Should Providers Engage in Religious Discussions, and If They Should, Then with Whom?

Abstract

AbstractPatients' spiritual views and, more generally, the meaning they feel in their lives is often, if not always, most important to them, especially when they have serious illness. Yet there are no standard requirements for providers to explore with patients their spiritual needs. Providers' views regarding their both taking initiatives to explore with patients needs and then to discuss with them their religious concerns if they want this vary widely. This piece explores, then, the extent to which providers should take these initiatives and, if they have this interest, whether as providers they should carry on these discussions or refer these patients, always, to clergy persons, as some providers adamantly advocate because they have expertise in this area that providers lack. This piece goes on to discuss whether providers believe they should have these discussions even when their patients' beliefs differ greatly from their own. In exploring this question, examples involving patients with Muslim, Hindu, and Christian beliefs are considered. Beliefs reported by some people from Germany and Israel regarding physician-assisted dying also are reported and compared, illustrating that patients' and people's beliefs cannot be reliably just inferred. Practical approaches, finally, are suggested.