Religion, Aging, and Life Satisfaction: An Eight-Year, Three-Wave Longitudinal Study

Abstract

Data from a three-wave longitudinal study of older Mexican-Americans and Anglos revealed little evidence that older people turn increasingly to religion as they age, decline in health, and face death. Nor were indicators of religiosity increasingly predictive of life satisfaction as people age. Also examined was the effect of dropouts on the association between religious attendance and life satisfaction. Because dropouts attend church less due to poorer health, their exclusion from longitudinal studies decreases associations between religious attendance and life satisfaction.