Religious and secular spirituality: Methodological implications of definitions for health research

Autor(es)

Chagas, Camila ; Martins, Leonardo Breno ; Machado, Fatima Regina ; Zangari, Welligton ; Galduroz, Jose Carlos Fernandes

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: EXPLORE-THE JOURNAL OF SCIENCE AND HEALING; v. 19, n. 1, p. 8-pg., 2023-01-20.

Resumo

The importance of spirituality as a research topic has been increasingly recognized, which has led to several studies on the topic. Areas including psychology, medicine, and nursing have produced studies on spirituality under a plurality of definitions and methods, which reveals the complexity of the theme. However, this has resulted in a range of potential problems, including: (1) the use of overlapping and contradictory terms between studies, or even within the same study, (2) research methodologies that do not fit the definitions (sometimes unreflectively) assumed by the authors, (3) difficulties, or even the impossibility, of comparing the results of studies, (4) controversies in respect of the inclusion/exclusion of secular groups in research on spirituality, and (5) ambiguous measurements, often being exclusively dependent on each participant's indi-vidual interpretation of what spirituality means. This article discusses these problems, recommends theoreti-cal and methodological alternatives and presents taxonomy of definitions of spirituality.(c) 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 20/10234-2 - Análise das crenças teístas e ateístas como fatores de risco ou de proteção para o consumo de substâncias psicotrópicas
• Beneficiário: Camila Chagas Raimundo
• Modalidade de apoio: Bolsas no Brasil - Doutorado