In one study of 836 elderly persons, it was.

In one study of 836 elderly persons, it was. Religious practices - such as prayer and Bible reading - and religious feelings were associated with a sense of well-being, especially for women and individuals over 75 years of age (Koenig, Kvale, & Ferrell, 1988). Religion can fulfill some important psychological needs in older adults, helping them face impending death, find and maintain a sense of meaningfulness and significance in life, and accept the inevitable losses of old age.

Socially, the church can provide a number of functions for older adults, such as social activities, social support, and the opportunity to assume teaching and leadership roles. Older adults can become deacons, elders, or Sunday school teachers, assuming leadership roles that they might not have been able to take on before their retirement (Cox & Hammonds, 1988). In sum, religion can play an important role in the lives of elderly adults.

Religious Conversion Religious conversion is one of the most profound and perplexing phenomena that can happen in a person’s life. The individual might never be the same because of it. If so, in what ways is the person different and in what ways is the person not changed due to religious conversion? How can such events be explained psychologically? Defining Conversion and Types of Conversion Conversion means change.

Religious conversion refers to the change from having no religious belief to accepting a religious belief system as one’s own, or to the process of changing from one religious belief system to another. Two types of conversion are usually distinguished - sudden conversion and gradual conversion. Sudden conversion is a religious change that occurs all at once with no prior warning.

When asked if they remember how their conversion experience occurred, sudden converts can point to a specific place and set of life circumstances involved in the conversion. By contrast, gradual conversion is a religious change that takes place over a period of time, ranging from several weeks or months to years. In gradual conversion, people think through and evaluate issues and options before arriving at a religious choice.

There might be a decision point similar to that in sudden conversion, but the slower evaluative process is what distinguishes the two types. Both types of conversion contrast with religious socialization, a lifelong process in which individuals cannot remember not having a religious faith.