Did you know?

Health and Church Attendance

A recent article joked that “Health enthusiasts may be tempted

to put away their running shoes and granola and search for the family Bible.”

What they were talking about was a new survey that showed that church-attenders live longer, in fact up to 14 years longer.

The study provided further evidence that religious belief and church attendance are key indicators of health, social behavior, political leanings, lifestyles, and morality.

The study was done by Robert Hummer of the Population Research Center

at the University of Texas. The study is significant not only for its findings

but because the nation’s two largest surveys(the U.S. Census and the semi-annual Current Population Survey) don’t ask about religion.

It appears from this latest survey and other similar surveys that religion is very significant.

Mr. Hummer’s team studied 21,000 adult Americans over nine years, looking at their religious behavior and other factors. Even taking other factors into account, non-church attendershad a 50 percent higher risk of mortality than those who attend church frequently.

They also found that some causes of death appeared more frequently among non-attenders. “Those who never attend are about four times as likely to die from respiratory disease, diabetes or infectious diseases.”

…So from spiritual health to physical health,

we’re in a great place here at St. Margaret’s!