Cox/Buddhism and Ireland, 4. Esotericism Against Empire

This chapter discusses the problem of non-conversion, with a view to understanding Buddhism and Ireland. Dublin Theosophy was not purely a literary phenomenon, but also a new religious movement opposed to exclusivist Christianity. This chapter further explores the role of Buddhism in the formation of Irish Theosophy and the religious politics of the choices within Irish Theosophy which explain the absence of a post-Theosophical Buddhist development. It also discusses the 1890s counter-culture of which Theosophy was part.