Saints and Sainthood

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Saints are central for personal devotion, as intercessors and mediators between humanity and God, and as models for emulation. Relationships with and images of saints and holy figures are by no means fixed, but have developed, mirrored and challenged different times and cultures. Sainthood is a precarious social process that entails both the saintly figure and an audience, and the process that establishes the claim to sainthood depends on mutual implications, negotiations, contestations and collaborations. For followers the saint—living or dead—inhabits a space where they are allowed identification with him or her even if they never aspire to become a saint themselves. In this sense sainthood is a matter of social relationships—relationships which are perennially in the making.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publication International Encyclopedia of Anthropology
EditorsHilary Callan
PublisherWiley-Blackwell
Publication date4 Sep 2018
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 4 Sep 2018

ID: 169410434