“Conservatives who attend church weekly are the least likely to have ever been diagnosed with a mental health condition,” sociologist Ryan Burge reported Thursday on X.

By contrast, he added, “liberals who have low attendance are the most likely to have a diagnosis.”

Burge was drawing on his analysis of data from the Pew American Trends Panel from March 2020, which surveyed 11,537 randomly selected U.S. adults between March 19 and 24, 2020.

In both English and Spanish, respondents were asked, “Has a doctor or other health care provider EVER told you that you have a mental health condition?”

Regular churchgoers of all ideologies reported lower rates of diagnosed mental health conditions, especially those attendees who identified as conservative.

Although non-attending liberals showed the highest rates of diagnoses, the implications of this data are not clear, since awareness of mental health problems is also important.

Just as higher rates of abuse may be indicative of a community more willing to open up and hold perpetrators accountable, some argue that higher diagnostic numbers may likewise be a positive sign of higher community awareness when it comes to mental health.

So what does the data really demonstrate — and what’s an accurate view of its implications?

Showing the ‘fruits’ of faith?

Matt Von Swol said in response to Burge’s post, “My family started going to church together for the first time last year. It has been absolutely revolutionary.”

He added, “No church is perfect, but you can literally go to church for free and get a community, moral teaching, and a babysitter. Seriously.”

Other X users from different faith backgrounds added their experiences:

• “I love church. Worshipping God. Communing with the Creator of the universe!” Daisy M said. “And yes. Friends.”

• Faith “gives you strength and hope,” Judi Greener said. “I’ve started praying again each and every day. I’m much happier and content for doing such.”

• “I go to synagogue every day (twice a day),” Greg Yaris said. “Couldn’t imagine life without it.”

Katy Faust argued that these mental health benefits reflect a worldview aligned more with a reality that acknowledges good and evil, while telling you “the truth about who you are.”

Once these truths are denied, she said, people are left to “build a replacement reality out of ideology detached from who you really are.”

“Living in a self-constructed universe is not great for mental health.”

Are believers less likely to seek help?

David Stein questioned on X if “religious people are less likely to self-report due to any stigmas. I’m not trying to imply religious people have more mental conditions — I would expect them to be more similar to other populations.”

In response, X user Melissa said, “Or our locus of control is different. We know and can rely on God being in control of everything. This frees up a lot of mental weight (anxiety and depression) because we know we don’t have to carry things by ourselves.”

Stein responded, “That can go both ways though. Plenty of studies show if people don’t feel they have control over things they become more stressed / depressed.”

Other believers suggested they were not as anxious about the world. “We know we’re in control of our lives where applicable and He’s in control of it all,” said Brandon Bohning. Grover Dill added that believers “tend to focus their lives on pleasing God” instead of other draining pursuits.

“You have a small point,” Abigail Raatz said to those pointing to a hesitance some believers have to seek out help. “But living with purpose and hope does wonders. It also helps to be surrounded by intentional community that want to share each other’s burdens.”

Other relevant data

None of this suggests that faith eliminates mental health struggles, of course, since many believers across traditions experience serious challenges. But across decades of research, a certain pattern has been unmistakable.

As summarized in hundreds of studies documented in the “Handbook of Religion and Health,” a majority of available research finds religious people reporting greater well-being and life satisfaction, lower levels of depression and anxiety, and lower suicide risk — especially when that faith is practiced in healthy and loving ways that respect agency.

Although some still raise questions about causation, few dispute the emotional benefits religious communities bring by discouraging substance use and strengthening family and community connections — while infusing life with greater meaning, purpose and solace.