Beneficial But Not Introductory

books:

	• Earthly Powers: The Clash of Religion and Politics in Europe, from the French Revolution to the Great War Michael Burleigh HarperCollins, 2006 - 544 pages average customer review:based on 18 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

The Roots of Secularism

Historian Michael Burleigh does a good job of explaining the change in European culture from a faith based to a secular society. Although he is clearly a cultural conservative and he does take an occasional pot shot at the dominant left/liberal school of contemporary historical analysts, he is fair in pointing out the flaws and failings of the Christian Churches of the era, including and especially his own Catholic Church.
He explains a confusing era in European history. I drew a number of conclusions from his book. In the first place,the horrific description of what took place during the French Revolution especially the persecution and slaughter of the Catholics in the Vendee shows that mass murder is not limited to religious fanatics. Secularists and atheists can do just as good a job. Secondly, a deranged form of Nationalism seems to have been the real root of the terrible anti-semitism of the 20th century. Finally, the secularization of modern Europe was inevitably based on modern social organization, and it is ultimately a positive thing. Roman Catholicism in particular has benefited from its loss of temporal power and separation of church and state is an absolute necessity for human progress.
My only complaint is that Burleigh's presentation is sometimes difficult to follow. His subject is vast and sometimes his writing is too compressed. He also digresses a bit from his main theme to discuss, for example, the paintings of David or the novels of Dostoevsky. Although often his digressions are useful in giving a sense of the period. All in all a good job. It would probably be more rewarding for those who have some knowledge of the period.

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Beneficial But Not Introductory

"Earthly Powers" is a sophisticated and well-researched discussion on the confluence of religion and politics in the period between the Revolution and the First World War; a topic that has great bearing on the current state of world affairs. Burleigh is most certainly aware of the pertinence of his topic and that awareness is manifest in the tone and diction of the work. His educational and journalistic background make the work obtuse and dense, occassionally overbearingly so.

I found "Earthly Powers" to be a work with a great deal to say on the relationship between religion and politics but the manner of communication did not always make that information clear. If this is the book that you have chosen to acquaint yourself to the connection between religion and politics, put it back. This work is best suited for those with an excellent knowledge of early modern European political, economic, cultural, industrial, scientific, philosophical, and religious history. Furthermore, this work is written in a manner that is not easy to follow, thus only a reader with a sure knowledge of English grammar and manners of writing should attempt to tackle this work.

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A great read.

Burleigh's book is a rich, fascinating read. But understand that the discussion is limited to religion, ideology and politics. Other relevant topics (military history, for example) are omitted because the narrative assumes the reader's familiarity with the period. In short, superb social and intellectual history.

reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4

In this masterful, stylish, and authoritative book, Michael Burleigh gives us an epic history of the battles over religion in modern Europe, examining the complex and often lethal ways in which politics and religion have interacted and influenced each other over the last two centuries. From the French Revolution to the totalitarian movements of the twentieth century, Earthly Powers is a uniquely powerful portrait of one of the great tensions of modern history?one that continues to be played out on the world stage today.

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