The essential guide to religious traditions and spirituality for health care providers

Setting the stage -- Spirituality and religion: an overview of three families of faith -- Spirituality, religion and culture -- Spirituality and religion: relevance in the clinical setting? -- Spirituality and religion in the clinical setting: pros and cons -- Spiritual care in the clinical setting: assessment and application -- Agnosticism -- American Indian spirituality -- Baha'i Faith -- Buddhism: general introduction -- Mahayana -- Theravada -- Vajrayana -- Christianity: general introduction -- Anabaptist traditions: general introduction -- Amish -- Brethren in Christ -- Church of the Brethren -- Hutterites -- Mennonite -- Catholic traditions: general introduction -- Eastern Rite Catholic church -- Roman Catholicism-- Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormon) -- Community of Christ -- Jehovah's witnesses -- Orthodox Christianity -- Protestant traditions: general introduction -- African American Baptist/Protestantism -- African Methodist Episcopal church (AME) -- Assemblies of God - Baptist church -- Christian church (Disciples of Christ) -- Christian Science -- Church of God movement (Anderson, IN) -- Episcopal -- Evangelical Covenant church - Lutheran church - Church of the Nazarene -- Presbyterian church -- Seventh-Day Adventist church -- United Church of Christ -- United Methodist church -- Unity -- Quakerism: general introduction -- Liberal Quakers (Friends) -- Pastoral (Programmed) Quakers -- Confucianism -- Hare Krishna -- Hinduism -- Islam -- Jainism -- Judaism -- Paganism - Church of Scientology -- Secularism -- Shintoism -- Sikhism -- Spiritualism -- Sufism -- Taoism -- Unitarian Universalism - Vodou and African-Atlantic religions - Zoroastrianism.

This extraordinary compendium of religious traditions is invaluable to all healthcare providers. The user-friendly resource contains specific and detailed information on faith traditions vital for providing optimal spiritual care in a clinical setting. A series of inspirational introductory chapters promote the importance of spiritual well-being as a vital component in whole person care, but the majority of the book forms a compilation of articles from a wide-ranging expert panel of contributors. Ideal for quick reference, the A-Z organisation from American Indian Spirituality to Zoroastrianism is presented in a clear and logical format, covering: History and facts, Basic teachings, Basic practices, Principles for clinical care, Dietary issues, General medical beliefs, Specific medical issues, Gender and personal issues, Principles for spiritual care through the cycles of life, Concepts of living and dying for spiritual support, During birth, During illness, During end of life, Care of the body, Organ and tissue donation, Scriptures, Inspirational readings and prayers.