Spirituality and Health

Kenneth I. Pargament & Gene G. Ano

For thousands of years, spirituality and health have been closely allied with each other, in concept and in practice. Historically, treatment was administered by religious and spiritual healers. However, with the Age of Enlightenment and the advent of modern medicine, diagnosis and treatment were separated from their spiritual context. Despite this initial separation between health and spirituality, in recent years, a rapprochement has been taking place. Empirical studies are revealing significant links between spirituality and health. and religious/spiritual and health care communities have begun to join forces in the prevention and treatment of illness and the promotion of health and well-being. The term spirituality comes from the word spirit (to breathe). Although there is a lack of consensus about its precise meaning, there is general agreement that spirituality is a living, dynamic process that is oriented around whatever the individual may hold sacred. The sacred refers to concepts of In ...

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