Cheat Sheet

As if they weren’t smug enough already, the devoutly religious have a new reason to smile serenely: scientific research suggests they have been doing it right all along. According to University of Miami psychologist Michael McCullough, devoutly religious people do better in school, live longer, have more satisfying marriages, and are generally happier. A new report in the Psychological Bulletin says religious people have better self control than everyone else. “Brain-scan studies have shown that when people pray or meditate, there’s a lot of activity in two parts of brain that are important for self-regulation and control of attention and emotion,” McCullough told John Tierney of the New York Times. “The rituals that religions have been encouraging for thousands of years seem to be a kind of anaerobic workout for self-control.” As early as the 1920s, researchers found Sunday school students were more self-disciplined. And studies since have confirmed that religiously devout children are less impulsive. The devout are also more likely to wear seat belts, go to the dentist, and take vitamins.