Does religious faith lead to a happier, healthier life?

Does religious faith lead to a happier, healthier life?

David Robson / The Guardian 

Unlike some other areas of scientific research suffering from the infamous “replication crisis,” these studies have examined populations across the globe, with remarkably consistent results. And the effect sizes are large. Laura Wallace at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, for instance, recently examined obituaries of more than 1,000 people across the US and looked at whether the article recorded the person’s religious affiliation — a sign that their faith had been a major element of their identity.

Publishing her results in 2018, she reported that those people marked out for their faith lived for 5.6 years more, on average, than those whose religion had not been recorded; in a second sample, looking specifically at a set of obituaries from Des Moines in Iowa, the difference was even greater — about 10 years in total.

“It’s on par with the avoidance of major health risks — like smoking,” says Wallace.

Finding the light: The science behind spirituality as an antidepressant

Lois M. Collins

DM: You’ve said we kicked spirituality out. What does that mean?

LM: When we look at the data, it turns out that 40 years ago, in a very good attempt to be inclusive, we threw religion out of the public square and with that, we are now seeing enormous cost. We became virtually nonconversant and lack the ability to embrace pluralism. So while we have made great gains in inclusivity around diversity — gender and orientation and race — we are just starting to develop inclusivity around spiritual expression and religious diversity. People don’t know how to talk about it.

DM: It’s not about specific faiths?

We need to reawaken natural spirituality, relational spirituality, through supporting the young person’s connection to their higher power. And to do that in a group, to do that with other young adults. That can be done within a faith tradition, and that can be done outside a faith tradition.

Spirituality and religion are two different things. For 70 percent of people, they say spirituality and my religion go hand in hand. I express my natural spiritual awareness through the prayers, the language, the practices of my religious faith. Thirty percent of people say I’m spiritual, but I’m not religious, I feel spiritual in nature, with my family, music.

We shouldn’t throw religion out of the public square. We need to invite all religions, every single one of them back into the public square, as well as people who are spiritual but not religious, or humanists or anything else, to speak in the first person and to take deep interest in and know each other.

State of Mind: Can being religious improve your mental health?

Natalie Eilbert

Coleman has worked with a range of religious groups, from conservative Evangelical Christians to those who follow Islam, Judaism and Native American spiritualities, Catholicism and Buddhism.

Across all groups, this triad of community, structure and purpose-making exists, which can improve the quality of one's mental health (but not always, a point we'll address soon).

People who suffer from certain mental illnesses can also benefit from religious or spiritual practices, Coleman said, but it depends on the category of illness. In people who struggle with depression, anxiety disorders or mood problems, religious involvement can reduce symptoms, and the same can be said for people experiencing cognition and memory issues.

People who experience psychosis, whether severe bipolar illness or schizophrenia, don't experience that same reduction of incidence by religious or spiritual involvement, Coleman said, although it might aid in their recovery.

Then there's the question of those wrestling with PTSD and other trauma disorders.

I should imagine it does for those who can conform to the particular religious tenets.

I should imagine it does for those who can conform to the particular religious tenets.

I think they just incorporate the religous tennets into their manic messianic  states. I have a relative who is bipolar and has recently become obsessed with christianity and the bible. He is no less pathological with religion than past obsessions unfortunately.

One thing I would say, in the context mainly of depression which is something I've experienced. That is, a formalised belief according to accepted teachings and structures didn't work for me. But, a belief nevertheless emerged, it was just a simpler and more direct type, not dependent on following some specified requirements. I don't think there was any way forward for me without having discovered that there was after all something real there.

Presumably it varies depending upon the individual, I'm very happy for those who find themselves a place within some recognised belief.