We’ve known for years that there’s a link between faith and happiness. Now, new data shows a connection between religious upbringing and academic performance. In her latest book, “God, Grades, and Graduation: Religion’s Surprising Impact on Academic Success,” author Ilana Horwitz, who’s also an assistant professor in the Department of Jewish Studies at Tulane University, recently shared with Deseret News that believing God is watching over you, especially for children, incentivizes “conscientious, cooperative” behavior.

That tidbit makes some sense of Horwitz’s recently published research, which shows teens who are “intensely” committed to their faith “are more likely than average to earn higher GPAs and complete more college education.” The professor characterizes “intensely religious” people as those who “see religion as very important, attend religious services at least once a week, pray at least once a day, and believe in God with absolute certainty.”

Horwitz checked numerous studies for her research and concluded roughly one-quarter of American teenagers fit that description. Horwitz classifies those American teens as “abiders.” After studying data collected by the National Study of Youth and Religion, which occasionally surveyed 3,290 teenagers from 2003 until 2012, she concluded that, on average, abiders had a roughly 10% lead over other participants. She found that not only do they perform better in school, but they are also more likely to pursue a college education.

The tricky part is figuring out why that’s the case. Horowitz theorized that a great deal of it is because teachers are drawn to respectful, rule-following students, traits often found in religious students. Some of it may come from parents who are deeply involved in their child’s lives. Horowitz said, “It could be the case that a kid who is really religious is more likely to have parents who sit and do homework with them and be really involved in their school.”

According to Horowitz, one potential downside worth mentioning is that many religious teenagers are scared to take risks and might not take big chances, potentially forfeiting good opportunities. Abiders, for example, might choose to stay close to home rather than venturing out. Horowitz said, “They are very comfortable in the life they have and nervous about college because they have heard that college is a place where religious beliefs will be questioned, and professors are liberal. They seek social homogeneity.”

She also noted that just because a teenager earns high marks in school doesn’t mean it will translate to real-life success and stability.“You could be really good at ‘doing school’ and knowing how to navigate routines and regulations and rules, but that may not prepare you to function in life,” Horwitz said. For example, abiders could be very book smart but may not have all the street smarts to survive in the real world.

Overall, there’s nothing wrong with being an abider. It means that you know how to follow the rules and you’re a hardworking person. However, don’t let being an abider keep you away from taking chances in life. Sometimes, you have to take a leap of faith.