Religious devotion can bring tangible health benefits

People with depression cope better
when given support Health experts define good health as a state of having a good mental, physical, emotional status. In this report by Sade Oguntola, reseachers explain that for attainment of health, a person’s religious belief might equally influence his or her future happiness and health.

The reward of a religious man may actually be more that what many think. Its precise contribution to mental health, happiness and recovery from illnesses have been substantiated by experts.

Data from thousands of Europeans revealed higher levels of “life satisfaction” in believers and concluded that religious people are better able to cope with shocks such as losing a job or divorce. These claims a study presented at a Royal Economic Society conference substanciated.

Professor Andrew Clark, from the Paris School of Economics and co-author Dr. Orsolya Lelkes, from the European Centre for Social Welfare Policy and Research, used information from household surveys to analyse the attitudes of Christians - both Catholics and Protestants - not only to their own happiness, but also to issues such as unemployment.

Though other aspects of a religious upbringing unrelated to belief may influence future happiness, Professor Andrew Clark and his co-workers, however, submitted that religion could offer a “buffer” which protected from life’s disappointments.

For a study that originally started out to work out why some European countries had more generous unemployment benefits than others, they said “our analysis suggested that religious people suffered less psychological harm from unemployment than the non-religious.”

He said that even though church-goers were unsurprisingly more likely to oppose divorce, they were also less psychologically affected by marital separation when it did happen, adding, “What we found was that religious people were experiencing current day rewards, rather than storing them up for the future.”

Though there could be undetected factors perhaps in the lifestyle or upbringing of religious people, such as stable family life and relationships, contributing to the cause of this increased satisfaction, he said other aspects of a religious upbringing unrelated to belief might equally influence future happiness.

Meanwhile, the precise contribution of religion to mental health remains controversial, according to Professor Leslie Francis, from the University of Warwick. He said, however, there are evidences that religion does directly improve happiness.

According to Prof. Francis, the benefit of being religious might stem from the increased “purpose of life” felt by believers, adding that “These findings are consistent with other studies which suggest that religion does have a positive effect, although there are other views which say that religion can lead to self-doubt, and failure, and thereby have a negative effect.

In another study that concluded that one religious denomination has health “factor” by researchers in Northern Ireland, the team at Belfast’s Queen’s University broke the population into six groups to track health and mortality trends. The study showed a clear link between cases of death and deprivation and found that Church of Ireland people had the highest risk of dying from heart disease.

The research, published in the journal Social Science & Medicine, said fundamentalists lived longest and had the lowest risk of dying from lung cancer or alcohol related diseases. The fact that religious devotion can bring tangible health benefits was documented amongst those faiths that integrate a health code into their religious observance – like Seventh Day Adventists and Mormons (Latter-day Saints).

According to a University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) study in 1999, Mormons are among the healthiest and longest living people in the United States. On average, they live nine to 12 years longer than the average life expectancy in the United States of America.

The Mormons also put an emphasis on grains and less dependence on meat as well as exercise and a full night’s sleep. Regardless, the net effect of it all, according to UCLA epidemiologist James E. Enstrom, Mormons been active in their faith have one of the lowest death rates from cardiovascular diseases and cancer in the U.S.

There are other benefits from religious observance as well, that apply equally to practitioners of other faiths. For instance, premarital sexual abstinence and marital fidelity on the part of both partners are the only sure way to eliminate risk of sexually transmitted disease. Periodic fasting , a practice among moslems may also be of benefit to health.

Dr. Koenig H.G.1 from the Duke University Medical Centre, Durham in a 2002 Journal of Religion and Health examined the prevalence of religious beliefs and practices in hospitalised patients with congestive heart failure (CHF) or chronic pulmonary disease (CPD) and determined relationships with physical and mental health.

He found that religious beliefs and activities were common among patients with CHF and CPD and was associated with less severe illness and functional disability, fewer prior psychiatric problems, and less psychotropic drug use. Another study published in the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine in 2006 showed that religious attendance in general adds two to three years to life.

Meanwhile, Pastor Samuel Ewuola, Deputy General Overseer, Gospel Faith Mission, said there is a place for religious believes in staying healthy. According to him, even though the church teaches on divine health and healing, those that have faith can get their healing faster this way and those that do not have enough faith are supported with loving care and support as well as access to medical healthcare services. He said the holy bible does not jettison the idea of giving medical assistance.

A recent study conducted by the Higher Education Research Institute and the University of California Los Angeles also suggested college students involved in religious activities are more likely to have better mental and emotional health than those who do not.

While there may be some validity to the study, it is encouraged that people look at it critically, ISU philosophy professor, Kenton Machina said. According to him, though correlation does not mean causation, it is possible that religious commitment can actually account for the emotional adjustment the study picked up.

Meanwhile some people submitted that the discovery might be because religious based environments often make people feel safe and secure and so can provide mental and emotional support for those who need it. They declared that if people find a religious commitment for themselves they might find that their religion provides them with the answers they were looking for.