Religious Healing and Its Difference from Medical Treatment Essay

Exclusively available on Available only on IvyPanda® Made by Human No AI

“Healing” is a broad topic that has drawn debate from various sectors of society. Every group of people has a different and unique definition of the term depending on their interest area. For instance, medical practitioners describe healing as the recovery process an individual undergoes after receiving treatment. On the other hand, religious groups believe that it pertains more to personality, especially regarding mental wellbeing. Although both meanings relate to the state of the life, religious healing varies from medical treatment in diverse ways.

Religious healing is different from medical treatment because faith-based organizations practice it through prayers and other divine gestures. For instance, it is believed that it can be achieved by visiting a holy shrine or having a strong belief in a supernatural being (Dallas et al., 2020). Similarly, medical treatment requires going to a hospital and following the drug prescription given by the doctors. Religious leaders, who pray for people to get healed, are believed to have been called by God, while medical doctors qualify to offer treatment after undergoing medical training and obtaining a license. Moreover, spiritual followers are convinced that all diseases can be healed through religious healing.

The main difference between the religious or cultural definition of illness and medical approach is the diagnosis’s nature. Religious groups define sickness as inability to achieve wholeness (Tomkins et al., 2015). In most cases, it has to deal with the state of mind and personal satisfaction. However, medically, illness is defined as an internal feeling of unhealthy, which is entirely personal to an individual. Such condition is often accompanied by a disease that is unknown until tests are carried out (Gonçalves et al., 2015). However, sometimes, a medical illness may be experienced even though there is no detection of any disease. Moreover, it requires treatments that can be conducted through oral medication, injection, and other procedures Therefore, illness is defined differently by religious groups and medical practitioners.

The definitions fit the idea that religious states of being are culturally constructed by taking into consideration the psychological wellness of a person. Culture is a set of beliefs that are perceived in the mind rather than the physical body. This implies that it can only be controlled by the rules and regulations that govern society. In some cases, cultural values determine if a person is well or suffering from an illness. For instance, an individual can be declared healthy if the person is self-satisfied and feels peace that can only be derived internally. Therefore, defining illness in relation to wholeness makes it relevant within the context of society’s values.

Succinctly, medical treatment is dissimilar to religious healing based on the type of groups that conduct them, places of healing, and administering of the process. People undergoing spiritual healings prefer visiting holy places or seek the divine intervention, believing that having a strong faith or being prayed for by a religious person anointed by God is the only way to achieve their healing. Moreover, they pay close attention to their inner feelings and the state of mind. On the other hand, medical treatment is given in the hospital by a person who is well knowledgeable about the sickness. The physicians mostly treat patients by providing medications that must be taken over a specified period. Therefore, medical treatment and religious healing differ substantially.

References

Dallas, T., Baroutsa, N. M., & Dein, S. (2020). . Mental Health, Religion & Culture, 23(8), 718−732. Web.

Gonçalves, J. P., Lucchetti, G., Menezes, P. R., & Vallada, H. (2015). . Psychological Medicine, 45(14), 2937−2949. Web.

Tomkins, A., Duff, J., Fitzgibbon, A., Karam, A., Mills, E. J., Munnings, K., Smith, S., Rao, S. S., Steinberg, A., Vitillo, R. & Yugi, P. (2015). . The Lancet, 386(10005), 1776−1785. Web.

More related papers Related Essay Examples
Cite This paper
You're welcome to use this sample in your assignment. Be sure to cite it correctly

Reference

IvyPanda. (2022, May 22). Religious Healing and Its Difference from Medical Treatment. https://ivypanda.com/essays/religious-healing-and-its-difference-from-medical-treatment/

Work Cited

"Religious Healing and Its Difference from Medical Treatment." IvyPanda, 22 May 2022, ivypanda.com/essays/religious-healing-and-its-difference-from-medical-treatment/.

References

IvyPanda. (2022) 'Religious Healing and Its Difference from Medical Treatment'. 22 May.

References

IvyPanda. 2022. "Religious Healing and Its Difference from Medical Treatment." May 22, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/religious-healing-and-its-difference-from-medical-treatment/.

1. IvyPanda. "Religious Healing and Its Difference from Medical Treatment." May 22, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/religious-healing-and-its-difference-from-medical-treatment/.


Bibliography


IvyPanda. "Religious Healing and Its Difference from Medical Treatment." May 22, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/religious-healing-and-its-difference-from-medical-treatment/.

If, for any reason, you believe that this content should not be published on our website, please request its removal.
Updated:
This academic paper example has been carefully picked, checked and refined by our editorial team.
No AI was involved: only quilified experts contributed.
You are free to use it for the following purposes:
  • To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
  • As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
  • As a template for you assignment
Privacy Settings

IvyPanda uses cookies and similar technologies to enhance your experience, enabling functionalities such as:

  • Basic site functions
  • Ensuring secure, safe transactions
  • Secure account login
  • Remembering account, browser, and regional preferences
  • Remembering privacy and security settings
  • Analyzing site traffic and usage
  • Personalized search, content, and recommendations
  • Displaying relevant, targeted ads on and off IvyPanda

Please refer to IvyPanda's Cookies Policy and Privacy Policy for detailed information.

Required Cookies & Technologies
Always active

Certain technologies we use are essential for critical functions such as security and site integrity, account authentication, security and privacy preferences, internal site usage and maintenance data, and ensuring the site operates correctly for browsing and transactions.

Site Customization

Cookies and similar technologies are used to enhance your experience by:

  • Remembering general and regional preferences
  • Personalizing content, search, recommendations, and offers

Some functions, such as personalized recommendations, account preferences, or localization, may not work correctly without these technologies. For more details, please refer to IvyPanda's Cookies Policy.

Personalized Advertising

To enable personalized advertising (such as interest-based ads), we may share your data with our marketing and advertising partners using cookies and other technologies. These partners may have their own information collected about you. Turning off the personalized advertising setting won't stop you from seeing IvyPanda ads, but it may make the ads you see less relevant or more repetitive.

Personalized advertising may be considered a "sale" or "sharing" of the information under California and other state privacy laws, and you may have the right to opt out. Turning off personalized advertising allows you to exercise your right to opt out. Learn more in IvyPanda's Cookies Policy and Privacy Policy.

1 / 1