The research indicates those who are more actively involved in a Christian life do experience greater life satisfaction, more happiness, and greater well-being than those who are less actively involved. This is also true for other constructs such as optimism, hope, meaning and purpose, gratefulness, and numerous positive emotions and virtuous traits. That fullness of life also goes beyond mental health to include relational health, and possibly even physical health.
Emotional Well-being
We found that committed religious belief and devout practice (such as prayer) are related to higher levels of emotional well-being, happiness, and life satisfaction. Three hundred and twenty-six separate studies had examined these relationships, and the overwhelming majority (79%) reported statistically significant positive relationships. The same is true for research examining optimism (83%), hope (73%), and having a sense of meaning and purpose (93%).
Relational Well-being
Those who are more engaged in their faith tradition also have more support from friends and better marriages. Eighty-two of 104 studies (79%) find that those who are more religious report significantly greater social support than those who are less religious. Of the 79 quantitative studies measuring religiosity and marital satisfaction and stability, 68 (86%) reported better marriages and significant positive connections. Nearly nine out of 10 objective quantitative studies by health researchers published in peer-reviewed science journals find that religious devotion is associated with more stable, more satisfying marriages and lower divorce rates.
Physical Well-being
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Enhanced emotional and relational well-being also translates into better physical health. In the past 20 years, more and more research has shown that the mind and emotions are intimately connected with the body, and are directly linked with the basic physiological functions responsible for health and healing (immune, endocrine, and cardiovascular systems).
When we experience stress and negative emotions, those systems become compromised and altered, increasing vulnerability to illness. The opposite occurs with the experience of positive emotions such as joy, peace, hope, meaning and purpose. Religious people who have more positive and fewer negative emotions, have more social support, and live healthier lives (less smoking, drinking, drug use, etc.), are physically healthier.
Summary
Yes, everything else being equal, religious people do have better emotional, relational, and physical health (and most of that research has been done with people of the Christian faith). This does not mean those who become mentally or physically ill are less religious, do not pray enough, or do not have strong enough faith.
The relationship between religion and health is a complex one that is affected by many factors, including genetic influences, environmental dynamics, age and gender, and other variables in which the individual has little or no control. Sometimes, it is not until a person becomes sick and/or experiences tremendous suffering that he or she develops a deeper spiritual life.
Given that a person’s engagement in spiritual practices (e.g., prayer, meditation, worship, etc.) and a church community appears to promote social and emotional well-being, and even serves as a buffer against disease and illness, the Church may need to play a greater role in the future of healthcare in America.
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Note: Excerpt used with permission by the author and Christian Counseling Today, a publication of the American Association of Christian Counselors (www.aacc.net).
Dr. Harold G. Koenig, M.D., is a professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, associate professor of Medicine, and the founder and director of the Center for Spirituality, Theology and Health at the Duke University Medical Center in Durham, NC. In addition, he is a distinguished adjunct professor at King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and in the School of Public Health at Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, People’s Republic of China.
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