
Spiritual Ends
Religion and the Heart of Dying in Japan
Timothy O. Benedict(Author)
University of California Press
1st Edition
Will be published approx. on 20. December 2022
Book
Paperback/Softback
208 pages
978-0-520-38866-6 (ISBN)
Description
A free open access ebook is available upon publication. Learn more at www.luminosoa.org.
What role does religion play at the end of life in Japan? Spiritual Ends draws on ethnographic fieldwork and interviews with hospice patients, chaplains, and medical workers to provide an intimate portrayal of how spiritual care is provided to the dying in Japan. Timothy O. Benedict uses both local and cross-cultural perspectives to show how hospice caregivers in Japan are appropriating and reinterpreting global ideas about spirituality and the practice of spiritual care. Benedict relates these findings to a longer story of how Japanese religious groups have pursued vocational roles in medical institutions as a means to demonstrate a so-called "healthy" role in society. By paying attention to how care for the kokoro (heart or mind) is key to the practice of spiritual care, this book enriches conventional understandings of religious identity in Japan while offering a valuable East Asian perspective to global conversations on the ways religion, spirituality, and medicine intersect at death.
What role does religion play at the end of life in Japan? Spiritual Ends draws on ethnographic fieldwork and interviews with hospice patients, chaplains, and medical workers to provide an intimate portrayal of how spiritual care is provided to the dying in Japan. Timothy O. Benedict uses both local and cross-cultural perspectives to show how hospice caregivers in Japan are appropriating and reinterpreting global ideas about spirituality and the practice of spiritual care. Benedict relates these findings to a longer story of how Japanese religious groups have pursued vocational roles in medical institutions as a means to demonstrate a so-called "healthy" role in society. By paying attention to how care for the kokoro (heart or mind) is key to the practice of spiritual care, this book enriches conventional understandings of religious identity in Japan while offering a valuable East Asian perspective to global conversations on the ways religion, spirituality, and medicine intersect at death.
Reviews / Votes
"Highly recommend[ed] to anyone interested in hospice care, spiritual care, or end-of-life care in, but not limited to, Japan." * Japanese Journal of Religious Studies * "A valuable addition to the ongoing discussion on the role of religiosity in Japan's purportedly greatly secularized contemporary society, which will surely spark new debates regarding what religion can and cannot do for the dying." * Religious Studies Review *More details
Series
Edition
First Edition
Language
English
Place of publication
Berkerley
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
11 illustrations, 1 table
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 18 mm
Weight
318 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-520-38866-6 (9780520388666)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
11/2022
1st Edition
De Gruyter
€12.49
Available for download
Person
Timothy O. Benedict is Assistant Professor in the School of Sociology at Kwansei Gakuin University, Japan.