Religion and public health

Journal/Book: J Relig Health. 1999; 38: 233 Spring St, New York, NY 10013-1578, USA. Human Sci Press Inc. 15-26.

Abstract: The paper begins by acknowledging several ways in which religious beliefs and behavior have had a negative impact on people's physical and mental health; fanatical violence, mortifying asceticism, and oppressive traditionalism (e.g., sexism) are mentioned. Three areas of positive influence are explored: 1) the role of religious practices in personal health; 2) the impact of social ministries on community health, and 3) the complementarity of religious ideas of salvation with medical conceptions of health in contemporary conceptions of human well-being. That religion mediates between the social and individual dimensions of well-being is a unifying theme of the paper.

Note: Article Van Ness PH, Yale Univ, Sch Med, Dept Epidemiol & Publ Hlth, New Haven,CT 06520 USA

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