This study of religious change and cultural fragmentation in contemporary Sri Lanka focuses on a series of new Catholic shrines that attract hundreds of pilgrims. Their fame is based, among other things, on their efficacy as centers for demonic exorcism, alleviating suffering and helping people to find jobs. The author looks at the rise of these shrines in relation to the historical experience of the Catholic community in Sri Lanka, rather than in terms of narrowly defined religious criteria. Central to this broader nonreligious context is the role of power and especially the impact of post...
This study of religious change and cultural fragmentation in contemporary Sri Lanka focuses on a series of new Catholic shrines that attract hundreds ...
Over the last few decades a series of Catholic shrines have sprung up in Sri Lanka which draw hundreds of pilgrims. Although best known as centres for the exorcism of the demonically possessed, their miraculous efficacy also extends to helping people find jobs and preferment, and to alleviating suffering. Dr Stirrat, who has worked in Sri Lanka over a long period, is interested both in how people behave at the shrines, and in the historical and social contexts in which the shrines have appeared. He argues that an understanding of their religious importance is intricately connected with power,...
Over the last few decades a series of Catholic shrines have sprung up in Sri Lanka which draw hundreds of pilgrims. Although best known as centres for...
'Development' is clearly a contentious concept. It is common knowledge that there is frequently a troubling divide between what Western developers think development entails and how those people affected understand the ensuing processes.
By treating development as problematic, this book seeks to generate new insights into the relationships between the various parties involved and to enhance understanding of the ways in which particular 'discourses of development' are generated. Authors raise provocative questions about the relationship of politics, power, ideology and rhetoric to the...
'Development' is clearly a contentious concept. It is common knowledge that there is frequently a troubling divide between what Western developers ...
'Development' is clearly a contentious concept. It is common knowledge that there is frequently a troubling divide between what Western developers think development entails and how those people affected understand the ensuing processes.
By treating development as problematic, this book seeks to generate new insights into the relationships between the various parties involved and to enhance understanding of the ways in which particular 'discourses of development' are generated. Authors raise provocative questions about the relationship of politics, power, ideology and rhetoric to the...
'Development' is clearly a contentious concept. It is common knowledge that there is frequently a troubling divide between what Western developers ...
