Status After Death. Understanding Posthumous Social Influence Through a Case Study on the Christian-Orthodox Tradition
In this paper we propose a conceptualization of ‘posthumous social status’ as a performative reality accomplished through collective actions that are materially and symbolically legitimated. We question the classical definitions of social status that lead to oversocialized theoretical models, and we...
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| Contributors: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | |
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
[2016]
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| In: |
Journal for the study of religions and ideologies
Year: 2016, Volume: 15, Issue: 45, Pages: 257-282 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Orthodox Church
/ Dead person
/ Influence
/ Power
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| IxTheo Classification: | AD Sociology of religion; religious policy KDF Orthodox Church |
| Further subjects: | B
Social influence
B Social status B posthumous prestige B Performativity B autopoietic social systems B posthumous social status B social immortality B systems of influence |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Summary: | In this paper we propose a conceptualization of ‘posthumous social status’ as a performative reality accomplished through collective actions that are materially and symbolically legitimated. We question the classical definitions of social status that lead to oversocialized theoretical models, and we argue for the necessity to reconsider the relation between social status and social roles in order to gain insight into the reality of a social presence after death. On this account, we claim that the prestige attached to one's position in society is a social phenomenon produced through autopoietic systems of social influence rather than a pre-existent and stable feature embedded in hierarchical structures and actions. Therefore, we clarify the link between social status and systems of influence through a case study in which we discuss how the Christian-Orthodox tradition is socially organized as a powerful realm of doing posthumous social status. |
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| ISSN: | 1583-0039 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal for the study of religions and ideologies
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