R.D. Laing's theological hinterland: the contrast between mysticism and communion.
Contrasting elements in R.D. Laing's psychiatry can be traced to two kinds of Christian theology: mystical theology and corporate theology. On one hand, Laing's mystical theology combined with psychoanalytic theory, to provide a New Age psychotherapeutic account of the recovery of authentic selfhood via metanoia. On the other, his incarnational, corporate theology promoted social inclusion of the mentally ill, particularly via therapeutic communities. For Laing, as for other post-war British Christians, a turn inwards, to mysticism and the sacralization of the self, and a turn outwards, to social and political activism, were ways of negotiating with the decline of traditional Christianity.
School of Critical Studies, Room 501, 4 University Square, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK. gavin.miller@glasgow.ac.uk
Gavin
G
Miller
D002835:Christianity / Q000266:history*; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D009228:Mysticism / Q000266:history*; D011570:Psychiatry / Q000266:history*; D011613:Psychotherapy / Q000266:history*; D012069:Religion and Psychology; D012606:Scotland; D012935:Social Justice / Q000266:history*; D028725:Theology / Q000266:history*