PhD THESIS PROPOSAL
Religion and Wellbeing: a
comparison between the effects of conventional religions and new age
spirituality on health
Keith Beasley
As the membership of many traditional religions falls the number of individuals pursuing some form of self-development or turning to one of the many forms of holistic health has, over recent decades, been on the increase. Such a contrast in fortunes would seem to be a sign of the time, but is it just a coincidence? Or could it be that men and women around the globe are finding, in their alternative approach to wellness, the very thing that they’ve been failing to receive from engagement in organised religion?
My research will address this issue with a particular
emphasis on the place of religious or spiritual experience and sense of
connection: the various facets and meanings of which I will explore, in the
context of wellbeing. Which of the many diverse activities that we undertake on
our religious or personal development paths do in fact help us, as individuals,
to feel connec
During this research I will examine what is meant by ‘connection’ from a perspective of well-ness. The same question will be equally applied to traditional religious practices, such a prayer, church services, meditation and to equivalent techniques which are outside of any particular faith. These will include practices such as Tai Chi and Qi-Gung; Reiki Healing and other forms of hands-on healing; complementary therapies such as the Bowen Technique and Reflexology. I will also study a range of approaches to personal self-development as exemplified by the best selling authors Louise Hay, Doreen Virtue and Diana Cooper: although not religious in their stance, they are most definitely spiritual. Do the exercises and teachings expounded through the ‘Mind-Body-Soul’ literature lead to a divine connection and does such connection compare to explicitly religious ones in helping us to feel at peace with ourselves and with the world we live in?
Also to be considered are mystical experiences which do not
fall into either religious or New Age headings. These are typically rela
In looking at
both academic and popular books and papers (including those lis
Another facet of
this research will be to asses the negative impact of the above range of
connection methods on our sense of well-being: indoctrination, extremism, dependance,
obligation, etc.. Again, a comparison will be made between conventional
religious approaches and a range of New Age methods: are there any aspects of
certain categories of experience that may, perhaps inherently, lead to mental
health problems, for example?
It is the intent,
within this research project, to bring together ideas from religion and
spirituality, on one hand, and health & wellbeing on the other. It is also
hoped to present this information in a way that is accessible to readers from
across both the Arts & Science spectra and to offer conclusions that are
both acamedically sound and practical in their application.
Otto, R. (1917) The Idea of the Holy,
Hay, L. (1984) You Can
Heal Your Life,
Wilbur, K. (1996) A Brief History of Everything,
Beasley, K. (2007) Reiki
– Without Rules,
Ricard, M. (2003) Happiness: A Guide to Developing Life's Most Important Skill,
Wood R.W. (ed. 1985) Handbook
of Religious Experience,
Argle, M. (1999) Psychology of
Religion: An Introduction,
Davies, C.F. (1989) The Evidential Force
of Religious Experience,
Oettle, A.G. (1969) The Rational Basis of Religious Experience,
Goleman, D. (2003) Destructive Emotions: A Dialogue with the Dalai Lama,