The Institute of Iranian Studies invites you to a lecture by Albert de Jong (Leiden University). The lecture, entitled "The Place of Zoroastrianism in a General History of Religion" is part of the institute's public lecture series on "Ritual and Time".

Summary: "Zoroastrianism is the earliest known example of a 'religion of choice', a radically new type of religion (to which Christianity and Islam also belong) that has its roots in a conscious choice to join the community of believers, as opposed to the traditional (community) religions into which one can only be born. A few centuries after the Arab conquests of Iran, Zoroastrianism changed yet again into a distinctly new type of religion (known mainly from the Middle East): an endogamous community defined by its religion and incapable of bringing outsiders into the community. Both developments are crucial not only for the history of Zoroastrianism itself, but also for anyone who wants to make sense of the general history of religion(s) and of religious diversity."