Providing support in faith communities: church support and well-being in later life

Later life is often accompanied by increasing stressors that heighten the importance of supportive social relationships. Guided by the resource mobilization perspective and informed by religious social capital perspectives, this study examined how pastoral and congregational support relate to the provision of support to others and how these support processes are associated with psychological and physical well-being among older adults.

Data were utilized from the nationally representative Religion, Aging, and Health (RAH) survey (N = 792). Weighted linear regression and weighted path analyses were conducted to examine direct and indirect associations among church support, support provision, depressive symptoms, life satisfaction, self-esteem, and self-rated health while accounting for the complex sampling design.

Both pastoral and congregational support were positively associated with providing support to others, with congregational support showing the stronger association. Providing support was associated with higher life satisfaction, greater self-esteem, and better self-rated health but was not significantly associated with depressive symptoms in the primary path model. When direct paths from received support to well-being were included, providing support was significantly associated with lower depressive symptoms. Pastoral support showed direct associations with several well-being outcomes, while congregational support influenced well-being indirectly through greater support provision.

These findings suggest that support within religious communities functions through interconnected processes linking receiving support, providing support, and well-being. The results highlight the importance of distinguishing between pastoral and congregational support and provide a framework for future research examining support processes across contemporary religious communities and other faith-based settings.