Religious Understandings of a Good Death in Hospice Palliative Care

Harold Coward is Professor Emeritus of History and Founding Director of the Centre for Studies in Religion and Society at the University of Victoria. He is the author and editor of several books, including The Perfectibility of Human Nature in Eastern and Western Thought, also published by SUNY Press. Kelli I. Stajduhar is Associate Professor at the School of Nursing and Centre on Aging at the University of Victoria.

Acknowledgments

Introduction
Harold Coward and Kelli I. Stajduhar

PART I. Religious Understandings of a Good Death

1. Cicely Saunders and the Development of Hospice Palliative Care
Michael Wright and David Clark

2. “Like a Ripe Fruit Separating Effortlessly from Its Vine” Religious Understandings of a Good Death: Hinduism
Anantanand Rambachan

3. Welcoming an Old Friend: Buddhist Perspectives on Good Death
Anne Bruce

4. Muslim Perspectives on a Good Death in Hospice and End-of-Life Care
Earle Waugh

5. Tradition and Change in Jewish Ideals Regarding a “Good” Death
Norman Ravvin

6. Dying Well in Christianity
Janet Soskice

7. Chinese Religions and Hospice Care
Edwin C. Hui and Danny C. Leung

PART II. Case Studies

8. Buddhist Hospice Care in Thailand
Robert Florida and Pinit Ratanakul

9. The Ugandan Way of Living and Dying
Michael L. Hadley and Godfrey Agupio

10. Punjabi Extended Family Hospice Care
Kamala Elizabeth Nayar

11. Seeking Physical, Cultural, Ethical, and Spritual “Safe Space” for a “Good Death”: The Experience of Indigenous Peoples in Accessing Hospice Care
Joseph M. Kaufert, Rhonda Wiebe, Margaret Lavallee, Patricia A. Kaufert

12. Caring for Children in Hospice and Palliative Care: The Spiritual/Religious Dimension
Betty Davies and Thomas Attig

13. Interfaith Chaplaincy in Hospice Palliative Care
Kelli I. Stajduhar and Coby Tschanz

Conclusion
Harold Coward and Kelli I. Stajduhar

Glossary of Terms and Abbreviations
Lee Blanding

Contributors

Index