Healing Rituals: There's Power in Belief (From the Archive)
A majority of people in the US believe that faith can heal. And while there isn’t any strong scientific data backing the idea of faith healing by divine intervention, there is a growing recognition that faith in the power of a person, religious ritual, or even medicine to heal can play a role in recovery via the placebo effect.
September 14, 2025
35 min
Bonus
94 of 115
September 14, 2025
Healing Rituals: There's Power in Belief (From the Archive)
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Jew and Greek Episodes Around September 14, 2025
Episode 94 of 115 — walk the feed in the order it was published.
35:55This episodeHealing Rituals: There's Power in Belief (From the Archive)
Summary
<p>We will be back with a whole new season of How God Works on October 5th. In the meantime, we wanted to share some of our favorite episodes from the archives. </p><p>A majority of people in the US believe that faith can heal. And while there isn’t any strong scientific data backing the idea of faith healing by divine intervention, there is a growing recognition that faith in the power of a person, religious ritual, or even medicine to heal can play a role in recovery via the placebo effect. Join Dave and his guests science writer Erik Vance and health psychologist Alia Crum to explore the surprising ways belief in placebos can heal, and how, if you’ve ever taken a medication, it’s already worked to your benefit.</p>
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