How Faith Heals: A Theoretical Model

Explore: The Journal of Science and Healing

Volumn 5, Issue 2, 2009, Pages 77-96

  Levin, Jeff ^a  

^a DUKE UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER   (United States)

Author keywords

faith; healing; health psychology; Judaism; Religion; spirituality

Indexed keywords

ARTICLE; COGNITION; CULTURAL FACTOR; DISEASE PREDISPOSITION; EMOTIONALITY; HEALTH BEHAVIOR; HOPE; HUMAN; HUMAN RELATION; ILLUSION; JEW; LONGEVITY; MENTAL HEALTH; NONHUMAN; OPTIMISM; PRIORITY JOURNAL; PROPHYLAXIS; PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECT; PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGY; PSYCHOTHERAPY; RELIGION; SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY; SPIRITUAL HEALING; THEORETICAL MODEL; WELLBEING;

ATTITUDE OF HEALTH PERSONNEL; ATTITUDE TO HEALTH; FAITH HEALING; HEALTH STATUS; HOLISTIC HEALTH; HUMANS; MODELS, THEORETICAL; PHILOSOPHY, MEDICAL; RELIGION AND MEDICINE; RELIGION AND PSYCHOLOGY; SPIRITUALITY;

EID: 61449206257     PISSN: 15508307     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.explore.2008.12.003     Document Type: Article

References (202)

1. Osler W. The faith that heals. June 18. Brit Med J (1910) 1470-1472
2. Frank J.D. The faith that heals. Johns Hopkins Med J 137 (1975) 127-131
3. Levin J.S., and Schiller P.L. Is there a religious factor in health?. J Relig Health 26 (1987) 9-36
4. In: Levin J.S., and Koenig H.G. (Eds). Faith, Medicine, and Science: A Festschrift in Honor of Dr. David B. Larson (2005), Haworth Pastoral Press, New York, NY
5. Koenig H.G., McCullough M.E., and Larson D.B. Handbook of Religion and Health (2001), Oxford University Press, New York, NY
6. Levin J. God, Faith, and Health: Exploring the Spirituality-Healing Connection (2001), John Wiley & Sons, New York, NY
7. Levin J.S., Chatters L.M., and Taylor R.J. Religious effects on health status and life satisfaction among black Americans. J Gerontol Soc Sci 50 (1995) S154-S163
8. Levin J.S., and Taylor R.J. Panel analyses of religious involvement and well-being in African Americans: contemporaneous vs. longitudinal effects. J Sci Stud Relig 37 (1998) 695-709
9. Markides K.S., Levin J.S., and Ray L.A. Religion, aging, and life satisfaction: an eight-year, three-wave longitudinal study. Gerontologist 27 (1987) 660-665
10. Levin J.S., and Markides K.S. Religion and health in Mexican Americans. J Relig Health 24 (1985) 60-69
11. Levin J.S., and Chatters L.M. Religion, health, and psychological well-being in older adults: findings from three national surveys. J Aging Health 10 (1998) 504-531
12. Kass J.D., Friedman R., Leserman J., Zuttermeister P.C., and Benson H. Health outcomes and a new index of spiritual experience. J Sci Stud Relig 30 (1991) 203-211
13. McBride J.L., Arthur G., Brooks R., and Pilkington L. The relationship between a patient's spirituality and health experiences. Fam Med 30 (1998) 122-126
14. Larson D.B., Koenig H.G., Kaplan B.H., Greenberg R.S., Logue E., and Tyroler H.A. The impact of religion on men's blood pressure. J Relig Health 28 (1989) 263-278
15. Zuckerman D.M., Kasl S.V., and Ostfeld A.M. Psychosocial predictors of mortality among the elderly poor. Am J Epidemiol 119 (1984) 410-423
16. Oxman T.E., Freeman Jr. D.H., and Mannheimer E.D. Lack of social participation or religious strength and comfort as risk factors for death after cardiac surgery in the elderly. Psychosom Med 57 (1995) 5-15
17. Idler E.L. Religious involvement and the health of the elderly: some hypotheses and an initial test. Soc Forces 66 (1987) 226-238
18. Koenig H.G. The Healing Power of Faith: Science Explores Medicine's Last Great Frontier (1999), Simon & Schuster, New York, NY
19. Chatters L.M. Religion and health: public health research and practice. Annu Rev Publ Health 21 (2000) 335-367
20. Levin J.S., and Vanderpool H.Y. Is frequent religious attendance really conducive to better health?. Toward an epidemiology of religion. Soc Sci Med 24 (1987) 589-600
21. Levin J.S. How religion influences morbidity and health: reflections on natural history, salutogenesis, and host resistance. Soc Sci Med 43 (1996) 849-864
22. Levin J.S. How prayer heals: a theoretical model. Altern Ther Health Med 2 1 (1996) 66-73
23. Dossey L. Healing Words: The Power of Prayer and the Practice of Medicine (1993), HarperSanFrancisco, New York, NY
24. McKim D.K. Westminster Dictionary of Theological Terms (1996), Westminster John Knox Press, Louisville, Ky 100
25. Ayoub M.M. Islam: Faith and History (2004), Oneworld, Oxford, England
26. Pirke Avot 1:2, 18.
27. Tillich P. Dynamics of Faith (1957), Harper & Row, New York, NY
28. Paulsen A.E. Religious healing: preliminary report. JAMA 86 (1926) 1519-1522 1617-1623, 1692-1697
29. Levin J.S., Wickramasekera I.E., and Hirshberg C. Is religiousness a correlate of absorption: implications for psychophysiology, coping, and morbidity. Altern Ther Health Med 4 6 (1998) 72-76
30. Levin J. Scientists and healers: toward collaborative research partnerships. Explore (NY) 4 (2008) 302-310
31. Levin J., and Mead L. Bioenergy healing: a theoretical model and case series. Explore (NY) 4 (2008) 201-209
32. Levin J. Integrating positive psychology into epidemiologic theory: reflections on love, salutogenesis, and determinants of population health. In: Post S.G. (Ed). Altruism and Health: Perspectives from Empirical Research (2007), Oxford University Press, New York, NY 188-218
33. Illustrated Stedman's Medical Dictionary. 24th ed. (1982), Williams & Wilkins, Baltimore, Md 622
34. Benor D.J. Spiritual Healing: Scientific Validation of a Healing Revolution (2001), Vision Publications, Southfield, Mich
35. Dawson G.G. Healing: Pagan and Christian (1935), Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, London, England
36. Levin J. Esoteric healing traditions: a conceptual overview. Explore (NY) 4 (2008) 101-112
37. Hall M.P. Healing: The Divine Art (1972), Philosophical Research Society, Los Angeles, Calif
38. Cohn K., and Rapgay L. A meeting of traditional Tibetan and Western medicine. In: Sullivan L.E. (Ed). The Parabola Book of Healing (1994), Continuum, New York, NY 137-157
39. Lad V. Ayurveda: The Science of Healing: A Practical Guide (1984), Lotus Press, Santa Fe, NM
40. Levin J.S., and Vanderpool H.Y. Is religion therapeutically significant for hypertension?. Soc Sci Med 29 (1989) 69-78
41. McIntosh D., and Spilka B. Religion and physical health: the role of personal faith and control beliefs. In: Lynn M.L., and Moberg D.O. (Eds). Research in the Social Scientific Study of Religion: A Research Annual Vol 2 (1990), JAI Press, Greenwich, Conn 167-194
42. George L.K., Ellison C.G., and Larson D.B. Explaining the relationships between religious involvement and health. Psychol Inq 13 (2002) 190-200
43. Levin J., Chatters L.M., and Taylor R.J. Religious factors in health and medical care among older adults. South Med J 99 (2006) 1168-1169
44. Vaux K. Religion and health. Preventive Med 5 (1976) 522-536
45. Vanderpool H.Y. Is religion therapeutically significant?. J Relig Health 16 (1977) 255-259
46. Allport G.W. Behavioral science, religion, and mental health. J Relig Health 2 (1963) 187-197
47. Allport G.W. The Nature of Prejudice (1979), Basic Books, New York, NY 444-457
48. Matarazzo J.D. Behavioral immunogens and pathogens in health and illness. In: Hammonds B.L., and Schierer C.J. (Eds). Psychology and Health (1984), American Psychological Association, Washington, DC 5-43
49. Exodus 23:25.
50. Ephesians 6:11.
51. Qur'an 65:3, 7.
52. Bhagavad Gover(i, -) tover(a, -) 3:31.
53. Dhammapada 144.
54. Tao Te Ching 59.
55. Preuss J. Biblical and Talmudic Medicine. Rosner F, trans-ed. (1993), Jason Aronson, Northvale, NJ
56. In: Rosner F., and Kottek S.S. (Eds). Moses Maimonides: Physician, Scientist, and Philosopher (1993), Jason Aronson, Northvale, NJ
57. In: Scherman N., and Zlotowitz M. (Eds). The Chumash: The Stone Edition (1993), Mesorah Publications, Brooklyn, NY 967
58. In: Cohen A. (Ed). The Soncino Chumash: The Five Books of Moses with Haphtaroth. 2nd ed. (1983), The Soncino Press, London, England 896
59. Deuteronomy 5:16.
60. Deuteronomy 22:6-7.
61. Deuteronomy 25:15.
62. I Samuel 12:14-15.
63. Psalms 55:24.
64. Psalms 91:14, 16.
65. Proverbs 3:1-2.
66. Proverbs 3:13, 16.
67. B'rakhot 8a.
68. B'rakhot 8a-8b.
69. Ta'anit 20b.
70. M'gillah 28a.
71. Avodah Zarah 19a.
72. M'nachot 44a.
73. Genesis Rabbah 59:1.
74. Exodus Rabbah 50:2.
75. Numbers Rabbah 11:4.
76. Numbers Rabbah 20:21.
77. Midrash ha-Hefes.
78. Munk E. Mazer ES, trans. In: Kirzner Y. (Ed). The Call of the Torah: An Anthology of Interpretation and Commentary on the Five Books of Moses vol 3 (1992), Mesorah Publications, Brooklyn, NY 129
79. Gates of Repentance: The New Union Prayerbook for the Days of Awe. Rev ed. (1996), Central Conference of American Rabbis, New York, NY 314
80. Exodus 32:35.
81. Leviticus 26:14-16.
82. Numbers 17:8-10, 20.
83. Numbers 25:1-3, 9.
84. Deuteronomy 28:15, 21-22.
85. Deuteronomy 28:61.
86. B'rakhot 55a.
87. B'rakhot 5a.
88. Genesis Rabbah 62:2.
89. Genesis Rabbah 65:9.
90. Tanna debe Eliyyahu, Eliyyahu Rabbah 88.
91. Numbers Rabbah 9:13.
92. Deuteronomy Rabbah 6:13.
93. Avot de-Rabbi Natan (A) 9.
94. Blumenthal D.R. God at the Center: Meditations on Jewish Spirituality (1994), Jason Aronson, Northvale, NJ 157
95. Urbach, and Ephraim E. The Sages: Their Concepts and Beliefs. Abrahams I, trans (1979), Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass 390
96. Deuteronomy 4:40.
97. Deuteronomy 33:29.
98. Psalms 2:12.
99. Psalms 32:1-2.
100. Psalms 41:2.
101. Psalms 94:12.
102. Psalms 112:1.
103. Proverbs 16:20.
104. Proverbs 29:18.
105. B'rakhot 17a.
106. Yoma 76b.
107. Sanhedrin 7a.
108. Genesis Rabbah 33:3.
109. Ruth Rabbah 2:7.
110. Ecclesiastes Rabbah 6:6.
111. Pesikta de-Rab Kahana 27:2.
112. Kushner H. D'rash commentary. In: Lieber D.L. (Ed). Etz Hayim: Torah and Commentary (2001), Jewish Publication Society, New York, NY
113. Exodus 15:26.
114. Numbers 17:12-13.
115. Proverbs 12:28.
116. Proverbs 17:22.
117. Proverbs 29:25.
118. Pirke Avot 6:7.
119. Ta'anit 7a.
120. N'darim 22a.
121. Bava Batra 10a-10b.
122. Leviticus Rabbah 12:3.
123. Deuteronomy Rabbah 1:6.
124. Isaiah 57:17-18.
125. Deuteronomy 9:6.
126. Jeremiah 17:14.
127. Jeremiah 30:17.
128. Malachi 3:20.
129. Psalms 103:3.
130. Proverbs 3:7-8.
131. Proverbs 4:20-22.
132. Proverbs 12:18.
133. Proverbs 16:24.
134. M. B'rakhot 5:5.
135. B'rakhot 60a.
136. Eruvin 54a.
137. Yoma 86a.
138. M'gillah 13b.
139. M'gillah 17b.
140. Arachin 15b.
141. Mekhilta de-Rabbi Ishmael 6:97ff.
142. Exodus Rabbah 16:2.
143. Leviticus Rabbah 34:1.
144. Pesikta Rabbati 44:9.
145. Midrash T'hillim 41:5.
146. Snyder C.R. Hope theory: rainbows in the mind. Psychol Inq 13 (2002) 249-275
147. Snyder C.R. The past and possible futures of hope. J Soc Clin Psychol 19 (2000) 11-28
148. Snyder C.R. Handbook of Hope: Theory, Measures, and Applications (2000), Academic Press, San Diego, Calif
149. Snyder C.R. The Psychology of Hope: You Can Get There from Here (1994), The Free Press, New York, NY
150. Ai A.L., Tice T.N., Bolling S.F., and Koenig H.G. Faith-based and secular pathways to hope and optimism subconstructs in middle-aged and older cardiac patients. J Health Psychol 9 (2004) 435-450
151. Seligman M.E.P. Optimism, pessimism, and mortality. Mayo Clin Proc 75 (2000) 133-134
152. Peterson C. The future of optimism. Amer Psychol 55 (2000) 44-55
153. Seligman M.E.P. Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your Life (2006), Vintage Books, New York, NY
154. Dossey L. Optimism. Explore (NY) 2 (2006) 89-96
155. Kamen-Siegel L., Rodin J., Seligman M.E.P., and Dwyer J. Explanatory style and cell-mediated immunity. Health Psychol 10 (1991) 229-235
156. Peterson C., Seligman M.E.P., and Vaillant G.E. Pessimistic explanatory style is a risk factor for physical illness: a thirty-five-year longitudinal study. J Pers Soc Psychol 55 (1988) 23-27
157. Peterson C. Optimistic explanatory style and health. In: Gillham J.E. (Ed). The Science of Optimism and Hope: Research Essays in Honor of Martin E.P. Seligman (2000), Templeton Foundation Press, Philadelphia, Pa 145-162
158. Ai A.L., Peterson C., Bolling B.F., and Koenig H. Private prayer and optimism in middle-aged and older patients awaiting cardiac surgery. Gerontologist 42 (2002) 70-81
159. Taylor S.E. Positive Illusions: Creative Self-Deception and the Healthy Mind (1989), Basic Books, New York, NY
160. Taylor S.E., and Brown J.D. Illusion and well-being: a social psychological perspective on mental health. Psych Bull 103 (1988) 193-210
161. Taylor S.E. Adjustment to threatening events: a theory of cognitive adaptation. Amer Psychol 38 (1983) 1161-1173
162. Taylor S.E., and Brown J.D. Positive illusions and well-being revisited: separating fact from fiction. Psych Bull 116 (1994) 21-27
163. Taylor S.E., Kemeny M.E., Reed G.M., Bower J.E., and Gruenewald T.L. Psychological resources, positive illusions, and health. Amer Psychol 55 (2000) 99-109
164. Geertz C. Religion as a cultural system. The Interpretation of Cultures: Selected Essays (1973), Basic Books, New York, NY 87-125
165. Frankl V.E. Man's Search for Meaning. Rev ed. (1984), Washington Square Press, Boston, Mass
166. Pennebaker J.W. Opening Up: The Healing Power of Confiding in Others (1990), Avon Books, New York, NY
167. Pennebaker J.W., and Seagal J.D. Forming a story: the health benefits of narrative. J Clin Psychol 55 (1999) 1243-1254
168. Pennebaker J.W. Writing about emotional experiences as a therapeutic process. Psychol Sci 8 (1997) 162-166
169. Dienstfrey H. Disclosure and health: an interview with James W. Pennebaker. Adv Mind Body Med 15 (1999) 161-163
170. Pennebaker J.W., and Francis M.E. Cognitive, emotional, and language processes in disclosure. Cogn Emot 10 (1996) 601-626
171. Pennebaker J.W., Kiecolt-Glaser J.K., and Glaser R. Disclosure of traumas and immune function: health implications for psychotherapy. J Consult Clin Psych 56 (1988) 239-245
172. VandeCreek L., Janus M.D., Pennebaker J.W., and Binau B. Praying about difficult experiences as self-disclosure to God. Int J Psych Rel 12 (2002) 29-39
173. Benson H. Timeless Healing: The Power and Biology of Belief (1996), Scribner, New York, NY
174. In: Koenig H.G., and Cohen H.J. (Eds). The Link between Religion and Health: Psychoneuroimmunology and the Faith Factor (2002), Oxford University Press, New York, NY
175. Moerman D., Jonas W.B., Bush P.J., et al. Placebo effects and research in alternative and conventional medicine. Clin J Integrated Tradit West Med 2 (1996) 141-148
176. Sternberg E.M. The Balance Within: The Science Connecting Health and Emotions (2001), W.H. Freeman and Company, New York, NY 168-169
177. Maier S.F., Watkins L.R., and Fleshner M. Psychoneuroimmunology: the interface between behavior, brain, and immunity. Amer Psychol 49 (1994) 1004-1017
178. Ader R., and Cohen N. Behavioral conditioned immunosuppression. Psychosom Med 37 (1975) 333-340
179. Ader R., and Cohen N. Behaviorally conditioned immunosuppression and murine systemic lupus erythematosus. Science 215 (1982) 1534-1536
180. In: Ader R. (Ed). Psychoneuroimmunology. 4th ed. (2007), Elsevier, Amsterdam, Netherlands
181. Reichlin S. Neuroendocrine-immune interactions. New Engl J Med 329 (1993) 1246-1253
182. Cohen S., and Herbert T.B. Health psychology: psychological factors and physical disease from the perspective of human psychoneuroimmunology. Ann Rev Psychol 47 (1996) 113-142
183. Pert C.B. Molecules of Emotion: Why You Feel the Way You Feel (1997), Scribner, New York, NY 177
184. Rogers M.P., Dubey D., and Reich P. The influence of the psyche and the brain on immunity and disease susceptibility: a critical review. Psychosom Med 41 (1979) 147-164
185. Myers S.S., and Benson H. Psychological factors in healing: a new perspective on an old debate. Behav Med 18 (1992) 5-11
186. Koenig H.G., Cohen H.J., George L.K., Hays J.C., Larson D.B., and Blazer D.G. Attendance at religious services, interleukin-6, and other biological indicators of immune function in older adults. Int J Psychiatry Med 27 (1997) 233-250
187. Cohen H.J., and Koenig H.G. Avenues for future research. In: Koenig H.G., and Cohen H.J. (Eds). The Link between Religion and Health: Psychoneuroimmunology and the Faith Factor (2002), Oxford University Press, New York, NY 286-294
188. Susser M. Falsification, verification and causal inference in epidemiology: reconsideration in the light of Sir Karl Popper's philosophy. In: Rothman K.J. (Ed). Causal Inference (1988), Epidemiology Resources Inc, Chestnut Hill, Mass 33-57
189. Hill A.B. The environment and disease: association or causation?. P Roy Soc Med 58 (1965) 295-300
190. Levin J., and Steele L. The transcendent experience: conceptual, theoretical, and epidemiologic perspectives. Explore (NY) 1 (2005) 89-101
191. Dossey L. Recovering the Soul: A Scientific and Spiritual Search (1989), Bantam Books, New York, NY
192. Friedman H.S. The Self-Healing Personality: Why Some People Achieve Health and Others Succumb to Illness (1991), Plume, New York, NY 11
193. Imam Y.O. Healing in Islam. Paper presented at: Continuity + Change: Perspectives on Science and Religion, Metanexus Institute Conference; July 5 (2006) Philadelphia, Pa
194. James W. The Varieties of Religious Experience: A Study in Human Nature (1958), New American Library, New York, NY 76-139
195. Quick Reference to the Diagnostic Criteria from DSM-IV (1994), American Psychiatric Association, Washington, DC
196. Turner R.P., Lukoff D., Barnhouse R.T., and Lu F.G. Religious or spiritual problem: a culturally sensitive diagnostic category in the DSM-IV. J Nerv Ment Dis 183 (1995) 435-444
197. Larson D.B., Thielman S.B., Greenwold M.A., et al. Religious content in the DSM-III-R Glossary of Technical Terms. Am J Psychiat 150 (1993) 1884-1885
198. Post S.G. DSM-III-R and religion. Soc Sci Med 35 (1992) 81-90
199. Larson D.B., Hohmann A.A., Kessler L.G., Meador K.G., Boyd J.H., and McSherry E. The couch and the cloth: the need for linkage. Hosp Community Psych 39 (1988) 1064-1069
200. Shuman J.J., and Meador K.G. Heal Thyself: Spirituality, Medicine, and the Distortion of Christianity (2003), Oxford University Press, New York, NY
201. Bonhoeffer D. The Cost of Discipleship (1959), Macmillan, New York, NY 35-47
202. Vanderpool H.Y., and Levin J.S. Religion and medicine: how are they related?. J Relig Health 29 (1990) 9-20