Introduction: One of the main aims of religions is to improve psychological health in society and interpersonal relationships. It has been shown that religious education can be used in primary and secondary prevention of psychiatric disorders. Material and Methods: The samples of study were the teachers of guidance schools of the capital city of Tehran. The samples were 40 depressed female teachers that were chosen randomly among the 30-40 year old teachers who were not using any drugs. Data gathering tool was a questionnaire containing Hamilton test with 24 questions about mood disorders (including depression). Another questionnaire including demographic characteristics and questions regarding change of mood after attending religious education classes was also used. Results: The results showed that 90% of the subjects were satisfied with religious methods such as prayer, fasting and blessing for decreasing their depression; 92.5% were satisfied with regular education of religious values. A total of 80% of the samples believed that training by a particular teacher would influence their interest in the religious values; 55% reported calmness after praying. There was a significant differences between the mean score of depression before and after attending religious education classes (p=0.000). Conclusion: According to the findings of this research, education of the religious values can affect anxiety, sadness, hopelessness, sleeplessness and lack of appetite and depression. Performing religious acts such as prayers causes a type of relaxation and good feeling in the patients. |
