The Varieties of Abandonment of Religious Symbols
Taking the Weberian use of the term "secularization" as a point of departure, the author has questioned the identification of the term with the abandonment of religious beliefs per se. He distinguishes between two kinds of abandonment, namely eradication and effacement. These two concepts...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Wiley-Blackwell
[1972]
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| In: |
Journal for the scientific study of religion
Year: 1972, Volume: 11, Issue: 1, Pages: 33-41 |
| Further subjects: | B
Religious symbolism
B Traditions B Symbolism B Secularization B Religious rituals B Judaism B Synagogues B Jewish rituals |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (Resolving-System) Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | Taking the Weberian use of the term "secularization" as a point of departure, the author has questioned the identification of the term with the abandonment of religious beliefs per se. He distinguishes between two kinds of abandonment, namely eradication and effacement. These two concepts refer to distinct phenomena growing out of very different social conditions and circumstances. Eradication is an abandonment of religious rituals, symbols, or beliefs that reflects a loss of faith in underlying religious values, whereas effacement is an abandonment that does not reflect such a loss. Three cases of symbolic change which occurred in a Djerban synagogue in Israel are discussed and the analysis is extended through a comparison with a Lele ritual. The three Djerban examples in the Israeli environment and the Lele ritual were found to be instances of effacement. In all four cases the very act of abandonment of the religious symbols, which was due to the fact that the particular symbols in question no longer conform with the experiential situation of the actors, actually led to a reaffirmation of the symbols. |
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| ISSN: | 1468-5906 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal for the scientific study of religion
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.2307/1384296 |