Many scholars have held that Christianity created a new kind of religious belief and devotion, unlike the ritualistic, legal, and cultural religious practice widespread throughout the Roman Empire. But in a new book, Jacob Mackey (Occidental) draws on cognitive theory to argue that, despite having little to do with faith or salvation, real belief underlay every aspect of Roman religious practices and helped create and maintain Rome’s social reality. In a deep sense, no man could count as an augur and no act of animal slaughter as a successful offering to the gods, unless Romans collectively shared appropriate beliefs about these things.

The Morningside Institute hosted Professor Jacob Mackey of Occidental College on November 1, 2022. The Morningside Institute brings scholars and students together to examine human life beyond the classroom and consider its deepest questions through the life of New York City. For more information about upcoming events, please visit https://www.morningsideinstitute.org.