Conspirituality

Derek Beres, Matthew Remski, and Julian Walker's book Conspirituality is a fascinating account of the historical and ideological overlaps between alternative health movements and the alt- and far-right that have resulted in a wave of antivaccination and wellness-related misinformation. A project that developed out of the authors’ eponymous podcast, this book will be appreciated by interdisciplinary general and academic audiences interested in the politics of new religious movements, the alt- and far-right, and conspiracy theories.The first part of the book explores the core ideas of conspirituality, which are then, in the second portion of the book, contextualized by references to the prevalence of alternative wellness ideas within early-twentieth-century extremist and fascist movements. For many observers, the growing areas of confluence between alternative health and wellness communities and the alt-right in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic was deeply surprising. As Beres, Remski, and Walker detail, however, there are historical precedents to explain this phenomenon. The third portion of the book is dedicated to case studies of prominent influencers who have spread conspiritual ideas to wide audiences. The fourth and final section highlights insights and accounts that they have received from podcast listeners.The authors openly discuss their own positionalities and why they were drawn to researching this topic. All three authors have had previous lived experiences alerting them to certain toxicities present in some alternative spirituality or yoga spaces, which they disclose early in the book. This positionality primes the authors to approach the anxieties that propel some individuals toward conspirituality with empathy, even while they condemn the effects that antivaccination attitudes (and the discriminatory implications that often accompany them) can have on public health. Crucially, the book distinguishes between genuine criticisms of the for-profit health-care and pharmaceutical industries in the United States and the potentially harmful conspiracy theories advanced by some conspiritualists. As the authors acknowledge, the conspirituality movement touches on numerous genuine critiques of late-stage capitalism and the neglect and patronizing attitudes that many individuals—especially women—face from some medical professionals and institutions.However, as the authors argue, the alternative health and wellness industry, despite its purported attention to empathy and holistic healing and its critiques of for-profit mainstream medicine, is equally imbricated in the capitalist economy and is deeply dependent on monetization, which can spur and accelerate radicalization. The authors present a fascinating analysis of how capitalism has driven the development of the yoga industry through teachers increasingly essentially acting as gig workers (with all the precarity this entails) and the rise of teacher training schemes that exhibit similarities with multilevel marketing (MLM). Yet nowhere is this monetization more apparent than in the rise of alt-health influencers, a topic that the book rightfully discusses at length through numerous case studies. In an age when online engagement allows for substantial revenues, the authors argue, charismatic influencers are not just allowed to adopt and promote more radical views—they are incentivized to do so. Equally, when influencers can earn revenues from offering alternative sources of health—such as a growing supplement industry—might there be a financial advantage in discrediting institutional health care behind the emphasis on holisticism and healing?To fully discuss every community within the alternative health category would be far beyond the scope of one book. The authors of Conspirituality focus a great deal on the yoga community; they note that yoga is an emblematic case study of trends within alternative wellness lifestyles. Indeed, yoga does bring together core themes of spirituality, health, fitness, professionalization, and monetization, and overlaps with many other arenas of alternative wellness and spirituality. Yet due to the fact that yoga has become, in many ways, a mainstream and highly developed industry in the United States and Europe, further research might consider whether other, smaller industries under the alternative wellness and spirituality umbrella might be expected to differ from the yoga case study.This book demystifies how and why some segments of alternative health and wellness communities—despite being often associated with left-wing ideals in pop culture—have turned toward alt-right conspiracy theories like QAnon. The explanation offered by Beres, Remski, and Walker brings together the beliefs behind conspirituality, its appeal for its adherents, and the industry and charismatic personages that help to shape the movement, presenting a compelling—and timely—account

Chemistry · Misinformation and Its Impacts