Essay On The Relationship Between Religion And Children Health

There are a lot of young and old Christians that practice their religion and attend churches often. But many studies have found that regardless of the religion practiced, many older men and women become more “spiritual” as they age and become older (Levin, J. S., & Chatters, L. M. (1998). As one gets old and closer to the “end” of life, philosophical thoughts about death, creation and life after death begin to linger. No wonder then that many older Americans become more practicing of their religions. Many scholars have said that this is for two main reasons. One is that they want to get closer to their God, to be happy and be sure that they will attain the pleasure of God instead of the wrath. The second is this general benefit to health. Religiosity seems to have medicinal value and is practiced by those that are hospitalized and the elderly. Honest spirituality (or intrinsic religiosity) reduces many stress factors and diseases like depression (University of Oklahoma, Medicine and Spirituality

Published By: Journal of Religion and Health (international publication about the relationship between religion and physical health)

Children with religion in the classroom have better social skills. Kids with religion in their home are better behaved and adjusted than other children, according to a new study that is the first to look at the effects of religion on young child development. (Wenner, 2008)

Moreover, researchers have correlated religion with increased life expectancy, longevity, and lower mortality rates (Chiswick & Mirtcheva, 2013; George et al., 2000; Lee & Newberg, 2005; Marks, 2005). Evidently, religion and spirituality produce positive biological health outcomes.

We are using local colleges for this study, because this sample is achievable with our available resources. One factor that we focus on in the study is to see if religious affiliation has an impact on happiness. Abilene, Texas is predominately Christian affiliated; therefore, the significance of the universities chosen will help us obtain reoccurring result. Hardin-Simmons University is predominately Baptist, Abilene Christian University is Church of Christ, McMurry University is Methodist, and Cisco Community College is nondenominational. Apart from Cisco; Hardin-Simmons, Abilene Christian, and McMurry are all denominations of Christianity. Having different denominations, the interest of the study rises. The interest rises because they all fall under one affiliation. There are very little current studies done on differences of denominations and happiness. For this study, we will be building from current resources and sample subjects that we can obtain. The age range that will be used in the experiment is eighteen to twenty-six. Demographic questions will be asked in a survey prior to the happiness inventory questionnaire. The purpose of this is seeing if different race and ethnicity, and different religion affiliations can be grouped properly. Having different groupings, we should be able to get a more accurate rating on happiness levels and its’ factors to perform a

Clearly, religion had a negative impact on Lily Sabbath, but in the real world, does religion have a positive or negative impact on children? John Bartkowski, a Mississippi State University sociologist and his colleagues asked the parents and teachers of more than 16,000 kids to rate how much self-control they believed their children showed, how often they exhibited negative or unhappy behavior and how well they respected and worked with their peers (livescience.com). The researchers then compared their answers to how often these children’s parents said they attended religious services, talked openly about religion with their child and argued about religion at home. The kids whose parents regularly attended religious services and talked openly with their kids about religion were said to have better self-discipline, social skills and learning abilities than kids with non-religious parents. The children whose parents often argued about religion were more likely to have these problems. Bartkowski noted that “Religion can hurt if faith is a source of conflict or tension in the family.” If religion has such a positive impact on children, why is there so much crime? Are crimes often connected to religious preferences?

since that period of time there has been a strong relationship between those of religious beliefs

Religion, whether we realize it or not, is a major element of American society (and also worldwide history). For many, religion is a significant part of their cultural identity. Religion plays a part in all levels of politics and is often an aspect of community events and organizations. Everyday, we all interact with people who have different religious backgrounds and personal beliefs. Children born into religious families are very connected with their religions from birth and this affects the way they will see the world for the rest of their lives. Even those who later explore other faiths or convert to other religious ideas will be affected in

Donahue, M. J. & Benson, P. L. (1995). “Religion and the Well-being of Adolescents” in

Religion can be defined as a pursuit or interest to which someone ascribes supreme importance. It contains a specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices that allow its followers to live their life a certain way. The world consists of 19 major religions, which are further subdivided into 270 larger groups. According to David Barrett et al, editor of the “World Christian Encyclopedia,” there are 34,000 separate Christian groups around the world. Just from those numbers alone, we can conclude that religion has a prevalent effect on people and society. Religion is viewed as a positive influence on an individual both psychologically and physically. Throughout history we can study the various effects that religion has on society. Studies generally provide great evidence in favor of religion having a positive effect on individuals and society as a whole.

Educators need to understand the impact of religion on the lives of their students. According to Gallup poll data, nearly 95% of teens believe in God and 86% believe that Jesus Christ is either God or the Son of God (Gallup & Lindsay, 1999 as cited in Ream, 2003). These and other similar statistics demonstrate the importance of considering religion when dealing with young people. Ream

saith the Lord that made thee, and formed thee from the womb . . .’

A 10-year study from the Journal of Family Practice, “found that 83% of the studies done on spirituality found a positive effect on physical health, 92% showed mental health benefits, 4% showed neither a positive nor negative effect and 4% showed harm” ("Spirituality and prayer," 2012), and in these studies spirituality was measured by participation in a religious ceremony, social support, prayer and belief in a higher power. Research among women diagnosed with breast cancer show that “prayer was associated with improved psychological well-being” ("Spirituality and prayer," 2012) and that high religiosity was linked to much lower levels of depression.

Religious faith is important to most Americans, with approximately 95% of Americans reporting belief in God and about 50% being active in church organizations (Gallup & Castelli, 1989). Despite the widespread prevalence of religious beliefs in society, some researchers have maintained that religion and religious beliefs are often neglected in psychological research (Jones, 1994; Plante, 1996). This neglect stems from a couple of different factors. First, it is difficult for psychologists to overcome the fact that believers in many religions claim to have unique access to the truth. Secondly, truly theological questions such as the existence of God or the nature of an afterlife are often ignored by scientists. This may be in part a

One factor is religion, which influences the general health of a person, regardless of the working system through mental stability, networking, lifestyle patterns, religious customs and empowerment. Religion plays a major role in an individual’s life. The correlation particularly between religion and suicide has documented in various surveys. Most studies uncover that religion secures against suicide but some studies have shown an association with high suicide cases.