Hope for Healing: The Mobilization of Interest in Three Types of Religious Healing in the Netherlands since 1850

Abstract

The author examines the development of the popularity of religious healing in the Netherlands since 1850 and the factors that contribute to its continuation. He focuses upon three traditions: devotional healing in Roman Catholicism, charismatic healing in Pentecostalism and paranormal healing in western esotericism. From 1850 to about 1965, interest in making a pilgrimage to holy places of healing showed a strong increase, while the number of participants in faith-healing and esoteric healing remained small. Since then, this situation has been completely reversed. Starting from a mobilization approach, the author shows that this development is linked to contextual (market and demand) factors and institutional (organization and supply) factors. It is argued that the continuation of religious healing practices challenges established religious as well as medical institutions to approach patients more integrally as whole persons. Key words: Catholicism · esotericism · healing · healing practice · Netherlands · Pentecostalism L'auteur examine le développement de la popularité de la guérison religieuse aux Pays-Bas depuis 1850 et les facteurs qui contribuent à sa pérennité. Il s'intéresse à trois traditions: la guérison pieuse dans le catholicisme romain, la guérison charismatique parmi les Pentecôtistes et la guérison paranormale de l'ésotérisme occidental. De 1850 à1965 environ, l'intérêt d'un pèlerinage en des lieux sacrés de la guérison a connu une croissance importante, alors que le nombre de participants à la guérison ésotérique et par la foi est resté marginal. Depuis, la situation s'est renversée. Se basant sur une approche par la mobilisation, l'auteur montre que ce développement est lié à des facteurs contextuels (marché et demande) et institutionnels (organisation et offre). L'auteur avance que la poursuite de pratiques de guérison religieuse met au défi les institutions établies, aussi bien religieuses que médicales, et propose une approche des patients qui les considère dans l'intégralité de leur personnalité.Mots-clés: catholicisme · ésotérisme · guérison · Pays-Bas · pentecôtisme · pratiques de guérison

Enchantment, migration and media: Marabouts in Senegal and in the Netherlands

“…From 1980 to 1994 the percentage of the Dutch population which had visited at least one alternative healer doubled from eight to 16 (Becker et al 1997: 160). As of the 1980s numerous new healing practices, usually grouped under the term ‘New Age’, attracted especially highly educated participants (Aupers and Van Otterloo, 2000; Hanegraaff, 1996; Heelas, 1996; Vellenga, 2008).…”

“…Peter Pels (1998) argues that in academia the anxieties of the majority of participants to the rationality debate may have been caused partly by a historical change in their culture and society: the rise of what many perceive as the irrationalisms of ‘New Age’ thinking. With specific regard to the Netherlands, the ‘privatization thesis’ has been disputed by, among others, Aupers and Houtman (2006), Hanegraaff (1996) and Vellenga (2008). They argue that the conception of spirituality should not be confused with the self-image of the spiritual milieu.…”

“…Even though Dutch practitioners stress the eclectic and individualistic nature of their faith, this very individualism operates in a socially sanctioned obligation of personal authenticity, thus being less privatized then it is held to be (Aupers and Houtman, 2006). The popularity of religious healing practices, as Vellenga (2008) argues, indicates a discontent with established religious and medical institutions.…”