Overview

2,000 years ago, Judaism was becoming an attractive product in the market of Mediterranean religions. Yet it was Christianity that won the day. Innovation anthropologist Dominique Desjeux offers an unexpected solution to this oft-revisited enigma. In the year 70, the Temple of Jerusalem was destroyed. The Jews were in danger of disappearing, even though they represented nearly 8% of the empire's population. To survive, the Jews had to make a strategic choice between several controversies: the resurrection of the dead, proselytism, the application of circumcision and dietary prohibitions. One school of thought proposed refocusing on the purity of rules. This later gave rise to Rabbinical Judaism. Another Jewish current favored globalization. It proposed a religious product that was easier to disseminate. It did away with circumcision and kashrut, included eternal life, which reassured against the uncertainties of the future, and baptism, which simplified the rituals of purification. This current was excluded from synagogues. A few centuries later, it gave rise to Christianity. Any resemblance to today’s innovations and crises is not accidental.

Full Product Details

Author:   Dominique Desjeux
Publisher:   Peter Lang AG, Internationaler Verlag der Wissenschaften
Imprint:   Peter Lang AG, Internationaler Verlag der Wissenschaften
Edition:   New edition
Volume:   36
Weight:   0.297kg
ISBN:  

9783034350037

ISBN 10:   3034350031
Pages:   170
Publication Date:   25 November 2024
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

By the Same Author — Introduction — Chapter 1 The Anthropology of Innovation Applied to Religious Phenomena — Chapter 2 Mesopotamia, the Matrix of Jewish Monotheism in a Polytheistic World (12th to 5th Centuries BC) — Chapter 3 The Hellenization and Romanization of the Mediterranean Rim — Chapter 4 Two Great Debates in the Jewish World: Circumcision and Proselytism — Chapter 5 The Incremental Invention Launched by Jesus: Purifying the Temple Religion — Chapter 6 Paul the Apostle on the Road to Disruptive Innovation — Chapter 7 The Destruction of the Temple: The Incremental Invention Becomes a Disruptive Innovation — Chapter 8 The Struggle Between Rabbinic Judaism and Christianity for Control of the Synagogues — Chapter 9 How the Instability of the Roman Empire Favoured the Christian Innovation — Conclusion — Postscript — Notes — Bibliography

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Author Information

Dominique Desjeux, anthropologist, is professor emeritus at Université Paris Cité, Sorbonne humanities. After working with M. Crozier, A. Touraine and G. Balandier, he has carried out contract research since 1969 in China, the USA, Brazil, Europe and Africa. He has published numerous works on consumption, energy, mobility, innovations and decisions in organizations and domestic space. He has been a director of collections at L’Harmattan and PUF.

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