Paul Christopher Johnson
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195150582
- eISBN:
- 9780199834358
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195150589.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, World Religions
The introduction presents the concept of secretism and its relevance for the study of Brazilian Candomblé. Secretism is framed as a key issue brokering relations between indigenous religions and ...
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The introduction presents the concept of secretism and its relevance for the study of Brazilian Candomblé. Secretism is framed as a key issue brokering relations between indigenous religions and their host nation states. The overall strategy of the book is proffered, along with salient methodological notes and an introduction to the primary research sites.Less
The introduction presents the concept of secretism and its relevance for the study of Brazilian Candomblé. Secretism is framed as a key issue brokering relations between indigenous religions and their host nation states. The overall strategy of the book is proffered, along with salient methodological notes and an introduction to the primary research sites.
Jennifer Scheper Hughes
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195367065
- eISBN:
- 9780199867370
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195367065.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Church History
Mexico is famous for its notoriously graphic and bloody crucifixes depicting the broken and tortured body of Jesus on the cross. Images of Christ’s suffering frequently outnumber images of the Virgin ...
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Mexico is famous for its notoriously graphic and bloody crucifixes depicting the broken and tortured body of Jesus on the cross. Images of Christ’s suffering frequently outnumber images of the Virgin Mary in local and household devotions throughout Latin America. How do we explain the enduring significance of these images for the popular Roman Catholic faith of poor and ordinary Mexicans? Based on original archival and ethnographic research, this book uncovers the diverse and sometimes contradictory meanings that the symbol of the crucifix has held for indigenous and mestizo Mexicans over many centuries. By recounting the epic story of the Christianization of Mexico from the perspective of a specific, sculpted crucifix of colonial origin, this book offers a profoundly sympathetic portrait of indigenous Christian belief and practice and a lively defense of the diverse and “heterodox” local expressions of Christianity alive in the world today.Less
Mexico is famous for its notoriously graphic and bloody crucifixes depicting the broken and tortured body of Jesus on the cross. Images of Christ’s suffering frequently outnumber images of the Virgin Mary in local and household devotions throughout Latin America. How do we explain the enduring significance of these images for the popular Roman Catholic faith of poor and ordinary Mexicans? Based on original archival and ethnographic research, this book uncovers the diverse and sometimes contradictory meanings that the symbol of the crucifix has held for indigenous and mestizo Mexicans over many centuries. By recounting the epic story of the Christianization of Mexico from the perspective of a specific, sculpted crucifix of colonial origin, this book offers a profoundly sympathetic portrait of indigenous Christian belief and practice and a lively defense of the diverse and “heterodox” local expressions of Christianity alive in the world today.
Nicholas P. Cushner
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780195307566
- eISBN:
- 9780199784936
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195307569.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity
The abolishment of the indigenous religion in Mexico and the replacing it with the new was uppermost in the minds of Spanish officials. This was socially and politically important. The “Uprooting of ...
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The abolishment of the indigenous religion in Mexico and the replacing it with the new was uppermost in the minds of Spanish officials. This was socially and politically important. The “Uprooting of Idolatry”, the “extirpación de idolatría”, was undertaken in rural Mexico by the Jesuit, Alonso de Santarén, and by civil authorities.Less
The abolishment of the indigenous religion in Mexico and the replacing it with the new was uppermost in the minds of Spanish officials. This was socially and politically important. The “Uprooting of Idolatry”, the “extirpación de idolatría”, was undertaken in rural Mexico by the Jesuit, Alonso de Santarén, and by civil authorities.
David Chidester
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- September 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780226117263
- eISBN:
- 9780226117577
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226117577.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Religious Studies
As an introduction to a history of comparative religion, this chapter identifies the material mediations—imperial, colonial, and indigenous—that produced, authenticated, and circulated knowledge ...
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As an introduction to a history of comparative religion, this chapter identifies the material mediations—imperial, colonial, and indigenous—that produced, authenticated, and circulated knowledge about religion and religions. Highlighting the importance of indigenous African religion, especially Zulu and Thonga religion, in the emergence of imperial comparative religion between the 1870s and the 1920s, this chapter situates the history of the study of religion in the imperial, colonial, and indigenous exchanges within one zone of interaction, South Africa. Reviewing selected literature on the history of the study of religion and religions, the chapter shows how the discourse has moved from discovery, through invention, to intercultural mediations of knowledge about religion and religions.Less
As an introduction to a history of comparative religion, this chapter identifies the material mediations—imperial, colonial, and indigenous—that produced, authenticated, and circulated knowledge about religion and religions. Highlighting the importance of indigenous African religion, especially Zulu and Thonga religion, in the emergence of imperial comparative religion between the 1870s and the 1920s, this chapter situates the history of the study of religion in the imperial, colonial, and indigenous exchanges within one zone of interaction, South Africa. Reviewing selected literature on the history of the study of religion and religions, the chapter shows how the discourse has moved from discovery, through invention, to intercultural mediations of knowledge about religion and religions.
David Chidester
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- September 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780226117263
- eISBN:
- 9780226117577
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226117577.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Religious Studies
Providing a new history of the study of religion, Empire of Religion locates knowledge about religion and religions within the power relations of imperial ambitions, colonial situations, and ...
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Providing a new history of the study of religion, Empire of Religion locates knowledge about religion and religions within the power relations of imperial ambitions, colonial situations, and indigenous innovations. The book uncovers the material mediations—imperial, colonial, and indigenous—in which knowledge about religion was produced during the rise of an academic study of religion between the 1870s and the 1920s in Europe and North America. Focusing on one colonial contact zone, South Africa, as a crucial site of interaction, the book shows how imperial theorists such as Friedrich Max Müller, E. B. Tylor, Andrew Lang, and James Frazer depended upon the raw materials provided by colonial middlemen who in turn depended upon indigenous informants and collaborators undergoing colonization. Reversing the flow of knowledge production, African theorists such as W. E. B. Du Bois, S. M. Molema, and H. I. E. Dhlomo turned European imperial theorists of religion into informants in pursuing their own intellectual projects. By developing a material history of the study of religion, Empire of Religion documents the importance of African religion, the persistence of the great divide between savagery and civilization, and the salience of complex mediations in which knowledge about religion and religions was produced, authenticated, and circulated within imperial comparative religion. Empire of Religion shows how knowledge about religion and religions was entangled with imperialism from European empires to the neoimperial United States.Less
Providing a new history of the study of religion, Empire of Religion locates knowledge about religion and religions within the power relations of imperial ambitions, colonial situations, and indigenous innovations. The book uncovers the material mediations—imperial, colonial, and indigenous—in which knowledge about religion was produced during the rise of an academic study of religion between the 1870s and the 1920s in Europe and North America. Focusing on one colonial contact zone, South Africa, as a crucial site of interaction, the book shows how imperial theorists such as Friedrich Max Müller, E. B. Tylor, Andrew Lang, and James Frazer depended upon the raw materials provided by colonial middlemen who in turn depended upon indigenous informants and collaborators undergoing colonization. Reversing the flow of knowledge production, African theorists such as W. E. B. Du Bois, S. M. Molema, and H. I. E. Dhlomo turned European imperial theorists of religion into informants in pursuing their own intellectual projects. By developing a material history of the study of religion, Empire of Religion documents the importance of African religion, the persistence of the great divide between savagery and civilization, and the salience of complex mediations in which knowledge about religion and religions was produced, authenticated, and circulated within imperial comparative religion. Empire of Religion shows how knowledge about religion and religions was entangled with imperialism from European empires to the neoimperial United States.
Xi Lian
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- October 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780300123395
- eISBN:
- 9780300162837
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300123395.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Asian History
This book addresses the history and future of homegrown, mass Chinese Christianity. Drawing on a large collection of fresh sources—including contemporaneous accounts, diaries, memoirs, archival ...
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This book addresses the history and future of homegrown, mass Chinese Christianity. Drawing on a large collection of fresh sources—including contemporaneous accounts, diaries, memoirs, archival material, and interviews—it traces the transformation of Protestant Christianity in twentieth-century China from a small, beleaguered “missionary” church buffeted by antiforeignism to an indigenous popular religion energized by nationalism and millenarianism. The book shows that, with a current membership which rivals that of the Chinese Communist Party, and the ability to galvanize China's millions into apocalyptic convulsion and messianic exuberance, the popular Christian movement channels the aspirations and the discontent of the masses, and will play an important role in shaping the country's future.Less
This book addresses the history and future of homegrown, mass Chinese Christianity. Drawing on a large collection of fresh sources—including contemporaneous accounts, diaries, memoirs, archival material, and interviews—it traces the transformation of Protestant Christianity in twentieth-century China from a small, beleaguered “missionary” church buffeted by antiforeignism to an indigenous popular religion energized by nationalism and millenarianism. The book shows that, with a current membership which rivals that of the Chinese Communist Party, and the ability to galvanize China's millions into apocalyptic convulsion and messianic exuberance, the popular Christian movement channels the aspirations and the discontent of the masses, and will play an important role in shaping the country's future.
Ronald Niezen
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- March 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780199733453
- eISBN:
- 9780190258269
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:osobl/9780199733453.003.0007
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
This chapter examines whether the concept of human rights is compatible with indigenous religion. It begins with an overview of primordialism and its paradoxes, with particular emphasis on the ...
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This chapter examines whether the concept of human rights is compatible with indigenous religion. It begins with an overview of primordialism and its paradoxes, with particular emphasis on the emergence of human rights directed toward the rights of peoples, especially the rights of religious freedom of indigenous peoples. It then considers the emergence of the international movement of indigenous peoples and the assimilationist orientation to the rights of indigenous peoples, along with the objectification of indigenous religious claims and the link between indigenous spirituality and industrial modernity. It also discusses the role played by culturally defining public outreach and collaborative activism in mediating processes or “projects” of collective self-definition that translate to an indigenous worldview.Less
This chapter examines whether the concept of human rights is compatible with indigenous religion. It begins with an overview of primordialism and its paradoxes, with particular emphasis on the emergence of human rights directed toward the rights of peoples, especially the rights of religious freedom of indigenous peoples. It then considers the emergence of the international movement of indigenous peoples and the assimilationist orientation to the rights of indigenous peoples, along with the objectification of indigenous religious claims and the link between indigenous spirituality and industrial modernity. It also discusses the role played by culturally defining public outreach and collaborative activism in mediating processes or “projects” of collective self-definition that translate to an indigenous worldview.
Michael D. McNally
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- September 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780691190907
- eISBN:
- 9780691201511
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691190907.001.0001
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Native American Studies
From North Dakota's Standing Rock encampments to Arizona's San Francisco Peaks, Native Americans have repeatedly asserted legal rights to religious freedom to protect their sacred places, practices, ...
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From North Dakota's Standing Rock encampments to Arizona's San Francisco Peaks, Native Americans have repeatedly asserted legal rights to religious freedom to protect their sacred places, practices, objects, knowledge, and ancestral remains. But these claims have met with little success in court because Native American communal traditions don't fit easily into modern Western definitions of religion. This book explores how, in response to this situation, Native peoples have creatively turned to other legal means to safeguard what matters to them. To articulate their claims, Native peoples have resourcefully used the languages of cultural resources under environmental and historic preservation law; of sovereignty under treaty-based federal Indian law; and, increasingly, of Indigenous rights under international human rights law. Along the way, Native nations still draw on the rhetorical power of religious freedom to gain legislative and regulatory successes beyond the First Amendment. This book casts new light on discussions of religious freedom, cultural resource management, and the vitality of Indigenous religions today.Less
From North Dakota's Standing Rock encampments to Arizona's San Francisco Peaks, Native Americans have repeatedly asserted legal rights to religious freedom to protect their sacred places, practices, objects, knowledge, and ancestral remains. But these claims have met with little success in court because Native American communal traditions don't fit easily into modern Western definitions of religion. This book explores how, in response to this situation, Native peoples have creatively turned to other legal means to safeguard what matters to them. To articulate their claims, Native peoples have resourcefully used the languages of cultural resources under environmental and historic preservation law; of sovereignty under treaty-based federal Indian law; and, increasingly, of Indigenous rights under international human rights law. Along the way, Native nations still draw on the rhetorical power of religious freedom to gain legislative and regulatory successes beyond the First Amendment. This book casts new light on discussions of religious freedom, cultural resource management, and the vitality of Indigenous religions today.
Cephas N. Omenyo
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- May 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195393408
- eISBN:
- 9780199894390
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195393408.003.0012
- Subject:
- Religion, World Religions
This chapter traces how Charismatic healing practices long prominent in African Independent Churches/African Instituted Churches and Pentecostal churches have become central in all the traditionally ...
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This chapter traces how Charismatic healing practices long prominent in African Independent Churches/African Instituted Churches and Pentecostal churches have become central in all the traditionally mainline/historic churches in Ghana, focusing on Akan ethnic churches: Roman Catholic Church in Ghana, Presbyterian Church of Ghana, and Methodist Church Ghana. Non-pentecostal Western missionaries established mainline churches in the early nineteenth century. To stem the exodus of members to AICs and Pentecostals, from the 1970s lay-led Charismatic renewal movements within mainline churches departed from missionary heritages influenced by an Enlightenment worldview developed in non-African cultures. For most Akan/African Christians, as for practitioners of African indigenous religions, religion must meet existential needs. The universe seems filled with benevolent and malevolent spirits; the Devil and demons cause sickness or render medicine impotent; and salvation includes healing and deliverance or liberation. When sick, Akans typically try hospitals, traditional healers, Muslim spiritualists, and churches until one finds healing.Less
This chapter traces how Charismatic healing practices long prominent in African Independent Churches/African Instituted Churches and Pentecostal churches have become central in all the traditionally mainline/historic churches in Ghana, focusing on Akan ethnic churches: Roman Catholic Church in Ghana, Presbyterian Church of Ghana, and Methodist Church Ghana. Non-pentecostal Western missionaries established mainline churches in the early nineteenth century. To stem the exodus of members to AICs and Pentecostals, from the 1970s lay-led Charismatic renewal movements within mainline churches departed from missionary heritages influenced by an Enlightenment worldview developed in non-African cultures. For most Akan/African Christians, as for practitioners of African indigenous religions, religion must meet existential needs. The universe seems filled with benevolent and malevolent spirits; the Devil and demons cause sickness or render medicine impotent; and salvation includes healing and deliverance or liberation. When sick, Akans typically try hospitals, traditional healers, Muslim spiritualists, and churches until one finds healing.
Rosalind I. J. Hackett
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- January 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780226248479
- eISBN:
- 9780226248646
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226248646.003.0009
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
This essay describes the active resistance to both Christian and Islamic efforts in sub-Saharan Africa to exclude the indigenous religious traditions of Africa from legal protection. African ...
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This essay describes the active resistance to both Christian and Islamic efforts in sub-Saharan Africa to exclude the indigenous religious traditions of Africa from legal protection. African traditional or indigenous religions are often not acknowledged as “religions” due to a lack of centralized structure and leadership. Hackett explores the legal prejudice African religious practitioners encounter both locally and internationally.Less
This essay describes the active resistance to both Christian and Islamic efforts in sub-Saharan Africa to exclude the indigenous religious traditions of Africa from legal protection. African traditional or indigenous religions are often not acknowledged as “religions” due to a lack of centralized structure and leadership. Hackett explores the legal prejudice African religious practitioners encounter both locally and internationally.
David Chidester
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- January 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780520297654
- eISBN:
- 9780520969933
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520297654.003.0011
- Subject:
- Religion, Religious Studies
Apartheid was established in South Africa between 1948 and 1994 as a force of exclusion and incorporation, excluding people from citizenship and exploiting people as labor. This chapter suggests that ...
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Apartheid was established in South Africa between 1948 and 1994 as a force of exclusion and incorporation, excluding people from citizenship and exploiting people as labor. This chapter suggests that the term apartheid, meaning “separation,” was formative for certain ways of thinking about religion. One of the architects of apartheid, the anthropologist W. M. Eiselen, was a leading expert on indigenous religions in South Africa. Eiselen’s writings on African religion illustrate three overlapping types of comparative religion—a frontier comparative religion based on denial and containment; an imperial comparative religion assuming evolutionary progress from savagery to civilization; and an apartheid comparative religion creating and reinforcing boundaries to keep people apart. Although apartheid was formally established as a racist policy of separation in South Africa, the making and maintaining of boundaries has been a recurring feature of religious formations.Less
Apartheid was established in South Africa between 1948 and 1994 as a force of exclusion and incorporation, excluding people from citizenship and exploiting people as labor. This chapter suggests that the term apartheid, meaning “separation,” was formative for certain ways of thinking about religion. One of the architects of apartheid, the anthropologist W. M. Eiselen, was a leading expert on indigenous religions in South Africa. Eiselen’s writings on African religion illustrate three overlapping types of comparative religion—a frontier comparative religion based on denial and containment; an imperial comparative religion assuming evolutionary progress from savagery to civilization; and an apartheid comparative religion creating and reinforcing boundaries to keep people apart. Although apartheid was formally established as a racist policy of separation in South Africa, the making and maintaining of boundaries has been a recurring feature of religious formations.
David Chidester
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- January 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780520297654
- eISBN:
- 9780520969933
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520297654.003.0012
- Subject:
- Religion, Religious Studies
This chapter considers shamans in their circulations through colonial situations. As a characteristic feature of shamanism, mobility is evident in the shaman’s capacity to move between worlds—the ...
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This chapter considers shamans in their circulations through colonial situations. As a characteristic feature of shamanism, mobility is evident in the shaman’s capacity to move between worlds—the material and the spiritual—but also in moving between central and marginal positions under the impact of various imperial impositions and colonial situations. The Chinese and Russian empires, for example, dramatically altered shamanic geography, restricting freedom of movement in ways that directly affected spiritual mobility. In competitions over sacred geography and sacred resources, the Chinese and Russian empires altered the mediating roles of Siberian shamans. As the term shaman circulated as a generic term for a religious specialist in other parts of the world, Europeans associated shamans with wild and dangerous spiritual forces. Under colonial conditions, features associated with shamanism, such as spiritual travel, healing, indigenous memory, and secrecy, changed into strategies of opposition to the incursions of alien political and religious forces.Less
This chapter considers shamans in their circulations through colonial situations. As a characteristic feature of shamanism, mobility is evident in the shaman’s capacity to move between worlds—the material and the spiritual—but also in moving between central and marginal positions under the impact of various imperial impositions and colonial situations. The Chinese and Russian empires, for example, dramatically altered shamanic geography, restricting freedom of movement in ways that directly affected spiritual mobility. In competitions over sacred geography and sacred resources, the Chinese and Russian empires altered the mediating roles of Siberian shamans. As the term shaman circulated as a generic term for a religious specialist in other parts of the world, Europeans associated shamans with wild and dangerous spiritual forces. Under colonial conditions, features associated with shamanism, such as spiritual travel, healing, indigenous memory, and secrecy, changed into strategies of opposition to the incursions of alien political and religious forces.
Don Baker
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- November 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780824832339
- eISBN:
- 9780824869373
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Hawai'i Press
- DOI:
- 10.21313/hawaii/9780824832339.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, World Religions
Korea has one of the most dynamic and diverse religious cultures of any nation on earth. Koreans are highly religious, yet no single religious community enjoys dominance. Buddhists share the Korean ...
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Korea has one of the most dynamic and diverse religious cultures of any nation on earth. Koreans are highly religious, yet no single religious community enjoys dominance. Buddhists share the Korean religious landscape with both Protestant and Catholic Christians as well as with shamans, Confucians, and practitioners of numerous new religions. As a result, Korea is a fruitful site for the exploration of the various manifestations of spirituality in the modern world. At the same time, however, the complexity of the country's religious topography can overwhelm the novice explorer. Emphasizing the attitudes and aspirations of the Korean people rather than ideology, this book navigates the highways and byways of Korean spirituality. It adopts a broad approach that distinguishes the different roles that folk religion, Buddhism, Confucianism, Christianity, and indigenous new religions have played in Korea in the past and continue to play in the present while identifying commonalities behind that diversity to illuminate the distinctive nature of spirituality on the Korean peninsula.Less
Korea has one of the most dynamic and diverse religious cultures of any nation on earth. Koreans are highly religious, yet no single religious community enjoys dominance. Buddhists share the Korean religious landscape with both Protestant and Catholic Christians as well as with shamans, Confucians, and practitioners of numerous new religions. As a result, Korea is a fruitful site for the exploration of the various manifestations of spirituality in the modern world. At the same time, however, the complexity of the country's religious topography can overwhelm the novice explorer. Emphasizing the attitudes and aspirations of the Korean people rather than ideology, this book navigates the highways and byways of Korean spirituality. It adopts a broad approach that distinguishes the different roles that folk religion, Buddhism, Confucianism, Christianity, and indigenous new religions have played in Korea in the past and continue to play in the present while identifying commonalities behind that diversity to illuminate the distinctive nature of spirituality on the Korean peninsula.
Michael Lambek
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- January 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780226248479
- eISBN:
- 9780226248646
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226248646.003.0029
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
Lambek considers the epistemic dislocation of privileging the individual as against those whose sense of self is embedded within the personhood of ancestors, both dead and alive. Using the example of ...
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Lambek considers the epistemic dislocation of privileging the individual as against those whose sense of self is embedded within the personhood of ancestors, both dead and alive. Using the example of Madagascar, he argues that certain religious beliefs are more legible to the governing elite than others. Lambek describes a variety of ways of being religious in Madagascar that not only cross borders of faith traditions but exceed the categories of belief and conscience altogether.Less
Lambek considers the epistemic dislocation of privileging the individual as against those whose sense of self is embedded within the personhood of ancestors, both dead and alive. Using the example of Madagascar, he argues that certain religious beliefs are more legible to the governing elite than others. Lambek describes a variety of ways of being religious in Madagascar that not only cross borders of faith traditions but exceed the categories of belief and conscience altogether.
Trude Fonneland
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- March 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780190678821
- eISBN:
- 9780190699239
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190678821.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, World Religions
The cultural creation developed by practitioners of shamanism in Norway provides insight into processes of religious creation and creativity. These developments and increasing spiritual inventiveness ...
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The cultural creation developed by practitioners of shamanism in Norway provides insight into processes of religious creation and creativity. These developments and increasing spiritual inventiveness are the focus of this chapter. I am particularly interested in how and what happens when the global culture of shamanism interacts with a specific local culture, in this case, Norwegian society. Drawing on developments within the field of shamanism in Norway, the chapter ventures between the local and global, highlighting how American Indian symbolism might serve as a spark that prompts a spiritual seeker to step onto the path of spirituality, making what is perceived as local traditions the basis for a new global religious movement.Less
The cultural creation developed by practitioners of shamanism in Norway provides insight into processes of religious creation and creativity. These developments and increasing spiritual inventiveness are the focus of this chapter. I am particularly interested in how and what happens when the global culture of shamanism interacts with a specific local culture, in this case, Norwegian society. Drawing on developments within the field of shamanism in Norway, the chapter ventures between the local and global, highlighting how American Indian symbolism might serve as a spark that prompts a spiritual seeker to step onto the path of spirituality, making what is perceived as local traditions the basis for a new global religious movement.
S. Zohreh Kermani
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- March 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780814769744
- eISBN:
- 9780814744987
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9780814769744.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, World Religions
This chapter explores the manifold and conflicting histories of contemporary Paganism and how these varied understandings both reflect and influence Pagans' understandings of their religion, along ...
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This chapter explores the manifold and conflicting histories of contemporary Paganism and how these varied understandings both reflect and influence Pagans' understandings of their religion, along with the differing ways of approaching and understanding Pagan religion, parenting, childhood, and daily life. Three primary groups of Pagan families are central to this narrative: the families of Silverling Circle in New Hampshire, the families of Dragon Moon/Spiral Winds Coven in Texas, and the First Church of Wicca in Massachusetts. The chapter also presents four perspectives on the issue of Pagan identity in the United States: Paganism as a prehistoric indigenous religion, as an earth-based nature religion, as the heir to the esoteric and Mind Cure movements of the nineteenth century, and as an eclectic integration of beliefs and practices from globally non-Christian traditions.Less
This chapter explores the manifold and conflicting histories of contemporary Paganism and how these varied understandings both reflect and influence Pagans' understandings of their religion, along with the differing ways of approaching and understanding Pagan religion, parenting, childhood, and daily life. Three primary groups of Pagan families are central to this narrative: the families of Silverling Circle in New Hampshire, the families of Dragon Moon/Spiral Winds Coven in Texas, and the First Church of Wicca in Massachusetts. The chapter also presents four perspectives on the issue of Pagan identity in the United States: Paganism as a prehistoric indigenous religion, as an earth-based nature religion, as the heir to the esoteric and Mind Cure movements of the nineteenth century, and as an eclectic integration of beliefs and practices from globally non-Christian traditions.
Todd Hartch
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199844593
- eISBN:
- 9780199358304
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199844593.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity
This section reviews the history of Christianity in Latin America and introduces the main themes of the rest of the book. Four centuries of Catholicism prepared the way for the stunning rise of ...
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This section reviews the history of Christianity in Latin America and introduces the main themes of the rest of the book. Four centuries of Catholicism prepared the way for the stunning rise of Protestantism in the twentieth century. After 1950 the region experienced the rise of Pentecostalism, the growth of new movements within the Catholic Church, and an antagonistic but nevertheless fruitful relationship between Catholicism and Protestantism. At the same time, Protestants often provided a valuable service by breaking the religious monopoly held by indigenous religion in rural villages. Once they had done so, it was not just Protestants who benefited but institutional and theological forms of Catholicism as well.Less
This section reviews the history of Christianity in Latin America and introduces the main themes of the rest of the book. Four centuries of Catholicism prepared the way for the stunning rise of Protestantism in the twentieth century. After 1950 the region experienced the rise of Pentecostalism, the growth of new movements within the Catholic Church, and an antagonistic but nevertheless fruitful relationship between Catholicism and Protestantism. At the same time, Protestants often provided a valuable service by breaking the religious monopoly held by indigenous religion in rural villages. Once they had done so, it was not just Protestants who benefited but institutional and theological forms of Catholicism as well.
Margaret Kartomi
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- April 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780252036712
- eISBN:
- 9780252093821
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Illinois Press
- DOI:
- 10.5406/illinois/9780252036712.003.0014
- Subject:
- Music, Ethnomusicology, World Music
This concluding chapter highlights some of the connections between the traditional styles and genres of the performing arts across Sumatra, paying attention to the impact of indigenous religions and ...
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This concluding chapter highlights some of the connections between the traditional styles and genres of the performing arts across Sumatra, paying attention to the impact of indigenous religions and Islam as well as classification of the musical instruments and ensembles. It also considers how the musical arts are linked to myths and legends, and how myths and art forms are related to indigenous religious beliefs. Finally, it discusses Hindu myths and art forms; Muslim-associated myths and legends and art forms; Chinese myths and art forms; dances and music-dance relationships; connections between the performing arts in Sumatra's Malay subgroups and social classes; gender factors; signal items of Sumatran identity and local uniqueness; and major changes in the performing arts since around 1900. The chapter suggests that more research into the whole of greater Sumatra is needed in order to elucidate the extent to which an understanding of these connections can contribute to a concept of Sumatra's performing arts as a unified whole.Less
This concluding chapter highlights some of the connections between the traditional styles and genres of the performing arts across Sumatra, paying attention to the impact of indigenous religions and Islam as well as classification of the musical instruments and ensembles. It also considers how the musical arts are linked to myths and legends, and how myths and art forms are related to indigenous religious beliefs. Finally, it discusses Hindu myths and art forms; Muslim-associated myths and legends and art forms; Chinese myths and art forms; dances and music-dance relationships; connections between the performing arts in Sumatra's Malay subgroups and social classes; gender factors; signal items of Sumatran identity and local uniqueness; and major changes in the performing arts since around 1900. The chapter suggests that more research into the whole of greater Sumatra is needed in order to elucidate the extent to which an understanding of these connections can contribute to a concept of Sumatra's performing arts as a unified whole.
Noah Salomon
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- January 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780226248479
- eISBN:
- 9780226248646
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226248646.003.0028
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
This essay discusses the law and politics of religious freedom in the recently created state of South Sudan. Christianity often serves as a proxy for national culture and marginalizes indigenous ...
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This essay discusses the law and politics of religious freedom in the recently created state of South Sudan. Christianity often serves as a proxy for national culture and marginalizes indigenous African traditions and Islam. Categorizing the populace according to faith affiliations forecloses and solidifies religious boundaries in a country where boundaries are fluid and the socio-political order is in transition.Less
This essay discusses the law and politics of religious freedom in the recently created state of South Sudan. Christianity often serves as a proxy for national culture and marginalizes indigenous African traditions and Islam. Categorizing the populace according to faith affiliations forecloses and solidifies religious boundaries in a country where boundaries are fluid and the socio-political order is in transition.
Helen Hardacre
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- December 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780190621711
- eISBN:
- 9780190621742
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190621711.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, World Religions
The aim of this book is to understand the history of an enduring ideal of Shinto. In this ideal, a divinely descended ruler governs through rituals for deities called Kami. A priestly order assists ...
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The aim of this book is to understand the history of an enduring ideal of Shinto. In this ideal, a divinely descended ruler governs through rituals for deities called Kami. A priestly order assists the sovereign by coordinating Kami ritual in shrines across the realm, so that shrine rites mirror the monarch’s ceremonies. Through the power of solemn rituals and joyous festivals, the priesthood unites the people with imperial rule. The Kami bless and protect the people, who attain their greatest self-realization through fulfilling their obligations to the collective. Through this theater of state, the human, natural, and supernatural worlds align in perfect harmony and prosper. The book seeks to understand this ideal’s historical origins, development, affective dimensions, and potential to motivate action. The constituent elements of the ideal of Shinto emerged gradually. They include changing concepts of Kami, associations between imperial rule and ritual, a government unit devoted to coordinating ritual throughout the nation’s shrines, a code of law mandating an annual calendar of Kami ritual, the claim that rituals for the Kami are public in character, and the assertion that this complex of ideas and institutions embodies Japan’s “indigenous” tradition. Shinto is often called “the indigenous religion of Japan,” but arguments concerning both its religiosity and its indigeneity are central to its history. The book investigates claims about Shinto as the embodiment of indigenous tradition, and assertions about its rightful place in the public realm, focusing on these debates and the modern controversies regarding whether Shinto should be considered a religion, not to answer these questions but instead to explain their religious, political, and social significance.Less
The aim of this book is to understand the history of an enduring ideal of Shinto. In this ideal, a divinely descended ruler governs through rituals for deities called Kami. A priestly order assists the sovereign by coordinating Kami ritual in shrines across the realm, so that shrine rites mirror the monarch’s ceremonies. Through the power of solemn rituals and joyous festivals, the priesthood unites the people with imperial rule. The Kami bless and protect the people, who attain their greatest self-realization through fulfilling their obligations to the collective. Through this theater of state, the human, natural, and supernatural worlds align in perfect harmony and prosper. The book seeks to understand this ideal’s historical origins, development, affective dimensions, and potential to motivate action. The constituent elements of the ideal of Shinto emerged gradually. They include changing concepts of Kami, associations between imperial rule and ritual, a government unit devoted to coordinating ritual throughout the nation’s shrines, a code of law mandating an annual calendar of Kami ritual, the claim that rituals for the Kami are public in character, and the assertion that this complex of ideas and institutions embodies Japan’s “indigenous” tradition. Shinto is often called “the indigenous religion of Japan,” but arguments concerning both its religiosity and its indigeneity are central to its history. The book investigates claims about Shinto as the embodiment of indigenous tradition, and assertions about its rightful place in the public realm, focusing on these debates and the modern controversies regarding whether Shinto should be considered a religion, not to answer these questions but instead to explain their religious, political, and social significance.