Religious attendance increases survival by improving and maintaining good health behaviors, mental health, and social relationships
Abstract
Several recent prospective analyses involving community-based populations have demonstrated a protective effect on survival for frequent attendance at religious services. How such involvement increases survival are unclear. To test the hypothesis that religious attendance might serve to improve and maintain good health behaviors, mental health, and social relationships, changes and consistencies in these variables were studied between 1965 and 1994 for 2,676 Alameda County Study participants, from 17 to 65 years of age in 1965, who survived to 1994. Measures included smoking, physical activity, alcohol consumption, medical checkups, depression, social interactions, and marital status. Those reporting weekly religious attendance in 1965 were more likely to both improve poor health behaviors and maintain good ones by 1994 than were those whose attendance was less or none. Weekly attendance was also associated with improving and maintaining good mental health, increased social relationships, and marital stability. Results were stronger for women in improving poor health behaviors and mental health, consistent with known gender differences in associations between religious attendance and survival. Further understanding the mechanisms involved could aid health promotion and intervention efforts.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Of the 178 highest-rigor studies on R/S and depression, 119 (67%) reported inverse relationships and 13 (7%) found positive relationships with depression.
“Of the 178 studies with the highest methodological rigor, 119 (67%) reported inverse relationships [124–135] and 13 (7%) found positive relationships with depression [136–148].”
From Religion, Spirituality, and Health: The Research and Clinical Implications (2012) · cites this paper as [126]
Of the 38 methodologically most rigorous marital instability studies, 35 (92%) reported significant relationships between R/S and greater marital stability.
“Of the 38 methodologically most rigorous studies, 35 (92%) reported significant relationships between R/S and greater marital stability [255–265].”
From Religion, Spirituality, and Health: The Research and Clinical Implications (2012) · cites this paper as [256]
Cites
An inventory for measuring depression
BECK, A. T. (1961) · Archives of General Psychiatry · doi:10.1001/archpsyc.1961.01710120031004 · Cited by 38,032 · see citing works
Suicide: A study in sociology.
Durkheim, É. (2004) · American Psychological Association eBooks · doi:10.1037/10406-003 · Cited by 3,944 · see citing works
Suicide: A Study in Sociology.
Alpert, H., Durkheim, É., Spaulding, J. A., Simpson, G. L., Solovay, S. A., Mueller, J. H., & Catlin, G. (1951) · American Sociological Review · doi:10.2307/2088294 · Cited by 3,910 · see citing works
Assessing depressive symptoms in five psychiatric populations: a validation study.
Weissman, M., Sholomskas, D., Pottenger, M., Prusoff, B., & Locke, B. Z. (1977) · American Journal of Epidemiology · doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a112455 · Cited by 2,232 · see citing works
Modeling and variable selection in epidemiologic analysis
Greenland, S. (1989) · American Journal of Public Health · doi:10.2105/ajph.79.3.340 · Cited by 2,208 · see citing works
HOUSE, J. S., ROBBINS, C., & METZNER, H. L. (1982) · American Journal of Epidemiology · doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a113387 · Cited by 1,381 · see citing works
Influence of social network on occurrence of dementia: a community-based longitudinal study
Fratiglioni, L., Wang, H.-X., Ericsson, K., Maytan, M., & Winblad, B. (2000) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(00)02113-9 · Cited by 1,361 · see citing works
THE EPIDEMIOLOGIC EVIDENCE FOR A RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SOCIAL SUPPORT AND HEALTH
Broadhead, W. E., Kaplan, B. H., James, S. A., Wagner, E. H., Schoenbach, V. J., GRIMSON, R. C., Heyden, S., Tibblin, G., & Gehlbach, S. H. (1983) · American Journal of Epidemiology · doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a113575 · Cited by 917 · see citing works
Religion and the Individual: A Social-Psychological Perspective
Malony, H. N., Batson, C. D., Schoenrade, P. A., & Ventis, W. L. (1995) · Review of Religious Research · doi:10.2307/3512077 · Cited by 881 · see citing works
Religion, spirituality, and medicine
Sloan, R., Bagiella, E., & Powell, T. P. (1999) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(98)07376-0 · Cited by 851 · see citing works
Risk and Religion: An Explanation of Gender Differences in Religiosity
Miller, A. S., & Hoffmann, J. P. (1995) · Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion · doi:10.2307/1386523 · Cited by 845 · see citing works
Religious involvement and U.S. adult mortality
Hummer, R. A., Rogers, R. G., Nam, C. B., & Ellison, C. G. (1999) · Demography · doi:10.2307/2648114 · Cited by 825 · see citing works
Religion and the Individual: A Social Psychological Perspective
Hanford, J. T., Batson, C. D., Schoenrade, P. A., & Ventis, W. L. (1994) · Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion · doi:10.2307/1386643 · Cited by 710 · see citing works
Frequent attendance at religious services and mortality over 28 years.
Strawbridge, W. J., Cohen, R. D., Shema, S. J., & Kaplan, G. A. (1997) · American Journal of Public Health · doi:10.2105/ajph.87.6.957 · Cited by 686 · see citing works
Self-citationReligion and health: Is there an association, is it valid, and is it causal?
Levin, J. S. (1994) · Social Science & Medicine · doi:10.1016/0277-9536(94)90109-0 · Cited by 581 · see citing works
SOCIAL NETWORK TIES AND MORTALITY AMONG TILE ELDERLY IN THE ALAMEDA COUNTY STUDY
Seeman, T. E., Kaplan, G. A., KNUDSEN, L., Cohen, R. D., & Guralnik, J. M. (1987) · American Journal of Epidemiology · doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a114711 · Cited by 557 · see citing works
Self-citationOxman, T. E., Freeman, D. H., & Manheimer, E. D. (1995) · Psychosomatic Medicine · doi:10.1097/00006842-199501000-00002 · Cited by 525 · see citing works
Health and Ways of Living: The Alameda County Study
Berkman, L. F., & Breslow, L. (1983) · Medical Entomology and Zoology · Cited by 480 · see citing works
Mortality among the elderly in the Alameda County Study: behavioral and demographic risk factors.
Kaplan, G. A., Seeman, T. E., Cohen, R. D., Knudsen, L. P., & Guralnik, J. M. (1987) · American Journal of Public Health · doi:10.2105/ajph.77.3.307 · Cited by 455 · see citing works
Self-citationRace and Gender Differences in Religiosity Among Older Adults: Findings From Four National Surveys
Levin, J. S., Taylor, R. J., & Chatters, L. M. (1994) · Journal of Gerontology · doi:10.1093/geronj/49.3.s137 · Cited by 450 · see citing works
The use of religion and other emotion-regulating coping strategies among older adults.
Koenig, H., George, L., & Siegler, I. C. (1988) · The gerontologist · doi:10.1093/geront/28.3.303 · Cited by 413 · see citing works
Health and Ways of Living: The Alameda County Study.
Sorensen, G. G., Berkman, L. F., & Breslow, L. (1984) · Contemporary Sociology A Journal of Reviews · doi:10.2307/2069097 · Cited by 369 · see citing works
Religion and mortality among the community-dwelling elderly.
Oman, D., & Reed, D. (1998) · American Journal of Public Health · doi:10.2105/ajph.88.10.1469 · Cited by 350 · see citing works
Does Religious Attendance Prolong Survival? A Six-Year Follow-Up Study of 3,968 Older Adults
Koenig, H. G., Hays, J. C., Larson, D. B., George, L. K., Cohen, H. J., McCullough, M. E., Meador, K. G., & Blazer, D. G. (1999) · The Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences · doi:10.1093/gerona/54.7.m370 · Cited by 341 · see citing works
Black and White Differences in Religious Participation: A Multisample Comparison
Taylor, R. J., Chatters, L. M., Jayakody, R., & Levin, J. S. (1996) · Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion · doi:10.2307/1386415 · Cited by 337 · see citing works
Religiosity Buffers Effects of Some Stressors on Depression but Exacerbates Others
Strawbridge, W. J., Shema, S. J., Cohen, R. D., Roberts, R. E., & Kaplan, G. A. (1998) · The Journals of Gerontology Series B · doi:10.1093/geronb/53b.3.s118 · Cited by 333 · see citing works
Self-citationLevin, J. S., & Vanderpool, H. Y. (1987) · Social Science & Medicine · doi:10.1016/0277-9536(87)90063-3 · Cited by 314 · see citing works
VOGT, T. M. (1992) · Journal of Clinical Epidemiology · doi:10.1016/0895-4356(92)90138-d · Cited by 308 · see citing works
PSYCHOSOCIAL PREDICTORS OF MORTALITY AMONG THE ELDERLY POOR
Zuckerman, D. M., Kasl, S. V., & Ostfeld, A. M. (1984) · American Journal of Epidemiology · doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a113759 · Cited by 285 · see citing works
Comstock, G. W., & Partridge, K. B. (1972) · Journal of Chronic Diseases · doi:10.1016/0021-9681(72)90002-1 · Cited by 277 · see citing works
Is there a religious factor in health?
Levin, J. S., & Schiller, P. L. (1987) · Journal of Religion and Health · doi:10.1007/bf01533291 · Cited by 259 · see citing works
Religion and differences in morbidity and mortality
Jarvis, G. K., & Northcott, H. C. (1987) · Social Science & Medicine · doi:10.1016/0277-9536(87)90039-6 · Cited by 247 · see citing works
Does religious observance promote health? mortality in secular vs religious kibbutzim in Israel.
Kark, J. D., Shemi, G., Friedlander, Y., Martin, O., Manor, O., & Blondheim, S. H. (1996) · American Journal of Public Health · doi:10.2105/ajph.86.3.341 · Cited by 226 · see citing works
Religion, the Life Stress Paradigm, and the Study of Depression
Ellison, C. G. (1994) · Sage eBooks · doi:10.4135/9781483326641.n4 · Cited by 218 · see citing works
Religious Attendance and Subjective Health
Levin, J. S., & Markides, K. S. (1986) · Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion · doi:10.2307/1386061 · Cited by 168 · see citing works
Kaplan, G. A., Wilson, T. W., Cohen, R. D., Kauhanen, J., Wu, M., & SALONEN, J. T. (1994) · PubMed · Cited by 110 · see citing works
Self-citationSex Differences in Depression Reexamined
ROBERTS, R. E., & O'Keefe, S. J. (1981) · Journal of Health and Social Behavior · doi:10.2307/2136680 · Cited by 98 · see citing works
Psychological distress and mortality: Evidence from the Alameda county study
ROBERTS, R. E., Kaplan, G. A., & Camacho, T. C. (1990) · Social Science & Medicine · doi:10.1016/0277-9536(90)90087-9 · Cited by 56 · see citing works
Self-citationCohesiveness and Coherence: Religion and the Health of the Elderly
Hays, J. C., & Idler, E. L. (1995) · Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion · doi:10.2307/1386775 · Cited by 42 · see citing works
Cohesiveness and Coherence: Religion and the Health of the Elderly.
Bourg, C. J., & Idler, E. L. (1996) · Contemporary Sociology A Journal of Reviews · doi:10.2307/2077510 · Cited by 16 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Religion, Spirituality, and Health: The Research and Clinical Implications
Koenig, H. G. (2012) · ISRN Psychiatry · doi:10.5402/2012/278730 · Cited by 2,423 · see citing works
“Of the 38methodologically most rigorous studies, 35 (92%) reported significant relationships between R/S and greater marital stability [255–265].”
BackgroundSpirituality, religion, and health: An emerging research field.
Miller, W. R., & Thoresen, C. E. (2003) · American Psychologist · doi:10.1037/0003-066x.58.1.24 · Cited by 1,437 · see citing works
On the promotion of human flourishing
VanderWeele, T. J. (2017) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.1702996114 · Cited by 1,387 · see citing works
Social Relationships and Health Behavior Across the Life Course
Umberson, D., Crosnoe, R., & Reczek, C. (2010) · Annual Review of Sociology · doi:10.1146/annurev-soc-070308-120011 · Cited by 1,226 · see citing works
Religion and spirituality: Linkages to physical health.
Powell, L. H., Shahabi, L., & Thoresen, C. E. (2003) · American Psychologist · doi:10.1037/0003-066x.58.1.36 · Cited by 1,093 · see citing works
Religiosity/Spirituality and Mortality
Chida, Y., Steptoe, A., & Powell, L. H. (2009) · Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics · doi:10.1159/000190791 · Cited by 409 · see citing works
Causal inference and longitudinal data: a case study of religion and mental health
VanderWeele, T. J., Jackson, J. W., & Li, S. (2016) · Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology · doi:10.1007/s00127-016-1281-9 · Cited by 322 · see citing works
Religious Attendance and Cause of Death over 31 Years
Oman, D., Kurata, J. H., Strawbridge, W. J., & Cohen, R. D. (2002) · The International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine · doi:10.2190/rjy7-crr1-hcw5-xveg · Cited by 189 · see citing works
Self-citationReligious Participation, Interleukin-6, and Mortality in Older Adults.
Lutgendorf, S. K., Russell, D., Ullrich, P., Harris, T. B., & Wallace, R. (2004) · Health Psychology · doi:10.1037/0278-6133.23.5.465 · Cited by 184 · see citing works
Religious involvement and health outcomes among older persons in Taiwan
Yeager, D. M., Glei, D. A., Au, M., Lin, H.-S., Sloan, R. P., & Weinstein, M. (2006) · Social Science & Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2006.05.007 · Cited by 182 · see citing works
Frequency of Attendance at Religious Services and Mortality in a U.S. National Cohort
Gillum, R. F., King, D. E., Obisesan, T. O., & Koenig, H. G. (2008) · Annals of Epidemiology · doi:10.1016/j.annepidem.2007.10.015 · Cited by 176 · see citing works
Tartaro, J., Luecken, L. J., & Gunn, H. E. (2005) · Journal of Health Psychology · doi:10.1177/1359105305057311 · Cited by 164 · see citing works
Kroenke, C. H., Quesenberry, C., Kwan, M. L., Sweeney, C., Castillo, A., & Caan, B. J. (2013) · Breast Cancer Research and Treatment · doi:10.1007/s10549-012-2253-8 · Cited by 162 · see citing works
Gillum, R. F., & Ingram, D. D. (2006) · Psychosomatic Medicine · doi:10.1097/01.psy.0000221253.90559.dd · Cited by 154 · see citing works
Religion and Mental Health in Racial and Ethnic Minority Populations: A Review of the Literature
Nguyen, A. W. (2020) · Innovation in Aging · doi:10.1093/geroni/igaa035 · Cited by 153 · see citing works
‘Does Religion Cause Health?’: Differing Interpretations and Diverse Meanings
Oman, D., & Thoresen, C. E. (2002) · Journal of Health Psychology · doi:10.1177/1359105302007004326 · Cited by 151 · see citing works
Spiritual Expression and Immune Status in Women with Metastatic Breast Cancer: An Exploratory Study
Sephton, S. E., Koopman, C., Schaal, M., Thoresen, C., & Spiegel, D. (2001) · The Breast Journal · doi:10.1046/j.1524-4741.2001.20014.x · Cited by 142 · see citing works
A prospective study of church attendance and health over the lifespan.
Koenig, L. B., & Vaillant, G. E. (2009) · Health Psychology · doi:10.1037/a0012984 · Cited by 127 · see citing works
Surrender to God and stress: A possible link between religiosity and health.
Clements, A. D., & Ermakova, A. V. (2012) · Psychology of Religion and Spirituality · doi:10.1037/a0025109 · Cited by 123 · see citing works
Religiousness and the Trajectory of Self-Rated Health Across Adulthood
McCullough, M. E., & Laurenceau, J.-P. (2005) · Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin · doi:10.1177/0146167204271657 · Cited by 107 · see citing works
Religious Participation and Mortality Risk Among the Oldest Old in China
Zhang, W. (2008) · The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences · doi:10.1093/geronb/63.5.s293 · Cited by 107 · see citing works
Kinney, A. Y. (2003) · American Journal of Epidemiology · doi:10.1093/aje/kwg264 · Cited by 93 · see citing works
Park, C. L., Edmondson, D., Hale-Smith, A., & Blank, T. O. (2009) · Journal of Behavioral Medicine · doi:10.1007/s10865-009-9223-6 · Cited by 84 · see citing works
McCullough, M. E., Friedman, H. S., Enders, C. K., & Martin, L. R. (2009) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/a0016366 · Cited by 85 · see citing works
Reyes-Ortiz, C. A., Berges, I. M., Raji, M. A., Koenig, H. G., Kuo, Y.-F., & Markides, K. S. (2008) · The Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences · doi:10.1093/gerona/63.5.480 · Cited by 85 · see citing works
Religion and healthy lifestyle behaviors among postmenopausal women: the women’s health initiative
Salmoirago-Blotcher, E., Fitchett, G., Ockene, J. K., Schnall, E., Crawford, S., Granek, I., Manson, J., Ockene, I., O’Sullivan, M. J., Powell, L., et al. (2011) · Journal of Behavioral Medicine · doi:10.1007/s10865-011-9322-z · Cited by 81 · see citing works
Booth, B. M., Curran, G. M., & Han, X. (2004) · Journal of Studies on Alcohol · doi:10.15288/jsa.2004.65.63 · Cited by 82 · see citing works
Religiousness and Longitudinal Trajectories in Elders' Functional Status
Park, N. S., Klemmack, D. L., Roff, L. L., Parker, M. W., Koenig, H. G., Sawyer, P., & Allman, R. M. (2008) · Research on Aging · doi:10.1177/0164027507313001 · Cited by 77 · see citing works
Religiosity and Self-Rated Health among Latin American and Caribbean Elders
Reyes-Ortiz, C. A., Pelaez, M., Koenig, H. G., & Mulligan, T. (2007) · The International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine · doi:10.2190/pm.37.4.f · Cited by 77 · see citing works
Gillum, R. F. (2006) · Annals of Behavioral Medicine · doi:10.1207/s15324796abm3101_6 · Cited by 76 · see citing works
Masters, K. S., & Hooker, S. A. (2013) · Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1037/a0030813 · Cited by 45 · see citing works
Socioeconomic Differences in the Effects of Prayer on Physical Symptoms and Quality of Life
Banthia, R., Moskowitz, J. T., Acree, M., & Folkman, S. (2007) · Journal of Health Psychology · doi:10.1177/1359105307074251 · Cited by 41 · see citing works
Obisesan, T., Livingston, I., Trulear, H. D., & Gillum, F. (2006) · The International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine · doi:10.2190/9w22-00h1-362k-0279 · Cited by 39 · see citing works
Religiousness and Treatment Adherence in Congestive Heart Failure Patients
Park, C. L., Moehl, B., Fenster, J. R., Suresh, D. P., & Bliss, D. (2008) · Journal of Religion, Spirituality & Aging · doi:10.1080/15528030802232270 · Cited by 33 · see citing works
Fitting in with the flock: Social attractiveness as a mechanism for well‐being in religious groups
Hayward, R. D., & Elliott, M. (2009) · European Journal of Social Psychology · doi:10.1002/ejsp.552 · Cited by 29 · see citing works
Associations between breast cancer risk factors and religious practices in Utah
Daniels, M. (2004) · Preventive Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.ypmed.2003.09.025 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
McKenzie, L. E., Polur, R. N., Wesley, C., Allen, J. D., McKeown, R. E., & Zhang, J. (2013) · International Journal of Social Psychiatry · doi:10.1177/0020764012463302 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
- Authors
- Strawbridge, W. J., Shema, S. J., Cohen, R. D., & Kaplan, G. A.
- Affiliations
- Human Population Laboratory (US)
- Cancer Prevention Institute of California (US)
- University of Michigan (US)
- Corresponding author
- Strawbridge, William J.
- Venue
- Annals of Behavioral Medicine
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2001-02
- Volume
- 23
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 68-74
- ISSN
- 0742-5554 (ISSN-L)
- 0883-6612
- 1532-4796
- OpenAlex
- W1970973092
- Cited by
- 618
- References
- 40
- Citations by year
- 2026: 9 · 2025: 19 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 57 · 2022: 19 · 2021: 30 · 2020: 32 · 2019: 27 · 2018: 30 · 2017: 26 · 2016: 28 · 2015: 22 · 2014: 18 · 2013: 31 · 2012: 31
- FWCI
- 15.98
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Annals of Behavioral Medicine (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- National Institute on Aging (R37AG011375, 1R37 AG-11375)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Health › Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Religion and Society Interactions
- Social Sciences › Health › Health disparities and outcomes
- Keywords
- religious service attendance, survival, health behavior, mental health, interpersonal relationships, marital stability, smoking, physical activity, alcohol consumption, medical check-ups, depression, gender differences, Alameda County Study, health promotion
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Aged, California, Female, Follow-Up Studies, Humans, Interpersonal Relations, Life Style, Male, Mental Health, Middle Aged, Religion and Psychology, Health Behavior, Odds Ratio, Marital Status
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
