Am J Epidemiol. 2020 Dec 1;189(12):1461-1463. doi: 10.1093/aje/kwz204.
There is broad agreement that religion is a social determinant of health. In the article by Chen and VanderWeele (Am J Epidemiol. 2018;187(11):2355-2364), the authors took an outcome-wide approach to demonstrate associations between religious practices early in the life course (regular service attendance and prayer/mediation) and a wide range of health endpoints and behaviors later on. Is religion a panacea? The study adds to the evidence that religious practices are correlated with a broad swath of health outcomes. However, more work is needed to translate that evidence into practicable advice for individuals and for society. The following tasks remain. 1) We must sharpen our understanding of which elements of religious practices promote health. (Specifically, is it service attendance, prayer, or both? Could a nonreligious person achieve the same benefit via regular participation in a secular group, like a choir?). 2) We should improve our understanding of the different contexts in which religion is likely to have beneficial, as well as potentially harmful, effects.
人们普遍认为宗教是健康的社会决定因素。在 Chen 和 VanderWeele 的文章中（《美国流行病学杂志》。2018；187(11):2355-2364），作者采用了一种全结局的方法，证明了生命早期的宗教实践（定期参加礼拜和祈祷/冥想）与之后广泛的健康终点和行为之间存在关联。宗教是万灵药吗？这项研究增加了证据，表明宗教实践与广泛的健康结果相关。然而，需要做更多的工作将该证据转化为个人和社会可行的建议。以下任务仍然存在。1）我们必须更深入地了解哪些宗教实践元素有助于增进健康。（具体来说，是参加礼拜、祈祷还是两者都有？一个非宗教人士是否可以通过定期参加世俗团体，如唱诗班，获得同样的好处？）2）我们应该更好地理解宗教可能产生有益和潜在有害影响的不同情境。
