Abstract
Mimetic theory’s fundamental elements of imitative desire, rivalry, and resolution through scapegoating have strong resonances in the religions of the world. Each tradition articulates in its own way the humans struggle to discern falsehood from truth, illusion from reality, and the sacred from the holy. What follows is by no means exhaustive; rather, brief examples offer a glimpse of insights that can come from viewing the world religions from the perspective of mimetic theory.
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Further Reading
Collins, Brian. The Head Beneath the Altar: Hindu Mythology and the Critique of Sacrifice. East Lansing: Michigan State University Press, 2014. Kindle Edition.
Fishbane, Michael. “Aspects of the Transformation of Sacrifice in Judaism.” In Sacrifice, Scripture, & Substitution: Readings in Ancient Judaism and Christianity, edited by Ann Astell and Sandor Goodhart. Indiana: University of Notre Dame Press, 2011.
Griffel, Frank. “The Harmony of Natural Law and Shari’a in Islamist Theology.” In Shari’a: Islamic Law in the Contemporary Context, edited by Abbas Amanat and Frank Griffel, 38–61. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2007.
Kirwan, Michael. Girard and Theology. London: T&T Clark, 2009.
Rosen-Zvi, Ishay. Demonic Desires. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2011.
Sacks, Jonathan. Not in God’s Name: Confronting Religious Violence. New York: Schocken Books, 2015.
Urbach, Ephraim E. The Sages: Their Concepts and Beliefs. Jerusalem: The Magness Press, 1979.
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Avery, V.J. (2017). From the Sacred to the Holy in the World’s Religions: Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism. In: Alison, J., Palaver, W. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Mimetic Theory and Religion. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-53825-3_34
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-53825-3_34
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