Autorentext

Heidi Rimke is Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology at The University of Winnipeg, Canada.

Klappentext

The Therapeutic Afterlife: Spirituality and the New Sacred provides a compelling and original analysis of how contemporary self-help literature is transforming our ideas about God, the soul, and life after death. As more people identify as "spiritual but not religious," these concepts-once grounded exclusively in formal religious traditions-are now recast in the language of healing, growth, empowerment, and wellness, reshaping both spirituality and health discourses in the twenty-first century.

Topics explored include after-death communication, near-death experiences, reincarnation, past-life memories, karma, mediumship, paranormal trauma, out-of-body experiences, suicide, angel therapy, demonology, spirit possession, clinical exorcism, psychic abilities, and more. The study shows how these themes are integrated into therapeutic culture, reframing the afterlife as an essential part of a holistic, transformative approach to living-one that challenges conventional psychotherapeutic frameworks, secular worldviews, and traditional religion. It offers a novel examination of the popular 'afterlife therapeutic' as indicative of a profound re-enchantment of society.

Its insights will resonate not only with scholars of sociology but also across related disciplines including psychology, religious studies, anthropology, and cultural studies. By conceptualizing the therapeutic afterlife as a new sacred paradigm, this book provides an indispensable guide to one of the fastest-growing fields in contemporary culture.

Inhalt

Introduction. The Therapeutic Afterlife: Self-Help from the Other Side 1. Sacred Subjects in Self-Help: Mapping the Therapeutic Afterlife 2. One Life is Not Enough: Energy, Karma, and Reincarnation 3. The Therapeutics of Spirit Contact 4. Paranormal Therapy 5. Otherworldly Narratives: Afterlife Memoirs as Therapeutic Texts 6. Suicide and the Afterlife Conclusion. Towards a Sociology of the New Sacred