Dr. God

This is an excerpt of an article sent to me by Dan (Thanks Dan!) I saw a bit of this on the news myslef. As you read it, keep in mind the word "God" is not defined. It should be read "A God" instead.

According to a recent survey by researchers at the University of Chicago, 76 percent of doctors believe in God and 59 percent believe in some sort of afterlife.

The survey published in the latest issue of the Journal of General Internal Medicine, found that 90 percent of doctors in the United States attend religious services at least occasionally, compared to 81 percent of all adults. Fifty-five percent of doctors say their religious beliefs influence how they practice medicine.

Although physicians are nearly as religious as the general population, their specific beliefs often differ from those of their patients. While more than 80 percent of patients describe themselves as Protestant or Catholic, only 60 percent of physicians come from either group.

Physicians are 26 times more likely to be Hindu than the overall US population. They are seven times more likely to be Jewish, six times more likely to be Buddhist and five times more likely to be Muslim.

Christian, Mormon and Buddhist doctors were the most likely to say "my religious beliefs influence my practice of medicine." Jewish and Hindu physicians were the least likely. Physicians from the South and Midwest were slightly more religious than those from the East and West.

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