Social work and spirituality: Reflecting on the last 20 years

ABSTRACT

As an experienced social worker, but a new academic in the late 1990s, I was surprised how uncomfortable students felt naming how their Christian background influenced their interest in social work. Spirituality/religion was minimally expressed in the curriculum and there was little literature or related research, particularly in Australia. Here, I draw on my experience to reflect how this has changed, and the implications for social work practice and education. Within social work and the broader community, there has been a significant increase in literature and research related to spirituality/religion. However, despite religious tensions expressed in war, various abusive practices, and debates about religious freedom, social work education still provides little training for students about these issues. But we may be on the cusp of change. Research demonstrates that some clients value including spirituality in their lives, and in social work practice. Social workers are recognising that clients and communities for whom this is important need their support, including advocacy for their right to spiritual/religious expression. We need to affirm both the challenges and opportunities of including spirituality/religion in social work. Ways forward include being more explicit about spirituality/religion, modelling how to engage with this, and integrating spirituality/religion into a curriculum underpinned by critically reflective approaches. These, combined with intersectionality and critical cultural consciousness, can lead to social work practice that not only integrates this aspect of people's lives but is inclusive, holistic, respectful of the complexity of people's lives and adheres to principles of social justice.

KEYWORDS:

• Spirituality
• religion
• social work practice and education

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes on contributor

Fiona Gardner is an Associate Professor and Discipline Lead for Social Work across the four regional campuses of LaTrobe University’s Rural Health School. She also teaches a unit at Stirling Theological College called ‘Supervision in Spiritual Care using Critical Reflection’. Her research interests are currently related to identifying what works in spiritual care and the use of critical reflection in education to change the classroom experience.