Effects of Religious Practice on Substance Abuse
Numerous studies demonstrate a significant association between religious practice and healthy behavioral habits relating to cigarettes, alcohol, and drugs. Individuals with higher levels of religious involvement have lower rates of abuse and addiction and are more likely to find long-lasting success if they ever struggled with any of these behaviors.
1. Cigarette Use
Harold Koenig and colleagues at Duke University found that religious activity was inversely related to cigarette consumption among the elderly.1) The late Feroz Ahmed and colleagues at Howard University found the same for African–American women of childbearing age.2)
1.1 Related American Demographics
According to the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 37 percent of children who attended religious services weekly have smoked, compared with those who attended between one and three times a month (45 percent), those who attended less than once a month (53 percent), and those who never attended religious services (55 percent).3) (See Chart Below)
The same federal survey shows that 16 percent of adolescents who worship at least weekly have ever smoked, used marijuana, or drank under age, followed by those who attend religious services at least once a month (24 percent), those who attend less than once monthly (27 percent), and those who never attend religious services (30 percent). 4) (See Chart )
2. Alcohol Abuse
Decades of research indicate that a higher level of religious involvement is associated with a reduced likelihood of abusing alcohol5) or drugs.6) The relationship between religious practice and the avoidance or moderate use of alcohol is well documented, whether or not denominational tenets specifically prohibit the use of alcohol.7)
Adolescents,8) psychiatric patients,9) and recovering addicts10) all show lower rates of alcohol abuse the more frequently they engage in religious activities. For adolescents, higher levels of religious practice by their mothers are related to significantly lower rates of alcohol abuse, even after controlling for religious denomination and the adolescents’ peer associations—two factors that also influence the level of drinking.11)
2.1 Related American Demographics
Youth who worship at least weekly are far less likely to get drunk than those who worship less frequently. According to the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Wave I), 19 percent of students in Grades 7-12 who attended religious services at least weekly got drunk in the past year, compared to 32 percent who worshiped at least monthly, 39 percent who worshiped less than monthly, and 35 percent who never worshiped.12) (See Chart )
Similarly, adults who attend religious services at least weekly are less likely to report that they sometimes drink too much alcohol, compared to those who worship less frequently.13) (See Chart Below)
3. Drug Abuse
Just as with alcohol, religious practice has for some time predicted significant reduction of substance abuse.14) In a comprehensive review of the academic literature on religion and substance abuse, Byron Johnson of Baylor University and his colleagues reported that, in the vast majority of studies, participation in religious activities was associated with less drug abuse. Even in cases in which individuals used drugs, the more religious were less likely to develop long-term problems.15) All of the factors related to a decrease in drug use—good family relations, doing well in school, having friends who do not use drugs, and having anti-drug attitudes—had an even more powerful deterrent effect when teenagers were also religious.16) The more dangerous the drug, the more religious practice deterred its use.17)
Just as religious practice and belief deter drug abuse, religion also has a positive effect in the treatment of drug addiction. In 1994, a seven-year follow-up study of Teen Challenge, a faith-based drug addiction program, found that the program’s graduates had significantly changed their behavior, in contrast to those who had dropped out.18) A Northwestern University study19) also found that Teen Challenge participants were more likely to remain sober and to maintain employment than were peers in control groups.20)
3.1 Related American Demographics
Similarly, according to the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, adolescents who worship at least weekly are less likely to use hard drugs than those who worship less frequently. Whereas only 8 percent of students in Grades 7-12 who worship at least weekly have ever used hard drugs, 18 percent of those who never worship admit using hard drugs.21) (See Chart)
Patrick F. Fagan, “Religious Attendance and Drinking,” Mapping America Project. Available at http://marri.us/wp-content/uploads/MA-16-18-154.pdf
Patrick F. Fagan and Althea Nagai, “'Sometimes Drinks Too Much Alcohol' by Religious Attendance,” Mapping America Project. Available at http://marri.us/wp-content/uploads/MA-85-87-177.pdf
Patrick F. Fagan, “Religious Attendance and Adolescent Use of Hard Drugs,” Mapping America Project. Available at http://marri.us/wp-content/uploads/MA-7-9-151.pdf
This entry draws heavily from 95 Social Science Reasons for Religious Worship and Practice and Why Religion Matters Even More: The Impact of Religious Practice on Social Stability.