Titus 2 Partnership’s ministry focuses on three areas of developmental goals with individuals we serve:
1.) Personal identity in Christ
2.) Experiential perception of reality
3.) Development of healthy support system in faith community
The following report demonstrates some of the physical and mental health benefits of the third goal.
Reporting on a study of 59 countries, researcher Olga Stavrova reports, “the higher the regional level of religiosity was, the stronger the positive association between religion and self-reported health.”
Death records confirmed this trend. “Religious individuals were less likely to die throughout the observation period (until 2008) than their less-religious counterparts were, regardless of how old they were at the time of data collection,” she writes. “However, this protective effect of religiosity had regional boundaries, and it was present in religious regions and absent in more secular ones.”
The real buffer promoting good health is the stress-reducing effect of living in supportive surroundings.
Stavrova sees no mystery as to why fitting comfortably into a religion-centric environment (such as the American Deep South) could convey health benefits. She notes that “individuals who are in tune with their cultural norms” more easily form strong bonds with their friends and neighbors.
“Social support, in turn, is considered a powerful factor that promotes health outcomes, such as through its stress-buffering effect,” she writes.