Does Religious Faith Have a Positive or Negative Impact on Life?

Our culture’s views on religion are rapidly changing. There was a time when it was considered socially acceptable to be a person of deep religious faith. In fact, it was considered a bit odd if a person did not have some type of religion to help bring order to his or her life. But that is no longer the case. Now many sectors of our culture see religious faith as a negative thing. Is religion really a negative factor in life? Or is this just an attempt by some to skew public opinion?

Despite all of the rhetoric, science supports the concept that religion is a positive influence in a person’s life. A report on WebMD that said that “people who attend religious services, or who feel they are spiritual, experience lower levels of depression and anxiety; display signs of better health, such as lower blood pressure and fewer strokes; and say they generally feel healthier.”¹ That same website revealed that not only are religious people healthier, they also live longer. In a study of over 4000 people, Dr. Harold G. Koenig, of Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina, reported that “people who attend religious services at least once a week are less likely to die in a given period of time than people who attend services less often.”² Numerous other studies make the same conclusion; people who are religious are generally healthier and live longer than those who are not.

In addition to living longer and being healthier, religious people are also happier. Andrew Clark, from the Paris School of Economics, and Dr. Orsolya Lelkes, from the European Centre for Social Welfare Policy and Research, analyzed a variety of factors among Catholic and Protestant Christians and found that life satisfaction seems to be higher among the religious population. The authors concluded that religion in general, acts as a buffer that protects people from life's disappointments.³ The connection between happiness and faith is not just true for our European friends. The highly respected Pew Research Center discovered that “people who attend religious services weekly or more are happier than those who attend monthly or less; or seldom or never. This correlation between happiness and frequency of church attendance has been a consistent finding for years.”⁴

People who are deeply religious do not need a survey or study to tell them they are happier than their non-religious counterparts. They already know this because they experience that happiness on a regular basis. That does not mean that religious people do not have bad days or have periods of life in which they feel depressed, but it does mean that as a general rule, they do live happier lives than those who are not religious. This may not be politically correct in today’s pluralistic culture, but it is scientifically accurate. Though some people may not like the idea that religious faith is still a positive factor, there is simply no denying that faith improves a person’s quality of life. We may all be entitled to our own opinion on the subject, but we are not entitled to our own facts. Facts are facts regardless of what our opinion is. And the facts are clear, religious faith makes us healthier, happier and results in us living longer. Perhaps it’s time for more people to get back into church and discover what they are missing!

1 http://www.webmd.com/balance/features/spirituality-may-help-people-live-longer

² http://www.webmd.com/balance/features/spirituality-may-help-people-live-longer

³ http://www.dailygalaxy.com/my_weblog/2009/02/does-religion-m.html

⁴ http://pewresearch.org/pubs/301/are-we-happy-yet

 

Dr. Terry W. Dorsett has served as a pastor, church planter, author and denominational leader in New England since 1993. He is the proud father of three adult children, a cancer survivor and the author of numerous books. You can find all of his books at http://www.amazon.com/Dr.-Terry-W.-Dorsett/e/B00405U4NY