Zornitsa Petrova (BG-Swiss Fellowships for Bulgarian Junior Scholars, Oct ‘25 – Jul ‘26) will present her research on:

Negotiating Otherness: Hindu-Inspired Spirituality in Bulgaria Between External Representation and Internal Self-Legitimation

21 Мау 2026 (Thursday), 16:30 h.

Moderated by: Andrii Portnov

Abstract: The proposed project examines dynamics within the religious field of Bulgaria, placing particular emphasis on the position of New Religious Movements (NRMs), their public portrayal and self-understandings. Examining their perceived otherness – constructed mainly through media labelling and discursive exoticisation – offers insight into the boundaries of religious freedom and interreligious tolerance. The study argues that narratives of otherness are often articulated by the majority Eastern Orthodox Church, as part of an effort to preserve its hegemonic position in the face of competing belief systems, and are either reinforced or contested by secular media. These narratives are likely to affect the communities they target and thus prompt them to construct their own legitimation strategies in order to negotiate imposed otherness and accommodate themselves to the Bulgarian socio-cultural and religious context.

Accordingly, the main objective of this presentation is twofold. First, it begins at the contextual macro level, outlining the perceived historical role of Eastern Orthodox Christianity in Bulgarian national identity and providing a brief overview of key themes and linguistic strategies used by the Bulgarian Orthodox Church to depict minority religious movements in the country. The second part shifts to the micro level, detailing preliminary results from a case study that examines the specific positioning of a Hindu-inspired NRM, namely the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, within the national setting. It explores its representation in both Orthodox rhetoric and secular media narratives, and then presents observations and findings regarding the community’s self-understanding and self-legitimation strategies, highlighting how it negotiates external framings and constructs a coherent sense of belonging within the Bulgarian religious field.