Description
Book Synopsis''Unto thy seed I have given this land.'' From the moment of God''s covenant with Abraham in the Old Testament, the idea that a people are chosen by God has had a central role in shaping national identity. Chosen Peoples argues powerfully that sacred belief remains central to national identity, even in an increasingly secular, globalized modern world. In this important new study, Anthony D. Smith goes in search of the deep Judeo-Christian roots of the many manifestations of national identity.This rich and timely contribution to current debates about nationalism explains the complex historical reasons behind often violent modern conflicts around issues of land, culture, religion, and politics. Tracing the development of individual nations over many centuries, it offers fascinating insights into the religious and cultural foundations of countries such as Great Britain, the United States, Israel, France, and Germany. The argument draws on a wide range of examples from historic landscapes
Trade ReviewOnce again, Anthony Smith has succeeded in thinking 'outside the box' of fashionable critical theory while, at the same time, engaging with it on its own terms. * Mary Anne Perkins, Journal of the American Academy of Religion *
This book is like Jacob's coat of many colours: rich and varied in ideas and insights that should appeal to European historians and social scientists. * THES *
a lucid and wide-ranging study * Karen Armstrong, The Independent Review *
The range of the book is huge not only in its geographical, ethnic, and cultured sweep. It brings together political and religious history in the context of the history of ideas, exploring powerful traditions, sacred texts, paintings and monuments, myths and legends, and drawing on the writings of great literary figures. * Mary Anne Perkins, Journal of the American Academy of Religion *
The book's content spans nationalist models and mythologies from Welsh to Siamese, and its chronological scope ranges from biblical times to the twentieth century. Yet the breadth is matched by depth, and the scholarship is never comprised. * Mary Anne Perkins, Journal of the Amercian Academy of Religion *
Table of ContentsIntroduction ; 1. Nationalism and Religion ; 2. The Nation as a Sacred Communion ; 3. Election and Covenant ; 4. Peoples of the Covenant ; 5. Missionary Peoples ; 6. Sacred Homelands ; 7. Ethno history and the Golden Age ; 8. Nationalism and Golden Ages ; 9. The Glorious Dead ; Conclusion ; Notes ; Bibliography ; Index
