Faith Healing and PlacebosFaith healing is based on the belief that certain places or individuals have the power to heal and heal. This means that something or someone can cure an illness or heal a wound through its connection with a Higher Power. Faith healing may involve prayer, a visit to a house of prayer or shrine, or simply a strong belief in a Supreme Being. Conventional scientific evidence does not support the claim that faith healing can cure serious illnesses such as cancer. Some scientists even speculate that the number of people who say they have been cured through some form of faith is much lower than one might statistically expect, based on the actual percentage of spontaneous remissions that occur in people with serious illnesses such as cancer or AIDS. However, faith healing can provide peace of mind and reduce stress, pain and anxiety, thus strengthening the will to live. According to proponents of faith healing, there is little it cannot do. Many religious sects claim they can cure blindness, cancer, AIDS, and other diseases too numerous to list. Some of these sects believe that illness is an illusion that can be healed through prayer either by the patient himself or by a trained professional. Faith healing can be performed both close to the patient and at a distance. When practiced remotely it may involve a single agent or a group praying for the patient. When near the patient or in "tent revivalist" type meetings, the healer usually touches or "lays hands" on the patient while imploring the Supreme Being for help. Faith healing may also involve a visit to a religious shrine, such as the French city of Lourdes, or the Ukrainian city of Uman, in search of a miracle. O...... half of the document ......g is widely practiced by Christian Scientists, Pentecostalists, the Church of the Firstborn, the Followers of Christ, and many smaller sects. Some of these believers refuse all medical treatment in favor of prayer, the laying on of hands, or the application of oils. Some perform exorcisms. Many deny the reality of physical illness as such, and when they deny medical care to their children, they may be guilty of neglect or even murder. Until recently, legislation in the United States based on First Amendment rights protected these healers from persecution, but laws are changing as are society's attitudes about freedom of religion when it risks endangering children. A new book by Cameron Smith titled In the Name of God: The True Story of the Fight to Save Children from Murder by Faith Healing, provides the chilling details of this fight.