Spirituality and Religion in Response to Substance Misuse Among Indigenous Australians

Abstract

The ongoing quest for effective ways of preventing and managing alcohol and other drug use-related problems among Indigenous Australians has spawned a variety of approaches, including AA-based treatment, population health-based preventive approaches, and various forms of cultural healing. This paper examines two inter-related sources of ideas and strategies: firstly, the emergence since the 1970s of evangelical Christianity in some Aboriginal communities as a response to profound changes, including increased access to alcohol. The second is the attempt to invoke Indigenous spirituality as an alternative to both western Christianity and western biomedical intervention models. We also discuss the representation of Australian Indigenous spirituality within New Age and related discourses.

Keywords :

• Indigenous spirituality
• cultural spirituality
• recovery
• New Age spirituality
• healing

Notes

1 For a concise overview of Australian policies toward Indigenous people over this period, see Australian Law Reform Commission (2012[1986], paras. 21–36).