Where Is the Bachata in Spiritual Care? : Decolonial Spiritual Care after Religion

Using bachata dance, this book formulates "decolonial spiritual care after religion” in order to recognize the colonial legacy of religion and expand the way spiritual care is understood.

The literature of genealogies of religion, interrogating the construct of religion itself, and its impact on spiritual care is not a frequent talking point within religious circles. Byun Chanmi seeks to change that, affirming that spiritual care, as it is currently understood, must be decolonized. Adopting the metaphor of a genre of social dance called bachata, Byun deconstructs rigid, colonial conceptions of religion and widens the definition of spiritual care. Using bachata sensual as a model for such spiritual care, Byun argues for the need to prioritize and attend to the embodied reality of both the caregiver and the care receiver. This purposeful shift in redefining what counts as "care" through bachata reimagines spiritual care beyond the professional setting and traditional religious frameworks. For care to be holistic and address the multiplicity of people, Byun contends that it must actively interrogate the category of religion and its colonial legacy.