Spiritual History Research Articles

Ivan Franko about the nature and functionality of religion

Recognizing free-thinking with atheism, we often do not recognize the existence of religious free-thinking. The fact is that the Church somehow perceive freedom of religion, freedom of religion, but each of them does not allow itself freedom In religion, freedom In its religion. Any deviation from the dogmas or canons, the arbitrary interpretation of certain provisions of the doctrine, and especially the anti-clericalism, is perceived as heresy, and ultimately qualifies as atheism. That is why Ivan Franko was uncomfortable with the church leadership of the Greek Catholics of Galicia, and the Orthodox enjoyed his works, where he criticized the Vatican, his policy on Slavs. About the work of the thinker, in which they considered worldview problems, did not even speak.Ivan Franko (1856 - 1916) is an epoch-making figure in the history of Ukrainian spirituality. That is why he was tried and tried to enroll in his assets followers of different ideological orientations. He is a materialist and pantheist, an atheist and believer, a dialectic and metaphysician, a Marxist and an anti-Marxist, an internationalist and a nationalist

The Spiritual City: Theology, Spirituality, and the Urban by Philip Sheldrake

Reviewed by: The Spiritual City: Theology, Spirituality, and the Urban by Philip Sheldrake Chad Thralls (bio) The Spiritual City: Theology, Spirituality, and the Urban. By Philip Sheldrake. Oxford/Malden, MA: Wiley Blackwell, 2014. 226pp. $37.95 Throughout his career, Philip Sheldrake has been interested in the significance of place. In a series of articles and book chapters over the past decade and a half, he has devoted sustained attention to one type of place in particular, the city. As someone who has lived in New York City for the past six years, I applaud Sheldrake for bringing the topic of the city forward as worthy of serious reflection, because living here poses a unique set of challenges. The discipline of Christian Spirituality has given a lot of attention recently to the natural world, and deservedly so. Nature is a powerful place of divine encounter, and concern for its well-being is critical in our age of ecological crisis. Wilderness is a holy place for me as well, but for a variety of reasons, it is difficult for me to get out of the city. I must find God here, and so must most of my fellow New Yorkers. Sheldrake deserves much credit for turning our attention to the city, the place where the majority of human beings live their everyday lives. In the Introduction, Sheldrake lays the foundation on which he will assemble his evidence and build his argument. First, cities are an important topic to consider because an increasing percentage of the human population lives in them, and they are projected to keep growing in the future. In 1950, twenty-nine percent of the world’s population lived in urban areas. This grew to fifty percent in 1990 and is predicted to rise to seventy percent by 2050. Cities shape those who live there. Because so many are being formed by this particular kind of place, Sheldrake believes it is critical to think about the values that cities instill in those who reside in them. Second, he takes up the critique of sociologist Richard Sennett, who criticizes Christianity for an anti-urban bias. In his discussion of Augustine’s City of God, Sennett claims that Christianity encourages the nurturing of a private, inner world that de-emphasizes public life. Sheldrake counters Sennett’s criticism by strongly asserting that Christians do not discern their identities through an interior search for a hidden true self. For him, one’s identity is realized in interaction with others, which makes the public realm essential to the Christian life. The book is divided into two parts. In the five chapters of Part One Sheldrake surveys a variety of figures in the history of spirituality in search of resources that might be useful in funding a Christian vision for the contemporary city. He devotes entire chapters to Augustine’s reflections on the earthly city and the city of God in light of the decline of Rome, monasteries as ideal human communities, the renewal of cities in Europe between 1150 and 1250 (which included the building of cathedrals and the rise of universities, the mendicant orders, and the Beguines), the Protestant [End Page 292] and Catholic Reformations of the sixteenth century, and the Jesuit scholar Michel de Certeau’s writings on cities. In his review of this material, he refers to an impressive array of historical sources and contemporary scholars. One shortcoming of the book is that, other than Augustine and the Ignatian tradition, he treats each of these authors very briefly. I often wanted to read more about a suggestive idea, only for it to disappear quickly as he moved on to the next source. The chapter on de Certeau is the strongest in Part One, in part because Sheldrake dives so deeply into his work. Sheldrake constructs his theology of the city in the four chapters of Part Two. Several threads of his argument are worth highlighting. First, he articulates a Christian understanding of community. Christians affirm that God is Trinity, which means that God is a relationship of three interrelated persons. Since human beings are created in the image of God, Sheldrake affirms that they are not isolated individuals, but beings in relationship...

The Wisdom of the Beguines: The Forgotten Story of a Medieval Women’s Movement by Laura Swan, and: Labels and Libels: Naming Beguines in Northern Medieval Europe ed. by Letha Boehringer, Jennifer Kolpacoff Deane, and Hildo van Engen

Wisdom of the Beguines: Forgotten Story of a Medieval Women's Movement. By Laura Swan. (Katonah, NY: BlueBridge, an imprint of United Tribes Media. 2014. Pp. 202. $16.95. ISBN 978-1-933346-97.7.)Labels and Libels: Naming Beguines in Northern Medieval Europe. Edited by Letha Boehringer, Jennifer Kolpacoff Deane, and Hildo van Engen. [Sanctimoniales, Vol. 1.] (Turnhout, Belgium: Brepols. 2014. Pp. xii, 235. euro80,00. ISBN 978-2-503-55135-7.)The Wisdom of the Beguines is a general introduction to beguine spirituality written for a general readership; the edited volume Labels and Libels brings together eight studies by specialists on problems of terminology and identity of medieval beguines.Laura Swan, in her introductory study, proves to be well-read in recent scholarship, although in English only; German scholarship eludes her. She writes an emotive history of beguine spirituality into which she weaves exquisite passages from beguine authors. She is clearly on the lookout for authentic voices of medieval women authors. Although she follows the expert Walter Simons in his study of the label beguine and its connotation of praying laywomen, and although she also states herself that beguines were lay, she is not held back by her own definition and incorporates all kinds of religious women gave voice to their own experience of the Divine (p. 7). She includes monastic women such as the Cistercian nun Lutgard of Aywieres and the Dominican sister Maria de Santo Domingo, the Mantellata Catherine of Siena, and female authors who never in beguinages. For this reviewer, a European academic, her selection is questionable, but for an American general readership it yields a compelling introduction to female spirituality in the Middle Ages.For Swan, beguines are those women who lived lives of simplicity, generosity to the poor, taking care of lepers, and daily attendance at prayer in church (p. 18). Beguines on their own or in informal communities and devoted themselves to teaching and preaching. Their profound experience of the divine presence impelled to serve the hurting and defenceless around them (p. 83). But they had a keen business sense as well and earned their own living. author concludes: The story of the beguines affirms that women have contributed far more to spirituality and culture than history books have traditionally acknowledged. Their voices proclaim a divine presence that yearns for relationship with each of us (p. 179).Labels and Libels is the first publication in the new series Sanctimoniales: Religious Women-Geistliche Frauen set up by AGFEM, the Research Group of German and American Medievalists for the Study of Religious Women (composed of members both inside and outside monastic orders). …

Bridges and Breaches in the History of European Spirituality

Introduction to a double thematic issue, the second part of which will appear in print in 2017. The authors argue that a truly historical understanding of spirituality is complicated by the historical claims of present-day proponents of spirituality, as well by the commonplace that “spirituality” is distinct from, or an alternative to “institutional religion.” This conceptual opposition itself merits scholarly analysis, as do appropriations of the past – both being indicative of the self-understanding of those involved.

Problem oceny Unii Brzeskiej na Białorusi

In the year 2016 we celebrate the 420th anniversary of the Union of Brest. As a result of its signing there arose Greek Catholic Church which plays an important role in spiritual, cultural and political history of Belarus. In connection with the anniversary, the author wonders how this event is viewed by Belarusian historians, philosophers, culturologists and Church figures.

Faith and Belief, Importance, Community, Address in Care spiritual history tool by C. M. Puchalski as an instrument for an interdisciplinary team in patient car

Abstract Being aware of the tradition of research on spirituality in theology and the existence of detailed publications and research concerning psychology of religion and religiosity in psychology as well as other sciences in Poland, the authors propose the recognition and adaptation of the FICA tool for spirituality research. The belief in the importance of deepening the knowledge and providing tools to research spirituality of human existence results from a long practice of the authors in palliative and hospital care. Understanding a difficulty in operationalizing the category of spirituality, they attempted at searching for a method that would be applicable to persons at the end of their lives as well as to all the suffering. Having analyzed the research tools built by Polish science as well as available ones on religiosity and spirituality the following paper aims at presenting the unknown FICA tool (F – Faith and Believe, I – Importance, C – Community, A – Address in Care) in Poland by Prof. Dr. Christina M. Puchalski, USA, being adapted to Polish practice. The tool presented allows for the evaluation of spiritual experience of persons taken medical and social care of by every member of multidisciplinary team of professionals. Since the FICA tool is a qualitative scale it does not need a normalization and standardization methodology. However, a cultural adaptation is crucial in order to make the practical tool become help in answering spiritual and existential questions posed by patients to workers and voluntaries engaged in the process of Care.

Creating a safe space: A qualitative inquiry into the way doctors discuss spirituality.

Spiritual history taking by physicians is recommended as part of palliative care. Nevertheless, very few studies have explored the way that experienced physicians undertake this task. Using grounded theory, semistructured interviews were conducted with 23 physicians who had experience in caring for advanced cancer patients. They were asked to describe the way they discuss spirituality with their patients. We have described a delicate, skilled, tailored process whereby physicians create a space in which patients feel safe enough to discuss intimate topics. Six themes were identified: (1) developing the self: physicians describe the need to understand and be secure in one's own spirituality and be comfortable with one's own mortality before being able to discuss spirituality; (2) developing one's attitude: awareness of the importance of spirituality in the life of a patient, and the need to respect each patient's beliefs is a prerequisite; (3) experienced physicians wait for the patient to give them an indication that they are ready to discuss spiritual issues and follow their lead; (4) what makes it easier: spiritual discussion is easier when doctor and patient share spiritual and cultural backgrounds, and the patient needs to be physically comfortable and willing to talk; (5) what makes it harder: experienced physicians know that they will find it difficult to discuss spirituality when they are rushed and when they identify too closely with a patient's struggles; and (6) an important and effective intervention: exploration of patient spirituality improves care and enhances coping. A delicate, skilled, tailored process has been described whereby doctors endeavor to create a space in which patients feel sufficiently safe to discuss intimate topics.

Effects of Nurses' Screening of Spiritual Needs of Hospitalized Patients on Consultation and Perceived Nurses' Support and Patients' Spiritual Well-being.

There is an undeniable relationship between spirituality and health, and taking a spiritual history is a simple way to increase the focus on spiritual care. This is a pre/posttest intervention study. Questionnaires were administered before implementation of a spiritual assessment (pretest, n = 106), and afterward (posttest, n = 103). Despite a difficult implementation process, the number of consultation requests for the Department of Spiritual and Pastoral Care increased from 2 in the pretest period to 33 in the posttest period. After adjusting for patient characteristics, we found no differences between pretest and posttest measurements on the FACIT-Sp-12 total score or nurses' support regarding dealing with illness; we did, however, find a significant decrease on the subscale Faith of the FACIT-Sp-12 and on nurses' support regarding questions about purpose and meaning (97%-83%). In conclusion, taking a spiritual history may contribute to the spiritual care of patients in a general hospital in the shape of more frequent referrals to the spiritual caregiver (chaplain), but further research is needed to determine whether this also means that nurses provide less spiritual care.

Learning from Listening: Helping Healthcare Students to Understand Spiritual Assessment in Clinical Practice.

We aim to evaluate the perceptions of healthcare students while taking a spiritual history (SH). Fifty students were trained on how to take a SH, interviewed inpatients and answered a questionnaire concerning their perceptions. A total of 362 patients were interviewed: 60.1% of students felt comfortable taking a SH, 85.1% believed the patient liked the approach, and 72.1% believed more benefits could come with a follow-up. When students felt more comfortable, they tended to believe the patient: liked the approach (p < 0.01), felt better (p < 0.01) and more motivated (p < 0.01). Spirituality/health educational strategies may be a valid strategy to prepare future health professionals to face spiritual issues in health scenarios.

Religion, Spirituality, and the Intensive Care Unit: The Sound of Silence.

Visualizeforamoment thephilosophicalquandaryofatreefalling in theuninhabited forestandwhether itmakesasound—the dying tree, its surroundingsof fellow trees, foliage, andearth— withnoperson tohear its fall. This visualization hardly seemsrelevanttotheintensive careunit (ICU),particularlybecausetheseseemtobemanifestlyopposingenvironments—one isquiet, organic, andverdantwith lifewhile theother is characterizedby the soundsofhumanand technological activity, sterility, and illness.Andyet thequandaryposedby thisvisual exercise is central to thearticlebyErnecoff andcolleagues1 and to the question of the role of spirituality in caring for seriously ill patients and their families. InTheRebirth of theClinic, Sulmasy calls illness a “spiritual event” that “grasps persons by the soul as by the body and disturbsboth.”2(p17) Certainly,data supportSulmasy’s thesis,3with spirituality being important tomost ill persons, contributing to coping and quality of life and being a source of spiritual needs. Butwhatismeantbyspirituality?Spiritualityhasbeendisputably andvariablydefined.According to the2009SpiritualCareConsensus Conference, “Spirituality is the aspect of humanity that refers to theway individualsseekandexpressmeaningandpurposeandthewaytheyexperiencetheirconnectednesstothemoment, to self, to others, to nature, and to the significant or sacred.”4(p887)Religion,arelatedconcept, is typicallyunderstood asaspiritualitythatissharedbyagroupofpeople,oftenwithcommonbeliefsandpractices.Regardlessof thevaryingdefinitions, what is clear is that spirituality is found inmyriad forms, suchas the sacredness of family, nature, or a relationship to thedivine. Furthermore,what isalsoclear is thatspirituality is typicallyout of place inmedical environments, as foreign as the contrasting visualsof thelonelytreeandbustlingICU.However,strangerstill is thefact that,althoughwehealthcareprofessionalsstruggle to connectspiritualityandmedicineasevidencedbythemanyand mounting articles that refute or explicate their connection, our patientsandfamiliestypicallydonotstruggle.Formost,thoughts ofwhat ismostsacred,ofwhattranscendsthefinitudeofhuman life,comeflooding inthemomentthephysicianshares thenews of the serious illness or the telephone call comes urging the listener to the bedside of a critically ill loved one. ThearticlebyErnecoff andcolleagues1 discusseswithclarityandnuance thesilence regardingspirituality in thesettingof critical care.Thestudyuses rigorousqualitativemethodsand is embedded in a prospectivemultisite study of familymeetings at 13 ICUs across the United States. Using the audio recordings of 249 familymeetings, the authors explore the religious and/ or spiritual thematic contentof goals-of-care conversationsbetweenhealthcareprofessionalsandsurrogatesofcritically illpatients. Although religion was important to 77.6% of the surrogates, only 16.1% of the conferences included any reference to religionorspirituality.Furthermore,whentheydidoccur, these conversationswere initiatedbysurrogates65.0%of the time.A health care professional raised spiritual concepts (eg, spiritual histories) only 14 times (5.6%), and only 2 of the conferences (0.8%)wereattendedbyachaplain.Whensurrogatesraisedspiritualconcepts,healthcareprofessionals’mostcommonresponse was to change the subject to the medical realities at hand. Although empathic responses were the next most common response,healthcareprofessionals, ingeneral, “rarelydirectlyaddressedsurrogate’sspiritualorreligious language.”Only2health care professionals respondedby exploring the patient’s or surrogate’s spirituality.Notably, forconversations that includedreligiousand/orspiritual content,various themeswere identified, with miracles being one of several spiritual themes that intersectedwithmedical care. ThefindingsbyErnecoffandcolleagues1regardingthesilence surroundingreligionand/orspirituality in ICUconversationsare loudandclear. Still, there remain importantunansweredquestions.First,whatdefinitionsdid theauthorsuse todenotea religiousorspiritual theme?Basedonthequotesandthepredominanceof religious languageused in their keyword search, their conceptofreligionand/orspiritualityappearslargelytobeframed bywhat colloquiallymight be termed religious. Understanding thedefinitioniscriticaltointerpretingthesefrequenciesandplacingtheminpropercontext,particularlybecausethedefactodefiRelated article page 1662 Religious or Spiritual Statements During ICU Goals-of-Care Discussions Original Investigation Research

Spiritual history taking in palliative home care: A cluster randomized controlled trial

Background: Many health-care providers experience barriers to addressing spiritual needs, such as not having the right vocabulary. The ars moriendi model might be a feasible tool for spiritual history taking in palliative care. Aim: To investigate the effect of a structured spiritual history taking on the spiritual well-being of palliative patients in home care. Design: Cluster randomized controlled trial, conducted between February and October 2013. Patients and methods: Registered nurses and general practitioners approached eligible patients with an incurable, life-threatening disease for study participation. Health-care providers allocated to the intervention arm of the study took a spiritual history on the basis of the ars moriendi model. Health-care providers in the control arm provided care as usual. Patient-reported outcomes on spiritual well-being, quality of life, pain, and patient–provider trust were assessed at two points in time. Results: A total of 245 health-care providers participated in the study (204 nurses and 41 physicians). In all, 49 patient–provider dyads completed the entire study protocol. The median age of the patients was 75 years (range: 41–95 years), and 55% of the patients were female. There were no significant differences at any point in time in the scores on spiritual well-being, quality of life, pain, or patient–provider trust between the intervention and the control group. Conclusion: This cluster randomized controlled trial showed no demonstrable effect of spiritual history taking on patient scores for spiritual well-being, quality of life, health-care relationship trust, or pain. Further research is needed to develop instruments that accurately assess the effectiveness of spiritual interventions in palliative care populations.

Reliance on God in the history of Early Islamic spirituality

This paper revisits the classical Sufi debate over the comparative superiority of practicing absolute reliance on God (tawakkul) against working to earn a living: is it preferable to work to earn a living or to simply trust in God for one’s daily sustenance? By going over the different sources of the Qūt al-qulūb of Abū Ṭālib al-Makkī (d.386 A.H./996 C.E.), this paper will provide a summary sketch of its treatment of this debate in the formative period of Sufism, one that involved not only the early Sufis, but also scholars of law and tradition who were concerned with understanding the ideal life advocated by the Sharīʿa.

Hospice Chaplains: Talking about Spiritual Care and Avoiding the Modern Day ‘Inquisition’

There is now a substantial body of literature on spirituality and spiritual care in healthcare. Despite the fact that many hospice chaplains are finding that they have to explain, if not justify, spiritual care, they have authored very little of that literature. Researched and written by a retired hospice chaplain, this article may help to redress the balance. The paper summarizes the history of spirituality and spiritual care in English healthcare, considers the significance of Cicely Saunders's spirituality for her vision of hospice, and presents some of the findings from my ongoing doctoral research. Using guided interviews, the author sought to discover how hospice chaplains understand spirituality in their practice of spiritual care and in their descriptions of their own spirituality. Analysis of the twenty-five interviews revealed difficulties in finding a language that both expresses spirituality and the ‘soft’ descriptions of what happens in spiritual care and satisfies the ‘inquisition’ of outcome-oriented management.

Integrating Spirituality as a Key Component of Patient Care

Patient care frequently focuses on physical aspects of disease management, with variable attention given to spiritual needs. And yet, patients indicate that spiritual suffering adds to distress associated with illness. Spirituality, broadly defined as that which gives meaning and purpose to a person’s life and connectedness to the significant or sacred, often becomes a central issue for patients. Growing evidence demonstrates that spirituality is important in patient care. Yet healthcare professionals (HCPs) do not always feel prepared to engage with patients about spiritual issues. In this project, HCPs attended an educational session focused on using the FICA Spiritual History Tool to integrate spirituality into patient care. Later, they incorporated the tool when caring for patients participating in the study. This research (1) explored the value of including spiritual history taking in clinical practice; (2) identified facilitators and barriers to incorporating spirituality into person-centred care; and (3) determined ways in which HCPs can effectively utilize spiritual history taking. Data were collected using focus groups and chart reviews. Findings indicate positive impacts at organizational, clinical/unit, professional/personal and patient levels when HCPs include spirituality in patient care. Recommendations are offered.

Spiritual Histories: Putting Religio-Cultural Competence into Practice

Abstract Introduction Medical education increasingly recognizes that cultural competence is an important component of patient care. However, religion is an aspect of culture that still often goes u...

The Trees of the Sacred Natural Sites of Zagori, NW Greece

Cultural landscapes can often be identified by the presence of sacred trees which have been retained and can be recognised as distinctive veteran trees. The characteristics of these trees such as huge size and longevity give them an enduring presence in the landscape, while their conceptualisation as the ‘domesticated’ wild, transform them into symbols of spirituality and local history. In Zagori, NW Greece, trees gain sanctity by virtue of proximity or connection with sacred sites often associated with churches. In these sites, trees can grow into natural shapes as a result of strong taboos, which prevent use for private needs. There is an association between tree species and the nature of the sacred site: broadleaved oaks and maples are associated with outlying churches; plane trees are located in central squares, next to the church and provide a focal point for community life, while in cemeteries native evergreens are nowadays replaced by planted conifers. In the present day local communities appreciate sacred trees as living elements of their collective memory and local history.

In the lure of Geistesgeschichte: the theme of decline in Hungarian historiography and historical thinking in the first half of the twentieth century

Decline was the fundamental issue in Hungarian historiography and historical thinking between the two world wars. This article primarily analyses the views of historian Gyula Szekfű, the writers and essayists Dezső Szabó and László Németh, and those of philosophers Lajos Fülep and György Lukács. In this period, the so-called spiritual history (Geistesgeschichte) prevailed in Hungarian intellectual circles, in which the themes of decline and even fall were fundamental. Of the most important representatives of Geistesgeschichte, Spengler, Ortega, Huizinga, Croce and Maritain had significant influence on the authors mentioned above. Historians were ready to reject the ideas of these thinkers regarding the criticism of culture, and rather followed the power- and state-centred streams of Geistesgeschichte, conceived by Ranke, Troeltsch and Meinecke. At the same time it is also true that the decline and generation theory developed by the historian Gyula Szekfű (e.g., in his book Three Generations), is one of the most original interpretations of modern Hungarian history. It was shared by many Hungarian intellectuals of the period. Paradoxically, the theme of decline also appeared in the views of the so-called ‘Századok’ (Centuries) circle, mainly in the writings of the historians István Hajnal and István Szabó. They rather followed the social-history-oriented French Annales School, and even attempted to offer a solution to the problems of the so-called ‘third way’ alternative. Almost all of the above-mentioned concepts were tied in the later political discourse to the so-called right-wing tradition of Hungarian political–historical thinking, but the author also touches briefly upon the notion of decline in the leftist (Marxist) tradition of György Lukács, whose ideas had an impact on the beginnings of the Frankfurt School. The article also offers a brief overview of the main ideas of spiritual history/Geistesgeschichte, since the author suggests that this was a common feature in all the interpretations of decline in the period treated here.

村松晋著『近代日本精神史の位相―キリスト教をめぐる思索と経験』

村松晋著『近代日本精神史の位相―キリスト教をめぐる思索と経験』

선교학적 시각에서 본 함석헌의 역사읽기: 『뜻으로 본 한국역사』를 중심으로

선교학적 시각에서 본 함석헌의 역사읽기: 『뜻으로 본 한국역사』를 중심으로

Psychiatry and the Faith Community

Psychiatry and the Faith Community