Connections between Faith in God, Sacred Body Belief, and Behavior Lifestyle

​​Does believing in God influence people’s view of their body as sacred, and condition them to lead a certain lifestyle? 

In a newly published study, Krause et al. (2016) demonstrated in scientific terms that having a weak or strong faith in God, as a helper in times of needs, influenced people’s perception about the sacredness of their bodies [1]. Based on perception, some people were more likely to engage in healthy behaviors, while others were not.

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Representing the U.S. population, 3010 individuals were interviewed using a validated (with acceptable low percentage of error) questionnaire. Among these individuals (43.2% men and 56.2% women), 45.4% were married and had 13.4 years of schooling.

A total of 734 individuals (27.4%) shared that they strongly relied on God to achieve their goals in life and viewed their body as temple of God. As a result of their faith and body perception, they were more likely to participate in physical activities (15 mn or more per day), strenuous exercises (15mn or more per day), eat fruits and vegetables (5 servings or more per day), sleep better, and adopt a healthy lifestyle practicing all four previous behaviors.

A comparative analysis of these scientific findings with the scriptures may help us understand these results. As written in the Scriptures, we find YHWH (God) declaring to Humans the rules that they need to follow (willingly):

Hear, O Yisrael, the laws and right-rulings which I speak in your hearing today. And you shall learn them, and guard to do them [Deut 5:1].

In this passage, it is clear to the hearer(s) of God’s words that, although faith is an absolute requirement from the believer in God [Deut 5:7], he or she is also expected to play an active part in the learning and application process of divine recommendations. These recommendations or divine orders include instructions on how to become and stay healthy. For example, Dietary principles for proper nutrition [Genesis 1:29]; Rest principle for body recuperation [Deut 5:12-14]; Self-control principle for good eating habits [Proverb 25:16]; Dietary principles for prevention of zoonotic, parasitic, viral, bacterial, and cancerous diseases [Deut 14]; Financial and community principles of helping each other [Deut 15:7-11]. These are some of the pre-requirements for individuals to become and remain a sacred population, as prescribed by God. Thus, by faith in God’s wisdom and accepting the view that one’s body is to remain holy, the empowered believer is compelled to evidence their belief and body perception by adopting a healthy lifestyle. As anticipated, based on God’s promises (Deut 28), they consequently reap many blessings that are well documented benefits of a healthy lifestyle in the scientific literature [2]: Longer and more enjoyable life in a just and prosperous society.

As suggested by the authors of this study, public/community health education and promotion has the capacity to empower church members to adopt healthier lifestyles. Wisdom calls for scriptural principles to be widely used for enabling church members to better relate to public/community health education and promotion program contents and activities.

NB: Biblical references can be found in all versions of the Holy Scriptures.


References

1. Krause, N., Hill, P. C., Emmons, R., Pargament, K. I., & Ironson, G. (2016). Assessing the Relationship Between Religious Involvement and Health Behaviors. Health Education & Behavior, doi: 10.1177/1090198116655314

2. Loef, M., & Walach, H. (2012). The combined effects of healthy lifestyle behaviors on all cause mortality: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Preventive medicine, 55(3), 163-170. doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2012.06.017