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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Détails bibliographiques
Auteurs: Singaram, Veena S. (Auteur) ; Saradaprabhananda, Swami (Auteur)
Type de support: Électronique Article
Langue:Anglais
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Publié: Routledge 2021
Dans: Journal of religion, spirituality & aging
Année: 2021, Volume: 33, Numéro: 3, Pages: 311-331
Sujets / Chaînes de mots-clés standardisés:B Hindou / Diaspora (Sciences sociales) / Malade en phase terminale / Stress psychique / Spiritualité
B Thanatologie / Indicateur culturel
RelBib Classification:AB Philosophie de la religion
AD Sociologie des religions
BK Hindouisme
ZA Sciences sociales
Sujets non-standardisés:B cultural narratives
B Spirituality
B Religion
B Spiritual well-being
Accès en ligne: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Description
Résumé: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
Contient:Enthalten in: Journal of religion, spirituality & aging
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1080/15528030.2020.1757011