Attending church keeps you alive longer
Harvard studies, particularly from the
T.H. Chan School of Public Health, consistently show that regular religious service attendance (at least weekly) is linked to significant health benefits, including lower mortality (especially from despair, cancer, and heart disease), increased happiness, better social support, reduced depression, and greater purpose, suggesting benefits beyond just individual spirituality, with some studies finding up to a 33% lower death risk for women attending weekly compared to never attendees, note CBS News.
Key Findings from Harvard Research
- Lower Mortality: Women attending services weekly had a 26% lower risk of death, while those attending more than once weekly had a 33% lower risk, according to a 2016 study, say CBS News and Harvard Health.
- Reduced "Deaths of Despair": A 2020 study found weekly attendance associated with a 68% lower risk of death from suicide, drugs, and alcohol among women, say JAMA Psychiatry and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
- Improved Well-being: Attending services promotes social support, discourages smoking, reduces depression, fosters hope, and leads to more forgiveness and purpose, notes CBS News, Christ Community Church - KC, and The Human Flourishing Program.
- Benefits Across Generations: Research also shows positive effects on children and adolescents, including greater happiness and purpose, say Christ Community Church - KC.
Why These Benefits Occur
The benefits stem from more than just solitary prayer; they come from community engagement, increased social support, and developing healthier coping mechanisms like optimism and self-control, note CBS News and The Human Flourishing Program.
Key Researchers
Tyler VanderWeele (Professor of Epidemiology) and his colleagues at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health have led much of this research, including studies in JAMA and JAMA Internal Medicine.
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Attending church keeps you alive longer
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