Is religion good for your health? May be yes, says a new study. The Penn State University study has found that people in a strict religious group were twice more likely to report that they were in good health compared to those who left the group.
Sociologist Christopher Scheitle, who led the study at the university in Pennsylvania, said: “Previous research showed some association between belonging to a religious group and positive health outcomes.”
“We became interested in what would happen to your health if you left a religious group,” Scheitle was quoted as saying by LiveScience.
For their study, the researchers examined information from 423 strict religious group members who were surveyed between 1972 and 2006. During that time, approximately 96 members switched to other religions and about 54 dropped out of religion completely. The researchers defined strict religions, such as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Jehovah’s Witnesses, as exclusive groups with strict social, moral and physical guidelines for members.