BOOK REVIEWS 321

Book Reviews

Siv Ellen Kraft, Trude Fonneland and Nordic and New Age and James R. Lewis (eds): Nordic Spirituality has emerged, which in- Neoshamanisms. New York: Palgrave, troduces new information, contexts, 2015, 270pp. and worldviews to the study of Sami shamanism. This book is set against the back- It may be argued that what makes drop of colonialism throughout the these new contexts of particular inter- and, in the case of est in relation to the study of Sami Norway during the Second World shamanism in the Nordic countries is War, the destruction of Lapland. the core themes that are overwhelm- Placing these events in the study’s ingly evident within the literature. background is effective because it The first discussed in these works gives significance to how a combina- are the discourses concerning the tion of these forces has been instru- background to the study presented mental in the loss of Sami culture by Olav Hammer and Trude Fon- and religion (shamanism), a topic neland. These scholars address the that is paramount in the context of nature of the issues arising in relation scholarly discourse. to shamanism in Sami pre-Christian The book contains chapters by the religion and its ties with an ancient following: Bente Gullveig Alver, Cato hunting culture, contrasted with Christensen, Trude Fonneland, Olav New Age landscapes and cross- Demant Jakobsen, Anne Kalvig, Siv cultural imports, and what this Ellen Kraft, James R. Lewis, Stein R. means for identity and ethnicity. The Mathisen, and Torun Selberg – schol- second theme, addressed by Merete ars and editors either from, or who Demant Jakobsen, examines the eth- live and work in, Norway. Henno ics involved in shamanic training Erikson Parks, however, lives in Fin- and teaching and the ways in which land and is engaged in the study of these New Age practices have been shamanism in Estonia. imported into Fennoscandia and Because the book is mainly have influenced various branches of concerned with the study of Sami shamanic healing and worldviews. shamanism, the starting point of the One of the most interesting and analysis is pre-Christian religion, comprehensive discussions focuses on which is discussed in the shadow the presentation of the life stories and of Norse traditions and dominant profiles of female noaidi (shamans) Norwegian society, where both through the works of Bente Gullveig cultures are investigated in the Alver and Anne Kalvig. In contrast context of what has been referred to historical data, the practice of to as Nordic Neoshamanism. From shamanism amongst the Sami of the within these traditions a colourful, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, highly informative, and important in sources compiled by male priests network of the study of both Sami throughout Lapland, demonstrates 322 BOOK REVIEWS

that the phenomenon is portrayed as spirituality. Lewis adeptly describes a largely male institution. The new the attitudes and interpretations research therefore overturns these from within the American move- ancient stereotypes and confirms the ment and its influence on Sami sha- importance of demonstrating that the manism. For example, he shows that study of post-colonial Sami culture religion for the Sami has been a pri- reveals a series of distinct insights mary ethnic marker of culture and and an understanding of the position identity, and he therefore examines of woman as healers, mediums, and the impacts of New Age spiritual tradition-bearers in contemporary practices in various ways to see if society. Torunn Selberg discusses the they contribute to further division transition of shamanism from the his- and ambiguity when viewed within torical hunting cultures of the Siberian a post-colonial setting. tundra to western towns and cities. Cato Christensen skilfully anal- She thus highlights the transition yses the important role Sami reli- from contact with the spiritual worlds gion plays as it is presented in films through prehistoric religion and sac- and media in relation to ethnicity, rificial traditions to communication identity, and the forwarding of with these worlds through modern traditional knowledge via Sami day practices, and the important role shamanism as the Sami themselves these play in the link between the present it, and what this means in shaman and psychology in relation terms of cultural continuity and to female spirituality and indigenous originality. Stein R. Mathisen brings culture. Similarly, the scholarly works to light the often-forgotten legacy of of Henno Erikson Parks examine the the witchcraft trials in Norway and remnants of female witchcraft in a offers a detailed examination of the case study of shamanism in Estonia important role archived material against the backdrop of Soviet rule in such as ritual artefacts plays in the the Baltic States, and the important reconstruction of Sami shamanism role historical literature plays in the in the tourist industry. His research search for meaning and identity in brings into focus important ques- this context. tions concerning the continued In contrast to what is noted misrepresentation of Sami culture above, there are also points of in relation to the painful history of contention outlined in the chapter the persecution of the Sami noaidi, by James R. Lewis, who, like other museum collections, and the de- scholars, examines the literature velopment of tourism. He also and the influence of the American examines how the symbolism of anthropologists Michael Harner the ancient drums continues to be and Carlos Castaneda, as well as the exploited, not unlike the priests Sami shaman Ailo Gaup, concerning and missionaries who sought to the evolution of neoshamanic prac- de-contextualise Sami religion and tices and cross-cultural influences culture during the witchcraft perse- such as those from Native American cutions of the 17th century. BOOK REVIEWS 323

A second chapter by Trude Fon- religion and Religious Studies in neland brings a new dimension general may be summarised as fol- to research into Sami shamanism lows: this is the first comprehensive and the visibility of the revival contribution to ground its study of movement in Northern Norway as Sami religion in both a historical and encountered in an annual mind, modern context, thus capturing what body, and spirit festival called can be called the ‘Revival Movement’ Isogaisa, where shamans from all which is sweeping Northern Norway over the world meet. Her analy- and the Baltic States. sis is set against the backdrop of In each contribution there are colonialism and the re-emergence important examples of different of shamanism in Norway, where discourses from Estonia, Norway, it is now recognised as an official , , and the United religion. She also outlines how States of America, which have been the organisers see shamanism as a woven together to restore culture countercultural force in relation to and identity. The book also captures , and describes the fes- how similar belief systems are evi- tival events, which provide various dent in relation to spiritual practices experiences for visitors and enable and worldviews in the case of Sami a sense of community and continu- and Native American Spirituality. ity of tradition. What is also important for the Siv Ellen Kraft examines the scientific study of religion is that fundamental role music plays in personal accounts from different the re-emergence of the Sami joik shamans have been given freely, in through the work of Mari Boine in contrast to the duress suffered by Indigenity and identity. The merit of the noaidi and healers during the Kraft’s work is that she analyses the colonial period between the 17th and effects of trance and altered states, 19th centuries. This freedom, it can the role and function of magic in be argued, plays a fundamental role shamanism, and the impact this has in the contribution that the study of on audiences. religion, tradition, nature worship, The only error I have found is and the global network of shaman- made by Trude Fonneland, who in ism makes to our understanding of her discussion of the evolving sha- this new religious domination in manic movement in Norway and Norway and the re-emergence of one of its key organisations, namely, shamanism in the Western world. the Shamanic Association, describes representative shaman Franck White Francis Joy, Cougar as non-Sami (p. 43). To University of Lapland, Finland clarify: Franck is of Sami ancestry, and I understand this error has been FRANCIS JOY is a PhD Candidate at the Uni- corrected in more recent texts. versity of Lapland Faculty of Art and Design, and researcher with the Sami Indigenous The quality and importance of Research Team at the Arctic Centre. E-mail: this book for the study of Nordic [email protected] 324 BOOK REVIEWS

Tuomas Martikainen and Franҫois decades, alongside the process of Gauthier (eds): Religion in the Neolib- globalisation. What we see before eral Age: Political Economy and Modes our eyes is the reaping of this devel- of Governance. Farnham: Ashgate, opment’s fruit. 2013, 248pp. It is not only the world economy that is in danger of hitting rock Franҫois Gauthier and Tuomas bottom. Traditional religion, es- Martikainen (eds): Religion in Con- pecially in Europe, has suffered sumer Society: Brands, Consumers and a serious blow: relations between Markets. Farnham: Ashgate, 2013, the state and Christian churches 250pp. have weakened; the media increas- ingly governs the way people see How is religion entangled with the world; and since the 1960s a politics and economy in a globalised growing number of non-Christian world? How can one explain the have challenged the status causes and outcomes of these en- and influence the churches once tanglements? The answers to these had. At the same time religions questions are of necessity as varied have gained a new visibility and and complex as the studied phenom- importance in the post-Cold War ena themselves. To orientate oneself world and in post-colonial geo- in this landscape, where changing politics, heightened after 9/11. In relationships between religion, state, addition, alternative spiritualities and economy produce novel and are growing in popularity, and in at times even surprising outcomes, the process Weberian disenchant- some sort of road map is desirable. ment is giving way to a religious To this end, the complementary re-enchantment. In the study of volumes of Religion in the Neoliberal religion a favourite paradigm to Age and Religion in Consumer Society, explain the prospects of traditional edited by Franҫois Gauthier and religion has been the theory of Tuomas Martikainen, constitute an secularisation in its various forms. excellent guide. However, Gauthier and Marti- ‘We live in the age of neoliber- kainen argue that in a globalising alism’ is the opening statement of world the secularisation thesis is in- Religion in the Neoliberal Age, which sufficient. Nor do they subscribe to few would contest. In a world seri- the Rational Choice Theory, which ously threatened with economic explains the religious field in terms collapse neoliberal thinking seems of utilitarian-minded actors follow- to govern different if not all aspects ing the logics of the marketplace of social life. The editors remind us, economy. Instead of looking at the however, that the dominance of this effects of socio-economic change as ‘finance and consumer-capitalist’ a one-way street where religion is ethos is not a new phenomenon simply a target, these books edited but has developed in the last three by Gauthier and Martikainen aim BOOK REVIEWS 325

at eliciting the various dialectical ciety continues with similar themes processes that take place between but focuses more clearly on consum- religion and state/society/economy. erism and how religions operate in The starting point of the above- societies where consumerism is a mentioned two volumes is ex- culturally and socially dominant plained in the Preface of Religion in ethos. This volume is also divided Consumer Society. The editors write: into two parts: the first examines ‘changing world religions’, while In brief, our key thesis is that the the second examines ‘commoditised twin forces of neoliberalism and spriritualities’. consumerism are penetrating and The current political economy, transforming the ‘religions’ world- infused as it is with consumerism, wide, though in locally embedded offers challenges but also oppor- forms. […] It should be well under- tunities for both well-established stood that these two volumes can churches and other forms of spir- be taken together as interpreting a ituality. With respect to the former single, complex and multi-faceted Schlamelcher and Gray (Religion phenomenon. (p. xv) in the Neoliberal Age) and Petterson (Religion in Consumer Society) give Due to this focus on a ‘single phe- examples of the new roles that nomenon’, there is inevitably a the German Evangelical Lutheran considerable overlap between the Church, the in two volumes; consumerism and the Republic of Ireland, and the neoliberalism intermingle and so Lutheran Church of Sweden have do both books’ articles. At the same acquired. When church mem- time these volumes are constructed bership declines and people are around somewhat different per- distanced from the church, main- spectives so that one can read them stream churches need to find new independently, and they certainly ways of attracting people. People also make interesting reading as are seen increasingly as a consum- individual works. In what follows, erist clientele who are enticed to however, I will discuss them inter- church by new services and novel changeably. spaces. In other words, churches The focus of Religion in the Neolib- need to brand their functions in eral Age is on the institutional issues competing with each other to attract where management, regulation, people to their folds. Some are more governance, and securitisation con- successful than others. stitute some key processes. Eleven Religion in Consumer Society of- articles are divided into two parts, fers many other examples of the of which the first deals with religions entanglements of religion with in the new political economy and the consumerism, such as American second with the political governance megachurches (Ellingson), Catholic of religion. Religion in Consumer So- monasticism (Palmisano), Judaism 326 BOOK REVIEWS

(Niculescu), and (McKen- volume. Whether ‘new’ or ‘old’, zie). For example, megachurches religious traditions are compelled in the USA work on ‘the cult of the to act in line with the market individual’ and ‘sacralise consumer- economy and its consumerist ethos. ism’ to appeal to their participants At the same time one should not and constitute a new type of congre- be completely overwhelmed by gation. In the process they drasti- the consumerist lens. In her arti- cally influence the field of American cle on Glastonbury as a historical as a whole. pilgrimage site and locus of New With respect to the political gov- Age spirituality Bowman draws ernance of religion churches can also attention to the self-understanding find, and be given, new social roles of the ‘spiritual entrepreneurs’ who in a multicultural society. For exam- regard their work for this religious ple, in Ireland the Catholic Church centre as ‘their own spiritual path, acts as an instrument of the govern- as an expression of their spiritual ment in the project of immigrant values and as being of service to integration and, in the process, aims the spiritual value of Glastonbury’ at gaining new legitimacy in Irish (p. 223). society, its reputation having been In addition to religion the ef- badly damaged by serious scan- fects of neoliberalism are also felt dals. Hackworth (Religion in Con- in other areas of state and society. sumer Society) goes as far as to use Surprisingly, perhaps, not even the term ‘religious neoliberalism’ the legal sphere has remained un- with respect to the uneasy alliance touched by the market ideology, as between neoliberals and religious Chagnon and Gauthier, as well as fundamentalists in the United States. Beaman, demonstrate in Religion in It is exactly these kinds of example the Neoliberal Age. Using Canada as that secularisation theories fail to an example, they demonstrate that elicit or explain. the ethos of radical individualism Awareness of neoliberal econo- and understanding social reality my and politics draws attention to and personal aspirations purely in changes happening within church- economic terms has infiltrated the es and the effects that these changes definition of justice and the practice have on the role of faith-based of law. organisations in contemporary Another phenomenon that the society. However, these changes secularisation theories fail to ad- concern not only well-established dress is the state’s need to manage churches and religions, or ‘world or govern religions. The reason religions’ as they are called in Re- for this is highlighted by Spickard ligion in Consumer Society, but also (Religion in the Neoliberal Age), who have an effect on other forms of draws attention to a current trend spirituality, as exemplified in the whereby religions to a large extent second part of the above-mentioned tend to gain visibility as conserva- BOOK REVIEWS 327

tive, authoritarian, intolerant, and the sophisticated argumentations of even violent traditions and, in the these introductions. I will therefore process, have lost their credibility select one general theme that seems as legitimate critics of current soci- to be an underlying thought in both ety and politics. In the face of this volumes. development, ‘states have shown Neoliberalism and consumerism a growing interest in regulating have been heavily criticised. Against religions in order to suppress or this, Gauthier and Martikainen promote certain forms of religious maintain that ‘a priori normative an- behaviour’, as Martikainen notes alytics’ does not serve research’s aim in the same volume (p. 129). These of grasping the diversity of religious measures of regulation can take phenomena in a ‘globalized, hyper- many forms, such as the securiti- mediatized political and cultural sation or promotion of dialogue economy’. In their view avoiding a between the adherents of different normative standpoint is also a neces- religions. Thus, unwanted religious sity for working towards alternative activism is controlled, for exam- theories concerning these phenom- ple, by counter-terrorism laws, or ena. Doubtless, this would be a wise by using religions as instruments decision if one wanted to produce for the management of social and a multifaceted analysis of the com- economic risk. In other words, plex processes of the contemporary religions play a dual role both as world, as both volumes certainly do. targets and allies of securitisation At the same time it is difficult to turn policies. a blind eye to the devastating effects Religion in the Neoliberal Age and of neoliberal politics and economics Religion in Consumer Society are on the world at large. Where globali- weighty and inspiring reading due sation is concerned, it is obvious that to their use of very rich empirical free movement across borders and material from Europe and North affluent, consumerist lifestyles are America. In addition to presenting the privilege of but a few. interesting empirical observations, As Spickard notes (Religion in the many of the articles take part in a Neoliberal Age), neoliberal politics more theoretical discussion about ‘have done tremendous damage to the role and social place of religion. poor people around the world’ (p. For the more theoretically oriented 47). He also draws attention to the reader it is the introductions that annual report of the OECD, which offer the most thought-provoking shows that in different countries eco- reading. These introductions will be nomic inequality has grown in the basic reading for anyone who seeks last thirty years of neoliberalism’s to be familiar with what is happen- hay day. In light of these observa- ing in the sociological study of con- tions neoliberalism seems largely temporary religion. It is impossible to serve the interests of the world’s here to go into detail concerning wealthiest countries and the most 328 BOOK REVIEWS

privileged segments of individual societies. Observations such as these make one very uneasy about claims to neutrality. In research that aims at analysis instead of evaluation, as is the case with Gauthier and Martikainen, one could well turn the negative side- effects of neoliberalism into research questions and investigate how different religious institutions and actors support or critique neoliberal politics and economy. Moreover, one cannot avoid asking how the picture would change if, instead of western countries, the volumes had also covered cases from Africa and Asia. This might be a second step: to look at and test the observation and arguments provided by Religion in the Neoliberal Age and Religion in Consumer Society in a more global context. The above-mentioned reserva- tions notwithstanding, one can only congratulate Gauthier and Martikainen for their innovative and outstanding work in Religion in the Neoliberal Age and Religion in Con- sumer Society. These two volumes offer an excellent springboard for further empirical research and novel theory-making in the sociology of religion.

Tuula Sakaranaho University of Helsinki, Finland

TUULA SAKARANAHO is Professor of the Study of Religions, University of Helsinki. E-mail: [email protected] BOOK REVIEWS 329

Lori G. Beaman and Steven Tom- of atheist identities in the public lins (eds): Atheist Identities: Spaces sphere, examining atheist activist and Social Contexts. Cham: Springer, organisations, and analysing athe- 2015, 219pp. ism as an individual’s self-identity within and without activist organi- Atheists, the non-religious, and sations. I find this three-level ap- the religiously unaffiliated have proach very useful analytically. become a popular research topic in Although this would be an ad- many disciplines and subject areas, equate framework for a coherent including religious studies. Atheist and relevant volume, the editors add Identities, edited by Lori Beaman to it the themes of multiculturalism, and Steven Tomlins, is the second regulation, and reasonable accom- volume in the series Boundaries of Re- modation (including questions such ligious Freedom: Regulating Religion in as ‘Does multiculturalism include Diverse Societies. It deals with ques- atheist identities?’) This part works tions related to atheist identities, well in some chapters, but it is not particularly in the North Atlantic, explicitly addressed by most. It meaning, in this case, the United seems to me that this is a link be- States, Canada, and the United King- tween atheist identities – a relevant dom. It consists of eleven chapters topic in itself – and the series high- and the editors’ introduction. The lights regulation, governance, and contributors are in various stages religious freedom as its key words. of their careers, consisting of PhD In addition to data that is already students, established scholars, and in the public sphere the chapters emeritus professors. The volume’s utilise ethnographic fieldwork and origin lies in a workshop held in participant observations, interviews, Ottawa in 2012. and surveys, thus guaranteeing a The starting point of the volume multifaceted examination of the is the observation that the terms topic. The individual chapters used in studying atheist (and closely themselves provide relevant find- related) identities are messy. How- ings, but together they provide an ever, the task is not to get rid of this opportunity for cross-national and messiness if the object of study is cross-cultural comparison. Two a heterogeneous field with people results are noteworthy. First, as the carrying multiple and situational editors suggest, ‘A defining differ- identity tags, but to make sense of ence remains between the more the complexities of the field of study. hostile atmosphere towards atheists The volume does this by organising in the United States and the much various approaches and focusing on more indifferent/accepting climate three levels: social identities, group in Canada and the United Kingdom’ identities, and individual identities. (p. 5). This is interesting, because it In practice, this means studying argues that neighbouring countries the constructions and negotiations can have very different ‘climates’ 330 BOOK REVIEWS

for and that geographically the European Court, thus departing distant countries can resemble each from the volume’s geographical fo- other in this respect. Second, the vol- cus, but it is a chapter worth reading. ume’s findings argue for the signifi- Stephen LeDrew’s chapter per- cance of nation-specific explorations suades us to think of the history and of atheism, rather than universally current forms of atheism in terms of applicable generalisations. This is binaries such as ‘scientific atheism’ concomitant with David Martin’s and ‘humanistic atheism’, ‘confron- take on the secularisation debate. As tation’ and ‘accommodation’, ‘indi- he writes in The Future of Christianity vidualism’ and ‘social justice’. These (Ashgate, 2011, p. 7), ‘the theory of are useful ideal-types in simplifying secularization […] is profoundly in- the complexities of historical and flected by particular histories, which current positions, particularly in in the modern period are national American atheist discourse. They il- histories qualified in a minor or lustrate the so-called ‘New Atheism’, major way by regional variations’. which highlights science, confronta- Martin’s argument is not referenced tion, and individualism, but I am in Atheist Identities, but on the basis unsure whether the other halves of of findings of individual chapters the binaries form a clear-cut whole. it can be suggested that the same Furthermore, it is possible to find insight applies, mutatis mutandis, to well-known public intellectuals who the study of atheism. could be seen as representing both Rather than summarising and scientific and humanistic atheism, evaluating each chapter deeply, such as A. C. Grayling. I shall limit myself to a couple of Altogether five chapters focus comments, some appreciative and on atheist or non-religious organi- some critical. William A. Stahl’s sations of various kinds. Richard overview of the Canadian religious Cimino and Christopher Smith context – a chapter driven by Charles write about organised secularist Taylor’s insights – is followed by rituals in the United States, while Lori Beaman’s superb chapter on Spencer Bullivant analyses his atheist involvement in legal cases. fieldwork experience in the United With two examples she argues con- States at a non-religious summer vincingly that ostensibly religious camp called Camp Quest. Steven symbols such as a cross located in Tomlins and Christopher Cotter ex- the classroom are re-articulated as plore atheist university clubs in Ot- cultural and national symbols with tawa and Edinburgh respectively, heritage-value in selected present while Lorna Mumford focuses on day nation-states, thus representing London’s non-religious meeting atheists as people who are not only groups. These are all relevant recent irreligious but against the dominant case studies of organisations that values of society more generally. received little scholarly attention a One of the cases concerns Italy and decade ago. BOOK REVIEWS 331

Peter Beyer traces what he calls of God. It is unsurprising that these the ‘punctuated continuum’ of extremely broad criteria result in identities among young immigrants the conclusion that 80% of all athe- in Canada and demonstrates that it ists are considered ‘New Atheists’. I might be wiser to talk about ‘a con- am convinced that this percentage tinuum of identities ranging from encompasses such a diverse group one socially operative category to of people – not to mention their another – here atheism and religion heterogeneous attitudes towards – than of an arrangement of people Dawkins and other well-known into a delimited set of categories, so-called ‘New Atheists’ – that nar- whether two or more’ (p. 139). This rower criteria would have been insight is implicitly present in many appropriate. chapters of this volume, including Finally, I wish to raise two mi- Amarnath Amarasingam’s study of nor points that apply to the whole Sri Lankan Tamil youth in Canada, volume. First, the editors define which demonstrates nicely how reli- atheism in the introduction as ‘the gious identification can mean ethnic belief that there is no God, no gods, and cultural belonging rather than a no Goddess, and no goddesses’ (p. 4, belief-position. However, as it fails emphasis original). I have no quar- to address atheist identities explic- rel with this definition, but if the itly, it fits less well with the rest of objective of the volume is to study this volume than the other chapters. atheist identities by highlighting The volume concludes with how people understand what their Ryan Cragun’s survey analysis of atheism consists of, what it entails, atheists in the United States. It con- and which practices are appropri- firms what is already known – that ate for it, it is not clear to me why atheists are typically young, white, an analytical definition of atheism unmarried (partly because of their is preferred to people’s self-identi- age), liberal, and well-educated men. fication. Many chapters would be Cragun also explores the differences good if they defined their scope of between ‘New Atheists’ and ‘other study with a focus on people iden- atheists’. Although I consider this tifying as atheists or who are active approach extremely relevant, the in organisations that apply the term. operationalisation of ‘New Atheists’ Second, although the volume is somewhat flawed. Cragun in- focuses on North America and the cludes in the category all who meet United Kingdom, it could have three criteria: (1) those who do not included more references to other believe in God and life after death; areas. I am mainly thinking of con- (2) those who agree that evolution is tinental Western Europe, Eastern the best explanation for the origins Europe, and the Nordic countries. of human life on earth; and (3) those For example, a special issue of Ap- who think that the Bible is a book proaching Religion (1/2012), The New written by men and is not the word Visibility of Atheism in Europe, 332 BOOK REVIEWS

which deals with such areas as well as the United Kingdom, and offers a comparison between Scandinavia and the United States, is not uti- lised (although there is a passing reference to one of its articles in the thematic issue). The issue was published on open access six months before the meeting that initiated this volume, so it would have been quite easy to contextualise the findings from North America and the United Kingdom more strongly in relation to previously published studies. Despite these few critical com- ments, this volume is indispensable for anyone wishing to contribute to the study of atheist identities in the contemporary world. Its individual chapters offer useful case studies and I assume that many readers will want to read the whole volume, because most of the contributions are so strongly related. It also dem- onstrates that the topic must be ad- dressed on at least three levels – the social, the group, and the individual – and that the kind of identity people have is strongly dependent on their various national histories.

Teemu Taira University of Helsinki, Finland

TEEMU TAIRA is Senior Lecturer in the Study of Religions, University of Helsinki. E-mail: [email protected] BOOK REVIEWS 333

Tomáš Bubík and Henryk Hoff- to its Study’, Tomáš Bubík provides mann (eds): Studying Religions with a brief survey of the historical and the Iron Curtain Closed and Open: cultural conditions that impacted the The Academic Study of Religion in development of the academic study Eastern Europe. Leiden, Brill, 2015, of religion as a backdrop to its decline xviii+320pp. during the Communist era after 1948. By 1954, he shows, scientific atheism This book is the ultimate result of an had become the primary theoretical international grant project entitled approach to understanding religion, ‘Development of the Study of Reli- replacing the academic study of reli- gions in Central and Eastern Europe gion with anti-church and anti-reli- in the 20th Century’, supported by gious propaganda (p. 31). A scholarly the Czech Science Foundation. Par- approach re-emerged in the Republic ticipants in the project were charged after the dissolution of the Institute with undertaking a historical and of Scientific Atheism, an approach systematic analysis of the academic ‘characterized by the most unbiased study of religion in their own coun- standpoint possible’, as Bubik puts it, tries. The overall objective was to ‘even if the truly objective standpoint provide the international community cannot be reached’ (p. 46). This new, of scholars of religion with the first scientific approach to understanding new, comprehensive treatise on the and explaining religious phenomena development of ‘Religious Studies’ in and religions is now anchored in such this region of Europe in the English institutions as university depart- language. ‘Our fundamental hy- ments, in journals for publication of pothesis [for the project],’ the editors academic research on religions, and note, ‘is that the field, as a constitu- in academic societies that support ent of the humanities, is specifically research in this field nationally and inclined to idealization, perhaps even internationally. more so than any other discipline’ David Václavík provides an anal- (p. x), and the ‘main contribution of ysis of the development of the study the book’, they maintain, will ‘test of religion in Slovakia, indicating the whether and to what extent the Study problems for the field given that a of Religions has such a proclivity to Slovakian national identity emerged chronic idealization’, especially, but only in the latter part of the nine- not only, under Communist regimes teenth century, and given the loss of (p. x). Individual national studies in independent statehood for Slovakia this volume include, in order, the after World War II. The domination Czech Republic, Slovakia, , of the Marxist scientific worldview Hungary, Estonia, , Ukraine, after 1948, moreover, had a signifi- and Russia. cant negative impact on the study of In ‘The Czech Journey to the religions in that country. It is only Academic Study of Religion’, sub- with the demise of the Slovakian titled ‘From the Critique of Religion Institute of Scientific Atheism after 334 BOOK REVIEWS

1989, he points out, that interest in 1950 to 1990; and what they call a the academic study of religion was pluralist period from 1990 to the particularly influenced by the social present. They maintain that scholars sciences, especially psychology, so- in Hungary were always open to ciology, and anthropology. the scholarship of highly respected In his research on the study of re- international colleagues in the field ligions in Poland Henryk Hoffmann throughout the atheistic period, provides a summary of its develop- indicating/suggesting continuity of ment from the nineteenth century to the work in Hungary with the study the present. Hoffmann shows that of religion outside Soviet influence. there was clearly a ‘secularist cur- Ülo Valk and Tarmo Kulmar rent’ in the field that lasted until write: ‘The history of Religious 1918 and that the interwar period Studies as an academic discipline in was dominated by a diffusionist Estonia has developed over time in ‘cultural historical method’ intent on three main directions, each primed demonstrating an ‘ur-cultural mono- by specific ideological factors and theism’. No department or institute sometimes also political needs.’ (p. of scientific atheism, he points out, 167) These directions include the long was ever established in Poland dur- history of interest in Christianity, in ing the Communist period, and the Oriental Studies, and Indology in study of religions attained academic the nineteenth century, as well as recognition in the 1970s. As for the research into ethnic religions and pre- present status of the field, he writes: Christian mythology. They attempt ‘Despite many difficulties initially to provide an overall picture of the associated with the lack of state, and field in brief accounts of the outstand- later because of many complications ing scholars who best represented of [a] political and ideological nature, these trends. Their account clearly Polish study of religions developed shows that the internal priorities of gradually, in accord with its interna- the discipline were mostly subor- tional development.’ (p. 118) dinated to ideological directives (p. András Máté-Tóth and Csaba 182), although they think the field Máté Sarnyai provide an overview today is experiencing ‘a powerful of the study of internationalization process’ (p. 197). by way of brief biographies and sum- Janis Priede focuses his study maries of the views of the field’s most of the Study of Religions in Latvia representative influential scholars, on its development in the twenti- and supply an overview of its most eth century since, as he maintains, significant publications. They see ‘[a]ny attempt to introduce a strict the development as having occurred chronological division between the in four distinct periods: a period of pre-academic and academic study of liberal thought from 1860 to 1920; a religion in Latvia is arbitrary’ (p. 200). nationalist period from 1920 to 1950; He pays attention, therefore, to the a period of open hostility to the field most significant scholars in the field under the Communist regime from in the twentieth century, especially BOOK REVIEWS 335

those who continued the tradition of Buddhism. This research, however, ‘the study of religion started by phi- was largely in support of atheistic lologists, literary scholars, folklore propaganda, and especially so from specialists, and Orientalists [...]’ (p. the 1950s to the 1980s. Elbakyan, 238). The two important strands of moreover, points out that ‘[i]ssues study today, he points out, include concerning the theory of scientific folk religion and mythology, which atheism as well as the question of its had been a significant field after exact placement among other social World War I, and, interestingly, the sciences occupied an important posi- religious ideas to be found in Latvian tion in Soviet research of the time’ (and Russian) writers. (p. 291). Tasks listed for future con- Liudmyla Fylypovych and Yuriy sideration include distinguishing Babinov maintain that although it can the study of religions from theology in some senses be considered ‘one of (transcendent matters), solidifying the oldest branches of human knowl- its academic character, and integrat- edge’, the study of ing it into the broader international is nevertheless a young discipline (p. framework of religious studies. 239). Early in the twentieth century These historical reflections on the research on religions came under study of religions in Eastern Euro- strict ideological control and its major pean countries show that despite task became the propagation of athe- difficult political conditions and istic thinking. Despite that pressure, ideological influences, the Study however, they claim that Ukrainian of Religions, as the editors put it, scholars succeeded in exploring a has ‘gradually but steadily moved range of serious questions in the forward’ (p. xv), and has filled in field, and with the collapse of the So- many gaps in understanding the viet Union, moreover, the discipline discipline from a global perspective. was renewed. ‘Today,’ they write, I think the editors are also justified ‘Religious Studies coexist in Ukraine in claiming that this volume brings in parallel academic and theologi- into view primary sources of materi- cal modes, which complement each als related to the study of religion in other rather than competing [because these countries which is relevant not the] secularity of academic Religious only in understanding the history of Studies does not imply hostility to- this specific discipline but also of the wards religions [...]’ (p. 256). humanities in general (p. iv). In outlining ‘Religious Studies’ in Russia Ekaterina Elbakyan raises the Donald Wiebe interesting question as to whether a University of Toronto, Canada ‘Soviet Religious Studies’ ever re- ally existed. Nevertheless, Elbakyan DONALD WIEBE is Professor at Trinity Col- also notes that in the pre-war years lege in the University of Toronto, dwiebe@ trinity.utoronto.ca Russian scholars were engaged in studying Judaism, Christianity, Is- lam, and religions of the East such as 336 BOOK REVIEWS