If I only had a dollar for every idiotic religious apologist who completely misunderstands Einstein, and uses that particular quote without any inkling of what he actually meant.

There is also the distinct possibility that, while a great physicist, Einstein was a lousy philosopher; thus, his quote doesn't really merit much attention anyway.

But I would also like the author to explain her unjustified leap from the well-established principle that mental attitude can often be conducive to health, to claiming that 'spirituality' should be included in the medical canon.

I appreciate Ms Stroud's article. Readers may also be interested to hear what Jane Fonda has to say about aging, specifically "the Third Act" of life, which she likens to an upward staircase or the "upward ascension of the human spirit". See TED lecture at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DaiCqsGgd0Q&feature=email.

We simply can't separate man from spirit.

Agree Clownfish...being happy and having a good mental approach does not require you to be religous at all...the article makes some valid points but degenerates into twaddle.

The author should recognise that while religion provides comfort and meaning for many people, it can also cause angst, guilt and stress too - which are hardly conducive to any sort of health.

Nah. It's just a commercial.

"Scientific research will guide most decisions on best practice in healthcare for all age groups into the future, and further research into the effects of spirituality and prayer on health seems advisable"

It is a call for money to be put towards "research". Their methodology will be fascinating, I suspect, if any independent source of funds turns out to be dumb enough to support it.

Mind you, the conclusion is pretty weak:

"The World Health Organisation's 2005 paper stating that 'health needs to be understood as an inclusive concept .... encompassing spiritual wellbeing'... should be the basis for further research into the effects of spirituality on diseases like dementia and Alzheimer's, as well as other human maladies; and into contemplation of the idea that spirituality and prayer may well be essential to perfect health."

The evidence so far is already pretty conclusive, I would have thought, without the need to throw money into a bucket for research.

Among my friends are a number of very spiritual, prayerful Christians. I know it is only a straw poll, but I would calculate that the percentage that enjoy "perfect health" is pretty much the same as amongst my friends who are as heathen as they come, and pray only when they approach a random breath test station - "Jesus Christ, a breatho, please don't pick me..."

Conversely, one of the most devout people I have ever known was sadly taken by pancreatic cancer at the age of 27. He didn't enjoy his perfect health long enough to prove one way or the other whether prayer is an effective defence against dementia.

Well, Pericles, the efficacy of intercessory prayer has been tested, and the most reliable results don't support the author's claims at all.

I agree Pericles. I have seen many ill people in hospitals and the community for all my working life, and I never noticed any difference between the religious and non-religious people health-wise.

While I would always respect anyone's religious/spiritual needs during healthcare problems, I always wondered why these Gods they prayed so fervently to would not spare children,s lives at least, because even I would try prayer when I used to work in paediatric wards years ago.

I would agree that, as health professionals, we should be caring for patients in a holistic manner, which includes their physical and mental wellbeing, as well as any possible cultural or religious considerations.
We already do this, so we don't need any 'research' into spirituality in healthcare.

As far as I am concerned, we need even less research into this area nowadays than ever before, because there are considerably less religious people in our healthcare system today than there used to be.

Maybe there really is something in it… I certainly felt better after the "thigh slapping, belly laughs and (being) doubled up in mirth" experienced by reading this article.

I genuinely never expected to see Miley Cyrus and Einstein conflated in one sentence.

Plus I don't know what's more frightening the concept of 'clown doctors' or 'legislative liaison for Christian science'.

Having the recent experience of witnessing a highly spiritual and devout Christian's descent into dementia any perceived benefit of spirituality disappeared at about the first sign of personality change to belligerence. When that settled down it was replaced with an essentially 'nice' core-persona who didn't seem to remember God but certainly insisted he'd never been married and had six children – the mere suggestion seemed risible to judge from the smile it evoked.

Couldn't tell whether double incontinence humorously lightened his mood – not all muscle relaxation is a good thing. An awareness of and response to music endured longest and was the last to go, but I think it more accurate to describe this as emotional rather than spiritual.

My take on all of this? There is no possibility of "spiritual nourishment" without cognition.

Meanwhile, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that indicative trials with Bexarotene on neural pathways compromised as in dementia, prove themselves as efficacious. I'd be prepared to pray for that – assuming I remember what prayer is.

It’s great to see your interest in the subject of spirituality and health. There are many medical schools already researching in this field and results are driving changes in treatment for both mental health and ageing. I’ve listed a few institutions for your information:
The Institute for Spirituality and Health at the Texas Medical Center
Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital
Center for the Study of Health, Religion, and Spirituality, Indiana State University
Duke Center for Spirituality, Theology and Health
George Washington Institute for Spirituality and Health, GWU Medical Center
Research Institute for Spiritualty and Health, Switzerland

And here are a couple of links to research papers and books in this new field of research:
Spirituality as a determinant of health for those with disabilities (Faull and Kalliath, 2000)
The role of spirituality in medicine (Hassad, 2008)
God, Faith and Health: Exploring the spirituality-healing connection (Levin, 2001)
The Cure Within (Harrington, 2008)

Trusting that the links will appear when this is posted.

Oops, the links didn’t work. Trying again.....

It’s great to see your interest in the subject of spirituality and health. There are many medical schools already researching in this field and results are already driving changes in dealing with mental health and ageing. I’ve listed a few institutions for your information:

The Institute for Spirituality and Health at the Texas Medical Center http://www.spiritualityandhealth.org
Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital http://www.massgeneral.org/bhi/
Center for the Study of Health, Religion, and Spirituality, Indiana State University http://web.indstate.edu/psychology/cshrs/
Duke Center for Spirituality, Theology and Health http://www.spiritualityandhealth.duke.edu/index.html
George Washington Institute for Spirituality and Health, GWU Medical Center http://www.gwish.org/
Research Institute for Spiritualty and Health, Switzerland http://www.rish.ch/

And here are a couple of links to research papers and books in this new field of research:
Spirituality as a determinant of health for those with disabilities (Faull and Kalliath, 2000) http://www.mang.canterbury.ac.nz/people/nilakant/spirit/Spirituality_and_Health.pdf
The role of spirituality in medicine (Hassad, 2008) http://www.racgp.org.au/afp/200811/200811hassed.pdf
God, Faith and Health: Exploring the spirituality-healing connection (Levin, 2001) http://www.amazon.com/God-Faith-Health-Spirituality-Healing-Connection/dp/0471218936
The Cure Within (Harrington, 2008) http://www.amazon.com/Cure-Within-History-Mind-Body-Medicine/dp/0393065634

Not just one canned boilerplate response from the author, but two! I feel honoured -- spiritually, of course.

Oh yes, Halleluia!
Lets all just pray hard to an invisible being in the sky, and all our health problems will just fade away.
It's like we have never tried this before.

People who push this 'holier than thou' barrow make me feel sick.
They prey on sick people's vulnerabilities by suggesting they can be saved, but only if they pray hard enough, or are 'touched' by other much more holier persons, and especially if they are singing loudly and holding their arms up to the sky.

Oh, and if they provide money to the cause (research?) as well of course...

There is indeed a great body of positive research on the possibilities of some spiritual practices, and attitudes, for health and healing. BUT, how does Ms Stroud make the extraordinary leap from discussing a connection between 'spiritualilty / religion and health' TO
"Separately, science and Christianity are like a match and a stick of dynamite … their potential underutilized. Together, watch out. There is an explosion of insight ..."?
How did "Christianity" suddenly jump into the discussion?
Why does she seemingly eliminate Buddhism with its meditation, Hindu yoga, other religions, or non-religious spirituality (or the Worship of the Great Wombat for that matter) from the link to health and healing?
I would have thought there was much greater research linking some of the non-christian spiritual practices to health, than there is for christian activities. Ms Stroud - explain please.