Worship of Shrines in Armenia

What is it about?

The article is tracing up trajectories of soviet and post-soviet transformation of vernacular religiosity in Armenia. It is focused, in particular, on the cult of shrines. During the soviet period of secularization and modernization and the post-soviet period of de-secularization, the cult of shrines and related manifestations of vernacular religion were consistently re-conceptualized and transformed. The Soviet modernity led to the “neo-archaization” of vernacular religious practice by instrumentalizing some “archaic”, pre-institutional forms and manifestations of religiosity. The post-secular re-conceptualization of vernacular religion brings about completely new realities such as mobile religiosity, new religious materiality and consumerism, and distant, virtual (via modern technologies) reconnection to the worship practices.

Featured Image