宗教を信じている人ほど終末期医療に熱心?

http://www.sciam.com/blog/60-second-science/post.cfm?id=does-religion-lead-to-more-aggressi-2009-03-18

Terminally ill cancer patients who lean heavily on religion to deal with their disease are about three times more likely than others in their shoes to receive aggressive treatment during their final days, according to a new study.
~中略

Phelps and her colleagues based their finding on interviews of more than 300 terminally ill patients being treated at cancer centers (in Connecticut, Texas, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire) about their use of religion as a coping mechanism. Among their queries: whether the patients were "seeking God's love and care" or were "looking for a stronger connection with God."

末期のがん患者で、病気と闘うために宗教に頼っている人はそうでない人に比べて、濃厚な終末期医療を受ける率が3倍との研究が発表された。これは、300人以上の末期がん患者に「神の愛を求めているか」「神との強いつながりを求めているか」を調査したもの。

なんか意外だったね。神の愛を強く信じてる人は、医療に頼らなくてもいいと思ってるわけでもないんだ。神の愛があるから、最後まであきらめずにつらい治療に励んでしまうとか?

宗教心が救いにならないって、ホント救いがないなあ。