Most religious have highest rates of well-being, survey says

WASHINGTON — The most religious Americans also have the highest rates of well-being, according to a new Gallup survey.

The finding is based on a survey of more than 550,000 people about their physical and emotional health and their work environment.

Overall, the very religious received a score on Gallup’s well-being index of 68.7 percent, while both the moderately religious and the nonreligious received a score of 64.2 percent. The very religious were defined as those who said religion is an important part of their daily lives and they attend worship services at least every week or almost every week. Researchers have several theories as to why the very religious had higher levels of health and happiness, but say they will continue to investigate the relationship between the two.

The survey, a result of a partnership between Gallup and Healthways, a Tennessee company focused on health, surveyed U.S. adults between Jan. 2 and July 28 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 0.5 percentage points.