Spiritual healing has been defined as the direct interaction between one individual (the healer) and a patient, with the intention of improving the patient’s condition or curing the illness. Treatment can occur through personal, direct contact between healer and patient or at a (sometimes large) distance. Spiritual healers, who are usually not medically qualified, believe that the therapeutic effect results from the channelling of ‘energy’ from an undefined source via the healer to the patient. The main problem with this concept is that there is no evidence that this energy actually exists. Therefore, the assumptions on which spiritual healing is based lack plausibility.
The central claim of healers is that they promote or facilitate self-healing and wellbeing, both of which could be relevant to patients with any type of condition. An article by enthusiasts of spiritual healing explains: “All conditions can be treated by spiritual healing—but not all people. Some people are more receptive than others to this treatment, due to a number of factors such as karma and mental outlook. As such the results of healing can vary a great deal. If the patient has faith in the technique and the healer, this will of course aid the healing process, but is not necessary; this is not faith healing as practiced in some religions—it is based instead on spiritual energy. This being the case, it is possible for a skeptic to receive healing and benefit from it.”
The evidence from clinical trials of spiritual healing is contradictory. Many studies have serious flaws, and the most reliable trials fail to show effects beyond placebo. Research papers often fail to differentiate between different types of paranormal healing. One Cochrane, for instance, review “found inconclusive evidence that interventions with spiritual or religious components for adults in the terminal phase of a disease may or may not enhance well-being. Such interventions are under-evaluated. All five studies identified were undertaken in the same country, and in the multi-disciplinary palliative care interventions it is unclear if all participants received support from a chaplain or a spiritual counsellor. Moreover, it is unclear in all the studies whether the participants in the comparative groups received spiritual or religious support, or both, as part of routine care or from elsewhere. The paucity of quality research indicates a need for more rigorous studies.”
Many people believe that spiritual healing is harmless. Sadly, this is not the case. The BBC’s ‘Women’s Hour’ reported on 9 August this year about serious abuses of spiritual healers. Here you can find the published test of the broadcast:
Spiritual healing is extremely popular in many countries in the Middle East and North Africa. But the practice is unregulated and that means women are vulnerable to sexual exploitation. An investigation by BBC News Arabic has uncovered allegations of widespread sexual abuse by healers in Sudan and Morocco. Clare McDonnell is joined by the BBC’s Hanan Razek and Senior Women’s Rights Researcher at Human Rights Watch, Rothna Begum, to discuss.
And here you can listen to the actual broadcast. Briefly, what it reveales is deeply shocking:
- Spiritual healing is extremely popular in Sudan and Morocco.
- Healers charge hefty sums and healing is big business.
- Anyone regardless of background or training can call themselves a healer.
- There is no regulation whatsoever.
- Healers claim to cure illnesses, expell evil spirits, help with emotional problems, etc.
- For the programme, the BBC asked 80 women who had received healing.
- They accused 60 different healers of sexual transgression, including rape.
- Undercover recording revealed a healer placing his hand on a woman’s abdomen and then putting a finger “all the way down”.
- The police refuses to investigate if a women complains.
- The authorities refuse to take notice of the problem.
- A minister was quoted stating that there is no need for regulation.
- Another one said that the political athmosphere is not allowing to investigate the issue.
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The references for the evidence cited above can be found here.
7 Responses to The spiritual healers who sexually harass, molest, and rape female patients
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Oddly, nonsense like spiritual healing is haram (forbidden, opposite of halal) in Islamic countries, however, if you believe one nonsense, you are likely to be predisposed to other nonsense.
As with many (possibly, probably, most) Islamic countries, woman are mere chattels, to be used and abused whenever desired. One need only read main stream news to see the mistreatment of women in Islamic shite holes. Mo had 13 wives, one he married at age six and penetrated at age nine. Don’t at me because it is true.
By way of illustration, a chapter of the Koran, The Night Flight, tells of Mo riding a winged donkey to Jerusalem and then to the seven heveans, during the latter he has a chat with Allah to barter the number of prays required per day from 50 to five. Not a bad achievement for someone who snapped their fingers and split the moon in two, one half continuing it normal path while the other half passed in front of a mountain.
If anyone wishes to contest the veracity of my post, please do so; I will provide irrefutable evidence, only from Islamic sources.
Back to the article, crazies will believe any bs.
Well said Frank. That is very much true. I find that people who are inherently xenophobic (possibly, probably and mostly) believe in their racial superiority.
Here’s the BBC News article:
Investigating the ‘spiritual healers’ sexually abusing women
By Hanan Razek (2023‑08‑08)
BBC News Arabic
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-65264921
that’s perfect, thanks
Spiritual healing doesn’t seem to work as far as I am concerned.
I have sent unconditional love and light healing vibrations to Edzard many times now to help him see the error of his ways with regards to non evidence based healing. However, he still continues to post blog articles like this one. In fact he seems even more enthusiastic now than ever! Maybe my healing is having the opposite effect? Should I continue or just give up? Or do I just need to google more to find something that works? Maybe I should include ‘quantum’ in the search?
@JK
In order to have a maximum intended effect, try diluting your ‘unconditional love and light healing vibrations’ to 200C potency. At that potency, you can turn any ardent scientist into a pseudoscientist.
In Brazil something similar happened with the Kardesian spiritist medium João Teixeira de Faria, alias João de Deus (John of God), who claimed to incorporate the spirits of King Solomon, Saint Ignatius of Loyola, the German doctor Dr. Fritz and the Brazilian doctors Bezerra de Menezes and Oswaldo Cruz. De Faria performed “psychic surgeries” to cure all kinds of diseases. For this intrusion (posing as a doctor), he came to be persecuted by the Brazilian justice since 1980, but without success. He attended personalities such as Luiz Ignacio Lula da Silva, Dilma Rousseff, Michel Temer, Bill Clinton, Hugo Chávez, Wayne Dyer, Oprah Winfrey, Paul Simon, Naomi Campbell, and Shirley MacLaine. The medium practiced “spiritual medicine” until 2018, when he was accused of raping 323 women since 1973, one of whom was his daughter, Dalva Teixeira. The Public Ministry accused him of ideological falsehood, witness corruption, money laundering, concealment of a corpse and illegal possession of firearms. In 2019 he was sentenced to 19 years in prison. In 2021, the justice of the state of Goiás increased the sentence to 44 years in prison. Considering that spiritual mediums often receive privileged information from the Hereafter, some wonder: why didn’t the spirits warn them that João de Deus, in addition to being a charlatan, was a sexual predator?