Snippet: Christianity is Not as Bad as You Might Think (Part 2)

Snip·pet | ˈsnipit | noun a small piece or brief extract.

Don’t miss the important caveat from my last post. But here’s one from the article called “No, Christianity Is Not as Bad as You Think.”

“Cultural narrative #3: Christianity is emotionally repressive and bad for your mental health. …to the contrary, the data shows church attendance correlated with

  • less depression;

  • less suicide;

  • less emotional-pain medicators, such as smoking and substance abuse;

  • greater social support;

  • greater meaning in life;

  • greater life satisfaction;

  • more volunteering;

  • greater civic engagement; and

  • children more likely to grow up happy.”

There’s a chart in that article from Christianity Today (link above) that shows just how much better regular church attenders score on these.

Another caveat, though. They didn’t have enough data to show if this is true for people who practice other faiths. So, at the very least it shows the impact of connecting with a faith community.

Photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash

Snippet: Christianity is Not as Bad as You Might Think

Snip·pet | ˈsnipit | noun a small piece or brief extract.

I’m going to do a series of snippets through an article called “No, Christianity Is Not as Bad as You Think.” You can go right to the article and read the whole thing or get some snippets from it over the next few posts.

For some background on this series idea, see my March 31, 2022 post: “Snippet: Too quick to believe the worst about ourselves?”

I’ll start with the opening of the article because it’s an important caveat when sharing ideas like these:

“Let’s begin with a caveat. Nothing in the following paragraphs indicates that every church is healthy or that there aren’t issues for self-reflection and repentance. Far from it. Churches aren’t programs or buildings––they’re people. And people are messy, so churches are messy. (If you don’t believe me, read 1 Corinthians or spend more than 10 minutes in any church.) Christians—and therefore churches—are imperfect. Sometimes grievously so.”

We need more caveats like these. It demonstrates humility and speaks truthfully.

It’s also sensitive to people who have been harmed by a church.

And it’s a reminder that a church is a collection of redeemed but flawed people.

That said, the next post will offer some evidence that there’s a lot of good to be mined and considered.

Photo by Ashley Jurius on Unsplash