Raffaele Pettazzoni
Encyclopedia
Raffaele Pettazzoni was a historian of Italian religion. He was one of the first academics to propose a historical approach to the study of religion. He was editor-in-chief of the journal Numen
and president of the International Association for the History of Religions from 1950-1959.
(Bologna, Italy), graduated in literature and specialized in the capital of Emilia in 1905 with a degree in archeology at the Italian School of Archaeology. In 1909 he was appointed Inspector to the Prehistoric and Ethnographic Museum in Rome.
In 1923 he took the position of chair of the Royal University of Rome, and in 1924 presented his first university course in the history of religions. Pettazzoni introduced this discipline in the Italian academic world and went on to become one of the most important figures. Among his students in Rome there were also Brelich Angel and Darius Sabbatucci, two other major historians of religions that have founded the so-called "old-school Roman religion." He was director of the History of Religions and Folklore of the Italian Encyclopedia from 1925 to 1937 and in 1933 he was named Academic of Italy, and in 1938 signed the Manifesto of Race. He was the first to apply the methods of comparative history
to the study of religions.
Following the end of World War II he was a member of the national Accademia dei Lincei
, President of the International Association of History of Religions in 1950 and Editor of Numen. He retired from teaching at the end of the 1952-1953 academic year having reached retirement age. He died in 1959.
who held the study of religions to be an academically lazy and uninteresting discipline.
) developed by Schmidt and the study of supreme beings of primitive religions. He found evidence of monotheism in so-called primitive societies, and that all societies recognize the Supreme Being
as a non-exclusive spiritual entity which is paramount by also opposed by other spiritual entities. He challenged Schmidt's concept of a Supreme Being as that of the monotheistic
god. Rather, Pettazzoni writes that monotheism is a recent religious development over the course of a slow revolution in polytheism. This debate is carried on by Old Testament prophets who wrangle with the Canaanite god
and affirm the ethical monotheism of Israel and one exclusive transcendent deity coexisting with lesser ones. Schmidt confused science and theology, Pettazzoni writes in the booklet The supreme being in primitive religions, 1957. For Pettazzoni the idea of god in primitive religions is not an a priori concept independent of historical contexts; there is only the historical and arises from varying existential conditions within each type of society. It is only within that societal context that the idea of God can satisfy, the Supreme Being does not exist a priori. Therefore one finds the Supreme Being defined variously as the one who sends the rain, the protector of the hunt, or the mother earth in agrarian societies—unique historical contexts that give rise to their own particular Supreme Being. Pettazzoni argues that religion is a historical product conditioned by historical and social context with unique influence on other cultural realities within the same society.
As a historical product, Pettazzoni noted that a plurality of stories is a plurality of religions: every nation has its own history and thus their religion and their answers to the great problems of humanity. What makes religion different from other social and cultural phenomena is its significance in the rites of passage
: the religion, therefore, concerns the important moments of life of the individual.
For Pettazzoni it is important in the study of religion to preserve a religion's specificity as a cultural product, and requires a particular method. Specifically, Pettazzoni adopted comparative history
which shared much in common with the comparative method in classical anthropology favored by British scientists studying affinities and analogies between cultures.
Numen (journal)
Numen is an academic journal on the history of religions, published by Brill Publishers in Leiden, The Netherlands. It publishes non-confessional articles on the history of all religions, of all regions and times, as well as papers discussing theoretical innovations in the study of religion and...
and president of the International Association for the History of Religions from 1950-1959.
Biography
Raffaele Pettazzoni was born 1883 in San Giovanni in PersicetoSan Giovanni in Persiceto
San Giovanni in Persiceto is a town and comune in the province of Bologna, northern Italy.-History until 1790s:The most ancestral records claim the town was first populated by Gauls, but later occupied by the Romans. The area appears to have been depopulated after the fall of the Roman Empire...
(Bologna, Italy), graduated in literature and specialized in the capital of Emilia in 1905 with a degree in archeology at the Italian School of Archaeology. In 1909 he was appointed Inspector to the Prehistoric and Ethnographic Museum in Rome.
In 1923 he took the position of chair of the Royal University of Rome, and in 1924 presented his first university course in the history of religions. Pettazzoni introduced this discipline in the Italian academic world and went on to become one of the most important figures. Among his students in Rome there were also Brelich Angel and Darius Sabbatucci, two other major historians of religions that have founded the so-called "old-school Roman religion." He was director of the History of Religions and Folklore of the Italian Encyclopedia from 1925 to 1937 and in 1933 he was named Academic of Italy, and in 1938 signed the Manifesto of Race. He was the first to apply the methods of comparative history
Comparative history
Comparative history is the comparison of different societies which existed during the same time period or shared similar cultural conditions. The comparative history of societies emerged as an important specialty among intellectuals in the Enlightenment in the 18th century, as typified by...
to the study of religions.
Following the end of World War II he was a member of the national Accademia dei Lincei
Accademia dei Lincei
The Accademia dei Lincei, , is an Italian science academy, located at the Palazzo Corsini on the Via della Lungara in Rome, Italy....
, President of the International Association of History of Religions in 1950 and Editor of Numen. He retired from teaching at the end of the 1952-1953 academic year having reached retirement age. He died in 1959.
Influence
Pettazzoni was among the first to propose a historical approach to the study of religion and helped institutionalize "History of religions" as an autonomous historical discipline in Italy. He is the founder of the Italian school of History of Religions (1920s) and the journal Studies and materials of history of religions (1925). Comparison of different forms of religion are not limited to a single field, Pettazzoni writes in God's omniscience. His seven hundred page work was the culmination of a lifetime of research that challenges the theories of Wilhelm Schmidt. During his clerical studies struggled against Catholic Church's monopoly on religious studies in Italy and against such anti-clerical secularist academics as Benedetto CroceBenedetto Croce
Benedetto Croce was an Italian idealist philosopher, and occasionally also politician. He wrote on numerous topics, including philosophy, history, methodology of history writing and aesthetics, and was a prominent liberal, although he opposed laissez-faire free trade...
who held the study of religions to be an academically lazy and uninteresting discipline.
Thought
A significant part of Pettazzoni's work was devoted to refuting the theory of primordial monotheism (UrmonotheismusUrmonotheismus
Urmonotheismus or primitive monotheism is the hypothesis of a monotheistic Urreligion, from which non-monotheistic religions degenerated...
) developed by Schmidt and the study of supreme beings of primitive religions. He found evidence of monotheism in so-called primitive societies, and that all societies recognize the Supreme Being
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
as a non-exclusive spiritual entity which is paramount by also opposed by other spiritual entities. He challenged Schmidt's concept of a Supreme Being as that of the monotheistic
Monotheism
Monotheism is the belief in the existence of one and only one god. Monotheism is characteristic of the Baha'i Faith, Christianity, Druzism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Samaritanism, Sikhism and Zoroastrianism.While they profess the existence of only one deity, monotheistic religions may still...
god. Rather, Pettazzoni writes that monotheism is a recent religious development over the course of a slow revolution in polytheism. This debate is carried on by Old Testament prophets who wrangle with the Canaanite god
Canaanite religion
Canaanite religion is the name for the group of Ancient Semitic religions practiced by the Canaanites living in the ancient Levant from at least the early Bronze Age through the first centuries of the Common Era....
and affirm the ethical monotheism of Israel and one exclusive transcendent deity coexisting with lesser ones. Schmidt confused science and theology, Pettazzoni writes in the booklet The supreme being in primitive religions, 1957. For Pettazzoni the idea of god in primitive religions is not an a priori concept independent of historical contexts; there is only the historical and arises from varying existential conditions within each type of society. It is only within that societal context that the idea of God can satisfy, the Supreme Being does not exist a priori. Therefore one finds the Supreme Being defined variously as the one who sends the rain, the protector of the hunt, or the mother earth in agrarian societies—unique historical contexts that give rise to their own particular Supreme Being. Pettazzoni argues that religion is a historical product conditioned by historical and social context with unique influence on other cultural realities within the same society.
As a historical product, Pettazzoni noted that a plurality of stories is a plurality of religions: every nation has its own history and thus their religion and their answers to the great problems of humanity. What makes religion different from other social and cultural phenomena is its significance in the rites of passage
Rites of Passage
Rites of Passage is an African American History program sponsored by the Stamford, Connecticut US public schools. The program consists of an extra day of schooling on Saturday for 12 weeks, service projects, and a culminating educational trip to Gambia and Senegal. Gambia and Senegal are the...
: the religion, therefore, concerns the important moments of life of the individual.
For Pettazzoni it is important in the study of religion to preserve a religion's specificity as a cultural product, and requires a particular method. Specifically, Pettazzoni adopted comparative history
Comparative history
Comparative history is the comparison of different societies which existed during the same time period or shared similar cultural conditions. The comparative history of societies emerged as an important specialty among intellectuals in the Enlightenment in the 18th century, as typified by...
which shared much in common with the comparative method in classical anthropology favored by British scientists studying affinities and analogies between cultures.
Works
- Primitive religion in Sardinia, 1912
- The religion of Zarathustra in the religious history of Iran, 1920
- Religion in ancient Greece until Alexander, 1921
- God: training and development of monotheism (Vol. I: The heavenly beings in the beliefs of primitive peoples, 1922)
- Mysteries, 1924
- The confession of sins (3 vols., 1929 - 1935 )
- Essays on the history of religion and mythology, 1946
- Myths and legends (4 vols., 1948 - 1963 )
- Essays on History of Religion, 1954
- The omniscience of God, 1955
- The supreme being in primitive religions, 1957
- Religion and Society (posthumously in 1966 )