Tight and Loose Asceticism

Abstract Asceticism has been integral to human communities for millennia and is an important trait that sets humans apart from other hominins. This introductory survey of “tight” and “loose” asceticism reflects on what is meant by asceticism and on its place in history. A tight or strong sense of asceticism as world- and body-denial entails disavowal of the cultural values of family, material prosperity, and community; but a weak, or loose, sense of asceticism is a necessary condition for the affirmation of cultural values conducive to conventional life and its extension into future generations. These two varieties of asceticism, tight and loose, can be traced through the history of civilizations and shown to be integral to forms of society, religion, and cultural production that have emerged within them.