First International Congress on Religion and Mental Health

Abstract

The First International Congress on Religion and Mental Health was held
April 16-19,2001 in Tehran, Iran. It was sponsored by the Iran University
of Medical Sciences, Tehran Psychiatric Institute, World Health
Organization Collaborating Center for Mental Health, The Research
Institute for Rehabilitation and Improvement of Women's Life (Iran), and
the Red Crescent Society of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Science and religion have generally seemed to oppose each other when it
comes to an understanding and upliftment of human behaviors. The tide is
turning however; as increasing number of research in the West is showing
indisputable evidence on the positive influence of religion on human
thoughts and behaviors, specifically, in the area of mental health. The
present congress highlighted all this in its four-day meeting of scholars in
the field of religion and mental health representing 23 countries from
around the globe. The key feature of the conference was the presentation of
empirical findings on the benefits of religion in fostering and maintaining
positive mental health. The Islamic Republic of Iran, a country, known for
its hard line approach toward secularism and sanctioned by the West in
many ways, attracted some of the best scholars from the Americas and
Europe.
The Congress Secretary, Dr. Jafar Bolhari, indicated in his speech that
this conference has at least three objectives: (1) Presentation of scientific
research in the area of psychiatry and psychology carried out in Iran, in the
area of psychiatry and psychology, which can be beneficial to the Iranian
as well as international community, (2) Presentation of integrated research
done in Iran by the Muslim clergy and scientists collaborating together and
discussion of its implications at national and international levels, and (3)
Observation of April 7, 2001 as World Health Day with the theme of
"Mental Health" declared by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Since mental health professionals have generally ignored religion and
spirituality, this conference was organized to deal specifically with these
issues in the interest of the average person.
Out of 242 research papers received by the congress, the Scientific ...