By Rick Nauert PhD Senior News Editor Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on March 31, 2014

Emerging research suggests religion and spirituality have distinct but complementary influences on health.

Oregon State University researchers looked at the relationship between health, religion, and spirituality and developed a theoretical model that defines two distinct pathways.

Religion helps regulate behavior and health habits, while spirituality regulates your emotions, how you feel, said Carolyn Aldwin, Ph.D., a gerontology professor at Oregon State University.

Religiousness, including formal religious affiliation and service attendance, is associated with better health habits, such as lower smoking rates and reduced alcohol consumption.

Spirituality, including meditation and private prayer, helps regulate emotions, which aids physiological effects such as blood pressure.

The findings were published recently in the journal Psychology of Religion and Spirituality.

No one has ever reviewed all of the different models of how religion affects health, said Aldwin. Were trying to impose a structure on a very messy field.

There can be some overlap of the influences of religion and spirituality on health, Aldwin said.

Still, more research is needed to test the theory and examine contrasts between the two pathways.

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Religion, Spirituality Have Dual Roles in Better Health