“In The Language of Disenchantment, Yelle explores various Protestant perfidies, including the suspicion of Indic ritual, myth, languages, and religious laws that structured British efforts to explain religion in India and to reform Hinduism accordingly. Sovereignty and the Sacred continues this work with a more sweeping version of the aim: to revive—or perhaps create—a history of religions uncorrupted by the distortions of disenchantment and its modern, Christian-esque presuppositions. . . . Dazzlingly layered and provocatively debatable.”

Nancy Levene | History of Religions

"Yelle’s work demands the attention of religious scholars, political theorists, sociologists, anthropologists, and even economists. . . . He makes a compelling case for both the relevance of the history of religions in the academy and attending to the religious and theological dimensions of political life."

Adam D. Tietje | Journal of Church and State

"Yelle’s book is exemplary is this regard; it leverages comparison toward surprising, sharp revisions of the familiar story of religions as having laid the groundwork for the modern individual."

Paul Christopher Johnson | Sociology of Religion

"Yelle has ventured into a great subject: the relationship between religion and politics. He maintains that the two spheres exhibit essential similarities, both in regard to structure and content. . . . If we are to discuss the great changes in history, we need such books with the courage to propose a broad thesis."

Helmut Zander | H-Soz-Kult

"Astonishingly rich. . . . The book may be recommended to all readers who want to obtain a fuller picture of secularization and modernity, including neglected pieces from the history of religion."

Anne Koch | Journal of Religion in Europe

"In the models Yelle explores, sovereignty and the sacred appear inextricably bound to violence. . . The problem of necessary violence also raises the question of economy: must there always be some payment? Must a transaction occur? Violence and economy converge on the question: must there be a victim? . . What is clear is that Yelle’s comprehensive and perceptive study establishes an essential launching point for such concerns and shows us where the boundaries lie (arbitrary as they may be). The task now is to transgress such lines. Surely, such transgressions can be
called sacred."

Religious Studies Review

“Imagine Jubilee! Imagine the Sacred as the necessary companion to Sovereignty. Today. This is a deeply learned book. In the very best sense. Moving with grace across disciplinary divides and cultural boundaries, Yelle speaks to us with great urgency of the need for us to listen more carefully to the lessons of the past and the ethical resources it offers in these troubled times.”

Winnifred Fallers Sullivan, Indiana University, author of "A Ministry of Presence: Chaplaincy, Spiritual Care, and the Law"

“Tremendous. With an incredible depth and range of scholarship, Sovereignty and the Sacred makes a strong case for the continuing importance of the field of the history of religions and the comparative study of religion, and it makes a crucial intervention in theorizing religion. Yelle’s argument is rich, important, and deeply erudite. And it is just really interesting. This book will be essential reading for theorists of religion, political theologians, theorists of modernity and the secular, and those interested in religion and economics and religion and violence.”

Tyler Roberts, Grinnell College, author of "Encountering Religion: Responsibility and Criticism After Secularism"