Date

4-26-2024

Department

School of Behavioral Sciences

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (PhD)

Chair

Joyce Brady

Keywords

Healthcare, pastor perspectives, Biblical understanding, faith-based organizations

Disciplines

Practical Theology | Psychology

Abstract

The purpose of this case study was to examine pastoral perspectives of Biblical healthcare. These perspectives are essential to consider due to the long history of the connection between spirituality and healthcare and the church’s successful intervention worldwide for increasing healthcare outcomes. Since the church has been successful worldwide at creating faith-based organizations that meet community needs, it is vital that research focus on how churches might continue this success within the United States. This study used semi-structured interviews to examine the research questions of 1) What is the Biblical responsibility of healthcare? 2) How does culture influence the role of the Church in healthcare? and 3) What current programming in local Churches supports the Biblical responsibility of healthcare? Data was collected from 10 semi-structured interviews with pastors located throughout the United States. Qualitative analysis indicated that pastorals generally held that health is important to God, and that healthcare resources need to ideally be available to all. Overall, this study demonstrates that pastoral perspectives of health and healthcare are not united or clear, and that there may be opportunities for pastoral education to increase understandings of both the why and the how behind the biblical responsibility of healthcare. Pastors expressed a general openness to learning more about the topic, presenting an opportunity that may exist within the system to bring science and faith back together in a way that honors the foundations of the historical past while holding space for change and growth to provide professional resources within Church walls, and in doing so, reinventing holistic healthcare.

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