Spirituality and healing in the sociology of chronic illness

Abstract

The sociology of health and illness has paid little attention to the part that spiritual experiences and beliefs often play in healing, that is the self-transformation that may enable people to ‘live well' in the face of chronic illness. Part one describes problems that autobiographical accounts of spirituality can create for social theory, both as ‘experience’ and as claims to sources of knowledge beyond the ‘social’. Part two reviews the sociology of chronic illness (1988-2000) and comments on its treatment of spiritual issues. The paper concludes with some suggestions for research questions about spirituality and healing directed towards enhancing the lives of people with chronic illnesses.

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