Faith Moves Mountains—Mountains Move Faith: Two Opposite Epidemiological Forces in Research on Religion and Health

TLDR

Research indicates that religion can be linked to both positive and negative health outcomes, reflecting opposing epidemiological forces. The study proposes that cross‑sectional religion‑health research must account for these opposing forces that may dilute findings. The authors examined these forces in a cohort of 3,000 young Danish twins, finding that all religiosity measures correlated with severe disease. The unexpected association is attributed to the secular nature of the sample, where the negative health force dominates.

Abstract

Research suggests opposite epidemiological forces in religion and health: (1). Faith seems to move mountains in the sense that religion is associated with positive health outcomes. (2). Mountains of bad health seem to move faith. We reflected on these forces in a population of 3000 young Danish twins in which all religiosity measures were associated with severe disease. We believe the reason for this novel finding is that the sample presents as a particularly secular population-based study and that the second epidemiological force has gained the upper hand in this sample. We suggest that all cross-sectional research on religion and health should be interpreted in light of such opposite epidemiological forces potentially diluting each other.