Caring for Souls in a Neoliberal Age

by Bruce Rogers-Vaughn

Overview

This volume offers a detailed analysis of how the current phase of capitalism is eating away at social, interpersonal, and psychological health. Drawing upon an interdisciplinary body of research, Bruce Rogers-Vaughn describes an emerging form of human distress—what he calls ‘third order suffering’—that is rapidly becoming normative. Moreover, this new paradigm of affliction is increasingly entangled with already-existing genres of misery, such as sexism, racism, and class struggle, mutating their appearances and mystifying their intersections. Along the way, Rogers-Vaughn presents stimulating reflections on how widespread views regarding secularization and postmodernity may divert attention from contemporary capitalism as the material origin of these developments. Finally, he explores his own clinical practice, which yields clues for addressing the double unconsciousness of third order suffering and outlining a vision for caring for souls in these troubling times.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781349716333
Publisher:	Palgrave Macmillan US
Publication date:	02/27/2019
Series:	New Approaches to Religion and Power
Edition description:	1st ed. 2016
Pages:	256
Sales rank:	632,092
Product dimensions:	5.83(w) x 8.27(h) x (d)

About the Author

Bruce Rogers-Vaughn is Associate Professor of the Practice of Pastoral Theology and Counseling at Vanderbilt Divinity School, USA. He brings 30 years of experience in clinical pastoral psychotherapy to his teaching and research. He is also President and Co-founder of the Pastoral Center for Healing, USA, where he continues his clinical practice.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction: Preface to a Post-Capitalist Pastoral Theology
2. Neoliberalism, Inequality, and the Erosion of Social Well-being
3. Going Viral: The Neoliberal Infiltration of the Living Human Web
4. Neoliberalism as a Paradigm for Human Affliction: Third Order Suffering as the New Normal
5. Muting and Mutating Suffering: Sexism, Racism and Class Struggle
6. Beyond Self-Management: Re-Membering Soul
7. Concluding Theological Postscripts

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“This is an astounding book. While so many of us deal with this of that of our many problems, a pastoral counselor not only describes the ongoing destruction of human beings but also how and why it occurs. He convincingly names the enemy, neoliberalism, which too many of us serve, and points the way to real salvation. This is scholarship in the service of God.” (John B. Cobb, Jr., Professor Emeritus, Claremont School of Theology, USA)

“Caring for Souls in a Neoliberal Age brings a much needed resource to the fields of pastoral and practical theology and pastoral care. Rogers-Vaughn provides a ground-breaking, in-depth theoretical analysis of neoliberal economic theory and the ravages of its effects on individuals, relationships, and public life. At once theoretically rich, pastorally wise, and accessible, this is a resource that seminarians and those in religious leadership can use effectively. The theoretical scope of the author’s research will support further scholarship for years to come.” (Nancy J. Ramsay, Professor of Pastoral Theology and Pastoral Care, Brite Divinity School, USA)

Editorial Reviews

In Caring for Souls in a Neoliberal Age, Bruce Rogers-Vaughn (2016) describes the impact of late capitalism on the political, economic, and cultural domains of our lives. … This is, all in all, a remarkable book, and one that is dearly needed. While pastoral theologians have long asserted that there are links between personal, social, and political aspects of life, Rogers-Vaughn’s well-researched and carefully argued volume offers an explanation of how these realms overlap and interact.” (Mary Clark Moschella, Pastoral Psychology, Vol. 66, 2017)

From the Publisher