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There is increasing interest among the general public and the medical community in the role of religion in medicine. Polls indicate that the US population is highly religious; most people believe in heaven and hell, 1 the healing power of prayer, 2 and the capacity of faith to aid in the recovery from disease. 3 The popular press has published many articles in which religious faith and practice have been said to promote comfort, healing, or both. A report that 77 percent of hospitalized patients wanted physicians to consider their spiritual needs is consistent with this trend. 4

Interest in the connection between religion and health has also emerged in the medical community. 5, 6 The National Institute for Healthcare Research, a privately funded, nonprofit advocacy organization, has published extensive literature reviews suggesting that religious faith and practice are positively associated with health status. The organization's World Wide Web site encourages physicians to pay more attention to religious matters and recommends that they take a spiritual history at the time of each complete physical examination, with any concerns raised by patients addressed during follow-up visits. In addition, the National Institute on Aging and Harvard Medical School sponsor meetings on the integration of spirituality and medical practice. 7 A survey of family physicians found that they strongly support the notion that religious beliefs can promote healing. 8 Some physicians believe that going to church promotes health, 9 argue for spiritual and religious interventions in medical practice, hope that the wall between medicine and religion will be torn down, 10 and assert that" …