Places with high religious participation have fewer deaths of despair
The loss of social capital, as well as opioids, explains rising middle-aged mortality
In 2015 Anne Case and Angus Deaton published a landmark paper on death rates in America. The economists found that mortality had been rising among middle-aged whites, thanks to a surge in drug overdoses, alcohol-related illness and suicides—causes they deemed “deaths of despair”.
This article appeared in the Graphic detail section of the print edition under the headline “Power of the pew”
From the March 4th 2023 edition
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