{"id":7223,"date":"2026-05-29T09:35:42","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T13:35:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/dailycupofwellness\/?p=7223"},"modified":"2026-05-29T09:35:42","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T13:35:42","slug":"report-shows-that-regular-church-attendance-improves-mental-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/dailycupofwellness\/2026\/05\/report-shows-that-regular-church-attendance-improves-mental-health.html","title":{"rendered":"Report Shows That Regular Church Attendance Improves Mental Health"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A new report is showing that church attendance may improve mental health outcomes. The report<\/a>, entitled \u201cThe Religion and Mental Health Connection\u201d by the Wheatley Institute, analyzed various mental health issues like depression, anxiety, suicide, substance abuse, stress and emotional well-being.\u00a0It is the first in a three-part series that will also explore religion\u2019s impact on physical and social health as well.<\/p>\n

The report analyzed over 1,000 studies, with 961 finding a positive association between faith activities and mental and 101 that found negative associations. \u201cAcross the mental health domains we examined, the best available science indicates that religious beliefs, practices and participation in faith communities are most often linked to improved mental health outcomes,” said report lead author, Loren D. Marks. Eighty-nine percent of the studies showed lower depression rates amongst religious individuals. In one study, women who attended religious services weekly were 75% less likely to commit suicide over a 16-year period, while men were 48% less likely over 26 years. The report showed similar results for depression, with 74% showing better outcomes for religious individuals. Sixty-nine percent of the studies found lower levels of anxiety amongst religious individuals as well. The study also showed that the more regularly involved a person is in those activities, the better the outcomes. \u201cIt is not nominal affiliation but committed religious involvement that appears to matter most,\u201d the report stated.<\/p>\n

Shima Baughman,\u00a0a law\u00a0professor\u00a0and a Distinguished Fellow at Wheatley\u00a0Institute pointed out religion\u2019s significant impact on addiction. \u201c\u2026it\u2019s like 93%\u00a0were showing that the addiction was just so much less likely to be a problem if you regularly went to church,\u201d she told KSL TV<\/em><\/a>. She also said that church attendance\u2019s benefits went well beyond mere social interaction. \u201cPeople think that, well, it\u2019s just a social interaction \u2026 and it\u2019s actually not,\u201d she said. \u201cSocial clubs, mahjong groups, sports clubs, political groups, that\u2019s not going to\u00a0give you the same effect as active religious engagement.\u201d<\/p>\n

Baughman stated that the best thing for those with mental health issues is to begin or continue attending religious activities, even when it\u2019s hard to want to. \u201cReligion is part of the solution \u2026 it\u2019s a kind of part of the, a holistic solution on helping with your mental health. If you\u2019re having a hard, hard time, you should just try to keep going.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A new report is showing that church attendance may improve mental health outcomes. The report, entitled \u201cThe Religion and Mental Health Connection\u201d by the Wheatley Institute, analyzed various mental health issues like depression, anxiety, suicide, substance abuse, stress and emotional well-being.\u00a0It is the first in a three-part series that will also explore religion\u2019s impact on…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":516,"featured_media":7226,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7223","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nReport Shows That Regular Church Attendance Improves Mental Health<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Report finds church attendance is linked to better mental health, with lower rates of depression, anxiety, suicide, and substance abuse.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/dailycupofwellness\/2026\/05\/report-shows-that-regular-church-attendance-improves-mental-health.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Report Shows That Regular Church Attendance Improves Mental Health\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Report finds church attendance is linked to better mental health, with lower rates of depression, anxiety, suicide, and substance abuse.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/dailycupofwellness\/2026\/05\/report-shows-that-regular-church-attendance-improves-mental-health.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Daily Cup of Wellness\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-29T13:35:42+00:00\" 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