Meditation and Other New Spiritual Practices in the Church of Sweden
Katarina Plank, Linnea Lundgren, Helene Egnell
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Netnographic survey |
|---|---|
| Population | Parish homepages in the diocese of Stockholm, Church of Sweden |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Citations | 2 |
| Key findings | The authors report that spiritual practices labeled "New Age," especially body-mind techniques, have become widespread in the Church of Sweden: 15% of new parish activities are holistic practices, found in eight of ten parishes in the Stockholm diocese, and practices once confined to retreat centers are now part of ordinary parish life. Zen meditation and yoga, once contested, are now broadly accepted. |
Abstract
Abstract This chapter deals with practices that traditionally have not been found within the Lutheran Church and how these are integrated in its activities. Here Katarina Plank, Linnea Lundgren, and Helene Egnell draw on data from an ongoing research project that explore how, since the 1970s, spiritual practices labeled as “New Age” have become more widespread, and lately practices with a focus on “body-mind techniques” have especially been given more space within the Church of Sweden. Their netnographic survey of the homepages of the parishes in the diocese of Stockholm shows that there is plethora of new activities going on which have emerged during the last 50 years. Many of these activities were geared toward community building, and 15% of them fall into the category of holistic practices. Such practices, comprising, for example, meditation groups, yoga classes, and dance, can be found in eight out of ten parishes. These new spiritual practices were first offered in exclusive settings like retreat centers, but have now moved into ordinary parish life, accessible to all parishioners. Some of the practices, like Zen meditation and yoga, have been contested but are now broadly accepted.
Comparable studies
Other cross-sectional and survey studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Construct Validity of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire in Meditating and Nonmeditating Samples Experienced meditators and nonmeditating comparison groups | 2008 | Cross-sectional study | |
| Neural Correlates of Dispositional Mindfulness During Affect Labeling Adult participants | 2007 | Observational cross-sectional | n = 27 |
| Assessing mindfulness in children and adolescents: Development and validation of the Child and Adolescent Mindfulness Measure (CAMM). School-aged children and adolescents | 2011 | Cross-sectional validation study | n = 1,413 |
| Mindfulness and self-compassion as predictors of psychological wellbeing in long-term meditators and matched nonmeditators Experienced meditators and demographically matched nonmeditators | 2012 | Cross-sectional study | n = 152 |
| Mechanisms of Action in the Inverse Relationship Between Mindfulness and Psychological Distress Undergraduates | 2008 | Cross-sectional, correlational |