Transcendence/religion to immanence/nonreligion in assisted dying
International Journal of Human Rights in Healthcare
ISSN: 2056-4902
Article publication date: 14 May 2018
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to draw attention to the ways in which the Supreme Court of Canada has shifted away from transcendent/religious to nonreligious conceptualizations of assisted dying.
Design/methodology/approach
A discourse analysis of a Supreme Court of Canada case on assisted dying and the facta of the 26 associated interveners.
Findings
The research points to a shift away from religious to nonreligious understandings in the way the Court conceptualizes suffering, pain, illness and assisted dying.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the understanding of nonreligion as a social phenomenon.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
Lori G. Beaman would like to acknowledge financial support for research through her SSHRC funded Canada Research Chair in Religious Diversity and Social Change.
Citation
Beaman, L.G. and Steele, C. (2018), "Transcendence/religion to immanence/nonreligion in assisted dying", International Journal of Human Rights in Healthcare, Vol. 11 No. 2, pp. 129-143. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJHRH-09-2017-0051
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited