Easter gardens and Christmas trees
By Fridus Steijlen – When I arrived in mid-January in Ambon for my second year at Pattimura University I saw Christmas and New Year decor on the streets,…
Tag: Religie & spiritualiteit
Storytelling in Anthropology
By Romy de Vos – For my bachelor’s thesis, I conducted research among individuals and groups who are involved in initiatives to grant posthumous rehabilitation for people who…
Religion has left the hospital: the uneasy silence of professionalization
By Peter Versteeg – Have you ever wondered why something happened to you? I hope you haven’t because this question often arises when people are faced with something…
Ramadan as an anthropologist
By Lilian Ebbelaar Ramadan to me was always something that was so interesting. It had this kind of mysterious feeling and always felt strange to me. Why are…
Why the world needs anthropology of religion
by Thijl Sunier According to Dutch media, the Netherlands has reached a milestone these days. For the first time in history, the country has a majority of inhabitants…
Positioning your position
In the picture above, you see me reading along with Hebrew psalms and prayers during a synagogue (shul) service on simchat torah. Simchat torah is a festive day…
Listening to Your Gut
By Senske de Vries Before the thesis-period actually started I was somewhat hesitant about how this would be. I had heard from others that they hated working on…
Anthropology and religion at the Vrije Universiteit – a short history
By Matthias Teeuwen The Vrije Universiteit originally had a strong confessional commitment to the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands and I have always wondered how anthropology meshed with…
Religious extremism: vulnerability and resistance among Indonesian migrant workers in Asia
By Yudha Dewanto After turning 16, never having stepped a foot outside of her province, Katri pushed herself to go to Malaysia. Seeking a solution to family problems,…
Rethinking difference: Muslim and Christian lives in comparative perspective
Image credit: David Evers, Flickr, Creative Commons. By Daan Beekers, Hansjörg Dilger and Daniel Nilsson DeHanas. In recent decades, the anthropology of religion has produced detailed and d…
Yellow fragmentation
By Irene Stengs. Bangkok, Sunday May 5. With hundreds of others, I am queuing to enter the restricted area around the Grand Palace where the Royal Land Procession…