Going below the tip of the iceberg: Social work, religion, and spirituality

Abstract

The discrepancy between the spiritual beliefs and practices of the general population and the willingness of social workers to address them can limit effective practice. A critical factor inhibiting the use of spirituality is the inaccurate impression that various religious beliefs conflict with the philosophy and values of social work. This paper proposes a cross‐cultural model that can be used to increase the comfort of social workers in integrating the spiritual dimension of clients’ lives in practice. The paper then applies the model to the assessment of clients who hold a belief within each of four faith traditions, Buddhism, Islam, Catholicism, and Protestant Christianity.

Keywords:

• Spirituality
• religion
• social work
• multicultural practice