What does repealing Sunday shopping laws have to do with rising rates of suicide, alcohol deaths, and drug overdoses? More than you might expect. In this episode of Thinking Christian, I sit down with Dr. Tamar Oostrom, health economist at The Ohio State University, to walk through her research on blue laws, religious decline, and what the data reveals about the hidden costs of losing community.

The paper's central finding is striking: states that repealed blue laws — the Sunday retail restrictions that once made church the default social gathering of the week — saw measurable increases in deaths of despair in the years that followed. States that kept those laws did not. The mechanism isn't as simple as more alcohol access. It's something harder to quantify: the erosion of identity, purpose, and the kind of social accountability that comes with belonging to a local religious community.

We talk through what economists actually study, why unintended consequences are so hard to see in real time, and why re-instituting blue laws isn't the answer even if the data is compelling. The more useful question is what individuals, employers, and communities can do now to rebuild the connective tissue that those laws once quietly enforced.

The conversation also touches on remote work, social media, and the broader collapse of in-person socialization — and what all of it might mean for where deaths of despair go from here.

Find more from Tamar Oostrom at https://www.tamaroostrom.com 

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What does repealing Sunday shopping laws have to do with rising rates of suicide, alcohol deaths, and drug overdoses? More than you might expect. In this episode of Thinking Christian, I sit down with Dr. Tamar Oostrom, health economist at The Ohio State University, to walk through her research on blue laws, religious decline, and what the data reveals about the hidden costs of losing community.
The paper's central finding is striking: states that repealed blue laws &mdash; the Sunday retail restrictions that once made church the default social gathering of the week &mdash; saw measurable increases in deaths of despair in the years that followed. States that kept those laws did not. The mechanism isn't as simple as more alcohol access. It's something harder to quantify: the erosion of identity, purpose, and the kind of social accountability that comes with belonging to a local religious community.
We talk through what economists actually study, why unintended consequences are so hard to see in real time, and why re-instituting blue laws isn't the answer even if the data is compelling. The more useful question is what individuals, employers, and communities can do now to rebuild the connective tissue that those laws once quietly enforced.
The conversation also touches on remote work, social media, and the broader collapse of in-person socialization &mdash; and what all of it might mean for where deaths of despair go from here.
Find more from Tamar Oostrom at <a href="https://www.tamaroostrom.com">https://www.tamaroostrom.com</a>&nbsp;
Subscribe to our <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@Useful_toGod">YouTube channel</a>
📢 Stay Connected &amp; Keep Growing!
If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe to Thinking Christian so you never miss an insightful conversation!

Christians shouldn’t just think. They should think Christian. Join Dr. James Spencer and guests for calm, thoughtful, theological discussions about a variety of topics Christians face every day. The Thinking Christian Podcast will help you grow spiritually and learn theology as you seek to be faithful in a world that is becoming increasingly proficient at telling stories that deny Christ.

Find more from James at https://www.thinkingchristian.org/.

Christians shouldn&rsquo;t just think. They should think Christian. Join Dr. James Spencer and guests for calm, thoughtful, theological discussions about a variety of topics Christians face every day. The Thinking Christian Podcast will help you grow spiritually and learn theology as you seek to be faithful in a world that is becoming increasingly proficient at telling stories that deny Christ.
Find more from James at <a href="https://www.thinkingchristian.org/">https://www.thinkingchristian.org/</a>.

Christians shouldn’t just think. They should think Christian. Join Dr. James Spencer and guests for calm, thoughtful, theological discussions about a variety of topics Christians face every day. The Thinking Christian Podcast will help you grow spiritually and learn theology as you seek to be faithful in a world that is becoming increasingly proficient at telling stories that deny Christ.

Thinking Christian: Clear Theology for a Confusing World

Christians shouldn&rsquo;t just think. They should think Christian. Join Dr. James Spencer and guests for calm, thoughtful, theological discussions about a variety of topics Christians face every day. The Thinking Christian Podcast will help you grow spiritually and learn theology as you seek to be faithful in a world that is becoming increasingly proficient at telling stories that deny Christ.
Find more from James at <a href="https://www.thinkingchristian.org/">https://www.thinkingchristian.org/</a>.

Deaths of Despair and the Decline of American Religion: What the Data Actually Shows — with Dr. Tamar Oostrom

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/5e27a451-e6e6-4c51-aa03-a7370003783c/clips/ec0a1035-8dfa-42e8-bcee-b49c00d9ea1e/transcript