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Fandom as a religious form: on the reception of pop music by Cliff Richard fans in Liverpool

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2012

Anja Löbert
Anja Löbert
Affiliation:
Affiliate of Department of Media and Communication, Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, 06120 Halle, Germany E-mail: anja.loebert@gmx.de
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Abstract

Using the example of Cliff Richard fans, this article investigates to what extent the rites and rituals exercised in fandom can be regarded as representations of a religious form as understood by the French sociologist Émile Durkheim in The Elementary Forms of Religious Life. Because empirical research has established its significance, the pop concert experience and its echoing effects are used as a starting point to explore the thesis that fans draw and cultivate a distinction between a profane and a sacred domain in their lives. These suggestions are further enriched by Randall Collins' and Gabriele Mordt's analyses of passions. This article adopts their concept of the sacred object as a passion-preserving device. In addition, the argument of popular music scholar Daniel Cavicchi (based on Bruce Springsteen fans) is taken one step further. Finally, I suggest a typology of fan experience that differentiates between primary interaction ritual, secondary interaction ritual, the cult of the individual and special rites.

Type
Articles
Information
Popular Music , Volume 31 , Issue 1 , January 2012 , pp. 125 - 141
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012

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