Psychology of Religion - Religion and Health

Religion and Health

Main article: Impacts of religion on health See also: Religion and happiness and Religiosity and intelligence

There is considerable literature on the relationship between religion and health. Psychologists consider that there are various ways in which religion may benefit both physical and mental health, including encouraging healthy lifestyles, providing social support networks and encouraging an optimistic outlook on life; prayer and meditation may also help to benefit physiological functioning. The journal "American Psychologist" published important papers on this topic in 2003. Haber, Jacob and Spangler have considered how different dimensions of religiosity may relate to health benefits in different ways.

Read more about this topic:  Psychology Of Religion

Famous quotes containing the words religion and, religion and/or health:

    The stallion and his mare,
    unbridled, with arrow-pattern,
    are worked on.
    the blue cloth
    before the door
    of religion and inspiration....
    Hilda Doolittle (1886–1961)

    To sum up:
    1. The cosmos is a gigantic fly-wheel making 10,000 revolutions a minute.
    2. Man is a sick fly taking a dizzy ride on it.
    3. Religion is the theory that the wheel was designed and set spinning to give him the ride.
    —H.L. (Henry Lewis)

    Youth no less becomes
    The light and careless livery that it wears
    Than settled age his sables and his weeds,
    Importing health and graveness.
    William Shakespeare (1564–1616)