Roles and mandates of spiritual care providers in a context of religious diversity: some consideration inspired by the development of Muslim chaplaincy in Switzerland

Pierre-Yves Brandt

doi:10.1515/spircare-2023-0029

Article

Roles and mandates of spiritual care providers in a context of religious diversity: some consideration inspired by the development of Muslim chaplaincy in Switzerland

Pierre-Yves Brandt

Published/Copyright: November 24, 2023

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From the journal Spiritual Care Volume 12 Issue 4

Abstract

The practice and function of chaplaincy is changing in the pluralistic context of our contemporary societies. The reflections proposed in this article originate from the comparison of three contexts: the canton of Vaud (Switzerland), Quebec and France. It results in a modelling that differentiates the roles and mandates assigned to chaplains according to the modalities taken by three variables: the employer, the mandator, and the beneficiaries of the chaplain’s services. The analysis of the different ways the modalities taken by these three variables shape the activity of the chaplainis extended by prospective considerations on the evolution of the positioning of chaplains in general and of the Muslim chaplaincy in Switzerland more particularly.

Zusammenfassung

Praxis und Funktion der Seelsorge verändern sich vor dem pluralistischen Kontext unserer heutigen Gesellschaften. Den Reflektionen in diesem Beitrag liegt ein Vergleich dreier Kontexte zu Grunde: der Kanton Vaud (Schweiz), Quebec (Kanada) und Frankreich. Dies führt zu einem Modell, das die Rollen und Aufträge, die Seelsorgenden zugewiesen werden, hinsichtlich der Prämissen dreier Personengruppen unterscheidet: den Arbeitgeber, dem Auftraggebern und den Nutznießern der seelsorglichen Dienste. Die Analyse der Auswirkungen dieser drei Prämissen auf die Arbeit von Seelsorgenden wird durch Überlegungen zur weiteren Entwicklung von Seelsorgenden im Allgemeinen und der muslimischen Seelsorge in der Schweiz im Besonderen erweitert.

Acknowledgments

non applicable.

Author contributions: The author has accepted responsibility for the entire content of this manuscript and approved its submission.
Research funding: None declared.
Competing interests: Author states no conflict of interest.
Informed consent: non applicable.
Ethical approval: non applicable.

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Published Online: 2023-11-24

Published in Print: 2023-12-01

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https://doi.org/10.1515/spircare-2023-0029