Why a prayer a day keeps the doctor away

Quentin de la Bédoyère says there is a wealth of evidence suggesting that the devout lead healthier and happy lives than non-believers
25 September 2009

It is of course well known that religious people, and especially Catholics, live a miserable life. Obliged to worship an egotistical and vengeful deity who demands nothing but praise and endless sacrifice, they are trapped in a web of sinfulness which touches every aspect of their lives. They are ultimately motivated by the selfish reward of eternal happiness, the nature of which they do not know, but they are extremely unlikely to get there. They are much more likely to arrive in a place of eternal torment - in which fire and brimstone is the expected environment. And should they be fortunate enough to avoid this they will undergo a lengthy and painful cleansing process continuing until the least sin has been expiated.

No wonder Catholics live out their lives in anxiety, guilt and fear. They, and others, need to be told that "there is probably no God. So stop worrying and enjoy your life.

"The only problem with this conclusion is that it does not concur with what actually happens. Let's look at the evidence. We might start with a study, reported in March 2008, by the University of Toronto. The researchers concluded: "We found that religious people or even people who simply believe in the existence of God show significantly less brain activity in relation to their own errors. They're much less anxious and feel less stressed when they have made an error." They actually had greater cognitive control. "Believing in God can help block anxiety and minimise stress" was the summary headline. the rest