New Study Shows Prayer Has Positive Effect on Health

[Guest guest]

. New Study Shows Prayer Has Positive Effect on Health

http://www.voanews.com/article.cfm?objectid=1A7E1BA1-5538-4F7A-

9E924CDD6A13840D&title=New%20Study%20Shows%20Prayer%20Has%20Positive%20E

ffect%20on%20Health&db=current

 

WASHINGTON, USA, September 20, 2003: Can praying be good for your

health? A decade ago, most doctors and scientists would have dismissed

any connection between prayer and medicine. However, new studies

drawing a positive connection between faith and healing have sparked

new debate in the United States over the issue. A recent Gallup poll

shows that 95 percent of the population of the United States believes

in God, and nearly 80 percent of people over 65-years-old are members

of a church. A number of studies have shown that individuals who pray

regularly and attend religious services stay healthier and live longer

than those who rarely or never go to a church, synagogue or mosque. Dr.

Harold Koenig of Duke University's director and founder of the Center

for the Study of Religion, Spirituality and Health says, when he first

opened the center in the 1990s he was afraid, "of being run out of town

for practicing voodoo medicine." The University recently released a

study of 4,000 women and men of different faiths. All the participants

were 65 or older. It found that the relative risk of dying was 46

percent lower for those who frequently attend religious services. A

study by the same group found that those who pray regularly have

significantly lower blood pressure and healthier immune systems.