Description
Book SynopsisHow are spiritual power and self-transformation cultivated in street ministries? In Addicted to Christ, Helena Hansen provides an in-depth analysis of Pentecostal ministries in Puerto Rico that were foundedand run by self-identified ex-addicts, ministries that are also widespread in poor Black and Latino neighborhoods in the U.S. mainland. Richly ethnographic, the book harmoniously melds Hansen's dual expertise in cultural anthropology and psychiatry. Through the stories of ministry converts, she examines key elements ofPentecostalism: mysticism, ascetic practice, and the idea of other-worldliness. She then reconstructs the ministries' strategies ofspiritual victory over addiction: transformation techniques to build spiritual strength and authority through pain and discipline; cultivation of alternative masculinities based on male converts' reclamation of domestic space; and radical rupture from a post-industrial culture of disposability. By contrasting the ministries' logic of addiction with that of biomedicine, Hansen rethinks roads to recovery, discovering unexpected convergences with biomedicine while revealing the allure of street corner ministries.
Trade Review“Readers from a variety of backgrounds and disciplines will find much to glean from Hansen’s text, particularly scholars in the areas of psychiatry, religious studies, and biomedicine.” * Reading Religion, American Academy of Religion *
"A phenomenal work." * Pneuma *
"Hansen’s
Addicted to Christ is a phenomenal work that traverses several vital areas of reflection." * Brill *
“Powerful and beautifully written.” * Political and Legal Anthropology Review *
Table of ContentsPreface ix
Acknowledgments xvii
Introduction 1
1. Th e Cosmology of Conversion 25
2. On Discipline and Becoming a Disciple 46
3. Visitations and Gifts 73
4. Th e New Masculinity 92
5. Spiritual Mothers 112
6. Family Values 134
7. Bringing It Home 149
Notes 167
Bibliography 181
