Contesting spiritual dimensions of health: salutogenic approaches to post-secular quests for quality of life

Abstract

This article dwells on three key concepts: spirituality (religion, meaning making), health (being well, wellness) and the contemporary post-secular individ­ual search for significance. Within a classic salutogenic and health promo­tional frame of reference, dimensions of health are usually referred to in terms of the physical, mental, social and spiritual. Following development of the classic­al approaches, cultural, ecological and existential subcategories have been added to the concepts in order to clarify the contents. Scholars in the field of health promotion argue that these dimensions of health and well-being are, in a general way, closely interrelated. This article explores the ways in which spirituality and well-being interact. It is influenced by the author’s previous research in religious studies and current experiences of health promotion work. This article is divided into five sections: salutogenesis and health promotion; quality of life and spirituality; previous research on religion and health; indifference and fundamentalism, and some final remarks.