PENTEX | Pentecostal exorcisms in London: creative and integrative rituals in a multicultural city

Summary
A common practice throughout much of the history of Christianity, the expulsion of demonic entities, also known as exorcism, continues to occur on a regular basis in the capital cities of Europe. These religious rituals are customary in Pentecostalism, a form of Protestantism that grew exponentially in the last century, especially in Lain America and Africa. However, although most of the studies about Pentecostalism in the Global South observe the importance of exorcisms, the literature about this religious movement's diaspora to Europe focuses more on the integration of participants in a migratory context, which leaves a gap in the analysis of these researches. Thus, PENTEX aims to analyse Pentecostal exorcisms in two Pentecostal churches (one from Latin America and one from Africa) in London, United Kingdom, by acknowledging these rituals' creative (in which outside practices are re-signified) and integrative (in which they control and regulated the participants' practices and social roles) features. Furthermore, PENTEX aims to observe the conviviality of Pentecostals with other social groups in London and the role and adaptation of exorcisms in these interactions. PENTEX will also analyse cases of violence in the city that resemble Pentecostal exorcisms, by observing if the churches' spiritual warfare against evil and demonisation may materialize into violence, and how the participants, NGOs that promote human rights, and policymakers understand these cases.
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More information & hyperlinks
Web resources: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101107460
Start date: 01-09-2023
End date: 31-08-2025
Total budget - Public funding: - 175 920,00 Euro
Cordis data

Original description

A common practice throughout much of the history of Christianity, the expulsion of demonic entities, also known as exorcism, continues to occur on a regular basis in the capital cities of Europe. These religious rituals are customary in Pentecostalism, a form of Protestantism that grew exponentially in the last century, especially in Lain America and Africa. However, although most of the studies about Pentecostalism in the Global South observe the importance of exorcisms, the literature about this religious movement's diaspora to Europe focuses more on the integration of participants in a migratory context, which leaves a gap in the analysis of these researches. Thus, PENTEX aims to analyse Pentecostal exorcisms in two Pentecostal churches (one from Latin America and one from Africa) in London, United Kingdom, by acknowledging these rituals' creative (in which outside practices are re-signified) and integrative (in which they control and regulated the participants' practices and social roles) features. Furthermore, PENTEX aims to observe the conviviality of Pentecostals with other social groups in London and the role and adaptation of exorcisms in these interactions. PENTEX will also analyse cases of violence in the city that resemble Pentecostal exorcisms, by observing if the churches' spiritual warfare against evil and demonisation may materialize into violence, and how the participants, NGOs that promote human rights, and policymakers understand these cases.

Status

SIGNED

Call topic

HORIZON-MSCA-2022-PF-01-01

Update Date

31-07-2023
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Horizon Europe
HORIZON.1 Excellent Science
HORIZON.1.2 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
HORIZON.1.2.0 Cross-cutting call topics
HORIZON-MSCA-2022-PF-01
HORIZON-MSCA-2022-PF-01-01 MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2022