René Girard a French anthropologist, settled in America, is the author of a concept which explains the unconscious use of a scapegoat mechanism during various social crises. Getting rid of the scapegoat only seemingly helps to restore social order, thus in the following period of time the scapegoat becomes subject of sacralisation which may finally lead to an establishment of a new religion. In the history depicted in the Bible the scapegoat mechanism is also used, and revealed. The Bible also shows that it is possible to find a solution to the crisis without violence.
Keywords:
the origin of religion, the origin of culture, violence, the Bible, mimetic theory, scapegoat
Pełczyński, G. (2017). René Girard as a biblical scholar 21-36. Theological Yearbook, 59(1), 21–36. Retrieved from https://ojs.chat.edu.pl/index.php/rt/article/view/114
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