Le folklore breton de l'anticléricalisme

Popular anticlericalism is inveterate in the Monts d'Arrée, a Breton area with traditional tendencies towards left wing politics. Especially since the French Resistance, the « whites » - the minority - have been feuding with the « reds », mainly the supporters of the Communist Party, who are used to identifying the Catholic Church andpriests with the wealthy and dominant classes. The local folklore of anticlericalism, which has been recorded throughout fieldwork in La Feuillée (Finistère), deals either with the sexuality of priests, including the Red Monks in the former abbey of Le Relecq, or with their abilities to influence the people, by tricks or by sorcery. Nowadays, social and intellectual change has significantly reduced those abilities, which stand as metaphors for the former social power of the Breton clergy.L'anticléricalisme populaire est vivace dans les Monts d'Arrée, région de Bretagne marquée par une traditionnelle orientation politique à gauche. Surtout depuis la Résistance, les « blancs » - en minorité — s'opposent aux « rouges », principalement les partisans du parti communiste, qui identifient l'Église catholique et les prêtres aux classes aisées et dominantes. Le folklore local de l'anticléricalisme, recueilli au long d'une enquête de terrain à La Feuillée (Finistère), porte ou bien sur la sexualité des prêtres, y compris les Moines Rouges de l'ancienne abbaye du Relecq, ou bien sur leurs capacités d'agir sur les gens, par la ruse ou par la sorcellerie. De nos jours, le changement social et culturel a considérablement réduit ces capacités, qui sont les métaphores de l'ancien pouvoir social du clergé breton.Badone Ellen. Le folklore breton de l'anticléricalisme. In: Annales de Bretagne et des pays de l'Ouest. Tome 98, numéro 4, 1991. pp. 423-447

Rise of Pilgrims on the Camino to Santiago: Sign of Change or Religious Revival?

There is a renewed interest amongst scholars in the practice of pil- grimage. Over the past two decades, pilgrim numbers have risen significantly, whilst forms of ''implicit'' or ''alternative'' spirituality have gained visibility and now coexist with organised religions, sometimes sharing the same ritualistic space. There is probably no better place to look at the coexistence of old and new forms of ritual expression than in the Camino to Santiago. To better understand the meanings attributed to this pilgrimage, we undertook a survey with over 470 pilgrims at various locations along the Camino. The findings confirm that individuals with various, often contrasting, motivations and expectations walk side by side on this pilgrimage route. We suggest that the results cannot be read simplistically as either confirming a ''post-secularisation'' trend or a religious revival