Religion and Study

Even for those students who are not students of theology, religion or spirituality can make a big difference to happiness, mental health and stress levels. Spirituality isn’t necessarily found in religion, for many people it is in a sense of community or camaraderie. For some this can be achieved through sports affiliations or club memberships that encourage a sense of working or creating together toward a common goal.

Counselling services, even those that aren’t rooted in religious doctrine, provide the introspection and insight required for spiritual peace. Students without a specific religious affiliation will often find the same sense of well-being from a counselling session that a religious person would find in a church or from a ritual like confession. For those that think they might do better with a religion and don’t have one of their own already, or for those raised atheist or agnostic who are curious about whether religion is the kind of scene that would provide them with emotional fulfilment, most places of worship are pretty open and offer a pretty decent range of deities to choose from.

Students of theology of course study religion every day and part of that certainly involves the spiritual aspects of worship so the obvious question is, are they happier because of it? The answer would seem to be yes. Studies show that people involved with religion report being happy with their lives 10% more than agnostic or atheist people. Scientists have concluded that this is probably due to belief systems and social support within the community.  Do belief and support systems have to come from religion to be effective? Probably not, but if religion does work for you, the proven happiness and mental health that comes from it might make the college years a little easier.