PLACES OF THE DEAD AND THE LIVING: A STUDY OF CEMETERY RELIGIOUS SYMBOLISM AS FUNERARY EXPRESSIONS OF RELIGIOSITY

• Authors: Bubík Tomáš , Havlíček Jakub , Muczková Markéta , Jedličková Lenka , Čejková Olga , Hurtík Jaroslav , Kubálková Klára
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

This study examines attitudes towards the afterlife and the death of close relatives of the deceased. The research focuses on cemeteries and tombstones, understood as places that can provide information about the bereaved’s funerary expressions of religiosity. We have focused through the perspective of the academic study of religion (Religious Studies) on two Central European regions, specifically along the borders of the Czech Republic, with different levels of declared religiosity. These regions were influenced by different national (Czech, German, and Polish) and religious groups (especially Catholic and Protestant). In total, we have documented almost 10,000 gravestones and developed a quantitative method for the data processing. Our study confirmed the correlation between funeral expressions and declared religiosity as revealed in the Censuses. The research also proved that it is possible to track changes in such expressions over time, as well as differences among national attitudes. Moreover, our results suggest the suitability of the research method for studying relatively small localities rather than large areas with huge populations.

Keywords

EN

DEATH; CEMETERIES; RELIGIOSITY; BEREAVED; TOMBSTONES; ICONOGRAPHY

• Publisher: Institute of Ethnology, Slovak Academy of Sciences
• Journal: Slovenský národopis (Slovak Ethnology)
• Year: 2023
• Volume: 71
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 426 – 447

Contributors

author

Bubík Tomáš

• Department of Sociology, Andragogy and Cultural Anthropology, Faculty of Arts, Palacký University Olomouc, tř. Svobody 686/26, 779 00 Olomouc, Czech Republic

• https://orcid.org/000-0002-0914-9229

author

Havlíček Jakub

• https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7330-4406

author

Muczková Markéta

• https://orcid.org/0009-0003-5585-9023

author

Jedličková Lenka

• https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4795-3875

author

Čejková Olga

• https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3887-9690

author

Hurtík Jaroslav

• https://orcid.org/0009-0002-1894-1063

author

Kubálková Klára

• https://orcid.org/0009-0005-7970-424X

Identifiers

DOI

https://doi.org/10.31577/SN.2023.4.37