“Mind, Body, and Spirit”
“Mind, Body, and Spirit”

Women and Holistic Spirituality

Summary/Abstract: The paper is focused on the fluid forms of radicalization of religious subjective attitudes emphasizing an "experience without intermediaries". The first main goal is to analyze in a sociological perspective the segmentation of the religious field in Bulgaria in the post-communist context, with a focus on the most widespread syncretic forms of religiosity of a pre- and non-Christian inspiration (neo-paganism, Tibetan Buddhism, Hinduism, and New Age) and the practices aimed at "holistic well-being". The paper deals with the reception of these movements, specifically of their content and practices, among Bulgarian women with a high educational and cultural capital. It concentrates on the specific features of holistic spirituality in two age groups: that of women aged between 25 and 35 and women between 55 and 65. The second main goal is to study whether, and in what respects, the new forms of women's spirituality are coupled with the modern health technologies of "spiritual healing and perfecting of the psychological potential". This means that the interest is not only in the choice of religious content that Bulgarian women make but also in whether their choices actually lead to a change in their way of life.

• Details
• Contents