On the other hand, some have asserted that religious motives may play a role in anorexia and have supported an etiologic connection between Judeo-Christian religious asceticism, fasting saints, and modern day eating disorders (e.g., Banks, 1992; Rampling, 1985). Banks (1992) presented the case of a woman named Margaret who claimed that her anorexia was a form of religious asceticism and believed that it was enough for her body to be nourished through spiritual beliefs, rather than by food. .
Using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) techniques and procedures, researchers examined the relationship between eating disorders and religion, and the impact of that relationship on treatment. Participants included 10 adult Christian women receiving inpatient treatment for DSM-IV anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa at St George's eating disorder unit and the priory Hospital, Roehampton. Nine out of ten had anorexia nervosa (six restricting, three binge eating) and one bulimia nervosa (purging), while two of the participants were being treated for co-morbid ˜impulsive' behaviors. Median length of treatment was 10 months, (range 2 "19), age was 33 (18 "56) and age of onset was 15 (11 "35). There were four Roman Catholic participants, one orthodox, one congregational, one Salvation Army, one Baptist, one Evangelical and one Pentecostal. Furthermore, four among them had converted from one Christian denomination to another or from atheism to Christianity. Five main categories based on this relationship were observed from this study: .
1. Locus of control.
Issues of religious and familial control were central for all participants. Food and religion were arenas in which these issues were played out within their families. Participant 3 aged 36; anorexia nervosa- restrictive type stated, "My religion I feel that I had no way out. I was brought up with my parents and they brought me up that way and if I didn't really stick by their rules they weren't going to love me anymore, I was going to be out of the house.
