Nearly 100 percent of evangelical Protestants believe that prayer, reading the Bible, and living out a strong Christian faith impact mental health in a positive way, says a report released Thursday by Infinity Concepts and Grey Matter Research.
Noting that rarely is any group of people, including evangelical Protestants, in nearly entire agreement, Infinity Concepts, a self-described “integrated marketing-communications agency inspiring people of faith to action,” and Grey Matter Research, a consulting firm that specializes in serving Christian organizations, says results of the current study is unique.
“When we explore with them things such as whether they believe people can be healed through prayer or whether activities such as prayer and Bible reading have a positive impact on both mental and physical health, they almost universally agree on these matters,” the firms assert in the study’s executive summary.
The study also found very high agreement among evangelicals with regard to Christian faith practices and physical health:
- 96 percent believe reading the Bible contributes to positive physical health – 74 percent believe this strongly
- 96 percent believe a strong Christian faith contributes to positive physical health – 77 percent believe this strongly
- 98 percent believe prayer contributes to positive physical health – 82 percent believe this strongly
“These beliefs are so universal it is difficult to identify any specific types of evangelicals who hold these beliefs more strongly than others,” the report observes. “The main difference is that the more spiritually engaged someone is—meaning frequently attending church and small group, reading and studying the Bible, and praying—the more strongly they believe these things contribute positively to their lives.”
Nevertheless, the study also notes:
[E]ven among people with low spiritual engagement, more than nine out of ten believe each of these things; they simply do not believe them as strongly as people with greater spiritual engagement. For example, while 82% of those with full spiritual engagement strongly believe reading the Bible contributes to positive physical health, this drops to 68% among evangelicals with low spiritual engagement.
Despite these strong beliefs, the report notes that evangelicals, like all humans, “all too frequently do the wrong things for our own well-being.”
For example, the study found that 60 percent of evangelicals who believe reading the Bible contributes to mental health do not read it daily, and 26 percent do not even read the Bible monthly.
Similarly, only 15 percent of those who strongly believe a sound Christian faith has a positive impact on mental health actually have a “full spiritual engagement,” such as a regular church or small group attendance, reading and study of the Bible, and prayer.
“Six out of ten (59%) evangelicals who are confident a strong Christian faith can benefit them mentally and physically only have moderate or low engagement in spiritual practices,” said Ron Sellers, founder and president of Grey Matter Research.
Nevertheless, the study found other nearly universal beliefs among evangelicals, including 99 percent who believe God can heal them through prayer, and 99 percent who also believe praying for someone who is sick can help improve that individual’s physical health.
“For evangelicals, it appears spiritual wellness is inextricably intertwined with both physical and mental wellness,” Mark Dreistadt, president and CEO of Infinity Concepts, said.
“When we explore things such as whether they believe people can be healed through prayer or whether activities such as prayer and Bible reading have a positive impact on both mental and physical health, they almost universally agree,” he added. “That’s something we rarely see.”
According to the consulting firms, the study was conducted online in early 2023, “through a blend of research access panels,” with 1,010 evangelical Protestants.
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Susan Berry, PhD, is national education editor at The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected]
