The percentage of Americans who say they’re religious grows from 64% for those under 60 years old to 78% to those over 60. You see it when you experience a service at a church, temple, or synagogue and see that those around you are Joe Biden’s age. As we age, we get more curious about the meaning of life and our belief systems. And, for some, maybe we’re going through the motions to prove ourselves worthy of climbing the ladder to the sky instead of the stairs to the basement.
As we get older, this can be a time of deep introspection, when we survey our lives, attempt to reconcile the things we’ve done, and make sense of the experiences we’ve had. We carefully re-evaluate the past in an effort to weave our lives into a more coherent whole. Ultimately, the goal of this process is to imbue life with a deeper sense of meaning.
There’s all kinds of data that demonstrates the upside of following a religion. Blue Zones research shows that attending faith-based services just four times per month will add 4-14 years of life expectancy—and the denomination doesn’t seem to matter. Other research shows that those attending services regularly have a 39% lower likelihood of mortality compared to those not attending services at all and are 47% less likely to experience depression and are 10-12% more happy (Pew Research Center).
At our MEA Spirituality + Health workshop in April, we came up with all kinds of other benefits of faith including changes in behavior (feeling more love, more forgiveness), providing social/emotional support in times of crisis; giving people an avenue to offer their volunteering/altruism; providing a place to experience collective joy and grief (marriage, funeral), feeling a greater sense of awe and the transcendent, and the value of ritual being embedded in one’s life.
But, I think the greatest value of being part of a religious community is the sense of belonging one can feel, which is so valuable due to the epidemic of loneliness which is particularly acute for older people. Religion can be a form of social wellness that helps us feel connected to not just a higher power, but also to our neighbors.
Have you become more religious as you’ve aged? And, if so, why?
-Chip