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Tolstoy, Universalism and the World Religions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 January 2017

DANIEL MOULIN
DANIEL MOULIN*
Affiliation:
Institute for Culture and Society, Humanities Library Building, University of Navarra, Pamplona 31009, Spain; e-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

Leo Tolstoy was one of the most prolific religious figures of his time. Yet his religious thought and its influence have seldom been explored by church historians. Drawing upon themes within his literature, non-fiction and previously unconsidered primary sources, this paper considers Tolstoy's religious position in relation to other similar nineteenth-century religious movements. It exposes Tolstoy's links with British Unitarians and also considers Tolstoy's influence upon the founder of Britain's first interfaith organisation, the World Congress of Faiths. It is argued that Tolstoy provides a paradigmatic example by which to examine the relationship between the legacy of the Enlightenment and changing attitudes towards non-Christian religions.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Ecclesiastical History , Volume 68 , Issue 3 , July 2017 , pp. 570 - 587
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Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2017 

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