by Sharon Udasin
Staff Writer

In an era when religion and science seem divided by a gaping chasm, one group  of scientists is showing how these two belief systems may be a little closer than we think. A team of scientists led by Eliezer Schnall, an assistant professor of clinical psychology at Yeshiva University, recently determined that women who attend religious services regularly may in fact live longer than those who do not.

In  the study’s sample pool, the women who habitually attended services were 20 percent less likely to die during the period studied than those who had not attended.  

“This is one of the largest studies of women that’s been done — it’s a large sample and women were carefully followed up over time,” said Harold Koenig, an associate professor of psychiatry and medicine and director of the Center for the Study of Religion/Spirituality and Health at Duke University. “It looked like those who attended religious services more frequently had a longer life.”   Continue reading…