Faith healing
Faith healing refers to the practice of physical and psychic healing that is believed to occur through personal faith, often facilitated by a practitioner endowed with healing abilities. It is a concept present in many religions, including elements found in Buddhism, Islam, Judaism, and Christianity, where adherents may seek healing as part of their spiritual beliefs. In contemporary Western culture, faith healing often reflects an individualistic approach to spirituality, with practitioners typically operating independently rather than within organized religious frameworks.
This form of healing is characterized by its personal and experiential nature, differing from traditional prayer practices that may involve collective or shrine-based worship. While there is ongoing interest in the connection between spirituality and health, scientific studies on the effectiveness of faith healing have not reached definitive conclusions, primarily due to the individualized context in which it occurs. Research has focused on broader relationships between spirituality and health, yet the specific impact of faith healing remains challenging to measure.
Despite the lack of conclusive scientific evidence supporting its efficacy in physical healing, many individuals continue to find comfort and community through faith during times of illness. However, reliance on faith healing may pose risks, including the potential delay of conventional medical treatments. As such, the role of faith healing in health and well-being invites both personal exploration and critical examination.
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Subject Terms
Faith healing
DEFINITION: Physical and psychic healing that occurs as a result of personal faith, assisted through a practitioner with the charismatic gift or gifts of healing.
Overview
The practice of faith healing is familiar to most, if not all, religions. Examples of faith healing include the Buddhist focus on healthy karma created by mind/body balance, the practice of Ruqyah in Islam, the Zohar of Jewish mysticism, and the Christian belief that adherents may claim physical health as a benefit of salvation.
While occurring throughout history and in all societies, faith healing in Western culture may be more expressive of postmodern society's individualistic nature. Religious meaning is increasingly found within the context of personal faith and encounter, instead of the inclusive experience offered by institutions. Practitioners of faith healing also tend to be individual charismatic healers operating either in a religious context or in New Age and mentalist constructs of paranormal healing through the forces of nature.
Faith healing differs from more general exercises in prayer. It is intensely personal and more individualistic than group or shrine contexts, in which healing is experienced through a holy place, a saint, or intercessory prayer.
Issues
Medical analyses of faith healing have not produced any final results concerning its effectiveness. Studies devoted to the general issues of spirituality and health, or the relation of prayer to healing, have focused on selected recipients, such as ethnic groups, religious congregations, or medical groupings. Faith healing is more difficult to isolate in that it occurs within an intensely personal and often independent context. The most prominent faith healers in contemporary American and European societies operate as independent entities. While these figures may host large meetings, the groups themselves are not expressive of any one culture or religious tradition.
The importance of the entire issue of spirituality and health is demonstrated by the creation of a number of medical centers devoted to investigating the relationship between healing and prayer. These centers include the Center for Spirituality, Theology, and Health at Duke University; the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital; and the George Washington Institute for Spirituality and Health.
Two primary challenges faced by researchers as they study the spectrum of faith/prayer and healing are establishing basic parameters under which the studies can be conducted and issues of verification and falsification. At the same time, the medical community has willingly joined forces with the religious in asserting the value of positive attitudes and the exercise of faith in obtaining physical and emotional healing.
In the twenty-first century, individuals still turn to faith and spirituality in times of need, especially during sickness. Faith healing can aid health by reducing stress, providing comfort, and offering a community of support. While the importance of the mind/body connection has been proven, faith healing may or may not have a placebo effect on those who are in ill health. Its potential for physical healing lacks scientific evidence in the mid-2020s. Further, reliance on faith healing could delay important traditional medical treatments and do more psychological harm than good.
Bibliography
Ateeq, Mohammad, Shazia Jehan, and Riffat Mehmmod. "Faith Healing; Modern Health Care." Professional Medical Journal, vol. 21, no. 2, 2014, pp. 295–301.
Benson-Henry Institute: Home Page, bensonhenryinstitute.org. Accessed 9 Sept. 2024.
Brown, Candy Gunther, et al. "Study of the Therapeutic Effects of Proximal Intercessory Prayer (STEPP) on Auditory and Visual Impairments in Rural Mozambique." Southern Medical Journal, vol. 103, no. 9, 2010, pp. 864–69.
MacNutt, Francis. Healing. Reprint. London: Hodder, 2001.
McGuire, Meredith B. Ritual Healing in Suburban America. New Brunswick: Rutgers UP, 1998.
Sharma, Deepak B., et al. "Role of Faith Healers: A Barrier or a Support System to Medical Care: a Cross Sectional Study." Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care, vol. 9, no. 8, 2020, pp. 4298-4304, doi.org/10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc‗868‗20. Accessed 9 Sept. 2024.
Vellenga, Sipco J. "Hope for Healing: The Mobilization of Interest in Three Types of Religious Healing in the Netherlands Since 1850." Social Compass, vol. 55, 2008, pp. 330–50.