Who is Happy?
The left loves to present Christians as gullible. Since we believe in what we cannot see (God), then we are naive. Christians have a childish view of the world and “religion is for weak-minded people.” Or so many liberals deceive themselves into believing. Dr. Rodney Stark, in his book, America’s Blessings, writes that research connecting Christianity with positive mental health is staggering. One volume that summarizes such research findings is over 1,000 pages long!
Based on the General Social Survey conducted by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago, which began in 1960, Christians are happier people. As with all the other statistics Stark has presented that I have shared with you the past few weeks, the more frequent someone attends worship, the more likely they are to be happy.
Among those who are “very happy” with their lives, 40% attend worship weekly. Those who “sometimes” attend or “never” attend are 28% and 25% respectively, of those who describe themselves as “very happy.” On the other end of the scale, those who say they are “not too happy,” 9% attend worship weekly while twice that number (18%) never attend worship. Christianity affects your mental attitude!
Dr. Stark did studies himself on Christianity as it affects your mental health, dealing especially with those suffering from insanity, madness, or psychosis. Among those who measured high on psychic inadequacy, 11% attended worship weekly while 23% never attended worship. For those who scored high on “neurotic distrust,” 22% attended worship weekly but 40% never attended worship!
Way back in 1879, Henry Morselli, who was an expert on suicide at the time, said, “the growth of suicide is accounted for by the decrease in religious sentiment” (qtd. by Stark, 104). Consistent with that view, the suicide rates in western Europe, decidedly less religious than America, are considerably higher than America. Suicides in America rate at 11 per 100,000. Among European countries: 21 (Belgium), 20 (Finland), 18 (France), 17 (Switzerland), and 34 (Russia).
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How about physical health? Since Christianity affects our mental health, does it have a corresponding impact on our physical health? Indeed, it does. Surprise, surprise. In a study of 232 American adults recovering from coronary bypass surgery, those who attended worship were less than half as likely to die. For those who identified themselves as “deeply religious,” none died. There are also strong connections between church attendance and hypertension as well as strokes.
Having given some rough estimates, since Christianity is good for mental health, Dr. Stark estimates that Jesus “saves” Americans around $216 billion in mental health expenditures per year! Also, since church-goers are healthier physically than non-church goers, he estimates that Christianity saves Americans as a whole around $115.5 billion per year in physical health expenditures.
If Obamacare had mandated weekly attendance at worship services, it would probably have a stronger impact on Americans’ health than otherwise.
The blessings of being a Christian just keep piling on!
Your fellow-servant in Christ,
–Paul Holland
