According to Harvard University Professor Tyler VanderWeele’s study on church attendance, people who attend church more than once per week live longer. Previous studies have been criticized for their small sample sizes and the possibility of reverse causation (that is, people with a higher probability of mortality are also less likely to attend church due to physical or emotional limitations). “The new study addressed these criticisms by using rigorous methodology that controlled for common causes of attendance and mortality, used a larger sample size [74,534], and had repeated measurements over time of both attendance and health.” (Harvard School Of Public Health)
So, if you attend church more than once a week, you’re likely to live longer. And the same study also found that if you go to church more than once per week you’re less likely to experience depression, and you’re five times less likely to commit suicide. (see VanderWeele’s Reddit AMA)
So,
go to church.
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[Image of the church congregation via Wikimedia Commons]