Heritage Foundation Leadership for America

2008 Archive — Religious Practice and Health: What the Research Says

2007 Archive — Religious Practice and Civic Life: What the Research Says

Religious Practice and Mental Health

Papers:

"Religious Practices and Mental Health among Older Adults in the U.S.," Christopher Ellison, Ph.D.

From a recent longitudinal survey of older African American and non-Hispanic white adults in the United States, findings indicate strong associations between religious practices and mental health. While many of the links between religion and mental health are similar for both racial groups, there is a distinct role of organizational religious life among older African Americans. Particularly, African American elders who attend more religious services enjoy increased mental health over time.

"Pathways Connecting Family Religiosity and Mental Health among Young Adults," Elizabeth Hair, Ph.D., et al.

Family religiosity, as measured by parental religious beliefs and attendance, is indirectly associated with greater mental health in young adulthood. Parents who attend church frequently and have strong religious beliefs are more likely to have adolescents with stronger beliefs, leading to greater mental health in young adulthood. Family religious activities are also connected with greater parental awareness and involvement, both of which contribute to adolescents’ mental wellbeing.

"Chronic Financial Strain and Depressive Symptoms: The Role of Religious Attendance and Gratitude," Neal Krause, Ph.D.

Older people who face financial strain may be less likely to experience stress if they feel grateful; furthermore, those who are religious are more likely to be grateful. Part of this is explained by religious adults seeing challenges as a chance for growth, and hence an experience for which to be grateful. Thus, church-based interventions designed to enhance gratitude may be especially beneficial for those enduring economic stress.

Speakers:

Christopher G. Ellison, Ph.D., Professor of Sociology, University of Texas at AustinChristopher G. Ellison is Professor of Sociology at The University of Texas at Austin. Much of Ellison's research focuses on three broad topics: the implications of religious involvement for mental and physical health and mortality; religious variations in family life, including childrearing, marital relations, gender roles, and family violence; and the role of religious institutions, practices, and values among US racial and ethnic minority populations.
Among Ellison's current projects are a collaborative study of stress, religiousness, and health among Seventh-day Adventists in the U.S., an examination of the effects of religious influences on health behaviors and preventive health care use, and an investigation of race/ethnic differences in the links between family stress, couples' religiousness, and relationship quality among working-age adults. To date, he has published approximately 125 articles and chapters, as well as two books, including Religion, Families, and Health: Population-Based Research in the United States (co-edited with Robert Hummer, Rutgers University Press, forthcoming).
Elizabeth C. Hair, Ph.D., Program Area Director for Health & Senior Research Scientist, Child TrendsElizabeth C. Hair is the Program Director of the Health Area at Child Trends. She is also the co-project director for Child Trends’ work for two centers funded by the DHHS Maternal and Child Health Bureau: the Public Policy Analysis and Education Center for Child, Adolescent, and Young Adult Health; and the National Adolescent Health Information Center.
Dr. Hair is also the Project Director for a study examining the mental health and health behaviors of vulnerable youth as they transition to adulthood. In addition, she was the principal investigator on a grant funded by the National Institutes of Child Health and Human Development to examine the links between parent education and infants’ and school-age children’s health and well-being. She has published papers on the influence of maternal depression on children’s academic and socio-emotional well-being. In addition, she has examined how adolescent socio-emotional well-being influences academic and behavioral outcomes in high school and how parenting during adolescence influences young adult mental well-being.
Neal Krause, Ph.D., Professor of Health Behavior and Health Education, University of MichiganNeal Krause's work focuses on stress and the resources (supportive social relationships and religion) people use to cope with it. Dr. Krause teaches courses on Behavioral Research Methods in Public Health, Developing Mental Health Intervention Programs, and The Stress Process. He received his Ph.D. in Sociology at Akron University-Kent State University, and has an M.A. in Sociology/Psychology from Sam Houston State University, 1974.
Discussant: Michael E. McCullough, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology, University of MiamiMichael McCullough is a professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. He directs The Laboratory for Social and Clinical Psychology and holds a secondary appointment in UM's Department of Religious Studies.
McCullough conducts research on the psychology and evolution of moral sentiments, including forgiveness, the desire for revenge, and gratitude. His work also covers religion, looking at how religion evolved, how it develops over the life course, and its links to health, well-being, and social behavior. He has received several national awards for his research, including the early career award and the mentoring award from the Psychology of Religion Division of the American Psychological Association and a Templeton Positive Psychology Prize. The author or editor of five books, Beyond Revenge is McCullough's first sole-authored book for a general audience.

Keynote Address: Love Thy Neighbor: A Happier and Healthier Life

Papers:

"Myths about American Religion," Stephen G. Post, Ph.D.

Speakers:

Stephen G. Post, Ph.D., Professor of Preventive Medicine ...Stephen G. Post is Professor of Bioethics, Philosophy, and Religion at Case Western Reserve University, as well as Senior Research Scholar in the Becket Institute at St. Hugh's College, Oxford University. He also serves as President of the Institute for Research on Unlimited Love, which focuses on the scientific study of phenomena such as altruism, compassion, and service. He received his Ph.D. in philosophical and religious ethics from the University of Chicago.
Dr. Post's work focuses on three major areas: cognitive disabilities and dementia; family caregivers and the ethics of the family; altruism and compassionate love in the context of scientific research, philosophy, religion, ethics, and the professions. Post is Editor-in-Chief of the definitive Encyclopedia of Bioethics, 3rd edition (Macmillan Reference, 2003).

Religious Practice and Physical Health

Papers:

"Religious Involvement and Mortality Risk among Pre-Retirement Aged U.S. Adults," Robert A. Hummer, Ph.D.

Among a group of adults ages 51 to 61 years of age, those who attend church frequently report the lowest mortality rates (64% lower mortality rate than non-attenders), followed by those who attend infrequently (20% lower mortality than non-attenders). Furthermore, there do not appear to be significant differences in the association between religious attendance and mortality risk among demographic and social subgroups.

"Religious Practice, Spirituality, and the Crisis of Cardiac Surgery," Ellen L. Idler, Ph.D.

This paper presents a set of new measures to explore the experience of worship services, examining not only the frequency of attendance, but also including the complexities of the physical, sensory, behavioral, emotional and cognitive experiences that take place at religious worship services. While outcomes in the cardiac surgery patients are somewhat inconclusive, they may be more strongly associated with physical health outcomes in healthy populations.

"Religious Practices, Beliefs, and Health among People with HIV," Gail H. Ironson, M.D., Ph.D., et. al.

Religious practices predict the disease course of HIV, such that, those who attend church, pray, increase spirituality after diagnosis, view God as benevolent and loving, see the HIV diagnosis as an opportunity for growth, and use religion for coping, experience a slower disease progression than those who see God as judgmental, practice negative religious coping, and see themselves as victims. Furthermore, those who report a spiritual transformation are less likely to die in the five-year follow-up period.

Speakers:

Robert A. Hummer, Ph.D., Professor of Sociology, University of Texas at AustinRobert A. Hummer is Professor and Chairperson in the Department of Sociology and Faculty Research Associate of the Population Research Center (PRC) at the University of Texas at Austin. Between 2001 and 2005, he served as Director of the PRC. His research and teaching interests center around the documentation and more complete understanding of health and mortality patterns in the United States, particularly as they differ by race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, immigrant status, and religious involvement. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Population Association of America and is Chair-Elect of the Population Section of the ASA. His current research work focuses on educational differences in U.S. adult mortality. His 2000 co-authored book, entitled Living and Dying in the USA, won the Otis Dudley Duncan Award for Distinguished Scholarship in Social Demography in the Population Section of the American Sociological Association (ASA).
Ellen L. Idler, Ph.D., Professor of Sociology, Rutgers UniversityEllen L. Idler is Acting Dean of Social and Behavioral Sciences, as well as Professor in the Department of Sociology and the Institute for Health, Health Care Policy, and Aging Research at Rutgers University. She is the author of Cohesiveness and Coherence: Religion and the Health of the Elderly (1994) and The Hidden Health Care System (1981). She studies the influence of attitudes, beliefs, and social connections on health, including a series of studies of the effect of self-ratings of health on mortality and disability.
Dr. Idler’s current projects include: a study of religion’s impact on quality of life in the last year of life; the development of scales for measuring the multidimensional aspects of religion for health studies; a study of the impact of religion and spirituality on recovery from coronary artery bypass surgery; and a set of projects on end-of-life decision-making, self-rated health, and chronic illness management.
Gail H. Ironson, M.D., Ph.D., Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry, University of MiamiGail Ironson is a Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry at the University of Miami. She has over 150 publications in the field of mind/body medicine, is the past president of the Academy of Behavioral Medicine Research Society, and is a current or past member of the editorial board of five journals. She received her training at the University of Wisconsin (Ph.D), the University of Miami (M.D.) and Stanford University (residency training in Psychiatry). Her specialty is examining the impact of psychological factors on health.
She has directed or co-directed numerous federally and privately funded research studies investigating psychological factors in long survival, spirituality and immunity, stress management for people with life-threatening illness (cancer, cardiac illness and HIV), and the biological effects of stress/trauma. She also set up and directs the Trauma Treatment Program at the University of Miami.
Discussant: David R. Williams, Ph.D., Professor of Public Health and African and African American Studies, Harvard UniversityDavid R. Williams is the Florence and Laura Norman Professor of Public Health at the Harvard School of Public Health and Professor of African and African American Studies and an Affiliate of the Sociology Department at Harvard University. He has been a faculty member at Yale University as well as the University of Michigan. He holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Michigan.
His research focuses on trends and determinants of socioeconomic and racial disparities in health, the effects of racism on health and the ways in which religious involvement can affect health. He has served on the Department of Health and Human Services’ National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics. He has held elected and appointed positions in professional organizations, such as the American Sociological Association, Academy Health, and the Am