A Spiritual Amusement Village: Manufacturing Difference in the Wallachian Countryside

Forbess, Alice (2009) A Spiritual Amusement Village: Manufacturing Difference in the Wallachian Countryside. In: STUDIA UNIVERSITATIS BABEŞ-BOLYAI. SOCIOLOGIA, pp. 78-98.

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Abstract

This paper presents an enthnographic snapshot of the religious field in the Wallachian countryside at the turn of the millennium. It examines how three local groups, Romanian villagers, Orthodox nuns and Rudari villagers made use of fields of social action newly opened by the collapse of socialism, such as democratic politics and religious devotion, to gain access to power and economic resources during a period characterised by accelerated social differentiation. It is argued that issues of morality and social justice, economic interests and cosmic concerns became inextricably interwoven as rights and entitlements were claimed and contested on the basis of both historical ‘evidence’ and religious notions and practices, with the latter often being used to offset the unreliability of the former. As the three groups grew apart under the new economic and political conditions, the interplay of memory and amnesia, interwoven official and alternative local histories and a newly found Orthodox religiosity became the tools of choice for articulating difference.

Item Type:	Book Section
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Europe, Romania, Gypsy, Roma, Rudary, Eastern Orthodox Christianity, memory, history, post-socialism
Subjects:	B Mission Theology/Theory > Contextualization/Inculturation B Mission Theology/Theory > Identity Issues B Mission Theology/Theory > Research Methodology B Mission Theology/Theory > Human Development F Interreligious Dialogue and Witness > Religious Pluralism H Social Sciences and Roma Christianity > Sociology G Christian Traditions/ Denominations > Eastern Orthodox
Divisions:	Romania
Depositing User:	Jelena Bakic
Date Deposited:	28 Jul 2026 11:37
Last Modified:	28 Jul 2026 11:37
URI:	https://rocprints.rockcentre.org/id/eprint/686

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