Vernacular religion is a subject which fascinates us here at the RSP, because in keeping with our critical perspective, it challenges that idea that neat categorical boundaries may be drawn, and reminds us that when attempts are made to draw them, particular interests are being served. David Robertson was given the chance to sit down with Leonard Norman Primiano – one of the pre-eminent scholars of that field – at the BASR 2014 conference in Milton Keynes earlier this month, and we are delighted to bring you the fruits of that meeting today.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: RSS

Primiano begins by describing how he came to study vernacular religion as a young scholar under Don Yoder, who introduced the ethnographic study of “folk religion” to the US academy. We discuss the relationship between the study of religion and the study of folklore, and he then introduces some of his ongoing research. Particular attention is paid to the case of Father Divine and the Peace Mission movement, an indigenous US communitarian religious movement, now in terminal decline. Of particular interest is Primiano’s emphasis that vernacular religion should not be considered beside mainstream religion; rather, vernacular religion is all religion as it is encountered in the field.

Primiano is Professor and Chair of Religious Studies at Cabrini College in Radnor, Pennsylvania. He has published widely – please click his photo in the right-hand column above for details of his recent publications. He is currently curating Graces Received, an exhibition of painted and metal ex votos from Italy at Cabrini College until October 26th, 2014. It will open at Indiana University’s Mathers Museum of World Cultures in January for the Spring semester.

You can also download this interview, and subscribe to receive our weekly podcast, on iTunes. If you enjoyed it, please take a moment to rate us. And remember, you can use our Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.ca, or Amazon.com links to support us at no additional cost when you have a purchase to make.