“To know, to will, to dare and to … speak up!” development, self-disclosure, and self-validation of belief in Dutch-speaking Pagans

Van Gulik, Léon A. (2011) “To know, to will, to dare and to … speak up!” development, self-disclosure, and self-validation of belief in Dutch-speaking Pagans. Acta Ethnographica Hungarica, 56 (1). pp. 129-137. ISSN 1216-9803

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Abstract

In this paper I will focus on the problem of the self-validation of belief as a typical mode of making sense of alleged encounters with the divine in a ritual context. Drawing on examples taken from semi-structured interviews with Dutch Pagans, I will touch upon motives of self-actualisation and aesthetic appraisal in the process of interpreting these ritual experiences in an idiosyncratic fashion. I will then discuss the problem of self-disclosure. Finally, I will proceed to tie self-validation in with two competing theories on the nature of ritual knowledge. The ‘variation-theory’ understands knowledge as emergent only from gradually changing rituals, while the ‘masterpiece-theory’ emphasises the need for repetitive exposure to a ritual, gradually incorporating its essence.

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