Original contributions

This introduction outlines the central questions and structure of the special issue and highlights key comparative insights from the collected studies. Against the backdrop of current changes in religious authority structures, the contributions of this special issue focus on the role of religious minority constellations as well as media change and digitalisation shaping the dynamics of religious authority. The research underpinning this volume is informed by a sociological and cultural-studies concept of authority that integrates theoretical questions with empirical perspectives. In addition to an outline of these conceptual considerations and a brief presentation of the individual contributions, this introduction offers some comparative considerations on intersecting conceptual themes and follow-up thoughts on religious authority.

Fatwas, Islamic legal guidance, and muftis (Islamic scholars) hold profound significance in the everyday lives of Muslims, providing essential guidance on religious norms and principles and orienting individuals toward living in accordance with Islamic precepts. This study concentrates on the pertinence of fatwas and muftis for Muslims residing in Germany, with particular attention to the evolving landscape shaped by contemporary digital media. It investigates how the notions of fatwa and mufti are construed and operationalized by individuals: specifically, what meanings German Muslims attribute to these concepts and which factors influence their adherence to fatwas. Moreover, the study interrogates the primary sources German Muslims consult for religious guidance, underscoring the increasing primacy of the internet as a key mediator of Islamic knowledge. To frame this inquiry and contextualize the discourse, the analysis engages with foundational debates within both Islamic studies and the social sciences, employing Max Weber’s sociology of domination as a theoretical lens to interpret empirical findings.

This paper explores the self-representation of Sufi shaikhs on Facebook in establishing their authority over communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study investigates the created self-image of shaikhs as online authorities through their social media activities and content, using the example of the Halveti Order in Albania, Kosovo, and North Macedonia. As the Halvetis in Southeast Europe are not organised under an umbrella organisation, individual accounts of shaikhs and collective accounts of the local communities are analysed as means of self-representation. The produced content highlights various aspects of the shaikhs’ self-understanding and mission, referring among other things to the orders’ history, as well as to (religious-)political issues. The analysis of this content also reveals different roles these leaders assume in the digital space, which are categorised analytically. This paper aims to decipher what the shaikhs’ social media activities and content reveal about their self-image as online authorities, thereby contributing to an understanding of the impact of digital media on religious dynamics and communities. Methodologically, the study relies on online observations of Halveti shaikhs’ accounts on Facebook. Facebook is chosen as the focal point, for it is the most widely used digital platform in the examined region.

The authority structures of the Orthodox Church are based on the administrative structures of the Roman Empire from the fourth century. They relate to the apostolic succession, on the one hand, and to the territorial principle on the other, which proclaims that every bishop has the sole responsibility for all inhabitants of a specific territory. In the modern world, where territorial delimitations are becoming less important because of technological advances and increased mobility, this structural principle becomes less enforceable. Since the 19^th century, moreover, its disintegration has been helped along by the nationalisation of the ecclesiastical units and the steady stream of westward Orthodox migrants, toward the Latin Christian environment of Western Europe. This contribution looks at the development of authority structures of the Orthodox Church in Western Europe. It treats questions of diaspora and migration of modern means of communication and the various authority relations in and around the church as such.

The article explores classical theoretical debates on the routinization of authority. It departs from Max Weber’s sociology of power and his considerations on the routinization of charisma and discusses it in relation to Robert Michels’ concept of oligarchization and notions of institutionalization as a process of reciprocal typification in the Sociology of Knowledge. Based on a comparative discussion of the commonalities and differences of these approaches, I propose a working understanding for the empirical analysis of the routinization of religious authority. In line with the overarching focus of the special issue, I will put particular emphasis on religious minority-majority constellations and mediatization as conditions of routinization.

As role models for Muslim fashion many Hijabi creators create content about religious lifestyles while they are considered to be friends and advisors by their followers. The exchange on accounts by Hijabi Creators is mostly embedded in capitalist logics. However, is also characterized by developing various model practices for the subject position of a “Muslim woman in Germany”. Using the research program of the Sociology of Knowledge Approach to Discourse (SKAD, in German WDA), the article discusses two empirical cases that illustrate different subject positions in the discourse on the (fashionable) positioning of Muslim women in Germany. Further, it examines how religious authority is negotiated within this frame. The analysis identifies a female form of religious authority, which establishes a sisterly regulation in the sense of eye-to-eye advice as mutual inspiration and life support. However, the empirical case studies show that even within this field there are major differences in the design and subjectification of religious normativity.

Previous research indicates that traditional religious authority structures have not necessarily been replaced by the widespread growth of digital media but have been partially transformed and/or expanded to include a new group of religious content creators. These actors do not necessarily have religious expertise or a traditional Islamic education, but they offer their own religious interpretations to their followers as part of their digital practice. Our contribution to this special issue offers an analysis of social media content by German-speaking Muslim content creators, focusing on the question of how religious authority is claimed or manifested in this context. To this end, we first develop a systematisation of potential sources of religious authority based on various existing approaches. Our analysis identifies four models of attributing authority depending on whether a) religious roles and positions are claimed, b) religious and other knowledge is presented, c) certain personal characteristics are demonstrated, and/or d) a relationship or collective identity is established between the content creator and their followers. We examine in detail selected audiovisual material from Muslim content creators on Instagram and discuss their internal differences and where they fall within the categories presented above. This analysis reveals an affinity between, on the one hand, explicit claims to religious authority and an emphasis on clear dichotomies and, on the other hand, creators who present themselves as average Muslims and their offers of a rather non-committal identity.

This article examines the role of symbolic violence in relation to authority by drawing on a recent case study from the charismatic renewal movement within the Coptic Orthodox Church in Egypt. Using Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of symbolic violence, the article offers a detailed analysis of how Abuna Samaan—who devoted his priestly ministry primarily to the Zabbaleen (garbage collectors) in Manshiyat Nasser, a district of Cairo—acquired a distinctive form of authority through exorcisms, healing rituals, and charitable practices. This authority extended beyond the Coptic Church itself and posed challenges to its hierarchical structures. The analysis is based on the author’s own observations and spontaneous narratives, as well as on previous ethnographic studies. The article demonstrates that charismatic leaders such as Abuna Samaan act not only as spiritual renewers but also possess the capacity to transform existing power structures through the mode of authority characteristic of a “diaconal leader.” Furthermore, it explores the dynamics of intra-church conflicts that arise from tensions between charismatic movements and the Coptic Orthodox hierarchy, as well as from processes of (de-)territorialization, digitalization, and internationalization. In doing so, the article provides new insights into contemporary negotiations of religious authority and the transformative power of symbolic violence within the Coptic Church.

This contribution focuses on how authority structures are adapted in African Pentecostalism in the process of transnational migration. Based on qualitative research conducted in an independent, non-denominational Pentecostal congregation established in western Germany by a small group of African migrants in 2015, it shows to whom (and what) authority is ascribed and on the basis of which legitimation, as well as which relationships of and attitudes towards authority can be distinguished in the congregation. Drawing from sociological literature on the concept of authority, the research results show that the church’s leadership exerts authority, but not in a way one would expect in a Pentecostal setting. Instead of centralized authority structures and a dominating, “charismatic” pastor, authority is selectively pluralized; various people and groups are granted degrees of autonomy in shaping congregational life. This particularly includes the congregation’s youth group, largely comprising African youth socialized in Germany and culturally fluent in both German secular and African Christian settings. To ensure a stable future for the congregation, its leadership is delegating authority to this group of young, bicultural, committed Christians—who, however, are reluctant to claim authority for themselves.

This article focuses on the changes in religious practice and the creation of authority among German-speaking Zen Buddhists resulting from the use of digital media. Using two examples – a representative of Daishin-Zen and a representative of Neo-Zen – new stagings, patterns of action and rhetoric are identified with the help of videography analysis, among other things. Observations at the real type level lead to the construction of initial cultural-sociological ideal types. The new offerings make it possible to shape religious practice solely with the help of digital tools without completely losing contact with a religious community, which invites further theoretical considerations.

This article traces early French religious studies in its first two generations since its institutionalization and shows by way of example how, in the historically and politically specific context of the Third Republic, a religious studies discipline was formed that set itself apart from theology and sought its own disciplinary identity. The first focus is on academic institutions and their genres (inaugural lectures, journals, encyclopedias, and congresses). Two examples are then used to illustrate the process of scientification and the transformation of early French-language religious studies from the first to the second generation: Léon Marillier represents the first generation of French scholars of religion, while Marcel Mauss exemplifies the consolidation of religious studies, history, and sociology. Early French-language religious studies is thus outlined on the basis of the genesis of its first styles of thought, which can be traced through the genres.

This contribution in honor of Jürgen Mohn heuristically contrasts science and religion. It argues that the two elements of this juxtaposition can be formally distinguished based on their respective relationships to cultural dynamics. To develop this idea, the essay draws on Juri Lotman’s concept of the semiosphere. Adopting Lotman’s spatial metaphors, science is associated with the periphery and religion with the center. Accordingly, science is portrayed as a cultural mechanism that sees itself as inherently open to transformation through information arriving from the periphery. In contrast, religion is understood as a cultural mechanism that seeks centralization, homogenization, and stability by attempting to immunize itself against such external influences.

The article contributes to the study of processes of the scientization of religion in and with regard to the Philippines around 1900, particularly within the Spanish-language colonial public sphere. It is built around an exemplary presentation of Spanish sources authored by Filipino intellectuals around 1900 that have so far received little attention in the study of religion. These texts in various media forms and genres, document manifold ways of negotiating the relationships between religion and science. In a preliminary account, this body of sources is made accessible for the ongoing discussion on a Global History of Religion. I present texts by Pedro Paterno and Isabelo de los Reyes, as well as contemporary journals and their mass-media environments. Finally, with reference to debates in media studies, the article raises the question of how genre theory and media theory might be related to one another as aspects of a Global History of Religion.

The article explores the specific role of psychological case studies for the scientification of religion, focusing particularly on the history of academic conferences. Beginning with foundational reflections on the epistemological importance of case studies and scientific conferences as sites of specific knowledge production, the analysis offers an illustrative glimpse into the evolving disciplinary discourse of psychology of religion. Specifically, the first international congresses on the psychology of religion held in 1930 and 1931 are examined. The analysis focuses mainly on the relevant conference proceedings and the significance of case studies for establishing the psychology of religion as an empirical science. Notably, the case study of Therese Neumann von Konnersreuth attracted attention, as it sparked considerable controversy not only within scientific circles but also in political discourse. The second congress in 1931 focused on the issue of unbelief, serving as a response to the perceived religious crisis of the time and once again relying on empirical research for its discussions. Both congresses stand for a shift in the disciplinary perspective: moving away from earlier “psychologistic” approaches in favor of a more apologetic stance.

In the 1830s and 1840s, protest movements across Europe emerged, whose political demands were closely linked to the pursuit of a just future society. From a history of religion perspective, this discourse on social justice and equitable society becomes tangible in the foundational discussions of the early socialist movement(s) arising in therevolutionary climate of the time. Their programmatic documents address both the foundation of future society and the essence of the new movement. The debates were held in the catechetical format. This article examines the communication circuits of over 40 catechisms from France, the UK, the States of the German Confederation, and the Swiss Confederation within their socio- and cultural-historical contexts. Using police interrogation protocols, congress transcripts and circulars, correspondences, personal letters, and memoirs of participants, it traces how the question of religion moved to center stage in early socialist identity debates. In the course of this debate, the relationship between Christianity and communism began to take shape as a relationship between religion and politics, without sharp boundaries being established. The analysis highlights how everyday distinctions, perceived ambiguities in the catechetical format, and a rising skepticism toward the genre prefigure the modern differentiation of religion and politics. Building on religious studies research on secularity, this article develops an approach to pre-conceptual distinctions, investigating the epistemological prerequisites for explicit conceptual boundary-drawing practices.

Many theories understand repetitiveness to be inherent in the concept of mantra itself. Despite its popularity and its significance for South Asian—and, indeed, global—religious history, mantra repetition has been insufficiently defined as an object of research. The peculiarities of the repetitiveness of mantra repetition are hardly ever reflected upon in academic literature. Furthermore, it has been assumed that mantra repetition is a timeless and even universal practice. Consequently, mantra repetition has eluded adequate scholarly analysis: Significant terminological particularities in primary sources have been overlooked and the possibility of historical developments has not been considered. In this article, I survey the current state of research relevant for the study of the emergence of mantra repetition—in particular, the practice of continuously reciting one and the same short formula—from its post-Vedic origins up to the middle of the first millennium CE. I also formulate research questions and hypotheses to guide future studies on the subject.

In Switzerland and France more than half of the catholic priests are over 75 years old. Yet, according to canon law at this age they usually must leave their pastoral responsibilities and may retreat from their ecclesial life. Facing the perspective of a church without priests, and enhancing a moral discourse in which human dignity and the exemplarity of the clergy entangle, the diocesan organizations have shown only recently a preoccupation about the ageing of their priests. Here, we develop an empirical framework for a sociology of ageing priests that considers the importance of their national and diocesan contexts. Our aim is to review the category of “ageing priests” through its contemporary heterogeneity. We use a grounded theory approach in qualitative sociology to examine different situations of this social category. Our considerations cross theological examples of aging priests in the Catholic Church, the statements of caregivers, and the “lived” heterogeneity of aging priests themselves. We aim to document the current adaptations and new versions of Catholicism after the Second Vatican Council in the light of current gerontological norms that apply to the clergy.

In this commentary, Krech’s article “Religious Contacts in Past and Present Times: Aspects of a Research Program”, originally published in 2012, is placed in the context of several pioneering works that have provided important impulses for a global history of religion. As the article was published as a provisional step, it is of particular value for a reflection on the ongoing challenges of a global history of religion. It is emphasized how the central questions formulated at that time also persist in current discussions, which, however, are predominantly characterized by global and entanglement perspectives and often genealogical approaches. This emphasizes how the methodological repertoire brought into play by Krech can be useful for thinking about global religious history.

Edmund Hardy (1852–1904) was a Catholic priest, Indologist, and religious scholar who lived and worked during the period of the Kulturkampf struggle between the German Chancellor Bismarck and the Catholic church as well as early German colonialism. The lecture he gave under the title “Einleitung in die vergleichende Religionswissenschaft” (“Introduction to Comparative Religion”) at the German University of Freiburg in 1890 and his appointment as professor for “Vergleichende Religionswissenschaft und altindische Literatur” (“Comparative Religion and Ancient Indian Literature”") in 1894 at the Swiss University of Fribourg were key steps in establishing the discipline of Religionswissenschaft (Science of Religion) in the German-speaking world. The essay he wrote in 1898 entitles “Was ist Religionswissenschaft?” (“What is the Science of Religion?”) was perhaps his key statement of the nature of this discipline, which he defines as a strictly empirical Geisteswissenschaft and Kulturwissenschaft (Arts and Humanities). This essay was the first article to appear in the new journal Archiv für Religionswissenschaft, edited by the secondary school teacher Thomas Achelis (1850–1909). Hardy’s approach was methodologically based on historicism and on the early understanding of psychology according to Wilhelm Dilthey and Wilhelm Wundt. However, as similarly befell Joachim Wach’s empirical approach, Hardy’s methodological work was barely noticed during the long reign of the phenomenology of religion. This observation raises fundamental questions of how the history of our discipline has been constructed and, in particular, of what are considered “classics” in the study of religion.

Edmund Hardy (1852-1904) was a Catholic priest, Indologist and religious scholar in times of German Kulturkampf and colonialism. With his lecture “Einleitung in die vergleichende Religionswissenschaft” (“Introduction to Comparative Religion”) at the German University of Freiburg from 1890 and his appointment as professor for “Vergleichende Religionswissenschaft und altindische Literatur” (“Comparative Religion and Ancient Indian Literature”) in 1894 at the Swiss University of Fribourg, the young discipline took its first steps towards academic establishment in the entire German-speaking world under the term Religionswissenschaft (Science of Religion). Especially in his essay “Was ist Religionswissenschaft?” (“What is the Science of Religion?”) from 1898, Hardy defines the discipline as a strictly empirical Geisteswissenschaft and Kulturwissenschaft (humanities and cultural studies), methodologically based on historicism and on the early understanding of psychology according to Wilhelm Dilthey and Wilhelm Wundt. Just as the empirical approach of Joachim Wach, Hardy’s methodological work was hardly noticed in the long period of the phenomenology of religion. This observation leads to the fundamental question of the construction of our disciplinary history and in particular of the so-called “classics” in the study of religion.

With his will from 1901, the Indologist and religious scholar Edmund Hardy (1852-1904) donated a large sum of money to the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities for the annual funding and awarding of Indological research. In its active years from 1905 to 1922 and from 1930 to 1936, the Hardy Foundation supported numerous individual researchers as well as a number of international publication projects. The isolation of German scholarship that accompanied the outbreak of World War I eventually led to a national provincialisation of the foundation.

The article first illuminates the background of the foundation, then the central persons of the committee and finally the funding practice under its changing economic and political conditions.

In the course of the academic establishment of the Study of Religion (Religionswissenschaft) as an independent academic discipline in the second half of the 19^th century, the first specialised journals also appeared. In the German-speaking world, the Archiv für Religionswissenschaft, first published in 1898, is of particular importance. Its founder and first editor was the Bremen grammar school teacher Thomas Achelis (1850-1909). The first volume opened – as an editorial – with Edmund Hardy’s (1852-1904) text “Was ist Religionswissenschaft? A Contribution to the Methodology of the Historical Study of Religion”. The following study first places the beginnings of the Archiv für Religionswissenschaft in the context of the history of science, then gives an overview of the most important biographical data of Edmund Hardy and the fundamental aspects of his scientific work. Finally, we will consider the further development of the Archiv für Religionswissenschaft with the transition to the new editorship by Albrecht Dieterich (1866-1908) and finally briefly review the reception of Hardy’s work.