The health care policies that are derived from Christian values affect those of diverse religious or non-religious backgrounds. As we shared earlier, many hospital beds are in religious hospitals. The following articles look at patient and provider experiences involving religiously-based policies in hospitals or practices.
In a survey of physicians who worked at a religiously affiliated hospital or practice, nearly 1 in 5 physicians had "experienced conflict over religiously based policies" (Stulberg et al., 2010), with a focus on end of life and reproductive health. In those situations, most physicians refer their patients to other hospitals or practices, which can mean a delay in care for some. Stulberg et al. recommended that, for when patients have non-urgent issues, physicians may want to notify the patients of the religious policies of their institution to give them the opportunity to find care elsewhere, when available. They also recommend that hospital administration should take these responses into consideration when planning hospital policies.
Wascher et al. (2020) conducted a qualitative study to review the experiences of women who had sought reproductive services at Catholic hospitals. Like the physicians in Stulberg et al., the surveyed women mentioned how they should have looked elsewhere for care. They also asked for more transparency regarding religious restrictions from hospitals and providers.
Daniels et al. (2025) looked at "how religious attitudes and beliefs influence an individual’s health behaviors" and found that the God Locus of Health Control (a scale developed by Wallston et al. (1999) that assessed the "extent of an individual's belief that God controls his or her health status") can "deter risky behaviors and promote protective behaviors".
