Good day and welcome to the Daily Article podcast from Denison Forum.

I'm Chris Elkins, narrating today's daily article written by theologian and cultural pastor, Dr. Jim Denison.

According to a new report from Pew Research Center, a growing share of U.S. adults say religion is gaining influence in American life.

Recent news bears this out.

Young adults are flooding churches after Charlie Kirk's assassination.

The faith arm of his organization, Turning Point USA, has doubled its church network in the month after his death and gained 200,000 new Christians.

And we are seeing a resurgence of Gen Z and millennial men returning to church.

This is good news for society.

According to Dr. Lisa Miller, a senior clinical psychologist at Princeton,

there is compelling evidence that individuals who cultivate a healthy spiritual life

and maintain a connection to the divine are 80% less prone to struggle with addiction,

80% less likely to engage in socially destructive behavior, and 60% more likely

to lead personally fulfilling and socially constructive lives.

Scientific studies help explain why. There is a neurological link between prayer,

controlled breathing, and the release of serotonin, a neurotransmitter essential for regulating

mood, emotional balance, and overall mental health. In Andrew Newberg's and Mark Robert Waldman's

book, How God Changes Your Brain, Breakthrough Findings from a Leading Neuroscientists,

they note that engaging in 12 minutes of prayer and reflection a day

improves cognitive skills, helps prevent cognitive decline, and builds neural circuits of compassion

for others. But these are the side effects of religion. Its greatest significance comes

when our religion is a transforming relationship with the

living Christ.

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