
In Just Over A Decade, The Brazilian Faith Healer Known As John Of God Has Become An International Superstar. Oprah Winfrey, Ram Dass, Wayne Dyer, And Shirley Maclaine Have All Visited Him, As Have The Wealthy And The Desperately Ill. Renowned For Performing Surgeries Using Rudimentary Tools Such As Kitchen Knives And Scissors, Without Anesthetics Or Asepsis, John Of God Allegedly Channels Entities, Or Spirits, And Goes Into A Trance-like State In Order To Heal His Visitors. In Recent Years, A Transnational Spiritual Community Has Developed Around John Of God, Comprised Of The Ill, Those Who Seek Spiritual Growth, Healers, Tour Guides, And, According To Followers, Even Spirits Whose Powers Transcend National Boundaries. Cristina Rocha Offers The First Ethnographic Account Of This Global Spiritual Movement. Drawing On A Decade Of Fieldwork In Brazil, The United States, The United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, And New Zealand, Rocha Examines The Social And Cultural Forces That Have Made It Possible For A Healer From Brazil To Become A Global Guru In The 21st Century. She Explores What Attracts Foreigners To John Of God's Cosmology And Healing Practices, How They Understand Their Own Experiences, How These Radical Experiences Have Transformed Their Lives, And How The Healer's Beliefs And Healing Practices Are Globalized And Localized In Different Ways In The West.
This book investigates the mechanisms by which a Brazilian faith healer achieved global prominence and the cultural factors that sustain his transnational spiritual following. Cristina Rocha, an academic researcher, utilizes a decade of ethnographic fieldwork conducted across multiple continents to analyze the intersection of globalization and alternative healing practices. She argues that the movement surrounding John of God represents a complex synthesis of local Brazilian traditions and Western spiritual consumerism.
What You Will Find
Scope Limits
Scholars of religion and sociology recognize this work as a significant contribution to the study of transnational spiritual movements. Readers frequently note the academic rigor of the prose, which maintains a neutral stance while documenting the experiences of the healer's diverse international followers.
Page Count:
320
Publication Date:
2016-01-01
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
ISBN-10:
0190466723
ISBN-13:
9780190466725
No comments yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!