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Researchers analyzed data from the Gallup World Poll covering 2005 to 2009. They looked at religious affiliation, life satisfaction, social support and positive versus negative states of mind in 150 countries around the world.
In societies that lack proper food, jobs, or health care, religious people are indeed happier than those who are not religious. Believers in those countries also said they felt more publicly supported than did their non-religious peers.
But things get more complicated in countries with adequate social support. For one thing, both the religious and the non-religious in wealthier countries are happier than people in places without proper support. But, here's the interesting thing: In richer nations, those who are religious are actually less happy than their non-religious neighbors. The study is in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
The researchers found the same discrepancies within the U.S. In poorer states, more people are religious. And the believers in those states tend to be happier than the non-religious residents.
So the answer to the question, does religion bring happiness, would appear to be: it depends.
—Christie Nicholson
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17 Comments
Add Comment"An analysis of the Gallop World Poll finds "
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisUm, "Gallup".
Being a members of a gang, paedophile group or mafia will have the same effect.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisReligion is evil and is the root cause of conflict, murder and mayhem in the world. When the Christian religions insist that the sins of the father pass down to his sons and on and on, this is evil in the extreme. However rejecting this destroys the basic principle of their religion.
Institutionalizing religion was one of the worst acts that mankind has ever allowed. Religions were formed with the idea that man could rule his fellow man based on false claims about what is true and what is not that is how traditions were developed. governments claim that they are respecting these foolish institutes by turning them into holidays to celebrate. Today a religious holiday celebration is mainly a collaboration between the false religions, corporations, and governments for the sake of the economy.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisReligion is about things that you do religiously. My religion is waking up, brushing my teeth, taking a shower, doing my emails, eating, shopping, and misc. putting around.
I thank the most high pure, holy spirit for the things I receive on a daily basis. My religion is about me and how I relate to people around me. As long as I treat people with respect, and I do not offend them with loose conduct, I think I am doing fine, as in refining myself with doing the right things to the best of my ability.
That's my religion. I do not enter any of the places of worship because I think it should be built for the poor, widows, and orphans. If gathering together is a good thing then that is when we should be gathering together to help construct those dwelling places.
And, that's my religion!!!
Mandaa: But why? Oh why do you restrict your belief system to humans alone? What about the rest of the biosphere that sustains you?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWhat about a creator? Do you believe in such ignorance or are you a thinking person who realises that Darwin got it right.
This article would tend to explain why certain groups are trying so hard to bankrupt the intelligent, hard-working folks, and keep them poor, unassisted, and in subservient jobs.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI found very interesting the reading of the articles in the links below and for that I suggest reading them for those who read, and heard, this podcast. (I have to declare that I am an AGNOSTIC).
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe following link is from the magazine on-line *Softpedia*.
http://news.softpedia.com/news/Studying-Non-Religion-in-Europe-218675.shtml
Inside this article we have other link at the expression *University of Cambridge* that take us to the article titled * Europe’s forgotten “religion”*
Pray to stay poor! - well maybe not.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIt's nice to see a reporter that reads the whole research paper: the popular press haven't got much beyond 'religion makes you happy'. Both Sci Am and the rest, however, seem to assume religion is directly the causative element. There's at least as much evidence that being hungry, poor or sick makes people pray [and gamble] more, because that gives the illusion of control and the hope of escape. People probably become religious when they're poor because they're desperate, not because they're stupid.
'Pray to stay poor' probably is the case however, because although prayer has been shown not to work, that illusion of control and hope of escape makes people more tolerant of their lot.
Seedie: Any half-intelligent human would wonder, why a god would require prayer and adoration. Only a half-wit creator trying to escape hunger, poverty and illness would resort to such idiotic demands. Not that a creator exists.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI feel I should note I am an agnostic.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAbove it was claimed "Religion is evil and is the root cause of conflict, murder and mayhem in the world." This is an empirical question that claims a causal relationship. I demand to know what the control group is. Religion is often correlated with "conflict, murder and mayhem in the world", but that does not make it the cause. This could be a spurious correlation. Thus, in order for the claim to be supported we need a proper control group.
I propose for your consideration that a proper control group will consist of those human institutions that are as ubiquitous as religion. I can only think of four: family/tribe/reproduction, government, markets(free or otherwise)/accumulation of resources and philosophy/science.
I think it goes without saying that the only one of the above for which it's innocence of being correlated with "conflict, murder and mayhem in the world" is even debatable is science. But, recall science is a sine qua non for the death tolls during the past hundred years.
My Creed
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisFound beyond the Cosmic structure;
and, beyond subatomic resonance;
where sprouts Love, Beauty, Wisdom
. . . simplicity beyond complexity.
All entangled . . . unknown to most;
god, creative force. If such is
design . . . or anthropic manner;
then, surely . . . utmost blaspheme!
-Brunardot, July 23,2000
Tolerance is a religious requisite that is seldom practiced: as also is: no person can ever come between
another person and their god.
Atheism is ludicrous as it depends upon proving a negative.
The proof of god is dependent upon the definition as
a non-anthropoidal singularity that creates all that exists.
Look all about; everywhere there is existence; thus god. Ipso facto.
That religion is more harmful than other institutions or has a worse balance of benefits over harms are claims that are completely impossible to verify.Harm and benefit are subjective.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI can't believe that someone got money for this study when the result could be figured out a priori.Here's what we already know. For some people, religion is a source of happiness. If those people live in a country that is short of the common sources of happiness, they are more likely to pick religion (which is a free good) as a source of happiness. On the other hand, if people live in a country that is not short of the common sources of happiness, they are less likely to pick religion as a source of happiness.Probably there will be some anomalies.
India is greatest religious country of world.As per your global survey Indians are must be more happy than other countries `S religious people.But one drawback from this survive indicate that those people who are more religious they blindly believe in fate and don't believe in hardworking, persistence, they suffered from diseases,extreme poverty,lack of education, lack of modern amenities.Can we call them till happy?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this"Religion is evil and is the root cause of conflict, murder and mayhem in the world."
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisNo, I think being human is. Humans have been killing each other since before there were religions and now doubt will be long afterwards. The former athiest USSR is a good example.
If you could convince the Sunnis and the Shiites that Allah didn't exist, they would soon find some non-religious reason to want to kill each other. Same goes for the Protestant's and Catholics in Ireland.
Chimpanzees and Baboons live in troops, lions in prides, cows in herds, humans in tribes. No difference.
This may be one of the reasons why AGW cult members seem so blissfully happy when they're attending to the rituals of their crusade. By acting to save the planet from the deniers, corporate stooges, shills for the energy companies and sinners who use toilet paper they are acting in behalf of the one great cause that may save mankind from the great flood when all of the glaciers melt and global disaster reigns. What a wonderful and warm (did I say warm?) feeling it must be.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisA prayer:
Now we lay us down to gloat
when the flood comes we will float
Deniers, stooges, plutocrats stink
and when it floods they will sink
Religion is a viral meme. It has no purpose except to replicate. Humans are the host, and, just as with other parasitic relationships, sometimes the parasite kills the host. As long as the viral meme can propagate faster than the host humans die, it is successful. Look at any newspaper anywhere in the world and you will see conflict that is solely the result of religious motivation. You can read a more detailed description of this effect at: http://getdave.blogspot.com/2006_11_01_archive.html and http://getdave.blogspot.com/2007_11_01_archive.html .
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisTo deny the Creator and the existence of Revelation is to be a Social Darwinist which is smart talk for being a self worshiper and antisocial twerp.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisReligions were an important part of the structure of societies, and also of the laws they had, when societies were more than majoritarily formed by believers, and little or not formal opposition to religions existed. Many pioneers came to the USA looking for a freedom of religion environment, even when the problems they found were in countries that had endorsed contestations to the previous religious beliefs. French philosopher Voltaire, author of a "Treaty on tolerance", not a fully new idea, as the Saint Paul letters indicated that "Love is tolerant", Voltaire was attributed the affirmation about the Catholic faith, then the majority and oficial french religion: "A peculiar religion, that promises hapiness in the other world, and gives it in this world". As some say that for any thing you may do in medicine, you'll find medical papers supporting it, the oppinions on religions are of all kinds, from ecstasy to virulent condemn. One just need realizing, that after all, you don't need finding or showing any strong evidence for your proposals or thoughts regarding this: they're your's, and that's enough for you to keep on thinking this way. Do you want having discussions on the subject ?: the world is plenty of experts in religions - I'm not one -, lay and sacred, you just need to look for the one who looks more trustable for you. Salut +
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