NOTE TO USERS This reproduction is the best copy available. University of Alberta Christian Science and Healthcare in Canada by Terra Anne Manca A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Sociology © Terra Anne Manca Fall 2009 Edmonton, Alberta Permission is hereby granted to the University of Alberta Libraries to reproduce single copies of this thesis and to lend or sell such copies for private, scholarly or scientific research purposes only. Where the thesis is converted to, or otherwise made available in digital form, the University of Alberta will advise potential users of the thesis of these terms. 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Christian Science and Healthcare in Canada Terra Manca Supervisor: Stephen Kent Internal: Jana Grekul External: Timothy Caulfield Abstract Christian Science is one of several religious groups with doctrines that suggest that medical use hinders spiritual development and/or is ineffective. Because of the beliefs, Christian Science has faced controversy in both Canada and the United States, and experiences difficulty maintaining a committed following. In some cases, Scientists who choose to rely on Christian Science risk increased pain or death for themselves or their children. This study seeks to identify the influences that Scientists face when deciding upon a healthcare option for themselves and their children. I applied interpretative phenomenological analysis to eleven interviews with current Canadian Scientists and one interview with a former Scientist. In addition, I analyzed biographies, church policies and doctrines, Canadian laws, and relevant court cases to contextualize my data. I concluded that Scientists use diverse forms of healthcare (some of which may be risky). Acknowledgements I extend thanks to my supervisory committee for their helpful comments throughout the term. Thanks to Stephen Kent for his insights regarding religious organizations, use of the Stephen Kent Collection on Alternative Religions (housed at the University of Alberta), and for his editorial comments. I thank Jana Grekul for her insights into deviance and her editorial comments. Finally, thanks goes to Timothy Caulfield for his insight into legal issues relating to my thesis. I would also like to thank fellow students Timothy Dunfield and Robin Willey for their editorial comments. Contents Chapter 1: Introduction 1 Chapter 2: Method 17 Chapter 3: Theoretical Considerations Regarding the Maintenance of a 33 Belief System and the Commitment of its Adherents Chapter 4: The Creation of Christian Science, a Medical-Religious Sect 66 Chapter 5: Plurality in Practice: Managing Evidence that Either 106 Confirms or Challenges Christian Science Chapter 6: From Belief to Reality 157 Bibliography 173 Appendix 194 Manca, “Introduction” 1 Chapter 1: Introduction Introducing Christian Science It is plain that God does not employ drugs or hygiene, nor provide them for human use; else Jesus would have recommended and employed them in his healing. The sick are more deplorably lost than the sinning, if the sick cannot rely on God for help and the sinning can. The divine Mind never called matter medicine, and matter required a material and human belief before it could be considered as medicine (Eddy, 1875: 143: 5). Several religious groups in North America, most of which are sectarian Christian organizations (such as Faith Tabernacle,1 Faith Assembly,2 and Christian Science) claim the capacity to heal followers through divine inspiration or the power of the mind alone. Some of these groups (including Christian Science) encourage members to refuse (or overcome the need for) conventional medical treatment for their children and themselves while promoting spiritual healing as an alternative. Christian Science teaches that medical treatments are ineffective. The belief that medical practices are ineffective may have served some purpose in the late 1800s and early 1900s, when certain medical practices lacked the efficiency they demonstrate today. Despite the greater number of medical errors in this early period, individuals refusing medical treatment for ineffective alternatives faced opposition. In particular, court cases arose if those who refused medical treatment failed to heal an individual who could not consent to treatment (such as a child) whose condition early medicine treated successfully. Consequently, when medicine gained the ability to treat more ailments, the controversies regarding spiritual healing in lieu of medical care rose dramatically. Moreover, for each 1 Faith Tabernacle was founded in the 1890s and is concentrated in Pennsylvania (Peters, 2008: 134). This group has spread its belief (that medicine is unnecessary because Christ will heal people) to eight American branches and foreign countries such as Sir Lanka and India (Peters, 2008: 134). 2 The Faith Assembly was founded by Hobart Freeman in 1963 and is based in Indiana (Hughes, 2005: 247, 249). This group expanded to nineteen states and six foreign countries (Hughes, 2005: 249). According to Freeman, healing comes from faith and “[a]ll medical, nursing, and pharmaceutical facilities are temples of Satan; and the medical personnel, particularly physicians, are the priests of Satan” (Hughes, 2005: 251). Manca, “Introduction” 2 court case involving children, there are likely adults who legally forgo medically necessary treatment for themselves and may suffer other consequences. Christian Science is the largest and most recognized of these groups (Hickey and Lyckholm, 2004: 265). Even so it also has a lower number of deaths in comparison to its membership than many other groups, such as the Church of the First Born, End Time Ministries, the Faith Assembly, and the Faith Tabernacle (Battin: 1999: 15). It appears that the most recent court case involving lack of medical treatment for Christian Science children in Canada was in 1925, whereas cases continued until 1990 in the US (Scheopflin, 2002: 212, 217). Individuals in some groups, such as modern Christian Science, may turn to medical treatment for specific ailments. In fact, even the founder of Christian Science, Mary Baker Eddy (1821-1910), resorted to medical aid on occasion (Gill, 1998: 546). In this thesis, I demonstrate how some Christian Scientists attribute their physical well-being to Christian Science and manage or avoid the cognitive dissonance3 that could emerge from holding beliefs that can deviate from the surrounding environment. In addition to these individual practices, the church established a criteria for maintaining the validity of its belief system and the commitment of its members. Specifically, I analyze the influences that Canadian Christian Scientists face when making healthcare decisions, and how they interpret those influences. From my findings, I argue that Canadian Christian Scientists likely carry a wide array of beliefs regarding healing and illness, which they develop from living between two contradictory worlds: the larger society and their religious organization. I base my findings on semi-structured interviews with ten Canadian Christian Scientists, academic literature, Christian Science literature, legal documents, and news media. Moreover, I engaged in one interview with a former Christian