Chapter 1. Introduction
space goes hand in hand with the religious function of such material things: to mediate humans’ relationships to their religious communities and their Gods. Hence, authors such as Houtman, Meyer and Morgan set out to study “the material coordinates or forms of religious practice” (Morgan, 2010, p. 6). What this recent “re-materialization” of religious studies brings to the table is a clear idea of the central role of media in such functions and practices. Meyer and others argue that mediation and mediatization have always been central to religious practice (2006; de Vries & Weber, 2001; Morgan, 1999; Stolow, 2005): “Take for example the Catholic icon: though carved from wood, painted, and set up – thus obviously ‘human made’ –, to the believing beholder (and possibly its maker) it appears as an embodiment of a sacred presence that can be experienced by contemplative gaze, prayer, or a kiss. In this perspective, the transcendental is not a selfrevealing entity, but, on the contrary, always ‘affected’ or ‘formed’ by mediation processes, in that media and practices of mediation invoke the transcendental via particular sensational forms.” (Meyer, 2006, pp. 13-14) In our contemporary times, not much changes except for the choice of media. Bollywood films give Hindu communities the same kind of sensational experience of the sacred that the Passion of the Christ did for many Catholics and Pentecostals alike (Dwyer, 2006; Klaver, 2012; Morgan, 2004). Similarly, television is seen by many Pentecostals as the most appropriate medium to spread faith (Birman 2006; De Witte 2003; Hackett 1998), royal portraits are central to Thai Buddhist practices (Morris, 2000), and the list goes on with pictures (Meyer, 2010; Morgan, 1993), lithographs (Pinney, 2004), and let’s not forget: holy books such as the Bible and Qur’an. 1.3. Defining Religion For the purpose of this dissertation, then, the way I use ‘religion’ is above all as a cultural construction, mediated to the believer through objects (such as crucifixes) and actions (such as prayer). To define how I will use ‘religion’ throughout the next 200 pages, religions are ‘beliefs in a supernatural substance mediated by objects and 30
