Ideology and Politics: A Historical Comparative Study of Premodern Empires in Eurasia and Religious Toleration
Vortrag von Yanfei Sun, PhD (Hangzhou/Berlin).
Die Sitzung findet in Kooperation mit der Professur für East Asia (Prof. Dr. Sabine Dabringhaus) und dem GRK-Imperien statt.
Recent scholarship on pre-modern empires often presents them as tolerant of diversities and differences. However, this portrayal overlooks the significant differences in the religious policies of pre-modern empires. While some empires allowed the coexistence and flourishing of various religions, others engaged in the persecution of heretics and non-believers, resorting to forced conversions. This presentation explores how over 30 pre-modern empires dealt with religions outside their state religion and categorizes these empires into different tiers based on their level of religious toleration. Additionally, it provides an explanation for the observed variations.