unconventional

AUSTIN, Texas – Want to live to a ripe old age? Go to church!

A new study reveals that people who attend religious services of least once a month live a lot longer than folks who don’t.

In fact, attending church or synagogue increases your expected life span as much as moderate exercise does.

The study was done by sociologists Dr. More Musick of the University of Texas and Dr. James House of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. It involved 3,617 Americans. The researchers kept track of the subjects over a seven-year period.

Incredibly, the subjects who did not attend church, temple or some other religious service regularly were one-third more likely to die during that seven years thon those who did.

No one knows exactly why church attendance extends life but the sociologists hove some theories. ‘One reason could he that people who go to religious services tend to take better care of themselves than nonreligious people do,’ Dr. Musick told Weekly World News. “They’re less likely to smoke, take dangerous drugs or drink to excess. They also tend to maintain a healthy weight and be physically active. ‘

Another reason for church-and-temple- goers’ longer lives may he thot they have social support. Members of religious organizations tend to take care of one another in times of crisis.’