The Christian Meaning of Health in the Age of Globalisation

Rev. Péter Szakács Hungary

Abstract del Editor:

Esta ponencia fue presentada en el Congreso Hungaro de Rehabilitacion de 2006. Se propuso al autor examinar la cuestión de como puede interactuar la la creencia religiosa (en este caso, cristiana) en la conservación de la salud. El autor revisa el concepto de la OMS de Salud y analiza la importancia de la dimension espiritual en el concepto de salud como “estado de bienestar”, en interacción con las dimensiones somática, psicológica y social. El autor plantea que en la era de la globalización, la dimension de la espiritualidad cristiana puede ser un elemento que contribuya a la salud y a la recuperación ayudando a la persona a situarse en una escala de valores, y tomar responsabilidades sobre si mismo.

My personal impressions on the congress in Budapest.

This was the first time I participated in a WAPR congress, and it made such a positive impression on me that I am taking the liberty to share with you readers some of my reflections. What I found most remarkable was the fact that apart from the high academic level of the lectures, there was an unmistakable, constructive, open atmosphere at the congress. It is clear that the WAPR team is more than a well-organised working group; it is a real cooperative team that supports its members with a communitarian spirit. For me, as a priest, it bespeaks not only a high level of academic work but also tangible human authenticity.

I would like to express my gratitude for the cultural and interdisciplinary openness shown in inviting me as a Catholic theologian. It was a great experience to give my presentation in a session together with Prof. Afzat Jahved who talked about the relationship between religion and mental health from the Islamic perspective. In my opinion, this WAPR congress offered a unique possibility to promote the dialogue between religions and cultures, thereby fostering dialogue between Islam and Christianity with mutual respect.

Globalisation was one of the main topics dealt with at the congress. I believe that it is thanks to the endeavours of the members of the WAPR International Scientific Committee that we could witness a global unity between the different nationalities. So this required a wide horizion, not only because of the picturesque views of Margaret Island, but also because the congress gave us an open and renewed intellectual vision, that in my opinion, is invaluable for the Hungarian academic world. This is also profoundly valuable because psychiatric rehabilitation was quite neglected and had struggled in isolation for a long time without being shown adequate appreciation. I would like to congratulate the vice-president Ida Kosza who organised the congress.

I would like to give you the abstract of my lecture which dealt with the relationship between the Christian concept of health and globalisation, along with some aspects of the psychosocial rehabilitation. My presentation was rather theoretical, focusing on the anthropological

foundations of the concept of health with less clinical experience than the preceding lectures. I intended my ideas to be thought-provoking seeking to inspire practical solutions in the future.

Introduction

In my introduction I raised the question: Can Christian belief contribute to the question of human health, and if the answer is in the affirmative, in what respect is this so? This vision is particularly pertinent in the changing socio-cultural context of our globalised world of present scientific improvements? What health model can Christianity offer to psychiatric rehabilitation that could be followed in the process of the rebuilding of a personality?

Some basic concepts in the Christian meaning of health.

According to the classical WHO definition that was created in 1946, health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being; on the basis of the Ottawa Charter, 1986, it may be defined as a dynamic equilibrium that enables an individual or group to identify and to realize aspirations, to satisfy needs, and to change or cope with the environment dynamically and harmoniously.  Christian theological and philosophical anthropology also starts from the basic dimensions of human nature when it seeks to define health. Together with medicine, psychology, social studies and ecology, Christian anthropology accepts this definition of health but enriches it with an explicit reference to the spiritual dimension of health that points to the relationship between the human person, the transcendent world and God, the Creator and Saviour. The Church has a special vocation and competence to nurture this spiritual dimension. As we know, the relationship between spirituality and the quality of life is not alien to the WHO, since in its quality of life questionnaire (WHOQOL) it is dealt with as a separate dimension. The Christian approach adds to this spiritual dimension a complex moral value scale where health is regarded as a basic human value. Christian morality strives to create responsible health behaviour by motivating the free decisions of the individual’s conscience from different angles. During this process the somatic, psychic, spiritual, and moral dimensions, as well as the social and ecological ones of the human person, should support each other in mutual harmony to enhance the global health and self-realisation of the individual and the community.

The Hungarian word for health (egészség) is closer to the English “wholesomeness”. This expression derives from the word “whole”, which implies that all dimensions of a human person are in unity and harmony in a healthy state. This truth expressed by the Hungarian language is in perfect accordance with the perception of the Church. The health (wholesomeness) of a person implies the harmonious balance and cooperation between biological, psychic, spiritual-moral and socio- ecological dimensions.

Different scientific fields are competent in the examination of the role of the different anthropological dimensions in health: medicine (somatic dimension); psychology (psychic dimension); social studies and ecology (socio- ecological dimension); philosophy, theology and ethics (spiritual and moral dimension). We know that these four dimensions are in constant interaction with each other in a person. For this reason, the different scientific fields dealing with the varying dimensions should try to accomplish an interdisciplinary cooperation so as to enable us to get a real picture of the individuals’ and communities’ quality of life, or else influence it adequately.

Every discipline naturally focuses on its own field, but the competence of other disciplines cannot be ignored. We know how one can arrive at a false diagnosis if one follows the reductionist biomedicinal approach (fortunately, nowadays this is rarely seen, at least on the theoretical level), which treats the patient only from a biological aspect irrespective of the fact that several physical illnesses relate to various negative psychic processes that manifest somatically. There could be another – also reductionist – psychological approach that uses an exclusively psychic approach in treating the patient’s spiritual conflicts, even though the patient has obvious problems with his or her world-view, or a religious/ moral crisis in the background, which then emerge even on psychic levels. It is a similar mistake to emphasise exclusively the religious involvement – although religion has a predominantly positive effect on health – in somatic and psychiatric illnesses which might lead to the omission of effective medical interventions.

Applying the four-dimensional model mentioned above to a particular example, it is possible that a person who is confined to a wheelchair but is spiritually well-balanced and who has come to terms with his or her limitations, is a healthier person globally than somebody who is unimpaired physically, but spiritually empty and demoralised, psychically frustrated, and injured in his or her social relationships. Similarly, if we look at the field of rehabilitation, we can reach better tendencies in recovery if we pay attention to more anthropological dimensions in rebuilding the personality of the patient. At this point I would like to refer to the frequent experience of involving energies of the moral and spiritual dimensions, which helps patients who take part in the rehabilitation programmes in coping with their physical or psychic difficulties, or aids in the positive integration of their permanent impairments into their personalities. At the same time a health problem usually raises or strengthens the patient’s interest in the final, transcendent questions of life, and this growing spiritual openness during the healing work cannot be overlooked.

Some correlations between the Christian meaning of health and the globalisation process

The challenges of globalisation

The scientific-technical and the socio- economic improvements gave way to the globalisation process which offers numerous new possibilities in the cooperation of humankind, even in the field of health promotion. The work of the WHO is an excellent example in this regard. The Church itself has a global missionary self- awareness, as it tries to gather the believers from different nations into one community. Through the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Assistance to Health Care Workers, the Catholic Church makes several efforts even on a global level for the human health; one of the emphasized criteria of its activity is the close cooperation with the WHO.1

At the same time, the context of globalisation brings serious challenges and this is being pointed out even by the WHO in the Bangkok Charter in 2005. These challenges put persons of this era on trial especially in psychic and spiritual ways. As a consequence of the fast socio-economic changes there can be an increase in the disturbance of the sense of personal identity, a feeling of defencelessness and loneliness, the occurrence of the anomic depressive symptomatology, whilst the individual’s sense of coherence could decrease, all of these being very important psychic factors in the state of health. On the spiritual level, wide social

strata are threatened by impersonalisation, loss of identity on different levels, a spiritually superficial and rootless life meaning, as well as by the depletion of spiritual energies. The absence of objectives in life and a wholesome world-view can lead to moral indifference and value crisis. A grave temptation of globalisation is to build the global unity of humankind unilaterally on economic interests. The Bangkok Charter explicitly mentions the dangers of “commercialisation”. Because of the growing importance of economic factors human capital (this includes also social, moral and spiritual capital)² can be overshadowed. Globalisation has several positive aspects on the social level. However, while the social macro-structures are gaining strength, its micro- structures could weaken: first and foremost, the basis of the structures, i.e. the human person together with his or her four-dimensional harmonious unity, as well as the family, the smaller communities, and the national and social identity.

What can Christianity offer to the human person longing for health in the age of globalisation?

The Christian approach can contribute positively to the improvement of the state of health in many ways.

It supplies the person with spiritual power, and this spiritual health-resource energizes the other three human dimensions from the spiritual dimension.³

The Christian perception of health gives health a fundamental position on the value-scale. With this value-scale it provides a stable point in a world that is increasingly full of uncertain factors, it gives meaning and direction to life and helps to process the events of life properly. It is well-known that religious exercises, especially prayer and the participation in religious services, are efficient in dealing with conflicts, and that they have a coping strategy feature.⁴ In a word, the Christian faith augments the so-called spiritual and moral capital of the person.

This moral horizon stimulates personal responsibility in one’s health lifestyle, and gives a motivation for responsible cooperation with health promotion projects organised on different levels, which are spreading as a positive effect of globalisation.

This responsibility taken for one’s health and that of others enhances the experience of self- efficacy and coherence-identity, and this increased social role-taking supports the believers’ social identity.⁵ The enhancement of the personal and social identity is of key importance in the era of globalisation. Through its moral norms it motivates health behaviours and the forms of behaviour that avoid detrimental actions to health.

In our globalised world that is threatened by impersonalisation – what Durkheim described as an anomic state on the psychosocial level – the Christian faith represents a global worldview that is contemporaneously human-centred by its personal and loving picture of God and an anthropological view that is based on the dignity of the human person. So it gives believers the experience of personalisation whilst offering effective social support. One of the significant possibilities for this personalisation is the doctor-patient relationship.

We believe that this global health meaning, promoted also through a Christian anthropology (either by the global anthropological approach that covers all dimensions of the human person, or by the increasingly global work of national and international health structures), can contribute to the fruitful cooperation of different disciplines, and to the realisation of a more complete and wholesome quality of life.

Rev. Péter Szakács
Hungary