Belief and Cult

Rethinking Roman Religion

Jacob L. Mackey

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Hardback

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English

Princeton University Press
08 November 2022

Literary studies: classical, early & medieval; Ancient history: to c 500 CE; Christian & quasi-Christian cults & sects; Ancient religions & mythologies

A groundbreaking reinterpretation that draws on cognitive theory to show that belief wasn't absent from-but rather was at the heart of-Roman religion

Belief and Cult argues that belief isn't uniquely Christian but was central to ancient Roman religion. Drawing on cognitive theory, Jacob Mackey shows that despite having nothing to do with salvation or faith, belief underlay every aspect of Roman religious practices-emotions, individual and collective cult action, ritual norms, social reality, and social power. In doing so, he also offers a thorough argument for the importance of belief to other non-Christian religions.

At the individual level, the book argues, belief played an indispensable role in the genesis of cult action and religious emotion. However, belief also had a collective dimension. The cognitive theory of Shared Intentionality shows how beliefs may be shared among individuals, accounting for the existence of written, unwritten, or even unspoken ritual norms. Shared beliefs permitted the choreography of collective cult action and gave cult acts their social meanings. The book also elucidates the role of shared belief in creating and maintaining Roman social reality. Shared belief allowed the Romans to endow agents, actions, and artifacts with socio-religious status and power. In a deep sense, no man could count as an augur and no act of animal slaughter as a successful offering to the gods, unless Romans collectively shared appropriate beliefs about these things.

Closely examining augury, prayer, the religious enculturation of children, and the Romans' own theories of cognition and cult, Belief and Cult promises to revolutionize the understanding of Roman religion by demonstrating that none of its features makes sense without Roman belief.

By: Jacob L. Mackey
Imprint: Princeton University Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 235mm, Width: 155mm,
ISBN: 9780691165080
ISBN 10: 0691165084
Pages: 496
Publication Date: 08 November 2022
Audience: General/trade , Professional and scholarly , ELT Advanced , Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Jacob L. Mackey is assistant professor of classics at Occidental College.

Reviews for Belief and Cult: Rethinking Roman Religion

"""A Choice Outstanding Academic Title of the Year"" ""[It is] difficult to exaggerate the importance of Mackay’sbook as a statement on ancient Roman religion. . . . Essential.""---R. E. Winn, Choice"