book cover

Death and Spirituality

Death, Value, and Meaning Series

Edited by Kenneth J. Doka with John D. Morgan
Published by Baywood Publishing Company, Inc.
Publication date: February, 1999
406 pp.
ISBN: 089503106X (hard cover)

Synopsis

This book gives a comprehensive overview of spritual and religious themes likely to arise in caregiving to the dying and the bereaved. It is an excellent educational resource for community clergy, chaplains, pastoral care workers, hospice workers, bereavement counselors, thanatologists, and anyone else who wants a detailed review of current issues in this field.

Editor Kenneth J. Doka notes in his introduction that:

...while death is a spiritual event, often the spiritual needs of patients and clients are neglected.... An underlying assumption is that while individuals may or may not profess a religion, all have spiritual needs and concerns that must be considered. (p. 2)

While drawn primarily from the cultural patterns of the United States and Canada, chapters cover a diverse range of specific religious traditions. It also examines the spiritual issues in death and dying for those who do not have conventional religious beliefs.

The book is part of the Death, Value and Meaning Series of academic sourcebooks. Editors Morgan and Doka are both leading authorities in the field of death of dying.

Acknowledgments

PART I: INTRODUCTION

The Existential Quest for Meaning (John D. Morgan)
Assumptions and Principles of Spiritual Care (The Spiritual Care Work Group of the International Work Group onDeath, Dying and Bereavement)

PART II: PERSPECTIVES ON DEATH

Death in Jewish Thought (Earl A. Grollman)
A Roman Catholic View of Death (Edward Jeremy Miller)
Spirituality, Protestantism, and Death (Dennis Klass)
Death: Eastern Perspectives (Dennis Ryan)
Spiritual Issues in Death and Dying for Those Who Do Not Have ConventionalReligious Belief (Paul E. Irion)
Perspectives on Death in the African-American Community (David K. Meagher and Craig P. Bell)

PART III: SPIRITUAL CONCERNS IN COUNSELING THE DYING

A Clinical Paradigm for Exploring Spiritual Concerns (PatriceO'Connor)
The Spiritual Needs of the Dying (Kenneth J. Doka)
Spiritualities of Suffering and Grief (Nathan R. Kollar)
Spiritual Perspectives on Suffering the Pain of Death (Jeffrey Kauffman)
Spiritual Care in Hospice (Dorothy C. H. Ley)

PART IV: SPIRITUAL ISSUES IN BEREAVEMENT

The Spiritual Crisis of Bereavement (Kenneth J. Doka)
Bereavement and the Sacred Art of Spiritual Care (Alice Cullinan)
Rituals, Beliefs, and Grief (Howard C. Raether)
Spirituality and Suicide (David Echelbarger)
Spiritual Care of the Traumatized: A Necessary Component (Alice Cullinan)
No More Rosebuds: A Perspective on Perinatal Death, Funerals, and PastoralCare (Jane Nichols and Kenneth J. Doka)
AIDS and Bereavement: Special Issues in Spiritual Counseling (Ben Wolfe)

PART V: DEATH AND THE HUMAN SPIRIT

Religious Values in Death Education (Robert G. Stevenson)
The Dark Night of the Spirit: Grief Following a Loss in Religious Identity (Dorothy M. Barra, Erica S. Carlson, Mark Maize, Wendy I. Murphy,Betsy W. O'Neal, Rhonda E. Sarver and Ellen S. Zinner)
Ethical and Spiritual Concerns: Sexuality and Spirituality "A WholisticApproach for the Living-Dying Client and the Partner" (Jeanne M. Harper)
Joking with Death (Robert E. Neale)

PART VI: RESOURCES

Shuffling toward Jerusalem: An Annotated Bibliography of Books on Religionand Thanatology (Roberta Halporn)
Spirituality and Death Audiovisuals (Richard A. Pacholski)
Jimmy Died, Call the Church (Janet Bouman)
Conclusion
Contributors
Index

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