Drafts by Loïc Bawidamann
Papers by Loïc Bawidamann
BRILL eBooks, Feb 20, 2024
Journal of Religion in Europe, 2024
This article examines the link between religion and conspiracy theories by focusing on religious ... more This article examines the link between religion and conspiracy theories by focusing on religious agents operating two alternative media outlets in Switzerland, opposing perceived mainstream opinions. Informed by Bourdieu’s field theory, the article elab- orates on the agents’ surpassing of field boundaries, spawning an alternative field that accommodates all agents expelled from their initial fields. Through web scraping and qualitative interviews with the content creators, the analysis elucidates the particular significance of religious agents in the production and distribution of conspiracy the- ories, as they inherently oppose social differentiation, enabling them to contend with dominant authorities convincingly. The article concludes by offering an understanding of the alternative field and, by extension, of conspiracy theories as a process of dedif- ferentiation, striving for a realignment of the current structure of society.
AЯGOS, 2024
Conspiracy theories and their relation to religion are widely discussed. Drawing on Bourdieu's co... more Conspiracy theories and their relation to religion are widely discussed. Drawing on Bourdieu's concept of social fields, this article proposes the concept of an alternative field where various actors with alternative views converge. By examining a conspiracy theory blog with links to alternative medicine and alternative religious views, the paper reconstructs how knowledge is legitimated and produced within this alternative field. The concept provides a distinct analytical approach to shed light on the intersection of religion and conspiracy theories by focusing on actors and their knowledge production, thus complementing existing research approaches.
Zeitschrift für junge Religionswissenschaft, 2021
This article examines interpretations of the archaeological site at Avebury (UK) by deploying a s... more This article examines interpretations of the archaeological site at Avebury (UK) by deploying a sociology of knowledge approach to discourse. Rather than (in)validating normative claims about such interpretations which are characterized as “alternative archaeological” or “pseudo-archaeological”, the article focuses on the argumentation strategies and their proponents. By this shift in perspective, the paper aims to demonstrate how religious views of the excavation site have had a structuring effect on the field of alternative archaeology. It argues that religion constitutes a decisive factor in understanding its making. At the same time, the case study points to the competition between academic and alternative readings. A study of religions approach, it is argued, makes it possible to consider alternative as well as academic interpretations equally, regardless of their validity.
Dieser Artikel untersucht Interpretationen der archäologischen Ausgrabungsstätte in Avebury (UK) mittels wissenssoziologischer Diskursanalyse. Diese Perspektive erlaubt es, von normativen Stellungnahmen zu sogenannten alternativ-archäologischen oder pseudo-archäologischen Deutungen abzusehen, um die Argumentationsstrategien und deren Vertreter*innen ins Zentrum zu rücken. So wird herausgearbeitet, wie religiöse Auffassungen der Ausgrabungsstätte strukturierend auf das Feld der alternativen Archäologie wirken, Religion also einen entscheidenden Faktor bildet, um deren Struktur verstehen zu können. Zugleich verweist das Fallbeispiel auf die Konkurrenz zwischen akademischer Wissenschaft und alternativen Lesarten, wobei die Position der religionswissenschaftlichen Forschung es ermöglicht, sowohl religiöse als auch wissenschaftliche Interpretationen unabhängig von ihrer Gültigkeit gleichermaßen zu berücksichtigen.
European Societies , 2020
The wide-reaching government restrictions in the fight against COVID-19 are compelling religious ... more The wide-reaching government restrictions in the fight against COVID-19 are compelling religious communities in Switzerland to modify their ritual practice in order to comply with the state's stipulations. With a focus on religious authority following Bourdieu, this paper researches the ritual modifications in the Roman Catholic Church and an Islamic organisation via the three categories of change, shift, and cancellation. Modifications were implemented to avoid the cancellation of public rituals which highlights their importance. As it finally became inevitable, the decision-makers within the two communities were confronted with the need to justify their compliance to state rules within the community and towards the secular outside world. This paper shows that the constitution of religious authority in response to ritual restrictions is dependent on the degree of establishment within the societal context and the division of religious labour in the community.
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Drafts by Loïc Bawidamann
Papers by Loïc Bawidamann
Dieser Artikel untersucht Interpretationen der archäologischen Ausgrabungsstätte in Avebury (UK) mittels wissenssoziologischer Diskursanalyse. Diese Perspektive erlaubt es, von normativen Stellungnahmen zu sogenannten alternativ-archäologischen oder pseudo-archäologischen Deutungen abzusehen, um die Argumentationsstrategien und deren Vertreter*innen ins Zentrum zu rücken. So wird herausgearbeitet, wie religiöse Auffassungen der Ausgrabungsstätte strukturierend auf das Feld der alternativen Archäologie wirken, Religion also einen entscheidenden Faktor bildet, um deren Struktur verstehen zu können. Zugleich verweist das Fallbeispiel auf die Konkurrenz zwischen akademischer Wissenschaft und alternativen Lesarten, wobei die Position der religionswissenschaftlichen Forschung es ermöglicht, sowohl religiöse als auch wissenschaftliche Interpretationen unabhängig von ihrer Gültigkeit gleichermaßen zu berücksichtigen.
Dieser Artikel untersucht Interpretationen der archäologischen Ausgrabungsstätte in Avebury (UK) mittels wissenssoziologischer Diskursanalyse. Diese Perspektive erlaubt es, von normativen Stellungnahmen zu sogenannten alternativ-archäologischen oder pseudo-archäologischen Deutungen abzusehen, um die Argumentationsstrategien und deren Vertreter*innen ins Zentrum zu rücken. So wird herausgearbeitet, wie religiöse Auffassungen der Ausgrabungsstätte strukturierend auf das Feld der alternativen Archäologie wirken, Religion also einen entscheidenden Faktor bildet, um deren Struktur verstehen zu können. Zugleich verweist das Fallbeispiel auf die Konkurrenz zwischen akademischer Wissenschaft und alternativen Lesarten, wobei die Position der religionswissenschaftlichen Forschung es ermöglicht, sowohl religiöse als auch wissenschaftliche Interpretationen unabhängig von ihrer Gültigkeit gleichermaßen zu berücksichtigen.