Abstract

In this interfaith book Lucinda Mosher investigates different understandings of destiny, loss, death, and remembrance in America's many religions. Using stories and interviews with a variety of religious adherents and health professionals, the book wrestles with questions such as: how can our religion guide us in making decisions about certain kinds of medical treatment options? What religion-related issues would it be helpful for a healthcare provider to know? How do different religious traditions help manage our grief?

In a globalized society religious traditions sit alongside each other as never before, and the need for religious literacy and multifaith chaplaincy is increasingly recognized. By looking at multireligious America, this book provides an essential exploration of different attitudes to death, helping members of all faith communities to become more literate with each other's religious traditions.

In the context of religious pluralism and the needs of healthcare professionals to increase their interfaith literacy, Mosher's book is a gift. Its thematic approach speaks to the heart of person-centered care, and is enriched by a mosaic of voices within and across faith perspectives which leads practitioners not into an acquisition of knowledge but a deep relational respect and wonder, that builds cultural competency from the inside out
The Rev. Dr. Storm Swain, Associate Professor of Pastoral Care and Theology, United Lutheran Seminary
Lucinda Mosher is an educator, writer and consultant on multifaith issues and a Faculty Associate in Interfaith Studies at Hartford seminary.
Dr. Mosher provides insights into how the big questions of life and death are answered within the rich tapestry of American religious life. This book is a must-read for anyone working in the caring professions, whether physicians, nurses, counselors, chaplains, or therapists. America is becoming a more diverse place and this book is a valuable guide to navigating it.
Daniel Joslyn-Siemiatkoski, Seminary of the Southwest, Austin, TX
This book changed me as much as anything I have read in recent years. If you want to know more about the full humanity your new neighbors-and are willing to think more deeply about your own eventual demise as well-then you cannot have better companions than the ones Lucinda Mosher introduces you to in this book.
Barbara Brown Taylor, author of Learning to Walk in the Dark