A new study links declining church attendance, particularly among white, middle-aged Americans without college degrees, to a rise in U.S. “deaths of despair.” These deaths encompass drug overdoses, suicide, and alcohol-related liver disease. Researchers found states with the steepest drops in attendance between 1985 and 2000 saw larger increases in such fatalities. This troubling pattern emerged before the opioid crisis typically blamed for the surge.
The study analyzed national survey data on religious habits and government mortality records. “People were already dying more often from despair-related causes before drugs like OxyContin became widely available in the late 1990s,” said lead author Tamar Oostrom of The Ohio State University. The drop in attendance was most pronounced in the same demographic experiencing rising death rates.
Researchers strengthened the causal link by studying repeals of “blue laws,” which once forced business closures on Sundays. After Minnesota, South Carolina, and Texas repealed these laws in 1985, weekly church attendance fell 5-10 percentage points, followed later by increased deaths of despair. The decline in these deaths, falling until the early 1990s, reversed as attendance dropped.
The study suggests the communal aspect of religion is key. “It’s not enough to believe; being part of a religious group and attending services regularly seems to make the real difference,” Oostrom noted. The authors see no comparable substitute in other community groups, warning this lack may have long-term health consequences.