Resonating Sacralities: Dynamics between Religion and the Arts in Postsecular Netherlands

Description

In The Netherlands, the arts have gained a sacralized status, while religion is increasingly viewed through the lens of heritage. The dynamic resonance of sacred forms this results in, is exemplary for the postsecular. Exploring this resonance, this book offers a strong counterweight to the popular trope of the arts having replaced religion in secularized societies. Instead it approaches artistic performance, religion, and its heritage as mutually engaging sacred forms. Lieke Wijnia thoroughly connects theoretical perspectives on the sacred with ethnographic research at the annual festival Musica Sacra Maastricht. She explores the continued relevance of a broad conceptual approach to the sacred, as well as the practical side to negotiating the sacred at the festival. The resulting analyses shed new light on topics like musical performance as generator of the sacred, how art and heritage impact the continuity of religion in secularized societies, and the fragility of artistic performance in the contemporary fragmented framework of the sacred. This book offers an innovative and interdisciplinary interpretation of the continuing significant role of art and religion in postsecular societies. Contents Acknowledgements 1 Introduction 2 The Field: Musica Sacra Maastricht 3 Revisiting the Sacred 4 Intertwinements of Religion, Culture, and Heritage 5 Last of the Mohicans: Discourses of Differentiation 6 Curse of the Fire Dance: Ritual and Performance 7 Between Sound and Silence: A Fragile Sacred 8 Conclusions Appendix A. Annual Festival Themes Appendix B. Ethnography Appendix C. Three Groups of Participants Appendix D. Fieldwork Concert Attendance Appendix E. Data processing Bibliography Index