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New study shows positive link between religion and mental health

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – A major new study has shown that religion can help foster good mental health in young people, Christian Today reports. The study was conducted by the Springtide Research Institute and apparently confirms decades of previous research showing a positive link between religion and mental health.

Titled The State of Religion & Young People 2022: Mental Health–What Faith Leaders Need to Know, the study was released Wednesday during an online event called “A Conference on Gen Z, Mental Health & Religion,” CT reports. The study had 10,000 participants aged 13-25, who were interviewed about their beliefs, practices, behaviors, relationships, and mental health.

The study found that “people who are religious are better off mentally and emotionally” and that 57% of the participants were helped through the difficulties of the pandemic years by new spiritual practices, CT reports. Fifty-one percent of participants started praying during the pandemic, the study found.

Notably, 40% of participants who said they are “very religious” answered that they are “flourishing a lot” (40%), CT reports. Only 17% of participants who said they are “not religious” answered that they are “flourishing a lot.”

Although the study found that religion and spirituality “can be strong antidotes to much of what contributes to mental-health struggles among young people,” only 35% of the participants said they were involved with a religious community, CT reports. Those who were connected to such a community (29%) said they were “flourishing a lot.”