Jesper Aagaard Petersen

ResearchMy primary interest is what is popularly called "the alternative scene", "New Age" or "occultism", that is detraditionalized and syncretistic religion in the contemporary West, particularly small informal groups and individual seekers within a larger "cultic milieu" of "occulture". Within this broad field, my area of expertise lies in modern Satanism and Western Esotericism, but I am well acquainted with studies of New Age, Neo-paganism, religion and popular culture, religion and science, UFO-religions and methodological and theoretical aspects in the Science of Religion.

At the moment I am working on the Ph.D.-dissertation "The Devil's Party: Stragegies of Continuity, Clash and Consumption in the Formation of Modern Satanism". This project analyzes various constructions of "Satanism" from the early 60's to the present with a particular emphasis on the transition from a literature-based to an internet-based tradition, identity and community. Modern Satanism is understood as a field or territory where tensions between different positions related to Western Esotericism, popular culture and late capitalism manifest themselves and compete for hegemony. In a similar vein the various articulations of Satanism are understood as strategic constructions which navigate in the detraditionalized religious market of today through the consumption of popular culture, philosophy, literature and religion. As such Satanism is understood as one of several ways of relating to secularization, globalization and identity politics in the West, manifested as both informal networks of small groups in a “satanic milieu”, especially visible on the internet, and a general "satanic discourse" in contemporary culture.

Links:

• Publikationer i FRIDA