The study, which appears in the recent issue of Research on Aging, includes responses from 837 people including African-Americans aged 55 and older. The study also revealed that churches also serve as a venue for men to retain, or perhaps achieve, important work roles, status and prestige even if they are not employed.

"Churches may be a primary social outlet and sphere of productive activity for older African American men, particularly those who are no longer active in the labor force," said Robert Taylor, professor at the University of Michigan School of Social Work and a faculty associate at the Research Center for Group Dynamics at the Institute for Social Research.

In addition to congregational activities - men's club, choir and Bible study - men also perform various activities at the church, such as cleaning, cutting grass, opening and closing the building, and minor repairs.

Taylor said gender and marital status are significantly associated with the frequency of attending religions services. Women usually participate in congregational activities, such as study groups, more often than men but spend less time in unstructured activities, including doing chores or talking with friends, the study found.

Taylor said religious communities provide opportunities for marital and family life counseling, as well as access to reference groups and individuals who model and reinforce shared values and behaviors relating to marital accord.

For many people who frequent church, their experience within religious settings may make them "less vulnerable to marital problems and marital dissolution compared with their counterparts who have not attended services as adults," Taylor said.