Between 1998 and 2004 numerous religious and cultural sites—Serbian Orthodox and Islamic— in Kosovo were systematically vandalised, damaged or destroyed. The annihilation of these historical-religious architectures highlighted the strategic significance of cultural heritage as a political tool. Two decades later we know the extent of the losses thanks to the documentation collected by UNESCO, the UN and the OSCE. We also have a new methodology that incorporates digital technologies such as 3D modelling, artificial intelligence, machine learning, cloud computing, data technology, geographic information systems and virtual reality/AR, which we could draw on for safeguarding this religious heritage. In this article we wish to present a project proposal which, using some of the Digital Humanities (DH) methodologies applied in the field of religious studies (and in peace and conflict studies), can guarantee the accessibility and long-term diffusion of these sites and cultural content at risk.

The sanctuary of St Anthony of Padua (Kisha e Shna Ndout) in Laç, northern Albania, is one of the most visited religious places in Albania. The small church, built there and ministered by Franciscans, is now an impressive place of worship frequented by Catholics, Muslims and Christian Orthodox. Throughout the year, pilgrims from across the country, but also from Kosovo, visit the sanctuary. On the 12th and 13th of June of each year, an official pilgrimage is held, which reaches its climax on the night of the 12th when many thousands of Albanians sleep in the shrine seeking blessings and healing. This article aims to explore pilgrimage-related practices, wherein arises materiality as a privileged means of reaching out to the divine and as a reaction to silencing during the communist era (1945–1991). Such practices are overshadowed by nationalist discourse, in which ethnic-linguistic membership outweighs the religious one, even undermining procedural and terminological normativity.

The so-called neo-anti-Semitism, perceived differently by Italian journalists and lawyers, highlights the problem of identity in a multicultural society at the local level, of understanding the Other and (its) history, of the relationship between the public sphere and the networked society: the Jews, due to their unique history of diaspora, have always brought out the dialectic between the particular and the universal in the eyes of the world. This condition further “stretched” hatred in societies, especially anti-Semitic sentiment combined with conspiracy. Therefore, it is necessary for public institutions to understand and investigate contemporary forms of hate. This article will present part of the results of research that investigated the level of perception of journalists and jurists on the phenomenon of anti-Semitism.

Sutcliffe, Steven J., and Carole M. Cusack, eds. 2017. The Problem of Invented Religions. Oxford and New York: Routledge. x + 152 pp. ISBN: 978-1-138-09903-6 (pbk). £42.99.

The article presents a new method for the study of antiquity: ethnographic fieldwork results combined with studies of ancient sources. The study addresses the interrelationship between oral and written sources. The pilgrimage centre located on the island of Tinos, which houses a miraculous holy icon (image) of the Annunciation of the Panagia (“the All-Holy One”, or the Virgin Mary), is central here. Many dedications in the sanctuary are memorials linked to the most famous miracle cures worked by the icon. These are written down in a church pamphlet distributed to pilgrims, and this aspect of the miracles is further illustrated by examining the sanctuary’s archive housing letters from several categories of believers, including white and black magic. We also meet the activities that most often are performed by female pilgrims, including vows, prayers and offerings, accompanied by oral sharing of stories of miracles. Women reproduce written miracles in their own way too, as they likewise do with miracles they have heard from others. Many of these share similarities to what we read about in ancient sources, generally authored by men, as well as in inscriptions telling us about the healing miracles of Epidauros, where ancient pilgrims journeyed. The article discusses some of these through a comparison in order to shed new light on the ancient world. The male-produced texts must be deconstructed and considered from a gyno-inclusive perspective by examining them in conjunction with information from the female sphere, such as the few sources authored by ancient women and the oral stories shared by modern women.

After several mystical visions of the nun, Pelagia, the holy icon of the Annunciation of the Panagia (“the All-Holy One”, or the Virgin Mary) was found on the island of Tinos in 1823. According to tradition, Pelagia repeatedly witnessed the Panagia in her visions and received orders from her to find the icon and also to build her church. The icon was unearthed in the field where it had remained since the church, built on the ruins of a pagan temple, was destroyed in the tenth century. Two years before the icon was found, the Greek War of Independence broke out. The finding of the icon, the construction of the Church of the Annunciation of the Panagia, the enormous crowds of pilgrims, and the miracles worked by the icon, contributed to the outcome that the island was declared a sacred island, and Pelagia became sanctified. The ritual year of the miraculous icon on Tinos starts on 30 January with the festival dedicated to the Finding of the Holy Icon when the finding is ritually re-enacted, before it is carried in a procession repeating the first procession after the finding. After worshipping the tombs of the builders of the church, the celebration terminates with a popular ritual called the Phanarakia (lanterns), in which children are the main participants, running around in the streets of Tinos town while holding multicoloured lighted lamps, and singing hymns commemorating the finding of the holy icon. This article presents the festival and delves into its meaning and importance for the Greek people.

Cotter, Christopher. 2020. The Critical Study of Non-Religion: Discourse, Identity and Locality. London: Bloomsbury. ix + 211 pp. ISBN: 978-1-3500-9524-3 £76.50 (hbk)

an ethnographer whose research focuses on vernacular Hinduism, especially contemporary ritual traditions and women's religious practices in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, where she has been studying and conducting fieldwork for 25 years. She has published on snake goddess traditions, the narrative strategies of a female Hindu healer, and ritual innovation. Allocco's current project, "Domesticating the Dead: Invitation and Installation Rituals in Tamil South India", delineates the repertoire of ritual relationships that Hindus maintain with their dead kin and analyzes the ceremonies to honor deceased relatives called pvt aikkri ("the woman wearing flowers").

Ashcraft, W. Michael. 2018. A Historical Introduction to the Study of New Religious Movements. London: Routledge.