B E Schmidt
Biographic Data
| ID | 41746 |
|---|---|
| NAME | B E Schmidt |
| GIVEN NAMES | B E |
| FAMILY NAME | Schmidt |
| SIGNATURE | SCHMIDT B E |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Wales Trinity Saint David |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-7175-7057 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 32 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 11 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 32 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1995 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
Trance and Possession Practices
This chapter addresses the question of how to research something that cannot be observed or measured: trance and possession practices. It provides a critical overview of past research before presenting arguments in favour of scholarly approaches that do not fall into the pitfall of prejudice and misconception and do not exoticize these experiences and practices as theater or entertainment. Drawing on empirical research on African-derived religion…
Axé as the cornerstone of Candomblé philosophy and its significance for an understanding of well-being ( bem estar )
According to Candomblé, axé is present in every living being and is necessary to life. To develop and maintain a sense of well-being, one must maintain a balanced level of axé which is linked to a reciprocal relationship between human beings and orixás (African deities). This article will explore the link between the spiritual force axé and well-being ( bem estar ) within Candomblé philosophy. Starting with explaining axé within the context of Ca…
“It Makes Me Complete”: Anthropological Insights into Spirit Possession as Cultural Practice in Brazil
Drawing on fieldwork in different religious communities in Brazil, this chapter explores spirit possession as cultural practice, with a particular focus on candomblé, one of the most celebrated African-derived religions in Brazil. The chapter includes an interview with one member about his difficult journey into this religion and his experience with the divine. Drawing on comments from members of candomblé communities reflecting on their personal…
Experiences of Divine Bliss, Anger and Evil during the Pandemic: Non-ordinary Experiences during Lockdown
This article illustrates the complexity of non-ordinary experiences during the pandemic, highlighting accounts of three different types of experiences: encounters with divine bliss, anger, and evil. The focus is on four narrative accounts of non-ordinary experiences that were submitted by email in response to a wider research project about religious, spiritual, and otherwise non-ordinary experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. The following sec…
From Syncretism to Hybridity: Transformations in African-derived American Religions: An Introduction
In this volume, we bring together research on African derived Religions in Latin America and African American Religions in the USA. Theoretically, the concepts of hybridity and syncretism are discussed, in the introduction as well as in the papers included. The papers featured deal with Brazilian Umbanda, Cuban Santería, US African Black Hebrew Israelites, the Five Percenter movement (an offspring of the Nation of Islam), and one single person, R…
The Fruits of Spiritual Experiences during the Pandemic: Covid-19 and the Effects of Non-Ordinary Experiences
This paper presents new research about spiritual experiences during the COVID -19 pandemic. The aim is to discuss the impact of spiritual experiences on people’s lives and relationships. Building upon William James’ four features of the “fruits” of religious experience as a conceptual frame, the paper presents data from two surveys in which participants narrated spiritual experiences and reflected on the impacts of those experiences. We start wit…
Book Forum: A Discussion of James L. Cox’s A Phenomenology of Indigenous Religions
On 12 October 2022, a seminar was held in the University of Edinburgh to review, discuss and critique James L. Cox’s book, A Phenomenology of Indigenous Religions: Theory and Practice (2022, Bloomsbury). This article contains revised papers from that event as prepared by the speakers, including Cox’s introduction and response to the presentations. The papers explore various themes, comprising a consideration of Religious Studies as a discipline, …
Alister Hardy: A Naturalist of the Spiritual Realm
Alister Hardy was one of the pioneers of the scientific study of spiritual experiences (SE); however, his work and insights have not received the attention they deserve. This paper, based on an in-depth analysis of Hardy's own writings, presents his main methodological and epistemological contributions for advancing the investigation of SE. Hardy's main epistemological propositions were as follows: the transcendent as the core of spirituality and…
Indigenous Perspectives on Sacred Natural Sites: Culture, Governance and Conservation, edited by Jonathan Liljeblad and Bas Verschuuren
Indigenous Perspectives on Sacred Natural Sites: Culture, Governance and Conservation, ed. by Jonathan Liljeblad and Bas Verschuuren. London/New York: Routledge, 2019. 233 p. ISBN 978-0-8153-7702-3Indigenous Perspectives on Sacred Natural Sites is a valuable teaching resource and the publication very timely. It contains fascinating case studies that highlight the diversity of what can be seen as sacred. The rather unique feature of the book is th…
Queering Black Atlantic Religions: Transcorporeality in Candomblé, Santería, and Vodou
Queering Black Atlantic Religions approaches the study of African-derived religions from a refreshing angle. Roberto Strongman comes from a literature studies background and looks at the three reli
Spiritual Citizenship: Transnational Pathways from Black Power to Ifá in Trinidad
Spiritual Citizenship presents a fascinating insight into the world of Ifa/Orisha in Trinidad. Fadeke Castor starts her book with her very personal story that explains how she embraced a path towar
The empire of apostles: Religion, accommodatio, and the imagination of empire in early modern Brazil and India
The Empire of Apostles presents a fascinating historical comparison of the two ‘Indies’. The focus is on Jesuit missions in Portuguese settlements in Brazil and South Asia during the early part of
Exklusive Gesundheit
Varieties of Non-ordinary Experiences in Brazil—a Critical Review of the Contribution of Studies of ‘Religious Experience’ to the Study of Religion
According to the latest national census, 64.6% of Brazilians identified themselves as Roman Catholic. However, the census has little or nothing to do with actual practice or belief. Professing to be a Christian (within any confessional specification) is still part of being Brazilian. But the self-identification does not take into account that religiosity is expressed in very diverse ways nor does it prevent people from believing and practising on…
Contemporary Religions in Brazil
This essay gives an overview of the religious landscape of Brazil as well as studies about religions in Brazil. Starting with the situation of Christian denominations in Brazil the essay discusses vernacular religions such as Spiritism and Afro-Brazilian religions such as Candomblé and Umbanda, religions that have arrived in Brazil by immigrants such as Buddhism, Islam and Judaism, and indigenous religions such as the religion of the Guaraní. The…
Verantwortung für Gesundheit: Formen, Funktionen und Folgen der Zurechnung
Die Frage danach, wer verantwortlich ist für die Gesundheit einer Bevölkerung, wird kontrovers diskutiert. Derzeit wird vor allem der Einzelne für verantwortlich gehalten für den Erhalt seiner gesunden funktionstüchtigen Leistungsfähigkeit. Andere Verantwortungsakteure mit Einfluss auf die Gesundheit stehen seltener im Aufmerksamkeitsfokus, obwohl auch sie den Gesundheitszustand einer Bevölkerung masgeblich mitbestimmen können, etwa durch die Ges…
Spirit Possession in Brazil. The Perception of the (Possessed) Body
Spirit possession is the core religious practice in most Afro- American religions. It is usually described as "mounting"; the spirit "rides" the body of the devotee as a horseman rides a horse. The description projects the image that a spirit takes control over the body of the medium and "uses" the human medium; the body of the person is passive and submissive, while the spirit is active and dominant. However, this view does not reflect the highl…
Blood Sacrifice as a Symbol of the Paradigmatic Other
The chapter discusses how the Christian perception of sacrifice has affected Afro-American religions, in particular the Cuban Orisha religion in the USA (formerly called Santerìa) and Candomblé in Brazil. Many Afro-American religions require from their devotees offerings for the deities (ebó) as part of their regular rituals but also to ensure special requests for protection or support. The most controversial form of offering is the blood sacrifi…
Präventive Sucht- und Drogenpolitik: Ein Handbuch
Südafrika: Chancen Für eine Pluralistische Gesellschaftsordnung · Geschichte und Perspektiven
Searching for Africa in Brazil. Power and Tradition in Candomblé– By Stefania Capone
Meeting the Spirits: Puerto Rican 'Espiritismo' as Source for Identity, Healing and Creativity
Spiritism based on Allan Kardec’s teaching (1804–1869) has influenced Latin America since the nineteenth century. This article presents the development of Puerto Rican spiritism (espiritismo) and its central ideas before illustrating the significance of espiritismo for Puerto Ricans. It will show the involvement of espiritismo in the establishment of Puertorriqueñidad, the sense of belonging to the island. It will explain the therapeutic offers o…
Perspectives on the Caribbean: A reader in culture, history, and representation – Edited by Philip W. Scher
Hibridación religiosa en Nueva York. Espiritismo puertorriqueño como ejemplo del proceso híbrido
Uno de los libros más influyentes en los estudios culturales sobre América Latina en los últimos años ha sido Culturas híbridas de Néstor García Canclini (1990). El autor argentino es profesor de la Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana Iztapapala en Ciudad de México y trabaja hace años sobre cultura popular, especialmente en el ambiente urbano. Su libro contiene un discurso contra la separación de lo moderno y lo tradicional que causó mucha admirac…
Kummels, Ingrid: Land, Nahrung und Peyote
Anthropos , Seite 233 - 235
Contemporary Religions in Brazil
This essay gives an overview of the religious landscape of Brazil as well as studies about religions in Brazil. Starting with the situation of Christian denominations in Brazil the essay discusses vernacular religions such as Spiritism and Afro-Brazilian religions such as Candomblé and Umbanda, religions that have arrived in Brazil by immigrants such as Buddhism, Islam and Judaism, and indigenous religions such as the religion of the Guaraní. The…
Varieties of Non-ordinary Experiences in Brazil—a Critical Review of the Contribution of Studies of ‘Religious Experience’ to the Study of Religion
According to the latest national census, 64.6% of Brazilians identified themselves as Roman Catholic. However, the census has little or nothing to do with actual practice or belief. Professing to be a Christian (within any confessional specification) is still part of being Brazilian. But the self-identification does not take into account that religiosity is expressed in very diverse ways nor does it prevent people from believing and practising on…
Experiences of Divine Bliss, Anger and Evil during the Pandemic: Non-ordinary Experiences during Lockdown
This article illustrates the complexity of non-ordinary experiences during the pandemic, highlighting accounts of three different types of experiences: encounters with divine bliss, anger, and evil. The focus is on four narrative accounts of non-ordinary experiences that were submitted by email in response to a wider research project about religious, spiritual, and otherwise non-ordinary experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. The following sec…
Meeting the Spirits: Puerto Rican 'Espiritismo' as Source for Identity, Healing and Creativity
Spiritism based on Allan Kardec’s teaching (1804–1869) has influenced Latin America since the nineteenth century. This article presents the development of Puerto Rican spiritism (espiritismo) and its central ideas before illustrating the significance of espiritismo for Puerto Ricans. It will show the involvement of espiritismo in the establishment of Puertorriqueñidad, the sense of belonging to the island. It will explain the therapeutic offers o…
Südafrika
Towards a new merging: Spiritism and the Afro-Puerto Rican religious culture
On the basis of the spiritistic doctrine of Allan Kardec, various local religions have been created in Latin America in combination with different belief systems. Regarding Puerto Rican Espiritism this article shows the parallelism between Spiritism and Afro-American religions, specially Santeria. The Puerto Ricans managed to integrate Spiritism as well as Santeria in their religious culture which can be described as a “bricolage” (Claude Lévi-St…
The interpretation of violent worldviews
In December 1998 the New York Times reported that a Vodou priest in New Jersey was indicted on charges of conspiring to kill a woman at a religious ceremony. While the incident itself still remains controversial – if the woman was burned by the priest or set herself ablaze by bumping into a candle – the case attracted considerable attention. Even today Vodou still conjures up images of human sacrifice and cannibalism. It was easy to make people b…
The Presence of Vodou in New York City: The Impact of a Caribbean Religion on the Creolization of a Metropolis
Knab, Timothy J: The Dialogue of Earth and Sky. Dreams, Souls, Curing, and the Modern Aztec Underworld
Anthropos , Seite 631 - 632
Fuentes Guerra, Jesús, y Armin Schwegler: Lengua y ritos del Palo Monte Mayombe. Dioses cubanos y sus fuentes africanas
Anthropos , Seite 611 - 612
Wogatzke, Gudrun: Identitätsentwürfe
Anthropos , Seite 658 - 660
Kummels, Ingrid: Land, Nahrung und Peyote
Anthropos , Seite 233 - 235
Meeting the Spirits: Puerto Rican 'Espiritismo' as Source for Identity, Healing and Creativity
Spiritism based on Allan Kardec’s teaching (1804–1869) has influenced Latin America since the nineteenth century. This article presents the development of Puerto Rican spiritism (espiritismo) and its central ideas before illustrating the significance of espiritismo for Puerto Ricans. It will show the involvement of espiritismo in the establishment of Puertorriqueñidad, the sense of belonging to the island. It will explain the therapeutic offers o…
Perspectives on the Caribbean: A reader in culture, history, and representation – Edited by Philip W. Scher
Hibridación religiosa en Nueva York. Espiritismo puertorriqueño como ejemplo del proceso híbrido
Uno de los libros más influyentes en los estudios culturales sobre América Latina en los últimos años ha sido Culturas híbridas de Néstor García Canclini (1990). El autor argentino es profesor de la Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana Iztapapala en Ciudad de México y trabaja hace años sobre cultura popular, especialmente en el ambiente urbano. Su libro contiene un discurso contra la separación de lo moderno y lo tradicional que causó mucha admirac…
Searching for Africa in Brazil. Power and Tradition in Candomblé– By Stefania Capone
Blood Sacrifice as a Symbol of the Paradigmatic Other
The chapter discusses how the Christian perception of sacrifice has affected Afro-American religions, in particular the Cuban Orisha religion in the USA (formerly called Santerìa) and Candomblé in Brazil. Many Afro-American religions require from their devotees offerings for the deities (ebó) as part of their regular rituals but also to ensure special requests for protection or support. The most controversial form of offering is the blood sacrifi…
Präventive Sucht- und Drogenpolitik: Ein Handbuch
Südafrika: Chancen Für eine Pluralistische Gesellschaftsordnung · Geschichte und Perspektiven
Spirit Possession in Brazil. The Perception of the (Possessed) Body
Spirit possession is the core religious practice in most Afro- American religions. It is usually described as "mounting"; the spirit "rides" the body of the devotee as a horseman rides a horse. The description projects the image that a spirit takes control over the body of the medium and "uses" the human medium; the body of the person is passive and submissive, while the spirit is active and dominant. However, this view does not reflect the highl…
Verantwortung für Gesundheit: Formen, Funktionen und Folgen der Zurechnung
Die Frage danach, wer verantwortlich ist für die Gesundheit einer Bevölkerung, wird kontrovers diskutiert. Derzeit wird vor allem der Einzelne für verantwortlich gehalten für den Erhalt seiner gesunden funktionstüchtigen Leistungsfähigkeit. Andere Verantwortungsakteure mit Einfluss auf die Gesundheit stehen seltener im Aufmerksamkeitsfokus, obwohl auch sie den Gesundheitszustand einer Bevölkerung masgeblich mitbestimmen können, etwa durch die Ges…
Contemporary Religions in Brazil
This essay gives an overview of the religious landscape of Brazil as well as studies about religions in Brazil. Starting with the situation of Christian denominations in Brazil the essay discusses vernacular religions such as Spiritism and Afro-Brazilian religions such as Candomblé and Umbanda, religions that have arrived in Brazil by immigrants such as Buddhism, Islam and Judaism, and indigenous religions such as the religion of the Guaraní. The…
Exklusive Gesundheit
Varieties of Non-ordinary Experiences in Brazil—a Critical Review of the Contribution of Studies of ‘Religious Experience’ to the Study of Religion
According to the latest national census, 64.6% of Brazilians identified themselves as Roman Catholic. However, the census has little or nothing to do with actual practice or belief. Professing to be a Christian (within any confessional specification) is still part of being Brazilian. But the self-identification does not take into account that religiosity is expressed in very diverse ways nor does it prevent people from believing and practising on…
Spiritual Citizenship: Transnational Pathways from Black Power to Ifá in Trinidad
Spiritual Citizenship presents a fascinating insight into the world of Ifa/Orisha in Trinidad. Fadeke Castor starts her book with her very personal story that explains how she embraced a path towar
The empire of apostles: Religion, accommodatio, and the imagination of empire in early modern Brazil and India
The Empire of Apostles presents a fascinating historical comparison of the two ‘Indies’. The focus is on Jesuit missions in Portuguese settlements in Brazil and South Asia during the early part of
Indigenous Perspectives on Sacred Natural Sites: Culture, Governance and Conservation, edited by Jonathan Liljeblad and Bas Verschuuren
Indigenous Perspectives on Sacred Natural Sites: Culture, Governance and Conservation, ed. by Jonathan Liljeblad and Bas Verschuuren. London/New York: Routledge, 2019. 233 p. ISBN 978-0-8153-7702-3Indigenous Perspectives on Sacred Natural Sites is a valuable teaching resource and the publication very timely. It contains fascinating case studies that highlight the diversity of what can be seen as sacred. The rather unique feature of the book is th…
Queering Black Atlantic Religions: Transcorporeality in Candomblé, Santería, and Vodou
Queering Black Atlantic Religions approaches the study of African-derived religions from a refreshing angle. Roberto Strongman comes from a literature studies background and looks at the three reli
Alister Hardy: A Naturalist of the Spiritual Realm
Alister Hardy was one of the pioneers of the scientific study of spiritual experiences (SE); however, his work and insights have not received the attention they deserve. This paper, based on an in-depth analysis of Hardy's own writings, presents his main methodological and epistemological contributions for advancing the investigation of SE. Hardy's main epistemological propositions were as follows: the transcendent as the core of spirituality and…
Philosophy (16 works) · Sociology (14 works) · History (12 works) · Epistemology (9 works) · Political science (9 works) · Art (8 works) · Anthropology (6 works) · Law (6 works) · Psychology (6 works) · Anthropological Studies and Insights (5 works)