According to a peer-reviewed study published in PLOS ONE, adults who attend church regularly are not only less stressed — they’re also less likely to die early.
Researchers looked at data from thousands of adults and found that people who never go to church had significantly higher allostatic load, which is essentially the body’s long-term stress score. It reflects how much chronic stress has worn down your system — including signs like high blood pressure, inflammation and other physiological markers.
“It’s not just about health behaviors — something about religious involvement seems to provide protection against the cumulative effects of stress,” the researchers wrote.
But the most striking finding? People who attended church more than once a week had a 55% lower risk of dying during the study’s 14-year follow-up period than those who didn’t attend at all.
Even after adjusting for factors like income, diet, exercise and social support, the connection between church attendance and better health held steady. Interestingly, it didn’t really matter whether people went weekly or monthly; just showing up seemed to make a difference.
While going to church won’t magically erase anxiety, the data suggests it could be part of a bigger picture — where faith, community and consistent spiritual practices help buffer the chaos of everyday life.
