Religion, Spirituality, and Cancer: The Question of Individual Empowerment

“In particular, they refer to (1) the development of a critical analysis about the origins and meaning of the disease, which initially modifies the interpretation that sick people have of themselves and their disease(28) and allows them to make coherent sense of their experience(24,32); (2) the person’s active particip…”

“It must first be stated that serious, chronic diseases are characterized by many types of change and loss, be they physical, social, psychological, or symbolic.(26-31) Cancer is not an exception to this rule.”

“Spirituality might perhaps foster positive emotions or regulate painful ones.(13) This would be the case when a person has a transcendental, spiritual experience or a moment of ecstasy or when the person is intimately linked with a divine, sacred entity.”

“In particular, they refer to (1) the development of a critical analysis about the origins and meaning of the disease, which initially modifies the interpretation that sick people have of themselves and their disease(28) and allows them to make coherent sense of their experience(24,32); (2) the person’s active particip…”

“It must first be stated that serious, chronic diseases are characterized by many types of change and loss, be they physical, social, psychological, or symbolic.(26-31) Cancer is not an exception to this rule.”

“In particular, they refer to (1) the development of a critical analysis about the origins and meaning of the disease, which initially modifies the interpretation that sick people have of themselves and their disease(28) and allows them to make coherent sense of their experience(24,32); (2) the person’s active particip…”

“In particular, they refer to (1) the development of a critical analysis about the origins and meaning of the disease, which initially modifies the interpretation that sick people have of themselves and their disease(28) and allows them to make coherent sense of their experience(24,32); (2) the person’s active particip…”

“Like other diseases, it often constitutes a crisis situation and an attack on physical integrity, which leads to a feeling of powerlessness and a lack of control.(24,32-34) Cancer robs them of hope by making them lose a sense of meaning and purpose in their personal life, by occasioning a lack of commitment in life in…”

“It must first be stated that serious, chronic diseases are characterized by many types of change and loss, be they physical, social, psychological, or symbolic.(26-31) Cancer is not an exception to this rule.”

“It must first be stated that serious, chronic diseases are characterized by many types of change and loss, be they physical, social, psychological, or symbolic.(26-31) Cancer is not an exception to this rule.”

“Several authors who have examined the place of spirituality and religion in the health field accredit them with a positive role, notwithstanding the fact that they may as well reveal negative effects.(5,6) To that purpose, Nelson(7) mentions that some religious beliefs may lead affected people to interpret their illne…”

“Like other diseases, it often constitutes a crisis situation and an attack on physical integrity, which leads to a feeling of powerlessness and a lack of control.(24,32-34) Cancer robs them of hope by making them lose a sense of meaning and purpose in their personal life, by occasioning a lack of commitment in life in…”

“On reflection, the meaning that 5 of the respondents gave to their misfortune allowed them to determine strongly, in spirit of a “self-accusation and self-responsibility” typical of the modern world, that their lifestyle was responsible for its emergence.(42,43) Our interviews showed that the subject of spirituality a…”

“While participation in organized religion in Europe has dropped dramatically, there has been little decline in interest in spirituality or religion, just a shift from communal participation to a system where individuals choose their own constructed belief systems and participate in communal activities only as they adv…”

“On the other hand, some state that spirituality helps construct signification and make use of meaning at times when difficult life transitions arise.(9-11) In this regard, Pargament(12) mentions that spirituality and religious coping act as a process that people go through to (re)consider the value of events and thing…”

“It must first be stated that serious, chronic diseases are characterized by many types of change and loss, be they physical, social, psychological, or symbolic.(26-31) Cancer is not an exception to this rule.”

“It must first be stated that serious, chronic diseases are characterized by many types of change and loss, be they physical, social, psychological, or symbolic.(26-31) Cancer is not an exception to this rule.”

“Cancer robs them of hope by making them lose a sense of meaning and purpose in their personal life, by occasioning a lack of commitment in life in general, by creating an uncertainty about future possibilities, and by making it difficult to even imagine oneself in the future.(35,36) During this type of experience, sic…”

“On the other hand, some state that spirituality helps construct signification and make use of meaning at times when difficult life transitions arise.(9-11) In this regard, Pargament(12) mentions that spirituality and religious coping act as a process that people go through to (re)consider the value of events and thing…”

“Several authors who have examined the place of spirituality and religion in the health field accredit them with a positive role, notwithstanding the fact that they may as well reveal negative effects.(5,6) To that purpose, Nelson(7) mentions that some religious beliefs may lead affected people to interpret their illne…”

“Cancer robs them of hope by making them lose a sense of meaning and purpose in their personal life, by occasioning a lack of commitment in life in general, by creating an uncertainty about future possibilities, and by making it difficult to even imagine oneself in the future.(35,36) During this type of experience, sic…”

“On the other hand, some state that spirituality helps construct signification and make use of meaning at times when difficult life transitions arise.(9-11) In this regard, Pargament(12) mentions that spirituality and religious coping act as a process that people go through to (re)consider the value of events and thing…”

“These observations also underline a marked interest in invisible, mysterious, and magical phenomena that can endow people with useful powers for transcendental, immanent, and sacred experiences.(39-41) We thus adopted a functional approach to religious phenomena by considering that people’s spirituality, beliefs, valu…”

“Most of the respondents did not diverge from the modern tendency to make the most of current religious and spiritual content and to combine or juxtapose them in an individual approach so as to develop and benefit from personal powers that would transform their situation.(48) This was exactly as it was mentioned by the…”

“These observations also underline a marked interest in invisible, mysterious, and magical phenomena that can endow people with useful powers for transcendental, immanent, and sacred experiences.(39-41) We thus adopted a functional approach to religious phenomena by considering that people’s spirituality, beliefs, valu…”

“These observations indicate that modern individuals are on a shifting, religious marketplace where there is a tendency toward individualization, toward the decomposition and recomposition of beliefs, and toward serve-yourself and do-it-yourself beliefs.(38) These observations also underline a marked interest in invisi…”

“In other cases, some studies use spirituality and religion interchangeably or together without denoting any justification or definition of the two [118,119,120,121,122,123,124].”

“Iran is a country where the majority of its people are religious, and religion is expected to play a moderating role in these ambiguities and reduce negative emotions, although studies confirm the positive effect of religious and spiritual practices on cancer patients [50].”