Traces in Public Spaces

Religious symbols in public spaces are discussed vividly in Norway, as indeed elsewhere. In this chapter, social semiotician Anne Løvland and sociologist Pål Repstad try to find theoretical and methodological support for the hypothesis that people will react more positively to symbols of minority religions in public places when the interview takes place while they are actually looking at the symbol or sign than when they are asked in the abstract, for instance in a survey. The hypothesis is discussed in the light of Gottdiener and Lagopoulos’s classical theory of signs in urban contexts, Davie’s perspective on vicarious religion and Allport’s contact hypothesis. More as an empirical illustration than as a fully fledged study, the authors conducted 48 interviews with people passing by in the street. This pilot study strengthened the hypothesis, but the authors recommend further studies. The methodologically interesting variations can probably also be found when other kinds of traces are studied, for instance, political symbols in public places. ¹