Clivedurdle

Will Self on BBC Radio 4 commented that new religions arise with new states, implying they are part of the growth of self identity of a state. I hadn't heard this before. Comment?

boneyard bill

I'm trying to think of an example from history and the only one I can come up with is the Muslim conquests in the century or two after Mohammed. More common is that conquerors promote a particular religion to consolidate their gains after they've won. Constantine is a perfect example of this. The Roman Empire, of course, had been around for a long time, but it had been crumbling. Christianity offered a good foundation for a polyglot empire that was no longer centered in Rome nor ruled by Romans.

Another example is Asoka who actively promoted Bhuddism following his conquest of Northern India. Without Asoka, Bhuddism might never have taken hold in India and therefore wouldn't have had the opportunity to spread elsewhere in Asia. In China the Mongols also actively supported Bhuddism because it taught that all men were equal which which was a new idea to the Han people who thought they were superior and their Mongol overlords were decidedly inferior despite their power.

Clivedurdle

I can immediately see two reasons for this - new leaders are unsettling, good idea to turn to the gods, new leader knows this and need popular support - turn to my gods!

Can't think of it now but I thought of loads of examples - Judaism, return from exile, invent Moses.

King James - formalises Anglicanism