Are believers happier than atheists?

[TagliatelliMonster]

Hey, if you want to reject the science, that's your choice. Me? I go with the science.

Except when it doesn't agree with your beliefs, I bet.

 

[TagliatelliMonster]

IT IS A STATISTICAL FACT.

It is not.

You are not up to date with these studies.
The studies found that it's not religion that adds to the happiness level. It's the SOCIAL NETWORK and being part of a supportive community that does.

The religion part is just a means to an end. Not at all required. What is required is the social community.

 

[TagliatelliMonster]

We don't really know why.

We do know. But you apparently only take away from those studies what you want to take away.
Just as I expected.

 

[TagliatelliMonster]

People who are active in religious congregations tend to be happier and more civically engaged than either religiously unaffiliated adults or inactive members of religious groups, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of survey data from the United States and more than two dozen other countries. Religion’s Relationship to Happiness, Civic Engagement and Health Around the World

These results have been repeated often enough that the latest studies simply assume the prior research to be true and go after more detailed analysis, such as do different religious communities have different levels of happiness.

From your link:

This analysis finds that in the U.S. and many other countries around the world, regular participation in a religious community clearly is linked with higher levels of happiness and civic engagement (specifically, voting in elections and joining community groups or other voluntary organizations)
..
But the analysis finds comparatively little evidence that religious affiliation, by itself, is associated with a greater likelihood of personal happiness or civic involvement.
...
And there is no country in which the data show that actives are significantly less happy than others (though in many countries, there is not much of a difference between the actives and everyone else).


And to end with:

Prior research suggests that one factor may be particularly important: The social connections that come with regular participation in group events, such as weekly worship services, Bible study groups, Sabbath dinners and Ramadan iftars


And then off course, there's also this here:

The happiest countries in the world, ranked in 2022 - nj.com

Notice how the top countries are also the countries with very low levels of religiosity.
That's not to say that "no religion = happier". Correlation doesn't imply causation...
But it most certainly is evidence AGAINST the notion that "religion = happier".



Now... are you still going to go "by the science"?
Because in that case, you should now alter your perspective.



I'll also add that it doesn't really matter to me either way. If religion actually made people happier, then I have no problem with that. Either way, it's not an argument for any religion being accurate (or not accurate). That would be fallacious reasoning.
The thing is just that you are wrong. You insist on the "religious" part being the reason for the happiness, but that's just not true. It's the social community that does that. It just so happens that, especially in the US, religious congregations account for the main social structures.

I mean... we are talking about a country that if you wish to enter politics for example, saying in public that you are an atheist is like political suicide. This is a country where polls have shown that atheists are the least trusted of all people. To the point that a majority would rather live next to a rapist then next to an atheist. No wonder being an atheist in the US makes one unhappy.... You basically become a social pariah.

 

[TagliatelliMonster]

Obviously. So? What I said still holds true. Statistically speaking, members of religious communities are happier.

Statistically speaking, members of ̶r̶e̶l̶i̶g̶i̶o̶u̶s̶ communities are happier

 

[TagliatelliMonster]

No, we don't know why specifically religious communities make people happier.

We do. I have explained it to you several times over.
It's the social structure. A social structure, which you would get from any supportive community.
Including the local soccer club.

 

[Trailblazer]

Wow. Just wow. Do you not know what a peer reviewed journal is an their importance to scientific method? Do you not know that science does use surveys? Just wow. Where did you grow up that you are so unfamiliar with scientific method?

Wow. Just wow. You just won't let go of this, will you?

Do you not know what every peer reviewed journal is not based upon the scientific method? Do you not know that not only science uses surveys? Just wow. Where did you grow up that you are so unfamiliar with the fact that religion is not science and conflating the two is illogical. There is nothing scientific about collecting information via surveys.

 

[MonkeyFire]

Belief in life is synonymous for a happy and protected life.

 

[Truthseeker]

Do you not know what every peer reviewed journal is not based upon the scientific method? Do you not know that not only science uses surveys? Just wow. Where did you grow up that you are so unfamiliar with the fact that religion is not science and conflating the two is illogical. There is nothing scientific about collecting information via surveys.

It is the scientific method really, in my opinion, in this. Objective statistics is a scientific tool. It explores what reality is in the social realm. Exploring reality is scientific. I have degree in Mathematics, and especially studied statistics.

 

[TagliatelliMonster]

Funny how @IndigoChild5559 hasn't responded anymore ever since I posted articles that explain that it's the social aspect of religious communities that contributes to the happiness of people.
And it's not because (s)he hasn't been online since, because (s)he has. As recent as 45 minutes ago.


Oh well. I bet that a few weeks from now, if the topic comes up again, (s)he will be making the same claims again, as if this discussion never happened.

Mark my words.

 

[Tinker Grey]

I haven't seen anyone quote this:

“The fact that a believer is happier than a skeptic is no more to the point than the fact that a drunken man is happier than a sober one. The happiness of credulity is a cheap and dangerous quality of happiness, and by no means a necessity of life.”

― George Bernard Shaw, Androcles and the Lion​

Quote by George Bernard Shaw: “The fact that a believer is happier than a skep...”

 

[Trailblazer]

Funny how @IndigoChild5559 hasn't responded anymore ever since I posted articles that explain that it's the social aspect of religious communities that contributes to the happiness of people.
And it's not because (s)he hasn't been online since, because (s)he has. As recent as 45 minutes ago.

Oh well. I bet that a few weeks from now, if the topic comes up again, (s)he will be making the same claims again, as if this discussion never happened.

Mark my words.

Those who cannot support their claims usually disappear. It could just be a coincidence, or....

 

[IndigoChild5559]

Funny how @IndigoChild5559 hasn't responded anymore ever since I posted articles that explain that it's the social aspect of religious communities that contributes to the happiness of people.
And it's not because (s)he hasn't been online since, because (s)he has. As recent as 45 minutes ago.


Oh well. I bet that a few weeks from now, if the topic comes up again, (s)he will be making the same claims again, as if this discussion never happened.

Mark my words.

I only see those posts that quote me or tag me. I also only respond for a limited time before I get tired of people repeating themselves.

 

[TagliatelliMonster]

I only see those posts that quote me or tag me.

All those posts were replies to you.

For example:

Are believers happier than atheists? | Page 7 | Religious Forums

Or this one:

Are believers happier than atheists? | Page 8 | Religious Forums

All you have to do is scroll up on THIS very page. On THIS PAGE alone, there are several posts from me in reply to you.

I also only respond for a limited time before I get tired of people repeating themselves.

I shared information which showed your claims to be wrong.
Don't play dumb please.

 

[IndigoChild5559]

All those posts were replies to you.

For example:

Are believers happier than atheists? | Page 7 | Religious Forums

Or this one:

Are believers happier than atheists? | Page 8 | Religious Forums

All you have to do is scroll up on THIS very page. On THIS PAGE alone, there are several posts from me in reply to you.



I shared information which showed your claims to be wrong.
Don't play dumb please.

At this point, I've simply grown tired of the thread. I stand by what I said.

 

[ppp]

At this point, I've simply grown tired of the thread. I stand by what I said.

Wow.

 

[TagliatelliMonster]

At this point, I've simply grown tired of the thread. I stand by what I said.

I figured.

God forbid you acknowledge being mistaken.

 

[PearlSeeker]

Are believers happier than atheists?

In my personal experience this is true. I was very happy as a Christian. Faith gave me hope, comfort, meaning ... When I stopped believing some things it was like all colors faded... Reality is not so beautiful as the story I was told...

 

[Trailblazer]

In my personal experience this is true. I was very happy as a Christian. Faith gave me hope, comfort, meaning ... When I stopped believing some things it was like all colors faded... Reality is not so beautiful as the story I was told...

Weren't you still a Christian a few years ago when I joined this forum? I thought I remember you identifying as a Christian, or maybe I am confusing you with someone else.

Oh wait! I think I have you confused with pearl, who is a Catholic.

My Faith gives me hope, comfort, meaning, but it is not pie in the sky as it also deals with the real world. Christians tend to believe in fantasies. The fantasy might be more comforting but I don't want to believe in a fantasy just to feel good.

 

[PearlSeeker]

Weren't you still a Christian a few years ago when I joined this forum? I thought I remember you identifying as a Christian, or maybe I am confusing you with someone else.

Oh wait! I thing I have you confused with pearl, who is a Catholic.

My Faith gives me hope, comfort, meaning, but it is not pie in the sky as it also deals with the real world. Christians tend to believe in fantasies. The fantasy might be more comforting but I don't want to believe in a fantasy just to feel good.

Yes, I identified as a Christian (Catholic). For now I am still part of the community, praying, following Christian moral values... but innerly I am somewhere on the edge.

I hope there is a God or someone above who cares for us and I hope there is life after death. But I can't believe blindly what turned out to be founded on stories, myths and legends. I was told by a priest that I have to follow my heart. IMO faith has to be grounded in reason or else one can believe anything.