Sárospataki Füzetek 18. (2014)
2014 / 3. szám - TANULMÁNYOK - Rácsok Gabriella: Korunk változó vallásossága
Korunk változó vallásossága Abstract Today’s Changing Religiosity If we regard film as a dominant art form of our time, we are faced with the following questions. Can film become a suitable means of communicating the Gospel? Can film influence the way people relate to religion? To answer this we must examine the role of religion in peoples lives today, and the impact of the changed social processes on the individual’s religiosity. In this study we try to describe the characteristics of people’s religiosity and of their attitude to religion today by means of comparative analyses of the sociology of religion theories and findings. Looking at the religiousness of today’s European individual we come to a phenomenon that can be better described by a subjective turn than by postmodern characteristics. This subjective turn can be described by the following tendencies: the monopoly of religious traditions is replaced by a pluralistic cultural context in which religious traditions become commodities; the individual’s religious quest retracts to the personal sphere, there is no need for institutional mediation; the meaning making of the individual turns from intellectual to emotional; his/her need for referring to something in order to experience fullness turns from the transcendent to the immanent; his/her religiosity turns from dogmatic to experiential. The religiosity of the subjective turn is characterized by believing without belonging that seeks sources of religious contexts and experiences without permanent commitment to institutionalized forms of religion; internal motivations of religiousness become stronger over against external ones; prescribed religion is replaced by acquired religion which brings along a reflective character in opposition to the former naive one. We keep these characteristics valid of the religiosity of a gradually growing part of Hungarian society. Along with this the need for experiences seems to increase the role of mass media in people’s lives today. Film seems to be the right place to inquire about the religiousness, faith, religious beliefs and experiences of today’s people. Cinematography is a special medium for expressing things that (post)modern persons are concerned about. In this approach film may become a source for theology, from which theology can get information and turn its own reflections in the direction of urgent questions, thereby helping the church participating in Gods mission get to know the context of the audience receiving the Gospel better. Sárospataki Füzetek 18. évfolyam 2014 I 3 63
