Faith: noun.
1. Complete trust or confidence in someone or something.
2. Strong belief in God or in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof. Synonyms: Trust, belief, confidence, conviction
Everything that lives, dies. To those with faith, death is not an undiscovered country. Despite what they want to believe, people fear the things they don’t know — death utmost. The natural response to fear is to cope. There is no bringing the dead back to life physically, so our only hope to live on is
"Many studies indicate that and religious practices may have a persistent and significant positive influence on general physical health, life satisfaction, and subjective well-being. This positive impact of R/S on human well-being becomes more obvious among people under stressful circumstances and physical illness. R/S is therefore considered a major coping factor in difficult or stressful life circumstances. Terminal illness, cardiovascular disease, cancer, pain, and immune and endocrine diseases are only some examples in which the importance of religious coping has been put forth in literature. For some individuals, religious faith may enhance the ability to cope with negative life events, whereas for others, negative life events may result in greater religious faith." (Agorasto)
Some religions have many Gods, each capable of certain astral powers — sometimes these powers are explanations for things in our universe that we can’t comprehend. Things we, as a group, feel like we need to know: who, what, when, how, and for God’s sake, why? Some theologies have thousands of Gods, each responsible for one thing or another. Christianity has one God, and one son: two pillars of truth and rightness.
Christianity focuses overwhelmingly on doctrine prescribed to achieve an ideal goodness in the afterlife through pious behavior. It is fair to suggest that religion is a vehicle designed to change behavior, triggered by faith in a higher God. It can ease doubts and offer guidance. The conclusiveness of scripture can provide answers that heal and quell anxieties. Faith is a genuine coping mechanism. Whether or not there is one divine truth, any religious teaching can be actualized. Faith in that reality can be stress relieving. Death seems less of an abyss when you imagine an everlasting blissful afterlife. We need to believe that there is the presence of pure goodness governing our world.
Many researchers have had similar ideas about the link between stress relief and religion. One article I found very thorough is titled "The Effect of Religiosity on Life Satisfaction in a Secularized Context: Assessing the Relevance of Believing and Belonging." This government-funded study concluded that:
“One characteristic of religious individuals is that they adhere to religious beliefs that offer interpretations of the empirical world and the ‘right’ role of the individual in it (Ellison and Levin 1998). Indicating that such a belief system may contribute to explaining why religiosity might be positively related to life satisfaction, believers have reported higher levels of happiness than non-believers in a variety of studies (see, e.g., Bradshaw and Ellison 2010; Ellison et al. 2001; Murphy et al. 2000)... An explanation for this can be found in religiosity’s potential to cope with, and thus alleviate, feelings of uncertainty. Extending the ‘insecurity theory’ proposed by Norris and Inglehart (2004), Immerzeel and Van Tubergen (2013) state that religiosity may help to appease an increased experience of insecurity. Both individual and contextual conditions affect such experiences and are related to an increased need for guidance and comfort.” (De Waal, Kate, Coster)
As I researched, I happened upon thousands of similar studies. It seems that the connection between peace and God is a core psychological question. The National Library of Medicine released an article titled "Influence of Religious Aspects and Personal Beliefs on Psychological Behavior: Focus on Anxiety Disorders" that suggests:
“People with high levels of general religious involvement, organizational religious involvement, religious salience, and intrinsic religious motivation are at reduced risk for depressive symptoms and anxiety disorders.” (Agorastos)
However, in general, the inverse can also be true. For example, in recent history, many terrorist groups homegrown and abroad have used religion as means to murder. When doubt, corruption, or ignorance rise in any religious paradigm, so does one’s anxiety and obsessive-compulsive behavior. In any successful religion, the entire identity is supported by one’s belief. I can then assume that theological doctrine acts as the connector in a positive feedback loop, or a boomerang that ensures emotional duress does not pass a certain point.
In short: God can help you if you can let Him.
