NSRN Annual Lecture: Dena Abbott

“Nonreligious Health in a Christian-Normative Nation: Intersectionality, Power, and the Case for Culturally-Responsive Psychotherapy”

Decades of research have studied the psychological health of believers, typically highlighting the benefits of religion and muddying the waters on nonreligious health through misunderstanding, stigma, and poor measurement. By contrast, little psychological science has investigated how nonreligiousness and nonspirituality influence well-being. Drawing on qualitative and quantitative research grounded in critical perspectives and over 15 years of practice as a psychotherapist working with nonbelievers, this lecture addresses that gap. It examines the mechanisms by which nonreligion benefits psychological health, as well as the external and structurally-based health challenges faced by nonbelievers as a result of Christian-normativity in the US. As nonbelievers are the fastest growing religious identity group in the early 21st century, now comprising 29% of the US population, and are increasingly diverse, implications for culturally responsive mental health care that acknowledges the intersections of power at play will be discussed.

11am ET