Science or Miracle?; Holiday Season Survey Reveals Physicians' Views
of Faith, Prayer and Miracles

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 20, 2004--A national survey of 1,100
physicians, conducted by HCD Research and the Louis Finkelstein
Institute for Religious and Social Studies of The Jewish Theological
Seminary in New York City over the past weekend, found that 74% of
doctors believe that miracles have occurred in the past and 73%
believe that can occur today.

The poll also indicated that American physicians are surprisingly
religious, with 72% indicating they believe that religion provides a
reliable and necessary guide to life.

Those surveyed represent physicians from Christian (Roman Catholic,
Protestant, Orthodox Christian and other), Jewish (Orthodox,
Conservative, Reform and secular) Muslim, Hindu and Buddhist religious
traditions.

"The picture that emerges is one where doctors, although presumably
more highly educated than their average patient, are not necessarily
more secular or radically different in religious outlook than the
public, stated Dr. Alan Mittleman, Director of The Finkelstein
Institute.

"Our business is to determine physicians' needs and requirements
relevant to the health care environment and this study was a great
opportunity for us to use our methodology to explore physicians'
spirituality and personal beliefs," explained Glenn Kessler,
Co-Founder and Managing Partner, HCD Research in Flemington, NJ. The
study affirmed earlier polls conducted by HCD that indicate a
correlation between physicians' spiritual and political conservatism.

Additional findings indicate:

-- (58%) (over half) attending worship services at least one time per
month

-- 46% (a plurality) believe that prayer is very important in their
own lives

Physicians views of the Bible and religious teachings

Often, religious conviction, especially a belief in the miraculous,
declines as level of education increases. This does not appear to hold
true for physicians. Perhaps because of their frequent involvement
with matters of life and death, physicians show significant openness
to religion. Regarding their views on miracles and the source of the
Bible:

-- 37% physicians believe that the Bible's miracle stories are
literally true while 50% believe they are metaphorically true. 12%
indicated that they did not believe in the Bible's description of
miracles

-- 9% believe the Bible was written by God, 58% believe the Bible was
inspired by God and 34% consider it human ancient literature.

-- 55% believe that medical practice should be guided by religious
teaching (44% do not)

Religion and the practice of medicine

Perhaps the most surprising result of the survey is that a majority of
doctors (55%) said that they have seen treatment results in their
patients that they would consider miraculous (45% do not). Most
physicians pray for their patients as a group (51%). Even more, 59%
pray for individual patients.

67% encourage their patients to pray. Of those physicians, 5% did so
for God to answer their prayers, 32% for psychological benefits and
63% for both reasons. 33% did not encourage their patients to pray.

Religious Differences

The quality of doctors' religiosity differs according to their own
religious background. Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox Christian
doctors tend to hold more supernatural views than Jewish doctors, with
the exception of Orthodox Jewish physicians, who resemble their
Christian peers. For example, 60% of Protestant doctors believe that
the miracles stories of the Bible are literally true. By comparison,
although 53% of Orthodox Jews agree, among Conservative and Reform
Jews the percentage drops to 12% and 4% respectively. Such differences
do not indicate that Christians are more religious than Jews. They do
indicate that Christians tend to be religious in a more traditional
way, while Jews are religious in liberal way. 79% and 95% of
Conservative and Reform Jews say that they are liberal believers, as
compared with only 48% of Protestants.

Physicians differ regarding their perceptions of their control of
treatment outcomes versus the influence of the supernatural or of acts
of God. 35% of Catholics believe that all or a lot of the outcome of
treatment is due to these non-medical sources, 46% of Protestants
concur while only 20% of Jews attribute outcomes to non-medical
influences.

Editors/Reporters: For more information on the poll, or to speak with
Dr. Mittleman or Glenn Kessler, please contact Sherry Kirschenbaum in
the Department of Communications at (212) 678-8953; or email
shkirschenbaum@jtsa.edu.

HCD Research is a marketing and advertising research company
headquartered in Flemington, NJ. The company's services include
traditional and web-based marketing and advertising research. For
additional information on HCD Research, access the company's web site
at www.hcdi.net or call HCD Research at 908-788-9393.

The Finkelstein Institute provides a venue to advance dialogue at the
intersection of religion and public affairs. Founded in 1886 as a
rabbinical school, The Jewish Theological Seminary today is the
academic and spiritual center of Conservative Judaism worldwide,
encompassing a world-class library and five schools. JTS trains
tomorrow's religious, educational, academic and lay leaders for the
Jewish community and beyond.

Visit the JTS website at www.jtsa.edu
 
Contacts  
HCD Research
Glenn Kessler, 908-788-9393
grkessler@hcdi.net