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into a language that is very self-centred and very small’ (Cited in Bredin 1994:56) .
As a result faith practitioners may move ‘from being a specifically religious carer, to
being a deliverer of spiritual care, which is defined as a distinct form of care that is

not solely focused on religion’ (Swinton & Mowatt 2006:162). Yet, however they are
perceived the secular forms of pastoral care have been immensely successful and

have all but usurped more orthodox religious models. The challenge for religion is to
engage these methods in order that it can learn from them as the standard bearers of
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good practice , but also translate them and imbue them with deeper meaning.

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Rolheiser makes a similar point in his book Seeking Spirituality. He claims the human spirit is incurably religious
and secular ideologies can become covert forms of religious expressions. He critiques these expressions in that
they propose that salvation, rather than being discovered in the Judeo-Christian tradition is located within “positive
thinking and predagogues of excellence (that) propose a new religious hope” (1998:46-48).
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Ballard & Pritchard identify that caring professions not only set the standards of good practice but have
“become models for the professional development of the clergy and the enhancement of quality in Christian
voluntary work” (1996:3-4).