Religious Space, Atmospheres, and the Transcendent: Understanding Socio-Spatial Arrangements in Christian Communities in Japan

• Applicants: Dr. Martin Radermacher; Professorin Dr. Monika Schrimpf
• Subject Area: Religious Studies and Jewish Studies
• Term: since 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 519085973

Social atmospheres are omnipresent in everyday life, shaping sociality in ways we do not yet fully understand. Every situation has its atmosphere, but usually, we neither talk about nor consciously realize it. Atmospheres depend on present individuals but are also influenced by material elements and spatial configurations — churches and places of religious practice being prominent examples. Atmospheres, we argue, are a major factor in the shaping of individual and collective religious experience. However, in the Study of Religions as a social scientific and comparative discipline, atmospheres have been a blind spot for theories and empirical studies because they are notoriously hard to conceptualize and operationalize. Taking on this challenge, the project will study the emergence and effects of religious atmospheres based on the assumption that atmospheres are constituted in the interplay of three levels: (a) production, (b) reception, (c) the object of production and reception, i.e. the sociospatial arrangement. To substantiate and further develop this model, we will conduct qualitative in-depth case studies in Christian communities in Japan. In the frame of grounded theory methodology, we use qualitative interviews and participant observations, and documentary photography. The findings will have a major impact on the Comparative Study of Religions by fundamentally advancing the understanding of how atmospheres emerge and how they affect participants and ritual performance. Our qualitative research on Christian atmospheres in Japan will also contribute to research within Japanese Studies by focusing on the role of materiality in the ways in which Christian communities define themselves as a more or less ‘Japanese religion.’

• DFG Programme: Research Grants