You've likely heard about the health benefits of church attendance – how people who attend church regularly live longer and healthier lives than those who don't. But what happens when a religious person gets sick?
Researchers wanted to know if a person's belief about God (Jehovah, Allah, Supreme Being) in relation to their illness affected the outcome. They compared positive religious coping with negative religious coping (referred to as religious struggle). Examples of religious struggle attitudes are:
"God has abandoned me."
"My church as deserted me."
"I haven't been as devout as I should, so God is punishing me."
"God must not be very powerful. He hasn't healed me."
The Results
After a two-year study of 595 patients, age 55 or older, who were inpatients at Duke University Medical Center or the Durham VA Medical Center Study, researchers concluded that people who experience a religious struggle with their illness are more likely to die than those who view God positively.
The relationship between religious struggle with their illness and risk of death was seen even after controlling for physical health, mental health, and demographic factors. The study authors concluded that certain forms of religious expression – involving negative thinking – might increase the risk of death. |
