"We Are All in Exile Here": perceptions of death, the soul, and the afterlife in rural Lithuania

ENThis chapter aims to show the variations within religious perceptions of the Catholic laity and official religious dogmas that are preached to the rural population. It raises the following questions: how and by whom is religious perception among the laity shaped; who are the main actors in this process and what are their means of disseminating religious information; what shapes individual religious perceptions; and finally, how do they correspond to official religious dogma. In order to answer these questions the chapter chooses one domain within Catholic religious understanding and its construction, the concerns about life on earth and life after death. The chapter also aims to contradict the stereotypical notion of a more reflective urban religious understanding as opposed to the 'unquestioned' religious life in rural Lithuania. The chapter analyses the phrase 'We are all in exile here' with regard to the Catholic notion of presence, the understanding of life on earth and what happens after death. [Taylor & Francis]

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