Thursday 8 September 2011
Papers (Morning - 11.10 – 12.40)
Stream A
Richmond Building D Floor D3 (Foyer) Chair: Warwick Turnbull
Paper 1: Mark Read (11.10)
What do we mean by religious belief? And how is this belief realised in the everyday
world of professional work?
This is an interim analysis of interview data collected as part of a PhD study into
Quaker faith in the workplace. The paper explores how Quakers see themselves at
work and focuses on how they value integrity in faith and professional terms. It
places Quakers’ religious belief and professional practice more narrowly in a
managerial and an organisational frame.
This paper contends that Quakers share common approaches to professional
practice across occupational fields. It argues that Quakers in the caring professions
can be viewed as finding their work meaningful and fulfilling in terms of religious
belief. The data also indicates that this perspective is shared by Quakers who work
in a variety of other occupational fields such as investment banking, accountancy
and engineering.
It appears that religious belief for the cohort is not merely realised within the narrow
job role. What counts as professional practice can be understood across the cohort
within broader religious and occupational terms. This is especially apparent with
regard to contesting managerial articulation of organisational concerns and priorities.
This paper draws upon Martin Parker’s processual, as opposed to rigidly structural,
view of organisational identity. It concludes that religious belief within professional
practice at an everyday and individual level can be understood as a meaningful
aspect of the organisational identity as a whole.
Paper 2: Gerry Skelton (11.40)
The aim of this research was to explore the impact of spirituality from the
counsellor's perspective; supported by four broad questions:
1.
How do counsellors define and understand spirituality and related concepts?
2.
What are counsellors' experiences, attitudes, beliefs and feelings in addressing
spirituality within counselling?
3.
What do counsellors need to address spirituality within counselling?
4.
Do counsellors believe spirituality makes any contribution to counselee wellbeing?
A non-probability convenience sample provided nine respondents, who furnished rich
detail through a semi-structured interviewing process. An interpretative
phenomenological analysis complemented the methodology.
In terms of findings, the care and attention afforded to counselees, centrality of
relationship, and the beneficial contribution spirituality made to wellbeing were
accentuated. Spirituality was considered catalytic in fostering self-determination
and transcending predicaments.
Conversely, Interviewees experienced difficulties in definitively conceptualising
spirituality; predominately expressing it theistically. Criticism was directed at the lack of
professional, agency, and collegiate encouragement; compounded by the presence of
a censorious professional culture. The findings occasionally challenged the literature
regarding an inadequate emphasis on: provision of contracts, self-care, spiritual abuse,
and trauma.
Various implications and recommendations regarding education, training and practice
emerged, stressing improved counsellor training, supportive supervision, better selfcare, and reprioritising spirituality at policy and practice levels. There is scholastic,
evidential and anecdotal support to validate spirituality as an axiomatic, legitimate
discourse that meets a growing professional need. Ultimately it is not a hermetically
sealed word or experience and, predicated upon its apparent revival, represents
something of a Zeitgeist for the 21st Century.
Paper 3: Russell Whiting (12.10)
This paper will investigate religious dimensions of the ethics of non-violence and its
potential significance in the work of health and social care practitioners, many of
whom are working with non-voluntary clients. To do so it will take a historical and
biographical perspective and consider the life and work of Muriel Lester, pacifist,
social activist and social worker with a particular focus on how her own faith informed
her work. Lester is best known as a colleague and friend of Mahatma Gandhi. In
1930 Gandhi stayed with Lester at her hostel, Kingsley Hall in the East End of
London whilst attending the Roundtable Conference and Lester later visited and
worked with Gandhi in India. She also continued to work at Kingsley Hall and went
on to become Secretary of the International Fellowship of Reconciliation.
This paper will use Lester to consider the complex relationship between religion ,
pacifism, and social work /social activism. Whilst Gandhian ideas will be considered,
especially in how they impacted on Lester, she herself was a Christian and her
pacifism was coloured in the main by Christian theology. The paper will bring matters
up to date with some consideration of contemporary Christian pacifist theology in the
work of Stanley Hauerwas and John Yoder linking their thinking with lessons learnt
from the life of Muriel Lester.
The Muriel Lester Archive became electronically accessible in 2010 and this paper
will draw on that archive, other papers at Kingsley Hall and Lester’s published
writings.
Stream B
Norcroft MS2 (ground floor) Chair: Geraldine Graham
Paper 1: Muireann Ní Raghallaigh (11.10)
In recent years increasing attention has been paid to the importance of incorporating
religion and spirituality into social work practice. Simultaneously, anecdotal evidence
and a limited body of research suggest that religion plays a very important role in the
lives of asylum seekers and refugees. This paper explores the challenges and
opportunities faced by social workers in responding to the religious beliefs of this
client group. It draws on research with unaccompanied asylum seeking minors living
in Ireland. Using the narratives of these young people, it argues that their
relationships with God are of fundamental importance in their lives and in their
resettlement process. These relationships provide them with comfort and
companionship and with a sense of continuity, all important assets in helping them to
cope with the various challenges that they face. In attempting to meet the needs of
these young people and other asylum seeking and refugee client groups, social
workers need to work with these assets and incorporate them into their practice.
Doing so may be difficult, particularly if the beliefs of the worker differ from the beliefs
of the client. These difficulties need to be overcome if workers are to respond in a
culturally competent manner.
Paper 2: Janice Clarke (11.40)
The research this paper is based on proposed that the current approach to spiritual
care in nursing was inappropriate and it attempted to discover a different approach
which sought the spirituality in everyday acts of care. Feeling that any new approach
should be based on a model with some foundations, in history and debate if not in
empirical research I discovered an ideal model - in Eastern Orthodox Theology.
Having presented this model at conferences in the UK and the US, I am about to
present it in a book. It demonstrates a simple and cohesive way of explaining how
practitioners can affect the spirituality of patients and clients through care, touch,
attention, and relationships: the approach is always well received. Most of the
theory that nurses use is from other disciplines and has not been empirically tested.
However when it comes to borrowing from religions, there is a special resistance.
I have argued that religions have much to contribute to the knowledge base of all
our disciplines. But can only Christians relate to this model? If so, can’t religion
contribute anything to our knowledge base? Do I have to say where the model
comes from?
I hope to use this presentation and discussion to try to answer some of these
questions.
Clarke, J. (2009) A critical view of how nursing has defined spirituality, Journal of
Clinical Nursing, 18, 1666-1673
Clarke, J, (2006) Religion and spirituality: A discussion paper about negativity,
reductionism and differentiation in nursing texts, International Journal of Nursing
Studies, 43, 775-785
Paper 3: Janet Melville-Wiseman (12.10)
There are many well documented examples of the sexual abuse of vulnerable adults
by professionals in health and social care settings. It is the largest single reason
(40%) of why social workers have been disciplined by the General Social Care
Council (2003-08) and formed 25% of cases before the General Medical Council in
2009. It is also the case that victims of such abuse are usually women who are
vulnerable because of mental health needs and that the impact of such abuse
exacerbates those needs. However, responses to such abuse are less well
documented and are preoccupied with procedural, regulatory or legal concerns.
Furthermore empirical research is not well developed in this field and has been
driven by psychological therapies. Consequently much of the evidence to date
seeks to psychologically profile perpetrators and victims. This paper is based on
research conducted into how victims of such abuse, even if they have the courage to
report what has happened to them, are often left with unresolved harm. It takes a
systemic view of the issue and argues that if victims are further pathologised they
experience additional harm and are inadvertently blamed for their own abuse. It
argues that an alternative approach is to follow Luke 17:3 “if your brother offends you
rebuke him; if he repents forgive him” and for organisations to develop policies and
approaches on how to apologise (repent) instead.
Stream C
Richmond Building F Floor Escalate room Chair: Bob Davidson
Paper 1: Yohai Hakak (11.10)
This lecture will present preliminary findings from a new research project in which I
analyse parenting guidebooks written by Muslim religious leaders and educators for
Muslim parents in the West. Parenting guidebooks are part of the self-help literature
that has flourished in recent decades and which is highly influenced by Western
psychological and democratic discourses. These discourses are considered by most
Islamic leaders and educators to be based on a secular and heretic world view.
Therefore, the Islamic parenting guidebooks include a highly filtered version of
Western psychology and democratic discourses which are combined in new ways
with traditional Islamic ideas. This research project aims to understand which
aspects of Western psychology and democracy are incorporated into the parenting
guidebooks, which are not, why and for what reasons. At the same time I will try to
understand which religious ideas are being emphasised in this new genre of writing,
which are marginalised and why.
In my lecture, which will be based on the preliminary data I gathered so far,I will
describe the main themes that come out of these guidebooks and the main concerns
expressed by the authors. I will compare these to the main themes I have found in
Jewish Ultra Orthodox parenting guidebooks.
Paper 2: Safia Khaliq and Mahboob Hussain (11.40)
This presentation will outline the development and piloting of materials to be used in
training events for groups of parents, from predominantly Muslim communities of
Pakistani origin in Bradford, who are caring for children and young people on the
Autistic spectrum. It will reflect on the author’s attempts to produce materials which
are meaningful and relevant to the religious and cultural needs of these parents. In
particular, will focus on the need to assist such parents to deal with challenges and
dilemmas that arise both from a) hearing ‘religious’ and other ‘non-scientific’
explanations of their children’s behaviour and characteristics from other members of
their families and communities and b) trying to ensure that they and their children
meet religious requirements based on levels of understanding and ability that are
usual amongst non-disabled children but which may seem inappropriate for their own.
It will report on how both parents and professionals have responded to materials
which have asked them to discuss matters such as beliefs that disability is linked
with moral imperfection and divine retribution for sin or that autistic behaviour is a
result of an individual being possessed by a Jinn and to questions such as how
requirements to perform ghusal (compulsory bathing/showering) can be applied to
post-pubescent children on the autistic spectrum. It will attempt to draw lessons from
their responses which will inform future and similar training for parents and
professionals.
Paper 3: Rosalind Warden (12.10)
Despite increasing attention being paid to the topics of religion and spirituality within
the social work discipline, the dominant focus upon secular forms of spirituality adds
to the pressing need to consider minority faith-based perspectives within social work.
Whilst a small number of authors have explored the topic of Islam and social work,
this literature has been largely theoretical and there exists a deficit of fieldwork
exploring grassroots social work initiatives in British Muslim communities. In light of
the 2001 census statistics, which highlighted Muslim communities as being the most
socio-economically deprived faith group in Britain, such a lack of research is all the
more critical.
This paper presents emerging findings from a micro-ethnographic case study of an
Islamic welfare organisation. With services including counselling, chaplaincy,
befriending and mentoring, the organisation offers social support from an Islamic
perspective. This research aims to understand the theoretical model underlying this
Islamic approach, whilst also exploring how it is practiced within an organisational
context. Involving qualitative and quantitative inquiry with staff, volunteers and
service users, this research seeks to gain multiple perspectives on the experiences
of practicing Islamic social work and to understand how religion, specifically Islamic
identity, may be used as a resource within a social work context.
Workshops (11.10 – 12.40)
Norcroft Lecture Theatre Chair: Kate Karban
Workshop 1
Nicolette Wade (11.10 – 11.55)
This workshop will focus on the development of e-learning materials for the
Department of Health’s National End of Life Care Programme. The materials
consider the relationship between spiritual resources, both internal and external, and
their connection to a dying persons’ quality of life. The objective of the material is to
support people working in end of life care contexts to assist the dying person to
identify spiritual resources significant to them and to consider why this might be of
assistance. This project presented a number of challenges which included how to
conceptualise spiritual resources and quality of life for a large and diverse audience
and how to present the material in a way which would help to develop confidence in
supporting the goal of providing good quality holistic care. Central to the material is
a case study which attempts to help the reader from a non faith background to
conceptualise spirituality in an accessible way. For the reader from a faith
background, the case study highlights themes of meaning making often associated
with a variety of religious beliefs. The essence of the approach highlights the
centrality of relationship with the other and in community. This may be of interest to
those thinking about curriculum development in contexts which contain a plurality of
views with associated degrees of sensitivity. In a workshop format, exercises
developed in the materials could be tried out and discussed. The module editor is
Margaret Holloway and the content authors Nicolette Wade and Julian Rafferty.
Workshop 2
Revd Canon Ivor Moody (11.55 – 12.40)
Essex Mind and Spirit, a community organisation, runs training days for various
Christian communities across Essex- including service users and members from the
voluntary and statutory sectors-looking at some characteristics of mental ill health,
and how a faith perspective might enlarge understanding of mental dis-ease. It has
created a CD of the training material and resources it has devised and delivered, and
recently a Muslim version has been produced.
The material has four sections:
(i) An overview of some of the characteristics of mental illness, including an
explanation of some of the medical terminology;
(ii) Fictional case studies;
(iii) How an understanding of mental health issues might help us to reflect on some
Bible stories;
(iv) Examples of good practice and resources in the local community.
A workshop could focus on (iii), and allow participants an insight not only into how
scripture might deepen our understanding of the relationship between spirituality and
mental health issues, but how the stories themselves might be interpreted from a
fresh perspective. Participants after a brief introduction to the raison d'etre and
rationale of the project would go into small groups, and each be given a Bible story
with focus questions to consider, followed by a plenary session where each would be
given a chance to share the story they were given, and their reflections on it in the
light of its possible significance for mental health and spirituality issues.