Dignity, conscience and religious pluralism in healthcare : An argument for a presumption in favour of respect for religious belief
Journal article
Kirchhoffer, David G.. (2023). Dignity, conscience and religious pluralism in healthcare : An argument for a presumption in favour of respect for religious belief. Bioethics. 37(1), pp. 88-97. https://doi.org/10.1111/bioe.13110
Authors | Kirchhoffer, David G. |
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Abstract | Religious pluralism in healthcare means that conflicts regarding appropriate treatment can occur because of convictions of patients and healthcare workers alike. This contribution argues for a presumption in favour of respect for religious belief on the basis that such convictions are judgements of conscience, and respect for conscience is core to what it means to respect human dignity. The human person is a subject in relation to all that is. Human dignity refers to the worth of human persons as members of the species with capacities of reason and free choice that enable the realisation of dignity as self-worth through morally good behaviour. Conscience is both a feature of inherent dignity and necessary for acquiring dignity as self-worth. Conscience enables a person to identify objective values and disvalues for human flourishing, the rational capacity to reason about the relative importance of these values and the right way to achieve them and the judgement of the good end and the right means. Human persons are bound to follow their conscience because this is their subjective relationship to objective truth. Religious convictions are decisions of conscience because they are subjective judgements about objective truth. The presumption of respect for religious belief is limited by the normative dimension of human dignity such that a person's beliefs may be overridden if they objectively violate inherent dignity or morally legitimate acquired dignity. |
Keywords | conscience; conscientious objection; dignity; healthcare; religious freedom; religious pluralism |
Year | 2023 |
Journal | Bioethics |
Journal citation | 37 (1), pp. 88-97 |
Publisher | John Wiley & Sons Ltd |
ISSN | 0269-9702 |
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.1111/bioe.13110 |
PubMed ID | 36417592 |
Scopus EID | 2-s2.0-85143083766 |
PubMed Central ID | PMC10098628 |
Open access | Published as ‘gold’ (paid) open access |
Page range | 88-97 |
Publisher's version | License File Access Level Open |
Output status | Published |
Publication dates | |
Online | 23 Nov 2022 |
Publication process dates | |
Accepted | 26 Oct 2022 |
Deposited | 16 Jun 2023 |
https://acuresearchbank.acu.edu.au/item/8z23q/dignity-conscience-and-religious-pluralism-in-healthcare-an-argument-for-a-presumption-in-favour-of-respect-for-religious-belief
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Publisher's version
OA_Kirchhoffer_2023_Dignity_conscience_and_religious_pluralism_in.pdf | |
License: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 | |
File access level: Open |
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