The Body as Evidence of Truth: Biomedicine and Enduring Narratives of Religious and Spiritual Healing

Practitioners of alternative medicine and spirituality often highlight narratives of healing as evidence for the superiority of their modalities over Western biomedicine. We argue that this form of establishing and defending truth has a long history, and base this analysis on the historical and anth...

全面介绍

Saved in:  
书目详细资料
Authors: Roginski, Alexandra (Author) ; Rocha, Cristina (Author)
格式: 电子 文件
语言:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Journals Online & Print:
载入...
Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
出版: Equinox Publ. 2022
In: Journal for the academic study of religion
Year: 2022, 卷: 35, 发布: 2, Pages: 168-191
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Australien / 医治 / 身体经验 / Narrativ (社会科学) / 替代医学 / 灵性 / 历史 1850-1899 / 历史 2000-2022
IxTheo Classification:AD Sociology of religion; religious policy
AZ New religious movements
KBS Australia; Oceania
TJ Modern history
TK Recent history
Further subjects:B Biomedicine
B Evidence
B Body
B Spiritual Healing
B Truth
在线阅读: Volltext (kostenfrei)
Volltext (kostenfrei)
实物特征
总结:Practitioners of alternative medicine and spirituality often highlight narratives of healing as evidence for the superiority of their modalities over Western biomedicine. We argue that this form of establishing and defending truth has a long history, and base this analysis on the historical and anthropological study of two periods: the late nineteenth century, when alternative theories about relations of mind, body and spirit flourished against a backdrop of political and religious transformation; and late modernity, when increased self-reflexivity and mistrust of secular institutions such as biomedicine prompted growth in alternative medical systems. Foregrounding the voices of practitioners and ‘clients’, this article outlines how recurring narratives of the healed body position the individual as a person in control of their physical and spiritual journey. In our present time, scrutinizing the healed body as an archive of truth deepens understanding of why denialist beliefs about vaccination and COVID-19 can prove so intractable.
ISSN:2047-7058
Contains:Enthalten in: Journal for the academic study of religion
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1558/jasr.22167