American Medicine as Religious Practice: Care of the Sick as a Sacred Obligation and the Unholy Descent into Secularization

Modern medicine serves a religious function for modern Americans as a conduit through which science can be applied directly to the human body. The first half of this paper will focus on the theoretical foundations for viewing medicine as a religious practice arguing that just as a hierarchical struc...

Full description

Saved in:  
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Wardlaw, Margaret P. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Journals Online & Print:
Drawer...
Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Published: Springer Science + Business Media B. V. [2011]
In: Journal of religion and health
Year: 2011, Volume: 50, Issue: 1, Pages: 62-74
Further subjects:B Biomedicine
B symbolic meaning
B Enlightenment
B Religion
Online Access: Volltext (Resolving-System)

MARC

LEADER 00000naa a22000002 4500
001 1668827107
003 DE-627
005 20190709122417.0
007 cr uuu---uuuuu
008 190709s2011 xx |||||o 00| ||eng c
024 7 |a 10.1007/s10943-010-9320-4  |2 doi 
035 |a (DE-627)1668827107 
035 |a (DE-599)KXP1668827107 
040 |a DE-627  |b ger  |c DE-627  |e rda 
041 |a eng 
084 |a 0  |2 ssgn 
100 1 |a Wardlaw, Margaret P.  |e VerfasserIn  |4 aut 
245 1 0 |a American Medicine as Religious Practice  |b Care of the Sick as a Sacred Obligation and the Unholy Descent into Secularization  |c Margaret P. Wardlaw 
264 1 |c [2011] 
336 |a Text  |b txt  |2 rdacontent 
337 |a Computermedien  |b c  |2 rdamedia 
338 |a Online-Ressource  |b cr  |2 rdacarrier 
520 |a Modern medicine serves a religious function for modern Americans as a conduit through which science can be applied directly to the human body. The first half of this paper will focus on the theoretical foundations for viewing medicine as a religious practice arguing that just as a hierarchical structured authoritarian church historically mediated access to God, contemporary Western medicine provides a conduit by which the universalizable truths of science can be applied to the human being thereby functioning as a new established religion. I will then illustrate the many parallels between medicine and religion through an analysis of rituals and symbols surrounding and embedded within the modern practice of medicine. This analysis will pay special attention to the primacy placed on secret interior knowledge of the human body. I will end by responding to the hope for a "secularization of American medicine," exploring some of the negative consequences of secularization, and arguing that, rather than seeking to secularize, American medicine should strive to use its religious features to offer hope and healing to the sick, in keeping with its historically religious legacy. 
650 4 |a Biomedicine 
650 4 |a Enlightenment 
650 4 |a Religion 
650 4 |a symbolic meaning 
773 0 8 |i Enthalten in  |t Journal of religion and health  |d New York, NY [u.a.] : Springer Science + Business Media B.V., 1961  |g 50(2011), 1, Seite 62-74  |h Online-Ressource  |w (DE-627)320578089  |w (DE-600)2017250-3  |w (DE-576)121466191  |x 1573-6571  |7 nnns 
773 1 8 |g volume:50  |g year:2011  |g number:1  |g pages:62-74 
856 4 0 |u https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-010-9320-4  |x Resolving-System  |3 Volltext 
951 |a AR 
ELC |a 1 
ITA |a 1  |t 1 
LOK |0 000 xxxxxcx a22 zn 4500 
LOK |0 001 3492196233 
LOK |0 003 DE-627 
LOK |0 004 1668827107 
LOK |0 005 20190709122417 
LOK |0 008 190709||||||||||||||||ger||||||| 
LOK |0 040   |a DE-Tue135  |c DE-627  |d DE-Tue135 
LOK |0 092   |o n 
LOK |0 852   |a DE-Tue135 
LOK |0 852 1  |9 00 
LOK |0 935   |a ixzs  |a ixzo  |a rwrk 
ORI |a SA-MARC-ixtheoa001.raw 
REF |a Religiöses Symbol 
REL |a 1 
STA 0 0 |a Religion,Religion in literature,Religions,Religion 
STB 0 0 |a Religion,Religions,Religion 
STC 0 0 |a Religión,Religión,Religión 
STD 0 0 |a Religione,Religione,Religione 
STE 0 0 |a 宗教,宗教 
STF 0 0 |a 宗教,宗教 
STG 0 0 |a Religião,Religião 
STH 0 0 |a Религия,Религия (мотив) 
STI 0 0 |a Θρησκεία,Θρησκεία (μοτίβο) 
SUB |a REL 
SYE 0 0 |a Religion,Mystik,Mythologie