It's not clear what aspects of faith may figure in good health or how exactly religious practice and belief might bolster physical vigor. But there are plenty of theories, summarized in categories suggested by epidemiologist Jeffrey S. Levin, an associate professor of Family and Community Medicine at Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk.
Levin, a pioneer in the field, has reviewed the existing literature and written widely on this topic. He offers these broad possibilities, but he cautions that they are not meant to explain away religion:- Behavior: Two of the healthiest and most studied populations in the United States are the Mormons and the Seventh-Day Adventists. Both religions strongly encourage clean, abstemious lifestyles. There have been hundreds of studies of the effects of the Adventist diet, which is, ideally, vegetarian and free from alcohol and caffeine.
If your religious beliefs include some risk prevention, they're probably making you healthier. Yet, some sects may also reject certain medical procedures, such as blood transfusions. A 1991 study co-authored by Purdue University sociologist Kenneth F. Ferraro suggests that those affiliated with more conservative denominations had poorer health than those in more liberal churches.
- Heredity: Some religious groups may have higher or lower risk for disease based on genetic factors. There is a higher-than-average incidence of Tay Sachs disease among Ashkenazi Jews, for example, a disease that affects the nervous system and causes death in early childhood.
- Psychosocial effects: The healthful effects of positive, supportive social relationships, such as one might find at a church, have been well-documented, Levin says.
- Psychodynamics of religious rites: Levin notes that, independent of religion, "there are many linkages between our emotions and our health." The ritual or cultic aspects of religion, he notes, may generate helpful, even healthful, emotions. This can create a strong coping mechanism at times of stress.
- Psychodynamics of belief systems: There is a large body of literature that deals with how expectation and outlook affect our health, Levin says. It's possible, he says, that merely believing that God will bless you in and of itself is enough to positively affect one's health.
- Structure of beliefs: Some religious belief systems are similar to systems of psychology and may work psychologically to improve mental and physical health.
- Multifactorial: A combination of above elements may be at work.
- Superempirical hypothesis: Is there some subtle energy, what traditional Chinese healers call "chi," or life force, at work? Levin doubts it can be demonstrated or quantified if it exists (although some scientists claim to have done this).
- Supernatural possibility: Could God be doing it? Obviously, those who are religious think so. "I am Jewish, and I happen to believe that," Levin says. "But I don't think it (that belief) is necessary to explain all these (health and religion) findings. As a scientist, I don't know how one proves it."
In terms of healing, the specific acts of God on human physical well-being are at the heart of Christian Science belief, for example. Controversial experiments aimed at demonstrating the medical effectiveness of praying at a distance for the sick are attempts to explore this and the previous category.