Health and Biological Functioning

Abstract

Numerous studies suggest that religious involvement tends to favor healthy biological functioning across the life course. The primary aim of this chapter is to review and explain these patterns. Toward this end, we develop several biopsychosocial models of religious involvement and biological functioning. These models incorporate pathways related to social resources, psychological resources, healthy behaviors, and various biological processes. We conclude that additional research is needed to establish associations with understudied biological outcomes (e.g., epigenetics, infant mortality, and telomeres), individual mechanisms, more elaborate causal models, and sub-group variations. It is also important for future studies to thoroughly explore the “dark side” of religion and to formally test alternative explanations, including health selection, personality selection, and genetic selection. Research along these lines would provide a more comprehensive understanding of how and why religious involvement might contribute to biological functioning across the life course.