Faith Healer

Faith healing is the process of preventing and curing illness or disease through a belief in an omnipotent force or creator (God) of the universe. It is a healing process that focuses on both the body and the mind. An important foundation for successful healing in a spiritual context is faith, which has always been at the core of spirituality and religion. Increasingly, the public health and medical communities have come to realize the value of faith in the healing process and have been trying to understand how spiritual and religious factors affect healing. Indeed, faith is considered to be "one of the miracles of human nature which science is as ready to accept as it is to study its marvelous effects" (Osler 1910, p. 1471). Faith in today's practice of medicine can, in a sense, be observed in instances such as a physician praying before surgery, a traditional healer's prayer during treatment, or physicians and healers leaving a prognosis up to the patient's "will to live."

Spirituality and traditional healing experiences of immigrants and ethnic minorities (primarily from Africa, Asia, and Latin America) have provided important insights into the role of faith in health outcomes and the critical role of the faith healer in achieving positive health outcomes. Studies have shown positive relationships between religious/spiritual faith and positive health outcomes for different health conditions among different groups. More research is needed to better understand and document scientifically the contribution of faith healing to the mission of public health. There is a strong and growing partnership between public health and the faith community, based on the increasing understanding of and appreciation for faith healing in improving the health of the public.

(SEE ALSO: Acculturation; Alternative, Complementary, and Integrative Medicine; Customs; Ethnocentrism; Folk Medicine; Immigrants, Immigration; Minority Rights

Bibliography

Levin, J. S. (1994). "Religion and Health: Is There an Association, Is It Valid, and Is It Causal?" Social Science Medicine 38:1475–1482.

Osler, W. (1910). "The Faith that Heals." British Medical Journal (June 18):1470–1472.

— COLLINS O. AIRHIHENBUWA

This article is about a play. For the religious concept of faith healing, see faith healing.

Faith Healer is a play by Brian Friel about the life of faith healer Francis Hardy as monologued through the shifting memories of Hardy, his wife, Grace, and stage manager, Teddy.

Synopsis

The play consists of four parts, with a monologue making up each part. The monologues are given, in order, by the faith healer, Francis (Frank) Hardy himself; his wife, Grace; his cockney manager, Teddy, and finally Hardy again.

The monologues tell the story of the faith healer himself, including an incident in a Welsh village in which he cures ten people. Teddy's monologue reveals that Grace Hardy commits suicide, while Frank ponders whether his gift is for real or not.

Production history

Faith Healer received its first performance in 1979 on Broadway in a production by José Quintero, with James Mason, Clarissa Kaye and Donal Donnelly. It closed after twenty performances.

It was revived in 1983 at the Vineyard Theatre, directed by Dann Florek, with J. T. Walsh, Kathleen Chalfant and Martin Shakar.

It was again revived in 1994 at the Long Wharf Theatre under the direction of Joe Dowling and starring Donal McCann, Judy Geeson and Ron Cook. The New York Times called the production "incandescent" and recommended it to "any connoisseur of theater".[1]

It was revived again at the Booth Theatre on May 4, 2006. The cast consisted of Ralph Fiennes, Cherry Jones and Ian McDiarmid in a production from the Gate Theatre in Dublin, directed by Jonathan Kent. The Broadway revival received four Tony Award nominations and won one: Best Featured Actor in a Play, Ian McDiarmid.

It is currently being staged as part of the Sydney Festival 2009, as part of a trio of works being performed to honour the eightieth birthday of Friel. The other works are The Yalta Game and Afterplay. It is also currently being staged in the Unicorn Theatre at Berkshire Theatre Festival.

It is also currently being staged (October thru December, 2009) at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Joe Dowling is this time taking on the role of Frank Hardy himself.

At the time of writing, the trio is being performed at The Gate theatre, Dublin, Ireland. The gate has premiered many of Friel's works.

External links

• Faith Healer at Internet Broadway Database
• Details on 2006 Broadway production

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