Abstract
This chapter discusses the importance of cultural context when seeking to understand the psychology of human phenomena. As an example, we explore an indigenous Christian tradition in Southern Appalachia (USA) that handles venomous serpents in obedience to a biblical mandate in Mark 16:17-18 (KJV). We illustrate the importance of culture in understanding this group by reviewing its historical roots in the Holiness and Pentecostal traditions, and observing its emphasis on the Bible as the foundation for faith and the practice of serpent handling. From encounters with bites and death, we discuss how handlers struggled to develop a local theology for understanding their occurrence, and then summarize phenomenological studies to offer a culturally informed psychology of this tradition’s life and practices.
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Hood, R.W., Williamson, W. (2021). An Indigenous Appalachian Faith Tradition. In: Dueck, A. (eds) Indigenous Psychology of Spirituality. Palgrave Studies in Indigenous Psychology. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-50869-2_7
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