Journal of Religion & Health最新文献

This article presents a parallel analysis of Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy and contemporary literature on moral injury to explore how Dante's journey towards enlightenment can inform the path to healing from moral injury. Described as a soul wound by those affected, moral injury is a severe psychological and spiritual trauma resulting from ethical transgressions such as abuse, betrayal, war and tyranny. Although moral injury is arguably as old as human conflict itself, its scientific study is comparatively new. The Divine Comedy is widely regarded as one of the greatest works in world literature. In this poem, moral suffering appears as a disordering of the soul: the will estranged from responsibility, love misdirected towards evil rather than good and the intellect dimmed of its light, unable to perceive truth. By comparing Dante's allegorical journey through Hell, Purgatory and Paradise with contemporary moral injury discussions and the broader literature, and by tracing connections from individual suffering to wider social and political contexts, this comprehensive narrative review uncovers underexplored dimensions of this multifaceted condition. The analysis addresses key moral injury themes, highlights routes and barriers to healing, identifies gaps in current scholarship and offers practical recommendations relevant in both peacetime and war. Dante's insights provide a symbolic framework for recognising and healing moral injury, potentially offering consolation for the affected and those who care for them, while showing how enduring cycles of violence can be interrupted through an ethic of just peace.

Music and religion have a long and interwoven relationship, with music being a tool for worship a way for spiritual experiences, and a method to express faith. The role of music, especially the use of the violin, in the context of religions, emotional, psychological and spiritual well-being in different cultures, is rarely studied. This study examines the spiritual, emotional, and cultural aspects of the violin in religious platforms through varied colors of religious traditions Christianity, Jews, Hindu, Muslims, Chinese Buddhism, and indigenous practices people. Such studies are the testaments to the consistency of the music-violin in the cross-cultural endurance and appeal at the spiritual level. The qualitative, historic and ethnomusicological methodologies in research are used to examine the roles of the violin in the religious context using secondary literature and sources of musicological reports, ethnography, historical reports and performances in music that were recorded. The article considers the role of the instrument in connection with its ability to bring about transcendent feeling, mediation of emotional outpouring, spiritual well-being and correlation of representation of divine association within religious ritual processes and ceremonies. It establishes common and divergent uses of the violin through a comparative model across various cultures. The subsequent discussion touches upon the history of the way the violin was used religiously and how globalization, modernization, and cultural hybridity changed its importance in religious music nowadays. The documented studies demonstrate how the instrument was adopted into Christian sacred concertos, Jewish Klezmer and synagogue traditions, Hindu traditions of bhajan performances, Islamic Sufi rituals and Chinese religious traditions of ensembles. The paper is able to show this through its analysis of these contexts, to present the violin as a special transcultural sacred instrument that serves to mark a line between individual and societal worshipping. Finally, the study gives credence to the continued usefulness and significance of the violin in the soundscape of religious manifestations across the world.

Spirituality is deeply embedded in childbirth experiences among Nigerian women; yet, its integration into maternity care remains limited, especially at the primary health care (PHC) level. This study explored the barriers and facilitators to integrating spirituality in childbirth among PHC workers in Ogbomoso, Nigeria. An exploratory qualitative research design was used, involving semi-structured interviews with ten purposively selected female PHC workers from selected health centers. Participants were mostly aged 41-50 years, predominantly Christian, and had 11-20 years of professional experience. Thematic analysis generated six themes as barriers to integrating spirituality: safety concerns related to harmful or unsterile spiritual items; concerns about disturbance from loud prayers disrupting the ward environment; heavy workload limiting attention to non-clinical needs; lack of training on spiritual care beyond prayer; time constraints, particularly during emergencies; and personal beliefs of health workers which sometimes conflicted with patients' spiritual preferences. Facilitators to integrating spirituality generate four themes: strong rapport between patients and caregivers, a calm and organized clinical environment, allowing access to personal spiritual items like scriptures or prayer beads, and supportive management policies that enabled flexibility without compromising care. The findings suggest that while spirituality is valued, systemic, institutional, and individual-level factors influence its implementation. Integrating spiritual care into PHC will require targeted training, staffing improvements, clear policies, and culturally sensitive guidelines to ensure holistic and respectful maternal care.

This study was conducted with the aim of identifying indicators of spiritual resilience in disasters and emergencies. In this systematic review, English and Persian-language documents were searched in databases and 32 articles were included in the study. The extracted indicators in the field of spiritual resilience in disasters and emergencies were categorized into three domains: adherence to rituals, personal growth, and a sense of social responsibility. Based on the findings of this study and subsequent complementary research, it is possible to develop an assessment tool for measuring spiritual resilience in disasters and emergencies.

Short-Term Medical Missions (STMMs) are healthcare initiatives that serve underserved populations in low- and middle-income countries, typically lasting from one to four weeks. Often driven by altruistic aims-including religious and humanitarian motivations-these missions raise significant ethical concerns related to effectiveness, sustainability, and the potential to unintentionally harm vulnerable communities. This article offers an interdisciplinary contribution by bridging clinical experience with theories of justice and Christian spirituality. Using a theoretical-normative methodology, it applies four ethical frameworks-Utilitarianism, Contractualism, Cosmopolitanism, and Catholic Social Teaching-to the ethical examination of STMMs. The analysis unfolds in two stages: first, a comprehensive review of key academic literature and foundational texts; second, the application of each framework to a composite case study drawn from the author's academic and professional experience. While each framework offers valuable insights, all reveal important limitations when confronted with complex real-world dilemmas. To navigate such ethical ambiguity, the article proposes Ignatian discernment as a complementary approach-not a competing framework, but a structured practice already used in decision-making under uncertainty. Applied to STMMs, discernment draws on the strengths of the four frameworks to help practitioners weigh competing values, engage local partners, and make context-sensitive decisions in settings marked by asymmetry, urgency, and cultural difference.

This scoping review examines the role of spirituality in helping oncology patients adapt to illness and life. An analysis of 49 quantitative studies from 2019 to 2025 revealed that positive manifestations of spirituality are linked to better mental health and improved adjustment to cancer and treatment. However, negative manifestations of spirituality are associated with poorer health outcomes and lower levels of adjustment. The lack of consensus regarding the definition and measurement of spirituality in oncology presents challenges. This study highlights the need to integrate structured spiritual care into cancer treatment.

The relationship between spirituality and cardiovascular health has been the subject of growing interest in scientific literature; however, the evidence available still presents important gaps and a lack of clarity in relation to scope and impact. Currently, no study has explored bibliometric indicators of production, trend, collaboration and impact of this topic. Thus, we performed a bibliometric review in the Scopus database covering the period from 1999 to 2024. Taking into account the recommendations of the BIBLIO guide, 116 studies addressing this topic were identified. The annual growth rate was 4.66%, with the United States, the "Iran University of Medical Sciences", the "Journal of Religion and Health" and the author Ai Amy Lee leading the scientific production. Most of the documents reviewed were articles (76.72%), and the predominant language was English (96.55%). Likewise, the keyword co-occurrence network and co-authorship networks highlight the thematic interconnection in studies on spirituality, religiosity, cardiovascular diseases, heart failure and quality of life. The co-authorship network highlights the predominant collaboration between authors and countries, with Ai, Amy Lee, and the United States being of note. These findings contribute to mapping the current state of research on this topic, providing a solid foundation for future research, guiding investigators toward promising areas, as well as encouraging a more holistic, preventive, fair, and collaborative approach.

Diyarbakir is recognized as the cradle of civilizations due to its rich historical background and cultural heritage. With the inclusion of the Diyarbakir Castle and Hevsel Gardens Cultural Landscape on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2015, it has gained international significance. At the center of this cultural landscape lies Ulu Mosque Square, a spiritual public space influences individuals' sense of peace, identity construction, and sense of belonging. This study aims to examine the effects of the spiritual and architectural environment of Ulu Mosque Square on individuals' inner experiences within the framework of architectural space perception. Designed as a qualitative study with a phenomenological approach, the research was conducted through semi-structured interviews with 15 participants aged between 18 and 65 years from diverse socio-cultural backgrounds in Diyarbakir, Turkey. The data were analyzed using Colaizzi's phenomenological analysis method. The analysis revealed five main themes and 20 cluster themes: the bodily experience of calm through architectural language, connection with roots and place-based belonging, communal selfhood shaped by shared rituals, the reconstruction of personal and professional identity, and the role of spirituality in guiding life purpose and values. The findings indicate that the architectural integrity, historical continuity, tranquil atmosphere, and collective memory of Ulu Mosque Square contribute to spiritual relaxation, mental focus, and a strengthened sense of cultural belonging. Furthermore, a meaningful relationship was identified between the physical characteristics of the space and individuals' inner and identity-related experiences. By addressing the psychological and identity-related effects of historical and spiritual public spaces from an interdisciplinary perspective, this study contributes to the intersection of architecture, mental health, environmental psychology, and identity studies.

This study explores the lived experiences of oncology nurses providing spiritual care within Saudi Arabia's Islamic cultural context. Guided by a descriptive phenomenological design and Colaizzi's method of analysis, in-depth interviews were conducted with 22 registered oncology nurses working in three cancer centers in Riyadh. Findings reveal that nurses conceptualize spiritual care not as discrete religious practices, but as an integrated, relational dimension of everyday nursing, grounded in Islamic moral and spiritual values. Spiritual care was understood as compassionate presence, ethical mediation, family facilitation, and meaning-centered communication, often experienced as a form of worship (ibādah). Five themes emerged: spiritual care through an Islamic lens; the sacred dimensions of nursing practice; navigating professional and religious boundaries; family-centered spiritual support; and nurses' personal spiritual resources and challenges. The study highlights the need for culturally responsive spiritual care education and institutional frameworks that recognize spiritual care as a core professional nursing competency within Islamic healthcare settings.