Benefits of Religion on Health

Ever since I was three years old, my family and I regularly attended church. Even when I was little, I truly believed in God and viewed church not only for social gathering, but also a place for psychological support. People fast and pray for days to be sincere and in hope that their prayers may be answered. There are so much that people gain by praying. One popular prayer topic has always been health or long life. According to O'Connor's study, where 47% of study subjects prayed for their health, 90% of them believed prayer improved their health. Religious people are healthier than their unbelieving neighbors (National Institute for Health Care Research).

There are so much evidence of benefits that religion has on health. According to a study by the research psychiatrist Daniel Larson, "people of faith consistently exhibit higher levels of mental, physical, and relational wellness." He found that 92 percent of the researches done to test the effect of religion on health, religious subjects produced a beneficial effect and lived longer than non-religious. He also found that "smokers who were not religious were seven times more likely to have elevated blood pressure than those who said religion was important." In a study by The American Journal of Psychiatry, where elderly women hospitalized with broken hips were studied, "those who were religiously committed were less depressed, had shorter hospital stays, and could walk farther at the time of discharge than those who were not religious."

There are many reasons why the religion has so much of an impact on people's health. Many medical professions believe that health is far more than a physical matter, and that it involves body, mind, and more. Dr. Levin, in his book, God, Faith, and Health, explains that religious practice is beneficial to health for various reasons. First reason is that religion promotes healthy behaviors such as diet, sexual discretion, and avoidance of tobacco and alcohol. Other clearly beneficial reasons include a positive self-image, a sense of purpose in life, and participation in social support groups. Those kinds of ideas will help people from being depressed, and their will to get better in health will greatly increase. Dr. Peter Gott also explained the reasons that linked health and religion, and he found that "religious people usually exhibit healthful behavior and make positive lifestyle choices; they benefit from active social support groups within the church; religious involvement promotes feelings of self-worth and confidence in the ability to control one's own affairs; prayer and meditation may help people deal with unpleasant situations and avoid or relieve stress and depression; religious commitment can cause positive emotions that favorably influence the immune system; faith promotes a positive outlook that enables its believers to better cope with the vicissitudes of life." However, he also mentioned that "spirituality is associated with health benefits, not because of divine intervention but because the various aspects of a religious life promote behavior and attitudes that are healthful."

Despite all the evidence supporting the positive effect that religion has on health, that ideal is still not believed in popular culture. Sloan's research found that 83 percent of the 266 articles that relates health and religion were "irrelevant to claims of a health advantage associated with religious involvement." Sloan research consisted of evaluating every article that addresses the possible impact of religion on health, and what they found was many of these studies have nothing to do with the effect of religion on health while they associate health and lifestyle choices, such as the dietary habits of Seventh-Day Adventists. He also concluded that the studies that use the evidence that religion benefits health were inconclusive. The most common objection to the health and religion's relationships is that even the most religious people get sick. Levin counters this objection by saying that "spirituality does not guarantee good health or increased longevity." Also, "epidemiology, the study of spread and control of diseases in a population, deals with averages, and average findings tend to hide or obscure the exceptions and that it is incapable of addressing these issues."

For me, the church has taught me more about the morality in life, such as not falling into the "wrong crowd" or engaging in lustful activities than anyplace else. At the most dreadful times, the people that helped me most were from my church, and the closest people in my life are from my church. Even without experiencing the "divine intervention" that Dr. Gott mentioned, if it was not for those people, I would not have followed the path that I am following now. I believe that the churches have more of an impact on a person's lifestyle choices and that is the main reason for most of the health benefits. If there is such a clear evidence of all the benefits of having faith, why not go to church?

Works Cited
Levin, Jeff. God, Faith, and Health: . NY: John Wiley and Sons, 2001.
Larson, David. the national institute for healthcare research. 1 Dec 2006 .
Larson, David. "5th Annual David B. Larson Memorial Lecture." Center for Spirituality, Theology and Health
O'Connor P.J., N.P. Pronk, A. Tan, and R.P. Whitebird. 2005. Characteristics of adults who use prayer as an alternative therapy.
Krucoff, M. W., et al. 2005. Music, imagery, touch, and prayer as adjuncts to interventional cardiac care: the Monitoring and Actualisation of Noetic Trainings (MANTRA) II randomised study.
sloan, "evidence behind claim of religion-health link is shaky, researchers say." center for the advancement of health
The American Journal of Psychiatry, July 1990 147.