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Impact Of Faith On Youth Mental Health

by | Thu, Nov 17 2022

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A researcher who studies young people has found that those who pray and have a connection with God are more likely to flourish in their overall happiness and mental health.

Dr. Josh Packard of the Springtide Research Institute says his extensive research into 13 to 25-year-olds concluded that religion is beneficial for young people.

“Faith and spirituality are good for you. If you’re a person who believes in some kind of higher power and has a connection to that higher power, you’re generally flourishing more than your peers,” he concluded.

“Those who pray more tend to be flourishing more in all areas including their mental health.”

Dr. Packard believes: “Young people would be better off if more of them had a connection to something bigger than themselves.”

“I think a lot of religious institutions and leaders would do well to take mental health into account, so that faith and belief could be appropriately part of somebody’s overall approach to health.”

Faithwire reports his findings coincide with a mental health epidemic among young people.

Dr. Packard observed that while they might not be aligning with Christianity as much as they used to, many young people still see themselves as spiritual, and more than half pray.

“We see lots of desire from Gen-Z  to embark on these conversations and explorations of meaning and purpose and ‘Why am I here on this Earth?’ So the desire hasn’t gone away. The exploration hasn’t gone away.”

His findings back up other studies revealing the benefits of faith on mental health.