Chicago, USA - More than half of doctors say it's OK to ask about a patient's religion, and nearly one in five pray with patients, a University of Chicago survey has found.
The findings reflect an emerging view that in order to treat the whole patient, doctors should address religion and spirituality.
Dr. Farr Curlin and colleagues surveyed 2,000 U.S. doctors in all specialties. The response rate was 63 percent.
Among their findings, reported in the journal Medical Care:
*Fifty-five percent of doctors say it's always or usually appropriate to inquire about a patient's religion or spirituality. Ninety-one percent say it's OK to discuss religion or spirituality when a patient brings it up.
*Four percent of doctors say they often or always pray with patients, and 15 percent say they sometimes pray. But 81 percent say they rarely or never pray with patients.
*Highly religious doctors, especially Protestants, were more likely to discuss religion and pray with patients. About 39 percent of doctors in the survey are Protestant, 22 percent Catholic, 16 percent Jewish, 13 percent other religion and 11 percent no religion.
Better left to chaplains?
More than half of medical schools now teach courses or portions of courses on religion and spirituality. But the subject remains controversial, and there are no expert guidelines concerning what role, if any, faith should play in the examining room.
Richard Sloan of Columbia University Medical Center argues that doctors are not trained to give spiritual counseling. That job, he said, is better left to health care chaplains.
With typical office visits lasting fewer than 20 minutes, spending time on religion can result in medical concerns getting short shrift, Sloan said. Moreover, bringing up religion can violate patients' privacy.
"Many patients regard their religious faith as even more personal and private than their health," Sloan and colleagues have written in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Health benefits from religion
A growing body of research has found that religion is good for your health.
Studies show, for example, that going to church slows cognitive decline in Alzheimer's patients, that doing most religious activities is linked to lower blood pressure and that people who frequently pray or study the Bible are less likely to be alcoholics.
But this doesn't mean doctors should recommend religious activity, Sloan said.
He notes, for example, that while married men are generally healthier than single men, doctors don't recommend single men get married.