essay about religion makes me a better person

Personal Narrative Essay: What Does Religion Mean to Me

We may be aware that religion refers to the cultural and belief system. It is also about how values, humanity, and spirituality relate to religion itself. However, have we already asked ourselves if what religion means to us? 

I am a Roman Catholic. The family I came from, they are Catholic. Ever since I was a child, they made me understand the importance of having faith in God. I learned that 7- sacraments and 10-Commandments are significant. They are the ways to become closer to God. My family also taught me how to pray fervently every time. When I feel blissful about something that happened to me, I pray and tell God how grateful I am. If I know that I'm wrong, I will ask for forgiveness. When I feel so alone, burden, and weary, seek God; he will always listen. As I grow up, my understanding of the Catholic faith becomes deep.  I learned that as we love ourselves, we should also love others. We should also care about the creations of God. And always be humble and respectful. They are some of the values and guiding principles that my family and environment instilled in me. 

Religion means a lot to me. Having faith makes me feel even stronger, regardless of being tired physically and emotionally. It is one of the reasons why I always choose to stay in this world, no matter how chaotic it is. It made me believe in things that I am not aware of before. And we might experience trials that can hinder us from being happy and triumphant. But knowing that God is always here with us, I know that we will overcome them. It changed me into a better version of myself. Religion is about how we embrace and accept it in our hearts. It is an understanding that we openly and warmly welcome in ourselves. It should not be the reason for misunderstanding. Instead, it should be the instrument of loving and connecting. For me, that's religion.

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Does religious belief make you a better person?

Jonathan Morgan

When evolutionary psychologists look at religion they tend to highlight the way it could strengthen communities to make them successful. The intuitions behind this theory also spur a large body of research linking religiosity to prosocial behavior. As Robert Putnam famously put it, religious people make better neighbors. They’re more generous, trustworthy, helpful, cooperative, and generally healthier…or so the theory goes. But a recent review of these studies suggest that we may be drawing too simple and hasty conclusions.

“Prosocial” is the technical term for the person you would want to watch your dog when you go on vacation, or the friend who is always willing to help you move. It involves volunteering, donating, sharing, and cooperation, and personality traits like agreeableness and empathy. These studies also extend from behaviors and personality traits to general health and well-being. Any concept this diverse eludes easy description, especially when connected with something as complex as religiosity. But the general impression emerging from these studies suggests a correlation between religiosity and prosocial behaviors.

This research isn’t just about what makes people nice people. It’s especially significant because it supports theories in evolutionary psychology about the ubiquity of religious behavior. The dramatically simplified argument is that religious societies were better equipped to handle the difficulties of living and working together (a task we all know can be trying at times) and therefore likely to outcompete non-religious communities. So research linking religiosity and prosocial behavior isn’t just about whether religion makes people nicer; it also has dramatic consequences for how we understand the origin of religion and the role of religion in culture today.

To handle this wide breadth of research, Luke Galen, a psychologist at Grand Valley State University, conducted a  comprehensive survey of these studies . He organized the research into three groups: naturalistic studies, controlled economic studies, and priming studies. In each case Galen critiqued the assumptions that religion is causally connected to prosocial behavior, and highlighted research that requires us to be a little more careful with the complexity of this topic.

Naturalistic studies attempt to observe prosocial behavior in a natural context. Therefore, they typically rely on self-reports or peer reports. Any data about donations or volunteering fall into this category. And typically these reports show that religious people are more charitable and volunteer more. But Galen challenges this conclusion on two different fronts.

First he cites a body of research revealing a cultural religion-morality stereotype. This comes as no surprise when we consider the reverse stereotype against atheists, who remain one of the most vilified groups in American culture. Studies show that this prejudice often operates on a non-conscious level, affecting how we perceive the morality of those around us. Given this bias, how much should we really trust self- or peer reports? Galen argues pretty persuasively that they aren’t especially reliable.

Furthermore, it’s difficult to tell what exactly counts as a charitable donation. While religious individuals consistently report greater charitable giving, most of these gifts go to religious organizations. Of course those donations still count as charity and are still generous and prosocial. But if that charity is concentrated within the group then it challenges assumptions about more universal prosocial behavior among the religious. In other words, the religious may be nicer, but primarily to those who are like them.

This in-group favoritism – preferential treatment towards those who are similar to yourself – comes into sharper focus when Galen turns to examine the controlled economic studies of prosociality. These studies use a variety of games to measure generosity, trust, and cooperation.

One example is the public goods game, a game in which players donate to a common pool of money. That pool of money is then doubled and redistributed to all the players, regardless of their contribution. The way to earn the most money in this game is to donate nothing and have everyone else donate, then sit back and reap the benefits of other’s generosity. But if everyone adopts this strategy then you end up with the worst option: nobody’s money is increased. So participation requires trust and cooperation. Each of the economic games are different, but all are designed to measure some level of trust, cooperation, or generosity.

Amidst the varying conclusions of this research was a consensus that generosity tends to be directed toward in-group members. When a religious participant was asked to cooperate with someone with a different religious identity, their prosocial behavior was lower than when the partner shared the same identity. So religious individuals do tend to share more and cooperate more, but only when the person they are sharing or cooperating with is similar.

While this trend definitely points to an in-group preference among religious individuals, it also may affirm the wider religious-morality stereotype that Galen described before. Religious participants were consistently given greater offers and more trust than non-religious participants. In-group favoritism explains part of the trend, but this tendency was present even across group difference. Without these important caveats, it’s easy to draw the simple conclusion that reinforces the religion-morality stereotype: that religious people are more generous and cooperative. Galen draws on a wide sampling of research to show that it’s just not that simple.

The final group of studies that he review are those which use priming techniques. Priming is a way to activate certain memories and concepts so that they’re more present on people’s minds and therefore influential. It’s similar to cramming for a test, but in experiments it’s often done subliminally. To prime individuals’ religious concepts, for instance, researchers will often embed religious words within a scrambled sentence task. Participants think they’re solving a word problem, but they are also activating religious ideas which may then affect their behavior. Another way to prime participants is to conduct the study in a religious versus a secular context – for example, to have religious icons, images, or motifs in the actual study space, or to use only secular decorations.

Once primed, individuals are then engaged in tasks similar to the economic games described above. Priming experiments are especially compelling, because they reveal stronger and more consistent trends than the economic tasks alone. In nearly all the studies, religious priming resulted in more generous offers and more sharing. This body of research provides pretty conclusive evidence that priming religious concepts activates more prosocial behavior in individuals.

But Galen compares these religious priming experiments with similar secular priming examples- like priming people with the words  civil  or  court . These concepts seem to have identical effects as their religious counterparts. One novel example is that priming with thoughts of superheroes increases volunteering behaviors, but nearly any reminder of a watchful third party can reliably increase individuals’ honesty. So while religious primes inspire prosocial behavior, it’s likely the authoritarian, watchful, aspect of the concept that causes the increased generosity.

Within each section of the literature, Galen points out the difficulties that complicate any direct correlation between religiosity and prosociality. But this is to be expected. Religiosity is a complex category, and while there are issues with each individual study, the literature continually points to some correlation between the two. The question becomes why.

Galen recognizes belonging as the most robust correlate to prosocial behavior. Being actively religious is likely to bring people into social groups and increase their sense of community. This is the same conclusion that Putnam and Campbell came to in their monumental work on religion in America,  American Grace.  In their words, religious belief itself turned out to be “utterly irrelevant” to good neighborliness. What matters are the religiously based social networks. But if this is the primary correlate of prosociality then we end up in a bit of a tautology: those who are the most socially engaged demonstrate the most prosocial behaviors.

Of course the relationship is more complex that this logical circle implies. Instead Galen argues that this emerges in part from an oversight in the research. These studies often do not include the non-religious as a distinct part of the sample. Galen highlights those studies that do include the full spectrum of religiosity and argues that they reveal a curvilinear dynamic where the confidently nonreligious resemble the confidently religious. One reason this might be the case is that prosocial behaviors are often supported by strong conviction, self-control, and nonconformity. Regardless of the cause, the studies that include the full continuum of religiosity, including the nonreligious, will have a better chance at resolving the complex relationship between religiosity and being a good neighbor.

One important mention is that Galen’s critiques do not undermine the evolutionary explanations of religion. In fact, the strong in-group bias is exactly what one would expect from an evolved prosociality within religion. Furthermore, evolutionary psychologists have pointed to the supernatural authoritarian function of religion as an advantageous means of preventing free-riders – people who take advantage of a group’s resources without contributing anything themselves to group well-being. If people think they’re being watched, and judged, by a supernatural omniscient being, then they’re more likely to conform to social expectations. So, while religious belief may not make people better neighbors, the social cohesion that religion likely assisted may have made our ancestors work in better teams.

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Essays About Religion: Top 5 Examples and 7 Writing Prompts

Essays about religion include delicate issues and tricky subtopics. See our top essay examples and prompts to guide you in your essay writing.

With over 4,000 religions worldwide, it’s no wonder religion influences everything. It involves faith, lessons on humanity, spirituality, and moral values that span thousands of years. For some, it’s both a belief and a cultural system. As it often clashes with science, laws, and modern philosophies, it’s also a hot debate topic. Religion is a broad subject encompassing various elements of life, so you may find it a challenging topic to write an essay about it.

1. Wisdom and Longing in Islam’s Religion by Anonymous on Ivypanda.com

2. consequences of following religion blindly essay by anonymous on ivypanda.com, 3. religion: christians’ belief in god by anonymous on ivypanda.com, 4. mecca’s influence on today’s religion essay by anonymous on ivypanda.com, 5. religion: how buddhism views the world by anonymous on ivypanda.com , 1. the importance of religion, 2. pros and cons of having a religion, 3. religions across the world, 4. religion and its influence on laws, 5. religion: then and now, 6. religion vs. science, 7. my religion.

“Portraying Muslims as radical religious fanatics who deny other religions and violently fight dissent has nothing to do with true Islamic ideology. The knowledge that is presented in Islam and used by Muslims to build their worldview system is exploited in a misinterpreted form. This is transforming the perception of Islam around the world as a radical religious system that supports intolerance and conflicts.”

The author discusses their opinion on how Islam becomes involved with violence or terrorism in the Islamic states. Throughout the essay, the writer mentions the massive difference between Islam’s central teachings and the terrorist groups’ dogma. The piece also includes a list of groups, their disobediences, and punishments.

This essay looks at how these brutalities have nothing to do with Islam’s fundamental ideologies. However, the context of Islam’s creeds is distorted by rebel groups like The Afghan mujahideen, Jihadis, and Al-Qa’ida. Furthermore, their activities push dangerous narratives that others use to make generalized assumptions about the entire religion. These misleading generalizations lead to misunderstandings amongst other communities, particularly in the western world. However, the truth is that these terrorist groups are violating Islamic doctrine.

“Following religion blindly can hinder one’s self-actualization and interfere with self-development due to numerous constraints and restrictions… Blind adherence to religion is a factor that does not allow receiving flexible education and adapting knowledge to different areas.”

The author discusses the effects of blindly following a religion and mentions that it can lead to difficulties in self-development and the inability to live independently. These limitations affect a person’s opportunity to grow and discover oneself.  Movies like “ The Da Vinci Code ” show how fanatical devotion influences perception and creates constant doubt. 

“…there are many religions through which various cultures attain their spiritual and moral bearings to bring themselves closer to a higher power (deity). Different religions are differentiated in terms of beliefs, customs, and purpose and are similar in one way or the other.”

The author discusses how religion affects its followers’ spiritual and moral values and mentions how deities work in mysterious ways. The essay includes situations that show how these supreme beings test their followers’ faith through various life challenges. Overall, the writer believes that when people fully believe in God, they can be stronger and more capable of coping with the difficulties they may encounter.

“Mecca represents a holy ground that the majority of the Muslims visit; and is only supposed to be visited by Muslims. The popularity of Mecca has increased the scope of its effects, showing that it has an influence on tourism, the financial aspects of the region and lastly religion today.”

The essay delves into Mecca’s contributions to Saudi Arabia’s tourism and religion. It mentions tourism rates peaking during Hajj, a 5-day Muslim pilgrimage, and visitors’ sense of spiritual relief and peace after the voyage. Aside from its tremendous touristic benefits, it also brings people together to worship Allah. You can also check out these essays about values and articles about beliefs .

“Buddhism is seen as one of the most popular and widespread religions on the earth the reason of its pragmatic and attractive philosophies which are so appealing for people of the most diversified backgrounds and ways of thinking .”

To help readers understand the topic, the author explains Buddhism’s worldviews and how Siddhatta Gotama established the religion that’s now one of the most recognized on Earth. It includes teachings about the gift of life, novel thinking, and philosophies based on his observations. Conclusively, the author believes that Buddhism deals with the world as Gotama sees it.

Check out our guide packed full of transition words for essays .

7 Prompts on Essays About Religion

Religion’s importance is embedded in an individual or group’s interpretation of it. They hold on to their faith for various reasons, such as having an idea of the real meaning of life and offering them a purpose to exist. Use this prompt to identify and explain what makes religion a necessity. Make your essay interesting by adding real-life stories of how faith changed someone’s life.

Although religion offers benefits such as positivity and a sense of structure, there are also disadvantages that come with it. Discuss what’s considered healthy and destructive when people follow their religion’s gospels and why. You can also connect it to current issues. Include any personal experience you have.

Religion’s prevalence exhibits how it can significantly affect one’s daily living. Use this prompt to discuss how religions across the world differ from one another when it comes to beliefs and if traditions or customs influence them. It’s essential to use relevant statistical data or surveys in this prompt to support your claims and encourage your readers to trust your piece.

There are various ways religion affects countries’ laws as they adhere to moral and often humanitarian values. Identify each and discuss how faith takes part in a nation’s decision-making regarding pressing matters. You can focus on one religion in a specific location to let the readers concentrate on the case. A good example is the latest abortion issue in the US, the overturning of “Wade vs. Roe.” Include people’s mixed reactions to this subject and their justifications.

In this essay, talk about how the most widespread religions’ principles or rituals changed over time. Then, expound on what inspired these changes.  Add the religion’s history, its current situation in the country, and its old and new beliefs. Elaborate on how its members clash over these old and new principles. Conclude by sharing your opinion on whether the changes are beneficial or not.

There’s a never-ending debate between religion and science. List the most controversial arguments in your essay and add which side you support and why. Then, open discourse about how these groups can avoid quarreling. You can also discuss instances when religion and science agreed or worked together to achieve great results. 

Use this prompt if you’re a part of a particular religion. Even if you don’t believe in faith, you can still take this prompt and pick a church you’ll consider joining. Share your personal experiences about your religion. Add how you became a follower, the beliefs that helped you through tough times, and why you’re staying as an active member in it. You can also speak about miraculous events that strengthen your faith. Or you can include teachings that you disagree with and think needs to be changed or updated.

For help with your essay, check out our top essay writing tips !

Maria Caballero is a freelance writer who has been writing since high school. She believes that to be a writer doesn't only refer to excellent syntax and semantics but also knowing how to weave words together to communicate to any reader effectively.

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Is Religion Good or Bad for Us?

Three reasons religion may be good for us (and a few reasons it might not be)..

Posted September 10, 2018 | Reviewed by Jessica Schrader

This week marks the beginning of the holiest period of the year for roughly 14 million Jews across the globe. As they celebrate the holiday of Rosh Hashanah, they begin looking back on the past twelve months through the lens of their faith, counting their blessings and asking forgiveness for their mistakes. For believers, it is a time of psychological and spiritual introspection, renewal, and growth.

As we approached this momentous holiday, a rabbi recently shared with me his conviction that religion can be one of the most powerful forces for good in individuals’ lives. “It offers us the opportunity to be better, happier, healthier people,” he asserted. “We shouldn’t forget that.”

Indeed, few forces have historically been more powerful than religion in shaping people’s existences. According to the latest poll by the Pew Research Center , 77 percent of Americans say that religion is at least somewhat important in their lives and 83 percent say they’re fairly certain that God or a higher power exists. But not everyone agrees that religion is good for us. There has long been a debate among scholars about this issue, with some claiming that it facilitates well-being and others claiming that it leads to neurosis . In fact, there are few issues in the field of psychology as highly researched as this question.

It isn’t an easy question to answer, however. One stumbling block is that religion means vastly different things to different people. Even the meaning of the word “religion” has changed over the past few decades. You might be surprised to know, for instance, that the distinction between religion and spirituality is a relatively new one , emerging only in the latter half of the twentieth century. It has become increasingly common to hear people say they are “spiritual” but not “religious,” with approximately one in four adults in the United States now identifying as such. But some have cautioned against making too much of this distinction. Researcher Kenneth Pargament has pointed out that, for many people, religion and spirituality can’t easily be separated. Although someone participating in a religious service certainly is partaking in organized religion, he or she may simultaneously undergo a very personal spiritual experience inspired by the sermon, music, or beauty of the building. Because of this difficulty teasing things apart, most psychological research on religion includes spirituality in the mix.

Literally thousands of studies have now investigated the relationship between religion and well-being. Lucky for us, in 2015, Duke University professor of psychiatry Harold Koenig and his research team carefully reviewed more than 3,000 studies published prior to that time. A total of 79 percent of relevant studies showed a link between religion/spirituality and psychological well-being. A majority also demonstrated a relationship with physical well-being. In fact, one of the most widely celebrated findings is that religion and spiritualty are related to longer life. About 68 percent of published studies on that topic have found a link. In one study , researchers followed 8,450 people between the ages of 40 and 90+ for more than 8 years, noting those who passed away of any cause. The results revealed an 18 percent reduction in the risk of dying during this period for people who attended church services once per week, and a 30 percent reduction for those attending more than once per week—numbers approaching the power of regular moderate physical exercise.

We should be very careful how we interpret these findings, however. Although it’s clear that relationships exist between religion and spirituality and both psychological and physical well-being, it isn’t clear exactly why they exist. That’s because religion is a complex, multi-faceted phenomenon that can influence people in many ways. Here are three of the most important reasons that researchers believe religion and spirituality may be good for us:

Reason #1: Better Health Habits

Many religions encourage people to take care of their bodies and minds. The New Testament, for instance, calls the human body a “temple of the Holy Spirit,” encouraging followers to be good stewards of their physical selves. In the Hindu faith, the practice of Ayurveda specifies particular ways to care for one’s health, including eating certain foods and avoiding others. Perhaps because of such teachings, a number of studies have shown that religiousness is associated with better general health habits, including lower rates of smoking and alcohol consumption as well as a greater likelihood of undergoing regular medical screenings.

Reason #2: Enhanced Coping

The ways that people cope with stress may also account for the relationship of religion and spirituality with well-being. When we encounter problems in our lives, researchers have observed that people can use religion to cope in both healthy and unhealthy ways . Positive religious coping consists of strategies that reflect a trusting relationship with God and a sense of spiritual connectedness to others, including reframing stressful events as reflecting the work of a benevolent God and seeing oneself as collaborating with God to solve problems, among others. It’s important to note, however, that not everyone who considers themselves to be religious or spiritual practices healthy coping. People also can experience spiritual discontentment, religious conflict, or come to believe that negative events are punishments from God— experiences that work against the ability to cope.

Reason #3: Social Support

A final important way that spirituality and religion may impact well-being is through social and emotional support. The word fellowship is often associated with Christian communities, while the words havurah (from the Hebrew for “ friendship ”) and sangha (Pali for “community”) are used in similar ways by Jews and Buddhists. Many religious institutions run support groups for people coping with emotional and physical difficulties, provide personnel to visit the sick and their families, or offer food and other resources to individuals with low incomes. Although religious groups are hardly the only sources of support in people’s lives, for believers, they can be important ones.

Despite the research connecting religion with well-being, it’s important to avoid concluding that people who consider themselves atheist and agnostic can’t be just as healthy and happy as those who are religious. All three of the factors just mentioned can be present in non-religious people's lives in plentiful quantities. Non-believers can and often do take excellent care of themselves, cope well with stress, and engage in loving and supportive relationships.

It’s also important to realize that religion and spirituality aren’t always associated with greater well-being. People who experience struggles with their religious and spiritual beliefs often experience greater anxiety , depression , and other forms of lowered psychological well-being. In addition, although people who believe in a forgiving God tend to forgive themselves when they make mistakes, those who believe in a less forgiving God deal with themselves more harshly. In one study , researchers even found that when HIV-positive men believed in a merciful and forgiving God, they experienced significantly slower disease-progression, but when they believed that God was harsh, judgmental, and punishing, their disease actually ended up progressing faster. The particular ideals of a religious or spiritual system really matter.

So as much as it’s tempting to buy into oversimplifications like, “religion is good,” real life isn’t so clear. Although the research shows that religion and spirituality are often helpful, we should be open to the idea that specific aspects of religion may be good or bad for our health under different circumstances.

Any complete understanding of human psychology can’t overlook the many ways that religion can impact its believers. As the rabbi expressed, research shows that religion certainly can be a powerful force for good in people’s lives. But, just like anything powerful, understanding it as fully as possible—both for better and for worse—is the real fundamental good.

David B. Feldman, Ph.D. , is a professor in the department of counseling psychology at Santa Clara University.

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Are religious people more moral?

Assistant Professor in Anthropology, University of Connecticut

Disclosure statement

Dimitris Xygalatas does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

University of Connecticut provides funding as a member of The Conversation US.

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Why do people distrust atheists?

A study we conducted, led by psychologist Will Gervais , found widespread and extreme moral prejudice against atheists around the world. Across all continents, people assumed that those who committed immoral acts, even extreme ones such as serial murder, were more likely to be atheists.

Although this was the first demonstration of such bias at a global scale, its existence is hardly surprising.

Survey data show that Americans are less trusting of atheists than of any other social group. For most politicians, going to church is often the best way to garner votes, and coming out as an unbeliever could well be political suicide . After all, there are no open atheists in the U.S. Congress . The only known religiously unaffiliated representative describes herself as “none ,” but still denies being an atheist.

So, where does such extreme prejudice come from? And what is the actual evidence on the relationship between religion and morality?

How does religion relate to morality?

It is true that the world’s major religions are concerned with moral behavior. Many, therefore, might assume that religious commitment is a sign of virtue, or even that morality cannot exist without religion.

Both of these assumptions, however, are problematic.

For one thing, the ethical ideals of one religion might seem immoral to members of another. For instance, in the 19th century, Mormons considered polygamy a moral imperative, while Catholics saw it as a mortal sin.

Moreover, religious ideals of moral behavior are often limited to group members and might even be accompanied by outright hatred against other groups. In 1543, for example, Martin Luther, one of the fathers of Protestantism, published a treatise titled “On the Jews and their Lies,” echoing anti-Semitic sentiments that have been common among various religious groups for centuries.

These examples also reveal that religious morality can and does change with the ebb and flow of the surrounding culture. In recent years, several Anglican churches have revised their moral views to allow contraception , the ordination of women and the blessing of same-sex unions .

Discrepancy between beliefs and behavior

In any case, religiosity is only loosely related to theology. That is, the beliefs and behaviors of religious people are not always in accordance with official religious doctrines. Instead, popular religiosity tends to be much more practical and intuitive. This is what religious studies scholars call “theological incorrectness.”

Buddhism, for example, may officially be a religion without gods, but most Buddhists still treat Buddha as a deity. Similarly, the Catholic Church vehemently opposes birth control, but the vast majority of Catholics practice it anyway . In fact, theological incorrectness is the norm rather than the exception among believers.

For this reason, sociologist Mark Chaves called the idea that people behave in accordance with religious beliefs and commandments the “religious congruence fallacy .”

This discrepancy among beliefs, attitudes and behaviors is a much broader phenomenon. After all, communism is an egalitarian ideology, but communists do not behave any less selfishly.

So, what is the actual evidence on the relationship between religion and morality?

Do people practice what they preach?

Social scientific research on the topic offers some intriguing results.

When researchers ask people to report on their own behaviors and attitudes, religious individuals claim to be more altruistic, compassionate, honest, civic and charitable than nonreligious ones. Even among twins , more religious siblings describe themselves are being more generous.

But when we look at actual behavior, these differences are nowhere to be found.

Researchers have now looked at multiple aspects of moral conduct, from charitable giving and cheating in exams to helping strangers in need and cooperating with anonymous others.

In a classical experiment known as the “ Good Samaritan Study ,” researchers monitored who would stop to help an injured person lying in an alley. They found that religiosity played no role in helping behavior, even when participants were on their way to deliver a talk on the parable of the good Samaritan.

This finding has now been confirmed in numerous laboratory and field studies. Overall, the results are clear: No matter how we define morality, religious people do not behave more morally than atheists, although they often say ( and likely believe ) that they do.

When and where religion has an impact

On the other hand, religious reminders do have a documented effect on moral behavior.

Studies conducted among American Christians, for example, have found that participants donated more money to charity and even watched less porn on Sundays. However, they compensated on both accounts during the rest of the week. As a result, there were no differences between religious and nonreligious participants on average.

Likewise, a study conducted in Morocco found that whenever the Islamic call to prayer was publicly audible, locals contributed more money to charity. However, these effects were short-lived: Donations increased only within a few minutes of each call, and then dropped again.

Numerous other studies have yielded similar results. In my own work, I found that people became more generous and cooperative when they found themselves in a place of worship.

Interestingly, one’s degree of religiosity does not seem to have a major effect in these experiments. In other words, the positive effects of religion depend on the situation , not the disposition.

Religion and rule of law

Not all beliefs are created equal, though. A recent cross-cultural study showed that those who see their gods as moralizing and punishing are more impartial and cheat less in economic transactions. In other words, if people believe that their gods always know what they are up to and are willing to punish transgressors, they will tend to behave better, and expect that others will too.

Such a belief in an external source of justice, however, is not unique to religion. Trust in the rule of law , in the form of an efficient state, a fair judicial system or a reliable police force, is also a predictor of moral behavior.

And indeed, when the rule of law is strong, religious belief declines , and so does distrust against atheists.

The co-evolution of God and society

Scientific evidence suggests that humans – and even our primate cousins – have innate moral predispositions , which are often expressed in religious philosophies. That is, religion is a reflection rather than the cause of these predispositions.

But the reason religion has been so successful in the course of human history is precisely its ability to capitalize on those moral intuitions.

The historical record shows that supernatural beings have not always been associated with morality. Ancient Greek gods were not interested in people’s ethical conduct. Much like the various local deities worshiped among many modern hunter-gatherers, they cared about receiving rites and offerings but not about whether people lied to one another or cheated on their spouses.

According to psychologist Ara Norenzayan , belief in morally invested gods developed as a solution to the problem of large-scale cooperation.

Early societies were small enough that their members could rely on people’s reputations to decide whom to associate with. But once our ancestors turned to permanent settlements and group size increased, everyday interactions were increasingly taking place between strangers. How were people to know whom to trust?

Religion provided an answer by introducing beliefs about all-knowing, all-powerful gods who punish moral transgressions. As human societies grew larger, so did the occurrence of such beliefs. And in the absence of efficient secular institutions, the fear of God was crucial for establishing and maintaining social order.

In those societies, a sincere belief in a punishing supernatural watcher was the best guarantee of moral behavior, providing a public signal of compliance with social norms.

Today we have other ways of policing morality, but this evolutionary heritage is still with us. Although statistics show that atheists commit fewer crimes than average, the widespread prejudice against them, as highlighted by our study, reflects intuitions that have been forged through centuries and might be hard to overcome.

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I think being a part of a religious group makes me a better person.

 "It doesn't make me a better person, but it makes me a person that is better equipped to handle life and the challenges of this world."

"Morals are not based on religion. Saying a floating man in the sky makes you a good person is as ridiculous as saying spaghetti cures cancer."

"Going to church gives me a place to relate to people who share my same beliefs. It provides a time to really focus on my relationship with my Lord in a place without so many distractions. Everyone is there for the same reasons."

"I don't think that it makes me better than any other person, but I do believe that it helps me to try to be the best that I can be. Attending church regularly helps me to stay focused."

"Belief in God does not make one a better person. Weighing one's own actions with regard to how it improves the world makes one a better person."

"If it didn't, would it really be considered a religion?" 

"It gives my life purpose and a guide by which to live. I enjoy worship with other people."

"Not a better person, but for sure more grounded and fulfilled."

"Being a part of a church just makes me a better person. I look at church as fuel. I want to serve God and being a part of a church, you're part of a group that wants to do the same."

"Religion has always been a big part of my life and I think it is part of the reason I am who I am today."

"Doesn't make me better than someone that doesn't attend, but it reminds me how to be a better person and keeps me accountable. I am a better version of myself because I attend.

"A relationship with Jesus Christ is what changes me as a person, not being a part of a group or congregation. Yet, the encouragement and support from my church family is very important in my Christian walk."

 "Belonging to any religious organization doesn't make anyone a better person. Jesus didn't die to make people better; he died to make people new."

"I do not think being in a group makes you a better person. I think it's what is in your heart and soul. No affiliation will fix that."

"I think that living and practicing good morals makes you a good person, not being part of a religious group. If someone needs to be a part of a religious group in order to stay within good moral standing then so be it, but it should not be a requirement."

"That's not the point.  Being a part of a religious group helps you learn more about God and grow in a relationship with Christ but it doesn't make us better or worse than anyone else.  We are all still sinners.  I have certainly grown as a person since being a part of guided worship though."

"That was hard to answer.   It doesn't make me a better person than anyone else.  It helps me keep hope and faith in the world.  It gives me a group of people who encourage me in my daily life."

"It doesn't make me a better person because I'm a part of the church. It helps me become a better person by growing in God's word and listening to the Holy Spirit."

"I am not part of a religious group, but I no longer feel like less of a person because I do not believe in a god. I am grateful that there is an organization in Amarillo that supports my beliefs (or lack thereof). I feel that I am a generous, honest, hardworking, trustworthy person, without a god directing my actions."

"Being a part of anything doesn't make you a better person. Following Jesus and letting Him lead and guide you makes you a better person."

"The others help me remain accountable to God. None of us [are] perfect and we need constant conviction and encouragement to overcome our short comings. We don't need to be entertained and felt sorry for we are where we are because of our choices and God's leadership. Bloom where you are planted regardless of how much water you get or soil conditions."

"The spirit of the Lord helps make us better people because we are filled with His spirit. There are plenty of people that a part of a religious group that are not filled with the spirit."

"It is not being part of a religious group that makes me a better person, it is my personal relationship with Christ. Those that I fellowship with in church are instrumental in keeping me in the Word of God by teaching, leading and being an example to me as a follower of Christ. For me, my identity is not tied up in how 'good' of a person I am being, but am I being a faithful servant to God? Am I doing His will among His people? And am I fulfilling His desire for me with what He has entrusted me with?"

"Not 'better than everyone else'. Better for me."

"Our faith stresses the need for humility and service to others, especially the poor.  "Better" in this sense just means a positive thing, certainly not in a superior sense and is not a requirement according to our faith for salvation.  We believe an individual is saved solely by our Lord's grace."

"In the sense of Christian community. Two is better than one.  Iron sharpens iron kind of way."

"Not only does it draw you closer to God; it makes you a happier person."

"I understand that if people think they're being watched, and judged, by a supernatural omniscient being, then they're more likely to conform to social expectations, and being active in a religious group brings people together socially and increases their sense of community, making them better neighbors, more reliable etc. However, humans are flawed and regardless of what the flaw is, if it's wrong it's wrong and although we judge wrongs on different levels spiritually it's looked at the same. Knowingly doing anything wrong is the mark against you therefore there is no way to be a better person than any other. A better person than what you were the day before can only be obtained by adhering to your principals and doing what is needed to grow spiritually."

"I think having a relationship with the Trinity makes me a better person."

"Being in community with other Christians is part of Christ's transforming work in my life."

"Even if someone does not believe in God, the Commandments (if kept) are good guidelines to follow."

"God has a specific purpose and plan for each person's life. I believe that this church is on a mission motivated by Love, so yes is my answer. This Church makes me want to be a better person and makes me want to hold myself accountable for my actions and hold myself to a higher standard of living."

"God designed us to be people with relationships/friendships and He tells us in the Bible how important it is to fellowship with other Christ followers."

"Christ's leading through the Holy Spirit enables me to lead a more god-like life."

"Being part of a religious organization cannot make me a better person in and of itself. Jesus' death and resurrection gives me a new status - as holy, blameless son of God (Eph 1:4-5) and the Holy Spirit's transforming work helps me live that out. But if I was "behaving" outside of Jesus' work, I would not become better; I would still be in disobedience before God, and building in myself pride."

"I don't really care what most people think about me. I am not one to judge on other people's views. It's not my place. I was raised Catholic, and I feel I can always better myself with God by my side."

"Once you start looking outside yourself, you get lost in ego - who has the power to push through their agenda, who becomes the fashion police. God lives in all of us. We do not need any outside forces telling us how to live."

"Being a part of a community of people who love The Lord insured me to be better, love more, and gives opportunity to serve others."

"If you are going to be a good person, you should be a good person whether or not some 'heavenly being' in the sky tells you to.  You should be kind, compassionate, caring and loving to everyone, no matter what you believe, and no matter what they believe."

"One's behavior makes one a better person.  Association does not have dictate one's morality."

"I believe church does not make me or anyone a better person; it's only through the power of the blood of Jesus and making Him your personal savior."

"I believe that knowing God, and the gift of salvation give me the opportunity to be a better me. The me God intends for me to be. It does not make me a better person than my fellow people, nor does going to church or participating in any of the above said activities.  It is through discipline and obedience and love of God that I stay in the word, and build relationships with fellow believers.  I am blessed to live in a country that I am free to worship, and I do not take lightly the fact that Christians around the world are denied this right."

"My church family is a very important part of my life.  They offer me encouragement, pray for me and lend a helping hand when needed."

"I do not believe I am any better than anyone else. Although, I do believe being a part of my church/religion does make me feel better about myself. It makes my week so much more fulfilling. A week when I don't make it to church I can definitely tell. Just makes my week so much better!"

"Going to church doesn't make me better than one who doesn't. What it does is grows me spiritual with my one true God. Being in a community of believers helps mold me into the person we are. Certain series can impact my life for the better by bringing awareness to my own issues & seeking resolution. But going to church doesn't mean I'm better. It starts with your heart. We all strive to be better."

"Just going makes my weeks better. I always feel like I can be a better person after I attend service on Sundays."

"My choices determine what kind of person I am; not where I attend or don't attend church."

"The messages and series developed messages are uplifting and thought provoking. They require you to exercise your brain to contemplate your own life association. Everyone at one time or another has been to a church service and felt like the pastor was speaking directly to them."

"Only God Christ can make a better person."

"I think that it develops me in my relationship with God."

"Your relationship with the Father makes you a better person not religion."

"If you need a religion to tell you the morally acceptable way of living on this planet, then more power to you. I treat others as I would want to be treated."

"I think following Jesus makes me a better person, and the community I have found at [my church] gives me accountability and relationships that help me in my efforts to follow closer to Jesus."

"Christians (real Christians) attempt to follow the teachings of Christ. If more people started living in Christ's example, and stopped using the Bible as a weapon, the world would be a much more pleasant and less judgmental place."

"Ultimately it doesn't matter where you worship, for we all serve one God. Just because I am Catholic doesn't make me a better Christian or person for that matter. It is my faith and the way that I demonstrate it that will make me a better person, never above anyone else, never better than my fellow brother or sister, for I don't know their heart, but better in my relationship with God."

"It helps to keep me focused on being a better person and a better Christian."

"The key fact here is it isn't being religious that makes a person a Christian, it is a born again experience and belief in Jesus Christ as our personal Savior."

"As Christians, we are supposed to act as Jesus did on earth. Being human however, it takes a lot of reminding to keep me in line. There is good in all of us and we should strive to display that."

"Hearing the gospel and being reminded of what Christ did for me makes me humble and thankful and gracious and merciful towards others. Religion doesn't change me, Jesus does."

"Having a faith gives you something to believe in and I feel that is extremely important."

"I am no better than anyone else. We are all God's children and He made us all different for a reason. I would like to think that we somehow would learn to appreciate each other and learn."

"Worship helps me learn more about what God wants and gives me spiritual food to help do the right things. After all he is preparing heaven, which I think is part of his preparing Christians for heaven. There will be no tears, no strife, no murderers, no pain, and other wordly things in heaven."

"Being a part of a church, surrounding yourself with believers, helps you in your walk with Christ. You have encouragement and accountability."

"[My church] is anything but a religious church. We are a spiritual body, empowered by Holy Spirit. He is who makes me a better person, but only because I surrender to Him, allowing Him to create a new heart, enabling me to love from and with His heart of love."

"I love going to worship with other Christians. I love God and my relationship with him makes me a whole person. It addresses the spiritual side of my life and makes me fulfilled."

"I think being kind to others makes you a better person. I don't think it has that much to do with religion. But if that faith is what keeps you being kind, then by all means, hold onto those beliefs."

"I think plenty of people go to church and don't do what they hear or read, if they read their bible. I think some people go to check it off their list and look like a better person."

"I am around like-minded people who are all very intelligent."

"Done right, church is like an opportunity to worship, focus on the Heavenly Father, get washed in the Holy Spirit, and leave refreshed.  The sermon can be a reminder of Bible truths, a counseling session, and encouragement to love, forgive, and live by the Christian principles."

"I think generally you'll find having a moral compass and a want to do good things and live a good life is paired with overall happiness.  Loving God has been nothing but a positive experience for us."

"Only God can tell you who He is. Not a flawed human being. Religion is rules made by humans to control a portion of their environment which they do not understand. It is a blatent lack of faith which Jesus Christ came to earth to abolish. If you believe, do it wholeheartedly or not at all."

"I think that the Bible calls me to be a part of a local church.  Jesus is who makes me a better person but in order to serve him and know Him better, I want to be involved in a local church."

"Having a group to encourage, admonish, and support you helps a lot."

"Showing the love of Christ to others makes me a better person, not warming a seat at church."

"Morals and ethics make you a good person not religion."

"It keeps me grounded, accountable and responsible for my actions."

"I strongly disagree.  I'm a productive citizen, active in my community, regularly gift at least 10% of my salary to charities, volunteer for United Way projects and Junior Achievement, and I have a wide circle of friends.  I've raised two well educated children, both of them also happy and productive adults (a graphic artist and a marine who just got back from second deployment)."

  "Attending mass helps me to tune into God, gives me a sense of peace and hope, makes me feel connected to Jesus and his people."

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Researcher: religion influences behavior — both good and bad.

For as long as people have believed in heaven and hell, a debate has simmered.

Religion makes people act better, supporters have long maintained. Religion poisons everything, an increasingly vocal—and youthful—minority responds.

Long missing from the discord has been empirical evidence. Until now.

Azim Shariff , assistant professor of psychology and director of the Culture and Morality Laboratory at the UO, explores the evolutionary origins of moral behavior, with a special focus on the positive and negative social consequences of religions and related cultural systems.

As psychology has developed tools such as “unconscious priming” to build carefully controlled experiments to measure the psychological impact of religion, he has delved deeply into religion’s influence on generosity, honesty, prejudice and conflict. (Unconscious priming is the use of stimuli to trigger specific thoughts in the unconscious mind, Shariff explained.)

“We need data,” Shariff said. “The main thing I’ve tried to do with my work is add data to the discussion.”

In 2011, Shariff and Ara Norenzayan of the University of British Columbia upended the landscape of accepted religious theory with the first empirical paper to establish an important behavioral divergence between belief in a benevolent God versus belief in a malevolent one.

Belief in God has long been held to encourage moral behavior; Shariff and Norenzayan showed, however, that much depends on God’s temperament— specifically, they found that belief in a vengeful, even angry God was the critical factor. In two studies of 40 to 60 undergraduate students, belief in God did not accurately predict the propensity to cheat but viewing God specifically as punishing and less-loving was consistently associated with lower levels of cheating.

“When it comes to deterring transgressions in anonymous situations,” Shariff said, “the divine stick appears to hold considerably more power that the divine carrot.”

Shariff made an even bigger splash last year when he turned to international data on crime.

Using statistics from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and international surveys of religious beliefs, Shariff and Mijke Rhemtulla of the University of Kansas conducted a comprehensive analysis of twenty-six years of data involving 143,197 people in sixty-seven countries.

Their study, which appeared in the Public Library of Science journal PLoS ONE and was quickly picked up by mainstream media, found that criminal activity is lower in societies where people’s religious beliefs contain a strong punitive component versus locations where religious beliefs are more benevolent.

Indeed, a country where many more people believe in heaven than in hell is likely to have a much higher crime rate than one where these beliefs are about equal. These effects held true when statistically controlling for other cross-national differences such as levels of wealth and inequality.

The discovery supported a growing body of evidence that supernatural punishment emerged as an effective cultural innovation to encourage ethical behavior. Harvard University researchers found in 2003, for example, that gross domestic product was higher in developed countries when people believed in hell more than they did in heaven.

“At this stage, we can only speculate,” Shariff said, “but it’s possible that people who don’t believe in the possibility of punishment in the afterlife feel like they can get away with unethical behavior. There is less of a divine deterrent, and perhaps even a bit of a divine license.”

So what’s the point of heaven?

Shariff’s latest conquest is answering why heaven survives as a religious concept, if not to encourage clean living. Using Gallup World Poll data, he’s found that the degree to which more people in a nation believe in heaven versus those who believe in hell strongly predicts the nation’s global rank on happiness—even how good people feel on a given day. Colombians, for example, scored high for happiness and belief in heaven; Tanzanians landed on the other end of the spectrum. Again, these comparisons statistically control for other economic or social differences between the countries.

“Whereas hell exists to make people act good, heaven exists to make people feel good,” Shariff said. “We’re studying that and trying to see if the data support it.”

- by Matt Cooper, UO Office of Strategic Communications, from an article that originally appeared in Cascade , the alumni magazine of the UO College of Arts and Sciences

Bringing Clarity to Uncertainty in Our Church

Does Religion Make People Behave Better?

A Conversation with Christopher Hitchens

R ecently I have been reading the writings of the New Atheist writer Christopher Hitchens.

I would like to take a moment to explore a question that he poses in his book god is Not Great .

God is Not Great…?

In chapter 13 of his book Hitchens asks the question, “Does religion make people behave better?”

Courtesy of Stefan Kunze from Unsplash.com

Pointing to the failures of people with religious faith, Hitchens concludes that religion doesn’t make people behave better. In fact, he argues, religion makes people commit “sinister” acts. Hitchens points to the atrocities committed during the Balkan Wars in former Yugoslavia by predominantly Christian Serbians against predominantly Muslim Bosnians led by “Christian” dictator Slobodan Milosevic, the terrorist attacks on 9/11 committed by terrorists who were Muslim, and most recently the sexual abuse scandals committed by select Catholic priests.

Moreover, Hitchens proposes it wasn’t Martin Luther King Jr.’s Christian faith that led to the Civil Rights Movements. King was simply riding a wave of social change that has already begun in secular circles. As a final blow, Hitchens points out that King wasn’t that good of a person anyway. King’s struggle with alcohol and infidelity was no secret.

2 Problems with Hitchens’ Argument

Inconsistent Logic. Hitchen’s prided himself as a literary critique, yet in god is Not Great he fails to see the problem in his logic. His logic in chapter 13 is as follows:

Some people of religious faith do bad things, therefore all religion is bad.

If you don’t see the problem with this logic let me apply it to 2 examples :

• Joseph Stalin was an atheist. Joseph Stalin is responsible for the death of millions. Therefore, atheism is bad.  Now this would only be true if atheist principles indeed promote killing. Such an argument is a great insult to folks who hold no religious belief. In fact, I know atheists who do a lot of selfless acts to promote justice in their communities.
• What if I made the opposite argument to Hitchens’s, but using his logic. Let’s try it:  Mother Theresa is a Christian (religious person). She selflessly helped thousands living in poverty live a more dignified lives. Therefore, religion is good and makes people behave better.

If Hitchens applied his logic consistently and not selectively in his book then he would simply argue in circles. For every person of religious faith who commits sinister acts there is one (and often more) who does good acts. Similarly, for every atheist who does good things there is an atheist who does bad things.

Perhaps Hitchens knew the weakness of his logic. That is possibly why he didn’t point to any any people of religious faith who did good things throughout history. Nor did he point to any atheists who did terrible things throughout history.

Hitchens doesn’t prove that religion makes people do bad things. Instead, he affirms the Christian principle of Original Sin – the tendency for human persons to do bad things (independent of religious belief).

Grouping all Religions Together. The second mistake that Hitchens makes is that he speaks of all religion as if they are the same. This of course is not true. With the exception of Judaism and Christianity, the principles of religious beliefs vastly differ on God, spirituality, and human nature. There are even vast differences between Islam and the other two Abrahamic religions. Just read the Bible and Quran side by side and you will see that the two religions’ perception of God’s relation to humanity oppose each other.

It’s false logic to assume that all the religions of the world are fundamentally the same.

So…Can Christianity Make People Behave Better?

Absolutely! Does Christianity guarantee that all Christians will be good people? Nope.

First and foremost, it’s important to understand that Christianity is not a philosophy or a lifestyle. It is a relationship with a person, Jesus Christ, who is God incarnate. Like with any relationship, if you want it to bear fruits, you got to put the work in.

Striving for Sainthood

Being in a relationship with Jesus is about striving for sainthood. Jesus didn’t come to give us a pat on the back and make us feel nice and cozy. Nor did he come with the intention of telling us that we are bad people. He came so that we can live life to the fullest ( see. John 10:10 ); to be the people that God created us to be. Jesus constantly challenges us to not settle for mediocrity. Look what he says to his disciples:

“ ‘You have heard that it was said, “You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy.” But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax-collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, * what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect” ( Matthew 5:43-48 ).

Jesus is telling his disciples that anyone can do good things , but not anyone can do great things . Only a relationship with Jesus can guide us to real greatness, to sainthood.

In Conclusion…

So, does religion make people behave better? Maybe.

Perhaps Hitchens should have asked, “Does a relationship with Jesus makes people behave better?” I answer “yes.” Does being in a relationship with Jesus mean that people won’t ever fail to live up to His standards?

I won’t speak for others, but I fail on a consistent basis. That is the reality of sin. But Jesus gives me the wisdom and the humility to recognize sin for what it is and conquer it.

Am I saint? Far from it. The road to sainthood is a lifelong journey. Only once we come face to face with God will we know if we achieved it. But every day Jesus gives us the opportunity to take one step closer to that goal. What I can say is that I am a changed person from whom I was five years ago. I’ve learned to live life to the fullest.

Question. How do you decide if a belief system, religion, or philosophy is making you a better person?

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Home — Essay Samples — Religion — Religious Beliefs — The Importance of a Religion to Humanity

The Importance of Religion to Humanity

• Categories: Religious Beliefs Religious Tolerance

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Published: Aug 16, 2019

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Why is religion important? (essay)

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Beyond beliefs: does religious faith lead to a happier, healthier life?

The stress-reducing, life-extending benefits of religion can offer useful strategies even for non-believers, say scientists

I n his Pensées, published posthumously in 1670, the French philosopher Blaise Pascal appeared to establish a foolproof argument for religious commitment, which he saw as a kind of bet. If the existence of God was even minutely possible, he claimed, then the potential gain was so huge – an “eternity of life and happiness” – that taking the leap of faith was the mathematically rational choice.

Pascal’s wager implicitly assumes that religion has no benefits in the real world, but some sacrifices. But what if there were evidence that faith could also contribute to better wellbeing? Scientific studies suggest this is the case. Joining a church, synagogue or temple even appears to extend your lifespan.

These findings might appear to be proof of divine intervention, but few of the scientists examining these effects are making claims for miracles. Instead, they are interested in understanding the ways that it improves people’s capacity to deal with life’s stresses. “Religious and spiritual traditions give you access to different methods of coping that have distinctive benefits,” says Doug Oman, a professor in public health at the University of California Berkeley. “From the psychological perspective, religions offer a package of different ingredients,” agrees Prof Patty Van Cappellen at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.

Studying the life-extending benefits of religious practice can therefore offer useful strategies for anyone – of any faith or none – to live a healthier and happier life. You may find yourself shaking your head in scepticism, but the evidence base linking faith to better health has been decades in the making and now encompasses thousands of studies. Much of this research took the form of longitudinal research, which involves tracking the health of a population over years and even decades. They each found that measures of someone’s religious commitment, such as how often they attended church, were consistently associated with a range of outcomes, including a lower risk of depression, anxiety and suicide and reduced cardiovascular disease and death from cancer .

Unlike some other areas of scientific research suffering from the infamous “replication crisis”, these studies have examined populations across the globe, with remarkably consistent results. And the effect sizes are large. Dr Laura Wallace at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, for instance, recently examined obituaries of more than 1,000 people across the US and looked at whether the article recorded the person’s religious affiliation – a sign that their faith had been a major element of their identity.

Publishing her results in 2018 , she reported that those people marked out for their faith lived for 5.6 years more, on average, than those whose religion had not been recorded; in a second sample, looking specifically at a set of obituaries from Des Moines in Iowa, the difference was even greater – about 10 years in total. “It’s on par with the avoidance of major health risks – like smoking,” says Wallace. To give another comparison: reducing hypertension adds about five years to someone’s life expectancy .

Health effects of this size demand explanation and scientists such as Wallace have been on the case. One obvious explanation for these findings is that people of faith live cleaner lives than the non-religious: studies show that churchgoers are indeed less likely to smoke, drink, take drugs or practise unsafe sex than people who do not attend a service regularly (though there are, of course, notable exceptions).

This healthier living may be the result of the religious teaching itself, which tends to encourage the principles of moderation and abstinence. But it could also be the fact that religious congregations are a self-selecting group. If you have sufficient willpower to get out of bed on a Sunday morning, for example, you may also have enough self-control to resist life’s other temptations.

Importantly, however, the health benefits of religion remain even when the scientists have controlled for these differences in behaviour, meaning that other factors must also contribute. Social connection comes top of the list. Feelings of isolation and loneliness are a serious source of stress in themselves and exacerbate the other challenges we face in life. Even something as simple as getting to work becomes far more difficult if you cannot call on a friend to give you a lift when your car breaks down.

Chronic stress response can result in physiological changes such as heightened inflammation, which, over the years, can damage tissue and increase your risk of illness. As a result, the size of someone’s social network and their subjective sense of connection with others can both predict their health and longevity, with one influential study by Prof Julianna Holt-Lunstad at Brigham Young University suggesting that the influence of loneliness is comparable to that of obesity or low physical exercise.

Religions, of course, tend to be built around a community of like-minded worshippers who meet regularly and have a shared set of beliefs. And many of the specific rituals will also contribute to a sense of communion with others. Christians, for example, are encouraged to pray on behalf of other people and this seems to bring its own health benefits, according to a brand new study by Prof Gail Ironson at the University of Miami.

Ironson has spent decades studying the ways that people with HIV cope with their infection and the influences of these psychological factors on the outcomes of disease. Examining data covering 17 years of 102 HIV patients’ lives, she found that people who regularly prayed for others were twice as likely to survive to the end of the study, compared with those who more regularly prayed for themselves. Importantly, the link remained even after Ironson had accounted for factors such as adherence to medications or substance abuse or the patient’s initial viral load.

Besides encouraging social connection, religion can help people to cultivate positive emotions that are good for our mental and physical wellbeing, such as gratitude and awe. Various studies show that regularly counting your blessings can help you to shift your focus away from the problems you are facing, preventing you from descending into the negative spirals of thinking that amplify stress. In the Christian church, you may be encouraged to thank God in your prayers, which encourages the cultivation of this protective emotion. “It’s a form of cognitive reappraisal,” says Van Cappellen. “It’s helping you to re-evaluate your situation in a more positive light.”

Awe, meanwhile, is the wonder we feel when we contemplate something much bigger and more important than ourselves. This can help people to cut through self-critical, ruminative thinking and to look beyond their daily concerns, so that they no longer make such a dent on your wellbeing.

Last, but not least, religious faiths can create a sense of purpose in someone’s life – the feeling that there is a reason and meaning to their existence. People with a sense of purpose tend to have better mental wellbeing, compared with those who feel that their lives lack direction, and – once again – this seems to have knock-on effects for physical health , including reduced mortality . “When people have a core set of values, it helps establish goals. And when those goals are established and pursued, that produces better psychological wellbeing,” says Prof Eric Kim at the University of British Columbia, who has researched the health benefits of purpose in life. Much like awe and gratitude, those positive feelings can then act as a buffer to stress.

These are average effects, which don’t always take into account that huge variety of people’s experiences. While some Christians might see God as a benevolent figure, others might have been taught that he is judgmental and punishing and those views can make a big difference in the effects on our health. In her studies of HIV patients, Ironson found that people who believed in a vengeful God showed a faster disease progression – as measured by their declining white blood cell count – compared with those who believed that he was a merciful figure.

Ultimately, most people’s faith will arise from real convictions; it seems unlikely that many people would adopt a particular religious view solely for the health benefits. But even if you are agnostic, like me, or atheist, this research might inform your lifestyle.

You can start by considering contemplative techniques, which come in many more forms than the mindful breathing and body-scan techniques that have proved so popular. Scientists have become increasingly interested in “loving-kindness meditation”, for example, in which you spend a few moments thinking warm thoughts about friends, strangers, even enemies. The practice was inspired by the Buddhist principle of mettā , but it also resembles the Christian practice of intercessory prayer. When practised regularly, this increases people’s feelings of social connection and empathy with the consequent benefits for their mental health . Importantly, it also changes people’s real-life actions towards others, for instance encouraging more pro-social behaviour .

To build more gratitude into your life, meanwhile, you might keep a diary listing the things that you have appreciated each day and you can make a deliberate habit of thanking the people who have helped you ; both strategies have been shown to improve people’s stress responses and to improve overall wellbeing. And to cultivate awe, you might go on a regular nature walk , visit a magnificent building within your city or watch a film that fills you with wonder.

If you have time and resources for greater commitments, you could also take up a voluntary activity for a cause that means a lot to you, a task that may help to boost your sense of purpose and which could also enhance your social life. Dr Wallace’s work has shown that the sheer amount of volunteering someone performs could, independently, explain part of the longevity boost of religious people, but charitable actions do not need to be linked to a particular faith for you to gain those benefits . “If people are able to plug into causes that really light up their intrinsic values, and then find a community that helps them reach their goals, that’s another way in which the framework of religion can be taken into a non-religious context,” says Prof Kim.

The challenge is to ensure that you build all these behaviours into your routine, so that you perform them with the same regularity and devotion normally reserved for spiritual practices. “The power of religion is that it gives you this package of ingredients that are pre-made and organised for you,” says Van Cappellen. “And if you are not religious you have to create it on your own.” You don’t need to make a leap of faith to see those benefits.

The Expectation Effect: How Your Mindset Can Transform Your Life by David Robson is published by Canongate (£18.99). It will be published in paperback (£9.99) on 29 December 2022. To support the Guardian and Observer order your copy at guardianbookshop.com . Delivery charges may apply

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Regions & Countries

1. religion’s role in public life.

The vast majority of U.S. adults agree that religion’s influence in public life is shrinking, and most of them see this as a bad thing. Americans generally express a positive view of religion in the new survey. There also is a growing sense that people’s own religious beliefs conflict with the society in which they live, and that religious disagreements are best not talked about.

• 48% say there is a “great deal” of conflict or “some” conflict between their own religious beliefs and mainstream American culture, up from 42% who said this in 2020.
• 29% say they think of themselves as part of a minority group because of their religious beliefs, up from 24% in 2020.
• 41% say that when they disagree with someone about religion, the best thing to do is to avoid discussing religion at all, up from 33% who said this in 2019.

Most Jewish Americans and religiously unaffiliated Americans think conservative Christians have gone too far in trying to impose their religious values on the government and public schools. Most Christians, by contrast, think secular liberals have gone too far in trying to keep religion out of the government and public schools.

All told, the survey results show that many Americans are discontented with religion’s trajectory in American life.

Is religion gaining or losing influence in American life?

Today, 80% of U.S. adults say religion is losing influence in American life. That is up 6 percentage points from 2022, and is as high as it’s been since we started asking questions like this in 2001.

Majorities in every religious group we analyzed agree that religion’s influence in public life is shrinking, as do most Republicans and Democrats, and most across age groups.

Just 18% of U.S. adults say religion is gaining influence.

Is religion’s changing trajectory a good thing or bad thing?

After asking respondents whether they think religion is gaining or losing influence in American life, we posed a follow-up question: Is this a good thing or a bad thing?

Roughly half of respondents (49%) say religion is losing influence and that this is bad for society, while 8% say religion is gaining influence and this is good for society. Taken together, this means 57% express a positive view of religion’s impact – a larger share than we found in 2019 and 2022. 2

Far fewer express a negative view of religion by saying either that its influence is shrinking and this is good (13%) or by saying its influence is growing and this is bad (6%). About one-in-five adults (21%) say that it doesn’t make much difference whether religion’s influence on American life is growing or shrinking.

Most Christians express a positive view of religion’s impact on American life, saying either that its influence is declining and this is bad (64%) or that its influence is growing and this is good (11%).

Most atheists and agnostics, by contrast, express a negative view of religion’s influence in American society. Jews and people who describe their religion as “nothing in particular” are divided between those who have a positive view of religion, those who have a negative view, and those who say changes in religion’s influence don’t make much of a difference.

Republicans and those who lean toward the Republican Party are far more likely than Democrats and Democratic leaners to express a positive view of religion by these measures. And older American adults are far more positive toward religion than younger Americans.

Do Americans feel at odds with society because of their religion?

Today, 29% of U.S. adults say they think of themselves as part of a minority group because of their religious beliefs. This figure is up modestly since 2020, when 24% said this.

Most Jewish Americans (83%) and many Muslim Americans (55%) say they think of themselves as a minority because of their religious beliefs, as do 44% of atheists.

But many Christians also say their religious beliefs make them a minority in the U.S., including 38% of Hispanic Protestants, 37% of White evangelical Protestants, and 25% each among Catholics and Black Protestants.

The new survey also finds that about half of U.S. adults (48%) say there is “a great deal” of or “some” conflict between their own religious beliefs and mainstream American culture, up from 42% who said this when the Center last asked in 2020.

Clear majorities among White evangelicals (71%), Jews (59%) and atheists (59%) hold this view. Smaller but still substantial numbers in other groups sense a conflict between their religious beliefs and the values of the prevailing culture.

Have some Americans gone too far trying to control religion in the government and schools?

Half of U.S. adults say they think secular liberals have gone too far in trying to keep religion out of the government and public schools. This view is especially common among White evangelical Protestants (83%). But most Catholics – particularly White Catholics – agree, as do 62% of Hispanic Protestants, 58% of White nonevangelical Protestants and 52% of Black Protestants.

Meanwhile, in response to a separate question, roughly half of U.S. adults say they think conservative Christians have gone too far in trying to push their religious values in the government and public schools. Fully 91% of atheists express this view, as do 85% of agnostics and 76% of Jewish Americans.

Three-quarters of Republicans and Republican leaners say liberals who are not religious have gone too far trying to remove religion from government and public schools. A similar share of Democrats and Democratic leaners say conservative Christians have gone too far in the other direction.

Older adults are more apt than younger Americans to say secular liberals have gone too far in trying to keep religion out of the government and schools. Younger adults, by contrast, are far more likely than older Americans to say conservative Christians have gone too far in trying to impose their religion in the government and public schools.

When these two questions are combined, the data shows that:

• 17% of U.S. adults think both sides – conservative Christians and secular liberals – have gone too far trying to control religion in the government and public schools.
• 31% think conservative Christians have gone too far, but secular liberals have not.
• 33% think secular liberals, but not conservative Christians, have gone too far.
• 19% don’t think either group has gone too far.

What do conservative Christians and secular liberals think about these questions?

The survey makes it possible to look at how conservative Christians and secular liberals themselves answer these questions. To do this, we combined information from two questions – one that asks respondents about their religious identity, and another that asks about their “political views” – to examine the views of conservative Christians and secular liberals.

Among respondents in this survey, 27% identify religiously as Christian and also describe themselves, politically, as conservative. These are “conservative Christians.”

Meanwhile, 12% of respondents identify as religiously unaffiliated, and also describe their political views as liberal. These are “secular liberals.” (Six-in-ten respondents don’t fall into either category; they are neither conservative Christians nor secular liberals.)

This analysis found that:

• 73% of conservative Christians say secular liberals have gone too far trying to keep religion out of the government and schools, and don’t say their own side has gone too far in the other direction.
• 88% of secular liberals say conservative Christians have gone too far trying to impose their religion in the government and schools, and don’t say their own side has gone too far in the other direction.

Among the majority of the public that doesn’t fall into either camp, opinions are much more divided: 32% say conservative Christians (but not secular liberals) have gone too far and 21% say secular liberals (but not conservative Christians) have gone too far. Meanwhile, 22% say both sides have gone too far, and 25% don’t say that either side has gone too far.

What should people do when they disagree about religion or politics?

Here’s what U.S. adults say when asked what they think is the best way to proceed when someone disagrees with them about religion:

• 41% say it’s best to just avoid discussing religion altogether, up from 33% who said this in 2019.
• 53% say it’s best to try and understand the other person’s perspective and agree to disagree, down from 62% who said this in 2019.
• Just 5% say the best approach is to try and persuade the other person to change their mind. This is virtually unchanged since 2019.

There is relatively little appetite for trying to change someone’s mind about religion among any of the religious groups analyzed in the survey, peaking at just 14% among White evangelical Protestants.

The survey finds a similar pattern in opinions about how to proceed in the face of political disagreements. Roughly half say it’s best to try to understand the other person’s political perspective and agree to disagree, and 45% say politics is best avoided in the face of disagreement. Just 5% say the best approach is to try to change the other person’s political view.

How friendly to religion are Democrats, Republicans, the Biden administration and the Supreme Court?

About half of U.S. adults say they think the GOP is “friendly” toward religion. This is 7 points lower than when we last asked this question in 2022, but higher than the share who say the Democratic Party is friendly toward religion.

The GOP is seen as friendly toward religion by 60% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents, and by large numbers within Republican-majority religious groups, including 61% of White evangelical Protestants and 55% of White Catholics.

The GOP is also seen as friendly toward religion by many Democrats and Democratic leaners (47%), and by large numbers of people within some largely Democratic religious groups, including 80% of atheists, 68% of agnostics and 55% of Jews.

This feeling is decidedly not mutual. Most Republicans and Republican leaners say they think the Democratic Party is “unfriendly” toward religion. For their part, 53% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents say the Democratic Party is “neutral” toward religion, while 37% say it is friendly toward religion and just 8% say it is unfriendly.

Views about the Biden administration’s approach to religion resemble views about the Democratic Party. Democrats and Democratic leaners mostly say the Biden administration is neutral or friendly toward religion, while Republicans and Republican leaners mostly say the Biden administration is unfriendly to religion.

Following the Supreme Court’s decision in June 2022 that overturned Roe v. Wade and ended federal protections for abortion, the share of Americans saying they viewed the Court as friendly to religion increased sharply – from 18% in spring 2019 to 35% in September 2022. In the new survey, the share saying the court is friendly to religion ticked down to 28%.

Most Republicans and Republican leaners say the Supreme Court is neutral toward religion. Democrats and Democratic leaners, by contrast, are more evenly split between those who say it is neutral and those who think the court is friendly toward religion.

Relatively few people in either party think the Supreme Court is unfriendly to religion.

• Prior to 2019, the Center used to ask a similar question in its telephone surveys about whether religion’s changing influence is a good or bad thing. However, the results from these older telephone polls are not comparable with the new results because the new survey offers respondents the chance to say it “doesn’t make a difference,” and the telephone surveys did not. ↩

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About Pew Research Center Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. It is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts .

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Spirituality Articles & More

How does religion affect happiness around the world, a new study suggests that the answer depends on the stresses your society is facing..

Can religious faith make you happier?

It’s a question that has plagued happiness scientists. While it makes sense that religion could bring meaning to people’s lives, meaning is not necessarily the same as happiness—even if it provides us with other benefits .

In addition, being religious often means attending religious services and being part of a social network, which tends to make people happier. So, it’s hard to tease out the impact of faith from other factors, like community, on happiness. Finally, while some large-scale studies have found a correlation between religiosity and happiness, others have had mixed results, suggesting that the story may be complex or involve factors tangential to religious belief.

Indeed, a new study suggests that it may depend on the society in which you live.

The researchers surveyed 40,534 randomly selected respondents from 43 nations about their happiness and their religious faith. The researchers also measured their sense of personal freedom, because autonomy has also been tied to happiness, and it can come into direct conflict with religious authority.

To measure religiosity, participants were asked if they followed the rules of their religion strictly, rarely, or somewhere in between. To measure autonomy, the survey asked if respondents felt free to live life as they wanted to, whether problems got in the way of doing what they wanted to do, or somewhere in between.

When researchers analyzed how these factors interacted within individuals in different countries, they found that people who felt they have more autonomy tended to be less religious, and people who were more religious tended to value personal freedom less, no matter where they lived.

But the relationship between religion and happiness and between autonomy and happiness varied depending on where people lived and the conditions within their country. In more economically developed, democratic countries where personal freedom was highly valued, religiousness was much less tied to happiness than personal autonomy, while in less economically developed nations that are religiously conservative and value collectivism, the reverse was true.

“The association between religion and happiness is not random,” says the study’s lead author, Michael Minkov. “It depends on how rich and individualist or poor and collectivist a country is.”

His findings seem to contradict what many people believe—that religious differences drive cultural variations between countries. Instead, he says, it appears that different economic conditions create and maintain religious faiths, and religion is more valuable to people when they’re living in countries with low economic development and less democracy—places where power abuse, gender inequality, and other life stressors are often higher, he adds.


“People apparently need religion to deal psychologically with the challenges of life that they encounter on a daily basis,” he says. “It gives them hope, meaning, and a sense of purpose.”

While this pattern was nearly universal, the United States was a bit of an outlier. Though the U.S. is one of the oldest modern democracies, religion still makes people happier there—similar to the way it does in poorer countries. This result puzzles Minkov.

“I do not have a good explanation for this phenomenon,” he says. “If I had to hypothesize, I would say that—unlike the other rich and democratic countries—the U.S. has a lot of social inequality and a socioeconomic system that leaves many people behind, with many members of minority groups feeling underprivileged and discriminated against.” These stressful conditions might boost religiousness.

His findings shed new light on the connection between religiosity and happiness. Perhaps, says Minkov, religion is less useful for our well-being when we live in a country where people have freedom, economic security, trust in their government, and a social safety net.

“The greater life satisfaction of people in rich democratic societies may be another factor that depresses religiousness there: People just do not need to be religious in a traditional sense,” he says. “They do not get anything out of it as they have enough life satisfaction without religion.”

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What does it take to live a happier life? Learn research-tested strategies that you can put into practice today. Hosted by award-winning psychologist Dacher Keltner. Co-produced by PRX and UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center.

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Many religions teach a morality that seems outdated in the modern world, Minkov says—by, for example, teaching that sex is allowed only between married, heterosexual couples. Precepts about what you are allowed to eat or drink also clash with individual freedom, he says. He suggests that, as countries develop more economically and their political systems become more democratic, religion may become less important to their citizens—unless religious institutions evolve, too.

“Established religious institutions will have to reinvent themselves or face extinction in the long run,” he says.

On the other hand, the current pandemic and the economic chaos and uncertainty it causes could slow down that process, he adds. If his theory is right, and the pandemic results in more economic instability and feelings of hopelessness, it’s possible that even those living in modern, wealthy democracies may turn more to religious authority for comfort.

Of course, we shouldn’t draw definitive conclusions about religion, autonomy, and happiness on just this one study, says Minkov. He challenges other researchers to continue studying the role of religion and autonomy in happiness, because religion affects so many people’s lives and so many relationships between nations—for better and for worse.

“As religiousness is one of the greatest cultural differentiators across modern nations, it deserves a lot of academic attention,” he says.

About the Author

Jill Suttie

Jill Suttie, Psy.D. , is Greater Good ’s former book review editor and now serves as a staff writer and contributing editor for the magazine. She received her doctorate of psychology from the University of San Francisco in 1998 and was a psychologist in private practice before coming to Greater Good .

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