College Honors Program

Date of Creation

Spring 4-23-2025

Document Type

Thesis

Department

Religious Studies

Abstract

Throughout history, medicine or healing has been deeply associated with religion and spirituality, from the ancient Greek healing god Asclepius to the medieval monastic medical tradition and beyond. This lies in their common cause: addressing the vulnerability of our human existence. Humanity has long recognized that our suffering and death raise existential questions concerning our mortality that may require perspectives greater than biology and rationality can provide. However, at the turn of the 20th century, as medical technology rapidly advanced, raising the average global life expectancy by decades, the medical field removed all non-scientific, non-secular influences to position itself as a professional science. This limited biological perspective gave rise to physician-scientists, more concerned with biology and clinical precision than their patients’ holistic well-being. Consequently, this created communication gaps between patients and physicians and strained end-of-life care. Despite more recent attempts in the 21st century to reframe medicine’s approach with respect to the health impacts of psychological, social, and spiritual well-being, there remains much concrete work to do to reinstate the lost art of medicine that once more seamlessly acknowledged people’s emotional and physical well-being at once. I propose a way in which Ignatian spirituality, a spiritual mindset concerned with recognizing and exploring one’s thoughts, emotions, and desires, could be used as a template for physicians to increase their emotional intelligence and deepen their relationships with patients. This model of reflection would provide a foundation on which to discuss questions of meaning and value in times of illness, injury, and disability. Practices of Ignatian spirituality, adapted for a religiously and culturally pluralistic society, could pave the way for a more compassionate practice of medicine.

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