The Healing Religions

A Specific Sub-group within the Global Field of Religion

Authors

  • Regis Dericquebourg Charles De Gaulle-Lille 3 University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/arsr.v20i2.139

Keywords:

Healing religions, new religious movements

Abstract

Many religions are concerned with the problem of illness. They organize healing pilgrimages and benedictions for sick people, but the cure of sickness is not their main preoccupation. They are primarily concerned with the salvation of souls. At the other extreme, groups such as Christian Science, Antoinism (which emerged in Belgium in 1910) Invitation to Life (emerging in France in 1983), and the followers of the Christ of Montfavet (founded by a French spiritual healer in the mid-20th century) are directly concerned with the treatment of illness. Those religions refer to poverty, physical and mental difficulties, and all kinds of misfortunes. Healing religions consider that suffering is not a normal condition of humanity insofar as God provides the spiritual tools to enable health and well-being. The results of my empirical studies let me to propose an ideal-type of healing religions. Doing so, I am showing that the healing churches which are minority religious groups constitute an original unit in the social field of religions.

Author Biography

  • Regis Dericquebourg, Charles De Gaulle-Lille 3 University
    Régis Dericquebourg is a “Maître de Conferences” at the University Charles De Gaulle-Lille3 and statute members of the Group for the Studies of Religions and Secularity (laïcité) managed by Jean Paul Willaime - (Center for the National Scientific studies, Paris, France). He wrote a doctoral thesis on the Jehovah’s Witnesses and is now a specialist of this religious movement. In 1986, he began to make empirical studies on healing churches and published several book such as : Healing religions (1988), The Antoinists (1993), The Christian Science (1999), To believe and to Heal (2001). His work on the theorization of the healing churches lead him to receive an “habilitation” to supervise doctoral students (Sorbonne, 2000). He also studies the conflict between ‘cults’ and society, and religious discrimination in the world. He has published many articles in scientific journals and has contributed to many national and international conferences. [email protected]

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Published

2007-10-23

Issue

Vol. 20 No. 2 (2007)

Section

Articles

License

Equinox Publishing Ltd.

How to Cite

Dericquebourg, R. (2007). The Healing Religions: A Specific Sub-group within the Global Field of Religion. Journal for the Academic Study of Religion, 20(2), 139-157. https://doi.org/10.1558/arsr.v20i2.139

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