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Can religion heal and cleanse the body? Is it able to protect us from diseases that attack us? Could it challenge the results of modern healthcare? 

Faith healing has existed for a long time as a practice for people to receive spiritual and physical healing when faced with physical, mental, or spiritual compromisation. This form of healing typically manifests through religious prayers and rituals that aim to evoke some form of divine intervention. 

Though it’s existed for a long period of time, it has been challenged as to whether it is a legitimate form of treatment as it encompasses little to no scientific evidence of its process and results. Given the major medical advancements by the human race, it naturally begs the question, “Should faith healing be seen and accepted as a legitimate form of healthcare?”

Throughout different cultures across the world, faith healing has left its mark among its followers as people go to religious temples to pray for themselves or others’ well-being. A few practices that can be seen in Malaysia are Christians going to church to pray or Buddhists going to monks to ask for talismans that will later be burned in water and drank. As can be seen in these practices, most results observed from faith healing are empirical. Therefore, it is difficult to evaluate their efficiency using modern standards.

In the status quo, medical services are supported by extensive research conducted by renowned institutions which have countless evidence to back up their hypothesis. With abundant evidence and reasoning to support healthcare, it is not a shock that our society has drifted more to rely on modern healthcare in comparison to religious healing.

However, while modern healthcare is built on scientific research, religious healing is built upon the faith people have towards religion. So, is faith all that bad? Although faith healing is largely empirical, we can tie it closely to a modern example of treatment — the placebo effect. 

The placebo effect, in short, is a form of treatment that is built on the patients’ belief that whatever they receive will help them feel better. Even though the placebo effect has not been thoroughly explored, there exists evidence conducted by neuroscientists which shows that it does stimulate a biological response to ‘heal’ the patient. Furthermore, there is also a large amount of empirical evidence that demonstrates how strong the effects of a placebo can be.

Given such, forms of treatment built on the belief and faith of the patient can, to some extent, be considered legitimate. To tie things back to religious healing, placebos are built on the patient’s belief in the doctor, and this belief can be considered a belief of the profession. Doctors attain their licenses through years of education, and as such, one believes in their prescribed course of recovery.

In comparison, if a belief in profession can produce such strong effects, why can’t a belief in religion produce the same effects? Arguably, the belief between a religious follower and their god can be said to be stronger than that of a patient to their doctor. As a result, we should not be so quick to deny the effects faith healing can produce and should carefully tread the line of verifying its legitimacy through comparisons to modern healthcare.

As seen, it is difficult for us to definitively recognise faith healing as a legitimate form of treatment due to its strong empirical nature; however, are there other factors that could be considered that add to the value of faith healing? 

A large problem in modern healthcare is the barrier to access be it the cost, location, or equipment. Faith healing, on the other hand, has near-zero barriers to access as it is free for anyone to receive. While this is not relevant to the treatment itself, it is highly relevant to whether we should accept it as a society as, to some, this is the main form of healthcare they can receive. Furthermore, in desperation, faith healing is something people turn to as well in hopes for a miracle to happen. 

Beyond the matter of access, there also comes the matter of identity. To a large percentage of the population, religion is an important factor when it comes to the composition of their identity and to some, not recognising faith healing is the same as not recognising a part of their identity. While we want to ensure that our society receives healthcare that is applicable to all, we should not reject other forms of treatment just because we do not believe in it. 

In the matter of recognising faith healing, there is still a long, treacherous journey that has to be taken to determine whether it can be recognised as a genuine form of healthcare as it breaches into the realm of the divine. However, we should not undermine it and should be open to it at least to the extent that we don’t look down on others for opting into faith healing as that may be all they can get. In summary, we are responsible for the treatment that we receive and should be informed before making a decision whether it be modern healthcare or faith healing.
 

References

• The Psychology of Extraordinary Beliefs | Ohio State Univeresity
• Placebo effect | Better Health Channel 
• More Than Just a Sugar Pill: Why the placebo effect is real | Harvard University