The Invention of Sacred Tradition

Examines the phenomenon of 'invented traditions' in religions from ancient times to the present day.

James R. Lewis (Edited by), Olav Hammer (Edited by)

9780521864794, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 29 November 2007

320 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.9 cm, 0.6 kg

Review of the hardback: '… this book offers a wealth of descriptive material on an important aspect of invented religious traditions; it offers many insightful interpretive claims; and it provides essential materials for further theorizing these issues.' Religion

The dictionary definition of tradition refers to beliefs and practices that have been transmitted from generation to generation, however, 'tradition' can rest simply on the claim that certain cultural elements are rooted in the past. Claim and documented historical reality need not overlap. In the domain of religion, historically verifiable traditions coexist with recent innovations whose origins are spuriously projected back into time. This book examines the phenomenon of 'invented traditions' in religions ranging in time from Zoroastrianism to Scientology, and geographically from Tibet to North America and Europe. The various contributions, together with an introduction that surveys the field, use individual case studies to address questions such as the rationale for creating historical tradition for one's doctrines and rituals; the mechanisms by which hitherto unknown texts can enter an existing corpus; and issues of acceptance and scepticism in the reception of dubious texts.

Introduction Olav Hammer and James R. Lewis
1. Scientology, scripture and sacred tradition Mikael Rothstein
2. 'He may be lying but what he says is true': the sacred tradition of Don Juan as reported by Carlos Castaneda, anthropologist, trickster, guru, allegorist Charlotte E. Hardman
3. Invention of sacred tradition: Mormonism Douglas J. Davies
4. Antisemitism, conspiracy culture, Christianity, and Islam
the history and contemporary religious significance of the 'Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion' Christopher Partridge and Ron Geaves
5. The invention of a counter-tradition: the case of the North American anti-cult movement David G. Bromley and Douglas E. Cowan
6. 'Heavenly deception'? Sun Myung Moon and 'Divine Principle' George D. Chryssides
7. 'Forgery' in the New Testament Einar Thomassen
8. Three phases of inventing Rosicrucian tradition in the seventeenth century Susanna Åkerman
9. A name for all and no one: Zoroaster as a figure of authorization and a screen of ascription Michael Stausberg
10. The peculiar sleep: receiving the URANTIA book Sarah Lewis
11. Ontology of the past and its materialization in Tibetan treasures Holly Gayley
12. Pseudo-Dionysius: the mediation of sacred traditions Kevin Corrigan and Michael Harrington
13. Spurious attribution of the Hebrew Bible Philip R. Davies
14. Inventing paganisms: making nature Graham Harvey.

Subject Areas: Social & cultural anthropology, ethnography [JHMC], Religion: general [HRA], Literary studies: general [DSB]