What does it mean to grow old? What makes later life meaningful? What gives a frail and isolated or institutionalised older person their sense of wholeness and self? This substantially updated new edition of Elizabeth MacKinlay's seminal text presents the latest theory and research to explore these questions in depth, pointing the way towards new ways of thinking about and engaging with the spirituality of ageing. Encompassing the findings of a new research study on baby boomer spirituality, the book presents a wider and more comprehensive view of ageing and spirituality, concluding that spirituality for the baby boomer generation is every bit as important as for the cohorts before them, but also fundamentally different, with fewer being practicing members of a religious faith. Drawing on in-depth interviews with older people, and containing many new ideas whilst also addressing the foundational theories and questions essential to scholarship in this field, the book also includes a new and timely chapter on the spirituality of older people in our increasingly multicultural and multifaith societies. This clear and practical text presents much-needed guidance for health and social care practitioners, chaplains, clergy and others seeking to identify and support the spiritual needs of older people, as well as students and researchers in related disciplines.

"Drawing on in-depth interviews with older people, Elizabeth MacKinlay, develops an understanding of spirituality that enables the reader to explore the spiritual dimension of ageing and to learn how it contributes to well being and health in later life. This book will be a useful text for students, trainers and academics, policy makers and practitioners in health and social care, as well as religious professionals, in hospital, residential and other caring settings."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Explore the spiritual dimensions of aging through science, theory, and practice! During the later years of life, many people devote energy to a process of spiritual awakening and self-discovery. Yet their family, friends, clergy, and the helping professionals who work with them are not always prepared to understand or deal with the spiritual concerns of their clients. Aging and Spirituality provides a unique, far-reaching overview of this long-neglected field. Divided into four independent but interwoven sections, this landmark book covers the spiritual realm with scientific rigor and deep human understanding. Aging and Spirituality comprehensively surveys the issues of spirituality, from the groundwork of basic definitions to detailed assessments of the role spirituality plays in the lives of the elderly and suggested directions for further research. This book's unique approach combines scholarly research and practical nuts-and-bolts suggestions for service delivery. By drawing from many disciplines and professions, it offers fresh perspectives to even those practitioners already familiar with the most effective spiritual techniques their own field can offer. Aging and Spirituality answers such common questions as: What are the spiritual needs of people later in life? Is there any solid evidence that prayer changes things? How is spirituality related to physical and mental health? Does spirituality matter when people know they are dying? How can we measure spiritual wellness and assess the outcomes of activities intended to enhance it? Will attention to spirituality aggravate or alleviate the losses--of friends, family, health, youth--that so often occur during old age? Aging and Spirituality provides a much-needed resource for health care professionals, clergy, social workers, and counselors working with geriatric clients. By integrating spiritual issues into the theoretical framework of social gerontology, Aging and Spirituality will help you understand the scientific foundations, practical applications, and public policy implications of spirituality for older adults.

Well-known authors in the field of ageing and spirituality present their considered contributions to current understandings in this fast-changing field.

This book addresses important issues of ageing and spirituality and reflects on the impact of culture on both constructs. The papers are contemporary in that they include excerpts of cultural impact on spirituality from New Zealand, Singapore, India, United Kingdom, Australia and the United States. This book marks almost 20 years of international conferences on ageing and spirituality that commenced in January 2000. It opens the conversation to all who were part of this journey of ageing, including older people, practitioners in ageing and aged care, researchers, and those who reflect on the process of growing older. Chapters feature diverse perspectives, highlighting the need for inclusivity in conversations that surround ageing and recognize how development of cultures is influenced by the society where they emerge, and by minority groups within larger society. Chapters also note the occurrence of subcultures of ageing and aged care. The conference was held shortly before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the chapters being written often during times of lockdown. Their content reflects the importance of spirituality in times of isolation and can show ways of reaching out to vulnerable older people, of various faiths and cultures, whatever their situations. Changing Cultures of Ageing and Spirituality will be a key resource for academics, researchers, and advanced students of Theology, Divinity and Religious Studies, Gerontology, Sociology, Psychology, Mental Health, and Nursing. The chapters included in this book were originally published as a special issue of Journal of Religion, Spirituality & Aging.

Written by significant researchers and practitioners within the field, this unique collection of key texts introduces the reader to practical theology. It critically explores the way in which the spiritual dimension of pastoral care has entered into constructive dialogue with other disciplines and ways of thinking, including: psychiatry, psychology, counselling, intercultural studies, educational methodology, narrative theory and political studies. Set within this multidisciplinary context, the individual contributions (a selection of articles from a leading journal of pastoral theology, Contact: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Pastoral Studies) cover a wide range of practical and theological issues that alert the reader to the spiritual dimension of pastoral care, such as bereavement, sexuality, ethics, learning disabilities, infertility, the meaning of pain, sickness and suffering and the nature of theology as a practical discipline. The book is an invaluable resource for practitioners, researchers, students and all who have an interest in the ways in which a spiritual dimension can enhance caring practices within a multidisciplinary context.

How can you foster spiritual growth in older people?This multidisciplinary work re-examines issues of aging with dignity and spiritual meaning. Aging, Spirituality, and Pastoral Care: A Multi-National Perspective brings together chaplains, pastors, counselors, and health care practitioners in all walks of gerontology from around the world to present a fully rounded picture of the spiritual needs and potentialities of this fast-growing population. It also includes a study of the spiritual awareness of nurses working in six different nursing homes, as well as a model for a parish nursing practice that focuses on the aged. Aging, Spirituality, and Pastoral Care addresses urgent issues for older people, including: social and spiritual isolation the wisdom of the aging the need for intimacy sexuality among older people living with dementia the spiritual dimensions of caregiving