Faith healing is the practice of prayer reliant on the belief that it could elicit divine intervention in spiritual and physical healing. It is especially observed in Christian practice, but is not limited to one singular faith or religion.
Recent reports of an unfortunate incident of faith healing gone awry revealed the death of a young boy in a house located in the Badalgama area, whose autopsy revealed that he was Covid-19 positive. The 10-year-old who was kept at home despite experiencing phlegm blockage and fever was said to have died on 7 February.
The boy’s family – mother, father, and grandmother – are said to have kept the sick boy at home for about a week, praying for his health instead of seeking medical advice. Even following his death, they had prayed for three days before they were reported by neighbours and the police arrested the family.
The three family members were produced before the Negombo Magistrate and the father and grandmother have since been released on bail while a further order was made to the Judicial Medical Officer (JMO) to direct the mother to a psychiatrist and submit the medical reports to the court.
This matter of children succumbing to easily curable or treatable medical conditions as a result of faith-based healing practises is not a new concern, nor is it a matter unique to Sri Lanka. Especially in America, where they have been infamously lenient on child fatalities from religion-motivated medical neglect, the matter has been researched extensively. There are incidents ranging from children not receiving treatment for cancer to a two-year-old girl who choked on a banana and showed signs of life for an hour before dying, while her parents and other adults simply prayed.
Considering the psychology
Dr. Ranasinghe noted that often when it comes to practises like this where there is a failure in exercising reason, there may be concerns of delusion. Delusion is one of three psychotic symptoms; hallucinations, delusions, and thought disorder. It is a fixed, false, and idiosyncratic belief where the patient’s belief is so certain, it can not be persuaded by any arguments to the contrary.
Dr. Ranasinghe made note of delusion in reference to religious cults and large followings, stating that this type of movement is dependent on the influence, power, and charisma of the person suffering from delusion. “This is where you see joint delusion, where there is a single head of household suffering from delusion and they are the primary breadwinner of the family or they are the caregiver on whom all the rest must either rely on or look up to. Then it is likely for them too to develop this delusion and go along with it,” she said.
Dr. Ranasinghe added that this power imbalance often lends itself to this type of joint “herd mentality”. She also noted that while we tend to focus largely on these big groups, on certain religious congregations, or even large families, this type of joint delusion can take place between those in an intimate relationship. “We see romantic partners, where one is the wielder of power and the more submissive personality is inflicted with the same delusion of the one in power, as they are inclined to unknowingly succumb to the other’s delusions,” she explained.
Brunch also reached out to Molecular Geneticist Chandanamali Punchihewa (PhD), who gave her medical opinion on the matter of faith healing: “With the advancement in science and technology we can now carry out an in-depth analysis of certain diseases, not only to identify the exact disease but even to determine the specific treatment that can cure the disease. Every day we carry out DNA tests in our laboratories that would help doctors get critical information about different diseases patients have, based on which they get the correct treatment. There are hundreds and thousands of publications in the world to show that diseases, even many cancers, have been cured because of those evidence-based treatments.”
What about religion?
Rev. Malinda De Mel of the Holy Emmanuel Church, Moratuwa shared his thoughts on the matter of faith healing.
“In Christianity, nowhere in the Bible does it say that you must only pray and not seek medical attention,” he said, adding: “In the Old Testament, there are instances of the use of medicine in various ways.”
Rev. De Mel shared an instance from 2 Kings 5 (NIV) where Naaman was healed of leprosy: “God sent Elisha to instruct Naaman to dip in the River Jordan seven times. This was because the salt levels in the River Jordan is said to be very high as the river connects from the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea, and dipping in the water many times would create a medicinal effect.”
Rev. De Mel also noted that there is yet another incident where the bark of a tree was used to affect the fungus and bacteria in the skin. He noted that while God is powerful, God has relied on and turned to nature many times to exercise His power and use nature’s assistance to heal and cure people of ailments.
“Nowadays people have created these new religions. All you must do is pray. We must of course pray, but we must do it in conjunction with the assistance of medical help. You can pray in order for the medicine to work purely,” he said, adding: “God granted us free will. We were given a brain to exercise reason.”
“God can heal what medicine cannot. In instances where doctors have given up, there have been instances where miracles have happened. They do exist. But to solve a problem that has a solution you must rely on prayer while you also seek out the solutions that are available,” shared the Reverend.
Rev. Godapitiye Indananda Thera also spoke to Brunch about Buddhism, faith, and healing, saying: “ In Buddhism, we speak of sathya kriya, which is manifesting miracles by way of belief. There are examples where incredibly devout persons would test their faith and trust that their faith would be sufficient to help them in healing their loved ones.” However, Indananda Thera noted that while faith is important and one’s belief in their true actions are valuable, in today’s world it is important to exercise reason. If you are reasonably able to seek medical attention, then you should do so while continuing your religious activities which will supplement your recovery. However, seeking medical attention should come first.
The law and freedom of religion
In Sri Lanka, the right to freedom of religion is protected under Chapter II, Article 9 of the Constitution. Therefore, one is well within one’s right to observe any religious practises that fall within one’s religious belief. In an event where a child has lost his life as a result of the family’s religious beliefs, what are the likely legal implications for those involved?
Speaking to Brunch, President’s Counsel and criminal law practitioner Upali Mohotti shared some insight on the potential legal implications in a matter such as this. Mohotti explained that in order for there to be a crime, there must either be a criminal act or the avoidance of doing an act that could satisfy criminal negligence. Mohotti also shared that as a citizen, if you are in a situation where you are at absolutely no risk to yourself as per the judgement of a reasonable person and you are in a position to save someone’s life, then you have an obligation to do so. Conversely, citizens are not expected to put themselves in danger in order to protect another.
Mohotti then provided that in this particular case, we have to consider whether it could be said that no action had been taken. “It cannot be said that absolutely no action was taken as the parents, with the full intention of curing their child of his illness, engaged in the activity of prayer,” he said, adding: “This is not an instance where the parents neglected their child’s needs and continued to go about their day. They prayed for a week to cure their child. There is no criminal intention and action has been taken to ensure the child’s recovery.”
Mohotti also noted that the nature of the action could be the result of various reasons – their education level, their understanding, socio-cultural contexts, and many other factors can all come into play. “We can pass judgements on the type of action they took. However, we cannot deny that they did in fact take action to protect their child.”
Mohotti explained that the final decision, in this case, would largely come down to the evidence that is available. If there is proof that the adults in the family were perhaps given advice to seek medical attention and then continued to pray despite other efforts coming their way to help the child, then there may be an argument to be made against the guardians.
“However, as the case stands, on a surface level, what we see here are parents who took action to cure their child,” Mohotti concluded.
We have looked at the situation from many possible angles and now we pose the question to you. What do you think about this family’s actions and the subsequent death of their child? Of our religious freedoms and legal leniency? Of faith versus science? Something to think about.