Paging God: Religion in the Halls of Medicine Wendy Cadge Brandeis University www.wendycadge.com (Photo: Muslim Prayer Room, Texas Children s Hospital)
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).
0.4 0.35 0.3 0.25 0.2 0.15 0.1 0.05 0 Fraction of Articles in PubMed Related to Religion/Spirituality 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 Year Religion Spirituality Religion or Spirituality 1960 1955 1950 % of all PubMed articles
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 www.press.uchicago.edu
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
Page of prayers Cadge, Wendy and M. Daglian. 2008. Blessings, Strength, and Guidance: Prayer Frames in a Hospital Prayer Book Poetics 36: 358-373.
All photos and tables in this talk are used with permission. Details and notes are in Paging God: Religion in the Halls of Medicine
Paging God: Religion in the Halls of Medicine Wendy Cadge Brandeis University www.wendycadge.com (Photo: Muslim Prayer Room, Texas Children s Hospital)
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 26.3 12.5 Mainline Protestant 18.1 31.8 Catholic 23.9 43.2 Historically Black 6.9 1.1 Churches Mormon 1.7 <1.0 Orthodox.6 <1.0 Jewish 1.7 9.7 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 16.1 0 Don t Know.8 0
Table 1. Chaplaincy Service in U.S. Hospitals Year Total Hospitals Reporting Hospitals Hospitals Reporting Chaplaincy Service % of reporting hospitals with chaplaincy 1954 6049 4036 66.7% 1966 2914 41% 1972 7097 3038 43% 1980 6,965 6,277 3,643 58.0% 1981* 6,933 6,276 3,371 53.7% 1982 6,915 6,277 3,499 55.7% 1983 6,888 6,353 3,670 57.8% 1984 6,872 6,302 3,817 60.6% 1985 6,872 6,304 4,000 63.5% 1992 6,539 5,916 3,175 53.7% 1993 5,789 3,398 58.7% 2002 5,794 4,876 2,581 52.9% 2003 5,764 4,946 2,934 59.3% 2004 5,759 4,854 2,954 60.8% 2005 5,756 4,852 2,999 61.8% 2006 5,747 4,836 3,076 63.6% 2007 5,708 4,899 3,102 63.3% 2008 5,815 4,862 3,136 64.5% 2009 5,795 4,759 3,089 64.9%
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 1955 341 n/a n/a n/a 1960 390 n/a n/a n/a 1965 551 566 n/a n/a 1970 781 n/a 784 (53%) n/a 1975 558 (46%) n/a 1630 (69%) n/a 1980 1470 (61%) n/a 2267 n/a 1985 1682 n/a 3222 (69%) n/a 1990 239 (35%) 1899 (67%) n/a 3520 (62%) n/a 1995 176 (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%)
Chaplaincy Service in U.S. Hospitals (1980-2003) 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1992 1993 2002 2003 (Source: Cadge, Wendy, Jeremy Freese, and Nicholas Christakis. 2008. Hospital Chaplaincy in the United States: A National Overview. Southern Medical Journal. 101(6):626-630.)