Contrary to earlier findings, new research suggests that attending church does not help prevent cognitive decline in older adults.
Several studies have found that more religious people tend to be slightly less intelligent, but studies have also found that attendance at religious ceremonies has a protective effect against age-related cognitive decline.
“In the present study, we investigate this apparent paradox in a sample of older individuals who completed detailed measures of religiosity at age 83 years, and for whom cognitive ability data were available from childhood and from multiple tests between ages 79 and 90,” Stuart J. Ritchie of the University of Edinburgh and his colleagues explained in their study.
The study, published in the scientific journal Intelligence, examined 550 participants from a longitudinal study conducted in Scotland known as the Lothian Birth Cohort of 1921. Members of the study first underwent psychological testing in 1932, when they were just 11 years old, and participated in more tests at ages 79, 83, and 90.
Along with completing intelligence tests, the participants also were asked how often they attended religious ceremonies, how strongly they believed God answered their prayers, and other questions related to their religious life.
The researchers found that religiosity was negatively associated with intelligence, which corresponds to previous research, but religiosity had no effect on cognitive change across the lifespan or during later life. Religious attendance did not protect against cognitive decline in older age.
“We failed to replicate the finding, discovered in all previous studies, that more frequent attendance at religious ceremonies is associated with healthier cognitive aging,” Ritchie and his colleagues said.
The researchers noted that other studies on religiosity and intelligence have been conducted in the United States, which is more religious than the United Kingdom.
“It is plausible that our conflicting results are due to the generally lower levels of importance placed on religion in the UK compared to, for example, the US. This highlights an important nuance for this area of study: in samples from more secularized countries, such as those in Western Europe, religiosity may have smaller health effects than in countries where religion remains an important part of life.”
