The Reason Religion Makes People Happy

There is a long-known relationship between religion and life satisfaction, but that 'secret ingredient' that makes religious people happy, has just been revealed in the December issue of the American Sociological Review.

The findings of the study can be applied to the three main Christian traditions in the United States – Mainline Protestant, Evangelical Protestant, and Catholic.

Chaeyoon Lim, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and leader of the study, said that “we also find similar patterns among Jews and Mormons, even with a much smaller sample size.”

He noted that within the data set they had, there were not enough Muslims or Buddhists, to establish valid patterns for those groups.

Lim adds that the “study offers compelling evidence that it is the social aspects of religion rather than theology or spirituality that leads to life satisfaction.

“In particular, we find that friendships built in religious congregations are the secret ingredient in religion that makes people happier.”

In other words, it's all about making friends and having people to talk to, reliable individuals around you.

For the study, Lim and co-author Robert D. Putnam, the Malkin Professor of Public Policy at Harvard University, used data from the Faith Matters Study, which is a panel survey of a representative sample of US adults in 2006 and 2007, the same panel that was discussed in detail in the recently published book American Grace by Putnam and David E. Campbell.

The results showed that 33% of people who go to church every week and have 3 to 5 close friends in their congregation, say that they are 'extremely satisfied' with their lives – 'extremely satisfied' meaning a 10 on a scale from 1 to 10.

On the other hand, only 19% of people who go to church weekly, but have no close friends in their congregation report that they are extremely satisfied.

Furthermore, there are 23% of people who go to church only a few times a year, but who have 3 to 5 close friends in their congregation, and say that they are extremely satisfies with their lives.

Last but not least, there are 19% of people who never go to church, so they have no friends from congregation, and say they are extremely satisfied with their lives.

Lim explained that for him, “the evidence substantiates that it is not really going to church and listening to sermons or praying that makes people happier, but making church-based friends and building intimate social networks there.

And because most people like to feel that they belong, “one of the important functions of religion is to give people a sense of belonging to a moral community based on religious faith.

“This community, however, could be abstract and remote unless one has an intimate circle of friends who share a similar identity.

“The friends in one's congregation thus make the religious community real and tangible, and strengthen one's sense of belonging to the community.”

The study is entitled 'Religion, Social Networks, and Life Satisfaction'.