The Institute for Spirituality and Health at the Texas Medical Center Co-Sponsors the 13th Annual Conference on Medicine and Religion

NEWS RELEASE

HOUSTON, Texas (Jan. 23, 2025) – The Institute for Spirituality and Health at the Texas Medical Center (The Institute) is co-sponsoring the 13th Annual Conference on Medicine and Religion. The conference will be hosted by Loma Linda University from Sunday, April 6, to Tuesday, April 8, at The Westin South Coast Plaza located at 686 Anton Blvd., Costa Mesa, California.

The Institute invites clinicians, scholars, clergy, students, and others to engage in dialogue at the intersection of medicine and religion. This annual conference enables participants to address questions and issues in light of religious traditions and practices, particularly, though not exclusively, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The conference serves as a platform for sharing diverse perspectives, incorporating clinical practices, empirical research, and insights from the humanities to enhance holistic care for marginalized communities. 

To register, please visit https://www.spiritualityandhealth.org/events/cmr2025.

This year's conference, "Nurturing Hope: Expanding Holistic Care at the Margins," explores how medicine and religion can collaboratively address the needs of marginalized communities, offering a beacon of hope and a vision of inclusive and equitable healing.

The Institute is co-sponsoring this prestigious continuing education conference with Harvard University, Duke University, University of Notre Dame, and several leading academic institutions.

This conference is organized by a host planning committee of scholars and clinicians and will feature keynote speakers, peer-reviewed papers, workshops, poster sessions, and panel discussions with industry leaders. Discussions will address health disparities and the spiritual needs of diverse religious identities, ensuring compassionate care for all.

Institute leaders presenting at the conference include Sonya Sloan, MD, first vice-chair of the Institute’s board of trustees, and Marianne P. Florian, PhD., the Institute’s postdoctoral fellow in Medical Humanities. Dr. Sloan will present a paper titled “Integrating Medical and Spiritual Frameworks for Health Ministries in African-American Communities to Address Leading Health Disparities." Dr. Florian will lead a panel discussion on "Empowering Students to Reach the Margins: Compassion and Ethics Education in Medicine." Panelists include Charles E. Barber, an independent scholar from Jackson, Georgia; Gioconda Mojica, MD, clinical assistant professor of Ophthalmology, UTHealth Houston; and Jessica N. Wise, PhD, MPH, a postdoctoral fellow at UTHealth Houston.

Father Gustavo Gutiérrez, a renowned philosopher, Catholic theologian, and Dominican priest, argued that religious communities and healthcare workers are responsible for creating "reasons for hope" through "concrete commitments." The conference will explore how healthcare systems can partner with religious communities to address health disparities and create environments where hope and health can flourish. As well as the spiritual needs of individuals with complex religious identities. The conference will address how healthcare institutions and educators can cultivate compassionate and committed clinicians and spiritual care providers capable of reaching the margins.

The 2025 Conference on Medicine and Religion invites student essay submissions relevant to the conference theme. The winner will present their paper at a parallel session during the conference and receive complimentary registration, lodging, and travel. Eligible students must be actively pursuing an undergraduate or graduate degree and have not received any prior doctorate-level degree (e.g., MD, PhD, JD, or equivalent). All proposals must be submitted to Jeff Sokoloff at jsokoloff@ish-tmc.org by 11:59:59 p.m. CST on Monday, Feb. 3, 2025.

“The Conference on Medicine and Religion provides a forum for dialogue across so many different domains – medicine, religion, science, mental health, chaplaincy, palliative medicine, and more,” commented Jeff Sokoloff, the Institute’s vice president of operations. “Organizing this important conference with such prestigious organizations and scholars from academia and healthcare is truly an honor for all of us associated with the Institute for Spirituality and Health. This year’s theme, centered on nurturing hope and expanding holistic care at the margins, resonates deeply with the Institute’s mission and its 70 years of pioneering work focused on healing communities by honoring whole person health.”

Sokoloff has been a guiding force behind the conference, shepherding its growth and success over many years. He fosters meaningful collaboration among diverse institutions and ensures the event remains a premier platform for advancing dialogue on the relationship between faith, spirituality, and healthcare.

The Conference on Medicine and Religion has been well-received and has historically attracted attendees from overseas, including Japan, Israel, Pakistan, India, and several European countries. Here are some comments from past attendee who found the conference valuable to them and their work:

  • “This is a wonderful conference, and it is crucial for my academic work,” commented Benjamin Doolittle, MD, MDiv, from Yale University School of Medicine and Divinity School.

  • “I appreciate the true diversity of views which came together here. This is a rare space in which voices from multiple faiths and “left” and “right” political and philosophical backgrounds come together – and it’s because all are interested, in the end, in healing and relieving human suffering,” said executive board member of the conference Jonathan Weinkle, MD from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

  • "This conference affirms the role of my faith and faith community in supporting the sacred work of the ministry of medicine and opens a space to learn from those of other faith communities who are striving to do the same. This conference stands for peace and friendship across backgrounds that so many are desperate to see in the world today,” commented Alex H. Lion DO, MPH from Indiana University Health.

  • “CMR invites deep reflection on the role of faith in the practice of medicine. I have learned so much from health professionals within and outside my own faith tradition, which has enriched both my scholarship and my practice as a clinical ethicist,” said Devan Stahl, PhD from Baylor University.

For this conference, the Institute partners with a consortium of leading academic institutions whose missions include a commitment to faithful practices of medicine and/or to scholarly discourse regarding the intersections of medicine and religion. These co-sponsors include:

This year, the conference is also supported by a gift from the John Templeton Foundation, which has supported this conference since its inception.

“The Institute for Spirituality and Health is honored to announce that we will host the 2026 Conference on Medicine and Religion in Houston, home to the world-renowned Texas Medical Center. Next year’s conference will continue the tradition of fostering critical conversations about faith, medicine, and holistic care in one of the most influential medical hubs in the world,” commented Stuart Nelson, President and CEO of the Institute.

To watch the Conference on Medicine and Religion video, please visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8ZZmtS0jz4/.

About the Institute for Spirituality and Health at the Texas Medical Center

The Institute is an independent interfaith organization established in 1955. A founding member of the world-renowned Texas Medical Center, the Institute has made a meaningful difference by cultivating heart and humanity in healthcare. The Institute will celebrate a major milestone in May 2025 as it prepares for its 70th anniversary. Over the past seven decades, the Institute has emerged as a pioneering institution at the intersection of faith, medicine, and mental health. Driven by the belief that healthcare must nurture the body, mind, and spirit, the Institute has engaged in years of mission-focused community education.

The Institute for Spirituality and Health's mission is to enhance well-being by exploring the relationship between spirituality and health. The Institute advances this mission through education, research, and direct service programs, guided by its four centers of excellence: the Rabbi Samuel E. Karff Center for Healthcare Professionals, the Center for Body, Spirit, and Mind, the Center for End-of-Life and Aging, and the Center for Faith and Public Health.

The Conference of Medicine and Religion is a pillar offered through the Institute's Rabbi Samuel E. Karff Center for Healthcare Professionals. The Karff Center provides educational tools and research to advance spiritual attunement and providers' self-care in clinical settings. The Institute's vision is for all healthcare professionals to incorporate spirituality into their approach to health and healing

For more information about the Institute, visit https://www.spiritualityandhealth.org/.

Joanna Martin