Blue Zones
Perhaps you’ve heard of “Blue Zone” places – places around the world where people tend to live very long, healthy lives – many of them passing 100 years. Scientists have been studying these places for a couple of decades, and they have been featured on Netflix and the TED Radio Hour, among many other outlets.
But did you know that one of the key common denominators of these healthy places is healthy religious communities? A leading proponent of the lessons learned is Dan Buettner, who writes that “All but 5 of the 263 centenarians interviewed belonged to some faith-based community. Denomination does not seem to matter. Research shows that attending faith-based services 4 times per month will add 4 to 14 years of life expectancy.”
“There are consistent and strong health benefits to regular religious service attendance.”
That observation is confirmed by lots of other studies across different populations. There are consistent and strong health benefits to regular religious service attendance. Being a regular part of any social community is good for you, but religious communities – of all sorts – seem to be especially good at things like relieving stress and encouraging health behaviors.
If you want to read some of the research for yourself, go to our bibliography and search on the topic “health & wellbeing.”
One of the striking things about Buettner’s work is the notion that it matters a lot to have a whole community that is structured in ways that encourage health and longevity. More than just individual resolve, it helps to have people who support us and surroundings that make good behavior seem normal. He has pioneered the Blue Zone Project, which now includes support for congregations to become Blue Zone Parishes – congregations that work together to be intentional about good health.
One church that has taken up the challenge is St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, in Tacoma, Washington. Among other things, they are reviving the notion of ‘meatless Fridays’ and regularly supplying parishioners with healthy vegetarian recipes.
As you think about what it means to be a healthy congregation, take an inventory of the routine practices that make up your congregation’s culture. Think more deeply about the activities and stories that are central to your identity. How might you increase your support for healthy habits? And how might you strengthen the social bonds that are so important to wellbeing?
