COPD is a chronic and progressive disease associated with poor quality of life and an increased risk of psychological distress.1 While the physical and psychosocial impact of end-stage lung disease has been evaluated, few studies have explored the influence of religious and spiritual coping on these domains, or how they affect outcomes. Most of the research on end-stage lung disease and religio...

This article explores how the internet is being studied and conceived of as a sacramental space. The internet as sacramental space demonstrates how religious users see the internet as a viable place for presenting their beliefs and practices. In order to understand this model, several other dominant conceptions of the internet are offered: information space, a common mental geography, an identi...

Ask a group of practical theologians to define ‘spiritual formation’ and you are likely to receive as many varied answers had you asked them to define ‘religious education’! Perspectives vary widely according to religious tradition, and even among those adherents to the same religious system, according to doctrinal emphases, orientation to the culture, and differing perspectives on the role of ...

objective: the aim of this study was to investigate the possibility of predicting psychological well-being based on spirituality and religiousness. methods: a sample of 300 participants was selected from the whole entrants to shiraz university of medical sciences and shiraz university using a random cluster sampling. the tools of this study were the spiritual scale of ironson, the internal and ...

Objective: This study evaluated the efficacy of a spiritually integrated treatment (SIT) for subclinical anxiety in the Jewish community. Method: One hundred and twenty-five self-reported religious Jewish individuals with elevated levels of stress and worry received SIT (n=36), progressive muscle relaxation (PMR, n=42), or a waitlist control condition (WLC, n=47). SIT and PMR participants acces...

Spirituality/religion serves important roles in coping, survival and maintaining overall wellbeing within African cultures and communities, especially when diagnosed with a chronic disease like HIV/AIDS that can have a profound effect on physical and mental health. However, spirituality/religion can be problematic to some patients and cause caregiving difficulties. The objective of this paper w...

The paper analyzes the relation between religious beliefs, religious participation and social cooperation. In particular, we focus on religions that instill beliefs about the connection between rewards and punishments and social behaviour. We show how religious organizations arise endogenously, analyze their e¤ect on social interactions in society and identify a "spiritual" as well as a "materi...

Integrating spirituality into mental health care, psychiatry and psychotherapy is still controversial, albeit a growing body of evidence is showing beneficial effects and a real need for such integration. In this review, past and recent research as well as evidence from the integrative concept of a Swiss clinic is summarized. Religious coping is highly prevalent among patients with psychiatric ...

Participation in religious services is associated with numerous aspects of human flourishing, including happiness and life satisfaction, mental and physical health, meaning and purpose, character and virtue, and close social relationships. Evidence for the effects of religious communities on these flourishing outcomes now comes from rigorous longitudinal study designs with extensive confounding...

Surveys suggest that most patients have a spiritual life and regard their spiritual health and physical health as equally important. Furthermore, people may have greater spiritual needs during illness. We reviewed published studies, meta-analyses, systematic reviews, and subject reviews that examined the association between religious involvement and spirituality and physical health, mental heal...