Several studies have looked at the effects of religion on health. The World Health Organization distinguishes four aspects of health: physical, social, mental and spiritual health. Believing in a religious belief can have both positive and negative effects in terms of health and disease.
Religion and spirituality
Spirituality has been defined in many different ways in different contexts, but the general definition is: it is the individual's search for meaning and purpose in his life. Spirituality is not the same as systematic religion, since spirituality does not necessarily require a religious framework. That is, one does not need to follow specific rules or specific practices in order to be spiritual, but regular religion contains all of this together. Some of those suffering from severe mental disorders may have found comfort and reassurance in religion. People who call themselves spiritual do not see any specific religious traditions.
Research
More than 3,000 empirical studies have examined the relationship between religion and health, including 1,200 in the twentieth century, and 2,000 between 2000 and 2009. There have also been numerous publications and various reviews on the relationship between religion (or spirituality) and health. Two of them are reviews written by an expert at the US National Institutes of Health in a special section of four articles in the American Psychologist. Many chapters in academic books have also reviewed these empirical studies. The studies were reviewed extensively from the perspective of public health and sub-fields ranging from health policy and management, to infectious epidemiology and vaccinology. More than 30 analyzes and 100 reviews have been published on the relationships between religious or spiritual factors and health outcomes.
aspects of health
The World Health Organization distinguishes four aspects of health: physical, social, mental and spiritual health.
physical health
Ellison and Levine (1998) stated that some studies show a positive association between religiosity and physical health. For example, death rates are lower among those who usually participate in religious events and consider themselves religious and spiritual. Spauld and Hill (2001) stated that, in general, studies that examined the effect of religion on physical health showed that it had a positive contribution to their lifestyle. These studies included all ages, both sexes, and all religions. This is based on the fact that the religious experience is positive in itself.
It is possible that religion improves physical health in an indirect way. Churchgoers have lower rates of alcohol consumption and better moods, which is linked to better physical health. Kenneth Pargament is a leading contributor to the theory of how individuals may use religion as a source of coping with anxiety, and his work appears to be influenced by positive contribution theory. Other evidence indicates that the relationship between religion and physical health may be causal. Religion can reduce the risk of certain diseases. Studies have shown that religion protects against cardiovascular disease by lowering blood pressure, and improves the effectiveness of the immune system. Other studies have been conducted to examine religious feelings and health. Although religious feelings such as humility, forgiveness, and gratitude confer health benefits, it is not clear whether religious people experience these feelings more than others.
death rates
Kark (1996) included in his study 4,000 Israelis over a 16-year period starting in 1970, comparing death rates between the experimental group (religious kibbutzim) and the control group (secular kibbutzim). Among the determining factors were the history of the establishment of the kibbutz, its geographical location, and the similarity of ages. He found that “belonging to a religious congregation has a strong protective effect.” Religious people - in addition to their propensity for healthier lifestyles - have a societal support system that secular people do not usually have. A religious community provides assistance in difficult events in an individual's life, such as the death of a loved one or illness. Also, the low death rates among religious people may be due to their belief in the existence of a higher power that heals and strengthens the bonds in difficult times.
In a study conducted by Pargament et al. (2001), the presence of “religious conflict” in elderly patients indicated a higher likelihood of death. One of the results was that patients who had previously lived a religious life had a higher death rate between 19% and 28%, as a result of their belief that God might punish them or leave them.
infection
A number of religious practices have been reported to cause infection. This happened in the rites of circumcision in ultra-Orthodox Judaism, rituals in Hinduism, the cup of communion in Christianity, and pilgrimage in Islam, as well as after ablutions in it.
the prayer
Some religious people claim that praying for a sick person may have positive effects on his health. However, a study of publications in this field showed that these prayers had no effect, or that they had a small effect. For example, an analysis of 14 studies showed "no significant effect," and a 2007 systematic review found conclusive findings on prayer for a patient that 7 of 17 studies showed a "small, but real effect." However, the review showed that most studies Those committed to the scientific method failed to find real results.
Randomized controlled studies have not shown any real effects of invocational prayers on health. These studies compared the collective, private, regular, and other tawassul prayers of those who believe that they are beseeching God on the one hand, and any other intervention on the other hand. A Cochrane review concluded that 1) the results were ambiguous, 2) the evidence is neither for nor against petitions, and 3) any available resources for further studies in the future should be spent on other questions. In a case study that followed 5,286 Californians over a period of 28 years, adjusting for the variables of age, race, gender, and level of education, it was found that participants who went to church once a week or more were 36% less likely to die than others in the studied period. However, perhaps the reason is that religious people lead a better lifestyle, as they smoke less, drink less, and have a better diet.
Mental health
Evidence shows that religiosity can be a path to mental health, or to mental disorder. For example, religiosity was positively associated with mental disorders involving extreme self-control, and negatively with mental disorders involving a loss of self-control. Other studies have found signs of mental health among both religious and secular people. For example, Velshinsky and Kraftz found a negative association with mental disorders among both religious and secular groups of Jewish students. In addition to this, self-religiosity was inversely associated with depression in the elderly, while external religiosity was not associated with depression, or had a small positive association. It was found that religiosity mitigate the negative effects of inequality and income inequality.
The link between mental health and religion may be the result of the guidance framework or societal support that it provides to individuals. In these ways, religion can provide security, meaning in life, and valuable human relationships to promote mental health. Some theorists have suggested that the benefits of religion and religiosity are due to the societal support that membership in a religious group causes.
Religion may also provide methods for dealing with tensions, and the requirements considered from them. The three religious methods of dealing with Pargament are: 1) self-direction, which is described as self-reliance, and acknowledgment of God, 2) referral, as the religious person assigns responsibility to God, 3) collectivism, which means The relationship of active fatherhood between the individual and God, which is often associated with reforms and positive adjustments. This model of religious dealing may be criticized in terms of its extreme simplicity, and its failure to consider other factors, such as the severity of religiosity, religion, and the type of stressor. Another work by Pargament included a detailed outline of the patterns of religious dealing (with illness) based on the Brave R Cope questionnaire, which was associated with a spectrum of positive and negative psychological outcomes.
Depression
Studies have shown an inverse association between spiritual health and depressive symptoms. A study showed that those who had a higher spiritual value on a scale of spiritual health showed fewer symptoms of depression. Spiritual cancer and AIDS patients had fewer symptoms of depression than religious people. The positive effects of religiosity may be due to the fact that religiosity addresses a person's own ability to find meaning in his life, to find strength and inner peace, and all of this is important, especially for severely ill patients.
Exline et al. (1999) showed that difficulty in forgiving God, and alienation from God, are associated with higher levels of depression and stress. Among believers in God, forgiving God for a particular bad incident meant lower levels of tense and depressed mood.
Schizophrenia and psychosis
Studies have shown the effects of spirituality on the lives of patients with schizophrenia, major depression, and other psychotic disorders. Patients with schizophrenia had less need for readmission to hospital when their families encouraged religious observances, and patients who underwent religious interventions improved faster than those who underwent secular interventions. Rather, a few studies showed that religious people suffer from a milder form of psychosis.
satisfaction with life
The research shows us that religiosity regulates the relationship between the search for meaning in life on the one hand, and satisfaction with life on the other hand. It was the case of those who were less religious and ordinary in it that thinking about the meaning of life for them was negatively linked to satisfaction with life. As for those who scored a high degree of religiosity, the association is positive. It was found that religiosity corrects the relationship between the negative aspects of life and life satisfaction, meaning that satisfaction with life among religious people is not affected by negative feelings as it is affected by less religious people.