Oncotheology: A Theological-Biological Framework for Understanding Cancer Through Scripture and Religious Traditions
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: Cancer remains one of the most devastating diagnoses facing humanity, claiming nearly 10 million lives annually while generating profound existential and spiritual questions that purely biomedical frameworks inadequately address. This study establishes Oncotheology as a novel interdisciplinary field systematically investigating cancer through theological and scriptural lenses, proposing that theological traditions offer meaningful interpretive frameworks that complement—rather than compete with—conventional oncological understanding. Employing a hermeneutical-phenomenological methodology with comparative theological analysis, this study examined sacred texts, theological treatises, and healing traditions across seven major religious traditions: Judeo-Christian, Buddhist/Tibetan Tantric, Hindu/Ayurvedic-Vedic, Taoist/Chinese Medicine, Islamic, African Traditional, and Native American spirituality. These theological sources were analyzed in systematic dialogue with Hanahan and Weinberg's ten Hallmarks of Cancer framework—the canonical organizing principle of contemporary cancer biology. The research identified 847 distinct theological-biological correspondences mapping points of meaningful resonance between theological concepts and oncological mechanisms. Analysis of these correspondences revealed seven cross-traditional meta-themes: disorder and cosmic disharmony; cellular rebellion and spiritual disobedience; immortality paradoxes; community, isolation, and healing relationships; transformation and metanoia; suffering theodicy and meaning-making; and restoration, eschatology, and ultimate healing. From these findings, an integrated Oncotheology theoretical model was developed, positioning theological understanding as a complementary interpretive framework alongside biomedicine for comprehending cancer as simultaneously a biological phenomenon and an existential-spiritual experience. This research contributes to theology, oncology, pastoral care, medical humanities, and interdisciplinary scholarship by demonstrating the systematic rigor with which religious wisdom traditions address the cancer experience, offering resources for patients, families, and caregivers navigating both the physical realities and spiritual dimensions of malignancy. Keywords: oncotheology, theological-biological correspondence, Hallmarks of Cancer, comparative theology, theodicy, interdisciplinary oncology, medical humanities
Author: Pokorny, Laszlo
Language: English
Subfield: Health
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7118644409
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