Tattoo Artists as Religious Figures

If tattoos have a religious function, tattooists play a role in crafting a spiritual object. Hence, we explore the religious function of the tattooist and how tattooists deal with religion in their work. We used a “Lived Religion” approach that focuses on religious practices instead of religious org...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Morello, Gustavo 1966- (Author) ; Franco De Paula, Tiago (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Wiley-Blackwell 2024
In: Journal for the scientific study of religion
Year: 2024, Volume: 63, Issue: 3, Pages: 675-694
Further subjects:B Lived Religion
B tattoo
B tattooist
B Embodiment
B religious figures
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Description
Summary:If tattoos have a religious function, tattooists play a role in crafting a spiritual object. Hence, we explore the religious function of the tattooist and how tattooists deal with religion in their work. We used a “Lived Religion” approach that focuses on religious practices instead of religious organizations, because neither tattooists nor tattoo parlors are religiously legitimized figures or institutions. We collected data from tattooists from five different countries, with 23 semistructured interviews, 110 photos, and 4 video clips. After doing a content analysis of the interviews, and a denotative analysis of the photos and videos, we found that tattooists are aware of the religious overtones of their work. They understand themselves as figures that perform spiritual tasks. We also verified that tattoo parlors are spaces of religious negotiation, where tattooists, tattooed, and other actors exercise power. Finally, we established that a religious tattoo is the result of the negotiation among the actors involved, and that tattooists play a role as religious authorities.
ISSN:1468-5906
Contains:Enthalten in: Journal for the scientific study of religion
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1111/jssr.12910