Medicine, Religion, and Health: Where Science and Spirituality Meet

by Harold G. Koenig

Medicine, Religion, and Where Science and Spirituality Meet will be the first title published in the new Templeton Science and Religion Series, in which scientists from a wide range of fields distill their experience and knowledge into brief tours of their respective specialties. In this, the series' maiden volume, Dr. Harold G. Koenig, provides an overview of the relationship between health care and religion that manages to be comprehensive yet concise, factual yet inspirational, and technical yet easily accessible to nonspecialists and general readers.
Focusing on the scientific basis for integrating spirituality into medicine, Koenig carefully summarizes major trends, controversies, and the latest research from various disciplines and provides plausible and compelling theoretical explanations for what has thus far emerged in this relatively young field of study. Medicine, Religion, and Health begins by defining the principal terms and then moves on to a brief history of religion's role in medicine before delving into the current state of research. Koenig devotes several chapters to exploring the outcomes of specific studies in fields such as mental health, cardiovascular disease, and mortality. The book concludes with a review of the clinical applications derived from the research. Koenig also supplies several detailed appendices to aid readers of all levels looking for further information.

 

Medicine, Religion, and Health will shed new light on critical contemporary issues. They will whet readers' appetites for more information on this fascinating, complex, and controversial area of research, clinical activity, and widespread discussion. It will find a welcome home on the bookshelves of students, researchers, clinicians, and other health professionals in a variety of disciplines.

Genres: Religion, Health

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Harold George Koenig

Reviews

[Mitsuru · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book shows huge field works. I admire the author for great endeavors that describe statistically by exchanging the qualitative things for the quantative ones. However, I think that the relation between religion and healing of illness is smaller effects than this book shows, because we have healing power in ourselves.

[Sue Caulfield · Rating 3 out of 5]

I appreciate what Koenig attempts to do with this text; however, I found it a somewhat tedious read. It is an academic book, so I understand the need for citations of research, but this is one long literature review. I had to read it for class and I appreciate the main points. I just think they could have been made with less words.