Is Being Religious Really Good for you What Recent Scientific Studies Reveal

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Is Being Religious Really Good for you? What
Recent Scientific Studies Reveal

• David R. Williams, Ph.D., MPH, M.Div.
• Departments of Sociology Epidemiology
• Institute for Social Research
• University of Michigan
• Spirituality Health Conference 2005
• Adventist Health Professionals

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Forgiveness and Health - I

• Participants recalled a particular person
  who had mistreated, offended or hurt them. Then
  they were instructed via a computer to actively
  imagine unforgiving and forgiving responses
  toward the offender 8 times by following
• (1) a script that had them rehearse the hurt and
  harbor a grudge, and
• (2) a script that had them empathize with the
  offender and grant forgiveness.
• Physiologic measures were monitored

Witvliet et al. 2001
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Forgiveness and Health - II

• An unforgiving response was adversely related
  to sympathetic nervous system and cardiovascular
  functioning. During the unforgiving versus the
  forgiving response participants
• -felt more negative, aroused, angry and sad
• -had greater brow tension(measured by
  electromyograms, EMG)
• -had higher skin conductance level (SCL), heart
  rate and mean arterial pressure.

Witvliet et al. 2001
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Religiousness Among AIDS/HIV Patients

• In a study of 279 HIV/AIDS-infected
  people, long-term survival was significantly
  related to all four dimensions of religiosity
  measured in the Ironson/Woods Spirituality/
  Religiousness (SR) Index faith in God, religious
  activity, sense of peace, and compassion toward
  others. Long-term survival was also positively
  related to frequency of prayer and inversely
  associated with judgmental attitude.
• Additionally, religiousness was positively
  associated with reduced distress, more hope,
  social support, health behaviors, and lower
  cortisol levels.

Ironson et al. 2002
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Illness Prevention Domestic Violence

• Men who regularly attend religious services are
  one-third as likely to abuse.
• Abuse by men or women is reduced for regular
  attenders even when controlling for unemployment
  or educational differences.

Ellison CG, et al. Are there religious
variations in domestic violence? J Fam Issues
1999 20(1)87-113.
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Illness Prevention Domestic Violence

• Theologically conservative men married to more
  liberal women twice as likely to abuse than if
  married to conservative spouses.
• Study highlighted Religion may patter in
  positive and negative ways for the risk of
  violence. Violence research seldom includes
  religious variables.

• Ellison CG, et al. Are there religious
  variations in domestic violence?
• J Fam Issues 1999 20(1)87-113.

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Improving Rehabilitation OutcomesReducing
Criminal Recidivism

• 400 prison inmates were followed for one year
  after their release
• 200 At least monthly Bible studies
• 200 No Bible studies
• One year follow-up
• 14 of Bible study participants had returned to
  prison
• 41 of non-participants had returned to prison

Johnson et al. Justice Quarterly 199714145-166
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Religious Belief and Mental Health
Analyses of data from a community sample of
1,139 adults in the Detroit Area Study found that
belief in eternal life was positively associated
with psychological well-being (but unrelated to
psychological distress). This association
remained significant after adjustments for other
religious variables, demographic factors,
stressors, social support and self-esteem and
mastery.
Ellison et al. 2001
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Buffering Effect (Belief)

• In the 1995 Detroit Area Study, a strong belief
  in eternal life
• Reduced the negative effects of some stressors
  (chronic health problems and financial problems)
  on psychological well-being, but not on distress.
• Reduced the negative effects of work-related
  stress on psychological distress, but not on
  well-being.

Ellison et al. 2001
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Summary Religion Depression
A recent meta analysis of 147 studies that
examined the association between religiousness
and depressive symptoms concluded that higher
levels of religious involvement was associated
with fewer symptoms of depression. Although the
association was robust, it was modest in size.
Although the associations were not moderated by
gender, age, or ethnicity, the association was
stronger for studies of persons under stress. An
extrinsic religious orientation and negative
religious coping was associated with elevated
symptoms of depression.
Smith, McCullough, Poll 2003, Psychological
Bulletin
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Attendance and Physical Health

• A review of the epidemiological research which
  used a measure of frequency of religious
  attendance found
• - 81 showed benefit
• - 15 were neutral
• 4 showed harm

Levin JS, Vanderpool HY. Is frequent religious
attendance really conducive to better health?
toward an epidemiology of religion. Social
Science and Medicine 1987 24589-600.
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Attendance and Life Expectancy

• In a national sample of over 21,000 adults
  followed over 8 years, attendance is associated
  with mortality in a graded manner. People who
  never attend have 1.9 times the risk of death of
  people who attend more than once a week. The
  association exists for most causes of death.
• At age 20 persons who attend more than once a
  week live 7.5 years longer than those who never
  attend. For blacks, the difference was 13.7
  years.

Hurmmer,Rogers, Nam Ellison 1999
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Religious Attendance and Mortality

• Attendance was associated with a 30-35
  percent reduced risk of death over a 7.5 year
  follow-up period in a national study of 3,617
  adults . The effect was stronger for persons
  under age 60 than for those over 60.
• This association remained robust after adjusting
  for many potential confounding and mediating
  variables (demographic and SES factors, baseline
  health, health practices, private religious
  activity, social support, religious beliefs
  worldviews, fatalism, neuroticism, extraversion,
  self-esteem, self-efficacy and depression).

Musick, House Williams, 2004
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Religion and Adolescent Risk Behavior

• Religious high school seniors are less likely
  than their non-religious peers to
• Carry a weapon (gun, knife, club) to school
• Get into fights or hurt someone
• Drive after drinking
• Ride with driver who had been drinking
• Smoke cigarettes
• Engage in binge drinking (5 or more drinks in a
  row)
• Use marijuana
• Religious seniors were more likely to
• Wear seat belts
• Eat breakfast, green vegetables and fruit
• Get regular exercise
• Sleep at least 7 hours per night

Wallace and Forman 1998 Monitoring the Future
Study
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Risk Taking (Australia)

• A study of 954 Australian Year 11 and 12
  students identified 26 activities of varying
  degrees of riskiness or dangerousness, including
  injecting heroin, sharing needles, binge
  drinking, smoking cigarettes, and speeding in
  cars. Overall, high levels of moderate risk
  taking were found across the sample.
• Church-going youth had lower levels of risk-
  taking than the rest of the sample.

Abbott-Chapman and Denholm 2001
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Physiological Effects of Meditative Prayer

• Eight male meditation teachers performed Yoga
  Nidra relaxation meditation (relaxed state in
  which the mind withdraws from wishing to act)
  while undergoing PET scans. During this
  meditation-induced change of consciousness,
  dopamine release increased by 65.
• This is the 1st en vivo evidence for the
  regulation of conscious states at a synaptic
  level

Kjaer et al. 2002
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Meditation Among Cancer Patients

• 59 breast and prostate cancer patients
  were enrolled in an 8-week program that
  incorporated relaxation, meditation, yoga, and
  daily home practice. Program participation was
  associated with decreased symptoms of stress,
  improved sleep patterns, and improved quality of
  life.
• Participants also exhibited a change in
  cancer-related cytokine production, resulting in
  a shift from an immune profile associated with
  depressive symptoms to a more normal immune
  profile.

Carlson et al. 2003 2004
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Are Religious People Nice?

• A national study in the U.S. found that
  more religious participants (reading religious
  materials, watching or listening to religious
  programs, attendance) were rated by the
  interviewers as
• -More enjoyable to interview
• -More open(less suspicious)
• -More friendly
• -Less hostile
• -Less bored and more interested in the interview

Ellison 1992
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Good Samaritans Beliefs vs. Actions

• Study of the relationship between religion
  beliefs and providing help in an emergency.
• -Belief in the accuracy of the Bible unrelated
  to helping behavior.
• -Frequency of church attendance and prayer had
  no effect on helping behavior.
• Religion does not necessarily translate into
  moral development.

Annis 1976
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Religions Negative Effects

• Used to justify hatred, aggression, prejudice
• Judgmental, alienating and exclusive
• May be restricting and limiting, rather than
  freeing
• May induce excessive guilt (not enough faith)
• May encourage magical thinking, sacrifice of
  intellect
• May be used instead of medical care
• Failure to seek prenatal, obstetrical, and other
  medical care
• Failure to vaccinate children
• Stopping of medication to demonstrate faith

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The Harmfulness of Faith Healing

• Study sample 172 children who died (1975-95)
• a) after parents refused medical care
• b) preferred faith healing alone
• Study results 140 (81) died from conditions
  with excellent long-term survival (e.g.
  Dehydration, diabetes, measles, pneumonia,
  appendicitis) with medical care.
• 59 prenatal newborn died, 58 from conditions
  with excellent long-term survival following
  medical care.

• Asser SM, Swan R. Child fatalities from
  religion-motivated medical neglect.
• Pediatrics 1998101(4)625-629.

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Religious Struggle and Mortality Among Medically
Ill

• In a longitudinal cohort study of 596 medically
  ill patients aged 55 or older, religious struggle
  was associated with greater risk of mortality.
  Specifically, patients who reported that they
  wondered whether God had abandoned me
  questioned Gods love for me decided that the
  devil made it happen had a 19 to 28 increase
  in risk of dying during the 2-year follow-up
  period.

Pargament et al. 2001
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Religion Weight

• Religiosity and religious attendance are
  positively associated with BMI
• Most observed relationships are independent of
  SES
• Relationships partly explained by other health
  behaviors, especially smoking

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Obesity A Challenge

• Obesity, at any time during adulthood, heightens
  health problems.
• Many religions do a disservice to their adherents
  by trivializing obesity as health risk.
• Obesity reduces the health benefits of
  spirituality.

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Religious Profile (Australia)

25 Attend Church monthly or more often
61 Believe in God, other than just
sometimes 67 Pray, including only
praying occasionally

Peach 2003 Data from the 1980s
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Spirituality in Australia
One third of Australian adults say their
desire for a spiritual life is very
important or the most important principle
guiding their lives. An additional third
say it is important Women value
spirituality more than men Education is
positively related to valuing spirituality
Only 30 of those who value spirituality attend
religious services monthly or more
40 of those who value spirituality are
Christians (believe Bible view Jesus as
divine). They pray but the majority feel
that attending a church is not necessary
Christian Research Association Spirituality
Australian Community Survey
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Religious and Spiritual Profile

• Spiritual and religious adults attended services,
  prayed, meditated, read the Bible and had more
  daily spiritual experiences than any other group.
  They were less distressed and less mistrusting
  than the religious-only group, but they (and the
  religious only group) had high levels of
  intolerance.
• The Spiritual only group were politically
  liberal, tolerant of diverse points of view and
  unwilling to claim a denominational affiliation.

Shahabi et al. 2002 1998 General Social Survey
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Patient Need (Australia)

• A study of the spiritual attitudes and needs of
  79 psychiatric patients in NSW found that
• 79 rated rated spirituality as very important.
• 67 said their spirituality helped them cope
  with their psychological pain.
• 82 thought their therapists should be aware of
  their spiritual beliefs and needs.
• 69 reported that therapists should consider the
  patients spiritual needs in their psychological
  treatment.

DSouza 2002
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Implications of the Research for Clinical Care
Minimalist Recommendations (Idler)

• Health care institutions should facilitate
  inpatients usual religious observances.
• Health care providers should be aware of
  patients religiously-motivated treatment
  preferences, particularly for patients at the end
  of life.
• Physicians and other health care workers should
  make appropriate referrals to hospital chaplains
  and/or local religious congregations.
• Physicians should recommend return to usual
  religious activities following bereavement or
  illness.
• Religious congregations have the primary
  responsibility in caring for the spiritual
  well-being of their members.

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Religion and Stress

• A national telephone survey conducted three to
  five days after the September 11 attacks revealed
  that in coping with this tragedy
• 98 talked with others about their feelings
• 90 turned to prayer, religion, or spiritual
  feeling
• 60 participated in public or group activities
• 36 donated money or did volunteer work
• Analyses of a New Haven sample of 938 adults
  found that in response to stress, prayer
  increased but church attendance declined

Schuster et al. 2001 Lindenthal et al. 1970
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The Weight of the Evidence

• Over the last century 1200 studies have examined
  the religion health relationship
• Conducted by hundreds of investigators at
  different institutions in the U.S. and elsewhere
• The majority show a positive association between
  religion and physical and mental health, Few find
  no association and even fewer a negative
  relationship
• They are not perfect but the consistency of the
  association is impressive

Koenig, McCullough Larson 2001