Spirituality and Aging
Published on 26. April 2009
224 pages
978-0-8018-9653-8 (ISBN)
Description
Winner, 2009 Richard Kalish Innovative Publication Award. Gerontological Society of America
A spiritual life, one focused on personal growth and deep human experience, is a major focus and motivator for people over the age of forty. Yet there is a marked lack of rigorous academic study of spirituality's importance in the lives of aging people. Noted gerontologist Robert C. Atchley remedies this problem by developing complex concepts and language about spirituality.
Spirituality and Aging incorporates material from two decades of interviews, observations, study, and reflection to illustrate ways of thinking about and discussing spirituality-what it is, why it is important, and how it influences the experience of aging. This book provides a nuanced view of spirituality and the richness it brings to the lives of older people.
The book is divided into three sections, with the first providing basic frames of reference for examining spirituality and aging, such as the nature of spirituality, spiritual development, and the spiritual self. Atchley next focuses on two dimensions of spirituality that are likely to manifest later in life: becoming a sage (developing the capacity to bring spiritual light to everyday issues) and serving from spirit (creating opportunities for service that are rooted in spirituality). The last section illustrates how spirituality informs other aspects of late life, such as psychological coping and the experience of dying and death.
Separating spirituality from religion-something few books on this topic do-Spirituality and Aging offers a plan for incorporating spirituality into gerontological scholarship, research, education, and practice.
A spiritual life, one focused on personal growth and deep human experience, is a major focus and motivator for people over the age of forty. Yet there is a marked lack of rigorous academic study of spirituality's importance in the lives of aging people. Noted gerontologist Robert C. Atchley remedies this problem by developing complex concepts and language about spirituality.
Spirituality and Aging incorporates material from two decades of interviews, observations, study, and reflection to illustrate ways of thinking about and discussing spirituality-what it is, why it is important, and how it influences the experience of aging. This book provides a nuanced view of spirituality and the richness it brings to the lives of older people.
The book is divided into three sections, with the first providing basic frames of reference for examining spirituality and aging, such as the nature of spirituality, spiritual development, and the spiritual self. Atchley next focuses on two dimensions of spirituality that are likely to manifest later in life: becoming a sage (developing the capacity to bring spiritual light to everyday issues) and serving from spirit (creating opportunities for service that are rooted in spirituality). The last section illustrates how spirituality informs other aspects of late life, such as psychological coping and the experience of dying and death.
Separating spirituality from religion-something few books on this topic do-Spirituality and Aging offers a plan for incorporating spirituality into gerontological scholarship, research, education, and practice.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Baltimore
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
11 s/w Zeichnungen
11 Line drawings, black and white
File size
2,46 MB
ISBN-13
978-0-8018-9653-8 (9780801896538)
DOI
10.1353/book.3409
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Robert C. Atchley
Spirituality and Aging
Book
04/2009
Johns Hopkins University Press
€54.00
Article not available for order
Person
Robert C. Atchley is a distinguished professor of gerontology emeritus at Miami University, Ohio, where he also served as the director of the Scripps Gerontology Center. Professor Atchley was previously a professor and chair of the Department of Gerontology at the Naropa Institute, in Boulder, Colorado, and is the author of Social Forces and Aging and of Continuity and Adaptation in Aging: Creating Positive Experiences, also published by Johns Hopkins.
Content
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Setting the Stage
Part I: Basic Frames of Reference
1. The Nature of Spiritual Experience
2. Spiritual Development
3. Spirituality, Spiritual Self, and Spiritual Identity
Part II: Spirtual Journeying
4. Becoming a Sage and a Spiritual Elder: Transpersonal Psychology
5. Transpersonal Sociology and Serving from Spirit
Part III: Examples Using an Expanded View
6. Continuity, Spiritual Growth, and Coping in Later Adulthood
7. Spiritual Beliefs and Practices and the Experience of Time and Aging
8. Spirituality and the Experience of Dying and Death
Conclusion: Summary, Reflections, and Implications
Appendix A: Spirituality Inventory
Appendix B: Questions for Reflection and Spiritual Self-Assessment
Notes
References
Index
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Setting the Stage
Part I: Basic Frames of Reference
1. The Nature of Spiritual Experience
2. Spiritual Development
3. Spirituality, Spiritual Self, and Spiritual Identity
Part II: Spirtual Journeying
4. Becoming a Sage and a Spiritual Elder: Transpersonal Psychology
5. Transpersonal Sociology and Serving from Spirit
Part III: Examples Using an Expanded View
6. Continuity, Spiritual Growth, and Coping in Later Adulthood
7. Spiritual Beliefs and Practices and the Experience of Time and Aging
8. Spirituality and the Experience of Dying and Death
Conclusion: Summary, Reflections, and Implications
Appendix A: Spirituality Inventory
Appendix B: Questions for Reflection and Spiritual Self-Assessment
Notes
References
Index
