Investigating Prayer Impact on Health and Quality of Life /

• Main Author: Olver, Ian N. (Author)
• Corporate Author: SpringerLink (Online service)
• Format: Electronic
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY : Springer New York : Imprint: Springer, 2013.
• Subjects: Social sciences.; Philosophy.; Alternative medicine.; Quality of Life.; Quality of Life > Research.; Applied psychology.; Psychology, clinical.; Social Sciences.; Quality of Life Research.; Health Psychology.; Complementary & Alternative Medicine.; Psychotherapy and Counseling.; Philosophy of Religion.
• Online Access: https://ezaccess.library.uitm.edu.my/login?url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-4571-5

 From the ancients to the Renaissance, religion and medicine worked hand in hand to heal the people, until the scientific minds of the Enlightenment created a physical model of illness without a spiritual component. In this century, spirituality is gaining recognition as part of individuals<U+0019> psychological makeup and capacity for meaning-making, and gaining currency as part of holistic concepts of wellness despite resistance from many in the scientific community. Prayer: Investigating Its Impact on Quality of Life brings science and spirituality together, pointing out thought-provoking parallels and asserting that each can enrich the other. At the book<U+0019>s center is a detailed study of a randomized double-blinded trial that added intercessory prayer (i.e., prayer for others) to conventional cancer treatment, with findings relevant to conceptions of prayer as intervention. In addition, a review of salient medical literature (including complementary and alternative medical journals) contains both positive and negative studies, encouraging a vigorous dialogue about methodology, endpoints, and whether metaphysical phenomena can<U+0014>or should<U+0014>be studied using scientific methods. Among the topics covered: ʺ The role of spirituality in illness. ʺ Prayer as complementary or alternative therapy. ʺ The relationship between spiritual wellbeing and quality of life. ʺ Instruments for assessing religious and spiritual belief. ʺ A randomized blinded study of intercessory prayer in patients with cancer. ʺ Possible directions for further research. Prayer: Investigating Its Impact on Quality of Life should interest readers on all sides of the debate, including doctors, practitioners, psychologists, psychiatrists, and others involved in holistic treatment of patients.