Spirituality and mental health among children and youth - a Swedish point of view

There is growing evidence that spirituality and spiritual development are important for the health and mental well-being of children and youth. In individualistic and secularised countries, resources and language adequate for securing this right to spirituality is shrinking. Sweden is regarded as on...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of children's spirituality
Main Author: Westerlund, Katarina (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Taylor & Francis [2016]
In: International journal of children's spirituality
RelBib Classification:AD Sociology of religion; religious policy
CB Christian life; spirituality
KBE Northern Europe; Scandinavia
ZD Psychology
Further subjects:B Sweden
B mental ill-health
B Secularisation
B Children
B Individualisation
Online Access: Volltext (Verlag)
Description
Summary:There is growing evidence that spirituality and spiritual development are important for the health and mental well-being of children and youth. In individualistic and secularised countries, resources and language adequate for securing this right to spirituality is shrinking. Sweden is regarded as one of the most secularised and individualised countries in the world, and the article argues that Sweden could be described as ‘spiritual illiterate'. Increasing mental ill-health among youth is discussed in relation to a heightened privatisation of religion, ‘state individualism', and a growing performance culture. It is argued that strong cultural ideals like independence and self-realisation repress children's and youth's spirituality and spiritual development. Further research is called for in order to explore the complex interplay between individualisation, spirituality and mental ill-health among children and youth in today's Sweden.
ISSN:1469-8455
Contains:Enthalten in: International journal of children's spirituality
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1080/1364436X.2016.1258392