The New England Journal of Medicine had an editorial that addressed this very question, reviewing the facts and discussing the issue further. Some of the things mentioned included:
There is increasing interest among the general public and the medical community in the role of religion in medicine. Polls indicate that the U.S. population is highly religious; most people believe in heaven and hell, (1) the healing power of prayer, (2) and the capacity of faith to aid in the recovery from disease. (3) The popular press has published many articles in which religious faith and practice have been said to promote comfort, healing, or both. A report that 77 percent of hospitalized patients wanted physicians to consider their spiritual needs is consistent with this trend. (4)
Interest in the connection between religion and health has also emerged in the medical community. (5,6) The National Institute for Healthcare Research, a privately funded, nonprofit advocacy organization, has published extensive literature reviews suggesting that religious faith and practice are positively associated with health status. The organization's World Wide Web site encourages physicians to pay more attention to religious matters and recommends that they take a spiritual history at the time of each complete physical examination, with any concerns raised by patients addressed during follow-up visits. In addition, the National Institute on Aging and Harvard Medical School sponsor meetings on the integration of spirituality and medical practice. (7) A survey of family physicians found that they strongly support the notion that religious beliefs can promote healing. (8) Some physicians believe that going to church promotes health, (9) argue for spiritual and religious interventions in medical practice, hope that the wall between medicine and religion will be torn down, (10) and assert that "the medicine of the future is going to be prayer and Prozac." (11)
Nearly 30 U.S. medical schools now offer courses on religion, spirituality, and health. (12) The American Association of Medical Colleges has cosponsored a conference entitled "Spirituality and Medicine: Curricular Development" for the past three years, and each year it has attracted more than 100 physicians, faculty members, and chaplains from hospitals and medical schools throughout the United States.
Is There Empirical Evidence of a Link between Religion and Health? Numerous authors (12,13,14,15) assert that there is substantial empirical support for the idea that religious activities promote health. We believe the evidence is generally weak and unconvincing, since it is based on studies with serious methodologic flaws, conflicting findings, and data that lack clarity and specificity. (16) Two recently reported, well-conducted studies, however, have shown that attendance at religious services is associated with reduced mortality. (17,18)
Some studies report that patients want physicians to attend to their spiritual concerns. King and Bushwick found that 48 percent of the patients they surveyed indicated that they wanted their physicians to pray with them. (4) Maugans and Wadland reported that 40 percent of the patients in their study wanted physicians to discuss religious issues with them. (25) According to a report by Ehman et al., two thirds of patients in an outpatient practice at a university hospital said they would be interested in having a physician inquire about their religious or spiritual beliefs if they became gravely ill. (26) These data have prompted some to remark that, regardless of the evidence, "we should address [religion in medical practice] because the patient surveys are saying that we should be addressing it." (5)
The New England Journal of Medicine -- June 22, 2000 -- Vol. 342, No. 25
I was initially delighted to find an article on addressing spiritual issues in medicine in the most prestigious medical journal - NEJM. However, as I read the article I realized that it was another good/bad story, not to dissimilar from the previous incredible validation of vitamin E and heart disease articles they have published in the past. On the one hand the strong evidence supporting the association is described, and then we are told that there are flaws in the original studies and that there clearly is not enough evidence to support promoting spiritual activities in medicine. I say hogwash and I have left the appropriate references in for those who care to review this topic further.
The authors do bring up a valid point though in that physicians are not trained to engage in in-depth conversations with their patients about their spiritual concerns. Such discussions are not the sole domain of any one profession, but many health care facilities have chaplains or other community clergy who have received systematic post-seminary training and clinical supervision in such areas as pastoral psychology, ethics, and multicultural pastoral care and who are endorsed by their denominations. The authors advise patients who seek spiritual support to be referred to these professionals.
Although this is true for most physicians, training is available. Like almost any topic in medicine, there are postgraduate courses can be taken to bring one up to speed in this area. I have been a member of CMDS - Christian Medical and Dental Society (888-231-2637) and they offer a course called Saline Solution which teaches physician the basics of interacting on a practical and realistic basis with spiritual issues. The course is also available on videotape for those who just can not get away. Dr. Walt Larrimore is one of the instructors and he is one of my personal heroes. He is the medical director of WebMD/Healtheon network and practices down near Orlando, FA. I took the course five years ago and over 10,000 physicians have also taken it. If you are a health care professional and interested in spiritual matters from a Christian perspective I highly recommend this course.
Another course that is available, and one I have taken in the past, is from the Medical Strategic Network (909-881-5844). Their course provides 31 hours of Class One CME units. Thier next course is in Kansas City on October 4-8 and then in Fores Falls, CA February 15-19, 2001.
References
1. Van Biema D. Does heaven exist? Time. March 1, 1997:70-8. 2. Kaplan M. Ambushed by spirituality. Time. June 24, 1996:62. 3. McNichol T. The new faith in medicine. USA Today. April 7, 1996:4. 4. King DE, Bushwick B. Beliefs and attitudes of hospital inpatients about faith healing and prayer. J Fam Pract 1994;39:349-52. 5. Gundersen L. Faith and healing. Ann Intern Med 2000;132:169-72. 6. Slomski AJ. Should doctors prescribe religion? Med Econ 2000;77(1):145-59. 7. Marwick C. Should physicians prescribe prayer for health? Spiritual aspects of well-being considered. JAMA 1995;273:1561-2. 8. Yankelovich Partners, Inc. Family physician survey: Oct. 1, 1996. Report no. 050304. Radnor, Pa.: John Templeton Foundation, 1996. 9. Larson SS, Larson DB. Clinical religious research: how to enhance risk of disease: don't go to church. Christ Med Dent Soc J 1992;23:14-9. 10. Matthews DA, Larson DB. Faith and medicine: reconciling the twin traditions of healing. Mind/Body Med 1997;2:3-6. 11. Sides H. The calibration of belief. New York Times Magazine. Dec. 7, 1997:92-5. 12. Levin JS, Larson DB, Puchalski CM. Religion and spirituality in medicine: research and education. JAMA 1997;278:792-3. 13. Matthews DA, McCullough ME, Larson DB, Koenig HG, Swyers JP, Milano MG. Religious commitment and health status: a review of the research and implications for family medicine. Arch Fam Med 1998;7:118-24. 14. Koenig HG, Idler E, Kasl S, et al. Religion, spirituality, and medicine: a rebuttal to skeptics. Int J Psychiatry Med 1999;29:123-31. 15. Levin JS. Religion and health: is there an association, is it valid, and is it causal? Soc Sci Med 1994;38:1475-82. 16. Sloan RP, Bagiella E, Powell T. Religion, spirituality, and medicine. Lancet 1999;353:664-7. 17. Hummer RA, Rogers RG, Nam CB, Ellison CG. Religious involvement and U.S. adult mortality. Demography 1999;36:273-85. 18. Oman D, Reed D. Religion and mortality among the community-dwelling elderly. Am J Public Health 1998;88:1469-75.