Rethinking the Origins and Purpose of Religion: Jesus, Constantine, and the Containment of Global Revolution
Published in Athens Journal of Social Sciences, 2022
Abstract
This paper challenges the standard sociological reflex that treats the Christian Bible as pure reactionary ideology. Reading the gospels as a textual source, it argues that the New Testament presents not a passive, conservative Christ but a committed revolutionary oriented toward progressive social change—and that subsequent institutional developments (including Constantine-era consolidation) functioned to contain that revolutionary potential.
Key Points
- Urges sociologists to treat the Bible as analyzable textual data, not an untouchable object.
- Distinguishes revolutionary gospel content from later Church institutional practice.
- Frames institutional Christianity as an apparatus for containment and social order.
- Uses narrative/exegetical analysis to revise the assumed political meaning of Christian origins.
Recommended citation: Sosteric, Mike. (2022). “Rethinking the Origins and Purpose of Religion: Jesus, Constantine, and the Containment of Global Revolution.” *Athens Journal of Social Sciences*, 9(1), 69–88. https://doi.org/10.30958/ajss.9-1-4
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