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Rebranding the soul : Rituals for the well-made man in market society

Hornborg, Anne-Christine LU orcid (2021) p.52-62
Abstract
This article discusses how contemporary coaching and laymen therapy can be discussed as modern revival movements well adapted to contemporary individual-centered and therapeutic society. The search for a soul to redeem has been transformed into new religious concepts as searching for the “true inner self”, “the inner potential” or “the authentic me” and new ritualized practices are designed as help for the lost. Questions raised include: How do the new formalized practices work as both models of and visions for society? In other words: How are practices designed to be experienced as natural means for the participants to achieve therapeutic healing and better self-confidence and what are the visions and goals that are implicitly built into... (More)
This article discusses how contemporary coaching and laymen therapy can be discussed as modern revival movements well adapted to contemporary individual-centered and therapeutic society. The search for a soul to redeem has been transformed into new religious concepts as searching for the “true inner self”, “the inner potential” or “the authentic me” and new ritualized practices are designed as help for the lost. Questions raised include: How do the new formalized practices work as both models of and visions for society? In other words: How are practices designed to be experienced as natural means for the participants to achieve therapeutic healing and better self-confidence and what are the visions and goals that are implicitly built into the practices and communicated to society and the individual? And is the search for the “authentic self” really a reflection of finding the complex inner self of the individual or only a way to design a streamlined raw model for the perfect man in neoliberal society? Has neoliberal society with developing these new concepts and practices succeeded in transforming even the human way of being into a product to be sold on the market and who is the winner? (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
organization
publishing date
type
Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
publication status
published
subject
keywords
designing rituals, marketing practices, laymen and coaching therapy, designing rituals, marketing rituals, laymen and coaching therapies
host publication
Routledge International Handbook of Religion in Global Society
editor
Cornelio, Jayeel ; Gauthier, Francois ; Martikainen, Toumas and Woodhead, Linda
article number
4
pages
10 pages
publisher
Routledge
ISBN
978-1-315-64643-5
978-1-138-18250-9
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
27e2d813-7909-4ec7-9ecc-7d7ecc2a0d3b
date added to LUP
2020-12-21 16:13:46
date last changed
2021-03-22 20:42:47
@inbook{27e2d813-7909-4ec7-9ecc-7d7ecc2a0d3b,
  abstract     = {{This article discusses how contemporary coaching and laymen therapy can be discussed as modern revival movements well adapted to contemporary individual-centered and therapeutic society. The search for a soul to redeem has been transformed into new religious concepts as searching for the “true inner self”, “the inner potential” or “the authentic me” and new ritualized practices are designed as help for the lost. Questions raised include: How do the new formalized practices work as both models of and visions for society? In other words: How are practices designed to be experienced as natural means for the participants to achieve therapeutic healing and better self-confidence and what are the visions and goals that are implicitly built into the practices and communicated to society and the individual? And is the search for the “authentic self” really a reflection of finding the complex inner self of the individual or only a way to design a streamlined raw model for the perfect man in neoliberal society?  Has neoliberal society with developing these new concepts and practices succeeded in transforming even the human way of being into a product to be sold on the market and who is the winner?}},
  author       = {{Hornborg, Anne-Christine}},
  booktitle    = {{Routledge International Handbook of Religion in Global Society}},
  editor       = {{Cornelio, Jayeel and Gauthier, Francois and Martikainen, Toumas and Woodhead, Linda}},
  isbn         = {{978-1-315-64643-5}},
  keywords     = {{designing rituals; marketing practices; laymen and coaching therapy; designing rituals; marketing rituals; laymen and coaching therapies}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{52--62}},
  publisher    = {{Routledge}},
  title        = {{Rebranding the soul : Rituals for the well-made man in market society}},
  year         = {{2021}},
}