Local religion revisited: Mediterranean cases

Abstract

This article reconsiders the use of the concept of local religion in the study of religious change in the Mediterranean area. By reviewing a small number of recent studies of religious beliefs and practices (apparitions, religious mixing, the role of religious experience in the politics of meaning-making in everyday life) in different parts of the Mediterranean, it is argued that the concept of local religion helps us to grasp the perplexity of religion in local contexts and invites us to go beyond the simple opposition between globalized religion and more localized forms.