Religion and Medicine

Larry Burton, Th.D.

laburton@uams.edu

Wednesday 6-8 pm

 Description

            From its inception, medicine was linked with religious beliefs and practices.  A great number of religions continue to have teachings and practices that impact healthcare yet today.  Frequently these teachings involve ethical injunctions.  As America becomes increasingly multi-cultural (there are more Muslims than Episcopalians in the US), doctors need to be sensitive to the impact of religious culture on their patients. But physicians must be careful not to stereotype various religions or their practitioners. This course will examine (1) ways of understanding religion from the perspective of psychology, sociology, anthropology, and theology, (2)questions about whether religion and medicine should be linked, (3) evidence of the potential benefits of religion to human health, (4)practices and beliefs of major world religions regarding health, medicine, and ethics, and (5) strategies for respectful clinical interactions with patients and families.

Resources

            Caring and Curing: Health and Medicine in the Western Religious Traditions by Ronald L. Numbers and Darrel W. Amundsen

            Cross-Cultural Perspectives in Medical Ethics (Cross-Cultural Perspectives in Medical Ethics) by Robert M. Veatch

Course Format and Requirements

          Initially the class will involve lecture presentation, discussion, and case studies.  It will evolve into a seminar with students making presentations on subjects related to cross-cultural religious/ethical issues in medicine.  Weekly reading will be required as well as participation in discussions, and making one class presentation.

            It is assumed that all participants will complete the assignments and attend each class (unless contacting the instructor prior to an absence).  Therefore it is also assumed that everyone will pass the class.

            The final presentation will be a paper, to be given to the seminar, on a topic approved by the instructor.  This presentation/paper should focus on an issue that combines religion, medicine, ethics, and medical practice.

 Course Schedule

            August 31^st:  Assignment:  Write your own definition of religion to share in class.

            September 7^th: A brief history of Religion and Medicine

            September 14^th: Belief Systems and worldviews

September 21^st:Should Religion and Medicine be Linked?  Assignment:  Read the article that will be emailed prior to class.

September 28^th: Potential Problems when Religion and Medicine are Linked

October 5^th:  Pluralism: An Introduction to World Religions

October 12^th: Variety in Judaism

October 19^th: Roman Catholicism

October 26^th: Mainline Protestantism  Assignment: make a presentation about one of the mainline protestant denominations.

November 2^nd: Evangelical Protestantism

November 9^th: Islam

November 16^th:  Final Presentations