Nursing Ethics & Multifaith Beliefs

Our clients and colleagues put before us a remarkable array of lived religion as it is actually practiced and experienced. However, most nurses are poorly prepared to respond to religious and spiritual diversity.

In a recent study on prayer in Canadian and British hospitals, we learned that nurses were for the most part extremely cautious about tending to religion and belief. Some said they had been told to avoid religious conversations because spiritual beliefs were private and personal, thus not to be brought into the public realm of healthcare. And yet, religious beliefs and practices have profound influence on how people make sense of and cope with illness and where they draw social support.

For nurses, recognizing how faith traditions are threaded through clients' (and colleagues') responses to health and illness is foundational to ethical practice. We require “religious literacy” to provide person-centered care. The goal of religious literacy is “to avoid stereotypes, respect and learn from others, and build good relations across difference. In this it is a civic endeavor rather than a theological or religious one, and seeks to support a strong, cohesive, multi-faith society, which is inclusive of people from all faith traditions and [from] none.”

Christian ethics for multi-faith contexts

Christian nurses recognize the influence of faith on health, but may be uncertain about the role of their own faith in client care, especially in multi-faith contexts. Among others, four theological principles frame a Christian nursing ethic regarding practice and education in religiously plural contexts:

• the sacredness and wholeness of all life: Jesus' healing ministry was one of wholeness and transformation. By Jesus' example, we see the integration and transformation of health and belief as integral to person-centered care. Christian nurses are fully committed to a view of health as wholly encompassing mind, body, and spirit—one's religious beliefs and practices are inseparable from health.
• the unity of love and openness to the world: Jesus' teaching to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18; Mark 12:31) orients Christian nurses to the rich tradition of Christian hospitality, motivated by God's welcome to us.
• the indivisible nature of faith and action in transforming society: Following the Old Testaments prophets, Jesus sided with the poor and oppressed. Christian nurses take inspiration to address issues of social justice that infringe on health and well-being.
• the transformation of character through Christ: Jesus taught us to “love the LORD your God with all your heart, soul, and mind” (Deuteronomy 6:5; Matthew 22:37). Christian nurses embrace their own transformation through faith in Christ, exhibiting virtues such as grace, humility, self-awareness, and compassion.

These Christian principles motivate us toward a response to religious diversity as a way of deepening and grounding nursing's ethical obligations.

Sheryl Reimer-Kirkham, PhD, RN, FCAN, is dean and professor of nursing at Trinity Western University, Langley, BC, Canada. She is one of the authors of JCN’s Christian Ethics column.

This post is excerpted from “A Christian Ethic for Nursing in Multi-Faith Contexts” in the October/December 2023 issue of JCN. NCF membership brings full online and print JC subscriptions and much more.