Social connections
Robert Putnam is an Emeritus Professor of Public Policy at Harvard University. He has written or co-written a dozen books that chronicle changes in American civic and religious culture over the 20th Century and the beginning of the 21st. A new film, Join or Die, features Putnam explaining the importance of belonging to community groups that meet with sufficient frequency to counter the 60-year long tide of civic disengagement in America. My wife and I recently enjoyed the film at our public library. Putman come across as a passionate, amiable, and knowledgeable promoter of American becoming more “we” and opposed to “me” nation.
In the early 20th Century, Putnam found that American shifted from a “me” culture to a “we” culture as abetted by President Theodore Roosevelt and a cast of social reformers who opposed the excesses of the Guilded Age. Putman's hefty but highly readable volume, American Grace – How Religion Divides and Unite Us, co-authored with David Campbell, narrowed his focus on religion. As the title suggests, Putnam and Campbell conclude that religion is American has profoundly changed from a unifying force to a divisive force.
Putnam’s research found that people with many religiously based social connections are two to three times more likely to be civically engaged and generous, even with purely secular causes, than people with few such ties—regardless of how devout and observant they themselves are. Thus, having religious friends is more important than simply having friends and being religious yourself. Religiously based social ties seem crucial to explaining the link between religiosity and good neighborliness. Ironically, religiously based social networks lead people not just inward to the church but outward to the wider secular community in terms of giving, volunteering, and participating in civic life. The real impact of religiosity on congeniality or neighborliness seems to arise through chatting with friends after a service or joining a Bible study group, and not from listening to the sermon or fervently believing in God. The religious link with life satisfaction has less to do with faith itself than with communities of faith.
Living longer
People who regularly attend religious services have a lower risk of dying prematurely than people who don’t regularly attend. The health-related factors that mediate (indirectly affect) this relationship remain murky. To help clarify the situation, researchers at Harvard used data from 5,200 participants in the nationally representative Health and Retirement Study to examine a number of possible mediators. The researchers adjusted their analyses for confounding factors, such as age, education, and marital status, which might affect mortality. Life satisfaction, contact with friends, and physical activity predicted modestly but statistically lower risk of dying for participants who attended religious services at least once weekly versus not at all during two years of follow-up. Compared to participants who did not attend religious services, participants who attended religious services at least once weekly had a significant 29 percent lower risk of dying during two years of follow-up. Hopelessness, anger, and alcohol use predicted increased risk of dying. Thus, people who regularly attend religious services have lower risk of premature death possibly because they have greater life satisfaction, contact with friends, and physical activity, and less hopelessness, anger, and alcohol use.
Religious communities and human flourishing
Human flourishing includes physical and mental health, as well as other factors that directly and indirectly promote a better life. Frequent participation in religious services predicts increased likelihood of certain aspects of human flourishing. These include greater happiness, life satisfaction, mental and physical health, sense of purpose and meaning in life, character and virtue, and closer social relationships. Frequency of religious service participation predicts stronger links than does spiritual identity. Social support appears to be an important mechanism that underlies these relationships. In addition, social relationships may reinforce religious customs and values that promote flourishing.
Better social integration, health behaviors, and mental health
People who frequently attend religious services tend to enjoy better health and well-being than people who never or seldom attend. Researchers at Harvard used data from three large cohorts (Growing Up Today Study, Nurses’ Health Study II, Health and Retirement Study) to see if regular religious service predicted better subsequent physical health, health behaviors, psychological distress, and psychological well-being.
After adjusting for confounding factors and after pooling data from the three cohorts and compared to participants who never or seldom attended religious services, those who attended services at least weekly had significantly higher levels of all 4 psychological well-being factors (positive mood, life satisfaction, social integration, purpose in life) and significantly lower risks of all 5 psychological distress factors (depression diagnosis, depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, hopelessness, loneliness). In addition, frequent religious service attendance predicted significantly lower risks of 3 of 8 physical health factors (all-cause mortality, number of physical health problems, cancer) and 2 of 5 health behaviors (heavy drinking, current cigarette smoking). Thus, frequent religious service attendance might promote better health and well-being through multiple channels including social integration, better health behaviors, and better mental health.
Religious / spiritual coping, spirituality, and religious identification
Gallup Poll results from 2022 show that more than three quarters of Americans report a religious affiliation. Just under half report that religion is “very important” in their lives. This in spite of declining attendance at religious services over the past several decades. As you have seen, regular attendance at religious services predicts lower risk of mortality and better aspects physical health. A new study extended the typical measures of religiousness (frequency of attendance at religious services) to include 1) religious / spiritual coping, 2) spirituality, and 3) religious identification. Researchers used data from 6,120 adults with an average age of 47 years at baseline the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) Study to determine if these three measures of religiousness / spirituality individually and collectively predicted risk of mortality over follow-up of up to 25 years. In addition, researchers tested whether purpose in life and positive relations with others indirectly affected the link between religiousness / spirituality and mortality.
Compared to participants who reported never attending religious services, participants who reported attending religious services about weekly or more than once a week has significant 28 and 24 percent lower risks of dying during follow-up. Each of the three additional measures of religiousness / spirituality and a composite measure of the three predicted significantly lower risks of mortality. All results accounted for confounding factors, including age, sex, and educational attainment. Higher values of the three measures and the composite all predicted greater purpose in life and positive social connections, both of which independently predict greater longevity. Finally, both greater purpose in life and positive social connections moderated the effects of religiousness / spirituality on risk of mortality. This study sheds light on how attendance at religious services might promote greater longevity. Persons with a greater religious or spiritual orientation be better able to cope with life’s challenges, have greater purpose in life, and have more positive social connections.
What to do
Participate in a spiritual community is one of the nine healthy lifestyle choices under the category of Spirit. If the studies mentioned in this post are valid, much of the benefit of participating in a spiritual community arises from being part of a larger community in which people see each other frequently. Regular contact with others in the community help maintain social; connections and a sense of belonging. I acknowledge that many people reject religion and, perhaps to a lesser degree, spirituality. If you’re in that camp, why not find an organization or a group that would substitute for religious / spiritual participation?
