In June, the Duke University School of Medicine hosted the first meeting of The Society for Spirituality, Theology and Health.
Dr. Harold Koenig, co-director of the Center for Spirituality, Theology and Health at Duke, said it’s only recently that medicine and spirituality have become separate although the goals of each are the same.
“We’ve learned that complete health requires both the medical and spiritual, since people are both physical and spiritual/emotional beings,” he said. “Today, we know that sickness of the soul affects the physical body, and sickness of the physical body affects the health of the soul. Thus, religion and medicine complement each other beautifully, and we need both for real healing.”
Dr. J. Patrick Daugherty, an oncologist and partner at Northwest Alabama Cancer Center, was among the presenters at the conference, and he revealed the findings from a 12-week study of local cancer patients.
