The Crucified

Contemporary Passion Plays in Poland

ISBN: 978-3-11-053905-9
Liczba stron: 262
Rok wydania: 2017
Wydania: 1 / De Gruyter

Kamila Baraniecka-Olszewska

PhD, graduated from Ethnology and Latin American studies. Since 2007 has worked in the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology of Polish Academy of Sciences. Her main subject of interest was Anthropology of Religion and performance studies, especially forms of religious expression. In 2011 she defended her PhD thesis on Polish Passion plays at the Warsaw University. In 2017 she was on her way to accomplish another project on historical reenactments in Poland. Author of over twenty articles dealing with contemporary religiosity and history perception and representation. Author of Passion plays The Crucified. Contemporary Passion Plays in Poland, Editions: de Gruyter 2017.

The book is an anthropological study of a phenomenon observed within the range of contemporary Polish Catholic religiosity. The Crucified focuses on two fundamental issues: passion plays and performance theory. It presents an analysis of material collected during five years of field research, which sheds light on the varied world of religious performances. The phenomenon of passion plays is extremely complex and to some extent heterogeneous, hence its in-depth analysis reveals much not only about its own nature, but also about the entire modern religiosity. As a result, the book is constructed in such a way as to focus on a single phenomenon, but with conclusions extending to a much wider range of contemporary religious practices. The book reveals the need for self-expression of one’s own attitudes observable in contemporary spirituality, as well as the increasing participation of believers in the development of their religious life and thus in the formation of their own religious identity. All these processes are interpreted in terms of performance theory. Applying this approach makes it possible to capture the believers’ need for activity and creativity in the field of practices alternative to the liturgy.