G. Mick Smith, review of Armstrong, Karen, The Great Transformation, Choice, February 2007.

G. Mick Smith, review of Armstrong, Karen, The Great Transformation, Choice, February 2007.

The following review appeared in the February 2007 issue of CHOICE.

44-3239 BL430 2005-47536 CIP
Armstrong, Karen. The great transformation: the beginning of our
religious traditions. Knopf, 2006. 469p bibl index ISBN 0375413170,
$30.00

In this current age of "the great transformation," independent scholar
Armstrong postulates how the sages of the foundational Axial Age would address unspeakable horror, violence, and desperation. The distinctive and historic Axial Age faiths announced the abandonment of selfishness and a spirituality of compassion. They stated that first must come personal responsibility and self-criticism, and that practical, effective action must follow. Herein lie the problematic aspects of Armstrong's work and the reasons why this book can be misleading. Its most serious flaw is its finding evidence for ethical behavior in almost all religious behavior and ritual. Armstrong seems to miss the insights of René Girard and Walter Burkert, who have demonstrated how violence and the sacred are inextricably linked. Another problem is that, oddly, she states that Hitler expressed a "militant exclusion of religion from public policy." In fact, Hitler divided German Christians by founding the Patriotic Church in contrast to the Confessing Church. One other interesting side note is that Armstrong's research is based on older published works (only 36 of 284 works cited in the bibliography were published in 2000 or later). Summing Up: Optional. Lower-/upper-level undergraduates; general readers.