These effects are intergenerational, as grandparents and parents pass on the benefits to the next generations. George Washington articulated the indispensability of the freedom of religious practice in his farewell address to the nation:. The practice of religion is a powerful antidote to many of our nation's pressing social ills, many of which have reached historically high proportions. Yet, despite the societal benefits of religion, the expression of faith in the public square has faced many challenges.
Social science research indicates that permitting and accommodating free religious practice is necessary to move society in positive directions.
See Effects of Religious Practice on Education. Because education is important in so many ways for all citizens, any factor that promotes academic achievement is important to the common good. Academic expectations, level of education attained, school attendance, and academic performance are all positively affected by religious practice. The greater the parents' religious involvement, the more likely they will have higher educational expectations for their children, and the more likely they will communicate with their children about schooling.
Patrick Fagan and Dr. Students in religiously affiliated schools tend to exhibit a higher level of academic achievement than their peers in secular schools, particularly in low-income urban neighborhoods. For example, studies continue to find that inner-city students in public schools lag behind in educational achievement, compared with students in Catholic schools. The cultural values of a religious community are also a significant pathway to academic success for adolescents.
For example, to earn a high school diploma or take advanced math courses, children must plan for the future and structure their activities accordingly. Religious communities typically invest in forming an ethic of such discipline and persistence. A recent study confirms both this indirect contribution of religious community values and the direct influence of the students' own religious activities in promoting academic achievement.
Earlier studies found this same relationship between religious practice and academic discipline. For example, in , the groundbreaking work of Richard Freeman of Harvard University revealed that attendance at religious services and activities positively affected inner-city youth school attendance, work activity, and allocation of time—all of which were further linked to a decreased likelihood of engaging in deviant activities.
See Effects of Religious Practice on Charity. Religious practice is linked to greater generosity in charitable giving and volunteering. In extensive research documenting the relationship between religion and philanthropy, Arthur Brooks of the American Enterprise Institute found that religious people were 25 percent more likely than their secular counterparts to donate money and 23 percent more likely to volunteer time.
Even when it came to nonreligious causes, religious people were more generous. It is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts. Newsletters Donate My Account. Research Topics. For more details on how Americans say they relate to God, see Chapter 1. One-third of religiously unaffiliated Americans say they thanked God for something in the past week, and one-in-four have asked God for help in the past week. For more details, see Chapter 1.
Having regular conversations about religion is most common among evangelicals and people who belong to churches in the historically black Protestant tradition. For more details on how often Americans talk about religion, see Chapter 1. For more details on volunteering, see Chapter 1. For more details on meditation and stress, see Chapter 1. For more details on how Americans make purchasing decisions, see Chapter 1.
For more details, see Chapter 3. For more details, see Chapter 2. Religious Landscape Study, the main source of data for this report. See Putnam, Robert D. Some prior studies also have found linkages between religious behavior and better health outcomes, though the reasons for this are debated.
See, for example, Blasi, Anthony J. For example, Jewish, Muslim and Buddhist respondents would have been asked if these behaviors are essential to what being Jewish, Muslim and Buddhist means to them. Because some respondents completed the survey by mail in a paper-and-pencil format, however, it was not feasible to program the questionnaire with language specific to more than a few religious groups.
Religious Landscape Study national telephone survey. For more details about the American Trends Panel, see the Methodology. Pagination Next: 1. Table of Contents Religion in Everyday Life Profile of those who are highly religious, less religious 1. Religion and wellbeing around the world: social purpose, social time, or social insurance? Wellbeing 4, 1— Hayward, R. Hill, P. Advances in the conceptualization and measurement of religion and spirituality: implications for physical and mental health research.
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