Complexities of spiritual care in plural societies: An introduction
[chapter]
Anne Hege Grung
2022
Complexities of Spiritual Care in Plural Societies
Spiritual care could be approached as one of the most meaningful activities of re-humanization and meaning-making in challenging human situations. Aspiritual caregivermay in certain situations of human trauma be as pivotal as amedical practitioner.The aim of spiritual care, in whatever wayone understands the concept,i st oe nhance people'sl ives, to foster resilient communities,t oa llow people to flourish, and to build human hope. People receiving spiritual care do not belong to anys pecific
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... man category -everyone is potentiallyn eedy and ap ossibler eceivero fs uch care under circumstances marked by crisis and loss. Investigating the conceptual meaning of spiritual care reflects thatthe broad understanding of the termi nahospital context is connected to specific care seeking to address and encounter existential and spiritual needs, and challenges connected to illness and crisis( Hvidt et al 2020,2 ). In hospitals, research show that spiritual care increases the quality of life for the spiritual care receivers, and that failuret op rovide such care mayh aven egative consequences for the patients' health and well-being (Hvidte ta l2 020, 2). Spiritual care is of interest beyond health institutions and hospitals, and the practice has an everydayp erspective:S ocial communities such as familya nd friends share necessary meaning-making,counsellinga nd mutual care. This everydayperspective is hidden within most scholarlyorpolitical discourses of spiritual care, and the perspective of the everydayisnot our main focus in this volume. To keep this perspective in sight,however,isnecessary as areminder of the deeplyhuman and common practice of seeking hope in community with others and mutual meaning-making as alife-giving,crucial activity.Most of the actually performedspiritual care is thus not limited to specific realms of life or to specific people, and its everydayperformance is not under the control of experts, or professionals as such. What spiritual care meansi np ractice within plural societies would differ, and this is one of the starting points for the contributors in this book. In an encounter of spiritual care, there is an eed to establish communication and trust. The question is not onlyify ou as areceiverofspiritual care could communicate with and trust someoneh aving ad ifferent cultural and religious background than yourself. The question is also if such an encounter provides meaning-mak-Open Access.
doi:10.1515/9783110717365-001
fatcat:4hapbevcd5g3rdqgeys76yvy5e