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Author Loetz, Francisca (Historian)

Title Dealings with God : from blasphemers in early modern Zurich to a cultural history of religiousness / Francisca Loetz ; translated by Rosemary Selle
Published Farnham, England ; Burlington, VT : Ashgate Pub., ©2009

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Description 1 online resource (viii, 326 pages) : illustrations
Series St. Andrews studies in Reformation history
St. Andrews studies in Reformation history.
Contents Religion in early modern history : an approach by way of blasphemers in Zurich -- Formulating the question -- Research situation -- History of religion and Religiousness -- Blasphemy as a special case -- Blasphemy and history of crime -- History of Zurich -- History of blasphemy : five theses on a research deficit -- Interpretative and methodological approaches -- Explanatory models for early modern history -- Blasphemy as a key to religion in cultural history -- Blasphemy as a textually transmitted speech act -- The example of Zurich -- The time and place under study -- The offence of blasphemy in early modern Zurich -- The sanctioning of blasphemy -- Normsetting -- How the law and the secular authorities defined blasphemy -- How theology and the church defined blasphemy -- How the authorities applied the norms -- The supervisory obligation of officials and citizens -- Assessment of blasphemers -- Blasphemers : mentally deranged or morally responsible -- Sentencing practice -- Blasphemy as the object of horizontal social control -- How witnesses reacted to blasphemy -- Motives for reporting blasphemers -- Out-of-court settlements in cases of blasphemy -- Blasphemy in the context of social action -- Blasphemy as insubordination -- Blasphemy as insult -- Blasphemy expressing a conflict of honour -- Cursing : verbal magic or insult -- Blasphemy as an element of sociability -- Blaspheming God as a social and situation-specific disposition -- The pleasures of provocation -- The blasphemer as a person -- Blasphemy as an expression of (un)belief -- The religious knowledge of blasphemers -- The pleasures of disputation -- Dealing with dogmatics -- Questioning ancient paradoxes -- Questioning new paradoxes -- Struggling with God -- Rebelling against God -- Pre-modern atheism -- Blasphemy and images of God -- Blasphemy in Zurich : historical change and confessional comparison -- Blasphemy in Zurich : historical change -- The offence of blasphemy in confessional comparison : a perspective on Lucerne -- Outcomes and outlook : from the blasphemers of Zurich to a cultural history of religiousness
Summary Blasphemy could be a serious business in early modern Europe, and those judged to have cursed, abused or denied God could in some cases find themselves on trial for their lives. Whilst such attitudes may appear draconian to modern eyes, it is clear that in the past, blasphemy was regarded as a very real threat to society. Concentrating on the Reformed city of Zurich, this study examines the cultural, social and theological aspects of blasphemy in order to better understand exactly why this should be, and to illuminate the diverse and sometimes contradictory dynamics at work
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (pages 293-318) and index
Notes English
Print version record
Subject Blasphemy -- Switzerland -- Zurich -- History
Blasphemy -- History
Offenses against religion -- Switzerland -- Zurich -- History
Offenses against religion -- History
RELIGION -- Blasphemy, Heresy & Apostasy.
Blasphemy
Offenses against religion
SUBJECT Zurich (Switzerland) -- Church history
Subject Switzerland -- Zurich
Genre/Form Electronic books
Church history
History
Form Electronic book
ISBN 9780754695745
0754695743
0754668835
9780754668831
1282344315
9781282344310
1317154541
9781317154549
1317154533
9781317154532
9786612344312
6612344318
Other Titles Mit Gott handeln. English