I have a family member who has become deeply entrenched in the broader new age spiritual movement and is constantly talking about numerology, manifesting, and things of that nature. They're also very deeply into alternative medicine, which I view as related but it's hard for me to connect the dots since I don't know anything about that culture. It's exhausting to be around, but I have a hard time criticizing it. Does anyone have any good books that take a look at this issue at the socioeconomic level to understand why this movement is so popular?
by ArcaesPendragon
1 Comment
Been in a similar spot with a cousin who went down that rabbit hole hard. Check out “Trick or Treatment” by Singh and Ernst – it does a solid job breaking down the alt medicine side with actual data instead of just dismissing people outright. For the broader cultural stuff, “The Righteous Mind” by Haidt helps explain why people gravitate toward these belief systems when traditional institutions feel like they’re failing them