I much prefer being churchless to my previous true-believing. However, it bothers me when I read about how religious people tend to be healthier and happier than atheists/agnostics.
Hey! I want to be healthy and happy too. But I don't want to believe in God. Can't I have the benefits of believing without the religious dogma?
I've assumed that I could — the admittedly subjective evidence being that I'm (1) healthy and happy, yet also (2) irreligious. Still, I wanted more conclusive reasons for doubting that religiosity, as such, is what brings bodily and psychological benefits to the "churched."
In this month's Scientific American, Michael Shermer fulfilled my desire with one of his Skeptic articles, "Sacred Salubriousness: New research on self-control explains the link between religion and health." (In case that link eventually fails to work, I'll copy in the article as a continuation to this post.)
Shermer says that in science "God did it" is not a testable hypothesis. So what does account for the benefits people derive from being religious?
Even such explanations as “belief in God” or “religiosity” must be broken down into their component parts to find possible causal mechanisms for the links between belief and behavior that lead to health, well-being and longevity. This McCullough and his then Miami colleague Brian Willoughby did in a 2009 paper that reported the results of a meta-analysis of hundreds of studies revealing that religious people are more likely to engage in healthy behaviors, such as visiting dentists and wearing seat belts, and are less likely to smoke, drink, take recreational drugs and engage in risky sex. Why? Religion provides a tight social network that reinforces positive behaviors and punishes negative habits and leads to greater self-regulation for goal achievement and self-control over negative temptations.
This fits with my lengthy experience with being a member of an India-based meditation organization, Radha Soami Satsang Beas (RSSB).
To be initiated by the guru, you had to agree to not have sex outside of marriage, be an eggless vegetarian, abstain from alcohol and illegal drugs, and to meditate for several hours every day. Even though these vows frequently weren't followed, most initiates likely had a healthier lifestyle as a result of being part of RSSB.
A vegetarian diet has proven health benefits. Meditation reduces stress. Otherwise, the health impact of the vows was neutral or a bit detrimental (I now drink a glass of red wine every day, with my doctor's blessing.)
The main point of Shermer's article is that when someone says "I feel so much better now that I've joined such-and-such religion," it's important to recognize that the same benefits can be obtained in other ways.
People enjoy being part of a close-knit group with shared interests and goals. But this doesn't have to be a religious organization. There are plenty of secular groups that will stimulate the same sort of psychological good feelings.
And while its true that social pressures help religious people stay on the "straight and narrow" because they don't want their fellow true believers to know that they've strayed from the godly path, Shermer notes other ways to strengthen self-control.
The underlying mechanisms of setting goals and monitoring one’s progress, however, can be tapped by anyone, religious or not. Alcoholics Anonymous urges members to surrender to a “higher power,” but that need not even be a deity—it can be anything that helps you stay focused on the greater goal of sobriety.
Zen meditation, in which you count your breaths up to 10 and then do it over and over, the authors note, “builds mental discipline. So does saying the rosary, chanting Hebrew psalms, repeating Hindu mantras.” Brain scans of people conducting such rituals show strong activity in areas associated with self-regulation and attention. McCullough, in fact, describes prayers and meditation rituals as “a kind of anaerobic workout for self-control.”
This is pretty much how I've come to look upon my still-daily meditation, which now lasts about twenty minutes rather than two hours: as brain exercise, similar to the physical exercise I do at an athletic club.
I used to look upon meditation as one of the most important activities of my life. Now, I view it as helping me to productively enjoy the rest of my life by being more focused, open, aware, and sensitive to what I'm experiencing inside and outside of me.
I've learned that I haven't lost anything by no longer being religious.
I can continue with the healthy habits that still make sense to me, and discard the dogmatic injunctions that don't. I'm just about as disciplined as I was before. My self-control just is directed in different directions, toward concrete earthly aims rather than abstract religious imaginings.
Health and happiness don't come from God, even though godly people believe they do. Whatever benefits accrue from being religious can be had in other ways. Read on if you need more convincing.
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