Does Religion Prevent Despair?

A trio of economists has tied the rise in 'deaths of despair' to the decline in religious practice in America

Along with providing social support, hope, purpose, and values, religion helps adherents develop self-discipline and self-regulation. MIA Studio/Shutterstock

The recent dramatic increase in “deaths of despair” (suicides, fatal drug overdoses, and deaths due to alcoholism) is directly connected to the decline in organized religion in the United States—and to the repeal of “blue laws” that once prohibited some commerce on Sundays in observance of the Christian Sabbath.

This is according to a 2022 study by economists Tyler Giles, Daniel Hungerman, and Tamar Oostrom called “Opiates of the Masses: Deaths of Despair and the Decline of American Religion.”