Religion and Medicine: Why does religion play a role in medical regulation?

Abstract

A comparison of the treatment of FDA regulation of religious devices with other intersections between general regulatory schemes and religious freedom. Comparisons included: religious fraud laws, regulation of faith healers under medical practitioner laws, and regulation of Native American religious sites on federal land. Also compared the treatment of the Church of Scientology in three other countries: the United Kingdom, Australia, and Germany with the Church’s treatment in the United States. The paper finds that the current approach to federal regulation of medical devices is probably the best way in which to regulate them, with the possible exception of the problems associated with defining religion and religious materials. The paper also finds that the treatment of religions with respect to general regulations is not preferable to the system of medical device regulation existent in the United States.