Where is God in my dying? A qualitative investigation of faith reflections among hospice patients in a secularized society

摘要

Despite increased focus on the role of spiritual care in palliative care, there is limited knowledge about spirituality/ religiosity among dying patients in secularized cultures such as Denmark. This study aims through semi-structured interviews with Danish hospice patients and participant observation to elucidate how hospice patients reflect and act upon their potential faith. The results demonstrate three dimensions of faith: (1) "Knowing" (cognition), (2) "doing" (praxis) and (3) "being" (meaning). The article concludes that most patients had a hesitant but, according to their situation, important faith although it was not something they knew much about, let alone discussed or practiced much.