Teleios
Research has previously shown that Christians who adhere to their faith report
better general wellbeing than those who do not routinely practice their faith,
and the more one adheres generally to their faith the better their wellbeing
(1,2).
Here is
the compelling evidence!
Wellbeing
is improved in Christians or religious people in Christian countries,
affecting:
·
Demographics – All age groups (10 years and older), both genders,
and African-American as well as Caucasian races (2-11).
·
Broad wellbeing effect – Specific wellbeing related measures such as:
sense of purpose, satisfaction, hope, stronger social relationships, and
ability to forgive (1,12).
·
Social measures – Vital areas of life such as the family, career,
a sense of community and socialization.
·
Family life – Christianity is associated with good health and higher levels of
education and less substance abuse in the children (13). Family religiosity
predicts better functioning for parents (14), better social network, and ties
with families of friends (9). Further, church promotes happy marital
relationships by encouraging spouses, especially the men, to live decent lives
and to treat their partners decently (15).
·
Careers – Christianity helps people’s ability to make career decisions and assists
them to being open to a variety of career options. They also have been shown to
have more positive feelings toward work (16,17).
·
Service – Those
who serve in or outside the church have better wellbeing questions including
contentment, peace, joy, purpose and community acceptance (1).
·
Practice of the faith – Those who practice the faith especially engaging
in prayer, praise, fellowship, church attendance, studying the Bible and
outreach to others have better wellbeing than those who do not. Further, the
more one practices their faith the better generally will be their wellbeing.
·
Physical health, healthy and patient populations – Christianity assists
wellbeing in specific diseases including: glaucoma, rheumatoid arthritis,
various cancers, chronic pain, fatigue, diabetes, diabetic eye disease,
congestive heart failure, and HIV (18-23).
Teleios recently explored the effects of
Christianity by evaluating evangelicals versus non-believers and self-reported levels
of wellbeing. This is
the first survey, to our knowledge, evaluating wellbeing in young Christians
versus non-Christians. These findings make sense based on prior research:
The
survey was conducted on two Instagram accounts frequented by adolescents and
millennials; one being mostly followed by Christians and another by the general
population.
There
were 1186 responses. The majority of responses were: female (68%), < 30
years (76%), and primarily from the United States (40%) and Europe (16%). The
respondents identified themselves as: evangelical Christians (33%), social
Christians (29%), Christian seekers (5%) and non-Christians (33%).
Personal
wellbeing was better among evangelical Christians (4.6, on a scale of 0-6 with
6 being highest) compared to social Christians (4.1), Christian seekers (4.0)
or non-Christians (4.3, P=0.001). The findings for wellbeing were also
supported by further results that evangelicals were more content (P=0.001), at
peace (P>0.001), and joyful (P=0.002) than the other groups. No differences
between groups were observed in feelings of guilt (P=0.426).
We do not
know all of the factors associated with good wellbeing and Christianity, but
here are a few good potential reasons:
· A sure confident relationship
with God leaving guilt behind
· A source of truth for daily
living which helps avoid unethical people and damaging situations while
allowing you to conduct a healthy life with good professional and family
relationships
· A confident hope for the future,
and that no matter what happens in this life as well as in death, you have a
sure home with God
In
summary - Our
gracious and loving God has provided us a wonderful salvation and a way through
scripture to live a wise, fruitful and joyful life. Join us again soon for
another exciting blog in the benefits of scripture.
For
questions or to view more of our research…
References
1.
MacIlvaine WR, et al. Association of strength
of community service to personal well-being. Community Ment Health J
2014;50:577-82.
2.
MacIlvaine WR, et al. Association of strength
of religious adherence to quality of life measures. Complement Ther Clin Pract
2013;19:251-5.
3.
Francis LJ, Kaldor P. The relationship between
psychological well-being and Christian faith and practice in an Australian
population sample. J Sci Study Relig 2002;41:79-184.
4.
Francis LJ, et al. Religiosity and general
health among undergraduate students: a response to O’Connor, Cobb, and O’Connor
(2003). Pers Indiv Differ 2004;37:485-94.
5.
Leondari A, Gialamas V. Religiosity and
psychological well-being. Int J Psychol 2009;44:241-8.
6.
Koenig LB, Vaillant GE. A prospective study of
church attendance and health over the lifespan. Health Psych 2009;28:117-24.
7.
Krause N. God-mediated control and change in
self-rated health. Int J Psychol Relig 2010;20:267-87.
8.
Hamilton JB, et al. Reading The Bible for
guidance, comfort, and strength during stressful life events. Nurs Res
2013;62:178-84.
9.
Smith C. Religious participation and network
closure among American adolescents. J Sci Study Relig 2003;42:259-67.
10. Demir
M, Urberg KA. Church attendance and well-being among adolescents. J Belief
Values 2004;25:63-8.
11. Markstrom
CA. Religious involvement and adolescent psychosocial development. J Adolesc
1999;22:205-22.
12. Stewart
WC, et al. The source and impact of specific parameters that enhance well-being
in daily life. J Rel Health 2016;55:1326-35.
13. Caputo
RK. Parent religiosity, family processes, and adolescent outcomes. Fam Soc: J
Contemp Soc Serv, 2004;85:495-510.
14. Agate
ST, et al. Praying, playing, and successful families: an examination of family
religiosity, family leisure, and family functioning. Marriage & Family
Review 2007;42:51-75.
15. Wilcox
WB, Wolfinger NH. Living and loving “decent”: religion and relationship quality
among urban parents. Soc Sci Res 2008;37:828-43.
16. Duffy
RD, Blustein DL. The relationship between spirituality, religiousness, and
career adaptability. J Voc Behav 2005;67:429-40.
17. Martinson
OB, Wilkening EA. Religion, work specialization, and job satisfaction:
interactive effects. Rev Relig Res 1983;24:347-56.
18. Stewart
WC, et al. Association of strength of religious adherence to attitudes
regarding glaucoma or ocular hypertension. Ophthalmic Res 2011:45:53-6.
19. Chen
S, et al. Prevalence and correlates of supportive care needs in oral cancer
patients with and without anxiety during the diagnostic period. Cancer Nursing
2010;33:280-9.
20. Cotton
S, et al. Exploring the relationships among spiritual well-being, quality of
life, and psychological adjustment in women with breast cancer. Psychooncology
1999;8:429-38.
21. Matthews
D, et al. Effects of intercessory prayer on patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
Southern Medical Journal 2000;93:1177-86.
22. Silvestri
G, et al. Importance of faith on medical decisions regarding cancer care. J
Clinical Oncology 2003; 21:1379–1382.
23. Stewart
WC, et al. Review of clinical medicine and religious practice. J Relig Health
Mar 2013;52:91-106.
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