Finding Balance
African Spirituality and Mental Health in Johannesburg, South Africa
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Alex Asakitikpi
From a non-African ontology and perspective, African indigenous knowledge, including its spirituality, seems to have as its elements, impreciseness, lack of synthesis, contingency, and vagueness. While much of the Western approach to knowledge production is based on observation and reasoning, the logic of African Indigenous knowledge introduces a third dimension of faith and transcendental knowledge. These three dimensions are not mutually exclusive but are sources of epistemic vocation that are mutually embedded and interpenetrating, which structure its knowledge system and guide its practices. African spirituality, as the total beliefs and practices that pertain to the supernatural with a visible impact on society and individuals’ lives, is examined in this paper about mental health among South Africans. The paper is derived from an ongoing qualitative study of the role of African spirituality within the context of dwindling economic fortunes, dislocation of family structures, and the increasing anxiety associated with crime and high unemployment rates in South Africa. The paper discusses how citizens rely on African spirituality for their well-being and as a coping mechanism against the vagaries of life in post-apartheid South Africa. The paper also situates the position of sangomas (Indigenous healers) as strategic caregivers to urban dwellers, using Johannesburg as a case study, and the implication of this on the government’s health policy.
The Folkloric Revival in Britain: Land, Tradition, Identity, as Healing During and After COVID 19
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Carole Cusack
In the mid-twentieth century British folkloric beliefs, rituals, and practices were declining. The classic ‘folk horror’ film trilogy (Witchfinder General, 1968; Blood on Satan’s Claw, 1971; and The Wicker Man, 1973) indicated strong interest in folklore among filmmakers and artists, but it was not until the COVID-19 pandemic that artist Ben Edge’s Ritual Britain Exhibition (2021) and a revival of the ‘slow living’ practice of making zines – many about folklore and sacred landscape – revived interest in folk practices and traditional beliefs among non-rural people experiencing lockdowns and travel restrictions. Edge has since made films about British folklore and a range of traditional culture inspired merchandise. I argue that the community supporting the folklore revival in contemporary Britain is environmental (and focused on sacred landscape and sites like Neolithic monuments), identitarian (it is concerned to foster commonality between like-minded people who are bound by aesthetic preferences), yet healing and determined to avoid/ reject racialist politics (much in the way that the ‘Two-Tone’ movement among ska and rock-steady fans in the 1980s sought to avoid the racist skinhead stereotype attached to certain music sub-cultures), and proposes a new way of building culture: based on the past; artisanal; creative; and fuelled by love and the desire for connection. Folklore, which was consigned to irrelevance in the twentieth century has risen triumphantly in the twenty-first century, with antiquarianism pointing the way to a transformed future.
Evangelical Christian Nationalism and Substance Use Disorders in the US: Impacts on Vulnerable Populations and Opportunities for Increased Resiliency
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Andrew Ward
The intertwining of evangelical Christian nationalism with American politics and society has profound implications for the identification, treatment, and prevention of substance use disorders (SUDs). This paper examines how religiously influenced perspectives shape public health policies, contribute to stigmatization, and affect access to care for some of society's most vulnerable individuals. By analyzing recent data from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), alongside the writings of journalists, scholars, and policy makers such as Michelle Goldberg, Chris Hedges, Rousas Rushdoony, Paul Weyrich, Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, Lance Wallnau, and Katherine Stewart, this study explores the intersection of charismatic Christian religious ideology and public health, with a focus on the vulnerabilities of marginalized populations.
Embodied Purity, Socialization, and Community: Ritual Reading of the Gurucaritra in the Dattātreya Sampradāy
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Mugdha Yeolekar
This paper delves into the vibrant social praxis of religious reading in Hinduism through an in-depth analysis of the Gurucaritra, the cornerstone text of the Dattātreya Sampradāy, a devoted community of followers of the Hindu god Dattātreya. During my fieldwork in the religious community of devotees of the Dattātreya in Pune, India, readers of the Gurucaritra emphasized various aspects of getting their body “ready” such as taking a shower before each session, not using the restroom during the reading session, particular clothing, practicing celibacy, consuming only certain foods. Readers' choices and desire to follow these actions during the parayan cycle were based on the idea of making their body pure before engaging in the reading practice. Readers' choices during the pārāyaṇa cycle were rooted in the idea of making the body pure, aligning with Mary Douglas’s theory of purity and pollution, which underscores the regulation of bodily boundaries to maintain spiritual integrity. As Axel Michaels asserts, bodily rituals from bathing to fasting, serve to purify both body and mind, creating a sanctified space for interacting with the divine. These practices uphold the sacredness of the text and play a critical role in shaping and enhancing the religious community and identity. In response to the urbanization and shrinking spaces, the readers gather at temples and community centers during the reading course. Thus, religious reading leads to forming social networks in urban environments.
