ABSTRACT
This chapter explores some of the key debates and issues about the role of spirituality in social work practice beginning with an overview of the debates as to why and why not it has been argued that spirituality has a place in contemporary social work. A number of arguments have been proposed as to why spirituality and social work are in opposition. These centre on the nature of religious beliefs but also include questions as to the compatibility of spirituality with evidence based practice. Anti-religious views have been a feature of social work from the beginning of its professional development when it drew heavily on the disciplines of sociology and psychology which tended to regard religion and spirituality with scepticism. The development of social work as a profession throughout the last century has been accompanied by the growth of social work services in non-religious settings, such that in many places social work services are predominantly provided by secular agencies.
