Possession consciousness, religious individualism, and subjectivity in Brazilian Umbanda

This article explores perceived changes in patterns of consciousness in relation to possession phenomena among a sector of urban practitioners of the Brazilian religion of Umbanda, and argues that these perceptions have been accompanied by the emergence of a more individualist approach to religious...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Religion
Main Author: Espírito Santo, Diana (Author)
Format: Electronic/Print Article
Language:English
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Published: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group [2017]
In: Religion
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Umbanda / Possession / Consciousness / Religiosity / Individuality / Self
RelBib Classification:AG Religious life; material religion
AZ New religious movements
KBR Latin America
Further subjects:B Spirit Possession
B Consciousness
B religious subjectivity
B Brazilian Umbanda
B Cosmogony
Online Access: Volltext (doi)
Description
Summary:This article explores perceived changes in patterns of consciousness in relation to possession phenomena among a sector of urban practitioners of the Brazilian religion of Umbanda, and argues that these perceptions have been accompanied by the emergence of a more individualist approach to religious selfhood which aims to lay claim to a particular vision of Umbanda. These Umbandists understand their spirit universe in ontologically plastic terms, relativizing spirit identities much like Umbanda’s founders. The increasing emphasis given to conscious forms of possession tallies with a relatively new attention to the self and its awareness of tradition, thought to be lacking in previous generations. This article also defends that we can produce an anthropological understanding of possession as having cosmogonic rather than just expressive effects.
ISSN:0048-721X
Contains:Enthalten in: Religion
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1080/0048721X.2016.1198839