Pastoral Views on Faith and Medicine: A Comparative View
Dan Bolger, MA, Post-Baccalaureate Fellow,Rice University
Cleve V. Tinsley IV, Rice University
More medical practitioners are now exploring how faith communities can serve as partners in facilitating better health care to underserved communities. This exploration has led to more purposeful connections between religious and medical communities, as many medical clinics are collaborating with religious organizations to emphasize the relationship between spirituality and physical health.
Despite a growing body of literature exploring how health care professionals can partner with faith communities, however, relatively little attention has been given to the role of the religious leader in this exchange. Religious leaders have the potential to play a significant part in this discussion because of their roles as spiritual and moral authority figures to their parishioners. Therefore, how leaders view the potential connections between congregational life and the physical health of their congregants factors heavily in their congregational and community culture as it relates to these important issues.
This paper will expand the current literature on the religion and medicine interface by specifically examining the role of the pastor in this emerging dialogue. Specifically, we explore how pastors of conservative Protestant churches from different ethnic groups understand the connections between religious belief and physical health. Given the high percentage of Americans who identify as religious and that the racio-ethnic communities we examine here are especially likely to be Christians, it is essential to understand how pastors shape views of health care, especially in traditionally underserved communities. Particular attention will be given to how the pastors’ views on issues like medical research and health care access can inform future collaborations between medical providers and religious communities.
The data presented comes from the Religion and Inequality in Science Education (RISE) study conducted by researchers at Rice University. The paper presented her will be based on a series of focus groups conducted with pastors from three racio-ethnic backgrounds—African Americans, Latinos, and Korean Americans. These three groups are relevant to the present study in that all three are highly religious and the former two have been identified as historically underserved in regards to medical care in the United States. By placing these three racial groups in dialogue, our study will provide crucial insight into how pastors from traditionally conservative denominations and traditions might differ along racial lines in regards to their perceptions of health care and the necessity of faith communities promoting physical health. The focus groups will also illuminate the unique issues facing each of these groups. Our results will conclude by providing possible future directions for research exploring the role of religious leaders in facilitating health care access and promoting physical health in Christian communities in particular.
Cleve V. Tinsley IV, Rice University
More medical practitioners are now exploring how faith communities can serve as partners in facilitating better health care to underserved communities. This exploration has led to more purposeful connections between religious and medical communities, as many medical clinics are collaborating with religious organizations to emphasize the relationship between spirituality and physical health.
Despite a growing body of literature exploring how health care professionals can partner with faith communities, however, relatively little attention has been given to the role of the religious leader in this exchange. Religious leaders have the potential to play a significant part in this discussion because of their roles as spiritual and moral authority figures to their parishioners. Therefore, how leaders view the potential connections between congregational life and the physical health of their congregants factors heavily in their congregational and community culture as it relates to these important issues.
This paper will expand the current literature on the religion and medicine interface by specifically examining the role of the pastor in this emerging dialogue. Specifically, we explore how pastors of conservative Protestant churches from different ethnic groups understand the connections between religious belief and physical health. Given the high percentage of Americans who identify as religious and that the racio-ethnic communities we examine here are especially likely to be Christians, it is essential to understand how pastors shape views of health care, especially in traditionally underserved communities. Particular attention will be given to how the pastors’ views on issues like medical research and health care access can inform future collaborations between medical providers and religious communities.
The data presented comes from the Religion and Inequality in Science Education (RISE) study conducted by researchers at Rice University. The paper presented her will be based on a series of focus groups conducted with pastors from three racio-ethnic backgrounds—African Americans, Latinos, and Korean Americans. These three groups are relevant to the present study in that all three are highly religious and the former two have been identified as historically underserved in regards to medical care in the United States. By placing these three racial groups in dialogue, our study will provide crucial insight into how pastors from traditionally conservative denominations and traditions might differ along racial lines in regards to their perceptions of health care and the necessity of faith communities promoting physical health. The focus groups will also illuminate the unique issues facing each of these groups. Our results will conclude by providing possible future directions for research exploring the role of religious leaders in facilitating health care access and promoting physical health in Christian communities in particular.