Spiritually inspired products and therapies are surprisingly popular. They are not always harmless: the esotericism is not only ineffective, but also a playground for risky political ideas, the social psychologist Pia Lamberty and the publicist Katharina Nocun write in her book »Dangerous Faith. The radical world of thoughts of esotericism «. In the interview, you explain why overlying many people act so attractive, what damage can do and how to deal with people who trust more about their intuition than on facts.
Generally, esotericism is considered a rather harmless spinning. They see it differently - and in their new book they warn insistently about their dangers. How did you come up with the topic?
Katharina Nocun: We were already at an esoteric fair in Berlin-Wilmersdorf for researching our first book. There we were able to experience a broad of the scene: an esoteric doctor in a lecture made a mood against vaccination - mixed with homophobic statements and trivialization of the AfD. There were also people who hadn't expected it from the external impression. At one stand, an Aura analysis was offered by email. In my evaluation it was said that I would be about to be physical and mental collapse - but could prevent this if I bought different products for around 1000 euros. Only the business model was holistic. At another stand, healing stones were sold against cancer. What does that do with a person who is currently dependent on chemotherapy - and in the worst case instead relies on such approaches? The transitions of supposedly harmless offers to those who can have drastic effects on their own lives are fluid.
Her criticism is directed above all against the political understanding of some esoteric teachings. What exactly do you mean by that?
Pia Lamberty: In the best case, a democratic society works in such a way that people can participate and everything runs transparently. Many esoteric offers take the opposite way: they are secret teaching that should only be accessible to a few initiates.
Nocun: Many esoteric groups are also authoritarian inwardly: there is an enlightened leader who feeds her wisdom from spiritual sources and therefore can hardly be questioned. This was already a problem in the New Age movement of the 1960s and 1970s. Many associate this time with the struggles for equality and participation. But at that time, numerous groups were also vying for followers who thought that one should rather leave the worldly problems to oneself, since the golden age was soon coming anyway.
Lamberty: I also see the strong individualization critically. It is not about changing something structurally, just about optimizing the individual.
However, this accusation also applies to many offers outside of esotericism. What is special here?
Lamberty: I am frightened by the massive debt. People told me how the responsibility for their chronic illness was postponed. And in the 2021 flood disaster, an esotericist claimed that the flood in their own residential area would be blocked by female energies. So if you had lost your own house in the Ahr Valley, you should now also be to blame for the disaster. This puts people under pressure who are in a fragile situation anyway.
Many people have a certain penchant for supernatural: According to a study by Oliver Decker and his working group, every fourth German believes in Wunder healer, around a third at least partially in horoscopes. What makes the esoteric world of thoughts so attractive?
Lamberty: Although the phenomenon is so widespread, there is little empirical research on it. This is also due to the fact that it is a rather vague collective term that combines very different approaches. What we do know, however, is that belief in esotericism and alternative healing methods apparently serves similar needs as conspiracy narratives. People experiencing social isolation or a sharp loss of control are more prone to magical thinking, which is typical for both phenomena. Another factor is the so-called just world faith, according to the motto: if good things happen to people, they also deserve them - and the bad ones too.
Spiritually attached products are often aimed at a female target group - and according to surveys, more women than men believe in supervisory. How do you interpret this gender difference?
Nocun: In discussions with esotericists, we have often heard that women have a special connection to nature, to an original world that remains closed to men. Such a world of thoughts seems to offer the opportunity to upgrade oneself. However, it is a pseudo–feminism: it may seem like empowerment - but the role models conveyed are more reminiscent of the 1960s.
Lamberty: Many esoteric teachings follow a purely binary gender logic: the man stands for the ratio, the woman for the feeling - and together they would merge into a unit.
Nocun: A shaman once explained to me that I had a special knack for home furnishings. I have some talents, but certainly not this one!
Especially sharply they criticize esoteric offers for people with psychological difficulties. How come?
Nocun: There are, for example, so -called return therapists who say to their customers: We travel to a past life together. This can feel very real for those affected. And of course, who wouldn't like to have been a princess or a great general in a previous life? But it can quickly become ugly if the therapist then says to a victim of abuse: Maybe they have moved through the country murdering and raping in earlier life - and must now remove the negative karma.
Lamberty: The incomplete supply system in Germany is also contributing to the problem. People wait for months for a therapy place – or are worried that the treatment could stand in the way of a possible official appointment. Esoteric alternative practitioners, on the other hand, are readily available for private patients.
How does the esoteric scene actually feel about science itself?
Lamberty: On the one hand, esotericists often operate science. It is about reducing research as a whole. At the same time, they are building up a parallel world of pseudo studies that are supposed to take their teachings - for example with photos of water crystals that are said to look more shape if one previously writes "Hitler" on the vessel. Others rely on quantum mechanics - with interpretations in which every physicist would run away. They try to upgrade their own approaches by pretending to follow their offers of strictly objective logic. At the same time, they have to attack science, because: How else should they sell sugar corners as medication?
Her book is a flaming commitment to science. Critics complain that the current research activity is limited in a positivistic way, so it is limited to the investigation of the existing world and to directly observable phenomena. Does he not create the same gaps that esotericism claims to fill?
Nocun: I am convinced that esotericism will always find its market - no matter how well research works. Esotericists do not practice scientific criticism according to the motto: "This and that study is carried out in point three uncleans." There are more phrases like: "The subtle, non -material effects are not accessible to the scientific method."
Making fun of esotericism is easy. But is the scientific world, with its numerous fraud scandals and methodological flaws, really that much better?
Lamberty: I carried out my studies during the "replication crisis" ...
...when it turned out that a large part of the psychological studies could not be repeated with the same result – which permanently shook confidence in the entire discipline.
Lamberty: However, the reforms were fundamental, for example with regard to the sample sizes or the priority of studies. If you compare research work from 2008 and 2018, you quickly notice: there are worlds in between.
Nocun: Science is not infallible either. Serious actors can be recognized by the fact that they are open to criticism, admit their mistakes and correct them. In this way, one gradually comes closer to the truth. This openness to learning from errors is a tenet of good science.
In your book, you also mention a social movement against enemies of science with hashtags like #FollowTheScience. But the activists are often content with the demand to "believe" science instead of appreciating the fallacies and contradictions of the process of cognition – and thus seem a little authoritarian themselves. Are there no more clever ways to counter the esoteric tangle?
Lamberty: Together with my colleague Roland Imhoff, I carried out a study on esotericism and belief in conspiracy. We asked two different thinking patterns: a "analytical", fact -based style - and a "holistic" style that rather works and works intuitively. Science communication usually works with the analytical style. This is very obvious to me personally: when Christian Drosten explains how the Coronavirus works in the podcast. But there is an empty space for people who think rather holistically. I am unsure how the problem can be solved well, after all, this style of thought is contrary to how science works. However, we should consider how we humans achieve better who process the world differently than those in the science editorial offices.
Incidentally, our research has also shown that frustration with the healthcare system hardly predicts the use of alternative medical procedures. So it's not just because we do it clumsily!
How do I deal with the uncle who keeps putting esoteric products on the glue?
Nocun: Ask yourself: What is the empty space that occupies these offers - and how can I withdraw the breeding ground in a healthy way? Especially in times of crisis and situations of loss of control, people are more susceptible to these ideas. Here we should keep an eye on our environment. The more early you intervene, the sooner you can argue rationally. Anyone who has built up a dualistic world view and only views science as a great conspiracy can no longer be convinced with studies.
Lamberty: But we should also always keep a critical eye on ourselves and not assume that this only happens to others. Maybe I don't believe in horoscopes or healing stones – but suddenly I'm not quite as critical of a half-baked psychotest. Those who start with themselves also become more empathetic in dealing with others.
