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Innovations in Global Mental Health pp 1–22Cite as

The Role of Religion and Spirituality in Mental Health

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Abstract

Although religion and medicine have historically been intertwined, this relationship with specific reference to mental health has long been neglected. Yet, for the majority of the world’s population, religion and spirituality play an important role in their lives. These populations face medical and mental health challenges that require the understanding and attention of health professionals. In this chapter, pursuant to a brief account of the history of the relationship between religion and health science, growing research is shared that demonstrates the influence of religiosity and spiritual perspectives on people’s ability to cope with mental disorders and related challenges. Given the subjects of both religion and spirituality (R/S) and mental health are vast and complex, the focus here is directed toward their relationship with respect to a few selected mental health issues: the spread of depression including rising suicide rates, anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, and a few other disorders that have been less discussed, such as normal voice hearing versus auditory hallucinations, and the rising epidemic of loneliness and social isolation. Obsessive-compulsive disorder, new perspectives on substance abuse, and the opioid crisis are also reviewed. Both positive and negative aspects attributed to spirituality and religious beliefs in relation to mental health and well-being are discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada

    Abdu’l-Missagh Ghadirian

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  1. Abdu’l-Missagh Ghadirian
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Correspondence to Abdu’l-Missagh Ghadirian .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, Center for Health, Culture and Society, George Washington University, Nashville, Washington, TN, USA

    Samuel O. Okpaku

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Ghadirian, AM. (2020). The Role of Religion and Spirituality in Mental Health. In: Okpaku, S. (eds) Innovations in Global Mental Health. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-70134-9_118-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-70134-9_118-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-70134-9

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