Christianity is good for us, evangelical college students find better wellbeing by seeking God

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[Teleios Research]

Teleios evaluated the influence of religious beliefs on the general wellbeing of college students. Of the 227 participants, there were almost equal portions of self-professed evangelicals, social Christians, agnostic/atheist and other religious groups. Students reported high levels of wellbeing with no statistical difference between religious belief systems. Evangelical Christians more often perceived themselves as: spiritual (P<0.001), accepted by God (P<0.001) and having more purpose (P=0.01). Students who identified as both evangelicals and ‘saved by grace’ showed greater wellbeing (P=0.015). IN SUMMARY, university students have high levels of wellbeing across all religious belief systems, but evangelical Christians show higher levels of spirituality, acceptance by God and purpose. Those who are ‘saved by grace’ show even greater wellbeing than other groups combined. Read more at https://teleiosresearch.com/religion-and-wellbeing-among-college-students/

[Samuel Smiles]

Teleios, thank you, most inspirational. Please allow me to tell a small part of my story.

As a teenager, I became an atheist, and remained so for many years. I did not seek God; why seek for that which does not exist? But God sought me, and at a time of great crisis in my life I finally found the humility and courage to listen.

I make no claim to have been “saved” in a religious sense, but a way out of that crisis suddenly opened to me; a way I had neither sought nor expected. It was as if a hidden door, a door that had always been alongside me, had suddenly opened, and all I had to do was to walk through it.

That was 35 years ago, and the same thing has happened again, at two other moments of crisis. And now I finally know, and appreciate, those wonderful words: “Panem nostrum quotidianum da nobis hodie...” It speaks not only of our earthy food, but also of the Panis Angelicus, the bread that nourishes the soul, a food created by the immesurable mercy of God.

Deo gratias.