Discovering Grace at the Table? Prayers at Mealtime, Marital Status, and Life Satisfaction in Later Life

I'm not married and I'm certainly not going to take up religion for supposed psychological benefits. This earlier research suggests the opposite.

Life-Course Religious Attendance and Cognitive Functioning in Later Life 

 Our key findings demonstrate that older adults who attended religious services for more of their life course tend to exhibit poorer working memory and mental status.

But  have the smarter people self selected out of religion?

 The latest here:

Discovering Grace at the Table? Prayers at Mealtime, Marital Status, and Life Satisfaction in Later Life

Jong Hyun Jung, Christopher G. Ellison

First Published January 21, 2021 Research Article 

https://doi.org/10.1177/0164027521989092

Article information

Abstract

This study examines the effects of prayers at mealtime on change in life satisfaction among older U.S. adults. In addition, it assesses the ways that marital status conditions these psychological effects of prayers at mealtime. Using two waves of longitudinal data from the Religion, Aging, and Health Survey (2001–2004), a representative sampling of adults aged 65 and older, the analyses reveal that the frequency of prayers at mealtime is associated with an increase in life satisfaction over time. Further, the positive effects of prayers at mealtime on change in life satisfaction are greater for nonmarried older adults than their married counterparts. The findings in the study reinforce claims of the beneficial effects of religion on mental well-being in later life. Moreover, they elaborate on the resource substitution thesis by showing that religion provides greater psychological benefits for older adults who do not have alternative resources for well-being—a marital partner.

Keywords religion, subjective well-being, marriage, resource substitution, longitudinal analysis

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