Performative Animism: New Directions for a Contested Concept in Religious Studies

In this article we suggest a shift to a performative perspective on animism. After identifying problems with essentialism, agency, and the object/subject dichotomy in previous animism studies, we engage with posthumanist theorists and bring in perspectives from new materialism and ritual studies. Fr...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Enstedt, Daniel (Author) ; Moberg, Jessica (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Brill 2023
In: Method & theory in the study of religion
Year: 2023, Volume: 35, Issue: 2/3, Pages: 111-139
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Animism / Post-humanism / Performativity (Cultural sciences) / Essentialism / Anthropology of religion / Kognitive Religionswissenschaft
IxTheo Classification:AA Study of religion
AE Psychology of religion
BB Indigenous religions
Further subjects:B Materiality
B Religious Studies
B Ritual Studies
B Animism
B Performativity
B Posthumanism
B new animism
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Summary:In this article we suggest a shift to a performative perspective on animism. After identifying problems with essentialism, agency, and the object/subject dichotomy in previous animism studies, we engage with posthumanist theorists and bring in perspectives from new materialism and ritual studies. From the perspectives we suggest, performative animism exists in a variety of contexts, which should be acknowledged even when studying “religion.” Performative animism also allows us to explore normative modern, technological, secular animism, which most take for granted and which is even at times naturalized. Finally, we suggest that the concept “performative animism” can be used as an analytical tool in religious studies and that it has potential to overcome the shortcomings of the concept “religion” itself.
ISSN:1570-0682
Contains:Enthalten in: Method & theory in the study of religion
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1163/15700682-bja10096