Healthy Religion

An article appeared in Seed Magazine, discussing the link between spirituality and health.

A Handbook on Religion and Health has been published, reviewing the 1200 studies on the subject. According to co-author Koenig "When you measure religious beliefs, you find that they're related to better mental health, better coping and greater life satisfaction."

Lynda Powell, whose study observed a 25% reduction in risk of mortality in religious service attendees, admitted "We understand that there's an effect but we don't understand why the effect exists." Conducting further research on the daily practices of people of various religous backgrounds, she now suggests that "becoming mature spiritually is akin to being very effective at coping with stress".

Meanwhile, medical schools train doctors to take a detailed spiritual history without imposing their own beliefs on patients, said Koenig. "Doctors are coming out a lot more well-rounded and able to address these issues, and can realize the power that religious faith can have in terms of healing and sometimes in terms of disease, also." Physicians shouldn't proselytize to patients, but connect them with a spiritual care expert if they have any spiritual needs, he added.