Religion and medicine II: Religion, mental health, and related behaviors

In this second in a series of articles on religion and medicine, I focus on the relationship between religion and mental health. This discussion is based on a comprehensive and systematic review of a century of research examining religion’s relationship to mental health, social support, substance abuse, and other behaviors affecting mental or social functioning. This review includes over 630 separate data-based reports that focus on religion and well-being, hope and optimism, meaning and purpose, depression, suicide, anxiety, psychosis, social support and marital stability, alcohol and drug abuse, cigarette smoking, extra-marital sexual behaviors, and delinquency. Reasons for the associations found are discussed and conclusions drawn in light of the findings. (Int’l. J. Psychiatry in Medicine 2001;31:97-109) Key Words: religion, spirituality, psychology, social support, addiction In the first article of this series, I examined how religion may adversely affect mental health in a number of ways [1]. Religious abuses of the mentally ill during the Renaissance period resulted in hundreds of persons being persecuted as witches or demon-possessed and executed by the Inquisition [2]. Not only have well-respected mental health professionals expressed concerns about the neurotic 9