Religion and mental health: evidence for an association

The relationship between religion and mental health has been debated for ce nturies. History shows that religious organizations were often the first to offer compassionate care to the mentally ill; however, for hundreds of yea rs the religious establishment also persecuted the mentally ill. Neverthele ss, the first form of psychiatric care in Western Europe and the US was kno wn as 'moral treatment', in which religion played a significant role. The t eachings of Freud and others during the early twentieth century concerning the neurotic influences of religion have had an enormous impact on the fiel d, nullifying the quite favorable views toward religion held by nineteenth century psychiatrists. In this article, we review research that has found b oth negative and positive associations between religious involvement and me ntal health. We then examine the implications of this research for the clin ical practice of psychiatry in the twenty-first century.