Religion Replenishes Self-Control

Religion is at its best, I believe, when its practice is centered on focusing on others and the common good.  Self-control naturally flows from this.
Can self-control occur outside of religion? Yes, again, when the focus is beyond self-interest.

From the 16 May 2012 article at Medical News Today

There are many theories about why religion exists, most of them unproven.

Now, in an article published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, psychologist Kevin Rounding of Queen’s University, Ontario, offers a new idea, and some preliminary evidence to back it up.

The primary purpose of religious belief is to enhance the basic cognitive process of self-control, says Rounding, which in turn promotes any number of valuable social behaviors. …

Related articles

• Religion replenishes self-control (eurekalert.org)
• Religion replenishes self-control (medicalxpress.com)
• Does Thinking About God Improve Our Self-Control? (wired.com)
• Science for spirituality (addictionandrecoverynews.wordpress.com)