- Audio recording
- 15 minutes
- Level: all audiences
Faith and Science are connected in a different way in this 2023 interview of Lisa Miller, a professor in the Clinical Psychology Program at Teachers College, Columbia University, by Rachel Martin of NPR. Miller argues that science clearly shows that a faith life is good for human beings, with an 80% decreased relative risk for depression, addiction to drugs and alcohol, and suicide for those who say their personal spirituality is very important to them. Furthermore, says Miller,
the more high risk we are, the more that there’s stress in our lives, the more that we might be genetically at risk for depression, the greater the impact of spirituality as a source of resilience as preventative against major depression.
Martin and Miller also discuss the bounds of science and spirituality, and the role of skepticism, in this sort of research.
Click here for the interview from NPR (a transcript is also available).