Breaking Monotheism makes the case that monotheism is a product of a contest for land and authority. Using the Persian province Yehud as its primary case study, this work takes up a special focus on the interaction between religion and the social-political body in several important areas: (1) power relations in the province, (2) land as private property and its economic impact, (3) political structure and the "ruleof law," (4) monotheistic religious identity in Palestine and its tendency toward "cultural" exclusion, and (5) social group formation in the midst of conflict. As a gesture to broader relevance, this work in its analysis develops a model through which to better understand the structural formations of later monotheistic religions.
