Date of publishing:
25.9.2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.21104/CL.2025.3.04
The Český lid provides open access to all of its content under licenseCreative Commons Attribution NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International.
Abstract:
The text focuses on collective forms of alternative spirituality in urban environments in Slovakia, with special emphasis on emotional and ritualized mechanisms of cohesion within women's circles. These gatherings, while emphasizing individual experience and personal spirituality, create specific forms of collective experience. Singing, dancing, movement, shared narratives and affectively attuned interactions function as tools of emotional connection that allow participants to construct temporary communities (communitas) and create a sense of psychological safety.
The study shows that even in an environment dominated by an emphasis on authenticity and individual experience, the group plays a key role in mediating meaning, transformation, and emotional regulation. The text is based on my own research and contemporary theoretical approaches to affective bonds, spirituality, and the transformation of individual emotions into collective experience.
Keywords
alternative spirituality, community, collective emotions, bonding, safe space
Article Text
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