The Benefits of Church

Several years ago I blogged about a book called The Blue Zones, and if you haven't read it, I heartily recommend it. It's about the six zones of the world where people live longer than anywhere else, and why they do so. One of the reasons is spiritual. Other commonalities that these six zones had were a mainly vegetarian diet, exercise, and close friends for support. I was discussing this book with Charlene, and she brought me an article by Stanford anthropologist T. M. Luhrmann, that talked about spirituality and longevity. One of the most striking scientific discoveries about religion in many years is that going to church weekly is good for your health. Religiosity boosts the immune system and decreases blood pressure. It may add as much as two to three years to your life. The reason is not entirely clear. It seems this would be difficult to study, but someone has. One part of going to church is the social support of the group. This was very important in the six blue zones, but it was not always in the form of support from a religious group. It might be a quilting group or a sewing circle, but people who attended these social groups lived longer. It is true that many religious groups offer a great deal of support in time of grief or other hardship. The group really comes together to help out those in need. This was also true in the six blue zones. Luhrmann studied mostly evangelical church groups, but the effect of the group is the same, regardless of religion. The problem with religious groups, is that they are often fair weather friends. They love and support you as long as you're in the group, but if you leave, you also leave their support system. The Morman Church is one example. They are supportive as long as you are in the church. If you marry outside the church or leave for whatever reason, you are shunned. In Hasidic Judaism the situation is similar. If you're in the group, you will get emotional and financial support to get you through any ordeal, but if you leave the religion, they will no longer help you. (I know this first hand from a family member.) Most people do not leave their religious group, and thus they have love and support that makes them feel needed and loved. This leads to greater overall happiness, which in turn leads to a longer life. I guess the moral of the story is to go to church and bond with your fellow churchgoers. This will make you happy. Does this mean those of us who don't go to church or are not spiritual will not live as long? I think the answer is no, if we find other social groups that meet our needs. It may be a biking group or a walking group or a knitting club. If you bond with the group and support each other, you will get the same benefits as those that go to church get. At least that's what I believe.