Frequent Worshippers Live 7.6 Years Longer, Nearly Double Among Black Americans

June 9, 2026

A new report released by the Wheatley Institute at Brigham Young University has found that religious involvement is closely associated with longer life and a wide range of positive health outcomes.

Christianity Daily reports that researchers for the study titled “The Religion and Physical Health Connection: What Does the Best Science Reveal?” examined 1,000 peer-reviewed studies featured in the 2024 edition of the “Handbook of Religion and Health.”

Of those studies, 876 identified positive associations between religious engagement and health, while only 124 reported negative outcomes.

According to the review, one of the strongest patterns involved life expectancy with 83% of the studies examining religious service attendance finding that regular participation was linked to increased longevity.

The data suggested that frequent attendance was associated with roughly a 34% lower risk of death, according to Christianity Daily.

Researchers found that individuals who regularly attended religious services lived an average of 7.6 years longer than those who did not attend.

That difference was even greater among black Americans, reaching nearly 13.7 additional years of life.

Loren D. Marks, the report’s lead author and a professor in Brigham Young University’s School of Family Life, explained, “These are not fringe findings from a handful of studies — they reflect a consistent pattern across hundreds of the most rigorous investigations in the field.”

Marks added, “The data indicate that religious involvement is one of the most robust predictors of better physical health outcomes available in the research literature, and it deserves far greater attention in public health conversations.”

Researchers also reported lower rates of substance abuse, addiction, stroke and related conditions among religious individuals.

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