The volume and quality of research on what we term the religion-health connection have increased markedly in recent years. This interest in the complex relationships between religion and mental and physical health is being fueled by energetic and innovative research programs in several fields, including sociology, psychology, health behavior and health education, psychiatry, gerontology, and social epidemiology. This article has three main objectives: (1) to briefly review the medical and epidemiologic research on religious factors and both physical health and mental health; (2) to identify the most promising explanatory mechanisms for religious effects on health, giving particular attention to the relationships between religious factors and the central constructs of the life stress paradigm, which guides most current social and behavioral research on health outcomes; and (3) to critique previous work on religion and health, pointing out limitations and promising new research directions.
References
1.
1. Chopra D: Perfect Health: The Complete Mind/Body Guide. New York, Harmony Books, 1991.
2.
2. Dossey L: Healing Words: The Power of Prayer and the Practice of Medicine. San Francisco, Harper, 1993.
3.
3. Benson H: Timeless Healing: The Power and Biology of Belief. New York, Scribners, 1996.
4.
4. Wallis C: Faith and healing (and related articles). Time, June 24, 1996, pp. 58-68.
5.
5. Jarvis GK, Northcott HC: Religion and differences in morbidity and mortality. Soc Sci Med25:813-824, 1987.
6.
6. LevinJS, SchillerPL: Is there a religious factor in health?JReligion Health26:9-36,1987.
7.
7. Levin JS, Vanderpool HY: Is frequent religious attendance really conducive to better health? Toward an epidemiology of religion. Soc Sci Med24:589-600, 1987.
8.
8. Levin JS, Vanderpool HY: Is religion therapeutically significant for hypertension?Soc Sci Med29:69-78, 1989.
9.
9. Troyer H: Review of cancer among four religious sects: Evidence that lifestyles are distinctive sets of risk factors. Soc Sci Med26:1007-1017, 1988.
10.
10. Levin JS, Chatters LM, Ellison CG, Taylor RJ: Religious involvement, health outcomes, and public health practice. Current Issues Public Health2:220-225, 1996.
11.
11. Oxman TE, Freeman DH, Manheimer ED: Lack of social participation or religious strength and comfort as risk factors for death after cardiac surgery in the elderly. Psychosomatic Med57:5-15, 1995.
12.
12. Strawbridge WJ, Cohen RD, Shema SJ, Kaplan GA: Frequent attendance at religious services and mortality over 28 years. Am J Public Health87:957-961, 1997.
13.
13. Hummer R, Rogers R, Nam C, Ellison CG: Religious attendance and mortality in the US adult population. Demography, in press.
14.
14. Idler EL, Kasl SV: Religion, disability, depression, and the timing of death. Am J Sociology97:1052-1079, 1992.
15.
15. Ellis AL: Reason and Emotion in Psychotherapy. Secaucus, NJ, Lyle Stuart, 1992.
16.
16. Branden N: The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem. New York, Bantam, 1994.
17.
17. Stark R: Psychopathology and religious commitment. Rev Religious Res12:165-176, 1970.
18.
18. Bergin AE: Religiosity and mental health: A critical reevaluation and meta-analysis. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice14:170-184, 1983.
19.
19. Gartner JD, Larson DB, Allen GD: Religious commitment and mental health: A review of the empirical literature. J Psychology Theology19:6-25, 1991.
20.
20. Koenig HG: Aging and God: Spiritual Pathways to Mental Health in Midlife and Later Years. New York, Haworth, 1994.
21.
21. Larson DB, Sherill KA, Lyons JS, Craigie FC, Thielman SB, Greenwold MA, Larson SS: Associations between dimensions of religious commitment and mental health reported in the American Journal of Psychiatry and the Archives of General Psychiatry: 1978-1989. Am J Psychiatry149:557-559, 1992.
22.
22. Levin JS, Markides KS, Ray LA: Religious attendance and psychological well-being in Mexican Americans: A panel analysis of three-generations data. The Gerontologist36:454-463, 1996.
23.
23. Ellison CG, Levin JS, Taylor RJ, Chatters LM: Religious Involvement and Psychological Distress in a National Panel Study of African Americans. Paper presented at the joint meetings of the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion and the Religious Research Association, San Diego, November 8-10, 1997.
24.
24. Witter RA, Stock WA, Okun MA, Haring MJ: Religion and subjective well-being in adulthood: A quantitative synthesis. Rev Religious Res26:332-342, 1985.
25.
25. Levin JS: Religious research in gerontology, 1980-1994: A systematic review. J Religious Gerontology10(3):3-31, 1997.
26.
26. Pollner M: Divine relations, social relations, and well-being. J Health Soc Behav30:92-104, 1989.
27.
27. Levin JS, Chatters LM, Taylor RJ: Religious effects on health status and life satisfaction among black Americans. J Gerontology: Soc Sci50B:S154-S163, 1995.
28.
28. Ellison CG: Religious involvement and subjective well-being. J Health Soc Behav32:80-99, 1991.
29.
29. Thomas ME, Holmes, BJ: Determinants of satisfaction for blacks and whites. Sociological Q33:459-472, 1992.
30.
30. Levin JS: How religion influences morbidity and health: Reflections on natural history, salutogenesis and host resistance. Soc Sci Med43:849-864, 1996.
31.
31. Idler EL: Religious involvement and the health of the elderly: Some hypotheses and an initial test. Social Forces66:226-238, 1987.
32.
32. McIntosh D, Spilka B: Religion and physical health: The role of personal faith and control beliefs. Res Soc Scientific Study Religion2:167-194, 1990.
33.
33. Ellison CG: Religion, the life stress paradigm, and the study of depression, in Levin JS (ed.): Religion in Aging and Health: Theoretical Foundations and Methodological Frontiers. Thousand Oaks, CA, Sage, 1994, pp. 78-121.
34.
34. Cochran JK, Beeghley L, Bock EW: Religiosity and alcohol behavior: An exploration of reference group theory. Sociological Forum3:256-276, 1988.
35.
35. Koenig HG, George LK, Meador KG, Blazer DG, Ford SM: Religious practices and alcoholism in a Southern adult population. Hospital Community Psychiatry45:225-231, 1994.
36.
36. Gardner JW, Sanborn JS, Slattery ML: Behavioral factors explaining the low risk for cervical cancer in Utah Mormon women. Epidemiology6:187-189, 1995.
37.
37. Mechanic D: Promoting health. Society, January-February, 1990, pp. 16-22.
38.
38. Ellis L: Religiosity and criminality: Evidence and explanations of complex relationships. Sociological Perspectives28:501-520, 1985.
39.
39. Stark R: Religion as context: Hellfire and delinquency one more time. Sociology of Religion57:163-173, 1996.
40.
40. Heaton TB, Pratt EL: The effects of religious homogamy on marital satisfaction and stability. J Fam Issues11:191-207, 1990.
41.
41. Lehrer EL, Chiswick CU: Religion as a determinant of marital stability. Demography30:385-404, 1993.
42.
42. Grasmick HG, Bursik RJ, Cochran JK: Render unto Caesar what is Caesar's: Religiosity and taxpayers' inclinations to cheat. Sociological Q32:251-266, 1991.
43.
43. Cohen S, Wills TA: Stress, social support, and the buffering hypothesis. Psychological Bull98:310-357, 1985.
44.
44. Quick JD, Nelson DL, Matuszek PA, Whittington JL, Quick JC: Social support, secure attachments, and health, in Cooper CL (ed.): Handbook of Stress, Medicine, and Health. Boca Raton, FL, CRC Press, 1996.
45.
45. Williams DR, Larson DB, Buckler RE, Heckmann RC, Pyle CM: Religion and psychological distress in a community sample. Soc Sci Med32:1257-1262, 1991.
46.
46. Ellison CG, George LK: Religious involvement, social ties, and social support in a Southeastern community. J Scientific Study Religion33:46-61, 1994.
47.
47. Bradley DE: Religious involvement and social resources: Evidence from the data set "Americans Changing Lives." J Scientific Study Religion34:259-267, 1995.
48.
48. Chaves M, Higgins LH: Comparing the community involvement of black and white congregations. J Scientific Study Religion31:425-440, 1992.
49.
49. Caldwell CH, Greene AD, Billingsley A: The black church as a family support system: Instrumental and expressive functions. National J Sociology6:21-440, 1992.
50.
50. Eng E, Hatch J, Callan A: Institutionalizing social support through the church and into the community. Health Educ Q12:81-92,1985.
51.
51. Kumanyika SK, Charleston JB: Lose weight and win: A church-based weight loss program for blood pressure control among black women. Patient Educ Counseling19:19-32, 1992.
52.
52. Thomas SB, Quinn SC, Billingsley A, Caldwell C: The characteristics of Northern black churches with community health outreach programs. Am JPublic Health84:575-579,1994.
53.
53. Veroff J, Kulka RA, Douvan E: Mental Health in America: Patterns of Help-Seeking From 1957 to 1976. New York, Basic Books, 1981.
54.
54. Chalfant HP, Heller PL, Roberts A, Briones D, Aguirre-Hochbaum S, Farr W: The clergy as a resource for those encountering psychological distress. Rev Religious Res31:305-313, 1990.
55.
55. Kimble MA: Pastoral care, in Kimble MA, McFadden SH, Ellor JW, Seeber JJ (eds.): Aging, Spirituality, and Religion: A Handbook. Minneapolis, Fortress, 1995, pp. 131-147.
56.
56. Maton KI: Patterns and psychological correlates of material support within a religious setting: The bidirectional support hypothesis. Am J Community Psychology15:185-207, 1987.
57.
57. Taylor RJ, Chatters LM: Church members as a source of informal social support. Rev Religious Res30:193-202, 1988.
58.
58. Maton KI: Community settings as buffers of life stress? Highly supportive churches, mutual help groups, and senior centers. Am J Community Psychology17:203-232, 1989.
59.
59. Wuthnow R: Sharing the Journey: Support Groups andAmerica's New Questfor Community. New York, Free Press, 1994.
60.
60. Jacobson DE: The cultural context of social support and social networks. MedAnthropology Q1:42-67, 1987.
61.
61. Mirowsky J, Ross C: Social patterns of distress. A Rev Sociology12:23-45, 1986.
62.
62. Lin N, Ensel WM: Life stress and health: Stressors and resources. Am Sociological Rev54:382-399, 1989.
63.
63. Watson PJ, Morris RJ, Hood RW: Sin and self-functioning, part I: Grace, guilt, and selfconsciousness. J Psychology Theology16:254-269, 1988.
64.
64. Krause N: Religiosity and self-esteem among older adults. J Gerontology: Psychological Sci50:P236-P246, 1995.
65.
65. Krause N, Tran TV: Stress and religious involvement among older blacks. J Gerontology: Soc Sci44:4-13, 1989.
66.
66. Ellison CG: Religious involvement and self-perception among black Americans. Social Forces71:1027-1055, 1993.
67.
67. Poloma MM, Gallup G: Varieties of Prayer: A Survey Report. Philadelphia, Trinity Press International, 1991.
68.
68. Pargament KI, Silverman W, Johnson S, Echemendia R, Snyder S: The psychosocial climate of religious congregations. Am J Community Psychology11:351-383, 1983.
69.
69. IdlerEL: Religion, health, and non-physical senses of self. Social Forces74:683-704, 1995.
70.
70. Lazarus RS, Launier R: Stress-related transactions between person and environment, in Pervin L, Lewis M (eds.): Perspectives in Interactional Psychology. New York, Plenum, 1978, pp. 287-327.
71.
71. Pargament KI: The Psychology of Religion and Coping. New York, Guilford, 1997.
72.
72. Ellison CG, Taylor RJ: Turning to prayer: Social and situational antecedents of religious coping among African Americans. Rev Religious Res38:111-131, 1996.
73.
73. Mattlin JA, Wethington E, Kessler RC: Situational determinants of coping and coping effectiveness. J Health Soc Behav31:103-122, 1990.
74.
74. Foley DP: Eleven interpretations of personal suffering. JReligion Health27:321-328, 1988.
75.
75. Pargament KI, Kennell J, Hathaway W, Grevengoed N, Newman J, Jones W: Religion and the problem-solving process: Three styles of religious coping. J Scientific Study Religion27:90-104, 1988.
76.
76. Pargament KI, Ensing DS, Falgout K, Olsen H.Reilly B.Van Haitsma K, Warren R: God help me: (I) Religious coping efforts as predictors of the outcomes to significant negative life events. Am J Community Psychology18:793-824, 1990.
77.
77. Kaplan BH, Monroe-Blum H, Blazer DG: Religion, health, and forgiveness: Traditions and challenges, in Levin JS (ed.): Religion in Aging and Health: Theoretical Foundations and Methodological Frontiers. Thousand Oaks, CA, Sage, 1994, pp. 52-77.
78.
78. AderR, Felten DL, Cohen N (eds.): Psychoneuroimmunology (2nd ed.). San Diego, Academic Press, 1991.
79.
79. Rossi EL: The Psychobiology of Mind-Body Healing: New Concepts in Therapeutic Hypnosis (Rev. ed.). New York, Norton, 1993.
80.
80. Griffith EH, Young J, Smith D: An analysis of the therapeutic elements in a black church service. Hospital Community Psychiatry35:464-469, 1984.
81.
81. Gritzmacher SA, Bolton B, Dana RH: Psychological characteristics of Pentecostals: A literature review and psychodynamic synthesis. J Psychology Theology16:233-245, 1988.
82.
82. Levin JS, Wickramasekera I, Hirshberg C: Is religiousness a correlate of absorption? Implications for psychophysiology, coping, and morbidity. Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, in press.
83.
83. Taylor SE: Positive Illusions: Creative Self-Deception and the Healthy Mind. New York, Basic Books, 1989.
84.
84. Sethi S, Seligman MEP: The hope of fundamentalists. Psychological Sci5:58-59, 1994.
85.
85. Koenig HG: Religion and hope for the disabled elder, in Levin JS (ed.): Religion in Aging and Health: Theoretical Foundations and Methodological Frontiers. Thousand Oaks, CA, Sage, 1994, pp. 18-51.
86.
86. Hay LL: Heal YourBody: The Mental CausesforPhysical Illness and the Metaphysical Way to Overcome Them (Rev. ed.). Carson, CA, Hay House, 1984.
87.
87. Benor DJ: Healing Research: Holistic Energy Medicine and Spirituality: Vol. 1. Research in Healing. Munich, Germany, Helix, 1992.
88.
88. Byrd RC: Positive therapeutic effects of intercessory prayer in a coronary care unit population. Southern Med J81:826-829, 1988.
89.
89. Levin JS: How prayer heals: A theoretical model. Alternative Therapies Health Med2:66-73, 1996.
90.
90. Levin JS: Religion and health: Is there an association, is it valid, and is it causal?Soc Sci Med38:1475-1482, 1994.
91.
91. Krause N: Measuring religiosity in later life. Res Aging15:170-197, 1993.
92.
92. Williams DR: The measurement of religion in epidemiologic studies: Problems and prospects, in Levin JS (ed.): Religion inAging and Health: Theoretical Foundations and Methodological Frontiers. Thousand Oaks, CA, Sage, 1994, pp. 125-148.
93.
93. Levin JS, Taylor RJ, Chatters LM: A multidimensional measure of religious involvement for African Americans. Sociological Q36:157-173, 1995.
94.
94. Idler EL, Ellison CG, George LK, Krause N, Levin JS, Ory M, Pargament KI, Powell L, Williams DR, Underwood-Gordon L: National Institute on Aging/Fetzer Institute Working Group Brief Measure of Religiousness and Spirituality: Conceptual Development. Unpublished manuscript, 1997.
95.
95. Pargament KI, Ishler K, Dubow EF, Stanik P, Rouiller R, Crowe P, Cullman EP, Albert M, Royster BJ: Methods of religious coping with the Gulf War: Cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses. J Scientific Study Religion33:347-361, 1994.
96.
96. Kaplan BH: A note on religious beliefs and coronary heart disease. J South Carolina Med Assoc15(suppl. 5):60-64, 1976.
97.
97. Furnham A: The Protestant work ethic and Type A behaviour: A pilot study. Psychological Reports66:323-328, 1990.
98.
98. Sorenson AM, Grindstaff CF, Turner RJ: Religious involvement among unmarried adolescent mothers: A source of emotional support?Sociology Religion56:71-81, 1995.
99.
99. Strawbridge WJ, Shema SJ, Cohen RD, Roberts RE, Kaplan GA: Religiosity buffers effects of some stressors on depression but exacerbates others. J Gerontology: Social Sciences53B:S118-S126, 1998.
100.
100. McNeilly MD, Anderson NB, Bodo D, Musick MA, Efland J, Baughman J, Toth P, Williams RB: Culturally Sensitive Instruments to Measure Perceptions of Racism, Stress, and Social Support. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Gerontological Society of America, Washington, DC, November 1996.
101.
101. Krause N: Negative interactions and satisfaction with social support among older adults. J Gerontology: Psychological Sci50:P59-P73, 1995.
102.
102. Rook KS: Positive and negative social exchanges: Weighing their effects in later life. J Gerontology: Soc Sci52:S167-S169, 1997.
103.
103. Krause N, Ellison CG, Wulff KM: Church-based emotional support, negative interaction, and psychological well-being: Findings from a national survey of Presbyterians. J Scientific Study Religion37(4), forthcoming.
104.
104. Ellison CG: Race, religious involvement, and depressive symptomatology in a Southeastern US community. Soc Sci Med40:1561-1572, 1995.
105.
105. Musick MA: Religion and subjective health among black and white elders. JHealth Soc Behav37:221-237, 1996.
106.
106. Krause N: Stressors in highly valued roles, religious coping, and mortality. Psychology Aging13:242-255, 1998.
107.
107. Antonovsky A: Unravelling the Mystery of Health. San Francisco, Jossey-Bass, 1987.
108.
108. Jacobson DE: Ty'pes and timing of social support. J Health Soc Behav27:250-264, 1986.
109.
109. Idler EL, Kasl SV: Religion among disabled and nondisabled persons II: Attendance at religious services as a predictor of the course of disability. J Gerontology: Soc Sci52B:S306-S316, 1997.
