A symbolic analysis of the relationship between religion and health
LE3 .A278 2007
2007
Powers, Ann Marie
Acadia University
Bachelor of Arts
Honours
Sociology
It is controversial whether religion has a causal role in health and illness. Considering the long-standing conflict between religion and science, and the fact that Canada’s current health care system is science-based, religion has not played a large role in the health care system formally. I ask in this thesis whether religion should be administered as a formal part of the health care system, or if it should remain on the sidelines. To answer this question research attempts to discover the health effects, if any, of religion. The two methods of data collection used to do this are an analysis of literature in the topic area and an analysis of interviews conducted with health care professionals. Data shows a strong correlation between religion and health, although this correlation is in both a positive and negative direction. Depending on the literature reviewed one may find religion is beneficial to human health, or one may find religion is detrimental to human health. This data is then analyzed symbolically. Symbolic analysis was used because it offers a vantage point which accounts for both the positive and the negative effects. Symbolic analysis looks at various interpretations of symbols and how the meaning taken from symbols guides people’s attitudes and actions, including those that affect their health, thus making the symbol, in a sense, a health determinant. The findings produced reveal that religion has an affect on health through the affect of symbols on the attitudes and actions of the believer, since attitude and action are explained as health determinants. This finding is then used to support the suggestion that religion be formally incorporated into the Canadian healthcare system.
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https://scholar.acadiau.ca/islandora/object/theses:518
