus at the university of california at berkeley. Payne and others published bellahs religion in human evolution. In religion, the axial age, and secular modernity in bellahs theory of religious evolution casanova addresses and critiques robert bellahs theory of religious evolution, as well as various theories and principles associated with the axial age, the time period in the last millennium before christ, when many of the worlds religions underwent similar transformations. Robert bellah attempts in this work to provide a deep history of religion, one that probes beyond the limits of recorded history, in an attempt to trace the evolutionary origins of the capacities that lie at the root of religion, and provide a synopsis of the interconnected and nonlinear history of social and religious evolution up to the axial age.
Bellah religion in human evolution is a work of extraordinary ambitiona wideranging, nuanced probing of our biological past to discover the kinds of lives that human beings have most often imagined were worth living. Download therobertbellahreader ebook pdf or read online books in pdf, epub, and mobi format. With respect to precedents, the closest, unmentioned interlocutor for bellahs project is henri bergsons work on evolution and later, on religion and evolution. Religion in human evolution is a nearexhaustive examination of the biological and cultural origins of religion bellah gleefully plunges into the past, from the big bang to the first millennium b. Bellah was working on his final book when on july 30 of this year complications following heart surgery led to a sudden end to a long and productive life. I became interested in reading robert bellah s religion in human evolution 2011 as a result of a brief discussion on the book in philosopher charles taylors recent work, the linguistic animal 2016, a study which shares much with bellah s. The paper shows the influence exerted by a controversial interpreter of freud, norman o. Religion in human evolution, from the paleolithic to the. Religion and empire in the axial age peter turchin home. Aug 08, 2011 robert bellah s religion in human evolution is the most important systematic and historical treatment of religion since hegel, durkheim, and weber. Download pdf therobertbellahreader free online new. Bellah was elected a fellow of the american academy of arts and sciences in 1967. Sep 15, 2011 religion in human evolution is a work of extraordinary ambitiona wideranging, nuanced probing of our biological past to discover the kinds of lives that human beings have most often imagined were worth living. It offers what is frequently seen as a forbidden theory of the origin of religion that goes deep into evolution, especially but not.
This ambitious book probes our biological past to discover the kinds of lives that human beings have imagined were worth living. Bellahs theory goes deep into cultural and genetic evolution to identify a range of capacities communal dancing, storytelling, theorizing whose emergence made religious development possible in the first millennium bce. Robert bellah below is a quote of the late sociologist robert bellah 192720 who wrote religion in human evolution source. Robert bellah on religious evolution1 introduction primitive. Because of its unusual breadth in scope the book has received praise as a magnum opus. Robert bellahs religion in human evolution stands as magnum opus of breathtaking proportions. O ne of robert bellahs central ideas is that nothing is ever lost. Religion in human evolution is a work of extraordinary ambitiona wideranging, nuanced probing of our biological past to discover the kinds of lives that human beings have most often imagined were worth living. I think bellah sustained that combination seamlessly because his belief in ultimate truth fostered a confident insistence that the best science must in the end be consonant with the deep truths of the human condition. His leading principle, which informs the whole book, is that, as societies became more and more complex in human evolution, religions followed suit. In it, bellah seeks to deal with the original kernel and early development of religion, from prehistory to antiquity. The book in progress was to be the sequel to religion in human evolution, tracing developments from the axial age to the present.
Fishpond australia, religion in human evolution by robert n bellahbuy. Pdf robert bellahs religion in human evolution seth. Dec 29, 2014 robert bellahs religion in human evolution stands as magnum opus of breathtaking proportions. From the paleolithic to the axial age 2011 the axial age and its consequences 2012 awards and honors. From the paleolithic to the axial age, the last book he published, seeks to ground religion in human evolution. That book started with the big bang and ended with the axial age in the 6 th century bce. May 08, 2017 robert bellah attempts in this work to provide a deep history of religion, one that probes beyond the limits of recorded history, in an attempt to trace the evolutionary origins of the capacities that lie at the root of religion, and provide a synopsis of the interconnected and nonlinear history of social and religious evolution up to the axial age. Essays on religion in a posttraditionalist world evolution spoken of in these terms.
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