Regional patterns of religious affiliation and availability of complementary and alternative medicine

Complementary and alternative medicines (CAMS) retain an enduring popularity in spite of the fact that there is poor evidence of their ecacy. Public attraction toward CAM may be based, in part, on a public appetite for mysticism; in many countries, increases in interest in CAM may in turn result from decreasing social acceptance of participation in formal religions. The present study examined patterns of CAM availability and self-declared religious aliation across 30 geographical regions in Ireland. After controlling for dierences in population, the data show a statistically significant inverse correlation between CAM availability and religious aliation. Implications are discussed.