A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal

If the Mother of God does not listen – Women's contested agency and the lived meaning of the Orthodox religion in North Karelia




SubtitleWomen's contested agency and the lived meaning of the Orthodox religion in North Karelia

AuthorsMarja-Liisa Honkasalo

PublisherAmerican Folklore Society

Publication year2015

JournalJournal of American Folklore

Volume128

Issue507

First page 64

Last page92

Number of pages29

ISSN0021-8715

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.5406/jamerfolk.128.507.0065


Abstract

Finnish Orthodox women's ambiguous situation of interfaith marriages in Lutheran, secular Finland is marked by a peculiar triple sense of otherness, causing elements of deep crisis among many. Employing Ernesto de Martino's concept of "dehistoricizing," the author claims that domestic religious rituals restore women's agency and give them metahistorical solace. The ritual presence of the Mother of God binds together separate elements of domestic life and a mythical common past that creates and recreates mothers' agency within the interfaith dilemma.



Last updated on 2024-26-11 at 15:45