INTER-FAITH PASTORAL CARE AND THE ROLE OF THE HEALTH CARE CHAPLAIN

Abstract: This paper explores the inter-faith pastoral care provided by Australian Chris-tian health care chaplains to patients and their families of non-Christian religions in public hospitals within the culturally diverse western suburbs of Melbourne (Victoria, Australia). Chaplains completed an ‘Inter-Faith and Pastoral Care Questionnaire ’ fol-lowed by an in-depth interview designed to explore the strategies, techniques, knowledge and resources of chaplains ministering to adherents of traditional non-Christian relig-ions. The majority of chaplains were found to have provided pastoral care to people of non-Christian faiths utilizing a variety of pastoral strategies. Differences were noted be-tween Catholic and Protestant chaplains, and between lay and ordained chaplains, par-ticularly concerning their knowledge of non-Christian faiths and their use of resources. It is argued that future chaplaincy personnel need to be better trained in order to maximize the effectiveness of inter-faith pastoral care