The latest research by Gallup (more than 676,000 interviews conducted in 2010 & 2011) finds “very religious Americans of all major faiths have higher overall wellbeing than do their respective counterparts who are moderately religious or nonreligious.”
The following chart shows how specific groups fared by degree of religiosity:
In the overall rankings when religions are considered as a whole (across the varying degrees of religiosity), Jews rank highest, Christians are in the middle, and those without religion experience the lowest levels of wellbeing.
So What?
The common religious thread among high scoring groups is not how you are religious but how religious you are.
- Why do you think the very religious in all of the major faiths have higher overall wellbeing than do their respective counterparts who are moderately religious or nonreligious?
- Why do you think the two extremes (very religious and nonreligious) fare better for the Christian groups (Roman Catholic and Protestant/Other non-Catholic Christians) than the moderately religious? What are the implications of this for the mission and ministry of a local congregation?