Paging God: Religion in the Halls of Medicine

Transcription

1 Paging God: Religion in the Halls of Medicine Wendy Cadge Brandeis University (Photo: Muslim Prayer Room, Texas Children s Hospital)

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7 Recent Statistics 70-85% of Americans regularly pray for good or better health for themselves or a family member 72% believe God can cure people given no chance of survival by medical science 60% of the public and 20% of medical professionals think someone in a persistent vegetative state can be saved by a miracle (Jacobs, Burns, and Jacobs 2008).

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9 Fraction of Articles in PubMed Related to Religion/Spirituality Year Religion Spirituality Religion or Spirituality % of all PubMed articles

10 PAGING GOD Religion in the Halls of Medicine WENDY CADGE W hi le t he modern science of medici ne of ten seems not hi ng short of mi raculous, rel i gion st i l l pl ays an i mport ant role in the past and present of many hospitals. When three-quarters of Americans believe that God can cure people who have been given little or no chance of survival by their doctors, how do today s technologically sophisticated health care organizations address spirituality and faith? rough a combination of interviews with nurses, doctors, and chaplains across the United States and close observat ion of t heir dai ly routi nes, Wendy Cadge t akes readers i nside major academic medical i nst it utions to explore how today s doctors and hospit al s address prayer and ot her forms of rel i gion and spi rit ualit y. From chapel s to i nt ensi ve care units to the morgue, hospital caregivers speak directly in these pages about how religion is part of their daily work in visible and invisible ways. In Paging God: Religion in the Halls of Medicine, Cadge shifts attention away from the ongoing controversy about whether faith and spirituality should play a role in health care and back to the many ways that these powerful forces already function in healthcare today. From the opening narrative about a Buddhist monk near death to the concluding story about a parent seeking prayer, Paging God is rich with insights about the challenges facing health practitioners as America becomes more religiously and ethnically diverse. is is ethnographic research at its best. Wendy Cadge has written an impressive study that should be read by everyone interested in understanding how religious diversity is reshaping our society. ROBERT WUTHNOW, author of America and the Challenges of Religious Diversity Paging God is essential reading for those interested in the ever-shifting place of spirituality in American healthcare and society. Weaving interviews from patients, staff, doctors and chaplains into a fascinating story of the power of religion and spirituality in the lives of those struggling with illness and death, Wendy Cadge s study excels in scientific objectivity but with sensitivity to the nuanced role of religion in the lives of people involved in the hospital experience. HELEN ROSE EBAUGH, University of Houston e blend of historical, archival research, in-depth interviews and participant observation, and visual analysis of archeology and design in Paging God i s powerf ul, and Wendy Cadge s at tempts to make sense of t hi s peculiar yet dominant social world will be enthusiastically received. ELIZABETH M. ARMSTRONG, Princeton University See reverse for order form. THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS

11 Chapter Outline for Paging God c.1 In the Beginning a Tour c.2 Looking Back: Glimpses of Religion and Spirituality in the History of Academic Medical Centers c.3 From Symbols to Silence: The Design and Use of Hospital Chapels c.4 Wholeness, Presence and Hope: The Perspectives of Hospital Chaplains c.5 Essential or Optional? How Hospitals Shape Chaplains Professional Tasks c.6 Spirituality and Religion in Intensive Care: Staffs Perspectives and Professional Responses c.7 Why Sickness and Death? Religion and Spirituality in the Ways Intensive Care Unit Staff Make Meaning c.8 Managing Death: The Personal and Institutional Dirty Work of Chaplains c.9 Conclusions, Looking Forward

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13 Page of prayers Cadge, Wendy and M. Daglian Blessings, Strength, and Guidance: Prayer Frames in a Hospital Prayer Book Poetics 36:

14 All photos and tables in this talk are used with permission. Details and notes are in Paging God: Religion in the Halls of Medicine

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24 Paging God: Religion in the Halls of Medicine Wendy Cadge Brandeis University (Photo: Muslim Prayer Room, Texas Children s Hospital)

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26 Religious Distribution of U.S. Population (2007) and Association for Professional Chaplains, National Association for Catholic Chaplains and National Association for Jewish Chaplains (2010) Religion % of U.S. population % of combined APC, NACC, NAJC members Evangelical Protestant Mainline Protestant Catholic Historically Black Churches Mormon 1.7 <1.0 Orthodox.6 <1.0 Jewish Muslim.6 <1.0 Buddhist.7 <1.0 Hindu.4 <1.0 Jehovah s Witness.7 <1.0 Other Faiths <1.8 <1.0 Unaffiliated Don t Know.8 0

27 Table 1. Chaplaincy Service in U.S. Hospitals Year Total Hospitals Reporting Hospitals Hospitals Reporting Chaplaincy Service % of reporting hospitals with chaplaincy % % % ,965 6,277 3, % 1981* 6,933 6,276 3, % ,915 6,277 3, % ,888 6,353 3, % ,872 6,302 3, % ,872 6,304 4, % ,539 5,916 3, % ,789 3, % ,794 4,876 2, % ,764 4,946 2, % ,759 4,854 2, % ,756 4,852 2, % ,747 4,836 3, % ,708 4,899 3, % ,815 4,862 3, % ,795 4,759 3, %

28 Table 2. Membership in Professional Chaplaincy Organizations and Percentage of Members Certified as Professional Chaplains Over Time Year AMHC APHA/ College of Chaplains APC NACC NAJC 1945 n/a n/a n/a 1950 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 784 (53%) n/a (46%) n/a 1630 (69%) n/a (61%) n/a 2267 n/a n/a 3222 (69%) n/a (35%) 1899 (67%) n/a 3520 (62%) n/a (44%) 2617 (63%) n/a 3547 (70%) 211 (38%) 2000 n/a n/a 3472 (59%) 3455 (69%) 410 (20%) 2005 n/a n/a 3782 (71%) 3154 (74%) 584 (16%) 2010 n/a n/a 4072 (75%) 2625 (73%) 601 (18%)

29 Chaplaincy Service in U.S. Hospitals ( ) 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% (Source: Cadge, Wendy, Jeremy Freese, and Nicholas Christakis Hospital Chaplaincy in the United States: A National Overview. Southern Medical Journal. 101(6): )

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