Disability, spiritual beliefs and the church: the experiences of adults with disabilities and family members

Abstract

Although the study design limits the generalizability of the findings, applications can be drawn for helping professionals and religious leaders who provide holistic care

Spiritual Experiences, Personal Commitment: Relationship With Work Stress Among Support Staff for Children with Disabilities in Oman

“…It reflects that PC, a factor that is tied to w ork environm ent, is affected by DSE, a factor that is tied with individual's ow n environm ent (Pargam ent, 2007;Thoresen, 1998). The find ings o f the current study ap p ear to be in line w ith previous research findings w hich show persons w hose life is enriched w ith spiritual experiences are m ore likely to choose to live with joy and thankfulness despite stresses asso ciated w ith serving and supporting children with disabilities (M urphy et ah, 2006;Sleway & Ashman, 1998;Treloar, 2002). Sleway and Ashm an (1998) argued that spiritual support was a valuable resource for support staff serving individuals w ith disabilities.…”

Family responses to the social inclusion of children with developmental disabilities in the United Arab Emirates

“…Universally religious piety of whatever denomination has been found to aid the parental processes of coming to terms with disability in their offspring and in turn not only creates closer bonds within the family but provides deeper spiritual insights into religion as well (Gray, 2003 , p. 640;Treloar, 2002).…”

Towards a Greater Dialogue on Disability Between Muslims and Christians

“…Evidence in support of this hypothesis is found in ethnographic studies from North America, which observe that people become more aware of their own spirituality, develop a stronger belief in God, and sympathize more with the plight of people in similar circumstances when they develop disabilities (Treloar, 2002;McColl et. al., 2000), or interpret Biblical passages with less prejudice when they know people with disabilities (Weinberg & Sebian, 1980).…”

“…For instance, critical social studies analyse disability and impairment under the broad remit of studying religion and religiosity, or discuss the place of religion within a framework of spiritual, social or cultural attitudes towards impairment and disability (Treloar, 2000(Treloar, , 2002Barnes & Mercer, 2003;Miles, 1989;Bazna & Reid, 2000;Cuskelly, Hauser-Cram & Van Riper, 2008;Miles, 2002b). Similarly, sociological literature and personal accounts examine the treatment of Muslims from the perspective of other ethnic minorities with disabilities within Christian societies (Hasnain, Cohon Shaikh, Shanawani, 2008;Ali, Fazil, Bywaters, Wallace & Singh, 2001;Stienstra, 2002), the treatment of disabled Christians and Muslims within their own communities (Ahmed 2007;Miles, 1989Miles, , 1995Al-Aoufi, Al-Zyoud& Shahminan, 2012;Baznaa & Kim Reid, 2009;Hull, 1992;Odell, 1993; or reactions to descriptions of disability in the Bible from a mixed Western community (Watts, 2012).…”