Concepts of "Religion" in Late Antiquity

The modern concept of "religion" as applied to ancient and medieval times has been deconstructed, debated, and (for some) discarded. Much of the research has focused on the use of "religion" since the Enlightenment and particularly in more recent anthropological studies. One thinks of JZ Smith's Religion, religions, religious and Talal Assad's Genealogies of Religion. Much less has been done with evolving notions of religion in late antiquity, and still less outside of the Roman Empire. This is a question dear to Daniel Boyarin's research, but one which I submit will be reconsidered, and challenged from a different angle at an upcoming SBL session.* In class a week and a half ago, we examined the development of the Iranian term daēnā /dēn in Avestan and Middle Persian texts, with an eye towards the evolution of a notion of religion. In this line, Adam Becker's fresh article in Late Antiquity 2.2 (2009) has much to add to the uses of religion, or more accurately "fear" in the late antique Christian East. He of course touches on Jews and Zoroastrians as well.

* History and Literature of Early Rabbinic JudaismJoint Session With: History and Literature of Early Rabbinic Judaism, Religious World of Late Antiquity, Social History of Formative Christianity and Judaism
11/23/20091:00 PM to 3:30 PMRoom: Studio 7 - MR
Theme: Jews and Christians in the Sasanian Empire