The weeping sermon: persuasion, binding and authority within the Gülen-movement
One of the remarkable aspects of the weekly meetings (sohbet) organised by the followers of Fethullah Gülen is the so-called weeping sermon. The visual depiction of the weeping sermon, where Fethullah Gülen bursts into tears, after which his followers intensively weep during a certain period, hardly...
| Authors: | ; |
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| Format: | Electronic/Print Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Taylor & Francis
[2015]
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| In: |
Culture and religion
Year: 2015, Volume: 16, Issue: 2, Pages: 228-241 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Islam
/ Gülen movement
/ Sermon
/ Crying
/ Authority
/ Affective bonding
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| IxTheo Classification: | AD Sociology of religion; religious policy AE Psychology of religion AG Religious life; material religion BJ Islam |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | One of the remarkable aspects of the weekly meetings (sohbet) organised by the followers of Fethullah Gülen is the so-called weeping sermon. The visual depiction of the weeping sermon, where Fethullah Gülen bursts into tears, after which his followers intensively weep during a certain period, hardly reveals the implications of the ritual. Weeping sermons are not just emotional performances, or modes of enchantment. They are part of a larger mediating practice common in the Gülen movement. It has persuasive qualities in three regards: (1) participating in a weeping sermon is a form of bodily moral attunement. It is part of a broader trajectory of religious training and disciplining and enhances spiritual and pious competence. (2) The total ritual including preparations has implications for the internal binding between followers and the forming of community. And (3) the ritual reconfirms and reproduces religious authority. We argue that the specific features of the sessions and the ways in which followers are involved in them, demonstrate how religious knowledge production, authorisation and ritual practice are inextricably linked to one another and come together in the sermon. |
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| ISSN: | 1475-5610 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Culture and religion
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1080/14755610.2015.1058533 |