Review
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2021. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Sep 16, 2021; 9(26): 7620-7631
Published online Sep 16, 2021. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v9.i26.7620
Spirituality, religiousness, and mental health: A review of the current scientific evidence
Giancarlo Lucchetti, Harold G Koenig, Alessandra Lamas Granero Lucchetti
Giancarlo Lucchetti, Alessandra Lamas Granero Lucchetti, School of Medicine, Federal University of Juiz de Fora, Juiz de Fora 36030-776, Brazil
Harold G Koenig, Medical Center, Duke University, Durham, NC 27710, United States
Author contributions: Lucchetti G and Lucchetti ALG conceived and guided the study; Lucchetti G, Lucchetti ALG, and Koenig HG carried out the literature searches; Lucchetti G, Lucchetti ALG, and Koenig HG read the articles and assessed their methods; Lucchetti G wrote the manuscript; Lucchetti ALG and Koenig HG revised the manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors report no relevant conflicts of interest.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Giancarlo Lucchetti, MD, PhD, Associate Professor, School of Medicine, Federal University of Juiz de Fora, Av. Eugênio do Nascimento s/n, Juiz de Fora 36030-776, Brazil. g.lucchetti@yahoo.com.br
Received: February 25, 2021
Peer-review started: February 25, 2021
First decision: May 26, 2021
Revised: April 23, 2021
Accepted: July 23, 2021
Article in press: July 23, 2021
Published online: September 16, 2021
Processing time: 196 Days and 15.3 Hours
Core Tip

Core Tip: The number of studies assessing spirituality/religiousness (S/R) and mental health has been increasing over the past several decades, resulting now in a large body of evidence suggesting an impact of S/R. However, there remain many gaps in the literature that need filling in this area. There are numerous practical clinical applications that psychiatrists and other mental health professionals should consider implementing in clinical care. This will lead to a more holistic and patient-centered form of mental health care.