‘The Core of My Work Is in being with People Who do not Practise Faith in Any Way’: The Self-Perception of Czech Hospital Chaplains

Abstract

The article focuses on the understudied topic of contemporary hospital chaplaincy in the Czech Republic, its development, and the current issues this work is dealing with. Based on a study conducted among Czech hospital chaplains affiliated with the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren, the Roman Catholic Church, the Czechoslovak Hussite Church, and the Church of Seventh Day Adventists, the article examines the experiences of Christian providers of spiritual care in the secularised environment of a hospital and sheds light on how they perceive their work and role. Two waves of interviews were conducted among thirteen hospital chaplains, male and female, and subjected to an applied thematic analysis. This produced four thematic areas that the article explores in detail: (1) the localisation of the chaplaincy within the hospital, (2) the chaplains’ methods of working with patients, (3) the chaplains’ relationships with other hospital personnel, and (4) the self-identification of the hospital chaplains. The results of this research revealed that the secularised environment of the Czech Republic is a crucial factor that affects the work of chaplains in several ways, but their role in the hospital has at the same time developed in ways that are separate from their religious affiliation, as the understanding dialogue they engage in with patients forms a core part of their work.