Suchergebnisse

AbstractThis paper deals with the ways of reconceptualization and negotiation of a new ethnicity and identity within the Pentecostal and Charismatic pastoral discourse among the Gypsies/Roma of Slovakia. The analysis is based on three denominations: theWord of Lifemovement in Plavecký Štvrtok, theMaranata Christian Missionin Spišská Nová Ves and theSt. Paul's Communitywithin the Greek-Catholic Church in Čičava. The comparative analysis of pastoral and converts' narratives has shown that the "New Roma" category is constructed as an ahistoricalcategory of practice, which is intentionally largely ethnicallyemptiedand creatively filled with specific content according to the life goals and paths of particular users either at the individual level or at the community level in line with the creed of good, moral, useful and decent life (of a Christian = Human = Rom). Research has revealed that in spite of the strong trans-social and trans-ethnic discourse, according to which believers should lose the reason for taking into account the inter-group stratifications, they still remainethnicallyandsocially sensitive. An important change in this context is, however, that the previous paradigm Gypsiesversus"Whites" turns, after conversion, into the paradigm Romaalongsideother nations. This fundamentally changes the basic classificatory schemes and positional way of defining themselves in relation to others. TheNew Romis primarily the negation of theOld Rom, not of theWhite/Gadjo. The way in which Pentecostal and Charismatic pastors positively reconstruct, reconceptualize and negotiate the "New Roma" identity at the individual, group, collective and national levels goes largelybeyondthe traditional (modern) perception of ethnic identities and does not take into account historical origin, country, language, culture, etc. as constitutive elements. From this viewpoint, the Pentecostal and Charismatic pastors operating among Gypsies/Roma in contemporary Slovakia would be considered to be engineers, mentors and tutors of ethnoreligious innovation based on the concept of relocation and accommodation of Gypsies into the new and positively reconceptualized label Rom/a.

Anthropologists in their quest to define the key symbols or the root metaphors of contemporary modern living in Europe suggest that popularity is a strong indicator of dominant culture thematics (Ortner 1973; Fernandéz 2002). Among the most significant phenomena of the new era is religion, and currently the most topical is discussion of the new visibility of religion in the public sphere (Zinser 2007).

This contribution analyses the results of international sociological surveys that collected data in Slovakia, namely three waves of the European Values Study (EVS 1991, 1999, 2008) and two waves of the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP 1999 and ISSP 2006-2008). Focusing on the survey data the essay elucidates the concrete process of religious dynamics in post-communist Slovakia. Attention is paid to the so-called 'core of believers' as the main representative of 'traditional' religiosity, using this unique opportunity to explore the dynamics of this group within the last two decades. The author concludes that even if institutional religiosity is still far more dominant in the Slovak religious scene, the prevailing form of religiosity is of a post-traditional character.

Chapter 1 - Traces of the Virgin Mary in the Modern World -- Chapter 2 - Romani Christianity in Slovakia—Religiosity of Those on the Periphery -- Chapter 3 - Marian Devotion among the Roma in Slovakia—Ethnicised and Enculturated Mary -- Chapter 4 - Marian Apparitions among the Roma—From the Periphery to the Centre.

The Anthropological Journal of European Cultures, initiated by German scholar Ina-Maria Greverus together with Christian Giordano in 1990, played a central role in the fundamental changes that the hitherto more or less nationally confined European ethnologies have undergone since then. The journal mediated the intensifying exchange between eastern and western Europe, while its attempt to cross boundaries in particular between an anthropology of Europe and European ethnology remains key.

Religiosity represents a key temporal and spatial-based social phenomenon with great internal variability. In this paper, we focus on a selection of the most important indicators of this factor in Slovakian society. With the aid of temporal statistical data with some structural differences (such as age) in current society, we attempt to concentrate on the dynamics and great spatial diversification of denominational division in Slovakia. The Church and state relationship is another politically important factor which influences this social phenomenon. The variability of relationships within the social and political context and its transformations was a significant determinant influencing the religiosity and development of religious life. Moreover, even in today's mostly secularizing society, this relationship maintains its importance for the society. In the analysis of societal religiosity, we have to focus on the internal aspects of faith, measured by representative surveys that portray varieties of internal aspects of faith and their divergence from the censual measurement of denominational affiliation.