Glenn Dynner
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- January 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195175226
- eISBN:
- 9780199785148
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195175226.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
This chapter evaluates the movement's grassroots appeal through its miracle working enterprises, arguing that Polish zaddikim were neither charlatans, nor were they, technically speaking, “popular” ...
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This chapter evaluates the movement's grassroots appeal through its miracle working enterprises, arguing that Polish zaddikim were neither charlatans, nor were they, technically speaking, “popular” leaders. In their embrace of folk religion, they were apparently sincere and differed little from traditional mystical practitioners,ba'alei shem, but differed markedly in their social status and concomitant influence among the Jewish masses and Polish officialdom. Women and youth obtained unprecedented access to zaddikim; yet followers from the Jewish elite granted special or lengthier audiences and were groomed for leadership succession. The chapter concludes with a look at the most ambivalent zaddik with respect to miracle working, R. Simha Bunem of Przysucha.Less
This chapter evaluates the movement's grassroots appeal through its miracle working enterprises, arguing that Polish zaddikim were neither charlatans, nor were they, technically speaking, “popular” leaders. In their embrace of folk religion, they were apparently sincere and differed little from traditional mystical practitioners,ba'alei shem, but differed markedly in their social status and concomitant influence among the Jewish masses and Polish officialdom. Women and youth obtained unprecedented access to zaddikim; yet followers from the Jewish elite granted special or lengthier audiences and were groomed for leadership succession. The chapter concludes with a look at the most ambivalent zaddik with respect to miracle working, R. Simha Bunem of Przysucha.
Peter van der Veer
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691128146
- eISBN:
- 9781400848553
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691128146.003.0005
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Social and Cultural Anthropology
This chapter addresses the question of “popular religion” and the relation between religion and magic in India and China. The categories of popular belief, superstition, and magic have been used by ...
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This chapter addresses the question of “popular religion” and the relation between religion and magic in India and China. The categories of popular belief, superstition, and magic have been used by modernizers in India and China to intervene in people's daily practices and remove obstacles to the total transformation of their communities. These attempts have developed in different ways in India and China, but in neither case have they been entirely successful. After a historical discussion of heterodoxy, messianic movements, and political protest, the chapter delineates the transformation of popular religion in India and China under the influence of liberalization of the economy and globalization.Less
This chapter addresses the question of “popular religion” and the relation between religion and magic in India and China. The categories of popular belief, superstition, and magic have been used by modernizers in India and China to intervene in people's daily practices and remove obstacles to the total transformation of their communities. These attempts have developed in different ways in India and China, but in neither case have they been entirely successful. After a historical discussion of heterodoxy, messianic movements, and political protest, the chapter delineates the transformation of popular religion in India and China under the influence of liberalization of the economy and globalization.
John McManners
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198270041
- eISBN:
- 9780191600692
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198270046.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Church History
The second volume of this study of the relations between the Catholic Church and society in eighteenth‐century France covers the topics of popular religion; the clergy and morals; the Jansenist ...
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The second volume of this study of the relations between the Catholic Church and society in eighteenth‐century France covers the topics of popular religion; the clergy and morals; the Jansenist controversy in its religious and political aspects; the expulsion of the Jesuits; the religious minorities and the issue of toleration; and the crisis of the ancien régime in its politico‐religious dimension. The section on the ‘religion of the people’ considers, in particular, the distinctions between the intentions of the clergy in imposing their version of Christianity on the people and how these were popularly interpreted and incorporated into the social order. The statistical evidence concerning religious practice and conviction is critically assessed. The meanings and importance of processions, pilgrimages, superstitions, hermits, confraternities, and literacy and Bible reading are discussed along with the world of magic and sorcery. The efficacy of confession and writings on morality is considered with reference to sexual mores, business practice, and the theatre. The role of religious issues in political affairs is discussed in detail, linking the Jansenist quarrel and the role of the Jesuits to the developing struggle between the crown and the parlement of Paris, giving due consideration to the role of ideas and how ecclesiastical affairs impinged upon the sovereign courts. An extended evocation of the life of the Protestant and Jewish communities introduces the debate on toleration and how it further embroiled the Gallican Church in political controversies. The final section describes the role of churchmen, from bishops to the disaffected lower clergy, in the coming of the Revolution. As in the first volume, the influence of Enlightenment thought is examined in all sections in relation to the rising force of anti‐clericalism and to tensions within the ecclesiastical establishment.Less
The second volume of this study of the relations between the Catholic Church and society in eighteenth‐century France covers the topics of popular religion; the clergy and morals; the Jansenist controversy in its religious and political aspects; the expulsion of the Jesuits; the religious minorities and the issue of toleration; and the crisis of the ancien régime in its politico‐religious dimension. The section on the ‘religion of the people’ considers, in particular, the distinctions between the intentions of the clergy in imposing their version of Christianity on the people and how these were popularly interpreted and incorporated into the social order. The statistical evidence concerning religious practice and conviction is critically assessed. The meanings and importance of processions, pilgrimages, superstitions, hermits, confraternities, and literacy and Bible reading are discussed along with the world of magic and sorcery. The efficacy of confession and writings on morality is considered with reference to sexual mores, business practice, and the theatre. The role of religious issues in political affairs is discussed in detail, linking the Jansenist quarrel and the role of the Jesuits to the developing struggle between the crown and the parlement of Paris, giving due consideration to the role of ideas and how ecclesiastical affairs impinged upon the sovereign courts. An extended evocation of the life of the Protestant and Jewish communities introduces the debate on toleration and how it further embroiled the Gallican Church in political controversies. The final section describes the role of churchmen, from bishops to the disaffected lower clergy, in the coming of the Revolution. As in the first volume, the influence of Enlightenment thought is examined in all sections in relation to the rising force of anti‐clericalism and to tensions within the ecclesiastical establishment.
John McManners
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198270041
- eISBN:
- 9780191600692
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198270046.003.0008
- Subject:
- Religion, Church History
Methodological problems abound in the study of the history of popular religion, and it is better not to make too rigid a division between the religion of the people and that of the clerical ...
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Methodological problems abound in the study of the history of popular religion, and it is better not to make too rigid a division between the religion of the people and that of the clerical establishment. Literacy was growing in the eighteenth century and most reading matter had a religious content, but its use for the understanding of popular mentalities is limited. The reforming clergy saw themselves as the guardians of morals and made a consistent effort to suppress frivolity at religious festivities and to limit the number of holidays; here acting in concert with the state and Enlightenment reformers who wished to limit the days on which people did not work. The clergy also sought to control the credulity of the people by asserting their control over what should be considered a miracle and by absorbing folk practices into the fabric of routine institutional religion.Less
Methodological problems abound in the study of the history of popular religion, and it is better not to make too rigid a division between the religion of the people and that of the clerical establishment. Literacy was growing in the eighteenth century and most reading matter had a religious content, but its use for the understanding of popular mentalities is limited. The reforming clergy saw themselves as the guardians of morals and made a consistent effort to suppress frivolity at religious festivities and to limit the number of holidays; here acting in concert with the state and Enlightenment reformers who wished to limit the days on which people did not work. The clergy also sought to control the credulity of the people by asserting their control over what should be considered a miracle and by absorbing folk practices into the fabric of routine institutional religion.
Jennifer Scheper Hughes
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195367065
- eISBN:
- 9780199867370
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195367065.003.0009
- Subject:
- Religion, Church History
Over decades a series of renovations has softened some of the most dolorous features of the Cristo Aparecido and thus the physical image has come to more closely represent the faith of his devotees, ...
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Over decades a series of renovations has softened some of the most dolorous features of the Cristo Aparecido and thus the physical image has come to more closely represent the faith of his devotees, for whom the theme of suffering is often muted or even absent. This book has suggested that the fate of Mexican cristos, like the Aparecido, and the fate of Mexico’s indigenous communities are wedded together. Today the emotions of tenderness and affection for the Cristo predominate spiritual engagement. This work has attempted to bring the reader to share, if even for a moment, in these same sentiments.Less
Over decades a series of renovations has softened some of the most dolorous features of the Cristo Aparecido and thus the physical image has come to more closely represent the faith of his devotees, for whom the theme of suffering is often muted or even absent. This book has suggested that the fate of Mexican cristos, like the Aparecido, and the fate of Mexico’s indigenous communities are wedded together. Today the emotions of tenderness and affection for the Cristo predominate spiritual engagement. This work has attempted to bring the reader to share, if even for a moment, in these same sentiments.
Frank Graziano
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- January 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195171303
- eISBN:
- 9780199785193
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195171303.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity
This book presents an interpretive overview of folk saint devotions in the Spanish-speaking Americas. The chapters are dedicated to folk saints from Argentina, Mexico, and Peru: Difunta Correa, ...
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This book presents an interpretive overview of folk saint devotions in the Spanish-speaking Americas. The chapters are dedicated to folk saints from Argentina, Mexico, and Peru: Difunta Correa, Gaucho Gil, Niño Compadrito, Niño Fidencio, San La Muerte, and Sarita Colonia. The introduction and conclusion treat themes such as tragic death, curanderos (healers), miracles, the maintenance and growth of devotions, virginity and sexuality, myth formation, and spiritual contracts. All of these are considered in the broader contexts of orthodox and folk Catholicism and of regional culture.Less
This book presents an interpretive overview of folk saint devotions in the Spanish-speaking Americas. The chapters are dedicated to folk saints from Argentina, Mexico, and Peru: Difunta Correa, Gaucho Gil, Niño Compadrito, Niño Fidencio, San La Muerte, and Sarita Colonia. The introduction and conclusion treat themes such as tragic death, curanderos (healers), miracles, the maintenance and growth of devotions, virginity and sexuality, myth formation, and spiritual contracts. All of these are considered in the broader contexts of orthodox and folk Catholicism and of regional culture.
Andrew R. Holmes
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- January 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199288656
- eISBN:
- 9780191710759
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199288656.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Church History
Until now, scholars of Ulster Presbyterianism have focused upon internal theological debates, institutions, and the political implications of Presbyterian theology as a way to explain the origins of ...
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Until now, scholars of Ulster Presbyterianism have focused upon internal theological debates, institutions, and the political implications of Presbyterian theology as a way to explain the origins of the United Irish movement and the swift conversion of Presbyterians to support for the Union with Great Britain thereafter. This book breaks new ground by considering the religious beliefs and practices of Presbyterians in their own right. It examines the various forms of public and private religiosity in order to determine how the community should be characterized. By stressing the integrity and importance of religious motivation, this book examines the dynamic relationship between the beliefs and practice prescribed by the church and those held by the laity, the rise to prominence of evangelicalism and its roots within the Presbyterian theological tradition, and the variety of Presbyterianism in terms of theological belief, social standing, gender, and regional location. During this period, Presbyterian belief and practice was shaped by three principal influences: tradition in the form of the doctrinal standards of the church and also those beliefs and customs of long continuance held by the laity; the forces of reform, particularly evangelicalism, that attempted to transform the structures and beliefs of the church and remove the popular accretions upon official Presbyterian belief and practice; finally, the programme of reform evangelicals embarked upon from the 1820s was stimulated by a broader revival of religion from the 1790s, entailed a revival of traditional Presbyterian practice as laid down in the Westminster standards, and would act as a stimulus to a further revival of religion within the denomination. Rather than seeing evangelicalism as a byword for religious enthusiasm and unbridled individualism, this book defines it as a movement for reformation and revival within Presbyterianism that had its roots in the Presbyterian religious tradition and which ultimately produced the 1859 revival.Less
Until now, scholars of Ulster Presbyterianism have focused upon internal theological debates, institutions, and the political implications of Presbyterian theology as a way to explain the origins of the United Irish movement and the swift conversion of Presbyterians to support for the Union with Great Britain thereafter. This book breaks new ground by considering the religious beliefs and practices of Presbyterians in their own right. It examines the various forms of public and private religiosity in order to determine how the community should be characterized. By stressing the integrity and importance of religious motivation, this book examines the dynamic relationship between the beliefs and practice prescribed by the church and those held by the laity, the rise to prominence of evangelicalism and its roots within the Presbyterian theological tradition, and the variety of Presbyterianism in terms of theological belief, social standing, gender, and regional location. During this period, Presbyterian belief and practice was shaped by three principal influences: tradition in the form of the doctrinal standards of the church and also those beliefs and customs of long continuance held by the laity; the forces of reform, particularly evangelicalism, that attempted to transform the structures and beliefs of the church and remove the popular accretions upon official Presbyterian belief and practice; finally, the programme of reform evangelicals embarked upon from the 1820s was stimulated by a broader revival of religion from the 1790s, entailed a revival of traditional Presbyterian practice as laid down in the Westminster standards, and would act as a stimulus to a further revival of religion within the denomination. Rather than seeing evangelicalism as a byword for religious enthusiasm and unbridled individualism, this book defines it as a movement for reformation and revival within Presbyterianism that had its roots in the Presbyterian religious tradition and which ultimately produced the 1859 revival.
Meredith B. McGuire
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195172621
- eISBN:
- 9780199851942
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195172621.003.0004
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
This chapter examines the present day practice of popular religions, particularly those of southern White evangelicals in the United States. Individual religious practice is so complex because many ...
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This chapter examines the present day practice of popular religions, particularly those of southern White evangelicals in the United States. Individual religious practice is so complex because many people use not only official religious traditions but also popular traditions and other unapproved sources of religious beliefs and practices. Religious eclecticism and combination is not restricted to the poor, the immigrants, and the uneducated. It typifies nearly every sector of the religious population, including the southern white evangelicals who were considered as the most committed of churchgoers and the most conservative in their old-time religious tradition.Less
This chapter examines the present day practice of popular religions, particularly those of southern White evangelicals in the United States. Individual religious practice is so complex because many people use not only official religious traditions but also popular traditions and other unapproved sources of religious beliefs and practices. Religious eclecticism and combination is not restricted to the poor, the immigrants, and the uneducated. It typifies nearly every sector of the religious population, including the southern white evangelicals who were considered as the most committed of churchgoers and the most conservative in their old-time religious tradition.
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.
John McManners
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198270041
- eISBN:
- 9780191600692
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198270046.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, Church History
To the reformist clergy, some of the traditional pieties of Catholicism, notably processions, the cult of relics, pilgrimages, and the presence and life of hermits, had become marginal and at best in ...
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To the reformist clergy, some of the traditional pieties of Catholicism, notably processions, the cult of relics, pilgrimages, and the presence and life of hermits, had become marginal and at best in need of oversight. All of these, however, remained popular with ordinary people, and the majority of the clergy supported and took part in them. Marginal activities covered a wide range of practices, from ostentatious processions in towns and long pilgrimages to manifestations of local piety, originating in ancient vows and expressing the unity of the community. They also provided occasions for social enjoyment and merriment; viewed with irony by reformers and Enlightened thinkers, but not considered by the majority as incompatible with true piety.Less
To the reformist clergy, some of the traditional pieties of Catholicism, notably processions, the cult of relics, pilgrimages, and the presence and life of hermits, had become marginal and at best in need of oversight. All of these, however, remained popular with ordinary people, and the majority of the clergy supported and took part in them. Marginal activities covered a wide range of practices, from ostentatious processions in towns and long pilgrimages to manifestations of local piety, originating in ancient vows and expressing the unity of the community. They also provided occasions for social enjoyment and merriment; viewed with irony by reformers and Enlightened thinkers, but not considered by the majority as incompatible with true piety.
Jennifer Scheper Hughes
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195367065
- eISBN:
- 9780199867370
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195367065.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, Church History
In the twentieth century traditional devotion to religious images, like the Cristo Aparecido was affected by the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council and by the socially and politically ...
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In the twentieth century traditional devotion to religious images, like the Cristo Aparecido was affected by the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council and by the socially and politically radical liberation theology movement. Liberation theology was initially suspicious of local celebrations of images of Jesus’ passion on the cross, worrying that these devotions inevitably led poor Catholics to resignation and political passivity. The revolutionary, liberationist bishop of Cuernavaca, Mexico, don Sergio Méndez Arceo, removed many of the traditional baroque saints’ images from his cathedral. However, he was an admirer of the Cristo Aparecido and a friend of the Cristo’s devotees in Totolapan, Morelos, who were among the most active members of the Christian base community movement in Mexico.Less
In the twentieth century traditional devotion to religious images, like the Cristo Aparecido was affected by the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council and by the socially and politically radical liberation theology movement. Liberation theology was initially suspicious of local celebrations of images of Jesus’ passion on the cross, worrying that these devotions inevitably led poor Catholics to resignation and political passivity. The revolutionary, liberationist bishop of Cuernavaca, Mexico, don Sergio Méndez Arceo, removed many of the traditional baroque saints’ images from his cathedral. However, he was an admirer of the Cristo Aparecido and a friend of the Cristo’s devotees in Totolapan, Morelos, who were among the most active members of the Christian base community movement in Mexico.
S. C. Williams
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198207696
- eISBN:
- 9780191677786
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198207696.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History, History of Religion
Popular religion is defined as a generally shared understanding of religious meaning including both folk beliefs as well as formal and officially sanctioned practices and ideas, operating within a ...
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Popular religion is defined as a generally shared understanding of religious meaning including both folk beliefs as well as formal and officially sanctioned practices and ideas, operating within a loosely bound interpretative community. These formed part of a particular value orientation or culture: a generalized and organized conception of nature, of man's place in it, of man's relation to man and of the desirable and non-desirable as they relate to man's environment and interpersonal relations. This book is devoted to exploring these kinds of beliefs. It does so within the context of a local study of the London Borough of Southwark.Less
Popular religion is defined as a generally shared understanding of religious meaning including both folk beliefs as well as formal and officially sanctioned practices and ideas, operating within a loosely bound interpretative community. These formed part of a particular value orientation or culture: a generalized and organized conception of nature, of man's place in it, of man's relation to man and of the desirable and non-desirable as they relate to man's environment and interpersonal relations. This book is devoted to exploring these kinds of beliefs. It does so within the context of a local study of the London Borough of Southwark.
Jennifer Scheper Hughes
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195367065
- eISBN:
- 9780199867370
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195367065.003.0007
- Subject:
- Religion, Church History
In 1998 the local devotees of the Cristo Aparecido held their Franciscan priests hostage over a dispute about the Cristo. Seeking to modernize local Roman Catholic faith, these parish priests ...
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In 1998 the local devotees of the Cristo Aparecido held their Franciscan priests hostage over a dispute about the Cristo. Seeking to modernize local Roman Catholic faith, these parish priests criticized devotion to the Cristo and withheld their support from ritual celebrations of the image. The Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, the national government body empowered to protect the art historical legacy of the nation, intervened on behalf of local devotees and lay leaders to defend traditional celebration of the image. For local believers, the Cristo symbolizes their collective identity and the vulnerability of their own, embattled faith.Less
In 1998 the local devotees of the Cristo Aparecido held their Franciscan priests hostage over a dispute about the Cristo. Seeking to modernize local Roman Catholic faith, these parish priests criticized devotion to the Cristo and withheld their support from ritual celebrations of the image. The Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, the national government body empowered to protect the art historical legacy of the nation, intervened on behalf of local devotees and lay leaders to defend traditional celebration of the image. For local believers, the Cristo symbolizes their collective identity and the vulnerability of their own, embattled faith.
Colin Morris
- Published in print:
- 1991
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198269250
- eISBN:
- 9780191600708
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198269250.003.0020
- Subject:
- Religion, Church History
The struggles continued to recover Jerusalem and involved attacks on Constantinople and Egypt, without real success. Concentration began to shift towards missionary effort in Asia and Morocco. In ...
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The struggles continued to recover Jerusalem and involved attacks on Constantinople and Egypt, without real success. Concentration began to shift towards missionary effort in Asia and Morocco. In Europe, there was a sustained effort to instruct and discipline the faithful. Popular religion was as a whole marked by ignorance, discipline, and legend.Less
The struggles continued to recover Jerusalem and involved attacks on Constantinople and Egypt, without real success. Concentration began to shift towards missionary effort in Asia and Morocco. In Europe, there was a sustained effort to instruct and discipline the faithful. Popular religion was as a whole marked by ignorance, discipline, and legend.
Robert DeCaroli
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- January 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780195168389
- eISBN:
- 9780199835133
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195168380.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
After an analysis of the historical periods dealt with in the book and their connections to various relevant textual and artistic forms of evidence, this chapter presents one of the central ...
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After an analysis of the historical periods dealt with in the book and their connections to various relevant textual and artistic forms of evidence, this chapter presents one of the central arguments. Specifically, I claim that Buddhism's interaction with popular religion played a pivotal role in the new faith's expansion and acceptance. By acting as intermediaries between the public and the often capricious whims of local demigods, the Buddhists established a social role for themselves that helped to ensure their continued public support. As evidence of this shift, I have cited or referenced numerous tales and legends featuring encounters between monks and spirit‐deities. And, while these tales are often too fantastic to be used as literal historical sources, the physical evidence provided in the next chapter reveals that they are one part of a larger historical process by which the Buddhists came to associate their beliefs with these pre‐existent deities.Less
After an analysis of the historical periods dealt with in the book and their connections to various relevant textual and artistic forms of evidence, this chapter presents one of the central arguments. Specifically, I claim that Buddhism's interaction with popular religion played a pivotal role in the new faith's expansion and acceptance. By acting as intermediaries between the public and the often capricious whims of local demigods, the Buddhists established a social role for themselves that helped to ensure their continued public support. As evidence of this shift, I have cited or referenced numerous tales and legends featuring encounters between monks and spirit‐deities. And, while these tales are often too fantastic to be used as literal historical sources, the physical evidence provided in the next chapter reveals that they are one part of a larger historical process by which the Buddhists came to associate their beliefs with these pre‐existent deities.
Jennifer Scheper Hughes
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195367065
- eISBN:
- 9780199867370
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195367065.003.0008
- Subject:
- Religion, Church History
The annual celebration of the fiesta in honor of the Cristo Aparecido is aesthetic rather than penitential in nature. Tenderness and affection, rather than pity or sorrow, are the emotions with which ...
More
The annual celebration of the fiesta in honor of the Cristo Aparecido is aesthetic rather than penitential in nature. Tenderness and affection, rather than pity or sorrow, are the emotions with which devotees most commonly regard their santo Cristo. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, devotion to the Cristo Aparecido finds new expression in the exercise of transnational religion: migrants from Mexico travel to and fro across the U.S. Mexican border, settling in San Juan Capistrano. In this southern California locale, immigrants immerse themselves in the religious life of the local Catholic church at the same time that they continue to organize and participate in the annual fiesta in Totolapan.Less
The annual celebration of the fiesta in honor of the Cristo Aparecido is aesthetic rather than penitential in nature. Tenderness and affection, rather than pity or sorrow, are the emotions with which devotees most commonly regard their santo Cristo. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, devotion to the Cristo Aparecido finds new expression in the exercise of transnational religion: migrants from Mexico travel to and fro across the U.S. Mexican border, settling in San Juan Capistrano. In this southern California locale, immigrants immerse themselves in the religious life of the local Catholic church at the same time that they continue to organize and participate in the annual fiesta in Totolapan.
S. C. Williams
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198207696
- eISBN:
- 9780191677786
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198207696.003.0006
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History, History of Religion
This chapter highlights a number of customs which were practised within popular culture and which formed part of the outworking of a particular notion of what it meant to be a good, moral, and ...
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This chapter highlights a number of customs which were practised within popular culture and which formed part of the outworking of a particular notion of what it meant to be a good, moral, and Christian person within the community. The pattern of irregular church attendance did not necessarily imply the absence or the irrelevance of church-based images, symbols, and hymns within popular culture. Beyond the realms of formal church attendance there existed a network of association, attachment, and identification whereby church-based symbols were incorporated as part of a distinct popular identity and heritage. Sunday school attendance, hymns, and prayers were ascribed particular meaning as a part of familial culture.Less
This chapter highlights a number of customs which were practised within popular culture and which formed part of the outworking of a particular notion of what it meant to be a good, moral, and Christian person within the community. The pattern of irregular church attendance did not necessarily imply the absence or the irrelevance of church-based images, symbols, and hymns within popular culture. Beyond the realms of formal church attendance there existed a network of association, attachment, and identification whereby church-based symbols were incorporated as part of a distinct popular identity and heritage. Sunday school attendance, hymns, and prayers were ascribed particular meaning as a part of familial culture.
S. C. Williams
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198207696
- eISBN:
- 9780191677786
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198207696.003.0007
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History, History of Religion
This chapter summarizes the discussions in the preceding chapters. In moving away from assessing the social effects of orthodox and institutional religion and considering instead the character and ...
More
This chapter summarizes the discussions in the preceding chapters. In moving away from assessing the social effects of orthodox and institutional religion and considering instead the character and content of the attitudes, ideals, and ‘habits of mind’ which shaped popular culture, the preceding chapters have entered the often intangible arena of belief where qualitative impressions rule. The study shows the need to consider both religious belief and popular culture in a more integrated fashion. The material unearthed in Southwark emphasizes the religious dimension within popular culture while at the same time appreciating the diffuse and para-institutional expressions of religiosity which are treated as part of the experience of community as a bounded symbolic whole, rather than as a sign of a traditional and outmoded social structure.Less
This chapter summarizes the discussions in the preceding chapters. In moving away from assessing the social effects of orthodox and institutional religion and considering instead the character and content of the attitudes, ideals, and ‘habits of mind’ which shaped popular culture, the preceding chapters have entered the often intangible arena of belief where qualitative impressions rule. The study shows the need to consider both religious belief and popular culture in a more integrated fashion. The material unearthed in Southwark emphasizes the religious dimension within popular culture while at the same time appreciating the diffuse and para-institutional expressions of religiosity which are treated as part of the experience of community as a bounded symbolic whole, rather than as a sign of a traditional and outmoded social structure.
S. C. Williams
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198207696
- eISBN:
- 9780191677786
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198207696.003.0005
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History, History of Religion
The previous chapter described what may be regarded as one defining characteristic of popular religion, by emphasizing the coalescence of religious idioms within popular culture. This chapter ...
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The previous chapter described what may be regarded as one defining characteristic of popular religion, by emphasizing the coalescence of religious idioms within popular culture. This chapter considers a second and closely related feature of the popular religious repertoire, notably the selective incorporation and transformation of certain church-based ideals, images, and symbols within popular culture on the basis of particular definitions of religious duty and of genuine religiosity.Less
The previous chapter described what may be regarded as one defining characteristic of popular religion, by emphasizing the coalescence of religious idioms within popular culture. This chapter considers a second and closely related feature of the popular religious repertoire, notably the selective incorporation and transformation of certain church-based ideals, images, and symbols within popular culture on the basis of particular definitions of religious duty and of genuine religiosity.
Kasper von Greyerz
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195327656
- eISBN:
- 9780199851478
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195327656.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity
In the pre-industrial societies of early modern Europe, religion was a vessel of fundamental importance in making sense of personal and collective social, cultural, and spiritual exercises. ...
More
In the pre-industrial societies of early modern Europe, religion was a vessel of fundamental importance in making sense of personal and collective social, cultural, and spiritual exercises. Developments in this era had immediate impact on these societies, many of which resonate to the present day. This book gives an overview and interpretation of the religions and cultures of early modern Europe. The author approaches his subject matter with the concerns of a social anthropologist, rejecting the conventional dichotomy between popular and elite religion to focus instead on religion in its everyday cultural contexts. Concentrating primarily on Central and Western Europe, the author analyzes the dynamic strengths of early modern religion in three parts. First, he identifies the changes in religious life resulting from the Protestant Reformation and Catholic Counter-Reformation. He then reveals how the dynamic religious climate triggered various radical and separatist movements, such as the Anabaptists, Puritans, and Quakers, and how the newfound emphasis on collective religious identity contributed to the marginalization of non-Christians and outsiders. Last, the author investigates the broad and still much-divided field of research on secularization during the period covered. While many large-scale historical approaches to early modern religion have concentrated on institutional aspects, this study consciously neglects these elements to provide new insights. The resulting work delves into the many distinguishing marks of the period: religious reform and renewal, the hotly debated issue of “confessionalism,” social inclusion and exclusion, and the increasing fragmentation of early modern religiosity in the context of the Enlightenment.Less
In the pre-industrial societies of early modern Europe, religion was a vessel of fundamental importance in making sense of personal and collective social, cultural, and spiritual exercises. Developments in this era had immediate impact on these societies, many of which resonate to the present day. This book gives an overview and interpretation of the religions and cultures of early modern Europe. The author approaches his subject matter with the concerns of a social anthropologist, rejecting the conventional dichotomy between popular and elite religion to focus instead on religion in its everyday cultural contexts. Concentrating primarily on Central and Western Europe, the author analyzes the dynamic strengths of early modern religion in three parts. First, he identifies the changes in religious life resulting from the Protestant Reformation and Catholic Counter-Reformation. He then reveals how the dynamic religious climate triggered various radical and separatist movements, such as the Anabaptists, Puritans, and Quakers, and how the newfound emphasis on collective religious identity contributed to the marginalization of non-Christians and outsiders. Last, the author investigates the broad and still much-divided field of research on secularization during the period covered. While many large-scale historical approaches to early modern religion have concentrated on institutional aspects, this study consciously neglects these elements to provide new insights. The resulting work delves into the many distinguishing marks of the period: religious reform and renewal, the hotly debated issue of “confessionalism,” social inclusion and exclusion, and the increasing fragmentation of early modern religiosity in the context of the Enlightenment.
