Paper short abstract:

The presentation will focus on the emotional bond between the faithful and the sacred within contemporary religious movements. In order to shed more light on ritual forms constituting the social sphere of the sacred, the affective composition of sacred experiences will be reconstructed.

Paper long abstract:

The sacred is a social sphere. Ritual forms of interaction serve as a cornerstone in explaining its construction. This notion has constantly been underscored by a wide array of scholars from different disciplines. In order to understand the dynamics arousing from the engagement with the sacred, one has to take a closer look at the emotions people experience while getting in contact with the sacred. Sacred emotions are marking expressive and cultic action tendencies in order to praise majesty and (re-)constitute a bond between the faithful and the sacred. But it is far from clear which distinct emotions shape and sustain this bond. Which emotions emerge within those sacred spaces and how are they expressed? Therefore, the devotion to the sacred with its underlying affective dynamics is the initial point for my analysis. Especially other-praising emotions (such as adoration, reverence, and awe) serve a key function in explaining this phenomenon.

Within the presentation, sociological theories concerning the sacred and recent psychological approaches regarding religious emotions will be used in order to set up a theoretical framework. Empirically, I will focus on sacred emotions regarding a postmodern form of religiosity: the Jesus Freaks. Data has been collected within a Jesus Freaks community in Germany. Participatory observations (divine services, Jesus Festival) and interviews with the participants of those events serve as a basis for the development of a Grounded Theory.