عنوان

Invisible religion in ancient Egypt :

Number

TLets810277

Title Proper

Invisible religion in ancient Egypt :

General Material Designation

[Thesis]

First Statement of Responsibility

Dewsbury, Laura May

Title Proper by Another Author

a study into the individual religiosity of non-royal and non-elite ancient Egyptians

Name of Publisher, Distributor, etc.

University of Birmingham

Date of Publication, Distribution, etc.

2017

Dissertation or thesis details and type of degree

Thesis (Ph.D.)

Text preceding or following the note

2017

Text of Note

The research presented in this thesis applies Thomas Luckmann's theory of invisible religion to three aspects of ancient Egyptian culture (festivals, household and personal items, and communication with the dead and with gods). The intention is firstly to address the four key issues that have arisen as a result of previous research into personal religion in ancient Egypt, secondly to determine whether ordinary ancient Egyptians possessed individual religiosity, and thirdly to establish whether the three aspects of ancient Egyptian culture considered can be viewed as examples of invisible religion. With regards to the four key issues, this research concludes: there was a link between individual religiosity and state religion; the intimacy of ordinary ancient Egyptians' emotions relating to individual religiosity varied; individual religiosity was not a phenomenon of the lower classes; individual religiosity was not an innovation of the New Kingdom. In addition, it is shown that ordinary ancient Egyptians did possess individual religiosity but that each person would have created, maintained, engaged with, and internalised the universe of meaning (as described by Luckmann) to a different extent. Finally, this research concludes that the three aspects of ancient Egyptian culture considered can be viewed as examples of invisible religion.

BL Religion; D051 Ancient History

University of Birmingham

University of Birmingham

Electronic name

p

[Thesis]

276903

a

Y