How Many Doctors Believe in God?

Dr. Farr Curlin, and his team of doctors at the University of Chicago's MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics, surveyed 1,125 U.S. physicians to determine their believe in God, an afterlife and the influence that one's religious beliefs has on how they practice medicine.

Here is what the survey found:

--76 percent of U.S. doctors say they believe in God.
--About 60 percent believe in some kind of afterlife.

--90 percent attend religious services at least sometimes.

--55 percent said their religious beliefs influence how they practice medicine, including treating patients who are facing death and end-of-life care, as well as sexual and reproductive health.

The survey used a 12-page questionnaire mailed to a random sample of 2,000 U.S. practicing physicians. The study findings have been published in the July 2005 issue of the Journal of General Internal Medicine.

Interestingly, physicians are more likely to describe themselves as "spiritual" instead of "religious." They tend to view “spiritual� as different from “religious.� People generally see little difference between the two terms. For the medical profession “spiritual� seems to be a more inclusive and tolerant term than what “religious� might imply.

"The conventional wisdom is that doctors are much less religious than their patients," Curlin said. "I was surprised that the doctors were not more different (from) the general population than we found them to be."

Spirituality and Healing Go Hand-in-Hand, and so does Science.

Dr. Curlin said in reaction to their findings:

We have paid a good deal of attention to the religious beliefs of patients and how their faith influences medical decisions, but until now no one has looked in the same way at physicians, the other half of every doctor-patient relationship.

These findings lead us to further wonder how doctors' faiths shape their clinical encounters.

We were surprised to find that physicians were as religious as they apparently are.

There is certainly a deep-seated cultural idea that science and religion are at odds.

We suspect that people who combine an aptitude for science with an interest in religion and an affinity for public service are particularly attracted to medicine.

The responsibility to care for those who are suffering, and the rewards of helping those in need, resonate throughout most religious traditions.

As I read their findings, it seemed to me that this revival of faith within the Medical Profession is reflective of the increase in spirituality in all areas of our culture. I was talking to a Viet Nam Vet a couple of days ago; he told me that his son is a US soldier in Iraq. He proudly stated that his son reports to him that there are large numbers of Christian prayer and fellowship groups among the military there. The Viet Nam Vet reflected that back on his Viet Nam days and said, “There was nothing spiritual going on there, just drugs and things like that. Boy, things have sure changed.� Indeed so, we are in the midst of a spiritual renewal within our culture.

HOWEVER, this spiritual renewal is not being reflected in increased church attendance. In fact, church attendance continues its historic decline in the US, Canada, UK and throughout Europe. I will have more thoughts on this later.

My other thought concerning this report centered on the compatibility of Science and Faith. Yes, yes I know Christian fundamentalist friends will not agree with me here, and that’s okay. But, science and faith are not incompatible. In deed, when scientists and doctors are expressing an increasing belief in God and admit to being spiritual –something is going on.

In Recent years, both Hollywood movies and Comix have been presenting stories that demonstrate this compatibility. The one prime example that comes to mind is Jody Foster’s movie Contact, in which a scientist and a theologian walk hand in hand as the movie ends.

And so it is. Something powerful is afoot in the culture. A spiritual revolution is under way.