Bernadette Bigalke:

Fresh Fruit and Occultism as ways to salvation: conversions in Leipzig’s alternative culture at around 1900.

During the Wilhelmine Empire, around 1900, there were multiple interrelations between the adherents of the life reform movement (vegetarians, naturopaths, nudists, etc.) and new religious movements or esoteric groups such as the theosophists in the alternative cultural environment. These networks became visible in the form of double memberships in associations. However, there were also ambiguous affiliations, migration between groups and syncretistic beliefs without institutional adherence. The similarity between patterns of argumentation for this specific lifestyle and the congruence of chosen goals, ways and salvific goods become particularly clear in this context. These forms of ‘methodical lifestyle’ may lead to the development of a specific ethos or habitus (Max Weber). To illustrate these processes, this article analyses the report of a Leipzig lady who ate only raw fruits and vegetables, and examines her broader social context. In doing so the analysis employs sociological theories of conversion to explain the case of Hedwig Bresch.

> zurück zur homepage

> zurück zum Inhalt des Bandes