Religion, Enlightenment and Empire: British Interpretations of Hinduism in the Eighteenth Century (Ideas in Context)

Explores British interpretations of Hinduism at a crucial period in the East India Company's conquest of Bengal. "In the middle of the eighteenth century finding themselves with privileged access to Indian languages and advisors, British East India Company servants became instrumental in delivering ideas about Indian religion to European audiences. This book is about the religion they decided to present, the intellectual frameworks that shaped their presentation of it, and some of the ramifications it had for enlightenment thought, Company policy and contemporary ideas of empire. This book charts the history of European interpretations of Hinduism from early modern travel accounts to the emergence of comparative approaches to the study of world religions in the late seventeenth and eighteenth century. Following this it offers an overview of the long history of the Company's policies on religion, as well as some of the significant turning points in the Company's political status and in its institutional approach to research on Indian languages, history and religion"-- Provided by publisher In the second half of the eighteenth century, several British East India Company servants published accounts of what they deemed to be the original and ancient religion of India. Drawing on what are recognised today as the texts and traditions of Hinduism, these works fed into a booming enlightenment interest in Eastern philosophy. At the same time, the Company's aggressive conquest of Bengal was facing a crisis of legitimacy and many of the prominent political minds of the day were turning their attention to the question of empire. In this original study, Jessica Patterson situates these Company works on the 'Hindu religion' in the twin contexts of enlightenment and empire. In doing so, she uncovers the central role of heterodox religious approaches to Indian religions for enlightenment thought, East India Company policy, and contemporary ideas of empire.