Religion and medicine I: Historical background and reasons for separation

Religion and medicine have a long, intertwined, tumultuous history, going b ack thousands of years. Only within the past 200-300 years (less than 5 per cent of recorded history) have these twin healing traditions been clearly s eparate. This series on religion and medicine begins with a historical revi ew, proceeding from prehistoric times through ancient Egypt, Greece, and ea rly Christianity through the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and the Age of E nlightenment, when the split between religion and medicine became final and complete. Among the many reasons for the continued separation is that reli gion may either be simply irrelevant to health or, worse, that it may have a number of negative health effects. I review here both opinion and researc h supporting this claim.