Scholar: Worshippers fare better 'on every observable outcome'

July 08, 2010

“It’s little known to the public or to elite commentators in the national discourse,” notes Patrick Fagan, director of the Marriage and Religion Research Institute at the Family Research Council. “But an amazing phenomenon has been uncovered in the social sciences: the more frequently Americans worship the better they do on every observable outcome measured to date.” He continues:

This holds for rates of smoking, getting drunk, use of hard drugs, being charged by the police, theft, shoplifting, adultery, running away from home, watching x-rated movies, homosexual conduct, cohabitation, or the number of sexual partners that teenage girls have … The documented relationship of religious practice to other goods include: children’s positive social development, the quality of parent-child relationships, levels of happiness – including marital happiness – participation in charitable services, and pride in work.

 

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Further information:

• Patrick Fagan: The Power of the Third Commandment (The Catholic Thing)