According to a new study on LiveScience.com:
There are many things you can do to increase your life expectancy: exercise, eat well, take your medication and … go to church.
A new study finds people who attend religious services weekly live longer. Specifically, the research looked at how many years are added to life expectancy based on:
* Regular physical exercise: 3.0-to-5.1 years
* Proven therapeutic regimens: 2.1-to-3.7 years
* Regular religious attendance: 1.8-to-3.1 yearsThe role of religion
The study, which is actually a review of existing research from the three categories, does not reveal what the link between faith and health might be.
“Religious attendance is not a mode of medical therapy,” said study leader Daniel Hall, a resident in general surgery at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. “While this study was not intended for use in clinical decision making, these findings tell us that there is something to examine further.”
Hall is also an Episcopal priest.
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9 Comments
1. David Thomson:I am very confused. How can my going to church extend my life? After all, the ceiling and walls will come tumbling on top of me the very moment I enter the place of worship.
Apr 4, 2006 - 10:04 am 2. tim maguire:I have to wonder how well they controlled for other lifestyle choices made by church-goers vs. those made by non-church-goers.
Apr 4, 2006 - 10:24 am 3. Kevin Peters:Tim and David:
I am sure that you have one of the major factors to look at. Every church has many members that struggle with all the negative health practices that non church goers deal with. It may be that the Church provides, for some, the right atmosphere to deal with those problems or to avoid them in the first place. David, you can go in. If the Church buildings fell on non-believers or sinners there would not be a church building standing anywhere in the world. That’s the whole point.
Apr 4, 2006 - 10:53 am 4. promoguy:1. Regular Physical Exercise-Checking the heat on the bbq
2. Proven Therapeutic Regimen-Lipitor
3. Regular Religous Attendance-Praying that the baby backs turn out with a smoke ring.
It has worked for 62 years.
Apr 4, 2006 - 10:55 am 5. TM:As a psychologist, this is hardly news to me. Empirical research has shown the benefits religious involvement for a number of years.
The three basic factors that connect religious involvement to longevity and health are 1) healthy lifestyle, 2) better social support network 3) optimism/hope even when life is difficult.
Apr 4, 2006 - 11:03 am 6. dclydew:I think that attendence with a social group may well provide for less stress, a brighter outlook on life and these may indeed contribute to better health.
However, from the information available in the article, it appears that the researcher seems to be confusing causation (because of X, Y happens) and correlation (X and Y are true in some individuals). This seems a common practice among the MSM and reporters in general to confuse correlation which might get reported in a scientific study and causation which entails an entirely different type of research.
I am reminded of the study which showed no causation between highly ammoral socities and church attendence. Many anti-religious groups reported it as correlation between Churchgoing and amoral activity. Obviously the wrong set of data was being processed by reporters there as well.
Ratatosk
Apr 4, 2006 - 11:30 am 7. Curmudgeon:The correlation is quite possibly there, but correlation is not causation. For me, church attendance would not be nearly as effective as the stiff after dinner drink I have every night.
Apr 4, 2006 - 4:51 pm 8. Charlie (Colorado):Personally, my regular social group interactions seem to be the *source* of most of the stress in my life.
Apr 5, 2006 - 7:52 am 9. Hunter McDaniel:I attend church regularly and find that the people I meet there are, on average, better adjusted than other samplings I meet (at work, at my kids school, or – God forbid – on the highway). But as several others have pointed out correlation is not causation, and alienated/maladjusted people are likely to be alienated from church as well so selection bias may be a factor.
I’m more sympathetic to guys who would come to church to meet chicks than any folks coming for the ‘mental health’ benefits.
Apr 5, 2006 - 12:57 pm