Religious Pluralism, Legal Development, and Societal Complexity: Rudimentary Forms of Civil Religion
We explore the question of why civil religion might arise in the first place. Essentially the argument is: (1) the condition of religious pluralism creates special problems for social interaction; (2) social interaction, in such situations, is facilitated by a universalistic legal system; (3) a univ...
| Published in: | Journal for the scientific study of religion |
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| Authors: | ; |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Wiley-Blackwell
[1974]
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| In: |
Journal for the scientific study of religion
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| Further subjects: | B
Religious laws
B Social evolution B Fair play B conflicts of laws B Legal systems B Religious rituals B Protestantism B Catholicism B Social Interaction |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (Resolving-System) Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | We explore the question of why civil religion might arise in the first place. Essentially the argument is: (1) the condition of religious pluralism creates special problems for social interaction; (2) social interaction, in such situations, is facilitated by a universalistic legal system; (3) a universalistic legal system may, therefore, be elevated to the sacred realm. Actually, the data bear on only the first two of these propositions, showing that the association between legal development and societal complexity increases with every increase in religious pluralism. We prepare the groundwork for the plausible claim, therefore, that, in the absence of a universally acceptable meaning system (traditional religion), the legal order may become a universally acceptable substitute (civil religion). |
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| ISSN: | 1468-5906 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal for the scientific study of religion
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.2307/1384378 |