Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Religion and health relationships: A review

  • Published:
Journal of Religion and Health Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This review examines various studies showing the relation between religiosity (religious beliefs and/or practices) and health. It also includes church attendance and its relation to drug use. The role of the church in health promotion is discussed, with examples of church intervention model programs. Several attempts have been made to measure religiosity and religious commitment, but as yet little has been done to identify specific dimensions of religion as they relate to health behaviors. Even though the literature indicates that religion is generally associated with health behaviors, health status, and longevity, further research on the specifics of this relationship is needed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Glock, C. Y., “On the Study of Religious Commitment,”Religious Education Research Supplement, 1962.

  2. Leavell, R.,Preventive Medicine for the Doctor in Hospital Community, ed. 3. New York, McGraw-Hill, 1965.

    Google Scholar 

  3. Dunn, H. L.,High Level Wellness. Thorofare, New Jersey, Slack Inc, 1977.

    Google Scholar 

  4. Maslow, A.,Religious Values and Peak Experiences. Columbus, University Press, 1964.

    Google Scholar 

  5. Oberteuffer, D., and Beyrer, M.K.,School Health Education. New York, Harper and Row, 1966, p. 9.

    Google Scholar 

  6. Harmon, Y., “The Relationship Between Religiosity and Health,”Health Values, 1985,9, 3, 23–25.

    Google Scholar 

  7. Byrne, J. F., and Price, J. H., “In Sickness and in Health: The Effects of Religion.”Health Education, 1979,13, 25–27.

    Google Scholar 

  8. op. cit..

    Google Scholar 

  9. Jalali-Tehrani, S., “Religious Commitment as a Factor in Personality Integration—A Factor in Mental Health,”Dissertation Abstracts International, 1985,46, 10-B, 3629.

    Google Scholar 

  10. Jarvis, G., “Mormons' Mortality Rates in Canada,”Social Biology, 1977,24, 4, 294–302; Lyon, J.L.; Kaluber, M.R.; Gardner, J.W.; and Smart, C.R., “Cancer Incidence in Mormons and Non-Mormons in Utah, 1966–1970,”New England J. Medicine, 1976,294, 129–133.

    Google Scholar 

  11. Armstrong, B.; Van Merwyk, A.J.; and Coates, H., “Blood Pressure in Seventh-day Adventist Vegetarians,”Amer. J. Epidemiology, 1977,105, 444–449.

    Google Scholar 

  12. Berkman, L. F., and Syme, S. L., “Social Networks, Host Resistance and Mortality: a Nine-Year Follow-up Study of Alameda County Residents,”Amer. J. Epidemiology, 1979,109, 186–204.

    Google Scholar 

  13. Pulisuk, M., and Parks, S.H., “Social Support and Family Stress,”Marriage and Family Review, 1983,6, 1–2, 137–156.

    Google Scholar 

  14. Zuckerman, D. M.; Kasl, S. V.; and Ostfeld, A. M., “Psychosocial Predictors of Mortality Among the Elderly Poor: The Role of Religion, Well-Being, and Social Contacts,”Amer. J. Epidemiology, 1984,119, 3, 410–423.

    Google Scholar 

  15. Glanz, K., and McGranghan, R., “Religion, Health Behavior, and Health: An Overview of Theory and Research,” presented at annual meetings of the American Public Health Association, Dallas, Texas, November 14, 1983.

  16. Lyon, J.L.; Gardner, J.W.; and West, D.W., “Cancer Incidence in Mormons and Non-Mormons in Utah, 1967–1975,”J. National Cancer Institute, 1980,65, 1055–1061.

    Google Scholar 

  17. Lemon, F.R.; Walden, R.T.; and Woods, R.W., “Cancer of the Lung and Mouth in Seventhday Adventists: Preliminary Report on a Population Study,”Cancer, 1964,17, 486–497.

    Google Scholar 

  18. Kennaway, E.L., “The Racial and Social Incidence of Cancer of the Uterus,”British J. Cancer, 1948,2, 177–212.

    Google Scholar 

  19. Glanz,op. cit.

  20. Gardner, J.W., and Lyon, J.L., “Low Evidence of Cervical Cancer in Utah,”Gynecology and Oncology, 1977,5, 68–80.

    Google Scholar 

  21. Lyon, J.L.; Wetzler, H.P.; Gardner, J.W.; Klauber, M.R.; and Williams, R.R., “Cardiovascular Mortality in Mormons and Non-Mormons in Utah, 1968–1971,”Amer. J. Epidemiology, 1978,108, 357–366.

    Google Scholar 

  22. Armstrong,op. cit.

  23. Enstrom, J.E., “Cancer Mortality Among Mormons,”Cancer, 1975,36, 3, 825–841.

    Google Scholar 

  24. Webster, I.W., and Rawson, G.K., “Health Status of Seventh-day Adventists,”Medical J. Australia, 1979,1, 10, 417–420.

    Google Scholar 

  25. Phillips, R.L., “Role of Lifestyle and Dietary Habits in Risk of Cancer Among Seventh-day Adventists,”Cancer Research, 1979,35, 11, 3513–3522; Phillips, R.L.; Kuzma, J.W.; Beeson, W.L.; and Lotz, T., “Influence of Selection Versus Lifestyle on Risk of Fatal Cancer and Cardiovascular Disease Among Seventh-day Adventists,”Amer. J. Epidemiology, 1980,112, 2, 296–314.

    Google Scholar 

  26. Berkel, J., and de-Waard, F., “Mortality Pattern and Life Expectancy of Seventh-day Adventists in the Netherlands,”International J. Epidemiology, 1983,12, 4, 455–459.

    Google Scholar 

  27. Mclntosh, W.A., and Shifflett, P.A., “Religion and the Human Diet: The Impact of Commitment of the Dietary Quality of the Elderly,” paper presented at conference of Association for the Sociology of Religion, 1981.

  28. op. cit..

    Google Scholar 

  29. Berkman, L. F., and Breslow, L.,Health and Ways of Living: The Alameda County Study. New York, N.Y., Oxford University Press, 1983.

    Google Scholar 

  30. Naguib, S.M.; Geiser, P.B.; and Comstock, G.W., “Responses to a Program of Screening for Cervical Cancer,”Public Health Reports, 1968,83, 990–998.

    Google Scholar 

  31. Comstock, G.W., and Partridge, K.P., “Church Attendance and Health,”J. of Chronic Disease 1972,25, 665–672.

    Google Scholar 

  32. Comstock, G.W.; Abbey, H.; and Lundin, F.E., “The Nonofficial Census As a Basic Tool for Epidemiological Observations in Washington County, Maryland, in Kessler II,” Levin, M.C., ed.,The Community as an Epidemiological Laboratory. Baltimore, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1970, pp. 73–97; Graham, T.W.; Kaplan, B.H.; Cornoni-Huntly, J.C.; James, S.A.; Becker, C.; Harnes, C.F.; and Heyden, S., “Frequency of Church Attendance and Blood Pressure Elevation,”J. Behavior and Medicine, 1978,1, 37–44.

    Google Scholar 

  33. Bradley, B. J., “The Spiritual Dimension in Health Education,”Dissertation Abstracts, 1985,46, 12-A, 3608.

    Google Scholar 

  34. Levin, J.S., and Markides, K.S., “Religious Attendance and Subjective Health,”J. Scientific Study of Religion, 1986,25, 1, 31–40.

    Google Scholar 

  35. Levin, J.S., and Schiller, P.L., “Is There a Religious Factor in Health?”J. Religion and Health, 1987,26, 1, 9–36; Levin, J.S., and Vanderpool, H.Y., “Is Frequent Religious Attendance Really Conducive to Better Health? Toward an Epidemiology of Religion,”Social Science and Medicine, 1987,24, 7, 589–600; Levin, J.S., and Markides, K.S., “Religious Attendance and Psychological Well-Being in Middle-Aged and Older Mexican Americans,”Sociology Analysis, 1988,49, 1, 66–72.

    Google Scholar 

  36. Rubins, J.L., “Religion, Mental Health and the Psychoanalyst,”Amer. J. Psychoanalysis, 1970,30, 2, 127–134.

    Google Scholar 

  37. Heskestad, S., “Religiosity and Mental Health: An Empirical Study,”Nordisk-Psykiatrisk-Tidsskrift, 1984,38, 5, 353–361.

    Google Scholar 

  38. Spencer, J., “The Mental Health of Jehovah's Witnesses,”British J. Psychiatry, 1975,126, 556–559.

    Google Scholar 

  39. Weber, M.,The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. London, Alien and Unwin, 1930.

    Google Scholar 

  40. DeFleur, M.; D'Antonio, W.; and DeFleur, L.,Sociology: Man in Society Glenview, Ill., Scott, Foreman and Company, 1971, p. 540.

    Google Scholar 

  41. Uomoto, J.M., “Preventive Intervention: A Convergence of the Church and Community Psychology,”J. Psychology and Christianity, 1982,1, 3, 12–22.

    Google Scholar 

  42. Bufford, R. K., and Johnston, T. B., “The Church and Community Mental Health: Unrealized Potential,”J. Psychology and Theology, 1982,10, 4.

    Google Scholar 

  43. Rosen, I.R., “Some Contributions of Religion to Mental and Physical Health,”J. Religion and Health, 1974,13, 4, 289–294.

    Google Scholar 

  44. Purdy, B.A.; Simari, C.G.; and Colon, G., “Religiosity, Ethnicity, and Mental Health: Interface the 80s,”Counseling & Values, 1983,27, 2, 112–122.

    Google Scholar 

  45. Lasater, T.M.; Wells, B.L.; Carleton, R.A.; and Elder, J.P., “The Role of Churches in Disease Prevention Research Studies,”Public Health Reports, 1986,101, 2, 125–131.

    Google Scholar 

  46. Berkman,op. cit.

  47. Hencey, R.E., ed., “The Church: A Channel for Promoting Health,”Profiles, 1985,10, 1, 2–5.

    Google Scholar 

  48. Clemente, F.; Rexroad, P. A.; and Hirsch, C., “The Participation of the Black Aged in Voluntary Associations,”J. Gerontology, 1975,30, 4, 469–472; Boyer, E., “Variations in Health Perception Between Black and White Elderly,”International Quarterly of Community Health Education, 1982,2, 2, 1981–1982.

    Google Scholar 

  49. Levin, J.S., “The Role of the Black Church in Community Medicine,”J, National Medical Association, 1984,76, 477–483.

    Google Scholar 

  50. Perkins, H. W., “Religious Traditions, Parents, and Peers as Determinants of Alcohol and Drug Use Among College Students,”Review of Religious Research, 1985, 27, 1, 15–31.

    Google Scholar 

  51. Adlaf, E. M., and Smart, R. G., “Drug Use and Religious Affiliation, Feelings and Behavior,”British J. Addiction, 1985,80, 2, 163–171.

    Google Scholar 

  52. Dudley, R.L.; Mutch, P.B.; and Cruise, R.J., “Religious Factors and Drug Usage Among Seventh-day Adventist Youth in North America,”J. Scientific Study of Religion, 1987,26, 2, 218–233.

    Google Scholar 

  53. Bock, E. W.; Cochran, J. K.; and Beeghley, L., “Moral Messages: The Relative Influence of Denomination on the Religiosity-Alcohol Relationship,”The Sociological Quarterly, 1987,28, 1, 89–103.

    Google Scholar 

  54. King, M.B., and Hunt, R.A., “Measuring the Religious Variable: National Replication,”J. Scientific Study of Religion, 1975,14, 13–22.

    Google Scholar 

  55. Roof, W.C., “Concept and Indicators of Religious Commitment: A Critical Review.” InThe Religious Dimension: New Directions in Quantitative Research. New York, Academy Press Inc, 1979.

    Google Scholar 

  56. Vaux, V.L., “Religion and Health,”Preventive Medicine, 1976,5, 522–536.

    Google Scholar 

  57. Cullman, O., “Immortality of the Soul or Resurrection of the Dead.” In Stendahl, K., ed.,Immortality and Resurrection. New York, Macmillan, 1965.

    Google Scholar 

  58. Wilson, R.W., “Religiosity and Health: Implications for Health Promotion,”Health Values, 1978,2, 144–146; Osman, J.D., and Russell, R.D., “The Spiritual Aspects of Health,”J. School Health, 1979, 359; Banks, R., “Health and the Spiritual Dimension: Relationships and Implications for Professional Preparation Programs,”J. School Health, 1980,50, 4, 195–202.

    Google Scholar 

  59. Green, L.W.; Kreuter, M.W.; Deeds, S.G.; and Partridge, K.B.,Health Education Planning: A Diagnostic Approach. Palo Alto, Calif., Mayfield Publishing, 1980.

    Google Scholar 

  60. King, D. G., “Religious Commitment as a Predictor of Health Behavior and Health Status in a Selected Population,” Dissertation, Loma Linda, Calif., Loma Linda University, 1989.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Alberta, Canada

    Donald G. King Dr. P.H. (minister, church administrator, Health Director for Seventh-day Adventist Church)

Authors
  1. Donald G. King Dr. P.H.
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Additional information

He has been doing research on the relation between religion and health for the past five years.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

King, D.G. Religion and health relationships: A review. J Relig Health 29, 101–112 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00986405

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00986405

Keywords

Search

Navigation