Heavenly Acts

Although Temple worship is not mandatory in Hinduism, from a very early age, Tamil Hindu/Saiva children go to the Temple with their parents, older siblings, grandparents and other family members to pray. They become socialised into Temple worship during these recurring visits as well as on auspicious festivals. By observing and imitating other more competent faith community members, children cultivate age-appropriate routines, practices, embodied dispositions and emotional responses as they strive to become expert members of the Hindu/Saiva faith community. This paper draws upon data from our project "Becoming Literate in Faith Settings: Language and Literacy Learning in the Lives of New Londoners" (Gregory et al. 2009), a three-year multi-site collaborative team ethnography whose aim was to examine how sixteen children aged between four and twelve from Bangladeshi Muslim, Ghanaian Pentecostal, Polish Catholic and Tamil Hindu/Saiva communities become literate through faith activities in London.

Over the last fifteen years Britain has seen the continued growth of a vibrant Muslim musical culture that attempts to fuse religious observance and spiritual expression with global pop sounds and the faint traces of an Islamic musical/poetic tradition. Characterised by both stylistic and conceptual syncreticism, this musical phenomenon can often elude straightforward cultural and religious theorisation. This paper therefore attempts to provide a typology based on two identifiable streams of musical practice amongst British Muslims today – ‘Islamic music’ and ‘Islamically-concious music’.

Identity Process Theory from social psychology specifies that an individual’s sense of self must be characterised by (1) self-esteem, (2) continuity, (3) self-efficacy, (4) distinctiveness, and (5) coherence. These are referred to as identity principles. Dominant social representations, including group norms and state ideologies, can enhance or challenge these identity principles, resulting in identity threat. This paper presents data from three case studies in which faith identity may be challenged due to dominant social representations. The paper draws on interview data on the identities and experiences of (1) Muslims in Britain in the context of Islamophobic prejudice, (2) British Asian gay men of religious faith living in a heteronormative context, and (3) Jews in the Islamic Republic of Iran. The results of various qualitative empirical studies of identity and experience among these groups suggest that individuals strive to maintain a sense of faith identity that is characterized by the aforementioned principles. They engage in intrapsychic, interpersonal and intergroup strategies for coping with threat. Social psychology has tended to focus on cognition, rather than social practice. This talk highlights the importance of examining how identities can be enhanced and protected through social and symbolic practice.

A case study interrogating religious performance, examining Pastor Chris - the founder of 'Christ Embassy' in Nigeria.

Zehd and Shahab from Jamia Mosque Ghausia in Sheffield discuss their performance at Heavenly Acts.

Irshad is a Whirling Dervish, who has been a student of a Sufi master for over 20 years. He speaks about the unique aspects of a Dervish, and details why people are fascinated with the practice.

Heavenly Acts - Devotional Performances is a musical and spoken word event which complements the work of the academic symposium. Dr Andrey Rosowsky, Principal Investigator on the Heavenly Acts Project introduces the public event, showcasing different 'devotional performances' and describes the importance of the research project to society today.