Christianity, Empire, and the Making of Religion in Late Antiquity

Nonfiction, History, Ancient History, Rome, Religion & Spirituality, Christianity, Church, Church History
Cover of the book Christianity, Empire, and the Making of Religion in Late Antiquity by Jeremy M. Schott, University of Pennsylvania Press, Inc.
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Jeremy M. Schott ISBN: 9780812203462
Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press, Inc. Publication: April 23, 2013
Imprint: University of Pennsylvania Press Language: English
Author: Jeremy M. Schott
ISBN: 9780812203462
Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press, Inc.
Publication: April 23, 2013
Imprint: University of Pennsylvania Press
Language: English

In Christianity, Empire, and the Making of Religion in Late Antiquity, Jeremy M. Schott examines the ways in which conflicts between Christian and pagan intellectuals over religious, ethnic, and cultural identity contributed to the transformation of Roman imperial rhetoric and ideology in the early fourth century C.E. During this turbulent period, which began with Diocletian's persecution of the Christians and ended with Constantine's assumption of sole rule and the consolidation of a new Christian empire, Christian apologists and anti-Christian polemicists launched a number of literary salvos in a battle for the minds and souls of the empire.

Schott focuses on the works of the Platonist philosopher and anti- Christian polemicist Porphyry of Tyre and his Christian respondents: the Latin rhetorician Lactantius, Eusebius, bishop of Caesarea, and the emperor Constantine. Previous scholarship has tended to narrate the Christianization of the empire in terms of a new religion's penetration and conquest of classical culture and society. The present work, in contrast, seeks to suspend the static, essentializing conceptualizations of religious identity that lie behind many studies of social and political change in late antiquity in order to investigate the processes through which Christian and pagan identities were constructed. Drawing on the insights of postcolonial discourse analysis, Schott argues that the production of Christian identity and, in turn, the construction of a Christian imperial discourse were intimately and inseparably linked to the broader politics of Roman imperialism.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

In Christianity, Empire, and the Making of Religion in Late Antiquity, Jeremy M. Schott examines the ways in which conflicts between Christian and pagan intellectuals over religious, ethnic, and cultural identity contributed to the transformation of Roman imperial rhetoric and ideology in the early fourth century C.E. During this turbulent period, which began with Diocletian's persecution of the Christians and ended with Constantine's assumption of sole rule and the consolidation of a new Christian empire, Christian apologists and anti-Christian polemicists launched a number of literary salvos in a battle for the minds and souls of the empire.

Schott focuses on the works of the Platonist philosopher and anti- Christian polemicist Porphyry of Tyre and his Christian respondents: the Latin rhetorician Lactantius, Eusebius, bishop of Caesarea, and the emperor Constantine. Previous scholarship has tended to narrate the Christianization of the empire in terms of a new religion's penetration and conquest of classical culture and society. The present work, in contrast, seeks to suspend the static, essentializing conceptualizations of religious identity that lie behind many studies of social and political change in late antiquity in order to investigate the processes through which Christian and pagan identities were constructed. Drawing on the insights of postcolonial discourse analysis, Schott argues that the production of Christian identity and, in turn, the construction of a Christian imperial discourse were intimately and inseparably linked to the broader politics of Roman imperialism.

More books from University of Pennsylvania Press, Inc.

Cover of the book Toussaint Louverture and the American Civil War by Jeremy M. Schott
Cover of the book Corporation Nation by Jeremy M. Schott
Cover of the book Human Rights Education by Jeremy M. Schott
Cover of the book Deterring Rational Fanatics by Jeremy M. Schott
Cover of the book Shades of Difference by Jeremy M. Schott
Cover of the book Peasant Scenes and Landscapes by Jeremy M. Schott
Cover of the book Battle Lines by Jeremy M. Schott
Cover of the book The Complete Old English Poems by Jeremy M. Schott
Cover of the book A Skeptic's Guide to Writers' Houses by Jeremy M. Schott
Cover of the book Building the Nation by Jeremy M. Schott
Cover of the book The Heart and Stomach of a King by Jeremy M. Schott
Cover of the book First City by Jeremy M. Schott
Cover of the book Disability, Human Rights, and Information Technology by Jeremy M. Schott
Cover of the book Internationalism in the Age of Nationalism by Jeremy M. Schott
Cover of the book Libya and the United States, Two Centuries of Strife by Jeremy M. Schott
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy