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30-495: Leon Pracht, a young man, abandons a budding career in the footsteps of his father—a historian of religion specialised on Montanus —after the positive reception of his debut as a theatre director. He is recruited for an adaptation of Jean Genet 's The Maids in Cologne , starring the two diva actresses Petra "Pat" Kurzrok and Margarethe "Mag" Wirth. However, Pat and Mag turn out to be too much to handle. Leon asks for advice from

60-475: A new film project. Ossia hands him notes to read and starts to explain the project, intended as a vehicle for Pat in a great female comedic role, but the film lacks structure and Leon disapproves of it. Leon asks Ossia to come along for a walk to get some fresh air, but Ossia declines and remains inside the tower. Publishers Weekly reviewed the book in 1995 and described it as "a bulky series of fables, phantasmagoria and allegories". The critic wrote that some of

90-462: A photographer and lives with Yossica. She convinces him to go and meet Alfred Weigert who is staying at a skyscraper hotel in their city. Weigert has had a massive success as Ossia, the main character is a series of comedy films which he also directed. As Ossia—the name he has become known under also in private—he brilliantly captures the German national character, playing a Prussian vagabond described in

120-404: A slowly developing talent which eventually would result in timeless quality. The second, dressed elegantly and dancing, offered her to become the leading star of a new trend. Yossica tried to trick the agents so she could have both, but the attempt failed badly and she became a lump of earth. She asks Leon to bring her with him and put her in soil so she can grow into her former self. Leon works as

150-540: A terrace behind the castle, a number of people are gathered: the paramedic Reppenfries, his sister-in-law Paula and wife Dagmar, the beautiful Almut, the "modern" Hanswerner, the mail clerk Yossica, and the narrator, Leon. Each person tells a personal story or discusses art and philosophy. Later, Leon finds Yossica who has been transformed into a clump of earth with a face. She explains how she, an aspiring songwriter, had met two peculiar talent scouts, Schwarzsicht and Zuversicht. The first, dressed in ragged clothes, offered her

180-622: Is a term applied to a group of German Protestant theologians associated with the University of Göttingen in the 1890s. The Religionsgeschichtliche Schule used the methodologies of higher criticism , a branch of criticism that investigates the origins of ancient texts in order to understand "the world behind the text." It compared Christianity to other religions, regarding it as one religion among others and rejecting its claims to absolute truth, and demonstrating that it shares characteristics with other religions. It argued that Christianity

210-640: The Religionsgeschichtliche Schule , a late 19th-century German school of thought, originated the systematic study of religion as a socio - cultural phenomenon. It depicted religion as evolving with human culture, from polytheism to monotheism . The Religionsgeschichtliche Schule emerged at a time when scholarly study of the Bible and of church history flourished in Germany and elsewhere (see higher criticism , also called

240-545: The Middle and Lower Paleolithic periods: some archaeologists conclude that the apparently intentional burial of archaic humans , Neanderthals and even Homo naledi as early as 300,000 years ago is proof that religious ideas already existed, but such a connection is entirely conjectural. Other evidence that some infer as indicative of religious ideas includes symbolic artifacts from Middle Stone Age sites in Africa. However,

270-901: The Muslim conquest of Persia (633–654); Christians fought against Muslims during the Arab–Byzantine wars (7th to 11th centuries), the Crusades (1095 onward), the Reconquista (718–1492), the Ottoman wars in Europe (13th century onwards) and the Inquisition ; Shamanism was in conflict with Buddhists , Taoists , Muslims and Christians during the Mongol invasions and conquests (1206–1337); and Muslims clashed with Hindus and Sikhs during

300-1038: The Muslim conquests in the Indian subcontinent (8th to 16th centuries). Many medieval religious movements continued to emphasize mysticism , such as the Cathars and related movements in the West, the Jews in Spain (see Zohar ), the Bhakti movement in India and Sufism in Islam. Monotheism and related mysticisms reached definite forms in Christian Christology and in Islamic Tawhid . Hindu monotheist notions of Brahman likewise reached their classical form with

330-533: The Thirty Years' War which ravaged Central Europe between 1618 and 1648. The 18th century saw the beginning of secularisation in Europe, a trend which gained momentum after the French Revolution broke out in 1789. By the late 20th century, religion had declined in most of Europe. History of religions school The history of religions school (German: Religionsgeschichtliche Schule )

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360-471: The historical-critical method ). The study of religion is important: religion and similar concepts have often shaped civilizations' law and moral codes, social structure, art and music. In order to better understand the origin and current diversity of religious belief systems throughout the world, recent studies have attempted to focus on historical interrelationships and diversification of all major organized religions, applying modern evolutionary philosophy to

390-481: The lion man , the Venus figurines , and the elaborate ritual burial from Sungir . In the 19th century, researchers proposed various theories regarding the origin of religion, challenging earlier claims of a Christianity-like urreligion . Early theorists, such as Edward Burnett Tylor (1832–1917) and Herbert Spencer (1820–1903), emphasized the concept of animism , while archaeologist John Lubbock (1834–1913) used

420-451: The Syks. After observing their unusual habits he commits a social error which freaks out a local woman. He is banished from the colony and takes part in a dreamlike ritual involving scatological sexual activity. Afterwards his female colleague writes a scathing report about his unprofessional behaviour. A king dies and is condemned as a criminal, which becomes a long-lasting national trauma. At

450-447: The comparative analysis of putative ideological groups. These studies take an agnostic, pluralistic approach in the hope of moving beyond chauvinistic cultural tribalism, which is increasingly interfering with our ability to understand "other" cultures and address growing global challenges. The earliest archeological evidence interpreted by some as suggestive of the emergence of religious ideas dates back several hundred thousand years, to

480-468: The construction of Göbekli Tepe implies organization of an advanced order not hitherto associated with Paleolithic , PPNA , or PPNB societies. The site, abandoned around the time the first agricultural societies started, is still being excavated and analyzed, and thus might shed light on the significance it had, if any, for the religions of older, foraging communities, as well as for the general history of religions. The Pyramid Texts from ancient Egypt,

510-604: The foundations upon which humanity still subsists today." Intellectual historian Peter Watson has summarized this period as the foundation time of many of humanity's most influential philosophical traditions, including monotheism in Persia and Canaan , Platonism in Greece, Buddhism and Jainism in India, and Confucianism and Taoism in China. These ideas would become institutionalized in time – note for example Ashoka 's role in

540-489: The interpretation of early paleolithic artifacts, with regard to how they relate to religious ideas, remains controversial . Archeological evidence from more recent periods is less controversial. Scientists generally interpret a number of artifacts from the Upper Paleolithic (50,000–13,000 BCE) as representing religious ideas. Examples of Upper Paleolithic remains that some associate with religious beliefs include

570-506: The local star director Alfred Weigert, but still fails to actualise his vision for the play. A woman enters a forest and finds a department store named The Tower of the Germans. After a phantasmagorical episode she finds herself naked in front of the proprietor of the Germans. The proprietor of the Germans is a large, floating head which is half man and half carp . A man is doing a study on an alternative community whose members are known as

600-678: The oldest known religious texts in the world, date to between 2400 and 2300 BCE. The earliest records of Indian religion are the Vedas , composed c.  1500–1200 BCE during the Vedic Period . Surviving early copies of religious texts include: Some historians have labelled the period from 900 to 200 BCE as the "axial age", a term coined by German -Swiss philosopher Karl Jaspers (1883–1969). According to Jaspers, in this era of history "the spiritual foundations of humanity were laid simultaneously and independently... And these are

630-429: The oldest potentially religious site yet discovered anywhere includes circles of erected massive T-shaped stone pillars, the world's oldest known megaliths decorated with abstract , enigmatic pictograms and carved -animal reliefs. The site, near the home place of original wild wheat, was built before the so-called Neolithic Revolution , i.e., the beginning of agriculture and animal husbandry around 9000 BCE. But

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660-483: The people or the cultures in which these sacred texts were written. The word religion as used in the 21st century does not have an obvious pre-colonial translation into non-European languages. The anthropologist Daniel Dubuisson writes that "what the West and the history of religions in its wake have objectified under the name 'religion' is ... something quite unique, which could be appropriate only to itself and its own history". The school of religious history called

690-449: The press as a mix between Parsifal and Paracelsus . Leon had been involved in the making of the first Ossia film but after that left the industry. When Leon and Yossica meet Ossia in his room, he has aged poorly and become an overweight recluse. He has not appeared as an actor in his last two films, which have been disjointed, pseudo-profound and not nearly as successful as the previous ones. In desperation, Ossia asks Leon to collaborate on

720-615: The spread of Buddhism, or the role of Neoplatonic philosophy in Christianity at its foundation. The historical roots of Jainism in India date back to the 9th century BCE with the rise of Parshvanatha and his non-violent philosophy. World religions of the present day established themselves throughout Eurasia during the Middle Ages by: During the Middle Ages, Muslims came into conflict with Zoroastrians during

750-464: The stories "include unsettling surreal touches", but that most of them "are heavier-than-air fantasies that tend to revolve around the usual postmodern problems of alienated intellectuals, cultural collisions and consumer dystopias". "Ultimately", the critic wrote, "this is less a novel of ideas, or even of characters, than a series of grandiloquent speeches and freakish dream sequences". History of religions The history of religion refers to

780-727: The teaching of Adi Shankara (788–820). From the 15th century to the 19th century, European colonisation resulted in the spread of Christianity to Sub-Saharan Africa , and the Americas , Australia and the Philippines . The invention of the printing press in the 15th century played a major role in the rapid spread of the Protestant Reformation under leaders such as Martin Luther (1483–1546) and John Calvin (1509–1564). Wars of religion broke out, culminating in

810-465: The term " fetishism ". Meanwhile, the religious scholar Max Müller (1823–1900) theorized that religion began in hedonism and the folklorist Wilhelm Mannhardt (1831–1880) suggested that religion began in "naturalism" – by which he meant mythological explanations for natural events. All of these theories have been widely criticized since then; there is no broad consensus regarding the origin of religion. Pre-pottery Neolithic A (PPNA) Göbekli Tepe ,

840-537: The use of evolutionary philosophy and broad comparativism. Writing played a major role in standardizing religious texts regardless of time or location and making easier the memorization of prayers and divine rules. The concept of "religion" was formed in the 16th and 17th centuries. Sacred texts like the Bible, the Quran, and others did not have a word or even a concept of religion in the original languages and neither did

870-474: The written record of human religious feelings, thoughts, and ideas. This period of religious history begins with the invention of writing about 5,200 years ago (3200 BCE). The prehistory of religion involves the study of religious beliefs that existed prior to the advent of written records. One can also study comparative religious chronology through a timeline of religion , or the interrelationships and historical diversification of religious ideologies through

900-883: Was not simply the continuation of the Old Testament, but syncretistic, and was rooted in and influenced by Hellenistic Judaism (Philo) and Hellenistic religions like the mystery cults and Gnosticism . The school initiated new areas of research into Biblical history and textual analysis. The circle included Bernhard Duhm (1873), Albert Eichhorn (1856–1926; 1886), Hermann Gunkel (1888), Johannes Weiss (1888), Wilhelm Bousset (1890), Alfred Rahlfs (1891), Ernst Troeltsch (1891), William Wrede (1891), Heinrich Hackmann (1893), and later Rudolf Otto (1898), Hugo Gressmann (1902) and Wilhelm Heitmüller (1902). Related were Carl Mirbt (1888), Carl Clemen (1892), Heinrich Weinel (1899), and in his early years Paul Wernle (1897). Rudolf Bultmann (1884–1976) may be considered as

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