In response to Dennis Raphael's comment:
1. faith, religion and belief in God are not defined by what happened (or maybe did
not happen) in the Middle Ages
2. faith groups (and I can only speak for the Jewish and Christian traditions) have
always included a very strong anti-status quo thrust, with very strong messages
directed at those who abuse the marginalized--check your Hebrew and/or Christian
bibles again
3. read recent statements regarding social justice; there are volumes on this
coming from many religious sources. By way of example, read: (1) the Canadian
Conference of Catholic Bishops statement on poverty, which is a wonderfully direct
attack on social injustice that employs the very best of health promotion
perspectives and principles, with a good dose of Paul Freire
(<http://www.cccb.ca/english/fullpublice.asp?ID=12>); (2) a Christian ecumenical
statement on social justice (<http://www.cccb.ca/english/fullpublice.asp?ID=15>);
(3) any of a large number of "social gospel" initiatives spearheaded by the United
Church of Canada (e.g., <http://www.uccan.org/jpc/housing/resolution37gc.asp>)
3. if you want to remain in the academic realm, read: Chatters, L. M. (2000).
Religion and health: Public health research and practice. Annual Review of Public
Health, 21, 335-367
4. how much do we actually know about that dimension of health that we refer to as
"spiritual" (and I am not naive enough to equate "spiritual" with "religion") ? Not
much, I would guess.

Shalom. Peace.

Michael Goodstadt

Dennis Raphael wrote:

> great!  I saw that story too.  Just like in the middle ages, deal with the
> difficulties in your present life by looking to the new one coming!
>
> God is obviously  a supporter of the status quo.
>
> Susan Himel <[log in to unmask]>@YorkU.CA> on 04/05/2002 11:17:29 AM
>
> Please respond to Health Promotion on the Internet <[log in to unmask]>
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>   cc:          (bcc: Dennis Raphael/Atkinson)
>
>   Subject      God is good medicine
>   :
>
> another interesting twist on the social determinants/lifestyle debate ... the
> article is too long for click4hp, so if you want to read it in it's entirety,
> goto www.globeandmail.com and search for the article.
>
> God is good medicine
> Want to live a longer, healthier life? The answer may be in your place of
> worship, researchers are finding
> RON CSILLAG, Special to The Globe and Mail, Tuesday, April  2, 2002
>
> TORONTO --  Health-club membership: check. Ginkgo-and-kelp caplets: check.
> Cigarettes, down; veggies, up: check. Religion: che. . . what?
>
> Yes, health nuts and slugabeds alike, it's time to acknowledge something you
> may have heard in Sunday school or while perched on Grandma's knee: Like
> spinach, God is good for you.
>
> Medical science, especially in the West, may still turn up its nose at the mix
> of health and spirituality, but it's slowing coming around. At least 80 of 125
> medical schools in the United States offer courses in religion and medicine. In
> Canada, the Ontario Multifaith Council on Spiritual and Religious Care is
> calling for papers for a big conference in October at the University of Toronto
> on Spirituality and Health Care.
>
> The research -- scads of it -- continues to confirm more or less the same
> thing: People who follow a religious/spiritual path are more likely to enjoy
> greater longevity and superior overall health than those who do not. And
> prayer, meditation and other mind-body approaches, whether from the Eastern or
> Western religious models, appear to be beneficial to the healing process.
>
> That's not to suggest that atheists, agnostics and secular humanists will keel
> over tomorrow from heart attacks, or that the faithful are immune from
> alcoholism or obesity. While not all of us do such a great job of following the
> dictates of our religions and may enjoy good health anyway, the link between
> spiritual engagement and healthy behaviour is, finally, as close to undeniable
> as it has ever been.
>
> ___
>
> At last count, more than 1,200 studies and 400 reviews, from Canada, Europe and
> the United States, show that:
>  Those who regularly attend a house of worship have demonstrably lower rates of
> illness and death than do infrequent or non-attenders.
>  For each of the three leading causes of death in North America -- heart
> disease, cancer and hypertension -- people who report a religious affiliation
> have lower rates of illness and higher rates of recovery.
>  Older adults who participate in private and congregational worship exhibit
> fewer symptoms, less disability and lower rates of depression, chronic anxiety,
> and dementia than those who do not.
>  Actively religious people live longer, on average, than the non-religious (up
> to seven years longer, say some studies). This holds true even when controlling
> for the fact that religious people tend to avoid health risks such as smoking,
> drinking and promiscuity.
>  Among African-Americans, religious participation has been found to be the
> single strongest determinant of psychological well-being -- more so than
> physical health or financial status.
>  Meditation and prayer have been found to improve patients' overall well-being.
> As your doctor might say, they can't hurt.
>
> The newest study, in this week's International Journal of Psychiatry in
> Medicine, found that that people who didn't attend services regularly were
> twice as likely to die of noncancerous digestive diseases, 21 per cent more
> likely to die of cardiovascular disease, including heart and stroke, and 66 oer
> cent more likely to die to respiratory diseases, other than cancer.
>
> In all, the research points in one direction, at least as far as the
> psychological benefits of religion go: High, even moderate, levels of religious
> faith and/or spiritual awareness are associated with greater resilience to
> stress, lower levels of anxiety, better coping skills, a greater sense of
> belonging, and generally, a sunnier, more serene, take on life.
> ____
>
> There are two groundbreaking books on the subject: The Handbook of Religion and
> Health, a 712-page bruiser that sifts through the studies linking religious
> practice with health, and the far more accessible God, Faith and Health by Dr.
> Jeff Levin, North America's premier chronicler of the new field and among those
> experts to note that followers of certain faith groups do better than others
> when it comes to disease and death.
> ______
>
> Copyright 2002 | Bell Globemedia Interactive Inc.
>
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