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Introduction: Aging, religion and spirituality
INTRODUCTION: Aging, Religion and Spirituality
L. EUGENE THOMAS* University of Connecticut The growth of interest in religion among social gerontologists has been truly phenomenal over the past decade. This is reflected, for example, in the fact that religious interest groups have been organized in the two major professional associations in the field of aging, the Gerontological Society of America and the American Society on Aging. Even more impressive has been the exponential growth of research and publication in the field. It is hard to believe that Johanne Philbrick (1991), in an analysis of all articles published in the Journal of Gerontology and the Gerontologist (the two major publications of the Gerontological Society of America) from their founding up to the present decade (i.e., through 1989), found only 23 articles which focused centrally on religion and aging. That averaged out to less than one article a year over the 44-year span of her analysis. At the current rate, that number might well appear within a span of a year or two today. For those of us who consider religious beliefs and practice an important influence on the way a person ages, this is a welcome change. I must confess, however, to having some concerns about the euphoria which this phenomena has elicited. It reminds me somewhat of the national boom in religion after the Second World War. And the uncritical touting of religion by some in the field brings to mind Eisenhower’s pronouncement that it didn’t matter what a person believed, as long as they were religious. This renewed interest in religion among North American social scientists raises two important issues, one methodological and the other substantive. The first is that most of the research on religion and aging has been conducted in this country and Canada. My impression is that there has been less enthusiasm for such research abroad, especially in Europe and the United Kingdom (I base this judgment partly on the reluctance I have sensed from European colleagues to have their research on beliefs and worldview
*Direct all correspondence to: L. Eugene Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269.
Thomas,
School
of Family
JOURNAL OF AGING STUDIES, Volume 11, Number 2, pages 97-100 Copyright 0 1997 by JAI Press Inc. All rights of reproduction in any fonn reserved. ISSN: 0890-4065.
Studies,
Box U-58, Universiry
of
98
JOURNAL OF AGING STUDIES
Vol. 1 l/No. 211997
classified as “religious”). Whatever the reasons, the upshot is that our data base is heavily skewed to the North American continent. We urgently need cross-cultural research to help ascertain which of these findings might be universal, and which reflect North American ethnography. The more substantive concern I have with the new-found interest in religion and aging concerns the “Eisenhower effect” that I alluded to above. Much of the research in this area tends to be uncritical of the wide spectrum of beliefs and behaviors that the term “religion” encompasses; there seems to be the feeling abroad that in the area of religion “more is better.” It might be well for us to remember the observation made by Ramakhrishna, the 19th century Bengali mystic and saint: “Religion is like a cow; It gives milk, but it also kicks.” Eisenhower and others to the contrary, it is becoming increasingly clear that the content of beliefs matter deeply. Research on recovery from grief, to mention just one area, highlights the importance of the content of one’s beliefs in giving meaning to one’s experiences. Silver and Wortman (1980; Wortman and Silver, 1990) have found that the length and severity of the grief response to death of family members is directly related to their worldview, and the extent to which they are able to make meaning of the loss. One is reminded of Viktor Frankl’s (1969) observation that we can endure anything if we can find meaning in the suffering. The problem of “existential vacuum,” Frankl’s characterization of the breakdown of meaning in modem society, falls especially heavily on the elderly, who face the prospect of diminished health and the specter of death. One’s beliefs about ultimate reality-one’s religious beliefs, if you will-play a crucial role in how this existential crisis is faced. But it is insufficient to know whether a person believes in life after death, to give one example, in order to know how much support religion gives a person. Until we know whether they view this as a time of ultimate acceptance and reunion, or whether the afterlife harbors the specter of eternal damnation, it is not possible to know the effect their belief (or disbelief) in life after death might have. The articles in this special issue of the Journal address in various ways the issues I have highlighted thus far. The three articles based on non-North American samples allow us a cross-cultural perspective on issues of religion and aging. In addition, this wider perspective helps us begin to disentangle the interrelated, but distinct variables, of religion and spirituality. Religion can be seen as the social-cultural expression of the search for relationship to the divine. Spirituality, although it takes different forms in different cultural settings, might be thought of as the impulse that underlies institutional religion. In this sense, cross-cultural research can help distinguish between the two, and help identify the universals of religion and aging. The research presented in this special issue utilizes a range of research methodologies, and an even wider range of sample populations in addressing facets of these larger issues. Mehta, for instance, uses data from focus groups, as well as indepth interviews, to investigate the influence of religion in the lives of elderly Moslems, Hindus, and Christians in Singapore. Her findings indicate that in these diverse communities religion provides a link integrating an individual’s past with their current life stage. Overall she found little support for the Disengagement theory; religious observance was found to provide a major source of activity and social engagement. Although religious beliefs were found to have an overall positive impact on the way individuals handled the stressors of aging, she noted some
99
introduction
negative impact among Moslem and Hindu elderly. Among these groups, their religious beliefs sometimes encouraged a certain fatalism, which led to a failure to make use of available social and medical services. Quinnan’s research focuses on normal patterns of connection and autonomy over the life cycle, making use of an unusual population of elderly. Based on life narrative interviews, as well as participant observation, he collected extensive data on elderly celibate men living in the retirement home of their religious order. Analysis of the themes that emerged from the interviews indicated little support for the Disengagement theory of aging. Analysis of individuals’ perceptions of aging provided general support for both Tomstam’s Gerotranscendence model and Social Withdrawal theories of aging, while more concrete analysis of actual behavior gave more support to the Gerotranscendence theory. The research Atchley reports on is based on a less exotic sample-a survey of the 50+ population of a midwestem town. His 15year longitudinal follow-up on his respondents is unusual, and provides valuable information on the stability, and consequences of religious attitudes. Interestingly, he failed to find any positive health or psychological advantages related to earlier religious attitudes and behavior, leading him to question the conclusions drawn from the literature on religion and health, which is mostly based on cross-sectional research. Tornstam’s research provides insight from a different perspective, both in terms of sample and methodology. Using open-ended qualitative interviews, he examines developmental changes in worldview and self-attitudes of elderly Swedish citizens. Like Quinnan, he found little support for the theory of Disengagement; for some, but not all of his sample, he found evidence of a more transcendent worldview, which he has termed “Gerotranscendence.” Finally, Thomas presents case studies of two elderly men who differ dramatically in their cultural background-one from an upper class Hindu family in India, and the other from a working class Protestant family in England. As a result of mystical experiences they had as young adults, the lives of these men exhibit remarkable parallels in their spiritual development, suggesting the universal nature of mystical experiences, in support of the Perennial Philosophy. Overall, this disparate set of articles provide interesting insights on the effect religious beliefs on late life well-being, and suggest something of the difference between the religious and the spiritual dimensions, as they relate to old age. These studies, as a group, are particularly valuable in providing a cross-cultural perspective to the dominant North American research literature in this area. Hopefully they will help encourage researchers from other cultures and traditions to further supplement the growing body of North American research on aging, religion and spirituality.
REFERENCES Frankl, V. E. 1969. The Will to Meaning: Foundations and Applications of Logotherapy. New York: Times Mirror. Philbrick, .J. 1991. “Journals in Gerontology: The Art of a Science.” Unpublished dissertation, University
of Connecticut,
Storm, CT.
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Vol. 1 l/No. 2/1997
Silver, R. C. and C. B. Wortman. 1980. “Coping with undesirable life events.” Pp. 279-340 in Human Helplessness: Theory and Application, edited by J. G. and M.E.P. Seligman. New York: Academic Press. Wortman, C. B. and R. C. Silver. 1990. “Successful Mastery of bereavement and widowhood: A Life Course Perspective.” Pp. 225-265 in Successful Aging: Perspectives from the Behavioral Sciences, edited by P.B. Baltes and M.M. Baltes. New York: Cambridge University Press.
L. EUGENE THOMAS* University of Connecticut The growth of interest in religion among social gerontologists has been truly phenomenal over the past decade. This is reflected, for example, in the fact that religious interest groups have been organized in the two major professional associations in the field of aging, the Gerontological Society of America and the American Society on Aging. Even more impressive has been the exponential growth of research and publication in the field. It is hard to believe that Johanne Philbrick (1991), in an analysis of all articles published in the Journal of Gerontology and the Gerontologist (the two major publications of the Gerontological Society of America) from their founding up to the present decade (i.e., through 1989), found only 23 articles which focused centrally on religion and aging. That averaged out to less than one article a year over the 44-year span of her analysis. At the current rate, that number might well appear within a span of a year or two today. For those of us who consider religious beliefs and practice an important influence on the way a person ages, this is a welcome change. I must confess, however, to having some concerns about the euphoria which this phenomena has elicited. It reminds me somewhat of the national boom in religion after the Second World War. And the uncritical touting of religion by some in the field brings to mind Eisenhower’s pronouncement that it didn’t matter what a person believed, as long as they were religious. This renewed interest in religion among North American social scientists raises two important issues, one methodological and the other substantive. The first is that most of the research on religion and aging has been conducted in this country and Canada. My impression is that there has been less enthusiasm for such research abroad, especially in Europe and the United Kingdom (I base this judgment partly on the reluctance I have sensed from European colleagues to have their research on beliefs and worldview
*Direct all correspondence to: L. Eugene Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269.
Thomas,
School
of Family
JOURNAL OF AGING STUDIES, Volume 11, Number 2, pages 97-100 Copyright 0 1997 by JAI Press Inc. All rights of reproduction in any fonn reserved. ISSN: 0890-4065.
Studies,
Box U-58, Universiry
of
98
JOURNAL OF AGING STUDIES
Vol. 1 l/No. 211997
classified as “religious”). Whatever the reasons, the upshot is that our data base is heavily skewed to the North American continent. We urgently need cross-cultural research to help ascertain which of these findings might be universal, and which reflect North American ethnography. The more substantive concern I have with the new-found interest in religion and aging concerns the “Eisenhower effect” that I alluded to above. Much of the research in this area tends to be uncritical of the wide spectrum of beliefs and behaviors that the term “religion” encompasses; there seems to be the feeling abroad that in the area of religion “more is better.” It might be well for us to remember the observation made by Ramakhrishna, the 19th century Bengali mystic and saint: “Religion is like a cow; It gives milk, but it also kicks.” Eisenhower and others to the contrary, it is becoming increasingly clear that the content of beliefs matter deeply. Research on recovery from grief, to mention just one area, highlights the importance of the content of one’s beliefs in giving meaning to one’s experiences. Silver and Wortman (1980; Wortman and Silver, 1990) have found that the length and severity of the grief response to death of family members is directly related to their worldview, and the extent to which they are able to make meaning of the loss. One is reminded of Viktor Frankl’s (1969) observation that we can endure anything if we can find meaning in the suffering. The problem of “existential vacuum,” Frankl’s characterization of the breakdown of meaning in modem society, falls especially heavily on the elderly, who face the prospect of diminished health and the specter of death. One’s beliefs about ultimate reality-one’s religious beliefs, if you will-play a crucial role in how this existential crisis is faced. But it is insufficient to know whether a person believes in life after death, to give one example, in order to know how much support religion gives a person. Until we know whether they view this as a time of ultimate acceptance and reunion, or whether the afterlife harbors the specter of eternal damnation, it is not possible to know the effect their belief (or disbelief) in life after death might have. The articles in this special issue of the Journal address in various ways the issues I have highlighted thus far. The three articles based on non-North American samples allow us a cross-cultural perspective on issues of religion and aging. In addition, this wider perspective helps us begin to disentangle the interrelated, but distinct variables, of religion and spirituality. Religion can be seen as the social-cultural expression of the search for relationship to the divine. Spirituality, although it takes different forms in different cultural settings, might be thought of as the impulse that underlies institutional religion. In this sense, cross-cultural research can help distinguish between the two, and help identify the universals of religion and aging. The research presented in this special issue utilizes a range of research methodologies, and an even wider range of sample populations in addressing facets of these larger issues. Mehta, for instance, uses data from focus groups, as well as indepth interviews, to investigate the influence of religion in the lives of elderly Moslems, Hindus, and Christians in Singapore. Her findings indicate that in these diverse communities religion provides a link integrating an individual’s past with their current life stage. Overall she found little support for the Disengagement theory; religious observance was found to provide a major source of activity and social engagement. Although religious beliefs were found to have an overall positive impact on the way individuals handled the stressors of aging, she noted some
99
introduction
negative impact among Moslem and Hindu elderly. Among these groups, their religious beliefs sometimes encouraged a certain fatalism, which led to a failure to make use of available social and medical services. Quinnan’s research focuses on normal patterns of connection and autonomy over the life cycle, making use of an unusual population of elderly. Based on life narrative interviews, as well as participant observation, he collected extensive data on elderly celibate men living in the retirement home of their religious order. Analysis of the themes that emerged from the interviews indicated little support for the Disengagement theory of aging. Analysis of individuals’ perceptions of aging provided general support for both Tomstam’s Gerotranscendence model and Social Withdrawal theories of aging, while more concrete analysis of actual behavior gave more support to the Gerotranscendence theory. The research Atchley reports on is based on a less exotic sample-a survey of the 50+ population of a midwestem town. His 15year longitudinal follow-up on his respondents is unusual, and provides valuable information on the stability, and consequences of religious attitudes. Interestingly, he failed to find any positive health or psychological advantages related to earlier religious attitudes and behavior, leading him to question the conclusions drawn from the literature on religion and health, which is mostly based on cross-sectional research. Tornstam’s research provides insight from a different perspective, both in terms of sample and methodology. Using open-ended qualitative interviews, he examines developmental changes in worldview and self-attitudes of elderly Swedish citizens. Like Quinnan, he found little support for the theory of Disengagement; for some, but not all of his sample, he found evidence of a more transcendent worldview, which he has termed “Gerotranscendence.” Finally, Thomas presents case studies of two elderly men who differ dramatically in their cultural background-one from an upper class Hindu family in India, and the other from a working class Protestant family in England. As a result of mystical experiences they had as young adults, the lives of these men exhibit remarkable parallels in their spiritual development, suggesting the universal nature of mystical experiences, in support of the Perennial Philosophy. Overall, this disparate set of articles provide interesting insights on the effect religious beliefs on late life well-being, and suggest something of the difference between the religious and the spiritual dimensions, as they relate to old age. These studies, as a group, are particularly valuable in providing a cross-cultural perspective to the dominant North American research literature in this area. Hopefully they will help encourage researchers from other cultures and traditions to further supplement the growing body of North American research on aging, religion and spirituality.
REFERENCES Frankl, V. E. 1969. The Will to Meaning: Foundations and Applications of Logotherapy. New York: Times Mirror. Philbrick, .J. 1991. “Journals in Gerontology: The Art of a Science.” Unpublished dissertation, University
of Connecticut,
Storm, CT.
100
JOURNAL OF AGING STUDIES
Vol. 1 l/No. 2/1997
Silver, R. C. and C. B. Wortman. 1980. “Coping with undesirable life events.” Pp. 279-340 in Human Helplessness: Theory and Application, edited by J. G. and M.E.P. Seligman. New York: Academic Press. Wortman, C. B. and R. C. Silver. 1990. “Successful Mastery of bereavement and widowhood: A Life Course Perspective.” Pp. 225-265 in Successful Aging: Perspectives from the Behavioral Sciences, edited by P.B. Baltes and M.M. Baltes. New York: Cambridge University Press.