SPIRITUALITY AND SOCIAL WORK

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Religion, Spirituality and Social Work
Jerilyn J. Dressler
University of Calgary
SOWK 637
September 14, 2010

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Religion, spirituality and social work are very much interwoven and interconnected, as is
demonstrated in a variety of articles contained in Spirituality and Social Work: Selected
Canadian readings (Coates, Graham & Swartzentruber, 2007). At the same time, a clear
distinction is made between religion and spirituality by a number of different authors in the
collection of readings. Michele Butot, for example, cites a distinction that struck a chord with
me, Baskin [2002] distinguishes between religion and spirituality, noting that religion is usually
structured and group oriented, whereas spirituality can include individual experiences with or
without a structured belief system (p. 3) (as cited in Coates et al., 2007, p. 144). The origins of
social work are rooted in religion and Christian charity, as Richard Allen describes in The
Social Gospel, defined as ...an attempt to apply Christianity to the collective ills of an
industrializing society, ... a major force in Canadian religious, social, and political life from the
1890s through the 1930s (Coates et al., 2007, p. 65). Religious groups continue to contribute to
the field of social work in a variety of ways, obvious examples in Calgary being the
contributions of Catholic and Jewish Family Services, in addition to providing a sense of
community and well-being to their members. Spirituality, in its many shapes and forms, can be
utilized in social work practice in both individual client work as well as in groups. Both religion
and spirituality have an important place in social works past, present, and future.
In his introduction, John Coates makes reference to research linking spirituality to coping
with sexual abuse, physical and mental health, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and
addictions (Coates et al., 2007). Many engaged in the helping professions have witnessed and
experienced anecdotal evidence of these connections, and would not find this research

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particularly surprising. What is it exactly that makes dealing with difficult, even traumatic, life
events spiritual in nature?
In this collection of readings, the link between spirituality and individual and group work
is described, in part, as making-meaning. Diana Coholic describes this phenomenon in her
article The Helpfulness of Spiritually Influenced Group Work. She states that The process of
making-meaning has been identified in the literature as a practice principle for spiritually
sensitive practice, and has been described as a spiritual practice because spirituality itself is often
defined as a process of making-meaning (Coates et al., 2007, p. 124). In the article Listening to
Our Stillness: Giving voice to our spirituality (spirituality and clinical practice), Wanda WaglerMartin states, Essentially spirituality is about meaning-making. Spirituality is what grounds us.
It frames our view of the world and our deepest beliefs (Coates et al., 2007, p. 136).
Furthermore, Cadell, Janzen & Haubrich write, In order to cope with and recover from trauma,
individuals must reconcile the event with their beliefs, by altering how they view the event,
themselves, and/or the world (Coates et al., 2007, p. 177). Coholic goes on to quote one group
member as saying, Everything Ive done in my past makes me a better person for today and will
help me in the future (Coates et al., 2007, pp. 124-125).
This is certainly something that validates both my personal and professional experience
with trauma, and resonates in me deeply. It has been my experience that many people, myself
included, consider what has happened in their lives, examine how it has impacted them
(negatively and positively), and ultimately become thankful for the positive impact the event has
had in their lives regardless of how negative the immediate consequences of the particular event

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were. This perspective is reflected in such common phrases as, What doesnt kill you makes
you stronger.
If one doesnt engage in this making-meaning process, it can have a detrimental impact
on their recovery from the event. I have witnessed this in my experience with frequent callers
on Distress Centres crisis lines, many of whom are unable to move past particular traumatic
events in their lives. Cadell, Janzen and Haubrich write in their article Engaging with
Spirituality: A qualitative study of grief and HIV/AIDS:
For one participant the struggle to make meaning was overwhelming. Andy remained
trapped in his grief and he had not been able to move forward [from the loss of his
partner to AIDS] in a positive manner. HIV-positive himself, Andy, at 31 years of age,
had considered that his partner had been his reason for living. He had been unable to find
a new purpose in life after the death of his partner. In the 4 years since he assisted in his
partners death, Andy had attempted suicide and referred to himself as a rudderless
ship. (Coates et al., 2007, p. 183)
Not only is making-meaning significant to clients, it may be absolutely crucial to their wellbeing to reconcile what has happened with their understanding of themselves and their world.
Spirituality is not only an important factor in individual client and group work, but in
issues of social justice and social change as well. Before social work had emerged as a
profession, religious organizations primarily Christian churches took on a large role in
helping the poor and disadvantaged. Churches gave women an opportunity to become engaged in
social justice issues such as poverty, as well as develop leadership skills within the Black
community at a time when these groups were not permitted to participate in politics or

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commerce. David Este describes the establishment of separate black churches as a positive
response to racism in his article Black Churches in Canada: Vehicles for fostering community
development in African-Canadian communities a historical analysis. Este writes, According
to Walker (1995) the churches offered blacks a positive identity, a sense of self-worth, and
ultimately a base of operations from which to launch attacks against the discriminatory nature of
Canadian society (p. 170) (as cited in Coates et al., 2007, p. 302). Gord Bruyere describes how
Aboriginal spiritual beliefs have allowed the Anishnabe to externalize racism as a manifestation
of Windigo, a cannibal spirit, in his article Making Circles: Renewing First Nations ways of
helping (Coates et al., 2007).
The collective nature of many groups and societies united by religion or spirituality
provides an internal safety net for well-being. Graham, Coholic and Coates write, there was a
long tradition of responding to social need amongst Indigenous communities prior to European
contact. That tradition, like the traditions that occurred on and after European contact, would
have had groundings that we now understand to be spiritual in their relationship to self, a
Higher Power(s), community, and, for some helpers too, the physical ecology (Miller, 2004) (as
cited in Coates et al., 2007, p. 25). In Islamic Theology and Prayer, Al-Krenawi and Graham
quote Islamic text, The Hadith points out: Every one of you is a shepherd and each one of you
is responsible for his flock (Nagati, 1993) (as cited in Coates et al., 2007, p. 327).
Collectivism is being built into some areas of social work, and is viewed as having a
basis in spirituality. This may be a response to the individualistic culture in which we live not
corresponding to our beliefs and values as social workers. Sarah Todd describes this

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phenomenon in her article Feminist Community Organizing: The spectre of the sacred and the
secular:
Once we established some faithful similarities between feminism and religion, we
utilized religious metaphors to understand the ways in which feminism is taken up as an
identity and a practice of community organizing. We also began to rework community
organizing as spirituality. While we drew on these religious narratives to understand our
relationships with feminism, we simultaneously distanced ourselves from evangelical (or
publicly spoken) religious practices.
Diane: You know this may sound really weird, but I was thinking about this after Sarah
and I talked and in some respects being a feminist can be like being a Christian. Its not
necessarily something that you have to talk about. To me its something that you are,
thats inside you, that means you have certain values and certain principles that you live
with and you bring that to the community work you do. (Coates et al., 2007, p. 170)

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Industrialization, urbanization, and the move from collective to individualistic societies
have led people in developed nations to lose connection with each other, with the land, and with
the divine. Ancient and traditional ways of knowing and of surviving have been cast aside to
make way for modern ways of thinking and surviving. I find it interesting that spirituality is
making a comeback in the field of social work. What is of particular interest to me is that it
ever left. Perhaps spirituality just had one foot out the door there has likely always been some
crossover between spirituality and social work due to a common interest in social welfare and
social justice, and to the very personal nature of client work. The importance of this crossover,

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however, is being re-examined and emphasized, much to the benefit of the social work
community and its clients.

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SPIRITUALITY AND SOCIAL WORK

Reference
Coates, J., Graham, J.R. & Swartzentruber B. (2007). Spirituality and social work: Selected
Canadian readings. Toronto: Canadian Scholars Press.

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