Francis, Leslie JohnJones, Susan H.2021-04-212021-04-212020-11Francis, L.J. & Jones, S.H., 2020, ‘Cathedrals as agents of psychological health and well-being within secular societies: Assessing the impact of the Holly Bough service in Liverpool Cathedral’, HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies 76(3), a6250. https://doi.org/10.4102/hts.v76i3.6250.0259-9422 (print)2072-8050 (online)10.4102/hts.v76i3.6250http://hdl.handle.net/2263/79532This study is designed to test the hypothesis that events like the Holly Bough service held in Liverpool Cathedral on the fourth Sunday of Advent that attracts a wide range of participants, including regular churchgoers and occasional (sometimes annual) visitors, contribute significantly to the psychological health and well-being of these participants. At the Holly Bough service held in 2019, a total of 383 participants (139 men, 229 women and 15 individuals who preferred anonymity) completed a recognised measure of psychological health and well-being (the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire) whilst they were waiting for the service to begin and again during a 5-min organ improvisation just before the close of the service. The data demonstrated a significantly higher score on the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire at time 2 than at time 1, suggesting that the experience of the service functioned as an agent of psychological health and well-being. CONTRIBUTION: Situated within the science of cathedral studies, this paper confirms by means of a repeated-measure study that cathedrals promote psychological health; 383 participants at a Christmas service completed the same well-being measure before and after the service, with a significant increase in scores at time two.en© 2020. The Authors. Licensee: AOSIS. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License.Cathedral studiesPsychological healthOxford happiness questionnaireCarol servicePsychology of religionTheology articles SDG-03SDG-03: Good health and well-beingTheology articles SDG-04SDG-04: Quality educationTheology articles SDG-11SDG-11: Sustainable cities and communitiesArticle