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Religious Involvement, Health Status, and Mortality Risk

2011; Springer Nature (Netherlands); Linguagem: Inglês

10.1007/978-1-4419-7374-0_33

2542-839X

Terrence D. Hill, Amy M. Burdette, Ellen Idler,

Religion, Society, and Development

Religious involvement – indicated by observable feelings, beliefs, activities, and experiences in relation to spiritual, divine, or supernatural entities – is a prevalent and powerful force in the lives of older adults. Despite evidence of secularization and the declining significance of religious institutions (Chaves 1994), elderly Americans continue to exhibit high rates of religious involvement. According to national estimates from the 2008 General Social Survey, a large percentage of adults aged 65 and older affiliate with religious groups (93%), characterize their affiliations as strong (56%), attend religious services weekly or more (42%), pray at least once per day (68%), and believe that the Bible is the actual word of God and is to be taken literally (37%). These figures are remarkable in their own right. They also inspire countless questions concerning the consequences of religious involvement in late life.