Religious bias colors doctors' views: survey

By Julie Steenhuysen

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Few topics are more likely to cause argument among doctors than the influence of religion on healing, but a survey suggests most physicians bring their ideas about religion into their practice, U.S. researchers reported on Monday.

Physicians have been debating studies about the influence of religion and spirituality on patient health for more than a decade, but little consensus has emerged.

A new study may give clues about why, said Dr. Farr Curlin, a University of Chicago researcher whose findings appear in this week's Archives of Internal Medicine,

Curlin and colleagues surveyed U.S. doctors about their views on religion and spirituality and healing and found a strong association between physicians' views and their own religious beliefs.

"This is yet more evidence that doctors are not just objective, neutral scientists. Their religious or secular commitments influence the way they respond to patients and the way they interpret data," Curlin said in a telephone interview.

Curlin and colleagues mailed a survey in 2003 to a random sample of 2,000 practicing U.S. doctors aged 65 or younger from all specialties. Some 63 percent responded and the average age of respondents was 49.

They found that 85 percent of those surveyed believe religion or spirituality is generally positive, but only 6 percent say it often changes "hard" medical outcomes, reflecting some sort of miraculous healing.

About three quarters of those surveyed say spirituality helps patients cope and believe it gives them a positive state of mind. About 7 percent, however, said it often causes negative emotions such as guilt and anxiety and some 4 percent think patients use spirituality to avoid taking responsibility for their health.