c. 2003 Religion News Service

(David P. Gushee is the Graves Professor of Moral Philosophy at Union University in Jackson, Tenn.)

(UNDATED) Abundant research evidence now demonstrates a connection between spirituality, moral choices and health. Some of us are, quite literally, making ourselves sick through our spiritual emptiness and misdirected moral choices. Others are moving toward health by reconnecting to God and to the resources of faith.

In an important 2001 book, Harold Koenig of Duke University argued from research data that church attendance, religious practices and good health are correlated. He reported on a six-year Duke study of 4,000 people over the age of 64. The report found that frequent attendance in religious services was correlated with a lower risk of dying, lower blood pressure and healthier immune systems. He also claimed that prayer “boosts morale, lowers agitation, loneliness, and life dissatisfaction, and enhances the ability to cope.”

Similarly, a Dartmouth Medical Center study found that one of the best survival predictors among 232 heart surgery patients was “the degree to which they drew comfort and strength from religious faith and prayer.” A study of AIDS patients at the University of Miami linked long-term survival to prayer and volunteering. A University of Pennsylvania physician has documented changes in blood flow in the brain during prayer and meditation.

Other studies have shown a variety of connections between spirituality and the prevention of illness, recovery from illness and coping during illness.

Joanne Coyle, a European researcher, has sifted through these various studies to argue that three main dimensions of spirituality are showing a positive impact on human health. I would restate these dimensions as transcendence, values and community.

Transcendence, the first dimension, means both connectedness with God and development of the potential of the self. Studies are showing that patients who experience such transcendence find meaning and purpose in life and can thus find meaning in illness and in battling it. They enjoy higher levels of motivation to get healthy or recover from illness. And they are more likely to find peace and serenity amid their condition, often rooted in a sense of trust in God’s provision.

Second, we have values. Values establish and motivate conformity with rules, principles and goals that affect behavior in health-enhancing ways. Studies routinely show that participation in religious communities reinforces values beneficial to human health, such as prohibitions against drug use, smoking and the abuse of alcohol. More broadly, a religious emphasis on stewardship of the human body and its ultimate “ownership” by the divine Creator reinforces a sense of responsibility to treat it right.

The third dimension is community. Here spirituality aids health by connecting people to religious congregations whose practices provide structure to life and offer love and support. Prayer, attendance in worship, involvement in small groups and organized volunteer activities have all been shown to be correlated with enhanced health. Conversely, various studies have found a relationship between lack of emotional support and religious involvement and higher risk of life-threatening illness.

A Christian newcomer to this literature finds a striking confirmation of some of the essential convictions of the historic Christian tradition:

_ There is a relationship between all aspects of the human self. The person is a body-soul unity rather than a mind-body duality. So if our minds and emotions are sick, our bodies are likely to be sick as well. We are not disembodied spirits and our bodies are not mere machines.

_ There is a relationship between bad choices and health. Certainly not all illnesses are caused by bad choices, but many are. A number of illnesses are caused by distorted thinking, destructive habits and damaged relationships and are not just fluke maladies that invade our bodies.

_ There is a relationship between a sense of connectedness with God and health. If we were made for relationship with God, it makes sense that alienation from our creator can at times lead to a soul-sickness that is often intimately related to physical illness.

_ There is a relationship between the experience of community and health. God said of Adam that “it is not good for the man to be alone” and the same is true of us. We flourish in the context of meaningful relationships and wither without them.

The relationship between “spirituality” and health does have its limits.

Keen observers will note that spirituality can mean many things other than Christian orthodoxy. And even if one’s “spirituality” is Christian, that does not mean that people should now rush out and “use” God or church in order to get well. Prayer and worship are not mere tools, true religion is not some kind of magic potion, and God is not a prescription.

The evidence ultimately points the one struggling in the wilderness toward God himself, not the health benefits that churchgoing or prayer might provide.

DEA END GUSHEE