After September 11th: religion, diversity and social cohesion under globalisation

This paper examines particular examples of therapeutic and meaning- making responses to the events of September 11 from a non-traditional religions and secular bodies, with comparative material from mainstream religions, in the United States of America. The intention is to demonstrate two things: that America's religious plurality and cultural diversity gave rise to alternative discourses of meaning concerning September 11; and that these non-traditional religious interpretations and practices occupy a medial position in a continuum of life-shaping belief systems that ranges from traditional religion to secularised, therapeutic values. In the USA, and particularly in New York, the attack on the World Trade Centre provoked a 'time of national trauma' (Stevens 2002). Spiritual assistance, chiefly concerning two issues - creating meaning from the events, and finding solace or comfort for shock and grief - was sought by many people. In the quest for meaning, non- traditional religions such as the Earthlink Mission (ELM) provided challenging and different interpretations of the events, reinforcing the argument that when studying religion as 'an ordinary form of human practice' the scholar encounters 'socio-rhetorical technique[s] used to create, contest and re-create credible worlds' (McCutcheon, 2003: 168). In addition to interpreting the meaning of the events, religious, spiritual and secular organizations provided spiritual and therapeutic comfort to those who were affected by September 11. Such 'therapy' has become an accepted element in contemporary Western society (Rieff, 1966).