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Spirituality and social work:A Norwegian reflectionMari‐Anne Zahl a

a Associate Professor at the NorwegianUniversity of Science and Technology ,Trondheim , N‐749 , NorwayPublished online: 26 Apr 2010.

To cite this article: Mari‐Anne Zahl (2003) Spirituality and socialwork: A Norwegian reflection, Social Thought, 22:1, 77-90, DOI:10.1080/15426432.2003.9960327

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Spirituality and Social Work:A Norwegian Reflection

Mari-Anne Zahl

ABSTRACT. Inasmuch as social work practice is influenced by thecontext in which it is performed, it will in some way be influenced by theprevailing belief systems in a country. This article presents some of the con-text influencing social work in Norway. Even though Norway has a StateChurch based on the Evangelical-Lutheran faith, the training of social work-ers is particularly inclusive of neither a religious nor a spiritual perspective.Religion and spirituality are not a central part in social work practice. Wemight rather hypothesize that the State Church and its influence on K-12 ed-ucation makes religion and culture so intertwined that it is hard to separatethem from each other, and that this blend creates a negative alertness for re-ligion and spirituality in general. [Article copies available for a fee from TheHaworth Document Delivery Service: 1-800-HAWORTH. E-mail address:<getinfo@haworthpressinc.com> Website: <http://wwwHaworthPress.com> © 2003by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.]

KEYWORDS. Social work education in Norway, State Church, inter-twining religion, spirituality and culture

INTRODUCTION

The linkage between spirituality and social work in modern time hassurfaced repeatedly during my sabbatical at the University of Minnesota,

Mari-Anne Zahl is Associate Professor at the Norwegian University of Science andTechnology, N-749, Trondheim, Norway.

This paper was presented at the Conference on Whole Person Whole World, TenthAnniversary International Conference, University of Kansas, School of Social Wel-fare, Lawrence, Kansas, June 2000.

Social Thought, Vol. 22(1) 2003http://www.haworthpressinc.com/store/product.asp?sku=J131

© 2003 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved. 77

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78 SOCIALTHOUGHT

School of Social Work. The phenomenon appeared related to practiceand teaching as well as research. As a Norwegian, I was struck by the ap-parent absence of this topic in social work in Norway, a country with aState Church. This triggered an exploration of my culture to uncover whythe two cultures appeared to be approaching this topic so differently.

Canda and Furman (1999) conducted research in the U.S. regardingthe role of religion and spirituality in social work practice. They asked re-spondents to rate their level of agreement with the following statement:

The constitutional principle of separation of church and state pre-vents social workers from dealing with religion in their practice.

In order to use the same logic in Norway, the statement would read:"The constitutional connectedness between state and church will sup-port social workers in dealing with religion in their practice."

The relationship between state and church will most likely influence at-titudes about religion as a private or public matter and, therefore, impactpublic institutions. These attitudes might support, oppose or not care aboutthe consequences of such a tie to a particular religion. The State Churchphenomenon is an ingrained part of our cultural context, but is no longer tobe taken for granted. Debates initiated from within as well as outside theState Church question the relationship between state and church.

Mentioning spirituality evokes ties to religion and a clarification istherefore needed. Spirituality, as understood by this author, is con-nected to what gives each individual meaning in life. It is, therefore,not necessarily tied to dogmas, connected to or dependent on any par-ticular religion or belief system. Religion might be used as a bridge tospirituality. Canda conceptualizes spirituality to the wholeness ofwhat it is to be human, and relates it to the person's search for a senseof meaning and morally fulfilling relationships between oneself andother people (Canda & Furman 1999: 43-44).

The earliest immigrants from Norway to the U.S. sought religiousfreedom and longed for independence to practice their own form ofspirituality and escape spiritual oppression. In this paper there will notbe assigned a positive or negative connotation to the phenomenon ofspirituality. Whatever gives meaning to an individual cannot easily bereduced to a rating on a positive-negative scale when related to the mi-cro-the individual-or to the macro-neighborhoods and society-level.Individuals and society at large might very well differ in what they findto be positive beliefs, behavior or cults to be connected to. Religiousfreedom is an ideal fought for through history. We will focus on the sub-

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Mari-Anne Zahl 79

stantial evidence that religion is an integral part of society and searchfor traces of religion and spirituality in social work.

NORWAY-A CASE EXAMPLE

Norway is one of the five Nordic countries. It is bordered to the eastby Sweden, Finland, and Russia, to the west by the Norwegian Sea andthe Atlantic Ocean, to the north by the Barents Sea, and to the south bythe North Sea. The population is about 4.3 million. The population ofNorway is becoming more heterogeneous. According to StatisticsNorway (2000, Table 94) (Statistisk sentralbyrd), 260,742 inhabitantswere immigrants as of January 1, 1999. The majority came from Eu-rope (131,422). We note that from countries outside Western Europe,we find the three largest groups to come from Bosnia-Herzegovina(12,131), Yugoslavia (9,443), and Turkey (9,859). The largest groupsfrom Asia come from Pakistan (21,889), Vietnam (14,929), Iran(9,646), and Sri Lanka (9,141). There are 6,262 from Chile as com-pared to 7,813 from the USA.

Norway adopted its own constitution in 1814 and is a constitutionalmonarchy. Norwegian per capita income ranks among the world's high-est. North Sea oil and gas fields are one of the cornerstones of the Nor-wegian economy.

The first courses in social work started in the capital of Oslo in1920 after the initiative of a women's organization, Norske KvinnersNasjonalrdd. These pioneers were well informed of the development ofsocial work in the U.S. as well as in Germany and other European coun-tries. Since Norway is a welfare state, the great majority of social work-ers are employed in public agencies setting social policy into practice.Very few social workers are in private practice.

Religion in Norway

Social work has long emphasized the importance of understanding aperson in her environment. This phenomenon goes both for the socialworker and for potential clients. The environment encompasses the im-mediate family culture as well as the community in its many aspects.Also of importance in the client's and social worker's environment isthe set of available social services as well as dominant institutions likethe church and school. Let us take a brief glance at Norwegian culture asit relates to religion and spirituality.

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According to the Norwegian Constitution from 1814 § 2, all inhabit-ants in the realm have the freedom to practice their religion. The Evan-gelical-Lutheran religion continues to be the official religion of the state.Norway has, therefore, a state religion. Church property, programs andpersonnel are on the state budget. In 1999, 86.5% of the population be-longed to this church. Membership comes through baptism. A notable re-duction in baptism was seen in the 1970s where, until then, approximately96% of the children were baptized. The trend is now somewhat reversed(wwwJdrkenjio/kirkenjitilaaJstatistikk/OMJdrkestatistikk. html). In addition toearly baptism, young folks can seek baptism as a way to prepare for churchconfirmation, and at the age of 15 a person can seek membership on his/herown. When parents leave the church, children who are baptized will re-main members, unless the parents state that they no longer want their chil-dren to be members.

The largest religious group in membership (1998) next to the Norwe-gian State Church is Islam, taking a lead from the Pentecostal Churchwhich now ranks second. The Roman Catholic Church is third in mem-bership (Statistical Yearbook 1999). Religious and spiritual societiesreceive national support and can receive county support (kr 208 permember in 1998 and includes members under the age of 15).l What istrue for churches also goes for spiritual societies, such as The Humanis-tic Ethic Society with 69,894 members (1998).

Table 1 presents the 10 largest groups rated after recent membershipsize, and shows the development of religious groups in Norway overthe past 20 years (Statistical Yearbook 1999).

We note the increase in Islam, Roman Catholic, and Buddhist mem-bership and relate this to the fact of Norway having a State Churchbased on the Evangelical-Lutheran faith. This table reflects a picture ofchange in the Norwegian society brought forth in part by people fromother countries finding their home in Norway. The connection betweenstate and church has an influence on all school-aged children throughthe educational system.

Religion and the Educational System

In the fall of 1999, a new national primary and secondary EducationAct was enacted in Norway bringing together primary, lower secondaryand upper secondary education. The most important change in this newAct as it relates to this article is connected to the subject of religion astaught in primary as well as secondary school. The objective for educa-tion on this level reads:

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TABLE 1. Religious Groups and Philosophical Communities Outside the Church

of Norway

Islam

PentecostalRoman CatholicEvangelic Lutheran FreeChurchJehovah's WitnessMethodist

BaptistMission SocietyAdventistBuddhist

Humanistic Ethic Society

19801006

42518

1392319357

171201209855106090

1990

1918945192

2658020360

147491544711836741666313012

49428

199846634

449773789420804

151131351810503831161886920

69894

The object of primary and lower secondary education shall be, inagreement and cooperation with the home, to help to give pupils aChristian and moral upbringing, to develop their mental and phys-ical abilities, and to give them good general knowledge so thatthey may become useful and independent human beings at homeand in society.

The object of upper secondary education is to develop theskills, understanding and responsibility that prepare pupils for lifeat work and in society, and assist the pupils and apprentices in theirpersonal development. Upper secondary education shall contrib-ute to increased awareness and understanding of fundamentalChristian and humanist values, our national cultural heritage,democratic ideals and scientific thought and method, (http.i/odin.dep.nolkuflprojlopplaeringslovlopplove.html)

These objectives articulate for Norway the founding ideology of edu-cation and the dominant religious beliefs. The fact that Norway still hasa State Church based on the Evangelical-Lutheran faith clearly illus-trates which religious attachment is to be found in public affairs.

The forementioned Act lays out the subject of religious and moral ed-ucation to:

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• Provide a thorough knowledge of the Bible and Christianity bothas cultural heritage and Evangelical-Lutheran faith,

• Provide knowledge of other Christian denominations,• Provide knowledge of other world religions and philosophies of

life, ethical and philosophical topics,• Promote understanding and respect for Christian and humanist

values, and• Promote understanding, respect and the ability to carry out a dia-

logue between people with differing views concerning beliefs andphilosophies of life.

Religious and moral education is an ordinary school subject that shallnormally be attended by all pupils. Teaching in the subject shall not involvepreaching (http://odin.dep.no/kufiproj/opplaeringslov/opplove.html).

The essence is: Teach, do not preach; promote a communicationbridge between students regardless of their religious affiliation-if any.

Parents can on a written notification ask that their children get ex-empted from attending what might be considered the practice of an-other religion seen from the perspective of their own religion orphilosophy of life. This can be exemplified by not wanting their chil-dren to attend church service at Christmas or other central church holi-days. The pupils can give a written exempt notification themselveswhen they have reached the age of 15.

This Act illustrates how religion is intertwined in many aspects ofthe Norwegian society and the upbringing of children. It shows thestrong state forces to keep up the Christian heritage, while Norway isbecoming a more heterogeneous society of immigrants and refugeeswho are finding our practices intruding on their religious freedom.Many, including our new citizens who are coming from other cultures,are challenging changes in the new Education Act. The preceding Actoffered alternative classes on ethics and values and different religionsfor children whose parents who for different reasons were opposed tothe standard classes. Because the new Act suspended the exempt alter-native, a strong force opposing the current Education Act has comeforth. The Norwegian Humanistic Ethic Society (NHES) (Hu-man-etisk forbund) is taking a lead in this conflict. An unusual alli-ance of Muslims, Jews, and Humanists has protested against thischange, but to no avail. NHES has taken the case to court (http://www.human.no/engelsk/nilsen.htntl).

NHES has, since 1956, worked to establish its own ceremonies tomark spiritual, social and other passages. They offer a name-giving

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celebration (navnefest), and a confirmation as well as a burial rite(gravferd) where no clergy or church is involved. Their sermons areopen and membership is, therefore, not required (http:llwww.human.nolseremonierlindex.html).

The intentions of the article so far have been to present the Norwe-gian context of social workers and potential clients and to single outsome reactions to public policies not related to pedagogy but religiousand spiritual content in public education. We will move from this partic-ular dimension of education and opposition towards governing objec-tives, and concentrate on the connection between spirituality and socialwork.

SOCIAL WORK IN NORWAY

Ideas of how to care for people in need crossed back and forth be-tween Europe and the U.S. in the mid-1800s. It was not only ideas thattook hold on the new continent, Europeans settled by the millions. Ex-change of ideas and knowledge, and people as well, continued as socialwork became a profession.

Caring for the poor and needy has been part of the responsibilities ofchurches and monasteries for centuries, and this is so also in Norway.Part of the work has been to care for people in practical matters and an-other part has been to care for their souls. Philanthropic work is alsoamong the roots of social work, and it contributed the idea of being afriend, and a neighbor, and of sharing with people in need. We find oneof Mary Richmond's (1907) earlier books called The Good Neighbor inthe Modern City. To be friendly and to connect with the poor was a cen-tral theme in the evolution of social work internationally. In social workterminology this phenomenon is called establishing a relationship.Perlman (1979) describes relationship as the spark that passes from oneperson to another, building a bridge between them. This connection isthe basis for helping work, but does not eliminate the need for knowl-edge and skills. When social work education started in Norway in 1920,personal aptitude and ability to relate to others were among the entrancecriteria. When Furman (2000) in recent years taught Norwegian stu-dents and mentioned her research interest in spirituality as it relates to so-cial work, the students gave her a cold shoulder to a relationshipconsidered long gone.

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Training for Social Work

Even though schools of social work operate from a common curricu-lum, each school can adjust its program according to local ideas and re-sources as long as it fulfills standard requirements. The curriculum doesnot emphasize a spiritual or religious component, but such componentsmight be found under concepts such as diversity, ethics and values, oreven communication. We find the term spiritual (dndelig) mentioned inthe curriculum (1999: 14) under the paragraph "Holistic." The 1999curriculum developed a section that is identical for students in the fieldof health and social work. This is a new dimension for the 1999 curricu-lum. Due to nursing, the spiritual aspect was included in the section thatapplies to all health and social work groups mentioned. Nurses haveover time dealt with the spiritual dimensions-since they also deal withdeath. This combination-spirituality and death-procures a message ofhow to prepare for the afterlife, not for what is essential in life. Accord-ing to the new curriculum, health and social workers as well are ex-pected to relate to the physiological, psychological, social, cultural andspiritual aspects of a person.

The school of social work most oriented towards spirituality and reli-gion is the only school that offers private education in social work, theDeaconess College in Oslo. This school is based on a Christian view ofman, as well as on the Christian gospel of caring for each other. Spiri-tual guidance (sjelesorg) is offered as one of their courses. Such acourse is atypical of Norwegian schools of social work. We find on theirsyllabus a book written by Leenderts (1997), who is on their faculty,where the relationship between religion and spirituality is introduced,as well as its importance in life. Back in the mid-sixties, when I was astudent at the School of Social Work, Trondheim, Dean Lilian Bye ar-ranged a seminar on the world's major religions. Her conviction wasthat this was basic knowledge for social workers. According to her, re-spect for and knowledge of a diversity of belief systems was a require-ment for social workers since they were expected to serve those whosought them regardless of their beliefs. When I returned to teach at thisvery same school in the early 1970s, this seminar was no longer part ofthe program. There was, however, no less emphasis on meaning in lifeand belief systems. This curricula area was taken over by those withstrong Marxist-Leninist political views. Their work cannot be describedas true dialectic, inclusive and a general search for meaning. Their be-havior struck more like intense mission work fighting for what wastrue to them. The intent was not to have dialog, but to win. It was a po-

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litical battlefield (D0rum 1999: 76). It is not obvious which ideologi-cal thoughts are in the lead in the schools of social work of today.

Preaching one's own belief system to clients has over the years notbeen acceptable in social work. Political involvement in policy issueshave, however, been encouraged so as to better serve clients. Sensitivityto ideological base and neutrality requirement has been tied to religionand spirituality, not to politics. Possibly the assumption is that politicalinvolvement as such will benefit clients. However, undergirding eachsocial policy is ideology. Indeed, the very absence of social work assuch in political regimes is based on ideology. The former Soviet Unionis an example of this; so, too, was the closure of the School of SocialWork in Norway by the Nazis during World War II. During those peri-ods the emphasis on the rights and self-fulfillment of the individualchallenged political ideas. Such periods are still pertinent particularly insocieties with emphasis on the extended family and on the community.Along with this emphasis goes a focus on obligations which individualsand families have to fend for themselves and for others, rather than en-tirely dwelling on their own rights and the obligations of the state. Wemight say that Norway is more oriented towards the rights than towardsthe obligations for its citizens, more towards the individual than thelarger group. The Norwegian Social Insurance Scheme and the SocialService Act are said to protect and be a safety net from cradle to grave.The social policies place responsibilities on the state to prevent socialhardship and assist citizens in need. Since social policy is made forgroups of people, tailoring the intentions to fit the individual is one ofthe tasks confronting social workers.

In the beginning of the 1990s, Professor Hernes-a sociologist-tookoffice as head of the Ministry of Church, Education and Research. Hehad strong opinions on the development of the educational system inNorway. Network models and coordination were among his favoriteconcepts. His ideology penetrates the planning of this time, and we canmost certainly read it in the 1999 curriculum for social work.

One major change shows that the Council on Social Work Educationin 1991 merged with five other councils in the health field:

Occupational therapists and physical therapists;Medical laboratory personnel;Radiologists;Nurses; andSocial educators.

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The consequence of this merger resulted in one council for 8 pro-grams. It is named The Council for Health and Social Work Educationand has a clear majority of health programs. How this will influence so-cial work training over time is still to be seen. So far, one example is thejoint curricula for one of six semesters during their three-years educa-tion. A hoped for long-term effect is better cooperation among profes-sionals after graduation.

The former curriculum for social work training did not state core val-ues. The merging might have spurred a search for common valueswithin the fields involved. The 1999 curriculum presents three core val-ues for all of the above mentioned fields:

• Respect for the inviolability of life (livets ukrenkelighet);• Respect for human dignity {menneskets egenverd); and• Solidarity with those who have less (svakstilte).

There is no sign in these values that spurs a caution against spiritu-ality entering the work of professions listed. On the other hand, it canhardly be said that the way in which the 1999 curriculum is spelled outgives any encouragement and/or preparation to deal with a religious orspiritual dimension as it connects to everyday life or when crises arise.A special concern about religion and spirituality does not surface inthe curriculum document. We might, however, be struck by the spiri-tual normative base of the three core values. Ambiguous statementsare political and leave the interpretation to the reader. Even though re-ligion is a public concern, religion, and. spirituality as well, is a per-sonal matter kept rather private in the Norwegian culture. Thiscontrasts the Council on Social Work Education's requirements ofspirituality being a part in the training of social workers in the U.S.The values spelled out in the Norwegian Curriculum starts with re-spect for the inviolability of life that over time has been central withinthe health fields. Social work values include self-determination of theindividual and the innate dignity of the individual (Compton &Galaway 1989, Hepworth et al. 1997). Solidarity with those who haveless is in social work spelled out as providing access to the resourcesneeded.

The way Norwegians are portrayed, they are to work hard and keepproblems to themselves, to share time with friends-not problems(Middelfort & Middelfort 1982). This is an example of how Norwe-gians are introduced when students are sensitized to ethnic diversity.

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Mari-Anne Zahl H7

Social Work Practice

The neutral ideology on religious and spiritual issues has long beencentral in social work both in Norway and in other countries. Thisseems to hold for practice as well as for theory. At the same time socialworkers function within a societal context that is never value free andthe Code of Ethics in Norway as well as in the U.S. states that people arenot to be discriminated against due to religion. Heterogeneous societiesmight be more inclusive and open and tolerant to religious diversity.Large heterogeneous societies might also offer social work servicesconnected to special denominations and in that way give an opening forservices based on a variety of belief systems. In Norway some familycounseling agencies are church-related; however, that does not implythat their services are more oriented towards religious concerns. Thereare some Norwegian programs where the values of the church are thebackbone of service. The SOS crisis telephone line listed on the frontpage of the Norwegian telephone directory offers conversation andspiritual guidance over the telephone. There is also a church-relateddeaconess service. Social workers and nurses with special church-re-lated training are hired in these positions. The Deaconesses date backto 1868, the title was adopted from the early Christian church andservices were established within the Norwegian Lutheran Church.Nurses and social workers were called deacons and deaconesses(http://www.diakonhjemmet.no/english/history) and we see the tight al-liance between religion and social services.

We have a Norwegian saying: practice as you preach. There is, how-ever, no guarantee that the saying is followed through. At the turn of thelast century when the Friendly Visitors were carrying out welfare workin Europe as well as in the U.S., the idea behind their work was good;however, the practice was not necessarily friendly and promoting ofself-esteem to the ones visited. What is taught in schools of social workgives a knowledge base to work from, and it socializes students to amindset accepted by the profession. The field of practice and the prac-tice ideology of each agency mold new graduates when they enter intopositions, and the ideology in public agencies in Norway is not particu-larly spiritually oriented. The majority of social workers are employedby public agencies and by public institutions. Rather few social workersare in private practice or work for private organizations. There is, how-ever, blowing a privatization breeze in Norwegian society. The reasonsbehind it are multifaceted-one being cutting down costs, another trust-ing the Friendly Visitor ideology with people caring for each other.

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Churches and philanthropic organizations have over time involvedthemselves in neighborly care driven by spiritual incentives. So farthere is no overt arguments made publicly that privatization will openup or strengthen the spiritual dimension in social care. The spiritual di-mension is a challenge for Norwegian social workers when they workwith Sami people. Their belief system is part of their everyday life;however, it is not well known to outsiders who tend to name it supersti-tion.

The golden rule in social work reads: start where the client is. Thisrule goes with the profession and crosses time and borders and beliefsystems; however, it is not to be taken for granted in voluntary organi-zations. In these days of division of labor between professionals, reli-gious and spiritual dimensions are handed over to ministers. For thisvery reason it would be of interest to know both clients' and socialworkers' view on expectations related to the practice of social work andspiritual concerns.

CONCLUSION

Norway has a State Church. The interweave of spirituality, religion,and culture has over time become an integral part in people's every daylife. Since it has become the backbone, it is hard to identify the onewithout the other. For those in opposition to the State Church, their re-sistance might be triggered if a person in a public position touches uponthe area of spirituality. Such a move might be understood as imposing areligious concern. So far there is no reason to advocate that the StateChurch in Norway assists social workers and clients in dealing with re-ligious or spirituality issues. Historically, church and social care wereclose; in modern times scientific demands have pointed social work inthe direction of social sciences and its own development, more so thanstrengthening religious, spiritual and philosophical ties. Political ide-ologies have been more accepted than religious belief systems. Astudy of Norwegian social workers' view about the appropriate role ofreligion and spirituality in social work practice is in the planningstages. The data will be compared to Furman's (2000) data from theU.S. and U.K.

According to the definition of spirituality presented in this article, thekey factors are meaning in life, being connected and, therefore, not be-ing alone and apart. The contextual frame in which social worker andclient function can promote or hamper the exploration of spirituality. A

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clear division between social functioning and spiritual concerns appearsto be hard to defend. However, we must also focus on the availableknowledge and working tools in social work. The approaches promotedin social work so far differ with respect to how they allow forconnectedness as such. This includes being connected to the socialworker, to significant others and to belief systems. The overriding idealis self-sufficiency, which in a strict sense is apolitical concept. Strengthand self-reliance are, however, also portraying a modern valued state insocial work. Do they connect better with the Evangelical-Lutheran faiththan Islam?

NOTE

1. US $ = kr 8.98 Krone, June 18, 2000.

REFERENCES

Canda, Edward, Furman, Leola (1999). Spiritual Diversity in Social Work Practice.The Heart of Helping. New York: The Free Press.

Compton, Beulah R., Gateway, Burt (1989). Social Work Processes. Belmont: Wads-worth, 4th ed.

Dørum, Odd Einar (1999). Med Liv og Sjel. Memoarer. (With Life and Soul. Memoars)Oslo: Millennium.

Erklæring om etiske prinsipp i sosialt arbeid (Norwegian Association of Social Work[NOSO] Ethical principles in social work). 1998.

Furman, Leola (2000). Personal interview.Furman, Leola (2000). Preliminary findings presented at Whole Person Whole World,

Tenth Anniversary International Conference, University of Kansas, School of So-cial Welfare, Lawrence, Kansas.

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