Paper short abstract:

This paper investigates the relationship between engagement in particular prayer practices and psychological wellbeing among members of a Catholic Charismatic intentional community in Rwanda.

Paper long abstract:

The impact of the 1994 Rwandan genocide and its aftermath on the mental health of both Tutsi and Hutu populations in Rwanda is considerable. Current reconstruction efforts by the state, however, do not provide the necessary institutional resources needed to address these growing mental health needs. Stepping into this gap are religious, and in particular charismatic and Pentecostal Christian communities and churches, who attempts to address adherents' mental health needs through various forms of religious healing and prayer. This paper investigates the relationship between engagement in particular prayer practices and psychological wellbeing among members of a Catholic Charismatic intentional community in Rwanda. Analysis is centered on identifying the different modalities in which God is encountered in the course of these practices, the affective articulation of these encounters, and how they translate into forms of social being-in-the-world, particularly in reference to adherents' psychological wellbeing. I draw on these materials to suggest that an appreciation for the manners in which religion and particular religious practices impact on psychological wellbeing and mental health, particularly in light of what some term the NGOization of religion, may serve to bridge the clinical concerns of global mental health and the interpretive concerns of psychiatric anthropology.