Panagiotis Pentaris

Death anxiety and religious belief: an existential psychology of religion

Death Anxiety and Religious Belief: An Existential Psychology of Religion is a volume that directly reports on research data as they derive from the first author’s PhD project. The authors of this volume examine three key questions, as those link with the emerging themes of the study. The three questions are as follows: (a) do people fear death? (b) do people gravitate towards religion because they fear death? and (c) does religion relieve people’s fear of death? To answer these questions, the volume begins from the premise that ‘religion promises a solution to human mortality’ (p. 169). With this presupposition, the authors are exploring the causality between people’s perceptions of the world and the tendency to enable paranormal and metaphysical beliefs. Further, from the outset, the authors recommend the vagueness of the term ‘death anxiety’ and identify the challenges and controversies within the task of examining its relationship with religiosity. The volume is divided in to seven chapters. The first two chapters provide the theoretical frame in which the study is contextualised, and further exemplify the rationale for the formulation of the questions above. In the first chapter, the authors conclude that fear of death leads people to religion and belief, while in the second chapter, the authors refer to few of the thanatocentric theorists (e.g. Becker), who largely investigated the relationship between death and religion. Following the above, the third chapter presents methodological requirements, as those were chosen and identified by the authors. The next three chapters (four, five and six) answer one of the research questions, each, by means of reporting on the data gathered during the first authors’ study, and in juxtaposition with information presented by other studies. The seventh chapter draws conclusions from the study, and highlights a few areas of concern. This book is an interesting read that presents a complete and congruent account of the authors’ research, while also considering a series of psychological studies in the area. However, the volume presents numerous limitations, which enhance its singular dimension. First, the authors fail to appreciate interdisciplinary aspects of the subject, while neglecting to refer to research, in abundance, which claims that, indeed, fear of death increases belief and religiosity (see Kastenbaum, 2015 or Rasmussen & Johnson, 1994). Further, the authors claim to have examined a ‘misleading’ claim, i.e. people are religious because they fear death (p. 170) but equally fail to consider the breadth of work that has answered the question whether this claim is a misleading one or not (see Wong, Reker, & Gesser, 1994 or Penson et al., 2005). Despite these limitations, this book is thought-provoking, and with some key facts to share; for instance, the inter-relationship between fear of death and its causalities, per identification. The authors have answered, partially, the questions they set out to address, while recognising the challenges that come with such a task. This is undeniably an addition to the current literature, however, with limited generalisability across various disciplines.

Mindfulness and spirituality: therapeutic perspectives

ABSTRACT Social aspects that relate to beliefs and spirituality are subjects of the soul and mind, material to be studied out of the materialistic world. They transcend the body and nest in the experiences of the soul. Nonetheless, taught by mindfulness, a practice that stems from eastern spirituality the religious and/or the spiritual are experiences lived through the body. We conducted a pilot cross-sectional study to test the hypothesis that mindfulness correlates with spiritual beliefs. The results provide insight on the potential impact of mindfulness interventions in patients that value spirituality and metacognitive beliefs in the psychotherapeutic process. These preliminary findings provide a potential insight into the possible mechanisms underlying the application of mindfulness in psychotherapy.

Religious Literacy in End of Life Care: Challenges and Controversies

This thesis explores the challenges and controversies that healthcare professionals who work in death and dying settings face when working with service users with religion, belief, and spiritual identities. The secular-minded modern history of the nation has left people precarious of religion and belief, lacking religious literacy (i.e. the ability to talk about it) (Dinham & Francis 2015). Religious literacy is a contested concept which is used as a lens through which this thesis is framed. The study was undertaken in hospices while it reports on data from a triangulation method, including participant observation, interviewing, and focus groups. Healthcare professionals appear to have lost the ability to engage adequately with religion, belief, and spiritual identities of service users. Religion and belief have been approached as problems to be solved, rather than aspects to engage with. Solutions to deal with the religiously diverse service user population include equality and diversity laws that underpin respectful and non-judgmental attitudes, yet mask inclusivity with neutrality. Findings show that healthcare professionals are ambivalent toward discussing religion and belief related issues while the preference is to signpost service users to religious leaders or communities. Additionally, hospice organisations are currently undergoing many and various changes that are often washed down to professional practitioners. The changes include the removal of religious adornments from within the space, as well as amendments in relation to language on signs. The space is more like the portrayal of a largely secular nation that lacks proper abilities to engage with religion and belief. This study is merely opening up the dialogue in end of life care about adequate accommodation of religion, belief, and spiritual identities of service users in professional practice. This is paramount in order to fulfil requirements toward a fundamental aspect of hospice care; comforting service users from a holistic approach, beyond the bio-medical.

Cultural and Religious Diversity in Hospice and Palliative Care: A Qualitative Cross-Country Comparative Analysis of the Challenges of Health-Care Professionals:

Research has abundantly demonstrated a strong relationship between culture, religion, and the experiences of death, dying, and bereavement. Consequently, cultural competence and a religiously sensitive practice have become highly relevant to social policies and professional practice. However, our current knowledge of culturally competent and religiously sensitive end-of-life care is primarily context specific, with little space for generalizability. This article reports on findings from a qualitative comparative analysis of two nation-specific studies that examined religious literacy and cultural competency, respectively, among palliative-care professionals, drawing on similarities and attempting to identify further applicability of nation-centered knowledge. The study recognized six practice-based approaches in palliative and hospice care, when responding to cultural and religious or nonreligious identities of services users. These approaches intersect with each other via three organizational layers identified in the study: foundations, culture, and professionals. Each identified practice-based approach seems to be incomplete when working with individuals for whom religion, belief, and cultural identities are important. Change in practice is possible if all three organizational layers are considered simultaneously, while further research will shed more light about the benefits and challenges of each approach.

Negotiating belief in health and social care

Religion and belief, either as identities or concepts, have been explored by several contemporary theorists and researchers (e.g. Davie, 2013, 2015; Casanova, 1994; Bruce, 2011; Berger, 1999; Hervieu-Leger, 2000; Day, 2011; Woodhead and Catto, 2012; Dinham, 2009). The desire to examine religion and belief in the public sphere stemmed from the ambiguity of secularisation theories, suggesting a massive religious decline in societies. By and large, researchers in the twenty-first century have agreed that religion never went away, as per Berger’s (1967) original argument, but rather changed; the way people believe and engage with their religious or nonreligious faith is different. Nevertheless, and as religion privatised, considering modernity and more secular ideas in the public sphere, health and social care professionals found themselves in a position in which they lack appropriate language and skills to engage with religion and belief (Dinham and Francis, 2015) and, therefore, unable to fully appreciate service users’ lived experience (Pentaris, 2014). The latter has both short-term and long-term effects, but highlights some ethical issues, deeply rooted in the principles of human rights; predominantly, respect for the other and dignified care.

The marginalisation of religion in End of Life Care: signs of microaggression?

Purpose Service users very often interpret and respond to their experiences of death, dying and bereavement through a religious or spiritual lens. However, recent trends in religion and belief have influenced how professionals respond to indicators such as faith. Since the post-war years in Britain, and due to the transfer of services from church to state, as well as the change in the religious landscape, language has largely secularized. When people start addressing religion and belief again, they lack the appropriate literacy to do so; this is termed religious literacy by Dinham (2015). This paper explores how professionals in end of life care respond to service users’ religious and spiritual indicators, through the lens of religious literacy. Design/methodology/approach The paper draws from an ethnographic study undertaken across hospices in England, UK. In this study healthcare professionals were observed for one calendar year. Findings Results show that lack of religious literacy on the part of healt...

Palliative care professionals’ perceptions of barriers and challenges to accessing children’s hospice and palliative care services in South East London: A preliminary study

ABSTRACT Objectives: Several barriers have been identified as preventing or delaying access to children’s palliative care services. The aim of this study is to further explore such barriers from palliative care professionals’ perspective from two London boroughs. Methods: Qualitative-five children’s palliative care professionals’ perceptions were obtained from semi-structured interviews. Results: Three themes emerged: availability and adequacy of child palliative care (e.g., unreliability of services), obstacles to accessing palliative care (e.g., logistical challenges), and cultural values and family priorities. Conclusion: These findings contribute to the equal opportunities dialogue in this sector and the need for future research to address the challenges identified.

Dying in full detail: mortality and digital documentary

hundred years’ (p.61). This section highlights how extensive Carol and Jenny’s research skills are, indicated by the wealth of information they were able to uncover; Jenny mostly through material evidence and Carol through oral history. The use of time as a structure for the coauthored memoir works well and provides a useful navigational framework for the reader, with each chapter acting as a guide through the years. Whilst the main body of the book is concerned with ‘resurrecting worlds in which we [Carol and Jenny] played no part’ (p.211), chapter 9 returns attention to the authors as they recall their own experiences of ‘growing up in the shadow of war’ (p.211). As such, the book successfully explores the ‘legacy of war’ in the broadest sense for the two families, including both Jenny and Carol, as well as their ancestors. To conclude, Family Life, Trauma and Loss in the Twentieth Century is a rich and engaging memoir that can be accessed by all, regardless of professional background or speciality. Indeed, its wide scope means that it will appeal to anyone interested in genealogy, material culture, military and social history, as well as death studies. Although ideas central to each author’s careers are peppered throughout the text, a familiarity with their work is not essential to appreciate the book. This lack of required background knowledge, combined with an accessible tone and focus on ‘ordinary’ lives, means that the book can easily appeal to a general, as well as academic, audience. Overall, it made for an enjoyable and thought provoking read; one not to be missed. Further information can be found at the book’s website: www.familyhistoryandwar.com

The impact of the Art Therapy Large Group, an educational tool in the training of art therapists, on post-qualification professional practice

ABSTRACT This article reports the findings of a Likert scale survey that was sent to past graduates of the MA Art Psychotherapy, Goldsmiths, University of London asking them about the relevance of their experience in the Art Therapy Large Group (ATLG) to their subsequent employment as art therapists or work in another capacity. The ATLG comprises all the students and staff in a psychodynamically based experiential group that meets six times during the year. Survey questions were drawn from previously devised theory and related to learning relevant to the workplace and the development of professional identity. Though there was a low response rate (20%), there were some significant findings, namely that graduates found the ATLG to be helpful in their work, whether this was art therapy or non-art therapy work, and that those who had studied part-time were much more positive about the applicability of their learning in the group to their work than those who had studied full-time. The findings suggest that the ATLG has a particular role in meeting key performance indicators in professional regulation and teaching and in quality assurance and employability policies in higher education. Finally, the potential for the use of the ATLG beyond the university in the public, private and voluntary sectors is suggested.

The Functional Role of Music in Communicating Death through/in YouTube Videos

Since the establishment of thanatology, the science of death, in the early 20th century, death has not only been considered a controversial subject, but it has also been regarded as a taboo topic. Various ways of communicating death have developed over the last few decades. With the advent of different mass and social media and their increasing impact on everyday life in the 21st century, death can now be communicated via a number of media platforms, such as television, radio, and online videos. This type of communication is underpinned by a series of dimensions, in particular music, that shape the conveyed message. Music has been extensively used in the dissemination of information in the wider media outlet. It is widely seen as a means of evoking emotions and of facilitating the process of assimilating information that is communicated via media. This paper seeks to discuss the functional role of music in communicating death in online video platforms. In particular, the example of the YouTube platform is used to identify the links between death, music and video platforms. This paper is part of a large-scale study on the functional role of music in communicating death through YouTube videos. It is suggested that music may serve as a link between media and death. The conclusions that are drawn in this paper are supported by the authors’ current and ongoing study and critical analysis of the deployment of music in the communication of death.