Abstract
The aim of this paper is to explore different ritual contexts involving specifics forms of charisma and material culture. From the perspective of a comparative sociology of religions, we choose three case studies, related to Catholicism, Protestantism and the so-called New Age movement. Each case will be constructed empirically according to three dimensions of analysis: a) the system of objects that define its material culture, b) their participation in the dominant rites and c) the way in which they contribute or not to the construction of a extra-ordinary circumstance. The chosen cases are the popular devotion to San Expedito, the evangelical’s mega-churches and the public meetings of Mass Meditation.
Key Words:
Charisma; Material Culture; Evangelicals; Catholics; New Age