>
> Dan Kruger wrote...
>
> <snip>
> > Given the recent findings that religious beliefs/behaviors may contribute
> >to >our well being even after other likely influences are controlled for
> >(e.g., >http://www.newswatch.org/mediacritic/july99/990701m1.htm), it is
> >likely that >the capacity for religious/supernatural beliefs has been
> >adaptive for our >survival and reproduction.
I've been waiting for someone to challenge the premise that religion
is good for you, but it looks like all the sceptics on TIPS are asleep
or on vacation.
So let me be the first. First up, note that the url cited in support
of this premise actually does an excellent job of debunking it (check
out the title "When mixing science with faith is bad for both"). Most
obvious is the point that the causal arrow may point in the opposite
direction: not that going to church or shul or the religious
institution of your choice makes you healthier, but that being healthy
makes you more likely (or able) to go.
But the definitive review, for the moment, seems to be Sloan et al
(1999) in the prestigious medical journal The Lancet. They conclude
after considering the evidence, that "Even in the best studies, the
evidence of an association between religion, spirituality, and health
is weak and inconsistent...suggestions that religious activity will
promote health, that illness is the result of insufficient faith, are
unwarranted". Another interesting discussion is a long journalistic
piece in the equally prestigious journal Science on Herbert Benson and
his far-out ideas.
(I'm also tempted to add that religion can be downright hazardous to
your health wherever it brings you into conflict with those holding
different religious views. Examples, historical and current, are
plentiful.)
-Stephen
References
Roush, W. (1997). Herbert Benson: Mind-body maverick pushes the
envelope. Science, 276, 357--359.
Sloan, R. et al (1999). Religion, spirituality, and medicine. The
Lancet, 353, 664--
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Stephen Black, Ph.D. tel: (819) 822-9600 ext 2470
Department of Psychology fax: (819) 822-9661
Bishop's University e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Lennoxville, QC
J1M 1Z7
Canada Department web page at http://www.ubishops.ca/ccc/div/soc/psy
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