Do Religion and Culture Actually Exist? Ref lections on Jasna Góra

Authors

Keywords:

Jasna Góra, religion, Paul Tillich, Rudolf Otto, culture, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Donald Davidson, radical interpretation, Agnieszka Pasieka, Tomoko Masuzawa

Abstract

Focusing on displays of Catholic religion and Polish culture at Jasna Góra, this article argues that “religion” and “culture” as analytic categories lead to an oversimplification of the complex set of phenomena visible in the monastery complex. The article then references the work of American philosopher Donald Davidson to argue that any ethnographic study necessarily requires “radical interpretation”.

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Author Biography

Prof. Mathew Schmalz, Department of Religious Studies - College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA

PhD in history of religions; associate professor in CHC Worcester.

References

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Published

2018-06-29

How to Cite

Schmalz, M. (2018). Do Religion and Culture Actually Exist? Ref lections on Jasna Góra. Ethnologia Polona, 38, 125–135. Retrieved from https://journals.iaepan.pl/ethp/article/view/47