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Culture, spirituality, religion and health: looking at the big picture
Author(s) -
Eckersley Richard M
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
medical journal of australia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.904
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1326-5377
pISSN - 0025-729X
DOI - 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2007.tb01042.x
Subject(s) - panacea (medicine) , spirituality , meaning (existential) , existentialism , context (archaeology) , sociology , social environment , social psychology , sociology of religion , epistemology , environmental ethics , psychology , social science , philosophy , medicine , history , alternative medicine , pathology , archaeology
Religion provides things that are good for health and wellbeing, including social support, existential meaning, a sense of purpose, a coherent belief system and a clear moral code. But these benefits can also come from other sources. Conversely, religion is shaped by its social context in ways that affect its social role. Religion is no panacea when it comes to improving health. Religion's role in health needs to be examined in a broad context, especially the ways in which culture influences religion's expression of the spiritual.