Religiosity and Health

Guest: Cameron Hopkin, Visiting Assistant Professor of Psychology at BYU  We think of religion as a spiritual practice, but it’s also found to have a large effect on people’s physical health. For instance, research in the last 20 years has found people who are religiously observant are less likely to abuse substances or engage in risky sexual behavior. They’re also less like to have cardiovascular disease and cancer. The question is WHY? What is it about being religiously observant that leads to positive health outcomes?