Theorization of the spiritual based on the analysis of the practices of Spiritual Care Workers in Quebec: an original model with six dimensions

This article is based on a research project concerning the new generation of chaplains working in Quebec's health and social services network of institutions. Through a combination of a biographical methodology centered on professional work and a descriptive method of analysing a typical day, this study shows that, in the context of a non-confessional orientation of spiritual care, the chaplains must demonstrate the relevance and the specificity of their type of work. To do so, they have developed a specific body of practices as well as a particular theory of spirituality, sustaining the idea of a non-confessional spiritual care. This article describes both, and identifies the main dimensions of this theory of the nature of the spiritual domain: rituals, belonging, values, transcendence, identity, and meaning.