Oxford Digital Ethnography Group Seminar Series

Yard-Chapels and Neighbourhood Religiosity in Post-Soviet Urban Space, Georgia: Civic Functions and Community Life

About

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, religion gained special significance across Georgia, becoming highly visible in public space and intertwined with social and political processes. In Rustavi, a former socialist city, Orthodox temples were built extensively, and yard-chapels began to emerge. Based on ethnographic, remote, and digital research conducted in 2020–21, it was found that yard-chapels serve multiple civic functions. Beyond their religious role, they help mobilize neighborhood communities, resist unwanted urban development, enhance security, and improve ecological and aesthetic conditions. From construction to maintenance, residents collectively make decisions that reflect local needs and priorities. The study highlights how society assigns civic and social functions to religious structures, creating diverse interpretations of religiosity in a post-industrial, former workers’ city.

Dr. Tea Kamushadze is an Associate Professor at the Georgian Institute of Public Affairs (GIPA) and a Researcher at the Ivane Javakhishvili Institute of History and Ethnology. She has participated in several international research and fellowship programs, including at Harvard University’s Davis Center and Jagiellonian University in Krakow. In 2021, she completed a Rustaveli National Foundation–funded postdoctoral project on “Representation of Religious Pluralism and Secularism in Urban Space: Post-Socialist Rustavi.” She is currently pursuing her individual research project “Bridging Traditions and Modernity: Reassessing Georgian Ethnology Through Postcolonial and Digital Lenses,” hosted by the University of Oxford.