Can Religion Improve Your Health - Research Paper Example

Can Religion Improve Your Health? People who never attended religious activities exhibited 1.87 times the risk of death compared with people who attend more than once a week, which results in a seven-year difference in life expectancy at age 20 between those who never attend and those who attend more than once a week. People who did not attend church or religious services were more likely to be unhealthy and, consequently, to die. However, religious attendance also increased social ties and behavioral factors to decrease the risks of death (Deem) Even though, science and technology has developed a lot, the prominence of religion in human life has not been affected. Science succeeded in unveiling many of the mysteries around us; however it failed to make a concrete statement about the life before birth and life after death. On the other hand, religion has answers to all these questions. Religions and its principles are formulated not based any scientific facts or observations, but based on belief alone. The agony of what is going to happen to the soul after one’s death is haunting human life even now. Religions talk about an eternal life after death based on the activities one would perform in his earthly life. Religions argue that the current life is only a temporary one and a permanent life is waiting for human after death. The failure of science in unveiling anything about the chances of a future life created lot of psychological problems among humans. Such humans are relying heavily on religious teachings in order to avoid their concerns and stresses about a future life. In other words, religions can help people to improve their physical and psychological health. This paper analyses the role of religion in improving human health. According to a new clinical study, people who strongly affirm that they love God and feel loved by God or a higher power score higher on a measure of overall health. The results, published in the latest issue of Review of Religious Research the peer-reviewed journal of the Religious Research Association, show that loving God is a strong and significant factor determining perceptions of health, even after controlling for other social, psychological, and disease-related factors known to affect how people rate their health (Does Religion Improve Your Health?) The reasons for many of the physical diseases are originated from an unhealthy mind. Mind controls or drives the human body and any problem occurred to the driver may result in malfunctioning of the body. It is difficult for a person to stay calm or healthy while his mind was agitated by something. Mental happiness is essential for the better functioning of the body. Religions always teach its believers to stay away from crazy life styles. For example, Christianity advocates that a person can engage in sexual activities with his wife only. All the sexual activities outside the frame work of marriage are considered as sins. Science has already proved that HIV/IDS like severe diseases are caused by unhealthy or crazy sexual habits. Christianity has realized the consequences of crazy sexual life much earlier than science and that is why it advocated sexual activities with a single lady alone. Religious beliefs are responsible for streamlining of human life in the right track. In the absence of religious beliefs or the threats of punishments, sins can derail human life on earth. Even science has no second opinion about the role of a structured life in maintaining human health. Religions help humans in leading a structured life. In the absence of spirituality or religious beliefs, people will try to lead a life of their won will and may cause immense damages to his physical and mental health. Religions provide the right frame work for maintaining a healthy life on this world. According to Koenig et al, (2001) “Religion takes a firm hold on science and between 200 and 1700, or almost all the mental disorders are understood in terms of religious beliefs” (Koenig et al, p.16). Religion provides the necessary hope of a future life to human. Science never believes in a future life. At the same time all the humans in this world irrespective of their gender, age or cultural differences like to continue their life even after death. Nobody satisfied with their current life because of the short duration. Everybody wants to continue their life infinitely. When a person approaches his end of life period, the concerns about a future life will haunt him. The uncertainty about the life after death will create physical and psychological problems to a person. Religions are the only entity which provides hope to a person even after his death. Such a hope of life even after death will reduce his stress level when he approaches his end of life situations. Koenig (2008) has pointed out that “Most physicians (over 90%) acknowledge that spiritual factors are an important component of health and majority (70 to 82%) says this can influence the health of the patient” (Koenig, p.26). Some of the interesting findings about the influence of religion on health are as follows; “people who attend religious services may simply be healthier than those that cannot attend; the benefits may have more to do with social contact than religion itself and certain religions may encourage behaviors that are healthy” (Stibich) One 16-year study examined mortality rates in 11 religious vs. 11 secular kibbutzim in Israel. Although both communities were demographically-matched and provided similar levels of social support, three times more people died in the secular kibbutzim compared to the religious kibbutazim (Deem) The above statistics clearly shows that religious beliefs can play an important role in maintaining health or prolonging human life on earth. We are living in an uncertain world. Nobody knows what is going to happen at the very next moment. Threats to human life can come from all the corners. Natural deaths, accidental deaths, deaths due to diseases and deaths due to violent activities by others etc are some channels of the arrival of death. No science or technology ever succeeded in creating a life in a laboratory setup. Even prominent scientists have no hope of sustaining or prolonging the life of a human forever, at least in the near future. Under such circumstances, people trusted religions for continuing their life even after their death. The hope for a better life after death will always beneficial in improving human health. Even though most of the studies, stressed the importance of spirituality and religious belief in maintaining human health, some of the researches have contrasting opinions. Richard P. Sloan, Ph.D., professor of behavioral medicine at Columbia University is strong critic of the assumption that religious beliefs can improve health. Sloan and his colleague, Emilia Bagiella, Ph.D., assistant professor of clinical public health at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, analyzed the medical literature to determine if, indeed, religion provides a health benefit. The authors found that 83 percent of the 266 articles that they found were “irrelevant to claims of a health advantage associated with religious involvement,” Sloan reports, because these studies, while about religion, had nothing to do with an effect of religion on health (Science Daily) Critics believe that the stories about the positive influence of spirituality or religious beliefs over human health are exaggerated or fabricated stories. They are of the view that religious leaders deliberately spread such messages to increase or sustain religious beliefs among people. Beliefs have fewer roles in maintaining human health whereas life styles have huge roles in improving human health. It is impossible to cure a chronic disease with the help of religious beliefs even though; some religious leaders claim to have the abilities of conducting miracles like the curing of diseases. The above arguments seem to be meaningless as there are many cases in which people experienced miracles in the life of chronic patients. There are many people who confess that they got miraculous relief from their disease only because of their strong belief in religion and God, even after medical science written off their cases. To conclude, there are many people who believe that religious beliefs or spirituality can improve the overall health conditions of a person. They are of the view that religion can excel where science failed. The mysteries surrounding life before birth and life after death have not been unveiled yet by science which forced people to believe in religion in pursuit of a future everlasting life. Religions always give importance to the life after death whereas science gives importance to the current life. People are not satisfied with the short duration of their current life and they are always looking ways for sustaining their life even after death. Religions give hope for a life after death and it succeeded in reducing the agonies of the present life. Since our mind is the driving force of our body, a healthy mind can always maintain a healthy body. Critics believe that religions or beliefs have nothing to do with health and only the life styles have some impacts over human health. Analyzing both the sides of the topic, it is logical to believe that religions or beliefs can improve human health up to certain extent. Works Cited 1. Deem, Rich. “Scientific Studies that Show a Positive Effect of Religion on Health”. Web. 26 April 2011. 2. “Does Religion Improve Your Health?”. 2006. Web. 26 April 2011. 3. Koenig Harold, Harold G. Koenig (Author) › Visit Amazon's Harold G. Koenig Page Find all the books, read about the author, and more. See search results for this author Are you an author? Learn about Author Central McCullough Michael E and Larson David B. “Handbook of Religion and Health”. 2001. Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; 1 edition (January 11, 2001) 4. Koenig Harold. Medicine, Religion, and Health: Where Science and Spirituality Meet”. 2008. Publisher: Templeton Press; 1 edition (September 1, 2008) 5. Science Daily. “Evidence Behind Claim Of Religion-Health Link Is Shaky, Researchers Say”. 2002. Web. 26 April 2011. 6. Stibich, Mark Ph.D. “Religion Improves Health”. 2008. Web. 26 April 2011. Read More