Ernesto de Martino

His degree thesis, subsequently published, dealt with the historical and philological problem of the Eleusinian Gephyrismi (ritual injuries addressed to the goddess) and provides an important methodological introduction to the concept of religion.

Attracted by the ideological stance of the regime, for several years de Martino worked on an essay interpreting Fascism as a historically convenient form of civil religion.

However, the attempt was insubstantial and the work, still unpublished, was gradually rejected by the author, who subsequently approached left-wing ideas and after the war became a supporter of the Italian Communist Party.

[3] Geisshuesler also shows how de Martino's perspective on religion can be compared to other scholars such as Mircea Eliade, Claude Lévi-Strauss, and Clifford Geertz.

The book argues that scholarship on religion was influenced by moments of fear of the apocalypse, and that de Martino's approach can help revitalize the field of religious studies.