Religion, Spirituality, and Health (Fall 2018)
REL 348-01
Professor John Schmalzbauer
Office: Strong Hall 263
Missouri State University
Email:
jschmalzbauer@missouristate.edu
Phone: 836-5918
Course Description
This class explores the religious history of
American hospitals, healing practices in American religions (including Buddhism,
Catholicism, and Pentecostalism), debates about religiosity and health outcomes,
the medical uses of mindfulness techniques and Eastern meditation, and the
heightened attention to spirituality in the health professions. Every effort
will be made to relate course content to Springfield and the greater Ozarks,
including local health care providers and religious communities.
Course Goals
1.
Explore the sociological and historical aspects of religion, spirituality, and
health
2.
Examine the religious origins of American hospitals and the development of
hospital chaplaincy
3.
Understand the religious origins of alternative healing and mindfulness
techniques
4.
Reflect on the social role of medical professionals in relation to religion and
spirituality
5.
Explore the presence of diverse religious traditions in American health care
6.
Relate the topic of religion, spirituality, and health to Missouri and the
Greater Ozarks
Required Textbook and Electronic Reserve Readings
1.
Wendy Cadge,
Paging God: Religion in the Halls of Medicine (University of
Chicago, 2013).
2. Barbra Mann Wall, American Catholic Hospitals: A Century of Changing Markets and Mission (Rutgers University Press, 2011).
3. Jeff Wilson, Mindful America: The Mutual Transformation of Buddhist Meditation and American Culture (University of California Press, 2014).
4. Linda L. Barnes and Susan S. Sered, eds., Religion and Healing in America (Oxford University Press, 2004).
5.
Harold Koenig,
Spirituality in Patient Care: Why, How, When, and What (Templeton
Press, 2013)
6.
Kate Bowler,
Everything Happens for a Reason: And Other Lies I’ve Loved
(New York: Random House,
2018).
Electronic Reserve readings will be posted on the
Meyer Library ERES webpage.
Grading and Assignments
Attendance Policy:
Attendance is required at
all class meetings (except in cases of illness, family situations, religious
holidays, MSU activities, and other approved events).
Participation grades will be penalized for excessive unexcused absences.
Class Participation (25
points):
Students will be evaluated on their participation in class discussions,
familiarity with the readings, and the quality of their comments.
Reflection Paragraphs (75
points):
Several times in the semester, students will be asked to write one or more
paragraphs reflecting on the readings.
This is an opportunity for the instructor to see how students are
processing the readings. It is also
an opportunity for students to express their opinions.
They will be graded on the extent to which they show familiarity with the
readings and for their thoughtfulness.
Paper #1: Chapel Material
Culture Observations (200 points): Students will complete a
5-6 page paper based on a field visit to a hospital/medical chapel in the Ozarks
region. Papers will focus on the material culture of the chapel spaces,
including objects, art, architecture, and physical artifacts. Students will
relate observations of the spaces to readings from Wendy Cadge and Barbra Mann
Hall, as well as the readings on Mercy/St. John’s and Cox/Burge hospitals. A
separate handout will be provided. Due
Monday September 24.
Paper #2: Taking a
Spiritual History (200 points):
Students will complete a
5-6 page paper based on an in-depth interview with a Missouri resident.
Questions will be taken from several well-known spiritual assessment tools (see
separate handout). This assignment will help students develop their interviewing
skills. Papers will relate the spiritual histories of interviewees with class
readings. Due
Monday November 19.
Examinations (500 points
total; 250 points each):
There will be two
examinations in this course. The
final will not be cumulative.
Examinations will be a mixture of short answer and essay questions.
The following grading scale will be used:
4.0 A: Outstanding Work (93-100)
3.7 A- : Excellent Work (90-92)
3.3 B+: Near Excellent Work (87-89)
3.0 B: Very Good Work (83-86)
2.7 B-: Good Work (80-82)
2.3 C+: Slightly Above Satisfactory Work (77-79)
2.0 C: Satisfactory Work (73-76)
1.7 C-: Slightly Below Satisfactory Work (70-72)
1.3 D+: Passing Work (67-69)
1.0 D: Minimum Passing Work (63-66)
0.0 F: Failed—No Credit (0-62); I: Incompelte
If a student is on the border of a grade, the
instructor will take into consideration the overall performance of the student,
class participation, and amount of improvement.
Academic Dishonesty:
Missouri State University is a community of scholars committed to developing
educated persons who accept the responsibility to practice personal and academic
integrity. Students are responsible for knowing and following the university’s
student honor code, Student Academic Integrity Policies and Procedures and also
available at the Reserves Desk in Meyer Library. Any student participating in
any form of academic dishonesty will be subject to sanctions as described in
this policy. See
http://www.missouristate.edu/policy/Op3_01_AcademicIntegrityStudents.htm
for more information.
Nondiscrimination Statement:
Missouri State University is an equal opportunity/affirmative action
institution, and maintains a grievance procedure available to any person who
believes he or she has been discriminated against. At all times, it is your
right to address inquiries or concerns about possible discrimination to the
Office for Institutional Equity and Compliance, Park Central Office Building,
117 Park Central Square, Suite 111, 417-836-4252. Other types of concerns (i.e.,
concerns of an academic nature) should be discussed directly with your
instructor and can also be brought to the attention of your
instructor’s Department Head. Please visit the OED
website at www.missouristate.edu/equity/.
Disability Accommodation:
If you are a student with a disability and anticipate barriers related to this
course, it is important to request accommodations and establish an accommodation
plan with the University. Please contact the Disability Resource Center (DRC) (https://www.missouristate.edu/disability/),
Meyer Library, Suite 111, 417-836-4192, to initiate the process to establish
your accommodation plan. The DRC will work with you to establish your
accommodation plan, or it may refer you to other appropriate resources based on
the nature of your disability. In order to prepare an accommodation plan, the
University usually requires that students provide documentation relating to
their disability. Please be prepared
to provide such documentation if requested. Once a University accommodation plan
is established, you may notify the class instructor of approved accommodations.
If you wish to utilize your accommodation plan, it is suggested that you
do so in a timely manner, preferably within the first two weeks of class. Early
notification to the instructor allows for full benefit of the accommodations
identified in the plan. Instructors will not receive the accommodation plan
until you provide that plan, and are not required to apply accommodations
retroactively.
Cell Phone Policy: As a member of the
learning community, each student has a responsibility to other students who are
members of the community. When cell phones or pagers ring and students respond
in class or leave class to respond, it disrupts the class. Therefore, the Office
of the Provost prohibits the use by students of cell phones, pagers, PDAs, or
similar communication devices during scheduled classes. All such devices must be
turned off or put in a silent (vibrate) mode and ordinarily should not be taken
out during class. Given the fact that these same communication devices are an
integral part of the University’s emergency notification system, an exception to
this policy would occur when numerous devices activate simultaneously. When this
occurs, students may consult their devices to determine if a university
emergency exists. If that is not the case, the devices should be immediately
returned to silent mode and put away. Other exceptions to this policy may be
granted at the discretion of the instructor.
Dropping a Class:
It is your responsibility
to understand the University’s procedure for dropping a class. If you stop
attending this class but do not follow proper procedure for dropping the class,
you will receive a failing grade and will also be financially obligated to pay
for the class. For information about dropping a class or withdrawing from the
university, contact the Office of the Registrar at 836-5520. See Academic
Calendars (www.missouristate.edu/registrar/acad_cal.html) for deadlines.
Emergency Response Statement:
At the first class meeting, students should become familiar with a basic
emergency response plan through a dialogue with the instructor that includes a
review and awareness of exits specific to the classroom and the location of
evacuation centers for the building. All instructors are provided this
information specific to their classroom and/or lab assignments in an e-mail
prior to the beginning of the fall semester from the Office of the Provost and
Safety and Transportation. Students with disabilities impacting mobility should
discuss the approved accommodations for emergency situations and additional
options when applicable with the instructor. For more information go to
http://www.missouristate.edu/safetran/51597.htm and
http://www.missouristate.edu/safetran/erp.htm.
Religious Accommodation:
The University may provide a reasonable accommodation based on a person’s
sincerely held religious belief. In making this determination, the University
reviews a variety of factors, including whether the accommodation would create
an undue hardship. The accommodation request imposes responsibilities and
obligations on both the individual requesting the accommodation and the
University. Students who expect to miss classes, examinations, or other
assignments as a consequence of their sincerely held religious belief shall be
provided with a reasonable alternative opportunity to complete such academic
responsibilities. It is the obligation of students to provide faculty with
reasonable notice of the dates of religious observances on which they will be
absent by submitting a Request for Religious Accommodation Form to the
instructor by the end of the third week of a full semester course or the end of
the second week of a half semester course. For more information and a copy of
the form, see
www.missouristate.edu/assets/equity/Student_religious_accommodation_request_form-1.doc.
Religion at a State
University:
Consistent with Supreme Court decisions regarding the teaching of religion at
public institutions (Abington v. Schempp 1963), this course approaches the study
of religion from a non-confessional standpoint.
We will focus on describing and analyzing the place of religion in
American culture, rather than arguing for one religious tradition or another.
Students are free to express or not to express their own beliefs in
class. They will be evaluated
strictly on the basis of their work.
Office Hours for Professor
Schmalzbauer:
Mondays and Fridays 3-4:30
p.m.; and Tuesdays 11:00 a.m.-1 p.m. in Strong Hall 263 (Religious Studies
Department).
I.
Introduction: Religion and Spirituality in American Health Care
Monday August 20: Introducing
the Course
Wednesday August 22: Medicine
Rediscovers Religion and Spirituality
Reading: Wendy
Cadge, “Paging God in Health Care,”
Huffington Post.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/wendy-cadge/paging-god-in-health-care_b_2647763.html
Reading:
Michelle Boorstein, “Study of Health and Religiosity Growing Despite Criticism.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/05/AR2008120502813.html
Reading:
Martha Ross and Siddharth Kularni, “Health Care Remains Important Job Engine in
Eighth District.”
https://www.stlouisfed.org/publications/regional-economist/first-quarter-2018/health-care-job-engine
II. Religion and American Hospitals
Friday August 24: Religion in
the Halls of Medicine, Part I
Reading:
Wendy Cadge, Paging God, 1-17.
Monday August 27:
Religion in the Halls of Medicine, Part II
Reading:
Wendy Cadge, Paging God, 18-50.
Reading:
Paul Johns, “Mozark Moments: Lester E. Cox aids in Burge Hospital history.”
Reading:
“Mrs. Ellen Burge,” Woman’s Home Missions of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
Wednesday August 29: Religion
in the Halls of Medicine, Part III
Reading:
Wendy Cadge, Paging God, 51-76.
Friday August 31: Religion in
the Halls of Medicine, Part IV
Reading: Wendy Cadge, Paging God,
77-127.
Wednesday September 5:
Religion in the Halls of Medicine, Part V
Reading:
Wendy Cadge, Paging God, 128-170.
Friday September 7: Religion
in the Halls of Medicine, Part VI
Reading: Wendy
Cadge, Paging God, 171-208.
Monday September 10: The
Sisters of Mercy and Catholic Health Care in Missouri
Reading:
St. John’s Mercy Hospital Building National Register of Historic Places
Registration Form.
https://www.dnr.mo.gov/shpo/nps-nr/03000867.pdf
Reading:
“Sister Mary Roch Rocklage In Person: An Oral History.”
http://www.aha.org/research/rc/chhah/Rocklage--FINAL--092611.pdf
Wednesday September 12:
Catholic Hospitals in America, Part I
Reading:
Barbra Mann Wall, American Catholic
Hospitals, 1-22.
Friday September 14: Catholic
Hospitals in America, Part II
Reading:
Barbra Mann Wall, American Catholic Hospitals, 23-54.
Monday September 17: Catholic
Hospitals in America, Part III
Reading:
Barbra Mann Wall, American Catholic Hospitals, 55-72.
Reading;
Barbra Mann Wall, “Science and Ritual: The Hospital as Medical and Sacred
Space.”
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Barbra_Wall/publication/11048037_Science_and_ritual_The_hospital_as_medical_and_sacred_space_1865-1920/links/0deec52a75c6026a14000000/Science-and-ritual-The-hospital-as-medical-and-sacred-space-1865-1920.pdf
Wednesday September 19: Race
and Class in Catholic Hospitals
Reading:
Barbra Mann Wall, American Catholic
Hospitals, 73-102.
Friday September 21: Debating
Catholic Hospitals
Reading:
Anna Maria Barry-Jester and Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux, “How Catholic Bishops Are
Shaping Health Care In Rural America.”
https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/how-catholic-bishops-are-shaping-health-care-in-rural-america/
Reading:
Stephanie Slade, “What FiveThirtyEight Gets Wrong About Catholic Hospitals.”
Monday September 24: Reports from the Field
**Chapel Material Culture Papers Due Today**
III. Mindfulness and Health in American Culture
Wednesday September 26: Mindfulness and Health, Part I
Reading: Jeff Wilson, Mindful America, 1-42.
Friday September 28:
Mindfulness and Health, Part II
Reading:
Jeff Wilson, Mindful America, 43-75.
Monday October 1: Mindfulness
and Health, Part III
Reading:
Jeff Wilson, Mindful America, 75-103.
Reading: Paul Numrich, “Complementary and
Alternative Medicine in America’s ‘Two Buddhisms,’” 343-357 in
Religion and Healing in America.
Wednesday October 3:
Mindfulness and Health, Part IV P
Reading: Jeff
Wilson, Mindful America, 104-158.
Friday October 5: Examination
#1
IV. Religious Diversity and Healing in America
Monday October 8: Mapping the
American Religious Landscape
Reading:
Pew Research Center, “America’s Changing Religious Landscape.”
http://www.pewforum.org/2015/05/12/americas-changing-religious-landscape/
Reading:
America’s Changing Religious Identity.
https://www.prri.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/PRRI-Religion-Report.pdf
Reading:
Diana Eck, “New Neighbors.” Read essay and click on Kansas City. Look at the map
of
http://pluralism.org/landscape/
Wednesday October 10: South
Asian Religions and Healing in America
Reading:
Prakash N. Desai, “Health, Faith Traditions, and South Asian Indians in North
America,” 423-437 in Religion and Healing in America.
Reading:
Queens Health Multicultural Services, Health Care Providers’ Handbook on Hindu
Patients.
https://www.health.qld.gov.au/multicultural/support_tools/hbook-hindu.pdf
Monday October 15:
Islam and Healing in America
Reading:
Marcia Hermansen, “Dimensions of Islamic Religious Healing in America,” 407-422
in Religion and Healing in America.
Reading:
Marcia C. Inhorn, “Islam, medicine, and Arab-Muslim refugee health in America
after 9/11.”
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140673611610416 (on
campus only).
Wednesday October 17: Jewish
Healing in America
Reading:
Susan S. Sered, “Healing as Resistance: Reflections Upon New Forms of American
Jewish Healing,” 231-252 in Religion and
Healing in America.
Friday October 19: Latino
Religions and Healing in America
Reading: Inés Hernández-Avila, “La Mesa del Santo Niño de Atocha and the Conchero Dance Tradition of Mexico-Tenochtitlán: Religious Healing in Urban Mexico and the United States,” 359-374.
Reading:
Patrick Polk “Miraculous Migrants to the City of Angels: Perceptions of El Santo
Nino de Atocha and San Simon as Sources of Health and Healing,” 103-120 in
Religion and Healing in America.
Reading:
Gaston Espinosa “‘God Made a Miracle in My Life’: Latino Pentecostal Healing in
the Borderlands,” 123-138 in Religion and
Healing in America.
Monday October 22:
African-American Religions and Healing in America
Reading:
Stephanie Mitchem, “‘Jesus is My Doctor’: Healing and Religion in African
American Women’s Lives,” 281-290 in
Religion and Healing in America.
Reading:
Kendra Hotz, “‘I Can Do For Me’: Race, Health, and the Rhetoric of Self-Love and
Suffering.”
http://contemporaryrhetoric.com/articles/Hotz_11_9.pdf
Wednesday October 24: Race,
Religion, and Disability
Reading:
Nancy Eiesland, “Encountering the Disabled God.”
http://www.dsfnetwork.org/assets/Uploads/DisabilitySunday/21206.Eiesland-Disabled-God.pdf
Reading:
Kendrick Kemp, “Black Liberation Theology of Disability.” Read and listen to
Kemp’s address:
https://manhattanmennonite.org/2018/02/11/black-liberation-theology-of-disability/
Compare the approaches of Nancy Eiesland and Kendrick Kemp in your paragraphs.
Friday October 26: Southeast
Asian Religions and Healing in America
Reading:
Phua Xiong, Charles Numrich, Chu Wu, Deu Yang, and Gregory A. Plotnikoff ,”
Hmong Shamanism: Animist Spiritual Healing in Americaís Urban Heartland,”
439-454 in Religion and Healing in America.
In-Class
Film: Second Generation Hmong Shamanism
V. Exploring Spirituality and Patient Care
Monday October 29: Introducing
Spirituality in Patient Care
Reading:
Harold Koenig, Spirituality in Patient
Care, 3-22.
Wednesday October 31: The Case
for Spirituality in Patient Care
Reading:
Harold Koenig, Spirituality in Patient Care, 23-50.
Friday November 2: Taking a
Spiritual History
Reading:
Harold Koenig, Spirituality in Patient
Care, 51-95.
Reading:
“FICA Spiritual History Tool.”
https://smhs.gwu.edu/gwish/clinical/fica/spiritual-history-tool
Monday November 5:
Spirituality in Nursing
Reading:
Harold Koenig, Spirituality in Patient
Care, 173-190.
Wednesday November 7:
Spirituality in Rehabilitation and Mental Health
Reading: Harold Koenig,
Spirituality in Patient Care, 200-228.
Friday November 9: Debating
Religion, Spirituality, and Health Care
Reading:
Richard P. Sloan, “Religion, Spirituality, and Medicine.”
https://ffrf.org/legacy/fttoday/2000/jan_feb2000/sloan.html
Reading:
Butler, Koenig, Puchalski, Cohen, and Sloan, “Is Prayer Good for Your Health?”
http://thf_media.s3.amazonaws.com/2003/pdf/hl816.pdf
VI. Case Study: Kate Bowler’s
Everything Happens for a Reason
Monday November 12:
Introducing Kate Bowler
In-Class
Podcast: “A Stage-4 Cancer Patient Shares The Pain And Clarity Of Living
‘Scan-To-Scan.’”
We will
listen to and discuss Bowler’s interview with NPR’s Terry Gross.
Wednesday November 14:
Understanding the Prosperity Gospel
Reading:
Kate Bowler, “Death, the Prosperity Gospel and Me.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/14/opinion/sunday/death-the-prosperity-gospel-and-me.html
In-Class
Podcast: “Kate Bowler’s History of the Prosperity Gospel Movement”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1gA5ISHa5U
Friday November 16: Everything
Happens for a Reason, Part I
Reading:
Kate Bowler, Everything Happens for a
Reason, xi-28.
Monday November 19:
Reports from
the Field
**Spiritual History Papers Due Today**
Monday November 26: Everything
Happens for a Reason, Part II
Reading:
Kate Bowler, Everything Happens for a
Reason, 29-52.
Wednesday November 28:
Everything Happens for a Reason, Part III
Reading:
Kate Bowler, Everything Happens for a
Reason, 53-87.
Friday November 30: Everything
Happens for a Reason, Part IV
Reading:
Kate Bowler, Everything Happens for a
Reason, 88-124.
Monday December 3: Everything
Happens for a Reason, Part V
Reading:
Kate Bowler, Everything Happens for a
Reason, 125-166.
Wednesday December 5:
Everything Happens for a Reason, Part VI P
Reading: Kate
Bowler, Everything Happens for a Reason,
169-175.
Reading:
Kate Bowler, “What to Say When You Meet the Angel of Death at a Party.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/26/opinion/sunday/cancer-what-to-say.html
**Final Examination: Monday, December 10, 8:45 am to 10:45 am**