Age-old practices of prayer, reading the Bible and being an active member of a faith community help maintain good health and speed recovery from illness. As such studies are publicized, some physicians are discovering that patients are eager to explore the link between their faith and health. Doctors, in turn, are encouraging patients to pray and go to church.
Some congregations offer programs to nourish awareness of the faith-health connection.
Medical training is also changing. Half of the nation's 126 medical schools now offer curriculum exploring the relationship between health and spirituality, up from five in 1991. Such efforts are applauded by Dale Matthews, a doctor who compiled a four-volume bibliography of clinical research on spiritual subjects, then wrote a popular book on the topic. The remedies range from the healing power of beauty experienced through music and sacred surroundings to the strength gained from the unity of shared beliefs. It's hard to say that one is more important because they all work together.