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Previous Volume 342:1913-1916 June 22, 2000 Number 25 Next

	Since this article has no abstract, we have provided an extract of the first 100 words of the full text and any section headings.

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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 . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Is There Empirical Evidence of a Link between Religion and Health?

Should Physicians Recommend Religious Activity as a Way of Providing Comfort?

Do Patients Want Religious Matters to Be Incorporated into Their Medical Care?

Trivializing Religion

Conclusions

References

Related Letters:

Medicine and Religion
Koenig H. G., Nicklin D. E., Kaufman A. S., Hite R. W., Cameron J. R., Hall D. E., Suchman A. L., Castro D., Loo L. K., Stottlemyer D. L., Sloan R. P., VandeCreek L., Hover M.
Extract | Full Text  
N Engl J Med 2000; 343:1339-1342, Nov 2, 2000. Correspondence

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