Remixing Religion

This book first synthesizes both empirical and hermeneutical explorations of the research field on MRB, situating MRB within wider theological, philosophical, feminist, postcolonial, and intercultural debates. It then moves beyond MRB and suggests “remix” as a more adequate metaphor for contemporary hybrid religiosity. Traditional religious affiliation is declining across the West, yet new hybrid forms of spirituality flourish. In Remixing Religion, André van der Braak argues that many people are not leaving religion behind but are creatively recombining it—sometimes in the form of multiple religious belonging (MRB), yet sometimes refusing any single label while drawing on diverse practices and “repertoires of resources.” This book first synthesizes both empirical and hermeneutical explorations of the research field on MRB, situating MRB within wider theological, philosophical, feminist, postcolonial, and intercultural debates. It then moves beyond MRB and suggests “remix” as a more adequate metaphor for contemporary hybrid religiosity. It proposes a Latourian framework—through actor-network theory, modes of existence, and “beings of religion”—to rethink religion and religious belonging. This proposal offers the conceptual tools for making sense of contemporary remixed religiosity, and the challenges it poses for education, chaplaincy, media, and public policy in a rapidly changing religious landscape.