The role of religion and spirituality in mental health

“…It was surprising that there were no significant correlations between any of the self-reported outcomes and the PHMS key factor of spiritual growth and development (hypothesis 3). Despite this result, the Western literature has shown that spirituality and religious participation do provide health benefits (Powell et al, 2003;Koenig, 2012;Weber & Pargament, 2014). A possible explanation for this result is that, when engaging in a spiritual path, one can trigger a cycle that purifies the body and mind (Purna, 2012).…”

“…Research suggests that engagement in spiritual and religious practices support both mental and physical health (Powell, Shahabi, & Thoresen, 2003;Weber & Pargament, 2014). For instance, meditation has been found to have myriad health benefits (Epel et al, 2009;Lavretsky et al, 2013), including changing the neurology of the brain in positive health-supporting ways (Newberg & Waldman, 2009).…”