Godless in the Great White North

Abstract:

Studying atheism can offer a strong test of whether religion truly impacts health. Using data from over 8,000 Canadians, this study compared the health of atheists with people from various religious backgrounds. It found no meaningful differences between atheists and religious individuals in areas like physical health, emotional wellbeing, or psychological well-being. However, religious people did report higher levels of social wellbeing. Read the full article to explore what these findings mean for how we understand the relationship between belief and health.

About the Author: Dr. David Speed

Dr. David Speed an Associate Professor at the University of New Brunswick in the Department of Psychology. His research focuses on challenging the commonly held belief that religion and spirituality inherently lead to better health outcomes. While numerous studies suggest that religious attendance, prayer, and religiosity are correlated with improved health outcomes, there are significant gaps and inaccuracies in the existing literature.

Through his research, Dr. David Speed highlights the lack of confirmatory evidence that being nonreligious is detrimental to health. His work indicates that atheists do not necessarily fare worse than believers, suggesting that the health benefits attributed to religion and spirituality are overstated. Dr. Speed’s research critiques the prevailing assumptions in the field and addresses the complexities of studying the growing nonreligious population.