Religion as a Social Determinant of Public Health

Abstract

Abstract Religious institutions and public health institutions seek to improve the well-being of their communities, many times with aligned interests but occasionally at odds with each other. This book explores for the first time the intersection of these two social institutions. Chapter 1 argues that, while public health professionals and the general public are increasingly aware that social factors such as education, income inequality, and experiences of discrimination powerfully affect population health, there has been little awareness of religion as a social determinant of health. In this work, scholars in the social sciences, medicine, law, nursing, public health, and religion take a global, historical, and life course approach to address this omission. Chapters in Part I describe religious practices of ordinary people in the world’s faith traditions that provide daily, weekly, annual, and life course streams of influence on the body, mind, and spirit. Part II describes historical moments when religious institutions became a force in public health, not always for good. Part III argues that the influence of religion on physical and mental health begins before birth and continues throughout the life course. Part IV demonstrates the influence of religion and religious institutions on the health of populations around the globe. Part V looks closely at religion’s role in addressing the ongoing epidemic threats of HIV/AIDS, pandemic influenza, and Alzheimer’s disease. This multidisciplinary outline of the intersection of two powerful social institutions completes the picture of the social determinants of health by including religion, which has until now been an invisible determinant.