Selling (Con)spirituality and COVID-19 in Australia: Convictions, Complexity and Countering Dis/misinformation
Conspirituality—the merger of conspiracy theories and spirituality—has attracted significant global media and scholarly attention during the COVID-19 pandemic. This article expands upon the ‘two core’ conspiritual convictions proposed by Ward and Voas that ‘1) a secret group covertly controls, or is...
| Authors: | ; ; ; |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2022
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| In: |
Journal for the academic study of religion
Year: 2022, Volume: 35, Issue: 2, Pages: 141-167 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Australia
/ Conspiracy theory
/ Spirituality
/ Conviction
/ COVID-19 (Disease)
/ Pandemic
/ History 2020-2022
|
| IxTheo Classification: | AD Sociology of religion; religious policy AE Psychology of religion AZ New religious movements KBS Australia; Oceania TK Recent history |
| Further subjects: | B
Covid
B Spirituality B Disinformation B misinformation B Conspirituality B Pandemic B Australia |
| Online Access: |
Presumably Free Access Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | Conspirituality—the merger of conspiracy theories and spirituality—has attracted significant global media and scholarly attention during the COVID-19 pandemic. This article expands upon the ‘two core’ conspiritual convictions proposed by Ward and Voas that ‘1) a secret group covertly controls, or is trying to control, the political and social order, and 2) humanity is undergoing a "paradigm shift" in consciousness’. We identify an additional ten key convictions central to (con)spirituality, including those that result in vaccine hesitancy and/or refusal. We chose to bracket the ‘con’ to problematize the term, and to encompass a wider spectrum of spiritual beliefs and practices, including those that are non-controversial, those that may be deceptive cons, and/or those that draw on conspiracy theories. The article presents an analysis of these twelve (con)spiritual convictions, focusing on a sample of ‘Aussie Warriors’ selling (con)spirituality, and also on influencers attempting to counter the spread of dis/misinformation within wellness circles. In so doing, the article provides a more nuanced understanding of (con) spirituality and vaccine hesitancy, and a greater knowledge of the benefits and risks of spiritual practices and ideas during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. |
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| ISSN: | 2047-7058 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal for the academic study of religion
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1558/jasr.22810 |
