95% of veterans say they maintain some form of faith or spiritual connection, according to a new survey by PRAY.COM.
A majority of America's veterans are finding relief in faith.
PRAY.COM, in partnership with The American Legion, recently conducted a survey of 6,796 American Legion affiliated members, including 6,505 veterans, 240 military family members, and 51 active-duty servicemembers. The results show faith is a primary mental health strategy for veterans who also want their healthcare providers to catch up.
Nearly all veterans surveyed — 95% — reported maintaining some form of faith or spiritual connection, and 74% said faith helps their mental health "a great deal" or "a lot." The biggest improvements in symptoms were sadness (68.9%), grief (68.8%), anxiety (68.7%) and loss (68.5%).
Another interesting finding showed nearly 7 in 10 veterans already use digital faith resources, and 23% of those users do so every day.
Roughly 78% of veterans surveyed were male. The largest age group represented was veterans 65 years and older (47.3%), reflecting the predominantly older demographic of the U.S. veteran population.
The data also underscores faith's role in the loneliness epidemic, which can often lead to mental health issues.
Three-quarters of veterans said their faith community helps them combat loneliness, and 63% use faith as a vehicle for broader social connection. In a population at elevated risk of isolation, those numbers carry significant weight.
Despite this, faith-based care remains largely absent from the formal systems veterans rely on. Sixty-one percent of veteran respondents said the Department of Veterans Affairs should offer faith-based resources, and 48% said the VA should fund them. Half believe insurance coverage should extend to faith-based tools.
Among other key findings, broken down by category:
Veterans
● 75% say their faith community helps them with loneliness
● 61.5% of veterans actively practice a specific religion, while an additional 25.5% report having faith without practicing a specific religion.
● 54% have received or are currently receiving professional mental health care
Active duty
● 92% say faith helps their mental health "a great deal" or "a lot"
● 82% report improvement in anxiety; 72% report improvement in PTSD symptoms
Military families
● 90% report faith improved their anxiety symptoms
● 85% report improvement in grief symptoms
In gratitude to the American Legion community for their partnership on this research, PRAY.COM is offering all American Legion members three months of free access to its faith and prayer app at pray.com/americanlegion. The offer extends to all veterans, active-duty service members and their families.
- News