Death and Spirituality

by Kenneth Doka, John Morgan

Overview

An elderly Chinese immigrant, hospitalized with terminal disease, requests to burn incense. A 30-year-old Roman Catholic gay male, dying of AIDS, is consumed by deepening moral guilt, troubled by beliefs he thought he abandoned years ago. A mother whose teenage son died of an aneurism is angry at God over his death yet fearful of expressing that anger lest He 'punish her again.' A young widower seemingly has difficulty expressing grief believing it to be a sign of weak faith. All of these examples illustrate the kinds of issues that clinicians and counselors constantly encounter. For although North American society has long been characterized as secular, this does not deny the potency of spiritual concerns and religious values on the individual level. Polls affirm that vast majorities of North Americans both believe in God and consider religion important in their lives. This is clearly evident when one faces the crisis of dying or bereavement. For, one of the strengths of belief is that it provides support and succor at a time when secular explanations are largely silent. For these reasons, educators and clinicians have long recognized the significance that religious and spiritual themes have in counseling with the dying and bereaved. Yet, in cultures as religiously diverse as the U.S. and Canada, caregivers and educators may feel inadequate to the task. Death and Spirituality addresses this need. Specifically it seeks to reach two, perhaps overlapping, audiences. First, it considers the needs death-related counselors and educators, seeking to provide them with both a sense of the norm of religious tradition and the religious and spiritual issues that might arise in illness and bereavement, as well as suitable interventions, approaches, and resources that might be useful in assisting clients in examining and resolving such issues. The book also speaks to the complementary needs of clergy who also may wish to assist parishioners and others as they face the spiritual and psychological crisis of dying and grief.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780895031075
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	02/28/1993
Series:	Death, Value and Meaning Series
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	416
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Kenneth Doka, John Morgan

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

PART I: INTRODUCTION
The Existential Quest for Meaning John D. Morgan

Assumptions and Principles of Spiritual Care The Spiritual Care Work Group of the International Work Group on Death, Dying and Bereavement

PART II: PERSPECTIVES ON DEATH
Death in Jewish Thought Earl A. Grollman

A Roman Catholic View of Death Edward Jeremy Miller

Spirituality, Protestantism, and Death Dennis Klass

Death: Eastern Perspectives Dennis Ryan

Spiritual Issues in Death and Dying for Those Who Do Not Have Conventional Religious Belief Paul E. Irion

Perspectives on Death in the African-American Community David K. Meagher and Craig P. Bell

PART III: SPIRITUAL CONCERNS IN COUNSELING THE DYING
A Clinical Paradigm for Exploring Spiritual Concerns Patrice O'Connor

The Spiritual Needs of the Dying Kenneth J. Doka

Spiritualities of Suffering and Grief Nathan R. Kollar

Spiritual Perspectives on Suffering the Pain of Death Jeffrey Kauffman

Spiritual Care in Hospice Dorothy C. H. Ley

PART IV: SPIRITUAL ISSUES IN BEREAVEMENT
The Spiritual Crisis of Bereavement Kenneth J. Doka

Bereavement and the Sacred Art of Spiritual Care Alice Cullinan

Rituals, Beliefs, and Grief Howard C. Raether

Spirituality and Suicide David Echelbarger

Spiritual Care of the Traumatized: A Necessary Component Alice Cullinan

No More Rosebuds: A Perspective on Perinatal Death, Funerals, and Pastoral Care Jane Nichols and Kenneth J. Doka

AIDS and Bereavement: Special Issues in Spiritual Counseling Ben Wolfe

PART V: DEATH AND THE HUMAN SPIRIT
Religious Values in Death Education Robert G. Stevenson

The Dark Night of the Spirit: Grief Following a Loss in Religious Identity Dorothy M. Barra, Erica S. Carlson, Mark Maize, Wendy I. Murphy, Betsy W. O'Neal, Rhonda E. Sarver and Ellen S. Zinner

Ethical and Spiritual Concerns: Sexuality and Spirituality "A Wholistic Approach for the Living-Dying Client and the Partner" Jeanne M. Harper Joking with Death Robert E. Neale

PART VI: RESOURCES
Shuffling toward Jerusalem: An Annotated Bibliography of Books on Religion and Thanatology Roberta Halporn Spirituality and Death Audiovisuals Richard A. Pacholski

Jimmy Died, Call the Church Janet Bouman

Conclusion

Contributors

Index

Editorial Reviews

This volume is a useful contribution to reflection, study, and practice in the field of dying, death and bereavement. ...In the hymn "Amazing Grace" one finds the following lines: "I once was lost, but now I'm found / was blind, but now I see." One should not say--at least not without qualification--that this single book on its own will enable us to see and find our way in working out our own spiritual concerns about death or in helping others who work out their concerns in these matter. That would be too arrogant and an overstatement. Still, we are a little bit less lost and a little bit less unsighted after our reading of this aid to the many complexities of Death and Spirituality.
—School of Humanities, Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville

Charles A. Corr