Tuesday, September 8, 2026 · 天火 · tianmu.org
History of Religion and Ritual
Historical studies of religious development, ritual, kingship, and comparative method, retained with explicit period and source boundaries.
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Texts
A Comparative View of Religions — Johannes Henricus ScholtenJohannes Henricus Scholten's complete 1870 translated survey of fetishism, Chinese and Egyptian religion, Aryan traditions, and Semitic religions.An Introduction to the Study of Comparative Religion — F. B. JevonsF. B. Jevons's complete comparative-religion lectures on immortality, magic, fetishism, prayer, sacrifice, morality, and Christianity.Comparative Religion — J. Estlin CarpenterJ. Estlin Carpenter's complete eight-chapter survey of comparative religion, sacred acts and products, morality, and beliefs about life and destiny.Coronation Rites — Reginald Maxwell WoolleyReginald Maxwell Woolley's complete 1915 historical study of Eastern and Western Christian coronation rites, regalia, unction, and kingship.History of Religion — Allan MenziesAllan Menzies's complete five-part historical survey of early religious practices and the national, Semitic, Aryan, and universal systems of religion.Magic and Religion — Andrew LangAndrew Lang responds to comparative theories of magic, ritual, sacrifice, and religion in fifteen chapters and three appendices.Mysteria — Otto Henne am RhynOtto Henne am Rhyn's complete 1895 history of ancient mysteries, medieval tribunals and guilds, Freemasonry, Illuminism, and secret societies.Pantheism — J. Allanson PictonJ. Allanson Picton's complete 1905 historical and philosophical account of pantheism from ancient thought through Spinoza and modern religious philosophy.Superstition in All Ages — Baron d'HolbachA complete historical English witness of Superstition in All Ages with its Meslier attribution, Voltaire material, and editorial prefaces.Ten Great Religions — James Freeman ClarkeJames Freeman Clarke's complete comparative-theology survey of Chinese, Indian, Buddhist, Zoroastrian, Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Norse, Jewish, and Islamic traditions in relation to Christianity.The Evolution of Religion — Lewis Richard FarnellLewis Richard Farnell's complete 1905 anthropological lectures on comparative religious method, purification, purity, and prayer.The Evolution of the Idea of God — Grant AllenGrant Allen's complete 1897 inquiry proposing an evolutionary origin of religion across twenty chapters on death, gods, sacred objects, sacrifice, and Christianity.The God-Idea of the Ancients — Eliza Burt GambleEliza Burt Gamble's complete eighteen-chapter feminist history of sex, gendered divinity, ritual symbolism, Israelite religion, and Christianity.The History of the Devil and the Idea of Evil — Paul CarusPaul Carus's 1900 comparative history of the Devil and the idea of evil, tracing the figure from ancient Egypt, Persia, and Israel through Christianity into modern philosophy.The Native Religions of Mexico and Peru — Albert RévilleAlbert Réville's complete 1884 Hibbert Lectures on Mexican and Peruvian religion, translated by Philip H. Wicksteed, with 122 footnotes.The Psychological Origin and the Nature of Religion — James H. LeubaJames H. Leuba's complete 1921 psychology-of-religion study of behavior, spirits and gods, magic, religious emotion, and social function.The Religions of Ancient Egypt and Babylonia — A. H. SayceA. H. Sayce's complete 1903 Gifford Lectures on Egyptian and Babylonian religion in two ten-lecture parts with 404 endnotes.Woman, Church and State — Matilda Joslyn GageMatilda Joslyn Gage's 1893 history and polemic arguing that the ancient Matriarchate, Canon Law, and the witch trials were stages in the Christian church's long campaign against women's civil and religious standing.
Demonology Magic and Skepticism2 pages
Historical studies of demonology, magic, apparition, divination, superstition, and skeptical responses to supernatural claims.
Early Religion and Theories of God1 page
Historical comparative theories of gods, mythology, worship, prayer, magic, and early religious experience.
Evolution Religion and Morality1 page
Historical studies of evolutionary science in relation to religion, philosophy, ethics, and social thought.
Freethought Rationalism and Toleration2 pages
Tradition and Comparative Mythology1 page
Historical arguments about inherited tradition, comparative mythology, chronology, scripture, and the transmission of religious ideas.
Witchcraft Persecution and Skepticism1 page
Historical studies of witchcraft belief, accusation, persecution, trial records, skepticism, and legal abolition.