Department
Social Work
Date
2012
Degree Name
Master of Social Work (M.S.W.)
Type of Paper/Work
Clinical research paper
Advisor
Colin Hollidge
Abstract
The following study seeks to discover how potential clients define and view the concepts of religion and spirituality. Research questions include: How do respondents define the concepts of religion and spirituality? What interventions do respondents consider religious and/or spiritual? Finally, what interventions would respondents want incorporated into their mental and physical health care? The study is comprised of forty-five respondents who participated in a Survey Monkey survey. Results indicated that while respondent definitions of religion and spirituality differ, themes emerged. Themes that emerged when describing religion included: an organized set of rules, worshiping a God/Higher Power, and a community of followers. Themes that emerged when describing spirituality included: belief in God/Higher Power, an individual, personal experience, and rules/morals dictating how one should live life. Most respondents reported that meditation, yoga, guided imagery, and spending time in nature are spiritual activities. Prayer and music were found to be both religious and spiritual. Majority of respondents indicated they would want mediation, yoga, guided imagery, music, and spending time in nature incorporated into their mental and physical health care. Prayer was the only intervention the majority of respondents reported they did not want incorporated into their care.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Wilkinson, Courtney, "Spirituality and Religion in Social Work: Respondent Definitions" (2012). Social Work Master’s Clinical Research Papers. 127.
https://ir.stthomas.edu/ssw_mstrp/127