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- Format:
- Panel
- Location:
- Beta room
- Sessions:
- Thursday 7 September, -
Time zone: Europe/Vilnius
Long Abstract
The papers and their abstracts are listed below in order of presentation.
Accepted papers
Session 1 Thursday 7 September, 2023, -Paper short abstract
The paper examines the relationship between religion and the adoration of nature and argues that their relationship is entangled with secularisation. We provide a historical analysis of how this happened and theoretical framework for analysis.
Paper long abstract
Based on ethnographic material from Sweden and Estonia, we examine the relationship between religion and the adoration of nature in Northern Europe—a region known for its widespread secularisation. Our findings indicate that the existential depth that is often ascribed to nature experiences in this part of the world is deeply entangled with the processes of modernization and secularisation, thus nature can be considered a so far overlooked facet of the secularization process. We provide a historical analysis of how this happened, give an overview of the scholarly approaches to nature and religion, and offer an alternative. We argue that that methodological relationism and the concept of “existential field” might be fruitful in capturing the competitive essence of vague religion-related phenomena.
Paper short abstract
‘Religion’ described as a recent management tool available to governments that can use it to limit a group’s power instead of resorting to genocide as God does in Deuteronomy 20: 16-18. Religions, argues the author, ought to be understood as “vestigial states” within dominant sovereignties.
Paper long abstract
The paper describes ‘religion’ as an evolved management tool and strategy that governments can now use to classify a group in order to limit its power and influence instead of resorting to genocide. It is proposed that if the God of Deuteronomy 20: 16-18 had access to the modern category of ‘religion,’ he would not have had to order the slaughter of every person in the nearby cities he “gives” to his people. The author then explains her theory that ‘religions’ should be understood as “vestigial states,’ that is, as restricted governments that are denied all access to police and martial violence – powers that dominant states always keep for themselves.