Customer Reviews

Religion in Aging and Health: Theoretical Foundations and Methodological Frontiers (SAGE Focus Editions)

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As an edited book some chapters are more interesting than others. Since the book is copyrighted in 1994, the material is a bit dated, but does provide the reader with a foundation from which to begin exploring the topic of Aging and Spirituality.

Overall the basic message of the collection is that researchers in this area must a) move beyond the classic sociological/psychological literature on religion. b) give serious attention to methodology and utilize tried and true methods of research. c) there is a gap in clinical literature that takes religion seriously and this gap needs to be bridge.

This book provides a foundational background to pursuing this area in more depth and reinforced concepts of good research methodology, which is the strength of this collection. One of the weaknesses of the book is that it does not have a lot of input from those who have a solid background in religion. Only one contributor holds credentials in the field of Theology. Several contributors point to the historical weakness of research in religion but does not challenge religious professionals to assist with the research in this field.

For those in pastoral ministry, the chapter on disability written by Koenig is informative, although there is a bit of "proof texting" with Koenig's use of scripture. Kaplan's chapter on forgiveness will prove to be helpful in the pastoral setting.