Social Affairs

‘It gives people a chance to mingle’: How going to church may combat loneliness

Irish ageing study suggests people of faith are less likely to be lonely in old age

Fr John Grennan and church reader Sean Murray outside Clarendon Street Church, Dublin. Photograph: Ronan McGreevy
Fr John Grennan and church reader Sean Murray outside Clarendon Street Church, Dublin. Photograph: Ronan McGreevy
Ronan McGreevy
Thu Aug 29 2024 - 13:24

The latest study into ageing in Ireland provides a sobering analysis of the problems of loneliness in old age.

The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (Tilda) of 8,000 elderly people living in the community show that one in 10 exhibit clinically significant levels of depression and 4 per cent reporting feeling that they had a wish to die in the month prior to the Tilda interview.

The report, though, found that attendance at religious services was an “important protective factor”. It acknowledged several previous reports that found loneliness and depression were less of a factor in the lives of those who attend religious services on a regular basis.

“Our finding of the strong protective role of religious attendance also suggests a potential coping strategy that that may be amenable to older adults,” the report authors concluded.

READ MORE

“If it is the sociality rather than the spirituality of attending church regularly that is more important, then social activities not only those associated with religious practice may be a more attractive proposition, particularly if the current trend of increasing secularity continue.”

Clarendon Street Church just off Grafton Street has long provided an oasis of spiritual calm in the heart of Dublin’s shopping district.

There are five masses every weekday and they are all well-attended. The church is a throwback to past decades when working people took sanctuary in religion on their breaks, or after finishing for the day.

Fr John Grennan, a Carmelite priest for more than 50 years, says there is a core of people who come to the church on a regular basis. The elderly, he says, are “the type of people who come all the time”.

“They experience the same problems, but the faith helps them to cope with and see it from that perspective,” he said.

[ Loneliness in older people linked to increased ‘wish to die’ risk, study finds ]

Sean Murray (81), a long time reader in the Carmelite Church, said those who go to church regularly recognise a “strong bond amongst the community. You are never alone. If there is a problem or a situation, there are people you can confide in.

“I was brought up in a family of very strong faith, but there were instances in my life where certainly I was looked after and I don’t regard it as a coincidence. I don’t suffer from loneliness.”

There is a social aspect to a church community which helps people stay connected, said Muriel O’Neill. “It’s where they meet their peers as well. It gives people a chance to mingle and chat. That’s really missing in our society today. Younger people are really lonely as well.”

Her friend Teresa Balfe said that religious faith helped her mother deal with old age and then death. “I think it made for a great deal of acceptance when she died. It gave her a fair deal of calmness. It’s more difficult for people today.”

Ronan McGreevy

Ronan McGreevy

Ronan McGreevy is a news reporter with The Irish Times