A paper uniting the fields of health care, psychology, religious studies, medicine and social work titled “Relationships among Spirituality, Religious Practices, Personality Factors, and Health for Five Different Faiths” and co-authored by four current MU professors furthers the position that spirituality can improve mental health. The five faiths examined in the study were Buddhism, Islam, Judaism, Catholicism and Protestantism; and across all religions, surveys showed a greater involvement in religious ceremonies and practices correlated with indicators of better mental health.
“Spiritual beliefs may be a coping device to help individuals deal emotionally with stress,” one of the co-authors of the study, assistant professor Dan Cohen of the Religious Studies Department at MU, told the MU News Bureau of the findings.
In the paper, published online first in May in the Journal of Religion and Health, the researchers discuss the implications of the survey results, and suggest that health psychologists should use religious counseling strategies in therapy of patients facing particularly stressful prognoses.
The lead author of the paper is Brick Johnstone, a professor in MU’s Department of Health Psychology. In addition to Cohen, MU researchers involved in the project include Dong Yoon of the School of Social Work and James Campbell of the School of Medicine. The paper, in its entirety, is available via SpringerLink.
For more information, contact Johnstone via email.