Religious Conversion and Imperial Rule : Self, Otherness, and Power in a Global Perspective (16th-19th Centuries)

Ricarda Vulpius

ISBN 10: 3593522233 / ISBN 13: 9783593522234

Published by Campus Verlag Gmbh Jul 2026, 2026

About this Item

Neuware - For centuries and across continents religious communities have shaped the ways in which individuals position themselves within their societies. While historians and anthropologists have increasingly focused on the phenomenon of religious conversion, studies on the relationship between conversion and imperial rule have remained sporadic and geographically isolated. To remedy this, the present volume adopts a global and comparative approach. Focusing on efforts to spread Christianity and responses from different faith communities, the authors engage in a debate that goes beyond specific confessions or imperial configurations. The case studies presented here powerfully illustrate the multidirectional nature of religious conversion practices. They demonstrate how local structures both enabled and limited the changes brought about by conversion. The volume also addresses notions of subjectivity within convert communities which shaped their reactions to imperial strategies. 'Religious Conversion and Imperial Rule' thus illuminates the interplay between power, conversion, agency, and social transformation.

Seller Inventory # 9783593522234

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Religious Conversion and Imperial Rule : Self, Otherness, and Power in a Global Perspective (16th-19th Centuries)
• Publisher: Campus Verlag Gmbh Jul 2026
• Publication Date: 2026
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 3593522233
• ISBN 13: 9783593522234
• Binding: Taschenbuch
• Condition: Neu
• Dimensions: 230W x 150H x 18D millimeters 230 millimeters width by 150 millimeters height by 18 millimeters depth
• Weight: 406 grams

About this title

Synopsis

A comparative study of how religious communities shaped ideas of identity and belonging under empire. 

Over centuries and across continents, religious communities played a central role in individuals’ self-positioning within society. While studies on the phenomenon of religious conversion have grown considerably in the historical-anthropological literature, the relationship between conversion and imperial rule has been limited to a few geographical areas. In response to this gap, this volume proposes a more global and comparative approach. Although most of the included studies focus on the spread of Christianity and the responses of communities of different faiths, the broader aim of Religious Conversion and Imperial Rule is to supplement a debate that goes beyond confessions or imperial configurations. By addressing diverse historical cases, the book explores three key aspects of conversion and empire: the multidirectional character of religious conversion practices; the varying degrees of change in conversion, shaped by the possibilities and limits of local structures; and notions of subjectivity within convert communities, which shaped their articulated responses to imperial strategies. Overall, the volume illuminates the interplay between power, agency, and social transformation.

About the Authors

Ricarda Vulpius is professor of East European history and principal investigator of the Cluster of Excellence Religion and Politics at the University of Münster. She specializes in the history of the Russian Empire and the history of Ukraine from the sixteenth to twentieth centuries. 

Guillermo Wilde is professor of anthropology and history of Latin America and principal investigator at the National Scientific Research Council of Argentina (CONICET). He specializes in ethnohistory and the study of religious conversion in missionary contexts of the Iberian World.