Study Finds Majority of Doctors Say Religion Influences Their Practice

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Study Finds Majority of Doctors Say Religion Influences Their Practice

By Katrina Woznicki , MedPage Today Staff Writer

Reviewed by Zalman S. Agus, MD; Emeritus Professor at the University of

Pennsylvania School of Medicine.

Source News Article: CBS News, Fox News, USA Today

CHICAGO, June 24-A survey of physicians in America has found that 55%

believe their religious beliefs influence their practice of medicine.

In a random survey of 2,000 physicians, Farr Curlin, M.D., an internist

at the University of Chicago, and colleagues also found that in dealing

with major problems in life most physicians will try to ''make sense of

the situation and decide what to do without relying on God.''

It's not clear just what the survey's findings mean, Dr. Curlin

conceded, but he considers them a starting point in trying to

understand " how physicians' religious commitments shape the clinical

encounter. "

The survey consisted of a 12-page questionnaire that had a 63% response

rate. The results were published in the July issue of Journal of

General Internal Medicine. They also included:

* Seventy-six percent of the respondents said they believed in God,

compared with 83% of the U.S. population.

* Fifty-eight percent of the doctors said they carried their

religious beliefs into all other dealings of life.

* Fifty-nine percent said they believed in life after death.

* Forty-eight percent said they looked " to God for strength,

support, and guidance " a great deal or very often, compared with 64% of

the general population.

* Sixty-one percent said they try to make sense of a situation

without relying on God, compared with 29% of the general population.

* Forty-six percent said they attend religious services twice a

month or more, compared with 40% in the general population. Ten percent

of the physicians said they never attended a religious service,

compared with 19% of the general population.

Thirty-eight percent of the respondents said they were Protestant,

followed by 21.7%, Catholic; 14.1%, Jewish; 5.3%, Hindu; 2.7%, Muslim;

2.2%, Orthodox; 1.7%, Mormon; and 1.2%, Buddhist. Some 2% reported

being atheist, 1.5% said they were agnostic, and 7.1% said they had no

religious affiliation.

Seventy percent of Protestant physicians and 63% of Catholic doctors

said their religion influenced their medical practice, although it was

not clear how. The same was so for 89% of Buddhists, 72% of Mormons,

63% of Orthodox, 59% of Muslims, 37% of Hindus, and 31% of Jews.

Family physicians and pediatricians were found to be the most religious

(73% and 64%, respectively) compared with psychiatrists and

radiologists who were the least (49% and 48%, respectively).

Doctors from the Southeast and Midwest were more likely to endorse

carrying religious beliefs into all aspects of life. Sixty-three

percent of Southeast respondents agreed their religion strongly

influenced their dealings in life compared with 62% from the Midwest,

57% from the West, and 49% from the Northeast.

Family physicians and pediatricians were found to be the most religious

(73% and 64%, respectively) compared with psychiatrists and

radiologists who were the least (49% and 48%, respectively).

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