An investigation into the phenomena and practices of spiritual ...

CHAPTER TWOLITERATURE REVIEW2.1 IntroductionThe literature review is presented in sections; firstly, the discourses on health and healthpromotion models are examined, next those on illness behaviour and health seekingbehaviour; thirdly, those on culture, health and illness, and finally sociology of religion,spirituality, spiritual healing.Theories of healing and well-being from the biomedical model and the holistic model areexamined. The discussion of how the biomedical model is used to explain the processes ofhealing takes the example of the processes of healing wounds which may have been causedby an accident or by surgery. The process of healing of a psychological wound is thencompared to the healing of a physical wound. In contrast to the strictly biomedical model,the holistic model includes the psychological, social, spiritual aspects of the healingprocesses. These are favoured by advocates of various „complementary‟ medicines such asacupuncture, or homeopathy that have their own self-defined learned discourses andsystem of qualifications for practitioners, similar to that required for medical doctors andnurses.Ultimately spiritual healing must embrace all the factors or orders that influence health.These factors include the environment and its pollutants and therefore have an effect on thephysical person as well as the spiritual and psychological person. Many writers who haveattempted to define health have presented a scenario which implies or accepts that health is21