Faith Communities and Advance Care Planning

Religion and Dying: How to Address Advance Care Planning in Your Faith Community

Guest Column: Rev. Tarris Rosell, Ph.D., D.Min.,

Rosemary Flanigan Chair, Center for Practical Bioethics

August 22, 2012

Religions differ on many matters of fact and faith; but most all of them teach compassion, the virtue of comforting the afflicted, and accepting the inevitability of physical death. No religion of which I’m aware condones torture — which is how futile medical treatments often are described by healthcare providers who feel forced to do things to patients that won’t help and might harm.