a possible mechanism:
I feel that science is good for some of the more usual cases and things we feel we can help with its information, and I also feel that we can use religion to help a patient with their mental aspects of healing. We can quantify an improvement in a patient through lab levels and such, but it’s hard to do the same with religion and how a patient uses that tool as comfort or however they use it in their lives. “Some observational studies suggest that people who have regular spiritual practices tend to live longer. Another study points to a possible mechanism: interleukin (IL)-6. Increased levels of IL-6 are associated with an increased incidence of disease. A research study involving 1700 older adults showed that those who attended church were half as likely to have elevated levels of IL-6. The authors hypothesized that religious commitment may improve stress control by offering better coping mechanisms, richer social support, and the strength of personal values and worldview” (NCBI, 2001). In this example we see the benefits were surveyed to be founded, but the exact workings aren’t exactly known. The great thing about science is that usually we have some tangible results that are repeatable and there’s safety to be found in that. The great thing about religion is that we can have faith in whatever we believe in and that’s all that’s needed. It’s our faith and belief that drives the comfort in religion.
I understand how people will want one to win over the other and I feel that it depends on the person and how they view it. I feel that there doesn’t need to be this tension because they both can serve separately but benefit the patient when both are utilized. If you have multiple tools in the box, why not use a variety of them and pick whichever is most appropriate for the task at hand? Each tool has their own specialty and doesn’t mean one has to be better than the other or tension between the two, they just need to work for the purpose they’re intended.
Reference
Puchalski, C. 2001. The role of spirituality in health care. R
