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10/30/2001 Entry: "Benefits of Religion"

* Regular church attendance is the most critical factor in marital stability, regardless of denomination or doctrinal teaching on divorce. A 1993 survey of 3,300 men found that those who switch partners most are those with no religious convictions. Similarly, the rate of cohabitation before marriage is seven times higher among people who seldom or never attend religious services, a significant finding since couples who live together before marriage experience higher rates of divorce.

* Researchers at Johns Hopkins University have found cardiovascular disease significantly reduced by a lifetime of church attendance. Numerous other studies confirm that churchgoers live longer, with lower rates of cirrhosis, emphysema, and arteriosclerosis.

* Blood pressure is reduced an average of 5 mm of pressure by regular church attendance, 6 mm for people over 55. "Given that reducing blood pressure by 2 to 4 mm also reduces the mortality rate by 10 to 20 percent for any given population, a reduction of 5 mm is a very significant public-health achievement," says Patrick Fagan, who wrote the Heritage Foundation report.

* Religious involvement greatly decreases drug use, delinquency, and premarital sex, and increases self-control for all age groups. In a 1985 study of girls, 9 to 17, less than 10 percent of those who attended religious services weekly reported drug or alcohol use, compared to 38 percent overall.

*Of youth who grew up in poverty in the 1970s and '80s, those who attended church weekly had significantly higher family incomes as adults-an average $12,600 higher than their nonchurchgoing peers.

Posted by Dake Dakesonberg @ 10/30/2001 09:29 PM EST