Title: SPIRITUALITY, SPIRITUAL CARE AND THE NEEDS OF THOSE WITH AUTISTIC SPECTRUM CONDITIONS
1SPIRITUALITY, SPIRITUAL CARE AND THE NEEDS OF
THOSE WITH AUTISTIC SPECTRUM CONDITIONS
- Chris Barber and Peter Kevern
2Is religion giving way to spirituality?
3. . . and what is spirituality anyway?
- Defined in contrast to religion
- internal v. external
- Individual v. corporate
- Experiential v. dogmatic
- Subjective-life v. life-as-religion
- (Heelas Woodhead 2004)
4. . . But. . .
- The turn to spirituality reflects late
capitalist culture (Carrette King) - Spirituality becomes Religion religious
structures remain by far the most important
vehicle for (Pearson) - The prevailing spiritual landscape of affective
experiences of love and connectedness (Percy)
may unintentionally exclude some vulnerable people
5Example people with ASC may find comfort and
meaning in structured, repetitive religious rites
but, given their reduced empathy and theory of
mind may find personal and experiential
spirituality difficult
- By listening to marginalised voices we have the
opportunity to develop a richer palette of
resources for spiritual care
6Case study Chris experience
A middle-aged Catholic with High Functioning
Autism/Aspergers Syndrome
7- To connect is, arguably, one of the most
fundamental of all human needs. Ones ability to
connect spiritually with the Divine, with
ourselves, with others and with the natural world
helps to define who and what we are.
8Three ways in which I discover a connectedness
to the Divine which is not dependent on an
affective or erotic relationship
- Devotion to the Infant Jesus
- Ritual Prayer
- Centring Prayer and Lectio
9Devotion to the Infant Jesus
10Ritual
11Centring . . .
12. . . and Lectio meditation on a text
13So is there a place for an autism friendly
spirituality?
14Summary
- People with ASC are unlikely to benefit from
vague and generic spirituality - They may however gain significant support from
established, routinized and socially-embedded
practices - Providing spiritual care for people with ASC may
therefore require engagement with the ritual and
historical elements of faith-communities - There are implications here for diversity and
disability policies
15References
- Carrette, J. and King, R. (2004) Selling
Spirituality the silent takeover of religion - London Routledge
- Hay, D. (2002)The Spirituality Of Adults In
Britain Recent Research Scottish Journal of
Healthcare Chaplaincy Vol. .5 No 1 2002 , 4-9 - Hay D. Heald G. (1987) Religion is good for
you, New Society, 17 April. - Hay D. Hunt K. (2000) Understanding the
Spirituality of People who dont go to Church,
Final Report of the Adult Spirituality Project,
Nottingham University. - Heelas, P and Woodhead, L. (2004) The Spiritual
Revolution why religion is giving - way to spirituality Cambridge Blackwell
- Pearson, J. (2003) Witchcraft will not soon
vanish from this earth Wicca in the 21st
century in Davie, G., Heelas, P., Woodhead, L.
Eds, Predicting Religion Christian, Secular and
Alternative Futures Aldershot Ashgate 170-182 - Percy, M. (1998a) Erotic ideology in
experiential religion Power in the Church. - Ecclesiology in an age of transition London
Continuum 141-162 - Percy, M. (1998b) Things Fall Apart II
experiential religion and the absence of - theology Power in the Church. Ecclesiology in
an age of transition London - Continuum 183-204
- Schrock, K. (2010) People with Asperger's less
likely to see purpose behind the events in their
lives. Scientific American May 29, 2010
http//www.scientificamerican.com/blog/post.cfm?id
people-with-aspergers-less-likely-t-2010-05-29