Sunday, August 30, 2009

The brighter side of religion

We often see the bad effects of organized religion. Fundamentalists of all persuasions cause trouble politically, socially, economically, etc. They make it into the news as terrorists, political oppressors, and other bad habits. But there is a good side as well. A new study found that

o religious people report better health
o they say they have more energy
o that their health is better
o that they experience less pain
o their social lives and personal behaviors are also healthier
o they are more likely to be married
o they are more likely to have supportive friends
o they are more likely to report being treated with respect
o they have greater confidence in the healthcare and medical system
o they are less likely to smoke.”

This was in a study of 300,000 observations in 140 countries, so it’s a pretty powerful sample size statistically. As a religious person myself, it is always good to see the positive side.