Joan H. Hageman Knihy

Focusing on the intricate relationship between spirituality and health, this book presents the author's research that clarifies how spirituality influences both physical and mental well-being. It explores various factors such as personality traits, cultural views, religious orientation, and spiritual ideologies, particularly in relation to self-healing practices outside traditional religious frameworks. The work emphasizes a cross-cultural research approach, addressing the limitations of Western methodologies and distinguishing between religious and spiritual identities.

This book addresses the need for a greater delineation of the relationship between spirituality and health. Its contents are based upon the author's research that presents a more definitive articulation of spirituality's association with physical and mental health, especially in terms of selected personality traits, cultural perspectives, religious orientation, and spiritual ideologies as they pertain to self-healing practices that may not be adhered to by religious epistemologies. The author's comprehensive, advanced utility for cross-cultural research takes into account the limitations of Western methodological traditions and additionally differentiates between „being religious“ and „being spiritual.“