Religion Linked to a Happy Life?

A belief in God could lead to a more contented life, research suggests






Religious people are better able to cope with shocks such as losing a job or divorce, claims the study presented to a Royal Economic Society conference.

Data from thousands of Europeans revealed higher levels of "life satisfaction" in believers.
However, researcher Professor Andrew Clark said other aspects of a religious upbringing unrelated to belief may influence future happiness


Professor Clark, from the Paris School of Economics, and co-author Dr Orsolya Lelkes from the European Centre for Social Welfare Policy and Research, used information from household surveys to analyse the attitudes of Christians - both Catholic and Protestant - not only to their own happiness, but also to issues such as unemployment.

Their findings, they said, suggested that religion could offer a "buffer" which protected from life's disappointments.

Professor Clark said: "We originally started the research to work out why some European countries had more generous unemployment benefits than others, but our analysis suggested that religious people suffered less psychological harm from unemployment than the non-religious.
"They had higher levels of life satisfaction".

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7302609.stm

Do you agree?

Disagree?

The study seems to show correlation, but I don't see a compelling reason to assume that the causation is in the direction the researchers are claiming. It's quite possible that things are working the other way: that a more contented life can result in belief in God, or that a less contented life can kill belief.

Intuitively, this makes sense as well: I think that a person who doesn't feel particularily blessed is less likely to assume that there's some God running around handing out blessings than someone who has a wonderful life.

I have heard about a similar study before...or maybe it was the same one. Belief in God has helped me through the hardest times in my life. I remember one night some years ago I couldn't stand my sadness anymore and I knelt down on the ground and before that I used to ask God for what I wanted in particular. That night I just kept saying over and over, "God help me please, just help me." The next day two people came with a solution, who were in a similar situation to me.

Perhaps a better way to put it is that people with religion tend to have a more optimistic outlook on life. That makes more sense to me. I don't think that there is a direct relationship between religion and happiness, because the satisfaction you get from religion is, in my opinion, directly related to the effort you put into it (with a hint of good fortune).

New study shows being a Protestant in 17th century Spain linked to shorter lifespan.

Cordoba said:

A belief in God could lead to a more contented life, research suggests

Do you agree?

Disagree?

Click to expand...

For me it's true. My religion has given me solidity. I think without it, I'd be very fearful and unsure.

I'm sure it does. What appeal would religion have if not for the sense of security, gratification and complacency?

Cordoba said:

A belief in God could lead to a more contented life, research suggests






Religious people are better able to cope with shocks such as losing a job or divorce, claims the study presented to a Royal Economic Society conference.

Data from thousands of Europeans revealed higher levels of "life satisfaction" in believers.
However, researcher Professor Andrew Clark said other aspects of a religious upbringing unrelated to belief may influence future happiness


Professor Clark, from the Paris School of Economics, and co-author Dr Orsolya Lelkes from the European Centre for Social Welfare Policy and Research, used information from household surveys to analyse the attitudes of Christians - both Catholic and Protestant - not only to their own happiness, but also to issues such as unemployment.

Their findings, they said, suggested that religion could offer a "buffer" which protected from life's disappointments.

Professor Clark said: "We originally started the research to work out why some European countries had more generous unemployment benefits than others, but our analysis suggested that religious people suffered less psychological harm from unemployment than the non-religious.
"They had higher levels of life satisfaction".

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7302609.stm

Do you agree?

Disagree?

Click to expand...

I disagree, studies like this prove nothing, because what are they comparing it to, the lives of drug addicts and convicts? They simply are not scientific.

logician said:

I disagree, studies like this prove nothing, because what are they comparing it to, the lives of drug addicts and convicts? They simply are not scientific.

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I really don't care about studies. I don't need them. I know what it has done for me and mine.

Hema said:

I have heard about a similar study before...or maybe it was the same one. Belief in God has helped me through the hardest times in my life.

Click to expand...

I found the opposite, myself. I think that the small number of truly awful things that I've experienced would have been even worse if I had to try to fit them into some sort of Holy Plan.

logician said:

I disagree, studies like this prove nothing, because what are they comparing it to, the lives of drug addicts and convicts? They simply are not scientific.

Click to expand...

The comparison would be with non-religious persons

The average non-religious person is not a drug addict nor a convict !

9-10ths_Penguin said:

I found the opposite, myself. I think that the small number of truly awful things that I've experienced would have been even worse if I had to try to fit them into some sort of Holy Plan.

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There are at least three elements in life which affect our level of happiness:

1- Not understanding where we came from and the purpose of life. Why are we here on this small planet in this immense universe?

2- Worry about what will happen today and in the future (tomorrow, next year, when on pension, ... etc)

3- Being sad that all will end once life ends

God's Guidance answers these questions and worries.

He created us for a clear purpose: to get to know Him and worship Him by our free will, and to love Him as He loves us

We don't need to worry about today and tomorrow, as God provides and with His help we overcome the difficulties we face in life

The 80 or 90 years we spend on this planet is not the end, but a mere transition to an eternal life in The Hereafter where we will see The Creator and we hope for His love and forgiveness.

Therefore, there is no need to be sad!

Cordoba said:

A belief in God could lead to a more contented life, research suggests






Religious people are better able to cope with shocks such as losing a job or divorce, claims the study presented to a Royal Economic Society conference.

Data from thousands of Europeans revealed higher levels of "life satisfaction" in believers.
However, researcher Professor Andrew Clark said other aspects of a religious upbringing unrelated to belief may influence future happiness


Professor Clark, from the Paris School of Economics, and co-author Dr Orsolya Lelkes from the European Centre for Social Welfare Policy and Research, used information from household surveys to analyse the attitudes of Christians - both Catholic and Protestant - not only to their own happiness, but also to issues such as unemployment.

Their findings, they said, suggested that religion could offer a "buffer" which protected from life's disappointments.

Professor Clark said: "We originally started the research to work out why some European countries had more generous unemployment benefits than others, but our analysis suggested that religious people suffered less psychological harm from unemployment than the non-religious.
"They had higher levels of life satisfaction".

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7302609.stm

Do you agree?

Disagree?

Click to expand...

"But whoever loves God needs no tears, no admiration; he forgets the suffering in the love." Kierkegaard.

There are in my opinion to many unknowns to determine if or if not this is true. But anywho this does not mean that religion is necessary for these type of results. In a world where religion was never introduced the psychological development of a growing human could be quite different. Things that we typically associate with religion could be replaced with other devices. Meaning of life could be filled with the pursuit of happiness and devotion to achieve this cause for all of humankind instead of devotion to God. It is the target that is the real subject of interest and I do not agree that God needs be that target. The fact is that religion could very well be the agent that causes both the happiness and the unhappiness. Being developed by a religious society and turning out non-religious puts you at odds with yourself.

Jeremiah said:

Things that we typically associate with religion could be replaced with other devices. Meaning of life could be filled with the pursuit of happiness and devotion to achieve this cause for all of humankind instead of devotion to God. It is the target that is the real subject of interest and I do not agree that God needs be that target. The fact is that religion could very well be the agent that causes both the happiness and the unhappiness. Being developed by a religious society and turning out non-religious puts you at odds with yourself.

Click to expand...

The most important question to answer (imo) is:

Does our existence end when life ends?

Or is there an extension to our existence after death?

Is man both body and soul?

If that is the case, then when the body dies it makes sense that the soul continues to exist

The answers to these questions from a believer's perspective open the door of hope that there is a better life to come in the Hereafter when our souls will return to our Creator, and that hope leads to a happy life

I don't know much about who they chose for the different groups in the study, but I am not terribly surprised by the results. Unless religion caused people to be happier, then I cannot imagine why somebody would spend their time and 10% of their money toward such an endeavor.

If I was able to delude myself into thinking that all the crap that happens in this plane of existence pales compared to the glory of an everlasting blissful afterlife, I would probably be happier too, and less likely to be upset by the misfortunes and evil I see around me. Unfortunately, I am not able to do that, and must be upset when I see injustice and unnecessary suffering in the only plane of existence for which I have seen any evidence.

B.

Having hope in the Hereafter does not mean neglecting this world and the injustices we face in our daily lives

Quite the opposite

It's a stronger motivation to do good and help those in need, as an eternal happy life in the Hereafter is not rewarded only by faith in God, but is earned by doing good in this world, and by making a contribution for it to become a better world

Cordoba said:

It's a stronger motivation to do good and help those in need, as an eternal happy life in the Hereafter is not rewarded only by faith in God, but is earned by doing good in this world, and by making a contribution for it to become a better world

Click to expand...

This runs counter to the idea of Sola Fide (i.e. salvation by faith alone) that's part of mainstream Protestant Christianity.

In Islam, salvation in the Hereafter by God's Mercy has 2 pre-requisites:

Faith and having done good deeds in this life

One without the other is not enough

Faith gives hope in that life does not end in pain and sadness at an elderly age, as that is simply a transition to an eternal happy life in the Hereafter

A new research confirms the "giving and helping others" attitude encouraged by religion leads to a more happy life:

Want to be happy? Give your money away

Both Bill Gates and Warren Buffett know a bit about making money – and also about giving it away to charity. Now scientists have proved that such acts of philanthropy can be a short-cut to achieving happiness.

In a study that helps explain a paradox of modern life – why increasing wealth does not necessarily make people happier – psychologists found how people spend their money is at least as important as how much of it they earn in the first place. The greatest joys of all, they discovered, can be attained by giving money away, either to someone they know or to charity.

The pursuit of happiness is seen as a fundamental human right and it is often linked with wealth, yet studies have shown that the richest countries do not always have the happiest people.

Provided there is enough money for basic needs, there appears to be little evidence to suggest that greater wealth makes people any happier, said Professor Elizabeth Dunn of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. ...

Professor Dunn and colleagues investigated the roots of happiness in experiments that analysed the psychological emotions attached to making money and spending it on various activities.

"We wanted to test our theory that how people spend their money is at least as important as how much money they earn. Regardless of how much income each person made, those who spent money on others reported greater happiness, while those who spent more on themselves did not," Professor Dunn said.

An initial survey of 632 American men and women indicated that spending on other people was a strong indicator of general happiness, the scientists found. The study, published in the journal Science, then went on to look at 16 employees of a Boston company before they received a real bonus of several thousand dollars. The researchers interviewed the employees again between six and eight weeks after they received the money to assess their state of happiness. Professor Dunn found that a clear pattern emerged, with those employees who devoted more of their bonus to "pro-social" spending coming out higher in terms of a happiness league table.

In a final experiment, the scientists gave 46 student volunteers an envelope containing either $5 (£2.50) or $20, telling them to spend their money by 5pm either on themselves or on other people. Those who were asked to spend their windfall on others said that they felt happier at the end of the day than those who had to spend the money on themselves.

"These findings suggest that very minor alterations in spending allocations – as little as $5 – may be enough to produce real gains in happiness on a given day," Professor Dunn said.

If giving even small sums of money to others can make people happier, the question is why more of us fail to do so. "Ironically, the potential for money to increase happiness may be subverted by the kinds of choices that thinking about money promotes," she said. "The mere thought of having money makes people less likely to help acquaintances, to donate to charity, or to chose to spend time with others, precisely the kinds of behaviour strongly associated with happiness."

The researchers suggest governments may be able to improve the happiness of citizens with policies designed to promote "pro-social" spending by encouraging people to invest their income in others rather than themselves

Want to be happy? Give your money away - Science, News - Independent.co.uk