Book

“Religion as a Social Determinant of Public Health”, Ellen Idler, PhD, editor.

Oxford University Press, 2014

In the fall of 2010, Ellen Idler, Director of the Religion and Public Health Collaborative and Professor of Sociology, convened an interdisciplinary faculty seminar at Emory that explored both the positive and negative intersections of religion and public health.  Faculty from the schools of public health, theology, medicine, nursing, and the graduate school met monthly, discussing the complex relationship of religion and public health, two institutions that often share common interests but sometimes find themselves in opposition.  What was clear at the outset was this: religion was an invisible and unacknowledged but utterly crucial social determinant of public health.

Over the next three years, this book was written by this amazing group of scholars; in these pages, there are 35 voices that speak to practice, history, the lifecourse, global health, epidemics, and the future.  Published on September 1, 2014 by Oxford University Press, the edited volume entitled Religion as a Social Determinant of Public Health is the definitive book for this field of inquiry.

In November 2014, the RPHC hosted “Practices, Peoples, Partnerships, and Politics ” a conference that explored Religion as a Social Determinant of Public Health in greater depth, with invited scholars responding to the chapters in each section of the book.  For a list of speakers and to view their videos, please visit the conference page.

More details about the book can be found at the Oxford University Press website

List of Chapters

Part I:
Public Health
in the Practices
of the World’s
Faith Traditions

Chapter 1. Religion: The Invisible Social Determinant

Chapter 1.  Religion: The Invisible Social Determinant – Ellen Idler

Chapters 2-5. Daily Religious Practices
  • Chapter 2.  Refuge Meditation in Contemporary Buddhism – Geshe Lobsang Tenzin Negi and Brendan Ozawa-de Silva
  • Chapter 3.  Taiji (T’ai-chi) in Taoism – Eric Reinders
  • Chapter 4.  Veiling in Islam: A Western Feminist Outsider’s Perspective – Kathryn M. Yount
  • Chapter 5.  Vegetarianism in Seventh-day Adventism – George H. Grant and Jose Montenegro
Chapters 6-7. Weekly Religious Practices

Weekly Religious Practices

  • Chapter 6.  The Eucharist in Roman Catholicism – Phillip M. Thompson
  • Chapter 7.  Congregational Hymn Singing in Mainline Protestantism – Don E. Saliers
Chapters 8-9. Annual Religious Practices

Annual Religious Practices

  • Chapter 8.  Hatsumōde, or Visitation of Shinto Shrines: Religion and Culture in the Japanese Context – Chikako Ozawa-da Silva
  • Chapter 9.  Fasting in Islam – Abdullahi An-Na’im
Chapters 10-13. One-Time Religious Practices

One-Time Religious Practices

  • Chapter 10.  Circumcision in Judaism: The Sign of the Covenant – Don Seeman 
  • Chapter 11.  Puberty Rites in African Religious Traditions: Kloyo Peemi – Emmanuel Yartekwei Amugi Lartey
  • Chapter 12.  Baptism by Immersion in Latin American Evangelical Pentecostalism: The Santa Cruz Case – Wesley de Souza 
  • Chapter 13.  Cremation Rites in Hinduism – Bhagirath Majmudar

Part II:
Religion in the
History of
Public Health

Chapters 14-16: Religion in the History of Public Health

Part II. Religion in the History of Public Health

  • Chapter 14.  Christian Commitment to Public Well-Being: John Wesley’s “Sensible Regimen” and “Primitive Physick” – Karen D. Scheib 
  • Chapter 15.  US Public Health Reform Movements and the Social Gospel – John Blevins 
  • Chapter 16.  Anthony Comstock: A Religious Fundamentalist’s Negative Impact on Reproductive Health – Lynn Hogue and Carol Hogue

Part III:
Religion and
Public Health
Across the
Life Course

Chapters 17-19: Religion and Public Health across the Life Course

Part III. Religion and Public Health across the Life Course

  • Chapter 17.  Religion and Reproductive Health – Laura M. Gaydos and Patricia Z. Page 
  • Chapter 18.  Religion and Physical Health from Childhood to Old Age – Ellen Idler 
  • Chapter 19.  Religion, Spirituality, and Mental Health: Toward a Preventive Model Based on the Cultivation of Basic Human Values – Brendan Ozawa-de Silva

Part IV:
Religion and
Public Health
Across the
Globe

Chapters 20-23: Religion and Public Health across the Globe

Part IV. Religion and Public Health across the Globe

  • Chapter 20.  Religion and Global Public Health – Peter J. Brown 
  • Chapter 21.  The Christian Medical Commission and the World Health Organization – Matthew Bersagel Braley
  • Chapter 22.  Ingenious Institutions: Religious Origins of Health and Development Organizations – Ellen Idler
  • Chapter 23.  Mapping Religious Resources for Health: The African Religious Health Assets Programme – James R. Cochrane, Deborah McFarland, and Gary R. Gunderson

Part V:
Religion and Three
Public Health
Challenges
of Our Time

Chapters 24-26: Religion and Three Public Health Challenges of Our Time

Part V. Religion and Three Public Health Challenges of Our Time

  • Chapter 24.  HIV/AIDS – Safiya George Dalmida and Sandra Thurman 
  • Chapter 25.  Influenza Pandemic – Mimi Kiser and Scott Santibañez 
  • Chapter 26.  Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementias – Kenneth Hepburn and Theodore Johnson

Conclusion

Religion’s Role as a Social Determinant of Twenty-First–Century Health: Perspectives from the Disciplines
  • Conclusion: Religion’s Role as a Social Determinant of Twenty-First–Century Health: Perspectives from the Disciplines – Paul Wolpe, Walter Burnett, and Ellen Idler