Hierarchy and Pluralism

What is the place of pluralism in the context of a dominant religion? How does the perception of religion as “tradition” and “culture” affect pluralism? Why do minorities’ demands for recognition often transform into exclusion? Through her ethnography of a multireligious community in rural Poland, Agnieszka Pasieka demonstrates how we can better understand the nature of pluralism by examining how it is lived and experienced within a homogenous society. Painting a vivid picture of everyday interreligious sociability, Pasieka reveals the constant balance of rural inhabitants between ideas of sameness and difference, and the manifold ways in which religion informs local cooperation, relations among neighbors and friends, and common attempts to “make pluralism.” The book traces these developments through several decades of the community’s history, unveiling and exposing the paradoxes inscribed into the practice and discourse of pluralism and complex processes of negotiation of social identities.

“Hierarchy and pluralism is a thoughtful and sensitive ethnography that will appeal to a number of different readerships. In addition to being very valuable to those interested in the anthropologies of Poland and of religion, it would be apt for courses teaching ethnographic methods, posing as it does such interesting questions about how the scale of a fieldsite relates to the research questions being explored. The book will invite cross-cultural comparison with other societies that include multiple religions … .” (Siobhan Magee, Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, Vol. 23, 2017)

“Pasieka tries to strike a delicate balance between documenting the dominance of the Catholic Church and capturing evidence for pluralistic coexistence. I appreciated the author’s enthusiasm to identify small possibilities for spaces in which minorities might be recognized. Ultimately, however, the book demonstrates the limits of Polish ‘ecumenism,’ showing that multireligious and multiethnic conviviality is fragile and ambiguous and perhaps more akin to a veneer in Rozstaje, where it can quickly turn toward intolerance and xenophobia.” (Joanna Mishtal, American Anthropologist, Vol. 118 (4), December, 2016)

“Her book functions on two levels: as a fine-grained analysis of the religious practice of inhabitants of a multireligious area within a mostly religiously homogeneous country, and as a theoretical inquiry into the ways in which the exercise and expression of religious pluralism can nevertheless lend sup- port to 'naturalized' hierarchies between ethnic and religious groups. … Hierarchy and Pluralism makes a valuable contribution to the anthropological literature on contemporary religion, practice theory, and postsocialism.” (Marysia H. Galbrait, American Ethnologist, Vol. 43 (2), May 2016)

“Pasieka’s book is accessible and even quite eloquent. It is one of those rare academic books that is actually a pleasure to read. … I cannot recall another book aboutPoland from the past decade that has achieved this goal with such eloquence and with such solid argumentation.” (Brian Porter-Szucs, H-Poland, networks.h-net.org, January, 2016)

“Pasieka stresses and illustrates the importance of studying religion through understanding how it is lived by people … . she tells a convincing story which is always interesting and provides an excellent example of how to conduct productive fieldwork. I recommend the book without any hesitation whatsoever to students, academics, and lay persons with the slightest interest in learning about religions and how people live them. … Hierarchy and Pluralism is one of the best monographs I have ever read.” (Eileen Barker, Rascee, Vol. 8 (1), 2015)

"In a masterful study of pluralism and religion in Poland, Pasieka's intensive ethnographic work shows how, in the context of continued and sometimes sharp boundaries defined by religion and ethnicity, ordinary villagers construct their own, pluralistic social worlds not nullifying those boundaries but allowing overlapping and shifting friendships and cooperation to flourish." - John R. Bowen, Dunbar-Van Cleve Professor in Arts and Sciences, Washington University, St. Louis, USA; author of Why the French Don't Like Headscarves (2006)

"Pasieka manages to bring to life not only the complex social, religious, and cultural relations shaping daily life in the region, but actually shows how diversity and pluralism, as social constructs and normative political projects are experienced and performed by inhabitants of the region. The rich ethnography, which is theoretically grounded and historically situated, ultimately allows the author to make convincing claims about broader issues relatedto ethnic and religious pluralism, issues currently at the heart of contemporary political and academic debates." - Genevieve Zubrzycki, Associate Professor of Sociology, Director of the Center for Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies, and Director of the Copernicus Program in Polish Studies, University of Michigan, USA

Agnieszka Pasieka is a research fellow at the University of Vienna, Austria.