Prejudice against is found in people all over the world. Psychologist Will Gervais came to this conclusion during the study. Residents of all continents assume that immoral acts (including even serial murders) are more often committed by unbelievers. According to polls, Americans trust atheists less than members of any other social group. So, for most politicians, going to church is a great way to gain popular support in elections, and declaring that you are not a believer can ruin a career. And, of course, it is no coincidence that there is not a single openly atheist in the US Congress.
Undoubtedly, in the main world religions, much attention is paid to morality. Hence, many conclude that religious conviction is a sign of virtue. Others generally argue that without religion there is no morality. However, both of these statements can be called into question.
First, the ethical beliefs of one movement may be unacceptable from the point of view of another. Thus, in the 19th century, Mormons considered polygamy to be their moral duty, while for Catholics it was a mortal sin. Moreover, the moral behavior of members of a particular group often includes aggression towards others. For example, in 1543, one of the founders of Protestantism, Martin Luther, published a treatise "On the Jews and Their Lies", which outlined anti-Semitic ideas that have been popular among representatives of various sects for centuries. These examples also prove that religious morality must change over time. And it is really changing: for example, relatively recently, the Anglican Church allowed contraception and the wedding of same-sex couples, and women bishops appeared.
In any case, religiosity is only distantly related to theology. That is, the beliefs and behavior of believers do not always fully comply with the official religious doctrine. For example, officially Buddhism is a religion without God, but most of its followers regard Buddha as a deity. The Catholic Church actively opposes contraception, but most Catholics still use contraception. And such deviations from doctrine are the norm rather than the exception.
Scientists conducted a study in which participants were asked to evaluate their own character and behavior. The survey results showed that religious respondents consider themselves more selfless, sympathetic, honest, merciful than atheists. This dynamic persisted even in the case of twins, one of whom is more religious than the other. But if you look at the actual behavior, it turns out that there are no differences.
This is evidenced, for example, by the classic experiment "The Good Samaritan", during which researchers tracked which of the passers-by would stop to help a wounded man on the street. Scientists concluded that religiosity did not play any role in the behavior of the participants. It is interesting that some of them were just going to speak on the topic of this parable, but this also did not affect their actions in any way.
On the other hand, various traditions and signals associated with religion can influence human behavior. For example, studies of American Christians have shown that they donate more money to charity on Sundays and watch less porn. However, on the rest of the week, they compensate for the situation on both counts, so there is no difference in the average results of religious people and atheists.
In addition, different religions have different effects on those who adhere to them. For example, if people believe that their God gives some moral guidelines and punishes for breaking the rules, then they try to be fairer and even less likely to cheat when making deals. These are the results of an international study. That is, if a person believes that all his thoughts are known to God, who punishes sinners, then he tries to behave better.
But it should be noted that it is not only religion that can lead to more moral behavior, but also belief in the force of the law, an honest court and reliable police. And, as a rule, if the laws are strictly observed, then religion no longer influences people so much and mistrust towards atheists also decreases.
Introduction
In modern Russia, there is a revival of the phenomenon of spontaneous, non-traditional, non-canonical religiosity. The majority of the population is unfamiliar, if not simply alien, traditional forms of religious life. The return to religion occurs not as a result of church preaching, but as a result of the self-development of secular culture and ideology. The media, cultural figures representing certain political and national interests, play an almost greater role in the process of religious renewal than the clergy.
Modern religiosity is distinguished by the ease of adopting a new religious experience, new religious concepts, but at the same time the complexity of a complete break with the Russian-Soviet cultural tradition and therefore the predetermination of various forms of interaction with Orthodoxy. And it often gives rise to fair criticism by the practice of a religious organization and the activities of its leaders.
These reasons induce a person to search for the meaning of life, a system of values in the sphere of anti-spirituality, leading him away from the realization of objective interests, and in critical situations - putting his mental health and life itself at risk. The spiritual anemia of society, generated by the crisis in the economy, politics and the social sphere, undermines the cultural soil, deprives a person of the ability to adapt to life circumstances and the twists and turns of individual destiny.
Only striving for goodness, truth and justice can resist such destruction of the foundations of social and individual life. In this impulse of his soul, a person encounters many obstacles, experiences the pain of loss and humiliation, a heavy oppression of fear and despair. Therefore, he needs consolation, support, help. He expects love and forgiveness from other people, looks for them in religion, he has the right to count on this from the social policy of the state.
Therefore, in my essay, I will try to find out how the Orthodox religion affects society in a moral sense and what role it plays in performing a number of functions in society.
Social functions of religion
Religion has a number of functions and plays a role in society. The concepts of "function" and "role" are related, but not identical. Function - these are the modes of action of religion in society, the role is the total result, the consequences of its performance of functions.
Several functions of religion are distinguished: ideological, compensatory, communicative, regulatory, integrating-disintegrating, cultural-translating, legitimizing-de-legitimizing.
World outlook function religion realizes due to the presence in it of a certain type of views on man, society, nature. There is no branch of knowledge that would fully answer all questions of human existence; every science, even an extremely broad one, has its own research framework. In religion, even archaic, a system of answers to all questions is built. The problem is not how true these answers are, but the fact that, unlike science, they are.
Religion fulfills compensatory function, making up for the limitations, dependence, powerlessness of people - both in terms of consciousness and in terms of changing the conditions of existence. Real oppression is overcome by freedom in spirit; social inequality turns into equality in sins, in suffering; disunity and isolation are replaced by brotherhood in the community; the impersonal and indifferent communication of individuals is replaced by communication with the deity and other believers. The psychological consequence of such compensation is stress relief, experienced as comfort, purification, pleasure, even if it happens in an illusory way.
Religion, by providing real communication, fulfills communicative function. Communication develops both in religious and non-religious activities. In the process of information exchange, interaction, a believer gets the opportunity to contact people according to established rules, which facilitate the process of communication and entry into a certain environment. The requirements for communication between believers, adopted in almost all existing religions, help to fill the atmosphere of interaction with humanistic content, a spirit of friendliness and respect.
Regulatory function religion is carried out with the help of certain ideas, values, attitudes, stereotypes, opinions, traditions, customs, institutions that govern the activities, consciousness and behavior of individuals, groups, communities. The system of religious morality and law is especially important. The most striking examples of the impact of religious law can be found in societies characterized by national and religious homogeneity. Each religion has its own system of monitoring the implementation of moral precepts. In Christianity, this is a confession to which a believer must come with a certain regularity. According to the results of confession, as well as actions that were committed explicitly, a measure of punishment or encouragement is assigned. Moreover, such "retribution" can be valid or postponed for an indefinite period.
Integrating-disintegrating function religion is manifested in the fact that religion, in one respect, unites, unites religious groups, and in another - separates them. Integration is carried out within the limits in which a more or less unified confession is recognized. If in a society there are different, moreover, opposing confessions, then religion performs a disintegrating function. Sometimes this can even happen against the wishes of the current religious leaders, since the previous experience of confronting religious confessions can always be used for the purposes of current politics.
Religion, being an integral part of culture, fulfills cultural-translating function. Especially in the early stages of the development of human society, accompanied by destructive wars, religion contributed to the development and preservation of certain layers of culture - writing, printing, painting, music, architecture. But at the same time, religious organizations accumulated, protected and developed only those values that were related to religious culture. There are well-known facts of destruction of books and works of art by churchmen, which reflected views opposite to those officially proclaimed by religion.
Legitimating-de-legitimizing function means the legitimization of certain social orders, institutions (state, political, legal, etc.), relations, norms, patterns as they should, or, conversely, the assertion of the illegality of some of them. For a long time, an indispensable attribute of the legitimacy of state power was considered to be the consecration by the church of the accession to the throne of one or another sovereign. Until now, when presidents of some countries take office, an oath is taken on a holy book, revered by the country's leading religion. The custom of taking an oath confirming the veracity of words at the hearing is also preserved, also on the holy book. Religion can both deprive power of its legitimacy, and push society to overthrow this power in one way or another.
The Role of Religious Peace in Society
The result, the consequences of the performance by religion of its functions, the significance of its actions, that is, its role, have been and are different. There are some principles that help to analyze the role of religion objectively, concretely, historically, given certain characteristics of place and time.
In modern conditions the role of religion cannot be considered initial and decisive, although religion has a great impact on economic relations and other spheres of society. The religious factor affects the economy, politics, interethnic relations, family, culture through the activities of believing individuals, groups, organizations, sanctioning certain views. But both the views and activities of believers in all areas of public life are subjected to the opposite influence of objective factors in the development of the economy, politics, and culture. Religious relations "overlap" with other social relations.
Religion affects society in accordance with its specific features,reflected in the doctrine, cult, organization, ethics, rules of relation to the world. It also represents a systemic education, including a number of elements and connections: consciousness with its own features and levels, extra-cult and cult relations and activities, institutions for orientation in religious and non-religious areas.
Currently, it is widely believed that universal human and religious ideals and moral norms coincide. This confusion does not take into account a number of factors.
First, religion reflects relations that are universal for all societies, regardless of their type; secondly, religion reflects relations inherent in this type of society (here identity already disappears); thirdly, religion reflects the relations developing in syncretic societies; fourthly, religion reflects the conditions of existence of different estates, groups, classes, represents different cultures. There are even three world religions, not to mention the multitude of national, regional, tribal ones.
The moral significance of the religious worldview on society
Any system of worldview develops its own principles of understanding nature, society and man. The religious system also contains these principles, but if the exact, natural and social sciences offer various methods for describing and solving problems, then religion, with all the versatility of methods of influencing a person, has one method - moral impact. At the same time, each religious organization strives for the position of the only public arbiter, assuming the role of the highest judge in matters of morality. This is due to the fact that the moral norms of a secular society are more likely to be modified in the process of historical development than the "unshakable" commandments of religion. From the traditional religious point of view, morality is bestowed on man from above, its basic norms and concepts are formulated directly by the deity, recorded in the sacred books, and people must strictly follow them. With this understanding, morality cannot appear without and outside of religion, and true morality does not exist without religion.
In fact, moral relations are rooted in society, have their own source of origin, development and improvement, grow out of the thick of human relationships, reflect the real practice of human society. At the dawn of mankind, the system of prohibitions was formed by trial and error in a constant struggle for survival. At that time there was still no division of the spheres of spiritual life; the religious way of thinking prevailed. The developed moral norms could be consolidated only in a religious form.
The strengths of religious morality include the outward simplicity of answers to the most complex moral problems, the firm provision of the criteria for moral values, ideals and requirements, their peculiar integrity and orderliness. The ready-made answers that are available in the system of religious morality are capable of evoking a certain emotional and psychological peace of the ethical consciousness of people. The strong side of religious morality can be attributed to the formulation of the problem of human responsibility for committed acts.
With a difference in the views of religious and non-religious people on the source of moral values, in practice they can lead a similar moral way of life, share the same principles, and equally understand what is good and evil. It is not a non-religious position that is dangerous, but a position in which there are no firm spiritual and moral foundations, objective values, regardless of whether they are religious or non-religious. An irreligious choice makes a person think about such problems that a believer does not have, because an irreligious person does not have to rely on the help of God, all that remains is to rely only on his own strength. This requires tremendous courage, intellectual and volitional resources, spiritual maturity and moral health.
Relationship between religion and society
Religion exists in society not as an alien body, but as one of the manifestations of the life of a social organism. Religion cannot be isolated from social life, it cannot be outside the connection with society, but the nature and degree of this connection at different stages of historical development is not the same. With the strengthening of social differentiation, the independence of various spheres of social life increases. Society is evolving from integrity, in which all components are fused together, to integrity, which represents the unity of diversity.
It is possible to speak of religion as a specific social phenomenon only in relation to rather late periods of history. And in these epochs, along with religion, other social systems already exist that have their own functions. The activities of religion and other social systems are closely intertwined; it is possible to single out the special functions of religion in society only with a certain approach. This approach assumes that any social action is a subjectively meaningful action focused on certain values. The question of the relationship between religion and society is the question of the role of religion in motivating social behavior.
Influencing the motivation of human behavior, religion generates certain results of life, and itself, in turn, is a product of the life of society (i.e., a social phenomenon). Religion can have an impact on society only if its internal organization corresponds to the organization of the whole society (the internal structure of an element of the system should be similar to the structure of the entire system) is subordinated to the same tasks as the social structure as a whole.
The influence of religious morality on the development of society
The Church is actively trying to influence not only believers, but the entire society, promoting values that it recognizes as basic. It should be noted that in assessing the social development of Russian society, the Orthodox Church, for example, adheres to humanistic views on the problems of ecology, demography, social conflicts, and the relationship of various religious organizations. But at the same time, it is emphasized that it is the Orthodox Church that has always been the keeper of the best traditions of the people and its unifier in difficult times.
That is why the church claims to be the main arbiter in moral matters. This situation is also due to the fact that the rapid technical and social development is currently not supported by generally recognized and binding moral standards. Moral assessments of what is happening are based on unsteady criteria of momentary benefit, benefit, individual freedom. Human life is losing value. In this regard, the Catholic Church, for example, through the mouth of its Pope John Paul II, condemned all types of murder. These include the death penalty for criminals, abortion and euthanasia.. The encyclical mentions really serious arguments: judicial and medical errors and abuse, refusal of a person from responsibility for his and sensitive life. But the main argument is still the thesis that suffering "belongs to the transcendental in man: this is one of those points at which a person goes beyond himself and approaches God." Depriving a person of suffering, protecting him from unnecessary torment, thus, is an obstacle to his unification by the multitude, does not allow him to know real joy in the “next” world. As you can see, the church raises really important moral problems that society is not ready to unambiguously solve, but the answers to these difficult questions are being prepared according to the old recipe.
The calls of the church receive a completely different response when they are accompanied by activities for the real implementation of moral standards. The charitable work of priests and monks in prisons, hospitals, nursing homes and orphanages, in contrast to the activities of numerous charitable foundations that "launder" money, is filled with real warmth and sympathetic attitude towards people. The assistance that members of religious organizations provide to those in need is not specialized - legal, psychological or pedagogical. But its effectiveness is much higher - it is based on the principles of philanthropy. At the same time, the propaganda of religious doctrine is never forgotten, and the ranks of believers are constantly growing.
Conclusion
The problem of our society is not what system of worldview a person prefers, but how he realizes his beliefs in the existing social reality. Believers and atheists alike can work together effectively to build a just society.
Reliable functioning and survival of society presupposes the continuity and stability of its life, and the socially appropriate behavior of its members. This is achieved by a system of prohibitions, taboos, norms, values that can give a perfect look to social processes, “fill” the gaps in the social fabric, in the general orientation of people, thereby providing conditions for the ultimate intensification of the “inner world of a person: purposefulness, confidence, consistency. In an environment where such mechanisms cannot be constructed from real elements of life, from available, obvious facts and arguments, extremely reliable regulators and values presuppose correlation with supernatural forces.It is in this case that religion enhances the stability and survival of the social organism. feel the need to solve fundamental semantic problems that are eternal. The search goes in different directions, including in the mainstream of religion. Therefore, the future of religion in our society depends on how soon the conditions will be created for solving such problems in a secular way that does not require addressing I am to the idea of God, to the religious motivation of moral values and norms.
Literature
1. Lobazova O.F. "Religious Studies" 2005
2. http://5ka.com.ua/41/34302/1.html
3. Arch. Augustine. The Church and the Future of Russia 1996. No. 6.
4. Makin S. Savior of Faith and Fatherland 1996. No. 11-12.
Many people find it difficult to understand why religion is needed today. And this is not surprising, because the 21st century is outside the window, when it seems that all natural phenomena have long been explained from the point of view of science, and the dogmas of Christianity, Islam and other religions themselves have lost all meaning.
But this is only at first glance. If you look deeper into this issue, it turns out that the functions of religion in society today are no less relevant than in the Middle Ages. Let's figure it out in order.
How did the first religions come about?
It is impossible to say with complete certainty which religion was the first; most likely, it was one of the pagan beliefs. At the dawn of its formation, humanity could not explain the seemingly simple phenomena of nature, be it thunder, lightning or wind. So people began to deify nature around them.
This was done for several purposes - it made it easier to understand nature and control the fear of the unknown. People had their own patron gods, which gave them confidence in everyday life, in war, in campaigns and voyages. This can be clearly seen in the example of Ancient Greece, where each profession had its own supreme patron.
Later, the need for new beliefs arose, the old religions no longer corresponded to the development of society - many of them lacked morality, which led to the decay of society. Partly for this reason, early Christianity gained such a rapid spread, since in it the functions of religion were evenly spelled out in the form of commandments.
Religion as a deterrent to animal instincts
The basis in any religion is moral teaching, that is, the promotion of the positive qualities inherent in a person, and the containment of negative ones. Positive characteristics include kindness (love your neighbor as yourself), honesty, sincerity, etc. And negative ones include envy, greed, lust and other vices inherent in man.
In his teaching, Jesus emphasized the importance of love for one's neighbor, self-sacrifice. His crucifixion on the cross is also symbolic, which means not so much atonement for the sins of all mankind as self-sacrifice: he gave the most valuable thing he had - his life - for the sake of people. Thus, an example of selflessness was set for people.
The social functions of religion in society are to maintain a balance between animal instincts and human qualities. And one of the key tasks of religion is to regulate human behavior so that he does not succumb to his weaknesses and does not do something bad.
The ideological function of religion
Human consciousness is structured in such a way that it requires an understandable explanation of the surrounding world. From the moment of birth until death, a person seeks to learn new things and find an explanation for everything that he sees. But not everything that is around us could be explained logically until recently, and even today there are inexplicable things. This ideological task was undertaken by religion, instilling norms of behavior on the example of biblical characters and showing what can happen if these norms are violated.
Until the twentieth century, no one doubted the educational function of religion, and only with the fall of morality on faith began to hang many negative labels. We will not deny that today Christianity itself is already violating its own commandments, but we must admit that in its original form it brought order and organization to society, providing a stable basis for its development.
Also, do not forget that it is important for a person to live a meaningful life, and for many such a meaning was given and is given by faith in higher powers.
The Unifying Role of Faith
One of the functions of religion is to unite people, to unite them within the framework of society. It is for this reason that in times of crisis in history people turn to faith. The simplest example: during a war, when not only the solidarity of people is required, but also the raising of their military spirit. Even during the Great Patriotic War, this was remembered, although the very ideology of communism denies the existence of God as such!
But there are also negative examples in history - crusades or jihad (translated as "holy war"). Under good intentions, terrible military conflicts were unleashed, leading to many casualties and destruction. And it cannot be said that all this has remained in the past and will never be repeated.
The compensatory function of religion
From time immemorial, people came to temples in search of consolation, trying to drown out their inner pain. This is the function of religion in society as an outlet for a person, where he can calmly speak out and find peace. The priest in this case fulfills to some extent the role of a psychologist, and to some extent - an intermediary between God and man. After all, it is on his behalf that he forgives sins and gives advice to the penitent, thereby giving him relief.
Of course, today not so many people come to church in search of consolation, however, it cannot be said that the function of religion as a compensator for mental suffering has been lost. It has survived, although it is not so obvious to many today. Part of its role is performed by psychologists, providing the necessary psychological assistance to those who need it.
Religion and marriage
According to statistics, up to 80% of married marriages break up today. Moreover, the majority in the first few years of life together, young people simply cannot stand a joint life.
Why is this happening now, but did not happen in pre-revolutionary Russia or under the USSR? After all, it would seem that life has become much easier than a century ago, but the number of divorces continues to grow, and the birth rate is falling. And note that this happens mainly in traditionally Christian countries, and not in Muslim countries, where the functions of religion in human life have not lost their relevance, and the commandments are strictly observed today.
The answer suggests itself: young people getting married do not take this step with due seriousness. For many, the words "Both in sorrow and in joy" do not carry the proper meaning, but remain just words. At the first difficulties, they file for divorce, and more often it is done by women, who, logically, should be interested in preserving the family.
Previously, it was not so: when they got married, people understood that they would have to live together their whole lives. And the dominant role of the husband in the family was confirmed not only by the very fact that it was he who played the main role of the breadwinner in the family, but also by religion. It was not for nothing that the expression "Husband from God" existed, that is, given to a woman as a husband once and for all.
Controlling Life Through Religion
Faith provided not only guidelines for correct behavior and logical meaningfulness of life, but also performed a managerial function in society. She regulated relationships in society in various social groups and between them. She tried to reconcile the rich and the poor, thereby preventing the development of social conflicts.
Let's summarize
Having analyzed what functions religion performs in society, one can understand why religions not only arose, but were also actively supported by the state. Thanks to faith, meaning appeared in the life of an ordinary person and order was maintained in society itself, and this made it possible for its full development, at least until some historical period.
In our time, religion performs the same functions as it did centuries ago. And we must admit that even with the development of technology, humanity is not able to do without it.
Religion is not just a belief in God, but a whole system that determines the rules of human behavior in society. In the course of the conducted research, scientists were able to establish that people who believe in God are more benevolent in nature. According to scientists, the reason for this phenomenon is the better adaptation of believers to external environmental factors, which arises due to the presence of self-control, which manifests itself in them at a much higher level than in non-believers.
Scientists also decided to find out how religion affects a person in the physical plane. Research has shown that prayer and worship have beneficial effects on certain areas of the believer's brain, leading to improved emotional control. Acting according to the canons approved by God himself, a person becomes more confident in his righteousness, which contributes to the emergence of balance and a greater degree of protection from vices and diseases.
You can understand how religion affects the economy by abstractly presenting a certain model of modern society, which is 100 percent Christians who do not steal, do not envy, help each other and all their aspirations are directed towards a creative channel for the good of Mankind. Of course, the GDP in such a universal system will take a leading position in comparison with the most developed countries without Christian morality. That is, non-observance of the commandments slows down the economic development of society.
Atheists' attempts to create a new society without God led to the fact that the revolution of 1917 became a stumbling block on the path of economic development of the once prosperous state. Because fighting religion means destroying the foundations of society's morality and opening the way for bribery, embezzlement, fraud, contract killings and other vices that easily take over the thoughts of a person who does not have an inner spiritual core.
With the power of faith and deep human inclinations, they repeatedly try to speculate who want to get their personal religion, power and source of profit. In order to learn how to found a religion, it is enough just to study the psychology of a person, his strengths and weaknesses. By skillfully manipulating these qualities, many hunters of human gullibility have achieved impressive results today. Departing from the true canons of the church, these false preachers of pseudo-religious cults have founded their successfully thriving business based on deception and fraud.
And, surprisingly, sometimes their virtuoso ability to persuade reaches such perfection that even Christians begin to think about the correctness of their faith. Before changing religion, you need to seriously think about the correctness of the choice and the fatal mistake that can be made without thoroughly examining the issue. It is worth talking to the priest and understanding the reasons for the doubts. Or study the essence of the issue on your own, referring to the study of literature and the origins of the origin of a particular faith. Or you can ask God for help so that He shows the way to the right choice and removes the way of lying. Sincere prayer will always be heard and help will come immediately!
The culture
There is no doubt that the life of a believer is different from that of an atheist. The influence of religion on human life is obvious. But, perhaps you are not aware of some of the things that have become a consequence of your faith in God. Moreover, it can be something positive or negative.
So, faith in God ....
1. Helps you keep away from unhealthy foods
Truly religious people eat healthier foods than atheists. In January 2012, the results of a study were published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, during which scientists invited volunteers to take tests and play games in one way or another related to religion. Scientists have come to many interesting conclusions, in particular, they found that faith in God helps young people to keep themselves from eating unhealthy foods.
2. ... and nevertheless contributes to excess weight
Young people who frequent religious events are 50 percent more likely to become overweight as they age than those who do not attend church, according to a study presented at the American Heart Association conference in March 2011. Perhaps this is due to the religious holidays, during which a large amount of delicious food is eaten. However, the researchers note that these results should not be taken as a statement that believers are in poor health. It has been proven that believers live longer than atheists, if only because they drink less and do not smoke.
3. Makes you happier
Believers are more likely to feel happy than atheists. According to research published in December 2010 in the American Sociological Review, the secret to the happiness of religious people is that they feel part of a community and regularly interact with people who have common interests with them. In church and at various religious events, people make friends and do not feel lonely.
4. Saves from depression
Believers, like everyone else, suffer from depression, but it is easier for them to get rid of this condition. According to a 1998 study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry, elderly patients hospitalized with a physical illness and who also suffered from depression were more likely to recover from their depression when faith in God was an integral part of their lives. A recent study published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology in 2010 found that believing in God leads to better treatment for depression.
5. Encourages you to check your health more often
In a 1998 study published in the journal Health Education & Behavior, researchers at the University of California at Los Angeles found that regular church attendants were more likely to see their doctors for preventive purposes, in particular, they were more likely to do mammography. About 75 percent of the 1,517 women who attended church had regular mammograms (breast examinations), while only 60 percent of the 510 women who did not go to church regularly underwent these examinations.
6. Lowers your blood pressure
People who regularly attend church have lower blood pressure than those who do not go to church, according to a 2011 study from Norway. It has been proven that people who attend church at least three times a month have lower blood pressure compared to less religious people. Similar results were noted in a study conducted in the United States. Moreover, a certain relationship was noticed: the more often a person attends church, the lower his blood pressure. People who attend church rarely have the same pressure as those who don't.
