Three young Latter-day Saint women at a girls\u2019 camp \u00a0(LDS.org)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
I share a bit more from Paul McFate, 52 Good Reasons to Go to Church, Besides the Obvious Ones<\/em> (Chicago: ACTA Publications, 2004). \u00a0These are among the benefits that you might derive from attendance at church (when and if doing so ever again becomes an option!):<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n- Better Personal Health (15)<\/strong>: \u00a0Church attendance has been shown in many studies to correlate with superior health. \u00a0In 1987, for example, two researchers at the University of Texas examined studies dealing with the health impact of religious observance. \u00a0They judged that twenty of the twenty-seven studies in their sample indicated a positive relationship between good health and church attendance, even controlling for other factors. \u00a0Those who attended religious services often were also found to be healthier that those whose attendance was infrequent. \u00a0[J. S. Levin and H. Y. Vanderpool, \u201cIs Frequent Religious Attendance Really Conducive to Better Health? Toward an Epidemiology of Religion,\u201d Social Science Medicine<\/em> 24\/7 (1987): 589-600.]<\/li>\n
- A Longer Life (16):<\/strong>\u00a0 A study reported in the American Journal of Epidemiology<\/em> tracked social group activities and mortality in 4,175 people over the age of 38 in one American county, beginning in 1965. \u00a0Then, seventeen years after the initiation of the research, another study followed up on the group, noting those who had died between the ages of 38 and 49. \u00a0\u201cThe researchers concluded that not being a member of a church was a strong predictor of premature death, even after controlling for age, sex, race, baseline health, smoking, physical activity, weight, depression and perceived health status. \u00a0It also predicted earlier mortality for persons over sixty.\u201d \u00a0[V. J. Schoenbach, B. H. Kaplan, L. Friedman, and D. G. Kleinbaum, \u201cSocial Ties and Mortality in Evans County, Georgia,\u201d\u00a0American Journal of Epidemiology\u00a0<\/em>123 (1986): 577-591; T. E. Seeman, G. A. Kaplan, L. Knudsen, R. Cohen, and J. Guralnik, \u201cSocial Network Ties and Mortality Among the Elderly in the Alameda County Study,\u00a0American Journal of Epidemiology <\/em>126 (1987): 714-723.]<\/li>\n
- Less Suicide Among Family Members (17):<\/strong> \u00a0A long-term study at Detroit\u2019s Wayne State University seems to have showed \u00a0that suicide is reduced among church-going families. \u00a0\u201cNot going to church was the most significant factor in predicting suicide in families, more so than unemployment or other socioeconomic factors.\u201d \u00a0[S. Stack, \u201cThe Effect of the Decline in Institutionalized Religion on Suicide, 1954-1978,\u201d Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion<\/em> 22 (1983): 239-252.]<\/li>\n
- Less Alcohol Abuse Among College Students (18):<\/strong>\u00a0 An article published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol<\/em> is one of many that show the beneficial effects of religious practices on alcohol use. \u00a0For it, researchers surveyed 7,170 students at thirty-four colleges in New England. \u00a0Attendance at religious services was found to be inversely proportionate to alcohol consumption. \u00a0Students who attend church, said the study, are less likely to drink in the first place and, if they do drink, less likely to do so heavily. \u00a0Similar effects of church attendance on alcohol use have been demonstrated in both men and women, across age groups. \u00a0[And, needless to say, the effects are especially dramatic at schools like BYU.] \u00a0[H. Wechsler and M. McFadden, \u201cDrinking Among College Students in New England: Extent, Social Correlates, and Consequences of Alcohol Use,\u201d\u00a0Journal of Studies on Alcohol<\/em> 40 (1979): 969-996.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00a0 \u00a0 I share a bit more from Paul McFate, 52 Good Reasons to Go to Church, Besides the Obvious Ones (Chicago: ACTA Publications, 2004). \u00a0These are among the benefits that you might derive from attendance at church (when and if doing so ever again becomes an option!): \u00a0 Better Personal Health (15): \u00a0Church attendance […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[10763,10405,2145,9961,10003,4735,10411,909,10414,2412,743,243,2749,10402,9967],"class_list":["post-84679","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-abuse","tag-adolescents","tag-alcohol","tag-alcoholism","tag-benefits","tag-church","tag-church-going","tag-faith","tag-going-to-church","tag-health","tag-religion","tag-science","tag-suicide","tag-teenagers","tag-well-being"],"yoast_head":"\n
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<\/a>