Anne-Christine Hornborg

Designing Rites to Re-enchant Secularized Society: New Varieties of Spiritualized Therapy in Contemporary Sweden

Detraditionalization in late modernity in Western society has affected the domains of both traditional religion and clinical psychotherapy. Sweden, which is said to be one of the most secularized societies in the world, instead, has allowed the public domain to be colonized by new, spiritualized practices. Sold as therapy, the services of new spiritual leaders offer anti-stress techniques to prevent burnout, or leaders are trained to develop their leadership in coaching activities. New varieties of spiritualized therapy are rapidly increasing in contemporary Sweden, typical of which is to have added healing rhetoric to their agenda, such as “find your inner self” or “develop your inner potential.” Four common denominators seem to guide these practices: self-appointed leaders, individual-centered rites, realization of one’s Self, and intense emotions. We might also add a fifth aspect: profit. Rites have become a commodity and are sold as liberating practices for burnt-out souls or for people in pursuit of self-realization.

Two thirds of Survey Respondents in Southern Sweden used Complementary or Alternative Medicine (CAM) in 2015

Background: Research has long suggested that a large and possibly growing number of people use complementary or alternative medicine (CAM). However, in many countries, such as Sweden, national and regional research on CAM use is still very limited. Existing prevalence studies are few and characterized by low comparability. This study aims to contribute towards addressing this knowledge gap. Methods: A web-based survey measured the use of and attitude towards CAM and conventional medicine in the southernmost Swedish province of Scania, while taking part in the development of a measurement tool for the standardized study of CAM use within the European Union (EU; I-CAM-Q). Results: 71% of the respondents (n = 1,534) reported having used some form of CAM in the past year. CAM consumption here includes visits to CAM providers, use of natural remedies, and use of self-help methods. Reported use was more common among women, younger age groups, and people with tertiary education. 69% of the respondents stated that collaboration between conventional medicine and complementary medicine should increase. The surveys response rate was 31%. Conclusions: The study confirms that CAM forms a considerable part of the health care offered to and used by the population. In the face of the existing lack of national and regional data on CAM usage, it affirms the importance of furthered investigation of CAM consumption, policy, practice, regulation, and education.

Society Bulletins • Gesellschaftsmitteilungen

Für die SMGP ist diese Schnittstelle Neuland. Mit der laufenden Gesetzesänderung des Heilmittelgesetzes HMG 2, die Chancen aber auch Risiken für die Weiterentwicklung der Phytotherapie mit sich bringt, gewinnt das Thema aktuell an Bedeutung. Eine sinnvolle Abgrenzung von pflanzlichen Arzneimitteln gegenüber Nahrungsergänzungsmitteln sowie Medizinprodukten mit pflanzlichen Stoffen ist zwingend nötig. Bei den exklusiven Mittagshäppchen und Kaffeepausen im Kongresszentrum Trafo in Baden konnte das Thema weiter vertieft und «verdaut» werden.

Protecting Earth? Rappaport's Vision of Rituals as Environmental Practices

Abstract In this article I discuss the characteristics of ritual practices, according to Roy Rappaport’s general theory of ritual. I start by discussing technology as a kind of ritual product of science and then briefly present Rappaport’s ritual theory as an aid in understanding how the Mi’kmaq Indians of Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, employed rituals in their efforts to protect a sacred mountain from being turned into a superquarry. In Ritual and Religion in the Making of Humanity, Rappaport discusses the concept of the ecosystem as a product of modern Western society, emanating from scientific epistemology rather than religious dogma. Rappaport also identifies “ecological thinking” in what he calls The Book. Although not expressed in terms of modern ecology, he suggests, such pre-modern thought is an adequate medium for protecting environmental values. His vision is to bring these two separate cosmologies closer, in order to emphasize the moral responsibility of humans everywhere on this planet. It is impossible, Rappaport would say, to do something without simultaneously affecting social relations and the environment. Humanity has the power and the technology to destroy places and ecosystems, if morality is left without consideration. Rappaport’s vision was to combine the moral efficacy of ritual with the analytical validity of ecological thinking. But how can modern, de-traditionalized humans create such a synthesis, that reckons with both practical effects and moral implications of human agency?