Influence of Spiritual Life on the Subjective Perception of Health

Abstract

The goal of this study was to investigate whether spiritual life influences the subjective feeling of health in individuals and whether this influence was significant. Methods: We used the SF-36 questionnaire to investigate the opinions of a religious prayer group on their personal health in comparison with participants who were not members. The questionnaire was completed by 51 members of the prayer group and as many participants in the control group. Results: The analysis showed that the prayer group had higher ratings in all scales on subjective health perception in comparison with the control group and the general population in Croatia. There were statistically significant differences in the prayer group in comparison with the control group on the scales for general health, vitality, emotional limitations, mental health, and mental component summary. In comparison with the Croatian population, the prayer group had statistically significant differences in all scores except social functioning. Conclusion: The study indicates that the quality of religious life is an important factor in a person’s perception of their own mental and physical health.