Lifting the Lid on Chaplaincy: A First Look at Findings from Chaplains' Case Study Research

Since the publication of Chaplain Rhonda Cooper's case study in 2011, chaplain case studies have become part of the chaplaincy research agenda. Chaplains from North America, Europe and Australia have published almost 30, and this article offers a first look at the findings that are emerging from these cases. Locating chaplains' case studies at the juxtaposition of 'outcome oriented chaplaincy' and so-called 'process-oriented chaplaincy', the article argues chaplains' case studies dissolve what is a false dichotomy. Utilizing an analytical framework provided by ongoing debate among psychotherapists, the article argues that the emerging data suggests chaplaincy manifests features that are common to psychotherapy but also that there are significant factors specific to chaplaincy. From this analysis, the article observes the case studies paint a picture of chaplaincy care as a religious intervention. However, contemporary chaplaincy exists within a rapidly changing context, where increasing numbers of people are religiously unaffiliated. The article concludes by suggesting that chaplains' case study research poses significant theological, ethical and existential questions to chaplaincy about how to respond to its changing context. The article ends with a call for chaplaincy care to be radically and explicitly remodeled as care for the human spirit regardless of religious affiliation.