Thanks Calvin. There is a-lot of opining about religion and spirituality with most of the negativity falling on religion and most of the affirmation highlighting spirituality. Actually when it comes to end-of-life care the terms are value neutral with each denoting different things. What therefore is religion? it is the set of practices and beliefs associated with the worship of God. What therefore is spirituality? Although hard to pin down an exact definition a common one is that it is the interior or internal set of experiences and feelings and beliefs that are part of one’s relationship with God.
Studies have shown that there are benefits unique to each, and so those who think that religion is bad simply I’m sorry but you simply do not know what you are talking about when it comes to end of life care. That said the next question is, What are the benefits of each when it comes to end-of-life care?
As suggested by studies, people who practice religion show a disposition towards readily dealing with ethical questions, with theological questions such as the why of suffering, with the practical aspects of end-of-life care, with the making of wills and medical directives, and with understanding objective truth claims and accepting them.
People who define themselves as more spiritual based and not religious tend to have an easier time with pain control, are more open to non-medicinal practices to deal with pain, do not have extreme faith crises’, are more accepting, are more appreciative of caregivers.
To me the read is that people need both spirituality and religion. We need to be able to avoid the stress of ethical questions, need to have found a path thru the whys and wherefores of suffering, need to adhere to a rock solid faith that is not based on our subjective feelings, and need to take care of our last business dealings with undue anxiety. Yet too we need to have internal self-initiated ways of dealing with pain, need to have sources of spiritual strength not dependent upon our physical condition, do not need to cope with a faith crises as we face death, and yes do need to practice civility to our caregivers.
Rather than see religion and spirituality as competing opposites it is far healthier if envisioned as different sides of the same coin; the coin being a persons relation with the divine. And yes it is very useful to cultivate the side one is weakest in. If all your relation with the divine is about duty you might want to open yourself to the more personal experiential. If all your relation to the divine is about experiential feeling then you need to study open yourself up to objective truth claims. It is not necessarily a comfortable thing to do. After all people drift towards spirituality or religion because of a comfort level with one or the other and cultivating what one is not naturally given toward can take some work. But well worth it in terms of our passage thru life.
There are times when religious precepts and practices will carry you even if your feelings drag you down. There are times your feelings will help you even when those same precepts and practices seem life-less. Be wise and practice both.