Download E-books Wild Religion: Tracking the Sacred in South Africa PDF

Wild Religion is a wild journey via fresh South African heritage from the arrival of democracy in 1994 to the euphoria of the soccer international Cup in 2010. within the context of South Africa’s political trip and non secular variety, David Chidester explores African indigenous spiritual history with a distinction. because the religious measurement of an African Renaissance, indigenous faith has been recovered in South Africa as a countrywide source. Wild Religion analyzes indigenous rituals of purification on Robben Island, rituals of therapeutic and reconciliation on the new nationwide shrine, Freedom Park, and rituals of animal sacrifice on the global Cup. now not constantly within the nationwide curiosity, indigenous faith additionally looks within the wild spiritual creativity of criminal gangs, the worldwide spirituality of neo-shamans, the ceremonial exhibit of Zulu virgins, the traditional Egyptian theosophy in South Africa’s Parliament, and the recent traditionalism of South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma. Arguing that the sacred is produced in the course of the non secular paintings of in depth interpretation, formal ritualization, and extreme contestation, Chidester develops cutting edge insights for realizing the which means and tool of faith in a altering society. For a person attracted to faith, Wild Religion uncovers amazing dynamics of sacred area, violence, fundamentalism, historical past, media, intercourse, sovereignty, and the political economic climate of the sacred.