Can Churchgoing Increase Lifespan?

• Position: Study suggests that church attendance may help contribute to a longer life - Brief Article

Explorers' quests for a fountain of youth revealed no cure for wrinkles, but researchers found a promising factor that added years to one's life when studying an affluent California county: attending church was linked with longer lives. More than 2,000 residents of Marin County aged 55 or older were followed for nearly five years and their death rates tracked. A host of possible factors that could contribute to health and living longer were recorded to see which might have an effect on longer life. Over that half-decade, 454 of those people died. The most significant factor predicting who still lived was attending religious services. "For each sex, weekly attendees had the lowest mortality and nonattendees had the highest mortality," indicate researchers Douglas Oman and Dwayne Reed.

Might a trip to the movies help just as much as going to church? Further analyses showed "only attending church was significantly associated with mortality [delaying death], although attending museums or art galleries was marginally protective."

Would social support from joining groups such as the Rotary Club or Hospital Auxiliary show the same health benefits in longer life as going to church? The researchers discovered that this was not so when analyzing other social support and meeting attendance. However, they noted that, although substituting other clubs for church failed to help people live longer, a "complementary" effect appeared. Persons who engaged in volunteer work along with attending religious services were even more likely to live longer.

The researchers...