Spiritual Beliefs and Their Obstacles
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‘‘ Touched by the Light’’
Spiritual Beliefs and Their Obstacles
Ill physicians now came to appreciate, as never before, the importance of spirituality. Past studies have been divided as to whether and how physicians resembled, or differed from, patients in spiritual beliefs and practices. Early studies found that patients were more religious and spiritual than physicians as a whole, but more recent investigations suggest more commonalities( 1). Still, comparisons remain difficult. Possible differences are significant because patients often wish to talk about religion with their physicians, but hesitate, sensing that physicians are not interested or too busy( 2). Doctors’ spiritual beliefs may also influence their clinical decisions. For example, among physicians, Catholics and Jews have been less willing than Protestants to withdraw life support( 3). Doctors who are more sensitive to spiritual concerns may discuss these issues more readily with patients.
Confrontations with their own mortality forced many of these ill physicians to grapple with fundamental existential and spiritual questions in new ways. They revealed continua of different forms and contents of beliefs, illuminating how illness and the acknowledgment of mortality can spark spiritual journeys and quests that unfold in complex stages. In the Oxford English Dictionary,‘‘ spirit,’’ from the Latin spiritus( meaning‘‘ breathing’’), is defined as‘‘ The immaterial part of a corporal being... the soul’’( 4).‘‘ Religion,’’ from the Latin religio( meaning‘‘ obligation’’ or‘‘ bond’’ in late Latin), came to mean‘‘ a state of life bound by religious vows... of belonging to a religious order’’( 5).
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