Page | 145 capacities that can be employed to care 3 Curlin FA, Odell S, Lawrence RE, for patients. Science gives knowledge of Chin MH, Lantos JD, Meador KG, the remarkable neurological and Koenig HG. The relationship psychological features of the social brain between psychiatry and religion that make activities like caring for the among US physicians. Psychiatr sick possible. But science can also Serv 2007;58(9):1193-1198. depersonalize the patient viewed through 4 Holy Bible. Matthew 25:40. the eyes of the physician scientist. Religions (and other moral communities) motivates an attention to the person who is the patient, providing a fuller vision for the worthiness of caring for the sick, and drawing the physician and patient closer together. Religion and moral communities can also provide a framework to guide the application of medical science in that endeavor, and practices that strengthen the human capacity for treating patients as the mindful persons they are. It is the balance of the tensions produced by the forces of science and religion that may hold a key to better medical practice and patient care. References 1 Curlin FA, Lantos JD, Roach CJ, Sellergren SA, Chin MH. Religious characteristics of U.S physicians: A national survey. J Gen Intern Med. Jul 2005;20(7):629-634. 2 See Curlin FA, Chin MH, Sellergren SA, Roach CJ, Lantos JD. The association of physicians’ religious characteristics with their attitudes and self-reported behaviors regarding religion and spirituality in the clinical encounter. Med Care. 2006;44:446-53, and Curlin FA, Sellergren SA, Lantos JD, Chin MH. Physicians’ observations and interpretations of the influence of religion and spirituality on health. Archives of Internal Medicine. 2007; 167(7):649-54. HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_021391