REPORT ON “SPIRITUALITY AND MORALITY”

WHAT IS SPIRITUALITY?

Spirituality is a broad concept with room for many perspectives. In general, it includes a
sense of connection to something bigger than ourselves, and it typically involves a search for
meaning in life. As such, it is a universal human experience—something that touches us all.
People may describe a spiritual experience as sacred or transcendent or simply a deep sense of
aliveness and interconnectedness.

Experts’ Definitions of Spirituality

 Christina Puchalski, MD, Director of the George Washington Institute for Spirituality and
Health, contends that "Spirituality is the aspect of humanity that refers to the way
individuals seek and express meaning and purpose and the way they experience their
connectedness to the moment, to self, to others, to nature, and to the significant or sacred."

 According to Mario Beauregard and Denyse O’Leary, researchers and authors of The
Spiritual Brain, “Spirituality means any experience that is thought to bring the experiencer
into contact with the divine (in other words, not just any experience that feels meaningful).”

 Nurses Ruth Beckmann Murray and Judith Proctor Zenter write that “The spiritual
dimension tries to be in harmony with the universe, and strives for answers about the
infinite, and comes into focus when the person faces emotional stress, physical illness, or
death.”

Relationship between Religion and Spirituality

Spirituality may incorporate elements of religion, but it is a generally a broader concept.
 Spirituality: This is more of an individual practice, and has to do with having a sense of
peace and purpose. It also relates to the process of developing beliefs around the
meaning of life and connection with others, without any set spiritual values. The
questions are: where do I personally find meaning, connection and value?
 Religion: This is a specific set of organized beliefs and practices, usually shared by a
community or group. The questions are: what is true and right?
The common point on this two is what we call the individual experience that
affects the way people think, feel and behave.
Relationship of Spirituality and Emotional Health
 Spirituality is about seeking a meaningful connection with something bigger than
yourself, which can result in positive emotions, such as peace, awe, contentment,
gratitude and acceptance.
 Emotional health is about cultivating a positive state of mind, which can broaden your
outlook to recognize and incorporate a connection to something.
Thus, emotions and spirituality are distinct but linked, deeply integrated with
one another.

Spirituality in Healthcare

An engagement with the spiritual dimensions of life has always been an essential
component of health and wellbeing. In modern times, the role of Spirituality and Religion in
medical field encompasses such practices as the use of meditation and prayer in healing,
pastoral counseling, evoking for forgiveness and compassion, engaging the mystery of death in
end of life care, and search for meaning in illness for patients.
Understanding a patient’s spirituality can help a physician to treat patients better.
Spirituality may play a role in a patient’s understanding of their diseases and their decision to
seek treatment. Religious convictions can also play a role in their decision making of
treatment. Spiritual practices can be an enormous role in patients’ and their families coping.
In health care, workplace spirituality incorporates one’s efforts to find meaning and
purpose in life; maintain healthy relationships with the members of the multidisciplinary
team, relatives, and other workers; and, the maintenance of coherence between one’s core
beliefs and the values of the respective organization. In the workplace value comes from work
when one believes that one is making a contribution, making a difference, and connecting to
others and to something beyond, and greater than oneself, through pursuing a common
purpose.
Spirituality has a positive role in healthcare, coping and recovery. It can help create a
positive outlook on life, find purpose, reduce pain, improve physical functioning, reduce the
risk of disease, increase relaxation, reduce stress, increase hope, increase the feeling of
belonging, and increases lifespan.

WHAT IS MORALITY?
 It refers to the human decision making capacity (both theoretical and practical)
deliberately done based on understanding of what is right and wrong (may be universal
or individual) that affects self and others in positive or negative ways.
  It is the differentiation of intentions, decisions and actions between those that are
distinguished as proper and improper. Morality may also be synonymous with
“goodness” or “rightness”.

Moral Distinctions
 Moral - Decision that positively affects others and promotes human welfare
 Immoral - Decision that negatively affects others and is harmful and destructive
 Nonmoral - Decision that neither has a positive nor negative effect on others
 Amoral - A person has no sense of right or wrong; insensitive with the moral effects of
actions or doesn’t have the capacity to decide.

Moral Behavior can depend on the following:

 Consequences – what will happen if they do/don’t do it
 Emotions – how will they feel about their decisions afterwards
 Situation – the background what led up to it
 Laws and Rules – if it is against the law or a rule
 Authority – if someone orders/forces them to do it
 Common Practice – whether or not everyone is doing it
 Conscience – something that tells them it is right or wrong

Five Major Moral Principles in Health Care

1. Non-maleficence: The principle of non-maleficence – do no harm – asserts that a health
care professional should cause needless harm or injury according to reasonable
standards of performance.
2. Beneficence. Promote welfare of others. This is inherent in the relationship of health
care provider and the recipient of care.
3. Utility. Attempt to bring about the greatest amount of benefit to as many people
involved as is possible and consistent with observance to other basic moral principles.
Greatest benefit and least harm.
4. Respect for autonomy. People are rational, self determining beings who are capable of
making judgements and decisions and should be respected and permitted to do so and
supported with truthful and accurate information and no coercion.
5. Distributive Justice. All involved should have equal entitlements, equal access to
benefits and burdens. Similar cases should be treated in a similar fashion. People should
be treated alike regardless of need, contributions or effort.
 Why should we be concerned with morality in the
field of health care?

As human persons, one of their greatest needs is the need for moral truth. Morality
guides them to the satisfaction of that need. And it is satisfied by choosing well, that is, in
accord with the integral human fulfillment of persons. A person will always be judged based on
their moral conduct.
In conclusion, living the moral life is synonymous to Spirituality. Spirituality has
everything to do with morality, ethical decision, sense of what are right and wrong, one’s
values, compassion and tolerance. Morality allows a person to live honestly and purely in a
world that often forgets. Being moral and spiritual helps individuals to stay grounded and can
pave the way for them to remain happy and contented at peace.

REFERENCES:
 Spirituality in the Healthcare Workplace by Donia Baldacchino
www.mdpi.com/journal/religions
 The Role of Morality in Health Care and Its Dilemmas by Mark S. Latkovic
https://epublications.marquette.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2261&context=lnq

 Unit 4: Morality. Section 1: Introduction to Morality. Published by Stephanie Stevens

 Moral Climate of Healthcare
http://www.qcc.cuny.edu/SocialSciences/ppecorino/MEDICAL_ETHICS_TEXT/Chapter_3_Moral_
Climate_of_Health_Care/Five_Major_Principles.htm
 Spirituality and Healthcare
http://www.bravewell.org/integrative_medicine/philosophical_foundation/spirituality_and_hea
lthcare/
 The Role Of Spirituality In Healthcare
https://askdrnandi.com/the-role-of-spirituality-in-healthcare/