Methodists 'live more than seven years longer than rest of population'

telegraph. ^ | 25 Jun 2010 | Martin Beckford

[JoeProBono]

Men belonging to the famously clean-living denomination live to the ripe old age of 83.9, research has found, compared with a national average of 77. For women the difference in longevity was even greater with female Methodists dying at 91.1 on average – nine years longer than the 82 years enjoyed by most British women.

Last week Stanley Lucas died in Cornwall aged 110, having become not just the oldest male member of the Methodist Church but the oldest man in Europe. Dr Richard Vautrey, vice president of the Methodist Conference, said, “I’m sure there are many different factors at work for Methodists to attain these numbers. “But I would guess that our emphasis on caring for our spiritual as well as physical health, avoiding excess, engaging with people in our communities and being good neighbours all help.”

Methodism, an evangelical Christian movement that split from the Church of England at the end of the 18th century, is known for its focus on social justice and for many years was at the forefront of the temperance movement that preached “total abstinence” from alcohol. The increased life expectancy of its followers, who now number 265,000 in Britain, was calculated by researchers working for British Religion in Numbers, based at the University of Manchester...

[BenKenobi]

exactly! They should try some wine and maybe some dancing.

[Liberty Valance]

LOL!

[GailA]

We just closed our Methodist church because we were down to about 65 old people, no youth, in a church that originally held nearly 400. Our youngest member is in her mid 40’s.

If the absence of the ‘vice sins’ held then the Pentecostal and Assembly of God would have the same type stats.

I’m from an old school Assembly of God, married to a Methodist. The Methodist service is boring by comparison, dull draggy songs, long winded dull boring preachers.