Professor Marc Unger
May 31, 2013
The Importance of Religion in Education
Religion is a controversial but very important part of any student’s education. It’s almost unavoidable not to encounter religion, whether the student’s major is in healthcare, finance, law, or any other study. Studying religion will provide the student an understanding that will someday be useful in their career. As a nursing student, I can see how religion is of great importance as part of my studies. In my chosen field, I will be interacting and caring for a lot of people as part of my daily tasks. This means a very diverse and therefore very religiously different people. Having an understanding of most people’s religions will help me be more sensitive to their needs. Going into the healthcare industry, I will be facing numerous religious issues that will be ethically and morally challenging. Religion will be invaluable when I inevitably encounter these issues in the future. Understanding religion is important in nursing because it is invaluable when dealing with ethically or morally challenging religious issues in the medical field and it helps nurses to be more sensitive to patient’s individual religious needs.
Major controversial issues that I might encounter that are within patient’s legal rights may involve helping to administer terminal sedation, birth control, and even abortion for failed contraception (FA, RE and MH). I fully believe in patient’s legal rights, but not all caregivers share my views. Sensitive care involves respect for values, freedom, and religious diversity. Many times the caregiver and the patient may not share the same beliefs, however, support still needs to be given in a non-sectarian and non-judgmental way, taking into account the patient’s views (Johnston). After all, a nurse’s role is to provide care and not to judge. Without basic understanding for other people’s religions or even lack of religion,...
Please join StudyMode to read the full document