Religion and the Health of the Public

Religion and the Health of the Public fills a major gap in academic literature on religion and public health. Its innovative concepts provide a comprehensive theoretical framework for understanding and working on the interface between religion and public health. It draws on global health history and practice - from London's 1854 cholera outbreak, to HIV in Africa today, to large and novel hospital and congregational partnerships in the Memphis. Calling for "deep accountability" by religious and public health leaders, it deals with the embodied religious mind, religious health assets, leading causes of life, boundary leadership, congregate strengths, and a healthy political economy - all in the service of transformation.

Gary R. Gunderson is the Sr. Vice President of the Faith Health Division of Methodist LeBonheur Healthcare in Memphis, TN, as well as Director of the Center for Faith and Health. He worked for over a decade as the Director of Interfaith Health Program at the Carter Center and Emory and is a visionary leader in the global faith health field. He holds academic appointments at both Emory University's Rollins School of Public Health and the University of Cape Town's School of Public Health and Family Medicine.

James R. Cochrane is a professor in the Department of Religious Studies and is Senior Research Associate of the School of Public Health and Family Medicine at the University of Cape Town. He is also a founder and Co-Director of the African/International Religious Health Assets Programme there. He has worked for several decades on religion, society, and public life in South Africa and internationally.