ABSTRACT
There is a general idea and consensus that holistic and spiritual care is to be provided by health care professionals, foremost within a palliative care setting. A growing emphasis has been put on delivering holistic and person-centred care, including the individuals’ existential, religious, cultural, and spiritual needs. Despite this we see how the patients’ spiritual and existential needs are neglected and how it creates uncertainty among health care professionals. There is a growing discussion about the concept of religious literacy and its place in health care. One aim of religious literacy in health care is to provide health care professionals the abilities and skills to engage with an increasingly diverse service user population. This chapter aims to describe religious literacy as an integral part of person-centred care and how religious literacy can be a means towards achieving more person-centred, holistic, and equal care. Based on fieldwork including participant observations, narrative interviews, and informal interviews, at a Swedish hospice, this chapter identifies four main challenges in providing spiritual care and becoming more religiously literate: time, knowledge, professional responsibilities, and organization.
