what is the positive effect of religion essay

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Positive and Negative Religious Beliefs Explaining the Religion–Health Connection Among African Americans

Cheryl l. holt.

a University of Maryland, School of Public Health, Department of Behavioral and Community Health

Eddie M. Clark

b Saint Louis University, Department of Psychology

David L. Roth

c Johns Hopkins University, Center on Aging and Health

Theory and literature suggests that the reason religiously-involved people tend to have good health outcomes is because they have healthy lifestyles and behaviors in accord with religious beliefs. Other literature suggests that religious involvement may play a negative role in health outcomes due to beliefs about illness originating as punishment for sins. These ideas were tested as part of a theoretical model of the religion-health connection, in a national sample of African Americans. Outcomes included a variety of health-related behaviors. Study participants (N=2,370) randomly selected from a US national call list completed a telephone survey assessing religious involvement, health behaviors, and demographic characteristics. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze study data. Findings indicate that perceived religious influence on health behavior mediated the relationship between religious beliefs and behaviors and higher fruit consumption, and lower alcohol use and smoking. Belief that illness is the result of punishment for sin mediated the relationship between 1) religious beliefs and higher vegetable consumption and lower binge drinking; and 2) religious behaviors and lower vegetable consumption and higher binge drinking. These findings could be applied to health education activities conducted in African American faith-based organizations such as health ministries, in the effort to eliminate health disparities.

Research has extensively examined the relationship between religious involvement, referring to “an organized system of [religious] beliefs, practices, rituals, and symbols” ( Thoresen, 1998 , p. 415)”, and a wide variety of physical and mental health outcomes ( Koenig, McCullough, & Larson, 2001 ). These relationships are generally agreed to be positive in nature (see Ellison, Hummer, Burdette, & Benjamins, 2010 ; Koenig, King, & Carson, 2012 for reviews), though some evidence of negative aspects of religious involvement and impact on health have been noted as well ( Exline, 2002 ; Mitchell, Lannin, Mathews, & Swanson, 2002 ; Pargament, 2002 ; Pargament, Koenig, Tarakeshwar, & Hahn, 2001 ). Additionally, these relationships are particularly relevant for segments of the population high in religiosity, such as African Americans ( Krause, 2002 ), who tend to have greater religious involvement than other groups ( Levin, Taylor, & Chatters, 1994 ; Taylor, Chatters, Jayakody, & Levin, 1996 ). This population suffers a notable burden of chronic disease and other health problems ( Pleis & Lethbridge-Çejku, 2007 ), including but not limited to cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes, and cancer. Such conditions have often been found to be negatively associated with religious involvement (see Koenig et al., 2012 for review). An overarching goal of Healthy People 2020 is to attain health equity and eliminate health disparities, in which a health outcome occurs to a greater or lesser degree in a particular group ( U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2010 ). Learning more about how religious involvement is connected to health can better inform interventions aimed at health disparities reduction, including faith-based programs, and efforts to increase cultural competence/humility among practitioners.

There have been several efforts, mainly through systematic reviews, to document why the relationship between religious involvement and health-related outcomes exists, or to identify the mediators/mechanisms of the religion-health connection. One review included mechanisms such as lifestyle/health behavior, social support, positive self-perceptions, coping, positive emotions, and healthy beliefs ( Ellison & Levin, 1998 ). Religious involvement was proposed in another review to impact physical health through healthy lifestyle and social support ( Musick, Traphagan, Koenig, & Larson, 2000 ). In a review focusing on longitudinal studies in this area, it was concluded that most have included mechanisms of healthy lifestyle, social support, self-esteem/self-efficacy, and sense of meaning ( George, Ellison, & Larson, 2002 ).

In their updated review, Koenig and colleagues (2012) provide hypothetical causal models of the religion-health connection. A Western model is described from a largely Christian context. In this model, multidimensional religion/spirituality (e.g., public, private, coping, etc.) leads to psychological traits such as self-discipline, patience, and forgiveness. These in turn lead to emotional states (positive/negative) and social connections, which impact physiological function, and finally health. An Eastern model follows, which is largely the same as the Western, except that rather than the religion/spirituality stemming from belief in God, the source is Brahman or Buddha. Finally, a secular model is proposed, in which the root source is self and community, which leads to a multidimensional concept including but not limited to public good, ethics, and justice, and the remainder of the model is the same as the others. Taken together, most models of the religion-health connection recognize the importance of a higher power and some form of multidimensional religious involvement, which lead to a set or series of mediators including but not limited to psychological traits and support from others, which ultimately impacts health outcomes. The next section describes two mediators of interest that were identified based on the aforementioned theoretical models.

Perceived religious influence on health behavior

Proposed theoretical models commonly reflect the idea that religiously involved people are healthier because they engage in healthy lifestyles in accord with their religious beliefs. This perceived religious influence on health behavior ( Holt, Clark, et al., 2009 ) may include avoiding behaviors such as such as drinking alcohol excessively, risky sexual practices, using illegal drugs, or tobacco use ( Ellison & Levin, 1998 ; George et al., 2002 ; George, Larson, Koenig, & McCullough, 2000 ; Levin & Vanderpool, 1989 ; Mullen, 1990 ; Musick, Traphagan, et al., 2000 ; Strawbridge, Shema, Cohen, & Kaplan, 2001 ). Such behaviors may reflect religious doctrine, or the general belief that the body is the temple of the holy spirit ( George et al., 2000 ). In the aforementioned review, Koenig and colleagues (2012) list a number of health behavioral pathways through which religious involvement may impact health, including physical activity, diet, weight control, sexual activity, smoking, and screenings. It was concluded that religious involvement may indeed impact physical health through greater engagement in these types of healthy behaviors.

Hill and colleagues (2007) examined whether religious individuals engaged in healthier lifestyles than less religious individuals, using a sample of Texas adults. They confirmed this idea, among both men and women, and across race/ethnic groups. They called for future research to determine whether healthy lifestyles serve as a mechanism whereby religious involvement plays a role in mortality reduction, which is where the current study contributes. Only recently has perceived religious influence on health behavior been operationalized in terms of assessing people’s specific beliefs about if/how their religious convictions impact their health behaviors ( Holt, Clark, et al., 2009 ). This enables the assessment of the construct in its mediational role as proposed by the aforementioned theoretical models.

Illness as punishment for sin

Though perceived religious influence on health behavior reflects a positive role of religious involvement in health, not all religious influences are positive/adaptive in nature. An exception is negative religious coping ( Pargament, Koenig, & Perez, 2000 ), which has been the focus of much previous research. Religious coping involves two overall dimensions, positive and negative ( Pargament, Feuille, & Burdzy, 2011 ). Positive religious coping is where an individual has a close relationship with a higher power, is spiritually connected with others, and has a benevolent world view. Negative religious coping involves spiritual struggle with one’s self, others, and a higher power. Research suggests that the negative dimension is predictive of health outcomes including mortality ( Pargament, Koenig, Tarakeshwar, & Hahn, 2001 ).

Another negative aspect of religious involvement is the idea that some people believe that illness may be the result of punishment for sins or wrongdoings ( Ellison, 1994 ). People who violate religious norms may experience feelings of guilt or shame, or they may fear punishment from God ( Ellison & Levin, 1998 ). Empirical literature on this specific concept has suggested the idea that serious illness such as HIV may be viewed as being the result of punishment for sin ( Crawford, Allison, Robinson, Hughes, & Samaryk, 1992 ; Kaldjian, Jekel, & Friedman, 1998 ; Klonoff & Landrine, 1994 ; Kopelman, 2002 ; Neylan, Nelson, Schauf, & Schollard, 1998 ). These beliefs around punishment may also be relevant in the context of cancer ( Burker, Evon, Sedway, & Egan, 2005 ; Degner, Hack, O’Neil, & Kristianson, 2003 ; Eidinger & Schapira, 1984 ; Luker, Beaver, Leinster, & Owens, 1996 ; Springer, 1994 ). Instruments to assess beliefs regarding illness as punishment for sin are also rare. Therefore, one was developed specifically for use in testing mediational models of the religion-health connection ( Holt, Clark, et al., 2009 ). The Penn Inventory of Scrupulosity (PIOS) also assess fears about having committed sin and receiving punishment from God, however this instrument is not health-specific and was developed and validated in an undergraduate sample ( Abramowitz, Huppert, Cohen, Tolin, & Cahill, 2002 ).

The Present Study

The purpose of this study was to test a theoretical model of the religion-health connection, to determine whether perceived religious influence on health behavior and illness as punishment for sin played a mediating role in a number of modifiable health behaviors in a national sample of African Americans. Although these two constructs have both been proposed as religion-health mediators, there has been limited empirical research testing their mediational role in health-related outcomes. This may be in part due to the limited availability of ways to assess these complex beliefs relating religious involvement and health. A review of religion and health research among African Americans indicated that few studies have focused on African Americans relative to non-Hispanic Whites ( Ellison et al., 2010 ). African Americans tend to have high levels of religious involvement. They are more likely than other groups to report a religious affiliation, over half report at least weekly service attendance (compared with 39% of the US general population), and almost 80% indicate that religion is important in their lives (compared with 56% of the US general population) ( Pew, 2009 ).

African Americans also suffer a disproportionate burden of health conditions and illness, making this lack of attention particularly unfortunate. Health behaviors play a significant role in the development of chronic disease, which account for 70% of annual deaths ( Kung, Hoyert, Xu, & Murphy, 2008 ). Several key behaviors are linked to longevity through their associations with the most common chronic diseases. These include avoiding excess alcohol use (e.g., men should have no more than 2 drinks per day, and women no more than one); avoiding tobacco; maintaining a healthy diet (e.g., eating fruits/vegetables, and avoiding foods high in fat and sodium); and getting regular physical activity ( Ford, Zhao, Tsai, & Li, 2011 ). Health behaviors are the basis for much of chronic disease and have been the target of health promotion efforts, including many community- and faith-based interventions.

The present study references a Religion-Health Mediational Model, based on a systematic review of the literature on religion/spirituality and health and a program of previous qualitative research ( Holt, Clark, et al., 2009 ; Holt, Lewellyn, & Rathweg, 2005 ). This model includes a set of constructs widely recognized to be potential mediators of the religion-health connection. The Religion and Health in African Americans, or “RHIAA” study is a national survey designed to test this theoretical model of the religion-health connection, comprised of a series of mechanisms (see Figure 1 ). Perceived religious influence on health behavior and illness as punishment are examined in the present analysis, which is part of a larger theory-testing initiative being conducted in the overall RHIAA study. While the current analysis focuses on two of the constructs, it is noted that statistical testing of a comprehensive theory is not feasible in a single analysis. Previous studies have examined other mediators, for example one on positive self-perceptions (e.g., self-esteem; self-efficacy) reporting that both in part mediated the relationship between religious beliefs and greater fruit and vegetable consumption, and lower alcohol use ( Holt, Roth, Clark, & Debnam, 2012 ). Another study with a similar dataset found that religious social support mediated the relationship between religious beliefs and emotional functioning and depressive symptoms among African Americans ( Holt, Wang, Clark, Williams, & Schulz, 2013 ).

Religion-Health Mediational Model

Note: Constructs in bold were included in the current analysis.

Telephone Survey Methods

The RHIAA study data collection methods have previously been reported elsewhere ( Holt, Roth, Clark, & Debnam, 2012 ). A professional sampling firm used probability-based methods to generate a call list of households from all 50 United States, constructed from publicly available data such as motor vehicle records. Trained interviewers selected telephone numbers randomly from this call list, and introduced the project to the adult living at the selected household. If that individual expressed interest, they were screened for eligibility to determine whether they self-identified as African American and age 21 or older, with no cancer history. Cancer diagnosis was an exclusion criterion for the larger RHIAA study that assessed screening data, as those with a previous diagnosis of cancer would be engaged in surveillance rather than screening. Individuals who were interested and eligible listened to an informed consent script and provided their verbal assent to participate. They completed the 45-minute interview and received a $25 gift card by mail. The study was approved by the University of Alabama at Birmingham and University of Maryland Institutional Review Boards.

Religious involvement

A validated Religiosity Scale previously used with African Americans assessed religious beliefs (e.g., presence of God in one’s life, perceiving a personal relationship with God) and behaviors (e.g., church service attendance, involvement in other church activities) ( Lukwago, Kreuter, Bucholtz, Holt, & Clark, 2001 ). Items are assessed in 5-point Likert-type format, with the exception of two monthly service attendance items that were assessed in 3-point format (0; 1–3; 4+). Scores range from 4–20 for beliefs and 5–21 for behaviors, with higher scores indicating higher religious involvement. Internal reliability of the beliefs (α=.89) and behaviors (α=.73) subscales was reasonable to high in this sample.

The Perceived Religious Influence on Health Behavior scale ( Holt, Schulz, & Wynn, 2009 ) consisted of 7 items (e.g., “I tend to avoid things harmful to my body because of my religious/spiritual beliefs.”; “God helps me to maintain a healthy lifestyle.”; see Appendix A for full scale) assessed in 4-point Likert-type format (strongly disagree, disagree, agree, strongly agree). The scale has a possible range of 7 – 28, with higher scores indicating higher levels of these beliefs. The internal consistency of the instrument was α = .87 in this sample. The average item-total correlation was .46 and ranged from .34 – .62, and test-retest reliability was modest during a two-week interval, r = .65, p < .001 ( Holt, Clark, et al., 2009 ).

Illness as punishment

The Illness as Punishment for Sin scale was comprised of 8 items (e.g., “God sometimes uses physical illnesses to punish people.”; see Appendix A for full scale) assessed in 4-point Likert-type format (strongly disagree, disagree, agree, strongly agree) ( Holt, Clark, et al., 2009 ). The scale has a possible range of 8 – 32, with higher scores indicating higher levels of these beliefs. The internal consistency of the instrument was α = .89 in the present sample. The average item-total correlation was .84 and ranged from .69 – .95, and test-retest reliability was acceptable during a two-week interval, r = .84, p < .001 ( Holt, Clark, et al., 2009 ).

Health behaviors

An adaptation of National Cancer Institute’s Five-A-Day Survey was used to assess fruit and vegetable consumption ( Block et al., 1986 ). The instrument was previously validated with the study population ( Kreuter et al., 2005 ). Seven items assess fruit consumption and 5 assess vegetable consumption (e.g., In a typical week, about how many times do you have…a piece of fresh fruit, like an apple, orange, banana, or pear). Fifteen different fruits and 18 vegetables are assessed using these items, including “other fruits” and “other vegetables”. The response scale ranges from 0 to 8 or more servings per week. Participants are asked to think about a typical week, and servings per day can be computed by summing all items and dividing by 7. The test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient) for the both the fruit ( r = .52, p < .001) and the vegetable ( r = .60, p < .001) portions were adequate over a two-week period.

Alcohol and tobacco use were assessed using modules from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). This established interview is administered nationally, and has been utilized with the study population. The BRFSS has demonstrated adequate test-retest reliability over a 21-day period among African Americans ( Stein, Lederman, & Shea, 1993 ). The alcohol consumption module includes an initial question on any alcohol use during the preceding 30 days (yes/no). Those who answer “yes,” are asked additional items assessing binge and heavy drinking (“Considering all types of alcoholic beverages, how many times during the past 30 days did you have 4/5 or more drinks on an occasion?”; “During the past 30 days, what is the largest number of drinks you had on any occasion?”). Participants indicate how many days, or how many drinks, respectively. The tobacco use item asks whether the individual smokes cigarettes every day (2), some days (1), or not at all (0).

Demographics

A standard demographic module assessed participant characteristics such as sex, age, relationship status, educational attainment, work status, and household income before taxes.

Statistical Methods

The current analyses were conducted using Mplus ( Muthén & Muthén, 1998–2012 ), applying maximum likelihood estimation methods. Confirmatory factor analysis models were run first that specified the observed items to be indicators of underlying latent constructs, in a modification of the traditional two-step approach ( Anderson & Gerbing, 1988 ). Second, structural models testing the significance of the mediated and unmediated effects of religious involvement on the health behavior outcomes were conducted. Fit statistics assessed included the root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) as the primary fit criterion, with an RMSEA of 0.05 or less an indication of excellent fit. Standardized (STDYX) estimates are reported and tested for statistical significance. These standardized estimates represent the change in standard deviation units in the outcome variable that is associated with a 1.0 standard deviation change in the predictor variable.

The general arrangement of the structural models assessed is shown in Figure 2 . The mediators of perceived religious influence and illness as punishment were examined in separate models with 6 outcome variables (fruit servings per day, vegetable servings per day, drinking behavior (yes/no), largest number of drinks, number of binge drinking days, and current smoking status) for a total of 12 different structural models. The models for largest number of drinks and number of binge drinking days were analyzed on the subset of participants who reported any alcohol use in the previous 30 days. Across all models, 4 exogenous covariates (age, gender, education, self-rated health status) were included as predictors of the religious involvement independent variables, mediator, and health behavior outcome variable. The standardized estimates from these models corresponding to the mediated and unmediated/direct effects were assessed for statistical significance. These estimates are also effect size measures that were examined across outcome measures to assist in interpretation of findings across the models.

Structural model

Note: The two mediators were tested in separate structural models.

A total of 12,418 people were asked to participate and 2,370 completed the telephone interview. The overall response rate is calculated as accepted/[accepted + non-interviewed], and was 19%. Of individuals contacted but did not participate (N=10,048), 8,240 refused before eligibility could be assessed, 1,658 were not eligible [81 were under age 21, 444 did not provide an age for eligibility screening, 878 did not self-report as African American, 224 reported a history of cancer, and 5 refused to respond to the cancer history question]. Twenty-six individuals were not capable of participating in the interview. Only 150 were eligible but refused, resulting in an upper bound response rate of 94% (2,370/2,520). The upper bound response rate is the most liberal and includes only refusals, terminations, and completed interviews ( Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1998 ). Table 1 provides a study sample description.

Participant demographic characteristics

Note. Numbers may not sum to 2,370 or 100% due to missing data.

Measurement Models

The two-factor measurement model (beliefs and behaviors) for religious involvement items has previously been reported for this sample ( Roth et al., 2012 ). Allowing for two correlated residuals – one between the first two items that load on the religious beliefs factor and reflect the concept of closeness with God, and one for two consecutive items that load on the religious behaviors factor and reflect attendance at religious services, excellent fit was observed for this measurement model (χ 2 = 138.57, df = 24, RMSEA = .045) ( Roth et al., 2012 ).

This religious involvement measurement model was then expanded by adding items and factors for the perceived religious influence on health behavior and illness as punishment models. The seven perceived religious influence on health behavior items formed one factor and the eight illness as punishment items formed another. Together with the two-factor religious involvement model (beliefs and behaviors), this overall measurement model provided a good fit to the data (χ 2 = 2116.03, df = 324, χ 2 /df = 6.53, RMSEA = .05, comparative fit index [CFI] = .94, Tucker Lewis Index [TLI] = .99). All items had reasonable and significant loadings on the appropriate factors. No additional modifications were considered.

Structural Models

Table 2 reports the relationships between the two religious involvement factors and 1) the mediating latent variables of perceived religious influence on health behavior and illness as punishment, and 2) the six health behavior outcome variables. Standardized estimates are reported both before and after accounting for the demographic covariates (age, gender, education, self-rated health) and the other religious involvement factor. This analysis suggests that, when controlling for both covariates and the religious behaviors, religious beliefs were positively associated with religious influence on health behaviors and negatively associated with illness as punishment. The controlled analysis also shows a negative association with fruit consumption and positive association with smoking, presumably due to a suppressor effect (described below). In analyses that controlled for both covariates and religious beliefs, religious behaviors were positively associated with both mediator variables, as well as fruit and vegetable consumption. Religious beliefs were negatively associated with all three alcohol use outcomes and smoking. Uncontrolled analyses as well as those controlled only for demographic covariates are also presented.

Standardized estimates of the unadjusted and adjusted effects of religious involvement on the mediators and health outcomes (N = 2358)

Note. CV = Covariate. Rel = Religious Involvement. The CV adjusted effects are adjusted for age, gender, education, and self-rated health. The CV-Rel adjusted effects are those adjusted for age, gender, education, self-rated health, and the other religious involvement latent factor.

Table 3 reports the standardized estimates for the structural models that were conducted to evaluate the mediation hypotheses. The standardized path estimates in Table 3 for the a, b, and c paths correspond to those illustrated in Figure 2 for each mediator and each health behavior analyzed separately. Table 3 also provides the RMSEA from each model when including the outcome variable and the four exogenous covariates. Because the a 1 and a 2 paths represent the relationship with religious beliefs and religious behaviors, respectively, with the mediator, these estimates are consistent and change very little from one health behavior outcome to another within a certain mediator variable. 1

Standardized estimates from the structural equation models testing mediation effects (N = 2358).

Note: RMSEA = root mean square error of approximation.

The a 1 , a 2 , b, c 1 , and c 2 entries are the standardized estimates that correspond to the paths illustrated in Figure 2 .

The “a” paths for the models examining perceived religious influence on health behavior as a mediator indicated that both religious beliefs and religious behaviors were positively associated with higher levels of perceived religious influence ( ps < .001; see Table 3 ).

Examining the “c” direct paths in these models, religious beliefs were negatively associated with fruit consumption ( p < .001), positively associated with greater likelihood of reporting alcohol use in the past 30 days ( p < .01), and associated with an increased likelihood of reporting smoking behavior ( p < .001; see Table 3 ). These direct effects are all in the opposite direction of what would be anticipated and are generally in the opposite direction of the unadjusted associations reported in Table 2 . Consequently, these direct effects are indicative of a suppressor effect ( MacKinnon, Fairchild, & Fritz, 2007 ; MacKinnon, Krull, & Lockwood, 2000 ) due to the high correlations among religious beliefs, religious behaviors, and perceived religious influence. Conversely, religious behaviors were associated with greater fruit ( p < .001) and vegetable consumption ( p < .01), lower likelihood of alcohol use in the past 30 days ( p < .001), lower likelihood of days with 4 or 5 drinks consumed ( p < .01) and fewer number of drinks on any drinking day ( p < .05). The relationship with smoking was non-significant. Similar results related to the “c” paths but involving different mediators have been previously reported for this sample ( Holt, Roth, et al., 2012 ).

Evaluating the “b” paths, or the relationships between the mediator and the health behavior outcome, perceived religious influence on health behavior was positively associated with fruit consumption ( p < .001), negatively associated with alcohol use in the past 30 days ( p < .001), and negatively associated with smoking status ( p < .001; see Table 3 ). Paths for the other health behaviors (e.g., vegetable consumption, days of 4/5 drinks; largest number of drinks) were non-significant.

The mediation analysis indicated evidence of mediation in the relationship between religious beliefs and the outcomes of fruit consumption, alcohol use in the past 30 days, and smoking status (see Table 3 , “Indirect” column). There was also evidence for mediation in the relationship between religious behaviors and these same three health behaviors. No evidence was provided for mediation in the other health behaviors.

Examining the “a” paths, level of religious beliefs were associated with lower levels of perceived illness as punishment for sin ( p < .01; see Table 3 ). Religious behaviors were positively associated with greater perceived illness as punishment for sin ( p < .001). However, when examining Table 2 where these relationships are examined in an unadjusted fashion, neither have significant relationships with illness as punishment.

Examining the “c” direct paths, level of religious beliefs were negatively associated with fruit consumption ( p < .01; see Table 3 ). This is in the opposite direction of what would be anticipated, and suggestive of the aforementioned suppressor effect ( Fritz, 2007 ; MacKinnon et al., 2007 ; MacKinnon et al., 2000 ). Conversely, religious behaviors were associated with greater fruit ( p < .001) and vegetable consumption ( p < .01), lower likelihood of alcohol use in the past 30 days ( p < .001), lower likelihood of days with 4 or 5 drinks consumed ( p < .01), fewer number of drinks on any drinking day ( p < .05), and lower likelihood of being a smoker ( p < .01).

Evaluating the “b” paths, or the relationships between the mediator and the health behavior outcome, illness as punishment was negatively associated with vegetable consumption ( p < .01), positively associated with likelihood of days with 4 or 5 drinks consumed ( p < .05), and associated with more drinks on any drinking day ( p < .05; see Table 3 ). Paths for the other health behaviors (e.g., fruit consumption, alcohol use in the past 30 days; smoking status) were non-significant.

The mediation analysis indicated evidence for mediation for the relationship between religious beliefs and vegetable consumption and largest number of drinks on any drinking day (see Table 3 , “Indirect” column). There was evidence for mediation between religious behaviors and vegetable consumption, likelihood of days with 4 or 5 drinks consumed, and largest number of drinks on any drinking day. No evidence of mediation was suggested for the other health behavior outcomes.

The present study examined the role of perceived religious influence on health behavior, and perceptions of illness as punishment for sin, as mediators of the relationship between religious involvement and health behaviors among healthy African American adults. Though previous theoretical models have suggested that perceived religious influence on health behavior (e.g., healthy lifestyle as a result of one’s religious beliefs) is a main reason why individuals who are religiously involved experience positive health outcomes, there has been surprisingly little research aimed specifically at testing this hypothesis. More broadly, religious involvement might have both positive and negative influences on one’s health. The notion that some people believe illness can occur as a punishment for one’s wrongdoings or sin has been previously reported in the literature ( Abramowitz et al., 2002 ; Crawford et al., 1992 ; Ellison, 1994 ; Ellison & Levin, 1998 ; Kaldjian et al., 1998 ; Klonoff & Landrine, 1994 ; Kopelman, 2002 ; Neylan et al., 1998 ), but as of yet has gone untested as a religion-health mechanism. The present study addresses the complex relationships between religious involvement, perceived religious influence on health behavior, perceptions of illness as punishment for sin, and health behaviors.

Religious Involvement and the Mediators

Those high in religious beliefs and behaviors tended to report high belief in performing health behaviors in accord with religious doctrine. This would be an anticipated relationship with religious beliefs and participation; however the relationships with perceptions of illness as punishment for sin were somewhat puzzling. Religious beliefs and behaviors were individually not associated with illness as punishment, but when controlling for each other, religious beliefs were positively associated and religious behaviors were negatively associated with belief in illness as punishment for sin. This analysis was based on the variance in religious beliefs and behaviors that was not shared between the two aspects of religious involvement. Given the high positive correlation between religious beliefs and behaviors, the remaining smaller amounts of independent variance for these constructs are associated with belief in illness as punishment in opposing and counterbalanced directions. Therefore, the seemingly counterintuitive finding of a positive association between religious behaviors and illness as punishment is only observed after statistically controlling for religious beliefs.

Religious Involvement and Health Behaviors

We found that religious behaviors were associated with protective health measures such as fruit and vegetable consumption. As previously reported ( Holt, Roth, et al., 2012 ), religious beliefs, when accounting for the suppressor effect, were associated with greater fruit consumption and lower alcohol use. These findings would be expected given the literature on the salutary relationship between religious involvement and health ( Koenig et al., 2012 ). In a recent review, it was suggested that “all major religious traditions have rules and regulations concerning diet, sexual practices, and other health-related behaviors, although they vary in the extent to which such guidelines are enforced.” ( Koenig et al., 2012 , p. 535). This review indicated that 62% of the studies examined reported a positive association between religiosity and diet quality. Previous research has suggested that religious involvement is associated with higher fruit and vegetable consumption specifically ( Holt, Haire-Joshu, Lukwago, Lewellyn, & Kreuter, 2005 ).

Religious behaviors were also associated and lower alcohol use and smoking. Religious sanctions that come from involvement in a religious community may protect against alcohol consumption ( Musick, Blazer, & Hays, 2000 ; Strawbridge et al., 2001 ). In the current sample, 58% of people reported that they had not consumed an alcoholic beverage in the previous 30 days. This is consistent with previous research that suggests African Americans consume alcohol at rates lower than national averages ( Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2010 ).

Mediators and Health Behaviors

Those who believed in maintaining a healthy lifestyle in accord with religious doctrine tended to have higher fruit consumption and lower rates of alcohol use and smoking. Again, these behavioral patterns would clearly be expected based on theory in this area ( Ellison & Levin, 1998 ; George et al., 2002 ; George et al., 2000 ; Levin & Vanderpool, 1989 ; Mullen, 1990 ; Musick, Traphagan, et al., 2000 ; Strawbridge et al., 2001 ). Similarly, those who believed that a higher power might use illness as a punishment for wrongdoings or sin had lower vegetable consumption and were more likely to engage in binge drinking behaviors. This too is consistent with expectations from the aforementioned previous literature on this construct.

Mediational Findings

The analyses supported the occurrence of mediation in several cases. It appears that the relationship between religious beliefs and fruit consumption, alcohol use in the past 30 days, and smoking was, at least in part accounted for by perceived religious influence on health behavior. The same was true for religious behaviors. As proposed by previous researchers ( Ellison & Levin, 1998 ; George et al., 2002 ; George et al., 2000 ; Levin & Vanderpool, 1989 ; Mullen, 1990 ; Musick, Traphagan, et al., 2000 ; Strawbridge et al., 2001 ), individuals who are religiously involved may tend to live a healthier lifestyle in accord with their religious traditions. It is interesting that the same mediational patterns were evidenced for both religious beliefs and behaviors. While this may initially seem reasonable, with religious involvement being a multidimensional construct, it is not unusual for religious beliefs and behaviors to operate differently with regard to relationships with health behaviors. This suggests that both religious beliefs such as having a close personal relationship with a higher power, and behaviors/participation through organized worship both work to reinforce healthy lifestyle habits. It is also interesting in the current findings that this appears to apply to both health risk (heavy alcohol use, smoking) and protective (dietary) behaviors. Future studies should conduct such analyses on health-related outcomes such as illness and/or mortality.

The mediational analyses suggest that the relationship between religious beliefs and vegetable consumption and binge drinking is, at least in part, accounted for by the perception that illness is the result of punishment for sin. This suggests that individuals with strong religious beliefs are less likely to believe that illness is punishment for sin, and this translates to increased vegetable consumption and decreased binge drinking. The analyses also suggest that the same mediational findings for the relationship between religious behaviors and vegetable consumption and binge drinking. However, in these models, the signs are in the opposite directions. This suggests that individuals who are religiously involved are more likely to believe that illness is punishment for sin, and this translates to decreased vegetable consumption and more binge drinking.

The findings in Table 2 are needed to interpret this seemingly inconsistent effect. Note that the bivariate unadjusted relationship between religious beliefs and behaviors and illness as punishment are non-significant. Then, when controlling for the other religious involvement subscale, these relationships become significant and in the opposite direction, such that religious beliefs becomes negatively associated and behaviors becomes positively associated. This is suggestive of the aforementioned suppressor effect, which persists in Table 3 (columns a 1 and a 2 ), where the paths involving religious beliefs and behaviors are in the opposite directions. Because the mediation paths are a function of the multiplicative effects of the a x b paths, these signs directly impact the mediation effects. Taken together, and in the context of the suppressor effect, these findings may be considered to be consistent with previous literature, in that individuals with increased belief in illness as punishment for sin would engage in less adaptive health behaviors ( Ellison, 1994 ; Ellison & Levin, 1998 ). However, additional research is needed to confirm these findings.

Strengths and Limitations

Several factors strengthen the current findings. First, the focus was on African Americans, a population that carries a significant burden of chronic disease and has not been the focus of research in the way that other groups have been ( Ellison et al., 2010 ). Second, the RHIAA dataset was intended specifically for testing theoretical models of the religion-health connection and used validated measures in doing so, rather than using secondary data. Third, the present analysis used modeling techniques that allowed for mediational relationships to be assessed.

Several limitations should also be considered. First, the use of telephone survey methods introduces a certain bias. The full nature of this bias is unknowable. Response bias presents a data problem if there is an impact on data quality that is not random ( Langer, 2003 ). The current response rates are comparable to a national telephone survey that over-sampled African Americans ( Hartmann, Gerteis, & Edgell, 2003 ), and are consistent with recently reported decreases in response rates for typical telephone surveys, from 36% in 1997, to 25% in 2003, to 9% in ( Pew, 2012 ). Relative to the U.S. Black population, the current sample is older than the US median age of 32.7 years (current median = 54.0); contains fewer men (current = 38.2%; US = 47.7% male); is more educated (current % attended 4+ years of college = 26%; US = 18.4%) (U.S. Census Bureau, 2011 ); and is as likely to report attending religious services at least once per week (current = 50.6%; US = 53%) ( Pew, 2009 ). Given this, a potential impact on the study findings may be that the sample may hold stronger religious beliefs than average, given that they are more likely to be older and women ( Levin et al., 1994 ). It is possible that, being relatively well educated, they may also have better health behaviors than average. Taken together, the study may over-estimate the religion-health connection in an average African American. However, one must always be careful when working with averages and making generalizations to a very heterogenous population group.

Second, the current analyses focused on two mediators from the literature, perceived religious influence on health behavior and illness as punishment. As previously discussed, although perceived religious influence on health behavior is probably the most widely cited potential mechanism of the religion-health connection, there are other significant factors that may help account for this complex relationship including but not limited to social support and positive affective states. Though these are potentially important, structural models become difficult to interpret as additional constructs are added. The RHIAA approach was to aim for a more clear understanding of fewer mediators at a time, rather than a larger but incomprehensible model. Third, because the current data were cross sectional, conclusions about causality are not possible. Longitudinal data would be required to make such assertions, an initiative on which the RHIAA team is currently embarking.

Implications and Future Research

These findings indicate that people who are religiously involved may experience better health outcomes because they engage in healthy lifestyles in accord with their religious beliefs, and that belief that illness is the result of punishment from a higher power could play a potentially maladaptive role in health behaviors. With regard to implications for the illness as punishment findings, this is where church-based counseling or pastoral counseling may play a role in working with individuals who may hold such beliefs, with a spiritual sensitivity and competence ( Pargament, Mahoney, & Shafranske, 2013 ).

By focusing on African Americans, a population adversely impacted by most chronic disease, the study is framed in the context of health disparities, thereby enhancing the public health significance of the findings. Healthy People 2020, along with setting specific health-related goals for the US population, aims to attain health equity and eliminate health disparities group ( U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2010 ). Because so much of chronic disease has behavioral origins ( Ford et al., 2011 ), it is important to learn more about how salient cultural beliefs that associated with health behavioral outcomes.

There has been a steady focus on faith-based organizations as venues for health promotion activities ( Levin, 2013 ), particularly in African American communities ( Levin, 1984 ). African American churches serve as a cornerstone of the communities they serve, and are places where their members have been able to receive guidance and services on matters far beyond spiritual ( Lincoln & Mamiya, 1990 ). The church is a venue where people who may not otherwise be connected with the health care system can receive health information from trusted sources. By learning more about how religious involvement is associated with health behaviors, this information can be used to inform such interventions. This information can not only be helpful to researchers but also to faith-based leaders who are involved in health ministry activities, or things that faith-based organizations do in order to improve the health of their memberships. Finally, Levin (2013) described an agenda for the Surgeon General, that highlighted the role of faith communities in health promotion, consistent with an upstream approach to public health. The current findings reinforce the need to continue to engage with faith-based organizations that serve African Americans, in the effort to eliminate health disparities.

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by a grant from the National Cancer Institute, (#1 R01 CA105202) and was approved by the University of Maryland Institutional Review Board (#08-0328). The team would like to acknowledge the work of OpinionAmerica, who conducted participant recruitment and data collection activities for the present study.

Appendix A: Items comprising mediator scales

Adapted from: Holt, Clark, Roth, Crowther, Cohler, Fouad, … Southward, 2009 .

1 Additional analyses were also conducted for a measure of physical activity as an outcome variable, but preliminary analyses indicated that physical activity was not significantly associated with either religious involvement or the mediating variables, precluding any significant mediation effects.

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Organized Religion: Positive and Negative Effects Essay

People need to believe in something. Without some ideas, people have no aims, they do not have a plan to follow. Religions have provided people with meaningful goals. Religions have become an indispensable part of people’s lives. Be it Christianity, Islam, or Buddhism people strive for having their gods. However, like anything in this world, any religion has two sides. It can have positive as well as negative effects on people.

As far as positive effects are concerned, it is possible to mention such psychological effects as inner peace and security. It is manifested in the following: people who practice an organized religion have significant plans to follow as they know (or, at least, have rules that teach them) how to live and why they should live that way. There is also a social effect as people united by a religion get together. They help each other, and they do not leave each other in difficult situations, which is very important for an individual.

As for the negative effects of organized religion, suppression of individuality can be named as one of the most serious negative effects. Thus, people are taught how to live, and sometimes these rules are too strict. Some religions are characterized by almost total control over an individual. Another negative effect is social. People of some religions can be hostile to other groups, which leads to main confrontation and even conflicts.

However, it is necessary to note that positive effects outweigh the negative ones as quite a few religions are suppressing and hostile to other religions. At that, people without a plan become frustrated and depressed. Religions give people a sense of unity and self-efficacy. It helps people get together, which is crucial for humans who are very social creatures.

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Religious faith can lead to positive mental benefits, writes Stanford anthropologist

Creating a relationship with a supernatural other takes effort that can lead to meaningful change, says Stanford anthropologist Tanya Luhrmann.

People who believe their God or gods are real, even if the existence of those supernatural beings can’t be empirically proven, have long fascinated and confounded scientists. In a new book, Stanford anthropologist Tanya Luhrmann explores the intersection of religion and science, linking profound religious faith to beneficial, scientifically proven practices like mindfulness and cognitive behavioral therapy.

In a new book, anthropologist Tanya Lurhmann explores how religious practices and narratives can create deep, positive changes for the people who engage in them. (Image credit: Nikki Ross-Zehnder)

In How God Becomes Real: Kindling the Presence of Invisible Others (Princeton University Press, 2020), Luhrmann explains that religious practices and narratives can create deep, positive changes for the people who engage in them.

“Prayer is a lot like cognitive behavioral therapy,” Luhrmann said. “It’s a way you attend to your own inner experience, let go of distracting thoughts and focus on more positive thoughts. By expressing gratitude, you shift attention from the way that things are going wrong to the ways they are going right.”

In the introduction to her book, Luhrmann explains how her scholarship is inspired by two straightforward, but often overlooked, features of religion. “First, religion is a practice in which people go to effort to make contact with an invisible other. Second, people who are religious want change. They want to feel differently than they do,” she writes. “Yet instead of exploring these features, most theories of religion begin by treating belief in an invisible other both as taken for granted and as a cognitive mistake.”

Luhrmann argues that individuals of faith often have to work hard to make supernatural beings real and that those who are able to do so experience helpful changes. “If they’re lucky, they’re able to attend differently to their thoughts, feel calmer and more beloved,” she said. And these positive outcomes reinforce religious practices, encouraging sustained commitment to ritual and observance.

Image credit: Courtesy Princeton University Press

Relying on ethnographic studies of what she calls “active believers,” including evangelical Christians, pagans, Zoroastrians, Black Catholics, Santeria initiates, and newly orthodox Jews, Luhrmann found that it takes considerable effort and regular practice to create worlds where supernatural others feel present and real.

That’s because most people make a clear distinction in their lives between real and unreal. For instance, Luhrmann writes, most people, even those with deep faith, do not ask God to feed the dog or write their term paper. And religious traditions address this dichotomy. Referencing a famous Islamic hadith, or saying of the prophet Muhammad, Luhrmann writes: “Anas ibn Malik reported: A man said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, should I tie my camel and trust in Allah, or should I leave her untied and trust in Allah?’ The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings upon him, said, ‘Tie her and trust in Allah.’”

For Luhrmann, the story is an example of how human beings instinctively understand the difference between the demands of the real, mundane world and the world of the spirit. Therefore, the puzzle of religion is not the problem of false belief, but rather of what Luhrmann calls “real-making” – how gods and spirits become real for people and what that does for those who engage in the practice.

Rather than presume that people worship because they believe, or build cathedrals because the belief is already present, Luhrmann flips the equation. She argues instead that people believe because they worship. In other words, the process of “real-making” and engaging fully in rituals and practices that bring one closer to God is so satisfying to practitioners that their faith endures.

Research has repeatedly shown that people of faith report feeling better and healthier. One of the most striking findings in social epidemiology, Luhrmann notes, is that religious involvement with God is better for your body in terms of immune functions and reducing loneliness. One explanation for this, Luhrmann writes, is that for those with an intense faith, God becomes a social relationship. MRI results indicate that in terms of brain function, talking to God resembles conversing with a friend.

But the nature of that relationship is also key in terms of health. The more that God is seen as judgmental and negative, the more mental health symptoms are reported. In contrast, people who represent their relationship with God as being loving and satisfying pray more and report fewer mental health symptoms. “The data suggest that when it’s a good relationship, it’s better for the body,” Luhrmann said.

Even if one is inclined to cultivate that type of relationship with an unseen being, Luhrmann notes that it takes intense work and that some people may be more likely to be successful than others – namely those who are more comfortable using their imaginations. “People who have an Enlightenment mindset – focused on rational, scientific thought – those people often discount these things and don’t trust their imaginations as much,” she said.

But it is precisely imagination, or as Luhrmann writes, “the human ability to conceive of that which is not available to the senses,” that makes possible a close relationship with a supernatural other.

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What Is Religion?

The Psychology of Why People Believe

 Mark Stibich, PhD, FIDSA, is a behavior change expert with experience helping individuals make lasting lifestyle improvements.

Steven Gans, MD is board-certified in psychiatry and is an active supervisor, teacher, and mentor at Massachusetts General Hospital.

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Types of Religion

Potential pitfalls.

Religion is a set of organized beliefs, practices, and systems that most often relate to the belief and worship of a controlling force, such as a personal god or another supernatural being.

Religion often involves cultural beliefs, worldviews, texts, prophecies, revelations, and morals that have spiritual meaning to members of the particular faith, and it can encompass a range of practices, including sermons, rituals, prayer, meditation, holy places, symbols, trances, and feasts.

While this is a basic definition, there are many different understandings of what religion is. Not all religions are centered on a belief in a god, gods, or supernatural forces.

The famed psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud described religion as a form of wish fulfillment . However, modern psychology recognizes that religion can play an important role in an individual's life and experiences and can even improve health and well-being. In fact, studies have shown that religion can help people develop healthy habits, regulate their behaviors, and understand their emotions—all factors that can affect your health.

According to an estimate by the Pew Research Center, 84% of the world's population has some type of religious affiliation.

There are many different types of religions, including the major world religious traditions that are widely known as well as much lesser-known belief systems of smaller populations. Some of these represent monotheism, or the belief in a single god, while others are examples of polytheism, or the belief in multiple gods.

Some of the types of religions include but are certainly not limited to:

• Christianity
• Confucianism
• Indigenous American religions
• Rastafarianism
• Traditional African religions
• Zoroastrianism

Related to religion, animism is the belief in divine non-human beings, while totemism involves the belief in a divine connection between humans and the natural world. On the other end of the religious spectrum is atheism, which involves a belief in no god or gods, and agnosticism, which holds that the existence of god or gods is unknown or unknowable.

Religion vs. Spirituality

While religion and spirituality are related, there are differences between the two. Spirituality is an individual practice and belief, whereas religion is centered on a set of organized practices that a larger group shares. It is possible to be spiritual without being religious.

Why People Believe in Religion

The reasons why people believe in religion are not fully understood, but researchers have suggested a number of possible explanations.

The Psychology of Religious Belief

According to the most recent Gallup poll, 47% of adults in the U.S. have some type of religious membership. As to why people believe in religion, psychologists have proposed several theories.

While Freud believed that religious belief was a form of pathological wish fulfillment, other researchers have proposed that how the human brain works often predisposes people to believe. The human mind looks for patterns, purpose, and meaning, which may influence why people turn to religion to guide their belief systems.

Parenting and cultural influences also play an important role since people tend to belong to the religion in which they were raised. The human need to belong, combined with the desire for social connection, also contributes to the desire to be part of someone larger than the self.

The Purpose of Religion

Religion can serve a wide range of purposes. Religion can be a source of comfort and guidance. It can provide a basis for moral beliefs and behaviors. It can also provide a sense of community and connection to tradition. Some research even suggests that it may affect health.

The impact of religion on health and life expectancy has always been a tricky area of research. It seems (to some) that religious people—defined here as people who attend religious services regularly—seem to be healthier than those who don't attend.

This has led to a line of research looking into the impact of religion on health to determine what, if any, positive benefit religion could have on life expectancy. This research is tricky, however, because of several factors that are difficult to control for, including:

• People who attend religious services may simply be healthier than those who cannot attend.
• The benefits may have more to do with social contact than religion itself.
• Certain religions may encourage healthy behaviors.

As researchers look into the impact of religion, all these factors must be considered along with the possibility that religion itself influences health.

Impact of Religion

Religion can contribute to a sense of community, provide support, and offer guidance. It has also been shown to impact both physical and mental health.

Religion and Physical Health

One series of studies found that participants who were either religious or spiritual had a decreased risk of coronary heart disease (CHD), lower blood pressure (BP), better immune function, and longer lifespans when compared to people who were not religious or spiritual.

Researchers found that the participants who were religious or spiritual tended to eat more nutritious diets , engage in more physical exercise , and have better cognitive function compared to people who were not religious or spiritual.

In these studies, people who were religious were also less likely to smoke, which put them at a lower risk of smoking-related illnesses such as all cancers, cardiovascular disease, and lung disease. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is linked with a better quality of life as well as a greater lifespan.

Religion and Mental Health

Religion can also influence mental health in both positive and negative ways. Religion can serve as a source of comfort and strength when people are under stress. At other times, this connection may be less helpful—or even harmful—if it creates stress or acts as a barrier to treatment.

Studies suggest that religion has both the potential to help and harm mental health and well-being.   On the positive side, religion and spirituality can help promote positive beliefs, foster community support, and provide positive coping skills. On the other hand, negative religious coping, miscommunication, and harmful negative beliefs that actually be detrimental to mental health.

Key Mental Health Benefits

Some mental health benefits of religion include:

• Giving people structure
• Building a community with a group
• Creating a sense of belonging
• Helping people cope with stressful events
• Can encourage forgiveness, compassion, and gratitude

Religion can also play a role in helping people cope with mental health conditions. People often turn to their religious beliefs in order to cope with symptoms of mental illness and to help manage stress.

Research has also shown that religious people often first turn to religious clergy when they need treatment for mental health conditions.  Religious and pastoral counseling can be an important resource for people of faith who want to incorporate their religious and spiritual beliefs into their treatment. Twelve-step addiction treatment programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.) also sometimes take a faith-based approach to treatment.

Pastoral counseling is provided by religious clergy who have been psychologically trained to provide therapy services . These counselors integrate modern psychological practices with theological teaching to address problems that their clients are experiencing.

Is Religion Good or Bad for People?

There's no doubt that religion has a complex influence on the lives of individuals and societies. Religion can help bring people together, but it can also be a source of division and stress, particularly for those who face discrimination within religious communities, such as people who hold differing beliefs from the rest of the group.

Research has also found that people who struggle with their religious beliefs may experience lower well-being and higher levels of anxiety and depression. Specific religious beliefs can also play a part in the potential benefits or drawbacks. People who believe in a merciful God are more likely to forgive themselves and treat their mistakes with self-compassion. In contrast, those who believe in a punishing or judgemental God may experience worsened health effects.

Given the potential benefits linked to religious affiliation, some may wonder if it might be a bad thing not to be religious. While studies suggest that religion may have health benefits, you don't need to ascribe to a set of organized religious beliefs to reap these rewards. Taking steps to engage in healthy behaviors, form social connections with others, and strengthen your coping skills are steps you can take to obtain those benefits that religion often provides.

If you are concerned about religion's impact on your life, discussing your concerns with a mental health professional may be helpful. Research suggests that religion can play a positive and supportive role in people's lives in many ways. For some individuals who feel less supported or even excluded from religious practice, it is important to weigh the potential good with the potential harm.

If you are interested in exploring some of the potential benefits of religion or spiritual traditions, there are some things that may help:

• Find a community that you connect with. Social support is an important part of well-being, so feeling a sense of connection with others in your religion can be beneficial.
• Explore practices often utilized by religion. Meditation and mindfulness have been shown to have a number of wellness benefits.
• Search for things that inspire you. Whether it is reading inspirational books, listening to beautiful music, or spending time enjoying nature, finding things that give you a sense of peace and inspiration can help improve your mental clarity and well-being.

The observation is real: People who attend religious services regularly tend to live longer and often experience better mental well-being. The tough question to answer is, why?

It may simply be that people who attend religious services tend to have more social and financial resources than non-attendees, or it could be that something about attending religious services (like making connections with others, prayer, or spiritual reflection) helps people to live longer and feel better. You'll have to decide for yourself.

Because these studies are observational (researchers watch what happens in the real world without actively controlling any of the conditions or randomizing the participants), it cannot be said with certainty that religious attendance increases life expectancy or that it doesn't.

We can only conclude that there is an association between religious attendance and increased life expectancy. They are linked, but we don't know why.

There could be a different reason to explain the life expectancy outcome in the study. In fact, other studies have shown that people who regularly attend religious services:

• May be more likely to be employed
• Tend to have larger social networks
• Tend to be more positive
• Are more likely to live in intact families
• Are less likely to be experiencing disabling illness

Any of these factors could explain the difference in life expectancy observed in these studies. Another study suggested that religious involvement on its own should not be automatically assumed to improve health.   People who share religious beliefs also usually share other characteristics including ethnic, cultural, and socioeconomic backgrounds.

Research also suggests that religion can sometimes become a barrier to mental health treatment.   Religious attitudes toward mental health and treatment can play a role in whether people seek help when they are experiencing symptoms.

Some religious traditions instill the idea that problems are moral or spiritual failings rather than mental health issues.

According to this perspective, mental problems can be overcome simply through willpower or "heroic striving." Because of this, people from such backgrounds may simply be less likely to seek professional help and support when they are having mental health problems.

Aldwin CM, Park CL, Jeong Y-J, Nath R. Differing pathways between religiousness, spirituality, and health: A self-regulation perspective .  Psychology of Religion and Spirituality. 2014;6(1):9–21. doi:10.1037/a0034416

Pew Research Center. The global religious landscape .

Oman D. Defining religion and spirituality . In R. F. Paloutzian & C. L. Park (Eds.),  Handbook of the Psychology of Religion and Spirituality  (pp. 23–47). The Guilford Press; 2013.

Gallup. U.S. church membership falls below majority for the first time .

American Psychological Association. A reason to believe .

Koenig HG. Religion, spirituality, and health: the research and clinical implication s.  ISRN Psychiatry . 2012;2012:278730. doi:10.5402/2012/278730

Weber SR, Pargament KI. The role of religion and spirituality in mental health . Curr Opin Psychiatry . 2014;27(5):358-63. doi:10.1097/YCO.0000000000000080

Wang PS, Berglund PA, Kessler RC. Patterns and correlates of contacting clergy for mental disorders in the United States .  Health Serv Res . 2003;38(2):647-673. doi:10.1111/1475-6773.00138

National Alliance on Mental Illness. Types of mental health professionals .

McConnell KM, Pargament KI, Ellison CG, Flannelly KJ. Examining the links between spiritual struggles and symptoms of psychopathology in a national sample . J Clin Psychol . 2006;62(12):1469-1484. doi:10.1002/jclp.20325

McConnell JM, Dixon DN. Perceived forgiveness from God and self-forgiveness . Journal of Psychology and Christianity . 2012;31(1):31–39.

Ironson G, Stuetzle R, Ironson D, et al. View of God as benevolent and forgiving or punishing and judgmental predicts HIV disease progression . J Behav Med . 2011;34(6):414-425. doi:10.1007/s10865-011-9314-z

Schlundt DG, Franklin MD, Patel K, et al. Religious affiliation, health behaviors and outcomes: Nashville REACH 2010 .  Am J Health Behav . 2008;32(6):714-724. doi:10.5555/ajhb.2008.32.6.714

Ayvaci ER. Religious barriers to mental healthcare . American Journal of Psychiatry . 2016;11(7):11-13. doi:10.1176/appi.ajp-rj.2016.110706

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• Religion in Everyday Life

Highly religious Americans are happier and more involved with family but are no more likely to exercise, recycle or make socially conscious consumer choices

Table of contents.

• 1. Highly religious people not distinctive in all aspects of everyday life
• 2. Essentials of Christian identity vary by level of religiosity; many ‘nones’ say honesty vital to being a moral person
• 3. Few Americans turn to religious leaders for advice when making major life decisions
• Acknowledgments
• Methodology

A new Pew Research Center study of the ways religion influences the daily lives of Americans finds that people who are highly religious are more engaged with their extended families, more likely to volunteer, more involved in their communities and generally happier with the way things are going in their lives.

These differences are found not only in the U.S. adult population as a whole but also within a variety of religious traditions (such as between Catholics who are highly religious and those who are less religious), and they persist even when controlling for other factors, including age, income, education, geographic region of residence, marital status and parental status.

However, in several other areas of day-to-day life – including interpersonal interactions, attention to health and fitness, and social and environmental consciousness – Pew Research Center surveys find that people who pray every day and regularly attend religious services appear to be very similar to those who are not as religious. 1

These are among the latest findings of Pew Research Center’s U.S. Religious Landscape Study. The study and this report were made possible by The Pew Charitable Trusts, which received support for the project from Lilly Endowment Inc.

Two previous reports on the Landscape Study, based on a 2014 telephone survey of more than 35,000 adults, examined the changing religious composition of the U.S. public and described the religious beliefs, practices and experiences of Americans. This new report also draws on the national telephone survey but is based primarily on a supplemental survey among 3,278 participants in the Pew Research Center’s American Trends Panel, a nationally representative group of randomly selected U.S. adults surveyed online and by mail. The supplemental survey was designed to go beyond traditional measures of religious behavior – such as worship service attendance, prayer and belief in God – to examine the ways people exhibit (or do not exhibit) their religious beliefs, values and connections in their day-to-day lives. 2

To help explore this question, the survey asked U.S. adults whether each of a series of 16 beliefs and behaviors is “essential,” “important but not essential,” or “not important” to what their religion means to them, personally.

Among Christians, believing in God tops the list, with fully 86% saying belief in God is “essential” to their Christian identity. In addition, roughly seven-in-ten Christians say being grateful for what they have (71%), forgiving those who have wronged them (69%) and always being honest (67%) are essential to being Christian. Far fewer say that attending religious services (35%), dressing modestly (26%), working to protect the environment (22%) or resting on the Sabbath (18%) are essential to what being Christian means to them, personally.

The survey posed similar questions to members of non-Christian faiths and religiously unaffiliated Americans (sometimes called religious “nones”), asking whether various behaviors are essential to “what being a moral person means to you.” 3  Among the unaffiliated, honesty (58%) and gratitude (53%) are the attributes most commonly seen as essential to being a moral person. (Findings about non-Christians are discussed in more detail at the end of Chapter 2 .)

The survey shows a clear link between what people see as essential to their faith and their self-reported day-to-day behavior. Simply put, those who believe that behaving in a particular way or performing certain actions are key elements of their faith are much more likely to say they actually perform those actions on a regular basis.

For example, among Christians who say that working to help the poor is essential to what being Christian means to them, about six-in-ten say they donated time, money or goods to help the poor in the past week. By comparison, fewer Christians who do not see helping the poor as central to their religious identity say they worked to help the poor during the previous week (42%).

The same pattern is seen in the survey’s questions about interpersonal interactions, health and social consciousness. Relatively few Christians see living a healthy lifestyle, buying from companies that pay fair wages or protecting the environment as key elements of their faith. But those who do see these things as essential to what it means to be a Christian are more likely than others to say they live a healthy lifestyle (by exercising, for example), consider how a company treats its employees and the environment when making purchasing decisions, or attempt to recycle or reduce waste as much as possible.

Of course, survey data like these cannot prove that believing certain actions are obligatory for Christians actually causes Christians to behave in particular ways. The causal arrow could point in the other direction: It may be easier for those who regularly engage in particular behaviors to cite those behaviors as essential to their faith. Conversely, it may be harder for those who do not regularly engage in particular activities (such as helping the poor) to describe those activities as essential to their faith. Nevertheless, the survey data suggest that Christians are more likely to live healthy lives, work on behalf of the poor and behave in environmentally conscious ways if they consider these things essential to what it means to be a Christian.

But while relatively few people look to religious leaders for guidance on major decisions, many Americans do turn to prayer when faced with important choices. Indeed, among those who are highly religious, nearly nine-in-ten (86%) say they rely “a lot” on prayer and personal religious reflection when making major life decisions, which exceeds the share of the highly religious who say they rely a lot on their own research.

Other key findings in this report include:

• Three-quarters of adults – including 96% of members of historically black Protestant churches and 93% of evangelical Protestants – say they thanked God for something in the past week. And two-thirds, including 91% of those in the historically black Protestant tradition and 87% of evangelicals, say they asked God for help during the past week. Fewer than one-in-ten adults (8%) say they got angry with God in the past week. (For more details on how Americans say they relate to God, see Chapter 1 .)
• One-third of religiously unaffiliated Americans say they thanked God for something in the past week, and one-in-four have asked God for help in the past week. (For more details, see Chapter 1 .)
• Nearly half of Americans (46%) say they talk with their immediate families about religion at least once or twice a month. About a quarter (27%) say they talk about religion at least once a month with their extended families, and 33% say they discuss religion as often with people outside their families. Having regular conversations about religion is most common among evangelicals and people who belong to churches in the historically black Protestant tradition. By contrast, relatively few religious “nones” say they discuss religion with any regularity. (For more details on how often Americans talk about religion, see Chapter 1 .)
• One-third of American adults (33%) say they volunteered in the past week. This includes 10% who say they volunteered mainly through a church or religious organization and 22% who say their volunteering was not done through a religious organization. (For more details on volunteering, see Chapter 1 .) 4
• Three-in-ten adults say they meditated in the past week to help cope with stress. Regularly using meditation to cope with stress is more common among highly religious people than among those who are less religious (42% vs. 26%). (For more details on meditation and stress, see Chapter 1 .)
• Nine-in-ten adults say the quality of a product is a “major factor” they take into account when making purchasing decisions, and three-quarters focus on the price. Far fewer – only about one-quarter of adults – say a company’s environmental responsibility (26%) or whether it pays employees a fair wage (26%) are major factors in their purchasing decisions. Highly religious adults are no more or less likely than those who are less religious to say they consider a company’s environmental record and fair wage practices in making purchasing decisions. (For more details on how Americans make purchasing decisions, see Chapter 1 .)
• Three-quarters of Catholics say they look to their own conscience “a great deal” for guidance on difficult moral questions. Far fewer Catholics say they look a great deal to the Catholic Church’s teachings (21%), the Bible (15%) or the pope (11%) for guidance on difficult moral questions. (For more details, see Chapter 3 .)
• One-quarter of Christians say dressing modestly is essential to what being Christian means to them, and an additional four-in-ten say it is “important, but not essential.” (For more details, see Chapter 2 .)
• When asked to describe, in their own words, what being a “moral person” means to them, 23% of religious “nones” cite the golden rule or being kind to others, 15% mention being a good person and 12% mention being tolerant and respectful of others. (For more details, see Chapter 2 .)

The remainder of this report explores these and other findings in greater depth. Chapter 1 provides greater detail on how Americans from various religious backgrounds say they live their day-to-day lives. Chapter 2 examines the essentials of religious and moral identity – what do Christians see as “essential” to what it means to be a Christian, and what do members of non-Christian faiths and religious “nones” see as essential to being a moral person? Chapter 3 reports on where members of various religious groups say they look for guidance when making major life decisions or thinking about tough moral questions. On most of these questions, the report compares highly religious Americans with those who are less religious and also looks at differences among members of a variety of religious groups. For comparisons of highly religious people with those who are less religious within particular religious groups (e.g., highly religious Catholics vs. less religious Catholics), see the detailed tables .

Profile of those who are highly religious, less religious

In this report, “highly religious” respondents are defined as those who say they pray daily and attend religious services at least once a week. Overall, 30% of U.S. adults are highly religious by this definition, while 70% are not. 5

As this report highlights, these standard measures of traditional religious practice do not capture the full breadth of what it means to be religious; many respondents also say attributes such as gratitude, forgiveness and honesty are essential to what being religious means to them, personally. Nevertheless, these two indicators (prayer and religious attendance) are closely related to a variety of other measures of religious commitment.

For example, nine-in-ten people who are categorized as highly religious (91%) say religion is very important in their lives, and nearly all the rest (7%) say religion is at least somewhat important to them. By contrast, only three-in-ten people who are classified as not highly religious (31%) say religion is very important in their lives, and most of the rest (38%) say religion is “not too” or “not at all” important to them. 6

Nearly all people who are highly religious say believing in God is essential to their religious identity (96%), compared with only 57% of people who are not highly religious. Similarly, fully seven-in-ten people who are highly religious say reading the Bible or other religious materials is essential to their religious identity; only 18% of those who are not highly religious say this is vital to their religious identity or to what being a moral person means to them.

As might be expected, the religious makeup of the highly religious and less religious also are quite distinct. Fully half of highly religious American adults (49%) identify with evangelical Protestant denominations, compared with about one-in-five (19%) of those who are not highly religious. And while only a handful of highly religious people are religiously unaffiliated, about a quarter of less religious respondents (27%) identify as atheist, agnostic or “nothing in particular.”

There also are important demographic differences between the highly religious and those who are less religious. 7  They also are more likely to align with the Republican Party than the Democratic Party, and they are somewhat older, on average, than those who are less religious. However, there are few differences by level of education.

If respondents who seldom or never pray and seldom or never attend religious services are analyzed separately from others who are “not highly religious,” many of these differences are even larger.

• Some previous studies have found that highly religious Americans Are more likely to volunteer not only for religious causes but also for secular ones. See Putnam, Robert D. and David E. Campbell. 2010. “American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us.” Chapter 13, pages 443-454. Some prior studies also have found linkages between religious behavior and better health outcomes, though the reasons for this are debated. See, for example, Blasi, Anthony J. ed. 2011. “Toward a Sociological Theory of Religion and Health.” ↩
• In recent years, religious leaders across a wide range of faiths have urged followers to put their religious beliefs into practice through everyday behaviors such as consumer choices, environmentalism, hospitality, charity, honesty, forgiveness and healthy living. See, for example, Pope Francis’ 2015 environmental encyclical “Laudato Si.” Also see Bass, Dorothy C. ed. 2010. “Practicing Our Faith: A Way of Life for a Searching People.” However, the underlying question in this report is not normative – e.g., how religious people should behave in daily life – but sociological: Do Americans who are highly religious by conventional measures (prayer and worship service attendance) also have different beliefs or behave differently from less religious Americans in other areas of life? ↩
• Ideally, the survey would have asked about the “essentials” of religious identity across a wider range of religious groups. For example, Jewish, Muslim and Buddhist respondents would have been asked if these behaviors are essential to what being Jewish, Muslim and Buddhist means to them. Because some respondents completed the survey by mail in a paper-and-pencil format, however, it was not feasible to program the questionnaire with language specific to more than a few religious groups. ↩
• Readers should note that surveys may overstate the extent to which respondents engage in volunteering, since people who participate in activities such as volunteering also are more likely to participate in surveys. For more details, see “ The challenges of polling when fewer people are available to be polled .” ↩
• Estimates of the highly religious share of the population come from the 2014 U.S. Religious Landscape Study national telephone survey. Among respondents in the supplemental survey, 28% are highly religious by the definition employed here, and 72% are not. ↩
• The question asking respondents how important religion is in their lives was asked in a previous wave of the American Trends Panel series of surveys; as a result, not everyone in the supplemental survey to the Religious Landscape Study was asked this question. For more details about the American Trends Panel, see the Methodology . ↩
• For more on the link between gender and religiosity, see Pew Research Center’s report “ The Gender Gap in Religion Around the World .” ↩

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The Mental Health Benefits of Religion & Spirituality

December 21, 2016

Religion and spirituality are both rooted in trying to understand the meaning of life and, in some cases, how a relationship with a higher power may influence that meaning. While religion and spirituality are similar in foundation, they are very different in practice.

Religion is an organized, community-based system of beliefs, while spirituality resides within the individual and what they personally believe. “The idea of religion and spirituality is like a rectangle versus a square. Within religion there is spirituality, but if you have spirituality, it doesn’t necessarily mean you have religion,” says someone who practices both religion and spirituality.

Both religion and spirituality can have a positive impact on mental health. In some ways, they provide the same impact. For example: Both religion and spirituality can help a person tolerate stress by generating peace, purpose and forgiveness. But benefits generally vary between the two due to their different nature.

Mental Health Benefits of Religion

Religion gives people something to believe in, provides a sense of structure and typically offers a group of people to connect with over similar beliefs. These facets can have a large positive impact on mental health — research suggests that religiosity reduces suicide rates, alcoholism and drug use. Here are some of religion’s main mental health benefits.

• Initiates social connections with other members 
• Creates a sense of belonging to a group
• Offers trustworthy and safe social engagement
• Helps people to cope with difficult life situations (i.e. a ceremony for the loss of a loved one)
• Provides structure, regularity and predictability
• Allows for time to rest as well as holidays and other special times of the year
• Provides guidelines to live by (i.e. the importance of doing the right thing)
• Teaches compassion, forgiveness and gratitude
• Identifies life lessons, even from challenging situations

Mental Health Benefits of Spirituality

Spirituality is a sense of connection to something bigger than ourselves—it helps a person look within and understand themselves while also figuring out the greater answer of how they fit in to the rest of the world. In other words: It helps people understand their interpretation of the meaning of life.

Spirituality also incorporates healthy practices for the mind and body, which positively influences mental health and emotional wellbeing. Here are some of those benefits:

Individuality

• Enhances a person’s sense of self and empowerment through the choice to decide what their practice looks like
• Focuses on an individual’s connection to what they believe in and their own personal growth
• Accepts any person, whether they are part of a religion or not

Mindfulness

• Encourages meditation and self-reflection
• Leads to a meaningful life philosophy (i.e. feeling connected to others, nature or art)
• Prompts expression in any form such as art, poetry, myth or religious practice

Unity with Surroundings

• Renews a sense of belonging in the world
• Inspires appreciation and awareness of a person’s interaction with the physical environment

These mental health benefits are not limited to their respective categories—individuality isn’t exclusive to religion, just like spirituality can include a sense of community in some instances. The takeaway is that: If presented in a supportive way, religion and spirituality can help people improve their mental health and promote recovery.

To learn more about how faith and spirituality can benefit mental health, go to www.nami.org/faithnet . 

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The Scientific Study of Positive Psychology, Religion/Spirituality, and Physical Health

• Open Access
• First Online: 18 November 2022

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• Kevin S. Masters   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-6473-7018 4 , 5 ,
• Julia K. Boehm   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-8360-9935 6 ,
• Jennifer M. Boylan   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-2597-1367 7 ,
• Kaitlyn M. Vagnini   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-6626-4592 4 &
• Christina L. Rush   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-2542-5366 4  

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Possible relations between religion, spirituality, positive psychology, and physical health have interested humans throughout history. Only recently have these relations become the object of scientific study. In this chapter, we conducted a nonsystematic, narrative review of the modest but growing empirical literature, which suggests that positive psychological constructs such as life satisfaction, positive affect, purpose/meaning, and optimism are generally predictive of better physical health and functioning. Similarly, religion and spirituality (R/S) variables including religious service attendance, religious/spiritual coping, religious orientation, and prayer have demonstrated relations with better health outcomes. These relations are sometimes complex and possibly influenced by methodological considerations. Several possible pathways to account for these relationships have been proposed, including behavioral processes, social support, and direct physiological pathways. Whether these relations are causal remains a perplexing question to resolve, due to methodological challenges inherent in the nature of the variables themselves and to the practical difficulties of examining these variables via experimental investigation and longitudinal analysis. The possibility that positive psychology constructs may account for associations between R/S and health deserves further exploration, ideally using experimental and prospective longitudinal methods.

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Model of Individual Health Effects from Religion/Spirituality: Supporting Evidence

Religion, Spirituality, and Positive Psychology: Strengthening Well-Being

A Meta-Analysis of Religion/Spirituality and Life Satisfaction

• Spirituality
• Positive psychology

Humans have long been interested in relations among religion/spirituality (R/S), positive psychological constructs, and physical health. Furthermore, many religions attempt to influence behavior through health-related prescriptions about food choices, sexual activity, substance use, and resting. Similarly, positive psychological constructs have been discussed in light of their presumed benefits on both mental and physical health (Ryff & Singer, 1998 ). However, R/S and positive psychological constructs have only recently become objects of scientific investigation of their associations with physical health.

Positive Psychology and Physical Health

Broadly speaking, positive psychological constructs refer to the thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and characteristics that enhance well-being across time, situations, and cultures (Boehm & Kubzansky, 2012 ). They encompass a variety of states and traits, including happiness, purpose in life, and optimism. In the current chapter, we highlight four positive psychological constructs whose relationships with physical health and mortality have been investigated most frequently, as evidenced by systematic reviews and meta-analyses: life satisfaction (evaluating one’s life favorably; Pavot & Diener, 2008 ), trait positive affect (experiencing frequent positive emotions; Pressman et al., 2019 ), purpose in life (having valued goals and activities in one’s life; McKnight & Kashdan, 2009 ), and trait optimism (expecting favorable outcomes in the future; Carver et al., 2010 ). Although the associations between these constructs and physical health have usually been examined independently, these four constructs tend to be moderately related (Kashdan et al., 2008 ). Moreover, there is considerable debate about how to assess these and related constructs in health-related studies (Ryff et al., 2020 ; VanderWeele et al., 2020 ). This nonsystematic, narrative review introduces readers to the most studied positive psychological constructs in relation to physical health.

In this chapter, we review how each of these four constructs is associated with objective health outcomes like morbidity (which refers to all physical symptoms, diseases, and medical conditions) and mortality. Given how hard it is to conduct experimental investigations of large cohorts across long periods, we will focus on evidence from prospective longitudinal studies with initially healthy cohorts. These studies provide evidence suggesting whether positive psychological constructs are causally related to physical health. Similar studies have been conducted among people with chronic disease at baseline, to see whether positive psychological constructs are associated with reduced risk of secondary disease (e.g., Boehm & Kubzansky, 2012 ). However, once disease processes are underway, the impact of positive psychological constructs on physical health may be attenuated (Boehm & Kubzansky, 2012 ).

Life Satisfaction

Life satisfaction is associated with healthier and longer lives. Most reviews include life satisfaction in combination with positive affect and purpose in life (e.g., Steptoe, 2019 ), which makes it difficult to identify the unique health effects of life satisfaction. However, prospective longitudinal studies of initially healthy cohorts have found that higher levels of life satisfaction are associated with reduced risk of coronary heart disease (Boehm et al., 2011 ), other chronic diseases, and mortality (Feller et al., 2013 ; Rosella et al., 2019 ). For example, in a population-based study of over 70,000 Canadians, individuals who were very dissatisfied with their lives had the highest risk of chronic conditions and mortality across approximately 5 years, compared to those who were satisfied (Rosella et al., 2019 ). This finding is consistent with meta-analytic evidence that greater life satisfaction is associated with 12% reduced risk of mortality in initially healthy individuals (hazard ratio = 0.88; Martín-María et al., 2017 ).

Positive Affect

Several systematic reviews and meta-analyses demonstrate that higher levels of trait positive affect are associated with better health outcomes (e.g., Diener & Chan, 2011 ; Pressman et al., 2019 ). The available evidence indicates positive affect not only has main effect associations with both morbidity and mortality, but it also buffers the association between stress and poor health. The existing evidence also suggests positive affect is associated with reduced risk of mortality, especially in older adults; however, this finding may be due to lower event rates in younger adults (Steptoe, 2019 ). Yet whether positive affect is associated with mortality independent of subjective health is unclear (Barger et al., 2020 ; Liu et al., 2016 ), given that some adjectives used to assess positive affect (e.g., energetic , vigorous ) may themselves be indicators of health status. Diener and Chan ( 2011 ) report that effect sizes are small to moderate in size (0.1 to 0.2 standard deviation differences both in morbidity and mortality outcomes, when comparing low vs. high positive affect). Going forward, the scientific study of positive affect and physical health will be advanced by increased scholarly attention to: (a) utilizing high-quality measures, including measuring both low- (e.g., calm) and high-arousal (e.g., alert) positive affective states and using non-self-report measures (e.g., quantifying emotional-language use), (b) differentiating the temporal focus of assessment (e.g., state vs. trait affect), and (c) exploring and accounting for cultural differences in the value and utility of positive affect (Yoo & Miyamoto, 2018 ).

Purpose in Life

Several prospective studies indicate that higher purpose in life is associated with lower mortality risk (Alimujiang et al., 2019 ), fewer cardiovascular events, less physician-reported chronic disease (Steptoe & Fancourt, 2019 ), less Alzheimer’s disease and mild cognitive impairment (Boyle et al., 2012 ), and lower risk of metabolic syndrome (Boylan & Ryff, 2015 ). Effect sizes are typically small (e.g., hazard ratio for mortality = 2.43 for lowest vs. highest purpose in life; Alimujiang et al., 2019 ) but comparable to traditional biomedical risk factors, such as body mass index (Boylan et al., 2017 ). Cohen et al. ( 2016 ) reviewed 10 prospective studies (combined N  > 135,000) and found that measures of purpose, meaning, life engagement, and ikigai (i.e., having a reason for being) were associated with a 17% reduced risk for all-cause mortality and cardiovascular events. Kim et al. ( 2019 ) updated Cohen’s review, replicating the results and noting important future research directions: (a) addressing methodological limitations related to reverse causality (i.e., does being in good health cause higher purpose in life) and appropriate control of confounders, (b) empirically testing behavioral and biological mechanisms underlying the relationship, and (c) testing whether associations between purpose in life and health are consistent across sociodemographic groups.

Optimism is commonly assessed with single items or the multi-item Life Orientation Test (LOT; Scheier et al., 1994 ). A recent meta-analysis of more than 60 studies examined whether optimism, assessed by the LOT, was associated with physical health outcomes, including biomarkers, disease, hospitalizations, and mortality (Scheier et al., 2021 ). They found that optimism is modestly associated with better physical health ( r  = 0.03) when aggregated across outcomes and accounting for a range of covariates (e.g., sociodemographics, psychosocial confounders). However, some argue the LOT assesses two separate factors—the absence of pessimism and the presence of optimism. Both the absence of pessimism and presence of optimism showed small associations with physical health ( r s = 0.03 and 0.01, respectively; Scheier et al., 2021 ). Although effects appear small, they reflect associations adjusted for confounding factors, including the shared variance between optimism and pessimism and related psychosocial variables. Furthermore, small effect sizes are common when investigating associations between psychosocial factors and physical health. Moreover, small effects at the individual level have outsized impacts at the population level. Scheier et al. ( 2021 ) aptly noted (p. 543): “A one-point change in the pessimism direction of the pessimism subscale corresponds to an increase of 97,014 deaths from all causes (95% CI [32,540, 162,641])” (p. 543).

When optimism is assessed with measures other than the LOT, associations with health and longevity remain. A meta-analysis of 15 studies demonstrated that optimism was associated with reduced risk of first-time cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality (Rozanski et al., 2019 ). Results were similar for men and women, as well as when adjusted for depression, socioeconomic status, and physical activity. Thus, optimism appears to be related to better health, but it is unclear if the active mechanism is optimism, the absence of pessimism, or both.

Religion/Spirituality and Health

Religion and spirituality (R/S) are considered overlapping constructs with distinct qualities. According to Yeary et al. ( 2020 ), “spirituality will be defined as one’s experiences with the sacred, whereas religion refers to one’s involvement in an organized system of beliefs and behaviors related to one’s experience with the sacred” (p. 196). R/S constructs are multifaceted and encompass a variety of markers, such as religious service attendance, prayer, and religious/spiritual coping. For example, different types of religious/spiritual coping predict different health outcomes (Ai et al., 2007 ). To date, self-report measures are widely used when studying R/S and health, and much of the research focuses on religious service attendance. In this section, we consider four R/S indicators whose relation to physical health has been examined frequently: religious service attendance, religious/spiritual coping, religious orientation, and prayer. (See Table 18.S2 and Table 25.S2 in this volume for a summary of longitudinal studies of R/S and various mental and physical health outcomes.) As before, this section consists of a nonsystematic, narrative review of important R/S constructs.

Religious Service Attendance

Consistent evidence suggests that frequency of religious service attendance is associated with longevity and all-cause mortality (VanderWeele et al., 2017a ). In a review of longitudinal studies of this association, Powell et al. ( 2003 ) found the strength of the relationship represented a 30% reduction in mortality, on average, after adjustment for demographic, socioeconomic, and health-related confounds. More recent high-quality, longitudinal prospective studies (e.g., Idler et al., 2017 ; Li et al., 2016 ; Wen et al., 2019 ) also support the association between service attendance and all-cause mortality. Comparing several meta-analytic studies, Lucchetti et al. ( 2011 ) found that effect sizes of attendance with all-cause mortality were similar in magnitude to those for recognized health behaviors such as mammography screening and consumption of fruits and vegetables (i.e., 25% reduction in mortality for service attendance vs. 26% reduction in mortality for mammography screening and fruit/vegetable consumption).

Service attendance may also predict cause-specific mortality, such as mortality due to cardiovascular disease (Chida et al., 2009 ; Shattuck & Muehlenbein, 2020 ) or cancer (Li et al., 2016 ; Wen et al., 2019 ). However, after adjusting for health risk and demographic variables, not all high-quality studies find an association between attendance and cause-specific mortality (Hummer et al., 1999 ). Overall, there is strong evidence that attendance is associated with lower all-cause mortality and some evidence that it is also associated with cause-specific mortality.

Religious/Spiritual Coping

Religious/spiritual coping assesses how individuals use R/S to cope with distressing life events or stressors. The most widely used measures of religious/spiritual coping are the RCOPE (Pargament et al., 2000 ) and Brief RCOPE (Pargament et al., 2011 ). Both versions operationalize religious/spiritual coping into two types. Pargament et al. ( 2011 ) explain: “positive religious coping reflects a secure relationship with a transcendent force, a spiritual connectedness with others, and a benevolent world view [whereas] negative religious coping reflects underlying spiritual tensions and struggles within oneself, with others, and with the divine” (p. 51).

There are limited data on religious/spiritual coping and mortality. Using data from the Black Women’s Health Study, Vander Weele and Yu et al. ( 2017b ) found that positive religious/spiritual coping led to reduced mortality, but effects were lessened after accounting for other religious/spiritual factors (religious service attendance, prayer, religious/spiritual orientation). There are also limited data on the association between religious/spiritual coping and health, although some studies point to a relationship. For example, positive religious/spiritual coping predicted beneficial outcomes among those with cardiovascular disease (Ai et al., 2007 ) and was associated with reduced incident hypertension in a large prospective study (Cozier et al., 2018 ). Negative religious/spiritual coping often predicts adverse outcomes in people diagnosed with cardiovascular conditions (e.g., Ai et al., 2007 ).

Religious Orientation

Religious orientation (Allport & Ross, 1967 ; Gorsuch, 1994 ) may have associations with health as well. Extrinsic orientation (i.e., an orientation to religious engagement for social, psychological, material, and physical benefits) is associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms (Smith et al., 2003 ), and depression is in turn linked to worse physical health outcomes. Extrinsic orientation has also been found to be associated with exaggerated blood pressure reactivity to psychological stressors (Masters et al., 2004 ). In a majority Christian sample, proreligious orientation (i.e., motivation to engage in religion both for its own sake and for its social, psychological, material, and physical benefits) was associated with worse physical functioning, role limitations, and fatigue, compared to intrinsic, extrinsic, and nonreligious orientations (Hunter & Merrill, 2013 ). However, in this same study, religious orientation and self-rated health were unassociated.

In other research, intrinsically religious adults (i.e., those motivated to engage in religion for its own sake) had healthier physical responses to stressors (Masters et al., 2004 ). In another adult sample, intrinsic religious beliefs were also associated with fewer medical complications and shorter hospital stays (Contrada et al., 2004 ). In a community-dwelling sample, intrinsically oriented and nonreligious people reported the best-perceived health and lowest body mass (Masters & Knestel, 2011 ). People with intrinsic and proreligious orientations were least likely to smoke tobacco or drink alcohol. In a study of cancer patients, there was a positive association between intrinsic religiousness and physical, functional, and social well-being (Pérez & Rex Smith, 2015 ). In sum, intrinsic religious orientation is consistently associated with better health.

Prayer frequency is associated positively with pain and illness coping, but its relations with markers of disease are somewhat dependent on several research design considerations (e.g., the population studied and methodology used). In a review, Moreira-Almeida and Koenig ( 2008 ) found evidence for cross-sectional associations between petitionary prayer (i.e., making a request of God) and higher physical pain, which the authors suggest is because people use prayer to ask for help when pain increases. Although prayer has been found to be associated with a higher likelihood of hypertension among adults in Chicago (Buck et al., 2009 ), prayer has also been found to be associated with better long-term postoperative adjustment in patients undergoing open-heart surgery (Ai et al., 2010 ). Prayer was also associated with reduced risk of cognitive decline among midlife Arabic women (Inzelberg et al., 2013 ). Finally, prayer was associated with better prognosis among patients with advanced cancer (Paiva et al., 2014 ).

Using experimental designs, prayer has been associated with reduced pain and healthier cardiovascular responses to stress. For instance, in a randomized clinical trial of the effects of prayer on migraine headaches among Muslim patients, pain was significantly lower in the group who received pharmacological treatment plus prayer for 2 months than the group who received only pharmacological treatment for 2 months (Tajadini et al., 2017 ). Similarly, in a meditation study of migraine sufferers, compared to three other groups (internally focused secular meditation, externally focused secular meditation, and progressive muscle relaxation), those who practiced spiritual meditation had greater decreases in the frequency of migraine headaches, anxiety, and negative affect, as well as greater increases in pain tolerance, headache-related self-efficacy, daily spiritual experiences, and existential well-being (Wachholtz & Pargament, 2008 ). In a lab study of African American women recalling an incident of racism, prayer was associated with lower stress and diastolic blood pressure (Cooper et al., 2014 ). Likewise, in a randomized trial of Christians, devotional prayer led to lower blood pressure reactivity to an interpersonal challenge, relative to people in the secular meditation or control group (Masters et al., 2020 ).

In sum, prayer appears to be associated with reduced stress, lower cardiovascular reactivity to stress, and better management of pain. Prayer is thought to encourage proximity-seeking to perceived sacred beings that can provide comfort in times of distress (Granqvist, 2020 ). But relationships between prayer and health are complex because individuals are more likely to pray when their health is in decline. The literature would benefit from additional studies with experimental designs, as well prospective studies analyzing the function of prayer for health prior to and after disease onset. Analyzing the circumstances in which people pray, the meaning of prayer for them, and study methodology (e.g., cross-sectional vs. longitudinal) are important.

Possible Mechanisms and Pathways

Given that R/S and positive psychological constructs have relationships with mortality and morbidity, what accounts for these relationships? What are plausible pathways that link R/S and positive psychological constructs with health outcomes, and might these relationships be causal? (See Chap. 18 , this volume, for a theory explaining the links between R/S and health.)

There are at least three plausible and empirically supported pathways linking R/S or positive psychological constructs with health. The most well-established is the behavioral pathway. To the extent R/S and positive psychological constructs influence (non)engagement in behaviors that have probabilistic relationships with health outcomes, these constructs may be situated along a behavioral pathway affecting health. In the R/S and health literature, there are several studies demonstrating relationships of R/S with beneficial healthy behaviors (e.g., flu vaccination, cholesterol screening, breast self-exams) and lower likelihood of unhealthy behaviors (e.g., cigarette smoking, excessive alcohol use; Shattuck & Muehlenbein, 2020 ; Yeary et al. 2020 ). Similarly, salubrious associations between positive psychological constructs and health behaviors have been found, including lower smoking rates, greater use of preventative measures (e.g., cancer screenings), better sleep quality, healthier diet, and higher physical activity (Boehm & Kubzansky, 2012 ; Boehm et al., 2018 ; Kim et al., 2014 ; Steptoe, 2019 ).

A second pathway routes through social support. There is a well-established relationship between social support and health outcomes (Holt-Lunstad & Uchino, 2015 ; Uchino et al., 2018 ). If R/S and positive psychological constructs lead to broader and higher-quality social support, they would plausibly influence health via this pathway as well. For instance, one way religious attendance may influence health is through social support. In fact, studies that include social support as a predictor find it explains significant variance in the relationship between service attendance and health, although attendance remains a significant predictor (George et al., 2002 ; Kim & VanderWeele, 2019 ). These studies suggest service attendance may enhance physical health partly by enhancing social support. Moreover, positive psychological constructs are closely linked with social integration and with having relationships with close others who provide support during challenging times (Diener et al., 2018 ). These social connections may provide support for engaging in preventive behaviors, help buffer the physiological consequences of stress, and protect physical health. Other evidence suggests positive emotions may be associated with healthier outcomes because happier people perceive more favorable social connections, which fosters an upward spiral that contributes to better health (Ramsey & Gentzler, 2015 ; see Van Cappellen et al., Chap. 20 , this volume).

The third pathway examines influences on physiology via psychological processes that are independent of social support. For example, in their meta-analysis, Shattuck and Muehlenbein ( 2020 ) found that prayer and meditation demonstrated several relationships with immune function parameters. Similarly, in a randomized experimental design, Masters et al. ( 2020 ) found dampened cardiovascular stress reactivity among participants who engaged in Christian devotional prayer, compared to people in the secular meditation and control groups. Previously, Masters et al. ( 2004 ) found that intrinsic religious orientation predicted dampened blood pressure reactivity among older adults. Various positive psychological constructs are also directly associated with cardiovascular, metabolic, and immune functioning (Boehm & Kubzansky, 2012 ; Pressman et al., 2019 ; Steptoe, 2019 ). For example, one review found that positive affect was associated with indices of healthy immune functioning, including lower chronic inflammation and more robust vaccination responses (Marsland et al., 2007 ).

To what extent might these mechanisms and pathways be causal? Causality, in the domain of these constructs, is a complex and problematic topic. First, experimental research, which provides the strongest causal evidence, is difficult to conduct. Although some aspects of these topics (e.g., religious behaviors and practices, state affect) can be studied experimentally, others cannot (e.g., religious beliefs; personal dispositions). Health is also difficult to study in experimental designs, both for practical and ethical reasons. Often, health-related outcomes in experiments are measures of processes that have a relationship with health variables (e.g., cardiovascular reactivity to stress), but they are not themselves indicators of health per se.

Prospective longitudinal studies are the next-best methodological option for investigating causality. Yet there are many challenges in conducting longitudinal studies of health, including recruitment, retention, need for repeated measurement, length of time, measurement of potential confounds, and measurement of health variables. Even with exquisitely constructed prospective longitudinal designs, this method of research remains observational and thorny to disentangle from a causal perspective. For example, it is difficult to determine whether life satisfaction predicts better health outcomes or whether better health outcomes predict life satisfaction. Temporal analysis helps but does not eliminate the problem. Epidemiologists encounter these issues and apply the Bradford Hill criteria ( 1965 ) when making judgments regarding cause and effect. Those criteria are useful for investigators conducting prospective longitudinal studies of R/S, positive psychological constructs, and health. For further recommendations, see VanderWeele et al. ( 2016 ), VanderWeele ( 2017 ), and Tsang et al. (Chap. 8 , this volume).

Conclusions and Future Research Directions

Several conclusions emerge regarding the evidence linking positive psychological constructs to health. First, life satisfaction, positive affect, purpose/meaning in life, and optimism are each associated with better physical health. Although these associations may appear relatively modest, they are comparable to that of other psychological characteristics (Friedman & Booth-Kewley, 1987 ). Moreover, physical health outcomes are typically determined by multiple interacting factors (e.g., genetics, environment, behaviors), and statistical adjustments for these many factors can make the effect of any one factor appear small. However, at the population level, small individual effects can have a meaningful impact. In addition, the effect of positive psychological constructs may accumulate over the lifespan (Friedman & Booth-Kewley, 1987 ; Kim et al., 2017 ). That said, theoretically informed research that integrates multiple positive psychological constructs is necessary to discern which constructs are most strongly related to physical health and in which contexts. Some posit that constructs most closely tied to regulatory processes, such as optimism and purpose in life, may be more relevant for health outcomes (Boehm & Kubzansky, 2012 ). But a meta-analysis found that effect sizes of links with mortality were comparable across several positive psychological constructs (Martín-María et al., 2017 ).

Similarly, when considering the relationship between R/S and health, several key points emerged. The most robustly studied aspect of R/S in relation to mortality is religious service attendance, which is robustly positively related to mortality (see Chap. 25 , this volume). The existing studies of religious/spiritual coping and mortality suggest that positive religious/spiritual coping methods are associated with better physical health, whereas negative religious/spiritual coping methods are associated with worse adjustment and physical health. Intrinsic religious orientation is consistently associated with indices of better health. Finally, prayer is associated with benefits for coping with pain, as well as with reduced stress and cardiovascular reactivity; however, individuals may be more likely to pray when they are in poor health.

An interesting question regarding health outcomes and physiological processes is whether the effects of R/S on physiological processes can be accounted for by their relationships with positive psychological constructs. For example, religious/spiritual belief is often viewed as a source of meaning in life, and meaning or purpose in life is predictive of decreased mortality and certain favorable biomarkers for health processes (see Park & Van Tongeren, Chap. 6 , this volume). Does meaning or purpose that is based on religious/spiritual perspectives differ in its relationships with health variables? To what extent does R/S account for meaning’s documented associations? These and many other important questions await empirical investigation.

Research on physical health in relation to positive psychological constructs and R/S has increased greatly in recent decades. Nevertheless, expanding this empirical investigation into worldwide populations and greater inclusion of different religious/spiritual perspectives or faiths will add significantly to both the depth and breadth of these areas of study. Whether the findings reported in this chapter will be found in future studies of more diverse populations remains to be seen, but future research will add significant nuance and complexity to these expanding fields.

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The Impact of Religion in Society

Have you ever wondered how different religions influence society? In this impact of religion on society essay sample, you’ll find an answer to this and other questions about impact of religion on society. Keep reading to gain some inspiration for your paper!

Impact of Religion on Society: Essay Introduction

Impact of religion on society: essay main body, impact of religion on society: essay conclusion, works cited.

Let us start by saying that in the course of the development of human society, there were a lot of factors that influenced it and caused dramatic changes.

Among these factors, there is one that deserves special attention: religion. Points of view concerning religion are the most controversial that can be imagined, and religion is always at the center of heated arguments. Religion is a paradox because it is opposite to science, but still, it does not disappear with the development of science.

First of all, the influence of religion on society should be studied on a large scale – a historical scale. Since times immemorial, religion has occupied a considerable place in the human soul. It is characteristic for a human being to be scared by everything he does not understand, and that was the case with ancient people.

Religion was the source of information for them; they got the answers they needed from shamans and, as a result, from different religious ceremonies and interpretations of “signs” sent by gods. In this case, such a strong impact of religion may be explained by a lack of scientific knowledge.

If we move further by a historical scale, we should mention the impact of religion in medieval society, where it was predominantly negative. At that time, religion caused a number of serious problems that may even be called catastrophes: Crusades, which took the lives of hundreds of people, and the Inquisition, which murdered and deceived even more people, may be given as examples of the destructive influence of religion on society.

Moreover, it is commonly known that in medieval society, God stood in the center of the Universe, and the significance of man was enormously underestimated. Medieval people thought that a person was a mere toy in the hands of an omnipotent God.

Luckily, the situation changed with the development of knowledge, education, and science, and a man got his level of significance. However, even later, when the Dark Ages ended, religion was still very powerful in many countries. It may be proved by such a historical personality as Cardinal Richelieu, who managed to become the unofficial ruler of France (Levi).

Nowadays, in the contemporary world, there exist societies in which state and religion are separated from each other and those where they are united (Islamic countries). In the latter, the ties between state and religion may be illustrated by strict observance of the rules of the Koran, though it must be mentioned that some attempts to lessen its influence are being made.

In the USA, the First Amendment “declares freedom of religion to be a fundamental civil right of all Americans” (Neusner 316). So, it is up to people to decide what place should be occupied by religion in their life.

Religious people insist that religion helps to improve the relationship in the family, can help overcome poverty, and can help struggle against social problems like divorce, crimes, and drug addiction. Religion can strengthen a person’s self-esteem and help to avoid depression. They say that if each person is an element of society, religion helps to organize the functioning of society successfully.

One more thing to be mentioned here is the contemporary decline of religion observed by sociologists nowadays. It is seen as part of “secularization” (Herbert 4). “Secularization, in turn, is understood to be the result of modernization… as a worldwide process consisting of ‘industrialization … urbanization, mass education, bureaucratization, and communications development’” (Herbert 4).

Still, the question of secularization is a very debatable one; many sociologists question its validity, proving that religion is not in decline everywhere (Herbert 4).

In conclusion, let us say that religion has always occupied an important place in society. The attitude towards religion is a very personal matter, and everyone may treat religion in the way that he/she finds the most appropriate; unless he/she takes actions that can harm other members of society.

Herbert, David. Religion and Civil Society: Rethinking Public Religion in the Contemporary World. Burlington: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2003.

Levi, Anthony. Cardinal Richelieu: And the Making of France. NY: Carroll & Graf, 2002.

Neusner, Jacob. World Religions in America: An Introduction. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2003.

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The Negative and Positive Effects of Religion

In the early 20th century, the influential writings of Sigmund Freud and Friedrich Nietzsche both focused on their perception of religion as a neurosis or “sickness.” Karl Marx’s dictum, “Religion is the opium of the people,” became well known in the 1930s when Marxism became popular. Currently, “religion” is viewed as divisive and often associated with conflict, war, and fanaticism. 

The reality is quite different.

Religion: Opiate or Optimizer?

Duke University professor Dr. Harold Koenig and colleagues analyzed hundreds of 21st-century scientific studies examining the relationship between religion and health. Their analysis appears in their 2012 Handbook of Religion and Health :

Religion is positively associated with life satisfaction, happiness and morale in 175 of 224 studies (78%). Furthermore, religion is positively associated with self-rated health in 27 of 48 studies (56%), with lower rates of coronary heart disease in 12 of 19 studies (63%) and with fewer signs of psychoticism (“characterized by risk taking and lack of responsibility”) in 16 of 19 studies (84%).

More recently, a 2019 Pew Research study examined the relationship of religion to happiness , civic engagement, and health across the populations of thirty-five countries. The study was interested in knowing if affiliation (inactives), participation (actives), or non-affiliation mattered when comparing eight indicators of both individual and societal well-being. These indicators included five individual health measures, two measures of civic participation, and self-reported levels of happiness. The data was collected in international surveys over a ten-year period.

Researchers reported some surprising correlations.

Actively religious adults are more likely to vote, participate in non-religious volunteer organizations, and seemingly have more “social capital” than their inactive or non-affiliated counterparts.

The friendship networks fostered by religious communities create an asset that Putnam and other scholars call “social capital”—which not only makes people happier by giving them a sense of purpose and belonging, but also makes it easier for them to find jobs and build wealth. In other words, those who frequently attend a house of worship may have more people they can rely on for information and help during both good and bad times. —Pew Research Center

The relationship of religion to individual health measures, however, varied both positively and negatively, but overall, there was little difference between the three groups.

Taking a Closer Look: Negative Effects of Religion

Does this mean that religion is never a liability? Some research indicates that in certain circumstances, religious beliefs do become “entangled with neurotic and psychotic disorders.” This does not mean, of course, that religious beliefs caused them.

It is possible that studies focusing on the negative role of religion on mental health are a reflection of psychology’s predominant focus on negative pathology in general. The Positive Psychology movement by contrast examines human experiences and mental health from the perspective of what is going right–what attitudes, behaviors, and practices contribute to optimum human flourishing. This perspective is found in an interdisciplinary project funded by the Templeton Foundation.

Taking a Closer Look: Positive Effects of Worship

A good example of breaking down “religion” into its multilayered components is the effort of two Jewish philosophers of religion who are leading an international research project into the effects of worship on human flourishing. Worship includes the rituals-prayers, songs, service, recitations, and readings—offered by multiple faith traditions. These actions are seen as symbolic, given meaning by the faith of the participants.

It turns out that symbolic actions involved in worship matter, according to philosopher Robert Adams , because they give us an opportunity to align ourselves with transcendent Good.

A genuine love for the Good can find in symbolic expression an integration and completion that would otherwise be impossible. . . .Qualitatively limited as I inevitably am in the goodness of my life, and even in my conception of the Good, I can still name and praise a transcendent Good. —Robert Adams

So, while we offer worship to God because of His perfection and Goodness, worship also provides an avenue to union with the Divine. Dr. Maria Beer Vuco, University of Oxford, believes that worship taps into “the distinctiveness of God’s majesty and the closeness of interpersonal relationships.” In her view, if God is the greatest good and worship is a path to align us with that good, then worship actually helps us to become our truest selves and can bring about union, even friendship, with the Divine.

Do We Really Need Science to Understand Religion?

And here, too, I say you’re truly educated if you bring everything to bear on the truth. Taking what’s useful from geometry, music, grammar, and philosophy itself, you guard the Faith from assault.  —St. Clement of Alexandria (A.D. 150-211), quoted in A Year With the Church Fathers

Faith and its consequent worship have been part of the human experience for all of recorded history. Efforts to understand its origins and examine its consequences, both positive and negative, should not all be interpreted as threats against belief.

Even the early Church Fathers understood this. St. Clement of Alexandria warns against ignoring philosophy, logic, and the natural sciences. He says people who want to rely solely on faith think they can “harvest grapes right away without putting any work into the vine.”

*Originally published October 10, 2022.

Maggie Ciskanik, M.S., MSc.

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The Impact of Religion on Society

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Works Cited

• Herbert, David. Religion and Civil Society: Rethinking Public Religion in the Contemporary World . Burlington: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2003.
• Levi, Anthony. Cardinal Richelieu: And the Making of France . NY: Carroll & Graf, 2002.
• Neusner, Jacob. World Religions in America: An Introduction . Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2003.

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Organized Religion: Positive and Negative Effects Essay

1. introduction.

Religion can be easily defined as a social system involving designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations that relate humanity to supernatural, transcendental, or spiritual elements. But what sets organized religion apart from religion itself? Organized religion is considerably a more complex and intricate system of social order, a set of sacred beliefs and practices evolving from an original religion. It is a social institution governed by social norms, mores, and laws. It has an authority figure who is said to be ordained and guided by the will of the divine, and the followers are expected to be submissive and loyal to the higher power. While religion itself can exist at a personal and individual level. The importance of organized religion lies in the fact that it is the cementing force of the religion itself. It is responsible for the spread and sustenance of a religion across different parts of the world and throughout different times in history. The survival and propagation of a religion, culture, and set of beliefs are often tied to organized religion at different instances in world history. The norms and values set by an organized religion provide a moral and ethical framework to the followers and prescribe specific ethical rules of behavior that are to be followed, which are often a separate set of rules from the universal ethical system provided by religion. Organized religion also has an influence far and deep on politics and the state, often being a manipulative force and at times being manipulated by the political establishment and providing religious legitimacy to political powers at different times in history. Despite the political influences and losses of religion, many religious values and traditions are kept intact through institutions of organized religion. This existence and sustenance of the religion is primarily the effect of organized religion on faith.

1.1. Definition of Organized Religion

Religion can be generally defined as a belief, or the belief in a controlling power, or powers that are greater than the individual self. This belief often seeks to define the origin and purpose of life, and what happens after it ends. Organized religion has an organized collection of beliefs, cultural systems, and world views, which connects humanity with an order of existence. Many religions have organized behaviors, clergy, a definition of what constitutes adherence or membership, congregations of laity, regular meetings, or for the more mystic religions, an extended period living in seclusion or cloister. What a theist would call god and a pantheist reality served as the focusing point of it. The conception of an object, idea, or being, which is attempting to focus the religion, defining its scope. This it may be of a deity or higher deity, or it may be an ultimate warping and a reverence to a level of spirituality. Coming from this there is often a system mythology and some form of an afterlife belief system. The system mythology is an attempt at cosmology describing the way in which the organized religion believes the universe was created, and the afterlife system will often revolve around the idea of karma, or a judgment day in which the followers of the religion will be rewarded or punished based on how they view the deity to whom they are devoted. Often times organized religions will attempt to convert others to their religion in an attempt to fulfill what they believe to be divine prophecies to completely spread their religion across the world. This is often the cause of wars and the forced assimilation of foreign people, however, it is often the case that organized religion has brought on the same results. This is the brief and generalized definition of organized religion, and what it comprises of.

1.2. Importance of Studying the Effects of Organized Religion

This researching matter is incredibly pertinent. Knowledge of the results of coordinated religion is essential to many individuals, religions, and common society. For those focused on one religion, examining the impacts of that religion can intense their comprehension of it. It can give them understanding into whether parts of that religion have adapted their unique structure, bargain its profound goals, or have improved the religion an and more than it would have been something else. From a common angle, if religion has both (as it were) great impacts and terrible consequences for the world, it is vital to recognize what these are with a specific end goal to float toward supporting the impacts, while staying away from those viewed as negative. What's more, acknowledgment of whatever religion can to be sure positively affect an offered society or group can be a reason for change in social arrangement. Individuals or gatherings can settle on choices to take part in exercises they accept are helpful, and upkeep those exercises they feel are as of now useful to the society expression. In conclusion, there are numerous individuals who have been influenced by religion in different ways, both negative and positive. A few of those picking a way of skepticism regularly have done as such in view of a negative experience. A few who had already been advantaged with a satisfying life have had a feeling of void that drove them to examining a religion looking for a superior approach to live. These people groups own encounters can extended from generally unimportant to outstanding, however numerous might even now want to know whether such a move is what they need. Understanding impacts of past experience can every now and again serve to clear up both the individual's future itinerary and what has had the most impact on his or her life. The analysis the impacts of sorted out religion and the quest for the different, is likewise essential to a sociology. To make such understandings might be troublesome and loaded with hard to answer inquiries, yet such wide themes can give a significance and centrality to social exploration. So also, it can service an intend to slant both, society and individual ways nearer to what numerous see as a perfect. Idealistic or negative, whether numerous individuals see religions as solid a leaning or devise approach to impact change. Finally, studies on religion can serve to allow a distinction between methodologies and methods for different religions all in quest for comparative goals. Since similar to the effects of similarly agreeable and negative conduct, may demonstrate a failure for its contrast with non-religious exercises and its poor mimic of what it was intended to supplant in the first occurrence.

2. Positive Effects of Organized Religion

Promotes moral values and ethics. It is true that religion does make for a more stable society. Religions preach solidarity and concern for others. They can provide a motivation for people to act in ways that they might not do naturally, such as the Christian concept of "loving thy neighbour". All prehistoric and ancient societies known to anthropologists displayed evidence of the presence of religion, and modern anthropology demonstrates that religion has often functioned as a force for social solidarity. In the Turkish community that I currently live, there is little sense of social solidarity, with people focusing mainly on personal gain. In contrast, traditional Islamic communities are effectively able to care for the needy through a system of alms-giving. On a different level, Durkheim argued that religious education serves to bind together members of the religious community and instill in them a sense of belonging and identification. In the modern world with so many social problems, a little solidarity and identification with one's fellow citizens could go a long way. Religion also provides materials aimed at promoting social stability and a changeless state of society, which if idealized can be seen as a positive force. The Bhagavad Gita is a key example where Hindu scripture promotes people to perform their social duties and not to desire change.

2.1. Promotes Moral Values and Ethics

Introduction to values and ethics: Religion can help bring moral order to people's lives by giving them a set of rules to follow. All religions have a moral code and are probably one of the most influential factors in whether a person believes their society to be moral and righteous. This is seen by many religious people as the primary function of religion. The Ten Commandments of the Christian and Jewish faiths are a list of what one must and must not do to be considered a moral person. Commandments such as "thou shalt not kill," "thou shalt not commit adultery," and "thou shalt not steal" are rules which the majority of people would agree are good moral guidelines. Should an individual follow these rules, then they would be abiding by the moral code set by their religion. Likewise, Hindus have a similar set of rules known as yamas and niyamas. These are restraints and observances, things that they should and should not do. If all of the religious followers of a particular religion were to act in accordance with these rules, then it is likely that the society of these religious followers would be moral and orderly as everyone would be acting in the same manner following the rules set out by their religion. Failure to follow any of these rules set by religion is often considered to be sin. This is seen as a dirty and impure act and is often a cause of guilt for an offender. This guilt is a good thing according to the Christian faith. It is a sign that a person knows what they have done is wrong and feels sorrow for their actions. In order to relieve the guilt, a person may confess their wrongdoings to a religious leader who can advise them on how to atone for their sin. Atonement more often than not involves doing something for the good of others. Thus, in Christianity, taking a negative action and turning it into a positive cause of good is seen as a way in which one can lead a good moral Christian life. A similar concept is seen in Sikhism where a spiritual guide will advise a person who has made an error in judgment.

2.2. Provides a Sense of Community and Belonging

When organized religion is instituted into a culture, it creates a social impact, and a major aspect of that effect is the instituting a sense of community and belonging. In today's fast-paced and often lonely society, people are searching to find where they fit in, and religion provides an opportunity to join others who share common beliefs. "In an age when social supports are withering...for many people religious communities provide social services and programs and a significant base of operation for social networks and community" (Krause 113). It appears that the community setting of a religious group is vital to attracting and maintaining members. Providing activities, programs, and support groups are all methods to draw people closer by connecting them to others with similar interests and problems. An article by Kent and Drescher (2000) describes the process as empowerment, which is to enable individuals and groups to have more control over their lives. By doing so, power and decision making are put into the hands of group or community. They go on to explain that community and group involvement is integral for empowering its members and religion, with its various programs and settings, provides a structural framework to guide its members in a cost-effective and far-reaching manner. The sense of community also creates a feeling of security that is often very elusive in today's society. It serves as a place of sanctuary or a "safe haven" where the troubled or wounded can go to seek advice, comfort, and solace. In more extreme cases, some churches offer halfway houses, counseling, and other types of support for the socially outcast or severely troubled. Community setting can be defined in various ways, but for many, the bonds formed within these various types of social organizations are powerful and long lasting.

2.3. Offers Support and Guidance during Difficult Times

Support in difficult times is when people depend on others to help them get through. It could be emotional, physical, mental, or economical. It could be a relationship burden, a death in the family, a financial burden, a mental illness, etc. An important part of religion for a lot of people is getting through difficult times with the help of a higher power. A study done by Krause (2002) showed that people who turned to their religion during a major stressful event had fewer depression symptoms mainly because by blaming the event on God, it helped them preserve a sense of hope for the future. They are not depressed and believe that their future is ruined. Many people who turn to religion in hard times refer to the term "I leave it in God's hands". The thought of someone or something more powerful watching over them and guiding them helps ease the worry of what they are going through. It is comforting to them, feeling the support of that higher power. Another study by Krause (1995) showed that people who prayed in a time of need expected greater social support in the future, which also reduces their depression. Some people get support from their religious community and friends who have experienced similar hard times. This could make them feel less isolated and knowing others have gotten through what they are experiencing. For example, at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, people are given hope by hearing stories from recovered alcoholics who were guided by their religion. They believe it is their god's will to help them recover, and by doing so, it increases their faith and gives them more reason to recover. Even just talking to someone in the religious community who is a good listener and offering support could help provide answers to unanswerable questions and ease emotional problems. It helps them understand why things have happened and know that it is part of a higher plan. This mental support is important, especially for the elderly. People over 70 are more likely to seek religious help in an attempt to cope with failing health. It could be physical or mental health problems, the loss of loved ones, etc. Knowing that death is close, they turn to religion as a way to ease the fear of the unknown.

3. Negative Effects of Organized Religion

The power of religious beliefs to lead societies into war. Believers defend their decision to fight wars in the name of religion on the basis that religion provides the ultimate cause for attempting to destroy evil. The Just War doctrine provides a useful framework for thinking about the problem of evil in war. Religion has an inbuilt concept of the equity of humanity which is expressed in the notion of the brotherhood of man. During the World War, the Christian churches of Europe declared their objective of furthering moral causes. The World Council of Churches has defended its political activity on the grounds that it seeks to banish all forms of enslavement and oppression and to enable people to obtain the freedom which is their due. This aspiration can clearly be seen as an attempt to right oppressive government and to liberate the oppressed, the same but with a framework of a higher authority and purpose than secular powers. But correlation between religion and conflict can be taken steps further, notably in the work of Rudolph Rummel who has attempted to provide statistical evidence of the high death tolls resulting from religious war and the warfare of theocracies. Rummel estimates that in 3000 years of history, 118 million people have been killed in 627 wars that have been religious in nature. His definition of religious causes for violence is very broad and he provides a wide range of instances to support his case, with the bulk of his estimates focusing on Europe from the late Roman Empire to the Napoleonic Wars. Rummel's work would support the pessimist claim and the view of many international relations realists that religion is an inherently violent and divisive force.

3.1. Potential for Dogmatism and Intolerance

An important aspect of many religions is that they provide an overarching "purpose" and "way of life" to their followers. This can be a very positive thing as people who may be lost or confused can find great comfort and security in knowing what they are supposed to do with their life. Through religious scripture and teaching, followers gain a clearer understanding of what is expected from them in terms of their behaviour, thoughts, decisions, and general way of life. Although this guidance is appreciated by many, it also creates a possibility for dogmatism to occur. Dogmatism is defined as the strict adherence to a belief, opinion, doctrine, or ideology; it can also present an arrogant assertion of opinions as truths. When a religious group becomes convinced that they have the "correct" answer to life's questions, they also adopt the belief that differing opinions are incorrect and invalid. This can lead to the marginalization and oppression of people who do not share the same beliefs as the dominant group. In an extreme scenario, we can look at the Spanish Inquisition where any person who did not conform to the Catholic religion was tortured and executed. This is an extreme case of intolerance, but it is important to acknowledge that any form of conviction that one's beliefs are superior can have negative effects on others.

3.2. Restriction of Individual Freedom and Autonomy

Especially for the many traditional variants of Christianity, there is a clear emphasis on human limitation and dependency on a higher power. In comparison to the egocentric culture of contemporary Britain, this would seem to be an outdated concept. Many British Christians may acknowledge the existence of a deity, but live their lives under the misconception that they are still in control. The idea that a human being is not the ultimate authority in his or her own life is not an attractive one. Christianity has always taught that humans are flawed and prone to sin; a doctrine that is now under severe criticism in a world which has taken huge strides in understanding and improving psychological well-being. The Christian belief that morality is objective and defined by God is also an uncomfortable one in a multicultural society. Despite attempts to modernize, the Catholic Church still teaches that homosexuality is a sin, and though many liberal believers would enjoy thinking otherwise, from a scriptural perspective they are wrong. This leads to considerable cognitive dissonance for a believer who has been raised in the values of a liberal society, and further reinforces the idea that a true Christian will suppress his or her own desires. At its extreme, restriction of autonomy can manifest itself as psychological manipulation or exploitation. Islamic culture tends to reflect the strong sense of fatalism and dependency on a higher power that is a dominant theme in the Qur'an. Though Muslims believe that humans have free will and are accountable for their actions, the concept of Qadr teaches that a person's life is preordained, and nothing can happen that Allah has not allowed. This has a mixed impression on levels of guilt and regret in Muslim culture, but in respect to autonomy it is often interpreted as meaning little more than resignation to whatever fate befalls an individual. This can be seen in the relaxed attitude of many Muslim countries towards infrastructural development and political change. The negative way in which this is discussed in western society as 'backwardness' is simplistic and unfair, but it is true that development is often not considered a high priority in Muslim majority countries. And since any generalization of the effects of religion on culture must always be taken in the context of the culture itself, this is already evidence of a form of cultural imperialism. In whatever context, religion is often simply used as a tool to control people and dissuade them from desiring change in a complacent acceptance of one's lot in life.

3.3. Contribution to Social Division and Conflict

The presence of organized religion acts as a social cement determining the shape and form of society, in that the presence of one religion as opposed to many often leads to the privileging of the one and the persecution of the others. Historically, this has led to the suppression or absorption of minority religions and the establishment of political and cultural patterns of exclusion and discrimination. Such religious elitism and intolerance often go hand-in-hand with fanaticism and sectarian violence, often involving an absolutist conviction of the righteousness of a cause and a divinely inspired mission to impose it on others, perhaps even by war. Rival claims to possess unique religious truths and to have an exclusive relationship with God have been a frequent cause of conflict and war. Such inter-religious conflict is frequently mirrored by divisions within religions, which history demonstrates have often been at least as deep and violent as those between them. Sectarian conflicts are often exacerbated when the lines of political, class, tribal, and other social divisions cross-cut the religious division, so that the religious identification becomes a marker and means of perpetuating other forms of social hierarchy and inequality. Here too the issues at stake are often seen as matters of absolute principle and divine will, there too they may become a focus for violence and persecution.

4. Conclusion

Organized religion has had both positive and negative effects. This essay has noted a few of these and has explained the effect they have had on the world. It was seen that throughout European history, religion has had both a positive and negative effect. This case is the same in the effect religion has had on the environment and the missionaries' involvement in civil wars. After taking these into account, it can be seen that religion has had a varying effect on the world, depending on the situation. Religion is said to offer a sense of solace in times of suffering or need. This solace and the support that often comes with it usually take form in religious groups banding together to help the afflicted. Often, this has very positive results. Religious groups may build homes for the poor or hospitals. They may go into third world countries and provide aid and education, which enables these people to help themselves in the future. When the tsunami hit Southeast Asia, many religious and non-religious groups sent aid and volunteers to help the victims. So it is clear to see that the effect of religion in this situation has been very positive. That being said, the effects are not always positive. The recent terrorist attacks on Western nations have strongly highlighted this. The predominant one of these attacks was on the World Trade Centre on 9/11. A radical Muslim group committed the act based on their interpretations of Jihad in the Qur'an. The results of this event have led to negative effects on religion as a whole and the Muslim community in general. Measures to tighten security in many areas have resulted in innocent people being discriminated against because of their race and religion. It has also led to people taking the stance that all Muslims are terrorists, and the implications of this in today's world are vast. 9/11 also led to the invasion of Iraq due to U.S. claims of them having Weapons of Mass Destruction. This invasion has caused much civil unrest and a civil war in Iraq. The effects of this are still being felt, and it is clear to see that this event was one with extremely negative effects.

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Perhaps one of the most important and miraculous effects of faith in divine powers is that believers display increased longevity, lower blood pressure, and improved mental health, compared to those who have no faith in God (Liberty Magazine). In particular, according to a nationwide study held in the United States between 1987 and 1995, believers enjoyed an average of seven additional years of life; they also had fewer chances to have hypertension, and manifested lower rates of depression and anxiety.

Faith in divinity changes people’s attitude towards life in general, themselves, and other people. In particular, believers tend to be more optimistic; they often expect assistance from higher powers, and this gives them strength and hope to undertake life difficulties with dignity and endurance (CAFSurveys). Psychologists emphasize that such an approach allows people to pay less attention to the negative sides of life without ignoring them: fortunes and beneficial opportunities are seen as divine help, whereas difficulties and problems are faced with persistence and a hope for the best.

Being a believer not only effects an individuals’ health or mental well-being, but also their social life. According to a study conducted by the Grey Matter Research team, when asked about religion’s impact on the decrease of amounts of crime and poverty in society in general, or the decline in rates of violence, 45, 41, and 39 percent of respondents respectively thought religion has a positive impact on these processes in terms of regulating and minimizing them (Grey Matter).

Faith in divinity, regardless of a religion, is able to cause surprising positive effects on its bearers. Regardless of what religion people belong to, they experience the same benefits from having faith. In particular, believers have longer lives, lower blood pressure, and lower rates of anxiety and depression. They also tend to hope for the best even in complicated life situations, and face difficulties with persistence and optimism. In addition, religion has a regulative and minimizing effect on such social phenomena as violence, crime, and poverty. Hence, being a believer seems to grant people with extra benefits without extra effort.

Gow, Haven B. “Religious Faith Promotes Well-being.” Liberty Magazine. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2014. <http://www.libertymagazine.org/article/religious-faith-promotes-well-being>.

“What Difference Does Christianity Make.” Grey Matter. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2014. <http://www.greymatterresearch.com/index_files/Impact.htm>.

“Attitude is Everything.” CAFSurveys. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2014. <http://www.chrisasfakesurveys.org>.

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Globalization and the growing church.

By: José Casanova

April 9, 2013

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Positive and Negative Effects of Religion

• August 27, 2017

From the ancient times, religion has been prominent among the people of this planet. Different groups and communities of people come together to form and follow a certain religion. This is theirs by birth. Religion is something a human looks for when he is down. Religion is a belief that people follow in order to make societies. They believe in their religion because it gives them power and peace. However, in the present time, the word religion is highly overrated. More than this practice provides peace and contentment to the people of the societies, it has been becoming a cause of conflict among many.

Religions are present in the forms such as Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Buddhism and Sikhism. People of this earth come under these religions and tend to follow the norms and beliefs of them during their complete life course. However, people have been into these beliefs blindly from so long that sometimes it becomes a major reason of conflict and riots. On the name of religion, many defaulters take advantage of the situations which are socially unacceptable, leading to conflicts and wars.

There are both positive and negative sides to the practice of religion. It is good as long as it is under control and makes sense. It becomes a curse when things get really messed up. Read more about the positive and negative effects of religion below.

Positive Effects of Religion

The positive effects of Religion have been mentioned as follows.

• Peace of Mind: We have often heard that a religious person is a peaceful one. When a person follows the path of religion, he realizes that there is the presence of a supreme power which is above what human has and has built till now. These naturally brings a sense of humbleness. Religions focus upon the good deeds that matter in life and thus helps us make a better person by teaching us some good values. All in all, put together, following good values of a religion brings a peace of mind when you are focused solely on the good.
• Promotes helps through social work: Most of the religious committees have groups and organizations that focus on helping the unprivileged and the poor by carrying out social service. They do it with the aim of serving the society and making it better. Social works like providing food and shelter to the homeless, free education to the needy and inspiring youth of today to follow the good values for the betterment of the society. This unites people and helps the needful people live with dignity and strength.
• Teaches overall compassion: Compassion is something truly required in a person if he or she is to be something good to the society. Religion has a great role to play in that. Most religious people own this sense of compassion. This is visible in their aura when they inspire others and teach them the good values of their religion. They are comparatively more humble and sympathetic towards everyone. Religious people do not get into any bad or evil habits that might deteriorate them or the people around them. They aim at leading a peaceful life with compassion and draw in more people into that peace.
• Wisdom: Religion is wisdom. They holy religious books have a great deal from which humans can learn and benefit themselves and the human society as well. Since all of the religions aim at working towards the betterment of the society, they impart true wisdom in their follower.

Negative Effects of Religion:

The negative effects of religion have been mentioned as follows:

• A sense of superiority: Many times, it happens that the people of a certain religion start believing that the teaching and morals of their own religion are superior than any other religion. This may be because of a deep faith in their religion that the others are not able to make any sense to them. This induces a sense of negativity when it comes to religion and beliefs.
• Scientific facts are ignored: Religious people tend to give all the scientific facts and reasons a backseat when they get into the beliefs of their religion. Actual reasoning and scientific proofs are greatly neglected and discouraged among people.
• Hinders with overall progress: The highly religious lot discourages the power of thinking freely. They are not able to progress since they tend to stick to their old beliefs when the times are changing. When they see religion as the only way of life, innovations etc. are never welcomed and hence the lack of progress of that society.

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