{"title":"Synagogue as Infrastructure in Everyday Life of Batumi Jewish Community","authors":"Nino Abakelia","doi":"10.1163/18748929-bja10056","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/18748929-bja10056","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The subject under scrutiny is Sephardic and Ashkenazi synagogues in Batumi (the Black Sea Region of Georgia) that reveal both universal and culturally specific forms. The paper is based on ethnographic data gathered during fieldwork in Batumi, in 2019, and on the theoretical postulates of anthropology of infrastructure. The article argues that the Batumi synagogues could be viewed and understood as ‘infrastructure’ in their own right, as they serve as objects through which other objects, people, and ideas operate and function as a system. The paper attempts to demonstrate how the sacred edifices change their trajectory according to modern conditions and how the sacred place is inserted and coexists inside a network of touristic infrastructure.</p>","PeriodicalId":42630,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Religion in Europe","volume":"283 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-12-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138520450","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Informal Networks in the Black Sea Region: The Case of Georgian Muslim Boarding Houses","authors":"Mariam Darchiashvili","doi":"10.1163/18748929-bja10063","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/18748929-bja10063","url":null,"abstract":"<p>In 2014, local community members nailed a pig’s head to the door of a Muslim boarding house in Kobuleti, a small town in Adjara, to argue that ‘this is a Christian place.’ They expressed fears about the building owner, who was thought to be of Turkish origin. Enlargement of the boarding house was perceived as a possible Islamization of the town and an increase of transborder flows in the region. In this article, I examine the agency of the boarding houses in Adjara through human and non-human actors. At the same time, I look at the legal responses of the state and official structures for controlling informalities embedded in the boarding houses’ networks.</p>","PeriodicalId":42630,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Religion in Europe","volume":"214 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-12-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138542431","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Identifying Major Actors of Shi’i Revival in Post-Soviet Azerbaijan","authors":"Altay Goyushov, Kanan Rovshanoglu","doi":"10.1163/18748929-bja10054","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/18748929-bja10054","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 This article is an attempt to describe, analyze, and evaluate the major players who contributed to the rise of transnational Shi’i activism in post-Soviet Azerbaijan. The article is based on a chronology of the most important events, and internet resources, personal contacts, observations, and interviews have been the primary source of this research.","PeriodicalId":42630,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Religion in Europe","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-12-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44439776","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Orthodox Mobilizations and Political Identities in Post-Soviet Georgia","authors":"Silvia Serrano","doi":"10.1163/18748929-bja10064","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/18748929-bja10064","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 Based on field research carried out over the last two decades, this article analyzes the labile nature of the relationship between religion and politics in Georgia. It aims to understand not only the rational and deliberate processes in which elites engage for political ends but also to grasp the diversity of actors and patterns of religion mobilization. It argues that three main types of articulations have developed since the 1990s: the mobilization of Orthodoxy (1) in the service of nation-building; (2) in the construction of an anti-elite popular identity; and (3) as a moral crusade. Each type of articulation involves specific social actors, organizational forms, and relations with political institutions.","PeriodicalId":42630,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Religion in Europe","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-12-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44019546","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Baptizing into Kin: Religion and Peace in a Multi-ethnic Village in Georgia","authors":"Ketevan Gurchiani","doi":"10.1163/18748929-bja10060","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/18748929-bja10060","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Based on ethnographic fieldwork in a multi-ethnic village in Georgia, this paper shows how everyday peace is continuously reaffirmed in the tradition of inviting Muslim godparents to baptize Christian children. The Muslim godparents perform the roles of the chosen Christians while at the same time remaining Muslim. Hybrid local lay-religious practices around the ritual of christening are analyzed within a larger cultural semiotics that allows reciprocity of perspectives and, specifically in this context, enables the recruitment of non-Christians into the role of godparent. Religion serves as a ground for asserting peace.</p>","PeriodicalId":42630,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Religion in Europe","volume":"191 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-12-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138520451","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"New Sacred Places in Contemporary Poland: Ethnographic Case Study of Two Miracles in Sokółka and Legnica","authors":"Tomasz Kalniuk","doi":"10.1163/18748929-20211419","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/18748929-20211419","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000Events that happened in Poland in 2008 and 2013 related to the alleged miracles in Sokółka (in the Podlasie region) and Legnica (in the Silesia region) seriously affected the native ‘sacrosphere.’ Sensational information about the unusual events polarized public opinion by confronting secular and religious worldviews. At the same time, the increase in the devotion of the faithful was accompanied by folklore-forming mechanisms, adding new threads to the ‘miraculous story.’ Ethnographic research performed in the newly founded sanctuaries reveals elements of sensuality specific to folk religiosity. Miracles displaying the motif of blood build the reputation of Sokółka and Legnica as new holy places, attracting pilgrims and tourists from Poland and abroad. Contrary to pessimistic predictions of widespread secularization, there was a revival of the so-called ‘traditional piety.’ Folk religiosity revealed its vitality.","PeriodicalId":42630,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Religion in Europe","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-07-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46256082","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Depictions of God in the Drawings of German-Muslim Children","authors":"Yasemin Güleç","doi":"10.1163/18748929-20211501","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/18748929-20211501","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000This empirical inquiry aimed to examine the qualitative differences of the ‘God’ concept of Turkish-German Sunni Muslim children living in Germany. In this study, non-anthropomorphic drawings did not increase gradually with age. Anthromoporphic God depictions seem to be ontologically moving away from people with age. In the present study, indirect God depictions occurred six times more than the direct God depictions. ‘Religious-cultural drawings’ were the most common in the sample. The girls drew more aesthetic drawings that expressed an emotional bond with God. Boys depicted God more rationally and pragmatically in regard to human life and the world.","PeriodicalId":42630,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Religion in Europe","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-07-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42030290","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Proselytism and Ostentation: a Critical Discourse Analysis of the European Court of Human Rights’ Case Law on Religious Symbols","authors":"Giulia Evolvi, M. Gatti","doi":"10.1163/18748929-20211524","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/18748929-20211524","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000This article focuses on the European Court of Human Rights’ (ECtHR) case law about religious symbols (N=27) from 2001 to 2018, exploring the following questions: What discourses does the ECtHR employ in cases about religious symbols? How do ECtHR’s discourses about religious symbols evolve in time? The data is innovatively analyzed through critical discourse analysis and leads to two findings: first, the ECtHR tends to endorse ‘Christian secularism,’ considering Christian symbols as compatible with secularism but not Muslim symbols; second, ECtHR discourses occasionally become more favorable to Muslim applicants over time, but the evolution of case law is not linear.","PeriodicalId":42630,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Religion in Europe","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-07-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46219886","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Marian Burchardt, Regulating Difference: Religious Diversity and Nationhood in the Secular West","authors":"Avi Astor","doi":"10.1163/18748929-20211540","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/18748929-20211540","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":42630,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Religion in Europe","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-07-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49525877","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Russell Sandberg (ed), Leading Works in Law and Religion","authors":"J. Richardson","doi":"10.1163/18748929-20211555","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/18748929-20211555","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":42630,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Religion in Europe","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-07-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46927864","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}