Editing Millenarianism

{{short description|Belief in a coming fundamental transformation of society}}
{{about|the belief in a coming major transformation of society, as upheld by religious, social, or political groups|a specific type of Christian millenarianism|Millennialism|the teachings of William Miller|Millerism}}
{{utopia}}

'''Millenarianism''' or '''millenarism''' ({{etymology|la|{{Wikt-lang|la|millenarius}}|containing a thousand||[[-ism]]|}}) is the belief by a [[religious organization|religious]], social, or [[political party|political]] group or [[Social movement|movement]] in a coming fundamental [[Social transformation|transformation of society]], after which "all things will be changed".<ref>Baumgartner, Frederic J. 1999. ''Longing for the End: A History of Millennialism in Western Civilization'', New York: Palgrave, pp 1-6</ref> Millenarianism exists in various cultures and religions worldwide, with various interpretations of what constitutes a transformation.<ref>Gould, Stephen Jay. 1997. ''Questioning the millennium: a rationalist's guide to a precisely arbitrary countdown''. New York: Harmony Books, p. 112 (note)</ref>

These movements believe in radical changes to society after a major cataclysm or transformative event.<ref name=Crossley>[https://www.cdamm.org/articles/millenarianism ''Millenarianism''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210426161019/https://www.cdamm.org/articles/millenarianism |date=2021-04-26 }}. In James Crossley and Alastair Lockhart (eds.) ''Critical Dictionary of Apocalyptic and Millenarian Movements''. 2021</ref>

Millenarianist movements can be secular (not espousing a particular religion) or religious in nature,<ref name="CODS">Gordon Marshall, "millenarianism", ''The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Sociology'' (1994), p. 333.</ref> and are therefore not necessarily linked to [[millennialism|millennialist]] movements in [[Christianity]].<ref name=Crossley/>

== Terminology ==
Both ''[[millennialism]]'' and ''millenarianism'' refer to "one thousand". They both derive from the Christian tradition. Neither term strictly refers to "one thousand" in modern [1963] academic usage.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Wilson |first1=Bryan |title=Millennialism in Comparative Perspective |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/comparative-studies-in-society-and-history/article/abs/millennialism-in-comparative-perspective/6690CE3917916AEFF59817E1897ABEE4 |journal=Comparative Studies in Society and History |pages=93–114 |language=en |doi=10.1017/S0010417500002000 |date=October 1963|volume=6 }}</ref> Millennialism often refers to a specific type of Christian millenarianism, and is sometimes referred to as '''Chiliasm''' from the New Testament use of the Greek {{Lang|grc-latn|chilia}} {{Gloss|thousand}}.<!-- Taken from the below section which cites Greisiger 2015 -->

The terms ''millennialism'' and ''millenarianism'' are sometimes used interchangeably, as in ''The Oxford Handbook of Millennialism''.<!-- This mhand citation includes a footnote which I cannot access on Google Books. It may draw a more nuanced distinction between the two terms. --><ref name="mhand">{{cite book |last1=Wessinger |first1=Catherine |title=The Oxford Handbook of Millennialism |date=July 2016 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-061194-1 |pages=4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zgUTDAAAQBAJ |language=en}}</ref> [[Stephen Jay Gould]] has argued that this usage is incorrect, stating:
{{blockquote|''Millennium'' is from the Latin {{lang|la|mille}}, "one thousand," and ''annus'', "year"—hence the two n's. ''Millenarian'' is from the Latin {{lang|la|millenarius}}, "containing a thousand (of anything)," hence no {{lang|la|annus}}, and only one "n".<ref>Gould, Stephen Jay. 1997</ref>}}

The application of an [[Apocalypticism|apocalyptic]] timetable to the changing of the world has happened in many cultures and religions, continues to this day, and is not relegated to the [[sect]]s of major [[world religions]],<ref>Landes, Richard A. ''Heaven on Earth: The Varieties of the Millennial Experience''. New York: Oxford University Press, 2011. Print.</ref> both [[Abrahamic religions|Abrahamic]] and non-Abrahamic.<ref name="Greisiger 2015">{{cite book |author-last=Greisiger |author-first=Lutz |year=2015 |chapter=Apocalypticism, Millenarianism, and Messianism |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8rhRCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA272 |editor1-last=Blidstein |editor1-first=Moshe |editor2-last=Silverstein |editor2-first=Adam J. |editor3-last=Stroumsa |editor3-first=Guy G. |editor3-link=Guy Stroumsa |title=The Oxford Handbook of the Abrahamic Religions |location=[[Oxford]] and [[New York City|New York]] |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |pages=272–294 |doi=10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199697762.013.14 |isbn=978-0-19-969776-2 |lccn=2014960132 |s2cid=170614787}}</ref> Increasingly in the study of apocalyptic [[new religious movement]]s, ''millenarianism'' is used to refer to a more cataclysmic and destructive arrival of a [[utopia]]n period as compared to ''millennialism'' which is often used to denote a more peaceful arrival and is more closely associated with a one thousand year utopia.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Mayer|first=Jean-François|date=June 2016|title=Millennialism: New Religious Movements and the Quest for a New Age|journal=The Oxford Handbook of New Religious Movements|volume=II|doi=10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190466176.013.30|editor1-last=Lewis|editor1-first=James R|editor2-last=Tøllefsen|editor2-first=Inga}}</ref>

Christian millennialism is part of the broader form of apocalyptic expectation. A core [[doctrine]] in some variations of [[Christian eschatology]] is the expectation that the [[Second Coming]] is very near and that there will be an establishment of a [[Kingdom of God]] on Earth.<ref name="Greisiger 2015"/> According to an interpretation of [[biblical prophecies]] in the [[Book of Revelation]], this Kingdom of God on Earth will last a thousand years (a ''[[millennium]]'') or more.<ref name=rkark>Kark, Ruth "Millenarism and agricultural settlement in the Holy Land in the nineteenth century," in Journal of Historical Geography, 9, 1 (1983), pp. 47-62</ref>

== Theology ==
Many if not most millenarian groups claim that the current [[society]] and its rulers are corrupt, unjust, or otherwise wrong, and that they will soon be destroyed by a powerful force. The harmful nature of the status quo is considered intractable without the anticipated dramatic change.<ref>Worsley, Peter. 1957. ''The trumpet shall sound; a study of "cargo" cults in Melanesia''. London: MacGibbon & Kee.</ref> [[Henri Desroche]] observed that millenarian movements often envisioned three periods in which change might occur. First, the elect members of the movement will be increasingly oppressed, leading to the second period in which the movement resists the oppression. The third period brings about a new utopian age, liberating the members of the movement.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Dieux d'hommes. Dictionnaire des messianismes et millénarismes de l'ère chrétienne|last=Desroche|first=Henri|publisher=Berg International|year=1969|location=Paris|pages=31–32}}</ref>

In the modern world, economic rules, perceived immorality or vast conspiracies are seen as generating [[oppression]]. Only dramatic events are seen as able to change the world and the change is anticipated to be brought about, or survived, by a group of the devout and dedicated. In most millenarian scenarios, the disaster or battle to come will be followed by a new, purified world in which the believers will be rewarded.<ref name="CODS"/>

While many millenarian groups are [[pacifist]]ic, millenarian beliefs have been claimed as causes for people to ignore conventional rules of behaviour, which can result in violence directed inwards (such as the [[Jonestown]] mass murder) or outwards (such as the [[Aum Shinrikyo]] [[terrorism|terrorist]] acts). It sometimes includes a belief in supernatural powers or predetermined victory. In some cases, millenarians withdraw from society to await the intervention of God.<ref>Wessinger, Catherine. ''Millennialism, Persecution, and Violence: Historical Cases''. Syracuse, N.Y: Syracuse University Press, 2000. Print.</ref> This is also known as [[world-rejection]].

Millenarian ideologies or religious [[sect]]s sometimes [[Millenarianism in colonial societies|appear in oppressed peoples]], with examples such as the 19th-century [[Ghost Dance]] movement among [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native Americans]], early [[Mormons]],<ref name="Mormon Millenarian">{{cite book|last1=Underwood|first1=Grant|author-link1=Grant Underwood|title=The Millenarian World of Early Mormonism|date=1999|orig-date=1993|publisher=University of Illinois Press|location=Urbana|isbn=978-0252068263|url=https://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/catalog/48cbq6kr9780252068263.html|access-date=2019-04-09|archive-date=2019-05-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190513045007/https://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/catalog/48cbq6kr9780252068263.html|url-status=live}}</ref> and the 19th and 20th-century [[cargo cults]] among isolated [[Pacific Islanders]].<ref name="CODS"/>

The [[Catechism of the Catholic Church|Catechism [doctrine] of the Catholic Church]] rejects all forms of millenarianism and its variations:<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P1V.HTM#-UQ |title=Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 676 |access-date=2020-03-15 |archive-date=2007-01-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070105060254/https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P1V.HTM#-UQ |url-status=live }}</ref>
{{blockquote|The Antichrist's deception already begins to take shape in the world every time the claim is made to realize within history that messianic hope which can only be realized beyond history through the eschatological judgement. The Church has rejected even modified forms of this falsification of the kingdom to come under the name of millenarianism, especially the 'intrinsically perverse' political form of a secular messianism.}}

== See also ==
{{col div|colwidth=40em}}
* [[Amillennialism]]
* [[Center for Millennial Studies]]
* {{section link|Faith in Buddhism#Millenarianism}}
* [[Fifteen Signs before Doomsday]]
* [[Historical materialism]]
* [[Millenarianism in colonial societies]]
* [[Postmillennialism]]
* [[Premillennialism]]
* [[Singularitarianism]]
* [[Taki Unquy]]
* [[Timeline of the far future]]
*[[Aum Shinrikyo]]
{{colend}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== Further reading ==
{{refbegin|40em}}
* Burrage, Champlin. [https://archive.org/stream/englishhistorica25londuoft#page/722/mode/2up ''"The Fifth Monarchy Insurrections,"''] The English Historical Review, Vol. XXV, 1910.
* Burridge, Kenelm. "New Heaven, New Earth: A Study of Millenarian Activities" (Basil Blackwell. Original printing 1969, three reprints 1972, 1980, 1986) {{ISBN|0-631-11950-7}} pb. {{ISBN|0-8052-3175-7}} hb.
* CenSAMM. "[https://www.cdamm.org/articles/millenarianism Millenarianism] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210426161019/https://www.cdamm.org/articles/millenarianism |date=2021-04-26 }}." In James Crossley and Alastair Lockhart (eds.) ''Critical Dictionary of Apocalyptic and Millenarian Movements''. 2021
* [[Norman Cohn|Cohn, Norman]]. ''[[The Pursuit of the Millennium]]: Revolutionary Millenarians and Mystical Anarchists of the Middle Ages'', revised and expanded (New York: Oxford University Press, [1957] 1970). (revised and expanded 1990) {{ISBN|0-19-500456-6}}
* {{cite journal |last=Crossley |first=James |date=September 2021 |title=The Apocalypse and Political Discourse in an Age of COVID |journal=[[Journal for the Study of the New Testament]] |publisher=[[SAGE Publications]] |volume=44 |issue=1 |pages=93–111 |doi=10.1177/0142064X211025464 |doi-access=free |issn=1745-5294 |s2cid=237329082 }}
* Gray, John. ''Black Mass: Apocalyptic Religion and the Death of Utopia'' (London: Penguin Books, [2007] 2008) {{ISBN|978-0-14-102598-8}}
* Hotson, Howard. ''Paradise Postponed: Johann Heinrich Alsted and the Birth of Calvinist Millenarianism,'' (Springer, 2000).
* Jue, Jeffrey K. ''Heaven Upon Earth: Joseph Mede and the Legacy of Mllenarianism,'' (Springer, 2006).
* Kaplan, Jeffrey. ''Radical Religion in America: Millenarian Movements from the Far Right to the Children of Noah'' (Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 1997). {{ISBN|0-8156-2687-8}} {{ISBN|0-8156-0396-7}}
* Katz, David S. and Popkin, Richard H. ''Messianic Revolution: Radical Religious Politics to the End of the Second Millennium''. (New York: Hill and Wang, 1999) {{ISBN|0-8090-6885-0}}.[https://web.archive.org/web/20110927151055/http://h-net.msu.edu/cgi-bin/logbrowse.pl?trx=vx&list=h-review&month=0002&week=e&msg=bEsQ7aBkgR8goxjlbvUb6A&user=&pw= Review on H-Net]
* Landes, Richard. ''Heaven on Earth: The Varieties of Millennial Experiences,'' (Oxford University Press, 2011).
* Lerner, Robert E. ''The Feast of Saint Abraham: Medieval Millenarians and the Jews,'' (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2000).
* Millenarianism and Messianism in Early Modern Culture (4 voll.), Dordrecht: Kluwer.
** Vol. 1: Goldish, Matt and Popkin, Richard H. (eds.). ''Jewish Messianism in the Early Modern World'', 2001
** Vol. 2: Kottmnan, Karl (eds.). ''Catholic Milleniarism: From Savonarola to the Abbè Grégoire'', 2001
** Vol. 3: Force, James E. and Popkin, Richard H. (eds.). ''The Millenarian Turn: Millenarian Contexts of Science, Politics and Everyday Anglo-American Life in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries'', 2001
** Vol. 4: Laursen, John Christian and Popkin, Richard H. (eds.). ''Continental Millenarians: Protestants, Catholics, Heretics'', 2001
* [[Hillel Schwartz (historian)|Schwartz, Hillel]]. ''The French Prophets: The History of a Millenarian Group in Eighteenth-Century England''. Berkeley: University of California, 1980.
* [[Grant Underwood|Underwood, Grant]]. (1999) [1993]. ''[https://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/catalog/48cbq6kr9780252068263.html The Millenarian World of Early Mormonism] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190513045007/https://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/catalog/48cbq6kr9780252068263.html |date=2019-05-13 }}.'' Urbana: University of Illinois Press. {{ISBN|978-0252068263}}
* [[Eric Voegelin|Voegelin, Eric]]. ''[[The New Science of Politics]]''. University of Chicago Press (October 12, 2012).
* Wessinger, Catherine. (ed.), ''The Oxford Handbook of Millennialism'', New York: Oxford University Press 2011.
* Wright, Ben and Dresser, Zachary W. (eds.) ''Apocalypse and the Millennium in the American Civil War Era.'' Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University Press, 2013.
{{refend}}

== External links ==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20220309035209/http://www.mille.org/links.html Millennial Sites], Center for Millennial Studies at Boston University. List of links sorted by group type. (archive)
* [https://www.cdamm.org/articles/millenarianism Millenarianism]. In James Crossley and Alastair Lockhart (eds.) ''Critical Dictionary of Apocalyptic and Millenarian Movements''. 2021
* [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10307a.htm Millennium and Millenarianism], Catholic Encyclopedia.
* [https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P1V.HTM ''Catechism of Catholic Church'', Part One, Section Two, Chapter Two, Article 7, 1. He will come again in glory, paragraph 676]

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[[Category:Millenarianism| ]]
[[Category:Apocalypticism]]
[[Category:Utopian movements]]