Competing Sacred Places

Niedźwiedź, Anna

doi:10.4324/9781315600505-5

Cited by 5 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…Elements of national symbolism have been present in centres of worship for centuries, but since the second half of the 20th century they have begun to be introduced more and more often into pilgrimage centres in Poland. All this had an impact on the creation of sanctuaries, which are mentioned in the literature as having a national character (Niedźwiedź 2010(Niedźwiedź , 2014.…”

Section: Patriotic Symbolism In Pilgrimage Centres In Polandmentioning

confidence: 99%

Symbolic Religious Landscape: Religious and Patriotic Symbolism in the Pilgrimage Centres in Poland

2022

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Combining religious and national symbolism is not a new phenomenon. There are known examples of countries where there were or still are connections between nationality and religion. Pilgrimage centres are examples of symbolic religious landscapes based on the presence of the sacred. Such anthropogenic landscapes are a visible result of culture formed under the influence of religion, a special spiritual and often national heritage expressed through sacred objects, visual evidence of religiousness and, likewise, national identity. Here, we present a detailed analysis of religious and patriotic symbolism present in the largest pilgrimage centres in Poland. Additionally, the paper discusses a. the historical and socio-cultural conditions of the presence and significance of these elements in religious landscapes; b. the strong relationships between religiousness and the sense of national identity, and c. the resulting significant importance of pilgrimage centres in the development and consolidation of a sense of national identity. Symbolic elements in the analysed pilgrimage centres refer to both universal religious content and cults popular in the Roman Catholic Church, as well as to the identity of the analysed places. In addition to religious symbolism, national and patriotic symbols often occur in Polish sanctuaries. Their occurrence is historically conditioned and, to a large extent, results from the strong ties between religiousness and national identity.

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Section: Patriotic Symbolism In Pilgrimage Centres In Polandmentioning

confidence: 99%

Symbolic Religious Landscape: Religious and Patriotic Symbolism in the Pilgrimage Centres in Poland

2022

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“…Additionally, pilgrimages turn our attention toward the spatial dimension of "religious culture" of lived Catholicism, i.e., shrines and religious architecture. Shrines are affective, thick places and elements of religious cultural landscape that are not only celebrated but also discussed, questioned, and contested in today's Poland (Niedźwiedź 2014).…”

Section: Introductory Scenementioning

confidence: 99%

Constructing Mary through Pilgrimages: Lived Catholic Mariology in Poland

Niedźwiedź

2023

Religions

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This article presents selected aspects of Marian pilgrimages in the context of lived Catholicism in Poland. Lived Catholic Mariology is a concept introduced in this paper and discussed in terms of the intimate as well as communal relationships people establish with Mary through and in various rituals (e.g., pilgrimages), sites (e.g., shrines) and objects (e.g., images). Links between materializing Mary through images; affective, sensual and corporeal religious experiences; and community bonding are presented. They are discussed by drawing on approaches that refer to material religion, religion as mediation, concepts of sensational forms, and aesthetic formations. When examining the centrality of Marian images in Polish pilgrimage practices, this paper focuses on earlier developments, especially (1) those connected with the growth of Marian shrines during the Counter Reformation period and (2) the role played by traditional and innovative Marian pilgrimages during the Communist period in Poland (1945–1989). The final part of the paper refers to the recent changes connected with political polarization of Polish society, the process of radicalization through right-wing discourses that embrace Marian imagery and pilgrimages, the decline of Roman Catholicism and Catholic practices among Poles, and emerging alternative currents relating to Mary and pilgrimages in religious and secular contexts. Referring to various historical and current examples, this paper proposes seeing pilgrimages through the lived religion approach with a focus on materiality and mediatory dimension of religion.

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Religiosity, Nationalism, and Anti-Jewish Politics in Palestine and Poland: Islamic and Catholic Pilgrimages during the Interwar Era

Polak-Springer

2019

Nationalities Papers

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This study in comparative global history sheds light on a largely ignored forum for the politics of transition from monarchical empire to nation-state in the Middle East and Central Europe—religious festivals at sacred shrines. It compares the role of key pilgrimage festivals at politically important sacred shrines: (1) the Islamic Nabi Musa (Prophet Moses) pilgrimage to the Haram esh-Sharif and Nabi Musa Tomb near the Dead Sea in Mandatory Palestine and (2) various Catholic pilgrimages to Jasna Góra in Częstochowa in interwar Poland. The author demonstrates how these events served as sacred forums for secular politics, where various political factions contested their partisan ideas of the nation, which included the elite nationalism of Grand Mufti of Jerusalem Hajj Amin al-Husseini and the Catholic-Endecja nationalism of Polish clerical leaders. Moreover, I examine the role of these pilgrimage festivals in some of the major conflicts afflicting their respective areas, such as Arab–Jewish violence and hostility in Palestine and wars for borders as well as anti-minority sentiment, especially anti-Semitism, in Poland.

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Competing Sacred Places

Cited by 5 publications

References 0 publications

Symbolic Religious Landscape: Religious and Patriotic Symbolism in the Pilgrimage Centres in Poland

Symbolic Religious Landscape: Religious and Patriotic Symbolism in the Pilgrimage Centres in Poland

Constructing Mary through Pilgrimages: Lived Catholic Mariology in Poland

Religiosity, Nationalism, and Anti-Jewish Politics in Palestine and Poland: Islamic and Catholic Pilgrimages during the Interwar Era

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