Cultural thanatology: an exploration of the religious, spiritual, and existential concerns of elderly terminally-ill diasporic Hindus

Thanatology is defined as the interdisciplinary study of death and dying. Religious beliefs, cultural patterns and insights into the spirit or the non-material aspects of our being form a component of thanatological studies and may be designated as ‘cultural thanatology’. This ethnographic study exp...

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Bibliographische Detailangaben
VerfasserInnen: Singaram, Veena S. (VerfasserIn) ; Saradaprabhananda, Swami (VerfasserIn)
Medienart: Elektronisch Aufsatz
Sprache:Englisch
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Veröffentlicht: Routledge 2021
In: Journal of religion, spirituality & aging
Jahr: 2021, Band: 33, Heft: 3, Seiten: 311-331
normierte Schlagwort(-folgen):B Hindu / Diaspora (Sozialwissenschaften) / Unheilbar Kranker / Psychische Belastung / Spiritualität
B Thanatologie / Kultureller Indikator
RelBib Classification:AB Religionsphilosophie; Religionskritik; Atheismus
AD Religionssoziologie; Religionspolitik
BK Hinduismus, Jainismus, Sikhismus
ZA Sozialwissenschaften
weitere Schlagwörter:B cultural narratives
B Spirituality
B Religion
B Spiritual well-being
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Beschreibung
Zusammenfassung:Thanatology is defined as the interdisciplinary study of death and dying. Religious beliefs, cultural patterns and insights into the spirit or the non-material aspects of our being form a component of thanatological studies and may be designated as ‘cultural thanatology’. This ethnographic study explores the religious, spiritual and existential concerns of a group of elderly, terminally-ill South African Hindus. Using grounded theory, the in-depth interviews, which provided a rich tapestry of participants’ religious and spiritual values and beliefs in the quest to find meaning in the midst of ‘end-of-life’ despair, were thematically analysed. Participants expressed both spiritual relief and spiritual pain based on their individual cultural constructs of religious beliefs and customs. We found that poorly interpreted or dysfunctional aspects of religious belief contributed to psychological disturbances, and that a frustrated existential quest for meaning manifested itself as spiritual distress. However, although they reflected varying levels of pain and suffering, mentally and physically, coping and acceptance were also prevalent among all the participants of this study.
ISSN:1552-8049
Enthält:Enthalten in: Journal of religion, spirituality & aging
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1080/15528030.2020.1757011