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Caring for Souls in a Neoliberal Age

  • Book
  • © 2016

Overview

Authors:
  1. Bruce Rogers-Vaughn

    1. Vanderbilt University, Nashville, USA

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  • Responds to a lack of resources within the theological academy attending to economic analysis and neoliberalism
  • Describes how neoliberal capitalism has reshaped human suffering and why a reorientation of the field of pastoral theology is therefore necessary
  • Provides an in-depth examination of the suffering that hegemonic neoliberalism has caused at every level of human experience—personal, relational, communal, and systemic

Part of the book series: New Approaches to Religion and Power (NARP)

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Table of contents (7 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xiii
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  2. Introduction: Preface to a Post-Capitalist Pastoral Theology

    • Bruce Rogers-Vaughn
    Pages 1-34

  3. Neoliberalism, Inequality, and the Erosion of Social Well-being

    • Bruce Rogers-Vaughn
    Pages 35-65

  4. Going Viral: The Neoliberal Infiltration of the Living Human Web

    • Bruce Rogers-Vaughn
    Pages 67-108

  5. Neoliberalism as a Paradigm for Human Affliction: Third-Order Suffering as the New Normal

    • Bruce Rogers-Vaughn
    Pages 109-130

  6. Muting and Mutating Suffering: Sexism, Racism, and Class Struggle

    • Bruce Rogers-Vaughn
    Pages 131-166

  7. Beyond Self-Management: Re-Membering Soul

    • Bruce Rogers-Vaughn
    Pages 167-207

  8. Concluding Theological Postscripts

    • Bruce Rogers-Vaughn
    Pages 209-241

  9. Back Matter

    Pages 243-256
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Keywords

About this book

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.  

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)

“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)

Authors and Affiliations

  • Vanderbilt University, Nashville, USA

    Bruce Rogers-Vaughn

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.  

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