Spirituality in physical health and aging

A variety of research has documented the association between various measur es of religion/spirituality and physical health outcomes. The purpose of th is paper is to review the literature on this topic. The paper also discusse s the mechanisms that are thought to underlie the associations found in the literature. Further, the paper presents several avenues along which future research might proceed in order to advance our understanding of these issu es. The paper concludes by making a case for the need for empirical examina tions of these issues in countries other than the United States. particular focus is paid hen to religion among older adults in Japan.