Whose church is it? The nonreligious use of religious architecture in eastern Germany
[ 1 ] Ośrodek Etnologii i Antropologii Współczesności, Instytut Archeologii i Etnologii Polskiej Akademii Nauk | [ P ] pracownik
2022
rozdział w monografii naukowej
angielski
EN In this chapter, I reflect on the place Christian architecture currently occupies in one of the most secularized regions of Europe, notably eastern Germany. I present three case studies of the nonreligious use of church buildings in northern Brandenburg, showing the ways in which materiality produced within the framework of religion, historically conceived, is acquiring nonreligious and postreligious significance. In a region where the vast majority of inhabitants do not belong to any religious organization and furthermore declare that religion does not hold much significance in their everyday lives, church buildings are being rebuilt, maintained and cherished. I argue that religious materiality can serve as a means to create a feeling of prominence and remarkability in various kinds of nonreligious situations related to social memory and identification.
2022
308 - 326
50
75