Some of the things that you might miss out on if you don’t go back to church when you can

Last updated on: May 25, 2020 at 10:58 pm by Dan Peterson

Some of the things that you might miss out on if you don’t go back to church when you can 2020-05-25T22:58:04-06:00 Dan Peterson

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

A church from the 1830s in Newfane, Vermont (Wikimedia Commons public domain image)

It’s time for another installment of notes from Paul McFate, 52 Good Reasons to Go to Church, Besides the Obvious Ones (Chicago: ACTA Publications, 2004):

Improved Sex Life (33) — This one probably caught your attention. A 1977 study called The Redbook Report on Female Sexuality found that very religious women were more satisfied, sexually, than were moderately religious or non-religious women. A later study — Sex in America, carried out by researchers at the University of Chicago and the State University of New York at Stonybrook and published in 1995 — seems to have confirmed the results of the earlier effort. [C. Travis and S. Sadd, The Redbook Report on Female Sexuality (New York: Delacorte Press, 1977); R. T. Michael, J. H. Gagnon, E. O. Laumann, and G. Kolata, Sex in America: A Definitive Survey (Boston: Little Brown, 1995), chapter 6.]
Better Parenting Practices (35) — Some evidence shows that parents who attend church may exhibit better parenting practices than those who don’t. [J. M. Strayhorn, C. S. Weidman, and D. Larson, “A Measure of Religiousness and Its Relation to Parent and Child Mental Health Variables,” Journal of Community Psychology 18 (1990): 34-43.
Food, Folks and Fun (36) — A twenty-nine-year-long longitudinal study that appeared in 2001 followed subjects from 1965 to 1994, measuring their health behaviors, their social relationships, their marital stability and mental health, showing that regular attendance at religious services not only increases survival prospects but improves mental health and social relationships. And weekly attendees showed a much stronger positive correlation than those who attended sporadically or did not attend at all. [W. J. Strawbridge, S. J. Shema, R. D. Cohen, and G. A. Kaplan, “Religious Attendance Increases Survival by Improving and Maintaining Good Health Behaviors, Mental Health, and Social Relationships,” Annals of Behavioral Medicine 23/1 (2001): 68-74.]
Safer Communities (37) — A 1988 study showed that the percentage of people in a community who attended church was inversely related to that community’s number of homicides. And actual attendance at religious services is a more important factor than mere religious affiliation or even religious belief. [D. Lester, “Religion and Personal Violence (Homicide and Suicide) in the USA,” Psychological Reports 62 (1988): 618]
Reduced Welfare Dependency (38) — R. Jarrell, of Arizona State University, suggested in an October 1995 personal communication to author Paul McFate the welfare dependency is lower among churchgoers because churchgoers tend to be more optimistic and more goal-oriented, to enjoy better relationships with their parents, to feel more in control of their lives, and to view the world as less hostile than non-churchgoers.
Fewer Drug Dealers (39) — A 1979 study found that young religious adults in Canada were less likely than non-religious young adults to sell narcotics, to gamble, or to destroy property. [A. Singh, “Note: Religious Involvement and Anti-Social Behavior,” Perceptual and Motor Skills 48 (1979): 1157-1158.]
Critical Direction for Teens (40) — A 1990 study showed that, after controlling for family, economic, and religious backgrounds, the majority of imprisoned African-American men had either never attended church services or had stopped attending by the age of ten. [N. M. Parson and J. K. Mikawa, “Incarceration and Non-incarceration of African-American Men Raised in Black Christian Churches,” Journal of Psychology 125 (1990): 163-173]

Previous Post

May 22, 2020

"Table Rules: A Response to Americanist Approaches to the Book of Mormon"

Next Post

May 23, 2020 Life Before Life and Life After Life, with Jalal al-Din Rumi

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Uncategorized

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 March 2014 August 2013 February 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who said, "To obey is better than sacrifice"?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Solomon Samuel David Isaiah