Magic thinking and religion around illness: symbolic manifestations and rituals, function and meaning

Abstract

This work parts from observation of two coexisting phenomena of different nature: religious beliefs and manifestations- in a hospital context -mostly but not solely in patients- and other "superstitious" or "supernatural" beliefs and rituals -observed in health professionals- within a positivist context such as the biomedic. The aim of this work will be the description of this rites and beliefs, the way they are demonstrated and disseminated, and their meaning as a result of the context in which they arise. The hypothesis is the existence of a relationship between the meaning of these phenomena and the hospital context. The field work was carried out at the Elche General University Hospital between October 1999 and April 2000. From the analysis of the results it is pointed out that religious images are a collective identity symbol, in the process of intramural dissemination not only patients and family but also health professionals take part. A series of rituals and beliefs of the staff are described as symbolic extensions within the culture of the job. The conclusion is that all of them serve the function of fulfilling psychological security needs. The meaning of both phenomena is in close relation to the context in which they are manifestated.

Keywords

• Pensamiento mágico
• Religiosidad
• Simbolismo
• Ritos
• Creencias
• Hospitales