Proposal Summary
Charismatic Evangelicals' War on Drugs: The Case of the Assemblies of God
Hung-En Sung
The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University
Summary
The Assemblies of God (AG) has been at the forefront of drug abuse prevention and treatment in the United States for decades and manages the largest network of rehabilitation centers in the country. This project will investigate how AG's religious core shapes its conceptualization of drug abuse, institutional mission, and rehabilitation practice; how consistent the beliefs about and attitudes toward drug abuse, recovery, and science are within the AG community; how AG institutions relate to the community of secular addiction scientists and therapists; how AG responds to secular challenges; and how secular researchers and practitioners can learn about the role of spirituality and religiosity from AG ministries. Four sub-studies will be conducted: (1) interview of key informants; (2) survey of intellectuals and knowledge producers; (3) survey of administrators of rehabilitation facilities; and (4) survey of counselors or other therapists working directly with drug addicts. Except for the informant interview, all sub-studies will use an experimental design. Data collected from AG respondents will be compared to data gathered from comparable professionals at secular institutions. The applicant hopes to contribute to the reintegration of faith into modern life and to encourage the reunion of methodological inquiry of human affairs into spiritual practices.
Report
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Related Publications
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