Christian clergy have long dominated the chaplaincy in the United States.
Rev. Jo Laurence, a Buddhist chaplain, poses for a photo on April 22, 2022 in the garden of a memory care facility in Portland, Ore. before visiting hospice patients to offer spiritual care. Buddhist chaplains like Laurence have become more numerous in hospitals, hospices, and prisons and graduate programs to train them have proliferated across the country. Rev.
In response, study and training opportunities have been established or expanded in recent years. They include the Buddhist Ministry Initiative at Harvard Divinity School and the Buddhism track at Union Theological Seminary, an ecumenical Christian liberal seminary in New York City. Colorado’s Naropa University, a Buddhist-inspired liberal arts college, recently launched a low-residency hybrid degree chaplaincy program.
Maitripa College, a Tibetan Buddhist college also in Portland, has seen increased interest in its Master of Divinity track since its launch 10 years ago, said Leigh Miller, director of academic and public programs. It appeals to a broad range, from older Buddhists with 20 years of practice to new college graduates who just started meditating, from spiritual seekers to people with multiple religious belongings.
“The fruit of those hours on the cushion really shows up in the ability to be present, to drop one’s own personal agenda and to have a kind of awareness of self and other that allows for an interdependent relationship to arise,” Miller said. Providence Health & Services, a Catholic nonprofit based in Washington state that runs hospitals in seven Western states, is one Christian health care system seeking to change that.
Laurence, the hospice chaplain at Portland’s Providence Home and Community Services, grew up in London and felt called to Buddhism after witnessing poverty, violence and racism as a caregiver in Mississippi.She said that as more people become unchurched, many patients don’t have a language for their spirituality or it’s tied up with religious trauma.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Buddhist chaplains on the rise in US, offering broad appealChristian clergy have long dominated the chaplaincy in the United States
Read more »
House Republicans, led by Rep. Roy, introduce bill to suspend entry of illegal immigrants into USHouse Republicans, led by Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas., on Friday introduced a bill that would suspend the entry of illegal immigrants into the U.S. -- as Republicans push solutions to the raging crisis at the southern border.
Read more »
Couple longing for grandchild sues son, his wife: 'They don't think about us'A couple longing for a grandchild is suing their son and his wife.
Read more »
Thousands expected to rally across US for abortion rightsThousands of activists are gearing up to take to US streets Saturday in a national day of action calling for safe and legal access to abortion.
Read more »
Google calls for urgent switch to quantum-safe encryption as US delaysOne day, quantum computers will be able to crack encryption in use today. A US body in charge of choosing quantum-proof algorithms has delayed announcing them due to undisclosed legal reasons, while a team at Google is calling for an urgent switch.
Read more »
“Like an inferno:” U.S. West burning at furious pace so farWildfires are on a furious pace early this year — from a California hilltop where mansions with multimillion-dollar Pacific Ocean views were torched to remote New Mexico mountains charred by …
Read more »