fellow
Zornitsa Petrova

Zornitsa Petrova

Centre for Advanced Study Sofia
Centre for Advanced Study Sofia

Bulgaria
2025-2026
Home institution
Sofia University
Country of origin (home institution)
Bulgaria
Discipline(s)
Information and communication sciences Religious sciences Sociology
Theme(s)
Identity Information & media Religion
Fellowship dates
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Biography

Zornitsa Petrova holds a PhD in Cultural Studies (2022), with a specialisation in the Theory of Religions. Since 2023, she has been a Senior Assistant Professor in the Department of History and Theory of Culture at Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”. Her research and teaching focus on New Religious Movements and contemporary developments in the sociology and anthropology of religion, popular culture studies, and, more recently, the notion of authenticity.

Selected publications:

  • Петрова, Зорница. (2024). „Парадокси на автентичността“. Годишник на Софийския университет „Св. Климент Охридски“. Философски факултет. Културология, том 3, 124-133. София: Университетско издателство „Св. Климент Охридски“. [Petrova, Zornitsa. (2024). “Paradoxes of Authenticity”. Annual of Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski.” Faculty of Philosophy. Cultural Studies, vol. 3, 124-133. Sofia: St. Kliment Ohridski University Press.]
  • Петрова, Зорница. (2023). Отвъд предела на храма. Новите религиозни движения в диалог със земния свят. София: Университетско издателство „Св. Климент Охридски“. [Petrova, Zornitsa. (2023). Pro-Fanum. New Religious Movements within the Earthly Realm. Sofia: St. Kliment Ohridski University Press.]
  • Петрова, Зорница. (2023). „Изобретяването на религията – пастафарианството като „чудовищна“ хибридизация между религиозно и светско“, Пирон, бр. 24. [Petrova. Zornitsa. (2023). “The Invention of Religion – Pastafarianism as a “Monstrous” Hybridisation between Sacred and Profane”, Piron, vol. 24.
  • Петрова, Зорница. (2022). „Религиозната духовност и нерелигиозната спиритуалност: радикална несъвместимост или потенциална синергия?“, Семинар_BG, бр. 24. [Petrova. Zornitsa. (2022). “Religious and Irreligious Spirituality: Radical Incompatibility or Potential Synergy?”, Seminar_BG, vol. 24]
  • Petrova, Zornitsa. (2021). “Challenging Religious Hegemony: Ethno-Pagan Strategies for Identity Construction”, Ciencias Sociales y Religión/Ciências Sociais e Religião, vol. 23.
Research Project
Constructing Otherness: New Religious Movements and the Challenge of Pluralism in Post-Secular Bulgaria

This project aims to investigate the position of New Religious Movements (NRMs) within Bulgaria’s power-imbalanced religious field, with a focus on their public portrayal. I argue that, in a post-secular situation emphatically dominated by a single law-protected religion, examining those in a minority position is essential for critically assessing the prospects for pluralism of faiths. Globally, NRMs frequently encounter tension with both established religious institutions and prevailing social norms due to their unconventional spiritual practices and ways of living. Investigating their perceived otherness—often reinforced by negative media labelling and discursive stigmatisation by the dominant religious milieu—provides valuable insight into broader societal attitudes towards religious diversity and tolerance. Accordingly, the study examines how NRMs are portrayed within Orthodox and secular media discourse in Bulgaria, particularly through the use of derogatory labels such as ‘sect’ and ‘cult’, and how these practices of othering affect their subjects. Employing a qualitative approach, the research combines a multimodal analysis of public representations with participant observations and semi-structured interviews with followers of selected NRMs to explore their lived experiences from a comparative perspective. It also offers a theoretical contribution by developing an empirically grounded typology of otherness, shedding light on stratifications and boundaries within the local religious field.

Research Interests:

New Religious Movements (NRMs); religious pluralism; media discourse; otherness / stigmatization; Orthodox Church; religious diversity and tolerance