Posted on 06/23/2005 10:22:22 AM PDT by FreedomHasFewFriends
CHICAGO - A survey examining religion in medicine found that most U.S. doctors believe in God and an afterlife — a surprising degree of spirituality in a science-based field, researchers say.
In the survey of 1,044 doctors nationwide, 76 percent said they believe in God, 59 percent said they believe in some sort of afterlife, and 55 percent said their religious beliefs influence how they practice medicine.
"We were surprised to find that physicians were as religious as they apparently are," said Dr. Farr Curlin, a researcher at the University of Chicago's MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics.
"There's certainly a deep-seated cultural idea that science and religion are at odds," and previous studies have suggested that fewer than half of scientists believe in God, Curlin said Wednesday.
A previous survey showed about 83 percent of the general population believes in God.
But while medicine is science-based, doctors differ from scientists who work primarily in a laboratory setting, and their direct contact with patients in life-and-death situations may explain the differing views, Curlin said.
The study is based on responses to questionnaires mailed in 2003. It is to appear in an upcoming issue of the Journal of General Internal Medicine and was released online to subscribers earlier this month.
Dr. J. Edward Hill, president of the American Medical Association, said religion and medicine are completely compatible, as long as doctors do not force their own beliefs on patients.
Belief in "a supreme being ... is vitally important to physicians' ability to take care of patients, particularly the end-of-life issues that we deal with so often," said Hill, a family physician from Tupelo, Miss.
Religions among physicians are more varied than among the general population, the survey found. While more than 80 percent of the U.S. population is Protestant or Catholic, 60 percent of doctors said they were from either group.
Compared with the general population, more doctors were Jewish — 14 percent vs. 2 percent; Hindu — 5 percent vs. less than 1 percent; and Muslim — almost 3 percent vs. less than 1 percent.
Most US Doctors Believe They ARE God
Of course they do. They have mirrors!
I never understand why people think science and religion have to be mutually exclusive. Different methods, for sure...but I know many, many people with MD's or PhD's who believe in God (many are in my own family).
Surprised to see no one has yet mentioned _____ _______.
I've never understood it either. I think for a scientist to say that science has established that there is no god is arrogant and an abuse of the term scientist.
...As long as they don't believe they're Jesus, or Budda. Or Bubba...
#2, yup!
"Dr. J. Edward Hill, president of the American Medical Association, said religion and medicine are completely compatible, as long as doctors do not force their own beliefs on patients."
Yeah when it comes to abortion they're supposed to NOT practice what they claim to "believe" but practice what the Godless "believe" and continue to murder the unborn or about to be born.
WOW! I'm so glad that the majority "believe" in God while they play god and do NOT practice what they "believe".
Isn't hypocrisy grand !
#2, yup!
"Dr. J. Edward Hill, president of the American Medical Association, said religion and medicine are completely compatible, as long as doctors do not force their own beliefs on patients."
Yeah when it comes to abortion they're supposed to NOT practice what they claim to "believe" but practice what the Godless "believe" and continue to murder the unborn or about to be born.
WOW! I'm so glad that the majority "believe" in God while they play god and do NOT practice what they "believe".
Isn't hypocrisy grand !
So what? Satan believes in God, too.
Personally, I'd rather they just believed in the here and now, as I'm in no rush to take that eternal dirt nap. Not fond of the idea that a doctor might be buying into the Felos & Co. concept, that we're all just going to a "better place."
P.S. Not surprised at all. Every doctor I've come across practices some religion. Scientists are mostly believers. Science and religion have never been mutually exclusive.
And god is with a lower case "g".
That is why no scientist would make such a claim. One cannot prove a negative anyway. I would be interested to see what experiment they proposed to validate this assertion.
Yup!
James 2:19
[19] Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
Even the "devils" know and TREMBLE!
...well, of course, because they see miracles daily! On a related note, remember, the Gospel author, Luke, was a doctor.
Who cares what most doctors believe? Or lawyers, MBAs, plumbers, garbagemen or mailmen? What difference does it make to anyone? What difference does it make to God?
Doctors are specialists in highly technical fields with limited knowledge beyond medicine. They have no more importance than any other profession when espousing beliefs that have nothing to do with their specialized training.
When I visit my doctor, I don't ask advice on what kind of car to purchase. Why would I ask whether or not he believed in God?
I think doctors are more than just technicians. I am comforted knowing my doctor is a christian
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