Julian Strube
I am Chair of Religious Studies and Intercultural Theology at the University of Göttingen and study the relationship between religion and politics from a global historical perspective. In particular, I focus on how the relationship between religion, science, and politics has been shaped by exchanges between India, Europe, and North America, especially with regard to notions of reform, tradition, revival, and modernity. I have also done research on religious comparativism, cultural exchanges between East Asia and Europe, as well as on völkisch movements, National Socialism, contemporary right-wing extremism, and (early) socialism.
My third monograph, Global Tantra: Religion, Science, and Nationalism in Colonial Modernity, was published by Oxford University Press in early 2022. It revolves around the work of learned Bengalis, some of whom later collaborated with John Woodroffe (as "Arthur Avalon"). Against the background of tantric traditions in Bengal and their renegotiation in a colonial context, I discuss national and religious identity formations in India, including contested boundaries between religion, science, and politics.
From November 2019 to March 2021, I have been working on a postdoctoral project on "Religious Social Reform in the Context of Unitarianism and the Brahmo Samaj: Exchanges between North America and Bengal" at the Cluster of Excellence "Religion and Politics" at the University of Münster. I am currently continuing this research by working on a decentered history of religious studies beyond the "West."
In 2016, my dissertation was published as "Socialism, Catholicism, and Occultism in Nineteenth-Century France: The Genealogy of the Writings of Eliphas Lévi." I show the richly religious character of early French socialism and demonstrate how its ideas were carried over into new religious movements such as spiritualism and occultism after 1848. This highlights the importance of socialism for the emergence and pluralization of new religious identities in the nineteenth century.
In my published master's thesis, I discussed the relationship between esotericism, nationalist ideas, National Socialism, and neo-Nazism by reconstructing the genealogy of the fictitious "vril" energy, which became a widespread topos in right-wing esoteric circles, conspiracy theories, and popular culture after World War II in connection with the "Black Sun."
Address: Universität Göttingen
Religionswissenschaft und Interkulturelle Theologie
Platz der Göttinger Sieben 2
37073 Göttingen
Germany
My third monograph, Global Tantra: Religion, Science, and Nationalism in Colonial Modernity, was published by Oxford University Press in early 2022. It revolves around the work of learned Bengalis, some of whom later collaborated with John Woodroffe (as "Arthur Avalon"). Against the background of tantric traditions in Bengal and their renegotiation in a colonial context, I discuss national and religious identity formations in India, including contested boundaries between religion, science, and politics.
From November 2019 to March 2021, I have been working on a postdoctoral project on "Religious Social Reform in the Context of Unitarianism and the Brahmo Samaj: Exchanges between North America and Bengal" at the Cluster of Excellence "Religion and Politics" at the University of Münster. I am currently continuing this research by working on a decentered history of religious studies beyond the "West."
In 2016, my dissertation was published as "Socialism, Catholicism, and Occultism in Nineteenth-Century France: The Genealogy of the Writings of Eliphas Lévi." I show the richly religious character of early French socialism and demonstrate how its ideas were carried over into new religious movements such as spiritualism and occultism after 1848. This highlights the importance of socialism for the emergence and pluralization of new religious identities in the nineteenth century.
In my published master's thesis, I discussed the relationship between esotericism, nationalist ideas, National Socialism, and neo-Nazism by reconstructing the genealogy of the fictitious "vril" energy, which became a widespread topos in right-wing esoteric circles, conspiracy theories, and popular culture after World War II in connection with the "Black Sun."
Address: Universität Göttingen
Religionswissenschaft und Interkulturelle Theologie
Platz der Göttinger Sieben 2
37073 Göttingen
Germany
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Monographs by Julian Strube
In the early twentieth century, Avalon's publications were crucial to Tantra's visibility in academia and the recognition of Tantra's vital role in South Asian culture. South Asian religious, social, and political life is inexorably intertwined with various Tantric scriptures and traditions, especially in Shaiva and Shakta contexts. In Bengal, Tantra was central to cultural dynamics including Vaishnava and Muslim currents, as well as universalist tendencies incorporating Christianity and esoteric movements such as New Thought, Spiritualism, and Theosophy.
Global Tantra contextualizes struggles about orthodoxy and reform in Bengal, and explores the global connections that shaped them. The study elides boundaries between academic disciplines as well as historical and regional contexts, providing insights into global debates about religion, science, esotericism, race, and national identity.
Die erste seriöse Aufarbeitung dieser Geschichte ist nicht nur für das Verständnis des zeitgenössischen Rechtsextremismus und Topoi der populären Kultur wichtig, sondern ermöglicht auch aufschlussreiche Einblicke in die europäische Ideengeschichte.
Edited Volumes by Julian Strube
The contributors offer critical interventions on aspects related to colonialism, race, gender and sexuality, economy, and marginality. Equipped with a substantial introduction and conclusion, the book offers textbook-style discussions of the state of research and makes concrete proposals for how esotericism can be rethought through broader engagement with neighboring fields.
Special Issues by Julian Strube
Articles by Julian Strube