Handbook of Religion and Health, Second Edition

According to Google Scholar, the 1st edition of the Handbook, published in 2001, is the most cited of any book or research article on religion and health in the past forty years (Google 2011). This new edition is completely re-written, and in fact, really serves as a second volume to the 1st edition. The 2nd edition focuses on the latest research published since the year 2000 and therefore complements the 1st edition that examined research prior to that time. Both volumes together provide a full survey of research published from 1872 through 2010 — describing and synthesizing results from over 3,000 studies. The Second Edition covers the latest original quantitative scientific research, and therefore will be of greatest use to religion/spirituality-health researchers and educators. Together with the First Edition, this Second Edition will save a tremendous amount of time in locating studies done worldwide, as well as provide not only updated research citations but also explain the scientific rationale on which such relationships might exist. This volume will also be of interest to health professionals and religious professionals wanting to better understand these connections, and even laypersons who desire to learn more about how R/S influences health.