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SAMKUL-Samfunnsutviklingens kulturell

Dwelling and Crossing: The socio-cultural dynamics of religious spaces in Mumbai

Alternative title: Dvele og krysse: Sosio-religiøse dynamikker av religiøse rom i Mumbai

Awarded: NOK 8.2 mill.

Mumbai (formerly known as Bombay) is one of the world's most populated cities, characterized by an impressive cultural richness. To many, Mumbai is known for its film industry (Bollywood), its economic importance, and for its extreme contrasts of utmost glamour and abject poverty. Not so well known is the city's wide religious diversity. Many Hindu and Muslim communities, but also Christians, Zoroastrians, Jews, Jains and Buddhists have been part of the (mostly peaceful but also often conflictual) religious landscape throughout Mumbai's history. The project studied this diversity in a multicultural urban environment. Contrary to earlier research, the focus did not lie on specific groups and communities that form the city's religious mosaic. Instead, we aimed to look at intercultural religious spaces, both real and imaginary. Such spaces, diverse and fluid themselves, are the result of day-to-day social practices, and can be studied in manifold ways. The research work in the various subprojects on the multi-leveled religious dimensions of the city generated results that are of considerable relevance for the study of urban religiosity in South Asia and the world, but also for our knowledge of social and cultural processes that influence societal development more generally. The study of neighborhoods with a religiously mixed population generated a large amount of data on different ethno-religious constellations, the modalities of living with difference, and the strategies of 'everyday peace,' Another subproject studied religious sites belonging to different traditions that attract visitors with various religious affiliations, which resulted in rich data for a comparative analysis of these places in terms of their history, administration, modes of operation, as well as visitation patterns. Other main themes in the project were: interreligious marriages (with a focus on secular and religious laws, and the intermediary role of women's organizations); cross-religious participation in festivals and processions (especially Muslim participation in the yearly Ganapati festival); religion in slums (with a focus on everyday religiosity); and the religious diversity of Mumbai in fictional literature (in Hindi, Urdu and Marathi). The participants in the project were in contact with each other regularly during the entire project period, working continuously on their respective subprojects, conducting fieldwork in Mumbai and presenting their findings at conferences. These activities will continue over the coming years. The two PhD-students in the project are expected to submit their dissertations in the course of the year 2019.

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The Indian metropolis of Mumbai is one of the largest urban agglomerations in the world, with a population characterized by a high degree of religious diversity and a long record of ehtnic/religious violence. The proposed project addresses the cultural pr erequisites and consequences of religion and religious diversity for dwelling in the city. It proposes to study cross-religious spaces in Mumbai, with a focus on how these spaces are created and shaped by cultural perceptions and social practices. The app roach taken in the project differs from most earlier research by focusing not on specific religious groups, but on places, aiming at spatial cross-sections of religion. The larger project is subdivided into interrelated subprojects with clearly delineated themes: The study of neighborhoods with a religiously mixed population; sites belonging to different religious traditions that have become places of popular cross-religious cosmopolitanism; interreligious marriage; performing religious place-making (fest ivals and processions); religion in slums; religious diversity in Mumbai in fictional literature; dimensions of religious place-making ('pavement religion'); the history and prevention of conflicts. The research group consists of a core-group of religious studies scholars from the University of Bergen and four scholars from different countries (Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, Sweden) and disciplines (anthropology, political sciences, the study of literature). By analysing the religious environments of a modern multireligious global city, the research group aims to theoretically advance our understanding of urban religion. Highlighting the importance of religion in the day-to-day life of a global metropolis, the project findings will be highly useful not only for the academic world, but especially also for social and cultural policy makers and administrators nationally and worldwide.

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SAMKUL-Samfunnsutviklingens kulturell