Total devotion in the ancient world: emotions and narrative in radical religion

Training for total devotion: emotionality and narrativity in Deuteronomy

“…As also pointed out in the introduction to this issue (Feldt 2023), a predominant trend in studies of radical religion is to focus on violence (Juergensmeyer 2013;Ward, Sherlock, and Aran 2013;Kaplan 2015; Assmann 2016; Kühle 2018; 1 but see Bayat 2007 andPedersen, Vestel, andBakken 2018) and the relations to others, whether the societal environment or competing religious groups, i.e., on radicalisation (Sedgwick 2010), or indeed on social-economic factors and/or beliefs (on these tendencies, see Nanninga 2019; De Graaf and van den Bos 2021). While these are important aspects, focusing only or primarily on these factors leaves crucial parts of total devotion un-analysed and less adequately understood, with the result that the attractors or pull factors are less well accounted for.…”

“…The ideals of devotion presented, the outbreaks of violence and the divine punitive 5 Enclave formation and group polarisation remain important (von Scheve and Ismer 2013; Lindekilde and Bertelsen 2015). 6 While the discussion of radical religion has been intense in the contemporary study of religion, as argued in the Introduction (Feldt 2023), historical case studies arearguablyvaluable and necessary for the continued development of our discipline in the area of radical religion, as concept-based comparison is constitutive for it (Stausberg 2021;Feldt 2020b).…”

“…Emotions are here approached as bodily and cognitive processes that are historically and culturally variable and that need to be studied in their historical and philological contexts (Feldt 2020c). I focus on emotion expressions, emotional story effects and how emotions are narrated (Feldt 2020a), as I am interested in how they work to align individuals with a group, endorse ideals, train them, and to perform commitment (Feldt 2023;Mermelstein 2013, 240). The crucial role of narrativity in religious identity formation processes need not be repeated here (Geertz and Jensen 2011;Johannsen, Kirsch, and Kreinath 2020), but certainly paid attention, but my main focus is on emotions and only on narrativity as it impacts emotionality.…”

“…10 In Deuteronomy 1-11, we have a good example of a text that is culturally sanctioned and selected for transmission through more than two millennia, and thus in some ways culturally (as well as religiously) canonical, idealised, and paradigmatic (cf. Hogan 2011, 8, 21;Feldt 2023). While it works towards stabilising an emotional and narrative community, leading emotional experience into a socially sanctioned form via idealisations and training, it is a mistake to see a text such as Deuteronomy as expressing only the cultural norm or model.…”

Narrative policy of bureaucratic reform in Indonesia: Rules of narrative in mass media

“…Narratives are the most important part of life because storytelling is closely related to emotional life, it can also shape the process and mobilization of emotions both in groups and individuals (Feldt, 2023a). Narrative is a medium used by a person or party to narrate a particular event or phenomenon (Feldt, 2023b).…”