Antonin Causse. Een oudtestamenticus met sociologische kwaliteiten

Samenvatting

A review of the work of French scholar Antonin Causse (1877-1947) reveals the inspiration he received from French sociologists, especially Emile Durkheim & L. Levy-Bruhl. In analyzing the Israelite religion, he describes the old structure of Israeli society as originally based on strong solidarity, but later undermined by the influence of Canaanite civilization. The prophets & the Deuteronomic movement were spokesmen opposing this influence. During the Babylonian exile, a new community arose -- not political, or even national, but religious -- replacing the collectivism of the old structure with a moral individualism. Although Causse might be criticized for his evolutionistic setting of interdependency, & his use of Levy-Bruhl's theory of primitive mentality & prelogical thinking, his work is an important contribution in terms of the sociology of the Old Testament & ancient Judaism. Modified HA.