The relationship between religion, medicine, and health have been studied since the enlightenment period. People live in societies with religious practices and other cultures that affect their behaviors. At the same time, the relationship between wealth and religious practice remains an essential area for psychologists. Throughout human history, religion, medicine, and health outcome have been related areas of human life. Only in recent times that the system of healing and spirituality have been separated. Many previous scholars have studied the relationship between religious beliefs and health outcomes. In modern times, the role of religion and spirituality have changed to include issues such as mediation and power in healing. While the role of religious beliefs in the health outcome continues to be of significance, the role of wealth in spirituality is also gaining momentum. The current diversified society requires increased attention to the issue of religion in health outcomes. In an area that was previously ignored, many healthcare workers are beginning to recognize the role of faith in healing. However, the impact of one's economic income on spirituality need when it comes to matters of health has remained uncovered by many scholars.
Research Question
From the advancement in the view of the human body to the shifting paradigm of evaluation in health, the world has witnessed a lot of changes in the last few years when it comes to viewing a person as one whole being. Many recent studies have focused on the spirituality benefits on the human health outcome. The critical areas of research have been the importance of religious beliefs on the mental health outcome of individuals. While many studies identify a positive correlation between spirituality and health outcome, some other studies have had objections on the issue. More recent studies have been vital to find the role of religion in coping and perception of healing during sickness. In more recent practice, many healthcare workers are beginning to embed the religious practice of patients while delivering care.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
The positive health outcome is getting more influenced by the spiritual beliefs of the patients. However, there is emerging evidence of the existence of a correlation between one's economic status and spirituality needs when it comes to health. That the financial condition of n individual determines the religious beliefs is an area that has significantly been examined. However, much attention is focusing on the impact of wealth on spirituality needs when it comes to the need to be healthy. This area is gaining attention from scholars due to the growing importance of economic status and religion on the health outcome of an individual. Despite the increasing research in religion and health, this area has not been examined by researchers in recent times. It creates a gap in the research literature that needs to be filled. This study, therefore, seeks to explore the impact of wealth on spiritual needs when it comes to the need to be healthy.
Literature Review
Many previous studies have focused on the role of spirituality in the health and health outcome of various groups. The emphasis on the need to provide multicultural care for patients from different backgrounds has given rise to this investigation. According to Jawaid (2014), the advancement in the way people view the human body has come to change how to visualize what makes one whole being. While focusing on the role of spirituality, Jawaid (2014) emphasizes both the health of the mind and body. All cultures in the modern world incorporate care for soul and body. The people assigned to the role of care in these cultures attended to both mind and body. There is no dichotomy between the human need for the body and the needs of the spirit. Both have traditionally been treated as one. In many cultures, the healer of the spirit has also remained the healer of the body (Jawaid, 2014). Every person has unique needs and different purpose and meaning for life. The complete treatment of a person, therefore, requires a focus on both mind and body.
Religious beliefs majorly deal with the external functioning that is apparent in the code of conduct. Spirituality, on the other hand, focuses on the need to find the meaning and motives for human life. It is based on the inner need to connect to the creator and develop a purpose for life. Other scholars have viewed spirituality as a subjective feature that entails the sense of sight and hearing. According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, spirituality " is recognized as a factor that contributes to health in many persons. The concept of spirituality is found in all cultures and societies. It is expressed in an individual’s search for ultimate meaning” ( Koenig, 2012 ). The association between spirituality and health has emerged in recent literature, mainly due to the growing need to incorporate culture into care. Specific research findings have shown that people are more likely to seek divine intervention during illness after the medical cure has failed. Religion has emerged as an alternative to the medical system where people look upon for healing. The people who were not religious could turn to religion as a way to seek an alternative solution to body health. Wealth, on the other hand, plays a significant role in the health outcome of individuals based on quality and access. It further creates a research gap on how wealthy people are likely to seek spiritual healing in their efforts to be healthy.
Studies on the relationship between spirituality and health have found both positive and negative outcomes. A recent study finds that there is a close association between meditation as a religious practice and the beneficial treatment of certain health conditions. The individual personal and religious beliefs tend to influence the prevention, coping, recovery, and the experience with the illness. In similar findings, Miller& Karkazis (2013) examine the importance of incorporating the religious practices of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS) into their care plan. Each of the religious practices has different beliefs about treatment and healing. The FLDS tend to have a unique belief in the health fatalities in which the health outcomes of an individual tend to reflect the will of God. In a more comparative study, scholars have focused on the relationship between mental health outcomes and religious beliefs. According to a recent study of the Turkish polygamist groups, the rate of somatization and emotional distress is higher amongst the polygamist population ( Miller& Karkazis, 2013 ). A study by Jawaid (2014) also examines the relationship between religious practices and health behaviors. Religious practices that promote polygamy tend to subject women to mental disorder, which then gets converted into physical illness. A study by Koenig (2013) , on the other hand, contradicts the previous findings on the correlation between mental health and spirituality. People undergoing stress are more likely to find the ultimate purpose and meaning of life through religious adherence. Religious practics can positively affect coping abilities, which is then more likely to create a more significant life expansion.
Other studies focus on the comparison between the religious practices amongst the low and high-income nations. Wealth plays a significant role in how one seeks and creates meaning for life. According to Oishi & Diener (2014), the meaning of life remains an important aspect of the overall human well-being. Life satisfaction tends to have a strong positive correlation with wealth and economic status in the society. Wealthy people are more likely to experience higher life satisfaction compared to low-income individuals. However, the meaning of life tends to follow a different trend. Many theorists have argued that people living in the modern wealthy nations are more likely to struggle to find the meaning of life. It is in comparison to those living in pre-modern low-income nations. Individuals in low-income nations tend to be more religious and rely on their spirituality to seek for the meaning of life ( Oishi & Diener, 2014 ). In contrast, wealthy people in modern society are more likely to seek the meaning of life by relying on their economic status and knowledge. This makes it difficult for this group to get the real meaning of life, which can only be ideal in spirituality. Scholars holding this view argue that wealth creates a sense of security and belongingness, which then makes them less likely to seek religious interventions. With high life satisfaction, wealthy individuals tend to believe in their status, which comes with pride. As a result, they are less likely to find the meaning of life in spirituality as compared to their wealth. In contrast, the people in the low-income status tend to find no life satisfaction in their economic status. Instead, they feel less satisfied with their lives, which makes them seek spiritual guidance to the meaning of life.
Other researchers have, however, taken a completely different view of this topic. According to Oishi &Diene (2014), religion act as a motivation factor for the low-income groups from which they get the meaning of life. In this view, religion is used as a way to see life satisfaction that could not be found through economic status. The same view applies to the case of the people belonging to the high social class. Due to their ability to find life satisfaction through social status, this group is less likely to seek religious interventions. Unlike the low-income groups which get their motivation through religious intervention, the high-income groups find their motivation in the social status. However, this research agrees with the previous studies that high-class individuals do not find the real meaning of life. This could then push them to seek religious interventions. While they may have life satisfaction, this group tends to have no meaning for life, which leads to a lack of happiness. Similarly, the low-income group tends to be happier because they can get the real meaning of life in religion.
Research findings show consistency with the modernization theory about the meaning of life. Residents of low-income nations tend to experience a better meaning of life than those in wealthy nations. As people get wealthier, religion becomes less central to their meaning of life. Besides, wealthier nations tend to record higher education levels, a low number of children, and less meditation ( Oishi &Diene , 2014). All these factors are related to the low meaning of life in society. The higher life satisfaction amongst wealthy people comes with a lot of objective living conditions. Many residents of wealthy nations tend to live in better conditions compared to those in low-income nations. The low-income individuals report a lack of ideal in their lives, ye they record the high meaning of life. While these findings create a correlation between wealth, religion, and meaning of life, they fail to connect it to a health outcome. Therefore, this creates a research gap that then needs further research.
In a similar study, Tang (2010) examines the meaning of money and how it relates to spirituality in society. People tend to seek happiness and meaning of life through higher power, spirituality, or religion. Religion and spirituality help people to seek the meaning of life and to develop honesty, humility, and empathy. However, money plays a significant economic role in human lives. Despite being a measure of value, it has greatly influenced the cultural and social structures of society. The major problem that creates a complex relationship between money and spirituality is the love for money. The love for money and spirituality are opposite to each other. Spirituality comes with virtues of ethics, humility, and empathy. Love for money, on the other hand, is greatly associated with unethical behaviors and selfish acts such as corruption, which completely contradicts the spiritual beliefs ( Tang, 2012 ). A study conducted in Malasia shows that people who consider money as their measure for success are less critical about the need to be ethical. This attitude is increasing anti-religious behaviors such as theft.
On the other hand, religiosity is the most determinant of any ethical beliefs in society. Religious people are more critical of any unethical behaviors than are less religious. Individuals with higher intrinsic religiosity tend to have low love for money and more meaning for life. This attitude reduces unethical behavior and increases the need for a moral society. Money has emerged as a tool for economic exchange. The thinking of money tends to give people a feeling of self-sufficiency and creates confidence ( Tang, 2010 ). The people who view money as a source of their strengths are more likely to seek the meaning of life from their social status. This situation is contrary to people who do not have a love for money at the expense of moral values. The love for and attitude towards money is also directly associated with the level of income. Children from affluent families tend to show low love for money compared to those from low-income families. Because money is viewed as a source of livelihood, low-income individuals are more likely to engage in unethical behaviour just to acquire money.
Wealth and religion have a negative correlation with each other. Because money forms the main source of wealth, people who have more money are less likely to be religious. Wealth creates a sense of security, confidence, and a feeling of worthfulness. A wealthy person tends to feel more secure and confident than a low-income person. The feeling of security and confidence is further associated with more life satisfaction ( Tang, 2010 ). However, research shows that people who love money may experience more life satisfaction, but may struggle to get the meaning of life. Love for money leads to unethical behaviors, which then leads to deviation from religious beliefs. It is a way to seek the meaning of life from social status, which can only seem ideal, but almost impossible.
Further research into wealth and its role in religion have been focused on the existence of economic inequality in society. Modern communities are divided into class structures, and this class stratification has almost become an acceptable norm. However, the role of economic inequality on the religiosity of the people has been examined by many scholars. One group of researchers argues that religion serves as a source of comfort for the impoverished ( Solt, Habel & Grant, 2011 ). On the other hand, one group sees religion as a tool used by the rich to exercise social control over the impoverished. The study of the role of inequality on religion focuses on two major theories; the value of religion to the poor and the utility to the rich ( Tang, 2010 ). One major argument brought in the study of inequality and religion is that religion serves as a source of comfort to those economically deprived. It provides hope and reassurance that irrespective of the current hardship they face, God will provide. People with low income tend to seek the intervention of the superpower. Religion here is seen as a source of hope and consolation for those in trouble.
In contrast, some scholars view the deprivation theory from two different perspectives. Instead of examining religion as a source of comfort, it can also be examined from a rich perspective. Economic inequality means that the poor only get poorer while the rich get richer.
In this case, more inequality in society is linked with reduced religiosity. Because many studies have already linked wealth with reduced religiosity, economic inequality only makes the affluent less spiritual. However, many researchers criticize the deprivation theory due to its compromised argument on inequality ( Solt, Habel & Grant, 2011) . The fact that the theory views an increase in inequality as a way to promote religiosity amongst the poor only makes it incomplete. To counter this theory, researchers have developed a relative power theory. This theory holds that religion act as a mechanism for the rich to exercise social control over the poor. Even though this theory acknowledges religion as a source of comfort for the poor, it views deprivation theory as incomplete. Relative power theory holds that inequality not only attracts the rich to religion but also enhances their power to disseminate religious beliefs amongst the rest of the population.
An increase in economic inequality can best attract wealthy people to religion. Huge economic differences between the rich and the poor serve as a way to create discontent in the social order. The existence of discontent in the social order can only spur the need for redistribution ( Solt, Habel & Grant, 2011 ) On the other hand, religion can only preserve the existing social structure for the rich to remain rich and the poor to get poorer. It makes the poor to accept that inequality is a just outcome of the rules that are supported by the divine power. It makes people accept their situation in society and consider it as a circumstance that has been inspired by divine power. These findings show that there is a strong correlation between religiosity and economic inequality. While it may act as a way for the rich to exercise social control, religion acts as a source of comfort for the poor. The findings further support other studies on the relationship between wealth and religiosity. Economic inequality exists as away for the rich to accumulate more wealth and exploit the poor. Due to wealth accumulation, wealthy people can be less religious ( Solt, Habel & Grant, 2011). Even if they get attracted to religion, it only comes as a way to exercise social control over the poor. Despite these studies on the correlation between economic inequality and religiosity, the researchers fail to determine the relationship on the need to remain healthy.
Studies investigating the relationship between religion, income, and health have focused on the overall well-being of individuals. In many societies, wealth is usually associated with increased happiness and overall well-being ( Bomhoff& Siah, 2019 ). Wealthy people are more likely to experience an inner satisfaction and well-being. Similar studies also show that more religious people tend to be happier than those who are less religious. The major objectives that are used to measure the quality of life include health, economic conditions, education, and employment. The success of life is determined by happiness and life satisfaction. Besides, research shows a strong positive correlation between religiosity and personal and societal well-being. People with high-income levels tend to have all the objectives for a quality life ( Bomhoff& Siah, 2019 ). They tend to have access to quality healthcare, education, better jobs, and thus high levels of happiness in life. The trend is opposite for low-income individuals who struggle to have the objectives that determine a happy life.
Happiness and well-being are also related to religiosity. Findings show that people who strongly believe in religion tend to have a happier life and improved well-being. Even though the relationship between life satisfaction and religion has remained controversial, many studies show a positive relationship between the two. One key area of focus for this study has been on psychological well-being. One study notes that people who seek religious meditation tend to have a stable mental state of mind. The findings have been relevant in the treatment of the mentally ill people. The assumption is that spiritual meditation tends to increase coping and management skills. Even though the correlation between life happiness and religiosity has massive support from many studies, the correlation between wealth and happiness receives much criticism. Higher-income is highly associated with better living conditions ( Jawaid, 2014 ). However, some studies show that people may experience low life satisfaction irrespective of their economic status. This argument is built on previous studies on the relationship between wealth and the meaning of life. Finding the real meaning of life is one of the determinants of happiness. High-income individuals are more likely to seek the meaning of life on their societal status ( Bomhoff& Siah, 2019 ). When this proves impossible, they may experience low life satisfaction. Low life expectation is more likely to lead to psychological issues. Low life expectations are associated with increased chances of developing mental health problems.
The United States records a rapid increase in the number of the aging population who require end of life and nursing home care. This has drawn more attention to the need to understand the relationship between spirituality and aging. The major challenge faced by the aging population is the ability to redefine a sense of purpose. They have to relocate new sources of fulfilment and joy at a time when careers, jobs, and family are no longer dictating how they spend time ( Black & Hannum, 2015 ). At this age, the seniors have to redefine the meaning of life and satisfaction. Spirituality and religion play a key role in helping the elderly to redefine their lives and purpose. It gives them a sense of purpose and hope, which then leads to quality aging and better health outcome.
Research findings show that seniors who have dedicated their last days of life to religious and spiritual life tend to have healthier aging. They can redefine the purpose of life and understand their identity at this time of life review ( Sapp, 2010 ). Religion gives them a sense of hope and increases mental stability at the time when they developmental retardation. It avoids reflections on the mistakes made during active life and instead leads to an appreciation of valuable life lived. The other challenge faced by the seniors is trying to understand the nature of God, human existence, and death. As they deeply analyze the value of their lives, questions about the experience of death may linger. At this time, spirituality can help answer such questions and create a stable peace of mind and satisfaction. More religious seniors are more likely to avoid the several questions they undergo as they see the meaning of life. The more religious one is, the happier and more satisfied with their lives. Happiness at the end of life days remains one of the goals of any senior.
Methodology
This research will use two methodologies; review of various literature on the topic and qualitative interviews. A review of sources will entail an analysis of various scholarly journal articles and magazines on the topic. At least ten sources will be consulted and data collected to help in understanding the topic. The search terms that will be used include "religion, wealth and health, medical and health beliefs." The purpose will be to acquire relevant and more reliable data that can best answer the research topic.
After the review of sources, the second phase will utilize a qualitative interview. The open-ended interviews will involve at least 100 healthcare workers working in various departments within California State. Random sampling will be used to pick the interviewees. The healthcare workers will be used because they come in direct contact with patients on their day to day work. They have experienced how religion, spirituality and wealth affect the overall health of individuals. The interview will seek to understand from their work experience how they feel religion impacts the health of the patients. The survey will also seek to understand the relationship between health, wealth, and religion.
The data will be analyzed using content and narrative analysis. Content analysis will mainly be used to analyze the sources and literature that will be used. Based on the research question, the content analysis will seek to provide a clear interpretation of the data presented. The narrative analysis will be used to analyze the responses from the interviews. It will provide a more detailed analysis of the data.
References
Black, H. K., & Hannum, S. M. (2015). Aging, spirituality, and time: A qualitative study. Journal of religion, spirituality & aging , 27 (2-3), 145-165.
Bomhoff, E. J., & Siah, A. K. L. (2019). The relationship between income, religiosity and health: Their effects on life satisfaction. Personality and Individual Differences , 144 , 168-173.
Jawaid, H. (2014). Impact of religion/spirituality on health: what are the evidences. Journal of Psychiatry , 17 (6), 1-5.
Koenig, H. G. (2012). Religion, spirituality, and health: The research and clinical implications. ISRN psychiatry , 2012 .
Miller, A. C., & Karkazis, K. (2013). Health beliefs and practices in an isolated polygamist community of southern Utah. Journal of religion and health , 52 (2), 597-609.
Oishi, S., & Diener, E. (2014). Residents of poor nations have a greater sense of meaning in life than residents of wealthy nations. Psychological Science , 25 (2), 422-430.
Sapp, S. (2010). What have religion and spirituality to do with aging? Three approaches.
Solt, F., Habel, P., & Grant, J. T. (2011). Economic inequality, relative power, and religiosity. Social Science Quarterly , 92 (2), 447-465.
Tang, T. L. P. (2010). Money, the meaning of money, management, spirituality, and religion. Journal of Management, Spirituality and Religion , 7 (2), 173-189.
