50668 - Religion and the Therapeutic

Description

This session examines the growing entanglement of religion, spirituality, and therapeutic culture in contemporary life. It explores how spiritual practices are mobilized in response to personal and societal uncertainty. The papers investigate how these practices offer meaning, coping mechanisms, and a sense of control amid crisis, while also revealing underlying dynamics of cultural capital and social stratification. Together, the research highlights how religious and spiritual frameworks are increasingly adapted, commodified, and reimagined within therapeutic contexts, offering new insight into the emotional, existential, and structural dimensions of modern spiritual life.

Sub Unit

• Section on Sociology of Religion / Section on Sociology of Religion Open Paper Sessions

Presider

• Laura Upenieks, Baylor University

Individual Presentations

• The Stratification of Household Religion: An Explanation Based on Cultural Capital - Beichen Fang, Rutgers University-New Brunswick; Yanfei Sun, Zhejiang University

• Spirituality in Psychotherapy: A Comparative Study of Traditional and Holistic Approaches to Contemporary Crises - Shio Lim, Cornell University

• Spirituality at Scale: A Large-Sample Study of Tarot Readings - Evan Stewart, University of Massachusetts-Boston; Cam Marsinelli, University of Massachusetts-Boston

Session Organizer

• David E. Eagle, Duke University