The Important Mental Health Benefits of Christianity and Spirituality

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There are tremendous spiritual, physical and mental benefits to Christianity for both the person and the community.

Christianity and Spirituality

Both spirituality and Christianity are actually about understanding what life means and how a higher power can influence meaning. They are similar but they are quite different when it comes to practice. With Christianity, everything is community-based with a system of beliefs and highly organized. With spirituality, everything is about what the individual personally believes.

Christianity & Mental Health Benefits

Christians have something that they can believe in. They also gain structure and can connect with other people that have very similar beliefs. In the long term, this has very strong mental health benefits. In fact, research showed that Christianity can reduce alcoholism, drug use, and suicide rates.

“Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity” (Psalm 113:1)!

Community Benefits

• Offers a safe social engagement
• Creates a strong sense of being a part of a group
• Increases social connections

Christianity is very effective when it comes to offering social engagement. People who have similar beliefs get to communicate and new interactions can happen every single week through the events related to the practice of worship.

The best example of the community benefits Christianity attending church every Sunday. Even if you’re shy and you don’t interact much with people, eventually, they will start to notice you. In time, you’ll get to meet new people and become a part of the group, the local Body of Christ. Social connections can more easily be improved by simply attending worship service on a weekly basis.

“For my brothers and companions’ sake I will say, “Peace be within you” (Psalm 122:8)!

Ritual Benefits

• Allows you to better cope with really tough moments in your life, like with deaths in the family.
• Offers predictability, regularity, and structure.
• Gives you time so you can rest and families can be together, especially during holidays.

Christianity has numerous rituals that are actually very beneficial for the individual; communion, singing together, and worshiping together. Even getting married will take you through a rather standardized practice. This predictability and structure are something that most people actually need in life. For many, it’s the reason why people are attracted to Christianity.

A funeral is a great example of the benefits associated with these belonging to a church. Our mental health can so easily be negatively impacted when we lose someone we love. With a funeral, you get the support of those around you, more easily recovering than without having brothers and sisters around you; supporting you and praying for you.

“Let brotherly love continue” (Heb 13:1).

Benefits of Christian Teachings

• Offers guidelines to respect as you live, like doing what the right thing and treating people right.
• Gives you life lessons and teaches you to see them in challenging situations.
• Teaches forgiveness, gratitude, and love for one another.

This is a highly underestimated thing most people do not really understand what Christianity is. It’s not really about religion; it’s about a relationship with Jesus Christ. The teachings people learn are actually guidelines to make them a much better while treating others better. Christian principles teach practitioners to love, forgive, and make the right choices in life.

Scripture is a good example of a set of religious teachings that benefit the person and the community. There are so many life lessons that can be mentioned and they’re all about being a better person or example. The knowledge you gain through what the Bible teaches you can help you to deal with really tough moments in life, like when people try to influence you to do bad things.

Spirituality & Mental Health Benefits

After experiencing what is known as spiritual awakening, you feel a sense that you are connected to something that is much bigger than you. This allows you to look inside and to better understand yourself as you think about important answers in relation to how you fit in and relate to the world. Basically, it helps you to figure out what life means.

In spirituality, you can see several healthy practices connected to your body and your mind. What you think, you are (Prov 23:7). This automatically influences our emotional wellbeing and our mental health. Some of the benefits include the following.

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another” (John 13:34).

Individual Benefits

• Can enhance your sense of empowerment and self by figuring out exactly what your practice is in life as the Bible gives you direction.
• Will help you focus on your connections to what is really important and help your personal growth.
• Lets you accept all people, regardless of religion, race or nationality.

Spirituality is often about feeling better about yourself and your beliefs. The big difference between it and Christianity is that, in spirituality, you basically get to choose what you believe in and how you relate to it. This offers a much higher sense of individuality but can draw us away from the truth (John 14:6).

Mindfulness Benefits

• Will encourage self-reflection and meditation.
• Leads you towards an important and valuable meaningful life.
• Let’s you express yourself.

“You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD” (Num 19:18).

There are so many talks these days about mindfulness and it’s so simple to understand why because it offers us peace. Meditating on the Word of God is very similar. Although the two terms are often confused, they usually work together and let us feel so much better.

Becoming United With Surroundings

• Makes you feel that you connect and belong.
• Actively inspires awareness and appreciation of the interactions you have with the environment (both mental and physical).

The way in which you feel when you go outside should never be underestimated. This quickly became visible after the 2020 pandemic as more and more people were forced to stay indoors for long periods of time. You start to appreciate what nature has to offer you. You will find inspiration even in smaller things, which can help you to easily love what you do more.

Conclusion

As you can see, there are several interesting mental health benefits you can obtain from both Christianity and spirituality. And this is in no way limited. The most important thing to remember is that Christianity will help you to improve your mental health and become stronger in your faith about things in life, and that’s something you definitely want to see. At the end of the day, it is all about being a better person.

It is very difficult to live without a purpose. God can show you that purpose in His Word, the Bible. It reveals your very own specific purpose. We are all individuals but we also all live in society. Both aspects are very important for a full life. It’s quite impossible to go through life without interacting with those around us, but Christianity allows you to belong to a community within a community; not only influencing others in the community, but becoming part of that community.

Author ‘s Bio:  Article written by Boris Dzhingarov, avid mindfulness enthusiast and spiritualist focused on travel and meditation.

Here is some related reading for you: 5 Reasons Why Religion Should Be Taught in School

Resource – Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version^® (ESV^®), Crossway Bibles. (2007). ESV: Study Bible: English standard version. Wheaton, Ill: Crossway Bibles. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Tagged as: Benefits, Christianity, Church, community, Spirituality