ArticleJournal of religion and health2019
Belief, Behavior, and Belonging: How Faith is Indispensable in Preventing and Recovering from Substance Abuse.
Article in Journal of religion and health, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 46 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
46 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 141 citations in OpenAlex.
- Coping Mechanisms Utilized by Individuals With Drug Addiction in Overcoming Challenges During the Recovery Process: A Qualitative Meta-synthesis.Journal of preventive medicine and public health = Yebang Uihakhoe chi · 2024Pooled it
- Christian Congregations as Sites of Response to Community Substance Use Issues: An Exploratory Needs Assessment Survey of Clergy in North Carolina, USA.Journal of religion and health · 2026Article
- From Darkness to Light: Spiritual Turning Points in Recovery among Former Substance Users in Norway.Journal of religion and health · 2026Article
- Retrospective Cohort Study of The Lovelady Center: A large Faith-Based Residential Recovery Program for Women with Substance Use Disorders in the USA.Journal of religion and health · 2026Article
- Faith, Social Connection, and Aging: A Narrative Review of the Impact of Religious and Spiritual Engagement on Social Well-being in Older Adults Across Global Contexts.Journal of religion and health · 2026Article
- Suicidality and associated factors among people living with mental illness attending an outpatient clinic at a tertiary hospital in Uganda.BMC psychiatry · 2026Article
- Alcohol Use in a Tribal Rural Population of India: Prevalence, Social Determinants, and Impact of a Community-Based Health System-Integrated Intervention.Addiction & health · 2026Article
- "God Did for Me What I Couldn't Do for Myself": Understanding Religiosity, Spirituality, and Locus of Control Among Black Americans Who Use Opioids.Journal of religion and health · 2025Article
- Factors Associated with Mental and Behavioral Health Programming in U.S. Rural, Urban and Suburban Congregations.Journal of religion and health · 2025Article
- "I live by myself, but at least God is with me": The effects of faith-based identity on mental health during transitions in social and legal status to the United States among Korean/Korean American immigrants.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Differences in Religious Commitment and Harm Reduction Attitudes Among US Medical Students by Sex Assigned at Birth: A Pilot Study.Journal of religion and health · 2025Article
- The relationship between religious beliefs and substance abuse protection self efficacy of high school students.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Thematic Evolution and Scholarly Contributions: A Study of the Top 100 Most Cited Papers in the Journal of Religion and Health.Journal of religion and health · 2025Article
- Medications for opioid use disorder and other evidence-based service offerings in faith-affiliated treatment centers: Implications for implementation partnerships.Journal of substance use and addiction treatment · 2025Article
- War on Drugs in the Philippines: Evaluating Fear Appeals as Antidote to Continued Drug Use.Acta medica Philippina · 2025Article
- Adolescent extracurricular activities and perception of risk of harm from binge drinking.PLOS mental health · 2025Article
- The Opioid Epidemic and Faith-Based Responses in Southern Appalachia, USA: An Exploration of Factors for Successful Cross-Sector Collaboration.Journal of religion and health · 2024Article
- Navigating drug use, cessation, and recovery: a retrospective case notes review among sexual minority men at a community-based service in Singapore.Substance abuse treatment, prevention, and policy · 2024Review
- Programming Provided by Religious Congregations in the United States to Address Mental Illness and Substance Use Disorder.Journal of religion and health · 2024Article
- Teaching a Canadian Experiential Course in Religion and Spirituality for Undergraduates in Addiction Counseling and Health Sciences: A Social Constructivist Framework.Journal of religion and health · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
This study reviews the voluminous empirical evidence on faith's contribution to preventing people from falling victim to substance abuse and helping them recover from it. We find that 73% of addiction treatment programs in the USA include a spirituality-based element, as embodied in the 12-step programs and fellowships initially popularized by Alcoholics Anonymous, the vast majority of which emphasize reliance on God or a Higher Power to stay sober. We introduce and flesh out a typology of faith-based substance abuse treatment facilities, recovery programs, and support groups. This typology provides important background as we then move on to make an economic valuation of nearly 130,000 congregation-based substance abuse recovery support programs in the USA. We find that these faith-based volunteer support groups contribute up to $316.6 billion in savings to the US economy every year at no cost to tax payers. While negative experiences with religion (e.g., clergy sex abuse and other horrendous examples) have been a contributory factor to substance abuse among some victims, given that more than 84% of scientific studies show that faith is a positive factor in addiction prevention or recovery and a risk in less than 2% of the studies reviewed, we conclude that the value of faith-oriented approaches to substance abuse prevention and recovery is indisputable. And, by extension, we also conclude that the decline in religious affiliation in the USA is not only a concern for religious organizations but constitutes a national health concern.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.