Religious believers have healthier hearts and cope better with stress, UL researchers say
'People with deeply internalised beliefs – whose faith is personally meaningful – tend to see more of these health benefits,' PhD student Ailbhe Dempsey said.
Ms Dempsey was supervised by Professor Siobhán Howard and Stephen Gallagher in the Department of Psychology, Study of Anxiety, Stress and Health Laboratory at the University of Limerick (UL).
The findings, reported in the International Journal of Psychophysiology, involved a meta-analysis – or comprehensive review – of all the existing scientific research into the links between religious belief and heart health.
Most studies reviewed determined that people with religious or spiritual beliefs were better protected against acute stressors – the kind of daily stresses we experience – like running late for work.
Religious or spiritual people appear to react better to such stress, Ms Dempsey said, and have better measures of heart health like blood pressure and heart rate.
Religiosity, she said, is a system of beliefs, rituals and symbols promoting a relationship to and understanding of one's God or a higher power.
Spirituality, meanwhile, involves seeking meaning and purpose in life, beliefs about the sacred or transcendent, meditation and mindfulness.
As for 'lapsed Catholics', the heart health benefits, she said, do not extend to people who attend church.
Data from previous studies, when added to this study, indicate that religious and spiritual people have an 18pc lower risk of dying from heart disease when compared with individuals who are neither religious nor spiritual.
The UL findings are supported by other research, which shows that believers are better protected from cancer, dementia and depression.
They tend to adapt healthier lifestyle choices, such as reducing or eliminating smoking or alcohol
Scientists do not fully understand what precisely happens in believers' bodies that protects their heart health, but there are several theories.
One is that they tend to adapt healthier lifestyle choices, such as reducing or eliminating smoking or alcohol. Another is that public participation in religious practice comes with social benefits and supports, which studies show benefit health.
And the 'coherence hypothesis', proposes that health benefits arise when individuals join together to find meaning and purpose in life.
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