Religious Literacy in Palliative Care PANAGIOTIS PENTARIS GOLDSMITHS, UNIVERSITY OF LONDON This material is not subject of recreation or representation without the author’s permission.

Content  Religion and Spirituality  Religion and Illness  Research design  Results  Conclusions

Religious Literacy  Knowledge and Understanding  Skills and Abilities Knowledge of, and ability to understand, religion

Spiritual care  Religion and belief  Spirituality  Well-being  Ethical understanding  Psychosocial support  Etc.

Religion and Illness  Three functions for the patient:  Provides a theoretical framework  Provides practical resources for coping with illness  Provides hope. Hope Practical Resources Theoretical Framework

Research design  3 Hospices in London, UK  4 months, 160 hours  Participant observation  40 hours  Ethnography  72 informal interviews  Participants (observation): 4 male, 5 female  Recruitment: Open call with limitations  Supplementary of a larger study

Religion and belief in the space Present  Chapels  Quiet rooms (?) Absent  Signs of religious belief  Icons  Crucifixes  Prayer rooms

Secular organizations and organizational foundations  2013 – 3 hospices assigned new CEOs – declaring secular attitude and leadership.  2013 – becoming neutral  Changing logos  Removing signs of religion and belief (i.e. crucifixes from the entrance)  Leadership  Health Care Professionals in the front line

Attitudes towards Religion and Belief in Society  Habit  Choice  Imposed framework of meaning  Misunderstood  Weakness  Sign of mortality  Form of intolerance  Unstable ‘I think our society in this country has become quite secular, whereas religion used to be very much the centre of people’s world; that has changed throughout the 20 th century and into the 21 st century.’

Attitudes towards Religion and Belief in Palliative and Hospice Care  Diversity & Equality – Social Policies  Misunderstood  Sets boundaries in care  Viewed as Christianity  Representation of a patient

Religious Literacy in Palliative Care Knowledge & Understanding  Religion lacks importance  Only manifests in rural areas  Overview of diversity  Chaplains are responsible  Symbolism  Not religion, but spirituality  Culture & tradition Skills & Abilities  ‘Christianly comfortable’  Chaplaincy  Feelings of conflict  Uncomfortable with language  Part of bureaucratic processes  Religious tension  ‘out-of-role’  Resilience

Conclusions  Lack of RL in Palliative Care  Religious understanding of illness is interpreted as a ‘ticked box’  Religious sensitive practices are entitled to the professional’s abilities in question  Health Care sector is in the process of secularizing now  Lack of social policies informed by research

Thank you Panagiotis Pentaris PhD Researcher Faiths & Civil Society Unit Goldsmiths, University of London Lead Coordinator FaithXchange Research Network Goldsmiths, University of London