The Sociology of Meditation
The Oxford Handbook of Meditation October 4, 2019 DOI: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198808640.013.50 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Meditation |
| Citations | 8 |
| Key points | Argues that meditation serves as a new institution and social sphere that balances the secular and mystical, as well as being together and being alone, in the contemporary world. |
Abstract
Abstract Sociologists study meditation as a social phenomenon, utilizing the contemporary practice of meditation as a window to larger questions about social life and organization in the contemporary world. This chapter illustrates how meditation serves as a new institution and social sphere that balances the “secular” and the “mystical” as well as “being together” and “being alone.” It embraces rising individualization and secularization, yet it is based on collective, joint circles where affective effervescence is produced and where people search for experiences that can be categorized as mystical, transformative, or therapeutic. The studies introduced in this chapter focus on three themes: meditation practice as a religious and spiritual phenomenon embedded in the contemporary world with its themes of individualization, secularization, and religious syncretism; the popularization of meditation as a social movement in a globalized world; and the micro-social world of meditation practice, focusing on social relations and the social self.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mindfulness: A proposed operational definition. | 2004 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mechanisms of mindfulness | 2005 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| How Does Mindfulness Meditation Work? Proposing Mechanisms of Action From a Conceptual and Neural Perspective | 2011 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for depression | 2006 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Self-awareness, self-regulation, and self-transcendence (S-ART): a framework for understanding the neurobiological mechanisms of mindfulness | 2012 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
Citations in the library
Cited by 2
Cites 4
- Producing intersubjectivity in silence: An ethnographic study of meditation practice Ethnography June 1, 2010
- The New Metaphysicals: Spirituality and the American Religious Imagination Sociology of religion August 22, 2011
- Sign of the times: Workplace mindfulness as an empty signifier Organization November 16, 2017
- Prevalence, patterns, and predictors of meditation use among US adults: A nationally representative survey. Scientific Reports November 10, 2016