Medieval Religious, Religions, Religion

This article sketches the most important shift in medieval religious history over the past few decades: the transition from "church history" to "the history of religious culture." First, it surveys the field’s expansion of "the religious" beyond a clerical elite to a br...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Ames, Christine Caldwell 1969- (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Interlibrary Loan:Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany)
Published: 2012
In: History compass
Year: 2012, Volume: 10, Issue: 4, Pages: 334-352
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Description
Summary:This article sketches the most important shift in medieval religious history over the past few decades: the transition from "church history" to "the history of religious culture." First, it surveys the field’s expansion of "the religious" beyond a clerical elite to a broad demographic of the faithful, and its interest in devotion and lived experience in ways that have produced more nuanced appreciation of the varieties of Christian orthodoxy. Second, it sketches how the religions falling under the aegis of medieval religious history have increased from Latin Christianity only to Judaism, Islam, Greek Christianity, and even to forms of religiosity identified as pagan. Third, it argues that regardless of the field’s many expansions and changes, scholars have tended not to make explicit the definitions of "religion" with which they work, and considers the ramifications and possible value of doing so.
ISSN:1478-0542
Contains:Enthalten in: History compass
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1111/j.1478-0542.2012.00836.x