The Influence of Religion and Spirituality on Health

Abstract

Introduction. Throughout history, religion and spirituality have played an extremely important role in lifestyle and health practices. In contemporary times, where values ​​have changed, and modern man tends to move more and more away from the spiritual area and bring the materialism to the fore, it remains to be seen whether or not the state of health is influenced by personal beliefs, where they exist. Material and methods. A search for English language articles from the last 5 years in the PubMed database was performed, using keywords such as "health", "wellbeing", "religion", "spirituality". Results. Ten articles were included in the final analysis, addressing topics such as implications of religion and spirituality in precision medicine, management of psychiatric, oncological and COVID-19 pathologies through religion and spirituality, and how medical staff might consider patients' spiritual needs. Conclusions. Religion and spirituality are an important component of physical and mental health for many people, with multiple social and biological connections. Healthcare providers should consider the religious/spiritual beliefs and practices of their patients in order to provide them holistic care.