Religion as a Spectrum: Introducing Religionesque Experiences

Authors

  • Sára Eszter Heidl University of Vienna, Austria

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.20413/rascee.2024.17.1.9-21

Abstract

Religious diversity can be studied in terms of institutional, denominational belonging and in terms of non-institutional, alternative, spiritual, non-religious beliefs and practices. The latter category is the focus of this article. This work is a theoretical summary based on empirical research on three Hungarian festivals and seeks to show how festival experiences can be understood from a religious studies perspective. Qualitative assessment led to the observation that there are three different interpretations of religion among the participants: church, faith and religion. Conversations revealed that, for individuals, these categories are interrelated but ultimately mean three different things. Furthermore, these categories are further differentiated from spirituality or other alternative terms. The focus of researching the festivals is the collective and individual experience. This article argues that the diversity of religion can be captured in the experience and that there is something between religion and non-religion. Religionesque is an umbrella term intended to capture different interpretations and shows that these experiences differ only in interpretation and intensity, the essential experience being similar for everyone. This suggests that religion can be understood as an experience and that religion is a spectrum rather than a dichotomous category or hierarchical system.

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Published

2024-12-23

How to Cite

Religion as a Spectrum: Introducing Religionesque Experiences. (2024). Religion and Society in Central and Eastern Europe, 17(1), 9-21. https://doi.org/10.20413/rascee.2024.17.1.9-21