DOCSLIB.ORG

Polis Religion – a Critical Appreciation

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Polis Religion – a Critical Appreciation CORE Metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk Provided by OpenEdition Kernos Revue internationale et pluridisciplinaire de religion grecque antique 22 | 2009 Varia Polis Religion – A Critical Appreciation Julia Kindt Electronic version URL: http://journals.openedition.org/kernos/1765 DOI: 10.4000/kernos.1765 ISSN: 2034-7871 Publisher Centre international d'étude de la religion grecque antique Printed version Date of publication: 1 January 2009 Number of pages: 9-34 ISSN: 0776-3824 Electronic reference Julia Kindt, « Polis Religion – A Critical Appreciation », Kernos [Online], 22 | 2009, Online since 26 October 2012, connection on 30 April 2019. URL : http://journals.openedition.org/kernos/1765 ; DOI : 10.4000/kernos.1765 Kernos Kernos22(2009), p. 9-34. PolisReligion–ACritical Appreciation Abstract: This artic e exp ores the scope and imits of the mode of Vpo is re igionW as one of the most powerfu interpretatiEe concepts in current scho arship in the fie d. It examines the notion of the YembeddednessF of ancient GreeL re igion in the po is as we as the unity anddiEersity of GreeL re igious be iefs andpractices, anddiscusses in how far the mode is ab e to capture deEe opments beyond the C assica period. The artic e ooLs at re igious phenomena andforms of re igious organi5ation aboEe andbe ow the po is eEe . I argue that the strengths of the mode ie in its capacity to exp ain an important structuring princip e of ancient GreeL re igion. The weaLnesses of the mode are due to the fact that it is focused too narrow y on the po is as the primary discourse of power re eEant for the studyofancientGreeLre igion. ésumé: Cet artic e tudie F tendue et es imites du modè e de a polis religion dans a mesure oM i sFagit d’un des concepts interpr tatifs es p us forts de a recherche actue e dans e domaine. I sFagit de se pencher sur a notion d’embeddedness de a re igion grecDue ancienne H Fint rieur de a polis, de mNme Due sur Funit et a diEersit des croyances et pratiDues re igieuses des Grecs. On discutera ga ement de a pertinence du modè e pour appr hender es d Ee oppements Dui Eont au-de H de a p riode c assiDue. LFartic e prNte attention aux ph nom;nes re igieux et aux formes dForganisation re igieuse Dui exc;dent e niEeau de a cit . Je sugg;re Due a force de ce modè e r side dans sa capacit H exp iDuer un important principe de structuration de a re igion grecDue ancienne. La faib esse du modè e Eient du fait DuFi se concentre trop troitement sur a polis comme principa discours de pouEoir adapt àlF tudede are igiongrecDue ancienne. 2. .ntroduction In current scho arship, particu ar y in the Ang o-American and Francophone wor ds, Vpo is re igionW has become a powerfu interpretatiEe mode for the study of GreeL re igion.1 The mode is now sufficient y we estab ished for us to need to exp ore its imp ications as we as the a ternatiEes that comp ement or moEe beyond it. Surprising y, howeEer, and in contrast to scho arship on Roman re igion, the imp ications of the mode are rare y discussed in the study 1 Ear ier Eersions andaspects of this artic e were presentedat the annua conEention of the American Philological Association (APA) in San Diego in 2007 and at a conference in honour of Christiane SourEinou-Inwoodat Reading .niEersity in 2008. Iwou d iLe to thanL the audiences at both conferences as we as Robin Osborne, Richard Gordon, Jan 7remmer, and 7ruce Linco nandtheanonymousrefereesof 5ernos forcommentingonear ierdraftsofthisartic e. 10 J.KINDT of ancient GreeL re igion. There is no sing e account that direct y and compre- hensiEe y responds to SourEinou-InwoodFs two methodo ogica artic es on po is re igion – the most exp icit conceptua formu ation of the mode .2 This artic e offers a critica eEa uation of where we stand. It identifies Ley prob ems in the scho ar y use of the po is re igion mode and examines how indiEidua scho ars worLing with it haEe positioned their worL in regard to them. A distinct focus wi be on the way the mode is used in the ang ophone wor d (a though French scho ars, most notab y FranCois de Po ignacFs worL, are a so occasiona y brought into the picture).3 Rather than rejecting the mode outright, the artic e aims to moEe current debates forward by exp oring its scope and imits. It examines po is re igion in its different forms and formu a- tions and discusses the ways in which some scho ars haEe recent y sought to oEercome the Vpo is-orientationW imp icit in arge parts of the worL done in this fie d. 2. /hat is ,olis eligion0 Christiane SourEinou-Inwood coined the term Vpo is re igionW to describe the VembeddednessW of GreeL re igion in the po is as the basic unit of GreeL socia and po itica ife.4 Significant y, howeEer, her definition of po is re igion transcends the eEe of the indiEidua po is. Po is re igion operates on three eEe s of GreeL society: the po is, the Vwor d-of-the-po is system,W and the panhe enic dimension.5 The definition of GreeL re igion as po is re igion fo ows this tripartite structure of GreeL society and runs a ong the fo owing ines. During the Archaic and C assica periods, Greece was a cong omerate of arge y autonomous city-states with no oEera po itica or administratiEe 2 Whi e many worLs in the fie dare imp icit y basedon a characterisation of GreeL re igion as po is re igion, the strengths andweaLnesses of this mode are rare y discussed. Exceptions (which wi be discussedbe ow) are the contributions of COLE (1994), 7.RKERT (1995), JAMESON (1997). In the fie d of Roman re igion, howeEer, the debate concerning the imp ications and the app icabi ity of the po is mode is much more adEanced: see WOOLF (1997), 7ENDLIN (2000), p.115-135, R[PKE (2004), SC1EID (2005), p.125-128. Interesting y, there is no separate entry on Ypo isre igionFinrecentreference worLs,suchasPRICE&KEARNS(2003); JONES(2005). 3 The French scho ar y discourse attributes to the mediation of the city a more inc usiEe and constrictiEe ro e than the ang ophone iterature; in French scho arship Vpo is re igionW is not necessari y and not a ways synonymous with VciEic re igionW or Vre igion of the po isW. 7y focusing on the arguab y more c ose y formu atedAng ophone mode , Ihope to cast ight on the strengths and weaLnesses of the mode in its most succinct formu ation. The ang ophone formu ations of Vpo is re igionW (andindirect y my discussion of them) are hence groundedin a certain historiographica mode of the city as a re atiEe y c osed and hori5onta y ayeredsocia systemembracingthe demos, phratries,etc.(moreonthisbe ow). 4SO.RVINO.-INWOOD(2000a[1990_), SO.RVINO.-INWOOD(2000b[1988_). 5SeeSO.RVINO.-INWOOD(2000a[1990_), p.13. Po isRe igion–ACritica Appreciation 11 structure. In the sphere of re igion the po is proEided the major context for re igious be iefs and practices. The reach of GreeL re igious cu ts and festiEa s with their pub ic processions and communa forms of sacrifice and prayer mapped onto the reach of po is institutions, such as the demes, the phratries and the gen:. At the same time, the re igious inEentories of the indiEidua city-states resemb ed each other because of their shared past and the spread of epic poetry throughout the GreeL wor d.6 In particu ar the poems of 1omer and 1esiod had unified and structured the GreeL pantheon. Re igion thus offered a common set of ideo ogies and Ea ues, such as shared notions of purity and po ution, sacred and profane, human and diEine, which were a reference point throughout the GreeL wor d. 1erodotus has the Athenians refer to the temp es of the gods and the sacrifices as part of a shared fee ing of GreeLness.7 GreeL re igious be iefs and practices proEided a strong inL between the indiEidua po is and the rest of the GreeL wor d. As the po is constituted the basic unit of GreeL ife, the panhe enic dimen- sion of GreeL re igion – the re igious institutions situated beyond the po is eEe , such as the arge panhe enic sanctuaries or amphictyonies and re igious eagues – was accessed through constant reference to the po is and its symbo ic order. WheneEer a de egation Eisited the orac e of Apo o at De phi, or an ath ete participated in the O ympic Games in honour of Zeus, they did so as members of a specific po is. SourEinou-Inwood thus conc udes that po is re igion embodies, negotiates, and informs a re igious discourse, inc uding re igious practices aboEe the eEe of the indiEidua po eis.8 In its genera formu ation, the mode of po is re igion ref ects DurLheimian and structura ist efforts to YmaLe senseF of GreeL re igion as a symbo ic system. In particu ar, the assumption of po is re igion as the foundation of a mora community (in the sense of a community sharing a common set of norms and conEentions) is DurLheimian in origin.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Course Outline
    COURSE OUTLINE OXNARD COLLEGE I. Course Identification and Justification: A. Proposed course id: ANTH R111H Banner title: Honors: Magic Witchcraft Relig Full title: Honors: Magic, Witchcraft and Religion: Anthropology of Belief B. Reason(s) course is offered: This is part of the Anthropology AA-T. This course fulfills lower division anthropology requirements at the UC and CSU. It is also part of the IGETC Transfer Curriculum pattern. It is one of the recommended electives for an A.A. in anthropology at Oxnard College. It fulfills area D for CSU. II. Catalog Information: A. Units: Current: 3.00 B. Course Hours: 1. In-Class Contact Hours: Lecture: 52.5 Activity: 0 Lab: 0 2. Total In-Class Contact Hours: 52.5 3. Total Outside-of-Class Hours: 105 4. Total Student Learning Hours: 157.5 C. Prerequisites, Corequisites, Advisories, and Limitations on Enrollment: 1. Prerequisites Current: 2. Corequisites Current: 3. Advisories: Current: 4. Limitations on Enrollment: Current: D. Catalog Description: Current: Religion and magic are human universals. Anthropologists study contemporary religions and religious consciousness to help reconstruct religions in prehistory, as well as for an understanding of the modern world and of the human mind. The student will be introduced to a fascinating variety of rites, rituals, religious movements, symbolic systems, as well as anthropological theories about religion. Honors work challenges students to be more analytical and creative through expanded assignments, real-world applications and enrichment opportunities. Credit will not be awarded for both the honors and regular versions of a course. Credit will be awarded only for the first course completed with a grade of C or “P” or better.
    [Show full text]
  • Magic, Greek Radcliffe .G Edmonds III Bryn Mawr College, [email protected]
    Bryn Mawr College Scholarship, Research, and Creative Work at Bryn Mawr College Greek, Latin, and Classical Studies Faculty Research Greek, Latin, and Classical Studies and Scholarship 2019 Magic, Greek Radcliffe .G Edmonds III Bryn Mawr College, [email protected] Let us know how access to this document benefits ouy . Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.brynmawr.edu/classics_pubs Part of the Classics Commons Custom Citation Edmonds, Radcliffe .,G III. 2019. "Magic, Greek." In Oxford Classical Dictionary in Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Classics. New York/Oxford: Oxford University Press, April 2019. This paper is posted at Scholarship, Research, and Creative Work at Bryn Mawr College. https://repository.brynmawr.edu/classics_pubs/121 For more information, please contact [email protected]. magic, Greek Oxford Classical Dictionary magic, Greek Radcliffe G. Edmonds III Subject: Greek History and Historiography, Greek Myth and Religion Online Publication Date: Apr 2019 DOI: 10.1093/acrefore/9780199381135.013.8278 Summary and Keywords Greek magic is the discourse of magic within the ancient Greek world. Greek magic includes a range of practices, from malevolent curses to benevolent protections, from divinatory practices to alchemical procedures, but what is labelled magic depends on who is doing the labelling and the circumstances in which the label is applied. The discourse of magic pertains to non-normative ritualized activity, in which the deviation from the norm is most often marked in terms of the perceived efficacy of the act, the familiarity of the performance within the cultural tradition, the ends for which the act is performed, or the social location of the performer.
    [Show full text]
  • Memory, Desire, and “Magic”: Smará in the Atharvaveda
    religions Article Memory, Desire, and “Magic”: Smará in the Atharvaveda Signe Cohen Department of Religious Studies, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA; [email protected] Received: 13 July 2020; Accepted: 16 August 2020; Published: 24 August 2020 Abstract: This essay analyzes the interconnection between memory, desire, and verbal performance in the three so called “women’s love spells” in Atharvaveda 6.130–132. This study unpacks the many interconnected meanings of the term smará, which is used repeatedly in these poems, “memory”, “desire”, or “efficacious ritual speech”. I challenge the traditional definition of these texts as “magical” and argue that applying “magic” as an analytical category to ancient Hindu texts is deeply problematic. Instead, I propose that these poems are better understood in their historical and religious context as examples of ritual speech. Keywords: magic; religion; Hinduism; memory; Vedas; Atharvaveda The Sanskrit noun smará has two distinct meanings, which at first glance appear quite unconnected to one another: “memory” and “desire”. The intriguing part, however, is that smará does not mean either memory or desire in Sanskrit, depending on the context in which the word is used; rather, it appears to carry both meanings simultaneously. To love, in Sanskrit literature, is to remember; without recollection there can be no desire. The complex intertwining between desire and memory is most strikingly illustrated in Kalid¯ asa’s¯ classic play Abhijñana´sakuntal¯ a¯ (“The Recollection of Sakuntal´ a”,¯ ca. 5th cent. CE). This intricate relationship between desire and recollection in classical Sanskrit literature has been examined in some detail by Charles Malamoud (Malamoud 1996) and Amanda Hunt (Hunt 2000).
    [Show full text]
  • Religion and the Return of Magic: Wicca As Esoteric Spirituality
    RELIGION AND THE RETURN OF MAGIC: WICCA AS ESOTERIC SPIRITUALITY A thesis submitted for the degree of PhD March 2000 Joanne Elizabeth Pearson, B.A. (Hons.) ProQuest Number: 11003543 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest ProQuest 11003543 Published by ProQuest LLC(2018). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States C ode Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 AUTHOR’S DECLARATION The thesis presented is entirely my own work, and has not been previously presented for the award of a higher degree elsewhere. The views expressed here are those of the author and not of Lancaster University. Joanne Elizabeth Pearson. RELIGION AND THE RETURN OF MAGIC: WICCA AS ESOTERIC SPIRITUALITY CONTENTS DIAGRAMS AND ILLUSTRATIONS viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ix ABSTRACT xi INTRODUCTION: RELIGION AND THE RETURN OF MAGIC 1 CATEGORISING WICCA 1 The Sociology of the Occult 3 The New Age Movement 5 New Religious Movements and ‘Revived’ Religion 6 Nature Religion 8 MAGIC AND RELIGION 9 A Brief Outline of the Debate 9 Religion and the Decline o f Magic? 12 ESOTERICISM 16 Academic Understandings of
    [Show full text]
  • Paganism.Pdf
    Pagan Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................... 2 About the Author .................................................................................................................................................................. 2 Beliefs, Teachings, Wisdom and Authority ....................................................................................................................... 2 Basic Beliefs ........................................................................................................................................................................... 2 Sources of Authority and (lack of) scriptures ........................................................................................................................ 4 Founders and Exemplars ....................................................................................................................................................... 5 Ways of Living ................................................................................................................................................................ 5 Guidance for life .................................................................................................................................................................... 5 Ritual practice .......................................................................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • ROBERTS-THESIS.Pdf (933.8Kb)
    The Thesis Committee for Jason Edward Roberts Certifies that this is the approved version of the following thesis: Evidence of Shamanism in Russian Folklore APPROVED BY SUPERVISING COMMITTEE: Supervisor: Thomas Jesús Garza Bella Bychkova Jordan Evidence of Shamanism in Russian Folklore by Jason Edward Roberts, B. Music; M. Music Thesis Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts The University of Texas at Austin December 2011 Acknowledgements I would like to gratefully acknowledge both Tom Garza and Bella Jordan for their support and encouragement. Their combined expertise has made this research much more fruitful than it might have been otherwise. I would also like to thank Michael Pesenson to whom I will forever be indebted for giving me the push to “study what I like” and who made time for my magicians and shamans even when he was up to his neck in sibyls. iii Abstract Evidence of Shamanism in Russian Folklore Jason Edward Roberts, MA The University of Texas at Austin, 2011 Supervisor: Thomas Jesús Garza A wealth of East Slavic folklore has been collected throughout Russia, Ukraine, and Belorussia over a period of more than a hundred years. Among the many examinations that have been conducted on the massive corpus of legends, fabulates, memorates, and charms is an attempt to gain some understanding of indigenous East Slavic religion. Unfortunately, such examination of these materials has been overwhelmingly guided by political agenda and cultural bias. As early as 1938, Yuri Sokolov suggested in his book, Russian Folklore, that some of Russia’s folk practices bore a remarkable resemblance to shamanic practices, commenting specifically on a trance like state which some women induced in themselves by means of an whirling dance.
    [Show full text]
  • The Golden Bough: a Study in Magic and Religion (Third Edition, Vol
    The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion (Third Edition, Vol. 5 of 12) by James George Frazer This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at http://www.gutenberg.org/license Title: The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion (Third Edition, Vol. 5 of 12) Author: James George Frazer Release Date: August 30, 2013 [Ebook 43605] Language: English ***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GOLDEN BOUGH: A STUDY IN MAGIC AND RELIGION (THIRD EDITION, VOL. 5 OF 12)*** The Golden Bough Studies in the History of Oriental Religion By James George Frazer, D.C.L., LL.D., Litt.D. Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge Professor of Social Anthropology in the University of Liverpool Vol. V. of XII. Part IV: Adonis Attis Osiris. Vol. 1 of 2. New York and London MacMillan and Co. 1914 Contents Preface to the First Edition. .2 Preface to the Second Edition. .4 Preface to the Third Edition. .5 Book First. Adonis. .7 Chapter I. The Myth of Adonis. .8 Chapter II. Adonis in Syria. 20 Chapter III. Adonis in Cyprus. 41 Chapter IV. Sacred Men and Women. 71 § 1. An Alternative Theory. 71 § 2. Sacred Women in India. 75 § 3. Sacred Men and Women in West Africa. 80 § 4. Sacred Women in Western Asia. 86 § 5. Sacred Men in Western Asia.
    [Show full text]
  • Magic and Religion Magic and Syncretic Religious Culture in the East
    MAGIC AND RELIGION MAGIC AND SYNCRETIC RELIGIOUS CULTURE IN THE EAST Arja Karivieri Abstract This paper presents a general introduction to magic and syncretic reli- gious culture in the Eastern Roman empire in Late Antiquity. Examples of magical rituals, texts and the materials used in the rites are presented. Imperial edicts against pagan religions and magic rituals in the 4th and early 5th c. changed the scene, and practising pagans were forced to perform these rituals in private. Neoplatonists in Athens emphasised the importance of magic and ancient rites, as vehicles for contact with the gods. In Attica, the extensive use of cave sanctuaries in Late Antiquity can possibly be connected with the activities of the Neoplatonists and with religious syncretism. An ever-increasing number of publications aim at discussing the dif- ferent aspects of magic, idolatry, demonology, what was considered illegitimate or legitimate magic in Antiquity, and the impact of magic on Christianity.1 The bulk of our sources are provided by ancient lit- erature, recipes in the so-called magical papyri, curses on tablets and epitaphs, amulets and prophylactica, since other categories of evidence, especially organic material utilised in the ancient magical rites, are largely unavailable for our studies. This paper aims to provide an overview of recent scholarly discussion on magic, as well as presenting various categories of objects that were utilised in everyday magic in the eastern part of the Mediterranean in Late Antiquity, with the help of both literary and archaeological sources. 1 For various approaches to magic, see, for example, Hoffman (2002) and Fowler (2005).
    [Show full text]
  • Plutarch, Apuleius, and Vettius Agorius Praetextatus ______
    MYSTERIES, PHILOSOPHY, AND SELF-REPRESENTATION IN IMPERIAL ROME: PLUTARCH, APULEIUS, AND VETTIUS AGORIUS PRAETEXTATUS _______________________________________ A Dissertation presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School at the University of Missouri-Columbia _______________________________________________________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy _____________________________________________________ by ANDREW J. BUCHHEIM Dr. Dennis Trout, Dissertation Supervisor December 2019 © Copyright by Andrew J. Buchheim 2019 All Rights Reserved The undersigned, appointed by the dean of the Graduate School, have examined the dissertation entitled MYSTERIES, PHILOSOPHY, AND SELF- REPRESENTATION IN IMPERIAL ROME: PLUTARCH, APULEIUS, AND VETTIUS AGORIUS PRAETEXTATUS presented by Andrew J. Buchheim, a candidate for the degree of doctor of philosophy, and hereby certify, in their opinion, it is worthy of acceptance. ____________________________________________________________ Professor Dennis Trout ____________________________________________________________ Professor Anatole Mori ____________________________________________________________ Professor Raymond Marks ____________________________________________________________ Professor Barbara Wallach ____________________________________________________________ Professor Susan Langdon DEDICATION To my grandfather Wayne Buchheim who inspired me in this pursuit. I hope he would be proud of my efforts. Thanks also to my father for his help and support and to my brother for no particular reason. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank Dr. Dennis Trout for all his help. His graduate seminar on Latin epigraphy refocused my general interest in mystery cults into what would become the current project. I thank him for introducing me to Praetextatus and to Late Antique Rome. I would also like to thank my fellow graduate students, Kristin Harper and Claire McGraw. They were always invaluable resources for help in developing my ideas, and they provided me insightful directions for my research.
    [Show full text]
  • INTRODUCTION: “Religion” Has an Inherent and Unchanging Meaning
    INTRODUCTION: “Religion” has an inherent and unchanging meaning; it has suggested the pursuit of the Holy Grail, an unending quest for a desirable something lying perpetually in the distance. A religion is an organized collection of beliefs, cultural systems, world views that relate humanity to an order of existence. Many religions have narrative, symbols and sacred histories that aim to explain the meaning of life, or the universe. From their beliefs about the cosmos and human nature, people may derive morality, ethics, religious laws or a preferred life style. Anthropologists have commonly called religion a “cultural universe”, one of the many things, including marriage, incest prohibitions, the family, and the social organization, found everywhere in the world. No society ever observed has failed to display something readily identifiable to scholars as religion. Magic is the use of rituals, symbols, actions, gestures and language that are believed to exploit supernatural forces. The belief in and the practice of magic has been present since the earliest human cultures and continues to have an important spiritual, religious and medicinal role in many cultures today. 1. DEFINITION OF RELIGION: According to the philologists Max Muller, “the root of the English word “religion”, the Latin “religo”, was originally used to mean only reverence for God or the Gods, carefully pondering of divine things, piety” The typical dictionary definition of religion refers to a “belief in, or the worship of , a God or Gods” or the “Service and worship of God or the supernatural.” Edward Burnett Tylor defined religion as “the belief in spiritual being”. The anthropologist Clifford Greetz defined religion as a “ system of symbol which acts to establish powerful pervasive, and long lasting moods and motivations in men by formulating conceptions of a general order of existence and clothing, these conceptions with such an aura of factuality that moods and motivations seem uniquely realistic”.
    [Show full text]
  • Religion and Religious Studies Catalog
    RELIGIOUS STUDIES new titles and selected backlist penn state university press New New Contents ORDER INFORMATION A Time of Sifting After Identity New Titles . 1–20 Individuals: Mystical Marriage and the Crisis of Mennonite Writing in North America Religion Around Series . .3 We encourage ordering through your Moravian Piety in the Eighteenth Edited by Robert Zacharias local bookstore. If your store doesn’t Century Signifying (on) Scriptures Series . 4 “Showcasing some of the best new carry a particular book from this Paul Peucker scholarship in cultural studies, After Magic in History Series. .10–13 catalogue, please ask the bookstore Identity explodes the tight bound- Journals . 21 to order it. To order directly from “Paul Peucker’s creative and skillfully re- aries of Mennonite culture and Penn State Press, please use the order searched new work sheds equal light on Selected Backlist. .22–23 points us toward the new literary form at the back of this catalogue or the enthusiastic history of eighteenth- representations that are redefining Index . 24 simply order online at www.psupress century religion and on the complex Mennonite identity in the twenty- Order Form. .25 .org. Payment must accompany all way in which subsequent generations first century. An important book direct orders. of Protestants have remembered that formative time in their past. His his- for anyone interested in the debates In cooperation with Penn State tory of the Moravian Sifting Time skill- around culture, identity, and writing University Libraries, Penn State Uni- in the United States and Canada.” The Pennsylvania State University Press has a long and well-regarded history of fully interweaves theology, mysticism, versity Press will donate 10 percent —Felipe Hinojosa, the history of gender and sexuality, publishing books and journals in religion and religious studies.
    [Show full text]
  • The Problem of Dual Belief in Polish Folklore Anna
    16 Coexistence or Conflict? The Problem of Dual Belief in Polish Folklore Anna Brzozowska-Krajka M. Curie-Skłodowska University, Lublin In her work on the evolution of Slavic religion and mythology and in drawing up a stratigraphy, Marija Gimbutas was able to show that it was arranged on the following three levels: “1) Old European, rooted in a local Neolithic culture; 2) Indo-European, derived from the pastoral, patriarchal culture of the Eurasian steppes; and 3) Christian, in which pagan prototypes fused with Christian figures, producing a ‘double faith.’ (Christianity was introduced into Moravia in 863, Bulgaria in 885, Poland in 966, and Russia in 988)” [Gimbutas 1987: 354]. Thus the category of dual belief constitutes the third and final stage in the formation of Slavic religion, and as such is one of the invariant features of a pan-Slavic folk world view. We may find the effects of the confrontation between these two religious systems in various forms and genres of Polish folklore, especially magical folklore (such as charms/spells/incantations, private prayers of a magico-religious kind or complex magic acts). Magical folklore is undoubtedly the deepest layer and the oldest factor in shaping a way of life, one human being’s relationship with another, with his or her community and with nature [Hernas 1976: 7]. In the broadest sense dual belief mean the intertwining, mutual influence, cooperation, and sometimes the combination (syncretism) of two different cultural models: paganism (pre-Christianity) and Christianity [see Tolstaia 1995: 38; cf. also Levin 1991: 31-52]. In contrast to East Slavic Christianity, which was subject to Byzantine influence, the nature of dual belief as it applies specifically to Poland is determined by Western Christianity (Roman Catholicism) and the Catholic Church’s long struggle with pagan beliefs and practices.
    [Show full text]