Becoming a monk and living in a monastery increases life expectancy, according to a scientific study published in Austria - ZENIT - English

(ZENIT News / Rome, 07.14.2026).- For decades, scientists have searched for the keys to a longer life in diets, exercise programs, supplements, and increasingly sophisticated medical interventions. Yet one of the most intriguing findings in longevity research comes not from laboratories or wellness clinics, but from monasteries. A major long-term research project known as the German-Austrian Monastery Study has found that men living in religious orders enjoy significantly longer life expectancy than men in the general population. Even more remarkably, the study suggests that the widely accepted gap between male and female longevity nearly disappears within monastic communities. The findings emerge from one of the most extensive investigations ever conducted on religious life and health. Launched in 1997 under the direction of demographer Marc Luy, the project sought to answer a longstanding scientific question: how much of the difference in life expectancy between men and women is …