 In
the 2001 Census, about 70% of Canadians purported to be
Christian. We don't know with any certainty the fervency
of their devotion nor will we anytime soon — unless
we devise a way to make MRI scans into men's souls. But
on any given day, depending on where they live, Canadian
physicians can expect to see devout patients whose religious
beliefs can influence the way they want to be treated
— and even what ailments they have.
It was this day-to-day contact
with deeply religious patients from small towns like
Boonville, MO, that inspired Dr Armando Favazza, a psychiatry
professor at University of Missouri-Columbia, to write
his book PsychoBible: Behavior, Religion and the
Holy Book. Dr Favazza casts a critical eye over
several health-related Bible-based claims made by the
Christian right, including homosexuality, women's health,
celibacy and drinking.
He finishes by debunking several
widely held views of Judeo-Christian scripture about
these moral issues. "My book says that one should have
an informed faith and decide for oneself after taking
the time to study the Bible," says Dr Favazza. "Most
people don't do the work — they just take the word
of their rabbi, pastor or priest. Many people are surprised
to find out that the Bible is silent about HIV, stem
cells and even abortion."
SEX
AND SEMANTICS
Since he attended a Jesuit high school as a young man
in Manhattan, Dr Favazza felt he had an OK grasp of
the Bible's content. But in his practice he's often
struck by the variety of interpretations he hears, and
how two equally devout patients can have utterly contradictory
views on what the Bible says. He's seen several married
couples torn asunder over having a homosexual son. In
one case, the mother was deeply ashamed of her gay son
and felt that according to the Bible he was an abominable
sinner. The father, a minister, felt the very same scripture
was telling him to love his son.
Even Dr Favazza's own preconceived
notions about this hot potato issue were shaken in the
course of his research. "I had always heard that the
Bible said that homosexuality was a terrible thing.
I was surprised to find the Bible was unclear on the
issue."
After hearing about a minister
from Kansas who leads his flock to protest at gay funerals
with placards reading "Faggots Burn in Hell" and "AIDS
is God's Revenge," Dr Favazza decided to look into the
oft-made claim that the destruction of Sodom is an indictment
of homosexuality. He found that though Sodomites were
"an idle, wealthy, lusty bunch who liked to party,"
the most likely reason for the destruction of their
city is that they were uncivil to the angels God sent
to test them.
The Sodomites demanded that Lot,
who offered hospitality to the angels, "bring them out
unto us, that we may know them." Could the whole thing
be a mistranslation of the verb "to know"? Dr Favazza
and many scholars say yes. God smote the Sodomites for
disrespecting, not wanting to sleep with, His envoys.
Dr Favazza observes in the book that psychiatry removed
homosexuality from its list of diseases in 1973, but
public opinion has been a little slow to follow.
BIRDS
OF PRAY
In the chapter 'Praise the Lord and pass the medication,'
Dr Favazza analyses that curious mix of fundamentalism,
TV histrionics and medicine known as faith healing.
Though not as popular in Canada as it is in the US,
faith healing has a good many followers on our side
of the border.
"Many of them are charlatans, though
a few have good intentions," says Dr Favazza. "The main
effect of their work is to make patients temporarily
feel better. There's no evidence that faith healing
produces permanent positive change or any change at
all." He adds "You can tell the difference between a
charlatan and faith healer with good intentions by the
price of the car they drive!"
So do these faith healers lead
true believers to eschew proper medical attention? Dr
Favazza doesn't think so. "A lot of the people who go
to faith healers are in bad situations; some in the
US are very poor people who can't afford healthcare
and some have illnesses that medicine can't cure," he
says. "They're desperate and people take advantage of
them."
RELIGION
AS SUCCOR
Is it appropriate for a doctor to talk about faith with
a patient? "Every doctor needs to inquire about it especially
during initial consultations and times of crisis," he
says. "One measures what the patient says then decides
what to do with the information." He adds, "Doctors
don't need to get into theological discussions, but
I've had patients who at one time went to church a lot
and stopped going because they were sick or for whatever
reason. If it was important to them at one time, I might
suggest they consider going back, maybe it will be helpful
for them spiritually or in meeting people if they're
lonely."
PsychoBible notes there
are studies that hint that faith and prayer can help
with healing, perhaps as a placebo effect. "I certainly
wouldn't tell a patient that prayer would heal them,
but I wouldn't discourage them either," says Dr Favazza.
"I'd encourage any practice that would give them hope
and solace."
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