Religion and spirituality. Linkages to physical health

Evidence is presented that bears on 9 hypotheses about the link between religion or spirituality and mortality, morbidity, disability, or recovery from illness. In healthy participants, there is a strong, consistent, prospective, and often graded reduction in risk of mortality in church/service attenders. This reduction is approximately 25% after adjustment for confounders. Religion or spirituality protects against cardiovascular disease, largely mediated by the healthy lifestyle it encourages. Evidence fails to support a link between depth of religiousness and physical health. In patients, there are consistent failures to support the hypotheses that religion or spirituality slows the progression of cancer or improves recovery from acute illness but some evidence that religion or spirituality impedes recovery from acute illness. The authors conclude that church/service attendance protects healthy people against death. More methodologically sound studies are needed.     

Religion and spirituality in the context of bipolar disorder: a literature review

Religion and spirituality (R/S) may play an important role for individuals with bipolar disorder (BD) by providing a means of coping with, and an explanatory model for, their disorder. We conducted a systematic review of empirical studies that have explored R/S in individuals with BD or samples that explicitly delineate individuals with BD. Only six studies met our inclusion criteria. Findings from these studies suggest that R/S strategies may be important for some people in the management of BD. Religion and spirituality thus become relevant concerns for a therapeutic regime that seeks to develop wellness within a bio-psycho-social model. However, the limited body of research and methodological shortcomings of existing research make it difficult to draw relevant conclusions about how this might be accomplished. The authors propose a need for longitudinal, prospective, mixed methods research in order to inform evidence-based practice.     

Religion and suicidal ideation in a sample of Latin American immigrants

The present study explored the association of measures of religious activities and suicidal ideation in a sample of adult Latin American immigrants (145 women, 56 men). No relationship was found between religious affiliation and suicidal ideation. Self-perception of religiosity, influence of religion, and church attendance were significantly negatively associated with suicidal ideation. A multiple regression analysis showed that influence of religion was a significant predictor of suicidal ideation. The present findings lend empirical support to the notion that high religiosity may play a protective role against suicide.     

Thematic roles assigned along the garden path linger

In the literature dealing with the reanalysis of garden path sentences such as While the man hunted the deer ran into the woods, it is generally assumed either that people completely repair their initial incorrect syntactic representations to yield a final interpretation whose syntactic structure is fully consistent with the input string or that the parse fails. In a series of five experiments, we explored the possibility that partial reanalyses take place. Specifically, we examined the conditions under which part of the initial incorrect analysis persists at the same time that part of the correct final analysis is constructed. In Experiments 1a and 1b, we found that both the length of the ambiguous region and the plausibility of the ultimate interpretation affected the likelihood that such sentences would be fully reanalyzed. In Experiment 2, we compared garden path sentences with non-garden path sentences and compared performance on two different types of comprehension questions. In Experiments 3a and 3b, we constructed garden path sentences using a small class of syntactically unique verbs to provide converging evidence against the position that people employ some sort of "general reasoning" or pragmatic inference when faced with syntactically difficult garden paths. The results from these experiments indicate that reanalysis of such sentences is not always complete, so that comprehenders often derive an interpretation for the full sentence in which part of the initial misanalysis persists. We conclude that the goal of language processing is not always to create an idealized structure, but rather to create a representation that is "good enough" to satisfy the comprehender that an appropriate interpretation has been obtained.     

Religion/spirituality,therapeutic landscape and immigrant mental well-being amongst African immigrants to Canada

This study explores the experiences of African immigrants’ religious place making and its relationship to health and well-being. Attention is paid to how religious places are seen as therapeutic and their impact on well-being of Ghanaian and Somali immigrants in Hamilton, Ontario. Our analysis of the interviews, emerging from the therapeutic landscape lens underscores the importance of immigrants’ religious places and activities in shaping health in their new destination. The results indicate that places of worship are significant for physical health, social, emotional, spiritual, mental and general quality of life amongst immigrants. Future research employing the therapeutic landscape theory may explore the links between health and place in specific religious places and activities.     

Religion and motion pictures' effects on reversing suicidal intentions: two case studies

Case studies of two veterans contemplating suicide are described. Their suicidal intentions subsided as a result of a rekindling of their Christian faith. Although their Christian beliefs were awakened following their attendance at a motion picture, they both attributed the remission of their suicidal intentions to the practices of their Christian faith in their lives. Despite the favorable outcome, these findings are not generalizable to other cases.     

Religion/spirituality and quality of life of international tertiary students in New Zealand: an exploratory study

Previous research links religion/spirituality to beneficial health outcomes, but the majority of these studies used samples from populations with long-term illness or older people. The present study explored whether the links between religion/spirituality and quality of life can be observed in a sample of younger adults, and also whether religion/spirituality could function as a coping mechanism in international tertiary students who are often subjected to significant stressors related to acculturation and being away from their families. The sample consisted of 218 domestic and 164 international students at a New Zealand university who were given the quality of life inventory and the additional special module about spirituality/religion/personal beliefs, both developed by the World Health Organization in collaboration with many member states. Religion/spirituality was significantly correlated with psychological quality of life in both groups, and social quality of life in international students. The results also show that religion/spirituality might function as a coping mechanism in international students in response to stressors of acculturation.     

Healing and spirituality

This article appeared previously as a chapter inHealth and Faith, published by University Press of America, 1991.     

Allergy and spirituality

This article considers the relationships of allergic reactions to substances and emotions. It deals with spiritual sensitivity as well. Resistance is a key to allergic reactions: Allergic reactions involve the body's resistance to substances, emotions, and their energies. A major problem in spiritual formation is resistance to giving up the prideful and self-centered position and moving into loving relationships. It is sometimes possible from an alternative approach to promote spirituality by treating allergy. In spiritual formation, one may sometimes decrease allergic tendencies by giving up pride and other negative emotions. I propose that the alternative method I advocate not only reduces symptoms but deals with causes on an energetic level. It works with physical, emotional and spiritual factors. It provides new ways for counselors and spiritual directors to quickly get to basic issues and clear negative emotions and beliefs. This may be accomplished within or in connection with the therapists' or directors' particular religions, practices and/or therapeutic approaches.     

Religion,Health, and the Psychology of Religion: How the Research on Religion and Health Helps Us Understand Religion

An increasing replication of studies find a correlation between religious belief and practice and mental and physical health and longevity. This paper discusses some of the implications of this research for the ways in which religion might understood psychologically. Most interpretations of this data focus on the presence of one or more mediating variables. This paper argues that the presence of these mediating factors helps us understand more precisely some of the ways in which religion actually does impact on human life and in what the psychological uniqueness of religion actually consists.