With one in five Canadians experiencing a mental illness in any given year1, many of us are impacted by mental health in some way—through our own lived experience, or by learning about the unique challenges of individuals who are sitting next to us in church pews. But how is the Church responding? Do church leaders and congregants feel equipped to support people experiencing mental health challenges and illnesses? Do churchgoers living with mental health challenges feel supported in their faith communities?
To explore these questions, Sanctuary Mental Health Ministries partnered with the Flourishing Congregations Institute to survey 969 participants from Canadian churches in early 2024. Here’s a summary of what we discovered in this research (access to the full report, Mental Health and Illness in Canadian Congregations is available below).
A Thicker View of Mental Health: Progress and Room for Growth
The good news is that many churches are already speaking about mental health in less harmful and stigmatizing ways. Most individuals surveyed say that their churches are moving away from the idea that mental health challenges are solely a result of personal sin (16%) or demonic influence (13%). 70% of churches speak about mental health as “a normal part of the human experience” that can result from factors such as illness (65%) or a traumatic event (70%). It’s encouraging to see that these ways of understanding and speaking about mental health challenges align closely with how individuals describe mental illness as well.
In the report, we refer to thin and thick understandings of mental health. A thin perspective provides minimal information about a person, without revealing the complexity of lived experiences and the diverse factors contributing to mental illness. A thick perspective takes the whole person into account, making room for the tensions, complexities, challenges, and gifts that can come with lived experiences of mental health challenges.
The results of this survey suggest that churches have an opportunity to adopt a thicker view of mental health—one that embraces the full story of people’s lived experiences. When we asked individuals about the ways that mental health challenges are understood and spoken about in their church communities, churches were less likely than individuals to describe mental health challenges as a way to connect with God or as an experience that could enrich a person’s spiritual life. Only 42% of churches link mental health challenges to social isolation—one of the biggest contributors according to mental health research. Churches are uniquely equipped to offer people supportive community and a sense of belonging, but this opportunity may be missed if the impacts of social isolation on mental health remain unacknowledged. While churches are making progress, they can continue deepening their perspective and understanding in more nuanced ways in order to understand and care for the people in their congregations well.
Do Church Leaders Feel Equipped to Support Congregants with Mental Health Challenges?
When we asked people with lived experience if they felt properly supported in their faith communities, a surprisingly high number of respondents said they did (81%). Yet of the church leaders who have been approached by congregants about mental health challenges, only 31% of these leaders feel very equipped to support them. A majority (64%) feel only partially equipped. And over one third of all survey respondents—including both leaders and congregants—don’t feel fully prepared to support individuals in their community with mental health challenges.
While it’s encouraging to see that many congregants feel supported, there is a gap when it comes to the confidence leaders feel in supporting members of their congregations experiencing mental health challenges and illnesses. By equipping leaders with more mental health training, churches can continue growing into sanctuaries where people can bring their whole selves to their faith communities.
Expanding Support Beyond Pastoral Care
Church members are eager to see mental health discussions embraced in their faith communities. Over half of respondents say they are already having informal conversations about mental health and mental illness with others in their church on a monthly basis. But are churches creating spaces to support these needed conversations?
The survey shows that pastoral care and prayer are the main supports offered to congregants with mental health challenges. While these supports are valuable, 83% of respondents believe their congregations should do more to support church members and invest more resources into mental health conversations. Churches could widen the conversation by regularly including mental health topics in sermons and bulletins—something respondents said happened infrequently. Few churches have partnered with mental health organizations, and initiatives like peer support groups (19%), Bible studies on mental health (12%), and dedicated mental health ministries (9%) are rare.
While it’s great to see congregants’ eagerness to participate in the mental health conversation, there seem to be some missed opportunities for churches to engage in these topics formally. A resource like The Sanctuary Course, a free study guide for small groups that promotes nuanced conversations about mental health and faith, can help churches create supportive spaces to bridge some of these gaps.
A Way Forward: Building a Holistic Mental Health Ministry
Our survey highlights the progress churches have made in talking about mental health and illness in less stigmatizing ways. Many congregants feel supported by their church leaders, but also seek more robust conversations about mental health within their communities, along with resources that address lived experiences more fully. Churches have an exciting opportunity to dive deeper, equipping leaders and integrating mental health into the fabric of church life in order to create spaces where everyone can feel seen, understood, and supported.
Read the full report
To get started with The Sanctuary Course, visit: sanctuarymentalhealth.org/sanctuary-course/
For more information about the Flourishing Congregations Institute, including more Canadian data for Canadian church leaders, visit: flourishingcongregations.org
[1] “Fast Facts about Mental Health and Illness,” Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA), accessed September 16, 2024, https://cmha.ca/brochure/fast-facts-about-mental-illness/.
RACHEL WATSON
Rachel loves storytelling in non-profit spaces, and has been doing this through various mediums for seven years. With a BA in Peace and Conflict Studies, Rachel has worked with non-profits around the world, from Zambia to Bolivia and now back to Canada, working with Sanctuary as the Social Media and Content Specialist. Rachel loves listening to people’s stories and finding common threads that connect us across cultures. When she is not writing, you can find her by the water.
