Spiritual Caregiving and Assessments for America’s Religious ‘Nones’: A Chaplaincy Perspective

• Published in: Journal of religion and health Vol. 62; no. 3; pp. 1513 - 1531
• Main Authors: Potts, Garrett, Hewitt, Sage, Moore, Monica, Mui, Alaina, Lubrano, Barbara
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01-06-2023; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Aging; Agnosticism; Alliances; Cancer; Cancer research; Chaplaincy Service, Hospital; Clergy; Clinical Psychology; Data collection; Florida; Humans; Interviews; Medical research; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Original Paper; Pastoral Care - methods; Patient-centered care; Polls & surveys; Public Health; Religion; Religious Studies; Spirituality; Florida; Chaplaincy; Empathy; Spiritual caregiving; Religious ‘nones’; Patient-centered care
• ISSN: 0022-4197; 1573-6571
• DOI: 10.1007/s10943-023-01757-z

One in four American patients now identify as religiously unaffiliated. This study utilizes thematic analysis to deliver qualitative results from in-depth interviews conducted with five chaplains at a premier cancer research institution in Florida to envision what care for their spiritual dimension should look like in practice. It demonstrates
why
the chaplains interviewed suggested that spiritual caregiving still contributes to their holistic wellbeing, and it suggests
how
spiritual care and assessments may be provided to so-called religious ‘nones’—or those who identify as spiritual but not religious, not religiously affiliated, secular humanist, atheist, agnostic, and so on. We conclude with a novel spirituality assessment for use while serving this patient population.