{"id":91226,"date":"2021-05-16T22:34:15","date_gmt":"2021-05-17T04:34:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?p=91226"},"modified":"2021-05-18T17:59:20","modified_gmt":"2021-05-18T23:59:20","slug":"religion-spirituality-and-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2021\/05\/religion-spirituality-and-health.html","title":{"rendered":"“Religion, Spirituality, and Health”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Duke's<\/a>
The entrance to the Medical Center at Duke University, where Dr. Harold G. Koenig has his principal academic appointment
(Wikimedia Commons public domain image)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

***<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I offer here a potpourri of appalling horrors from the essentially inexhaustible Christopher Hitchens Memorial \u201cHow Religion Poisons Everything\u201d File<\/em>\u00a9:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cDonation to Assist Exploited Children in Hawaii: Church partners with Ho\u2019\u014dla N\u0101 Pua to support the Bromley Family Pearl Haven Campus\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cLatter-day Saint NBA CEO tells Wall Street Journal that his faith gives him a \u2018longer view\u2019\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy BYU, other church schools rejected tens of millions in COVID-19 relief\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cLDS congregation donates almost 4 gallons of blood\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

Thanks to Cody Quirk for calling this one to my notice.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cMore Than 2,400 Youth Serve in Massive St. George-Area Clean-up\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cChurch Donation Helping to Feed Refugees Settling in Houston\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Church Donates Oxygen, Medical Supplies and Food to Support Brazil During COVID-19: Donations include US$5.8 million in oxygen and enough food for 1 million Brazilians\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

And, as regards this final item from today\u2019s Hitchens File<\/em>\u00a9 offerings, I\u2019m grateful to Dr. Lynn Johnson for kindly bringing this article to my attention.\u00a0 It\u2019s by a professor of medicine who holds appointments in both the\u00a0Departments of Medicine and Psychiatry at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina, and the <\/span>Department of Medicine at King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n
Harold G. Koenig, \u201cReview Article:<\/em><\/span>\u00a0Religion, Spirituality, and Health:\u00a0The Research and Clinical\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>Implications,\u201d in\u00a0<\/span>International Scholarly Research Network\u00a0<\/span>ISRN Psychiatry (<\/span>2012)<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I share two passages from the article \u2014 first, the abstract and, second, the conclusion(s):<\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
This paper\u00a0provides a\u00a0concise\u00a0but comprehensive\u00a0review of\u00a0research\u00a0on religion\/spirituality (R\/S)\u00a0and both\u00a0mental\u00a0health and\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>physical health. It is based on a systematic review of original data-based quantitative research published in peer-reviewed journals\u00a0<\/span>between 1872 and 2010, including a few seminal articles published since 2010. First, I provide a brief historical background to\u00a0<\/span>set the stage. Then I review research on R\/S and mental health, examining relationships with both positive and negative mental\u00a0<\/span>health outcomes, where positive outcomes include well-being, happiness, hope, optimism, and gratefulness, and negative outcomes\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>involve depression, suicide, anxiety, psychosis, substance abuse, delinquency\/crime, marital instability, and personality traits\u00a0<\/span>(positive and negative). I then explain how and why R\/S might in\ufb02uence mental health. Next, I review research on R\/S and health\u00a0<\/span>behaviors such\u00a0as\u00a0physical activity,\u00a0cigarette smoking, diet,\u00a0and sexual\u00a0practices, followed\u00a0by a\u00a0review of\u00a0relationships\u00a0between\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>R\/S and heart disease, hypertension, cerebrovascular disease, Alzheimer\u2019s disease and dementia, immune functions, endocrine\u00a0<\/span>functions, cancer, overall mortality, physical disability, pain, and somatic symptoms. I then present a theoretical model explaining\u00a0<\/span>how R\/S might in\ufb02uence physical health. Finally, I discuss what health professionals should do in light of these research \ufb01nding s<\/span>and make recommendations in this regard. . . .<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
10.Conclusions<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Religious\/spiritual beliefs and practices are commonly used\u00a0<\/span>by both medical and psychiatric patients to cope with illness\u00a0<\/span>and other stressful life changes. A large volume of research\u00a0<\/span>shows that people who are more R\/S have better mental\u00a0<\/span>health and adapt more quickly to health problems compared\u00a0<\/span>to those who are less R\/S. These possible bene\ufb01ts to mental\u00a0<\/span>health and well-being have physiological consequences that\u00a0<\/span>impact physical health, a<\/span>\ufb00<\/span>ect the risk of disease, and in\ufb02u<\/span>ence response to treatment. In this paper I have reviewed and\u00a0<\/span>summarized\u00a0hundreds\u00a0of\u00a0quantitative\u00a0original\u00a0data-based\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>research reports examining relationships between R\/S and\u00a0<\/span>health.\u00a0These reports have been\u00a0published in\u00a0peer-reviewed<\/span><\/span>\u00a0journals\u00a0in\u00a0medicine,\u00a0nursing,\u00a0social\u00a0work,\u00a0rehabilitation,\u00a0<\/span>social\u00a0sciences,\u00a0counseling,\u00a0psychology,\u00a0psychiatry,\u00a0public\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>health, demography, economics, and religion. The majority\u00a0<\/span>of studies report signi\ufb01cant relationships between R\/S and\u00a0<\/span>better health. For details on these and many other studies\u00a0<\/span>in this area, and for suggestions on future research that is\u00a0<\/span>needed, I again refer the reader to the\u00a0<\/span>Handbook of Religion\u00a0<\/span>and Health<\/span><\/span><\/em>.<\/span>The research \ufb01ndings, a desire to provide high-quality\u00a0<\/span>care, and simply common sense, all underscore the need to\u00a0<\/span>integrate spirituality into patient care. I have brie\ufb02y reviewed\u00a0<\/span>reasons for inquiring about and addressing spiritual needs\u00a0<\/span>in clinical practice, described how to do so, and indicated\u00a0<\/span>boundaries across\u00a0which health\u00a0professionals should\u00a0not\u00a0<\/span><\/span>cross. For more information on how to integrate spirituality\u00a0<\/span>into patient care, the reader is referred to the book\u00a0<\/span>Spiritua<\/span>lity in Patient Care<\/span><\/span><\/em>. The \ufb01eld of religion, spirituality,\u00a0<\/span>and health is growing rapidly, and I dare to say, is moving\u00a0<\/span>from the periphery into the mainstream of healthcare. All\u00a0<\/span>health professionals should be familiar with the\u00a0research base\u00a0<\/span>described in this paper, know the reasons for integrating\u00a0<\/span>spirituality into patient care, and be able to do so in a\u00a0<\/span>sensible and sensitive way. At stake is the health and well-<\/span>being of our patients and satisfaction that we as health care\u00a0<\/span>providers experience in delivering care that addresses the\u00a0<\/span>whole person\u2014body, mind, and spirit.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

***<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

On a very different note:\u00a0 My wife and I have just finished watching the latest iteration of the two-part docudrama that is designed to accompany the Witnesses<\/em> theatrical film<\/a> and that will follow it within a few months of the latter\u2019s premiere \u2014 which is currently scheduled to occur in nearly sixty theaters from Wednesday, 2 June, through Saturday, 5 June.\u00a0 We were very pleased at the way the docudrama, entitled Undaunted: Witnesses of the Book of Mormon<\/em>, is turning out.\u00a0 The current total length of the two parts is roughy 2.5 hours.\u00a0 We may attempt to shorten it a bit.\u00a0 Or maybe we won\u2019t.\u00a0 I\u2019m particularly happy with the way in which the docudrama interacts with, features scenes from, comments upon, and elucidates the theatrical film.\u00a0 Together, they will make a powerful one-two punch.\u00a0 (Please note the pugilistic metaphor:\u00a0 It\u2019s probably a revealing window into my brutal soul, an illustration of the perpetual simmering rage that,\u00a0according to several anonymous commenters who don\u2019t personally know me, motivates everything I do.\u00a0 As I understand their analysis, I\u2019m utterly consumed by bitterness and a desire for revenge on somebody, or on everybody, for something or other at some time.\u00a0 Or something like that.)<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Posted from Williamsburg, Virginia<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0 *** \u00a0 I offer here a potpourri of appalling horrors from the essentially inexhaustible Christopher Hitchens Memorial \u201cHow Religion Poisons Everything\u201d File\u00a9: \u00a0 \u201cDonation to Assist Exploited Children in Hawaii: Church partners with Ho\u2019\u014dla N\u0101 Pua to support the Bromley Family Pearl Haven Campus\u201d \u00a0 \u201cLatter-day Saint NBA CEO tells Wall Street Journal […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[813,20206,14369,23126,17144,2412,2652,20511,17147,743,3490],"class_list":["post-91226","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-christopher-hitchens","tag-christopher-hitchens-memorial-how-religion-poisons-everything-file","tag-duke","tag-duke-university","tag-harold","tag-health","tag-hitchens","tag-hitchens-file","tag-koenig","tag-religion","tag-spirituality"],"yoast_head":"\n"Religion, Spirituality, and Health"<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"    ***   I offer here a potpourri of appalling horrors from the essentially inexhaustible Christopher Hitchens Memorial "How Religion\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link 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