Another conception of folk culture useful for the study of religion is the image of folk
culture as a “culture of contestation,” in the phrase originated by Luigi Lombardi-Satriani
in 1974. From this point of view, folk culture is not merely in the shadow of mainstream
culture, but is in an active state of conflict with popular or elite culture. Folklorists are
often interested in subgroups within major religions that are distinct from the majority by
virtue of gender, sexual preference, race, or other personal characteristics or
philosophical stances, and who explicitly or tacidy protest or challenge some of their
religion’s tenets and/or practices.