Research Suggests Religion Boosts Interest In Life Extension For Black Americans

The interest in life-extending technology among Black Americans is usually related to community-centered motivations in contrast to white Americans’ individualistic motives.

According to new research from Rice University, the University of South Carolina, and Purdue University, religion has the effect of increasing the desire of Black Americans to engage with life-extending technologies.

According to a news release by Rice University, interest in life-extending technology among Black Americans is usually related to community-centered motivations in contrast to white Americans’ individualistic motives.

Elaine Howard Ecklund, the study’s principal investigator, the Herbert S. Autrey Chair, Professor of Sociology, and the director of the Boniak Institute for the Study of the Advancement of Religious Tolerance at Rice University, shared that various factors make Black people’s use of religion produce curiosity about life-extending technology.

Jacqui Frost, the study’s lead author and an assistant professor of sociology at Purdue University, noted that Black and white Americans approach life extension with varying levels of suspicion.

“For instance, Black Americans’ belief in the compatibility of science and religion appears to bolster their support for life extension more than it does among white adults, where religious beliefs are often linked to skepticism toward scientific intervention in natural life processes,” Frost said.

According to Rachel Schneider, a co-author of the study and the director of the Religion and Public Life Center at the Boniak Institute, “With advancements in medical and anti-aging research, projections suggest that lifespans could extend dramatically, reaching up to 120 to 200 years by the end of the century,” Schneider said.

Schneider continued, “As the movement for life extension gathers momentum, we hope this research will encourage more work on how religious, racial and cultural factors shape public support for such technologies. Understanding the different ways Americans approach the question of life extension is critical as society navigates the potential for unprecedented changes in human lifespan.”

According to the study’s abstract, this research contradicts previous research on religion’s impact on attitudes toward life-extending technologies.

“Past research suggests that those most likely to be interested in life extension technologies are nonreligious and White. However, we draw on theories in sociology of religion to examine how race and religion might intersect to shape attitudes about life extension. We find that Black Americans are significantly more interested in life extension than White Americans, and while religiosity decreases interest in life extension among White Americans, religiosity increases interest for Black Americans. And we find that Black and Hispanic Americans are more likely than White Americans to cite other-oriented and religious reasons over self-oriented reasons for wanting to extend their lives, such as ‘divine purpose’ and a desire to contribute more to society.”