FAITH MATTERS
In an increasingly lonely world, faith can bring us together
With many people saying their mental health is suffering, studies consistently show that religion and spiritual engagement contribute to lower rates of depression and anxiety, writes Bishop Gerard Bergie.
January 24, 2026
By Bishop Gerard Bergie
Contributing Columnist
A recent CTV news headline caught my eye.
It stated, “This is unprecedented: New report card shows Toronto’s mental health is collapsing” (CTV News, Jan. 19).
The report was released by ThriveTO in partnership with the Canadian Mental Health Association, the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, the City of Toronto and other organizations. The data showed that the number of people living in Toronto who describe their mental health as “very good” or “excellent” declined from 73 per cent in 2015 to 52 per cent in 2022.
One of the lead researchers for the report, Dr. Kwame McKenzie, is quoted saying, “This is unprecedented. This is crazy. We’re going from three quarters of people saying they had good mental health to just about half … That is something that we should be really worried about.”
He noted this decline was not simply the result of the COVID-19 pandemic and its after effects. “There was a steep decline in mental wellness in the early years of the pandemic, but declines were evident before COVID-19 and continue to be reported across Canada.”
McKenzie acknowledged the research shows that younger age groups are significantly less likely to report having good mental health, “Young people are looking to the future and are saying, ‘Hey, this doesn’t look good.’”
The report also noted a significant contributing factor to the general decline in mental health for all age groups is loneliness. McKenzie observed society is slowly becoming more aware of how lonely we are in life.
I find this interesting because we live at a time when technology has made communication so easy. We have smartphones, messaging apps and social media that provide instant 24/7 global communication.
The great paradox is that even though we are more connected than at any time in history, we feel lonelier. The reason is that technology has changed how people interact. Many feel more isolated because virtual interactions do not replace the need for physical contact and community.
Research shows us that, just as loneliness and other factors negatively affect mental health, there are many things that offer a positive influence. I would suggest that faith has a significant impact.
There are several studies that consistently show that religion and spiritual engagement contribute to lower rates of depression, anxiety, and higher levels of personal satisfaction and hope. These studies have found many positive correlations between religion and mental health.
This means that spiritual life is connected to our mental well-being. For the Christian, the spiritual life also connects us with Jesus.
In the Gospel of John, Jesus states, “Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.” (John 15:4-6)
To use an image that is very familiar to those in Niagara region, we are connected to Jesus and to one another just as the branches are part of the vine. When the branches are cut off from the vine and each other, they wither and die.
This means that loneliness is not only the result of being cut off from each other; but it also involves losing our connection with God.
Unfortunately, the statistics tell us that a growing number of people are struggling with mental health.
To use the vineyard allegory, perhaps we need to encourage more grafting and less pruning so that many branches remain on the vine.