Abstract

Over the last two decades, high income countries like America have seen rapid decline in religiosity among its people leading to a decrease in both public and private religious practices. Considering the health benefits of religiosity, this spiral change presents serious public health challenges for the future of healthcare. Using evidence from current literature, we explored the intricacies of religiosity and its association with healthcare development and health outcomes. We argue that the decline in religiosity is a public health crisis and recommend (1) public health professionals and nurses explore the religious histories and practices of communities and how that might influence medical or health decisions, (2) the assembly of an expert panel to standardize the conceptualization and assessment of religiosity across multiple disciplines especially in public health and nursing education to improve cultural sensitivity in spiritual care, and (3) assessment should address the spirituality of the individual and not the state of their religious affiliation to ensure a model of holistic patient-centered care.

Keywords: Public health; Nursing; Religiosity; Crisis; Spiritual Care