Why being religious is great for your health

Here is why being religious is great for your health, according to science.

A new study done by researchers at Ohio State University has discovered that people with religious beliefs live longer than atheists.

According to Laura Wallace, the lead author of the study and a doctoral psychology student at Ohio State, religious people live an average of four years longer than atheists.

Health benefits of Religion

"Religious affiliation had nearly as strong an effect on longevity as gender does, which is a matter of years of life," she said, as reported by The Washington Times.

The study's co-author Baldwin Way, an associate professor of psychology added, "The study provides persuasive evidence that there is a relationship between religious participation and how long a person lives."

The study, which was published online on June 13, 2018, in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science, was based on the obituaries of over 1,000 people across the country.

Based on the findings from the obituaries, published between 2010 and 2012, the researchers believe that this longevity is as a result of their participation in social activities.

"We found that volunteerism and involvement in social organizations only accounted for a little less than one year of the longevity boost that religious affiliation provided," Wallace said.

The study also showed that low alcohol intake and other attributes of living a "religious" life could be the reason for this longevity.

The study's co-author further explained that "many religions promote stress-reducing practices that may improve health, such as gratitude, prayer or meditation."

"There's still a lot of the benefit of religious affiliation that this can't explain," the lead author of the study added.

In conclusion, the findings of the study show that religion definitely plays a major role in the quality and length of one's life.