We describe three patients from different religious backgrounds in Sri Lanka whose possession states were strongly influenced by their religious beliefs. Patient A was a Buddhist who claimed to have special powers given by a local deity named Paththini. Patient B was a Catholic who experienced spirits around her whom she believed were sent by Satan. Patient C was a Muslim and believed she was p...

METHOD We describe the cases of four patients with eating disorders in whom complex interactions occurred among religious faith, pathogenesis of the eating disorder, and clinical management. RESULTS In some of the cases, religious beliefs seemed to provide a containment of maladaptive behaviors, partly through prayer and through a sense of belonging to the religious community. In other cases,...

Background & aim: Considering the lack of information regarding the effects of religion on young couples’ fertility preferences, this study aimed to evaluate the relationship between religious beliefs and fertility preferences among engaged couples in Mashhad, Iran, in 2013. Methods:This cross-sectional study was conducted on 450 engaged couples, referring to premarital counseling clinics at h...

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY To evaluate the extent to which religious affiliation and self-identified religious importance affect advance care planning (ACP) via beliefs about control over life length and end-of-life values. DESIGN AND METHODS Three hundred and five adults aged 55 and older from diverse racial and socioeconomic groups seeking outpatient care in New Jersey were surveyed. Measures inc...

There abound antagonisms in the health care practice and the religious beliefs of people from different societies. When health care practices cross the line of their beliefs, the people will rise to the occasion and oppose the practices. Religion and science are two opposing doctrines. What scientists believe sometimes collide with what different religious contexts uphold. An example where ther...

Recent findings Studies indicate that religion and spirituality can promote mental health through positive religious coping, community and support, and positive beliefs. Research also shows that religion and spirituality can be damaging to mental health by means of negative religious coping, misunderstanding and miscommunication, and negative beliefs. Tools for the assessment of patients’ spiri...

Like David Silver before them, Erik Baldwin and Michael Thune argue that the facts of religious pluralism present an insurmountable challenge to the rationality of basic exclusive religious belief as construed by Reformed Epistemology. I will show that their argument is unsuccessful. First, their claim that the facts of religious pluralism make it necessary for the religious exclusivist to supp...

D. D. Palmer's concept of innate intelligence was introduced to the fledgling chiropractic profession in 1904. 'It has been a source of division and derision to the profession since that time because of its religious content. Innate philosophy, although unique to chiropractic, was largely a refabrication of common turn-of-the century religious and philosophical beliefs. The origin and developme...

The aim of this paper is to expand upon the conclusions reached by Orr and Genesen in their 1997 article (published in this journal), Requests for 'inappropriate' treatment based on religious beliefs. Assuming, with Orr and Genesen, that claims made in the name of religion are not absolute, I will propose some principles for determining when claims based on religious beliefs or cultural sensibi...