Professor at the Department of Classics, History and Law at the University of Chicago
Research project:
Tolerance in Roman antiquity
Research project:
To what extent can we speak of tolerance and religious pluralism as a justification narrative in Roman antiquity? The fellowship deals with imperial Rome in the 3rd century and thus with a phase in which it is possible to observe how an increasingly monotheistic religion with universal claims established itself in a world in which the coexistence of different religions appeared to be a matter of course. The first persecutions of Christians took place during this period, and Christians also put forward arguments that play a major role in the history of the idea of tolerance. The Christians’ fight for their religious freedom was of great importance for later justification narratives of tolerance. For a time, allowing the worship of many gods was an important justification for imperial rule in a religiously diverse empire. What favored this new form of justification through religious pluralism and why did this phase end so quickly? These and other questions will be discussed in this research project.
Events:
Seminar with Prof. Dr. Hartmut Leppin, 15 July 2015, 3 p.m.
Tolerance in Antiquity
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Biografische Angaben
Clifford Ando is a professor in the Department of Classics, History and Law at the University of Chicago. His research focuses on the history of religion, law and statehood in the Roman Empire. He is particularly interested in the categories of citizenship, legal pluralism and tolerance as well as the relationship between civil law, public law and international law in the Roman legal tradition. Clifford Ando has been a fellow and visiting professor at universities in Canada, France, Germany, New Zealand, South Africa and the USA. He studied at Princeton and received his doctorate from the University of Michigan. -
Publikationen
Empire, state and communicative action, in: Christine Kuhn (Hrsg.), Politische Kommunikation und öffentliche Meinung in der antiken Welt, Franz Steiner, Stuttgart 2012, S. 219-229. Die Riten der Anderen, in: Mediterraneo Antico 15.1-2 2012, S. 31-50. Pluralism and Empire, from Rome to Robert cover, in: Critical Analysis of Law: An International & Interdisciplinary Law Review 1 2014, S. 1-22.