Beyond Beliefs A view on the affective substratum and modern enchantment

Abstract

This paper questions the privilege given to belief as a category to understand both the religious phenomenon and the crisis of meaning that affect our society. In relation to the theorization of religious phenomena, I focus on the current turn to affects, arguing that there is an affective, material dimension, possibly pre-linguistic and prior to belief that should not be ignored when theorizing religion. In relation to the crisis of meaning as a crisis of beliefs, I use the concept of enchantment to understand this crisis as abundance, rather than lack, of meanings. I will show that the concept of affective substrata and enchantment uncover a dimension of the religious phenomenon that remains hidden and invisible when it is studied from the point of view of beliefs. I conclude arguing that affective substrata and the concept of enchantment point to that which, without being one belief among others, gives society unity in its multiplicity. This insight is particularly relevant for its potential to mediate between conflicting beliefs in our multicultural societies.