Abstract
Aims:To Study the religious and ideological views and practice of Palliative Care physician towards Euthanasia.Materials and Methods:An anonymous self administered questionnaire approved by Flemish Palliative Care Federation and its ethics steering group was sent to all physicians(n-147) working in Flemish Palliative Care. Questionnaire consisted of three parts. In first part responded were requested to provide demographic information. In second part the respondents were asked to provide information concerning their religion or world view through several questions enquiring after religious or ideological affiliation, religious or ideological self-definition, view on life after death, image of God, spirituality, importance of rituals in their life, religious practice, and importance of religion in life. The third part consisted of a list of attitudinal statements regarding different treatment decisions in advanced disease on which the respondents had to give their opinion using a five-point Likert scale.99 physician responded.Results:We were able to distinguish four clusters: Church-going physicians, infrequently church-going physicians, atheists and doubters. We found that like the Belgian general public, many Flemish palliative care physicians concoct their own religious or ideological identity and feel free to drift away from traditional religious and ideological authorities.Conclusions:In our research we noted that physicians who have a strong belief in God and express their faith through participation in prayer and rituals, tend to be more critical toward euthanasia. Physicians who deny the existence of a transcendent power and hardly attend religious services are more likely to approve of euthanasia even in the case of minors or demented patients. In this way this study confirms the influence of religion and world view on attitudes toward euthanasia.
Highlights
For many centuries Flanders (Belgium) has been a region where religion meant Christianity and Christianity meant Catholicism
Physicians who deny the existence of a transcendent power and hardly attend religious services are more likely to approve of euthanasia even in the case of minors or demented patients
In this way this study confirms the influence of religion and world view on attitudes toward euthanasia
Summary
For many centuries Flanders (Belgium) has been a region where religion meant Christianity and Christianity meant Catholicism. The simultaneous decline in church attendance and the growth of Palliative Care services in Western Europe may seem remarkable as the founders of the modern palliative care movement clearly drew inspiration from. Indian Journal of Palliative Care / Jan-June 2009 / Vol-15 / Issue-1 religion in general and Christianity in particular.[2] If religion was so important in the early years of the modern hospice movement, how could palliative care thrive in times in which declining church attendance seems to imply a decrease in interest in religion?
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