ABSTRACT
This chapter detects the religious and spiritually oriented coping methods used by cancer patients in Sweden. Given that the effect of culture on meaning-making coping methods was broad, the focus was limited to informants – people who had been hit by cancer – who had been socialized in Sweden and Swedish culture, with its Protestant background. The chapter presents that the Self-directed Religious Coping was the most prevalent religious coping method among cancer patients in Sweden. It observes two patterns: the praying as a relaxation method as meditation and the praying as a deep-seated habit, where praying functions as a coping method that helps the individual feel safe and peaceful. The chapter discusses existential secular coping methods: Spiritual Sanctification of Nature, Spiritual Connection with Oneself, Positive Solitude, Altruism and Spiritual music. The view of nature becomes the church and unity with the holy becomes unity with nature that suggests a culture with strong traditions of natural romanticism.
