Doctors have long been aware that if a patient believes a treatment is doing them good, then some good will be achieved. Even if the pills they are taking are no more than sweetened chalk dust. The placebo effect has many similarities with religion. I wonder if there have been any studies to compare the life expectancies and overall health condition of Atheists with believers.
2007-02-11 11:49:18 · 28 answers · asked by Desiree J 3 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
An interesting and well put question...
I think you could be right about it having health benefits. And I'd be interested in seeing the results of a good study. I wouldn't want to place a bet on the outcome though.
Overall I wouldn't expect much of a difference if anything. And it could very easily go the other way, too - it could be that religion brings health problems.
2007-02-11 11:58:41 · answer #1 · answered by The Truth 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Yes, many of us are aware of it.
There are a couple of important finer points, though:
First of all, atheists are generally in better health and live longer than do believers.
However, once you have controlled for factors like education and income, believers live longer and are in better health than are atheists.
While it's almost impossible to account for it, this difference is almost certainly largely due to the fact that atheists have to cope with, well, the kind of bigotry and "ignorant arrogance" that we see here on R&S from believers, while believers do not. In other words, it takes effort to "buck the tide", and part of the health advantage that believers have is due to the fact that they don't have the stress of living outside of the mainstream of culture. Atheists do.
Finally, some of what we might see as "placebo effect" is not an "effect" at all, but instead bad measurement. Many of the most fervent believers _think_ that they're seeing advantages in health or that they've had their lives saved by their religious beliefs when in fact they're really in relatively poor health or did not really have their lives as endangered as they claim. We've all heard lots of "miracle cure" stories from people who are obviously embellishing wildly. That's not a placebo effect: it's simply pretending to have had an advantage that really didn't exist at all. Alternative medicine is full of this kind of anecdote, pushed as support for everything from faith healing to natural food additives to homeopathy.
Remember that believers do not consider dying to be a negative outcome. There's a reason for that.
2007-02-11 11:54:49 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
The thing that a placebo can't do is take on cognizance and make an impact on our world.
The reason why people like you don't understand this is because you've never experienced it. It's like trying to explain why the Northern Lights don't exist if you live in the equator. You look really silly to those of us who have seen them.
2007-02-11 11:55:48 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Not sure, but I do know many studies have been done on prayer, and almost all of them point to prayer having no affect at all, and even some, prayer had a negative affect on recovery after surgery. I myself study martial arts, meditate, stay active, and eat healthy, I'll probably live to 100.
Frankly Joshua- you either heard these studied wrong or are flat lying, neither would surprise me..
2007-02-11 11:55:55 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Do people like you realise that it is possible to be an atheist and still actually believe in something?
'A-theist' means we do not believe in an almighty god ruling the universe - that is what the prefix 'a-' does to a word: negates it.
Do we have to teach Christians basic English grammar now?
I am an a-theist: I do not believe in a single almighty god.
I am a Buddhist: I have a very full and active set of spiritual beliefs.
.
2007-02-11 12:08:54 · answer #5 · answered by abetterfate 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Studies already have been done comparing those who have religion to those who do not. and it showed people that have religion had better recoveries or better health. But why believe in something that is just considered a "placebo effect"?!
2007-02-11 11:57:08 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
Since I am aware of the non-existence of God, the placebo effect wouldn't work on me.
It would be like you taking a sugar pill and knowing it's a sugar pill.
2007-02-11 11:53:50 · answer #7 · answered by Incoherent Fool 3 · 7⤊ 0⤋
atheists will generally live longer because they know there is no life after death, therefore, if they don't stay healthy or if they commit murder, their lives will end sooner than they should have. Atheists want to live as long as possible because once they're dead, that's it. If you knew for a fact that you could live to be 200 years old, wouldn't you want that? Or would you be too anxious to get to heaven to wait that long?
2007-02-13 07:25:57 · answer #8 · answered by ALeC.... 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A large percentage of Christians are overweight and have high cholesterol (which leads to heart problems). I would know cuz I moved to American and they are EVERYWHERE!!!
You never see women this large in the Czech Republic, which is filled with mostly atheist people.
2007-02-11 11:56:56 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Such studies have indeed been done and yes a placebo effect has been observed, but no, I'd rather go through life without anesthetic.
2007-02-11 11:52:53 · answer #10 · answered by fourmorebeers 6 · 7⤊ 1⤋