Publications

2023
Singh-Sengupta, Sunita. 2023. “"Uses of Power: Individual Consciousness for Collective Consciousness"”. in Uses and Abuses of Power in Alternative Spiritualities . Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.Abstract

Abstract: The present paper focuses on conceptualizing the uses of power by training the mind to control the senses in order to realize the true purpose of the soul. The spectrum of this training of the mind is from evolution to involution. Love is the eternal source of joy and truth is the eternal source of wisdom. Organizations today need to create a culture of love and truth for wellness and happiness at the workplace so that people flourish together by helping and nurturing each other. The present paper draws insights from the Vedas and Vedic Literature.

Presenter Bio: A widely traveled scholar, Sunita Singh Sengupta brings with her more than 30 years of teaching and research experience (https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunita-ss108/). Her research focuses on the human dimensions of organizations. She draws insights from psychology, philosophy, and literature to examine organizational problems and challenges. Her recent researches include 10 Volume Compendium on Integrating Spirituality and Organizational Leadership (2015) and 9 Volume Compendium on Vedic Foundations of Indian Management (2022).

McKanan, Tammy. 2023. “Informed Consent: The Work of an Early "Anti-Cult" Program ”. in Uses and Abuses of Power in Alternative Spiritualities . Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.Abstract

In the 1970s and 80s, there were academic, organizational, and personal fights around the issue of "cults," distilled into the phrase "the cult wars." Books and papers were written; lawsuits were filed and defended; parents hired "deprogrammers" to remove their children from groups; and ex-member's stories were sometimes dismissed as "axes to grind." The participants in these wars seemed to talk over one another in a high stakes need to define their position as the right one. In the midst of this maelstrom, Unbound, Inc., started serving clients. It was a place for people leaving "cults" to reflect on their experiences in the group and discern next steps. Unbound was a personalized, non-coercive program that emphasized education, self determination, personal discernment, and goal setting.

In this session Tammy McKanan will reflect on the work she and her colleagues did at this little known, open-door rehabilitation facility for people leaving totalist organizations.

Bio: Tammy McKanan spent five years working at Unbound, Inc., as a counselor serving people leaving high control, charismatic authoritarian groups. She is a former social worker and nonprofit manager. She has recently graduated from homeschooling her daughter, and has been in a decades-long conversation about NRM groups, coercive persuasion, and power and abuse with the organizer of this conference.

Mathiassen, Silje Trym. 2023. “Uses and Abuses of Power in Ritual Practice with Ayahuasca”. in Uses and Abuses of Power in Alternative Spiritualities. Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.Abstract

Abstract: In this presentation I will show how people participating in ritual practices with ayahuasca experience transformations of power during ceremonies and in their everyday life. In my PhD-project “Sacred plants – spiritual experiences” I examine how people, as part of contemporary spirituality, use ayahuasca and how this gives them experiences of both disempowerment and empowerment. Ayahuasca may cause harm, even though the plants are prescribed and used with the intention of healing or transformation. In what ways can the ritual practice be considered as abuse of power generating overwhelmingly physical and psychological reactions as well as positive use of power where the benefits sanctify the side effects?

Presenter bio: Silje Trym Mathiassen is priest in The Church of Norway and has worked for several years with interreligious dialogue in Stavanger, Norway. Her special competence is within new spiritualities. Co-author of several books on interreligious dialogue and meditation, she is a PhD candidate at the University of Stavanger with the project “Sacred plants - spiritual experiences”.

Presenter affiliation: University of Stavanger, Norway

Balliet, Suzy. 2023. “Transforming the Poison of Abuse into Medicine”. in Uses and Abuses of Power in Alternative Spiritualities. Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.Abstract

Abstract: The power dynamic of a spiritual master and disciple creates a relationship wherein both are open to the possibility of abuse, given the nature of desire. Each has a desire for what the other may share. You are invited to participate in the grand rite of well-being to discern and rectify this desire. Daoist priestesses will lead the qigong. Resources we can provide spiritual leaders and organizations that wish to reduce the harm caused by abuses of spiritual power:
 

  1. A model of transmission of spiritual teachings through praxis
  2. A map of 5 phases of an incident
  3. Daoist talismans for healing
  4. An embodied process of self-regulating qigong
  5. Locating the inner altar conception vessel at acupuncture point cv17
  6. A map of restorative justice principles embodied through qigong
  7. An opportunity to participate in the Grand Rite of Wellbeing

Presenter bio: Dao Shr Suzy Balliett is an ordained Daoist Priestess. She is a Medical Qigong Doctor, researcher & author. Her paper "Daoist Talismans for Healing" is published in the Journal of Daoist Studies volume 15, 2022. She is a licensed Occupational Therapist & board certified Tai chi instructor. She is the founder of the Biomagnetic Therapy Association and Dipper Healing Arts School. She is interested in Praxis the direct experience method of teaching.

Castaño-Suárez, Orus Mateo. 2023. “The biopower of faith leaders who are also alternative medicine practitioners in alternative spiritual communities”. in Uses and Abuses of Power in Alternative Spiritualities. Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.Abstract
Abstract: One of the most valuable parts of this conference on the "Uses and Abuses of Power in Alternative Spiritualities" is the opportunity to nurture peerhoods of critique among alternative spiritual community members and leaders. Scholars play a pivotal role through critique by helping spiritual communities examine, avoid, and heal from harmful practices.

It is from this sense of community and urgency that I turn to Foucault's expertise on power, particularly his "Society Must Be Defended" lecture. I posit that like any communities with power, alternative faith communities can become capitalist racist biopolitical corporations.


Presenter bio: Orus Mateo Castaño-Suárez endeavours to engage with as diverse a population of thinkers as possible as a graduate student, spiritual practitioner, artist-curator, software designer, and writer. They curate exhibitions for their artist incubator Collective65 in partnership with a number of Toronto consulates. Their most recent independent show as artist-curator, *Torus* (2022), was presented in the Great Hall gallery in Canada's largest art and design university, OCADU. As a software designer, Orus is expanding the limits of interdisciplinary data modeling.

Presenter affiliation: Ontario College of Art and Design University (OCADU)
Padova, Bianca. 2023. “The Body as a Site of Exploitation and Healing: The Case of Yoga to the People”. in Uses and Abuses of Power in Alternative Spiritualities. Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.Abstract
Abstract: Yoga to the People (YTTP) was a donation-based yoga studio that shut down in 2020 following multiple accusations of tax fraud, sexual assault, and other crimes that were recorded by an Instagram account, @yttpshadowwork. The case was documented by The New York Times and Vice News, but the depth and complexity of abuse—financial, emotional, and sexual—has yet to be grappled with on philosophical and sociocultural levels. Despite the abuse that occurred, many people still benefited from this spiritual community and the yoga practice itself. So, then, how is it possible to recognize the harm caused by YTTP while still valuing the benefits reaped?

Presenter bio: Bianca Padova is a Master of Divinity (MDiv ’24) candidate at Harvard Divinity School who focuses on the history and ethics of modern postural yoga. She first began teaching yoga in 2015 after completing her training at Yoga to the People in New York City. Since then, Bianca has continued to study and practice yoga, and has now completed 800-hours of training in modern postural yoga.

Presenter affiliation: Harvard Divinity School
Sundar, Sudarshan, and Judy Rodgers. 2023. “Brahma Kumaris: A women-led spiritual organization challenging a male-dominated spiritual landscape”. in Uses and Abuses of Power in Alternative Spiritualities. Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.Abstract

Abstract: Brahma Kumaris, the largest women-led spiritual organization in the world with over 8000 centers in over 110 countries, has successfully countered the imbalances of power in the spiritual realm in which men dominate as spiritual authorities. All administrative heads of the Brahma Kumaris organization are women as a foundational principle, and the Brahma Kumaris centers around the world are also primarily administered and staffed by women. Even in patriarchal societies such as India where the organization is spiritually headquartered, women have been empowered to pursue their dreams of having a spiritual focus. They are learning to teach to spiritually serve people from all levels of society versus being limited to their traditional roles of serving their immediate family members. The majority of the organization is mothers living at home with their families, in addition to tens of thousands of dedicated female teachers who reside at centers.

Presenter bio: Sudarshan Sundar has been a student and teacher of Brahma Kumaris Raja Yoga Meditation since 2001. Sudarshan helped start and co-coordinated the activities of "Inner Space Meditation Center and Gallery" in Harvard Square from 2012 to 2020. Since 2021, Sudarshan has served as the Spiritual Affiliate for Brahma Kumaris at Northeastern University's Center for Spirituality Dialogue and Service. Sudarshan has been a Software Engineer by profession at Microsoft since 2003 and also serves as a part-time Regional IT Coordinator for the organization since 2011.

Judy Rodgers has been a student of the Brahma Kumaris and teacher of raj yoga meditation for 27 years. She spent much of her working life in media and as a consultant and communication strategist, working with businesses and universities. The emphasis in her work has been on the power of narrative, how the questions we ask ourselves and the stories we tell ourselves affect our life journeys.

In 2004 she co-founded the Center for Business as Agent of World Benefit at Case Western Reserve University. In 2007 she co-authored a book on altruism called Something Beyond Greatness: Conversations with a Man of Science and a Woman of God. Since 2006 she has lived in the Brahma Kumaris’ Peace Village Retreat Center in the Catskill Mountains north of New York City.


Presenter affiliation: Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual Organization

Lovejoy, Allegra. 2023. “Building Safer Spaces: Ethics and Transparency in Alternative Spiritualities”. in Uses and Abuses of Power in Alternative Spiritualities. Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.Abstract
Presenter affiliation: Yale University
Osterhold, Helge, and Gisele Fernandes-Osterhold. 2023. “Chasing the Numinous: Hungry Ghosts in the Shadow of the Psychedelic Renaissance”. in Uses and Abuses of Power in Alternative Spiritualities. Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.Abstract

Abstract: In recent years, a renewed scientific, public and commercial interest in psychedelic medicines can be observed across the globe. While honoring positive research findings, therapeutic promise, and spiritual possibilities in relation to the medical use of psychedelics, this presentation aims to shine a light on some underlying psycho-cultural shadow dynamics in the unfolding psychedelic renaissance. It explores whether and how the multi-layered collective fascination with psychedelics may yet be another symptom pointing towards a deeper psychological and spiritual malaise in the modern Western psyche as diagnosed by C.G. Jung. The question is posed whether the West’s feverish pursuit of psychedelic medicines—from individual consumption to entheogenic tourism and capitalist commodification—is related to a Western cultural complex. As part of the discussion, the archetypal image of the Hungry Ghost, known across Asian cultural and religious traditions, is explored to better understand the aforementioned shadow phenomena and point towards mitigating possibilities.

Presenter bio: Helge Michael Osterhold, PhD, MFT (USA) is an Associate Professor of East-West Psychology at the California Institute of Integral Studies and previously taught at Golden Gate University and at UCSF School of Medicine in San Francisco, California. The author of The Body’s Code – Synchronicity and Meaning in Illness and Injury (2015), Dr. Osterhold teaches Masters and PhD level courses in Depth Psychology, Dreamwork, Spiritual Counseling, and the Psychology of Death and Dying. He maintains a private psychotherapy practice with a focus on life transitions. Email: hosterhold@ciis.edu

Gisele Fernandes-Osterhold is the director of facilitation for psychedelic therapy at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF), a faculty member at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS), and a mentor at the Center for Psychedelic Therapies and Research (CPTR). A practicing psychotherapist for over 25 years, Gisele is specialized in the treatment of trauma, using an integrative approach rooted in Somatic, Humanistic-Existential and Transpersonal psychologies. She is dedicated to diversity and inclusion in her clinical, academic and research engagement

Presenter affiliations: California Institute of Integral Studies (Osterhold); University of California San Francisco (Fernandes-Osterhold)

Di Marzio, Raffaella. 2023. “Choosing and leaving a spiritual community. Paths of change and personal development”. in Uses and Abuses of Power in Alternative Spiritualities. Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.Abstract
Abstract: This paper presents empirical findings from a qualitative study of affiliation/disaffiliation processes applicable to individuals choosing, changing, or leaving spiritual communities. It is argued that the processes involve internal dynamisms in one’s search for meaning and the acceptance of the proposal to join an organization, seen as capable of satisfying one’s needs and aspirations. The exercise or denial of personal agency in the affiliation/disaffiliation process has important implications for the psychological outcomes of the individual. Therefore, it is crucial to include the element of personal agency in discourse about power dynamics and potential for empowerment or harm within spiritual groups.

Presenter bio: Raffaella Di Marzio holds three degrees: in Psychology from La Sapienza University and Pontifical Salesian University; in Historical Religious Sciences from Faculty of Letters and Philosophy, La Sapienza University; and in Religious Sciences from Pontifical Lateran University. She received a PhD in Psychology from Salesian Pontifical University (Rome). Since 2017, she is Professor of Psychology of Religion at Master in “Terrorism, prevention of subversive radicalization, security and cybersecurity. Policies for inter-religious and intercultural integration and for deradicalization”, University of Bari Aldo Moro. She is member of the Italian Society of Psychology of Religion (SIPR) and Director of The Center for Studies on Freedom of Religion Belief and Conscience (LIREC). For more information, please see her profile page, list of publications, and the LIREC website.

Presenter affiliation: Italian Society of Psychology of Religion (SIPR), Center for Studies on Freedom of Religion Belief and Conscience (LIREC), University of Bari (Italy)
Jaoudi, Maria. 2023. “Cultivating Spiritual Experiences: The Chan Buddhist Ox Herding Pictures”. in Uses and Abuses of Power in Alternative Spiritualities. Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.Abstract
Abstract: This workshop will begin with the foundational background in how mystics from many world traditions cultivate through prayer and meditation mindful awareness through original innocence. Contemplating as a group through a PowerPoint of the Chinese Chan Ox Herding Pictures, participants will engage with the stages of spiritual growth outlined in the poetry and paintings. Finally, we will participate in a visualization meditation culminating in writing our own poems through the discovery of our own ability to be and experience our world through our original nature. [Please bring pen and paper.]

Presenter bio: Dr. Maria Jaoudi, Professor of Humanities & Religious Studies at California State University Sacramento, is a painter exhibiting in France and the United States, as well as a poet/author of books on world religions, mysticism and art, including Mindfulness as Sustainability: Lessons from the World Religions (SUNY Press, 2021).

Presenter affiliation: California State University Sacramento
Shankar, Dwivedi Prabha. 2023. “Daṇḍapāṇi Bhairava in Mokṣadāyinī Kāśī: An Inquiry into the Tantric and Folk Connections of the Purāṇic Guardian-Deity of Banaras”. in Uses and Abuses of Power in Alternative Spiritualities. Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.Abstract
Abstract: The paper intends to explore the tantric and folk connections of the guardian deity of Banaras— Kāla Bhairava, whose genesis is believed to be from the Shiva Mahapurana. The deity being identified as kotwal (a police officer) or daṇḍapāṇi (sheriff) wearing a garland of skulls is also believed to have tantric powers. In Trika Shaivism, he is considered one of the most powerful tantric deities whose consort is Tripurbhairavī. In folk religious practices, Kāla Bhairava is worshipped in his various folk manifestations. The paper would rely on both the empirical and the close textual reading methods for procuring the research material. The article also seeks to explore the folk belief behind offering the deity alcohol, chocolates, biscuits, and many other local items. Also, an attempt will be made to understand Bhairava’s relation with Buddhist and Jain Tantras, where again, he holds a powerful position as a tantric deity.

Presenter bio: Dr. Prabha Shankar Dwivedi is an Assistant Professor at IIT Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, India. His research interests include Folk Hinduism and Comparative Literary Studies. He has published nearly two dozen research articles in journals of national and international repute. His recent publication includes "Karaha Pujan: A Folk-Worship of Krsna in Eastern Uttar Pradesh," published in Religions of South Asia (Equinox Publishing Ltd.).

Presenter affiliation: Indian Institute of Technology, Tirupati, India
Zinzendorf, Johannes. 2023. “The Democratization of Power in the Spirit - A Harmonist Perspective”. in Uses and Abuses of Power in Alternative Spiritualities. Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.Abstract
Abstract: As a Harmonist, I believe the world is incarnated spirit and that my goal is to live harmony with the spirit and to nurture its incarnations which surround me. This direct contact with the ground of existence is directly empowering, both as an apparent individual and in context with the surrounding world. This also flattens the idea of power, preventing power hierarchies as each of us is fully capable and in touch with the source of our being. How that plays out in everyday life, in both social and political contexts, is open to on-going negotiation and interaction.

Presenter bio: Bro. Johannes Zinzendorf co-founded the Hermitage, a Harmonist spiritual community, with Bro. Christian Zinzendorf in 1988. Their goal was to reestablish an 18th century Moravian community of single brothers. Since then, the Hermitage has become a center for earth-based spirituality, as well as a village of historic buildings, and a local heritage center. Johannes Zinzendorf has written on queer spirituality, and for Communities magazine. He has presented papers for the Communal Studies Association and the International Communal Studies Association.

Presenter affiliation: The Hermitage
Tarwater, Bonnie. 2023. “Earth Crisis Support Groups”. in Uses and Abuses of Power in Alternative Spiritualities. Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.Abstract
Abstract: There are all sorts of small groups that help people to deal with particular problems. We know of no groups that help people to deal with the current threat to human survival. Groups of 6-8 people may be composed of Muslims, atheists or the spiritual but not religious. Earth Crisis Support Groups are a safe place to share the truth about how we are feelings about our shared circumstances during our planetary crisis. We also share about what is happening in the world as well as enjoy a pot luck dinner. Twelve step programs, psychology and medical support groups have enabled people who were suffering to form loving bonds. The early church began in people’s homes as house churches and always shared a meal. “Don’t think a small group of people cannot change the world. It is the only thing that ever has.” --Margaret Mead

Presenter bio: Rev. Bonnie Tarwater, a Unitarian Universalist minister, is the founder of Church for Our Common Home, www.churchforourcommonhome.com. She is currently working with Dr. John B. Cobb, Jr. and Earth Crisis Support Groups with their new book, Confessions of a Disciple of Jesus and the Living Earth Movement. Rev. Bonnie offers worship every Sunday in the barn with the farm animals. She and her husband Walt Rutherford offer a counseling center, the Secret Garden Retreat Center, and are exploring biodynamic farming with an interfaith Secret Prayer Garden on twelve trees. Counseling, worship and programs offered in person and on Zoom.

Presenter affiliation: Church for Our Common Home
Good, Jennifer Ellen. 2023. “Earth-based spirituality’s power to counter earthly disconnection?”. in Uses and Abuses of Power in Alternative Spiritualities. Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.Abstract
Abstract: This paper shares interviews I have conducted with people who have had spiritual experiences in/of/as nature. These interviews offer a context for, and an exploration of, the ways that alternative spiritualities can counter and challenge the imbalance of power that Abrahamic religions have exerted on an understanding of humans as separate from the earth. Bron Taylor (2010) proposes that “Christianity [bears] a heavy burden for the environmental crisis.” I explore what those who have spiritual experiences in/of/as the earth can tell us about the opportunities and obstacles for a spiritually and environmentally healing path forward.

Presenter bio: Jennifer Ellen Good is an academic – associate professor focusing on environmental communication at Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario; an environmental activist – worked for years with Greenpeace Canada; an earth spirituality seeker – born into a Jewish-Christian home, raised with Unitarianism and very much guided by interconnection and earth spirituality.

Presenter affiliation: Brock University
Dansac, Yael. 2023. “Embodying Celtic Heritage in Brittany’s Megaliths: Creative Rituality for Cultural Belonging.”. in Uses and Abuses of Power in Alternative Spiritualities. Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.Abstract
Abstract: In the last fifty years, Brittany has undergone a cultural revival characterized by artistic and linguistic manifestations that emphasize the historic relationships between this French region and other Celtic countries. After centuries of being mocked and denied by the French government, the Bretons’ Celtic identity has become a motive of personal and collective pride and a source of inspiration for diverse activities. Among these, the contemporary Pagan-inspired practices held in local megaliths have drawn my attention. I conducted ethnographic research to understand how members of this ethnic minority creatively relate their rituals to Brittany’s history and Celticity.

Presenter bio: Yael Dansac, anthropologist, is the recipient of a CIVIS3i post-doctoral fellowship co-funded by Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions. She is affiliated to the Université Libre de Bruxelles, in Belgium, and to the University of Glasgow, in United Kingdom. Since 2022 she leads a transnational research project on the contemporary sacralization of European megalithic sites. Her interests include contemporary animism, embodiment, and relationships to non-human beings, visible and invisible. Her most recent book is entitled Relating with More-Than-Humans: Interbeing Rituality in a Living World (edited with Jean Chamel. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2022).

Presenter affiliation: Centre for the Interdisciplinary Study of Religions and Secularism of the Free University of Brussels, Belgium, and Department of Theology and Religious Studies of the University of Glasgow, United Kingdom
Gracia, Agustina. 2023. “Empowerment and agency among Llave Mariana’s practitioners: an ethnographic approach to an Argentinian spiritual movement”. in Uses and Abuses of Power in Alternative Spiritualities. Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.Abstract
Abstract: The aim of this paper is to introduce a gender perspective on the study of an emerging spiritual movement called Llave Mariana. This spiritual movement mixes New Age elements –taken from Orientalist traditions– with Catholic figures, especially Virgin Mary. We start from a series of questions: What is the reason for the participation of a female majority within the movement? What are the conditions that lead these women to approach the spiritual world, its wisdom and techniques? What models of femininity do they elaborate and express? Finally, what are the transformations that these practitioners experience at a subjective and intersubjective level during this path?

Presenter bio: Agustina Gracia holds a PhD and a bachelor’s degree in Anthropology by the University of Buenos Aires. She was a doctorate grant holder by the National Council of Scientific and Technical Research (CONICET). Since the year 2017 she is an Assistant Lecturer at University of Morón (Buenos Aires). She also taught at University of Buenos Aires and University of San Martín (Buenos Aires). She authored scientific articles in both national and international publications.

Presenter affiliation: University of Buenos Aires (Argentina)
Farbman, Melissa Caicedo, Petra Meedit, and Olivia Jenkins. 2023. “The Guru at Your Fingertips: An Exploratory Study of Spiritual Leaders on Social Media”. in Uses and Abuses of Power in Alternative Spiritualities. Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.Abstract
Abstract: This study explores the rapidly evolving culture of a new generation of self-identified online gurus that use social media to connect with their followers and share their content and services with a growing community of spiritual seekers. Using netnography, 15 social media profiles of spiritual leaders and teachers were analyzed regarding their online presentation, engagement style, general profile content, qualifications, and services offered. This method was used to assess trends in online spirituality, drawing from published content across different social media platforms including YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. The findings reveal the potential benefits and dangers, which include ease of access, an opportunity for connection, inspiration, and a sense of community. On the other hand, there is a considerable risk of being misled by inauthentic representation since many online gurus lack adequate qualifications to work with vulnerable populations that present with complex psycho-spiritual issues and experiences.

Presenter bios: Melissa Caicedo Farbman is a researcher and psychotherapist who holds a master's degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. She is based in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado.

Olivia Jenkins is a passionate researcher and writer, and adjunct faculty at Sofia University who currently lives in Massachusetts.

Petra Parvati Meedt is a licensed psychologist and Marriage and Family Therapy Intern. She graduated with a M.A. in Anthropology from the University of Freiburg, Germany, and with a M.S. in Counseling Psychology from the Interamerican University in Puerto Rico

The researchers are Ph.D. candidates at Sofia University, completing their doctorates in Transpersonal Psychology.

Presenter affiliation: Sofia University
Khalsa, Nirinjan. 2023. “Healthy Happy Holy? Harm and Healing in Sikh Dharma's Kundalini Yoga Community”. in Uses and Abuses of Power in Alternative Spiritualities. Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.Abstract
Abstract: In January 2020, women came forward detailing sexual misconduct and other abuses by Yogi Bhajan (b.1929-d.2004), the spiritual teacher of the "Healthy Happy Holy" (3HO) community of Kundalini Yoga/Sikh Dharma practitioners. Through my scholarship and lived experience raised in this community, this talk will address the ways in which current and former members are now grappling with the contradictions between "the teacher" and "the teachings," finding community online to share their stories and address wider systems of abuse, appropriation, discrimination, and silencing. The second generation are now going through a reparations process due to their own traumatic experiences of child separation at young ages, sent to live with other families and to boarding school in India where many abuses occurred. This talk examines the path forward by looking to the varied responses within this community and by other communities who have gone through their own processes of reconciliation and restorative justice.

Presenter bio: Nirinjan Kaur Khalsa-Baker, Ph.D. is Senior Instructor, Theological Studies at Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles where she served as Acting Director of Graduate Yoga Studies (2019-2020) and Clinical Professor of Sikh & Jain Studies (2015-2018). Nirinjan was born into the 3HO Sikh Dharma community and studied Sikh drumming from a 13th generation exponent who honored her as its first female exponent. Her scholarship examines Sikhi through the lenses of embodied practice, pedagogy, philosophy, mysticism, ethics, identity, gender, and decolonization. Nirinjan currently serves as co-chair of the Sikh Studies Unit at AAR and on the editorial board for Sikh Formations: Religion, Culture, Theory.

Presenter affiliation: Loyola Marymount University
Gagné, Michel. 2023. “The High Cabal and the Lynch Mob: Exploring Conspiracism Through René Girard’s Scapegoating Theory”. in Uses and Abuses of Power in Alternative Spiritualities. Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.Abstract
Abstract: Conspiracy theories (CTs) and the communities who espouse them share several similarities with high-control (i.e., “cultish”) religious groups. CTs also serve as powerful vehicles for the disempowered and disenchanted to “speak truth to power”. However, conspiracists frequently indulge in various forms of disinformation to assert their moral outrage and vindicate their feelings of victimhood, namely through distorting and mythologizing the past and scapegoating their perceived enemies. This presentation will explore the relationship between political paranoia, “stigmatized knowledge”, and feelings of helplessness, and will address some of the causes and solutions that might help conspiracy believers avoid the traps of cultish epistemology.

Presenter bio: Michel Jacques Gagné is a philosophical historian and the author of Thinking Critically About the Kennedy Assassination (Routledge, 2022). He teaches critical thinking, political philosophy, philosophy of religion, and ethics in the Humanities Department of Champlain College Saint-Lambert (Montreal, Canada). His writings have appeared in Skeptic, the National Post, Quillette, the Encyclopedia of Religion and Violence, and History Studies. He is the creator and host of the Paranoid Planet podcast (www.paranoidplanet.ca).

Presenter affiliation: Champlain College Saint-Lambert https://www.champlainsaintlambert.ca/

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