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Mediation, practice, and aisthesis: towards a culturalist approach to religion in the Post-Secular

Alemany Navarro, Pedro David

Abstract

The approach to contemporary articulations of religion is still problematic within the fields of literary criticism and cultural studies. Nevertheless, given the interdisciplinary aspiration of the latter, an amalgamation of research coming from the fields of philosophy, anthropology, and psychology of religion must find a proper place within any culturalist approach to religion. In this article, we lay out a set of semantics drawing from current research around religion and culture, with the goal of posing and answering the questions of why, how, and where to tackle religion in contemporary cultural forms. Overcoming classical tensions between the religious and the secular self, as well as the analyzer and the analyzed subject, we will detach our approach from any theological inquiry. However, by adhering to a broader understanding of the concepts of mediation and practice, we will also attempt to circumvent ideology-based obstacles that often surface in the study of the myriad ways in which contemporary authors navigate religion.

Full text

JOURNAL OF THE SOCIOLOGY AND THEORY OF RELIGION (JSTR), 10 (2020): 118-131 ISSN: 2255-2715 Media ion, p ac ice, and ais hesis: owa ds a cul u alis app oach o eligion in he Pos -Secula Mediación, p ác ica y ais hesis: po una ap oximación cul u alis a a la eligión en la e a pos -secula PEDRO ALEMANY NAVARRO Depa amen o de Filología Alemana Uni e sidad de Se illa Palos de la F on e a, S/N 41004 Se illa [email protected] Recibido/Acep ado: 12-01-2020/10-05-2020 Cómo ci a : Alemany Na a o, Ped o. 2020. “Medi a ion, p ac ice and ais hesis: owa ds a cul u alis app oach o eligion in he Pos -Secula ”, Jou nal o he Sociology and Theo y o Religion, (S.1) 10: 118-131 Es e a ículo es á suje o a una: Licencia "C ea i e Commons Reconocimien o -No Come cial" (CC-BY-NC) DOI: h ps://doi.o g/10.24197/js .2.2020.118-131 Abs ac : The app oach o con empo a y a icula ions o eligion is s ill p oblema ic wi hin he ields o li e a y c i icism and cul u al s udies. Ne e heless, gi en he in e disciplina y aspi a ion o he la e , an amalgama ion o esea ch coming om he ields o philosophy, an h opology, and psychology o eligion mus ind a p ope place wi hin any cul u alis app oach o eligion. In his a icle, we lay ou a se o seman ics d awing om cu en esea ch a ound eligion and cul u e, wi h he goal o posing and answe ing he ques ions o why, how, and whe e o ackle eligion in con empo a y cul u al o ms. O e coming classical ensions be ween he eligious and he secula sel , as well as he analyze and he analyzed subjec , we will de ach ou app oach om any heological inqui y. Howe e , by adhe ing o a b oade unde s anding o he concep s o media ion and p ac ice, we will also a emp o ci cum en ideology-based obs acles ha o en su ace in he s udy o he my iad ways in which con empo a y au ho s na iga e eligion. Keywo ds: eligion; cul u al s udies; pos -secula ; aes he ics; an h opology o eligion. Resumen: La ap oximación académica a las a iculaciones eligiosas con empo áneas es oda ía p oblemá ica en los campos de la c í ica li e a ia y los es udios cul u ales. No obs an e, dada a aspi ación in e disciplina de es os úl imos, una amalgama de in es igaciones p o enien es de los campos de la iloso ía, la an opología y la psicología de la eligión debe encon a un espacio p opio den o de cualquie ap oximación cul u alis a a la eligión. En es e a ículo, p opond emos una semán ica que bebe de in es igaciones ac uales sob e la eligión y la cul u a, con el obje i o de p opone y da espues a a las p egun as de po qué, cómo y dónde es udia el enómeno Media ion, p ac ice, and ais hesis: owa ds a cul u alis JOURNAL OF THE SOCIOLOGY AND THEORY OF RELIGION (JSTR), 10 (2020): 118-131 ISSN: 2255-2715 119 eligioso en las p oducciones cul u ales con empo áneas. En un in en o po supe a las ensiones clásicas en e el yo eligioso y el yo secula , así como las ensiones p opias del suje o analizado y el analizado, des incula emos nues a ap oximación de una in es igación eológica. Sin emba go, al adhe i nos a una comp ensión más amplia de los concep os de mediación y p ác ica, in en a emos supe a obs áculos de ipo ideológico que suelen su gi en el es udio de las innume ables mane as en las que au o es con empo áneos na egan su aspi ación eligiosa. Palab as cla e: eligión; es udios cul u ales; pos -secula ; es é ica; an opología de la eligión. 1. WHY RELIGION? Discussing eligious phenomena is s ill o many an a a ism wi hin he Humani ies and, especially, wi hin he ield o cul u al s udies. Fu he mo e, he ques ion which ollows is usually ‘how’: how o app oach eligion in he 21s cen u y? Ce ainly, ‘why’ and ‘how’ a e ca dinal ques ions ha a ise when ying o discuss eligion, especially ou side o he ield o heology. As sugges ed by he ch onological o de o he ques ions, he ‘why’ p ecedes he ‘how’, and i in ol es a less me hodological app oach which migh end o a ouse suspicions when ying o de e mine whe he he e migh be a eligious in e es o he pa o he schola discussing opics ela ed o eligious phenomena. Some migh hink ha dealing wi h such a opic migh necessa ily in ol e he exp ession o a ce ain eligious agenda. As Go ski no es, his goes hand in hand wi h he ac ha “mos social scien is s ha e now mo ed o a posi ion o ‘somewhe e beyond belie .’” (Go ski 2012, 5) Ne e heless, many eac ions which s ill a ise in academia when discussing eligion and i ual in he con empo a y wo ld anscend he me e lack o in e es on he opic. They can be conside ed examples o a secula is app oach which has always eigned in he ield o cul u al s udies and which ends o challenge he impo ance o conside ing he a icula ion o eligion in mode n imes, e en conside ing he discussion o such a opic no only as unin e es ing, bu also as u ile. Many migh conside eligion a me e a a ism which is gene ally highly p oblema ized by schola s who ejec he possibili ies o s udying he many ways in which eligion can be a icula ed in he Pos -Secula ; hus, impo e ishing he s udy and unde s anding o social li e. The appa en ly conscious ejec ion o eligion which usually akes place wi hin cul u al s udies migh ind i s incep ion in an excessi e adhe ence o F eudian psychoanalysis which somehow s ill pe mea es, pe haps unconsciously, he p edisposi ion o ackle opics ela ed o eligion wi hin cul u al s udies. F eud, indeed, did no conside ha psychoanalysis and Ped o Alemany Na a o JOURNAL OF THE SOCIOLOGY AND THEORY OF RELIGION (JSTR), 10 (2020): 118-131 ISSN: 2255-2715 120 eligion could be econcilable, e go he lack o a eligious p esence in any kind o c i icism which adhe es o his F eudian pos ula e. Ne e heless, his dis ega d o eligion is pe haps mo e s ongly based on he ac ha cul u al s udies was, as Mo gan no es, “shaped […] by B i ish Ma xis hough .” (Mo gan 2008, 4) Bo h o hese ac o s a e, in one way o ano he , ela ed o a p ominen pos -s uc u alis c i icism on cul u e. None heless, hese kinds o app oaches which could be conside ed pos -s uc u alis in na u e, can also se e us o ind a p ope space o he discussion o eligion in mode n imes; o hey can enable us o unde s and eligion as a se o cul u al p ocesses whe e meaning and iden i y de elop and consolida e. 2. HOW RELIGION? 2. 1. Religion as cul u e, cul u e as media The bi h o his so-called cul u alis app oach ha we use as a heo e ical amewo k in ou s udy o eligion can be, as Mo gan no es, aced o he publica ion o “A Cul u alis App oach o Communica ion” by James Ca ey in 1975 (Mo gan 2008, 3). Ca ey b idged he no ion o communica ion wi h ha o eligion h ough he unde s anding o communica ion as “ ansmission” and as “ i ual”, wo concep s whose o igins a e eligious. D awn upon John Dewey’s wo ks, Ca ey no es ha he goal o communica ion ex ends beyond he me e di usion o in o ma ion, i is p ecisely he c ea ion and cons uc ion o meaning, ha is, a “meaning ul cul u al wo ld ha can se e as a con ol o con aine o human ac ion.” (1989, 18) Al hough many o he concep s and p emises used wi hin his heo e ical amewo k can be seen as ha ing a Ma xis pedig ee, b anding hem as Ma xis would be inaccu a e, as hey amalgama e di e en heo e ical app oaches. The e lec ion upon he alse p edic ion o he Go -is - o -Theologie is hough o be he s a ing poin om which hese schola s s udy a eligious Renaissance in a wo ld unde —o , a he , a e —mode n secula ism. Religion has no only lou ished in i s mo e undamen alis o ms bu also in new eligious mo emen s which na u ally use new media as hei cen al way o expansion. On Sep embe 27 h, 2019, one o Ame ica’s mos amous appe s, Kanye Wes , pu ou his album “Jesus is King” whe e a s ong c i icism agains abo ion and po nog aphy is po ayed. Wes , who had been o ganizing gospel se ices o he las yea , now p omo es his new album on adio, TV, and social media, mo ed by a clea Ch is ian con ic ion. His album Media ion, p ac ice, and ais hesis: owa ds a cul u alis JOURNAL OF THE SOCIOLOGY AND THEORY OF RELIGION (JSTR), 10 (2020): 118-131 ISSN: 2255-2715 121 debu ed numbe one on he Billboa d 200 albums cha , and he 11 songs he album con ains ha e s ayed o weeks on he op-50 globally. This album, which does no con ain any explici language, is he p elude o a musical- documen a y Wes is p epa ing o 2020. The singe s who ha e pa aken in his p ojec p omised Wes no o engage in p ema i al sex du ing he ilming. One can only imagine how many subjec s Wes is willing o each and con e wi h his Ch is ian e ses in an age whe e some schola s—whose in e es s pi o a ound cul u e and socie y—s ill doub i we can conside i he Pos - Secula . In ecen yea s, howe e , he unde s anding o media anscends he concep ion o i as me e ehicles o communica ion. As Ho s ield no es, media mus be unde s ood as “si es whe e cons uc ion, nego ia ion, and econs uc ion o cul u al meaning akes place in an ongoing p ocess o main enance and change o cul u al s uc u es, ela ionships, meanings and alues.” (Mo gan 2008, 113) The idea is o unde s and human in e ac ion in i sel as cons an ly media ed, ha is, as he a ena whe e a con inuous c ea ion o meaning akes place. This c ea ion o meaning c ea es eali y, bu as Zi o no es, he e is a ecip ocal ela ionship: “[Media ion is] he cons uc ion o social eali y whe e people a e cons an ly engaged in p oducing he ma e ial wo ld a ound hem, e en as hey a e, in u n, p oduced by i .” (Zi o 2008, 726) The beginning o his mo e cul u al pe spec i e on communica ion cons i u es a p emise o many schola s who, om 1990 onwa ds, ha e es ablished hemsel es as pionee s in he s udy o eligion wi hin cul u al s udies. The na u e o his app oach does no encompass a genealogical s udy o eligion: he Ma xis epis emology p esen in his cul u alis app oach o eligion is p ecisely he s udy o eligious c ys alliza ions in ligh o i s con empo a y pe o mances. Mo eo e , al hough a Foucauldian in luence is easy o pe cei e in he unde s anding o he powe ela ions o igina ed in i ual, ou way o app oaching his subjec ma e , gi en i s non-genealogical na u e, does no a emp o su pass he discou se i sel and decons uc he concep un il we a e le wi h a supposed elucida ion o i s own discu si e impossibili y, which is a ecu en Foucauldian endency. Ra he han s a ing o by a p esc ip i e accoun o wha eligion o cul u e is, his cul u alis app oach o which we adhe e has opened he doo o discussions a ound he meaning o hese and o he concep s ela ed o eligious exp ession. The wo k o Cli o d Gee z needs o be aken in o special conside a ion, o he con ibu ed o he discussion on he s udy o eligion by e e ing o i s cul u al dimension. No ing he p oblema ics which s em om he e e ence o cul u e, Gee z a gues ha his concep mus no be Ped o Alemany Na a o JOURNAL OF THE SOCIOLOGY AND THEORY OF RELIGION (JSTR), 10 (2020): 118-131 ISSN: 2255-2715 122 unde s ood as a loa ing signi ie : “i [cul u e] deno es a his o ically ansmi ed pa e n o meanings embodied in symbols, a sys em o inhe i ed concep ions exp essed in symbolic o ms by means o which men communica e, pe pe ua e, and de elop hei knowledge abou and a i udes owa d li e.” (Gee z 1973, 89) Cul u e can indeed be an ambiguous concep ; a concep used s a egically o de ine ce ain social o ms o o appeal o ce ain common p ac ices. Zi o p oposes o unde s and cul u e h ough h ee phases: “cul u e as meaning, cul u e beyond meaning as p ac ice, and inally, cul u e in e ms o media ion.” (Mo gan 2008, 70) Unde s ood in hese e ms, cul u e and eligion can sha e a simila desc ip ion: hey bo h p o ide belie e s wi h a ma ix o meaning-making and media ed i uals—a sys em o symbols—which ul ima ely a emp s o explain he wo ld a ound and p o ides an e hical iew o i . La e in he discussion, S ewa Hoo e s essed he meaning-making unc ion o eligion as an essen ial pa o i and Ma ín-Ba be o would in oduce he c ucial concep o “media ion”: meaning-making is always media ed. Media, consequen ly, canno jus be unde s ood as he me e physical ehicle. Ins ead, we mus iew media “as he physical and men al space o in e ac ion be ween he pe son p oducing he message wi hin a pa icula media o m, he media o m i sel , and wha he pe son who ecei es he communica ion does wi h i .” (Ho s ield in Mo gan 2008, 119) Including his las s ep in a media ed p ocess— ha is, he consequences ha media ha e on he ecei e —le s us disce n one o he mos con en ional concep ions o i ual as he consequence o an al eady es ablished belie . I is unde his b oade concep ion o media h ough which we can depa om a s ic s uc u alis iew o cul u e and eligion as some hing s a ic and s able, and, ins ead, s a unde s anding i as a se ies o p ocesses. We can say, hen, quo ing Hoo e , ha eligion, media, and cul u e “occupy he same spaces, se e many o he same pu poses, and in igo a e he same p ac ices in mode ni y.” (Hoo e 2006, 9) 2. 2. Religion-cul u e-media as meaning and p ac ice Following his app oach, he c ea ion o meaning is conside ed one o he main unc ions o eligion and cul u e and—in his sense— he de ini ion o eligion which Gee z p o ides, con ains he di e en phases ha make up he eligious expe ience. Pe Gee z, eligion is: “(1) A sys em o symbols which ac s o (2) es ablish powe ul, pe asi e, and long-las ing moods and mo i a ions in men by (3) o mula ing concep ions o a gene al o de o Media ion, p ac ice, and ais hesis: owa ds a cul u alis JOURNAL OF THE SOCIOLOGY AND THEORY OF RELIGION (JSTR), 10 (2020): 118-131 ISSN: 2255-2715 123 exis ence and (4) clo hing hese concep ions wi h such an au a o ac uali y ha (5) he moods and mo i a ions seem uniquely ealis ic.” (Gee z 1973, 90) This unde s anding o eligion as a “se o symbols” p o ides us wi h a p ope ly delimi ed concep o wha i is we a e s udying when ackling eligion, as i — u he mo e— i s pe ec ly wi hin a phenomenological app oach. Fo symbols can be in e p e ed, as well as he g ound o which hey lead; a locus whe e media ion, powe , and meaning can be analyzed and discussed. I is a his poin o he con e sion when he con ibu ion o F ench sociologis Pie e Bou dieu cas s plen y o ligh upon he ques ion ega ding he p e equisi es o eligious adhe ence, gi en he a en ion he especially gi es o i ual in his wo k Esquisse d’une héo ie de la p a ique (2000). By s udying di e en social i uals among he Kabyle, Bou dieu challenges he idea ha belie p ecedes p ac ice and concludes by saying ha , in social i uals, he e is a cons an nego ia ion o dominance and hono . Mo e han unde s anding p ac ice as he enac men o a p e ab ica ed se o cul u al and eligious alues, p ac ice mus be unde s ood as he a ena whe e se e al aspec s o cul u e a e challenged, de ined, and ede ined; hus— a he han ec ea ing meaning and alue—c ea ing meaning and alue. A c ucial dis inc ion be ween he pa ake who adhe es o his se o powe s uc u es and he c i ical i ual pa ake is pe haps he le el o sel -awa eness in i ual ac i i y. I he i ual pa ake ejec s he idea ha belie p ecedes p ac ice, he eligious dynamics a e comple ely sub e ed; no because hey bespeak ano he o m o eligious exp ession, bu because hey bespeak ano he le el o eligious unde s anding, and hence, o eligious sel -awa eness. P ac ice esul s, hen, in ano he concep which needs o be expanded in o de o explain eligious-cul u al phenomena. O iginally a concep wi h a Ma xis pedig ee, p ac ice is usually unde s ood as he p axis o a sel - conscious obse e . In he con ex o his cul u alis app oach o eligion, i is pi o al o be able o disce n di e en ways in which a subjec can pe o m eligion o simply be eligious: Con en ionally speaking, a ‘p ac icing’ Ch is ian, Buddhis , o Jew is one who cul i a es he o his eligious iden i y no only as a ques ion o in ellec ual assen o acciden o bi h bu in daily o weekly cus oma y ac ions such as going o chu ch, media ion, o obse ing holy days. In e es ingly, howe e , we a ely speak o “p ac iced” Ch is ians, Buddhis s, o Jews as we would o a “p ac iced lia ,” implying ha he Ped o Alemany Na a o JOURNAL OF THE SOCIOLOGY AND THEORY OF RELIGION (JSTR), 10 (2020): 118-131 ISSN: 2255-2715 124 job o cul i a ing eligious iden i y is ne e done.” (Klassen in Mo gan 2008, 137) Meye has also cas ed plen y o ligh upon he ques ion o communi y o ma ion by coining he e ms “aes he ic o ma ions”, “p ac ice o media ion”, and “sensa ional o m”. Acco ding o Meye ’s unde s anding o eligion, his is “a p ac ice o media ion ha o ganizes he ela ionship be ween expe iencing subjec s and he anscenden al ia pa icula sensa ion o ms.” (Meye 2006, 18) I is p ecisely by e lec ing upon he concep o p ac ice how we may begin o s a disce ning se e al di e en ways o being eligious and p ac icing eligion, ul ima ely e lec ing upon wha cons i u es a belie e o an obse e , how eligious iden i ies can s ill be ound in au ho s who do no conside hemsel es eligious and, las ly, he ole and in luence o eligious media ion in he cons uc ion o iden i y. As Klassen sugges s, he ques ion o p ac ice as he necessa y conclusion o belie is challenged. Would i be possible, hen, o alk abou a p ac icing belie e and a p ac iced one? Does belie p ecede p ac ice? O does p ac ice media e be ween p ac i ione and on ological u h, hus c ea ing— a he han ec ea ing— meaning and communi y iden i y? 2. 3. Ais hesis: a mo e encompassing no ion o he eligious expe ience By paying mo e a en ion o “ he ole played by hings, media, and he body in ac ual p ocesses o communi y making” (Meye 2009, 6), Meye ejec s he Kan ian concep ion o aes he ics which has p edomina ed om he 18 h cen u y onwa ds. Kan de eloped a concep ion o he beau i ul unde s ood as an aes he ic deligh which plays upon i sel and gene a es a kind o bound and pu pose ul way o being. The expe ience o das Schöne is necessa ily a disin e es ed one, ha is, i lacks a p i a e condi ion ha could po en ially indi idualize das U eil. A simul aneously uni e sal and subjec i e judgmen ha depa s om a Sinnen-Geschmack, he judgmen o he ‘ag eeable’, a judgmen ha is condi ioned by a sense o pleasu e p oduced by he objec . Ins ead, das Schöne is expe ienced h ough a p e ious e lec ion (Re lexions-Gesmack). I is he p oduc o a uni e salizable cogni i e s a e, no a judgmen p oduced by a condi ioned pleasu e. The A is o elian concep o ais hesis p o es o be a mo e en eloping no ion ha is no limi ed o he ealm o he expe ience o he beau i ul in a , bu which, ins ead, designa es he physical o bodily abili y o expe ience objec s in he wo ld h ough all ou i e senses, combining all o hem and Media ion, p ac ice, and ais hesis: owa ds a cul u alis JOURNAL OF THE SOCIOLOGY AND THEORY OF RELIGION (JSTR), 10 (2020): 118-131 ISSN: 2255-2715 125 c ea ing a ma ix o senso ial expe iences which esponds o a mo e holis ic senso ial expe ience o he wo ld a ound us. As Meye and Ve ips (2008) no e, he e a e se e al easons why A is o elian ais hesis became p og essi ely less ele an h oughou he his o y o hough . F om a ce ain poin onwa ds, aes he ics became exclusi ely a e m ela ed o he beau i ul and he philosophy o a . Kan ’s aes he ic heo y is ega ded by schola s who y o unde s and he cons i u ion o communi ies h ough an A is o elian app oach as a educ ionis iew o aes he ics; o i dis ega ds he expe ience de i ed om o he senses and he ac i e ole o he aes he ic expe ience . This is especially hinde ing in he s udy o i ual and he eligious expe ience, as i disdains he ole o all o he senses wi hin he aes he ic expe ience whe e communi ies— ha is, aes he ic o ma ions—a e gene a ed. Neo-Kan ian aes he ics—consequen ly—has only ocused on he a ha would i he cha ac e is ics o high cul u e, no only pe pe ua ing dis inc ions be ween high and low a bu also dis ega ding he kind o image y mean o be consumed by he masses. This spli be ween high and low a su e ed a p ocess o secula iza ion du ing he Enligh enmen , by which a c ea ed by eligious inspi a ion o po aying eligious- ela ed images was elega ed o he ca ego y o low a . Pleading hen o a econside a ion o aes he ics no only en ails a econside a ion o he ole o he body (in e ms o he ole o all he o he senses in he o ma ion o communi y as well as in he eligious c ea ion and ec ea ion o aes he ic o ma ions) bu also a econside a ion o he ole o eligious a o eligiously- inspi ed image y, some hing which has been ega ded as low and unin e es ing wi hin he con ex o Kan ian and Neo-Kan ian aes he ics. The concep o aes he ic o ma ions coined by Meye means, he e o e, e ie ing a o go en concep ion o he aes he ic expe ience, while i , a he same ime, su passes a adi ional unde s anding o he i ual expe ience. Th ough he use o his concep , Meye unde s ands a communi as as a o ma ion which is always cons i u ing and econs i u ing i sel , and such cons i u ion is possible h ough media ion, whe e all senses pa ake; hus, making us econside he ca ego iza ion o he communi as as an aes he ic o ma ion, a he han a p e-imagined communi y. This econside a ion o he no ion o ais hesis e inces he impo ance ha Meye gi es o he embodimen o imagina ions. They a e c ucial in o de o hem o be in e io ized as on ological u hs, as she no es: “Imagina ions, hough a icula ed and o med h ough media and hus “p oduced”, appea as si ua ed beyond media ion exac ly because hey can be—li e ally—inco po a ed and embodied, hus in oking and pe pe ua ing sha ed expe iences, emo ions, and Ped o Alemany Na a o JOURNAL OF THE SOCIOLOGY AND THEORY OF RELIGION (JSTR), 10 (2020): 118-131 ISSN: 2255-2715 126 a ec s ha a e ancho ed in, as well as igge ed by, a aken- o -g an ed li ewo ld, a wo ld o , indeed, common sense.” (Meye 2009, 7) The pi o al ole o media ion in he eligious expe ience has been claimed by Du ch philosophe Hen De V ies (2001). Following José Casano a’s (1994) econside a ion o he ole o eligion in he mode n wo ld, De V ies pleads o a ee alua ion o he impo ance o eligion in cul u al analysis, o unde s and eligion as a means o cul u al inqui y. Wha all hese schola s sha e is p ecisely he o e coming o a secula izing he o ic ha igno es he e i al o eligion in mode n con ex s. By unde s anding he conjunc ion ‘ eligion and media’ as a pleonasm, S olow b ings o ligh he ole o media ion in eligion. Media ion is no unde s ood as a cons i u i e pa o eligion (“ eligion and media”), Media ion—media—is eligion (“ eligion as media”): ‘Religion’ can only be mani es ed h ough some p ocess o media ion. Th oughou his o y in my iad o ms, communica ion wi h and abou ‘ he sac ed’ has always been enac ed h ough w i en ex s, i ual ges u es, images and icons, a chi ec u e, music, incense, special ga men s, sain ly elics and o he objec s o ene a ion, ma kings upon lesh, wagging ongues and o he body pa s. I is only h ough such media ha i is a all possible o p oclaim one’s ai h, ma k one’s a ilia ion, ecei e spi i ual gi s o pa icipa e in any o he coun less local idioms o making he sac ed p esen o mind and body. (S olow 2005, 125) 3. WHERE RELIGION? 3. 1. Sel -w i ing The hie a chical s uc u e which is es ablished be ween obse e and obse ed subjec in any an h opological, sociological o psychological app oach o eligion is impossible o anscend in he academic discussion a ound eligion. This ela ionship be ween he schola and he p ac i ione has been subjec o analysis o many decades now, no only in o de o ackle he pe spec i e o he p ac i ione who eels obse ed bu also he pe spec i e o he schola . P ac ice, howe e , acqui es a new nuance once he p ac i ione u ns sel -awa e. As a esul , we may ind ha such an indi idual is able o b idge bo h pe spec i es. This is why he ealm o sel -w i ing, ha is, o au obiog aphical w i ing, p o ides us wi h he a ena whe e a s udy o eligion