Faith Makes a Difference for Mental Health

Since its inception, the Church has been known for its care for the poor, the sick, and those deemed socially “untouchable.” This disposition was a way of following and mimicking Jesus Christ, whose life and example challenged the social norms of the ancient world. Christians across cultures and centuries followed suit, especially in times of plague, famine, and natural disaster. Eventually, this behavior changed the world. The modern health care system, disaster relief work, and many other charities exist because the Christian ideal that all people have dignity was embodied by people of faith.  

Today, healthcare is the purview of professionals with medical degrees and badges. Disaster relief is shared by non-profits and government entities. Still, in both areas, Christians are making an incredible difference.  

For example, according to a recent Religion News Service article, Christians are at the forefront of helping those with mental health struggles. New research from New York’s largest healthcare system has found that Christian clergy, faith leaders, and other “nonspecialists” are often more effective than specialists “in treating and even preventing symptoms of anxiety and depression.” They’ve been so effective, in fact, the network is recruiting more clergy to serve more patients struggling with mental health issues. 

This aligns with other recent findings in the field of mental health. For example, a growing body of evidence is raising doubts about how effective psychotherapy is in addressing mental health issues, especially among Gen Z, the generation that is faring the worst  when it comes to psychological health. Today, over 40% of young adults have a mental health diagnosis, twice the rate of the general population. As Abigail Shrier argued in her new book Bad Therapy, psychotherapy can be a helpful intervention, but its overuse has fueled an unhealthy fixation on pain that “can hijack our normal processes of resilience, interrupting our psyche’s ability to heal itself, in its own way at its own time.” 

At the same time, other research has found a positive correlation between physical and psychological health and spirituality. As early as 2001, a group of Mayo clinic researchers argued that “religious involvement and spirituality are associated with better health outcomes,” including “less anxiety, depression, and suicide.”  

To be clear, not all forms of spirituality and religion are equally helpful for mental health. Despite claims that organized religion is bad for one’s mental health, a recent Psychology Today article found that religious adherents tend to be statistically less anxious and depressed and less likely to experience neurotic disorders than those who identify as “spiritual but not religious.”  

For Christians, this should not be surprising. Much of what is labeled “psychological trauma” is, in fact, spiritual brokenness. The fundamental problem people face is relational brokenness, especially the relationship for which we were ultimately created. The answer is found in reconciliation, first and foremost with our Creator. In other words, our healing must ultimately be turned outward and upward. The radical turn inward that characterizes so much modern mental healthcare today will ultimately fail to help. Counseling and even medication may be necessary but does not alleviate our need for a Savior. In Christ, we find “healing to [our] flesh and refreshment to [our] bones” (Proverbs 3:8).