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- Convenors:
-
Eugenia Roussou
(Centre for Research in Anthropology - CRIA, ISCTE-IUL, IN2PAST)
Katerina Vidner Ferkov (Delo )
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- Formats:
- Workshops
- Location:
- S300
- Sessions:
- Wednesday 11 July, -, -, Thursday 12 July, -
Time zone: Europe/Paris
Short Abstract:
We invite papers that discuss the rise of 'New Spirituality' movements in an uncertain Europe, and their interaction with long-established religious institutions. In what ways has 'New Spirituality' affected European religiosity and why/how do people use it in order to cope with identity anxiety?
Long Abstract:
Contemporary Europe is currently going through a period of social, political and economic uncertainty. Its countries appear to be experiencing a restlessness that leads to feelings of (individual, social, religious, national) identity anxiety. European religiosity, in particular, which has been primarily connected with Christianity, has not remained unaffected. In countries such as Greece, Slovenia and Portugal, for example, which have long been considered mono-religious and predominantly Christian, the appearance of the so-called 'new spirituality movements' (Shimazono 1999) is gradually increasing. This recently developed phenomenon of 'new spirituality' movements (sometimes still called 'New Age'), seems to offer an alternative understanding of and challenge existing social - and, most importantly, religious - structures. It can serve as an indication that people are gradually turning towards new paths of spirituality in order to re-invent their anxious selves by establishing a 'safer' socio-cultural and perceptual reality through practices of spiritual creativity.
In this workshop we aim to establish a dialogue between diverse ethnographic cases that deal with present-day European uncertainty through the prism of 'new spirituality'. We therefore welcome papers that discuss - but are not necessarily limited to - the following questions: What is the role of 'new spirituality' in an increasingly restless Europe? How is it related to emerging identity disquietedness and in what ways does it interact with long-established religious institutions (i.e. Christian Church)? To what extend do 'new spirituality' movements form a part of a 'grey economy' due to a growing economic uncertainty, enabling new contacts and exchanges between different social groups?
Accepted papers:
Session 1 Wednesday 11 July, 2012, -Viola Teisenhoffer (Institute of Sociological Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University in Prague (ISS, FSV, UK) Groupe Sociétés, Religions, Laïcités (GSRL)
Paper short abstract:
Analyzing the ritual interactions within the weekly public ceremonies of Umbanda in Paris, this paper argues that ritual participation brings forth a spiritual self shielded from disquiet. In this specific case ritual may be understood as a powerful self-technique in dealing with restlessness.
Paper long abstract:
This paper aims to discuss the theme of disquiet as it may be observed in the ritual practice of Umbanda, an Afro-Brazilian religion, among French persons in Paris. Adhesion to Umbanda most often occurs here as a step of an ongoing spiritual quest rooted in an experience of unbalance, disquiet and self-reflexivity. Initiates, as well as sympathizers, show themselves weary of most values and religious practices they were raised in, but also those of their present surroundings. Their spiritual quest relies thus upon a need to redefine one's self-identity and to cope with issues confronted in everyday life due to this sense of split with one's original milieu. French practitioners of Umbanda express this orientation as "working on oneself" in a therapeutic idiom of self-transformation. In this endeavour contemporary Western society appears as unbalanced, impure and potentially harmful with regards to one's "true self", which rituals are intended to nurture. Rituals orchestrated in the Parisian Umbanda shrine house are designed so as to develop a new, spiritual self, which, revealed and empowered through specific interactions with spiritual entities and fellow practitioners, brackets one's ordinary self deemed fragile on its own. The analysis of ritual interactions within weekly public ceremonies shows that the shrine house's rituals operate the transformation of this ordinary self into a ritual one which is, at least during ceremonies, shielded from disquiet. More generally, I argue that ritual is, in the case of Umbanda in Paris, a powerful self-technique in dealing with restlessness related to self-identity issues.
Kathryn Rountree (Massey University)
Paper short abstract:
The neo-Pagan community in Malta differs from revival or reconstructionist Paganisms where Paganism is informed by neo-nationalist impulses or becomes a nexus for asserting identities grounded in the indigenous, local and traditional in the face of globalising, pan-European or other hegemonic processes. Nor is it engaged in a critique of the dominant Christian (Catholic) religiosity of the society in which it is embedded. Indeed, many Maltese Wiccans and Pagans see themselves as at least culturally Catholic while spiritually Pagan. Nonetheless some Maltese Pagans have recently begun to consciously ‘create’ an indigenous religion, blending local cultural and environmental knowledge with elements from antiquity. This paper, based on anthropological fieldwork, explores this creation project.
Paper long abstract:
Throughout contemporary Europe neo-Pagan or Native Faith movements have been emerging amidst the changing social, political and economic conditions and processes of the last two to three decades. 'Indigenous' beliefs, traditions and rituals are being retrieved, reconstructed and co-opted as sources for constructing 'authentic' indigenous identities.
The neo-Pagan community in Malta differs from those revival or reconstructionist Paganisms where Paganism is informed by neo-nationalist impulses or becomes a nexus for asserting identities grounded in the indigenous, local and traditional in the face of globalising, pan-European or other hegemonic processes. Nor is it engaged in a critique of the dominant Christian (Catholic) religiosity of the society in which it is embedded. Indeed, many Maltese Wiccans and Pagans see themselves as at least culturally Catholic while spiritually Pagan. Maltese Pagans integrate local cultural and religious heritages with numerous sources from abroad. Claiming it is impossible to know much about the pre-Christian religion(s) of their islands, and pointing out that in any case there was a series of religions over the five millennia of pre-Christian settlement, some Maltese Pagans have recently begun to consciously 'create' an indigenous religion, blending local cultural and environmental knowledge with elements from antiquity. They have 'invented' a Goddess and God representing the female (earth) and male (sea) divinities of Malta, simultaneously embracing all the pantheons once present in Malta and providing a correspondence with the Wiccan Lord and Lady. This paper explores this 'invention' process drawing on several periods of anthropological fieldwork with Maltese Pagans since 2005.
Matthew Amster (Gettysburg College)
Paper short abstract:
This paper explores a new religious movement in Denmark (Forn Siðr) that draws inspiration from the Viking era. It considers the relationship between this official religion and Viking reenactment, as a means to examine Danish attitudes about religion, leisure, creativity and national identity.
Paper long abstract:
In Scandinavia today, a new religious movement has emerged that draws inspiration from the Viking era and attempts to reconstruct a form of Viking religion. Forn Siðr, which began in 1997, is the largest such community in Denmark. Forn Siðr is relatively small in size, with approximately 600 members, and appears to be growing in popularity including gaining official recognition as a religion from the Danish state in 2003. This paper considers the implications of this movement having acquired the status of an "official" religion, and how members of Forn Siðr conceptualize their beliefs and practices in relation to other, long-established, religious institutions in Denmark. It also considers the relationship between Forn Siðr and Viking reenacting groups who are also popular in Scandinavia today. While Viking religions and Viking reenactment share some common interest in an historical era, they do not, interestingly, overlap significantly in terms of membership or share much in terms of orientations toward religious and spiritual beliefs. Indeed, in many respects these two contemporary movements are at odds with one another in terms of views on appropriate uses of history in crafting contemporary practices. Considering the reasons why people are drawn to both Viking religion and Viking reenactment, this paper attempts to offer insight into contemporary attitudes in Danish society toward religion, leisure time, creativity, and how these facets of personal identity articulate with people's conceptions of national identity.
Franz Graf (University of Vienna)
Paper short abstract:
Interest in shamanisms in the last decades has grown in both Europe and the United States. This leads to question which current social and spiritual needs are being addressed. With a comparison of case studies of animistic actors I wish to explore new approaches to human-world relationships.
Paper long abstract:
Interest in shamanisms and their animistic attitudes in the last decades has grown in both Europe and the United States. The rapid increase of practitioners and of shamanisms generally, leads one to question which current social and spiritual needs are being addressed. Especially in times of crisis people seem to search for alternatives to objectifying and mechanistic approaches to the relationships between humans and the world. Graham Harvey, a leading scholar of the so-called "new" animism, defines Animisms as "theories, discourses and practices of relationship, of living well, of realising more fully what it means to be a person, and a human person, in the company of other persons, not all of whom are human but all of whom are worthy of respect" (Harvey 2005: xvii). From this perspective the ideas and the interaction with an animated world provide an alternative performance to modern and colonialist ontolgies in which one's environment is seen as a resource there to satisfy human needs. Animism is understood in terms of its relationality and enacts a reevaluation of the boundaries between life and non-life, nature and culture, subjectivity and objectivity. With a comparison of case studies of animistic actors in curanderismo and paganism I wish to explore new approaches to human-world relationships.
Marko Uibu (University of Tartu)
Paper short abstract:
A spiritual web-forum "The Nest of Angels" in Estonia provides rich ethnographic material for analyzing the place of New Spirituality in secular Western countries. Guarded by angels, the atmosphere of support and positive emotions helps users to create spiritual meanings and supportive networks.
Paper long abstract:
An increasingly popular Estonian web-forum "the Nest of Angels" provides rich ethnographic material for analyzing the place of New Spirituality in secular Western countries. The present paper is based on the ethnographic study in the web-forum and in-depth interviews with the forum users in Estonia - the country that according to several comparative surveys shows the lowest level of importance of religion both in Europe and in the world. Spiritual ideas, however, enjoy high popularity, especially when not labeled as religious.
Spiritual practices and ideas offer new ways for people to overcome insecurity or to regain control of their lives. The web-forum guarded by angels offers the atmosphere of total support and positive emotions, where users are actively creating spiritual meanings and supportive networks. Angels themselves are also seen as a strong source of support. Like a common formula for signing a letter or a forum post - "Me and the Angels" indicates: people feel never alone. The usage of angels characterizes well the bricolage-like nature of New Spirituality: angels are taken out of their Christian context and embedded into spiritual teachings as guards of holistic worldview and symbols of goodness and harmony.
Eugenia Roussou (Centre for Research in Anthropology - CRIA, ISCTE-IUL, IN2PAST)
Paper short abstract:
This paper draws on current ethnographic research on alternative forms of spirituality in Lisbon, Portugal. It attempts to explore how people in Lisbon cope daily with their country's present-day socio-economic restlessness through the practice of 'new spirituality'.
Paper long abstract:
Present-day Portugal, along with the rest of its southern European counterparts, appears to be facing restlessness when it comes to its current social and economic affairs. Such restlessness does not leave the Portuguese people unaffected, but is expressed multi-dimensionally in the course of their everyday lives. When it comes to individuals who live in the Portuguese capital, in particular, one effective way of coping with disquiet is the practice of new forms of spirituality during their daily routine. From tarot reading to alternative forms of healing, and from practising yoga to attending meditation retreats, people in Lisbon, especially the younger generation, seem to pursue a wide range of spiritual itineraries in order to alleviate their anxiety and social distress.
Although 'new spirituality' has long claimed its presence within Portuguese everyday life, its practice has grown in recent years, challenging the predominance of Christianity even more and claiming a significant position within contemporary Portuguese religiosity more persistently. My paper is based on current anthropological fieldwork in Lisbon and its periphery region. It aims to investigate the ongoing rise of 'new spirituality' in Portugal, while attempting to shed some analytical light on whether/how this rise is connected to emerging identity disquietedness within a presently uncertain European environment.
Monica Cornejo (Universidad Complutense de Madrid)
Paper short abstract:
Far away from catholic dogma and usual representation of catholic believers, I would like to present a case of study on multi-religiosity in the scope of New Age practices in Spain.
Paper long abstract:
One of the more interesting pattern of the so called "Spiritual Revolution" is the ritual and beliefs bricolage. Although it remains viewed as superstition or confusion in some hegemonic discourses, religious pluralism is more and more important to understand the whole religious transformation in European cultures. As a sample of these changes I would like to expose some results of my fieldword among Nichiren Buddhists converts living in Madrid. Buddhists believers/practitioners in Spain are usually converts from Catholicism or another Christian Confession. Their spiritual careers are presented by themselves as a path into individual spirituality from some kind of personal crisis that disturbs the religious values and worldview in which they were socialized. But, nowadays, crisis spreads all around and, beyond Buddhism conversion, they continue searching and practicing new rites and new doctrinal aims as New Age seekers. Taking in account this ethnographic finding, I would like to discuss the importance of religious pluralism as a new key to cope with anxiety and uncertain future in contemporary Spain.
Alice Lugli
Paper short abstract:
Votigno: how to convert a Medieval centre into a Tibetan museum. The founder's exposition policies convey an idea of "cultural survivals", a stereotype of perfection and absence of conflict through "religious bricolage" practices that attract visitors.
Paper long abstract:
Purchased and restored by Stefano Dallari (a dentist in Reggio Emilia), Votigno is a small Medieval centre, converted in 1990, with the approval of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, into the official Italian Tibet House. The choice of making Votigno a place for Tibetan "safeguard", for making Tibetan "tradition" visible, to promote dialogue and non violence, are parts of Dallari's policy. Votigno's History has been rewritten by its founder: the rural past is now the "glorious past of rural wisdom", it is a land of female mediation, it is a place of spiritual concentration and also the centre's aesthetics was rebuilt merging local rural architectural style with Tibetan one. The Centre is culturally justified by the presence of the Tibet Museum ( connected with Tibet Museum in Dharamsala). "Votigno Tibet House" as signature, reputation and brand name, represents a case of construction of "imagined and imaginary" Tibet, a proposal that fulfils the expectations of Italian audience, also supported by exposition policies and activities (Zen meditation, Reiki, solstice and equinox celebrations, etc) that provoke a studied distortion of time and space. "Votigno", in agreement with Italian audience, pays attention to "new consciousness", "new awareness" and "inner self". In this perspective, through its courses, presents and offers an idea of "sacred" based on "religious bricolage", in which "the spiritual learning" coincides with "spiritual and physical healing" and the experience's authenticity and intensity are standards of truth. In this articulated and homogeneous ensemble Votigno suggests the idea of "Aquarian Conspiracy".
Karen Pärna (Maastricht University)
Paper short abstract:
The paper discusses the set-up of an ethnographic study of “spiritual entrepreneurship” in four European states. It asks whether the implementation of neo-liberalism can point to why women dominate the spirituality sector and shed light on the significance of spirituality in contemporary Europe.
Paper long abstract:
Practices that make up the holistic healing and spiritual teachings milieu form a branch of the service industry that appears to be growing across Europe. In this field, one can observe a developing profession of entrepreneurs for whom spirituality is work: a vocation and a source of income. The majority of such "spiritual entrepreneurs" are women, they are often independent freelancers and some are linked to multi-national spiritual service providing companies through licenses and franchises.
In the context of processes of secularisation, spiritual entrepreneurship presents striking case studies of the continued relevance of religiosity in European societies. Furthermore, it mirrors trends that are developing en par with the spreading of neo-liberal principles, most importantly: high valorisation of individualism, privatisation of public services and the application of market-place rationality to all aspects of life.
The proposed paper aims to discuss the premises and set-up of a methodology that can help to map and understand such "spiritual labour". It serves as preparation for an ethnographic study of the activities of practitioners in the Netherlands, Germany, Great Britain and Estonia who have integrated the teachings of the Chopra Center for Wellbeing into their work. This study is to investigate whether the implementation of neo-liberal principles in economic and social policies in these countries can a) account for why women dominate this sector and b) shed light on the social significance of spirituality in contemporary Europe.
Clara Lemonnier
Paper short abstract:
Supported by a case study on reproductive health and the analysis of the actors' discourses in holistic therapies, my presentation will identify and try to understand the role of new spiritualities as a way to re-define gender norms.
Paper long abstract:
My PhD research in progress deals with the use of holistic medicines by women. I also take part in a research program focuses on inequalities of reproductive health access on the rural French region called Médoc (team project 2010-2013, financed by INSERM-IRESP).
New holistic therapies - such as magnetic, energetic, relaxation therapies - consider the re-connection between body and mental as a healing power. This approach sometimes involves a spiritual quest built as a 'bricolage', including Judeo-Christian or esoteric beliefs and chosen elements of oriental philosophies or shamanic traditions. It goes along with the emergence of new individual and social identities. These identities appear to be a way to cope with anxiety.
Supported by a case study on reproductive health and the analysis of the actors' discourses, my presentation will identify and try to understand the role of new spiritualities as a way to re-define gender norms.