Religion and Healing - Essay Example

? Religion and Healing in Health Care Today, arguments on religious healing would be in the context of the modern biomedicine. For example, there have been arguments against the scientific biomedicine in that its aggressive treatments cause bodily imbalance; it neglects the human mental condition and only deals with the physical; and it leads to iatrogenic diseases. Religious healing causes a healing of the person as a whole as opposed to physical healing only and some people have even abandoned the medical doctors in search for religious healers. In this paper, a critical analysis of three religions would be conducted so as to identify the practices involved in comparison to common practice and Christianity. The three religions include Buddhism, Sikhism and Bahaism. There have been major conflicts between faith healing and biomedical practice in the modern era due to diverse perspectives by the two as much as there are coinciding views. Barnes and Seres note that there were dramatic changes in the 1990s that caused religious healing to become a common feature in the American society (2004). The number of synagogues and churches conducting healing services increased and the use of alternative therapies increased. Similarly, there were amendments on immigration laws that saw America flock with various cultural communities bringing in their approaches to healing. Some of these included the Buddhist priests from Cambodia, herbalist acupuncturists from China, Hmong shamans and the santeros from Cuba. Buddhism has been described by many scholars as a religion that focuses more on philosophic principles as opposed to beliefs like Christianity (Pilgrimage India, 2009). Buddhists believe that in his early life, Buddha, also referred to as the great physician, learnt medicine and gained knowledge on the nature of diseases and the cure which enabled him guide the other people into healthy living. Buddhism would not delve so much into the meaning of sickness but rather on what a patient needs to do to be whole. In this religion, suffering would be a consequence of anger, greed, lust or passion of hatred. In Christianity, these would be considered as sin which eventually cause suffering according to Exodus 17 (New King James Version). Buddhism argues that physical and mental wellness would be achieved through developing a centered and unified personal approach to life. The well being of the body would come through the synthesis of the body and mind where the psychological, physical and spiritual dimensions form a continuum and an active interrelation. While the common perception has been that the body and flesh; spirit and matter; and soul and body are distinct, Buddhists see all these as a process where these features are interdependent and one. The mind influences how the body would be. Therefore, hospitals should provide appropriate environment for people to be trained on meditative awareness no matter the religious principles upheld in the institution. The inner resources could be optimized for healing and for personal health responsibility. Buddhism does not involve miracle cures such as those conducted by Jesus in the New Testament (Kajitani, 2005). Instead, it deals with methods that involve one’s emotional elements which accompany pain and at times intensify it. Dalai Lama observes that happiness is not a result of feeling, but rightful thinking, which involves transformation of a person’s understanding of existent nature (Bryson, 2009). All problems are a result of negative thinking. Naikan therapy helps one appreciate their independence with others resulting to a positive force that offsets personal problems which induce negativity. Morita therapy on the other hand tries to close the gap between the world as it is and the world as thought to be by filling it with positivity. Buddhists uphold inner healing which would then translate to the physiological healing. Therefore, it would be important to respect their religion when treating them if the physician is from a different religion. Founded between 1469 and 1539 by Guru Nanak, Sikhism believes in a formless, inexpressible and transcendent divinity manifested the world over. Sikhs consider it useless to be religious while the heart remains in the material world as is the case with Christians. Similarly, they would acknowledge God as being above human intelligence and humans can develop a relationship with Him for peace of mind, joy and guidance. Just like in Buddhism, the spirit, mind and body should work in harmony as one and good health and energy should be transmitted to the sick person for spiritual healing to occur (Bryson, 2009). The healer would place hands on the patient and channel this energy from a Higher Source, thus the healer would just serve as a channel through which healing would be administered. This healing works to help physical, emotional and mental problems. Christian ministers would also be seen placing hands on the sick for healing as ordered by Jesus among the Christians. Uniquely, Gurubani Kirtan, a sacred music in Sikhism would accompany healing prayers. The Sikh gurus are believed to be behind these hymn-poems which have been interpreted with rich vocals and instrumentation. According to Barnes and Sered, ‘Kirtan’ is a call-response singing that takes the practitioner into the being for “upliftement” (2004, 120). On the other hand, the Bahai, believed to be a culmination of every religion which bases its teachings on benevolence and morality. The belief here is that medical practitioners praise God through their service to the sick and therefore the importance of respecting their religion when attending to them. Just as Christians would claim, the Bahais also believe that when you pray for oneself or for another person, healing comes. Abdul-Baha indicates that God has the powers to heal both physically and spiritually. The spiritual matters of any human would also affect the physical well being and it would be important to therefore give comfort and joy to the sick. There is a lot of morality that is needed for a healthy living and Abdul-Baha, Bahaullah and Bab prohibit the smoking of opium and cigarettes and consumption of alcohol as they mess with one’s moral conduct and health (Barnes & Sered, 2004). This move in the support of cleanliness made them pioneer public health in Iran in addition to preventing diseases in the 19th Century. This religion has also been quite strict on food and use of simple foods has been encouraged as recipes for balanced diets. Lustful appetites have also been prohibited. The religion believes in healing through fruits, aliments and foods. Bahais believe in the physical and spiritual bodies and the soul but the writings distinguish the human soul from the body and mind. The writings argue that weakness among the sick would be a result of lack of health or health of that person interfering with the soul and body connection. The proponents of this religion believe that healing comes through psychological treatment, physical medicine and spiritually. Nonetheless, spiritual and physical healing would be achieved through prayers. The proponents also argue that some ailments would be a result of other ills where wisdom would not allow for an affirmative response to prayers. A caregiver in a medical institution should accept the diverse religions of the patients and respect their religious dictates. It would be difficult to convince most of the patients that scientific drugs would solely heal them as most of these religions believe in inward healing oozing out. Prayers and meditation have been cited in most religions as ways to achieve inner healing. The Higher Power plays an important role in ensuring not only physiological but also spiritual wellness. Therefore, in as much as the psychiatrist would be holding differing religious believes, it would be important to allow the patient’s religious belief to triumph if the ultimate objective of wellness and health is to be achieved. Reference Barnes, L. L. & Sered, S. S. (2004). Religion and Healing in America. New York, USA: Oxford University Press, Inc. Pilgrimage India (2009). Spiritual Healing. Retrieved from 1 March 2012 from http://www.pilgrimage-india.com Bryson, A. (2009). Healing Mind Body and Soul. Okhla Industrial Area, New Delhi: Sterling Publishers (P) Ltd. Kajitani, S. (2005). Medical Care and Religious Healing in the Clinical Reality. Tokyo, Japan. Retrieved 1 March 2012 from http://www.ihp.sinica.edu.tw Read More