Teleios conducted a well-being survey on two Instagram accounts frequented by adolescents and millennials; one being mostly followed by Christians and another by the general population. There were 1186 responses. The majority of responses were: female (68 percent), less than 30 years of age (76 percent), and primarily from the United States (40 percent) and Europe (16 percent). The respondents identified themselves as: evangelical Christians (33 percent), social Christians (29 percent), Christian seekers (5 percent) and non-Christians (33 percent).
Interestingly, personal well-being was better among evangelical Christians (4.6, on a scale of 0-6 with 6 being highest) compared to social Christians (4.1), Christian seekers (4.0) or non-Christians (4.3, P = 0.001). The findings for well-being were also supported by further results that evangelicals were more content (P = 0.001), at peace (P > 0.001), and joyful (P = 0.002) than the other groups. No differences between groups were observed in feelings of guilt (P = 0.426).
This is the first survey, to our knowledge, evaluating well-being in young Christians versus non-Christians. These findings make sense based on prior research:
- Teleios has previously shown that Christians who adhere to their faith report better general well-being than those who do not routinely practice their faith. In addition, the more one adheres generally to their faith the better their well-being.
- Prior publications from the peer-reviewed medical literature note that those practicing the Christian faith report better well-being than those who do not, specifically in healthy individuals, patients with a variety of diseases and those with addiction problems. The better well-being seems to result from attending church and the associated socialization and knowledge of the faith.
In summary, Christianity may help well-being by giving confidence in both day-to-day living and hope for eternity.
All the findings of the survey can be found here surveymonkey.com/results/SM-79RZ2BHJ8/ as well as other findings from Teleios Research on our website teleiosresearch.com. {eoa}
Teleios is a non-profit foundation, seeks to demonstrate the truth of Scripture and the Christian faith through the scientific method by providing evidence for the positive results of a biblically-based lifestyle. Prior studies conducted by Teleios have shown that the practice of the Christian faith (praise, prayer, fellowship, service and Bible study) and security of salvation increases well-being while reducing guilt.
This article originally appeared at christiannewswire.com.
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