Mental Health, Religion and Suicide

Religion and Mental Health

Religion and Mental Health

Religion is as old as mankind. Primitive man had primitive religions and he worshipped the elements of nature like sun, earth, air, cloud, water etc. Advances in civilisation led to institutionalised religions. The basic characteristics of all religions are similar. There is firm belief in a higher, unseen controlling power. Religion appears to be a psychological necessity for mankind. However,...

Religion, Spirituality, and Mental Health

Until the early 19th century, psychiatry and religion were closely connected. Religious institutions were responsible for the care of the mentally ill. A major change occurred when Charcot1 and his pupil Freud2 associated religion with hysteria and neurosis. This created a divide between religion and mental health care, which has continued until recently. Psychiatry has a long tradition of dism...

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 se...

Religion and Mental Health: Theory and Research

This article provides an overview of psychiatric and mental health research on religion. First, conceptual models of religion and of mental health used throughout this literature are described. Second, published empirical research in this fi eld is summarized, including fi ndings from epidemiologic, clinical, and social and behavioral investigations. Third, promising theoretical perspectives fo...