“Christian communities can better serve older Mexican Americans by understanding how health conditions impact their church involvement in late life. ”
Older adults are the most involved church members in the United States in terms of attendance, devotional activities, financial giving, and sense of congregational belonging. Church participation often benefits older adults themselves and their congregations. Older adults tend to increase their church participation between ages 65 to 75, but then decline in participation from 75 years of age onward. Health conditions are likely important contributors to church participation declines after 75 years, yet little research has directly examined this. Hispanic Americans are projected to be the largest and one of the fastest growing ethnic minority groups among American older adults. The American church is becoming older and more ethnically diverse, yet research has not devoted attention to the intersection of health conditions and church participation declines among older Hispanic Americans. This proposal requests funds to study this topic using representative longitudinal epidemiological data on older Mexican Americans, the largest segment of the Hispanic American population. Practically, examining this topic can position church leaders to better serve their older congregants dealing with the effects of aging, provide supports to help congregants lengthen their years of church participation, and help prepare Christian communities for the future.