Examining the relationship between religious orientation and eating disturbances.

The relationship between religion and eating concerns is receiving increasing empirical attention. The current investigation sought to examine the relationship between eating attitudes and religious orientation, utilizing the fourfold typology of religious orientation. A curvilinear relationship was found between religious orientation and eating attitudes among a subclinical college population and a clinical population of individuals receiving inpatient treatment for eating disorders, particularly among extrinsically orientated individuals with diagnosis of bulimia nervosa.