Folk Religion and Belief

(2.5,3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

"IRFL 30060 Folk Religion and Belief at UCD;This course examines people's views of popular religion and associated religious practices that exist apart from, and alongside, the strictly theological and liturgical forms of official religion. Material aspects of folk religion are dealt with, and a variety of traditional practices linked to certain saints' feastdays, and to some church holidays, are also discussed, such as veneration at holy wells. Examples of religious narratives, which are very numerous in Irish oral tradition, will also be discussed. In addition, ideas, beliefs and narratives about supernatural beings and forces, apart from, but influenced by, Christian discourses, will also be looked at. Foremost among these is the solitary being called the banshee, and the group of supernatural beings known as the fairies. Possible explanatory frameworks for these beliefs, and the relationship between genre and belief, will also be examined."