Spiritual circles: ritual and the performance of identities in the Zionist Christian Church
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Date
2009-10-13T11:23:42Z
Authors
Skelton, Colin
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Abstract
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine how spiritual identities are constructed and
enacted through ritualised behaviour in Zionist Christian Church services. Another
aim was to identify the significance of specific religious objects and activities in order
to investigate how these contribute to the performance of identity in the Zionists. The
investigation was rooted in various ritual performance theories (Turner, 1982;
Schechner, 2002).
The study utilized qualitative research methodology. The research data consisted of
casual conversations with congregants, six open ended and semi-structured
interviews, numerous photographs and approximately three hours of raw video
recordings. Additionally, one vignette interview was conducted where congregants
responded to photographs and video footage of their church service. Most of the data
was gathered on site at the Melville Koppies nature reserve in Johannesburg. One
congregation, the New Gospel Church in Zion of Africa, participated in the study.
The investigation revealed that Zionist identity is performed on both the individual
and collective levels of Zionist culture. The results indicated that identity is
constructed through a series of religious acts and symbolic behaviours and that
identity formation occurs through performance. It was also discovered that Zionist
church services are highly ritualized and that spiritual identities emerge through
‘restored’ behaviours prescribed in the ritual context. The belief in the ‘Holy Spirit’
was also discovered to play a significant role in the emergence of spiritual identities