ABSTRACT
Awareness of psychosocial and cultural determinants of health is necessary as a renewed balance and integration is sought between organic biomedical and biopsychosocial models of causation (O’Boyle 1993). The possible association of religion and religious observance with health status has long intrigued scholars of diverse disciplines (e.g., Galton 1872). The focal role of religion and its importance in the social and cultural context (as reflected by the persistence and resurgence of religion in human populations) suggest that study of this attribute may provide valuable insights into determinants of health and disease. The question of whether religious belief and practice promote health is unresolved, and the effect may vary according to religion (Kaplan 1976; Jarvis and Northcott 1987). Different denominations have been compared, but few studies have considered the effect of religiousness within a single religious denomination (Kaplan 1976; Levin and Vanderpool 1987). Except for studies of Mormons (Gardner and Lyon 1982) and Seventh-Day Adventists (Phillips et al. 1978) and a recent investigation of Chinese (Phillips et al. 1993) most within-denomination studies have focused on church attendance as the variable expressing the degree of religiousness (Kaplan 1976; Levin and Vanderpool 1987). However, attendance can be influenced by health status and may not be a determinant thereof (Levin and Markides 1986). Investigation of other dimensions or expressions of religion is worthwhile (Kaplan 1976; Levin and Vanderpool 1987).
