Genghis Khan’s policy of “Celestial Insurance” is a fascinating example of early religious tolerance. While many contemporary empires forced their faith on conquered populations, the Mongols were remarkably open; Genghis himself was a Tengrist (sky worshiper), yet he granted tax exemptions to Buddhist, Christian, Muslim, and Taoist clergy. He viewed this as a pragmatic spiritual hedge, believing that by allowing everyone to pray to their own gods, he was effectively ensuring that whichever deity was actually “in charge” would be praying for his continued success.
AcceptableWheel on
He still killed an insane amount of people, just not for religious reasons.
BasedAustralhungary on
Well, the “keep your money” part…
Super_Sierra on
Another reason why Genghis Khan and his contemporaries didn’t really try to convert people to their religion was because they were very specific to their ancestors and mountain spirits, so they didn’t really think anyone would convert.
Oddly, he also believed he was actually a divine instrument, and was quoted several times as being a punishment for those that sinned.
elizabeththewicked on
He was doing Pascals Wager 2.0
aisvajsgabdhsydgshs1 on
Everything I learn about Genghis Khan is nonconsensual
6 Comments
Genghis Khan’s policy of “Celestial Insurance” is a fascinating example of early religious tolerance. While many contemporary empires forced their faith on conquered populations, the Mongols were remarkably open; Genghis himself was a Tengrist (sky worshiper), yet he granted tax exemptions to Buddhist, Christian, Muslim, and Taoist clergy. He viewed this as a pragmatic spiritual hedge, believing that by allowing everyone to pray to their own gods, he was effectively ensuring that whichever deity was actually “in charge” would be praying for his continued success.
He still killed an insane amount of people, just not for religious reasons.
Well, the “keep your money” part…
Another reason why Genghis Khan and his contemporaries didn’t really try to convert people to their religion was because they were very specific to their ancestors and mountain spirits, so they didn’t really think anyone would convert.
Oddly, he also believed he was actually a divine instrument, and was quoted several times as being a punishment for those that sinned.
He was doing Pascals Wager 2.0
Everything I learn about Genghis Khan is nonconsensual