Exaltation: Ecstatic Experience in Pentecostalism and Popular Music

By Mark Jennings

Review for Australian Journal of Pentecostal Studies by Daniel Thornton

August, 2014

Jennings uses five socio-cultural and five theological-religious theories/theorists to explore two case studies; one, a suburban Pentecostal church in Western Australia (aliased as ‘Breakfree church’), the other, the West Coast Blues & Roots Festival (WCBR). Utilizing these non-religious and religious approaches, he conducts an investigation into the nature and significance of ‘ecstatic experience’ in both contexts. It specifically examines the way in which music facilitates and moderates such experience. Ultimately, Jennings proposes that ecstatic experiences take place in both religious and secular settings and that they can best be “understood by both theistic and non-theistic approaches, working together”.

In the opening chapter, Jennings outlines the ethnographic and phenomenological approaches to his research. He states that phenomenology seeks to “orient all knowledge around experience” (p. 23), which might suggest he is open to the interpretations of those experiences as provided by participants (especially at Breakfree church). However, Jennings constantly parses those experiences only through the lens of the ten theorists he engages with, which while somewhat limiting, nevertheless matches his expressed methods. In this way, Jennings is clear and consistent.

The theological and religious studies scholars Jennings employs are Schleiermacher, Otto, Eliade, Tillich, and Ricœur. Jennings does an exceptional job of summarizing the various theories and positions of each proponent, in a readable and applicable style. Moreover, his examination of secondary literature which critiques and contextualises their work, is logical, erudite, and most importantly, relevant to each discussion. The same can be said for Jennings articulations of his socio-cultural theorists. Durkheim, Weber, Bakhtin, Turner, and Foucault are all comprehensively summarised, specifically their work related to religious or quasi religious experience.

Jennings commences with the theological/religious scholars when applying them to Breakfree church. He uses his ethnographic observations and interviews to illustrate ideas such as Schleiermacher’s “intuition of the universe”, Otto’s “numimous”, Eliade’s “shamanism and heirophanies”, Tillich’s “ultimate concern”, and finally Ricœur’s “threefold mimesis.” He then moves to his socio-cultural theorists explaining Breakfree church through Durkeim’s “collective effervescence” and “conscious collective”, Weber’s ideas on charisma and religion, Bakhtin’s “carnival” alongside concepts of ambivalence and laughter, Turner’s “limen” and “communitas”, and finally Foucault’s “heterotopia and limit experience.”

Jennings then reverses the process when discussing WCBR, starting with his socio-cultural theorists and moving to the theological/religious ones. Although he doesn’t state it, the socio-cultural theorists are the most natural fit for the ecstatic experience within this world of the music festival, given that popular music elicits visceral and somatic experiences in individuals and groups as has been well documented by scholars in popular music studies.[1]

In order to observe WCBR in light of his religious theorists, he proposes that this is a “proto-religious phenomena”; one that has “the same genesis as religious experience but [does] not develop into organised religion” (p. 17). Ultimately, he is able to apply his religious theorists to this setting because of their very broad or nebulous conceptions of religious experience.

There is a telling moment in the book where Jennings states “…there is no phenomenological difference between the experience of [WCBR] …and the experience of being in a worship service at Breakfree church” (pp. 176-177). I would not argue the veracity of the statement according to his research methods, however, the ability to almost conflate these two unique contexts is only accomplished because of the nature of phenomenology; it deals with the ‘apparent’. If, then, a religious context is beyond what appears, that is to say, if it is essentially a spiritual phenomenon, with only the physical response or engagement being observable, then of course it might look like a number of other scenarios at that observable level. My point is that Jennings works so hard to admirably find all of the points of alignment and similitude between Breakfree church and WCBR, that he inevitably reduces them to their similarities. Imagine one was describing a motor cycle and an airplane, and one observed that they were both white in colour, they both had wheels, they both transported people from one place to another, and they both required a pilot/driver. If this were the total description given to someone who knew nothing of these two vehicles, they might assume they were identical. Clearly, however, they are substantially different, but their differences were not the focus of the description. Likewise, I see such selective description as the greatest weakness of this book, for in its pursuit of the examination of ‘ecstatic experience’, it does not adequately distinguish the profound uniqueness of each environment.

Perhaps phenomenology is incapable of making that distinction. However, one way might be to go beyond the ‘moment’, and look at the bigger picture of people’s lives engaged in these ecstatic experiences. If those who attend Breakfree church live lives with ultimately the same values, frameworks, and purpose as those who attend WCBR, then perhaps one can conflate the two experiences. However, if the ecstatic experiences produce significantly different results in the larger lives of people attending them, then either the method is inadequate, or such differences must be explicitly acknowledged. Jennings does admittedly state towards the end of the book that “the WCBR… is not an example of religion” (p. 201). It is a caveat, though a small one.

Jennings ultimate point is that music plays an essential and catalytic role in ecstatic experience, in both settings. He openly acknowledges that in stating this fact, he is not a musicologist, and thus not skilled to investigate the specific ways in which music accomplishes its critical role. To make music such a central figure of ecstatic experience and not to examine that music itself, is a another weakness; however, it’s an acknowledged one, and Jennings supports further research in that area to illuminate his religious and sociological perspectives.

In a final attempt to reconcile the obvious differences between the two settings, Jennings proposes the adoption of “methodological ludism”, adopted from Droogers’ work [2]. This approach embraces multiple possibilities simultaneously, avoiding binaries such as religious/non-religious, correct/incorrect, or spiritual/natural. In so doing, he recognises that the socio-cultural phenomenon of Breakfree church does not disprove or oppose a religious understanding of it nor potentially a religious reality to it.

Ultimately, this is a well conceived and written work giving insight into ecstatic experience. It is particularly informative in its description of the coalescence of Pentecostalism and popular music from ethnographic and phenomenological perspectives. Those from religious studies persuasions will probably find the WCBR sections less engaging. However, those interested in popular music and ecstatic experience generally will find this an essential book to add to their collection.