Healing Happens
Does religious faith affect physical health and, in ill or injured patients, aid healing? Yes, according to a majority of physicians in a recent major survey. The April 9 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine reported that 56% of more than 1,000 responding doctors believe religion and spirituality “have a significant effect on health” — and about the same percentage said that, on occasion, the influence is attributable to divine intervention. “We find it notable, particularly in light of perennial discussions about the relationship between science and faith,” said Dr. Farr Curlin of the University of Chicago, lead author of the study, “that most physicians apply medical science while maintaining a belief that God intervenes in patients’ health.”
