Spirituality, religion, and health: Reflections and issues

Abstract

The past decade has witnessed substantial growth in the study of religiosity/spirituality and its relationship with various indicators of health. Most of these studies found positive relationships between religion, spirituality and health (both mental and physical health). However, various studies in this field are criticized specially for not clearly and operationally defining the constructs religion and spirituality and for their poor design. This paper discuses major issue associated with concepts, norms, and assessments of religiosity and spirituality. Finally, various suggestions to surpass these limitations are also addressed.