Troy C. Blanchard of Louisiana State University, John Bartkowski of the University of Texas at San Antonio and colleagues at the University of West Georgia and the University of Alabama at Birmingham found that people live longer in areas with a large number of Catholic and mainline Protestant churches.

"These types of churches have what's known as a 'worldly perspective.' Instead of solely focusing on the afterlife, they place a significant emphasis on the current needs of their communities," Bartkowski said in a statement. "They organize outreach efforts for the needy and homeless, invest in the health infrastructures and participate in other forms of charity."

Bartkowski said these congregations also tend to bridge ties in communities that lead to greater social cohesion among citizens and this enhanced sense of connection provides collective encouragement for healthy behavior.

"Fundamentalist and Pentecostal congregations are associated with higher rates of mortality, but communities with a large number of Evangelical congregations have better health outcomes," Blanchard said. "Evangelical congregations do a better job of engaging the broader community and promoting social connectedness -- so essential for longer life expectancies."

The findings are published in the journal Social Forces.