Sacred Experience and Aesthetic Connections in Religious Festivals

Dear Colleagues,

Studies on festivals have gained special relevance since the beginning of the 20th century. They are a fundamental form of social life, which has accompanied the development of culture since the very origins of humanity. On the other hand, the performative nature of a festival has been insistently underlined, which means that it is embodied and expressed through various forms of art (in a broad sense).

Within the different festive typologies that are currently recognized, the religious festival is identified as an archetype. We understand by religious festival that in which a sacred agency is manifested, which constitutes and unites the festive congregation, and which is materialized in various artistic devices such as images, music, dance, etc. In turn, throughout history, art has become an eminent way of expressing the experience of the sacred, an experience that we characterize as overflow or saturation of meaning, also characteristic elements of the festive event. Art and festival, to a certain extent, are two sides of the same coin.

This Special Issue aims to address the relationship between art and religious festivals. It seeks to analyze this relationship from the intersection between social sciences, arts, and humanities, paying special attention to the empirical dimension of the festive event and the material-sensory nature of the artistic expressions that constitute it. A special emphasis is placed in contexts where, contrary to all forecasts of secularization, the religious festival became a catalyst for modernization processes. Case studies, theoretical discussions, or historical reviews are proposed, without being exclusive, as research areas.

We request that, prior to submitting a manuscript, interested authors initially submit a proposed title and an abstract of 200–300 words summarizing their intended contribution. Please send it to the Guest Editors, Dr. Federico Aguirre ([email protected]), © Dr. Wilson Muñoz ([email protected]), © Dr. Lily Jimenez ([email protected]) or to the Assistant Editor of Religions, Ms. Margaret Liu ([email protected]). Abstracts will be reviewed by the Guest Editors for the purposes of ensuring proper fit within the scope of the Special Issue. Full manuscripts will undergo double-blind peer review.

Deadline for abstract submission: 3 July 2024

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Federico Aguirre
Guest Editor

Wilson Muñoz
Lily Jimenez
Guest Editor Assistants

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Religions is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• art and the sacred
• religious festivals
• popular/lived religion
• material religion studies
• visual and performance studies