Church: a place to find health?

"Whether you attend church or not, the spiritual idea of Church is always available to help and to heal you."

By Philip G. Davis

Have You Ever thought of church as a place of safety and protection? Of course, the idea is not new. In medieval times, Christian abbeys and churches offered a legal refuge to those who had committed unpremeditated crimes. The term used then was sanctuary.

But what about a concept of protection that goes beyond a legal provision or a physical structure? Can church really provide a defense against the evils surrounding us? Can we find practical good, even health, through church?

Two Yale University studies concluded late last year that "attending religious services may improve ... health and psychological well-being ...." The first report found that there was a lower frequency of unhealthy behaviors, like smoking and drinking, among those who attended religious services. The second report found that attendance at worship services was a good predictor of better functional ability later in life. Researchers acknowledged that "there was an intangible quality to [the participants'] overall health that could not be explained by the scientific study."

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