Iconic images of medieval pilgrims, such as Chaucer’s making their laborious way to Canterbury, conjure a distant time when faith was the only refuge of the ill and infirm, and thousands traveled great distances to pray for healing. Why, then, in an age of advanced biotechnology and medicine, do millions still go on pilgrimages? Why do journeys to important religious shrines—such as Lourdes, Compostela, Fátima, and Medjugorje—constitute a major industry? In Miracle Cures, Robert A. Scott explores these provocative questions and finds that pilgrimage continues to offer answers for many. Its benefits can range from a demonstrable improvement in health to complete recovery. Using research in biomedical and behavioral science, Scott examines accounts of miracle cures at medieval, early modern, and contemporary shrines. He inquires into the power of relics, apparitions, and the transformative nature of sacred journeying and shines new light on the roles belief, hope, and emotion can play in healing.
Miracle Cures Saints, Pilgrimage, and the Healing Powers of Belief
About the Book
Reviews
“An intellectually fascinating book, Scott’s treatment will be eye-opening for students of history, theology, and human nature.”—Library Journal
“It is refreshing to see the topics [religion and science] treated in an objective and scholarly manner. . . . Fascinating it its depth, thoroughness, and detailed accounts of medieval life, the book is a good read.”—Science (AAAS)
“Erudite and engaging.”—Times News (Lehighton, Pa)
“The author carefully weaves detailed textual and historiographic work with the latest social scientific findings. [It] is an extremely valuable addition to the growing body of literature on faith and medicine. It represents a sophisticated integration of historical analysis of religious practice with the latest findings in medicine and the social sciences. Readers at all levels should enjoy this engaging but sophisticated book.”—Choice
“Engaging, compassionate book.”—Teresa Malcom National Catholic Reporter
“Shines new light on the roles belief, hope, and emotion can play in healing.”—Interaction / Bms Book News"Scott has written a magnificent book on the realities of religious healing. He brings sensibility, reason, impressive insight, and the best information to bear—qualities seldom manifested in the centuries of claim, cynicism, and controversy on the topic. His analysis is destined to raise the level of discourse on dramatic religious experiences."—Neil Smelser, author of The Odyssey Experience
Table of Contents
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Prologue
Part One / Appealing to Saints for Miracles
1. Life in the Middle Ages
2. Saints
3. Apparitions
4. Pilgrimage and Shrines
Part Two / Saints and Healing
5. Disease
6. The Role of Stress in Illness
7. Belief, Hope, and Healing
8. Framing, Confessing, Self-Efficacy, and Healing
Coda
Appendix: Accounts of Miracles at Medieval Shrines
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Media
Interview with the author.