Get to the pews, people.

An interesting report from Pew Charitable Trust. Religion’s Relationship to Happiness, Civic Engagement and Health Around the World. Related to my on-going discussion of the undervaluation of religious observance.

People who are active in religious congregations tend to be happier and more civically engaged than either religiously unaffiliated adults or inactive members of religious groups, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of survey data from the United States and more than two dozen other countries.

Religiously active people also tend to smoke and drink less, but they are not healthier in terms of exercise frequency and rates of obesity. Nor, in most countries, are highly religious people more likely to rate themselves as being in very good overall health – though the U.S. is among the possible exceptions.

In the US, the religiously engaged are:

49% more likely to be engaged with at least one non-religious civic activity than the unaffiliated

44% more likely to vote

44% more likely to report being very happy

28% more likely to report good health

18% less likely to smoke

11% less likely to be obese

These are dramatically higher results than most public policy achievements in these areas. Get to the pews, people.