Sára Eszter Heidl

Event Religion. A Conceptual Approach with a Comparative Analysis of Three Case Studies

My work contributes to the research of festivals by focusing on three Hungarian festivals and exploring the dimensions of an event that can be interpreted from a religious studies perspective. Alternative forms of religion, vernacular and lived religion in New Age and similar settings are growing worldwide, and temporary events provide one of the main platforms for these approaches. My case study in the Hungarian context shows patterns and aspects that are also present in other countries of the world. It is an important topic for discussion because it reveals alternative and innovative aspects of religion that are not or rarely found in traditional and institutional settings, and that are specific to temporary gatherings and countercultures.This research used an international theoretical framework and Hungarian empirical fieldwork to show the characteristics of festival experience. For the empirical part, I used quantitative surveys, qualitative interviews and moderate participant observation to collect data. The analysis of the collected data and empirical findings resulted in a 4-dimensional model of event religion, which I use not only as a conceptual approach but also as an empirical method. The comparison of three festivals with different backgrounds (a mindfulness festival, a Catholic event and a music festival) showed the similarities and differences of these four dimensions and finally I concluded that this research model is applicable in all three settings and suggested to test it in different settings (any temporary event, not only festivals) in the future. I also introduced the concept of religionesque as an umbrella term for the many concepts that describe religion-related experiences and approaches, in order to make empirical research more efficient. This term can help the researcher to exclude concepts that are rejected or prejudiced by the subjects of the research, rather than imposing them on the subject, while still retaining the fact of the existence of religious connections.There were four stages to my research. In the first stage, (1) I examined what tools and questions should be used to measure the religious affiliation of participants at the Everness mindfulness festival. In the second stage, (2) I explored what characteristics, concepts and theories could be used to describe the dimensions of spatiotemporality, symbols, community and inward experience at the Everness Festival. In the third stage (3) I sought to answer the question of whether event religion can be established as a conceptual approach and method on the basis of the observed dimensions and by analysing the questions related to them. The fourth stage (4) was to conduct two comparative fieldworks to test whether event religion is applicable to other settings with different characteristics.My findings revealed information about 1) contemporary Hungarian religiosity and alternative forms in event settings, and 2) phenomena that are not unique to Hungarians, but may show some aspects of a global phenomenon. I presented the four dimensions of event religion experience and explained them with theoretical frameworks and empirical findings. I have shown how these can be used empirically.Finally, I have provided a definition for my approach. Event religion as a conceptual approach describes a contemporary religionesque phenomenon that occurs in temporary events and can be examined through four dimensions. Event religion as a phenomenon creates a temporary community through shared activities, forms a quasi-liminal phase and thereby endows the place, time and symbols present with religionesque significance. During this period, the person shows a high responsiveness to mystical, peak, resonant and flow experiences, thus gaining a temporary religionesque experience.