The reflexive affirmation of tradition: popular psychology in conservative regimes

The modern culture of the self is propelled by popular psychological practices and discourses. This sphere, animated by the spirit of therapy and self-help, is regarded as a substitute for religious and communal worldviews, and its spread is associated with global processes of neo-liberalization and individualization. Yet research on pop psychology has predominantly focused on groups that sanctify personal autonomy, with limited scholarly attention paid to the recent penetration of the therapeutic culture to unexpected domains: conservative-religious groups that emphasize commitment to a collective path. Based on an ethnography of popular psychology workshops and services oriented toward ultraorthodox Jews in Israel, this article illustrates how core tenets of the therapeutic ethos, such as self-fulfillment, authenticity, and choice, become decoupled from what is commonly defined as democratic, pluralist, neoliberal, and postmaterialist morality. Instead, these tenets serve as meta-reflexive devices that reinforce dedication to religious traditionalism rather than undermining it. At the intersection of adherence to conservative tradition and the modern inward turn toward the self, popular psychology emerges as a means to recruit the self in affirming tradition without altering or rejecting the conservative way of life.