Religion, Spirituality, and Healing: Research, Dialogue, and Directions
This article investigates the roles of religion and spirituality in health and healing. It is the result of a keynote presentation and a workshop dialogue that were part of the conference "Music, Medicine, and Culture: Medical Ethnomusicology and Global Perspectives on Health and Healing," jointly sponsored by the Florida State University College of Music and College of Medicine. The first half presents aspects of the author's experience as he navigated his way professionally through a conventional system that was largely opposed to notions of religion and spirituality in science and biomedical research and practice. Furthermore, the second half extends ideas touched on in the first half within the context of dialogue, questions and answers, and presents reflections among physicians, ethnomusicologists, anthropologists, music therapists, psychologists, complementary and alternative practitioners, patients, and students from the health sciences and colleges of music, as well as other creative artists and interested members of the public.
