Introductory Essay: The Anthropology of Religion after Socialism (original) (raw)
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Two events unfolded in the Romanian media in the autumn of 2003: the coronation of a Romanian Roma leader as 'International King of the Gypsies of the World' (Rou: rege internaţional al ţiganilor de pretutindeni) and the wedding of the young daughter of Florin Cioabă, another Roma 'king'. To broaden the context of the analysis offered in previous chapters, I look at media representations of these events, which reveal much about the transformation of the postsocialist public sphere in Romania and the place of 'Gypsies' within it. Recent changes in ritual communication are not unique to the village in which I conducted my fieldwork, and the postsocialist rise in exclusionary tendencies in the public sphere is not an isolated phenomenon unique to a few localities. Processes observable at the local level are connected to changes in the public sphere at the national level. The mass media foster exclusion, not only in Romania but also in the emerging European public sphere.
2013
This chapter analyses registered high levels of religiosity in Romania, and lower levels in Bulgaria, in the context of overlapping national and religious identities. It argues that the incorporation of religious identity into national identity was discouraged in socialist Bulgaria, but reinforced in socialist Romania starting with the 1960s. Oral history evidence is used to track personal religiosity and the spontaneous connections made with national/family identity, and to propose a model of ‘belonging without believing’ as opposed to the West European ‘believing without belonging’ (Davie 1994). Choosing and organising religious or secular ceremonies to mark important moments in life is an ideal indicator for assessing levels of commitment to (religious) traditions in different historical and personal moments in a life story. Special attention is granted to funeral rites as the importance of dying Orthodox seems to have resisted attempts by the socialist state to secularise this life passage, especially in the Romanian case. Intriguing cases of declared non-religious persons still claiming to be Orthodox and requesting Orthodox funeral rites are discussed in the context of their life stories. The chapter also highlights, through oral history sources, negotiating practices in performing religious rituals during the supposedly laic communist regime in both Romania and Bulgaria.
Throughout history, largescale political and economic changes have often correlated with change in the observance of holidays and the ritual cycle, reflecting and enabling the appearance of new ideologies and practices related to work. This is especially true for the modern period, both from the initial appearance of capitalism and industrialism, and in the twentieth-century efforts of states to engineer and better control economic development. The Soviet Union and other socialist states, for example, transformed the cycle of annual holidays celebrated by their populations with the intent of spreading political ideology and increasing economic productivity and efficiency. While there is a small but rich literature about the surprising effects of these policies, there has been no sustained study of post-Soviet or postsocialist transformations in ritual cycles and their connection to changing economic practices and ideologies. This paper represents a preliminary attempt to analyze the impacts of capitalism, nationalism, and religious revival as influences on transformations in the ritual cycle of postsocialist Moldova.
Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, 2012
Biography and autobiography Oakdale, Suzanne. I foresee my life: the ritual performance of autobiography in an Amazonian community. xvi, 206 pp., map, illus., bibliogr. London, Lincoln: Univ. Nebraska Press, 2005. £32.95 (cloth)
Throughout history, large scale political and economic change have often correlated with change in the observance of holidays and the ritual cycle, reflecting and enabling the appearance of new ideologies and practices related to work. This is especially true for the modern period, both from the initial appearance of capitalism and industrialism, and in the twentieth-century efforts of states to engineer and better control economic development. The Soviet Union and other socialist states, for example, transformed the cycle of annual holidays celebrated by their populations with the intent of spreading political ideology and increasing economic productivity and efficiency. While there is a small but rich literature about the surprising effects of these policies, there has been no sustained study of post-Soviet or post-socialist transformations in ritual cycles and their connection to changing economic practices and ideologies. This paper represents a preliminary attempt to analyze the impacts of capitalism, nationalism, and religious revival as influences on transformations in the ritual cycle of post-socialist Moldova.
The paper offers a brief re-study of funerary rituals in a village inhabited by Hungarian Roman Catholics in Romania. Since the completion of long-term fieldwork there in 2003 and 2004, the construction of a funeral home and the emergence of local companies, offering full service for funeral receptions, have led to considerable changes in the course of funerary rituals. Rites that were traditionally carried out in the home have been moved to the public sphere, and tasks traditionally fulfilled by people nurturing social ties to the family of the deceased have largely been taken over by the service sector. Since funeral rites are intricately intertwined with cultural beliefs and values and with the management of social relations, these changes are more than technical. By focusing on how people reacted to the changes imposed on them, this study emphasizes their agency in constructing the ritual dimensions of their lives.
Making Religion Acceptable in Communist Romania and the Soviet Union, 1943-1989
2017
OF DISSERTATION MAKING RELIGION ACCEPTABLE IN COMMUNIST ROMANIA AND THE SOVIET UNION, 1943-1989 This dissertation focuses on religious gatherings in communist Romania and the Soviet Union, 1943-1989. Church was one of the few opportunities for voluntary associational life and is invaluable for the study of power, ideology, and belonging in an everyday social setting. This project is based on archival documents and memoirs, uncovering how state officials and religious representatives struggled to establish religious practice that would be acceptable to all. Although ideologically atheist, state officials regarded some religious gatherings as acceptable and others unacceptable, but not due to utterances of beliefs or performance of traditional sacraments, but because of social aspects: how people related to one another, what kinds of people came, the settings of the gatherings, and affective characteristics like enthusiasm, engagement, and authenticity. Even though believers participa...