The novel coronavirus pandemic took a toll on the public’s emotional well-being, but a newly released poll found that regular churchgoers report the highest levels of mental health while Democrats remain stuck at the back of the pack.
The Gallup annual mental-health self-assessment released in December, indicated that Americans are struggling with the aftermath of COVID-19, with just 34% rating their mental well-being as “excellent,” the same as last year and a 21-year low for the survey.
Those reporting the best mental state were the faithful: 44% of weekly churchgoers said their mental health was “excellent,” more than any subgroup tracked by Gallup and the only one to register higher levels of emotional health in 2021 than in 2019, before the pandemic.
Bringing up the rear were low-income earners and Democrats. Only 28% of Democrats said they had “excellent” emotional well-being, even though the survey was conducted Nov. 1-16, a year after Joseph R. Biden defeated Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential race.
By contrast, 42% of Republicans and 33% of independents reported “excellent” mental health. Both were well below the pre-pandemic 2019 ratings of 56% for Republicans and 44% for independents.
“The well being of most groups mirrors the national trend, with their mental health scores worsening last year followed by little to no improvement this year,” said the Gallup analysis. “However, Democrats’ mental health rating has been steady at a relatively low level since 2019 while frequent churchgoers’ has been steadily high.”
“Democrats’ ‘excellent’ rating of their emotional well being has consistently been the lowest among the three major party groups, ranging from 28% to 30% over the past three years,” Gallup said. “Meanwhile, 44% of U.S. adults who attend religious services weekly rate their mental health more positively than do those who attend about monthly (38%) or seldom or never (29%).”