Recognizing Spirituality: The Interface Between Faith and Social Work

Education in the helping professions has tended to adopt a secular view of human beings, focusing on aspects of human behavior which are empirically measurable, and avoiding the more irrational elements. The religious beliefs and spiritual values of both students and clients have been ignored. Rae Lindsay argues that this prevents students from fully exploring their own attitudes and biases and increases the likelihood that these personal values will be foisted on clients. It also reduces the chances that practitioners will explore the spiritual factors influencing clients. In a multicultural country such as Australia, it is extraordinary that varied religious and spiritual beliefs should not be considered in the relationship between the professional and the client. Pretending that these beliefs don't exist or are irrelevant is to ignore an important dimension of human existence and interaction. Little has been written on this problem in an Australian cultural context. This book presents opinions of social work educators and practitioners, and statistics about Australian religious beliefs. It also discusses the stages of faith development. The persistence and strength of spiritual and religious beliefs is clear from all sources. Rae Lindsay challenges the status quo and argues that spirituality and religion should be included in contemporary professional discourses.