A brief comment on theoretical and clinical implications of a pragmatic approach to religion and spirituality in social work

ABSTRACT

Over the last few decades the potential place of religious and spiritual traditions in social work has emerged as a serious interest, evidenced in part by a growing body of research literature. This interest has given rise to areas of overlap and of disagreement and is furthermore cast against a backdrop of social work practitioners’ lived experiences with religious and spiritual clients. In this paper we consider the value of a pragmatic approach, borrowed from philosophy and psychology, for religion and spirituality in social work. Accordingly, we consider the value of a focus away from some of the interminable debates which constitute the philosophical dimension of the problem, and which might not be helpful in clinical, community or academic settings, and consider the benefits of a focus on the practical implications of the literature, which is likely to be beneficial for social work generally.

KEYWORDS:

• Spirituality
• religion
• philosophy
• ethics
• clinical
• counseling
• therapy

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.