RELIGION AND MEDICAL SCIENCE: A RELIGIO-PSYCHOLOGICAL STUDY

This article examines the complex and multidimensional relationship between religion and science, with particular emphasis on the psychological dimensions of religious experience. Science aims at the objective understanding of the natural world through systematic observation and methodology, while religion provides a framework of values and meaning, guiding human morality and the search for purpose. Despite the traditional perception of conflict between the two fields, contemporary research highlights a creative interaction that profoundly influences human psychology, behavior, and quality of life (Barbour, 1997).Through an interdisciplinary approach, the study examines how religiosity and spirituality contribute to mental and emotional health, often fostering psychological resilience, while also bringing forth challenges such as feelings of guilt or conflicts of belief (Dollahite, Marks & Dalton, 2018). At the same time, it traces the historical trajectory of science’s stance toward religion, from past controversies to current tendencies of cooperation, especially in the fields of medicine and psychology (Gould, 1999).The aim of this study is to contribute to the ongoing dialogue concerning the relationship between science and religion, by illuminating the role of religious beliefs in human experience and proposing new approaches for the integration of spirituality and religiosity into scientific research and mental health.