Note to Psychiatrists: Religion can be good for mental health

Highly religious persons more likely to be satisfied with their lives

Contrary to what many psychiatrists think, strong religious beliefs are not the antithesis of good mental health. Instead, according to a recent study summarized by the National Institute for Healthcare Research (NIHR), an important factor for coping with feelings of anxiety and depression is--religion.

Psychiatrist Dr. David Larson, epidemiologist and president of the NIHR is not surprised by these findings. He has made a career out of investigating the influence of religion on peopleÌs mental health. His conclusion? "In my extensive review of the mental health literature, religion had a beneficial effect upon mental health 80 percent of the time. For too many years, those of us in the psychiatric community have considered religious expression to be pathological. However, when one looks into the research, this is simply not the case."

In the study mentioned above, researchers from a psychiatric clinic in Switzerland concluded that persons "derive comfort, meaning and hope from religion, helping them cope with their limitations." Their study examined 44 psychiatric patients suffering from depression, anxiety disorders, and personality disorders to see if religious involvement was linked with neurotic behavior. Forty-five psychologically healthy subjects served as a comparison group.

The researchers found no significant link between religious commitment and neuroticism--patients who had little or no religious commitment were just as likely to have depression, anxiety or other personality disorders as patients with higher levels of religious commitment. Being highly religious was not a risk factor for neuroticism, as has been often taught in psychiatric training programs.

Furthermore, highly religious patients were significantly more likely to be "generally satisfied" than persons who were non-religious or slightly religious.

"The notion that religion exerts a negative influence on mental health in patients was not generally supported by our findings," the researchers stated. "The primary factor in patients who display religious conflicts and anxieties seems not to be the degree of religious commitment itself, but rather their underlying psychological disease."

Reference: Pfeiefer, S., and Waelty, U. (1995). "Psychopathology and Religious Commitment: A Controlled Study." Psychopathology 28(2):70-77.