Abstract
Nonreligious people are underrepresented in the literature guiding end-of-life care. Moreover, much of what is written about nonreligious patients is written from a religious perspective. To address this deficit, the author conducted descriptive research by surveying online social media group participants using a quantitative questionnaire and qualitative feedback (N=263). Participants responded from closed social media groups for nonreligious people. Survey questions and responses offer insight into a nonreligious end-of-life dyad on the interrelated perceptions and experiences of nonreligious people regarding end-of-life healthcare. Participants responded to questions that assessed individual worldview description, openness to hospice services, feelings regarding chaplain services, expectations regarding fear of death, feelings on religious phrases, experiences of marginalization associated with their nonreligious affiliation, and perspectives regarding healthcare providers’ competency providing care for nonreligious people. Though not comprehensive, the survey results indicate common experiences and perspectives, which can in- form end-of-life practitioners providing care to this population. Through qualitative feedback, survey participants shared their experiences in healthcare settings and expressed a desire for healthcare professionals to be more aware of the needs of nonreligious people. Both the quantitative responses and qualitative feedback of participants is used to inform practice implications and recommendations made for caring for the whole nonreligious person.
Highlights
Death may be the one certainty of life
Of the total number of survey participants, 90% chose atheist or agnostic, with sixtyseven percent describing their belief sys- tem as atheist and twenty-three percent as agnostic
On the other hand, are defined as “a person who believes that nothing is known or can be known of the existence or nature of God or of anything beyond material phenomena; a person who claims neither faith nor disbelief in God.”. From these two definitions one could draw the comparison that while neither Atheists nor Agnostics believe in God, Atheists are certain in disbelief while Agnostics do not share that same certainty
Summary
Death may be the one certainty of life. It is the end point of the measurable physical human lifespan for people holding every imaginable perspective. Among groups of people holding every imaginable perspective, nonreligious people are rapidly growing in numbers. In the United States in 2019, Pew Research Group identified that the number of religious unaffiliated increased from 19% to 26% from 2009 to 2019 (Pew Forum, 2019). Despite this truth, the needs of nonreligious people at end-of-life are generally overlooked in the literature. This article seeks to contribute to the field of end-of-life healthcare by enhancing practitioners’ culturally sensitive practice informed by the nonreligious end-of-life dyad
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