Healing in a Technological Age: Spirituality, Religion, and the Practice of

Convenors: Ariel Dempsey, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Faculty of Theology & Religion; Andrew Moeller, Project Leader, Biotechnology and the Humanities

Please contact Andrew Moeller with any questions: [email protected]

Description

Amid the rapid expansion of medical technology, what place do religion and spirituality hold in contemporary medicine? How are spirituality, physical health, and mental health interconnected, and how do these relationships shape experiences of illness and healing?

As medicine becomes increasingly driven by technology, data, and efficiency, questions of meaning, belief, and human experience remain central to care. Religion and spirituality continue to influence how patients and clinicians understand illness, make medical decisions, cope with suffering, and pursue well-being. This panel brings together clinicians, scholars, and practitioners to explore the roles of religion and spirituality in contemporary medicine, with particular attention to physical health, mental health, and patient-centered care. Panelists will examine how spirituality intersects with clinical practice, ethical decision-making, and holistic approaches to healing, as well as the challenges and opportunities of integrating spirituality into modern healthcare settings.Our panel of speakers will explore questions such as:

• What role can spirituality play in physical and mental health, and how should clinicians engage with it responsibly in patient care?
• In the face of widespread clinician burnout, how might spirituality support resilience, meaning, and professional well-being?
• As medicine becomes increasingly technological, how can healthcare systems integrate spiritual care while respecting diversity, ethics, and professional boundaries?
• What insights does spirituality offer medicine about healing, suffering, and meaning—and how can medical practice, in turn, inform spiritual understanding?
• How can dialogue between medicine, philosophy, theology, and the arts deepen our understanding of the spiritual dimensions of human experience and reshape approaches to care?
• As societies invest billions in biotechnologies aimed at enhancing and extending human life, we are also facing a growing crisis of mental health and rising rates of despair. What do spiritual traditions offer that might help us rethink what we mean by “progress” and human flourishing?

These questions matter not only to healthcare professionals, but to all of us because serious illness touches every life, whether our own or those of people we love. Whether you are a clinician, patient, scholar, student, religious, spiritual, secular, skeptic, or simply someone interested in exploring questions of meaning and purpose, join us for a timely conversation at the intersection of medicine, spirituality, and human well-being.

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