Legal Euthanasia in Pastoral Practice: Experiences of Pastors in the Protestant Church in the Netherlands

This representative survey amongst 653 ministers in the Protestant Church in the Netherlands (PKN) maps their experiences and views with regard to euthanasia. We found that three-quarters of the ministers have experience with euthanasia requests from their parishioners. Almost two-thirds of them res...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Boer, Theodoor Adriaan 1960- (Author) ; Pleizier, Theo 1975- (Author) ; Bolwijn, Ronald E. (Author) ; Graafland, Wim (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Brill [2020]
In: International journal of public theology
Year: 2020, Volume: 14, Issue: 1, Pages: 41-67
IxTheo Classification:KBD Benelux countries
KDD Protestant Church
NCH Medical ethics
RG Pastoral care
Further subjects:B Ethics
B Pastoral Care
B Protestant Church in the Netherlands
B Bible
B Religion
B Ministers
B Euthanasia
Online Access: Volltext (Verlag)
Volltext (doi)
Description
Summary:This representative survey amongst 653 ministers in the Protestant Church in the Netherlands (PKN) maps their experiences and views with regard to euthanasia. We found that three-quarters of the ministers have experience with euthanasia requests from their parishioners. Almost two-thirds of them respect a parishioner’s euthanasia request. Differentiating the answers on the basis of modality, we see differences in attitudes, both regarding euthanasia itself and regarding the pastoral approach. Although ministers have considerable experience with euthanasia, the open questions posed reveal that ministers encounter many difficulties and dilemmas: there is urgent need for discussion and support. The article intends to contribute to the search for a best pastoral practice in dealing with euthanasia requests and explores the need for a renewed role for the PKN in the social and political debate on euthanasia.
ISSN:1569-7320
Contains:Enthalten in: International journal of public theology
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1163/15697320-12341600