Religion is good for you. According to an article in the New York Times, that is now the “scientific” answer. Scientists have determined that religious belief is good for you.
As early as the 1920s, researchers found that students who spent more time in Sunday school did better at laboratory tests measuring their self-discipline. Subsequent studies showed that religiously devout children were rated relatively low in impulsiveness by both parents and teachers, and that religiosity repeatedly correlated with higher self-control among adults. Devout people were found to be more likely than others to wear seat belts, go to the dentist and take vitamins.
But which came first, the religious devotion or the self-control? It takes self-discipline to sit through Sunday school or services at a temple or mosque, so people who start out with low self-control are presumably less likely to keep attending. But even after taking that self-selection bias into account, Dr. McCullough said there is still reason to believe that religion has a strong influence.
“Brain-scan studies have shown that when people pray or meditate, there’s a lot of activity in two parts of brain that are important for self-regulation and control of attention and emotion,” he said. “The rituals that religions have been encouraging for thousands of years seem to be a kind of anaerobic workout for self-control.”
In a study published by the University of Maryland in 2003, students who were subliminally exposed to religious words (like God, prayer or bible) were slower to recognize words associated with temptations (like drugs or premarital sex). Conversely, when they were primed with the temptation words, they were quicker to recognize the religious words.
“It looks as if people come to associate religion with tamping down these temptations,” Dr. McCullough said. “When temptations cross their minds in daily life, they quickly use religion to dispel them from their minds.” (from here)
So what is the problem with religion? It seems that one must actually believe. It is not enough just to go through the motions. That led to the next question. How does one get religion without catching religion?
So what’s a heathen to do in 2009? Dr. McCullough’s advice is to try replicating some of the religious mechanisms that seem to improve self-control, like private meditation or public involvement with an organization that has strong ideals.
Religious people, he said, are self-controlled not simply because they fear God’s wrath, but because they’ve absorbed the ideals of their religion into their own system of values, and have thereby given their personal goals an aura of sacredness. He suggested that nonbelievers try a secular version of that strategy.
“People can have sacred values that aren’t religious values,” he said. “Self-reliance might be a sacred value to you that’s relevant to saving money. Concern for others might be a sacred value that’s relevant to taking time to do volunteer work. You can spend time thinking about what values are sacred to you and making New Year’s resolutions that are consistent with them.” (from here)
Self-reliance and concern for others are not religious values? Who is truly self-reliant? Who can truly have concern for others without the help of God?
Not too long ago, I found myself faced with the same conundrum that that New York Times reporter faces. To get the benefits of Christianity, I decided to believe, and the more I study Christianity, the easier it becomes to reaffirm my belief. For example, I just finished reading a little book by R. T. Kendall, Total Forgiveness. When I was young and did not understand sin, I did not understand the value of forgiveness. Yet as I grow older, I find it harder to forgive myself. Kendall’s book points to Biblical truths that ease the task of letting go of guilt.
Some tasks require God. Christianity teaches we accomplish little save self-destruction on our own. For our salvation, we need God. Christ left us with the knowledge that God loves us and that He has forgiven us. He told us that for our own salvation we must accept God’s love and forgiveness. We must also offer the gifts of love and forgiveness to each other and ourselves.
The unloving and the unforgiving lead bitter lives. Why? Kendall offers Nelson Mandela‘s answer when he was asked how he emerged from prison without being bitter.
If you hate, you will give them your heart and mind. Don’t give those two things away.
Other Articles
The study itself is here. H/T to Christianity Today (here).
Religion May Have Evolved Because Of Its Ability To Help People Exercise Self-control — Science Daily
