Faith Matters: Believing in God Relieves Depression
By: Newsroom Solutions
Updated: February 25, 2010
A new study reveals believing in God is good for relieving depression.
Researchers at Chicago's Rush University Medical Center found that clinically depressed patients who had a strong belief in a caring, personal and concerned God experienced improvement in their condition.
Researchers examined the levels of depression in 136 adults and combined that with their sense of "religious well-being" to come up with the findings.
Patricia Murphy, the study's director and an assistant professor of religion, health and human values, says a patient's belief in religion and God is just as important in caring for the clinically depressed as is prescribing medication.
The findings are published in the "Journal of Clinical Psychology."
Researchers at Chicago's Rush University Medical Center found that clinically depressed patients who had a strong belief in a caring, personal and concerned God experienced improvement in their condition.
Researchers examined the levels of depression in 136 adults and combined that with their sense of "religious well-being" to come up with the findings.
Patricia Murphy, the study's director and an assistant professor of religion, health and human values, says a patient's belief in religion and God is just as important in caring for the clinically depressed as is prescribing medication.
The findings are published in the "Journal of Clinical Psychology."
