Abstract
There is growing consensus that the spiritual dimension in the realm of medical care serves the holistic understanding of medicine and health. In Israel, spiritual care was non-existent until a few years ago and its diffusion into the Israeli healthcare system is still very volatile. The Israeli spiritual care movement is a model for a secularized and professional spiritual care, which nevertheless differs from other, especially Western and/or Christian models: it has no “local” roots in a parochial, i.e. pastoral/theological/religious, tradition of chaplaincy (pastoral care). In Israel, most spiritual care providers are not rabbis. Furthermore, against the backdrop of the Jewish population’s gap between the secular and very religious, the occupational practice of spiritual care is challenging. The former often suspect religious coertion and the latter secularizing activities. In this paper I discuss first results of my empirical research on the implementation of spiritual care services and programs in Israeli hospitals. Special attention is paid to the war’s impact on spiritual care workers’ therapeutic role in Israel today.
Presenters
Sarah WerrenPostdoc Researcher, Sociology and Anthropology, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Yerushalayim, Israel
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Religious Commonalities and Differences
KEYWORDS
SPIRITUAL CARE, JUDAISM, ISRAEL, HEALTHCARE, WAR
