Finally! We have scientific proof of the obvious: attending church weekly and praying daily have major positive health effects on children, according to a new Harvard study.
In the past, numerous studies have documented the positive relationship between religion and well-being in adults.1 But less attention has been given to the relationship between childhood religious upbringing and adult well-being.
Last month, however, two Harvard researchers published the results of their National Institutes of Health supported study on the effects of religious participation on 16,882 children of nurses involved in the well-known Nurses Health Study II. The children, aged 9-14, were followed for eight years.2 Here are some of their findings.
Weekly service attendance by children resulted in:
- Greater life satisfaction and positive affect
- Greater volunteering
- Greater sense of mission
- More forgiveness
- Lower probability of drug use
- Lower probability of early sexual initiation
- Fewer depressive symptoms
- Lower probability of PTSD
- Lower probability of cigarette smoking
- Lower probability of prescription drug use2
“The results showed that people who attended religious services at least weekly in childhood and adolescence were approximately 18% more likely to report higher happiness as young adults (ages 23-30) than those who never attended services. They were also 29% more likely to volunteer in their communities and 33% less likely to use illicit drugs.”3
The authors also found that daily prayer and meditation by children resulted in:
- Greater positive affect
- Better emotional processing
- Better emotional expression
- Greater sense of mission
- More volunteering
- More forgiveness
- Greater life satisfaction
- Greater self esteem
- Greater likelihood of being registered to vote
- Fewer depressive symptoms
- Lower risk of cigarette smoking
- Less likely to have a STI and abnormal Pap test results4
“Those who prayed or meditated at least daily while growing up were 16% more likely to report higher happiness as young adults, 30% less likely to have started having sex at a young age, and 40% less likely to have a sexually transmitted infection compared to those who never prayed or meditated.” 3
The authors conclude: “Consistent with prior literature, our results suggest associations of frequent religious participation in adolescence with greater subsequent psychological well-being, character strengths, and lower risks of mental illness and several health behaviors.”4
In other words, coming to know, love and walk with the God of this universe by attending church every week and praying every day is very, very healthy for children.
Huh. Who knew?
This post first appeared in NewCommandment.org.
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- “For instance, there is a gradient relationship between frequent religious service attendance and lower mortality risk, even in the most rigorous studies. …religious involvement has also been linked to a wide range of other outcomes, such as greater psychological well-being, character strengths, reduced mental illness, and healthier behaviors.” “Associations of Religious Upbringing With Subsequent Health and Well-Being From Adolescence to Young Adulthood: An Outcome-Wide Analysis” Ying Chen, Tyler J. VanderWeele, American Journal of Epidemiology, https://academic.oup.com/aje/advance-article/doi/10.1093/aje/kwy142/5094534. See article for the studies cited.
- Ibid.
- “T. H. Chan, Harvard School of Public Health, “Religious upbringing linked to better health and well-being during early adulthood.”
- Ying Chen, Tyler J. VanderWeele, American Journal of Epidemiology, https://academic.oup.com/aje/advance-article/doi/10.1093/aje/kwy142/5094534.
