How can the 'materialist' nurse provide spiritual support?

John Costello’s editorial in the previous issue of International Journal of Palliative Nursing (Costello, 2009) intended to provide insight on the meaning of spirituality in the context of palliative care. Describing himself as a humanist and atheist, Costello states, in his view, that spirituality equates with moral wellbeing, i.e. spiritual care is about ‘truly caring’, being empathetic, and providing help. In my view, Costello stretches the concept of spirituality ‘at its most elastic’, an expression coined by Paley (2008b). This means that the spectrum of spirituality has been stretched as broadly as possible, which is an obvious way to reconcile spirituality and materialism.