5. THE ROLE OF CULTURE AND SPIRITUAL BELIEFS The challenge for hospice palliative care volunteers is to provide support and not to direct or interfere with the choices made by the person or family. This can be particularly difficult if the dying person and/or family are in denial or there are some deeply held cultural beliefs that the volunteer doesn’t know about or doesn’t agree with. Many people – because of culture, social class or personality -- do not openly express emotions, may have taboos about death and dying, and do not subscribe to the accepted notions of “dying well”. It is critical that the volunteer be open and non- judgmental, and understands something about the beliefs and practices of different cultures related to death and dying. For more information on different cultural and spiritual beliefs, see Module 5: Spiritual Issues and Support. “Pop psychology” talk shows where people reveal the most intimate of details of their lives, and advice columns in newspapers all illustrate our society’s value of “talking things through” and sharing experiences and emotions. However, this value is not universal.
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