The Healing Power of Religious Faith.

Christians who are comparatively well-represented in the medical field, like Korean-Americans, understand the relationship between faith and health differently than those who are not, like African-Americans and Latinos. Eighty percent of black and Latino-Americans interviewed in a study by Rice University, Houston, Texas, said they believe in the potential healing power of religious faith, while nearly two-thirds of Korean-Americans interviewed said that a religious environment mainly provides support for individuals with regard to health decisions, but made few mentions of prayer or divine healing.

"Heaven and Health: How Black, Latino, and Korean Christians View the Relationship Between Faith and Health" appears in the Review of Religious Research. Ph.D. students Daniel Bolger and Cleve Tinsley coauthored the paper with Elaine Ecklund, founding director of the Religion and Public Life Program and chair in Social Sciences.

Excerpts from interviews with each group are included in the paper. "Every time that I'm sick, I believe that God can heal my sickness," said one member of a Latino church. Another member said, "I trust medicine a lot, but I think my first choice is God."

Ecklund indicates that the view of God as the creator of science helps congregants substantiate trust in medicine. One African-American church member commented, "I think that God gives us access to certain things to help us to...