Alan Strathern, a Professor of Global History at Oxford, discusses his latest work, examining why rulers historically converted to foreign religions. He shares insights from case studies in Kongo, Japan, Thailand, and Hawaii, revealing the intertwined nature of religious and political authority. Strathern highlights how Christianity served as a tool for consolidation amidst cultural shifts, particularly in Hawaii, where traditional beliefs faced significant challenges. His analysis opens up conversations about global patterns of conversion and their lasting impact on contemporary religious geography.
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Immanentism vs Transcendentalism Religiosity
There are two key types of religiosity: immanentism focuses on supernatural forces for worldly benefits, while transcendentalism stresses salvation beyond this life.
Immanentism often sacralizes kingship as divine, while transcendentalism presents kings as righteous guardians of salvation projects.
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Congo's Christian Conversion as Battle Aid
The Kingdom of Congo's royal conversion to Christianity was seen as a battle-winning initiation cult.
Miraculous accounts like divine aid in battles entrenched Christianity as key to political legitimacy in Congo.
insights INSIGHT
Limitations on African Conversions
African polities often resisted Iberian Christian missions despite intrigue and partial approaches to conversion.
Challenges like monogamy demands clashed with local political alliances, aiding Islam's eventual inroads over Christianity.
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Alan Strathern's "Converting Rulers" examines historical instances where rulers converted their entire countries to new religions. The book uses case studies to analyze the complex interplay of religious, political, and social factors driving these conversions. Strathern explores the motivations of rulers, the role of missionaries, and the impact on the societies involved. The book challenges conventional narratives and offers a nuanced understanding of religious change. It provides a comparative framework for understanding the dynamics of religious conversion in diverse historical contexts.
Unearthly Powers
Alan Strathern
Why did so many rulers throughout history risk converting to a new religion brought by outsiders? In his award-winning Unearthly Powers (2019), Dr. Alan Strathern set out a theoretical framework for understanding the relation between religion and political authority based on a distinction between two kinds of religion - immanentism and transcendentalism - and the different ways they made monarchy sacred. Please listen to his interview on that book on the New Books Network!
This ambitious and innovative companion volume Converting Rulers: Global Patterns, 1450–1850(Cambridge University Press, 2024) tests and substantiates this approach using case studies from Kongo (1480–1530), Japan (1560–1614), Ayutthaya (Thailand, 1660–1690) and Hawaii (1800–1830). Through in-depth analysis of key turning points in the careers of warlords, chiefs and kings, a tapestry of unique characters and stories is brought to light. However, these examples ultimately demonstrate that global patterns of conversion can be established to illuminate the religious geography of the world today.
This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda’s interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts.
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