An International Study of Nurses' Ethical Ideology and Religiosity

Abstract

To suggest that the nursing landscape is complex is a profound understatement. As nurses care for patients in a continuum of health, they are also confronted with the personal demands of their own value systems and religious belief systems in tandem with values and culture of the hospital. In an effort to shed some light on this complexity, this international study of nurses from four nations explored the relationship between religiosity and ethical ideology. The findings indicate that while there was no significant association between religiosity and ideology, nurses’ religiosity, ethical idealism, and ethical relativism differ as a function of country/culture. Future research can investigate whether these differences manifest themselves in behaviour.