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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
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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
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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
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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
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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

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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
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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
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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
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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