Religion and Cultural Mediations: Perspectives from Contemporary Portuguese Society

Abstract

The article reviews the concept of “cultural religion”, pursuing its different modulations. The limits of the idea oscillate between its interpretation as a form of obsolescence of religion in secularized societies and the possibility that it is a specific modality of religious identification. However, this theoretical construct does not sufficiently incorporate a focus on the processes of cultural transmission in complex societies. From the notion of “cultural mediation (medium)”, an observation framework of contemporary Portuguese society is attempted in order to identify the structuring dimensions that facilitate the mobilization of religious memory in different logics of action.

Shaping individual paths for decision-making: a fuzzy set approach of religious and humanistic beliefs leading to the (non)acceptance of euthanasia

“…Already, Allport and Ross (1967) distinguished between intrinsically-oriented individuals, who are genuinely IJOA 31,5 and autonomously committed to their faith, and extrinsically oriented individuals, who pursue self-serving goals. Nonetheless, attending Mass is a central identity marker for Catholics and there is evidence that in the Portuguese context the answers of individuals on Mass attendance are correlated with other variables pertaining to level of religiosity (Teixeira, 2015). Finally, given that some of the coverage scores suggest that the conditions are incomplete causal evidence, another limitation is that the five conditions included are not sufficient and, thus, more beliefs should be added in future studies.…”

“…Previous studies indicate that a Catholic affiliation encompasses individuals with significantly different levels of religiosity, from Cultural Catholics (Bruce, 2018), whose identification as Catholic is simply a matter of ancestry or culture, to Observant Catholics, with high level of religiosity in terms of adherence to religious practices (Teixeira, 2015). Recognizing these differences, we also analyze whether, among individuals sharing the same religious affiliation, different levels of religiosity play a role in the configurations of beliefs leading to the (non)acceptance of euthanasia.…”

“…This solution has both an adequate coverage (0.956) and adequate consistency (0.936) and is, thus, empirically relevant. The fact that, for individuals with high levels of religiosity, the choice of not accepting euthanasia is strongly associated with their Christian beliefs, while humanistic beliefs are irrelevant, suggests this configuration is characteristic of Observant Catholics, individuals for whom observing the norms and practices of their religion is paramount (Teixeira, 2015).…”

Hybrid Social Spaces and the Individualisation of Religious Experience in the Global North: Spatial Aspects of Religiosity in Postmodern Society

“…Indeed, social changes have led to individuals breaking free from traditional relationships and having more self-determination. This obviously leads to a new process of identification where there is more room for individual interpretations of situations and realities, to the reassessment of the role of the personal world (the home), or to the re-structuring of memory and its new role in identification (Ratnam 2018;Teixeira 2023b). It also leads to new relations and norms in the field of religiosity and religious experience.…”

“…In public spaces, religious perspectives are increasingly able to appear as part of tactical actions, including in the field of work processes (economic activity). This is mainly due to the fact that religious individuals are no longer conducting work activities solely based on the rationality of the strategy-makers, but also based on their personal and subjective religious beliefs (Wigley 2018;Teixeira 2023b). The individual's representation is not limited to their clothing and accessories, which may express their religious or denominational affiliation or personal relationship with the transcendent.…”