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Journal of Religion and Health

, Volume 54, Issue 4, pp 1460–1469 | Cite as

Toward the Concept of ‘Spiritist Chaplaincy’

  • Marcelo SaadEmail author
  • Giancarlo Lucchetti
  • Mario Fernando Prieto Peres
  • Roberta de Medeiros
Philosophical Exploration
First Online:

Abstract

In Brazil, Spiritism is the third most common religious affiliation. Notwithstanding, there are few religious assistance programs dedicated to Spiritist patients in Brazilian general hospitals and, after searching for the term ‘Spiritist Chaplaincy’ on lay and medical databases, it returns zero results. This article describes the future development of a ‘Spiritist Chaplaincy,’ exploring its concept, design, precepts, and challenges, based upon the first results of a Spiritist religious assistance program for hospitalized patients. This proposed model seems feasible to be replicated, aiming to develop in the near future a structure compatible with a proper ‘Spiritist Chaplaincy’ instead of religious hospital visits.

Keywords

Spiritism Hospital Chaplaincy Services Religious Beliefs Religion and Medicine Pastoral Care 
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Notes

Conflict of interest

Authors declare that there is no actual or potential conflict of interest.

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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media New York 2015

Authors and Affiliations

  • Marcelo Saad
    • 1
    • 2
    Email author
  • Giancarlo Lucchetti
    • 3
    • 4
  • Mario Fernando Prieto Peres
    • 1
    • 5
    • 6
  • Roberta de Medeiros
    • 7
  1. 1.Medical Spiritist Association of São PauloSão PauloBrazil
  2. 2.Medical College of Acupuncture of São PauloSão PauloBrazil
  3. 3.Federal University of Juiz de ForaJuiz de ForaBrazil
  4. 4.Brazilian Medical Spiritist AssociationSão PauloBrazil
  5. 5.Albert Einstein HospitalSão PauloBrazil
  6. 6.Federal University of São PauloSão PauloBrazil
  7. 7.Centro Universitário São CamiloSão PauloBrazil

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