The Spiritual Dimension of Ageing

What does it mean to grow old? What makes later life meaningful? What gives a frail and isolated or institutionalised older person their sense of wholeness and self? This substantially updated new edition of Elizabeth MacKinlay's seminal text presents the latest theory and research to explore these questions in depth, pointing the way towards new ways of thinking about and engaging with the spirituality of ageing. Encompassing the findings of a new research study on baby boomer spirituality, the book presents a wider and more comprehensive view of ageing and spirituality, concluding that spirituality for the baby boomer generation is every bit as important as for the cohorts before them, but also fundamentally different, with fewer being practicing members of a religious faith. Drawing on in-depth interviews with older people, and containing many new ideas whilst also addressing the foundational theories and questions essential to scholarship in this field, the book also includes a new and timely chapter on the spirituality of older people in our increasingly multicultural and multifaith societies. This clear and practical text presents much-needed guidance for health and social care practitioners, chaplains, clergy and others seeking to identify and support the spiritual needs of older people, as well as students and researchers in related disciplines.

Elizabeth MacKinlay, an Anglican priest, is Director of the Centre for Ageing and Pastoral Studies in Canberra, Australia, and Chair of the Australian Capital Territory Ministerial Advisory Council on Ageing. She is Professor at the Charles Sturt University School of Theology.