Survey shows doctors' religious stance

The physician population has more religious diversity than does the U.S. population.

By Damon Adams, AMNews staff. Aug. 1, 2005.

Illinois internist Craig Backs, MD, is a man of medicine and faith. He attends church service every chance he gets and is active in his Lutheran congregation. Sometimes in the exam room, he draws on his faith to reassure patients who become distressed about a health issue.

"Sharing one's religious perspective can open a dialogue with some patients," said Dr. Backs, who practices in Springfield, Ill., and is president of the Illinois State Medical Society. "With a few exceptions, most physicians practice in a way that reflects a concern for the common man, which comes from many religious traditions."

Nationwide, 76% of physicians believe in God and 59% believe in an afterlife. Physicians are more likely to attend religious services than the U.S. population in general, according to the study in the July issue of the Journal of General Internal Medicine.

Researchers who surveyed 1,144 physicians nationwide were surprised that so many doctors were religiously inclined. That's partly because past research has shown that religious belief tends to decrease as education and income levels increase. And some physicians say science and faith should stay separate.

"The conventional wisdom has been that doctors are much less religious than their patients," said Farr Curlin, MD, lead author of the study and assistant professor of general internal medicine at the University of Chicago.

Dr. Curlin said people who combine an aptitude for science, an interest in religion and an affinity for public service are particularly attracted to medicine.