Religion, Chronic Pain, and Reconstructing Norms: A Collection of Hopeful Illness Narratives

Millions of Americans rely on federal disability benefits, and the number one reported cause of disability in America is chronic pain (Steglitz et al. 2012). Chronic pain is estimated to cost the United States between 560 and 635 billion dollars each year in medical expenses alone (Gaskin and Richard 2012:715). Although this affects around 100 million people in the United States (Steglitz et al. 2012) it is not a universally experienced or identified illness (Good et al. 1992:3). While etiological explanations for illness can be political and social in nature, biomedicine seeks to explain chronic pain in terms of its underlying concrete pathology. Yet, medical anthropologists have suggested that pain is all encompassing or biopsychosocial: affecting the social, emotional, and biological self (Scheper-Hughes and Lock 1987:8). This thesis explores the subjective experiences of adult members of Catholic and Protestant churches located in North Carolina who experience chronic pain. The purpose of this study is to better understand how an individual’s lived experience, self-understanding, and language are ultimately shaped by the biopsychosociality of pain. Because pain can be all-encompassing, social institutions like churches, schools, and hospital play an significant role in shaping how an individual and society perceive/understand pain. Using ethnographic methods to understand pain as more than merely biological is important because “in our current era of global capitalism, there is a need for research that links human biology and health to social, cultural and political-economic dynamics” (Leatherman and Goodman 2011:29). Certain social/emotional experiences such as trauma, bullying, isolation, and stress can affect a person’s experience with pain. The social world’s significant role in health and illness has influenced my interest in examining how religious institutions (Catholic and Protestant) broadly shape one’s experience with chronic pain. My thesis examines religious institutions in relation to chronic pain because religion “has dealt with pain not by trying to stop it but rather by trying to transform it into an experience that leads to meaning, insight, and even salvation” (Incayawar and Knox 2013:x). Although biomedicine is premised on the separation between science and religion, many people still draw on religion for understanding and meaning in experiences of illness. This may be particularly true in the case of chronic pain, where treating “pain” that lacks clear biological etiology is different than treating a wound or a disease. X-rays and diagnostic tests may not provide doctors or patients with a visible biological cause or understanding of pain, causing people to look elsewhere for meaning and understanding of how to live with their pain. As “a clinical, public health, and fundamental rights issue” the ubiquitous nature of chronic pain offers an interesting and important area for medical anthropologists to study (Incayawar and Knox 2013:xiiii). Despite chronic pain affecting so many Americans, medical schools still lack adequate pain education courses. A study at the John Hopkins School of Medicine found that only “80% of U.S. medical schools requires 1 or more pain session [courses]” and “many topics included in the International Association for the Study of Pain core curriculum received little or no coverage.” This highlights the need for “knowledgeable and compassionate care regarding pain” that is not only “associated with better medical outcomes and quality of life”, but also “lower health care costs” (Mezei and Murinson 2011:1199).Bachelor of Art