Religion And Politics: Cultural Perspectives (international Studies In Religion And Society)

Religion and Politics International Studies in Religion and Society VOLUME 3 Religion and Politics Cultural Perspectives Edited by Bernhard Giesen and Daniel ”uber .. . TU .. . . P AA LL LL AA S S TA SU AEGID E B BRILL LEIDEN • BOSTON 2005 This book is printed on acid-free paper. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Religion and politics : cultural perspectives /edited by Bernhard Giesen and Daniel Suber. p. cm.—(International studies in religion and society, ISSN 1573-4293 ; v. 3) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 90-04-14463-3 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Religion and politics—Congresses. I. Giesen, Bernhard, 1948–. II. Suber, Daniel. III. Series. BL65.P7R43232 2005 201’.72—dc22 2005045742 ISSN 1573-4293 ISBN 90 04 14463 3 © Copyright 2005 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands. Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill Academic Publishers, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers and VSP. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Brill provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910, Danvers, MA 01923, USA. Fees are subject to change. printed in the netherlands CONTENTS Acknowledgements ...................................................................... vii Politics and Religion: An Introduction .................................... Bernhard Giesen and Daniel ”uber 1 PART A POLITICS AND RELIGION: CONCEPTUAL PERSPECTIVES The Transformations of the Religious Dimension in the Constitution of Contemporary Modernities .......................... Shmuel N. Eisenstadt 17 ‘Axial’ Breakthroughs and Semantic ‘Relocations’ in Ancient Egypt and Israel .................................................................... Jan Assmann 39 Politics and Religion from an Anthropological Point of View: An Interview with Mary Douglas ........................ Daniel ”uber and Marco Kaiser 55 Religion and Morality in Modern Europe Compared to the Religious Situation in the United States of America .................................................................................. Thomas Luckmann Tales of Transcendence: Imagining the Sacred in Politics .... Bernhard Giesen 75 93 PART B RELIGIOUS ORIGINS OF MODERNITY Monotheism and Its Political Consequences ............................ 141 Jan Assmann vi contents The Religious Origins of Modern Radical Movements .......... 161 Shmuel N. Eisenstadt Political Theology: Religion as Legitimizing Fiction in Antique and Early Modern Critique .................................... 193 Jan Assmann PAR