Religious Innovation in the Hellenistic and Roman Periods (Elements in New Religious Movements)

Hammer, Olav

ISBN 10: 1009015257 / ISBN 13: 9781009015257

Published by Cambridge University Press, 2023

About this Item

Seller Inventory # I-9781009015257

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Religious Innovation in the Hellenistic and Roman Periods (Elements in New Religious Movements)
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication Date: 2023
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1009015257
• ISBN 13: 9781009015257
• Binding: Soft cover
• Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis

The scholarly study of new religious movements focuses on the contemporary period, but religious innovation is nothing new. This Element explores a historical epoch characterized by a multitude of emergent religious concepts and practices – the Hellenistic and Roman periods. A precondition for the intense degree of religious innovation during this time was a high level of cultural exchange. Religious elements crossed porous cultural borders and were adapted to suit new purposes. The resulting amalgams were presented in a vast corpus of texts, largely produced by a literate elite. Charismatic leaders played a particularly important role in creating new religious options and were described in genres that were infused with ideological agendas. Novel religious developments were accepted by the Roman authorities unless suspected of undermining the social order. The rise of one of the many new religions of the period, Christianity, ultimately changed the religious landscape in profound ways.