Worship Is Good For You - And Society

Each year when Christmas season rolls around, my whole life revolves around one word: stress.

How many presents do I have to buy? Can I afford them? How can I find time to study for final exams? Don’t forget to send Christmas cards. And get everything done in time to travel home for the holidays.

Now, there are all sorts of ways I could handle the stress. I could see a shrink. I could take anti-depressants. I could go bar hopping. I could do all of the above at the same time.

But instead of all that, I think I’ll go to church.

That’s right. Now, you probably think I’m going to get “all religious” on you. But I’m not. I’m going to get “all scientific” on you.

Social science research shows - and personal accounts confirm - that worship is one of the best ways for people to improve their lives and deal with stress.

According to a recent survey of the social science literature by Patrick Fagan of the Heritage Foundation, the regular worship of God not only is good for moral instruction but it also is good for what ails you. “Regular practice of religion is good for personal physical health - it increases longevity, improves one’s chances of recovery from illness and lessens the incidence of many killer diseases.”

It also is good for one’s mental health. Fagan says religious people suffer less from depression and “are less likely to turn to drugs, alcohol or suicide.”

Fagan also says people who are regular worshipers have more self-esteem and greater family and marital happiness.

In high school and junior high, I was forced to attend so many “self-esteem” classes that I began to hate the word. I felt that something must be wrong with me since I didn’t feel as bad about myself as these classes told me I did. It wasn’t until I got older that I realized these classes were useless.

Indeed, there must be something seriously wrong with a generation of young people who constantly need to be told they’re all right.

The only place I was given good, clear reasons for unconditionally feeling good about myself was at church. And according to Fagan’s study, religiously observant young people experience fewer anxieties and fewer medical problems than their non-religious peers.

Now, bear in mind, what I am saying here has nothing to do with whether the Bible’s teachings are true or not. I am not proselytizing. Instead, I am presenting conclusions drawn from a wealth of social science research compiled over many years by a variety of scholars.

What they have found cannot be denied: Religious belief and the worship of God are good for people - and for society.

Fagan says people who attend church regularly have lower blood pressure, which, in turn, reduces their chances of dying prematurely from a heart attack or stroke. Religious involvement, he says, also “significantly reduces such problems as sexual permissiveness, teen pregnancy, suicide, drug abuse and alcoholism.”

There’s another benefit, long noted by sociologists: The family who prays together stays together.

Evidence shows that people who are pursuing a personal relationship with God tend to have improved relationships with themselves and with others. Such people are less likely to commit crimes, use drugs, gamble or destroy property.

If worshiping God has such a positive impact on individuals and society, why is it that religion always seems to be under attack as “close-minded” or looked down upon as “a crutch” or as being hopelessly old-fashioned?

Who knows? All I know is a lot of the same people who put down religion are busy creating and teaching “self-esteem” classes to repair the damage done to my generation.

At the university I attend, professors and students concentrate more on dividing people along cultural lines than on uniting them spiritually. We constantly are bombarded with the idea that it is better to learn about other cultures than to cultivate our own spirituality.

But culture lasts only until you die. Spirituality lasts forever.

So, this holiday season, be scientific about dealing with the stress of it all. Go to church and worship God. It’s good for you, your health and society.

xxxx