Abstract
In this chapter, Mullis details and analyzes ethnographic fieldwork in Pentecostal and non-denominational charismatic churches in Southern Appalachia. This research reveals the institutionally destabilizing power of ecstatic experience, the use of folk aesthetics in rural contexts, how various technologies supplement rituals in rural and urban churches, and the theatrical techniques used by faith healers. Mullis develops an argument regarding the manner in which ecstatic experience is ritually and theatrically framed and an argument concerning the relationship between ritual theater and theatrical ritual which develops Richard Schechner and Victor Turner’s theater anthropology.
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- 1.
https://www.drapervalleyph.org [accessed 11/10/18]. Anonymity is often preserved when presenting results of ethnographic research; however, I include full names in my discussion if they are presented by churches on their public websites. A photo archive on this book’s companion website includes images from my travels as well as show posters and images from performances of Later Rain . See http://www.ericmullis8.com/researchmaterials [accessed 4/1/19].
- 2.
https://www.facebook.com/Jesus-Christ-Full-Gospel-Church-111082858929743/ [accessed 11/10/18].
- 3.
https://www.fcministry.com [accessed 11/10/18].
- 4.
In the mid-twentieth century, Pentecostals dropped the notion of xenolalia or missionary tongues. Wacker argues that this occurred because of changed millenarian beliefs (e.g. the end of the world is no longer thought to bet eminently on the horizon) and because many Pentecostal foreign missionaries failed in their missions (2001: 46–51). Speaking in tongues is currently understood as glossolalia, that is, as a private prayer language that only God can understand.
- 5.
In Jolo, a woman was asked to stand in for a church member whose illness kept them home that day. The group then prayed for the absent member while touching or raising their hands toward the surrogate. The belief is that the Holy Ghost will enter and heal the sick person, wherever they may be. For more on “intercessory prayer,” see Blanton (2015: 156–170) and Luhrmann (2012: 49–53).
- 6.
Lynn (2013) uses a signaling and systems approach to analyze how inappropriate ecstatic actions are discerned by believers.
- 7.
http://thesecretplacechurch.com [accessed 11/12/18].
- 8.
Parkinson has posted a video of a similar healing online. See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0N_ChhcjHxc [accessed 11/12/18].
- 9.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDEsXVUQeLo [accessed 11/12/18].
- 10.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nX3KkJEFWR8 [accessed 11/12/18].
- 11.
- 12.
For more on upper-middle-class approaches to charismatic Christianity, see Lee and Sinitiere (2009).
- 13.
I should say that I am outlining general characteristics of the relationship between ritual structure and ecstatic states. Individual believers may utilize a range of techniques in response to driving, for example, some may run vigorously around the room while others may stand with their eyes tightly closed and shift between quiet and loud glossolalic utterances. Also, an individual who regularly experiences divine possession may simply not make the transition from a hyperaroused to a dissociative state during a given service.
- 14.
Though the largest version of the piece includes myself, Rachel, two actors, and a live band, for the sake of brevity, here I describe a version of Later Rain that includes just myself, Rachel, and musicians.
- 15.
The audience for Later Rain is seated quite close to the performance so they may be enveloped by the music and witness states created by the driving process. They are framed more as observing ethnographers than as a conventional theater audience which sits in the dark at a distance from the stage. Over time, however, we have begun to reconsider this approach. Schechner notes that theater of the 1960s began to experiment with audience participation in order to support efficacy and, along such lines, we have begun to use the idea of monetary offering to draw a participatory link between charismatic ritual and Later Rain (2003: 130–136). We do not pass around an offering plate as is done in Protestant churches; however, an offering basket is placed at the entrance of the building so individuals may choose to make voluntary donations (in advertising we say that a cash donation of any amount is appreciated). Charitable generosity simultaneously marks a break with capitalist values that inform theater ticket sales and gestures toward the idea of the audience member as a participatory visitor. We also have begun to provide opportunities for audience members to voluntarily clap, stomp, and sing along with songs during the performance in a manner that allows them to participate in or contribute to the driving process. For more on strategies used in site-specific and site-adaptive dance work, see Kloetzel and Pavlik (2011).
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Mullis, E. (2019). Ethnographic Research: Signs Follow Them That Believe. In: Pragmatist Philosophy and Dance. Performance Philosophy. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-29314-7_5
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