Religious representation and performative citizenship

The civic dimensions of Shia lamentation rituals in Barcelona

Bibliographic Data

ID18972001
AuthorsA Astor (0000-0002-4720-1841, Universitat Autonòma de Barcelona, corresponding author), Rosa Martínez-Cuadros (0000-0001-7768-8374, Universitat Autonòma de Barcelona), Víctor Albert-Blanco (0000-0003-4104-8644, Universitat Autonòma de Barcelona)
Year2023
Volume70
Issue1
Pages20-37
Publication date2023-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSocial Compass (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0037-7686 • E-ISSN: 1461-7404
PublisherSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/00377686221148408
OpenAlexW4319844282
LanguageEN
Citations received9
References cited42

In diasporic contexts, religious representatives play a key role as cultural ambassadors for their respective communities and religions. This article examines religious representation as a form of civic engagement among Shia Muslims who have assumed representational responsibilities in Barcelona. Our study focuses on their interactions with municipal authorities and the wider public amid the planning, organization, and enactment of public lamentation processions. We show how public rituals provide representatives of Barcelona’s main Shia community with a platform for ‘performative citizenship’ practices like claiming rights and demonstrating their deservingness of inclusion in the neighborhood, city, and nation. Yet, different representatives have engaged in distinct styles of representation and performative citizenship. In explaining these differences, we draw attention to how their respective migration trajectories, historical experiences, and sociostructural location have contributed to certain pressures, forms of positional awareness, and practical dispositions that account for their inclinations toward different approaches to civic engagement

Aesthetics · Art · Citizenship · Civic engagement · Inclusion (mineral) · Performative utterance · Political science · Politics · Representation (politics) · Sociology · Gender Studies · Law · Migration, Refugees, and Integration · Religion and Society Interactions · Religion, Society, and Development

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