Quote:
Originally Posted by MarchHare
This doesn't jive with the statistics. Countries whose citizens have the longest lifespans (e.g. Japan, South Korea, Norway, Sweden, Iceland, etc.) also have very low rates of religious participation. In Norway, for example, only 3% of the population attends church each week, yet it has the third-highest lifespan in the OECD. Additionally, atheists outnumber believers in that country.
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I mean, that article linked multiple peer reviewed studies, so literally that is the relevant statistics. People in wealthy countries with healthy lifestyles also live longer, but that's a separate factor from whether religious observance improves lifespan. There are all sorts of factors that impact lifespan (gender, marital status, exercise, etc). Just because religious observance doesn't outweigh things like good nutrition and health care doesn't make it immaterial.