Pia Lamberty and Katharina Nocun’s book “Dangerous Faith”

AWhen industrialization frightened people, the life reform movement emerged. One of the reactions to the Vietnam War was New Age spiritualism. During the Corona pandemic, many vaccine critics ran into conspiracy theorists, up to and including QAnon sectarians. “In times of crisis, esotericism as a model for explaining the world obviously has a special appeal,” write Pia Lamberty and Katharina Nocun in their new book, which follows the content of the predecessors “Fake Facts” and “True Facts”.

What is in store for us in terms of descientification and decided dumbing down if the global economy actually collapses and climate change hits at the same time? This can be guessed at in broad strokes in this profoundly researched book. And there it is only one final point when, in view of the current nuclear threat, the authors finally quote from esoteric guidebooks that promise first aid in the event of a nuclear strike. Reiki (laying on of hands) is recommended, as is “intestinal rehabilitation”. But it is also enough to face radioactivity “with healthy emotions”, because only those who defy the laws of nature become ill. Because each atom is just a “state of consciousness,” radiation can be neutralized by radiation.

However, the authors do not allow themselves to be carried away by cynicism. You quote factually, even if it’s the biggest rubbish, because that – that’s the central motive – could have bad effects. Steep theses or well-supported theories – “dialectics of enlightenment” – are just as little involved here as scientific systematizations. Clarity is the guiding principle, which is reflected in the wide-ranging perspective. It ranges from “holistic medicine” to “revitalized” water businesses, a strange astrology industry (aura photography, angel charts), expensive life coaching (“mindfulness combined with magic sells well”), obscure “biodynamic” Demeter -Agriculture (buried cow horns), homeopathy in animal fattening and peasant trapping in social media (“Instagram has so far been much less considered as a place for the spread of misinformation than other platforms – and the problem is huge there too”) to “brown esotericism”.

In extreme cases, health is at stake

The chapters, for their part, abound with concrete examples almost to the point of overabundance. The book is thus a mixture of compendium, guide (“How do I recognize a sect?”) and reportage (visiting an esoteric fair), which is journalistic in the best sense of the word. The fact that a lot of things are very similar can already be found elsewhere – the authors cited are always named – does not bother us, because the great achievement lies in the coherent synopsis. This shows with rare clarity how deeply rooted “alternative thinking” has become in society.

The socio-historical significance of this insight can thus be guessed at better than in pure numbers, which Lamberty and Nocun naturally also know. The most recent Leipzig “Authoritarianism Study” (2020) revealed that around a third of Germans believe that lucky charms or zodiac signs “probably” or even “certainly” have an impact on our lives.