Deep History, Secular Theory

376 Pages·2014·1.793 MB·English

by  Luther Martin

Luther H. Martin
Deep History, Secular Theory
Religion and Reason
Founded by
Jacques Waardenburg
Edited by
Gustavo Benavides and Michael Stausberg
Volume 54
Luther H. Martin
Deep History,
Secular Theory
Historical and Scientific Studies of Religion
DE GRUYTER
ISBN978-1-61451-619-4
e-ISBN978-1-61451-500-5
ISSN0080-0848
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Foreword
Iamdelightedtoseetheseincisive,seminalarticlesnowbroughttogetherinone
place—andsorevealinglycontextualizedbyMartin’sownaccountoftheintellec-
tualjourneythatforgedthem.Thevolumeshowsonepossibletrajectoryandout-
comeamongthoseofuswhohaveexperiencedclose-handthelasthalf-century
ofthestudyofreligion.Fewindividualscholarshaveworkedtheirwaythrough
so many of its paths, stages, and critical issues as the author of these selected
essays.
ForMartin,ashetellsus,allthiswassetinmotioninthe1960sbytheidea
ofasecularapproachtothestudyofreligioninapublicuniversity.Ashisdepart-
mentalcolleagueattheUniversityofVermontfromthattimeforward,Ihavewit-
nessed most all of the steps along the way by which Luther has steadily chal-
lenged the field’s unexamined biases and undeveloped sense of explanatory
theory. His essays created stimulating discussions and arguments, as we both
grappled with emerging ideas that had not yet been clearly formulated much
lesstestedinthewiderfield.Inanycase,wesharedacertaindedicationtobring-
ingcomparative religion along to its next possibilities.
To be sure,the search for theory is not new. Since the late nineteenth cen-
tury,manyinthefield ofreligion havetriedtoviewits materialthroughthein-
terpretiveframesofthehumansciences,redescribingthedataintermsofappli-
cable philosophies, sociologies, and psychologies, and thus showing ways in
whichreligiouslifereflectspatternedwaysthatthemind,language,andsocial-
ity work.Think:James and Husserl, Durkheim and Weber, Freud and Foucault,
structuralism and post-colonialism. For Martin, the resource became cognitive
science.
Andthis hasbeen immensely productive,themore sobecause Martin is an
historianofreligionatheartandcannotonlymaketheconnectionsofcognitive
frames and the historical data of Hellenistic traditions (illustrated in several of
theincludedarticles)butalsoshednewlightonmanyoftheotherwisecumber-
somebutcommoncategoriesofourfield,suchascomparisonandcomparative
patterns, kingship and kinship, syncretism, ritual, and historiography. Clearly,
his drive is to recapture the notion of a Religionswissenschaft—but this time in
apost-theologicalera,theworldviewofwhichisbeingshapedbytheevolution-
arysciences.Thiswouldbringthe“scientific”evenbeyonditsloosernineteenth-
centurymeaningsofcriticalhistoriesandarchaeologies,andlinguisticstowhat
amountstoanew,species-level,deep historyofthehumanbrainanditsreper-
toireofadaptive,dispositionalsettings.Themaximherewouldbe,“asthemind
works, so religionworks.”
VI Foreword
InthisendeavorMartinhasbeenabletobringtobearmanyofthemostuse-
fulandcurrentconceptsintheburgeoningcognitivisttradition.Asintheolden
days, when anthropologists brought back cultural materials—say, from Africa,
Australia, or India—that became influential for reconceiving religion and the
general study of religion, I like to think of my colleague as having “gone
forth” into another country, in this case, the cognitive sciences, and having
brought back resources that should make us all stop and think. In fact, as co-
founderin2006oftheInternationalAssociationfortheCognitiveScienceofRe-
ligion,subsequentleadershipinthatgroup,severalvisitingprofessorships,and
new editorial projects, he has helped bringglobal networking and initiatives to
the field.
The prospect of using evolutionary considerations to explain religious be-
haviors has already generated productive debate both within and outside the
field.Ithinkwecanexpectthat“deephistory”willbecomeincreasinglyaccept-
ed as the new landscape or worldview within which the study of religion must
necessarily find new connections.
William E. Paden
Acknowledgements
Thisvolume reprints selected essaysfrom two decades of my work. It is impos-
sibletothankbynameallofmycolleagueswhohavecommentedon,contribut-
edto,andcriticizedinprogressumtheessaysherecollectedbutIhavebenefited
fromallandmany.Ishould,however,likeespeciallytothanktwolong-timecol-
leagues whose input has been especially important (whether or not they have
agreed with the final results). First, is my long-time friend and colleague at
the University of Vermont, Professor William E. Paden, who preceded me at
the University by two years and whose career developed parallel my own. I
havebenefitedimmeasurablyfromourdiscussionsovertheyears,beginningal-
ready in graduate school. Second, is my long-distance friend and colleague at
theUniversityofToronto,DonaldWiebe.Followinguponourearlierdiscussions,
Donhas,overthepastdecade, readvirtuallyeverythingI havewritten;his crit-
ical comments have alwaysimproved myarguments and have saved me froma
numberofembarrassments.Iwouldlikeespecially to thank ProfessorsMichael
StausbergandGustavoBenavidesforinvitingmetocontributetotheseriesthey
editforWalterdeGruyteronReligionandReason.Iamparticularlyhappytocon-
tributetothisseries,whichwasfoundedanumberofyearsagobyProfessorJac-
quesWaardenburgwhosefriendshipandmutualcollaborationsIfondlyremem-
ber.Finally,Iwouldliketothankmyformer(undergraduate)studentDr.Steven
Hroticwhowasmyeditorialassistantinthepreparationofthisvolume.Hisgen-
eralunderstandingoftheworkIhavedoneovertheyearsaswellashiscareful
eye for detail has greatly facilitated the preparation of this volume for publica-
tion. The editorial preparation of this volume was generously supported by a
University of Vermont Retired Faculty Scholar’s Award, 2013. And, of course, I
mustexpressmyappreciationtoDr.AlissaJonesNelson,myacquisitionseditor
at De Gruyter and Sabina Dabrowski, my production editor at De Gruyter who
have so capably shepherded this volume into print.
WiththeexceptionofChapter18(previouslyunpublished),theessaysinthis
volumehavebeenreprintedintheforminwhichtheyfirstappeared(withapol-
ogiesfortherepetitionofsomematerialsfromarticletoarticle)withonlytypos
corrected(althoughitisimprudenttoclaimthatallhavebeenfinallyidentified)
and referencesupdatedand reformatted. I should liketo acknowledge the orig-
inalplaceofpublicationandtothanktherespectivepublishersfortheirpermis-
sion to reprint the articles in this volume.
Chapter1.“TheAcademicStudyofReligion:ATheologicalorTheoreticalUnder-
taking?”InCulturesinContact:EssaysinHonorofProfessorGregoriosD.Ziakas,
VIII Acknowledgements
editedbyP.Pachis,P.Vasiliadis,andD.Kaimakis,333-345.Thessaloniki:Kornelia
Sfakianaki Press, 2008.
Chapter 2. “The Academic Study of Religion during the Cold War:The Western
Perspective.”InTheStudyofReligionduringtheColdWar,EastandWest,edited
withI.Dolezalová,L.H.MartinandD.Papoušek,209-223.NewYork:PeterLang
Press, 2001.
Chapter3.“SecularTheoryandtheAcademicStudyofReligion.”InSecularThe-
oriesonReligion.ASelectionofRecentAcademicPerspectives,editedbyT.Jensen
and M. Rothstein,137-148.Copenhagen:The Museum Tusculanum Press.
Chapter4.“OfReligiousSyncretism,ComparativeReligionandSpiritualQuests.”
InPerspectivesonMethodandTheoryintheStudyofReligion,editedbyA.Geertz
and R. McCutcheon, 277-286. Leiden: E.J. Brill, 2000.
Chapter5.“ToUse‘Syncretism’,orNottoUse‘Syncretism’:ThatistheQuestion.”
Special issue of Historical Reflections/Réflexions Historiqueon“RetrofittingSyn-
cretism,” edited by William Cassidy, 27 (2001), 389-400.
Chapter6.“Comparison.”GuidetotheStudyofReligion,editedbyW.Braunand
R. McCutcheon,45-56. London: Cassell Academic, 2000.
Chapter 7. “Comparativism and Sociobiological Theory.” Numen 48 (2001), 290-
308.
Chapter8.“AkintotheGodsorSimplyOnetoAnother:Comparisonwithrespect
to Religions in Antiquity.” In Vergleichen und Verstehen in der Religionswissen-
schaft,edited by H.-J Klimkeit,147-159.Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz,1997.
Chapter 9. “Secrecy in Hellenistic Religious Communities.” In Secrecy and Con-
cealment in Late Antique and Islamic History of Religions, edited by H. Kippen-
berg and G. Stroumsa,101-121. Leiden: E.J. Brill,1995,
Chapter 10.“TheAnti-IndividualisticIdeologyofHellenisticCulture.”Numen 41
(1994),117-140.
Chapter11.“RationalityandRelativisminHistoryofReligionsResearch.”InRa-
tionalityand the Study of Religion,edited by Jeppe S.Jensen and L. Martin,145-
156. London: Routledge, 2003.
Acknowledgements IX
Chapter 12. “Evolution,Cognition and History.” In Past Minds, Studies in Cogni-
tive Historiography, edited by L. Martin and J. Sørensen,1-10. London: Equinox,
2011.
Chapter13.“CanReligionReallyEvolve?(AndWhatIsItAnyway?)”InTheEvo-
lutionofReligions:Studies,Theories,andCritiques,editedbyJ.Bulbulia,R.Sosis,
E. Harris, R. Genet, C. Genet and K.Wyman, 349-355. Santa Margarita, CA:The
Collins Foundation Press, 2008.
Chapter14.“ReligionandCognition.”InTheRoutledgeCompaniontotheStudyof
Religion, second edition by J. Hinnells,526-542. London: Routledge 2010.
Chapter15.“ThePromiseofCognitiveSciencefortheStudyofEarlyChristianity.”
InExplainingEarlyJudaismandChristianity:ContributionsfromCognitiveandSo-
cialSciences,editedbyP.Luomanen,I.Pyysiäinen,andR.Uro,37-56.Leiden:E.
J. Brill, 2007.
Chapter16.“Globalization,Syncretism,andReligioninWesternAntiquity:Some
Neurocognitive Considerations.” Zeitschrift für Missionswissenschaft und Reli-
gionswissenschaft 94.1-2 (2010), 5-17.
Chapter17.“WhatDoReligiousRitualsDo?(AndHowDoTheyDoIt?):Cognition
andthe StudyofReligion.”In Introducing Religion:EssaysinHonorof Jonathan
Z. Smith, edited by R. McCutcheon and W. Braun, 325-339. London: Equinox,
2008.
Chapter 19. “Performativity, Discourse and Cognition: ‘Demythologizing’ the
Roman Cult of Mithras.” In Rhetoric and Reality in Early Christianity, edited by
W. Braun,187-217.Waterloo:Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2005.
Chapter 20. “Cognitive Science, Ritual, and the Hellenistic Mystery Religions.”
Religion & Theology 13 (2006), 383-395.
Chapter21.“WhyChristianitywasAcceptedbyRomansbutNotbyRome.”InRe-
ligionskritikinderAntike,editedbyU.BernerandI.Tanaseanu,93-107.Münster:
LIT-Verlag, 2009.
Chapter22.“Aspectsof‘ReligiousExperience’amongtheHellenisticMysteryRe-
ligions.” Religion & Theology 12 (2005), 349-369.
X Acknowledgements
Chapter23.“TheUses(andAbuse)oftheCognitiveSciencesfortheStudyofRe-
ligion.” CSSR Bulletin 37 (2008),95-98.
Chapter 24. “The Futureof the Past:TheHistoryof Religionsand CognitiveHis-
toriography.” Religio: Revue pro Religionistiku 20.2 (2012), 255-170.
AbbreviationsofclassicalsourcesarethoseofAGreekEnglishLexicon,editedby
H.G. Liddell and R. Scott(Oxford University Press) and/or The Oxford Classical
Dictionary,4th edition by S. Hornblower, A. Spawnforth and E. Eidinow (Oxford
University Press).
LM
Burlington,VT, February 2014