Abstract:

There has been a tendency towards spirituality in the Western world, specifically in the United States for nearly the last fifty years. This trend is reflected in all areas of life and it influences the views, as well. Scientific studies are also affected by this and accordingly, the way of conducting academic studies can be shifted. In some of her studies, Anne Harrington draws attention to spiritual inclinations which have recently rose especially in the United States. She especially underlines the academic institutions in this field along with the works such as articles, books etc. related to spirituality. By expressing that some act like advocates while others act opponents about the relation between developed results about religion, spirituality and health, Harrington states that these approaches are not proper and these need further researches. This article discusses the claims that church attendance increases longevity and resistance to disease, spiritual practices (like meditation) reduce stress and enhance health, faith in God can facilitate recovery from serious illness and that prayer for another can change the outcome of disease. In this article, the researches done about these claims and their results are presented and finally a remark about all of these is made