Believing God has a plan for your life might improve your mental health.
I’m sorry to confess that I’ve brazenly nicked the below content from Professor John Byron, but it’s so interesting and I don’t really see how to re-phrase it. That’s my excuse justification and I’m sticking with it:
Here it is:
The third portion of the Baylor University Survey on Religion has been released with some interesting results. According to the survey, if you believe that God has a plan for your life then you are more likely to be poor and less educated. On the other hand, you are less likely to have mental heath issues.
Most Americans (73.2%) believe that God has a plan for them. Those who feel strongly that God has something wonderful in store for them tend to have lower incomes and less education (p.2-5).
Heaven is a more popular notion than Hell. Nearly two-thirds of American adults (62%) absolutely believe that Heaven exists, whereas barely half (51%) express the same certainty about the existence of Hell (p.26).
Those who believe in a very engaged God who is involved in the world and in people’s lives fared better insofar as mental health matters included in the survey when compared to those who believe in a very judgmental God who is critical, punishing, and angered by sin (p.14-15).
Respondents who strongly believe they have a warm relationship with God report 31 percent fewer mental issues, on average.
Those who strongly believe God knows when they need support report 19 percent fewer mental health issues, on average.
Those who strongly believe that God is responsive to them report 19 percent fewer mental health issues.
Respondents who strongly believe God’s love never fails report 17 percent fewer mental health issues, on average.
Tags: Christianity, Mental Health
November 7th, 2011 at 5:55 pm
Believing in God can help people feel more positive about life, and help steel their determination to get through difficult times. On the other hand, it can work the other way as well. I’ve known people plagued by very deep religious insecurities and fears, making it much harder for them to cope with life. Whoever invented Hell has a lot to answer for.
Sometimes it can also lead to an unhealthy sense of fatalism, seeing everything as “God’s will” and not bothering to try to improve things.
November 7th, 2011 at 6:29 pm
@ Scout apart from believing in hell as a seperation from God, I totally agree with everything you’ve said. I’ve seen – and experienced – these very things personally.
November 7th, 2011 at 6:45 pm
Why don’t you write instead “Professor John Byron brazenly nicked it from me” Then you don’t have to make any excuses, lol.
Not sure about the findings. People that trust God a lot tend to be more moral and honest in their dealings with people, whereas those that are rich/wealthy materially are the opposite. That’s how they got more wealthy in the first place in many cases. Knowing that He is there for us though is bound to have a positive effect on life outlook. Some seem to think that He is waiting round the corner with a huge stick waiting for us to do something wrong so He can bash us over the head (He isn’t, but some people do think He is unfortunately) and that can have quite a deleterious effect on someone’s mental well-being.
November 7th, 2011 at 6:56 pm
Why don’t you write instead “Professor John Byron brazenly nicked it from me” Then you don’t have to make any excuses, lol.
I like it. I read once – it may have been Hitchhikers – someone saw a great idea for a novel on the back of a cereal packet. He wrote the novel, went back in time, and published it, and then sued the cereal manufacturer for plagiarism!
On a serious note, I think you’re saying that Christians are not so ‘worldly’ and I agree with that. At least from a personal perspective, I find the ways of the world baffling.
And between you and I, I still struggle with the ‘school master’ view of God. I struggle with his love, as I generally feel unloveable.
But that’s more reflective of a personality defect than anything else.
November 7th, 2011 at 7:17 pm
Oh bottom! Nothing is original then, lol. I remember as a teenager thinking to myself ‘where does the flame go when the candle goes out?’ and I thought it was so profound…until I found nearly everyone I knew asked that question at some time in their lives. I was most put out, lol!
But no, you do not have a personality defect. The problem stems in large part from those legalistic Christians “You HAVE to do this! You HAVE to do that! Or else it’s the fires of hell for you!!!” They are the ones that tend to make the news and being so voluble and noisy are also the ones we hear in the streets (or used to at any rate). Hearing it again and again has an effect unfortunately.
Plus there is the thought, unbidden, of how someone such as He is can want anything to do with us and how can we compare? Until we realise that He doesn’t want us to compare ourselves to Him, He loves us as we are. In any relationship that can happen, not understanding how someone can love us as we are.
November 8th, 2011 at 4:44 am
Believing God has a plan for your life might improve your mental health.
The urge is to respond to this positivitly but the plan must not be compromised.