Hidden Religiosity in One of the World’s Least Religious Countries
Estonian Doctor Luule Viilma and Her Spiritual Teachings
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/imre.v19i2.29777Keywords:
New spirituality, implicit religion, alternative healing, meaning of illness, mind-body-spirit books, post-Soviet health system, Luule Viilma.Abstract
The article analyzes the case of Estonian gynecologist and spiritual teacher Luule Viilma (1950–2002), whose status as a best-selling author of spiritual self-help books seems paradoxical in Estonia, which is one of the most non-religious countries in the world. The study focuses on the mysticized aspects of Viilma's personality and the central elements of her legacy: moral, meaning-making pursuits, and principles of self-spirituality, including the sacralization of the body and self. Viilma's syncretic teachings combined elements from several sources, including folk religion, the New Age movement, and Christianity, with their religiosity mostly disguised. The Estonian example suggests that religious/spiritual ideas are present even in the least religious societies. Although usually latent, such ideas become activated when people have specific reasons to turn to spiritual or religious sources. Health-related spiritual teachings (with their religiosity disguised) have been more effective than traditional religions in introducing religious meanings and frames in post-Soviet Estonia.
References
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Altnurme, L. 2013. “Uus vaimsus, mis see on?” In Mitut usku Eesti III: Uue vaimsuse eri, ed. Marko Uibu, 18–36. Tartu: Tartu Ülikooli Kirjastus.
Cant, S., and U. Sharma. 1999. A New Medical Pluralism? Alternative Medicine, Doctors, Patients and the State. London: UCL Press.
Crabtree, S., and B. Pelham. 2009. “What Alabamians and Iranians Have in Common: A Global Perspective on Americans’ Religiosity Offers a Few Surprises.” Gallup News. Accessed December 4, 2013. http://www.gallup.com/poll/114211/alabamians-iranians-common.aspx.
Csordas, T. J. 2002. Body/meaning/healing. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Eurostat. 2005. “Eurobarometer 225: Social Values, Science & Technology.” Accessed December 3, 2013. http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_225_report_en.pdf.
Frankl, V. 2000. Man’s Search for Ultimate Meaning. New York: Perseus Publishing.
Geertz, C. 1993. “Religion as a Cultural System.” In The Interpretation of Cultures: Selected Essays, 87–125. Fontana Press.
Giordan, G. 2009. “The Body between Religion and Spirituality.” Social Compass 56(2): 226–236. doi: 10.1177/0037768609103356.
Heelas, P. 1996. The New Age Movement: The Celebration of the Self and the Sacralization of Modernity. Oxford: Blackwell.
Heelas, P. 2013. “Eesti kui katselabor – ideaalne näide vaimsuse ja religiooni suundumuste uurimiseks.” In Mitut usku Eesti III: Uue vaimsuse eri, ed. Marko Uibu, 167–187. Tartu: Tartu Ülikooli kirjastus.
Koenig, H. G. 2004. “Religion, Spirituality, and Medicine: Research Findings and Implications for Clinical Practice.” Southern Medical Journal 97(12): 1194–1200.
Ludmerer, K. M. 2005. Time to Heal: American Medical Education from the Turn of the Century to the Era of Managed Care. New York: Oxford University Press.
McGuire, M. B. 1993. “Health and Spirituality as Contemporary Concerns.” Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 527: 144–154.
McGuire, M. B. 2008. Religion: The Social Context (Fifth Edition). Waveland Press
Mechanic, D., D. D. McAlpine, and M. Rosenthal. 2001. “Are Patients’ Office Visits with Physicians Getting Shorter?” New England Journal of Medicine 344(3): 198–204, doi:10.1056/NEJM200101183440307.
Ostenfeld-Rosenthal, A. 2011. “Re-Enchanted Bodies: The Significance of the Spiritual Dimension in Danish Healing Rituals.” In Body and Soul: On Corporeality in Contemporary Religiosity, eds. Ruy Blanes and Anna Fedele. Oxford: Berghahn Books.
Rabin, R. C. 2014. “You’re on the Clock: Doctors Rush Patients out the Door.” USA Today, April 20.
Remmel, A., and M. Uibu. 2015. “Outside Conventional Forms: Religion and Non-Religion in Estonia.” Journal for Religion and Society in Central and Eastern Europe, forthcoming.
Singer, M., and H. Baer. 2011. Introducing Medical Anthropology: A Discipline in Action. Walnut Creek, CA: Rowman Altamira.
Solyom, A. E. 2005. “The Internal Morality of Medicine in the Contexts of Implicit Religion and Spirituality.” Implicit Religion 8(1): 7–21.
Statistics Estonia. 2013. Rahva ja eluruumide loendus 2011. Rahvastiku demograafilised ja etno-kultuurilised näitajad – Usk. Accessed February 10, 2014. http://www.stat.ee/sab-uuendus?db_update_id=14122.
Tikk, A. 2005. “Arstid ja alternatiivmeditsiin.” Eesti Arst 84(4): 294–296.
TNS Opinion & Social 2010. Special Eurobarometer 341/ Wave 73.1. Accessed December 3, 2013. http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_341_en.pdf.
Uibu, M. 2015. “Elu tõelise olemuse tunnetamine, moodsa aja religion või umbluu? – Uue vaimsuse erinevad nimetamis- ja käsitlusviisid Eestis.” Usuteaduslik Ajakiri 69(2).
Welch, J. S. 2003. “Ritual in Western Medicine and Its Role in Placebo Healing.” Journal of Religion and Health 42(1): 21–33. doi:10.1023/A:1022260610761.
Ziguras, C. 2004. Self-Care: Embodiment, Personal Autonomy and the Shaping of Health Consciousness. London: Routledge.
Published
2016-11-15
Issue
Section
Articles
How to Cite
Uibu, M. (2016). Hidden Religiosity in One of the World’s Least Religious Countries: Estonian Doctor Luule Viilma and Her Spiritual Teachings. Implicit Religion, 19(2), 267-282. https://doi.org/10.1558/imre.v19i2.29777
