The relationships between religion/spirituality and Mental and Physical Health: A review

Religion and spirituality are usually considered as protective factors against a host of negative health outcomes. Recent surveys have documented several associations between religion/spirituality and physical and mental health outcomes. Most of the evidences on the effects of religion on general health suggest that religion commonly plays a positive role. On the other side, religion and spirituality can also be pathological with harmful effects such as superficially literal, authoritarian or blindly obedient, etc. Various factors with different mechanisms influence this relationship and identification of these moderating and mediating variables is important for further decisions. Therefore, in this review, the relationships between religion/spirituality and mental and physical health are represented.