Three new studies explore how faith may help or hinder individuals coping with the loss of a loved one, in the battle against obesity or in providing resources to protect against anxiety and depression.

Tragedies such as the recent Haiti earthquake that claimed the lives of tens of thousands of innocents call into fundamental question the idea that the world is overseen by a just and loving God. As individuals who lose loved ones navigate the stages of grief, including for many feeling anger at God, social and communal pressure for quick healing and avoidance of the difficult struggle to understand why terrible things happen to good people can add to their burdens.