The Religious Profile of Brazilian Alternative Therapists: the Case of Naturology

This study outlines the religious profile of alternative therapists in Brazil, which is justified by recent academic conclusions that the New Age would no longer be an interesting category of analysis to the study of contemporary alternative therapies. Naturology was taken as a case study given its...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of Latin American religions
Main Author: Stern, Fábio L. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Springer International Publishing [2019]
In: International journal of Latin American religions
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Brazil / New Age / Alternative medicine / Therapist / Religious identity
RelBib Classification:AZ New religious movements
KBR Latin America
Further subjects:B Naturology
B New Age
B Alternative therapies
B Brazil
Online Access: Volltext (Resolving-System)
Description
Summary:This study outlines the religious profile of alternative therapists in Brazil, which is justified by recent academic conclusions that the New Age would no longer be an interesting category of analysis to the study of contemporary alternative therapies. Naturology was taken as a case study given its institutional characteristic and present role in contemporary political discussions on the integration of alternative medicines in the Brazilian public health system. Questionnaires answered by a quarter of the entire population of Brazilian naturologists were analyzed. The data collected revealed that 51.7% of Brazilian naturologists objectively consider themselves as adherents of the New Age movement and they have a very different religious profile than that of the Brazilian population. Thus, it can be concluded that it is still premature to declare that New Age and religion are no longer relevant categories for the study of alternative therapies, at least in Brazil.
ISSN:2509-9965
Contains:Enthalten in: International journal of Latin American religions
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1007/s41603-019-00074-2