Module 2 · Your people
Day 2 of 11 · about 10 minutes
For many people, faith is real but irregular. It shows up at holidays, in hard seasons, or when someone asks. The rest of the time it waits in the background.
What the research found
In one of the largest studies on the subject, Harvard researchers followed almost 75,000 women in the Nurses' Health Study for about 20 years. Women who attended religious services more than once a week had a 33% lower risk of dying during the study than women who never attended (Li and colleagues, JAMA Internal Medicine, 2016).
The pattern that stands out isn't belief alone. It's regular practice, done with other people.
Try this today (10 minutes)
- Pick one practice from your own tradition: a weekly service, a set time for prayer, or reading scripture.
- Put it on your calendar for this week, with a day and a time.
- Decide who you'll do it with: your spouse, your kids, a friend or a congregation.
The honest note
This was an observational study, so it shows a link, not proof that attendance causes a longer life. The women were mostly white Christian nurses, so the results may not apply equally to everyone. And faith isn't a health strategy. If the practice matters to you, the reason to keep it regular is the practice itself.
Write it down: print Workbook 2, Your people. It has space for this lesson’s exercise and a week tracker.
The Selfmade Course · Day 2 of 11
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