An invaluable compendium of case-studies, academic reflection and critical enquiry, this Handbook offers a fresh understanding of traditional, contemporary and innovative forms of spiritual practice as they are witnessed in the public sphere. Providing a wide-ranging appraisal of chaplaincy in an era of religious complexity and emergent spiritualities, this pioneering book is a major contribution to a relatively underdeveloped field and sets out how the phenomenon of chaplaincy can be better understood and its practice more robust and informed.

A Handbook of Chaplaincy Studies explores fundamental issues and critical questions in chaplaincy, spanning key areas of health care, the prison service, education and military chaplaincy. Leading authors and practitioners in the field present critical insight into the challenges and opportunities facing those providing professional spiritual care. From young men and women in the military and in custody, to the bedside of those experiencing life’s greatest traumas, this critical examination of the role played by the chaplain offers a fresh and informed understanding about faith and diversity in an increasingly secular society. An invaluable compendium of case-studies, academic reflection and critical enquiry, this handbook offers a fresh understanding of traditional, contemporary and innovative forms of spiritual practice as they are witnessed in the public sphere. Providing a wide-ranging appraisal of chaplaincy in an era of religious complexity and emergent spiritualities, this pioneering book is a major contribution to a relatively underdeveloped field and sets out how the phenomenon of chaplaincy can be better understood and its practice more robust and informed.

Wendy Cadge and Shelly Rambo demonstrate the urgent need, highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic, to position the long history and practice of chaplaincy within the rapidly changing landscape of American religion and spirituality. This book provides a much-needed road map for training and renewing chaplains across a professional continuum that spans major sectors of American society, including hospitals, prisons, universities, the military, and nursing homes. Written by a team of multidisciplinary experts and drawing on ongoing research at the Chaplaincy Innovation Lab at Brandeis University, Chaplaincy and Spiritual Care in the Twenty-First Century identifies three central competencies—individual, organizational, and meaning-making—that all chaplains must have, and it provides the resources for building those skills. Featuring profiles of working chaplains, the book positions intersectional issues of religious diversity, race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and other markers of identity as central to the future of chaplaincy as a profession.

Chaplaincy is a rapidly growing ministry, but one that has been the centre of little theological discussion. Focusing on understanding what chaplaincy is and how it is exercised in different contexts, this book intends to support the work of chaplains by providing a theological examination of their ministry. The chapters in this book discuss how the work of chaplains outside the structures of the Church and yet frequently carried out by ministers authorized by the Church relates to some of the key questions of how the Church understands itself in relation to the world (i.e. institutions and structures that are not part of the church), whether or not the chaplains should engage in converting non-Christians to Christianity, and how chaplaincy is carried out both from within Christianity and in a multi-faith environment. This book explores the role of chaplains and the benefits of chaplaincy as a form of ministry as well as an examination of the personal characteristics and disposition best suited to serving as a chaplain. Chaplaincy and Christian Theology considers the nature of chaplaincy in public spaces and the implications of Christian theology within this ministry. Essential reading for chaplains, students of theology, and anyone involved in Christian ministry and Christian theology.

Research literacy is now a requirement for Board-Certified chaplains in the US and a growing field in the UK. This reader gives an overview and introduction to the field of healthcare chaplaincy research. The 21 carefully chosen articles in this book illustrate techniques critical to chaplaincy research: case studies; qualitative research; cross-sectional and longitudinal quantitative research, and randomized clinical trials. The selected articles also address wide-ranging topics in chaplaincy research for a comprehensive overview of the field. To help readers engage with the research, each article includes a discussion guide highlighting crucial content, as well as important background information and implications for further research. This book is the perfect primary text for healthcare chaplaincy research courses, bringing together key articles from peer-reviewed journals in one student-friendly format.

This book examines the services that chaplains provide to dying patients and the unique relationship that palliative care staff construct with people at the end of life. It explores the nature of hope when faced with the inevitable and develops a theory of spiritual care rooted in relationship that has implications for all healthcare professionals.

The place of religion in public life continues to be a much-debated topic in Western nations. This book charts the changing role of hospital chaplains and examines through detailed case studies the realities of practice and the political debates which either threaten or sustain the service. This second edition includes a new introduction and updated material throughout to present fresh insights and research about chaplaincy, including in relation to New Atheism and the developing debate about secularism and religion in public life. Swift concludes that chaplains must do more to communicate the value of what they bring to the bedside.

These diverse case studies make a compelling case for the importance of effective spiritual care in healthcare and provide unprecedented insight into the essential role of the chaplain within the healthcare team. Presented alongside critical reflections and responses from professionals within chaplaincy, psychology, psychiatry and nursing, they provide an honest and detailed look into how healthcare chaplains actually work with the people in their care and reveal the vital role of narrative and imagination in effective transformative practice. From a 16-year-old with a belief that God would enable a miraculous recovery from paralysis, to an African man with a history of psychosis and depression whose cultural belief in witches complicated his treatment, to a dying Jewish man, aggressive and isolated due to his traumatic life experiences, each case includes insight into the patient's needs and chaplain's perspectives, discussion of spiritual assessments and spiritual care interventions, and accounts of significant encounters and dialogues. The nine paediatric, psychiatric and palliative case studies and reflections in this ground-breaking book will enable chaplains to critically reflect on the spiritual care they provide and communicate their work more effectively, help healthcare professionals develop a clearer understanding of the care chaplains deliver, and provide an informed perspective for those who develop policy around spiritual care and need to make the case for chaplaincy services.

Chaplaincy has emerged as a highly significant form of ministry in the twenty-first century, and chaplaincy studies is growing as a field of study that learns from the experience and work of chaplains in their diverse sectors. Chaplains from a range of different faith traditions pioneer ministry within the secular yet religiously plural contexts of contemporary life with often considerable creativity and skill, generating a wealth of insight to be gleaned for understanding the place of faith in the modern world. One of the disciplines that has been most concerned with gleaning those insights and developing the field of chaplaincy studies is practical theology. The journal Practical Theology (formerly Contact) is a key repository for much of the wisdom gained through such study, and this book draws on the archive of the journal to trace the development of chaplaincy research and provide a resource for those seeking to join the conversation about the nature and significance of chaplaincy as a form of ministry and mission today. Drawing on different sectors of chaplaincy and different methodological approaches, this book is invaluable for those engaged in chaplaincy work, those seeking to research that work, and for anyone interested in contemporary, pioneering forms of ministry.