Paper short abstract:

The paper discusses the set-up of an ethnographic study of “spiritual entrepreneurship” in four European states. It asks whether the implementation of neo-liberalism can point to why women dominate the spirituality sector and shed light on the significance of spirituality in contemporary Europe.

Paper long abstract:

Practices that make up the holistic healing and spiritual teachings milieu form a branch of the service industry that appears to be growing across Europe. In this field, one can observe a developing profession of entrepreneurs for whom spirituality is work: a vocation and a source of income. The majority of such "spiritual entrepreneurs" are women, they are often independent freelancers and some are linked to multi-national spiritual service providing companies through licenses and franchises.

In the context of processes of secularisation, spiritual entrepreneurship presents striking case studies of the continued relevance of religiosity in European societies. Furthermore, it mirrors trends that are developing en par with the spreading of neo-liberal principles, most importantly: high valorisation of individualism, privatisation of public services and the application of market-place rationality to all aspects of life.

The proposed paper aims to discuss the premises and set-up of a methodology that can help to map and understand such "spiritual labour". It serves as preparation for an ethnographic study of the activities of practitioners in the Netherlands, Germany, Great Britain and Estonia who have integrated the teachings of the Chopra Center for Wellbeing into their work. This study is to investigate whether the implementation of neo-liberal principles in economic and social policies in these countries can a) account for why women dominate this sector and b) shed light on the social significance of spirituality in contemporary Europe.