Man is a creature in search of meaning. Depending on one’s upbringing and environment, one finds this meaning in religion, science, philosophy and art. Unlike science, philosophy and art, religion finds answers to two fundamental questions that people consciously or unconsciously ask in their minds. These questions are “why do I exist?” and “what will I become?”.
Could the fact that people turn to religion also be related to the longevity of religious people? Take for example the basic personality traits of cautiousness and agreeableness. People who have these traits in their personalities tend to adjust their behavior according to the requirements of a task and the wishes, feelings and needs of those around them. It is therefore not surprising that religiosity is associated with these two personality traits. However, the same personality traits are also associated with better health behavior. On the other hand, commitment to social institutions such as marriage, family, community, work and religion may also lead to an increase in self-control throughout life, i.e. cautiousness and agreeableness in terms of personality traits. In this respect, it is important to understand the interaction of religiosity with these variables when examining its relationship with longevity.1
Religiosity has been the subject of research in terms of the frequency of attending places of worship and participating in collective religious rituals, in terms of compliance with moral principles, and in terms of avoiding harmful habits and engaging in good health behaviors.
Interest in religion and health dates back to modern psychological theorists W. James, S. Freud and C. G. Jung. However, since the eighties, the relationship between religiosity and mental and physical health has been the subject of numerous studies. Although many studies have been conducted on Christian and Jewish societies, there are few studies on Muslim societies. One of these is A. Ayten’s study, which was conducted with a limited number of subjects (282) and within a narrow framework consisting of students in institutions providing religious education.2
In this study, not using tobacco and alcohol was the most followed health behavior, while health check-ups and regular vaccination were the least followed health behaviors. Women were found to be more religious than men in this study, as in almost all the literature, and their compliance with health behaviors and life satisfaction were found to be higher. No relationship was found between age and life satisfaction both in this study and in Ayten’s study, which included subjects between the ages of 14-62. Suhail and Chaudry’s study involving 1000 Pakistanis between the ages of 16-80 also found no such relationship. However, Ayten’s study found a relationship between religiosity and life satisfaction. Based on data from the World Values Survey, Okulicz-Kozaryn concluded that religious societies have higher life satisfaction than secular ones. The researcher attributed this to the fulfillment of the “need to belong”.
Numerous studies have shown that religious believers in the USA, Europe and Asia live longer than non-believers. It is not entirely clear whether this is due to prayer or to other reasons.
One of the Ten Commandments is to respect your parents in order to go to heaven. The implication is that those who live righteously will be rewarded with long life. These principles indicate that respect for parents is essential for the survival of the community, and that a respectful family life and social structure will lead to a stable civilization and a healthy and long life. Today, these ancient views from ages ago describe the interrelationship of family, religion, social relations and health in a very good and clear way. This is because people have observed and experienced throughout history that a good family life, including respect for parents and dedication to others, is good for health.
For some, religion is about life and death on a spiritual level. As I mentioned at the beginning of this article, religion provides a simple, straightforward and understandable answer to two very basic existential questions such as “why do I exist and what will I become?”. “To live as a good servant and believer and to be rewarded by the Almighty with paradise”. It is not having a large number of religious publications in the home or praying constantly that is beneficial for health. Therefore, it may be difficult for many people to make the connection between religiosity and longevity, whereas religiosity facilitates health-related personality traits, social ties and participation in community activities, healthy behaviors, and the maintenance of physical and mental health, all of which have an impact on life span. Thus, the accumulated evidence from a large number of studies shows that those who regularly participate in religious activities have a longer life expectancy than those who do not.
Conclusion:
Today, not only in western societies but also in societies that represent traditional values, such as Japan, the early estrangement of young people from their families, the intense pace of urban life, and the predominance of individual freedom weaken the protective effect of close family ties. We are paying the price for the enlightening influence of science by being deprived of the warming influence of religion.
(*)This article has been modified from the book “ Hayatın Hakkını Vermek”.
Sources:
- McCullough ME, Friedman HS, Enders CK, Martin LR. Does devoutness delay death? Psychological investment in religion and its association with longevity in the Terman sample. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2009; 97(5): 866–882.
- Ayten A. Religion and health: A study on the relationship between individual religiosity, health behaviors and life satisfaction. Journal of Religious Studies Academic Research 2013; 13(3):7 -31.
