Religion and Nursing Practice: Four Faith Traditions
This paper examines the intersection of religious beliefs and nursing practice across four distinct faith traditions: Jehovah's Witnesses, Islam, Seventh-day Adventism, and Scientology. For each group, the paper identifies core doctrinal beliefs, explains how those beliefs create specific care requirements or restrictions, and outlines practical guidance for nurses. Topics covered include blood transfusion refusal, dietary and modesty requirements, Sabbath observance, holistic care philosophies, and the rejection of psychiatric treatment. The paper concludes by emphasizing that nurses must avoid stereotyping, engage in open patient communication, and adopt a patient-centric orientation that respects individual religious expression while meeting professional care obligations.
- Introduction: Religion shapes patient values and nursing needs
- Jehovah's Witnesses and Nursing Practice: Blood transfusion refusal and consent considerations
- Islam and Nursing Practice: Dietary rules, modesty, prayer, and gender preferences
- Seventh-day Adventists and Nursing Practice: Sabbath, vegetarianism, and holistic care values
- Scientology and Nursing Practice: Psychiatric treatment rejection and silent birth practice
- Conclusion: Avoiding stereotyping through individualized communication
✍️ How to write this paper — guide, tools & examples ▾
What makes this paper effective
- Parallel structure: each religion is addressed using the same framework — core beliefs, care-relevant restrictions, and practical nursing implications — making the paper easy to follow and compare across sections.
- Specific clinical examples (e.g., blood transfusion refusal during cardiac surgery, silent birth, psychiatric treatment prohibition) ground abstract theological points in concrete nursing scenarios.
- The conclusion synthesizes across all four traditions without overgeneralizing, explicitly warning against stereotyping patients based on religious affiliation.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates applied synthesis: it pulls from religious doctrine, cultural competence literature, and clinical nursing research to construct actionable guidance for practitioners. Rather than treating religion as an abstract topic, every belief discussed is linked directly to a nursing behavior, decision, or communication strategy.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with a framing introduction that establishes patient-centered care as the core rationale. Four body sections follow — one per religious tradition — each moving from belief overview to nursing implications. The conclusion integrates all four traditions thematically, reinforcing the need for individualized communication over categorical assumptions. References follow APA format with DOIs where available.
Introduction
Nursing success depends as much on putting the patient in a state of rest and comfort as it does on administering a doctor's prescriptions. To secure a patient's rest, nurses need to understand their needs and show respect for their beliefs and values. This requires courteous, open communication with the patient and the adoption of a patient-centric orientation. Among other factors, the religious background of a patient makes a considerable difference to their values and expectations.
Religious doctrines and practices differ across religions and denominations — including Jehovah's Witnesses, Muslims, Seventh-day Adventists, and Scientologists — and may impose restrictions on certain kinds of nurse–patient interaction or on particular forms of treatment. People from outside a given religious background are often unaware of these differences. It is therefore necessary for nurses to familiarize themselves with such norms and to communicate openly with each patient to learn about their specific needs.
Jehovah's Witnesses and Nursing Practice
Jehovah's Witnesses belong to a Christian denomination of the same name. An organization called the Watchtower serves an important community-relations function by offering information and guidelines about the beliefs and practices of Jehovah's Witnesses to the general public. Jehovah's Witnesses hold their own interpretation of the Old and New Testaments, which they believe to be the true word of God (Kitney, Kanani, & De Souza, 2012). They do not believe in the concept of the Trinity or in the idea that the soul is mortal. In keeping with their literal reading of Scripture, they also reject the existence of hellfire as conceived by most other Christians. They believe strongly in the end of the current world order through Armageddon and the subsequent creation of the Kingdom of God on earth. They use the term Jehovah to refer to the Creator rather than titles such as "God" or "Lord," and they place great value on close relationships within their community.
The beliefs of Jehovah's Witnesses with the most direct implications for nursing practice center on blood. They do not accept transfusions of whole blood or any blood components — including red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets, and plasma. According to their beliefs, blood contains life and it is therefore sinful to attempt to sustain life through transfusions (Effa-Heap, 2009). Storing and donating blood is also prohibited (Knox, 2011). However, they are willing to accept substitute treatments such as pharmaceutical alternatives and certain blood fractions, including albumin and hemophiliac preparations. This can create life-or-death situations in cases such as heart surgery (El Azab et al., 2010). If a Jehovah's Witness does accept a blood transfusion, they may be shunned by their community — even if the transfusion was necessary to prevent death.
The nursing implications are clear: nurses should respect a patient's decision to refuse blood transfusions (Banja, 2009). When patients are deemed competent, nurses should seek their informed consent. In other cases, they should accept the patient's blood card or advance directive. At all times, nurses should demonstrate supportive behavior and ensure that patients are fully aware of the consequences of their decisions, without placing undue pressure on them.
Islam and Nursing Practice
Islam is the second largest religion in the world, and its followers are called Muslims. The main principles of Islam are a belief in monotheism — the existence of one God, named Allah — the prophethood of Muhammad as the final messenger, and the Quran as the revelation of Allah. Islam is a universal religion, and it is therefore common to encounter significant ethnic and cultural diversity among Muslims, most of whom have Arab, African, or South Asian backgrounds. Islam places certain obligations on its followers: they are expected to pray five times a day through a series of standing, sitting, and bowing positions while reciting holy verses. During the lunar month of Ramadan, all adult Muslims are expected to fast from dawn to dusk, abstaining from food, drink, and sexual relations. Pregnant, lactating, or menstruating women, as well as sick or travelling individuals, are exempted during those states.
Muslims hold the nursing profession in great esteem. Rufaidah bint Saad is recognized as the first Muslim nurse (Mebrouk, 2008), and Muslims broadly believe that saving human life is a noble cause. Accordingly, they do not refuse blood transfusions or organ donations when it can be reasonably believed that such actions would save a life. Muslims are, however, forbidden from consuming alcohol, pork, and any products or medications derived from them, unless no alternative is available (Charles & Daroszewski, 2012). It is important for nurses to communicate to Muslim patients the contents and composition of any medication or treatment being administered.
Nurses should also be mindful of several additional considerations when caring for Muslim patients. Islamic tradition discourages unnecessary physical contact with patients, so it is generally preferable to assign a nurse of the same gender (Rafii, Hajinezhad, & Haghani, 2008). Islam also requires that clothing be modest and not reveal the shape of the body; appropriate garments should therefore be provided. Muslim women cover their heads with a scarf, hijab, or chador, and nurses should seek permission before removing any head covering or uncovering any part of the body for treatment (Charles & Daroszewski, 2012). Muslims are permitted to pray in a sitting or lying position, and this should be facilitated — patients should not be interrupted during prayers. Because Islam emphasizes patience, meditation, and prayer as means of coping with illness, the recitation of the Quran by the patient or an attendant should also be accommodated.
Conclusion
The nursing profession is grounded in adherence to professional standards aimed at delivering the best possible care to every patient. At its core lies the goal of relieving patient stress and providing rest and relaxation throughout the course of treatment. The religious preferences and requirements of both nurses and patients can significantly affect nursing activities. As seen with Muslims and Seventh-day Adventists, for example, alcohol-based products may be unacceptable. Nurses must be sensitive to blood transfusion restrictions for Jehovah's Witnesses, while Muslims and Scientologists generally do not object to transfusions. At the same time, these norms are observed to varying degrees even among people who share the same religious background. It is therefore essential for nurses to avoid stereotyping patients on the basis of religion and to engage in open, individualized communication that genuinely uncovers each patient's specific needs and preferences.
References
Banja, J. D. (2010). Overriding the Jehovah's Witness patient's refusal of blood: A reply to Cahana, Weibel, and Hurst. Pain Medicine, 10(5), 878–882. doi: 10.1111/j.1526-4637.2009.00648.x
Charles, C. E., & Daroszewski, E. B. (2012). Culturally competent nursing care of the Muslim patient. Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 33(1), 61–63. doi: 10.3109/01612840.2011.596613
Cort, M., & Cort, D. (2008). Willingness to participate in organ donation among Black Seventh-Day Adventist college students. Journal of American College Health, 56(6), 691–697. Retrieved from EBSCO Academic Search Primer.
Effa-Heap, G. (2009). Blood transfusion: Implications of treating a Jehovah's Witness patient. British Journal of Nursing, 18(3), 174–177.
El Azab, S. R., Vrakking, R., Verhage, G., & Rosseel, P. M. J. (2010). Safety of cardiac surgery without blood transfusion: A retrospective study in Jehovah's Witness patients. Anaesthesia, 65(4), 348–352. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2044.2009.06232.x
Fayard, C., Harding, G., IV, Murdoch, W., & Brunt, J. (2007). Clinical implications for psychotherapy from the Seventh-Day Adventist tradition. Journal of Psychology & Christianity, 26(3), 207–217. Retrieved from EBSCO Academic Search Primer.
Hartman, L. M. (2012). Christian Sabbath-keeping as a spiritual and environmental practice. Worldviews: Environment Culture Religion, 15(1), 47–64. doi: 10.1163/156853511X553769
Kitney, L., Kanani, R., & De Souza, C. (2012). A Jehovah's Witness adolescent with pancytopenia. Canadian Medical Association Journal, 184(9), 1055–1059. doi: 10.1503/cmaj.111873
Knox, Z. (2011). Writing Witness history: The historiography of the Jehovah's Witnesses and the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania. Journal of Religious History, 35(2), 157–180. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9809.2010.01030.x
Martin, A. M. (2011). Commentary on devotion or disease? Hastings Center Report, 41(2), 19. Retrieved from EBSCO Academic Search Primer.
McCall, V. W. (2007). Psychiatry and psychology in the writings of L. Ron Hubbard. Journal of Religion & Health, 46(3), 437–447. doi: 10.1007/s10943-006-9079-9
Mebrouk, J. (2008). Perception of nursing care: Views of Saudi Arabian female nurses. Contemporary Nurse: A Journal for the Australian Nursing Profession, 28(1/2), 149–161. Retrieved from EBSCO Academic Search Primer.
Rafii, F., Hajinezhad, M. E., & Haghani, H. (2008). Nurse caring in Iran and its relationship with patient satisfaction. Australian Journal of Advanced Nursing, 26(2), 75–84. Retrieved from
Scientology. (2012). What is silent birth? Retrieved August 6, 2012, from
Taylor, E. J., & Carr, M. F. (2009). Nursing ethics in the Seventh-Day Adventist religious tradition. Nursing Ethics, 16(6), 707–718. Retrieved from EBSCO Academic Search Primer.
Always verify citation format against your institution’s current style guide requirements.