Despite the unprecedented COVID-19pandemic's emotional toll, a recent survey finds that frequent churchgoers have the best mental health.
For the first time in 21 years, the Gallup annual assessment of Americans' mental well-being found that just 34% of Americans rated their mental health as excellent.
The Intercessors For America noted that devoted churchgoers were the ones who reported the best mental health condition. Among Gallup's many study subgroups, weekly churchgoers were the only ones to report better emotional health in 2021 than in 2019, before the outbreak, with 44% stating that their mental health was "excellent."
It also observed that low-wage workers and Democrats were seen as being at the back of the pack while noting that a year after Joe Biden beat Pres. Donald Trump, just 28% of Democrats indicated they were in "excellent" mental health.
In comparison, 42% of Republicans and 33% of independents described their mental health as outstanding. The pre-pandemic 2019 ratings for Republicans were 56% and for independents 44%.
Gallup found that "wellbeing of most groups mirrors the national trend, with their mental health scores worsening last year followed by little to no improvement this year." It also stated that there had been no change in Democrats' mental health rating since 2019, although the number of regular churchgoers has been continuously rising.
According to Gallup, among the three main political parties, Democrats' "excellent" evaluation of their emotional well-being has consistently been the lowest over the last three years.
The Democrats' pre-pandemic emotional well-being rating was reportedly at 30% in 2019. Come 2020, about the same as in 2019, just 29% of Democrats said they had "excellent" emotional well-being.
On the flip side, people who go to religious services every week think their mental health is better than people who go around once a month or less often, the study said.
At least 40% of men, Republicans, people who go to church every week, and people who make more than $100,000 a year say their mental health is excellent, but their counterparts are more critical of themselves.
Gallup also noted that although COVID-19 may be hurting people's mental health, but there hasn't been a big change in how people rate their physical well-being. At this time, 27% of U.S. adults believe they're in perfect shape. This year's ratings, it added, are comparable to last year's and in line with the 21-year trend's averages.
Similarly to how it has been in the past, young people are more satisfied with their physical well-being than their elders. Furthermore, physical health is also more positive for people who make more money than those who make less.
For this survey, Gallup reportedly relied on a random sample of 815 individuals, 18 and older, residing in all 50 states and the District of Columbia who were interviewed during the course of the week beginning Nov. 1 and ending Nov. 16, 2021. At the 95% confidence level, the sampling error is 4 percentage points for findings based on this sample of national adults.
