Virtuosity, Charisma, and Social Order: A Comparative Sociological Study of Monasticism inTheravada Buddhism and Medieval Catholicism by Ilana Friedrich SilberReview by: Lutz KaelberSociology of Religion, Vol. 57, No. 2 (Summer, 1996), pp. 214-215Published by: Oxford University PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3711952 .

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214 SOCIOLOGY OF RELIGION

directly contradicts a number of analyses (in- cluding my own) which suggest that leader- member cleavages are most common and most serious among liberal Protestant denominations. While I regard Hofrenning's analysis as rather simple and preliminary, it is certainly provoca tive, and cries out for replication.

In sum, Daniel Hofrenning has provided a solid, important contribution to the literature on religious groups. He has made much of this literature accessible to a wider audience, and has provided at least one prelilninary finding which I hope will reset a larger scholarly agenda.

Ted G. Jelen lllinois Benedictine College

Virtuosity, Cha7imla, and Social Order: A Com- parative Sociological Stuzly of Monasticism in Therava Buihism and Medieval Catholi- cism, by ILANA FRIEDR1CH SILBER. Cambridge: CambridgeUniversityPress, 1995, x + 250 PP, $54.95.

This book contains a leamed analysis of the religious outlook and social position of as- cetic virtuosi in Theravada Buddhism and me- dieval Catholicism. It follows in the footsteps of Max Weber, who set out to explore the relations between religion and society in the major world religions. For Weber, Buddhism and medieval Christianity as represented by the* religious elites, members of the Sangha and the Christian monastic orders, emerged at the opposite ends of the spectrum of religious relations to the world. Both Buddhist and medieval Christian virtuosi were other worldly oriented, but the former strived for utter world renunciation through contemplative knowledge, whereas the latter attempted to transcend the world through ascetic methodical action. Weber's analysis was a truncated one, however, since he addressed Buddhism vis-a vis Hinduism as a heterodox soteriology of Indian intellectuals, with only a few pages devoted to Theravada Buddhism, and

did not conduct a separate study of medieval . .

monastlclsm.

Ilana FriedrichSilber, lecturer in sociology at the Hebrew University, SeNsalem, and known previouslyforhersuperb essayontheCistercian's role in Western economic rationalization, ex- tends and goes beyond Weber's work. In the masterfully crafted central parts of the book, she shows that the doctrinal elements of Theravada Buddhism prescribing world renunciation to its religious virtuosi were counterbalanced hy an amorphous organizational structure and the dependence of these virtuosi on communal netS works of support. Relying on lay economic supS port and political protection, members of the Sangha became the performers of soteriological rituals, served as literate community counse lors-educators, and provided religious legitima tion for royal political authorityi consequently, their ascetic standards were lowered and the penetration of the secular spheres with otherS worldly religious values was greatly reduced. H e t e r o d o x e I e m e n t s i n B u d d h i s m r e j e c t i n g t h e s e types of involvement in worldly affairs and upholding higher principles of renunciation existed, but were small in number and lacked a distinct societal impact.

In contrast, medieval Christian monastic ideals were more moderate and ambiguous with regard to world renunciation but also more autonomously institutionalized. The Rule of Saint Benedict gave a firm ideological founda- tion; it demanded life-long dedication to the monastic vocation expressed in the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience; its proscrip tion of work helped affirm economic indepen dence. Politically, medieval monasticism's po- sition was augmented by the fact that most of its members came from noble, i.e., privileged, so cial strata and that it proved a formidable if subordinate ally of the papacy and secular pow ers when it came to superimposing certain reli gious and cultural standards on the masses. This led to a much stronger impact of monastic ascetic ideals on society than in Theravada Buddhism. Silber's analysis therefore clearly demonstrates how important organizational structures and the overall position of virtuosi communities in the social structure were for the direction of ascetic spirituality and its societal effects.

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BOOK REVIEWS 215

Silber guides the reader through the his torical intricacies of each case in a lucid man ner. Widely and deeply read, she addresses the major issues on a level of sophistication unpar- alleled in the existing comparative literature. Silber has conducted her inquiry with vast learn- ing, skill, and a solid mastery of the sources. T h e s e a c c o m p I i s h m e n t s n o t w i t h s t a n d i n g , s o m e aspects of this book are less satisfactory. For the reviewer, its largest lacuna lies in its treatment of asceticism in Christian heterodoxy. II1 the later Middle Ages the religious scene was mark- edly differentiated in that a variety of religious movexnents carried ascetic virtuosity, formerly represented exclusively in monasticism, in new directions. This development not only prompted a refocusing of monastic asceticism in the men- dicant orders, but also denoted the ascent of forms of innerSworldly asceticism centuries be fore ascetic Protestantism. Silber barely takes note of this (it is altogether ignored in other sociological literature) and refers only to much less influential and consequential forms of er- emitical asceticism in the eleventh and twelfth centuries. One might therefore question the wisdom of limiting the study of Christian as- cetic virtuosity to the era between the sixth and the (early) thirteenth centuries. The analytical expositions at the beginning and the end of the book are also not as clear and cogent as the central sections of the book; the analysis might have benefited, for example, from a closer look at Wolfgang Schluchter's elaborations of Weber's concepts and argument, and from a more poignant discussion of the shortcomings in the existing historical and comparative litS erature. Furthermore, the book contains a curi- ous reference to the emergence of monastic lay brothers in the eleventh century (p. 141), for it is well known since the studies of Kassius Hallinger and Wolfgang Teske that the conversi were an integral part of the Cluniac monastic organization in the tenth century and may have originated severalcenturies before that. Finally, a fair number of typographical errors, particu- larly in the German names and titles, slipped past the proofreader and detract from the qual ity of the book. In spite of these objections, however, Silber's book should quickly become a classic in comparative religious research and deserves a place on the syllabus of any graduate

course in this field. Lut Kaelber

Indiana Uruversity, Bloorrdngton

Religion, Ferninism, and Freedtrrn of Conscience: AMmrr/HumarustDialogue, editedby GEORGE D. SMITH. Salt Lake City, UT: Signature F3ooks, 1995, 162 pp. $23.95.

This book is a collection of papers pre- sented at a gathering of secular humanists and members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints (Mormon) . According to the editor's introduction, the purpose of the various chap ters is "to discuss freedom of conscience as it applies to academic freedom and to expressions of feminism." Many of the chapters are focused specifically on issues of academic freedom being played out at the church-owned Brigham Young University. The gathering of humanists and Mormons to talk about issues of academic free dom at Brigham Young University is by itself a curious event: especially since no BYU faculty contributed to the volume. The explanation for this curious event, provided by the editor in the introduction, is that free agency is an essential principle of Mormon doctrine, while commit- ment to the idea of freedom is the first principle of humanism.

The interweaving of discussions of hu manism with concerns about academic freedom at BYU and other private and public universi ties produces a strange patchwork of essays. The connection between essays may be unlntelli gible to readers who are "outsiders," unaware of the swirling controversy over feminism, the writing of Church history, and the freedom of BYU faculty to participate in a local annual symposium that engulfed the BYU campus be- ginning in 1992. Out of context, the book is simply an odd collection of essays.

Is the book what it claims to be? Several of the essays deal with issues of religion and free- dom of conscience, and with the conflict which arises within churches as well as universities, particularly religious universities. The bcrk is the most successful in this area. However, two

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