Chaplain's Corner

In the field of health care chaplaincy or “spiritual heath care” as it is now being called there is a growing insistence that a differentiation be made between “pastoral” and “religious care” and “spiritual care”.  The Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance state that “Religion is any specific system of belief about deity, often involving rituals, a code of ethics, a philosophy of life, and a worldview.”  I know the resistance many of us have to identifying our practice of the Faith as “our religion”.

I myself have never felt comfortable calling the practice of my Faith: “my religion”.  In the circles I grew up in and served over the years, religion was always conceived of as the man made traditions that have almost completely blocked out the purity and simplicity of a personal relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ.  However regardless of our sensitivities the fact remains that sociologically, our adherence to the Christian Faith, whatever it looks like, is called “religion” as is anyone else’s practice of any faith tradition: Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu or whatever.

Spirituality, on the other hand is defined well by Patrician Frain, the Director of Spiritual Care at Winnipeg’s Health Sciences Hospital as “Our longing to live meaningful and purposeful lives, our sense of relatedness and connection, our desire to live with trust and hope in an uncertain universe, our desire to experience a sense of belonging to something greater than ourselves – Ultimate Mystery, God, the Divine, Oneness, the Unlimited, Nature, Life.”

Now, the fact is that many people, who are “religious” in the sense that it is being used commonly, are also deeply spiritual.  In my case for instance, my understanding of, conviction surrounding and practice of the teachings of the Bible have been lived out for the most part in Baptist churches of three different Baptist Associations.  But my faith gives form and substance to my spirituality, for it gives meaning and purpose to my life; defines how I can relate to God, others and myself, enables me to live with trust and hope in an uncertain world and defines my sense of belonging to God as his child, servant and friend.  This is probably true to one extent or another for most people of faith.

I could easily stop being a Baptist and affiliate with any number of other Christian groups and not have my personal faith or spirituality impacted in the least.  The business of affiliating with a group of fellow believers has to do with conviction, culture and comfort.

Now, to be honest, nine out of ten people I might talk to may not be able to define either the word “religious” or “spirituality” and in all honesty, that’s OK.  There are many realities in life that we experience or are involved in everyday that we might be hard pressed to define in a formal way.  Our capacity to define our experience doesn’t make our experience any more or less real or meaningful.

However, one of the things I confront in my work is the fact that there are many who have been raised and continue to embrace a religious tradition, but that religion is at odds with their spirituality.  I know this needs an example.  I once encountered a Mennonite gentleman who had been diagnosed with terminal cancer.  He had a fine Mennonite pedigree, emigrated from Russia in the 1927 immigration, was a baptized member of the church, attended regularly with his wife and family, had even served on the church board from time to time.  However, as he faced this crisis, he found himself floundering.

As he looked back over his life, it all seemed meaningless, He had been so focused on his work and on getting ahead that he had failed to build any significant connections to his wife or children or those who might call him a “friend”.  He felt alone, adrift, and even the teachings of his faith about heaven seemed less like reality and more like wishful thinking.  He was a decent man, hard working, church attending, a good provider but spiritually his religious life had left him down.

On another occasion I spoke with a young person who had grown up in a very observant Catholic family.  It was not a Christmas and Easter only observance of the Catholic Faith but a part of daily life.  Then, at 18 she was off to university and was exposed to the many in our institutions of higher learning that are agnostic or atheistic in their belief.   She was so sure of her faith in High School.  But after a few classes at University where her professor took some delight in knocking the supports out from under “Christian” students, she was feeling quite lost.  She ended up in the hospital for surgery and as we talked her confusion and sense of her lostness began to immerge.  She had embraced her religion vigorously and sincerely, but when it was opposed by men and women with PhD’s behind their names she found that her religion failed to provide her with that steadfast sense of meaning, connection, hope and belonging to God that she thought it would.

Conversely, I have had numerous encounters with people who haven’t been in a church in years.  It would be easy to make a snap judgment and assess such people as irreligious and unspiritual.  However, as I have sat with such folks and listened to them talk, I have found many who have a beautiful and deep relationship with God and who find in that relationship all that they need to live with meaning, hope and security in this world (spirituality) yet they are not at all religious.

As I have processed these definitions and seen how they play themselves out in the experiences of people when crisis hits, I have seen the importance of really working to bring our religion and our spirituality together.  For when these are at dissonance with each other, generally the pillar to fall is that of religion, as we turn elsewhere to satisfy  “our longing to live meaningful and purposeful lives, our sense of relatedness and connection, our desire to live with trust and hope in an uncertain universe, our desire to experience a sense of belonging to something greater than ourselves – Ultimate Mystery, God, the Divine, Oneness, the Unlimited, Nature, Life.”

Spirituality as it is being defined is all about relationship, a connection with God that gives meaning and purpose to live, that enables us to connect with other people and God in a life affirming way, that enables us to have hope in the face of life’s uncertainties, because we trust in One that loves us and possess the infinite capacity that enables us to say, “It is well with my soul” even when all hell is breaking loose around us.  If your religion hasn’t provided you with that kind of relationship, allow your spirit to reach out to God.  Seek him, for he has promised that those who seek will find.