RESEARCH ARTICLE
The impact of religious beliefs on the health of the residents—Evidence from China
Junqiang Han,
Xiang Zhou,
Yingying Meng,
Junqiang Han
School of Public Management, South-Central University for Nationalities, Wuhan, China
Search for more papers by this authorXiang Zhou
School of Public Management, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, Wuhan, China
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Yingying Meng
Center for Social Security Studies, Wuhan University, China
Correspondence
Yingying Meng, Center for Social Security Studies, Wuhan University, Bayi Road, Wuhan 430072, Hubei, China.
Email: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorJunqiang Han,
Xiang Zhou,
Yingying Meng,
Junqiang Han
School of Public Management, South-Central University for Nationalities, Wuhan, China
Search for more papers by this authorXiang Zhou
School of Public Management, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, Wuhan, China
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Yingying Meng
Center for Social Security Studies, Wuhan University, China
Correspondence
Yingying Meng, Center for Social Security Studies, Wuhan University, Bayi Road, Wuhan 430072, Hubei, China.
Email: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorSummary
This study conducted empirical research on Chinese residents to explore the relationship between religious beliefs and health based on the China General Social Survey (CGSS) data for 2015. Considering the reciprocal correlations between religion and health, this paper uses an instrumental variable to recognize religion's influence on health. The instrumental variable was the number of religious sites per 10 000 residents in every province (including autonomous regions and municipalities) in 2004. The results indicate that religion had different impacts on the health of different groups in China. It was found that religion significantly improved the health of those aged 60 or older; however, for those younger than 60 years old, their health was not affected by following a religion. Second, after classifying the samples according to urban and rural areas, it was found that religion significantly improved the health of urban residents, while rural residents were not affected by this factor.
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