Abstract

        Like the companion studies for denominations, his one addresses two quite different questions. First, what subpopulations of Roman Catholics, liberal Protestants, conservative Christians, and non-Christians are most likely to worship weekly, or less often? The charts and tables point to many important factors relating to worship.

        Secondly, how are worship frequency, education, one's history of marijuana smoking, hours of sleep, age, sex and region of residence related to the health of the body, mind and spirit of Christians and non-Christians? Some 75 behaviours and conditions relating to overall health are explored for all adults, plus 11 for the employed.

        There is considerable interfaith variation. The weekly worship rates for Canada are: Roman Catholic, 23%; liberal Protestant, 16%, conservative Christian, 48%, and non-Christian, 28%. Even with a total sample of 37,000, the non-Christian faith sample is relatively small, limiting the publishable sub-population detail.

        In all faiths there is also considerable regional variation. The Roman Catholic rate varies from 15% in Quebec to 46% in Prince Edward Island; the liberal Protestant rate varies from 13% in Alberta and British Columbia to 28% in Prince Edward Island; while the conservative Christian rate varies from 33% in Nova Scotia to 64% in Quebec.

        One of the biggest surprises in the charts are the facts that the highest weekly worship rates for conservative Christians are in the province of Quebec and in Montreal, where the Roman Catholic rates are lowest, and the samples for liberal Christians and non-Christians are too small to permit reliable estimates.

        In all areas the rate for conservative Christian exceeds that of the other faiths, though in Nova Scotia and Manitoba the Catholic rate is close to the conservative Christian. The weekly rate for liberal Christians is lowest in all areas for which there are reliable estimates, except the Ottawa-Hull metro area, where the Catholic rate is lowest.

        There is also much variation in all faiths in the weekly worship rate by ethnic origin. The rates for conservative Christians exceed those in the other faiths in all origins, while the rates for Roman Catholics exceed those of liberal Christians in all origins.

        Those who are drawn to addictive substances worship less frequently than those who are not. Similar results are found with regard to planned and attempted suicide, and gambling. Those who feel loved and at peace, who have more friends, and who are satisfied with life tend to be more likely to be weekly worshippers, in all faiths.

        After controlling for the effect of age, sex, region, and other factors, we assume that education and worship are associated with better health, or a healthier status, because of the nature of teachings received, the influence of such teachings on the development of healthy habits, and the influence of friends receiving the same teachings.

        Two other important assumptions of the analyses are that a history of smoking marijuana is associated with poorer health, as it is unhealthy in itself and a symptom of the rejection of teachings and authority, while longer sleep is associated with better health, either a cause, effect or both cause and effect of better health.

        Analytical results for Christians and non-Christians provide ample support for these assumptions, even in the case of non-Christians where the sample is small. Summaries of results conforming to either the importance of education or worship (or both) are provided. There are some unexpected results opposite to our expectations.