Religion as a Social Determinant of Health

The dominant paradigm in public health is that the social circumstances in which people live -- where they are born, grow up, work, live, and grow old -- are the primary determinants of health, with medical care playing at most a supplemental role.  Those social determinants are usually conceptualized as socioeconomic, political, or racial/ethnic inequalities.  Despite a substantial research literature showing religious involvement to be a significant predictor of health outcomes, especially as a protective factor against all-cause mortality, religion has rarely been considered among the set of social determinants.  An interdisciplinary group of scholars at Emory University has conducted a three-year seminar on religion as a social determinant of health.  In their edited volume (Oxford, 2014) scholars from diverse religious traditions describe daily, weekly, and annual religious practices that involve the body and may have implications for health.  Historians detail the origins of public health institutions in religious concern for the community.  Public health researchers review evidence for the lifelong impact of religion on physical and mental health.  Global health experts identify the role of religious institutions in providing health care and influencing health policy.  And clinical researchers describe the role of religion in providing social support, social control, and social capital in the context of three epidemics of our time: HIV/AIDS, pandemic influenza, and Alzheimer's disease.  The editor of this groundbreaking volume argues that research on the social determinants of health should include religion if it is to have a complete picture of critical influences on population health.