Introduction: Religion and Borders in (Post–)Cold War Peripheries

Journal of Religion. 2019. Vol. 99. No. 1. P. 1–17.

Kormina J., Heo A.

This introduction article is divided into three parts that together provide an overview of concepts which guide this special issues overarching vision. First, we interrogate the idea of the “Cold War” as a discrete historical period and narrative frame for understanding religion's histories and politics. When doing this, we point to asymmetries in experiencing the Cold War legacies in different “worlds.”  Second, we introduce “religion” as an empirical object of analysis, considering various methods for approaching the rhetorical, ritual and political-theological aspects of everyday religious life. Third, we consider how the post-WWII era of decolonization shaped the border and territorial politics of the Cold War, and consequently, examine various concepts of the “border.”

Keywords: холодная война, anthropology of religion, антропология религии, Cold War, границы, centers and peripheries, borders, периферия