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Het Xnoizz Flevofestival als tijdelijke religieuze gemeenschap

Samenvatting

Individualization is one of the core components of contemporary theories of youth religiosity. Recently, this legacy of modernization theory is critically assessed in the sociology of religion, in order to get a better grasp of social aspects of youth religiosity. This article follows the latter track. It presents the results of empirical research amongst 22 participants of the evangelical music festival Xnoizz Flevofestival. The main research question was: ‘How does Xnoizz Flevofestival function as a temporary religious community?’ The research resulted in a description of how the participants experience this festival. It is undergone as a temporary religious community, which allows intense experiences that nourish faith. The form, structure and dynamic of this festival are well adapted to the needs of young people. The festival allows also for different forms of temporary religious community, amongst which being immersed in a big audience for an outdoor worship concert, described as ‘temporary praying community’ is the most important one. In the final section implications are discussed for the theory of religious identity, and for ecclesiological research.