Books by Katja Rakow
Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas, and the Creation Museum in Petersburg, Kentucky, are currently... more Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas, and the Creation Museum in Petersburg, Kentucky, are currently one of the biggest and most influential evangelical organizations in the United States. The authors show that the broad appeal of such religious organizations is not solely and primarily accounted for by the persuasiveness of their religious teachings and doctrines. Their persuasiveness rather lies in their ability to cater to all the senses of the believer in creating religious experiences and emotional responses.
What are the reasons behind dynamic innovations in the field of evangelical and charismatic organizations in the contemporary US? The authors apply the sociological concept of “experience worlds" ("Erlebniswelten" Christoph Köck 1990, 2005; Gerhard Schulze 1992) to late modern religious organizations such as Lakewood Church and the Creation Museum as a way to focus on aspects of production, marketing, consumption, materiality, mediation, and experience in the study of contemporary religion. Lakewood Church is currently the biggest megachurch in the US with more than 40,000 weekly attendees. In 2005, the church moved into the former Basketball stadium of the Houston Rockets; today the venue features 16,000 seats for the more than four multi-sensory worship services per week. The Creation Museum, which has drawn more than five million visitors since it’s opening in 2007, offers an experience of biblical accounts on 70,000 square feet. Both organizations use the latest audiovisual and technological equipment to create multi-sensorial worship services and an encounter with biblical history. In their analysis, the authors apply two different perspectives. First, in terms of the commodification of religious organizations, the authors describe and analyze how both organizations and their products are branded and marketed. Second, in terms of the mediation of religion, the authors study how both organizations apply multimedia and multisensory forms to bring their message across and to create intense emotional and religious experiences. Both cases studies show that entertainment, fun, and joy are not exterior to religious practice, but an imminent part of religious life in contemporary America.
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Die Megakirche Lakewood Church in Texas und das Museum für Kreationismus im Bundesstaat Kentucky gehören zu den bedeutendsten evangelikalen Organisationen in den USA. Die Autoren zeigen, dass Religionen ihre Anhänger nicht nur durch religiöse Lehren, sondern vor allem durch sinnliches Erleben an sich binden.
Was sind die Gründe für die dynamische Innovation religiöser Organisationen in den USA? Unter dem Stichwort »moderne religiöse Erlebniswelten« werden die Lakewood Church, untergebracht in einer ehemaligen Basketball-Arena und ausgestattet mit 16.800 Sitzplätzen sowie das Creation Museum, in dem die biblische Schöpfungsgeschichte zum multimedialen religiösen Erlebnis wird, beschrieben und analysiert. Die hier vorgestellten Beispiele eignen sich zur Revision der veralteten Vorannahme, dass Religion lediglich eine »ernste« Angelegenheit sei. »Have Fun and Prepare to Believe« wird zum Motto für jeden Besucher. Die Autoren widmen sich mit ihrer Studie einer Analyse der Vermittlung und Vermarktung von Religionen, die durch das Angebot von multisensorischen Dienstleistungen um die Gunst von religiösen Akteuren konkurrieren.
Chögyam Trungpa (1939-1987) was one of the first Tibetans who taught his religious tradition to W... more Chögyam Trungpa (1939-1987) was one of the first Tibetans who taught his religious tradition to Westerners in Great Britain and North America. In the 1970/80s, Trungpa developed a secular path to enlightenment, which he called Shambhala Training. Complex transcultural dynamics shaped the creation of Shambhala Training as an innovative set of practices and teachings that Trungpa understood being neither Western nor Eastern. Shambhala teachings, practices, and aesthetics show indeed different cultural influences from Great Britain, Tibet, Japan, and North American counterculture. Moreover, Trungpa intended Shambhala Training to be a secular, but sacred meditation path that everyone could practice irrelevant of his religious orientation. The book argues that the transformations of Tibetan Buddhism visible in the development of Trungpa’s Shambhala Training are not to be seen as a mere cultural adaptation to the Western context, but are best to be understood as a genuine innovation born out of a situation of cultural hybridity.
Die chinesische Okkupation Tibets in der zweiten Hälfte des 20. Jahrhunderts löste eine Fluchtwelle aus. Für einige Tibeter und buddhistische Gelehrte führte der Weg über Indien auch nach Europa und Nordamerika. Chögyam Trungpa (1939-1987) war unter den ersten buddhistischen Lehrern, die den tibetischen Buddhismus an europäische und nordamerikanische Schüler vermittelten. Dabei war er stets auf der Suche nach neuen Ausdrucksmöglichkeiten, um sein religiöses Erbe in zeitgemäße Formen zu übersetzen, die seine westlichen Schüler verstehen und in ihren Alltag integrieren konnten. Aus diesem Bestreben heraus entwickelte und lehrte Trungpa in den 1970/80er Jahren einen säkularen, aber heiligen Meditations- und Erleuchtungsweg, den er Shambhala Training nannte.
Das Buch bietet eine historische Mikrostudie zum Leben und Wirken Chögyam Trungpa und seiner Entwicklung und Präsentation von Shambhala Training. Zwar liegt der Fokus auf Trungpas Tätigkeit als buddhistischer Lehrer in Nordamerika, dennoch vermag die Studie die komplexen transkulturellen Einflüsse sowohl aus dem westlichen als auch dem asiatischen Kontext aufzuzeigen. Diese transkulturelle Orientierung ermöglicht es, diese die von Trungpa etablierten Vorstellungen und Praktiken nicht lediglich als Produkt einer erfolgreichen Adaption an westliche Verhältnisse zu beschreiben, sondern sie als ein neues Wissens- und Praxisfeld zu betrachten, dass aus einer Situation kultureller Hybridität hervorgegangen ist.
Die Neuapostolische Kirche, die drittgrößte christliche Religionsgemeinschaft in Deutschland, füh... more Die Neuapostolische Kirche, die drittgrößte christliche Religionsgemeinschaft in Deutschland, führte jahrzehntelang ein zurückgezogenes, von der Öffentlichkeit abgeschottetes Leben. Seit einigen Jahren zeichnen sich jedoch Veränderungen ab. Diese wurden zunächst in den Außenbeziehungen der Religionsgemeinschaft sichtbar, die z. B. ökumenische Kontakte zu anderen christlichen Religionsgemeinschaften aufnahm. Aber auch in den inneren Verhältnissen werden Veränderungen deutlich, bis hin zu Lehränderungen in der neuapostolischen Theologie. Das vorliegende Buch beschreibt aus religionswissenschaftlicher Perspektive die gegenwärtigen Entwicklungen in der Neuapostolischen Kirche. Es geht den äußeren und inneren Ursachen des Öffnungsprozesses nach und zeigt die Auswirkungen der Veränderungen für die Religionsgemeinschaft auf.
Menschen sterben. Der Tod gilt als großer Gleichmacher. Doch der Umgang der Menschen mit Sterben,... more Menschen sterben. Der Tod gilt als großer Gleichmacher. Doch der Umgang der Menschen mit Sterben, Tod und Trauer ist so unterschiedlich und vielseitig, wie es kulturelle und religiöse Konstellationen gibt.
Die Autorinnen und Autoren dieses Bandes richten gezielt den Fokus auf diese hohe Variabilität sozialer Konstruktionen von Tod und Postmortalität und die damit diskursiv verflochtenen anthropologischen Grundannahmen. Das Themenspektrum reicht von Beispielen zur neueren europäischen und japanischen Religionsgeschichte bis zu Analysen der Konstruktion von Tod und Postmortalität in Literatur, TV-Serien und Computerspielen.
Special Issues by Katja Rakow
PentecoStudies Vol. 18.1, 2019
In: The Journal of Transcultural Studies, Vol. 7, Issue 2, 2016
Papers by Katja Rakow
RAKOW, Katja (2025), Material Metaphors: The Body of Religious Texts and Their Embodied Users
Journal of Religion, Media and Digital Culture 4(2), 216–237, 2025
In this essay, I draw inspiration from scholars in book history, literary studies, and material r... more In this essay, I draw inspiration from scholars in book history, literary studies, and material religion, who emphasize the importance of the materiality of text, applying their insights to the study of religious texts. Katherine Hayles’s idea of the book as a “material metaphor” that structures the relation of words to the world serves as one such inspiration. In my own research, it was the advent of digital Bibles, which brought renewed attention to the material medium of texts, whether digital or print. My argument about materiality extends beyond the text to include users of texts and related practices. I integrate these three elements—texts, users, and textual practices—into the conceptual framework of “practicing texts.” This framework is delineated using historical and contemporary material, with special attention to bodily metaphors as reminders of the materiality of texts and their embodied users to demonstrate its broad applicability in understanding the persuasiveness of religious texts.
RAKOW Katja (2025), Spatialising Urban Religious Aspirations in Singapore: New Creation Church and the Building of The Star
Religion and Urbanity online, edited by Susanne Rau and Jörg Rüpke. Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, 2025
The article examines the intersection of religious spatialising practices with material approache... more The article examines the intersection of religious spatialising practices with material approaches in urban contexts, focusing on architecture, infrastructures, and zoning policies in Singapore. It uses the case study of The Star Vista Mall/The Star Performing Arts Centre, a collaboration between CapitaLand Mall Asia and Rock Productions Pte Ltd, the business arm of New Creation Church (NCC). Opened in November 2012, The Star is considered one of Singapore’s architectural landmarks. Officially designated as ‘secular,’ it functions as a cultural, retail, and entertainment hub. Building The Star offered NCC a solution for a large worship venue after failing to secure a tender for a dedicated church building and materialised their aspirations for visibility within Singapore’s highly regulated cityscape. The article employs Obvious Katsaura’s concept of ‘architecturations of Pentecostal power’ and Marian Burchardt’s notion of ‘infrastructuring religion’ to explore how The Star, as a social-material assemblage, embodies the church’s aspirations while intertwining with the religious, secular, and economic goals of the involved parties. The analysis is based on fieldwork observations, church materials, and government policy documents, examining The Star as a locality connected to other places and embedded in the church’s images and imaginaries.
Demeijer, F., Rakow, K., Horstmanshoff, M., & Stoffels, H. (2025), The Process of Subjectivization within a Religious Organization: A Narrative Account of Members of the Apostolic Society
Journal of Religion in Europe, 18(1), 111-134 , 2025
This article uses Taylor’s subjective turn to examine the impact of such a change on organized re... more This article uses Taylor’s subjective turn to examine the impact of such a change on organized religion, focusing on the Dutch Apostolic Society (AS). Drawing on oral history data from twenty-seven members belonging to six different generations, we investigate their perceptions of changes in leadership, rituals, and community life. Findings show a shift from external religious authorities to immanent forms of spirituality and self-authority. Whereas the subjective turn has been mostly understood as a ‘bottom-up movement,’ several changes were imposed top-down. We conclude that the process of subjectivization has also extended to the AS, but the recognition and valuing of a subjective attitude vary across generations and a complete adoption of the subjective turn has not uniformly transpired across all strata of the AS.
RAKOW Katja (2024), The Production and Performance of Multi-sensory Worship Services
The Routledge Handbook of Megachurches, edited by A. Adogame, C. M. Bauman, D. S. Parsitau, & J. Yip, pp. 207-220, Routledge, 2024
The chapter focuses on the interplay of light and sound technologies used in the production of me... more The chapter focuses on the interplay of light and sound technologies used in the production of megachurch worship services. Drawing on participant observation at megachurches in the United States, Singapore, and Australia, the chapter shows that worship services are multisensory events in which lighting, audiovisual, and sound technologies are used to structure the worship service, to support the performance on stage, and to create an immersive atmosphere in which worshipers can encounter divine presence. The chapter demonstrates that megachurches' intentional use of lighting and audiovisual technologies can turn the capacious space of a megachurch auditorium into a space of intimate encounters with God mediated through sight and sound.
RAKOW Katja (2023), Books in Religious Studies: From Relentless Textualism to Embodied Practices
The Routledge Handbook of Material Religion, edited by P. Tamimi Arab, J. Scheper Hughes, & S. B. Plate, pp. 113-127, Routledge, 2023
This chapter addresses the book as a material object and the materiality of text and text-related... more This chapter addresses the book as a material object and the materiality of text and text-related practices. The central argument is that all text-related practices—reading, performing, and ritually venerating—are embodied practices, which engage the sensorium of the human body and its cognitive capacities while encountering text as a material object. This chapter first traces the move from “relentless textualism” characteristic of the early study of religion and throughout the twentieth century to a focus on religious texts in lived religion and the materiality of texts and text-related practices in the last three decades. Then, it discusses the central concepts of “book” and “scripture” as well as the related terms “texts” and “words”—and their material dimension. Special attention is given to the material dimension of scriptures as a specific category of books that plays a central role in the study of religion. Finally, a threefold reconceptualization of scripture, religious texts, and their manifold uses is proposed to account for their materiality.
Globale Christentümer: Theologische und religionswissenschaftliche Perspektiven, edited by B. Grümme et al., Paderborn: Brill Schöningh, pp. 107-127, 2022
This is an open access chapter distributed under the terms of the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license. Megach... more This is an open access chapter distributed under the terms of the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license. Megachurches in den USA und Singapur in transkultureller Perspektive Ein kritischer Blick auf das Export-Narrativ From the West to the Rest Katja Rakow Die globale Ausbreitung spezifischer evangelikal-pfingstlicher Organisationsund Ausdrucksformen im 20. Jahrhundert wird häufig als Globalisierung des "fundamentalistischen Christentums" amerikanischer Couleur beschrieben. Megachurches, religiöse Medienformate wie die Fernsehpredigt oder Theologien wie das Wohlstandevangelium werden als amerikanische Exportgüter betrachtet, die zum globalen Erfolgsmodell avancierten. Dieses dominante Beschreibungsmuster der rezenten Globalgeschichte des evangelikalcharismatischen Christentums ist in mehrfacher Hinsicht problematisch, wie das vorliegende Kapitel zeigen wird. Bevor die transkulturelle Perspektive als Alternative zum Export-Narrativ vorgestellt wird, werde ich zunächst zwei Beobachtungen aus meinem Forschungsalltag beschreiben, die zu einer kritischen Hinterfragung des Export-Narrativs geführt haben. Anschließend werde ich typische Beispiele des hegemonialen Narrativs eines Exports amerikanischer Religion auf die globale Bühne besprechen und diese Form der Religionsgeschichtsschreibung und ihre Umkehrung, die sogenannte umgekehrte Mission (reverse mission), problematisieren. Bei der umgekehrten Mission handelt es sich um Missionsbestrebungen christlicher Organisationen aus dem globalen Süden (d. h. Afrika, Asien, Südamerika), die sich auf den vormals christlichen Westen richten und diesen erneut missionieren und revitalisieren wollen. Ich werde argumentieren, dass auch das Narrativ der umgekehrten Mission der hegemonialen Erzählung from the West to the rest verpflichtet bleibt. Nach kurzen Ausführungen zur transkulturellen Perspektive werde ich anhand von zwei Beispielen demonstrieren, dass ein transkultureller Zugang eine differenziertere Beschreibung und Analyse des Materials erlaubt. Als erstes Beispiel dient mir die Gospel Revolution Tour des Singapurer Pastors Joseph Prince in den USA und das zweite Beispiel befasst sich mit einem alternativen Diskurs zur Genealogie christlicher Kleingruppen, der von einigen prominenten Kirchen in Südostasien getragen wird. Durch eine transkulturelle Lesart des Materials wird der Blick geöffnet für alternative Weltkarten, in denen christliche Akteure sich selbst global verorten, das übliche Zentrum-Peripherie-Verhältnis verschoben ist und Nordamerika in der Selbstverortung dieser Akteure eine andere Rolle zugewiesen wird.
RAKOW Katja (2021), Charismatic Healers: Embodied Practices in US and Singaporean Megachurches
Routledge Handbook of Religion, Medicine, and Health, edited by D. Lüddeckens, P. Hetmanczyk, P. E. Klassen, & J. B. Stein, pp. 215-228, Routledge, 2021
The chapter discusses Charismatic healing as embodied practice, which involves the acting and sen... more The chapter discusses Charismatic healing as embodied practice, which involves the acting and sensing body of practitioners in administering and receiving healing prayer. The chapter introduces central theological conceptions and three sets of practices common across the broad variety of religious actors and practices involved in divine healing: 1) prayer and the laying on of hands; 2) spoken declarations and positive confessions, and 3) taking bread and wine in Holy Communion. The last section of the chapter discusses the relation between divine healing and contemporary medicine. The analysis is partly based on fieldwork observations at Lakewood Church, USA, and New Creation Church, Singapore. Healing plays a central role in both nondenominational Charismatic megachurches, which stand in the tradition of the 20th century healing ministries of Oral Roberts (1918–2009) and the ‘Word of Faith’ theology of Kenneth Hagin (1917-2003). The historical examples from Roberts’ healing events and Hagin’s teachings combined with recent examples from Lakewood Church and New Creation Church demonstrate the variety of practices and understandings referred to as ‘Charismatic healing’ in this chapter.
In: M. Bouquet, A. Meijer, & C. Sanders (Eds.), Writing the Liberal Arts and Sciences (pp. 88-96). Amsterdam UP., 2021
In: The Oxford Handbook of the Bible and American Popular Culture, edited by Dan W. Clanton and Terry R Clark, pp. 414-432, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2020
The chapter addresses the material dimension of the Bible in the discourse and practice of Evange... more The chapter addresses the material dimension of the Bible in the discourse and practice of Evangelical and Pentecostal Christians. According to surveys commissioned by the American Bible Society, announcements from big Bible Publishers, and my own observations among contemporary Evangelical and Pentecostal Christians in America, digital Bibles and Bible Apps are on the rise. The transition from print culture to digital culture has not gone uncontested and the discussions among Christians about the appropriateness of digital Bible media for religious practices points towards a contestation of the materiality of the medium through which God’s Word, and thereby God, is made present to religious practitioners. Thus the first part of the chapter introduces the frame of material culture studies and the approach to materiality in the study of religion. The second part will discuss an analytic model suggested by material religion scholar David Morgan along which a material analysis of religious objects should be developed. It will subsequently be applied to explore the relation between the Bible and its concrete materiality with a comparative focus on print and digital versions of the Bible.
Material Religion: The Journal of Objects, Art and Belief, 2020
The paper explores the interplay of elaborate light and sound technologies used in the worship se... more The paper explores the interplay of elaborate light and sound technologies used in the worship services of Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas. During the renovation and reconstruction of the church venue from former basketball stadium to church auditorium, the church hired professional companies to design and outfit the huge 16,000 seat auditorium in order to create a worship space, which simultaneously is meant to serve as a meeting space for the congregation and as an intimate place for a personal encounter with God. Worship services at Lakewood Church are multi-sensory events in which lights on the ceiling, in the auditorium, and on stage interplay with sound, vision,
and space in order to structure the worship service and to mediate divine presence. The analysis is based on fieldwork data acquired on site and textual data drawn from portfolios of the technological companies involved in the reconstruction and outfitting of the church auditorium. I argue that despite the capaciousness of the space an atmosphere of intimacy is created through a specific lighting scheme that departs from traditional church lighting practices.
Keywords: atmosphere, auditorium, Evangelical dramaturgy, Lakewood Church, Joel Osteen, light, lighting, megachurch, praise and worship music, sound, technology, worship service
Ntt Journal for Theology and the Study of Religion: Special Issue "Religious Studies in the Netherlands: Debating the Field's Future", 2020
The response to Markus Altena Davidsen's article 'Theo van Baaren's Systematic Science of Religio... more The response to Markus Altena Davidsen's article 'Theo van Baaren's Systematic Science of Religion Revisited: The Current Crisis in Dutch Study of Religion and a Way Out' analyses the image of anthropology depicted in the article. It delineates the role anthropology plays in formulating Davidsen's vision for a new disciplinary identity and research agenda of a 'science of religion'. The response further questions if reanimating a research program from the mid-20 th century is indeed the way forward for the discipline. The last part will discuss different views of comparison and its role in research on religion at large.
Christianity and the Limits of Materiality , 2017
The shift from printed book to digital device occurred not only in everyday life but church life ... more The shift from printed book to digital device occurred not only in everyday life but church life as well. While Christian publishers jumped on the bandwagon of digital publishing quite fast and announced the triumph of the digital Bible, others opened the discussion of the appropriateness of digital Bibles in religious practices. The chapter takes a closer look at the circumstances under which a digital device used in religious practices can act as a sufficient medium to make the Word of God present. The discussion of the material limits of printed and digital Bibles is situated within the larger field of ‘material religion’ and analyses how the perceptions and ascriptions of ‘Bibleness’ shift and change when the Bible text is displayed and accessed through new media technologies.
Chapter in "The Public Work of Christmas: Difference and Belonging in Multicultural Societies" edited by Pamela Klassen and Monique Scheer, McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2019, pp. 212-239., 2019
Religion Compass 11/2013; 7(11). DOI:10.1111/rec3.12074
Much has been written about the psychologization of different spheres of contemporary American cu... more Much has been written about the psychologization of different spheres of contemporary American culture (education, industrial–military complex, health care, etc.) from different disciplinary perspectives. In this article, I will discuss the concept of therapeutic culture in relation to religion in America. The essay will trace contemporary therapeutic culture back to the mind cure movement and “New Thought” and its concept of the instrumental power of thoughts. A variety of 20th century developments that can be framed both as secular and as religious or spiritual, such as positive thinking, self-help, 12-step programs, New Age, and the so-called Prosperity Gospel, have predecessors in New Thought. Furthermore, the essay will survey early influential works on therapeutic culture in America. Philip Rieff's Triumph of the Therapeutic (1966), Christopher Lasch's The Culture of Narcissism (1979), and Eva S. Moskowitz's more recent study In Therapy We Trust (2001) are based on the idea that traditional Protestant religion has been eroded and replaced by the therapeutic ethos. These authors are concerned that America has traded its soul for its psyche and has swapped religion for therapy. In contrast, Eva Illouz' Saving the Modern Soul (2008) introduces a more comprehensive understanding of the therapeutic discourse as a new cultural matrix that permeates society as a whole. Moreover, a discussion of different historical studies on the interrelation of Protestant religious cultures and therapeutic ethos in the United States will demonstrate that it is not simply a relationship of replacement but one of intricate interconnection and entanglement. The works under discussion show that clinical pastoral education programs, Alcoholics Anonymous, and the Salvation Army adapted psychology and therapy to facilitate religious counseling, to foster outreach to homeless men, and to create spiritual engagement and fellowship among inebriates. As I explore the relationship between therapeutic culture and religion in America, I will point out central themes, possible shortcomings of approaches to the therapeutic so far, and desirable avenues for future research into the interplay of the therapeutic and religion.
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Books by Katja Rakow
What are the reasons behind dynamic innovations in the field of evangelical and charismatic organizations in the contemporary US? The authors apply the sociological concept of “experience worlds" ("Erlebniswelten" Christoph Köck 1990, 2005; Gerhard Schulze 1992) to late modern religious organizations such as Lakewood Church and the Creation Museum as a way to focus on aspects of production, marketing, consumption, materiality, mediation, and experience in the study of contemporary religion. Lakewood Church is currently the biggest megachurch in the US with more than 40,000 weekly attendees. In 2005, the church moved into the former Basketball stadium of the Houston Rockets; today the venue features 16,000 seats for the more than four multi-sensory worship services per week. The Creation Museum, which has drawn more than five million visitors since it’s opening in 2007, offers an experience of biblical accounts on 70,000 square feet. Both organizations use the latest audiovisual and technological equipment to create multi-sensorial worship services and an encounter with biblical history. In their analysis, the authors apply two different perspectives. First, in terms of the commodification of religious organizations, the authors describe and analyze how both organizations and their products are branded and marketed. Second, in terms of the mediation of religion, the authors study how both organizations apply multimedia and multisensory forms to bring their message across and to create intense emotional and religious experiences. Both cases studies show that entertainment, fun, and joy are not exterior to religious practice, but an imminent part of religious life in contemporary America.
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Die Megakirche Lakewood Church in Texas und das Museum für Kreationismus im Bundesstaat Kentucky gehören zu den bedeutendsten evangelikalen Organisationen in den USA. Die Autoren zeigen, dass Religionen ihre Anhänger nicht nur durch religiöse Lehren, sondern vor allem durch sinnliches Erleben an sich binden.
Was sind die Gründe für die dynamische Innovation religiöser Organisationen in den USA? Unter dem Stichwort »moderne religiöse Erlebniswelten« werden die Lakewood Church, untergebracht in einer ehemaligen Basketball-Arena und ausgestattet mit 16.800 Sitzplätzen sowie das Creation Museum, in dem die biblische Schöpfungsgeschichte zum multimedialen religiösen Erlebnis wird, beschrieben und analysiert. Die hier vorgestellten Beispiele eignen sich zur Revision der veralteten Vorannahme, dass Religion lediglich eine »ernste« Angelegenheit sei. »Have Fun and Prepare to Believe« wird zum Motto für jeden Besucher. Die Autoren widmen sich mit ihrer Studie einer Analyse der Vermittlung und Vermarktung von Religionen, die durch das Angebot von multisensorischen Dienstleistungen um die Gunst von religiösen Akteuren konkurrieren.
Die chinesische Okkupation Tibets in der zweiten Hälfte des 20. Jahrhunderts löste eine Fluchtwelle aus. Für einige Tibeter und buddhistische Gelehrte führte der Weg über Indien auch nach Europa und Nordamerika. Chögyam Trungpa (1939-1987) war unter den ersten buddhistischen Lehrern, die den tibetischen Buddhismus an europäische und nordamerikanische Schüler vermittelten. Dabei war er stets auf der Suche nach neuen Ausdrucksmöglichkeiten, um sein religiöses Erbe in zeitgemäße Formen zu übersetzen, die seine westlichen Schüler verstehen und in ihren Alltag integrieren konnten. Aus diesem Bestreben heraus entwickelte und lehrte Trungpa in den 1970/80er Jahren einen säkularen, aber heiligen Meditations- und Erleuchtungsweg, den er Shambhala Training nannte.
Das Buch bietet eine historische Mikrostudie zum Leben und Wirken Chögyam Trungpa und seiner Entwicklung und Präsentation von Shambhala Training. Zwar liegt der Fokus auf Trungpas Tätigkeit als buddhistischer Lehrer in Nordamerika, dennoch vermag die Studie die komplexen transkulturellen Einflüsse sowohl aus dem westlichen als auch dem asiatischen Kontext aufzuzeigen. Diese transkulturelle Orientierung ermöglicht es, diese die von Trungpa etablierten Vorstellungen und Praktiken nicht lediglich als Produkt einer erfolgreichen Adaption an westliche Verhältnisse zu beschreiben, sondern sie als ein neues Wissens- und Praxisfeld zu betrachten, dass aus einer Situation kultureller Hybridität hervorgegangen ist.
Die Autorinnen und Autoren dieses Bandes richten gezielt den Fokus auf diese hohe Variabilität sozialer Konstruktionen von Tod und Postmortalität und die damit diskursiv verflochtenen anthropologischen Grundannahmen. Das Themenspektrum reicht von Beispielen zur neueren europäischen und japanischen Religionsgeschichte bis zu Analysen der Konstruktion von Tod und Postmortalität in Literatur, TV-Serien und Computerspielen.
Special Issues by Katja Rakow
Papers by Katja Rakow
and space in order to structure the worship service and to mediate divine presence. The analysis is based on fieldwork data acquired on site and textual data drawn from portfolios of the technological companies involved in the reconstruction and outfitting of the church auditorium. I argue that despite the capaciousness of the space an atmosphere of intimacy is created through a specific lighting scheme that departs from traditional church lighting practices.
Keywords: atmosphere, auditorium, Evangelical dramaturgy, Lakewood Church, Joel Osteen, light, lighting, megachurch, praise and worship music, sound, technology, worship service