By TROY LARSON
Attending church and having faith can help people improve the quality of their life, said David B. Larson, President of the National Institute for Healthcare Research, in Tuesday’s forum.
Although in the past, science and psychology have viewed religion as infantile and an escape from reality the research of the Institute has shown that they are drastically wrong.
Larson presented statistics proving that people who have faith and practice religion have shorter recovery rates after surgery, are less likely to have diseases take their life and may recover more fully than those who do not practice religion.
Even the habit of reading the scriptures has had an effect on the healing of people who have diseases or have had surgery, he said.
One thing the research institute found in their study is there is an incredible demand for religion and faith to be incorporated in their recovery and hospital stay.
Over 60 percent of people already in the hospital wish the doctor would express more interest in religion and discuss how religion effects their illnesses. They feel religion should be a part of their therapy.
Most people who are already in the hospital believe God can intervene and heal them of their illness and many others feel God has already helped them, Larson said.
Unfortunately only one in ten doctors ever mention religion as a general practice. There is a gap here that must be addressed, Larson said.
The Institute for Healthcare Research has sent the information to several colleges and universities in hopes of showing that health and religion should be inseparable.
There has been a surprising reaction to the information. At least 25 percent of medical and psychology schools now have classes that are required which teach the importance of linking religion to healing, Larson said.
“This is a revolution,” he said.
Not only has religion proven to be effective in improving health and lengthening life but it also has many other positive effects.
The National Institute for Healthcare Research has also proven connections between repeat criminal activity and the study of the Bible.
Criminals who incorporated study of the Bible into their parole had a lower rate of returning to prison than those who had no association with religion after their release, Larson said.
Ninety-nine percent of the people who did not read the Bible were again put in prison.
According to the same study, that figured dropped to 88 percent amount those who read the Bible only once every two months.
