Vrouwengekte in Medjugorje. Duivelsterreur en pelgrimsdwang in een Joegoslavisch bedevaartsoord

Samenvatting

This article has been retracted by the editors. Women's Madness. Devil's Terror and Pilgrims' Pressure in a Yugoslav Devotional Center. Recently many women in Medjugorje, Yugoslavia (a center of religious pilgrimage), have felt terrorized by demons, making them uneasy, sick, and unable to cater to tourists. The local clergy and laymen did not experience this phenomenon, dismissing it as women's madness. Analysis of interview data from women (N not given) shows these gender-linked perceptual differences to be manifestations of a long-term power struggle, in which religious and psychological means are used to control feuding and violence. New data are presented to clarify an old Mediterranean paradox: the preeminence of women in religious practice in contrast to religious doctrine. 37 References. Adapted from the source document.