During the past 10 years, there have been many studies showing a positive association between religion and health. In general, many of the effects of religion on health are thought to be attributable to better health behavior habits and social support, although many studies have found independent effects of religiousness. Another possibility is that religiousness and religious coping are related to positive outcomes through their enhancement of self-regulation. Religions posit desirable and undesirable characteristics and encourage their adherents to develop the former and suppress the latter. Take, for example, the seven deadly sins in Christianity: pride, envy, gluttony, lust, sloth, anger, and greed. We know that gluttony, anger, and sloth lead to poor physiological regulation and poorer health. But greed for material gain, envy at the possessions or abilities of others, and overweening pride may also result in poorer emotional regulation. 

At their best, religions also provide ways of developing self-regulation. For example, Christians are enjoined to practice certain virtues to help combat the "deadly sins"—patience is the antidote to anger, liberality to greed, diligence to sloth, kindness to envy, abstinence to lust, and humility to pride. All of the world's major religions—Buddhism, Islam, Judaism, Vedanta, and Taoism—at their best promote temperance, self-control, patience, and compassion. The relationship between religion and health may become a fascinating topic for discussion.