Title: Is Being Religious Really Good for you What Recent Scientific Studies Reveal
1Is 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
2Forgiveness 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
3Forgiveness 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
4Religiousness 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
5 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.
6 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.
7Improving 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
8Religious 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
9Buffering 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
10 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
11Attendance 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.
12Attendance 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
13Religious 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
14Religion 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
15Risk 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
16Physiological 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
17Meditation 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
18Are 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
19Good 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
20Religions 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
21The 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.
22Religious 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
23Religion 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
24Obesity 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.
25Religious 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
26 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
27 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
28Patient 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
29Implications 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.
30Religion 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
31The 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