R.D. Laing's theological hinterland: the contrast between mysticism and communion.

R.D. Laing's psychiatry drew on two distinct Christian theologies: mystical theology, which he combined with psychoanalysis to offer a New Age psychotherapeutic path to authentic selfhood through metanoia, and corporate, incarnational theology, which drove his advocacy for social inclusion of the mentally ill via therapeutic communities. For Laing and other post-war British Christians, both a turn inward toward mysticism and self-sacralization and a turn outward toward social and political activism were strategies for coping with the decline of traditional Christianity.

Study at a glance

Abstract

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.