The best radiologists and radiology personnel aspire to care for patients as whole human beings and not just injured or diseased organs. To do so, it is important to understand the basic tenets of major faith traditions. Health professionals unacquainted with this dimension of life are liable to make avoidable blunders. By contrast, religiously informed and sensitive radiology department personnel can provide more comprehensive and compassionate care to patients and also exhibit greater understanding in their working relationships with colleagues of faith. This article focuses on key features of the three Abrahamic faith traditions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. It also touches on their views regarding the patient-physician relationship, including their attitude toward revealing normally hidden features of the human form.
Religion
When asked if religion is important in daily life, 65% of Americans respond in the affirmative. This compares to 95% in Saudi Arabia, 72% in Mexico, 50% in Israel, 42% in Canada, 30% in France, and 23% in Japan. Many people view their identity as embedded in a larger religious community and see the world itself as the product of a divine creator who has a plan for human beings. Most people of faith also regard religion as an important source of ethical guidance, setting forth patterns of conduct that should be followed or avoided. These perspectives often shape health-related decisions, both for patients and providers.
In general, there is an inverse correlation between a nation’s level of religiosity and its standard of living. The most economically prosperous countries generally rank among the least religious. On this score, the United States is a notable exception, with levels of religiosity about twice those of the other very prosperous nations. Of course, religiosity varies from state to state within the United States, with the highest levels (>80%) in the South and the lowest (<50%) in northeastern and far western states. Despite such interstate differences, however, the overall high level of US religiosity makes it even more important that US health personnel be religiously literate and sensitive to different religious perspectives.
Abrahamic traditions
Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are called Abrahamic traditions because each traces its lineage back to a common origin, the patriarch Abraham. Of the three, Judaism is the oldest at 3000 years and Islam the youngest at 1400 years. In the book of Genesis, a foundational scripture for all three, Abraham is recorded as the ancestor of the Israelites through his son Isaac and his grandson Jacob. In the Christian Bible, Genesis forms the first book of the Old Testament, a modified form of the Hebrew Bible. Muslims regard Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, as a descendant of Abraham’s son Ishmael. More than half of the world’s population, some 3.8 billion people, identify themselves with one of the Abrahamic traditions, as do more than 80% of American adults.
Each of the Abrahamic faiths is monotheistic, worshipping a single and exclusive personal deity who created the universe, rules over history, and has sent prophets to reveal the divine will. In each tradition, God is regarded as both the appropriate and necessary center of every human life. To put other things such as wealth, power, fame, or even health before God would be to fall prey to the sin of idolatry, the worship of false gods.
Judaism
The sacred text of Judaism is the Tanakh, which consists of the Torah (the Pentateuch or first five books of the Bible), the Nevi’im (prophets), and the Ketuvim (writings), roughly corresponding to the Christian Old Testament. To this Judaism adds the Talmudic or classic rabbinic literature as well as Midrash, a further body of writings growing out of the interpretation of scripture. Jews believe that God entered into a special covenantal relationship with Abraham, subsequently revealing His laws to the prophet Moses in the form of both written and oral Torah.
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Christianity
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Islam
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