Your God… and Your Health

Posted by Committee for Florida as Your God... and Your Health, on October 7, 2011 by Robert B. Clark|

The overwhelming majority of Americans believe in God. A 143 page report,“U.S. Religious Landscape Survey” published by The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life in 2008 reported the actual number as 92%. That makes God, whether you’re a believer or not, a powerful force in American life.

And research is beginning to confirm that your concept of God makes a huge difference to your health. Is your God, like Michaelangelo’s, a scowling, angry presence? Or is your God more of a loving, healing presence? What difference does it make?

A recent Baylor University Study titled, “The Values and Beliefs of The American Public” tells us that…“One’s relationship with God is not one-dimensional …those who strongly believe that God is impersonal, inconsistent, and at times unresponsive, report more mental health issues. Those respondents who believe that they have a strong, loving relationship with God report fewer mental health issues, while those respondents who report more ambiguity in their relationship with God report more mental health issues.”

In addition, Dr. Gail Ironson at the University of Miami here in Florida has been publishing convincing scientific evidence, most recently in the upcoming December issue of The Journal of Behavioral Medicine that HIV patients experience significantly slower disease progression rates when the God they believe in is “benevolent/forgiving” rather than “harsh/judgmental/punishing”.

The abstract for the article concludes by saying, “These results provide good initial evidence that religious beliefs may predict health outcomes.”

Research into how our views of God affect health will no doubt continue, thanks to Dr. Ironson and other researchers pursuing this fundamental cause/effect relationship. The implications for personal and national health are huge. Stay tuned!