No full-text available
To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the authors.
Genealogies of Religion: Discipline and Reasons of Power in Christianity and Islam
... O tom pragmático da resposta de Richard corrobora o diagnóstico de Ruth Marshall (2009), que em seu trabalho sobre o movimento pentecostal na Nigéria optou por defini-lo não como um sistema de crenças ou símbolos compartilhados, nem como uma cultura ou teologia claramente discerníveis, mas como um conjunto plástico de tecnologias devocionais por meio das quais sujeitos cristãos emergem teleologicamente (ver também Asad, 1993;Faubion, 2001;Mahmood, 2005;Robbins, 2005;Hirschkind, 2006). Esse aparato prescritivo inclui componentes estéticos, morais e comunicativos e em seu centro está um amplo arsenal de gêneros discursivos e exercícios espirituais, como o testemunho, a pregação, a profecia, o louvor, a adoração e, principalmente, a oração. ...
... Não se pode produzir ou aprender uma dádiva espiritual, uma graça ou um milagre, já que todos eles são decisões soberanas e gratuitas de Deus -a dádiva pentecostal enquanto graça não é recíproca -, mas pode-se "ceder" a eles ou "aceitá-los", já que a submissão é necessária para que as promessas divinas se atualizem. Ao destacar os poderes agentivos da submissão (ver Asad, 1993), noções como "ceder" permitem que cristãos carismáticos reconheçam a importância da pedagogia religiosa sem reduzir seus frutos a "obras" ou construções humanas. De certa forma, "pequena", mas agora é como se eu não conseguisse parar de fazer isso. ...
... Essa é a principal virtude da abordagem incidental, mas profícua, de Mauss para oração como "dispêndio físico-moral". Ela sublinha, assim como Asad (1993), o caráter plástico e cultivável da volição humana, e não a crença mental. O que chamamos de religião lida com os desejos agindo sobre eles, não apenas estabilizando-os cognitivamente com significados (Asad, 1993, p. 125-169). ...
Cristãos pentecostais em Gana exibem intensidades e estilos heterogêneos de devoção. Em contraste, representações acadêmicas têm destacado quase que exclusivamente suas versões públicas e intercessórias, eventualmente qualificando-as como “mágicas" e recorrendo a teorias da privação para explicar o vertiginoso crescimento desta espiritualidade nas últimas décadas. Neste artigo, examino as rotinas devocionais cultivadas por cristãos "convictos", reconhecidos por seus pares como sujeitos “orantes” [prayerful/mpaebɔni]. Inspirado por autores que sublinham os componentes pedagógicos das tradições religiosas, como Mauss e Asad, investigo etnograficamente a ética embutida na oração pentecostal em Gana. Argumento que, sob esta ótica, a oração carismática não é um objeto discernível de investigação, mas um campo contínuo de problematização ética impulsionado por duas modalidades humanas de dispêndio físico-moral: o hábito e a antecipação. Concluo enfatizando como a atenção aos "bens internos" da oração pentecostal nos permite integrar o problema da vulnerabilidade e do sofrimento nos projetos religiosos, ao invés de reduzi-lo a forças causais externas.
... These Western post-Orientalist Islamicists usually show a mastery of languages and training in the classical and contemporary societies of others. The second is post-Orientalism which critiques the European Enlightenment and its products in conceptualizing the others (Asad 1993(Asad , 2003(Asad , 2007King 1999) that are critical of Western Christian hegemonic constructions of religion, the secular, and modernity in studying non-Western Christian societies. The third use of post-Orientalism points to scholarly and political recognition of diverse cultures and peoples with concepts such as universalism, politics of difference, and equal citizenship (Taylor in Gutmann 1994). ...
... Discussing Al-Jābirī's contribution to his project of Arabic renewal, alongside Hassan Hanafī, Al-Ghazālī, Philip Hitti, Olivier Leaman, Harun Nasution, and Nurcholish Madjid, Mujiburrahman shows an eclectic intellectualism like his predecessors. Mujiburrahman reads al-Jābirī's idea of Arabic Islamic heritage (alturāth, see Al-Jābirī 1991,1993, including the Qur'ān, the Hadith, and sciences (kalām, fiqh, falsafah, and tasawwuf), by taking continuity in principles as a priority that could well coexist with Western ideas of religion, discourses, the nation-state, democracy, and human rights, which would be promisin' for contemporary Muslim intellectuals whose predicaments center around how to best respond to both Eastern tradition and Western cultures (Mujiburrahman 2008, 148-166;See al-Jābirī 1996). Mujiburrahman argues that these discourse analyses, of Al-Jabari and others, have overlooked the function of religion as a perennial lifeworld and spiritual experience, advocating a phenomenological approach that should fill in the gap in Islamic studies (Mujiburrahman 2008, 25-43). ...
This article seeks to explain the emergence of an Indonesian post-Orientalist study of Islam from the 1990s onwards, which results from the increased influx of Indonesian-born scholars into the study of Indonesian Islam, a field previously dominated by Western-born scholars. In contrast to Edward Said’s adverse Orientalists, to the Arabic-based dirāsah islāmiyyah, and the previous generations of Indonesian Western-educated scholars, the post-1990s generation of pesantren-and-Western-educated Indonesian scholarship has taken selectively elements from Islamic texts and traditions, humanities, and social sciences in analyzing contemporary Islamic beliefs and practices. With an eclectic intellectualism combining faith and public mission, Indonesian Muslim scholars have reinterpreted Qur’anic and classical Islamic concepts while engaging different Western theories regarding religion, law, identity, and social movements. By analyzing local and national figures and movements, using diverse sources, and negotiating the tensions between the normative, practical, scriptural, and contextual, they aim to represent Islam and Muslims in their diversity and complexity in global, national, and local dynamics. With collaborative work at home and abroad, they contribute to pursuing different trajectories with scholarship and activism for Indonesian society and beyond.
... While decoloniality as a specific academic and programmatic project is relatively recent, similar thinking has a fairly long history. Different iterations of attempting to define an epistemological and ontological position outside 'modernity' is visible in the work of a diverse range of scholars such as Ashis Nandy (1988Nandy ( , 1990Nandy ( , 1995, Syed Alatas (1974Alatas ( , 2014, Alatas and Vineeta (2017) or Talal Asad (1993Asad ( , 2003. Though these are by no means homogenous positions, they share a common orientation of exploring the possibility of a nonmodern and non-western alterity. ...
... However, in reality, decolonial thinking also, often, remains prisoner to an East-West binary, which gets reinforced by a non-western alterity conceivable through an ahistorical imagination of a world where certain cultures or social realities have remained isolated and static and somehow immune to cultural contact and historical change. The work of scholars like Talal Asad, for instance, has been critiqued for suggesting such a possibility through the notion of 'discrepant experience' (Asad 1993). In his critique of secularism, Asad appears to suggest that Islamic societies have remained 'static' in comparison to their western counterparts and this move in turn results in a homogenizing notion of an ahistorical 'Islamic' world posited against an equally ahistorical and monolithic 'western' world (Bangstad 2009;Pecora 2006: 25-42). ...
In this article, we argue that the way decoloniality is invoked in sociolinguistics runs the risk of becoming a buzzword that is sometimes deployed with inadequate attention to how its conceptual and political premises need to be critically contextualized. We propose three interconnected challenges that critical applied/sociolinguists would need to address more seriously in order to avoid the depoliticization of the discussions around language and (de)coloniality: (1) the insistence on an incommensurable non-western alterity outside modernity; (2) the production of new binaries despite trying to undermine them; and (3) the decontextualization of the studied phenomena from on-the-ground situations in highly complex circumstances. We claim, on the one hand, that ‘Northern’ appropriation of decoloniality can offer self-deluding comfort that one is engaging in a politics of emancipation, yet all that is taking place is a form of withdrawal from the messiness of contemporary politics. On the other hand, this depoliticized decoloniality is also instrumentalized in the Global South to romanticize indigeneity/minorities and exploit them for insidious political purposes, generating recursive internal differentiations and inequality.
... Logo, por causa da falta de utilidade para análise social empírica de grupos sociais, dado que não existe o referente "caboclo" com exclusividade étnica, cultural e situacional, Deborah Lima (1999) com quem estou de acordo -advoga o abandono do termo "caboclo" para se referir a um suposto conjunto humano e cultural da Amazônia, nesse caso, como era proposto Ora, se fizermos um exame de Weber e Bourdieu (mas este apenas antes de desenvolver sua teoria da prática) no devir teórico das ciências sociais acerca do fenômeno religioso é possível dizer que entre esses dois clássicos há algo em comum: uma tentativa de definição essencializante e trans-histórica de religião. Empreendimento que tem sido rejeitado no atual momento teórico e etnográfico da Antropologia devido às críticas pós-modernas e pós-coloniais que implicaram na consciência do universalismo euroamericano (incluindo o religioso); percepção das limitações da capacidade de registro, conhecimento e objetividade dos cientistas sociais; e a desreificação da retórica de "a verdade" em etnografia (Asad, 1993;Masuzawa, 2005;Clifford;Marcus, 2016). ...
... Segundo Asad, "Geertz está correto, portanto, ao fazer conexões entre a teoria religiosa e a prática da religião, mas está errado ao vê-la como essencialmente cognitiva" (Asad, 2010, p. 272)símbolo mentalmente internalizado. Para sustentar seu argumento, Asad (1993;2010) apresenta muitos exemplos de experiências religiosas do mundo islâmico em que religião tem mais a ver com imposição, força, prática cívica, política, tradição familiar do que com "sistema de símbolos" pessoalmente adotados pelas pessoas e que estabelecem disposições, motivações ou mesmo conceitos que implicam em concepções aparentemente factuais e totalizantes. ...
O artigo é uma análise da proposta conceitual “pentecostalismo caboclo” elaborada por Donizete Rodrigues e Manoel Ribeiro de Moraes Junior. O objetivo é tecer uma crítica dessa proposta com foco em sua base teórica e mais especificamente em duas de suas ideias constituintes, a saber, populações caboclas e religião. Para tanto, o trabalho está baseado em pesquisa bibliográfica (revisão descritiva da literatura com análise de conteúdo do tipo temática). O exame dos dados foi realizado a partir da reunião de três ferramentais teóricos, a saber: uma inspiração sociológica pragmática, e, de modo mais expressivo no texto, as considerações de Sven Hansson e Kuhn a respeito do fazer científico. Os resultados apontam que, à luz dos critérios filosóficos adotados na crítica, a proposta de Rodrigues e Moraes Júnior se fundamenta em duas premissas teóricas “obsoletas” / “inadequadas”, a saber: a hipótese de uma população cabocla definida sob a perspectiva dos Estudos de Comunidade e definições essencializantes e supostamente trans-históricas de religião.
... The Persian sociologist of religion Shari'ati was pioneering in proposing a sociology of Islam as far back as the 1960s, boldly arguing for theories of social change taken from Islam to better explain the social change he witnessed around him in Iran than those commonly offered (1979). Similarly, Asad (1993) explains that we cannot assume that the practices, attitudes, and the roles of clergy within Christianity are wholly transferable to other faith groups; they must be considered stand-alone entities with their own understandings, processes, motivations, and tensions and considered within their own structures. Thus, when considering the religious lives and practices of Muslims, we cannot merely amputate Euro-Western or Christian interpretations and graft them onto Muslims. ...
... We did this by exploring the lived religious practices of modern Melbourne Muslims in Ramadan using Ibn Khaldun's theories that were developed in a Muslim context for understanding the Muslim experience. In doing so, this paper situates itself within the sociology of religion, but answers the call made by Shari'ati (1979), Asad (1993), Spickard (2001Spickard ( , 2017, Salvatore (2016), Alatas (2014), and others to innervate an unnecessarily narrow discipline by sociologically considering Islam and the practices, beliefs, and attitudes of Muslims from within a system of self-definition and interpretation. It complements the other lived religion research done on Muslims (Beekers, 2018;de Koning, 2018;Dessing et al., 2013;Jeldtoft, 2011;Kloos, 2018;Piela & Krotofil, 2021) but also offers a unique and intimate access into the religious lives and feelings of Melbourne Muslims in Ramadan due to the anonymous diaries that were kept over an extended period, addressing Ammerman's (2016) concern about limited research into Muslim lived religion. ...
The sociology of religion has often missed the mark with Islam and Muslims, by forcing external frameworks that are not fit for purpose, by neglecting already-existing constitutive theories that more authentically explain the Muslim experience, and by devoting comparatively fewer studies to Islam and Muslims. This paper offers a small contribution to redress these issues, by examining the religious lives of everyday Melbourne Muslims in Ramadan, using theories first proposed by Ibn Khaldun. By extending Ibn Khaldun’s concept of ‘asabiyya (social binding), this paper explores for the first time the interdependent roles of hardship and Islam in generating a nourishing sense of community cohesion. The research was conducted through anonymous diaries kept over an extended period, providing unprecedented and novel insights into the lives of participants. The findings suggest that the physical and spiritual challenges of Ramadan, combined with the influence of “transnational” Islam, contribute to the formation of ‘asabiyya. Sociological instruments used to understand Muslims are too often external and not fit-for-purpose. This paper expands theories first proposed by Ibn Khaldun 600 years ago, particularly ‘asabiyya, and then applies them in new ways to better explain the modern Muslim experience in Ramadan.
... During his leadership period, SBY highlighted a leadership style that reflected the "Javanese" character in every political action and policy aimed at improving the welfare of the community (Suetha, 2021). The characteristic "Javanese" refers to the assumptions, values, and commitments that shape a person's view of the reality of life (Asad, 1993;Berenschot & Aspinall, 2020;Nuradhawati, 2019). That is, every individual has a way of looking at the world, but the assumptions underlying that view are often not directly visible. ...
... That is, every individual has a way of looking at the world, but the assumptions underlying that view are often not directly visible. These profound and hidden elements of culture can be described on two levels: surface and depth (Asad, 1993;Nisar et al., 2022). At the surface level, what is visible is a person's behavior patterns, which are closely related to a deeper level of depth (Hiebert, 1985). ...
This study analyzes the role of kinship and group solidarity in determining the success of the pair of regional head candidates in Pacitan Regency in the 2020 Regional Head Election (Regional Election). This study uses a descriptive approach with a qualitative method that involves the analysis of secondary data from electronic media, scientific documents, and interviews with selected sources. The results showed that kinship solidarity, which involves emotional connections between family members, and group solidarity, such as religious and professional communities, played a significant role in building political support. The figure of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) as a local figure with national influence is a key element that drives support through social networks and ethnopolitical values. Structured and adaptive campaign strategies, utilizing digital technology and a community-based personalization approach, have succeeded in increasing voter participation despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. These findings highlight the importance of social capital and solidarity networks in shaping political legitimacy at the local level, with implications for more inclusive and representative democratic practices.
... During his time leading Indonesia, the character of "Javanese" leadership was highlighted in every political action and policy that prospered the community (Suetha, 2021). The characteristic of "Javanese" is the existence of "assumptions, values, and commitments that underlie a person's perception of the reality of life" (Asad, 1993). This means that everyone has a view of the world, but the underlying assumptions about reality are usually hidden not visible. ...
... This means that everyone has a view of the world, but the underlying assumptions about reality are usually hidden not visible. The description of the most basic and invisible elements of culture is 'culture', consisting of two levels, namely surface and depth (Asad, 1993). The surface level is explained that most of what appears to belong to a person's behavior patterns. ...
Objective: The objective of this study is to investigate the role of ethnopolitics and kinship solidarity in determining the victory of candidate pairs in the 2020 Pacitan Regency Election, with the aim of understanding the influence of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) as a political patron on voter preferences and political networks. Theoretical Framework: This research is underpinned by concepts of kinship solidarity, ethnopolitics, and political patronage. These frameworks provide a solid basis for analyzing informal political networks and social ties and their influence on local democracy and voter behavior. Method: The methodology adopted for this research comprises a qualitative approach utilizing a phenomenological lens. Data collection involved in-depth interviews, observations, and document analysis. This multi-method strategy enabled an exploration of the dynamics between kinship solidarity, group solidarity, and political preferences among voters. Result and Discussion: The results revealed that kinship solidarity serves as a social-emotional and informal political network, effectively mobilizing electoral support. SBY's personality strengthens these ties, creating legitimacy beyond traditional program-based campaign strategies. Ideologically driven group solidarity and shared interests also play a crucial role in mobilizing societal elements with collective values. However, risks associated with kinship-dominated politics, such as nepotism and favoritism, were identified as potential threats to meritocracy and local democratic integrity. These findings are contextualized within the theoretical framework, emphasizing the dual impact of such networks on voter behavior and democratic processes. Research Implications: This research highlights practical and theoretical implications, offering insights for designing effective, context-sensitive political campaigns. It also underscores the need for balancing kinship-based networks with merit-based practices to enhance local democratic integrity. These findings are particularly relevant to the fields of political science and public administration. Originality: This study contributes to the literature by providing an in-depth understanding of the integration of social networks and political preferences in Sustainable Cities, particularly in terms of political patronage and access to sustainable resources and voter preferences. This study highlights the strategic role of ethnopolitics in shaping local democracy, offering a new perspective on strengthening democratic practices through community-oriented strategies.
... This article, filling in this research gap, attempts to understand the wound as an analytical category by discussing the local customs and rituals of experiencing suffering as techniques of discipline in the hijra community through their vernacular knowledge and experience of selfflagellation as a practice of ethical self-making, which constructs layers to their hijrahood marking their evolution into a virtuous identity. To situate this article in the conceptual framework of wounding, I position the wounds in terms of rituals derived from self-disciplining and harm, echoing the works of Foucault (1975) and Asad (1993) where rituals are read as necessary acts through which wounds can be inflicted. ...
... The works of Foucault (1985Foucault ( , 1986Foucault ( , 1988 refer to a 'technology of the self' in their analyses of sexual practices in ancient Greece and the Roman Empire, which they define as 'the practices by which individuals were led to focus their attention on themselves, to decipher, recognise, and acknowledge themselves as subjects of desire, bringing into play between themselves a certain relationship that allows them to discover, in desire, the truth of their being ' ( , 4, 5, cited in Boellstorff 2003. Asad (1993) deliberates the works of Foucault discussing monastic asceticism through the reading of Cassian's work The Institute, where monks must impose upon themselves the process and spirit of fornication to attain chastity, achieved through a constant state of watchfulness over themselves. As Asad (1993, 109, 110) suggests, in Christianity, the practice of chastity involves inflicting pain on the body and soul through rituals, which is seen as a process of 'subjectivisation'. ...
Existing within hierarchical kinship networks, requiring patronage of gurus, hijras, a ‘third’ gender community, undergo mandatory apprenticeship to a commune life through a discipleship‐lineage system where castration is seen as a necessary truth and final rite of passage to achieve a virtuous hijra identity. This article examines the subjectivities of hijras from working‐class backgrounds and narrows its focus to analyse how individual hijras develop an understanding of themselves from their occupied subject positions in the larger hijra community shaped by internal hijra cultural traditions (parampara) manifested through rituals of harm. Based on long‐term ethnographic fieldwork of 10 years in New Delhi and its neighbouring states, this article discusses the genealogies of wound cultures through castration in the hijra community acquired through their experiential and vernacular knowledge systems of self‐flagellation as a practice of ethical self‐making for their sacred rebirth in a nirvana (a state of freedom from all suffering) body.
... Hence, giving subjects back their individual leeway to reveal their ability to escape the ascendancy of the social, to debate moral dilemmas, and to produce reflexive identities, this article attempts to further the scholarship utilizing the virtue approach of anthropology inspired by Foucault (1990). As Asad (1993) observes, experience of religion as a mode of selftransformation has become central to this approach as exemplified with Mahmood's (2005) study of Muslim women engaged in piety/mosque movement in Egypt. Piety can be perceived as technologies of self for producing religious excellence or virtue, "to transform their habitus or dispositions and tastes towards the material world. ...
... As the God's slaves, humans do not share any essence with their owner, who is also their creator, nor can they ever invoke an original agreement with him. The relationship requires unconditional obedience (Asad, 1993). Hence, the positionality of man in his relationship with God is a subservient one. ...
This article seeks to explore intersections of Islamic religious piety and Muslim masculinities. In so doing, it analyses Mappila Muslim male pious subjects belonging to the south Indian region of Malabar vis-à-vis discursive configuration of a panopticon self through vigilance of the gaze of God, Islamic social etiquettes and body adornments, and marital relations. Examining their personal and embodied forms of reflexive masculinities, and how Islamic piety is mobilized as a power resource for such transcendent configurations, the article illustrates how Islamic piety acts in effect to enable these men to embody gentler and more feminized forms of masculinities. Inculcating these men with what may be core religious values but also culturally designated as quintessentially feminine, Islamic piety in this context functions as technologies of self to produce reflexive identities.
... We move away from the "mentalistic" and "dematerialized" (Meyer 2008) understanding of religion as a system of beliefs and ideas to which believers assented. Instead, echoing Csordas (1990), Asad (1993;, de Vries (2008), Morgan (2009), and others, we understand as "religious" any kind of embodied practice that mobilizes the senses to cultivate relations between people, places, objects, and other-than-human agentive beings-including nature, spirits, ancestors, saints, deities, or energies. These embodied aesthetic practices constitute communities and shape the sensibilities of those who participate. ...
... Settings and sonic phenomena from the global North will appear, but only as some alternatives among the many possible ways in which sonic knowledge and practice are enacted, rather than central or normative. With sources and frameworks from multiple communities, rituals and traditions, we address and intentionally avoid the "Protestant bias" (Asad 1993;Pels 2008) of conventional approaches to religion and sound. Protestant presuppositions (Schopen 1991) have contributed to the ingrained perception of religion as a quiet and sober matter, a private business of silent readers of printed objects, with solemn sounds played privately, or confined inside of places of worship, as the only ensoundments of devotion toward a distant, transcendental god. ...
... Leituras mais relativistas se esforçam para tornar palatáveis as "religiões locais" e tratá-las como valorativamente equivalentes às religiões mundiais. Ainda assim, observa-se um achatamento das diferenças que deforma o entendimento do fenômeno estudado em direção ao cristianismo pós-reforma enquanto modelo (Asad 1993). Por outro lado, para simplificar, tornando visíveis as comparações que busco neste artigo, talvez seja possível usar obia, em um experimento temporário, como sinédoque para o complexo do qual venho falando. ...
Resumo: Há uma minoria cristã entre os Saamaka, povo afro-amazônico businenge (ou quilombola) do Suriname. Eles colocam em prática atualizações móveis tanto da tradição cristã quanto da tradição businenge. Este artigo é sobre formas e momentos considerados apropriados para colocar elementos em evidência. Dialogarei com literaturas sobre sincretismo e conversão, rumo à ideia de que o modo como cada coletivo compõe seus mundos pode ser lido em uma chave ético-estética. Proponho pensar a dinâmica de “tornar visível” e “tornar invisível” como mote que atravessa questões clássicas acerca da presença e intangibilidade do mágico-religioso sob um ponto de vista antiessencialista: no caso Saamaka, como em muitos outros, as pessoas consideram ser preciso (no sentido ético) revelar (no sentido estético) certas coisas e ocultar outras.
... Die Rede von Religion bestimmt einen Gegenstandsbereich, der zum "Säkularen", zu "Wissenschaft", "Politik", "Magie", "Atheismus" oder "Spiritualität" abgegrenzt wird und diese Bereiche somit gleichermaßen mitkonstituiert. Jede Definition von Religion bringt also auch ihr Anderes hervor und ist damit relational: Machtvolle Diskurse und Praktiken der Verhältnisbestimmung zwischen Religion und Nicht-Religion sind daher ebenfalls Gegenstand relationaler Religionswissenschaft (Asad 1993;Quack 2014). Die Differenzierung zwischen etwas, das wir heute als Religion verstehen, und seinem jeweiligen Anderen geht nicht per se auf einen europäisch geprägten Religionsbegriff zurück: So kannten vormoderne islamische Kontexte durchaus Differenzierungen zwischen einem "religiösen" und einem "weltlichen" (dunyāwī) Bereich (Abbasi 2020), und Karenina Kollmar-Paulenz (2012, 2024 zeigt, dass auch für den mongolischen Buddhismus von Religionskonzepten und religiösen Traditionen avant la lettre gesprochen werden kann (siehe auch Rezania in diesem Band). 1 Mit dem Beginn der europäischen kolonialen Epoche etablierte sich jedoch ein spezifisches Wissensregime, das bis in die Gegenwart global wirksam ist: Das heutige Sprechen über und Denken im Raster von Religion/en und Weltreligionen geht maßgeblich auf koloniale Herrschaftsstrukturen des 19. ...
... Smith (2003) highlighted how religious beliefs design moral and social orientations, accentuating their role in identity consolidation. Asad (1993) criticises the Eurocentric definitions of religion, affirming that faith is deeply embedded in historical, political and social structures. Mahmood (2005) highlighted how religious practices promote the formation of subjectivity, especially in Muslim women's lives. ...
The literary genre of coming-of-age has a long history and is primarily focused on the intricacies of identity formation, personal growth, and self-discovery. The current study explores, within this framework, the complex relationship between faith and identity in influencing life decisions as it is portrayed in Kazim Ali's poetry. Three key pieces-"Speech," "Autobiography," and "Home"-are highlighted in particular because they act as nucleuses for analysing the poet's exploration of existential desire, cultural estrangement, and spiritual reflectivity. The central research question enquires: In what ways do faith and identity shape the expression of individual and communal belonging in Kazim Ali's poetry? By using a qualitative research approach and careful textual analysis guided by the concepts of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), this study enables a thorough investigation of the linguistic, cultural, and ideological structures present in Ali's poetry. According to the study, Ali views identity construction as a dynamic and ever-changing process that is influenced by the conflicts between personal memory, diasporic experience, and religious conviction. His poetry emphasises the discord between inherited traditions and personal initiative, demonstrating how religion can both stabilise and complicate one's identity. The findings highlight Ali's skilful employment of religious symbolism, multilingual expression, and philosophical exploration to convey the scrappy yet resilient voice of the diasporic individual. Utilising these poetic techniques, Ali examines and redefines the parameters of belonging, proposing that identity is not a static essence but rather a dynamic negotiation of location, language, and belief. This study ultimately enhances discussions regarding the intersections of spirituality, identity politics, and literary expression within contemporary diasporic literature.
... Despite protestations to the contrary, there are real power differentials and hierarchies between the two, in the way that, say, the author of a biography differs from the author of the life that is its object. As Talal Asad (1993) teaches us: a life or experience may produce a script, but ultimately it is the person with a claim to authorial authority who has the power to inscribe it, that is, authorise a particular kind of narrative about that life or experience. Even when both 'authors' are the same person, in the case of an autobiography, the basic structuration of this injunction is not impeached. ...
Keynote Address: African Fellowships for Research in Indigenous and Alternative Knowledges (AFRIAK), Conference organised by CODESRIA, King Fahd Palace Hotel – Dakar, Senegal, 25–27 November 2024 Prologue Allow me to start by recalling an encounter at another CODESRIA meeting in Dakar, in January 2013. In collaboration with Point Sud (Centre for Research on Local Knowledge), based in Bamako, Mali, CODESRIA had co-organised a conference, ‘Africa N‘ko: Debating the Colonial Library’. The conference had brought together some of Afri- ca’s finest intellectuals to consider the implications of what Congolese philosopher V.Y. Mudimbe designated a ‘colonial library’ on knowledge production and gnostic practices on and about Africa, as well as imagine the continent beyond the epistemic regions, structuring violence and contaminating vectors of this library. Coinciding with the conference was Operation Serval, a French military intervention in Mali os- tensibly to oust Al-Qaeda-linked Islamists who had seized control of the north of Mali and were pushing into the centre of the country. Like every other ‘savage war for peace’, Operation Serval was justified in the name of a higher ethical purpose: namely, to prevent the Mali- an state from collapse and rescue it from the savagery of Islamists harkening to irrational and premodern beliefs. Among those attending the conference, however, the concerns were especially over the protection of historical and cultural artefacts – specifically, the manuscripts and knowledge troves of medieval West Africa housed in a library in Timbuktu, central Mali.
... It is the ability to maintain an objective attitude towards those whose languages, opinions, practices, religion, nationality and so on differs from one"s own (Cabrera, Nora, Terenzini, Pascarella and Hagedorn, 1999). Apptitude of tolerance develops an environment of objective behaviors toward whose are different on religious, national, cultural, language, racial and social basis (Asad, 2009). Tolerance, condoms the cultural and individual conflict and develop the atmosphere of self, society and social development. ...
The study highlights the perceptions of university teachers about students' tolerance level toward social and religious experiences in the contemporary society. Tolerance is human capacity to accept existence of differences among people. The teachers of public sector Universities of Pakistan were the population of the study. Five public sector universities were selected from all the provinces of Pakistan. A random selection of ten departments from each university was made. Gender and nature of departments (science and arts were given equal representation in the sample. Questionnaire was used as a tool for the selection of data that have 25 items and 2 open ended questions to fulfil the qualitative aspect of the study. Research tool was administered to 120 teachers from each university; Total sample was one hundred twenty teachers. Factors from teacher's data set include Social tolerance level of University students, Student's attitude in classroom, Students Behaviors with fellow. Frequency and percentage of responses on each item of the factor was calculated. Frequencies on strongly agree and agree categories were merged to give rise agree set of responses whereas responses on strongly disagree and disagree categories were added to yield disagree category of responses. Frequencies and percentage of responses on both agree and disagree categories were calculated on each item of the factor and then factor together. Significance of difference between agree and disagree sets of responses were calculated through paired sample t test. Impacts of demographic variables on each factor were calculated through independent sample t test or one-way ANOVA followed by Bonferoni as post hoc test. Thematic approach was followed to analyze the responses on open-ended items. Results showed that respondents had moderate level of tolerance. Sixty-four percent respondents were displaying their tolerance. To achieve the educational aims and to develop level of tolerance of students, lectures on tolerance and civic and tolerance education must be included in syllabus at every level of degree.
... Apresento, assim, iniciativas de proposição, sobretudo no ambiente on-line, de cursos e treinamentos voltados para a prática de um "coaching cristão", bem como iniciativas que não remetem à associação do coaching com o cristianismo enquanto religião, mas que partem de coaches autoidentificados como cristãos e que utilizam centralmente referenciais bíblico-cristãos para a composição de seus métodos, técnicas e concepções/ensinamentos. Como enquadramento teórico, proponho a inserção do coaching em relação com o cristianismo em uma discussão sobre os limites da categoria de religião, considerando a utilidade desta última para uma análise de fenômenos que, a exemplo de determinadas tendências de coaching, apresentam-se como cristãos e/ou mobilizam referenciais cristãos, sem, no entanto, identificar-se com uma prática religiosa ou com uma ideia mais clássica de religião. Nesse sentido, dialogo com entendimentos que concebem a religião como uma concepção forjada pela modernidade ocidental, em um vínculo epistemológico com os sistemas de crença historicamente dominantes nas sociedades que orientam e participam dessa configuração do religioso (Asad 1993;Meyer 2020). O objetivo é apontar, a partir do panorama descritivo apresentado, para a insuficiência do enquadramento de práticas sociais realizadas com base no cristianismo -em suas referências mais amplas -à noção de religião. ...
Este artigo apresenta um panorama da prática de coaching no universo evangélico brasileiro. Procura-se compreender como esse processo de desenvolvimento pessoal se relaciona com referências associadas ao religioso. São abordadas proposições, sobretudo on-line, de cursos e treinamentos voltados para a prática de um “coaching cristão”, bem como concepções que não remetem a uma vinculação do coaching com o cristianismo enquanto religião. Essas iniciativas, não obstante, partem de coaches autoidentificados como cristãos e são subsidiadas por referências bíblico-cristãs. Demonstra-se que as tendências de coaching mapeadas pela pesquisa revelam limites ao enquadramento religioso de práticas que dialogam com um repertório cristão, evidenciando o cristianismo como uma formulação que não se confunde com uma noção mais estrita ou reduzida de religião.
... These contributions themselves were provoked by both issues arising in the West as well as in the country or region of the writer. This can be seen in the work of Talal Asad, whose genealogical interest was as much in the colonial secularism of Egypt as with how countries like Britain and France were managing their new Muslim populations (Asad 1993(Asad , 2003. Bhargava (1998) was one of the first to spark these normative debates. ...
... Apresento, assim, iniciativas de proposição, sobretudo no ambiente on-line, de cursos e treinamentos voltados para a prática de um "coaching cristão", bem como iniciativas que não remetem à associação do coaching com o cristianismo enquanto religião, mas que partem de coaches autoidentificados como cristãos e que utilizam centralmente referenciais bíblico-cristãos para a composição de seus métodos, técnicas e concepções/ensinamentos. Como enquadramento teórico, proponho a inserção do coaching em relação com o cristianismo em uma discussão sobre os limites da categoria de religião, considerando a utilidade desta última para uma análise de fenômenos que, a exemplo de determinadas tendências de coaching, apresentam-se como cristãos e/ou mobilizam referenciais cristãos, sem, no entanto, identificar-se com uma prática religiosa ou com uma ideia mais clássica de religião. Nesse sentido, dialogo com entendimentos que concebem a religião como uma concepção forjada pela modernidade ocidental, em um vínculo epistemológico com os sistemas de crença historicamente dominantes nas sociedades que orientam e participam dessa configuração do religioso (Asad 1993;Meyer 2020). O objetivo é apontar, a partir do panorama descritivo apresentado, para a insuficiência do enquadramento de práticas sociais realizadas com base no cristianismo -em suas referências mais amplas -à noção de religião. ...
Resumo: Este artigo apresenta um panorama da prática de coaching no universo evangélico brasileiro. Procura-se compreender como esse processo de desenvolvimento pessoal se relaciona com referências associadas ao religioso. São abordadas proposições, sobretudo on-line, de cursos e treinamentos voltados para a prática de um “coaching cristão”, bem como concepções que não remetem a uma vinculação do coaching com o cristianismo enquanto religião. Essas iniciativas, não obstante, partem de coaches autoidentificados como cristãos e são subsidiadas por referências bíblico-cristãs. Demonstra-se que as tendências de coaching mapeadas pela pesquisa revelam limites ao enquadramento religioso de práticas que dialogam com um repertório cristão, evidenciando o cristianismo como uma formulação que não se confunde com uma noção mais estrita ou reduzida de religião.
... Moreover, religious acts are not just about the transcendent and otherworldly (Fadil and Fernando 2015), but are also very much about the anxieties and aspirations of the present (Maqsood 2017), and about securing one's place in the world (Menon 2022a). And the meaning of these religious acts can only be understood against the backdrop of the historical circumstances that people find themselves in, amid the powerful social and political forces that shape their lives and worlds (see Asad 1993). Indeed, Farhana Baji's narrative about the material effects of prayer is particularly poignant when situated in Modi's India and its continuous assaults on Muslim citizenship, life, livelihood, and place. ...
Affected by the intersection of their religious, class, and gender identities, Muslim women experience both economic and political marginalization in India, and gendered inequalities in the public and private spheres. In this context, they are often depicted as helpless victims, not as agents who draw on available resources to effect change. Moreover, obscuring the very real political and economic forces that create precarity in the lives of Muslim women, Islam is often constructed as the primary force inhibiting women’s agency and power. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork with Old Delhi’s diverse Muslims to problematize such representations, I show how religion creates space for women to reimagine and re-inscribe their lives. I focus on three Muslim women who represent different class, educational, and sectarian backgrounds to examine how they variously draw on religion to make place for themselves and their communities. Each case reveals the centrality of religion as a source of power in women’s lives, inspiring their actions, bolstering their hopes for a different future, and creating an arena where they try to effect change. Their stories force us to reconfigure notions of agency, and challenge stereotypes about Islam and Muslim women that prevail in India and elsewhere.
... Diante dela podemos supor, concordando com outras autoras (Albanese, 2001;Bender, 2010), que uma das principais razões para o tímido interesse pela categoria em questão seja a persistência da retórica que insinua que não há nada de político na espiritualidade. Nesse caso, ao contrário da "religião" e do "secularismo", que foram categorias extensivamente depuradas em sua genealogia moderna por trabalhos como os de Talal Asad (1993) Essas são algumas das questões que remetem ao segundo eixo analítico das reflexões de minhas análises. Winnifred Sullivan (2014), em suas pesquisas sobre capelania nos Estados Unidos, já se deteve em questões semelhantes a essas e, por isso, servirá como uma importante interlocutora, embora muitas vezes tensionada, dos argumentos que apresentarei. ...
O que a noção de espiritualidade opera quando é empregada como uma categoria analítica? O que esse termo descreve? E qual enquadramento induz cada vez que é mobilizado? A amplitude dessas perguntas dimensiona os desafios que essa noção impõe e a urgência da tarefa de tornar mais consciente seu uso nas ciências sociais. Afinal, apesar da longa trajetória histórica dos debates acerca da categoria espiritualidade na filosofia clássica e na teologia, no campo da antropologia a análise pormenorizada dos usos e das apropriações da “espiritualidade” é um tema pouco frequente e sistematizado. Este artigo consiste em uma reflexão teórica sobre a noção de espiritualidade nas ciências sociais.
... But such analy sis fails to grasp the ambiguities involved. It falls back upon canonical domains of Western modern thought-such as science, religion, or economy-whose normative leanings and rigid distinctions help little to tackle modern prob lems (Latour 1993;Asad 1993). Currents and waves shed light on the many textures and drivers of the water, its many natures, and their entanglements. ...
... Indeed, interpretative insights suggest that marginalized and low-status groups may engage in religious rituals as a means of addressing immediate concerns such as protection from misfortune, healing, and family affairs (McCarthy Brown 1991). On the other hand, those of higher status may favor forms of worship that help consolidate their position within their social circles by emphasizing tradition and continuity and pursuing luxury goals such as spiritual growth (Asad 1993;Bourdieu 1984;Turner 1983). ...
This paper investigates socioeconomic variation in motivations for ritual practices among Mauritian Hindus. Using cultural domain analysis, we explore individuals’ reported reasons for engaging in a variety of religious rituals. Our findings demonstrate significant intra-cultural diversity driven by social stratification. Specifically, we observe that those of lower social standing appear primarily motivated by existential concerns related to material security and safety, while higher-status individuals view these practices as platforms for personal and social enrichment, as they are more preoccupied with self-actualization, spiritual connection, and social affirmation, reflecting a more abstract engagement with religious practices. Our findings reveal the adaptability of ritual practices to meet a wide range of human needs across varying life circumstances, as rituals can be differentially negotiated by individuals within the same cultural context depending on the specific socioecological niches they occupy. Moreover, they highlight the role of culture as a dynamic and distributed system with important implications for anthropological theory and practice.
... The orientalist approach tends to reduce the complexity of Islamic tradition into essentialist and ahistorical categories, often influenced by cultural biases and colonial political agendas. 15 As a result, narratives about Islam produced through an orientalist lens often fail to capture the nuances, dynamics, and diversity inherent in the living Islamic tradition. Orientalist methodology in Islamic studies has shown fundamental weaknesses in several crucial aspects. ...
This study presents common problems of Sufi texts’ interpretation by orientalists, with a specific emphasis on the Annemarie Schimmel’s works. The primary purpose of this study is to uncover biases and limitations that may reside in Schimmel's approach to Sufism and to pave the way for a more reflective and contextual approach in Islamic studies. This work employs a philosophical hermeneutic approach developed by Hans-Georg Gadamer. The primary data source comes from Schimmel's works on Sufism, while secondary data are obtained from academic literature related to hermeneutics, Orientalism, and the study of Sufism. The results of the study show that Schimmel's understanding of Sufi texts is influenced by her prejudices and understandings as an orientalist. Schimmel's "casting fusion" process produces a rich interpretation but is not free from inherent bias. In conclusion, this study has revealed essential dimensions in the hermeneutics of Sufi texts studied by Schimmel and the emphasis on the need for more critical and reflective cross-cultural dialogue to understand the Islamic spiritual tradition more deeply.
... The same may be said of Islamic civilisation, Jewish culture, Eastern Christian civilisation, Hindu civilisation, and indigenous cultures. When discussing religious pluralism, religious freedom, and spiritual freedom in other civilisations and cultures that exhibit different forms of religions, how the basic concepts are constructed becomes an important issue (Asad 1993(Asad /2004(Asad , 2003(Asad /2006. ...
... Thus, there are many elective affinities between nation-focused projects of domestication of both behavior and worldview and Christian-focused projects. The greatest expressions of that are perhaps the very process through which the category of ʻreligionʼ is transposed and internalized by people and institutions of governance, as well as by the epistemology of the social sciences itself (Asad 1993(Asad , 2010. In the twentieth century, in the territories whose populations were the object of missionary actions and under the control of the Indonesian state, as is the case of Atauro, a separation between religion (local or worldwide) and culture was introduced, which exists to this day (Aragon 2000;Howell 2001). ...
This article delves into the intricate dynamics of pastoral practices led by the Assembly of God Church in Atauro (East Timor), with regards to how it challenges the perpetuation of realms such as origin narratives, specific ritual knowledge, and the various aspects of local heritage. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork conducted in Usubemassu/Beloi in 2019 and 2022, the study also explores the process through which local institutions are gradually being perceived as products of Christianity. The rejection of the indigenous category of ʻlulikʼ and efforts to supplant local toponymy by replacing it with a Christian-centric counterpart are all noteworthy instances of a transformative process. All of these aspects highlight the complexities inherent in the coexistence between Protestant Christianity and indigenous knowledge in the region.
... the veneration of images, tombs, and objects associated with the Salvatorian monk; the fragrant aroma of incense (Forbess, 2015, p. 21); the ritual discourses and actions (Tambiah, 1985); the discipline inherent in the performance (Asad, 1993); and the themes and refrains expressed in the songs (Bandak, 2014). Together, these factors enhance the emotional resonance of the rituals, reinforcing the religious identities of the faithful and solidifying the Greek Catholic community around the charisma of Abūnā Bshara. ...
This article examines the cult surrounding Bshara Abou Mourad, a Greek Catholic priest undergoing the canonization process at the Catholic Church. Drawing from ethnographic fieldwork conducted in Lebanon between 2016 and 2023, the study focuses on key locations associated with the cult, specifically within the municipalities of Joun, Zahle, and Dayr al Qamar. These areas hold significant importance due to their direct ties to Abou Mourad's charismatic life story and their role as centers for the propagation of his cult and devotional practices by both clergy and laity. Defined as "arenas of charisma," these locations are pivotal in shaping the Greek Catholic community and its political and religious competitiveness within Lebanon's multi-confessional sectarian landscape.
... In recent years, studies dedicated to relations between "religion" and "heritage" have apparently shifted from questions concerned with the dichotomy and tensions between these two domains (see Meyer and de Witte 2013) towards a scrutinization of their complex entanglements and not so clear cut boundaries (see e.g., Isnart and Cerezales 2020; Gilchrist 2020). This shift is strongly influenced by a wider scholarly debate about "religion" which has been invigorated, in particular, by Talal Asad's weighty analyses of the history and contextual nature of this category (Asad 1993) and his emphasis on the interdependence between what is seen and practiced as "sacred" and "secular" (Asad 2003). Thinking through blurring boundaries rather than focusing on binary oppositions stimulated new theorizations in the study of religion and deepened scholarly explorations of religious practices, lived experiences and theological discourses in various global and local circumstances. ...
In recent years, studies dedicated to relations between “religion” and “heritage” have apparently shifted from questions concerned with the dichotomy and tensions between these two domains (see Meyer and de Witte 2013) towards a scrutinization of their complex entanglements and not so clear cut boundaries (see e [...]
... For example, in Islam, the concept of sharia, which encompasses both legal and ethical guidelines, serves as a practical framework for Judaism, the study of halakhah (Jewish law) guides not only religious practice but also social and familial obligations, making religious knowledge a deeply practical and lived experience (Boyarin, 1993). This idea is reflected in the work of Talal Asad, who emphasizes that religious knowledge is embedded in disciplinary practices that shape the subjectivity and conduct of individuals within religious traditions (Asad, 1993). ...
The aim of this paper is to present a new interpretation of two types of knowledge as defined in an existing classification in the philosophical literature. The existing classification in the literature considers five types of knowledge: everyday knowledge, technical knowledge, scientific knowledge, religious knowledge and philosophical knowledge. This classification places particular emphasis on the significance of scientific knowledge in the wake of the Enlightenment, thereby underscoring the pivotal role this form of knowledge has played in the development of Western thought. This is justified by the 'progress' made by Western civilisation after the Enlightenment and the transformative effect of this type of knowledge in the formation of the new paradigm. It is incontestable that a paradigm transformation occurred during the Enlightenment and its aftermath. Nevertheless, it is open to question whether scientific knowledge occupies a central position in this transformation. This paper will initially address the question of whether technical knowledge is the most effective type of knowledge in paradigmatic transformations. Subsequently, religious knowledge, which constitutes a second category of knowledge, will be given particular emphasis. The philosophical literature on religious knowledge defines it as the knowledge of the sacred. This is a form of theoretical, specialised and metaphysical knowledge that is not accessible to all and requires effort to obtain. Nevertheless, an examination of the world's religions reveals that this assertion lacks substantiation. This is because religions are not theoretical institutions; rather, they are practical entities that emerge with a claim to appeal to all segments of society. The paper sets forth two principal claims. Our initial assertion is that, as evidenced by the advent of European civilisation, technical knowledge is instrumental in facilitating paradigmatic shifts. The advent of new discoveries in the field of technical knowledge gives rise to paradigmatic transformations. The developments in the field of ship technology and the compass in Europe serve as an illustrative example in this regard. These developments, which facilitated geographical discoveries, resulted in the accumulation of wealth. The accumulation of wealth, in turn, supported new scientific research and a transformation in worldview. The second claim of the study is that the classification of religious knowledge as theoretical is erroneous. This is because religious knowledge, which has a universal appeal, claims to regulate practical life. In the field of philosophical literature, the knowledge that is regarded as religious in nature can be classified as metaphysical knowledge. Nevertheless, it would be erroneous to categorise this as religious knowledge. Religious knowledge should be regarded as a form of knowledge that individuals learn and internalise through observation and experience within their familial environments, constituting a form of everyday knowledge.
... Central to the secularization debate, and the argument of this article, is the category of religion, which is founded on a distinction between the sacred and the secular. The sacred-secular distinction is deeply rooted in the history of the Enlightenment and the emergence of the modern secular state in Europe (Asad 1993). The culturally contingent nature of this distinction and the category of religion becomes patently clear when we observe its introduction into China during the modernization projects of the twentieth century. ...
This article explores the growth of religious philanthropy in contemporary China over the first two decades of the twenty-first century. By describing the strategies of one of China’s most important Buddhist-inspired charities at macro, meso, and micro scales, I argue that the Ren’ai Charity Foundation’s success is due to its strategic blurring of the boundaries between the sacred and the secular. This strategy is manifest in its negotiations with the secular state, internal organizational structures, and ethical discourse. Sacred-secular hybridity, the central concept advanced in this article, is an important feature of China’s religious revival, and an important example of innovative strategies employed by non-government organizations in the policy gray areas of contemporary China. The sacred-secular hybridity of Ren’ai not only reveals the latest developments within Chinese religious philanthropy, but also serves as a theoretical framework to better understand the contested category of religion in contemporary China.
... Some analysts of spirituality in Africa, Pentecostal or otherwise, have suggested that trust might be a more relevant vector than belief. Building on critiques that argue that the notion of belief, as conceptualized in Christianity, has overdetermined analyses of spirituality and religion in non-Western settings (Asad 1993;Ruel 1997), Englund (2007) has argued (in the case of Christian converts in Malawi) that trust in other Christians and in church authorities is a more relevant factor for potential conversion to Pentecostalism, rather than belief in a Christian God. Geschiere (2013) also emphasizes the importance of trust in Cameroonians' debates about witchcraft, because people need to constantly assess which healers are 'real' and can be trusted, and which ones are 'fake' and charlatans. ...
For young men in Cameroon, football has long been a paradigm of sociality through competitive spirit. In recent decades, however, the stakes of competitive football have been raised: the sport has also emerged as a strategy for young men to migrate abroad and earn a living. On and off the football fields, young men seek to grab limited opportunities to sign contracts with clubs abroad, but few succeed. However, the aspiring athletes rarely see themselves as autonomous individuals competing for a limited number of spots in football clubs. Rather, they attribute failure or success to questions of trust and mistrust: in competitive peers, in neighbours and kin, in Pentecostal Christianity, and in football as a source of livelihood. Competing for a place in a global football industry has led the footballers to mistrust potentially envious others, but also increasingly to put their faith in a Christian God and develop a confident orientation towards a future of success despite the odds. The nexus of football, religion and migration aspirations in Anglophone Cameroon reveals how trust retains a central, albeit ambiguous, place in high-stakes competitive environments, namely as a leap of faith and a confidence in engaging uncertainty. It complicates the idea of competition as a singular and neutral principle that obviates the need for trust, and refines anthropological theory that tacitly confines trust to interpersonal relationships.
... Second, despite forces of institutional differentiation that separate religion from secular spheres, religion has continuously diffused into media and cultural institutions like the cinema. Unsurprisingly, the sense that these developments compose a contradiction arises from a Western genealogy of religion and mutual formations of the secular (see Asad, 1993Asad, , 2003Casanova, 2011). But more crucially, it reveals the dualism at the heart of modern academic categories, categories unsuited for understanding simultaneous coexistence. ...
This chapter explores the correlations between religion and film studies and the geographies of religion. Using perspectives from the latter to foreground overlooked aspects of the former, I argue that investigations of the religious problematic via film are productively enriched when refocused on the question: what kind of space does religious cinema constitute? Rather than offering a single answer, I highlight the various phenomenological, ritual, and ethical spaces that cinema—comprising production, text, and reception—can construct. In the first section, I briefly trace the “spatial turns” that religion and film scholarship has taken since its inception, observing the field’s evolving geographical and global consciousness over the past four decades. Next, I consider how scholars of religion have adopted spatial sensibilities when reflecting on the nature of cinematic experience and activities. In contrast to earlier concerns with the theological and hierophanic potential of individual films, recent approaches emphasize the material and place-making aspects of religious-cinematic practices. In the third section, with reference to the work of Kim Knott, Veronica della Dora, and the Malaysian-Taiwanese filmmaker Tsai Ming-liang, I zoom in on two themes—religiosity/secularity and pilgrimage/movement—that further reveal the cinema as a site of religion-making in the contemporary world.
... In other words, there is a latent contrast between the sociology of religion in the global North, guided by a secularization paradigm, and the sociology of religion in Latin America, which focuses on religious expansion. Unintentionally, this contrast might reinforce modernization theories, according to which Latin American religious activities are indexes of loose modernities (Diotallevi, 2015) rather than multiple modernities (Asad, 1993;Eisenstadt, 2000). ...
This article takes the relation between religious buildings and cities as its starting point. Unlike the majority perspective in Latin America, our focus in this article is not on the construction of temples but on the disputes arising from the demolition of religious buildings. We argue that demolition implies the decomposition of religious materialities and their circulation in other spaces: museums, public buildings, and other churches. This article focuses on two cases to explore the tensions between a modern city project and Brazil’s colonial past heritage. The articulating element of these two axes is the perspective that we face (yet another) tension between religion and modernity, which, in this case, is spatially inscribed.
... As such, our interlocutors run counter to this push to differentiate Catholic religiosity and 'belief' from the evangelical Protestant understanding of belief. Instead, their stances more closely match what anthropologists have described from Protestant Christians who have been sceptical of the sincerity of ritual practice with the rationale that it was indistinguishable from "tradition" at best, and reflected an ignorance of "sincere religiosity" at worst (Asad 1993;Keane 2007). Suma Ikeuchi (2017) has illustrated, for instance, how Japanese Brazilian Pentecostals in Japan see the average Japanese (and Catholics in general, for that matter) as non-religious because of an emphasis on ritual adherence over interior belief. ...
This paper explores the phenomenon of lapsing among young Japanese Catholics, highlighting how both local and translocal experiences of Roman Catholicism shape the ebbs and flows of faith for our interlocutors. While global Catholic events such as World Youth Day can reignite faith by fostering a sense of belonging to a larger, global Church, the contrast with the small and socially isolated Catholic community in Japan often precipitates lapsing. This study examines the influence of the New Evangelisation, which promotes active belief and translocal unity, and argues that this movement can both strengthen global Catholic identity and exacerbate feelings of alienation in local, non-Catholic societies. Ultimately, we stress, in the context of Roman Catholicism, that lapsing should not be seen as simply a rupture in faith but as part of a continuous, if turbulent, Catholic identity, mediated by translocal flows of belief and institutional authority.
Postcolonial discourses on religion have extensively explored the intersections of race and religion. Particular research within such discourses has been conducted to explore the intersection of Whiteness and Christianity in postcolonial contexts. The Methodist Church of Southern Africa (MCSA) is an example of a postcolonial Christian denomination that seeks to assert itself as ‘authentically African’ whilst having a distinctly colonial, missionary history in Southern Africa. This article explores the enduring intersections of Whiteness and Christianity in the MCSA through analyzing the methodology and theoretical framework of a discussion document produced by the MCSA to explore the relationship between Methodism, ukuthwasa, and African Indigenous Religion. I contend that the MCSA structurally and epistemically, albeit unintentionally, reproduces Whiteness through privileging seemingly universal Methodist methods, theories, and concepts for producing theological knowledge that are colonially produced and continue to underscore the infrastructure of MCSA ecclesiology. The stubborn persistence of colonially inherited epistemologies is particularly evident when we see how a potentially groundbreaking document on ukuthwasa (calling) is subjected to the constraints of the very epistemic traditions it is intended to dislodge. Furthermore, I argue that, through the persistence of this epistemology, the MCSA moves to domesticate and civilize the African Indigenous in Southern Africa.
This chapter reconstructs developments in US cultural anthropology between 1973 and the first two decades of the twenty-first century. Adopting a Gramscian perspective, it proposes a four-phase chronology: 1973–1986 (struggle for leadership), 1986–1990 (transition), 1990–2001 (hegemony), and 2001–2020 (deflagration). Through the succession of the four phases, it shows the articulation of relationships between different theoretical perspectives and research centers. In particular, it maps the divergences between realist and materialist positions, on the one hand, and interpretive and deconstructionist positions, on the other. The chapter then underlines how a new theoretical-analytical space has been developing since the early 1990s, defined by the relationships between theories of praxis, conceptualizations of power, cultural constructions of the self, gender and subjectivity, historiographical imagination and ethnography (understood as both practice and a critical awareness of the poetics and politics of representation). This theoretical scenario did not dissolve during the first decade of the new millennium; rather, research themes underwent a process of pulverization and there was a marked increase in researchers’ ethical, political, and cognitive engagement.
Religious actors have great potential for influencing transformation processes toward environmentally sustainable societies. Influencing peoples’ worldviews, values, and group norms, they can promote (or block) pro-environmental attitudes, lifestyles, and political decision-making. Yet, current scholarship is ambivalent about religion’s contribution to environmental sustainability. This perspective article outlines various roles religious actors can assume in sustainability transitions. We suggest a systematization of four roles—(1) pioneering, (2) path-following, (3) passive observing, and (4) prohibiting change—and portray five conditions that influence and catalyze these roles—(a) theological commitment, (b) internal support, (c) resources, (d) social and political influence, and (e) wider societal conditions. Generating this conceptual clarity is crucial as it allows researchers and policy actors to recognize the diversity of religious expressions with respect to sustainability action, and grasp the conditions under which religious actors are best equipped to address sustainability challenges.
This article presents an analysis of Rene Girard’s mimetic theory, emphasizing its pertinence in elucidating the correlation between religion and violence within the scope of significant topics in international relations. Initially, it explores the core principles of mimetic theory. Subsequently, it assesses Girard’s perspectives within the contemporary framework of International Relations theories, underscoring the distinct viewpoints it presents. Finally, the article discusses the implications of this theory for the field of international relations and politics.
As described in several recent studies, the appropriation of the concept “religion 宗教” in modern Japan made “Buddhism 仏教” enter a transformation process that led, ultimately, to the reimagining of its very content; according to historian of religions Isomae Junichi, one of these elements was, for instance, an emphasis on “belief” to the detriment of “practice”. However, in terms of Buddhism’s reframing into the category of “religion”, we should also pay attention to the construction of the idea of “superstition 迷信”, which appears during this time as a concept relative to “belief” or “faith”. Often considered the epitome of this belief-centered version of the dharma, the so-called New Buddhism movement (shinbukkyō undō 新仏教運動) that occurred in the turn of the 20th century played a fundamental role in establishing the concept of “superstition”. This paper focuses on Sakaino Kōyō (境野黄洋 1871–1933), a pioneer of Chinese Buddhist studies in modern Japan and one of the main leaders of the movement. In order to explore the intellectual context that gave birth to such reformist efforts, I explore his ideas during the later 1890s, a period in which he was dedicated to differentiating “belief” from “superstition”. During this time, he emphasized the eradication of “superstition”, arguing that it constituted an unsound element both socially and intellectually. Sakaino offered the idea of “poetical Buddhism” (shiteki bukkyō 詩的仏教), a method for interpreting scripture in general, and segments thereof contemporarily regarded as “superstitious” specifically. This paper situates Sakaino’s contributions to Buddhist reform—analyzed through historical and hermeneutical methods and influenced by liberal Christian theology—within the global discourse on religion and science, while critically examining how his reinterpretations navigated tensions between modern rationality and the preservation of Buddhist truth in Meiji Japan.
Employees play the most crucial role in the survival of an organization, where the workforce's diversity demands adaptability to the growing constraints of the job. This paper explores the impact of spirituality on humanity, specifically within the context of organizational settings. From ancient times, human civilization has been deeply connected with spiritual teachings, such as the Hindu Vedas, which provide profound insights into ethical and moral life conduct. In the modern era, characterized by rapid technological advancements and a prevailing sense of individualism, the role of spirituality in instilling values and ethics becomes even more pertinent. This research investigates how spirituality can be leveraged as a transformative tool to address contemporary organizational challenges, promoting workplace spirituality as an emerging concept crucial for both individual and organizational development. Utilizing a multidisciplinary approach that includes psychology, sociology, religious studies, and philosophy, this study illustrates how spiritual practices contribute to ethical decision-making and foster a harmonious alignment between personal and organizational goals. Key case studies in this paper highlight initiatives where spiritual practices have been successfully integrated into educational systems, corporate governance, and community programs, showing significant improvements in ethical conduct and workplace satisfaction. Moreover, the study addresses potential criticisms regarding the application of spirituality in secular domains, examining how spiritual teachings can coexist with modern values like inclusivity and rationalism. The paper posits that spirituality provides essential nourishment for a calm mindset that aligns with ethical frameworks, proving indispensable for fulfilling moral and ethical principles internally within individuals. Spirituality, when adapted thoughtfully, serves as a bridge between ancient wisdom and contemporary ethical challenges, offering a robust foundation for value education and fostering a positive outlook towards life and work goals in a rapidly changing world.
Contemporary sociology of religion interprets the weak religiosity of the Orthodox Christians in Russia either as a “nominal” membership in Orthodox Church, or as a particular stage on a linear path to full churching. Both views oversimplify rich religious experience. The boundaries between the main oppositions (sacred‑profane, religious‑secular), on which the sociology of religion was based, are no longer obvious in the modern world. We are trying to discover new themes and analyze the contribution of both traditional church piety and new values of self‑realization, environmental friendliness, body, etc. The analysis is carried out within the framework of Q‑methodology: 30 respondents, analysis of prototypes of religiosity based on Q‑sorts of a set of 136 cards and in‑depth interviews. The “Weak Religiosity” Q‑set was developed based on the ideas of T. Luckmann’s “Invisible Religion” and represents 8 spheres. Each sphere is actualized through a set of statements that describe potential experiences of the transcendent at different levels or indicate the importance of this experience. Statements (136 in total) are formulated in the third person. The paper describes eight prototypes: 1) “classical” religiosity, 2) civic and political engagement, 3) relationships with other people, 4) spirituality, 5) body and a healthy lifestyle, 6) creativity and personal self‑realization, 7) self‑development and the common good, 8) work. We argue that these prototypes can be interpreted as specifically religious, irreducible to any non‑religious factor.
In this article, I will touch on the ethical and moral possibilities of mysticism. On the one hand, I discuss the kinds of ethical work required to open and cultivate experiences of the divine. On the other hand, I look at how those experiences of the divine create new opportunities for kinds of ethical relationships to oneself, to others, and to the divine. In doing so, I connect the practices of asceticism—zuhd—with the types of experience characteristic of Sufi mysticism through the concept of tarbiya. Understanding taṣawwuf as an ongoing process in which experiences of the divine are a part, not an end, helps us grasp the intransitive nature of the term taṣawwuf itself. The goal in doing so is to think through what an ‘inner-worldly’ mysticism might look like—a category noticeably absent from Weber’s analysis. Part of its absence, I would suggest, is due to the fact that it does not map onto the passive–active distinction between mysticism and asceticism he tends to draw. But rather than merely critique Weber’s model, which, of course, is grounded in ideal types, and therefore nothing ever fits solely into one of his categories, my goal is to consider what an active inner-worldly mysticism might look like. In other words, what are the modes of ethical engagement and action made possible by those experiences which are considered to be direct experiences of the divine and how are those direct experiences in turn made possible by different kinds of ethical work? In this article, I will consider each of these in relation to two Sufi orders based on my fieldwork in Morocco—the Karkariyya and the Alawiyya. These are two closely related orders that are part of the Shadhiliyya, and they share several members within their spiritual lineages, with the split dating only to the 20th century. Through an analysis and comparison of the two groups, I investigate what an active mysticism could look like in the world today and hope to create new spaces for comparative mysticism that would see mystics as deeply concerned with changing their social worlds.
La laicidad en México se caracteriza por su origen anticlerical, ideología liberal-radical y tendencia a vigilar y controlar legalmente las expresiones religiosas. Algunos autores reportan que tal tipo de laicidad es crecientemente aceptada entre los mexicanos. Empero, las altas tasas de afiliación religiosa en el país y la ambigüedad de los indicadores estadísticos empleados hasta ahora sugieren que la situación podría ser distinta. En este trabajo problematizo si los mexicanos coinciden con el modelo de laicidad instituido en el país, mirando a sus políticas específicas. Usando técnicas de análisis multivariado y datos de la ENCREER-RIFREM 2016, clasifico las actitudes de los mexicanos hacia la laicidad en cuatro grupos de autoidentificación religiosa: católicos, protestantes-evangélicos, bíblicos y personas sin religión. Propongo que entre los sujetos de estudio hay cuatro actitudes típicas: 1) adherencia parcial o estratégica; 2) oposición sistemática; 3) "libre mercado", y 4) mayor apoyo. El grupo que más rechaza la laicidad mexicana aglutinó casi la mitad de la muestra 48%, mientras que solo el 7% perteneció al subgrupo de mayor apoyo. Más allá de la aceptación de la laicidad, argumento que estos resultados sugieren su polisemia, así como diferentes modos de imaginar a la religión en la esfera pública.
Philosophy of religion, originating within the Western Christian tradition, has, since the late 20th century, grappled with the need for renewal through comparative and intercultural approaches. This shift has particularly highlighted post-colonial and pluralist perspectives, as well as intersectionality theory, which emphasize the significance of minority and subaltern religious aspects. These aspects challenge not only the expansion of the scope of the philosophy of religion (or religions) but also the understanding of philosophical activity developed within marginalized contexts. My reflection aims to provide an overview of the most compelling perspectives on this topic and to outline the principles for a potential correlation between philosophy and religious minorities.
The “Danish cartoons controversy” has often been cast as a paradigm case of the blindness of liberal language ideologies to anything beyond the communication of referential meaning. This article returns to the case from a different angle and draws a different conclusion. Following recent anthropological interest in the way legal speech grounds the force of law, the article takes as its ethnographic object a 2007 ruling by the French Chamber of the Press and of Public Liberties. This much-trumpeted document ruled that the Charlie Hebdo magazine’s republication of the cartoons did not constitute a hate speech offense. The article examines the form as well as the content of the ruling itself and situates it within the entangled histories of French press law, revolutionary antinomianism, and the surprisingly persistent legal concern with matters of honor. The outcome of the case (the acquittal of Charlie Hebdo ) may seem to substantiate a view of liberal language ideology as incapable of attending to the performative effects of signs. Yet, a closer look challenges this now familiar image of Euro-American “representationalism,” and suggests some broader avenues of investigation for a comparative anthropology of liberalism and free speech.
In response to Rola El-Husseini’s article, “Double Standards and Dissonance: Women’s Rights and Freedom of Religion in the Global North,” this paper addresses the French approach to secularism and women’s rights within a context of coloniality. Analyzing France’s secular framework, I explore the secular control over Muslim women’s attire and identity, tracing these regulations back to colonial practices. By examining how religious expression, particularly in relation to Islam, is selectively restricted, this commentary highlights the paradox of French “laïcité” as both a liberating and oppressive force, revealing ongoing colonial legacies in contemporary women’s rights discourse.
Marshall Sahlins centers these essays on islandsâHawaii, Fiji, New Zealandâwhose histories have intersected with European history. But he is also concerned with the insular thinking in Western scholarship that creates false dichotomies between past and present, between structure and event, between the individual and society. Sahlins's provocative reflections form a powerful critique of Western history and anthropology.