Young Christians enjoy better mental health than their non-churchgoing peers – study by Staff writer for Christian Today
GNN Note – Stable environment, words of encouragement and surrounded by people concerned for their well being – whoda thought this would have a positive impact on young people or any people?
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Young Christians are far less likely than their non-churchgoing peers to experience anxiety and depression, a major new study has found.
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In one of the largest global studies of its kind to be conducted, the Barna study, carried out in partnership with World Vision, examined the data of 15,369 people aged 18- to 35-year-olds across 25 countries.
It found that those who attended a place of worship on a weekly basis were less likely to say that they experienced anxiety (22%), compared with those who did not attend church regularly (33%).
While half of practising Christians (51%) said they felt “optimistic about the future”, this fell to a third (34%) among those with no faith.
Young people with no faith were more likely to say they often felt sad or depressed (28%) than practising Christians (18%), and they were also more likely to report feeling “lonely and isolated from others” (31% vs 16%).
While less than a third of respondents with no faith (29%) said they felt “able to accomplish my goals”, this rose significantly among practising Christians to 43 per cent.
Those without a faith were twice as likely as those with an active faith to say they felt “uncertain about the future” (51% vs 27%).
The study also revealed substantial differences when it came to giving time and money, with young churchgoers far more likely than those without a faith to regularly volunteer (39% vs 23%) and give financially to charitable causes (23% vs 17%).
President of Barna Group, David Kinnaman, said that Millennials and Gen Z were “much talked about and often misunderstood”.
“In addition to providing many hopeful signs about the opportunities ahead of these generations, the study shows powerful connections between practicing faith and overall wellbeing,” he said.
