Development of Seelsorge in medical care and welfare care of the German zone and it's present

2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26580015
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: History of thought
• Research Institution: Ishikawa Prefectural Nursing University
• Principal Investigator: Asami Hiroshi 石川県立看護大学, 看護学部, 教授 (00132598)
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2017-03-31
• Keywords: 医療と宗教 / 魂のケア / Seelsorge / スピリチュアルケア / 看取り

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The following three points were shown in this study. (1) Religious care in the German-speaking world has a rich history under the name of Seelsorge (the care of souls), and there is an established awareness of Seelsorgers (people who care for souls) as professionals responsible for spiritual care in medical settings. (2) Due to an increase in empirical research on the contribution of religion and spirituality to prevent diseases and boost recovery, more and more hospitals employ Seelsorgers, paying labor expenses to churches. (3) It is extremely difficult to create a spiritual care system similar to that of Seelsorge in modern Japan’s setting of clinical death, but programs for interfaith chaplaincy are beginning to be offered at several universities.

Free Research Field

宗教哲学