A COGNITIVE MODEL OF RELIGIONS INFLUENCE ON HEALTH

Research on the relation between religion and health has tended to foc us on group identity and specific religious behaviors that are directl y linked to improved health. This paper proposes a new model, which in corporates religious beliefs into a system of cognition (illusions and meaning for events) and psycho-neuroimmunologic functioning. It is hy pothesized that cognition within religious belief systems may be assoc iated with bodily changes in the immune system and lead to particular health outcomes. The discussion highlights the need for psychological process models to study the way life events are interpreted in the con text of religious beliefs. Limitations and challenges of such a global model are identified and several directions for future research are d iscussed.