Papers by Maren Freudenberg
Die vielfältigen Zusammenhänge zwischen Religion und Wirtschaft verstehen Religion und Wirtschaft... more Die vielfältigen Zusammenhänge zwischen Religion und Wirtschaft verstehen Religion und Wirtschaft stehen seit jeher in einer engen Wechselbeziehung. Diese beleuchten Maren Freudenberg und Kianoosh Rezania detailliert aus religionswissenschaftlicher und ökonomischer Perspektive: Sie zeigen theoretische Ansätze und empirische Forschungsmethoden auf, die eine Brücke zwischen den beiden Disziplinen schlagen. Besonders gehen sie auf religiöse ökonomische Ethiken und deren sozioökonomische Auswirkungen, auf Religionen als ökonomische Akteure und auf neuere Weiterentwicklungen theoretischer Ansätze ein. Zahlreiche Leitfragen, Definitionen und Diskussionsfragen helfen beim Verständnis. Das Buch richtet sich an Studierende und Dozierende der Religionswissenschaft und der Wirtschafts- sowie Sozialwissenschaften.
Ritual and Social Dynamics in Christian and Islamic Preaching, 2024
Anachronismen im politischen System der USA, 2023
Der vorliegende Beitrag untersucht das historische und gegenwär tige Potential der Black Church a... more Der vorliegende Beitrag untersucht das historische und gegenwär tige Potential der Black Church als besondere, dem strukturellen Rassismus durchweg ausgesetzte religiöse Institution, den politischen Anliegen der afroamerikanischen Be völkerung gerecht zu werden. Er beleuchtet schlaglichtartig vorherrschende Tenden zen und Ansätze in verschiedenen historischen Epochen-während Sklaverei und Bürgerkrieg, der Reconstruction und Segregation sowie der Bürgerrechtsbewegung und ihren Nachklängen-bis in die Gegenwart, um zu zeigen, wann der Black Church die Vertretung Schwarzer Anliegen und Interessen erfolgreich gelungen ist. Dabei argumentiert er, dass die Black Church ihr demokratisierendes Potential in der Tat historisch immer wieder ausgeschöpft hat, gegenwärtig jedoch jene historisch wichtige, demokratisierende Rolle nur noch sehr eingeschränkt wahrnimmt.
Handbuch Politik USA (3. Aufl.), 2023
Der vorliegende Beitrag beleuchtet das Verhältnis von Religion und Politik in den USA anhand der ... more Der vorliegende Beitrag beleuchtet das Verhältnis von Religion und Politik in den USA anhand der Allianz zwischen der Christlichen Rechten und der Republikanischen Partei seit den 1980er-Jahren. Es werden sowohl historische Vorläufer, vor allem der Einfluss der countercultural revolution der Long Sixties auf das Aufkommen des Neo-Evangelikalismus, und aktuelle Entwicklungen, besonders das Erstarken des Weißen Christlichen Nationalismus unter Obama und Trump, erläutert.
Stepping Back and Looking Ahead: Twelve Years of Studying Religious Contact at the Käte Hamburger Kolleg Bochum, 2023
This chapter aims to familiarize the reader with general conceptual and theoretical consideration... more This chapter aims to familiarize the reader with general conceptual and theoretical considerations that have driven the Käte Hambuger Kolleg ‘Dynamics in the History of Religion’ over the 12 years of its existence between 2008 and 2020. First, we outline the KHK’s general understanding of the key term ‘religion’. Second, we sketch how we understand religious studies as a multidisciplinary field that brings together numerous scholars from different backgrounds in terms of theoretical and methodological orientation, including historical, cultural and philological expertise. Third, we describe how we aim to study ‘contact’ as a central driving force in the dynamics of religious history via the methodological approach of comparison.
Globale Christentümer: Theologische und religionswissenschaftliche Perspektiven, 2022
This is an open access chapter distributed under the terms of the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license.
Research in the Social Scientific Study on Religion, 2022
Research in the Social Scientific Study of Religion, 2022
Based on first-hand qualitative research in an Assemblies of God megachurch outside of Springfiel... more Based on first-hand qualitative research in an Assemblies of God megachurch outside of Springfield, Missouri, the article examines the tension between different forms of authority at play in familiarizing congregants and newcomers with Pentecostal practices. Focusing on a prayer service held in September 2018 in which attendees were encouraged to speak in tongues, it investigates the fine balance between perpetuating the charismatic-Pentecostal tradition but not overwhelming newcomers unfamiliar with it. The pastor interprets both the success or failure of attendees to speak in tongues in a positive light by (1) framing glossolalia as a sign of divine election and (2) insisting that failure to speak in tongues does not imply divine rejection. This tension reveals the interplay of individual and communal, of personal and institutional authority at play, with ultimately reifying effects on the event's power hierarchies.
Femininity and female gender roles in conservative religious environments are highly disputed top... more Femininity and female gender roles in conservative religious environments are highly disputed topics both within communities of faith and in sociological discourse. In light of social transformations of gender perceptions in the past decades, conservative Christians have had to reevaluate traditional understandings of womanhood in societies that have become steeped in popular culture and thoroughly mediatized. Taking this development as a point of departure, this article examines how femininity is represented in the International Christian Fellowship, particularly on its "Ladies Lounge" webpage. Advertising an annual event geared exclusively towards women, the website's landing page contains images and text that we examine by means of visual and textual sequence analysis. Our research results reveal that women are depicted as sensually attractive and self-confidently professional while at the same time being relegated to an exclusively female sphere within (but not beyond) which they wield authority and influence. As such, femininity is represented as self-empowering, but only within a specific, postfeminist framework. This ambivalent depiction of women's agency challenges conservative Evangelical values at the same time as it affirms them. In this sense, the study contributes the growing body of literature on gender and Evangelicalism.
Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion, 2020
The article analyses religious discourse on economic practice in three different strands of Ameri... more The article analyses religious discourse on economic practice in three different strands of American Protestantism. It examines the distinct ways in which instructions on economic behavior are derived from a common reference point – the Bible – and assesses the resulting and considerable variation in economic norms, as stated in rules, texts, and cultural materials. The analysis compares instructions out of three communities between the 1970s and 2010s that represent different facets of conservative Protestant religiosity in the United States: (1) the Amish community and its specific economic ethic of simplicity in the Ordnung, derived from Anabaptist principles; (2) mainstream Evangelicalism’s discursive and literary genre of guidebooks dealing with economic wealth; and (3) neo-Pentecostalism’s focus on the Prosperity Gospel, as exemplified by the teachings of Joel Osteen, senior pastor of America’s largest megachurch. Distancing itself from the religious economy approach, the article taps into Mark Granovetter and Richard Swedberg’s work in New Economic Sociology. Applying the concepts of “moral economy” as well as “social embeddedness,” it examines how the three groups’ discursive instructions conceive of what is morally appropriate economic action given their respective relational, structural, and temporal embeddedness. Methodically, we work with institutional analysis, discourse analysis, and content analysis. We argue that theological interpretations of biblical Scripture are socially embedded in each group’s specific context – distinct forms of social interaction, power dynamics, and histories – and that contextual specifics must necessarily be taken into account to better understand the high diversity of instructions on economic decision-making, even within American Protestantism itself.
Journal of Religion in Europe 12, 2019
The introduction to the special issue on ‘charisma’ offers a very brief overview of the developme... more The introduction to the special issue on ‘charisma’ offers a very brief overview of the development of the concept in the social sciences and various critiques and intersecting debates. It casts a close look at Max Weber’s sometimes contradictory use of the concept and the different ways he conceptualized it in his sociology of religion and his sociology of domination. It then examines alternative theoretical approaches to ‘charisma’ that emerge in the course of the twentieth century before outlining this special issue’s contribution to the conceptual debate and the individual articles’ operationalization of the term by viewing charisma as relational, communicative, procedural, as well as related to ideas, practices, and objects.
Journal of Religion in Europe 12, 2019
This article applies the terms "charisma of ideas" (Winfried Gebhardt) as well as "per-sonal auth... more This article applies the terms "charisma of ideas" (Winfried Gebhardt) as well as "per-sonal authority" and "sacral authority" (Heinrich Popitz) to the German-speaking branch of the neo-charismatic Vineyard Church to reveal its uniqueness within the broader international organization. Theoretically, it moves beyond a traditional Webe-rian focus on charismatic leadership to focus on ideas ascribed with charisma and the role of authority in disseminating them. Empirically, it reveals that individual communication with God, perceiving Jesus as a role model, and cultivating an intellectual self-image are such central ideas. Both personal and sacral authority come into play in communicating them within and beyond the religious organization.
This article examines processes of religious transfer taking place in the neo-Charismatic Vineyar... more This article examines processes of religious transfer taking place in the neo-Charismatic Vineyard movement by analyzing the development of the German-speaking branch, Vineyard Deutschland, Österreich, Schweiz (DACH), in comparison to its American sister association. By drawing from first-hand interviews with congregational leaders and analyses of websites and other digital and print material, the article shows that Vine-
yard DACH is pursuing an unusually collaborative strategy to integrate into the German-speaking Christian landscape by forging close ties to both the Christian mainstream and its periphery. At the same time, it accentuates its identity as part of the international Vineyard network as a global charismatic movement. In this way, it negotiates the tension
between the dynamics of expansion and the stability of a coherent self-identity, which is a distinguishing trait of Pentecostal-Charismatic Christianity. This development may be indicative of broader changes occurring in the religious landscape of German-speaking Europe in the early twenty-first century.
Vineyard D.A.CH sees itself as part of an international, charismatic, Christian movement which or... more Vineyard D.A.CH sees itself as part of an international, charismatic, Christian movement which originated in the USA. The German-speaking association is characterized by its emphasis on a ‘Jesus-centered’ lifestyle and Christian values instead of a set creed; an orientation towards George Eldon Ladd’s Kingdom of God theology; the importance of the Biblical charismas; and conversion experience as a gradual process. Musical worship, prayer, and Bible study are perceived as important ways of communicating with God. Vineyard D.A.CH is comprised of about 80 congregations in late 2017; membership statistics do not exist. Leaders are trained in a structured program to support congregations in sustainable growth and their engagement in society. A network of local and regional leadership teams provides additional support. Propagating Christian values is understood as a main task, which is why Vineyard D.A.CH’s ecumenical engagement is particularly pronounced and its ties to ‘established’ churches are strong.
House for All Sinners and Saints (HFASS), a congregation affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran... more House for All Sinners and Saints (HFASS), a congregation affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in Denver, Colorado, has recently attracted attention for its blend of confessional church tradition and its embrace of popular culture. It attracts the types of people not usually associated with mainstream Christianity, including queers, recovering addicts, and abuse victims. Given these biographies, a range of different subcultures has come together to shape beliefs and practices in unconventional ways. As a reaction to the opposition many members have experienced in the Christian mainstream, the congregation is rumoured to call itself ironically ''Half-Ass'' (after the acronym of its name—HFASS). This article frames religion and popular culture as entering into dialogue at House for All Sinners and Saints and discusses the meanings that emerge at this intersection. It argues that popular culture is not employed as a mere catch-all tool to fill the pews but, rather, serves to express deviance and dissent from the religious mainstream, encourage new forms of consciousness regarding being ''unconventionally'' Christian, and affirm alternative Christian-and-minority-member identities while simultaneously emphasizing the centrality of the confessional tradition for contemporary American culture.
This paper connects theories of institutional entrepreneurship with the current transformation of... more This paper connects theories of institutional entrepreneurship with the current transformation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, a denomination attempting to reverse its membership decline by introducing changes in religious practices and organizational structures.
Hit by dramatic membership decline in recent years, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (E... more Hit by dramatic membership decline in recent years, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is initiating multiple processes of religious renewal to revitalize its worshipping and outreach culture. This paper examines the transformation the ELCA envisions in its religious culture as revealed in semi-structured interviews and (non-)participant observation recently conducted in the Upper Midwest. Clergy and lay leaders are attempting to develop a spiritually vibrant and participatory church culture in what has generally been a rational, hierarchical, and passive-receptive denominational environment. By helping parishioners cultivate personal spirituality, contextual faith practices, and evangelism skills, they aim at a spiritually vital religious socialization untypical for mainline Protestantism, which is usually characterized by intellectualism and a social outreach focus. At the same time, the ELCA retains its traditional liturgy as a unique identity marker and corporate ritual that offers communal access to the transcendent. While liturgy is perceived as outdated and hierarchical by many, ELCA clergy hope to infuse it with the spiritual vitality of individual parishioners, thereby maximizing the liturgy's mystical effects. In this sense, personal spirituality and corporate liturgy are brought together in an attempt to revitalize and transform the ELCA's congregational culture in ways that stay true to its core tradition.
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Papers by Maren Freudenberg
yard DACH is pursuing an unusually collaborative strategy to integrate into the German-speaking Christian landscape by forging close ties to both the Christian mainstream and its periphery. At the same time, it accentuates its identity as part of the international Vineyard network as a global charismatic movement. In this way, it negotiates the tension
between the dynamics of expansion and the stability of a coherent self-identity, which is a distinguishing trait of Pentecostal-Charismatic Christianity. This development may be indicative of broader changes occurring in the religious landscape of German-speaking Europe in the early twenty-first century.
yard DACH is pursuing an unusually collaborative strategy to integrate into the German-speaking Christian landscape by forging close ties to both the Christian mainstream and its periphery. At the same time, it accentuates its identity as part of the international Vineyard network as a global charismatic movement. In this way, it negotiates the tension
between the dynamics of expansion and the stability of a coherent self-identity, which is a distinguishing trait of Pentecostal-Charismatic Christianity. This development may be indicative of broader changes occurring in the religious landscape of German-speaking Europe in the early twenty-first century.
https://www.transcript-verlag.de/978-3-8376-6826-1/social-forms-of-religion/?number=978-3-8376-6826-1