Abstract
This chapter describes a compact (9 week, 18 hour) evidence-based course on religious/spiritual (R/S) factors and public health that has been offered with success for nearly a decade at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Public Health. We describe a logical sequence of topics and readings that convey the public health importance and key ideas of the R/S-health field, while maintaining respectful stance toward diverse student beliefs. Weekly readings initially focus on (1) conceptual introductions; (2) examples of empirical health research on religious involvement; and (3) examples of empirical health research on spiritual practices. Attention then turns to (4) mechanisms underlying R/S-health effects, (5) weighing the evidence through meta-analyses, systematic reviews, and in other ways, (6) clinical applications, (7) public health applications, and finally (8) worldviews and science/religion dialogue. Pedagogy, assignments, grading, and student reactions are discussed, along with the role that similar courses might play in school-level strategies for teaching about religious/spiritual factors and public health.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
Spirituality was not included as a separate weekly topic in the very earliest offering of the course, because much of the strongest evidence pertains to religion rather than spirituality. It was later included following student feedback.
- 2.
The total grade breakdown is approximately 60% reaction papers, 20% class participation (including attendance), 15% final project, and 5% other (e.g., statement of goals).
References
Barbour, I. G. (2000). When science meets religion. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco.
Benson, H., Dusek, J. A., Sherwood, J. B., Lam, P., Bethea, C. F., Carpenter, W., et al. (2006). Study of the Therapeutic Effects of Intercessory Prayer (STEP) in cardiac bypass patients: A multicenter randomized trial of uncertainty and certainty of receiving intercessory prayer. American Heart Journal, 151(4), 934–942. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ahj.2005.05.028.
Bormann, J. E., & Oman, D. (2007). Mantram or holy name repetition: Health benefits from a portable spiritual practice. In T. G. Plante & C. E. Thoresen (Eds.), Spirit, science and health: How the spiritual mind fuels physical wellness (pp. 94–112). Westport: Praeger.
Campbell, M. K., Hudson, M. A., Resnicow, K., Blakeney, N., Paxton, A., & Baskin, M. (2007). Church-based health promotion interventions: Evidence and lessons learned. Annual Review of Public Health, 28, 213–234. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.publhealth.28.021406.144016.
Hummer, R. A., Rogers, R. G., Nam, C. B., & Ellison, C. G. (1999). Religious involvement and U.S. adult mortality. Demography, 36(2), 273–285. https://doi.org/10.2307/2648114.
Koenig, H. G. (2000). Religion, spirituality, and medicine: Application to clinical practice. Journal of the American Medical Association, 284(13), 1708. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.284.13.1708-JMS1004-5-1.
Koenig, H. G., King, D. E., & Carson, V. B. (2012). Handbook of religion and health (2nd ed.). Oxford/New York: Oxford University Press.
Kristeller, J. L., Rhodes, M., Cripe, L. D., & Sheets, V. (2005). Oncologist Assisted Spiritual Intervention Study (OASIS): Patient acceptability and initial evidence of effects. International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine, 35(4), 329–347. https://doi.org/10.2190/8AE4-F01C-60M0-85C8.
Levin, J. S. (1994). Religion and health: Is there an association, is it valid, and is it causal? Social Science and Medicine, 38(11), 1475–1482. https://doi.org/10.1016/0277-9536(94)90109-0.
Link, B. G., & Phelan, J. (1995). Social conditions as fundamental causes of disease. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 35(Supp.), Supp. 80–94. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022146510383498
Media Matters for America. (2007). Left behind: The skewed representation of religion in major news media. http://mediamatters.org/reports/leftbehind/. Accessed 10 Jan 2011.
Miller, W. R., & Thoresen, C. E. (2003). Spirituality, religion, and health: An emerging research field. American Psychologist, 58(1), 24–35. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.58.1.24.
Myers, D. G. (1997). Why people of faith can predict null effects in the Harvard prayer experiment [notarized and signed letter]. http://www.davidmyers.org/davidmyers/assets/prayer-letter.pdf. Accessed 3 Mar 2014.
Oman, D. (2010). Similarity in diversity? Four shared functions of integrative contemplative practice systems. In T. G. Plante (Ed.), Contemplative practices in action: Spirituality, meditation, and health (pp. 7–16). Santa Barbara: Praeger.
Oman, D., & Driskill, J. D. (2003). Holy name repetition as a spiritual exercise and therapeutic technique. Journal of Psychology and Christianity, 22(1), 5–19.
Oman, D., & Reed, D. (1998). Religion and mortality among the community-dwelling elderly. American Journal of Public Health, 88(10), 1469–1475. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.88.10.1469.
Oman, D., & Thoresen, C. E. (2007). Does religion cause health? In A. Eisen & G. Laderman (Eds.), Science, religion, and society: An encyclopedia of history, culture, and controversy (Vol. 2, pp. 685–695). Armonk: ME Sharpe.
Oman, D., Shapiro, S. L., Thoresen, C. E., Plante, T. G., & Flinders, T. (2008). Meditation lowers stress and supports forgiveness among college students: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of American College Health, 56(5), 569–578. https://doi.org/10.3200/JACH.56.5.569-578.
Pargament, K. I., Poloma, M. M., & Tarakeshwar, N. (2001). Methods of coping from the religions of the world: The bar mitzvah, karma, and spiritual healing. In C. R. Snyder (Ed.), Coping with stress: Effective people and processes (pp. 259–284). New York: Oxford University Press.
Post, S. G., Puchalski, C. M., & Larson, D. B. (2000). Physicians and patient spirituality: Professional boundaries, competency, and ethics. Annals of Internal Medicine, 132(7), 578–583. https://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-132-7-200,004,040-00010.
Puchala, C., Paul, S., Kennedy, C., & Mehl-Madrona, L. (2010). Using traditional spirituality to reduce domestic violence within aboriginal communities. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 16(1), 89–96. https://doi.org/10.1089/acm.2009.0213.
Shapiro, D. H. (1994). Examining the content and context of meditation; a challenge for psychology in the areas of stress management, psychotherapy, and religion/values. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 34(4), 101–135. https://doi.org/10.1177/00221678940344008.
Smith, H. (1991). The world’s religions: Our great wisdom traditions. San Francisco: Harper San Francisco.
Strawbridge, W. J., Shema, S. J., Cohen, R. D., & Kaplan, G. A. (2001). Religious attendance increases survival by improving and maintaining good health practices, mental health, and stable marriages. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 23(1), 68–74. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15324796ABM2301_10.
Syme, S. L. (1959). Religion, emotional stress, and serum cholesterol concentration: A statement in support of one aspect of the Washington Sanitarium Research Proposal. (unpublished).
Thoresen, C. E., Oman, D., & Harris, A. H. S. (2005). The effects of religious practices: A focus on health. In W. R. Miller & H. D. Delaney (Eds.), Judeo-Christian perspectives on psychology: Human nature, motivation, and change (pp. 205–226). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/10859-011.
Townes, C. H. (1966). The convergence of science and religion. Think, 32(2), 2–7.
Trinitapoli, J. A., & Weinreb, A. (2012). Religion and AIDS in Africa. Oxford/New York: Oxford University Press.
Tuggle, M. B. (2000). It is well with my soul: Churches and institutions collaborating for public health. Washington, DC: American Public Health Association.
Vieten, C., Scammell, S., Pilato, R., Ammondson, I., Pargament, K. I., & Lukoff, D. (2013). Spiritual and religious competencies for psychologists. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, 5(3), 129–144. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0032699.
Wachholtz, A. B., & Pargament, K. I. (2008). Migraines and meditation: Does spirituality matter? Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 31(4), 351–366. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10865-008-9159-2.
Watts, F. N., & Dutton, K. (2006). Why the science and religion dialogue matters: Voices from the International Society for Science and Religion. Philadelphia: Templeton Foundation Press.
Wilber, K. (2006). Foreword. In J. Shear (Ed.), The experience of meditation: Experts introduce the major traditions (pp. ix–xii). St. Paul: Paragon House.
Wood, R. L. (1994). Faith in action: Religious resources for political success in three congregations. Sociology of Religion, 55(4), 397–417. https://doi.org/10.2307/3711979.
Zinnbauer, B. J., & Pargament, K. I. (2000). Working with the sacred: Four approaches to religious and spiritual issues in counseling. Journal of Counseling & Development, 78(2), 162–171. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1556-6676.2000.tb02574.x.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Oman, D. (2018). An Evidence-Based Course at U.C. Berkeley on Religious and Spiritual Factors in Public Health. In: Oman, D. (eds) Why Religion and Spirituality Matter for Public Health. Religion, Spirituality and Health: A Social Scientific Approach, vol 2. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-73966-3_22
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-73966-3_22
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-73965-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-73966-3
eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)