Select the region that best fits your location or preferences.
This setting controls the language of the user interface, including buttons, menus, and all site text. Select your preferred language for the best browsing experience.
Select the languages for job listings you want to see. This setting determines which job advertisements will be displayed to you.
Prof.dr. Bert Broeckaert of the Research Unit Theological and Comparative Ethics (Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies, KU Leuven) is looking for a PhD student for a research project on the views and attitudes of Indian Religious Traditions regarding palliative sedation.
Website unit
Though palliative sedation has been the been the object of often heated societal and academic debates since the nineties of the previous century, so far little attention has been given to the specific views and attitudes of world religions regarding this topic. Given the fact that these religions can, even in a very important way, influence the attitudes of palliative patients and their families and of caregivers regarding this practice, it is essential to know what these traditions are actually saying or teaching, especially in a country and a continent that in recent decades has become much more multicultural and multireligious.
Though much is known already and written about religious views on different treatment decisions at the end of life including euthanasia, paincontrol and the withholding or withdrawing of life sustaining treatment (including artificial hydration and nutrition), palliative sedation as a fairly recent specialised development in palliative care has till now received only limited attention, also by the religious authorities and specialists themselves. As a result of this a comprehensive comparative study of palliative sedation as discussed by the different major Christian and Indian religious traditions is feasible and will provide deeper insight in the way religion and religions see end of life decision making. This part of the research project (the other part focusses on the views of Christian traditions) aims at answering the following research questions:
1. What are the views and attitudes regarding palliative sedation in Indian religious traditions (Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism)? 2. What are the main reasons for and arguments behind these views and attitudes? 3. What internal diversity (or rather diversities) do we find in each specific tradition regarding these views and attitudes and how can this diversity be explained? 4. What fundamental differences and similarities do we find when we compare the results of the (gobal) literature study with those of the empirical study (with its specific Belgian and western European context)? 5. What fundamental differences and similarities do we find when we compare the attitudes of authoritative specialists with those of authoritative religious leaders in our empirical study? 6. What, if any, common views and attitudes and common justifications and/or fundamental differences in views and attitudes and justifications regarding palliative sedation can be found in Christian and/or Indian religions? 7. What are the main reasons for these fundamental similarities/differences?
The first part of our study is based on a comprehensive database and literature review on the views of Christian and Indian religious traditions that is almost finished: data have been collected; further analysis and publication of the results regarding Indian traditions still need to be done. Since most of the religious traditions still do not have officially proclaimed teachings and positions concerning palliative sedation specifically, we will in a second phase identify leading authorities and specialists in each tradition and interview them (semi-structured; grounded theory approach, fifteen interviews per tradition) about their position regarding palliative sedation and the arguments they develop in this context. In this part of our project we will specifically focus on religious authorities in Belgium. Having thus gained a clear insight in the (variety of) views in each tradition, we want, in a final stage of the project, compare the different religious traditions in their views towards palliative sedation and identify fundamental similarities and differences in their argumentation (e.g. regarding the importance of being conscious at the end of life and the necessity of (artificial) hydration).
For more information please contact Prof. dr. Bert Broeckaert, tel.: +32 16 32 37 99, mail: bert.broeckaert@kuleuven.be.
KU Leuven strives for an inclusive, respectful and socially safe environment. We embrace diversity among individuals and groups as an asset. Open dialogue and differences in perspective are essential for an ambitious research and educational environment. In our commitment to equal opportunity, we recognize the consequences of historical inequalities. We do not accept any form of discrimination based on, but not limited to, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, age, ethnic or national background, skin colour, religious and philosophical diversity, neurodivergence, employment disability, health, or socioeconomic status. For questions about accessibility or support offered, we are happy to assist you at this email address.
KU Leuven is an autonomous university. It was founded in 1425. It was born of and has grown within the Catholic tradition.
Visit the employer page