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Cited by 151Religion, Spirituality, and PsychologyWorkplace Spirituality and LeadershipHealth, psychology, and well-being

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 129 of the 129 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

‘Does Religion Cause Health?’: Differing Interpretations and Diverse Meanings

Oman, Doug, Thoresen, Carl E.·2002·Journal of Health Psychology
DOI 10.1177/1359105302007004326
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Abstract

The question, ‘Does religion (or spirituality) cause physical health benefits?’ may be given at least four diverging interpretations in terms of causal path diagrams. In common usage, the question may be interpreted to indicate that religion causally influences health by: (1) any mechanism, including well-established factors such as social support and improved health behaviors; (2) additional mechanisms, such as enhanced positive psychological states (e.g. faith, hope, inner peace) acting through psychoneuroimmunologic or psychoneuroendocrinologic pathways; (3) offering psychological strength for acquiring or maintaining positive health behaviors; or (4) causally influencing health by distant healing or intercessory prayer. We review historical confusion between these interpretations, arguing that disentangling them is important for collaborative health care, promotion and research.

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Research works printed but not linked: 16

  1. Barnard, D., 1995, Academic Medicine, 70, 806
  2. 10.1375/twin.2.2.115 · DOI
  3. Fetzer Institute/National Institute on Aging Working Group, 1999, Multidimensional measurement of religiousness/spirituality for use in health research
  4. Flinders, T., 1994, The RISE response: Illness, wellness, and spirituality
  5. Frank, J., 1975, Johns Hopkins Medical Journal, 137, 127
  6. Galton, F., 1872, Fortnightly Review, 18, 125
  7. Gould, S. J., 1999, Skeptical Inquirer, 23, 55
  8. Kurtz, P., 1999, Skeptical Inquirer, 23, 24
  9. Melnechuk, T., 1985, Advances in Mind-Body Medicine, 2, 22
  10. Oman, D., Complementary Health Practice Review
  11. Poloma, M. M., 1991, Varieties of prayer, 85
  12. Powell, L. H., American Psychologist
  13. Sicher, F., 1998, Western Journal of Medicine, 169, 356
  14. Targ, E., 1997, Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, 3, 74
  15. Thomson, K. S., 1996, American Scientist, 84, 532
  16. Tuggle, M. B., 2000, It is well with my soul: Churches and institutions collaborating for public health

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Metadata

Authors
Oman, D., & Thoresen, C. E.
Affiliations
  • University of California, Berkeley (US)
  • Stanford University (US)
Corresponding author
Oman, Doug
ORCID
Oman, Doug
Venue
Journal of Health Psychology
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Published
2002-07
Volume
7
Issue
4
Pages
365-380
ISSN
  • 1359-1053 (ISSN-L)
  • 1461-7277
DOI
10.1177/1359105302007004326
OpenAlex
W2059500951
Cited by
151
References
128
Citations by year
2026: 2 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 8 · 2017: 8 · 2016: 14 · 2015: 2 · 2014: 11 · 2013: 8 · 2012: 8
FWCI
4.26
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license (tdm)
Locations
  • Journal of Health Psychology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Health › Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management › Workplace Spirituality and Leadership
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Health, psychology, and well-being
Keywords
religion and health, spirituality, causal pathways, social support, health behavior, positive psychological states, psychoneuroimmunology, psychoneuroendocrinology, intercessory prayer, distant healing, faith and hope, collaborative care

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