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The relation between the two is better understood as equivalent to the relation between English as a language, and language in general.
The universal nature of this process means that Weber’s methodology can be applied universally. This means that for each society, change and development can be understood through the same processes that involve Priesthood, Prophecy and Breakthrough. For this thesis, this means highlighting these factors at play in the development of China’s national theology.
However, before doing so, Weber’s ideal types must be revisited. First, the ideal types of social change’ need to be clarified in how they will be used in this thesis. Then the antinomian structural types of charisma and bureaucracy will be reimagined so that they can be used to provide a more detailed analysis of the theological underpinning of a society. This will be the focus of our next two sections.
3.2 Priesthood and Prophecy
As discussed previously Weber uses the role or function that certain agents and institutions play in the process of societal development as the dependent variables and the theological positions that determine the form and action of these agents and institutions as independent. In this way, Weber's methodology focuses on the process of change and breakthrough. He does this by looking at the office of 'Religious Virtuoso' and Prophet. In this section, we will adapt the 'Religious Virtuoso' into the more neutral Priesthood, and also reinterpret the role of the prophet and the process of breakthrough in a way that will hopefully clarify some points.
As explored in the previous section, theology is seen here as the universal process by which humans develop their conception of themselves, their societies, and the world around them. This idea runs parallel to both a central assumption of the work of Max Weber and the central point in Benedict Anderson’s work ‘Imagined Communities’. The general framework that Weber used to talk about the process of change and evolution can largely be moved across and used in the analysis with little change. The principle change comes from clarifying how these offices transform over time and can be seen in processes and society that secularisation biases may obstruct us from seeing.
Weber uses the concept of ‘Charisma’ to create a category of ‘charismatic’ people who are able to mediate divinity, either by interpreting it or coercing it, in a way that benefits the
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wider society. This is the equivalent of being able to interpret and even shape the very fabric of reality, to maintain the link between humanity and divinity. The way to understand this relationship is that these people (from here on the Priesthood) are those that are seen as authorities, as holding answers and solutions to the various questions and problems that people might have. They are seen as experts, knowledgeable about the nature of reality. Their knowledge, answers and solutions, are usually systematised into what can be called a theology that is the foundation for the society's self-conception and their conception of reality. It follows, therefore that Weber sees a key role of the priesthood as the education of the general populace in the practice of these systems, as well as the formulation of the whatever legal code forms the basis of the society. This group, after all are the source of truth for the society, it makes sense that their work forms the basis of educational and legal systems.
When the guild of magicians finally develops into the priesthood, this extremely important function of educating the laity does not cease, and the priesthood always concerns itself with maintaining this function. More and more, secret lore recedes and the priestly doctrine becomes a scripturally established tradition which the priesthood interprets by means of dogmas. Such a scriptural tradition subsequently becomes the basis of every system of religion, not only for the professional members of the priestly class, but also for the laity, indeed especially for the laity.
(Weber 1965, 68)
As their role is sense-making, their position relies on their ability to answer questions and satisfactorily explain things. The more successful the priesthood is in offering guidance and leadership for a society, the more their specific vision of society and reality shapes society in the form of patterns of thought, action, and imagination that should properly be understood as devotion or worship. These acts of devotion, of worship, are how we see the success of a priesthood. The general assumption here is that the more meaning that people can glean from the theology offered by the priesthood, the more they are willing to sacrifice in its service. This sacrifice can be seen in any dedication of time or resources; at the extremes, it can be seen in ritualised sacrifice of life or property, most commonly in warfare.
If the priesthood is unsuccessful, i.e. unable to offer satisfactory explanations, solutions or leadership for the society, then they leave themselves open to the challenge that is personified in the prophet. Contrary to Weber, who argues that ‘none magical prophets only occur under ‘very unusual circumstances.’ (Weber 1965, 47) Prophecy here is directly related
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to pragmatism. Do the answers offered by the priesthood relate to and explain the experiences of the general population. If they do not then some form of prophet is likely to rise up and challenge the priesthood. In fact priesthoods, after gaining dominance over a population, often weaken through higher levels of abstraction which brings them further and further out of touch with the general populace. The argument could be made for this being the root of the current identity crises seen across Western societies. Leaders (experts, academics, politicians) of a society are perceived as increasingly out of touch, then prophetic (change) movements win increasing levels of support.
We should bear in mind that such a challenge is aimed at the very foundations of the society, as such prophets will likely be seen by the priesthood as an existential threat. An unsuccessful prophet will be explained away and incorporated back into the theology of the priesthood (though this could also be seen as success depending on the aims of the prophet). A successful prophet would mean a paradigm shift in how the society conceives of itself. In this way, Mao Zedong, Sun Yat-Sen, George Washington, Henry VIII can all be seen as prophets for their respective societies.
Such a process finds a very clear expression in Thomas Kuhn's book 'The Structure of Scientific Revolutions.' In fact, the world of modern science offers the clearest example of this process in action in a way that is readily understandable to us 'modern' people. Scientists themselves form a priesthood in the way that we have described, especially in the way that they offer a vision of humanity; its origins, nature, and how it relates to the world around it. The commonly accepted foundations are at any time liable to a dramatic paradigm shift, as per Kuhn's analysis. By this view, Charles Darwin or Copernicus should rightfully be seen as some of the most successful prophets of all time due to how they shifted the foundations of how humanity in general perceived reality.
This view of societal development allows us to analyse the specific agents and events that lead to the formation of different societies. It is this method that allows us to trace the changes and developments that brought us the specific theological system that is China's national theology. However, an important distinction is made between the function and content of theology. This process shows the function. To properly analyse China we need to look at the differences in theological content and how they relate to different avenues for societal development. When this is done we will have a method not just for tracing the interactions between various Priesthoods and Prophets that led to China's national theology, but also the
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content and shape of China’s national theology and how this continues to shape China and its interactions with the world around it.