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Millenarianism

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This article is about the belief in a coming major transformation of society, as upheld by religious, social, or political groups. For a specific type of Christian millenarianism, seeMillennialism.For the teachings of William Miller, seeMillerism.
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Millenarianismormillenarism(fromLatinmillenarius'containing a thousand', and-ism) is the belief by areligious,social, orpoliticalgroup ormovementin a coming fundamentaltransformation of society,after which "all things will be changed".[1]Millenarianism exists in various cultures and religions worldwide, with various interpretations of what constitutes a transformation.[2]

These movements believe in radical changes to society after a major cataclysm or transformative event.[3]

Millenarianist movements can be secular (not espousing a particular religion) or religious in nature,[4]and are therefore not necessarily linked tomillennialistmovements inChristianity.[3]

Terminology[edit]

Both "millennialism"and" millenarianism "refer to" one thousand ". They both derive from the Christian tradition. Neither term strictly refers to" one thousand "in modern [1963] academic usage.[5]Millennialism often refers to a specific type of Christian millenarianism, and is sometimes referred to asChiliasmfrom the New Testament use of the Greekchilia(thousand).

The terms "millennialism"and" millenarianism "are sometimes used interchangeably, as inThe Oxford Handbook of Millennialism.[6]Stephen Jay Gouldhas argued that this usage is incorrect, stating:

Millenniumis from the Latinmille,"one thousand," andannus,"year" —hence the two n's.Millenarianis from the Latinmillenarius,"containing a thousand (of anything)," hence noannus,and only one "n".[7]

The application of anapocalyptictimetable to the changing of the world has happened in many cultures and religions, continues to this day, and is not relegated to thesectsof majorworld religions,[8]bothAbrahamicand non-Abrahamic.[9]Increasingly in the study of apocalypticnew religious movements,millenarianismis used to refer to a more cataclysmic and destructive arrival of autopianperiod as compared tomillennialismwhich is often used to denote a more peaceful arrival and is more closely associated with a one thousand year utopia.[10]

Christian millennialism is part of the broader form of apocalyptic expectation. A coredoctrinein some variations ofChristian eschatologyis the expectation that theSecond Comingis very near and that there will be an establishment of aKingdom of Godon Earth.[9]According to an interpretation ofbiblical propheciesin theBook of Revelation,this Kingdom of God on Earth will last a thousand years (amillennium) or more.[11]

Theology[edit]

Many if not most millenarian groups claim that the currentsocietyand its rulers are corrupt, unjust, or otherwise wrong, and that they will soon be destroyed by a powerful force. The harmful nature of the status quo is considered intractable without the anticipated dramatic change.[12]Henri Desrocheobserved that millenarian movements often envisioned three periods in which change might occur. First, the elect members of the movement will be increasingly oppressed, leading to the second period in which the movement resists the oppression. The third period brings about a new utopian age, liberating the members of the movement.[13]

In the modern world, economic rules, perceived immorality or vast conspiracies are seen as generatingoppression.Only dramatic events are seen as able to change the world and the change is anticipated to be brought about, or survived, by a group of the devout and dedicated. In most millenarian scenarios, the disaster or battle to come will be followed by a new, purified world in which the believers will be rewarded.[4]

While many millenarian groups arepacifistic,millenarian beliefs have been claimed as causes for people to ignore conventional rules of behaviour, which can result in violence directed inwards (such as theJonestownmass murder) or outwards (such as theAum Shinrikyoterroristacts). It sometimes includes a belief in supernatural powers or predetermined victory. In some cases, millenarians withdraw from society to await the intervention of God.[14]This is also known asworld-rejection.

Millenarian ideologies or religioussectssometimesappear in oppressed peoples,with examples such as the 19th-centuryGhost Dancemovement amongNative Americans,earlyMormons,[15]and the 19th and 20th-centurycargo cultsamong isolatedPacific Islanders.[4]

TheCatechism [doctrine] of the Catholic Churchrejects all forms of millenarianism and its variations:[16]

The Antichrist's deception already begins to take shape in the world every time the claim is made to realize within history that messianic hope which can only be realized beyond history through the eschatological judgement. The Church has rejected even modified forms of this falsification of the kingdom to come under the name of millenarianism, especially the 'intrinsically perverse' political form of a secular messianism.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^Baumgartner, Frederic J. 1999.Longing for the End: A History of Millennialism in Western Civilization,New York: Palgrave, pp 1-6
  2. ^Gould, Stephen Jay. 1997.Questioning the millennium: a rationalist's guide to a precisely arbitrary countdown.New York: Harmony Books, p. 112 (note)
  3. ^abMillenarianismArchived2021-04-26 at theWayback Machine.In James Crossley and Alastair Lockhart (eds.)Critical Dictionary of Apocalyptic and Millenarian Movements.2021
  4. ^abcGordon Marshall, "millenarianism",The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Sociology(1994), p. 333.
  5. ^Wilson, Bryan (October 1963)."Millennialism in Comparative Perspective".Comparative Studies in Society and History.pp. 93–114.doi:10.1017/S0010417500002000.
  6. ^Wessinger, Catherine (July 2016).The Oxford Handbook of Millennialism.Oxford University Press. p. 4.ISBN978-0-19-061194-1.
  7. ^Gould, Stephen Jay. 1997
  8. ^Landes, Richard A.Heaven on Earth: The Varieties of the Millennial Experience.New York: Oxford University Press, 2011. Print.
  9. ^abGreisiger, Lutz (2015)."Apocalypticism, Millenarianism, and Messianism".In Blidstein, Moshe; Silverstein, Adam J.;Stroumsa, Guy G.(eds.).The Oxford Handbook of the Abrahamic Religions.OxfordandNew York:Oxford University Press.pp. 272–294.doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199697762.013.14.ISBN978-0-19-969776-2.LCCN2014960132.S2CID170614787.
  10. ^Mayer, Jean-François (June 2016). Lewis, James R; Tøllefsen, Inga (eds.). "Millennialism: New Religious Movements and the Quest for a New Age".The Oxford Handbook of New Religious Movements.II.doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190466176.013.30.
  11. ^Kark, Ruth "Millenarism and agricultural settlement in the Holy Land in the nineteenth century," in Journal of Historical Geography, 9, 1 (1983), pp. 47-62
  12. ^Worsley, Peter. 1957.The trumpet shall sound; a study of "cargo" cults in Melanesia.London: MacGibbon & Kee.
  13. ^Desroche, Henri (1969).Dieux d'hommes. Dictionnaire des messianismes et millénarismes de l'ère chrétienne.Paris: Berg International. pp. 31–32.
  14. ^Wessinger, Catherine.Millennialism, Persecution, and Violence: Historical Cases.Syracuse, N.Y: Syracuse University Press, 2000. Print.
  15. ^Underwood, Grant(1999) [1993].The Millenarian World of Early Mormonism.Urbana: University of Illinois Press.ISBN978-0252068263.Archivedfrom the original on 2019-05-13.Retrieved2019-04-09.
  16. ^"Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 676".Archivedfrom the original on 2007-01-05.Retrieved2020-03-15.

Further reading[edit]

  • Burrage, Champlin."The Fifth Monarchy Insurrections,"The English Historical Review, Vol. XXV, 1910.
  • Burridge, Kenelm. "New Heaven, New Earth: A Study of Millenarian Activities" (Basil Blackwell. Original printing 1969, three reprints 1972, 1980, 1986)ISBN0-631-11950-7pb.ISBN0-8052-3175-7hb.
  • CenSAMM. "MillenarianismArchived2021-04-26 at theWayback Machine."In James Crossley and Alastair Lockhart (eds.)Critical Dictionary of Apocalyptic and Millenarian Movements.2021
  • Cohn, Norman.The Pursuit of the Millennium:Revolutionary Millenarians and Mystical Anarchists of the Middle Ages,revised and expanded (New York: Oxford University Press, [1957] 1970). (revised and expanded 1990)ISBN0-19-500456-6
  • Crossley, James (September 2021)."The Apocalypse and Political Discourse in an Age of COVID".Journal for the Study of the New Testament.44(1).SAGE Publications:93–111.doi:10.1177/0142064X211025464.ISSN1745-5294.S2CID237329082.
  • Gray, John.Black Mass: Apocalyptic Religion and the Death of Utopia(London: Penguin Books, [2007] 2008)ISBN978-0-14-102598-8
  • Hotson, Howard.Paradise Postponed: Johann Heinrich Alsted and the Birth of Calvinist Millenarianism,(Springer, 2000).
  • Jue, Jeffrey K.Heaven Upon Earth: Joseph Mede and the Legacy of Mllenarianism,(Springer, 2006).
  • Kaplan, Jeffrey.Radical Religion in America: Millenarian Movements from the Far Right to the Children of Noah(Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 1997).ISBN0-8156-2687-8ISBN0-8156-0396-7
  • Katz, David S. and Popkin, Richard H.Messianic Revolution: Radical Religious Politics to the End of the Second Millennium.(New York: Hill and Wang, 1999)ISBN0-8090-6885-0.Review on H-Net
  • Landes, Richard.Heaven on Earth: The Varieties of Millennial Experiences,(Oxford University Press, 2011).
  • Lerner, Robert E.The Feast of Saint Abraham: Medieval Millenarians and the Jews,(University of Pennsylvania Press, 2000).
  • Millenarianism and Messianism in Early Modern Culture (4 voll.), Dordrecht: Kluwer.
    • Vol. 1: Goldish, Matt and Popkin, Richard H. (eds.).Jewish Messianism in the Early Modern World,2001
    • Vol. 2: Kottmnan, Karl (eds.).Catholic Milleniarism: From Savonarola to the Abbè Grégoire,2001
    • Vol. 3: Force, James E. and Popkin, Richard H. (eds.).The Millenarian Turn: Millenarian Contexts of Science, Politics and Everyday Anglo-American Life in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries,2001
    • Vol. 4: Laursen, John Christian and Popkin, Richard H. (eds.).Continental Millenarians: Protestants, Catholics, Heretics,2001
  • Schwartz, Hillel.The French Prophets: The History of a Millenarian Group in Eighteenth-Century England.Berkeley: University of California, 1980.
  • Underwood, Grant.(1999) [1993].The Millenarian World of Early MormonismArchived2019-05-13 at theWayback Machine.Urbana: University of Illinois Press.ISBN978-0252068263
  • Voegelin, Eric.The New Science of Politics.University of Chicago Press (October 12, 2012).
  • Wessinger, Catherine. (ed.),The Oxford Handbook of Millennialism,New York: Oxford University Press 2011.
  • Wright, Ben and Dresser, Zachary W. (eds.)Apocalypse and the Millennium in the American Civil War Era.Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University Press, 2013.

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Millenarianism&oldid=1218136004"