Journal of General Internal Medicine 2(34) June 2005
Religious Characteristics of U.S. Physicians: A National Survey
Farr A. Curlin, MD1,2,3, John D. Lantos, MD4,2,3, Chad J. Roach, BS5, Sarah
A.
Sellergren, MA6 and Marshall H. Chin, MD, MPH1,2,3
Background: Patients' religious commitments and religious communities are
known to influence their experiences of illness and their medical decisions.
Physicians are also dynamic partners in the doctorpatient relationship, yet
little is known about the religious characteristics of physicians or how
physicians' religious commitments shape the clinical encounter.
Objective: To provide a baseline description of physicians' religious
characteristics, and to compare physicians' characteristics with those of
the general U.S. population.
Design/Participants: Mailed survey of a stratified random sample of 2,000
practicing U.S. physicians. Comparable U.S. population data are derived from
the 1998 General Social Survey.
Measurements/Results: The response rate was 63%. Fifty-five percent of
physicians say their religious beliefs influence their practice of medicine.
Compared with the general population, physicians are more likely to be
affiliated with religions that are underrepresented in the United States,
less likely to say they try to carry their religious beliefs over into all
other dealings in life (58% vs 73%), twice as likely to consider themselves
spiritual but not religious (20% vs 9%), and twice as likely to cope with
major problems in life without relying on God (61% vs 29%).
Conclusions: Physicians' religious characteristics are diverse and they
differ in many ways from those of the general population. Researchers,
medical educators, and policy makers should further examine the ways in
which physicians' religious commitments shape their clinical engagements.