Faith Healing and the government should it be protected or monitored Dissertation

Faith Healing and the government should it be protected or monitored - Dissertation Example (1)Is refusal of medical treatment to children due to parents’ religious beliefs a valid and legitimate decision? (2) Can faith healing be considered as viable medical approach? To clarify further these questions the following sub-questions are addressed: Is the practice of faith healing a religious right? Should faith healing be protected by the state? Is faith healing, as practice, be considered as child abuse and first-degree murder when parents avoid using western medicine on a treatable illness and their child eventually dies? Is faith healing similar with placebo effect? The research used qualitative research for its research methodology and employed documentary analysis, group discussion, and reflection journal for its method. Some of the findings of the research are: (1) Religious belief and faith healing are the same even if the two concepts are closely connected. (2) Faith healing is not a viable form of health care service. (3) There is need to clarify further the n otion of religious belief, since, there is ambivalence in its understanding. This ambivalence affects Court decisions regarding parental decisions refusing medical treatment for their child. Table of Contents Chapter 1 Introduction 5 1.1.Background of the Study 6 1.2. Research Questions 8 1.3. Objective and Aims of the Research 10 1.4. Significance of the Study 11 1.5.Assumptions of the Study 11 1.6. Theoretical Framework 12 1.7. Definition of Terms 13 1.8.Structure of the Dissertation 15 Chapter 2 On Religious Beliefs and Refusal of Medical Treatments 16 2.1. Introduction 16 2.2. Religious Beliefs: A Search for its Meaning 18 2.2.1. A View of Religion 19 2.2.2. On the Idea of God: A Very Brief Elucidation 26 2.2.3. Spirituality 28 2.2.4. On Religious Beliefs: An Attempt to Definition 31 2.3.1. Parental Decision and Religious Belief: Parental Control 34 2.3.2. Free Exercise Clause: Parental Decision and Refusal for Medical Treatment 36 2.3.4. On the Other Side: The State and Parens Patria 38 2.3.4.1. The Clash: The British Approach 40 2.3.4.2. The Clash: The American Approach 41 2.4. Some Observations 42 Summary 43 Chapter 3 On Faith Healing 44 3.1. Introduction 44 3.2. Faith Healing: A Brief History and Its Definition 46 3.2.1. Faith Healing: Its Definition 48 3.3 Faith Healing and the State 50 3.4. Faith Healing and Placebo Effect 51 Summary 53 Chapter 4 Research Methodology 54 4.1.Introduction 54 4.2. Research Design 54 4.3. Research Methodology 56 4.4. Research Approach 57 4.5. Method of Data Collection 57 4.6. Ethical Consideration 60 Chapter 5 Findings and Discussion 63 5.1. Introduction 63 5.2. The Findings 63 5.2.1. A Conceptual Understanding of Religious Belief 64 5.2.1.1. Religious Beliefs, Validity, and Decision-Making 65 5.2.1.2. Religious Beliefs, Decision, and Legitimacy 66 5.2. Faith Healing: A Healing Alternative? 67 5.2.1. Faith Healing: Alternative Health Care 68 5.2.2. Faith healing and Placebo 69 5.3. Discussion 70 Summary 73 Chapter 6 Conc lusion and Recommendation 74 6.1. Conclusion 74 6.2. Recommendations 76 References 77 List of Figure Figure 1 p. 12 Figure 2 p. 25 Figure 3 p. 29 Figure 4 p. 31 Figure 5 p. 55