Healing, cure, and the whole person
Stephen P Kliewer, John Saultz in Healthcare and Spirituality, 2017
Now that a concept of the person has been developed that is multifaceted and includes the realm of the spiritual, it is time to move forward and define spirituality more clearly. In order to define the rather nebulous concept of spirituality we must first differentiate it from the concept of religion. What is religion? According to those exploring the relationship of medicine and spirituality, religion has certain unique characteristics. Religious factors are focused heavily on prescribed beliefs, rituals, and practices, as well as social institutional features.25Being religious involves undertaking the search for the sacred (for God, meaning, purpose, truth, fulfillment) using specific means or methods (such as rituals or behaviors) within an identifiable group of people.26Religion is an organized social entity.27Religion is a specific system of belief, worship, conduct, etc., often involving a code of ethics and a philosophy.28
Religion and Spirituality
Mary Beth Morrissey, Bruce Jennings in Partners in Palliative Care, 2013
To Miller (1994), spirituality is inherently individual, personal, and eclectic. Religion, however, is more collective. Religion is a belief shared within a group of people. Miller again offers a lyrical perspective: Now religion works in a very different way. While spirituality is very personal, religion is more communal. In fact, if you take the words back to its origins, “religion means that which binds together,” “that which ties things into a package.” Religion has to do with collecting and consolidating and unifying. Religion says, “Here are special words that are meant to be passed on. Take them to heart.” Religion says, “Here is a set of beliefs that form a coherent whole. Take them as your own.” Religion says, “Here are people for you to revere and historical events for you to recall. Remember them.” Religion says, “Here is a way for you to act when you come together as a group, and here’s a way to behave when you’re apart.”(np)
Beliefs and religion
Philip Burnard, Paul Gill in Culture, Communication and Nursing, 2014
A variation on the above point about truth is that religious beliefs cannot claim to be ‘truths’, in the sense that, say, the proposition 2 2 4 is true. Religious beliefs are just that: beliefs, in that all major religions are founded largely on the principle of faith, i.e. they cannot be scientifically proved or, for that matter, disproved. Most people who hold religious beliefs also hold them to be true, but it is worth thinking for some time about this. There are various spoof ‘religions’ developing on the internet that highlight this issue. One is the ‘religion’ which has the ‘Invisible Pink Unicorn’ as its head. For more details, see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invisible_Pink_Unicorn. It is claimed that the religion is based on both truth and belief. The unicorn is invisible, so that is the truth element, but it is also believed to be pink. The spoof is an attempt to highlight the problems that religions have with proving the existence of God. Many arguments in religion seem to focus on ‘what God has in mind’, although the existence of God is rarely questioned by believers. If it is impossible to prove the existence of God, then it is clearly also impossible to know what God has in mind.
Leadership status and demographic correlates of whistleblowing in healthcare: The influence of a consolidated theory
Published in International Journal of Healthcare Management, 2021
Nestor Asiamah, Henry Kofi Mensah
Religious affiliation is the foundation of religious behaviour, which is influenced by a belief in a supernatural personality. Christians, Muslims, Buddhists and members of other religions believe in the existence of the Supreme Being, God, and express their dedication and obedience to Him by living by relevant teachings or doctrines [19]. Piety, which is the cardinal virtue that governs moral behaviour, is shared by most religions, including Africa's main religions, Christianity and Islam. This is to say that being a Christian or Muslim is a status that obliges the individual to live in harmony with religious doctrine and law. Eschewing immorality, including stealing, fornication, lying (or covering wrongdoing) and adultery is central to living by religious teachings and guides religious behaviour. Telling the truth, which can take the form of whistleblowing, is a religious expression that is influenced or driven by a belief in everlasting life in paradise and/or other benefits attached to obeying God's commandments like enjoying God's blessing and protection from evil. The TRA implies that employees’ moral behaviour can be influenced by these and similar rewards. Similarly, employees would strive to stay free of immoral behaviours in a hospital in their effort to merit God's unending blessings, have a share in paradise, maintain religious identity, and enjoy benefits due members of their religious sects.
Integrating Religious and Sexual Identities: The Case of Religious Homosexual Men in Singapore
Published in International Journal of Sexual Health, 2018
Peter Kay Chai Tay, Chang-Yau Hoon, John Y. K. Hui
Christian and Muslim homosexual men living in Singapore were invited to participate in this research study over social media platforms and by word-of-mouth. In this study, religiosity was defined as having a current firm belief in God. This was additionally verified by a religiosity scale (Chong & Hui, 2013). This scale consists of three items including reading the holy scriptures, other religious books or literature, and instances of praying, based on frequencies ranging from 1 (at least once a day) to 6 (never). Homosexuality was defined as having a current self-identity as homosexual and at least one homosexual relationship in a lifetime. This was additionally verified by a homosexual orientation scale (Chong & Hui, 2013). This scale consists of three items measuring sexual, romantic, and lifestyle preferences on a 11-point scale, ranging from 1 (purely homosexual), through 6 (neither homosexual or heterosexual), to 11 (purely heterosexual). The religiosity and homosexuality items were summed for scoring.
Religiosity, Sex Frequency, and Sexual Satisfaction in Britain: Evidence from the Third National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles (Natsal)
Published in The Journal of Sex Research, 2023
Nitzan Peri-Rotem, Vegard Skirbekk
The key independent variable in our analysis was religiosity. Religious adherence may include different aspects, such as religious beliefs, religious practices, and importance of religion in one’s life. Since intrinsic measures of religiosity have been found to be more important determinants of sex behavior and satisfaction than public expressions of religiosity (Ashdown et al., 2011; Cranney, 2020; Dew et al., 2020; Hackathorn et al., 2016), we used a measure of subjective religiosity. In the survey, respondents were asked “How important are religion and religious beliefs to you, now?” with the following answer options: very important, fairly important, not very important, and not important at all. In addition, for comparison purposes, we ran a separate analysis using frequency of religious service attendance. This measure included three levels: monthly attendance, yearly attendance, and those who never or almost never attended religious services. We also accounted for religious denomination, which included the following categories: no religion, Anglicans (Church of England), Roman Catholics, other Christians, and non-Christian denominations.
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