| Chaplains have little guidance for the spiritual care of non-theistic patients, suffering from chronic illness, and without a belief in a personal God. Research to date has not considered a non-theistic target population as it pertains to spiritual well-being and research tools in use assume that belief in God is fundamental to well-being. Consequently, a phenomenological qualitative research study was conducted to explore the question: What are the spiritual experiences of those who do not believe in a personal God as they adjust to living with chronic illness? Background for the research includes a literature review spanning the following areas: medical spirituality, medical anthropology, chronic illness, theistic and non-theistic belief systems, non-religious spirituality, developmental and personality psychology, theories of ritual and symbol, and practical theology.;Telephone interviews were held with thirty people, using an interview guide, in order to obtain a sample with the greatest variation among co-participants based upon factors of age, gender, ethnic background, diagnosis, and length of illness. From this group, unstructured in-depth interviews were conducted with eight co-participants. A new way of thinking about spiritual assessments and clinical interventions for non-theistic patients emerged through the use of phenomenological methodology and the analysis of free flowing text to consider the illness narratives and the impact of culture on the co-participants' experiences.;It was demonstrated that connection is at the root of non-theistic spirituality. Similarly, relationship is at the heart of practical theology. The concept of non-theistic connection and theistic relationship as a way to understand spirituality share a common core. Thus, a point of commonality has been discovered that enriches the practice of practical theology and health for chaplains and other spiritual caregivers addressing the non-theistic patients.;Recommendations for future research into spiritual assessments and clinical interventions using connections as a root to understand non-theistic spirituality and its expressions are discussed. |
