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ABSTRACTIn this reflection, I consider how paying attention to the grounds of our research, literally, affords the study of religion an opportunity to return to its roots as a discipline that think...

The emergence of religious liberty as a valid principle, as one of those axiomatic commitments that is almost universally rec ognized, is surely one of the major achievements of our time. In spite of the fact that there is overwhelming evidence to indicate that religious liberty is far from being a reality in much of today's world, perhaps nowhere fully realized, religious liberty has become a normative principle for almost all nations, and, conversely, the denial of religious liberty is virtually everywhere viewed as morally and legally invalid. Consequently, guarantees of religious liberty presently appear in most national constitu tions throughout the world, including those governments com mitted to atheism or irreligion. While religious liberty can hardly be said to be descriptive of conditions as they are in many countries throughout the world today, there is profound sig nificance to be found in that the concept of religious liberty has come almost universally to have normative value. Despite this universal commitment to religious liberty, there is no univeral consensus as to its basis, either between religion and secularism or among the great world religions themselves. Modern man while categorically advocating religious liberty has remained largely oblivious to its philosophical or religious bases, as well as its historical roots.

Abstract The age-old tradition of feasting the dead has been maintained by Russian populations for well over five centuries. Graveyards hold a special place both in traditional Orthodox faith and in the lives of Russians and others in the city of Narva, Estonia. The tradition of feasting the dead for three, nine and forty days after death, can be traced unbroken to pre-Christian Rus’. Details may vary, but always the soul of the deceased must battle its way out of the body and then spend time in both heaven and hell. While this journey is occurring, the living must remember the dead, helping their souls during this period of travail. Even a final feast one year after the death of the individual does not end the relationship between the living and the deceased, for the graves are still visited on a regular basis as a sign of respect to the dead, who are potential saints in the Russian Orthodox tradition. This ‘saintly’ land — Russian graves — defines homeland and roots the population to a new area. By examining the importance of graveyards to Russians, to the ethnic Komi of Northern Russia, and other Eastern Europeans, I demonstrate that a sense of place is maintained in these rituals of daily life.