BACKGROUND People with serious illness frequently rely on religion/spirituality to cope with their diagnosis, with potentially positive and negative consequences. Clergy are uniquely positioned to help patients consider medical decisions at or near the end of life within a religious/spiritual framework. OBJECTIVE We aimed to examine clergy knowledge of end-of-life (EOL) care and beliefs about...

BACKGROUND Clergy are often important sources of guidance for patients and family members making medical decisions at the end-of-life (EOL). Previous research revealed spiritual support by religious communities led to more aggressive care at the EOL, particularly among minority patients. Understanding this phenomenon is important to help address disparities in EOL care. OBJECTIVE The study ob...

Burnout and engagement in general are thought to be associated mostly with work related factors and sometimes with personal factors as well. Over the past three decades a number of studies among clergy have identified various causes for priests’ susceptibility to burnout and have linked various independent variables in the study of burnout among clergy. However, a study on the association betwe...

OBJECTIVE The clergy in sub-Saharan Africa play a major role in the care and pathways to orthodox mental health services of the mentally ill. Their attitudes concerning mental illnesses would influence community mental health intervention efforts. This study aimed to determine the attitudes of clergy towards persons with mental illness. METHOD A cross-sectional survey of clergy (n = 107) of t...

Using data from the National Survey of Black Americans, this article explores the role of African American ministers in the help seeking of African Americans for serious emotional problems. The authors explore which demographic characteristics and psychosocial factors are related to contacting Black clergy for help, whether certain types of personal problems increase the likelihood of clergy co...

Clergy suffer from high rates of obesity, chronic disease, and depression, and simultaneously underestimate the toll these take on their daily functioning. Health interventions are needed for clergy and may be tailored to their occupational context and theological beliefs. Few studies have sought to improve clergy health. No prior studies have utilized a randomized design. Spirited Life is a ra...

The liberation-theology movement was partly inspired by the Second Vatican Council and the 1967 papal encyclical Populorum progressio. Its leading exponents include Gutierrez, Leonardo Boff of Brazil, and Juan Luis Segundo of Uruguay. The liberationists have received encouragement from the Latin American bishops, especially in resolutions adopted at a 1968 conference in Medellin, Colombia; othe...

to taking practical steps both to identify the ground common to the Church and cine and to indicate whether co-operation could be effected. Such a meeting was cal'e^ at the Torbay Hospital on February 26th, 1953, on the initiative of the Torquay ̂ District Medical Society, on which occasion the local clergy joined the Society in tJl meeting, forty-five clergy and forty-one doctors being present....