Scientists say that religion is good for you?

If you believe urban legends or opinions like those opposed to Rabbi Natan Slifkin's book, "Religion" and "Science" (AKA "The Atheist professor") are always at loggerheads with each other.

Turns out this is not really true, in fact some aspects of Science have very positive things to say about religion. Take for example the following extract from the New York Times:

[Michael McCullough] and a fellow psychologist at the University of Miami, Brian Willoughby, have reviewed eight decades of research and concluded that religious belief and piety promote self-control.

This sounded to me uncomfortably similar to the conclusion of the nuns who taught me in grade school, but Dr. McCullough has no evangelical motives. He confesses to not being much of a devotee himself. “When it comes to religion,” he said, “professionally, I’m a fan, but personally, I don’t get down on the field much.”

His professional interest arose from a desire to understand why religion evolved and why it seems to help so many people. Researchers around the world have repeatedly found that devoutly religious people tend to do better in school, live longer, have more satisfying marriages and be generally happier.
Source: New York Times

So there you have it, everyone seems to agree that "religious people tend to do better in school, live longer, have more satisfying marriages and be generally happier.", sounds like a good reason to get up in time for minyan to me.